GOP dirty tricks in the swing states

edonline

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Richard Silverstein: Anti-Muslim film and push polling are aimed at swing state voters | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

GOP dirty tricks in the swing states

Republican operatives are using an anti-Muslim film and push polling to raise fears of terrorism and smear Barack Obama

Richard Silverstein
guardian.co.uk, Monday September 22 2008 14:30 BST

We are now entering the closing weeks of what promises to be yet another close and contentious presidential election contest. As each side seeks to maximise its advantages and minimise its weaknesses, the Republican party has chosen the lowest of low roads, engaging in two sleazy political marketing campaigns over the past week.

First, DVDs of an anti-Muslim documentary film are being distributed to 28 million voters in swing states like Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Colorado and Wisconsin. Second, Republican telemarketers have begun push polling aimed at scaring Jewish voters in swing states from voting for Barack Obama.

The 2005 film, called Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West, warns that Islamic jihadists aim to take over the US government and destroy our way of life and urges voters to consider which candidate will best protect the nation. Among other subtleties, the film attempts to equate Islam with Nazism, juxtaposing scenes of children being encouraged to become suicide bombers with shots of Nazi rallies.

The film was distributed as an advertising supplement in major newspapers, including the New York Times. In addition, the Republican Jewish Coalition has mailed the DVDs to rabbis and Jewish organisational mailing lists, while a Christian Zionist group distributed it to delegates at the Republican and Democratic conventions. Sheldon Adelson, a major funder of arch-conservative causes and Likud party leader Bibi Netanyahu, personally gives the DVD to participants in the Taglit Birthright Israel tours he funds for Jewish young people.

The film's production and promotional campaign were bankrolled by the Clarion Fund, an obscure non-profit that has not filed the required IRS form that would allow the public to see who its officers and major funders are. The group was founded, however, by Raphael Shore, an Israeli-Canadian citizen and supporter of John McCain. Shore's website, Radical Islam, featured an editorial endorsing McCain for president. That's a big no-no: 501c3s aren't legally allowed to endorse candidates.

The mass distribution of Obsession is an obvious Republican scare-tactic, right out of the Rovian playbook. Party operatives believe that scaring Americans into believing there's a jihadist under every bed will play to Republican strengths and Democratic weaknesses on national security. They swiftboated John Kerry in 2004. Now they're jihadising Barack Obama.

To this end, Jewish voters in swing states have also been the targets of push polling from Republican-affiliated marketing outfits. Joelna Marcus of Key West, Florida received a telemarketing call asking if she is Jewish. After replying "yes", she was asked whether she was religious. Then the push poller then asked her if her opinion of Barack Obama would change if she knew that Obama had given lots and lots of money to the PLO. In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Debbie Minden received a call asking whether her support for Obama would be swayed if she knew "his church was anti-Israel" or that Hamas endorsed him and that its leaders had met with him. The caller also asked if she would change her mind if she learned he was Muslim.

The New Republic's Jonathan Cohn also received a call in Michigan and took notes of the smears: According to the caller, some of Obama's best friends in Chicago were "pro-Palestinian leaders"; Jimmy Carter's anti-Israel national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski is an Obama foreign policy adviser; Obama sat on a board which funded a "pro-Palestinian charity"; Obama said that if elected he would call for a summit of Muslim nations and exclude Israel.

Minden reported that her call came from a firm called Research Strategies, which is none other than Wilson Research Strategies, whose founder is Chris Wilson. Wilson is a top Republican consultant and friend of, you guessed it, Karl Rove. Cohn said his call came from a company called Central Marketing, which has done push polls on behalf of the campaigns of Republicans John Thune and Michael Bloomberg.

And Ben Smith reported last week that the Republican Jewish Coalition has admitted hiring the Republican telemarketing outfits to do the push polling. Amazing how a little bit of sleuthing leads this filth right to the door of the Republican party.

The way these things work, McCain has plausible deniability because the calls aren't made by his campaign. But they and the DVD are clearly designed to raise fears about national security and suppress Jewish turnout for Obama. If Republicans can reduce the number of Obama voters in key swing states by a few percentage points, they figure they strengthen McCain's chances of winning. This is American presidential politics at its most disgusting.
 

B_New End

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I heard about the dvds. Luckily, people who are swayed easily will not have time to watch such a boring "documentary", since they will be too busy watching American Idol.
 

B_VinylBoy

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You mean gays are off the hook this time? Or is it their backup plan? I didn't receive the memo that says we're no longer the biggest threat to America yet. :rolleyes:

Everytime I think politics have gotten low, it finds a way to trump itself. Seriously, I wish these extreme conservatives would just destroy themselves once and for all.
 
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Richard Silverstein: Anti-Muslim film and push polling are aimed at swing state voters | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

GOP dirty tricks in the swing states

Republican operatives are using an anti-Muslim film and push polling to raise fears of terrorism and smear Barack Obama

Richard Silverstein
guardian.co.uk, Monday September 22 2008 14:30 BST

This article is amusing. Is this the UK's version of In Touch magazine? It looks like a love letter from Keith Olberman to Bill Maher.
 

Qua

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Unfortunately in Detroit we just FINALLY rid ourselves of a completely incompetent mayor who held on to power for as long as he could see a possibility of getting away scot free from scandal. This has seriously harmed many Michigan voters' opinion of Obama as he is also the product of an infamously corrupt political machine and (hate to say it, but it matters to some) black. Kwame Kilpatrick has done far more to harm Obama's chances in Michigan than foreclosure lists ever will.
 

SpeedoGuy

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Republican dirty tricks? Nonsense. Republicans wouldn't stoop to such tactics. Everyone knows Republicans gain votes only by respectfully suggesting alternatives to Democratic proposals.
 

Notaguru2

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Unfortunately in Detroit we just FINALLY rid ourselves of a completely incompetent mayor who held on to power for as long as he could see a possibility of getting away scot free from scandal. This has seriously harmed many Michigan voters' opinion of Obama as he is also the product of an infamously corrupt political machine and (hate to say it, but it matters to some) black. Kwame Kilpatrick has done far more to harm Obama's chances in Michigan than foreclosure lists ever will.

Well, I hope thats the case. I still think Obama can pull it out there, but thats a whole different discussion.
 

faceking

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Look what's up in Michigan... a pivotal swing state. You better hope you're not black and trying to vote in Detroit/Lansing.

Michigan Messenger Lose your house, lose your vote

Nice "independent" news source. I wouldn't worry. I'm guessing there will be some inner city buses brought out... pick everyone up, feed them, tell them who to vote for, and drop them back off... never to be seen nor cared from again.
 

faceking

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Unfortunately in Detroit we just FINALLY rid ourselves of a completely incompetent mayor who held on to power for as long as he could see a possibility of getting away scot free from scandal. This has seriously harmed many Michigan voters' opinion of Obama as he is also the product of an infamously corrupt political machine and (hate to say it, but it matters to some) black. Kwame Kilpatrick has done far more to harm Obama's chances in Michigan than foreclosure lists ever will.

No you didn't!!! Are you kidding me????

Take it to the bank, Kilpatrick is an inner-city hero (see: Mayor Berry, and Mayor Nagin... complete buffoons and criminals who were put on a pedestal).

He'll get out, and win in a landslide.... and Detroit will continue to be one of the shit cities in the US (just as most of DC is, and pretty much all of New Orleans).
 

b.c.

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Funny how a certain person here doesn't have any problem with the idea of trying to use a list of foreclosed homes as a means to keep people from voting (and I wonder why...maybe I'd be a little pissed at the Repubs if I lost my house after the notes doubled or tripled too) - but seems to have a BIG problem with the idea of providing transportation for people to get to the polls.

This same person who seems to think cities like Detroit, D.C., New Orleans - cities with black majority populations and mayors are "shit cities" led by "complete buffoons and criminals".

Do you wear that sheet and hood when you go shopping, champ?
 

D_season 5

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the 411 on the mess...its long..but worth the read..ramp yourself up to what the story is and who is the creator of this mess...


Please take the time to read this..... it has a familiar "ring" to it?
* **Profile In Incompetence: The Worst President In American History*
**

* By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Wednesday, September 10,
2008 4:20 PM PT *

* Jimmy Carter became our 39th president at the young age of 52. He
was a one-term governor from Plains, GA, where he managed the family
peanut farm and taught Sunday school. He was also a graduate of the
Naval Academy and served seven years in the Navy, leaving as a lieutenant. *

* He came to power in the aftermath of the Vietnam War and the
resignation of President Nixon. The public wanted change and someone
new, and Carter was an ambitious, hands-on politician who promised
better days. As good as his intentions were, however, the things he
tried were not successful. In fact, he created far more serious
problems than he ever solved. *

* The centerpiece of Carter's foreign policy was human rights, and he
did achieve one noble success: a peace treaty between Egypt's Anwar
Sadat and Israel's Menachem Begin. *

*Unfortunately, that later led to Sadat's assassination at the hands of
Muslim radicals. *

* Many people felt Carter was a good man who worked hard and meant
well. But he was naive and incompetent in handling the enormous burdens
and complex challenges of being president. *

* He wrongly believed Americans had an 'inordinate fear of communism,'
so he lifted travel bans to Cuba, North Vietnam and Cambodia and
pardoned draft evaders. He also stopped B-1 bomber production and gave
away our strategically located Panama Canal. *

* His most damaging miscalculation was the withdrawal of U.S. support
for the Shah of Iran, a strong and longtime military ally. Carter
objected to the Shah's alleged mistreatment of imprisoned Soviet spies
who were working to overthrow Iran's government. He thought the exiled
Ayatollah Khomeini, being a religious man, would make a fairer leader. *

* Having lost U.S. support, the Shah was overthrown, the Ayatollah
returned, Iran was declared an Islamic nation and Palestinian hit men
were hired to eliminate opposition. *

* The Ayatollah then introduced the idea of suicide bombers to the
Palestine Liberation Organization, paying $35,000 to PLO families whose
young people were brainwashed to kill as many Israelis as possible by
blowing themselves up in crowded shopping areas.*

* Next, the Ayatollah used Iran's oil wealth to create, train and
finance a new terrorist organization, Hezbollah, which later would
attack Israel in 2006. *

* In November 1979, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other Iranians stormed the
U.S. embassy in Tehran and took 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. Not
until six months into the ordeal did Carter attempt a rescue. But the
mission, using just six Navy helicopters, was poorly executed. Three of
the copters were disabled or lost in sandstorms. (Pilots weren't
allowed to meet with weather forecasters because someone in authority
worried about security.) Five airmen and three Marines lost their lives. *

* So, due to overconfidence, inexperience and poor judgment, Carter
undermined and lost a strong ally, Iran, that today aggressively
threatens the U.S., Israel and the rest of the world with nuclear weapons. *

* But that's not all. After Carter met for the first time with Soviet
leader Leonid Brezhnev, the USSR promptly invaded Afghanistan. Carter,
ever the naive appeaser, was shocked. 'I can't believe the Russians
lied to me,' he said. *

* The invasion attracted a 23-year-old Saudi named Osama bin Laden to
Afghanistan to recruit Muslim fighters and raise money for an
anti-Soviet jihad. Part of that group eventually became al-Qaida, a
terrorist organization that would declare war on America several times
between 1996 and 1998 before attacking us on 9/11, killing more
Americans than the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.*

* On Carter's watch, the Soviet Union went on an unrestrained rampage
in which it took over not only Afghanistan, but also Ethiopia, South
Yemen, Angola, Cambodia, Mozambique, Grenada and Nicaragua.*

* In spite of this, Carter's last defense budget proposed spending 45%
below pre-Vietnam levels for fighter aircraft, 75% for ships, 83% for
attack submarines and 90% for helicopters. *

* Years later, as a civilian, Carter negotiated a peace agreement with
North Korea to keep that communist country from developing nuclear
weapons. He also convinced President Clinton and Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright to go along with it. But the signed piece of paper
proved worthless. The Nor th Koreans deceived Carter and instead used
our money, incentives and technical equipment to build nuclear weapons
and pose the threat we face today. *

* Thus did Carter unwittingly become our Neville Chamberlain, creating
with his well-intended but inept, unrealistic and gullible actions the
very conditions that led to the three most dangerous security threats we
face today: Iran, al-Qaida and North Korea. *

* On the domestic side, Carter gave us inflation of 15%, the highest in
34 years; interest rates of 21%, the highest in 115 years; and a severe
energy crisis with lines around the block at gas stations nationwide. *

* In 1977, Carter, along with a Democrat Congress, created a worthy
project with noble intentions**he Community Reinvestment Act.** Over
strong industry objections, it mandated that all banks meet the credit
needs of their entire communities.** *

* In 1995, President Clinton imposed even stronger regulations and
performance tests that coerced banks to substantially increase loans to
low-income, poverty-area borrowers or face fines or possible
restrictions on expansion. These revisions allowed for securitization
of CRA loans containing subprime mortgages. *

* By 1997, good loans were bundled with poor ones and sold as prime
packages to institutions here and abroad. That shifted risk from the
loan originators, freeing banks to begin pyramiding and make more of
these profitable subprime products. *

* Under two young, well-intended presidents, therefore, big-government
plans and mandates played a significant role in the current subprime
mortgage mess and its catastrophic consequences for the U.S. and
international economies. *

* Hardest-hit by the mortgage fore closures have been the citizens that
Democrats always claim to help most: inner-city residents who fell
victim to low or no down payment schemes, unexpected adjustable rates,
deceptive loan applications and commission-hungry salespeople. *

* Now we're having to bail out at huge cost Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,
the very agencies that were supposed to stabilize the system. In time,
this should improve the situation. But the party of Carter and Clinton
that midwifed our mortgage mess now wants to be trusted to take over and
have the government run our entire system of health care! Beware!*


any questions?
 

faceking

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Funny how a certain person here doesn't have any problem with the idea of trying to use a list of foreclosed homes as a means to keep people from voting (and I wonder why...maybe I'd be a little pissed at the Repubs if I lost my house after the notes doubled or tripled too) - but seems to have a BIG problem with the idea of providing transportation for people to get to the polls.

This same person who seems to think cities like Detroit, D.C., New Orleans - cities with black majority populations and mayors are "shit cities" led by "complete buffoons and criminals".

Do you wear that sheet and hood when you go shopping, champ?

Nice fucking try to call me a racist. Typical lib tactic.

Have you been to those cities over the span of over 3 decades. I have. So if you haven't ... shut the fuck up.
 

D_season 5

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the 4-1-1 on this bail out...and the who what why and where. for most of us...were barely out of diapers...or in high school...and who knew what...here it is..


Please take the time to read this..... it has a familiar "ring" to it?
* **Profile In Incompetence: The Worst President In American History*
**

* By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Wednesday, September 10,
2008 4:20 PM PT *

* Jimmy Carter became our 39th president at the young age of 52. He
was a one-term governor from Plains, GA, where he managed the family
peanut farm and taught Sunday school. He was also a graduate of the
Naval Academy and served seven years in the Navy, leaving as a lieutenant. *

* He came to power in the aftermath of the Vietnam War and the
resignation of President Nixon. The public wanted change and someone
new, and Carter was an ambitious, hands-on politician who promised
better days. As good as his intentions were, however, the things he
tried were not successful. In fact, he created far more serious
problems than he ever solved. *

* The centerpiece of Carter's foreign policy was human rights, and he
did achieve one noble success: a peace treaty between Egypt's Anwar
Sadat and Israel's Menachem Begin. *

*Unfortunately, that later led to Sadat's assassination at the hands of
Muslim radicals. *

* Many people felt Carter was a good man who worked hard and meant
well. But he was naive and incompetent in handling the enormous burdens
and complex challenges of being president. *

* He wrongly believed Americans had an 'inordinate fear of communism,'
so he lifted travel bans to Cuba, North Vietnam and Cambodia and
pardoned draft evaders. He also stopped B-1 bomber production and gave
away our strategically located Panama Canal. *

* His most damaging miscalculation was the withdrawal of U.S. support
for the Shah of Iran, a strong and longtime military ally. Carter
objected to the Shah's alleged mistreatment of imprisoned Soviet spies
who were working to overthrow Iran's government. He thought the exiled
Ayatollah Khomeini, being a religious man, would make a fairer leader. *

* Having lost U.S. support, the Shah was overthrown, the Ayatollah
returned, Iran was declared an Islamic nation and Palestinian hit men
were hired to eliminate opposition. *

* The Ayatollah then introduced the idea of suicide bombers to the
Palestine Liberation Organization, paying $35,000 to PLO families whose
young people were brainwashed to kill as many Israelis as possible by
blowing themselves up in crowded shopping areas.*

* Next, the Ayatollah used Iran's oil wealth to create, train and
finance a new terrorist organization, Hezbollah, which later would
attack Israel in 2006. *

* In November 1979, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other Iranians stormed the
U.S. embassy in Tehran and took 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. Not
until six months into the ordeal did Carter attempt a rescue. But the
mission, using just six Navy helicopters, was poorly executed. Three of
the copters were disabled or lost in sandstorms. (Pilots weren't
allowed to meet with weather forecasters because someone in authority
worried about security.) Five airmen and three Marines lost their lives. *

* So, due to overconfidence, inexperience and poor judgment, Carter
undermined and lost a strong ally, Iran, that today aggressively
threatens the U.S., Israel and the rest of the world with nuclear weapons. *

* But that's not all. After Carter met for the first time with Soviet
leader Leonid Brezhnev, the USSR promptly invaded Afghanistan. Carter,
ever the naive appeaser, was shocked. 'I can't believe the Russians
lied to me,' he said. *

* The invasion attracted a 23-year-old Saudi named Osama bin Laden to
Afghanistan to recruit Muslim fighters and raise money for an
anti-Soviet jihad. Part of that group eventually became al-Qaida, a
terrorist organization that would declare war on America several times
between 1996 and 1998 before attacking us on 9/11, killing more
Americans than the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.*

* On Carter's watch, the Soviet Union went on an unrestrained rampage
in which it took over not only Afghanistan, but also Ethiopia, South
Yemen, Angola, Cambodia, Mozambique, Grenada and Nicaragua.*

* In spite of this, Carter's last defense budget proposed spending 45%
below pre-Vietnam levels for fighter aircraft, 75% for ships, 83% for
attack submarines and 90% for helicopters. *

* Years later, as a civilian, Carter negotiated a peace agreement with
North Korea to keep that communist country from developing nuclear
weapons. He also convinced President Clinton and Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright to go along with it. But the signed piece of paper
proved worthless. The Nor th Koreans deceived Carter and instead used
our money, incentives and technical equipment to build nuclear weapons
and pose the threat we face today. *

* Thus did Carter unwittingly become our Neville Chamberlain, creating
with his well-intended but inept, unrealistic and gullible actions the
very conditions that led to the three most dangerous security threats we
face today: Iran, al-Qaida and North Korea. *

* On the domestic side, Carter gave us inflation of 15%, the highest in
34 years; interest rates of 21%, the highest in 115 years; and a severe
energy crisis with lines around the block at gas stations nationwide. *

* In 1977, Carter, along with a Democrat Congress, created a worthy
project with noble intentions**he Community Reinvestment Act.** Over
strong industry objections, it mandated that all banks meet the credit
needs of their entire communities.** *

* In 1995, President Clinton imposed even stronger regulations and
performance tests that coerced banks to substantially increase loans to
low-income, poverty-area borrowers or face fines or possible
restrictions on expansion. These revisions allowed for securitization
of CRA loans containing subprime mortgages. *

* By 1997, good loans were bundled with poor ones and sold as prime
packages to institutions here and abroad. That shifted risk from the
loan originators, freeing banks to begin pyramiding and make more of
these profitable subprime products. *

* Under two young, well-intended presidents, therefore, big-government
plans and mandates played a significant role in the current subprime
mortgage mess and its catastrophic consequences for the U.S. and
international economies. *

* Hardest-hit by the mortgage fore closures have been the citizens that
Democrats always claim to help most: inner-city residents who fell
victim to low or no down payment schemes, unexpected adjustable rates,
deceptive loan applications and commission-hungry salespeople. *

* Now we're having to bail out at huge cost Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,
the very agencies that were supposed to stabilize the system. In time,
this should improve the situation. But the party of Carter and Clinton
that midwifed our mortgage mess now wants to be trusted to take over and
have the government run our entire system of health care! Beware!*


any questions?
r
 

faceking

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the 411 on the mess...its long..but worth the read..ramp yourself up to what the story is and who is the creator of this mess...


Please take the time to read this..... it has a familiar "ring" to it?
* **Profile In Incompetence: The Worst President In American History*
**

* By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Wednesday, September 10,
2008 4:20 PM PT *

* Jimmy Carter became our 39th president at the young age of 52. He
was a one-term governor from Plains, GA, where he managed the family
peanut farm and taught Sunday school. He was also a graduate of the
Naval Academy and served seven years in the Navy, leaving as a lieutenant. *

* He came to power in the aftermath of the Vietnam War and the
resignation of President Nixon. The public wanted change and someone
new, and Carter was an ambitious, hands-on politician who promised
better days. As good as his intentions were, however, the things he
tried were not successful. In fact, he created far more serious
problems than he ever solved. *

* The centerpiece of Carter's foreign policy was human rights, and he
did achieve one noble success: a peace treaty between Egypt's Anwar
Sadat and Israel's Menachem Begin. *

*Unfortunately, that later led to Sadat's assassination at the hands of
Muslim radicals. *

* Many people felt Carter was a good man who worked hard and meant
well. But he was naive and incompetent in handling the enormous burdens
and complex challenges of being president. *

* He wrongly believed Americans had an 'inordinate fear of communism,'
so he lifted travel bans to Cuba, North Vietnam and Cambodia and
pardoned draft evaders. He also stopped B-1 bomber production and gave
away our strategically located Panama Canal. *

* His most damaging miscalculation was the withdrawal of U.S. support
for the Shah of Iran, a strong and longtime military ally. Carter
objected to the Shah's alleged mistreatment of imprisoned Soviet spies
who were working to overthrow Iran's government. He thought the exiled
Ayatollah Khomeini, being a religious man, would make a fairer leader. *

* Having lost U.S. support, the Shah was overthrown, the Ayatollah
returned, Iran was declared an Islamic nation and Palestinian hit men
were hired to eliminate opposition. *

* The Ayatollah then introduced the idea of suicide bombers to the
Palestine Liberation Organization, paying $35,000 to PLO families whose
young people were brainwashed to kill as many Israelis as possible by
blowing themselves up in crowded shopping areas.*

* Next, the Ayatollah used Iran's oil wealth to create, train and
finance a new terrorist organization, Hezbollah, which later would
attack Israel in 2006. *

* In November 1979, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other Iranians stormed the
U.S. embassy in Tehran and took 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. Not
until six months into the ordeal did Carter attempt a rescue. But the
mission, using just six Navy helicopters, was poorly executed. Three of
the copters were disabled or lost in sandstorms. (Pilots weren't
allowed to meet with weather forecasters because someone in authority
worried about security.) Five airmen and three Marines lost their lives. *

* So, due to overconfidence, inexperience and poor judgment, Carter
undermined and lost a strong ally, Iran, that today aggressively
threatens the U.S., Israel and the rest of the world with nuclear weapons. *

* But that's not all. After Carter met for the first time with Soviet
leader Leonid Brezhnev, the USSR promptly invaded Afghanistan. Carter,
ever the naive appeaser, was shocked. 'I can't believe the Russians
lied to me,' he said. *

* The invasion attracted a 23-year-old Saudi named Osama bin Laden to
Afghanistan to recruit Muslim fighters and raise money for an
anti-Soviet jihad. Part of that group eventually became al-Qaida, a
terrorist organization that would declare war on America several times
between 1996 and 1998 before attacking us on 9/11, killing more
Americans than the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.*

* On Carter's watch, the Soviet Union went on an unrestrained rampage
in which it took over not only Afghanistan, but also Ethiopia, South
Yemen, Angola, Cambodia, Mozambique, Grenada and Nicaragua.*

* In spite of this, Carter's last defense budget proposed spending 45%
below pre-Vietnam levels for fighter aircraft, 75% for ships, 83% for
attack submarines and 90% for helicopters. *

* Years later, as a civilian, Carter negotiated a peace agreement with
North Korea to keep that communist country from developing nuclear
weapons. He also convinced President Clinton and Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright to go along with it. But the signed piece of paper
proved worthless. The Nor th Koreans deceived Carter and instead used
our money, incentives and technical equipment to build nuclear weapons
and pose the threat we face today. *

* Thus did Carter unwittingly become our Neville Chamberlain, creating
with his well-intended but inept, unrealistic and gullible actions the
very conditions that led to the three most dangerous security threats we
face today: Iran, al-Qaida and North Korea. *

* On the domestic side, Carter gave us inflation of 15%, the highest in
34 years; interest rates of 21%, the highest in 115 years; and a severe
energy crisis with lines around the block at gas stations nationwide. *

* In 1977, Carter, along with a Democrat Congress, created a worthy
project with noble intentions**he Community Reinvestment Act.** Over
strong industry objections, it mandated that all banks meet the credit
needs of their entire communities.** *

* In 1995, President Clinton imposed even stronger regulations and
performance tests that coerced banks to substantially increase loans to
low-income, poverty-area borrowers or face fines or possible
restrictions on expansion. These revisions allowed for securitization
of CRA loans containing subprime mortgages. *

* By 1997, good loans were bundled with poor ones and sold as prime
packages to institutions here and abroad. That shifted risk from the
loan originators, freeing banks to begin pyramiding and make more of
these profitable subprime products. *

* Under two young, well-intended presidents, therefore, big-government
plans and mandates played a significant role in the current subprime
mortgage mess and its catastrophic consequences for the U.S. and
international economies. *

* Hardest-hit by the mortgage fore closures have been the citizens that
Democrats always claim to help most: inner-city residents who fell
victim to low or no down payment schemes, unexpected adjustable rates,
deceptive loan applications and commission-hungry salespeople. *

* Now we're having to bail out at huge cost Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,
the very agencies that were supposed to stabilize the system. In time,
this should improve the situation. But the party of Carter and Clinton
that midwifed our mortgage mess now wants to be trusted to take over and
have the government run our entire system of health care! Beware!*


any questions?

brilliant.

i ask ppl what Bush has meant in their personal lives to make him the worst president. regardless, most I hear that from didn't work or own a home thru the Carter administration.

well done. not too biased... sans... he didn't inherit a post Nixon era... the Ford administration provided a nice buffer of post Vietnam fall back.
 

Qua

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Detroit IS a shit city formerly led by a buffoon...a vile racist buffoon I might add. However, he can't run for elected office for 5 years following his jail sentance, so hopefully by that time he'll be just another has been. He's not as big an inner city hero as you think...granted up in the burbs everyone hates his guts, but his willingness to bring the city to a dead standstill to retain power didn't sit well with many in the city. His attempts to portray himself as a victim of the white media worked for many, but backfired for more than a few. He won't win by a landslide. He'll either win a small majority or get hammered. And that's not for another 6 years. More than enough time for a mayor to step in and actually do the job of mayor, and well enough that Kwame will be forgotten about. He's done far more harm to the metro Detroit area than anyone else in my admittedly short lifetime.