Fuck Romney

[barracuda]

...the GOP do not hide who they are.

They don't. They come out with their big American flag spectacle, using a lot of Southern right wing code language pandering(with a wink and a nod) and make the more egregiously offensive and Onion.com level of shocking statements in regards to women/rape/minorities/the poor/etc. MANY analysts and journalists have been talking about how strange it is to see the GOP move further to the right, even as America has never been more diverse.

I'm quoting the whole thing just so I can see that face again.

The Repugs don't give a fuck about that American flag bullshit, man. Their patriotism extends as near as the money they can take from your wallet and as far as their Caymen tax shelter. They make "shocking" statements about social issues because a.) they know they can enthrall the base with this type of bullshit, swinging guaranteed vote blocs, and b.) they really don't care about these issues or their constituents except insomuch as they can use them to take power and control you. Their love of the Constitution is all about how it can be used to protect big business from any responsibility beyond profit, and protect the moneyed private property from the proles. They whine about "big government" and then create the Department of Homeland Security.

Why do I have to tell you this? Their whole schtick is a sham, a ruse, all the while they're hiding their sexuality in the closet or having illicit affairs while they moan about the sanctity of marriage, or hiding their finances and privately doing whatever they can to not pay taxes while they hike the fuck out of yours, or hiding from military service while they send the rubes to die in order to facilitate commodities futures arbitrage, etc., &c, &c.



Please.

[compared2what?]

...the GOP do not hide who they are.

They don't. They come out with their big American flag spectacle, using a lot of Southern right wing code language pandering(with a wink and a nod) and make the more egregiously offensive and Onion.com level of shocking statements in regards to women/rape/minorities/the poor/etc.

That's not who they are, though. That's their...Oh. Well, I guess barracuda already said it.

But he's right. Don't fall for it.

[8bitagent]

The Repugs don't give a fuck about that American flag bullshit, man. Their patriotism extends as near as the money they can take from your wallet and as far as their Caymen tax shelter. They make "shocking" statements about social issues because a.) they know they can enthrall the base with this type of bullshit, swinging guaranteed vote blocs, and b.) they really don't care about these issues or their constituents except insomuch as they can use them to take power and control you. Their love of the Constitution is all about how it can be used to protect big business from any responsibility beyond profit, and protect the moneyed private property from the proles. They whine about "big government" and then create the Department of Homeland Security.

Why do I have to tell you this? Their whole schtick is a sham, a ruse, all the while they're hiding their sexuality in the closet or having illicit affairs while they moan about the sanctity of marriage, or hiding their finances and privately doing whatever they can to not pay taxes while they hike the fuck out of yours, or hiding from military service while they send the rubes to die in order to facilitate commodities futures arbitrage, etc., &c, &c.

Barracuda, why are we arguing? I agree 100%. But it's such a side show, so over the top...so...real life TheOnion.com Maybe it's just from years of discussing this stuff from an alternate angle,
but all but the most brainwashed of Tea Party-Fox-Glenn Beck fans must see it?

There's this waxy, unnervingly fake, servile and intensely loathsome vibe about Republicans that...well Bill Hicks best sums up here

[justdrew]

8bit, grats on the additional restoration work you've done on your avatar

[barracuda]

Barracuda, why are we arguing? I agree 100%.

Apologies, bro. It's just that I spotted an easy opportunity to talk shit about the Republicans and the rest was pure reflex. Mostly gag reflex, but reflex all the same, and damn near impossible to control.

[barracuda]

Did Romney adopt KKK slogan: "Keep America American"?
By John Aravosis

After two days of refusing to respond to reporters' questions about this story, the Romney people are now claiming that the phrase he's been using is "Keep America America" instead of "Keep America American." (The latter was reported by the Los Angeles Times.) Note that the Romney campaign has offered no proof of their claim as to what Romney "really" said, and the media, oddly, and typically, is asking for none. Putting aside the discussion of whether "Keep America America" is a nuance without a difference, it seems odd that Romney's people didn't simply tell the press this from the first phone call two days ago. Instead, the Romney campaign has been stonewalling the media for two days, permitting the story to grow and grow, without comment. It just seems odd, if in fact Romney is now claiming he never said it in the first place - why didn't they just admit that up front and end the speculation? And why are they offering no proof of what he "really" said - none of the speeches were written out? Really?

UPDATE: Mitt Romney appears to have flipped out on MSNBC. They're now "apologizing" for mentioning this story and this blog. Which is odd, because it's not entirely clear what they're apologizing for. The story is true. Romney used the phrase at least twice, and it is an old Ku Klux Klan slogan. So what about the story is incorrect, or as Al Sharpton is now calling it (he works for MSNBC) "innuendo." Innuendo? It's a Klan slogan, he said it.

He's said it repeatedly for over a year now. Here is Romney a year ago, using the Klan slogan in what appears to be an appearance at CPAC (I had earlier thought this was a campaign ad, it may not be - but the video is Romney using the phrase).



Romney said it again four days ago.

In an era in which it's apparently okay for Republicans to accuse President Obama of being a socialist, I guess we now need to ask if Mitt Romney is a Ku Klux Klansman. Not whether Romney inadvertently is using the KKK's number one slogan from the 1920s on the stump, no, the Republicans would say, if this were a Democrat, that clearly the candidate was a closet member of the KKK. So, is Mitt Romney a closet member of the KKK? Keep in mind, that even Romney is now claiming, between the lines, that President Obama is a socialist. So why shouldnt' America be asking if Mitt Romney is a Klansman?

(By the way, I'm waiting for the traditional media to poo-poo this and ignore it, or write it off as funny, while they freely quote the GOP candidates, and members of Congress, repeatedly calling the President a "socialist," and never write articles about how kooky or ridiculous (or un-American) that accusation is.)

[compared2what?]

He clearly says "keep America American" and not "keep America America" in that video. And the latter would be kind of a dumb-sounding thing to say anyway.

I guess I assume that nobody knew its KKK provenance, not that they were sending a signal to the KKK-slogan-collecting vote.

Is that naive of me?

[barracuda]

I don't think it is, really. It's hard to say whether or not the Klan recognizes the echoes of their past in the political sloganeering of today. But since the subtext of the phrase doesn't seem to have changed in the last ninety years it's sort of a moot point.

[8bitagent]

8bit, grats on the additional restoration work you've done on your avatar

Thanks. For some bizarre reason I find the "Botched Fresco Restoration"(or, Alien Monkey Jesus) story the most interesting story of 2012 so far. Yeah, been kind of a slow year.

[Hammer of Los]

...

Alien?

Monkey?

Jesus?

You gotta be kiddin' me.

...

[barracuda]

[8bitagent]

Barracuda, why are we arguing? I agree 100%.

Apologies, bro. It's just that I spotted an easy opportunity to talk shit about the Republicans and the rest was pure reflex. Mostly gag reflex, but reflex all the same, and damn near impossible to control.

Naw Im the same way. I guess tho, in my odd mind they(like Fox News) get off and thrive from being slimey and smarthy and are in on the joke.

[seemslikeadream]

Reported theft of Romney tax records being probed
By ERIK SCHELZIG, Associated Press – 1 hour ago
FRANKLIN, Tenn. (AP) — The Secret Service said Wednesday it is investigating the reported theft of copies of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's federal tax records during a break-in at an accounting office in Franklin. Someone claiming responsibility demanded $1 million not to make them public.
An anonymous letter sent to Romney's accounting firm and political offices in Tennessee and published online sought $1 million in hard-to-trace Internet currency to prevent the disclosure of his tax filings, which have emerged as a key focus during the 2012 presidential race. Romney released his 2010 tax returns and a 2011 estimate in January, but he has refused to disclose his returns from earlier years.
Romney's accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers, said there was no evidence that any Romney tax files were stolen.
"At this time there is no evidence that our systems have been compromised or that there was any unauthorized access to the data in question," PricewaterhouseCoopers spokesman Chris Atkins said.
In Washington, Secret Service spokesman Edwin Donovan confirmed the agency was investigating. The Romney campaign declined to comment, referring all questions to the accounting firm.
Franklin police said there were no recent alarms or break-ins reported at the site. "We've had nothing from that address in August," Police Lt. Charles J. Warner said.
There was no sign of forced entry at the five-story building that housed the accounting firm's local office, not far from the Cool Springs Galleria, a large mall about 20 miles south of Nashville.
The building does not restrict access during business hours and has no guard. Access to the doors and elevators appear to be controlled by keycard. A spokeswoman for the building manager, Spectrum Properties, said the company would not speculate on the burglary claim.
"All of the tenants operate independently and the building is highly secured," the spokeswoman, Beth Courtney, said.
The data theft was claimed in letters left with political party offices in Franklin and disclosed in several Tennessee-area newspapers. Jean Barwick, the executive director of the Williamson County Republic Party, said employees in the GOP office found a small package on Friday with a hand-written address. The package contained a letter and a computer flash drive, she said.
An anonymous posting on a file-sharing website said the returns were stolen Aug. 25 from the accounting firm's office. After "all available 1040 tax forms for Romney were copied," the posting said, flash drives containing encrypted copies of his pre-2010 tax records were sent to the firm and to Republican and Democratic party offices.
Barwick said she turned over the materials to the Secret Service. She said she was not able to confirm that copies of any tax returns were stored on the flash drive
The group threatened to divulge the tax files by late September unless it was paid $1 million.
Braun reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Alicia A. Caldwell in Washington contributed to this report.

[lupercal]

Mittbain is so toast. Michigan delegation testifying to Chrysler & GM's comeback and making "let Detroit go bankrupt" tonight's take-away soundbyte:



Clinton up later.. MSNBC live link here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032553/

[seemslikeadream]

Hustler magazine offers $1 million for a different type of exposure – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs


(CNN) - A magazine known for its sexually explicit material is offering a reward of $1 million dollars for a different type of bare-all expose.

The publisher of Hustler magazine, Larry Flynt, is offering the sum for the skinny on GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney's financials, the magazine announced.

It is taking out full-page advertisements in two newspapers - The Washington Post on Sunday, and USA Today on Tuesday - "offering up to a million dollars in cash for documented evidence concerning Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney's unreleased tax returns and/or details of his offshore assets, bank accounts and business partnerships," a press release from the magazine read.

Flynt's announcement could be seen as either an attempt to keep the issue of Romney's financial documents alive or put himself - and his magazine - in headlines.

Romney has released his tax returns for 2010 and an estimate of his 2011 tax liability, but has repeatedly said he would not release additional years, saying it would be fodder for Democrats to criticize him.

In recent months, various political figures, including some Republicans, have called for more transparency from Romney.

Earlier in the week, an anonymous online poster claimed it was holding stolen tax documents belonging to Romney ransom for $1 million in an internet currency. Should the sum not be paid by later this month, the posting said a key to unlock the documents would be released publicly, while the financial firm from which the documents were allegedly stolen said there is "no evidence of unauthorized access to our data."