MORNING MESSAGE: Deficit Rorschach Test: The Presidents, the Editors, and the Truth
OurFuture.Org's Richard Eskow: "Both political parties have 'an aversion to telling the truth,' says the Washington Post. The truth? That newspaper's editors are part of a small but powerful billionaire-funded circle which seems to believe that any facts which don't support their distorted and unpopular ideas are deviations from the 'truth.' With a few selected phrases, President Obama and former President Clinton appeared to endorse this tiny faction's recovery-crushing austerity approach last week in Charlotte. But the rest of their speeches, along with others given at the convention, were a strong rejection of the privately-authored set of policy proposals known as 'Simpson Bowles.' That's good, since Simpson Bowles so closely resembles the Republican Party Platform that the Democrats could wind up running against themselves."
More Romney Tax Problems
Romney on defensive over lack of tax detail [Financial Times]: "During an April fundraiser in the backyard of a large private home in Palm Beach, Florida, Mitt Romney offered donors a brief glimpse of what it would take for his tax plan to work. To prevent his proposals to slash income taxes by 20 per cent from blowing a massive hole in the US budget, he would be willing to limit some of America's most prized tax breaks. Mr Romney singled out the mortgage interest deduction for second homes, undoubtedly familiar to many in the wealthy crowd. The remarks were overheard by reporters camped out on the street outside, but they were not intended for the public – and since then, they have never been fleshed out and expanded into a full policy proposal."
Rhetoric Aside, Few Details Of Romney's Tax Plan [NPR]: "Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney's proposal to overhaul the tax code continues to draw scrutiny. Romney says it is possible to cut tax rates without driving the government deeper into the red, and that he can make up for the lost revenue by closing tax loopholes. But analysts have had a hard time testing Romney's claim because he hasn't offered many specifics. When he was pressed by NBC's David Gregory this weekend to give an example of a loophole he would close, Romney didn't offer much detail. 'Well, I can tell you that people at the high end — high-income taxpayers — will have fewer deductions and exemptions,' Romney said. That's not good enough for President Obama, who says Romney's plan lacks a basic ingredient: math."
Dithering on Obamacare
Mitt Romney's Shifting Stance On Health Care [NPR] "Mitt Romney seemed to make health care news in a Sunday interview on NBC's Meet the Press. He said he might not want to repeal all of the Affordable Care Act. 'I'm not getting rid of all of health care reform,' he told host David Gregory. 'Of course, there are a number of things that I like in health care reform that I'm going to put in place. One is to make sure that those with pre-existing conditions can get coverage.' Of course not getting rid of the entire Affordable Care Act is not only an express violation of the Republican Party 2012 platform, but also is at odds with Romney's own position as detailed on the campaign's website. So, not surprisingly, it was only a matter of hours before the campaign walked the candidate's comments back."
Did Mitt Romney misrepresent his health-care proposals on 'Meet the Press'? [Christian Science Monitor]: "In fact, Romney is proposing something much different than the blanket preexisting conditions protections of Obama's ACA. Later in the day the Romney campaign issued a clarification to National Review. 'Governor Romney will ensure that discrimination against individuals with preexisting conditions who maintain continuous coverage is prohibited, a campaign aide told National Review's Katrina Trinko. …'That's great for an individual who gets a new job. But continuous coverage isn't so great for the individual who has spent some time without insurance, perhaps because of difficult financial times. Continuous coverage won't do much for you in that situation,' writes Sarah Kliff on the Washington Posts' Wonkblog."
WaPo's Eugene Robinson tries to make sense of Mitt Romney's dithering on health care reform: "To review, Romney was for Obamacare before he was against it before he was for it again, except the keystone element that makes the rest of Obamacare work, which he developed and implemented but steadfastly opposes. Hold it — breaking news; this just in: After the 'Meet the Press' appearance, a Romney aide clarified that Romney didn't actually intend to guarantee that people with preexisting conditions could get insurance. Rather, he would somehow encourage the free market to provide such coverage — even though, as anyone with diabetes or kidney disease can attest, the free market does no such thing. My advice is that before making a serious attempt to understand what Romney might actually do, make sure your health-insurance policy covers whiplash.
Chicago Teachers Strike
Chicago Teacher Fight May Impact Presidential Politics [US News]: "The teachers' union strike roiling Chicago politics has already become part of the presidential election conversation and experts say the longer it stretches on, the greater the chances it could affect the race's outcome. High-profile clashes between cash-strapped state and local governments and public-sector unions have been dominating political spheres since 2010, when Republicans swept into power in state houses across the country. GOP Govs. Scott Walker of Wisconsin and John Kasich in Ohio have led the charge in reforming pensions and benefits to teachers and government workers. But in this case, it's a Democrat facing off with public workers."
Paul Ryan on Chicago Teachers' Strike: 'We Stand with Mayor Rahm Emanuel' [ABC News]: "Paul Ryan crossed party lines and voiced support for one of President Obama's biggest backers today, saying, 'We stand with Mayor Rahm Emanuel' in his fight with Chicago's teachers, which led the union to call the city's first teachers' strike in 25 years. …Emanuel is not only the Democratic mayor of the third largest city, he's also President Obama's former chief of staff and one of his most visible supporters. Ryan went on to ask the group of about 200 donors where the president stands on the strike. …Ryan said in a Romney administration they will 'not be ambiguous.' 'We will stand with education reform, we will champion bipartisan education reforms,' Ryan said."
GOP Polling Panic
Romney campaign tries to explain away poor polling [Swampland]: "Republicans need not panic about recent grim national tracking polling numbers that have shown President Obama opening up a lead of three to five points, writes Romney pollster Neil Newhouse in a state-of-the-race memo sent out Monday morning. 'While some voters will feel a bit of a sugar-high from the conventions, the basic structure of the race has not changed significantly,' the missive reads. 'The reality of the Obama economy will reassert itself as the ultimate downfall of the Obama Presidency, and Mitt Romney will win this race.'nNever mind that a senior Romney adviser predicted an 11-point Republican convention bounce just a few weeks ago. This argument is paper thin on its own."
Examiner's Byron York says team Romney is running a "faith-based" campaign: "Mitt Romney and his top aides are running an essentially faith-based campaign. Whatever the polls say at the moment, whatever the pundits say, whatever some nervous Republicans say, Team Romney simply does not believe President Obama can win re-election in today's terrible economy. The president may appear to be defying gravity now, but he can't keep it up through Nov. 6. …The next few days are going to try Romney's patience and determination. The media is focusing incessantly on Obama's relatively small move upward in the polls, with some of the coverage bordering on outright celebration. That, in turn, is spooking some already anxious Romney supporters who fear that Romney is going about it all wrong… Meanwhile, Republican nervousness is spreading and threatens to turn into a stampede."
Josh Marshall wonders what it will mean if Obama scores a decisive win in November: "Republicans, particularly conservative Republicans, are already warming up an answer. Romney was a phony conservative and a terrible candidate. So it doesn't mean anything other than we need to pick a better nominee next time. But there's another read. …Is the country moving in a direction where the Republican party is at an inherent disadvantage in a presidential election? Is the Republican message lack sufficient traction when the whole electorate is engaged? Or as George Will put it yesterday, "If the Republican Party cannot win in this environment, it has to get out of politics and find another business."
The Guardian's Diane Roberts focuses on the GOP's diminishing demographic: "[I]f the Republicans are to win in November, they will have to do it with white voters. Romney's own campaign numbers gurus say he needs at least 61% of them. That might work – this year. But it will probably never work again. White America is shrinking. In 2012, for the first time in modern history, the majority of babies born in the US belonged to some kind of "ethnic minority". According to the Census Bureau, in 25 to 30 years, non-Hispanic whites will no longer make up a majority of the US population. If the Republican party continues to cling to plutocracy, misogyny, homophobia, and racial division, it will be, as President George HW Bush (surely the whitest of white men ever to occupy the White House) would say, 'in deep doo-doo'."
Breakfast Sides
Americans prepare to mark 11th anniversary of 9/11 attacks [Reuters]: "Thousands will gather on Tuesday in New York, suburban Washington and rural Pennsylvania to mark the 11th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, but at the somber day's biggest venue, Ground Zero in lower Manhattan, this year's observance will be missing a key feature from years past: politicians' voices. In previous years, politicians including U.S. presidents, state governors and New York City mayors have participated in the reading of the names, or have read from the Bible or recited passages from literature. This year, only the families of the more than 2,750 who were killed when militant Islamist hijackers crashed two jetliners into the World Trade Center's Twin Towers, causing their collapse, will appear on the podium to read their names."
Writing at Climate Progress, Jessica Good writes that Romney/Ryan want to "drill, slash, and sell our public lands": "So what are Gov. Romney's and his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-WI), policies on public lands? We examined the plans of the two candidates alongside their previous votes and policy positions, discovering that, for them, the purpose of public lands is: More access for oil and gas drilling and less investment in cleaner alternative energy sources; The sale of public lands rather than further conservation for future enjoyment and job creation; Less public access to public lands due to ill-considered budget cuts rather than investments in our parks and wilderness areas to boost local economies and jobs. In short, the public lands policies of Gov. Romney and Rep. Ryan would be disastrous for the 700 million acres of federal public lands that belong to all of us."
Colorlines' Brentin Mock explains why you should be very afraid of the "ballot bullies" this year: "olorlines readers may recognize that "police following you" line from our Voting Rights Watch 2012 reporting on the group True the Vote, which you can read here. The 'Ballot Bullies' report examines laws around challenging voters in ten states, looking namely at how well or bad voters are protected from pre-Election Day voter registration challenges that can lead to reckless purging, voter caging, being challenged at the polls on Election Day, and the behavior of obnoxious poll watchers. According to the report Florida and Pennsylvania have some of the worst voter protection laws, says the report, yet these are pivotal states that hold tremendous sway in the upcoming presidential elections. True the Vote has a substantial presence in Florida and has pressed hard for Gov. Rick Scott's reckless purging program there. People of color in particular should be most wary of these groups.
