tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25509006082775459992024-03-08T15:38:30.465+01:00outside the glasshouseobserving stone throwers since 2008Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15042801699253329872noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2550900608277545999.post-17079119482813713022011-07-10T03:10:00.003+02:002011-07-10T12:47:18.628+02:00Michele Bachmann: The Gift That Keeps On Giving<div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Michele_Bachmann_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Michele_Bachmann_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg" width="280" /></a></div><br />
With the exception of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_A._Garfield">James Garfield</a> in 1880, no member of the House of Representatives has ever been elected President of the United States. Of course, that is not stopping <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michele_Bachmann">Michele Bachmann</a> (R-<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota">Minnesota</a>) - one of the most divisive and ineffective legislators in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington,_D.C.">Washington, D.C.</a> - from trying anyway. Can she win? Not a chance and like Representative <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Yarmuth">John Yarmuth</a> (D-<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky">Kentucky</a>), I believe she would <a href="http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2011/07/rep-john-yarmuth-if-bachmann-is-gop-candidate-president-obama-would-win-all-50-states.html">lose all 50 states</a> to President Obama.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, why is the media treating her like a legitimate presidential candidate? I will get to that in a moment. First, to understand the media's predicament, we have to look at her electability (or rather lack thereof).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is Mrs. Bachmann's first TV ad in Iowa:</div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="330" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/X0J1EhOKvtI" width="536"></iframe></div></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"The unifying choice that will beat Obama"? A look at Michele Bachmann's electoral history reveals that "anything but unifying" would be a much better word choice.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>She is currently representing <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota%27s_6th_congressional_district">Minnesota's 6th congressional district</a>. Its <a href="http://cookpolitical.com/node/4201">Partisan Voting Index</a> (PVI) is R+7, which means that a generic Republican presidential candidate would be expected to receive 7 percent more votes than the national average. The same roughly applies to the Republican House candidate running in the district.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here's a look at Mrs. Bachmann's past election results, starting with 2006 when she was first elected to the House:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">2006: Michele Bachmann (R) 50.1% - Patty Wetterling (D) 42.1% (Republicans nationwide: 44.1%)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">2008: Michele Bachmann (R) 46.4% - Elwyn Tinklenberg (D) 43.4% (Republicans nationwide: 42.5%)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">2010: Michele Bachmann (R) 52.5% - Tarryl Clark (D) 39.8% (Republicans nationwide: 51.6%)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Considering her congressional district's R+7 PVI, she underperformed in each of her House elections. In 2008 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCain">John McCain</a> (R-<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona">Arizona</a>) won the presidential ballot in the district with 53.3 percent - garnering almost 7 percent more votes than Michele Bachmann.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Why did tens of thousands of Republicans not pull the lever for Mrs. Bachmann in all these elections? It is statements like these:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">You think that's everything? Don't be silly!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here are some more quotes by the one and only Michele Bachmann:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">On homosexuality</div><div><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><i>"Our K-12 public school system, of which ninety per cent of all youth are in the public school system, they will be required to learn that homosexuality is normal, equal and perhaps you should try it. And that will occur immediately, that all schools will begin teaching homosexuality."</i></blockquote></div><div><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><i>"And what a bizarre time we're in, Jan, when a judge will say to little children that you can't say the pledge of allegiance, but you must learn that homosexuality is normal and you should try it."</i></blockquote></div><div><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><i>"Don't misunderstand. I am not here bashing people who are homosexuals, who are lesbians, who are bisexual, who are transgender. We need to have profound compassion for people who are dealing with the very real issue of sexual dysfunction in their life and sexual identity disorders."</i></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><i>"Normalization [of gayness] through desensitization. Very effective way to do this with a bunch of second graders is take a picture of 'The Lion King' for instance, and a teacher might say, 'Do you know that the music for this movie was written by a gay man?' The message is: 'I'm better at what I do, because I'm gay.'"</i></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">On her lesbian stepsister</div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>"Any of you who have members of your family in the lifestyle, we have a member of our family that is. This is not funny. It's a very sad life. It's part of Satan, I think, to say that this is gay."</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">On same-sex marriage</div><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><i>"This is an earthquake issue. This will change our state forever. Because the immediate consequence, if gay marriage goes through, is that K-12 little children will be forced to learn that homosexuality is normal, natural and perhaps they should try it."</i></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">On the economy</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><i>"If we took away the minimum wage - if conceivably it was gone - we could potentially virtually wipe out unemployment completely because we would be able to offer jobs at whatever level."</i></blockquote></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On evolution</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote style="font-style: italic;">"There are hundreds and hundreds of scientists, many of them holding Nobel Prizes, who believe in intelligent design."</blockquote>And just in case you are wondering, this is how Mrs. Bachmann's husband Marcus - <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/michele-bachmanns-husband-shares-her-strong-conservative-values/2011/06/21/gIQAyNmvzH_story.html">a clinical therapist who reportedly offers "conversion therapy" to homosexuals</a> - thinks about them:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><i>"We have to understand: barbarians need to be educated. They need to be disciplined. Just because someone feels it or thinks it, doesn't mean that we are supposed to go down that road. That’s what is called the sinful nature."</i></blockquote></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It should come as no surprise that The Daily Beast recently ran a story titled "<a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/06/14/michele-bachmanns-unrivaled-extremism-gay-rights-to-religion.html">Bachmann's Unrivaled Extremism</a>". One part particularly stands out:</div><div><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><i>"Michele Bachmann says certain things that sound crazy to the general public," says Frank Schaeffer. "But to anybody raised in the environment of the evangelical right wing, what she says makes perfect sense."</i></blockquote></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Let's make no mistake: The woman representing Minnesota's 6th congressional district is not a nut job. She is merely a product of christian fundamentalism, which leads me back to the media's predicament: On the one hand, Michele Bachmann has no path to the presidency and therefore should be ignored. On the other hand, her extremism and countless gaffes make her great television. To Fox News, MSNBC, CNN or any other cable news channel, she is truly the gift that keeps on giving!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">You don't believe me? Then let me end this post with last Friday's (unusually hilarious) Bachmann segment on Current's <a href="http://current.com/shows/countdown/">Countdown with Keith Olbermann</a><i>:</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="330" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-sViEHourgs" width="536"></iframe></div></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15042801699253329872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2550900608277545999.post-82871776353381838162010-12-20T04:30:00.002+01:002011-07-10T02:45:05.581+02:00Why I Would Always Pick Bernie Sanders Over Barack Obama<div style="text-align: justify;">Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) is the first self-described democratic socialist elected to the U.S. Senate and someone who has praised European social democracy. Since democratic socialism (the German Democratic Republic comes to mind) has failed miserably and many European welfare states (like the reunified Germany) are slowly collapsing, I naturally cannot share his convictions.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Though Bernie Sanders could overpower Barack Obama any day of the week when it comes to left-wing politics, I would always pick him over the President. One might wonder why and frankly the answer is quite simple.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">On Friday President Obama <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sc-dc-1218-tax-cuts-20101217,0,5680789.story">signed</a> a 2-year extension of the Bush tax cuts for all Americans into law. In case you are wondering, this is the same extension he has been fighting for many years. Maybe the President suddenly realized that even under the Bush tax cuts the <a href="http://www.heritage.org/budgetchartbook/top10-percent-income-earners">top 10 percent of income earners pay a whopping 71 percent of federal income tax</a> or that many of those earning more than $250,000 per year are small business owners and therefore the main job creators in America. No matter why President Obama finally buckled on this important economic issue, this is a remarkable flip flop on a principle he has proclaimed for years.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">While the occupant of the Oval Office seemingly woke up one morning and flushed his beliefs down the toilet, Bernie Sanders held an 8 1/2 hour old-school filibuster (see below) against the extension. The American people expect their President to be principled and passionate. So far, Barack Obama has not excelled in either discipline, which is why I would always pick Bernie Sanders over him.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="330" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/aMfT4ajJQIE" width="536"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15042801699253329872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2550900608277545999.post-83004231218804335212010-12-19T08:39:00.001+01:002011-07-10T02:43:48.163+02:00Man Up, Mr. Speaker!<div style="text-align: justify;">Incoming Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) did it again! He did it over TARP, he did it when the GOP reclaimed the House and he did it last Sunday on 60 Minutes. What am I talking about? Crying, of course!<br />
</div>Do I think politicians should not cry? No! Do I hinkt John Boehner is doing it too often? Yes!<br />
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As of January 5 he will be 2nd in the line of succession to the Presidency and considering he is crying constantly and is also a heavy smoker (both arguably signs of weakness), the prospect of President Boehner is a bit worrisome to me...<br />
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Regardless of what you might think about Boehner, here is a review of politicians crying by <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/">MSNBC</a>'s always entertaining <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/">Rachel Maddow</a> (her extremely liberal views notwithstanding):<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="330" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-krcUU1UlPk" width="536"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15042801699253329872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2550900608277545999.post-3691926021879372842010-12-18T11:22:00.002+01:002011-07-10T02:46:37.305+02:00Obama Is Being Sabotaged! Really?<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.motivationtruth.com/">Motivation Truth</a>‘s Adrienne Ross is one of the rare African-American common-sense conservatives and naturally a supporter of Sarah Palin. It comes a no surprise that a black woman who does not subscribe to the magnificent Democratic Party’s agenda and on top of that even supports the most divisive person on the planet (which in the minds of most liberals is none other than the former Governor of Alaska) would be invited on a liberal talk show to present its viewers with the rare exception of a Black conservative voice, only to be attacked and demonized.<br />
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</div><div class="entry-content" style="text-align: justify;">After watching the following excerpt of <a href="http://www.facebook.com/SistahTalkTVshow">Sistah Talk</a>, I feel incredibly sorry for Adrienne. She must face more head wind every day for her beliefs than I (a conservative in liberal Germany) have to put up with in a year!<br />
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But see for yourself:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="330" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/O7qMxn6esHg" width="536"></iframe> <br />
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Of the many narrow-minded and often flat-out wrong things uttered by the hosts and guests, one particularly stood out: Barack Obama is being sabotaged! Really? Let me tell you a secret: the 44th President of the United States of America is indeed being sabotaged but the saboteur is ironically himself.<br />
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Candidate Obama ran first and foremost on a platform of change and that was the main reason for his historic election (he would not have defeated Hillary Clinton otherwise). President Obama on the other hand seems to have forgotten all of that once he set foot in the Oval Office. On November 4, 2008 the American people gave Barack Obama the mandate to change Washington and to bring back bipartisanship and joint solutions. If he had actually done that, Democrats would still enjoy sizeable majorities in Congress and the President would be about to cruise to re-election in two years. Obviously, that has not happened and here is why: the mandate was to change Washington but not America (Obamacare comes to mind) and given a huge majority in the House and a filibuster-proof one in the Senate, President Obama, House Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Reid took the noble intent of bi-partisanship and transformed it into bitter partisanship not seen in Washington for decades.<br />
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There you have it: the real reasons for Barack Obama’s and the Democrat’s predicament.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15042801699253329872noreply@blogger.com0