Republican convention Committee Chairman Reince Proebus and Neil Newhouse, set the tone for the convention, when confronted about the unmitigated lies that the Republican’s have been uttering on an hourly basis. They went on record by stating that they will not let the campaign be held captive by anything as mundane as fact checkers. Isn’t that great. Here’s the clown who’s running the convention admitting that they’re all liars and daring the media to do anything about it. Is this the end of the Republican Party as we know it? I mean have they completely gone into the toilet?
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Bob McDonnell; can’t get enough of this guy. He proves every statement anyone ever said about politicians being lower than pond scum. Anyway, he went on the stage at the GOP convention and lied about Obama’s handling of the welfare law. This is probably no big deal from a Republican point of view because every single speaker except Ann Romney lied about that one. But then McDonnell put the capper on his stupidity by talking about getting rid of government intrusion in our lives in one breath and backing government intrusion into women’s vaginas in the next.
At one point he actually made the statement that facts are stubborn things. Not in your case Bob. You wouldn’t know a fact if it were stuffed up your nose. The guy is an idiot and a liar and should not be allowed to represent anything other than ragweed.
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Jack Kasich, Governor of Ohio brags, in his speech, that Ohio has gone from 48th to 4th in employment on his watch. He practically beats it into the ground. But how did that happen. It happened because Obama, passed a Stimulus bill that all the Republican’s, including Kasich, opposed, and part of the money went to saving the auto industry which accounts for about 30% of Ohio’s employment.
Then he starts up on the $16 trillion deficit and how Obama has added $5 trillion to that total. Really? And where did the other $11 trillion come from? When Clinton left office he left us with a surplus. I guess that means that Bush, by using the same lame math; lower taxes on the rich, two phony wars and unfinanced prescription drug savings for insurance companies, ideas that the current Right is still proposing, somehow managed to lose, $11 trillion, over twice what Obama has.
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The GOP built their entire convention on a deliberately misinterpreted remark made by Obama that has been taken wholly out of context and been made into another Right wing lie. It’s about what the President said regarding the concept that no one builds anything alone. Yes, some of you actually built stuff. But that stuff wouldn’t have gotten built if the government hadn’t supplied you with roads, an electric grid, broadband, a rail system, airports, satellite systems, the research that created computers and so much else, but a small segment of you did act as entrepreneurs and start businesses that have provided jobs. The rest of the clowns carrying “We Built It” signs, never, in their entire lives, started anything, more significant than the family car. They didn’t build shit. All they did was work for the guys who built this country. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s part of the process, an important part, even if they aren’t getting paid like it is, but they shouldn’t be so stupid that they don’t understand the difference between them and the entrepreneurs.
Then the Republicans compounded the lie and the stupidity by producing a hack politician, Sheri Valenzuela, who just happens to be running for Lt. Governor of Delaware. Sheri was more than willing to tell her captive audience, that she and her husband had built a successful upholstery business that now employs dozens of workers. Good for you Sheri. Maybe you should also have mentioned that you started that business with a two million dollar Small Business loan, that came from THE GOVERNMENT and that you somehow managed to build it with $15 million worth of mostly non-competitive government contracts. It sure pays have friends in GOVERNMENT when you’re in Delaware political mix.
Elizabeth Warren , that brilliant candidate for Senator from Massachusetts probably has said it best: “There’s nobody in this country who got rich on his own. – Nobody. You built a factory out there. Good for you. But I want to be clear; you moved your good to market on the roads the rest of us paid for: you hired workers the rest of us paid to educate; you were safe in your factory because of police forces and fire forces the rest of us paid for. You Built a factory and it turned into something terrific or a great idea? God bless. Keep a big hunk of it. But part of the underlying social contract is, you take a hunk of that and pay forward for the next kid who comes along.”
What she’s talking about is the idea that even the most entrepreneurial of us didn’t do it alone. We did it better than most but no matter who you are you always had help. “We Built it,” is only true if you admit that “They helped.”
As Nick Kristof points out in his NY Times column, even Romney had help, lots of it. Forget the rich papa. The US Tax code enabled him to do business the way he did and make his profits. He may not like to talk about that, but it is a fact and not the Republican kind.
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Newt & Calista appeared in tandem, what a joke, especially when he babbles on about what a great guy Reagan was. Newt is the guy who viciously attacked Reagan over Iran contra, saying that Reagan should be in jail.
The really ironic concept is that this pair who were screwing their brains out while he was already married, should be addressing this convention of God mongers and religious fanatics
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Then we watch Jeb Bush telling us that in times of quiet peril, his brother George “kept us safe.” Quiet peril? Where the hell was Jeb when 911 happened? And where was he when his brother sent our kids to the wrong countries, to avenge an act that Bush knew was coming and did nothing to avert?
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Marco Rubio, a guy I normally like was doing fine until he got to policy and then the lies started. Too bad, there’s nothing truthful that the Republicans can say about policy, any policy.
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Mitt’s speech was like Mitt, a workmanlike job, free of emotion and filled with half-truths but without recognizing the basic principle of that which has made us a great nation, our ability to care for each other, to help pull the wagon, to recognize those in need and to help them to a position where they can help some one else. Mitt’s world is about, I’m rich and you’re not, tough. That’s not what made this country great and unfortunately he will never realize that.
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Ryan’s speech was a disaster, a compilation of lies and quarter truths that were a disgrace. The fact that you actually had a job as a teenager does not put you in touch with the poor, Paul. Not when you drove your dad’s Beamer to work.
Anne Romney gave a very good speech, warm and friendly and tried real hard to show her husband as someone we should all love. This is not an easy job, even if you’re a Republican. Then Michelle Obama came out and did it the right way. I have nothing bad to say about Anne’s speech, I enjoyed it more than any other speech at the Republican convention. It was honest and a wife’s concept of her husband but Michelle’s speech was pure art, a four handkerchief killer that brilliantly illustrated the difference between those who feel for others and those who just recognize their existence.
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Which brings us to the Democratic convention. What a difference. The first night opened with four speeches by women that set the tone for the evening and slammed home the points that each was selected to make.
There was an immediate difference in the air. For one thing, unlike the Republican convention, the audience was in the house, invested in the proceedings and ready to listen to what these people had to say and they were properly rewarded.
In no particular order, Lilly Ledbetter spoke of the first accomplishment by Obama, forcing through the Lily Ledbetter law dealing with equal pay for equal work. She was a hard-hitting speaker who slammed home her points.
Lilly was followed by Tammy Duckworth, telling a multi-faceted story, of wounds acquired when the helicopter she was piloting was shot down and she lost both legs. She spoke to the fact that her family had been forced onto welfare when her handicapped father lost his job at age 55 and couldn’t find another. Her point was that welfare and food stamps provided the impetus to her finishing her education and proceeding to the armed forces where she was able to serve her country and that now, despite her crippling handicaps she was running for congress in Illinois. Her second point was about the lack of acknowledgement by Romney of our veterans and current warriors who were still fighting Republican wars in foreign countries.
Next up was Stacy Lihn, the young mother of a little girl who was born needing three heart operations. She explained how only Obamacare stood between her child and the horror of she and her husband not being able to afford the operations that had saved this adorable baby.
The final of this group was Kathleen Sebelius speaking to the Right’s cold denial of women’s health issues and their failure to deal with this massive issue.
All four of these women were stirring, emotional speakers with great audience appeal but it was the heavyweight lineup that followed that rocked the house.
Deval Patrick, Governor of Massachusetts, gave, what to me, was the most electrifying political speech I have ever heard, leaving the crowd breathless and cheering.
Patrick, was followed by Julien Castro, mayor of San Antonio, giving the keynote speech. He wielded a shy smile and a deadly
sharp dagger, attacking the hypocrisy of Romney/ Ryan’s positions and policies while explaining how truly un-American they are. He ended to thunderous applause.
Then came the first lady, giving what may have been the best candidates wife speech in the history of American politics.
This is obviously a subjective review as are all reviews no matter what critics would have you believe. All I can say is that after watching three days of Republican convention I was depressed, desperately worried about the future of this great country, contemplating a nation run by men whose only consideration was for how much they could make, and how little they would have to help those in need; a country that would be forever on a wartime footing, established by corporate interests that cared only for profits and never for the lives of our young.
The speakers at the DNC painted a picture of a different world, a world I remember, where people actually cared for each other and where policy was based on a better vision for America, not just bigger profits for the ruling class.
Warren, Biden, Clinton and Obama all added to the triumphs of the convention, each giving a rousing speech, refuting the tepid lies expounded by Romney and especially Ryan and their cronies.
If the end of the conventions were happening the day before election, I think the election result would be a no brainer. Not only were the speakers universally superior and more informative but the planning of the convention and the way it was executed was a big win for anyone who cares about competence, something that up until then, the Democratic party had been struggling unsuccessfully to attain.
The Republicans came to their convention with no concept of where they wanted to take the country, and no plan on how to achieve their fantasies. They tried to achieve their vague and unsupported goals with no planning, no acceptable facts and boring, uninspiring speakers. Outside of Ann Romney, only Chris Christie, who everyone knows hates Romney, was at all acceptable.
The Democrats rolled in on an express train of enthusiasm and facts, driven home by Bill Clinton who took on every argument the Republicans had attempted, smashed them full of holes and ground them into the Charlotte dust.
Now that the, until now, pathetic, Democrats have finally woken up, they most continue on this functional path until the elections and further. We know that this Republican Party is incapable of leading the nation on to the future it needs. Maybe the Democrats can surprise us and prove that they can,