South Carolina Primary

Reverberations Of The Citizens United Supreme Court Case: Sheldon Adelson, The Koch Brothers, And The Destruction Of American Democracy!

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Two years ago this week, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 vote, decided that corporations were “people” and had a right to “freedom of speech”, meaning unlimited ability of groups and individuals to spend money and form Super Political Action Committees.

As a result, the Koch Brothers (Charles and David) spent enough money in contributing to state and congressional races to be able to bring about a Republican House of Representatives and many Republican state governments in 2010, leading to the turmoil of the Tea Party Movement in the past year.

Now Sheldon Adelson, an extremely wealthy casino owner in Las Vegas, along with his wife, have contributed $10 million to the Newt Gingrich candidacy, so that he can compete against Mitt Romney, and it has led to the Gingrich success in South Carolina.

Our political campaigns are being “bought” by wealthy people, and distorting the concept of American democracy, making our political system a mockery!

Action must be taken as soon as possible to overcome this horrible Supreme Court decision, but even if it occurs, this year’s election has already been besmirched by the corruption of the extremely wealthy who are doing everything they can to make the government their private possession!

The Growing Hysteria Over Newt Gingrich’s Candidacy For President

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As a result of Newt Gingrich’s smashing victory in South Carolina, the panic and hysteria within conservative ranks and in the Republican Party establishment has grown by leaps and bounds. Critics suggest that Newt as the potential nominee, with an almost 60 percent unfavorable rating in national public opinion polls, about the same as when he was Speaker of the House fifteen years ago, and was on his way out as a result of a conservative Republican move against him in the House of Representatives, will lead to a massive defeat and bring down Republicans in both houses of Congress.

The list is long who is against Gingrich, with an incomplete list following in no special order.

George H. W. Bush, former President of the United States
Tom Ridge, former Secretary of Homeland Security and Pennsylvania Governor
Chris Christie, New Jersey Governor
Kelly Ayotte, New Hampshire Senator
Nikki Haley, South Carolina Governor
Tim Pawlenty, former Minnesota Governor
Haley Barbour, former Mississippi Governor and Republican National Chairman
Jon Huntsman, former Utah Governor and Ambassador to China
Mark Kirk, Illinois Senator
John McCain, Arizona Senator
Tom Coburn, Oklahoma Senator
Joe Scarborough, former Florida Congressman and MSNBC Talk Show Host
Susan Molinari, former New York Congresswoman
Rush Limbaugh, Conservative Radio Talk Show Host
Ann Coulter, Conservative Activists
Charles Krauthammer, Conservative Activist and Fox News Channel Contributor
Bill Kristol, Publisher of Weekly Standard and Fox News Contributor
David Brooks, NY Times Journalist
Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal Journalist and Reagan Speechwriter
George Will, Conservative Journalist and ABC News Contributor
Peter King, New York Congressman
Glenn Beck, Conservative Radio Talk Show Host
Brit Hume, Fox News Channel Contributor
Jonah Goldberg, Conservative Author and Activist
Roy Blunt, Missouri Senator
Scott Brown, Massachusetts Senator
Orrin Hatch, Utah Senator
Lisa Murkowski, Alaska Senator
Rob Portman, Ohio Senator
John Thune, South Dakota Senator
Bob McDonnell, Virginia Governor
Dan Quayle, former Vice President
Bob Dole, former Kansas Senator and Presidential Nominee in 1996
Norm Coleman, former Minnesota Senator
John Danforth, former Missouri Senator
Elizabeth Dole, former North Carolina Senator and Cabinet Member
Judd Gregg, former New Hampshire Senator
John Sununu, former White House Chief of Staff and New Hampshire Governor
Gordon Smith, former Oregon Senator
Jim Talent, former Missouri Senator
John Sununu, Jr, former New Hampshire Senator
David Frum, conservative journalist and former aide to George W. Bush
George Voinovich, former Ohio Senator
Dennis Hastert, former Speaker of the House of Representatives
Rick Lazio, former New York Congressman
James Baker, former Secretary of State and White House Chief of Staff
Robert Bork, former Reagan Supreme Court nominee
John Bolton, former United Nations Ambassador

This list of critics, all supporters of Mitt Romney, fear a calamity in the making, but the battle to overcome Gingrich seems likely to be a long, and possibly, unsuccessful one.

Some predict that a Gingrich candidacy will be similar to Barry Goldwater in 1964, causing a split that will not easily be healed in the short term future.

Newt Gingrich Victory In South Carolina Portends Most Ideological Election Since 1964!

Ronald 4 Comments

The massive Newt Gingrich victory in South Carolina today portends the most ideological election in America since 1964.

Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona overcame the moderate and centrist elements of the GOP in 1964, but led the party to total disaster in the fall against President Lyndon B. Johnson, winning only six states, five in the South and Arizona.

As much as Goldwater was divisive, in comparison to Newt Gingrich, the Arizona Senator seems in retrospect like a charm!

Goldwater was sincere in his beliefs, while Gingrich is a total opportunist, power hungry, and willing to create a “civil war” atmosphere in his mad dash to take power, and it is clear that he is a dangerous man like none we have seen in the past.

Only George Wallace, the former Alabama Governor who ran on a third party line in 1968, was equally dangerous, but fortunately, he was not on a major party line, and could only cause problems for the two major candidates.

Newt Gingrich, ironically censured by the House when he was Speaker of the House fifteen years ago on this date for ethical violations and fined $300,000, now has been resurrected by South Carolina evangelical voters and Tea Party activists.

The future of the nation is at stake in what looks more than ever like a real possibility of Newt Gingrich being the opponent of Barack Obama this November. This requires efforts, unsurpassed in the past, by those who do not wish such a destructive personality to sit in the Oval Office next January 20!

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!

The Romney Vulnerability Factor In Play As South Carolina Primary Is Near

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Mitt Romney, former Massachusetts Governor, and supposed front runner for the Republican Presidential nomination, has has a rough week.

First, he performed poorly in the Monday night South Carolina debate sponsored by Fox News Channel, being constantly on the defensive due to attacks by his rivals for the nomination.

As news came out all week about Bain Capital, and the fact that Romney, while refusing to release his tax returns anytime soon, admitted that he only paid 15 percent on his investment income, and “only” earned $364,000 in speaking fees, his polls started to suffer.

Now, today, Rick Perry has dropped out of the Presidential race and endorsed Newt Gingrich. And Rick Santorum has been declared the winner of the Iowa Caucuses by 34 votes, after trailing by 8 votes to Romney.

With Gingrich gaining support in the public opinion polls in South Carolina because of his strong debate performance, and now with Perry’s endorsement of Gingrich, it is more likely that the former Speaker of the House could defeat Romney in South Carolina.

Since 1980, every Republican winner of South Carolina’s primary has gone on to be the GOP Presidential nominee. So if Romney loses, after being declared the loser in Iowa, and only winning what is basically his “home” state, New Hampshire, suddenly Mitt Romney will be extremely shaky and vulnerable in his quest for the Republican Presidential nomination.

The Ultimate Judgment Day For Evangelical Christians: Romney, Santorum Or Gingrich?

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So it has come down to this: the ultimate judgment day for evangelical Christians, specifically in South Carolina this Saturday, but really nationally, as well.

Evangelicals always talk about the significance of “family values” in their lives, and that is to be applauded.

So now they must decide the future of the Republican Presidential race. They may talk about “redemption”, but can they really back Newt Gingrich after it has been revealed that he asked his second wife to agree to an “open marriage”, after having cheated with her on his first wife? Gingrich talks about “traditional marriage” being upheld against gay marriage, but is his concept of marriage indeed “traditional”?

It seems to the author that the family lives of Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum fit the image of what evangelical Christians claim to believe, and already, a large group of evangelical leaders last week endorsed Santorum. To top it off, Santorum ended up ahead of Gingrich in New Hampshire, and now has been declared the winner of the Iowa Caucuses over Mitt Romney by a final count of 34 votes, rather than being 8 votes behind.

It will be interesting to see whether evangelical Christians will follow the endorsement of their leaders and support Santorum, or even go beyond their faith and back Romney.

If they back Gingrich, however, it will show their hypocrisy. Opportunism is what it might be called after Saturday.

300 Days To The Presidential Election: “Hell” Ahead For Mitt Romney!

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Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney may have won the New Hampshire Primary decisively, but that does not mean that he is going to sail to the GOP Presidential nomination anytime soon.

Witness the following facts:

1. Ron Paul ended up a strong second, and will be a problem for Romney all the way to the Republican convention in late August, and possibly beyond, as he may very well run on the Libertarian Party line, drawing together those who want a radical cutback in the federal government and withdrawal of military forces from overseas engagements.

2. Jon Huntsman ended up a strong third in the primary, and is now emboldened to go after Romney, with the possibility of gaining those who do not like Romney personally, and his flip flop reputation, and want an alternative who can appeal to Independents, moderates, and unhappy Democrats.

3. Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry will continue to challenge Romney as a phony conservative, and sustain their attack on his connections to Bain Capital.

4. Rick Santorum will continue to work to gain the social conservative vote, making him a real threat on those issues.

5. The Tea Party Movement, particularly in South Carolina at the moment, will not accept Romney, and want a true alternative to a man they consider a moderate, not a conservative.

6. Romney will have lots of ammunition employed against him by the Barack Obama campaign, utilizing Romney’s actions and statements, often contradictory in nature, and portraying him as not able to relate to the poor or middle class, due to his extreme level of personal wealth.

So Mitt Romney faces a series of major challenges that might impede his road to the White House!

The GOP Race Down To Four Candidates: Bachmann, Perry, Romney, Huntsman!

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So the 2012 Republican Presidential race is down to FOUR candidates in the real world: Establishment Republicans Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman, both happening to be Mormons: and Tea Party Republicans Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann, born evangelical Christians who promote combination of church and state and have followers who believe Mormons are a cult and not truly Christians!

What a mess the Republicans are in, and it should make Barack Obama feel very comforted after the rough times he has had lately with the Debt Ceiling debate, the lowering of the credit rating from Triple A to Double A Plus by Standard and Poor’s, and the stock market gyrations of the past week!

The Republican Party may boast that they are on the way to defeat of Barack Obama, but instead they are on the way to a bloodletting in the caucuses and primaries, with the Iowa caucus likely to be a battle between Perry and Bachmann, and the New Hampshire primary likely to be a battle between Romney and Huntsman. The South Carolina primary will likely be a battle between the survivor of Iowa and the winner in New Hampshire, and then Florida will play a major role, as the fourth largest state, in determining who the leading candidate will be.

But likely, the battle will go on into the other caucus and primary states and could drag out to June, and severely weaken the party, and strengthen Obama.

So forget Rick Santorum, Herman Cain, Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich completely, and Tim Pawlenty has already bowed out ot the race!

And realize, after the bloodletting that will go on in the GOP, the only real hope that will exist for the Republicans to defeat Barack Obama will be IF they nominate either Romney or Huntsman, with the hope by Establishment Republicans that neither will have been fatally wounded during the caucuses and primaries!

If either Perry nor Bachmann end up as the nominee, the election will be a “cakewalk” for Barack Obama.

The upcoming battle can only benefit Barack Obama, as it demonstrates the right wing extremism prevalent in the Republican Party!