Cantor’s cartoonish ‘Solutions Center’ website recycles stale GOP ideas.
Cantor’s cartoonish ‘Solutions Center’ website recycles stale GOP ideas.
House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) is launching a “Solutions Center” to “address simple questions Americans are asking themselves in the face of economic calamity.” Cantor told Politico that his goal is to “answer the questions with Republican proposals that contrast starkly with legislation offered by President Barack Obama and his congressional allies.” With the help of a number of different cartoon characters, Cantor’s “Solutions Center,” answers just four questions. The answer to every question — some form of cut taxes, cut spending, or both — is presented in the form of GOP talking points with a link to a briefing document rehashing already proposed and rejected GOP alternatives. This is Cantor’s solutions site:
Notably, the site doesn’t direct visitors to the many government resources that already exist to help Americans stay in their homes, save for higher education and retirement, or deal with unemployment.
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‘Solution Center’? Why don’t they put up ‘Mission Accomplished?’ or better yet, ‘Drill Baby, Drill’, Or just scream ‘Reagan’ LOL! What a bunch of losers.
April 14th, 2009 at 11:23 amWell, amateurish webpage for amateurish ideas
April 14th, 2009 at 11:23 amQuestions American’s are asking themselves? Can’tor needs a page for questions American’s are asking leaders. Eric’s answer sheet would be blank.
April 14th, 2009 at 11:25 amP.D., you forgot “CUT TAXES!!!!”
…
…
Oh wait, it pretty much does say that.
April 14th, 2009 at 11:25 amAvatars. That’ll appeal to kids in 4th grade.
April 14th, 2009 at 11:26 amClearly, this reflects the attitude that the GOP has toward average Americans. Rather than give them real solutions in stripped-down language, let’s give them pretty colors and cartoons to look at! They’re too dumb to read paragraphs about actual proposals and plans, but who doesn’t love cartoons?
This is just like how MC Michael Steele is what the GOP thinks of Black people. We’re all hip-hop obsessed, slang-talkin’ minstrels who call our business associates “baby” and send thug love to our friends.
Also, look at Sarah Palin. She’s their representation of the American woman. A mindless baby factory who doesn’t really have any substance to her, but look at those gams!
Last but not least, Joe the Plumber (and for those of you who remember him, Tito the Builder). Joe is supposed to represent the average American workin’ man. Never seen without a flannel shirt and his pair of toughskins and steel-toed boots. Even when he’s supposed to be at a serious function, this tough guy don’t wear no suits! Tito the Builder was the Florida version of Joe. He only made one appearance, I think, but it was pretty disgusting. Super heavy Spanish accent aside, they had him on stage at a rally wearing his hard hat and reflective safety vest, his jeans stained with mud and concrete from a hard day’s work.
It’s like they got all their views of “real Americans” from bad 1980s comedies and 1950s TV shows.
April 14th, 2009 at 11:29 amSo this website is supposed to be a government sponsored hub offering information and solutions for Americans during this recession right? So how is it that when the average American goes to a government run website looking for assistance they are not directed to existing programs that have been put in place for aid but are given Republican talking points instead??!! Is this what the average American expects from it’s government???? Can they actually benefit from this information??!! Mr. Cantor, you make it too easy to demonstrate that the Republicans are the party of no new ideas! Keep it up slick!
April 14th, 2009 at 11:30 am“Notably, the site doesn’t direct visitors to the many government resources that already exist…”
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Of course not. This site is a commercial, not a tool to actually help anyone. And besides, if people discovered that their tax money was indeed funding resources they could use, that would kind of undercut Cantor’s message, wouldn’t it?
April 14th, 2009 at 11:30 amI’m thinking they would probably be better served by offering comprehensive solutions and working with the current administration to do what is best for the United States during these very difficult times that their party is responsible for creating. Just think repubs., it could actually get you a vote.
April 14th, 2009 at 11:32 amI can just see the ignorant, toady’s suck up on this. Now all they gotta do is burn some books and they right-wing sheeple will follow them off a cliff. And don’t forget to blame ,’Teh gays.’ and minorities. That is what the GOP really stands for.
April 14th, 2009 at 11:33 am“The House Republican WHIP TEAM”
– - Whip it, you must Whip it, Whip it good.
April 14th, 2009 at 11:34 amAnd I thought that taxpayer money paying for Republican aides to videotape new Democratic Congress folk who are being sandbagged on the floor by Republican strawmen was a waste of money. Mr. Cantor’s newest freshest idea on how to spend taxpayer money focuses on a website offering FAUX solutions to real problems? Maybe the teabaggers anger about wasteful tax revenue spending has been misplaced, hmm?
April 14th, 2009 at 11:35 amNotably, the site doesn’t direct visitors to the many government resources that already exist to help Americans stay in their homes, save for higher education and retirement, or deal with unemployment.
Well, DUH!
Republicans aren’t about solving problems; they’re about catapulting the propaganda.
Perhaps if their solutions actually worked as advertised, and actually solved the problems used to sell them, they wouldn’t have to spend so much time catapulting, but that of course would require an alternative reality.
April 14th, 2009 at 11:35 amAmazing how nearly a decade into the 21st century Republican dogma is so stale that even their marketing web sites look like Eisenhower-era elementary school film strips.
April 14th, 2009 at 11:42 amGo government! You can fix everything!
April 14th, 2009 at 11:47 amObvious troll is obvious.
April 14th, 2009 at 11:48 amWho is paying for this “dot-gov” website? Taxpayers? That would make sense if it was a straightforward “here’s what we, your elected representatives, are doing for you” type of thing.
But this is a blatant advertisement masquerading as a public service. Is there any reason why taxpayers should pay for this?
April 14th, 2009 at 11:50 amI’m in the biz of bidding out video games and web interactives, and my eyeball guess is that he must have spent ~ $30K to make this. And it gets across less then a PowerPoint. Right there I know everything I need to know about how Cantor spends money.
April 14th, 2009 at 11:51 amJohnM Says:
Go government! You can fix everything!
April 14th, 2009 at 11:47 am
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Oh, like the “free market” is doing so much better, right?
April 14th, 2009 at 11:51 amJohnM Says:
Go competent government! You can fix everything!
Fixed it for you, gratis.
April 14th, 2009 at 11:51 amGod Dammit! Americans want a government to work! We pay plenty of taxes. So when a hurricane hits, I WANT a appropriate response! When Middle-class families go into bankrupcy because of Medical bills, I WANT a appropriate response! I am tired of this right-wing garbage!
April 14th, 2009 at 11:52 amEric’s answers:
How will I keep my job?
Glady accept pay cuts and ponying up more for your health insurance and retirement. Tell the boss how great he is at every opportunity.
How will I grow my savings?
Don’t buy that Cadillac or plasma TV on credit. Cut out your beer and cigarettes. What’s leftover? Send 80% that to Eric Can’tor. The rest you can keep for savings.
How will I keep my house?
Reverse mortgage. If you owe on your house, a robber baron can come by and make an insulting offer on it. He can a get 4.8% mortgage, while your ARM is over 12%.
How should we use taxpayer money?
We plan to roll your present and future taxes into long trillion dollar tubes. Then my Congressional colleagues and I will deliver these tubes to American branded multi-national corporations. However, we will keep one and smoke it, a veritible fleece pipe.
Thank you for reading,
Eric Can’tor
April 14th, 2009 at 11:54 amCan’t hear the commercial because this work computer doesn’t have speakers, so I’m guessing the soundtrack is Looney Tunes.
April 14th, 2009 at 11:55 amWhat a freakin’ joke! The grammar is atrocious as well! I checked the area about home ownership, and here is just one sentence that stood out: “… that includes young peope who IS purchasing their first home…”
BWWAAAHAAAHHAHHAHHAA
April 14th, 2009 at 11:57 amahahahahahhhhhaaaaaaaaahhahhahhhhhhhaaaaa
Thanks Cantor, you and your friendly cartoons are gonna save my job by tax cuts. hahahhaha. Repukes should just tattoo it on their forehead.
April 14th, 2009 at 11:58 amCal Malenky Says:
“Avatars. That’ll appeal to kids in 4th grade.”
Or people that think like 4th graders…republicans and their leaders.
April 14th, 2009 at 11:58 amHey! I like Avatar.
April 14th, 2009 at 11:58 amchiroptera toasterhead Says:
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JohnM Says:
Go government! You can fix everything!
April 14th, 2009 at 11:47 am
_____________
Oh, like the “free market” is doing so much better, right?
There is a reason the United States has the largest economy in the world and the highest standard of living and it is not the government. It is the wealth created by the free market. Too many people are obsessed with the current problems to realize all that the market system in the country has done.
April 14th, 2009 at 11:59 amSorry, P.D. No offense intended.
April 14th, 2009 at 12:01 pmbarfly Says:
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JohnM Says:
Go competent government! You can fix everything!
Fixed it for you, gratis.
If only there was such a thing as a competent government that is not corrupt.
April 14th, 2009 at 12:01 pmWho’s paying to run this ridiculous, redundant Republican website, I’m sure Cantor isn’t doing this alone?
REPUBLICANS JUST DON’T GET IT.
JUST LOOK AT THE TIME THERE WASTING WITH ALL THEIR SILLY TACTICS.
April 14th, 2009 at 12:10 pmDo all those buttons on the homepage link to pics of guns, bibles, and boots?
April 14th, 2009 at 12:11 pm“private enterprise is never corrupt or inefficient”
-A. Huge Sucker, Jr.
April 14th, 2009 at 12:13 pmJohnM Says:
There is a reason the United States has the largest economy in the world and the highest standard of living and it is not the government. It is the wealth created by the free market. Too many people are obsessed with the current problems to realize all that the market system in the country has done.
April 14th, 2009 at 11:59 am
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Really? And do you think we’d have that huge GDP and high standard of living if child labor were still legal? Or slavery? What if antitrust laws had never been passed?
How about if the FDIC had not been created, to guarantee bank deposits? Or if there had not been a national highway system to connect our cities, or trade policy to protect our domestic industries? What if there had not been R&D investments during World War II and for the Apollo project?
Markets cannot function without governance.
April 14th, 2009 at 12:14 pmGood illustration of why it’s insane to elect Republicans to serve in government.
When you have running the government, people who believe that government is inherently corrupt and incompetent, you get a self-fulfilling prophecy.
They believe that everyone around them is corrupt and incompetent, so they feel justified in filling their pockets and ignoring the needs of their constituents.
Electing democrats is no guarantee of good government, but at least it gives us a chance. Electing Republicans guarantees corruption and incompetence.
April 14th, 2009 at 12:18 pmchiroptera toasterhead Says:
Really? And do you think we’d have that huge GDP and high standard of living if child labor were still legal? Or slavery? What if antitrust laws had never been passed?
How about if the FDIC had not been created, to guarantee bank deposits? Or if there had not been a national highway system to connect our cities, or trade policy to protect our domestic industries? What if there had not been R&D investments during World War II and for the Apollo project?
Markets cannot function without governance
I never said that markets did not need any governance. The problem comes with too much government interaction. This slows growth and takes away the incentive for businesses to prosper, which is what has allowed the country to prosper when others have not. All the current economic solutions should be free market based with government oversight if necessary, that is not is what is happening. Just throwing government money at a problem will not fix the problem. If a company fails they should not be bailed out so they can repeat the cycle.
April 14th, 2009 at 12:21 pmI think the government has something to do with it.
April 14th, 2009 at 12:23 pmAnd this is how responsible Republicans spend money. If Cantor and company spent half the time, effort or money they do on their petty obstructionism on trying to something helpful this recovery might go even better.
April 14th, 2009 at 12:24 pmWow, a site presenting FAILED GOP policies, how enlightening.
Fcuk the Republicans
April 14th, 2009 at 12:27 pmFinally, the message fuses with its harmonic host: A cartoon message for a cartoon party.
April 14th, 2009 at 12:27 pmThat’s not what you said.
You said: “There is a reason the United States has the largest economy in the world and the highest standard of living and it is not the government.”
This implies no role at all in the growth of the American economy, not “too much government interaction”.
In fact, the government has always interacted in the economy, and those periods when government interaction has been historically low (as free market fundamentalists always cry for) have without fail been followed by economic disaster.
April 14th, 2009 at 12:27 pmJohnM Says:
chiroptera toasterhead Says:
Really? And do you think we’d have that huge GDP and high standard of living if child labor were still legal? Or slavery? What if antitrust laws had never been passed?
How about if the FDIC had not been created, to guarantee bank deposits? Or if there had not been a national highway system to connect our cities, or trade policy to protect our domestic industries? What if there had not been R&D investments during World War II and for the Apollo project?
Markets cannot function without governance
I never said that markets did not need any governance. The problem comes with too much government interaction. This slows growth and takes away the incentive for businesses to prosper, which is what has allowed the country to prosper when others have not. All the current economic solutions should be free market based with government oversight if necessary, that is not is what is happening. Just throwing government money at a problem will not fix the problem. If a company fails they should not be bailed out so they can repeat the cycle.
***
eight years later,
look where we are.
***
johnm the “solutions center” called
and left you this message:
“stop helping us!”
:)
April 14th, 2009 at 12:28 pmWell, Ryan, it may very well be cartoonish, but you also have to consider the intended audience.
A more thorough site, with actual statistics and useful information (and no pictures!) might be too much to handle for your average home-schooled rightwinger…
April 14th, 2009 at 12:31 pmJohnM Says:
I never said that markets did not need any governance. The problem comes with too much government interaction. This slows growth and takes away the incentive for businesses to prosper, which is what has allowed the country to prosper when others have not. All the current economic solutions should be free market based with government oversight if necessary, that is not is what is happening. Just throwing government money at a problem will not fix the problem. If a company fails they should not be bailed out so they can repeat the cycle.
April 14th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
___________
It’s exactly these “free-market based solutions with government oversight if necessary” policies that got us into this mess. It’s not an option. It IS necessary. The government decided that it wasn’t necessary to prevent banks from getting “too big to fail.” It decided it wasn’t necessary to investigate Bernie Madoff. It decided it wasn’t necessary to regulate mortgage-backed securities.
Businesses will always have incentive to make money. Short of nationalizing every industry in the country, there’s nothing government could possibly do that would take that away. However, there are plenty of things government can and should do to HELP companies be competitive in a global market. It’s not “throwing money at the problem,” it’s government doing what governments are supposed to do – GOVERN.
April 14th, 2009 at 12:33 pmchiroptera toasterhead Says:
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Really? And do you think we’d have that huge GDP and high standard of living if…
How about if the FDIC had not been created…?
Markets cannot function without governance.
I appreciate your effort but alas, your breath is wasted on the troll. No doubt it’s got limbaugh blaring in the headset and it can’t hear you. ;)
(that doesn’t make you any less correct, it just means you can’t drag a dead elephant to water or make it drink.)
April 14th, 2009 at 12:33 pmJohnM Says:
There is a reason the United States has the largest economy in the world and the highest standard of living and it is not the government.
This statement is not true. Although the US ranks in the top 20, it does not have the highest standard of living.
Countries with higher standards of living include Sweden, Switzerland, and Norway -partly thanks to government-sponsored health care.
April 14th, 2009 at 12:41 pmJudging from the last 8 years, with the ‘free market’ having its greatest degree of free rein ever, with having regulation at an all time low and considering what it has done, I think it is time someone took charge.
April 14th, 2009 at 12:42 pmGregor Samsa Says:
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JohnM Says:
There is a reason the United States has the largest economy in the world and the highest standard of living and it is not the government.
This statement is not true. Although the US ranks in the top 20, it does not have the highest standard of living.
Countries with higher standards of living include Sweden, Switzerland, and Norway -partly thanks to government-sponsored health care.
That does not factor in material standard of living.
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/RefArticle.aspx?refid=1741500821
“Those levels of production, consumption, and spending make the U.S. economy by far the largest economy the world has ever known—despite the fact that some other nations have far more people, land, or other resources. Through most of the 20th century and continuing into the 21st century, U.S. citizens also enjoyed the highest material standards of living in the world. Some nations have higher per capita (per person) incomes than the United States. However, these comparisons are based on international exchange rates, which set the value of a country’s currency based on a narrow range of goods and services traded between nations. Most economists agree that the United States has a higher per capita income based on the total value of goods and services that households consume.”
April 14th, 2009 at 12:45 pmHis solutions would work great in Springfield.
April 14th, 2009 at 12:50 pmGetting lectured by JohnM on the economy is like having a crackhead warn you on the dangers of drug abuse.
These people simply don’t grasp the conceptual notion that we HAVE ALREADY TRIED THEIR WAY AND IT FAILED MISERABLY!!!
Capitalism does work, as evidenced by the success of our country. That is not what we are arguing JohnM. We are saying that supply side trickle down economics does not work. Period. There is 30 + years worth of demonstrable, objective proof that makes this case.
April 14th, 2009 at 12:52 pmWow, Encarta. Clearly the definitive source when it comes to economic data.
April 14th, 2009 at 12:52 pmTheRadicalRightisRadicallyWrong Says:
(that doesn’t make you any less correct, it just means you can’t drag a dead elephant to water or make it drink.)
April 14th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
___________
Sure you can – all you need is a bulldozer and a fire hose.
April 14th, 2009 at 12:57 pmIncorrect by the way.
April 14th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
The Can’tor website has a blog where you can post comments.
Go for it TP’ers.
April 14th, 2009 at 1:03 pmJohnM Says:
That does not factor in material standard of living.
Wha? Did you read the entry at all?
The standard of living, as measured by most indices available, is higher in several countries in Europe:
“On comprehensive measures such as the UN Human Development Index the United States is always in the top twenty, currently ranking 12th. On the Human Poverty Index the United States ranked 16th, one rank below the United Kingdom and one rank above Ireland.[4] On the Economist’s quality-of-life index the United States ranked 13th, in between Finland and Canada, scoring 7.6 out of a possible 10. The highest given score of 8.3 was applied to Ireland. This particular index takes into account a variety of socio-economic variables including GDP per capita, life expectancy, political stability, family life, community life, gender equality, and job security.[5]”
You can fudge the figures and/or find the definition that tells you what you want to hear; it doesn’t take anything away from the reality that, according to most economists, and by most standard measures, the US does not have the highest standard of living. End of story.
April 14th, 2009 at 1:04 pmJohnM Says:
However, these comparisons are based on international exchange rates, which set the value of a country’s currency based on a narrow range of goods and services traded between nations. Most economists agree that the United States has a higher per capita income based on the total value of goods and services that households consume.
April 14th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
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Exactly. Per capita GDP is an extremely inaccurate measure of prosperity and standard of living. Far more accurate measures include the Gini coefficient, which measures the level of inequality in an economy, and the Human Development Index which factors health and education into the equation.
As you can see, the United States is not #1 in either of these rankings.
April 14th, 2009 at 1:05 pmcitizen_pain Says:
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Getting lectured by JohnM on the economy is like having a crackhead warn you on the dangers of drug abuse.
The exact reason I should not waste my time pointing out facts to so called progressives.
April 14th, 2009 at 1:07 pmOh we like facts. Have any?
April 14th, 2009 at 1:08 pmchiroptera toasterhead Says:
Far more accurate measures include the Gini coefficient, which measures the level of inequality in an economy, and the Human Development Index which factors health and education into the equation.
My point exactly. Although Johnny will conflate, deny, redefine, like any good reichwinger…
April 14th, 2009 at 1:17 pmJohnM Says:
citizen_pain Says:
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Getting lectured by JohnM on the economy is like having a crackhead warn you on the dangers of drug abuse.
The exact reason I should not waste my time pointing out facts to so called progressives.
***
you shouldn’t have but you did.
like the wasteful spending conservatives
have given us for the last eight years.
:)
April 14th, 2009 at 1:22 pmThe answer to the questions posed by this website is “Vote Democratic”.
April 14th, 2009 at 1:22 pmIs this why you don’t point out facts to us, but instead merely repeat talking points?
April 14th, 2009 at 1:29 pmWow, awesome ideas! You have to wonder, though…why didn’t they do these things over the last eight years, instead of letting us get into this mess in the first place!
April 14th, 2009 at 1:36 pmCantor’s page reminds me of this joke from 2004:
Well, it looks like Cantor has the same experts, and they Still think most Repugs relate to a 5 year old’s cartoon, which they do!
April 14th, 2009 at 1:46 pmThe website reminds me of the “I’m 8 years old and I’m a PC” commercials, sort of the Fischer Price version of a website.
April 14th, 2009 at 1:57 pmTheres’Ant Says:
The Can’tor website has a blog where you can post comments.
If I was to bother, I think my first post would be to point out the inaccuracy of their referring to the “Democrat budget” and “Democrat plan”.
Hmm, deliberate on their part? As in, extremely petty? Or just plain idiotic?
April 14th, 2009 at 2:07 pm“Cantor’s cartoonish ‘Solutions Center’ website recycles stale GOP ideas.”
lol First, we were introduced by the Party of No a 18 page pamphlet April Fools joke [with no numbers of course]of Starving for Recovery budgetless budget plan. And now we are hit today with Britney Cantor’s colloring book version of Solution Center [with no numbers of course]. Sigh… The Circus tour has not come to an end.
April 14th, 2009 at 2:52 pmchiroptera toasterhead Says:
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Sure you can – all you need is a bulldozer and a fire hose.
LOL! Nicely done. But technically, that’s not drinking… it’s just pouring water into the mouth of the dead elephant and then spilling right back out again…A good analogy for what this cartoon website and ol’ Oxycontin (and the rest of the blathering idiots) do every day with their sheep.
April 14th, 2009 at 3:12 pmIs there a games section?
Can I at least download wallpaper?
April 14th, 2009 at 4:29 pmIt has to be cartoonish because it’s meant to appeal to people who are barely literate.
April 14th, 2009 at 8:29 pmOK Pat obviously senile dementia has set in. Time to see the nice young men that will need to take care of you soon.burun estetigi rent a car arac kiralama
April 18th, 2009 at 5:23 amsac ekimi