Stuart Stevens: The Chief Strategist for the Losing Team

He wrote a seriously condescending Op-Ed in the Washington Post today. And it made my head spinny again.

On Nov. 6, Romney carried the majority of every economic group except those with less than $50,000 a year in household income. That means he carried the majority of middle-class voters…let’s remember that any party that captures the majority of the middle class must be doing something right.

Translation: We did better with the voters who actually matter – the middle class and of course, our super rich friends who backed us.

So who is the party that promotes class warfare again? Hmm. The ones who don’t care about getting the votes of the poor (working or otherwise). The ones who, behind closed doors, talk about how 47% of the population – like those on Social Security or disabled veterans, are entitled moochers.

This is the part that really burned my biscuits:

There was a time not so long ago when the problems of the Democratic Party revolved around being too liberal and too dependent on minorities. Obama turned those problems into advantages and rode that strategy to victory. But he was a charismatic African American president with a billion dollars, no primary and media that often felt morally conflicted about being critical. How easy is that to replicate?

He assumes that the media didn’t want to criticize Obama because he’s black? Are you kidding me? Has the guy ever turned on FOX “News?” Or listened to Conservative pundits like Limbaugh, Hannity, Levin, and Ingraham? The criticism was not just daily. It was hourly. Non-Conservative and Liberal news outlets weren’t afraid to criticize either. Hello……first debate? He was skewered by the media – Left, Right, and Middle.

I avoided writing about Romney after the election. He lost, and my hope is that he would fade into obscurity. However, this guy compelled me to write. And let him know the real reasons why they lost.

Effective Use of Campaign Donations
In 2008, Sarah Palin made fun of Obama being a community organizer. In campaigning, that is a huge asset. Community organizers usually have to work with extremely limited budgets – especially if they work for non-profit organizations. They have to make every dollar stretch as far as it can go. Obama’s campaign used the money they raised wisely, like pin pointing what regions needed the air time for ads and when they needed to run.

Better Ground Game
The Obama campaign had offices throughout the United States. They were divided into small groups with that region who held events. Phone banking was huge. I remember one event announcement in my area: “Phone banking for Ohio at Starbucks. Bring your cell phones and chargers.” Others held dinners as fund raisers. In the swing states, their community teams would go door-to-door. They’d offer people rides so they could vote. On election night, when people in Florida were waiting hours to vote, supporters encouraged them to stay. They gave them snacks and water.

However, the number one reason why Mitt Romney lost was by:

Being Mitt Romney
The small bits of information we’d get about him were like puzzle pieces. By election night, we got a good picture of him. The 47% comment. Saying how he’d have a better shot at winning if he were Latino. Using the Benghazi tragedy to slam Obama and hopefully score political points. High school classmates retelling how he physically bullied a gay student. Recalling the “binders full of women” from which he could choose. And the constant changing of positions. A lot of us made fun of his “flip flopping,” but when he did it within a 24-hour period, it became glaringly obvious. He would say anything to get elected, and what he said was tailored especially for the audience at that moment. If the audience changed, so did his position. Eventually, voters saw him for who he really was. Thank God.

Message to Stuart Stevens: Sorry, but he didn’t lose because you see Obama as an entertaining black man deemed “untouchable” by the media. Mitt Romney lost because he is an empty suit who wanted the title, not the job™ (™ Frank of A Frank Angle)

The 2012 Presidential Election…The Day After

I took yesterday off to run errands, vote, and relax. One day away, and my inbox went from empty to full. Not as daunting as the day I returned from a week long vacation, but still…full. Maybe that’s why I hardly take my PTO (personal time off) days. The dread of facing my inbox. 🙂

I made good on my commitment. Donuts for the office and warehouse, just like four years ago, to celebrate Obama’s victory. The new director said, “Obama donuts? I’ll pass.” Then, I heard he had one later. Mmm hmm. The CFO, who was there when he said that, interjected, “Who cares? It’s donuts!!” Ahahaha. Non partisan! Anyway, it was a nice treat for everyone…especially the guys and gals back there who don’t make that much more than minimum wage. Plus, I bought the donuts from a small business owned by Cambodian immigrants. For some reason, Cambodians own a lot of the donut shops in the Bay Area. Money well spent. I made people happy, supported a small business, and stimulated the economy!

It took a while for everything to sink in. I was on Cloud 9 last night…after being on pins and needles for the last month or so. When Ohio was still “too close to call” I was on edge. And the Blue Moon beer I was drinking wasn’t taking that edge off. Then, I heard it. He won Ohio, and the networks called it. Obama was reelected and is the 44th President of the United States. Big sigh of relief…until Romney wasn’t prepared to concede because Ohio was too close.

Karl Rove was writing like a mad man on FOX and asking the network to rescind the call. One of the anchor ladies went back to the numbers guys who stood by their call. Wow, that was awkward.

It was about an hour and a half before Romney conceded. The reporter at the Romney campaign said he only had an acceptance speech written. Man, that guy has some balls. I guess he took that 90 minutes to write his concession.

I am absolutely and positively relieved. The American people saw through this liar. One of my favorite Conservative blog friends Terrance at Tocqueville’s Muse said this about Romney:

“Mitt Romney is a solid businessman, a good person, and a real leader. But liberals managed to paint him as the quintessential evil capitalist.”

I respectfully disagree. Mitt Romney is not a good person. He is a bad person, and I saw right through him from the beginning.

• A good person does not physically bully a classmate by pinning him down and cutting his hair just because he’s different (gay).
• A good person doesn’t mess with his staff’s heads by giving them different bonuses just to keep them on edge.
• A good person doesn’t coldly walk away from a dying person who asks him about medical marijuana.

He’s not a good person, and no one can convince me otherwise. Maybe people have him confused with his father, George Romney, who was a great person. I guess, in this case, “Compassionate Conservatism” skips a generation.

Now that America has chosen Obama to finish the job he started four years ago, the real work begins. The fiscal cliff is fast approaching. Gitmo is still open. Soldiers and innocent civilians are still dying in Iraq and Afghanistan. Liberals like myself are going to keep pushing him on these issues.

A lot of the issues, especially the looming fiscal cliff, will need to be dealt with in a bipartisan manner. John Boehner said that he was willing to work with Obama. I’m skeptical given their history of obstructionist actions. However, if he is sincere, then I hope they do work together. There is going to have to be some give and take.

One of the places where they can start is taking a good hard look at the bipartisan Simpson Bowles Plan. At least look at it with an open mind. See it as a starting point, which is good because they don’t have to start from scratch. Both sides need to do something to avert another recession.

As they talk about working together, I’m going to take this opportunity to rest up a bit from the hell that was the 2012 election season. I’m happy we were able to stop the train wreck that was Mitt Romney. I liked that despite all of that Super PAC money, the Koch Brothers and the like could not buy the election. It reminded me of 2010 when Meg Whitman spent $150M of her own money and lost.

The fact that billions were spent on this campaign is disgusting. That money could have helped real people. I listened to Karel Saturday night before the election as I waited in the drive through line for my cheeseburger and fries. I liked what he said – keep campaigning to one month before the election. Other countries do this. I’m sure everyone in all the swing states will be on board with this one. I think there should be a spending cap too.

Anyway, the election is over, and I’m happy. Even though I’m a political junkie, I’m spent. This election made my head almost spin off completely. Time to relax and celebrate because sooner rather than later, I know I’ll be putting on the boots to wade through the crap that is US Politics.

Obama, Christie, and Bipartisanship

Politicians, on both sides of the aisle they supposedly want to reach across, talk a good game about bipartisanship. This week, during and after Superstorm Sandy, President Obama and Governor Christie of New Jersey showed what it is and what can get accomplished when actually practiced.

Sandy was wreaking havoc on the eastern seaboard, especially New Jersey. On the 29th, close to midnight, President Obama called Governor Christie asking him what the federal government could do to help. Together, they worked on the Major Disaster Declaration, providing recovery assistance. Craig Fugate, the FEMA administrator, said that based on the conversations Obama had with officials in New York and New Jersey, a verbal declaration was enough. Christie said:

“He worked on that last night with me…offered any other assets that we needed to help. I want to thank the President personally for his personal attention to this.”

This gets the aid to where its needed faster. By verbally declaring it, it doesn’t go through a full federal assessment.

Obama visited Christie today to look at the damage Sandy had caused. Christie told him that the hardest hit areas needed power and clean drinking water.

“I discussed all of those issues today with the president and I’m pleased to report that he has sprung into action immediately to help get us those things while we were in the car riding together. I cannot thank the President enough for his personal concern and his compassion,”

This is coming from a guy who slammed Obama in his speech at the Republican National Convention. Both of them put partisan crap aside and worked on getting New Jersey on the road to recovery.

It’s going to be a long road. My friend who lives in central New Jersey was spared this year. She is one of the lucky ones in town who has power. Neighbors are going to her house to cook and shower. Thankfully, the trees didn’t fall on the house. Branches were scattered on the ground, but they weren’t huge ones like last year.

My partner’s friend in Jersey City wasn’t as lucky. She texted her that she had waist-high water in her house. It’s really sad because this is her first house. She was so excited when she bought it. Relief can come faster to people like her thanks to bipartisan effort.

So what does Mitt privatizing FEMA would be cool Romney have to say about all of this? Not much. A campaign stop in Dayton Ohio was first stopped out of respect for the victims. Then it was resurrected as a storm relief event – which apparently was staged. Campaign aides hauled ass to Walmart to buy $5K worth of food and supplies for people to hand to Romney while he says, “thank you” and smiles for the cameras. donate.

Reporters asked his senior campaign adviser, Kevin Madden, if Romney agreed with Christie that President Obama was doing a good job in handling the disaster:

“I believe the response is still going on so I’m not in a position to qualify the response by the federal government. I believe it’s still ongoing.”

Keep it classy, guys. Keep it classy. 🙄

Mitt Romney and My Crack-Like Addiction to Politics

I’m trying to unspin my head tonight. I don’t know what it is about politics. I was waiting for my partner at the dentist office. I told myself, “no more politics” as I perused his magazines. Most were Time magazines, and I focused on finding the rag that would keep my mind off of the election. Us Weekly with “Housewives tell Us Teresa’s Dirty Secrets” splashed on the cover. Perfect. The Real Housewives of New Jersey is my guiltless pleasure. I read the article happily, which of course didn’t take long. I looked for other Us issues after I was done flipping through the pages filled with fashion and celebrities. It was welcome fun and fluff.

And then there it was. Greed and Debt: The True Story of Mitt Romney and Bain Capital on the cover of Rolling Stones magazine. Like a true junkie, I just had to pick it up and read it. I wasn’t able to finish it because my partner was done, so what do I do when I get home? Before eating dinner, I find the article online and read the rest of it. Where is the nearest Politics Anonymous meeting?

The author, Matt Taibbi, talks about what Bain Capital was all about – taking over companies were struggling. What “happened” to the companies wasn’t their concern. They could go bankrupt, and Bain Capital would still get paid. All that was a given and not surprising.

What shocked me, though, was how good a guy Mitt’s dad was. The article touched on it briefly, saying how George Romney was one who “nurtured communities.” I did a little research on George Romney on Wikipedia. He was nothing like his son.

• “Romney successfully appealed to the Federal Housing Administration to make housing available to black workers near the Ford Willow Run plant.”
• “By 1950, Romney was a member of the Citizens Housing and Planning Council, and criticized racial segregation in Detroit’s housing program when speaking before the Detroit City Council.”
• “However, whenever he felt his salary and bonus was excessively high for a year, he gave the excess back to the company.” I nearly choked reading this one.
• “After initial wariness, he developed a good relationship with United Automobile Workers leader Walter Reuther, and AMC workers also benefited from a then-novel profit-sharing plan”.
• “Romney was one of only a few Michigan corporate chiefs to support passage and implementation of the state Fair Employment Practices Act”.

After snapping out of my crush on George Romney, my first question was, “What the hell happened to Mitt?” My sister and I talked about this before. Mitt suffers from “spoiled rich kid” disease. Everything was handed to him, unlike his dad who struggled. That makes sense. It’s hard for Mitt to sympathize, and empathy isn’t even possible because doesn’t know what it’s like. That’s why he says things like, “Borrow money if you have to from your parents” when he talks to college students. I don’t think the idea that their parents don’t have the money to lend crossed his mind.

Of course, the article also gives me more insight into Mitt, the man.

“Over the years, colleagues would anonymously whisper stories about Mitt the Boss to the press, describing him as cunning, manipulative and a little bit nuts, with “an ability to identify people’s insecurities and exploit them for his own benefit.” One former Bain employee said that Romney would screw around with bonuses in small amounts, just to mess with people: He would give $3 million to one, $3.1 million to another and $2.9 million to a third, just to keep those below him on edge.”

Another great quality to have in a president. Screwing people…and screwing with people’s heads…just because he can.

This is just great It’s two weeks from the election, but it’s going to feel like the longest two weeks ever. I’ll be on pins and needles, just like in 2008.

Frankly, I’m tired. I’m tired of lying jerks (yeah I said it) like Mitt Romney taking up space in my head. I’m tired of being scared that a high school bully (who never grew out of it) might become the President of the United States. I’m tired of learning new, repugnant things about him that make me loathe him more. I’m just tired.

In two weeks, I can exhale. Until then, I’ll be mentally marking the days off the calendar and unspinning my head here. It’s going to get messy.

I’m Allergic to the Republican National Convention

Anaphylaxis. That is why I stayed away this week.

OK, I took a little Benadryl and read this part of Romney’s speech (actually watching it might have sent me to the ER).

This President can ask us to be patient. This President can tell us it was someone else’s fault. This President can tell us that the next four years he’ll get it right. But this President cannot tell us that you are better off today than when he took office. America has been patient. Americans have supported this President in good faith. But today, the time has come to turn the page.

Let’s see. In 2008, I was laid off. Thank God I found a job two weeks later. It took a coworker, who was laid off a year after I was, TWO YEARS to find a new job. But he did. That’s two people who are doing better today than when Obama took office.

Yes, I know. Tell that to the millions unemployed. And the economy is still sucks But it’s getting better. Maybe at a snail’s pace, but it is. Here in the Silicon Valley, things are getting much better. I think it will continue to improve. I know that sounds like a roses and cupcakes prediction, but I believe it. And I don’t think we have to slice and dice Medicare and Social Security to get there.

Psst Obama. I can help you find some money. All that money going to Iraq and Afghanistan, aid to countries, and our “frienemies” like Pakistan to “help” us? Great place to start looking.

Anyway, for you Republicans, Conservatives, and Tea Partiers, I get it. It’s your Superbowl. Yay Romney/Ryan! Boo Obama/Biden!

The same thing will happen at the DNC only in reverse. Yay Obama/Biden! Boo Romney/Ryan! Thing is, because I’m Liberal, I’d rather watch our Superbowl. Instead of watching both (which I would usually do), I decided to just watch my team. I didn’t want to add to my irritation, considering all the annoying crap that is going on with the fender bender I was in a couple weeks ago.

The insurance company is trying to find their insured (who caused the accident) while simultaneously denying my claim. Because they supposedly fell off the face of the planet, they can’t prove their insured was involved in the accident. Um, really? The $5500 in damage to my car, their crunchy wheel, and pearl white paint on their brown pickup proves nothing?

Message to the “Gecko” blowhards: I sent you the pictures. You might want to call the number on the truck that hit me. It’s the phone number to their business. This may be a huge leap of faith, but you will probably find them there.

Bright spot: I got Shelley, my Solara, back from the shop. Even though it took two weeks, she’s looking great! YAY!!

Is Mitt Getting Meaner?

On the final stop of his bus tour, he said,

“So, Mr. President, take your campaign of division and anger and hate back to Chicago, and let us get about rebuilding and reuniting America.”

That surprised me because in the past, when he said something negative about Obama, he’d usually start with, “He’s a nice guy, but…” He was always careful and calculated. Was this calculated too?

Hmm. So many questions. Are the gloves coming off now that he has Ryan-of-the-Far Right by his side? Did picking Ryan give him street cred? This is getting interesting, though. I want to see who the real Mittens is. Are we getting a taste of his true personality with this statement? As this joke of a campaign season progresses, we’ll get more pieces to the boring puzzle that is Mitt Romney (think 5000 pieces, clear blue sky).

His comment still irritated me. This isn’t 2008. He isn’t going to take his campaign back to Chicago. He’s taking it back to the White House. This is a totally different fight than Senator vs. Senator. It’s a Governor trying to unseat the current President kind of fight. Don’t forget that, Mittens.

So, Paul Ryan, Huh?

Mitt Romney stepped outside his comfort zone and ordered the spicy salsa by picking Paul Ryan. It was a bold move, and the Conservative base is very happy now.

Aside from his baby blue eyes, he’s famous for his budget – The Path to Prosperity: Restoring America’s Promise. It would cut the tax burden of the wealthy from 35% to 25% and change Medicare to a voucher system. Interestingly, one program that is immune to Ryan’s slicing and dicing is…defense. Shocking.

Yeah – none of that surprised me. However, his extreme pro-life views did. In 1998, when he was running against Democrat Lydia Spottswood, both of them backed the ban on “partial birth” abortions. Spottswood said that there should be exceptions made when the mother’s life is in danger. Ryan said the opposes abortion period and that “any exceptions to a ‘partial-birth’ abortion ban would make that ban meaningless.”

Horrified? It gets worse. If abortion were illegal, he also would let states decide on criminal penalties for women having them. Of course, he never advocated jailing women who have abortions or prosecuting doctors who performed them. He did add, though, “if it’s illegal, it’s illegal.”

When I was in the drive-thru line for my Saturday night burger ritual, I was listening to Karel on the KGO radio station. He warned women that Ryan is heading “straight for your vaginas.” I laughed because this was coming from a totally flaming gay guy. After reading all that on Ryan, I realized that he was serious. NARAL Pro-Choice America gives him a score of 0% on a woman’s right to choose. NRLC (National Right to Life Committee) gives him a 100% score on voting for life.

I think this surprised me because Romney is pro-life, except for cases of rape, incest, and if the mother’s life is in danger. For some reason, I expected Ryan to be the same. He’s not, which is disturbing, but Romney made his choice.

Message to Mittens: Hot and spicy can be tasty and energizing. It can also be a major pain in the ass, both figuratively and literally. Ask John McCain about that.

Totally Twisted Quote Tuesday 8/7/2012

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: Endless Suffrage 2012

I love his titles. And I loved this video. Hilarious, with a tinge of sadness. Poor Mittens. You’ll get there buddy, despite all the lukewarm endorsements. Hell, you’re already halfway there. Congratulations on last night’s sweep. 😀

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Jon Stewart: Conservatives Back Romney…You Kn…, posted with vodpod

Super (Weird) Tuesday

It wasn’t just Super Tuesday. It was weird. One of the gals who works with our company through a non-profit came in today. She’s 8 months pregnant, and Friday will be her last day before maternity leave. The last day she’ll be at our company is Thursday. Crap! I need a baby gift. After work, I headed out to Babies R Us. That place is a vortex for me. I got the requisite registry item within 5 minutes of entering. I spent the next 2 hours hypnotized by baby clothes. The fact that she’s having a girl made it that much longer – all those cute matching separates. Eventually I got out of there with three outfits and the baby play mat thingie she wanted.

When I got home and ate a late dinner, I stumble on to the NatGeo channel. Doomsday Preppers. This time, talk of global pandemics, financial collapse, and a polar shift hypnotized me. I am fascinated by their obsession and their determination to survive. Kudos. I am determined to be one of the victims. I have absolutely no desire to survive and live in a post-apocalyptic world. In the background (on my laptop) were the results from Super Tuesday. During the show, Ohio was still up for grabs. By the end, Ohio went to Romney. By 1%!

So my Super Tuesday went from shopping for a baby to doomsday scenarios to the long, drawn-out battle for Ohio.

Delegates-wise, Romney is in better shape. 323. States-wise, it wasn’t a TKO for Romney. Here’s how it went down:

Newt Gingrich
Georgia

Ron Paul
None =(

Mitt Romney
Idaho
Massachusetts
Ohio
Vermont
Virginia

Rick Santorum
North Dakota
Oklahoma
Tennesee

So what does this all mean? The fight continues on. This is going the full 12 rounds (seems more like the old-school 15). No one is throwing in the towel yet. Even Ron Paul is in it to win it. More debates, primaries, negative ads, and robocalls. Tis election season.

November is looking so far away.