The “dirty season” that Myra Adams wrote about a few days back is in full swing. In a new Priorities USA super PAC ad, Team Obama accuses Mitt Romney of killing this poor man’s wife with cancer.
The YouTube write-up on this scurrilous ad: “If Mitt Romney wins, the middle class loses.” The ad will get part of Priorities USA’s $30 million behind it in six battleground states, to make Mitt Romney into a cold-blooded killer.
We could do some unpacking and note that a cancer that kills its victim in 22 days is not a cancer that’s likely to respond even to the best treatments money can buy. We could also note that under Obama’s plan, energy rates skyrocketed and insurance rates have gone up, both of which have gobbled up middle class savings. We could note that under Obama’s plan, the federal government will end up rationing care and might have ruled the man’s wife unworthy of saving. We could note that under Obama’s plan, many companies are contemplating dropping coverage for their workers because they don’t want the liabilities. We could also note that under Obama’s plan, welfare reform has been gutted, illegal aliens have been granted an amnesty-lite by fiat, and the freedom of conscience has been unilaterally repealed. Obama did all of that.
But I’m thinking that something bigger is needed. Barack Obama promoted the lending policies that led directly to the housing bubble and the inevitable pop. That crash has done more harm to the middle class and everyone else than anything Bain could possibly do. Obama needs to be tied directly to that, and it needs to be shown that his call for “fairness” is really a call to do even more economic damage to the country. Unlike the charge made in the ad above, accusing Obama of helping wreck the economy would have the benefit of being true.
Update: Mitt Romney must be a time-traveler, because Mr. Soptic’s wife passed away more than seven years after Romney left Bain. By that time, Romney had already saved the Salt Lake City Olympics and was well into his run as governor of Massachusetts.
Soptic worked at GST Steel. That’s the steel company that the Obama camp has already accused Romney of shutting down, despite the fact that he had been away from Bain for several years by the time of the company’s failure. But the point of the ad above and the entire “Romney Hood” and GST lines of attacks is not to be factual or fair. The point is to be poisonous, to build a caricature of Mitt Romney as some sort of heartless robber baron.
Sen. Obama once promised to fire staff who engaged in this sort of attack politics. He went on to play the race card against the Clintons. Now, he is openly embracing and launching the most disgusting attacks since the NAACP accused George W. Bush of murdering James Byrd.
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09:19 AM
PFF
System Bot
avengador1 Member
Posts: 35468 From: Orlando, Florida Registered: Oct 2001
Hypocritical. Contemptible. Dishonest. "Obamaloney." The rhetoric, charges and counter-charges flew fast and thick Tuesday as the presidential election campaign continued on its sharply negative trajectory.
New advertisements by each side prompted caustic responses from the other as name-calling and finger-pointing dominated the debate less than three months before the November vote that pits President Barack Obama against certain Republican nominee Mitt Romney.
A day after Obama coined the phrase "Romneyhood" to describe policies by Romney that Obama said tax the poor to help the rich -- or Robin Hood in reverse -- Romney fired back by creating his own word -- Obamaloney -- to accuse the president of making things up.
"He is serving up a dish that is in contradiction to the truth," Romney told Fox News.
Romney hits Obama for welfare changes Meanwhile, a Romney ad that began airing Tuesday accused Obama of seeking to undermine work requirements in a bipartisan welfare reform law signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996.
White House spokesman Jay Carney rejected the claim, telling reporters that the ad was "categorically false" and "blatantly dishonest."
"This administration's policy will strengthen the (welfare) program by giving states the opportunity to employ more effective ways," Carney said.
Learning from Teddy Roosevelt
Following a weekend imbroglio over Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's claim that a former Romney associate told him Romney paid no taxes in past years, the campaign has veered into a political mud pile that emphasizes dirtying the opponent first.
The tactics are part of the big-picture efforts by both sides to frame the election in terms favorable to their man. For Romney, that means portraying Obama as a failed president unworthy of a second term. For Obama, that means depicting the former Massachusetts governor as a champion of the wealthy class and special interests.
Reid's unsubstantiated claim, based on an unidentified source, was intended to keep alive the push by Democrats to force Romney to release more of his past tax returns than the two years disclosed so far -- his 2010 filing and an estimate for 2011. Romney says he will make public the final version of last year's return.
Democrats know that whatever any additional returns show, they can highlight the details of tax breaks and other accounting maneuvers by the multimillionaire Romney to bolster the perception they seek to exploit that he represents society's fat cats.
Republicans responded by attacking Reid's credibility, and by extension, the president's also.
Reid's tax attack puts GOP in a bind
Romney called on Reid to disclose his source or shut up, insisting he paid lots of taxes in past years, while top party spokesmen and surrogates called Reid a liar and said he was carrying out the attack at the request of the White House.
Obama advisers, benefiting from the continued focus on the matter, denied they were behind Reid's push.
"There is a way to resolve this dispute ... which is for the governor to follow a tradition that was established by his own father many years ago of presidential candidates releasing multiple years of his tax return," White House spokesman Carney chimed in Tuesday.
Carney referred to the decision by George Romney, the former Michigan governor who released 12 years of his tax returns when running for president in 1968. Mitt Romney says he has complied with the law and won't release any further returns that would only get distorted by Democratic attackers.
Why political conventions still matter
Earlier Tuesday, a Romney ad on welfare changes by the Obama administration claimed they would "gut welfare reform by dropping work requirements."
"Under Obama's plan, you wouldn't have to work and wouldn't have to train for a job. They just send you your welfare check," the announcer says. "And welfare-to-work goes back to being plain old welfare."
The changes, which would allow states greater flexibility in administering their welfare-to-work programs, were in a directive issued last month by the Department of Health and Human Services.
At the time, some Republicans claimed the new rules amounted to a "gutting" of work requirements for welfare recipients, which were a central element of the bipartisan welfare reform law signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996.
The fact-checking website PolitiFact.com said Tuesday that the Romney ad distorted the intent of the welfare changes and gave it its harshest ruling of "Pants on Fire." In addition, Clinton issued a statement saying the Romney ad was wrong.
Carney responded with unusually strong language at his daily briefing.
"This advertisement is categorically false and it is blatantly dishonest," Carney said. "This administration's policy will strengthen the program by giving states the opportunity to employ more effective ways."
He also called Republican criticism of the changes "hypocrisy," pointing to past support from Republican governors -- including Romney -- for waivers to the federal requirements. In addition, Carney said, Republican governors in Nevada and Utah already are seeking waivers under the administration's program.
Obama's re-election campaign, meanwhile, accused Romney of "not telling the truth."
"The truth is that the president is giving states additional flexibility only if they move more people from welfare to work - not fewer," Obama campaign spokeswoman Lis Smith said in a statement. " ... By falsely attacking a policy that both he and his Republican allies have supported for years, Romney is once again flip-flopping on a position he took in Massachusetts, and demonstrating that he lacks the core strength and principles the nation needs in a president."
Wilson: Who's behind threat to cut defense?
Romney campaign Policy Director Lanhee Chen insisted that Romney has remained consistent in supporting work requirements for welfare recipients. Chen's statement said that as Massachusetts governor, "Romney vetoed efforts to weaken work requirements and he pressed repeatedly to instead strengthen them and bring them in line with federal standards."
Also Tuesday, a super-PAC supportive of Obama released a new ad tying Romney to the death of a former GST Steel worker's wife after her husband lost his job when the plant closed down.
Romney's former private equity firm, Bain Capital, acquired GST Steel in 1993, but the company went bankrupt in 2001, two years after Romney ceased day-to-day oversight of Bain.
The ad by Priorities USA Action features Joe Soptic, a former worker at the Kansas City-based steel plant, as he tells the story of how he lost health insurance benefits when the plant shuttered. He then says his wife passed away from cancer after that. Soptic's wife died in 2006.
"I do not think Mitt Romney realizes what he's done to anyone, and furthermore I do not think Mitt Romney is concerned," Soptic says.
Voter ID lawsuits could delay results
Romney's campaign issued a harsh reaction.
"President Obama's allies continue to use discredited and dishonest attacks in a contemptible effort to conceal the administration's deplorable economic record," Romney spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg said in a statement.
Expect more of the same. Last week, CNN reported that Priorities USA Action has reserved $30 million this fall for broadcast and cable time. And on Tuesday, a major fiscal conservative group that has spent tens of millions of dollars on ads critical of Obama revealed it will spend at least $7 million for new spots starting Wednesday in 11 battleground states: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Martin: Let all Ohioans vote early
Americans for Prosperity, which is partially funded by the influential Charles and David Koch, said it will rotate different ads and messages over the next three weeks in the campaign that could cost as much as $27 million.
The billionaire Koch brothers are high-profile figures in the Republican Party who support conservative and libertarian causes. Backers of Americans for Prosperity, the pair of industrialists are expected to spend tens -- if not hundreds -- of millions on Republican causes this year.
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09:28 AM
dratts Member
Posts: 8373 From: Coeur d' alene Idaho USA Registered: Apr 2001
Murder? I haven't seen the entire ad. There is probably just enough truth in it to sway the believers. Shutting down a business is not murder even if it is a contributing factor in someones death. Like I said get used to it. There will be plenty more. It sickens me! Go ahead and hold your breath though. I'm enjoying that mental picture.
[This message has been edited by dratts (edited 08-08-2012).]
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11:47 AM
Formula88 Member
Posts: 53788 From: Raleigh NC Registered: Jan 2001
So far I've seen Romney attack Obama on welfare reform, the economy, green enegry boondoggles. You know, policy issues. Obama has attacked Romney on his personal taxes, his wealth, Bain "offshoring jobs" and now murder. The only that isn't a flat out personal attack is possibly the Bain accusation issue, which has already been discredited.
Romney has been attacking Obama - the politician. Obama has been attacking Romney - the individual.
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11:51 AM
fierobear Member
Posts: 27106 From: Safe in the Carolinas Registered: Aug 2000
The guy's wife had her own health care insurance with her job, but she left that job. prior to beiing diagnosed. Must be Mitt's fault she quit? The scurrolious Obama supporters show you just what a low life Obama and his supporters are. Typical as that is how he won his senate seat in the first place.
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12:21 PM
dratts Member
Posts: 8373 From: Coeur d' alene Idaho USA Registered: Apr 2001
I thought so. You're wearing one way glasses! I'm able to see things wrong with the dems and things right with the reps. I also see things right with the dems and wrongs with the reps. Mostly things wrong with both of them.
[This message has been edited by dratts (edited 08-08-2012).]
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01:54 PM
PFF
System Bot
Toddster Member
Posts: 20871 From: Roswell, Georgia Registered: May 2001
I thought so. You're wearing one way glasses! I'm able to see things wrong with the dems and things right with the reps. I also see things right with the dems and wrongs with the reps. Mostly things wrong with both of them.
In other words....no
Thought so
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01:57 PM
Formula88 Member
Posts: 53788 From: Raleigh NC Registered: Jan 2001
I thought so. You're wearing one way glasses! I'm able to see things wrong with the dems and things right with the reps. I also see things right with the dems and wrongs with the reps. Mostly things wrong with both of them.
Examples, please? Like I posted above, I've seen Romney attack Obama, but they've been about policy issues. No personal attacks that I'm aware of. All I've seen just about from the Obama camp are personal attacks on Romney. At least the Bain attacks are an attempt to be somewhat based on policy in previous work, but all the personal attacks are way out there.
Do you not see this? Do you equate saying Romney is why a man's wife died with saying Obama is rolling back welfare reform? You've been saying how you have problems and concernes with both parties for a while, but you only mention specific issues for Romney, and they tend to be issues directly related to recent attack ads.
So, tell me about your concerns about Obama. Show me the personal attacks from Romney.
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04:02 PM
avengador1 Member
Posts: 35468 From: Orlando, Florida Registered: Oct 2001
I've posted some of my problems with Obama. There are enough attacks on him here that I don't feel a need to add to them. Some of the attacks I agree with some I don't. As said previously I don't like the cancer death attack whether Romney/Bain caused pain or not. The biggest and dirtiest attacks won't come from Romney or Obama. The super pacs will do that for them and I anticipate that those attacks will be their main function.
quote
Originally posted by Formula88:
Examples, please? Like I posted above, I've seen Romney attack Obama, but they've been about policy issues. No personal attacks that I'm aware of. All I've seen just about from the Obama camp are personal attacks on Romney. At least the Bain attacks are an attempt to be somewhat based on policy in previous work, but all the personal attacks are way out there.
Do you not see this? Do you equate saying Romney is why a man's wife died with saying Obama is rolling back welfare reform? You've been saying how you have problems and concernes with both parties for a while, but you only mention specific issues for Romney, and they tend to be issues directly related to recent attack ads.
So, tell me about your concerns about Obama. Show me the personal attacks from Romney.
[This message has been edited by dratts (edited 08-08-2012).]
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04:52 PM
partfiero Member
Posts: 6923 From: Tucson, Arizona Registered: Jan 2002
Just watched wolf blitzer on CNN grilling an Obama rep on the cancer death ad. They pretty much disproved the ad in my opinion, but the Obama rep just couldn't bring himself to condemn the ad. He and a few other Obama reps just kept repeating the statement that they were not allowed by law to communicate with the super pac. They might not be able to communicate, but they can certainly criticize the ad. As I've said before it's gonna be dirty. Thank the citizens united decision. I'm not excusing the Obama peoples failure to distance themselves. I don't like this type of thing from either party.
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06:50 PM
deceler8 Member
Posts: 2139 From: Sioux City, Iowa USA Registered: Sep 1999
Dratts, do me a favor please. I want you to become the voice of the liberals. I know you say you aren't one, but you keep complaining that there isn't a balance of anti-republican stories posted on here. This is your opportunity to find these stories and post them, as the sites I frequent only seem to carry little to none of them. I won't hold it against you if you can find and post these stories. I encourage you to do so. I don't think there are as many out there though, so you are going to have a little difficulty matching all the anti-liberal stories that are so easily found that I don't bother to post most of them. If I did that, I would certainly raise the wrath of all the liberals here, and I would be truly accused of really spamming the forum, because some of the stories are so over the top that I avoid posting them.
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09:28 PM
PFF
System Bot
avengador1 Member
Posts: 35468 From: Orlando, Florida Registered: Oct 2001
The Obama political machine's race to the bottom has dived deep beneath the muck of Harry Reid's lies about Romney's taxes and finally hit bedrock. Today Priorities USA released a new ad that will surely rank among the ugliest and most dishonest in the history of political campaigns. Titled "Understands" the ad features Joe Soptic describing how Mitt Romney is responsible for his wife's death from lung cancer. It's Lyndon Johnson's Daisy ad made more personal and therefore even more vile.
When Mitt Romney and Bain closed the plant, I lost my healthcare, and my family lost their healthcare. And a short time after that my wife became ill.
I don’t know how long she was sick and I think maybe she didn’t say anything because she knew that we couldn’t afford the insurance, and then one day she became ill and I took her up to the Jackson County Hospital and admitted her for pneumonia and that’s when they found the cancer and by then it was stage four. It was, there was nothing they could do for her.
And she passed away in 22 days.
I do not think Mitt Romney realizes what he’s done to anyone, and furthermore I do not think Mitt Romney is concerned.
If Soptic looks familiar that's because he was one of the narrators of the ads the Obama campaign launched in May. You may remember it as the ad where one of Soptic's co-workers compares Bain Capital to a "vampire." The new ad is by Priorities USA, an Obama approved SuperPAC. Priorities USA is prevented by law from coordinating its activity with the Obama campaign, but this ad is clearly meant to look like a continuation of the previous Obama campaign ad. Soptic is even wearing the same grey shirt he wore in the previous ad. And the claim about the death of his wife has been part of an Obama for America slideshow for months.
The emotional thrust of the new ad is Soptic blaming Romney and Bain Capital for his wife's death. He says she became ill "a short time" after he lost his job and his health care. But the timeline being presented in this ad is extremely misleading. According to a notice in the Kansas City Star uncovered by Politico, Soptic's wife died in June 2006. That's five years after the GST Steel plant was closed in 2001 and more than seven years after Romney left management of Bain to work on the 2002 Olympics in February 1999.
Politico asked Priorities USA to explain what Mitt Romney had to do with the death of a woman years after he'd left the company. Priorities strategist Bill Burton responded "We’re illustrating how long it took for communities and individuals to recover from the closing of these businesses." But length of impact is clearly not what the ad tries to depict. It says the illness happened "a short time after" and then emphasizes the wife's death just 22 days after being admitted to the hospital. In other words, the ad is intentionally misleading, suggesting to viewers that this happened shortly after the plant was closed, not years later.
President Obama has been personally involved in decisions which lead to layoffs. More people lost jobs at Solyndra than at GST Steel. How many people lost jobs at GM dealerships when the company went through downsizing and bankruptcy? Is President Obama personally responsible for the health of every spouse of those workers for the coming 5-7 years? If one of them dies of cancer in 2015, should Obama be blamed? It's an absurd standard and yet that's what Obama's SuperPAC is pushing with this ad. Forget hope and change. This election Obama is offering sleaze and viciousness.
**
Update: CNN reviewed the ad this afternoon and found it is “not accurate.” Turns out Soptic’s wife still had her own insurance after he lost his job. She stopped working as a result of an accident:
In 2001, Joe Soptic loses his job when Bain closes the plant. His wife still has insurance, though, through her employer, Saver’s thrift store. A year later, Romney formerly leaves Bain. And it's that year, 2002, or perhaps 2003, Soptic tells CNN, that his wife leaves her job because of an injury. That's when she became uninsured without fallback insurance from her husband. A few years later, in 2006, she goes to the hospital is diagnosed with cancer and dies just days later.
Bill Burton at Priorities USA is now claiming that he did not intend to connect Romney to the death of Soptic’s wife. This is obviously a lie. Watch the video. There’s no other conclusion you can draw from it. This ad is so dirty that even the people who made it don’t want to take credit for it.
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09:32 PM
dratts Member
Posts: 8373 From: Coeur d' alene Idaho USA Registered: Apr 2001
Dratts, do me a favor please. I want you to become the voice of the liberals. I know you say you aren't one, but you keep complaining that there isn't a balance of anti-republican stories posted on here. This is your opportunity to find these stories and post them, as the sites I frequent only seem to carry little to none of them. I won't hold it against you if you can find and post these stories. I encourage you to do so. I don't think there are as many out there though, so you are going to have a little difficulty matching all the anti-liberal stories that are so easily found that I don't bother to post most of them. If I did that, I would certainly raise the wrath of all the liberals here, and I would be truly accused of really spamming the forum, because some of the stories are so over the top that I avoid posting them.
I would not be a good choice because I'm not in agreement with them on a lot of things. If I appear to be liberal it's only because I think that the conservatives here are too far right and act like their way is the only way. There was a time when I once thought that the way to balance it out was to support a left that I thought was too far out too, but necessary to bring us back towards the middle. I no longer believe that way. I'm striving towards the center in a country that is becoming increasingly polarized now. Besides I don't think that I would be a good spokesman. I'm not nearly as smart/intelligent as I used to think that I was, although I'm smart enough to realize that now.
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10:21 PM
Boondawg Member
Posts: 38235 From: Displaced Alaskan Registered: Jun 2003
Mitt Romney’s campaign accused President Obama of “hypocrisy” Wednesday night after the president bemoaned the “crazy” behavior of super PACs – despite the mounting furor over a controversial ad put out by the super PAC cheerleading his own re-election effort.
The president complained about the outside political groups, which often have ties to the presidential campaigns themselves, during a Colorado campaign stop. “You got these guys writing $10 million checks. You got these super PACs that are just … going crazy,” Obama said.
A stunned Romney campaign swiftly excoriated the president for the comment, considering the pro-Obama super PAC Priorities USA is under fire for an ad that ties the death of a steelworker’s wife to Romney. Further, a top Obama campaign aide is now being accused of lying over what she knew about the man at the center of that ad.
“On the same day President Obama’s own campaign was caught lying about the contents of a discredited Super PAC attack ad, President Obama has the gall to warn voters of Super PACs ‘just going crazy,’” campaign spokesman Ryan Williams said. “It’s just the latest hypocrisy from the Obama campaign that is guilty of repeatedly spreading lies and distortions about Mitt Romney in a desperate attempt to distract voters from the president’s failed record.”
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10:15 AM
NEPTUNE Member
Posts: 10199 From: Ticlaw FL, and some other places. Registered: Aug 2001
C'mon, Neptune, your wife, yes, no one argues that, but this comes nowhere near true.
Typical neptune comment. Don't admit the ad was crap, don't criticize it for being crap, don't add anything of substance, just show up in the thread and drop his turd comment.
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11:28 AM
Toddster Member
Posts: 20871 From: Roswell, Georgia Registered: May 2001
I'm already a conservative. But I'm an open minded conservative not locked into just the far right. By no means do I oppose all conservative principals, particularly fiscal principals. Social principals, I'm probably about as liberal as you can get. Whoops, I think that I said I am partly liberal after all this time of denying it.
[This message has been edited by dratts (edited 08-09-2012).]
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12:04 PM
PFF
System Bot
avengador1 Member
Posts: 35468 From: Orlando, Florida Registered: Oct 2001
Originally posted by Neptune You'd care if it was YOUR wife. Maybe.
So that is how you want it? I don't think Christina is going to be very happy to see how you spend your time. Why don't you go mow your lawn, get rid of the weeds in your pond, or trim a Poplar tree on your driveway? I can think of more productive things to do with your time instead of trolling here.
Off to my meeting!
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12:12 PM
dratts Member
Posts: 8373 From: Coeur d' alene Idaho USA Registered: Apr 2001
I'm already a conservative. But I'm an open minded conservative not locked into just the far right. By no means do I oppose all conservative principals, particularly fiscal principals. Social principals, I'm probably about as liberal as you can get. Whoops, I think that I said I am partly liberal after all this time of denying it.
I consider myself fiscally conservative and socially liberal. That's more like a Libertarian view than a strict Republican one. I tend to vote Republican because that's the best way to achieve the fiscal responsibility I expect from government. I freely admit the GOP has NOT been the part of fiscal responsibility they should be, but the Democrats have been like a teenager on a shopping spree with daddy's credit cards. I've also seen what happens when Democrats get control of the White House and both houses of Congress. Wow. Bush spent money like a drunken sailor. The Dems spend money like a drunken Navy.
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12:21 PM
dratts Member
Posts: 8373 From: Coeur d' alene Idaho USA Registered: Apr 2001
True, I do consider myself primarily a libertarian. I support many conservative views. From what I see of our political system, the libertarian party will never be on a parity with the two major party's. Even if it did or if it replaced one of the party's it would probably soon be just as corrupt as they are. I might be getting a little bit cynical in my old age.
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12:35 PM
NEPTUNE Member
Posts: 10199 From: Ticlaw FL, and some other places. Registered: Aug 2001
So that is how you want it? I don't think Christina is going to be very happy to see how you spend your time. Why don't you go mow your lawn, get rid of the weeds in your pond, or trim a Poplar tree on your driveway? I can think of more productive things to do with your time instead of trolling here.
Off to my meeting!
Avengador, Like some of your other posts, that makes amost no sense. Would you please help me (us) out and explain what you really meant by that? If it means what I THINK it means, you have seriously crossed a line. Arguing, teasing, even name calling is one thing.
Cliff Pennock temporarily banned you for this at least once before- are you trying for a permanent ban?
quote
Originally posted by dratts:
How do you know so much about Neptune?
Dratts, I find that creepy at the very least, bordering on outright scary, don't you think?
I wouldn't recognize him if he crawled out of the bushes under my bedroom window. Yet he posted my personal information here again-all against the PFF TOS. Is that some kind of a threat? Who knows?
[This message has been edited by NEPTUNE (edited 08-09-2012).]
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01:36 PM
Toddster Member
Posts: 20871 From: Roswell, Georgia Registered: May 2001
This is getting ridiculous. 40% Of the topics on the first page of TO/T are made up of your political copy & paste posts. Since I'm pretty sure every single one of those threads carry the same message ("Obama sucks"), I'm going to consider this as a violation of the following posting rule if you don't tone it down:
quote
Do not start threads about other threads. So you get in a heated discussion in one of the threads. You get the feeling you are not getting your point across. So you feel the need to start a new thread explaining what you meant in the first thread. Don't. Since there's already a thread on the subject, say it there.
So either tone it down, or create a single thread (you can call it "Avengador's Politics Corner" for all I care).
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05:46 PM
Aug 10th, 2012
avengador1 Member
Posts: 35468 From: Orlando, Florida Registered: Oct 2001
I have eyes on him. Actually, it's a matter of his public records. I haven't revealed anything he himself has not made public before, so I don't know what he is complaining about. Maybe he needs to change his meds, especially after the stunt he pulled on the forum earlier yesterday.
[This message has been edited by avengador1 (edited 08-10-2012).]
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12:16 AM
avengador1 Member
Posts: 35468 From: Orlando, Florida Registered: Oct 2001
The centerpiece of a $20 million operation by a super PAC backing President Barack Obama is being criticized for inconsistent timelines behind a new ad featuring steelworker Joe Soptic that may also have broken campaign finance laws.
The PAC commercial, set to blanket swing state television sets, showcases the story of Soptic, a 62-year-old Missouri man, and suggests that Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is responsible for his wife’s death.
Such ads by PACS are called independent political expenditures, and it’s a violation of federal election laws for a campaign to coordinate with the production or placement of such commercials.
However, a similar ad featuring Soptic wearing the same shirt was produced by the Obama campaign in May, along with a conference call in which Soptic read a transcript retelling his wife’s tragic story.
Romney blasted the PAC ad Thursday and accused the Obama campaign of focusing exclusively on personal attacks.
“In the past when people pointed out that something was inaccurate, why, campaigns pulled the ad,” Romney told former Education Secretary Bill Bennett on his radio show. “They were embarrassed. Today, they just blast ahead. You know, the various fact-checkers look at some of these charges in the Obama ads and they say that they’re wrong, and inaccurate, and yet he just keeps on running them.” The Priorities USA ad was produced by the PAC’s founder, Bill Burton, who also served as Obama’s White House deputy secretary and worked on Obama’s first presidential campaign.
“The point of this ad is that — you know, it’s to tell the story of one guy, Joe Soptic, and the impact on his life that happened for years, and to this day, as a result of decisions that Mitt Romney made,” Burton told CNN.
After Politico broke the story Wednesday on the campaign and PAC’s use of the same individual relating the same story, top Obama officials denied any knowledge of the duplication.
“We have nothing – no involvement with any ads that are done by Priorities USA,” CNN quoted campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki as stating on Wednesday. “We don’t have any knowledge of the story of the family. As you know, campaign finance rules in that regard are in place for a reason.”
By Thursday, the campaign was changing its story: “No one is denying he was in one of our campaign ads. He was on a conference call telling his story,” Psaki told reporters on Air Force One.
Interestingly, Stephanie Cutter, Obama’s deputy campaign manager, participated in the campaign’s May conference call featuring Soptic, identified herself on the recording, and thanked Soptic for sharing his experiences.
In the campaign call and the PAC ad, Soptic blames Romney for closing the steel plant and costing the family their health insurance. Years later, Soptic’s wife died of lung cancer.
“I had to put her in a county hospital because she didn’t have health care, and when the cancer took her away, all I got was an enormous bill,” Soptic says. “That put a lot of stress on me: I thought I’d be paying it off until I died myself. That probably wouldn’t have happened if Bain kept its promise and I was allowed to keep our health insurance.”
Bain owned GST Steel of Kansas for eight years before it shut down in 2001, however Romney left the company in 1999.
In the commercial, Soptic says his family lost their health care insurance as a result of the closure and “a short time after that, my wife became ill.”
Soptic’s wife was not diagnosed until 2006 with the late-stage cancer and died three weeks later.
Soptic says he found work six months after the plant shut down as a school custodian making $25,000 a year, but did not add his wife to the insurance plan because of the monthly costs.
His wife remained on insurance provided by her employer until 2003, when she left her job due to an unrelated injury.
“Bill Burton needs to go back to ethics school,” Lanny Davis, a presidential advisor in the Clinton administration told WMAL radio in Washington. “He knows perfectly well that the ad is misleading and disgusting and he needs to apologize for it.”
“President Obama owes it to the American people to repudiate this ad,” Davis said. John Sununu, chief of staff to former President George H.W. Bush, told Fox News the Obama campaign used Soptic to “craft a despicable ad full of lies.”
“Even the liberal media is telling us how despicable this campaign is,” Sununu said. “What matters in the end, is people know Obama will lie, his campaign will lie, and his PAC will lie.”