2012 Pres. Election.

[AmPat]

Dependency Index Surges 23% Under President Obama

The American public's dependence on the federal government shot up 23% in just two years under President Obama, with 67 million now relying on some federal program, according to a newly released study by the Heritage Foundation.

The conservative think tank's annual Index of Dependence on Government tracks money spent on housing, health, welfare, education subsidies and other federal programs that were "traditionally provided to needy people by local organizations and families."

The increase under Obama is the biggest two-year jump since Jimmy Carter was president, the data show. >>> The report also found that spending on "dependence programs" accounts for more than 70% of the federal budget. That, too, is up dramatically.

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Is anybody really surprised?

There it is, dependency on Big Brother government means DIM power is expanded. EVERY program, expense, legislation, support, attack, etc, etc, needs to be looked at through these eyes: How many people are being served at who's expense?

[Apocalypse]

Cleaned up the candidate list. Listed next ten Primary/Caucus dates. Added Delegate counts todate.

[Apocalypse]

I've updated the counts.

FYI at this point.

Mitt must win less then 46% of the remaining Delegates.
Santorum must win less then 70% of the remaining Delegates.
Newt must win less then 80% of the remaining Delegates.
Paul must win less then 86% of the remaining Delegates.

[JB]

Cleaned up the candidate list. Listed next ten Primary/Caucus dates. Added Delegate counts todate.

Nice work Apocalypse. I was getting ready to go look for these numbers.

I think I have to agree with Mitt. It's time to close this thing and give him the nod. I would say wait around until Mitt buries Santorum in Pennsylvania but I don't feel like waiting another month (April 24). Barry is the target now. (I mean opponent, not target. damn.) Them other guys had a shot. They came up short. Time to move on.

[Arroyo_Doble]

Nice work Apocalypse. I was getting ready to go look for these numbers.

I think I have to agree with Mitt. It's time to close this thing and give him the nod. I would say wait around until Mitt buries Santorum in Pennsylvania but I don't feel like waiting another month (April 24). Barry is the target now. (I mean opponent, not target. damn.) Them other guys had a shot. They came up short. Time to move on.

Ready to shake that Etch-A-Sketch?

[Odysseus]

Ready to shake that Etch-A-Sketch?

If that's what it takes, Snarko.

[JB]

Ready to shake that Etch-A-Sketch?

OK. I'm going to play but only for a post or two, if that.

He was talking about strategy. I get it. Most don't. Jump on it all you want. But ask yourself this...If Romney gets the nod today, do you think the Etch a Sketch thing means that from tomorrow until Novermber he is going to say "Obamacare is good, abortions are good, etc".

If he says it after he's sworn in, shame on me. For you to imply what you're implying now, well, shame on you.

[Kay]

The whole etch-a-sketch fiasco is lame as can be. In my opinion it backfires and just makes those pouncing on it look lame.

I have never liked Santorum. There's just something about him that rubs me the wrong way. I stated somewhere here the other day how I was increasingly noticing an angry bird undertone in his voice when he starts talking through clenched teeth. It's like he is smoldering inside about to explode. He seems the sort that would get truly mad at you if he lost to you in a friendly card game and never be your friend again. That's just the vibe I get from observing his body language. And now today this:

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-santorum-etch-a-sketch-obama-romney-20120322,0,1519900.story

If whinny little Ricky can't win he wants everyone to lose.

From the article, Mitt's response:
"I am in this race to defeat Barack Obama and restore America's promise. I was disappointed to hear that Rick Santorum would rather have Barack Obama as president than a Republican. This election is more important than any one person. It is about the future of America. Any of theRepublicans running would be better than President Obama and his record of failure."

[Arroyo_Doble]

OK. I'm going to play but only for a post or two, if that.

He was talking about strategy. I get it. Most don't. Jump on it all you want. But ask yourself this...If Romney gets the nod today, do you think the Etch a Sketch thing means that from tomorrow until Novermber he is going to say "Obamacare is good, abortions are good, etc".

If he says it after he's sworn in, shame on me. For you to imply what you're implying now, well, shame on you.

I understood what he was saying. It was just funny because it played into the stereotype, justified in my opinion, that Romney's political philosophy is malleable. But like Norquist said, (paraphrased) what difference does make since he will just be signing bills and the real work will be done in the Legislative Branch.

Norquist may be on to something since Romney appears to be a squish. I may be wrong and he grows a spine and articulates a vision in the general election and carries out that vision while in office; challenging the base of his party on issues where they disagree. But I doubt it.

[Odysseus]

I understood what he was saying. It was just funny because it played into the stereotype, justified in my opinion, that Romney's political philosophy is malleable. But like Norquist said, (paraphrased) what difference does make since he will just be signing bills and the real work will be done in the Legislative Branch.

Norquist may be on to something since Romney appears to be a squish. I may be wrong and he grows a spine and articulates a vision in the general election and carries out that vision while in office; challenging the base of his party on issues where they disagree. But I doubt it.

Unless he becomes a full bore socialist, he'll be an improvement on Obama.