Bloomberg-Washington Post Republican Debate

The debate at Dartmouth University last night focused on the economy, presenting to America eight candidates to pick apart and analyze. The roundtable forum, complete with cozy coffee mugs and continuously bubbling laughter from Michele Bachmann, was yet another successful step toward narrowing the field to a single Republican presidential ticket in November 2012.

That ticket will be Mitt Romney as the GOP candidate with Herman Cain as his stalwart veep, a match made in heaven. You have the moderate conservative from Massachusetts and the Tea Party hero from Georgia. The Mormon and the protestant. The political prestige and the business brains. Romney is dry. Cain is hilarious. I don’t know why I didn’t think of the pair before. Oh wait – I was counting on the Texan.

No, not Ron Paul. He’s all but completely out of the running. I’m talking about Rick Perry, the guns n’ smoke, rip-roarin’ poll phenom that had the whole country topsy turvy long before August’s Iowa State Fair.  Where is he now?

Gov. perry is trailing Romney and Cain in the polls, and last night, he may have even dropped to fourth place.

Gallup shows Perry in third place

The immigration issue discussed in last month’s debates, as predicted, severely injured Perry. What hurt him in the first primary state was his actual performance. He appeared groggy, even slow. The RNC may fear giving constituents a candidate reminiscent of President George. W. Bush, but at least Bush provided a steady flow of usable sound bites. Gov. Perry is more conservative than Romney, but his chances to prove that to America are thinning.

The spotlight beamed on the Godfathers Pizza CEO and the governor from Massachusetts. The topic of religion may harm Romney in the Republican primaries, but it won’t make a difference if voters remember who they’re voting against in the general election.

Over all, Romney won the debate. He cleared up the hot topic issue of institution bailouts by differentiating between bailouts and preserving the national currency and the US financial system. The issue was instigated when moderators recited a previous quote from Romney saying the bank bailouts saved the country. In an atmosphere breeding the likes of the Occupy Wall Street protestors, that quote – and the issue behind it – could kill him with the youth vote. But, if that demographic listens closely and applies reason (I won’t hold my breath), they may understand the important distinction Romney was making.

“I’m not interested in bailing out failing institutions … Bailing people out is a terrible idea,” Romney said.

Not surprisingly, Cain agreed. Both seemed to purport a care for the American people over the interests of giant institutions. Romney’s simple solution of the night was to protect American jobs, just say no to bailouts and fight China with everything we’ve got.

“If you’re not willing to stand up to China, you risk getting run over by China, and that’s what’s happening,” Romney said, and later reiterated. “We’ve been played like a fiddle by the Chinese.”

If Obama was Bachmann’s main target, China was Romney’s. And according to political analyst Dick Morris, it was an affective strategy. We should expect an upsurge in the polls on behalf of the Romney campaign if this topic is capitalized in the media over the next few weeks.

On the other hand, Cain’s suggestion to fix the economy revolved around his silver bullet point encircling the 999 Plan, succinctly outlined thusly:

• Business Flat Tax – 9%
• Gross income less all investments, all purchases from other businesses and all dividends paid to shareholders.
• Empowerment Zones will offer additional deductions for payroll employed in the zone.
• Individual Flat Tax – 9%.
• Gross income less charitable deductions.
• Empowerment Zones will offer additional deductions for those living and/or working in the zone.
• National Sales Tax – 9%.
• This gets the Fair Tax off the sidelines and into the game.

In fact, the first hour of the debate felt like a 999 Plan commercial. Utah Gov. Jonathan Huntsman jokingly said of it, “It’s a catchy phrase. I actually thought it was the price of a pizza.”

Bachmann jumped on the band-wagon with her own, more devious, attack on what’s become as popular as coffee in conservative homes across the country. She told us to flip the 999 Plan around and take a second look.

“The devil’s in the details. … The 999 Plan isn’t a jobs plan, it’s a tax plan.”

As a tax attorney, she would know.

The New Hampshire debate was a necessary grappling point for Bachmann in the final countdown toward the primaries next year. Though I love her to pieces, it’s only a matter of time till she drops out of the race. And when she does, her ideas will only enrich another candidate. She’s not ready for this election, but she may very well be in 2020.

Newt Gingrich was strong, but for some reason wasn’t given enough air time. That was disappointing. However, he made a good show in blasting Ben Bernanke and the Dodd-Frank law, the economic version of Obamacare. He was joined in his volley of disapproval by Bachmann and Cain. Gingrich even said the Dodd-Frank bill is the real culprit for the downfall of Wall Street.

Though I prefer Cain’s unwavering conservatism, the debate’s crown and scepter go to Romney. He is consistent and strong with clear cut answers. Cut federal spending. Introduce a Balanced Budget Amendment. Repatriate our dollars from overseas. Throw away Obama’s jobs bills – according to Newt, they’re “stupid”. Cut back on scale of government. No new taxes. Create jobs.

Romneycare worries me, but not as much as the whole of our current president. We have to focus on who can actually beat him, and a Romney-Cain ticket might just do it.

God bless them

That’s exactly what Nancy Pelosi said about the so-called Occupy Wall Street protestors this week. “God bless them.”

Ignoring the fact that Pelosi is seemingly allowed to invoke God’s name and other members of the state cannot, let’s focus on comparing a few videos so we can better understand the plight of the Occupy Wall Street movement.

This is a George Washington University student of law. He is mad because “the bank” took his parents’ home. His message encapsulates one of the key sentiments of the protests in New York; protestors are blaming the banks and big corporations for the economic fallout and their own economic misfortunes.  You’ll be shocked to hear why this student believes his parents should not have lost their home.

His parents are highly educated. I don’t know their story, but a bank does not spontaneously take somebody’s property without a reason. Many people lost their homes over the last four years, and it wasn’t because they had a bachelor’s degree, master’s or doctorate, it’s because a majority of them were irresponsible. Common sense can tell you not to spend money you don’t have, which includes loans you cannot afford to pay back or homes in which you cannot afford to live. Unfortunately, financial responsibility cannot be taught from a book.

There are countless videos all over the Internet displaying the exuberant anger demonstrated by the protestors. Much can be said, much as already been said. But what are they protesting? Wealth. Greed. Corporations. Over-spending. Foreign aid. Why are they protesting? This picture sums it up:

Pop quiz question: What’s the difference between the group above, and the group below?

Answer: The group above is protesting on the sidewalk.

Those are Tea Party demonstrators. What did Nancy Pelosi say about them?

She calls the Tea Party participants “reckless,” part of an “astroturf campaign“, and accused their company of mixing with racists, secessionists, militias and neo-Nazis.

Without even comparing videos of the Occupy Wall Street movement and the Tea Party movement, we can already see the differences – and they’re not what Pelosi would have you think.

Ideological differences aside, there are no videos of Tea Party participants getting arrested and shouting, “F*** you, man! We’re peaceful!” The TP demonstrators have no need to yell those things: they were never breaking the law to begin with. The OWS demonstrators were crowding the Brooklyn Bridge. Under New York City traffic code, that is illegal (click here for all traffic violations). And resisting law enforcement is a big no-no wherever you go. All the protestors retain their rights to scream expletives and call names, but when they break the law, they must pay the consequences.

Because I promised a video comparison, here it is. This is what happened when a tea party group protested in Quincy, Illinois. President Obama was visiting the town that day and the movement held a large group to protest the over-spending practices and socialistic policies they believe he supports. Protestors were asked to move off the streets by riot police – who were padded to the gills – called into action by President Obama’s own Secret Service.

And you know what they “yelled” at the top of their lungs? “America the Beautiful.” Yes, Mrs. Pelosi, very militaristic indeed.

Further reading material: To be fair, I’ve included an account from “the other side” of what happened in Quincy that day. You have this journalistic account and the actual footage to make you the decision yourself of what actually happened. Here is the article: “Quincy Tea Party Protest Draws Police in Riot Gear During Obama Speech.”

Tea Party Debate in Review

While the GOP debate at the Ronald Reagan library last week had only winners, the Tea Party debate on CNN tonight had several losers. 

Jon Huntsman slipped deeper into oblivion. His constituency lies only within the confines of his state and the Mormon temples. For every accurate point he makes, he has three other negative ideas on critical aspects such as job creation and government regulation. He will be off the screen by Thanksgiving.

If Cain entered the White House, he’d bring not only humor, but also solid business know-how. We need that. But like Rush Limbaugh said in his show today, there is a lot more to the presidency than economics. Though our economy is taking the biggest hits recently, it was only 10 years ago that foreign issues and national defense took the top spot in our national priority list. We need someone who we know can perform in a well-rounded manner, from economics to national defense, and from education to the colossal issue of health care insurance. I like Cain, but I don’t think he can win the nomination. It is more likely we’ll see him on somebody’s Vice Presidential short list.

Michele Bachmann was stunning tonight. Her hair wasn’t as poofy, her nails weren’t as sharp (metaphorically and literally), and she was overall softer than in the last two debates. She was dead on with the issues but answered questions without losing her appeal.  She’s proved she can be both intelligent and sharp without biting like a momma grizzly. Dick Morris reported, “Michelle Bachmann looks like a totally different person than last time,” and “Bachmann playing to home team.” She is the leader on the opposition to Obamacare in the House of Representatives, as well as the founding chair of the Tea Party Caucus. She shot Perry down for mandating vaccinations and attacked Obamacare. Not resting till Obamacare is repealed is her biggest stance, and she gained huge points tonight for sticking to it. I doubt she’ll get the nomination, but she’ll be a major contender on the GOP nomination’s vice presidential short list. She’ll also be a player in 2020.

Mitt Romney took some hard hits toward the beginning of the debate. Though Perry mandated vaccinations in Texas, he provided opt out forms. There were no opt out forms for Romneycare, and Perry was quick to point that out. Romney also does not apologize for his health care plan, whereas Perry seemed close to tears (which was rather awkward) for making the mistake of voting for the Gardasil vaccination mandate. Health is a big deal, but like Bachmann interjected during this segment of the debate, it isn’t up to the government how you care for your health. Teenage girls should have their own say and their own parents’ say in how they protect themselves (she won that debate).

Romney had solid arguments when it came to immigration – and perhaps stronger than Perry! It seemed Romney was more in favor of Arizona-like border enforcement; Perry was content with the Texas-Mexico border and said Mexico is part of Texas culture. Big boo-boo on Perry’s part. People can get past the vaccination mandate, and most agree Social Security is a Ponzi scheme, as he calls it, but I don’t know if he can come back after such a lackadaisical stance on border control.

Romney cannot be discussed without bringing up Perry, and vice versa. They are the main rivals, and in tonight’s debate, it definitely showed. The two will duke it and it will be fun to watch.

The winner of the night was Newt Gingrich. He was the only one who mentioned governmental waste. He took aim at waste and demonstrated plans to get rid of it. He was the epitome of experience, accomplishment, and doggedness. I think he lost 10 years from his age tonight. He was on fire. Cut spending. Cut taxes. Social Security needs reform; it’s a joke. He had the most ideas and the best zingers. Perry could not compete. However, the two agreed on a lot of issues. Gingrich would be speaking and Perry would be nodding his head in agreement. The difference is Gingrich’s knife-edge sharpness. Because Perry may remind Americans of Bush’s infamous slower speaking, he’ll lose points to Obama in the case of a GOP nomination.

Ron Paul lost it tonight. Except for the “Ronbots,” as I saw Tweeted by comedian Steve Crowder, he’ll lose most of his support based on a single issue: yesterday he blamed America for the events of 9-11 on his website. Once tonight’s soundbites relating to this very touchy subject traverse the waves tonight, he’ll be politically dead by dinner tomorrow night. Nothing else matters. He said Osama bin Laden attacked the U.S. because of our occupation and involvement in Afghanistan. Wrong. Bin Laden and al-Qaida attacked this country because they despise our principles of freedom and way of life. Period. He’s out.

Rick Santorum did an excellent job tonight. He was on the other end of the debate with Ron Paul during the 9-11 scuffle. He was on top of the facts the entire night and sunk the punches into Obama, the Federal Reserve and Obamacare in just the right ways to make the crowd roar. He is among the winners of the night. Surprisingly, he will last longer than I thought. From the time I saw him speak at the Faith and Freedom conference in July to this debate tonight, he has improved 100 percent in getting his message out. He still likes to tout his resume too much, but I think he’ll improve his public speaking and gain a big following with his rock-solid conservatism. Hey, anyone’s better than the Teleprompter of the United States.

 

And that’s all folks! Till next time!