Symmetry required it: 2012 american general election thread #2

he also brought up the brand new tape revealing obama likes "redistribution" twice - apparently some audio of him in 1998 where O says "I am for redistribution, in the sense of everyone getting a fair chance." Everybody's got tapes, ya see.

― da croupier, Tuesday, September 18, 2012 4:32 PM (13 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

oh man BUSTED

"I am for redistribution, in the sense of everyone getting a fair chance."

Damning stuff.

the full, horrible, game-changing, almost 15-year-old quote:

I think the trick is figuring out how do we structure government systems that pool resources, and hence facilitate some redistribution, because I actually believe in redistribution, at least at a certain level, to make sure that everybody has a shot.

Obama camp already making Joe The Plumber jokes in response.

Said at a Loyola University conference when he was a State Senator. No word on if Bill Ayers was there.

I remember getting a bad feeling in 2008 the morning that recording surfaced--it seemed so perfectly timed to all the inane Joe the Plumber stuff, and, as I've mentioned before, I kept waiting for the roof to cave in. As it happened, it wasn't even a one-day story.

so this was posted a month ago and nobody cared but if you make fun of americans its a big deal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEkDYkuuPD4

nobody even cared here a month ago when i posted that clip. i thought it would be a big deal! like, in general.

just be glad everyone got into the band eventually

Rachel Maddow talked a little bit about the provenance of the clips last night, and how they'd been around in one form or another for a few months, but the conclusion was that since they couldn't be pinned to specific location or date the media sort of glossed over them. Once the person who shot the video got in touch with Mother Jones and credibility could be established, their profile was upped exponentially.

Mitt Romney won't do "SNL," says "Letterman hates me," "View" is "high risk"

In the just-released secret video of Romney answering questions at a May fundraiser, Romney was about his potential TV appearances. "Letterman," he said, "hates me because I've been on Leno more than him. They're very jealous of one another, as you know." He said he wouldn't do "Saturday Night Live" because it "has the potential of looking slapstick, and not presidential." As for "The View," he views that show as "high risk" because there's only one conservative.

lol

weird, Romney's kind of been positioning himself as an expert in things that look slapstick and not presidential.

This just furthers my impression that Mitt Romney is the least self-aware person in America.

This just furthers my impression that Mitt Romney is the least self-aware intelligent person in America.

Okay, I now see that this redistribution clip is different than the redistribution clip they unearthed in '08 (which I think was a radio call-in show). And someone was holding this in reserve, waiting for just the right moment?

"IF COMPLETELY FUCKED, BREAK GLASS"

"Redistribution" (scary commie scare quotes) is just what Obama has said all along, which is that the rich should pay more in taxes. Anyone who thinks this is anywhere near the O_o of the Romney tape is delusional.

this is not really uncharacteristic or an unusual thing for Romney, he's been fucking up with these kinds of tone-deaf gaffes literally since day 1 of his campaign. to wit:

The choice of the Bittersweet Farm for his announcement is an interesting one for Mr. Romney, who regularly argues for a smaller federal government that spends less. The rolling green hills of the farm were preserved in recent years in part with $1 million in federal money, according to a recent report in Seacoast Online.

A spokesman for Mr. Romney’s campaign told John Harwood of The New York Times: “I don’t think it’s fair to call it a federally subsidized backdrop. It’s a nice farm in New Hampshire, a landmark.”

this clown is so doomed

― metally ill (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, June 2, 2011 8:09 PM

that is the one thing he's got going for him here, just shrugging it off and hoping that whoever the heck is still on Team Romney is desensitized to his nonsensical bullshit

If I cared about tell all political campaign books I'd be excited about the one about the Romney campaign.

http://a.abcnews.com/images/Politics/ap_mitt_romney_ll_120806_wg.jpg

"If I cared about tell all political campaign books I'd be excited about the one about my campaign."

tbh i see the most egregious 'gaffe' (ugh that word)

the use of 'gaffe' over the past 48 hours is crazy to me, like they're talking about it like he slipped up on the stairs up to the platform rather than cogently expressed his disdain for american voters

tbh i think avoiding letterman/snl/the view is romney's wisest recent political decision

apropos of nothing but
http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_makiy4e0MJ1qdmmiqo1_500.gif
he's saying,

LET'S DESTROY THE ENVIRONMENT

and Toontown

Speaking of which, Obama's on Letterman tonight to do the second half of Jay Pharoah's "Hey, take a look at my secret weapon" routine.

wish obama could bring this up in a debate, but then it would look like he was being mean to money-sucking bible hicks:

Of the 22 states that went to McCain in 2008, 86 percent received more federal spending than they paid in taxes in 2010. In contrast, 55 percent of the states that went to Obama received more federal spending than they paid in taxes. Republican states, on average, received $1.46 in federal spending for every tax dollar paid; Democratic states, on average, received $1.16.

Equivalence on the "guns and religion" thing is a farce. Obama was making an accusation about some people being reactionary. People sometimes are reactionary. He didn't say only conservatives are reactionary.

Romney said half of the country are unwilling to take responsibility for themselves.

the one thing obama CAN do during a debate is point out that EVERYONE in this country relies on government. for, like, almost everything. unless they live in a unabomber cabin and trap their meat. and more specifically that romney made millions because of a tax code loophole. he can bring that up, right?

I suspect Obama realizes that looking aggressive works against him, and so he will mostly just wait for Romney to put his foot in his mouth, as he inevitably will

the main equivalency w/guns n religion is that obama was talking to donors about OTHER people, not in the room, in unflattering terms, just like romney has here but yes agreed, at least obama didn't say something as nut-crushingly callous as "my job is not to care about them" as romney went on to do

i'm surprised there's so little furore over the line about how he'd be doing better in this campaign if his dad were mexican, that is just such an insane thing to say

the one thing obama CAN do during a debate is point out that EVERYONE in this country relies on government. for, like, almost everything. unless they live in a unabomber cabin and trap their meat. and more specifically that romney made millions because of a tax code loophole. he can bring that up, right?

last time he did brought us "you didn't build that"

there are really so many potential furors in this thing, not shocking the one where he flips off HALF the United States, rather than another country or a smaller (though still significant) section of America is getting the most attention.

to his face though. would be different. actually say that mitt made his money because he manipulated the tax code. to his face. tell mitt he should be thanking the federal government every day.

make him look like the biggest welfare motherfucker on the planet.

it's going to be hard for Obama to NOT call out a moment of hypocrisy in Mitt, since there will be so many. there basically isn't a single political topic mitt is genuine or consistent on. but going ham has a lot of risks.

you don't want to push romney into going full psychotic bc who knows what he'll do

obama doesn't go ham but he is an expert in cold cuts

everything he said made perfect sense in that milieu. of course he believes that having money is proof of virtue. of course he did it all himself with no help from daddy or the government or the rabble. of course being a rich white man from a rich white family was no advantage -- he had to fight past all those affirmative action candidates who were given a leg up.

romney may or may not believe this, although he probably does. but certainly his audience did and does.

this is what stunned me about chait saying he was 'shocked' -- this is everyday shit. ppl made such a fuss about todd akin, but he just said out loud, awkwardly, what is in the fucking republican platform.

if the republican agenda specifically stated that non-whites should be sanctioned with extreme prejudice, the media would ignore it until some cracker state senator started yelling about darkies. then it would be unseemly, and therefore, news.

mitt has terrible teeth. does he just not brush or what

is is what stunned me about chait saying he was 'shocked' -- this is everyday shit. ppl made such a fuss about todd akin, but he just said out loud, awkwardly, what is in the fucking republican platform.

The comments on the GOP-penned posts to which we've linked today agree!

chait wasn't shocked that a GOPer would think these things - he just took Mitt for an idiot rather than an asshole.

more of a "whichever way the wind blows, let it not be said I don't also blow" kind of politician

then he is curiously naive

but mitt it would actually be your actual job to worry about those people

i'm surprised there's so little furore over the line about how he'd be doing better in this campaign if his dad were mexican, that is just such an insane thing to say

This x1000

unabomber now gets 100% government entitlements now, funny enough.

mittens u sly dog

The GOP presidential candidate said he did not mean to write off nearly half the electorate. Instead, he was merely stating the fact that they support the president's "more European than American" outlook on wealth redistribution.

unabomber not paying any income tax, fer sure

must be an obama supporter