Now in the interest of full disclosure, I admit up front that I am not an admirer of today's GOP. There's several reasons why but I'll deal with that in another Post. Just so you know...In my view the GOP line-up leaves a lot to be desired and, depending on who becomes the Chosen One in next summer's primary, Obama may remain in office. So if you vote Republican, chose your candidate carefully.
Here's my take on the candidates as of now... we're early in the game and so I reserve the right to change my opinion as time goes on. These are my opinions (to which I am entitled) and you are free to agree or disagree - I'd love to read your comments.
Who to vote for in the primary if you want Obama to REMAIN IN OFFICE
Michelle Bachmann - I find it difficult to understand how Bachmann even got elected to the House of Representatives. Most of the time she doesn't know what she's talking about, and even worse, she has no problem filling the holes with ridiculous fabrications. And to top it all off, she gets confused between praying the GAY away and praying the GRAY away. Bachmann is way too fringe and just plain weird. She would certainly lose against Obama.Who to vote for in the primary if you want to SERIOUSLY challenge Obama
Jon Huntsman - Huntsman is moderate on some issues and conservative on others. This is the guy that disappointed Democrats would be willing to vote for and even admit it. And a lot of Independents like him also. Just about all Republicans would vote for him in the general election because he is not Obama. So do the math... the numbers add up. Huntsman is smart and doesn't come with any baggage. He has an extraordinary record of success as Governor of Utah and considerable experience in Foreign Affairs. He also has genuine, productive relationships with colleagues across the isle - Huntsman could lead our divisive Congress over the partisan wall and get them back to work. Yes, he's a Mormon and so fundamental Christians may view him with some, eh, distaste. But, on the other hand, many from that group would prefer to vote for a Mormon rather than Obama. To learn more about Huntsman, visit his web site and take a look at this RealClearPolitics article.Who to vote for in the primary if you want to make Obama very NERVOUS
Mitt Romney - Other than the fact that Mitt Romney is a Mormon, he is practically the perfect Republican in terms of electability. He is very conservative but not fundamentalist, and so he's not too scary to Independent voters. Some disillusioned Democrats might secretly vote for him. Romney cleans up well and strikes a very presidential pose. He has a strong background in financial matters and may be the most qualified candidate to take on our struggling economy and federal budget deficit. And regarding that Mormon thing, Romney would face the same issue as Huntsman: fundamental Christians may not want to vote for him. But as I already pointed out, many from that group would prefer to vote for a Mormon than Obama. To learn more about Romney, visit his web site and read this endorsement from Tim Pawlenty.A Note about Rick Perry
Rick Perry is surprisingly weak on a number of issues, including Foreign Affairs. For example, he needs to study up on Israeli-Palestinian issues before making accusations against Obama the leave Perry looking like an idiot. And he needs to stop calling Social Security a Ponzi scheme - is he really that foolish? Perry works hard to tear down Obama and his GOP opponents but offers up very little solid information about what he would do if elected President. In addition, he has few (if any) qualms about spinning tales and telling lies - it seems Perry will say anything to get some votes. Click here to take a look at a few of his outrageous claims.
Very few Democrats would vote for Perry under any circumstance and he is too extreme for most Independent voters.
Perry needs to forget about the Presidency and take care of Texas, starting with Health Care coverage: that state has the lowest level of coverage in the nation. He also needs to strengthen his efforts against illegal immigration in Texas - it is ILLEGAL and he practically sends out the welcome wagon.
Perry may be the GOP candidate front runner today but my guess is he won't hold that lead for much longer. His antics are wearing thin and people are wising up.Newt Gingrich Afterthought: [added 27 Sept 2011]
Mr Gingrich admitted to cheating on two wives and holds the dubious record as the only speaker of the House to have been disciplined for ethics violations. Nonetheless, he is a GOP candidate for President and is running as a religious conservative.
Be careful people, we may get what we deserve.
What do you think?
- Which GOP contender do you think would do the best job as President?
- Which GOP contender could beat Obama?
- What are your top three most important issues?
SOURCES
Part 1 - Excellent post! I agree on nearly everything you said. I see you posted my comments on another of your blog posts earlier today about Mob Mentality and Racism I was not sure you would approve it to be published. I hoped you were as fair as I thought you would be from stating you were open to different ideas your profile. I just posted another 4 part comment on another. On this post, the only thing I disagree on is Social Security not being a Ponzi Scheme and the subject of Illegal Immigration. Rick Perry is past news anyway and I doubt seriously he could ever have made it to the Whitehouse. But, it is an older blog post. SS is not a Ponzi Scheme in the criminal sense. But, it still runs just like one. Think back to the budget fights of last summer. Well, not the budget fight, but the fight over raising the National Debt limit. We can't have a budget fight when for the first time in our history as a country we have not had a budget for over 3 years. The US Senate has one actual Constitutional requirement and it is to pass a budget once a year. The Senate leader, Harry Reid has refused to bring the US House written budget to the floor since April 2009. The House has written one each year by April as constitutionally required after they received the President's budget request which is required to be submitted to Congress by Feb every year. So instead we get Continuing Resolutions for almost 4 years now. I'd say the entire Senate needs to be replaced, except with only 51 votes required for all budget matters in the Senate, the Dems have held that majority since Jan 2007. Remember those days, back when unemployment was 4.7% when Dems took over both the Senate and the House. Anyway, back to the Nat Debt. Do you remember last summer when the Pres came out and said that the elderly would not get their social security checks and the military would not be paid if the GOP did not give him the concessions he wanted. He said he would veto the Debt limit bill the GOP House had already passed. Why? Because they took out funding for Planned Parenthood. A friend in the Army had already been notified by his upper command that they may not be paid and the Army had already set up references they and their families could go to for help if they would be unable to do without pay. Whatever your opinion is on tax money going to PP is not the point, it is that our president would stop SS checks and our troops from getting paid if the GOP didn't give in to him funding PP and take it out of the bill in the Senate. The point is that there was no money set aside in a lock box for SS. It is an IOU system with treasury bills (I think) or something from the Fed so when the fund runs low, the Govt has to pay back the Fed or SS Actuary from the current budget and discretionary spending to make good on the treasury bill to provide the money needed at the time to pay SS recipients. It surely is exactly like a Ponzi Scheme. Just like Bernie Madoff. He used the money taken in from current investors to pay interest to past investors who believed their money was in stocks and gaining that interest. It was not. Just like our SS. Everyone thinks it is in some imaginary lock box because hey, they and their employers have paid into it every month of their life since they began working.
ReplyDeletePart 2 - That is why all of our elderly parents and grandparents were so scared! My own grandmother told me that she was so scared because the president came on TV and said she might not get her check. It was horrible for her and even more despicable that our soldiers who were far away being shot at were also threatened with their families not being paid. Maybe not an illegal Ponzi, but a Ponzi all the same!
ReplyDeleteSince the country is so broke and all the previously paid SS payroll taxes were already borrowed by the government for discretionary spending there is no money unless the Fed just turns on the presses (here comes massive inflation as the dollar just sinks lower on the world monetary market and it won’t buy as much). Or, we go to countries who don’t like us very much and borrow more and more.
The interest on our debt is ballooning and in 10 - 20 years we will hardly have enough $$ for our interest due to the insane borrowing from those same countries. Every person in this country will pay a massive percentage of their earnings in taxes. The politicians in the past and some current are so addicted to their unreasonable spending on their pet projects and their own special people, they will never give their special privileges up without a fight! As for Perry doing something about the Illegals, yes it is the law. Texas actually does a lot about it, but every time a state tries to take action against Illegals, our president has the DOJ sue them. Just like the ongoing lawsuits in AZ, SC, GA, UT, and AL, because the states have had enough and are trying to stop the Illegals from taking jobs from some of our own lower educated workers, who then get welfare and every state give away known to man, because they can’t find a job they are qualified for. Do you realize how many of our tax dollars go to supporting Illegals? They get free medical, we do not. They get welfare and food stamps for the children they have here as long as they manage to visit on a tourist visa and just stay, or sneak in our back door before the baby is born. It just goes on and on. Most have not much more than a 3rd or 4th grade education and will always need more than they can possibly make to survive in this country. They want citizenship so they can bring their elderly relatives and extended family members in. Then our safety nets our taxes pay for just get bigger and bigger. We can stand no more! Now the Labor Dept and Homeland Security have special hotlines set up for Illegals who feel they are being discriminated against in jobs, housing, and school matters for their Illegal kids. Also, the president has issued a rule that ICE will have a special council who will decide which Illegals are actually not criminals (yet) and let them stay and get a work permit and if they stay out of trouble, it will lead to citizenship. Even so, most were already working by using someone's stolen ID and SS Num and this is not considered a crime by this administration. You know, "poor things just were working hard and want the American Dream too!" This president has no concept of following the law as it is, not as he wishes it were. So, he just refuses to enforce Immigration Law that is already on the books as it is his constitutional duty to enforce.
Part 3 - As for the Illegals, not all that much different from the masses of High School dropouts of our own and generations of welfare users who scream for economic justice and good paying jobs and good benefits for all. They fail to obtain the education offered to them and refuse to even try to better themselves, but we are the selfish and horrible ones for not voluntarily giving them more of our $$ and stuff they feel entitled to? Those of us who have worked very hard through adversity as well, to get our higher education and trades are considered greedy and stingy for not wanting to share what we worked long hours and so hard for. This administration keeps screaming class warfare and making these people think it is fair that they all get the same share. It is not! Bottom-line, if our president would follow the law we would not have so much trouble with our SS system and our unemployment/illegal problem. Same as presidents before him, except the ones before him did not pander directly to the Illegals and surely did not sue the states who tried to help catch them. Plus, the welfare reform or welfare to work program Pres Clinton signed into law after fighting the GOP for years and not wanting to do it has been completely reversed by Pres Obama. Completely! It is time to stop the cycle where we reward irresponsibility. We have single mothers living on welfare their entire lives just because they keep having more children. And then their daughters after them. Especially in the urban inner cities. Lastly, I think Romney would be the right person to right the country at this most important time. I like that he is somewhat of a moderate, but a really good economical mind. My top 3 most important issues are a Balanced Budget Constitutional Amendment, job creation, and reform of the antiquated tax code. I would add a forth too, getting rid of that awful Obama Care and replacing it with a worker centered plan with many of the same things in it. Just add Tort Reform to bring down Malpractice Insurance for doctors or many of them will cease to practice. We need to build competition into the Health Insurance system to allow people to buy their policy from any insurer in the country that meets their state’s minimum requirements. Just like Auto Insurance! When we move the company can tweak the policy exactly like they do for autos, since every state has different minimum requirements for that as well. I’m actually thinking a program like Medicare would be best overall. Where all workers have a certain percentage deducted from their pay according to what they earn. All non-workers could be woven in to the Medicaid system depending on their circumstances. Just a thought.
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