Mitch Daniels

The Silly Season Is Here: Republicans Look To Michele Bachmann And Rick Perry? Give Us A Break!

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With the withdrawal of Mike Huckabee and Haley Barbour, the implosion of Newt Gingrich, the fake campaign of Donald Trump, and the decision of Mike Pence and John Thune to stay out of the Republican Presidential campaign, the GOP is running scared, that they feel as if they have no roots or substantial possibility of challenging President Barack Obama in 2012.

So, grasping at straws, attention is being paid to Michele Bachmann, the loony Congresswoman from Minnesota, and Rick Perry, the secessionist oriented Governor of Texas, as people to flirt with and encourage to enter the race.

The fact is though, whether Bachmann or Perry enter the race, neither has the slightest chance to win the GOP Presidential nomination. Were either to actually win the nomination, the result would be such a landslide defeat for the Republicans, that it would match the 1964 Barry Goldwater candidacy.

As reiterated constantly by this author, the only reasonable candidates left are Mitt Romney, Jon Huntsman, and Tim Pawlenty, as Mitch Daniels, Jeb Bush and Chris Christie are not going to enter the race by any estimation. When one hears Republicans act as if Obama is an easy challenge to defeat, one has to wonder at the hallucinations going on in GOP circles!

Why Newt Gingrich Is A Horrible Candidate For The Presidency

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Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has faced literal Hell this week from members of his own Republican Party for his MEET THE PRESS interview this past Sunday, where he criticized the Paul Ryan budget plan, including radical changes in Medicare, and called for the individual mandate, exactly what he believed in the 1990s, and which Barack Obama made part of his Health Care reform plans last year.

His chances to be the nominee of his party for the Presidency seem to have been destroyed by his statements, but actually there are better, more substantive reasons for him to be passed by for the Presidential nomination.

1. Gingrich is a “loose cannon”, who has no discipline and will say anything he thinks of immediately after thinking about it! As a result, he is often seen as a “firebomb thrower”, and that is no recommendation for the nation’s highest office.

2. Gingrich has a horrible moral record, in relation to the cheating he committed on TWO WIVES, and being married three times. He was condemning Bill Clinton while he was engaged in extramarital relations himself during the impeachment debacle of 1998-1999.

3. The fact that it has been discovered that he owes back taxes and is very loose with money and credit makes one state that is not a credential we want in a future President.

4. Gingrich has few friends in politics, even in his own party, with basically no one coming to his defense. He is seen as a supreme egotist, who has no loyalty to anything but his own aggrandizement and glory. He would be involved in constant conflict with his own party, as well as the Democrats, because he would be stubborn and inflexible.

5. In foreign policy, he would cause international crises and “bad blood”, as he does not have an ounce of diplomacy in his approach to those who disagree with him.

6. It is difficult to say that Gingrich has any basic principles or beliefs, as he has so often changed his views to fit the moment, and in any case, he is certainly not, by his historical record, a small national government man, which is the view of the present Republican Party and the Tea Party Movement.

7. Being a professor in his past, being an “ideas man” and an intellectual, may be seen by some as positives, but in the modern GOP, those are all disadvantages and turnoffs. He often seems to be lecturing, rather than speaking to his audiences.

So it is clear that the chances of Newt Gingrich being the Presidential nominee and even the winner of the Oval Office are as likely as the chances of Gary Johnson, Herman Cain, Michele Bachmann, Sarah Palin, Ron Paul, and Rick Santorum.

It still comes down to the reality that the next Republican nominee is almost certainly going to be from Mitt Romney, Jon Huntsman, or Tim Pawlenty, with Pawlenty, despite his low public opinion ratings, seen as having the fewest negatives of the three.

And don’t expect Mitch Daniels of Indiana, Jeb Bush of Florida, Rick Perry of Texas, and Chris Christie of New Jersey to enter the race, one which looks more likely to be that of a losing cause for 2012!

The Republican Sense Of Desperation As Fox News Channel Debate Occurs In Five Days!

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The Republican Party, the Grand Old Party of Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Eisenhower, and Reagan, is facing a sense of desperation as the first scheduled debate among GOP Presidential candidates is only five days away, due on May 5 on Fox News Channel.

No one has really emerged from the pack, and those who have been noticed–Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, Donald Trump–have embarrassed themselves as well as the party. If this is the best the GOP can do, they may as well concede the election for President next year to President Obama!

Of course, no such thing will happen, but the mainstream candidates–Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, Jon Huntsman–have not excited the party, and Mike Huckabee seems unlikely to run, and in any case, has put his foot in his mouth too many times already to be the ideal candidate.

With the decision of Haley Barbour to drop out of the race, attention is being drawn again to Mitch Daniels, Governor of Indiana, and former budget director under George W. Bush, but he has alienated social conservatives by emphasizing economic and budget issues, and suggesting there be a truce on social matters, such as gay rights, abortion, and school prayer. He also lacks charisma and presence, and since the budget debt doubled under George W. Bush, one wonders if his so called “magic” abilities with budgets, plus his strong anti labor stand in Indiana, ahead of Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, and Florida, is to be seen as a plus.

But once you go past Mitch Daniels, the others being promoted are even less thrilling!

To suggest “Bully” Governors, including Chris Christie of New Jersey and Scott Walker of Wisconsin seems suicidal, as neither has high public opinion ratings, has declared war on labor, and has an aggressive public personality that turns many people off!

And to suggest Texas Governor Rick Perry is really to promote desperation, as Perry is not too bright, and has advocated secession of his state in past political rhetoric! What the Democrats could do with that–wow!

But then, those who suggest Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the author of the GOP budget bill that wishes to make Medicare privatized in ten years, but admits no balanced budget for thirty years, are even more crazy. Not only is Ryan seen as a “wise guy” arrogant person, but also he has received many attacks at Town Halls in his own district, and his plan has been attacked bitterly by people of all age groups, and become cannon fodder for the Democrats, which they will be able to use next year in the Presidential Election of 2012.

The way things look, the best bet for the Republican Party is to turn toward Mitt Romney, as the most “mainstream” they can get to run against Barack Obama, but will the Tea Party activists and the evangelical Christians allow a Mormon, who was once a liberal to moderate in the party, to be its nominee? Stay tuned!

The Crisis Within The Republican Party For 2012!

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The Republican Party, once a proud party, is in total disarray, as all the attention is grabbed by what many call the “joke” candidates who have no chance to win, and yet are promoting a terrible image for the party, so much so, that the American people are totally unimpressed!

And yet, there is growing discontent with President Obama, due to the budget crisis, the stubbornly high unemployment, and the soaring gasoline prices, but there is no valid alternative!

At this point, there could be a landslide effect toward Obama, similar to what was the situation when Lyndon Johnson walloped Senator Barry Goldwater in the 1964 election, and in fact, no candidate gains 20 percent support in the latest polls, similar to what Goldwater had 47 years ago!

The control of religious conservatives and Tea Party activists are entrapping all reasonable, rational thought, and holding hostage any realistic, mainstream candidates from emerging!

Face the facts! The following so called “candidates” are disasters in the making in any order: Donald Trump, Michele Bachmann, Sarah Palin, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee, Herman Cain, Gary Johnson, Haley Barbour, and any others who come out of the woodwork to claim they wish to run!

The “birther” issue and the race issue and the gay issue have destroyed all of the above from serious consideration by anyone with intelligence!

The only “serious” candidates, but lacking excitement for now, are Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, Jon Huntsman, and really stretching it, Mitch Daniels and Jeb Bush, who have evinced no interest in running, but would have to be seen as serious and viable were they to announce for President!

Any “bully” Governor, such as Chris Christie, Scott Walker, Rick Scott, Rick Snyder, or John Kasich, would be counterproductive, as all of them have caused great opposition and controversy!

It is time for Republican leaders to follow former George W. Bush advisor Karl Rove and do everything they can to derail all the loonies, and promote Romney, Pawlenty, Huntsman, Daniels or Bush as the ONLY viable candidates out of a sad group of people who betray the Republican heritage since 1854–the Republican Party of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and yes, even Ronald Reagan!

Disappointments With Barack Obama: Guns, Labor, And Bradley Manning

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President Obama is overwhelmed with one problem after another, and with no break in stress and tension, as the world and the nation seem to be going from one problem to another.

Already, we have seen four major issues arise in 2011, which are bound to be among the top ten news stories of the year: the guns issue, after the attempted assassination of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in Arizona in January; the uprisings in the Middle East, particularly Egypt and now Libya, leading to American involvement with NATO, the UN, and the Arab League, and Obama’s decision to intervene militarily against Moammar Gaddafi; the Wisconsin battle over organized labor, which has spread to other states as well; and the disastrous Japanese earthquake, ensuing tsunami, and the nuclear power plants emergency that followed those natural events.

So the ability of Barack Obama to do and say everything that one might feel he should, is, of course, unrealistic, but still there are three key issues that need to be addressed at some point soon by our President.

The first is to take strong leadership on the issue of the need for some greater regulation of guns, as since the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords, and the killing of six others and wounding of thirteen, we have seen the murder by gun of close to 3,000 people. If this is not a national crisis, and with the additional murders of young black youths that we see in Chicago and elsewhere, then what is? It is hard to fight the gun lobby and the National Rifle Association, but the President MUST not sit on the sidelines as gun violence escalates, and the growing danger of political assassination of himself, or some other office holder grows by leaps and bounds as the economy continues to create a crisis atmosphere in regards to jobs and housing.

Secondly, Obama had said during his Presidential campaign in 2008 that he would march with labor if there was ever a threat against the rights of workers, but he has hardly spoken up, and certainly has not gone to Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, or Florida to speak up on the issue and to confront the “Bully” GOP Governors, including most infamously, Scott Walker, John Kasich, Rick Snyder, Mitch Daniels, or Rick Scott, who are destroying the rights of public employees, making them the scapegoat, as these governors favor the rich and the powerful, and set out to destroy collective bargaining. Obama will have to campaign on labor support in 2012, but he has been slow to react publicly with adequate words and actions!

Finally, there is the issue of Private Bradley Manning, who is accused of releasing and disseminating Wikileaks information on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and who is being held in inhumane conditions in the military brig at Quantico Naval Base in Virginia, stripped naked, not allowed to sleep normally, kept in solitary confinement, being mentally destroyed, all on the basis of accusations, but not yet coming to trial.

President Obama made a reference to Manning when asked at a news conference, that he had been assured that what was being done with Manning was totally appropriate, but that is clearly the furthest from the truth. It is clear that his mistreatment is an outrage that the President needs to stop immediately, and it is a tremendous disappointment that he seems up to this point to be totally insensitive to what is happening to Manning.

Urgent action on all three matters is needed, and hopefully, the first will be to relieve Manning of his inhumane treatment NOW!

Mr. President, we believe in you, but you need to take immediate action on all three of the above matters!

Republican Loonies Start Emerging In The Presidential Race: Michele Bachmann, Donald Trump, And Rand Paul!

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The Republican Party of 2011 is on the road to total insanity, as we are about to enter the season of the loonies running for President, and making the Republican Party look both ridiculous and reckless!

As stated in other blog entries, if the GOP hopes to have a real shot at the Presidency, they need to nominate either Mitt Romney or Jon Huntsman, with the outside possibility of Tim Pawlenty.

But if they nominate Newt Gingrich, with all his skeletons in the closet and contradictions, they lose.

If they nominate Sarah Palin, with all her mindlessness and lack of knowledge and capabilities, they are destroyed.

If they nominate Haley Barbour, with his racial insensitivity and image as a promoter of the Old South and political wheeling dealing, they lose.

If they nominate Rick Santorum, with his emphasis on socially conservative issues, and his concern about man having sex with animals if gays have rights, they lose.

If they nominate Mike Huckabee, after his recent “birther” comments about President Obama and his promotion of himself as a preacher of morality, they lose.

But on top of all the above and their difficulties as candidates for the White House, it actually gets worse!

Those recently emerging as possible seekers of the Presidency include Michele Bachmann, Donald Trump, and Rand Paul–a move from the ridiculous to the loony and insane!

Michele Bachmann has been hinting she will run, because God wants her to run! This woman has proved herself to be absolutely ignorant, prejudiced, confrontational, accusatory in a way that reminds us of Joseph McCarthy at his worst, and just plain stupid, but also dangerous. She also sets up a potential rivalry with another candidate actually dumber than she is–Sarah Palin. If they both run, that should be something worth observing! Bachmann could also present a problem for Tim Pawlenty from the same state of Minnesota, as well, particularly in Iowa, the first state to vote in 2012 in their caucus, and a state where evangelical Christians play a major role, a fact that would make it impossible for Romney or Huntsman, both Mormons, to have a chance at competing!

Donald Trump has the virtue of being intelligent, but he is also arrogant, belligerent, and would be a danger in foreign policy because of his bellicose nature, and crazy belief that one can insult and denounce foreign governments, such as China, and that there will be no counterproductive developments. He could spend $600 million of his own money, but that in itself is obscene, as the last thing we need is for a President to, literally, “buy” the position! However, his involvement in debates should be some of the greatest entertainment ever seen in American politics!

And more unbelievable and loony than anyone would be the possible entrance of RAND PAUL, not Ron Paul, his dad, in the Presidential race. As bad as Ron Paul is in so many ways, Rand Paul is much more radical and dangerous and plain stupid in his assessment of how to deal with domestic and foreign policy! Libertarianism is NOT the future, and would be extremely destructive in the hands of someone who is not even certified as an optometrist by the traditional professional organization of his field, but rather by an organization formed by HIMSELF!

The Republican Party is going to provide a lot of entertainment, but unless, again, they nominate Romney, Huntsman, or Pawlenty, they are throwing away the Presidential Election of 2012 before it starts.

Oh, and by the way, some say, what about Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels. The answer is to forget that, as Daniels is having trouble in his state getting legislation accomplished, and his anti labor leadership is not going to work, as the Wisconsin debacle of Scott Walker is going to hurt the Republican Party massively in 2012, and if the GOP does not realize that, they are also doomed!

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels: The “Phantom” Republican Candidate For President

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Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels has been gaining a lot of newsprint lately, hailed by George Will and David Brooks as the “best” candidate that the Republican Party could run for President.

Daniels has been coy about such a candidacy, saying that his family is not thrilled about his running, and that he has an important job facing him, as he continues as Governor of the Hoosier State.

But let’s look at Daniels and see what his positives are, to an outside observer.

Daniels has correctly brought attention to what he calls the new “Red Menace”, the term used in the struggle against Communism in the past. The new “red” is red ink, he declared, at the Conservative Political Action Conference, in what was called the best speech given by anyone at that gathering.

Daniels also suggested that the Republicans stop pursuing their social agenda on gay marriage and abortion, and focus on the economic crisis the nation faces, an idea which turned off social conservatives.

Daniels came across at that conference, and has otherwise, as rational and reasonable, and has avoided controversial statements and actions, unlike many of the other potential GOP candidates for President. He is, obviously, an intelligent, thoughtful man, which is a definite plus.

However, he has negatives as well as positives, including:

1. He lacks charisma, is not photogenic, and is only 5 feet 7 inches tall, none of it really important, but can be perceived as negatives for a Presidential candidate.

2. As Indiana Governor, as far back as 2005, he ended collective bargaining in the state by executive order, an action which is now seen as a negative in the middle of the controversy going on in several Midwestern states, most notably Wisconsin, but which has created new problems in Indiana, with demonstrations and demands for change on that issue.

3. As Budget Director under George W. Bush, the budget went through the ceiling because of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, plus an unfunded Medicare prescription plan, so his credentials on budgetary matters is compromised, when he speaks out on that issue now.

This whole discussion may be just an academic exercise, if Daniels decided not to run. In any case, were he to enter the race, it would, at the least, raise the level of intellectual discussion in the Republican Party, which right now has a list of potential candidates who seem more interested in controversy and confrontation than serious discussion of the important issue facing the nation, with the exception of Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman!

The Anti Obama “Birthers” And The Suicide Of Republican Legitimacy For The Presidency In 2012

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Here we are in the third year of the Obama Presidency, and the “Birther” conspiracy theory about Obama still survives, and has led to ridiculous assertions by potential GOP candidates about Obama and Kenya, which is having the effect of creating a shortened list of legitimate Presidential possibilities.

George Will, the conservative commentator, remarked this past weekend on this issue, and he said that comments and events have narrowed the legitimate field to just FIVE candidates–Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, Mitch Daniels, Haley Barbour, and Jon Huntsman.

The author would say that he agrees with Will, except he would eliminate two of these five–Daniels because he is connected to the anti labor movement in Wisconsin and other states, and has already eliminated collective bargaining rights in Indiana years ago, plus he has strongly hinted he will not be running; and Barbour, because he has no sensitivity on the race problem in Mississippi in the 1960s and promotes Confederate propaganda as we come on the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.

So it comes down to THREE candidates who are truly legitimate, all of whom the author has already said so in earlier entries, and are serious possibilities for the nomination–Romney, Pawlenty, and Huntsman!

Will was highly critical of Mike Huckabee and Newt Gingrich for promoting the Kenya connection to Obama, both saying that his dad and grandfather being anti British in the 1950s is somehow evil, although any reasonable person could understand the desire of Kenya and other African countries to be free of British or other nations’ “imperialism”, which certainly was reality. After all, was not the American Revolution based on British “imperialism” against the 13 colonies as we saw it?

So Huckabee and Gingrich have self destructed by their comments about Obama, and when you add the craziness of Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, Ron Paul, and Rick Santorum, and the arrogance and egotism of Donald Trump, it really comes down to only THREE candidates that have any true validity for the GOP Presidential nomination!

If anyone else ends up as the nominee, the 2012 Presidential race will be an easy victory for Barack Obama!

Mainstream Republicans An Endangered Species: Bad Omen For The Future

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The Republican Party, in its mad dash to the far right, is about to consume its few mainstream members in the US Senate.

Maine Senator Olympia Snowe is facing a likely Tea Party opponent, and Utah Senator Orrin Hatch was booed at the recent CPAC convention, despite his solidly conservative voting record over the past 35 years.

Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown has lost the support of the Tea Party, which originally was thrilled by his winning of Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat in 2010, and may also face a primary challenge.

But the repudiation in Indiana of Senator Richard Lugar, the senior Republican and foreign policy expert, by his own party leadership, is a major blow to a Senator who could be called more than a politician, instead a statesman.

Lugar made enemies voting for the START Treaty with Russia, opposing a ban on earmarks, and supporting Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan for the Supreme Court. He has been called Barack Obama’s favorite Republican.

So Indiana State Treasurer Richard Mourdock, not a Tea Party leader, is challenging Lugar, although it is believed that Governor Mitch Daniels and Indiana Congressman Mike Pence may stay neutral in the primary race due on May 8, 2012.

Will Lugar get the message and decide to retire after 36 years? It seems unlikely, but his loss would be a major blow to moderate conservatism and the future of the Republican Party image nationally.

Assessment Of CPAC Winners

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There are many different ways to look at the CPAC meeting in Washington, DC this past weekend, as to who looks better or who advanced himself by his or her presentation.

It seems to this blogger that Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels and former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty came across as the best, in the sense that both should be taken more seriously after their substantive speeches.

Newt Gingrich is an intellectual heavyweight as a former professor, but while he inspired the crowd, it is hard to see him as someone who can actually overcome his many shortcomings, including being out of office for 14 years by 2012.

Mitt Romney did his usual presentation, and is probably the front runner in theory, but also has major problems ahead to win the nomination.

John Thune, who may not run, came across as a promising new face.

With Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin not at the CPAC, the others advanced somewhat just by that fact.

But it is clear the GOP race for President is wide open, and do not forget Jon Huntsman, former Ambassador to China, who is expected to run, and could have a real appeal as a centrist in a party going too far to the right for the election campaign!