The perfect candidate

Oh boy, here we go, BG.

Do you now see why I keep saying the tea party is for stupid people. Only the misinformed and the uninformed would vote for someone with this background.

I'm still trying to figure out how to make lemonaide out of lemons.

The thing I like about you, BG, at this point its just about debate, keeping it simple and having some fun.

Yes BG, but the Democrats nominated Blumenthal.

Blumenthal lied about his mliitary service.  He also lied about accepting PAC money.   Lied about being captain of the Harvard swim team.  CEI ranked him as the country's worst attorney general.

Blumenthal lied about being a combat veteran (which is ridiculous anyway, he was an admin and got like ten deferrals).

So, the tea party is stupid, but does this mean that the democratic party has not INTEGRITY?

You mean to tell me that there are actual people living in Delaware? I thought it was just a high way system with expensive tolls. 

I thought it was Mafia or Jersey Shore. Sorry.

Bond Guy, haven't you learned anything in the past year?

Believe it or not, Delaware isn't all chicken coops and Duponts! 4 bucks is a rip for ten miles of superslab. The locals take Rt 13, the truckers, 301.  And, that' s because they're nobody's fool. Soaking the out of towners goes down just fine with the Blue Hens. Which is all the more reason to be surprized that these normally smart folks would vote for someone with O'Donnell's slippery background. The only explanation is they didn't know about it, or, did know but were convinced it didn't matter. Repubs, being repubs are conservative people. Church goin' people. Conservative people pay their bills, don't steal from their employees, and don't lie about their background. And, most wouldn't vote for someone who did. Well, unless they were flimflammed.Thus, the stupid monikor. What other explanation could there be?

Then again, anyone who's been to Pumpkin Chunkin' can tell you that Delaware has it's share of, how to say this, not so deep thinkers. And, anyone who has attended a NASCAR race at Dover can tell you that the food is the worst food served at any professional venue in the country. Yet, plenty of people going back for seconds. Judging from the hats, mostly Junior fans. I think i answered my own question. Hmmm!

We can talk about other liars thieves and scoundrels in congress on another thread. Wait a minute! We don't have enough bandwidth!

Mafia? Jersey Shore?

I've learned that if you see a Lincoln Towncar on a fire trail in the Pine Barrens you don't stop to render assistance.

[quote=Moraen]

Yes BG, but the Democrats nominated Blumenthal.

Blumenthal lied about his mliitary service.  He also lied about accepting PAC money.   Lied about being captain of the Harvard swim team.  CEI ranked him as the country's worst attorney general.

Blumenthal lied about being a combat veteran (which is ridiculous anyway, he was an admin and got like ten deferrals).

So, the tea party is stupid, but does this mean that the democratic party has not INTEGRITY?

[/quote]

Wow, Mo, I'm impressed.  I didn't think someone as far south as you would pick up on this stuff.  Blumenthal is a phony.  Like many AG's (DEM or GOP), every "cause" he chased was for the sole purpose of one day putting it up in lights for his next campaign.

I don't care whether his little military "slip" was intentional or not, when you "stretch" the truth in any capacity where other people are relying on your word, IMHO, your word then means nothing.  I see this all the time in our business.  Stretching the truth and lies by ommission.  Dihck Blumenthal is true to his name.

  "   Conservative people pay their bills " .

[quote=BondGuy]

Mafia? Jersey Shore?

I've learned that if you see a Lincoln Towncar on a fire trail in the Pine Barrens you don't stop to render assistance.

[/quote]

Favorite theme. I live in a liberal place, not because of the dock worker' union, either.

Send 'em out here an' teach some respect. About the only thing that you I and I could agree on is the we should sick YongLiang on Congress. If I agree on coldcalling, you agree to make YongLiang Party Chairman of the Liberals and Tea Party carpet baggers.

I hear there is a new Jersey show coming to TV>

So why single out the tea party?  All of these people are corrupt and liars.

Blumenthal's slip was intentional. Arrogant enough to think he could pull it off. Voter's didn't have time to react to this as the story broke just days before the primary while Blumenthal's damage control spin was taking place. The difference between this and O'Donnell was there was no time squeeze or sophisticated spin machine working to counteract the negatives in Christine's background. People either weren't paying attention or were, but didn't understand the implications. Which takes me to the base case for tea baggers. They are uninformed or misinformed. They are angry at  our government and at the staus quo., damn the facts!

On the biggest issue, the bailouts, most are absolutely clueless on what happened or why. None, that i've spoken to, have any idea how our financial system works. It's embarrassing to have a conversation with some of these folks, they are that uninformed. Pointing out  "the facts"  gets you labeled as a progressive or a liberal. All political talking points with lots of air underneath. Scary!

Actually, you make a good point, BG, except:

Pointing out  "the facts"  gets you labeled as a progressive or a liberal.

You forgot to add conservative.

The whole point of conservative economics, is, less is better. Not too complicated. If the Tea Partiers are stupid, they should be given a smaller budget. That sounds smart to me.

[quote=BondGuy]

 All political talking points with lots of air underneath. Scary!

[/quote]

I think you just accurately described 99% of the electorate as well as 99% of the politicians.

But what are the facts?

The facts are these:

1)  Republicans don't listen and are too arrogant to think they should listen to the people

2)  Democrats think they know what the people think

3)  Both are wrong

4)  The Tea Party at least is made up of people who are trying to express their opinions.  Are some of them stupid?  You bet. 

Here is where the disconnect is though.  I submit to you that the Democrats and Republicans are JUST as stupid (that means the voters).  Why?  Because the Dems and Repubs have been at it long enough to know how to spin things their way.

Did you see the new Economic advisor for President Obama spin Biden's comment about this being the "Summer of Recovery"?  "What the Vice President meant was that it is the Summer of The recovery ACT, you know, putting jobs from the Recovery act in place"? 

These are all facts.  You get labeled a progressive or liberal or teabagger (which, why do you call them that?  It is an insult.  All of the pundits who use it and pretend it isn't are lying) if you can't look at things objectively.

John McCain has had his time.  He is a war hero and has served the Senate honorably up until the last election.  He has been part of the establishment so long that he has started lying and thinkng that it's what you are supposed to do.  John Boehner is simply an obstructionist and can often find no good reason for what he does.

Yet Nancy Pelosi?  "We need to pass the bill so we can find out WHAT IS IN IT?"  People have given Sarah Palin crap about being one heartbeat away from the Presidency when she was running with McCain.  THIS WOMAN IS THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE!  She is literally two heartbeats away from being President.  What kind of moron says something THAT stupid and gets to keep their job?

The culture in Washington is one of entitlement.  The very fact that there are no term limits is ridiculous.  Being a politiician should only be a career if you serve four years in the House, twelve in the Senate, eight as a Governor and eight as a president or vice president (or both).  If you do that, you can spend a good thirty or forty years in public office. 

Fiscal conservatives are about smaller govt, spending less money. This is the Tea Partiers big rallying cry. Yet, getting TPs elected isn't about money. It's about power. Money is the hot button they push to energize the base. And, the base falls for this. I think many here do as well. Those who buy-in are owned by the likes of Palin. Again, not smart.

Mama Tea Party, Sarah Palin, is calling for unity within the Repubican Party. She and her bought and paid for candidates, like O'Donnell, claim there is much work to be done in getting America back on her feet. They are calling for an end to the nastiness and divisiveness within the Republican Party. Could one describe this call for unity disingenuous? The people who caused the nastiness and the divisiveness pointing to others, whose support they now need,  and saying it's got to stop. Really? And, again, the base falls for this.

And, then there's this: A well worn campaign strategy to win a losing campaign is to hammer away on the wedge issues. Yeah, i'm gonna take yor job away, but  gays will never wed as long as i'm in office. This is a tried and true strategy for getting people to vote against their own best interests. And, it works! I tell you that to tell you this, The Tea Party is like a secret wedge issue weapon working in favor of the Democrats. While Sarah and her army are out there preaching a return to the moral conversative values of the repubican party they have divided it. In doing so they've given life to the democrats in places where they had no lfe. Delaware is a prime example. The repubs had this one in the bag before Palin showed up. Now, they are the dark horse and the National GOP is deciding how much money to waste supporting the campaign of a clear loser. United we stand, divided well fall. The repubs are divided. Those voting for the tea party candidates are voting against their own best interests by taking their party out of the race. The Dems in Delaware are doing a happy dance. How smart was that?

BG, are you a smart progressive? You could argue that some of the progressive tactics have "melted down", too.

Creative destruction is a good thing - this is the power of America presenting. Don't be scared. You should be more frightened about how an appreciating Chinese Yuan will diminish your money pile. Your progressives have been counting on inflation and devaluation of the dollar to take care of all of the messy free trade and job creation issues, Delaware is just a little side show.

All of the fancy progressive reading and reasoning is what's melting down - into a puddle of solid gold. It's okay to skip reading the New York Times for one day.

Tenth, one needn't be a progressive or be very smart to call it like it is. I'm merely observing. And, at least smart enough to do that. Interestingly, my opinion is shared by many mainsteam republicans. They aren't doing a happy dance as they watch a loose cannon endanger their chances of winning control in November.

A few posts up you commented about less being better and smaller being smart. Ok, but that's not what this election is about. It's what Palin wants her followers to believe it's about. Which is: core republican values. What this election is about is power, not money. Money is merely a hot button to push to get republicans red faced with anger. So much so that they screw themselves with their choices. O'Donnell is case in point. She could win. The again, the sun could go super nova tomorrow. In creating this divisiveness Palin has caused a civil war within the the republican party that can only benefit the dems. One doesn't need to read the NY Times to see that. My core question is why can't the repubs see that? Why do they do make the poor choice? Do they not see that the Tea party movement is not grass roots? That the major funding is coming from corporate lobbyest for the Koch brothers?  Do they not see that this is about the idealogical leanings of  two rich men with anti government beliefs?  Have they not thought it through? IMO, they have not.

My reason for posting "The Perfect Candidate" is  I've watched this play out around the country, educated people duped into putting up non viable candidates.  Which is why i call them educated stupid people. With O'Donnell they went beyond stupid. If there is such a place. Of course, some of these candidates will win, but pundits say most won't. They are too red for most middle of the road repubs. And, that is the lost opportunity. Exactly what happened in Delaware this week.

Throw in some viable candidates who have screwed themselves, like Carly Fiorina and the repubs have got more of a fight on their hands than they should have. Carly could still win, but i gotta tell ya, laying off tens of thousands of people, getting a bonus for it, in a state with 12% unemployment isn't sitting well with most voters. But hey, it's California, the wedgyest of wedge issue states. Anything is possible.

Wait for 2012 - you going to vote for the Palin/Beck ticket?

No, I'm not voting for Palin/Beck.

I'm sitting way out West, surrounded by progressives. Where I am, the tax base is imploding against real estate values ( Average take home pay divided by mortgage payment = foreclosure).

The good jobs are still going to China.

This leaves government workers mainly having the best jobs. There is natural resource industry, agriculture, high tech engineers, GOVERNMENT, and service.

I think we could agree on a lot of things, but I know around your area there are a lot of Fortune 500 headquarters, and these multinationals can afford to prop up the economy a little.

California is BROKE. So is most of the west.

Sarah Palin and other T partiers represent rough-hewn common folk. I don't give a rat's butt if she only has a BA from Idaho. I heard Obama on NPR tonight, " I'm appointing my friend to protect consumers - I'm appointing her, because I've known her since Harvard Law School.

Give me  a break. I'm sick of sending my taxes to Washington. I guarantee you if your "fears" about stupid T partiers messing it up for the Repubs in the fall plays out, the market will find a way to tear down the corruption and waste that is Washington, the state, the city (but not the county). I love my county government (hot investment idea).

I think you miss the point about Palin, perhaps we both think she's a wacko histrionic fool, but she's paved the way for a whole generation of farmers, trappers, and insurance salesman who should step up and lead our government - but I anticipate perhaps your other concerns:

Whoever gets elected, gimme ah break, are they going to have the courage to tell the boomers they have to work longer, that there will be less services in Medicare ( I give the Dems some credit for being realists, an F for selling it) - and any good conservative should tell you, we need to avoid starting wars and telling women what they can do with their bodies or what gays can do with their spiritual, emotional, and economic commitments, and how they can build wealth using the tax laws and so on.

Anyway, it's happy hour and I've had a beer, time for a bike ride in the county.

I don't have time to read all of the longer posts in this thread, although from what i did read, they are all intelligent and interesting. I also admit I am not much of an intellectual when it comes to politics (thank God)

But i just need to chime in on the Tea Party. They scare me. The fact that they have gotten this far just shows how much raw anger there is in the populace. They are idiots, they are so far right that they are almost left.

This guy in NY, Palladino - did you see him on CNN last night. What a maniac . He's against abortion. OK. And I'm not saying I'm against it, or for it, don't want to get into that conversation. But this idiot is asked  - what about a woman who is pregnant from incest - his answer - tough - put it up for adoption. That was one of many gems. The best was his comment " When I get done with Andrew Cuomo, he'll be sorry he ever even thought about running for Governor." WTF! What is he going to do, beat him up? This is a guy running for Governor?

All the Tea Party is going to do, is screw up the Republicans, and give the Dems the help they desparately need.

I'm not worried, Bob, because we just need to burn it all down and start over.

I rode my bike to the big park was walking on the thin volcanic soils of a beautiful mountain top, watching the birds alight in the dead snags high atop the trees, hearing the crickets and reading the little signs about poison oak that are meant to scare the city people to stay on the trails.

But the really good walks are off the beaten path, and you get to hike them in beautiful athletic shoes made by little slave kids in China, and designed right here in America by liberals. And on the other coast, some fat a## in DC  is drinking Scotch with my money. Crazy world. But I  make a lot of money and live in a beautiful place, so I'm grateful.

There was a hilarious interview with Woody Allen in the WSJ today, Allen is ranting about the meaninglessness of life, and how at a young age he realized he couldn't be grateful. Pedophile jokes aside, it was a really funny schtik.

The world needs more humor, I love the Jews and the Italians and the rednecks, but you gotta love the rough hewn farmer politicians, too. 

Do you remember the first time you met a real financial planner ( a real plain looking guy who makes a lot of money and is real quiet) who wore cowboy boots. Maybe you're that guy.

The repubs don't need to fear the tea partiers, and America is finding out that they're not a lot dumber than they look. Most country people are familiar with teenage pregnancy and don't want the government telling them about abortions, or anything else.

Theory: inside most every liberal, there is a latent conservative dying to come out.  

[quote=iliketennis]

[quote=BondGuy]

 All political talking points with lots of air underneath. Scary!

[/quote]

I think you just accurately described 99% of the electorate as well as 99% of the politicians.

[/quote]

I like Ilike.

Keeping it real:

 "Government is not the solution to our problem. Government is the problem." - Ronald Reagan

At this point, I would support a trained monkey to sit in Congress and press the "no' button.

Just to show you what page i'm on - Pro life, anti illegal immigrant, anti gun control, pro gay marriage, anti war in iraq, pro war in afganistan, anti death penalty, anti tax increase, pro flag burning, pro quran burning, pro bible burning, anti book burning , anti book censorship, anti big government, anti war on drugs, anti discrimination,  anti Real ID, anti no child left behind, anti small town politics, anti police arrogance, pro education reform, pro tort reform, pro pay for play reform, pro english as our official language, anti press one for english, anti NJ driver's license test given in eleven languages, Anti Pat's Steaks, pro Geno's Steaks, pro Philly soft pretzels, pro Philly hoagies, pro NY bagels, pro Phillies, anti mets, anti Braves, anti Cowboys, anti Panthers, Pro Nittany Lions, Pro Eagles, pro Dolphins, pro Yankees 

Some of these beliefs aren't quite black and white:

On illegal immigration: The easy answer is come to our country legally. Simple enough? not really. My grand parents got off the boat at Ellis Island. being healthy, they were allowed in, from there becoming a citizen was almost automatic. Not so today. The immigration department is a huge bumble f**k government buracracy. getting in is as much ordeal as it is process. Many hard working immigrants fall out of the process, not through subversiveness, but because of government ineptitude. So, this is not a black and white issue for me. Still, those who come here illegally with no intention of becoming a citizen, out- for good!

Quran- bible - flag burning - all freedom of speech issues for me, even if I don't agree with those lighting the match.

Book burning - is censorship

Book Censorship - Why should my kids be limited to the narrow views of someone who has climbed all the way up to the lofty position of school librarian?

Real ID - We've all seen the old WW2 movies where the Nazis ask the person on the street  " Papers Pleaz?" Real ID is a modern version of the same thing. It's bad enough that Barnes and Noble knows exactly when i step into one of their stores via my membership rewards card, I don't need big brother tracking my every move.

Geno's has the better steaks and owner Joey Vento's speak english stand deserves support. it was widely misunderstood and misrepresented as racist by the media.

Yankees - only when they aren't playing the Phillies

Well then let's put those immigrants to work. America made a huge investment in free trade (exporting jobs to China and the world instead of imposing tariffs) - lifted every boat with capitalism, torn down those walls - protected the peace with her armies -  and right when we're ready to get down and compete - the socialists take over, stand up to the plate, and choke.

Geno and Joey are pissed, so am I.

But now we need tariffs, tax cuts, cut government spending, and reduced regulations. But we should change course a little and protect Joey's son's factory job, even if it means tempering the sacred "free trade" a little with tax cuts and more freedom here at home. You love freedom, don't you?

Are we going to start importing pretzels and mustard from China next?

I'm starting to think Obama's plan is to wait until pretzels and hot dogs are made in China, and then make sure everyone is pissed and scared enough to just want to join a union and shut down the borders completely. At that time, it'll be a socialist state, for sure. If you've never experienced living in that kind of economy ( where the retailers just scowl at you and act annoyed and the doctors are of average intelligence) - go check it out in Cuba.

But I'm not worried, just going to vote and send common people to Washington who will burn it all down and start over.

As much as I don't want to agree with him, BG is right on the TP dividing the Repubs.  I'm not an official TP member, but I do share a lot of their beliefs.  I like watching Glenn Beck, but I'm not going to take up a weekend driving to Washington, DC to attend his rally. 

I did a little light reading on Chrisine O'Donnell.  I wouldn't have voted for her.  Even though she says she stands for a lot of the same things I do, both of us being conservative Christians, the stories and reports just don't add up.  I hate it when I feel like I'm being lied to and that's what I got when I spent just 5 minutes reading about her.  I feel like I get lied to enough with our current politicians, I don't need to elect another one. 

I do agree with Beck when he says that we need people to run who, like George Washington, really didn't want to.  Business men who have built great, honest, profitable businesses from nothing but hard work and determination.  Clergy who have proven through years of service that they are upright and morale.  Farmers, trappers, entrepreneurs, etc.  Something other than an attorney or community organizer. 

The trouble is, that's not what the GOP wants.  They want someone who is just like them that they can get to vote the exact same way they do.  While I think it's a mistake to back Ms. O'Donnell, I also think it's a mistake for the GOP to completely turn their back on the TP candidates. 

This country is in a world of hurt.  We don't want the politicians we've got, but we don't really have a lot of great options stepping up to the plate either.  Here in MO we've got Carnahan running against Roy Blunt.  Carnahan's platform right now is:  I'm not Roy Blunt.  Well, I already know who Roy Blunt is and what he's done, tell me who you are and what you think you can do for me.  Tell me what you're going to do to my taxes, my health care, my business, my bank, my kids, and my church.  Hopefully the answer is as little as possible. 

I used to hate politics.  I still do, but for different reasons.

Anti burning it down. We have to be careful what we wish for.

Most of us are conflicted on our views. For example, conservatives and liberals alike don't like the export of our jobs overseas. Yet, we all buy products made overseas. Tenth, your bicycle, where was it made? Unless it is a Cannondale, older Trek,  independant frame builder it was made in asia. Even Rivendell, Bruce Gordon, and Waterford are using asian imported frames. And, if you were talking motorcycle then only Harleys and a few odd ball low market share brands are made in this country. Over at Walmart everything except the food comes from China. Those buying these products could pay up to buy American, but don't. The result is, to compete, business people are forced to go offshore. Yet, when the right wing conservative candidate comes to town preaching save american jobs these very same people eat it up. The fail to see that it is they, not the government, that is the problem. That is, if you can call the ability to buy less expensive goods a problem.

Double post - ops!!!

If History repeats, then Palin is our next President.

The sheer vitriol and foaming at the mouth of liberals, just at the sound/site/mention of her, is extremely amusing. 

In two more years, the American public will, just like last time, be grasping at straws, be willing to vote for "the other side". Just like last time.... Ah, the American voter...

By bberry:Sitting in ce meeting all day. space, even if repubs divided by tp, the party will betransformed by market forces.wait a little and you will see it play out. Carl rove is old school. This is not about defending the status quo, therefore the old rules do not apply. We are creating a new paradigm, since this is a creative process, it will increasingly engage the masses.

Have fun with that CE meeting. 

I agree that it will eventually play out.  I think it will play out on both sides of the aisle.  I don't beleive either party is completely thrilled with their players right now.  The question is will it play out in time for the Nov elections?  There needs to be a balancing of power somewhere.  The checks and balances system our founders envisioned isn't there right now.  If the GOP doesn't take over in either the House or the Senate, it's going to get uglier.  The only reason we're not seeing that political machine moving with the force it originally was is because they're all too busy running away from Obama trying to save their butts in the mid-terms. 

The GOP/TP has to get it figured out quickly.  BG is right that the Dems are just sitting back and chuckling at what's going on.  I've not studied enough history recently, so I'm not sure how long it took for parties like the Whigs to go out of favor and be replaced by the Republican party.  I'm sure it was decades.  Different times with different technology, but I'm not sure they can all agree on who to back before Nov.

Welcome back big. Dennis miller is a funny guy, I think he captures the humor of the dynamics a fickleness of the average person.

my .02.

This country voted for Hope and Change. The pendulum swung WAY far to the left. The majority of Americans are disappointed in the Hope/Change results thus far. We as a country are short sighted and have a short memory span topped with the need for instant gratification. Now two years later the pendulum's position has not helped the majority of those that voted for Hope/Change and so it is swinging back the other way. The issue is that voters don't want to admit they were wrong (not saying they were wrong) by voting for Obama but the country's ideology is changing the direction of the pendulum again and it has already began to move toward the Republicans aka "Bush" which is still too painful for many voters so the next closest thing is the Tea Party. The pendulum is swinging back and with another option besides "Bush" it is gaining momentum. If you look at the largest pool of voters in the US you will see that the Tea Party is playing strongly to them. Low to middle class Christian families with 2.3 kids etc. etc. I don't know how familiar you are with this demographic (aka Joe the Plumber) but I am and they are pissed. Like Obama did two years ago, the Tea Party could not have picked a better time to start their campaign. If things start improving after the November election and the Tea Party can in any way take credit for it, I say the likely hood of a Tea Party candidate in the Whitehouse is very possible.

Bg, china is the key.americans will unite in a rational response to the gutting of jobs. Government and big biz have collaborated to profit in the shortterm. The Tea Party is about small business people and the common mann who does not need to be protected by corrupt, Harvard trained thinkers and politicians.

Spiff, I agree, potential for nothaving balance of power in Nov is scary. Tea party is a risk, but whoevergets in office has to come up with solutions, and Americans are not going to likethem.two more years of dems could be no losefor the Tea Party, time to gain and grow forslashand burn time.

Spiff, I agree, potential for nothaving balance of power in Nov is scary. Tea party is a risk, but whoevergets in office has to come up with solutions, and Americans are not going to likethem.two more years of dems could be no losefor the Tea Party, time to gain and grow forslashand burn time.

Not to preach but... Psalms 146 v 3 comes to mind.  It says not to put your trust in Princes (Nobles or powerful people... depending on your translation). I will not put my faith in any of these. I am conservative and I try to look for the best in people. However, I don't think there is one politician who would not sell out his number one advocate for the right price. A person does what he/ she can to get elected. Then the first day on the job... their number one motive is to be re-elected. It is not a very good system. There is no good system.