Fox is covering the action, here. We’ll see if they choose to wait 10 seconds after the polls close before declaring Romney the winner again, or, if they’ll actually wait until a certain percentage of votes come in. Ahh the days of my youth, when races weren’t called until at least 50% of the votes were in…And even then, if it was projected to be close, the nets would hold off for a time.
For now, check back to get the vote tally below, courtesy of Townhall. NOTE: At the time of this post, the “Townhall Election Results 2012″ tracker (below) is basically blank. However, it should automatically refresh, showing results from the Nevada contest, as soon as the vote tallies start rolling in.
Don’t count your chickens, and you won’t have to feed them. Make sense? Hmmm…Well, let me see if I can explain:
If you have 50 chickens, and you find the cost of feed is steadily rising higher and higher…There IS a way to save money! Simply stop counting them, and you won’t have to worry about it.
If that makes no sense to you, neither should this:
(snip)
Employment Jumps; Rate 8.3%, 243,000 New Jobs Created
Published: Friday, 3 Feb 2012 | 8:48 AM ET
By: Jeff Cox CNBC.com Senior Writer
The pace of job creation surged in January, with the US economy generating 243,000 new positions while the unemployment rate dropped to 8.3 percent, according to government data released Friday.
Both numbers were far better than consensus, which expected a growth of 150,000 jobs and a steady unemployment rate of 8.5 percent.
A month ago, we joked when we said that for Obama to get the unemployment rate to negative by election time, all he has to do is to crush the labor force participation rate to about 55%. Looks like the good folks at the BLS heard us: it appears that the people not in the labor force exploded by an unprecedented record 1.2 million. No, that’s not a typo: 1.2 million people dropped out of the labor force in one month! So as the labor force increased from 153.9 million to 154.4 million, the non institutional population increased by 242.3 million meaning, those not in the labor force surged from 86.7 million to 87.9 million. Which means that the civilian labor force tumbled to a fresh 30 year low of 63.7% as the BLS is seriously planning on eliminating nearly half of the available labor pool from the unemployment calculation. As for the quality of jobs, as withholding taxes roll over Year over year, it can only mean that the US is replacing high paying FIRE jobs with low paying construction and manufacturing. So much for the improvement.
Chart below shows it all – that jump is not a fat finger!
Read the whole thing, and see the charts, at the 2nd link posted above.
Still not sure? Ok…Try this, from the ‘horses mouth’ at the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
(snip)
The adjustment increased the estimated size of the civilian
noninstitutional population in December by 1,510,000, the civilian
labor force by 258,000, employment by 216,000, unemployment by 42,000, and persons not in the labor force by 1,252,000. Although the total
unemployment rate was unaffected, the labor force participation rate
and the employment-population ratio were each reduced by 0.3
percentage point. This was because the population increase was
primarily among persons 55 and older and, to a lesser degree, persons
16 to 24 years of age. Both these age groups have lower levels of
labor force participation than the general population.
Looks like the obama administration is counting on We The People NOT to dig into the numbers, huh? Well…It’s a little late for that. We’re not stupid, and we’re DONE believing the fuzzy math!!
<---Yeah...THAT!!
Pass this on to everyone you know…before THEY too, are simply ‘reduced from the ratio’.
There’s a tired ol’ meme out there, forever promoted by liberals/socialist/communist all across the world. That meme?
“Republicans and conservatives don’t give a whoot about the poor”.
They know it’s wrong. But it makes for a good attack-line, and so they keep using it. And many fools within the electorate who REFUSE to think for themselves gobble up crap like that, hook – line – and sinker. Why? Because it makes them ‘feel better’ to believe that someone in the upper-reaches of government is out to punish those who ‘have’, for those who ‘have not’.
I wonder if the ‘have nots’ ever wonder about why they STILL ‘have not’, after the decades and decades of liberal punishment placed upon the ‘haves’. Where does that money go, once the government “reclaims it for the poor”? I mean, if that actually worked, we shouldn’t have “the poor”, right? Or at least, the numbers within “the poor” should be shrinking, no??
Once again…I digress…
Back to Mr “inevitable”, his foot, and his ass mouth…
Yesterday Mitt Romney said this:
Mitt Romney: “I’m not concerned about the very poor; we have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I’ll fix it. I’m not concerned about the very rich, they’re doing just fine. I’m concerned about the very heart of the America, the 90 percent, 95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling, and I’ll continue to take that message across the nation.”
(Read the whole thing at the link above, courtesy of RedState, who also links to CNN for the source material)
While I understand what he was getting at…This goes back to a fundamental issue many ‘non-Romney’ folks have about him. Without his ‘canned’ lines…Without his ‘polished’ phrases and speeches…He is NOT able to consistently articulate political conservatism. He’s never been the type to be able to do what Newt, Santorum, Paul, Bachmann, Perry, Palin, Ryan, Rubio, Jindal (etc) can do, which is, after having been asked a question, and without even breaking a sweat, pivot and answer with pure political conservatism dripping from every word, properly articulating why it is better for the Liberty and Freedom of individuals, rather than liberalism (or something worse). He’s not a “turn on a dime” kind of guy. He doesn’t regularly have uncanned, unpolished conservative vocabulary ‘leaking’ from his head, to his mouth.
What’s that say about him?
Krauthammer has a good take on it. (Full disclosure: I’m not always in agreement with Krauthammer, but, this time, I think he’s got this one right):
Romney should be pouncing on situations like this, instead, to properly articulate (for example) how the liberal ideology has ‘brain-washed’ an entire section of Americans to believe that generational economic hardship is something they should just allow the government to take care of, instead of even attempting to do it themselves. This section of America has had this notion drilled into their psyche, and it enslaves them. Many times, their will to provide for their families is gone, their will to work is gone, and their understanding of how rewarding both of those things can be, is non-existant. The easy way out is the only way they know. It is a debilitating piece of thought-control, and it’s robbing people of a better life.
They should be uplifted, championed and taught that yes, they CAN do for themselves, and should want to do so. They should be inspired to take advantage of opportunity in this country, instead of letting someone or something else provide for their every need. These folks may take offense at this notion and instead believe they are being called “lazy”, but, that’s not what conservatism tells them. Conservatism is NOT about chiding the poor, or telling them that government will take care of them…It’s about giving these folks a hand-up when necessary, and NOT a hand-out. It’s about helping them to see the value (monetary and otherwise) in being able to rely on oneself rather than someone or something else. The ‘easy way’ isn’t always the most rewarding way, and government is here to provide an environment for them to become as prosperous as possible, in any legal way they can do so, and at the same time, not deprive them of the rewards they reap, by way of more taxes and less individual Freedom and Liberty.
Well, look around…Our “inevitable”, “electable”, “shart-choice” candidate for the GOP nomination just told America’s poor (in not so many words) that it’s ok if they stay where they are…Government will take care of them, and if their ‘safety net’ needs ‘fixin’, he’ll ride to the rescue.
It should be clear, by now, that Mitt doesn’t know or even understand that ‘safety net’ should only exist for those who TRULY cannot do for themselves, for whatever reason. It should NOT be thought of as anything other than temporary, for everyone else who may one day find themselves dangling by its threads, with a want and need of one day getting out.
You know that ol’ saying: “Give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day — teach a man to fish, he’ll eat for a lifetime?”
Looks like ol’ Mitt is so out of touch with conservatism, he doesn’t even know where fish come from, let alone knowing how to teach a man to fish.
Yes yes…Romney won. FoxNews called the Florida Primary just seconds after the polls closed. I’m sure it was a moment of sheer bliss for Fox – considering they’ve been in-the-tank for Romney since day-1. They’re all about promoting the “sensible choice”…Once again…Just as they did 4 years ago, with McCain.
And yeah — THAT turned out great, didn’t it?!
But I digress…
In any event, I’m hoping the remaining 4 GOP contenders take a close look at the exit polls coming out of Florida. They tell a very interesting tale. To decipher these results, remember that what is shown is the question that was asked, then how each person answered, and for whom they voted, so, on the first question I’m posting (below), 50% of those who voted for Romney said they consider themselves “somewhat liberal”…
(snips)
On most political matters, do you consider yourself: Somewhat liberal Paul 12% Gingrich 23% Romney 50% Santorum 5% Moderate Paul 10% Gingirch 20% Romney 62% Santorum7%
Do you think Newt Gingrich’s positions on the issues are: Too conservative Paul 11% Gingrich 7% Romney 74% Santorum 8% Not conservative enough Paul 14% Gingrich 15% Romney 50% Santorum 19%
(See the whole thing at the link above)
Quite odd numbers there, ay? Especially the “Too conservative” and “Not conservative enough” questions. Granted, there’s probably a better than average chance that those who answer exit polling are lying…But still. 50% of those who voted for Romney (in this particular exit polling) said Gingrich wasn’t conservative enough. Are they NOT paying attention?
The other one I wanted to point out was the liberal vote, and where it went…Straight to Romney. So do we think the libs are engaging in a bit of “operation chaos” of their own, or have they soured so much on obama that they’re ready to see him voted out, and will happily vote for the person they think is best capable of doing that? Time will tell…
One other piece I wanted to speak to this morning…And this one was actually posted at RedState by Erick Erickson last evening. Erick notes that Newt’s SuperPAC was WAY off message in the final hours leading up to the voting:
The Bad Messaging of the Newt Gingrich Super PAC
Posted by Erick Erickson (Diary)
Tuesday, January 31st at 7:11PM EST
I was surprised to land in Miami today for CNN’s coverage of the Florida Presidential Preference Primary and hear one Newt Super PAC ad over and over. I heard it on rock stations. I heard it on Rush Limbaugh. I heard it on a sports talk station.
It attacked Mitt Romney for abortion. Abortion. In a state with a massive housing crisis and a state that led the way in the fight on Obamacare, the Newt Super PAC decided to run ads in Miami, FL on abortion.
There is just one ad that the Newt Super PAC needs to run and that the Newt campaign itself needs to run. They need to take Rick Santorum’s attack on Romneycare from the CNN Jacksonville, FL debate and turn it into a commercial.
Costs are up in Massachusetts.
People wait 44 days to see a doctor.
And Mitt Romney considers his brainchild such a success he once wanted it as a model for the nation.
Run that over and over and over. Spending that much money on an abortion attack on Romney in Florida should warrant Sheldon Adelson getting a refund.
Erick is spot-on with this. I’ve never in my life seen Romney squirm so much as when Santorum took him to task over the details of ‘Romneycare’, and it’s MORE THAN OBVIOUS contributions to obamacare. If Newt wants to keep going in this race, all the way to August, he needs to re-focus his message, and encourage his SuperPAC to do the same. He needs to not allow Romney to ‘bait’ him, and only respond to direct attacks from Romney and/or his SuperPAC, when necessary. It’s time to start taking the fight to obama, by properly articulating political conservatism to the electorate, pointing out why it is ALWAYS better than alinsky-style socialism.
One prediction (sort-of): Look for Santorum to keep doing what he’s doing…Taking the fight to his opponents when necessary, but also staying focused on beating obama. If he continues to do this, and can also effectively articulate political conservatism…His numbers WILL rise.
Here we are…Less than 24hrs away from the 2012 Florida Primary. Mitt argues against Newt. Newt argues against Mitt. Ron Paul argues against all of them. Santorum is Santorum. And the issues still are NOT the focus of the GOP caucus/primary season….Ok, except in the Santorum camp. I’ll give him credit on that one.
With the GOP establishment ‘callin’ up the reserves’ to go after Newt,…One has to wonder: Why are they so against him? Granted, they give their standard excuses, which usually go something like “he’s not a leader”, “he has a bad temperment”…yadda, yadda, yadda. But, keep in mind, many of these establishment-types didn’t get along with Newt back in the day, because Newt didn’t take any of their ‘establishment’ bullshit. He’s not afraid of telling it like it is, and they hate him for it. They want another McCain. They want We The People to keep our collective trap shut, and vote for who they tell us to vote for. Go along to get along…That’s what they said, 4 years ago. McCain is the “smart choice”, they said. McCain is ‘level-headed’ they said.
They refuse to understand…It’s not that We The People are unaware of Newt’s ‘misgivings’. We know. But, Newt is a means to an end. He is the ‘messenger’. They ought not to shoot him:
January 28, 2012
It’s Not About Newt
By Joseph M. Koenig
GOP voters are sending a clarion call to the party establishment, but it seems GOP leaders are not getting the message. The statement being sent to the GOP elite isn’t about Newt, and it goes beyond even Romney. It is about a deep dissatisfaction that has been building for years within the Republican rank and file.
With the proclamations of Bob Dole and others against Newt Gingrich recently, it is clear the GOP establishment fears a Gingrich nomination. In truth, however, it is the GOP establishment’s own ineffectual leadership that led to the recent surge of the former Speaker of the House.
The prevailing wisdom in Washington and the media is that Newt’s re-birth in South Carolina is due to his fiery debate performances, which is true, but what happened in the polls goes far beyond clear articulation of conservative principles and debate prowess. Yes, the Republican voters want a fighter, someone who will take on President Obama, but Newt’s boldness and passion resonated so well with the disaffected party base, they were willing to overlook his huge political and personal shortcomings. There is a larger lesson here.
(…)
With a candidate like Newt, who brings with him loads of personal and political baggage, such reactions as those seen in the debates reveal sentiments that run much deeper, and that have been building far longer than any one campaign season. The Republican rank and file have been sending messages to their party leaders for years, but without avail. The GOP has touted itself as the party of fiscal responsibility and smaller government, but for too many years, their supporters have seen government and spending continue to spiral out of control, even when they put Republicans in charge.
(…)
The Republican voters have already tried the next-in-line, safe, establishment candidate, and lost–to Obama no less. As heroic as they have been in wars past, there are no more perfect examples of this kind of unexciting candidate as John McCain and Bob Dole, both of whom have now publicly endorsed Romney.
If they had a real understanding of why Newt surged, and why their preferred candidate has failed to connect with voters, they would have kept McCain and Dole as far from cameras and microphones as possible. To many, Romney is the best Republicans have in their current field of candidates, but to openly associate him with the same tired, uninspiring cast of characters of elections past is more than just bad political strategy. The tone-deafness of the Republican establishment could not be more astounding.
(Read the rest at the link above)
Will the GOP establishment ‘get it’? Don’t hold your breath.
This fight between We The People and ANYONE, within ANY PARTY, who seeks to stray away from the Founder’s intent…Will not be going away anytime soon. If they continue to willfully turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to the citizenry…The 2010 mid-terms will look like a child’s backyard birthday party.
Make book on it.
Until then, I invite anyone who’s backing Romney to answer this question: How will he be able to use this effective piece of information against Obama…When the mere mention of the word “Romneycare” makes a vein pop out in Mitt’s forehead? How will he effectively argue against government-provided/government-mandated healthcare, when he’s the “father” of the modern-day implementation of such a plan?
One more thing…Will Romney have the guts to go after obama, with the same vigor he’s used against Newt? If so, this might be a good place to start:
It should’ve been obvious by now that our current President is completely out of touch with most folks in this country. If you didn’t believe it before now…I’d bet this video’s got you thinkin’, ay?
Our President is a smarmy little ‘man-child’, either given too much attention when he was young, or perhaps not enough. Whichever it was, what resulted is a snide, thin-skinned, arrogant, self-important two-bit Chicago-land punk, who knows how to ‘organize’, and nothing more.
Perhaps the “Hoarders” show could hire him on? They always need help organizing mindless shit….
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