STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Thursday, 27 September 2012

[Demeter]

16. 2 Major Views About Why Romney is Losing, and Why the 2nd is More Convincing By Robert Reich

http://www.nationofchange.org/two-major-views-about-why-romney-losing-and-why-second-more-convincing-1348582886


...There are two major theories about why Romney is dropping in the polls. One is Romney is a lousy candidate, unable to connect with people or make his case. The second is that Americans are finally beginning to see how radical the GOP has become, and are repudiating it. 



Many Republicans — including some of the right-wingers I’ve been debating — hold to the first view, for obvious reasons. If Romney fails to make a comeback this week, I expect even more complaints from this crowd about Romney’s personal failings, as well as the inadequacies of his campaign staff. But the second explanation strikes me as more compelling. The Republican primaries, and then the Republican convention, have shown America a party far removed from the “compassionate conservatism” the GOP tried to sell in 2000. Instead, we have a party that’s been taken over by Tea Partiers, nativists, social Darwinists, homophobes, right-wing evangelicals, and a few rich people whose only interest is to become even wealthier. These regressives were there in 2000, to be sure. They lurked in the GOP in the 1990s, when Newt Gingrich took over the House. They were there in the 1980s, too, although Ronald Reagan’s sunny disposition gave them cover. In truth, they’ve been part of the GOP for more than half a century — but never before have they held so much sway in the party, never before have they called the shots.

The second view about Romney’s decline also explains the “negative coat-tail” effect — why so many Republicans around the country in Senate and House races are falling behind. Scott Brown, for example, is well-liked in Massachusetts. But his polls have been dropping in recent weeks because he’s had to carry the burden of the public’s increasing dislike of the Republican Party. The same is true with regard to Republican senate races in Florida, Virginia, and every other battleground state.

Romney’s failing isn’t that he’s a bad candidate. To the contrary, he’s giving this GOP exactly what it wants in a candidate. And that’s exactly the problem for Romney — as it is for every other Republican candidate — because what the GOP wants is not at all what the rest of America wants.

WELL, YES, AND NO. ALL THAT REICH SAYS IS TRUE, BUT PERHAPS THE GREATEST PROBLEM IS THE LOSS OF ANY KIND OF "PUBLIC SERVANT" ATTITUDE ON BOTH SIDES OF THE POLITICAL EQUATION.

TOO MANY PEOPLE HAVE DIVIDED THE COUNTRY INTO "US' AND "THEM", OR AS ONE OF MY EUCHRE PLAYERS CALLS IT: TEAM EVIL.

THAT'S NO WAY TO RUN A COUNTRY, ESPECIALLY NOT A REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY.

AND OCCUPY IS OFFERING THE ALTERNATIVE....AN "US" THAT WE CAN BELONG TO, AND A "THEM" THAT NO ONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD SUPPORT.