Unique in their unanimity, for once, mainstream and more opinionated media outlets have been calling out Paul Ryan for the multiple distortions in his speech to the Republican National Convention Wednesday night. One assertion has received a little more attention than the rest: Ryan's charge that Obama is to blame for the closing of the GM plant in his hometown of Janesville, Wisconsin.
One problem: the plant closed all but a few last operations on December 23, 2008 - and Obama was inaugurated as President in January 2009.
Though the fact-check articles have piled up, The Ed Show went one step further on Friday night. The best fact checkers are "the people actually given notice they were losing their jobs," said host Ed Schultz, who brought a former Janesville GM plant worker on the show.
Brad Dutcher, an employee who was at the meeting when then-Senator Obama spoke inside the plant, said Obama "had nothing to do with the decision to close our factory." He also said "there was never a promise made...to keep our plant open. That is completely false."
Four years after the closing of the plant, Janesville families are still feeling the effects. "We still have families that are separated, we have moms and dads that drive 4, 5 states away that come home on the weekends to see their families," said Dutcher. "To turn this plant closing into a political football is shameful, and he [Paul Ryan] ought to be ashamed of himself." The crowd behind him cheered and affirmed that comment, an audience comprised of people holding pro-union placards.
Schultz also pointed out another key date before the plant closure: November 18, 2008, when Mitt Romney wrote the now-infamous "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt" op-ed column.
Dutcher took issue with one more Ryan fiction. "When our congressman made the remark that nobody in Wisconsin benefited from those auto loans, it's absolutely false. I have a lot of retirees behind me that still collect the pension they earned because of those auto loans," he said. At his statement, the crowd erupted into cheers and applause.
"This entire room is full of Obama supporters," he told Schultz.
Leave a Comment:
Real people that were hurt by the George W. Bush debacle, are debunking the Ryan Romney lie!
Romney and Ryan know no shame, these two jackals don't even deserve to be elected dog catchers!
Your battery never runs down, does it? It just spews garbage 24/7 like a sewer.
BillyHill: You are blaming President Obama for the shooting at the grocery store? So based on your comment, do we than blame Romney, his campaign and Republican supporters for the shooting at the Sikh Temple, because of the hate and fear mongering in their ads and speeches?
GM decided to close the factory when George W. Bush was President.
He was a Republican, by the way.
And they did not reopen it because the gop ran the unions out of Wisconsin. I have been to many auto plants over a 22 year career as a truck driver and I have never seen an autop plant that was not union. This plant will not ever reopen as an auto plant until the state of Wisconsin brings back the unions.
Greg Golson and WaltUU, #1.4 and #1.5
No surprise, their entire campaign is built on lies. They are very good liars, too, which is troubling.
What is also disturbing is the way the right-wing and the trolls choose to believe their lies when the facts are right there in front of them. They absolutely REFUSE to see the facts, and their hatred for Obama is so vicious!
I am not sure what this says about them, exactly, but it is both puzzling and disturbing the way they support these lies the GOP keeps dishing out about their own policies and the Obama record. (The record being there for all to see) and yet they continue to lie about him, and the trolls keep repeating the lies.
I just can't understand the thought processes of some of the people here.
They announced the plant shutdown in June 2008, before Obama was even leading in the polls.
The last SUV rolled off the assembly line in December 2008, before Obama was inaugurated.
They kept on 100 people to work on a contract for Isuzu. Those people worked through April.
And yet the righties are still saying, "The plant closed months after Obama took office." Ryan used this April date, which had nothing to do with the decision-making on closing the plant, to trash Obama, and still the righties here defend Ryan.
People are so fast to lie and so fast to accept the lying... Why?
Hillbilly, you can't even get THAT right. It's the Energizer bunny. There is NO hope for you.
And by the way, that plant officially closed December 23, 2008. They had a skeleton crew finishing out the contracts until April 2009.
A fence post would understand quicker than a teabagger MJB, don't waste your time with the ignorant.
LOL....Oh boy, another idiot. What is it about the truth you idiots cannot understand? Or are you just playing dumb? Notice your second paragraph Einstein, they had a commitment to FILL AN ORDER WITH ISUZU, thats why they're were only 57 line workers left because the plant officially shut down in 2008. Reality is your friend dumbass, embrace it!
John, I don't think some people know the meaning of obligation nor the definition of skelton crew.
Bill, you also left out a part.
http:/ /en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janesville_GM_Assembly_Plant
(remove the space between the //'s when you copy and paste the link to your search engine.)
The other 1143 employees who lost their jobs were on Bush's watch. Why weren't they important enough to mention?
That is a lie - two lies actually. He said it would stay open (not that "he would keep it open") for another 100 years if would be granted the benefits of the policies he was proposing (not "if he was elected").
If you have to lie about what the President said to try to make your point, that should inform you that you don't actually have a point.
But of course, it is clear that the GOP has proudly adopted the mantle of "The Party of Lies", with Lyin' Ryan as its heir apparent. Let's hope enough American see through the lies and vote to reelect the President instead of voting for liars.
@Walt, what Obama said was
(Emphasis mine.)
You can blame Obama for believing in something if you want. That's your prerogitive. Personally, I'd like to believe there's good in all people but whenever I hear of a shooting like in Colorado, I'm proven wrong.
Here's a radical idea:
Instead of "parsing" who SAID what when, let's discuss who DID what when.
For instance, what did Paul Ryan DO to try to keep the GM plant open (this plant is in his district - actually in his home town) and also to help the entire auto industry.
We know that President Obama DID - stuck his neck out and saved the entire auto industry.
And thats what Fake news and Oxyrush wants you to believe and why? Because you ppl are so gullible. GM workers took a huge cut in wages and benefits to keep GM going.
You can't waste your time with Bill no matter how many facts you post he will always find away to avoid or dey them to prop up his ridiculously uninformed world view at all costs. I speak from experience on that. There is no intelligent conversation that can be had with Bill he is an illegal immigrant from imagination land who should probably self deport back to fox news.........
That is why despite the obvious and clear reality that the plant was closed before Obama was elected that somehow it's Obama's fault. Well what he said was "if" they got the support they needed they wouldn't close....obviously they didn't so the plat shut down but Obama had no power to change that. According to bloviating Bill I suppose Obama should have said to GM "you're going to re-open this plant so I can re-tool it whether you want to or not". So that the right wing noise machine could call him an authoritarian for telling a company what to do.
So if the bail-out which your fictional understanding of truth sees as wrong and Ryan voted for it the only person you could possibily blame is Obama.......'cuz that makes sense......
But sorry Hillbilly the reality doesn't match up to your fox facts if you know about business you'll know there what's called a managed bankruptcy where they have to consolidate and plan to pay down their various debts but when a company has o possible wau of doing that in the future then it's liquidation. They hae to sell everything and close down. GM had a managed bankruptcy because of the bail-out, if they hadn't got that money it would have been liquidation, no more GM. Company over. o one in the private sector would help not even Bain Capitol and they were asked....government acted appropriately especially considering the conditions at the time. If they hadn't given them that assurance and the company failed and had to go through liquidation it would have made the economy even worse hundreds of thousands more jobs would have been lost to add to the ones GW killed.......if that had happened the right wing would have criticized Obama for doing nothing. We all know that, we know despite statements to the contrary that there is a mountain of evidence to prove they never wanted america to succeed under Obama. Never.
Maybe if they were more educated, they being the foaming at the mouth right wing masses they see these very simple things. College students know what the GOP doesn't...that it can't always be about party, party, party because at some point you have to get some actual work done. But I forget college is for snobs like St. Rick of pennsylvania patron saint of antiquated social values said.
What can/should a government employee of any level do to keep a private business open? I don't see the plant closing as being anyone's fault. Sometimes things like that happen. It's called BUSINESS! I feel for the employees, I really do. I lost my job because a restaurant I worked at closed it's doors on extremely short notice. They went out of business and my last check from them bounced. The owners disappeared and I couldn't even go after them for the money.
I've seen people on the Vine saying that the bailouts started under Bush and they didn't work. I've also seen many here saying that Obama started the bailouts and it saved the industry. Which is it?!! By the way, for those that don't understand, bankruptcy and closing down are completely different things. Bankruptcy is used by companies to PREVENT them from closing their doors. It is not always a bad thing to declare bankruptcy. How the heck did Obama stick his neck out and save the entire auto industry?! Honestly, do you people really believe the drama queen rhetoric that you tout?
ROLLING STONE-
Greed and Debt: the true story of mitt romney and bain capitol-
READ IT!
@Chef Re: #1.22
It looks like it was started by Pres. Bush, then more was done by Pres. Obama
{Delete space between first two //}
From wikipedia:
http:/ /en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_the_2008%E2%80%932010_automotive_industry_crisis_on_the_United_States#Federal_Government_bailout_process_and_timeline
"On December 19, George W. Bush announced that he had approved the bailout plan, which would give loans of $17.4 billion to U.S. automakers GM and Chrysler, stating that under present economic conditions, "allowing the U.S. auto industry to collapse is not a responsible course of action."[84] Bush provided $13.4 billion now, with another $4 billion available in February 2009. Funds would be made available from the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.[85] General Motors would get $9.4 billion, and Chrysler $4 billion.[86]
However, it had been argued that the Treasury lacked the statutory authority to direct TARP funds to the automakers, since TARP is limited to “financial institutions" under Section 102 of the TARP. It was also argued that providing TARP funds to automaker's financing operations, such as GMAC, runs counter to the intent of Congress for limiting TARP funds to true "financial institutions".[87] On December 19, 2008, President Bush used his executive authority to declare that TARP funds may be spent on any program he personally deems necessary to avert the financial crisis, and declared Section 102 to be nonbinding.
The federal loan would prevent General Motors from going into immediate bankruptcy. The bailout required both companies to dramatically restructure their operations to demonstrate long-term viability.[85] In February 2009, the Obama administration would determine the automakers' progress in meeting the conditions of the loans, and then decide whether to supply more government aid or to force automakers to repay the loans and face bankruptcy.[86] The loans would carry an interest rate of 5 percent but may rise to 10 percent if the auto manufacturers default on them.
Suzette and Maphi Bill is not the type to read anything. He has decided already based on his political delusions what happened before knowing what actually occurred. Dispatches only come out of the bubble we've yet to find a way to send reality back in.
ChefEric the point you're missing is that GM would have gone through liquidation not bankruptcy. The money allowed them to have that managed bankruptcy.
maphi,
Holy friggin cheese on a cracker!!! You are a ray of sunshine! Thank you for stating facts with a credible source and for leaving out all the political partisan garbage. It is a breath of fresh air. It is not for me to say how much good or how much damage that the stimulus or bailout did as I am far from an economic expert. However, I do know that it is important for both "sides" to realize that the Republicans AND Democrats have contributed in some way to the damage that has been done in recent years to our country due either to negative action or inaction. It is equally important that both come to the contention that we are all in this together and must collectively find a way out and up.
Cynical, I didn't know that they had actually declared bankruptcy. I'm not really sure how they used the money for their bankruptcy that would've prevented their liquidation. I have not seen many details as to where they money went and how it was spent. Did they disclose that information?
@billy Re: #1.29
Correct - GM filed for bankruptcy.
From the article linked in #1.25
"On the June 1, 2009, General Motors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after failing to successfully negotiate deals with bond holders. On the day the application was made, General Motors was largely a nationalized institution (the U.S. government owning 60% and the Canadian 12.5%), the remaining private stakes mainly being owned by employees. The application to a court in New York marked the largest failure of an industrial company in US history. The restructuring would drastically change General Motors, with at least 20,000 US employees likely to lose their jobs."
Following the link in the article to Chapter 11 bankruptcy we find this clue:
"When a business is unable to service its debt or pay its creditors, the business or its creditors can file with a federal bankruptcy court for protection under either Chapter 7 or Chapter 11."
"In Chapter 7, the business ceases operations, a trustee sells all of its assets, and then distributes the proceeds to its creditors. Any residual amount is returned to the owners of the company. In Chapter 11, in most instances the debtor remains in control of its business operations as a debtor in possession, and is subject to the oversight and jurisdiction of the court."
--------------
In order to go the Chapter 11 route, government money was needed since private money was not available (global financial meltdown). So restructuring could happen.
Otherwise it would have been Chapter 7 - liquidation - where the industry goes POOF.
Which is better? Duh!!
Well ChefEric that is what happened the bailout loan gave them the money they needed to fill the holes that were obligated to pay which had they not would have forced a liguidation since sorry Bill they didn't have tons of money otherwise they wouldn't have gone bankrupt. By the way a company can't all of sudden just nullify a contract......they need to reorganize to do that. Not enough cash no reorgaization aka liquidation in this case.
Duh indeed. I'm just glad the right wing noise machine has stopped claiming that if those companies failed the jobs at those companies would have continued to exist.....so no problem......lol. The Koch brothers are clearly winning the war against education.
It is you who is doing the parsing - even worse, hearing some of the words Obama said and ignoring the others than, if you were willing to hear and understand them, would discredit the corruption of his statement that you present as his statement. We're calling what you're doing "lying" this year, because using the more polite terms in past years have failed to help enough people understand what you're doing.
Reiterating: He said the factory would stay open (not that "he" specifically "would keep it open") for another 100 years if would be granted the benefits of the policies he was proposing (not "if he was elected").
A pointlessly inane and baseless broad-brush attack. Did you have to change your underwear after posting that?
Yes that's precisely what he said. I wonder how many of the right-wingers even bothered to read it before posted in this thread. The government was not there to support the factory before GM started shutting it down in December 2008. The Bush administration failed to provide the assistance needed to re-tool. No matter how hard you try, you cannot rewrite history, and place the start of the shutdown within Obama's term of office, much less within the time that a reasonable person would ascribe to the that which reflects the impact of Obama's policies. But it is fun watching right-wing reactionaries try, like this:
False: President George W. Bush allowed the plant to shut down. President Obama took office a full month after the start of the shut down.
Jon Stewart's take on "clint eastwoods empty chair"-
MUST SEE!
GREAT POST, WALT!
Re: #1.36
So now you admit it wasn't a "promise" but he just "implied" something?
I disagree with your implication about what was "implied".
It's not "rewriting": It's called copying-and-pasting the actual transcript of what the man said. I didn't "rewrite" anything.
Do you actually have any experience in the automotive industry? (Full disclosure: I was an AIAG-certified assessor before I retired from my career in operations management.) Your comment indicates that you don't have any idea what it means when a plant "starts to shut down" and what it means with regard to keeping it operating. Speaking from ignorance of an industry you clearly know nothing about doesn't add to your credibility - it detracts from your already low level of credibility in this regard.
No he didn't. Stop lying about what he said. He said that if the plant was granted such assistance, it could survive. The Bush administration didn't provide that assistance before GM decided to shut the plant down, a final decision they made more than half a year before Obama took office.
Actually, most Americans see through Lyin' Ryan's lies. It's a shame you can't.
And you are an ignorant teabagger who wouldn't know the truth if it came up and bit you on the ass.
Oh Hillbilly you are trully a master of bogus claims unsupported by real (fact-checked not fox-checked) facts
If they had a trillion dollars how did they file for bankruptcy? Furthermore you must cite atleast one source for your numbers because MSNBC, Fox, CNN, Current have never once talked about this thing you call a fact so I'm curious whether you're just making that up which is consistent with your personality.
The Unions? Ha the unions got reduced pay and pensions if that's making off like bandits then those are some pretty inept bandits.....
The companies who received rescue money are on track to pay all of it back, half has already been paid back. Chrysler just paid back much of their loan six years ahead of schedule.
It's clear you don't have any idea how to run a successful manufacturing business....no surprise. But riddle me this: when did the company make the decision to close the plant? Hint:it was before 2009. The reality you have such a terrible time dealing with is that the choice to close the plant happened before the election even happened so whether they were finishing their final orders which is far different from being open or not doesn't matter. The plant was closing before Obama was elected.
So if someone gets shot and the surgeon can't save the person's life it's the doctor who's the murderer right?
Don't resort to nonsense distractions, just because you where shown to be ignorant about an industry that you pretended to have some insight about.
The decision to close the plant was made mid-2008. Stop trying to avoid the truth. Stop denying reality.
But evidently you do need to be a bit more respectful of logic and reason to understand that once the vast majority of a plant is closed down (as was the case by December 2008), re-tooling that plant becomes prohibitively expensive by comparison. It's shameful that in your dogged determination to defend the indefensible abrogation of responsibility by the political party you're trying to defend, the Republicans, that you're trying to deceive yourself and others about the reality of the situation. However, you're in "good" company - that's precisely what Lyin' Ryan did. So the real shame is that the GOP has essentially become the Party of Lies, seeking the White House on the strength of their ability to lie, deceive and otherwise corrupt truth in the interest of their scurrilous money-grubbing power-grab.
No the debate is whether Lyin' Ryan deceived his audience - the title of the article is, "Paul Ryan 'ought to be ashamed of himself'" - so the debate is about whether he has something to be ashamed of - he does. You can deny the reality all you want, but it only underscores how blindly you're beholden to the right-wing reactionary perspective.
Wrong again. Other things matter other than those individual things you personally select because they best support your world view. The implications of Lyin' Ryan's blathering matter. The lies implicit in his deception matter. The fact that the Republican administration failed to provide retooling assistance prior to when the final decision to close the factor was made matters.
When you find the need to stoop to such puerile nonsense to "defend" your perspective, that should inform you that your perspective has no merit.
The only trouble I'm having with the facts is getting you to admit them, but I suspect that's more a matter of you refusing to acknowledge the facts (perhaps because of how invested you seem to be in your partisan propaganda) than any lack on my part communicating them.
You stooping to using puerile aspersions and such just underscore the fact that you realize that your argument has no merit. I'm embarrassed for you.
Lyin Ryan and Dimwit Mitt's lies are being caught and told by good people that know better...
The British call him Mitt the Twit.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/politics/4456840/Wannabe-US-President-Mitt-Romney-in-Olympics-insult-but-David-Cameron-insists-Well-show-you.html
Ifor1~~It is about time. The republicans are all liars, including the evangelicals, who pushed members of their congregation out of their church, if they would not worship G W Bush and the republican party. Baptist preachers, Mike Huckabee, Robert Jeffress, Richard Land, Franklin Graham and others start and repeat the lies of the republican party over and above the teachings of Jesus, like caring for the children, the sick and disabled, the poor and the hungry, widows and orphans. They also let their hatred over-ride, love as was in the teachings of Jesus. And we all know about the Westboro Baptist Church.
Robert Jeffress said, " Mormonism is a cult. Romney is not a Christian, but if he gets the nomination, I will hold my nose and vote for him." This is what is ruling our nation. God help us.
The British are spot on. Hi, John! I think of him as Mitt the half-wit twit.
Billie, You are right, their hatred towards Obama is so rabid, they are voting for this vulture just because he "isn't Obama!" It hasn't yet dawned on them that the GOP's policies will gut them like a deer, along with the rest of us.
India and Great Gran both of you are so spot on. I am just surprised that the media allows blatant lies like R&R tell....The almighty dollar comes first it appears.
Ryan told that same story before and was called on it! No shame there!
You're assuming that Ryan knows what "shame" is. There isn't any indication that he possesses this trait.
This is only one of many reasons to be ashamed, and I'm sure he'll give us many more examples of his sterling character before Nov. But we still won't see any shame.
Nope, we won't see anything but finger-pointing and blame... Guy reminds me of a thirteen-year old sent home with a note from the teacher and claiming somebody else did the deed...
Remember Paul Ryan is an avid devotee of Ayn Rand's beliefs which revolve entirely around the self so this says anything benefitting him only is acceptable no matter what.
Thanks, Ed, for bringing the people who personally experienced the shutting down of the plant. I just do not understand why they (Romney/Ryan) have to lie to get in the White House. The sad part about it is there are people out there who actually believe the lies.
That's why they keep telling them.
I knew Brad. Stand up guy. He helped our unit of the local negotiate one of our contracts. Been in that hall many times.
MaudeB2, #4, Unfortunately, many will believe them. They are good liars! I can hardly bear it. I hate a liar. You know, if you can lie, you can cheat and if you can cheat, you can steal.
All virtue is one, according to the Greek philosophers.
The main problem is people CHOOSE to believe their lies even when faced with the facts!
Here's a partial list of liars on the Romney campaign:
1. Mitt himself
2. Ed Gillespie
3. Reince Prebus
4. Ann Romney
5. Dan Senor
6. Paul Ryan
7. Frank Luntz and everyone over at FOX (Especially those three on Fox & Friends)
And many, many more.
Read a new name for #3 on your list the other day and had to laugh... Rancid Pubis. It still gives me a chuckle! LOL
The sad part of this story is that the GOP only listens to/reads Faux News and won't see the truth as these brave people present it to all of us. Wish there was some way to get the truth into the hands of the undecided or people swayed by the rhetoric of the GOP convention! We democrats need to get better at getting our story out...if you listen to the Republicans, we've done nothing for four years!
Romney, Ryan, and Preibus- shame, shame shame on you!- and loud mouth Chrisite- Mr Bully! He thinks he is such a big shot talking during the convention. he is rude, obnoxious and ill mannered. How can he be a governor serving the people. No class.! Oh by the way- can you afford Jennie Craig sir?
Ryan lies, lies lies and he knows it! And Mr Romney who says, I dont care for the poor? And he wants to be a President? Show your taxes and all your off shore holdings and perhaps we can trust you. You have the audacity and your wife to say trust me- trust my husband- How can we? You dont even trust yourselves! No Mitt- you wont make it! Your wife Ann can only do so much! May she should just stick to her prancing horse!
So when you lie make sure everyone knows to go with the lie.
Paul Ryan took the stage in Tampa and peppered his speech with lies, falsehoods distortions and exaggerations. There were many to choose from, but here are the five biggest lies.
1). Ryan accuses Obama of closing down the GM plant.
What Ryan Said, “A lot of guys I went to high school with worked at that GM plant. Right there at that plant, candidate Obama said: “I believe that if our government is there to support you … this plant will be here for another hundred years.” That’s what he said in 2008. Well, as it turned out, that plant didn’t last another year. It is locked up and empty to this day. And that’s how it is in so many towns today, where the recovery that was promised is nowhere in sight.”
The Truth: The GM plant closure was announced in June of 2008, when George W. Bush was president. Barack Obama took office in January 2009.
2). Ryan Claims Taxpayers Got Nothing Out of the Stimulus.
What Ryan Said, ” What did the taxpayers get out of the Obama stimulus? More debt. That money wasn’t just spent and wasted – it was borrowed, spent, and wasted. Maybe the greatest waste of all was time. Here we were, faced with a massive job crisis – so deep that if everyone out of work stood in single file, that unemployment line would stretch the length of the entire American continent. You would think that any president, whatever his party, would make job creation, and nothing else, his first order of economic business.”
The Truth: The stimulus added 3.3 million jobs, cut unemployment by 1.8%, and grew GDP by 4.1%. Nothing is what the country got when Ryan and his fellow Republican obstructed the American Jobs Act.
3). Ryan Accused Obama of Putting the Federal Government in Charge of Healthcare.
What Ryan Said, “Instead, we got a long, divisive, all-or-nothing attempt to put the federal government in charge of health care. Obamacare comes to more than two thousand pages of rules, mandates, taxes, fees, and fines that have no place in a free country.”
The Truth: What would a Republican gathering be without a hat tip to the ugly step child of death panels? Obamacare doesn’t federalize healthcare. In fact, it does the opposite.
As FactCheck.org pointed out, “The health care law does set new minimum benefits packages, but that’s more a matter of coming between patients and their insurance companies, rather than patients and their doctors…he health care law doesn’t come close to establishing a government-run system like those of Britain or Canada. While Medicaid will be expanded to more people, most Americans will continue to get their insurance through a private carrier. To the dismay of many liberals, a proposal to include a government-run “public option” to private health insurance was dropped during the legislative process.”
4). Ryan Blames Obama for The Nation’s Downgraded Credit Rating.
What Ryan Said, ” It began with a perfect Triple-A credit rating for the United States; it ends with a downgraded America.”
The Truth: S&P blamed the downgrade on the political dysfunction caused by the Ryan led House on the debt ceiling, “We lowered our long-term rating on the U.S. because we believe that the prolonged controversy over raising the statutory debt ceiling and the related fiscal policy debate indicate that further near-term progress containing the growth in public spending, especially on entitlements, or on reaching an agreement on raising revenues is less likely than we previously assumed and will remain a contentious and fitful process.”
In short, Ryan is blaming President Obama for a crisis that he helped manufacture. If anyone is responsible for the downgrade, it is Paul Ryan and his fellow House Republicans.
5). Ryan Hints that Obama is a Socialist.
What Ryan Said, “None of us have to settle for the best this administration offers – a dull, adventureless journey from one entitlement to the next, a government-planned life, a country where everything is free but us.”
The Truth: Ryan’s sly nod to the right wing talking point that Obama is some sort of secret socialist hides the fact that this president is the biggest taxcutter in American history. This is a president whose biggest policy achievement is a healthcare reform that will give private sector health insurance companies millions of new customers. Obama is a lot of things, but he is definitely not a socialist.
Ryan speech showed both why Romney chose him, and why he isn’t going to help the ticket. Romney chose Ryan because he can talk the talk the far right conservative backbone wants to hear. Ryan sent the crowd on the convention floor into euphoric joy with his claims that Obamacare is the root of all evil, and big spending Barack Obama is ruining the country with his secret socialism.
This kind of rhetoric only resonates with the Republican Party. Any non Republican tuning probably wondered what that teenage boy on stage was so darn mad about. That’s the other problem with Paul Ryan. He lacks gravitas. When you listen to Paul Ryan speak, you don’t hear leader of the free world. You hear a teenager railing against Mom and Dad because he can’t have the car tonight. This perception is only advanced by Ryan’s constant usage of his mother as a political human shield.
All told, the GOP’s big idea man(child) gave a speech that completely lacking in ideas. This was completely forgettable speech by a completely forgettable running on a completely forgettable ticket.
The problem with your first point is that you didn't include what Ryan said just prior to that. Ryan did not blame Obama for the factory's closing.
Please review and revise.
Get off the blog, Republican operative. No one is fooled by your bull@!$%#.
Especially a lib troll like you!!!! More proof that libs would rather put party before country!!!!!
@ekrapretep ......And the Republican Congress that stated for the record that their number one agenda going into 2009 was to keep Obama from accomplishing anything, and winning back the White House. They followed up that statement by not doing anything accept work to infringe on voting rights and womens rights while catering exclusively to their lobby's, rich whites and their puppeteers.....if that isn't putting party before country I don't know what is....you sir are an ignorant fool with no right to stay in this country if you continue to lie to yourself and everyone else just to have things fulfill your warped perspective....hearing and seeing only what you want to hear and see via Rush, Fox, Hannity and all the rest.....You're a blight on our constitution and a traitor to the nation.
On the night of President Obama's inauguration, there was a group of elected legislators and two non legislators who met in DC to plot how to undermine a duly elected President. This is related in Robert Draper's great book "Do Not Ask What Good We Do:Inside the U.S. House of Representatives" the following excerpt courtesy of Huffington Post:
According to Draper, the guest list that night (which was just over 15 people in total) included Republican Reps. Eric Cantor (Va.), Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), Paul Ryan (Wis.), Pete Sessions (Texas), Jeb Hensarling (Texas), Pete Hoekstra (Mich.) and Dan Lungren (Calif.), along with Republican Sens. Jim DeMint (S.C.), Jon Kyl (Ariz.), Tom Coburn (Okla.), John Ensign (Nev.) and Bob Corker (Tenn.). The non-lawmakers present included Newt Gingrich, several years removed from his presidential campaign, and Frank Luntz, the long-time Republican wordsmith. Notably absent were Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) -- who, Draper writes, had an acrimonious relationship with Luntz.
Please note that one of them was Paul Ryan, the GOP's current nominee for VP.
In my view, this meeting was tantamount to treason. They are not interested in helping the country improve its financial health, never were, they are only interested in the power that comes with the office. The fact that there was a black man now as President, was just about more than they could deal with, to them it made it all the more easy to undermine him.
www.huffingtonpost.com/.../robert-draper-anti-obama-campai...Cached
Gingerbread Mama, Excellent post, and so true.
I actually screamed at the TV when Romney said how they "wanted Obama to succeed"!
I was well aware of the meeting of the right-wing on the very night of the inauguration, where they laid out their egregious plans to destroy the new president.
#8 P Russel, Great post. We need to get these facts out there! Thank you!
TheRealChris,
Please provide proof that Ryan directly blamed Obama for the plant closing. I am giddy with anticipation for you to do so. It would be the first time that I would see you put forth some actual information that wasn't completely biased or spew far left vitriol toward someone. I don't usually stoop to saying things like this, but you are terrible at refuting what someone says especially in an adult capacity.
PRussel, do you have any direct irrefutable evidence that the stimulus directly cause all those benefits to the U.S.? If that is indeed the case, then why don't we have a stimulus every year and all will be right with the world.
www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2012/jan/11/mitt-romney/romney-says-obamas-stimulus-package-over-1-million/
Thanks, Cynical. It is refreshing to see someone post information without a bunch of political bias and rhetoric. Much appreciated!
They should have had these guys from the (GM plant) in Wiconsin, at the GOP convention in Tampa telling the TRUE to Republicans Party <<<>>>>wonder why not???
Because they are spinning it. pmsnbc is the one's lying about it. Try waking up and seeing the truth as it is, not as Ed sees it. He is still bitter after the Walker recall failure. Can't wait to see him have to announce PRESIDENT ROMNEY!!! He may just have a heart attack on election night!
You tell 'em Spiderman! Peter Parker backwards. How original.
rekrapretep: Perhaps you put too much emphasis on Walker's holding off the recall election. People who voted for Walker said they were not necessarily supporting Walker, but rather did not think that the issue did not rise to the level of why you have a recall election.
MJB in Des Moines#9.2~~Now that is good! You go G/G
rek,
take your rush limbaugh talking points and go over to fux news.
Ryan did not blame Obama for the plant's closing. Read the text of his speech. He acknowledged that the plant was slated to be closed:
"When he talked about change, many people liked the sound of it, especially in Janesville, where we were about to lose a major factory..."
The shutdown of the plant was not Ryan's point. He criticized Obama's statement about the government being there to support the company, and the plant. He noted that Obama used the factory as a symbol of what his plans and what government will do for the economy:
Right there at that plant, candidate Obama said: ‘I believe that if our government is there to support you … this plant will be here for another hundred years.’ That’s what he said in 2008.”
The truth is, the plant is still closed. His point was that there has not been a recovery under Obama.
I didn't realize the POTUS was the head of GM,.... I don't think he has much say in the matter. It's ultimately up to GM.
No one said that. The government actually had a LOT of say in it, with the bailout and all.
It still isn't relevant. Ryan didn't blame Obama for the closing of that facility, contra what every news organization is saying.
Another Republican operative trying to say black is white, white is black, everything's gray, and let's just forget about it.
The point is the plant would have been closed regardless. It was in the works for years prior to 2008. Get your facts straight and quit with the lies Jack Blair or whatever your real name is...
"IF our government is there to support you"... Paul Ryan tried to make sure the government DIDN'T support anyone.
The workers at the Janesville plant realize that Obama's re-election gives them the greatest hope of seeing that plant reopened.
Jack Blair-5845629#10~~Actually, Lying Ryan, WAS lying by placing the BLAME on President Obama, for the Janesville plant closing, knowing full well that his low information, lie accepting followers (you and your ilk) would defend him. You need to understand, LYING RYAN was lying about the Janesville plant closing, as a distraction from the failure of the Bush tax cuts for the job creators, to create jobs.
Mr. Blair, #10, Now, for some reason, what you just said made a light bulb go off in my head about why you (the GOP) support these lies they tell, either outright or through inference.
Racism can be conscious or unconscious, but we all know it is alive and well in America today. I just got the thought that it isn't because Obama is black that so many people hate him. It is because he is not what they want to believe about blacks. How can they live with a black man; an articulate, handsome, mannerly, well educated, talented black man who holds the office and power of the presidency? This disturbs them greatly, I believe, as it goes against their prejudices, their life long bigotry, their need to "look down" on some race or ethnic group in order to feel better about themselves somehow.
I am not accusing you of this, but I think I am on to why people hate him so much that they'd put a man like Romney in his place. (Not to mention a strange creature like Ryan!) and why they keep calling him a failure. I actually heard someone say he, (Obama), had a "dark, scary soul!" In fact, Obama is a very moral, ethical man; good husband and father. There is nothing dark and scary about him!
It seems to be so very important that they see him as "other', as a failure, as "dark". I think I am right: They can't accept him for who and what he actually is because it disturbs their life long ideas and prejudices!
India~ You could be right about that, but I also think it's because they thought they had 2008 sewn up with McCain. They had no idea so many people would vote for Obama and they were enraged that it put their sinister plans on hold for four years. That's why they're pulling every trick in the book to keep him from getting back in. If he does, it will delay their plans ANOTHER four years. And they don't want to wait that long for a takeover. We should be VERY afraid of these guys. I just heard the other day how many plans the FBI has thwarted to assassinate the Prez, eleven I think. Things we've never heard about. It's scary out there. God keep us all safe.
So you guys went from saying that he blamed Obama, now he is placing the blame on Obama. No where in Ryan's speech did he directly blame the President. You can't prove that he did, so now you insult Romney supporters saying that they are too stupid to know the difference. And now you pull out the tired racist rediculousness because all of your orevious nonsense didn't seem to add up. This is facinating. Many here are now EXACTLY what they accuse the other side of being. Congratulations. You are now the pot and the kettle.
TheRealChris,
Keep on doing what you do. Even though you add absolutely nothing of value to any thread I've ever seen and don't have a single original thought, you're comments are fantastic to laugh at. I've never found pointlessness to be so amusing. I thank you.
Chef #10.11
I have to agree with you; this whole thread has got me laughing SO hard I had a heck of a time getting through it.
To the "Comedians" on this thread--why are we crying over spilt milk (WI is the "Dairyland" afterall). I happen to live in WI, and from what I could tell, I happen to be the only Wisconsinite on here?
The GM plant was not the only plant in WI to close down. And whether or not the Janesville plant closed down before or after Obama got into office is moot at this point.
What IS Obama's fault, however, IS the fact that all these people can't find another job and/or have to travel to other states looking for work. Obama is the cause of the sad economy we live in now.
Get over the "Lyin' Ryan" bit--it's the "Lyin' Hawaiian" who has taken away all the jobs in the form of a deflated economy, regardless if it's a GM plant or not.
When the Chrysler plant in Kenosha, WI closed its doors many years ago, there were a lot of unemployed people, but they were able to find other jobs and/or go back to school to learn new skills--they could do that back then because Obama was not yet in office and the economy was different.
All this sputtering about what was the correct date--"no, it was this! no, it was that!" who cares? It's a moot point right now. I'd I'd bet you all a lot of lost wages that had those ex-GM employees NOT been Obama-loving jerks, they would have told a different story!
Did you catch the word if in that statement it's rather important......Obama said if the support from the government was there he thought the plant wouldn't close...so the support obviously wasn't there so that makes his predication kind of right doesn't it?
To try and argue that Paul Ryan was not trying to blame Obama for the plant's closing is laughable considering where and when he was speaking. If he wasn't blaming anyone the whole mention would irrelavent so if he was talkig about there not being a recovery he would have just said that like he did in the other portions of his speech unrelated to this.
Trying to argue that's not what he said is like trying to say Michelle Bachmann didn't say the HPV vaccine causes mental retardation. Did she literally says that "the HPV vaccines makes you retarded" but if you aren't smart enough to understand why people might get the impression your linking the two you're just a fool.
As for Mr. Dutcher, it turns out he is in the UAW union leadership. Mr. Schultz has a history of doing this (remember the Mr Lutz, the teacher he interviewed, who turned to also be more than just a rank-and-file union member).
Brad Dutcher, from UAW.org:
He was first elected to Local 95 Leadership in 1993 as a Bargaining Representative. He served in this role for six years. Brad was elected Vice President in 2001, where he remained until 2008, when he was elected Local Union President.
A Journeyman Carpenter by trade, Dutcher served on the Bylaws, Conservation, Building, and Editors Committees at Local 95. Dutcher was a member of the Janesville/Madison area CAP committee and sat on the Wisconsin State CAP Board.
He was appointed to the International Staff as a Servicing Rep by, then Director, Dennis Williams in July of 2008.
In addition to his Servicing duties, Brad served as Region 4 Coordinator for the Skilled Trades, IPS and TOP Councils, and the Region 4 Arbitration Pool.
As for you, you are a propagandist, who was assigned to counter the usual bad behavior of the Republican party and try to make people think that everything they see the Republican party do is all in their imagination. This is your first day on the blog, and you came here for no other purpose. We're used to you fools, and nothing you do will influence anybody.
Are you being paid by the Koch's, or Rove?
And Mr. Ducther's membership in the Union has what to with the facts on Janesville Closing? That has been well-documented elsewhere; Ryan has even "walked his statement back," and Ed Schultz merely put a human face to the plant closing...
That Union swipe smacks of McCarthyism; I mean there were Commies infiltrating the unions, therefore all unions are bad...
Are you or have you ever been a member of the AFL-CIO?
Koch or Rove... Either is a four-letter word...
The real Chris, #12.1 You are on to something with Blair. I am certain. He is being paid by someone! See #10.8, my post.
your troll blogging is not helping one bit---- Will and Jack
It would have been nice to hear from any one of the 57 UAW members that continued to build trucks in the plant until April 2009, four months after it closed. MSNBC lies and then lies more. If the plant closed in 2008, why were they still building trucks in the plant in April 2009? A simple question?
2ez, according to wikipedia
You're apparently too simple to figure it out for yourself.
Here's something at your level. If you start the school year in 2011, and you graduate in 2012, does that mean you weren't in school in 2011?
Chris, What does that mean? Was the plant open and operational, at least to a limited degree in April 2009 or was the plant closed in 2008 as reported by MSNBC?
Only one of the two statements can be true, which is it? Who lied Ryan or MSNBC?
Chris, Don't let me down, answer the questions above. Was the plant open in April 2009 or was in closed in 2008? Did Ryan or MSNBC lie?
2ez,
why were they still building trucks in 2009?
they were completing orders.
2ez-
Apparently my question was still above your level. I should have dumbed it down further.
Unfortunately, I'm just not that dumb.
2ez4u2c2#14~~Those evil union thugs, forced GM to complete their contract obligation, knowing Lying Ryan would blame Obama for the closing and you would believe the LYING RYAN!
2ez4u2c2#14.4~~Lying Ryan knowingly lied, diliberately compromising the intelligence of his low information followers. If you had the smarts to desire fact over fiction, (lies), you would do your own research to learn the facts. MSNBC, does no knowingly lie. If they ever mis-speak, they come back and make correction with an apology.
Suzette, So the plant was operational in 2009. There were UAW members still working there until April 2009. It was not closed, but they were only completing an order for an existing contract. Sound to me like the plant did not close in 2008 as reported by Ed, Maddow, Matthews, and the rest of the MSNBC line up.
I believe Ryan was misleading the public by suggesting Obama had an opportunity to save the plant that was all but closed when he took office. Obama had only four months in office by the time the plant closed its doors for good, too like time, I believe for any one to turn it around. That said, MSNBC was wrong to initially report and continue to report the plant was closed in 2008. I also believe many of the viewers know the truth but refuse to accept it.
Chris and Gran, You are both doing a great job avoiding the point and the facts in your posts. As for the lie, while Ryan may have been misleading as I said in my response to Suzette, it was and is the MSNBC staff that is lying. I am fairly certain they know you know they are lying, but simply do not care. Their false reports support your tainted view and keeps you happily ignorant.
2eztodealwith, you are doing a lousy job misleading and distracting us. You are an utter failure.
Chris, There s an old saying, "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink". In this case it applies the you. When faced with the fact that the Janesville Plant was open and operating in April 2009, you simply decide not to believe it because MSNBC tell you not to believe it. I wonder if Obama will get votes from free thinking individuals or from a mindless group of faithful MSNBC followers?
Why don't you add up all the people on this blog you've made agree with you and your bull@!$%# lies and ask yourself if coming here accomplishes anything at all.
nope
It's called finishing orders. If I have a restaurant that closes at 10pm officially, and say a customer orders food at 9:40 or some time shortly before closing....say it takes til after 10pm to complete the order they agreed to fill doesn't that mean I just stop cooking when the cloak strikes 10pm if that last order is finished?
The plant was not open, a plant that's open is hiring and actively doing business. This is like saying hiring a cleaning crew to clean a house you own for re-sale or rent that there are people in the house though the family has already moved out. Are the cleaners people who are live....yes. Are they in the house....yes. But seriously does that mean people were still living there?
Or back to the other example if my restaurant closes officially at 10 but there are employees there after that time to clean, inspect and lock up for the next day does that make the restaurant open? Obviously not.
Seriously like they could have said "we're not going to keep our end....we're not going to give you what you already for because we're closed....have nice day thank you"...were they just supposed to leave their projects unfinished for the customers?
Cynical, Your examples simply do not apply to a manufacturing company. In San Diego, we have Southwest Marine and NASSCO both companies build, repair, and modify ships. We also have Goodyear while builds aircraft parts. These companies have been open and operational for decades. At times the have a lot of contracts and others they have not. I have seen the work force reduced from thousands of employees to only a few hundred. Once Southwest Marine was reduced to only Security Guard Force of 50 employees. None of this companies were closed or considered closed.
The Janesville Plant stopped GM production in late 2008 and continued to produce Isuzu small trucks until April 2009. If Isuzu expanded the contract or negotiated a second contract for 50,000 small trucks in January 2009, would you continue to say the plant that was open in April 2009 was closed in 2008?
Regardless of your play on words and inappropriate examples the fact remains the Janesville Plant was open, operating, and building trucks in April 2009.
Lastly I am really surprised to see you attempt to defend these MSNBC lies.
Downsizing is not closing and never in any way implied that at all. The point you fail to understand is that by the time the election happened the owners of the plant had made the decision to close it. It was closing no matter what the question is when that decision occur. It wasn't being downsized it was closing. They were not having workers there. Is Southwest Marine still in business because this plant isn't.....
They already intended to close shop. What should Obama have done? Told GM that they were going to re-open the plant and start production again whether they wanted to or not?
And would you say the decision made in 2008 was because of Obama who didn't take office til 2009? You can play "what if" games forever......what if the building caught fire, or what if a condor flew through the window and clawed my eyes out......in what-if land anything is possible but this is not what-if land. So DID they get a larger contract? Yes or no? In all actuality it doesn't really matter since if they did Izuzu would have been negotiating with the company not the plant. The plant isn't a business or a company in itself. If they didn't nothing would have changed and if they did GM has plenty of other factories to fill additional orders.
Again when did the company decide to close the factory? You can play semantics all you like the fact is that this factory was going to be closed. It was not maybe going to be closed it was shutting down according to the companies wishes in '08. So despite your attempts you can't put that on Obama.
www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2012/aug/29/paul-ryan/did-barack-obama-break-promise-keep-gm-plant-open/
Cynical, I am not have have not tried to put any thing on Obama. I was challenging the truthfulness of MSNBC and some of Ed' viewers. I have said many times that Ryan did not lie, at best he mislead. I actually don't believe the decision to close the plant was made in 2008. Companies the size of GM typically have 5 and 10 years plans, they don't make a decision to close a plant like Janesville in a few months or even a year. That decision was in all probability made three, four, or five years ago. But that is a little off topic.
I just don't understand why some of Ed's viewers refuse to accecpt the fact that Ed continues to lie about the closing. They jump on the band wagon pointing the finger of guilt at Ryan and call him a lair, when he didn't lie while at the same time they ignore Ed's lies.
I am glad to see you have accepted the fact that the plant was indeed open in April 2009. By the way, a restaurant will generally serve customers after the closing time, but they also serve customers the next day. The Janesville plant was indeed serving customers the next day.
Yeah. After closing time.
Chris, Your refusal to accept the fact the Janesville Plant was open and operating in April 2009 may very well explain why Democrats think Obama is doing such a great job. Do you think Michelle Obama is still Proud of America?
Do you think playing word games changes the facts?
The problem, Chris, is that playing word games - while it doesn't change the facts - does support the deception, and therefore drives the election toward a more random outcome instead of an outcome based on the merits. The Republicans know that if average Americans really dug down into the two parties and how they'll drive our nation that while neither will really come out smelling like roses, the Republicans will come out looking like the supporters of rich, greedy money-grubers that they are, while the Democrats will come out looking far less dangerous, and probably even net-beneficial rather than net-detrimental - either way, the Democrats will come out looking much better than the Republicans. So deception that drives a more random outcome fosters their chances of victory.
Chris, You know as well as I that the only deception in this discussion is the lies reported by Ed and promoted by you. You agree with Ed the the Janesville Plant closed in late 2008 while you admit is was producing trucks in April 2009. You are also the only one playing word games? I bet you would argue the Unemployment Rate has never exceeded 8% under Obama, because Obama promised it wouldn't.
The problem with the dems is they are too busy looking for snipes and not looking for solutions. Ed, once again you are barking up the wrong tree. Just keep looking for your made up war on women, war on the elderly, war on...
pmsnbc ought to go the way of the do do bird and AirAmerica!!!
rek,
rush limbaugh fan?
Enough sheep here to feed the country pork chops for a year!!!!
So you believe pork chops come from sheep, huh? Well, that explains why you believe the GOP lies.
LOL...Thats your typical teabagger voter, dumb as a rock and totally gullible.
He must think sirloin comes from pigs! Ha! Ha! Ha! Just when you think they can't get any dumber!
I don't think Obama actually made a promise about the plant but I think they were expecting some of that "Hope and Change" that he did promise to make it to Janesville, which didn't happen.
Should Be a Great One!
2012 Democrat National Convention Schedule in little Charlotte, N.C. (Joe Biden thinks it is in Virginia)
4:00 PM - Opening Flag Burning Ceremony - sponsored by NBC, MSNBC, CBS, ABC
4:05 PM - Singing of "God Damn America" led by Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
4:10 PM - Pledge of Allegiance to Obama.
4:15 PM - Ceremonial 'I hate America' led by Michelle Obama.
4:30 PM - Tips on "How to keep your man trustworthy & true to you while you travel the world" - Hillary Clinton
4:45 PM -Al Sharpton & Jesse Jackson seminar "How to have a successful career without having a job."
5:00 PM - "Great Vacations I've Taken on the Taxpayer's Dime Travel Log" - Michelle Obama.
5:30 PM - Eliot Spitzer Speaks on "Family Values" via Satellite.
5:45 PM - Tribute to All 57 States - Nancy Pelosi
6:00 PM - Sen. Harry Reid - 90-minute speech expressing the Democrat's appreciation of the Occupy Wall Street movement, and George Soros for sparing no expense, for all that they have accomplished to unify the
country, improve employment Romney's Tax returns and to boost the economy.
6:30 PM - Ethics in Politics - Nancy Pelosi
6:35 PM - How to blame some one else for your own incompetence - Obama
7:00 PM - Tribute to Kenya, Barack's home country - Michelle Obama (she said it herself)
7:15 PM - My Muslim Faith - Obama (he said it himself)
7:30 PM - How to get your birth control paid for by the taxpayers - Sandra Fluck
8:00 PM - How to speak with and Indian dialect when visiting a 7/11 - Joe Biden
8:30 PM - Airing of Grievances by both Clintons.
9:00 PM - "Bias in Media - How we can make it work for you" Tutorial - sponsored by CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, the Washington Post and the New York Times.
9:15 PM - Tribute Film to Brave Freedom Fighters incarcerated at GITMO - Michael Moore.
9:45 PM - Personal Finance Seminar - Charlie Rangel.
10:00 PM - Denunciation of Bitter Gun Owners and Bible readers.
10:15 PM- How to cheat on your taxes and still serve in government
- Tim Geithner.
10:30 PM – Ceremonial Waving of White Flag for IRAQ & Afghanistan.
11:00 PM - Obama Energy Plan Symposium / Tire Gauge Demonstration
/ You too can get rich with Green Investment bankruptcies.
11:15 PM - Free Gov. Blagovich rally.
11:30 PM - Obama Accepts Oscar, Tony and Latin Grammy Awards
11:45 PM - Feeding of the Delegates with 5 Loaves and 2 Fish… Obama Presiding.
12:00 AM - Official Nomination of Obama by Bill Maher and Chris
"He sends a thrill up my leg" Matthews.
12:01 AM - Obama Accepts Nomination as Lord and Savior.
12:05 AM - Celestial Choirs Sing
Re: #19
Posting the same stuff over and over does not 1) make it any more true or 2) any more "funny"
@ maphi
And it was neither true nor funny the first time around... Just a lot of racist bile...
metoo999, I hope you are proud of your new KKK sheets. You are a disgusting bigot. You are proof positive of the racist republican party. According to Tim Wise (White Anti-Racist Author), "As many of us face the prospects of long unemployment, the conservative politicians behind whom we have increasingly lined up offer nothing but condemnation and contempt."
Metoo999, You fit the description on my post. #10.8, perfectly!
Did you think your post was funny, A.H.? It was stupid.
Thank you, Ed, for your excellent review of the Republican convention. You are so correct. The Republicans did not discuss their policies or upcoming agenda. Speaker after speaker did nothing but attack President Obama.
There was nothing concrete said about what Romney would do as President. Their comments were all obviously written by speech writers. The coordination of their commentary was very revealing of that.
But worse, the speakers' speeches were filled with lies. The delegates applauded vociferously as they heard the lies. Certainly, they knew the truth. They were applauding their candidates' willingness to lie to win the White House.
Those right wing delegates were as sorrowful and disgraceful as the speakers. A democracy needs truth and honesty from its leaders to survive.
Wow put down the kool aid..........
and open your eyes.......
Fact koolaid drinkers are people who follow their leaders blindly, tea bagged republicans have leaders democrats have public servants, to bad for you that you just can't grasp that no one but the stupid follow.
The biggest lie told was Romney's claim that his crowd wanted the the President to succeed.
(see Humbaugh® Rush, and McConnell Mitch... Hey, Letterman was calling Romney "Mitch"? That where that one came from?)
Yeah, I wonder where?
What has Obama really accomplished in the last 3 and 1/2 years?
Last edited Sat Sep 1, 2012, 12:50 AM USA/ET - Edit history (1)
What has Obama Done? Here Are 200 Accomplishments! With Citations!
If you're one of those who thinks President Obama is a "disappointment," my condolences for you not getting your unicorn. And it's time to grow up, and get over it. We have a little over two months to go before an election that will feature more political ads than you have ever seen before. We don't just have to beat Willard Romney; we also have to beat Citizens United. There will be TWO choices for president; it's not a smorgasbord. You can either work for Obama and every other Democrat (yes, including Blue Dogs), or you can sit back and watch Willard Romney complete the job of taking apart the social fabric of the country that was first undertaken by Ronald Reagan 32 years ago. That is your choice.
What makes the "disappointment" argument even more irritating is that it's simply not true. He's done nearly everything we elect a president to do, and he did it all with little support from the left, and massive obstruction from the right. .
Is he perfect? No, he's human. Does he deserve some criticism? Of course, but at this point, it really doesn't matter.
What does matter is that this president has compiled a STELLAR recordm given the circumstances under which he took office. If you can look at this list of the president's accomplishments and not be excited, you have a serious problem with perspective.
Pass this list around to everyone you know. And don't be afraid; unlike many such lists, every item includes a link to a citation supporting it.
He Returned The Executive Branch To Fiscal Responsibility After the Bush Debacle
1. Within his first week, he signed an Executive Order ordering an audit of government contracts, and combating waste and abuse.
2. Created the post of Chief Performance Officer, whose job it is to make operations more efficient to save the federal government money.
3. On his first full day, he froze White House salaries.
4. He appointed the first Federal Chief Information Officer to oversee federal IT spending.
5. He committed to phasing out unnecessary and outdated weapons systems. To that end, he also signed the Democratic-sponsored Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Act, which attempted to put a stop to waste, fraud and abuse in the defense procurement and contracting system.
6. Through an executive order, he created the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.
He Improved the Economy, Preventing a Bush Depression
7. Pushed through and signed the Democratic-sponsored American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, otherwise known as “the stimulus package.” The bill passed, even though only three Republicans voted for it. In a major departure from the previous administration, he launched recovery.gov, a website that allows taxpayers to track spending from the Act.
8. The Bush-led Great Recession was costing the economy nearly 800,000 jobs per month by the time President Obama took office. But by the end of his first year, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act created and sustained 2.1 million jobs and stimulated the economyby 3.5%.
9. Not only did he completed the massive TARP financial and banking rescue plan, he also leaned on the banks and others, and recovered virtually all of the bail-out money.
10. He created the Making Home Affordable home refinancing plan.
11. Oversaw the creation of more jobs in 2010 alone than Bush did in eight years.
12. Along with Democrats, and almost no Republicans, implemented an auto industry rescue plan, and saved as many as 1 million jobs. Many are of the opinion that he saved the entire auto industry, and even the economy of the entire Midwest. This resulted in GM returning to its place as the top car company in the world. Willard Romney, on the other hand, advocated for the entire industry to go belly-up.
13. Doubled funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, which is designed to improve manufacturing efficiency.
14. Signed the Democratic-sponsored Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act giving the federal government more tools to investigate and prosecute fraud in every corner of the financial system, and create a bipartisan Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission to investigate the financial fraud that led to the economic meltdown.
15. Signed the Democratic-sponsored Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act, which was designed to to protect consumers from unfair and deceptive credit card practices.
16. Increased infrastructure spending after years of neglect.
17. Signed the Democratic-sponsored and passed Helping Families Save Their Homes Act, expanding on the Making Home Affordable Program to help millions of Americans avoid preventable foreclosures. The bill also provided $2.2 billion to help combat homelessness, and to stabilize the housing market.
18. Through the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009, he and Congressional Democrats provided tax credits to first-time home buyers, which helped the U.S. housing market recovery.
19. Initiated a $15 billion plan designed to encourage increased lending to small businesses.
20. Created business.gov, which allows for online collaboration between small businesses and experts re managing a business. (The program has since merged with SBA.gov.)
21. Played a lead role in getting the G-20 Summit to commit to a $1.1 trillion deal to combat the global financial crisis.
22. Took steps to improve minority access to capital.
23. Signed an Executive Order instructing federal agencies to review all federal regulations and remove any unnecessary and/or burdensome regulations from the books.
24. Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, saved at least 300,000 education jobs, such as teachers, principals, librarians, and counselors that would have otherwise been lost.
25. Dismantled the Minerals Management Service, thereby cutting ties between energy companies and the government.
26. Along with Congressional Democrats, provided funding to states and the Department of Homeland Security to save thousands of police and firefighter jobs from being cut during the recession.
27. Used recovered TARP money to fund programs at local housing finance agencies in California, Florida, Nevada, Arizona and Michigan.
28. Crafted an Executive order establishing the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability to assist in financial education for all Americans.
He Fostered Greater Transparency and Better Government, After the Excesses of the Bush Years
29. Signed an order banning gifts from lobbyists to anyone in the Executive Branch.
30. Signed an order banning anyone from working in an agency they had lobbied in previous years, and put strict limits on lobbyists’ access to the White House.
31. Held the first-ever first online town hall from the White House, and took questions from the public.
32. Became the first to stream every White House event, live.
33. Established a central portal for Americans to find service opportunities.
34. Provided the first voluntary disclosure of the White House Visitors Log in history.
35. Issued an Executive Order on Presidential Records, which restored the 30-day time frame for former presidents to review records, and eliminated the right for the vice president or family members of former presidents to do the reviews. Provides the public with greater access to historic White House documents, and severely curtails the ability to use executive privilege to shield them.
36. Improved aspects of the Freedom of Information Act, and issued new guidelines to make FOIA more open and transparent when processing FOIA requests.
Wall Street Reforms and Consumer Protection
37. Ordered 65 executives who took bailout money to cut their own pay until they paid back all bailout money.
38. Along with Congressional Democrats, pushed through and got passed Dodd-Frank, one of the largest and most comprehensive Wall Street reforms since the Great Depression.
39. Through Dodd-Frank legislation, created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
40. Through Dodd-Frank, the Executive Branch fashioned rules that reduce the influence of speculators in the oil market.
41. Fashioned rules so that banks can no longer use YOUR money to invest in high-risk financial instruments that work against their own customers' interests.
42. Supported the concept of allowing stockholders to vote on executive compensation.
43. Endorsed and supported the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act of 2009 that would close offshore tax avoidance loopholes.
44. Negotiated a deal with Swiss banks that now permits the US government to gain access to the records of criminals and tax evaders.
45. Signed the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act, which closed many of the loopholes that allowed companies to send jobs overseas, and avoid paying US taxes by moving money offshore.
46. Established a Consumer Protection Financial Bureau designed to protect consumers from financial sector excesses.
47. Oversaw and then signed a Democratic bill constituting the most sweeping food safety legislation since the Great Depression.
48. Through the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act, extended the False Claims Act to combat fraud by companies and individuals usingmoney from the TARP and Stimulus programs.
He Ushered Through Many Changes That Enhanced Civil Rights and Anti-Discrimination
49. Along with Congressional Democrats, advocated for and signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which made it a federal crime to assault anyone based on his or her sexual orientation or gender identity.
50. Pushed through, signed and demanded the Pentagon enact a repeal of the discriminatory “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy that forced soldiers to lie in order to be eligible to fight for their country, and put our troops at risk by disqualifying many qualified soldiers from helping.
51. Extended benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees.
52. Appointed more openly gay officials than anyone in history.
53. Appointed first openly transgender Cabinet Official in History.
54. Changed HUD rules to prohibit gender and sexual orientation-based discrimination in housing bit.ly/9RxEnP
55. Changed his mind and publicly expressed support for the right to enter into a same-sex marriage.
56. Issued a Presidential Memorandum reaffirming the rights of gay couples to make medical decisions for each other.
57. Wrote and signed an Executive Order establishing a White House Council on Women and Girls to ensure that all Cabinet and Cabinet-level agencies evaluate the effect of their policies and programs on women and families.
58. Signed the Democratic-sponsored Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which restored basic protections against pay discrimination for women and other workers. This was after the GOP blocked the bill in 2007. Only 5 Republican Senators voted for the bill.
59. Expanded funding for the Violence Against Women Act.
60. Under his guidance, National Labor Relations Board issued final rules that require all employers to prominently post employees' rights where all employees or prospective employees can see it, including websites and intranets, beginning November 2011.
61. Advocated that United Nations adopt a policy supporting gay rights worldwide.
62. Issued an order requiring hospitals to allow visitation by same-sex couples. reut.rs/llNJek
63. Appointed Kareem Dale as the first ever Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy.
64. Helped Democrats in Congress pass and signed the Civil Rights History Act.
He Made Major Improvements in Foreign Relations and American Status Around the World
65. Visited more countries and met with more world leaders than any previous president during his first six months in office.
66. As he promised, he gave a speech at a major Islamic forum in Cairo early in his administration.
67. Helped to restore America's reputation around the world as a global leader that does the "right thing" in world affairs, at least according to the rest of the world.
68. Re-established and reinforced our partnership with NATO and other allies on strategic international issues.
69. Closed a number of secret detention facilities.
70. Improved relations with Middle East countries by appointing special envoys.
71. Pushed for military to emphasize devlopment of foreign language skills.
72. Offered $400 million to the people living in Gaza, called on both Israel and the Palestinians to stop inciting violence.
73. Refused to give Israel the green light to attack Iran over their possible nuclear program, and thus avoid another war that Republicans wanted.
74. Worked with Democratic Congress to make donations to Haiti tax deductible in 2009.
75. Established a new U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue.
76. Issued Executive Order blocking interference and helping to stabilize Somalia.
77. Established new, more reasonable policies in our relations with Cuba, such as allowing Cuban-Americans to visit their families and send money to support them.
78. Ordered the closure of the prison at Guantanamo Bay. It was Republicans (and, unfortunately, progressive Democrats) who prevented follow through.
79. Ordered a review of our detention and interrogation policy, and prohibited the use of torture, or what Bush called "enhanced interrogation." He ordered interrogators to limit their actions to the Army Field manual.
80. Ordered all secret detention facilities in Eastern Europe and elsewhere to be closed.
81. Released the Bush torture memos.
82. On his second day in office, he signed a detailed Executive Order that banned torture, reversed all Bush torture policies, and put the United States in compliance with the Geneva Convention.
83. In response to the emerging "Arab Spring," he created a Rapid Response fund, to assist emerging democracies with foreign aid, debt relief, technical assistance and investment packages in order to show that the United States stands with them.
84. Passed the Iran Sanctions Act, to prevent war, and to encourage Iran to give up their nuclear program.
85. Ended the Iraq War.
86. Authorized and oversaw a secret mission by SEAL Team Six to rescue two hostages held by Somali pirates.
He Took a More Realistic Approach to “Defense”
87. Created a comprehensive new strategy for dealing with the international nuclear threat.
88. Authorized a $1.4 billion reduction in Star Wars program in 2010.
89. Restarted nuclear nonproliferation talks and built up the nuclear inspection infrastructure/protocols to where they had been before Bush.
90. Signed and pushed through ratification a new SALT Treaty.
91. Negotiated and signed a new START Treaty that will lst until at least 2021.
92. Through the Defense Authorization Act, reversed the Bush Administration and committed to no permanent military bases in Iraq.
93. Developed first comprehensive strategy with regard to Afghanistan and Pakistan designed to facilitate the defeat of al Qaeda and the withdrawal of most troops, as well as the rebuilding of Afghanistan.
94. Returned our focus to Afghanistan, stabilized the country, and began the process of withdrawing our troops from the country.
95. Negotiated a deal with Afghan govenment, to withdraw troops and military support, while assisting in rebuilding and modernizing of the country.
96. Took steps to severely weaken al Qaeda and limited their ability to terrorize the world.
97. Negotiated and signed a nuclear nonproliferation treaty with India.
98. Took decisive action to use NATO to limit the slaughter of innocents in Libya, so that the Libyan people could topple a despotic government and determine their own fate.
His Administration Treated Soldiers and Veterans with Respect That Was Missing Previously
99. Along with Congressional Democrats, not only reauthorized families of fallen soldiers to be able to visit when the body arrives at Dover AFB, but also provided funding for it. Ended the media blackout on coverage of the return of fallen soldiers.
100. Funded Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) with an extra $1.4 billion to improve veterans’ services.
101. Provided active combat troops with better body armor.
102. Created Joint Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record program for military personnel, in order to improve the quality of their medical care.
103. Put an end to the Bush-era stop-loss policy that kept soldiers in Iraq/Afghanistan beyond their enlistment date. (personal note: my son will be in harm’s way for six fewer months with Obama as president, so you know I love this one.)
104. Along with Congressional Democrats, supported and signed Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act, which made more money available to enable better medical care for veterans.
105. Along with Congressional Democrats, ushered through largest spending increase in 30 years for Department of Veterans Affairs, with money to go to improved medical facilities, and to assist states in acquiring or constructing state nursing homes and extended care facilities.
106. Created the Green Vet Initiative, which provided special funding to the Labor Department to provide veterans with training in green jobs.
107. Initiated and signed a recruitment and employment plan to get more veterans into government jobs.
108. Oversaw a $4.6 billion expansion of the Veterans Administration budget to pay for more mental health professionals.
109. Signed the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act, which ensures that spouses of military personnel who are forced to move because their spouse is posted for military duty will be able to avoid state taxes in their temporary residence.
He Refocused the Federal Government on Education
110. Repeatedly increased funding for student financial aid, and at the same time cut the banks completely out of the process.
111. Reformed student loan program, to make it possible for students to refinance at a lower rate.
112. Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act , invested heavily in elementary, secondary and post-secondary education.
113. Created the Race to the Top program, which encouraged states to come up with effective school reforms and rewards the best of them.
114. Oversaw major expansion of broadband availability in K-12 schools nationwide ,
115. Oversaw major expansion in school construction.
116. Also through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, he put $5 billion into early education, including Head Start.
117. Signed the Democratic-sponsored Post-9/11 GI Bill, also known as GI Bill 2.0
118. Oversaw expansion of the Pell Grants program, to expand opportunity for low income students to go to college.
119. Along with Democratic Congress, passed and signed Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which provided an extra $12.2 billion in funds.
120. Took major new steps to protec students from ineffective for-profit colleges through "gainful employment" measures, whereby schools have to demonstrate that its students actually find work to get federal aid.
121. With First Lady Michelle Obama, passed the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, which will improve nutrition in schools and make children healthier.
He Pushed Through Improvements in National Safety and Security
122. Restored federal agencies such as FEMA to the point that they have been able to manage a huge number of natural disasters successfully.
123. Authorized Navy SEALS to successfully secure the release of a US captain held by Somali pirates and increased patrols off the Somali coast.
124. Has repeatedly beefed up border security
125. Ordered and oversaw the Navy SEALS operation that killed Osama bin Laden.
Reoriented Government to an Adult View on Science, Technology and Health Care
126. Created a Presidential Memorandum to restore scientific integrity in government decision-making.
127. Opened up process for fast-tracking patent approval for green energy projects.
128. Eliminated Bush-era restrictions on embryonic stem cell research, and provided increased federal support for biomedical and stem cell research.
129. Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, committed more federal funding, about $18 billion, to support non-defense science and research labs.
130. Signed Democratic-sponsored Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act, the first comprehensive attempt to improve the lives of Americans living with paralysis.
131. Expanded the Nurse-Family Partnership program, which provides home visits by trained registered nurses to low-income expectant mothers and their families, to cover more first-time mothers.
132. Obama EPA reveresed research ethics standards which allowed humands to be used as "guinea pigs" in tests of the effects of chemicals, to comply with numerous codes of medical ethics.
133. Conducted a cyberspace policy review.
134. Provided financial support for private sector space programs.
135. Oversaw enhanced earth mapping, to provide valuable data for agricultural, educational, scientific, and government use.
136. Along with Democrats in Congress, ushered through and signed a bill authorizing FDA to regulate tobacco. As a result, the FDA has Ordered Tobacco Companies to Disclose Cigarette Ingredients and banned sale of cigarettes falsely labeled as “light.”
137. Through American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, provided $500 million for Health Professions Training Programs.
138. Increased funding for community-based prevention programs.
139. Oversaw a 50% decrease in cost of prescription drugs for seniors.
140. Eliminated the Bush-era practice of forbidding Medicare from negotiating with drug companies on price.
141. Two weeks after taking office, signed Democratic-sponsored Children’s Health Insurance Reauthorization Act, which increased the number of children covered by health insurance by 4 million.
142. Urged Congress to investigate Anthem Blue Cross for raising premiums 39% without explanation. Democratic Rep. Waxman responded by launching a probe, and Anthem Blue Cross put increase on hold for two months.
143. Ushered through and signed Affordable Care Act, which expanded health insurance coverage to at least 30 million more people, ended many common insurance company practices that are often detrimental to those with coverage. He also established healthcare.gov, so that taxpayers could keep up with developments.
144. Through ACA, allowed children to be covered under their parents’ policy until they turned 26.
145. Through the ACA, provided tax breaks to allow 3.5 million small business to provide health insurance to their employees, and 29 million people will receive tax breaks to help them afford health insurance.
146. Through the ACA, expanded Medicaid to those making up to 133% of the federal poverty level.
147. Through the ACA, health insurance companies now have to disclose how much of your premium actually goes to pay for patient care.
148. Provisions in theACA have already resulted in Medicare costs actually declining slightly this fiscal year, for the first time in many years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The increase in 2011 was 4%, which is very low compared to the average 12% annual inflation rate during previous 40 years.
149. Through the ACA, expanded space exploration and discovery options to more players
150. Through the Connect America Fund, pushed through and received FCC approval for a move of $8 billion in subsidies away from telephone landlines to assist lower-income rural families in accessing broadband.
He Took Steps to Strengthen the Middle Class and Families, and to Fight Poverty
151. Worked to provide affordable, high-quality child care to working families.
152. Cracked down on companies that were previously denying sick pay, vacation and health insurance, and Social Security and Medicare tax payments through abuse of the employee classification of independent contractor.
153. Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act , cut taxes for 95% of America's working families.
154. Tax rates for average working families are the lowest since 1950.
155. Extended and fully funded the patch for the Alternative Minimum Tax for 10 years.
156. Extended discounted COBRA health coverage for the unemployed from 9 months to 15 months, and he’s extended unemployment benefits several times.
157. Provided a $20 billion increase for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Food Stamps).
158. Signed an Executive Order that established the White House Office of Urban Affairs.
He Took Concrete Steps to Improve Our Environment and Address Our Energy Needs
159. Fast-tracked regulations to allow states to enact fuel efficiency standards that exceeded federal standards.
160. Fast-tracked increased fuel economy standards for vehicles beginning with the 2011 model year. It was the first time such standards had been increased in a decade.
161. Oversaw establishment of an Energy Partnership for the Americas, to create more markets for American-made biofuels and green energy technologies.
162. Obama EPA reversed a Bush-era decision to allow the largest mountaintop removal project in US history.
163. Ordered the Department of Energy to implement more aggressive efficiency standards for common household appliances.
164. Ordered energy plants to prepare to produce at least 15% of all energy through renewable resources like wind and solar, by 2021. (As you can see, Republicans are trying hard to kill it.)
165. Oversaw the creation of an initiative that converts old factories and manufacturing centers into new clean technology centers.
166. Bypassed Republican opposition in Congress and ordered EPA to begin regulating and measuring carbon emissions.
167. Obama EPA ruled that CO2 is a pollutant.
168. Oversaw doubling federal spending on clean energy research.
169. Pushed through a tax credit to help people buy plug-in hybrid cars.
170. Created a program to develop renewable energy projects on the waters of our Outer Continental Shelf that will produce electricity from wind, wave, and ocean currents.
171. Reengaged in the climate change and greenhouse gas emissions agreements talks, and proposed one himself. He also addressed the U.N. Climate Change Conference, officially reversing the Bush era stance that climate change was a “hoax.”
172. Fully supported the initial phase of the creation of a legally-binding treaty to reduce mercury emissions worldwide.
173. Required states to provide incentives to utilities to reduce their energy consumption.
174. Following the neglect of Bush’s eight year reign, he reengaged in a number of treaties and agreements designed to protect the Antarctic.
175. Created tax write-offs for purchases of hybrid automobiles, and later he and Democrats morphed that program into one that includes electric cars.
176. Mandated that federal government fleet purchases be for fuel-efficient American vehicles, and encouraged that federal agencies support experimental, fuel-efficient vehicles.
177. Oversaw and pushed through amendment to the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 authorizing advances from Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
178. Actively tried to amend the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 to eliminate the liability limits for those companies responsible for large oil spills.
179. Initiated Criminal and Civil inquiries into the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
180. Through his EPA, he asserted federal legal supremacy, and barred Texas from authorizing new refinery permits on its own.
181. Strengthened the Endangered Species Act.
182. Obama EPA improved boiler safety standards to improve air quality, and save 6500 lives per year.
183. Through the EPA, attemped to take steps to severely limit the use of antibiotics in livestock feed, to increase their efficacy in humans.
184. Through new EPA regulations, he created a pretext for closing the dirtiest power plants in the country, by limiting emissions of mercury and other toxic gasses.
185. Increased funding for National Parks and Forests by 10%
186. Announced greatly improved commercial fuel efficiency standards.
187. Announced a huge increase in average fuel economy standards from 27.5mpg in 2010 to 35.5mpg starting in 2016 and 54.5 starting in 2025
But That's Not All...
188. Expanded trade agreements to include stricter labor and environmental agreements such as NAFTA.
189. Oversaw funding of the design of a new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History, which is scheduled to open on the National Mall in 2015. He protected the funding during the recent budget negotiations.
190. Oversaw and passed increased funding for the National Endowment for the Arts.
191. Nominated Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court. Sotomayor is the first Hispanic Justice in the court’s history, and the women represent only the third and fourth women to serve on the court, out of a total of 112 justices.
192. Appointed the most diverse Cabinet in history, including more women than any other incoming president.
193. Eliminated federal funding for abstinence-only education, and rescinded the global gag rule.
194. Loosened the rules and allowed the 14 states that legalized medical marijuana to regulate themselves without federal interference.
195. Signed national service legislation, increasing funding for national service groups, including triple the size of the Americorps program.
196. Signed an Executive Order that will speed up deployment of a more comprehensive broadband infrastructure.
197. Signed an Executive Order creating jobs immediately by instructing them to reduce the time needed for review and permitting of infrastructure projects.
198. Signed a bill that provided $4.3 billion in additional assistance to 9/11 first reponders.
199. Signed an Executive Order pledging support for efforts to end the global problem of violence against women and girls.
And Did You Know?
200. Despite the characterizations of some, Obama’s success rate in winning congressional votes on issues was an unprecedented 96.7% for his first year in office. Though he is often cited as superior to Obama, President Lyndon Johnson’s success rate in 1965 was only 93%.
BY: former-republican
See Democraticunderground.com for citations~The citations copy from originAli.
And we're still not better off then we were 4 yrs ago!
Thank the GOP in congress and the senate for that.
#201 Made the brain-deads in the Republican Party green with envy after they saw how a real grown-up behaves.
SLC
Another former Republican. What were we thinking? Or were we?
Oh look one more list.
201, increased the unemployment rate from 7.6% to over 8% for the past 3 years.
202, icreased the number of people on food stamps.
203, has spent over $5 trillion tax payer dollars.
204, has failed the Amercian people.
Wholly Crap's endlessly repeating post. Again.
That's what happens when you suffer from dementia. You just keep repeating the same phrases over and over.
I too repeat myself often because coming up with new responses is unnecessary because no right winger can deny what I write. The GOP obstructionism Congress has failed to pass legislation that would create jobs period. The GOP failed to pass two major pieces of legislation that would have created or saved three million jobs. The American Jobs Act would have saved or create about two million jobs was never voted on in the GOP House. The Small Business Tax credit bill would have created at least another one million jobs but was filibustered in the Senate by Republican Senators. Our unemployment rate would be in the 6% range. These are all factual statements. Over one hundred bills, many that would have helped the unemployed or help businesses create jobs, or build infrastructure have been held up in the Senate by GOP filibuster.
As I have blogged repeatedly the "do nothing" GOP Congress has failed to even pass necessary bills with broad based bipartisan support in the Senate like the Farm Bill. The Farm Bill is critical for farmers, ranchers, and agribusiness concerns. The Farm Bill is a big deal for Main Street businesses all across the Midwest, South, and Western U.S. The Farm Bill sets our agriculture policy for five years and is one of the most important bills Congress has to pass to make our economy function. Republicans went home to campaign without passing this critical bill. President Obama asked for this bill to be passed before the August recess. The Senate too wanted the Farm Bill passed but radical Tea Party members want deeper cuts into Food Stamps/SNAP program. Food Stamps/SNAP provide 47 million people, mostly children and the elderly with getting adequate food. Most people that get SNAP/Food Stamps are working a full time job in that family. Senate Democrats have told the House that they will not accept anymore cuts in the SNAP/Food Stamp program. Radicals in the Tea Party are making it impossible to pass the Farm bill while ranchers and farmers face the worst drought since the Dust Bowl.
This failure to pass the Farm Bill epitomizes why Congress has a 10% approval rating. President Obama can not pass the Farm Bill because its stalled in the GOP controlled House. Congress has to do its job so the President can do his. The Tea Party/GOP has swung so hard to the far right wing that they will have to jump off of a fiscal cliff come January. Our system requires Congress do its job and pass necessary spending bills to keep the system running. Only Congress can pass new spending bills such as the American Jobs Act, the Small Business tax credit bill, and the critical Farm Bill. The problem is the "do nothing" GOP that is more concerned with cutting government and giving the rich more tax cuts paid for by the ever shrinking middle class and working poor in America.
thanks for posting this here. I get tired of posting it, they don't believe it anyway
Rosemary and Rex, They choose not to believe because of what I said in #10.8.
I have come to believe that.
Lyin Ryan, in front of his children. What kind of man, definitely no one we should ever trust.
And on top of this, just plain stupid.
Paul Ryan has shown he will lie about anything and everything. About the only time you can be sure he isn't lying is when his mouth is closed, and even then it is questionable.
I can't imagine how little self-respect you have to have for yourself to support a pathological liar like Ryan.
Ed you are so sad, I feel sorry for you. The standard you set is so low. The lies you are accusing Paul Ryan of saying are not what words came out of his mouth but what you think he meant. He never said that Obama was responsible for the closing. That is your interpetation of what he meant. Just like your false birther comment about "an American", it is not what Mitt said it is what you thought he meant. You are so warped that you see evil monsters everywhere. If we all are to be judged by what goes thru your head, God help us!
Oh gee we heard the same excuses you tea bagged republicans said when the media wrote stories about Reagan then you regurgitated the same excuses about the liberal media for the 8 years of GWB. Really 34 years of blame the liberal media for reporting GOP dirty deeds. That you believe you have any credibility when all you do is talk about how bad Obama is and ignore that robme hood and boy blunder are even worse because all they offer is the same failed GOP policies that Reagan put into place. 34 years of GOP economic disasters and you are saying well those economic disasters won't happen because someone else is in place just shows the GOP is stuck on stupidity. Oh and nice try at projecting your fears onto others, it is the GOP base that run around clutching their guns shaking in fear while hiding under their beds because bogey men are out there.
Re: #24.2
That statement demonstrates that you know nothing about what Reagan did during his two terms and that you know nothing about what President Obama has done in his first term.
Yeah i will admit reagan did alot for this country. but do you republicans really think romney or ryan our anything like reagan. First off reagan raised taxes 15 times. those 2 idiots want to lower the taxes and make crazy cuts just look at ryan's plan that shows his character. And I want to say we need to make some cuts its true..but not what the republicans have done so far.they have eliminated so many teachers jobs increasing unemployment..refused to sign the infustructure bill, that would put so many contractors back to work..i worked for 21 years in construction was layed off when economy started going bad. i have been home now for 3 years getting a job from time to time when theirs work. its been so bad that i have been takeing jobs that pay me 20 dollars less an hour. and the one thing ive noticed is the republicans our standing in the way of me going back to work.. only dam bills they want to is women and abortion bills nothing about getting people back to work..tell me exactly how they are the party to put people back to work.
Well yeah by 1988 under Reagan there were 2 new classes of US citizens the working poor and the homeless. Don't forget that Reagan also didn't pay his bills, he left office with a record 1 trillion dollars. Oh yeah and by 1988 there was also 7.7 million new welfare families. So yeah Reagan did a lot, all of it bad.
And started the Right's assault on Unions by firing the air traffic controllers! Thanks a lot Reagan. And him being President of the Screen Actor's Guild! I'm surprised he didn't try to do away with them, too!
Remember when ronnie raygun gave all those tax breaks to the top 2% then gave his state of the union address telling the american people, 'It's time to pull yourselves up by your boot straps' which translated to 'I took care of the wealthiest and I'm gonna pay for it off your backs'. Later on someone woke reagan up about the deficit he was creating so he raised taxes those 15 times and still ended his two terms with a budget deficit.
And STILL he is a god to the s**t for brains Republicans!
To: Art Haas
The convention was loaded with speakers who very pointedly made an issue out of 'Americans'. All the delegates knew exactly what was being referred to and they loved it. The astute among us, watching at home, also knew. How could we not? The right wingers have been referring to Obama as a muslim since he was elected.
Obama's not a 'real' American, he has a 'muslim agenda', he wants the muslims to take over not just this country but the entire world. He doesn't know what it is to be an 'American'. He doesn't know what the 'American dream' is all about.
What ridiculous notions. I live in the midwest where a person can't go anywhere without hearing this drivel. It's disgusting.
The schools have not done their job. Average Joe Doe was never taught to distinguish truth from propaganda and lying.
The Republican convention amounted to nothing but nonsense, unfounded attacks on our president and no vision nor policy statements for the future. Why? The Republicans know that their true agenda will not fly with the American public if known. They therefore have to hide their agenda behind glittering generalities, propaganda, and lies.
And let's face it. Most of this 'muslim' nonsense has been cooked up by the right wing to hide their racial prejudice. They know they can't come right out and criticize Obama on the basis of his being black. So instead they criticize him as being 'muslim'. But we all know what they mean. They don't like our having a black President.
Vote straight Democrat in November. The right wingers have taken over the Republican party. The sad thing is that moderate Republicans have let them do so and have gone so far as to adopt their stance themselves. It's pathetic and seriously dangerous for our country.
Remember 1930's Germany look what happened too them that is the road we are traveling down !!!!!!!!!!!If Robme and Lyin Ryan get in !!!!!!!!!!!
Ed your doing your YELLOW JOURNALISM AGAIN!!!!!!!!
Ryan is in fact correct. The Janesville GM factory stopped production of SUVs in December 2008 and closed its doors for good in 2009 – less than one year after Obama promised to keep it open for another hundred years. EVERYTHING OBAMA TOUCHES IS A DISASTER. THE VOLT COST $250,000 PER CAR SOLD. NOW IT'S SHUT DOWN. Romney, when he's elected us Conservatives have a lot to clean up from this big mess Obama created. WOW
And we get the normal tea bagged republican post that blames Obama for GM's CEO's blunders. I'm sorry panhead but conservatives can't clean up a mess they created by using the same dirty tools they used to create the mess you are complaining about. To make matters worse for the last 4 years conservatives kept throwing more mud on their mess. Conservatives only know how to make messes they expect others to clean up their messes for them then whine because their mess wasn't cleaned up fast enough, just ignore they were doing everything they could to stop the mess from being cleaned up.
Well Well it's the CooC, Still putting your Crap on the board. You still don't know what your talking about. Would you take up a different hobby !!!!!!
Right says a banned re reg who just repeats and whines that he didn't get an extra cookie. Really panhead that you believe that anyone takes your posts as anything more then Fox news propaganda just shows a delusional person, here is a clue panhead, this is the Ed show blog where you free republic bloggers just can't grasp that if we wanted your opinion we would call rimjob and get your opinion from him first hand instead of your bad memory repeats.
And when those same GM CEO's blunder, instead of letting them go bankrupt and take responsibility for their actions, you're all for Obama bailing them out.
When are you going to follow your own advise? Whine and cry all the GOP seem to be capable of. Funny how you always want others to do what you refuse to do.
Funny how every time I shut down your ridiculous point of view with logic you call it whining and crying.
I'm not whining or crying. I'm laughing at your ignorance.
And Hussein was the only customer of the packard...err...Volt. Whom, you are defending this guy because it reflects on the stupidity of the Liberal platform and the idiots that represent it.
No you are not you are just proving that you are ignorant and lack facts to back your rant up.
http://www.torquenews.com/1075/are-chevy-volt-or-nissan-leaf-flops-some-naysayers-claim
I didn't rant. A rant is more than one sentence.
I was calling you out once again on your circular thought process. And once again you try to spin my comment into something it's not.
Right a person who lies and spins thinks he can see circular thinking. Right and in other news tea bagged republicans posting on left leaning blogs are making sure robme hood gets sent back to supervising the illegals who clean stables for his wifes horse.
LOL no a person who engages in circular thinking can't see it.
And in other news... oh wait... this is the same thing you always post when you can't craft a relevant response.
That would be yourself. About the only place that accepts your type of postings would be Fox news and free republic, oh an I'm sure stormfront would welcome your nonsense.
And you are under the delusion that you make the rules on who can post here and who can not. Good luck with that.
Whine and spin some more re reg that is all you do. I mean really what reason do you have to post here, no one buys your repeats of right wing nonsense nor does anyone care what you repeat. Really if we wanted misinformation we could get it foor ourselves from the same sources as you get them from.
392 hemi#28~~If Paul Ryan is speaking, he is lying. That is what republicans do, one lies and the others, like yourself, swears to it. Lying Ryan has been telling this lie for 20 years, until he was busted by Runners World. Now hemi, you can swear to Runners World that Lying Ryan is not lying. Lying Ryan, will forever be known as the liar that he actually is. Only the stupid, will vote for Lying Ryan and his sidekick Tax Evader Robberny
Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan says he didn't run a marathon in less than three hours as he claimed in a nationally broadcast interview.
The candidate acknowledged Saturday he had misstated his marathon time by more than an hour.
He released a statement correcting the record after Runner's World magazine found evidence he had completed one marathon and finished in just over four hours
I mean really what reason do you have to post here, other than repeating the same things over and over you've contributed absolutely nothing here. No one buys that you are capable of free thought nor does anyone care what you repeat.
Projecting again re reg, repeating Fox news and other right wing nonsense is not contributing to the blog rather you try to distract from topics. When that don't work you attempt to attack posters who call you out on your republican fed lies. Here is your clue that you are not contributing a thing you have no leaves on your vineacity.
Name one lie.
You've called me out on nothing.
Keep lying because every post you make is a lie. Just because you believe the lie doesn't mean it isn't a lie it just means you are incapable of telling the truth.