WN: CNN Poll: Gingrich soars, Cain drops - CNN

[Guest shiloh357]

First off, Cain has dropped 11 points in the polls, so its not as though its "made him more popular". I think his drop in the polls is more attributable to performances like this on his part than the scandal though.

Polls fluctuate all the time. Given the demographics polled you can get a variety of results. Polls are not generally reliable whent it comes to up and down fluctuations.

forrestkc, on 17 November 2011 - 08:29 PM, said:

I know you guys must think I am some hardcore leftist, but thats probably because on here it seems like the ideological range is between far right wing and extreme right wing so you see someone thats fairly moderate on here and they look like a commie to you.

Oh please... We are not too stupid to know what a moderate looks like. We have moderates on here and you are not a moderate.

[Matthitjah]

I know you guys must think I am some hardcore leftist, but thats probably because on here it seems like the ideological range is between far right wing and extreme right wing so you see someone thats fairly moderate on here and they look like a commie to you.

I don't think you're a moderate at all. I rather believe that you're a poll pusher for the Obama Admin. I'm actually beginning to think that maybe you work for Sojourners.

[Guest]

I don't intend to vote for Obama unless some clown like Cain is nominated. He is a nice guy, he has no business being president though. I would prefer Huntsman (even contributed to his campaign), but most likely he won't be the nominee. I am not a huge fan of Romney's flip flopping, but I think he has the skills and knowledge to help get the economy moving again, thus I will probably vote for him should he get the nomination. The country is a mess right now. We had 8 destructive years of Bush, and Obama is not doing the job either, so I want someone in the White House to fix things and get the country moving forward again. That is why I care.

I know you guys must think I am some hardcore leftist, but thats probably because on here it seems like the ideological range is between far right wing and extreme right wing so you see someone that's fairly moderate on here and they look like a commie to you.

Dear Brother, Barry May Look Like A Commie And An Islamic Sympathizer To Me

They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief. The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining: Joel 2:9-10

But You Beloved, Ain't No Barry

O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee. Psalm 84:12

How Are Your Children Doing?

[forrestkc]

I have a few questions for Forrest. Do you consider McCain a moderate?

No, of course not. His voting record would not be that of a moderate even though is rhetoric was at times. McCain would talk an "independent" game, but he would vote party line almost always. I would say that McCain if anything would be moderately conservative.

Do you acknowledge Obama is a liberal?

Yes, of course Obama is a liberal. He is in no way the most liberal president we have ever had though. He is definitely no where near as liberal as LBJ or FDR were for example.

If you are a moderate, how do you explain supporting Obama?

McCain at the time was not deviating much at all in his campaign proposals from the Bush era economic and foreign policy. Given the state of the nation in 2008 (involved in 2 wars, very divided, worst financial crisis since the great depression, job losses of several hundred thousand jobs a month and an economy in free fall), it looked like we need a change. Obama has not done the job in terms of turning around the economy, so we need another change.

If Romney or Huntsman get the GOP nomination, would you Forrest commit to supporting them over Obama?

Of course. If by some long-shot Huntsman was to get the nomination I know of a lot of liberals and Democrats that would vote for him as well. Huntsman has a pretty conservative record, but he talks like a moderate so he appeals to Democrats. On paper he looks like a solid Republican. However, to listen to him he sounds progressive. I think that's why he would have broad appeal in a general election but is not that appealing to Republican Primary voters. Just the same, even though I would support either of them, it should be of little consolation to you as I live in a very red state and it's electoral votes will go to the Republican candidate either way.

[nebula]

I've heard that the Conservatives now are what the Liberals were, and the Liberals now are Socialist/Communist/Fascist (take your pick which).

And that is why we have this disagreement over labels.

[nebula]

Bingo!

Why Newt would be a bad choice for president (posted on FB by a an old friend who is quite liberal):

The Inside Man

Published: November 18, 2011

For months, Newt Gingrich tried to ingratiate himself with the Republican Party’s right wing by tearing down the two government-sponsored mortgage companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He joined the counterfactual conservative chorus that prefers to blame the companies for the housing crisis rather than the banks. He lamented their cozy relationship to Washington’s insiders. And he was rewarded with a swell of support from the anybody-but-Mitt-Romney crowd.

The self-styled reform candidate left out a small detail. He made a great deal of money from Freddie Mac for many years, and he was deeply tied to its power structure.

This week, Bloomberg News reported that Freddie Mac paid him between $1.6 million and $1.8 million in “consulting fees” over eight years beginning in 1999, ostensibly to help design a program to expand home ownership, among other policy matters.

The real reason he was hired, as company officials make clear, was to act as a liaison to conservatives on Capitol Hill. It wasn’t technically a lobbying job, but in 2006 Freddie needed help with rising Republican anger at the companies, and the former speaker of the House had the right credentials. That’s typical of the mortgage companies, which over the years have handed out large paychecks to many of the biggest names in Washington, from both parties, in hopes of staying on everyone’s good side.

It’s also typical of Mr. Gingrich, who has become quite prosperous trading on his influence in Washington while simultaneously pretending he despises the city’s essential nature. The man who regularly rails against “the Washington culture of consultants” is one of its better-paid members. On Friday, The Washington Post reported that one of his think tanks collected $37 million over the last eight years from health care companies and insurers that wanted to be close to a prominent Republican.

Full report here

[forrestkc]

I've heard that the Conservatives now are what the Liberals were, and the Liberals now are Socialist/Communist/Fascist (take your pick which).

And that is why we have this disagreement over labels.

That is absolutely absurd. Conservatives today are well to the right of what American conservatives were even 20 years ago. Liberals today if anything are not nearly as liberal as they were prior to the Reagan era. Ronald Reagan would be a moderate in today's Republican Party. If American Liberals are communists, then what are Canadians being they are well to the left of American Liberals? What are Europeans, the Japanese, or Australians being they are all well to the left of American Liberals. The left wing of the Democratic Party argues that we should have a social contract in America more like they have in Canada, is Canada all of a sudden the Soviet Union?

I am not arguing for such a system, I am just pointing out that the comparison you are making is completely divorced from reality.

[~candice~]

What are Europeans, the Japanese, or Australians being they are all well to the left of American Liberals.

No we aren't . Did you know that the biggest party on the left does not even support gay marriage? How left is that? We have a minor left party (the Greens) who are pro gay and pro environmental reform but their fiscal policy is so weak they are a joke and their leader Bob Brown even admitted it himself.

[~candice~]

Actually I find the term liberal terribly uninformative. I am a fiscal liberal social conservative, so what do you call me? I have an Aunt who married an American and lived for 35 years in Washington before she divorced him and moved back here. She is an 'American liberal' and we are nothing alike. But the difference from what I hear from her, and what I hear here, is light years apart .

[Cajunluvie]

Actually, it isn't "EXTREME" right.

There are people who actually have a more strigent view that goes further than that.

There is something called a "spectrum".