What do we all think of marijuana getting legalized in Colorado and Washington? Will it help the economy? Will they tax it? Will the use of marijuana decrease because it is legalized? I think legalizing marijuana will help increase revenue for the state, but the amount of use will decrease because it is now legalized. I think many people do it just because they are breaking the law.
posted by Anonymous @ 5:24 PM
10 Comments
By now we know that Barack Obama has been re-elected to President of the United States. Over the week we will continue to get more information of the demographics of the race which will be really interesting. But this blog post is about why and how Romney lost the election. I think there are a few events and missteps that lost him key voters. Here is my List
1. The Auto-Bailout: Back in 2008-2009 when the financial crisis was in full swing Mitt Romney wrote an article now famously titled 'Let Detroit go Bankrupt." This article was written about the failing auto companies Chrysler and General Motors. He argued that in order to save these companies was to let them go through a managed bankruptcy and let them get funding through the private sector. Many people, including me, point to this article and belief as the chief reason Romney lost Ohio. This article turned the blue collar, auto country in the rust belt. He gave away Michigan and Ohio due to this article. A small mistake that meant so much shows just how important the auto industry is to Americans.
2. Immigration reform: One biggest pivots Romney tried to make during his general election campaign was on immigration reform. Some of the most conservative talk during the primaries was on immigration reform. One of the crazy and funnest moments was when Romney coined the phrase "Self deportation" during one of the primary debates. This stance during the primaries killed Romney, he will lose the Hispanic vote by 10 plus points and this was a main reason. This will be a topic of huge debate in the republican party. They cannot keep their stance on immigration and win national races, it will be something to watch.
3. 47 percent and general gaffs: For some reason the Romney campaign could not get out of its own way. Many gaffes and distractions seemed to come out at the worst times. Right when Romney would get some good news and take advantage of the bad economy something like the 47 percent would come up. It speaks to the disorganization of the Romney Campaign. This cost him many important moments and not until the 1st debate could get anything going.
4. "War on Women": This democratic coined phrase was a blanket term for all of the anti-abortion and anti-contraceptive talk from the republican primaries. Candidates like Todd Akin and Rick Santorum lead the party to a far right social position. These positions defined the republicans in many Woman's eyes. The media covered these gaffes and events like nothing else. I believe that the Republican Party inability to stop talking about rape and abortion lost them control of the senate and possibly the presidency.
5. Romney's Business experience: Romney's business background and bipartisan work in Massachusetts was considered to be the strongest reason to vote for Romney. This was going to be the staple of the Romney campaign, something we would hear about one very ad, every debate until Nov. 7th. Obama would have no counter and Mitt would cruise into the White House to save the economy. But a tough primary battle that coined the phrase "vulture capitalism" and tough ads from supposed allies, Mitt's business experience soon became something Mitt couldn't talk about. The scary and complicated world of private equity was hard to explain and easy to degrade. Obama hit hard and fast to identify Bain Capital with images of job killing big company that will leave with all your money as fast as it came. The Obama campaigned turn Bain into a dirty word and destroyed Romney's main talking point. This lead Romney to have to run a shallow and unspecific campaign and ended up costing him the election.
Erik's Election Final Comments:
Mitt Romney was a good candidate, good entrepreneur and a good man. I have no doubt that if he would have won he would tried his hardest to help America achieve our highest hopes. He did not by any means run a spotless campaign and i have significant disagreements with him on many issues. But their is one thing that we agree on, politics isn't everything and it never will be. What matters is what happens after the election, hoping we can put aside our differences and work together.
posted by Anonymous @ 1:03 AM
11 Comments
Now that we've all voted... I'm assuming you are all getting as anxious and excited as I am!
posted by Anonymous @ 3:10 PM
0 Comments
http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2012/11/legalising-marijuana?fsrc=scn/tw/te/bl/viewfromMexico
Really interesting perspective.
Would providing American-grown marijuana destroy the Mexican economy, or help stop the violent drug trafficking? Both? Is one a better option? Legalization is not an issue that only effects the United States.
posted by Anonymous @ 4:00 PM
2 Comments
Hurricane Sandy: Romney's Worst Nightmare?
This video was released on October 31st, shortly after the worst of Hurricane Sandy took place. The video shows a clip of Romney mocking Obama's promises to "slow the rise of the oceans and heal the planet," which conjures laughs from the crowd that he is speaking to. While the crowd is laughing, the ad shows images and video of the Hurricane destroying New Jersey and New York.
According to this article, the ad was not created to encourage people to vote for Obama, but it is meant to wake up the people who have been ignoring climate change.
posted by Anonymous @ 3:21 PM
0 Comments
What do you guys think about voter turn out this year compared to four years ago? Last year, approximately 3 million people voted. Do you think that had a big part to do with the first African American presidential candidate? Do you think this election will be as big as the previous presidential election? I am very curious to see voter turnout on the East Coast this election.
posted by Anonymous @ 11:57 AM
0 Comments
This blog belongs to "Through the Looking Glass," a first-year seminar at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Subscribe to
Posts [Atom]
