BATTLE FOR WHITE HOUSE
Daily Archives: October 18, 2012
Whoopi Attempts Gotcha On Ann Romney, Wrongly Says Mormonism Forbids Military Service | RealClearPolitics
Whoopi Goldberg, co-host of “The View on ABC, failed at an attempt to get Ann Romney with a “gotcha” question on Mormonism and military service. Romney, who appeared as a guest on the mid-day talk show, had to correct Goldberg on her faith’s view on military service. Goldberg wrongly said that service in the armed forces was forbidden by the religion and was promptly corrected by Mrs. Romney. Transcript below.
PolitiFact Wisconsin | Romney says Obama also has investments in Chinese companies and through a Cayman Islands trust
One of the many tense moments in the second presidential debate turned on a new topic in the race: President Barack Obama’s pension account.
Here’s how it came up: Early in the face-off, Obama scoffed at Mitt Romney’s pledge to crack down on unfair trading practices by China, saying Romney is currently invested in companies “that are building surveillance equipment for China to spy on its own folks.”
continued via PolitiFact Wisconsin | Romney says Obama also has investments in Chinese companies and through a Cayman Islands trust.
Govt spent $1.028 trillion on welfare in FY 2011 | The Daily Caller
The government spent approximately $1.03 trillion on 83 means-tested federal welfare programs in fiscal year 2011 alone — a price tag that makes welfare that year the government’s largest expenditure, according to new data released by the Republican side of the Senate Budget Committee.
The total sum taxpayers spent on federal welfare programs was derived from a new Congressional Research Service (CRS) report on federal welfare spending — which topped out at $745.84 billion for fiscal year 2011 — combined with an analysis from the Republican Senate Budget Committee staff of state spending on federal welfare programs (based on “The Oxford Handbook of State and Local Government Finance”), which reached $282.7 billion in fiscal year 2011.
more via Govt spent $1.028 trillion on welfare in FY 2011 | The Daily Caller.
Welfare spending jumps 32% in four years – Washington Times
Welfare spending has grown substantially over the past four years, reaching $746 billion in 2011 — or more than Social Security, basic defense spending or any other single chunk of the federal government — according to a new memo by the Congressional Research Service.
The steady rise in welfare spending, which covers more than 80 programs primarily designed to help low-income Americans, got a big boost from the 2009 stimulus and has grown, albeit somewhat more slowly, in 2010 and 2011. One reason is that more people are qualifying in the weak economy, but the federal government also has broadened eligibility so that more people qualify for programs.
Sen. Jeff Sessions, the ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, who requested the Congressional Research Service report, said it underscores a fundamental shift in welfare, moving away from a Band-Aid and toward a more permanent crutch.
more via Welfare spending jumps 32% in four years – Washington Times.
Mitt Romney’s Bailout Bonanza | The Nation
This investigation was supported by the Investigative Fund at the Nation Institute and by the Puffin Foundation. Elements of it appear in Palast’s new book, Billionaires & Ballot Bandits: How to Steal an Election in 9 Easy Steps (Seven Stories). Research assistance by Zach D. Roberts, Ari Paul, Nader Atassi and Eric Wuestewald.
Mitt Romney’s opposition to the auto bailout has haunted him on the campaign trail, especially in Rust Belt states like Ohio. There, in September, the Obama campaign launched television ads blasting Romney’s November 2008 New York Times op-ed, “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt.” But Romney has done a good job of concealing, until now, the fact that he and his wife, Ann, personally gained at least $15.3 million from the bailout—and a few of Romney’s most important Wall Street donors made more than $4 billion. Their gains, and the Romneys’, were astronomical—more than 3,000 percent on their investment.
Joseph Curl: Crowley Skews Debate – YouTube
CURL: Crowley skews hard for Obama in disastrous presidential debate – Washington Times
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — Another debate, another debacle for America’s media.
In the runup to the second presidential debate, CNN’s Candy Crowley declared that she would not just be a “fly on the wall” as she played the tiny role of moderator, that she would step in whenever she chose to say, “Hey, wait a second, what about X, Y, Z?”
And boy did she, cutting off Republican Mitt Romney repeatedly and often throwing the floor to President Obama with an open “let me give the president a chance here.”
More, she alone decided the topics for the debate, picking questions from the 80 so-called “undecided” voters chosen by the Gallup polling organization. Her selections were tailor-made for Mr. Obama — Mitt Romney’s tax plan, women’s rights and contraception, outsourcing, immigration, the Libya debacle (which gave Mr. Obama to finally say that the buck stops with him, not, as Hillary Clinton said, with her).
She even chose this question, directed to both men: “I do attribute much of America’s economic and international problems to the failings and missteps of the Bush administration. Since both of you are Republicans, I fear the return to the policies of those years should you win this election. What is the biggest difference between you and George W. Bush, and how do you differentiate yourself from George W. Bush?”
Continued:
CURL: Crowley skews hard for Obama in disastrous presidential debate – Washington Times.
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