Posts tagged GOP
![nationaljournal:
NPR:
One way to possibly figure out who will be a vice presidential pick is to watch the various contenders’ Wikipedia pages in the days before such an announcement is likely.
In 2008, as The Washington Post wrote at the time, “just hours before [Sen. John] McCain declared his veep choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, her Wiki page saw a flurry of activity, with editors adding details about her approval rating and husband’s employment. … Palin’s entry was updated at least 68 times, with at least an additional 54 changes made to her entry over the preceding five days.”
Meanwhile, the Post said, “on Aug. 22, the day before the Obama campaign officially named [then-Sen. Joe] Biden as the veep pick, Biden’s Wiki page garnered roughly 40 changes. Over the five days prior, users would make at least 111 other changes to his entry.”
The obvious — in hindsight — implications of the Wiki activity: Aides were going into the entries to tune them up and clean out any material that was either embarrassing or erroneous.
So what’s going on now with some of those said to be among the leading possibilities to be joining Mitt Romney on the Republican ticket?
Ohio Sen. Rob Portman’s Wiki page has been revised 16 times so far today, by someone called “River8009.”
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s Wiki page has been revised nine times so far today and 11 times from Aug. 2-6.
Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s Wiki page has been tweaked four times today.
Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan’s Wiki page has been edited once today, and 11 times from Aug. 2-6.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s Wiki page hasn’t been edited today, but was revised eight times from Aug. 3-4.
New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte’s Wiki page has not been touched today. It was last revised on July 28.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s Wiki page hasn’t been revised since July 24.
What do we think, Tumblr world?
From where I sit, this is a fairly legitimate way to make educated predictions regarding the veepstakes and whatnot. It’s more reliable than “going with your gut” guessing.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m8eclnJ01u1qzpxq3o1_400.jpg)
NPR:
One way to possibly figure out who will be a vice presidential pick is to watch the various contenders’ Wikipedia pages in the days before such an announcement is likely.
In 2008, as The Washington Post wrote at the time, “just hours before [Sen. John] McCain declared his veep choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, her Wiki page saw a flurry of activity, with editors adding details about her approval rating and husband’s employment. … Palin’s entry was updated at least 68 times, with at least an additional 54 changes made to her entry over the preceding five days.”
Meanwhile, the Post said, “on Aug. 22, the day before the Obama campaign officially named [then-Sen. Joe] Biden as the veep pick, Biden’s Wiki page garnered roughly 40 changes. Over the five days prior, users would make at least 111 other changes to his entry.”
The obvious — in hindsight — implications of the Wiki activity: Aides were going into the entries to tune them up and clean out any material that was either embarrassing or erroneous.
So what’s going on now with some of those said to be among the leading possibilities to be joining Mitt Romney on the Republican ticket?
- Ohio Sen. Rob Portman’s Wiki page has been revised 16 times so far today, by someone called “River8009.”
- Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s Wiki page has been revised nine times so far today and 11 times from Aug. 2-6.
- Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s Wiki page has been tweaked four times today.
- Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan’s Wiki page has been edited once today, and 11 times from Aug. 2-6.
- Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s Wiki page hasn’t been edited today, but was revised eight times from Aug. 3-4.
- New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte’s Wiki page has not been touched today. It was last revised on July 28.
- New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s Wiki page hasn’t been revised since July 24.
What do we think, Tumblr world?
From where I sit, this is a fairly legitimate way to make educated predictions regarding the veepstakes and whatnot. It’s more reliable than “going with your gut” guessing.
Oh thank you sweet baby jeebus…
It’s over.
Summary:
- Rick Perry had a meltdown. His train of thought derailed multiple times and he was slurring his words slightly.
- Mitt Romney’s hair was jauntily tousled and he probably gets a boost from this.
- Herman Cain proved he’s not a misogynist by referring to Rep. Nancy Pelosi as “Princess Nancy” and gave Jim Cramer a stroke by referencing 9-9-9 when Cramer said specifically not to at all.
- Michele Bachmann insulted poor people by saying they could pay taxes by buying “two less Happy Meals.”
- Ron Paul suggested students pay for college like they pay for cell phones and that getting rid of student loans will make the price go down. He alternated between Grandpa Simpson and soothsayer.
- Rick Santorum was lost because he couldn’t talk about abortions and gay people killing America.
- Newt Gingrich got his ass handed to him by moderators for claiming “media is not reporting accurately how the economy works.” At a CNBC debate.
- Jon Huntsman was the grown-up in the room, reminding everyone Americans watching this debate are hurting. They’re losing their jobs, their houses, and there’s no simple solution. He had ideas versus talking points. So he’s going to sink further than 1% in the polls.
Accurate. Read that last bullet point and think about what it means for the GOP for a moment.
[W]hen it comes to breaking with Republican orthodoxy, Christie’s record would pose enormous problems for party voters. We’re talking about a potential candidate who has supported gun control laws, believes in climate science, and doesn’t think it’s illegal to be an undocumented immigrant. Christie balked when invited to file suit against the Affordable Care Act, he doesn’t hate Muslims, and he endorsed a deficit-reduction plan that raises some taxes.
Christie’s cheerleaders think his “style” will render all of these positions irrelevant. Rudy Giuliani thought the same thing four years ago.
This is, of course, the underlying flaw in the incessant search in Republican circles for saviors. Activists and donors aren’t satisfied with the current field, so they search for a white knight to rescue them. Then the party gets a closer look at the knight, notices imperfections, and looks for another.
File under Republican lawmaker says dumb thing: Rep. John Flemming (R-LA) complains about having to “feed his family” on $200,000 per year, or around $550 per day.
If I can give you only one reason why public transportation is awesome, it’s that you could converse for half an hour with a stranger about the soothing comedy of political memes (because talking about the weather gets boring after a while).
During our conversation this evening, we decided the only good way to understand memes is in the context of understanding how this circus functions.
Fear of a Republican Muslim
In August, Hamze, 35, submitted an application to become a voting member of the Broward Republican Executive Committee, a body within which he would like to organize the Muslim Republican club.
“A lot of Muslims I know, their values really line up with the conservative values of the Republican party,” Hamze says. “I’m a strict social conservative, a fiscal conservative, a very strict constitutionalist. The protection of civil liberties for all Americans is supreme.”
He was not exactly welcomed with open arms.
wait, why does he want to be a Republican again?
I see what you did there.
Fear of a Republican Muslim
In August, Hamze, 35, submitted an application to become a voting member of the Broward Republican Executive Committee, a body within which he would like to organize the Muslim Republican club.
“A lot of Muslims I know, their values really line up with the conservative values of the Republican party,” Hamze says. “I’m a strict social conservative, a fiscal conservative, a very strict constitutionalist. The protection of civil liberties for all Americans is supreme.”
He was not exactly welcomed with open arms.
As a reminder: Reform the way that campaigns are financed in America, and then all of this stuff would go away.
Unfortunately, in the prolonged adolescence of many House Republicans, the actual real-life economic consequences of a government default on millions of American families doesn’t seem to be of much concern. You can imagine them sitting in caucus meetings these days getting themselves all worked into a lather — “We’re really going to do this, right?” “Yup, we’re really going to do this!” — like frat boys prodding each other into a stunt of incredible stupidity, with no one willing to play the role of grownup and spoil the fun by pointing out the foolishness.
A blog by Andrew Graham, a ghostwriter and media adviser in New York City. Don't take it too seriously.
GMail: andrewgraham.nyc
