GOP Primary Megathread!

[Phillip V]

Amid Rivalry, Friendship Blossoms on the Campaign Trail

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/17/us/politics/mitt-romney-and-ron-paul-friendly-amid-the-rivalry.html

'In a Republican presidential contest known for its angry rivalries, the Romney-Paul relationship stands out for its behind-the-scenes civility. It is a friendship that, by Mr. Paul's telling, Mr. Romney has worked to cultivate. The question is whether it is also one that could pay dividends for Mr. Romney as he faces yet more setbacks in his struggle to capture the 1,144 delegates needed to win the nomination.'

[Razgovory]

Romney was a successful business man, so he's like a hero to Ron Paul.

[DGuller]

Ron Paul sure looks excited to finally meet his idol in person.

[alfred russel]

He probably calculated that making friends with the old guy that can't win might distract people from the fact he is running really nasty smear campaigns on the other candidates.

[Eddie Teach]

Or that he may need Paul's delegates to win.

[Razgovory]

He probably calculated that making friends with the old guy that can't win might distract people from the fact he is running really nasty smear campaigns on the other candidates.

Which one?  I think Paul is angling for VP spot.  Give him a good position to spread his gospel of madness.

[Sheilbh]

Which one?  I think Paul is angling for VP spot.  Give him a good position to spread his gospel of madness.

Oh Lord no

Maybe for his son.  Surely having a 70-something VP's a bit weird.  Plus he'd make Sarah Palin look a master of controlled, restrained, focussed communication.

[Maximus]

Politics is and should be mostly to do with emotions, personality and a gut connection.   I think that's the useful aspect of a campaign - especially the American Presidential one - is that it's grueling enough to reveal something of the candidates' personalities.

Politics is the peach pit of government. It may be necessary to produce the next generation, but is poisonous and should be discarded as soon as feasible.

[CountDeMoney]

Does the GOP's racism know no bounds???

Arundel councilman uses ethnic slur during meeting
Broadneck's Ladd refers to 'gooks' while recalling Army service
baltimoresun.com


An Anne Arundel County councilman used an ethnic slur during a council meeting held Thursday night to appoint a replacement for a vacant seat on the body.

Councilman Richard B. "Dick" Ladd, a Broadneck Republican, referred to "gooks" from his seat on the dais when speaking about his time serving in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War.

While questioning a candidate for the vacant seat on the council, Ladd remarked on their similar Army service. When another councilman teased Ladd, 71, about which war he may have served during, Ladd said: "I was in the Vietnam War. It wasn't the Revolutionary War. I was there chasing down the gooks."

The comment elicited gasps throughout the council chambers, where dozens were assembled to watch the candidate interview process.

Ladd, who piloted helicopters on combat missions in Vietnam, briefly attempted to explain his use of the term as the "technical term for North Koreans," but quickly moved on.

After becoming aware that a reporter had sought comment from several council members, Ladd gave an apology, which was met with applause from spectators.

"I need to apologize," said Ladd. "It was a term that I used in my past. If I offended anybody, I take the hit on that."

During a break in the meeting, Ladd explained his comments further, saying, "It's a term of art that is used for opponents. If you want to say it's an ethnic slur, then I'm OK with that. I understand this and that's why I apologized."

Several of his council colleagues declined to comment. Councilman John J. Grasso, a Glen Burnie Republican, dismissed the incident.

"Who cares?" said Grasso. "It's old war talk."

The online Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word as "A non-white or non-American person, specifically Asian" and advises, "usually offensive." Historically, the term was used by American soldiers serving in Asian countries.

In 2000, Arizona Sen. John McCain, who was a prisoner of war for five years during the Vietnam War, called his captors "gooks." According to The New York Times, he apologized.

[The Brain]

Did he find many North Koreans there?

[garbon]

Does the GOP's racism know no bounds???

[fhdz]

Politics is and should be mostly to do with emotions, personality and a gut connection.

That sentiment may be, in fact, one of the fundamental problems with our style of representative government - we choose our leaders based on this "emotional, personal, gut connection" but the real business of governing has almost an inverse relationship with those things. It is a very technical, arcane endeavor, fraught with almost gnostic movement through various spheres of influence, legal boundaries, reams and reams of data, and very much geared *theoretically* toward compromise and consensus. It is possible that the more we elect leaders based on our "gut feelings", the more those leaders actually have come to believe that the reason they are in Washington is to be a conduit for our emotions, instead of...well...governors.

Emotional politics like the ones currently guiding our electorate may make for a good circus, but does it make for good government?

[Eddie Teach]

Does the GOP's racism know no bounds???

So a GOP city councilman used a racial epithet while a Democratic Congresswoman referred to her GOP colleagues as "demons" and which story do you pick up on? 

[Valmy]

So a GOP city councilman used a racial epithet while a Democratic Congresswoman referred to her GOP colleagues as "demons" and which story do you pick up on? 

The one he can make the best hypocrtical joke out of?

[fhdz]

Does the GOP's racism know no bounds???

So a GOP city councilman used a racial epithet while a Democratic Congresswoman referred to her GOP colleagues as "demons" and which story do you pick up on? 

Demons aren't real.