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Early Voting and Independent Votes

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Some Early Voting Result Tally – At this Point the Presidency is up for Grabs

The question is how will the independents vote come election day?  Several factors are at play here. Romney was right to use the question, “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?”

With unemployment levels at where they are, and lets make this clear, the Media Reports on the U3 Number ONLY which for September was 7.8%. the U6 number which is the TRUE unemployment number stood at 14.7%.

We have in this country 23-24 million Americans out of work, who want to work but can’t find a job.

We have a President that has decimated the coal and oil industries in favor of green energy failures such as Solyndra, and bailing out GM. He advocated stimulus funds that were to create jobs but didn’t.  And, we have a situation in Lybia over 4 dead Americans where serious questions need to be answered.  And then, of course, we have  ObamaCare and Fast and Furious.

Taking an educated guess my belief is that the interdependent voter will take a look around and say, my food, gas, home heating and energy costs are higher than they were 4 years ago and I am still unemployed and will vote for Romney.

Take an animal that is trapped in a corner that is being chased down by a predator. Does that animal run towards what is going to catch him and eat him alive or does it run in the opposite direction towards freedom. The prey is going to move in the opposite direction. Therefore a person who sees his or her situation getting worse, in my opinion, will tend to vote for Romney.

Those Independents who are doing okay, have a job and tend to vote more democratic I think may just vote for Obama, The question than becomes which group of Independents out number the other group. That I think is the key to winning the election.

Here are some interesting statistics on early voting:

COLORADO
Total Number of Votes Caste: 965,510
Break Down: Democratic 35.6%, Republican 38.4%, None/Other 26.0%
In 2008, registered Democrats outnumbered Republicans by a 1.8 percentage point margin and Obama won the state by 8.9 percentage points.
In 2012, the 2.5 percentage point advantage for registered Republicans indicates the state will be more closely contested than ’08.

FLORIDA

Total Number of Votes Cast: 2,223,840
Breakdown: Democratic 42.4%, Republican 41.0%, None/Other 16.6%
Republicans usually win mail-in early ballots by a wide margin in Florida — 12 points or higher — according to Michael McDonald, who oversees the United States Election Project at George Mason University. Democrats have closed the gap with early voting.

IOWA
Total Votes Cast: 497,725
Breakdown: Democratic 44.2%, Republican 32.1%, None/Other 23.7%
Analysis: Romney has slightly narrowed the strong lead the Democrats built — 18 percentage points — in 2008 early Iowa voting. But Obama went on to win the state by 9.5 percentage points in ’08, meaning Romney will still need very strong Election Day

NEVADA
Total Votes Cast: 432,748
Breakdown: Democratic 45.2%, Republican 37.0%, None/Other 17.8%
Analysis: According to McDonald, Nevada’s 2012 early electorate closely resembles the state’s 2008 electorate. Obama won the state by 12.2 percentage points in 2008, and early indications are that Obama will win in Nevada again in 2012.

NORTH CAROLINA
Total Votes Cast: 1,700,128
Breakdown: Democratic 49.2%, Republican 31.2%, None/Other 19.6%
Analysis: At this point in 2008, Democrats had a crushing lead among early voters — 55.9 percent to 27.2 percent — and Obama only narrowly won the state by 0.3 percentage points. Romney has closed that gap enough that the latest data indicate a small lead for him in the state.

OHIO
Total Votes Cast: 1,006,398
Breakdown: State does not do party registration.
Analysis: Most urban, Democratic-leaning counties are on pace to exceed 2008 early-voting levels. But so are Republican-leaning rural counties. This indicates that Ohio will be a tightly contested race, as predicted.

VIRGINIA
Total Votes Cast: 254,074
Party Registration Breakdown: State does not do party registration.
Analysis: Early 2012 voting in Virginia has skewed heavily toward females and the 60-plus demographic. Unlike 2008, the state is allowing in-person early voting in addition to early ballots by mail, meaning early-vote totals will likely exceed ’08’s total of 336,743.

WISCONSIN
Total Votes Cast: 101,253 (in-person only)
Party Registration Breakdown: State does not do party registration.
Analysis: Wisconsin does not have comparable statistics from 2008, so little can be determined about which way the state is leaning in 2012 as compared to the 2008 election.

The debate

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Political commentary is my brother’s forte, not mine. But, I feel a bit compelled to comment on tonight’s festivities. Read more

Taxes and the election

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We, as voters, are confronted with two distinct theories of taxation in the upcoming election.  Our choice will frame our future, so let’s look back for guidance. Read more

Must see TV: Andrea Mitchell once again proving that she is thoroughly outclassed by John Sununu

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I watched this clip of Mitchell vs. Sununu in a post debate interview on “Andrea Mitchell Reports” and was laughing out loud at the way Sununu figuratively (a good word for Biden to add to his 500 word vocabulary) beat her over the head with every one of her Democrat talking point based questions.   It was poetry!

But Andrea was undeterred: she tried everything:

1) trying to knock him off message by questioning his use of the word “lazy” for the preezy (dog whistle anyone?)

2) quotes from liberal analysts (the Tax Policy Center) on Romney’s tax plans, debunked by Heritage etc.

3) comparisons to Reagan (not for good reasons)

4) tries to pull tax deduction specifics from him when Sununu demonstrates that it would be stupid

5) tries to trip him up on when Romney came out with his deduction plans for the rich

6) throws up paying for the “Bush tax cuts” that Romney will continue and Sununu reminds her that Øbama continued and supported these tax cuts in 2010  (for everyone) and this year (with the class warfare cutoffs) and what he said when doing so, i.e. you don’t raise taxes in a recession.  Sununu also aptly points out that we are no better off now than then, which the preezy seems not to notice.

Be sure to watch her face on the split screens when Sununu answers. they are PRICELESS!  There are also hand slaps on the desk to accompany her frustration with her failure.

The only reasons I can think of that would get Mitchell to keep inviting Sununu on her show are:

1) she continues to think she will be able to “get” him eventually;

2) it raises her ratings from near zero;

3) the repeated figurative blows to the head delivered by Sununu have knocked any sense of self preservation out of her head.

Watch it and enjoy, it is seven minutes of glorious frosting on the exquisite debate cake Romney served up on Wednesday.

Andrea Mitchell blows the dog whistle

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I came across this clip in another site, and was struck by the tone/purpose of Andrea Mitchell in her questions/statements about Romney’s secretly recorded speech to donors to John Sununu, Romney’s senior adviser to the campaign.

I don’t have a problem with what Romney said in the now “infamous” secret tape (except for Mother Jones’ editing), but he has to nip the Democrats attempts to redefine, or really, misrepresent what he said.  That’s what he managed to do with his taxes, albeit a bit more slowly than I would have liked: in a well played, albeit a bit delayed move,  he left the likes of Howard Dean sputtering that Romney is “unqualified” because he overpaid his taxes last year!  Of course, Dean sees the Walker victory as a win for the Democrats too….

While it is fun and educational to watch Sununu tear up Mitchell yet again (and without notes, I might add), some of the things she said further reinforces her role as a mouthpiece for the Øbama campaign:

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QslAvJVqAXE

Take special note at about 2:29, where Mitchell tries to insert race into the discussion, commenting that “the people getting these benefits are largely white people, including the majority of people that are on food stamps, and unearned income tax credits.  The suggestion, certainly, in what Gov. Romney said….”, then Sununu cuts her off, realizing that she was going to continue with this screed, noting that ” ‘freeloader’ is David Brook’s word”.

But really: “white people”??  Where did Romney mention anything about race?  Where did he use the word “freeloaders”, for that matter?  Not in the tape or transcript Mother Jones released (see below), unless they “edited” that out.  But why would they?  Clearly, Mitchell was trying to create her own Romney “suggestion” out of liberal whole cloth, that he believes all blacks are “freeloaders”.  Clearly, when you live under a rock like Mitchell apparently does, it is easy to find racism there.  It is even easier to parrot the day’s Democrat talking points.  Dog whistles anyone?

Here is the relevant part of the speech, up to the point where, allegedly, “the recording stops”:

Romney: There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe that government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it. That that’s an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what. And I mean, the president starts off with 48, 49, 48—he starts off with a huge number. These are people who pay no income tax. Forty-seven percent of Americans pay no income tax. So our message of low taxes doesn’t connect. And he’ll be out there talking about tax cuts for the rich. I mean that’s what they sell every four years. And so my job is not to worry about those people—I’ll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives. What I have to do is convince the 5 to 10 percent in the center that are independents that are thoughtful, that look at voting one way or the other depending upon in some cases emotion, whether they like the guy or not, what it looks like. I mean, when you ask those people…we do all these polls—I find it amazing—we poll all these people, see where you stand on the polls, but 45 percent of the people will go with a Republican, and 48 or 4…

[Recording stops.]

Maybe it is just me, but it appears that Mitchell is deliberately inserting race into Romney’s statements, where he clearly made no mention of race, and is doing the double duty of trying to incite racial divisions and turn lower income whites against Romney?   At about 5:50, she continues to drag in all the groups that fall into the “no income tax” bracket, including the elderly, recipients of credits for child care and the working poor (a group I think I must be in!), education credits, AMT deductions etc.  Sununu notes that they all lean towards the Democrats, who promise continued and unending benefits, which is what Romney was saying.

Kudos to Sununu, who, once again, did an outstanding job of defending Romney’s statements against a proven media hack for the Øbama administration.

Thumbs down to Mitchell, who can’t even pretend to be a real journalist.

 

Did the DNC put their foot in their mouths using a Chinese “news” agency to attack Romney?

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Our old “friend” Stephanie Cutter, Øbama deputy campaign manager, in yet another Romney attack, cited “a strongly worded anti-Mitt Romney editorial” from the official state news agency (read it: propaganda wing) of the Chinese Communist Party, Xinhua.  (UPDATE: Joe Biden also cites this Chinese article to attack Romney.)

I know what you are thinking.  Yes, even though parts of it read like a Democrat press releases or talking point memos, or a New York Times editorial, once you get past the obvious “why is the DNC citing ChiCom controlled news agencies?”, the rest of the article makes you wonder who is really being criticized.  Sure, they lambasted Romney for “China battering”:

“While addressing a rally in the U.S. state of Virginia on Thursday, Romney, just as what he has done along his campaign trail, opened fire on China, claiming that it was Beijing’s undervalued RMB currency that forced U.S. manufacturers out of job.

What is more sensational is that this millionaire GOP candidate has vowed to declare China a currency manipulator on the first day of his presidency if elected.

Yet it is rather ironic that a considerable portion of this China-battering politician’s wealth was actually obtained by doing business with Chinese companies before he entered politics.”

And the latter is, of course the “money line” that Cutter wants you to hear and stop reading, but if you take the time to actually read the rest of the article, it is a real stretch to apply most of it to Romney: it actually turns out to be a criticism of Øbama’s policies:

“However, the U.S. economy is still undergoing one of the lousiest recoveries in history, while its unemployment rates remain staggeringly high and trade deficits with China continue to rise.”

and,

“It has also become a handy tool for U.S. politicians who try to court the votes and support of ill-informed voters by ratcheting up antagonistic sentiment towards China, while truly serious social and economic woes within the United States have been left unfixed.”

Isn’t it obvious who is really making the “outsourcing” attacks?  Who is supposedly in charge of the economy?  You sure can’t say Romney is.  And more:

“To cure its economic ailments, the United States needs to put its own fiscal house back in order, substantially slash its tremendous military expenditure, and optimize its economic structure.”

Now that sounds more like a condemnation of the past four years of this administration than anything else.  But that isn’t the message Xinhua wants to put across.  Notice how the name of Øbama is only mentioned in a Romney quote?  One can understand why China doesn’t like “China battering”, and seeks to defend against it, but it is the Democrats who squeal loudest about job outsourcing, while Romney’s criticism is focused on the monetary manipulation of the Chinese yuan to further advantage the Chinese economy.

Could the lack of serious criticism of Øbama himself by Xinhua reflect a likely Chinese preference for the acquiescent, apologizing-for-America and bowing-to-foreign-leaders Øbama and his “disarm America” (directly and indirectly) as opposed to a pro military Romney?  Could Øbama’s rank ineptitude in fixing the American economy (ironically borrowing from China to fund his schemes) be more beneficial to China than an economically revitalized economy under Romney?

If, as they claim, “a considerable portion of this China-battering politician’s wealth was actually obtained by doing business with Chinese companies before he entered politics”, that would be in China’s favor.  Why would they be criticizing Romney and not the Democrats and Øbama in particular?

Perhaps because these claims are an exaggeration or aren’t really true?  What is “a considerable portion”?  They don’t say.  Isn’t anyone buying a cheap Chinese DVD player “doing business with Chinese companies”?

Here is an interesting point: a search of Xinhua’s site for “Obama” reveals news from the Middle East, a pro Øbama article, another attack on Romney,  lots more ME news, more pro Øbama post convention news (here and here), and it continues on and on.  Check for yourself.  You really get the impression that the Chinese are hesitant to criticize Øbama too much.  Or at all.

Considering that Øbama has done more than any other president to put us in China’s thrall, and China’s subtle appreciation of that, do you think it might have been a mistake (on several levels) by the Democrats to cite Xinhua?

Maybe they should stick to reading and citing domestic propaganda sources, like the NYTimes and the Washington Post….

MSNBC’S Andrea Mitchell: Political hack (Video)

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She is quickly becoming the very definition of a political hack. Remember this is the same woman that could not find her way to apologize for a video so poorly edited it made Mitt Romney look like he was out of touch. Remember the famous Wawa video? Except this video is so much juicier. Read more

Karl Rove takes Juan Williams to task on Romney economic plan: Video added

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Push back … and great video entertainment for the day. It’s time the lefty talking points get smacked down and Rove obliged.

On Fox  News Sunday Juan Williams tried to make a claim that first Romney had no economic plan while at the same time claiming Romney’s plan just wanted to cut taxes for the rich. Both untrue and Karl Rove smacked Juan down and refused to let him off the mat. Read more

Obama, The Economy is Just fine…How about another stimulus! video added

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President Obama held a press conference on friday, speaking of how the economy was doing.
The president had this to say about Job Creation.

“The truth of the matter is we’ve created 4.3 million jobs over the last 27 months, over 800,000 just this year alone. The private sector is doing fine.”

Of course the Romney Campaign responded to the Presidents Statement. Read more

I’m sorry, but exactly who is out of touch?

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Regardless of how I feel about Romney, the drubbing he received for his now infamous bet of $10,000 with Rick Perry during one of the debates was pretty typical of how Republicans, particularly wealthy ones, are treated in the press.

What is also typical is how the latest royal vacation of Øbama and family is reported.  In this time of record unemployment and weak economy, the Øbamas (separately again, at great extra cost) have embarked on yet another vacation in Øbama’s (alleged) birthplace, Hawaii.   According to the Hawaii Reporter, the cost of the 17 day foray has climbed to an estimated $4,113,038!  This is based on known costs, and the article lists several more costs that the WH will not release figures for.  Let’s not forget that Bush was constantly criticized by the left for the roughly $225K it cost to go to boring old Crawford, TX.   I think Camp David should be excepted, as it is the official “vacation” residence of the president.

Just like you, right?  How much did the last vacation you took (assuming you could afford to) cost?  It’s only fair that we know, since we are footing the bill.   No matter where Romney goes, or what he pays, the bottom line is that it is HIS bottom line, not ours.

Another question is: what is wrong with the mansion in Chicago?  Wouldn’t it be nice to go home for Christmas?

Øbama should be more cognizant of the difficulties the people that are paying for his extravagant vacation are going through, and tone down the elitist “living large” image he is projecting.  On our dime.

Who is really “out of touch”?