Comments of the Week: The RNC and #TalkPoverty

Comments of the Week: The RNC and #TalkPoverty

Comments of the Week: The RNC and #TalkPoverty

 Our readers respond to our RNC coverage and to Greg Kaufmann’s #TalkPoverty series. 

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Comments of the Week: The RNC and #TalkPoverty

Storified by The Nation · Fri, Aug 31 2012 12:14:53

Each week, we collect the best responses from our community on Twitter, Facebook and our own comment threads. Naturally, this week our readers had a lot to say about the circus that was the Republican National Convention. 
When the question “Will the RNC Be a Success for the GOP” was posed to John Nichols in VideoNation, a few of our readers on twitter quickly responded: 
@thenation I don’t think so. The convention was a blame game Obama’s fault. No mention of their (GOP) obstruction the last 3 yrsRodney Sanders
@thenation Young white guy getting caught in lies and old white guy yelling at a chair will cause independent voters to slowly back away.Brian
On Facebook, David Casson agreed with Rick Perlstein that Mitt Romney’s acceptance speech fell short: 
Yes, all anyone is talking about is Eastwood and Rubio. I will say this for Romney’s acceptance speech last night. He showed an amazing amount of chutzpah in beating the drums of war against Syria, Iran and Russia without even once mentioning our brave veterans and soldiers. Mitt…if you can’t remember them now, can we trust you to remember them after you send them off to war?David Casson
In response to Steve Brodner’s drawing of Rick Santorum’s “To Do” list: 
left off the list: eliminate democracy and create a theocracyCarla Josephson
On the treatment of Ron Paul’s delegates: 
@thenation Ron, That’s how AAs feel each day, treated atrociously by our local Govt., police dept., city council. Unrepresentative taxationMichael P.
@CelesteHeadlee @thenation The real tragedy is that an indep. has no chance to be elected President. 2 sides & too much power between them.Jeffrey Jaisli
I’m no fan of Ron Paul BUT I think what the GOP was wrong. I think they are scared shitless of him IMHO.Erica Anderson
On feminism and the GOP, and Katha Pollitt’s “Women Who Love Republicans Who Hate Them:” 
NuriaRodriguez: 
I don’t get it either.  It’s like thanking the person who is continually kicking you in the ass, and even kneeling so they don’t have to lift their foot too high.Women Who Love Republicans Who Hate Them | The Nation
Ruth A. Lopez: 
This needs to be explained to them as a property rights issue. A woman’s eggs contain HER unique genetic material. That’s HER body. No woman should have to relinquish the right to say what sperm will be allowed to merge with HER egg. That’s HER property. That’s like saying if someone successfully breaks into your house, you not only have to let him move in, you have to cook and clean for him too. Sigh, GOP men probably think that’s a good idea.Women Who Love Republicans Who Hate Them | The Nation
Finally, Greg Kaufmann’s “Talk About Poverty (#TalkPoverty): Jessica Bartholow’s Questions for Obama and Romney” reminded us of an issue that gets far too little substantive attention during election season. Commenter deadbrokediva responded with a description of a personal experience with hunger: 
It’s funny, because I’d always described my own family as "middle class", but after reading this article, I realize now that even though we always had a home, we too were always "poor to working class" throughout my childhood. I can totally relate to the hunger thing, having been raised by a single mother and having a deadbeat dad take off to avoid paying child support. Jessica Batholow has it SPOT ON about the hunger thing. I remember spaghetti every night for months or cereal for dinner and oh yes, those mayonnaise sandwiches for lunch that I got bullied over. I remember my mom dating a guy she wasn’t in love with simply because he would take us grocery shopping on Friday nights. Fridays in my family were like Christmas! My brother and I would set our alarm clocks for 3 am to sneak downstairs and gorge ourselves on ice cream or snacks – even deli that we normally would never have in the house. This is a scenario that I know I am not alone in, I know that there are plenty of other kids doing the same thing and feeling just as hungry as I was and it’s only going to get worse if Romney/Ryan get in there. They simply have no empathy or compassion for the poor. Period.Talk About Poverty (#TalkPoverty): Jessica Bartholow’s Questions for Obama and Romney | The Nation

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