Open Thread: Doug's Right

Wow (0.00 / 0)

I knew the tax cuts were big, but I'm astonished to see how huge they are!  We should not only rescind them (and should not have waited for them to expire), but we should review the equity of our tax burden, and likely shift it to the wealthier.  I'd also like to see an end to deductions for mortgages but not rent, and other breaks that not only favor the wealthy but promote consumption.

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by: FrankLloydMike @ Tue Jul 27, 2010 at 09:04:08 AM CDT

Indeed (0.00 / 0)

This graph needs to be everywhere.

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by: Mormo @ Tue Jul 27, 2010 at 10:46:23 AM CDT

PPP is out (4.00 / 2)

Ayotte up 45-42 and "big in the primary." They actually have Binnie over Hodes by more (46-41).

900 RV, 3.26% MoSE

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by: Mormo @ Tue Jul 27, 2010 at 10:47:55 AM CDT

Also (0.00 / 0)

Congratulations to Dean, also—I had worried that the Palin thing would be not a big deal, but PPP's analysis is that Ayotte has gone up big in the primary but down in the general. It's such a relief that the needle is looking more problematic for threading, also.

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by: Mormo @ Tue Jul 27, 2010 at 10:54:25 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

This is following my "yard sign rule": (4.00 / 1)

Candidate with highest yard sign density polls higher (at least in primaries). Probably should be called "highway signs" since very few are actually in anyone's yard (mine features one of Annie's, of course).

(Dollar Bill) Binnie has had signs at practically every mile marker and intersection on every highway in my corner of the state for months now. Not one Hodes sign from Peterborough to Keene so far (of course given his situation, no need to waste ammo at this point), maybe 5 Ayotte signs, a couple Benders, and I actually saw one Bass sign in Dublin! Maybe just one old one that someone had hanging around.

Republicans believe government is bad - then they get into office and prove it.

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by: GreyMike @ Tue Jul 27, 2010 at 13:33:53 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Binnie signs all over the seacoast n/t (0.00 / 0)

for transparency sake ~I represent Union print shops

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by: JonnyBBad @ Tue Jul 27, 2010 at 14:06:14 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Binnie signs (0.00 / 0)

by the truckload in Roch-Dover-Barrington-Northwood area  He's getting his money's worth from the visibility.  Also, noticed that Guinta has these enormous signs that are installed haphazardly and keep blowing over - apropos, and somewhat ironic.

"Physical concepts are free creations of the human mind, and are not, however it may seem, uniquely determined by the external world." A. Einstein

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by: StraffordDem @ Tue Jul 27, 2010 at 14:12:15 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Binnie and Bender are the kings (0.00 / 0)

of the scruffy weeds signage in my area.

But in terms of actual property, Binnie is destroying Ayotte.

I've seen exactly one Ayotte sign on property, out of a summer's worth of driving in central and western NH.  But there are definitely plenty of Binnie signs on property.

birch, finch, beech

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by: Dean Barker @ Tue Jul 27, 2010 at 18:11:36 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Do the signs look like this? (0.00 / 0)

--
Hope 2012

@DougLindner

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by: Douglas E. Lindner @ Tue Jul 27, 2010 at 19:42:08 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Theory on this posted below (0.00 / 0)

in the wrong place. Sorry!

Republicans believe government is bad - then they get into office and prove it.

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by: GreyMike @ Tue Jul 27, 2010 at 16:02:48 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Best open thread title ever. (4.00 / 6)

--
Hope 2012

@DougLindner

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by: Douglas E. Lindner @ Tue Jul 27, 2010 at 11:34:53 AM CDT

Not "Doug's Left" ? n/t (0.00 / 0)

for transparency sake ~I represent Union print shops

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by: JonnyBBad @ Tue Jul 27, 2010 at 11:58:13 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Emperor of Puns (0.00 / 0)

--
Hope 2012

@DougLindner

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by: Douglas E. Lindner @ Tue Jul 27, 2010 at 12:14:23 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Swett Must Take Accountability for Supporting Bush Tax Cuts (4.00 / 1)

Press Release earlier today from Kuster for Congress

Swett Must Take Accountability for Supporting Bush Tax Cuts

As Washington Struggles With the End of the Bush Tax Cuts,
Swett Must Answer for Her Past Support

Concord, NH - Katrina Swett must take accountability for supporting the Bush
tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, which are now dominating the news in
New Hampshire and Washington as lawmakers struggle to deal with their
expiration.

"Katrina Swett supported George Bush's tax cuts for the wealthiest
Americans, and now she needs to answer for it," said Neil Sroka,
Communications Director for Ann McLane Kuster, who is running against Swett
in the Democratic primary in New Hampshire's second congressional district.

As the tax cuts expire and lawmakers grapple with how to fix the tax code,
the Bush tax cuts dominated the pages of theUnion Leader, Concord Monitor,
Washington Post, USA Today, and other papers this weekend.

"The tax cuts for the wealthiest that George Bush proposed and Katrina Swett
supported have deeply harmed our economy, increased our national debt by
over $2 trillion dollars, and they are now wrecking havoc with the tax
code," said Sroka. "Instead of supporting the Bush tax cuts for the
wealthiest, Washington should have passed tax relief for middle class
families, kept the deficit under control, and invested in the job-creation
that was missing over much of the past decade - that's what Annie Kuster
supports."

Swett supported the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans in her
campaign for Congress in 2002.   Out of 211 Democrats serving in the U.S.
House of Representatives at the time, only 10 supported the Bush tax cuts,
which passed in the spring of 2001.  Even more than two-thirds of the
conservative "Blue Dog Democrats" caucus opposed the cuts, citing deficit
fears. ["House Passes Bush Tax Cut," Washington Post, 3/9/01]

*** THE FACTS ***

SWETT SUPPORTED BUSH TAX CUTS: "Swett was the 2002 Democratic nominee for
the 2nd District seat, losing to then-incumbent Charles Bass, who is running
for the GOP nomination this fall. Back then, she supported the Bush tax cuts
and also backed the invasion of Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein." [Nashua
Telegraph, 7/14/10 "Swett Would Donate Part of House Pay"]

SWETT SUPPORTED BUSH TAX CUTS, INCLUDING ELIMINATING ESTATE TAX: "Both
candidates [Swett and Bass] support the federal tax cuts passed last year,
including the elimination of the inheritance tax and the marriage penalty."
[Union Leader, 10/29/02 "Second District: The race for U.S. Congress "]

BUSH TAX CUTS COST AN ESTIMATED $2.4 TRILLION.  According to an analysis by
Citizens for Tax Justice, "Newly revised estimates by the Congressional
Joint Committee on Taxation show that the cost of the tax plan proposed by
President George W. Bush would be substantially greater than the $1.6
trillion estimate generated last year. On March 1, the House Ways and Means
Committee approved H.R.3, which would implement the income tax rate cuts
proposed by Bush under a slightly accelerated schedule. A March 7 analysis
by Citizens for Tax Justice, based in part on JCT's analysis of H.R. 3,
finds that the total ten-year cost of the Bush tax plan, as modified by H.R.
3, would be in excess of $2.4 trillion."  [Citizens for Tax Justice
analysis, 3/8/01]

for transparency sake ~I represent Union print shops

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by: JonnyBBad @ Tue Jul 27, 2010 at 12:13:33 PM CDT

linky (0.00 / 0)

http://www.kusterforcongress.c...

for transparency sake ~I represent Union print shops

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by: JonnyBBad @ Tue Jul 27, 2010 at 12:40:29 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Concord Monitor Update (0.00 / 0)

UPDATED, 4:56 p.m.: Swett's campaign says Kuster "misrepresenting" record

Meagan Coffman, Swett's campaign manager, said this afternoon that Kuster's campaign is "misrepresenting" Swett's position on the 2001 tax cuts.

"Both Jeanne Shaheen and Katrina Swett had the identical position in 2002, both advocated for tax cuts for middle class Americans," Coffman said in a statement. "Kuster seems to be pulling a page from John Sununu's playbook -- he tried this exact same tactic in his race against Shaheen in 2008.  It didn't work then, and it won't work now. Katrina, like Shaheen, supported the tax cuts which went to middle class families, such as eliminating the marriage penalty and tax credits for child care and mortgage interest."

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by: Dartmouth Dem @ Tue Jul 27, 2010 at 21:27:12 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Q: How is that the Concord Monitor speaking? (4.00 / 1)

A: It is not. It is Swett's campaign manager speaking.

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by: elwood @ Tue Jul 27, 2010 at 21:41:57 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

The update was in the Concord Monitor (0.00 / 0)

I never said that it was "the Concord Monitor speaking."  The term "Concord Monitor Update" implies that it was an update that appeared in the Concord Monitor.  My apologies for assuming that this was self-evident.  Here's the link:

http://www.concordmonitor.com/...

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by: Dartmouth Dem @ Tue Jul 27, 2010 at 22:21:26 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Kuster=Sununu? Yikes! (4.00 / 1)

Not only is Swett sheilding herself behind Shaheen, she is putting Annie in the same league as Sununu.

Both weak tactics. And I do mean tactics, 'cause there just ain't no strateegery ta that.

Whack-a-mole, anyone?

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by: Jack Mitchell @ Tue Jul 27, 2010 at 22:33:38 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Double Standard (0.00 / 0)

Jack, you're a smart enough guy to realize that no one sees Ann and Sununu as ideological soul mates.

Rather, the issue here is the double standard that we see all too often on Blue Hampshire -- shredding Katrina for positions that she shares with leading progressives that are near-univerally lauded here, from President Obama to Senator Shaheen to Congressman Hodes.

This is yet another example.

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by: Dartmouth Dem @ Tue Jul 27, 2010 at 22:54:07 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

No (4.00 / 1)

Coffman was not refering to anything BH when she addressed a wider audience in the CM.

She was suggesting that Annie would 'stoop' to Sununu's level. Let's not play games. It is very plain.

But keep plying me with compliments. :v)

Whack-a-mole, anyone?

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by: Jack Mitchell @ Tue Jul 27, 2010 at 23:07:03 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Backup (0.00 / 0)

I just saw this now.  

http://nhpoliticalreport.com/swett-kuster-is-practicing-sununu-politics/

Whack-a-mole, anyone?

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by: Jack Mitchell @ Tue Jul 27, 2010 at 23:54:14 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Good news for whoever the nominee is.... (4.00 / 4)

The Dccc has expanded it's reservered fall ad buy to include both the first and second districts. :)



"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."  Franklin D. Roosevelt    

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by: Kathy Sullivan 2 @ Wed Jul 28, 2010 at 05:58:18 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

aint' that good news, man ain't that news ! (0.00 / 0)

for transparency sake ~I represent Union print shops

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by: JonnyBBad @ Wed Jul 28, 2010 at 09:33:32 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Legacy of Debt (4.00 / 1)

The five items on that graph:

1. President Bush's wars
2. President Bush's tax cuts
3. President Bush's Great Recession
4. President Bush's Great Recession bailouts
5. President Obama's efforts to recover from President Bush's Great Recession

--
Hope 2012

@DougLindner

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by: Douglas E. Lindner @ Tue Jul 27, 2010 at 12:19:44 PM CDT

There's some heavy lifting to be done (4.00 / 1)

if the R's are going to untarnish Bush the younger's reputation.  Via Barry Ritzholz comes these graphs of GW's job creation:

That's triple goose eggs for the oughts.  Reminds me of John Belushi in Animal House - a zero-point-zero grade point average.

"Physical concepts are free creations of the human mind, and are not, however it may seem, uniquely determined by the external world." A. Einstein

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by: StraffordDem @ Tue Jul 27, 2010 at 13:36:09 PM CDT

My theory of why this rule seems to work: (0.00 / 0)

in general, I believe that people who take the time to answer ANY polls do so because, A. they have actually have an opinion (the basis of which is immaterial) and wish to share it; or B., want to be thought of as important enough to be asked, and do not wish to seem ignorant of the candidates or issues. There may well be another group that deliberately gives bogus responses for whatever reasons, but I think it's a relatively insignificant number.

The "B" group will be more likely to respond to/with the first candidate's name they recognize (regardless of affiliation, positions on issues, etc.), which is why the sign density thing works so well.

Not everyone reads a newspaper, goes online for information, listens to commercial radio, or watches TV. But practically everyone goes somewhere on the highways on a regular basis, which means it's a great place to put a message (or do the viz).

The more a message is repeated the "stickier" it becomes (well-observed psychological phenomenon that goes back to William James; the more you do anything, the more you do it).

Burma Shave.  

Republicans believe government is bad - then they get into office and prove it.

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by: GreyMike @ Tue Jul 27, 2010 at 15:59:07 PM CDT

Sorry, this was meant to go under my "signs" post (0.00 / 0)

it's been a long day.

Republicans believe government is bad - then they get into office and prove it.

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by: GreyMike @ Tue Jul 27, 2010 at 16:01:12 PM CDT

[ Parent ]