Symmetry required it: 2012 american general election thread #2

South Florida politics at its finest:

A self-described “Republican bad girl,” Alliegro doesn’t appear to be cooperating with authorities investigating Sternad’s campaign. The political newcomer and part-time hotel worker lost the Aug. 14 Democratic primary race to Rivera rival Joe Garcia, who faces Rivera in the Nov. 6 general election for the Kendall-to-Key West seat.

Alliegro initially planned to cooperate with the FBI and make a statement on Thursday, Sept. 6. But she was a no-show.

The day before, she met with Rivera, who faces a separate criminal investigation into his personal and political finances.

The investigation into Sternad’s campaign concerns laws prohibiting money laundering, intentionally filing false campaign reports and conspiracy. No charges have been filed against Sternad, Alliegro or Rivera.

And it’s not the first time Alliegro has faced legal problems.

Two weeks ago, right after FBI agents raided her apartment and seized her computer, Miami Police arrested her on an old warrant for driving with a suspended license. She spent the weekend in jail, where she complained about the smell and view from her cell.

In 2009, she was arrested for shoplifting a pair of $29.99 sandals from Ross on Biscayne Boulevard. The charge was later dropped.

In January 2007, she was arrested in a dispute with her ex-husband, Moshe Cosicher, at his Tigertail Ave. home in Coconut Grove. They had been divorced for two years, but Alliegro wanted to get remarried, according to reports from Miami police and prosecutors.

“We are going to Vegas,” she told Cosicher, a report said. The report noted that when Cosicher refused, she grabbed a gun, which appeared to be a .45 that she kept at bed side.

She then sat naked at a desk with her leg up and compared the gun to a male sexual organ.

“If you think your [expletive] is powerful (showing the gun), this is mine,” Alliegro told Cosicher, who tried to ignore her by going to make coffee, a report said. Alliegro followed him and told him to sit on the couch.

She fired a round into the ceiling.

was Ciccone's endorsement noted? Below the lede, my fave words are "For better or for worse."

http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2012/09/madonnas-bizarre-obama-endorsement-we.html

xxp who is the unimpressed lady behind the ride cymbal?

alfred that is awesome

http://i.imgur.com/nvXzk.jpg

ಠ_ಠ

"...where she complained about the smell and view from her cell."

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Reagan_with_Peggy_Noonan.jpg/220px-Reagan_with_Peggy_Noonan.jpg

"Hey, Ron, smell my finger!"

He looks worried she might pull him out of his chair.

http://dl7.glitter-graphics.net/pub/16/16407bv4zrbjoxk.gif

http://dl7.glitter-graphics.net/pub/16/16407bv4zrbjoxk.gif

A go so nice I had to post it twice.

Albright on drums at a jazz fest reminds me of the infamous story of her chatting through a John Zorn (!) show, and him telling her to shut the fuck up.

Man, do you ever have one of those days where the keyboard seems like it's been shifted an inch to the left?

xxp who is the unimpressed lady behind the ride cymbal?

Tipper Gore

lol sorry, didn't realize who you were talking about

had no idea albright was a jazzer

Her entire tenure as secretary of state was improvised.

*rimshot*

haha

lol

And out comes the lizard brain!!

Several congressional staffers employed by Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) were caught on camera directing "Indian war whoops" and "tomahawk chops" at supporters of Senate race opponent Elizabeth Warren outside a Boston pub this week.

Local ABC affiliate WCVB confirmed that Brown's Deputy Chief of Staff Greg Casey and his Constituent Service Counsel Jack Richard were among the staffers visible in the footage posted to YouTube by Blue Mass Group.

Also in attendance at the rally were State Director Jerry McDermott, special assistant Jennifer Franks and GOP operative Brad Garrett.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1XpAD8auCY

Look at this jujitsu here:

Brown, who released a campaign ad this week attacking Warren on her heritage claims, told WCVB that, while he "certainly" doesn't condone his staffers' behavior, "the real offense is that (Warren) said she was white and then checked the box saying she is Native American, and then she changed her profile in the law directory once she made her tenure."

DEMONCRATS ARE THE REAL RACISTS DO U SEE?

well there goes every "Scott Brown's biggest strength is that he isn't as big of a racist douche as most of his party" I've made in the past month

omg someone filled out a form wrong once

it's still a bullshit argument but he could have said "it is equally offensive" rather than "the real offense"

dumbass

FU Paul Ryan

“I’m going to start off with something that was really troubling that occurred last night. Did you guys watch that Packer game last night? I mean give me a break!” Ryan complained. “It is time to get the real refs.”

“It reminds me of President Obama and the economy. If you can’t get it right, it’s time to get out. I half-think that these refs work part-time for the Obama administration and the Budget Office,” Ryan said.

Very much in character, that's some really efficient pandering. To Wisconsin, to football fans, to budget-hawks...

Has anyone ever asked lifetime government employees who are also anti-big government sorts how they jibe their livelihood with their politics?

At his next campaign stop, Rep. Ryan (R-Wis) mooned a lifesize cardboard cutout of President Obama.

"I half-think." -- Paul Ryan

Ryan and Wisconsin governor upset with scab officials and want union referees back. Hmmmm.

They want Reagan to order them back to work though not the NFL owners to give in.

It's a lockout, not a strike.

And Wisconsin governor's union-busting bullshit is about public sector unions, not private. (For now....) It's just fun to blame!

http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/09/mitt-romney-obama-has-not-raised-taxes----yet.php

oh Mittens

http://gawker.com/5946392/mitt-romney-stops-supporters-from-chanting-ryan-to-ensure-they-say-his-name-too

wow. that is just pathetic. posting it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1j1b8hZg0g

"I admit this, he has one thing he did not do in his first four years, he’s said he’s going to do in his next four years, which is to raise taxes," Romney told a crowd at a campaign stop in Vandalia, Ohio.

... is he actually throwing this?

this might be some 13th dimension chess shit to set up a triumphant 2016 GOP candidate who succeeds on the merits of not pooping her pants too often

is he hoping to sweep into victory like Mondale did after Fritz's plans to raise taxes?

Hahah you remembered the SAME clip I did.

I see we have entered the always delightful "no longer gives a fuck" phase of the Romney campaign

usually it doesn't start 6 weeks out, but oh well

Fritz:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJClXb8vQpY

Has anyone ever asked lifetime government employees who are also anti-big government sorts how they jibe their livelihood with their politics?

Yes!

I encounter a lot of conservatives who work (directly or indirectly) for the government - I encounter them socially, professionally, and here on the interweb thingy.

Unsurprisingly, most seem to maintain that it's some OTHER guy's salary that's the problem. All the talk about how government is the problem, we need to cut government, need to get government out of the way, etc., is always referring to some OTHER bit of "the government." Often, if given the choice they would increase defense spending, and restore great ambitions to NASA.

One factor in this is that the vast vast vast majority of government activity (apart from entitlements) is defense. Defense and homeland security together account for upwards of 70% of contracting dollars. People in that sector are not overwhelmingly political liberals. But they'll happily take aim at the convenient caricature of a government bureaucrat: a pencil-necked geek at the EPA, NEH, NEA - easy stuff to demonize if you're already coming from the knee-jerk anti-government, anti-tax stance.

Yes, there's a disconnect there, but good luck getting them to recognize it. My father-in-law: "The government is fulla crooks." Me: "Don't _you_ work for the government?" She: "Yeah! That's how I know!" Sheesh.

A few weeks ago NPR interviewed a salt-of-the-earth farmer who was going on about too many people getting government handouts, etc. The interviewer asked abot farm subsidies, and the interviewee moved the goalposts, saying, yeah, well, we take advantage of the programs that are out there (with the implication that it'd be stupid not to); it's a very small percentage of my income; the problem is with people who are getting "a large percentage" of their income from government. Whenever the Tea Party types come to Washington to march, someone makes a crack about them riding public transportation. It's an easy and fun zing, but the counterargument - they were already forced to pay for it, why shouldn't they get to ride it? - is actually kind of a fair one.

All that said, it's a bit jarring when you think about it: GOP politicians are eager to tar "the government" with one big muddy brush. But by definition, politicians are people who either are government employees, or who desperately want to be. "I hate government employees, please make me one."

Found it

http://www.npr.org/2012/08/21/159370491/in-wis-swing-county-voters-criticize-handouts

(and I think I inadvertently changed my father-in-law's sex: That "She:" should be "He")

http://gawker.com/5946392/mitt-romney-stops-supporters-from-chanting-ryan-to-ensure-they-say-his-name-too

This falls into the kind of lol but mostly sad category, doesn't it.

The ability to hold multiple opinions or ideas which are mutually exclusive or strongly incompatible is an almost universal human trait. An unwillingness to see this as applying to oneself, even when one's nose is thrust in it by an outsider who recognizes the illogic of your opinions is also nearly universal. Hence the saying, none so blind as those who will not see.

"I admit this, he has one thing he did not do in his first four years, he’s said he’s going to do in his next four years, which is to raise taxes," Romney told a crowd at a campaign stop in Vandalia, Ohio.

Its kinda neat that he was able to summon up the ghost of Reagan once again by phrasing a new version of the famous Mondale quote

I'm patiently waiting for the inevitable "Obama's a Muslim" question put to Romney from the audience that McCain genuinely handled so well.

McCain genuinely handled so well

guy had a lot of time to prepare iirc, on account of hearing this shit non-stop for weeks w/o saying shit. i am being picky & asking a lot but i really feel like the collective historical genuflection before this moment is slightly more than it deserves.

He acted like what someone with a shred of dignity would do. He certainly didn't go off on an inspiring speech about his party's delusional base and the danger it was inciting. Instead, he just quietly took the mic, and mumbled "no, no. That's not true."

My itchy point is that I'd like to see what Romney would do. "Ha Ha, what's that? He's a MORMON? Ha Ha, no you wouldn't have said THAT. No, you can sit down now. Terrific."