They talked about the run-off election in TX this summer. The race will have another TP candidate running and they feel that he will have a lot of support there.

Personally I feel it's time for the Tea Party to stand on their own. The GOP either has to embrace all it's candidates, or there should be two partys. It's pathetic that the GOP has such a bad name that they have to run people on a platform called the Tea Party in order to get them elected.

Feisty: You are spot-on. The economy is improving. Preliminary data shows that in May another 150,000 Americans will find a job. That will be 27 consecutive months of unemployment decline. It's looking like by election day we will be at or very close to that magical 8%.

No matter how Romney wants to spin it. The economy is getting better.

Picking up on Jobs1 comments. Where are Romney's tax returns?

Willard still hasn't said what he would do other than 'lower taxes' and 'deregulate'.

The Vulture Capitalist in him keeps his plans (other than his support for the marvelous Ryan way) secret.

The economy is getting better.

It sure is Ron!

Why anyone would want to go back to the very same policies which caused the mess to begin with, is beyond comprehension!

Willard has already stocked his campaign staff full of Bush re-runs!

same shi(r)t....different day

GO Obaaahhhhhma 2012

Feisty - but don't ya know, Mitt has a secret plan he intends to unveil on Day ooh let's say 10 no, maybe 30, no well, he'll think about it and tell us then.

Obama/Biden 2012

What exactly is Mr. Obama's plan ??? I've heard the same four boring speeches now for a couple of years...where's that "comprehensive immigration reform" plan that he was to unravel in his first year ? Or did he hold off on that so he can now start wooing hispanic voters who didn't hear him four years ago ?

When will his budgeting skills come out of the closet ? Tow years running and he hasn't attracted even a single Democrat Senator's vote ?

Will he start up on the "green jobs" again ? Many of his supporters do have short attention spans and they might hear about 'being green' and think it's worth their votes ?

And of course...due to those short attention spans...we'll be treated to his redundant diatribe about 'the Republicans drove the car into the ditch, blah, blah, blah' and more gab, once again, about what he "inherited" as opposed to what he has accomplished.

And no...we will be again instructed that the election is absolutely NOT about the economy...it's about Bain Capital.

Too bad that colleges are closing up for the summer...the President needs to keep working on the kiddie vote ! The panting teeniebopper crowds were a lot smaller than in 2008.

Every time, Republican policies hurt the economy, a Democrat would save the day.

Hoover's Depression ended during FDR and Truman

Eisenhower's 1957 recession ended during JFK and LBJ.

Bush Sr's recession ended during Clinton

Son of Bush Sr.'s (SOB's) recession is ending soon.

If you want prosperity, vote Democrat

You know what Mittens has taught me?

That he knows how to pronounce the word "Economy".

He has NOT, however, enlightened me as to his specifics. The proposal he's put forth will increase the deficit, give MORE tax credits to his cronies and NOT create any jobs. So will someone PLEASE for the love of all things honest, explain to me what this man has to do with reality?

Hugging Donald Trump on stage gets him thisclose to a reality show; but not so much on the reality of America or the needs of everyday Americans.

What a phony baloney!

I am getting really confused. First Romney says, "The economy is 'bad' because of Obama." Then, since the economy is improving, Romney says, "The economy is improving IN SPITE of Obama."

He has to blame somebody, on the one hand, but he can't give anyone credit, on the other. So he decides he's entitled to have it both ways: he avoids blaming BUSH (the one who really deserves the "blame") and avoids giving Obama credit for cleaning up Bush's mess, both at the same time, by using the phrase IN SPITE OF. Okay, I get it so far. But...

If it's true that the economy is now improving IN SPITE OF the President, whyever in the world would we then need to REPLACE him? With Romney or anyone ELSE?

I am getting so confused. Well-lubricated weathervanes do that to me... :::sigh:::

Sorry....I've read that last sentence 10,000 times on this site...you need to listen to the President with a grain of salt.

LET"S VOTE FOR A BETTER LEADER IN 2012!

-----------------------------------------------------

First, you'd have to nominate a better candidate. I mean seriously, Mitt Romney? He's the John Kerry of 2012. You had your chance and you blew it.

UAW............ There are many factors that the president has to deal with. You pointed out that many Americans are worried about such things as the rights of gays, women's rights, affordable health care and the right of workers to be part of a union. All of those things have been effectively addressed by our president and could gain a much more positive stance if it weren't for the obstructionist GOP doing everything in their power to thwart his efforts.

Mitt is making the economy the primary focus for this election. Fine. Let's go with that. Employment is growing. The housing market is going up. The stock market is more stable now than 4 years ago. The three major American auto makers are seeing more sales than at any time in the recent past.

The only way we can elect a better leader in 2012 is if we rid Congress of the GOP obstructionists that continue their tirade against the better living standards that every American should be enjoying.

Wow Nomore, And we got all of that for the bargain price of increasing the deficit by a mere $5 Trillion dollars???? (I'm being sarcastic obviously). Thankfully the political tides turned quickly in 2010 and a little more common sense returned to Washington. With a better leader we can start addressing Washington's previous policy of borrowing money to bribe "perceived victims" for votes.

Money spent is always about taking money out of one pocket and putting purchased votes into the other pocket.

Just looked at the calendar...we're within a month of the Supreme Court's decision on the one thing that the President never, ever chooses to talk about...health care reform. A bit of a monkey wrench heading into Mr. Obama's campaign gears.

vewry, and teacher's should be very and teachers'. No time to proof read!

Amy B. Portland, ME

I think this election should be about: what the heck has happened to our fathers' Republican Party?

i was reading something today that really struck me.

"Instead of the "compassionate conservatism" that George Bush promised in his 2000 campaign, what has characterized the ideological core of today's GOP is absolutism, not conservatism. There is the absolutism of the free market, and ideology of no taxes, no regulation, no safety net - indeed, no government beyond what's required to protect private property and provide for the national defense."

It is striking because of how accurate it is. The 'Reagan' conservatives were able to put aside hardline principles and make compromises for the betterment of the country (e.g., raising taxes to help control the deficit). The modern Republican party seems unable to compromise on these issues, and therefore has moved from conservative to absolutist, a my way or the highway mentality.

i hope for common sense and civility to return to this party, or for the absolutist Tea Party/christian right to split from the GOP, so the GOP that i grew up with can return to their more moderate roots (civil and able to compromise while maintaining their principles), and move toward a 3 party system of liberal democrats, moderate republicans in the compassionate conservative mold, and the absolutist Tea Party/christian right. I think that this would actually represent the electorate more, and would provide for a more effective government for the people of this nation instead of the quagmire of vitriol that currently dominates the governance of our nation.

Then again, i'm just an idealist who is constantly disappointed in the abject failure of humanity to live up to its potential...

Tzalaran

You put it much more eloquently than I. I'm an idealist too, and I find something to be enraged about nearly every day. Sometimes I feel like just giving up...but then the forces of evil win. We can't give up.

Amy -

Thanks. i'm not used to being called eloquent. *embarrassed smile*

i won't give up, i'm just much more selective on where i expend effort. ;)

Tzalaran,

Good to see you, ole' friend! It's been awhile!

Many teachers "opt out" of the teachers union, my sister being one of them. She gets snubbed by the "union" teachers, however she won teacher of the year in Houston Tx, so go figure!

My kids are why this independant is voting republican for president... and out with most incumbants in congress!

Please look at the CEO figures for what is coming real soon.

Thank you for reminding me of the CEO figures;

The average CEO made $9.6 million in 2011, even as workers’ wages remained stagnant and unemployment hovered nationally around 8 percent. Chief Executive Officers are being paid at the highest-ever rate since the AP started tracking the figure in 2006, according to a new report from the news organization

But while CEOs may be reaping the rewards of higher profits and a growing stock market, very little of that achievement spreads as far as the average worker — or even the company’s stockholders:

Profit at companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index rose 16 percent last year, remarkable in an economy that grew more slowly than expected.

CEOs managed to sell more, and squeeze more profit from each sale, despite problems ranging from a downgrade of the U.S. credit rating to an economic slowdown in China and Europe’s neverending debt crisis.

Still, there wasn’t much immediate benefit for the shareholders. The S&P 500 ended the year unchanged from where it started. Including dividends, the index returned a slender 2 percent.

As the AP noted, “the typical American worker would have to labor for 244 years to make what the typical boss of a big public company makes in one.”

Growing CEO pay is contributing to the larger trend of increasing income inequality — CEO pay increased 127 times faster than the average worker pay over the last 30 years, and the average Fortune 500 CEO made 380 times what the average worker did last year. Fortune 500 companies made a record $824 billion in 2011.

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/05/25/490365/ceo-pay-record/

Who doesn't ♥ the I got MINE - SCREW YOU crowd!

So Beisty: I see you took the bait. Here is the point: If what you picked up is true, then why are big corporations like GE and GM giving so much money for Obama. In fact if Obama's Health Care grabs on, large Corporations will most likely optout causing the government to take those under their wing whcih will incurr more debt. Why after 3 years did'nt the President work on tax reform instead of the Health Care 3000 page bull?

Now take a look at the CBO report. In case you did not know this is not FOX or MSN's report, but the Congressional Budget Office of the Government. I'm sure you of all can link and get the full report and post it.

The CBO projects that if Congress does not act to prevent coming tax increases and spending cuts, a recession is certain. The CBO estimates gross domestic product would decline by as much as 1.3 percent if lawmakers don’t act.

Concern...

The President only counts the CBO's opinion when he chooses.

I consider myself an independent voter, but going back to the Reagan days and with the only exception having been Perot, I’ve always voted Republican. We need whoever wins the next election to Start Protecting American Jobs and do whatever it takes to bring back the jobs they let go. They should've given us somebody who would stand up for the American people.

Both parties have sold out the bulk of the American citizens, who they're supposed to represent, by allowing the "out-sourcing" floodgates to open wider and wider without taking any sensible measures to stem the tide. Our leaders are elected by the Citizens of the United States of America to represent the interests of those citizens and the country itself. They are NOT elected by the Global Market Place or foreign citizens!

All this single-minded, left versus right, ideological one dimensional bull has got to go! This is the problem with our country. It shouldn't be about Democrats or Republicans! It should be about Americans, especially our elected officials, doing the right thing for our country and it's citizens.

We need to bring manufacturing back to the United States of America and both parties are ignoring tariffs as a way to level the playing field, raise money and bring jobs back home. Let's guess why. Oh that's right, tariff is a dirty word. Hum, maybe it’s that our so called leaders (political leaders) are beholden to the same people who are exporting our jobs.

I guess we should keep letting Corp Boards, Wall Street, CEOs and Foreign Lobbyists promote sending US jobs to countries where they work for slave wages, no benefits, no OSHA safety standards or no real environment regulations. How's that been working for us?

The so called “Global Market Place” is not a level playing field. Companies may have made higher profits by "out sourcing", but they've been putting middle class Americans who are a good part of the world’s customer base out of work. I’m not a lefty or member of any union. I run a business that employs over 20 people and produces products that are purchased by customers that do manufacturing and packaging. I’m just an average Joe, but I've been saying this for more than 10 years now. If I can see it, so can our so called leaders (political leaders) who are beholden to the same people who are exporting our jobs.

We need to add tariffs that are proportionate to the inequities in wages and regulations in the country where the goods were produced and or where we’re importing them from. We could then use the money raised by these tariffs to help companies build state of the art manufacturing plants here in the USA, which would create more jobs here at home for US citizens, which would then in turn increase our income tax revenue.

Bringing manufacturing back to the US not only gives jobs to the US citizens who would be working in those manufacturing facilities, but to the people that would be working in the businesses that would spring up all around them. This should also include the safe harvesting, production and distribution of our own natural energy here in the USA, rather than paying for fuel from countries where they hate us. Let’s keep that money and those jobs here in the US.

These so-called “free trade agreements” have to go. It was obvious when they were passing these agreements as to what was going to happen and sure enough it did. Our leaders had to have known this as well when they were passing these bills. It’s just common sense.

The “Global Market Place” is not a level playing field! The whole idea of the tariffs is so we can pay our factory workers a decent wage and not be blown out by these other countries where they don’t play by the same rules.

We may have to pay a bit more for products made here in the USA by US citizens, but at least we'll still have jobs and a future for our children.

The bottom line is that “Our Government” has to protect American industry and the jobs that those industries provide. If they do that, the rest will take care of itself.

Check this site out: economyincrisis.org

Too bad we'll never see these type of articles in the mainstream media

Romney’s (Ryan) proposed budget adds yet another $6 to $10 trillion to our National debt.

The Ryan plan continues running deficits until 2040 when it is finally balanced – 27 more years of borrowed money.

Dennis, Columbus, Ohio

Romney’s (Ryan) proposed budget adds yet another $6 to $10 trillion to our National debt.

The Ryan plan continues running deficits until 2040 when it is finally balanced – 27 more years of borrowed money.

You do realize you're wasting your time pointing these things out to people who post such drivel? Those who want to learn, will. Those who don't care, can't be made to.

If we borrow another 5 trillion maybe gas prices will drop another 2 cents lol

Please get your facts in order. I posted a fact for you #9 - Wed May 30, 2012 12:30 PM EDT

This whole country is gonna learn- the hard way.

And fellas, don't assume I like either candidate. This 2 party bickering is part of the problem!

The fact is job1 that the 2 party system is failing. Its win-win for me at my age and with my 1%er bf, but I happen to still care about this country ergo I hop on this site lol. Thow all the facts out there you want, nothing will change until we break the deadlock of the 2 party system.

Hi German Gem,

Your point is noted, and it's a good one!

Thanks

thank you job1. its refreshing to have a conversation on here that doesn't involve name calling. hope you have a wonderful day:)

You too! :-)

In the 2009 fiscal year — the last of George W. Bush's presidency — federal spending rose by 17.9% from $2.98 trillion to $3.52 trillion.

You might want to check your facts again. The legislation that drove up the spending in Fiscal Year 2009; Stimulus, cash for clunkers, most of the federal budget (which Democrats held up until after the election) occured in 2009 by the Democratic controlled House/Senate and signed by President Obama.

Nope, I don't need to. I have the facts.

i disagree. They are getting exactly what their leaders want. A body with a heartbeat that can sign tax cuts as well as entitlement cuts. He's even promised to increase military spending while doing it.

What more could an absolutist right wing voter want? (oh yeah, a body to look at that is easier on the eyes, but he hasn't announced a VP yet...)

What's funny is the ads for Cruz (the TP candidate in TX), who put down Dewhurst because he's a "moderate". Wow, when did being a moderate become such an evil word?

When the word "Compromise" became a dirty four lettered one,...sadly.

Gallup (05/29/12) - Americans' Economic Confidence Stable at Four-Year High.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/154913/Americans-Economic-Confidence-Stable-Four-Year-High.aspx

whocares5 - then aren't we lucky we don't have a Muslim trader running the country?! We have a very good President - President Obama.

Now run along! Silly person!