That was my thought as well.

@Mr. Healey - We finally have something on which we can agree

It's unfortunate that folks like you are driving the Republican Party to a place where they will be unable to win any election outside of the South. A return to the time when Dwight David Eisenhower could have been considered "a Republican" would be a good thing for your party and our country.

Really? The Democrats still do not have control of the House. At the state level, 30 of the 50 states have Republicans as governors. Here in NH, the Republicans still have control of the state Senate.

If you check the results of the 2012 election, there were many elections won by Republicans that were not in the south. Here are the results of the House elections in 2012:
http://www.politico.com/2012-election/map/#/House/2012/

Is Michigan in the south?

Jim, please. There will be no problem for college grads. Lots of green jobs in Obama 2.0

Plenty of jobs for Vets too. Yeah right.

The unemployment rate for people with Bachelor's degree and higher is 3.8%
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t04.htm

It is disgusting that Republican's won't hire veterans.

"It is disgusting that Republican's won't hire veterans".

Any proof to this allegation?

Companies don't have to give benefits now, they send US jobs out of the country to increase their bottom line... even while corporations are holding the largest stockpile of money ever.

The Tax Code is in need of a complete overhaul, and one aspect must be to make jobs here a priority. And are you sure your friend with the Master's degree would be content working in a "trade"?

The unemployment rate for people with Bachelor's degree and higher is 3.8%
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t04.htm

@Jan Schmidt - When the American people stop buying cheap imported goods and insist that the products they buy are manufactured in America and are willing to pay the price, I call it "pay their fair share", then and only then will the "giant sucking sound of jobs leaving this country" cease. You can't pay livable wages to people in this country if people are not willing to pay the price of the end product.

It is not the companies who are destroying jobs in this country, it is the American consumer, forever in search of the lowest price and "quality be damned." Welcome to "Obamanation".

I've been making product in America my whole career. We make it cheaper, better, and faster than any foreign option. I also have a huge percentage of my products components sourced in America and even more importantly local.

How do we do it? We do it with the highest productivity in the world and innovation.

America is still the largest manufacturer in the world.

Joe, President Obama has been asking Congress to fix for almost 4 years. Lay the blame where it's due. Corporations are in business to make money, modern business is In it for the short haul. Corporations need an incentive to keep jobs here.

Tell Congress to get on the stick and address this issue.

And while you're at it ... Whenever you can... Buy local... Buy American goods, from American companies that treat their employees like humans.

Proud:

And in what field (exactly) did this gentleman get his Master's Degree? That will have a big impact on how employable he is in modern-day America.

It's not just Sears. There are certain people is Salem town government that would like to make full time town employees part time so that they don't have to pay benifits

What product do you make that is cheaper, better, faster, more productive Mr Healey ?

OEM actuators and servo controllers.

Servo controller electronics can be manufactured cheaper onshore ? With onshore components ? From local suppliers ?

"Joe, President Obama has been asking Congress to fix for almost 4 years."

From January 2009 to January 2011, the Democrats had the white house, the senate (59 - 41) and the house of representatives (255 - 179). Obama can't blame congress for what happened then....

> From January 2009 to January 2011, the Democrats had the white house,
> the senate (59 - 41) and the house of representatives (255 - 179). Obama
> can't blame congress for what happened then....

Actually, he can. The Republicans in the Senate, aided and abetted by some "Blue Dog Democrats" (in other words, closet Republicans who are no longer there), was filibustering everything.

We could have had a vastly different economy by now, but the Republicans top priority was keeping millions out of work in order to cost one man his job.

I am having second/third thoughts about my vote for Sweeney

@Survivor. That's what happens when you vote for the R and not the person.

Unfortunately Mr. Sweeny jumped at the straight ticket votes offered by the republicans. Mr. Sweeny is just another starry eyed kid who has not had any experience in life as an adult. Like Mr. Bettencourt the system will use him and throw him out like used close. He emulates the young that think they can can go at it alone. Then they get old!
Instead of getting drafted and meeting fellow citizens of America in the play ground of adults he chose to hide in a crowd of want a bees or (politicians.)
Go to school, get a job, raise a family and then you have a back ground for writing laws that affect people.

You missed Joeys point, "Can't we all just get along?"

Your a democrat, why would you have voted for him?

Mike inadvertently hit on the true problem with the republican party here. Republicans are critical of each other because the party is made up of people who stand for things. If someone steps up as a "republican" and doesn't stand for what the others in the party stand for they will criticize that person.
Democrats meanwhile as evident in MA will vote for anyone with a D next to their name regardless of the person. 60% of MA thought Scott Brown was doing a good job and like him but instead of supporting the person, they voted for the D ignoring the fact they supported someone who out right lied about her background to get jobs. They continue to vote for the party even after having 3 speakers of the house get indited in MA. They supported Frank even after it came out he had a gay brothel being run in his own apartment. In NH they continue to support a party leader who has allegations of child porn against him (ignoring that Lynch gave him a nearly 2 week warning before any investigation was started) and who has multiple videos showing a vulgar man who wouldn't have even made it through a single republican party just based on that behavior alone.

So it's clear what the problem with Republicans is, we have standards and wont support someone we feel doesn't live up to our standards.

On more piece of evidence to consider. In 2012 Obama won with 62,613,405 votes, in 2008 he received 69,456,897, almost 7 million more votes. Obama after losing 7 million votes should have lost but Republicans did not show up to vote for someone who did not represent them or their party.

Right on point, although there are many exceptions Richard. The republican party has elected a few criminals.

If you click on the [Reply] button of the statement you would like to reply to, your comment will be linked to the original thread you wanted to address. Similarly, if someone's post is directly below yours but is not shifted to the left there is a good chance they were not addressing your particular post when commenting.

I was not addressing your post with my comment but addressing all the Anger right wingers who want him "hoisted one by their own petard"

Riley, that makes you a democrat!
*
What a surprise!!!!!

Tom-I believe Joe was referring to the Barton/Beck false claims that America is a Christian nation and that the Constitution was based on the Bible.

@Tammy, Barton/Beck have that right. I am a Classical Liberal. Most of what the Republican Party advocates that the Federal government does to my way of thinking is far beyond the Constitutional scope as enumerated in Article1 Section 8 which determines the scope of the Federal Government almost entirely. But no one can seriously question the effort I have made for 50 years on behalf of the Republican Party. The Republican Party should be broad enough to include Beck as well as myself for whom Beck is a fringe character. Why is there no similar protest about the fact that Obama was the candidate of the United States Communist Party as well as the Democratic Party? The Democratic Party welcomes unabashedly Al Sharpton, a certifiable buffoon and proven liar, Jesse Jackson whose primary source of income is extortion, Congressmen Hastings who is a jail bird, Bill Ayers, a terrorist, and Senator Bob Menendez who can't remember stiffing two prostitutes out of $800 and padded expense reports among many other unsavory characters? Sure there are fringe players. Many Republicans have considered me a "Reactionary" for many decades. I can disagree fundamentally with most Republicans without abandoning the party because the Democrats offer people like me nothing at all.

Tom-Barton/Beck have been proven wrong by reputable historians numerous times. That said, I also believe in big tent parties. Although I think all ideas should be on the table, absurd conspiracy theories and extremism need to be rebuked and ridiculed by all political parties. Our party allowed the crazies to frame many of the talking points the last two elections. Before that, we let the neocons drag us into war. I can only imagine what is next...

Tom, you cannot list a few Democrats and use them as an honest sampling of what all Democrats are, nor can you equate religion with morals, or those who say they are religious with higher morals.

The origin of our country was not based on religion, it was based on morals... Confusing or conflating the two is where you and many others go wrong.

Jan, I think it's fine to equate religion with morals because it then gives us latitude to equate hypocrisy with religion.

We've been hearing about the decline of public morality ever since the Christians abandoned their noble duty to subjugate the heathens for their own good and force them into involuntary servitude on the plantations.

What's the world coming to these days? Jim Crow has been abandoned in the Bible belt, and now look what we've got: Shariah law socialism with a Marxist tinge---except without violation of human rights these things necessarily entail.

@Jay Gatsby, My position on freedom of religion is exactly the same as the founding fathers. Individuals make judgements in their capacity as a voter or a legislator or an elected official on the basis of their religious beliefs. Governments can not establish a state religion. That is all I was stating on religion. The rest of the piece simply postulated that the Democrats have a lunatic fringe as well.