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You are here: Home / Past Elections / Election 2012 / Wednesday Morning Open Thread

Wednesday Morning Open Thread

by Anne Laurie|  November 9, 20115:15 am| 38 Comments

This post is in: Election 2012, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat, Republican Stupidity, Republican Venality, Clap Louder!, Romney of the Uncanny Valley

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(Jeff Danziger’s website)

Who doesn’t love the smell of roasted chestnuts black walnuts in the morning? But, given that Koch daddy Fred C. was a John Birch Society Founder, I don’t know why there weren’t more references to Strom Thurmond’s “unacknowledged” daughter…

Speaking of schadenfreude, Steve Benen at the Washington Monthly ponders the new conservative website NotMittRomney.com:

… Organizers, in explaining the purpose of the “Not Mitt Romney” campaign, argue that because of the candidate’s lack of core principles, Republicans will “have a White House that believes in little” if Romney “some how [sic] squeaks it out.” They added that a Romney nomination will produce a Republican Party “split at the seems [sic].”
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The campaign features some fairly prominent right-wing voices, including GOP activists, operatives, and media figures. The names that jump out include Pamela Geller, Roger Stone Jr, Robert Stacy McCain, and Matt Mackowiak, led by a conservative public-relations professional Ali Akbar.
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I can understand their dissatisfaction with the Republican frontrunner, and I can also understand their willingness to get organized in opposition to Romney. What makes less sense to me is the underlying strategy — Republican voters are going to nominate the party’s presidential candidate, and “Not Mitt Romney” won’t be on the ballot. If these right-wing players want to stop Romney from winning the GOP nod, they’re going to have pick an alternative…

As a proud Democrat, I think it can only be good news for President Obama if outspoken conservatives spend the next few months trying to kneecap Willard. And (via Dan Amira atNYMag Daily Intel), if Willard’s distant cousin Jon Huntsman wants to keep making attack videos, more power to him:

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Previous Post: « Herman Cain’s Press Conference: His Tale Doesn’t Pass the Smell Test (with video)
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Reader Interactions

38Comments

  1. 1.

    harlana

    November 9, 2011 at 5:30 am

    Mitt says “fuck Fox News”? hmmm

  2. 2.

    harlana

    November 9, 2011 at 5:33 am

    Republican voters are going to nominate the party’s presidential candidate, and “Not Mitt Romney” won’t be on the ballot. If these right-wing players want to stop Romney from winning the GOP nod, they’re going to have pick an alternative…

    Still, these temper tantrums are fun to watch. I can’t get enough of Erick Erickson’s tears.

  3. 3.

    Anya

    November 9, 2011 at 5:46 am

    Can we say we’ve reached peak wingnut?
    A case can be made: Mississippi voters defeated amendment to define personhood at fertilization, Ohio voters rejected the anti-union law and John Kasich in a landslide, and racist Arizona State Senate President Russell Pearce was recalled.

  4. 4.

    harlana

    November 9, 2011 at 5:50 am

    Also, apparently the Joe Walsh vid has been taken down – “private video”

  5. 5.

    Raven (formerly stuckinred)

    November 9, 2011 at 5:54 am

    @Anya: Almost every Special Local Option Sales Tax initiatives in Georgia passed.

  6. 6.

    Anya

    November 9, 2011 at 5:59 am

    @Raven (formerly stuckinred): For some reason, I was not following Georgia, so I am not familiar with it. Is that good or wingnutty?

  7. 7.

    amk

    November 9, 2011 at 6:02 am

    Horrendous spelling, horrendous punctuation – Typical rwnjs’ ineptitude.

    Anyone willing to bet that mittens says ‘aw, fuck this, I’m out’ soon ?

    I am on for mid-March.

  8. 8.

    PurpleGirl

    November 9, 2011 at 6:02 am

    @Anya: One feature of peak wingnut is that as soon as we think they’ve reached it, they find yet another, farther point to the asymptote. Asymptotes tend to infinity.

  9. 9.

    Raven (formerly stuckinred)

    November 9, 2011 at 6:03 am

    @Anya: “Over the next five years, a projected $3.2 billion will flow into metro Atlanta schools after voters Tuesday approved an extension of a penny sales taxes to fund school construction.”

  10. 10.

    amk

    November 9, 2011 at 6:05 am

    @harlana: Typical deadbeat cowardly joe.

  11. 11.

    SiubhanDuinne

    November 9, 2011 at 6:08 am

    @Anya:

    Can’t speak for Raven. I voted for SPLOST yesterday, it’s earmarked for education and education infrastructure.

  12. 12.

    amk

    November 9, 2011 at 6:08 am

    @Raven (formerly stuckinred): teh money quote… literally

    Voters essentially gave DeKalb County schools, where the former superintendent is facing fraud charges related to previous SPLOST money, $475 million for school construction, including $144 million to replace seven elementary schools.

    Atlanta Public Schools, which is in the midst of one of the nation’s biggest ever test cheating scandals, could raise $513 million. Two new schools in Buckhead and a new middle school in Midtown are among the projects the 1-cent tax would fund.

  13. 13.

    Anya

    November 9, 2011 at 6:09 am

    @Raven (formerly stuckinred): At long last, is our country learning?

  14. 14.

    Keith

    November 9, 2011 at 6:12 am

    and “Not Mitt Romney” won’t be on the ballot

    This assumes that Romney won’t change his name to “Not Mitt Romney” prior to the election. The man will do anything to shore up the base.

  15. 15.

    gene108

    November 9, 2011 at 6:13 am

    Good strategy by Romney.

    Controlling image/message is everything in American politics. Explaining yourself and your actions clearly, in a Q&A with reporters, only has a downside, with no upside.

    Voters don’t remember good answers, because they are usually long and can’t fit on a bumpersticker and they won’t get picked up by the news cycle, because they can’t fit on a bumper sticker.

    Gaffes, on the other hand, will dominate the news cycle for a week, at least and can haunt your campaign for even longer as opponents bring up the gaffe again and again.

    There is no upside to doing anything, as a candidate, that cannot be carefully staged and controlled for maximum positive impact.

  16. 16.

    R-Jud

    November 9, 2011 at 6:14 am

    I know the CW is that Romney’s the nominee, no matter what, but I can’t help thinking he’s going to choke like his father did 1968 and wind up losing the nom to someone else. This may just be because I re-read Nixonland recently, though.

    On a personal level, bad news back west:

    Republicans Moyer, Garris Win Monroe County Commissioners Majority

    Republicans John Moyer and Charlie Garris were the top two vote-getters in the race for Monroe County commissioners, with incumbent Democrat Suzanne McCool edging out incumbent Democrat Theresa Merli, unofficial results showed Tuesday night.

    That’s my mom who’s lost. She’s not awake yet, so I don’t know how she feels about it. She may very well be relieved.

    And can we take this quote from her as a cautionary tale?

    ‎”The Democrats didn’t come out to vote,” Merli said. “It’s as simple as that.”

    GOTV,please, for fuck’s sake, in 2012.

  17. 17.

    Cain

    November 9, 2011 at 6:18 am

    My wife and I have been up all night at an all night peg hospital trying go figure out why our cat can’t hold food down.

  18. 18.

    SiubhanDuinne

    November 9, 2011 at 6:19 am

    Most of us in Georgia will also be able to buy alcohol on Sunday beginning soon (it’s all local option and exactly when the Blue Laws expire depends on the jurisdiction).

    And I meant to mention earlier that I went to my usual polling place yesterday and voted for SPLOST, then had to go several miles out of my way to City Hall in order to vote for Booze on Sunday. WTF? Not very efficient or economical. But at least for the first time in my life I can use that old “Vote Early, Vote Often” line and have it be legitimate.

  19. 19.

    gene108

    November 9, 2011 at 6:20 am

    I can’t blame Mitt for flip-flopping like he does. The Republican base has drummed out any and all ideas that don’t conform to cutting taxes, banning abortion and ending the era of birth control in general, deporting Mexicans and sticking it to poor people, that candidates cannot run on their records and accomplishments.

    They have to pay homage to the rigid purity test of the base.

    Huckabee, who was the only Republican candidate in 2008 to talk about the need to help the middle class, had to run away from his record as governor, because he had to raise taxes to conform with a state supreme court ruling about school funding. The decision to raise taxes and fund schools led to improved education results, but Huckabee couldn’t mention it or he’d fail the purity the test.

    I really don’t know what a viable palatable alternative to Romney is for the Republicans, other than a Bizarro Zombie Reagan, because the real Reagan wanted to raise taxes to fund infrastructure, amnestied illegals, got the U.S. to sign on the the U.N. declaration against torture, and wanted to eliminate all nuclear weapons in the world.

  20. 20.

    Raven (formerly stuckinred)

    November 9, 2011 at 6:22 am

    @Anya: I wouldn’t get TOO carried away. And, yes, I voted for it here in the People’s Republic of Athens.

  21. 21.

    amk

    November 9, 2011 at 6:22 am

    @R-Jud: Sorry about your mom’s seat loss.

    Dem voters, in most cases, turn out to be electoral eunuchs and then they whine on and on about why & how the party is moving right/center.

    One of the reasons I am not fully behind OWS is their message (at least one of it) of non-voting.

  22. 22.

    Raven (formerly stuckinred)

    November 9, 2011 at 6:22 am

    @SiubhanDuinne: It won’t even be on the ballot here until July 2012.

  23. 23.

    SiubhanDuinne

    November 9, 2011 at 6:24 am

    @R-Jud:

    Oh, R-Jud, I’m sorry about your mom. If she’s anything like her daughter she’ll be philosophical about the results, and before long even extract some humor and comfort. As you say, she may even feel relieved at some level. But losing stings and sucks, too, and you both have my sympathy.

  24. 24.

    mikefromArlington

    November 9, 2011 at 6:28 am

    If Romney wins he’ll do like McCainand pick a conservative darling and they’ll all rally around them.

  25. 25.

    SiubhanDuinne

    November 9, 2011 at 6:28 am

    @Raven (formerly stuckinred):

    Yeah, I realized after I posted that it was just metro Atlanta jurisdictions that had it on the ballot, not everywhere in the state.

  26. 26.

    R-Jud

    November 9, 2011 at 6:38 am

    @SiubhanDuinne: She probably went home after the results were in and went right to the easel for the first time in four years.

    On a practical level, I’m worried about the fact that she’s got until January to find a new job. She’s the primary breadwinner. I could always sponsor them to live here, I guess, though she would probably find work through one of the local conservation boards pretty quickly.

  27. 27.

    JGabriel

    November 9, 2011 at 6:46 am

    Oh, look (at the end of the video)! Jon Huntsman has a little red & white “H” logo, like a clothing designer for rich people, or maybe a real estate firm.

    Seriously. Most political logos try to say something optimistic about America, such as Obama’s “O” rising like a sun over a red, white, & blue field.

    Huntsman’s logo says: I’d look really good on a polo shirt.

    .

  28. 28.

    JGabriel

    November 9, 2011 at 6:54 am

    harlana:

    Mitt says “fuck Fox News”?

    Credit where credit is due — Mitt’s been avoiding Fox News for a long time.

    Maybe it’s a smart strategy for courting independents, maybe there’s some bad blood between Romney and some higher-ups at Fox, maybe Mitt feels a real antipathy for them, maybe he didn’t like his 2008 coverage, or maybe he doesn’t want to wear out the conservative welcome wagon and wants to be viewed as a fresh face on Fox once the primaries kick-in and he has to show up there.

    I don’t know. But Mitt hasn’t given Fox much of anything since 2008.

    .

  29. 29.

    JGabriel

    November 9, 2011 at 7:01 am

    @Anya:

    Can we say we’ve reached peak wingnut?

    There is no such thing as Peak Wingnut. There is only the ever-expanding Wingularity.

    .

  30. 30.

    Alex S.

    November 9, 2011 at 7:08 am

    @Keith:

    Had to laugh out loud….

    I have a little conspiracy theory that says that Huntsman is just in it to spoil Romney’s chances at getting the nomination, because if Romney’s the nominee in 2012 and loses, there surely won’t be another mormon nominee (Huntsman) in 2016.

  31. 31.

    Ed in NJ

    November 9, 2011 at 7:15 am

    Not the biggest story of this year’s elections, but our bloated windbag of a governor was rebuked by NJ voters, as Dems maintained control of the state legislature by not losing a single seat. So much for his bully pulpit.

  32. 32.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    November 9, 2011 at 7:30 am

    @JGabriel:

    “H” logo… Huntsman’s logo says: I’d look really good on a polo shirt I am a hologram.

  33. 33.

    R-Jud

    November 9, 2011 at 8:30 am

    @amk: Thanks for the commiserations.

    After talking to her it sounds like Dem turnout was not the only problem. She had also gathered up a lot of bipartisan support during the campaign, but on election day many of the Republicans who’d offered lip service ended up voting with “the tribe”, as she put it.

    When she went to her polling place she saw one guy, whose family was a direct beneficiary of her effort to fund the community college, wearing a campaign t-shirt for her Republican opponent. That’s when she knew she was cooked.

    Anyway, she sounds pretty upbeat.

  34. 34.

    FlipYrWhig

    November 9, 2011 at 8:57 am

    @Cain: Good luck!

  35. 35.

    Mark B.

    November 9, 2011 at 9:18 am

    The good thing about Herman’s crash and burn is that he’s burning a lot of wingnut money as he flames out. And when they finally figure out they’ve been had, they’ll be completely discouraged for the general election. Ah, forget the second sentence. He’s dealing with the perfect suckers, who don’t even know when they’ve been had.

  36. 36.

    amk

    November 9, 2011 at 9:21 am

    @R-Jud: Sounds like a great mom. Lucky you. Best wishes for her future.

  37. 37.

    Vlad

    November 9, 2011 at 9:29 am

    “Roasted black walnuts”? WTF?

    No need to go racial on something like that…

  38. 38.

    KRK

    November 9, 2011 at 12:59 pm

    @Vlad:

    Thank you. You think she’d have come to terms with her tin ear by now and quit trying to be cute.

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