Rand Paul

Presidents And Age: An Issue For 2016!

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Historically, Americans have tended to vote for a President who is younger than his predecessor, sometimes dramatically so, as with John F. Kennedy after Dwight D. Eisenhower (27 years difference); as with Bill Clinton after George H. W. Bush (22 years difference); as with Barack Obama after George W. Bush (15 years difference); and as with Jimmy Carter after Gerald Ford (11 years difference).

In fact, only the following Presidents were older than their predecessors: William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, James Buchanan, Chester Alan Arthur, Benjamin Harrison, William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Ronald Reagan. And only W. H. Harrison, Taylor, Buchanan, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Reagan were five years or more older than their predecessors.

But now, in 2016, we are likely, almost certainly, to elect a President who will be substantially older than Barack Obama. This includes Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders,Jim Webb, Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren, Jeb Bush, John Kasich, Carly Fiorina, Dr. Benjamin Carson, Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, Lindsey Graham, Mike Pence, Rick Snyder, Jon Huntsman and Mike Huckabee, a total of 16 potential candidates.

The odds of a younger President than Barack Obama are quite low, including Chris Christie, Rand Paul, Andrew Cuomo, Martin O’Malley, Scott Walker, Marco Rubio, Bobby Jindal, and Ted Cruz, a total of 8 potential candidates.

This oddity makes one wonder if the younger generation (under 45) will be as motivated to vote, as they are, naturally, attracted to comparative youth, as John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama represented, when they were elected, and with the extra appeal of being, respectively, the first Catholic (JFK); the first two Southern governors (Carter and Clinton); and the first African American (Obama).

Scott Walker, The New “Glamour Boy” Of The GOP: A Lightweight Candidate For President!

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The new “glamour boy” of the Republican Party, being touted by many observers, is Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, who wowed many at the Iowa Conservative Conference, hosted by Tea Party Congressman Steve King.

Walker is a favorite of the Koch Brothers, who helped Walker to survive the recall attempt in 2012, and helped him win the gubernatorial race in 2014.

Since this third victory in four years, Scott Walker has been very cocky, arrogant and egotistical, bragging about having had three victories for Governor in four years, and how he is the “new face” that the Republican Party needs to win the Presidency.

The argument is that he can carry the Midwest and gain his home state for the Republicans, a claim that no serious political analyst believes to be true.

YES, a Governor who is Republican can win many states, but winning a Presidential election is something very different!

Walker has zero foreign policy expertise and knowledge, and demonstrated it on ABC’s This Week, in an interview with Martha Radditz. He showed the same lack of knowledge and smarts as former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin showed in 2008.

Walker has done great damage to labor; to education; to health care for the poor and disadvantaged; and is being investigated for his connections to Tea Party and outside corporate interests.

Walker has taken the state of Robert LaFollette, Sr.; Robert LaFollette, Jr.; William Proxmire; Gaylord Nelson; Patrick Lucey; and Russ Feingold, and brought corruption and undermining of good government to the Badger State.

For that, he cannot be forgiven, and the goal must be to undermine his potential front runner status, mostly coming about as a “fresh face”, instead of retreads, such as Rick Santorum, Rick Perry, Mike Huckabbee; and more extreme right wingers, including Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and Bobby Jindal.

Scott Walker is bad news, and he is starting to be exposed for the phony he is, and the lack of intellect that he clearly demonstrates!

The Anti Vaccine Republican Crowd: Pure Madness, Defying Science And Medicine!

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One would think that the Republican Party had reached its nadir with the Tea Party Movement whackos, but now they have hit a new low, and it does not only include Tea Party types, but even so called “Establishment” Republicans!

We have now seen Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie come out in support of allowing parents to decide if their young children are to be vaccinated when they are infants and before they attend school, as there has been a crisis with a new outbreak of the measles virus. Christie tried to reverse himself, but sadly, once said, it is too late to modify his idiotic original statement!

It is not an issue of parental rights, but of responsibility to society, that ALL parents MUST accept the idea that their kids MUST be vaccinated, even if it is against their so called “religious” beliefs!

Religion or crazy ideas cannot trump the public safety of all of us and all of our children, and if parents refuse, the only answer is to arrest and charge them with a crime, and take away their children, who unlike Rand Paul says, are not “owned” by their parents, a weird and sick term for him to use.

The idea that libertarian Rand Paul and mainstream Republican Chris Christie could take such a reckless and irresponsible stand is beyond common sense!

It is now essential that all potential Republican nominees for the Presidency be required to give a conclusive answer on this matter, and NOW, not months from now!

And any potential nominee who at all agrees with Paul and Christie should automatically be repudiated as unacceptable to be the nominee, and if such a person is nominated, or the party takes the anti vaccine stand in the upcoming Presidential campaign, then the intelligent, educated population MUST fight tooth and nail to make sure that we do not have a government leader who repudiates science and medicine!

And a brief compliment to potential nominee Dr. Benjamin Carson, who has said and promoted many reckless things, and who this author thinks is totally unqualified for the Presidency, and will continue to promote that idea: Dr. Carson, thank you for making clear how you believe that vaccinations are necessary!

Potential Republican Presidential Field: Eleven Governors, Four Senators, A Corporate Executive (Female), And A Pediatric Surgeon (African American)!

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The potential Republican Presidential field, at least that developed by Crowdpac.com, contains the following mix of potential Republican Presidential candidates:

ELEVEN Governors or former Governors–Chris Christie, Rick Perry, Bobby Jindal, Mike Huckabee, Mike Pence, John Kasich, Rick Snyder, Scott Walker, Jeb Bush, Jon Huntsman, Mitt Romney

FOUR Senators or former Senators–Rick Santorum, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul

ONE Corporate Executive (female)–Carly Fiorina (Hewlett Packard former Chief Executive Officer)

ONE Pediatric Surgeon (African American)–Dr. Benjamin Carson

Some think, because of these circumstances, that it is likely that a Governor, past or present, is the likely GOP nominee, and that would seem to be a good bet!

However, from this blogger’s perspective, only three of the above are at all acceptable—Jon Huntsman, John Kasich, and Jeb Bush. The rest of the list is horrific to imagine in the White House!

Crowdpac Website Traces All Potential Presidential Candidates On Issues, Determining How Liberal Or Conservative They Really Are!

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This blogger just discovered a great website that he wishes to pass on to his readership.

It is www.crowdpac.com, a site which researches and compares potential Presidential candidates of both parties on their issue positions, as well as seeing how they perform in the multitude of polls; check on their political donors; and try to judge if they are of the right qualities to be President of the United States.

The comparison as to how liberal or conservative they are is the most fascinating, and a total of 7 Democrats and 17 Republicans are assessed and evaluated.

So, in a broad sense, the 7 Democrats are seen as most liberal to least liberal in the following order:

Bernie Sanders
Elizabeth Warren
Hillary Clinton
Martin O’Malley
Andrew Cuomo
Jim Webb
Joe Biden

And the 17 Republicans are seen as most conservative to least conservative in the following order:

Rand Paul
Ted Cruz
Scott Walker
Mike Pence
Dr. Benjamin Carson
Rick Perry
Marco Rubio
Mike Huckabee
Carly Fiorina
Bobby Jindal
Mitt Romney
Rick Santorum
John Kasich
Rick Snyder
Jeb Bush
Jon Huntsman
Chris Christie

This ranking can be discussed and analyzed in detail over time, as events transform views of these potential Presidential candidates, but at this point, already, there are surprises!

Joe Biden comes across as the most centrist Democrat, which COULD give him a boost.

Chris Christie is the most centrist Republican, more than Jon Huntsman? That is a surprise! But Jeb Bush and John Kasich also comes across as quite centrist, along with comparatively unknown, and not seen as a serious candidate, Governor Rick Snyder of Michigan. And Carly Fiorina, the failed Senate candidate against Barbara Boxer in California in 2010,and often a commentator now on CNN, suddenly is on the list, and could be the only woman Republican candidate for President, even though her career is totally corporate, never having served in public office!

Crowdpac looks like a site that will often be utilized by this blogger and by other political junkies!

Mitt Romney Fighting History, And Common Sense, By His Stated Plan To Run For President Again!

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Mitt Romney has a massive ego, a sense of divine direction, a belief in himself as the only person who can move America forward!

What else can explain why the losing Republican Presidential nominee in 2012 is telling his supporters that he intends to run for President once again?

What can Mitt Romney say or do which will change our view of him, a view of a chameleon, with no principles, no convictions, no ethics, except to advance himself, despite being one of the wealthiest people ever to run for President, and having no real need to be President, except he wants to be President!

Mitt Romney is NOT going to be the 2016 GOP nominee, and trying to run to the right of Jeb Bush is a guaranteed lost cause, as there are more than enough true right wingers available, so why should he expect to beat out the likes of Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum, or Rick Perry, among others?

Romney does not even offer the idea of greater experience in public office, as he had the least such experience in American history, with the exception of Woodrow Wilson and Wendell Willkie, who had two years and no years of public government experience, as compared to Romney’s one term as Massachusetts Governor, but eager to run for President even as he just began his Governorship!

Romney has run two Presidential races, and lost one, and the list of Presidents who have lost and then won is small indeed.

It includes Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harrison, Grover Cleveland, and Richard Nixon.

All five had much more experience in government and or the military (in the case of Jackson and Harrison) than Mitt Romney.

Face the facts: Romney is NOT Thomas Jefferson; Romney is NOT Andrew Jackson; Romney is NOT Grover Cleveland; and most certainly, Romney is NOT Richard Nixon, who had broad experience and expertise. The Harrison comparison does not matter, as Harrison only served one month as President in 1841.

The best thing Mitt Romney could do is continue doing what he does best: making money faster than one can say one-two-three, as he is not going to be able to outlive his failure to run a decent, honest campaign, and he will NOT be the next Richard Nixon!

The Republican Presidential Race Is In Full Swing, Even Without Formal Announcements!

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Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush has stirred up a hornet’s nest, simply by indicating that he is considering seeking the Presidency, and taking the first steps in that direction.

Suddenly, we saw the reaction, including:

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee resigning from his Fox News Channel Sunday evening show

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the 2012 GOP Presidential nominee, indicating he is seriously considering running for President for a third time, encouraging financial supporters, and making known that his wife Anne is on board.

Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, making clear his intention to run, and attacking rivals Mike Huckabee, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, and even attacking Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who Santorum said he doubts will actually run for President. The language utilized by Santorum against these rivals was to call them “bomb throwers”, as if he has, himself, not been exactly that throughout his political career.

In the wings are New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and former Texas Governor Rick Perry, as well as Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, and Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan (Mitt Romney’s running mate for Vice President in 2012).

The Presidential race has two components: the mainstream “establishment” race of Bush, Romney and Christie; and the Tea Party right wing race of the others; with Walker and Ryan possibly joining the mainstream “establishment” race, if they actually enter the fray.

And as I write, Donald Trump has hinted he plans to enter the race, only adding to the drama and, also, comedy, that will be present in the race!

The potential for 12 or more candidates getting in the race are good, and the gloves are starting to come off, and it should be a very interesting race, but on the way to defeat in 2016 to the Democratic nominee, most likely Hillary Clinton at this point, but really any Democrat having the edge in the Electoral College battle that decides the Presidency!

The Inauspicious Beginning Of The Republican 114th Congress: 25 Republicans Repudiate John Boehner, And White Supremacist Steve Scalise Kept As House Majority Whip!

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The opening of the Republican controlled 114th Congress was an embarrassment in two major ways.

First, while Speaker John Boehner began his third two year term in that position, he suffered the repudiation of 25 members of his caucus, who refused to support him, making for the largest rebellion against a sitting Speaker in 150 years, since the Civil War era. Instead, these 25 rebels voted for Florida Congressman Daniel Webster (a distant descendant of the great Massachusetts Senator of the 19th century; Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert; Florida Congressman Ted Yoho; Kentucky Senator Rand Paul; former Army General Colin Powell; and others, making a joke out of the proceedings.

Then, despite the outcry against Louisiana Congressman Steve Scalise, who spoke at a David Duke sponsored event in 2002, claiming not to know that Duke sponsored the event, failed to stop him from being kept on as House Majority Whip. Scalise had claimed in the past that he was a “David Duke Republican”, but now claims ignorance of the racist, antisemitic career of the former Ku Klux Klan leader and his connections to the American Nazi Party. Duke ran for Governor and Senator in the early 1990s in Louisiana, and former President George H. W. Bush led the fight against his candidacy for Governor in 1991, but somehow, Scalise was not affected by that history, and was wiling to connect himself to Duke. Yet, the GOP decided to keep him as third ranking Republican in the House.

So a very inauspicious beginning for the GOP, as they try to convince the American people that they represent the nation, and should gain the White House, as well as Capitol Hill, in 2016!

Mean Spirited, Nasty, Uncaring Republican Presidential Candidates!

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The Republican Party of 2015 is, amazingly, a mean spirited, nasty, uncaring bunch, and this includes many potential Presidential candidates.

The potential nominees who stand out for these ugly traits include:

Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey

Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin

Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana

Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin

Former Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania

Former Governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas

Former Governor Rick Perry of Texas

Senator Ted Cruz of Texas

Retired Pediatric Surgeon Dr. Benjamin Carson of Maryland

At the same time, there are a few Republicans who might run for President, who do NOT come across with these ugly traits, including:

Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky

Senator Marco Rubio of Florida

Former Governor Jeb Bush of Florida

Governor John Kasich of Ohio

Former Governor Jon Huntsman of Utah (if only he could be convinced to enter the race, highly unlikely at this point)

If any of the first group becomes the nominee of the GOP, it will make the most extremist right wing nominee in the 160 year history of the party that had such luminaries as Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, and George H. W. Bush. And it is an insurance that the GOP would suffer a massive defeat and repudiation in the Presidential race of 2016!

The Iowa Republican Presidential Caucus: NOT An Indicator Of The Nominee Or Winner Of The Presidential Election!

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The race for the Presidency begins in Iowa, with the caucuses in early January of the election year!

But Iowa has never been a true indicator of the future of a Presidential candidate, and the tendency has been, in the Republican Party, to have one of the most extreme right wing candidates win Iowa, and then collapse over time, and one can say, thank goodness for that!

So in 2008, Mike Huckabee won in Iowa.

So in 2012, Rick Santorum won in Iowa.

The likelihood is that someone as extreme and divisive as Huckabee or Santorum, both of whom are testing the waters to run for the Presidency again, will win Iowa in 2016, and again, make it a totally irrelevant event!

Expect that one of these two past winners of the Iowa Caucuses wins it again in 2016, but also Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Dr. Benjamin Carson, Bobby Jindal, Scott Walker, and Rick Perry have a shot at winning, while Jeb Bush, John Kasich, Marco Rubio, and Chris Christie have no chance of winning Iowa, but all to the good long term!