The Top Ten Reasons To Vote For Obama 2012

I’ve limited my list to only those reasons stated by Obama’s official campaign, an administration spokesperson, or uttered by President Obama himself.

Here we go.

10.  Will Ferrell will eat anything (“garbage, hair, human toenails”) if you vote for Obama.  The idea of using your civic duty to pay for the degradation of a fellow-man is funny, right?

9.   Mitt Romney wants to cut investments in alternative energy.  For this reason to make sense, then cutting investments in alternative energy must be a bad thing.  Nevermind the fact that cronies are wasting other people’s money; you have to think like a true believer here.

8.  President Obama coined the term “Romnesia,” which is both witty and devastating for Mitt Romney, because he forgets things.  President Obama doesn’t forget things.  Except maybe this or this . . . or this.  Also, it appears Obama didn’t coin the term after all.  Hmm, maybe I should move on.

7.  Who can forget Attack Waaaaatch?  Okay, technically the campaign used only one “a” for this nifty little idea to tattle on fellow citizens who criticize the President.  Nowadays, though, the parody is all that is left of the original website.  The more congenial “Truth Team” has replaced it, leaving only the website address as a reminder of bolder times.

6. Obama says you should vote for him for one very simple reason: revenge.  I’m sure this is not any attempt to foment class resentment or anything.  It’s not class warfare, it’s math.  Revenge math.

Hoo, I’m halfway through already?  It must be time to list the really substantive reasons why President Obama should be reelected . . .

5.  All vaginas and uteri depend on Barack Obama.  Maybe this notion sounds silly to you.  If so, let me explain its true meaning:  President Obama is zealously pro-business, assuming your business is an abortion clinic.

4.  If this election is your first, then you should vote for Barack Obama because your first vote is a lot like the first time you have sex.  And having sex with Obama is better than having sex with Mitt Romney.  Okay.  I need a shower now.

3.  Obama should get your vote because his speeches come from his loins.  Ew, I’m still needing that shower.  Maybe . . . this isn’t really a reference to presidential genitals.  I mean, who talks about loins anyway, outside a cheesy romance novel?  You know, “Girding your loins“ means preparing for the worst.  I think Axelrod accidentally telegraphed the fact that Obama is preparing to lose.

2.  Obama is willing to use expletives while publicly name-calling his opponent.  This is a great reason for the edgy, Rolling Stone-reading, first-time voting, rock-and-roll-lifestyling set to choose Obama, assuming they weren’t all won over by Lena Dunham’s sex joke.

Oh dear.  I have more than one reason left, but I’ve already reached the number one.  What to do, what to do?  Math is so hard.

The three number one reasons to vote for Obama:

1(a).  The beautiful people have told us to vote for him.  They have way more fashion sense than we do, you know.

1(b).  Osama bin Ladin is still dead.

1(c).  Obama says that Al Qaeda has been “decimated.”  Given the chance, Ambassador Stevens, Tyrone Woods, Glenn Doherty, and Sean Smith might have begged to differ on this.  Prayers for their grieving loved ones.

Two more days to go, folks.  Two.  More.  Days.

 

For All

Really, things have gotten so ridiculous that it’s a little hard to keep blogging.  After the eternity that has been Obama’s first term, continually explaining why 2 + 2 = 4 becomes a tiresome chore indeed, especially when one suspects that she is only preaching to the choir and making little headway otherwise.  I know, I know, speaking out is still important . . . but the little things get me down.

Like when I ran into a friend from three duty stations ago, and the upcoming presidential election came up.  I was treated to a casual remark that, while the current President’s record is unsatisfactory, she was afraid that an elected Romney wouldn’t let people have the freedom to marry who they want, and also he would require all women to wear skirts. (!?!eleventy!?!)

National security is more important than homosexual “rights,” I said, bringing up the hot mic incident, during which Obama demonstrated that he is willing to say one thing to the electorate, but another thing entirely to Russian leadership.  She had never heard about it.

Sigh.  Since I ran into this person at the commissary, at least I was able to soothe my nerves by buying some extra nonperishables.

Now, don’t you worry or nothin.  I haven’t given up hope.  I’m just running low on steam.  There’s not much for me to add to the conversation right now . . . at least, not anything that you and I haven’t said a hundred times apiece.

Only thing new to me is a little tidbit from Older Son’s curriculum.  I’ll share it, and see if it’s new to you as well.  You see, I’ve heard comparisons aplenty of the Democrat hold on black voters to the slavery of old.  C.L. Bryant made a whole movie on this very idea.  Click here to see if Runaway Slave is playing at a theater near you.

What I’ve never heard before is a positive comparison of slavery with the protective nanny-state progressives are always striving to achieve.  Apparently, though, pre-civil war Southerners made this very argument.  All defensive about their “peculiar institution,” many Southern apologists sought to explain why slavery was not a necessary evil, but actually for the best.  One of those apologists was George Fitzhugh.

Fitzhugh asserted in Cannibals All! or Slaves without Masters that Southern slaves were luckier than free Northern workers.  The Landmark History of the American People by Daniel Boorstin explains Fitzhugh’s argument:

“They were slaves with masters.  They had the best kind of social security.  Whatever happened, it was not their worry.  They did not have to pay any bills.  They had no problem of unemployment.  Slavery, as Fitzhugh described it, was a kind of socialism, where all property was put in the hands of the people (the white people) best qualified to use it, for the benefit of everybody, whites and Negroes.  Three cheers for slavery!”

Hmm.  Property put in the hands best qualified to use it for the benefit of everybody?  For the benefit of all?  Oh, yeah, I get it.  #ForAll.

Cross posted at NoOneOfAnyImport.

 

About That Enthusiasm Gap . . .

I mentioned yesterday that continued comparisons between the two campaigns could be interesting.  I’m just laying out what I found, with no cherry-picking.  Here’s a line of folks (via Twitter) waiting outside an OFA office August 11th, for tickets to Obama’s appearance at Oskaloosa today, Tuesday August 14th:

Next are the photos of the actual Obama in Oskaloosa event that I found on Twitter today.

First, “He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands” is now stuck in my head.

Second is the line of folks waiting outside the Nelson Pioneer Farm and Museum.  “Really, really, really long line for tickets to attend Pres. Obama’s event in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Enthusiasm gap? HA!”

The above photo of the queue is getting some distribution on the Twitterz.  I’m not sure what time it was taken, but the tweet above was sent at 11:11am.  The event was to begin at 9am according to this report.

Here are the rest that I found, in chronological order.  10:19am:

11:42am:

12:35pm:

12:50pm:

1:50pm:

2:19pm:  Oh dear.  I couldn’t embed this picture for some reason.  You’ll have to click over.

And finally, a Fox News photo from a 2:37pm tweet:

Whew, this linking and saving and attaching is pretty tedious.  Nevermind, I shall perservere.

On to the Paul Ryan event in Lakewood, Colorado, also held today (Tuesday August 14th).  This event was set to begin at 10am.

9:14am, the queue waiting to get inside:

9:44am, another view of the queue:

11:56am:

At 12:03pm @Chris_Moody tweets:  “Paul Ryan about to address totally packed gym in Lakewood, Colorado.”  Here’s his photo:

12:05pm:

At 12:10pm, @JoyLinFN tweets:  “Fire marshal says gymnasium at Lakewood High School has reached max capacity for Paul Ryan speech.  Crowd waits.”  Here is her photo:

At 12:13pm, @tripgabriel tweets:  “Packed to the rafters awaiting Paul Ryan at Lakewood HS in Colorado.”  His pic:

12:26pm:

12:57pm from @ShepherdCNN:

And finally, at 12:58pm, @KContiforCO tweets:  “Paul Ryan.  Addresses a Rockin’ crowd at Lakewood High School.”  Her photo:

These comparisons are proving interesting to me.  What do you think?

Here’s a strange thing.  At this very moment, the headlining topic at Memeorandum is  “GOP pros fret over Paul Ryan.”  Huh.  Perhaps there is a disconnect between the pros and the actual voters?

Related:  Rasmussen: Ohio likely voters favorable toward Ryan, 51/39

cross-posted at NoOneOfAnyImport

 

Today’s Senate Vote on Coal is about much more than Coal

On  Wednesday the Senate is scheduled to vote on Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe’s S.J. Res. 37, which would overturn Utility MACT, which requires “Maximum Achievable Control Technology” for mercury at coal-fired power plants. But it is about far more than Coal or controlling mercury emmissions. It is about allowing the president and his administration to once again bypass Congress and move his agenda forward by manipulating regulatory and executive power.

Phil Kerpen of American Commitment spells it out in a Washington Times op-ed:

The president’s Dream Act-by-dictate provides the latest evidence of this administration’s determination to push its agenda through without respect to Congress, the Constitution or the rule of law. While there are enough examples to fill a book (which I wrote and titled “Democracy Denied”), the most outrageous of all is the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) being used to advance an extreme anti-energy agenda that the American people decisively rejected when Mr. Obama proposed it as cap-and-trade. Wednesday we’ll find out where every U.S. senator stands.

In 2008, Barack Obama explained his energy policy: “Under my plan of a cap-and-trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket. Even regardless of what I say about whether coal is good or bad.” He went on to explain, “So, if somebody wants to build a coal plant, they can – it’s just that it will bankrupt them.”

That plan was utterly repudiated by the American people. Speaker Nancy Pelosi was able to narrowly grease it through the House with hundreds of pages of corrupt special-interest provisions, but the Senate refused to even bring it up for a vote. Dozens of House Democrats who voted for it were turned out of office largely because of that vote. One coal-state Democrat, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, won a Senate seat by literally shooting a bullet through the bill in a campaign spot called “Dead Aim.”

Yet the day after the 2010 election, Mr. Obama said, “Cap and trade was just one way of skinning the cat; it was not the only way. It was a means, not an end.”

The following week, the Center for American Progress released a report, complete with a cover letter from Obama transition co-chairman John Podesta, outlining ways in which Mr. Obama should bypass Congress and move his agenda forward by manipulating regulatory and executive power. Mr. Podesta’s report specifically recommended a regulation purporting to regulate mercury as a way to shut down coal plants and advance the global warming agenda.

Each senator will either vote to let Mr. Obama govern by regulatory decree and make electricity prices “necessarily skyrocket,” or reject Mr. Obama’s plan and take responsibility as a legislator.

 

Obama’s Immigration edict is nothing to cheer about according to this wise Latino

This week, President Obama announced that the Federal Government will stop deporting and begin granting work permits to young undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children and have since led law-abiding lives. A move that, on it’s surface, one might think would be enorsed by leaders throughout the Hispanic and Latino communities in the U.S..
But Daniel Garza, the Executive Director of The LIBRE Initiative, penned an op-ed on the Fox News Latino web page opposing the Executive Order. The former Associate Director at the Office of Public Liason for the White House said,

Had the legislative process been honored rightly, I too would have cheerfully given my personal endorsement of the rule change. However, we don’t get to change law based on personal prerogatives because we are all, as Americans, duty bound to honor the legislative process outlined in our constitution. It was poorly done and political headwinds are sure to follow the president’s actions, which compromise an effective long-term policy approach to a desperately needed reform.

For many of us who are immigrants, or sons and daughters of immigrants, we value the American Dream, an opportunity to prosper in a country that values the rule of law. From what I have read thus far, this new initiative intends to partially achieve the goals of the so-called DREAM Act. It seems – given the timing and targeted constituency – a politically driven attempt to turn attention away from the lagging economy affecting the country at large, particularly Hispanics.

The LIBRE Initiatve, is an organization focused on informing and mobilizing Hispanics and Latinos in their mission to increase economic freedom and prosperity by promoting free enterprise, personal responsibility, and a more constitutionally limited government. Mr. Garza further explained how the new policy conflicts with their vision of prosperity and freedom,

It’s not looking good, and it shows. With record job losses and unemployment, add to that a record number of deportations, this administration does not have much to latch on to with the Hispanic community. The majority of Hispanics, 53 percent, already believe that they have achieved the American Dream, but they are highly pessimistic about the next generation, with only 36 percent saying their children will be better off financially. While the policy shift is set to benefit an estimated 800,000 immigrant youth, it’s hard to tell if this initiative is in the least a partial solution to reversing the economic crisis.

Hispanics have been disproportionately affected with an 11 percent unemployment rate compared to 8.2 percent nationwide and it’s taking a political toll on the administration’s chances with Hispanics this November. But what is worse than the obvious political posturing to a critical voting bloc, is that this brazen attempt to collect votes in an election year undermines the rule of law.

Immigration policies should be market driven, not politically motivated. The foundation of individual liberty is rule of law, not what is politically expedient. More importantly, federal immigration reform must be hammered out by those elected by the people to be our voice in Congress, not the act of one person. It is pandering, it is dangerous, and it is not the American way.

The LIBRE Initiative has recently produced a powerful video which explains the real concerns of many in the Hispanic and Latino community, that while many have realized the American dream the current policies are causing us all to lose the dream for future generations.

 

Obama 2012 – The thrill is gone.

Barack Obama has now officially migrated from the “What’s Hot” to the “What’s Not” list. The migration has been slow but steady and the list of once fervent Obama supporters who have significantly cooled, or jumped completely off the bandwagon is growing. Obama Girl is the latest defection, in 2008 her enthusiastic public crush on the Obama was second only to MSNBC’s Chris “tingle up my leg” Matthews said she is “not as excited as I was the last time, that’s for sure” and when asked who she will be voting for this time she replied, “At this point I’m keeping that to myself,”

Here is a list of the other Obama supporters who are pulling back or pulling out.

Bruce Springsteen – There will be no concerts for Obama from the Boss in 2012, he is conveniently spending the summer abroad and his calendar is booked throughout the fall promoting his new album.

Mort Zuckerman – Real-estate and publishing mogul voted for Obama in 2008 but has been an outspoken critic of his failed policies and lack of leadership since he witnessed the direct transfer of stimulus money to municipal unions. He penned an especially stinging critique of the presidents failed economic policies in his U.S. News and World Report magazine.

Ted Leonsis – the founder, chairman, majority owner and CEO of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns and operates the Washington Capitals (NHL), Washington Wizards (NBA), Washington Mystics (WNBA) and Verizon Center in downtown Washington, D.C. wrote a scathing letter expressing his disappointment of Obama’s demonizing hard working wealthy Americans stating, “If people aren’t working, they will blame you and your administration. And since you have never worked before in a real job for a real company, you need help from people who have been there. Don’t push them away!” “Many of us want to be a part of the solution. We aren’t the problem.”

Raul Fernandez – Washington Capitals vice-chairman , he donated $30,000 to the president’s campaign in 2008,recently told The Washington Post that he would be voting for “anybody but Obama” and suggested the president’s fairness rhetoric smacked of anti-Americanism.

Rev. William Owens, the founder and president of the Coalition of African American Pastors – referring to Obama’s embracing homosexual marriage said, “President Obama is the fulfillment of our dreams for our sons — and he has broken our hearts by using his power and position to endorse as a civil right something that is simply wrong,”

Oprah Winfrey – said that she is “not going to be out there” as a booster  for President Obama during the 2012 general election campaign.

There are many more, I intentionally left off the far left wackos who have said they no longer support Obama because he has not governed as far left as they would like.

If you know of other Obama defectors, please add them in the comments.

 

Battle for Wisconsin Update

HUGE voter turnout.

According to the Waukesha Patch….

“At 6:30 we already had our first lady in line,” said Jane Neill, chief inspector at the Waukesha West High School polling location. “And we had a line before we opened at 7.”

Within the first hour of the polls opening at West, 306 voters had already cast ballots, which is 10 percent turnout for that location.

Neill said the line to vote stretched to the street very early in the morning, which signaled a massive turnout. She said the line wasn’t even as long that early for the 2008 presidential election.

What does it mean? Considering that half of teachers, when given the chance to opt out of automatic Union dues withholding, chose to do so. That, combined with the improving economic conditions in Wisconsin, are very encouraging signs.

 

Midnight, Linda

Dissection of the Obama campaign has begun in full earnest.  I mostly skip this analytical stuff.  The ones that paint a gloomy GOP picture are worrisome, and the ones that paint a rosy GOP picture tempt you to count chickens before they are hatched, and that’s worrisome, too.

As far as I can tell, the Dems have lurched from one comedic disaster to the next:  War on Women, War on Rich No-Good Ann Romney, War On People Who Tie Dog Kennels To Car Roofs, War on Involuntary Haircuts, War on the Bain Of Our Existence . . . are there any others?

Unfortunately, my opinion is not a good gauge of the public-at-large.  I can never figure out what people are thinking.  And I’ve been real curious about the public-at-large lately, because of emails like this one, with the name “Sarah Jessica Parker” in the “from” box:

“Linda — It’s my honor to invite you to take part in an event I’m hosting at my home with the President and First Lady on June 14th. If you can make a donation of any amount today, you’ll be automatically entered to win two tickets to New York to join us. Just before Election Day in 2008, I went to an Obama campaign office in New York and called some undecided voters. I believed then, as I do now, that if we all chipped in and did our part, we would not only make history, but create meaningful change that so many Americans needed. For me, this election is even more important than 2008. As a woman, a mother, and an entrepreneur, I need to believe our country can be a place where everyone has a fair shot at success. This November’s election will determine whether we get to keep moving forward, or if we’re forced to go back to policies that ask people like my middle-class family in Ohio to carry the burden — while people like me, who don’t need tax breaks, get extra help. . . . I hope you’ll help me welcome President Obama and the First Lady to New York. It should be fabulous. Donate $3 or whatever you can to be automatically entered to win: https://donate.barackobama.com/Night-in-New-York Hope to see you there, Sarah Jessica”

I am terribly curious:  how successful is an email like this?  Does it actually work?  It must, because with just two email subscriptions–Organizing for America, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee–I sure get a lot of emails.  Heck, two more popped up since I started this post–one from Rep. Pelosi and once from VP Biden.

Joe Biden’s subject box is eyebrow-raising:  “Midnight, Linda.”

“This is Barack’s last campaign. If you’re planning to chip in before November, we’d both appreciate if you do so today. Make a donation before the deadline at midnight your time.”

Nancy Pelosi’s missive is less creepy, at least:

“The news reports over the last few days have been all about Republicans’ money being from Karl Rove and the Koch Brothers.  Now, all eyes are on our response. We’re just 1,121 donors away from a record-breaking 100,000 supporters in the month of May standing behind President Obama for a Democratic Majority.  Will you contribute $3 or more before tonight’s midnight FEC deadline to help us reach a new all-time record?  Your donation will be triple-matched . . . “

The Obama campaign is smart, right?  They wouldn’t send so many emails out if it didn’t work, right?

Right?  Lots of speculation abounds on the competency of the Obama campaign.

I poked around for opinions on these emails specifically, but I didn’t find much.  Some fluff piece over at NPR.

In order to more fairly assess these emails, I have just signed up for updates from the Romney campaign and from the National Republican Congressional Committee.  If he starts filling up my inbox with similar spam, I’ll post about it.  No emails yet, but there is this:  Grab A Bite With Mitt contest.

Who started all this contest stuff?  Who decided that turning the presidential election into some sort of lottery ball machine is a good idea?

I understand that a large number of single, small-time donors gives bragging rights:  I’ve got the will of the people behind my campaign.  Back in 2008, the Obama’s loose campaign contribution methods made him look more “small-donor funded” than he really was:

“Although an unusually high percentage (49%) of Obama’s funds came in discrete contributions of $200 or less, only 26% of his money . . . came from donors whose total contributions aggregated to $200 or less.  Obama’s 26% compares to 25% for George W. Bush in 2004, 20% for John Kerry in 2004, 21% for John McCain in 2008, 13% for Hillary Clinton in 2008, and 38% for Howard Dean in 2004.”

So maybe that’s what these emails are all about:  the groundwork for creating the appearance of having real grassroots support, rather than, you know, actually trying to increase grassroots support.

Who, after all, is going to get all fired up for the Obama campaign, thanks to his inbox filling up weekly with gems like this:

“Linda — One thing to know about me is that I don’t really sugarcoat things. Luckily, this offer doesn’t need it. Make a donation of $3 or whatever you can to help President Obama and Democrats facing tough races across the country this year, and be automatically entered for the chance to spend a night on the town with the President and President Clinton in New York City. Don’t worry about travel, airfare, or accommodations for you and whoever you choose to bring with you — we’ve got it covered. The event’s less than two weeks from now. We’re drawing the winner at midnight tonight. https://my.democrats.org/Two-Presidents-and-You And if you win, I promise — you’ll love it. Thanks, and good luck, Debbie Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz”

Ooh, she promises!

Here’s another good one.  I’ve always wanted to host a foreign exchange student, and these folks are sure foreign to me:

“Linda — This summer, hundreds of field organizers and volunteers will join our organization here in Virginia to register voters and talk to our friends and neighbors . . . .  Some of these organizers will be new to the Commonwealth, and a lot of them will come on short notice.  They’ll uproot their lives because they know the stakes in this election, and they know how important it is for us to win Virginia this November.  I know that you do, too, so I’m asking for your help — although not in the usual way.

If you have an extra bedroom or a foldout couch, would you be willing to host a supporter for the summer? . . .

I know this is a big favor to ask, but as someone who has stayed with supporters before, I can tell you that it means a lot to the folks you host, and it will make a real difference as we build our grassroots organization here in Virginia.

If you can, you should sign up today to host an organizer or volunteer. We’ll be in touch soon with the details:  http://va.barackobama.com/Host-an-Organizer-in-Virginia

Thank you, and stay tuned. Ashley Ashley Baia Virginia Field Director Organizing for America”

Do you think they’ll get any takers?  If the campaign were going well, why would they need to ship “grassroots” supporters in from out of state?

So maybe that’s what these emails are all about:  the Obama campaign is getting a bit desperate about fundraising.

Recently, Ran sagely advised that this whole saga with Kimberlin is a sign of the left’s implosion:

“What we’re observing are the ripples at the surface of desperate struggles deep in the cesspool. The “Progressive” wing of the Left are chupped as Hell that the radicals – Obama, Van Jones & Co. cranked the frog pot too fast, too far and blew the lid off.  No patience, no guile these amateurs.  The frogs are hopping mad.”

Perhaps the torrent of goofy, ineffective spam in my inbox is just more ripples, evidence of the struggles deep within the Democratic Party.  What do you think?

I’ll conclude with a must-click.  My post research uncovered one gem of an article:  “Subject Lines of Obama Campaign Emails That Sound Like a Stalker Wrote Them.”

“Midnight, Linda,” could be added to that list.

Crossposted at No One Of Any Import.

 

Julia, oh Julia, the Heritage Foundation looks at what could be a better life for Julia

President Obama’s team introduced the “Life of Julia,” a portrayal of a liberal vision of life for one woman. In response the Heritage Foundation has released a version which shows how conservative policies, like the ones outlined in Heritage’s Saving the American Dream plan, can empower Julia and all Americans without government interference at every stage of life. Follow Julia’s new story here

 

 

Mark Levin outlines the conservative vision for Romney 2012

Growing more and more frustrated with Mitt Romney’s inability to articulate the conservative message while campaigning, the Great One delivers an example of what Romney should be saying as only Levin can.