Yesterday, I described my conservative defense of many issues that McCain has been criticized on in a hope to get conservatives to realize he is one of them, just in a different way. Tonight will emphasize some of the positives that all conservatives should agree on. These include the War in Iraq, Terrorism, Budget Management, Social Issues, and even judges.
First of all, I think it is hard for anybody to argue that McCain is not the best prepared to lead on Iraq, and make sure that we win the war. He was the earliest proponent of the surge which has been working (while Hillary is busy talking about suspending disbelief). He has never hedged his bets as Romney has. I will say that McCain is exaggerating regarding Romney's hope for a withdrawal deadline. However, Romney did say that he wanted a deadline and timetable of some sort:
Robin Roberts, ABC News (April 7, 2007): Do you believe that there should be a timetable in withdrawing the troops?
Romney: Well, there's no question – but that the President and – Prime Minister al-Maliki have to have a series of timetables and milestones that they speak about. But those shouldn't be for public pronouncement. You don't want the enemy to understand how long they have to wait in the weeds until you're gonna be gone. You wanna have a series of things you wanna see accomplished in terms of the strength of the Iraqi military and the Iraqi police and the leadership of the, of the Iraqi government. (From factcheck.org)
When asked whether Romney wanted timetables, he didn't say no; he said "well, there's no question." That was not the right answer Governor Romney.
Along the same lines, Senator McCain is the best equipped to prevent another terrorist attack. He has the experience and knowledge of our intelligence community through his past committee work as well as being part of the 9/11 Commission. He has the backing of many military members and first responders which shows how much more they trust him compared to any other candidate.
Senator McCain is also known as a budget hawk. He has talked and proposed legislation about changing entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare that take up a large portion of our budget. He has also been a leader against wasteful spending and is pushing for the line item veto which will help the President make more fiscally sound decisions. He has fought against everything from $1 million to multi billion dollar pork projects. His willingness to use the veto against these stupid spending bills is a great reason to vote for McCain.
As far as social issues are concerned, McCain has been unequivocally pro-life. He has the endorsement of Sam Brownback, Trent Lott, Tom Coburn, and John Kyl who are all well known for their pro-life views. He has never run on a pro-choice platform and has been very consistent on this issue. He may not be the darling of the "Christian Right", but that certainly isn't because of his voting record.
Finally, I would like to say that conservatives should applaud John McCain on being able to get Bush's constructionist judges onto federal benches. I know a lot of people don't like the Gang of 14, but because of them, Alito was able to be confirmed. He reinforced the notion that judges need to be voted on based on their qualifications and ability to follow the Constitution rather than based on ideology. It's that sort of coalition building that will serve him well to encourage conservative principles (and by the way I would not have given any sort of veiled insult to Sandra Day O'Connor like Romney and Paul did during the debate since she did more for increasing the power of states than almost any other justice).
And by the way, Governor Romney is right in that facts are stubborn things.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Ugh!
Providing us with yet another excuse not to vote for John McCain, Texas Governor Rick Perry has endorsed the liberal Arizona senator. He first endorsed the failed candidacy of Rudy Giuliani back when Giuliani looked like he would get the nomination.
This is simply political opportunism by a governor who barely recieved 40% of the vote in his reelection bid. As may be the case with McCain, thousands of Texans held their nose and went to the polls for the Republican candidate here in Texas.
I'm marking his up as a setback for Mr. McCain.
This is simply political opportunism by a governor who barely recieved 40% of the vote in his reelection bid. As may be the case with McCain, thousands of Texans held their nose and went to the polls for the Republican candidate here in Texas.
I'm marking his up as a setback for Mr. McCain.
Citizens' Group Blasts McCain
I literally just saw an ad on my television at my home in San Antonio, and immediately found it on youtube. Citizens United Victory Fund hs released this ad, and I think its pretty telling.
Why I worry about McCain
I recognize that you can't agree with a candidate one hundred percent of the time. I also recognize that some of McCain's positions which I find disagreeable were arrived at using conservative principles and logic. Those are not the things I worry about with McCain. I often find myself to the left of my party on immigration, among other issues. I'm for a guest worker program and path to citizenship. I believe McCain when he says that he voted against the Bush tax cuts because they did not have spending restrains. We could have used some spending restraints to be honest. What troubles me about McCain is not his conservative credentials, but something that could be much more damaging.
John McCain has always been willing to bend or abandon his conservative principles for the sake of bipartisan compromise. I believe that compromise is important to a solid government, and that it has been missing from our government for some time. However, compromise should be reached by finding common ground and sharing ideas, not by abandoning your basic principles and bending to the will of your opponents.
I don't doubt that McCain would much rather see another strict constructionist on the supreme court, but I would not put it above him to nominate another moderate for the sake of compromise. Some things are above compromise. If we reach a consensus by straying from our core principles, we are losing. The stakes are too high to be making the kinds of concessions that McCain is sure to make.
I applaud McCain for standing against the party when they're wrong. I myself have been very critical of our party recently. Keeping the party in check is one thing, but abandoning the core principles of conservatism on which our party was founded is another thing all together. My dig on Mitt Romney has always been that he is too quick to change his convictions, but at least he's still willing to stand up for them when he does. McCain has had the same set of principles his entire political career, but he has consistently refused to fight for them.
John McCain has always been willing to bend or abandon his conservative principles for the sake of bipartisan compromise. I believe that compromise is important to a solid government, and that it has been missing from our government for some time. However, compromise should be reached by finding common ground and sharing ideas, not by abandoning your basic principles and bending to the will of your opponents.
I don't doubt that McCain would much rather see another strict constructionist on the supreme court, but I would not put it above him to nominate another moderate for the sake of compromise. Some things are above compromise. If we reach a consensus by straying from our core principles, we are losing. The stakes are too high to be making the kinds of concessions that McCain is sure to make.
I applaud McCain for standing against the party when they're wrong. I myself have been very critical of our party recently. Keeping the party in check is one thing, but abandoning the core principles of conservatism on which our party was founded is another thing all together. My dig on Mitt Romney has always been that he is too quick to change his convictions, but at least he's still willing to stand up for them when he does. McCain has had the same set of principles his entire political career, but he has consistently refused to fight for them.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
So Much For Straight Talk
Mitt Romney calls out John McCain on his slanderous lies about Romney's stance on withdraw from Iraq. It is time to step up and fight back. Mitt Romney is leading the charge against John McCain.
Romney Trounces McCain in Debate
Today's debate in the Simi Valley was certainly a lively one. The fight between Romney and McCain was probably the most spirited in this campaign so far. Romney didn't just have the upper hand, he made McCain look BAD. Romney did himself a lot of good tonight, but he's still got a big battle ahead. If Romney can hit the trail as the campaigner that he was today, he may be able to make this a race.
I still don't think Romney is likely to pull it off, but he might at least make it interesting. It all depends on which Romney we see from now on. Huckabee had a solid performance as well. His answer on the Reagan endorsement question was thoughtful and inspiring. Huckabee may win a southern state or two, which could be problematic for Romney. His answer on why Governor's make better presidents had Romney grinning from ear to ear.
I would imagine a couple of guys on that stage were thinking ahead to the general election vice presidential debates for a minute there. Both McCain and Romney need a southerner and someone who can help bring out the all important evangelical vote. McCain in particular is going to need someone to balance what will surely be a hard pull to the middle of the road in the general.
Ultimately, I think the Veep pick will be someone from outside the field; a full spectrum southern conservative. Huckabee definately kept himself on some short lists tonight, though. If Romney can make this a race and draw it out long enough, Huckabee will be sitting pretty.
I think Romney may have done enough tonight to close the gap a bit, but I don't know that he can pull it off. This race has certainly been wild and unpredicatable. We'll have to wait and see.
*Side note* My spell check function is not working, so I appologize for any errors.
I still don't think Romney is likely to pull it off, but he might at least make it interesting. It all depends on which Romney we see from now on. Huckabee had a solid performance as well. His answer on the Reagan endorsement question was thoughtful and inspiring. Huckabee may win a southern state or two, which could be problematic for Romney. His answer on why Governor's make better presidents had Romney grinning from ear to ear.
I would imagine a couple of guys on that stage were thinking ahead to the general election vice presidential debates for a minute there. Both McCain and Romney need a southerner and someone who can help bring out the all important evangelical vote. McCain in particular is going to need someone to balance what will surely be a hard pull to the middle of the road in the general.
Ultimately, I think the Veep pick will be someone from outside the field; a full spectrum southern conservative. Huckabee definately kept himself on some short lists tonight, though. If Romney can make this a race and draw it out long enough, Huckabee will be sitting pretty.
I think Romney may have done enough tonight to close the gap a bit, but I don't know that he can pull it off. This race has certainly been wild and unpredicatable. We'll have to wait and see.
*Side note* My spell check function is not working, so I appologize for any errors.
Answering the fears of Conservatives against McCain
After talking with many other conservatives in our age range, it sometimes seems like I'm the only conservative under the age of 25 that has been in full support of John McCain. My hope in writing this is to help convince my friends on this blog that they do not have to hold their nose while they vote for John McCain this upcoming November. Tomorrow I will write more regarding why he is a strong candidate based on many of the things we agree on. I hope to help convince my friends Russ, Laura, and Tom that McCain has good, legitimate and even conservative reasoning behind his arguments (even the ones I disagree with him on).
I will first address many of the concerns about him which include voting against the tax cuts, campaign finance reform bill, global warming legislation, torture, and his immigration bill. I know these issues are very contentious and emotional for many people, so my hope is to at least have others understand the conservative reasoning behind these.
First, with the tax cuts, I believe they helped the economy. Like Senator McCain, I believe they should be made permanent. However, because we did not have spending cuts to go with those tax cuts, our economy is doing worse now. We needed to have some room to help the economy without having to go further into debt. So it's fair to attack him for going against the Bush tax cuts, but at least acknowledge that he was right that we needed to decrease spending. He had the foresight to look at the lack of spending cuts, and understood that this will severely hinder our economy.
Next with the campaign finance bill he cosponsored with Senator Feingold, his attempt was to get rid of special interest money in politics that ends up costing tax payers billions of dollars. Now, I disagreed with this legislation not because of the First Amendment arguments, but because I believed it would lead to groups that would fund their own advertisements without any campaign or party oversight. However, it would be hard to say that the old system was good for politics as it led to corruption on both sides of the aisle and hurt Americans. What I believe we should have is hard money donations that can be donated up to $10,000 for each candidate and $100,000 for political parties.
For his global warming legislation, I will say that I am in favor of a cap and trade system. It is the system that most economists believe would be the most efficient way of reducing global emissions and allows us to create new, green, technology based jobs (which I will say I am in one of those jobs right now as a sales analyst for a building automations company). We have a responsibility to be good stewards to the environment, and the McCain/Lieberman plan would help with that. By the way, the gas prices Mitt Romney projected as a result of this legislation is actually over the next 30 years, not immediately. I do agree that we need to come up with a global solution that includes China and India.
I will not discuss torture too much, but I will quickly say that there is nobody that should disagree with McCain on his torture arguments. He knows what it is like to go through personal hell and survive torturous situations. If there is one issue that McCain has unquestionable moral authority, it is this issue.
Finally, and most controversially: immigration. I will actually admit that I am probably a little bit closer to McCain than others on this issue. It is completely infeasible to believe we can round up 12 million illegal immigrants. So what we need to do is find a way where they can get out of the shadows, and that allows us to find the most dangerous of these people and get them out of our country. But if we have everybody afraid of coming forward, we will not be able to enforce our other laws. There would be greater cover up, greater pressure on local enforcement, and create too much of a chaotic state. We do need to secure the borders first, but then we do need to attack this issue in a sensible, realistic and pragmatic manner.
My hope is that this helps understand that there are conservative reasons behind many of McCain's most controversial views, and that none of those individual issues or collectively, should deter support when he is the nominee of the Republican Party.
I will first address many of the concerns about him which include voting against the tax cuts, campaign finance reform bill, global warming legislation, torture, and his immigration bill. I know these issues are very contentious and emotional for many people, so my hope is to at least have others understand the conservative reasoning behind these.
First, with the tax cuts, I believe they helped the economy. Like Senator McCain, I believe they should be made permanent. However, because we did not have spending cuts to go with those tax cuts, our economy is doing worse now. We needed to have some room to help the economy without having to go further into debt. So it's fair to attack him for going against the Bush tax cuts, but at least acknowledge that he was right that we needed to decrease spending. He had the foresight to look at the lack of spending cuts, and understood that this will severely hinder our economy.
Next with the campaign finance bill he cosponsored with Senator Feingold, his attempt was to get rid of special interest money in politics that ends up costing tax payers billions of dollars. Now, I disagreed with this legislation not because of the First Amendment arguments, but because I believed it would lead to groups that would fund their own advertisements without any campaign or party oversight. However, it would be hard to say that the old system was good for politics as it led to corruption on both sides of the aisle and hurt Americans. What I believe we should have is hard money donations that can be donated up to $10,000 for each candidate and $100,000 for political parties.
For his global warming legislation, I will say that I am in favor of a cap and trade system. It is the system that most economists believe would be the most efficient way of reducing global emissions and allows us to create new, green, technology based jobs (which I will say I am in one of those jobs right now as a sales analyst for a building automations company). We have a responsibility to be good stewards to the environment, and the McCain/Lieberman plan would help with that. By the way, the gas prices Mitt Romney projected as a result of this legislation is actually over the next 30 years, not immediately. I do agree that we need to come up with a global solution that includes China and India.
I will not discuss torture too much, but I will quickly say that there is nobody that should disagree with McCain on his torture arguments. He knows what it is like to go through personal hell and survive torturous situations. If there is one issue that McCain has unquestionable moral authority, it is this issue.
Finally, and most controversially: immigration. I will actually admit that I am probably a little bit closer to McCain than others on this issue. It is completely infeasible to believe we can round up 12 million illegal immigrants. So what we need to do is find a way where they can get out of the shadows, and that allows us to find the most dangerous of these people and get them out of our country. But if we have everybody afraid of coming forward, we will not be able to enforce our other laws. There would be greater cover up, greater pressure on local enforcement, and create too much of a chaotic state. We do need to secure the borders first, but then we do need to attack this issue in a sensible, realistic and pragmatic manner.
My hope is that this helps understand that there are conservative reasons behind many of McCain's most controversial views, and that none of those individual issues or collectively, should deter support when he is the nominee of the Republican Party.
Then there were two...
Huckabee is done. He's doing what he can to position himself as the natural veep pick if we get to a brokered convention. We won't. The fact is we're down to McCain and Romney, and McCain has momentum that will be almost impossible to surmount.
I was leaning towards McCain as my second choice, but the more people remind me about John McCain, the madder I get. I was thinking about McCain and his fourteen chronies in the Senate, and I realized I can't support this guy. At the same time, I'm not particularly fond of Mitt Romney. I've made my opinions clear on that in the past.
This is a frustrating choice for a lot of Republicans. We can nominate a liberal or a guy who used to be a liberal and now is a "conservative" who really can't connect with voters. We don't have a canidate.
Unfortunately, it looks like McCain is on the brink of having this thing in the bag and we're all going to have to "hold our noses", as his mother put it. I don't see McCain coming out of Super Tuesday with the nomination not locked up. He's got the lead, he's got the momentum, he's got the name ID, and he's getting the money fast. This is the closest thing we've ever had to a national primary. In a contest of this magnitude, organizations and groundwork are out the window. Romney's money may buy him some votes, but TV spots only go so far. This is going to be the contest where the momentum and name ID count, and John McCain has it all.
If by some far fetched chance this primary season comes to Texas without a nominee and Romney still in the game, he'll probably get my vote. I would rather not vote for him because I don't think he can win the general, but if we're going to have a liberal president, it should be a democrat. Nominating a liberal is going to do a lot of damage to our party. I won't be in on that.
So my fellow republicans...get ready to hold your noses.
I was leaning towards McCain as my second choice, but the more people remind me about John McCain, the madder I get. I was thinking about McCain and his fourteen chronies in the Senate, and I realized I can't support this guy. At the same time, I'm not particularly fond of Mitt Romney. I've made my opinions clear on that in the past.
This is a frustrating choice for a lot of Republicans. We can nominate a liberal or a guy who used to be a liberal and now is a "conservative" who really can't connect with voters. We don't have a canidate.
Unfortunately, it looks like McCain is on the brink of having this thing in the bag and we're all going to have to "hold our noses", as his mother put it. I don't see McCain coming out of Super Tuesday with the nomination not locked up. He's got the lead, he's got the momentum, he's got the name ID, and he's getting the money fast. This is the closest thing we've ever had to a national primary. In a contest of this magnitude, organizations and groundwork are out the window. Romney's money may buy him some votes, but TV spots only go so far. This is going to be the contest where the momentum and name ID count, and John McCain has it all.
If by some far fetched chance this primary season comes to Texas without a nominee and Romney still in the game, he'll probably get my vote. I would rather not vote for him because I don't think he can win the general, but if we're going to have a liberal president, it should be a democrat. Nominating a liberal is going to do a lot of damage to our party. I won't be in on that.
So my fellow republicans...get ready to hold your noses.
Toe to Toe
A new Rasmussen Poll in the great state of Connecticut has the democratic race a dead heat, even with Hillary Clinton's visit to Hartford on Monday.
Clinton 40%
Obama 40%
Edwards 11%
Read my article about her CT visit here: http://www.campuslantern.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=765&Itemid=1
Clinton 40%
Obama 40%
Edwards 11%
Read my article about her CT visit here: http://www.campuslantern.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=765&Itemid=1
John Edwards Dropping Out Today, A Few Thoughts
I don't like any of the democratic presidential candidates.
I don't like John Edwards.
John Edwards is dropping out today.
Okay those are my statements but Edwards withdrawal is important for a symbolic reason rather than a political reason. Edwards campaign was built on bringing issues important to the working class poor as well as the middle class.
While I disagreed with how Edwards would fix many of the problems for that sect of our population I do believe his campaign brought a contribution to the race. That contribution of course was the dialogue and even just the mention of many of these problems that plague some of our citizens.
As a moderate republican I hope that Sen. McCain whom I have now thrown my support to as a result of the Giuliani withdrawal will consider how to deal with many of the issues brought forward by Sen. Edwards.
I don't like John Edwards.
John Edwards is dropping out today.
Okay those are my statements but Edwards withdrawal is important for a symbolic reason rather than a political reason. Edwards campaign was built on bringing issues important to the working class poor as well as the middle class.
While I disagreed with how Edwards would fix many of the problems for that sect of our population I do believe his campaign brought a contribution to the race. That contribution of course was the dialogue and even just the mention of many of these problems that plague some of our citizens.
As a moderate republican I hope that Sen. McCain whom I have now thrown my support to as a result of the Giuliani withdrawal will consider how to deal with many of the issues brought forward by Sen. Edwards.
More On John McCain
More reaction on John McCain from National Review.
I don’t think McCain will reach out to conservatives. He probably believes (not without some justification at this juncture) that it’s up to us to come to him. But every time I take a step in his direction, I’m reminded of some other apostasy (taxes!) and I recoil. - Mona Charen
To have a good shot at holding the White House, the GOP needs to rally to Romney and do it now, rather than asking McCain to pretend to be the conservative he isn’t, while hoping to take the sting out of the surrender of the party of Reagan to the resurrected Nixon wing of the GOP. We can’t afford another 1976 or 1996 in 2008. - Hugh Hewitt
And the worst part for the Right is that McCain will have won the nomination while ignoring, insulting and, as of this weekend, shamelessly lying about conservatives and conservatism.
You think he supported amnesty six months ago? You think he was squishy on tax cuts and judicial nominees before? Wait until he has the power to anger every conservative in America, and feel good about it.
Every day, he dreams of a world filled with happy Democrats and insulted Republicans. And he is, thanks to Florida, the presidential nominee of the Republican party. - Michael Graham
Bend Over, GOP
It is not clear what type or brand of alcohol the people of Florida so fondly consume on election days such as yesterday. Nor do we know just how many of the mentally degenerate were released from their padded rooms to participate in yesterday's Republican primary. What we do know is that the former is just strong enough and the latter was as many as was needed to virtually hand the Republican party to an opponent of tax cuts; a man with no regard for the first amendment; a man whose amnesty bill shut down the switchboards of capital hill with the outrage of the American people.
"Coalesce", they'll say. Coalesce, indeed. Coalesce around someone who actually represents this party and the principles we hold dear. We cannot expect our nominee to agree with all of us all of the time. But is it so much to ask that our nominee agree with most of us, on at least the most important issues we face toay? Of course it isn't. Electability? What does that mean when we've sacrificed our principles?
Coalesce around John McCain? Forget it. If we do, then we should all get used to another one of John McCain's favorite words: Acquiesce. Acquiesce to liberal Democrats on taxes. Acquiesce to Mexican drug smugglers on immigration. Acquiesce to the media on freedom os speech. Acquiesce to Democrats on the matter of campaign finance, education, healthcare, global warming.
Justin Higgins sounds off:
Other quotes:
"Coalesce", they'll say. Coalesce, indeed. Coalesce around someone who actually represents this party and the principles we hold dear. We cannot expect our nominee to agree with all of us all of the time. But is it so much to ask that our nominee agree with most of us, on at least the most important issues we face toay? Of course it isn't. Electability? What does that mean when we've sacrificed our principles?
Coalesce around John McCain? Forget it. If we do, then we should all get used to another one of John McCain's favorite words: Acquiesce. Acquiesce to liberal Democrats on taxes. Acquiesce to Mexican drug smugglers on immigration. Acquiesce to the media on freedom os speech. Acquiesce to Democrats on the matter of campaign finance, education, healthcare, global warming.
Justin Higgins sounds off:
Coalesce they'll say, John McCain can beat Hillary Clinton. Coalesce they'll say, John McCain is a war hero. Coalesce they'll say, he has the support of the establishment. Screw the idea of coalescing. John McCain had a 10 point lead in the moderate state of Florida, won the endorsements of amnesty-panderers, and he only won the state by 5, and that was after vicious slander after vicious slander. No, I will not coalesce. It's time to fight.
Other quotes:
John McCain has won yet another primary without carrying either self-identified conservatives or Republicans - at least according to the Florida exit polls, which show McCain losing self-identified Republicans by 31 percent to 33 percent for Mitt Romney. More, Romney scored a stunning 37 percent of self-described conservatives to McCain's 27 percent. Winning Despite The Base
While the liberal establishment may be conflicted over whether it wants Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama as the Democratic presidential nominee, there's no doubt which Republican it favors.
John McCain is the liberal elite's go-to guy in the GOP. They believe he'll be there for them when they need him.
That was the essential message of last week's New York Times editorial endorsing McCain for the Republican nomination.McCain No Threat To The Left
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
McCain-Giuliani 2008
Time magazine is reporting on their web site that Rudy Giuliani will endorse John McCain as early as tomorrow in Simi Valley or Los Angeles. Time is citing a secret deal that is "near final", according to a top McCain staffer. Sounds like Giuliani bagged himself a spot on the ticket.
Ingraham: McCain Has Some Bridge-Building To Do
John McCain will need to "build some bridges even if he wins in Florida" with the conservative base of the Republican party, this according to conservative talkshow host Laura Ingraham. And of course it is true. John McCain has a lot of ground to make up for in his betrayal of the Republican party, particularly its conservative grassroots base.
The problem for John McCain is that he has a history of being stubborn, proud, and so self reightous that there is little reason to believe he will attempt to bridge the gap. He regards political opponents as bad people with alterior motives. He wears his war record on his sleeve and uses it as an excuse for voting against lower taxes, stifling free speech and bad-mouthing Christian conservatives.
Mitt Romney is surging nationally and is even leading in the most recent Rasmussen poll results. As conservative begin to coalesce around Mitt Romney, expect John McCain to fade into the background. Mitt Romney has found his voice since New Hampshire, and he is now competing on his home field in terms of issues and message. Florida may not provide us with a clear frontrunner...but it will give us a clearer one.
The problem for John McCain is that he has a history of being stubborn, proud, and so self reightous that there is little reason to believe he will attempt to bridge the gap. He regards political opponents as bad people with alterior motives. He wears his war record on his sleeve and uses it as an excuse for voting against lower taxes, stifling free speech and bad-mouthing Christian conservatives.
Mitt Romney is surging nationally and is even leading in the most recent Rasmussen poll results. As conservative begin to coalesce around Mitt Romney, expect John McCain to fade into the background. Mitt Romney has found his voice since New Hampshire, and he is now competing on his home field in terms of issues and message. Florida may not provide us with a clear frontrunner...but it will give us a clearer one.
Early Voters In Florida Could Help Mitt
The Miami Herald is reporting that as many as 1,000,000 early and absentee votes have already been cast in the Florida primary. These votes were cast back when Rudy Giuliani still had a considerable lead in the Sunshine State, meaning that many moderate Republicans who would now vote for McCain have probably cast their vote already for Giuliani. My guess is that this is good news for Mitt Romney, who is relying on the coalescing of conservatives around his candidacy since the departure of Fred Thompson.
Hopefully my assessment is correct, draining John McCain of desperately needed votes in a very tight Florida primary. Here's hoping.
Hopefully my assessment is correct, draining John McCain of desperately needed votes in a very tight Florida primary. Here's hoping.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Building the Perfect Candidate out of the GOP Final Four
Arms- Rudy Giuliani: If there is somebody that can be considered a great manager and workforce guy in this group it is definitely Rudy Giuliani. He worked his butt off as mayor of New York City to reduce crime, taxes, and effectively manage a hard situationi.
Heart- Mike Huckabee: I know this leads to the "I <3 Huckabee" joke, but he has a way of understanding how Americans feel and tapping into their frustration and finding ideas that seem to coincide with that frustration.
Guts- John McCain: This is not only because very few of us can say that we would have the guts to go through what he went through in Vietnam in dealing with torture and not leaving his fellow POW's. He also has the guts to stand up for what is right, even when it is not politically expedient. He stood up against the Rumsfeld strategy of terrorist whack-a-mole. He stood up for changes to how we view global warming as Republicans. He has stood up against earmarks and unnecessary spending which has included bogus deals and new Congressional ethics standards.
As far as Florida is concerned, I believe John McCain will prevail by a very slight margin (probably 2 or 3 percent) over Mitt Romney. Many people have made a big deal about how Florida is a closed primary, but they forget to realize that this means more moderates will be registered Republican than independent. Giuliani is likely to finish a distant third at about 16%, Huckabee will get fourth place with about 12%, and Ron Paul will barely register (maybe around 3%).
So this person is supposed to be the real conservative?
I know everybody changes their mind on occasion, but this is just a bit much:
One Day Away, Florida Far From Certain
With voting starting tomorrow to determine who will get all of Florida's convention delegates, the Republican frontrunners are still far from a guaranteed victory. The latest poll shows them running neck and neck with 31 points each. And while Romney's current national surge is promising, he seems to have sputtered out in Florida since the Crist endorsement of the liberal, amnesty granting, tax-cut opposing John McCain.
If John McCain wins Florida it could catapult him to the nomination, although it would not totally eliminate Mitt, who has the money to stay in the race and be competitive. But it is a totally different ball-game if Romney wins Florida. After a Romney win, his national surge would continue and his chances in other big states would increase exponentially (He's only 5 points behind McCain in California, taking a comfortable second). Not only that, but John McCain's decision to accept federal matching funds greatly limits his ability to compete relative to Mitt.
It appears there will be no Jeb endorsement for Mitt, so all I have to go on is faith in Florida voters that they will pick the true conservative in the race.
If John McCain wins Florida it could catapult him to the nomination, although it would not totally eliminate Mitt, who has the money to stay in the race and be competitive. But it is a totally different ball-game if Romney wins Florida. After a Romney win, his national surge would continue and his chances in other big states would increase exponentially (He's only 5 points behind McCain in California, taking a comfortable second). Not only that, but John McCain's decision to accept federal matching funds greatly limits his ability to compete relative to Mitt.
It appears there will be no Jeb endorsement for Mitt, so all I have to go on is faith in Florida voters that they will pick the true conservative in the race.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Romney Overtakes Huckabee Nationally
Mitt Romney's national surge continues, surging past his previous highs to nearly 20% support. The latest poll averages show Mitt Romney just six points behind John McCain and more than one point ahead of one time superstar, Mike Huckabee.
As seen on the RCP charts, Mitt Romney is seeing a huge surge of momentum as of late, in spite of his South Carolina loss. This is proof-positive that the "Nevada doesn't mean anything" and "New Hampshire do or die for Mitt" crowd now must eat their words and admit they were wrong about Mitt Romney's chances.
If Mitt Romney pulls off a win in Florida, expect him to overtake McCain nationally within a matter of about a week. You heard it here first.
As seen on the RCP charts, Mitt Romney is seeing a huge surge of momentum as of late, in spite of his South Carolina loss. This is proof-positive that the "Nevada doesn't mean anything" and "New Hampshire do or die for Mitt" crowd now must eat their words and admit they were wrong about Mitt Romney's chances.
If Mitt Romney pulls off a win in Florida, expect him to overtake McCain nationally within a matter of about a week. You heard it here first.
Romney Catches McCain In National Poll
Today's Rasmussen Daily Tracking National poll shows Mitt Romney in a tie with John McCain, each garnering 27% of Republican voters nationally. This is huge news for Mitt Romney, and terrible news for McCain, who has been enjoying national popularity as of late.
If this trend continues, and these numbers are not the result of some rare goof by Rasmussen, then Romney may be on his way to a good February 5.
If this trend continues, and these numbers are not the result of some rare goof by Rasmussen, then Romney may be on his way to a good February 5.
SHOCK: Romney +6 In Florida
The latest Rasmussen daily tracking poll shows Mitt Romney with a 6 point lead over Senator John McCain, 33% to 27%. This is a far cry from the typical polls of late, showing each candidate bobbing up and down, sometimes ahead, sometimes behind, but always within the margin of error.
The details of the poll can be found here.
Tuesday can't get here fast enough.
The details of the poll can be found here.
Tuesday can't get here fast enough.
Liz Cheney Expected to Endorse Mitt Romney Today
Vice President Cheney's daugheter, Liz, is expected to endorse and join the Romney campaign today. There is nothing but speculation as to what this means about the veep's own prefence. More as this story develops...
Mitt/McCain Battle Rages On
For the first time, Mitt Romney has edged out John McCain for the lead in the Real Clear Politics Florida poll averages. By a whopping .4 points. All polls show either Mitt or McCain leading by 2-4 points, virtually all within the margin of error. This leaves the very real possibility that John and Mitt really are stuck, neither with any momentum, and in a race which could literally be decided by thousands, perhaps even hundreds of votes. If a race this important, I'm wondering if its possible that we see a GOP version of Bush vs. Gore.
If this happens, Mitt is in a much better position, having the support so many lawyers, many of whom came from the Thompson campaign upon hits deflation. Hopefully it will not come to that, and we can move forward after a comfortable Romney win of 2-4 points.
If this happens, Mitt is in a much better position, having the support so many lawyers, many of whom came from the Thompson campaign upon hits deflation. Hopefully it will not come to that, and we can move forward after a comfortable Romney win of 2-4 points.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Jeb To The Rescue?
With the recent endorsement of John McCain by Florida Governor Charlie Crist, all eyes are on former governor Jeb Bush, still popular from his days reigning over the Sunshine State. It is widely known that Jeb supports Mitt Romney. So the question is, in the wake of Crist's endorsement will his predecessor make his own public endorsement? Mark Levin at National Review Online opines, "Now that Crist has made his last-minute endorsement of McCain, I wonder if Jeb will have the will to endorse Romney."
Justin Higgins at Right On The Right asks, "Is it time to play the Jeb Card?" Well I surely think it is.
As Higgins points out, an endorsement by the immensely popular Jeb Bush would at the very least negate the endorsement by Crist, perhaps even overshadow it.
Come on, Jeb. Tell us what's on your mind.
Justin Higgins at Right On The Right asks, "Is it time to play the Jeb Card?" Well I surely think it is.
As Higgins points out, an endorsement by the immensely popular Jeb Bush would at the very least negate the endorsement by Crist, perhaps even overshadow it.
Come on, Jeb. Tell us what's on your mind.
Open Borders Activist Heads Up McCain Committee
The leader of John McCains hispanic outreach committee is none other than Juan Hernandez, an open borders nutcase. Said Hernandez at one time, "“We must not only have a free flow of goods and services, but also start working for a free flow of people.” Michelle Malkin has the story.
Staunch border control advocate Tom Tancredo recalled this exchange with Hernandez:
The U.S. and Mexico just make up a region? Not two seperate countries? I wonder what kind of "straight talk" McCain could offer us about this.
Bryan at Hot Air confirmed it. Here’s a photo he found on McCain’s daughter’s campaign website. The ethnocentrist, border obliteration activist is in tight with the top echelons of the McCain camp. McCain campaign guru Mark MacKinnon is in the foreground. Maybe sending e-mails about their future shamnesty plans with Teddy Kennedy and Lindsay Graham.
Staunch border control advocate Tom Tancredo recalled this exchange with Hernandez:
TANCREDO: Tucker, his response. Let me tell you his response.
CARLSON: Yes.
TANCREDO: At the end he goes, “Congressman,” in an incredibly condescending way. He goes, “Congressman, it‘s not two countries; it‘s just a region.”
CARLSON: That is not my view, to put it mildly.
TANCREDO: Not mine either.
The U.S. and Mexico just make up a region? Not two seperate countries? I wonder what kind of "straight talk" McCain could offer us about this.
Straight Talk Express Jumps the Track
John McCain is getting dangerously close to the textbook definition of a liar. His latest "straight talk"? Accusing Mitt Romney of supporting a withdraw from Iraq. Here is the inerview which John McCain is talking about, via Hot Air:
So what do you think? Did Mitt say he "wanted" or "supported" a withdraw, or did he say that Bush should be discussing benchmarks, something totally different from withdraw? Hot Air's Allahpunding has made up his mind:
So what do you think? Did Mitt say he "wanted" or "supported" a withdraw, or did he say that Bush should be discussing benchmarks, something totally different from withdraw? Hot Air's Allahpunding has made up his mind:
Yeah, pretty egregious. He never said he “wanted” to withdraw or that he wanted a date set, and it’s patently clear he doesn’t want any timetables publicly announced. All he’s saying, I take it, is that Bush and Maliki should have some sense of achieving certain goals by certain dates; it doesn’t necessarily follow from that that we withdraw if those goals aren’t met, only that the strategy would have to change somehow to address the problem. If they are met and progress continues, then you can start talking — secretly — about drawing down.I agree.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Romney Wins Beauty Pagent In Connecticut Straw Poll
This evenings straw poll in Middletown, Connecticut brought a bit of a suprise with Fmr. Governor Mitt Romney claiming the top prize with 35% of the vote. Arizona Senator John McCain who garnered 27% and Ron Paul with 25% all had large crowds with them this evening with Paul's camp using a hot air balloon to sway voters.
All the other candidates recieved single digits.
Here's the final tally:
Mitt Romney 35%
John McCain 27%
Ron Paul 25%
Rudy Giuliani 9%
Mike Huckabee 2%
Fred Thompson .5%
Duncan Hunter .26%
Click Here for the full story at: http://www.campuslantern.org
Insider Advantage Poll Unreliable
The latest poll from Florida shows the race there a tie between Mitt Romney and John McCain, each earning 23% support among sunshine state voters. But Justin Higgins aptly points out a glaring error...Insider Advantage, who conducted the poll, included Democrats and Independents in the poll, even though they are unable to vote in the Florida Republican Primary. As Higgins points out on rightontheright.com, if you remove the Indies and Dems, you get an entirely different result:
Mitt Romney: 30%
John McCain: 23%
Rudy Giuliani: 19%
Mike Huckabee: 12%
Ron Paul: 7%
As race42008.com points out, since the deadline to switch party registration in the Sunshine State was December 31st, Democrats are totally irrelevant to a GOP primary.
This type of sheer lunacy and poor sampling by Insider Advantage is probably why their polling is always so out of whack with the rest of the polls. As we can see, by removing the irrelevant people, Mitt Romney continues to lead among Republicans...no matter what John McCain says.
Mitt Romney: 30%
John McCain: 23%
Rudy Giuliani: 19%
Mike Huckabee: 12%
Ron Paul: 7%
As race42008.com points out, since the deadline to switch party registration in the Sunshine State was December 31st, Democrats are totally irrelevant to a GOP primary.
This type of sheer lunacy and poor sampling by Insider Advantage is probably why their polling is always so out of whack with the rest of the polls. As we can see, by removing the irrelevant people, Mitt Romney continues to lead among Republicans...no matter what John McCain says.
Connecticut Republicans Hold Straw Poll Tonight
Tonight the my friends at the Connecticut Republican Party will be holding its first ever staw poll. The party will have representatives from each of the campaigns and voting will then take place. This will be a good indication of the level of support that the candidates have in the North East as much of the attention has been paid towards Florida of late. I'll have all the results later tonight.
Romney Pounces on "General Clinton"
Perhaps the best line of the night. This is the toughest I have heard Mitt Romney talk about the Democrats. Just keep watching until the end of this short clip, and you'll see; a preview of the general election, perhaps?
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Don't forget this about Florida...(and some other random thoughts)
One aspect of Florida that is not being discussed much is that early voting started before Mitt Romney's quick upswing in the state. This would certainly benefit Rudy Giuliani and John McCain over Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee.
Right now, I give a slight edge to John McCain in Florida, but it is pretty much a coin flip. Both had good debate performances. McCain's only stumble was regarding an awkward question by Ron Paul over whether he would listen to the Federal Open Market Committee about conducting policy which is not all that much of a question because the Federal Reserve guides monetary policy while the President and Congress have more power over fiscal policy. Romney's only stumble is also not much of an issue though the sound byte is not a good one. In defending using his own money in the campaign, "Well, I'm not concerned about the voters. I'm much more concerned about the other guys on this stage. And we have some competitive information that we make sure that we use for our own benefit." It was a stupid question to which Romney gave a potentially deadly answer.
Other than those issues, it was clear that Romney and McCain won the debate as they were both well versed on many different issues and were very clear and concise. After tonight, it is even more clear that we are in a two horse race. McCain still has the inside edge for the nomination especially with New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut being in McCain's corner right now (as well as those states being winner take all and 20% of the delegates). If McCain wins Florida, he will be the nominee. If Romney wins, he is in good position, but will have it far from wrapped up.
I do want to make one quick mention that there was something that I agree with Ron Paul about (for once): The Republican Party should have a large enough tent to cover many points of view. As this blog has mentioned, there are many different definitions of conservatives, and each of the people on this blog probably fulfill different aspects. I want to thank Russ for allowing me to be the "token McCain supporter" on this blog. I hope that other conservative bloggers will realize that even if McCain isn't their first choice, he is a conservative. He was elected to Congress in 1980 right at the start of the Reagan Revolution and helped advance many of the causes Ronald Reagan stood for. He is a principled leader who the Republican Party shouldn't plug their nose and vote for, but rather embrace him and realize he can help shift more people in the Republican Party and advance many of the causes that we conservatives hold dear.
Right now, I give a slight edge to John McCain in Florida, but it is pretty much a coin flip. Both had good debate performances. McCain's only stumble was regarding an awkward question by Ron Paul over whether he would listen to the Federal Open Market Committee about conducting policy which is not all that much of a question because the Federal Reserve guides monetary policy while the President and Congress have more power over fiscal policy. Romney's only stumble is also not much of an issue though the sound byte is not a good one. In defending using his own money in the campaign, "Well, I'm not concerned about the voters. I'm much more concerned about the other guys on this stage. And we have some competitive information that we make sure that we use for our own benefit." It was a stupid question to which Romney gave a potentially deadly answer.
Other than those issues, it was clear that Romney and McCain won the debate as they were both well versed on many different issues and were very clear and concise. After tonight, it is even more clear that we are in a two horse race. McCain still has the inside edge for the nomination especially with New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut being in McCain's corner right now (as well as those states being winner take all and 20% of the delegates). If McCain wins Florida, he will be the nominee. If Romney wins, he is in good position, but will have it far from wrapped up.
I do want to make one quick mention that there was something that I agree with Ron Paul about (for once): The Republican Party should have a large enough tent to cover many points of view. As this blog has mentioned, there are many different definitions of conservatives, and each of the people on this blog probably fulfill different aspects. I want to thank Russ for allowing me to be the "token McCain supporter" on this blog. I hope that other conservative bloggers will realize that even if McCain isn't their first choice, he is a conservative. He was elected to Congress in 1980 right at the start of the Reagan Revolution and helped advance many of the causes Ronald Reagan stood for. He is a principled leader who the Republican Party shouldn't plug their nose and vote for, but rather embrace him and realize he can help shift more people in the Republican Party and advance many of the causes that we conservatives hold dear.
McCain Doesn't Know Jack About The Economy
Tonight McCain was quoted by one moderator as having said he doesn't know much about the economy. McCain said, "I'd like to know where you got that quote. Here you go, Senator:
Sen. McCain: "'The Issue Of Economics Is Not Something I've Understood As Well As I Should." "Like Mike Huckabee, who joked recently that he 'may not be the expert that some people are on foreign policy, but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night,' McCain suggested to reporters Monday that American consumer culture offered a short cut to expertise. 'The issue of economics is not something I've understood as well as I should,' McCain said. 'I've got Greenspan's book.'" (Sasha Issenberg, "McCain: It's About The Economy," The Boston Globe, www.boston.com, Posted 12/18/07)
He also said that he won Republican voters in New Hampshire and South Carolina...really, Senator McCain?
"In South Carolina, McCain lost Republicans by a statistically insignificant margin, but carried independents by a massive 42 percent to 25 percent margin -- ensuring his narrow three-point victory." (Chris Cillizza, "McCain And The Closed Primary Challenge," Washington Post's The Fix, http://blog.washingtonpost.com/, 1/24/08)
"In New Hampshire, a state McCain had won in 2000 and lavished time and attention on this time around, he lost self-identified Republicans narrowly -- 35 percent to 34 percent -- to former governor Mitt Romney. But, it was among independents where McCain's winning margin came as he won that bloc by 13 points over Romney." (Chris Cillizza, "McCain And The Closed Primary Challenge," Washington Post's The Fix, http://blog.washingtonpost.com/, 1/24/08)
Sen. McCain: "'The Issue Of Economics Is Not Something I've Understood As Well As I Should." "Like Mike Huckabee, who joked recently that he 'may not be the expert that some people are on foreign policy, but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night,' McCain suggested to reporters Monday that American consumer culture offered a short cut to expertise. 'The issue of economics is not something I've understood as well as I should,' McCain said. 'I've got Greenspan's book.'" (Sasha Issenberg, "McCain: It's About The Economy," The Boston Globe, www.boston.com, Posted 12/18/07)
He also said that he won Republican voters in New Hampshire and South Carolina...really, Senator McCain?
"In South Carolina, McCain lost Republicans by a statistically insignificant margin, but carried independents by a massive 42 percent to 25 percent margin -- ensuring his narrow three-point victory." (Chris Cillizza, "McCain And The Closed Primary Challenge," Washington Post's The Fix, http://blog.washingtonpost.com/, 1/24/08)
"In New Hampshire, a state McCain had won in 2000 and lavished time and attention on this time around, he lost self-identified Republicans narrowly -- 35 percent to 34 percent -- to former governor Mitt Romney. But, it was among independents where McCain's winning margin came as he won that bloc by 13 points over Romney." (Chris Cillizza, "McCain And The Closed Primary Challenge," Washington Post's The Fix, http://blog.washingtonpost.com/, 1/24/08)
Uneventful GOP Debate
What a boring debate. MSNoBodyCares lobbed some cheap shots at Mitt Romney over how much of his own money he has spent and about, of all things, his Mormonism. Mitt handled both masterfully.
Ultimately, no one won this debate. I think this means Mitt is the winner, because we basically leave the debate maintaining the status quo, which currently has Mitt on the upswing and leading in most polls.
Mitt Romney '08
Ultimately, no one won this debate. I think this means Mitt is the winner, because we basically leave the debate maintaining the status quo, which currently has Mitt on the upswing and leading in most polls.
Mitt Romney '08
Some Unhinged Behavior on the Right
Usually you'll find me posting about absurdities among Leftist feminism but today I have a new scoop courtesy of my pal from the Young Conservatives of Texas, Michele Samuelson:
The name of the organization spells out a perverse and uncalled for insult that is reminiscent of something the moonbats on the Left would fling at the Right.
The organization's mission is to Educate the American Public About What Hillary Clinton Really Is.
I believe this organization is another example of political activists losing touch with what really matters: electing a good candidate for good reasons and attacking a bad candidate for real reasons.
This election isn't about gender, it's about selecting the candidate who will do the best job. Organizations like this pathetic one cheapen the political process in the United States.
Here's to hoping the rest of 2008 will be a
A couple of days ago, a group called Citizens United Not Timid filed papers with the IRS as a "527" organization. Then we saw that Roger Stone had signed on as the group's "assistant treasurer." Uh oh.
The name of the organization spells out a perverse and uncalled for insult that is reminiscent of something the moonbats on the Left would fling at the Right.
The organization's mission is to Educate the American Public About What Hillary Clinton Really Is.
I believe this organization is another example of political activists losing touch with what really matters: electing a good candidate for good reasons and attacking a bad candidate for real reasons.
This election isn't about gender, it's about selecting the candidate who will do the best job. Organizations like this pathetic one cheapen the political process in the United States.
Here's to hoping the rest of 2008 will be a