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Subscribe to RSSWe’ve entered the silly season… In fact, there have been three manufactured controversies in the past month (Etch A Sketch, hot mic, and Hilary Rosen)… What yesterday did teach us: It didn’t take much for conservatives to rally to Romney’s side… Team Obama’s not-so-good week… Romney calls Obama “incompetent” after North Korea’s “incompetent” missile launch… Romney addresses NRA at 2:20 pm ET, while Obama gives a speech in Tampa, FL at 1:20 pm ET and sits down for interview with Telemundo before departing to Colombia… Lugar gets Super PAC help… And “Meet” interviews Treasury Secretary Geithner.
*** The silly season: If this first week of the general election has taught us anything, this is going to be a long next six months. It started with the Obama White House and campaign hammering away at the "Buffett Rule," which was more of an effort to embarrass Mitt Romney (and his low effective tax rate) than a realistic policy proposal. And then on Wednesday and Thursday, the Romney campaign seized on comments by Hilary Rosen, a Democratic strategist with thin ties to the White House, who said that Ann Romney has never worked a day in her life. It was a manufactured controversy -- fueled by Twitter and social media -- because no serious political actor in this presidential contest is criticizing stay-at-home moms or the value of the work they do. In fact, Rosen was referring to the Romneys’ wealth, not Ann Romney’s decision to raise her five sons at home. While the two major parties are fundamentally divided (over taxes, entitlements, the role of government, and national security) and while so much is at stake (control of Washington, potentially two Supreme Court justices), we find ourselves smack-dab in the silly season.
*** Three manufactured controversies in the past month: Of course, manufactured controversies are nothing new in American politics. There was Nixon’s famous “Checkers” speech. Even four years ago, political observers were obsessing over Michelle Obama’s patriotism and John McCain’s seven homes. What is new, however, is how much faster and professionalized -- due to Twitter and the drive to make something go viral -- these manufactured controversies have become. Indeed, we’ve now seen three of them in the past 30 days: Etch A Sketch, hot mic, and Hilary Rosen. Now all three were related to a bigger issue or narrative (doubts about Romney’s true beliefs and ideology, conservative suspicions about Obama’s intentions, and a real gender gap in American politics). But, unfortunately, we talk about the manufactured controversy and not the real story here (that a general-election candidate always moves back to the center, that a president’s second term with no more elections on the horizon does give him more flexibility to do certain things, and that women do have real anxieties about the balance between working and raising a family). The fact is, these next few months before the conventions are probably going to be filled with these manufactured “shiny metal object” controversies because of what we noted -- just how professionalized both political parties are at creating them. And some in the media are easily susceptible to helping these manufactured controversies go viral because they are seen as simply “more interesting” than the serious “eat your vegetables”-like issues that divide the two parties.
Steven Senne / AP
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks with his wife Ann.
*** Rallying around Romney: Yesterday also taught us something else: Conservative elites are going to rally around Romney. They needed just the tiniest spark (Hilary Rosen) and they went into overdrive for Romney. It remains to be seen whether conservatives will stick around the former Massachusetts governor when the going gets tough -- that’s the true definition of a strong base (see African Americans for Obama, evangelical Christians for George W. Bush) -- but the folks in Boston have to be pleased with the past 24 hours. But today will be an interesting when Romney addresses the National Rifle Association’s conference in St. Louis at 2:20 pm ET. After all, it’s been well chronicled that Romney, who only became a “lifetime member” of the NRA in 2006, lacks a natural appeal with gun-rights groups, having supported some gun-control measures in the past. But so far this cycle, he’s avoided awkward missteps like in the ‘08 cycle, when he said (falsely) on Meet the Press that he’d been endorsed by the NRA, claimed to have been “a hunter pretty much all my life,” and the “Varmint” hunter press conference. By the way, expect a lot of anti-Obama chatter out of the NRA convention. While not surprising, do consider this so-called anti-gun president signed one of the largest expansions of rights for gun owners in recent history, allowing loaded guns to be carried in National Parks.
*** Team Obama’s not-so-good week: This was supposed to be a week when the White House and the Obama campaign focused on tax fairness and Mitt Romney’s wealth, punctuated by today’s release of Obama’s and Biden’s tax returns (more on that below). But the last seven days have been rough for Obama. There was last Friday’s disappointing jobs report (which led to a nervousness and recalibration on Wall Street and in the economic community in general), the rallying around Romney (due to Rick Santorum’s exit and the Hilary Rosen flap), and the Romney campaign’s success in manufacturing a distraction (when Romney was having a rough time erasing his gender gap). Even yesterday, one of Obama’s local TV interviews didn’t go so hot, with the RNC clipping this exchange. That said, it shouldn’t be lost that Obama has had a GREAT last three months -- with strong jobs numbers, the divisive GOP primary season, and the GOP’s focus on abortion and contraception. But the last seven days haven’t been as good for Team Obama, and these last 7 days constitute the first REAL week of the general election.
*** Obama campaign to urge Romney to release his tax returns: Speaking of tax returns, the Obamas and Bidens will release theirs today -- with a statement calling on Romney to do the same, the New York Times reports. “While Mr. Obama has long acknowledged being in the nation’s high-income echelon, thanks largely to sales of his best-selling books, he and his wife, Michelle, have paid an effective federal tax rate nearly twice that of Mr. Romney and his wife, Ann, according to tax returns released by both couples. The Obama campaign will post the 2011 tax return for the Obamas, as well as those dating back to 2000, on the campaign’s Web site, an official said. It will also post tax returns for Mr. Biden and his wife, Jill. In January, under intense pressure from his Republican rivals, Mr. Romney released his tax return for 2010, plus an estimate of his tax payment in 2011. But he has not released returns from earlier years, when he was governor of Massachusetts or a financial executive at Bain Capital.” Obama gives a speech in Tampa, FL at 1:20 pm ET and sits down for interview with Telemundo before departing to Colombia.
*** Romney calls Obama “incompetent” after North Korea’s “incompetent” missile launch: Last night, Romney released a statement criticizing Obama for North Korea’s failed missile launch. “President Obama sought to appease the regime with a food-aid deal that proved to be as naïve as it was short-lived. At the same time, he has cut critical U.S. missile defense programs and continues to underfund them. This incompetence from the Obama Administration has emboldened the North Korean regime and undermined the security of the United States and our allies.” Two things jump immediately to mind with this release: 1) Wasn’t the real incompetence was on North Korea’s side due to the failed launch and the nation squandering its chance at food aid? 2) The tone of this statement appears to reinforce a growing perception in serious foreign policy circles that Romney is willing to say anything, no matter how knee-jerk, to try to get an upper hand on these issues. What would Romney do when it comes to North Korea? Isn’t his criticism of Obama on North Korea also a criticism of Bush’s handling of the country as well?
*** On the GOP trail, per NBC’s Adam Perez: As mentioned above, Romney speaks at the NRA conference in St. Louis at 2:20 pm ET, while Gingrich addresses it at 3:00 pm ET.
*** Veepstakes watch: NBC’s Jamie Novogrod reports on Rob Portman stumping last night for Romney in Pennsylvania: Portman began his academic-feeling speech with a lengthy tip of his hat to Santorum in an effort to nurture a spirit of party unity. But later, Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), the evening’s keynote speaker, seemed to resist Portman's entreaty, stopping short of rallying would-be Santorum voters behind Romney. “We’re going to have a presumptive nominee for 2012 really soon,” Blackburn said tepidly, per Novogrod. Blackburn, in fact, did not mention Romney by name during her speech -- and only later, during an on-camera interview with NBC, did she say: “I will support our nominee. We are moving to having that presumptive nominee, and it’s going to be Gov. Romney from what it appears, and I look forward to supporting the nominee.”
*** Lugar gets Super PAC help: Politico: “After massive ad buys against Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar by national conservative groups like the Club for Growth, the establishment cavalry is coming to his rescue, with the American Action Network launching a nearly $600,000 broadcast buy just in Indianapolis… The ad, called ‘Problems,’ is an ad slamming Lugar's primary opponent, state treasurer Richard Mourdock, accusing him of ‘receiving illegal tax breaks,’ and hitting his ‘failed stewardship’ of his government office, according to a release. The ad, which launches tomorrow on broadcast, will run through May 4. The cost of the flight is $590,000. There will also be a digital ad component, and a limited statewide mail buy, in the AAN campaign.”
*** On “Meet” this Sunday: On Sunday’s “Meet the Press,” NBC’s David Gregory will interview Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and have a roundtable featuring Hilary Rosen, Michele Bachmann, NBC’s Savannah Guthrie, Harold Ford Jr., and Mike Murphy.
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Countdown to Election Day: 208 days
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True to form Todd, Murray, Domenico: You may think women's issues are "silly" only because you're so biased in your reports. What Rosen said was how the Democrats really feel about women especially those who chose to stay home and raise their children. I worked outside the home for over 20 years while my two children were in daycare or with baby sitters and with my last child I chose to become a full time homemaker. In my opinion it was harder to be a homemaker than work outside the home. To trivialize the role of women by saying it's "silly season" is patronizing to all women who are truly concerned about the economy (Ann Romney is right) and where the US is headed with our current administration.
Great post. I know several women who continued working after they had their first or second baby and then stayed home after having number 2 or 3. ALL of them have said it was harder being a stay at home mother. It is a terrific sacrifice to give up one's career to stay home and raise your children instead of having a nanny or childcare do so.
I still think you are missing the point. It must be nice that your life has gone well enough that you still have the ability make the choice. In our new, post Bush economy, we have stripped that choice away from so many women who have lost their homes, their jobs and thier savings. Women who have made the choice to stay at home with their children now find themselves in a position that they have to go into the work force with no training or education that qualifies them beyond a waitresses scale. When are we, as a country, going to start thinking about someone other than ourselves and our luxuries to make choices that are unavailable to so many of our fellow Americans? True, it is easier to condemn and judge and hate. How about a little love and consideration.
"It started with the Obama White House and campaign hammering away at the "Buffett Rule," which was more of an effort to embarrass Mitt Romney (and his low effective tax rate) than a realistic policy proposal."
Gee, do the writers consider a modest tax increase on the rich to be an 'unrealistic policy proposal'? Are the writers now showing their bias? That's what that statement means to me.
"Silly Season"? Really, MSNBC. This is silly:
Saying the Buffett rule will give the government much need money when it's only $4.7 billion a year and our debt grows by $4 billion a day.
Saying Ronald Reagan is a "wild eyed, socialist".
Claiming that "Wall Street" represents the majority of corporations in this country when 80% of companies employ less than 100 people and their CEO's aren't rich "fat cats".
Claiming that "if we pass this Stimulus, unemployment won't go above 8%".
Providing free birth control pills because Sandra Fluke says she can't afford them when they cost $17 a month at Target.
Claiming Republicans don't care about women, minorities or anything else except "rich people".
Calling Sarah Palin all kinds of names (most aren't approprate to even type) but then saying we need "civility" especially from right wingers like Rush Limbaugh.
Not passing a budget since getting elected President, having the budget you proposed defeated by 100% of the House and then somehow blaming Republicans that we don't have a budget.
Calling Bush unpatriotic because our debt went up almost $5 trillion during his Presidency, then adding more than $5 trillion to our debt in 3 years.
Nancy Pelosi's speech in January 2007: "After years of historic deficits, this 110th Congress will commit itself to a higher standard: Pay as you go, no new deficit spending,” Pelosi said in her speech from the speaker’s podium. “Our new America will provide unlimited opportunity for future generations, not burden them with mountains of debt."
No, MSNBC, the "silly season" didn't just start with the Republican candidates, it's been going on every since liberals took over both houses of Congress in 2007 and got worse when Obama took over the White House. You just chose not to report anything negative when it comes to Democrats because you are nothing but a bunch of liberals disquised as journalists.
Obama has a hell of a lot of millionaire republicans supporting him with the "Bufffett Rule"
Luke,,,,, Maybe it's you who just haven't been properly informed? I don't like accusing people of lying...
Put some pants on amigo, go after the ones who disrespect you by deliberately misinforming..... MAN UP
Romney, his wife and his aides had this one prepped and ready to go about his wife being a 'victim' to the baddie left-wingers all along. It all looked a little too contrived. They just waited for the least little chance, the least little reason to highlight his wife and her 'story' (here because of a Democratic nobody - I sure never heard of her before). You can tell he has a lot of well-paid staff glued to the internet and the political scene 24/7, eyes probably bulging and bloodshot...... ready to pounce on any little slip-up so they can create ficticious 'straw-men' (or in this case a 'straw women') to make the Democrats and the President look bad. And the media and pundits bought it...hook, line, and sinker.
But, that's what the media have been doing all-along.
Hold on a second here right-wingers!
You were the ones (led by Karl Rove) who called Rosen a representative of the Obama White House and the Obama campaign.
You know she's not, and your faux "outrage" at a "representative of the President" calling out Ann Romney is as patently hollow as it is clearly untrue.
Rove, Cheney and Scooter Libby are about as honest and forthcoming as a nest of rattlesnakes. To take anything that comes from any of them as gospel, as you wing-nuts tend to do is ridiculous.
The Romneys are elitist rich folks who have nothing in common with the people in this country who actually work for a living - and who don't hide their assets in Switzerland and the Bahamas to avoid paying taxes.
She receives her talking points on a weekly basis. Don't give me that BS she isn't part of the Obama campaign network.
Tom-Check your facts. Rosen has visited the White House 35 times since Obama got into office and the DNC pays her $120,000 a year as an "adviser". She is very much part of this administration even though Jay Carney says "he doesn't know who she is". Give me a break, this isn't a third world country, Americans are smarter than you Democrats think.
As for your Bahamas comment, it was the Cayman Islands and Romney paid taxes on all of his earnings. Your own 401k probably has an "international fund" so does that mean you are somehow hiding money overseas. This is getting ridiculous.
All are products of the Donald Segretti era ~ surely you remember Donald, the head of Richard Nixon's (R-CA) dirty tricks department. They were influenced by Segretti's deceit and Rove was a Segretti understudy. Apparently Donald trained them well for his legacy lives on through them.
"Visiting" is not "Working" in any dictionary in America except in the insane dishonorable & un-American republican dictionary
Haven't you figured it out yet? Republicans even do that to our US Constitution, they don't like what it says so they invent things they like & ignore all the rest because it's not what they like
Rosen visited the White House 35 times not to have tea with Michelle. She obviously was a paid consultant in some aspect, probably with the re-election campaign. Tweets from Messina and Axelrod are telling. Completely threw ol Hilary under the bus. At yesterday's press conference mushmouth Carney couldn't even respond to reporter's question that the 35 visits by Rosen may have conferred special status to her. He just ducked the question and rambled on about "all the Obama administration has done for women".
Amazing how things are "over-hyped" when they don't go your way.
Liberals only believe in the great Progressive race and don't believe diversity or free speech applies to the lesser race of people who don't share their views. If Progressives had there way they would gladly round up those who don't support the One-view Progressive race and would ship them off to Progressive Party camps for a final solution. What else would you expect from a group of people who don't feel those unlike them are inferior.
Dan G.. Don't look now but you are trolling out of control with dishonorable nonsense
You Have No Honor! --- NONE
Don't like facts. Progressives sure can dish it out but they can't take it.
@ Dan ~ I fail to see any facts you have offered. Your's is merely a regurgitation of approved rightwing propaganda. I must confess to flying under false colors. You see, I voted in the Republican primary two years ago ~ simply to vote against issues the GOP was trying to get on the general election ballot. Now the GOP thinks I'm one of their own and I get all the party propaganda sent daily to one of my e-mail addresses. Its rather informative ~ until one compares it to actual known facts. Then it becomes just what it is ~ ~ ~ ~ garbage for the gullible.
So I hear ann romney's working at home installing elevators for the family's cars and trucks...
At least it's employing someone unlike the poor economic policies of this President. But then again if your sole purpose is to divide a nation and blame others to divert your President's poor track record I guess I would be trying to blame it on someone else to with an excuse that has nothing to do with the problems of this country.
To Dan"""
Huh...?
I came from poor. Now I am not poor. The reason. I worked my ass off. No one gave me anything. I was taught that hard work paid off. It does. So do not tell me that rich people get all the breaks and the poor are somehow "kept down". I wasn't. Stop feeling sorry for the poor and teach them to reach out and reach up. As for this topic, I am a woman of the 60's. We did not work hard for equality so one woman can put down another woman without impunity. We all get to decide what we want to do with our lives. Bleeding hearts can keep their hands off of my well earned money. And I notice that most of these comments are by men. Stay away from things you can never understand.
Typo Correction:
Liberals only believe in the great Progressive race and don't believe diversity or free speech applies to the lesser race of people who don't share their views. If Progressives had there way they would gladly round up those who don't support the One-view Progressive race and would ship them off to Progressive Party camps for a final solution. What else would you expect from a group of people who feel those unlike them are inferior.
Ann Romney standing at the podium and bragging about being a stay-at-home mother and how much work it is and how this relates to all of the other "stay-at-home mothers in the country should be investigated further. How big is her house-hold budjet? How many nannies were employed? How many cleaning ladies were employed? How many child-hood helpers were employed? Then we should compare these support services with every other stay-at-home mother's in the country. She opened up this door so should be able to defend her position. What is the real comparison? I smell hypocrosy.
Take some more of your meds because nothing you said has anything to do with getting this country back on track. Can't wait until you Liberals have a mental breakdown in November.
Dan,,,, I can't wait until republicans drink their Jim Jones Kool Aid
I can finally go back to picking on Elmer Fudd & that dumb slobbering nasty duck
The only thing you should be smelling is you own butt because you have your head so far up it. So are you saying just because she might have had some help that she is a lesser mom ? What is the real reason you are asking this questions? Oh I know because you along with the rest of us have truly seen how the left really see women just a pond in there bid to a higher bid for another 4 years to totally wreck this Great Country. Here is my left foot so you can stick it in your mouth. Didn't take long to see some lefty blow this hole GOP attack on women , crap lefty's are selling magnets that have stop the attack on women from GOP give me a break we aren't that stupid to really believe that crap, next lefty's lets here your next lies.
Dan
Get lost.
I don't know how much help Ann Romney had when staying at home with her 5 children but certainly we can all agree that being a full time stay at home mother is the 24/7 job of a caregiver. Most reasonable people would agree that full time caregivers such as mothers or those taking care of aging, invalid parents need respite care. Just because a mother is stay at home does not mean she is not entitled to some help.
"Visiting" is not "Working" in any dictionary in America except in the insane dishonorable & un-American republican dictionary
Haven't you figured it out yet? Republicans even do that to our US Constitution, they don't like what it says so they invent things they like & ignore all the rest because it's not what they like
I don't imagine anybody with the Romneys money actually worked very hard to take care of the 5 children. I bet there were 5 separate nannies to do it for her...I can't say for sure but that would be a fair assumption
Go Momney!
"Go Momney" That was good & totally appropriate
Ann should push the button on her car elevator & put Mitt in on top of one of her Cadillacs in a cage
Ms. Hilary Rosen made a stupid remark! I admire all moms - they work hard.
Now having said that, I cannot blelieve that Mrs. Romoney didn't have hired help when raising her 5 kids - cooks, maids, drivers, nannies or whatever - unlike MOST of American moms. The wealthy usually hire people to do the dirty work.
My own daughter works 20 hrs/week, is the mom of 3 grade school age children, coaches school sports teams and is in college to become an RN. Now that's a woman I admire!
Mrs. Romoney doesn't even feel "she's wealthy" which proves she too, is out of touch.
Stupid comment? Yes, but that's just what Radio Jocks do
Look at Rush Limbaugh,,, Still on Armed Forces Radio poisoning our young troops with real crazy $hit
You can't argue that the context was wrong but the association between real single moms in the real world that do not have the Romney's economic advantages really have to work hard --- They don't have nanny's & off shore incomes from tax havens
Comparing Ann Romney with all due respect to Ann, is comparing apples to oranges
So we have a scale to go be to see hows a good stay at home mom know ?? Wait what if your daughter hired someone to cut her lawn does that make her a bad mom ??
excuse me, with all due respect to Ann Romney,,,, Comparing Ann Romney to other working or stay at home moms in America is simply wrong & like comparing apples to oranges ---- There is no comparison
No excuse me, there shouldn't be any comparing any women with any other women we all have are trails right come on the real story here is the demarcates tried to make this a big problem for the Republicans and try to make them out to be against women. Lets get back to the real issues like jobs , dept , big government , spending our selves into you know what.
Besides the insult to all women who make the choice to stay home and raise their children did no one catch the other lie that Ms Rosen spewed in her CNN interview?
She said that Mitt Romney wants to cut off funding for Food Stamps for the poor women who are trying to raise their children.. What she didn't tell you is that in order to show cost savings in ObamaCare there will be significant cuts to SNAP (formerly Food Stamps) and these funds are to be diverted to Medicaid.
This administration should do a little research before they send their flunkies out into the world. Then again, they're banking on the idea that the voters are to stupid to notice.
Ann Romney has had mutiple servants and nannies EVER since she has been Mrs. Romney. She even has a car elevator to bring her Cadillac UP to her.
My Mom worked and raised three boys. Ann Romney has birthed five boys and has had others to raise them. Give us all a break and stop trying to make us pity a billionaire with bank accounts hidden all over the world. This is BS!
Oh that's good Grumpy... I get it, Anne Romney is a lazy $h!t for brains that laid on the couch while her children were raised by servants and nannies.. Those poor children.. I'll betcha that ole Mitt is paying them millions to tweet and express their feelings about their mother as well, right? I yiyi..
Besides that, what say ya about the SNAP fallacy?
It is appropriate to cut funds to food stamps, since the improving economy means less Americans are receiving them. Wasn't it the Republicans who called President Obama the "food stamp President"? And now they are doing a 180 and moaning because less are on it?
And of course, it was President Bush who changed the SNAP law to allow for people to qualify (correctly, IMO).
You can't have it both ways Clotho.. You can not chastise someone and announce to the public that Romney is literally taking food off the table of poor women and their children and then turn around and do it yourself.
BTW; wake me up when the economy improves will ya? I'm already working over 8 hours a week (1 day) just to pay for the gas to get to work and back..
And of course, it was President Clinton who signed the "welfare reform laws"..
not really sure about the whole article --it looks like it was manufactured by the media again. You folks -all you do is report BS and trying anzlyze everything for us --the news media could lay off 50 of you folks so that just reporting would happen instead of you trying to make news all the time --and the American public is going to find you out.
Chuck Todd... you are as guilty as the rest. A major portion of your last two shows -I finally turned you off - was spent on Anne Romney being a working mother.
Who gives a s#!t?
Was it enough time for you to understand that there is absolutely NO comparison to her wealth to the wealth of other stay at home moms in America
It is much easier for a stay at home mom if all she has to do is ring a bell for a nanny or push an elevator button to fetch one of your Cadillacs from the garage
Kinda like crapping in an old wooden outhouse or on a golden toilet don't ya know?
"Two things jump immediately to mind with this release: 1) Wasn’t the real incompetence was on North Korea’s side due to the failed launch and the nation squandering its chance at food aid? 2) The tone of this statement appears to reinforce a growing perception in serious foreign policy circles that Romney is willing to say anything, no matter how knee-jerk, to try to get an upper hand on these issues. What would Romney do when it comes to North Korea? Isn’t his criticism of Obama on North Korea also a criticism of Bush’s handling of the country as well?"
Wow. Is that statement seething with personal bias, or what? This MSNBC "First Read" site is reading more and more like "Association of NBC Employees for Obama Re-election." Even the heading on this piece is protective of Obama, and veiled castigation of his opponent, claiming that Romney called Obama "incompetent." That's not what he did. He said the the administration's handling of the matter involved incompetence. You know the difference-- but misbranding it as though some direct personal name-calling just happened makes for a jazzier soundbite, doesn't it?
Great post Mike, did you notice the other comments about Obama's dismal past 7 days but he had a GREAT prior three months? MSNBC are just shills for the Obama reelection campaign.
This isnt about Romney, who is merely trying to distract the voters from the GOP record of the last 4 years. Obama's record speaks for itself.
http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/TheGoodFight/archives/2009/11/17/the-accomplishiments-of-president-obama-its-more-than-you-would-think
I have very little doubt that he will be reelected easily.
This is about the Congress and whether or not Americans will vote for at least 2 more years of Republican obstruction! First they crash the economy, then actively work against the recovery. They create this debt crisis, then walk away from $4T in cuts ( to start) for the sake of protecting the bush tax cuts for the wealthy and corporate welfare. Hell, they even blackmailed the President in to extending the bush tax cuts for 2 years by threatening to cut off unemployment benefits when the unemployment figure stood in the high 9s. Screw the suffering, protect the wealthy and corporate elite.
We cant afford any more government paralysis. The issues are FAR too serious and the affect the very survival of this country as we know it. When a political party deliberately created a debt crisis so they can privatize SS and Medicare, funneling all that money into the hands of the very people who crashed the economy, you KNOW it's time for a change, a very BIG change. When Obama is re-elected, he's going to need a GOP-proof Congress if we are to make ANY progress with the MANY disasters that the GOP left to us. Basically, they've given Joe America the finger and now it's time for them to go!!
It shows how relentless republicans are to say the craziest crap to dishonor their own party in front of the globe on the Internet, it dishonors our nation
There is absolutely NO comparison to her wealth to the wealth of other stay at home moms in America & nobody in their right mind can say it doesn't make things a thousand times easier for Ann
It is much easier for a stay at home mom if all she has to do is ring a bell for a nanny or push an elevator button to fetch one of your Cadillacs from the garage
Kinda like crapping in an old wooden outhouse or on a golden toilet don't ya know?
People from the Gobi Desert to the Outback of Australia are laughing at republicans
Obama can't run on his record,if he could they would already be talking it up. Don't bring up obstruction either, the Dems controlled both houses for 4 years, 2 of those with Obama at the helm. His first 2 years was forcing Obamacare down our throats. And if you don't think that we have a serious debt problem then u must be in lala land. Even though u think that Obama walks on water, he doesn't. And as far as crashing the economy it was the result of the housing bust. U know , where Clinton thought that everyone should own a home , so loan them the money. Maybe u would be happier in Greece.
So you want the Republicans to vote for bad, job killing policy just to go along with a president that hates business? Business owner here, and yes I feel hated by the president.
Thank heavens for the obstructionist.
ROMNEY 2012
Joe, The DEM controlled the house from 2007-2009. They controlled the Senate by one vote during that time, which allowed for the GOP to filibuster. This they did with obstructionist glee and set a record for filibusters,
From 2009-2011, The Democrats controlled the House. They also controlled the Senate by a filibuster proof majority until Aug 2009--when Ted Kennedy died. That is 6 months. Thereafter, and since, the GOP against gleefully used the filibuster to oppose almost EVERYTHING, setting still new record for the use of the filibuster! They even bragged that it would be their plan to oppose anything Obama and the Dems may want, even BEFORE the Inauguration, to make sure Obama was a 1 term president. This occur despite the obvious mandate from the voters. One wonders if the GOP violated the Constitution when they repeatedly frustrated the will of the people by short circuiting the election.
So, in the last 4 years, there was a period of only 6 months where the Democrats were in complete control, given the GOP filibusters. I hope you feel better now that you've been given the facts. Now you have no excuse to embarrass yourself by posting such drivel as you post previously.
Next time, be careful what you read or watch. Some unscupulous media outlet may be feeding you a pack of lies! ;-)
Remember women who are stay at home moms, your outrage over being told your efforts at home don't constitute "work" are not real.
You outrage is "manufactured". MSNBC said the entire controversy over such a statement was "manufactured".
I'm sure you feel better now that you know your outrage isn't real.
Except nobody said that. Rosen was inartfully making the point that Ann Romney never had to go out and earn money or worry about putting food on the table, which is a correct assessment.
Watch the entire exchange in context. Even common sense tells us that a woman who is raising children wouldn't make a disparaging comment about women raising children. If President Obama had said something then maybe we'd have something to talk about.
I think the point is that this is a manufactured controversy, because it keeps Romney from having to say whether or not he supports the Lilly Ledbetter Act. Women are more interested in the candidates' positions than in a sentence uttered by one TV pundit.
And what's with conservative groups attacking Rosen for adopting children?
maxwell is a perfect example of how this was, in fact, a manufactured controversy...he nicely repeats the fox version of the "story", leaves out the context, etc. lol.
The context is that stay at home moms don't "work" according to Rosen.
The income of a husband is completely independent of the amount of WORK a stay at home mom must do to raise 5 kids.
This is just Dem SPIN that since her husband (who was busy in gradschool when their first kid was born) inherited money, that somehow those kids were magically able to raise themselves while Ann Romney "didn't work a day in her life".
@CLOTHO
Rosen isn't at home raising children. She is divorced from her wife, and if she ended up with custody of the kids, then she is paying a daycare to watch her kids...since she doesn't have someone staying at home to pay them.
Funny that when a daycare workers cares for someone else's kids it is "work", but if they care for their own kids, it is no longer work.
I thought the 2010 election was about jobs. We finally got one called "Jobs Act" that was really an investors bill, what a sham..
In 2010 we had more bills passed to prevent abortion. We have the Blunt amendment where not only religious groups can oppose health services on moral ground but also your employer.That didn't stop the states they followed suit. We learned that contraception was a war on religion when it was convenient but when it became war on women a manufactured outrage ensued.
It was freedom and smaller government but I guess that was for the federal level and not at the state level. Arizona proposed bill that conception begins two weeks before conception (go figure).
During the Health Care debate it was that the government was standing between you and your doctor. So now states are passing laws telling you have to have a ultrasound before you have an abortion. Texas has chosen to exclude planned parent hood from health care services.
And it goes on........
What's next from these radical crazy republicans? -- Photo ID for sperm?
People in the USA are laughing so hard at Romney & republicans they are falling off the Appalachian Trail rolling with laughter
what world are you in Jim?...
No, Obama has been talking about the "Buffet Tax" because he has created no jobs, the unempoyment or underemployment or part time employment combined in ~14% and his nanny welfare state has done nothing to lower unempoyment. Since he can't talk about any jobs progress in his administration he plays the class warfare theme constantly.
And NO, this is not the first week of the campaign, Obama has been on the campaign trail for a year. How quickly they forget all the flying around the country at campaign fund raisers. Two months ago Obama did three fund raisers in a day in New York City. I guess NBC just has a short memory, or maybe a one sided memory.
This is a typical left wing article written by the idiots at NBC. How quickly they forget all the news anchors 3 1/2 years ago went over to Europe to kiss Obama's ass during the election campaign. These are major networks that claim they report "objective news".
Rosen's coments were obvious and insulting to women who stay home to raise their children. These NBC Democrat apologists reinterpretation of.." because no serious political actor in this presidential contest is criticizing stay-at-home moms or the value of the work they do. In fact, Rosen was referring to the Romneys’ wealth, not Ann Romney’s decision to raise her five sons at home. NONSENSE- grow up and report the news for a change.
Stop believing Americans can't interpret the news themselves.
3.5 million jobs created in the private sector in under three years is not exactly "no jobs".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jobs_created_during_U.S._presidential_terms
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/12/26/395243/romney-falsely-claims-obama-has-not-created-any-new-jobs/?mobile=nc
its clear that many (most?) americans make NO ATTEMPT to properly "interpret" the news..we've become a nation of sound bites, which is why attack ads work..they appeal to emotions with cleverly selected "facts", often out of context.
But jerry is obviously a mindless partisan hack, based on his obviously biased post, so what else would you expect?
Amen Jerry!