Posted by Tina
Ann Romney spoke about love and commitment last night.
She addressed the women of America specifically saying that today’s women, whatever their circumstances, are the loving backbone of the nation. She talked about her early years as a wife and mother and about some of the challenges she faced as wife and mother of five boys. As she spoke about her 42 year relationship with Mitt Romney she depicted a man that was always at the ready to give of himself for her, his family, and the community at large. She said that she knows Mitt Romney as a man that would move heaven and earth to put America back on the path to prosperity…and she meant it:
“At every turn in his life, this man I met at a high school dance has helped lift up others,” she said. “He did it with the Olympics, when many wanted to give up.
“This is the man America needs. This is the man who will wake up every day with the determination to solve the problems that others say can’t be solved, to fix what others say is beyond repair.”
Ann Romney will make a wonderful First Lady; I can’t wait to see what she will choose as the focus of her service.
Chris Christie, Governor of New Jersey, singled out California as the one state that doesn’t seem to get it.
He spoke of the ineffective need to emote and feel that politicians seem to have and then in contrast delivered a call for all Americans and our politicians to grow up:
Our founding fathers had the wisdom to know that social acceptance and popularity is fleeting and that this country’s principles needed to be rooted in strengths greater than the passions and emotions of the times. Our leaders today have decided it is more important to be popular, to do what is easy and say yes,’ rather than to say no when ‘no’ is what’s required …. Tonight, I say enough.
I say, together, let’s make a much different choice. Tonight, we are speaking up for ourselves and stepping up.
We are beginning to do what is right and what is necessary to make our country great again.
We are demanding that our leaders stop tearing each other down, and work together to take action on the big things facing America.
Tonight, we choose respect over love.
We are not afraid. We are taking our country back.
You can read more of his energizing speech at Breitbart.
The convention was visually beautiful and all of the speakers…simply outstanding.
Republican luminaries from various states took the stage to speak about the America WE BUILT. But if you were watching traditional media you might have missed their sparkling contributions. Some in media were gracious in their coverage of these speakers but others failed to cover them and some were downright negative, partisan, and vicious.
MSNBC, eager to further their Republicans are racists meme cut every single speech made by a minority from their coverage:
When popular Tea Party candidate Ted Cruz, the GOP nominee for Senate, took the stage, MSNBC cut away from the Republican National Convention and the Hispanic Republican from Texas’ speech.
MSNBC stayed on commercial through former Democratic Rep. Artur Davis’ speech (photo above), as well. Davis, who recently became a Republican, is black.
Then, when Puerto Rican Governor Luis Fortuno’s wife Luce’ Vela Fortuo took the stage minutes later, MSNBC hosts Rachel Maddow and Chris Matthews opted to talk over the First Lady’s speech.
And Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval? (Photo right) Noticeably missing from MSNBC, too.
Mia Love (Photo below), a black candidate for Congress in Utah, was also ignored by MSNBC.
The stinkiest coverage of all was delivered by a long time Democrat operative and supporter ABC webcast footage of Yahoo News Washington bureau chief David Chalian featured this gem in reference to the hurricane and the convention:
“They aren’t concerned at all. They are happy to have a party when black people drown.”
Despicable!
Not to be outdone, members of the Congressional Black Caucus continue in the racist theme this morning by “Uncle Tomming” Artur Davis, according to Frontpage Magazine:
How negative is the Obama campaign? So negative that its priority this morning has been attacking Artur Davis for joining the Republican Party and speaking at the RNC 2012 Convention.
The President also showed his blatant disrespect for tradition in the political process and his opponent by continuing to campaign during the convention. In past years candidates of both parties have backed off and allowed their opponents the limelight.
The left is desperate and that desperation is bringing out the worst in them. Thankfully, we have alternative media now…they will be exposed and the truth will out.
Had to watch it on CSPAN or delayed on KIXE Channel 9. Our networks couldn’t be bothered to cover this for people that might not have cable television.
I was disappointed in what the RNC did to the Ron Paul delegates. The party is becoming about the party not the people who make the party which is how we ended up with the Tea Party in the first place.
I thought Ann Romney was outstanding.
I hate the We Built it theme when most of the people speaking had to rely in the government to get through life. Chris Christie talked about it last night, and I’m sure Paul Ryan is going to talk about how he got through college on government money and the government money that helped his family when his dad died. I hope Paul Ryan doesn’t talk about Ayn Rand and Atlas Shrugged because I don’t think her anti-Christian views do him any favors.
I really wish network television could just take a break from reality garbage for a few nights to show America these conventions. It is so sad that they didn’t.
The gutter-crawlers are gathering.
Sick: Wikipedia entry calls Mia Love dirty, worthless whore and House Nigger
http://twitchy.com/2012/08/29/sick-wikipedia-entry-calls-mia-love-dirty-worthless-whore-and-house-nigger/
Here is the RNC Youtube convention website where you can see all of the speeches.
http://www.youtube.com/user/gopconvention2012/videos
I found the “We Built It!” theme of the convention very funny, considering the convention was held in a building that was mostly built with government funds.
http://www.mediaite.com/online/gop-to-promote-we-built-this-convention-theme-in-stadium-built-mostly-with-public-funds/
“built with government funds” You meant to say taxes right?
We all know that people need help from time to time, no one is denying that, However when President Obama made that remark he seemed to be talking to the business owner, those who work hard to to make it work, Chris, have you talked to the business owner in Chico that you frequent how they feel about that?
Harriet, Obama was making the case for robust government investment ALONG WITH individual initiative. All he was saying about business owners was that they didn’t get there on their own; government investment made that possible. When he said “You didn’t build that,” he was referring to government infrastructure. Conservatives have taken his remarks out of context to make it seem like he insulted business owners, when he was not. All of the major fact-checking organizations agree.
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/jul/26/mitt-romney/putting-mitt-romneys-attacks-you-didnt-build-truth/
Conservatives also ignore his statement from the very same speech where he said, “the point is … that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together.”
The Republican convention theme is based on a lie, and their choice of setting merely proves Obama’s point.
I haven’t talked to business owners in Chico, because I am from Fresno. I know some business owners that have done well under Obama and will be voting for him in November. I know others who have been misinformed by talk radio, but these people are pretty racist and absolutely despise welfare recipients, so I don’t take their opinions seriously.
Am I the only one who thinks the music for this event sucks? Who are these people?
Paul Ryan was asked about Ayn Rand and his religious views. He said he was only interested in her ideas regarding government and the private sector. He parted ways with her concerning philosophy and religion.
Phillips Arena was financed with $149M in taxable revenue bonds which will be paid back by attendees to the stadium events…CUSTOMERS! The supporting infrastructure was financed by a special car rental tax and a $20M gift/donation by Time Warner. $180 million by Philips Electronics was added in a twenty year naming rights deal. See here:
http://law.marquette.edu/images/sports/nhl22.pdf
Every bit of it will be paid for by the private sector. The governments role as financing facilitator and tax collector is minimal.
The We Built It theme is right on the money. This country was carved out and built by individuals. The distinction is important and nobody said it better last night than Mia Love:
If that description seems like a lie to you I feel sorry for you. You obviously have no experience of the very essence America. We are free…free to aspire, to build, to invent and to see our dreams made manifest…to realize and keep the fruits of our labors and to build that into our own personal nest egg.
The collectivist thinker believes nothing is possible except when government is directing and in control. That is the dream of Fidel Castro and Karl Marx, Hugo Chavez and Chairman Mao, Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge…not the Founding Fathers of The United States of America.
We rely on each other and we cooperate with each other to make things happen but none of that changes the fact that we Americans are free to build something by our own wits, strengths, efforts and sweat. As government grows that freedom is minimized and blunted. As government grows more of our personal wealth and buying power is taken to pay for the bureaucracy which builds nothing.
The President claim, “You didn’t build that” in any context is just awful! To say that is to not understand America at the most basic level. We are not a collective…a group of cookie cutter units to be shaped and formed till we match and are made “equal” by taking from those who have to give to those who need. Government is our servant not our maker.
The convention is going well. I’m very proud of those who represent the Republican Party.
I like the debt clock. However I should mention that in 2001 when Clinton left the Presidency, the debt was going down. Most of the current debt increase now is due to the Bush tax cuts, and the wars. Obama wasn’t able to balance the budget in his 3 1/2 years on office. Unfortunately the Paul Ryan budget plan won’t balance until 2040.
Jim, thanks for your comments, but I’m afraid you have been mislead by democrat rhetoric, at least in part. I say mislead, because they are saying exactly what you said, so I consider them the source of this disinformation.
Here’s the hard truth, some good, some bad, but the truth:
CBS News Report – The National Debt has now increased more during President Obama’s three years and two months in office than it did during 8 years of the George W. Bush presidency.
The Debt rose $4.899 trillion during the two terms of the Bush presidency. It has now gone up $4.939 trillion since President Obama took office.
The latest posting from the Bureau of Public Debt at the Treasury Department shows the National Debt now stands at $15.566 trillion. It was $10.626 trillion on President Bush’s last day in office, which coincided with President Obama’s first day.
The National Debt also now exceeds 100% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product, the total value of goods and services.
Mr. Obama has been quick to blame his predecessor for the soaring Debt, saying Mr. Bush paid for two wars and a Medicare prescription drug program with borrowed funds.
The federal budget sent to Congress last month by Mr. Obama, projects the National Debt will continue to rise as far as the eye can see. The budget shows the Debt hitting $16.3 trillion in 2012, $17.5 trillion in 2013 and $25.9 trillion in 2022.
Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57400369-503544/national-debt-has-increased-more-under-obama-than-under-bush/
You are correct about the Paul Ryan plan, but that plan has basically been scrapped and now we have Romney’s plan melded with his. Let’s see how long that one takes to give us a balanced budget… I’m researching right now.
Regarding tax cuts and revenues under Bush and Clinton I recommend the following article:
http://www.humanevents.com/2011/08/03/repeal-of-the-bush-tax-cuts-would-lower-tax-revenues/
The article concludes:
SPENDING is the problem in Washington.
It is also worth noting that before Pelosi and Reid took control of Congress the Republicans in power had begun to bring deficit spending down. When the Democrats took control spending shot straight up…some of it due to the bail out that Bush agreed to. (We have posted the charts several times). More on spending:
http://washingtonalert.org/2010/08/wsj-pelosi-reid-increase-spending-by-4-4-trillion/
I continue to be dismayed at the misinformation that pervades in our society.
As a side note I should inform that David Chalian was fired for that despicable comment: “They aren’t concerned at all. They are happy to have a party when black people drown.”
Condoleeza Rice…LOVE HER!!!
Chriss response to Harriet about Obama was making the case for robust government investment ALONG WITH individual initiative. All he (Obama) was saying about business owners was that they didn’t get there on their own; government investment made that possible. When he said “You didn’t build that,” he was referring to government infrastructure. Chris you need to be taught that infrastructure is paved with the hard work and sweat of Americans building a future as well as an America they can be proud of,
Chris, at this point in time you need to stop being a snake oil salesman of DNC hot air and spin, we are not buying that! Harriets statement; it is Tax money is accurate, money the government collects from the individual efforts of working Americans, to be exact. Once more we have Chris trying to sell us you did not build that as what the fretful DNC needs us to accept as what Obama meant, Pure Liberal BS! When Obama made his statement If you’ve got a business, you did not build that somebody else made that”, his standpoint as well as his divisive nature were never more obvious.
Princess you aren’t alone. She hit the ball out of the park!
In my reading this morning PJ Media had this to say about her:
http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2012/08/29/smile-swagger-slash-paul-ryan-charms-through-a-brilliant-blistering-demolition-of-the-obama-years/?singlepage=true
Harold, I know that infrastructure is built in part by individual initiative. Everyone knows that. Obama clearly knows that, because he said it in the very speech Republicans can’t stop beating into the ground. He said that “when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together.” Why do conservatives keep ignoring that part of his speech? Because it doesn’t fit their narrative.
My interpretation of Obama’s speech isn’t just “DNC hot air and spin.” Every major fact-checking organization in the U.S. has said the same thing I’m telling you right now. Even FOX News has published an article taking issue with the “you didn’t build that” distortion. In this article, FOX columnist Sally Kohn points out that and other lies in Paul Ryan’s convention speech:
“On the other hand, to anyone paying the slightest bit of attention to facts, Ryans speech was an apparent attempt to set the world record for the greatest number of blatant lies and misrepresentations slipped into a single political speech. On this measure, while it was Romney who ran the Olympics, Ryan earned the gold.
The good news is that the Romney-Ryan campaign has likely created dozens of new jobs among the legions of additional fact checkers that media outlets are rushing to hire to sift through the mountain of cow dung that flowed from Ryans mouth. Said fact checkers have already condemned certain arguments that Ryan still irresponsibly repeated.
Fact: While Ryan tried to pin the downgrade of the United States credit rating on spending under President Obama, the credit rating was actually downgraded because Republicans threatened not to raise the debt ceiling.
Fact: While Ryan blamed President Obama for the shut down of a GM plant in Janesville, Wisconsin, the plant was actually closed under President George W. Bush. Ryan actually asked for federal spending to save the plant, while Romney has criticized the auto industry bailout that President Obama ultimately enacted to prevent other plants from closing.
Fact: Though Ryan insisted that President Obama wants to give all the credit for private sector success to government, that isn’t what the president said. Period.
Fact: Though Paul Ryan accused President Obama of taking $716 billion out of Medicare, the fact is that that amount was savings in Medicare reimbursement rates (which, incidentally, save Medicare recipients out-of-pocket costs, too) and Ryan himself embraced these savings in his budget plan.
Elections should be about competing based on your record in the past and your vision for the future, not competing to see who can get away with the most lies and distortions without voters noticing or bother to care. Both parties should hold themselves to that standard. Republicans should be ashamed that there was even one misrepresentation in Ryans speech but sadly, there were many.”
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/08/30/paul-ryans-speech-in-three-words/#ixzz253AY2leA
If you’re looking for a snake oil salesman, look no further than Paul Ryan.
Others have taken issue with Paul Ryan’s dishonesty as well.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/paul-ryans-dishonest-speech/2012/08/30/16bb62d8-f24f-11e1-adc6-87dfa8eff430_blog.html
Paul Ryans breathtakingly dishonest speech
By James Downie
Yesterday, at an ABC News panel, Mitt Romney pollster Neil Newhouse said, Were not going to let our campaign be dictated by fact-checkers. Wednesdays speech from Paul Ryan certainly took that disdain for truth to heart, as his address was filled with falsehoods from start to finish.
Lets start with the chronologically impossible. Ryan spoke about the GM plant in his hometown of Janesville:
A lot of guys I went to high school with worked at that GM plant. Right there at that plant, candidate Obama said: I believe that if our government is there to support you this plant will be here for another hundred years. Thats what he said in 2008.
Well, as it turned out, that plant didnt last another year. It is locked up and empty to this day. And thats how it is in so many towns today, where the recovery that was promised is nowhere in sight.
Set aside the fact that Paul Ryan, in a fit of anti-Randianism, asked for government funds to save the plant. Set aside that he voted for the big-government auto bailout. Ryan also conveniently forgot to mention that GM announced the closure of the plant in early June 2008. In fact, Ryan and then-Wisconsin Sens. Russ Feingold (D) and Herb Kohl (D) sent a letter that month to GM CEO Rick Wagoner asking him to reconsider. This was not just before Barack Obama was inaugurated or even elected; it was the same day he won his own partys nomination. There was no way Obama could have saved that auto plant without also discovering time travel.
Despite his problems with calendars, how did Ryan fare when it came to his own record? Well, he also inveighed against Obama on the national debt:
[Obama] created a bipartisan debt commission [, the Simpson-Bowles commission]. They came back with an urgent report. He thanked them, sent them on their way, and then did exactly nothing.
But Ryan was on that commission, and he voted against that urgent report. Also, the president did not do exactly nothing: The White House released a debt plan last September, despite Republicans best attempts to pretend it doesnt exist. Finally, if the crisis is so urgent, why does Ryans own budget proposal not balance the budget until the 2030s?
One more example a line from his attack on Obamas stimulus:
The stimulus was a case of political patronage, corporate welfare, and cronyism at their worst.
As Times Michael Grunwald, who has just published a new book about the stimulus, points out, Experts had warned that 5 percent of the stimulus could be lost to fraud, but investigators have documented less than $10 million in losses about 0.001 percent. Solyndra has been the exception, not the rule.
These are just three examples, and there are many others: attacking the president for raiding Medicare when his own budget calls for cutting the same amount of money from the program; claiming fiscal rectitude after voting for the two wars, Medicare expansion and tax cuts that remain key drivers of our federal deficit; and so on.
With tonights speech, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have doubled down on their twin bets of 2012 that journalists will sit back and name winners and losers without regard to who is telling the truth, and that voters are too ignorant to care about the truth. Do not let them be right.
Chris you have made a habit out of calling people on this blog, and in the Republican Party or conservative side, liars and yet you believe and support a party and media that has a long history of lying to the American people.
Ryan did not lie about the GM plant! The so-called (leftist?) fact checkers are wrong:
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/315435/janesville-plant-jonathan-h-adler
See more information (including video) at Hot Air:
http://hotair.com/archives/2012/08/30/fact-checking-the-factcheckers-on-ryans-speech/?preview=true
One day it might begin to dawn on you that the entire Democrat Party was built on lies and deception. From selling the notion that borrowing and spending will spark the economy to convincing black people that Republicans are racist, to educating our children that government projects ended the depression and the Great Society would uplift the poor…the Democrat platform is a grounding built on lies.
Tina, that defense of Ryan’s lie is pathetic. Politifact already noted that some work was still being done in the plant as late as April 2009. But those projects only included about 100 workers; the vast majority of employees, over 2,000, were laid off in December 2008, before Obama’s inauguration. And the decision to close the plant was made before Obama’s inauguration. Furthermore, all work shut down before Obama had passed the auto bailout. Ryan is still blaming the president for something he clearly had no control over.
Ryan is also falsely claiming that this was a “broken promise” from Obama. But Obama didn’t promise anything. Here’s what he said:
“And I believe that if our government is there to support you, and give you the assistance you need to re-tool and make this transition, that this plant will be here for another hundred years. The question is not whether a clean energy economy is in our future, its where it will thrive. I want it to thrive right here in the United States of America; right here in Wisconsin; and thats the future Ill fight for as your president.”
But as Poliitifact points out, “That’s a statement of belief that, with government help, the Janesville plant could remain open — but not a promise to keep it open.”
http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2012/aug/29/paul-ryan/did-barack-obama-break-promise-keep-gm-plant-open/
Obama’s statement was conditional: “if” the government supports you, “then…” Clearly, the government wasn’t there to support the Janesville plant, but there was nothing Obama could have done about it.
Even if Obama had been president at the time the closure was announced, Ryan’s critique would still be incoherent. Is he trying to say that the government should have done more to keep this plant from closing? That’s quite inconsistent of him, especially when he’s presenting at a convention whose theme is all about how the government needs to stay out of business.
Chris you can pedal your falsehearted Liberal spin 7/24 about how or what Obama means when he talks, that does not mean I should accept it as fact or buy into any fact check web site. Also not everyone or media source out there is in agreement with you. I highlighted Obamas words form his July stumping. I then will present my take of what he said and identified by apostrophes;
PRESIDENT OBAMA: There are a lot of wealthy, successful Americans who agree with me because they want to give something back. They know they didnt if youve been successful, you didnt get there on your own. You didnt get there on your own. I am always struck by people who think, It must be because I was just so smart. There are a lot of smart people out there. It must be because I worked harder than everybody else. Let me tell you something: There are a whole bunch of hardworking people out there. If you are successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. (Motivation and effort was the help most small business owners got through family mentors, not Government support, Business owners invested their savings, time and hard work without the assurance of a Government safety net.)There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. (Not always academic, but assumed considering the source) Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody (Working tax payers and business owners not people living off the Government) invested in roads and bridges. (End of sentence and complete statement) If youve got a business, you did not build thatsomebody else made that happen. (Completely separate statement standing on it own, and established by the use of the word THAT in relation to the word BUSINESS). The Internet did not get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off of the Internet. The point is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together. (Taking into account who is talking, along with not using his byline ofI or my , I find this statement lacking any creditability as well).
Chris this is how I perceive Obama after 3 and one half years of listening to his self aggrandizing, yet achieving any lack of accomplishment in making America a more unified populous, and I do not need a fact check source to verify my point. You have your opinion for your reasons and I have mine because of country.
Well Chris the hope and change President really never does make a commitment does he? I mean that would require that at some point he actually take responsibility for his failures as well as his accomplishments. That would require that he stand as a man in the highest office and shoulder the entire burden, not just the parts that make him look good.
His predecessor did that.
Your entire party is the pass the buck party. They have made blaming someone or something else, mostly republicans, for every problem and ill. This has been the main leg of their platform for decades. Democrats position themselves as saviors with vague empty words like hope and change and when they fail to deliver the fall back position is the blame game.
Children do that. Children always have an excuse or some lame explanation for their failures.
Americans can’t feed and clothe their families on the excuses of its leaders. People can’t be lifted out of poverty with rotten schools and the crumbs from the tables of others. Government cannot be sustained that continues to create unsustainable entitlement programs.
We need someone to lead us now more than we did in 2008…to lead not to dictate. To lead, not to pick winners and losers.
We need someone who is looking out for the overall welfare of the people and the nation and not just for his loyal friends and favored special interests.
We need someone who realizes that a strong nation is built when most of the people can find meaningful work…we need someone that knows what businesses need to put people to work.
Barack Obama has done what he believed was the right thing to do. Barack Obama has shown us that he is not that person to lead America into a brighter future for everyone. It’s time for Barack Obama to go!
And no amount of screaming liar liar, no fair, or any other trumped up garbage (like pathetic grown infants) will change that.
This sure sound familiar!
Ryan Freaks Out Obamaland
By Jennifer Rubin
The Democrats are losing it, literally. The Obama camp and its surrogates are losing the fight to control the narrative about Mitt Romney and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) They are losing the effort to distract voters through the presence at the GOP convention of Obama campaign staffers such as Robert Gibbs and Ben LaBolt, who spend their time wandering about and whining to the media here in Tampa about the negativity of the other side. They are losing the ability to con the media into focusing on likability, as if perceptions of Romney and Ryan wouldnt improve after this event.
That spilled over last night in a group outburst from Romney-Ryan critics over Paul Ryans speech. Needless to say, the speech was a ringing success with delegates and in much of the mainstream media. Ryan bloodied President Obama with blow after blow, all the while appearing cheery and sincere. The crowd loved it. So nearly en masse the left decided that Ryan lied.
For starters, that is the ultimate compliment. It is in effect saying the speech worked so well and was received so well that the only thing to say is that it was a con job.
But the lies turn out not to be lies at all. They are not even misrepresentations or exaggerations.
Take Ryans criticism of Obamas ignoring Simpson-Bowles. This is a fact. That Ryan voted for it and then put together the only comprehensive budget using some elements of Simpson-Bowles (a premium-support Medicare plan, block-granting Medicaid) doesnt make his remarks about Obama a lie. A true statement Obama ignored Simpson-Bowles is not a lie because there is another true statement Ryan voted no and came up with his own plan. This is a standard of lying that has never been applied to the president, by the way.
Then there is the lie that Obama took $716 billion out of Medicare. That is also a fact. That Ryan, who has now signed onto Romneys plan which puts the money back, previously took those cuts to put back into the Medicare trust fund does not make the statement false. Obama can defend the cuts and say it wasnt so bad or say that sticking the money into Obamacare was justified, but Ryan did relate what Obama did.
Then there is the accusation that Ryan lied about the Janesville GM plant. Lets recall exactly what he said: I believe that if our government is there to support you this plant will be here for another hundred years. Thats what [Obama] said in 2008. Well, as it turned out, that plant didnt last another year. It is locked up and empty to this day. And thats how it is in so many towns today, where the recovery that was promised is nowhere in sight. Ryan quoted Obama accurately.
Ryan never said the plant was closed by Obama; he said Obama promised to revive the plant and couldnt deliver. That is a fact, not a lie. Well, its not a lie by Ryan; and Ill not call Obamas promise to keep the plant open a lie. Obama just didnt deliver. The Romney-Ryan campaign points to a story in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel verifying that a decision was made in 2011, well after Obamas Janesville appearance, to keep the plant on standby. (Since they were shut down in 2009, both the Janesville and Tennessee plants have been on standby status, meaning they were not producing vehicles, but they were not completely shut down.)
The stings on these issues cut so deeply that I suppose that the Obama team and its media allies are crazed to turn facts into lies and aspirations into distortions. Take Ryans statement that hell keep GDP below 20 percent. What Ryan critics say is misleading is in fact a policy difference. Ryans budget does bring spending to about 20 percent of GDP, with an increase in defense spending. Its fine to say thats a bad choice; but its not misleading.
It is likewise not misleading to say: None of us have to settle for the best this administration offers a dull, adventureless journey from one entitlement to the next, a government-planned life, a country where everything is free but us. That is an accurate description of Obamas own Life of Julia Web site, which depicted exactly that. If anyone blew it, it was the Obama team in putting out a caricature of the liberal welfare state.
I understand the frustration of Obamas camp and its supporters. Moreover, I think much of the media accusations were offered in haste in an effort to get out the instant reaction without the media doing their full homework. It is a revealing moment, for the press and the Obama camp. For members of the Obama team, it means they are losing the race, and they know it.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/post/ryan-freaks-out-obamaland/2012/08/30/be97852e-f2ac-11e1-adc6-87dfa8eff430_blog.html
One more word about government building infrastructure.
1. They take money from taxpayer’s that require a bureaucracy to collect and administer. (Some say this eats from 50 to 75 cents of every dollar) 2. They spend money to put out competitive bids. (Cost is in the millions of dollars for each bid) 3. The award is made and private sector businesses buy the materials and do the work.
Business and the people built. Government is an added (wasted?) layer of expense.
The Northern Railroad was built entirely with private funds. Read about it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Northern_Railway_%28U.S.%29
Very large projects can be better facilitated with government involvement but these efforts do not make up the bulk of American industry and in reality a much smaller government would be able to facilitate just as easily without all of the added expense.
I though that Clint Eastwood was the highlight of the convention. He said “See,I never thought it was a good idea for attorneys to be president.”(Applause.)
Good call, Romney is a attorney.
This was the perfect representation of the Republican campaign: an old white man arguing with an imaginary Barack Obama.
Great article Peggy…here’s another:
http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/083012-624188-so-called-fact-checks-disguise-media-liberal-agenda.htm
Clint Eastwood was very good and could say things that politicians don’t dare.
While its true that Mitt Romney has a law degree from Harvard his Masters (also from Harvard) was in business administration. He hasn’t worked in the field of law but I would bet the education has given him an edge in business and it will serve him well in being able to recognize any legal chicanery in bills that cross his desk.
Tina: “Well Chris the hope and change President really never does make a commitment does he? I mean that would require that at some point he actually take responsibility for his failures as well as his accomplishments. That would require that he stand as a man in the highest office and shoulder the entire burden, not just the parts that make him look good…”
Tina, why is it that every time your specific claims are proven false, instead of admitting that, you just backtrack into making vague generalizations? You did the same thing in the thread about Dr. Vecchio claiming that she was no longer allowed to recommend mammograms to women under 50. When that was proven to be ridiculously false, you tried to make it sound as if she was just “expressing concerns” about the law, and had done nothing wrong at all. Do you really think such lines of argument are convincing?
It is obvious that you try to muddy the waters of your own arguments because you cannot back up your specific claims with facts. You should know by now that this tactic doesn’t work on me.
Contrary to Ryan’s false claim, Obama never made a promise to the workers at the Janesville plant. He said that if the government was there for Janesville, he thought the plant would succeed. That’s not a promise; that’s a conditional statement. Obviously, the government didn’t do anything in time. And there’s nothing Obama could have done about that; the plant effectively closed in December 2008. A skeleton crew of about 100 workers continued working on a project they were contract-bound to finish until April, but other than that, the plant was closed. And Obama’s auto bailout had not yet passed by the time all work had stopped. Ryan’s statements were at best misleading, and at worst, lies.
Jennifer Rubin doesn’t get that, because she is a partisan hack. I can’t believe she is trying to act as if there was nothing dishonest about Ryan’s claims, and that the media is wrong for holding a politician accountable for misleading the public. That’s not what a real journalist does. A real journalist tries to inform the public, not cover for misinformation campaigns.
But then, no one would ever confuse Jennifer Rubin for a real journalist.
Rubin writes:
“Then there is the lie that Obama took $716 billion out of Medicare. That is also a fact. That Ryan, who has now signed onto Romneys plan which puts the money back, previously took those cuts to put back into the Medicare trust fund does not make the statement false. Obama can defend the cuts and say it wasnt so bad or say that sticking the money into Obamacare was justified, but Ryan did relate what Obama did.”
So it’s OK that Ryan failed to mention that his own budget plan preserves the $716 million cuts to Medicare that were in the ACA? Is Rubin really arguing that it isn’t dishonest for Ryan to criticize Obama for cutting the exact same amount to Medicate that Ryan himself has proposed? Of course that’s dishonest.
I can’t believe the right wing is now going after independent fact-checkers. Welcome to the era of post-truth politics.
I don’t agree that you have proven my claims false.
I agree you have a different opinion.
I agree that you choose to align with the facts as presented by the left. In the case of Ryan recently they chose to make an argument against something he did not say. Typical! This is an old Marxist ploy.
In the case of the mammogram flap my argument was that the legal language of the bill makes the doctors fears both reasonable and probable, especially given that small window Congress was allowed to overturn the decisions of the panel and the secretary.
As I said before Obama doesn’t make commitments. He promises the moon and then makes excuses.
After almost four years I prefer to let his actions speak for him.
Jennifer Rubin is just fine.
If you want to talk about lunacy and dishonesty in journalism you might want to take a gander at Chris Mathews.
Don’t preach to me about liars and lying, Chris, you support the party whose play book was dedicated to Lucifer!
The Republican Convention was a smashing success! It was PRO WOMAN…it featured magnificent speakers from various backgrounds. All of the speakers had wonderful personal stories and uplifting messages about our country, our candidate, and the opportunity that Mitt Romney and his running mate Paul Ryan offer the American people.
All the snippy,nasty little accusations in the world can’t change that…it does make the left seem desperate and look small.
Tina: “I don’t agree that you have proven my claims false.
I agree you have a different opinion.”
The problem is that you don’t understand the difference between fact and opinion. And the right wing has been trying to blur that distinction further and further over the past four years in order to confuse people. When it was proven that there was no rationing or “death panels” in the new healthcare law, conservatives refused to admit the charges were factually untrue, and tried to make this a matter of “opinion.” Reality did not change, but as long as you can change people’s perceptions, that doesn’t seem to matter.
Another example: Obama has proven that he was born in the United States multiple times, and still there are idiots who won’t take the legal documents as proof. Your party is more than willing to pander to these idiots–Romney made a birther reference a couple of weeks ago.
Now you are trying to undermine the public’s trust in independent fact-checkers so that the line between fact and opinion becomes even fuzzier. Ask yourself: if this is what you have to do to win…should you win?
“I agree that you choose to align with the facts as presented by the left.”
Politifact, Fact Check, and WaPo’s fact checker are not “the left,” and you know it. They evaluate the truth of statements and rule based on the facts, regardless of party affiliation. They have given Democrats, including the president, false and even “pants on fire” ratings plenty of times. Republicans, including the Romney campaign, have cited these same fact-checkers whenever it’s convenient to them. And now they are going to tell us these sources are unreliable?
This is another tired tactic from you: when you don’t like the facts, just call the source “liberal” so that people on your side won’t pay attention. Any time someone points out that something you say isn’t true, you can just implicate them as part of the “liberal media conspiracy.”
I mean, the first link I posted detailing Ryan’s falsehoods was from FOX News. Are they part of “the left” now?
“In the case of Ryan recently they chose to make an argument against something he did not say.”
What are you talking about? Ryan did say that the plant closure was an example of a “broken promise” from President Obama. But that wasn’t true, because Obama never made a promise, and the plant closed before it was possible for him to even do anything about the situation.
“In the case of the mammogram flap my argument was that the legal language of the bill makes the doctors fears both reasonable and probable, especially given that small window Congress was allowed to overturn the decisions of the panel and the secretary.”
But again, she didn’t just express fears! You are moving the goalposts. She made a very specific argument. She said that the law bans her (not COULD ban in the future, but DOES, right now) from recommending mammograms to women under 50. That claim is not an opinion; it’s something that can objectively verified to be either true or false. And it. Was. False.
You may believe that the law gives the IPAB or the health secretary the power to ban mammograms in the future. I think that’s obviously wrong, but I’ll let that go for now. But even if you believe this, can you at least admit that Dr. Vecchio was wrong to say that, as of right now, she is forbidden from recommending mammograms to women under 50? Because as of now, the law actually does the exact opposite, as it requires Medicare to start paying for mammograms for women 40 and over.
“As I said before Obama doesn’t make commitments. He promises the moon and then makes excuses.”
In one sentence you say he “doesn’t make commitments,” and in the next you say he “promises the moon.” Well, which is it? Both can’t be true.
“After almost four years I prefer to let his actions speak for him.”
No, you constantly misrepresent his actions. The Winston Churchhill bust, death panels, rationing, “you didn’t build that,” giving land back to Mexico, removing work requirements in welfare, raising taxes on many small businesses, urging for strict gun control laws, lending billions of dollars to Brazillian oil companies, suing Ohio to restrict military voting…these are all things Obama didn’t do, except in your imagination and the imaginations of many other right-wingers. You don’t let Obama’s actions speak for themselves; you spread lies about actions Obama never took, and then refuse to admit it when they are proven false.
“If you want to talk about lunacy and dishonesty in journalism you might want to take a gander at Chris Mathews.”
I’ve criticized Chris Matthews plenty of times on this blog. I don’t think anyone would confuse him for a real journalist either. See, unlike you, I am not pathologically incapable of criticizing members of my own political party.
“A former employee of the General Motors plant in Janesville, Wisconsin said Paul Ryan “should be ashamed of himself” for his misleading claim about the plant’s shutdown.
During his speech at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, Ryan blamed President Obama for the plant’s closing.
“Right there at that plant, candidate Obama said, ‘I believe that if our government is there to support you this plant will be here for another hundred years.’ Thats what he said in 2008,” Ryan had said. “Well, as it turned out, that plant didn’t last another year.”
Brad Dutcher, the former GM employee, told MSNBC’s Ed Schultz on Friday that he was at the Janesville plant during Obama’s visit and that Ryan had told an “outright lie” by implying that Obama had been responsible for the plant’s closure.
Dutcher said that Obama “had nothing to do with the decision to close our factory.” He added that “there was never a promise made…to keep our plant open. That is completely false.”
Dutcher’s comments come on the heels of widespread criticism from Democrats and the media. A progressive Fox News columnist called the speech “apparent attempt to set the world record for the greatest number of blatant lies and misrepresentations slipped into a single political speech.” The Washington Post called it “breathtakingly dishonest.” Stephanie Cutter, Obama’s deputy campaign manager, told the LA Times that “Paul Ryan lied.”
As Schultz pointed out, the plant shut down in December 2008, when George W. Bush was still in office. The plant’s shutdown had been announced months earlier.
Dutcher said that Ryan should be “ashamed of himself” for his misleading claim.
“To turn this plant closing into a political football is shameful,” he said. “We still have families that are separated, we have moms and dads that drive 4, 5 states away that come home on the weekends to see their families,” because of the plant’s closing.
Ryan’s campaign has pushed back against criticisms, arguing that “whenever the plant may have closed, it has yet to re-open under Obama, and is therefore a symbol of a failed recovery.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/01/brad-dutcher-paul-ryan-janesville-gm-plant_n_1848928.html?utm_hp_ref=tw
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Chris.
Once again:
http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/083012-624188-so-called-fact-checks-disguise-media-liberal-agenda.htm
Journalism: If media “fact checkers” are just impartial guardians of the truth, how come they got their own facts wrong about Paul Ryan’s speech, and did so in a way that helped President Obama’s re-election effort?
Case in point was the rush of “fact check” stories claiming Ryan misled when he talked about a shuttered auto plant in his home state.
Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler posted a piece “Ryan misleads on GM plant closing in hometown” saying Ryan “appeared to suggest” that Obama was responsible for the closure of a GM plant in Janesville, Wis.
“That’s not true,” Kessler said. “The plant was closed in December 2008, before Obama was sworn in.”
What’s not true are Kessler’s “facts.” Ryan didn’t suggest Obama was responsible for shuttering the plant. Instead, he correctly noted that Obama promised during the campaign that the troubled plant “will be here for another hundred years” if his policies were enacted.
Also, the plant didn’t close in December 2008. It was still producing cars until April 2009.
An AP “fact check” also claimed that “the plant halted production in December 2008” even though the AP itself reported in April 2009 that the plant was only then “closing for good.”
CNN’s John King made the same claim about that plant closure. But when CNN looked more carefully at the evidence, it to its credit concluded that what Ryan said was “true.”
As always I will let our readers decide for themselves.
Investors.com says:
“Instead, he correctly noted that Obama promised during the campaign…”
This is not correct. Obama did not make a promise, as can be confirmed by multiple fact checkers, an employee who was there, and the direct quote from Barack Obama.
“Also, the plant didn’t close in December 2008. It was still producing cars until April 2009.”
As has already been pointed out, the closure was announced in June of 2008, and multiple articles from the time report that the plant effectively closed in December. The vast majority of workers were laid off by that time. Only a skeleton crew of about 100 workers stayed to finish a project they were contractually obligated to.