Written by Mitt Romney has vowed to put America on the path to a balanced budget. Mitt Romney has not only endorsed the Ryan Budget, but he’s signed the Grover Norquist Pedge to oppose any and all efforts to increase the marginal income tax in any way.
More specifically, Mitt Romney has promised a Washington lobbyist that he will never, ever:
- make the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share
- make huge corporations pay their fair share (or even any taxes at all in some cases)
- end the unfair tax loopholes that allow millionaires like himself and the billionaires funding his campaign to pay a lower tax rate than middle class Americans
- end the unfair handouts to hedge fund and private equity managers (like Mitt Romney himself)
- end tens of billions of dollars in handouts to Big Oil
- end unfair tax loopholes that pay companies to ship jobs overseas
- end unfair tax loopholes for vacation homes and yachts
- end unfair and ridiculous tax loopholes for things like wealthy horse breeders or corporate jets
He’s also said he wants to increase military spending to 4% of GDP … that’s a huge increase, yet he says he wants to cut an entire array of taxes.
UH … how’s he going to do that? Did Romney flunk his math and accounting classes? Balance means that you have an equal amount of revenue which then balances out against expenses. Why does he need to dramatically and explosively increase military spending, plus increase our active-duty force by 100,000 additional military personnel? Is he that insecure of is foreign policy skills? Is he planning to turn those troops on American citizens anticipating that we’ll revolt when we learn his true intentions? Or worse, would his first act as President be to declare war on the Iranians … so he can “
But his pledges don’t stop there … it goes on …. Let’s see, he’s pledged to
- extend the Bush Tax cuts in perpetuity,
- repeal health care reform,
- repeal financial reform, voucherize Medicare, privatize Social Security,
- eliminate estate and capital gains taxes (pretty much the only tax many millionaires and billionaires pay),
- eliminate entire departments like the EPA and Education.
And then just for good measure, he’s also pledged to
- safeguard America’s 2nd Amendment rights that he believes are somehow under attack by liberals (excuse me? President Obama signed a bill into law that allows those yahoos to carry guns damn near everywhere, including in our national parks … I wouldn’t be surprised to hear of poaching taking place in those parks any day now),
- ensure that Planned Parenthood receives absolutely NO federal funding,
- ensure that not one of those undocumented aliens now living on U.S. soil is granted a path to citizenship,
- “stand up” for the rights of hunters and sportsmen and vowed not to create burdens for gun owners,
- sign any bill presented to him that would amend the U.S. Constitution such that marriage is recognized only between a man and a women (thus ensuring institutional government-mandated discrimination against the LGBT community in accordance with NOM directives), and last but not least,
- he’s vowed to sign a “personhood” amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would not just ban any abortion (including for the health of the mother, rape or incest), but would pretty much outlaw other reproductive health care as well, like contraception and in-vitro fertilization.
So does any of that balance it out? Hardly. It makes things drastically worse. That’s not going to “balance” the budget, but it’s going to make the budget deficit worse as well as our overall debt. And, it’s going to decimate the social safety net.
Dismantling entire chunks of our government and parting it out to the states and the private sector means enormous increases in unemployment as public sector employment collapses and vaporizes into thin air. Millions will be without employment, without health care, and without a safe net. Any moron should understand that that means less revenue to pay for all those pledges.
The states don’t have the funds to pick up those responsibilities Romney claims is slash. So, they’re either going to go away entirely, or our state tax rates are going to have to rise. But one thing’s for sure, you can most likely bet your last dollar that “your” federal taxes, those $$ withheld from each paycheck earned by 99% … they aren’t going to get cut. Hey, if the rich and the multinational corporations, the real “looters” in this game the Republiban is playing, aren’t going to be paying into the revenue base, somebody has to pay for transportation infrastructure, all the border guards, the military and all the endless wars they want to declare.
Who is Romney? Does he even have a core set of principles? Why would someone who wants to lead this nation need to sign and attest to so many pledges? Isn’t that something like the tail wagging the dog routine?
Frankly, if it weren’t for all the pledges from this group or that, from this lobbyist or that … I would venture to say we’d know absolutely nothing about the man. So I ask you … if the Electoral College elects him as our next President, who’s going to lead our country? Can he stand up and articulate a real vision for America? Or, are we destined to wait for him to be led by the nose sequentially by one right-wing group after another, who just happen to have a hair up their butt tickling their adam’s apple?
NOTE: I’ve begun referring to Mitt Romney, his Republican brethren and their backers as The Republiban …. the American equivalent to the Taliban … who lead through fear and intimidation, and who promote the pillaging of our Nation’s resources for their own personal financial gain.
1. Roger Ailes: The President of Fox News keeps the right-wing mouth piece biased and unbalanced. He literally proposed a right-wing news network as a propaganda tool to use during the Nixon Administration. And now, Fox News makes every effort to slander Democrats, lie to the public, and support conservative groups, activists and politicians at all costs. Want to tell Ailes what you think of him? Feel free to contact Fox News Channel by mail, phone, or email. 
2. The Koch Brothers: Yes, there is more than one Koch brother, but rather than jotting down the same paragraph twice, it makes more sense to combine the two. Charles and David Koch are the owners of Koch Industries, a private oil and chemicals company. They have spent big money in elections and have pretty much bought and paid for all of Republicans that sit on the energy committee. They also have ties to The John Birch Society, of which their father was a founding member, and several other conservative think tanks and organizations including, Americans For Prosperity which David Koch leads as chairman, the Heritage Foundation, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), and the Cato Institute. They helped create and fund the Tea Party and have been very influential in the watering down of environmental laws and the destruction of unions. If you really want to see the scope of their influence look at what is happening in Wisconsin and in the U.S. House of Representatives. I know you must be dying to contact Koch Industries to give them your opinion, so here’s how you can do that. 
3. Dick Armey: His FreedomWorks organization helped to create the Tea Party and he has worked closely with the Koch brothers. Armey’s organization seeks to deregulate and tear down reform. He opposed health care reform and is largely responsible for hatred, paranoia and anti-government sentiments displayed at town halls during the health care debate.
4. Tom Donohue: The US Chamber Of Commerce President gained a hell of a lot more power in the wake of the Citizens United ruling. The Chamber is the largest conservative lobbying group in the country. Representing big corporations more than small businesses, the Chamber opposed health care reform and Wall Street reform. The group is in favor of tearing down any and every law designed to protect the American worker. Donohue once stated that “there are legitimate values in outsourcing — not only jobs, but work….” and once told unemployed people in Ohio to “stop whining”. So, not only is he for deregulation, he supports job killing policies. That is a double dose of dangerous.
5. Tony Perkins: Perkins is the President of the Family Research Council, a hate group according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. The Council opposes abortion for any reason, believes homosexuality should be against the law, believes in teaching “intelligent design” in schools, and believes global warming is a hoax. FRC was listed as a hate group after it falsely linked gay males to pedophilia. It basically lobbies the government to make laws that govern our personal and private lives. The Council is a Christian Right-wing organization that has a heavy influence on the Republican Party, hence all the abortion laws being proposed by them.
6. Pat Robertson: Robertson founded the Christian Coalition in 1989 and claims to be non-partisan. The problem with this claim is that it’s a bunch of crap. The Christian Coalition passes out “voter guides” in churches and yet is granted tax exempt status. It clearly supports a conservative agenda and is associated with Christian fundamentalism. It is yet another group that believes that America should be a Christian state. They are a threat to the Constitution.
7. Edwin Feulner, Jr.: Feulner is the President of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank that took a leading role in the conservative movement during the 1980′s and continues to push conservative ideals today. The Foundation has strong ties to many Republican politicians, and many Heritage personnel members have gone on to serve in senior governmental roles. Not only does it stand by supply side economics and tax cuts for the rich and corporations which led to the current economic crisis, it also believes in a strong defense which has become more and more expensive. Heritage Foundation is also a part of the Koch Foundation Associate Program and is perhaps the most powerful public policy think tank on this list. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has taken money from the organization. It has far too much influence on American policy and that influence must be brought to an end.
8. Arthur Thompson: Thompson leads the radical right-wing John Birch Society, which is yet another organization that has Koch family connections. Founded in 1958 by Robert Welch, Jr., the John Birch Society is an anti-communism group that has pretty much denounced every liberal person and policy as socialist. It opposes the Civil Rights Act, the United Nations, and believes in immigration reduction. It aims to dismantle the Federal Reserve System and wants to return to the gold standard. The group is a sponsor of CPAC and is no longer exiled from the mainstream. Another interesting fact is that Fred Koch, father of the aforementioned Koch brothers, was a founding member.
9. Rupert Murdoch: Known as “the man who owns the news”, Murdoch controls a vast media empire around the world including Fox News, The New York Post, and the Wall Street Journal here in America. Advertising his media outlets as “fair and balanced” Murdoch and his News Corporation relentlessly push conservative talking points and provide campaign donations to many Republicans running for various positions. News Corporation now has to answer for hacking cell phones and impeding investigations. Long the mouthpiece for Republican propaganda, Murdoch is a threat to Freedom of the Press and the foundations that keep America free.
10. Grover Norquist: Norquist is an especially dangerous individual. In fact, at the moment, he has the most influence on Republican congressmen. Republicans in the House and Senate refuse to raise taxes on corporations and the wealthy and Norquist and his group, Americans For Tax Reform, have made sure Republicans continue to do so. 235 members of the House and 41 Senators signed the 
11. David Bossie: Citizens United isn’t just a bad Supreme Court ruling. Citizens United is the conservative organization that the conservative majority of the Supreme Court ruled in favor of in 2008. Founded in 1988, located near Capitol Hill, and led by President and Chairman David Bossie, Citizens United’s goals include withdrawal from the United Nations, and defeat of campaign finance laws, among others. They also produce “documentaries” that serve the conservative agenda. The group is mostly a threat because of their fight to allow corporate ownership of elections. The Koch brothers, and many conservative think tanks and organizations have flooded elections with cash since the ruling. The Supreme Court decision alone is enough to put this dangerous organization and Bossie on the list.
12. Tim LaHaye and Kenneth Cribb: Once again, you’ll notice that two people occupy this spot. After some thought, I decided this was necessary to avoid repetition.
13. Steven J. Law:Lawis President and CEO of American Crossroads, a conservative organization that has raised and spent tens of millions of dollars to defend and elect Republican candidates to federal office, and was very active in the 2010 U.S. midterm elections. Basically, Law and his group are listed because they have taken advantage of the Citizens United Supreme Court decision the most since the ruling. The Kochs and Karl Rove have connections with the group and are a major reason why the House is under GOP control.
14. James Dobson:Dobson is the Family Talk radio personality and Family Research Council founder that contributes greatly to all the hate we see from conservatives. A frequent guest on Fox News, he is perhaps the most influential religious leader on the Christian-Right even though he has never been ordained. Dobson believes that women should only focus on mothering (and probably cooking too) and is totally against gay rights. He supports private schools and special tax privileges for religious schools. He opposes sex education and only supports abstinence as the only technique for pregnancy prevention. Dobson is on this list because he is the one that began all of the anti-gay, anti-women, and anti-education speeches that are now commonplace in the Republican Party. [Note from The Christian Left: This is the saddest entry for us. Some of us used to really enjoy James Dobson. It's unfortunate that he joined the extreme right. Maybe he'll see the light some day.]
15. Phyllis Schlafly: She is the only woman on this list. Undoubtedly, you may have thought that Michele Bachmann or Sarah Palin would be, but they are not. I consider Palin and Bachmann mere pawns compared to Schlafly. As founder and President of the Eagle Forum, Schlafly opposes feminism and equal rights for women. Eagle Forum promotes a pro-life, anti-gay, anti-sex education, and anti-vaccination agenda that has contributed to the current wave of social conservative extremism in the Republican Party. She believes women should remain in the home and that there is no such things as marital rape. She is certainly the most influential woman in right-wing activism and as such, the most dangerous one too.
16. David Keene: Up to now David Keene led the American Conservative Union, which is the oldest operating conservative lobbying organization in the country. The ACU runs the event known as CPAC and spends money on lobbying and political campaigns. Keene is still the current President of the National Rifle Association. Which is also a strong lobbying group that is virtually an arm of the Republican Party that glorifies guns and believes that people should be able to carry guns anywhere they go, even near the President of the United States. Keene is mostly on this list because of the NRA. The NRA used to actually serve a valid purpose but has since become a pro-Republican political organization that has mixed guns and politics. It makes them a danger to the political process.
17. Tim Wildmon: Classified as a hate group by the 
18. David Barton: Despite not having any history or law credentials David Barton passes himself off as an expert in early American history. Most of his claims have been disputed and written off as false by real historians. Barton’s organization is Wallbuilders, which seeks to destroy one the basic foundations of American life: the separation of church and state. Barton’s mission is to revise history in an effort to turn America into a Christian state with Biblical law instituted as the law of the land. He has also created false quotes to justify his claims. Barton is a danger to the history of America, the Constitution, and education.
19. Noble Ellington: 
20. Edward H. Crane: Crane is the founder and current leader of the Cato Institute. While they have supported some liberal policies and claim to abhor neo-conservatives, the Cato Institute does push many objectives that should make everyone cringe. Among the various policies that Cato supports, privatizing Social Security, abolishing the minimum wage, abolishing affirmative action, and some environmental regulations, are among them. Of course, it’s understandable why Cato holds these positions considering Charles Koch is chairman of the board and a major funding source. Even Rupert Murdoch had a place on the board at one point which connects the Kochs and the right-wing media.
Charles M Smith and Dina Rasor, 
Charles M Smith and Dina Rasor, 
Yesterday, presidential candidate Mitt Romney blasted the ruling put forth by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals:
