American Politics

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Red Dreams said:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/13/chris-christie-investigation_n_4588132.html

Sandy Funds distribution being investigated now. Not surprised really.
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Well not really the distribution of funds, that makes it sound a bit different from what he is being investigated for let's be specific in what he is being investigated for. The issue is whether or not the commercial produced for NJ Tourism which featured Christie and his family was allowed under the rules. The sticky issue with this one is that the lower bid for the project did not win, the lowest bid did not feature Christie and the ads were run during an election.

At the end of the day if as Christie is claiming the ad campaign and funding was approved by the Federal Government, while looking bad in conjunction with the other investigations this will turn out to be nothing. If on the other hand the exceeded what was allowed to be spent or really did take money from relief efforts to fund this commercial then there will be more of an issue. But right now based on your article nobody seems to be suggesting that he took money from other relief efforts to fund this, it seems to be more a question of how he spend money earmarked by the Feds for the tourism campaign.
 
The distribution of funds is an issue. He gave very little to districts/towns that did not support him....as for the add, why overspend on ads when he could have helped so many areas that needed the funds for rebuilding.

Lets see how deep his minions are willing to take the sword for him. The lead investigator from the legislature seems a very disciplined and focused man.
 
http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/13/politics/christie-feds-investigating-sandy-ads/index.html

This is a CNN article on it from a few days ago.

In the new investigation, federal auditors will examine New Jersey's use of $25 million in Sandy relief funds for a marketing campaign to promote tourism at the Jersey Shore, New Jersey Democratic Rep. Frank Pallone told CNN
In an August letter, Pallone asked the Department of Housing and Urban Development inspector general to look into how Christie chose to spend the marketing money approved by the department.
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So according to this it seems that there was a sizeable chunk of money set aside by the Federal Government for a marketing campaign to promote tourism in NJ (which would help businesses fully recover is my guess to the reasoning behind the funds and the campaign).

But of course that doesn't stop Pallone from saying this.

"This was money that could have directly been used for Sandy recovery. And, as you know, many of my constituents still haven't gotten the money that is owed them to rebuild their homes or raise their homes or to help," he said.
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My point being not that this should not be looked at, but if the money was earmarked for the marketing campaign by the Federal Agency that gave NJ the money, then Pallone's comment about the money being better spent on other recovery efforts has as much to do with those in charge at the Federal Agency/Agencies involved as it does with Gov (never to be President) Christie.
 
Red Dreams said:
The distribution of funds is an issue. He gave very little to districts/towns that did not support him....as for the add, why overspend on ads when he could have helped so many areas that needed the funds for rebuilding.

Lets see how deep his minions are willing to take the sword for him. The lead investigator from the legislature seems a very disciplined and focused man.
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Well as of right now what I am reading the indication is that it is the Federal Government that earmarked the money for the marketing campaign not Gov. Christie. So if that is true, who within the Federal Government do you hold responsible for the distribution of this money?

Usually when the Fed gives you money and says use it for this specific purpose you don't have a lot of choice. Now as I said the issue of how much he spent on that particular ad and the timing of it (during the campaign) is questionable.

If you want to question the money being spent on marketing instead of being given to directly to those who needed help, then you have to broaden the investigation to include HUD since it seems they made that decision when allocating the funds.

Though we do not have the full story yet and I am just going by what I am reading.
 
I wonder if any campaign laws were broken due to this commercial. Not sure if at the state level there is any sort of equal air time law that applies to federal campaigns. Effectively these commercials could be seen as campaign ads since they included Gov. (never to be President) Christie.

Also, it will be interesting to see if this winning ad agency had any personal or political ties to Gov. Christie or the Republican Party and the losing ad agency did not. Be another sort of favoritism coming on the heels of the lane closure thing. Or if any government contract rules were broken in terms of the acceptance of the winning bid.

My guess is that while being another political mess for the Gov (never to be President) Christie, no criminal charges will come out of this.
 
In our national scientific poll, here was our question: “The Occupy Wall Street protesters say they represent the 99% of Americans who earn less than the top one-percent of money-makers in America. Do you consider yourself part of the 99% or part of the one-percent?”
Overall, 68% said they were part of the 99%, 13% said they were part of the 1% of top money-makers, and 19% expressed no opinion on the question
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http://pollposition.com/2011/11/01/can-13-be-part-of-elite-1/
 
This could be the end of Christie. If he makes it through this trial by fire I'll be amazed. Looks like frigging Rubio will be the one to watch then at the primaries.
 
Red Dreams said:
my favorite part of the Presidential elections is the GOP debates.

Comedy Central has nothing on those debates.
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Absolutely. I look forward to them every election. I know I'm biased as a Norwegian left-winger, but even in that context I can't help but be amazed by the stupid and/or downright insane things most or all of the candidates will say in GOP primary debates.
 
niMic said:
Absolutely. I look forward to them every election. I know I'm biased as a Norwegian left-winger, but even in that context I can't help but be amazed by the stupid and/or downright insane things most or all of the candidates will say in GOP primary debates.
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It's incredible really. I'm always amazed at what they will come out with. I often can't believe it's actually possible to vote for some of them in anything other than who should leave Paradise Hotel. I'm even a right-winger (but obviously Danish right-wingers are pretty much to the left of everyone over there)
 
niMic said:
Absolutely. I look forward to them every election. I know I'm biased as a Norwegian left-winger, but even in that context I can't help but be amazed by the stupid and/or downright insane things most or all of the candidates will say in GOP primary debates.
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And the audiences!

Not sure anything again will beat last time round though, just the various frontrunners - Perry, Bachmann, Gingrich, Santorum! Herman fecking Cain! I still can't believe how lucky Obama was with that bunch.
 
FBI Questioning Witnesses Over Claims Chris Christie Threatened To Withhold Sandy Relief: Report

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/23/fbi-chris-christie_n_4652600.html

think Christie may well see prison time.

"i hope he still runs for prz. hillary will be pragmatic, determined, methodical with lots of experience running a campaign. we need the repubs to present us with the circus and the clowns we've all come to expect every 4 years. they're going to lie to us. we should at least be entertained."

indeed :)
 
I highly recommend 'Mitt' the new documentary that followed the Romney family through the '08 and 2012 Presidential campaigns, particularly fascinating for those who followed the campaign closely, to see their reaction to each game-changing event. About as far away from the 'War Room' docu of Clinton's campaign as you could possibly get, but still a good watch.
 
NewDawnFades said:
I highly recommend 'Mitt' the new documentary that followed the Romney family through the '08 and 2012 Presidential campaigns, particularly fascinating for those who followed the campaign closely, to see their reaction to each game-changing event. About as far away from the 'War Room' docu of Clinton's campaign as you could possibly get, but still a good watch.
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It shows them on election night 2012 I presume? I'm genuinely interested to know whether he was really expecting to win, as he seemed fairly shocked during his concession speech. Whereas all those who had been following closely knew it was more a matter of how much Obama was going to win by at that point.
 
If I recall correctly, during the Presidential debates, wasn't Mitt fooled by a lie spread by Fox News and other conservative outlets and attempted to use this lie against Obama only to be called out for it?

If he was that gullible to run with some right-wing falsehood, it wouldn't surprise me if he truly felt he would win considering some conservative sites were predicting him to win. He would have been narrow-minded or experiencing tunnel vision in such instance, not choosing to believe other media outlets and sites, possibly thinking they were left-leaning and not correct/true.

He also struck me as possessing a sense of entitlement, probably truly believing 'god' wanted him to be president.
 
Unquestionably, he couldn't wait for it. I remember Repubs went mental at Crowley afterwards for having the gall to clarify what Obama had said via the transcript :lol:
 
Ubik said:
It shows them on election night 2012 I presume? I'm genuinely interested to know whether he was really expecting to win, as he seemed fairly shocked during his concession speech. Whereas all those who had been following closely knew it was more a matter of how much Obama was going to win by at that point.
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Yes it shows the moment they realise Ohio was lost, and they clearly concede amongst themselves well before Karl Rove did. They did not have a concession speech prepared... which to me suggests a certain amount of delusion/self belief/confidence in the polls.

Talking of the War Room, there is that scene at the end where James Carville is rattling off a concession speech he knew off by heart, clearly prepared for any outcome. The Romney's come out well from the docu, the campaign team do not. The reactions to their debates are really excruciating to watch at times... particularly the 'Please proceed Governer' moment, where there is clearly a realisation that he was not prepped possibily for a crucial moment in terms of points scoring - unleashing the Benghazi weapon.
 
Typical rightwing banter on boards... http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-s...mployed-or-minimum-wage-why-would-i-become-re
It gets worse as you read along.

Owen_Kellogg minky
• 23 days ago
Did Candy ever apologize for shilling for Obama in the debate with Romney?


  • minky Owen_Kellogg
    • 23 days ago
    I would like an explanation for the little exchange between Candy and the Bamster when he got the smug look on his face, asked Candy for the transcript of his Rose Garden speech, and she produced it, all in the span of 3 nanoseconds. Wham, bam, thank you ma'm. Do you suppose that was planned? ;)

    • BoSSspy minky
      • 23 days ago
      Not any more planned than when George Stupinotsobright asked a contraception question that had everyone scratching their heads wondering wth he was blabbing about.
 
I liked it. He's certainly a good speaker. Some complaints I heard that he wasn't aggressive enough, but given the partisan driven ridiculous state of affairs that may actually seem to be getting better, I'm glad he didn't go pressing people's buttons too much.
 
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very compelling speech by the President reaching out to everyone....but of course the rethugs will do their damndest to try and destroy this country.

oh...and that fluffy GOP response :lol:

comedy...when I saw her in that setting..I was surprised she was not wearing her pajamas and bedroom slippers...

'we should be able to choose our own insurance companies'......suuuure.....cause all the choices are dirt cheap and give superb coverage....


SINGLE PAYER!
 
She really was cringeworthy. I couldn't make it through her talk. Too much shining on about her flavorless life.
 
Forgive my ignorance but is it true that Jeb Bush is a serious contender for the Republican presidential nomination?

I mean even forgetting the obvious Bush vs Clinton 2 parodies would this not seem ridiculous in the fact that these two families will have had a continual presence at the top of american politics for 30 years - surely in such a big country with such a diverse population it is crazy to think that the best people for the top jobs just happen to be related - if it was happening elsewhere the Americans would be saying it is a sign of a failing corrupt democracy...

Essentially you would have the son of a two times vice president and one time president whose brother happened to be a two times president against the former foreign secretary whose husband was a two times president

So since 1981 bush was VP until he became president being succeeded by clinton who was succeeded by bush and when obama won he made mrs clinton foreign secretary... they should just marry a couple of their kids off and declare them king and queen of America thus justifying their hereditary status of power...
 
You've never heard of the Kennedys? For some strange reason America loves familial political dynasties.
 
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