Paul Ryan—the man on horseback—rides in to save a moribund and faltering Romney campaign

By Pablo Fanque, National Affairs Editor 

Mitt Romney introduced Paul Ryan this morning as the "next President of the United States."  He later corrected himself, but, who knows?— he may have been right the first time.



I'm good with this choice. He's great for "the base" and ensures there will be exactly zero bleedthrough from the Democratic middle.  Isn't it funny that we don't have a good term for more conservative democrats?  Blue Dog Democrat probably comes closest.  The phrase "Moderate Republican" used to actually mean something.

Moderate Republicans unfortunately became extinct sometime around the time of the Millennium.   I now believe the Democrats can and will win this election (up to, and including, The Senate).  The GOP/Tea Party, and especially their candidate, keep lobbing incredibly sweet cream-puffs at the Dems. Sadly, I don't think any Veep candidate can much help the Ex-Governor's chances of taking the White House. . .unless they seal the candidate's mouth with duct tape until November 6th.

Mitt Romney has cashed his check.  The time of the Democrats has come.   Virtually every Romney supporter I've met is not really so much for Romney as they are against Obama.  BHO needs to get his message out there: the auto companies are booming and repaying the money he loaned them, with interest; Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are profitable again; the TARP money has mostly proven to be a very good investment.  A little bit of health care reform went down on his watch too, on top of winding down wars on two fronts, ending Don't Ask/Don't tell, and (finally!) coming out in favor of same-sex marriage.   This could be a rout.

 

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It was four years ago, almost to the day, that Mitt Romney ended his first quest for the White House

By Mona Goldwater

Four years ago yesterday, Mitt Romney bailed out of the 2008 Republican Presidential contest.   The people had spoken.

Things were looking better than they did back then until Mittens took a serious body blow in the heartland of America last night.  Sure, they shrug off these primaries and caucuses off beauty contests, but that's not what they were saying last week. . .

What are his spinmeisters saying tonight?  "It's always darkest before the dawn," or "we've only begun to fight?"  The Missouri and Minnesota losses weren't that shocking--these folks are going to vote mainly for the conservative candidate.  But Colorado?  What the Eff happened?  A few days ago, Romney was polling ahead in the double digits.  And tonight, Ex-Senator Rick Santorum whipped him by more than 5%.  Romney had plummeted 16% in a few days?  Maybe you can attribute this to his recent comments about the poor, or his recent financial disclosures, on top of his earlier verbal slips?  Or maybe people are just finally coming to their senses?  But that's not it, because those votes are going to Rick Santorum.

Mitt has been regularly tarred and feathered by his opponents as practically a Molotov-cocktail throwing Bolsheviki, or at best, a shameless flip-flopper and closet liberal, he walks into these next contests almost crippled.  As Bob Dylan wrote "It's not dark yet/but it's getting there."

In the battleground states, however, Mitt Romney and President Obama are polling neck and neck.  And, in the end, the battleground states are all that matter.   The center of the party would like to get focused on Romney and away from the opponent du jour.  But those damned voters keep getting in their way.

This could change rapidly, but in general, Romney now has to score in Arizona, Washington State, and the other states that vote/caucus before Super Tuesday, not necessarily to win, but to at least show he has some stuffing left.  But Super Tuesday is where his focus will be.  Super Tuesday is not as big as it has been in the past, but ten states is a pretty significant data point.  It may tell all.  But that's hard to know in this genuinely fragmented and bizarre nomination contest.

If anything, as a political dweeb,  this is all great news.  We now see the race, presumably with all four candidates, head into the next primaries and Super Tuesday.  No one is going to bail out before then, not now.

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Newt's South Carolina win::::::::::The Republican ship is taking on water

By Jack Brummet, Paranormal, Art, Poetry, and Persiflage Editor (filling in for National Affairs Editor Pablo Fanque, on vacation in Belize)

I very much enjoyed Ex-Speaker Newt's win in South Carolina.  Why?  Because it was nice to see a cannonball blown through Mittens's aura of inevitability.  It's also nice to see the GOP in disarray/upheaval.  We have a different winner in each of the contests so far.  I don't know what the real pundits are saying, but I think this also bodes well for Ron Paul. 

The Mittens juggernaut has been slowed down--the ox is mired in the mud.  Do I want to see Newt as President?  No.  But as for the GOP itself, I enjoy the confusion and chaos.  Neither the establishment/money elite, or the Tea Party faction, or the fundamentalist wing seem able to right the Republican ship...and they're taking on water, fast. 

Why do I enjoy this SO much?  As Alfred Pennyworth said in another context "Some men just want to watch the world burn."

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Speaker of the House John Boehner on the brink: An All This Is That Editorial Twofer by Fanque and Brummet

Pablo Fanque (National Affairs Editor):

As he began sensing an Egyptian-style revolt from his newly-emboldened and newly-elected colleagues of the Tea Party-persuasion who intend to increase--no, double--the spending cuts this year, Speaker John Boehner threw his juggernaut into reverse and said no, I never agreed to any specific numbers with President Obama.  

Smelling blood in the water after Boehner's weaseling, Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer in the Senate rallied Democrats and charged that The Speaker was afraid of his own party's "Tea Party extremists."   Sure, Boehner has said he agrees with the Draconian reductions advocated by House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, but Ryan himself admitted his proposal may well leave his party's flanks open to political assault as the Democrats get their act together and recover from their shellacking in November. 

It seems highly likely that The Speaker will not emerge from this fracas whole.  On the other hand, the majority of his party realize they are walking through a mine field and may well come to their senses and turn their backs on their deranged colleagues.  We will know in the next day or two. Good luck, Mister Speaker!

Weeper of the House Boehner with Ex-Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Jack Brummet (Arts, Paranormal, and Satire Editor):

SOTH John Boehner is either facing his eminent downfall, or if the winds blow just right, a massive consolidation of power.  He has, unfortunately (for him) been unable to keep his friends close and his enemies closer. [1]  In particular he has had difficulty with his enemies, who are not Democrats, but the Tea Party wingnuts of his own Grand Old Party.  He has to feel a little bit like Damocles right about now. 

Damocles was in the entourage in the court of Dionysius II of Syracuse. Sucking up to Dionysius one night, Damocles went on and on about how fortunate he was to be a great man of power, sitting in the cat-bird seat, surrounded by opulence.  Dionysius called him out.  He offered to switch places so that, he too, could enjoy that great fortune.  Damocles eagerly accepted the King's offer, sat down in the throne and prepared to party on.  But wily Dionysius had arranged for a massive sword to to be hung over the throne, suspended by a single hair of a horse's tail wrapped around the sword's pommel.  Damocles was unable to ever really enjoy the wine, women, and song because he could never stop thinking about that sword.  He soon begged Dionysius to switch back, because he no longer wanted to be so fortunate.  I am pretty sure not an hour that goes by that John Boehner doesn't wish Ex-Speaker Pelosi was sitting in the seat he was so eager to own.

[1] The phrase "keep your friends close and your enemies closer" is usually attributed to Sun-tzu, the Chinese general and author of the brilliant Art of War. But, there is no documented history of this. It was actually first said by Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part II.

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Mario Cuomo's words from 1984 sound similar to our situation today, except The GOP has had another quarter century to redistrbute the wealth upwards...

Mario Cuomo in his keynote address at the 1984 Democratic Convention:

"Now, how important is this question of the deficit. Think about it practically: What chance would the Republican candidate have had in 1980 if he had told the American people that he intended to pay for his so-called economic recovery with bankruptcies, unemployment, more homeless, more hungry, and the largest government debt known to humankind? If he had told the voters in 1980 that truth, would American voters have signed the loan certificate for him on Election Day? Of course not! That was an election won under false pretenses. It was won with smoke and mirrors and illusions. And that's the kind of recovery we have now as well."

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Ex-president George W. Bush denounces Rush Limbaugh

President George W. Bush laid into Rush Limbaugh quite nicely yesterday.
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President Barack Obama Is A Muslim?

By Pablo Fanque
All This Is That Nati0nal Affairs Editor

This was interesting, and spooky.

If you read All This Is That regularly, you probably know I like a fight, and like to take on The President. He has made mistakes, and I find it good sport to call him out on them, although many of my left-wing/progressive brethren believe one should never be [publicly] critical of Barack Obama (although many of them merrily vilified and demonized BHO's predecessor). As irritated as I get with Barack Obama, and All The Presidents Men And Women, I know he is a decent, passionate, eloquent, and driven man who means right, and is usually, right. But, as the poet John Berryman once wrote:

Between what we see
And what we be
Is blinds.
Them blinds is on fire.

So today I received an email from Paul Jones. I was interested, initially, since I am half Jones...but believe me, you don't get far going down the Jones road...there's a couple million of them, and probably many more millions like me, with a large volume of Jones blood. OK, I've already digressed and redigressed.

Paul Jones wrote after somehow landing on this blog. And because I took some exception to something BHO did or said, he sensed a kindred spirit and sent along an old internet warhorse, proving that Barack Obama is a Muslim, and doesn't even have a birth certificate, or, at least, one he will show in public.

Really? I wondered if I need to become a mindless cheerleader for BHO. Is this what people think? Sorry, my cousin Paul Jones. I do not believe anything you passed along in your email. It has been often debunked as right-wing hokum. Snopes.com has a step by step refutation of every contention in this cheesy smear-piece.

It is really hard to fathom how these emails and hit pieces are still making the rounds. Or that millions of people still secretly and openly believe the charges of "The Birthers."

You've probably read this before:

"If you do not ever forward anything else, please forward this to all your contacts...this is very scary to think of what lies ahead of us here in our own United States...better heed this and pray about it and share it.

Who is Barack Obama?

Barack Hussein Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Barack Hussein Obama, Sr., a black MUSLIM from Nyangoma-Kogel, Kenya and Ann Dunham, a white ATHEIST from Wichita, Kansas. Obama's parents met at the University of Hawaii.

When Obama was two years old, his parents divorced. His father returned to Kenya. His mother then married Lolo Soetoro, a RADICAL Muslim from Indonesia. When Obama was 6 years old, the family relocated to Indonesia. Obama attended a MUSLIM school in Jakarta. He also spent two years in a Catholic school.

Obama takes great care to conceal the fact that he is a Muslim. He is quick to point out that, "He was once a Muslim, but that he also attended Catholic school." Obama's political handlers are attempting to make it appear that he is not a radical.

Obama's introduction to Islam came via his father, and this influence was temporary at best. In reality, the senior Obama returned to Kenya soon after the divorce, and never again had any direct influence over his son's education.

Lolo Soetoro, the second husband of Obama's mother, Ann Dunham, introduced his stepson to Islam. Obama was enrolled in a Wahabi school in Jakarta. Wahabism is the RADICAL teaching that is followed by the Muslim terrorists who are now waging Jihad against the western world. Since it is politically expedient to be a CHRISTIAN when seeking major public office in the United States, Barack Hussein Obama has joined the United Church of Christ in an attempt to downplay his Muslim background. ALSO, keep in mind that when he was sworn into office he DID NOT use the Holy Bible, but instead the Koran.

Barack Hussein Obama will NOT recite the Pledge of Allegiance nor will he show any reverence for our flag. While others place their hands over their hearts, Obama turns his back to the flag and slouches.

Let us all remain alert concerning Obama's presidential candidacy.

The Muslims have said they plan on destroying the US from the inside out, what better way to start than at the highest level - through the President of the United States, one of their own!!!!

Barack Obama served as an Illinois state senator for several years, and in 2004 he won a seat representing that state in the U.S. Senate. His keynote address before the Democratic National Convention in June 2004 brought him national prominence, and he is currently one of the leading contenders for the nomination to represent the Democratic Party in the 2008 presidential election. He is a dangerous, camouflaged radical Muslim.
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Republican Family Values, part 26: Idaho GOP national committeeman Blake Hall loses job over stalking and lobbing used condoms on ex-girlfriend's lawn

By Pablo Fanque,
All This Is That Crime and Punishment editor

Blake Hall, a leader in Idaho GOP and national politics for almost 25 years, was fired Monday as deputy prosecuting attorney in eastern Idaho. He just resigned from the Republican National Committee. The former Idaho Board of Education member pleaded guilty last week to stalking his former girlfriend and is serving a two-week jail sentence. He also sentenced to a year of supervised probation. but for some reason, a six-month jail sentence was suspended.

On ten different days—Hall tossed semen-filled condoms onto his ex-girlfriend’s lawn. He had stalked her for half a year. His victim said, “I was so tired of being victimized. It is unimaginable that a 56-year-old would be so deviant.”

Between March and August this year, Hall often followed his victim to restaurants, movies and home. He ignored her repeated requests to be left alone, according to police records and court testimony.

The victim said Hall once followed her to a Walmart, and took her car keys until she agreed to “hear him out” concerning her marriage, according to the Idaho Falls Post Register.

Hall and his lawyer denied none of this. When he gets out of the hoosegow a couple weeks from now, he joins Ex-Senator Larry Craig in the unemployment line. And the Idaho Hall of Shame.
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Video: Bill Maher talks to Jeff Sharlet about The Family a/k/a The Christian Mafia

Thanks to Jeff Clinton for sending this on. I'd read about them before, and heard rumblings--but they actually seem far more nefarious than I'd been led to believe. Jeff Sharlet doesn't seem to be a nut at all--he's an editor at Harper's. This is not some wack job raving about Obama's birth certificate, his indoctrination at a Madrasah, or about which government agency bombed the WTC. This seems quite real. And spooky.



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Our thoughts on bi-partisanship after reading Krugman's editorial in yesterday morning's New York Times

By Pablo Fanque,
National Affairs Editor

I had planned to write a long, learned, disquisition on Krugman's Op-ed piece in yesterday's New York Times. This is one of the most depressing essays I've ever read. . .mainly because it was all true. And these are the people with whom we are supposed to forge a bond of cooperation? I don't think so. The G.O.P. should be happy with the fact we aren't about to embark on a massive Necktie Party, or pogrom, or a nation-wide Party Cleansing; God knows, they've earned it. As far as cooperating, I think we should "just say no," unless it is most specifically in our best interest. This collage by fellow editor Jack Brummet captures my feelings, exactly, on how to proceed with bipartisanship in today's climate:


click to enlarge
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