In the past weeks the political campaign has focused in social issues like Medicare, abortion and rape; all of these are areas in which President Obama has an advantage over Mitt Romney. According to the last AP-GfK poll, President Obama is seen much more capable of handling social issues. But now Mitt Romney has tried to focus in his energy plan to boost his economic plan.

Mitt Romney is now trying to refocus the national debate to economic issues in which Obama is weaker. The high unemployment rate has been one of Obama’s weaknesses; the Obama campaign has released a new ad called “Clear Choice,” which features former President Bill Clinton, saying that this election is an opportunity to decide which candidate would be able to get the country back to work.

Clinton explains the Republican plan intends to cut taxes on the wealthy and get the country back to the regulation that got the country in so many problems. On the other hand, Clinton explained that Obama’s plan would rebuild the country investing in innovation and creating jobs. Clinton added that the plan would only work with a strong middle class, such as the one that existed when he was president.

Romney is now working on his energy plan, which he says would be able to create three million jobs by 2020. It would also open more areas for drilling off the coast in two swing states the Republicans lost in the 2008 election: North Carolina and Virginia.

Romney will be traveling to different states with his energy proposals, so voters will have the opportunity to hear them. His plan is supposed to result in $1 trillion in revenue for federal, state and local governments. Also, Romney intends to give each state the liberty to establish the form of energy production they want on federal lands, which is quite different from Obama’s administration energy policy in which the federal government currently controls these lands.

Romney’s plan will have a lot of opposition in Congress and will lead to protests from different environmental groups, especially if the oil drilling is done in the mid-Atlantic, where it is currently banned. In order to prevent these protests, the energy production would be banned in areas that are currently designated as off-limits. Romney has a big plan to finally execute the Keystone XL pipeline project, which is a pipeline that would run from Canada to Texas refineries.

Mitt Romney has recently received almost $7 million from oil executives from fundraisers in Texas. During a fundraiser in Arkansas, Romney promised that “”North America will be energy-independent by the last year of my second term.”

Steve Holland in a Huffington Post article explains that the “Republicans are eager to make greater use of the U.S. energy supply to increase jobs for Americans suffering amid an 8.3 percent unemployment rate. They would curtail some federal regulations to permit more production.”

Holland, speaking about the environmental controversy that Romney’s plan could cause, said “the plan makes little mention of climate change or greenhouse gases. Romney policy adviser Oren Cass said Romney supports green energy and government spending on energy research, but opposes loan guarantees for green companies.”

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Accusations from Republicans, especially Rick Santorum, against Obama continues, as Santorum also explained that, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, “Obamacare” would cost taxpayers almost two trillion dollars. Santorum added that, in 10 years, “Obamacare” would leave nearly 30 million people uninsured and would not solve the urgent problem of the increasing costs for healthcare.

Santorum also mentioned China’s economic situation to criticize Obama’s economic policies. China has largely increased its manufacturing base and its economy grew almost two trillion dollars in the past year. Santorum explained that in the United States, Obama increased taxes on most manufacturing businesses, which killed more job opportunities and puts the country at a great disadvantage against China.

Mitt Romney has also taken advantage of Europe’s crisis to criticize President Obama saying that the Americans shouldn’t let the United States become Europe under Obama’s leadership. Romney also compared California’s difficult economic situation under Democrat leadership with the Greek economic crisis.

But these haven’t been the only accusations Republicans have made against Democrats. Recently, Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, accused Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) of lying for saying that Mitt Romney had not paid income taxes in 10 years. Romney defended himself, saying that his 2010 tax report has already been released and the 2011 report will be released when it is completed. Currently, only Romney’s tax return for 2010 has been publicly released.

Most of Santorum’s accusations are similar to what other Republicans are using to attack Obama. One of the most hurtful ones has been Romney’s campaign ad accusing Obama of gutting former president Bill Clinton’s welfare reform by dropping employment requirements. In response, Clinton released a statement on August 7 denouncing the ad.

An article on The Atlantic, written by Molly Ball, explained that “the Obama administration issued a memo telling states they could apply to have some aspects of the law’s work requirements waived. Some on the right were outraged by the supposed attempt to weaken the law’s emphasis on getting people off welfare and into employment, which the administration denied would result from its order.” That is why Romney’s campaign released an ad claiming that the Obama administration wants to get rid of the work requirements in order to receive the welfare check.

The article further explains that the Obama administration responded to Republican accusations saying that they don’t want to drop work requirements but they do want to give benefits to more people who aren’t working in the way it is currently defined, finding the requirements restrictive.

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich also accused Obama of gutting Clinton’s welfare reform. Gingrich, who was one of the Republicans who negotiated the welfare reform with Bill Clinton, accused Obama of “setting up a dramatic reduction in the work requirement.”

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Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney and many other Republicans have been criticizing President Obama for what they consider to be failed economic policies and are accusing him of trying to get rid of work requirements in order to receive a welfare check.

Former 2012 hopeful Rick Santorum recently posted on his blog about “Obamanomics,” a term used to explain that Obama’s economic plans, instead of “spreading wealth around, in reality only spreads poverty and economic decline.”

The former Republican presidential candidate wrote that Obama does not understand the challenges many working families are facing. He thinks that the government’s economic management has led to a situation that forces companies to outsource jobs, while many American families are losing them.

Santorum asserts that the situation is so chaotic that 41 months have passed with the unemployment rate above 8 percent, something that hasn’t occurred since the Great Depression. Since WWII, no president that served while the unemployment rate was above 8 percent has been reelected. If this continues into November, President Obama will have to challenge history for reelection.

Santorum also added that one out of six Americans is currently below the poverty line and that one in four children is receiving food stamps.

The other aspect Santorum criticized from Obama’s government is unnecessary spending. Santorum wrote, “national debt has grown by over $5.2 trillion to $16 trillion dollars—an increase of 49 percent.”  Santorum also explained that this is the fourth consecutive year in which the deficit exceeds one trillion dollars.

Another accusation Santorum made against Obama is that he has only made cuts in the defense spending budget, which Santorum considers wrong. He believes that the defense system should be a priority for the federal government, but Obama’s cuts have exceeded one trillion dollars.

President Obama has defended himself from this type of accusations, an example is on a speech on Cleveland in June he explained that the Bush tax rate cuts where somehow guilty for the recession, not his economic policies. Obama stated: “The failure to pay for the tax cuts and the wars took us from record surpluses under President Bill Clinton to record deficits. And it left us unprepared to deal with the retirement of an aging population that’s placing a greater strain on programs like Medicare and Social Security.”

Obama defended his economic policies on Cleveland, he stated: “We acted fast. Our economy started growing again six months after I took office and it has continued to grow for the last three years.” He added: “Our businesses have gone back to basics and created over 4 million jobs in the last 27 months; more private sector jobs than were created during the entire seven years before this crisis, in a little over two years.” But this is exactly what Republicans like Rick Santorum are criticizing, they accuse him of not reacting in time and maintaining the unemployment rate above 8% for too long.

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Los Angeles, U.S.A. — With many citing the economy as the most important issue for the 2012 presidential election, Loop21.com, a leading digital source of emergent Black culture, and a coalition of top black civic, entertainment and media organizations, conducted The State of the Black Economy (SOBE) survey, a study of African American public opinion on the issue. The study, conducted from July 9 to July 27, tapped into a panel of more than 5,000 regular African American visitors to the Loop21.com website.

According to polling results released today, Loop21.com’s African American panel respondents are more pessimistic about the national economy than they are on their own personal finances, however, 86% approve of President Obama’s performance on the economy. While overall the president’s economic job approval number have been hovering around the mid to low 40s; African Americans see him as doing much better than the public at large.

The panel respondents tend to blame the current economic problems on former President George W. Bush, Wall Street, and Congress, more so than President Obama. Panel respondents also tend to think that President Obama’s race influences the public criticism he receives when people speak about his economic job performance.

When panel respondents who disapproved (14%) of the President’s performance on the economy were asked who could do better than President Obama the most common response suggested no one. The second most common response among disapproving respondents was that a Democratic Congress could do better.

The distant third most common response (9%) was a third-party Presidential candidate. The list of responses—panel respondents could only check one—included a Republican President (1%), the Republican Congress (<1%), a Democratic other than Obama (6%), a Democratic Congress (20%), a non-Democrat or non-Republican president (9%), a different African American (1%), none of the above (44%), and unsure (17%).

Asked specifically about how much President Obama “cares about the needs of Black people” compared to “past presidents” and compared to “former President Bill Clinton,” respondents said that Obama cared more than past presidents, but equal amounts said he cared “the same” as or “more” than former President Clinton.

Panelists also offered opinions about job policy priorities. When asked about the issue of jobs in the United States, a majority of panel respondents say job creation should be more important than reducing the deficit and that tougher immigration enforcement would not lead to more job opportunities. The panel respondents were split on the issue of whether tax decreases for business would stimulate job growth.  Panel respondents also preferred “issue targeted” policies over “race targeted” policies.

On the issue of race, (70%) of the panel respondents see “African Americans” as sharing more common experiences than “Americans” in general, (55%).  The survey also found that panel respondents perceive more racial bias for other African Americans than they experience in their own daily lives; yet, list “workplace discrimination” among their greatest concerns for job security.

Racial perceptions influenced African Americans panel respondents’ assessment of criticism leveled at President Obama. The overwhelming majority of respondents hold the view that all “Americans” and “African Americans” hold President Obama to a “higher standard than other presidents.” When asked why, nearly 9 out of 10 responded that both “Americans” and “African Americans” hold President Obama to a higher standard “because of his race.”

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Tampa, U.S.A. — This month’s Republican National Convention is expected to bring approximately 50,000 visitors to Tampa and drive delay times on the city’s major roads by 18 percent. The insight, released today by INRIX, the largest global traffic intelligence platform in the world, unveils a number of likely problem areas for drivers including:

• Routes South of Whiting Street will be closed, including the Platt Street Bridge and the part closure of the Selmon Expressway, between Willow Avenue and 50th Street
• Traffic will likely reroute to the I-275 or Kennedy Boulevard with delays increasing to more than 25 minutes on the busiest days, from an average of 10 to 15 minutes
• Overall traffic volume will significantly rise, with 350 charter buses and more than 500 private vehicles expected, with no plans to set aside specialized lanes on the interstates
• Short traffic signals could bring downtown Tampa to a standstill, with the biggest concerns being traffic signals on Kennedy Boulevard and Ashley Drive
• Road closures are anticipated to be lifted after 6PM on Friday August 31 st and will start from Saturday August 25 th

Jim Bak, Director of Community Relations, INRIX, shares advice to Tampa commuters: “There will likely be a conference session that clashes with the morning rush hour on Monday August 27 th and commuters should get an early start to avoid the anticipated delays. Staggering work hours around peak commuting times and working around the road closures as much as possible should help alleviate some of the pressure on the roads, we advise drivers to plan journeys in advance as much as possible.”

Current Top three worst bottlenecks in Tampa:

• I-275 Southbound from Floribraska Ave/28th Ave/Exit 28 to US-92/Dale Mabry Hwy/Exit 23,  traffic moves through this 4.2 mile stretch of road at rush hour at 33 mph for 24 hours each week
• I-275 Northbound from FL-60/Cypress St/Exit 39  to FL-574/Exit 46B where traffic crawls through this four mile stretch of road at an average speed of 22 mph for 13 hours each week.
• Veterans Expy/FL 569 Southbound where it intersects with Linebaugh Ave/Exit 7 is a half mile stretch of road where cars crawl at an average speed of 23 mph for 10 hours a week.

The Republican National Convention runs August 27 th to August 30 th 2012 across various locations in Tampa.

image Courtesy of    Voices Empower with Alice Linahan

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Tampa, U.S.A. — A unique gathering of advocacy groups urged the Republican Party Committee on Resolutions (the platform committee) to consider all faith viewpoints when it comes to the country’s most pressing social issues—including access to reproductive healthcare and the freedom to marry.

In response to increasingly heated rhetoric about religious freedom, leaders of Republicans for Choice, Catholics for Choice and the National Council of Jewish Women, which are members of the Coalition for Liberty and Justice, joined the Log Cabin Republicans on a panel, “Republicans in Good Faith: Making Room for All Voices in the GOP,” during Republican Party platform committee meetings.

New polling data from Republicans for Choice revealed that the leadership of the Republican Party does not reflect the views of rank and file Republicans when it comes to reproductive healthcare issues. Eighty percent of those who identified as Republicans believe that, when it comes to abortion, the decision should be made by a woman. Three percent said it should be made by the government.

“Republicans in good faith don’t use faith to discriminate. They recognize the hypocrisy of advocating government to get out of the boardroom but not the bedroom. They understand that they need to welcome and embrace voters of all religious persuasions, not just the few who have dominated the discussions in the recent past,” said Ann Stone, national chairman of Republicans for Choice.

Jon O’Brien, president of Catholics for Choice, said, “Polls done across the political spectrum show the majority of Republicans, like the majority of Americans, do not agree that abortion should be illegal. The leadership of the GOP should better reflect the views of Republican voters—who are overwhelmingly pro-choice.

Too many Republican leaders agree with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops that recent advances in the provision of family planning are an attack on religious freedom. This is completely bogus. In bending the knee to the Catholic hierarchy, these leaders have taken on values that are held by a tiny minority of Catholics and are anathema to Republican ideals of freedom and fairness.”

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Two new polls have appeared demonstrating the same thing: Obama is still slightly ahead of Romney. The surveys have been elaborated by AP-GfK and The Wall Street Journal/NBC News. Not even the nomination of Paul Ryan as Romney’s running mate has made the Republican comeback a sure thing, but Republicans still hope their Tampa Convention will turn things around.

The NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows the Obama-Biden ticket has the support of 48 percent of registered voters ,and the Romney-Ryan ticket gets 44 percent.

In the July poll the results were almost the same. Let’s remember that during that month Ryan had not yet been designated as Romney’s running mate. The Obama-Biden ticket had 49 percent of registered voters’ support, and Romney had 43 percent. Even through all of the Republican effort, only a slight difference has been seen in the polls from July to August.

Romney’s tax record, and his Medicare plan, which is not popular, is costing him serious trouble. These are the main issues he must solve to have a serious comeback opportunity. President Obama, on the other hand, is having trouble with the unemployment rate and the nation’s direction; he must convince the voters that in four more years he will be able to take the country in the right direction.

But not all of the polls look negative for Romney. If you consider just 12 key state battle grounds: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin, Obama’s advantage over Romney has gotten smaller. He now leads 49 to 46 percent, when in the same poll on June and July he had an 8 percent advantage in these same key state battlegrounds.

Obama still has minorities’ support; Hispanics and African Americans are behind him. So are women, which makes it seem that the Democrat’s campaigning regarding Republicans’ war with women has succeeded.  Romney is leading Obama on white, rural and senior voters, respectively.

The AP-GfK poll shows similar results. One of the poll’s results worthy of consideration is that amongst people who think Medicare is a very important issue, 49 percent would vote for Obama and 44 percent for Romney. This proves that Obama’s Medicare plan is more popular. On the other hand, voters still think Romney is more capable of handling the economy, 48 percent favor him and 44 percent favor Obama.

According to this poll Obama is also seen as much more capable of handling social issues, such as abortion and same-sex marriage, 54 percent of them think Obama is much more capable of handling abortion, while only 33 percent think Romney is more capable.

Obama is also seen as a strong, honest and trustworthy leader, whilst Mitt Romney needs to work on his personal image in order to have a serious chance of winning this election.

Republicans are hoping their Tampa Convention will make them jump in the polls. They have prepared a Convention with speakers that could turn things around, like Chris Christie (key-note speaker) or Marco Rubio (who will introduce Mitt Romney). Also, the Convention will be an opportunity for Romney to work on his personal image and for people to know Paul Ryan’s proposals firsthand.

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Washington, U.S.A. — Following Congressman Akin’s controversial remarks on Sunday, the Romney-Ryan campaign quickly released the following statement: “Governor Romney and Congressman (Paul) Ryan disagree with Mr. Akin’s statement, and a Romney-Ryan administration would not oppose abortion in instances of rape.”

After praising Congressman Ryan’s pro-personhood record in a press release last week, Personhood USA has now expressed concern about the appearance of compromise on the part of Congressman Ryan.

“Personhood USA does not endorse political candidates, but we had hoped that Congressman Ryan would be a good influence on Governor Romney, considering Romney’s liberal abortion record,” explained Jennifer Mason, Communications Director for Personhood USA. “Reading today that babies conceived in rape should suffer the death penalty under a Romney-Ryan administration is extremely concerning, and indicates that Congressman Ryan’s pro-woman and pro-baby positions would have little influence if he wins the office of Vice President of the United States.”

In December, Personhood USA asked GOP Presidential hopefuls to sign a “Personhood Pledge,” affirming the Republican party platform and following in the steps of President Ronald Reagan. Governor Mitt Romney declined to sign the prolife pledge.

Personhood USA spokesperson Rebecca Kiessling, who was conceived in rape, has had the opportunity to speak to many presidential hopefuls over the past five years. When speaking with Governor Mitt Romney several years ago, Rebecca commented that he was largely unresponsive and seemingly disinterested. By contrast, Rebecca’s conversation with Texas Governor Rick Perrymade headline news, with Governor Perry stating, ”Looking in her eyes, I couldn’t come up with an answer to defend the exceptions for rape and incest.”

“As someone who really cares about rape victims, I want to protect them from the rapist, and from the abortion, but not the baby. A baby is not the worst thing that could ever happen to a rape victim — an abortion is,” explained Kiessling. “We need to educate the American public on the truth in this matter and not make public policy based on myth and misinformation.”

“Governor Romney claims to be prolife, but it appears he is prolife with exceptions – if the baby was conceived in rape, it seems that Romney does not believe that baby has a right to life. This position is contrary to the Republican party platform and contrary to the beliefs of prolife Americans nationwide. All babies have a right to live, regardless of the circumstances of their conception,” concluded Mason

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The Obama campaign has announced that Vice President, Joe Biden, has plans to be in Tampa next week. This wouldn’t be an important announcement, but the same days he is planning to attend Tampa are the same days the Republican National Convention will be taking place in the city.

The White House released a statement saying: “Next week, on Monday, August 27 and Tuesday, August 28, Vice President Joe Biden will travel to the Tampa area and other cities for campaign events.” The Republican National Convention is scheduled to take place from August 27 to August 30 at the Tampa Bay Times Forum.

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus has already responded to Biden’s plans saying that the Republicans will respond to any attempt from the Democrats to interfere with the convention.

Priebus even threatened the Democrats that if they interfere with their convention, they should not be surprised if the Republicans interfere with theirs: “I think it’s pretty common among parties to play with each other’s conventions, and we’ll have a pretty big presence in Charlotte as well,” Priebus added that “the nice thing about going first is that whatever they do to us, we can do ten times over to them.” This was a very serious threat; it seems Priebus believes that if the Democrats attack their convention the Republicans should counter-attack harder.

When Priebus was asked that if his declarations meant that Romney would be in Charlotte for the Democratic Convention, he responded: “You never know where we are going to be.”

This political campaign has been very aggressive, with both campaign teams trying to interfere in each other’s activities.

Joe Biden has been also involved in recent controversies because of the declarations he made on a speech in Danville, Virginia to a crowd that included many African Americans, in which he said that Romney’s Wall Street plan was going to put the people “back in chains.”

An Obama campaign official told ABC News that ““as the full quote makes obvious, the Vice President was clearly using a metaphor to describe the devastating impact of deregulating Wall Street and the financial industry, as well as how Governor Romney’s policies would take us back to the same failed formula that led to the 2008 financial crisis – the same failed formula that benefited a few, but crashed our economy and hurt the middle class.”

The Obama campaign official defended Biden, saying that he did not intend to make racial comments for political purposes, as many analysts have criticized.

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Paul Ryan recently made a speech in front of many elderly and beneficiaries of Medicare citizens  at The Villages in Florida, one of the key states in which the Republicans are receiving hard critics for their Medicare plans, which the Democrats claim would hurt American seniors.

Paul Ryan is considered to be a great speaker; the first thing he did during his Florida speech was to introduce his mother (Betty) to the crowd. He said that under Obama’s leadership the United States has become a “nation deeper in debt and further in doubt,” he added that now more than ever the country needs a leader that would make tough decisions to get the country back on track. He also criticized that President Obama and other politicians have “become more focused on their next election than on the next generation.”

Ryan also said that it is true that Obama “inherited a difficult situation,” but the problem is that he made it worse. He added that his speech is not hope and change anymore, it has now changed into anger and frustration.

Paul Ryan also talked about Romney’s credentials. It seems he has taken seriously the job of making his running mate seem as the leader America needs in this difficult situation. He talked about Romney’s business records, which have been one of his most criticized aspects by Obama’s campaign, by saying that Romney has helped in creating successful businesses many people know about like Sports Authority or Bright Horizons.

He also talked about Romney’s political experience, saying that Romney was a Republican governor in a Democratic state like Massachusetts, and he was able to negotiate with the Democrats in the legislature to balance the budget without increasing taxes.

Ryan also spoke about Medicare, the controversial issue that has been debated during the past few weeks. Democrats claim the Republicans want to turn Medicare into a voucher system and the Republicans claim Obama has taken $716 billion out of Medicare to support his own program (Obamacare).

Ryan said he wants a debate over Medicare and that a debate is needed. While talking about Medicare he referred to his mom, who is retired in Florida and is enrolled in Medicare. The vice presidential candidate said that for him Medicare is not a “bunch of numbers,” it is the program that his “mom relies on.”

Ryan explained that his mom is enrolled in Medicare and planned her retirement on the promise the government made her, because she paid her payroll taxes in order to become a Medicare beneficiary. Paul Ryan added that Obama has taken $716 billion from the program to pay for Obamacare and this will cut benefits from seniors.

He also added that Obama put a board of bureaucrats in charge of Medicare to fulfill his plans. The Wisconsin congressman said that because of the way Obama has handled Medicare, millions of seniors are projected to lose their benefits. He clearly stated: “Medicare should not be used as a piggy bank for Obamacare.”

The vice presidential candidate said that Romney and him would not let this board of bureaucrats “mess with [his] mom’s healthcare.” He also responded to recent accusations that he would end Medicare as it is known right now and make seniors pay more for their health programs by saying that if you are 55 or over, the Romney-Ryan plan for Medicare would not affect your benefits. He added that in order to save Medicare for the generation of 55 or over, a Medicare for his generation is needed, so the program does not go bankrupt when his generation wants to retire.

Ryan also explained the plan they intend to follow to save Medicare originated in the Clinton’s Commission Plan to Save Medicare, and it would not change benefits to people who are 55 or above. Instead, it provides a choice for the kind of medical coverage the younger generation wants to receive, including the traditional Medicare plan.

Ryan explained that this forces the insurance providers to compete between each other to gain customers. Ryan added that instead of being begging for mercy from bureaucrats to get health insurance, this Medicare reform would provide the opportunity to choose the insurance plan that suits each senior better.

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Miami, U.S.A. – Friday 17th, Paul Crespo, candidate for the Florida Republican House of Representatives, sent a formal letter to Miami Dade County State Attorney Kathy Fernandez Rundle asking for a full and immediate investigation into irregularities in the recent absentee voting process in House District 105, specifically focused on electoral precincts in the city of Sweetwater.

A copy of this letter was also sent to Broward County State Attorney Michael Satz; Collier County State Attorney, Stephen Russell; Commissioner Gerald Bailey, head of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE); John Boynton, Director of the Florida Division of Elections; Joseph Centorino, Executive Director of the Miami Dade Commission on Ethics; and the United States Attorney for Florida’s Southern District, Wifredo Ferrer.

This letter provides detailed information pointing to disturbing patterns of irregular absentee voting in this race that could potentially include voter fraud.

 Based on the raw voting data evaluated by our election consultants and attorneys, we believe we have identified significant statistical and anecdotal evidence of serious irregularities in absentee voting that may have dramatically altered the election results in this race.

We believe these serious irregularities in Sweetwater mirror those recently exposed in the nearby city of Hialeah, which have resulted in various arrests.

 “The vote percentages for absentee ballots in Miami Dade County in House district 105 are totally out of line with the early and election day voting numbers, and even more out of line with the voting results in Collier and Broward counties,” said Crespo campaign consultant Emiliano Antunez, “We will be investigating these major discrepancies and reporting any evidence we uncover to all relevant state and federal governing law enforcement agencies.”

Following the precedent set by the 1997 lawsuit for absentee voter fraud which successfully overturned that year’s City of Miami mayoral election, we are considering taking action against the Carlos Trujillo campaign shortly.

“I am very disturbed by the information I have been shown pointing to potentially serious irregularities in absentee voting performed by my opponent’s campaign,” said former Marine Corps Captain Paul Crespo. “I served 12 years in the US Marines defending our country and our political system. We cannot allow the integrity of our elections to be undermined.”

 Paul Crespo Campaign at 
www.paulcrespo.com

Image Courtesy of  Logicmaker103 [CC-BY-SA-3.0 or GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons

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After the euphoria that followed Romney’s nomination of Paul Ryan as his running mate, two issues are now at the forefront of debate: Medicare and Romney’s tax record. Democrats are asserting that Romney has not paid taxes in a decade. The way the candidates manage these controversial issues could decide the election.

Democrats have made claims that Romney has been dishonest in how much he has really paid in taxes. On Aug. 2, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid declared on the Senate floor, “The word’s out that he hasn’t paid any taxes for 10 years. Let him prove that he has paid taxes, because he hasn’t.”

In his defense, Romney has said that he has paid at least 13% of his income in taxes each year during the last decade. But Romney has only made public his 2010 tax return and has stated his 2011 tax return will be released when they are ready. Romney said in a recent press conference, “I did go back and look at my taxes and over the past 10 years I never paid less than 13 percent. I think the most recent year is 13.6 or something like that.”

Obama’s campaign has been taking advantage of the fact that Romney’s tax return records are not public and recently offered him a deal in which they promise to stop attacking him for this matter if he releases five years of tax return records. The offer came in a letter made by Jim Messina, campaign manager for Obama for America, after Romney released his statements.

He stated, “Governor Romney apparently fears that the more he offers, the more our campaign will demand that he provide,” and added, “So I am prepared to provide assurances on just that point: if the Governor will release five years of returns, I commit in turn that we will not criticize him for not releasing more–neither in ads nor in other public communications or commentary for the rest of the campaign.”

Romney’s campaign manager, Matt Rhoades, responded to Messina’s offer, stating “It is clear that President Obama wants nothing more than to talk about Governor Romney’s tax returns instead of the issues that matter to voters, like putting Americans back to work, fixing the economy and reining in spending.”

Another issue that has become controversial in this campaign is the future of Medicare. Romney, in a recent political rally, used a whiteboard to explain the difference between Mr Obama’s plans for Medicare and his own. He explained that Obama’s plans would lead to bankruptcy and that his plan’s would give solvency to Medicare. Both sides have said they want a serious debate about Medicare, an issue that has not been of similar importance in recent political campaigns.

Jim Messina immediately responded to Romney after he used the whiteboard through Twitter, “Next time Romney uses a whiteboard to explain his Medicare plan, he should probably use this one.” In his whiteboard picture Messina explains that Obama would not make cuts on Medicare benefits. On the contrary, he adds that Romney would give the insurance companies $150 billion.

Image Courtesy of  Matthew Reichbach (Flickr: Mitt Romney Steve Pearce event 057) [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

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New York, U.S.A. — The Nobel Watch Company, a manufacturer and importer of high quality Swiss watches, released an attractively designed watch that supports the election of Governor Mitt Romney and Congressman Paul Ryan. The company’s Board of Directors strongly supports Governor Romney and has resolved to aid his election by producing this quality election timepiece.

“As a business owner, I have firsthand experience on how the downward economy is affecting people all across America,” says Iszy Genuth, President and Founder of Nobel Watches. “The Nobel Team has decided to produce a special watch for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, since America needs a comeback team that will make us strong again.”

Nobel Watches has partnered with the Veteran’s Watchmaker’s Initiative to produce the timepiece. The Initiative teaches the important skill of watch making to disabled veterans so that they can develop a respectable profession. “What greater way to support our country than by having all the watches assembled in the USA by disabled war veterans?” said Mr. Genuth.

In addition to creating valuable jobs in the US market, Nobel Watches will be donating $4 of each watch sold to the Republican National Committee as another way to show their support for the Republican ticket. Nobel is also donating a $1 to the Veteran Watchmaker’s Initiative for each watch sold. The watch is quickly becoming a collector’s item, and people who buy it can display it proudly, knowing they are helping to contribute to a more robust economy and a better future for our country.

A proven name in luxury Swiss watches, Nobel’s watches are not only backed by their unique styling and affordable prices, they’re also supported by years of combined experience.

“Only the Nobel name is instantly associated with man’s greatest achievements, and with the release of our new timepiece we hope to help America achieve its potential and become great once again.”

Image Courtesy of  tomanthonydotcom

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Priorities USA Action has been one of the Obama campaign’s most important supporters. Priorities USA is an independent expenditure Political Action Committee (PAC) that believes “the stakes for protecting our country’s core values have never been higher as Republicans pursue an agenda that rewards only the wealthiest few at the expense of middle class families.”

The PAC says it advocates for candidates who support economic policies that would create and generate investment in the country, and for candidates who promote fairness and health care access to everyone. Priorities USA Action clearly stated their support for Barack Obama: “We are committed to the reelection of President Obama and setting the record straight when there are misleading attacks against him and other progressive leaders.”

Their sympathy for Obama has traduced a lot of support; they have released several videos criticizing Mitt Romney. The hardest one is called ‘Understands.’  It tells the story of a former worker, Jose Soptic, of a steel plant controlled by Bain Capital in Kansas. Soptic explains how when the plant was closed he lost his health insurance. Then, his wife got sick with cancer and couldn’t be treated on time without insurance, so she died.

Although Soptic is a lifelong Democrat and a union member, Obama’s campaign has tried to distance itself from his story. Spokesman Jen Psaki stated “We don’t have any knowledge of the story of the family.” But the Obama campaign had already used him to tell his story in a conference call with reporters in May.

Another Priorities USA Action ad called ‘Briefcase’ criticizes Romney’s business record, saying that he bought companies and drowned them in debt. Many of them went bankrupt, which consequently led to thousands of jobs lost. The ad claims that for every company that went into bankruptcy, Romney made millionaire profits.  The ad ends stating: “If Romney wins the middle class loses.”

Priorities  USA Action is also against the “Romney Rule,” which would make millionaires pay a lower tax rate than the middle class. For them, it would be a tax plan that would burden the middle class.

Priorities USA Action has been, and will continue being, one of Obama’s major supporters. According to Open Secrets, Center for Responsible Politics, during 2012 PAC has raised nearly $21 million and has spent almost $18 million supporting Obama.

Image Courtesy of   Rena Schild / Shutterstock.com

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Mitt Romney’s campaign, in the beginning, was focused on criticizing President Obama for the way he handled the economy during his entire presidency, which Republicans consider to be a complete disaster. However, in recent weeks Romney’s campaign has changed, and has started to criticize Obama in various other aspects. Freedom of religion and the welfare reform are some of the new topics that have appeared in Romney’s campaign.

Many members of the Republican Party have been complaining that economic criticism won’t be enough to take Obama out of the White House. These Republicans think Romney should press Obama in more controversial areas, and that’s what Romney’s latest ads are doing.

The ad called ‘Be not afraid’ accuses President Obama of declaring “war on religion, forcing religious institutions to go against their faith.” An example is that catholic sponsored entities like schools have to cover contraceptive methods in their employees’ insurances. The ad says that Mitt Romney is the one who truly “shares your values.” This is an ad dedicated to some of the Republican Party loyalists. The ad’s final statement is very suggestive: “When religious freedom is threatened, who do you want to stand with?”

Republican consultant Keith Appell stated “I understand the economy is the top issue, but you don’t want to be so maniacally focused that you ignore everything else.”

He added that “”there’s always a risk of becoming too focused — a horse with blinders — and not seeing some of the other things around you. Campaigns need focus. But there’s something to be said for peripheral vision when you’re trying to hold a coalition together.”

Romney needs to raise the  social conservatives’ enthusiasm and religious voters that preferred a figure like Rick Santorum and have been skeptical with Romney. But, in the end they will vote for him, because they are not willing to vote for Obama. Ads like the religious freedom one are the type of things that will definitely excite the Republican’s conservative base, which has been very quiet during the campaign so far.

Also, a recent Mitt Romney ad called ‘Right choice’ recently accused Obama of trying to gut Clinton’s welfare reform, which required recipients to work to receive welfare. The ad claims that Obama is intending to drop the work requirements. The Obama campaign has defended the accusations with another ad called ‘Blatant.’ ‘Blatant‘ quotes the New York Times and the Washington Post, saying that Romney’s ad accusations are false.

The ad continues saying that what Obama is in fact doing is “getting states to move 20% more people from welfare to work” requirements. The Obama ad quotes Bill Clinton, saying Romney’s ad is “just not true.” Obama’s ad is being shown in seven key-state battlegrounds.

Obama’s campaign counterattack against Romney hasn’t taken long to be seen. An ad called ‘Son of boss,’ which criticizes Romney’s tax record, has been released.  The ad narrator questions how much Mitt Romney has really paid in taxes, whether that be 10%, 5% or 0%. The answer of the narrator is: “We don’t know.”

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Obama for America Campaign Manager, Jim Messina, has released a statement criticizing Paul Ryan selection as Romney’s running mate:

“In naming Congressman Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney has chosen a leader of the House Republicans who shares his commitment to the flawed theory that new budget-busting tax cuts for the wealthy, while placing greater burdens on the middle class and seniors, will somehow deliver a stronger economy.

The architect of the radical Republican House budget, Ryan, like Romney, proposed an additional $250,000 tax cut for millionaires, and deep cuts in education from Head Start to college aid. His plan also would end Medicare as we know it by turning it into a voucher system, shifting thousands of dollars in health care costs to seniors.

As a member of Congress, Ryan rubber-stamped the reckless Bush economic policies that exploded our deficit and crashed our economy. Now the Romney-Ryan ticket would take us back by repeating the same, catastrophic mistakes.”

Messina wants to convince the voters that if the Republican ticket gets back to the White House they would repeat the same mistakes that led to the economic crisis.

He also recently posted the Des Moines Register’s editorial in Twitter, which he thinks shows that most Romney plans are unrealistic. The editorial says that is obvious that the welfare check should require work, and that President Obama is not against it. The editorial adds that Mitt Romney is trying to convince the voters that Obama would end work requirements from the welfare check, which is not practical.

The editorial also talks about Iowa, a key state battleground, and how only about 15,000 Iowans receive a monthly check from the government, which only gives them about $334.  The editorial adds that the requirements to qualify for the check have become harder, because in the past almost 12 million people received their welfare check and now only 4 million are beneficiaries.

The editorial also explains that the idea that people are relying on the government just waiting for the state to send them the check is benefiting Romney, that’s why he continues using it.

Messina also tweeted the Denver Post editorial, which is in his same line of thinking, that says that Romney chose a radical candidate. The editorial considers that Ryan’s budget plan is radical.

The main ideas expressed in the editorial are that Ryan’s budget plan would lower Bush tax cuts for the wealthier Americans. The editorial also adds that Ryan intends to transform Medicare into a voucher system.

The Chairman of the Republican National Committee, Reince Priebus, has defended Romney and Ryan against the different accusations they have received, Priebus wrote on his Twitter account: “Obama campaign about small things – accusing Romney of being a felon & murderer. Next thing you know, they’ll accuse Romney of eating a dog.”

Image Courtesy of  White House (Pete Souza) / Maison Blanche (Pete Souza) (The Official White House Photostream [1]) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

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Vice president Joe Biden has two main things in common with Paul Ryan, the person who is trying to substitute him. Both are Catholics and both suffered terrible loses when they were young. Ryan lost his father and Biden lost his wife and daughter in a crash in 1972. Also, both men have clear differences in the way they plan to run the country and Biden recently called Ryan’s policies “irresponsible.”

In a political rally in Durham, N.C. Biden said that Romney and Ryan are decent men, but they have very different values from him and Obama. He said their main differences are in education policies, tax issues and government spending. Both Republican and Democrat tickets have very different points of view on how these issues should be handled.

Also, Biden referred to Ryan’s plan to privatize social security as irresponsible. The vice president criticized that Ryan wants to end Medicare and give tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires.

Obama, who has been campaigning in the swing state of Iowa, criticized Ryan for blocking a farm bill that could help the farmers get the resources they need. President Obama during a rally in Iowa stated: “If you happen to see Congressman Ryan, tell him how important this farm bill is to Iowa and our rural communities,” Obama added “we’ve got to put politics aside when it comes to doing the right thing for rural America and for Iowa.” The Democrats are trying to deflect all the positive attention Ryan could get by making hard accusations on him and trying to prove his budget plan would only favor the wealthy.

On the Medicare issue Romney has defended his running mate, saying that what he intends to do is to preserve Medicare. Romney added that Ryan has different ideas than Obama, and added that “the president’s idea, for example, for Medicare, was to cut it by $700 billion. That’s not the right answer.”

Ryan has also defended the accusations that he would turn Medicare into a voucher system. He said that his mother is a Medicare senior in Florida, and criticized the government by saying that the government made promises to the elderly community, promises with which they have organized their retirement. He added that if the government wants to fulfill those promises it needs to reform Medicare for the younger generation, and that is what he intends to do in order to guarantee a secure future for the elderly.

Romney said that the only president in the nation’s history that has robbed Medicare is Obama. He stated:  ”There’s only one president that I know of in history that robbed Medicare,” and added that it was going to cost $716 billion to implement his own risky program commonly called Obamacare.

Image Courtesy of  Jason and Bonnie Grower / Shutterstock.com

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Most Hollywood stars usually support Democrats, but, like in everything in life, there are some exceptions: Clint Eastwood, Chuck Norris, Donald Trump and Kid Rock are all supporters of Mitt Romney’s campaign.

Clint Eastwood told Romney supporters in a Sun Valley fundraiser, “Now more than ever do we need Gov. Romney. I’m going to be voting for him.” In February, Eastwood told Fox News at the time that he was not affiliated with or supporting any politician. But now the ‘Mystic River’ director’s mind has changed.

Eastwood also said that he hoped Romney would be able to install a  “decent tax system that we need badly… so that there’s a fairness and people are not pitted against one another as who’s paying taxes and who isn’t.” Clint Eastwood has become a big supporter of Romney’s; he is arguably the most important celebrity in favor of the former Massachusetts Governor.

Former ‘Walker, Texas Ranger’ protagonist Chuck Norris has also shown his support for Mitt Romney. In an opinion article he stated “I believe that Mitt has the skills and organization to defeat Obama and stop his fundamental transformation of America. We all know what four more years of increased socialistic decisions would do to our country.”

Kid Rock is also doing campaigning in favor of Romney, the artist’s anthem ‘Born Free’ has become Romney’s official campaign song.

The famous Donald Trump has also endorsed Mitt Romney, “Mitt is tough. He is smart,” Trump said, with Romney at his side, at a brief announcement at a Las Vegas hotel bearing his name.

The ‘Apocalypse Now’ star Robert Duvall is also hosting a fundraiser for Romney in September. The National Journal has published on its site Duvall’s fundraising invitation at Middleburg, Virginia, in which the general reception will cost $2,500, a VIP photo reception at the entrance will cost $10,000, and a dinner will cost $25,000.

Another famous Hollywood celebrity that is supporting Mitt Romney is Jerry Bruckheimer, the film and TV producer, creator of ‘CSI’ and ‘Pirates of the Caribbean,’ who donated the maximum individual donation amount allowed to Romney’s campaign in March. Bruckheimer hasn’t always donated money to the Republicans, in the past he has used it to donate in favor of Democrats.

In 2008 President Obama had most celebrities’ support; Musicians like Will.I.Am produced viral campaign videos for him. In 2012 he still has most of the celebrity support, but Romney certainly has more celebrity power than McCain did. President Obama is still way ahead of Romney: he has recently dinned with George Clooney, exchanged quips with Spike Lee in a New York City townhouse and met with Lady Gaga in a fundraiser organized by Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, in which the singer, one of the few people that has more Twitter followers than Obama, paid the maximum campaign donation of $35,800 for access to the event.

Image Courtesy of   Gage Skidmore

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