Can someone explain to me in simple terms. USA elections

Romney grew up in and remains a leader in a church that refused blacks to be members until 1978. (so he was 30 years old and didn't find that wrong enough to leave but nooooo..So not racist at all then.)

He organised the Olympics in Salt Lake City, a mormon town with only 1 percent black residents. Couldn't get more whiter if he tried could he.

Anyone could be a great SAHM mother like Ann Romney with her 250 million dollars and the houses full of servants. Sure she feels the pain of the woman who she wants to force birth then abandon them to the streets with their babies.

Ann Romney's speech was a joke. She said she understand immigrants cause guess what her granfather was an immigrant.... So her grandfather knew about struggle but she was born into and married into families of privilege and millions so what understanding did she gain when she was sat at home all those years in multi million dollar home with multi million dollar holiday homes scattered all over the US (one she has yet to find the time to stay in mind you)

@NapaCab: You're stereotyping as much as the anti-Republican posters have stereotyped the Republicans. I was just the one calling BS on their ideas and overblown language ("BNP"? And they have been white-nationalist when exactly...?)

What am I doing on here? Have been lurking for some time and think pro-life pro-family voices should be heard. We exist!

@ Extrospektiv: "This is everything I'd expect from Mumsnet though, A.K.A. metropolitan elite liberal feminist professional pro-abortion pro-gay marriage pro-mandatory sex ed pro-redistributive taxation pro-state funded healthcare anti-gun anti-austerity set."

So what are you doing on here if it's such a haven for liberal, pinko, gay, wealth-redistributing, lentil-weaving socialists aka non-Americans? I find MN quite diverse actually. Almost every thread on here winds up as a bunfight somehow.

@Ponders: I agree. The Paul Ryan speech and Clint Eastwood's incoherent ramble were two low points in the RNC. Paul Ryan saying that they want to preserve Medicare for future generations when they actually want to replace the program entirely for the under-55s with a voucher scheme is just such a shameless lie. For a devout Catholic, he must have very flexible morals to be able to lie like that.

And @nightlurker - yes, I can think you can judge a political party by their Vice-Presidential candidate's most important speech of the whole election campaign. If not, then what is the point of the conventions, RNC or DNC?

I believe in God, pro-life, pro-family, I probably support gay marriage at the civil level though.

Wow, this is just crazy!

I have been following US politics for a while, I support the Republican Party and THEY ARE NOTHING LIKE THE FUCKING RACIST FASCIST BNP. How out-of-touch can people get? They are not anti-women, see Romney's speech on women last night.

A few racist, homophobic, sexist idiots who believe the world is a few thousand years old, teh gayz want to convert your children to molest them, Area 51 is full of commies from outer space ready for Obama to launch at them in black UN helicopters to take away their guns but we didn't land on the moon, and Satan is behind everything DO NOT represent the mainstream Republicans.

This is everything I'd expect from Mumsnet though, A.K.A. metropolitan elite liberal feminist professional pro-abortion pro-gay marriage pro-mandatory sex ed pro-redistributive taxation pro-state funded healthcare anti-gun anti-austerity set.

As people have said USA politics are right wing and ultra right wing.

In the Uk I'm a left wing, moderate Tory in the States I would be a Democrat through and trough.

Since I support abortion and gay marriage and am an atheist I couldn't be anything else.

I know you did. :)

I don't know. Something's going to happen at some point.

I know we (MidWesterners) sound crazy, if you look at what's being said on TV. (Michelle Bachmann is from my district, for the sweet Lord's sake...oh the shame ) but most of us are neither as mad or thick as we're made out to be, and just want to do well and help our neighbors and live our lives. We don't want to go to war or force religion on anyone; most of us are neither racist nor homophobic.

But yeah...this election's going to be an interesting one. I hope Obama pulls it out, I really do.

some sort*

I did put in the cavet about it being massively generalised. Of course people 'in the middle' and on the coast vote differently, but I think its the easiest way to explain the polarisation and lines of division to people who aren't familiar with American politics. It is very worrying even as an outsider; I can't imagine how I would feel about it if I was an American.

Brits complain about how their vote 'doesn't count' but the situation is far worse in the US, and its far harder to get your voice heard politically, particularly if you live in a State where you don't follow the 'norm' or you are somehow disadvantaged by race or social class.

I don't see how this division can carry on, without it at some point, coming to so sort of head - and there either being a major political crisis or even conflict. I don't see things going in the other direction and sides suddenly finding common ground and being more able to compromise. How far in the future that point is, I'm not sure.

Wow just read what was posted whilst i was writing and amazed to find Nicholas actually agrees with me for a change.

We have become so polarized lately though. It wasn't always like this, and I hate it, frankly. So many people insist on toeing the party line, and not really thinking about what the candidates are saying.

But nevertheless is HmmThinking giving lots of great and accurate insight, me thinks

Cheerful yes they were generalisations. Also immigration and diversity are not the only reasons for voting Democrat.
Also, the Hispanic population for example also usually tend to be Republican voters.

HmmThinking thanks for sharing. You really got it, I'd say. Cross-national comparative policy and also particularly your finesse in spotting ethnocentric issues within cross-cultural communication is obvious.

Those generalizations were a bit massive ThinkingAboutIt, being as I have lived in the center of America for my entire life and always voted Democrat. :)

Ron Paul actually makes some sense and I'd rather have him than Romney, but not a chance in hell he'll make it in.

Obama 2012! :)

As for the didn't build that statement it was a Very valid point that if you are a Us manufacturer you have benefitted frm state intervention for decades through use of the road network airports and ports railways etc and general infrastructure which is all paid for from the federal government and not from the tiny corporatin tax rates.

eg. All sea ports canals etc in the USA are designed and constructed by the 30,000 plus employees of the US Army corp of engineers as a service to the country so a new sea port will have the water way built by the government even if the port is owned by a private company at the end of the day. transport cost therefore do no reflect these cost, A bit like eurotunnel being gifted by the French British armies to eurostar if you like.

QED You didn't build that

I'm British but have studied American History and Politics as part of my degree. Got a couple of close friends who are either American or emigrated there too so thats helped. I just find the subtule and not so subtule differences in culture fascinating. I'm sure it bores the tits off most other people, but not me. I would love to the opportunity to live in the States at some point in my life, but thats a tough one with visas etc.

Obama ...Actually did graduate from Harvard University Law school magna Cum laude in other words top few percent of his class and was voted editor of the student law magazine and bright enough to be a professor of law at another University with in 5 years of graduation. During that time he had also set up a voter registration drive with 10 staff and enrolled over 400,000 disenfranchised electorate to the polls in the subsequent election.

Actaully did what Bush failed to do for 12 years which was to quietly go about eh job of getting Usama Bin laden his just desserts

Actually for the fist time in history has introduced a healthcare system that means you will no longer be turned away from treatment in the USA if you are one of the third of the population that cannot afford to pay the private health companies insurance and therefore the old the infirm unemployed etc will all be covered at last as any first world country should be and without the scheme costing anyone to loose their right to still pay through the nose if they want to.

Despite being lumbered by BUSH signing off to create the largest deficit in world history has steered the US economy out of recession and whilst EU jobless as soared the US the actual us jobless figures are some of the best of the world inspite of the largest debtor. Refuses to offer tax cuts to individuals who earn over 5 million a year so the silly republicans keep blocking the budget votes.

Released his tax returns birth certificate medical so you can see he is a stand up guy.

Stood with the Arab world and the Brits and French to aid the arab spring and the removal of the tyrannts Muburak and Gadaffi without risking any lives or inflamation of arab sensitivities

Pushed the private enterprises to the be the solution to space travel so that now there are 3 independant companies that are capable of flying craft to the international space station at dramitcally reduced cost to the taxpayer.

Signed of the loans necessary to save the car industry in the US keeping it a strong manufacturer and seeing all loans repaid including interest and profit for the governement despite right wing opposition.

Romney ... Claims he graduated from Harvard but actuall grauated from a Mormon university and only spent a year out taking some classes at Harvard

Despite that when he was young enough to take part in the Vietnam war being a rich young white right winger he did what any rich young healthy white right winger would do and ran off to super socialist France in 1966 to avoid the draft and only returned to the US after he collided his car with another car killing his passenger. daddy had him rushed back to the US where he was again healthy young and of course available for the draft so he did what any good young healthy man eligeable for the draft does and gets married within weeks of his return, despite his relationship with his now to to be wife being non existant whilst in France. Being married of course meant he could now avoid the draft again for the following year or two. And yet he now claims that despite hs rush to go to serve his country in the war it was suspire for him to know that when his daddy was running to be president in 1968 (you know the year he was hiding in france= his father campaigned against the war)

Most likely to want to start a war with Iran or to only realise after the fact that Israel started a war with Iran but due to his faith will blindy support them no matter what as his religion is dispensationalist.

Wants to return US to private healthcare only through private healthcare companies because well private insurance always works and never has get out clauses do they.

Used to be pro abortion then anti then agin he was pro then when he had a chance to be president he became anti again cause lets face it his party have passed over 1000 state laws that are against a woman's right to her control her body in the last year alone, including that conception starts not from fertiliation but at your last period and drinking can be seen as child endangerment of the foetus even during those two weeks of course before yo were knocked up. Draconian did you say

Promises to sign off on tax cuts that will go the folks who earn over 5 million a year as enough is just never enough especially if like him you have so many houses.

Refuses to realease his own tax returns for the last decade as is the custom in the US to allow people to see just how much you fiddled or not to judge your character

And insulted the London Olympics at his first opportunity despite his own olympics being bankrolled by his church and only the little winter games that you can have in a swiss village anyway.

Daddy made millions for the car industry but when the car industry faltered he was against giving any goverment backed loans which would have led to 100s of thousand out of work within months if the loans did not happen.

HmmThinking I truly love your comments (also on the tip thread), they have so much depth and so much substance backed up by accuracy...may I ask where you're from?
I am a Wolverine myself

officially it means Grand Old Party

but you're probably right, DisabilEightiesChick

Zamantha a very small move though .... and he took steps backwards on many other things
he's not been great sadly - but the alternatives are scary - for European peace if nothing else

It is incredibly difficult in this country, I think, to understand the mindset of such extreme opposition to state-provided healthcare, even among the more left-wing voters in the US. I really, really don't get it, but there it is.

So much good info on this thread - I'm throwing in a few more questions:

• What is the 'you didn't build that' thing all about? I've seen lots of references to it in the last few days as an Obama gaffe the Republicans are exploiting.

• I have finally worked out, I think, what 'GOP' means as a commonly-used way of referring to the Republicans. God's Own Party? Am I right?

I think that it has not helped the Tea Party one bit that Sarah Palin was its poster girl. Seems to me that Ryan is just her slightly more sane replacement* and that he definitely makes up Romneys shortfallings as far as the Republican base is concerned.

*it being a question of degrees, I can't actually believe a word that he utters