It's Newt's World, We're Just Living In It, Politics Thread

by **jamiethekiller** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 12:06:14

LDS has missionary's all over the world. coworker spent over a year in brazil doing missionary work. i think most of the missionary work extends to walking up to doors and trying to create tithes though

by **pacino** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 12:08:38

They spent millions in California to deny rights to gays. So there's that.

by **thephan** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 12:24:23

I would like to devolve the conversation from LDS and back to the topic at hand. Its my fault, please take my mulligan and sort back to the greater topic of this American form of dysfunction now accepted as politics.

by **Bakestar** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 12:28:08

Along with the Southern Baptists they basically own the Boy Scouts of America.

by **jamiethekiller** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 12:46:28

Bakestar wrote:Along with the Southern Baptists they basically own the Boy Scouts of America.

yea, my coworker is ALSO a boy scout troop leader

by **RichmondPhilsFan** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 13:01:42

thephan wrote:
RichmondPhilsFan wrote:
Isn't the $7M primarily just his tithes to the Mormon Church?

Edit: Yup, combined $4.1M in cash payments to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-24/candidate-romney-s-tax-returns-show-7-million-in-donations-over-two-years.html

I am unfamiliar with how the LDS spend what they take in. If there is some amount of good being done that is not self serving, I am fine with that. There is a church near me that has a sizable congregation and explodes at Christmas and Easter. They make a point of giving everything away for those two holidays. The collected like $175K at Christmas and turned it over to an orphanage and hospital in Africa, a local clinic, food programs, etc. I am not sure how much they collect during the year, but their finger prints are all over the local charity scene. So if the LDS do some good with that money and spend it with low administrative overhead, then I am good with that. Too bad Mitt sucks as a human, strike that a GOP-ish (they don't see to like him either) robot.

My only point was that he is required to tithe, not what ultimately gets done with the money. IOW, he shouldn't be applauded too much for his "generosity."

by **jerseyhoya** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 15:00:39

thephan wrote:What the hell does Romney not understand about flaunting your financial success is poor form? He is almost like, I am the 1% so STFU and kiss my ring. I am sure it has been posted, but I saw somewhere that Romeny had a lot of money in Fannie and Freddie, he was just looking for a score with a better tax holiday.

In fairness, Mitt did have a bad year. 2011 only netted $20.9M versus $21.7M for 2010. All of that is from investments comprised of Dividends and Interest, but not one penny came from wages. I applaud the $7M in charitable contributions, but you need to wonder about the $6.2M in taxes in the light of the capital gains rate. For laughs, lets say Mitt made 5%, like most of us dream of right now, so that would say that he has more then $400M in investments.

Would someone please give me a candidate I want to vote for?!?!

Old attack: Mitt has to release his tax returns so we can make sure he's not covering anything up!

New attack: Mitt releasing his tax returns is flaunting his financial success!

by **thephan** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 15:19:42

jerseyhoya wrote:Old attack: Mitt has to release his tax returns so we can make sure he's not covering anything up!

New attack: Mitt releasing his tax returns is flaunting his financial success!

Not so much Hoya, it is how he executes his disclosure and carries himself. I think few would mind if someone is successful unless they are completely ignorant about how they speak of their success. Mitt is clueless about this to the point of being out of touch. I assume that his returns were closer to the rest of us meaning that he is closer to a half a billion or more in financial assets, but he wants to make people think he is in touch with the common man. The Companies are people, insistence that his time at Bain is different then it was, his argument that his magical managerial appearance in Salt Lake for the Olympics as something that was necessary and not self serving (FFS his religion does not make him a citizen of Utah) and he really does not see to grasp that his financial explanations come across as completely arrogant and over privileged. Sometime I get the sense that he views the landscape as feudal and he is forces to speak to the lower cast.

To me he comes across as somewhere between completely unlikeable and completely untrustworthy.

Old Defense: Its none of your business.

New Defense: I will not apologize for being better then you in just about every way I can think of.

by **thephan** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 15:54:22

DC mayor Grey has been snubbed again. He again did not get tickets to the State of the Union. This is year two apparently. Maybe DC will get the idea that if they keep electing corruptible and/or clueless politicians just because of party affiliation they will never get the respect they want. The Republicans have not done much credible to try to get a mayor elected, but the Democrats are pretty much just as lazy in holding control like any complacent monarchy I guess. I just cannot imagine competent leadership in the city nor can I grasp what that could mean. Is it even possible that the city could change its cemented destiny.

by **traderdave** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 15:57:47

Newt upset about crowd not being able to fellate him during last night debate:

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/cutline/gin ... 46516.html

Newt, of course, tries to make this a free speech issue. I think, perhaps, it was just NBC trying to make sure that their debate didn't turn into the college football games that the other debates turned into. Actually, I am a bit torn on this. OOH, I feel like the crowd should be able to react if they hear something they like or don't like. OTOH, I thought the standing ovations, the booing, the shouting at the CNN and other debates were extremely inappropriate.

by **dajafi** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 16:51:28

After he wrote Liar's Poker but years before Moneyball, Michael Lewis wrote a book about the 1996 election called "Losers." The hero of the book is Morry Taylor, a super-rich, libertarian-leaning Republican who captivated Lewis but totally failed to get any traction in the primaries.

Taylor built a business (tires, I think, or auto parts) from nothing and was justifiably proud of his success, particularly what he'd done for his workers and the communities in which he operated. The contrast with Romney, whose success came from activities where adding tangible value wasn't the point (though sometimes it happened), couldn't be sharper.

by **drsmooth** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 17:03:45

thephan wrote:
jerseyhoya wrote:Old attack: Mitt has to release his tax returns so we can make sure he's not covering anything up!

New attack: Mitt releasing his tax returns is flaunting his financial success!

Not so much Hoya, it is how he executes his disclosure and carries himself.

Surprised a savvy vote-counter would not realize that, regardless whether you're a Bolshevik, a Friedmanite, or a Randian, Romney's clumsy handling of this should-have-been-anticipated-long-ago issue makes him look like a poor choice of chief executive - for any sort of enterprise.

by **Rev_Beezer** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 17:04:14

Newt's ability to show disdain really makes me think he hates people in general.

by **jerseyhoya** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 17:13:20

He hasn't handled it well at all. Like I said at the beginning, he didn't want to put out his tax returns because of the rate he pays, not because he's covering up anything particularly creepy. Of course he should have had a better answer ready, but all campaigns have ups and downs. He's incredibly uncomfortable at talking about how rich he is. He's not a natural for interacting with people, and you can see the debate prep action: compassion butting up against debate prep action: I'm a successful businessman when he tries to talk about his own wealth. Hopefully the campaign will learn from this moving forward.

I'd like to see him release an ad where he says something like: "I'm really fucking rich, and I want you to be rich and successful too. The guy in the White House is demonizing me for being successful to distract from the fact that he's making this country poorer. I'm Mitt Romney, and I approve this message." That would be good times.

by **pacino** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 17:18:09

oh boy, that would be good times

by **Phan In Phlorida** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 17:26:09

jerseyhoya wrote:I'd like to see him release an ad where he says something like: "I'm really #$!&@ rich, and I want you to be rich and successful too.

by **drsmooth** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 17:29:39

every time I see Caligula Gingrich, this album cover pops into my head:

by **drsmooth** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 17:32:32

jerseyhoya wrote:He hasn't handled it well at all. Like I said at the beginning, he didn't want to put out his tax returns because of the rate he pays, not because he's covering up anything particularly creepy. Of course he should have had a better answer ready, but all campaigns have ups and downs. He's incredibly uncomfortable at talking about how rich he is. He's not a natural for interacting with people, and you can see the debate prep action: compassion butting up against debate prep action: I'm a successful businessman when he tries to talk about his own wealth. Hopefully the campaign will learn from this moving forward.

I'd like to see him release an ad where he says something like: "I'm really fucking rich, and I want you to be rich and successful too. The guy in the White House is demonizing me for being successful to distract from the fact that he's making this country poorer. I'm Mitt Romney, and I approve this message." That would be good times.

You're onto what he should be doing: explaining in simple terms how he became wealthy, & why the particular opportunities he's had have been, and continue to be, good for everyone.

There's just one problem, and I imagine you can guess what that is.

by **thephan** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 17:41:56

See now Hoya, I do agree with you. Sadly that isn't Mitt. Mitt would say it and I would think he wants to sell me a condo he is unloading and I an his sucker.

by **Monkeyboy** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 19:42:26

Plus, his dad was born in mexico and we're not even sure if Mitt is american. I'd like to see his birth certificate -- no, not that one, the long form, plz.

Also, his family often engages in polygamy which destroys marriage.

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