VP to be Paul Ryan

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

I have a banister in my house. I slide down it every morning. I've had some rough landings.

For your enjoyment:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/webster

Did the wife ever paint it in the middle of the night and not tell anybody?

[Ban Hammer 13,349]

one bait post removed

[mox 298]

That pretty much sums it all up. You should get a job on CNN. Great post.

Heh thanks. But I like to think I have a little more integrity than to work for any cable news network.

[Danno 1,228]

On Easter Sunday, I was guilted into attending an Easter breakfast with my aunt, a very fundamentalist Christian, and breakfast was served in a very fundamentalist church. We're talking Focus on the Family type stuff. The conversation I heard going on around me went like this: They don't like Obama, not one little tiny bit. However, Romney is a member of a cult. (that word, "cult," was used pervasively.) Not only would it be wrong to vote for Romney, it would be a sin. And not just a sin, but a sin of such magnitude that it would imperil their soul. I kid you not, this was the discussion. And we're not talking about tea with a few crazies. This was a breakfast attended by several hundred fundamentalists, and I heard variations of that discussion over and over.

You're thinking of this in terms of sitting out allowing Obama back in, but that is not the way fundamentalists are seeing this. Not all of them are seeing it this way of course, but many of them see a vote for Romney as a mortal sin.

As for Republicans sitting it out...maybe I should have said "un-energized." If John Kerry had been able to pull voters in 2004 like Obama did in 2008, he'd have won the election by a pretty decent margin. Bush Jr. pulled in a lot of votes on charisma alone. He was the candidate you wanted to have a beer with. Mitt Romney has none of Kerry's charisma. I don't care if you're Democrat or Republican, Romney simply does not have the personality to make up what he's trailing.

But as I've said all along, the only thing that matters is the electoral college. And right now, Romney has to run the table on just about every swing state (plus win two of Florida, Pennsylvania, and Ohio) to win. That's gonna take a miracle, and I don't believe Paul Ryan can do that.

- I highly doubt the experiences you had with that fundamentalist group is a broad mindset across the Evangelical demographic. One of us is way off base on our impressions and my record for being able to "Read the stitches on a fast-Ball" are well documented" here at VJ.

I will agree that many Christians do not accept that Mormonism is CHristianity. But then again JFK was Catholic and in 1960 many felt the same way about Catholics.

I mean it's great when you can vote for someone "just like you" but the next best thing is person who believes in the same things you do.

-Mit is flat, but I suspect people have recently dabbled with soaring idealism and they might be looking a bit more for substance this go around.

-Team obama has only one card to play, if it fails to stick, they really could be in trouble, that card is- Romney/Ryan are going to take your govt. goodies away.

The Race angle will also begin this week. There are so many factions who will feel this is a do-or-die election.

Everyone from Big Labor to Gays.

[^_^ 5,021]

There are so many factions who will feel this is a do-or-die election.

Everyone from Big Labor to Gays.

Paul Ryan is an ideological extremist. He believes abortion should be illegal, NO EXCEPTIONS. Not even in cases of rape, incest or health of the mother. He is against abortion even in the case of a FAILURE TO IMPLANT.

So.... yeah. Do or die. This man is basically representing American Hizballah in the political process and is therefore too dangerous to be allowed within one heartbeat of the Presidency.

Edited August 13, 2012 by Habitual Offender

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Mit is flat, but I suspect people have recently dabbled with soaring idealism and they might be looking a bit more for substance this go around.

Fair enough. But you will concede that substance isn't the same as taking every position on every issue. Yet that is precisely what Mitt does. Mitt stands for everything and thus, he stands for nothing. He's the very definition of an empty suit.

[^_^ 5,021]

Mitt stands for everything and thus, he stands for nothing. He's the very definition of an empty suit.

I need more coffee. I thought that said "empty #######"

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

I need more coffee. I thought that said "empty #######"

Word on the street is that Jenna Jameson supports Mitt because not the least because Mitt is the only person in America that assumed more position than she has.

[SMOKE 1,426]

Paul Ryan is an ideological extremist. He believes abortion should be illegal, NO EXCEPTIONS. Not even in cases of rape, incest or health of the mother. He is against abortion even in the case of a FAILURE TO IMPLANT.

So.... yeah. Do or die. This man is basically representing American Hizballah in the political process and is therefore too dangerous to be allowed within one heartbeat of the Presidency.

anything is better than the Iranian sleeper agent we have in office now.

[^_^ 5,021]

Word on the street is that Jenna Jameson supports Mitt because not the least because Mitt is the only person in America that assumed more position than she has.

I used to love her movies when I was much, much younger.

Is she still hot?

If she isn't, I don't care what she has to say.

A woman's worth derives solely from the quality of her T&A.

anything is better than the Iranian sleeper agent we have in office now.

[mox 298]

- I highly doubt the experiences you had with that fundamentalist group is a broad mindset across the Evangelical demographic. One of us is way off base on our impressions and my record for being able to "Read the stitches on a fast-Ball" are well documented" here at VJ.

I'm not so sure VJ is the gold standard for "I win" political punditry, but ok...

Clearly anecdotal evidence (either mine or yours or anyone elses) is just that, and not really anything to hang your hat on. It's times like this I wish I'd bookmark more of the political articles and polls I've seen, because I should have added that a lot of what I've read suggests a lukewarm acceptance for Romney, primarily because of his Mormonism. And that's pretty important because if you look back to 2004, it was the evangelical vote that barely squeaked Bush Jr. back into office. There was a tremendous amount of enthusiasm from evangelicals that year, and it was just barely enough. They are nowhere near as enthusiastic--for whatever reasons--this year, and that's not good at all for the Romney campaign. It's fortunate for Romney that enthusiasm among Democrats is also lower than it was in 2008, but while enthusiasm seems to be building with Democrats, it's not getting any better for Romney.

The Christian demographic I'm talking about here, btw, are people who believe the earth is 6,000 years old, that dinosaurs and man co-existed together (even rode on the ark together), and that the fossil record is either a test from God, or a trick from Satan. People who believe (this is another goodie I heard at Easter breakfast) that every single thing you see under a microscope is nothing but an optical distortion by Satan. People who believe in an actual, physical lake of fire that sinners will be thrown into until the end of time. And people that attend churches that seat 10,000. Is it really that far-fetched to think that many of them will sit this one out because voting for a cultist would imperil their soul? I think you give them too much credit.

I will agree that many Christians do not accept that Mormonism is CHristianity. But then again JFK was Catholic and in 1960 many felt the same way about Catholics.

The ding against JFK's Catholicism wasn't that people thought of Catholicism in the same terms as Mormonism at all. The fear was that JFK would be doing the Pope's bidding from the White House. The only parallel I can see, is that it was the first time a non-protestant candidate won the White House. Don't get me wrong, there was (and still is in places) real animosity between Catholics and Protestants in this country, but Catholicism was never seen as a cult by any Christian segment.

I mean it's great when you can vote for someone "just like you" but the next best thing is person who believes in the same things you do.

That's true in general, but what happens in politics is that voter turnout within a demographic is lower when a candidate doesn't appeal broadly to that demographic. So even if my Easter breakfast anecdote was an isolated incident, he has so far not generated the kind of excitement for the religious right that Bush Jr. did in 2004, or the kind of excitement Obama brought to liberals in 2008. And in a country that's almost evenly split down the middle, not being able to generate excitement means not getting that tiny fraction you need to get over the hump. Ask John Kerry about that. (another candidate seen as out of touch with normal Americans btw)

-Mit is flat, but I suspect people have recently dabbled with soaring idealism and they might be looking a bit more for substance this go around.

Possibly. The problem I see (and I have nothing to back this up, so it's just opinion) is that both candidates have established themselves as polar opposites in a pretty unprecedented way. There will certainly be the "I am angry and out of work, so I'm going to take it out on Obama" vote, but I expect it won't even register as a real demographic. I just don't see people crossing party lines like they did back in the Clinton or Bush era. If anything, I see Republicans who feel disenfranchised by the Tea Party sitting it out.

-Team obama has only one card to play, if it fails to stick, they really could be in trouble, that card is- Romney/Ryan are going to take your govt. goodies away.

The Race angle will also begin this week. There are so many factions who will feel this is a do-or-die election.

Everyone from Big Labor to Gays.

Obama's got a lot more cards than that. Among women voters, Romney's unfavorables continue to go up because the Obama PACs have done a good job of convincing them (with merit, I believe) that Romney is bad for access to reproductive health. Among Latinos, it's immigration reform. Education is a hot ticket item among minorities, but blacks especially. The list goes on. But I do agree that the discussion will turn on the economy.

In any case, I'll keep banging this drum: the electoral college is all that matters. The main electoral vote counter I've been following for the last three elections is http://electoral-vote.com/, an independent site, and the guy has nailed every single election over the last three cycles within a few electoral votes. As it stands right now, Obama wins handily. That's why the Ryan pick unimpressed me so much. Romney needed to take a risk, throw a long pass, and instead he just lateraled. The base liked it, but the base is already going to vote for Romney.

[^_^ 5,021]

... Catholicism was never seen as a cult by any Christian segment.

How small can a segment be and still be a segment?

[Dan J 277]

anything is better than the Iranian sleeper agent we have in office now.

Did you forget to take your meds?

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

I used to love her movies when I was much, much younger.

Is she still hot?

If she isn't, I don't care what she has to say.

A woman's worth derives solely from the quality of her T&A.

Pornstars tend to go from that natural, fresh, athletic, energetic look I enjoy to that botoxed, lip injected, breast enhanced, bleached and permanent make-up blow-up doll look that deflates my experience.

[^_^ 5,021]

Pornstars tend to go from that natural, fresh, athletic, energetic look I enjoy to that botoxed, lip injected, breast enhanced, bleached and permanent make-up blow-up doll look that deflates my experience.

nobody here needs to know about your deflation problems.