Category: Mason Speaks

Anyone who has followed my columns here at Mason Votes have seen that I’m not above criticizing Mitt Romney when needed.  I try to be as fair as I can while holding my views.  That being said, I think Mitt Romney won the first Presidential debate of 2012, and it wasn’t close.

There were no big zingers or pre-prepared moments by either man.  There was just a clash of ideas and records.  Romney looked engaged, energetic and in command.  Every time he attacked the President, he stared him down and said, “YOU raise taxes and YOU kill jobs.”  In short, it looked like he wanted to be there and was ready to fight.

President Obama, on the other hand, was the opposite.  Many times he’s been criticized for being detached and ‘above it all’.  That seemed like how he was acting on stage.  He seemed like he did not want to be there.  He had his talking points, as did Romney.  But the difference was when the President attacked Gov. Romney he rebutted the Obama effectively.  When Romney attacked Obama, he seemed to have no Plan B or second rebuttal to return fire.  He went back to the well over and over again.  The result didn’t change.  Time and time again Romney would block Obama’s argument and the President would follow with either a subject change or just a reiteration of his original point.  It seemed he had no response to Romney’s attacks.

Romney effectively rebuffed Obama’s charge that somehow he’d raise taxes on anybody, much less the middle class by invoking his sons.  Obama kept making the claim even though Romney kept saying it wasn’t true.  Near the end, Romney even quipped, “Mr. President, your entitled to your own plane and your own house, but not your own facts.”  Also at points, Obama was making the case for his plan but using Bill Clinton’s Presidency as a defense.  But again, Romney reminded debate watchers that it was Obama’s plan, now four years old, that’s caused our current state of affairs.  “You’ve been President for four years,” Romney kept reminding us.

The issue of healthcare was also a major topic.  The President actually said he’s grown “fond” of the term Obamacare.  Romney ravaged Obamacare on it’s Medicare cuts and the advisory panels all while defending his own plan in Massachusetts as being acceptable because it was done at the state level.  Obama attempted to defend the law by citing positive aspects like covering preexisting conditions and allowing young people to stay on their parents’ plan.  Again though, when Romney retorted saying those parts are in his plan too, Obama seemed dumfounded.  He even used a private clinic in Ohio to defend the government centered plan.  The President just seemed unable to defend his record while also being unable to effectively land any punches on Romney’s plans.

You may chalk up the Romney debate win to a challenger’s momentum or Romney’s vast debating experience.  You could even say Obama may have been rusty.  All of these excuses may or may not have been a factor.  Regardless, this was the first clash of ideas from the two men vying for the Oval Office and on this night it was Mitt Romney that looked like he wanted it and was willing to fight for it.  Barack Obama seemed unsteady, aloof, and disconnected from not only the debate but from America’s problems, for which he does not have a sufficient plan to fix.

*The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author.

Mitt Romney has a unique opportunity tonight to make a direct appeal to voters and contrast sharply with the sitting President of the United States.

Romney doesn’t have the problem that Ronald Reagan had coming into a debate.  A good portion of Americans can envision him as President.  What Romney must do is do everything he can to contrast and show the American people why Barack Obama is unfit to remain in the Oval Office based on the results of his first four years.  This will require Romney to be forceful and attack the President.  He doesn’t have to be mean, just resolute and not allow Obama to distract and distort.

One can bet that we’re going to hear Obama take swipes at Romney’s personal biography.  Be it his Bain Capital record or his taxes, the President will focus a lot of his energy on attacking Romney personally.  Romney must push back forcefully against this line of attack.  John McCain didn’t directly deliver a defense to the “Bush’s third term” attack line until the final debate and the line stuck through Election Day.  This cannot happen to Romney.  I don’t think calling Obama a liar would be a smart idea, but Romney should absolutely make it clear that these attacks are offensive and untrue.  He could also throw in a line about the Obama advisor that attacked his wife too.  Frame the President’s campaign as a character assassination gambit, and make it clear he will fail.  There shouldn’t be a false Obama attack line that isn’t met with a pushback twice as hard.

For people who favor Romney to be more conciliatory and work on his humanity, I would disagree.  It’s too late for likeability to be improved, even if it was unfairly tarnished to begin with.  Now is the time for issues and drawing a distinction on policy.  This debate is on domestic issues, so Romney should only need to hammer home the point that there is not a single economic statistic that is better now than it was in January of 2009.  We are not better of than we were when Barack Obama took office.  That point alone should do mountains of damage to Obama.  It’s an attack he cannot defend besides blaming President Bush, which Romney can attack as blame shifting.

The key is to be strong.  Many conservatives are antsy about Romney’s supposedly being gun-shy and not going for Obama’s throat.  Romney needs to put those critics to rest tonight.  He needs to be as forceful and motivated as we’ve ever seen him.  He has to act like he wants this job and that the future of America is hanging in the balance, because it is.

*The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author.

It’s normal during the political season to have attack ads and mud slinging, but some ads go beyond the pale and shine a light on the worst among us.  The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, a union that doggedly supports President Obama, came out with an ad that dealt with an issue that has gone unexplored thus far in the 2012 Presidential cycle.

The ad features Mitt Romney’s garbage man.  Who says in a 60 second character smear that somehow Romney does not care about him or any working Americans.  He says that after loading garbage all his life, his body will be worn down and somehow Mitt Romney “doesn’t care about that”.  One might ask how someone could make such an outrageous claim.  Your answer is a complete and total misreading of the infamous ‘47 percent’ video.

When Mitt Romney was speaking to that fundraiser, he was talking electoral strategy.  Of course both candidates are likely to get at least 47 percent of the vote.  The remaining six percent are what always decides elections.  So when Romney said he wasn’t going to worry about those people, he meant he’s not going to stump for votes in Harlem. Just like President Obama won’t stump for votes in rural Kansas.  It’s just a waste of time and resources.

And while we’re on the topic of insulting a good portion of America, it was actually Barack Obama that four years ago said at a fundraiser of “small towns in the Midwest… They get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them.”  That was not said in the context of electoral strategy.  Barack Obama literally called the middle of America gun-toting, Bible-thumping, racists.  That received far less attention than Romney’s innocent moment of ‘Campaigning 101’ honesty.

It could be media bias. It could be something else.  But if the Obama campaign’s new mission is to assassinate Mitt Romney’s character by saying that he lacks empathy, they would be insulting the intelligence of all Americans.  So far this year, top Democrats have smeared Ann Romney, an MS and breast cancer survivor, as having an overly privileged life.  Now they expect us to believe that a man who has given tens of millions of dollars to charity, that participates regularly in philanthropy for his church, and that is a committed father of five and to his wife of over 40 years, is somehow a heartless, cruel, scoundrel?  Give me a break.  Mitt Romney should call the President out on this disgraceful line of attack in the debate Wednesday night.  He would produce quite a moment if he does.

 

*The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author.

Cover Photo Taken by Jasmine Young

This past Monday, September 24, 2012 there were about 65 students in attendance at Kritical Konversation not including the students that were walking through the JC and stopped to listen.

Host:

1. Robert Hiter who is a senior at GMU and a part of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. He is responsible for bringing the other organizations together for this event. Robert stated, “It is important for Kappa Alpha Psi Inc. to host an event like Kritical Konversation because a lot of our brothers are politically inclined and we are a fraternity based on achievements.” He also discussed during the interview that a lot of students go out to parties and do other activities and often forget to do their civic duties, one of which is to vote.

Panelist:

1. Sarah Cioffi who is a Mason student and also an Assistant Registrar for the city of Manassas.
2. Richard Mattox who is a partner at a lobbying firm called Mattox Woolfolk, LLC and he is also an Adjunct professor at Mason

Mediator:

1. Charity Howell is Junior at Mason, the program chair for the event as well as the Mediator for the open discussion and debate. Charity is a part of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. and was interested in joining in on this event because her sorority has a national initiative going on and believes that not enough young people are going out and voting.

Key Points from the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. PowerPoint Presentation:

• The State of Our Country
• Importance of Election
• Candidates Review
• What’s at Stake
• Make Your Mark

Once the slide was completed students were allowed to answer questions. These questions turned into statements and opinions which turned into a very organized and informative debate.

Below are some of George Mason Student’s comments during that debate that really stuck out and impacted the audience.

“Having a president without a hidden agenda is needed. I have a big problem with someone who has a hidden agenda. Obama tried to do everything he said he would do and what he has said this far is true.”- Michael Turner

“All politicians are going to lie and say what you want to hear that is why I look at what they have done.”- Jordan Foster

“I don’t believe there is a hidden agenda and the President says and does what is needed to be done to get progress.”- Elizabeth Davis

“I’m voting for Romney I did not know which candidate at first but decided that he has more respect for women’s rights.”-Sophie Chaver

“There are five candidates running for election. I line up more with the green party but prefer Democrat Party over the Republican Party.” “Obama said, “Yes WE can” not “Yes I can.” – Rasheed Parker

“Candidates do not necessarily support issues but instead give options.” –Toni Jones

“I’m undecided because I do not support Obama on a lot of issues and Mitt Romney does not understand what it is like to be in the middle class.”- Viven Lundtin

“President Barack Obama has more of a connection.”- Saffie Kamara

“Don’t be pressured by friends, vote for who you want!”- Falen Petros

Comments before and after the debate:

“I really appreciated the fact that the organizations hosted an event like this because this is something that affects the college demographic and had useful, insightful information. College students need to be aware and involved in deciding the direction of our country.”- Kimberlee Glenn

“I think this event was a good turnout for the simple fact it was planned in a short amount of time. It attracted students that did not even know about the event as well.  I believe that juniors and seniors will be more likely to vote because some freshmen are not even 18 yet. Also, some issues directly affect upperclassmen as they are getting ready to graduate and start looking for jobs.”- Amanda Herbert (Senior, President of AKA and Office Assistant for LEAD)

“This event was good turnout with a good audience of students willing to speak. A lot of big decisions are happening and students should be able to voice their opinion on matters that they are affected by and that are why student government got involved in this event. Recently, SGA did a campaign on “What’s Your Number?” And basically it said that student debt is what is going to cause the nations next big financial crisis.”- Kevin Jackson (Sophomore, Student Government)

Students are encouraged to check out www.isidewith.com/  that shows which political candidates you side with based on the issues selected most important to you.

This is Jasmine Young with Mason Votes showing you how Mason student organizations and students are getting fired up and ready to Vote! Make sure you come out to the next event!

Mitt Romney attempted on Friday to finally put to rest any fervor over his past tax returns by releasing the full 2011 return as well as a summary of the previous 20 years worth of tax data.

The Obama campaign and many other Democrats have pushed Romney to release more than the federally mandated requirements hoping to uncover some politically unfavorable material.

For 2011, Romney in fact paid almost $2 million on mostly investment income, which comes out to a 14% federal rate.  Also noteworthy is the fact that the Romney family donated over $4 million to charities.  This accounts for almost one third of their overall income.

For background on Romney’s 20-year returns, many politicians allow their investments to go into a “blind trust” which is managed by someone else and the politician is not allowed to see or influence in any way.  This prevents the appearance of insider trading, etc.  So, the trustee of Romney’s blind trust released a summary of the last 20 years of Romney taxes along with the 2011 return.  This showed Romney’s average federal rate was 20%.  The Romneys also donated about 13% of their income to charity over that period of time as well.  Trustee Brad Malt finished his letter with statement, “During the 20-year period covered by the PWC letter, Gov. and Mrs. Romney paid 100 percent of the taxes that they owed.”

President and Mrs. Obama and Vice President and Mrs. Biden have released a full 10 years of tax records.

It remains to be seen whether or not this disclosure will tamp down the yearning of Democrats for more information on Romney’s personal finances.  But this release is definitely an attempt to end the zeal for more personal dirt on Mitt Romney.

Cover Photo Taken By: Jasmine Young

On Friday September 21, 2012 President Barack Obama spoke at a Grassroots event in Woodbridge, Virginia. According to Lt. Dave Cooper, Fire Marshal for Prince stated that the crowd count was 12,000 people. The crowd ranged from infants to senior citizens, from soldiers to veterans, from students to graduates, all races, showing demographics from people all over. Before the president took the stage I was able to speak with a few people in the crowd. Below are some comments from members in the audience that represent different demographics.

Comments:

“I am fired up for the election and people who work together for the good of the economy!” (From California) – Y. Thomas

“I have been to three or four rallies and have seen a bigger turnout in other locations.” (From Texas)  – P. Cortez

“I believe that Virginia is an important state for Obama to win over.” (From Virginia) – S. Robinson

A seven year old from Virginia named Zariyah was excited about the Rally and told me that her brother and President Obama shared the same birthday.

A Mason Alumni that was originally from Alabama stated, “This is my first rally and I’m a Woodbridge resident. I believe that Virginia is an important state for Obama. – V. Ford

“I am a local and it is not my first rally but I believe that Virginia is an important state for the President. For Obama to win students need to vote.” – C. Pope

A 16 year old came to the rally with her mom looking got hear what President Barack Obama had to say about his campaign even though she is not yet old enough to vote. Her mom did not vote for the current president in his 1^st term but will be supporting him for this election and believes that Virginia is an important state for him and thought it was a big turnout. –H. Bider and G. Bider

“I am originally from Ohio and moved to Virginia. I believe that Virginia is an important state because it is close to D.C. This is my first rally and I believe it is a good turnout.”  -J. Markley

From many of the comments it is evident that many think that Virginia is an important state for the current President to win the support of. Regardless of age this event was exciting to all and was an experience many George Mason students were able to share as well. If Virginia is in fact an important state, as current residents of Virginia on November 6, 2012 it is important to be at the polls and cast your vote.

Below are some of the statements that President Barack Obama said during his speech that stuck out to me as a supporter and also as a reporter of the event. (Note: Some comments may not be verbatim do to covering live.)

Comments:

“Unless your TV is broken your aware there is an election going on.”

“We succeed when middle class is also doing well.”

“Some may be students, single moms, veterans, soldiers….”

“Believe in opportunity.”

“Fight for tuition in 21^st century.”

“Will not be slashing benefits.”

“Bin Laden is dead.”

“No one who fought for us should have to fight for job or roof over their head.”

“No longer kicking a soldier out the military just because who he loves.”

“Learned you can’t change Washington from inside you have to change it from outside.”

“Opponent said, “I’ll get the job done from inside. What kind of job is he talking about?”

“Takes more than one party.”

“2008, 47% of the country did not vote for me.”

These quotes from the President range but to find his full detailed speech you can check it out on Mason Votes’ YouTube page.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IH2F9agmYgs[/youtube]

This is Jasmine Young with Mason Votes showing you an inside perspective and view from Friday’s event.

Remember to stay informed and above all VOTE!