He’s come undone: the Romney campaign loses composure

July 18, 2012

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Willard "Mittens" Romney has dreamed of being president since he watched his father's campaign for president implode from a self-inflicted wound in 1968.

Romney has been actively running for president since he ran for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts against Ted Kennedy. Uncle Ted destroyed Mittens in that campaign by inflicting "Bain pain" on him.

When Romney ran for governor of Massachusetts, his record at Bain Capital again was an issue, but not fully exploited by his opponent.

When Romney finally did run for president in 2008, Sen. John McCain had an entire oppo research book on Romney and his record at Bain Capital. See The Book On Mitt Romney: Here Is John McCain's Entire Opposition Research File (Scribd).

Romney has had years to prepare for these anticipated attacks on his career at Bain Capital and the great wealth he accumulated there. He has had years to have well-paid accountants to manage his investments to avoid any appearance of impropriety or questions in his tax returns that he knew he would have to produce if he ever wanted to be president — just as his father did in 1968.

And yet Romney has been caught completely flat-footed and unprepared for the attacks that he knew would come. "Incompetence" is the only word to describe the Romney campaign. Or perhaps Romney's "arrogance" is the problem. As his wife Ann said in an interview, "It's his turn" — as if the presidency is an emolument to which he is entitled simply by virtue of his great wealth.

To paraphrase the Guess Who:

He's come undone
He didn't know what he was headed for
And when I found what he was headed for
It was too late

The Romney campaign has come undone.

Sen. John McCain blasts McCarthyite religious bigots in the GOP (looking at you, Rep. Trent Franks)

July 18, 2012

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Arizona's angry old man has taken enough crap from the McCarthyite religious bigots in the GOP. "Get off my lawn!"

Sen. John McCain, struck back hard at unproven accusations Wednesday that a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is part of a conspiracy by the Muslim Brotherhood to infiltrate the top reaches of the U.S. government. John McCain defends Huma Abedin against accusations she’s part of conspiracy:

McCain, often considered the GOP’s leading voice on foreign affairs, said the accusations made by House Republicans against Huma Abedin are “an unwarranted and unfounded attack on an honorable woman, a dedicated American and a loyal public servant.”

Abedin is the long-time aide to Clinton who has worked for the former first lady and U.S. senator since the administration of President Bill Clinton. In recent years, she served as Hillary Clinton’s “body man” along the 2008 presidential campaign trail and has traveled the world with the secretary as a senior State Department aide. The perch means Abedin is often photographed standing behind Clinton.

* * *

In a floor speech Wednesday, McCain defended Abedin, calling her “an intelligent, upstanding, hard-working and loyal servant of our country and our government, who has devoted countless days of her life to advancing the ideals of the nation she loves and looking after its most precious interests. That she has done so while maintaining her characteristic decency, warmth and good humor is a testament to her ability to bear even the most arduous duties with poise and confidence.

“Put simply, Huma represents what is best about America: the daughter of immigrants, who has risen to the highest levels of our government on the basis of her substantial personal merit and her abiding commitment to the American ideals that she embodies so fully,” McCain said. “I am proud to know Huma and to call her my friend.”

* * *

McCain recounted recent accusations by Reps. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), Tom Rooney (R-Fla.) and Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.) that Abedin, who is a Muslim American, is part of a conspiracy led by the Muslim Brotherhood to influence U.S. foreign policy to advance Islamist causes.

The lawmakers have sent letters to inspectors general at the departments of Homeland Security, Justice and State asking about the U.S. government’s involvement with the Muslim Brotherhood, noting that the group calls for “civilization jihad.”

McCain struck back hard at his Republican colleagues.

A classic American Dream photo

July 18, 2012

by David Safier Let me make this clear: I'm not endorsing anyone in the Cherny/Schapira/Sinema primary race. I'm kinda glad I live down here so I don't have to decide between the 3 of them. And please, don't put any campaign-like comments on the post, because I'll delete them. This isn't a political post. I … Read more

National Review: Release the Tax Returns!

July 18, 2012

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Amid a growing chorus of conservative commentators and Tea-Publican politicians calling on Willard "Mittens" Romney to release his tax returns, the conservative National Review late Tuesday published an editorial opinion, Release the Returns – The Editors – National Review Online (excerpts):

Romney argues that whatever he releases will not be enough to satisfy the Obama campaign and its factota in the media, who are, once again, proving their bias and double standards. Romney is right, but he should release the returns anyway. Let them go fish.

* * *

The Romney campaign says he has released as many returns as candidate John Kerry did in 2004, and cites Teresa Heinz Kerry’s refusal to release any of her tax returns. Neither is an apt comparison. John Kerry actually released returns from 1999 through 2003, and also released tax returns during his Senate runs. As for Teresa Heinz, Romney isn’t the wealthy spouse of a candidate, but the candidate himself. In 2008, John McCain released two years of returns, but he had been filling out financial disclosure forms for decades as a senator. Romney protests that he is not legally obliged to release any tax returns. Of course not. He is no longer in the realm of the private sector, though, where he can comply with the letter of the law with the Securities and Exchange Commission and leave it at that. Perceptions matter.

Romney may feel impatience with requirements that the political culture imposes on a presidential candidate that he feels are pointless (and inconvenient). But he’s a politician running for the highest office in the land, and his current posture is probably unsustainable. In all likelihood, he won’t be able to maintain a position that looks secretive and is a departure from campaign conventions. The only question is whether he releases more returns now, or later — after playing more defense on the issue and sustaining more hits. There will surely be a press feeding frenzy over new returns, but better to weather it in the middle of July.

If he releases more returns, Romney will be in a better position to resist the inevitable demands for even more disclosures.

* * *

By drawing out the argument over the returns, Romney is playing into the president’s hands. He should release them, respond to any attacks they bring, and move on.

Mittens Romney should follow the example set by his father, George Romney, who established the tradition of presidential candidates releasing their tax returns to the public in 1968, with the release of 12 years worth of tax returns. Mittens is dishonoring the ethical standards of his late father by his stubborn intransigence.

The Obama campaign has set up a new website, http://www.whatmittpays.com/. Check it out, then share it with your family, friends and business associates.

UPDATE: The Neocon Washington Post also editorializes today, Release the returns:

The GOP’s ‘big lie’ propaganda campaign – will the mainstream media call this what it is?

July 17, 2012

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Roger Ailes and Rupert Murdoch at the fact-free world of FAUX News Fraudcasting gave its idiot talking heads on Fox & Friends the new GOP talking points on Monday. Fox & Friends Deceptively Edits Obama's Comments On Small Business:

Fox News this morning deceptively edited President Obama's remarks to make it seem as though he was claiming that small business owners do not deserve any credit for their own success. But Obama's actual remarks show that he attributed the success of small businesses to both the individual drive of small business owners, and to the benefit provided by influences such as great teachers, and government-created infrastructure.

President Obama, during a July 13 appearance in Roanoke, VA, argued that while small business owners' individual talents and drive allow them to attain their own portion of the American dream, credit for such attainment is not theirs alone. Obama pointed out that the success of small businesses can also be attributed to outside influences such as "a great teacher somewhere in your life" and investment "in roads and bridges."

But on the July 16 edition of Fox & Friends, the co-hosts cropped the clip of Obama's appearance to make it appear as though he was making a different point. The clip featured Obama saying:

OBAMA: If you've got a business, you didn't build that, somebody else made that happen.

[…]

The point is that, when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together.

Gretchen Carlson reacted by calling the grossly misleading clip "most startling"[.]

London Olympics preview: Rafalca Romney – Dressage!

July 17, 2012

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

I really do not see any upside to this for Mittens Romney after the beating he has been taking of late.

The Romneys will be going to the London Olympics to watch Ann Romney's horse, Rafalca, compete in "dressage" equestrian events.

According to the Olympics events calendar, individual dressage events are scheduled for August 2, 3, 7 and a medal round on August 9. I'm not sure if Rafalca is a team player, but team dressage events are scheduled for August 2 and 3, with a medal event on August 7.

Bloomberg Businessweek's Lifestyle section recently reported Ann Romney's Horse Aims for Olympic Glory:

Before she flew to London in early July with her Olympic teammates, Rafalca, whose chartered jet made use of the full length of the runway to ensure a gentle takeoff, stayed at Hamilton Farm in Gladstone, N.J. Once the 5,000-acre estate of the heir to a turn-of-the-century utility baron, the farm is now home to a private golf club and the U.S. Equestrian Team. Here, Rafalca, a 15-year-old German-born mare, lived under a vaulted, tile ceiling in a terrazzo-floored stable with brass fittings. She is one of the expertly trained and meticulously cared for horses representing the U.S. in dressage at the London 2012 Olympic Games. She is also the property of Ann Romney, wife of Republican presidential candidate Mitt.

* * *

Rafalca’s German-born rider is Jan Ebeling—whose wife, Amy, co-owns the horse along with Romney and another friend, Beth Meyer.

* * *

Probably the closest Olympic analog to dressage is figure skating. Horse and rider enter a 20-by-60-meter ring and perform a series of prescribed motions, or tests—such as trotting in place or pirouetting. At a later stage, there is a six-minute “freestyle” routine set to music. (At one competition, according to Dressage-News.com, Mitt himself picked songs from the soundtracks of Rain Man and The Mission.) A panel of judges looking for rhythm, ease, and precise gait scores the performance.