GOP Presidential Candidate Eliminations | Sweet 16 15 14 13

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September eliminations are below. Sorry to see Rick Perry go. My favorite (today anyways) is John Kasich. He seems to meet a lot of my ICE IT criteria but he does need to work on inspiration a bit. Who are you liking so far? What part of ICE IT (Inspiration, Character, Experience, Ideology or Temperament) do you think they are most strong in.

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The list of GOP candidates seems to be complete. Suspect I will be eliminating about one candidate each month.

1. Jeb Bush
2. Ben Carson
3. Chris Christie
4. Ted Cruz
5. Carly Fiorina
6. Lindsey Graham
7. Mike Huckabee
8. Bobby Jindal
9. John Kasich
10. Marco Rubio
11. George Pataki
12. Rand Paul
13. Rick Perry
14. Rick Santorum
15. Donald Trump
16. Scott Walker

Of course I may be wrong. I you disagree with an elimination please tell me why I should keep them on the list.

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Man Up Mitt!

Rough week for fans of the Bain Capital man. I do not know about you but I am sick and tired of listening to the Blowhard in Chief brag about his debating prowess. Like beating Obama is all about out-talking him and giving a better speech than he does. Here are a few things I would like to see Romney do this week:

• Release his taxes. Explain to people why he made so much money and not apologize for being successful. If he does not he will go down in flames.
• Explain how he is different from so many executives in that he actually started something rather than simply working the system and rising from the ranks. 
• Delineate himself from the other three career politicians who have not held a job in the public sector for over thirty years.
• Speak clearly about his story. I have seen him connect with people when he speaks of his wife and her disease. Being faithful should not be a liability.
• Take the gloves off. Get some passion in his voice when he speaks about his successes. Unashamedly debate his accomplishments.

It is time for Romney to man up. The election has turned into a bit of a street fight. People like Newt's passionate bravado. Mitt needs to find a way to unapologetically communicate his passion without the bravado.

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Endorsing Herman Cain in SC

I am recommending Herman Cain in South Carolina to all voters that are fed up with with the current field of candidates. After the events of this week I think that I could vote that way. I think that it might be a good message to send the GOP?

The Candidate Match Game

I took the US Today Candidate Match Game and came up with these results. Not great results considering that I only resonated with five of eleven issues of the candidate that they declared most resonating with my views. I suspect the 66.7% was the result of the way that I weighted the importance of the eleven issues. Of course my number three is moot now since she dropped out of the race. That said, I admit that the other two candidates did not surprise me as they are my top picks from the crowd. Let me know if you play the game and if you are surprised by the results.

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The Middle Matters

With the Iowa Caucus just a day away I thought that I might share a few quotes from a Christian Post article titled Huckabee: GOP Needs to Skip Political Bashing, Focus on Independents.

“I watched this whole cycle unfold, sadly the focus seems to be about who can tear each other up as Republicans or how can we tear up Barack Obama, not whether we can build up the country.” -Mike Huckabee

“While Obama-bashing may again fire up the conservative base, it delivers nothing to those crucial Independent and middle-of-the-road voters who are anxious, confused and looking for someone to convince them they have a better plan.” -Kimberley Strassel of the Wall Street Journal editorial board

“On issue after issue, the opinions of the GOP’s conservative base are out of step with those of white working-class Independents. Rather than grasp this fact, however, many Republican political leaders have listened solely to the base and ignored the other partner in the marriage.” -Henry Olsen, vice president of national research for American Enterprise Institute

I feel that the candidates would do well to take this advise to heart. The independent middle matters.

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Iowa and New Hampshire :: Not What They Used to Be!

I agree with the Christian Science Monitor's article titled "In GOP race, Iowa and New Hampshire aren't what they used to be". It reminded me that Michele Bachmann won the big-time Iowa Straw poll just a few months ago. Here are a few good clips from the article:

"When Iowa Republicans caucus on Jan. 3, chances are the voters will know more about the candidates from nationally televised debates and interviews than from personal interaction. Ditto the New Hampshire primary on Jan. 10."
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"On-the-ground retail campaigning, it just doesn't pay," says Fergus Cullen, former chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party. "That's a disappointing realization. The idea of Jimmy Carter building support one by one is not nearly as effective as having a good debate moment that goes viral on YouTube."
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"The GOP’s new rule awarding delegates proportionally based on the vote, rather than winner-take-all, in most contests before April also makes the early contests less important than in the past."

Hat tip to Iowan Shane for pointing me to the article even though he vehemently disagrees with what it says.

Charitable Giving Habits of GOP Candidates

Recently Pastor Steven Andrew, president of USA Christian Ministries, called out Franklin Graham telling him to repent after Graham said that it is acceptable for a Christian to vote for a Mormon. Pastor Andrew also said “God cannot bless us for betraying Jesus and voting for a non-Christian.” It got me to wondering who amongst the crew acted Christian when it came to charity.

In a series of articles the Huffington Post took a close look at the charitable giving of Republican presidential candidates. How much and to whom did they give? How does their giving compare with their fellow Americans? And what impact did they ultimately have? Here are the titles and links to those articles:

Bachmann Charity Work: Christian And Controversial

Newt Gingrich's Charities Wither While His Political Organizations Thrive

Jon Huntsman 2012: Legacy Of Charity Efforts May Be Liability In GOP Presidential Race

Ron Paul's Charity: Libertarian Views Fail Reality Test

Governor Rick Perry: Big On Prayer, Not So Big On Charity

Mitt Romney Gives Millions To Charity, Most To Mormon Church

Rick Santorum is noticeably absent from their list - feel free to provide a link in the comments to an article that deals with Santorum's charitable habits. Even so, I think that you might find the reading insightful. Reminds me of how the Lord tells us that we will know his followers by their fruit.

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Pundits Weigh in on Newt Gingrich

A few select recent quotes from conservative journalists ...

“He would severely damage conservatism and the Republican Party if nominated. -David Brooks

“He is a human hand grenade who walks around with his hand on the pin, saying, “Watch this!”” -Peggy Noonan

“There is almost an artistic vulgarity in Gingrich’s unrepentant role as a hired larynx for interests profiting from such government follies as ethanol and cheap mortgages.” -George Will

Are Evangelicals are Playing the Faith Card?

Has anyone seen Rick Perry's recent television advertisement where he speaks of President Obama's "war on religion". It is an interesting video where candidate Perry begins by saying "I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm a Christian". Reminded me of the evangelical pastor, and Rick Perry supporter, who told the press that Mitt Romney is not a Christian because Mormonism is a cult.

Got me to thinking about the many conversations I have had about Jon Huntsman, another Mormon candidate, and how my evangelical friends avow that they could not vote for him because they believe him to be a moderate even though the evidence say that he is a conservative.

A few years ago a blogging friend told me that they could not vote for a Mormon because they believed that all Mormons are deceived. I have come to believe that this is the case for a very large percentage of Evangelical Christians who will not vote for any Mormon regardless of how qualified or conservative the candidate is. Along with Rick Perry these voters are playing the faith card but refuse to admit that they are. I wish that they would.

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Is Newt really a Conservative?

Many Republicans are embracing Newt Gingrich as the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney in this primary season. In answer to those people conservative researcher Steve Baldwin cites the following:

"Newt Gingrich is a political chameleon that has inexplicably managed to fool conservatives for 30 years. He is a globalist to the bone and supports every opportunity to erode American sovereignty and the constitution. He disguises his statist positions with an abundance of flip-flopping and pandering as needed. He has a long history of expanding the Federal Government and deficit spending. He is the very definition of an Establishment Insider."

Here are a few examples that Baldwin cites to support his position:

• Voted for NAFTA, a blatant circumvention of Congress’ exclusive power to regulate commerce with foreign nations.
• Supported the National Endowment for the Arts.
• Voted for the creation of the Federal Dept. of Education in 1979 under Jimmy Carter.
• In one year (1994-1995) Gingrich voted for nearly $45 billion in foreign aid.
• He’s a paid lobbyist for Federal ethanol subsidies.
• Supported spending $30B for the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 that shackled gun owners with new restrictions, federalized a number of crimes, and handed the feds police powers that the Constitution reserves to the states.
• Voted to give billions of dollars to United Nations “peacekeeping” operations.
• He cheated on one of his wives while she was suffering from cancer, delivered divorce papers to her in the hospital.
• He blames his infidelity to multiple wives on his passion for the country.
• He was paid $300,000 by Freddie Mac to halt Congress from bringing necessary reform.
  

There are many other examples cited in the post - read more here. I am obviously not a fan of Newt and think that he is no more of a conservative than Romney is. What do you think? Is Newt really a conservative?

The Unknown Unpopular Conservative Candidate

In his latest Politico post, titled "Who is the real RINO?", Joe Scarborough poses twenty multiple choice questions where you can choose between Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Jon Huntsman to answer the questions. His answer to the title question about who is not a RINO becomes fairly obvious as he ends with these questions.

• Which candidate is the only GOP presidential contender to come out in full support of the Ryan plan?
• Which candidate was ranked by Cato Institute in 2008 one of the most fiscally conservative governors in America?
• Which candidate was cited by the Pew Center for running the “best-managed” state, hailed by Forbes magazine as the “most fiscally fit” and ranked first in the country for job creation?
• Whose economic plan does The Wall Street Journal consider the most impressive and conservative of the Republican presidential field?
• The American Conservative wrote this about which GOP candidate, “For the past two decades a ‘moderate’ Republican was one who didn’t generally side with his party on three issues: taxes, guns and abortion. [This candidate’s] record on those isn’t just to the right of the moderates. It is to the right of most conservatives”?
• Which candidate was praised in a Club for Growth report for reforming health care with “no individual mandate, no employer mandate and no provision for a massive expansion of subsidized care unlike Obamacare or Romney’s plan”?

Perhaps Joe does not understand that it is not Forbes, the American Conservative, the Cato Institute, the Pew Center or the Wall Street Journal who defines what a conservative is and which candidates are RINOs. Everyone know that it is squawk radio hosts and cable TV celebrities that define these terms. Duh!!

Who is Buddy Roemer?

I was surprised this morning to learn that this man is running for president. It speaks to how a former governor and congressman can be excluded by the powers that be in the Republican Party. Here are a few of his quips:


"Washington works for the 1%.
DC gives tax breaks to corps that send jobs overseas;
lets top campaign contributors write policy."

"We've Become a Government of Big Checks"

"Occupy Is Fighting Against Corruption"
If you want to find more about Buddy check out his website or follow him on Twitter here. He might surprise you!

Did you know that Buddy is running for president?

The Values Debate

Richard Cizik was the vice president for governmental affairs of the National Association of Evangelicals from 1998 to 2008. He left that group and started the New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good. He understands the political issues relevant to evangelical voters at a very detailed level. So I was interested in his Washington Post editorial titled "The values debate we’re not having". Here are a few clips from it:

As an evangelical Christian who believes the Republican Party does not have a monopoly on moral values, I believe this discussion is long overdue. The “compassionate conservatism” espoused by President George W. Bush and many prominent evangelical leaders has been supplanted by a Tea Party ideology that bears more resemblance to the anti-Christian philosophy of Ayn Rand than it does to the Gospel.

Whether the Christian duty to love our neighbors is compatible with a political movement that embraces radical individualism and rejects the ethic of collective responsibility is a central question as the GOP attempts to cement the Tea Party and the religious right into a cohesive base. Tea Party activists and Republican leaders have consistently targeted for cutbacks vital government programs that protect the poor, the elderly, children and other vulnerable Americans. Yet calls for shared sacrifice and proposals to modestly raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans in order to fund investments and protections that promote the common good are derided as “class warfare.” This is what passes for family values?
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At a time when our nation is plagued by the worst poverty rates in decades, religious leaders are not buying this narrow ideological agenda. In fact, evangelicals, Catholic bishops and Protestant leaders are leading a “Circle of Protection” campaign to defend government programs that provide a basic measure of dignity and security to those struggling to make ends meet. We are also urging a balanced approach to deficit reduction that doesn’t put the greatest burden on those hit hardest by the economic crisis.

I suggest you read the rest of the article here. And if you are one who says that the government should not be involved in the welfare of the poorest I suggest that you point me to religious institutions (i.e. churches, mosques and synagogues) that spend more money on the poor than they do on brick, mortar and salaries. They may be out there but most of these institutions look more like fraternal organizations than advocates for the poorest amongst us.

The Anyone but Romney Candidates

Conservative blogger Erick Erickson over at RedState.com is frustrated with the race for the GOP presidency. Here are a few clips about the candidates Erick feels can win next year from his recent post titled "Perry, Gingrich, Cain, and Huntsman. Oh My."

• Rick Perry: He just has to improve his debating skills and figure out how to reconcile his immigration views with the base (not easily done). 
• Herman Cain: I do not know that he can improve his image with women quickly enough.
• Newt Gingrich: Throughout his long career, has a habit of shooting himself and others in the foot and I sometimes get the impression that Gingrich, like George W. Bush before him, thinks conservatism is what he says it is and not what it actually is.
• Jon Huntsman: I still find it shocking that the guy running as the liberal in the race, or at least the media accepted moderate, came up withe boldest, most conservative economic plan. His deficit reduction plan alone makes all the others look weak.

Suggest that you read all of Erickson's piece here. He elaborates further on why he likes these candidates and why he thinks they can beat Obama next year and why he believes that Mitt Romney can not.

The Self Importance of Little States in the Primaries

The GOP primaries are not too far away. According to this webpage, determining how many delegates will go to the national convention is based on an interesting combination of the number of Republicans elected to the State Legislatures, Governors chairs, U.S. House seats, and U.S. Senators seats through 31 December 2011. Unpledged delegate counts are determined by state (or equivalent) party rules.

The states colored in red on this map hold primaries in January. The state of Iowa with 38 delegates (out of 2,284 nationally) holds a caucus on January third. The New Hampshire primary (with a whopping 12 delegates) is seven days later. Eleven days after that the stakes are so much higher when 25 delegates are in play when South Carolina holds a primary. Ten days later, 50 delegates are at stake when Florida holds a primary.

These states declare themselves important simply because they are first. Some of us don't think they should not have any influence and will not be swayed by their biases.

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Am I Not Conservative Enough?

I ran across an old post by Joe Scarborough that bears the same title as this post. He wrote it in response to criticism of his flavor of conservatism. Here are a few excerpts:

My crimes against conservatism were much worse. Brent Bozell has accused me of committing the unpardonable sins of saying unflattering things about George W. Bush, Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh.
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I wrote the book "Rome Wasn't Burnt in a Day" in 2004, and predicted if Mr. Bush and the GOP Congress didn't stop spending money at such a reckless rate, they would lose their majority and wreck the Congress.

Even though I was correct on both counts, I received a firestorm of criticism from Washington conservatives who blog on sites like Newsbusters. Their main complaint seemed to be that I was being too tough on Mr. Bush.
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As I said at the time to these statist Republicans, my positions on taxes, spending and limited government have not changed one bit since the first day I walked into Congress in 1994 when I was known as a right-wing zealot.

Unfortunately, it was the Republican leadership who became more liberal with Americans' tax dollars and it was large swaths of the Washington conservative establishment who sat silently by because they enjoyed being in power so much that they never bothered to let their principles get in the way of supporting reckless GOP party bosses. Speaking truth to power was not in vogue when Republicans were in charge. That spinelessness led to a Pelosi speakership.
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To win, conservatives will need instead to follow the wise practice of Ronald Reagan, who won hearts and minds of Middle America by being conservative when it came to ideology but moderate when it came to temperament.
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I asked Brent to name one issue where I had changed since the first day I entered Congress in 1994. He could not. I then asked how he could no longer consider me a conservative if, in fact, I had remained more consistent over the past 15 years in my views than the entire Republican Party.

Brent sputtered a while and then finally spit my crime against humanity out."You attacked Rush!!!"

Hmm. Very interesting.

As was the case for 8 long years with George W. Bush, too many people on both extremes defend partisan personalities instead of principles. Just as too many on the Left worship Barack Obama without questions, many on the right now focus more on pledging allegiance to media figures or populist personalities. The conservative movement marched in lockstep behind George W. Bush for nearly a decade and he took us over a cliff.

Forgive me if I don't do the same over the next decade.

My positions remain unchanged. I have always fought for smaller government, less federal intrusion into our lives, more personal freedoms and the end of a Wilsonian foreign policy.

If you don't think I am a true conservative because I comment on talk radio personalities when I think their approach is hurting the cause of small government conservatism, that is your right. But I will continue focusing on the issues that really matter. And I hope that my old friend Brent will have his website do the same.

Many tell me similar things about my independent style of conservatism. Some do not like the idea that I have difficulty with the temperament of so many shock jock squawk radio and TV hosts. Looking back I think that I can say with Joe that what has changed is not my positions but my moderate temperament in walking them out. I am still a conservative.

Crazy Never Wins

Joe Scarborough's recent Politico post titled Crazy never wins GOP sweepstakes makes the point that one need not be an extremist to win the GOP nomination. In the article he speaks of the candidates that attracted his late father saying:

Guys like my dad do not gamble on candidates like Michele Bachmann or Newt Gingrich.

Guys like my dad tune out politicians who compare opponents to Joseph Stalin or Adolf Hitler.

And guys like my dad don’t cozy up to Texas governors who brag about seceding from the Union or call Social Security unconstitutional.

That’s why crazy never wins. It never even comes close.

So regardless of what is written about the Republican Party every four years by Northeast elites or right-wing nuts, guys like my father still hold the GOP’s fate in their conservative hands.

I resonate with Joe's dad today even though I would not have in my younger years.

Perhaps that is the not so subtle message? Maybe it is all about the sanity of maturity?

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Who is Rick Perry?

The Texas governor jumped into the GOP presidential race this weekend and many are asking the question "Who is Rick Perry?" I do not plan to answer that question but will point you to two exhaustive blog posts from the Pesky Truth blog. The first post is titled Want to know more about Rick Perry? and speaks to Perry's positive attributes. The second post, titled Seventeen (17) things that critics are saying about Rick Perry, addresses the negative baggage that comes with the Perry candidacy. Here is an interesting clip from the first post that speaks to concerns that some have about Perry:

"There’s said to be little love lost between Former President Bush (43) and Perry. Both men honored the tenets of Texas Republicanism: low taxes, small government and limited regulation. But Bush prided himself on his ability to work with Democrats, while Perry took a much more partisan approach.

Bush, or “George,” as Perry called him, “was no fiscal conservative – never was. I mean, ’95, ’97, ’99,” Perry went on, elaborately ticking Bush’s Governor years off on his fingers, “George Bush was spending money!” That statement alone could have cooled the climate between the two men."

I did find Pesky Truth to be a bit of an advocate for Rick Perry but I thought that his lengthy posts presented a good picture of the Texas governor and answered some of my questions.

Running to be Heard

Yesterday Ron Paul announced his third presidential run. It reminded me of his interview with George Stephanopoulos a few years ago when George told him he didn't have a chance of getting the GOP nomination. Now I like Ron Paul and many of his views but, lets face it, George is right. And I do not think that the third time will be a charm for Paul or others like him.

It makes me wonder. Ron Paul is certainly a very smart person and not unaware of his chances. So why does he run? I think that he and other candidates run, or tease us about whether they will run or not, simply to have a platform for their message or for their celebrity.

Some like Ron Paul definitely have a strong message and want to influence the way that the GOP platform is crafted. Others, I think, simply want exposure and the celebrity that comes with it - many books are sold by folks like these. Now I do think that folks like this definitely have a place in the primary races. They sometimes help shape the issues, highlight problems and ask questions that need to be asked. Yet I wonder if having these folks in the race simply muddies the water and somewhat makes a mockery of our election cycle?

What do you think? Do these candidates do more good than harm to the electoral process?

Political Teasers

Just read that Ron Paul (R-TX), the GOP congressman with libertarian leanings, is expected to announce today in Des Moines that he's forming a presidential exploratory committee. Also read yesterday that Haley Barbour, Mississippi's Republican governor, announced that he was not running. And of course, to no one's surprise, Mitt Romney, one time governor of Massachusetts, formed a presidential exploratory committee a few weeks ago. I am so tired of all of this teasing.

Of course the real problem is that no one is really excited about any of these "announcements". Most of us see through all of the drama and understand that it is all a part of this weird preoccupation that the media, and political junkies like me, have about the candidates. Yet I would like to see something emerge on the national scene that resembles our recent mayoral election here in Kansas City where the candidates were deliberate, respectful and admirable. The campaign focused on issues instead of personalities.

I long to see a primary process that focuses on the many issues facing our country and not the farcical drama foisted upon us by the likes of teaser-candidates like Trump, Palin and Bachmann. I want to see serious candidates with serious answers come forth. I have grown tired of the extremist ideologies of the far left and the far right. I think that America is a right-leaning centrist nation in need of leaders who can work across the aisle and deal with the many weighty issues of our time. We do not need political teasers. Here endeth the rant.