What if voter suppression works, Obama’s Game, giving Paul Krugman a stroke, writing off minorities, Biden Vs. Ryan, GOP: Romney “not ready to lead”, and Mitt “Two-Face” Romney
Welcome to the Daily Sausage.
First up, Harold Meyerson asks us what happens if the GOP’s voter suppression works?
Let me paint a picture for you: widespread minority and youth voter disenfranchisement in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Florida results in the Romney/Ryan ticket winning a narrow victory over President Obama.
There are widespread reports of people being denied the right to vote as the Republican party struts around like the cock of the walk crowing about the total lack of voter fraud, thanks to the new voter ID laws in place.
As Meyerson points out, you would now have a President and Vice-President elected in 2012 on the basis of denying the right to vote to legitimate citizens. That’s an honest-to-God constitutional crisis. That’s rioting in the streets.
How can we look the rest of the world in the eye and call ourselves the champions of democracy, of free and open elections, when one of our major political parties is dead set on committing disenfranchisement on a national scale? Moreover, how does the GOP keep from turning this into a national death spiral? As the country gets less old and less white, they’re gonna have to disenfranchise more and more people, and pretty soon you run out of ways to code it and just have to say “only white property owners can vote” and that’s the end of the Republic.
That’s why these laws are so dangerous, and why we collectively decided about fifty years ago that they were against the law.
Next up, NY Mag’s John Heilemann asks why Romney changed to Obama’s Game with his pick of Paul Ryan as VP.
Mitt Romney’s pick has changes this from a referendum on President Obama and his policies and accomplishments to a clear and present choice between two visions of an American future.
In Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan’s future, Mitt Romney pays zero taxes. Why? Capital Gains. It’s where Mitt and all his friends get their money. 80% of all capital gains have gone to the top 5% of all taxpayers, and 50% have gone to the top .1% of all taxpayers over the past 20 years. It’s the single largest driver of income inequality in the country. Ryan’s budget collects $2 trillion less in revenue; it spends $5.3 trillion less, mostly from deep cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. 16% cuts in income security programs for the poor. That’s food stamps, housing assistance, and the earned-income tax credit. 25% less on transportation. 6% less on general science, space, and basic technology. 33% less on education, training, employment, and social services. 26% less on infrastructure. 14% less on natural resources and the environment. Why? So Mitt Romney, his friends, and his business can all get a massive tax break.
Maybe you don’t agree with President Obama on much of anything. But there’s no way to look at the Romney/Ryan Budget and go “Yes, this is a vision for America I can get behind.” It’s the end of the Republic, pure and simple. The wholesaling of America to the highest bidder, and our utter capitulation of the 21st Century to China.
Next up, I’m pretty sure that the Romney/Ryan media fellation is designed explicitly to give Paul Krugman a stroke. You’ve gotta feel bad for the guy: he’s a Nobel Prize-winning economist who’s been right about pretty much everything, and no one will listen to him.
In other news, the selection of Paul Ryan has indicated that the Republican party is pretty much writing off minorities once and for all, and making an all out play to maximize the turnout of their old, white base, because that’s all they have left.
The last Republican to win the Presidency won it with 44% of the Latino vote. I’ll be amazed if Mitt Romney cracks 30%. Blacks were already a lost cause and have been for fifty years. The youth vote was never really in play. All the GOP has are old white people, and every election cycle there are less and less of those to go around.
The Atlantic’s Steve Clemons takes an early look at Biden Vs. Ryan, in what is sure to be a massively entertaining debate.
Obvious Anagram Reince Preibus says that Romney would only be ready to lead on day one with Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan by his side. This, of course, begs the question as to what the hell he was doing before he picked Paul Ryan. Just fucking around? Moreover, what if something happens to President Romney, god forbid (the “President” part, not the “something happens” part”). Suddenly you have President *shudder* Paul Ryan, who clearly isn’t ready to lead either. Now we’re in full on panic mode, and that’s the end of the world as we know it.
And finally, in one of the most hysterical examples of hypocrisy ever recorded, Mitt Romney demanded “several years” of tax returns from potential VP candidates. As Harry Reid noted, you couldn’t get confirmed by the Senate for a cabinet position with Mitt Romney’s deliberate obfuscation tactics, and here he is demanding years of tax returns for his potential VP picks.
