Published on Oct 24, 2012 by mittromney
This is a defining moment for America. Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are offering real reforms for a real recovery. They will provide the leadership and vision to get this country back on track.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
From the Desk of Donald Trump: Major Announcement
TRUMP TO OBAMA: Release college transcripts, I'll donate $5 million to charity of choice...
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Latest Presidential Polls: Mitt Romney Wins Third Straight Presidetial Debate Against Obama
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| By Jesse Merkel |
Romney undoubtedly won the first debate, staring down and picking apart an unenthusiastic Obama. Next came the vice presidential debate, which we saw a calm Paul Ryan against a smiling and cackling Joe Biden. Ryan didn't land any knockout punches, but he didn't have to. Biden's laughter and clownish appearance ended up hurting him more than Ryan ever could have. After the debate, Biden's likeability plummeted.
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| Latest Presidential Polls Mitt Romney Wins Third Straight Presidential Debate Against Obama |
The second presidential debate saw a much stronger Obama against a still-formidable Romney. Many pundits say that Obama won that debate, although in hindsight it seems like he received credit for showing up alert than for scoring huge hits. Some polls later in the week showed that Obama did not win that debate. Romney's momentum continued, and that means that Obama did not do what he set out to do.
Monday brought the final debate in Boca Raton, Florida, during which Romney adhered to an old tactic used by boxers for years. When you're ahead on points, there is no shame in dancing around the ring for the last round. All Romney had to do was look presidential and not make any big gaffes. That's what he did, and that's why he won. Obama by comparison was combative, and snickering. He preferred to attack Romney rather than rise above as a president should. As Romney so eloquently stated, "Attacking me is not an agenda."
If someone was transported from the past and saw these two for the first time, they could have easily confused Romney for the incumbent and Obama for the struggling challenger. Romney looked presidential, and in doing so may have done exactly what he needed to keep his momentum going.
If you're ahead overall, you don't take the bait. Rather than picking up Libya and clubbing Obama over the head with it, Romney stayed on message. While this may at first appear disappointing to conservatives and cowardly to liberals, there's method to his madness. Throughout the entire 90-minute debate, Romney evaded Obama's attempts to paint him as a reckless warmonger. Romney made sure to mention Obama policies he happened to agree with, so that he would not come off as being disagreeable for the sake of being disagreeable. He came across as strong without looking like a bomb thrower.
The reason that Romney has gotten this far is in part by knowing when to throw and punch, and when to look presidential taking one. Obama smirked and shifted in his seat. Romney channeled Reagan.
Weeks from now, people may look back at the two candidates closing statements on Monday as the final nail in the coffin for President Obama. Obama's hands swished, while he could barely manage to crack a smile. His tone was borderline-condescending. One could even call it desperate. Looking at him speak, one could tell that he knew he was still losing ground.
See more of Jesse Merkel at Policymic here...............
http://jessemerkel.policymic.com/
See more of Jesse Merkel at Policymic here...............
http://jessemerkel.policymic.com/
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Saturday, October 20, 2012
THE OBAMA PLAN
Published on Oct 20, 2012 by mittromney
If Barack Obama is reelected, what will the next four years be like? From the debt rising even higher to Obamacare being here to stay, it's clear that we can't afford four more years.
Who are the Obstructionists?
Published on Oct 15, 2012 by RevealPolitics
Obama ralliers exiting an Obama event at Ohio State University are asked by Caleb Bonham about what they think of so-called "obstructionist" politics. Many of the Obama supporters blamed Republicans and denounced obstructionist tactics. The most ardent activists called for Republicans to cross the isle and help enact Obama's economic and social policies.
However, when the tables were turned, the interviewees were not so quick to advocate bipartisanship if it meant Democrats helping Republicans enact Mitt Romney's economic and social policies. In fact, many of those interviewed advocated for obstructionism. Go figure.
However, when the tables were turned, the interviewees were not so quick to advocate bipartisanship if it meant Democrats helping Republicans enact Mitt Romney's economic and social policies. In fact, many of those interviewed advocated for obstructionism. Go figure.
Friday, October 19, 2012
Al Smith Dinner: The Top 10 Best One Liners in This Comedic Obama vs Romney Debate
Al Smith Dinner The Top 10 Best One Liners in This Comedic Obama vs Romney Debate
By John Giokaris
Mitt Romney is not a presidential candidate typically known for his zingers.
But on Thursday night, Mitt Romney delivered a speech filled with jokes and one-liners at the 67th Annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner in New York.
And he killed it.
Here are the top 10 lines from the night, accompanied by GIFs, video, and political cartoons.
1) “Joe Biden will laugh at anything.”
2) “There’s only a few months left in the president’s term. So little time, so much to redistribute.”
3) “If you got a church, you didn’t build that!”
4) “In the spirit of Sesame Street tonight, the president’s remarks are brought to you by the letter O and the number 16 trillion.”
5) “It always helps to have someone in our corner, someone to lean on. I have my beautiful wife Ann, he has Bill Clinton.”
6) “I just heard from the federal election commission that every time Biden appears on TV there has to be a recording of me saying, ‘I’m Mitt Romney and I approve this message.’”
7) “The press has a job to do and I have a job to do. My job is to lay out a positive vision for the country, and their job is to make sure no one finds out about it.”
8) “When I took a lead in the polls, they said Obama was leading from behind.”
9) “Headlines from tonight’s dinner: ‘Obama Embraced By Catholics,’ ‘Romney Dines With Rich People!’"
10) “When the president pulled Pope Benedict aside to give him some advice on how to deal with his critics, he said, ‘Look Holy Father, whatever the problem is, justblame it on Pope John Paul II.’”
See more of John Giokaris at Policymic here.....
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Mitt Romney Jokes and One Liners at Al Smith dinner with President
Published on Oct 18, 2012 by 5portsCenter
Mitt Romney, Barack Obama to trade jabs at Al Smith dinner
The two presidential candidates took a break from the caustic criticism of the campaign trail to score political points with biting humor last night in New York City.
President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney peeled off the stump Thursday to attend the annual Al Smith Dinner at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. During presidential election years, the event brings the candidates to the same stage to trade barbs and self-deprecating zingers as the race enter its final weeks.
The white-tie affair raises millions for the Gov. Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation and is organized by the Catholic Archdiocese of New York to benefit needy children.
More than 1,600 were scheduled to attend the dinner. The menu includes poached lobster tail and dark chocolate tropical fruit cadeau. Tickets start at $2,500.
The diocese hopes to raise $5 million in grants this year. Last year it gave out $2 million in grants.
President Barack Obama also taped an episode of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" while he's in Manhattan. The show aired late yesterday.
Comedy Central host Jon Stewart pressed Obama over the government's changing explanation about the Sept. 11 attacks in Benghazi, Libya, according to the Associated Press. When Stewart suggested that even Obama would concede his administration's coordination and communication had not been "optimal," Obama said: "If four Americans get killed, it's not optimal. We're going to fix it. All of it."
Romney has questioned Obama's handling of the matter and his honesty about it to voters. On "The Daily Show," Obama insisted information was shared with the American people as it came in, the AP said. The attack is under investigation, he said, and "the picture eventually gets filled in."
Last night's Smith dinner fell two days after Obama and Romney exchanged heated jabs during their second presidential debate at Hofstra University. After what many observers thought was an inspired performance by Romney, and a lackluster one by the president, in Denver during the first debate, campaign watchers gave the edge to Obama after Tuesday night.
The latest polling shows the race as virtually tied.
This year's event also come during the same year as New York's Cardinal Timothy Dolan has clashed with the president over a federal mandate that insurance cover the cost of contraception for church affiliated institutions, like Catholic colleges and hospitals.
The mandate is part of the president's health care reform law known as the Affordable Care Act.
More than a dozen archdioceses from around the country have filed lawsuits claiming the contraception mandate would require church leaders to violate religious beliefs to implement the law.
In March during a speech at Holy Trinity Diocesan High School in Hicksville, Dolan called the mandate a "government intrusion into the church."
The Al Smith Dinner has been a necessary stop for politicians since World War II. The event is named for the unsuccessful Democratic presidential nominee in 1928, who was the first Catholic to run for president. Smith was a four-term governor of New York.
The two presidential candidates took a break from the caustic criticism of the campaign trail to score political points with biting humor last night in New York City.
President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney peeled off the stump Thursday to attend the annual Al Smith Dinner at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. During presidential election years, the event brings the candidates to the same stage to trade barbs and self-deprecating zingers as the race enter its final weeks.
The white-tie affair raises millions for the Gov. Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation and is organized by the Catholic Archdiocese of New York to benefit needy children.
More than 1,600 were scheduled to attend the dinner. The menu includes poached lobster tail and dark chocolate tropical fruit cadeau. Tickets start at $2,500.
The diocese hopes to raise $5 million in grants this year. Last year it gave out $2 million in grants.
President Barack Obama also taped an episode of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" while he's in Manhattan. The show aired late yesterday.
Comedy Central host Jon Stewart pressed Obama over the government's changing explanation about the Sept. 11 attacks in Benghazi, Libya, according to the Associated Press. When Stewart suggested that even Obama would concede his administration's coordination and communication had not been "optimal," Obama said: "If four Americans get killed, it's not optimal. We're going to fix it. All of it."
Romney has questioned Obama's handling of the matter and his honesty about it to voters. On "The Daily Show," Obama insisted information was shared with the American people as it came in, the AP said. The attack is under investigation, he said, and "the picture eventually gets filled in."
Last night's Smith dinner fell two days after Obama and Romney exchanged heated jabs during their second presidential debate at Hofstra University. After what many observers thought was an inspired performance by Romney, and a lackluster one by the president, in Denver during the first debate, campaign watchers gave the edge to Obama after Tuesday night.
The latest polling shows the race as virtually tied.
This year's event also come during the same year as New York's Cardinal Timothy Dolan has clashed with the president over a federal mandate that insurance cover the cost of contraception for church affiliated institutions, like Catholic colleges and hospitals.
The mandate is part of the president's health care reform law known as the Affordable Care Act.
More than a dozen archdioceses from around the country have filed lawsuits claiming the contraception mandate would require church leaders to violate religious beliefs to implement the law.
In March during a speech at Holy Trinity Diocesan High School in Hicksville, Dolan called the mandate a "government intrusion into the church."
The Al Smith Dinner has been a necessary stop for politicians since World War II. The event is named for the unsuccessful Democratic presidential nominee in 1928, who was the first Catholic to run for president. Smith was a four-term governor of New York.
Latest Presidential Polls: Romney Gains Big With Women as Obama Slumps in the Polls
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| By John Giokaris |
What a difference a couple of debates make huh?
Kid Rock summed it up best when he was introducing vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan at a campaign rally in Michigan, “The facts are the facts and we just saw them come to light in the last debate with no outside BS, no biased media involved, no interruptions and negative-political ads every five seconds and, most importantly, no damn teleprompters!”
I think the Obama campaign was expecting the caricature of Mitt Romney that they created in their campaign ads to show up at these debates in October. They got a huge reality check instead.
And it’s showing in the polls. Romney has now extended his lead in key battle ground states such as North Carolina, Florida, and Colorado, and polls are also showing even Wisconsin, Michigan,and Pennsylvania are now in play. Real Clear Politics now shows Romney with his first Electoral College lead of the year.
Gallup now has Romney up 52%-45% over Obama, his largest lead of the year. Indeed, even the far left Daily Kos/SEIU/PPP poll shows Romney leading 50%-46% nationally and 50%-47% in the swing states.
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| Latest Presidential Polls Romney Gains Big With Women as Obama Slumps in the Polls |
But when you break it down by demographics, it gets even more interesting.
Among likely voters, Rasmussen is showing Romney leading men by 10 points and leading independents by 9 points. He trails women by 4 points nationally which is a huge improvement for his campaign considering he trailed women by double digits as recently as September. In the swing states, however, Gallup shows Romney is breaking even with likely female voters while maintaining his lead with men and independents.
It’s clearly becoming more evident that as we enter the final lap of this election season, both campaigns will be in an all-out blitz for the undecided women’s vote. It’s all Obama has left at this point as more and more undecided men and independents swing Romney’s way.
The Obama campaign is doing everything it can to keep up the “War on Women” façade using anti-abortion rhetoric, subsidized contraception and equal pay legislation in a desperate hope to win over undecided female voters. This latest MoveOn.org ad featuring actresses Eva Longoria, Scarlett Johansson, and Kerry Washington best illustrates the scare tactics being used by the left:
Meanwhile, the Romney campaign is accentuating his record of advocating women in the workplace by highlighting the fact that his administration actively sought to recruit the best and brightest women Massachusetts had to offer. Of the 20 top positions in the Romney administration, 10 of them were filled by women, including his lieutenant governor and chief of staff – more than any other state in the nation. This ad best illustrates the effort:
And now the left is desperately trying to use this against Romney with these new “binders full of women” memes that’s got more women asking what it’s supposed to mean than anything else. But again, this shows how critical the undecided women’s vote is going to be in these final weeks as well as how much the left is starting to panic.
I always thought one of the most interesting ads targeted towards women came from theIndependent Women’s Voice (IWV). IWV is a 501(c)(4) nonpartisan, nonprofit organization for mainstream women and is the sister organization of the Independent Women’s Forum (IWF). IWV has a proven track record of effectively developing and delivering messages to independents and women, key blocs of citizens in 2010 and 2012, using ads such as this:
Forbes’ Frank Miniter reports that Sabrina Schaeffer, executive director of the IWF, finds the so-called “War on Women” to be patronizing. She says, “The Obama campaign is betting they can goose turnout on November 6 for Democrats by claiming the Republicans are waging a ‘War on Women.’ A central part of this claim is that Republicans tend to oppose the Paycheck Fairness Act (PFA), a bill the left claims will ensure equal pay for men and women. However, the reality is that this kind of labor regulation will likely hamper the job market for women of all political stripes—unless, of course, they are trial lawyers. By expanding the definition of ‘wage discrimination,’ by making it easier to file class-action lawsuits, and by opening businesses to greater litigation and uncertainty, this legislation would harm men and women.”
As Miniter goes on to describe, “She points out that research conducted for Independent Women’s Voice found that, while the ‘War on Women’ mantra might please liberal Democrats, it actually turns off independents. Unlike standard polls, which ask people if they find an argument convincing, the Independent Women’s Voice did a controlled-message experiment. They surveyed only independents and undecideds.”
Schaeffer says, “We found that 74% of women agree at least somewhat that workplace discrimination is a serious problem; however, this doesn’t necessarily mean they want more government regulation. Respondents exposed to the Democratic argument alone strongly favor the PFA (45%). But support for the bill drops 35-points to 10% when economic issues are also addressed.”
Schaeffer concludes that most female voters are concerned about pocketbook issues – namely national debt, spending, taxes and jobs. She says, “What the alleged ‘War on Women’ narrative reveals is that the left demonizes anyone who questions government. This is how they perpetuate the myth of women as victims in need of government protection. However, it turns out that pitting men and women against each other is neither smart policy nor smart politics. Voters don’t want more gender wars or government regulation. They want an economy that works.”
Should be interesting to see which campaign’s message will end up winning the battle for the women’s vote.
See more of John Giokaris at Policymic here........... http://johngiokaris.policymic.com/
Obama's Chances Of Getting Re-elected Is Growing Slim
By Jared Allebest
Conservative Samizdat
There are several signs that Barack Obama's campaign is in serious trouble and that there is a strong likelihood that he will not be reelected on November 6th, 2012. With Obama not winning the last two debates and running a poor campaign with no new vision or plans, using lame attacks on Romney over Sesame Street's Big Bird or Romney's comments about getting a binder that contains a list of women he could hire, his campaign is starting fall apart.
One of the best indicators that Obama's campaign is in trouble is RealClearPolitic's electoral map which shows Mitt Romney having an electoral lead for the first time in the 2012 general election:
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The second piece of evidence that shows Obama is in real trouble for November 6th is polls show that Mitt Romney has opened up a 7 point lead in the crucial swing states. That is part of the reason why there has been a strong shift in the polls and electoral map that has swung in Mitt Romney's favor. Mitt Romney is gaining support amongfemale voters.
Even Bob Beckel, a well known liberal on Fox News admits that the writing on the wall doesn't look good for Obama.
While Obama's chances of wining are slipping away from him, it doesn't help the President that Bill Clinton is admitting that Obama hasn't fixed the economy like he promised. One can speculate if this is pay back for Obama throwing Hilliary under the bus or not, but such speculation doesn't really matter. What matters is Bill Clinton's comments are going to matter with moderate Democrats and independents who need a perfectly good excuse to ditch Obama at the ballot box.
Obama only has 19 days to keep his campaign from sinking. He has one more debate left with Mitt Romney. However, given that Mitt Romney has performed well in the last two debates, only a miracle would help Obama now.
See more of Jared Allebest / Conservative Samizdat here..........
Latest Presidential Polls: Real Clear Politics Now Has Romney Winning the Electoral College
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| By Jesse Merkel |
Two days after former Governor Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama went toe-to-toe for 90 minutes during an extremely heated debate at Hofstra University, it is becoming apparent that Obama may not have done enough to halt Romney's lead in the polls. At best, Obama may have stopped his own support from bleeding off. That does not mean however, that he stopped Romney's support from increasing, and the latest presidential polls reflect that.
By all accounts, Obama did what his closest advisers and the mainstream media said he needed to do. He was awake and alert. He went on the attack, and tried his best to match an extremely aggressive Romney at every available opportunity. Two days after their first debate, it became apparent that Romney was beginning to see some positives. Now two days after the second debate, we are seeing a similar pattern unfold.
Today, Gallup released a poll that shows Romney leading Obama, 52% to 45% among likely voters.
Rasmussen shows Romney increasing his lead by one point, leading President Obama 49% to 47%.
Real Clear Politics shows Romney maintaining a lead of 0.7% above Obama, 47.6% to 46.9%. During the last day, Romney's support grew while Obama's fell. If this continues the next few days and this becomes a lasting trend, the president will find himself in more trouble than he does already.
RCP also has Romney slightly ahead now in the Electoral College. The former Massachusetts governor now has a slight lead over President Obama, 206 Electoral votes to 201. The day of the first debate, Obama was ahead of Romney by 88 Electoral College votes.
A Wisconsin poll now shows Romney leading Obama, 49% to 48%. Romney was behind Obama by double-digits only two weeks ago in that state. Romney is also hot on Obama's heels in Ohio, with plenty of time to overtake him.
So what happened?
Two different focus groups, one on Fox News and the other on MSNBC, both showed a swing for Romney. The MSNBC focus group focused on undecided voters, while the Fox group showed voters that supported Obama in 2008 but were now undecided. After the debate, both groups showed increased levels of support for Romney.
Obama was aggressive, but he provided no vision for the future. He attacked Romney's own vision without providing any specifics for what he would do in a second term. There is only so many times you can tout mediocre results before people get sick of it. For two debates, Romney has focused 100% of his energy on ripping apart Obama's economic record, especially when it comes to high unemployment, entitlement costs, and everything else. It's working.
Of course, this could also be indicative of something else. One week ago, Vice President Joe Biden squared off against Congressman Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) in the only VP debate on this election. A week later, it is now obvious that Biden may have inadvertently done damage to himself and his ticket. A new Marquette Poll shows that while Biden was once up +8 in favorability, now he at -3, an 11-point swing. It's now obvious that Ryan didn't have to do anything to win that debate last week. Biden lost it all by himself. It is a painful lesson that the GOP learned four years ago. The vice presidential debate usually does little to help, but can do a lot to hurt if things don't go as planned.
A new Pew poll released on the 16th showed the same thing. By an 11-point margin, voters that tuned into the debate came away preferring Ryan to Biden.The only rule a vice presidential nominee has to adhere to during a campaign is to not hurt the ticket, and Biden didn't do that last week.
So is Obama in trouble? Yes. Could Romney actually pull off the electoral landslide that the near-infallable University of Colorado electoral prediction model is claiming he will? Yes.
Another relative expert in elections, Karl Rove, who a few months ago was spouting off nothing but doom-and-gloom for the Romney campaign, now has a new take, stating eloquently how no one in the history of U.S. presidential elections has lost with the numbers that Romney has at this point at the race.
There is only one debate left, and everything will be on the line. Obama could find himself under enormous pressure to climb out of the hole he now finds himself in. With more states each week going over to the "toss-up" category, and history showing that undecided voters almost always break for the challenger at the last minute, November 7th may not quite be the party day that First Lady Michelle Obama may have in mind.
Between now and then, Obama will have to do something to rally his increasingly dispirited base. However, as Romney said during Tuesday's debate, "I think you know better."
See more of Jesse Merkel at Policymic here..... http://jessemerkel.policymic.com/
CONSIDER THIS
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| By Kenny Youngblood |
Ask Yourself, Is This Truly A Complete Lack Of Knowledge Or At A Minimum, Lack Of Accurate Or Dependable Knowledge Or “Actionable Intelligence” Or Is This Simply Pure Incompetence?
Now Consider, These Are The Same People Who Without Public Knowledge Or Awareness, Can And Do Decide Who Lives And Who Dies On The Battlefield.
Through Their Own Discretion And Through Their Unaccountable Knowledge Or Lack Thereof, They Can And Do Target Whomsoever They Shall So Determine Is An Enemy, Which Is Worthy Of Death And That Whomsoever May Be With Their Chosen Enemy, At The Chosen Time Of Assassination Through Bombing, They Can Decide These People Also Are Simply Inconveniently Located And For Their Proximity Or Association, They Can Be Killed Too And Then Simply Considered As Acceptable Collateral Damage, Based On Their Same Collection Of Knowledge….
So Which Is Scarier To You, Based On Either Their Demonstrated Level Of Incompetence Or Incomplete Knowledge Gathering And Sharing, That These Same Have Been Taking Lives Around The World Or That They Failed To Protect Lives, Based On Their Same Knowledge Gathering And Sharing Capabilities?
See more of Kenny Youngblood here.......... http://www.facebook.com/KEYCDY
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Who Won The Second 2012 Presidential Debate?
By Jared Allebest
MSNBC had a panel of undecided voters who gave their opinion that Mitt Romney won tonight's debate.
Conservative Samizdat
The first indication that Mitt Romney won the debate came immediately after the event had ended and CBS News released this tweet:
After that, other results started to come in. CNN posted these results on television:
Fox News had a similar panel in which Frank Luntz found out that they were also swayed to support Mitt after the debate.
I think it is safe to say that the immediate reaction is that Mitt Romney won tonight's debates. Further polls that will come out in the next few days will most likely confirm this.
This has been one of the most aggressive and fierce Presidential debates I've ever seen. I think everyone benefited from watching the debates tonight even if you are a hard core Romney or Obama supporter. I learned alot about Obama and Mitt from this debate. For the undecideds, it looked like this debate was influential in who they will ultimately vote for on November 6, 2012.
See more of Jared Allebest / Conservative Samizdat here...........
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Second Presidential Debate 2012: Debunking the Top 10 Economic Myths From Obama
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| By John Giokaris |
Editor’s Note: This is the third of a three part series debunking the economic myths of the 2012 Obama campaign. To read the first part, click here. To read the second part, click here.
“A major source of objection to a free economy is precisely that it gives people what they want instead of what a particular group thinks they ought to want. Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself.” – Dr. Milton Friedman, 1962
7. “The American Jobs Act will create 1.9 million jobs and reduce unemployment by a full percentage point.” – 9/16/11
Staunch supporters of President Obama still blame the high unemployment rate on bipartisan opposition to Obama’s American Jobs Act proposal, believing it would have delivered everything the president claimed. The reason why Republican, Democratic and Independent lawmakers did not pass his plan was because it was evident the bill was more about tax hikes than job creation, did not pass the cost-benefit analysis test, and would not have put a dent in the unemployment rate.
Regarding whether or not the $447 billion bill would have actually created 1.9 million jobs as Obama claimed, non-partisan Tax Foundation President Scott Hodge explained that the bill would have created “few, if any” jobs due to the fact that the bill offered short-term measures and was not built around long-term expectations.
“I doubt that even a small incentive would encourage someone to hire someone that could cost tens of thousands of dollars over the long term,” Hodge said. “If you get a $5,000 tax credit to hire a $25,000 a year worker, that person is going to cost $125,000 over the next five years. So that incentive is relatively small for that long-term commitment.”
Bloomberg also surveyed 34 economists to gauge the impact of the AJA. Of those, 28 economists estimated how many jobs would be created by the bill. The median estimate was 275,000 jobs in 2012 and 13,000 jobs in 2013 for a total of 288,000 temporary jobs — far fewer than the nearly 2 million claimed by the president. That adds up to about $1.55 million worth of taxpayer money for every potential job it would create to lower the unemployment rate by 0.2% at best.
8. “The stimulus package prevented a second Great Depression.” – 2/18/10
The $831 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, otherwise known as “the stimulus,” failed to deliver most of what Obama promised it would to get it passed.
For starters, Obama’s economic advisers promised the stimulus would keep the unemployment rate below 8%. In 2012, the unemployment rate was supposed to fall below 6%. The prediction was not meant to be taken lightly. In a January 2009 radio address, Obama announced he was releasing a report based on “rigorous analysis” that charted unemployment through 2013 so “the American people can see exactly what this plan will mean for their families.”
Today, more than 23 million working age Americans (18-64) are unemployed, underemployed, or have given up looking for work altogether. Unemployment stayed north of 8% for a record 43-month stretch and has certainly stayed north of 6% throughout 2012. It finally dipped below 8% in September due to more people giving up looking for work, temporary part-time hires and public sector growth.
Second, Obama promised the stimulus would not only have a large impact but also an immediate impact. Said the president-elect, “I’m confident our 21st century investments will create jobs immediately,” adding, “We’ve got shovel-ready projects all across the country.” Those jobs never materialized, and it was not for lack of workers — or shovels. As Obama joked in June 2011, “Shovel-ready was not as shovel-ready as we expected.”
Third, Obama said in February 2009 that the stimulus would lift “2 million Americans from poverty.” But since Obama took office, 6.3 million Americans have fallen into poverty. 2010 U.S. Census data showed that 46.2 million Americans were living in poverty. Worse still, child poverty has increased, rising to 21.6%. Many middle class Americans, unable to find work or decent wages, have fallen below the poverty line in recent years while many others have seen their incomes fall.
Lastly, the “green economy,” Obama vowed, would create millions of jobs. The Energy Department has handed out $35.2 billion in stimulus money to jump start the clean energy industry, but it’s created more red ink than green jobs. Nationally, green technology accounts for just 2% of employment nationwide and there has been no marked boom in the industry. $90 billion also went toward subsidies for failed green energy companies like Solyndra and Ener1, and products like the Chevy Volt and Fisker Karma.
In February, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) published its latest report on the “estimated impact” of the stimulus. In the second quarter of 2012, CBO estimated, somewhere between 200,000 to 1.2 million people had jobs they otherwise would not have were it not for the stimulus. Assuming, optimistically, that the number is 1.2 million, that means each of those jobs cost taxpayers $692,500.
As time goes on, the maximum number of jobs sustained by Obama’s stimulus will decline rapidly. By the first quarter of 2013, it will sustain between 100,000 and 600,000 jobs, says the CBO. If it is 600,000, each of those jobs will have cost taxpayers $1,385,000. By the fourth quarter of 2013, the maximum number of jobs it sustains will be 400,000 — at a cost to taxpayers of $2,077,500 per job.
9. “So when you hear about the Affordable Care Act … that’s why we passed it. You should know that once we have fully implemented it … your premiums will go down.” – 7/16/12
Every fact checking organization from The Washington Post to PolitiFact has torn this one apart. Let’s recall three of the oft-repeated pledges upon which Obamacare was sold: 1. Lower premiums. False. 2. “If you like your plan, you can keep your plan.” False. 3. The law will bend the cost curve down by $2,500 for the typical family. For the second time since passage, false.
A new government actuarial study finds that as a result of the law, health care spending will be $478 billion higher over the next decade than it would have otherwise been had no law been passed. Furthermore, as a result of the health care law, about 50 cents of every dollar of health care spending in the United States will be financed by the government by 2021 — according to the report from the actuary’s office at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. So in other words, one of every two dollars spent on American health care will be financed by the federal government thanks to Obamacare.
Not to mention the CBO has also estimated that the bill will now will cost around $2.6 trillion over the next 10 years, $1.7 trillion more than Obama’s initial promise of $900 billion. Obamacare adviser and MIT economist Jonathan Gruber is also eating his words, going from insisting that the legislation would lower health insurance premiums to now admitting the law will significantly increase the cost of insurance 19-30% – especially for young Americans, who struggle most to find affordable health coverage.
All it takes is a simple understanding of supply and demand economics. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the number of medical school students entering family medicine and primary care has fallen by more than 25%. Yet Obamacare is trying to add coverage for another 35 million people. In other words, at current graduation rates, the nation is facing a shortage of primary care doctors to cover these additional health care recipients, and what happens to consumer costs when supply goes down while demand goes up?
10. “We tried our plan and it worked!” – 7/25/12
Seriously? Every president who has inherited a recession in modern times has done better. Under Obama, measured on the basis of jobs, GDP growth, and incomes, Obama's has been by far theweakest recovery of the past 10 recessions. Since the recession ended, GDP growth has been 2.4% in 2010, 1.8% in 2011 and 1.7% in 2012 under Obama.
The biggest difference between this recovery and others hasn’t been the nature of the crisis, but the nature of the policy prescriptions. Obama’s chief anti-recession idea was a near trillion-dollar leap of faith in the Keynesian “multiplier” effect of government spending. It was the same approach that didn’t work in the 1930s, didn’t work in the 1970s, and didn’t work in such other nations as Japan. It didn’t work again in 2009.
Ronald Reagan also inherited an economy loaded with problems. The stock market had been flat for 12 years, inflation rates neared 14%, and mortgage rates almost 20%. The recession he endured in 1981-82 to cure inflation sent unemployment to 10.8%, higher than Obama’s peak of 10.1%. But the business and jobs recovery by early 1983 was rapid and lasted seven years. Reagan used tax cuts, disinflationary monetary policy and deregulation to reignite growth—the opposite of Obama’s policies.
Read more by John Giokaris at Policymic here..................
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