Mitt Can’t Win

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I agree with Greg Sargent that the job truther hysteria hurts Mittens more than it helps him. Also the Big Bird controversy continues to dominate most of the post-debate news. See also Don’t Mess With Big Bird.

Steve Benen’ Friday report on Mitt’s Mendacity runs to an epic 50 items. I’m sure it could have run longer, but poor Benen needed a rest.

Since I hardly ever watch CNN, I missed this —

Interesting analysis of Mitt’s fabulous wealth. Given when and how Mitt made his fortunate he actually ought to be worth a great deal more, the article says. Does he have another several million socked away somewhere that no one can find?

Update: Who is to blame for unemployment?

In the global economy, we accept a brand of capitalism that disconnects corporate leaders from the employees affected by their decisions. This geographic, civic and economic separation is what many unemployed people blame for their joblessness. …

… Badman, like most of the unemployed I met, knew that workers overseas did not steal his job. He blamed his unemployment on people “at corporate” he couldn’t name who, on the day after he was laid off, met with his former subordinates to ask what he did every day. Executives were so disconnected that they no longer knew what they had paid Badman to do. …

… Jobless Americans are Democrats and Republicans. Whatever their affiliation, many blame our democracy for not confronting the malfunctions of capitalism. Waiting for corporate leadership to reconnect with the demoralized American workforce is not an option.

“Corporate’s not going to listen,” Badman told me just down the street from the shuttered Vise-Grip plant in DeWitt. “They wouldn’t listen to us. But who are we? Who was I? We weren’t anybody.”

Interesting.

17 thoughts on “Mitt Can’t Win”

  1. Why is Mitt worth so little?

    Maybe it’s ’cause he’s been hiring high-priced Hit-men to knock of Sesame Street characters for decades, but can’t find one who, when he gets his chance, is as heartless as Mitt is.
    “I keela many men ina my life-a, buta no canna do hit, Meester Rah-money – ees a big cheeckens puppet for leel chilruns! You wanna him kilta? Youa do ita yourselfa, you heartlessa creeper!” *

    Possible movements:
    OCCUPY SESAME STREET!

    STOP THE WAR – ON MUPPETS!

    DON’T RENDITION OUR PUPPETS TO CABLE TV!

    *Father Guido Sarducci helped me with this, if you can’t tell.

  2. I’ve always thought PBS is one of the best government programs going. Jesse Helms loved to demonize it, but in the end I think everyone outside his home state recognized that Jesse was an a-hole.

    Somewhere on the Internet, I chanced upon a “North by Northwest” parody, I believe it’s got Mitt in the cropduster plane chasing Big Bird thru a field. Now that it’s the weekend, I intend to find and watch the whole thing on my own computer. If I find it, I’ll post a link.

    The anti-Mitt humor is so widespread. I think that makes a big dent in whatever “resurgence” is happening.

  4. many blame our democracy for not confronting the malfunctions of capitalism.

    I describe that malfunction as the wingnut mind.. It’s what I see. God bless America!

  5. It all began when the CEO’s duty was to maximize profit for the share holder,even if it ment screwing over the worker. Ye reap what ye sow.

  6. 813 page tax return… You’ve got to be seriously involved in playing hide the money to have to generate that many pages to cover your trail. Just on the face of it you can see it’s not being responsibly honest..it’s Romney’s way of cheating the American public. legal doesn’t equate with honesty or truth…

    Don’t trust Romney…You’re gonna get bit if you do! Ask yourself this. When was the last time your had to convince somebody that you have compassion? You didn’t, because compassion shows of its own.. it’s a reflection of God in your life. Mitt Romney is a black hole of selfishness. He’s not human.

  8. Hey I actually have a worth while comment today! And I am pretty impressed with myself..whooohooo.

    I have to admit I had forgotten all about this from the 8th grade debate class I dug so much, but who the hell could have imagined mittwitt would use a debate technique from the fucking 8th grade to debate the President Of the United States of America? If Obama never took a debate class he would have NEVER KNOWN..and maybe still doesn’t.. and when I explain this to you , you are going to have realized a wing nut has done this to YOU before. All I had to do was see a comment that reminded me and whammo- light bulb moment!!!

    Its called GISH GALLOP: It was named after a creationist named Duane Gish. Basically it is a technique where you drown out your opponent is a overwhelming amount of half truths, lies and straw man agruments that your opponent can never answer every falsehood in real time.

    As I said before as soon as I saw the words I was taken a back to the 8th friggin grade- wow…holy shit..this man wants to be president with a 8th grade debate class degree on the world stage..are you terrified yet?? The quickest way to win the debate, should someone use this technique is to point it out to a debate savvy crowd – and some times people play the “gish card” when they are losing..but a bunch of debate nerds (yes I was! and I was good at it too believe it or not) know the gish card from the real thing..duh…lol

    Anyhow, I just thought you should know the grade level of the GOP..thats when thinkin and books seems to have ended.

    No one in the debate nerd circle would call mitts night a victory, they would call it a cop out. We didn’t learn a thing about mittwitt(except he gets his debate tips from 8th graders and that he will lie right to the faces of the American people) or his actual policies. Considering the limited number of these debates and the fact that the connection he has made with the average American so far has been bad, and the fact that his numbers have been down in the swing states I consider this a major wasted chance on his part to turn all that around. Instead he was very short sighted and made it about winning the debate instead of the actual job or even hearts and minds.That might have helped him, if not for the fact that he gished Obama.. and worse this was “THE GISHING OF AMERICA”..That ends my
    worthwhile- ness for the year..

  9. WOW, Swami! Kinda like the Taliban, only vanilla.
    Hmmmmm, Vanilla Taliban;sounds like a punk rock group.

  10. Yeah, erinyes ..It’s like the twilight zone…somewhere between faith and reality. Michelle Bachmann is on the House Intelligence Committee. 🙂 I wonder about freedom..When you can get arrested, cuffed, the mug shot and strip searched for not wearing a seat belt..a law supposedly for our own safety. I have to question what freedom are we talking about… I only know it’s a product of the wingnut mind because it can make sense while remaining senseless.

  11. @justme, I am going to remember the Gish Gallop, and what it means “to gish” someone. I wish I had been a debate nerd when I was in eighth grade. That technique used to work on me (and everyone else) years ago, when I was trying to figure out the whole right wing thing, the Wall of BS. Like many people, I’ve come to recognize their particular brand of BS, and am now pretty good at cutting through it. Sadly, Obama is not, or chooses not to be.

  12. hey I googled the term just for fun and discovered that Kos had a piece that explains gish gallop way better than I did..just in case your interested

  13. Re the Job Numbers Truthers –

    There was a comedian who had a gig in Vegas – he was unhappy with the free room that came with the deal and he took his complaint into his act protesting from on stage that his room was so cramped even the rats have stooped shoulders.

    Management demanded a public retraction which he gave in his next show – declaring that the rats do NOT have stooped shoulders.

    The gag had a short shelf live, if left alone. The demand for a retraction made the barb immortal. The truthers won’t let go – of that I am sure. I only hope the networks give them air time and then give equal time for rebuttal.

  14. I don’t know if this is the DKos diary you saw, but Romney Won Using a Debate Technique Called the Gish Gallop is worth a read. Cute joke at the end:

    Snow White, Superman and Pinocchio are walking along.
    They see a sign: “Contest for World’s Most Beautiful Woman.” Snow White goes in, later comes out smiling, wearing a crown.

    They walk along and see another sign: “Contest for World’s Strongest Man.” Superman goes in, later comes out smiling, wearing the belt.

    They walk along and see a sign: “Contest for World’s Greatest Liar.” Pinocchio goes in, later comes out with his head down crying.

    “Who the hell is Mitt Romney?” Pinocchio sobs.

  15. justme277 …The gish gallop is just what I expected from Romney. I didn’t identify my understanding of his tactic by that term but I knew it was coming.. and Mitt didn’t disappoint. His stock in trade is lies, and his foundation is composed of distortions and lies, so why would he suddenly embrace the truth? The Gish Gallop was the only tool available to him and he used fairly well except it’s not sufficient to bullshit the american public..We’re already wise to his act.

    Paulie needs some attention.. that Tea Party darling needs to be hung around Mitts neck like a cement block or fixed to Mitt like a pair of cement shoes so they both go down together.

    I’m praying that the people of Wisconsin fix Paulie’s wagon.

  16. What does the bible have to say about Mitt’s overseas bank accounts?

    For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also

    Putting your trust in Romney is about the same as going into a marriage with a prenuptial agreement…The bond of faith and trust nescessary can never be complete. His professed love for America doesn’t square with his love for his wealth..Red flag!
    He’s not worthy of trust!

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