TAMPA, Fl. – Join Lenny on Google Hangout today at 1 p.m. EST for a RNC 2012 discussion with moderator Romney Senior Advisor Tara Wall.
Desk participants include FL Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll, Rep. Stefani Carter (Texas State House), Former Congressman Artur Davis. Non-desk participant: Georgia Delegate Ashley Bell
Access the hangout by visiting http://www.youtube.com/user/gopconvention2012/featured.
Catch Lenny McAllister during his latest appearance on HuffPost Live. He discusses the upcoming Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida.
See the Monday segment by clicking the picture above or by clicking HERE
As long as the GOP’s views and approaches to 21st century America harken back to imagined nostalgia of the 1950s, they will continue to trip up on political gaffes and positions that underestimate the social and civic issues of today’s diverse and complex nation.
The ongoing storm swirling around the GOP and Congressman Todd Akin may be focused on rape and abortion, but they center on an ever-growing cultural divide between their life experiences and much of modern-day America’s.
If life in America today could be more like it was for the Cunninghams and their friends on Happy Days, the Republican Party would find that several high-profile political races over the past couple of years would have been easier to win, including the now-tumultuous US Senate race in Missouri. The issues of campaigning, messaging, and connecting with voters that some within the GOP continue to have as a result of the emerging Republican brand would be resolved as quickly as the Fonz could knock on the ol’ jukebox and change an ill-sounding tune.
Unfortunately for many Republicans, American life outside of most politically-gerrymandered constituencies – and, more often than not, outside of their circle of experiences – is increasingly becoming a lot less like those fictional days of the iconic sitcom that depicted White America’s youth of the 1950s. Instead, our nation has become more like the complex society mixing race, corruption, crime, and circumstance that Denzel Washington portrayed in an Academy Award-winning performance. As a result, more Republicans find many of their good ideas lost in the myriad of firestorms that come from a dearth of cultural and life experiences.
Congressman Todd Akin’s statement on legitimate rape is at the center of a firestorm that threatens to whittle away the opportunity for the GOP to win a vulnerable US Senate seat in the fall. However, the controversy and its genuine outrage from both sides of the aisle may finally lead the Republican Party to take a real look at how (or if ) it views and embraces the complexity of modern-day America.
It is an oft-repeated statement, but one that continues to resound loudly in each sound wave of blow-back that Republicans face whenever a situation like the Akin matter comes to the forefront: Republicans would have less problems on the campaign trail and in vote tallies if they have more diversity in their ranks.
What if – like me – one of his best friends from his days as a student was the victim of a rape by a boyfriend? Would Mr. Akin have been more inclined to disregard the notion of “legitimate rape” versus some sort of illegitimate rape, as if a woman’s granted permission to enter a relationship with a man is grounds for entering her body whenever that man deems prudent? What if – like me and others that do not come from the ongoing Happy Days meme of America – Mr. Akin watched this friend carry the baby to term out of love for an innocent child and her belief for pro-life stances (since her body did not effectively “shut that whole thing down”), only to be castigated as a whore – often by church-going Americans – for having the child? What if Mr. Akin – and many Republicans – interacted more at the grassroots level on issues such as domestic violence in order to get a better understanding of the complexities and challenges that women face going through rape? Even as a pro-life Christian conservative (which I am proudly), Mr. Akin would have been able to find the God-given senses of wisdom and compassion to articulate his position more effectively. He might have also proven to be a leader that could address such situations with his faith uncompromised and his proficiency as a positive difference-maker heightened. Instead, his deficiency in being a well-rounded social conservative weakened his influence as both a tenured politician and a well-intended Christian.
Yet, this is not a problem that is capsulated in the Akin candidacy, a political misstep that now prompts conservatives to ask for his resignation from the Senate race. It is merely a symptom to a problem that reaches most corners of the conservative political movement of today.
Catch more of Lenny McAllister’s “Todd Akin: Happy Days vs. Training Day” on Politic365
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“The NAACP has begun an effort called “Restore The Vote” to ensure that Americans that have paid their debts to society after a crime receive full restoration of their voting rights as American citizens. I stand with the NAACP in that effort.
Any American leadership that will be successful in bringing our hurting nation back from the brink of the economic, social, and educational abyss that we face today must hold the highest level of moral and ethical authority. Winning in America must be about elevating the masses, not winning a numbers game based on the few.
The loss of this promise is a sad reason why Hope and Change from 2008 became Status Quo and Gridlock in Washington today. Republican wins in 2010 brought about the same marginal levels of national success based on the laser focus on winning – all while losing a little bit of ourselves.
Rebuilding the various communities of America to restrengthen our nation is going to take all willing and capable members participating in the process. Therefore, this election cannot be about who was allowed to vote and who was not. Any politician or political entity that cannot differentiate between voter validation and empowerment efforts and voter suppression maneuvers regarding these waves of voter ID laws hitting Florida, Virginia, and my native Pennsylvania – is not trying to empower you…or America…for the great American comeback of the 21st Century.”
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For Mitt Romney to win in November and win back long-reaching American economic prosperity, his plan and rhetoric must actively and boldly embrace the socioeconomic diversity of our increasingly-urbanized nation.
One ticket brought hope to the working and middle classes of America in 2008. Can the Romney-Ryan ticket really articulate a vision of positive change in November 2012 for those same voters?
It has been one week since the announcement of Congressman Paul Ryan as the vice presidential nominee for the Republican Party. Since then, we have heard a lot about Ryan’s budget, Ryan’s voting record, and Ryan’s impact on the campaign trail.
If the Republicans are going to turn the tide of the recent poll numbers, the American people need to hear more about how Paul Ryan – and, in turn, the Romney-Ryan ticket – will be able to help the groups of citizens in most need of moving through the economic aftermath of the Great Recession.
The Romney-Ryan ticket could be seen as superior to the incumbent ticket regarding fiscal astuteness. Considering the combined expertise of the men involved, Romney and Ryan are commonly seen as respected numbers wonks, while Obama and Biden are seen more as expert politicians that excel with everyday Americans. Both ends of the Republican ticket regularly receive bipartisan kudos for their acumen concerning economic matters. This should play to Republicans’ advantage this fall. Of course, the results of the past four years that many Americans have endured under the Obama Administration (and a Democrat-controlled Congress for the first half of the presidential term) would seem to only reinforce the notion that there is a definite difference between the two tickets regarding economic understanding and influence.
Yet, none of that matters to date, as evidenced by recent polling. Further, it is unlikely that it will matter if the Romney-Ryan ticket is unable or unwilling to articulate an economic message that speaks directly to more of urban America, the youth of America, and the future of America.
From the ongoing battles with Governor Romney’s tax returns to the decades of Washington experience Congressman Ryan brings to the presidential ticket at age 42, the Republican ticket is already categorized as detached from modern, everyday America. The best way – and, perhaps, the only way – to create the necessary tie with these voters is through articulating clear, focused initiatives that are part of the Romney plan to bring America out of this crisis.
Can the Republican ticket describe a proposal where federal-state partnerships exist in low-business, high-risk areas so that low tax rates and stiffer criminal penalties can be brokered together to stimulate job growth in high unemployment areas? Can the Republican ticket offer support that ensures equality in hiring and wage practices without stifling job expansion?
Catch more of Lenny McAllister’s “Obama/Biden Against Romney/Ryan: Hope vs. Change in 2012” on Politic365
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“Spoken Thoughts of an Amalgamated Advocate in Today’s America”
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Lenny McAllister will be a featured guest on America’s Radio News Network Tuesday at 12:15 PM EDT to discuss the latest in the 2012 presidential race
Catch political and social commentator Lenny McAllister with host Lori Lundin on America’s Radio News Network Tuesday (August 14) at 12:15pm EDT to discuss the latest in the political races in America.
Click on the picture above to listen to the MP3 of the interview or click HERE
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Republican analyst Lenny McAllister discussed the potential for minorities in America under a Romney-Ryan Administration as part of the lead story on “Tell Me More” on National Public Radio (August 13, 2012)
“Those (Ryan budget) proposals…are supposed to make sure that we can save entitlements (for the future)…and provide opportunities where we have more investment and people have more capital to invest in our challenged areas (in America)…it’s interesting that the president and the Democrats would take this line of attack (on Congressman Paul Ryan) when you look at these 3 things:
#1 – President Obama’s budget (proposals) were getting shot down in a bipartisan effort, repeatedly;
#2 – The Democrats have not produced any time of a budget (proposal) in over 1000 days; and…
#3 – …when President Obama talks about these tax cuts, people conveniently forget that (right) after the 2010 midterm elections, there was a president that signed into law the extension of the Bush tax cuts…it wasn’t President Bush, it was President Obama.”
Catch more of Lenny’s Monday interview with guest host Jacki Lyden on National Public Radio’s “Tell Me More” concerning the presidential race now that Mitt Romney has selected Paul Ryan as his running mate.
Click the picture above to listen online on go to the NPR website. Download a copy of the interview by clicking HERE
Don’t forget to grab a copy of Lenny’s
“Spoken Thoughts of an Amalgamated Advocate in Today’s America”
on Amazon or Kindle today!
In Congressman Paul Ryan, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney is hoping that the 7-term policy wonk can bring a mix of youth, energy, and experience to the 2012 Republican ticket as the vice presidential choice.
If this is considered one of the riskier picks that Governor Romney could make for the 2012 GOP presidential ticket, it displays just how close-to-the-vest and safe the Republicans have collectively approached November.
Let’s face it, folks: picking Congressman Paul Ryan for the #2 slot on the 2012 GOP presidential ticket was not as hard as people think.
Neither was it risky. In fact, it allowed Governor Mitt Romney to make a move that, albeit seen as “risky” by several pundits and media types, is as risk-averse as possible with the biggest bang for his buck.
By selecting the 7-term, 42-year-old Cheesehead Congressman for the vice presidential post on the 2012 ticket, Governor Romney is providing himself the opportunity to mix the very best of most sides of the VP selection tug-of-war that he faced over the past few months. By going with one of the faces of the GOP’s future, Romney gets a chance to tap into youthful energy akin to what Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) would have brought to the ticket, especially considering the RNC’s convention romp to Tampa later this month.
Articulate, likable, and poised, Ryan brings qualities to the now-established Romney-Ryan 2012 ticket that the former Massachusetts governor sorely needs.
These factors do not take into consideration the Tea Party factor in the decision that seals this move as a good one for the Romney camp. Although well-respected as a Washington insider, Senator Portman is not nearly as known within Tea Party circles, the very sets of political energy that Republicans need to continue the successes of 2009 and 2010 elections. Although acknowledged as a two-term governor of a traditionally-blue state, Governor Pawlenty had already proven his lukewarm acceptance by red-hot passionate conservatives. Just the same, although Rubio is the one of two Florida-based politicians that used the Tea Party momentum to overcome long odds on the way to Washington (with the other being Congressman Allen West), his short time in Washington would basically eliminate one of Mr. Romney’s staple statements: that President Obama may be a nice guy, but he is simply in over his head due to his lack of real-world and federal experiences. Paul Ryan is the best candidate to give Mitt Romney a chance to leverage both youth, experience, and genuine grassroots excitement within the political right.
Catch more of Lenny McAllister’s “Paul Ryan Pick is Risky to Some, But Reasonable to Mitt Romney” on Politic365
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If America continues down this path politically, the definition of American liberty will be defined through the prisms of Super PAC ads, character assassination, and image consultants while distancing everyday people from political power.
Through all of the cantankerous and inaccurate political ads hitting airwaves this fall, some candidates will emerge as winners in November. The question is: who loses?
Like it or not, each instance of negative campaigning that blatantly crosses the lines of ethical responsibility, above-board political decorum, and basic truthfulness resonates as an opportunity for Americans to choose whether or not the tone of politics is acceptable collectively. Considering the level of crisis that we are facing in this nation – from economic instability to social upheaval through urban violence- it should be an easy choice to make. Any distraction that shifts the primary attention of candidates and voters away from immediately overcoming the obstacles that we face could be seen as a sign of a failure of servant, focused leadership. Instead, these ads and other forms of campaign messages from both sides of the aisle are condoned (if not flat-out encouraged) as long as they benefit one’s position of choice.
That, in turn, makes Americans take the losing position on advancing the country overall.
Say what you want about the Citizens United decision from 2010, the Romney Super PACS from Iowa in 2011, or President Obama’s reversal with public financing in 2008. The atmosphere to strive with these campaign strategies can only be sustained if the voting public supports the short-sighted, “entertain me” attitude that is necessary to make catchy, emotionally-based ads more popular (and more important to a campaign) than informative, truthful ads.
Catch more of Lenny McAllister’s “87 Days to Nov. 6: Obama, Romney and Winning the Olympics of Politics” on Politic365
See more now available in
“Spoken Thoughts of an Amalgamated Advocate in Today’s America”
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LISTEN: Lenny on Wisconsin Public Radio
In Audio, Upcoming Appearances on August 30, 2012 at 12:08 pmTAMPA, Fl. – Lenny McAllister, Republican commentator and author of “Spoken Thoughts of an Amalgamated Advocate in Today’s America,” spoke to Wisconsin Public Radio’s Kathleen Dunn Thursday morning to recap the GOP Convention.
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