Every day I think I’ve covered the issues that matter and then people do stuff and more issues appear. I’m starting to think blogging is a Sisyphean task? In any event, we’ve got more sour grapes advance-excuses for Team Obama, bad news for Madame Pelosi, the NCAA and more!
● The Big Mo in Michigan: Romney has moved ahead of Obama in Michigan. Yes, Michigan. That’s the state with the “eternally grateful” autoworkers whose very lives were saved by Obama. That’s the state with all the Muslims who hate and fear Republicans for their evil. I don’t put much faith in polls, but I do put faith in momentum in the polls and Romney’s got the Big Mo.
● Cry Poverty: Obama’s campaign is not in the best financial shape. After all this talk of him raising a billion dollars for this election, the funds have actually been few and far between, and he’s nowhere near a billion. To the contrary, he’s only raised $261 million so far. At this point in 2008, he’d raised $296 million. What’s worse, he’s spending money faster than he’s bringing it in. Last month, he took in $39.1 million, but spent $44.6 million. At the same time, Obama is now worried that Romney will actually hit a billion dollars ($1.2 billion to be precise) and Obama will earn yet another historical distinction – being the first incumbent to be outspent by a challenger.
● Prog-not-stication: Pelosi has been claiming for a long time now that the odds of them retaking the House “are better than 50/50.” I would like to put down five grand on “no f-ing way.” Now the Cook Political Report, which is usually pretty good at guessing Congressional races, says it ain’t happening.
Using simple math, Pelosi needs only 25 seats to retake the House. However, only one time in recent history has an incumbent President’s party gained more than 25 seats in the House in an election: Johnson in 1964. So this is unlikely in any event. But there’s more. Because of redistricting, the Republicans will likely gain 8-12 seats. That means Pelosi likely needs 35 seats. That ain’t happening. Moreover, Cook predicts that the Democrats will gain only 10 seats. So much for Madame P’s ability to see the future.
Interestingly, one race which blew up on the Democrats involved California’s new voting law. Last year, California decided that rather than letting both parties select their own candidates, everyone would vote and the top two vote-getters would move on. The idea was to ensure that lots of races ended up with a choice between two Democrats. Well, something went wrong and a district which voted for Obama by 56% will now have a choice between two Republicans. Ha ha! Look for the law to be changed again in light of this. Maybe this time they’ll just ban Republicans from running?
● Prog-not-stication: What do you all think of Tim Pawlenty as Vice President? Honestly, I liked him and his ideas, but he quit awfully quickly and I don't see him having the killer instinct the job needs.
● Playoffs? Playoffs?!: Finally, slightly off topic, the NCAA has let it leak that they will do a college football playoff system starting in 2014, with a committee picking four teams and then letting them eliminate each other with extreme prejudice. I personally don’t like this idea. I think it caters to the obsession of finding a single best team at the expense of the traditions set up within college football. As the system stands right now, it means something to win your conference and win a bowl game. Dozens of schools can gain glory and fans love it. But under the new system, only four teams will be relevant and only one will matter, just like in the NFL. But you may disagree. Thoughts?
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Keep The "Bad" News Coming!
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91 comments:
Most of this post gave me a happy, until i saw the ncaa leak. to quote you: no f-ing way! Dang it. why must they fiddle with college ball? W-H-Y?
great post, Andrew
Pawlenty is a wonderful guy, could be president, but is just so frisking boring. I'm sticking with my original ticket of Romney/Rubio
Football playoffs? I hear you, but it's going to happen. Most people want an official champion like in basketball. Whether picking four or 8, eventually one gets crowned.
Andrew: I think Pawlenty would make an excellent vice president. Whether he's the right v.p. candidate is another story. He has the right credentials, but much though I hate to admit it, the ticket needs someone a bit more colorful and dynamic. Romney is a little wooden, and Pawlenty is a bit too quiet and pleasant. A little soaring rhetoric rather than wonk-like analysis is probably in order right now.
I know that the rumblings of various colleges shrugging of the NCAA are perpetual, but this change really comes at the expense of the schools. I doubt it will be the last straw, but it will certainly keep the colleges grousing. Eventually they'll make good on their threats to discard the NCAA, and I will relish that day when it comes.
Patti, I had the same feeling until the NCAA thing. It's all about money for the NCAA. They would make a killing on a playoff system. And I think its despicable to destroy that much tradition just for a quick buck.
Jed, Thanks! I agree about Pawlenty. He's a nice guy, very bright, would make an excellent president, but he's too darn dull to work on this ticket.
On the NCAA, I think that no matter what gets picked, people will be upset unless it is like the basketball tournament and that just won't work in football.
Lawhawk, That's a good way to put it. Pawlenty would make an excellent VP choice, but he's not right for this ticket. They would become know as Bland and Blander.
tryanmax, I think that's very possible. I've heard a lot of colleges (especially not-famous) schools talk about leaving the NCAA. I know a lot of people love the playoff system, but to me it raises up 2-4 programs at the expense of a hundred others. I think it's a mistake.
I love the fact Romney is pulling ahead in the Rust Belt. That wasn't supposed to happen. You can smell the panic from Team Obama.
I think the NCAA thing is a huge mistake, but I don't care because I'm not into college football. I know most people like it, though they can't agree on the format.
I never thought the Democrats stood a chance of winning back the House. The mood of the people won't stand for it.
Also, Andrew, how did the book sale go?
You are absolutely right about the California thing too. They're going to try to change the law again to stop this. I'll bet they claim "the will of the people has been frustrated."
Ellen, That's the best part. These are states everyone assumed Obama would win. If he's in this much trouble already, imagine what kind of trouble he will be in more borderline states like North Carolina. We are looking at a possible landslide.
DUQ - Changing the rules is just so Democrat-y. It's the same with the "filibuster" rules in Congress. Filibustering is baaaad when the Dems have the majority, but gooood when they are in the minority.
On Michigan, things are going better than I could have hoped. I've been feeling in my gut for some time now that either Michigan or Detroit will go red. Dare I hope for both?
*pant, pant, pant, pant*
DUQ, If you believe the sports reporters, this is very popular. But I'm suspicious because they've been pushing for this for a long time because the stories write themselves that way.
Ellen, I agree. Pelosi's logic assumed the public wants the Democrats back. I don't see that. If anything, they're going to take it in the shorts again this time.
Bev, That's very true and it drive me crazy. They are SO SHAMELESS about it!!
Ellen, It was a stunning success. I was told to expect 3k-5k downloads and 27,000 people downloaded it. So now I need to hope they buy the other one and tell their friends. :)
DUQ, That's exactly what they'll say: "the will of the people has been frustrated by this horrible law we put in place to frustrate the will of the people. We never expected this to work against us. We must change the law again!"
Yeah, I kinda agree with everyone else about Pawlenty. I like him, and frankly would have gone with him over Romney in the primary had he stayed in, but there's the rub--he didn't stay in. It's like you said, he doesn't seem to have that killer instinct, which is even more important in a VP candidate than at the top of the ticket. Romney needs to go with someone with more fire and charisma--like, er, widely-rumored pick Ohio Sen. Rob Portman. Seriously, what the @#$%?!?!
"Ha ha! Look for the law to be changed again in light of this. Maybe this time they’ll just ban Republicans from running?"
You say that so sarcastically, Andrew....
Bev, The Democrats do that all the time! I can't think of a single issue where they haven't done something they thought would favor them, and then when it worked against them, they tried to change the rules midstream.
The filibuster is the perfect example. They love it when they can use it to stop the Republicans. At that point, it's the greatest guarantee of freedom. Once it let the Republicans stop them, however, it became the world's greatest affront to Democracy. They even said that when they had the numbers to overcome the filibuster!
But don't forget how they changes the law to keep Romney from appointing a Republican Senator in Mass, only to change it back so Patrick could appoint such a person.
And they keep changing the voting rules everywhere.
The level of hypocrisy is stunning.
Oh, and also, the crap-for-brains NCAA is stupid and should be subject to a complete overhaul, preferably one involving meat hooks. That is all.
tryanmax, I'm stunned about Michigan, but the numbers don't lie. The trend is very much toward an Obama defeat. I never would have guessed!
Times really are changing again. Let's hope this continues and spreads everywhere.
T-Rav, LOL! So you have no strong opinions about the NCAA?
Obama forgot one thing in his drive to save and therefore own Michigan by bailing out the Unions.
Yes he does get the benefit with the current ruling class of Union Lawyers and they will have sway over the lackeys that still have a job.
However, his policies have reduced the size of Detroit. He went in closing out dealerships. sales are going away and GM will have problems regaining the market share vs foreign competitors.
GM sold off their European operations to I beleive FIAT in Italy (I could be wrong but I think it was FIAT I do know it was sold to Europe). This lessened the company internationally further hurting market share. SM is a smaller fish in the world pond.
but to make matters worse, seen those ABARTH commercials. FIAT is making a play at the general American populace. Godd for them but it means that Detraoit has one more competitor. I suspect but I am not sure that buying out the European operation gave them the ability to get around the red tape and make street legal cars here. I know heretofore many Italian auto companies did not export to the States because of the regulations.
So Obama saved GM yes and in the process reduced the number of workers in the US auto industry and the clout of the largest US firm.
Not only that I am certain Ford employees were none to happy with the way this was handled.
This is all speculative hypothesis but I think it has led to a reduction in the power of the unions at the ballot box even though it was supposed to be a payoff that granted them ownership in the company. Irony thy name is Union Bailout! Given the damage to our auto industry I wish it were not so....
DUQ, It drives me crazy too. You would think somewhere along the line, shame would stop them, but apparently not.
T-Rav, I totally agree. I liked Pawlenty a lot and would have picked him over Romney as well. But he quit. And that tells us a lot. And the primary job of VP these days is attack dog, and I just can't see Pawlenty doing that. He would make a great cabinet person, but not on the ticket.
Not to mention, he's just too bland. Romney needs someone to light a few fires and inspire people. That's not Pawlenty. Pawlenty seems more like a Romney clone.
California Democratic Party, Don't worry, I know that you will ignore my sarcasm and treat that like a serious suggestion. But it won't help you. Nothing you do will ever work.
Indi, Fiat owns Chrysler, but your point is still valid. Yes, Obama "saved" the companies, but they lost a lot of jobs, they lost a lot of market share, and they defaulted on the bonds that all those union guys and their families held.
And you're right that the Ford guys got screwed in this because they are now competing against a company that has government backing.
Plus, Michigan is a mess. Detroit is on the verge of being seized and Obama refused to help. He's done nothing to change the DOJ practices which have upset the Muslim community. The rural population hates him. All of this is adding up.
Andrew, I dislike the NCAA's status as a law unto itself. It acts as judge, jury, and executioner, and isn't particularly good at either role. This wouldn't even be so bad, if it wasn't so touchy about criticism from below. I can't remember how many times I've heard of them threatening a penalized school with even stiffer sanctions if its students don't stop complaining about the decision. If you don't even have the right to express dissent about something, there's a big problem.
As for this particular decision, I don't find it offensive so much as unworkable. There's no way they could select just four; they'd inevitably have to make it playoffs between the winners of all the conferences, plus the best non-winners, and you'd wind up with the football version of March Madness. Plus, like you said, the histories of these various Bowls should be left untouched.
I find it odd that, at this point, Michigan would be more in the Romney column than Wisconsin. I don't care if he did live there, the Walker recall plus MI's different demographics suggests the GOP should be doing better in WI, but the polls seem to be saying the opposite. But Michigan also has six more electoral votes than Wisconsin, so Oh Well!
T-Rav, I despise the NCAA. I think their rules are a joke, they don't enforce them with any consistency, and their sole purpose seems to be to cover up problems and to make sure that the top schools get their share of the pie. I think they don't care about the schools, the athletes, the fans or the game itself.
I agree with you about the March Madness style tournament. Picking four teams will just move the level of controversy down one level. The only way to do a playoff with any level of validity such that people accept it would be to choose at least 16 teams and let them play. But that's not possible the way they do their schedules and given the number of games they play.
I also think that while this decision will make a killing for the NCAA and the top 10 schools, it will hurt everyone else.
T-Rav, I agree with you. I would have thought Wisconsin would be more likely to be Romney country than Michigan. In the end, I think both will swing for Romney, but it does seem strange.
Of course, I still can't believe both states have Republican governors?
T-Rav, Meat hooks? LOL! Tell us how you really feel! (I agree with you, by the way.)
Andrew, I think Pawlenty is too dull and he brings nothing to the table that he couldn't provide in a cabinet post.
I think Pelosi is delusional. I'm glad to see that I am right.
I think the NCAA sucks. I don't think a four team tournament is any better than the system they have right now.
I am very surprised Michigan is competitive. Happy, but surprised.
Doc, I thought about adding something about a blowtorch but I didn't want to seem too harsh. ;-)
Doc, I agree that Pawlenty would be an excellent cabinet choice, but I don't see him as a good VP choice. I think he has some innovative ideas (like the Google thing) but I don't see him bringing the skills that are needed to the table.
Pelosi is delusional.
I think the four-team tournament is the same thing they are doing now with the same problems, but only a little more legitimacy.
I'm shocked about Michigan, but we'll see how that plays out.
T-Rav, I could support that too. :D
Andrew, I just saw that you mentioned the cabinet post above. Great minds!
Andrew
Thanks for the correction. I knew there must be a reason that Fiat could make inroads to the American Auto market. They must have got the competitive advantage to enable this from buying out Chrysler.
I do know however that the GM european business was sold off to a European interest as part of the original bailout. I guess the company needed shart term cash apart from the 35 billion from Obama's Stash.
You know when you see these auto and bike TV shows (American Choppers) and the one where they rebuild cars it makes you wonder if the US government did not put a stranglehold on design there could be several US auto startups.
It must be easier than ever to design and manufacture new cars given the technology of AutoCAd and everything else. The red tapeworm of washington is the only reason people don't actually do it themselves.....
Indi, From what I've heard, Fiat is having problems already.
I think you're right about GM, but I can't say for sure.
I agree that there would be a lot more startup car companies if Uncle Sam didn't regulate the heck out of it. From what I've seen it's essentially impossible to start a car company in America today because every little thing on the car is regulated.
Doc, Yep. Great minds! :)
Andrew, Excellent list of things today. Yes, blogging is one of those tasks which will never end. LOL!
Andrew, I forgot about the Mass. appointment fiasco. Hoisted on their own petards. Though I think that it was Ted Kennedy who realized on his deathbed that Gov Patrick was not going to be able to appoint someone to replace him and everyone panicked. But the legislature did not have time to change it back and that's why they had to have the special election where Scott Brown. It was very important that Patrick be able to appoint someone because of the pending Obamacare vote to maintain the supermajority, but in true Dem fashion, they never imagined their cleverness could ever come back to bite them.
As far as Pelosi and her "insight" goes, the last time I checked, RCP still had the Republicans up on the Generic Congressional Ballot, which basically is a prediction that in the election, the GOP should gain seats, not lose them. I'm very certain we'll retain the House regardless of what happens on Election Day, but I would really like a double-digit gain in seats, just to confirm how out of touch San Fran Nan is.
Thanks Ed! I get that feeling. I'll bet there's more "news" tomorrow. Arg.
Bev, That's exactly right. They did it to stop Romney and then tried to undo it right afterwards because it stood in their way. And look how that ended up? We may actually hold that seat another 6 years after this election. Who would have guessed? And we will have Democratic game playing to thank!
T-Rav, That's the even funnier thing. She could be right in a best case scenario, but the Democrats aren't even past their worst case scenario yet. Predicting an historical turn around is insane.
The thing she said to justify this was that (paraphrase) "all it takes in politics is one good week and you can win back the public."
Yeah, ok. Stay delusional Nan!
If there is any explanation for the change of tide in WI and MI, it might have come from a caller to Rush's show today. He was describing how he converted from liberal to conservative because someone challenged his open-mindedness and he just sorta slipped in this line about younger voters feeling like it is okay to be a Republican. I wish Rush would've followed up on that point because it was a brilliant one. If I can guess at what he meant, I think he was hinting that the Democrat Party has lost its "counterculture" status. I don't know that it necessarily defaults to the GOP then, but at least that fallacy is spent.
tryanmax, That's an interesting point. I think a lot of young people went Democratic because Obama seemed cool and they talked about a new way. But their new way ended up being union thuggery and Wall Street banks. And I would bet that a lot of them have shifted to the Ron Paul wing because he provides what they are looking for -- though he won't ever deliver.
More than that, the notion that the Democrat Party was the counterculture party goes back a long ways. I don't know if it extends unbroken to the 60s, but I remember on voter registration day in high school being in the short line.
That's true. And if they've lost the "cool outsider" image then they have nothing left to offer except "party of thieves."
tryanmax, That's a great point. That idea, that they're the outsiders who represent the little guy goes back to the 1960s. I hope that's finally falling apart.
Yeah, in a single race, maybe an exceptionally good or bad week could reverse things. But hundreds of races together, with varying conditions in each? Keep dreaming. No, seriously, keep dreaming. The longer Pelosi and company stay in la-la land, the better our chances are.
T-Rav, I agree. One week can make a short term difference in a single campaign or it could allow a candidate to implode. But one good week can do nothing to improve an entire party's chances in an election. Not to mention, the Democrats have yet to have a good week since 2008.
But as you say, it's good for us if Pelosi and the Democrats remain delusional.
When I was a kid, I had a brother who was hell on wheels. For fear of being called a snitch, the rest of us kids never turned stool pigeon when my father wanted a confession from one of us when something was broken or burned down by my brother. So my dad always pulled his, "This is how we did it in the Marines" card and we all got spanked. I think whenever a democrat or a liberal does something stupid like Pelosi, Bill Maher, MSNBC, Obimination, et. al., they should all get spanked. I believe in my heart that the biggest spanking session in history will be November 2012. And it's going to be delivered by more than just a Marine.
Way to go sis! You stole my "spanking" line.
With the LibDems comes this logic when things are changed just in time to benefit them:
(flipping a coin)
Heads = "We Win!"
Tails = "You Lose!"
For the record, I drive a Ford, as in full size truck. Screw you libs and your no where to put the shovels for the shovel ready jobs cars.
JJ, I LOVE THAT IDEA! I would love to see all the Democrats get spanked. I also think only Democratic voters should be forced to pay back the debt because they are the ones who spent it!
Andrew,
I second that on the spending part! When do we implement it? November?
Andrew...BRAVO! I agree with you 500% But once they know they would be accountable to pay it back, watch them back peddle and say they're Republican now so that they aren't liable. Not only do they turn on their own kind, they turn on themselves too. Stupid is as stupid does!
Jen, That's their logic in a nutshell. Only it never works out. It works out more like this:
Head's we win, tails we lose...
It's heads, but somehow we didn't win. Let's pass a law requiring it to always be tails.
Ok, flip the coin, it's tails! What? Things still didn't work? This is an outrage. Let's pass a law making it heads. That should work.
What? It's heads and we still didn't get what we want? Let's pass a law making it tails.
(repeat)
Jen, I wish I knew. I would support that in a heartbeat!
"Sis"?
I always get nervous when the commenters know each other prior to posting. We must keep the divide between reality and the blogosphere. Failure to do so might result in the formation of a singularity and destroy the space-time continuum.
JJ, So true. A couple years back, Virginia passed a law called the "tax me more" act. It allowed people, i.e. liberals who whined that taxes aren't high enough, to voluntarily pay more on their taxes. Something like 12 people in a state of millions actually paid more. Liberals are all talk. They want to tax you, so they can spend it on themselves.
T-Rav, You're just jealous that your brother Earl-Rav and your other brother Earl-Rav won't comment! ;)
T-Rav,
She could have called me "Bro",but then that whole clothes swapping thing in high school would have had a whole different meaning. We don't mean to destroy the space-time continuum, but we do think alike many times, so two brains are better than one. Or one brain is better than a liberal.
T-Rav,
Yes, sis. You really need to be polite, and welcome her to the site. It took a lot of teeth-pulling to do it, too. LOL!
JJ, You are indeed welcome and T-Rav is just kidding. It's always great to have new people join us!
And yeah, I would be the clothes swapping thing would have been rather different if one of you was male. LOL!
Andrew, thanks for the welcome. I know T-Rav is kidding. I'm sure it's odd having two sisters on here. Thank goodness you only have to read our writing and not listen to us when we quote lines from Bugs Bunny cartoons.
Or, lines from "The Little Rascals".
T-RAV
Intersting point! It seems that Obama's policies have done much to inflate the Space Time continuum as it is.....
After all if there is an administration that has done more to create a singularity of thought it must be the OBama administration.
JJ, No problem. We've had relatives before and I think we still do. I think it's great!
There's nothing wrong with quoting Bugs Bunny cartoons!
Indi, Forget the space time continuum, I want to get involved in cloning. I need a couple clones for around the house... and maybe a surly one to keep the rest in line?! ;)
My counterpart is an idiot, and so are the rest of you Bible-thumping wingnuts!
I'm just kidding with you guys (or girls). Welcome to the site, of course.
I'm just kidding with you guys (or girls). Welcome to the site, of course.
I'm just kidding with you guys (or girls). Welcome to the site, of course.
Uh-oh. It looks like I may have been right about the space-time continuum breaking down. There may or may not be a version of me slightly in the past (or in the future), and another version caught in a time loop or something. Also, several other versions may have crossed over from the multiverse, so the next few hours could be hairy.
I'm just kidding with you guys (or girls). Welcome to the site, of course.
LOL! Nice work Mr. Rav, Mr. Rav, Mr. Rav, Mr. Rav, Mr. Rav, and Mr. Rav.
Don't you dare drag us into this.
Yeah, that goes double for me.
LOL! This is really getting out of control now.
Pawlenty as VP makes sense. There are candidates with more charisma and force of personality (one of my coworkers and I joked for days about Pawlenty kissing Romney's ring on stage after talking all that smack on Fox) but would Romney actually want a younger, more charismatic VP on the ticket?
Last election that strategy didn't work out too well because it continually highlighted the weaknesses of the person at the top of the ticket.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think that in the age of TV any winning candidate has chosen a VP who outshined them.
*Shrugs* Of course, there is a first time for everything...
Anthony, Actually, that's an interesting point, I don't think anyone has a chosen a VP who outshines them since way back.
To me, I think Romney is making a mistake if he doesn't pick a minority of some sort, and I think he understands that. He could do a lot to shake up the Democratic idea that minorities can't be Republicans if he picked one. But I guess we'll see.
Anthony, Romney has (or seems to have) far fewer weaknesses than McCain, so that's probably less of a problem this time. And traditionally, it's considered useful for the person up top to act dignified and above the partisan fray, while the running mate acts as an attack dog of sorts. Without questioning Pawlenty's conservatism for a second, I have doubts about how well he can fill that role.
That said, I certainly wouldn't mind seeing him as Vice-President. And if the pattern of the past few weeks continues through August and September, the question of campaign-trail abilities may be academic at that point.
T-Rav, I agree with that. I think the role of the VP in recent years has been to do the dirty-work so the President appears above the fray. Romney had been excellent at that -- just try to find a quote of him saying something petty.
As for him as VP, I like the pick in a vacuum, but I think he would be a poor choice this time.
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