Chosen Defender of the Indefensible: Romney and the 2012 Republican Platform

by Nomad

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fter what seems like an eternity, with a campaign filled with endless debates involving a fairly unimpressive line-up of Republican candidates, it still comes as a shock that this man, Mitt Romney, is the best that the Republican party could come up.

When the candidate's wife has to come before the convention as part of a charm offensive, then something has clearly gone wrong with the selection process.

Who's next on the rostrum, his great-aunt June and her bridge partner?

Romney's unyielding ambition to be president at any cost has finally landed him in what can only be an truly awkward position: attempting to defend the indefensible Republican platform for 2012.

Exclusive Nomadic Interview: Lucifer, Prince of Darkness Discusses The 2012 Election, Mitt Romney and the GOP

  by Nomad

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fter my repeated requests (mostly through the use of a childhood Ouija board), Satan last week finally agreed to a  exclusive face to face  interview about his take on the upcoming US elections.

Born sometime around the beginning of creation, the publicity-shy father of contention now calls Naples, Florida home. Upon my arrival to uber-elegant villa, I was greeted by Feldgrau-green hunchbacked demon/butler and was escorted through his elaborate Venetian-Gothic residence, (patterned after the Doge's Palace in Venice). After I was escorted through  a marble-floored ballroom the size of Royal Albert Hall, we passed onto a pristine white terrace overlooking 10 acres of formal gardens.  It is all too too perfect, I think, as I wait.

With a brisk, almost feminine stride, Satan arrives precisely on time, flanked by two beefy eight-foot tall demons in Yves Saint Laurent pin-striped suits and Calvin Klein shades. Satan’s in True Religion jeans, a pale iridescent blue T-shirt- (which, I notice, match his eyes), a shoulder-hugging leather jacket and what look to be brand-new black Puma sneakers. He's taller than I thought he'd be with a physique sculpted by hauling morbidly obese souls to continually burning furnaces.

A Closer Look at Romney’s Surrogates: John H. Sununu 1/3

by Nomad

Here's a three-part post about a man who has appeared on Fox News lately, declaring himself to be Mitt Romney "surrogate." Who is John Sununu and what was his history? It's worth taking a closer look.

The Importance of Being a Surrogate

When you study a candidate for high office, it's sometimes easy to forget that behind that person is a team of advisers who influence each and every one of his decisions. 

Conversely, it is important to note the kind of person that the candidate attracts.

So when it comes to Mitt Romney, it's fair to take a closer look at the people Romney surrounds himself with and who listens to. Should Romney win in November, it is quite possible that these people will form part of his cabinet or his personal staff. In this series, we will look at one such person, John H. Sununu. 

Apparently John Sununu is not exactly an official representative of Mitt Romney. He doesn’t seem to have any actual position in the campaign, as far I could tell. 

He is usually called “a key Romney surrogate”- which seems to mean somebody goes and talks to the media, promoting- and in Romney’s case, generally defending- the candidate. Presumably, these are people who are so in tune with their man that they can speak for him.

On the other hand, from Romney’s point of view, the use of so-called surrogates is exceedingly practical, since his opinion can change at any given moment.,And there’s one major advantage of being a surrogate- as opposed to an official spokesperson. In that surrogate position, you can make any kind of specious and ridiculous claim and the candidate doesn’t have to take any responsibility for the remarks.

Secrecy and Disclosure: Cheney Offers Romney Free Advice

As vice-president, Dick Cheney's most effective tool was always stealth. Listen the unsolicited advice he has given candidate Mitt Romney about disclosure. Of course, the question is whether Cheney's advice can actually win elections or hide evidence?

I have recently come to the conclusion that the Republican Party is now living in a world where rewards and punishment, shame and honor, have been turned upside down and made completely irrelevant.

The very people that should be hanging their head in utter shame, that should be wear identity-hiding beards and dark glasses or living in total seclusion in a backwoods cabin in Montana are now held up as experts or authorities.

Republican failures are constantly being interviewed and asked their opinions. Why would any intelligent person care?

So when I read about former vice president Dick Cheney giving his “valuable” advice to the presumptive nominee for the Republican party, Mitt Romney, I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised. After all, the conservative media reveres people like Cheney and think, despite the historical record, their opinions are extremely important.

The 7 Lessons the GOP has Failed to Learn from the Sarah Palin Blunder

Sarah Palin's vice-presidential candidacy was controversial from the moment it was announced. For an assortment of reasons, many thought she was totally unqualified to be second in command. After a disastrous campaign, in which the McCain and his running-mate seemed to be conducting separate campaigns, many lessons should have been learned. Apparently nobody has learned anything at all.

The way the GOP has handled the Sarah Palin problem - from start to finish- says so much about what is wrong with the party. 

Even now, as the presumptive nominee, Mitt Romney, heads toward the convention to be crowned (despite some serious concerns about his suitability) the Republican leadership seems to have learned nothing.

Bad Karma: How Romney's Bain Capital Worked its Magic on Clear Channel Communications

 by Nomad

In an amazing twist, Mitt Romney's former hedge fund management may be the thing that kills off a major supply of hate on the radio.

Splashing Cash

Just saw this good news article about the slow inevitable sinking of Rush Limbaugh and the perfect storm mounting against right-wing hate radio. As you probably have heard, the campaign against Limbaugh has been effective at getting big name corporations from providing advertising revenue for the promoters of controversial radio show host.

According to the article,

(A)nother threat to Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Michael Savage, et al, looms on the horizon, and comes from a very different direction: vulture capital.

None other than Mitt Romney's Bain Capital owns Clear Channel, which is the parent of the conservative talkers' syndicator, Premiere Networks. Clear Channel recently downsized, simultaneous with Bain Capital squeezing the company through a forced 2.2 billion dollar dividend. (This is one of the mechanisms by which Mitt Romney and friends have amassed their fortunes -- sucking cash out of troubled corporations, subsequently allowing some of them to go bankrupt.) Clear Channel was already 19.2 billion dollars in debt, and is facing a shareholder lawsuit related to loans between different Clear Channel entities that were used to cover the huge payout. In spite of crushing debt, Clear Channel is "splashing the cash" in "an attempt to rebrand itself as a hip digital music giant."

The move away from controversy cannot be very good news for the likes of Limbaugh. Hip is not really his thing. Not to worry too much; the devil takes care of his own (for the most part) and Rush is no exception. 

Laughing at Mitt's Expense: More Romney Cartoons

by Nomad
With the Romney campaign looking more and more like a disaster, it shouldn't surprise anybody that politicians might not want to throw away their careers by agreeing to be his running mate. 

Of course, there's always Sarah Palin. She's already thrown away her career. Probably a few careers actually. Poor Sarah really doesn't have much else to do nowadays anyway. Who knows? She was certainly a game changer for McCain in 2008.

Here's my favorite:

In the end, it has boiled down to a man that nobody likes, and nobody trusts who campaign is awash with the seemingly unlimited funds from special interests and the 1%.

Related articles

• Guy who picked Sarah Palin says Mitt Romney's problem wasn't his taxes (dailykos.com)
• McCain: Sarah Palin Was A "Better Candidate" Than Mitt Romney (alan.com)
• McCain irked by blowback over Palin remark (politico.com)

Laughing at Mitt's Expense: Some Romney Cartoons

Thought I would take it easy while we all wait for the next Romney train wreck. Last week was really NOT his week. I suspect it's going to be a long but interesting summer. 

In the next cartoon we see what Romney's tax returns might actually look like.

Runaway SuperPACs and the Devolution of Mitt Romney

by Nomad

In yet another case of an "evolving" opinion, Republican Mitt Romney has once again betrayed the high-minded rhetoric of his past campaigns in favor of a more corrupt but lucrative political strategy. Romney has now made it quite clear, he has a price and he is ready to take bids.

Back in 1994 in Burlington, Massachusetts, Mitt Romney spoke about the growing influence of political action lobbying organizations. He told the gathered businessmen the Burlington Business Round Table, 

“I also would abolish PACs. You probably have one – I don’t like them. I don’t like the influence of money – whether it’s business, labor or any other group. I do not like that kind of influence. Lobbyists, I want to register, know who they are. I want to make sure gifts are limited. I think we have to really become much more vigilant in seeing the impact on money – and I don’t care how it’s organized – on politics.”

The "evolved" Romney of today is, however, far less idealistic and, with the Supreme Court's support of Citizens United, he seems quite willing to sell himself to whomever has the cash. Romney's SuperPAC (the nonsensically named) Restore Our Future announced in June that it had collected $100 million. Late last year, I wrote a detailed post on the early million dollar contributors to Restore our Future and the methods they used to remain covert. Open Secrets has a updated list of the names and amounts of the top contributors.

Leaked Notes for RNC Opening Speech: It's a WINNER!

Here are the leaked notes to the opening speech at Republican National Convention to be held in Tampa next month. It certainly covers all of the voting demographics. Sounds like a winning platform to me. 

Mitt Romney and The Ampad Affair: A Bain Success Story

by Nomad

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here’s an old saying that you can judge a tree but by the fruit it produces. For people it is a case of looking at the actions and not merely by the words. That’s especially true with politicians.

In the Republican party’s presumptive nominee Mitt Romney’s case, if the things he has said can be pretty awful, his past actions are generally far worse. As a corporate head, his treatment of the American worker offers a clear picture of the kind of disdain, or at least, indifference, he harbors for the working class. In July 1994, a Bain-controlled paper company Ampad purchased a Marion Indiana paper plant. 

Two years before, Bain Capital saw Ampad as a troubled company in a thriving market, and so, began the process of restructuring, reducing waste and whatever else was needed with aim of taking the company public. In turn, as it had done with many companies, Bain would sell the stock of newly revitalized Ampad at a profit. 

This is what equity companies do. They buy companies with problems and after increasing their value, then sell them. There are many ways to boost profits, including cost-cutting, modernizing plants, adding products, expanding into new markets, and acquiring similar companies. It might even require hiring more workers. But that wasn’t the case in Ampad.

The Republican Party’s Problem Child: We Need to Talk about Mitt

by Nomad

I f you have been following the latest campaign news, you have undoubtedly heard that the presumptive nominee has finally got himself in what I call, the classic liar’s bind. 

That is, he has told so many different lies to so many people (and under oath as well) that there is now no possible way that any of them can be plausibly fit together into a “workable” truth. In short, the man the Republicans are counting on to put them back into power is an unmitigated mess. 

His timeline about when he left Bain Capital has recently been cast in significant doubt. Again. 

From the latest news, it seems as though he has lied under oath to either the SEC or the Massachusetts Ballot Law Commission. And if those reports are true that he was still involved in the decision making at Bain Capital, it opens a whole Pandora’s Box of problems. Bain’s corporate behavior after 1999 regarding closing of American companies, firing of American workers and outsourcing to China and Mexico will all undermine his claims of being a job creator. (For a examination of that issue click here and here.. and here.)

Mitt Finds a Mate? Michigan Governor Rick Snyder

by Nomad

While nearly every name -except Sarah Palin -has been floated, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder is the latest to be a possible vice-presidential pick for Mitt Romney.

Snyder's not what anybody would call a shining star, something of an unknown, but considering some of the other possible choices, lack of public familiarity isn't such a bad thing. In many ways, the selection of Snyder makes a lot of sense.

Last month, when Romney toured the state, he was joined by Snyder who stated:

“Our comeback is being slowed down by the mess in Washington And if you look at the issues there, they’re the same issues we had here. We need more and better jobs.”

Without question, things in the state have, indeed, been rough, but, as the LA Times reports, the situation is slowly improving:

When Obama took office in January 2009, Michigan’s unemployment rate was 11.3%. It rose to 14.2% in August 2009, but had slid back to 10.9% by the time Snyder took office in January 2011, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Since then, it has declined further to 8.5%.

That's great news for one of the most desperate areas of the country. But that kind of news is probably not the best news for the Republican campaign. In an effort to find some kind of negative aspect, Snyder blames Washington for the delay in the improvement. Blaming Washington plays well, of course. 

However, when it comes to how the problem developed in the first place, some people thing, Snyder has a few fingers pointed in his direction.

Mitt Romney, Lies and The Mormon Church 3/3

by Nomad

In the previous two posts (Part One, Part Two) we have taken a close look at the convoluted history of the Mormon faith, its suspicious origins and the character of its founder. In part two we examined the instances of deception when it came to explaining the religion to outsiders.

I want to conclude this series by coming full circle.  We shall now see how there are certain principles that the modern LDS Church is willing to forsake- purely for the sake of power- that no Mormon follower can possibly accept. 

Honest Hearts, Honest Actions

When it comes to lying, the official stand of the Church is- not unexpectedly- in favor of honesty. In February of 1831, the Prophet of the Mormon Church, Joseph Smith, in a revelation before twelve elders in Kirtland Ohio stated:

Thou shalt not lie; he that lieth and will not repent shall be cast out.

and

Thou knowest my laws concerning these things are given in my scriptures; he that sinneth and repenteth not shall be cast out.

That's not a wishy-washy position. Dishonesty ranks on the list of grievous offenses near the top, along with murder and stealing. In fact, honesty is a steadfast principle of salvation. 

Mitt Romney, Lies and The Mormon Church 2/3

by Nomad

In Part One, we traced the strange origins of the Mitt Romney's Mormon faith and asked if the entire religion was a hoax perpetrated on 19th century victims. Let’s begin part two with what would seem at first glance to be a question with an obvious answer.

Is lying acceptable to the present-Day Mormon Church?

This is perhaps a more essential question since, no matter how it may have begun, the true value of any religion lies in what it has become and what it teaches its followers. And as far I can tell, no religion officially accepts the practice of lying. (Even Satanists are probably supposed to be truthful to one another, I'd imagine.)

The strongest criticism of the Mormon Church comes, not from other religions, atheists or outsiders, but from ex-Mormons. Former ex-high priest Park Romney, the cousin of the presidential candidate,  has been quite open about this subject. He told BBC,

"There's compelling evidence that the Mormon Church leaders knowingly and willfully misrepresent the historical truth of their origins and of the Church for the purpose of deceiving their members into a state of mind that renders them exploitable."

What that precise evidence was is not mentioned. Outside of the history of the formation of the religion, there are other things that Church leaders would prefer not to reveal.

Mitt Romney, Lies and The Mormon Church 1/3

by Nomad

Recently I began to wonder: Disregarding the possibility that it is some kind of pathological problem, where did Romney learn to lie so much? It's really quite remarkable when you start looking at all of the strange things he has said in the campaign.

How did Romney get to be such a despoiler of truth? Was he born that way? Or was it a case of a failure of moral instruction. Or perhaps was a successful education but of amorality. 

To answer that question we must begin at the usual sources of such instruction. Most of us collect our moral or ethical education from our parents, our peers and our faith, which in this case, is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the LDS Church), the Mormons.

To outsiders who know very little about the faith, Mormons are just another a quirky conservative religion. Jokes are usually made about the “magic underwear”- a kind of soft chastity belt- and that’s about all. Others have called the religion little more than a cult. 

Governor Rick Scott and Doubts about Florida's Elections

by Nomad

In a recent two-post series, I examined the business career of Florida governor Rick Scott, a man who by most standards would be a very unlikely candidate for higher office. As founder and CEO of a healthcare company which was involved in the largest Medicare fraud in US history, Scott would seem to be unlikely to have aspired to anything higher than a bartender in some small town. Perhaps a born-again preacher.  And yet there he is today, governor of Florida. And ironically the only qualification for holding high office is his... erm.. business experience. 
Of the two questions that remained unanswered about Scott, the most perplexing was: How could such a person, with such a dubious background ever get elected? 

One person thinks he might have found the answer to that. David Kearns,  a former journalist for Florida Today newspaper covering police beat news, city and county government, and the environment, has investigated the suspicious goings-on in Florida's election system. After sorting through the complicated electronic balloting systems, he believes he may have found the method that has been been repeatedly used to rig the election results. 
If Kearns is correct, this audacious election fraud stretched all the way back to the hotly contested presidential election of 2000, which put George Bush in the White House.

Pro-Life Supporters Should be Thinking Twice about Voting for Romney

by Nomad

The handlers of Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican nominee in this year's election, have always had a serious conundrum when it came to the topic of abortion. While running for governor in 1994, his pro-choice stand was about as unequivocal as any liberal politician can be. Only he wasn't liberal. It was a transparent strategy to rob his opponent Edward Kennedy of his left wing support. (Romney is nothing if not ambitious.)

During the debate with Kennedy, Romney got up-close and personal with the audience, revealing how a relative had died as a result of a backstreet abortion. Kennedy’s reaction was bemusement with a touch of amusement. He replied that Romney’s position kept changing. Was he pro-choice or was his pro-life and finally labeled Romney “the multiple-choice candidate.”

Romney, clearly irked, demanded a chance to respond. This topic was one, he said, that he would never be changing his position on. This was rock solid. He was without any question and forever pro-choice.
Then, a funny thing happened on the way to the White House. He became pro-life.
Just like that. 

Spinning it like a potter’s wheel, Romney fobbed the contradiction off as an “evolving” opinion. (A concept most of the conservatives apparently don't put much faith in.)
With the cowardly mainstream media in tow in this presidential election, the Republican conservative elite somehow managed to deflect and to distract. The pro-life faction of the conservative right wing were assured that all was in order; that despite his heart-felt statements back in 1994, he was really (no, REALLY!) against abortion. This Romney is not the same as THAT Romney.

Stericycle- Money over Principle?

Then there came the Stericycle problem.

The Shameful Truth behind Gov. Jindal's Rejection of Health Care Reforms

By Nomad

When it comes to Obamacare, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal's position is clear. He will have no part in it. However, his decision will come at a great cost to the welfare of the people of his state. Louisiana, more than most states, will benefit from affordable health care. 

The Quality of Care

Following the Supreme Court's decision, ruling that the Affordable Care Act was, after all, constitutional, all across the land one could hear the sound of the frying of the tiny shriveled brains of right wing conservatives. (It was no doubt made worse by those marvelous screw-ups from Fox and CNN.) 

Yet it was the reaction from Governor Bobby Jindal from Louisiana seemed the most insincere.

Immediately following the announcement of the court's decision, a flustered Jindal surely must have tweeted his fingers raw. He tweets:

Today’s decision is a blow to our freedoms.

He didn't even use all of his 144 characters to explain how our freedoms had precisely been blown. He left that to our imaginations. And later:

The Court should have protected our constitutional freedoms, but remember it was the President that forced this law on us.

As one blog writer noted, how the president forced the law on the American public was by passing it in Congress by majorities. That sly fox. 

However the most galling tweet of the day happened to be this one:

Americans oppose it because it will decrease the quality of care, raise taxes, cut Medicare, and break the bank. All of this is still true.

As we shall soon see, this tweet is, by far, the most obscene.

The Long Con Continues: Eric Cantor and Mitt Romney’s Shameful Lies about the Vote to Repeal

by Nomad

Following the news that the Supreme Court had declared the health care reforms, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, Republican congressman from Virginia, announced that the House Republicans would vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act on July 11. According to CBS report:

Cantor said that the continued debate over the health care law is "all about this election and whether this law is going to go forward or not... Mitt Romney will be the one that will, frankly, get the health care that most people want back on track."

Attempting to transform what would normally be considered a humiliating defeat into campaign rhetoric for the Republican challenger is an understandable, even bold, maneuver but it does sound strangely detached from reality. Obamacare was actually based on the plan that Romney as governor enacted in Massachusetts. This puts him in the rather idiotic position of calling for a repeal of a healthcare plan he once supported and hailed as his victory when he was governor.