• Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for May 11th on 20:47

    These are my links for May 11th from 20:47 to 20:49:

    • Whether Mitch Daniels runs for president may come down to his wife’s vote – The Washington Post – Whether Mitch Daniels runs for president may come down to his wife’s vote
    • Whether Mitch Daniels runs for president may come down to his wife’s vote – Indiana first lady Cheri Herman Daniels is a “lifelong Hoosier” who has four daughters with Gov. Mitch Daniels. Her official state Web site also shares that the blond and personable 61-year-old enjoys reading, golfing, exercising, cooking and spending time with family and friends. In recent months, she has participated in the “Cheri’s Chores” program, in which she acquires new skills. (“Cheri’s Chores Assignment 1: Learn how to drive a dump truck and operate a gravel shooter.” No. 8: “Learn how to be a lunch lady.”)As she prepares to deliver the keynote address at the Indiana state GOP dinner on Thursday, Daniels has taken on a new task: shaping the Republican presidential field.

      =======

      We will find out tomorrow night….

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for May 11th on 19:08

    These are my links for May 11th from 19:08 to 19:13:

    • Mitch Daniels Passes the Cap and Trade Test – “Want to guess which potential Republican candidate looks ready to pass the pH test on [cap and trade]? Mitch Daniels. In early 2009, when the issue was ill-defined, he was already arguing against it. That’s a nice arrow in the quiver the next time he’s asked about the ‘social truce.'”=======

      And, everyone else?

    • Mitt Romney: Do you remember the Hillary campaign? – But what if Republican voters in 2012, like Democrats in 2008, care more about the future than the past; what if they want new and not the next in line? Is a corporate candidate going to wow the populist Tea Partyers? That remains to be seen.And, of course, he still has some explaining to do about RomneyCare. He’ll give a speech tomorrow trying to defuse that issue. But it’s not simply one topic. It is, as abortion was in 2008, a symptom of a larger question about Romney: Does he have core political beliefs? Republicans have no doubt that Mitch Daniels is a penny-pincher and Newt Gingrich is a passionate defender of American exceptionalism and a robust foreign policy. But the passion that Republican voters are looking for is not a defining feature of Romney’s political persona. The very qualities that make him attractive to Wall Street financial types may not resonate in the heartland.

      Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney are the ultimate “A” students — prepared, diligent and eager to please. But if it’s true that “C” students hire “A” students it may be that Romney (as Hillary did) is more likely to show up in a Republican Cabinet than in the White House.

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      Read it all.

      Agree.

      Mitt will make a good Secretary of Commerce.

    • Mitt Romney = Obama’s Running Mate – Mitt Romney travels to Ann Arbor today to deliver what his campaign bills as a major address laying out his “2012 principles for health-care reform.” These are likely to be sensible, but what we’ll be listening for is how he explains his health-care principles of five years ago.As everyone knows, the health reform Mr. Romney passed in 2006 as Massachusetts Governor was the prototype for President Obama’s version and gave national health care a huge political boost. Mr. Romney now claims ObamaCare should be repealed, but his failure to explain his own role or admit any errors suggests serious flaws both in his candidacy and as a potential President.

      ***
      There’s a lot to learn from the failure of the ObamaCare model that began in Massachusetts, which is now moving to impose price controls on all hospitals, doctors and other providers. Not that anyone would know listening to Mr. Romney. In the paperback edition of his campaign book “No Apology,” he calls the plan a “success,” and he has defended it in numerous media appearances as he plans his White House run.

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      Read it all.

      Mitt Romney is a flawed candidate and will not be the GOP nominee for President in 2012.

  • California,  Caltrans,  Jerry Brown

    Video: California Transportation Department Rejects Veterans Memorial Because of American Flag

    Well, there is a remedy for this Orcutt, California dilemma.

    From the press release:

    SB 443 authored by Sen. Strickland (R-Simi Valley) would authorize the Old Town Orcutt Revitalization Association (OTORA) to plan, construct, and maintain a veterans’ memorial in a park-and-ride lot located in Orcutt, California. No state money will be used to build or maintain the memorial.

    SB 443 passed out of the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee on an 8 to 1 vote and is now waiting to be heard in the Senate Appropriations committee.

    But, there should not have to be special legislation for this display.

    Remember the last time California Governor Jerry Brown had control of Caltrans?

    Remember Adrianna Gianturco?

    But, this is simply stupid and reflects the state of California politics today.

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for May 11th on 13:26

    These are my links for May 11th from 13:26 to 14:37:

    • Mitt Romney: As first act, out with ObamaCare – Health care is more than just one-sixth of the American economy. It is a source of well-being for individuals and families. We are blessed with much that is good in American health care. But we have taken a turn for the worse with ObamaCare, with its high taxes and vastly expanded federal control over our lives. I believe the better course is to empower the states to determine their own health care futures.======

      Read it all….

      Go for it Mitt!

    • California High-speed train trip going nowhere – The latest criticism was issued Tuesday by the Legislature’s budget analyst, Mac Taylor, in a report fittingly called “High-Speed Rail Is at a Critical Juncture.”If the project is to have a chance of success, Taylor’s staff concluded, it needs a thorough re-evaluation, a shift from the rail authority to the Department of Transportation, and a business plan that fully identifies costs, ridership and how it could operate without subsidies as state law dictates.

      The report is especially scornful of the proposed track to nowhere in the San Joaquin Valley.

      In other words, Taylor implies, it’s time to either shape up the project or dump it, although the words that his report uses are much more diplomatic, such as “challenging choices.”

      There’s probably no way for California to gather the untold tens of billions of dollars in construction money the system would require and operate bullet trains without subsidies or “revenue guarantees” to private investors.

      However, before the rail authority moves dirt and pushes us into a bottomless money pit, we’d best find out for certain – and have the guts to call it quits if the project doesn’t add up.

      ======

      The business plan needs to be re-evaluated and the project scraped if it does not pencil out.

    • President 2012 Poll Watch: Obama Gets a Bounce – Obama – 47% Vs. Romney – 42% | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 Poll Watch: Obama Gets a Bounce – Obama – 47% Vs. Romney – 42% #tcot #catcot
    • What went wrong with Palin? – Right Turn – The Washington Post – What went wrong with Palin?
    • What went wrong with Palin? – One can’t but feel that Palin was not only snared in the web of resentment but that it determined a particular course for her post-2008 career. She embarked on a particular path, one incompatible with being a serious force on conservative policy and a credible presidential contender. You can understand how easy and alluring (not to mention profitable) became the new role as political martyr. The “lamestream media” perfectly encapsulated the Joan of Arc complex, the blame-game and the focus on herself that swamped her public image.But one can’t really call it a “tragedy” as Green does. She’s attained fame and fortune and she has as loyal a following as any popular figure. But she made a choice — to bear grudges, to forgo serious policy study, to reject the advice of all but a handful of advisers. It is a shame for those who saw a star-quality and enviable political talent. But tragedy? No. She simply chose a different path.

      =======

      Certainly a choice Sarah has made….

  • Donald Trump,  Mike Huckabee,  Mitch Daniels,  Mitt Romney,  Newt Gingrich,  Polling,  President 2012,  Sarah Palin

    President 2012 Poll Watch: Obama Gets a Bounce – Obama – 47% Vs. Romney – 42%

    According to the latest PPP Poll.

    The killing of Osama bin Laden has given Barack Obama a bounce in his approval ratings. But it doesn’t appear to have boosted his chances for reelection.

    PPP this month finds Obama with a 49% approval rating to 43% of voters who disapprove. That’s a seven point improvement on the margin since last month’s national survey when slightly more voters (48%) gave him poor marks for his work than good ones (47%). Obama’s greatest improvement has come with Republicans (from 8% approval to 14%). He’s up with independents (from 44% to 49%) and with Democrats (from 81% to 83%) by smaller amounts.

    More voters may like Obama for the moment, but there aren’t more planning to support him next year. Last month Obama led the Huckabee/Romney/Palin/Gingrich quartet by an average of 10.75 points. This month Obama leads those same four candidate by an average of…10.75 points. There’s been no improvement in his reelect numbers whatsoever since the bin Laden death and if there hasn’t been in the week after the killing it doesn’t seem likely there will be 18 months after the killing either. What Obama’s approval bounce appears to be is an increase in the percentage of people who say they like him, but still won’t vote for him. They appreciate him taking out bin Laden but that’s not going to outweigh everything he’s done that they don’t like over the course of the last 27 months.

    Approval Vs. Disapproval:

    • Mike Huckabee – 33% Vs. 41%
    • Sarah Palin – 33% Vs. 60%
    • Newt Gingrich – 29% Vs. 53%
    • Mitt Romney – 32% Vs. 41%
    • Donald Trump – 24% Vs. 65%
    • Mitch Daniels – 14% Vs. 33% Vs. 53% (not sure)

    Again, voters are not amored with the Republican Presidetial candidates and the one new face, Mitch Daniels is not really known.

    We also tested Mitch Daniels on this poll and he trails 48-34 but what might be most interesting is his favorability numbers with Republicans. Only 23% express a favorable opinion of him to 25% with an unfavorable one. I think a fair amount of that ‘unfavorable’ rating can be explained by voters who rate just about any politician they’ve never heard of negatively- which I think is about 10% of the population- but those are not impressive numbers by any stretch of the imagination. Beltway journalists are clearly a lot more enamored with Daniels than actual GOP voters are.

    General Election Head to Head:

    • Obama – 49% Vs. Huckabee – 42%
    • Obama – 54% Vs. Palin – 37%
    • Obama – 52% Vs. Gingrich – 38%
    • Obama – 47% Vs. Romney – 42%

    Again, this is a national poll and the election contest is in key battleground sates. But, it is surprising that Obama did not receive more of a bounce with the killing of Osama Bin Laden. This event will fade with time.

    What the GOP nominess should hope is that their favorability improves.

    The entire poll is here.

    PPP surveyed 814 American voters from May 5th to 8th. The margin of error for the survey is +/-3.4%.  This poll was not paid for or authorized by any campaign or political 

    organization.  PPP surveys are conducted through automated telephone interviews.  PPP  is a Democratic polling company, but polling expert Nate Silver of the New York Times

    found that its surveys in 2010 actually exhibited a slight bias toward Republican candidates.

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for May 11th on 07:12

    These are my links for May 11th from 07:12 to 07:14:

    • Mitch Daniels signs controversial Planned Parenthood bill into law – Republican Indiana governor and potential 2012 presidential candidate Mitch Daniels signed a bill Tuesday that will cut off significant amounts of federal funds given to his state’s chapter of Planned Parenthood, a move the group fought by filing for a temporary restraining order and injunction with the U.S. District Court in Indianapolis.
      The bill, which passed both houses of the state legislature by large margins, imposes some of the nation’s toughest restrictions on abortions, cutting off about $3 million in public funds received for female preventive health services, including birth control, breast and cervical cancer screenings and other tests in the Hoosier state.

      Although federal law prevents government funds being used for abortion services, proponents of the bill have said they do not want federal money funneled to an organization that performs abortions.

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      Read it all

      The abortionists will try to demonize Daniels but this bill will actually help him in key battleground states like Florida and North Carolina.

    • Sarah Palin and the Curse of a Thin Skin – In some ways, the story of Palin is a story of temptation. Rather than sticking to her guns and deepening her political credentials and her knowledge base, she embraced her celebrity instead. And in doing so, she didn’t defeat her critics and enemies; she capitulated to them. Listen, it’s her life and her fortune and she is free to do what she wishes with it. And there’s no telling what the future holds for anyone in America. But she had and has more raw political talent than anyone I’ve ever seen, and, alas, as phenoms go, it looks like she is headed for a Darryl Strawberry-like playing career.=======

      Read it all…..

      Agree – but she will have a long and notorious media career.

  • Day By Day,  Sarah Palin

    Day By Day May 10, 2011 – Barracuda

    Day By Day by Chris Muir

    Sarah Palin will NOT be a candidate for office anytime soon, so she will NOT have to worry about how SNL or any of the Lamestream Media portray her. As long as anyone remembers who she is, the cash register will ring for her and her family.

    The GOP Presidential nominee, however, will have social media and the blogs working for them this election cycle versus 2004 and 2008. The Dems and the LEFT had the advantage then, when they would JournoList stories, collaborate and then drive them to their Lamestream Media friends. Information and spin will not roll this way in 2012.

    Political communications in the key battleground states will be locally based and micro-targeted – online, and via mail. Television will be targeted. The campaign WILL have a different appearance.

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    The Day By Day Archive

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for May 10th through May 11th

    These are my links for May 10th through May 11th:

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