Democratic Michigan insiders said Mitt Romney gave them a gift by selecting as his vice presidential nominee: that’s the finding of this week’s Blue Mitten survey of influential Democrats.
Thirty-one Democrats from the southeastern Michigan area were asked using an automated survey tool what they thought about Romney’s selection of Ryan as his GOP running mate.
Twenty responses were collected.
“Christmas in August for Democrats!” one respondent said.
Indeed, 19 of the 20 respondents said they strongly agree or somewhat agree that "will galvanize Michigan Democrats in the November election".
“This will wake up the Dem who might not have been involved,” one respondent said.
“The two tickets now provide a clear choice of governing philosophy—either we are a society that benefits the wealthy with tax breaks and deregulation, or we are a society where government exists to support the whole society—including the poor, the elderly, the students, and middle class families,” another Democratic influencer said.
All 20 respondents also said they strongly agree or somewhat agree that Michigan Democrats can win by running against Ryan’s existing budget plans and his proposal for Medicare.
“It will greatly help Obama with senior and soon-to-be senior voters,” one influencer said. “Obama lost over-65 voters by 8% in 2008.”
“I hope seniors take a very close look at the plan and not be fooled,” another respondent said.
While the respondents believed Ryan will bring Michigan Democrats together, many also thought the Wisconsin Congressman will .
Nine respondents said they somewhat agree that Ryan "will galvanize Michigan Republicans" and another four said they strongly agree.
Ryan “satisfies the conservative base that may have otherwise been suspicious of Romney given his moderate track record as Governor of Massachusetts,” one respondent said.
Another said he will appeal to Tea Party members, and others pointed to his youth as an asset.
One said Ryan is a good choice by making a comparison to the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee: “He isn't Sarah Palin.”
But five Democratic influencers were neutral and another two said they somewhat disagree that Ryan" will galvanize Michigan Republicans". One respondent said Ryan will not help with moderate members of the GOP.
“It shows Romney has given up on the independent voters and is concentrating on his base, another influencer said. “It is a sign of his weakness, not a sign of strength.”
“They have lost Michigan with this choice,” said another, “and probably the election.”
The Blue Mitten Survey
Our surveys are not a scientific random sample of any larger population but rather an effort to listen to a swath of influential local Democratic activists, party leaders and elected officials in Michigan. All of these individuals have agreed to participate in the surveys, although not all responded to this week's questions. Surveys were conducted between Aug. 13 and Aug. 17, 2012.
Patch will be conducting Red Mitten and Blue Mitten surveys throughout 2012 in hopes of determining the true sentiment of Republicans and Democrats on the ground in Michigan. If you are an activist, party leader or elected official and would like to take part in weekly surveys that lasts just a few minutes, please email Associate Regional Editor John Hetzler at john.hetzler@patch.com.
Blue Mitten roster: Vicki Barnett, State House Rep; Joanne Braund, Secretary, Royal Oak Area Democratic Club; Rose Christoph; Dorian Coston, candidate for State Rep;Colleen Crossey, Oakland County Democratic Delegate; Gary Cynowa, President of the North Macomb Democratic Club and District 10 Precinct Delegate; Susan Czarnecki; Judy Daubenmier, chair of Livingston County Democrats; Shawn Desai, Democratic Candidate for State Representative 47th District; Gretchen Driskell, Mayor of Saline; Gene Farber, West Bloomfield Township Board Trustee; Marcia Gershenson, Oakland County commissioner; Fred Hoffman; Mitzi Hoffman, former Chair, Royal Oak Area Democratic Club; Marilyn Krok, Oakland County Democratic Delegate; Kathi Kuehnel, Oakland County Democratic Delegate; Carmella Langley, Oakland County Democratic Delegate; Erik Lindquist; Deb Lobring; Jeff Long; Daniel Marcin, candidate for U.S. Representative; Gwen Markham, candidate for Oakland County commissioner; Richard Miller, president of the Wyandotte Democratic Club; Jim Nash, Oakland County commissioner; Kevin Shopshire, member of Livingston County Democrats; Mike Smith, candidate for White Lake Township Supervisor; Walt Sobczak, Oakland County Democratic Delegate; Mark Steckloff; Regina Strong, candidate for State Rep; Scott Warheit, Royal Oak Crime Prevention Council, and 2011 candidate for Royal Oak City Comission; Karen Zyczynski, Oakland County Democratic Delegate
Really? Olympics gig? Saved by getting FEDERAL GRANTS to the Olympics. At best, he demonstrated he knew some good grant writers, and used the access to the halls of power that a rich man has to get the money. Lee has no real answers to challenges, but has a pack of ready and often repeated lies he uses to fill threads. Consider his "Democratic president and party who have no idea of business, and thinks taxing the job providers even more will magically help the poor and middle class get jobs" What has been proposed is letting the tax rate for every dollar OVER an adjusted gross income (you know, after deducting "business expenses") of $250,000. If Lee were to do enough business to actually realize an AGI of $300,000, he would be paying approximately $5.56 per day more than otherwise. It turns out that his total tax bill would go up by less than 2%. What he ignores is the positive impact upon consumer demand, leading to increased business activity. If Lee is any good, he should actually net more money than he is today. The outlook for Lee in an improving economic environment is good. That is, if President Obama is re-elected. If Romney is at the helm, according to the CBO, we'd be headed back into the ditch. Ironically, Lee stands to lose much more than he might get with a tax cut on businesses. If only he'd stop envying the potential for an improvement in the lives of other Americans.
And BO is now calling on Bill Clinton to bail him out, because resurrecting FDR and Reagan during the last campaign to show how he would lead, didn't work. Might as well get a living father figure to do the talking. Can't wait to watch the body language between them two. Oh, wait, they probably won't be on the stage together! Maybe the .Clinton's wounds about the way BO treated Mrs. Clinton during her presidential bid (a FAR more qualified candidate who doesn't want to serve a second term) have healed. Let's face it: Bill Clinton is the leader of the Democratic party, not the President- he had no leadership experience and instead of taking it like a man he is playing the blame game. Might as well elect the Republican and see if he can clean up the economic mess the last Republican president created much like President Obama cleaned up on Bin-Laden when Clinton didn't get it done after the first bombing of the WTC!
The Republican Party has convinced the non-rich in their party that they are the only party that protects their tribal interests. The Democratic Party for the true republican believer is the party of unions, minorities and liberals who are willing to give up his/her birth right. The fact that the Republicans in power are transferring money to the richest among them year after year is viewed as a totally natural and acceptable thing. Mitt should pay only 14% (on $22 million income) and Paul Ryan should pay 20% (on $200k income) in taxes, since Mitts’ wealth has allowed him the privilege to impact tax laws to his favor.
The worse recession in 70 years! We got there using trickle down economics. Romney wants to take us there again. Establishing fact and responsibility is not "blaming". On the other hand, after the debacle in Tampa, you should be ashamed of trying to get away with saying the President is "blaming" Bush: the entire convention was based upon making white people see themselves as victims. You had speakers virtually saying "If you had a hangnail this morning, it was Obama's fault. If you cannot find a job, it is Obama's fault. If you haven't been able to find a job, it's Obama's fault. And on top of it all, he's giving welfare and food stamps to 'them', with a heavy inuendo that 'them' was, gasp, black people. That's why we need to take our country back. And we need an American to do it." Yep, the GOP has firmly grabbed the mantle of victimhood, heavily doused with birtherism and pure fear. Blame is their only game. No details, just a plan for creating new jobs and balancing the budget, hidden in a secret document that we can only view after the election.
Elephant and Donkey were traveling in a car down the road. Elephant was driving, but having imbibed a bit too much, crashed the car into a tree, just avoiding going over a cliff. Donkey insisted upon driving, and grudgingly, Elephant had to give up the keys. Donkey got the car off the tree, and started down the road, even though the car was severly damaged. But Elephant didn't really want Donkey to drive, so Elephant kept grabbing the wheel. That meant they couldn't travel very far or fast. But eventually they got to a gas station, and both got out. When they were ready to get back in the car, Elephant kept grabbing for the keys, insisting that he was no longer drunk and could be relied upon to drive, and after all, look at how slowly they had been going while Donkey was driving. They can't settle it together, so they ask a Bystander to decide. Donkey is pleading to reason, Elephant insisting that he should always be driving, even though the bystander could smell the liquor on his breath. Now, if Bystander awards the keys to Elephant, knowing what he knows, and smelling what he smells, wouldn't that be, like, crazy? Now I'm truly out. Have at it.
Want to start with Joe Biden? And you're right, it is a travesty that Paul Ryan paid 20% in income tax. It should have been17%, and the same amount should be paid by everyone on all money earned over a 25,000 threashold. Your "folks" won't let that happen.
-2010, the president’s taxable income was a little over $1.7 million, much of it from book sales. Line 19 of his itemized deductions shows that he gave $245,075 in gifts to charity - a rate of more than 14 percent. - 2009, the president’s taxable income was about $5.5 million. He listed $329,100 in charitable contributions on his tax return and also directed the Nobel Prize Committee to give his $1.4 million prize directly to 10 charities (which meant he could not take a tax deduction for donating the prize). This adds up to a rate of 31.4 percent of taxable income. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/obamas-gifts-to-charity-just-1-percent/2012/02/14/gIQAXuMDER_blog.html
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1208/16740.html http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/20/business/20auto.html?pagewanted=all Loan not paid back yet: http://www.newsmax.com/JohnBerlau/GM-Bailout-Obama-Tax/2011/09/26/id/412225 When Bush proposed the TARP program (an enormous bailout plan for financial institutions caught in the housing scheme perpetuated by Congress), one Senator Barack Obama supported the idea, but now, it's all Bush's fault? Instead of cutting back on spending to buy votes and repay political cronies, Obama opened up the spigots of the United States Treasury and tried to buy financial ability. Obama basically screwed private investors in both Chrysler and General Motors in order to turn over both entities to the unions. It cost thousands of jobs to do that, but remember, it was Bush's fault!
1958 - $2.35 1968 - $2.21 1978 - $2.26 1988 - $1.84 1998 - $1.41 2008 - $3.39 (W's last year in office) 2011 - $3.48
http://itmakessenseblog.com/2011/09/17/democrat-james-carville-says-80-of-democrats-dont-have-a-clue-as-to-political-reality/
I'm paying $3.89/gal gas now not because of a hurricane or refineries, etc, but because Obama is intent on destroying America and won't allow Keystone Pipeline? Funny, because the Canadian pipeline company " [TransCanada ], with OBAMA'S ENDORSEMENT, has moved to begin construction of the southern half, from Oklahoma to Texas. Construction started on Aug. 9. So we’ve now started construction in Texas,” TransCanada spokesman Shawn Howard told the Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-keystone-xl-pipeline-20120816,0,6693892.story So, they've started Keystone, where's my $2/gal gas?
The pipe line you are talking about needs to go through the regular regulatory process so we do not get another ecological disaster like the one we had in the gulf. Note: Republican and Democratic governors want the correct environment studies done so there are no future issues with the pipeline
http://therealrevo.com/blog/?p=82542
http://www.dailymarkets.com/economy/2011/04/27/gasoline-taxes-vs-exxon-profit-per-gallon/ Regarding the Keystone pipeline, it follows existing pipelines that have been in place for 50 years without problems, and has nothing to do with the Gulf issue. http://votesmart.org/public-statement/668569/keystone-xl-pipeline Obama is just ticked that they dropped the production of the Volt. I make a part for the Volt. 200 parts a month...big seller.
You light the house on fire and then blame the fireman for the mess the fire has created. When President Clinton left office he gave the republicans a budget surplus and the republicans toke that surplus and made it into a huge deficit (Bush tax cuts, 2 wars and Medicare part-D not to mention the wall street crimes overlooked by regulators) that will take generations to repay. The stimulus was 1/3 tax cuts, 1/3 infrastructure and 1/3 help for the states., which helped bridge the huge job loss that would have taken place due to the drastic reduction in consumer demand. We tried the republican dogmatic formula during the great depression and learned from that mistake.
http://newmediajournal.us/indx.php/item/6664#.UEObSFkx8nE.facebook
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