The GOP Problem: It's Halftime for America

[SunsetDreams]

Republicans reacted as if they had been sucker punched. Karl Rove went on Fox News, decried the ad, and accused Obama of "Chicago-style politics." (By the way, Clint Eastwood is an Independent who supported McCain in 2008.)

"It's Halftime in America" contained three themes that promoted Obama's message. The first was the game is not over, America's best days are not over. Eastwood said, "The people of Detroit" almost lost everything. But we all pulled together, now Motor City is fighting again" Detroit's showing us it can be done."

In his State-of-the-Union Address, President Obama used a similar frame, "Think about the America within our reach... An economy built to last, where hard work pays off, and responsibility is rewarded. We can do this. I know we can, because we've done it before. At the end of World War II, when another generation of heroes returned home from combat, they built the strongest economy and middle class the world has ever known."

The second theme was that progress has been made. In Eastwood's case he said, "Motor City is fighting again." The government bailouts of the auto industry saved 1.4 million jobs and the big three companies are again making a profit.

Much more at link: http://www.opednews.com/articles/The-GOP-Problem--It-s-Hal-by-Bob-Burnett-120210-678.html

[link:http://|Obama Auto Bailout Has Created 10 Times More Jobs Than Romney Ever Did]

Mitt Romney may have only created 10,000 jobs while at Bain Capital, but the Obama auto industry bailout that Romney opposed has created 170,000 jobs since 2009.

...

The reality is that the real number of jobs created by Romney is likely 10,000. This means that the auto bailout, which the candidate who claims that he can fix the economy opposed, has created ten times more jobs than Mitt Romney ever did in the private sector. It isn’t about how many jobs Romney created while at Bain. The point is that Mitt Romney was, and continues to be, wrong about the auto bailout.

The auto bailout worked. It not only saved hundreds of thousands of jobs, but it has created 170,000 new ones. If Mitt Romney was in charge of the economy, those jobs wouldn’t exist. Romney wanted the auto companies to go through bankruptcy so that the auto unions could be busted, which underscores Mitt Romney’s approach to the economy.

http://www.politicususa.com/en/obama-romney-auto-bailout

Romney: Let Detroit Go Bankrupt

Rick Santorum: We Should Have Let The U.S. Auto Industry ‘Melt Down
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/01/20/407794/rick-santorum-we-should-have-let-the-us-auto-industry-melt-down/

Auto bailout sticks to GOP

All four of the remaining Republican candidates opposed the bailout.

In 2008, Romney wrote an article in the New York Times titled "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt." It angered many in his native state.

"If General Motors, Ford and Chrysler get the bailout that their chief executives asked for yesterday, you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye," he wrote then. "It won't go overnight, but its demise will be virtually guaranteed."

Gingrich, in 2008, said: "I believe that it would be a mistake for the taxpayers to be forced to bail out Detroit."

Paul called the bailouts "foolish and very damaging to the long-term economic health of our country," and Santorum also opposed the bailouts.

The Impact on the U.S. Economy of the Successful Automaker Bankruptcies

Providing government assistance to General Motors and Chrysler through quick and structured
bankruptcy proceedings avoided the worst case scenario. In reviewing the economic impacts using actual
economic performance for 2009 and much of 2010, the net public benefit—the difference between what
CAR estimated did happen and what CAR predicted might have happened to government transfer
payments, social security receipts and personal income taxes paid—was just $4.2 billion in 2009 and $0.5
billion in 2010.

The U.S. government provided $80 billion in total assistance to General Motors, GMAC, Chrysler and
Chrysler Financial , and stands to recover a substantial amount of this financial assistance through
upcoming sales of stock in the Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) at General Motors and Chrysler. To date,
$13.4 billion in principal has already been repaid, which brings the total remaining outstanding
government investment to $66.6 billion. The updated analysis contained in this memo demonstrates that
even if the net return to the U.S. Treasury is $28.6 billion (the amount of the net public benefit of the
government intervention) lower than the outstanding public investment in these two companies, or $38
billion, the public will have at least met a two-year break-even. This means that if the Treasury recovers
$0.57 on the dollar or more in upcoming equity sales, the public will have been made fully whole.
Additionally, the government’s actions avoided personal income losses totaling over $96 billion, 1.1
million net job losses in 2009, and another 314,400 in 2010.

http://www.cargroup.org/pdfs/bankruptcy.pdf

Auto bailout could be Barack Obama's secret weapon

With GM back on its feet, Democrats hope to punish Republicans for their early opposition. | AP Photo

Could be Why the Right Went Insane Over the Clint Eastwood Superbowl Ad

When Clint Eastwood Mocks You, You're Officially Screwed (Love This One!)
By our own WilliamPitt

Obama/Biden 2012

[SunsetDreams]

1. .

[midnight]

2. Love this sentence:"This is, to be sure, a thick and knotted forest of gibberish and nonsense

This is, to be sure, a thick and knotted forest of gibberish and nonsense we must hack through in order to find our way to daylight".


In December 2000, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled that companies that provided prescription drugs to their employees but didn't provide birth control were in violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prevents discrimination on the basis of sex. That opinion, which the George W. Bush administration did nothing to alter or withdraw when it took office the next month, is still in effect today - and because it relies on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, it applies to all employers with 15 or more employees. Employers that don't offer prescription coverage or don't offer insurance at all are exempt, because they treat men and women equally-but under the EEOC's interpretation of the law, you can't offer other preventative care coverage without offering birth control coverage, too.

In other words: Shut the F-k up.

This is, to be sure, a thick and knotted forest of gibberish and nonsense we must hack through in order to find our way to daylight. The daylight is there, however, without a shred of doubt. The Right would love, love, love to careen our national discussion away from a conversation on the economy they have plundered and the jobs they have destroyed, and steer it instead toward a discussion of snowflake babies, unrequited semen, and the importance of being earnest. The events of the last week have given them a wide window to do so, save for the fact that the American people have no interest in their opinions regarding the matters at hand.http://www.truth-out.org/when-clint-eastwood-mocks-you-youre-officially-screwed/1328840046

[On the Road]

3. As Clint Eastwood Said,

the ad was not obviously partisan. It was about the spirit of the country, not about parties. It didn't say which party was going to lead the country in the "second half."

I think the Republicans made a major mistake in attacking the ad. They should have applauded and tried to appropriate it.