Craig Crawford: Romney is screwed.

[RandySF]

Now we know Mitt Romney knows what we knew: He’s screwed!

He can’t win on his own. Why else pick a running mate who delights right wingers but risks losing one of the GOP nominee’s strongest demographic blocs – retirees.

WI Rep. Paul Ryan’s plan to privatize Medicare is about as politically toxic as it gets. In picking this darling of conservative elites Romney is spread eagle on the third rail.

Now we know he knows it. This decision shows just how insecure he is about holding his party’s base. He got bullied into this, the most telling sign yet that he is desperate.



http://craigcrawford.com/

[BeyondGeography]

1. And you know it pains Craig to say that

[Zen Democrat]

4. Really? I've been watching him on CurrentTV in the past few months and he's a true blue liberal.

It's as if he's finally free at last from the non-partisan cloak.

[BeyondGeography]

5. Well, that's good to hear

It definitely would have pained the old Craig.

[gkhouston]

15. He's on CurrentTV? When? n/t

[RandySF]

16. He used to work for Republicans in Florida.

Of course, it was a different era.

[tomm2thumbs]

2. I bet the purse strings were dangled right in his face....

that, and the traditional threat of disruption of the convention

[Citizen Worker]

3. The rabid dominionist right forced Romney to take Ryan the same way they forced McCain to take Palin

The question is, after the republicans suffer a drubbing in Novemeber, notwithstanding voting machine irregularities, will they move further to the hard right? I think so.

[jerryster]

6. Drubbing overall? Not so sure about that.

I think we are all so concerned about losing the White House that the RepubliKochs are successfully misdirecting us. They don't really like Romney anyway. But imagine waking up on Nov 7 to realize we kept the White house but they retained control of the House AND got control of the Senate. (I count 8 Democratic Senate seats potentially turning over). The next 2 years of obstructionism will make the last 2 seem like a bi-partisan picnic. It will be 2 years of these lunatics passing bills for President Obama to veto. They will be able to really hold the debt ceiling vote hostage. I can see Obama having to agree to extending all the Bush tax cuts AGAIN. And since elected RepubliKochs go completely insane when a Democrat is elected President (I believe they consider it an affront to God by the American People) I can see them deciding that the Solyndra thing rises to the level of impeachable offense and taking us down that road again. Yes, I think they're that insane.

[Motown_Johnny]

7. All Democrats can now run against the Ryan budget. All House and Senate candidates

now need to pick a side and it will be along party lines.

This is going to help us in Congress, not hurt us.

Also, Solyndra was a deal that the Bush administration took two years to put together. Pres. Obama signed it but it was a done deal by the time he took office.

[jerryster]

10. Thanks for responding.

I absolutely agree that all our candidates can and should run against Ryan's kill medicare plan and they need to keep referring to it as just that. The question is whether the DSCC and the DCCC will be bolder than in 2010. The DCCC gave money in 2010 only to those Democrats with safe seats which made no sense to me at all. I'm concerned that the DSCC will follow that disastrous playbook.

I still maintain, however, that if Democratic higher-ups are concerned almost exclusively with the Presidency (and I understand not wanting to lose it, believe me) that it sidelines the Congressional races in terms of priorities.

On a separate but related note I wish Eric Holder would indict all the RepubliKoch governors who signed voter suppression legislation into law.

[Motown_Johnny]

11. Once we get through the debates and Pres. Obama has a comfortable lead

the focus will shift back to Congress, to some extent.

[malaise]

12. You are 100% correct

This ad should be on Up with Chris Hayes in 3...2...1

[Dustlawyer]

14. Let's do the Dr. Howard Dean 50 state strategy and kick their ASSES! This is the opening we

need to take it all back; Federal, State, and Local! This needs to fire up our base, that is ALL our Social Security in there. WE ARE ALL RETIREES, if we are lucky to live that long. Every time they talk about raising the retirement age, the benefit they talk about is b/c now thousands, if not millions will not live long enough to collect. They at least deserve a couple of years retirement before they die! When I say "they," I really mean "we."

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

17. I agree

They don't care about the WH, maybe in 2016....as long as the obstruction continues they are happy. The good news is Eddie Munster is the embodiment of everything wrong with Congress. Run against that shit hard.

[dotymed]

8. Paul Ryan is the most divisive politician available.

Unless another election is stolen, there is no way that turd could help rmoney. Even though we have an undereducated electorate, most are very aware that Ryan is against the 99% and for privatization of all public services. Honestly, if that piss-ant were elected as VP, I can envision a complete collapse of our economy and violence in the streets.

[FlaGranny]

9. I bet that

the idea here is an impatient attempt to squeak in a win using voter suppression. There is no other way this combination could win fair and square. Forty years of surreptitious infiltration by the far right hasn't gotten them where they want to be yet. If they succeed, the country is in very deep trouble and the middle class will become extinct.

[cbdo2007]

13. privatize Medicare - still socialism

I don't get these people who want to "privatize Medicare" because they don't want it run by the Government. If the govt pays for it and makes the rules the private companies must use, it's still "socialism", it's just 13% more expensive socialism than if the government ran it themselves (according to the CBO).

The Obama Admin needs to make this truth public now more than ever. You can't be against government run healthcare but still have the govt paying for it and making the rules. It's the same damn thing.

[progressoid]

18. Screwn.