Archive for the ‘Democrat Party News’ Category

U.S. Senators Ask GAO To Study Impact Of Restrictive Voter Photo ID Laws

Thursday, February 23rd, 2012

A group of U.S. senators on Tuesday asked the Government Accountability Office to study what they called an “alarming number” of new state laws that will make it “significantly harder” for millions of eligible voters to cast ballots this November. Sens. Bernie Sanders, Patrick Leahy, Richard Durbin and Bill Nelson sent a letter asking the non-partisan research arm of Congress for the review of new laws in at least 14 states.

The study is needed “to ensure that all citizens have the opportunity to exercise their constitutional right to vote and are not unreasonably hindered or burdened in that process,” the letter said.

Some of the new restrictions, the senators added, are tantamount to poll taxes.

New state identification laws, by one estimate, will have a direct impact on 21 million American citizens who do not have a government-issued photo ID. The majority of those people are young would-be voters, the elderly, African Americans, Hispanics, and those earning ,000 per year or less.

Other new state measures require proof of citizenship in order to register, prevent students from using college ID cards to register, place extreme burdens on third-party registration efforts, and eliminate or cut back early voting opportunities.

“State actions that suppress the right to vote must not be tolerated,” the senators said. “We must make it easier, not harder, for poor and working people to vote and to participate in the political process.”

The senators also asked the GAO to examine data on any prosecutions or convictions for voter impersonation fraud during the past decade in states that enacted new restrictions on voting, since the threat of such fraud has been used as a justification for many of the new laws.

“It is critical that we have an accurate picture of these recent state laws, individual access to voting, and actual instances of voter impersonation fraud,” the letter said.

Read the senators’ letter »

Watch the video of Senator Bernie Sanders talking with Rachel Maddow about resisting the Republican effort to discourage and/or disallow voter participation in elections even as Republicans are the ones who seem to have the problem with conducting honest elections:


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Internet Security and Privacy

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012

Unlike dial up connections where establishing the connection was an adventure and getting disconnected was just a fact of life, a high speed internet connection is always on. While the convenience is nice, consumers should take steps to protect their computers and avoid falling victim to malware that can ruin their browsing experience or, worse [...]
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Republicans Driving Away ‘Good Teachers’

Tuesday, February 21st, 2012

From VolunteerTV.com:

Lenoir City schools chief Wayne Miller says the public school system has taken several beatings over the years, and because of all of the changes and proposals from Nashville, many teachers have already walked out the door.

“As of the challenges have gotten more and more centered around the political aspects Ive had [...]
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More than 3,200 Sign Petition Oppose Class Room Size Increase

Sunday, February 19th, 2012

NASHVILLE — More than 3,200 Tennesseans have signed the petition opposing Governor Bill Haslam’s proposal to increase class sizes at public schools, the Tennessee Democratic Party announced Wednesday.

“Some proposals aren’t even worth the paper they’re printed on, and Governor Bill Haslam’s plan to increase class sizes is one of them,” said Chip Forrester, Chairman [...]
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Moment of Truth for Virginia Republicans

Saturday, February 18th, 2012

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OTHER CHANGES
Republicans now have complete control of Virginia.   They control the House,  the Senate and the Governor’s Mansion.    The next time you hear them complaining about Democrats remind them that they run the whole show.   They can no longer complain and blame it on someone else.  They must take responsibility.    Will they lead the state into the future or return it to the 1940′s and the last century?  

One of their first acts is an attempt to outlaw birth control.     The republican government wants to tell you when and how to get pregnant and how large to grow your family.     This is the get the government out of your life they always talk about?     I have trouble believing you knuckle dragging right wing sheep voted for these idiots to run your state.

We’ve covered the litany of so-called “personhood” measures—conferring legal rights on fertilzed eggs—that have popped up around the country since Mississippi voters defeated just that sort of effort last November.     Now Virginia could become the first state in the country to actually pass personhood legislation.

On Tuesday, the Virginia House of Delegates passed a bill introduced by Delegate Bob Marshall (R-Prince William)   by a 66-32 vote.     The bill, like other “personhood” measures, would amend the definition of the word “person” under state law to include zygotes, thereby granting them legal rights.

The summary reads:
Provides that unborn children at every stage of development enjoy all the rights, privileges, and immunities available to other persons, citizens, and residents of the Commonwealth, subject only to the laws and constitutions of Virginia and the United States, precedents of the United States Supreme Court, and provisions to the contrary in the statutes of the Commonwealth.

It will be interesting to see what happens from here.    The bill now must be cleared by the state senate to move forward.    But earlier this month, a panel in the state senate rejected a bill that would have limited abortions to the first 20 weeks after conception.    This latest bill would be far more restrictive, potentially prohibiting all abortions and likely some common types of oral contraception. Virginia’s House of Delegates also recently passed a new law forcing women to undergo an ultrasound before having an abortion.

Passage of this latest bill in the House of Delegates makes Virginia “dangerously close to making Virginia the first state in the country to grant personhood rights to fertilized eggs,” says Tarina Keene, the executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia.    She noted that the state code mentions the word “person” 25,000 times, which would give this redefinition a broad reach into many aspects of the law.     The measure now faces a vote.

The Republican-controlled House of Delegates voted 66-32 in favor of defining the word person under state law to include unborn children   “from the moment of conception until birth at every stage of biological development.”

The measure now heads to the Senate, which is evenly split between Republicans and Democrats but with Republican Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling wielding the tie-breaking vote.

Republican Delegate Bob Marshall, an abortion opponent who introduced the legislation, said the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion in the United States would not have been rendered if Texas state law had regarded the unborn as a person “in the full sense.”    So this is a first step, a necessary step, but it’s not sufficient to directly challenge Roe,”    Marshall said
in a phone interview.

Virginia’s approach differs from failed attempts to define a fertilized egg as a legal person in Colorado in 2008 and 2010 and in Mississippi in 2011.

Virginia’s effort avoids involving a constitutional amendment like those states, instead seeking changes throughout the legal code, said Elizabeth Nash, public policy associate at the Washington-based Guttmacher Institute, which studies reproductive health issues.

But she said the intent is the same, with the measure ultimately aimed at banning abortion, contraception and infertility treatment.

Should this bill become law, it could have a far-reaching impact on women’s access to health care,” Nash said.

“No state, as yet, has adopted anything like this.


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Rick Santorum has a long, colorful history of making bizarre, inflammatory and just plain ridiculous statements about all sorts of important issues.     

Here is a rundown of some of Rick’s “greatest hits.

“The reason Social Security is in big trouble is we don’t have enough workers to support the retirees. A third of all the young people in America are not in America today because of abortion, because one in three pregnancies end in abortion.”
- Rick Santorum, 3/29/11

 “I find it almost remarkable for a black man to say ‘now we are going to decide who are people and who are not people’.”
 - Rick Santorum on President Obama’s race and pro-choice beliefs, 1/19/2011

“…everything I’ve read shows that we would not have gotten this information as to who this man was if it had not been gotten information from people who were subject to enhanced interrogation. And so this idea that we didn’t ask that question while Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was being waterboarded, he [John McCain] doesn’t understand how enhanced interrogation works. I mean, you break somebody, and after they’re broken, they become
cooperative. And that’s when we got this information. And one thing led to another, and led to another, and that’s how we ended up with bin Laden.”
 - Rick Santorum saying that John McCain, who was tortured as a prisoner of war, doesn’t understand “enhanced
interrogation”, 5/17/11


“A lesbian woman came up to me and said, ‘why are you denying me my right?’ I said, ‘well, because it’s not a right.’ It’s a privilege that society recognizes because society sees intrinsic value to that relationship over any other relationship.”
- Rick Santorum on gay adoption, 5/3/11

 “Many women have told me, and surveys have shown, that they find it easier, more “professionally” gratifying,
and certainly more socially affirming, to work outside the home than to give up their careers to take care of their children.  Think about that for a moment…Here, we can thank the influence of radical feminism, one of the core philosophies of the village elders.”
 –Blaming “radical feminism” for making women want to work outside the home.  It Takes a Family, Pg. 95, July
2005.  

“But unlike abortion today, in most states even the slaveholder did not have the unlimited right to kill his slave.”
 –Comparing a woman’s right to choose to slavery.  It Takes a Family, Pg. 241, July 2005.
 

“In far too many families with young children, both parents are working, when, if they really took an honest look at the budget, they might confess that both of them really don’t need to, or at least may not need to work as much as they do… And for some parents, the purported need to provide things for their children simply
provides a convenient rationalization for pursuing a gratifying career outside the home.”
 –Questioning the needs and motives of families in which both parents work.  It Takes A Family, Pg. 94, July

2005.

“The reason Social Security is in big trouble is we don’t have enough workers to support the retirees. A third of all the young people in America are not in America today because of abortion, because one in three pregnancies end in abortion.”
 - Rick Santorum on how abortion is responsible for Social Security’s problems, 3/29/11
 

“I find it almost remarkable for a black man to say ‘now we are going to decide who are people and who are not people’.”
- Rick Santorum on President Obama’s race and pro-choice beliefs, 1/19/2011

“Is anyone saying same-sex couples can’t love each other? I love my children. I love my friends, my brother. Heck, I even love my mother-in-law. Should we call these relationships marriage, too?”
- Rick Santorum comparing his love for his mother-in-law to the love that same-sex couples share, 5/22/2008 

“I don’t think it works. I think it’s harmful to women, I think it’s harmful to our society to have a society that says that sex outside of marriage is something that should be encouraged or tolerated, particularly among the young. I think it has, as we’ve seen, very harmful long-term consequences for society. So birth control to
me enables that and I don’t think it’s a healthy thing for our country.”
 –Saying that birth control is harmful to women, society and our country.  CN8′s “Nitebeat with Barry Nolan”,
July 28, 2005.
 

“The notion that college education is a cost-effective way to help poor, low-skill, unmarried mothers with high school diplomas or GEDs move up the economic ladder is just wrong.”
 –Arguing that poor, unwed mothers don’t really need college educations.  It Takes a Family, Pg. 138, July 2005.

“Many women have told me, and surveys have shown, that they find it easier, more “professionally” gratifying, and certainly more socially affirming, to work outside the home than to give up their careers to take care of their children.  Think about that for a moment…Here, we can thank the influence of radical feminism, one of the core philosophies of the village elders.”
 –Blaming “radical feminism” for making women want to work outside the home.  It Takes a Family, Pg. 95, July
2005. 

“But unlike abortion today, in most states even the slaveholder did not have the unlimited right to kill his slave.”
 –Comparing a woman’s right to choose to slavery.  It Takes a Family, Pg. 241, July 2005.
 

“In far too many families with young children, both parents are working, when, if they really took an honest look at the budget, they might confess that both of them really don’t need to, or at least may not need to work as much as they do… And for some parents, the purported need to provide things for their children simply
provides a convenient rationalization for pursuing a gratifying career outside the home.”
 –Questioning the needs and motives of families in which both parents work.  It Takes A Family, Pg. 94, July
2005.






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Will The Republicans Ever Choose a Candidate???

Monday, February 13th, 2012

A conservative, a moderate and a liberal walk into a bar.    The bartender turns, looks up and says “Hello Mitt What will you have today.”

Mitt Can Pander To Any Audience

Watching the Republicans struggling to agree on a presidential candidate, one wonders whether the GOP shouldn’t just sit this election out – just give 2012 a pass.

You know how in Scrabble sometimes you look at your seven letters and you’ve got only vowels that spell nothing?    What do you do?    You go back to the pile.    You throw your letters back and hope to pick up better ones to work with.    That’s what Republican primary voters seem to be doing.    They just keep going back to the pile but still coming up with only vowels that spell nothing.

There’s a reason for that:     Their pile is out of date.    The party has let itself become the captive of conflicting ideological bases: anti-abortion advocates, anti-immigration activists, social conservatives worried about the sanctity of marriage, libertarians who want to shrink government, and anti-tax advocates who want to drown government in a bathtub.

Sorry, but you can’t address the great challenges America faces today with that incoherent mix of hardened positions.    I’ve argued that maybe we need a third party to break open our political system. But that’s a long shot.    What we definitely and urgently need is a second party – a coherent Republican opposition that is offering constructive conservative proposals on the key issues and is ready for strategic compromises to advance its interests and those of the country.

Without that, the best of the Democrats – who have been willing to compromise – have no partners and the worst have a free pass for their own magical thinking.    Since such a transformed Republican Party is highly unlikely, maybe the best thing would be for it to get crushed in this election and forced into a fundamental rethink.

Because when I look at America’s three greatest challenges today, I don’t see the Republican candidates offering realistic answers to any of them.

The first is responding to the challenges and opportunities of an era in which globalization and the information technology revolution have dramatically intensified, creating a hyperconnected world.

This is a world in which education, innovation and talent will be rewarded more than ever.    This is a world in which there will be no more “developed” and “developing countries,” but only HIEs (high-imagination-enabling countries) and LIEs (low-imagination-enabling countries).

The second of our great long-term challenges are our huge debt and entitlement obligations.    They can’t be fixed without raising and reforming taxes and trimming entitlements and defense.    We absolutely cannot just cut entitlements and defense.    That would imperil the personal security and national security of every American.    We must also reform taxes to raise more revenues.

But when all the Republican candidates last year said they would not accept a deal with Democrats that involved even in tax increases in return for in spending cuts, the GOP cut itself off from reality.    It became a radical party, not a conservative one. And for the candidates to wrap themselves in a cartoon version of Ronald Reagan is fraudulent.

Our third great challenge is how we power our future – without dangerously polluting and warming the earth – as the global population grows from 7 billion to 9 billion people by 2050, and more and more of them want to drive, eat and live like Americans.

Two billion more people who want to live like us?    We can’t drill our way out of that challenge, which is why energy efficiency and clean power will be the next great global industry.    Real conservatives – like Richard Nixon, the father of the Environmental Protection Agency, and George H.W. Bush, the author of the first cap-and-trade deal to curb acid rain – believe in conserving.    The current Republican candidates are so captured by the oil and coal lobbies that they can’t think seriously about this huge opportunity for energy innovation.

Until the GOP stops being radical and returns to being conservative, it won’t provide what the country needs most now – competition – competition with Democrats on the issues that will determine whether we thrive in the 21st century.    We need to hear conservative fiscal policies, energy policies, immigration policies and public-private partnership concepts – not radical ones.    Would somebody please restore our second party?    The country is starved for a grown-up debate.

Friedman is a columnist for the New York Times and a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner.

Once upon a time, in a land far away, a right wing republican happened upon a frog sitting and contemplating ecological issues on the shores of an unpolluted pond in a verdant meadow near a pristine castle.   The frog hopped into the republicans lap and said ” I was once a great leader who presided over a land of plenty.   All my subjects were employed and our standard of living was the best in the world and we had cured almost all diseases.   Our educational system was second to none and home ownership was the norm.   If you will save me and take me home I will give to you all the secrets of creating a virtual garden of eden here on earth.”   That night, the republican dined sumptuously on a repast of lightly sautéed frog legs seasoned in a white wine and shallot cream sauce.

What do you call a Republican who makes their money honestly?
Broke.

You might be a Republican if…
You’ll spend billion guarding a bridge against the possibility of a terrorist attack, but won’t spend 20 cents to keep it from falling down on its own.

Where can you find a Republican politician who’s not currently taking bribes?
The cemetery.

ROVER

What’s the most common name for the smartest member of a Republican household?
Rover.

RushBo

Rush Limbaugh was riding down a country road in his limo, when his driver accidentally hit and killed a pig.    Limbaugh told the chauffeur to drive up to the farm and apologize to the farmer.    They drove up to the farm, and the chauffeur got out.    He knocked on the front door and was let in, but remained inside for a surprisingly long time.    When the chauffeur returned, Limbaugh asked what had taken so long.
“Well,” the driver explained, “when I went in, the farmer shook my hand and offered me a beer.    Then his wife brought me some cookies, and his daughter showered me with kisses.”
“What did you tell the farmer?”   Limbaugh asked.    The chauffeur replied, “I told him that I was Rush Limbaugh’s driver and I’d just killed the pig.”

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Longtime State Senator Joe Haynes Annouces Retirement

Tuesday, February 7th, 2012

Statement from State Senator Joe Haynes: Reflections on The American Way
February 3, 2012

In 1984, I made a decision to run for the Tennessee State Senate. Little did I know when I made that decision that some 28 years later I would still be serving in that body.

Sen. Joe Haynes

Sen. Joe Haynes

Today, I am faced with a decision about whether or not to offer myself for re-election to continue my service.

There is an interesting symmetry in the circumstances surrounding the decision I had to make in 1984 and the decision I face in 2012. In 1984, the ruling Democratic majority literally changed the district to exclude my home in an attempt to protect a Democratic incumbent. This year, the ruling Republican majority has radically changed my district in an attempt to draw a district more favorable to a Republican candidate.

In 1984, the incumbent state senator I was intent on challenging walked out of the room where the district was changed and defended the action as “The American Way.” The gerrymander of the district backfired after my wife, Barbara, and I moved from our home into a tiny apartment and ran the campaign by focusing on the theme of “The American Way.”  The crass manipulation of the district by the political insiders struck a chord with voters and I defeated the incumbent state senator and went on to win the general election.
Interestingly enough, I eventually became the Chairman of the same Senate Democratic Caucus that voted to draw my home out of the senate district.

This year, in spite of their best efforts, the Republican majority has drawn a new district that I am confident I can win. I have always worked closely with Democrats, Republicans and Independents to create legislation and support public policies that were best for Tennessee.

The secretive process used by the Republican majority to draw legislative districts, without consultation of Democrats or concern for historical district lines or communities of mutual interest, was offensive to my sense of fair play. My decision about whether to run or not was not influenced by the change in the district. If anything, the Republican majority succeeded in stirring my competitive juices which encouraged me to run for another term.

My service, however, has never been about me and my political ego. During my life of public service, 12 years on the Goodlettsville City Commission and 28 years in the Tennessee State Senate, I have always tried to hold true to “The American Way.”

The ideas and ideals that make up this great republic have been my guide. Life. Liberty. The Pursuit of Happiness. The Rule of Law. Fairness. Honesty. Justice. Mercy. These are all parts of “The American Way.” That’s always been why I ran for office. That’s always been why I served.

I have sought simply to serve the people, to represent them with governors of both parties and to stand on the floor of the Tennessee State Senate to give a voice to the voiceless. I sought to provide representation to the men and women who work hard and play by the rules. I fought to create strong schools for our children. I have voted for fair taxation and efficient government. I have helped build roads and bidges all over Tennessee. I have done my part to support higher education as we built splendid colleges, universities and technical schools in every part of Tennessee. I worked with my wife, Barbara, to reform criminal sentencing in Tennessee to make it fairer and more rational. Through my service I have battled to care for the sick, feed and clothe the needy and protect the weak, elderly and infirm.

I am in good health. I work out several times a week and take great joy in the time I have with my wife Barbara, who recently retired from the bench, and our children, Jeff, Mandy and Scott and their spouses. Barbara and I have been blessed with grandchildren and we enjoy the embrace of our large, loving family.

The sweet siren call of my family, a huge stack of unread books and a little used fishing boat demand my attention now. That is why I am announcing today that I will not be a candidate for the Tennessee State Senate in 2012. I will serve out my term and continue my fight for “The American Way.” I will continue to practice law in the law firm I founded 46 years ago.

I have fought the good fight. I have run the race, I have given over a substantial part of my life to the pursuit of “The American Way” for myself and for those whom it has been my privilege to represent. I am proud of my service and humbled by the confidence the people have placed in me time and time again.

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Super Tuesday Voter Registration Deadline is Today

Tuesday, February 7th, 2012

The voter registration deadline to participate in Tennessee’s March 6th Presidential Primary is TODAY.

If you want to be a voter next month on “Super Tuesday,” you must be registered.

Click here to register. Registration forms must be postmarked by today’s date.

Not sure if you’re registered? Click here to check your voter status and precinct location.

Also, for the first time ever, Tennesseans must show a government-issued photo ID to vote. While the Tennessee Democratic Party is opposed to this attack on voters, we are still working to help citizens prepare for it.

Volunteers throughout the state are organizing voter registration and education drives to push back against the voter ID law. You can help, too.

Click here to volunteer.

Every citizen of Tennessee who wants to be a voter should be able to vote — without having to jump through hoops created by politicians who want to rig elections. Extreme special interests coordinated efforts to pass voter ID laws all across the country to keep some people from voting.

More than 100,000 registered voters in Tennessee — senior citizens, the poor, students — still lack the government-issued photo ID that is now required to be a voter.

To fix this mess, we have to organize, educate and register new voters in every neighborhood across the state. And we can’t do it without your help.

So get registered and spread the word.

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WSMV: Sen. Harper still inspires after two decades in office

Thursday, February 2nd, 2012

Click on the link below to see the video.

A pioneering Tennessee lawmaker says she is only walking in the footsteps of those who came to serve before her.

While serving near the bust of Samson Keeble, Tennessee’s first black lawmaker, Sen. Thelma Harper, D-Nashville, knows it’s on his and others’ shoulders she stands.

“I know that I’m where I am because of people like Avon Williams and many others who are here now,” Harper said.

In 1991, Harper made history herself, when she became the first black woman elected to Tennessee’s Senate.

via TN lawmaker still inspires after two decades in office – WSMV Channel 4.

 

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BOR: Obama & Romney Speeches Set Stage For Battle Over The Soul Of American Capitalism

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012

Burnt Orange Report:

Governor Romney is finally sealing the deal, even if by eliminating the opponents from a less-than-stellar field, and this looks like the two-man race that most experts predicted 12 months ago. If tomorrow’s Florida primary goes as advertised, Romney wins by at least double-digits, and the run for Tampa becomes a mere formality.

More importantly, within the past week both President Obama and Governor Romney have begun to cement their core economic messages. President Obama’s message will stress Fairness and Capitalism with Rules. Romney’s message is to call Obama a socialist, and demand unrestrained Capitalism. If both campaigns stick to these messages, we can look to four more years of Obama, because Obama’s message is backed by solid evidence, and Romney’s message is not.

On Tuesday, President Obama’s State of the Union Address presented a clear vision of the future of American Capitalism and the role of Government in Capitalism.

President Obama:

“To reduce barriers to growth and investment, I’ve ordered a review of government regulations. When we find rules that put an unnecessary burden on businesses, we will fix them. But I will not hesitate to create or enforce common-sense safeguards to protect the American people. That’s what we’ve done in this country for more than a century. It’s why our food is safe to eat, our water is safe to drink, and our air is safe to breathe. It’s why we have speed limits and child labor laws. It’s why last year, we put in place consumer protections against hidden fees and penalties by credit card companies and new rules to prevent another financial crisis. And it’s why we passed reform that finally prevents the health insurance industry from exploiting patients.”

Thursday night’s GOP Presidential debate, the 19th in this election cycle’s non-stop Debate-o-Rama since this Presidential election season began, saw Mitt Romney find his groove. In taking the fight to Newt Gingrich, his resumed his front runner status. He also restated his major economic theme:

Mitt Romney’s closing debate answer:

“This is a time where we’re going to decide whether America will remain the great hope of the 21st century, whether this will be an American century, or, instead, whether we’ll continue to go down a path to become more and more like Europe, a social welfare state. That’s where we’re headed. Our economy is becoming weaker. The foundation of our future economy is being eroded. Government has become too large. We’re headed in a very dangerous direction.

I believe to get America back on track, we’re going to have to have dramatic, fundamental, extraordinary change in Washington to be able to allow our private sector to once again reemerge competitively, to scale back the size of government and to maintain our strength abroad in our military capacities.”

These two economic themes, along with the release of Romney’s taxes, have presented a clearer view of what Election 2012 will have in store – This election will be about defining the future of American Capitalism.

On the right, Romney is asserting that Obama’s policies will amount to the American adoption of European Socialism. On the Left, Obama is asserting that Romney is seeking to return America to the failed policies of unregulated Capitalism that brought us the Great Recession and the Great Depression.

If Obama, however, makes this fight into a question of what kind of Capitalism we want – a heartless, soulless, brainless Capitalism, or a thoughtful, studied, intelligent Capitalism, then he wins because the same Pew poll found an increasing ability of Americans to see the flaws of Capitalism, even while still preferring it to Socialism.

President Obama can, and must, win this argument. And he will because Romney’s message is factually challenged about President Obama’s policies, and is historically inaccurate by failing to recognize the weaknesses of unregulated Capitalism, or the need for Capitalism with Rules.

If Romney makes this into a fight of “Capitalism versus Socialism” he wins as Americans, according to recent polling from the Pew Research Center, highly favor Capitalism, with independents having a net +20% favorable view of Capitalism.

Read the full article @ Burnt Orange Report

Why are Republicans in general and Romney in particular always calling President Obama a socialist — because everybody hates socialists, even liberals, even Occupy Wall Streeters.

The socialist name calling, echoed without challenge by the main stream press, seems to be working, too. Americans perceive Barack Obama as furthest away from their own political viewpoint, according to a just released Gallup poll.

It is no accident that Republicans picked the “socialist” moniker to pin to Pres. Obama’s coat tails. Socialism is a negative for most Americans with six-in-ten (60%) saying they have a negative reaction to the word.

Socialism is the most politically polarizing of the most common political monikers – the reaction is almost universally negative among conservatives.

These are among the findings of the national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted Dec. 7-11, 2011.

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