SI
SI
discoversearch

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor.  We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community.  If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.
Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: i-node who wrote (684904)11/15/2012 1:28:53 PM
From: bentway  Respond to of 1578294
 
Bobby Jindal: 'I Absolutely Reject' Mitt Romney's 'Gifts' Explanation For Obama Victory

Lousiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) rebuffed Mitt Romney's claim that President Obama won reelection because of "gifts" to minorities and young voters, calling the statement "wrong."

"That is absolutely wrong," Jindal said at Wednesday's session of the annual Republican Governors Association meeting in Las Vegas, according to the Washington Examiner's Byron York. "I absolutely reject that notion."

“I don’t think that represents where we are as a party and where we’re going as a party," Jindal continued. “That has got to be one of the most fundamental takeaways from this election: If we’re going to continue to be a competitive party and win elections on the national stage and continue to fight for our conservative principles, we need two messages to get out loudly and clearly: One, we are fighting for 100 percent of the votes, and secondly, our policies benefit every American who wants to pursue the American dream. Period. No exceptions."

The New York Times reported Wednesday afternoon on Romney's comments, which he made during a conference call with his presidential campaign's national finance committee.

"With regards to the young people, for instance, a forgiveness of college loan interest, was a big gift," Romney said. "Free contraceptives were very big with young college-aged women. And then, finally, Obamacare also made a difference for them, because as you know, anybody now 26 years of age and younger was now going to be part of their parents' plan, and that was a big gift to young people. They turned out in large numbers, a larger share in this election even than in 2008."

Romney also said that "free health care" was a "big plus" for Hispanic and African-American voters, who overwhelmingly supported the president in last week's election.

While Jindal actively campaigned for Romney during the general election, the Louisiana governor has recently issued pointed criticism on Romney's candidacy. In a Tuesday interview with The Huffington Post's Jon Ward, Jindal said Romney did little to inspire voters on his plan for the country.

"Mitt Romney is an honorable man. He's a good honest man. He deserves our respect, and our gratitude," Jindal said. "The reality of it, the campaign was too much about biography. It wasn't enough about a vision of where they wanted to take our country, and how they would do it ... The reality is people are not being inspired by a biography."

huffingtonpost.com



To: i-node who wrote (684904)11/15/2012 6:12:28 PM
From: tejek  Respond to of 1578294
 
* Asked why he wouldn't comment on why he failed to show up for a classified Benghazi hearing, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) replied, "Because I have the right as a senator to have no comment and who the hell are you to tell me I can or not?" (Also see ThinkProgress' " ultimate guide" to McCain's smear campaign against Susan Rice.)



To: i-node who wrote (684904)11/15/2012 6:15:09 PM
From: tejek1 Recommendation  Respond to of 1578294
 
Petraeus shoots down latest GOP conspiracy theory

By Steve Benen
-
Thu Nov 15, 2012 3:36 PM EST


Getty Images

The right's first conspiracy theory was that David Petraeus' sex scandal was hidden until after the election to help President Obama's re-election odds. Putting aside the strange notion that Petraeus' adultery would affect the president's political standing, this looked pretty silly when we learned some congressional Republicans knew about the story before the election.

The right's second conspiracy theory was that David Petraeus' sex scandal was part of a larger scheme to prevent him from testifying on Benghazi. This is just as dumb as the first -- Petraeus had already testified once, and his resignation won't stop him from testifying again.

Which leads to the right's third conspiracy theory.

Charles Krauthammer, the Fox News and Washington Post commentator, believes the Petraeus' sex scandal is linked to a closed briefing that he gave two days after the attack that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, in Benghazi, Libya. [...]

Krauthammer said on Fox News Tuesday that ties he sees between what Petraeus' told the Congress in September and his fear for his future at the CIA make his affair with biographer Paula Broadwell important to the public.


In this new theory, the White House knew about Petraeus' affair, and told Petraeus to mislead Congress or the administration would leak the scandal and ruin him. In other words, Obama was blackmailing the director of the CIA. (In fairness to Krauthammer, he's not the only one spewing this garbage; "Fox & Friends" pushed the same nonsense last week.)

Petraeus is a free man, and can now say as he pleases, and he's now shooting down this inanity, too.

Former CIA Director David Petraeus on Thursday said his resignation had nothing to do with the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, and denied disclosing any classified information.

"He has made it very clear that [his resignation] was about an extramarital affair and not over classified information or Benghazi," CNN's Kyra Phillips said.

I keep waiting for a Republican adult to step up and say the party is wrong to lose its mind over this, but it's not happening.



To: i-node who wrote (684904)11/15/2012 6:30:01 PM
From: tejek  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 1578294
 
An old fashioned firing circle.................love it.

Marco Rubio, angling for a 2016 spot himself, let it be known that he wanted nothing to do with Mitt's old/new theory that Obama's supposed "gifts" to voters is what turned the election:

"I don’t want to rebut him point by point," Rubio said of Romney. "I would just say to you, I don’t believe that we have millions and millions of people in this country that don’t want to work. I’m not saying that’s what he said. I think we have millions of people in this country that are out of work and are dependent on the government because they can't find a job."
Sen. Kelly Ayotte:
Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), who endorsed Romney for president and was once mentioned as a potential vice presidential candidate, told MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell that she doesn't agree, but also doesn't know the "full context" of the comments."I don't agree with the comments," Ayotte said.

Indeed, there's no doubt some "full context" here that we've been missing. Perhaps Romney prefaced his remarks by saying, "If I were a gigantic, irredeemable asshole, I would have to say that …"Past Republican important person Bobby Jindal, of course, was among the more forceful objectors:

Two points on that: One, we have got to stop dividing the American voters. We need to go after 100 percent of the votes, not 53 percent. We need to go after every single vote.“And, secondly, we need to continue to show how our policies help every voter out there achieve the American Dream, which is to be in the middle class, which is to be able to give their children an opportunity to be able to get a great education. … So, I absolutely reject that notion, that description. I think that’s absolutely wrong.”

And Reagan-era strategist Ed Rogers was exceedingly blunt about it:
“There is no Romney wing in the party that he needs to address,” said Ed Rogers, a longtime Republican strategist. “He never developed an emotional foothold within the GOP so he can exit the stage anytime and no one will mourn.”
Past Virginia representative Tom Davis was happy to pile on:
“It shows a huge misreading of the electoral landscape. A rather elitist misread. Where does he think his votes came from in rural America?”
Florida Gov. Rick Scott. Et tu, Florida Gov. Rick Scott?
“It’s wrong, it’s not true,” Scott told POLITICO, adding: “What we’ve got to do is say we want every vote, we want to take care of every citizen in our state.
Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad:
“I don’t think it’s helpful,” [...] “I guess my feeling is that we need to turn the page, and we need to focus on the future and not make excuses for the past.”
Hear that, Mitt? You're already "the past." The very, very unhelpful past.