American Politics during the Obama Presidency

[QUOTE=Esten;418217]The last thing our country needs is a CEO in the White House. A CEO has a narrow focus on making his business profitable, and where applicable returning profits to shareholders.[/quote]In his land of unicorns and sparkles, companies don't have to turn a profit to last for ever.

[quote=]Where does the worker fall in that picture?[/quote]Which workers would those be? The 14 million that are currently out of work? Who is looking out for them? Clearly not Obama who has intentionally forced his jobs killing agenda on us despite knowing full well its likely consequences for the unemployed, under-employed and those about to join their ranks.

[quote=]The worker is simply an expense to achieve profits.[/quote]Very few successful companies actually take this view. It is ascribed to them by leftist activists who are looking to force them (the corporation) to lavish riches upon past an present workers, in magnitudes unrelated to the quantifiable value added. They do this with absolutely no concern about the fact that if they force the corporation to become unprofitable they will end up laying off some or all of their workers.

[quote=]If that expense can be reduced while maintaining or increasing profit, the CEO can and will do so. No, that is not the perspective we need in a President.[/QUOTE]Obama seems to be increasing the nation's deficit (I. E. Making the US more unprofitable) while at the same time reducing the workforce by millions. Those facts would seem to contradict your poorly constructed comment.

Jackson -

My post on Bachmann's book deal had nothing to do with complaining or saving Obama. LOL

Simply an observation of the least surprising book deal ever. Michele Bachmann is a complete opportunist. You remember when she gave her response to the SOTU Address? She couldn't just let one person (Paul Ryan) give the official GOP response. Nope. She had to go and give a second "Tea Party" response. You may also remember this woman for her interview on CNN where she totally ripped into Obama for an overseas trip that would cost taxpayers 200 Million a day. Turns out she went off a wildly inaccurate internet report without checking her facts. This woman is a chronic lying opportunist and her record on Politifact proves it. The worst of the bunch.

As far as Republicans stalling the economy, don't tell me you haven't heard this before. Prominent Republicans are on record saying their top priority is to defeat Obama. Republicans have also stated their best shot at defeating Obama is if the economy is bad in 2012. Put 2 and 2 together.

Case in point- Obama has suggested extending payroll-tax cuts for employees that set to expire at the end of the year, and initiating a payroll-tax reduction for employers. This would put more money back in the hands of individuals and businesses. Republicans previously supported such ideas, and the USCoC supports it. But now Republicans are opposed. Now they call it a gimmick. Why would Republicans not support an idea they previously supported that would help the economy?

[QUOTE=Esten;418229]Michele Bachmann is a complete opportunist.[/quote]Esten, you attempted to negatively paint Michele Bachmann as a "complete opportunist" because she signed a book contract, and my point was that in this regard she is no different that every other politician in the world, including the Campaginer-in-Chief.

[QUOTE=Esten;418229]As far as Republicans stalling the economy, don't tell me you haven't heard this before. Prominent Republicans are on record saying their top priority is to defeat Obama. Republicans have also stated their best shot at defeating Obama is if the economy is bad in 2012. Put 2 and 2 together.[/quote]Here you are attempting to insinuate that the Republicans would deliberately torpedo the country's economy if it meant that they could defeat Obama, which is nothing less than complete bullshit, along with your associated "Job Killing Republicans" liberal propaganda.

[QUOTE=Esten;418229]Case in point- Obama has suggested extending payroll-tax cuts for employees that set to expire at the end of the year, and initiating a payroll-tax reduction for employers. This would put more money back in the hands of individuals and businesses. Republicans previously supported such ideas, and the USCoC supports it. But now Republicans are opposed. Now they call it a gimmick. Why would Republicans not support an idea they previously supported that would help the economy?[/QUOTE]The size of the payroll-tax cuts in question are in fact so minuscule that they are meaningless except as liberal propaganda. If the Dems really wanted to use payroll-tax cuts to stimulate the economy, then they could have used the $800 billion in stimulas money to give every employee in the country an 8 month holiday from [u]ALL[/u] payroll tax deductions. If anyone thought that the $3B Cash-for-Clunkers program was a success, imagine what kind of economic stimulus pumping $100B a month into consumers hands would have produced. Of course the Dems wouldn't have had the opportunity to dispense the the funds to state and local employee unions and other "friends", so that was never really an option.

[QUOTE=Jackson;418233]Esten, you attempted to negatively paint Michele Bachmann as a "complete opportunist" because she signed a book contract, and my point was that in this regard she is no different that every other politician in the world, including the Campaginer-in-Chief. [/QUOTE]Of course I get your point. I'm fully aware that politicians on both sides sell books. Let me put it this way. If it had been Cain or Pawlenty or any of the others announcing a book deal I wouldn't have bothered posting. Most of the GOP candidates are pretty harmless. Some are even likeable. Ron Paul seems like an affable guy, I like some of his views and commend him on his recent marijuana bill. Romney is OK, you can tell he is acting a bit and is not 100% authentic in his attacks on Obama, but he knows he has to be seen as on the offensive.

Michele Bachmann on the other hand is a very special case. I need to modify what I said earlier. She is not a complete opportunist. She is half opportunist and half batshit crazy.

That's a phrase from Matt Taibbi's article on her last week in Rolling Stone, but it succinctly captures what many on the left think of this woman. Not an attack, just an honest and accurate statement of how they see her. Anyone who follows politics quite a bit will have noticed this. An interesting coincidence, Taibbi wrote she looks like the T2 skeleton posing for a passport photo (a little over the top I'll agree), and she's been boasting recently she has a "Titanium Spine". She is certain to provide great material for the media and I hope she goes far.

[url]http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/michele-bachmanns-holy-war-20110622[/url]

Esten as always you're blindly following you leaders.

[url]http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/576642/201106271903/Belittling-Bachmann.htm?[/url]

Well, here we go again. The snake of the right has reared it's ugly head again.

Scumbag Republican Congressman Richard Cantor stormed out of US debt negotiations recently, as most of us in the US already know.

Why?

M_O_N_E_Y!

It was recently revealed that Republican Congressman Richard Cantor will gain financially if debt ceiling negotiations collapse.

[url]http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/06/27/eric_cantor_conflict_of_interest/index.html[/url]

Not surprisingly, FOX NEWS has kept quiet about the Wall Street Journal report. ("We Report." We Decide.")

So, it will be interesting to see R-Congressman Cantor's motivation before the August 2nd deadline.

Yeah. I mean he couldn't have purchased TBT because he expected that the Bernanke couldn't hold interest rates down forever. So he might or might not, own a small position in an etf, that might or might not be a hedge to bond investments. Absolutely, crash the government over this. A smart investor would have purchased options and get more bang for their buck. That article was insultingly stupid.

In his recent news conference Obama rails against private / corporate jet owners getting a tax break which should now be eliminated so children will not be denied healthcare. How horrible of those mean old Republicans to have granted such a tax break to the selfish rich owners of corporate jets.

UH. Mr. El Presidenta, if you would just check your facts the mean old Republicans did not provide that particular tax break, YOU AND YOU DEMOCRATIC COLLEGUES DID in the 2009 Stimulus Package.

Just for the record, if we eliminated that particular tax break and take the HIGHEST revenue figure it MIGHT bring in which is $60 billion (more realistic was between $10 to 6 Billion) , then it would only take 234 years to pay down the $14 Trillion debt.

Way to go Big Guy!

With nearly 50% of the population not paying income tax, the other 50% paying it all and of the 50% that do pay the top 5% is paying over 85% of the total tax burden.

We don't have a revenue problem we have a SPENDING problem.

[quote]The former President said he is "not surprised" that the Tea Party favorite has quickly become a 2012 front-runner, during an exclusive interview that aired Thursday on ABC's "Good Morning America".

"I've been watching her speak at some of these conventions on ESPN, you know, she comes across as a real person," he told the network at the Clinton Global Initative America conference in Chicago."The story that they tell is pretty compelling, all those foster children she's taken in, and children she's raised and the work she's done."

[url]http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2011/06/30/2011-06-30_bill_clinton_praises_michele_bachmann_and_other_gopers_but_says_president_obama_.html[/url][/quote][QUOTE=Esten; 418261]Michele Bachmann on the other hand is a very special case. I need to modify what I said earlier. She is not a complete opportunist. She is half opportunist and half batshit crazy.

That's a phrase from Matt Taibbi's article on her last week in Rolling Stone, but it succinctly captures what many on the left think of this woman. Not an attack, just an honest and accurate statement of how they see her. Anyone who follows politics quite a bit will have noticed this. An interesting coincidence, Taibbi wrote she looks like the T2 skeleton posing for a passport photo (a little over the top I'll agree) , and she's been boasting recently she has a "Titanium Spine". She is certain to provide great material for the media and I hope she goes far.

[url]http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/michele-bachmanns-holy-war-20110622[/url][/QUOTE]Hmmm, who to believe?

[QUOTE=Moveon;418289]So, it will be interesting to see R-Congressman Cantor's motivation before the August 2nd deadline.[/QUOTE]It is probably just a hedge. Unlikely to be a big story.

What is a big story though is Eric Cantor walking out of the debt negotiations. Like a little kid who didn't get his way.

Republicans are on the losing side in this struggle, certainly among independents. Cantor has only damaged his image by walking away.

Moveon, I'm convinced you're either a politician or you work for one. As shown by polls that Esten has referenced here, your party and the 50% of American voters that don't pay income taxes and / or live off the government tit are going to control the federal government of the USA for the forseeable future. As a result, spending will grow faster than federal government receipts. Your party's attempts to finance the deficit from business, corporations and the "rich" will backfire. You'll tax them to the point that they won't have the money to reinvest or maintain their business and investments, and their taxable income will decrease as will the taxes they pay. The deficit will increase. Your people will continue to spend like drunken sailors. Bond investors, including foreign central banks, will rightfully worry about the ability of the US federal government to repay them. Bond yields will skyrocket. The value of Cantor's measly $5, 000 to $15, 000 investment will skyrocket. But don't blame it on Cantor, blame it on your party.

If you've got the discipline to roll your positions over every few months for a long time, sell T-note and T-bond futures. That's probably a better deal than an ETF.

[QUOTE=Punter 127;418294]Hmmm, who to believe?[/QUOTE]Me! Of course!

Bill and I are not so far apart as you might think. Democrats like Michele Bachmann. We really do.

Seriously Punter, you need to realize something. America is a great nation, with great values. We are equal opportunity for all. And it's because we all came here and we came together as one. Out of many one. Multi-cultural diversity says out of one many. And if we go with tribalism we will not long be one nation united under God.

[QUOTE=Esten; 418297]Me! Of course!

Bill and I are not so far apart as you might think. Democrats like Michele Bachmann. We really do.

Seriously Punter, you need to realize something. America is a great nation, with great values. We are equal opportunity for all. And it's because we all came here and we came together as one. Out of many one. Multi-cultural diversity says out of one many. And if we go with tribalism we will not long be one nation united under God.[/QUOTE]You really should use quotation marks when you quote someone. A good example would be something like this;

[i][b]"It is wonderful to be back in Oregon, over the last 15 months, we've traveled to every corner of the United States. I've now been in 57 states? I think one left to go. Alaska and Hawaii, I was not allowed to go to even though I really wanted to visit, but my staff would not justify it."[/i][/b]

Or how about this;

[i][b]"Look, John's last-minute economic plan does nothing to tackle the number one job facing the middle class, and it happens to be, as Barack says, a three-letter word: jobs. J-O-B-S," [/i][/b]


IMHO you have now stooped to a new low, but if you're going to demonize every threat to Obama you better get started on Rick Perry, assuming Chris Christie is not running.

BTW if I support Herman Cain over Obama would the left still classify me as a racist?

[QUOTE=Moveon; 418289]Well, here we go again. The snake of the right has reared it's ugly head again.

Scumbag Republican Congressman Richard Cantor stormed out of US debt negotiations recently, as most of us in the US already know.

Why?

M_O_N_E_Y!

It was recently revealed that Republican Congressman Richard Cantor will gain financially if debt ceiling negotiations collapse.

[url]http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/06/27/eric_cantor_conflict_of_interest/index.html[/url]

Not surprisingly, FOX NEWS has kept quiet about the Wall Street Journal report. ("We Report." We Decide.")

So, it will be interesting to see R-Congressman Cantor's motivation before the August 2nd deadline.[/QUOTE]I would really like to know why you think we should raise the debt limit? Why not deal with our [strike]debt[/strike] spending problem?

Short term, job creation. Long term, reduce deficit. I think that is fair and logical strategy.

Our economy is base on CONSUMPTION. Is slash / slash / slash really the answer at the moment? It took a few decades for our spending culture to get to where it is at the moment. It will take a few years for the pendulum to swing back. Meanwhile, be prepare for some friends / relatives asking to come and live with you. Quite challenging to your sense of what kind of person you really are. Hope you are up to it. Obama has made mistakes, but McClain surely would not have done any better in terms of job creation. I can't remember when a modern president was given such bad cards to start his term. All the shouting and gesturing is just a drumbeat for the naive and the ideologues to keep themselves in a frenzy for the 2012 elections.