GOP Nominee 2012 - who will it be?

[Canadiens1131]

Rommers is such a QT

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

Mancrushing?

 

[Irvine511]

really, really want to see this ...



YouTube - ‪Tony Awards 2011 - The Book of Mormon - I Believe - Andrew Rannells - HD 720p‬‏

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

Bachmann's Unrivaled Extremism - The Daily Beast

"In April 2005, Pamela Arnold wanted to talk to her state senator, Michele Bachmann, who was then running for Congress. A 46-year-old who worked at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Arnold lived with her partner, the famed Arctic explorer Ann Bancroft, on a farm in Scandia, Minnesota. Bachmann was then leading the fight against gay marriage in the state. She'd recently been in the news for hiding in the bushes to observe a gay rights rally at the Capitol. So when members of the Scandia gay community decided to attend one of Bachmann's constituent forums, Arnold, wanting to make herself visible to her representative, joined them.

A few dozen people showed up at the town hall for the April 9 event, and Bachmann greeted them warmly. But when, during the question and answer session, the topic turned to gay marriage, Bachmann ended the meeting 20 minutes early and rushed to the bathroom. Hoping to speak to her, Arnold and another middle-aged woman, a former nun, followed her. As Bachmann washed her hands and Arnold looked on, the ex-nun tried to talk to her about theology. Suddenly, after less than a minute, Bachmann let out a shriek. "Help!" she screamed. "Help! I'm being held against my will!"

Arnold, who is just over 5 feet tall, was stunned, and hurried to open the door. Bachmann bolted out and fled, crying, to an SUV outside. Then she called the police, saying, according to the police report, that she was "absolutely terrified and has never been that terrorized before as she had no idea what those two women were going to do to her." The Washington County attorney, however, declined to press charges, writing in a memo, "It seems clear from the statements given by both women that they simply wanted to discuss certain issues further with Ms. Bachmann."

Lots of politicians talk about a sinister homosexual agenda. Bachmann, who has made opposition to gay rights a cornerstone of her career, seems genuinely to believe in one. Her conviction trumps even her once close relationship with her lesbian stepsister. "What an amazing imagination," marvels Arnold. "Her ideology is so powerful that she can construct a reality just on a moment's notice."

 

[deep]

In America one has a right to their 'religious beliefs' to try and suppress them would be bigoted and unconstitutional.

 

[anitram]

Lots of politicians talk about a sinister homosexual agenda. Bachmann, who has made opposition to gay rights a cornerstone of her career, seems genuinely to believe in one. Her conviction trumps even her once close relationship with her lesbian stepsister. "What an amazing imagination," marvels Arnold. "Her ideology is so powerful that she can construct a reality just on a moment's notice."

"For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."

 

[Irvine511]

wow. Mittens clearly has his eye on the general election. people think he panders, but maybe he's now pandering by pretending not to pander? the mind boggles.

but, still, good on him for this.

Romney won't sign abortion pledge
By: Kendra Marr
June 17, 2011 09:08 PM EDT

Five Republican presidential candidates have signed a pledge to advance the anti-abortion movement if elected to the White House, but the current front runner for the 2012 GOP nomination — Mitt Romney — isn’t one of them.

Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty and Rick Santorum each signed the pledge, sponsored by Susan B. Anthony List, vowing to nominate judges and appoint executive branch officials who are opposed to abortion. The pledge also commit signers to push legislation to end all taxpayer funding of abortion and to sign a law to “protect unborn children who are capable of feeling pain from abortion.”

Mitt Romney, who’s leading in national and early state opinion polls, declined to sign.

“Governor Romney pledged in the last campaign that he would be a pro-life president and of course he pledges it today,” said spokeswoman Andrea Saul in a statement. “However, this well-intentioned effort has some potentially unforeseen consequences and he does not feel he could in good conscience sign it.”

Moving quickly to explain his position, Romney published an essay Saturday on the National Review website stressing his commitment to fostering "a culture of life in America" but calling the SBA pledge "overly broad."

"It is one thing to end federal funding for an organization like Planned Parenthood; it is entirely another to end all federal funding for thousands of hospitals across America," he wrote. "That is precisely what the pledge would demand and require of a president who signed it."

The pledge calls for legislation to defund Planned Parenthood – already a rallying point for the social conservative movement – and to cut funding to “all other contractors and recipients of federal funds with affiliates that perform or fund abortions.”

While it’s difficult to evaluate the full scope of the various avenues of defunding, Planned Parenthood offers one window into how this proposal might affect the health care landscape. Planned Parenthood performed 328,300 abortions in 2008, accounting for about a quarter of the 1.21 million abortions that year, according to statistics from the Guttmacher Institute. But those abortions made up just 3 percent of the patient services it offered that year.

It also locks candidates into selecting abortion opponents for “relevant Cabinet and Executive Branch positions, in particular the head of National Institutes of Health, the Department of Health & Human Services, and the Department of Justice.”

That would exclude Republicans like Rudy Giuliani and Tom Ridge from serving a president who signed the pledge.

Other than Romney, two other GOP presidential hopefuls — Herman Cain and Gary Johnson — also declined to sign the pledge, according to the group. The SBA List’s announcement did not say whether or not former Ambassador Jon Huntsman was asked to sign.

Cain has said he opposes abortion and that he supports cutting funds for Planned Parenthood. In a statement issued Saturday, Cain said his respect for the separation of powers prevented him from signing. “[T]he fourth requirement demands that I ‘advance’ the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. As president, I would sign it, but Congress must advance the legislation,” the statement said, adding that Cain remains “a consistent and unwavering champion of pro-life issues.”

Johnson, a former governor of New Mexico, has staked out a libertarian position on many issues, including reproductive health — favoring choice but also insisting government shouldn’t encourage abortion. “A woman should be allowed to make her own decisions during pregnancy until the point of viability of a fetus,” says a statement on his campaign website.

“Any ‘truce’ on social issues is not viable, nor is it acceptable to the grassroots,” said SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser in a statement.

Santorum took the opportunity to go on the attack against Romney, after passing on a chance to attack the front runner in Monday’s debate.

“I gave him the benefit of the doubt,” said Santorum in an emailed statement. “I apparently spoke too soon. It is incredibly disappointing that Governor Romney chose not to defend those who cannot defend themselves.”

Romney won't sign abortion pledge - POLITICO.com Print View

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

yahoo.com

Barack Obama impersonator Reggie Brown briefly stole the spotlight this weekend at the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans after making a series of racial jokes and taking digs at several 2012 GOP candidates--the stars of the show--before being pulled from the stage.

When the routine mocked the president and other Democrats, it seemed to get a positive reception from the conservative audience--but the crowd let loose a smattering of groans and boos when Republicans became the butt of jokes.

Brown opened by saying Obama only celebrates half of Black History Month because he is biracial, that the president's "mother loved a black man, and no, she was not a Kardashian," referencing the reality-show sisters who have dated and/or married black men. Brown later compared the Obamas to the stars of "Sanford and Son," to wide laughter.

But when Brown started taking on the GOP's base, things grew tenser. He insulted Barbara Bush's appearance, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's Mormon faith, suggested former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty doesn't have a spine, and joked about former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Just when he was about to make a dig about Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) the comedian was ushered off stage.

As media outlets reported, former Republican National Committee spokesman and current GOP strategist Doug Heye responded to the performance via Twitter, writing: "Wonder why many minorities have problems with GOP? Hiring Obama impersonator to tell 'black jokes' at SRLC, for starters. Our own fault."

Brown was asked on CNN Monday morning if he believes he was yanked due to content or for time. "I do believe that I was over time for a few minutes and I also believe the material was starting to get to a point to where maybe they started to feel uncomfortable about where it was going," Brown said.

Event organizer Charlie Davis told The Ticket via email Monday morning: "I pulled him because his content was inappropriate for the conference."

After asking Davis why Brown wasn't pulled off stage sooner if the comments were "inappropriate," Davis followed up, writing:

The RLC is designed to showcase the top Republican leaders and ideas in the country. To talk about limited government, fiscal responsibility and rebuilding the American economy.

Had I been in the room I would have pulled him sooner. We have zero tolerance for racially insensitive jokes. As soon as I realized what was going on I rushed backstage and had him pulled.

 

[BVS]

This sums up the GOP pretty well don't you think?

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

He's cuter than Mitt. Hair looks even better too.


Jon Huntsman: Can a Nice Guy Finish First? - ABC News

The Jon Huntsman campaign seems designed to test whether a nice guy who doesn't speak ill of his opponents can get elected president.

"We will conduct this campaign on the high road," Huntsman said. "I don't think you need to run down someone's reputation to run for president."

And so Huntsman launched his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination in a most unusual way: with kind words for President Obama.

"I respect the president of the U.S.," said Huntsman. "He and I have a difference of opinion on how to help a country we both love. The question is who will be a better president, not who's the better American."

That was Huntsman's only reference to Obama, and even there, he didn't say his name. No mention of "Obamacare." No attack on the stimulus program. No direct criticism of Obama or his administration.

The setting for Huntsman's announcement was designed to evoke the launch of Ronald Reagan's general election campaign in 1980. The stylistic details were almost perfect: the Statue of Liberty over his shoulder and American flags at his side gently fluttering in the wind.

But Huntsman's speech couldn't have been more different. Where Huntsman steered clear of attacks, Reagan used his speech to eviscerate Jimmy Carter.

"The Carter record is a litany of despair, of broken promises, of sacred trusts abandoned and forgotten," Reagan said.

And more:

"Let it show on the record that when the American people cried out for economic help, Jimmy Carter took refuge behind a dictionary. Well, if it's a definition he wants, I'll give him one. A recession is when your neighbor loses his job. A depression is when you lose yours. Recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his."

And still more:

"Call this human tragedy whatever you want. Whatever it is, it is Jimmy Carter's. He caused it. He tolerates it. And he is going to answer to the American people for it."

It's not that Huntsman can't attack. Check out what he said about the Republican leadership in Congress in February 2009:

"I don't even know the congressional leadership," Huntsman told The Washington Times. "I have not met them. I don't listen or read whatever it is they say, because it is inconsequential -- completely."

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

Mitt Romney: Federal Disaster Relief For Tornado And Flood Victims Is ‘Immoral,’ ‘Makes No Sense At All’ | ThinkProgress

 

[PhilsFan]

Mitt Romney: Federal Disaster Relief For Tornado And Flood Victims Is ‘Immoral,’ ‘Makes No Sense At All’ | ThinkProgress

He hit John McCain mode way earlier than I thought he would. Holy shit, he's already off the deep end.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

Well McCain said that illegal immigrants were starting the wildfires in Arizona-so maybe they're responsible for natural disasters too

 

[coolian2]

Mitt Romney: Federal Disaster Relief For Tornado And Flood Victims Is ‘Immoral,’ ‘Makes No Sense At All’ | ThinkProgress

if you want to run the government like you run a business, you're in the wrong career.

go and run a shitty government bailed out insurance company or bank. wanker.

 

[kramwest1]

He's cuter than Mitt. Hair looks even better too.


Jon Huntsman: Can a Nice Guy Finish First? - ABC News

The Jon Huntsman campaign seems designed to test whether a nice guy who doesn't speak ill of his opponents can get elected president.

"We will conduct this campaign on the high road," Huntsman said. "I don't think you need to run down someone's reputation to run for president."

And so Huntsman launched his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination in a most unusual way: with kind words for President Obama.

"I respect the president of the U.S.," said Huntsman. "He and I have a difference of opinion on how to help a country we both love. The question is who will be a better president, not who's the better American."

That was Huntsman's only reference to Obama, and even there, he didn't say his name. No mention of "Obamacare." No attack on the stimulus program. No direct criticism of Obama or his administration.

The setting for Huntsman's announcement was designed to evoke the launch of Ronald Reagan's general election campaign in 1980. The stylistic details were almost perfect: the Statue of Liberty over his shoulder and American flags at his side gently fluttering in the wind.

But Huntsman's speech couldn't have been more different. Where Huntsman steered clear of attacks, Reagan used his speech to eviscerate Jimmy Carter.

"The Carter record is a litany of despair, of broken promises, of sacred trusts abandoned and forgotten," Reagan said.

And more:

"Let it show on the record that when the American people cried out for economic help, Jimmy Carter took refuge behind a dictionary. Well, if it's a definition he wants, I'll give him one. A recession is when your neighbor loses his job. A depression is when you lose yours. Recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his."

And still more:

"Call this human tragedy whatever you want. Whatever it is, it is Jimmy Carter's. He caused it. He tolerates it. And he is going to answer to the American people for it."

It's not that Huntsman can't attack. Check out what he said about the Republican leadership in Congress in February 2009:

"I don't even know the congressional leadership," Huntsman told The Washington Times. "I have not met them. I don't listen or read whatever it is they say, because it is inconsequential -- completely."

Wizard!

 

[kramwest1]

if you want to run the government like you run a business, you're in the wrong career.

OMG. Can we please put an end to people saying the government should be run like a business?

It's not.

 

[anitram]

Can we please put an end to people saying the government should be run like a business?

It's not.

For so many reasons.

People who insist on repeating this have never managed to explain that if the government is a business, then are we, the members of the public, shareholders or are we customers? Because there is a world of difference.

 

[deep]

if the public are customers, they should pay for what the receive

if they are share holders they should expect their business to not spend more than what comes in.

 

[kramwest1]

Businesses exist to make a profit.
The government needs to be in charge of doing the things things are not profitable, but are essential to live our lives (and so that businesses can exist and be profitable).
Sure, every road could be a toll road, but is Target going to pave a road from my house to their store so I can buy toothpaste and toilet paper?


Back on topic:

Obama Speech On Afghanistan Prompts Reaction From GOP Presidential Candidates (PHOTOS)

The site will be updated as the candidates release their official reactions.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

Sure, every road could be a toll road

hahaha, that would be hilarious though. i wonder what people would do if-oh hell, they'd just pay up and whine about not having any money.

 

[maycocksean]

if the public are customers, they should pay for what the receive

if they are share holders they should expect their business to not spend more than what comes in.

If the public were shareholders they should also expect to see some tangible economic gain (i.e. dividends, stock whcih can be sold) rather than simply receiving services (which is what a customer would receive). That is why they would care whether the government spends more than what comes in.

But of course government is not a business.

 

[kramwest1]

hahaha, that would be hilarious though. i wonder what people would do if-oh hell, they'd just pay up and whine about not having any money.

The only question is whether you could walk on that road for free or would we have toll sidewalks, too.

Seriously, I don't want to envision a world where our daily necessities/securities are dependent on businesses. When thinking about it, I flip from absurdity to scared.

Imagine WWII fought with private contractors handling logistics for the troops. No dropping the ladle and grabbing a gun when the Germans break through the lines. The companies just pull out when things get hot or immediately layoff the employees and leave them on their own.

Imagine a fireman swiping your credit card with his iPad before they turn on the water hoses.

Anyway... absurd.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) says it's "insulting" that Fox News host Chris Wallace asked her if she's a "flake" when she appeared on his program on Sunday morning.

Wallace apologized for the question in a web video after he interviewed the presidential hopeful.

“A lot of you were more than perturbed, you were upset and felt that I had been rude to her," says Wallace in the clip posted online. "And since in the end it’s really all about the answers, and not about the questions, I messed up, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any disrespect.”

Asked if she accepts the apology by ABC News' Jon Karl, Bachmann said, "I think that it's insulting to insinuate that a candidate for president is less than serious. I'm a very serious individual." When pressed on the matter further she said, "Those are the small issues. I'm focused on the big ones."

 

[Canadiens1131]

It was a softball question to her anyway. He lobbed it to her and left it open ended for her to justify herself.

WTF was that shit about her and her husband raising 23 adopted kids.....what the FUCK?!

 

[BEAL]

She'd like you to believe they raised them all at once....but reality (which doesn't exist in Michelle's world) was they would take in a child/teenager for a week or two before they moved on.

So while they did see to care for 23 foster children, it wasn't quite the effort she makes it out to be.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

Oops

NBC News

Wrong John Wayne: Mix-up is opening day headache for Bachmann
By Carrie Dann

What’s the difference between the actor who will forever embody the American ideal of craggy cowboy masculinity and the serial killer who forever made clowns way way creepier than they’d ever been before?

One answer turns out to be four letters and about 150 miles – not quite enough to keep Rep. Michele Bachmann from prompting a chorus of internet giggles for apparently mixing them up.

On the day of her presidential announcement, Bachmann, an Iowa native, told FOX News that she and John Wayne share a hometown. “John Wayne was from Waterloo, Iowa,” she said. “That's the kind of spirit that I have, too."

Bachmann repeated that idea to NBC News in an interview. "I'm not pining for nostalgia back in the 50s and 60s, that isn't it," she told NBC's Kelly O'Donnell. "But that sensibility about how we were grounded here is so important. For instance, another American that was born in Waterloo was John Wayne. We were a very patriotic 'yay rah rah America' city and nation and I think that's what America's looking for again."

The problem: While actor John Wayne – the gravelly-voiced Western film star known for his characteristic walk and his conservative values– was in fact from Iowa (and, Bachmann’s campaign later pointed out, his parents briefly lived in Waterloo), he was born in Winterset, about 150 miles away.

The famous similarly-named guy who did make his home in Waterloo: John Wayne Gacy -- the serial killer known for dressing as “Pogo the Clown” who buried over two dozen of his young male victims in the crawlspace of his Illinois home.

Gacy, who was born in Chicago, lived in Waterloo in the late 1960s before serving time for sodomy at Anamosa State Penitentiary. He would later go on to commit more than 30 murders.

The mix-up – which, considering the Iowa roots of both men, isn’t as baffling as some Bachmann critics may make it out to be-- isn’t independently the kind of gaffe that makes voters suddenly change their minds. But it’s certain to become late-night comedy fodder for a candidate who has already been ridiculed for a more serious historical mangling of details about the beginning of the Revolutionary War.

 

[kramwest1]

^


I might have to send her campaign some money just to see where this goes.
Me and John Wayne Gacy Waterloo's pride.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

John Quincy Adams a Founding Father? Michele Bachmann Says Yes - George Stephanopoulos' Bottom Line

On the heels of her official entry into the Presidential campaign in Iowa yesterday, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann came to “GMA” today. I gave her the opportunity to clear up some of her past statements that caused Chris Wallace to ask if she is a “flake” and the Pulitzer-Prize winning website Politifact to find that Bachmann has made more false statements than any of the other GOP contenders.

Top of my list – Bachmann’s contention earlier this year that the Founding Fathers “worked tirelessly” to end slavery. And her 2005 argument that eliminating the minimum wage could “virtually eliminate” unemployment.


Stephanopoulos: You have been making a lot of progress, also getting a lot of scrutiny. I am not going to get too deep into the "flake" flap from Sunday. But as you make progress in this campaign everything you say is going to get more scrutiny. And the Pulitzer Prize winning website, Politifact, has found that you have the worst record of making false statements of any of the leading contenders. And I wondered if you wanted to take a chance to clear up some of your past statements. For example earlier this year you said that the Founding Fathers who wrote the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence worked tirelessly to end slavery. Now with respect Congresswoman, that’s just not true. Many of them including Jefferson and Washington were actually slave holders and slavery didn’t end until the Civil War.

Bachmann: Well you know what’s marvelous is that in this country and under our constitution, we have the ability when we recognize that something is wrong to change it. And that’s what we did in our country. We changed it. We no longer have slavery. That’s a good thing. And what our Constitution has done for our nation is to give us the basis of freedom unparalleled in the rest of the world.

Stephanopoulos: I agree with that…

Bachmann: That’s what people want...they realize our government is taking away our freedom.

Stephanopoulos: But that’s not what you said. You said that the Founding Fathers worked tirelessly to end slavery.

Bachmann: Well if you look at one of our Founding Fathers, John Quincy Adams, that’s absolutely true. He was a very young boy when he was with his father serving essentially as his father’s secretary. He tirelessly worked throughout his life to make sure that we did in fact one day eradicate slavery….

Stephanopoulos: He wasn’t one of the Founding Fathers – he was a president, he was a Secretary of State, he was a member of Congress, you’re right he did work to end slavery decades later. But so you are standing by this comment that the Founding Fathers worked tirelessly to end slavery?

Bachmann: Well, John Quincy Adams most certainly was a part of the Revolutionary War era. He was a young boy but he was actively involved.

Stephanopoulos: Well let me move on to another one of your statements on the issue of jobs which is so central to this campaign. You said back in 2005 that taking away the minimum wage could potentially virtually wipe out unemployment. Where is the evidence for that?

Bachmann: You know I think what we need to do is, again George, focus on job creation. I’m a former federal tax litigation attorney. I worked for years in the federal tax court system and watched how devastating high taxes are on business and individuals and farmers. And I’m also a job creator. My husband and I started from scratch a successful small business. That’s really the focus that I’m hearing today in New Hampshire. People are very upset that the president has us at 9.1 percent unemployment. That is not acceptable. He promised us that we wouldn’t see unemployment go above 8 percent. We’ve lost millions of jobs, people are suffering, they are hurting and I feel their pain and I want to make sure that what we do going forward is actually to address this and turn the economy around and get it on the right track because that’s really what people care about – that’s what they’re talking to me about all across the country.

Stephanopoulos: I think that’s what everyone wants to get this unemployment down but do you still believe that eliminating the minimum wage could virtually eliminate unemployment?

Bachmann: I think what we need to do is bring economists together, people who have been in this field to let us know what are the job killing regulations that could help us in turn put the economy on the right track. And so I think we need to across the board look at all of the regulations of various departments and do that. Unfortunately under President Obama we’ve seen a tremendous expansion of even more government regulations, that’s lead to even fewer jobs being created. So there’s several tactics we need to look at, one is the tax code, another is the regulatory burden that adds approximately 1.7 trillion of burden on job creators. If we could lift that then I think we’d see more people get higher wages, better benefits and more jobs because what we want is more job growth in America rather than to see jobs transferring overseas.

Stephanopoulos: Let me try one more time, so you are saying that the minimum wage is one of those regulations you’d take a look at, you’d try to eliminate it?

Bachmann: Well what I’m saying is that I think we need to look at all regulations, whatever--whatever ones are inhibiting job growth that’s what we need to --

Stephanopoulos: And the minimum wage is one of them?

Bachmann: All regulations George. I think every department. We have just too much expansion of government and so what we need to do is tamp that down so that the American people can keep more of what they make.

 

[BEAL]

So frustrating. I know it's not just her, but I'm going to pick on her anyway. I just hate how she cannot answer a god damn question.

Just say "Yes, I think the min wage is one of them". But she won't cause it'll come back in a commerical and she'll be sunk.

And the founding fathers thing....she just keeps putting her foot in her mouth. It has to be so annoying interviewing politicians.

 

[maycocksean]

I have to say this whole economy thing is just so much bullshit.

I don't buy that Obama, Bachmann or anyone else has that much power over the economy, jobs, etc either for better or worse.

"Obama has us at 9% unemployment" Like he planned it or something. Give me a break.

And this job creation nonsense. . .please.