Monday, July 09, 2012

Catnip 7/9/12: Defining the Mitt


ivernessboat9215


OK, I'm back. Spent a few days exploring the great outdoors that is Northern California; pictured above is a grounded boat on Tomales Bay right outside of Iverness on the Point Reyes peninsula. Interesting to note, besides the bank of fog that was making its way inland: That boat is sitting right on top of the San Andreas Fault. The bay is the dividing line that will eventually tear that peninsula off and keep moving it up the coast. Millions of years in the making, so you can still make plans to visit. Do so.

Oh look, the campaign is still happening...

The definition of the Mitt begins now. While Romney supporters lunch in Hamptons and fret that the little people just don't understand why they are soooo disappointed that corporate profits are higher than ever and CEO salaries continue to soar, President Obama will play the middle-class tax cut card today to push both Mitt and the Congressional Republicans into a corner. Not thrilled with "more tax cuts" myself because it reinforces the policy that created the problem in the first place, but like the line in the sand it provides because it makes the Republicans cry.

And, if us uneducated dolts "don't understand how it works", well, why don't you show us, Mr. Romney? Let's see those tax returns that tell us exactly how we should structure our IRA accounts so we too can offshore tens (hundreds?) of millions in the Cayman Islands! How are we supposed to learn otherwise?

Oops, too late. The battle of definition seems to be working on the undecided in the swing states, as a new poll from USA Today shows that "among swing-state voters who say the ads have changed their minds about a candidate, rather than just confirmed what they already thought, 76% now support the president, vs. 16% favoring Romney."

Congress still hasn't approved the extension of the production tax credit for the wind energy industry, and it looks like it may be too late to salvage projects for 2013. As producers rush to a record year of installation in 2012 to take advantage of the credit, manufacturers in the supply chain are laying off workers as future orders dry up. "'In some way, it's too late to save 2013 build,' said Matthew Kaplan of consultancy IHS Emerging Energy Research." Can we call them "job-killers" now?

While Congress ignores those jobs, Republicans are going to work feverishly this week to make sure the millions of Americans don't receive affordable health care now or in the near future. Why? A bunch of nonsense excuses about uncertainty (that the Republicans are creating), and other things such as this: "'Moreover, the law effectively forces millions of individuals to personally pay a separate abortion premium in violation of their sincerely held religious, ethical or moral beliefs," the bill states.'" Well, as long as we focus on what's important here.

Besides refusing Medicaid in the future, some states are using the Supreme Court ruling to justify cutting Medicaid now. Maine wants to throw 20,000 people out of health care; Wisconsin and Alabama have thousands of citizens of their own that they want to dump in hospital emergency rooms. And by the way, since the ACA cuts the money that the federal government gave to hospitals to pay for that uncompensated care, the bill for those folks will be showing up on the premiums of businesses and those already insured. Now, who was it that was raising health care costs again?

Elizabeth Warren lays out exactly what the Republicans want to take away from people concerning health care in an op-ed today. See, was that so hard? Take note, Democrats.


Have to get ready to re-join the rat race now... have a great day.