MBC/Marist polls show Obama leads in 3 key swing states

Three new polls from NBC News/Marist show Obama with leads in Ohio, Virginia, and Florida. The polls show Obama leading by 6 points in Ohio and 4 points in both Virginia and Florida.

This is not good news for Romney who needs to win at least two out of three of these states to get to 270 electoral votes.  All three of these states were won by former President George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004, but switched to the Democrat Barack Obama in 2008.

Bush needed all three of these states in 2000 and two out of three in 2004 to pull out close electoral victories.  He won with 286 electoral votes in 2004 and 271 electoral votes in 2004.  McCain lost all three in 2008, and only received 173 electoral votes.

The polls showed that Obama benefited in all three states from a belief that the economy is improving, and that the worst is behind us.  A healthy majority also believe that Obama inherited the tough economic circumstances when he took office in January, 2009.

Romney continues to have problems with the female vote in all three states.  Although Romney holds a slim lead among men, he trails Obama by double digits among women.

I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!

Buzz and I felt like we were watching Casablanca, particularly the part where Captain Renault closes down Rick's Cafe Americana for gambling, as we watched Republicans last week doing back flips over President Barack Obama's political use of the killing of Osama Bin Laden

"I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!" Renault says as he is handed the gambling winning for the evening. Claude Rains' line has become the classic line that symbolizes hypocrisy.

In the alternative universe that is Fox News and most of talk radio, we heard constant references that Obama was "spiking the football," and that such action on the part of the President was totally inappropriate. Obama was acting un-Presidential.

Lost in the clamor and faux outrage was the May Day 2003 "Mission Accomplished" spectacular of former President George W. Bush.  Bush donned a Naval aviator suit, hopped aboard a Lockheed S-3 Viking, and landed aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.  He then gave a speech in which he declared that "major combat operations in Iraq (had) ended."  Behind him, was a large banner which read "Mission Accomplished."

It is ironic and tragic that the Iraq war continued for another eight plus years.  In fact, more than 90 percent of US casualties occurred after the "Mission Accomplished" moment. In other words, Bush spiked the ball before the game really started.

If Obama touting his actual "mission accomplished" in the killing of Bin Laden was un-Presidential, we will have to work on a term to describe Bush's 2003 "Mission Accomplished" moment.

We believe what is really troubling those on the Republican side of the spectrum is that fact that most Americans are very satisfied with Obama on foreign policy and national defense.  Foreign policy and national defense have traditionally been a Republican issue, and they have not been shy about waving the flag and claiming that the Democrats' policies were downright dangerous to America.

The latest ABC News/Washington Post poll shows that Obama has a 17 point lead on Romney on Foreign Policy and a seven point lead on handling terrorism.  Both of these issues have been reliable strongholds for the Republicans in recent history.

Obama has neutralized the "strong on defense" issue for the time being.  It will be extremely difficult for Republican soon-to-be Presidential nominee Mitt Romney to claim that Obama is soft on terrorism, not that he won't try.   

Buzz and I aren't gay (not that there's anything wrong with that) but we support gay marriage

President Barack Obama has completed his evolution and come out in full support of same sex marriage.  Buzz and I applaud his decision on the civil rights issue of our time.  Whether it will hurt him or help him politically is yet to be seen, but the President has come down on the right side of this issue.

We are reminded of President John Kennedy's declaration in June, 1963 that Civil Rights for African-Americans is a moral issue.  It was not, at the time, an easy decision.  Kennedy needed the support in Southern states in a 1964 re-election bid, and in 1963 a majority of Southerners stood right by Alabama Governor George Wallace when he said "segregation today, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever."

Public support has finally breached the 50 percent threshold in Gallup's latest survey. This is the first time Gallup has shown a majority in favor of legalization of same sex marriage.  Support has risen from 27 percent support in 1996 to 53 percent support in the May, 2012 survey.

32 states have adopted some sort of same sex marriage ban over the past ten years, including Tuesday's North Carolina constitutional amendment outlawing gay marriage, but a number of these same sex marriage bans were adopted when public opinion was not very gay friendly.

Republicans say Obama's announcement is a flip flop and done solely for political reasons, but then again, that's what they say about every Obama decision these days.  Obama's announcement was a long time coming, but his actions over the past few years have shown the Obama's support of gay rights is a lot more than just words.

Obama has instructed the justice department not to enforce the Defense of Marriage Act and repealed the military Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy.  His same sex marriage announcement is certainly not a flip flop, and it is certainly not the politically safe move.

Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney has taken a polar opposite position, not only opposing gay marriage, but also opposing the more moderate "civil unions" stance.  If anyone is taking a political expedient position, it is Romney, who still has luke warm support from the conservative wing of the GOP.

As far as a flip flop, in 1994, as Romney was seeking the Log Cabin Republican's endorsement (the gay and lesbian GOP group,) he sat down with Richard Tafel, the group's founder.  "I'm with you on this stuff," Tafel recalled Romney saying. "I'll be better than Ted Kennedy."

Time will only tell if Obama's announcement helps him politically, but the May 9, 2012 declaration of Obama's support for same sex marriage will go down in history as a momentous and courageous moment in Civil Rights.

Fifty years from now, Americans will look back at Obama's announcement just as many look back at John Kennedy's 1963 Civil Rights speech, and say "what's the big deal." 

How to increase your enjoyment when listening to talk radio

Buzz and I spent the Easter holiday in the Great Smoky Mountains hiking the trails on cloud free days and camping under the star filled nights.  While on our way down to the wilderness of the Tennessee and North Carolina mountains, we tried out some satellite radio in the VW Micro-bus. I picked up a 3 month free subscription for winning the annual WNBA trivia contest from ESPN Magazine.

Since we had a twelve hour drive, each way, we were subjected to hour after hour of conservative talk radio.  It was quite a change from our three year experiment in Haight-Ashbury.
Apparently there are a number of things you should know before diving off the right side of the cliff.  The terminology, the accepted “truths,” the revisionist view of history, and even the jokes are all part of the clubhouse known as conservative talk radio, and your familiarity with all of this will add to your listening enjoyment.

With this in mind, we decided that, as a public service to our readers, we should put together a primer for those of you who are not familiar with the genre and would like to give it a try. 

Ronald Reagan is an infallible deity

Probably the number one rule or truism of conservative talk radio is that Ronald Reagan was the ideal President.  Just the mention of his name is an inspiration to all.  As President he did no wrong, and to speak ill of him, even the slightest criticism is blasphemy.

Reagan single handily won the Cold War by a Peace through Strength strategy.  Mikhail Gorbechev was just a product of Reagan’s tough stance on global communism.  The policies of glasnost and perestroika had very little to due with the fall of the USSR and communism, and if they did, they were only reactions to the strong military build up and tough talk of Reagan.

Even though Reagan only really paid lip service to balanced budgets and all the social conservative issues of the day, this reality is forgotten amongst all the rhetoric.

Reagan can be used as a justification for any conservative position of today.  If he were alive today, he would be in lock step with every conservative position of 2012

Barack Obama is a socialist

Socialism is basically defined as an economic theory or system in which the means of production, distribution, and exchange are owned by the community collectively, usually through the state. It is characterized by production for use rather than profit, by equality of individual wealth, by the absence of competitive economic activity, and, usually, by government determination of investment, prices, and production levels.

Ask any practicing socialist if Barack Obama is a socialist, and they will answer with an emphatic “no.”  Ask any conservative radio talker, and they will answer just as emphatically “yes.”

The talkers’ rationale is that any attempt to regulate the economy or business is socialism.  Unless capitalism is allowed to act without any government regulation, it is not capitalism.

The New Deal was an abject failure - World War II pulled us out of the Great Depression

Despite the fact that World War II was objectively a massive government work project, all the government deficit spending is over looked.  When the government creates millions of jobs by pouring massive amounts of money into the defense industry, that is not socialism.  However, if the government pours massive amounts of money into any domestic project, such as infrastructure improvement projects, that is socialism.

Free enterprise and pure capitalism is the answer to all our economic woes.

This narrative is gospel on talk radio.  If the government and unions would just get out of the way, we would have full employment and everyone would be happy.  The capitalists will automatically do what is “right.” 

All government is bad

All government projects are a waste of money.  All government regulation is just designed to get in the way of entrepreneurs. Any thing government can do, private enterprise can do better.

The post office should be a privately run enterprise.  Social Security should be voluntary.  Public schools cater to the lowest common denominator and exist just to indoctrinate students to liberal ideas and give union teachers a job.

The only caveat to this is that the Department of Defense is absolutely necessary, and the more money you throw at it the better.

Liberals are stupid and hate America

The “liberal” is to be examined and figuratively dissected like a specimen in a zoo.  Liberals have been brainwashed by the Main Stream Media (alternatively referred to as the Lame Stream Media, the Liberal Media, or the Drive-By Media.)  If they could only learn the “true facts,” they would all be conservatives.

“The liberal” is incapable of objective thought.  They are governed totally by emotion.  Conservatives are only swayed by objective, black and white truths. There is no gray.

All liberals are atheists and hate America.  Their efforts to make things better are just attempts to destroy the American way of life with their secular humanism.

Everything “Jimmy Carter” is bad

It is an undisputed truth that Jimmy Carter and his Presidency were absolute failures.  Carter equals failure.  Just as Reagan represents everything that is good, Carter is the epitome of bad.

There is no gray - everything is black and white

This maxim runs hand in hand with the belief that every complex problem can be solved with a simple conservative solution. 

If the economy is in a cyclical downturn, the solution is simply cutting taxes and government regulation.  Crime can be eliminated by locking up all the criminals for long, long periods of time.  Everyone who collects any type of government assistance (with the exception of large corporations) is just pure lazy.  If you eliminate government programs, you will eliminate lazy people.

The Second Amendment is all important and absolute

All gun regulation flies in the face of the Second Amendment.  There is no such thing as reasonable gun regulation. Every American has an unalienable right to own any type of gun ever made and as many guns as they want.

If guns are outlawed, only the outlaws will have guns.

There are probably more rules, but these should be enough to increase your listening enjoyment.

Romney files for an extension: WTF?

Does Mitt Romney even realize that he's running for President? On Friday, his campaign announced that Mittens would be filing an extension for his 2011 taxes. There's nothing wrong with filing an extension, but for a guy who has be dogged by tax questions for his massive income, why prolong the issue?

George Romney released 12 years of returns in his 1968 Presidential run

Romney's father, the late George Romney was one of the first major Presidential candidates to voluntarily release his income tax returns back in the 1968 Republican Presidential campaign. He famously released 12 years of tax returns and started a modern tradition of the Presidential candidate tax return release.

Mitt Romney released 2 years of returns in January

Romney's GOP opponents made an issue out of Romney's reluctance to release his tax returns back in January. After pressure from his opponents and some embarrassing and awkward debate answers on the release of tax returns, Romney relented and released his tax returns from the 2010 and 2009 tax years.

Romney's release was enlightening, not from the fact that he makes gobs and gobs of money, but that his effective tax rate was in the 14 to 15 percent range. It also raised questions, because unlike his dad's release of 12 years of tax returns, Mittens only released 2 years.

It also showed overseas investments with accounts in Switzerland and the Cayman Islands. While absolutely legal, such accounts fed the narrative that Romney can't relate to the average American voter who probably couldn't point to the Cayman Islands on a map, but knows that the Cayman Islands are where "rich people" hide their money.

Romney's filing of a tax extension furthers Romney's problems.

You would think that for a seasoned Presidential candidate like Romney, he would have known that April 15th was tax day and that he should have his return spit shined for the media and the American voter. Buzz will be contacting the Romney campaign and volunteering the services of his UNIVAC 3000 for Romney's tax preparation.

Two problems arise out of the extension filing.

First of all, the filing of an extension kicks the can down the road and closer to the general election. If Romney had filed a full return on time, his tax return would be news now and would share the spotlight with President Barack Obama's tax return.

So when Romney does file his tax return, it's another news story closer to the election when more people are paying attention. He also doesn't benefit from the cover of the President releasing his return at the same time.

Secondly, it doesn't help the Romney narrative that he is this consummate businessman who can be the country's CEO. It's not like the Obama regime changed the tax date to surprise and embarrass Romney. For a guy who prides himself on dotting the Is and crossing the Ts, not filing his taxes on time sort flies in the face of that narrative.

Norton and Buzz return from the West Coast

 

Our great project to to revitalize the Sixties in Bay area has come to a disappointing end.  Buzz and I had hoped to recapture the flavor, mood, and ambiance of the 1960s in Haight-Ashbury, but armed with our vintage RCA record player, Buzz's bongos, our tie-dyed wardrobe, and our earth sandals, we suffered some serious setbacks.

The area has changed significantly, and the anti-Vietnam war sentiment just doesn't translate well in anti-War-on-Terror sentiment.  The fact that there is no longer a military draft seems to be a major factor.  The youths of today don't end up in a foreign land unless they volunteer.

So Buzz and I packed up all of our Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane LPs and the Univac 3000 into the micobus and headed back to NEPA.

We will be back covering the political scene and the WNBA once Buzz gets a new transmission and a good set of used tires for the microbus.  The cross country trip has taken a toll on the micobus.

Haggerty Elected Chairman of Home Rule Commission

Mayor Jim Haggerty of Kingston (pictured to the left) has been elected chairman of the Luzerne County Home Rule Commission at the commission's inaugural meeting held Wednesday evening at Wyoming Seminary. Veronica Ciaruffoli was elected Vice Chairperson, and Rick Morelli was elected Treasurer.

Haggerty is the three term mayor of the Municipality of Kingston and a practicing attorney. Kingston has operated under a home rule charter since 1976.

The commission is charged with the following:

"The government study commission shall study the form of government of the municipality to compare it with other available forms under the laws of this Commonwealth and determine whether or not in its judgment the government could be strengthened or made more clearly responsible or accountable to the people or whether its operation could become more economical or efficient under a changed form of government."

Furthermore:

"The government study commission shall report its findings and recommendations to the citizens of the municipality within nine months from the date of its election except that it shall be permitted an additional nine months if it elects to prepare and submit a proposed home rule charter and an additional two months if it chooses to elect its municipal council by districts."

The commission also appointed a budget committee comprised of the elected officers to approach the county for money to fulfill its mandate of studying the county government.

The commission plans to meet every Wednesday at 7:00 pm at the Stettler Learning Resources Center, Sprague Avenue, Kingston.