2008 Presidential Announcement Thread.

[NorthSideSox72]

Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel has decided not to decide... yet.

 

Of all the Republican candidates and possible candidates, I actually like Hagel best, at this point.

[kapkomet]

Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel has decided not to decide... yet.

 

Of all the Republican candidates and possible candidates, I actually like Hagel best, at this point.

This guy is an assclown, too. How many focus groups and how many messups will it take before he becomes the hero and enters the race?

[Balta1701]

This guy is an assclown, too. How many focus groups and how many messups will it take before he becomes the hero and enters the race?

Hagel is like the Republican's version of Lieberman...he bashes the Bush Administration constantly, especially on the Iraq war, but then has one of the most reliably pro-Bush voting records in the Senate. The only difference between him and Lieberman is that Lieberman on a few issues does actually vote with the Republicans, where Hagel simply doesn't

[spiderman]

Hagel is like the Republican's version of Lieberman...he bashes the Bush Administration constantly, especially on the Iraq war, but then has one of the most reliably pro-Bush voting records in the Senate. The only difference between him and Lieberman is that Lieberman on a few issues does actually vote with the Republicans, where Hagel simply doesn't

 

Does Hagel vote with Bush on Iraq often ?

[Balta1701]

Does Hagel vote with Bush on Iraq often ?

His conservative credentials are impeccable: according to Congressional Quarterly, he voted with the White House more times in 2006 than any other senator.

Link.

Here are some vote highlights

# Voted NO on redeploying troops out of Iraq by July 2007. (Jun 2006)

# Voted NO on investigating contract awards in Iraq & Afghanistan. (Nov 2005)

# Voted YES on $86 billion for military operations in Iraq & Afghanistan. (Oct 2003)

# Voted YES on authorizing use of military force against Iraq. (Oct 2002)

 

And a Huffington Post bit.

 

Altogether, Chuck Hagel has voted with the White House position about 95% of the time since Bush 2 came into office.

[kapkomet]

Link.

Here are some vote highlights

And a Huffington Post bit.

 

Altogether, Chuck Hagel has voted with the White House position about 95% of the time since Bush 2 came into office.

So his pecker is just blowing in the wind looking good for all the media darlings? (PUKE) How nice. I really dislike him now.

[NorthSideSox72]

Link.

Here are some vote highlights

And a Huffington Post bit.

 

Altogether, Chuck Hagel has voted with the White House position about 95% of the time since Bush 2 came into office.

This information is misleading to say the least...

 

One, if you want to quote those highlights form the article, let's show them all from that section you chose:

 

US in "deep trouble" in Iraq. (Sep 2004)

Iraq took our eye off the ball in Afghanistan. (Aug 2004)

Iraq took our eye off the ball in Afghanistan. (Aug 2004)

Voted NO on redeploying troops out of Iraq by July 2007. (Jun 2006)

Voted NO on investigating contract awards in Iraq & Afghanistan. (Nov 2005)

Voted YES on requiring on-budget funding for Iraq, not emergency funding. (Apr 2005)

Voted YES on $86 billion for military operations in Iraq & Afghanistan. (Oct 2003)

Voted YES on authorizing use of military force against Iraq. (Oct 2002)

Voted NO on allowing all necessary force in Kosovo. (May 1999)

Voted YES on authorizing air strikes in Kosovo. (Mar 1999)

CIA mischaracterized Iraq WMD & abused intelligence position. (Jul 2004)

Iraq-al-Qaida contacts, but no complicity or assistance. (Jul 2004)

CIA knew State of the Union Iraq-Niger connection was false. (Jul 2004)

Iraq was not reconstituting its nuclear program. (Jul 2004)

Iraq was not developing its biological weapons program. (Jul 2004)

Iraq was not developing its chemical weapons program. (Jul 2004)

Iraq was developing missiles, but not to reach the US. (Jul 2004)

 

Two, the one-sentence quote you used about his conservative credentials is not reflective of that article as a whole. I advise people to read the whole thing and take it in. As the rest of the article makes clear, he is certainly a conservative, but he is not even in the vicinity of a party hard-liner.

 

And here is a nifty image that Issues 2000 site (the one you got the quotes and votes from) uses to portray political leanings, by way of economic and social axis'. He's 80% right-wing on economic issues and only 40% right-wing on social issues.

 

Now... all that said, I am not saying Chuck Hagel is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I don't agree with him on a number of issues, such as his environmental votes and the flag burning amendment. What I am saying is that he occurs to me to have a lot more integrity than most of the other candidates in either party, is more open and direct about his views, and has more moderate social tendencies than most of the GOP field. The votes prove it out. You may not like his views, but he's been pretty consistent in those views from day one.

[Balta1701]

This information is misleading to say the least...

 

One, if you want to quote those highlights form the article, let's show them all from that section you chose:

Two, the one-sentence quote you used about his conservative credentials is not reflective of that article as a whole. I advise people to read the whole thing and take it in. As the rest of the article makes clear, he is certainly a conservative, but he is not even in the vicinity of a party hard-liner.

Well, the point I was trying to make was that he makes plenty of public statements that the media loves to highlight saying that Bush is doing things wrong on Iraq, but then he still votes with the President. The reason I left off most of the parts about things Hagel said was that I sort of figured that everyone had already heard him talking about the war, but people might not have followed his votes, that I contend go in the opposite direction.

 

Hell, Hagel voted with the Republicans to filibuster his own compromise legislation in the Senate that would have allowed the Senate to even start to discuss the Iraq war, just a month ago.

[kapkomet]

Well, the point I was trying to make was that he makes plenty of public statements that the media loves to highlight saying that Bush is doing things wrong on Iraq, but then he still votes with the President. The reason I left off most of the parts about things Hagel said was that I sort of figured that everyone had already heard him talking about the war, but people might not have followed his votes, that I contend go in the opposite direction.

 

Hell, Hagel voted with the Republicans to filibuster his own compromise legislation in the Senate that would have allowed the Senate to even start to discuss the Iraq war, just a month ago.

So in other words, he kisses the MSM's ass to get the sound bites, and then does the opposite. He's a hypocritical f***tard jackass. That's all.

[Balta1701]

On a different topic...if you go to http://www.johnmccain.com/Brackets/, enter a random email address and zip code...you can view John McCain's tourney brackets.

 

His final four?

 

Florida

UNC

Kansas

Ohio State.

 

Yes, that's right, he picked all 4 #1's. And his elite 8 has 4 #1's, 2 #2's, and 2 #3's.

[kapkomet]

On a different topic...if you go to http://www.johnmccain.com/Brackets/, enter a random email address and zip code...you can view John McCain's tourney brackets.

 

His final four?

 

Florida

UNC

Kansas

Ohio State.

 

Yes, that's right, he picked all 4 #1's. And his elite 8 has 4 #1's, 2 #2's, and 2 #3's.

 

Well that tells you who to NOT pick.

[Rex Kickass]

On a different topic...if you go to http://www.johnmccain.com/Brackets/, enter a random email address and zip code...you can view John McCain's tourney brackets.

 

His final four?

 

Florida

UNC

Kansas

Ohio State.

 

Yes, that's right, he picked all 4 #1's. And his elite 8 has 4 #1's, 2 #2's, and 2 #3's.

 

Kansas and North Carolina: conservative base.

Ohio and Florida: swing states.

 

He's even pandering in his brackets .

[Rex Kickass]

Firefighter's Union had a joint forum for union members and presidential candidates. Every major candidate was invited, although there was some debate about extending an invitation to Rudy after his decision to bulldoze the remains of several hundred firefighters which had not been recovered at Ground Zero.

 

Rudy last week: Firefighters are my heroes.

Rudy today: No show before the Firefighters Association.

 

Oh yeah and then this:

 

Guiliani's law firm lobbies for CITGO. The oil company owned by Venezuela. Whose President is Hugo Chavez.

 

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/14/...in2571410.shtml

 

Now, granted Guiliani has nothing to do with this lobbying effort, and the law firm has been lobbying for CITGO pre-Rudy, but it can't help him to have this kinda stuff come out either.

[southsider2k5]

So is it as humorous now that it isn't Fox news?

 

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/emanue...2007-03-14.html

 

Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), the Democratic Caucus chairman, has told new Democratic members of Congress to steer clear of Stephen Colbert, or at least his satirical Comedy Central program, “The Colbert Report.”

 

“He said don’t do it … it’s a risk and it’s probably safer not to do it,” said Rep. Steve Cohen. But the freshman lawmaker from Tennessee taped a segment that last week was featured in the 32nd installment of the “Better Know a District” series. Colbert asked Cohen whether he was a black woman. He isn’t.

 

More at link...

[NorthSideSox72]

So is it as humorous now that it isn't Fox news?

 

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/emanue...2007-03-14.html

More at link...

What does this have to do with Fox News? I guess I missed something.

 

 

So in other words, he kisses the MSM's ass to get the sound bites, and then does the opposite. He's a hypocritical f***tard jackass. That's all.

Or... the only times he gets a lot of press is when he disagrees with Bush on the war, which is news because he's a Republican and the press loves the conflict.

 

I see nothing to indicate the say one thing do another problem is an issue with him.

[southsider2k5]

What does this have to do with Fox News? I guess I missed something.

 

It was funny when the Dems were ducking the Presidental debates because they were moderated/on Fox. Now the Dems are being told to avoid Colbert too, who doesn't carry the scarlet "R" that Fox does.

[NorthSideSox72]

It was funny when the Dems were ducking the Presidental debates because they were moderated/on Fox. Now the Dems are being told to avoid Colbert too, who doesn't carry the scarlet "R" that Fox does.

Ah. Well... its fairly chicken s*** on both counts if you ask me. The Dems should be out there facing their constituents of all stripes right now, if they want to be seen as something different than the GOP and the lame, pre-scripted, invite-only "town hall" meetings.

[Balta1701]

It was funny when the Dems were ducking the Presidental debates because they were moderated/on Fox. Now the Dems are being told to avoid Colbert too, who doesn't carry the scarlet "R" that Fox does.

Well, he did get a Congressman to say he likes doing cocaine because it's a fun thing to do

 

I for one was darn happy to see my Congressman appearing within the first 20 or so that Mr. Colbert better-knew. And if nothing else...none of the actual sitting Congressmen he had on for that segment lost their elections last round, so Stephen clearly is a kingmaker. And he's riding with Kansas in the Tourney, btw.

[Balta1701]

Yesterday, Hillarity was asked whether or not she agreed with the remarks of General Pace, that homosexuality was immoral.

 

Her answer:

Sen. Hillary Clinton sidestepped a question about whether she thinks homosexuality is immoral Wednesday, less than two weeks after telling gay-rights activists she was "proud" to stand by their side.

 

Clinton was asked the question by ABC News, in the wake of Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Peter Pace's controversial comment that he believed homosexual acts were immoral.

 

"Well, I'm going to leave that to others to conclude," she said.

And of course, this promoked a backlash from the homosexual interest groups within the Dem caucus...and it took what, 24 hours, for her office to issue this statement.

"I have heard from many of my friends in the gay community that my response yesterday to a question about homosexuality being immoral sounded evasive. My intention was to focus the conversation on the failed don't ask don't tell policy. I should have echoed my colleague Senator John Warner's statement forcefully stating that homosexuality is not immoral because that is what I believe."

For crying out loud, just answer the damn question honestly. If you think it's immoral...say so. If you don't, say so. Don't try to have it both ways until the interest groups chime in.

 

I think this is one of the things I hate the most about the Dem party...in the Republican side, the interest groups make noise when someone does something they don't like, but it never seems to matter. On the Dem side, every single time they seem to be kowtowing to one group or another. The Republican interest groups get mad when Bush doesn't push the gay-hate amendment, but Bush tosses them some fig leaf statements during election season and they're placated and still vote. Clinton makes an indecisive statement on an issue, the interest groups chime in, and 24 hours later she's issuing a correction.

[Chet Lemon]

Better Know a District is hilarious.

[Balta1701]

Chuckles.

Cubans in Miami are steaming mad at former Gov. Mitt Romney for shooting his mouth off in stumbling Spanish, mispronouncing names and erroneously associating a notorious Fidel Castro-spewed Communist catch phrase with freedom fighters.

Politicians in South Florida have lashed out at the former Massachusetts governor and 2008 presidential hopeful for describing the socialist saying “Patria o muerte, venceremos” as “inspiring” and for claimingthe phrase was swiped from liberty-seeking Cubans by leftist admirers of Castro.

The phrase, which means “Fatherland or death, we shall overcome,” was bellowed as a political speech sign-off by the dictator for decades.

At another point in the speech to the Miami-Dade Republican Party, Romney bungled the names of prominent Cuban GOP politicians, referring to Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio as “Mario.”

Romney also garnered criticism for his hard-line stance on immigration and ending the talk with the phrase “Libertad, Libertad, Libertad,” a revolutionary saying made famous in the gangster movie “Scarface,” which many Cubans feel plays on cultural stereotypes.

But it was the former Bay State governor’s use of an infamous Fidel Castro line that sparked the most controversy.

“Hugo Chavez has tried to steal an inspiring phrase - Patria o muerte, venceremos,” Romney said. “It does not belong to him. It belongs to a free Cuba.”

But scholars and prominent Cubans contend the saying has always been a Communist rallying cry and that it represents the very essence of Fidel Castro’s oppressive regime.

“It means communism. It means Fidel Castro,” said Florida state Rep. Rene Garcia, a Republican who was at the March 9 speech. “It’s a Communist catch phrase.”

Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom said of the flap: “The point is, the phrase belongs to liberators, not oppressors. It doesn’t belong to Fidel Castro. It doesn’t belong to Hugo Chavez. It belongs to a free Cuba.”

But Garcia said Romney was “ill-advised” to mention the saying at all, especially speaking in Miami, the epicenter of the Cuban-American struggle.

“When you come into our community, you should be a little better-prepared,” Garcia said, adding that the incident “left a negative taste with local officials.”

Ana Navarro, a Miami-based former United Nations Ambassador who was at the event, called the quote “a mistake” by “an empty suit.”

Edit: and here's the cover:

link to host

Edited March 20, 2007 by Balta1701

[southsider2k5]

I AM A JELLY DONUT!

 

[idiot]

[longshot7]

Who cares about the cubans? What I think is funny is that crazy Christians are going to have to vote for Romney because there's no one else who's religious in the race.

 

C'mon Pat Robertson - let's hear that "Mormons aren't Christians" claptrap now.

[Balta1701]

Who cares about the cubans? What I think is funny is that crazy Christians are going to have to vote for Romney because there's no one else who's religious in the race.

 

C'mon Pat Robertson - let's hear that "Mormons aren't Christians" claptrap now.

The Republicans care an awful lot about the Cuban exile community vote in and around Miami. The Dems will also occasionally make efforts to go after it. It gets a lot more emphasis politically than the .5% or so of the U.S. population it makes up...but an awful lot of it sits in Florida, a swing state, and the media has a habit of paying extra attention to them.

[NorthSideSox72]

John Edwards and his wife are scheduled to hold a press conference today, following Mrs. Edwards' discussions with her doctor about her breats cancer. This may or may not effect his bid for the Presidency.

 

In any case, I certainly hope for the best for Elizabeth Edwards' health.