Monday Open Thread [9.10.12]

Filed in Open Thread by on September 10, 2012

President Obama’s re-election campaign and supporting committees brought in more than $114 million last month – the first time the incumbent has outraised Mitt Romney since April. Mittens raised $111 million.

Josh Marshall has a simple axiom:

[T]he more Romney goes hard Culture War, the more his campaign chiefs are getting freaked by the polls.

Mark Halperin, the odious holder of all Conventional Wisdom, rules that Mitt Romney is in trouble:

The danger for the Romney campaign right now is the congealing conventional wisdom that the Republican emerged from Tampa and Charlotte meaningfully behind and facing some tough electoral college reality.

This CW is driven by the post-convention polls showing a bump for President Obama; prominent Politico and New York Times stories citing key Republicans acknowledging that Boston is behind in Ohio and other must-win states; Obama outraising Romney in August; and weak Romney and Paul Ryan answers in interviews, on such topics as health care, the US military, and the budget. The “Fox News Sunday” round table yesterday sounded like a post-mortem explaining a Romney loss.

Romney still has the debates, millions and millions in TV ads, and weeks of campaigning to try to turn things around. But he faces the immediate threat of quiet and loud we-told-you-so’s from Republicans who last year had the very worries they fear are being manifested now. Romney is an awkward, unlikable candidate. The author of RomneyCare is ill positioned to attack ObamaCare. And Romney’s shifting positions make him an easy mark for an aggressive White House.

Until Romney breaks this cycle, he is in danger of living out the Haley Barbour dictum, in politics bad gets worse.

Josh Goodman has an interesting report on “Democrats seeking comeback in state legislatures” at The Seattle Times. Goodman explains:

“In November, three-quarters of the nation’s state legislative seats will be on the ballot. With only 11 governorships up this fall, it’s the legislative races that will do the most to determine the direction of state policy over the next two years…The 2012 elections give Democrats their first chance to bounce back nationally from the Republican landslide victories in 2010, which gave the GOP more legislative seats than it has had since 1928. As of this June, Republicans outnumbered Democrats in state legislatures 3,975 to 3,391..”

“He says he’s got a 53-point plan or whatever, I don’t know.” — — Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R), quoted by the New York Times Magazine, commenting on Mitt Romney’s economic agenda.

John Kerry, the next Secretary of State and current senior Senator from Massachusetts, gave a barnburner of a speech in Charlotte last week where he joked about Sarah Palin seeing Russia from her house. This pissed off the most thin skinned politician in the history of the United States, a hypocrite who can certainly dish out the attacks but can never take them… former half term Governor Sarah Palin. Here is her response:

“How does he even know my name? I mean aren’t these guys supposed to be these bigwig elites who don’t waste their time on the little people like me, me representing the average American who yeah I did say in Alaska you can see Russia from our land base and I was making the point that we are strategically located on the globe and when it comes to transportation corridors and resources that are shared and fought over, Alaska and I as the governor, had known what I was doing in dealing with some international issues that had to do with our resources that could help secure the nation,” Palin said. “So it’s funny that he would take a little pot shot like that, but it’s funny he even knows my name. “

He knows your name because he is not a moron like you, Sarah.

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  1. Jason330 says:

    Let me be the first to say “no thank you” to a Hillary run in 4 years. I like her, but can’t we find someone not named Clinton, Bush, Kennedy or Biden?

    This family/hereditary stuff isn’t fitting for a Democracy.

  2. heragain says:

    Jason, at least 5 women spoke at the DNC who could run for president, and should. However, Jimmy Fallon suggested Michelle & Hillary. 😀

    If you want to call Hillary “Hillary Rodham” when you pull the lever, go ahead. It’s unfair to penalize women further for living in a society where they can’t even keep their own damn names.

  3. Delaware Dem says:

    Hate to disagree, but Hillary has earned the nomination if she wants it. She has been probably the best Secretary of State since the guy who bought Alaska off the Russians.

  4. nemski says:

    Culture War is a euphemism for Race War.

  5. Geezer says:

    “It’s unfair to penalize women further for living in a society where they can’t even keep their own damn names.”

    Since when can’t they keep their own names? Best I can tell, she put “Clinton” after “Rodham” willingly, and has profited mightily thereby.

    I’m with Jason. President Hillary Rodham Clinton is, IMO, a way for the Clintons to end-run the Constitution. It’s time for the party to move on.

  6. Paula says:

    Not sure if this is more appropriate elsewhere, but . . . just got a robocall from NCC Sheriff Trinidad Navarro asking me to vote for “his friend” Mitch Crane for insurance commissioner tomorrow. There was more, but I hate robocalls so I hung up.

    No opinion one way or another (on the call, not the race), just wanted to register the event.

  7. Brooke says:

    So your theory, Geezer, is that former Senator, retiring Secretary of State Hillary wouldn’t be president in her own right. She’d just fill the seat for her husband.

    See? It’s a post feminist world, all right. @@

  8. heragain says:

    I got the Trini call, too.

    I’m not sure why he thinks I care who his friends are, none of them has ever invited ME to a birthday party. 😀

  9. Delaware Dem says:

    I agree with Brooke. By Geezer’s logic, the two terms for George W. Bush were actually second and third terms for his father. FDR’s four terms were actually the third, fourth, fifth and sixth for Teddy. No, Hillary is a human being in her own right, not some property or an extension of Bill Clinton. And she is accomplished in her own right, with her own qualifications for the job apart from Bill.

  10. geezer says:

    “Hillary is a human being in her own right, not some property or an extension of Bill Clinton. And she is accomplished in her own right, with her own qualifications for the job apart from Bill.”

    So by your logic, Paul Clark’s wife’s profession has no bearing on his performance in office. Got it.

    As to your off-target comparisons, how many of the folks you mentioned filed joint tax returns? Yeah, didn’t think so.

  11. geezer says:

    “So your theory, Geezer, is that former Senator, retiring Secretary of State Hillary wouldn’t be president in her own right. She’d just fill the seat for her husband.”

    Ass. You. Me.

    I’d feel the same way if she had been president and he wanted his turn.

  12. Delaware Dem says:

    There is just a little bit of difference re Paul Clark and Pam Scott. Pam does not have her own political career. She has a business career, which Paul Clark through his political career sought to benefit (or, at least that was the appearance). The only possible analogy of Clark-Scott to Bill and Hillary was when Bill was Governor of Arkansas and Hillary was with the Rose Law Firm.

    So the Geezer Rule is that if you marry a politician, you can never ever have a political career of your own.

  13. heragain says:

    Geezer rule is gonna be tough on gay couples.

  14. geezer says:

    See, that’s the thing: We make a big deal of gay marriage, how if it’s not marriage it’s not the same special thing that heteros have. But then you want to claim that, for the Clintons, marriage is NOT a special relationship.

    Is marriage different from all other relationships, or is it not?

  15. I was skeptical of Hillary in 2008 but she’s been an awesome Secretary of State and I will pull the lever so hard for her in 2016. The nomination is hers in 2016, if she wants it.

  16. The fact that Michele Bachmann is in trouble is the best news I’ve heard today.

  17. Delaware Dem says:

    Agree, UI. I too was skeptical of her in 2008. Now I am convinced. If she runs, she has my enthusiastic support.

  18. Delaware Dem says:

    Reading that story Cass linked to, I was surprised to learn that Bachmann has only been office since 2006. For some reason I thought her hate filled persona had been haunting us longer than that.

  19. Dave says:

    I think Hilary has proven leadership abilities where it counts for President – foreign policy and national security. If she ran, about the only one I would consider voting for against her is Jon Huntsman. Anyone else, would be Hilary in a cakewalk. That she is Bill Clinton’s spouse is a plus IMO since she obviously would be able to rely upon his experience both in and out of office.

    In general I treat people as individuals, unless they identify themselves, through word or deed, as members of a specific class. Clinton does not act as an extension of Bill Clinton or a female and does not have a class identity. Her performance has been stellar. She exhibits the qualities and has the qualifications that would bring credit to the office of the Presidency. I personally doubt that she will run but if she does IMO the (R)s had better put up someone like a Hunstman or just not bother.

    As far as Bush goes, I wished it had been 3rd and 4th term for the elder rather than the 1rst or 2nd for the junior. Now I am bushed, so Jeb will have to find something else to do.