Dear Commons Community,

We heard lots of news and reviews of the Republican National Convention this past week.  Here is a quick recap:

• Hurricane/Tropical Storm Isaac wreaked havoc with the schedule forcing the four day event into three days.  In the interests of safety this was a good decision.
• Ann Romney was effective in portraying the human side of her husband but could have gone into more depth on a few of her assertions.
• Chris Christie’s talk was too much about him and not Romney.  One commentator counted Christie saying the word “I” 37 times and “Romney” seven times.
• Condeleeza Rice likewise focused a bit on herself and may be laying the groundwork for a run in 2016.  Wouldn’t this be fun if Hillary Clinton was the Democratic nominee in 2016.
• Paul Ryan has a serious truth problem.   He blamed President Obama for all the ills of the country and had absolutely no problem lying and distorting facts (i.e., Medicare proposals, closing of automobile plants)
• The Republican National Platform reads like a right-wing manifesto.  Lots of pain for lots of people except the wealthiest Americans.   John McCain, a moderate, when asked about it said:  “You rally around a platform at the convention but run away from it if elected”.
• Someone must have put some illegal substance into Clint Eastwood’s Geritol for him to give the most bizarre convention speech ever.
• Mitt Romney was good but not great but then again he had to follow Clint Eastwood.

If you haven’t had enough of political conventioneering, the Democrats have their turn starting on Monday.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

Last night Rachel Maddow called out Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney on the lie that is being perpetrated on President Obama’s Medicare proposals.    The Republican talking point is that the Obama health care reform will, in the words of Mitt Romney, “hurt today’s seniors.” Actually the opposite is the case that is, the Republican Plan will hurt seniors.

Paul Krugman (economist, Nobel Laureate, NY Times columnist) has analyzed the Republican proposal and concludes that it reduces Medicare to a voucher plan that will require senior citizens to fend for themselves to secure appropriate insurance providers.  While some older people will do okay with this, many others especially those with a history of or otherwise prone to illness will have difficulty getting insurance leaving them uninsured.

Fortune magazine asked the House majority leader, Eric Cantor, about the Republican Medicare proposal which was drafted by Paul Ryan during the convention.  Cantor’s response was: “The assumption was that, um, the, the, ah, again — I probably can’t speak to that in an exact way, so I better just not.”

Thank you for the insight!

Tony