Big Poppa Politics 4:28:12- Mitt Romney and the Great Cookie Ballot Stuffer Caper

Well now that the Pennsylvania Primary is over, the State can get back to business. Well that’s if the State actually cared about the Primary to begin with.

Poor Willard Romney, if you win this November will you portray your best Sally Field impersonation and cry “you like me! You really really like me,” because right now, in Pennsylvania, you got no love as the Primary numbers show.

How do you get excited about a candidate that’s as bland as Vanilla and as plastic as Mr. Potato Head?

As of Wednesday (4/25) morning, roughly 799,000 registered Pennsylvania Republicans made their way to cast their Primary vote, of which 58% voted Willard Romney. That percentage sounds really good until you place other numbers around it.

As stated 799,000 registered Pa Republicans made their way to the voting booth, yet there are 3.3 million registered Republicans living in Pa. My guess, not everyone is as enthusiastic about Willard as the Media shows as his poll numbers trickle up every week.

So how does Willard get a group hug from the rest of Pa.?

First he has to start winning the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh corners of the state and secondly think before he speaks about local business.

If you look at the voting map of Pa. there’s a “Red T” in the middle of the State, because the middle of the state forms a “T” of heavily registered Republicans. They would be the ones Obama mocked in 2008 as “gun loving bible holders.” But the “T” is not heavily populated and the areas of Philly and Pittsburgh hold the larger population and carry the most Democrats of which are of the elder Medicare recipient generation.

The second statement about stop knocking local business is a Pittsburgh story from the previous week.

Willard and his campaign held a “staged picnic” with a couple of voting families (from outside the Pittsburgh area) in the suburb of Bethel Park where Lemonade and Cookies were served. The cookies came from a local bakery that is a Bethel Park institution for its pies, cakes and pastries; Bethel Bakery.

At the “staged picnic,” Willard looked at the cookie tray and stated "I'm not sure about these cookies they came from the local 7-Eleven bakery or whatever” and pushed aside the cookie tray to focus on his talking points.

This is where his dumbass campaign staff should’ve stood up and corrected him. Hell if I was in attendance I would’ve interrupted Willard and walked him across the street to the bakery.

These are the types of small business he should be promoting as successful in today’s economic climate. A business that is thriving with high operating costs from materials to healthcare that are need these so-called small business tax breaks.

Luckily the Bethel Bakery ownership took the swipe in stride and offered “Cookiegate” discounts.

But even to knock 7-Eleven takes balls, as the majority of 7-Eleven’s are operated by Entrepreneurs.

Or maybe Willard’s swipe about 7-Eleven is his little way of telling us he has a distrust for a business that is predominately owned by Arab Americans? Let the Slurpee War begin!!

So Willard won roughly 24% of the registered Pa Republican hearts and dissed a Pittsburgh pastry institution only shows he has massive work to do in a State that is currently being looked upon as a “Ballot Stuffing” Swing State.

An article was released earlier in the week that stated “In Pennsylvania there is proof that the Democrats stuffed the ballot boxes in 2008 and the McCain campaign did nothing to challenge the results.”

Hmm, ballot stuffing and voter i.d. fraud may just be the lead headlines a few days before Election Day.

I find the notion of ballot stuffing a little odd considering that in 2006 the State of Pennsylvania moved every voting precinct in all 67 counties to a form of Electronic voting, either Optical Scan or Direct Record Electronic machines.

The only thing I can think of that could constitute “Ballot stuffing” would be the Optical Scan System, but even that is hard to prove, because the Scan Card handed to the voter, they mark their picks and it runs through a scanner.

If someone runs to Scan Card under their name, the second card voids the first, therefore only the second card is valid. So “ballot stuffing” is a far less issue then someone trying to commit voter i.d. fraud and even if it becomes an issue of voter i.d. fraud, the latest vote makes the previous invalid.

Just for added reference, roughly 0.17% of the American electorate uses a hand counted paper ballot. So with a little over 207 million registered voters in the United States, which means there are roughly 35 million hand counted paper ballots. That’s if everyone actually finds the muster to get away from American Idol and go vote!

The Republican National Committee will force the rumored ballot stuffing come September, but we’ll never hear the Media talk about the ways of voting in States like Pennsylvania, where by law there are no ballots!

Romney’s favorability has risen over the past few months, which is now around 38% depending on what poll you prefer to read on whatever Media source you choose to view. However, Obama leads Romney by 4% in 12 Swing States like Pennsylvania, there’s still a huge gap to fill.

Every misstep by either candidate is critical advantage, it just depends on how the Media over emphasizes the misstep. What looks like a Lemonade could be the dreaded al Qaeda Lemon/Lime Slurpee October surprise!

Slap the Tap Lucy and pour the Guinness. Pay your political governmental slushy fund tab

This day in History: April 22, 2004- Pat Tillman killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/pat-tillman-killed-by-friendly-fire-in-afghanistan

Media Pornography: Nugent, Columbian Hookers and Shamus the Dog

“I think I’m right in saying that he’s (Sean Hannity) the dumbest person who’s ever been paid to speak on television.”

Wow! Those are some harsh words that were not spoken by me (believe it or not).

I admit that I am not a fan of Sean Hannity, but I do listen to his show and I would say there are other political pundits on television that are dumber. As I’ve said in the past, I still believe there’s a larger controversy as to why Al Sharpton has a TV show on MSNBC.

Yet, the quote actually comes from Saturday Night Live writer Jim Downey, uncle of actor Robert Downey Jr. and brother of Morton Downey. The quote comes at a time when SNL is attempting to recruit presumptive GOP Presidential candidate Willard Mitt Romney to guest host within the coming weeks.

Is this really how candidates should be appealing to voters, doing skit comedy to make them seem human or “of the people?” I remember reading how McCain’s campaign became worrisome over Sarah Palin’s guest hosting duties on SNL during the 2008 campaign.

If anything, it put Palin’s popularity above McCain’s, something that didn’t help the downward spiral going into the final weeks of a dismally run campaign.

But the quote and revelation of the SNL bit were overshadowed by controversy that truly has nothing to do with the election; the verbal stupidity of Dogs and Celebrity.

While the MEDIA should be talking about the Economy or Government scandals, we’re hearing about Shamus the Dog, “O” eating dog meat while living in Indonesia and verbal stupidity from Ted Nugent, Hillary Rosen and Bill Maher. All of which means nothing to actually help the voting public decide which of the two candidates is the better of the others evils.

But hey, at least we’ve learned that the Secret Service is cheap and didn’t want to pay the Columbian hooker $34 American dollars for services, yet maybe we should be pondering on the actual value of the American dollar nowadays.

Instead we get to hear how “resourceful” Willard Romney was on a family vacation back in the early 80’s when Shamus the Dog defecated and vomited all over the family station wagon while riding in a roof crate.

Um, being aware enough to pull over to hose off the dog and car is not being resourceful, it’s called common sense. If my son got car sick and vomited in the backseat, I would pull over as quickly as possible to make sure he was alright and then clean out the car.

Sorry Willard, you don’t get a “Good Job” merit badge for your actions.

And of course, not to be outdone and out of nowhere, some genius actually read one of “O’s” books and finds a paragraph about him eating “dog meat, snake meat and fired crickets” when he lived in Indonesia at the age of 6.

Wow, sounds like an episode of Survivor or Fear Factor.

Who cares about what “O” ate and no one cares about the Shamus the Dog story anymore, except the Pundits to have something to talk about. If anything, PETA might be boycotting at all campaign stops for now on.

And then there's Nugent, Rosen and Maher. All are stories that need to be tossed as well. Maher’s a fool, Rosen a larger fool and Nugent; well Nugent has been speaking like this for years now.

Look, Nugent made no threat towards “O” at the 4-14 NRA Convention when he said “I’ll be dead or in jail if he’s re-elected,” but the MEDIA couldn’t resist making a spectacle of it, mainly because Nugent endorsed Willard Romney 2 months ago.

Maybe it would’ve been a better story had Nugent said violent words at a concert with gun in hand and shooting flaming arrows. Oops, sorry he did that back in 2007 when “O” was a Presidential candidate.

Guess what? It took the Pundits and MEDIA to voice their opinion of that video some 5 years later.

Where’s the MEDIA reporting on Nugent’s words from an interview on 4-17 when he called himself “a black Jew at a Nazi Rally” when talking about the Secret Service wanting to question him about his remarks days earlier?

That’s a little insulting, but the MEDIA and Punditry were probably busy Googling for Dog Meat recipes by Paula Dean.

The power of the Celebrity activist can be extremely detrimental to any candidate. The difference between the Republican Celebrity activist and the Liberal Celebrity activist is that the Conservative Media will protect the RCA and attack the LCA, while the Liberal Media can’t productively protect their own nor attack the opposition.

The Liberal Media will always fall flat.

So really the Republican Celebrity activist wins, case in point; Nugent and Donald Trump. Sure they become late night fodder for Letterman, Leno and Stewart only because no one cares about Alec Baldwin or Sean Penn. The win they recieve becomes some sort of “expert guest” and is called upon to be appear in regular rotation.

Yet all 4 (Baldwin, Trump, Nugent, Penn) have egos larger than the population of the United States and once they get their words in the MEDIA, you can’t get them to shut their mouths.

Oh my, opinions are like assholes, everyone has one for sh*t to come out of. Then there's the opinionated MEDIA, Pundits & Celebrity where their sh*t stuffs up the toilet and it continuously overflows.

Slap the tap and put a good head on the Guinness while enjoying the Government supplemented stale peanuts… Pay your political tab because our Secret Service can’t afford to pay for those high priced $34/hour Hookers in today’s economy.


http://www.wnd.com/2012/04/ted-nugent-fires-back-at-secret-service-probe/?cat_orig=us

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2012/04/15/snl-writer-sean-hannity-dumbest-person-who-s-ever-been-paid-speak-tel

The Era of Verbal Stupidity by the Gaffe Stricken Pundits

"But I don't know that she's ever had a real job — I mean, since she's been grown up. So her experience and her validation comes from important things, but different things."

No, those words weren’t that of Hilary Rosen on CNN the other day, those words were spoken by Theresa Heinz-Kerry about First Lady Laura Bush during the 2004 Presidential campaigns.

So let’s fast forward to April 11, 2012, when Democratic Strategist Hilary Rosen decided to take verbal stupidity to a new level with a comment about Ann Romney being a stay at home mom.

"What you have is Mitt Romney running around the country saying 'Well ya know, my wife tells me that what women really care about is economic issues, and when I listen to my wife, that's what I'm hearing.' Guess what, his wife has actually never worked a day in her life."

How moronic are Democratic women in politics these days?

First, being a stay at home mom is a major job. Just because there’s no monetary value attached to it doesn’t mean it should be discounted as worthless as being a mom at any level is priceless.

Theresa Heinz Kerry’s statement was just ignorance in the fact that she should’ve known some biography of the First Lady Laura Bush, whom employed as a librarian prior to meeting George and then becoming a stay at home mom.

And who cares if Ann Romney never held a job after college. She was able to stay home to raise 5 children, if anything some moms would be jealous of Mrs. Romney to be able to stay home.

Somehow, today’s society frowns upon stay at home parenting, yet it wasn’t that long ago that the stay at home mom was the norm.

If Rosen’s thought was “Ann Romney really cannot comprehend and equate to the life of some mothers that leave their child with a caretaker, whether it is with a babysitter or a daycare or pre-school as they head out to work…” then it might hold water. But instead, thinking before speaking plagues many in politics from Office to Punditry.

So, once again, thanks to verbal stupidity, as the Conservative attacked the Liberal for fundraising gimmicks due to social issues of Abortion and Contraception, now the reverse has happened as the Republican National Committee has released this ad (as seen atop the Drudgereport.com):

Not to be outdone by the RNC and Rosen’s verbal stupidity, Romney’s campaign released its email donation pledge “Moms drive the economy.” With every $6 donation, you’ll receive a bumper sticker. And yes, within 24 hours Romney’s campaign has received loads of cash from Conservative voters.

So wait, has the Romney campaign put a price on being a mom? Really $6 and a bumper sticker is the price tag?

Yet, the Conservative tabloid cannot stay above the fray and will sink further into the muck just like their Liberal brethren, as they can’t just attack Rosen’s verbal stupidity, they actually have to bring her personal life into the mix. Yes folks, the Con-Talkers have gone full blown “Rosie” on Rosen.

“Rosie” in the context of Rosie O’Donnell being a Lesbian mom of adoptive children and the verbal bully towards the Right!

I found this on Twitter earlier today: “@CatholicLeague: Lesbian Dem Hilary Rosen tells Ann Romney she never worked a day in her life. Unlike Rosen, who had to adopt kids, Ann raised 5 of her own”

Who the f**k cares and what does her sexual choice have to do with the argument?

Let’s get this straight, Hilary Rosen is not a Top Democratic strategist, or better yet she is not truly part of the Democratic National Committee, yet a contractual hired mouthpiece whose experience is that of the GLBT & Human Rights Campaign and partner in a Political Communication lobbying firm.

But for some reason, the Right can’t leave ones sexuality out of the mix as well. It’s bad enough that many of the staunchest Right have issues with children married out of wedlock or married couples having children later in life or just getting involved in people’s bedrooms by any means, they need to once again alienate the Gay & Lesbian demographic.

Con-talkers have been saying “there is no ‘War on Women’ its pure fiction,” yet it does exist. The numerous anti-abortion laws that lead Government telling women what they can/cannot do to their bodies is growing in each state and in federal government, but it’s the words of legislation that hide the actions.

Current polling shows Romney losing to Obama by an average of 12% with women voters and it reaches 14% in the important swing states. I’m sure that number will get closer by the next poll after Rosen’s verbal stupidity as Obama to deflect Rosen’s comments by saying her words “were ill advised.”

If anything, Rosen’s stupidity is just another notation in a gaffe-stricken Presidential campaign on both sides of the aisle and Rosen’s words may turn the table and helped Romney for the moment.

I the events of the past 24 hours deserves a double Guinness. Slap the Tap Jackie and bring out the salty peanuts. Hey pay your political tab and you might get a bumper sticker too!


http://thehill.com/video/campaign/221195-rosen-ann-romney-spat-over-presidential-gender-gap
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/story/2012-04-01/swing-states-poll/53930684/1
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-10-20-heinz-kerry_x.htm
http://www.politico.com/blogs/burns-haberman/2012/04/romney-fundraising-appeal-off-rosengate-in-120390.html

Thank you Rick Santorum: You could’ve been the contender

I have to admit I was shocked to hear that Rick Santorum was suspending his Presidential campaign before the Pennsylvania primary; I figured it would be afterwards.

Yes, I know last summer I called for an early exit by Santorum before he even hit his first campaign stop. But by September I was the only one outsider calling for him to contend and have Romney running for the Cayman bank account. Many called me crazy, but that blog caught the eye of many as Santorum kept rising.

If there was one thing about Santorum’s campaign, it was consistency, something the other campaigns lacked, well except for Pawlenty’s consistently boring short lived campaign.

Yes, the lack of money hurt Santorum, but he proved you can run a consistent campaign for the better part of 9 months with little funds and still draw crowds. But what hurt Santorum the most in the past 6 weeks was the lack of debate and the Media’s slice/dice reporting.

Santorum was consistent in his debates but once the debates stopped and the Media focused more on Social Issues such as Contraception & Abortion, they ended Santorum’s campaign by only focusing on topics that were about 1/8 of his stump, the stuff about Economy, Jobs, and Foreign Policy were left on the cutting room floor and drooled for his “Social Issues Warrior” moniker to arise.

Political theatre and the Media’s thirst for blood to lead the stories dealt Santorum’s campaign body shot after body shot. But he persevered each time, kept his chin up and stayed in the fight.

Hours after Santorum’s concession speech, many Pundits on the Right have complained that his exit was disgraceful because Santorum never mentioned Willard Romney nor GOP Party politics; he only talked about himself, his devoted family and his shoe string funded campaign.

How dare Santorum not tip his cap towards Willard Romney and his over bloated Wall Street-backed campaign!

Why should Santorum give any credence to Romney on a day that should be about the underdog pushing the “presumed” champion to the brink?

Why should Santorum tip his hat for pushing the GOP faithful into truly thinking about whom should represent the party’s ideals against Barrack Obama in November 2012?

Why should Santorum kowtow to Party politics and kneel before a candidate whose policies he has no faith in?

Santorum did the right thing today in how he presented his concession to Party constituents. He did not grovel for acceptance from Romney, something the likes of Pawlenty and Huntsman had done previously.

No, Santorum’s concession speech was correct in being about him, his family and his hard fought campaign. His speech was correct in how his family helped him carry through when he felt he should’ve been at home with young Bella

You can see the emotional strain in Santorum when he talks of his young daughter. You can tell that she is his everything, as any child should be to a parent whether or not there is a disability of any sort. And as a father myself, I wish all the best for the Santorum’s and for their daughter Bella. Stay strong Bella, you’re no underdog when you have a strong family supporting you.

Even though he may have failed to complete this campaign, Santorum proved he still has a place in American politics even after pundits and political hacks wrote him off in 2006. He has found his voice again and should remain relevant in the future in one form or another.

I raise a Guinness to Rick Santorum, his family, and campaign for their political perserence and making Willard Romney sweat his 6 year, multi-million dollar presidential campaign because we all know it would’ve been fun to see Willard lose after campaigning for so long.

Slap the Tap, Raise a Guinness, Fill the Peanut bowl and pay your Political tab.

This one’s for Spazzie Santorum

Willard Romney's only strength will be with his VP choice

Vice President “whothef*ckareyou?”

OK, minions, let’s be destructive in thought.

As pundits across the Media world start to count down the days to the GOP convention, with many believing that Willard Romney is their guy, the Con-talkers are dreaming in political pornographic thought of who will be his #2. (Please insert a Dr. Evil cackle whenever you feel).

The same names keep popping up like little pundit wet dreams. Thoughts of Chris Christie, Marco Rubio, and Paul Ryan dance in pundit heads. All three have endorsed Willard, yet have stated they aren’t interested but will campaign for him in their respected States.

I can hear Sean Hannity’s Marco Rubio man crush breaking right now. Quick Sean, take to Twitter and denounce my view of your man crush.

As beloved as Rubio is, many will cry that his choice is simply for the Latino vote, a voting demographic the GOP so desperately have been vying for. But Rubio’s biggest drawback is his lack of experience, well that and he is a lemming to the GOP with little achievement to show thus far.

Ryan, someone I have followed and like, would be to shore up the Conservative vote, a major area that Willard is hurting. Many have given Ryan huge props for his second attempt of a Budget, which is a watered down version from 2011, but much of the old GOP guard are still wary of Ryan, even though he is an experienced veteran in the House.

Yes, all of Conservative Nation is jumping for one of these two, but what if Willard throws a curve ball and goes with the anti-enthusiastic route, say maybe with Tim Pawlenty or Jon Huntsman.

Does he reward Mr. Enthusiasm Tim Pawlenty for being a good soldier for dropping out of the race after Iowa and give him the VP nod? It’s hard to believe that anyone was able to get behind Pawlenty to start with, yet I find myself falling asleep just thinking of the possibility.

What about Jon Huntsman? In 2009, pundits and politicos alike forget Huntsman was considered the Conservative favorite to beat Obama in 2012 until he took the ambassadorship to China.

Well played Mr. President, well played.

Huntsman’s entry into the campaign was odd, lackluster and well, mindboggling that no one really thought he was truly running. However, he has served many presidents in his past and seems to be the one possible candidate with “worldly” exposure.

But with a Huntsman choice, how many will cry Religious foul as the Christian Right is already edgy about a Mormon President, yet alone a second Mormon in waiting as VP.

Willard’s poll numbers amongst Women is well below “O’s” so does he try to get Condi Rice off the lectern tour? As much as I respect Ms. Rice, I do believe this would be a bad move for Willard as many would see anyone from “W’s” tenure as a VP candidate as more of retreaded political thought that helped cause today’s problem issues.

Plus, I’m hoping Ms. Rice gets her dream job of Commissioner of the NFL.

Let’s throw a bone into the political stew and toss Arizona Governor Jan Brewer into the kettle. She’s a tough no nonsense bird who many GOP women like, but then you lose out on the Latino vote.

Willard is hurting amongst Women, Catholics and a large portion of the GOP rank & file. Sure many are showing support but that’s only because they want the process over so the true campaign can begin.

Experience counts, now more than ever.

Presidential candidates normally choose a running mate that strengthens their weakness. “O” choice in the human gaffe-machine Joe Biden was for his Foreign Affairs strength, while back in 2004 John Kerry simply chose John Edwards due to Kerry’s lack of popularity.

Right now, Willard has many issues to resolve amongst the GOP. He needs a VP candidate with experience abroad but also at home as so many are wary that he is indeed “Obama-Lite.”

But here’s another thought, what if Willard choose a Democrat as his running mate, say maybe Evan Bayh, a secret Democratic hopeful in the last 3 Presidential campaigns. There are large amount of disenfranchised Democrats still upset that Hillary lost to “O.”

Face it, with Santorum and Gingrich still lurking in woods, Willard has little momentum heading towards Tampa, no matter how many delegates he receives. The constant infighting is hurting the brand and leaving many wondering if they should skip the election and just stay home to vote in latest American Idol episode. After all there’s an “app” for that vote.

One thing is for sure, Media will let themselves be fooled again and miss out on another “Gotcha’” candidate.

Get ready, because I truly believe as I’ve blogged before, Rick “Spazzie” Santorum is the safest bet for Willard to have a fighting chance in November.

Slap the Tap, pour the Guinness because it’s lights out… Pay your political tab.

Here’s a clip from my favorite political show; Morning Joe
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036789/#46923684