More Painful Than The Perry “Oops”

Ken AshfordElection 2012Leave a Comment

Herman Cain.  What a joke.  Last week, questions swirled around sexual harassment allegations.  Cain kept on saying it was a conspiracy against him, and he wanted to talk about policy.  Cain got lucky.  Perry's master boner in the last GOP debate distracted everybody, and when that started to fade, the "sexual harassment" story was soooo last week.  And then, Cain … Read More

Rick Perry’s Campaign Crashes Live On National TV

Ken AshfordElection 20121 Comment

This is what happened:   This is how Perry's "stock" was trading on Intrade immediately after Perry's "Bill Buckner" moment: Here's the thing: the real gaffe in my mind wasn't that he couldn't remember that he wanted to totally dismantle the Department of Energy (as well as Commerce and Education); the real gaffe is that he ACTUALLY proposes doing those … Read More

Cain: “Sharon WHO?”

Ken AshfordElection 2012, Sex ScandalsLeave a Comment

MSNBC: Cain, a leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination, maintained his innocence amid allegations that he had made an inappropriate advance toward [Sharon] Bialek in 1997, when he was head of the National Restaurant Association (NRA) and she had traveled to Washington, D.C. to seek his help in finding a job. "I can categorically say I have never acted … Read More

That Word Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Means

Ken AshfordClass Warfare, Election 2012, Right Wing Punditry/IdiocyLeave a Comment

Seems some right-wingers have an axe to grind with Elizabeth Warren, running to unseat Scott Brown as Massachusetts Senator.  Their complaint?  She's rich. Elizabeth Warren may have embraced the Occupy Wall Street movement and the “99 percent” crowd, but public records reveal the liberal firebrand belongs to the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans. Her financial well-being will likely hand conservatives … Read More

“Doesn’t Exist” Is The Scariest Response

Ken AshfordElection 2012, Sex Scandals, Women's IssuesLeave a Comment

It's a bit disconcerting to see some of the responses from the Cain supporters this morning, following the sexual harrassment/assault allegations of Sharon Bialek directed at Cain. It's one thing to disbelieve Bialek.  In a he said/she said situation, people are going to line up that way. But what's happening in some quarters of the right is stomach-turning: some rightwing columnists … Read More

Cain Campaign Delusional

Ken AshfordElection 2012, Sex ScandalsLeave a Comment

This is part of a statement released by the Cain campaign last night, after Cain's fourth accuser got on national television and told her story in detail: Unfortunately, the media-driven process by which one must seek this opportunity is fundamentally unserious. I have touched on this before – the emphasis on "gaffes," gotcha questions and time devoted to trivial nonsense – … Read More

GOP Polls Shows Romney Simply Not Making Gains

Ken AshfordElection 2012, PollsLeave a Comment

ABC News/Washington Post. 10/31-11/3. Republican primary voters. MoE ±5.5 (7/17, 9/1, 10/2, 11/3): The story from this poll is that Cain is neck-and-neck with Romney (although obviously, the poll does not reflect fallout from the Cain sexual assault bombshell dropped today). But the big take-away is that no matter what, Romney cannot seem to break away from the pack.  Republicans just … Read More

Poll Of The Day

Ken AshfordEconomy & Jobs & Deficit, Election 2012Leave a Comment

Election 2012 between Obama and Whoever will (as everyone says) turn on issues of the economy and jobs, rather than foreign policy.  No president since Roosevelt has been re-elected with such dismal unemployment numbers. Obama's tactic will be to say to the American people, "Look, I've tried to get bills passed that will help stimulate the economy and put people back … Read More

Meta Flip-Flopping

Ken AshfordElection 2012Leave a Comment

Poor Mitt Romney.  He's flip-flopping on the subject of flip-flopping! Several weeks ago, in one of the more amusing political claims of the year, Mitt Romney boasted, "I stand by my positions. I'm proud of them." Given Romney's record of abandoning every policy position he's ever taken, it was hard not to marvel at his shamelessness. Soon after, Romney reversed course, … Read More

Herman Cain And Racism

Ken AshfordElection 2012, Race, Sex Scandals1 Comment

Okay.  So Herman Cain was once accused of sexual harassment.  And now people want to know more. My feelings?  I don't think this has any bearing on anything, and I detest this kind of politics.  I need to be shown why it is important, and how it bears on his ability to be president.  There are answers to that question … Read More

“The Well-Lubricated Weather Vane”

Ken AshfordElection 2012, Energy and Conservation, Environment & Global Warming & EnergyLeave a Comment

That's what GOP presidential contender Jim Huntsman says of Mitt Romney, who is becoming famous for brash flip-flops.  I mean, it's one thing to have an evolution of your ideas over the span of several decades, but Romney just does complete 180-degree turns in months, even weeks.  It's really hurting his campaign and credibility, and yet, here he is today, … Read More

Bachmann Quote Of The Day

Ken AshfordElection 2012Leave a Comment

"The president, he put us in Libya. He is now putting us in Africa." - GOP presidential contender Michele Bachmann, trying to make the point that President Obama has now sent troops to Libya and to sub-Saharan Africa. Libya, of course, is in Africa.