2012 Republican Presidential Candidate Race

[Siatdiat]

yeah i figured since it was christwire it has to be satirical... the thing that gets me is that there are people who believe that shit

Do people go to The Onion and get tricked too?

[Sera]

i don't think anyone's done that for years

[Ragnus]

Has no one noticed that every thing on christwire.org is silly troll shit?

Yeah, noticed that after I posted my reaction. =/

i don't think anyone's done that for years

Pretty sure Fox quoted The Onion recently.

[archibaldcrane]

New Pew poll has Obama slaughtering every R candidate:

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/p...151032764.html

President Barack Obama is leading all of the Republican presidential candidates in head-to-head match-ups, according to a poll released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.
A national survey taken March 7-11 showed Obama leading Romney by 12 percentage points (54-42) and even further ahead of Santorum with 57 percent of support to Santorum's 29 percent. Those numbers are likely to shift as Republicans rally around a single candidate in the coming months, but as a snapshot, the data suggest a brighter scenario for Obama than in previous polls.
Here are more nuggets from the wide-ranging study:
Obama's approval rating rises to 50 percent

For the first time since shortly after Osama bin Laden was killed, half of all Americans (50 percent) say they approve of Barack Obama's job performance, while just 41 percent disapprove.

Romney's national lead widening among Republican primary voters

Mitt Romney has regained the lead in the support for his party's presidential nomination, as conservative backing for Rick Santorum has declined. Romney currently holds a 33-24 lead over Santorum among registered Republican and Republican-leaning independent voters, with 20 percent backing Newt Gingrich and 14 percent favoring Ron Paul. The poll was conducted before Santorum's twin victories in Alabama and Mississippi Tuesday night.

Americans think Obama will win a second term

By a 59-32 margin, most Americans think Barack Obama will win the election if Mitt Romney is the Republican nominee. That margin is far wider if Rick Santorum is the GOP nominee: 68 percent think Obama would win, while just 24 percent predict a Santorum presidency.

A majority of Americans have an unfavorable view of the Republican candidates after a long primary

Confirming fears among Republicans that the protracted primary is weakening all the candidates, the survey found that the contentious Republican primary has taken a toll on the image of the leading GOP candidates. In the current survey, just 29 percent of Americans say they have a favorable view of Romney, while 51 percent say they have an unfavorable impression.

Voters don't know that Santorum is Catholic

Only about three-in-ten voters (29 percent) can identify Rick Santorum as a Catholic. This includes 32 percent of Republican and Republican-leaning voters and 27 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaners. Another 15 percent identify Santorum as either Protestant (10 percent) or volunteer that he is Christian (5 percent). About half (53 percent) of voters say they don't know his religion.

In a follow-up question, about a third of those who identify Santorum as a Christian—16 percent of voters overall—say they believe he is an evangelical or born-again Christian.

Republicans struggling with women and minorities

Barack Obama's lead over Romney is attributable in large part to his wide advantage among women, younger voters, and nonwhites. Women favor Obama over Romney by 20 points—virtually unchanged from a month ago.

Nation split over federal health care overhaul

[T]wo years after the passage of comprehensive health care legislation, the public is evenly divided over the law. Overall, 47 percent approve of the law, while 45 percent disapprove.

[Sera]

Yeah, noticed that after I posted my reaction. =/



Pretty sure Fox quoted The Onion recently.

yeah but they're not people

[Talint]

Speaking of trolls:

Rick Santorum to Puerto Rico: Speak English if you want statehood

http://www.thegrumpypaladin.com/private/what.gif

It's like the man is forcing me to use reaction images for every headline he makes.

[Correction]

"Like any other state, there has to be compliance with this and any other federal law," Santorum said. "And that is that English has to be the principal language. There are other states with more than one language such as Hawaii but to be a state of the United States, English has to be the principal language."

[Kuya]

I can't wait for more comments like that. Nothing trolls some pro-american neoliberal statehood mouthbreather more than being told by the americans themselves that they can't be a state.

[Zilong]

As President I would invite Cuba to join the Union, and not even have them change their language.

Also, what's even crazier than his usual Santorum is the idea that Puerto Ricans would want statehood anytime soon.

Everybody wants to be a part of America, we're only the greatest country on the planet.

[kuronosan]

Last time I checked we don't really give a fuck about becoming a state. Most of us fucking hate speaking English, so this works out great for everyone.

[Byrthnoth]

Iirc, Puerto Rico actively does not want to be a state. They get very favorable trade arrangements and military protection without most of the downsides of statehood. They would, financially, lose by becoming a state in exchange for the right to vote in our circus-like national elections.

[Mrbeansman]

Not paying taxes is a pretty sweet deal too.

[Kuya]

Iirc, Puerto Rico actively does not want to be a state. They get very favorable trade arrangements and military protection without most of the downsides of statehood. They would, financially, lose by becoming a state in exchange for the right to vote in our circus-like national elections.

Last time I checked we don't really give a fuck about becoming a state. Most of us fucking hate speaking English, so this works out great for everyone.

Not paying taxes is a pretty sweet deal too.

About half of the country wants to be a state. The other half is divided between those who want more autonomy within the current framework and those who want more integration within the current framework. The independence movement hasn't been popular for over 50 years. Most puertoricans, however, are not satisfied with the current state of things.

To say Puerto Rico gets military protection is a bit of a meaningless statement. The island hasn't seriously been in danger of anything for well over 60 years, and the last military base near the territory was dismantled years ago, so the military significance of the island is close to nothing. And while Puerto Rico does not pay federal taxes, they do pay payroll taxes. Even though the island is poorer than the poorest state in the union, with over 50% of the population living below the poverty line, Puerto Rico receives far less federal assistance than any state in the union. While there are benefits to receiving some federal transfers without taxes, the relationship the island has to the US constrains its ability to develop its economy given that the island cannot engage in independent commerce with other countries. Trade agreements that the US makes, such as NAFTA, apply to Puerto Rico without any involvement of the island in determining favorable conditions.

While to an outsider, the current arrangement may seem great, but to anyone living here, there is plenty of evidence to the contrary. Currently, the island has been in recession since 2003-2005, and it only just recently hit 0% growth. The current murder rate over the drug war has currently surpassed that of Mexico. The drug war that has taken place in Mexico has displaced to Puerto Rico, given that the island is a good connection between latin America and the US, since the latter is where most of the drug consumption is coming from, and add to that fact that the gangs are currently fighting for control over territory after the leaders were arrested a few years ago. The current workforce participation rate is at around 50%.

It's an understatement to say that the island is currently in crisis.

[Dantrag]

They pay pretty much every tax except payroll tax. They receive most of the same benefits as states but a much smaller percentage. They pay MUCH higher vehicle taxes(I forget how it breaks down). But they easily pay 5-15k more per car. One of my cousins just left Puerto Rico to go to Texas because there were literally NO jobs. She graduated with a law degree and there was just nothing. There is a very well known part of Old San Juan that is basically a drug haven. I can't think off the top of my head but it's been in a few movies showing the bad areas. PR has one of the most flat out corrupt political systems and corrupt police force you can imagine. I don't know how fast/slow statehood would change anything for the island but I'm pretty sure at this point as Kuya said more and more people on the island would enjoy the prospect of statehood. But I can almost guarantee the US has NO desire to make them a state.

PR is pretty much and has been for a while, a 2nd world country.

[kuronosan]

Which is why myself and most of my family do not live there. Vacation? Sure. That's about it.

[Dantrag]

Which is why myself and most of my family do not live there. Vacation? Sure. That's about it.

My family has a few people that still live there. Grandparents and most my uncles and aunts still live there. I don't expect them to leave but I don't think my cousins are going to stick around.

[Demosthenes11]

Everybody wants to be a part of America, we're only the greatest country on the planet.

I think you mean the motherfucking universe you commie faggot

[kuronosan]

I think a few of my cousins are still there, but only because they grew up there and own property. Everyone else fled for the East Coast.

[Ragnus]

Pertinent because I guess Santorum is buying into this and passing the message along now.

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012...cer/?mobile=nc

New Hampshire House Passes A Bill That Falsely Claims Abortion Causes Breast Cancer
By Guest Blogger on Mar 15, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Across the nation, lawmakers are debating several different anti-abortion bills seeking to make it more difficult for women to have an abortion. One tactic is “informed consent” measures that require women to be given information before an abortion — even if they do not want that information or getting it would violate medical guidelines.

Now, the New Hampshire House has passed a bill that, along with mandating a 24-hour waiting period, requires doctors to give women “informational materials” before an abortion that aren’t even accurate, including that there is a link between abortion and breast cancer. Here’s the text of the bill:

It is scientifically undisputed that full-term pregnancy reduces a woman’s lifetime risk of breast cancer. It is also undisputed that the earlier a woman has a first full-term pregnancy, the lower her risk of breast cancer becomes, because following a full-term pregnancy the breast tissue exposed to estrogen through the menstrual cycle is more mature and cancer resistant.

In fact, for each year that a woman’s first full-term pregnancy is delayed, her risk of breast cancer rises 3.5 percent. The theory that there is a direct link between abortion and breast cancer builds upon this undisputed foundation.

The problem is that a direct link between abortion and breast cancer is not only disputed, it has also been rejected by multiple health organizations. The National Institutes of Health, American Cancer Society, and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists are a few of the groups who say no such link has been scientifically proven. Even the Susan G. Komen Foundation denies there is a link.

That has not stopped Republicans, including presidential candidate Rick Santorum, from peddling this theory. Nor is New Hampshire the first state where such a bill has been proposed — Kansas and Oklahoma have both considered legislation with similar provisions. But it is hard to understand how a bill can protect women’s health when it gives them incorrect information.

Live free or die my ass.

[Ragnus]

Yanno, I'd watch something like that. Hell, I enjoyed Teeth for Atheismo's sake.