Chris Christie

Will Mitt Romney Select A Governor As Running Mate? Highly Unlikely!

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As the speculation about who Mitt Romney will pick as his running mate picks up, it seems clear that, despite some hints, it is highly unlikely that he will select a Governor or former Governor as his Vice Presidential choice.

The last time that two Governors ran on a Presidential ticket together was 1948, when NY Governor Thomas E. Dewey ran with California Governor Earl Warren, losing to President Harry Truman.

Also, in 1944, Dewey had run against Franklin D. Roosevelt and lost, with Governor John Bricker of Ohio as his Vice Presidential choice.

Those are the only times in the 20th century that two Governors ran together, with the choice otherwise usually being a Senator running as the Vice Presidential choice of a Governor.

So do not expect New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, or former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty to be the choice of Mitt Romney!

The Failure Of “Americans Elect” As A Third Party Movement In 2012

Ronald 1 Comment

Independent minded centrists, disgusted with the two party system and the failure to promote political compromise, made a valiant effort to promote an online third party under the name “Americans Elect”, but they have utterly failed for the upcoming Presidential Election of 2012.

This is a bad sign for the future, as it indicates that the party conflict, greatest since the Civil War, is going to continue, and it endangers any hope of our system working, unless one party is able to win and keep control of government for a sustained period of time.

Having said the above, the author still feels that the victory of Barack Obama is essential, and that IF he is given a Democratic Congress, the country can make progress on the many issues that divide us, and loom in the future.

What it comes down to is that all of the potential independent candidates, symbolized by Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City, simply did not want to break with their party, did not want to go through the literal Hell that is the reality of running for President at a divisive time as we are now going through.

The list of potential candidates included also Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, Chris Christie, Mitch Daniels, Rick Santorum, Hillary Clinton, Jon Huntsman, Ron Paul, Howard Dean, Donald Trump, Al Gore, Sarah Palin, and David Petraeus.

One looks at this list and is shocked that Christie, Santorum, Paul, Trump, and Palin are on the list, all horrible choices in so many ways.

But to put most of the others on the potential list is also totally out of touch with reality, particularly with Powell, Rice, Clinton, Dean, and Gore.

Daniels, Huntsman, and Petraeus join Bloomberg as the most reasonable candidates, but again none wanted to put their name in the running.

The reality is that the Presidency is becoming such an obstacle course, that many good people will decide NOT to run in the future, leaving us with the danger of the kind of mediocrity we saw this year in the Republican Presidential race.

The Second Most Important Election Of 2012: The Recall Election In Wisconsin On June 5th

Ronald 1 Comment

Obviously, the most important election of 2012 is the choice between President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney for President in November.

But a likely forecast of what will happen in November is the Wisconsin Governorship recall race to be held on June 5, five months earlier.

Republican Governor Scott Walker, who has warred on the citizens of Wisconsin, set out to destroy labor unions, and cut education funding dramatically, while giving tax breaks to the special interests, and accepting campaign help from the Koch Brothers and other wealthy conservative interests, will face Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, his opponent in the 2010 gubernatorial race, who he defeated by about five points.

Considering that about a million votes were gathered to force this recall race in the middle of the term, only the third recall election in US history, it is inspiring people to believe that Walker can be kicked out of office by Democratic nominee Barrett.

The money flowing is amazing, with much of it coming from outside for Walker, as Republicans see this as a chance to validate their approach toward public affairs, and Walker has become a rallying point for other “Bully” Governors, including Chris Christie of New Jersey, Paul LePage of Maine, Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania, Rick Scott of Florida, John Kasich of Ohio, and Rick Snyder of Michigan, among others.

Labor and progressive forces are fighting to retire Walker, and put Mayor Barrett into office, and if this effort fails, it would be a major dampening of hopes of progressives to overcome the Tea Party influence, which has seized control of the Republican Party in a deleterious manner!

Republican Run State Governments, Their Social Agenda, And The Effect On 2012 Elections

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Many states witnessed Republican takeover or consolidation in the Midterm Elections of 2010, but now, 18 months later, the record of those states run by Republicans could come back to haunt them and lead to Democratic victories across America.

Of course, many states have Republican Governors whose voters have “buyers remorse” over, including Scott Walker of Wisconsin, who faces a recall vote on June 5. But also, there is a lot of discontent with other “Bully” Governors, including Rick Snyder of Michigan, John Kasich of Ohio, Rick Scott of Florida, Paul LePage of Maine, Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania, and in some polls, Chris Christie of New Jersey. Meanwhile, Andrew Cuomo of New York, Martin O’Malley of Maryland, and Dannel Malloy of Connecticut are among the Democratic Governors looking great in the polls.

The Republican controlled state legislatures proceeded to pass laws on social issues, including gay rights, abortion, gun rights, laws against teaching of evolution, and laws allowing invasion of privacy of women’s bodies.

States including Virginia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arizona, Wisconsin, Florida, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Maine have passed all kinds of laws that will cause a revulsion among Independents, women, Hispanics and Latinos, and young voters

Even the American Legislative Exchange Council, a business backed group which promotes conservative laws at the state level, has recognized how there could be a reaction against the right wing extremism in many states, and is now focusing on economic issues.

It will be interesting to see how this all works out in November, regarding state legislatures.

A Political Figure To Watch: Could Cory Booker Be The Next Black President In 2017?

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Cory Booker is the Mayor of Newark, New Jersey since July 2006.

Cory Booker is a handsome, charismatic African American politician, who has been very effective as Mayor of an embattled city with a horrible reputation.

Cory Booker is well spoken and impressive on the stump.

Cory Booker has ambitions to be Governor of New Jersey, and it is expected he will run for that position in November 2013, making that race the major one to follow in an off year election year, when few major political races are conducted.

Cory Booker would have Governor Chris Christie, the hero of conservatives and Republicans as his competition, with Christie running for a second term.

Nothing could make progressives and Democrats happier than Cory Booker retiring Chris Christie from the Governorship a year and a half from now.

Chris Christie was the original “Bully” Republican Governor, setting a standard for Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, Ohio Governor John Kasich, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, Florida Governor Rick Scott, and Maine Governor Paul LePage, among other GOP Governors who have warred on public workers, women, the elderly, and the middle class and the poor since 2010!

Christie is the “Godfather” of the loudmouths, the blusterers, the aggressive nasty Governors who have made clear that they are owned by right wing elements, including the Koch Brothers, and the major corporations!

Chris Christie needs to be sent back home, so we don’t have to see his blustering, his obnoxiousness, his boasting, his victimizing nature, a man truly obscene in his public utterances, making one wish to vomit in response! This kind of mean, nasty, “in your face” politics is not good for America!

IF Cory Booker indeed does run for Governor, and wins the office, a very powerful office, one of the most powerful Governorships of one of the major top fifteen states of the Union, he would have to be seen as a prime front runner for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the Presidential Election of 2016!

Booker is not only very articulate, but he is also very courageous and bold, as shown by the news that he rescued a neighbor yesterday from a raging fire, and sustained second degree burns and smoke inhalation. This proves just what a hero he really is, adding to the admiration many have for him.

With seven and a half years as Mayor of a major urban area, Newark, and three years as New Jersey Governor, how could one argue that Cory Booker is not qualified to become our second black President, and as it turns out, second CONSECUTIVE black President?

This is the kind of person we need to focus on as a strong possibility to succeed President Barack Obama, or if unfortunate enough to have President Mitt Romney in office, to deny him a second term in the White House!

Cory Booker is definitely a man to watch over the next few years! He would be a youthful 47 upon taking the oath as President in 2017, the same age as Barack Obama was when he took the oath of office in 2009. We could do far worse than a President Cory Booker!

A good friend of MSNBC talk show host Rachel Maddow when they both attended Stanford University, he not only earned a degree at Stanford, but also a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University, and a law degree at Yale University. He also has been given credit for urban transformation reform, a real leader in reviving declining urban areas such as Newark, producing a renaissance! He has been subject to threats of death from gang elements who do not want to see Newark and other urban areas transformed away from crime and drug infestation and toward economic renewal, and is a true example of courage more than almost any American politician!

So do NOT take your eye off Cory Booker, as he may be the future of the Democratic Party!

Chris Christie And “Couch Potatoes”: The Gall Of The New Jersey Governor!

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New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, riding a wave of popularity in public opinion polls, is at it again, with outrageous, and bullyish comments, while instead it would be best if he kept his mouth shut!

Christie claims that Americans are becoming “Couch Potatoes”, waiting for the next check to arrive from the government, and that we are becoming a “paternalistic entitlement society”!.

At a Republican gathering in New York City, which included former President George W. Bush in attendance, Christie went on to say that hard working Americans who use their ingenuity, honor and integrity, will succeed in life.

One would think that Christie would understand that the recent Great Recession has put people who are hard working and have ingenuity, honor and integrity into an impossible situation, with the collapse of the economy under the Bush Administration, and contributed to by their reckless tax policy, resulting in loss of millions of jobs and millions of home foreclosures!

But instead, he blames the victims for their plight, rather than the capitalist ruling class on Wall Street and in the Republican Party, which brought this about, and now wants to further enrich the top one percent with the Paul Ryan plan to cut the social safety net in tatters!

Considering Chris Christie’s tremendous girth, he should look in the mirror at the TRUE “Couch Potato”, who has benefited very handsomely as a member of the New Jersey legislature and as Governor of the state, and has no problem pontificating about others, for whom he fails to see the plight they are in!

This is all part of Chris Christie’s hope that maybe, just maybe, he could end up as Vice Presidential nominee for Mitt Romney, and if Mitt loses, then Chrisitie would be the front runner for 2016!

Just what we need: Two egotistical, insensitive, materialistic, greedy, politicians who do not give a damn for the American people, just for themselves and the wealthy one percent they represent!

The Vice Presidential Competition: Who Makes Sense For The GOP

Ronald 1 Comment

Assuming that Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts Governor, is going to be the Republican Presidential nominee, the speculation about who might be his Vice Presidential running mate has begun.

Were Rick Santorum, the former Pennsylvania Senator, somehow able to pull out a miracle and become the nominee, the list would change, with some of the speculative candidates being eliminated, and others not now mentioned being added to the list.

The present list, as reported by NATIONAL JOURNAL is long, but with certain candidates ranked in order of likelihood of being the nominee.

The list is fascinating, but in the opinion of the author, flawed, with the assumption that Romney wants to have a real chance to win, and many of the choices are just too controversial even for him, in the mind of this author.

So we begin with Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell and Florida Senator Marco Rubio, both attractive looking candidates from battleground states, but both highly flawed by recent events, as reported by this author just a short period of time ago. These were the top two on this list provided by NATIONAL JOURNAL.

Their active movement against women and reproductive control of their bodies is a major negative, which did not exist in the same way just a few short weeks ago. Nominating anyone closely associated with this attack on women’s rights would NOT help Mitt Romney to win this crucial voting group!

But third place finisher, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, while applauded by many conservatives, is simply too headstrong and bossy to be anyone’s Vice Presidential nominee, and has a tendency to blow up and say things that are both arrogant and nasty, and would harm the Romney candidacy for President.

Ohio Senator Rob Portman, number four on the list, is far less controversial than McDonnell, Rubio, and Christie. Not as well known as the first three, Portman is a solid conservative who one can feel supplements Romney in a competent way, with his only negative being that he was the Budget Director under George W. Bush, as the budget went awry in the past decade. But, as much as that seems to be a negative, Portman still is far better as a nominee than the previous three combined. One does not want to forget that a nominee from Ohio, being the most crucial state for a Republican Presidential candidate, makes Portman even more important. Remember that EVERY GOP Presidential winner since Abraham Lincoln, the first, has won Ohio.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal is fifth on the list, followed by Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin. Jindal has become less exciting and impressive as time has gone on, with his main advantage, sadly, is that he is an Indian American, darker skinned than any other Republican, including Hispanic and Latinos possibilities, and might fool people into thinking that he is African American, but if that is the reason to select him, it only highlights the race problem the GOP faces. His home state is not important enough to be a consideration, as it will go Republican anyway, although if the people of one of the poorest states used their head, they would not vote Republican!

Ryan, on the other hand, is very good looking and well spoken, and as head of the House Budget Committee, he would seem a good match, and his home state of Wisconsin is seen as in play. But his plan to change Medicare as we know it, and his overall controversial budget plan, makes him not as good a choice as Rob Portman. Having said that, except for Portman, he seems a better fit of the top group of six possible nominees, ahead of McDonnell, Rubio, Christie, and Jindal.

Of the so called plausible alternatives, former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, the next choice, would be an excellent candidate, even though he withdrew early from the Presidential race. A strong supporter of Romney, and a front runner for John McCain’s running mate in 2008, Pawlenty is not dynamic or exciting, but a competent choice with far less controversy than most.

The rest of the list is uninspiring: Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, Washington Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, South Dakota Senator John Thune, New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez, Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, and Puerto Rico Governor Luis Fortuno..

The mention of Rodgers, Martinez, Sandoval, and Fortuno really brings raised eyes, as simply pandering to women and Hispanics and Latinos, as they remind us too much of picking Sarah Palin for being a woman more than any true qualifying factor.

Only Thune brings any excitement, as he is handsome, dynamic, and comes from the Senate, but his state adds nothing to the electoral base of Romney.

In summary, it seems to the author that the best choices for Romney to consider for Vice President as reputable, qualified, competent, less controversial, and qualified to be President in case of an emergency (not to be ignored), would be Rob Portman, Paul Ryan, Tim Pawlenty, and John Thune.

NONE match Vice President Joe Biden as a competent, qualified person to be next in line to be President of the United States!

A “Brokered” Republican Convention Possible? YES!

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With the struggle going on for the Republican Presidential nomination, a scenario of a “brokered” convention looms.

IF Mitt Romney does not win Michigan and Arizona next Tuesday, and/or loses Ohio and other states on March 6, the “Establishment” Republicans, terrified at the thought of Rick Santorum or Newt Gingrich as the party nominee, COULD work together to prevent a majority for either of them, and create a “brokered” convention.

If that were to occur, the first contested convention since 1976, when Gerald Ford defeated Ronald Reagan by fewer than 100 delegate votes (a losing campaign, by the way), then former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, or Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan COULD emerge as the nominee.

It is clear at this time that trying to predict what will happen politically this year is still very much up in the air, as foreign policy or economic crisis could transform the race not just for the GOP, but also for President Barack Obama!

Mitt Romney’s Running Mate: Who Could End Up As Vice President Next Year?

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It may seem premature to ponder who could be Mitt Romney’s running mate for Vice President, after only two contests, the Iowa Caucuses and the New Hampshire Primary, but speculation is already beginning.

It is not an unimportant issue, as one must remember that a Vice President is one heartbeat away from the Presidency, and we have had nine Vice Presidents succeed to the office of President, mostly recently Gerald Ford, after Richard Nixon’s resignation in 1974.

We have now had a longer period of no Vice Presidential succession than ever since the first time the Vice President (John Tyler) replaced a President who had died after one month in office in 1841 (William Henry Harrison).

We have had Vice Presidential choices that have been nightmares, such as Sarah Palin in 2008, Dan Quayle in 1988 and Spiro Agnew in 1968, with the latter two making even opponents of George H. W. Bush and Richard Nixon wish for their continued good health!

Many individuals are being speculated about who would not be good choices in one way or another.

Among these are:

Florida Senator Marco Rubio
South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley
Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie

All of the above are highly controversial in different ways, and would not draw moderates or independents, crucial in an election more than a nomination battle. And all, except Santorum, have been in high office too briefly, so the lack of experience would be harmful, as each has only finished one year in his or her position in government on a national level, with the exception of Christie with two years in office. Santorum lost reelection by a wider margin than just about any incumbent senator in history, when he lost his seat in 2006.

So, a better list would be the following, all adding to Romney, rather than subtracting:

Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty
Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell
Tennessee Senator Bob Corker
Ohio Senator Rob Portman
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal
Missouri Senator Roy Blunt
South Dakota Senator John Thune
Illinois Senator Mark Kirk

All of these nine, four governors and five senators, have had experience and come across as less controversial, and all would be qualified to take over in an emergency, if that were to happen.

Of course, all would have to be vetted, but on first look, they all seem to be capable of serving as President if need be, and far better than Palin, Quayle or Agnew!

The Washington Post-Bloomberg GOP Presidential Debate: Romney Still Ahead!

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The Washington Post-Bloomberg GOP Presidential debate tonight in New Hampshire was more of the same: Mitt Romney winning the debate!

Romney continued to look competent, confident, relaxed, smiling, and unruffled. He certainly had a good day, with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie endorsing him, and then sitting in the audience at the Dartmouth College debate in New Hampshire.

Herman Cain was given the seat next to Romney, due to his being second in recent polls, but he was constantly under attack for his 9-9-9 plan, which economists have said will not work, and would particularly harm poor people. It seems as if he probably did not win support based on his responses to the attacks, which seemed lame.

Rick Perry did not improve his standing, which has been in decline, and actually looked confused and uncomfortable when the camera happened to focus on him when he was listening to others speak.

Jon Huntsman, sadly, did not seem to improve his image, despite his great credentials, and it now seems unlikely that he will improve in the polls, unless miraculously he can build up in New Hampshire, the state he is counting on to boost his campaign.

MIchele Bachmann, Ron Paul, Rick Santorum, and Newt Gingrich did nothing spectacular to improve their chances, although Gingrich did gain applause for some of his rhetorical lines!

All of the candidates avoided specifics on the economy, and made many claims that were exaggerated, already being pointed out just a half hour after the debate, which simply focused on that subject. It was easier for them to condemn others and call for firings and blame, and to attack the Federal Reserve Board and Chairman Ben Bernanke.

The candidates made it clear they did not want to raise taxes one cent, and yet did not want to cut defense, something which is impossible in reality if taxes are not raised.

Did any of the candidates give hope that the economy would indeed be better under them than under President Obama? If anyone seriously thinks so, they are delusional!

It will be interesting to see the polls in the next few days, as to who ends up second behind Romney. Will Cain keep his second position, or who will replace him as the “anti Romney”? That is the question that most comes out of this debate, with another one scheduled next week, sponsored by CNN in Nevada, one of the states with the highest rate of unemployment!