E.J. Dionne Jr.: Unlikable policies force Romney to keep flip-flopping – The Washington Post

By E.J. Dionne Jr., Published: October 14 The Washington Post

As he tries to engineer a comeback in this week’s presidential debate, President Obama needs to recognize two things. First, when it comes to politics, Mitt Romney treats himself as a product, not a person. Second, Republicans cannot defend their proposals in terms that are acceptable to a majority of voters.

You can imagine Romney someday saying: “Politicians are products, my friend.” There’s no other way to explain why a candidate would seem to believe he can alter what he stands for at will. His campaign has been an exercise in identifying which piece of the electorate he needs at any given moment and adjusting his views, sometimes radically, to suit this requirement.

In that respect, Romney does Richard Nixon one better. … But manufacturing the New Nixon took years of painstaking effort. New Romneys appear on a monthly, weekly and sometimes daily basis. …

But there’s an underlying reason for Romney’s shape-shifting. It’s the same reason Rep. Paul Ryan always resorts to impressive-sounding budget speak and mathematical gobbledygook to evade explaining the impact of his budgets on actual human beings.

Romney, Ryan and the entire right know that their most deeply held belief — the one on which they won’t compromise — is rejected by the vast majority of Americans. That’s their faith that every problem in the economy and in society can be solved by throwing more money at rich people through tax cuts.

E.J. Dionne Jr.: Unlikable policies force Romney to keep flip-flopping – The Washington Post

ABQJournal Online » Let’s Talk About the Elephant

For fiscal 2013, the GOP-controlled House proposed spending $1.934 billion for the State Department’s Worldwide Security Protection program – well below the $2.15 billion requested by the Obama administration. House Republicans cut the administration’s request for embassy security funding by $128 million in fiscal 2011 and $331 million in fiscal 2012. (Negotiations with the Democrat-controlled Senate restored about $88 million of the administration’s request.) Last year, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned that Republicans’ proposed cuts to her department would be “detrimental to America’s national security” – a charge Republicans rejected.

Ryan, Issa and other House Republicans voted for an amendment in 2009 to cut $1.2 billion from State operations, including funds for 300 more diplomatic security positions. Under Ryan’s budget, nondefense discretionary spending, which includes State Department funding, would be slashed nearly 20 percent in 2014, which would translate to more than $400 million in additional cuts to embassy security.

ABQJournal Online » Let’s Talk About the Elephant

This guy is yelling fire in a crowded theater. He moves to the top of the list of graves I hope to piss on someday. mjh

ABQJournal Online » Obama Re-Election Ensures Economic Apocalypse By Cal Thomas / Syndicated Columnist on Tue, Oct 9, 2012

More than a year ago, I was afraid Republicans would nominate Mitt. He struck me as a moderate candidate. During the primaries, I started to relax as Mitt moved harder to the right. Surely, the country won’t fall for Tea Party bullshit that gives more to fewer. Surely, the country will be put off by a man who contradicts himself solely for votes. Mitt is a professional con-man and a very successful one. His company stripped other companies for parts and profits and stuck them with the bill. He is loathsome. But the devil will wear a pretty face.

Now, I shake my head that “Mitt pivots to the middle” works as a con. This man has no center, no convictions other than his own sainthood. Don’t fall for him. Don’t be intimidated by the bullies who trip you and call you clumsy. Don’t forget that the Republicans got us into this mess and have done everything they can to stop any effort by Democrats to get out of the mess just so they could claim the recovery has failed. Any failure is due to Republican efforts.

The nation deserves better than Mitt and the Party of No, the Party of the Angry White Male. Republicans are a minority. Radical conservatives are an even smaller minority. The only way they win is if Dems don’t vote — and the GOP has worked hard to stop Dems from voting. The only way they win is through the long con.

A century ago, Teddy Roosevelt recognized Republicans had become the party of the robber barons. Don’t let greed, anger, hatred, and ignorance win. Stand up. Vote.

As New Mexico goes, so goes the nation.

ABQJournal Online » Obama Builds N.M. Lead Over Romney

By Michael Coleman / Journal Washington Bureau on Sun, Oct 14, 2012

President Barack Obama leads Republican Mitt Romney by 10 points in the race for New Mexico’s five electoral votes, with about three weeks remaining before Election Day, the Journal Poll found.

ABQJournal Online » Obama Builds N.M. Lead Over Romney

Hat tip to MRudd.

Romney’s Sick Joke – NYTimes.com by Paul Krugman

Was Mr. Romney lying? Well, either that or he was making what amounts to a sick joke. Either way, his attempt to deceive voters on this issue was the biggest of many misleading and/or dishonest claims he made over the course of that hour and a half. Yes, President Obama did a notably bad job of responding. But I’ll leave the theater criticism to others and talk instead about the issue that should be at the heart of this election. …

How many Americans would be left out in the cold under Mr. Romney’s plan? One answer is 89 million [according to the nonpartisan Commonwealth Foundation]. …

Another answer is 45 million, the estimated number of people who would have health insurance if Mr. Obama were re-elected, but would lose it if Mr. Romney were to win. …

Wait, it gets worse. The true number of victims from Mr. Romney’s health proposals would be much larger than either of these numbers, for a couple of reasons. [follow the link…]

Romney’s Sick Joke – NYTimes.com

Eugene Robinson: Which Romney will show up to the debate? – The Washington Post

By Eugene Robinson, Monday, October 1, 5:21 PM The Washington Post

Wednesday’s presidential debate promises sharp contrasts. One candidate wants to repeal Obamacare, one candidate invented it. One opposed the auto industry bailout, one takes credit for it. One doubts the scientific consensus about climate change, one believes in it. One wants to “voucherize” Medicare, one wants to save it. One dismisses nearly half of Americans as a bunch of moochers, and one claims to champion the struggling middle class.

It promises to be an epic clash: Mitt Romney vs. Mitt Romney. Oh, and President Obama will be there, too.

Eugene Robinson: Which Romney will show up to the debate? – The Washington Post