Detroit Monster
Pamela Hilliard Owens
I mean, you just have to wonder how Mitt Romney must feel right about now. Once the stage lights are off and the last interview for the day is through, the last campaign stop completed, what must it feel like? And you know where I'm going with this. Here's a man whose father,George Romney, was a governor (Michigan's 43rd governor, 1963-1969), Republican Party powerhouse (U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, 1969-1973, candidate for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in 1968), and a bigtime businessman (CEO of General Motors 1954-1962). Then along comes Junior, who goes on to essentially follow in his father's career footsteps; in addition to being 70th Governor of Massachusetts (2003-2007), Romney Junior also became successful in the business world when he eventually rose through the ranks to become CEO of Bain & Company, a company which he is said to have rescued from fiscal crisis. He later co-founded Bain Capital. So Romney comes from lots of money. He himself has lots and lots (and still lots more) money. His dad had government experience. Junior has government experience. Junior is good-looking. Junior is clean-cut. Junior's wife is an attractive blonde, and together they have five great-looking kids. Junior has a strong campaign organization. Junior has a fat campaign chest. Junior has a Colgate smile. I don't know if the family has a dog, but if they do I'm sure the little feller can perform countless amusing tricks on queue and is faithful, obedient, and can recite the pledge of allegiance in six languages. How can this guy not be running away with the Republican nomination? Even worse, how in the hell can he be losing to a black former pizza chain owner with no government experience and a three-digit laughable excuse for a campaign platform? I think it's pretty safe to say that the Republican Party as it stands right now is essentially the rich white man's party. This party is tailor-made for fat white cats with fat bank accounts. Even many of the hundreds of thousands of Republicans who don't match that description at all still seem to be okay with that. Let's just call it guilt by association. So then why is the black guy still at the top of the polls? The black guy with hardly any money in his campaign war chest, with no real campaign organization to speak of, and who most definitely is not a rich white man? How did this happen? At the end of the day, sure, everybody pretty much knows Herman Cain will not be allowed to pass 'Go' on the campaign game board. The rug will eventually be pulled out from underneath his feet and the Republican troops, such as they are, will grumblingly accept the pathetic inevitability that is Mitt. That's why Cain is spending so much time selling his book and being entertaining is because he knows those entertainment fees are what is going to butter his bread once this charade is over. But even given that eventuality, how must it feel to be Mitt and to be running neck and neck with Engine Number 999 -after the almost-but-not-quite savior Texas Governor Rick Perry fell on his face and after the almost-but-not-quite-savior-who-never-was Gov. Chris Christie refused to be begged into the race. And both of these men were targeted by the Republican multitudes who wanted anybody but Mitt. This may not last much longer, but it has already lasted more than long enough to make Mitt wonder this one simple question; when was being a wealthy white man in America with connections and family pedigree not enough to stave off a challenge from somebody like Herman Cain? And then? Once Romney does get the nomination (assuming Ranger Rick doesn't mount a 4th quarter game changer), he's got to go up against another brother. And this one got skillz kid! Just what kind of an America is this, anyway?
The Black Liberal Boomer Blog
Life of Mitt
The kind of folks who laugh at executions...
First of all, yes I think President Obama did a hell of a job last night. There was no question that the President was going to have to 'go big' on this one and swing for the bleachers. This was not the time to tread the moderate path, nor was it the time to reprise his role as the only adult in the room. Being the only adult in the room doesn't much matter when everyone else has left the room, and the president's sagging poll numbers strongly suggest that something dramatic is needed to jump start his game. The jobs proposal Obama delivered on Thursday night was a big step in the right direction. Although it is highly unlikely - to say the least - that Republican legislators will bow down before the sheer weight of his wisdom and obediently pass Obama's jobs bill right away as he requested, it will nevertheless serve to steer the oncoming debate for 2012. Pretty much everyone agrees that jobs is the only major issue of significance right now confronting the nation, and since the Republicans have yet to present any coherent vision of how to tackle that issue, they now are confronted with the task of measuring up with a plan of their own. Simply shooting down the President's plan is not a winning strategy because, as Obama pointed out last night, the election is 14 months away and most Americans don't have the luxury to sit around and wait to see who wins before some action is taken to get them back to work. And do they really want to gamble away any and all options for improving the lives of thousands of Americans on the misguided hope that Obama is going to lose? Is that who they are? Well, if we are to judge by the response of the Wednesday night crowd who attended the Republican presidential debate, then the answer may well be, hell yes. For those who haven't seen the video, just take a listen to the reaction when Texas Gov. Rick Perry is confronted with the fact that he signed off on the execution of 234 individuals during his term in office. The audience spontaneously broke out into applause. Once the bloodthirsty crowd had calmed themselves, and a respectful quiet had returned to the Roman coliseum where the debate apparently took place, Perry was asked by reporter Brian Williams, who moderated the debate, if perhaps Perry ever felt guilty or lost any sleep at the prospect that maybe some of the folks he had allowed to be put to death were, in fact innocent. Perry's response: "No, sir. I've never struggled with that at all. The state of Texas has a very thoughtful, a very clear process in place of which -- when someone commits the most heinous of crimes against our citizens, they get a fair hearing, they go through an appellate process, they go up to the Supreme Court of the United States, if that's required. "But in the state of Texas, if you come into our state and you kill one of our children, you kill a police officer, you're involved with another crime and you kill one of our citizens, you will face the ultimate justice in the state of Texas, and that is, you will be executed." This noble sentiment was, of course, followed up by more applause. And I have to admit, the way Perry answered the question made it seem almost unpatriotic not to applaud executions. I mean after all, who wouldn't want to execute a child-killer or a cop killer? Right? Right? But here's the thing; it's not that there isn't some justification for the death penalty in certain cases. There are without question folks among us whose best contribution to society would be to expelled from it. Not everybody can be rehabilitated, and life without parole isn't always enough. But the prospect of anyone being executed is not a reason to applaud, let alone the execution of 234 individuals. And the thought that Perry is unrepentant about the fact that he may have put an innocent person - or persons - to death is bad enough on its own. But the fact that such an unrepentant attitude is applauded by a roomful of voters is evidence of a severe sickness that is spreading. Those folks need help. Then again, if Perry manages to win the 2012 election, it's the rest of us who will need help. This is being cross-posted in Black Liberal Boomer
