Republican National Convention (Sept. 1-4)

[Bond]

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2008
COUNTRY FIRST: SERVICE

Speakers will include:
U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman (Conn.)
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (Calif.)
Vice President Richard B. Cheney
First Lady Laura Bush
President George W. Bush

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2008
COUNTRY FIRST: REFORM

Speakers will include:
Former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani
Gov. Jon Huntsman (Utah)
Gov. Sarah Palin (Alaska)
Former Gov. Mike Huckabee (Ark.)
Former Gov. Tom Ridge (Pa.)

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2008
COUNTRY FIRST: PROSPERITY

Speakers will include:
Mrs. Cindy McCain
Republican Party's Vice Presidential Nominee
Gov. Bobby Jindal (La.)
Former Gov. Mitt Romney (Mass.)
U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman (Minn.)
U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (Texas)*
U.S. Rep. Mike Pence (Ind.)*

THRUSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2008
COUNTRY FIRST: PEACE

Speakers will include:
John McCain
Gov. Charlie Crist (Fla.)
Gov. Tim Pawlenty (Minn.)
U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback (Kan.)
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.)*
U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez (Fla.)
Former U.S. Sen. Bill Frist (Tenn.)*

[Bond]

Thoughts:

- McCain has done a superb job at picking speakers who are, at their heart, centrists. This will be in stark contrast to the Democratic Convention, where in all the speakers were far-left politicians (minus Bill Clinton).

- Obviously Palin will be moved from Wednesday to Thursday night.

- The key issue for McCain is combating the change mentality of the electorate. This is somewhat of the same issue which New Labour is facing in Great Britain. It's very difficult to overcome.

[Professor S]

Well lets see how the campaign continues its recent sucesses. It could go both ways:

1) Attacks on the opposition, which would be a mistake. Thats what ads are for and what democrats spent a lot of time doing. The republicans should be positive and forward thinking.

2) Positivity and Optimism - This is genrally the direction Reps spend time on and I think thye will continue , with maybe one of two speakers concentrating on the opposition.

[The Germanator]

Well this might help their positivity if they follow through with this.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/08302008...lan_126772.htm

[Bond]

I could definitely see McCain doing that.

Also, it looks as though Bush and Cheney will no longer be appearing at the convention. Good news for McCain.

[The Germanator]

Originally Posted by Bond

I could definitely see McCain doing that.

Also, it looks as though Bush and Cheney will no longer be appearing at the convention. Good news for McCain.

Yeah, exactly. This literal storm is becoming a fairly interesting political story. I feel bad thinking about it that way, but now that McCain doesn't have to associate with Bush on a national stage, he can get away from that 29% approval rating.

And thank goodness Bush appears to be prepared this time. In his own words, "fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice...can't get fooled again!"

[The Germanator]

What an asinine spectacle by Rudy Giuliani.

He and that whole crowd just mocked community organization and helping people. He mocked the idea of Obama turning down a lucrative job to work for $19,000 to help people in Chicago and the crowd ate it up.

He didn't even talk about issues and his attacks on Obama were weak. He voted present in the congress? McCain has missed 64% of the vote, Obama at 45%.

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/c...m000303/votes/

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/c...o000167/votes/

Also, "drill, baby, drill?" Man, this is what happens when you get 20,000 idiots in the same space. I'm upset that there so many asinine people at this convention. Why are the Republicans so hateful?

Rudy, you sir, are an asshole. Say goodbye to the independent voters who saw that shameful display.

[Professor S]

Originally Posted by The Germanator

What an asinine spectacle by Rudy Giuliani.

He and that whole crowd just mocked community organization and helping people. He mocked the idea of Obama turning down a lucrative job to work for $19,000 to help people in Chicago and the crowd ate it up.

He didn't even talk about issues and his attacks on Obama were weak. He voted present in the congress? McCain has missed 64% of the vote, Obama at 45%.

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/c...m000303/votes/

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/c...o000167/votes/

Also, "drill, baby, drill?" Man, this is what happens when you get 20,000 idiots in the same space. I'm upset that there so many asinine people at this convention. Why are the Republicans so hateful?

Rudy, you sir, are an asshole. Say goodbye to the independent voters who saw that shameful display.

Hateful? For wanting to drill? We SHOULD be drilling!

I think you mistook his jabs. The criticism isn't of community organizers, but thinking that qualifies you to be President. Obama is touting this as experience, and Obama's own boss at the time admitted that he achieved next to nothing while an organizer. Its a joke to bring up in a major election, and Rudy treated it as such. That said, I agree he may have alientated some potential voters a little, but I didn't see anything as being as outageous as you'd like to paint it.

I also find it hilarious that democrats can criticize Republicans for being hateful after spending 8 years calling the sitting president everything from a monkey to evil. Lets get some perspective.

The fact is Obama is the least qualified major candidate in the history of Presidential elections, and that inexperience is definitely a real issue that Obama has to deal with and that Republicans are free to bring to the forefront as a serious issue worth exploring.

[The Germanator]

Well, I don't think we should be drilling, so there's our difference right there.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/muhamm..._b_117340.html

And the hateful part was unrelated to that. From what I've seen, this convention has been 90% negative. The Democrats were pretty damn positive and optimistic, and you can't deny that. Yeah, it helped energize the base, but I don't think the sarcasm and bitterness is really "putting America first"

I find it kind of hilarious that you expect Democrats not to call W. an idiot. He is one of the worst presidents of all time, after all. He deserves criticism and 71% people in the country agree, Didn't George W. Bush have many years of executive experience? How did that turn out? Experience criticism should be thrown out the window after Bush's 8 years, seriously, and we're getting more of that with McSame. Also, I haven't seen many actual Democratic politicians say these things. This was Guiliani and he actually claimed that Democrats "wanted more terrorists." (psst 9/11!) I think I missed these parts, but I heard there were references to Iraq and Bin Laden? Umm, what? I'm sorry, that's just asinine, and I've never been prouder to be a Democrat tonight.

The typical republican fear-mongering came out strong tonight too. Nothing to be surprised about. I think there was moment where she called out for Obama "wanting to read prisoner's their rights" and people started cheering because she opposed this. Well, I've learned that Republicans want to piss on the constitution. The great thing about America is that EVERYONE should get those basic rights when on our soil. "HELL NO TO THAT FOR THEM TERRRISTS! AMERICA FARK YEAH!"

I also love the lines that Obama is going to increase taxes. Yeah, maybe for the rich white assholes in the crowd out there. Here is the real figure that helps MOST people.

Anyway, I'm a bit fired up in a bad way about what I watched tonight. Time to donate to the Obama campaign tonight. I still think he'll win with in the realm of 310 electoral votes.

[Bond]

*cough*Trickle-down economics.*cough*

I wish I had time to watch this convention... too bad school started.

[The Germanator]

Originally Posted by Bond

*cough*Trickle-down economics.*cough*

I wish I had time to watch this convention... too bad school started.

*cough Trickle-down economics don't work. It's a tired theory. *cough*

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/12/bu...erland&emc=rss

[Professor S]

Germ, I wouldn't use the Huffington Post as a reliable source. That would be like me citing Rush Limbaugh as a reliable source.

Also, your numbers reflect an "average tax bill". Do those numbers include the new Social Security liabilities? Do they include increases in pretty much every marginal tax rate? No, I almost guarantee they don;t. Obama's plan HIDES tax raises in careful language and in areas that are not considered "income taxes". Essentially raising the tax burden for most small business owners from about 35% to well over 50%.

Also, I find it hilarious that Obama's "tax breaks" for the poor, are really give aways disguised as tax credits.

http://www.wsj.com/article/SB1219103...st_emailed_day

Also, your obvious hatred of the wealthy doesn't lend your argument much credibility. The fact is rich people pay our bills. Without them, no one would have a job, and one day I hope to become a rich person. "Contempt for wealth is a trick the rich play on the poor to ensure they never have it."

You claim trickle down economics doesn't work... except it DOES, and in places like Bermuda and recently saving Ireland's economy from its near collapse in the 80's and early 90's, and they are now a economic power in Europe, called the "Celtic Tiger". In theory, trickle down doesn't work. In reality? Its a different story. The exact opposite of socialism and communism.

http://www.heritage.org/Index/country.cfm?id=Ireland

http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/i...d_economy.html

http://www.bermuda-online.org/economy.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Bermuda

[Professor S]

For the record, when it comes to energy I am a fan of the Pickens Plan in philosphy, which is building an energy bridge to the future. I'm not convinced over the viability of wind energy because of the real estate and logistics of such an endeavor being prohibitive, but I love the fact that the plan is multi-faceted involving both carbon and alternative sources. We need a comprehensive plan.

http://www.pickensplan.com/theplan/

[KillerGremlin]

Wind...nuclear...solar; all viable, long-term solutions for electricity.

Electric cars? Ding ding ding!

One can only dream. The direction of car technology seems to be a green one, so we can only hope for the best.

[Professor S]

Well, wind and solar have a host of issues

Wind - The sheer number of wind urbines and the amount of high tension wire needed to make this viable. The technology we have now isn't going to cut it.

Solar - Photo-voltaic cells are a mess. They are only 40% efficient, expensive, big, heavy and worst of all... FRAGILE. The maintenance and replacement costs alone make it prohibitive.

Solar does have a future right now, but it isn't photo-voltaic... its steam. Redirect the rays into piped water and let the steam produce the energy. An excellent option for the southwest. Honestly, beyond nuclear most alternative fuels are regional at best (wind in the midwest, solar in the southwest, etc.)

I'm all for alternative energy, bu the hard fact is we are much further away than ten years from having carbon fuel replacements. Even if we had viable solutions now, there would still be millions of gas burning cars on the road and oil/natural gas burning heaters in America's homes. We need usable energy NOW and we need a plan that uses ALL the options at our disposal, and also give us options to move away from carbon over time in a way that won't cripple our nation.

1) Exploit out narutal resources, including oil, shale, natural gas, and regional wind and solar (where it makes sense).

2) Give tax breaks to companies that invest in alternative fuels and grants to companies to set up nuclear power (the start up costs of nuclear are astronomical).

3) As viable carbon alternatives for home and auto emerge, offer tax breaks to individuals who are early adopters and take the risk of switching.

Coming from a standpoint of complete ignorance, I imagine it will take 30 years to make these changes if each administration carried the torch, and thats a huge if, especially if oil prices plummet and cheap gas becomes attractive again.