Republican Debate Distress

By Jeff Simpson 

There is a trend happening around the country, the Republicans are ducking debates.   It has even reached Texas where Ted Cruz has pulled out of a debate with his opponent Beto O'Rourke. 

Brownsville, TX - CNN reports Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz has backed out of a debate between Democrat challenger Beto O'Rourke. The debate has changed to a town hall set for thursday, October 18, at the McAllen Performing Arts Center. According to CNN, "Sen. Ted Cruz's campaign initially accepted CNN's invitation to participate" but has since declined. CNN Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash will moderate the one-hour town hall live at 10 p.m. ET/9 p.m. CT.

So now Beto gets an hour of TV, all by himself,  talking directly to the people of Texas,   The guy who cowered to The Donald, also runs from Beto.   Let's hope the good people of Texas, see his cowardice, and send Terrible Ted packing.

While the cowardice bug afflicted Ted Cruz, it is widespread in Wisconsin.   We will try and address the widespread problem soon, but there is one specific instance I wanted to address, 

The 60th Assembly district.   

Republican Rob Brooks, who is currently was the Assistant Assembly Majority Leader,  is the current Representative of the district.   He is also the only Republican in my memory that Scott Walker has asked to resign.   The blatant racism of Bob Gannon, the fact that Robin Vos was sleeping with someone who reported to him, His right hand man trolling teens online, Wild Bill Kramer a known sexual predator, etc... and Walker was always quiet as a church mouse when asked about them. 

This time it is different.  In the home stretch of this election season, Scott Walker is obviously worried about how he polls with women and decided that for the first time in his political life, he was offended by something a fellow Republican did or said. 

"Representative Brooks' comments are offensive and disrespectful," Walker said in a tweet. "They have no place in our society and are inconsistent with the high standards that must be held by those in public office. He should resign from office, period."

What did Brooks do that upset this guy? 

Brooks attended a GOP function in the Wisconsin Dells (probably paid for by all of us) and decided to get drunk as Dale Kooyenga on budget voting day.   The problem with Brooks getting drunk, the real Rob Brooks apparently came out:

Rep. Rob Brooks (R-Saukville) directed a racial remark at fellow GOP Rep. Jessie Rodriguez of Oak Creek — the only Hispanic Republican in the Assembly — at a restaurant after an Assembly GOP caucus event in Wisconsin Dells, according to sources familiar with the incident.
An obviously inebriated Brooks said he was buying drinks for everyone "except Jessie because she's Hispanic," said one source.
Some at the gathering thought it was a really bad joke by an intoxicated individual because it was not delivered in a hateful way. But sources said Brooks proceeded to purchase alcohol for several Republicans. Rodriguez was not among them.
Brooks also made sexual comments to Republican Reps. Cindi Duchow of Delafield and Amy Loudenbeck of Clinton at the restaurant, but it is not known what exactly he said to them.

We will not know what is said because the Republicans, in the heat of the #metoo movement made a rule that they will not disclose any information about any harassment to the public.  They decided the best way to handle, for the long term health of their gerrymandered majority, is to take care of it internally with a slap on the wrist and a vow to never speak of it again. 

This was tried in this case but somehow word of his misogynistic sexism and blatant racism leaked out.  All of the women who were victimized by Brooks, all "want to put this behind them".  It will be interesting to see as we move forward, what exactly Robin Vos offered them to "put it behind them".

Which leads us to the reason of this post.   While Brooks had a few drinks and was not scared to say anything, now he is ducking debates with his opponent Chris Rahlf.   

The people of the 60th district deserve better than a rep who will only talk when he is drunk and then say things that no one should be saying. 

They deserve to be able to see both candidates, together discussing the issues and then decide. 

If  Rob Brooks is refusing to give his constituents that, then he has the same disgust for them that he has for women. 

Tell Rob Brooks to Debate Chris Rahlf. 

Campaign
204 East Dekora Street
Saukville, WI 53080

Capitol
State Capitol, Room 309 North
Post Office Box 8952
Madison, WI 53708-8952
Phone: 608-267-2369
Fax: 608-282-3660
Toll Free: 888-534-0060

@RepRobBrooks

If he still refuses, then let us help Chris Rahlf actually represent everyone in the 60th.  

Go to her website, like her Facebook page, follow her on twitter, give her a few bucks, or a few hours and for sure, call everyone you know in the area and tell them to get out and vote on November 6th for Chris Rahlf.  

Chris grew up in a military family.  Her father, a retired Air Force Chief Master Sergeant who served in Vietnam, taught her that leadership means putting the needs of others before yourself.   That is a lesson she took to heart during her service in the Navy and subsequent civilian  business career.
Unfortunately, it seems that state government has forgotten for whom they serve.  They put the interests of out of state donors and corporations before the people of Wisconsin.  They play partisan politics with important issues that affect every Wisconsinite's well-being like healthcare, education, and the environment.  
We need leaders like Chris who will stand up to the dysfunction and divisiveness rampant in our state capitol and work with all sides to solve the problems facing our state.   She will put people before politics.

Ted Cruz Republicans

By Jeff Simpson

Scott Walker, Robin Vos, Charlie Sykes et al, took a good hard look at the Republican Primary for President and decided that the best person for the job was Ted Cruz.

Shortly after Walker and Sykes endorsed Ted Cruz, he took their imortant endorsement and shortly thereafter dropped out of the race.  

Thanks guys you helped us dodge a bullet.

Want to know what appealed to the WI republicans about Ted Cruz?  This would be it:

“I like Donald Trump. I think he’s terrific, I think he’s brash, I think he speaks the truth." -- Ted Cruz, June 2015

"For those of y'all who have traveled with me all across the country, I'm going to tell you what I really think of Donald Trump. This man is a pathological liar. He doesn't know the difference between truth and lies. He lies practically every word that comes out of his mouth. And in a pattern that I think is straight out of a psychology textbook, his response is to accuse everybody else of lying." -- Ted Cruz, May 2016

Here is a nice video memorial for the Ted Cruz campaign showing us exacty what the WISGOP thinks would make one qualified to be President.  

Scott Walker and Beelzebub

By Jeff Simpson


The quote of the day comes from former Speaker of the House John Boehner.  The orange man lets it fly when asked about Ted Cruz.

Asked about the 2016 presidential candidate at a forum hosted by Stanford in Government (SIG) and the Stanford Speakers Bureau, Boehner drew laughter for making a face of disgust, according to the Stanford Daily.

"Lucifer in the flesh," Boehner said, according to the paper. "I have Democrat friends and Republican friends. I get along with almost everyone, but I have never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life."

He added that he would vote for Donald Trump in a general election if he becomes the Republican nominee but that he would not vote for Cruz.

If there is anything that shows how extreme and out of touch the WISGOP is with not only Wisconsin but the rest of America also, by the fact that the hate talkers and most electeds got together, collaborated and pushed Ted Cruz to victory in the WI primary.

Scotty himself gushed over Cruz

 "After eight years of the failed Obama-Clinton Administration, Americans are looking for real leadership and a new direction. Ted Cruz is a principled constitutional conservative who understands that power belongs to the states — and to the people — and not bureaucrats in Washington," Walker said in a statement released as he announced his decision on Sykes' show. "Just like we did in Wisconsin, Ted Cruz is not afraid to challenge the status quo and to stand up against the big government special interests. He is the best-positioned candidate to both win the Republican nomination and defeat Hillary Clinton. That’s why I endorse Ted Cruz for President of the United States."

In citing his reasoning for backing Cruz, Walker said, "I just fundamentally believe that he is a constitutional conservative," in addition to favorably 
comparing Cruz's style and policies as more suitable to the middle of the country. 
"I wanted to make sure I was supporting someone ... I wasn't against someone," said Walker, who said he plans to campaign on behalf of Cruz ahead of the state's primary on April 5. "I want to be for something."

Maybe its the fact that the WISGOP, follow Ted Cruz's policies that they are so uptight, petty and angry,  

Some Presidential Primary Tidbits

By Jeff Simpson 

After coming back from vacation, time to close out some tabs that have been open regarding the presidential primary.

1.  Hillary is on record saying she will compromise with the GOP on abortion.  That makes me fear for my daughter as she grows up in this crazy world of rich white men trying to legislate a woman's life.  I do not believe that any other Democratic politician could politically survive saying this,

Again, I am where I have been, which is that if there's a way to structure some kind of constitutional restriction that take into account the life of the mother and her health, then I'm open to that. But I have yet to see the Republicans willing to actually do that, and that would be an area, where if they included health, you could see constitutional action.

2.  For all of Hillary's tough on gun stances, she helped give Remington Corp a hundred million dollar contract while Secretary of State.  

Hillary Clinton presents herself as a tough advocate for gun control. But the State Department she led for four years helped approve more than $100 million in weapons sales for a handful of companies — including the manufacturer of the AR-15 semi-automatic that Adam Lanza used to kill 20 children in Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012.
The sales to foreign nations, noted in Defense Department documents, include $4.2 million in receipts from the Remington Arms Co., which was sued by families of the Sandy Hook victims. They argued that the company was culpable because it marketed military-grade weapons to civilians.
During the 2016 campaign, Clinton has accepted contributions from financial firms that own sizable stakes in the gun industry while criticizing rival Sen. Bernie Sanders as soft on gun safety. She has cited his opposition to laws that could hold gun manufacturers liable for mass shootings, explicitly invoking the Sandy Hook massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, to make her case. 

3.  By the way, Ms. Clinton has not always been tough on guns, just 8 years ago ---

4.   Its not just Hillary, lets look at Wisconsin Primary winner Ted Cruz: 

Ted Cruz seriously sent out a fundraising email telling his supporters about the massive sacrifice he is making to run for President.

Yesterday @TedCruz sent a campaign email whining about the “significant sacrifice” he’s made to run for President. pic.twitter.com/yKtLpWG0Ou

— Elizabeth Warren (@elizabethforma) April 19, 2016

Senator Warren went off, on this and made Ted Cruz look like the fool he truly is.  

Elizabeth Warren 

✔‎@elizabethforma

Are you kidding me, @TedCruz? We’re supposed to pity you because trying to be the leader of the free world is hard?! 2 words: Boo hoo.

It gets better, check out the link! 

5.  Quick observation - with Ted Cruz winning WI, thanks to the talk radio and elected official collaboration and watching Scott Walker spend $7 million dollars in 71 days to end up with 0.0% support.   That shows our own brand of Wisconsinite right wingers are not mainstream throughout the rest of the country.  They are amateurs who run our state but have no ability to carry their extremist views to the rest of the country.   

A Week on the GOP Campaign Trail

By Jeff Simpson

The Donald has been nothing short of entertaining.  Of course I mean entertaining in the same sense as when you get stuck watching a terrible B movie that you just cant turn off(ie The Human Centipede) .

The horro show keeps getting worse and we have not even led up to the climax yet.   Let's recap a few of the most recent lowlights.

There was concerted effort by the Governor and all of the right wing hate talkers in WI(who knew they worked together so well?) to attack Trump and push Ted Cruz as the winner in the Republican WIsconsin Primary.  The WOW counties have a long history of doing exactly as they are told and this election was no exception and they pushed Ted Cruz to victory here.

Scott Walker made a big deal out of endorsing Ted Cruz, and had nothing good to say about The Donald.   Then Mr. Trump said he would consider Scott Walker as his Vice President and Scott Walker changed his tune quickly.   You could see the stars in his eyes immediately and Scott Walker started looking at the Donald the way Sandy looks at Danny.  I expected Walker to burst into a version of Summer Loving right there.   Expect to see Scott Walker wearing Don's letter jacket around shortly!

But wait there's more, wait there's more ....

The Donald Trump/Ted Cruz beetle battle has been ugly for ages and it seems like the closer the fight gets the uglier it gets.  Do not think that people have not noticed whats going on either.

People that have resented their circumstances for years now(lower pay, loss of jobs, higher taxes, schools hurting, etc...) have received the dog whistle from the Republican party but many of their ears were not trained and they did not pick up on it;   Now with this Republican primary, the whistel is put away and its been ok to be full blown racist/mysoginist/sexist and our kids are soaking it all in!

In a recent high school girls soccer game in WI, Where Beloit Memorial was playing Elkhorn, the students from Elkhorn started chanting "Donald Trump, build that wall" and "go back to where you came from.".   

Nice examples that they are setting.   I guess when your Governor governs like this, anything goes:

Interesting times we are living in, it is almost as if we are devolving as a society!

When it comes to Trump, there is more.

Thinking back to 2010, our very own dumb Senator Ron Johnson, when he was campaigning, praised Las Vegas hotelier Steve Wynn for moving jobs to China:

It seems like every time he opens his mouth, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ron Johnson says something really really stupid. In an interview with the Wisconsin Radio Network on August 30, Johnson made it abundantly clear he believes communist China is a great place to do business, saying, “I’d encourage people to go onto Youtube and type in Steve Wynn. He does about a five-minute piece where he’s talking about- he’s the fellow who does Wynn resorts in Las Vegas. He’s also creating resorts in Macau in China, communist China. And his point is, the level of uncertainty, the climate for business investment is far more certain in communist China then it is in the U.S. here.”

Steve Wynn, not only supports RoJo but he is a big supporter of the Donald!

"Rich people only like being around rich people," he said. "Nobody likes being around poor people, especially poor people."

What a brilliant observation, who in History ever wanted to be around poor people?  God Bless

Finally, because there is only so much bad someone can handle in a day, This is Donald Trump from last night:




Umm Don - Joe Paterno is dead and he covered for a child predator for years.

In what has become common place at his rallies:

As his supporters filed out at the end of the rally, they and the protesters engaged in heated verbal confrontations, with supporters chanting "USA!" and "Build that wall!" and protesters shouting profanities. Police in riot gear separated the sides.
Pittsburgh police spokeswoman Emily Schaffer said there were some minor injuries, including to police officers, but she did not have additional details.
Among those hurt was an 18-year-old Trump supporter who was observed being led to an emergency medical services van and receiving treatment after he was pepper-sprayed in the face by a man his friends identified as a protester

Very Presidential!

I am scared to see how this is going to end!

The Bungling Brothers Circus Comes To Wisconsin

Not only has what's left of the Republican Presidential Circus come to Wisconsin, they wasted little time getting the show off.

The Republican establishment and their dark money overlords have decided to make Wisconsin the place they draw a line in the sand against the Donald Trump juggernaut. They are throwing everything they have at Trump here - from ambush radio interviews to every Republican leader in the state attacking Trump and praising Cruz.

It's not that Cruz has a realistic chance of becoming the nominee. The establishment just wants to stop Trump to make it easier for them to manipulate the rules of the convention so that a candidate of their choice is named.

This culminated on Tuesday when Scott Walker endorsed Cruz even though he already said that he didn't think Cruz or anyone else still in the race would be the nominee. Maybe that's why Walker's endorsement sounded a little less than convincing:

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker endorsed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the Republican presidential primary on Tuesday, telling conservative radio host Charlie Sykes he's "all in" for the "common-sense conservative who ... sticks to his guns."

Walker made it clear his support for Cruz isn't the result of an "anyone but Trump" mentality shared by many Republicans; rather, he's excited about the candidate.

"To me, I'm all in," Walker said. "This is not a default."

Um, yeah. If you have to try to convince people that Cruz is not your default choice and that you were just following orders in endorsing him, well, it's not very convincing after all.

Also, when Walker dropped out of the race in record time, he tried to get the other candidates to do the same so that they could focus on beating Trump.

Walker also promised to go around campaigning for Cruz although it's not clear what a governor with a 39% approval rating is going to do to help and not hurt the campaign.

Meanwhile, Trump had been predicting that Walker wouldn't endorse him. And when Walker came out with his endorsement of Cruz, Trump slammed him but good:

Trump predicted -- correctly, it turned out -- that Walker would endorse Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in Wisconsin's April 5 presidential primary. The real estate mogul suggested Walker may have been smarting from his short-lived presidential bid. Trump took credit for knocking the Wisconsin governor out of the race.

"We sent him packing like a little boy," Trump said during the 20-minute interview. "I'm the one that revealed his weaknesses."

Walker, Trump said, left the GOP primary field "in disgrace." Trump added, "I'm surprised he's got any juice left in Wisconsin."

Trump then pointed to Walker's recall election in 2012, saying there appears to be a lot of hostility in the Badger State.

"Wisconsin has a lot of problems. Plus, there's tremendous hatred. You look at the vitriol," he said. "I wouldn't exactly say, fellas, that things are running smoothly."

While Walker was still in the running for the GOP nomination, Trump said he simply pointed out that Wisconsin was facing a $2.2 billion budget deficit, something he said the second-term Republican governor never explained.

"The schools were going begging and everything was going begging because he didn’t want to raise taxes because he was going to run for president,” Trump said of Walker. “So instead of raising taxes, he cut back on schools, cut back on highways, cut back on a lot of things.”

In the end, Trump said: "I hit him very hard. . . . Literally, in one week, he was out of the race."

Meanwhile, Ohio Governor John Kasich (remember him?) was trying to keep even a shred of relevance:

Republican presidential candidate John Kasich said he wasn't surprised that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker did not endorse him on Tuesday and went instead with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

"I kind of thought this would happen," Kasich said.

The Ohio governor intimated in stops in Milwaukee and Waukesha that Walker's decision to back Cruz was little more than a speed bump — if that — in his run for the GOP nomination.

Kasich reiterated his belief that Trump won't get the necessary delegate count to make his nomination a certainty, and at the convention in Cleveland, Republicans will eventually turn to him — someone with leadership and experience.

"I have basically labored in secrecy for a very long time — and now, all of a sudden, I kind have some of the sun shining on me," Kasich said in Waukesha.

The strategies of the three candidates are also interesting.

Cruz is rarely stepping out of his comfort zone of the three ultrared counties around Milwaukee - Washington, Ozaukee and Waukesha - where the establishment is strongest. Meanwhile, Trump is hitting a lot of the outstate places where he has the strongest support. Kasich is going anywhere and everywhere, begging to get what votes he can. Kasich said that he wants to be a spoiler for Trump, but odds are he's going to hurt Cruz worse than Trump.

On the other side, both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are drawing good crowds and getting the crowds very enthused.

And of course, with the circus going into full speed, the rest of us are just sitting back and eating our popcorn.

Racists for Trump!

So this happened!

The scariest thing is Donald Trump would make a better president than Ted Cruz or Scott Walker.  

The GOPs Hidden Talents!!!

By Jeff Simpson

We know that the Republicans who are desperate to win the Presidency are debating pretty much weekly.   What we did not know though, is how talented they are!

In case you forgot, Marco Rubio can drink water and the dummy keeps talking.   Amazing!!

We found out even more tonight.  We know that Ted Cruz has a stomach of steel and can eat any color booger on his lip_ even white!!



via GIPHY

Finally GOP front runner Donald Trump is apparently a well endowed mutant(according to him)!




I guess that explains why he can keep trading in his younger wife for an even younger version.  Here is a picture of the Donald's current wife Melania!




Then, last and certainly least, John Kasich who after exhaustive research has no special abilities that sets himself apart but does like riding shotgun and breathing fresh air!!

Crazy Cruz

 

By Jeff Simpson 

Senator Ted Cruz is a Republican Senator from Texas, and running for President.  In Texas, before the primaries, the major papers made their endorsements.  

The people who know Ted Cruz the best, have decided that they would endorse - Anyone but Ted Cruz!!!

Ted Cruz is so hated that even his home state newspapers will endorse anyone but him and what they had to say about him is absolutely embarrassing.

Despite being the only presidential candidate from the Lone Star State, the three major newspapers in Texas refused to endorse the Tea Party Senator, citing his dangerous agenda.

According to the San Antonio Express-News,

“The freshman senator has demonstrated a frightening willingness to push the American economy to the brink of disaster to pursue his ideological agenda — even when he clearly does not have the votes to get his way…The freshman senator’s methodical run for the White House is obviously well-planned, but Cruz’s self-centered approach has thoroughly alienated even his Republican Senate colleagues. And that is obviously a recipe for a weak, unsuccessful administration. He lacks the temperament to be president.

A nice list:

* Ideological
* self-centered
* alienate people
* weak
* unsuccessful

What happens when you get a list of character traits like that?  

Wisconsin Legislators are falling over themselves to endorse you!

Duey Stroebel was the "winner" and gets to run the "Cruz for President" Wisconsin campaign(because its not like he has a taxpayer funded job that takes up his time at all).  

Stroebel, who ran for Congress in 2014 but lost in the Republican primary, said he was impressed with Cruz's stand in Iowa against ethanol subsidies, a move that angered the state's powerful ethanol lobby and led to Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad calling for Cruz's defeat. Cruz won nonetheless.
"He put a dagger in the heart of what is truly an institution to the people of Iowa," Stroebel said. "He has shown he's a stalwart, he's unwavering."
Other Wisconsin lawmakers endorsing Cruz are Reps. André Jacque, Jesse Kremer, Dean Knudson, Adam Neylon, Bob Gannon and David Craig. Stroebel said more would be announced in the weeks leading up to the primary. Cruz was campaigning this week in South Carolina ahead of its primary on Saturday, and he has not announced any Wisconsin stops yet.

Scott Walker Sold Us Out To Ted Cruz

By Jeff Simpson 

This email recently came to my inbox:

Jeff, 
This is huge.
A group of generous donors have just agreed to match all online donations -- dollar for dollar -- made in the next EIGHT days. 
That's right: your donation of $25 is now worth $50, your donation of $50 instantly doubles to $100, or your donation of $1000 now becomes worth $2000!
This incredible opportunity for you and me is only good for the next EIGHT days, and it only applies to online donations.
I have included (below) the special, secure donations links you must use to take advantage of this TREMENDOUS opportunity.

I was wondering why I got that email since I do not remember signing up for the "lunatics who have no chance to be President of the United States" group...then I read a little more and I guess I did.

 This email was sent by: Scott Walker Inc., Post Office Box 620590, Middleton, WI 53562

Scott Walker, yet again selling us out to the highest bidder.  

It is funny because the last email I receved from Scott Walker, actually came from one of his henchmen Keith Gilkes.  If you do not know who Keith Gilkes is, he is former Walker campaign worker who helped run Milwaukee County when Scott Walker was county exec.  Gilkes became famous when a Milwaukee County parking structure collapsed and tragically killed a teenager in front of his family, his first reaction was we need to protect Scott Walker politically.  

Now Gilkes is doing the panhandling for Scott Walker:

Jeff,
In case you missed it, I am forwarding Governor Walker’s recent email to you because I believe in him so much. 
He needs your help today to end our “Walker for America” campaign in the black and I urge you to respond with your usual generosity.
As you may recall, I was his campaign manager when he ran for Governor in 2010 and we pulled off a big victory in a blue state. 
And I was by his side as his Chief of Staff when he launched the most historic and far-reaching reforms of any Governor in modern history. Back in 2011, our rivals smirked that we had zero chance of success and there would be hell to pay if we tried. 
They were wrong about the first thing … our reforms passed and Wisconsin was transformed. But they were right about the second thing -- they launched a nasty recall race against Governor Walker. 
I went back to run his recall election campaign in 2012, and although our opponents spent tens of millions of dollars and the Big Government Labor Bosses did their dirty work, Governor Walker won again. 
What our rivals don’t understand about Governor Scott Walker is that he is a driven, movement conservative who never quits. They underestimate him. Just as Governor Walker is convinced America’s best days are ahead, I am convinced that his best days as a conservative leader are ahead of him.

Scott Walker would prefer you pay his bills so he doesn't have too.   Heck you deserve an award if you can blow $7 Million dollars in 71 days!  

Wonder what is next for Scott Walker?  An e-mail begging wisconsinites to pay for his kids college tuition?  We all remember that he has asked for your kids Christmas money, so anything is possible.

One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other

By Jeff Simpson 

We brought you the story this morning, that over the weekend, the Family Research council, led by Tony Perkins had a "ValuesVoters" summit to showcase the Republicans running for President.  The Canadian Cowboy, Ted Cruz, won the straw poll on the platform of arresting President Obama and assassinating world leaders he does not like.




To Compare/Contrast, our President spent the weekend speaking at the U.N. Summit where he spoke of his desire to end Poverty and Hunger.  

President Barack Obama on Sunday committed the U.S. to a new blueprint to eliminate poverty and hunger around the world, telling a global summit that a sweeping new development agenda is "not charity but instead is one of the smartest investments we can make in our own future."
It was the first of two addresses Obama is making at the United Nations. His second on Monday morning, to the annual U.N. General Assembly of world leaders, will be a broader examination of world issues, especially the ever-more complicated conflict in Syria.
Obama offered a powerful defense of a 15-year development agenda and will require trillions of dollars of effort from countries, companies and civil society.
He told delegates that 800 million men, women and children scrape by on less than $1.25 a day and that billions of people are at risk of dying from preventable diseases. He called it a "moral outrage" that many children are just one mosquito bite away from death.
Obama said the goals are ambitious but can be achieved if governments work together.

Still think the two parties are the same?