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Who do Republicans think is acceptable?
I thought this was an interesting poll.
I have never said that I truly understand the Tea Party mind. Just to re-enforce my confusion, Gallup folks asked self-identified Tea Party Republicans who they thought was an acceptable candidate.
How Newt Gingrich represents the Tea Party is beyond me. Newt always represents himself. He is the worst of Washington. He is the lobbyist who lined his own pockets, both when he was in office and after he retired.
More from DK:
As you can see, Romney and Gingrich are in the first two spots within each group; Gingrich leads among conservatives and tea partiers; Romney leads among moderates and liberals as well as non-tea partiers. As Greg Sargent points out, Gingrich’s lead in his base is much, much larger than Romney’s lead within his base. That’s the basic reason why Gingrich is ahead. The voters who are supposed to be Romney’s strength are nearly as enthusiastic about Gingrich as they are about him, while Gingrich’s base is much more into their candidate than Romney.
That’s a good news/bad news situation for Romney. On the one hand, if Gingrich stumbles without another candidate taking his place (a big if), Romney’s in a good position to capitalize. But if he is unable to either put some space between himself and Gingrich within moderates and non-tea partiers or to close the gap among tea partiers and conservatives, the fate of his candidacy will be completely out of his control.
NFL Week 13: Thoughts and Predictions
I did not make any predictions on Thursday night football. The Seattle Seahawks stomped the Philadelphia Eagles 31-14. The Philadelphia Eagles needed to have an outstanding offensive day. They didn’t. Vince Young threw four interceptions. DeSean Jackson was jogging through routes as he continued to pout. The Eagles defense needed to step up and shut down an average Seahawks offense. Marshawn Lynch average more than six yards a carry and saw the end zone twice. Now, the calls for firing Andy Reid have grown louder. Is the problem Andy Reid? Is the problem throwing in so many free agents and a new defensive system/coordinator when you didn’t have a real off-season? All I can say is that the performance that we all saw on Thursday night was awful. A professional football team should be more competitive.
Tennessee Titans versus Buffalo Bills – In my opinion, the Buffalo Bills are done. They’ve had several key injuries, making it difficult for them to perform at the same level they did at the beginning of the season. Chris Johnson has finally started playing well for the Tennessee Titans. The Titans offensive line is finally opening up holes. I look for Tennessee to win this one.
Kansas City Chiefs versus Chicago Bears – Chicago has been able to run the ball the last five or six weeks. Their defense has come alive. Not much is happening from the Kansas City Chiefs. They’ve been devastated by injuries. Chicago.
Atlanta Falcons versus Houston Texans – this should be one of the best games today. The Houston Texans desperately need to have some decent quarterback play. Matt Ryan has been playing extremely well the last couple of weeks. This game is being played in Texas. The key to this game is whether the defense of the Houston Texans can control the offense of the Atlanta Falcons. I think this game is going to be close. I think Matt Ryan is going to make just enough plays to push Atlanta over the top.
Oakland Raiders versus Miami Dolphins – I think this is going to be another good game. Darren McFadden’s return is questionable. He really makes the Oakland offense run. Miami’s defense has been playing pretty well the last several weeks. Miami just needs a little bit more play from Matt Moore. I’m going to pick Miami in this one.
Denver Broncos versus Minnesota Vikings – I’ve picked against Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos each of the last three weeks. The bottom line is that Tim Tebow and the Denver offense have not turned the ball over. The Denver defense has been incredibly good. Von Miller is hurt. He may not play. Yet, I think that the Denver defense will make enough plays to keep the game close. If the game is close in the fourth quarter, Tim Tebow and that offense will somehow figure out a way to win. I just don’t see Minnesota racking up that many points. Denver wins.
Indianapolis Colts versus New England Patriots – I don’t think any prolonged discussion is needed. New England wins.
Cincinnati Bengals versus Pittsburgh Steelers – Pittsburgh played a very ugly game on Monday night. I think that Pittsburgh will play much better against the Bengals. In order for the Bengals to win, Andy Dalton is going to have to make several big plays down the field. I think Pittsburgh’s secondary can hold up. Cincinnati will stop the run, but will have a hard time keeping up with Ben Roethlishberger. I think the Steelers can win this one at home.
Carolina Panthers versus Tampa Bay Buccaneers – the Carolina Panthers are playing a little bit better every week. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are playing a little bit worse every week. Cam Newton desperately needs a good number two receiver. Defenses are going to try to take away Steve Smith, who’s having one of his best years as a pro. If the Panthers are able to crank up their running game, and I think they can, they’re going to be hard to stop. Carolina Panthers.
New York Jets versus Washington Redskins – It is possible for the Washington Redskins to win this game. The New York Jets have seemed to limp along throughout the year. Mark Sanchez does not seem to be making the progress that we all had hoped for. The Jets running game has been mediocre at best. For the first time all year, Revis Island had been invaded. Knucklehead Stevie Johnson from the Buffalo Bills really had a good day against Revis. The Washington Redskins seem to be offensively challenged. Will we see the good Rex Grossman or the bad Rex Grossman this week? I know that some are picking the Washington Redskins for an upset. I do think that this game will be close, but I think the Jets will put out in the end.
Afternoon games
Baltimore Ravens versus Cleveland Browns – Baltimore
Dallas Cowboys versus Arizona Cardinals – I think it was about two years ago when the Dallas Cowboys’ season unraveled in Arizona. So it is clearly possible for the Dallas Cowboys to lose this game. First of all, we cannot let Patrick Peterson take one to the house. He has won two or three games for the Arizona Cardinals this year. Larry Fitzgerald is still one of the best receivers in the league. He can kill the Dallas Cowboys. The secondary for the Dallas Cowboys has been suspect all year. Michael Jenkins, just coming back from a hamstring injury, may not be up to speed. He’s going to need a lot of help with Fitzgerald. On offense, I think the Cowboys should be able move the ball but must avoid stupid penalties (at which we excel) and turning the ball over. The Cowboys by a touchdown or more.
Green Bay Packers versus New York Giants – Eli Manning will test the secondary of the Green Bay Packers. He’s going to have to be extremely careful. Green Bay has snagged more than 20 interceptions so far this season. The New York Giants, in my opinion, need to revamp their offensive line. They just aren’t opening the holes in the running game that they used to. Brandon Jacobs needs to be cut. He is not the punishing runner that he was two years ago. The Giants’ secondary was completely exposed against the New Orleans Saints last week. I just don’t see how they will be able to keep up with Aaron Rodgers and all of his receivers. Green Bay wins.
St. Louis Rams versus San Francisco 49ers – 49ers should win this one easily.
Sunday Night Football
Detroit Lions versus New Orleans Saints – the New Orleans Saints love quarterbacks who are somewhat careless with football. Their defense feeds on turnovers. Look for them to have a feast tonight. I look for Drew Brees to have plenty of time to throw the football. New Orleans by seven or more.
Monday Night Football
San Diego Chargers versus Jacksonville Jaguars – This is probably the worst Monday Night Football game of the year. Neither one of these teams has anything to play for. The head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars has been fired. Norv Turner is on the hot seat for the San Diego Chargers. The Chargers defense has been mediocre. The Jacksonville Jaguars offense has been less than mediocre. Blaine Gabbert has been awful. I think that San Diego will pull out a victory in what will be an ugly and boring Monday Night Football game.
The suspense isn’t killing me (Updated)
For the past four years, the Republican Party has been doing backflips, trying to prove to America that they care about minorities. They’ve been trying to prove that they are an inclusive party. They’ve been trying to come up with the Republican version of Barack Obama ever since Barack Obama was elected to a Senate in Illinois. As far as I know, Allen West is the only Republican Congressman who’s black (I’m sorry I over looked Tim Scott of SC. My apologies.) and there are no black Republican senators. I don’t think that this is because the Republican Party would not embrace a black figure, because they seemed to be plenty happy with Condoleezza Rice and with Colin Powell, before he endorsed Barack Obama and before he said that torture was not the direction that our country should be going.
Three years ago, the Republican Party picked Michael Steele out of relative obscurity in Maryland politics. Michael Steele had no previous experience in the national spotlight and his inexperience showed. There were many times when it was unclear whether Michael Steele was representing the GOP or simply his own interests. So at their first opportunity the GOP gave Michael Steele the boot.
Finally, the Republicans found the perfect candidate – Herman Cain. His resume looked impressive. He ran a successful company. He made tons of money (almost a prerequisite to run for the Republican nomination). He had a conservative talk show, which had a decent sized audience. He had a personable, almost folksy way of talking at campaign events. The bread-and-butter conservatives really like this. He was the former chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. All of this was really cool!! Herman Cain for President!
Problems with Herman Cain surfaced almost from the start. He seems to do well in these rallies where he can talk off the cuff and get the crowd energized. He seems to have problems with interviews. He seemed to have problems during the debates. During his closing statement in the first Republican debate, Herman Cain quoted the song the movie Pokémon. He said, “A poet once said, ‘life can be a challenge, life can seen impossible, it is never easy when there’s so much on the line.’” Personally, I think if you have to stoop to quoting a cartoon (“I’m strong to the finish, ‘cuz I eat my spinach” – Popeye), your candidacy should be over. Then, Herman Cain came out with his 9-9-9 plan. This seems to be directly derived from the 2004 version of SimCity (“It’s clobbing time” – The Thing). He has no economist to stand up and say “I came up with this plan and gave it to Herman Cain.” He has no team of advisers who said that they were knocking around different ideas for flat taxes and came up with this 9-9-9 plan. By itself, it isn’t really all that crazy, but when he added the Pokémon quote, doesn’t that mean that you’re not a serious candidate (“You’re despicable” – Daffy Duck)? So, Herman Cain continues to campaign and try to sell more books (selling items that personally line your pockets seems to be a theme in this Republican race this year – see Newt Gingrich). He then has a softball question tossed at him. What do you think about president Obama’s handling of Libya? I’m not sure what was difficult about this question. Libya has been in the news for more than six months. I think was reasonable for Herman Cain to ask for a point of clarification, just in case the reporter was trying to ask about a specific aspect of the Libyan policy. Yet, even with prompting, he came up with nothing (“I think I should’ve taken that left turn at Albuquerque” – Bugs Bunny). I won’t even going to the Iran nuclear issue question that Herman Cain also fumbled. The bread-and-butter of the Republican Party since Richard Nixon has been foreign-policy. Yet Herman Cain fumbles and bumbles the most basic foreign-policy questions. Republican voters should have been running for the exits.
We must remember that the Republican Party since Ronald Reagan has embraced this idea that they are morally superior to the rest of us. They have courted the religious right. A Republican candidate who seems to have a new woman alleging unwanted sexual advances every week should be nauseating. Then, this week, we have a woman who basically stated that she’s had a 13-year sexual affair with the guy who is running to be the nominee of the “family values” party. Sure, it would be easy to dismiss this woman as Herman Cain has dismissed all of the other accusers. This woman had Herman Cain’s phone number in her cell phone. She sent a text message to that number and only a couple minutes later Herman Cain called back. (“That’s all folks!” – Porky Pig.)
For the last three or four days Herman Cain has been “evaluating” his candidacy. Why? The rest of us have moved on. Sure, some time later on today Herman Cain is supposed to make a big announcement. Do we care? My answer is no. I don’t think that Herman Cain was ever a serious candidate for president. I hope he sold the books that he wanted to sell. I have no animosity or malice towards Herman Cain. He just should not run for president. The thousands and thousands of Americans who were duped into supporting this man should have their money refunded. (Somewhere on my blog, somebody posted a comment telling me that Herman Cain was going to “kick Barack Obama’s butt” in the general election. I wonder what that shortsighted supporter is thinking now.)
Update: Cain has suspended his campaign. (“Are you still here? The movie is over. Go home.” – Ferris Bueller. [I couldn't think of any more great cartoon quotes. Sorry.])
Jobs numbers for November. 8.6%
Better. Much better than I expected. We need much more, but this is better. Note that the jobs numbers for September and October were revised up.
From MarketWatch:
The U.S. gained 120,000 jobs in November and the unemployment rate fell to 8.6% from 9.0%, the Labor Department said Friday. The government also revised jobs data for October and September to show that 72,000 additional jobs were created. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast a 125,000 increase in employment in November and no change in the jobless rate. About half of the drop in the unemployment rate stemmed from a decline in the number of workers in the labor force. Hiring in October was revised up to 100,000 from 80,000 and the job gains in September were revised up to 210,00 from 158,000. In November, companies in the private sector hired 140,000 workers, with retailers adding 50,000. Government cut 20,000 jobs, the Labor Department said. Average hourly earnings fell 0.1% last month to $23.18 and the workweek was unchanged at 34.3 hours. The broader U6 unemployment rate dropped to 15.6% from 16.2% in October.
All Taxes Are Created Equal
From more than 20 years, Grover Norquist has been on a crusade to decrease income taxes. For that matter, he wanted to decrease all taxes. No matter how small the government was, it was too big. Yesterday, we found out that he was talking to a group of Republicans and took the stance that raising taxes on the middle class didn’t count as raising taxes at all. Doesn’t this once and for all prove that Republicans really don’t care about the middle class? Doesn’t this prove that this antitax crusade is all about the wealthy becoming more wealthy?
Frank Luntz on Occupy Wall Street
This is big. Republican talking points on Occupy Wall Street.
From TP:
– Don’t Mention Capitalism: Luntz said that his polling research found that “The public…still prefers capitalism to socialism, but they think capitalism is immoral. And if we’re seen as defenders of quote, Wall Street, end quote, we’ve got a problem.”
– Empathize With The 99 Percent Protesters: Luntz instructed attendees to tell protesters that they “get it”: “First off, here are three words for you all: ‘I get it.’ … ‘I get that you’re. I get that you’ve seen inequality. I get that you want to fix the system.”
– Don’t Say Bonus: Luntz told Republicans to re-frame the concept of the bonus payment — which bailed-out Wall Street doles out to its employees during holidays — as “pay for performance” instead.
– Don’t Mention The Middle Class Because Americans Don’t Trust Republicans To Defend It: “They cannot win if the fight is on hardworking taxpayers,” Luntz instructed the audience. “We can say we defend the ‘middle class’ and the public will say, I’m not sure about that. But defending ‘hardworking taxpayers’ and Republicans have the advantage.”
– Don’t Talk About Taxing The Rich: Luntz reminded Republicans that Americans actually do want to tax the rich, so he recommended they instead say that the government “takes from the rich.”
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Errington C. Thompson, MD, is a surgeon, scholar, full-time sports fan and part-time political activist. He is active in a number of community projects and initiatives. Through medicine, he strives to improve the physical health of all he treats...
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