This is really a lot of fun:
@PeterHambyCNN
Peter Hamby
Incredible moments in politics: Romney visits OH GOP phone bank to rally troops opposing SB5 repeal, but refuses to take a position on SB5
It doesn’t matter what he says. Romney has already come out in favor of race-to-the-bottom “Right To Work”, although no one has asked him in the last twenty minutes, so who the hell knows. Even Mitch Daniels wasn’t stupid enough to keep pushing that (publicly, anyway) after he discovered his statehouse was filled with outraged working people.
According to the latest Quinnipiac poll, Ohioans now oppose Issue 2 by a margin of 57% to 32%–a whopping twenty-five point margin two weeks out from the election, essentially back to where Quinnipiac showed the campaign in July before the ad wars and campaigning began in earnest. In September, the margin was thirteen points, meaning opposition has nearly doubled as Kasich has taken to the road and campaigned across the State on behalf of Issue 2.
If you’re in Ohio, vote.
Zifnab
I wonder if any of Romney’s opponents will try and pin his support for SB5 on his head in Ohio. That would be amusing to see.
GregB
Can we refer to him as Man of the People Mitt?
kay
@Zifnab:
He doesn’t support or oppose it. He just visits random phone banks. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he showed up at one of ours.
Villago Delenda Est
OvenMitt is such a fucking loser. He’s got FAIL stamped on his damn forehead.
The thing is, he did the stamping himself.
JCT
Hmmm, perhaps he was indoors and couldn’t stick his finger in the wind?
He gives the word “weak” new meaning.
kay
@JCT:
All the (elected) Republicans at the federal level are doing this. I called Portman (Senate) and my GOP House member last week, and they wouldn’t take a position.
I’m going to keep calling them, because it’s entertaining, and that’s important, that I be amused :)
bkny
ohio is quite practiced in hinky vote-counting; don’t get your hopes up.
kay
@bkny:
Thanks, sunshine, for that word of warning. None of us here are familiar with voting.
Yutsano
@kay: Ouch. :)
Steve
Wow, that tweet is awesome. Just when you think you’ve seen everything in politics.
kay
@Steve:
It’s up on The Washington Monthly so I’d like to amend:
Romney says he “supports what Ohio Republicans are doing”
Except on the actual issues, I guess.
I don’t know what else Ohio Republicans do. Golf?
Steve
@kay: Invest in rare coins?
Martin
@kay:
Rentboy.com
bkny
@kay: ooohhhh, snark…
kay
@Martin:
We’ll see if the weasel can somehow partition Ohio off from Michigan, which as you know is (one of his) “homes”, and his campaign practically camps there.
mistermix
Romney is heading for Perry territory. That’s why Herman is beating both of these hothouse flowers like a rented mule.
PWL
I wonder if the voters will figure out that Mitt is the same kind of profit-for-profit’s-sake corporate robot who’ve brought us the wonders of economic meltdown (anybody remember Bain Capital?).
I love the reason he gave for not wanting his landscaper to hire illegal aliens: “I’m running for office, for Pete’s sake!” Not because it was wrong or immoral. No, it was all about what it would do for HIM, and his chances for office.
I’ll never know why America seems to love these bloodless, calculator-hearted corporate types. I mean, that type is just what we don’t need–someone who doesn’t see people-just Corporate Profit Units….
kay
@mistermix:
Romney is in a class by himself. He’s a cartoon character.
Every day, mistermix. Every single day he changes his mind.
I still think he’s going to be the nominee.
ImJohnGalt
It’s exceedingly likely that in 3 weeks I’m going to be at a dining table with David Brooks. Yes, *THAT* David Brooks. Think that perhaps in the next open thread we could get some recommendations for serious reading material to prepare me for our dinner, as well as suggestions for questions/topics of conversation?
I know I could just read pretty much all of driftglass’ posts, or anything recently by DougJ, but if there are any particular egregious ones of late (dredging back to 2004 to ask him why people against the Iraq war were anti-semites might be fun, but easily swatted away by “I’ve evolved”, or “it was a joke”.)
Malaclypse
It’s a pornography store. Mitt was buying pornography.
Evolving Deep Southerner (tense changed for accuracy)
@Villago Delenda Est: Hey, just like Morton Downey Jr.!
feebog
First, SB 5 will go down in flames in Ohio in Novmeber, then Wisconson will recall Scott Walker sometime in April. Anyone care to guess who will win the trifecta?
jibeaux
It’s simple, really. If he doesn’t take any positions on anything, then he doesn’t have to remember what his previous position on it was or what his current position on it is. It’s a lot easier that way.
pamelabrown
@kay:
Actually, Romney reminds me of a talking Ken doll. If Romney is the nominee which I think he will be, by default, I’d love for the Democratic Convention to pass out Ken Doll dressed in a suit and wearing flip-flops.
warn
There’s a huge ‘Citizen Kang’ vibe with all of these guys (including Cain)
“Abortions for some, miniature American flags for others!”
Nemesis
Voting NO on Issue 2. Suck it, Kasich.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@kay: Multiple Choice Mitt, indeed.
Mike in NC
Mitt Romney: A noun, a verb, and a flip-flop.
redbeardjim
Kay, have you heard much about Issue 3, the constitutional amendment to block Obamacare in Ohio? I didn’t even know it existed until I got robo-polled about it last week.
TenguPhule
How hard would it be to slip a cyanide capsule into his cocktail?
Or failing that, arrange for him to be alone in a dark parking garage with no security cameras?
Barry
@PWL: “I wonder if the voters will figure out that Mitt is the same kind of profit-for-profit’s-sake corporate robot who’ve brought us the wonders of economic meltdown (anybody remember Bain Capital?).”
GOP voters – no, they won’t. They’ll grumble, they’ll piss and moan, but in the end they’ll vote for the GOP candidate.
If he loses, they’ll pile on like they were always against him, but that’s after he loses.
Josie
Here’s another flip-flop I’ve been saving for a post on Mitt.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/10/24/1029626/-Mitt-Romney-flip-flops-on-his-own-attack-of-President-Obamas-housing-policy-after-just-one-week?via=blog_1
The campaign ad just writes itself.
JenJen
Just got my Vote-By-Mail ballot in the mail today, and honestly can’t wait to stick it to Kasich and stand up for Ohio workers. I’m going to skip all the way to the mailbox!
kay
@redbeardjim:
I have, but I had to look for it. It’s going to pass, because the ballot wording is ridiculously favorable.
It’s the Tea Party issue. Republicans had to put it on the ballot because they have to placate the Tea Party.
I think it will pass, and I think it will backfire, because it’s poorly drafted. It’s going to affect a lot of current Ohio law, and be a litigation engine. The Tea Party will thus be responsible for a lot of worthless litigation, because they can’t draft a law.
Then there’s the little matter of the US Constitution, and the supremacy clause.
So, the short answer is it will pass because no one knows what it is, and everyone will hate it when they find out what it is.
JCT
Gee, looks like Kasich and his pals are about to get run over by their own bus.
What a world, what a world.
If Romney is the nominee the Democrats are going to have a FIELD day with ads.
kay
@redbeardjim:
I love this:
Few Ohioans, including the entire membership of the Tea Party, appear to have actually read the full text of the proposed amendment :)
I think they outlawed county health departments, but I’m not sure. Anyway, bring on the lawyers!
kay
@redbeardjim:
The best part is, conservatives have done this once before:
They need some kind of Heritage workshop on amending the state constitution. They try it every five minutes, and they still can’t get it right.
redbeardjim
@kay: Well, that’s what’s got me so confused — they don’t actually care about the effects of issues like this, they put them on the ballot to fire up the base in presidential election years. Why’d they stick this one in an off year?
kay
@redbeardjim:
What I read was that the Tea Party wanted it on, but the Tea Party couldn’t manage to get the signatures (even with all their alleged grassrootedness) so the GOP got the signatures for them.
I think Republicans have to do what the Tea Party wants, don’t you? Ostensibly? Supposedly? In theory?
The Issue Three signs here are, indeed, outside Tea Party households.
I went to an event where I was supposed to explain Issue 3 to people, and it was really difficult. I lost them about 5 minutes in, and we ended up talking about voting rights. I’m not explaining this ridiculous law, I decided, and they weren’t listening anyway. No one has read it, no one understands it, and I’m not doing 20 minutes on the supremacy clause. I don’t even think I HAVE 20 minutes on the supremacy clause.
I could talk really slow? Say this?
Just leave it to courts to sort out, is my approach, because that’s where it’s going to end up anyway.
If the Tea Party want to secede, or nullify, or whatever the hell they’re about, I’m FOR that :)
HyperIon
Kay, you are getting snarky!
It’s interesting to watch you change/evolve/adapt as this issue continues forward.
Hang in there and keep up the excellent work on this issue. I’m thinking good thoughts.