2012 Election Thread

[El Barto]

I was surprised they wanted him.  I thought the GOP was mad at Clint for that whole Superbowl commercial. 

[Riceball]

I am in the financial industry and work with S&P credit ratings ALL the time...including US Govt debt.
If Ryan said it was Obama's fault, he is 100% factually LYING.
There is absolutely zero wiggle room on this one guys.

Not that this needs any further confirmation, but as a paid economy-watcher, this statement is 100% true.
Shame on that douchebag for saying otherwise when he was a key player in it.

[rumborak]

Apparently Eastwood credited Detroit's survival with "pulling together". The government money that kept them afloat I guess must have escaped his mind.

[hefdaddy42]

I didn't watch Romney's speech.  Did he lie as much as Ryan did?

[kirksnosehair]

No, he was much more vague.  Stuck to warm and fuzzy stuff mostly. 

[Super Dude]

I can imagine Romney's campaign from this point forward being all about this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YOh-rpvjYg

[kirksnosehair]

Not a fan of that show, but in the context of this election: 

[antigoon]

I was a little drunk while watching it, but I have no fucking clue what was going on in that Clint Eastwood speech. Was he talking to a chair at some point?

[El Barto]

Apparently Eastwood credited Detroit's survival with "pulling together". The government money that kept them afloat I guess must have escaped his mind.

That's not the way the GOP saw it six months ago.  They really slammed the guy for his "love letter" to Washington and the bailout.

More interesting is that Clint is at best a Reagan republican, but realistically an independent.  Aside from thinking Romney "looks presidential," he really doesn't relate much to the current crop of Republicans.  On social matters he's damn near a yellow-dog.  They're wanting to capitalize on his tough guy image, which apparently, just like they were whining about in February, is pretty much up for grabs. 

[El Barto]

Holy shit, FOX News!

The 82-year-old actor was critical of Obama’s war in Afghanistan, saying he should have considered that Russia fought unsuccessfully there for 10 years.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/08/30/clint-eastwood-brings-down-house-at-gop-convention/#ixzz258LQzokz

[Super Dude]

Even for FOX that's pretty shocking.

[rumborak]

FOX knows very well that Eastwood's speech was a disaster (and totally robbed the spotlight from Romney's speech). So, all they can do is to verbatim quote him.

rumborak

[El Barto]

What do you mean?  That was neither a quote nor verbatim.

And did Eastwood go after Romney?  WTF kind of sense would that make?

[Cool Chris]

Eastwood's speech was, well, his extemporaneous speaking has always been erratic. But he always says what he means. Certainly more honest and heartfelt than anything else we got those 3 days. His speech didn't hurt or help anyone, really. The Rs can feel good about having an A-lister from Hollywood on their side, but if anything, it probably stole a little of Romney's thunder, since he just dished out his expected dose of milquetoast.

[rumborak]

I listened to Romney's speech today because I had only caught the last 3 minutes of it yesterday. The speech was definitely noticeably devoid of content, and mostly seemed to focus on "Obama sucks" and "I am a human being".

[Super Dude]

My girlfriend's dad suspects dementia.

[El Barto]

My girlfriend's dad suspects dementia.

Eastwood or Romney.   

[rumborak]

Somebody on a webpage raised an interesting point: The RNC is supposed to be this flawless display of GOP unity and power, with every minute of it scripted and vetted by the powers to be. And then they let 82-year old Clint adlib for 10 minutes? This is the second time now that the GOP dragged a person into the spotlight who apparently had not been checked enough (the first being Palin).

[rumborak]

Wow, apparently the Foo Fighters will play at the DNC? Wasn't really planning on watching it, but now I feel I should.

[El Barto]

Somebody on a webpage raised an interesting point: The RNC is supposed to be this flawless display of GOP unity and power, with every minute of it scripted and vetted by the powers to be. And then they let 82-year old Clint adlib for 10 minutes? This is the second time now that the GOP dragged a person into the spotlight who apparently had not been checked enough (the first being Palin).

Yeah, they wanted to associate themselves with his tough guy image.  Didn't work that way for them.  Honestly, though, I bet people talked with him plenty beforehand and he seemed plenty lucid to them.  I watched a few minutes of it, and he's not senile or demented.  He's weak and frail, a common side effect of being 82, and he was scared shitless about appearing weak and frail in such a huge spotlight.  His speech was painful to watch, but it really just seemed to be a function of heightened nervousness in a person no longer sharp enough to cope with it. 

The other problem is that he's really not the Republican they wanted to put up there.  Mainly because he's not a Republican at all; certainly not by their current standards, at least.  Add to that all of the GOP nimrods in attendance adopting basic mob behavior, like a middle school pep rally, and it turns into a train wreck.  He'd say things that reflected poorly on America in general, and they'd cheer about it.  My favorite:   I found out there's 23 million people unemployed in this country.  Crowd goes wild! USA! USA! USA! No wonder the old guy's confused and disoriented.

[hefdaddy42]

Wow, apparently the Foo Fighters will play at the DNC? Wasn't really planning on watching it, but now I feel I should.

[rumborak]

One thing that bugged me during Romney's speech was that "we're the best country in the world" stuff, with the crowd breaking into long "USA! USA!" chants.

German has an idiom that says "Hubris comes before the fall" (Hochmut kommt vor dem Fall) and it certainly reminded me of it.

[hefdaddy42]

That phrase is Biblical.

[Rathma]

Lol even better.

[Tick]

[XJDenton]

http://www.theonion.com/articles/best-they-could-get-accepts-republican-nomination,29383/?ref=auto

[antigoon]

Another bit about Paul Ryan and lying

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/the_rumble/2012/09/yes-paul-ryan-lied-and-yes-it-matters

[hefdaddy42]

Another bit about Paul Ryan and lying

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/the_rumble/2012/09/yes-paul-ryan-lied-and-yes-it-matters

[eric42434224]

I was thinking the other day about Ryan and the lies.  First, I believe that both sides lie, and use shameful tactics.  But I was wondering how you can look at what Ryan said in his speech, and see where it is proven they are outright lies, and still love the guy.  How can candidates lie right to your face, when it is easy to show they are outright lies?  One would think that as a candidate for the POTUS or Vice POTUS, one would be VERY careful not to lie about something so public, and so easy to prove.

Then i realized.  They know that many informed people, including most in the press, and everyone else in government, will indeed see immediately and clearly that he lied. 
But to the people that count...the masses that get hard-ons for their candidate and automatically hate the opponent......they just dont care.  You can show them in black and white, buit they just dont care.  So it doesnt matter if you lie, or that you are publically proven a liar.....the masses that vote just dont care.  They have chosen their side and are loyal, or just hate the other guy so much they just dont care.

Fucking sad.

[theseoafs]

On that note: http://twitter.com/neiltyson/status/242656636177641472

[eric42434224]

On that note: http://twitter.com/neiltyson/status/242656636177641472

Cant see twitter.  Can you paste?

[theseoafs]

Yeah, sorry:

Politicians lie not because they're evil, but because they say what voters want to hear. So it's we who are the problem.

[Implode]

Tyson as usual.

[Super Dude]

Just to play Devil's Advocate though, might it not also be that voters think they want this, that, or the other thing because some politician down the road told them some lie to please another generation of constituents? Or more to the point, that they told some lie because voters leaning in one direction or another suits their party or personal interests?

[Tick]

I was thinking the other day about Ryan and the lies.  First, I believe that both sides lie, and use shameful tactics.  But I was wondering how you can look at what Ryan said in his speech, and see where it is proven they are outright lies, and still love the guy.  How can candidates lie right to your face, when it is easy to show they are outright lies?  One would think that as a candidate for the POTUS or Vice POTUS, one would be VERY careful not to lie about something so public, and so easy to prove.

Then i realized.  They know that many informed people, including most in the press, and everyone else in government, will indeed see immediately and clearly that he lied. 
But to the people that count...the masses that get hard-ons for their candidate and automatically hate the opponent......they just dont care.  You can show them in black and white, buit they just dont care.  So it doesnt matter if you lie, or that you are publically proven a liar.....the masses that vote just dont care.  They have chosen their side and are loyal, or just hate the other guy so much they just dont care.

Fucking sad.

This is so true no matter which side you are on. Its amazing how people turn a blind eye to lies if its the candidate they support.