Category → Republicans
Romney now the eventual nominee
I’ve never been a huge fan of former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.
Why? Because although he has at times looked more conservative than other leading candidates, look who he was up against in the past: John McCain, Rudy Guiliani, Jon Huntsman, Mike Huckabee, and more. Against folks like that, even Barak Obama would seem like the more conservative choice.
The trouble is, when you contrast him against a real conservative like Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, Bobby Jindal, Scott Walker, Paul Ryan, and more, he just doesn’t measure up.
But the people who decided to sit out are out, and the people who decided to run are running, and with Mitt Romney looking like he’ll win New Hampshire in a landslide, and leading in South Carolina, well… I hope for some upsets to extend the media attention on conservative solutions, but it’s pretty clear the Romney train is gonna run on time.
Newt Gingrich has been exposed for his limitations, the best candidate of them all – Herman Cain – has been driven out of the race, Rick Santorum has only been a Senator, Ron Paul is both insane and a liberal on foreign policy and 2012 Macys coupons have more value in a general election, and Rick Perry simply isn’t ready. No one else is viable.
So now comes the time where I’m gonna stop wishing for a late entry by Sarah Palin or some other dream candidate and get real: Mitt Romney’s not a perfect conservative, but so long as he doesn’t run to the left for the general election, there are things I can appreciate about him.
First, he’s been a governor. Second, he’s spent a good portion of his career in the private sector. And third, he’s not Barak Obama.
Okay. I think it’ll be an improvement. Now if only we can see him choose a genuine conservative as a running mate, rather than a RINO.
Ron Paul: The Choice for Political Suicide
Word is, Ron Paul is looking strong in both New Hampshire and South Carolina. He is the one candidate who, if nominated, could force me to vote third-party.
Paul’s foreign policy is worse than Obama’s, and he’s only been a Congressman. While he plays up the grassroots stuff a lot, he’s simply not a conservative.
Not only are his foreign policies dangerous, but he gives aid and comfort in his stances on pot legalization, gay marriage and more. Why is he a Republican, again?
Oh, that’s right. He’s from Texas and felt he needed the branding to win elections. But make no mistake about it: Paul’s a leftist.
Pre-caucus poll: Gingrich by 4 points
He divorced a dying wife, has cheated on more than one spouse, has engaged in “strange bedfellows” relations with every prominent Democrat on Capitol Hill, and is a definitive flip-flopper on most issues. Yet Newt Gingrich is becoming the teflon candidate of the Iowa caucuses.
Following flirtations with Michelle Bachmann, Rick Perry and Herman Cain, the anti-Romney forces of the Iowa GOP have latched onto Newt Gingrich and refuse to be thrown off. The most recent Gallup Poll has him up by four percent over Romney, who can’t break past a 25-percent ceiling in his support.
Rick Santorum is looking better and better.
Cain is able
Following the Western GOP Debate earlier this week, the verdict is in: Herman Cain is no flash-in-the-pan candidate, but has won a second straight presidential preference straw poll, this time in Nevada. Cain garnered 31 percent of those polls, compared to 29 percent for Mitt Romney and 20 percent for Newt Gingrich.
Perry, who drew frequent boos from the Las Vegas audience earlier this week, managed only 4 percent. Even Ron Paul won 10 percent there.
The debate victory, which most observers gave to Cain or Romney, was reflected in the poll results. As Perry continues to struggle, and Gingrich is far less popular nationwide than the Nevada result indicates, it appears that the conservative and Tea Party factions have finally found a candidate they can agree on; Cain is appearing to solidify himself as the “anyone but Romney” candidate.
Will that be enough to win the nomination? That depends on who supporters of former conservative and Tea Party darlings like Rick Santorum and Michele Bachmann, migrate to after those candidates drop out of the race. Cain would seem the most natural choice.
Can Cain beat Obama? You know what? I bet a Cuban cigar he can. I think he’s the candidate Obama is least eager to face.
Schultz reveals racism of the left
Ed Schultz, host of MSNBC’s “The Ed Show,” has revealed the virulent racist streak that runs through liberalism but is rarely talked about or criticized by the appropriate groups, purely because racists like Schultz hold the “proper” political views in the eyes of the Rainbow Coalition, the NAACP, and other liberal special interest groups.
On recent broadcasts, Schultz has bloviated about how black Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain is pandering to “white Republicans out there who don’t like black folks.” That would be quite a trick, if that were even possible.
Schultz’ comment exposes the left’s overconfidence in their foothold among black voters. Even with the nation’s first black president in the White House, Schultz apparently believes it’s okay to play the race card and accuse a party that currently favors Cain over Mitt Romney, of racism.
If the GOP actually were as racist as Schultz suggests, Cain would’t be surging right now, regardless of the fact that he has presented what is consistently the most solid and conservative political message of any candidate running.
Schultz also railed against Senator Jim DeMint, whom Cain has mentioned as a potential running mate if he wins the nomination. Yet those comments aren’t even worth wasting virtual space on. Maybe Schultz simply needs to be sent a bunch of Christmas Cards to cheer him up.
Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann lead in South Carolina
Texas Governor Rick Perry and Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann lead the pack currently in South Carolina, which should be a relief to conservatives and Tea Party activists nationwide. The rest of the pack might fare better seeking geneticist jobs, despite the liberal media trying to puff up the chances of the RINO-esque Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman in the state.
South Carolina, the fourth state to vote, looks set to be a pivotal state once again. A Perry-Bachmann or Perry-Cain ticket would certainly be intriguing.
Perry will consider a 2012 run?
In one of the best bits of news conservatives have heard in a while, Tea Party-friendly Texas Governor Rick Perry, who is loud and outspoken about opposing Federal overreaching of the Enumerated Powers clause of the Constitution, has finally admitted he will consider a 2012 run for the White House.
He’d being much needed star quality to a GOP field awash in too many RINOs and lesser names. And if he sticks to his pro-Constitutional guns and somehow gains the party nomination and the White House, there’s a chance the US could return to the sort of Constitutional limits on federal power that haven’t been seen since prior to the days of FDR.
Heck, if Perry’s in, I’ll start printing posters for his campaign now. Aside from Herman Cain, Perry would become my immediate favorite for the top job in the nation’s government.
Perry-Bachmann sound good to anyone? How about Perry-Cain?
Mitch says No to 2012
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, hyped by the White House and the liberal media — never a good sign — as the GOP’s best hope, has decided to bow out of a 2012 bid for the White House. While Daniels has earned a fair amount of credibility as a budget cutter, some question his conservative credentials, especially amid the “strange new respect” Daniels has earned from the Obama White House and the liberal media of late.
While he may come by his reputation unfairly, Daniels bowing out actually increases the chances of a more reliable conservative winning the nomination; the most prominent RINOs still in the race are Mitt Romney and Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty.
Of those who have declared, the clear favorite for my money – at the moment – is Herman Cain. He’s the best speech giver and public speaker, and has a wide resume in both government work and the private sector, and has succeeded pretty much at every step along the way.
Newt Gingrich’s time is passed; his expiration date arrived when he attacked the Paul Ryan budget and coined the term “right-wing social engineering.” Might not be a RINO yet, but he’s certainly a RINO-in-training.
Gary Johnson has no chance, and neither do Fred Karger, Tom Miller, Tim Pawlenty, Vern Weunsche.
Who’s left? Rick Santorum doesn’t fire me up; Ron Paul does, but not in a good way. And Mitt Romney is a RINO, and the last thing I want to see is another John McCain fiasco.
So who’s left?
Plenty of promising conservatives, that’s for sure.
There’s Michele Bachmann, who is more likely to end up as someone else’s running mate. There’s John Bolton, who would bring a lot of needed honesty and foreign policy experience. And there’s a dark-horse move to draft Texas Governor Rick Perry, which wouldn’t be a half-bad idea.
I’m less than interested in Charlie Crist and Lindsay Graham. And Jon Huntsman is a nobody.
And then there’s Sarah Palin, who could be the best of them all … except for Herman Caine.
So here’s my list, in order of preference, at the moment, for the top of the GOP ticket.
1. Herman Cain
2. Sarah Palin
3. Rick Perry
4. Michele Bachmann
5. John Bolton
All of those in my Top 5 are far more conservative than Romney, Pawlenty, Gingrich and Santorum. I’d vote for any one of those five over President Obama in a hot second. But especially Cain.
And the future looks bright for the GOP. Here are some names to keep in mind for 2016, 2020 and beyond: Chris Christie, Scott Walker, Paul Ryan, Bobby Jindal, Jan Brewer, Nikki Haley, Susanna Martinez, and Mary Fallin. They are all powerful conservatives and the political equivalent of unlocked cell phones.
GOP survivor could be right’s Bill Clinton
While the New York Times is running a story about how weak the GOP field of candidates is because so many folks are running that none of them have even 20 percent support right now, the truth is that there are a lot of parallels to the situation the Democrats faced in 1992.
Back in 1991, as Democrats weighed going against the massively popular post-Desert-Storm George H.W. Bush, many of the big guns bowed out. Candidates considered obvious heavy hitters, like New York’s Mario Cuomo, wanted to wait for a year when he would not be facing a popular incumbent president. So the ’91 field was critiqued even at the time as “the Seven Dwarves” because they were all relative unknowns. Lots of folks to choose from, none of them sure-bet heavy-hitters.
Out of that field, though, Bill Clinton emerged and went on to control Washington for the next eight years, becoming the first two-terms Democrat since Harry S. Truman.
Now, the popular opinion among some establishment Republicans is that Obama is a bit too imposing to go against; even despite a bad economy and falling popularity, some GOP candidates fear facing off against Barry Obama for fear of the “racist” label Dems are sure to toss at whoever ultimately opposes the President.
There are a lot of GOP names in the hat right now, and similar “dwarf” labels are being tossed about. While some familiar names are hesitating, like Huckabee, Palin and even Newt Gingrich – in fact, about the only brand name candidate who seems sure to run is the one few conservatives really want: Mitt Romney, affectionately known as John McCain Jr.
So yes, the field is littered with under-experienced, no-name conservatives, as well as publicity-hungry, un-serious candidates like Donald Trump. But out of this vast field, a new Bill Clinton of the right could very well emerge. Thinning out the field won’t be easy, like how to get rid of whiteheads on face, but it will happen.
For conservatives, in fact, there are several names to get excited over.
Herman Cain. Michelle Bachmann. Mitch Daniels. Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. Rick Perry. Chris Christie. Paul D. Ryan. Scott Walker. Nikki Haley. Jan Brewer. Bobby Jindal.
Of course, there are still plenty of RINO candidates like Tim Pawlenty and others. But with such a wealth of conservatives, surely we can do better this time around than George W. Bush or John McCain.
Trillions, not billions
Fresh off his budget battle victory late Friday, House Speaker John Boehner, in a column for USA Today, stated the next fight would be over “trillions, not billions” in spending cuts. His column said, in part:
That’s why this week, we’ll advance our fight from saving billions of dollars to saving trillions of dollars as we turn our full attention to the GOP budget outlined by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., aptly titled “The Path to Prosperity.” The Path to Prosperity is a powerful blueprint for economic growth and fiscal responsibility that will help our economy get back to creating jobs, stop Washington from spending money we don’t have, and lift the crushing burden of debt that threatens our children and grandchildren.
While Ph.D. candidates could earn teaching degrees studying the Federal budget (though who would want teaching degrees in such a discipline is questionable), one thing is clear: with the GOP House, there’s finally a watchdog to prevent President Obama and the Democrat controlled-Senate from engaging in another two years of out-of-control spending sprees that have damaged the value of the US dollar and resulted in economic malaise unlike any seen since the Carter administration.
Boehner scores win
In the battle over the budget late Friday, GOP Speaker of the House John Boehner scored a decisive victory for fiscal conservatives, changing the tone in Washington from one of capitulation by conservatives, to one of victory. Now, many observers will whine that Boehner didn’t win on quite enough points, that his victory wasn’t complete enough, and some are even suggesting he blinked when it came to entering into a government shut-down.
Don’t be fooled.
President Obama is the one coming out of this looking more like a laminate flooring salesman than a statesman; his threat to veto any seven-day funding extension proved hollow and in the final deal, Boehner won far more than he gave up on in this first round of economic showdowns.
In fact, one can gauge the significance of the largest-ever one-year cuts in Washington spending by one simple fact: President Obama rushed to take credit for it as soon as the cuts were finalized.
Certainly, more battles lay ahead and the cuts need to get deeper to back America out of its current economic crisis. Boehner needs to prove he’s committed long-term to shrinking, in real terms, both the size and the scope of the Federal government. When the figures start reaching into the trillions in cuts, rather than tens of billions, then we can know that real progress is being made to salvage the American economy.
But credit Boehner this much: even as the Democrats and their liberal media allies carted out all the old familiar clichés about who the Republicans wanted to kill by cutting spending, Boehner didn’t shrink from his responsibility, nor did he weep.
He stayed focused on getting the cuts through. Well done.
Herman Cain firebrands his way into the ring
Herman Cain, a popular columnist, businessman, political activist and talk-radio host has formed an exploratory committee to gauge interest in a possible 2012 run at the GOP presidential nomination. Cain, no shrinking violet, is an outspoken conservative who launched his potential campaign by saying the liberal media is “scared a real black man” might run against President Obama.
I wouldn’t want to take out a personal loan against Cain’s appeal, but as he’s held no elected office before, I’d gauge his 2012 changes to be, well, not as strong as many others. At least not for the top of the ticket.
However, if some other strong conservative GOP candidate came along and teamed up with Cain as a running mate? His public speaking skills and no-nonsense style could make him particularly effective. Just imagine the conundrum the Democrats would find themselves in if they faced the prospect of a Palin-Cain ticket in 2012, or even a Walker-Cain ticket, Christie-Cain ticket, or Rubio-Cain ticket. Even a Bachmann-Cain ticket holds potential appeal.
With Cain’s oratorical skills and his masterful understanding of conservative principles, he’s make anyone an effective apologist for the GOP cause.
Not only would the conservative value of such tickets stand several notches above 2008′s McCain-Palin ticket, but I just can’t imagine Joe Biden even wanting to risk a debate with him.
