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2012 US Presidential Election

pecan

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... Continued from the old thread.

Romney criticised for saying foreclosures should be allowed to take their course:

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/21/dnc-launches-new-campaign-against-romney/

"To Mitt Romney, houses aren't places where people raise their families and build lives," said Brad Woodhouse, communications director for the Democratic National Committee, in a conference call with reporters. "They're investments to make a profit."

The DNC rolled out a new website and video featuring Romney's remarks this week to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, where he said one way to encourage a housing market rebound is to let the home foreclosure process "run its course."

"Don't try and stop the foreclosure process," Romney said. "Let it run its course and hit the bottom, allowing investors to buy their homes, put renters in them, fix the homes, and let it turn around and come back up."
 
Elections in the US today. Good to see the personhood initiative voted down.

Election measures against unions, abortion defeated
By Mary Wisniewski
COLUMBUS, Ohio | Wed Nov 9, 2011 1:03am EST

(Reuters) - Controversial ballot measures aimed at banning abortion in Mississippi and reducing public sector union power in Ohio were soundly defeated on Tuesday in local elections that cheered President Barack Obama's Democratic party.

Democrats and Republicans split the two races for governor on the ballot, with Kentucky Democratic governor Steve Beshear handily winning re-election and Mississippi Lieutenant Governor Phil Bryant victorious in Mississippi.

Neither result changed the balance of power, with Bryant succeeding popular outgoing Governor Haley Barbour in Mississippi. But the outcome means Republicans will hold a 29 to 20 lead in governors going into the presidential election cycle in 2012, with Rhode Island held by an Independent.

The nationwide local elections were the last before the presidential primaries and caucuses begin in January.

"The surface headline in 2011 was a good election for Democrats. But dig just a little deeper and you see that the middle story is swing voters," said John Avlon, senior columnist for Newsweek and the Daily Beast.

"Republicans are being put on notice for being too extreme and reaching too far, but Democrats should not misread this as an overall victory."

Labor unions and abortion rights supporters were elated with the results in the two states. This was tempered by a separate vote in Ohio soundly rejecting a requirement in Obama's signature health care reform law that everyone have health insurance.

Ohio is a key swing state won by Obama in the 2008 election, and the strong effort by organized labor turned back the Republican effort to reduce the power of public sector unions in the state. The Republican-backed law lost by about 60 to 40 percent.

Union leaders, who have suffered defeats in Wisconsin and some other states this year, hailed the result.

"Today's defeat of (the Ohio union measure) is a major victory for working families in Ohio and across the country," said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.

Ohio Governor John Kasich, who championed the anti-union measure, said the result "requires me to take a deep breath and to reflect on what happened here."

The anti-union law was a centerpiece of the Kasich legislative agenda. The law passed the Republican-dominated assembly in the spring. But opponents were able to gather 1.3 million signatures to put it on the ballot.

While massive union protests against a similar law in Wisconsin earlier this year grabbed national attention, Ohio is more important to unions.

The state has 360,000 public sector union members and the fifth largest number of total union members in the country, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The other closely watched ballot initiative on Tuesday was in Mississippi, where voters were asked to decide whether human life begins at conception, the so-called "personhood amendment" to the state constitution.

If it had passed, Mississippi would have been the first U.S. state to define a fertilized egg as a person, a controversial concept aimed at outlawing abortion, some types of birth control and infertility methods that result in the loss of embryos.

Anti-abortion groups were poised to try to pass such measures in other states.

But the measure went down to defeat with 58 percent opposed and 42 voting in favor, with 80 percent counted. Some voters said the measure was too extreme and were worried about the domino effects of a sweeping constitutional amendment.

There were elections for mayors in eight of the nation's largest 25 cities on Tuesday and incumbents won in Houston, Philadelphia, Indianapolis, Baltimore and Charlotte, North Carolina. The incumbent in San Francisco, the first ethnic Chinese mayor in the city's history, was leading in early returns.

Political analysts also were studying the contests for state legislative seats in Virginia and Iowa.

Republicans were trying to win a majority of seats in the Virginia Senate, which would be a bad sign for Obama, who won Virginia in 2008 and hopes to do so again in 2012. Returns from the Virginia Board of Elections late on Tuesday showed Republicans gaining two seats, which would leave the state Senate tied. But one of the seats was closely contested.

Democrats won a special election for an Iowa state Senate seat, keeping their thin 2-seat majority in the chamber. Republicans, who control the Iowa House, had hoped to use a victory to try to overturn the state's approval of same sex marriage.

In another high profile local race, a powerful Republican state Senate leader who spearheaded Arizona's controversial crackdown on illegal immigrants appeared headed for defeat in a recall election, according to early election results.

(Writing by Greg McCune. Additional reporting by Corrie MacLaggan, Patricia Zengerle, Colleen Jenkins, Verna Gates, Ian Simpson. Kay Henderson; James Kelleher; Karin Matz and Lauren Keiper; Editing by Jerry Norton and Peter Bohan)

Source.
 
Herman Cain has suspended his campaign:

Cain suspends presidential bid
By the CNN Wire Staff
updated 6:21 PM EST, Sat December 3, 2011

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • NEW: Woman who alleges an affair with Cain wants an apology
  • Cain will endorse another candidate soon
  • Cain's Iowa support fell to single digits, the Des Moines Register reports
  • Candidate was dogged by allegations of sexual harassment and an affair

Atlanta (CNN) -- Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain told supporters Saturday that he is suspending his presidential campaign, which has become hobbled in recent weeks by allegations of sexual harassment and an Atlanta woman's claim that they carried on a 13-year affair.

While he will still be able to raise and spend campaign funds because he did not officially drop out, Cain's White House bid is effectively over.

Cain said he came to the decision after assessing the impact that the allegations were having on his wife, his family and his supporters.

Cain and his wife, Gloria, held hands as they walked up to the podium where Cain made his remarks in Atlanta. The crowd chanted, "Gloria! Gloria!" before the candidate spoke.

Even as he stepped aside under the weight of the allegations that have dogged him, Cain said that he was at "peace with my God" and "peace with my wife."

He repeatedly called the allegations "false and untrue," and added that "the (media) spin hurts."

"I am not going to be silenced and I will not go away," Cain said, announcing what he called his Plan B: A website, TheCainSolutions.com, through which he will continue to advocate for his platform.

His catchy "9-9-9" economic plan is not going anywhere, he said.

"Your support has been unwavering and undying," Cain told his supporters.

He will endorse another of the Republican presidential hopefuls soon, he said.

Other candidates were quick to react.

"Herman Cain provided an important voice to this process," Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann said in a statement. "His ideas and energy generated tremendous enthusiasm for the conservative movement at a time it was so desperately needed to restore confidence in our country."

Fellow Georgian Newt Gingrich said the "9-9-9" plan "got our country talking about the critical issue of how to reform our tax code and he elevated the dialogue of the Republican presidential primary in the process."

Texas Gov. Rick Perry said he knew the Cains made a "difficult decision. He helped invigorate conservative voters and our nation with a discussion of major tax reform."

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman said Cain brought "a unique and valuable voice to the debate over how to reform our country's uncompetitive tax code and turn around the economy. I understand his decision and wish him and his family the best."

Recently, Cain acknowledged that Ginger White's allegations of an affair have led to a drop in campaign contributions, and a Des Moines Register poll showed his support among likely Republican Iowa caucus-goers has fallen to 8%, down from 23% in October. The poll has a sampling error of plus or minus 4.9 points, the newspaper said.

Respondents said they were most concerned that Cain does not understand important issues, but said the allegations against him contribute to their concern, the newspaper said.

This week, White told the news media that she and Cain engaged in an on-and-off affair for more than 13 years. She described the affair as "very casual."

White issued a statement, through her attorney, after Cain's announcement Saturday.

"Ginger White respects Mr. Cain's decision regarding his campaign and indeed would have respected any decision he made," the statement said. "That being said, she is disappointed that he has not apologized for the public statements he has made about her and other women who have spoken out."

In a fund-raising letter Tuesday night, Cain referred to White as "troubled."

Two women -- Sharon Bialek and Karen Kraushaar -- previously accused Cain of sexually harassing them in the 1990s while he was head of the National Restaurant Association. Two other women also have said Cain sexually harassed them while they worked at the association, but they have declined to be identified.

Cain told the Union Leader in New Hampshire that he repeatedly gave White money to help her with "month-to-month bills and expenses." But he denied the relationship was sexual, as White contends. He said the two were friends.

"I send checks to a lot of people; I help a lot of people," Cain told Fox News on Thursday. "That in itself is not proof. So the other allegation in terms of it being a 13-year physical relationship, that is her words against my word."

In the interview, Cain said his wife, knew nothing about White nor his financial support for her until the mother of two came forward last week.

"My wife now knows," he told the newspaper. "My wife and I have talked about it, and I have explained it to her. My wife understands that I'm a soft-hearted, giving person."

Cain's announcement came a month before the Iowa caucuses, the first formal test of the primary season, scheduled for January 3.

New Hampshire Republican officials who supported Cain began to survey their options Saturday, with several state representatives saying their support could go to Gingrich or Ron Paul. Cain's most prominent supporter in the state, former GOP state party chair Jack Kimball, said he would wait to learn who Cain would endorse before making his own decision.

Cain told staffers earlier this week he was reassessing his campaign in the wake of White's allegation of an affair, and he acknowledged to reporters Wednesday that her account had led to a drop in contributions to his campaign.

He said in the Thursday Union Leader interview that his wife's feelings, as well as the reaction from supporters and donors, would be important factors in deciding whether he will stay the race.

Cain told the newspaper he would drop out of the race if his wife asked him to, but quickly added that she wouldn't.

Though Gloria Cain rarely makes public appearances or statements, she told Fox News last month that she believed the sexual harassment allegations were "unfounded."

CNN's Rachel Streitfeld contributed to this report.

Source.

A bit of info on suspending:

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/03/what-does-suspending-mean/?hpt=hp_t1

No surprise really, the party would obviously want as "clean" a candidate as possible.
 
The cain thing is interesting.

The whole problem with Hermain cain was the subtle bigotry of lowered expectations. If he was white he wouldn't have got this far with all the ignorance and questionable stuff.

The sex stuff, honestly it's not proof but the whole, "when there's smoke there's fire."

If it was easy to just tank political campaigns with made up sex scandals it'd happen constantly. There's also the fact with the first stuff that came out. it wasn't proven he did anything wrong, but there was pay outs. This may have been done because it occured or just because it's easier than investigation. However they couldn't even own that. Then the way they would have a go at those woman for not coming out, when they legally were forbidden due to the agreements they signed.


Although wtf is with Newt? That guy is on the record for multiple affairs. He even had one wife in hospital dying of cancer sign divorce papers so he could run off with his mistress. While going after Clinton for Monica he was having an affair.. how does he get support from people who gave up on Cain?
 
and Ron Paul ?

[youtubevid]Tb5aGgQXhXo[/youtubevid]

regarDS
 
As long as nutjobs like Bachman gain no ground I'm happy

Fear not, Bachmann has announced that she is pulling out of the race:

Bachmann ends GOP presidential bid
By the CNN Wire Staff
Updated 11:34 AM EST, Wed January 4, 2012

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • NEW: Michele Bachmann ends her presidential campaign
  • Bachmann finished sixth in the Iowa caucuses
  • Bachmann is known as a leading tea party conservative in the House of Representatives

(CNN) -- Michele Bachmann ended her bid for the Republican presidential nomination Wednesday, hours after a disappointing sixth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses.

The Minnesota congresswoman suspended her campaign, a legal technicality that will allow her to continue to raise and spend campaign funds.

"Last night the people of Iowa spoke with a very clear voice and so I have decided to stand aside," Bachmann told a crowd of supporters in West Des Moines. But, she added, "I will continue fighting to defeat the president's agenda of socialism."

"It is safe to say we don't see a viable way forward," a Republican source familiar with Bachmann's campaign told CNN before the announcement.

Bachmann's withdrawal is a blow to many die-hard tea party conservatives. The congresswoman, a leading populist conservative in the House of Representatives, has often led the GOP's rhetorical charge against President Barack Obama's agenda.

Critics, however, have often accused her of playing loose with facts and making irresponsible accusations.

When swine flu broke out in 2009, Bachmann implied that it was the Democrats' fault, saying, "I find it interesting that it was back in the 1970s that the swine flu broke out then under Democrat President Jimmy Carter."

In fact, the 1970s outbreak came during the administration of Republican President Gerald Ford.

She also perpetuated the falsehood that Obama's 2010 trip to India cost $200 million a day -- an inaccurate figure that came from an anonymous source at a news organization in India.

In 2008, she attacked Obama for possibly having "anti-American views." She also called on the media to investigate anyone in Congress who may also be "anti-American" -- prompting accusations of a new McCarthyism.

But except for few blunders along the trail, she usually stayed on message and turned in some forceful debate performances.

Bachmann and her husband, Marcus, are born-again Christians. It was God, she has said, who encouraged her to run for higher office. A social conservative agenda -- one that included unwavering support for an anti-same-sex marriage amendment in Minnesota -- defined Bachmann's six years in her state legislature.

Few gave her a chance to unseat a moderate Republican incumbent when she first ran for the state legislature in 2000. She won, however, largely because of her organizational skill, building a base of support through the churches and conservative organizations in her district.

Bachmann and her husband have raised five children and 23 foster kids. She placed the foster children in public school and, unhappy with what they were learning, ultimately ran for school board. It was her first attempt at political office and, though she lost, it ignited a passion for politics.

Bachmann was born in Waterloo, Iowa, the site where she launched her presidential campaign.

CNN's Alan Silverleib, Dana Bash, John King, and Chris Welch contributed to this report

Source.
 
I stumbled across some article yesterday re Santorum and how despicable he is, apparently he peed off the LGBT community just a bit too much and they made it their mission to create a new meaning for the word 'santorum' which I will not repeat here but is apparently one of the top Google searches.

I'd choose Mitt if I had too. I think I would rather a hole in the head though.
 
Those references he makes to homosexuals being the same as child and dog rapists are what spurned the alternative definition of his surname.

Get a new record, your "gays choose to be gays and I can fix them" is boring you nutbars!
 
With 100% reporting, Mitt Romney got 39%, Ron Paul got 23%, Jon Huntsman got 17%, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum both got 10% and Rick Perry came in last with 1%. And Obama took the Democrats primary obviously.
 
Ron Paul is one odd sausage, a very weird mix of lefty & righty policies plus he is, like 100 or something.
 
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