Month: January 2012

The Romney Vulnerability Factor In Play As South Carolina Primary Is Near

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Mitt Romney, former Massachusetts Governor, and supposed front runner for the Republican Presidential nomination, has has a rough week.

First, he performed poorly in the Monday night South Carolina debate sponsored by Fox News Channel, being constantly on the defensive due to attacks by his rivals for the nomination.

As news came out all week about Bain Capital, and the fact that Romney, while refusing to release his tax returns anytime soon, admitted that he only paid 15 percent on his investment income, and “only” earned $364,000 in speaking fees, his polls started to suffer.

Now, today, Rick Perry has dropped out of the Presidential race and endorsed Newt Gingrich. And Rick Santorum has been declared the winner of the Iowa Caucuses by 34 votes, after trailing by 8 votes to Romney.

With Gingrich gaining support in the public opinion polls in South Carolina because of his strong debate performance, and now with Perry’s endorsement of Gingrich, it is more likely that the former Speaker of the House could defeat Romney in South Carolina.

Since 1980, every Republican winner of South Carolina’s primary has gone on to be the GOP Presidential nominee. So if Romney loses, after being declared the loser in Iowa, and only winning what is basically his “home” state, New Hampshire, suddenly Mitt Romney will be extremely shaky and vulnerable in his quest for the Republican Presidential nomination.

The Ultimate Judgment Day For Evangelical Christians: Romney, Santorum Or Gingrich?

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So it has come down to this: the ultimate judgment day for evangelical Christians, specifically in South Carolina this Saturday, but really nationally, as well.

Evangelicals always talk about the significance of “family values” in their lives, and that is to be applauded.

So now they must decide the future of the Republican Presidential race. They may talk about “redemption”, but can they really back Newt Gingrich after it has been revealed that he asked his second wife to agree to an “open marriage”, after having cheated with her on his first wife? Gingrich talks about “traditional marriage” being upheld against gay marriage, but is his concept of marriage indeed “traditional”?

It seems to the author that the family lives of Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum fit the image of what evangelical Christians claim to believe, and already, a large group of evangelical leaders last week endorsed Santorum. To top it off, Santorum ended up ahead of Gingrich in New Hampshire, and now has been declared the winner of the Iowa Caucuses over Mitt Romney by a final count of 34 votes, rather than being 8 votes behind.

It will be interesting to see whether evangelical Christians will follow the endorsement of their leaders and support Santorum, or even go beyond their faith and back Romney.

If they back Gingrich, however, it will show their hypocrisy. Opportunism is what it might be called after Saturday.

One Term Presidencies: Seven Significant Leaders Not Appreciated

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Tomorrow marks one year to the inauguration of the next President of the United States, and the question arises whether Barack Obama will become another one term President.

Historically, those who have been one term Presidents and lost re-election have tended to go down in history as “losers”, “failures”, and as “insignificant” in American history.

But nothing could be further from the truth. Consider the following cases:

John Adams–one of the most significant Founding Fathers in the Revolution and Federalist Eras, but defeated by Thomas Jefferson in the first political party struggle.

John Quincy Adams–brilliant in diplomacy before his Presidency as one of our greatest Secretaries of State, and exceptional as a Congressman for nearly 18 years after his Presidency, fighting against the evil of slavery, but losing to Andrew Jackson.

William Howard Taft–much underrated President who also served later as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, but losing to Woodrow Wilson, and even ending up behind his promoter, Theodore Roosevelt, who ran on a third party line, the Progressive Party, the greatest third party performance in American history.

Herbert Hoover–acknowledged as great humanitarian as aide to Woodrow Wilson during World War I, and as Secretary of Commerce under Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge, but paralyzed by the Great Depression and slow to react to the massive crisis it presented.

Jimmy Carter–Despite major accomplishments in office, particularly in foreign policy, lost reelection to Ronald Reagan because of the Iranian hostage crisis, but pursued commitment to fighting disease and promoted diplomacy and free elections after his Presidency, and won the Nobel Peace Prize.

George H. W. Bush–very talented as Ambassador to China, United Nations Ambassador, and head of the Central Intelligence Agency before his Presidency, but despite his victory in the Gulf War, he was defeated due to the economic recession and the third party candidacy of Ross Perot, and lost to Bill Clinton.

Another one term President who chose NOT to run for re-election, of course, had a very successful term of office. James K. Polk gained the Oregon Treaty with Great Britain, giving America the Pacific Northwest states, and waged war with Mexico, gaining California and the Southwest states. Worn out by his labors, he chose not to run, and died 103 days after retirement, the shortest retirement period of any President in American history.

So the whole concept that one term Presidents do not matter is shown to be totally incorrect.

Democratic National Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Wikipedia And Republican Mischief

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Democratic National Chairwoman and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz of South Florida has been victimized by Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, and Republicans out to do mischief.

Troublemakers inserted incorrect information about the DNC head, stating that disgraced former Broward County Commissioner Diana Wasserman-Rubin is her mother and that Richard Rubin, married to Wasserman-Rubin, in prison for tax evasion, is her stepfather.

The two women are not related, and Wasserman-Rubin is Catholic and Cuban born, while the DNC head is non Hispanic and Jewish.

Conservative bloggers seem to be willing to do anything to spread falsehoods about Democrats, as this is nothing new.

It is essential that Wikipedia take prompt action to rectify the matter, which is still stated as the author writes, in the Debbie Wasserman Schultz article on their site.

Samantha Garvey: A Model For Our Nation Of Overcoming Adversity!

Ronald 1 Comment

Samantha Garvey is a senior in high school in New York, whose family has suffered hard times due to her mother being injured and unable to work, and her father unable to pay the bills and losing their home, resulting in the family living in a homeless shelter.

Samantha is a semifinalist in an Intel Science Talent Search competition, and her story of accomplishment in the midst of tragedy and turmoil is so inspiring that she has been invited as the guest of President Barack Obama for his State of the Union address next week. She has applied for admission to Yale and Brown Universities.

This is a bright moment in the midst of tremendous economic tragedy, not just for her family, but for millions suffering from the collapse of the economy under George W. Bush, and the slow recovery occurring under Barack Obama.

Newt Gingrich’s Hubris Has No Limits!

Ronald 1 Comment

Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House, has called upon fellow Presidential contenders Rick Santorum and Rick Perry to withdraw from the race and back him as the alternative to Mitt Romney. What hubris he has beyond belief!

The fact that Rick Santorum may have won Iowa, if not ending up eight votes behind Romney, does not seem to impress Gingrich.

The fact that Rick Santorum came in fourth, ahead of Gingrich, who ended up fifth, in New Hampshire, does not seem to impress Gingrich.

The fact that more than two thirds of evangelical Christian leaders meeting in Texas over the past weekend decided to throw their support to Santorum, does not seem to have impressed Gingrich.

Gingrich sees himself as brilliant, intelligent, far above all other candidates in capabilities, even though a vast majority of former House associates and Republican political leaders nationally have attacked his candidacy on many grounds.

Instead, it is Todd Palin, and now his wife Sarah, either endorsing or speaking up for Gingrich, with Sarah avoiding going as far as her husband.

Is not that involvement by the Palins enough of an answer about the legitimacy of Newt Gingrich? The Palins, particularly Sarah, have loads of hubris like Gingrich, but not even with his intelligence and brilliance! They are the mark of the STUPID group within the GOP, which includes former candidates Michele Bachmann and Herman Cain!

Newt Gingrich has stated that if he does not win South Carolina this coming weekend, that the race is over. Let’s hope that such is the case, and that we will stop having to listen to the braggadocio of this pompous, overbearing, obnoxious, egotistical person who has passed his prime long ago!

Mitt Romney’s Concept Of Taxes And Speaking Fees: A Major Minus For His Campaign For President

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Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has stirred up a new controversy with his comments about taxes (that he pays only 15% on his income, mostly investment, not work in the past ten years), and his statement that his one higher taxed income on lecture fees ($376,000) is “not that much money”.

This causes outrage among hard working Americans, who do not get a 15% tax rate, because they face the challenge of going to work every day, and dealing with the stresses of life, not sitting back and watching their money make money!

If Romney is worth $250 million, the estimated amount of his fortune, that means even a one percent return is $2.5 million!

And to call $376,000 in lecture fees not much money is an outrage, as that is EIGHT times the average income of a typical American!

Just as a comparison, this author and blogger NEVER made $100.000 a year while working; has a retirement income of about half of that amount; earns about $5-7,000 a year on lecture fees, at about $200 to $250 per lecture, despite his credentials to be an expert being far greater than Romney as a propagandizing politician; and only wishes that his assets were just $1 million to lean back on, instead of being a fraction of that amount!

How can Romney appeal to anyone who knows what it is to earn a living, and does not have a silver spoon in his mouth when he is born, and will never have the “American Dream” fulfilled as Mitt Romney was fortunate enough to be born to?

What should make him entitled to such a low tax rate while everyone else has to struggle on a much lower income and make tough decisions every day? And this is referring to the middle class, not even to the poor who get vilified constantly for their status in society, even with most of them being children and single women!

Wisconsin Recall Petitions On Governor Scott Walker: A Sign Of True Democracy!

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The movement to recall Republican Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin, who forced through cutbacks in state funding of education, and declared war on state government workers and labor rights last year in his first year in office, has led to more than one million people signing petitions for his recall, almost double the number needed to set up a recall election.

Never before have so many people in any state signed petitions for a recall vote for anyone, and only two governors in the history of the United States have been successfully recalled, but this threat to Scott Walker is real!

If the signatures are proved legitimate, at least half of them, then an election will be held in late spring or early summer, with recalls of the Lieutenant Governor and several Republican State Senators also in play.

This is a great moment of democracy, and shows that the Republicans are in danger, not only in Wisconsin, but other states that have “Bully Governors”, who have run rampant over taxpayers and workers. It is an assault on the Tea Party Movement as well, and on the power of the Koch brothers and other wealthy right wingers who think their money and the Citizens United decision of the Supreme Court two years ago will be able to destroy democracy in America.

The Occupy Wall Street Movement and progressives all over the nation will fight to restore decency and humanity to politics, and the Republican Party will suffer in state after state, as well as nationally, as the people rise up against the injustices perpetrated on the middle class and the poor.

This is a moment of great triumph, but the battle has only begun, and must come in Florida with Rick Scott, Ohio with John Kasich, Michigan with Rick Snyder, and Maine with Paul LePage, and some other states as well!

What The Fox News Channel South Carolina Republican Presidential Debate Revealed

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Last night’s Fox News Channel South Carolina Republican Presidential debate revealed a lot about the Republican Party and about South Carolina, none of it good!

It demonstrated that the Republican Party is willing to live the past–a past of racial discrimination, denial of the right to vote, talk of secession veiled in the term “states rights”, willingness to condemn the poor in the name of veiled code words, and to promote a radical right wing extremism that would promote prejudice, and a “them” versus “us” mentality.

It also demonstrated that the Republicans have no intention of trying to avoid war, when war is possible, by their tough stand against diplomacy, and their veiled threats against Iran, even with the knowledge that America was bankrupted by Iraq and Afghanistan, and the American people wish to avoid further foreign conflicts.

The audience was very outside the norms, by booing Ron Paul over foreign policy; cheering Newt Gingrich with his racial political appeal to a group of obvious Dixiecrat types who would have voted for Strom Thurmond in 1948; being supportive of Rick Perry in his claim that the national government is attacking the rights of the people of South Carolina and Texas; and the general disrespect to refuse to honor the memory of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr on the national holiday which they were against from the beginning.

Nothing has changed in South Carolina, which started the Civil War; was one of the most viciously racist states in the era of segregation; and has demonstrated no concern for its large poverty stricken population, a majority of it white, although the image is left that they are all African American.

South Carolina remains one of the most backward states in many different statistical areas, but after all, they have their beliefs in their Christian faith, totally distorting the message of Jesus Christ!

Withdrawal Of Jon Huntsman From Republican Presidential Battle: The Loss Of Competence, Credibility And Principle

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With the withdrawal of Jon Huntsman, former Utah Governor and Ambassador to China, from the Republican Presidential battle, we see the loss of competence, credibility, and principle , and are left with a uninspiring and inferior group of candidates for the Oval Office from the opposition party.

For a supporter of Barack Obama, this can be seen as a good omen, but there is also the lingering fear that anything is possible when it comes to a Presidential election, and we could, potentially, end up with one of the remaining candidates in the White House on January 20, 2013.

Under the circumstances, Mitt Romney is the best of a bad lot, but the thought that the endorsement of Rick Santorum by evangelical Christians could possibly lead to the former Pennsylvania Senator’s nomination, creates a lot of unease.

The question that arises is why the Republican Party cannot find candidates more competent, credible, and principled than the sorry group that remains in the competition, as the country deserves better!

Even though Huntsman has now dropped out, he remains someone to watch in 2016 if the Republicans lose the Presidential election, still a likely scenario! His credentials remain very impressive, and he was a real threat to Obama, and his selection, had it occurred, would have made for a very competent battle, but in 2016, without an incumbent President, if Obama wins, Huntsman would have to be given a greater chance of success.