Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Romney Rout

It’s not going to be close next Tuesday.

After four years, most Americans are sick of listening to President Obama make speeches while jerking his head from side to side as he reads from his precious teleprompter and tries to act sincere. He’s going to get trounced.

At this writing, the MainStream Media are still insisting it’s a dead heat, but I don’t believe it. Few presidents ever took office with such high expectations as Obama did. Fewer still would ever have been able to fulfill them - but least of all him. Skill with a teleprompter is fine for campaigning, but not much help when governing. For that he would need experience, judgement, knowledge of history and economics - and willingness to compromise. None of these does he have. He had the good will of the American people and his party had control of both houses of Congress, but his outdated Keynesian stimulus and socialist Obamacare programs have strangled our economy and produced nothing but enormous debt.
How was he able to maintain the facade of competence as long as he did? Because just as they created him in the first place, the Mainstream Media protected him throughout his term, ignoring or playing down bad news and creating or amplifying good news on nearly every front - especially in the past six weeks since September 11th. But that’s all coming apart before our eyes
 Nearly every day something comes out that makes it more and more obvious that the Obama Administration has been lying from the beginning about the murder of four Americans in Benghazi. It’s bad on four different fronts:
First are repeated requests for increased security by Ambassador Stevens which were ignored or refused by both Hillary Clinton at the State Department and Barack Obama in the White House.
Second, are repeated requests for military intervention during the attack which were refused. Who refused them? Real-time video of the attack played in the White House situation room while Obama was in the building, but the president didn’t authorize that help be sent when there was ample time to do it and save the lives of at least the two Navy Seals who were under attack by 120-plus jihadists! Three times they were denied.
  Third is the deliberate lie about the attack being the result of a demonstration against an obscure You-tube video nobody ever heard of - a lie repeated for nearly two weeks by the president, the secretary of state, and our UN ambassador - then amplified by the MainStream Media.
Yeah, right
 Fourth are the continuing lies coming from administration officials as they’re being cornered with questions about the whole disgusting affair - in spite of doing everything they can to avoid them until after the election on November 6th.

The MSM is doing everything they can too, but they won’t be able to keep the lid on. The more they try, the worse it gets. A few still have remnants of a journalistic conscience and they know that continued silence on this story is unconscionable. One intrepid reporter named Kyle Clark at KUSA, an NBC affiliate in Denver, put it right on Obama’s head last week: “Were the Americans under attack at the consulate in Benghazi Libya denied requests for help during that attack? And is it fair to tell Americans that what happened is under investigation and we'll all find out after the election?” he asked.

Obama wiggled out of answering, but Clark followed up: “Were they denied requests for help during the attack?” he asked again.

A clearly shaken Obama proceeded to rattle off a long, embarrassing soliloquy on every other subject but what he was asked, running down the clock until the interview was over - but not before making one slip: Near the beginning, Obama said: “. . . I can tell you, as I've said over the last couple of months since this happened, the minute I found out what was happening, I gave three very clear directives. Number one, make sure that we are securing our personnel and doing whatever we need to . . .”
That statement prompted former assistant Secretary of Defense Bing West to say last Saturday: “In my judgement the audio track will show the White House knew that there was an attack going on. The real critical issue is the president says that he immediately ordered all available assets to help. The military would have put out an order from the president. There’s no question about that… What I’m asking is, ‘Show us the order!’ Mr. President if you said use everything available and our military immediately sent out the order, simply show us the order. I have great reservations that there is no such order.” (Emphasis in original)
I have the same reservations, and most other Americans who pay attention have them too. They know our president is lying.
The MSM’s Sunday morning news shows barely kept the lid on Benghazi this week, but I doubt they’ll be able to accomplish that next Sunday - with the election two days hence. Pressure is building fast and won’t be contained. Soon will come an explosion of indignation. Think of how much attention the MSM gave to Cindy Sheehan.
Cindy Sheehan

Then notice how they’re ignoring Charles Woods’ heart-wrenching statements about his dead son, Tyrone.
Charles Woods, grieving father of slain Seal, Tyrone Woods

Millions of Americans are hearing their silence.

No. It won’t be close. I predict a landslide for Romney.

73 comments:

Paul said...

I think the margin of victory will be much bigger than the Corporate Media has been predicting as well.
A close race sells papers and gets viewers so they have saying Romney has a chance, but anyone with any knowledge of our archaic electoral system can see that Romney has very, very little chance. The public has caught on that Romney stands for absolutely nothing, but will say and do anything to get a vote.

Anonymous said...

You have to admire Tom's optism.

Cute.

I wouldn't want to be him next Wednesday though!

Anonymous said...

Conservatives love to create their own reality. I can picture Tom going into December still claiming in his mind that Romney actually did win the election.

lol

Jules H said...

Notice these people who still think Obama will win don't have the courage to sign their own names to that prediction. Hmmm. If they cannot spell "optimism" I have no reason to trust their ability to analyze political data.

Eric said...

Isn't this prediction coming from the same guy who thought that Palin would help McCain get elected?

Brian said...

Back in the day Tom used to bet on every single Harlem Globetrotters game for the Washing Generals to win. At least he had a better chance with that bet.

Anonymous said...

Can the people who comment on this please offer insight on to what you are saying. Blatant attacks are worthless and speak more to your character then as a response to this article.

Anonymous said...

Absolutely Tom, stop your blatent attacks on our President, it reflects your character!

Tim said...

How predictable this column was. Tom knows he has only one week of blustering left, so he better make it good. Talk to you again after the election.

Hee hee.

Nathan Pitts said...

The liberals must be smoking some pretty good weed up in the valley in order to still have all this smug optimism. I remember back in 08, sitting at the Jackson Post Office waiting for my son to get out of school. Every SUV coming to the PO had Obama stickers all over it. I see they still haven't learned anything in 4 years.

The POTUS is the "commander in chief, and he has an awesome responsibililty. When Americans are serving in foreign lands, at his behest, he has the moral obligation to protect them, always. The actions, or should we say "lack of actions" to protect our people in Libya, while it was being watched in DC by several hundred people in the state department, would make any American with red blood in his veins, sick to their stomach.

4 years is more than enough time for "reasonable people" to conclude that we need to get this "fraud" out of our house and replace him with someone that doesn't need a teleprompter to think for him.

And I am glad we left the valley back in 2009, and moved to where we found some "thinking people".

Anonymous said...

I agree 100% with the attempt of the corporate controlled media trying to make the race look close. They keep making a big deal about the popular vote being neck and neck, but rarely do you see them show how the electoral map makes it extremely hard for Romney to win. COULD Romney win? Perhaps, but the polls are almost never off by that much.

Anonymous said...

How is somebody instantly recognized as a partisan blowhard? Easy. They have been brainwashed to mention teleprompters when talking about Obama. Ignore the fact that they have been used by every president since they were long ago invented and make yourself look like a moron.

Mr. Smith said...

What I don't understand is how you all feign interest in the process of electing a president--- who, lets face it, is a puppet anyway--- while participating in an antiquated, useless and potentially corrupt system as the electoral college! It's a joke! Tom, as an educator surely you know why it was created and how it is entirely useless now! Why so silent on this cricual crucial issue?! how can anything be more imortant at this time?! I get that its all about money-- candidates only have to campaign in states that carry heavy electoral votes! Come on! Until a popular election is in place this is useless and predictable. Shame on the media and shame on us for letting it happen.

What has happened to critical thinking in this country?

Romneyobama...one in the same. Meet the new boss....
Both backed by Jo Morgan and Goldman Sachs! Bain capital gives more to Obama than Romney!!!haha

Anonymous said...

If you think that things will be drastically different depending on who gets elected you are being willfully ignorant or are not paying enough attention.

Social safety nets, abortion rights, alternative energy efforts vs drill-drill-drill, pollution regulations, financial regulations, tax cuts for the rich, etc, etc.

As far as Bain, of course they are smart enough to bribe, er donate, to both sides, especially when it is obvious to them that Obama will most likely win. But that does not mean they have a preference for the candidate that will deregulate them the most - Romney. Did they donate more to Obama? I would like to see the source. I mean I know they want to "back" the winning horse, but all information I found shows Romney got more from them.

Patrick said...

There has never, in the history of politics, been a candidate as out-of-touch with the average American as Romney. Not even close. Even the other pampered, rich boy - Bush - seemed to have at least a little inkling of how to relate to normal people. Romney was born rich, used his money to unscrupulously make more money, shipping jobs overseas and putting people out of work, and fully expects to get every thing he wants. And what he always wanted was to be President, so he will say or do anything that it takes as he parades around in his empty suit, spouting one thing one day, and the opposite the next. Thank god this is all the GOP could come up with, because Obama was ripe for the taking. It SHOULD have been the rout Tom pretends to believe (surely he is not really that delusional), but it looks like four more years for Obama.

For the sake of our country, I hope so.

Mr. Smith said...


I humbly ask the Obama supporters to watch the following YouTube clip:

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=Skw-0jv9kts&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DSkw-0jv9kts

This pretty much sums up the typical Obama supporter.
Which is to say, there is no difference, no true difference, between the left and right anymore....

I look forward to replying after you watch.

Thanks

Skeeter said...

"It should be obvious by now that the dog and pony show known as the “election cycle” in the United States is a musical chairs affair with the same gaggle of bankers and transnational corporations calling the shots.
Next time you hear Michael Savage, Mark Levin or some other bankster media whore rant and rave about the “communist” Obama and then declare their support for the “capitalist” Romney, you should realize they are selling the same poison designed to kill our republic.
There is virtually no difference between any of the establishment candidates – they are all onboard with the globalist agenda for war and the economic destruction of America as their masters and puppeteers move to consolidate their stranglehold over humanity and impose a dystopian one-world government and a high-tech control grid over the entire world."

Kurt nimmo infowars.com

Alex said...

I have to agree with Patrick here. He's right, this could have been an easy election for the GOP, if they had found a competent candidate. Unfortunately, the stars didn't align, and you were left with Romney. I may not agree with Obama on many things, but Romney has shown himself to be a weak leader, with far more flaws than Obama.

Rather than predicting a "landslide," which the polls clearly indicate will not happen for either candidate, perhaps an article on why it's important to vote? Rather than parroting tired right-wing talking points, actually analyze where in this race the GOP went wrong, and how to capitalize on the incumbent's flaws better next time? Let's face it, even if Romney wins, it will be a close race. To think otherwise is to accept ignorance over doing research. However, the Republicans easily could have taken advantage of this election cycle. I'd love to hear if you have some ideas on what they could have done better.

Tom McLaughlin said...

Paul Ryan is the best candidate, but he chose not to run for president. That speaks well of him, I think, but here he is the VP nominee.

Politics is the art of the possible, as the saying goes, and there's wisdom in that. We get the candidate the American people vote for and whoever wins is a reflection of the American people: imperfect. 'twas ever thus.

I've given up expecting the perfect candidate. Was Obama? Some thought so. Maybe he was the perfect candidate but he's a sucky president and I suspect most if not all of my critics here know that, but they voted for him and now they're trying to justify it. I don't expect them to admit it though. Alex? I suspect you would have voted for him too if you'd been old enough.

I didn't. I read three biographies of him before election day in 2008 and nothing he did surprised me. I knew he'd fail because he's a socialist and socialism doesn't work beyond the family. Never has - never will - because at bottom, most of us are lazy and shiftless if we're allowed to be and that's what a critical mass of Americans are becoming: shiftless, lazy, dependent, and fat. When Romney said as much in that Mother Jones video, he was right. He got the percentages wrong, but his point was essentially correct.

Even our pets are fat.

The press gave Obama to us and the press has protected him. They still are. That isn't good for our country.

I choose to be optimistic though. I believe we'll bounce back. We had a fling with Hope and Change and now we see that it was all ephemeral. We're back to the nuts and bolts of economic reality and another perverted ideology growing in power which threatens western civilization.

I'm talking about radical Islam, of course, the ones who killed our guys in Libya and made a fool of Obama. That's what he can't face, what the MSM can't face, and the American people - most of them - can't face: there are hundreds of millions of people out there who hate us and want to kill us for what we are.

It has to get worse I guess - so bad, that we won't be able to deny it any more. Then we'll have to decide if we're willing to fight for what we have: constitutional democracy and a free enterprise economy.

Meanwhile, I think Romney is going to win by a substantial margin and he'll inherit a much bigger mess than Obama did.

Peter said...

Tom, read the excellent letter in the Conway Daily Sun today "Yes, i did get the change I voted for in 2008". It sums up perfectly the feelings of Obama supporters I know. It is why Obama will win. He remains, despite what Faux News and Right Wing Media will tell you, somebody you can be proud of. It must burn you up not to have a candidate to believe in, but only a built up bogeyman to vote against, a target for your pent up rage.

I believe what is good and what is just will prevail. We'll find out next week.

Anonymous said...

Mr. Smith, I saw the video and I stand by my statements. I agree with some of his policies and not with others. I disagree with the vast majority of Romneys. The fact remains that for all the reasons I stated earlier it is very important who wins this election. I'm sorry you are hiding from this truth.

Rhonda said...

My questions are: Who gave the order to "Stand down"? Why isn't anyone admitting to it? Why is the Obama Admin shunning direct questions on what happened in Benghazi? Why is the leftist media being strangely silent about it? What motive would there be for Obama to allow Stevens to be killed? Could it be that the Obama Admin was gun running to Syrian rebels who had ties to Al Qaeda? NO I don't have the facts yet, but I will NOT REST until I find out what really happened! What truly frightens me is that only conservatives are asking these questions. We have a RIGHT to the TRUTH!

Anonymous said...

Somebody has been watching too much Faux News.

Steve said...

Already sharpening the arrows in your quiver?: "Meanwhile, I think Romney is going to win by a substantial margin and he'll inherit a much bigger mess than Obama did."

If Romney wins, the next four years will be the height of partisan hypocritical blathering. After Obama took office, he and partisan Democrats blamed many of his failures on the environment he inherited from Bush. Partisan Republicans pushed back and said the economy and wars are Obama’s. He owns them and his failures in office are his own. If Romney wins, he and partisan Republicans will blame any failure on the environment he inherits from Obama. Partisan Democrats will push back against that claim and say the economy and wars are Romney’s and he needs to own his own failures while in office. Partisan Republicans will justify their defense with something to the effect of, “Funny how when Obama was President, Democrats blamed everything on his predecessor, but now that Romney is President and Obama is the predecessor, suddenly Democrats are blaming everything on the sitting President. Partisan Democrats will justify their attack with, “Funny that when Obama was in the White House, Republicans blamed everything on the sitting President and nothing on his predecessor, but now that Romney’s in the White House, suddenly it’s the sitting President who is blameless and his predecessor is responsible for everything.”

And for independents like me, it’ll be comical, and a little pathetic, listening to all of those partisans chasing their tales as they make arguments they only recently dismissed and dismiss arguments they only recently made simply because there’s a different party in the White House.

Linda said...

I agree with Steve, it is pathetic to watch this partisan crap. Tom, like far too many, treat the whole thing like some juvinile, mean-spirited sporting event. Insults, taunts, ignoring any faults on "his side", and twisting and spinning facts to make the other side look worse.

Obstructionists in congress and the Senate are just as bad, putting their party before the good of the nation. They, and people like Tom, make me sick.

Eric said...

I'm sure if Tom had a crystal ball and could see a disaster filled future for America under Romney, and an improved America under Obama, he would STILL want Romney to win just so he can taunt liberals and imagine them suffering.

Mr. Smith said...

Anonymous,

Good for you! You detest the constitution, liberty and true freedom. Keep believing everything the mainstam media tells you. and how are you not appauled by the idiocy of those people being interviewed? They haven't a clue! Thanks! And you think you're making the right choice! Wow.....

Yeah yeah I get it you believe in the two party system....

Mr. Smith said...

Hey Tom,

"Politics is the art of the possible, as the saying goes, and there's wisdom in that. We get the candidate the American people vote for and whoever wins is a reflection of the American people: imperfect. 'twas ever thus."

Wow. Says it all. I guess this is why you avoid the electoral college question. NO, we DON'T get who the American people " vote" for! My god. The people make a recommendation to the electoral college representative.
Remember 2000!? The Supreme Court decided the election! Bush lost the popular vote! Come on, this is a f$&@- joke. You of all people should know better!

Again, NO, the American people do NOT vote for a president. Shame on you.

Until there is a popular vote this is an exercise in futility.

Turn of the god damned tv and let the critical thinking begin!

Mr. Smith said...

Anonymous, sorry, but I take this very very seriously.

I have no tolerance for bs and lies.

Drone strikes kill countless women and children. You defend this! Watch this and get back to me about drone strikes and your boy Obama

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hVXvv_gaQhA

Anonymous said...

Everyone should watch this before the election!

The Obama deception

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DeAaQNACwaLw

If link fails go to YouTube and type in Obama deception.
I challenge all to watch, especially the Obama supporters.

Anonymous said...

The USA under Romney will be a much worse place than under Obama. These are my only two choices, and it is my right to make a choice. If you are foolish enough to think it makes no difference, so be it. I', done with you.

Anonymous said...

OK, I checked out the Obama Deception. Now I ask you to go out and check out his website that debunks, one at a time, all the out-of-context malarky and other wild spinning. Then get back to me and tell me what parts of the film you think hold up.

Anonymous said...

http://conspiracies.skepticproject.com/articles/alex-jones/the-obama-deception/

Ooops, I forgot the website. Here it is.

P.A. said...

The obama deception? Get a grip.

It is hard to decide whether to laugh or cry about the fact that so many Americans are so ill-informed that they are gullible enough to believe this creative fiction. It must be a terrible thing to go through life with such fear of imaginery threats to you personnally and to your community. It is very unfortunate that there is such a wealth of lack of common sense and logic in those that believe the propaganda of people who profit from this kind of con job.

Joseph said...

If you like this, you will believe anything. Jones is a Holocaust denying paranoid anarchist. If you get your info from this type of person, then you need to examane your critical thinking skills.

The Obama Deception is an irresponsible movie which portrays some faceless international conspiracy hell bent on complete world wide domination over everyone's lives and the way they live.

This kind of film appeals to lowest common denominator in our society. People too willing to believe in hype conspiracy stuff or people too lazy to learn history from more traditional methods such as reading books.

Anonymous said...

Joseph, it doesn't take a genius to sift through the lies and deception coming from Obama. It's the Obama supporters who live in fantasyland. Obama was sued, successfully, by Chris hedges, Noam Chomsky, et al for Ndaa. After the ruling, the Obama team immediately appealed! What does that tell you?

"The decision to vigorously fight Forrest’s ruling is a further example of the Obama White House’s steady and relentless assault against civil liberties, an assault that is more severe than that carried out by George W. Bush. Obama has refused to restore habeas corpus. He supports the FISA Amendment Act, which retroactively makes legal what under our Constitution has traditionally been illegal—warrantless wire tapping, eavesdropping and monitoring directed against U.S. citizens. He has used the Espionage Act six times against whistle-blowers who have exposed government crimes, including war crimes, to the public. He interprets the 2001 Authorization to Use Military Force Act as giving him the authority to assassinate U.S. citizens, as he did the cleric Anwar al-Awlaki. And now he wants the right to use the armed forces to throw U.S. citizens into military prisons, where they will have no right to a trial and no defined length of detention.

Liberal apologists for Barack Obama should read Judge Forrest’s 112-page ruling. It is a chilling explication and denunciation of the massive erosion of the separation of powers. It courageously challenges the overreach of Congress and the executive branch in stripping Americans of some of our most cherished constitutional rights."

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/we_won_--_for_now_20120917/

Mr. Smith said...

Obama, Romney? Who cares if there isn't a true popular election!

It doesn't matter if we aren't allowed to really vote!

Come on folks.......

Awake said...

Cornell west, ex Obama support, friend and campaigner, know sees the light....

"No one grasps this tragic descent better than West, who did 65 campaign events for Obama, believed in the potential for change and was encouraged by the populist rhetoric of the Obama campaign. He now nurses, like many others who placed their faith in Obama, the anguish of the deceived, manipulated and betrayed. He bitterly describes Obama as “a black mascot of Wall Street oligarchs and a black puppet of corporate plutocrats. And now he has become head of the American killing machine and is proud of it.”

“When you look at a society you look at it through the lens of the least of these, the weak and the vulnerable; you are committed to loving them first, not exclusively, but first, and therefore giving them priority,” says West, the Class of 1943 University Professor of African American Studies and Religion at Princeton University. “And even at this moment, when the empire is in deep decline, the culture is in deep decay, the political system is broken, where nearly everyone is up for sale, you say all I have is the subversive memory of those who came before, personal integrity, trying to live a decent life, and a willingness to live and die for the love of folk who are catching hell. This means civil disobedience, going to jail, supporting progressive forums of social unrest if they in fact awaken the conscience, whatever conscience is left, of the nation. And that’s where I find myself now.”

“I have to take some responsibility,” he admits of his support for Obama as we sit in his book-lined office. “I could have been reading into it more than was there."

"I was thinking maybe he has at least some progressive populist instincts that could become more manifest after the cautious policies of being a senator and working with [Sen. Joe] Lieberman as his mentor,” he says. “But it became very clear when I looked at the neoliberal economic team. The first announcement of Summers and Geithner I went ballistic. I said, ‘Oh, my God, I have really been misled at a very deep level.’ And the same is true for Dennis Ross and the other neo-imperial elites. I said, ‘I have been thoroughly misled, all this populist language is just a facade. I was under the impression that he might bring in the voices of brother Joseph Stiglitz and brother Paul Krugman. I figured, OK, given the structure of constraints of the capitalist democratic procedure that’s probably the best he could do. But at least he would have some voices concerned about working people, dealing with issues of jobs and downsizing and banks, some semblance of democratic accountability for Wall Street oligarchs and corporate plutocrats who are just running amuck. I was completely wrong.”

buttercup said...

Time for some new talking points, Tombo. Romney uses a teleprompter. Ryan uses a teleprompter. St. Ronald Reagan used a teleprompter.

Can't you get on the updated propaganda mailing list?

Anonymous said...

Don't you conspiracy people think it odd that Obama appointed judge Forrest? Hmmm, weird. You would think this great conspiracy would avoid snafu's like that.

Anonymous said...

Some have argued that the president is required to get permission from a federal court before taking action against a United States citizen who is a senior operational leader of al-Qaida or associated forces.

This is simply not accurate. 'Due process' and 'judicial process' are not one and the same, particularly when it comes to national security. The constitution guarantees due process, not judicial process.

Mr. Smith said...

Anonymous, how about refute what Obama has actually done regarding shredding the constitution and killing innocent people rather than try and deflect? Yeah, thanks o the Internet you know judge Forrest was an Obama appointee. And you're point being?......

You suggest she shouldn't stand up to the vast wrong doings of the Ndaa legislation? She has more balls than Obama will ever have.

Who cares who appointed who? Ndaa is wrong and unconstituional. So is wiretapping. Refusing to restore Habeous corpus is shameful. Gitmo? Weak and embarrassing. Fast and furious? He should be impeached for that! And on and on...come on....

Mr. Smith said...

And, by the way, the president most certainly has to get permission before murdering American citizens or ANY human beings. Especially in a country we aren't at war with.
Do you have any clue how many women and children have died and suffered as a result of this? And by the way, anwar alwaki had dinner at the whitehouse a few years ago. He was CIA. And, you do realize we created al quaeda?

Liberals trying to defend murder! Gotta love it. Who says two party thinking isn't predictable and shallow?

Liberty said...

"Obama, who has claimed the power of assassinating U.S. citizens without charge or trial, increased the drone war and has vastly expanded the wars in the Middle East. He is waging proxy wars in Yemen, Pakistan and Somalia. His assault on civil liberties—from his use of the Espionage Act to silence whistle-blowers to Section 1021 of the National Defense Authorization Act to the FISA Amendment Act—is worse than Bush’s. His attack on immigrant rights has also outpaced that of Bush. Obama has deported more undocumented workers in four years than his Republican predecessor did in eight years. There is negligible difference between Obama and Romney on the issue of student debt, which has turned a generation of college students into indentured servants. But the most important convergence between the Republicans and the Democrats is their utter failure to address the perilous assault by the fossil fuel industry on the ecosystem. It was Obama who undercut the international climate accord reached last year at Durban, South Africa, saying the world could wait until 2020 for an agreement."

Truthdig.com


Please, please tell us all how you vote for Obama despite this information? Please! I really want to know

Anonymous said...

How can I vote for Obama? Because the alternative is much worse. Drone attacks will continue under Romney, as will deregulation of Banks, Wall Street, Corporate pollution, along with plans that would hurt the lower classes so the rich can get a bit richer. Tell me how your non voting is going to make anything better.

Mr. Smith said...

Anonymous, it's about not voting for corporate stooges. Demand change. Acts of civil disobedience is all we have left. But to think choosing the lesser of two evils is doing any good, well......Chris hedges said it best in his column this week. Entitled, " why I'm voting green".
Why is it that you only think you have to choose one of two people?

By Chris Hedges

The November election is not a battle between Republicans and Democrats. It is not a battle between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. It is a battle between the corporate state and us. And if we do not immediately engage in this battle we are finished, as climate scientists have made clear. I will defy corporate power in small and large ways. I will invest my energy now solely in acts of resistance, in civil disobedience and in defiance. Those who rebel are our only hope. And for this reason I will vote next month for Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate, although I could as easily vote for Rocky Anderson of the Justice Party. I will step outside the system. Voting for the “lesser evil”—or failing to vote at all—is part of the corporate agenda to crush what is left of our anemic democracy. And those who continue to participate in the vaudeville of a two-party process, who refuse to confront in every way possible the structures of corporate power, assure our mutual destruction.

All the major correctives to American democracy have come through movements and third parties that have operated outside the mainstream. Few achieved formal positions of power. These movements built enough momentum and popular support, always in the face of fierce opposition, to force the power elite to respond to their concerns. Such developments, along with the courage to defy the political charade in the voting booth, offer the only hope of saving us from Wall Street predators, the assault on the ecosystem by the fossil fuel industry, the rise of the security and surveillance state and the dramatic erosion of our civil liberties.

“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any,” Alice Walker writes.....

Con't at truthdig.com

Anonymous said...

..and thanks Tom for chiming in on the electoral college.


Weak.......

Anonymous said...

If I believed there were no difference, or even a little difference, I would write in a candidate. But I believe there is way too much at stake. I truly believe that Romney would be a disaster that would exponentially speed up corporate domination. I will do anything (including civil disobedience if another attempt is made to steal the election as in 2000) to stop Romney.

Mr. Smith said...

Anonymous, how can you STILL be missing the point? Haven't you read all the above posts? My god man.
There is NO difference between Obama and Romney. You say you don't see it? How is that possible? Have you not read the above posts?
The only alternative is to vote third party, whomever that may be? But a vote for Obama changes nothing. Obviously.

Do you know who Chris hedges is? Former nytimes war correspondent, Pulitzer Prize winner, Harvard divinity school graduate....listen to him. He knows what he's talking about.

"The November election is not a battle between Republicans and Democrats. It is not a battle between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. It is a battle between the corporate state and us."

Get it?

I'm done here. Apply some critical thinking and stop getting all your news from CNN, or whatever corporate bs you watch. It's all a lie

Good luck

Anonymous said...

Yes, Mr. Smith, I read all the posts and disagree. If some people are blind to the obvious differences between the two, so be it. People believe what they want to believe, facts be damned.

Stop letting one man do all your thinking for you. Forget Hedges and look for yourself with a critical eye and the differences will become clear.

Good luck to you as well.

David said...

We are getting off topic about Tom's bizarre claim that Romney will win in a landslide. Is he really such an astute observer of politics that he knows better than the experts? Or is he about to prove to everybody that he is totally clueless about it all. Will this be the final proof to what many believe - that Tom rants and raves but actually knows very little. We are about to find out.

Mr. Smith said...

Anonymous,

You can't disagree with reality. Sorry.
It's all fact.

And when you make assumptions, well, you know what they say about that......Chris hedges is one of many, many, people I find inspiring.

Anonymous said...

Isn't a lecture on "assumptiuon" a bit hypocritical coming from somebody who said "stop getting all your news from CNN, or whatever corporate bs you watch"?

And from somebody hiding from the reality of the huge differences between the candidates....

Unreal.

Mr. Smitj said...

Uhm, ok, so if you dot get your news from a corporate
owned source then where do you get it? Because, it's pretty much impossible...do tell...I didn't assume.

One only believes in a difference between candidates if they believe the rhetoric. I don't. I see who backs them. Enough info for me. You need only, again, look at the myriad lies from Obama and his egregious assault on our liberties to see it. Honestly, if a so called republican were doing what obama is youd be outraged. But I guess you can't ? Which is baffling..I guess the concept of divide and conquer is hard to grasp?

These are two corporately backed, banker backed corprprate whores. Nothing more. If you think Obama is going to do a damn thing ( by the way, what is it exactly you believe from this guy?) different I have some ocean front for you in Bangor.

And, yet again, unless we have a true popular vote its all a big joke. The electoral college? A travesty to this once great republic....a shame really. And a huge embarrassment to this country and its dumbed down populous.

Anonymous said...

Uhm, ok, so should I assume that you get YOUR news from a corporate owned source? Since it's pretty much impossible, where else would you get it?

Romney will not raise taxes on the rich, will make it easier for Corporations to pollute, will do his best to deregulate Wall Street and big business, will not put as much emphasis on education, and will appoint Supreme Court justices that will put an end to Roe vs. Wade. If you claim that Obama would do these exact same things to the same degree then you either don't pay attention or are in denial.

I agree that we should have a popular vote. But if the winning candidate also wins the popular vote, then how is that particular election comprimised?

You seem quite young and juvenile in your thinking. You are under 40 perhaps? It is ok to be young and cynical, but naive and cynical is a bad combination.

Anonymous said...

You say that I would be outraged if a Republican enacted health care reform, Wall Street reform, got rid of 'don't ask, don't tell', improved benefits for vets, enacted new EPA regulations, helped with pay equality for women, and expanded stem cell research?? No, THEN I would admit that there is no difference between the parties.

Eric said...

It seems to me that Mr. Smith and Mr. Mclaughlin have something in common. They both see the world as either black or white, good or evil, no in between. For Tom, one candidate can do no wrong, the other can do no right. For Mr. Smith, if a candidate does any wrong then they are all wrong. It is not possible for a candidate to have flaws and yet do more good then a more deeply flawed candidate. Nope, they are all the same. This is a sad condition. There are many, many shades if you open your eyes, and mind, far enough.

Think. It ain't illegal yet.

Barry said...

Oh, what a beautiful day!

Mr. Smith said...

Eric, hey genius, can you read? That's not at all my stance.

Here's the point. These " candidates" are one in the same, corporate puppets acting out a role so you water heads can choose one! One! It's called the two,party paradigm and it is NOT at all what was imagined for this country. Divide and conquer. It's easy to do when you own everything.

Do you always limit your choices to two? Ask yourself why it's only two? And then, go bak and study the electoral college. It's as much of a joke as the two party lie.

Step outside the box Eric. It's a big bad world

Mr. Smith said...

It is stunning. Stunning, to see you anonymous posters trying to defend this system. It's as if you don't read my posts at all. I find it hard to believe your that obtuse.

If you want to believe what these guys say, go ahead.

You merely have to looks t the facts, reality, to see it ain't so.

It's all a lie. Professional wrestling. And you all believe it!!!

Go back and read the federalist papers and then get back to me about two party systems.

And, once again, electoral college? Hahahahaha! Have fun voting, er I mean recommending today.

Mr. Smith said...

"I learned at the age of 10, when I was shipped off to a New England boarding school where the hazing of younger boys was the principal form of recreation, that those who hunger for power are psychopathic bastards. The bullies in the forms above me, the sadistic masters on our dormitory floors, the deans and the headmaster would morph in later life into bishops, newspaper editors, college presidents, politicians, heads of state, business titans and generals. Those who revel in the ability to manipulate and destroy are demented and deformed individuals. These severely diminished and stunted human beings—think Bill and Hillary Clinton—shower themselves, courtesy of elaborate public relations campaigns and an obsequious press, with encomiums of piety, patriotism, devoted public service, honor, courage and vision, not to mention a lot of money. They are at best mediocrities and usually venal. I have met enough of them to know.

So it is with some morbid fascination that I watch Barack Obama, who has become the prime “dominatrix” of the liberal class, force us in this election to plead for more humiliation and abuse. Obama has carried out a far more egregious assault on our civil liberties, including signing into law Section 1021(b)(2) of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), than George W. Bush. Section 1021(b)(2), which I challenged in federal court, permits the U.S. military to detain American citizens, strip them of due process and hold them indefinitely in military facilities. U.S. District Judge Katherine B. Forrest struck down the law in September. The Obama administration immediately appealed the decision. The NDAA has been accompanied by use of the Espionage Act, which Obama has turned to six times in silencing whistle-blowers. Obama supported the FISA Amendment Act so government could spy on tens of millions of us without warrants. He has drawn up kill lists to exterminate those, even U.S. citizens, deemed by the ruling elite to be terrorists.

Obama tells us that we better lick his boots or we will face the brute down the hall, Mitt Romney. After all, we wouldn’t want the bad people to get their hands on these newly minted mechanisms of repression. We will, if we do not behave, end up with a more advanced security and surveillance state, the completion of the XL Keystone pipeline, unchecked pillage from Wall Street, environmental catastrophe and even worse health care. Yet we know on some level that once the election is over, Obama will, if he is re-elected, again betray us. This is part of the game. We dutifully assume our position. We cry out in holy terror. We promise to obey. And we are mocked as we watch promises crumble into dust.

As we are steadily stripped of power, we desire with greater and greater fervor to be victims and slaves. Our relationship to corporate power increasingly mirrors that of ancient religious cults. Lucian writes of the priests of Cybele who, whipped into frenzy, castrated themselves to honor the goddess. Women devotees cut off their breasts. We are not far behind..."


Read the rest at truthdig.com

Chris hedges

Third party said...


http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=TfdPihFSuHc&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DTfdPihFSuHc

Third party voting. Wow, I wonder why the corporate media constantly sells us the lie that we only have two choices?! Hmmm......

Anonymous said...

OK Mr. Smith....we'll wait and see. If after Obama is reelcted he becomes MORE anti-corporations and fights MORE for the little people and their rights, then your theory is blown to hell.

It's funny, but I think we both envision the same end product for our country, we just disagree on the best way to get there.

A big bad world? Yes, but also a big beautiful world. We are not stuck in some bad movie with a goofy conspiracy plot that doesn't hold water.

Live and learn.

Anonymous said...

And to be fair, Mr. Smith, we had a hell of a lot more than two choices, but they have now been whittled down to 2. Saying there are only two is like saying it is screwed up that only two teams get to play in the Super Bowl.

Anonymous said...

Here is what Mother Jones had to say about Civil Liberties and the election in it's piece entitled "Obama is Bad on Civil Liberties, But Romney Would Be Much Worse":

"Anyone whose vote is based on civil liberties and national security issues ought to be aware of what it means to do anything that makes a Romney victory more likely. As bad as you think things are now, it means implicitly supporting the election of someone who would make them appreciably worse. It's sophistry to pretend otherwise."


Obama banned torture; Romney wants to bring it back, saying that waterboarding is not torture, and that "We'll use enhanced interrogation techniques which go beyond those that are in the military handbook right now."

If the election is lost by a margin of non-voters like Mr. Smith, than they will be the cause of people getting tortured.

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/11/obama-bad-civil-liberties-romney-would-be-much-worse

Mr. Smith said...

Anonymous, really? P,ease inform us all of the last time more than two candidates made it this far? Please, love to hear about it.

Mr. Smith said...

Hence the name--- two party paradigm.

I know, it hurts to acknowledge youve been played your whole life. My advice, get over it and move on. I did.

Mr. Smith said...

Anonymous, nice try. But that mother jones article is beyond weak. Do you have any idea what is going on with Obama? Any? A clue? He's far worse than W ever could've dreamed of.

"So it is with some morbid fascination that I watch Barack Obama, who has become the prime “dominatrix” of the liberal class, force us in this election to plead for more humiliation and abuse. Obama has carried out a far more egregious assault on our civil liberties, including signing into law Section 1021(b)(2) of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), than George W. Bush. Section 1021(b)(2), which I challenged in federal court, permits the U.S. military to detain American citizens, strip them of due process and hold them indefinitely in military facilities. U.S. District Judge Katherine B. Forrest struck down the law in September. The Obama administration immediately appealed the decision. The NDAA has been accompanied by use of the Espionage Act, which Obama has turned to six times in silencing whistle-blowers. Obama supported the FISA Amendment Act so government could spy on tens of millions of us without warrants. He has drawn up kill lists to exterminate those, even U.S. citizens, deemed by the ruling elite to be terrorists."

It isn't even close man. Obama is an evil lying corporate puppet. Kill lists, no Habeous corpus, detaining whistle blowers, etc etc etc who cares what he thinks about water boarding? Look at gitmo!!! Nice promise.

Not even close.

Anonymous said...

YOU Mr. Smith, are beyond weak... you are willfully obtuse and sophistic. Enjoy your dark little fantasy world where Obama eats babies for breakfast and tortures old ladies in his secret White House torture chamber.

The election is over, and I am done with this place. Unlike you, who claimed to be done but came groveling back spewing more nonsense.

I hope you get better.

Anonymous said...

Hey Tom, good thing we use the electoral college huh?
It seems your boy Romney may have even won the popular vote! But who wants the candidate with the most votes to win? That makes no sense. Lets use the electoral college. Brilliant! Americans are so dumb they'll even argue for it!

Pathetic

Mr. Smith said...


.."OK Mr. Smith....we'll wait and see. If after Obama is reelcted he becomes MORE anti-corporations and fights MORE for the little people and their rights, then your theory is blown to hell.."

What on earth are you talking about? Please, give me concrete examples of Obama fighting corporations and helping the little guy? How does murdering American citizens without trial helping anyone? Corporations? Are you delusional? Obamacare? That really helps. Ndaa? So, running guns in Mexico helps the little guy how exactly? ( fast and furious) ask Bradley manning how helpful Obama is.

What is it with you people? Get over it. He's a shill. A liar and a fraud.

Brian said...

Maybe now it will sink in for Tom just how out of touch with the pulse of America he is. How could he possibly think it was going to be a rout for Romney unless he kept himself cocooned in his Radical Right bubble, where people like him spouted as the mindless sheep dittoed.

But I implore Tom to keep up his columns as a public service. I really believe that it is the ugly, fact-challanged talk like his that turned off so many Americans to the Republican party.

Raging Mad Moderate said...

30 Good Morning Tom,
I've read your column for 4 years. Mostly for humor not content. I do not believe you are misguided in your views. I believe you only want the best for this country. It's hard to convince others to adopt your own views when ones views are so myopic. I believe you would do yourself, your readers, and your country a great service by being able to expand your views, or at the very least, realize that opposing views may also have validity.
I offer you this simple task. Spend a day (perhaps today is a good time for reflection on this), and re-read some of your most pointed political pieces.
Then.
Try with all your power to write an article arguing your own point from a democratic viewpoint. Do research. Find sources. Craft your article. No need to publish it. Just some self discovery.

As far as your prediction for a Romney landslide.....what went wrong? Did you truly believe that the information stated in your article would change the vote? Or were you publishing it as a way of helping the Republican cause? I have no allegiance to either party and never will. I believe the federal government system of pitting Republicans versus Democrats has all the voters over a barrel and creates an ineffectual government bent on politics not policies. I believe both parties play this game. I believe anyone (you're in this group in case you were wondering) that believes only in their own "side" and nothing about the other side is part of the problem and not part of the solution.

Good luck and best wishes,
Raging Mad Moderate