The 2012 Presidential Election Part I - The guns of August

[LynahFan]

Re: The 2012 Presidential Election Part I - The guns of August

It's several things.

1. Kickbacks from contractors. The campaign bribes are pretty big. But this reason holds for both parties.

2. Demographics. The military is a welfare plantation for some of the GOP's biggest demo groups.

3. Image. Particularly in the south, G. I. Jesus reins.

4. Ideology. The Neocon worldview has us ever marching for political and economic lebensraum.

Put it all together and the GOP is completely wedded to military spending.

Don't forget #5 - jobs/pork. One breakdown I saw (can't find it now) for the F-22 showed that components were being made in ~45 states and nearly 300 congressional districts. That's not by accident.

 

[FreshFish]

Re: The 2012 Presidential Election Part I - The guns of August

Romney vs Reid, round 3:

“But I did go back and look at my taxes, and over the past 10 years I never paid less than 13%,” Mr. Romney said. He said if charitable giving were wrapped into that, the rate would’ve been more than 20%." [emphasis added]

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2012/08/16/romney-tax-rate-was-never-less-than-13/


He donates nearly as much to charity as he pays in income tax. What a scoundrel.

 

[FreshFish]

Re: The 2012 Presidential Election Part I - The guns of August

Don't forget #5 - jobs/pork. One breakdown I saw (can't find it now) for the F-22 showed that components were being made in ~45 states and nearly 300 congressional districts. That's not by accident.

or # 6 as well: funding for covert operations. You don't think they really pay $50 per hammer, do you?

 

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: The 2012 Presidential Election Part I - The guns of August

Don't forget #5 - jobs/pork. One breakdown I saw (can't find it now) for the F-22 showed that components were being made in ~45 states and nearly 300 congressional districts. That's not by accident.

You're absolutely correct. You should have seen what was happening just south of here when Obama said he didn't want a new VH-71 helicopter.

 

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: The 2012 Presidential Election Part I - The guns of August

or # 6 as well: funding for covert operations. You don't think they really pay $50 per hammer, do you?

If it needs to remain in a certain part of a toolbox during airplane turbulence, they do.

 

[FreshFish]

Re: The 2012 Presidential Election Part I - The guns of August

Hey, Mookie, this post's for you!

CHARLOTTE, N.C. –Mitt Romney once mentioned he was friends with Nascar team owners — and on Wednesday he proved it.

At a lunchtime fundraiser here Wednesday, Mr. Romney raked in $1.5 million at Duke Mansion, alongside a handful of Nascar owners and officials.

Among the notable team owners were Richard Childress, a former Nascar driver who owns the team Richard Childress Racing and Rick Hendrick, who owns the Nascar team Hendrick Motorsports. Nascar Chief Executive Brian France introduced Mr. Romney. Nascar President Mike Helton and Bruton Smith, the owner of Speedway Motorsport Inc., were also in attendance.

http://stream.wsj.com/story/campaign-2012-continuous-coverage/SS-2-9156/SS-2-46397/

 

[geezer]

Re: The 2012 Presidential Election Part I - The guns of August

or # 6 as well: funding for covert operations. You don't think they really pay $50 per hammer, do you?

that would be cheap for a good hammer nowadays. Maybe get a decent Estwing for 50 bucks.

 

[FreshFish]

Re: The 2012 Presidential Election Part I - The guns of August

Romney - Ryan : Annoy Merry.

Obama - Biden: Bad Bane, Moi.

 

[Rover]

Re: The 2012 Presidential Election Part I - The guns of August

Romney vs Reid, round 3:



http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2012/08/16/romney-tax-rate-was-never-less-than-13/

He donates nearly as much to charity as he pays in income tax. What a scoundrel.

Sooo....if that's the case, why doesn't he just either 1) release the taxes then, or 2) release the receipts for when he paid the IRS whatever he owed them each year? Wouldn't that solve the question of his truthfulness on this issue while keeping all of his off shore tax havens secret?

PS - Its nice to see you trusting politicians so much Fishy! All you need is Romney's word and that's good enough for you.

 

[FreshFish]

Re: The 2012 Presidential Election Part I - The guns of August

Sooo....if that's the case, why doesn't he just either 1) release the taxes then, or 2) release the receipts for when he paid the IRS whatever he owed them each year?

I've suggested that he release only form 1040 and schedule A, similar idea.

Perhaps he sold a big stock holding in one of the prior years and has an outsized capital gain as a result, who knows.


weird that you'd find Harry Reid a paragon of anything praiseworthy, eh?

 

[BCeagle]

Re: The 2012 Presidential Election Part I - The guns of August

Sooo....if that's the case, why doesn't he just either 1) release the taxes then, or 2) release the receipts for when he paid the IRS whatever he owed them each year? Wouldn't that solve the question of his truthfulness on this issue while keeping all of his off shore tax havens secret?

PS - Its nice to see you trusting politicians so much Fishy! All you need is Romney's word and that's good enough for you.

One speculative reason is that since he's a candidate, it would destroy his candidacy if there's anything illegal in his finances. Of course, if he were not running for office, he could always make a deal to resolve it with the government or IRS. His wife on an interview said, they will release only the minimal tax info and openly said they did not want to open up a can of worms if there is something in their finances that can be openly questioned or found illegal in his holdings, some of which are off shore accounts and the low amount of taxes he's been paying which he said was 13%.

This itself, if true, tells the public how little he pays and why Ryan's policy of giving more tax breaks to the rich would leave a bad taste with the common people or middle class who will be socked with paying higher taxes if the Bush tax cuts end. Most as most of you know, his income is from dividends and something that most people don't have. Many don't even have enough savings for retirement and must continue to work into their 60s or even 70s if many of these policies come into place and if we have another economic downturn or bubble.

Even some of the GOP have asked him to come clean and release more tax returns to come clean, which remains to be seen.

 

[Kepler]

Re: The 2012 Presidential Election Part I - The guns of August

Don't forget #5 - jobs/pork. One breakdown I saw (can't find it now) for the F-22 showed that components were being made in ~45 states and nearly 300 congressional districts. That's not by accident.

That's covered under #2. The perpetual government employment that the GOP guarantees its hardcore base isn't just soldiers, it's all those support functions that keep the wheels turning.

Talk about too big to fail.

Empires do not voluntarily limit themselves, they crash. One positive thing about the inevitable collapse of our empire is that we'll see an enormous reallocation of resources from the public to the private sector.

 

[geezer]

Re: The 2012 Presidential Election Part I - The guns of August

That's covered under #2. The perpetual government employment that the GOP guarantees its hardcore base isn't just soldiers, it's all those support functions that keep the wheels turning.

Talk about too big to fail.

Empires do not voluntarily limit themselves, they crash. One positive thing about the inevitable collapse of our empire is that we'll see an enormous reallocation of resources from the public to the private sector.

I'm pretty sure you're not allowed to say "good thing" and "private sector" in the same sentence. Check with Chris Matthews.

 

[Kepler]

Re: The 2012 Presidential Election Part I - The guns of August

I'm pretty sure you're not allowed to say "good thing" and "private sector" in the same sentence. Check with Chris Matthews.

Remember, the difference between liberals and conservatives isn't whether they like government, it's whether they like government for their stuff. Liberals are honest about this, conservatives are not.

We will now see several pages of pearl clutching and sweaty grand-standing about how we need to keep on shoveling our national treasure into the military, and then we must find places for them to fight to justify it.

 

[Bob Gray]

Re: The 2012 Presidential Election Part I - The guns of August

I've suggested that he release only form 1040 and schedule A, similar idea.

Perhaps he sold a big stock holding in one of the prior years and has an outsized capital gain as a result, who knows.


weird that you'd find Harry Reid a paragon of anything praiseworthy, eh?

I've always suspected that Rover actually is Harry Reid.

 

[BCeagle]

Re: The 2012 Presidential Election Part I - The guns of August

My nephew, in fact 2 of my nephews are in the military, told me once that the funding is gone if they don't spend it, even if they don't need it. This kind of wasteful spending adds up. That aside, how long can we be the world policemen? Our defense spending is killing us and not many other countries are willing to spend to help police the world. Why should they? They have the US to do this and we seem to be willing to spend the money even if it hurts us economically when the cold war is gone and we don't have a full blown war going. Why not stand down a bit? Do we need all those carrier task forces and new hardware like the next generation hardware? We can keep the structure in place and even put back the draft if we need to if there is manpower need and a new world crises, like another world war. We can still train pilots, tank drivers, etc. but maybe have a system like Israel. Everyone is available and no exemptions unless you have medical problems or some other problem that restricts you from serving.

 

[FreshFish]

Re: The 2012 Presidential Election Part I - The guns of August

Hmm....

President Obama will face the ghosts of conventions past later this month when former Alabama Democratic Rep. Artur Davis speaks at the GOP convention in support of Mitt Romney.

Mr. Davis, who officially seconded then-Sen. Obama's nomination at the 2008 convention was one of the president's earliest and most vocal supporters. After Mr. Obama's keynote speech at the Democratic convention in 2004, and long before he ever announced his intention to run for president, Mr. Davis was cheering the idea that Mr. Obama could be the country's first African-American president. "If anyone can do it, Obama can," Mr. Davis said at the time.

In May, Mr. Davis announced that he was supporting Mitt Romney, and was switching to the Republican party, a change he said was necessary because there was less room in the tent for conservative Southern Democrats. While he still believed in the theme of his Democratic convention nominating speech that America was a country for opportunity "without any limitations based on race," the political ground was shifting. "I think the Obama administration has candidly gone too far to the left," he said in June.

"Unfortunately, I see the Democratic Party taking a step backward," he told National Public Radio, "I see more of an embrace of identity politics and group politics, which makes us more fractured than united."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100...3060869956788.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEFTSecond


Or to quote Chief Justice John Roberts, "The best way to stop discriminating on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race."

 

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: The 2012 Presidential Election Part I - The guns of August

Sooo....if that's the case, why doesn't he just either 1) release the taxes then, or 2) release the receipts for when he paid the IRS whatever he owed them each year? Wouldn't that solve the question of his truthfulness on this issue while keeping all of his off shore tax havens secret?

PS - Its nice to see you trusting politicians so much Fishy! All you need is Romney's word and that's good enough for you.

The same reason Obama won't release a real birth certificate that isn't forged.

 

[geezer]

Re: The 2012 Presidential Election Part I - The guns of August

Remember, the difference between liberals and conservatives isn't whether they like government, it's whether they like government for their stuff. Liberals are honest about this, conservatives are not.

We will now see several pages of pearl clutching and sweaty grand-standing about how we need to keep on shoveling our national treasure into the military, and then we must find places for them to fight to justify it.

yer also not allowed to say "honest" and "conservative" in the same sentence.... wait, ok.... I misread it. Your message is approved for dissemination.

I would argue about the likelihood of the several pages of opposition to military cuts, but Old Pio is in fine form today, so it's actually possible.

 

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: The 2012 Presidential Election Part I - The guns of August

Remember, the difference between liberals and conservatives isn't whether they like government, it's whether they like government for their stuff. Liberals are honest about this, conservatives are not.

We will now see several pages of pearl clutching and sweaty grand-standing about how we need to keep on shoveling our national treasure into the military, and then we must find places for them to fight to justify it.

Explain the ACLU, then.