Rick Santorum

Possible Plans Of Romney’s Opponents For The Republican Presidential Nomination

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As a result of the Mitt Romney win in Florida, many political observers can now sense the possibility of chaos in the Republican party, as the Panhandle area of Florida, the “Old South” area of Florida, voted heavily for Newt Gingrich. This can stir Gingrich to try to win all of the Southern primaries, and have, at the least, a regional base for his Presidential campaign.

Gingrich, angry at the Romney negative campaign against him in Florida, is also now hinting that he will run a campaign to appeal to the American people, rather than the Republican Party, and that seems a strong hint that he might run as an independent in November, if he fails to win the GOP nomination.

Meanwhile, there is also the possibility of Texas Congressman Ron Paul also running in November as a libertarian candidate, and already, former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, who was a participant in two early debates, has dropped out and is a declared candidate for the Libertarian Party nomination.

Also, there seem to be hints that former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum seems ready to stay in the race, although he has not done well in South Carolina and Florida. It could be that Santorum really hopes that Gingrich will withdraw eventually, and that he could become the conservative alternative to Romney. Or it could be that Santorum is staying in to PREVENT Gingrich from having a chance to be the nominee, and that Romney will award him with the Vice Presidential nomination!

And of course, Donald Trump has also threatened to run as an independent in November, if he is displeased with the ultimate nominee of the party.

These scenarios could work out to be false, but they certainly seem plausible at this point, and add to the interest in the Presidential campaign!

Romney Victory In Florida: The End Or The Beginning Of The Nomination Battle?

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Mitt Romney’s decisive victory in Florida seems to many to be a sign that he will be the nominee of the Republican Party for President in November.

But actually, the race may be far from over, as there are still 46 states left to go through the caucus or primary process, and Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, and Ron Paul are not expected to give up the fight after only four states have voted.

And Mitt Romney has a lot to answer for on his fortune, his personality, his record and tendency to switch views completely from those he held a few years ago, and on his Mormon faith and how it might affect his decision making and his judgments on various political issues.

All of this will be explored as time goes on, but for now, congratulations to Mitt Romney, but don’t enjoy too much as the battle for the nomination and the White House against President Barack Obama has just begun!

The 130th Anniversary Of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Birth: The Sustained Republican Attack On The New Deal’s Survival!

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Today marks the 130th anniversary of the birth of our second greatest President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, who served 12 years and 39 days in the Presidency, and took America through the Great Depression and most of World War II.

Rated the greatest President in most polls of scholars and experts after Abraham Lincoln, FDR personified the growth of big national government, including the recognition that the federal government was needed to deal with the crisis presented by the depression, the worst economic downturn in American history.

Now in 2012, we are being told by the opposition Republicans that the answer is to revert to the philosophy of Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover, and keep the federal government out of the economy as much as possible. Mitt Romney can be seen as the new Herbert Hoover, aloof, imperial in nature, unable to relate to ordinary people’s problems and daily struggles, extremely rich, and believing that the private capitalistic system without government interference is the best for America’s future.

Even Herbert Hoover started to abandon that belief in laissez faire, and is called, therefore, the “forgotten progressive” by Joan Hoff and others. And maybe Mitt Romney, due to his past reputation of being a moderate to liberal as Governor of Massachusetts, might back away from his present promotion of a conservative image.

But the Republican Party, whether Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul or anyone else as the nominee, has fundamentally declared war on the New Deal!

The GOP wants to privatize Social Security and Medicare, and gut as many government departments and agencies as possible, along with destroying labor unions and showing lack of concern for the environment, all major tenets of the New Deal. When Republicans can claim that the New Deal was “socialism”, as some of them do, they are being ridiculous and setting out to end the laws and programs that have advanced America and helped to create the middle class!

Conservative scholars and propagandists have been advocating negatives about the New Deal as part of their aim to destroy the good programs that Barack Obama has achieved, and to go back to the mentality of the 1920s era and the Gilded Age of the late 19th century.

We can be sure that if FDR was alive today, that he would be on the attack against the Republican Party and their aims of destroying his New Deal, and it is therefore the job of Barack Obama to go out and assault, rhetorically, those who wish to destroy not only the New Deal of FDR, but also the Great Society of Lyndon B. Johnson, and the other progressive, human oriented programs of Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton.

This is the time to defend big government and FDR, not shrink from the challenge!

Florida In Many Ways The Major Battleground Of America In 2012

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The state of Florida is now the center of attention, with its Presidential primary coming up on Tuesday, and polls indicating that former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has a double digit lead over former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, with Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum and Texas Congressman Ron Paul lagging behind.

Romney, by going on the attack against Gingrich in the two Florida debates this past week, and spending about four times as much on campaign advertising as Gingrich, seems likely to win despite the decision of two popular Floridians, Senator Marco Rubio and former Governor Jeb Bush to avoid endorsing anyone.

Without an endorsement, it still seems as if both Rubio and Bush are secretly behind Romney, seeing Gingrich as divisive and likely to cause a disruption in party unity.

Both are potential Vice Presidential candidates for Romney, and both are also potential Presidential candidates in 2016 if the Republicans lose to Barack Obama in 2012.

And being the third largest state, with an increase of two electoral votes, and matching New York in electoral votes, Florida becomes the biggest battleground of all, since California and New York are seen as strongly Democratic and Texas as strongly Republican.

Florida, won by Obama in 2008, is definitely up for grabs with its 29 electoral votes, and it is really three or four states. There is the Panhandle of Florida, likely to go Republican for sure. There is Central Florida, including Tampa and Orlando and other areas, which is the real battleground. There is Broward and Palm Beach Counties, likely to support Obama. And then there is the Miami-Dade County influence of Cuban Americans, traditionally Republican.

Florida is the South (Alabama) in the North; the Midwest in the Central area; and Northeast and Cuba in the South. It is also affected by the Jewish vote in South Florida and the Puerto Rican vote in Central Florida. As one observer summed it up, Florida is the Jews, the Cubans, and the “rednecks”! Of course, this is an oversimplification of the state’s political clout, but it is clear that the Republican nominee and President Obama will spend a lot of time in the state, as it may very well decide who occupies the White House in 2013!

CNN Republican Florida Debate: Comeback Of Mitt Romney And Ron Paul

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After having a bad week and poor debate performances recently, tonight Mitt Romney came back with a roar, being very strong against Newt Gingrich, putting the former Speaker on the defensive. Romney had a lot of applause from the audience on a regular basis.

Also performing very well, possibly the best ever for him, was Texas Congressman Ron Paul, who made a good case for the end of foreign intervention, and made clear what he considered to be the mistakes and shortcomings of the other three candidates.

Rick Santorum also had moments of outstanding responses, with Newt Gingrich overall having the poorest performance.

The one thing that stands out most is that this debate in many ways was the most substantive yet, and the audience, while reacting, was still much more disciplined and responsible in its responses, unlike earlier debates, particularly those sponsored by Fox News Channel.

Still, all of the candidates have major weaknesses, and will have difficulty challenging President Obama for re-election.

Some Observations On The Tampa NBC Republican Presidential Debate

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Tonight’s Republican debate in Tampa, sponsored by NBC, was very uneventful, probably the least of any of the last few debates.

Mitt Romney came out swinging against Newt Gingrich, but Gingrich handled it quite well, and avoided dramatics, deciding to operate as if he was the leader, which in a way he is at this point of the battle for the GOP nomination.

Gingrich and Ron Paul seemed to become almost chummy with each other, in agreeing on the issue of the Federal Reserve.

Rick Santorum seemed, again, very strong in his repudiation of Gingrich and Romney, and if there was a “winner” of the debate, it might have been him, but it is doubtful that he can compete in Florida and make any major headway.

The most notable thing about the debate, hosted by Brian Williams of NBC, with the assistance of two Tampa area journalists, was the very proper and orderly audience, a welcome relief from the rude, obnoxious behavior of earlier debates, which upon further thought, occurred primarily at debates sponsored by Fox News Channel.

A Gingrich spokesman complained about the lack of involvement by the audience, but a debate should be that–a debate–and not an opportunity for an audience to act like they are at a sports event or a concert. So kudos to this audience and to NBC News for conducting such a dignified debate!

Newt Gingrich’s History Of Smears, And His Self Righteous Smear Against John King Of CNN

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Anyone who investigates Newt Gingrich’s long career of twenty years in the House of Representatives, and his involvement in speeches, books, consultancy, and political action since his years in the House, knows that Newt is infamous for his use of political invective to the extreme–character assassination, heated language designed to inflame, innuendos, smears–really anything to gain his goal of “stirring the pot” to promote his own personal agenda.

Newt Gingrich has proved in action and in speech that he has no limits to his indecency, his willingness to destroy the opposition. He has absolutely no ethics, morals, or scruples, and yet he is able to “push the buttons” of ignorant people who will hang on his every word, because of his constant self promotion as an expert, as brilliant, as talented, as more educated and knowledgeable than anyone else. His erratic behavior has been noted even by fellow Republicans, including Rick Santorum in last night’s debate.

Gingrich has once again been, at least temporarily, successful in deflecting criticism of his personal life. He pursued Bill Clinton, but we cannot have the news media do the same to him without his self righteous indignation! He is willing to smear anyone who stands in his way.

To say that cheating on and divorcing two wives, the first with cancer, and the second with multiple sclerosis, is acceptable behavior, shows how crooked and corrupt many evangelical Christians are, who will not display an open mind toward Democrats, the poor, gay Americans, or women who choose to promote their own human rights against the male chauvinism of those who claim divine guidance!

As a result of his ability to manipulate people, Gingrich has now smeared John King of CNN for having the nerve to ask him about his infidelity. And as the audience turned against John King, it has now been revealed by John King that at the first rest break in the debate last night in South Carolina that he approached Gingrich, who was very friendly and warm. King said he was surprised that Gingrich would speak to someone who he called “despicable”, and Gingrich’s response was to smile, and to say that King knew what the game was all about, meaning make your point to gain support from the crowd. After the debate, Gingrich and his wife approached King and continued to be warm and friendly. This shows just how phony Gingrich is!

And when one thinks about it, Gingrich is the later generation of Richard Nixon, who loved to demonize the opposition throughout his career. And he is also the epitome of the “Big Lie” technique, that the more one tells lies, the more people will believe it!

When one thinks back in history, as to whom was the master of the “Big Lie”, one is sobered to realize it was Adolf Hitler!

One Year To Inauguration Day!

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Three years ago today, Barack Obama took the oath of office as the 44th President of the United States.

One year from today, we will see the inauguration of a President–at this point, one of five men.

Tomorrow’s South Carolina Primary may decide who will be challenging Barack Obama in November.

One has to wonder where is the leadership, the statesmanship, of the opposition party, that they cannot come up with anyone on the level of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, or George H. W. Bush. This is not saying that all of the above had records in office approaching perfection, but compared to Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich, they appear as a long lost Republican leadership.

And of course, to wish for the likes of past Republicans such as Nelson Rockefeller, William Scranton, George Romney, and Henry Cabot Lodge, among others, all of whom sought and failed to win their party’s nomination, is to expect too much in today’s political climate!

Rick Santorum The Winner In CNN South Carolina Republican Debate

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Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum has had a good day, as he was declared the winner of the Iowa Caucuses this morning, belatedly, by 34 votes over Mitt Romney.

And tonight, Rick Santorum put both Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich on the defensive, with strong assaults on their backgrounds, records in office, and suitability to compete with Barack Obama in the fall, during the CNN South Carolina Presidential Debate.

Having been ignored much of the time in earlier debates, Santorum really shone in a way that makes trying to predict the order of finish in the South Carolina Primary this Saturday impossible to predict.

But Santorum, for all of his faults and shortcomings, impressed tonight, in the sense of taking his opponents on in an aggressive manner!

Despicable Attack On The News Media By Republicans Who Seem To Wish There Was A Controlled Media!

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The Republicans in tonight’s CNN South Carolina Presidential debate have made the news media the “whipping boy”, rather than accept their own faults and take responsibility.

So Newt Gingrich attacked the moderator, John King of CNN, for bringing up the issue of his former wife’s accusations about Newt wanting an “open marriage”, and turning the audience against the media.

Mitt Romney made clear that he is not happy with the media for pushing the issue of his tax returns.

Rick Santorum said that the media fail to recognize that he has performed better in election results than Newt Gingrich, and yet he is expected to withdraw, rather than Newt.

Ron Paul complained that he was being ignored, rather than being considered an equally qualified candidate, particularly on medical matters, since he had a career as a gynecologist.

The only complaint that actually makes sense is the Ron Paul matter, but the rest of the above issues are simply what the news is, not what the journalists are creating or conjuring up.

It seems obvious that the Republicans would wish there would be a controlled media, so that they are not held accountable for their words and actions!