Category → Republicans
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.
GOP House, White House far apart on budget
The White House is claiming a budget that proposes spending cuts – they say – that consist of $51 billion less in spending in 2011. The House GOP’s budget proposes over $102 billion. So that’s not bad; at least the White House is only half-way to the GOP proposal, right?
Well, newsflash, both budgets are lying. They reach those totals by including a proposed $40.8 billion thanks to a spending freeze. Only trouble is, that money was not close to being spent; it was “built-in spending increases” due to the “cost of inflation.” Because Washington doesn’t do zero-baseline budgeting like normal Americans; they assume everything they spent last year will be spent again, plus more for “inflation.”
So all that’s being truly cut is the so-called “inflation adjustment” increase. But it’s not real money, so it doesn’t count.
Between Harry Reid’s Senate plan and the White House, the Democats came up with only $10.5 billion in additional cuts. That’s nothing compared to the cuts the GOP-led House came up with; subtract the same $40.8 billion in fake spending cuts from their budget, and you are left with savings of $61.5 billion.
That’s nowhere near close on the White House’s part. So at least the GOP budget is somewhat aggressive. But aggressive enough? By my count, the GOP still owes the American people at least another $40 billion in cuts. Real, actual spending cuts that shrink the size of government. Either that, or giving us each a set of nice shoulder braces. That might work, too…
Nah. I’d still prefer the spending cuts.
Signs of a Christie run?
While New Jersey governor Chris Christie has recently said he doesn’t see himself as being ready to be president yet, his former law partner and current adviser has admitted he’s considering forming a PAC to investigate the viability of a Christie run, because it’s like “leaving money on the table” if it’s not done.
Could this be the first signs that Christie might actually reconsider a 2012 run? Christie admits he recognizes the opportunity. As a red governor in a very blue state, Christie’s example has inspired folks like Wisconsin’s Scott Walker and Ohio’s John Kasich to be bold in cutting the fat from their state budgets without apology.
Christie’s in-your-face, unapologetic fiscal conservatism is a huge antidote to the bloated “compassionate conservatism” of the Bush years. And while the New Jersey governor may be in need of fat burners personally, he’s proven he can make even a liberal east coast state go on a budgetary diet.
Skills and leadership like that are rare, and that’s what’s really behind the interest in Christie as a White House antidote to four years of Barak Obama.
Walker, Wisconsin, take on unions
Recently elected GOP Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is a man of action; he promised to take on Wisconsin’s budget crunch squarely, and he’s doing just that. Walker and the GOP-controlled state house and senate are poised to pass reform legislation that would strip public employee unions of most of their collective bargaining power.
In childish protest, because they know they don’t have the votes to stop it, Wisconsin Democrats copied a strategy of Texas Dems from about a decade or more ago, and walked out of the State legislature, out of the state, and went to Illinois, according to several online reports.
Teachers apparently followed suit, with over 1,000 public school teachers statewide collectively calling in “sick.”
By taking away their collective bargaining powers, much of the negotiating power of unions would be decentralized. Such employment conditions exist in states like Texas, but have been rare in the upper Midwest.
Walker has the votes to win this fight; if he maintains the determination to do so, it would free his state to reform education, as well as balance the budget, in ways that it currently is unable to do. Public trade unions cover a variety of state jobs from teachers to county officials to police to catalog printing. OK, maybe not all catalog printing.
Anyway, the move is a bold one and could either make Walker an instant national conservative hero, or, if it backfires, could doom him to being a one-term governor. However, credit must be given to anyone unconcerned enough about re-election to risk making real changes.
Gallup: Dem identification down
After making historic gains in the US House last November, GOP confidence is high; but that could quickly turn to overconfidence if the latest Gallup Poll is accurate. According to the latest survey, only 31 percent of Americans identify themselves as Democrats. That’s down five points from 2008, when Barak Obama swept into office, and the lowest the Dems have polled since 2003.
But if the GOP thinks the nation is turning to them, well… don’t jump the gun.
Those identifying themselves as Republicans stand at 29 percent currently, according to the same poll. That’s up from a low of 27 percent a year ago, but still nowhere near the 31-34 percent highs the GOP enjoyed in the late 1980s and the early part of the 2000s. In fact, it’s still a pretty low number, almost as low as the retails supplies of the Wii Black.
So what does this all mean? Well, those identifying as independents are polling at 38 percent, the second-highest result in the last twenty-two years. So while the GOP made big gains this time around, these poll results indicate that independents haven’t bought into Republican rhetoric just yet, and the new House leadership needs to prove themselves before the numbers start swinging the GOP’s way once again on a reliable basis.
If the party abandons the principles it ran on, or event produces lackluster results in the economy, the next election cycle could switch control up once again.
Three new female governors take power this year… all GOP
Three new female governors will occupy US governors mansions beginning this year, and all of them are Republicans.
The new Governors are Susanna Martinez of New Mexico, Mary Fallin of Oklahoma, and Nikki Haley of South Carolina. Martinez has already taken office while Fallin and Haley will be sworn in later this month.
Martinez, Fallin and Haley join Jan Brewer of Arizona and M. Jodi Rell of Connecticut as GOP women occupying governors mansions nationwide.
By contrast, the “party of feminism,” the Democrats, have only two female governors in office. They are Beverly Perdue of North Carolina and Christine Gregoire of Washington, who just won re-election this past fall.
So, even with Sarah Palin out of office, conservative women are definitely on the rise, with a 5-2 advantage in our nation’s governor’s mansions. Guess which party is the real party of opportunity for women?
Perry new head of RGA
Texas Governor Rick Perry has been selected as the new head of the Republican Governors Association. He succeeds Haley Barbour, and will strike the most conservative take on the organization in years, a welcome reform. Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty was among the RGA’s leadership in recent years, typical of the watered-down nature of the group.
No longer. Joining Perry are Louisiana governor and Reaganite conservative Bobby Jindal, as well as New Jersey’s Chris Christie, Nikki Haley and Susanna Martinez. Overall, it’s the most conservative board of leaders to serve as heads of the RGA in years – possibly decades. While Dems concern themselves with apidexin reviews, let’s hope that Perry and company eye a much more important prize: continued conservative victories across governors mansions and statehouses throughout the US.
GOP to open House session with… gasp… Constitution reading
The new GOP-controlled House of Representatives is certainly planning to start off on the right foot. Word out of Washington is that when the new Congress is sworn in and takes power, the first order of business will be to read into the record the founding document of this country: the U.S. Constitution.
That is both a Ron Paul wet dream come true, and a much-needed change of attitude in Washington, which for far too many years has imposed its will without regard tot he Constitution at all. Among the other reforms the GOP is planning to bring as they establish the new rules of the road for this Congress is that each bill brought before the House must cite the Constitutional grounds for its proposal.
Now, if congressmen and congresswomen actually live up to these principles, it could make for a refreshingly freedom-based makeover of the Federal government… at least in the House of Representatives. Many people have argued the US government hasn’t lived by the Constitution for decades now. If this goes beyond symbolism into the substance of conducting House business day-by-day, it’s a much-needed reform. It’d be like handing a bunch of long stem roses to the American people.
However, there is a huge potential backfire risk. If they promise all this, but once House business gets rolling they return to government as usual, then their tenure in control of the US House could be short-tern indeed.
LeMieux understands spending problem
When he was appointed by former Florida governor Charlie Crist to fill out the term of U.S. Senator Mel Martinez on the condition he not run for that seat permanently, George LeMieux was a newcomer to Washington. Now that he’s leaving, he is showing he learned the problems in Washington quickly.
LeMieux points out that in the last year alone, government has added $1.3 trillion to the US deficit that now stands at $14 trillion. With the advent of ObamaCare, that could grow to $26 trillion by 2020, an unsustainable level of debt. LeMieux suggests nixing ObamaCare as an important first step to curing the problem. That’d pay for a ton of security cameras.
He is considering challenging Democrat Bill Nelson in 2012; if he stays true to those types of fiscal conservative priorities, he would appear to be an intriguing choice for the GOP.
