The Essence of the Romney-Ryan Campaign: Blind Trust

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The entire Romney-Ryan campaign boils down to two essential points:

Really; yesterday the RR campaign came out and said it could not divulge precise policy proposals, like what tax deductions might be eliminated to balance the budget, because Democrats are mean. Angry Black Lady writes,

The Obama campaign, on the one hand, has got all these different tools that you can use to figure out how Obama’s policies will affect you: as a woman, for example, (The Life of Julia) or as a taxpayer (you can calculate your tax rate with his nifty tax calculator).

Romney and Ryan, on the other hand, have no nifty tools — Whiteboard of Fail, notwithstanding — and are willing to tell voters exactly two things: Jack and Shit.

R and R argue that if they released details of what they plan to do, those awful Democrats would just demagogue them. You know — like the Republicans relentlessly demagogue President Obama’s record and policies, because hate and lies are all they have to run on.

Four years ago the Obama campaign web site, which I actually read pretty carefully, had page after page after page after page of details on how they proposed to achieve their various campaign promises. And, um, they won.

(And the Obama Administration actually stuck to most of those details as closely as Congress allowed. Those who perpetually whine about how Obama sold them out obviously never read the website and mistook Obama for the Progressive Utopia Fairy.)

Basically, they’re asking us to put the nation into a blind trust that the Right will manage. And while they won’t tell us how they will invest our money, they are promising the equivalent of a 300 percent return with no risk.

Part of me is looking forward to the Republican convention. Seriously. The Republicans have figured out they can’t make Romney lovable, so the theme of the convention is going to be professionalism. They’re going to emphasize Mitt’s business background (leaving out Bain Capital?) to argue that Mitt just knows how to take care of money stuff, so we should let him be president.

To me, this sounds like they are veering awfully close to the Michael Dukakis line — “This election isn’t about ideology. It’s about competence.” I happened to like that line at the time, but it seems to have fallen flat with most Americans. And, of course, this election is precisely about ideology, and I have no doubt the convention participants are not going to let America forget that.

It’s going to be the Mother of All Clown Shows, in other words. America will be treated to four days of unhinged baggerism, and then Mitt is going to take the stage and proclaim he is a serious adult professional and we should just trust him to know what he’s doing. Yeah, that should work.

Update: Somebody set up a Romney’s White Board site. This one’s my favorite (although it took me a few seconds) —

Update: If you are feeling discouraged, read Nate Silver, Why I’m Not Buying the Romney Rally.

12 thoughts on “The Essence of the Romney-Ryan Campaign: Blind Trust”

  1. It amazes me that polls show that about half of voters plan on selecting a President who won’t even tell them in any useful detail what he has in store for the country. Doesn’t that bother them? We really are sheep.

  2. Lynne: I don’t get it either. If you ask people if they would vote for Mr. Burns– the boss in The Simpsons– they’d say “Heck, no”, but ask them to spend half an hour figuring out what two ACTUAL presidential candidates stand for (or DON’T stand for) and that’s too much trouble. And the latter has a HUGE impact over their future life and financial security.

  3. Romney to MSM and voters, “I can’t tell you what I’m going to do if I’m elected. I’m running for President, for pete’s sake!”
    ‘To know, know, know, Mitt, is to loathe, loathe, loathe Mitt. And we do!’

    We’ve had over 30 years of Conservatives running for office, saying that they hate government, saying government doesn’t work, wanting to shrink it, eliminating every part of government – except the military, and, of course, the job/office they hold and the benefits they get from that government.
    THAT, they want to keep – for life!

    And, after 30 years of voting for those people who hate government, say it doesn’t work, and then, having no interest in actaully governing, PROVE that the government doesn’t work when they’re in charge, the idiot people in this country are lining-up to kick at the football Conservative Lucy is holding – AGAIN!!!

    Nobody ever lost a single penny betting against the stupidity of the American people.
    Always, ALWAYS, take stupidity and the points!

    Too bad this is too long for a bumper-sticker:
    “2012: US Congress Has Approval Rating In The Teens.
    Isn’t It Time To Vote For People Who Actually LIKE Government?”

    Maybe someone can figure out a way to shorten it.

  4. Mitt must be a “Double Diamond” judging how he presents “The Plan” on his dry erase board.
    But Mitt does not share “The Plan” right now because Obama will steal his ideas and fix the economy before November. Why can’t we see this???

  5. As I keep seeing the use of R&R for Mittens and Paulie I harken back to the days of my youth. In those days of the nameless war in South East Asia, GI’s were allowed 5 days away from the war on what was called Rest and Recreation. GI’s being GI’s quickly changed it to Rape and Riot. Another board I read a commenter noted the more accurate Raze and Ruin.

  6. Oh, lookie, lookie – Congressman Paul “Maximus Handsomus, Trueus Blueus Eyeus, Mucho Testicularus Like Ronald Maximus Reaganus” Ryan, appears at a FL Senior Citizens community, hiding behind his Mommies skirts, to lie to them about how he and Mitt are going to “save” Medicare from the scary, scary, Nigrah:

    http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/08/ryan-scares-reassures-seniors-at-florida-senior-center-visit.php?ref=fpa

    And I’d bet that any of the more Liberal senior citizens had pieces of paper stuffed underneath their doors, or taped to their golf carts, telling them that the rally with “Maximus Handsomus Testicularus” Ryan was TOMORROW morning – just in case a few of them might think to show up and heckle Lil’ Paulie and his rich Mommy.

  8. I loved the 92 yo vet – but he highlights what’s wrong: The old Liberal/New Deal/Depression era generation is dying off. Could we find a younger voice who is so powerfully articulate? I am hopeful we prevail for another election cycle, but I know that reason (and our vanishing numbers) don’t count for much in this darkening time.

    One of my (former) pasttimes is hanging out on yahoo message boards and rebutting right wing posters. As expected, the selection of Privatizing Ryan has dramatically galvanized the feces-throwing crowd, people who could never sit through and comprehend what this old timer has to say. I’ve concluded that my former pasttime has to go, it’s too much of a time and energy suck. And besides that, yahoo goes into permanent wait mode – server overload – when I so much as try to post.

    Can’t wait till it’s over in November.

  9. Eddie Munster falls in line with “Hermann”s” “Big Lie” game plan. OF COURSE screwing up medicare will affect current users. It affects the size of the pool. And what kind of an argument is that anyway? It boils down “don’t panic Granny, I’ll ruin things for for your kids and grandkids, but I PROMISE not to pull away your cane when you are walking down those stairs”. I hop the AARP can get some lit out on these hoodlums fast.

  11. Ladies and gentlemen, but particularly you ladies, a Republican Senatorial candidate in action:

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/19/todd-akin-abortion-legitimate-rape_n_1807381.html

    You won’t believe what he says about cases of “legitimate” rape, and how womens ‘secretions’ help to prevent pregnancy.

    Uhm… Senator-wanna-be, Sir, can you tell us how you would define, “illegitimate” rape?

    And, if not, what’s “legitimate” rape – is it like a “Reese’s” ad?
    ‘You attacked me, forced me to the ground, beat me, pulled off my clothes, and rammed your pecker in my vagina!!!”
    ‘No, you put your vagina on my pecker.’

    This is what happens when people can’t afford to keep their mentally deranged/defective relatives locked in their attics or basements anymore – they run for Congress.

    OY!!!

  12. cund – get with the program. Legitimate rape is to be determined by the rapist. Is there a victim alive who would declare on the witness stand that her/his rape was legitimate?

    Which brings me to how in step – no matter all the strum and drang to the contrary being spit out by other Republicans – Akin is with his Republican bed-fellows. Women are a lesser creation, are put by God on earth to serve/service men. I mean, God didn’t even bother to create woman as a separate and legitimate species – like lions and tigers and wolves – he made her from a man.

    (Besides, every man knows that a woman gets raped when she asks for it – wanna bet that’s Akin’s definition of an ‘illegitimate’ rape.)

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