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And the Race to the Center starts....
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There's still two months left before the election, and Romney is already starting to tack Left....
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-09-09/romney-says-he-likes-parts-of-obamacare
Don't get me wrong: I think this is a very good thing. It shows that Romney has a very pragmatic side, and as President may just come up with compromises that give up a little bit from his side in order to benefit the rest of the country.
His statement simply makes sense: for all the frothing on the Right about Obamacare, there are things about it that the public genuinely likes. They are generally things that Romney did in Massachusetts, although with important differences in the details. If Romney has said these things during the Primaries, he would have been thrown off the campaign bus faster than you could say "Jon Huntsman". But now that he's secured the nomination (and somehow kept Ron Paul from going independent), he can say these things and all he has to do is not go so far toward the Center that his base would rather stay home than vote for him.
Look for Obama to pull to the Center, too, although I think it will be less obvious, because he got the nomination by default, and didn't have to tack Left for any primaries, so he has a shorter path back to the Center for the general election.
I would like to humbly propose keeping this thread to make note of things that both candidates are saying specifically to engage centrists and the six voters left in the country who are undecided, and that they would never had said at the party conventions....
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Clinically Insane
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It strikes me that with the Democrats' saw being he's a flip-flopper, moving to the center is going to cause more damage than it normally would.
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I don't know that I'd necessarily consider this a "move to the center". He's always framed ACA as repeal and replace and of course replace would include some of the popular measures recognized as problematic well before ACA was signed into law. I guess I'll give you the acceptance of children remaining on their parents' coverage to 26 yrs old as somewhat of a moderation in stance, but that's only because of how other Republicans have framed this piece. It's not among the more contentious and the least contentious of all appear to be what Romney is supporting. He's also saying to "make health care more available for those with pre-existing conditions", but that could just as easily be a foreshadowing of some bold market solutions to this issue such as opening the market on a national level without creating new bureaucracy to administer the issue.
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ebuddy
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And, he's already flipped back: http://www.salon.com/2012/09/10/romneys_latest_flip_flop_flip/singleton/
Yep, this is definitely a guy who can stare down the enemies of the USA with determination.
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Maybe he has a twin brother we don't know about?
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Bush Tax Cuts == Job Killer
June 2001: 132,047,000 employed
June 2003: 129,839,000 employed
2.21 million jobs were LOST after 2 years of Bush Tax Cuts.
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Clinically Insane
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Originally Posted by ebuddy
I don't know that I'd necessarily consider this a "move to the center". He's always framed ACA as repeal and replace
Fact Check: TRUE
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/mar/23/news/la-pn-romney-healthcare-anniversary-20120323
Article from back in March where Romney mentions "repeal and replace".
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I don't see Obama moving to the center.
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45/47
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Clinically Insane
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Originally Posted by Chongo
I don't see Obama moving to the center.
What do you consider the center? I think you probably need some calibration.
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Originally Posted by besson3c
What do you consider the center? I think you probably need some calibration.
Can you give an example of Obama moderating any of his positions?
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45/47
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Clinically Insane
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Originally Posted by Chongo
Can you give an example of Obama moderating any of his positions?
Easy, ObamaCare.
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Originally Posted by besson3c
Easy, ObamaCare.
Violating the 1st amendment rights of millions of Americans is a moderate position?
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45/47
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Clinically Insane
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Originally Posted by Chongo
Violating the 1st amendment rights of millions of Americans is a moderate position?
GWB did it. Oh wait...
Most states are going to ignore the individual mandate, mine included, making it worthless.
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"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
- Thomas Paine
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Not the Individual mandate, the HHS mandate. The owner of Hobby Lobby stands to get fined $1.3 million a day. The fine is $100 a day per employee.
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45/47
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Told ya so.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-10/romney-risks-base-with-an-appeal-to-center-on-abortion.html
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20121009/ARTICLES/121009537
It's no real secret. If Romney is going to pull this off, he has to pick off centrist Obama voters who voted for him last time around. He can't do that and campaign as far Right as he did in the Primary.
As I said earlier in the thread, Obama doesn't have as far to move to get to the center because he didn't have a primary season where he needed to tack left to begin with.
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Posting Junkie
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Originally Posted by Dork.
Told ya so.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-10/romney-risks-base-with-an-appeal-to-center-on-abortion.html
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20121009/ARTICLES/121009537
It's no real secret. If Romney is going to pull this off, he has to pick off centrist Obama voters who voted for him last time around. He can't do that and campaign as far Right as he did in the Primary.
As I said earlier in the thread, Obama doesn't have as far to move to get to the center because he didn't have a primary season where he needed to tack left to begin with.
I disagree with this premise. First, the top article you pasted is trying to paint Romney as moving left by citing Ryan's position which I'm sure you could agree is dubious. Lest we forget that Biden and Obama differed on one of the most hotly debated subjects of the 2008 election; Iraq.
I think what Romney is carefully referring to is an attempt to overturn Roe V Wade. There's little doubt in my mind that pro-life will be a litmus of his judicial appointments and after his comments regarding PBS, I also have little doubt that he'd support a defunding or in the least, decreased funding for Planned Parenthood.
Again, this is an election between "don't raise any taxes when the economy's hurting" - Obama (or... I'm anti-gay marriage now pro-gay marriage Obama or any of the other noteworthy flops of his service as POTUS) and "There’s no legislation with regards to abortion that I’m familiar with that would become part of my agenda” - Romney. All he's really saying is that Ryan's bill would not pass and there's no reason to risk votes over a plan that would likely not pass. I think he's more shrewd than this and is no more guilty of pandering than the man he's running against.
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ebuddy
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Originally Posted by ebuddy
I disagree with this premise. First, the top article you pasted is trying to paint Romney as moving left by citing Ryan's position which I'm sure you could agree is dubious. Lest we forget that Biden and Obama differed on one of the most hotly debated subjects of the 2008 election; Iraq.
I think what Romney is carefully referring to is an attempt to overturn Roe V Wade. There's little doubt in my mind that pro-life will be a litmus of his judicial appointments and after his comments regarding PBS, I also have little doubt that he'd support a defunding or in the least, decreased funding for Planned Parenthood.
Again, this is an election between "don't raise any taxes when the economy's hurting" - Obama (or... I'm anti-gay marriage now pro-gay marriage Obama or any of the other noteworthy flops of his service as POTUS) and "There’s no legislation with regards to abortion that I’m familiar with that would become part of my agenda” - Romney. All he's really saying is that Ryan's bill would not pass and there's no reason to risk votes over a plan that would likely not pass. I think he's more shrewd than this and is no more guilty of pandering than the man he's running against.
Meanwhile, Obama double downs on his support for Planned Parenthood and the HHS mandate.
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45/47
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