Day: May 20, 2010

The Outrageous Campaigns Of Rick Scott And Jeff Greene In Florida! :(

Ronald Leave a comment

As if the state of Florida did not have enough trouble with corruption and bad government, we now see the recent entrance of a multimillionaire and a billionaire into the races for Governor and Senator!

Rick Scott is challenging Attorney General Bill McCollum for the Republican nomination for Governor. With his ability to flood the state with commercials in an intense manner over a short period of time, Scott has suddenly become a real threat to McCollum becoming the gubernatorial nominee of the GOP, something a few weeks ago thought of as automatic!

Without trying to make McCollum appear to be the “good guy”, which he is not, Scott has absolutely no political experience, and was the head of a corporation involved in the most massive Medicare fraud case in American history during the 1990s! This man has the gall to think he should be the Governor of the fourth largest state, and is seen as extremely right wing, so much so that McCollum, who had expressed opposition to the Arizona illegal immigration law, changed gears after Scott came out endorsing such legislation for Florida! 🙁

As if that was not enough, we also see Congressman Kendrick Meek, assumed to be easily on the way to the Democratic nomination for Senator, suddenly on the last day possible to enter the race, faced with the candidacy of billionaire Jeff Greene, who has never held political office either! And this man benefited from manipulation of the real estate market in 2008, and has had friendships with Heidi Fleiss, the famous madam, and Mike Tyson, the boxer–all of which makes him highly controversial and objectionable to many observers! 🙁

Both Scott and Greene are using their ill-earned, extreme amounts of wealth to attempt to defeat candidates who have been office holders, taking advantage of the anti government and anti incumbent resentment that exists across the country, and therefore grab power!

But with their shady, unethical, and immoral backgrounds, is this what Florida will want? Will the average citizen be won over by a barrage of slick political commercials to vote for these crooks who have no shame, and show a high level of arrogance? 🙁 The thought is terrifying to the extreme! 🙁

The Republican “Revolution” of 1994: The Scandals And Hypocrisy Mount!

Ronald Leave a comment

In 1994, the Republican party came to power in both houses, with the House going Republican for the first time since 1954.

Newt Gingrich became the House Speaker and promoted the idea that a different “atmosphere” was being created, after the 40 straight years of Democratic control.

So what is the record of the Republicans who were in charge, and those who came in as freshmen, dedicated to change?

Well, Newt Gingrich came under attack for ethics violations, and was shown to have cheated on his wife, while condemning President Bill Clinton for his sexual escapades! The same situation was true for Bob Livingston, who was supposed to succeed Gingrich as Speaker, until his love affairs were exposed! Tom Delay was another leading figure who was “ethically challenged” and still faces trial for his transgressions involving influence peddling! Congressman Henry Hyde also was shown to be involved in romantic escapades which sullied his name!

But not only leaders, but the “new” members of the GOP who came to the House, became involved in scandal including Mark Foley, Mark Sanford, John Ensign, and Bob Ney. Others became involved in divorce proceedings, including Jim Bunn, James Longley, Jon Christensen, Enid Greene, Joe Scarborough, Steve LaTourette, and Helen Chenoweth. Others involved in trouble included J D Hayworth and David Funderburk.

Now added to the list is Mark Souder of Indiana, who was cheating with a woman staffer who was involved in an “abstinence” video with Souder, a member who, llke many others in the Republican group of 1994, loved to emphasize “family values”! Amazingly, Souder, in his resignation statement, blamed the “poisonous environment” of Washington, DC for his blunders, an example of a refusal to take full responsibility, and instead to blame the national capital for his transgressions! 🙁

What an outrage, as if the millions of people who live in the DC area are all involved in adulterous relationships! 🙁 This shows the total hypocrisy of the Republican leadership and Republican freshman class of 1994, which at this point shows at least 15 of the 73 new freshmen disgracing themselves in some form or other!

This is not to say that Democrats have not been involved in scandal, as certainly many have, including Eliot Spitzer, John Edwards, James McGreevey, and Eric Massa among others! But it is not the Democrats, but rather the Republicans, who have been constantly promoting “family values” and “Christian values” as their appeal. So the hypocrisy runs very deep indeed! 🙁

Is Rand Paul The Future Of The Republican Party?

Ronald Leave a comment

The stunning victory of Rand Paul, the son of Texas Congressman Ron Paul, for the GOP Senate nomination in Kentucky on Tuesday, has brought a tremendous amount of attention to this man who claims a direct connection to the Tea Party Movement, and is seen as their first significant victory in changing the future of the Republican party!

But Rand Paul has already become the center of controversy with his belief that private businesses should not come under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and that therefore if a business owner does not wish to deal with African Americans or gays, he or she should have that privilege!

But this is just the tip of the iceberg, as Rand Paul has advocated the following ideas as part of his libertarian beliefs:

1. Close down the Department of Education.
2. End the Federal Reserve Banking System.
3. Repeal the Americans With Disabilities Act.
4. Slash spending deep enough to balance the budget every year while still cutting taxes.
5. Raise the retirement age on Social Security and Medicare.
6. Cut taxes on corporations and capital gains.
7. Opposes most of the New Deal and Great Society programs as violations of the Constitution.
8. Opposed the government “bailout” of Wall Street and the auto companies.

There are many other issues that will be brought up, either by Rand Paul himself, or his Democratic opponent, Jack Conway. The area of foreign policy will become another area of debate, as well, as Rand Paul holds many of the views of his father, who has called for America to withdraw from world responsibilities, which may sound appealing upon first thought, until one investigates and analyzes what the father has advocated–in many ways, an outdated isolationism!

Certainly, Rand Paul will be one of the most interesting candidates running for the Senate this fall, and the Kentucky Senate race now comes to the forefront as one of the most important races to watch in this midterm election year!

The question is whether Rand Paul will be of benefit, or be a detriment, to the Republican party in this campaign, and if he wins, in the future fortunes of a party that has never felt comfortable with his father! Can a Tea Party personality such as Rand Paul find a home in the GOP, or will the GOP repudiate him as they have already, many times, rejected and ridiculed his father when he ran for the Presidency in 2008?