OBAMA v ROMNEY : Sat Sep 01, 2012 7:16 am  

The race for the White House is well and truly on.

Let's have some early predictions and thoughts on whose gonna be the victor?

Romney's gaff laden tour of Europe, and the sad, mumbling support of Clint Eastwood can't have been very advantageous to his chances?

Having said that, the American right will be dogged in their attempts to get shot of the present incumbent.
Romney, has apparently mustered a huge financial election war chest to fight the upcoming campaign.

I'm going for a very nip and tuck race with Obama winning by a short-head.

Thoughts?

Re: OBAMA v ROMNEY : Sat Sep 01, 2012 7:59 am  

Well Romney's going to win Utah as if he were the only candidate

I have some artist friends from that state (yes, they are Mormons too) and whilst under normal circumstances they are perfectly pleasant, intellectual, "normal" people who I exchange gifts and xmas cards with, when you mention politics they make Margaret Thatcher sound like Dennis Skinner, seriously these are the people who don't want any form of healthcare from taxation, in fact don't want taxation at all, preferring instead to have to pay for everything as and when they use it, its "Small Government" with an "s" on the "small" so minute that you can't see it.

If Romney gets to be President then he'll make Cameron look positively Communist.

Re: OBAMA v ROMNEY : Sat Sep 01, 2012 8:25 am  

McLaren_Field wrote:

Well Romney's going to win Utah as if he were the only candidate

I have some artist friends from that state (yes, they are Mormons too) and whilst under normal circumstances they are perfectly pleasant, intellectual, "normal" people who I exchange gifts and xmas cards with, when you mention politics they make Margaret Thatcher sound like Dennis Skinner, seriously these are the people who don't want any form of healthcare from taxation, in fact don't want taxation at all, preferring instead to have to pay for everything as and when they use it, its "Small Government" with an "s" on the "small" so minute that you can't see it.

If Romney gets to be President then he'll make Cameron look positively Communist.

I have similar friends who live in Texas. Absolutely lovely, kind people, until you talk about politics or religion. Like your friends they also want small government and to pay for everything themselves. They want government entirely out of the way, except for legislating who you can marry or have sex with or what women do with their bodies.

Re: OBAMA v ROMNEY : Sat Sep 01, 2012 9:24 am  

All you need to know:

Re: OBAMA v ROMNEY : Sat Sep 01, 2012 9:32 am  

It's difficult to get across to some US citizens that having a social conscience is not the same as Soviet communism. They honestly believe that they too can be the next Mitt and haven't woken up to the fact that Paul Ryan took his lead from Ayn Rand and his endgame is simply to lower taxes for the richest few.

Re: OBAMA v ROMNEY : Sat Sep 01, 2012 9:52 am  

McLaren_Field wrote:

Well Romney's going to win Utah as if he were the only candidate

I have some artist friends from that state (yes, they are Mormons too) and whilst under normal circumstances they are perfectly pleasant, intellectual, "normal" people who I exchange gifts and xmas cards with, when you mention politics they make Margaret Thatcher sound like Dennis Skinner, seriously these are the people who don't want any form of healthcare from taxation, in fact don't want taxation at all, preferring instead to have to pay for everything as and when they use it, its "Small Government" with an "s" on the "small" so minute that you can't see it.

If Romney gets to be President then he'll make Cameron look positively Communist.

Hmmm, I was told by an American that although they sympathise with my situation and condition I shouldn't expect government help, I should have provisions in place from when I was working in case a situation like this should arise. I guess this person has never been on minimum wage whilst paying a mortgage and single.


On the other hand, my family in America support Obamas health care and think its a wonderful idea. A family member was telling me of a young couple they know, both working, but only have health care insurance for their children and not for themselves as they couldn't afford it for all of them. Obamas system will at least give them a step up from basic care, Mitts system would sooner have the kids as orphans as pay for their parents health care.


If Romney gets in, he'll be in bed with Cameron before you can say gay marriage

Re: OBAMA v ROMNEY : Sat Sep 01, 2012 10:49 am  

Romney 2012.

Re: OBAMA v ROMNEY : Sat Sep 01, 2012 11:11 am  

Its worth repeating again but one evening I was involved in an online discussion with a Utah resident and former graduate of the Brigham Young University where they seem to churn out Survivalists by the cartload every year, his base point argument was that the UK, even under a Tory government ran a form of socialism that was only slightly removed from communism whereas he preferred to be completely independent of any government "interference", of course he was still in his twenties, thought he was invincible and any thoughts of retirement or illness were still light years away - independence from the state is a luxury that the young enjoy for a decade or two.

I thought it was time that he, and a few others who seem to flock to that sort of discussion discovered exactly what our form of communism costs us every month and so I got my last months pay slip and itemised the salary element, tax and nat ins deductions, described what each of them will provide for me in terms of healthcare and state pension, and what the stages of Tax and NIS were dependent on salary - enough information for them all to work out what they would be paying on their own salary if it were taxed in the UK.

I then asked them to come back to me and itemise their last pay check in terms of government and state tax, provision for private healthcare and pension savings and then to describe what level of healthcare and its limits they would receive for their self-sufficiency.

Strangely enough the discussion stopped right there.

Re: OBAMA v ROMNEY : Sat Sep 01, 2012 1:32 pm  

I think Obama will still win the election this year. Hasn't Mitt Romney only picked Paul Ryan as his running mate to get the Christian right to vote for him with their wish to stamp all over womens rights and their hatred of homosexuality ?

Re: OBAMA v ROMNEY : Sat Sep 01, 2012 2:04 pm  

The conservative right in the US are going to fight this election on the basis that Romney's business background gives him a better idea of how to run the economy than Obama. At least that's what they are saying in public.

We all know it will descend into a series of racially and religiously motivated smear campaigns, funded by those with no other interest than how little tax they will pay.