Well, I am afraid I cannot let the GOP primaries go by without at least one (but don't hold me to that!) political post.
Mostly I want to hear from you about your views regarding the viability of the four remaining candidates. Here is the line-up (alphabetical by last name):
Newt Gingrich - was a professor and a US Representative, including Speaker of the House. He has worked on balancing the budget and strengthening our national defense. He has been married three times (divorced first two wives after having affairs with the next two in line) but has been married to his current wife since 2000 and has two children (with the first wife).
Ron Paul - is a medical doctor and US Senator. He is a Constitutionalist and only supports the powers of the federal government that were given it by the US Constitution. He has been married to the same woman since the 1960s (his bio doesn't give the exact year) and has five children.
Mitt Romney - generally considered the front runner. He has business and governor experience. He is a Mormon and has been married to the same woman for 43 years and has five children.
Rick Santorum - has been a US Representative and Senator. He is known as extremely socially conservative, has been married to the same woman for 21 years and has 7 children.
I would love to hear your opinions and views on the GOP candidates. Especially if you are a Republican! There are so many different views on what everyone wants in a presidential nominee and I want to know yours!!
Although my personal views line up more with Ron's & Rick's I feel they may be too conservative to capture he majority of votes needed to actually win. I feel Newt is too volital -both to win & effectively administer the role of President. That leaves us with Mitt and I'm not sure he has the polical backing or clout to win. Could a viable "winning ticket" be made from combining 2 of these gentlemen? With all the mud slingging thats been going on I would think that doubtful. Just one persons opinion ...
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts Susan. I agree with Santorum on most social issues, with Ron Paul on most fiscal/small government issues and am not very impressed by Gingrich or Romney myself. I think it is most likely that Romney will win the Republican nomination but I don't think he will be able to win against Obama.
ReplyDeleteMy husband pointed out to me (and I agree) that Ron Paul might be the only one who could beat Obama (because he could get all fiscal conservatives - which is the whole Tea Party and anyone who has any idea about the best way to keep their job! - all the small government people, some of the social conservatives - unless he already got them in the above niches - and quite a few liberals because of his de-regulation and isolationism stances). However, the chances of Ron Paul getting the Republican nomination are slim to none.
It is shaping up to be the same as last election where the Republicans were so determined to find someone no one hated that they instead chose someone that no one liked. They only way to unseat Obama is to choose someone who is different enough to force people to pick a side. Unfortunately, I don't see the Republicans having gained that much sense in the last four years...
Of the four left, I like Santorum the best, and his status as underdog just makes me like him more (as you would know about me, Maude) ;) but he has focused on issues that people do not care as much about this election, and he has not had the attention or air time that the other candidates have.
ReplyDeleteI know that many people are on the Ron Paul bandwagon, and that his supporters are seriously hardcore, but I think that he has some serious flaws in his position (particularly on the US foreign policy and defense) and he has some very outlandish views (believing the US was behind 9/11, for one!) which is part of the reason that he would never get the nomination. He is also very old. It's too bad that he didn't step aside and let his son run (who had been thinking about it before his father announced his candidacy- again)because his son might have had a greater chance of securing the nomination.
I definitely do not support Gingrich. And that leaves Romney. I am not thrilled about him, but agree that he will be the nominee and I believe he has a fair chance to beat Obama. He is a much improved candidate this go-round. Still pretty sad that Mitch Daniels or Mike Huckabee didn't jump in. :/
It is also important to note that those who decide to vote for a third party candidate in the actual presidential election will basically be giving a vote for Obama. If Ron Paul or any other "republican" candidate choose to form a third party, all of their votes will be taken away from much-needed Romney votes (supposing he secures the nomination) and Obama will win re-election.
Here are a few very insightful articles on Ron Paul. The give varied ideas, but I think they are worth reading:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nationalreview.com/articles/288395/gop-should-heed-ron-paul-michael-tanner
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/dec/21/making-the-case-for-and-against-ron-paul/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/ron-paul-big-government-libertarian/2012/01/03/gIQAVj1QYP_blog.html
(I guess you have to copy and paste the links since they are not loading in)
I have always been an isolationist so I agree with Ron Paul on that one Liz. And I also disagree on not voting for 3rd parties - while it is true that that could allow Obama to win again it is important for people to vote their conscience. It is also the ONLY way the Republicans will see that there is a large part of the country who are no longer willing to support their candidates and force them to either consider that group when choosing the next candidate or strengthen a third party enough to someday oust the old GOP guard.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I think the main point is Obama needs to be replaced and I would support nearly anyone (would Hillary run again? haha!!) to replace him.
I wish my governor, Bob McDonnell, would have agreed to run. He is fantastic!! But is more concerned at this time about seeing that Virginia weathers the storm of Obama than to run another campaign during his term as governor. They made sure Virginia passed legislation saying Virginians cannot be mandated to buy healthcare by the federal government before Obamacare was passed and are now in the middle of a lawsuit against the federal government about it. I do love Virginia!!