the most important election of your lifetime: 2012 american general election thread

lol

gubke yaeh things can obvs spiral out of control but my reading of the situation is that a messy divorce is unlikely, tho in the long term imho itd be good to get rid of the euro in some orderly fashion that doesnt ruin the world economy if at all possible, either that or make the e.u. more like an irl country, cause what they got now dont make no sense, also i feel like its fundamentally wrong how even tho spains economy is weak i still cant go there eat their hams for cheap, worst of both worlds really

the great jamon crisis is deserving of its own thread

otm

i can't believe a pundit on tv said something controversial. this changes everything.

the allan west thing was obviously a lame "dad" joke. actually the timing was pretty good.

I dunno, it took a looongg time. I think he was pausing for effect and then was surprised by how long the crowd murmured. When he finally said it he didn't even say it very loudly.

The media finds Anne to be likeable and 'sympathetic' (for whatever reason she deserves sympathy other than being married to Mitt), but somebody should call her out on distorting the reality of what's going on with women right now by saying the "real war" is by Obama by not giving them jobs. It's utterly reprehensible.

Romney's (i.e., Anne's) health issues obviously figure into the media's treatment of her, and just in general (as long as their "wifely," and don't speak out too much) wives get treated well by the media. Rosen wasn't very artful, but I think calling Romney out was exactly what she was trying to do.

Or not. As someone who of course has 100% faith in Obama's genius at the political long-game, I think the whole episode was engineered so he'd have a chance to rush in and magnanimously defend stay-at-home moms.

"They're," not "their." Teacher.

Why can't this just be a personal attack? Why does it have to turn in to a serious discussion on the role of women as perceived by The Mets vs. The Yankees?

Plus, yeah, Anne raising 5 kids is a full time job. FOR YOUR NANNY

nannies

i did a lot of research on this yesterday and as far as i can tell the romneys never hired a nanny

gdamn it

au pairs?

satellite bigamy wives?

http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/26495387/Au+Pairs+the.jpg

nanny or no, the crucial distinction is between a single working mother trying to raise kids on her own and a married woman whose husband is so wealthy that she never even had to consider working outside the home. it's not unreasonable to suggest that the latter might lack insight into the concerns of and issues facing the former.

yeah well she is not gonna be president and this is just a game

John Dickerson tries to quantify controversies on a four-point scale:

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2012/04/ann_romney_and_umbrage_the_four_kinds_of_campaign_controversies_and_which_ones_actually_matter_.html

Yesterday's Rosen/Romney whatever, which most people here dismissed, is a level 2 ("frivolous and noteworthy"); Obama's Russian live mic from last week, which even more people here dismissed, is awarded a level 4 ("serious and noteworthy"). My point: no one's going to agree on which of these things mean anything.

thanks!

They are all little points of light that dot the void.

i heard mitt romney was cuaght masterbating on a hotel balcony in connecticut.

That's a level 3: "serious but unimportant."

the whole dumbass megillah: hopeless but not serious

Connecticut's solidly blue these days. If it had been an Ohio balcony, level 4.

So sad when the only place you can masturbate in peace is a hotel balcony. And even then you don't get any privacy!

pictures plz

Reasons given in News Hour piece for the Republican primary challenge to Dick Lugar's senate seat in Indiana: he voted for the debt ceiling increase, the auto bailout, and the two Obama Supreme Court nominees.

http://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/rschwart/hist151/French%20Revolution%20II/album/slides/execution%20Robespierre.jpg

http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj242/donaldparsley/MatsterMitt.png

I've been checking all over this morning, and I have to say that I find the conspiracy of silence surrounding the Romney masturbation story very troubling--especially in light of the documentation above.

obvs this kind of post modern approach has been employed before but im not sure its a tactic you really want to lean on, strange times http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/04/republicans-recite-dem-attack-lines----with-little-hope-of-success.php

Yeah I don't think so:

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio's push for a Republican version of immigration legislation looks like the answer to the GOP's — namely Mitt Romney's — election-year prayers.

Rubio is the telegenic son of Cuban exiles and a potential vice presidential pick. He is pulling together a bill that would allow young illegal immigrants to remain in the United States but denies them citizenship.

... why do we need a bill for that

legalized apartheid/american Gastarbeiter = NAGL

sign of our times that a "moderate/thoughtful" Republican thinks that our immigration policies should resemble those of Dubai.

what a bizarrely written article

every paragraph has something about the what this bill will do for the political fortunes of the GOP, a) that's totally fucked up and b) they're all wrong anyway

there is nothing at all about what is even in this bill. the 2nd page is how furious the anti-immigrant part of the GOP is already. jesus the AP is garbage

haa oh it's a "work-in-progress"?

Opponents of Rubio's work-in-progress already have appealed to their rank-and-file members to contact the senator and express their opposition.

Numbers USA, which wants to reduce the number of legal and illegal immigrants, provided talking points to their nearly 1 million members.

"It is downright appalling that you are working on a DREAM Act amnesty. There is no difference between giving illegal aliens citizenship and giving them an amnesty. They would still be able to compete against unemployed Americans for jobs! You need to drop this plan presto!" the group said.

imagine the temptation they had to say "pronto" right there

hahaha I thought you were exaggerating

goole OTM. This is written by an apparatchik with a boner for Rubio.

lol here's all they say about the bill:

Rubio, who notably called on his party to tone down the anti-immigrant talk earlier this year, is working on a plan that would allow young illegal immigrants who came to the United States with their parents to apply for non-immigrant visas. They would be permitted to stay in the country to study or work, could obtain a driver's license but would not be able to vote. They later could apply for residency, but they would not have a special path to citizenship.

"Mommy and daddy have to go back home, but you can stay here and sweep floors."

uh so his plan is to basically call off the ICE dogs and tell "young" people to call a consulate? man who could have a problem with that.

Rubio — telegenic son

he's a chubby fuck

Maybe they all just need to read this. Or maybe 'Job Creating' isn't as big a priority as Immigrant Hating.

Immigrants Founded Half Of Top U.S. Start-Up Companies: Study
First Posted: 12/21/11 08:51 AM ET Updated: 12/21/11 10:17 PM ET

Immigrants founded or cofounded almost half of 50 top venture-backed companies in the United States, a new study shows, underscoring some of the high stakes in potential immigration reform.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/21/immigrants-startups_n_1162590.html

http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/04/down-the-memory-hole-romney-calls-kris-kobach-just-a-supporter.php

ha maybe this is paving the way for rubio after all

what none of these articles ever mention is that anti-immigrant sentiment cuts up dems as much as it does the republicans.

"both candidates have a good bit of upside potential"

http://www.npr.org/2012/04/17/150815242/the-obama-romney-poll-a-palooza-whats-it-mean

"upside potential" – dear god in heaven I'm happy for Orwell's sake that he's dead.

"potential upside" wouldn't upset you, would it? Possibly redundant but a common sports term, so cozily at home in politocs.