Super Tuesday has come and gone and left us with a mixed bag of results. As expected, Gingrich took Georgia and faired poorly just about everywhere else. Over the weekend it was predicted that he might do well in Tennessee but that was not the case.
Santorum not only won Tennessee, he did it in convincing fashion. Just about all the Republican elites including the governor were behind Romney. Mitt also outspent Santorum by a 3 to 1 margin in the state. Romney not only lost Tennessee, he lost it badly. Oklahoma also went in the win column for Santorum.
Then there's Ohio. Romney spent over five million dollars in that state while reports say Santorum spent just under a million. All Mitt's money bought him a one percent win. Basically Romney won the populated areas around Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland while Santorum took the rest of the state. There is absolutely no question that if Santorum had spent even half of what Romney spent there, Santorum would've taken Ohio.
Unfortunately Santorum and Gingrich split the conservative vote there as elsewhere. Romney can wake up this morning claiming that he won Ohio. The undeniable fact is true, conservative Republicans do not want Mitt Rommey as the nominee. While the media, the Romney campaign and the Republican establishment keep telling us it's a given that Mitt will win, voters continue to tell us something different.
Look at Virginia. Because of timing issues neither Santorum nor Gingrich were on the ballot. In a race between Romney and Ron Paul, Paul was able to get 40% of the vote. Nobody thinks Paul is a serious contender yet he gets 40% of the voters to pick him. Why? Again, it's obvious that Romney is anything but a sure thing. Obvious to everyone but Romney apparently.
It's time that Gingrich take a look at the reality, drop out and support Santorum. That's a topic for another time perhaps. Obviously Newt is hanging on until the rest of the southern states vote. Once he leaves the race and throws his support behind the only other conservative in the race, Mitt will really begin to sweat if he isn't already.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Raising Cain
The field of contenders for the GOP nomination for president is beginning to take shape. Over the past few weeks there have been notable names decide not to run while others have officially thrown their name into consideration.
Already voices are beginning to cry that there are no real moderates. We're being told that for Republicans to win back the White House, a credible moderate needs to rise above the other contenders. These pundits claim that the "right wing" of the party is calling the shots and as a result, it will hurt the nominees chances of being elected.
Nothing could be further from reality. The Republican party is conservative or at least it used to be. We need to return to Reagan conservatism. Be proud to be conservative. Advocate smaller government, smaller budgets, strong national defense and take a stand on morality issues.
We tried to win the White House in 2008 with a moderate. We were told John McCain was a bridge builder. He could work across party lines and attract Democrats. He was conservative on some issues but more to the middle on other points. McCain not only lost the election, he lost it soundly. I realize a lot of that had to do with the Obama phenomenon but he lost just the same.
There are real differences between Democrats and Republicans. The differences in core beliefs and what the parties want for the country are striking. I believe as more people see Obama as the mistake that he is, they will want a real, striking change. Nominating a candidate who leans to the middle on issues is not a striking difference. Poll after poll show that in presidential elections, more voters consider themselves conservative than liberal. Give the voters a clear, obvious choice.
Nominating someone on the right of the spectrum will highlight the stark differences between Obama and the GOP challenger. I believe that challenger should be businessman Herman Cain. Cain immediately takes the race issue out of the hands of Democrats when anyone disagrees with Obama. Cain is a proven businessman, well spoken, plain spoken and has a great idea of what's needed to rescue this nation from the fiscal train wreck that seems to be approaching.
The biggest complaint I hear now about Herman Cain is that he's never held public office. Big deal. If the country can elect a community organizer to the highest position in the land, why not take a chance on a successful and proven business leader? At least Cain's experience is relevant to the job at hand.
Already voices are beginning to cry that there are no real moderates. We're being told that for Republicans to win back the White House, a credible moderate needs to rise above the other contenders. These pundits claim that the "right wing" of the party is calling the shots and as a result, it will hurt the nominees chances of being elected.
Nothing could be further from reality. The Republican party is conservative or at least it used to be. We need to return to Reagan conservatism. Be proud to be conservative. Advocate smaller government, smaller budgets, strong national defense and take a stand on morality issues.
We tried to win the White House in 2008 with a moderate. We were told John McCain was a bridge builder. He could work across party lines and attract Democrats. He was conservative on some issues but more to the middle on other points. McCain not only lost the election, he lost it soundly. I realize a lot of that had to do with the Obama phenomenon but he lost just the same.
There are real differences between Democrats and Republicans. The differences in core beliefs and what the parties want for the country are striking. I believe as more people see Obama as the mistake that he is, they will want a real, striking change. Nominating a candidate who leans to the middle on issues is not a striking difference. Poll after poll show that in presidential elections, more voters consider themselves conservative than liberal. Give the voters a clear, obvious choice.
Nominating someone on the right of the spectrum will highlight the stark differences between Obama and the GOP challenger. I believe that challenger should be businessman Herman Cain. Cain immediately takes the race issue out of the hands of Democrats when anyone disagrees with Obama. Cain is a proven businessman, well spoken, plain spoken and has a great idea of what's needed to rescue this nation from the fiscal train wreck that seems to be approaching.
The biggest complaint I hear now about Herman Cain is that he's never held public office. Big deal. If the country can elect a community organizer to the highest position in the land, why not take a chance on a successful and proven business leader? At least Cain's experience is relevant to the job at hand.
Monday, March 21, 2011
It's Time to Act Presidential
In little more than a week, Japan was hit with a major earthquake, a tsunami and a nuclear disaster. The internal conflict in Libya worsened to the point that the Arab League asked the United Nations to impose a "no fly zone" over that country so Qaddafi would quit killing his own citizens.
President Obama was strangely silent during these events. He only spoke publicly about the Libyan situation late last week after the U. N. resolution concerning the "no fly zone" was passed. He spoke about it from Brazil where he and his family went for five days.
Given a golden opportunity by an Arab organization, the president had a great chance to step up, be a leader, help the oppressed people of Libya and help the U. S. take the role of good guy in the Middle East. He wasn't able to fully take advantage of that because he was so busy with other pressing matters.
Obama received more face time on ESPN last week than on the news networks. The NCAA basketball tournament started Tuesday and we all know how important it was for the president to reveal his bracket picks to the world. He's done that before. Of course when he showed us what a basketball whiz he was in the past, the world wasn't facing such rapidly developing, negative events in two parts of the world.
There's a time and a place for everything. This was a year when the president would have gained a lot of respect at home and around the world if he'd have shown a little more concern about what was taking place in Libya and in Japan instead of worrying about picking against Duke like he did last season.
We can only hope that it wasn't too late before the "no fly zone" was enforced. Across political lines experts are saying this should have been taken care of a couple of weeks ago for it to be effective. I guess they don't realize Obama couldn't have been bothered with it then. After all, the conference tournaments were still being played!
President Obama was strangely silent during these events. He only spoke publicly about the Libyan situation late last week after the U. N. resolution concerning the "no fly zone" was passed. He spoke about it from Brazil where he and his family went for five days.
Given a golden opportunity by an Arab organization, the president had a great chance to step up, be a leader, help the oppressed people of Libya and help the U. S. take the role of good guy in the Middle East. He wasn't able to fully take advantage of that because he was so busy with other pressing matters.
Obama received more face time on ESPN last week than on the news networks. The NCAA basketball tournament started Tuesday and we all know how important it was for the president to reveal his bracket picks to the world. He's done that before. Of course when he showed us what a basketball whiz he was in the past, the world wasn't facing such rapidly developing, negative events in two parts of the world.
There's a time and a place for everything. This was a year when the president would have gained a lot of respect at home and around the world if he'd have shown a little more concern about what was taking place in Libya and in Japan instead of worrying about picking against Duke like he did last season.
We can only hope that it wasn't too late before the "no fly zone" was enforced. Across political lines experts are saying this should have been taken care of a couple of weeks ago for it to be effective. I guess they don't realize Obama couldn't have been bothered with it then. After all, the conference tournaments were still being played!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
The Embarrassment of the United State
President Obama broke his silence about Libya yesterday. The protests and riots have been taking place for nine days. After 41 years in power, the regime of Muammar Gaddafi seems ready to topple as he loses control of the people, his military and land day by day. It took our president more than a week to even open his mouth and make a statement about this incredible, world changing event.
The United States stands for freedom. It's long been our policy to support the quest for democracy in nations around the world. Over the past several weeks we've seen revolutions spring up in Egypt, Iran, Yemen, Libya and several other nations with varying degrees of success. Throughout this time our president, the man considered the leader of the free world has been very reluctant to speak up and speak out about these developments.
I certainly do not suggest that the U. S. should go into these nations uninvited. I also realize that the State Department needs to watch what they say so that passions are not inflamed. However there's not a regime in the world that doesn't or shouldn't know that our country and our government stands for and believes in democracy. What an opportunity to go to the United Nations and propose a resolution condemning the actions of the governments in Libya and Iran. Why not look into the possibility of a U. N. peacekeeping force being made available if things continue to deteriorate in Libya? Instead, Obama wants to speak about gay marriage while a nation burns.
There is absolutely no reason for Obama to wait nine days after the Libyan revolution started before he even speaks on the matter. When he did make a statement yesterday he didn't even mention Gaddafi by name even though that dictator has ordered the killing and bombing of his own citizens. Obama waited fewer days to speak in support of union protests in Wisconsin than he did in criticizing Gaddafi. That is pathetic.
We shouldn't be surprised though. After all, this is the same guy who made a trip to the Middle East one of his priorities early in his administration. That was the trip to Egypt when he basically apologized for the actions of the U. S. in that part of the world. We should be disappointed but certainly not surprised in his most recent failure of action concerning that part of the world.
This is an historic moment. The flame of freedom is being ignited in places we never thought possible. Unfortunately President Obama has decided so far to sit this one out and just watch the flame to see if it fires or flickers out on its own.
The United States stands for freedom. It's long been our policy to support the quest for democracy in nations around the world. Over the past several weeks we've seen revolutions spring up in Egypt, Iran, Yemen, Libya and several other nations with varying degrees of success. Throughout this time our president, the man considered the leader of the free world has been very reluctant to speak up and speak out about these developments.
I certainly do not suggest that the U. S. should go into these nations uninvited. I also realize that the State Department needs to watch what they say so that passions are not inflamed. However there's not a regime in the world that doesn't or shouldn't know that our country and our government stands for and believes in democracy. What an opportunity to go to the United Nations and propose a resolution condemning the actions of the governments in Libya and Iran. Why not look into the possibility of a U. N. peacekeeping force being made available if things continue to deteriorate in Libya? Instead, Obama wants to speak about gay marriage while a nation burns.
There is absolutely no reason for Obama to wait nine days after the Libyan revolution started before he even speaks on the matter. When he did make a statement yesterday he didn't even mention Gaddafi by name even though that dictator has ordered the killing and bombing of his own citizens. Obama waited fewer days to speak in support of union protests in Wisconsin than he did in criticizing Gaddafi. That is pathetic.
We shouldn't be surprised though. After all, this is the same guy who made a trip to the Middle East one of his priorities early in his administration. That was the trip to Egypt when he basically apologized for the actions of the U. S. in that part of the world. We should be disappointed but certainly not surprised in his most recent failure of action concerning that part of the world.
This is an historic moment. The flame of freedom is being ignited in places we never thought possible. Unfortunately President Obama has decided so far to sit this one out and just watch the flame to see if it fires or flickers out on its own.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Obama Math
President Obama unveiled his budget yesterday. Unfortunately there are no surprises in it. He talks about reducing the deficit yet his plan will projects $1.65 trillion in deficit spending which is a record. It would make the country's deficit the largest percentage of the economy since 1945.
His biggest solution? Taxes of course. We can't say that's a surprise from the left. What is surprising is that while the deficit becomes a bigger issue by the day, Obama and his followers continue to try the same old "tax and spend" tactics the left has championed for decades.
While he proposes decreasing spending in the Department of Agriculture by 1.5%, he ups spending in the Commerce Department by 13.9%. He can point to a 6.1% decrease in Corps of Engineers spending but that's offset by 38.5% increase in Education. Transportation is the biggest winner with a proposed increase in their budget of 68%.
For years Democrats have continued to pour money into the black hole of public education without holding teachers and administrators responsible for results. Apparently the president wants to continue that trend. I suppose old habits really are hard to break.
The biggest farce is the increase in Transportation spending. I realize our bridges and roads need repairs and upgrades. However, a large portion of this new spending is geared toward rail service; specifically high speed rail. That's something that would be nice to have but not if we can't afford it, and we can't. Why not make that a long range goal and focus short term on what really matters; reducing the deficit as much as possible as soon as possible.
Obama was given another great opportunity to show leadership. Put entitlement programs on the table. Show us how deep you're willing to cut spending. Show us some fiscal responsibility. Of course he's trying to put Republicans in the position of advocating cuts while he can offer a plateful of goodies. He can play class warfare by promoting tax hikes on those that already pay the most taxes. That way he looks like the good guy while he and the rest of the left can claim that fiscal conservatives want old people to die from eating dog food because "their" money is being taken away.
It's a risky move with the presidential election on the horizon. Now is the time for Republicans and even conservative Democrats to stand firm and fight. This country literally cannot afford this budget. Call and email your representatives. The election was only the beginning for the Tea Party movement and the revival of fiscal conservatism. This is now the real battle and we must all fight.
His biggest solution? Taxes of course. We can't say that's a surprise from the left. What is surprising is that while the deficit becomes a bigger issue by the day, Obama and his followers continue to try the same old "tax and spend" tactics the left has championed for decades.
While he proposes decreasing spending in the Department of Agriculture by 1.5%, he ups spending in the Commerce Department by 13.9%. He can point to a 6.1% decrease in Corps of Engineers spending but that's offset by 38.5% increase in Education. Transportation is the biggest winner with a proposed increase in their budget of 68%.
For years Democrats have continued to pour money into the black hole of public education without holding teachers and administrators responsible for results. Apparently the president wants to continue that trend. I suppose old habits really are hard to break.
The biggest farce is the increase in Transportation spending. I realize our bridges and roads need repairs and upgrades. However, a large portion of this new spending is geared toward rail service; specifically high speed rail. That's something that would be nice to have but not if we can't afford it, and we can't. Why not make that a long range goal and focus short term on what really matters; reducing the deficit as much as possible as soon as possible.
Obama was given another great opportunity to show leadership. Put entitlement programs on the table. Show us how deep you're willing to cut spending. Show us some fiscal responsibility. Of course he's trying to put Republicans in the position of advocating cuts while he can offer a plateful of goodies. He can play class warfare by promoting tax hikes on those that already pay the most taxes. That way he looks like the good guy while he and the rest of the left can claim that fiscal conservatives want old people to die from eating dog food because "their" money is being taken away.
It's a risky move with the presidential election on the horizon. Now is the time for Republicans and even conservative Democrats to stand firm and fight. This country literally cannot afford this budget. Call and email your representatives. The election was only the beginning for the Tea Party movement and the revival of fiscal conservatism. This is now the real battle and we must all fight.
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