Mountain Views News          Saturday, October 27, 2012

17

ELECTION 2012

 Mountain Views News Saturday, October 27, 2012 

There is only one choice...

THE MOUNTAIN VIEWS NEWS ENDORSES:

President/Vice President of the United States 

Barack Obama/Joseph Biden, Democratic 

For all of the reasons listed above. A team that has served this country well and 
will continue to do so.

United States Senate

Dianne Feinstein, Democratic

A proven, strong leader. 

US Congress - District 27

Judy Chu, Democratic 

Experience that will help bring consensus in Washington.

California Assembly - District 41

Chris Holden, Democratic 

Another proven, strong leader who will serve our community well. 

California Senate - District 25

Carol Liu, Democratic 

Another proven, strong leader who will serve our community well. 

District Attorney County of Los Angeles 

Jackie Lacey 

SIGNED, YOUR BOSS

 If you received a letter from your boss that basically said that if you voted 
for President Barack Obama you would not have a job, what would you do? 
Sound far fetched? Well, a few weeks ago, David Siegel, a staunch republican 
supporter of Mitt Romney sent such a letter to his 7,000 employees without 
remorse. Of course he says in one paragraph that they are free to vote how 
they want, but he is quite clear of the consequences if President Obama wins 
a second term. And to make certain employees got the message, he ended it 
with, “Signed, your boss, David Siegel”. Was that clear enough?

 Siegel, who owns the Florida based Westgate resorts is a billionaire and is 
currently building the largest house is America, a 90,000 square foot estate 
called “The Queen of Versaille”. He also takes credit for George W. Bush 
winning the election in 2000. That year he was quoted as saying, “I had my 
managers do a survey on every employee [8,000]. If they liked Bush, we made 
them register to vote. But not if they liked Gore.” That kind of manipulation by 
people who just want to use the Presidency to further their own self interests 
has just got to be rejected. 

 Mitt Romney has a lot of similar characteristics. He will say and do anything 
to get elected. He has shown his true colors when he thought he was speaking 
in private, dismissing half the country as irresponsible. He has plans on the table to irradicate the 
home mortgage interest deduction to offset his tax cuts for the wealthy. He decries the number of 
people who are on food stamps forgetting that it was his Republican mentor, George W. Bush, who 
destroyed the economy and he who sent their jobs away, that led them to the need for foodstamps.

 Yes, Mitt Romney is a creator of wealth. Just not for you and I, ordinary Americans, just him and 
his buddies. Listen carefully, but quickly because what he says changes from minute to minute, listen 
carefully and you won’t hear him speaking of a path for the poor to improve their circumstances. He 
doesn’t speak of how his platform will help the Middle Class move forward. And his definition of 
‘rich’ is not millionaires, but billionaires who will invest in anything to make a buck regardless of the 
consequences. “ Mitt Romney, who is the embodiment of the predatory world of financial capitalism.”, 
said Bill Moyers. He would not be a President who would lead the country to the benefit of everyone. 
Not the poor, not the middle class, not the elderly, not women, not children, not anyone that wasn’t 
in his mega money crew.

 Romney’s policies don’t even disguise themselves as ‘trickle down’. They should be dubbed, ‘trickle 
out’, because that’s where he sees his future and the future of his billionaire buddies, overseas. How 
a man who has built a considerable portion of his wealth by outsourcing jobs can tell the American 
public with a straight face that he will create new jobs here, is incredible. 

 Mitt Romney is no different than George W. who has friends, Haliburton, et. al., that are still 
profiteering from his policies. Just ask Donald Trump, or David Siegel. Need I say more?

 By election day as much as 6 billion dollars will have been spent to influence the minds of voters. 
Some spent to create the illusion of a man who claims to be capable of being a compassionate leader, 
and some to fight off the lies and half truths created to defeat a man who has lead the country for the 
last four years.

 In either event the money has become more important to the campaign than the substance of the 
men running for the office. The money may have more influence over who you choose than the 
substance of the man you choose. And that we owe to our Supreme Court.

 We have two candidates – one who uses money to buy, bully, lie and manipulate and the other who 
uses money to stave off the attacks. And yet, because as a society we tend to love money and wealth, 
this election may very well fall into the hands of the mega wealthy candidate instead of the man who 
has a demonstrated plan and the demonstrated ability to continue helping this country recover from 
the last time a super wealthy man occupied the White House. There is nothing wrong with being 
mega wealthy, but buying votes is a crime. 

 Bottom Line – There is only one choice for a real leader of the people of the United States. Only 
one candidate that truly believes and will work hard for All Americans, and that is President Obama. 
He took this job when the country was at its lowest point and is turning it around. We need him to 
continue his work. Should we turn it over to the policies of the past……well, that is just too awful to 
think about. You need to vote for President Obama. Your future depends on it. 

Signed, Susan Henderson, Publisher and Editor Mountain Views News


Susan Henderson, 
Publisher/Editor

ROMNEY VS. ROMNEY

TINA Dupay 

MOUNTAIN VIEWS NEWS ENDORSEMENTS 

STATE PROPOSITIONS 

Proposition 30 Temporary Taxes to Fund Education. Guaranteed Local Public Safety Funding 

Should the California Constitution be amended to (a) temporarily increase sales and personal income tax 
rates; (b) guarantee certain revenue transfers to local governments; and (c) eliminate state funding of certain 
mandates to local governments? YES

Proposition 31 State Budget. State and Local Government 

Should the state constitution and law be amended to require government performance reviews and two-year 
budget cycles, to prohibit the Legislature from creating certain expenditures unless offsetting revenues or 
spending cuts are identified, and to make changes in certain responsibilities of local governament, the Legislature 
and the Governor? NO

Proposition 32 Political Contributions by Payroll Deduction. Contributions to Candidates 

Should unions, corporations, government contractors and state and local government employers be prohibited 
from using payroll-deducted funds, or in some instances their own funds, for political expenditures? NO

Proposition 33 Auto Insurance Companies. Prices Based on Driver's History of Insurance Coverage 

Should automobile insurance companies be permitted to offer a discount to drivers who have continuously 
maintained their insurance coverage, even if they change their insurance company? NO

Proposition 34 Death Penalty 

Should the death penalty be repealed and replaced with life imprisonment without possibility of parole when 
someone is convicted of murder with specified special circumstances? YES

Proposition 35 Human Trafficking. Penalties 

Should the definition of human trafficking be expanded, penalties for traffickers be increased, convicted sexual 
traffickers be required to register as sex offenders, and additional training for law enforcement officers be required? 
YES

Proposition 36 Three Strikes Law. Repeat Felony Offenders. Penalties 

Should California law be amended to provide that a life sentence should not be imposed for a third felony 
conviction unless the third conviction is for a serious or violent felony? YES

Proposition 37 Genetically Engineered Foods. Labeling 

Should labeling be required on foods containing genetically modified ingredients when such foods (whether 
raw or processed, plant or animal) are offered for sale to consumers in California? YES

Proposition 38 Tax to Fund Education and Early Childhood Programs 

Should California's personal income tax rates be increased during 2013-24 to provide funds for public schools, 
early childhood education programs, and state debt payments? YES

Proposition 39 Tax Treatment for Multistate Businesses. Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency Funding 

Should the California tax code be changed to require multistate firms to pay income taxes based on a percentage 
of their sales in California, with roughly half of the resulting tax increase to be used to fund clean/efficient 
energy projects for five years? YES

Proposition 40 Redistricting. State Senate Districts 

Should the current state Senate districts be retained? YES

 

LOCAL MEASURES 

Measure A Appointment of County Assessor -- County of Los Angeles (Advisory Vote Only - Advisory Vote 
Only) 

Do you support seeking to change the California Constitution and the Los Angeles County Charter to make 
the position of Los Angeles County Assessor an appointed position instead of an elected position? NO 
POSITION

Measure B Safer Sex In the Adult Film Industry Act -- County of Los Angeles (Ordinance - Majority Approval 
Required) 

Shall an ordinance be adopted requiring producers of adult films to obtain a County public health permit, 
to require adult film performers to use condoms while engaged in sex acts, to provide proof of blood borne 
pathogen training course, to post permit and notices to performers, and making violations of the ordinance 
subject to civil fines and criminal charges? YES

Measure J Accelerating Traffic Relief, Job Creation -- County of Los Angeles (Continuation of Voter-Approved 
Sales Tax Increase - 2/3 Approval Required) 

To advance Los Angeles County's traffic relief, economic growth/ job creation, by accelerating construction of 
light rail/ subway/ airport connections within five years not twenty; funding countywide freeway traffic flow/ 
safety /bridge improvements, pothole repair; keeping senior/ student/ disabled fares low; Shall Los Angeles 
County's voter-approved one-half cent traffic relief sales tax continue, without tax rate increase, for another 30 
years or until voters decide to end it, with audits/ keeping funds local? NO

Measure ALF Density Limit re Assisted Living Facility -- City of Sierra Madre (Ordinance - Majority Approval 
Required) 

Shall an Ordinance be adopted to amend Sierra Madre Municipal Code Section 17.35.040 ("Core Density 
Limit") of the People's Empowerment Act (aka Measure V) to permit development of an assisted living facility 
consistent with the Kensington Assisted Living Facility Specific Plan not exceeding two stories, thirty feet in 
height and seventy-five assisted living suites, for the parcels located at 33 North Hermosa Avenue an 245 West 
Sierra Madre Boulevard? YES

 

There’s a myth in the right-wing-o-sphere that President 
Obama was never fully vetted. “We don’t know ANYTHING 
about this guy!” they’ll say, and in the same breath make fun 
of the fact he wrote two autobiographies. My answer to this 
is always: “He ran against a Clinton.” Any skeletons, dirt, 
deal killers or weaknesses were dug up, dragged out and 
made public during their exhaustive primary. In spite of all 
of this Obama still won the nomination of his party. He won 
against a Clinton; a distinction not too many people have.

You’ll still hear Obama detractors say they don’t know him. 
“The president still doesn’t have an agenda for a second 
term,” said Mitt Romney last week. The president has laid 
out his plan for a second term during his convention speech, 
stump speeches, interviews — there’s even a brochure. But 
the Right claims it’s Obama who’s being cryptic. Secretive. 
There’s a scandal-obsessed media — an entire industry ready to pounce on the slightest 
misstep of any notable but somehow they’ve all conspired to protect Obama from scrutiny.

Sure.

But as far as Romney goes, I really don’t know who this dude is: I’ve watched dozens of 
speeches, read hundreds of articles and sat through 23 national debates and I can’t tell you 
where Romney stands on any issue. And it’s not for lack of trying or just general contempt 
(which I suspect is the reason some on the right feign ignorance of Obama’s positions), 
it’s from too many answers to every question. I had assumed Romney was just going to 
sell himself as the opposite of Obama. I based this on his odd claim that he will repeal 
ObamaCare, the health care law modeled after the reforms Romney implemented while 
governor of Massachusetts. That seems arbitrary rather than reasoned policy, so I expected 
that would be the theme: Romney the not-Obama.

“The president has communicated weakness,” says Romney on Obama’s foreign policy. But 
then during the foreign policy debate-in-name-only Romney happily agreed with Obama on 
everything from the withdrawal date in Afghanistan to drone strikes. On Egypt: “I believe, as 
the president indicated, and said at the time that I supported his — his action there,” relayed 
Romney.

Romney has mainly been running against himself on YouTube. For every position he’s 
held, he’s also fervently held the opposite — effortlessly switching sans explanation. He’s a 
candidate who was for the Lilly Ledbetter Act, then against it, then neutral. He’s been both 
for and against minimum wage increases; for and against the auto bail out; for and against 
gun control; for and against the Bush Tax Cuts; for and against a woman’s right to choose; for 
and against more tax cuts; for and against Reagan.

I was asked to speak at a high school a few weeks ago and the civics students earnestly wanted 
to know where Romney stood on the issues and I really wanted to help them. One of the 
teachers asked if it’s more instructive to look at what Romney says when he thinks there’s no 
camera or when he knows there is one. I told him it might be the former. But I’m not sure. 
Mainly I just threw my hands up and said, “Look, I’m not a spokesperson for his campaign.”

You can’t go by what Romney has said because he’s said a lot of things … most of which 
contradict each other. You can’t go by his record because it’s even further from what he’s said 
(he never raised taxes while governor just tons of “fees”). What’s left is a debate over what you 
think he might mean versus what he really might mean. If you value evidence at all — this is 
“sketchy” territory. It’s all speculation and reading between the lies.

Yet everyone seems to have their theory as to who the real Romney is: He’s a moderate — he’s 
a hard-line right-winger — he’s a vulture capitalist — peacenik, etc. But who is he really? 
What would he actually do as president? He’s untethered from all his former statements 
(including ones made minutes ago) so it’s anyone’s guess.

Because Romney has been on all sides of every issue, he’s lined up perfectly with his opponent 
at one time or another. The only way Romney has been clear is by diluting his positions 
beyond recognition. Just by continuing to say inconsistent things (and plenty of them) the 
only thing we can all be certain of is he’s not Obama.

It’s an intellectual impossibility to vote for Romney because there’s no telling what he’s 
actually for. He really is just a not-Obama.

Tina Dupuy is an award-winning writer and the editor-in-chief of TheContributor.com. Tina 
can be reached at tinadupuy@yahoo.com.