Rick Santorum

The Beginnings Of The Republican Field For The Presidency In 2016 Start To Emerge: More Circus Like Than 2012!

Ronald 11 Comments

Anyone who is clear headed knows that the GOP Presidential field of 2012 was a circus, with such horrible, embarrassing candidates as Rick Santorum, Rick Perry, Herman Cain, Michele Bachmann, and Newt Gingrich, all having the effect of making Mitt Romney the LEAST horrible candidate for the White House!

But already, in July 2013, we can see the likely Republican field for the Presidency in 2016 emerging, and if anything, it is more circus like than 2012!

It begins with the two “Ricks”, Rick Santorum and Rick Perry, both true embarrassments to themselves and to others, but both believing that God is behind them, and that they will emerge as the next President of the United States, despite the reality that they both represent regressive, mean spirited, and reactionary views out of tune with the changing American electorate!

Then, there are the following potential candidates, all of whom have major flaws and shortcomings that insure they will have a rough time becoming the nominee of the Republican Party for President:

Ted Cruz
Rand Paul
John Thune
Paul Ryan
Scott Walker
Bob McDonnell
John Kasich
Bobby Jindal

Then, there are the potential candidates who would have some appeal to the mainstream, but likely will self destruct due to their catering to the Tea Party Movement, or their refusal to do just that, including:

Marco Rubio
Jeb Bush
Chris Christie
Jon Huntsman

Also, do not dismiss the concept of a Senator Liz Cheney, daughter of the former Vice President, running for President if she wins the Wyoming Senate seat coming up in 2014!

But in the end, the Republican battle for the Presidency is a lost cause, as it is clear that Hillary Clinton, or any other Democrat, will have the Electoral College edge for the Presidency, along with the popular vote edge in a nation moving away on a long term basis from the Right Wing message that the Republican Party seems bent on perpetuating, at its own destruction!

Rick Perry To Leave Texas Governorship And Looks For Divine Guidance On Seeking Presidency in 2016!

Ronald 4 Comments

Texas Governor Rick Perry, the longest serving Governor in America, and the longest serving Governor in Texas history, announced today that he would not seek a fourth term, after 14 years in office.

Instead, Perry will seek “divine guidance” over the idea of running for President again in 2016.

Isn’t it wonderful that Rick Perry consults God, and is convinced that God and Jesus Christ are Republicans and conservatives, with their mean spirit and desire to control women, promote minimum wage jobs to keep corporations dominant over labor, deny voting rights to large numbers of people who might vote Democratic, and work to keep Hispanics and Latinos from having an impact on the dominant GOP monopoly of Texas politics.

Except for the fact that Texas will see an emergence of an alliance of women, labor, and Hispanics and Latinos that will transform the state over the next decade, with even a possibility that Mayor Julian Castro of San Antonio or State Senator Wendy Davis may be able to bring a Democratic victory to the Governorship in 2014, now that Perry is leaving the scene.

And anyone who wishes to take a bet on a President Perry in 2017 is totally delusional and looney, as Perry already made a fool of himself in the primaries and debates in 2011-2012, and will NEVER be President, and has zero chance to be even the GOP nominee.

For one thing, he has to compete with ego maniac fellow Texas Senator Ted Cruz, along with Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, and other “fresh faces” in the Republican Party!

Being Governor of Texas is not as great as it sounds, as the state constitution gives little power to the office of Governor, just about the weakest in the entire nation.

Rick Perry will have as much influence on the future as another Rick, another moron, Rick Santorum, former Senator of Pennsylvania, who also came across as divisive, stupid, and actually, like Perry, totalitarian oriented in his views of women.

The Ricks will make for lots of humor and controversy, but neither Rick Perry nor Rick Santorum will even be the GOP nominee for President in 2016, let alone the occupant of the White House, on January 20, 2017!

Mitt Romney Right On One Matter: Alternatives For 2012 GOP Nomination Were Worse Than Him!

Ronald 6 Comments

A forthcoming book by Dan Balz of the Washington Post reveals that 2012 GOP Presidential nominee Mitt Romney did not wish to run, and his family overwhelmingly did not want him to run, but that he decided to do so because of his conclusion that the alternatives for the nomination were worse than him!

For once, and only once, Mitt Romney is correct in his judgment, as the alternatives of Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul were all much more unacceptable, basically a comedy team!

Only Jon Huntsman, who had no chance to be the nominee, was a far better choice than Romney!

The Republican Party had the worst combination of choices for President of a major political party in the entire history of Presidential elections, and they deserved the defeat they suffered, and will, assuredly, face the same future in 2016!

The Coming Battle For The GOP Presidential Nomination: Marco Rubio Vs. Ted Cruz, With Rand Paul As Wild Card!

Ronald 86 Comments

It is becoming increasingly clear that the battle for the GOP Presidential nomination in 2016 is going to be between Senator Marco Rubio of Florida and Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, with Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky being a “wild card”!

The possibility of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey, or Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan to be the nominee seems very distant.

So it will be two Hispanic (Cuban) Senators battling one another, one trying to work with Democrats on an immigration reform bill, and the other on the warpath against all Democrats, as well as Rubio himself, unwilling to make any deals or promote any cooperation with the “enemy” And hoping to benefit from the battle between Rubio and Cruz is Rand Paul, who with his libertarian bent, will have a major problem attracting many conservatives, including the neoconservatives and the Establishment Republicans of Wall Street.

In the end, it will not matter, as no Republican can overcome the Electoral College advantage of the Democrats, as outlined yesterday in a blog entry.

And the concept that Cuban American Senators, who represent three and a half percent of Hispanics and Latinos, will be able to convince large numbers of Mexican Americans, who are 65 percent of all those with Spanish heritage, to vote Republican, is laughable.

So it will be an interesting sideshow, the battle among Rubio, Cruz and Paul, but at the end, we are likely to have Hillary Clinton as our next President!

The Republican Whom Hillary Clinton And Other Potential Democratic Presidential Nominees In 2016 Should Most Fear: Jon Huntsman!

Ronald 41 Comments

Former Utah Governor, former Ambassador to China, and former GOP Presidential contender Jon Huntsman is on MORNING JOE as I write, and thinking ahead to 2016, one realizes that this is the Republican whom Hillary Clinton and other potential Democratic Presidential nominees in 2016 should most fear as a rival!

Huntsman is so SUPER qualified, it is a no brainer, as compared to ANY other potential GOP nominee for President! He walks all over Jeb Bush; has foreign policy experience which NO other potential nominee has; and has NEVER said or done anything to make him look ridiculous or looney, which cannot be said of any other potential nominee, including Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Rick Santorum, Rick Perry, and the other wing nuts who are seen as potential nominees!

This man had a fantastic record as Governor of Utah, and is a foreign policy genius, and other Republicans show their total ignorance of the world out there, and seem to think that the only answer is either to send troops (a la Lindsey Graham and John McCain), or turn off the outside world (a la Rand Paul)!

If the GOP had their druthers, they would see that Huntsman is their best shot for the Presidency, and would give Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden or any other Democrat a real run for their money!

And if, by chance, Huntsman were to win, we would have a sane, decent, mainstream Republican inheriting the Oval Office, and we could sleep at night, secure that our nation was in safe, experienced hands!

Senator Rob Portman, Gay Marriage, And The Republican Party Future

Ronald 6 Comments

Ohio Republican Senator Rob Portman, former Budget Director for President George W. Bush, one of the few moderate conservative voices in the Republican Party in the US Senate, has come out in favor of gay marriage, making him the first Republican Senator to do so, and unlikely to have others follow him. This seems, clearly, due to the fact that his younger son Will is gay, and Portman wants his son to have a happy life, and the rights and privileges of marriage someday.

One could point out that Portman only spoke up because of his son, which is clearly the case, but it still took courage for him to do what he did.

And it is interesting to see former Senator Rick Santorum spew his usual narrow minded hatred, and one has to wonder what if one of his children came out as gay or lesbian. As a “devout” Catholic, he probably would do what so many “devout” Christians have done, sadly, and that is to throw out their child, disown him or her, have no more contact with him or her, act as if that child no longer exists, rather than understand that gays do not choose to be what they are. Why would anyone want to be facing hate, prejudice, discrimination, and bodily threats if one could avoid it?

So for anyone claiming to be “devout” and “religious” and act like Rick Santorum and so many others, is hypocrisy, and until and when the Republican Party stops allowing the religious Right to control the party agenda, it will never win over the vote of the younger generation, which is totally tolerant on the issue of sexual orientation.

Many non office holding Republicans have come out for gay marriage rights, and Ted Olson, former Solicitor General under George W. Bush, is leading the case to be presented before the Supreme Court, and there is a feeling that the majority of the Court, led by Justice Anthony Kennedy, who made for the success in the Lawrence V. Texas case in 2003, on gay privacy rights, will declare gay marriage rights to be constitutional throughout the United States, although churches and synagogues would not be required to marry gay people. Such a decision for gay marriage would involve the right of civil marriage alone.

The Republican Party needs to change its view, or else, like in many other ways, it will go into the dustbin of history!

The Conservative Political Action Conference: A Bunch Of Retreads And Future Losers!

Ronald 10 Comments

Conservatives are in the third of four days of their annual Conservative Political Action Conference, and it is quite an event, a circus of retreads and future losers, who fail to see that the nation has rejected their ideology when it is presented to them in Senate races, and only holding on to power in the House of Representatives because of gerrymandered districts created by the Tea Party uprising of 2010, which led to a large number of Republican governors and state legislatures at the precisely correct time to affect the shaping of House districts for the ten year cycle following the census figures.

The Tea Party movement has had its heyday, and there are already signs of its future demise, although they will persist in some rural districts in the House, and have their Senators, including Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, and Rand Paul, all ambitious to be President of the United States, but none of them should be delusional that they will actually be the next President, while they are all fighting to outdo each other three years ahead of 2016!

Attention at this conference is given to such retreads as Sarah Palin, Rick Santorum, Rick Perry, Herman Cain, Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann, Donald Trump, Paul Ryan, and Newt Gingrich.

Also, such losers as Wayne La Pierre, Grover Norquist and the usual right wing talk show hosts, including Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, are part of the “distinguished” speakers spewing forth their divisiveness.

And the conservatives are making clear that they will not budge in any form on the issue of gay rights, immigration reform,their “traditional” view of women being submissive to men, and refusal to separate science from the influence of religion!

There are differences on foreign policy between the libertarians and the neoconservatives, however, and any suggestion of moderation on ANY issue has led to Chris Christie and Bob McDonnell being denied an invitation to speak.

The ultimate reality is that it does not matter what happens at the CPAC, as it is like Don Quixote battling the windmill! The American people are NOT going to elect any of these “clowns”, even those who seem more “moderate”, such as Christie, to the White House in 2016. The Republicans are fighting a civil war, primarily over who shall represent them in 2016, but it is all for naught!

The next President will, assuredly, be a Democrat—whether Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Martin O’Malley, Andrew Cuomo, Elizabeth Warren, Mark Warner, Amy Klobuchar or someone else not yet known!

Roger Ailes Calls Obama “Lazy” And Biden “Dumb”: Is He Really Thinking Of Republican Presidential Contenders And A Past President?

Ronald 12 Comments

Roger Ailes, the President of Fox News Channel, the station where those who watch know less than those who watch no news at all, has the gall to say that Barack Obama is “lazy”, and that Joe Biden is “dumb”!

This man is delusional, when one could say that a lot of the Republican Presidential contenders of 2012 were “dumb”, including Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, and Herman Cain, as well as President George W. Bush, who showed no evidence of any intellectual thoughts crossing his brain, far different than his brother Jeb, who comes across as very intelligent and perceptive. How much better off we would have been if Jeb Bush had been President, instead of his brother!

And as far as “lazy” goes, what about George W. Bush being on “vacation” multiple times more than Obama, and NOT reading the intelligence information while at his ranch for weeks on end in late August and early September 2001?

And to call Joe Biden “dumb” when he is one of the most outstanding US Senators in American history, and has played a major role in both foreign policy and constitutional matters for the past 40 years, and is in many ways the most active Vice President in American history, more than even Walter Mondale, Al Gore, and Dick Cheney were, shows that Ailes and his channel are just out to character assassinate our leaders, but intelligent people well know that Fox News Channel has no validity, no credibility at all!

Rand Paul Becomes A Potential Presidential Candidate, And That Is Good For Democrats!

Ronald 4 Comments

Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky has become a celebrity, due to his 13 hour filibuster, postponing consideration of John Brennan, a twenty five year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency, to become its head, The purpose of the filibuster was to gain a guarantee from the Obama Administration that drones would not be used on American soil against American non combatant citizens.

It has caused the American Civil Liberties Union to back Rand Paul, and some Democrats as well, including Oregon Senator Ron Wyden, as well as several progressive journals and web sites.

But the biggest manifestation has been the split developing in the Republican Party between the Tea Party Movement supporters (such as Mike Lee, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio) and the neocons (John McCain and Lindsey Graham, particularly), and this is great news for the Democratic Party!

Rand Paul is now being talked about more seriously as a potential Republican nominee for President, a thought that makes 2012 candidates for the nomination look as the beginning of a trend of continued disaster that will only become worse in 2016.

Bring on Rand Paul, and watch the GOP split asunder, and watch Rand Paul make Mitt Romney, John McCain, and Bob Dole, past GOP Presidential losers, appear brilliant by comparison! RIck Perry, Rick Santorum, Michele Bachmann, Ron Paul, Herman Cain were all embarrassing and disastrous, but Rand Paul would be the most disastrous nominee in history!

If Rand Paul is nominated, and even if he divides the Republican Party while losing the nomination, he will only insure a massive popular vote victory by any Democratic nominee for President, particularly Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden, but including others, such as Martin O’Malley, Andrew Cuomo, Elizabeth Warren, or Mark Warner!

Zack Kopplin, The Hope For The Future Of Science In The Battle Against Creationism!

Ronald 1 Comment

Zack Kopplin is a 19 year old History major at Rice University in Houston, who has become famous in his fight against the state of Louisiana, which passed a law on science education in 2011, which promoted the religious “creationist” theory of man’s evolution and development. The fact that Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal would sign such a law says legions about his potential candidacy for President in the future! What kind of intelligent political leader would have the gall to go along with such propaganda, which has no basis?

Kopplin has appeared on many shows, and challenged Congresswoman Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, proving that her statement that Nobel Prize scientists believed in creationism as legitimate, had no basis! He also challenged Rick Santorum on this controversy. His effect on this issue led to Jon Huntsman speaking up on the topic in support of what Kopplin has enunciated, during the Republican primary race for President in 2012.

Kopplin has won awards and endorsements for his fight to bring about the proper study of science in Louisiana and nationally, and has emphasized the importance of the separation of church and state. He has become a hero for those who believe in fighting the role of religion in educational policy, including the religiously based charter schools which have promoted creationism as science.

This is a young man who gives us hope that the ” Know Nothings” that permeate many state governments in many southern and Midwestern states will not be permitted to distort the field of science, and thus to put America behind in the international race for progress and forward thinking in the 21st century!