Bit of insidery information for our readers – I spoke to a friend late last night who is working closely with Obama’s campaign, and I was informed that internally, the Democrats are very confident of an Obama victory tonight, particularly in Ohio. Their own numbers (that always show a worst case scenario) are solidly for Obama, and bar extremely low voter turn out, a Romney victory in the rust belt state is highly unlikely. The Democrats believe Ohio will make the difference this year and his consistently strong numbers there are cause for optimism.

Stay tuned for updates as they come in.

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I feel pretty much the same way about choosing Obama over Romney this election. From Vice’s interview with the irrepressible Cornel West:

We have to prevent a Romney takeover of the White House. No doubt about that. It would be very dangerous in terms of actual lives and actual deaths of the elderly and the poor. Those people who are dependent on various programs would have to deal with the ugly damage of the further redistribution of wealth from the poor and working people to the well off….

A Romney administration would be a catastrophic response to an already catastrophic condition. I still get in a lot of trouble with my left-wing comrades on this—that I would still support Obama winning while continuing to tell the truth about drones dropping bombs on innocent people, which I consider war crimes, about the Wall Street government, about the refusal to close Guantanamo, about [section] 1021 of the National Authorization Act where you can detain citizens without trial or even assassinate citizens based on the decisions of the executive branch. All of those things to me are morally obscene. It’s a matter of telling that truth, strategically. I think we have to ensure that we don’t have a takeover by conservative right-wing or we’re in a world of trouble.

I say this to the Left all the time: There comes a time when you have to accept reality and focus on outcomes. While in principle I agree with people like Glenn Greenwald and other strict civil liberty advocates, in practice, it doesn’t do any good whatsoever. Not voting for the Democrats on principle just makes it even harder to implement meaningful change, and you just end up shouting to hear the sound of your own voice. I’m sure West likes to hear himself speak a lot of the time too, but he recognizes that lives are literally at stake and election outcomes matter.

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It still makes me uncomfortable to write about politics in terms of ethnic, socio economic and gender based terms, but I guess that’s the reality of how campaigns are planned and executed. Having said that, maybe Obama’s recent bump in the polls from a demographic he has had trouble connecting with in the past is a signal that America, or at least parts of it, are not so easily stereotyped. From the Atlantic:

Across most of the presidential battleground states, particularly in the Midwest, President Obama’s lead rests on a surprisingly strong performance among blue-collar white women who usually tilt toward the GOP.

A National Journal analysis of recent polling results across 11 states considered battlegrounds shows that in most of them, Obama is running considerably better than he is nationally among white women without a college education. Obama’s gains with these so-called “waitress moms” are especially pronounced in Heartland battlegrounds like Ohio, Wisconsin and Iowa.

The Democrats have been actively targeting this demographic, bombarding them with ads focusing on Romney’s wealth and indifference to the concerns of working Americans, so it’s probably nothing to get too excited about. But at least they feel more comfortable with a Black man in the Oval office than an aloof, rich white guy.

Isn’t that progress?

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The latest ad from the Obama camp:

I hate taking these things seriously – political ads, particularly in America are incredibly obnoxious, misleading and damaging to the political process in my opinion – but this one is actually pretty honest. This isn’t to give the Obama camp credit for producing a moral video (they’ve certainly made their share of misleading nonsense), but to underscore the fact that they don’t actually need to lie in order to make Romney look bad. They simply have to replay Romney’s own words, then ask regular people to react to it. And it’s pretty damn effective.

There’s no limit to the usage the Democrats will get out of Romney’s ’47%’ speech, and the debates are going to be even worse for him. It really was a catastrophic turn in the election as it has allowed Obama to define Romney in no uncertain terms. The Republicans are still trying their best to nail Obama on an issue, but given their candidates extreme history of flip flopping, it’s hard to come up with something Romney hasn’t supported at one time.

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11.03pm Ok, he’s getting passionate now and maybe the hopey changey thing is working better. He’s fiercely defending the philosophy behind liberalism and the notion that we are ‘in it together’, and this is no bad thing. It’s a bit flowery, but this is in stark contrast to the Democrat’s usual tactic of apologizing for their beliefs.

Overall, and effective speech that should play well with voters and get the base more excited. Bill Clinton still took it in my opinion. He did a much more focused and scathing attack on Republicans and gave a clearer defense of liberalism.

11.pm – “I’m no longer just a candidate. I’m the President.” Big applause. Now he’s talking about Abraham Lincoln and hope. Aaagh.

10.55pm – This is getting a bit to esoteric for me. He’s giving a speech about the gift of Democracy, telling Americans “You are the change”. Snore. He needs to spend more time battering Romney. It’s much more fun.

10.50pm – Obama is framing the tax cut argument in a clever way – he’s saying he refuses to have middle class people pay for the tax cuts to the rich. This is how the economic argument for proper taxation should be made by the Left. He’s going after Wall St again (wish he did it while in office) but it’s working well.

10.47pm – This is good. Obama is ripping Romney for his foreign policy stupidity; calling Russia enemy number one and insulting Britain during his trip a few weeks back. This is a good point – Romney is no statesman and his serious lack of awareness around the world is a very big liability. This is effective.

10.46pm – Here we go with the ‘I killed Osama’ meme….the crowd chants ‘USA! USA! USA!’. Cringe worthy.

10.45pm – Got to say, I though Bill Clinton did a better job yesterday. This is a bit hopey changey and there needs to be more venom this time round.

10.38pm – Obama reeling off facts about energy independence and slamming Republicans for wanting oil companies to write legislation. Obama’s record isn’t great on the environment but the Republicans would literally take a torch to it if they had their ways. Big difference between the parties – Obama says climate change is not a hoax. Case closed.

10.33pm – He’s ripping the Republicans platform of tax cuts as a prescription to cure everything. He needs to stick to this as I think we’ve heard enough hopey changey stuff. That was very 2008.

10.31pm – Obama starts out with a joke about being sick of hearing himself say ‘I’m Barack Obama and I approve this message’. Good call. Off to a good start.

10.25pm – Obama coming out to action hero music. Jesus, this is ridiculous.

10.21pm – STILL going on about Obama’s incredible nerves of steel and the heroic act of killing Osama Bin Laden….

10.20pm – This relentless advertising and hero worship really is getting tiring. I know it’s necessary in the modern political age, but wow. I’m sure Obama isn’t comfortable with this type of fawning. No normal person should be.

10.15pm – Dick Durbin on now. He’s touting the Dream Act that he initiated 11 years ago – good on him.

10.07pm – Biden talking about the troops now. I wouldn’t mind him waxing lyrical about the troops if he hadn’t voted for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

10.05pm – “One more thing” says Joe. This is code for 10 more things….

10.01pm – Biden still talking. It’s great when he rips into Republicans as Joe has a pretty sharp tongue. But wow, this speech is seriously devoid of substance.

9.55pm – Just watching Joe Biden finishing up his speech at the Democratic convention. Some good bits and Joe’s clearly fired up, but good Lord is he laying it on thick. Joe talked a lot about Obama taking tough decisions and always keeping the ‘American people in his heart’. Really? What about the gigantic sell out to the banks? And the stuff about Obama killing Osama Bin Laden is, in my view, pretty abhorrent. Glorifying him for illegally raiding someone else’s country and executing someone without trial isn’t grounds to celebrate if you ask me.

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James Kwak laments the ever rightwards shifting debate on economics in America:

The fact that Simpson-Bowles—which uses its mandate of deficit reduction to call for . . . lower tax rates?—has become widely perceived as a centrist starting-point for discussion is clear evidence of how far to the right the inside-the-Beltway discourse has shifted, both over time and relative to the preferences of the population as a whole.

What’s more, the “consensus” of the self-styled “centrists” is what now makes the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 seem positively reasonable. With Simpson-Bowles and Domenici-Rivlin both calling for tax rates below those established in 2001, George W. Bush now looks like a moderate; even many Democrats now endorse the Bush tax cuts for families making up to $250,000 per year, which is still a lot of money (for most people, at least).

Kwak blames the Democrats in part for failing to articulate an argument or plan on “how to deal with our long-term debt problem in a way that preserves government services and social insurance programs and protects the poor and the middle class”. This couldn’t be more true – the Left has been appalling when it comes to presenting their economic agenda and everyone has suffered as a result. The fact that the stimulus is basically working should be enough for the Left to come out swinging, but what you get is apologetic whimpering whenever a Republican starts to lecture them on economics. It’s pretty lame, and the Democrats need to really take control of this issue particularly in an election year when the economy is still in the doldrums.

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Conservatives have been lying about health care for a long time in America. You can go back to the creation of Medicare and many of the right-wing arguments we hear today wouldn’t be out of place. Socialism! Communism! The death knell for American medicine! On and on and on.

Recently, of course, the conservative lie machine has been in overdrive in its attempt to derail reform. Thanks to Barack Obama and Democrats in congress, backed by the Supreme Court, the conservative nightmare of health insurance for poor and middle class Americans has been realized.

My colleagues at Media Matters have documented practically every lie to come down the pike on this issue. Some of them (death panels) are like zombies, returning from the dead even when you stick a stake in their black hearts.

But the worst lie, in my opinion, isn’t just about reform, but rather about the very nature of health care in America.

Conservatives love to say that nobody will be refused medical care in America. This is a lie. Sure, if you come into an emergency room in dire straits, no humane doctor or nurse will deny you care. But conservatives “yada yada” over the fact that so many of our fellow citizens wait until their health is at the emergency stage before they seek help.

There is a group of Americans who don’t have the luxury you and I have of making an appointment with their doctor when they feel a little discomfort in their arm, their chest, their leg, whatever. The quickie doctor visit and prescription you pick up at the corner pharmacy takes on a whole other huge financial dimension when you don’t have health insurance. The insulin for my diabetes costs me $20 under my health care plan. If I didn’t have insurance it would cost about $130. That’s just one medicine, for one month. If you don’t have health insurance, $130 isn’t peanuts. And that’s for a relatively mild ailment like diabetes.

God forbid you need to see a specialist.

And yes, again, the emergency doctors will help you when you get to a crisis point. But — and I can speak from recent family experience on this — you will have a giant bill hanging over your head, and the hospital will get you out of there in the quickest, most humane time possible.

Generally speaking, if you’ve had to go to the hospital for emergency care, you will need medical follow-up. Again, if someone doesn’t have insurance, is forced to let a condition reach the emergency stage — how are they to afford a follow-up?

And then they end up in emergency care again.

And guess who pays that bill? We do.

So by denying these people — our fellow citizens — health insurance, just ends up costing us more than if we provided care up front. Not to mention the immorality of making someone reach the emergency stage before they can be looked after.

The idea that everyone in America is okay because you won’t be refused emergency care is the biggest lie the right tells about this issue.

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Welcome to this weeks edition of The Daily Banter Mail Bag, where Bob, Ben and Chez answer readers questions! Today, we discuss filibusters, good recipes for roast pork, Bush vs Obama on spending, and which politicians we’d like to see have a good old fashioned scrap.

The questions:

I volunteered to help the Democrats pass Obamacare as well as the slowly-disintegrating Dodd-Frank Act, and I don’t regret my involvement. What outrages me, though, is this: Senate Democrats refuse to reform or destroy the filibuster. Why? Obamacare passed due to the reconciliation process- which bypassed the filibuster/Joe Lieberman. I’m too young to believe the popular false equivalency meme but I ponder the filibuster and can’t help but think that on this the Dems are nonsensical wimps, with Harry Reid as Beaky Buzzard. Something’s got to give. Your thoughts?
-Robert Heltzel

Bob: Great question, Robert. Unfortunately, I won’t be much comfort to you on this one because I don’t think they should eliminate the filibuster. While it’s insufferable to watch the Republicans abuse the privilege (and they really are abusing it, with more filibusters now that ever before), I prefer to keep it in reserve for when the tables are turned. I’m sure you can imagine how awful this turn of events might be — a Republican president and a Republican Senate — and how they’d endeavor to enact all varieties of devilry. It’s for these occasions when we’ll need the filibuster, too. If for no other reason than to stop the Republicans from overreaching, which is something they’ll absolutely do as soon as they have a chance and especially with the tea party and Fox News Channel cheerleading them along. However, I believe the Democrats could be using reconciliation more often. But that comes at a cost as well. Not only do reconciliation bills have to adhere to a strict set of rules pertaining specifically to the budget, but they also contain automatic sunsets. In the case of the Affordable Care Act, the actual “Obamacare” bill was passed through traditional means, while a separate bill, the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act was passed to amend the ACA via reconciliation. The ACA won’t ever sunset, but unless I’m mistaken, the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act will, forcing a renewal vote at some point, and who knows what group will be in charge at that time. Also, Beaky Buzzard is a good one. I also think he looks like Droopy Dog.

Ben: Ah, the filibuster…… my favorite topic….Luckily, I can defer to Bob on issues like this because he knows a hell of a lot more than I do. And it looks like Chez has  a damn good recipe for roast pork, which I’ll be trying out this weekend….

Chez: I hear the word filibuster and my eyes glaze over, much like they do when people actually filibuster. With that in mind, I have nothing worthwhile to add to any discussion about this subject and therefore I’ll just give you a really good recipe for roasted pork with a mint cilantro rub. To start, you’ll need about a cup of mint leaves (feel free to add the stalky bits if it’s to your taste), a cup of cilantro leaves (same deal), about two tablespoons of finely minced garlic, a teaspoon-and-a-half of salt, a teaspoon of freshly cracked black pepper, about a cup of extra virgin olive oil and of course a boneless pork loin, three-and-a-half pounds or so, trimmed well. In a food processor, combine the mint, cilantro, garlic a pinch of salt and about half of the olive oil; pulse that sucker until the leaves are finely chopped and everything is combined nicely. Transfer the mixture to another bowl; don’t use something metal since it’s reactive. Line a shallow baking dish or pan with aluminum foil. Place the pork loin in the pan and use the rest of the olive oil as a prep rub. Season it well with the leftover salt and pepper. Spoon about a quarter cup of the mint-cilantro mixture over the loin and rub it in with your hands on all sides — don’t be afraid to get dirty — until the whole thing is evenly coated. Refrigerate the rest of the mint-cilantro mix but first drizzle the rest of the olive oil over it so that it forms a layer over the chopped herbs to keep them from oxidizing. Loosely plastic wrap the loin and let it marinate in the fridge for about three hours. When you’re ready, take the loin out of the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature for an hour or so; do the same with the mint-cilantro mixture. Next, preheat your oven to 425-degrees; when it’s ready, put in the loin, letting it cook until it’s very lightly golden — usually about a half-hour to thirty-five minutes or until your meat thermometer reads 140-degrees. Personally I don’t mind undercooking pork a little, but you can make the call as to how you like it best or what you’re most comfortable with. Remove the loin from the oven, wait about ten minutes then cut it into thin slices. Stir up your mint-cilantro mixture and drizzle it over the pork, and have at it. Bon appetit!

Why is it Bush’s spending spree was ignored, and Obama’s pored over with a fine-toothed comb? The media always harps on about ‘Obama’s spending’ and the increasing deficit while forgetting about the unpaid for Bush years. How is it Democrats who spend are socialists, while Republicans who spend are conservative? It makes no sense whatsoever.
-Ben Friedman

Chez: The only reason the media spend any time at all talking about the debt and the “problem” of government spending is because the right is exceptional at controlling the narrative. Conservatives and Republican politicians in particular scream that the sky is falling and create an apocalyptic atmosphere that’s fucking catnip to the press — it can’t get enough of the circus and instead of actually picking apart the story and separating fact from fiction it reports on the controversy, painting false equivalence as some kind of horseshit objectivity. That’s the short answer. Also, it’s very likely not going to get better anytime soon. I hear that the taste of the steel used in the overbored barrel of the Mossberg is slightly less offensive to the tongue than the kind used by Remington for their own shotgun. Just a pro-tip.

Bob: It totally doesn’t make any sense especially because spending growth has slowed under President Obama and the deficit has dropped under President Obama. The Bush spending on tax cuts and wars is driving the debt and deficits. I’ve written several items here about all of it. The problem is this: the Republicans, in their myopia, believe they can make a case for blaming the president, simply because he’s president while the high debt and deficit exists — in spite of what’s driving the numbers. And one of the more unfair facts of life is that the press, in their low-T self-consciousness, often pander to the Republicans as a means of muting “liberal bias” attacks against them. The numbers, however, on our side. We need to pick up the slack and get the word out. Keep an eye on my series for The Daily Banter, The Truth About the President and the Deficit.

Ben: Hi Ben, this is a topic I can never get my head around. George Bush spent government money like a drunken sailor while making sure revenues decreased substantially by giving the wealthiest Americans gigantic tax cuts. How on earth this could be construed as being conservative is completely beyond me, yet the media completely ignored it at the time. It’s one of the reasons the Republicans have been so successful in shifting politics in America so far to the Right – the media simply focuses on the ‘Blue vs Red’ baseball game, reporting on who’s up and who’s down, and not on substance. Republicans simply say that Obama is a socialists, and the media refuses to even assess what the word means, let alone point out that Bush authorized one of the biggest government handouts in American history (the bank bailout in 2008). The truth is, both parties are ‘socialistic’ in that they believe government should redistribute wealth – the Democrats just believe that some of that wealth should go to people who actually need it rather than giant corporations and financial institutions unable to survive in the free market.

If you could see two politicians duke it out, who would they be? Politicians in Korea do it all the time, so why not us? I say put Dick Cheney in there with Dennis Kucinich. One guy has a bad heart, and the other looks about as menacing as Justin Bieber. It could be epic.
-Mark

Chez: Personally I’d like to see anybody beat the shit out of Allen West, just because it’d be fun to watch him brutalized and humiliated to the point being curled up in a fetal position weeping. They’re technically on the same side but is there some way we can get Chris Christie to pummel Ron Paul? It’d be like the Hulk throwing Loki around at the end of “The Avengers.”

Bob: I want to see Joe Biden fight Karl Rove. Better yet, I want to see The First Lady beat the living shit out of Glenn Beck. I would pay four digits to see that on Pay Per View.

Ben: Hahaha! Great question Mark. As a former boxing journalist, this question is right up my alley. Personally, I’d like to see Eric Cantor get it on with Cory Booker. Cantor is a smarmy chicken hawk who has voted to escalate the United State’s involvement in every war possible and dedicated his life to making rich people richer. Booker on the other hand, rescues neighbors from life threatening fires, does whatever is in his power to aid the poor, and carries himself with uncommon dignity. It wouldn’t last long, and it would be very one sided.

—–

Got a question for the Mail Bag? Email your questions to TheDailyBanter@gmail.com!!

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Photo of California Attorney General (and former California Governor) Jerry Brown (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

California Gov. Jerry Brown called on state lawmakers to embrace austere cuts and urged voters to approve tax hikes in outlining a revised budget Monday.

Brown proposed $8.3 billion in cuts across education, health care and welfare programs in laying out a plan to address the state’s $15.7 billion shortfall, an amount equal to 17 percent of the state’s discretionary fund. He warned that additional cuts are ahead if voters reject his tax-hike initiative in November.

“Cutting alone really doesn’t do it,” Brown told reporters in releasing his $91 billion general fund budget plan. “And that’s why I’m linking the serious budget reductions — real increase to austerity — with a plea to the voters: Please increase taxes temporarily on the most affluent and everyone else with a quarter of a cent sales tax.”

Brown, a Democrat, also is asking state workers to share the pain by taking a 5 percent pay cut, most likely by reducing their work hours. The pay reduction would be handled in contract negotiations with the state’s public employee unions.

In addition to the cuts, Brown hopes to close the deficit with $5.9 billion in new revenue from the tax initiative he proposed earlier this year that would temporarily add a quarter cent in the state sales tax and collect higher income taxes on those who make $250,000 a year or more.

If voters reject the tax increases in the fall, Brown is proposing $6 billion in additional automatic spending cuts, almost all of which would fall on K-12 schools. The so-called trigger cuts could mean that some districts would have to cut the school year by up to three weeks.

Read more at ABCNews.com….

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President Barack Obama and Warren Buffett in the Oval Office, July 14, 2010. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Senate Republicans defied President Barack Obama on one of his top election-year issues on Monday, derailing a Democratic bill forcing the top US earners to pay at least 30% of their income in taxes.

The vote came the day before Americans’ annual taxes are due.

The 51-45 count along party lines was designed more to win over voters and embarrass senators in close races this election year than to push legislation into law.

Obama denounced the vote, saying: “It’s just plain wrong that millions of middle-class Americans pay a higher share of their income in taxes than some millionaires and billionaires.”

Republicans called the measure a divisive Democratic distraction from the nation’s real problems.

“This legislation will do nothing with regard to job creation, with regard to gas prices, with regard to economic recovery,” said Senator Jon Kyl, the No. 2 Senate Republican leader.

Monday’s vote was the first time a so-called “Buffett rule” proposal has come to a Senate vote this election year. Citing complaints from billionaire Warren Buffett that he pays a lower tax rate than his secretary, Obama has said everyone earning at least $1 million a year or more should pay at least 30% of their income in taxes.

With presidential and congressional elections approaching in November, the vote was a glimpse of the broader battle the two parties are waging over an economy that’s still having a tough time creating enough new jobs.

Read more at the Guardian…

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