First Night of the Republican Convention Will Feature Paul, Cruz, Huckabee, Arturo Davis and Anne Romney

Future First Lady Anne Romney

   On Monday, the Republican National Committee released the official schedule for the first day of the Republican National Convention which will kickoff on Monday, August 27th, at the Tampa Bay Times Forum, in Tampa Bay, Florida (see the itinerary below this post). The schedule includes more than 34 speakers that span both the afternoon and evening sessions, but the most coveted speaking slot that closes out the first night of the convention will go to Mitt Romney’s wife Anne.Leading up to the future First Lady will be a host of high profile stars, rising stars, and even a former Democrat, Congressman Artur Davis.

Before running for the Democrat nomination for Governor of Alabama in 2009, Davis represented Alabama’s 7th Congressional District from 2007 to 2011, and was one of President Obama’s earliest supporters. In fact he was the first politician outside of Illinois to endorse Obama’s run for President.

Three years later, Davis, an African-American, is now a Republican and probably one of the best examples of the current popular sentiments of disappointment that most Americans have with President Obama, a point that will dovetail quite well with the the theme for the first night of the G.O.P. convention……”We Can Do Better”.

Also speaking on Monday night will be conservative stars such as Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, T.E.A. movement sweetheart, Texas Republican U.S. Senate nominee Ted Cruz, and the ever popular former Governor of Arkansas and 2008 candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, Mike Huckabee.

Interspersed within that list of high profile leaders are other powerful but less known speakers such as Barbara Comstock and Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers.

Luce’ Vela Fortuno

Perhaps one of the most intriguing orators scheduled for Monday though is Luce’ Vela Fortuno, the First Lady of Puerto Rico.  In what seems to be a decision to have Luce’ Fortuno introduce Anne Romney, the G.O.P. is obviously trying to appeal to Hispanics and specificall Hispanic women.

The Party could have easily had a more widely known and politically established female Republican figure such as Condoleezza Rice introduce Anne Romney to the American people.  Instead they chose to go with the lesser know First Lady of Puerto Rico, whose husband, Luis Fortuno, will be making a prime time speech to the convention in one of the two nights following Luce’s prime time remarks.  But the decision to go with Luce Fortuno is a good one.   As most of us know  by now, first impressions are lasting impressions, and by having Luce Fortuno introduce Anne Romney, many Hispanic Americans men and women alike will be left with a first impression of Anne Romney that at least has a positive subliminal connection to one of their own, A Hispanic woman who is a leading figure in Puerto Rico. `

While many similar, not so subtle, political strategies will play out throughout the night, expect each one of those who speak to bring home the overriding theme of the evening……. “We Can Do Better”.    ``

According to R.N.C. Chairman Reince Priebus, “Republicans reject the notion that America’s ‘new normal’ consists of 42 months of deep unemployment and greater debt, Americans know we can do better than joblessness, poverty and debt, and this convention will present our vision for a brighter, better future and it will lay out an optimistic, achievable plan to make it happen.“   ``

“Probably no four words could better sum up the conclusion that is shared by millions of Americans as they look back on the past four years,” said Convention CEO William Harris. “We can do better than this, and the country knows it.”   ``The convention will host 2,286 delegates and 2,125 alternate delegates from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and five territories. It will also include approximately 15,000 credentialed media—an international press corps second only in size to this summer’s London Olympic Games—as well as a global audience that will witness a “convention without walls” thanks to the G.O.P.’s  Internet and social media efforts.“

Schedule for Monday, August 27, 2012

*As part of its “convention without walls” program to make the convention open and accessible, Republican officials also released today the convention schedule for Monday, August 27 through the convention’s mobile app – Tampa 2012 (http://connect.gopconvention2012.com).

2:00 pm

• Chairman of the RNC Reince Priebus
• Color Guard
• Pledge of Allegiance
• National Anthem:  The Oak Ridge Boys
• Invocation
• Opening procedural steps, appointment of convention committees
• Welcoming remarks, and House and Senate candidates and RNC auxiliaries
• RNC Chairman Priebus
• RNC Co-Chairman Sharon Day
• Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn
• Convention Chief Executive Officer William Harris
• Chairman of Tampa Bay Host Committee Al Austin
• Republican Congressional Candidates
• State Delegate Barbara Comstock (VA)
• Representative Tim Griffin (AR)
• Republican Senate Candidates
• Republican National Committee auxiliaries
• Consideration of convention committee reports
• RNC Chairman Reince Priebus
• Committee on Credentials Chairman Mike Duncan
• Committee on Permanent Organization Chairwoman Zoraida Fonalledas
• Convention Permanent Chairman Speaker John Boehner, Presiding
• Official Convention Photograph
• Committee on Rules Chairman John Sununu
• Committee on Resolutions Chairman Governor Bob McDonnell
• Committee on Resolutions Co-Chairman Senator John Hoeven
• Committee on Resolutions Co-Chairman Rep. Marsha Blackburn
• Roll Call for Nomination of President of the United States
• Roll Call for Nomination of Vice President of the United States

7:15 p.m. Recess

7:45 p.m.  Reconvene

• Remarks by Speaker John Boehner
• Remarks by Governor Rick Scott (FL)
• Remarks by RNC Chairman Reince Priebus
• Video
• Remarks by Senator Rand Paul (KY)
• Various Speakers
• Remarks by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA)
• To Be Announced
• Remarks by Artur Davis and video
• Remarks by Senate Republican Candidate Ted Cruz (TX)
• Musical Act
• Remarks by Governor Nikki Haley (SC)
• Remarks by Mike Huckabee
• Remarks by Mrs. Luce’ Vela Fortuno
• Remarks by Mrs. Ann Romney
• Benediction by Sammy Rodriguez and adjournment.

About the 2012 Republican National Convention

The 2012 Republican National Convention will be held at the Tampa Bay Times Forum August 27-30, 2012.  Nearly 50,000 visitors are expected to come to the Tampa Bay area for the event, including delegates, alternate delegates, media and other guests.  For more information about the 2012 Republican National Convention, become part of the virtual convention at www.ConventionWithoutWalls.com, visit our website www.GOPConvention2012.com and check out our official blog, Conventional Wisdom, at www.gopconvention2012.com/blog/.

The Herd: A Look at The Republican Vice Presidential Candidates. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee

   The Herd is a special White House 2012 series covering the obvious and not so obvious potential choices to be selected as Mitt Romney’s vice presidential running mate on the Republican presidential ticket.  Each day, White House 2012 will introduce you to one the many Republicans which we believe will be at least considered for for the vice presidency by the now inevitable presidential nominee, Mitt Romney.

In addition to a biographical information and a brief assessment of each potential nominee and their chances of being selected by Mitt Romney, White House 2012′s coverage also includes each potential nominee’s voting records, as well as a listing of their public statements and links to their web sites.

Today White House 2012 takes a look at the former Governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee.

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee

Born: August 11, 1955, Hope, Arkansas

Spouse(s): Janet Huckabee

Children :John Mark, David, Sarah

Residence :North Little Rock, Arkansas

Alma mater: Ouachita Baptist University

Profession:Politician, Talk Show Host,Author, Public Speaker, & ordained Minister

Religion: Southern Baptist

Political Career :

• 1992, Ran for U.S. Senate in Arkansas against incumbent Dale Bumpers
• 1993, Huckabee to run in the special election for lieutenant governor and won, becoming only the second Republican since Reconstruction to serve as Arkansas lieutenant governor.
• 1994, Huckabee was re-elected to a full term as lieutenant governor, beating Democratic candidate Charlie Cole Chaffin with nearly 59 percent of the vote
• 1996, Huckabee announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Democrat Senator David Pryor.
• During that campaign Democrat Arkansas Governor Jim Guy Tucker was convicted on one count of arranging nearly $3 million in fraudulent loans in conjunction with the Whitewater scandal. Tucker announced that he would resign. Lt. Governor Huckabee then withdrew from the senate race and assumed the office of Governor on July 15, 1996.
• 1998, Huckabee was elected to his first full term as Governor.
• 2002, Huckabee was reelected to his second four-year term
• 2008, Huckabee ran for the Republican presidential nomination but withdrew from the race when it became apparent that John McCain had won enough delegates to cinch the nomination.

(Click here for Huckabee’s White House 2012 Presidential Contenders Page)

Mike Huckabee could be a surprise pick by Romney designed to appeal to the Southern and evangelical base of the G.O.P. which need to find a good reason to vote Mitt. But picking him could also be a decision to appeal to independent voters. While Huckabee is not necessarily considered a big independent vote getter, if given that mission in a campaign for Vice President, Huckabee could do a good job. His ability to articulate issues in a folksy, down-to-earth manner is quite effective and his command of the issues is admirable.

Some suggest that bad blood from the 2008 Republican nomination contest, still exists between Romney and Huckabee.  And they are probably right.  However contrary to those who believe that will prevent Romney from picking Huckabee or Huckabee from jumping at the chance to be one heartbeat away from the Oval Office, that bad blood will not be the reason for it to actually happen.  Bad blood did not prevent Huckabee from inviting Romney on to his to weekly Fox News show.  Huckabee did not let bad blood get in  the way of ratings for his show, nor did it allow Romney to get in the way some free airtime.  Hard feelings did not prevent John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson from teaming up.  And it didn’t keep Ronald Reagan from calling upon George H. W. Bush to be his Vice President.  So neither Romney or Huckabee will let the campaign rhetoric of 2008 get in their way either.  And both men genuinely know that defeating Barack Obama in  the election is the only thing they need to concern themselves with.

That leaves only a few reasons for why it may not happen.

Romney may easily conclude that there are other better suited running mates who can bring a better advantage to the ticket  regarding a particular state’s electoral college vote, or who can perhaps better appeal to certain needed demographic that Romney needs to win.  Another reason could be that Huckabee just might want to enjoy life and keep making money in the private sector or retire to his lush estate in Florida.

Another reason for Huckabee not being given a place on the ticket could be the same issues which probably prevented him from running for President.

When Huckabee was Governor of Arkansas, he pardoned Maurice Clemons, a man who’s criminal history included five felony convictions In 2009, killed 4 police officers in cold blood as they sat in a Lakewood, Washington coffee house.

The fact is that even after Clemons went on a spree in Arkansas that was so violent that a judge saw fit to sentence him to 95 years behind bars, Governor Huckabee issued Clemons clemency, and he did so over the objections of prosecutors.

In 1988 then Vice President George H.W. Bush used a similar incident in the now infamous Willie Horton ad, to decimate the Democrat presidential nominee, Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis.

For obvious reasons, this will more than likely derail any chance for Huckabee to selected by Mitt Romney as his running mate.

Pros:

• Excellent campaigner who can connect with voters, especially Independents
• Can help Romney bolster his standing among Southerners and evangelicals
• Has a fairly decent conservative record on the issues
• Executive experience
• High, positive national name ID
• Helps to firm up Romney’s committment to his opposition to abortion

Cons:

• Has a serious Willie Horton-like issue hanging in his closet
• The material used against Romney by Huckabee in his bid for the Republican presidential nomination against Romney in 2008 could be used against Romney again in 2012. This is not a lethal factor, but it is a consideration.
• Huckabee may sincerely not be interested in seeking elected office

General Assessment:

Huckabee would make a decent compromise candidate for Vice President who helps compensate for some of the weaknesses that Romney has among conservatives, Southerners, and evangelicals.

He is a good, smooth talking, campaigner who is quick on his feet and could actually make a good choice were it not for the Clemons clemency tragedy, which is far to significant to not become an issue during the campaign and does raise serious, legitimate doubt about Huckabee’s judgement.

Huck is a possible but not probable choice for the Republican vice presidential nomination.

Mike Huckabee On The Issues

International Issues Domestic Issues Economic Issues Social Issues Foreign Policy Gun Control Budget & Economy Education Homeland Security Crime Government Reform Civil Rights War & Peace Drugs Tax Reform Abortion Free Trade Health Care Social Security Families & Children Immigration Technology Corporations Welfare & Poverty Energy & Oil Environment Jobs Principles & Values

View Allen West’s Entire CPAC 2012 Speech

  Florida Congressman Allen West delivered a speech filled with lots of red meat for conservatives and raised the roof on CPAC in a way that few others can do.  In both the content of his speech and the delivery of speech, Allen West proves that he gets it and makes you wonder why others don’t, including those who are running for President.

Is Romney Signaling that He Will Tap Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell for Vice President?

    Praise for Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell by Mitt Romney during a Wednesday campaign stop in Virginia, has many speculating that if nominated President, he will tap McDonnell as his Vice presidential running mate.

Speaking at Virginia’s  Fairfax County Republican headquarters, Romney called McDonnell one of the “great leaders of the Republican Party.” He added, “He’s a terrific governor doing a great job here in Virginia.” and stated “I say nice things about Governor McDonnell every time I have a chance”.

The remarks do not necessarily indicate that Romney is ready to pick McDonnell if he wins the G.O.P. presidential nomination.  What it does mean is that Romney is smart enough to appeal to Virginians by agreeing with them.  Governor McDonnell receives extraordinarily high approval from Virginia voters and to do anything other align himself with McDonnell would quite frankly, be a sign of severe brain damage.

Governor McDonnell is doing a fine job in Virginia and a look at his near perfect conservative record would make one believe that he might be a better Republican presidential candidate than those now running.  However, even though Barack Obama won Virginia in 2008, that is unlikely to be repeated.  Virginia is normally a reliably Republican state when it comes to presidential politics, and is likely to be that way in 2012 regardless of who the G.O.P. nominee is.   So for electoral purposes, McDonnell is not going to be needed to deliver Virginia’s electoral college vote to the Republican presidential ticket.

For the purpose of having an edge in the electoral college, Republicans may want to look at more truly competitive swing states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada or even, to a lesser extent, Florida, where the obvious choice is Florida Senator Marco Rubio.

No matter what though, Governor McDonnell will be and deserves to be on everyone’s short list.  Which is why there should not be too much read into Romney’s remarks in Virginia about their popular Governor.  The only remarks about McDonnell that should raise eyebrows would be negative ones.  Had Romney stood in the headquarters of one of Virginia’s county Republican headquarters and said of their popular Governor something like “Bob McDonnell is okay, but I can take him or leave him”, that would deserve attention.

Meanwhile, I remain reluctant to discuss vice presidential contenders until we know for sure who the Republican presidential nominee will be.  However I will say that my initial instincts tell me that if Romney is the nominee, Bob McDonnell is not his most likely choice.  As I previously pointed out, Virginia should easily go Republican in the presidential election no matter who the G.O.P. nominee is.  Add to that the imagery of Romney and McDonnell together and what you have is a ticket that looks almost too perfect.  Kind of like the cake topper of gay wedding cake.

Personally I believe that when it comes to Romney, he is going to have to go with a conservative but unconventional running mate.

So far Romney is tied too closely to the establishment and his reluctance to be bold in his policy choices leaves the selection of a running mate to be one of the few opportunities to step out of the establishment mold.  All things considered, I can see Romney picking someone like South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley or even more likely than her, New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez.  Like Marco Rubio, she is conservative, strongly appreciated in the TEA movement, from an important swing state and offers the opportunity to make inroads into the increasingly important and influential Hispanic vote.

Another bold choice could be Herman Cain.  His strong TEA movement appeal and anti-career politician profile will make him attractive on an ticket, and helps Romney shore up his conservative credentials.

Then there is a real wildcard choice for Romney……… former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.

Mike Huckabee

Huckabee may have very well cost Romney the nomination in 2008 and there is undoubtedly still some bad blood between the two men.  But they have seemingly warmed up to one another since 2008.  Huckabee even had Mitt Romney on his weekly Fox News program.

Picking Huckabee could be a way for Romney to inject new blood and new life in to what will be a news weary electorate by the time the Republican National Convention is held in late August of next year.  Adding Huckabee to the ticket will also appeal to the evangelicals that Romney really needs to appeal to and overcome their prejudices toward his Mormon faith.  As an ordained Southern Baptist minister, Huckabee could go a long way in helping Romney among the evangelical flocks that will be important to a Republican victory.  Mike Huckabee does have some luggage of his own, but when it comes to Mitt, Huckabee would be more compensation than burden.

Mainstream Media Still Pushing Chris Christie and Now Bringing Mike Huckabee Back

    As a fickle Republican electorate continues to demonstrate their apathy for the existing field of declared presidential candidates, an old name to the 2012 field has become the newest name to be drawn back into the contest.  While news stories continue to swirl around about some still possible entry of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie into the presidential contest, a new one surfaces about former Governor Mike Huckabee.

According to Reuters,  numerous unnamed sources have urged Mike Huckabee to reconsider his midsummer decision not to run .  Huckabee is said to have told Fox News thathe doesn’t  “see it happening”.  But as is the case with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, that has not put an end to the rumors.

Despite stating quite adamantly that he is not running for President after a speech that Chris Christie delivered at the Reagan Library this past Tuesday, reports that he was on the verge of declaring his candidacy seemed to have only gained in their intensity.

As made evident in the clip below, in the New York City Tri-State area, residents in the New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania media market were fed an endless array of reports declaring that Christie was still in the middle of considering a run.  On WCBS 880 AM radio news, every twenty minute cycle had a report telling listeners that Chris Christie advisors and aides were scrambling to see if they could put together a presidential campaign organization together at very last moment.

Even the Sunday morning TV political shows dug into the Christie speculation.

Unfortunately most all the reports about Christie possibly deciding to throw his hat in the ring come from “unnamed” sources.  That’s pretty convenient and getting tiresome. But in the never ending search for a “perfect” presidential candidate Republicans have allowed the media to label the existing field of presidential candidates as not good enough.   That feeling will change in time.  But until then, we will continue to hear about the need to recruit someone in to the race.  Such a storyline allows the mainstream media to continue making President Obama look superior when compared the field of  Republicans from which his ultimate opponent will come from.

Meanwhile, with all the talk about Huckabee and Christie running, it is important to realize that both of these would have a problem if they run.

Huckabee has a record on taxes that contradicts some  of his rhetoric on that issue.  He also has to answer to a string of clemencies he issued as Governor Arkansas, which resulted in rapes and murders.  Including the killing of 4 police officers in Oregon.

As for Christie, his 20 months in office have still not done much to increase employment and many of his economic policies have not yet had the time to show New Jerseyans if they are working or not .  Beyond that, Christie is consistently nagged by the far right for what they call his poor judicial appointments, including a controversial selection of a Muslim who represented other Muslims who were rounded up by the FBI in the aftermath of 9/11.   Such representation was not wrong but depending upon the context in which it is explained, it could be turned in to an impression that would be a liability in a campaign.

Other issues which would become a problem for Christie among the conservative base that is responsible for electing a nominee, includes Christie’s support of  the federal assault weapons ban, he supported President Obama’s education reform agenda and has confirmed his belief in manmade global warming and  his support of the President’s failing green energy policies.

So Christie is far from being a perfect conservative candidate.  Yet until he has been forced to defend his record, voters looking for that perfect candidate will not allow the concept of a run for President by Christie in 2012 to die.

 

Mitt Romney : Which is More Important? His Midas Touch or His Flawed Candidacy?

   Having already left the starting gate, the Republican race for the White House continues to run down a long and bumpy track that is riddled with twists, turns, high hills, steep declines, and blind spots. The biggest blind spot of all exists among the voters.  With them it seems as though the perfect candidate in 2012 is always someone else.   Once it was Mike Pence, then it was John Thune. For the longest time it was Mike Huckabee and then for For awhile it was Haley Barbour, Mitch Daniels and Paul Ryan.  For some it’s Sarah Palin, for others it’s Chris Christie.  The only problem is that none of these people have expressed a willingness to make the committment necessary to become President.

Then Texas Governor Rick Perry did make that committment.  He immediately vaulted to frontrunner status as the next near perfect and everyone finally had  the perfect candidate.  But after one month in the race, he fell out of favor and people quickly started to again ask Chris Christie to become the perfect candidate.  Now they are again turning to Mike Huckabee.

In Iowa Michele Bachmann was the perfect candidate for a while.  She even won their Straw Poll.  Now after her first place showing there, Mitt Romney is leading in Iowa and Herman Cain came in first in Florida.

So now, Herman Cain goes from bottom tier candidate to top tier candidate and some claim that he is now the perfect candidate.  But for how long will that be?

Through it all though, there has been one candidate who ever since he entered the race, has held steady among Republican voters.  He has never been seen as perfect.  But he has also never been viewed as a certain loser like Ron Paul and he has never been seen as a candidate who had no chance of beating President Obama if he were the Republican nominee.

That candidate is Mitt Romney.

While Romney has been denied be seen as a strong frontrunner, since the 2008 presidential election, he has consistently been a frontrunner nonetheless.   And for good reason.

While the creation of Romneycare will always make Mitt a flawed candidate, the success of Romney’s record in and out of politics, makes him without a doubt, one of the most impressive and promising candidates running.  The problem is, that he is not perfect and will not ever be seen as perfect.

The greatest knocks against Romney are that he has flip-flopped on several issues including abortion, and his creation of Romneycare.  But on these issues, Romney has indeed redeemed himself in many different senses.

Mitt has has remained true to his conversion from being a pro-choice Republican, to being a Right-to-Life Republican and as Governor he did the following;

• Vetoed legislation that would have provided for the “Morning After Pill” without a prescription.
• Fought to promote abstinence education in the classroom.
• Vetoed legislation that would have redefined in Massachusetts the longstanding definition of the beginning of human life from fertilization to implantation.
• Supports parental notification laws and opposed efforts to weaken parental involvement.
• Supports adult stem cell research but has opposed efforts to advance embryo-destructive research in Massachusetts and he has not supported public funding for embryo-destructive research.

On the healthcare issue, while Romney admits that his healthcare plan had some things in it that he would change, he also turns it into a powerful example of state’s rights that can be used with great strength against President Obama.  But in addition to understanding that state’s should have the rights to legislate based on their own needs and desires and not a federal mandate force them in to  a one size fits all federal bureaucracy, it is important to realize the biggest difference between RomneyCare and ObamaCare.

Romney proposed universal insurance, not universal health care.

The difference is critical to not only the basic thrust behind the two healtchare approaches, it is essential to ideological purity.  What revolutionized the traditiona lstate health care sys­tem was that Romney’s plan attempted to empower individuals to buy and own their health insurance policies and keep these poli­cies with them regardless of job or job status.  ObamaCare goes beyond that, denying choices and creating a new humoungous federal bureaucracy that essentially allows bueraucrats to make healthcare decisions by determining what treatment Obamacare will allow one to get or deny them the opportunity to get it.  According to the leading conservative policy think tank, The Heritage Foundation, Romney’s plan “made significant strides in reforming their health insurance market, and other states can learn from the Massachusetts experience.”  Still it is clear that the plan leaves much to be desired.

Yet, many see the implementation of Romneycare in Massachusetts as a sign of Romney having a lack of limited government credentials and too much of a government-centric mindset.  This is where those within the TEA movement have the most difficulty with Mitt.

However, not only has Romney vowed to repeal Obamacare, he has promised to provide waivers that would allow all fifty states to be exempt from Obamacare.  This is a clear sign that Romney gets it.  Furthermore, given the strong doubts about Romney’s limited government credentials, one should easily be able to see that Romney will have to go out of his way to lead in a way that compensates for those doubts.  In other words, Romney’s hands are tied.  He will have little chance for political survival if he were to employ big government policies.

So it is safe to say that Romney not only gets it, he has no choice other than practicing limited government policies.

But beyond that, Romney’s overall record as a Governor, does support his being considered a worthy conservative.

Upon taking over Beacon Hill, Romney  issued an Executive Order reestablishing a Judicial Nominating Commission that reviewed resumes of applicants for state judicial positions and did so without any knowledge of the applicants  race, sex, or  political leanings.  The process, resulted in the selection of the judges based solely upon their qualifications as responsible interpretations of the law.  Furthermore; Romney appointed a chairman to the Judicial Nominating Commission that used the position to prevent the appointment of liberal activist judges who would legislate from the bench. That Romney appointee was Christopher Moore, a member of the Federalist Society, which fights against judicial activism. This helped move the courts of what is arguably one of the most liberal states in the nation, to the right.

Beyond his strict constitutionalist views, Romney has been a productive conservative on everything from illegal immigration, to economics.  He has fought for lower taxes,  practiced fiscal responsibility, been a longtime defender of Second Amendment rights, taken a hardline on border security, executing the War on Terror, and as Governor, he reformed government in ways that made it more efficient and effective as he cut wasteful programs, merged duplicate departments, and turned the state’s $3 billion deficit into a $700 million surplus without raising taxes.

But the most impressive example of Romney’s abilities still remain his turnaround of the 2002 Olympics in 2002.

Not only were the Olympic games a great example of his superior executive skills, as seen in the video below, it offered a great look at the character, determination, skills, positive attitude, and due diligence that is Mitt Romney. And in many ways, the Olympics of 2002 are incredibly analogous to the condition of the U.S. economy, the issue most critical to the election of a President in 2012.

In 1999 Romney took over what was a scandal-ridden Olympic organization committee that was in crisis, in debt, and in complete disarray, and turned it around by making it the most successful, well organized, and profitable Olympic games in history.

This was no easy accomplishment.  Romney’s massive operation, included the oversight, management and coordination of everything from the image of the Olympics, to the construction of the Olympic Village and top notch venues for Olympians to compete in, and even what was the most secure Olympics history.  After the events of 9/1/01, the Winter Olympics which took place only a few shorts month after that horror, suddenly became the place most vulnerable for terrorism in  the world.   With its worldwide audience, the high profile of the Salt Lake City Olympics made insuring it against acts of terror, the largest security operation of its kind .  And Mitt Romney coordinated it  all.

While Mitt points out that he did not do it alone, he is the person who hired the competent, committed people, that made it possible to turn the Games around and make them the most successful ever.  In the end, from both a sporting and business standpoint, the 2002 Salt Lake City set  broadcasting and marketing records with more than 2 billion viewers and 13 billion viewer hours.  Financially, Romney’s Olympic’s turnaround raised more money with fewer sponsors than any prior Olympic Games, and left Salt Lake Olympic Committee with a surplus of $40 million at the conclusion of the games.

Given Romney’s record, while he may be flawed, there is little to suggest that he is anything but conservative.  And beyond that, Mitt Romney is a by nature, a forward thinking, problem solver who does not seek quick, short term fixes.  He seeks to solve problems now and avoid them in the future.  He has done so be it in business or government.  Such leadership is lacking in the White House today, and not easily recognizable in the existing field of Republican presidential candidates.

This is why even though Mitt Romney has essentially been running for the presidential nomination since 2008, he is not trying to come on like gangbusters.  Romney’s campaign is one that is carefully pacing itself.  That is why while other candidates are bouncing back and forth in the polls, Romney has remained consistently towards or at the top.   All of this could ultimately mean success for Romney in  the Republican presidential race.  Romney’s steady position helps add to an impression of consistency, something which people like and trust.

Another thing to remember is this.  With a large field of Republican candidates that consists of a number of candidates who are splitting the hardcore religious right of the G.O.P., Romney can play safe and not move so far to the right, that he turns off Independent voters in the general election.  Instead he can remain, consistent and noncontroversial and benefit from a diluted concentration of a social conservative voting bloc that is divided among three or four candidates.   However, this does not mean that Romney will be a moderate Republican if elected President.

Case in point.  Back in 2009, I did not have a great deal of appreciation for Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie of New Jersey.  I was one of those New Jersey voters who has been fed up by moderate Republicans who try to be like Democrats for the sake of political expediency in a very blue state.  I had in fact favored an ardent conservative who challenged Chris Christie in a primary for Republican gubernatorial nomination.   During his campaign, Christie did little to prove to me that he would be a reliable conservative and that is what I wanted in a Governor. But not long after Chris Christie was elected Governor, I began to understand that if Chris Christie’s campaign sounded as conservative as his Administration actually proved to be, there would be no Christie Administration.

So it is reasonable to say that Romney is playing politics here.  Whether that is good or bad, elections are political and if you’re not willing to play politics, don’t  run for election.  That combined with the fact that Mitt Romney is no liberal and has a an incredible ability to lead, solve problems, and turn things around, allows me to keep the door open to him.   Be it Perry, Paul, Palin, or Ryan, Daniels, or Christie,  none of them are perfect and to keep waiting around for such a candidate will only get us a second term of a President who is as far from perfect as the sun is from the Earth.  And I for one am not going to wait light years to bring about the change we need.

This is not an endorsement of Mitt Romney, at least not yet.  But this is a reminder that Romney has given us no reason to believe that he won’t do as he says …………..

” I will press for full repeal of Obamacare, which will save hundreds  of billions of dollars. I will reduce the size of the federal workforce  and align the wages and benefits of federal workers with the private  sector. And I will set about the hard work of fundamentally  restructuring the federal government.”

If that is  not good enough for many Republicans, than they can throw their vote away on Lyndon LaRouche or Ron Paul.  As for myself, I believe there comes a time when one  has to start differentiate the rhetoric from the facts.  In doing so, I can see that Mitt Romney has a record that allows me to believe he will do what he says.  While he has not yet moved me enough to endorse him, I can tell you that I have closed no door on any Republican presidential candidate.  My door is open for all them to come right through and prove to me that they deserve my vote.  I just hope that many Republicans will leave the door open for Mitt Romney.  Not only is he the likely nominee, he is also the person who is most likely to be able to get this country back on track when 2013 rolls around.

Cain’s Gain?

Mike Huckabee made it official over the weekend. He is not running. Huckabee was one of those candidates who was able to corner a specific share of the GOP market and turn them into a cult following. As the 2008 primary dragged on and Huckabee appeared on shows like Saturday Night Live to joke about how his mathematical chance of winning required winning every remaining state, Huckabee continued to campaign and siphon votes away from Mitt Romney in crucial states.

Even coming into 2012, Huckabee has maintained a Ron Paul-like base of support who will chide media outlets for not casting him in a bright enough light or leaving him out of 2012 primary analysis. To be honest though, I wasn’t surprised when Huckabee said no this year. Any Republican candidate is going to have a huge uphill battle facing their own divided party, the media, and then the Obama political machine. Who can blame Huckabee for wanting to sit this one out and make money hand over fist at his TV show?

Can Herman Cain pick up Huckabee's votes?

So who will get those voters who faithfully showed up and voted Huckabee even after his chances of winning evaporated in 2008? Only one candidate sofar has come out firmly for the socially and fiscally conservative platform, including the Fairtax, that Huckabee represented: Herman Cain.

Cain stands to pick up many of your neighbors who have the anti-IRS Fairtax signs in their yard and on their bumper stickers. He also will pick up many of Huckabee’s fans who are also mainstream Conservative media fans. There is a great deal of overlap between Foxnews talk show fans and Conservative radio fans.

Huckabee and Cain share another large support base among TEA Party candidates. Many of these small government conservatives who supported Huckabee in 2008 will look to Cain in 2012 as the most Conservative candidate who is not as radical as Ron Paul on foreign policy.

Will this be what bumps Cain into the top tier? It certainly is an opportunity sitting on the table. If Cain can make the connections in voters’ minds, he stands to be the one to gain.

Huckabee’s Heart Tells Him Not To Run for President

In what became a much anticipated decision for the political world, on his Fox News shows, former Arkansas Governor and 2008 presidential candidate Mike Huckabee declared that despite all signs pointing to him that he should run for President, his heart tells him no and so he will not be a candidate for President in 2012.

Huckabees decision came after he described himself as a clear front runner for the Republican presidential nomination who polls have shown beating all others in even the most unlikely of states such as Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He claimed that the ability to raise the amounts of money needed, was there and that his support crossed regional lines and socially conservative ideological lines.

In a swipe at the media, and pundits, Huckabee poked fun at their attempts to downplay his possible role in the 2012 election and claimed that he was often not even mentioned in some polls, while he was high in the polls and other contenders who barely registered a single percent of support were touted as leading contenders.

Huckabee described his decision as one that he only reached when he had time alone, and the clarity of vision that provided him to reach a decision that stirred within him a great inner peace. Huckabee made sure to point out that he had the full support of his family behind him if chose to run and he indicated a belief that he had a majority of public support behind his potential campaign. But despite what he defined as a perfect situation for a successful run for President, Huckabee told viewers that ultimately, he is happy with his career as it stands now and his ability to influence politics from the outside.

In his announcement Huckabee went out of his way to try make himself out to be a shoo-in for the Republican presidential nomination. But what he did not address were the many negatives that would have surfaced and been used to pummel him with. In addition to a week record on taxes, Huckabees record when it comes to the pardoning of violent criminals would have damned him as much, if not more than Willie Horton didfor Michael Dukakis in 1988. It was bad enough that there was a case of a Huckabee setting free a violent felon who upon his release raped and killed and women, but two years ago the issue became an insurmountable wall for Huckabee. It was around that time that headlines touted the news that Huckabee had granted clemency to a criminal who went on to kill four police officers in a Washington state diner.

At the time, Huckabee offered his condolences to the families of the victims but his only defense was an attempt to claim that the real problem existed with a media that was trying to exploit the tragic deaths of the police officers by smearing him politically. That defense did little to change the facts though.

As is the case with all headlines, they eventually faded from view, but Mike Huckabee knew that the issue would be unavoidable if he tried to run for President in 2012. He also knew it would have been a painful issue to address and one that would have weighed him down greatly.

Regardless of any excuses that Huckabee offered up to explain his decision and despite his self proclaimed direct path to the nomination, 2012 would not have been anything like it was for Huckabee in 2008. As it were, with the exception of Iowa, Huckabee won no primary or caucus contests and despite recent polls which did not reflect the issues of the 2012 campaign, it is more than likely that he would have performed just as poorly in 2012 as he did in 2008.

But the decision of Huckabee does still have at least an early effect on the still evolving Republican presidential race. Now that he is not running, who will his limited but enthusiastic base look to? Until there is a definitive decision on whether Sarah Palin will or will not run, candidates like Herman Cain, Rick Santorum and to a lesser degree, Tim Pawlenty will have the most to gain. But ultimately, Mitt Romney is the biggest winner regarding Huckabees decision. Huckabee was the greatest impediment to Mitt Romneys ability to attract enough voters who were dissatisfied with McCain to piece together majorities small enough to edge McCain out in many competitive states. And Huckabee knew this. At one point in 2008, it became clear that Huckabees only purpose was to try to deny Romney the nomination.

Now with Huckabee definitely out of the race, the G.O.P. field will slowly begin to look a little clearer and will begin to set off a natural gravitation of support to those who are running or that we know for certasin will be running.

Private Email from Huckabee Suggests He’s Running For President

In the hours leading up to Mike Huckabees decision regarding a run for President, an email to those who work closely with the former Governor has unleashed a new round of speculation. The email indicates that once he makes his decision on his Saturday night show, he will be free to do and discuss things which up until now, legal restrictions and his obligations to Fox News, prohibited him from taking part in.

In a closing line of the email, Huckabee apologizes in advance if he does not have the opportunity to respond to any emails after his decision is announced and writes I expect that once I pull the trigger Saturday night, things will get even crazier, as if that’s possible.

The email (see the email below this post) was released by Times Mark Halperin and confirmed by Politico but how it was obtained is yet unknown and would seem to me to be an intentional leak by the Huckabee camp. If that is the case, the leak could be designed to lure a large viewing audience.

While the email is somewhat ambiguous about his decision, it clearly suggests that Huckabee expects to be preparing for a frenzy of media attention that will be touting him as an automatic frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination.

Up till now, I have been fairly confident that Huckabee was not running for President in 2012. But his handling of his announcement is beginning to lead me to believe otherwise. For reasons different my own, Huckabee’s senior political advisor, Ed Rollins has also been under the impression that Huckabee is not running. According to Rollins, even though everything has been put in place to get a potential Huckabee presidential campaign up and running and fully operational within one week, it his opinion that from all indications, Huckabee is not running. Now, in light of this new email, even Rollins concedes that he has no idea of Huckabee’s intention.

I still am not convinced that this is not all a well orchestrated attempt to raise ratings but if one is to believe what they can read between the lines, Huckabee is ready to go for it and embark on his second campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.

In the mean time, the first public post decision appearance that Huck will make will be Sunday, on Fox news with Chris Wallace.

The Email:

Tomorrow night (Saturday) I will announce the next step in my plans for 2012 during my show on the Fox News Channel. I would like to be able to call you or email you personally and in advance of the announcement, but due to the fact that the decision was not finalized until today and that I committed to Fox that I will absolutely not release it prior to doing so on the channel, that became impractical.

A lot of information and speculation was already rampant in the press today, and it frankly isn’t fair to you to tell you the details and then put you in the awkward position of saying you didn’t know (which at that point wouldn’t be true) or saying you did know, but couldn’t reveal or discuss it.

It was this afternoon before I could even get word to all of my own children and even now, the executive producer of my show and the staff and crew of the show don’t know and won’t until I actually do the final preparation literally minutes before I share the decision live Saturday night.

I will look forward to speaking with you soon and once I fulfill my sworn obligation to Fox, I will be free to discuss things that I can’t now due to promises to them and to some possible legal considerations of the announcement.

Many friends have said, “how can we help you in the decision?” My answer has consistently been, “Pray that I have clarity.” I have it and will share it Saturday night during the show. Please be patient if I don’t respond immediately to an email because I expect that once I pull the trigger Saturday night, things will get even crazier, as if that’s possible.

My heartfelt thanks for your friendship, prayers, and support,

Mike Huckabee

Huckabee Ready to Declare His Presidential Intentions on Saturday

Will he or wont he make a White House run? The Gov gives his answer on Huckabee!. Thats the teaser offered today on the website of Governor Huckabees Fox News show.

According to a statement by the shows executive producer Woody Fraser, Huck will announce tomorrow night on his program whether or not he intends to explore a presidential bid. He has not told anyone at FOX News Channel his decision.

Huckabees latest Twitter referred fans to his political action committee, Huck PAC, to take a look at schedule which is as follows

Friday (5/13):

Today, Governor Huckabee will be on Your World with Neil Cavuto on the Fox News Channel, at 4pm ET.

Tonight, Governor Huckabee will be on “The O’Reilly Factor with Bill OReilly on the Fox News Channel, at 8pm ET.

And late tonight Governor Huckabee will be on “Follow The Money” with Eric Bolling on the Fox Business Network, at 10pm ET.

Saturday (5/14):

Saturday morning Governor Huckabee will be on Fox and Friends on the Fox News Channel at 8:30am ET.

And dont forget to tune in to Huckabee on the Fox News Channel, Saturday and Sunday nights at 8:00pm ET.

The surprise set up regarding a decision to run or not to run for the Republican presidential nomination for a second timeis savvy to say the least. But it is too early to tell if it is shrewdness intended for ratings of his cable talk show, or for a big audience to kick off his presidential aspirations from. Insofar as I can tell, there is no legal way for Huckabee to officially declare his own presidential candidacy on his own show. Based upon basic the opportunity for equal time principles, Federal Election Commission laws prohibit official candidates from having their own regularly scheduled radio or television programs to promote themselves from. Such an opportunity would be an unfair advantage for candidates with such a platform. It is why Fox News has suspended the contracts they had with other potential other presidential candidates who were Fox News contributors, such as Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum.

But nothing prohibits Huckabee from using his show to state that because of future endeavors that, in time, he will make well known, he will be leaving his cable show. Such a statement would not leave anyone wondering what that future endeavor would be, but it would also not cross any legal lines.

I have been of the school of thought that mike Huckabee is not going to run again in 2012. While early, random polls have the former Arkansas Governor placed high at the top of the still emerging Republican presidential field, such polling does not reflect the harsh realities of the Huckabee record that would be dissected in a public display of messy politics. Indeed, I have suggested that Governor Huckabee will have a great deal of baggage weighing him down in a 2012 race. But despite these sentiments of my own, Huckabee has been in many ways acting like a candidate. He has been meeting with financial bundlers in New York and elsewhere and under the auspices of a book tour, has been stomping the nation as well as any other potential candidate.

If Huckabee is readying himself to take the steps towards an official run at the White House, the timing of such an announcement is unique. Most major political announcements are not conducted on weekends. Common sense dictates that anytime after late Friday afternoon, but before Monday morning, most Americans tune out for weekends of recreation and relaxation. It is for this reason that if politicos have any kind of bad news to deliver, they usually do so around 4:00 pm on any given Friday. Such news tends to pass through several news cycles without immediately gaining all that much attention. However, Huckabees situation is different. First, his show airs on Saturday evenings. This forces him to somehow have to take advantage of that time slot. Second, the logistics of his position with Fox News and the suspense surrounding his decision, has allowed Huckabee to dominate the news for most of Friday and bring with it, a drawn out focus of attention on him at a time when few other headlines will be made. And then of course the story will be anew again on Monday when it is followed up on.

So which will it be? Will Huckabee come out on Saturday evening, during his show, and announce that it is his sad duty to tell us that this will be his last show, but his pleasure to tell us that its because he will be seeking a higher calling with greater responsibilities? Or will Huckabee be announcing that instead of running for President, he intends to focus on changing America for the better by devoting his time to things like Learn Our History, the new education company he started just days ago? Learn Our History sells educational animated history videos for kids. The video featured on the website is about the Reagan Revolution. A sign that the former Arkansas governor isnt running for president?

Huckabee originally stated that he would not make a decision about a run for President until late Summer. This latest PR stunt, has pushed that timetable up significantly and begs the question, whats behind that change? Is it a sense that he is better off establishing himself and making his case sooner rather than later? I tend to think not. I believe that the longer Huck is in, the harder he will be hit. So could it be that Huckabee merely wants to make some bucks, live the good life, and retire to his newly constructed Florida estate? The timing of it all leads me to believe that the Huckster is more inclined to advance that which can make him money as opposed to pursuing that which can cost him much.

Tim Pawlenty Could Stand To Gain While The Big Names Sit On The Sidelines

The 1st GOP Presidential debate is in the books. There are those who feel it lacked the “Wow” factor that it would have had if the top polling candidates had taken part. With Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin all declining to attend, the field was filled with candidates whose names are not well known on a national scale. Texas congressman Ron Paul is probably the exception to that statement but his public persona and Libertarian views have never played well to most in the GOP.

Of the remainder of the field that included former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, Former Godfather’s Pizza CEO and conservative talk show host Herman Cain, Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum and former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, it may have been Pawlenty that came out with the most to gain from the absence of the big name candidates.

Most of those polled said that they came away with a better opinion of Herman Cain than any other candidate. I agree. Cain came away as the non-politician’s politician but he is an unknown to most voters and will need much more than this debate to get the recognition he will need to mount a serious run. Santorum is known to a certain degree through his work on Fox News but has established himself as the social issues candidate so far in a time where the economy will likely reign supreme. Gary Johnson is the poor man’s Ron Paul and did little to move up the ladder in the debate and at points looked uncomfortable on the stage. Ron Paul is simply Ron Paul. Most Republican’s tend to agree with his economic stances and most independents with his social stances but he has difficulty communicating them in a manner that helps him in a conservative GOP primary.

That leaves Pawlenty, who did little to “Wow” the audience but came across as a solid candidate when put next to the CEO with little experience, the Libertarian’s with little communication skills and the evangelical social issue guy, as a possible challenger to the big name candidates who themselves have issues that will be exploited if and when they decide to enter the race. Romney has to answer for his health care program he implemented while Governor of MA. Gingrich has had marriage issues that have haunted him for years. Huckabee has issues regarding his stances on crime while Governor of Arkansas and Palin, well she has always incurred the wrath of the media and I expect if she decides to run in 2012 it will be no different.

So although he may have not brought the “wow” factor with him to South Carolina last Thursday night, it could be Tim Pawlenty who very well takes away the most from the debate. Although Herman Cain may have hit the “wow” factor it was Pawlenty who by reason of recognition stands to gain the most from the decision of the big names to sit this one out. If he stays on message and the more recognizable names continue to sit dormant, Tim Pawlenty has one up on the other candidates.

Draft (fill in name here) for President

As the Republican presidentialcontest begins to sort out who is running and who isnt running, public anxiety over who can actually be a viable candidate to run against President Obama, mounts. At the moment, there is a great deal of chatter about how the G.O.P. has no one who can mount a credible challenge to President Obama in 2012. Such an assertion is ludicrous, but natural. Without any single name to naturally gravitate towards as the logical leader and face of the opposition to the President, it is easy to believe that misconception. But it is important to remember that recent history shows us that the existence of an undeniably obvious nominee for the Party opposing an incumbent President is rare.

While there are always names that may seem to have the inside track for the nomination, at this early stage in the game, you usually do not have a name that is the clear frontrunner and logical candidate to lineup behind.That’s the case for republicans right now.And it is that sentiment which has forced many who are opposed to a second term for President Obama,to goon the hunt for the perfect candidate. Such pre-primary activity is a natural manifestation of the desire to insure that the incumbent President is not reelected. History has been laced with efforts to draft popular figures to run for the Oval Office.

Perhaps the most famous and one of the only truly successful draft efforts in American electoral history was that of General Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952. That effort actually began in 1948 when Democrats believed that President Harry S. Truman had no chance of getting elected. An active duty General, Ike had believed in being non-partisan when it came to politics, so for Democrats, having him carry their mantle was quite possible. And when it seemed as though Republicans might nominate General Douglas MacArthur as their candidate for President, Harry Truman himself offered to run as Eisenhowers vice presidential running mate if he would accept the Democrat Partys nomination.

Four years later Republicans who had not held the White House in twenty years and Democrats who had noincumbent to run for reelection for the first time in 16 years, clamored for a nominee who could easily win the presidency in 1952. Republican standard-bearerThomas Dewy had been the Partys nominee twice and twice he was defeated. As a result, Dewey was not inclined to run for a third time and Republicans were not inclined to let him run as their nominee again. But Governor Dewey and Massachusetts Senator Henry Cabot Lodge worked to persuade Eisenhower to run for the Republican presidential nomination through an organization called “National Citizens for Eisenhower”. Up till then, the closest name that Republicans had to a frontrunner was Robert Taft.

Senator Robert Taft

Taft was the establishment’s choice, but a schism between isolationist Republicans, represented by Taft, and internationalist Republicans who wanted someone else, gave the draft Eisenhower movement much momentum. At the same time, the spread of Communism was an issue of most importance and it was the one issue most responsible for Eisenhowers willingness to accept a run for the White House.

Ike believed in the use of diplomacy to contain the red menace in Europe. But Taft had a McCarthy-like belief in weeding out subversion at home. Things finally came to a head behind closed doors when Eisenhower told Taft that he would absolutely refuse to run if Taft agreed to collective security of Europe. But Senator Taft refused and so Ike allowed the draft movement to proceed. He also decided that if he would accept any nomination it would be the Republican nomination. This he determined when he realized that he was not in synch with the Democrats big, central government, liberty eroding approach to all the issues facing the nation.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower

By early January of 1952, Eisenhower made it clear that if he was offered the Republican presidential nomination, he would accept it. And so without Eisenhower even knowing, Henry Cabot Lodge placed Eisenhowers name on the New Hampshire Republican Primary ballot. But Eisenhower still did not campaign. In fact he told people that he did not believe that support for him was a popular as many tried to claim.

Then in February, a Draft Eisenhower for President rally was held in New Yorks Madison Square Garden. The event was expected to draw a whopping 16,000 people to it. But those projections were wrong. An overwhelming 25,000 people showed up. A month later, General Eisenhower won every single delegate in the New Hampshire primary as he defeated Robert Taft by 50% to 38%. The rest is history.

The next closest example of a draft effort, came in 1964. The effort itself though, actually began in 1961.

With the defeat of Nixon in 1960, the Republican Party began its long, contemporary evolution towards the right. The leaders of the Republican Eastern establishment seemed to have exhausted its hold on to the type of influence it had been wielding. And at the same time a growing number of conservatives were beginning to organize. These numbers first took root within the ranks of the National and State Young Republican organizations. but while all this was happening, Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater began serving as the Chairman of the Republican Senate Re-elect Committee. In this position he traveled thousands of miles, spoke before tens of thousands of people and quickly became the most popular face of the growing conservative movement.

By the time 1961 approached, with no clear choice for the 1964 Republican Presidential nomination, Conservatives itching to take the Party over from the liberal establishment, began to organize and think about who their candidate for President would be. Among a small group of political insiders, the consensus was Barry Goldwater. But Goldwater refused to run. He did not believe that he could win and he did not want his family exposed to the rigors of such a national campaign.

Then in June of 1961 Time magazine placed Goldwaters picture on their cover and did a story on his growing national popularity. They wrote;

“Goldwater is the hottest political figure this side of Jack Kennedy…. No Republican is more in demand. Since March, Goldwater’s Washington office has received more than 650 written invitations for the Senator to put in an appearance, plus hundreds of telephone requests. Goldwater’s mail runs to a remarkable 800 pieces a day…[and] visitors crowd around Barry Goldwater’s fourth floor suite in the Old Senate Office Building hoping to earn a passing hand clasp or a hastily scrawled autograph.”

This added to the motivation that a small group of activists already had. F. Clifton White, William A. Rusher, and Ohio Congressman John M. Ashbrook, began a process that combined tens of thousands of conservative contacts and began to organize a process that would get them in to Republican Party leadership positions. The most important of these positions were those of delegates to the 1964 Republican National Convention. This behind the scenes, group of three, eventually became a group of 22 and continued to grow from there. Soon it became known as the Suite 3505 Committee. 3505 being the address number of its New York City office.

Congressman John Ashbrook

After intense networking of Young Republicans, women s groups, and conservative oriented voters of all kinds, the expanded executive committee of this group concluded that Barry Goldwater was their only real choice for President in 64. But Goldwater still rejected the notion. So the committee quickly became an official draft organization that would seek to force Goldwater to run. It expanded and created state committees and between petitions, publicity and aggressive persuasion, Barry Goldwater decided on November 20, 1963 to run for the Republican presidential nomination.

Two days later, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. This changed everything. Kennedy was a friend of Goldwater and the two had come to look forward to a sincere campaign that would test their ideologies. Goldwater also knew that with President Johnson now as his opponent, his own Southern base would be undermined. Two weeks after President Kennedy was assassinated, Goldwater announced that he would not be a candidate. However, The draft movement that had been in place never stopped and on December 11^th, 1964, with polls showing Goldwater to be the clear frontrunner for the Republican nomination, he reentered the race.

Both of these draft movements teach us lessons that are relevant to todays approaching presidential election.

The draft efforts of 1952 and 1964 were both successful in getting the person they intended nominated. But both campaigns involved figures who had some sort ofundeniablyobviouspopularity. For Eisenhower it was popularity among the general population. For Goldwater, it was popularity among a growing movement within the population. Each provided momentum but equally as important, each had a candidate that was at some point in time willing to run. So the question is, can a successful draft effort be waged for the 2012 election?

It is clear that the G.O.P. is not in a position to use 1952 as a model. There is no single figure who is as popular among both Democrats and Republicans as Eisenhower was. But there are some parallels to 2012 that can be drawn from the 1964 draft Goldwater effort. Here we have a comparison that can be made between the emergence of the Conservative wing of the G.O.P. in the 60s, and the rise of the TEA Party movement of the past two years.

But there are two important distinguishing factors that come with this comparison.

The organization of the Conservatives movement in the 1960s involved coordination from within the political establishment, four years before the next presidential election. This allowed for an expedited path to organizing the movements ability to takeover the Party from within and, to elect Party officials and delegates to the National Convention. The TEA Party began on the outside of the establishment and even though it now has a few of its own on the inside, they have much less time to organize than did the effort of 1960. But perhaps the most important of all differences is that unlike the case with Conservatives in 64, the TEA movement has no one person that it is solidly behind. In 64 the Conservative movement had Barry Goldwater as their clear favorite, the consensus candidate. The Taxed Enough Already movement lacks that clear consensus choice. Is it Sarah Palin? Is it Michele Bachmann, Donald Trump, Herman Cain, Allen West, Marco Rubio, or someone else?

Sarah Palin is the one contender with whom a draft movement could possibly be most successful. But even if all the right pieces were to fall into place and a successful 1964-like Barry Goldwater draft effort helped make Sarah Palin the Republican presidential nominee, that draft model failed to win the general election.

Draft efforts that are based only upon movements within a particular segment of society are able to influence the smaller electorate of partisan politics, but they have less of a chance to influence the vast majority of the larger electorate as a whole. This is not to say that the TEA Party movement cant influence the nomination of a Republican candidate that can win the presidential election. They can. But that influence can not come through a draft effort that labels the nominee as the TEA Party candidate. Just as it did not work when Goldwater was labeled the Conservatives candidate. Being a conservative candidate and being the Conservatives candidate create two vastly differently images. The latter is a direct negative connotation implying that one is owned by a particular group. The former indicates ones own sense of conviction. It may be shared with others, but it is not owned by others.

Probably one of the most successful draft campaigns that Republicans could run is one which seeks to make General David Petraeus our nominee. Like Eisenhower he is not seen as particularly partisan, he is not viewed as being owned by any Party or movement, and at a time when our nation is waging one war, possibly getting involved in another, and winding another one down, the choice of a General as our nations leader carries a certain populist logic.

Then again, the sense of the electorate is that our economy and the national budget are our most immediate top priorities. Who would be a natural candidate to draft given that consideration?

If Donald Trump were not such a dangerously fowl mouthed, often irrational and egomaniacal, loose cannon, he could have been a strong draft pick. Were it not for RomneyCare, Mitt Romney with his private sector, managerial, and business experience, would have been another perfect fit for solving economic problems. But we all knew that Romneyhas beenrunning for a long time now, so a draft effort was never even needed for him. In factfor all intents and purposes, he should be the frontrunner without a draft effort.

Governor Mitch Daniels

The person perfectly suited for a successful draft campaign based on the economy would be Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels. As a former budget director he earned the nickname The Blade” and his leadership inIndiana, particularly on the state budget, is unmatched. Indiana is one of the most solvent state’s in the nation and its economy has been one of the strongest of all during the current economic malaise. Of course for Mitch Daniels, there is already a very active draft effort underway.

Students For Daniels has aired commercials in Iowa, organized college campuses on state levels, created an active and effective website and maintained a degree of pressure that is all good. But Mitch Daniels seems reluctant to make a decision to run and as such, the draft effort begun by Students for Daniels would need to quickly expand beyond students if it is to achieve its goal. But even then one must ask, could a person like Mitch Daniels attract a crowd of 25,000 to Madison Square Garden as the draft effort for Eisenhower did in 1952? Its unlikely.

Truly successful drafts are rare and at this stage in the game, it is unlikely that such an effort would be very productive. Although there are a handful of names that I believe are worthy of draft efforts and have an ability to generate popular support, many of those names are clearly unwilling to run. Two personal favorites of mine include Florida Senator Marco Rubio and Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan. But with 17 months or so to go, it may not be possible to coordinate the type of effort that could generate the national euphoria for their candidacies that would be necessary for them to accept the nomination. Paul Ryan is quite satisfied with the extraordinary power that he wields as Chairman of the House Budget Committee and while Marco Rubio is a sort of new phenomenon, he clearly intends to pace himself. Rubio does not want to be a flash in the pan.

That is why, all things considered, the Republican Party is probably best left to a process that involves the unforced participation fo candidates. We will be best suited by a contest that allows the eventual nominee to have to earn his or her popularity based on their ability to demonstrate the courage of leadership, their innovative solutions to our problems and the capacity to translateconservatism into the practical application of government. A contest that allows for suchabilities to be publicly tested through a hard fought campaign, can truly make those who currently believe that a viable candidate is not on the horizon, begin to believe that the right person has been right in front of eyes all this time.

Political campaigns have a way of producing heroes. Some quickly fade when the campaign ends, others linger on as trusted elder statesmen. But either way, the winner of those campaigns earn themselves at least a temporarydevout following and the 2012 primary process will be no different.

In the mean time, we the people, still seek that perfect candidate. And that search has produced no lack of current draft efforts. Here are just some that can be found:

2012 Draft Sarah Committee

Draft Jim DeMint for President in 2012

Draft Paul Ryan for President

Chris Christie for President

We Need Michele

Draft Cain 2012

Draft Allen West for President 2012

Jeb Bush 2012

Draft Rudy Giuliani for President

Students for Daniels

Draft Rand Paul for President

Draft General David Petraeus for President

Draft Michael Bloomberg 2012

Draft Lou Dobbs for President

Should Trump Run

Draft Gates 2012

Draft Mike Huckabee for President 2012

Draft Jesse Ventura

Draft Dick Cheney for President

Draft Marco Rubio for President 2012

Judge Andrew Napolitano for President

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• REPUBLICAN PARTY, RED FROM THE START by Alan Stang (via ~ GUNNY G: BLOGGER 1984 (+) BLOG & EMAIL ~) (gunnyg.wordpress.com)

Expect Mitch Daniels to Run for President

Like the countdown to a space shuttle liftoff, the month of April has been ticking down to the launch or aborted missions of several different Republican presidential candidacies. The most notable are Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, and soon to be former Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, Jr.. Both Daniels and Barbour have promised to make their decision some time by the end of April. Gingrich has recently suggested a similar timeline and Jon Huntsman who cant legally make an announcement while still serving as an Ambassador is likely to make his intentions known shortly after his April 30^th resignation takes effect.

I predict that at least three of these men will be declaring their candidacy.

While that is not a bold prediction insofar as Gingrich and Huntsman go, it is a bit of a stretch to be so definitive about Barbour and even more so concerning Mitch Daniels.

As for Huntsman and Gingrich, the secret is out. Gingrich has done little to keep his intentions hush and as soon as Huntsman announced that he was resigning from his post as the nations chief envoy to China, we all pretty much knew that he was going to act on his already stated intention to look at a run for president in 2012. In the case of Barbour, his intentions have been quite clear, but so have his hurdles to a successful run for both the Republican presidential nomination and the presidency itself. His history as a very successful lobbyist, the oozing of some unfair Southern stereotypes, combined with a few early verbal gaffes on race, and his reputation as the ultimate political insider, pose the potential Barbour campaign with some obvious questions that they have had to figure whether or not they can overcome.

In an attempt to do so, Barbour has been lighting up switchboards from California, to Florida and South Carolina, as he tests the waters. He has even politely suggested that potential supporters hold their powder, and their money, until he makes a decision. Given the extent of Barbours effort so far, I tend to believe that he has the fire in the belly that gives one presidential fever, a fever that has to be fed in order for it break. So I expect that hemaysoonannopunce the creation of his presidential exploratory committee. This will be for two purposes. One is to confirm both how much fire really is in his belly and how amenable his wife is to the idea, and two, to see that if it is at all possible for the fire in his belly to be quite enough to win the White House. As for Mitch Daniels, I am going completely out a very shaky limb when I say that he will be running.

Accept for the talk of others, Mitch Daniels has done little if anything to appear like a potential Republican presidential candidate. And while he has taken advantage of a few high-profile speaking engagements, such events are in many ways only natural for a highly successful, two term governor. At the same time, it has been no secret that like Haley Barbours wife, Mitch Daniels wife Cheri is not thrilled by the prospects of having to endure an invasive and inevitably harsh presidential campaign. So there is really very little to support my conclusion that Mitch Daniels will run.

Except for three things.

The lovely Mrs. Cheri Daniels

First is Cheri Daniels. While she is not a fan of the spotlight and is not excited about the possibility of having to join her husband on the presidential campaign trail, in this, Daniels last year as Governor of Indiana, Cheri has agreed to be the main speaker at a Republican State Party dinner. That is not exactly the sign of a spouse preparing to fade in to the obscurity of private life. It sounds to me more like an introduction of both her to the people, and of Cheri to the spotlight.

Another event having me lean more towards a Daniels run, than against it, is the timing of a major speech on education that the Governor is slated to give in Washington, D.C. at the American Institute. This event is five days after the Indiana state legislative session is scheduled to conclude. Daniels has promised to announce his decision regarding the presidency when that sessionis over. It is here that I do not expect Daniels to announce that he is running, but rather the start of either his exploratory committee or the very soon date to come when he will make a similar announcement.

The final reason I have for believing that Mitch Daniels is in fact running for President has to do with his dragging the question out. Mitch Daniels is an understated man. He is not about the drama. He is a nuts and bolts guy and he had nothing to gain by dragging out the possibility of a presidential candidacy. His whole reason for not announcing his interest in running was due to state politics. Daniels did not want the left to accuse the him of advancing policies that were good for his presidential aspirations but bad for the state. And if Governor Daniels would have been able to get rid of that suspicion altogether by announcing that he was not running for President, he would have done that long ago.

There are of course some caveats.

I do not yet sense that Mitch Daniels has the same fire in the belly that his longtime close friend Haley Barbour does. For that reason, I am suspicious of there beingsome friendly teamwork going here. As I described in a previous White House 2012 post entitled Is a Barbour/Daniels Ticket in the Works? , Daniels could become a candidate in order to help divide the vote outside of the South, between himself, Tim Pawlenty, and Mitt Romney. This split would allow Barbour to fare better outside of the South where he does not do so well. It would also help keep Mitt Romney from racking up big numbers. In that scenario, Daniels would eventually drop out of the race and try to swing his delegates over to Haley Barbour.

This may sound too Machiavellian to some but this is the big time. It is politics at the highest level and few know how to play politics better than the ultimate political insider, Haley Barbour. That combined with a well established, longstanding friendship between Barbour, Daniels and their families, makes this not quite as far-fetched as some might be inclined to think.

I for one hope that isnt the case. As someone who in 2008, supported Mitt Romney for President, was a part of the Draft Sarah Palin for Vice President movement, and is currently torn between them Haley Barbour, Mitch Daniels and Newt Gingrich, I am looking forward to a genuine battle for my support. I am hoping for a contest that will force the eventual nominee to have to truly earn the nomination and allow us to discover who truly represents our conservative values best, can advance them the most, and is most capable of applying them to the practical application of government. I believe all of the above mentioned names are candidates who can do that. The question is, which one can do all three the best? It is my deepest wish to find that out through a well fought contest, that publicly tests all these skills among all the candidates.

But before that process begins, I expect this final week in April to be slow, in the sense of it being a slow build up to a very busy May.

Related Articles

• Why Mitch Daniels is the Republican to watch for ’12 (salon.com)
• Some Republicans Crave More Presidential Options (thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com)
• More Evidence It’s Still Very Early (politicalwire.com)
• GOP Picture for 2012 Remains Blurry (online.wsj.com)
• Mitch Daniels, secret Arab, wins award from Arab group (salon.com)

Huckabee 2.0

In an interview with The Daily Beast’s John Avlon, Ed Rollins, the 2008 campaign manager for Mike Huckabee, believes that the former Arkansas Governor will again be running for the Republican presidential nomination. Rollins tells Avlon, “Personally, it’s my sense that he’ll go for it this time.”

Rollins adds “Governor Huckabee is considering a presidential race seriously,.”

Currently it seems like there is no political reason in the world for Huckabee not to run. Just about every major poll has him either in first place or within the top three. And except for Mitt Romney who has a an extremely tenuous, titular, hold on frontrunner status, there is no one candidate that is obviously holding the keys to the Republican presidential nomination.

Huckabee is also a perfect candidate. He is not only warm and affable, he is quick on his feet and he knows how to coin a catchy phrase and convey a true understanding of the people he is addressing aswell as, if not better than,any top notch political speech writer or consultant, . Funny, warm, easy going, quick witted, down to earth, a Republican who won a heavily Democrat state, Mike Huckabee has it all. He is so good that it makes it hard for you not to get behind him even if you don’t want to.

So on paper, Huckabee has to be viewed as a top contender and obvious name to throw his hat in the ring. But turn the page and Huckabee has a number of reasons to resist the temptation of a run for President.

On a personal level, Mike Huckabee is making more money than he ever has in his life and is in the midst of having a rather expensive dream home built for him and his family in Florida. He has a lucrative contract with Fox News, is pushing great sales of his latest book and does not have the national media and a dozen perspective Republican opponents, prying into his life and relentlessly attacking his every word and action.

Such will not be the case if he runs.

But that still has little bearing on one who has politics pulsing through their veins. Politics is like a blood disorder that has a mix of power, ego, and invincibility effecting the brain in a way that impairs judgment. And the only cure for it is the certainty inability to get over political liabilities. Take Nevada’s John Ensign, please. Until a little more than a year ago, the two term senator was going to be running for President in 2012. Like Huckabee, he had a lot of the right stuff. Until it came out that he had an affair with the wife of one of his staffers and his mommy and daddy were paying off a settlement with the aide.

Of cause the former minister, Mike Huckabee, has no such problems that we know of. But he does have his share of political baggage. And while the polls that have him high in the sky right do not reflect it, when Mitt Romney alone gets done with the Huckabee record, those poll numbers will not be so high. Then throw in Newt Gingrich, Tim Palwenty, Rick Santorum, Herman Cain, Haley Barbour, Gary Johnson, Fred Karger, and a number of other likely candidates, and what you have is a standoff between Huckabee and a negative insurgency of naysayers who will wear him down.

Then there is the payback factor.

In 2008, Mike Huckabee was the biggest thorn in Mitt Romney’s side. He chipped away at Romney in a tag team-like free for all with John McCain that helped assure McCain of the Republican presidential nomination.

Romney will not let that happen again and he will be gunning for Huckabee early. In fact, if Huckabee runs, his high standings in the polls will make him a key target of all the candidates. Each one of them will have Huckabee’s campaign in their crosshairs. Romney will just be the commander handing out the coordinates of all of Huckabee’s vulnerabilities, such as the paroles of violent criminals who raped and killed after Huckabee set them free, and his much to be desired record on taxes.

But are these weaknesses enough to flush out the politics that rushes through Huckabee’s veins? Probably not. Unless he knows that another candidate’s campaign has the silver bullet, the polls, the lack of an undeniable frontrunner, and the sick mix of power, ego, and invincibility will move Huck towards a run for the White House. Without that silver bullet, the only real way for Huck to get this out of his system is to go as far as he possibly can in the race and after being chewed up and spat out, retiring to his Florida estate with his tail between his legs.

Related Articles

• Will Mike Huckabee Take the Presidential Plunge? – msnbc.com (news.google.com)
• Rollins Thinks Huckabee Will Run (politicalwire.com)
• Huckabee, Trump Tied For Lead In Gallup Poll (outsidethebeltway.com)
• A Romney-Huckabee-Pawlenty Race? (powerlineblog.com)
• Huckabee Way Ahead in Iowa (politicalwire.com)
• Trump tied with Huckabee at top of GOP presidential field – USA Today (news.google.com)
• Mike Huckabee Leads Iowa, Trump Fading (Already) (businessinsider.com)
• Mike Huckabee Flying High In Polls, But On Fence For 2012 (huffingtonpost.com)

Huckabee’s Fair Tax Mistake

Mike Huckabee has released an editorial promoting the virtues of a national sales tax or as he calls it the Fair Tax.

He writes;

Hopefully by now youre somewhat familiar with how the FairTax works, but if not let me explain it briefly: You get rid of all income and payroll taxes and you get rid of corporate taxes completely. When someone tells you corporations should be taxed more – remember, if more taxes are put on a corporation – the corporation is simply going to raise the prices of their products to cover the increase – passing the increased cost to you.

That sounds good but it is also typical Mike Huckabee.deceptive.

Now I shouldnt be too hard on Huckabee. He does at least have the guts to propose true reform of a tax system that is obsolete, chaotic, oppressive, and a hindrance to economic growth. We need a presidential candidate and President who will not simply tinker with a broken system but prepared to support a cash for clunkers like approach to our tax code by junking it and replacing it with a system that does not penalize success, oppress entrepreneurial innovation, and hold back our economy.

Huckabee is correct when he writes refers to tax reform in his editorial by writing , I do know we wont have a chance if we dont have the courage and leadership in Congress to see the task through. That is most certainly true. But that leadership must come from more than just Congress. Sweeping change must be supported by our Commander-in-Chief, the person who has the power of the bully pulpit behind them and who believes in the reforms that he or she convinces the nation of the need for.

But the Fair Tax is not the reform that this nation needs. First of all, the Fair Tax is anything but fair. If George Soros decides to have his help purchase televisions for all the bathrooms in all of his estates, he can afford the additional cost that a national sales tax places on his purchases. But for an average family that lives from pay check to pay check, the new national sales tax simply makes it harder for them to replace the one TV screen that they have had for 10 years and is displaying a screen with a picture that is shrinking.

For a family making $200,000 a year, a rise in the cost of all products may be affordable but for too many higher prices simply puts more products further out of the reach and places a significant burden on them.

Higher prices are not what I believe the Republican candidate for President or Congress should be proposing.

Instead I believe it is incumbent upon our Party and its candidates to demand that we abolish our current arcane tax code and replace it with a Flat Tax. Unlike the so-called Fair Tax, a Flat Tax is exactly what it says..flat. It is one rate for one nation. There is no discrimination, there is no hike in the costs of products and there is no penalizing of success. Instead, a Flat Tax offers tax relief, puts an end to loopholes, and grows our economy.

Of the last ten years, the fastest growing economies of the world have adopted a flat tax for their nations. The greatest examples of this exist in the former Soviet states of the Balkans. When they adopted a flat tax, they saw their economies boom and have maintained steady economic development and growth. Yet, the United States, still hangs on to our antiquated tax system, a system that only grows our economy whenever we tinker with it to reduce rates. And when we reduce rates, which area of debate is the greatest source of disagreement? Why it is who those reductions should go to. And from there inevitable comes the debate on what constitutes defining one as rich.

The Flat Tax puts an end to all those debates. With a Flat Tax rate of say, 14%, the wealthy still pay a greater percentage than do the less wealthy. 14% of 40 million comes out to be much more than does 14% of 40 thousand. And unlike Mike Huckabees national sales tax, it does unduly burden families with higher costs. In fact for many, it lowers the amount of money that the government currently takes from them.

Huckabee understands that we need real change in America. That is a good thing, but what he does not realize is that the change he proposes does more harm than good and if he really wants to promote tax fairness, then the Flat Tax, one rate for one nation is the way to go.

Government does not produce wealth and it is not naturally sustainable. The people and the entrepreneurial spirit of America through its free markets, are what creates wealth and sustains our government. That is why I believe we must eliminate our current oppressive tax code, a tax code that rewards failure must go. We need leadership that will implement what I call a National Economic Recovery and Responsibility plan that will help spark our economy, reduce spending and put America back on the road to a steady, growing, stable economy. As such I offer my own detailed tax reform plan for Governor Huckabee to consider in place of his national sales tax.

I.-The National Tax Equity Act

(For a detailed explanation click on thebill titlelink above)

1. A flat tax rate on individuals and businesses shall be adopted as outlined below with a rate of 18% that, after three years, will level off at 15.5% of whats left of the total annual income from all wages, salaries, and pensions after subtracting a personal allowance.

Those four allowances would be:

• – $26,600 for married filling jointly
• – $16,850 for single head of household
• – $13,650 for single
• – $5,300 for each dependent child

1.A Individual gross earnings up to 2 times the established poverty level (based upon the year preceding) are exempt from taxation. All income above that level shall be taxed at the specified rate.

1.B Businesses and Corporations with gross earnings up to the value resulting from multiplying the number of legal US resident employees in the business against 2 times the established poverty level (based on the year preceding) shall be exempt from taxation with all gross income above that level taxed at the specified rate.

1.C– All corporations will be taxed by the same single national tax rate and they will take their total income, subtract total expenses and if the result is a positive amount (profit), they will pay tax on that amount at a the national tax rate.

2.A – All Businesses and Corporations thatexceed federalenergy efficiency and environmental standardswill be entitled to an annual dedcution of10%the amount oftheir annual profit.

2.B-All individual home amd property owners thatexceed federalenergy efficiency and environmental standardswill be entitled to an annual dedcution of10%the amount oftheir annual profit.

3.A -There shall be an exemption up to but not to exceed the greater of 10% of gross annual income or 25% of the annual median income, applied to College Savings Accounts, Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA), Money Market Accounts and Certificates of Deposits.

3.B– Allow for the automatic deposit of tax refunds that are based onthe rate of savings formula implemented upon passage of thefederally insuredPrivatizedFuture Security Annuity Accountsprogram that will take the place of SSI.(see proposed PFSA program here)

3.C-Provide employment-based health insurance to individuals with annuals earnings under $55,000, in the form of refundable, advanceable tax credits. Families would get up to $5,700 a year and individuals up$2,300 to buy insurance and invest in Health Savings Accounts

4. Social Security benefits are exempt from taxation.

5. A complete 100% exemption from the flat tax for spouses of military personnel deployed in a theatre of battle to be effective from the time of deployment to the end of the calendar year after deployment ends.

6– The following will hereby require a 2/3 majority for passage and adoption:

-Raising or reducing the flat tax rate

• -Extending or eliminating tax credits
• -Increasing or decreasing the rate of a penalty tax
• -Creating any new penalty taxes
• -Borrowing money to pay for general expenses

7. Direct income from inheritance settlements are exempt from taxation.

8. Specific provisions for implementation to be determined by a Congressional review committee with input from regulators, industry representatives and budget experts

Ouch! The GOP Presidential Race Is Already Getting Sharp

The race for President may be slow to start but one candidate for the Republican presidential nomination who is not letting any grass grow under his feet is Fred Karger. At this early stage in the still evolving presidential race, Karger has come out punching and he is looking for a knockout. His two most recent victims are Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney. In a very hard hitting piece for the UKs Guardian, Republican presidential candidate Fred Karger set his sites on the religious rights darling candidate, Mike Huckabee, and outlined reasons why Huckabee is unfit to be President.

In Kargers column, he points out the problem that Huckabee will have with his granting of clemency to a criminal who later went on to kill four police officers, while they were sitting in a diner. This situation is very reminiscent of the Michael Dukakis furlough of Willie Horton, an event that went down in the annals of political campaign history and ultimately played a large part in Dukakis landslide, 1988 defeat. Interestingly Fred Karger was working for the opponent of Mike Dukakis, George Herbert Walker Bush, and he played an instruemental roll in the infamous Willie Horton ad. Now, more than two decades later, Karger sees history repeating itself, but this time against a Republican.

In September of 2010 White House 2012 addressed the very same issue that Karger has written about. In a piece called Huckabees Record Will Haunt Him in 2012, I maintained that the clemency problem facing Huckabee is even worse than it was for Michael Dukakis regarding his furlough program. In it,the I describe how that there are several instances where, as Governor of Arkansas, Huckabee granted clemency to a few criminals who went on to commit greater crimes. There was Wayne DuMond who Huckabee granted clemency to and after he was released, raped and killed two women. But it is clemcy of Maurice Clemmons that will probably hurt Huckabee the most. Clemmons killing of four police officers in Lakewood, Washington is enough to keep Huckabee out of the race. And I maintain that despite Huckabees recent meeting with financial bundlers in New York, the clemency problem that Huckabee will inevitably have to confront, will in fact keep him from running.

In another White House 2012 article entitled Can Republicans Pardon the Pardons, Jsmashmouth articulates similar sentiments but he adds that Tim Pawlenty may also have a problem in this area.

However; in Kargers column, he does not stop at the pardon problems of Huckabee. Karger also attacks Huck for his un-Christian remarks about homosexuals and he calls Huckabee out for casting aspersions and being a bully.

And this week, while Karger is chopping at the reputation of Mike Huckabee, he also took the opportunity to use an MSNBC interview to confirm that Huckabee is not his only target. When asked if his campaign was specifically trying to throw a monkey wrench in to the presidential campaign of Mitt Romney, Karger stated that such a thing is a welcome sidebar note.

Karger was a key player in trying to pass legalized gay marriage in California and the most aggressive opponentof the proposition which would have made it legal was the Mormon Church of Latter Day Saints. As a Mormon himself, Mitt Romney is seen as a leader in the LDS community and as such, it is Kargers hope to influence Mitt Romney to appeal to his religions leaders and put an end to their persecution of homosexuals.

So far, this has been a good week for Karger who is still a relatively unknown candidate and while he may not exactly be making friends, he is making news and in politics. And while some might say that Kargers attacks will be short-lived, I say think again. First of all, Karger is an experienced political strategists and consultant. That means he knows how to get some beneficial mileage out of an argument. And secondly, as a gay man, I can tell you that fellow gay men like Fred Karger can be, excuse the language,…….. relentless bitches. We can teach courses on it. So I would suggest that those who Karger sets his sites on, address the issue he puts on the table or else they will get no rest.

Where’s the Leadership?

There is little point even getting into the way many of us feel about the way the government funding situation was handled. Suffice it to say that only those who make their living fawning over the party leadership and never have an opinion until they are given one are happy with how things turned out. Everyone else is disappointed either because they feel the process made the party look bad or because after all that fuss we didn’t really get anything. Put all those feeling aside for the moment and ask yourself, “Did the Presidential hopefuls demonstrate leadership over this?”

With the exception of Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann, the Republican Presidential hopefuls all managed to avoid those press cameras in front of which they are usually jumping before the situation was basically resolved. Then a handful came back out of hiding to provide comments. Gingrich and Barbour tried to neither endorse nor condemn the deals by just saying we have a long way more to go. Huckabee basically parroted what Obama had been saying all along, i.e. the Republican proposals were too extreme and compromise was necessary and appropriate. Is this the field that will inspire us to victory in 2012?

It feels like a sick joke to have to always bring up Ronald Reagan not as a lesson to the Democrats, but as a reminder to the Republicans. How could people who profess such adoration of Reagan and conservative values so consistently turn their backs on both? Did Reagan go missing when major issues were being decided before 1980? No. We all know that. We all know that he went out and spoke for his conservative vision and principles without deviation for years without ever censoring himself for fear that he might be on the wrong side of something. He stood up for conservatism even when the country was lurching to the left and his views were not ‘what the voter wanted to hear’.

It was that dedication to principles he knew were right, even if they were not polling well, that inspired more than a generation of conservatives and shifted the country. There was the leadership. He didn’t shift his views or statements to fit the public sentiment. He shifted the public sentiment to his views by his statements. That is the kind of leadership we all want from a President and from those candidates who seek that office. Regardless of which way you may lean in your views, there is no denying that most of those who seek to be our Presidential nominee are not demonstrating that level of leadership.

Some apologists will argue that it is too early to begin campaigning for 2012 or that having the candidates go out and lead would undermine the position of Boehner in House. That is all nonsense. The candidates are more than happy to campaign for 2012 right now when all it involves is jumping on the bandwagon of whatever is popular. A show of leadership and strength from Presidential candidates would only help Boehner by deflecting some of the heat the Democrats are directly entirely at him and energizing the people to stand by the goals they voted for in 2010.

Taking a stand on principles is a risk. It could mean losing in 2012. But, if all we’re going to get to see from candidates is Obamaesque hiding out until things fall one direction and then jumping out to either claim responsibility or issue blame, then how are we to know who should lead us in 2012? Moreover, if that is what our candidates propose to do, are any of them worthy to lead us in 2012? It may sound harsh, but it must be said. Our nominee in 2012 needs to be a leader who can champion our values, not a politician who answers questions by saying nothing and avoids situations because they have risk.

We need to look beyond the image candidates cultivate and even beyond their records to see if they are leaders or simply followers who got lucky by being in the right places at the right times. Some of those running may not really share our values, but have been riding on the coat tails of conservative State legislatures. Their silence on issues on the national stage is a sign of their ideological emptiness. On the other hand, others have previously shown great leadership at the State level, but for some reason are gun shy on the national stage. To them go these words: step up. We have seen too many great conservative leaders fumble primaries by hiding what we admired about them under the cloak of campaign mundanity. We are looking for leaders who will champion conservative values, not facilitators to negotiate good with bad to give us less bad.

Despite all the bad that can be said about the Democrat leadership, the one thing that can’t be said is that they are spineless. They knowingly sacrificed an election to force through their agenda. You can’t negotiate with people who are willing to torpedo their own power in order to accomplish an agenda. That’s like trying to talk down a kamikaze. They have raised the stakes and shown they are willing to pay any price to gain their objectives. We need leaders who recognize that shift and adjust tactics and strategy to address it. So far such leadership has been conspicuously absent with but few exceptions. We need better.