Mitt Throws for the End Zone…

It looks like Mitt is running out of options. Now he is making a play for PA.

This just tells me that Mitt is one big state short. He knows he is going to lose most of the ‘swing states’ including Ohio and he needs to take a shot at a similar size state to pull this out.

I grew up in PA and I’m still there a lot. Mitt did nothing in PA for ads this whole election and now I hear he is everywhere with phone calls, ads you name it.

Mitt can still win, but he knows he is at least one big state behind. He needs a replacement for Ohio.

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I Think Obama has the Race

Yea, I do. This poll puts Obama ahead in Ohio.

Now a lot can change, but Ohio in blue makes the math really hard for Romney. Take CNN’s map which gives a good overall picture of the race.

It has Obama ahead in points 237-206. Remember 270 is the winning number.

Let’s say Obama has Ohio: 255-206 I believe this poll. I think Romney saying that the auto-industry should go bankrupt is fatal for Ohio.

That makes Flordia a must win state. It would put Obama over the top. Not only does Romney need Flordia, but he also can’t lose more than 1 (for the most part) of the remaining toss up states of: NH, VA, WI, IA, CO and NV.

Winning Flordia and 5 out of 6 others remaining seems too steep a hill.

Iowa and Wisconsin has been leaning Obama for a while. Nevada too but not as hard. Plus, Florida comes down to Minorities vs Seniors and Minorities can be hard to count for polls.

This could be a ‘laugher’ in electoral count even though I think the popular vote will be close.

It’s a shame in a way. I could have voted for Romney in another time and place. I would have needed a better idea of what he stood for, that’s hard when the GOP base makes you say crazy things.

One of the real killers for me, which doesn’t get much press: Romney was Governor of Massachusetts and he’s losing big to Obama in his home state. Who the heck loses his home state???

Out of Touch GOP

So let’s start with Rick Santorum:

Now I call this ‘Out of Touch GOP’, but sadly Santorum is in touch with the far right GOP.

First, let’s start with the quote that everyone is talking about:

“We Will Never Have The Elite, Smart People On Our Side”

So you don’t find that telling Rick? Of course not, because as he goes on, he’s got God. Well we have brains Rick (and from your point of view, given to us by God) and we have figured a few things out with them. If the smartest people have used their brains to figure out that you folks are doing someting wrong, then maybe you should step back and think. Sadly a lot of people turn off that part of their brain when the word God is spoken.

Plenty of people are Good without God Rick. We don’t need fairy tales.

Now, let’s move to Mitt Romney and while you are watching this consider how ‘Godly’ you would consider this man:

“There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that’s an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what…These are people who pay no income tax.”

So Mitt, you don’t think we should take care of people who have a lot less like: Food, Housing or Health Care? What would Jesus say about that? That doesn’t sound very Christian to me.

2nd, Mitt is working really hard to divide the nation, exactly what the GOP likes to point at the Dems for. I don’t want a President that only cares for half the country.

Lastly, I hate to tell you Mitt, but a lot of those 47% do pay taxes and a lot of those who don’t are seniors. Of course, facts shacts, he wants you to think of most of these voters as minorities or crazy liberals, etc. Got to play the us vs them card…

What I get out of this is, Mitt Romney is desperate. When someone starts speaking to his base like this, it’s a mark that he smells blood in the political water… his.

Mitt Romney: I can’t do it…

I really hate knowing who I’m going to vote for this early in the race, but I have to face that there is no way I’m going to vote for Mitt later this year.

So to give a high level view of where I’ve been politically:

• I was a big supporter of the GOP during the end of the Carter Presidency and thru Reagan.
• This started to change during the first Bush Presidency as the GOP went deeper with the Religious Right, but I still supported them thru Bush, Clinton and part of Bush II.
• By the end of Bush II’s Presidency, the GOP had drove me away. Their ties with Religion has moved them to go against science, woman, the poor, gays, and anyone else that Religion likes to hate about.
• During the Obama’s first term, I switched parties. I really don’t like being part of either party, but the rules of voting in my state make it so you really should be in one of the major parties.

Here is my prior posts on politics.

So why not Mitt? Well, let’s take a step back and look why the GOP is more of an issue right now then the Democrats when it comes to the health of the USA…

The GOP likes to frame the difference between the two parties as personal responsibility vs government responsibility. So, for example, the GOP will say that we give out too many hand outs to the poor so they have no reason to want to look for work. These people are a drain to the economy and should be pushed to find a job.

Part of this is true, I do think part of the country is too dependent on hand outs. There is a lot of reasons for this and I would argue that many of them is not the fault of the poor. Still the GOP is arguing for ‘tuning’ the economic engine of the USA to make it run better. This message reaches a lot of people.

However, on the flip side of the GOP, the are directly attacking the economic engine of the United States itself. This was talked about by Bill Nye. The GOP is attacking science and getting people to distrust science. This is REALLY bad. Science drives the economy. Look around your life. Everything from your smart phone to air conditioning. This is what science brings you. Move people away from science and you are damaging the health of the USA.

So as much as I would like to ‘tune’ the USA’s economy, I also have to defend what we have now. When the GOP drops the anti-science crap, then I’ll talk to the GOP again. I don’t think this will happen soon given the hold of the Bible thumpers on the party.

However, does Mitt follow the GOP’s stance? I really don’t know. I do feel the Mitt will stand for whatever gets him elected. That’s clear from his changes in Health Care and woman issues. His choice of Matt Ryan as VP shows that the far right has their hooks in him deep. It’s similar to the Sarah Palin pick, but Matt has a stronger background. I really feel the paybacks he will make to the GOP will hurt this country in the long run.

As for President Obama, he has been a weak President. It took a lot to pass the Healthcare bill. Likely too much political capital was spent, but for his faults he has stabilized the economy. Healthcare still needs work, but I haven’t heard anything better from the GOP.

Can Mitt do better? I don’t know. He clearly would have made the wrong choice for the automakers. I’m sure companies would make lot of money under Mitt, but will that translate to US jobs instead of jobs overseas or have the money just pocketed by big business? I doubt Mitt will care what business does with the money.

Bottom line, I don’t have tons of praise for Obama here, but I don’t feel that the GOP is the right direction. They need to move back to the positions they held under Reagan and it’s not a shock that was the last time the GOP was truly successful..

And BTW, I never voted for Bill Clinton, but he knows how to give a speech:

Santorum Lives!

Up from the grave he arose! With a mighty triumph o’er his foes! [Christian Song]

Well Santorum won Alabama and Mississippi. Romney won Hawaii. (Results) So what does this tell us:

• Mitt Romney is not popular enough in the south: Mitt was about even with Newt Gingrich in these states. If Newt would drop out of the race (he won’t), it’s not hard to see that Santorum would get more of his votes than Romney.
• The GOP has lost control of its own party: Don’t kid yourself, the GOP knows Santorum is too bat-shit crazy religious to win and is trying everything in its power to push Romney over the top. All the big names are supporting Romney and he can’t win in the bible belt.

So how does the GOP leaders get back control of it’s party? This started last election cycle with Sarah Palin being forced onto John McCain by the Religious Right. Even if Romney can win 50%+1 of the delegates, he’s going to have to pick some religious nut job like Palin, Santorum, Michele Bachmann, etc. for VP. If Romney doesn’t win 50%+1, then he has real trouble because it could be that Santorum and Newt could team up to get the delegate count needed. Current totals:

• Romney 495
• Santorum 252
• Gingrich 131
• Paul 48

The winner needs 1144 votes.

So for right now, Santorum + Gingrich < Romney and even Santorum + Gingrich + Paul < Romney but who know if it will stay that way.

So back to the topic: So how do the GOP leaders get back control of its party? The answer is simple: Dial back on the Religion and the Anti-Science.

Dial back on Religion

The GOP leaders are having the same problem Atheists have: You can’t argue against God, because their believe is based on faith (i.e. They believe it because they want to, not on a logical arguement). I’m not telling the GOP to convert to be Atheist, but they need to tone down the God message. These folks are going to follow ‘God’ before you, so you can only fire up this part of the base so much.

Stop the Anti-Science

I hate to break this to you but Science really does conflict with Religion on just about every level. Many people don’t look at these conflicts too closely because Religion makes them feel good. Something talked about in thunderf00t’s video below:

Anyway, to those who are deep into Religion, attacking science (even in issues like Global Warming for example) is going to fire them up because you are supporting their religion by attacking those who are attacking their beliefs, not directly, but just as part of their job of finding out how the world works and what its history is.

Stop the Anti-Science message. It’s bad for the USA and it hurts your ability to stay in power (likely more important to the GOP). If you folks want to believe in God, fine, but at least accept most of what is real in this world. We will all be better for it (and it will give you a better shot at winning the next election, regardless of if you win this one).

Pastor Tells Christians not to Vote for Romney

Pastor backing Perry: Romney not a Christian from msnbc.

“Well, Rick Perry’s a Christian. He’s an evangelical Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ,” Jeffress told NBC News. “Mitt Romney’s a good moral person but he’s not a Christian. Mormonism is not Christianity. It has always been considered a cult by the mainstream of Christianity. So it’s the difference between a Christian and a non-Christian.”

…

“Do we want a candidate who is a good, moral person, or one who is a born again follower of our Lord Jesus Christ?” he asked.

Wait! You can be moral and be in a cult? I didn’t think that was possible! 😉

I have news for you Pastor Jeffress (who is a mover and a shaker in Christian Circles). ‘Mainstream Christianity’ is a cult in the a lighter sense of the word. Not as controling or authoritarian overall, but among ‘Hard Core’ Christians, I would put them in the same bucket.

Glad to see the crazy vote is being split.