Tune in by clicking here at 6pm pacific. Tonight’s topics: Rubio V Biden, Will Obama supporters really attack Rubio’s alleged inexperience with a straight face? Which states are in play in the electoral college? And why do horrific crimes committed by or against unattractive people get less media coverage? Your calls welcome. 877-653-8381
The show is available anytime in the archive as well. Click the same link.
Interesting comments about Rubio tonight, very insightful. One point should not be overlooked, there is a lot of Big Money in Miami, not just in the Cuban community but in Latin American banks, wholesalers, you name it.. They will spend it for Rubio, imo.
I do recall that he had some problems with improper use of Party credit cards during his campaign, I don’t remember if they were true or not true, or perhaps he paid back the money, but he won anyway.
Karl Denninger at Market Ticker has been writing that Rubio, like the zero man, is not a natural born citizen. Denninger lives in Florida and his site gets a lot of traffic. Evidently neither one of Rubio’s parents were citizens when Marco was born, which makes him a citizen but not natural born.
I would guess, given the continued non-natural born issue zero man continues to face, that Rubio could face the same thing. I wonder if the GOP would want to go down that road.
I wonder, given the questions about zero’s citizenship, if the Dems want to challenge Rubio’s history. Oh yeah, I remember now, it’s okay if you’re a Democrat.
this theory that both parents must have been citizens to make one a “natural born” citizen is nonsense as far as i can tell. It seems to be something made up or “discovered” very recently. do any courts back up the distinction between being born here, having one US citizen parent, or both to make one “natural born” ? (Who the hell would know in many cases? Are we saying women and men who’s father is unknown can never be POTUS…??) rubio was born in florida. end of story.
I’d like to see this idea litigated. I don’t buy that the founders intended to stop first generation immigrants at a certain level….and reserve the Presidency for the 2nd generation on….
That’s not true, is it?
I thought everybody born on US soil and issued a US birth certificate is natural born. No?
The problem with Obama was that he, unlike John McCain who was also challenged about his citizenship, refused to produce his birth certificate during the 2008 campaign.
Very worth a listen – Dershowitz on why the prosecutor overstepped, in more than one way: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2012/04/25/dershowitz_affidavit_submitted_by_prosecutor_in_zimmerman_case_a_crime.html
Myiq has another good piece up this morning about Zimmerman, at Crawdad:
http://crayfisher.wordpress.com/2012/04/26/a-nuanced-portrait/
based on a long Reuters profile of Z from yesterday afternoon that provides a lot of relevant background info about Z. I know you’ll want to read it:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/25/us-usa-florida-shooting-zimmerman-idUSBRE83O18H20120425
zal, the article (a good read) is front page on MSNBO – and so are the thoughts of Rodney King. I haven’t read it yet.
The Reuters article is excellent, leslie. A must read filled with facts and context that hasn’t been published before — and should have been.
There’s one unanswered question for me, after reading it, which may or may not be relevant to the Martin shooting. Zimmerman’s personality seems to be both helpful generous and also possibly uncontrolled aggressive. On one hand he’s described by a neighbor as “so mellow and calm, very helpful and very, very sweet,” after helping her subsequent to a frightening break in at her home. And his childhood involvement in the Church and having three after-school and weekend jobs at the age of 15 paint a picture of a responsible person, or anyway someone who strives to be responsible. But it reports that, “at 14 he became obsessed with becoming a Marine,” without reporting what that “obsession” was about (doing good or authoritarianism – Marines, and the church, can be both) or what happened to it (clearly he didn’t join the service), and his 2005 business failure and arrest for assault in a bar and restraining order from his fiancee, followed by accepting anger management class in lieu of conviction, also later buying a handgun and a Rottweiler in response to crime in his neighborhood indicate aggressiveness that might veer beyond his ability to control.
In any event it’s a report that a responsible media would have researched and published in the first week this became a national story, and a genuinely concerned President would have considered before commenting.
If the Defense can convey that story in the Reuters article, it’s an acquittal.
In reference to myiq’s post, it is excellent. He also links to Jeralyn whose post was really informative and ever so worthwhile.
http://www.talkleft.com/story/2012/4/25/214812/118
Zaladonis, Zimmerman’s father is retired career military. Often boys of around that age emulate fathers and later decide it isn’t for them. Both of my sons did it as hubby was a naval officer as was his father until he sat them down and explained it thoroughly and how he couldn’t wait to get out although he was glad he did it. It was not considered so glamorous and adventurous after that. This Reuters story does show what a profound influence his father has been on him.
Lulu that makes perfect sense. Thanks. Feel dumb that I missed it – I mean, I was a son too, was going to be a doctor until I realized a cool black bag, white coat and stethoscope were the accessories and not the job.
Zal, in the previous post you mention the current generation’s fascination with shiny objects, and basic lack of imagination, or that is how I interpreted it.
If you want proof of this, look no further than HGTV, on their many house hunting shows, vapid young people wander around mini mansions and proclaim them ‘too small’ for three people, never mind keeping them clean, repaired and heated, that will happen magically, or probably not at all…. Last night, a young couple who can’t be more than 3 or 4 years, at most, into their careers, jumped with glee at their incredible luck in ‘scoring’ a 650 K fixer. Granite countertops are to this generation as Corvettes were to ours
. Our cave man ancestors wanted a flat stone surface on which to work too, so not much progress there, but at least they used them for actual Work. Why anyone needs a stone surface on which to open take out food boxes is a mystery to me. It is all so banal, yet scary as hell. If these self centered brats are our future, we are indeed, in deep muck.
At least our dream cars would have taken us somewhere interesting, and that was the point, becoming our parents, was not.
I think I’ll go back to Monk re-runs.
Oh don’t get me started on those HGTV house hunting shows! My husband likes to watch them on weekends, though I don’t know why because he has to listen to me snark at the TV set. They look at a perfectly usable kitchen that’s 10 years old and exclaim, “Oh this has to go, it’s so dated!” The notion of using appliances or countertops until they wear out is inconceivable to them, they must be stainless steel and granite or out they go. And that’s in THIS economy.
I was telling my husband just this week that the reason there’s been no real uprising yet is because we are so bloated with riches and entitlement it’s taking a while for the reality of what’s happening to sink in. People, even those “struggling,” still have easy access to food and clothing and a fun gadget or two, or more, can still lease new cars or buy them at zero percent financing; maybe the once-upper-middle have to give up landscaping services but they buy $5000 garden tractors with zero financing. The whole finance industry is such a racket and Americans just keep buying into it.
Back to the HGTV shows though, people who got into a reasonably secure job under the wire or otherwise have decent paying jobs are finding great deals on real estate (while someone else loses their shirts and their dream, but doesn’t have anybody advocating for them so inch by inch they just slip under the bus). For the less fortunate, when unemployment runs out they can draw on SS disability, which seems like a good safety net but I wonder if it’s only delaying the inevitable. The structures that are supposedly (and may well have been) designed to help and protect us are becoming tools to dig ourselves deeper and deeper into a hole that’ll be increasingly hard to find a way out of.
iPod = Soma
“this theory that both parents must have been citizens to make one a “natural born” citizen is nonsense as far as i can tell. It seems to be something made up or “discovered” very recently”
Actually, it’s the other way around.
In recent decades, the first clause of the 14th amendment has been *interpreted* in some circles [read: pinko commie law professors; La Raza] to mean that anyone born on US soil, even to foreign parents, gets automatic citizenship. And that is the current INS *policy*, but not an expressed intent of the Framers. Indeed, the purpose of the 14th amendment is very clear, and narrow in scope, while the standard meaning of “natural born citizen” current in the 18th century was ‘born of citizen parents.’
In 2008, this whole issues should have been resolved with a court ruling, and *before* being allowed to run, obama should have been compelled to prove he met citizenship requirements by producing a valid, complete BC.
But we don’t run our country by Rule of Law any longer, so the GOP should pick Rubio, and dare the obots to make a stink. The obots are stupid enough to do it. Then obama’s triple citizenship would be fair game.
It would not surprise me to learn that Rubio’s citizenship status is one of his attractions, if the R’s are being smart, but that may be too much to expect.
Would love to see a good donnybrook over ‘eligibility’.
John,
I would be very surprised if obama’s team questions Rubio’s experience or citizenship. That would be ironic, wouldn’t it?
Nonetheless, I still have this nagging feeling that tugs at me whenever I see pundits and bloggers expound about Rubio’s “leadership qualities” and what a great choice he would be for VP and then I think of those women who had more experience and “gravitas” but who were mocked and dismissed as not having enough experience. After what we witnessed in 2008, with Hillary and Sarah, and then again, in 2011 with Bachmann, It never ceases to amaze me how easily people still can push forth a young man, with little experience (and who admits he has not gained enough experience yet to consider higher office) without one bit of push back by anyone in the MSM or either party regarding his lack of experience.
I have no doubt that no woman with the same experience and charm as Rubio would NEVER be considred for the VP spot and the fact that this fact is still as prominent, despite what we all were supposed to have learned from ignoring the significance of allowing a light weight like obama be viewed as a viable candidate for the presidency.
Why hasn’t there been the same kind of emphasis on Rubio’s lack of experience as there was with Hillary, Palin and Bachmann? It’s as if we are living in a parallel universe whenever the contest is between men and no woman is involved. I just can’t compartmentalize reality that way, nor can I let it slide that, once again, we are falling into the same trap of choosing less qualified men and not even considering the possibility of a more qualified woman for the VP spot. Surely, the GOP has at least one woman who could be considered along with Rubio!
“Why hasn’t there been the same kind of emphasis on Rubio’s lack of experience as there was with Hillary, Palin and Bachmann? It’s as if we are living in a parallel universe whenever the contest is between men and no woman is involved.”
Join in that.
One thing though, Wynne, there are two women being considered by Romney: Susana Martinez, Gov. of NM and Ayote (sp?) of NH. They’re both fairly young and recent entrants in politics. I do think things are changing, but your basic observation (quoted above) is still true.
NoEmptySuits,
That’s great that Romney is considering women, but you rarely, if ever, hear about them with the same consistency and passion as you do when it’s about Rubio. If they were as serious about these 2 women, we would hear about them as much as we have about Rubio, which is beginning to become “ad nauseum”, if you ask me.
Haven’t women waited long enough for the chance to bring “real change” to how we govern ourselves. As long as we keep repeating ourselves with the same kinds of political leaders, nothing is going to change, especially for women. In fact, we all know that without an equal number of women in power, women will continue to be viewed as second class citizens.
“Haven’t women waited long enough for the chance to bring “real change” to how we govern ourselves. As long as we keep repeating ourselves with the same kinds of political leaders, nothing is going to change, especially for women. In fact, we all know that without an equal number of women in power, women will continue to be viewed as second class citizens.”
You’ll never get an argument from me on that.
What NES said.
A friend and I were just talking about a female VP today. She thinks O will drop Biden and latch on to Hillary, and Hill will agree for the good of the Party. Not so sure on the agreement part myself. But please refer above to my thought that Rubio could bring some Very Big money to the table, and probably swing Florida. In the end, it’s all about the money and the electoral college.
So, it’s all Biden’s fault? I thought it was all Bush’ fault.
try to keep up Tamer..