February 14, 2008
Mitt Romney will be President in 2012
Repost... this is an excellent video that sums up his CPAC speech.
February 13, 2008
Mitt Romney: The true economic conservative
He knows how to work with a democratic congress.
"I went after taxes as well. The Legislature passed a $250 million retroactive capital gains tax increase. I knew my veto would be overridden by the 85% Democrat majority. So I had the Department of Revenue send every taxpayer a pro forma bill for their new higher taxes, and then I waited for folks to call their legislators. And did they ever. Then, I sent the Legislature an amendment that turned the $250 million tax increase into a $250 million refund. Amazingly, the Legislature now saw the error of their ways."
February 12, 2008
Troubling quote by John McCain
"I believe my party has gone astray. I think the Democratic Party is a fine party, and I have no problems with it, in their views and their philosophy."-John McCain
If he really does embrace their ideology... who are the Americans going to choose? The Diet Coke of liberalism or the real deal in Barack "Karl Marx" Obama?
The best exchanges of the campaign
Here are some of the best exchanges of the campaign. McCain's exchange makes it very difficult to support McCain. As I remember this, it makes it incredibly difficult to support him in the general election. I am struggling to throw my support to John McCain after the Clintonian stunt he pulled in Florida and on Super Tuesday against Mitt Romney.
Romney vs. Huckabee
HUCKABEE: And the fact is there were specific issues that I’ve
been attacked for, sometimes pretty brutally on some of these
television spots, but I’m proud of the fact that I governed and
lowered taxes, and did something that had never been done in my state,
and did it against the headwinds of a Democratic legislature that had
never done it in 160 years before.WALLACE: Governor Romney?
ROMNEY: Well, facts are different things.
I think, Mike, you agreed that net-net, you raised taxes by half
a billion dollars. Is that right?HUCKABEE: You know, Mitt, let’s talk about how stubborn the
facts are. Answer the question.HUCKABEE: The fees I think you raised were more like half a
billion dollars, not $240 million. You came into office…ROMNEY: Mike, I asked you a question…
HUCKABEE: … with a deficit, and you left with one.
ROMNEY: You know, the let’s — facts are stubborn things. Let’s
get the facts right, OK? I came in with a…HUCKABEE: And you opposed those Bush tax cuts in 2002.
ROMNEY: You know, Mike, you make up facts faster than you talk,
and that’s saying something. So let’s slow it down and let’s get the
facts correctly.HUCKABEE: All right.
ROMNEY: I came in, there was a $3 billion budget gap. Together
with the legislature, we cut spending, we also raised fees, and we
calculated how much money we raised in the fees.It was $240 million. We can show you the number. And at the end
of my first year, we had a surplus. Every single year I was in office
I generated a surplus, and we put over a billion dollars in our rainy
day fund.Now, I asked you a question to begin with. And that was, net-
net, did you raise taxes in your state by half a billion dollars?
HUCKABEE: We raised jobs, we built our roads.ROMNEY: You know, that’s political speak.
HUCKABEE: You know, Mitt…
ROMNEY: The question is — you can avoid this issue by just
saying…HUCKABEE: … you spent tens of millions of dollars sayings all
negative things about me. If someone raises a question, you say it’s
a personal attack. And facts are stubborn things, and you mentioned
that. And did you support or oppose the 2002 Bush tax cuts?ROMNEY: I have never opposed the Bush 2002 tax cuts. I
supported them. The first comment I made about the Bush tax cuts was
that I supported the Bush tax cuts.I do not oppose them. I support them, always have.
Now let me go back to the question I’ve asked you that you
refused to answer three times — did you raise taxes, net, in Arkansas
by $500 million?HUCKABEE: By a court order that said we had to improve
education. Maybe — maybe you don’t have to obey the court in
Massachusetts. I did in Arkansas. And you know something? Education
is a good thing for kids, because kids…ROMNEY: I agree.
Romney vs. McCain
HOOK: Yes. I'd like to start with Governor Romney.Obviously, Iraq is still a major issue in this campaign, and over the last few days there's been a real back-and-forth going on here. Senator McCain has said over and over again that you supported a timetable for a phased withdrawal from Iraq.
Is that true?
ROMNEY: Absolutely, unequivocal -- if I can get that word out -- unequivocably, absolutely no. I have never, ever supported a specific timetable for exit from Iraq.
ROMNEY: And it's offensive to me that someone would suggest that I have.
And I have noted that everyone from Time magazine to Bill Bennett over there to actually CNN's own analysts, he said it was a lie and it's absolutely wrong.
I do not support that, never have. We've had -- we've -- and Senator McCain pointed to an interview I had back in April with ABC, when I said that our president and their prime minister should have timetables and milestones.
We have timetables and milestones for progress that we're making together. But I never suggested a date specific to withdraw and, were to give you a date specific for withdrawal, would you, Senator, veto it?" I said I'd veto it.
I'm opposed to setting a specific date for withdrawal. By the way, we've had, since that time, 10-12 debates. Senator McCain never raised that question in any of those debates.
If he ever wondered what my position was, he could have raised it. I instead have pointed out time and time again, and let me make it absolutely clear again tonight, I will not pull our troops out until we have brought success in Iraq, and that means, for me, that we do not have safe havens for al Qaeda or Hezbollah or anyone else, that our troops have secured the population from that kind of threat, that they will not have safe havens from which they could launch attacks against us.
And if there's any misunderstanding, those words should make it perfectly clear, as have every single debate that I've attended...
COOPER: Senator...
ROMNEY: ... 15 debates. I do not propose nor have I ever proposed a public or secret date for withdrawal. It's just simply wrong.
And by the way, raising it a few days before the Florida primary, when there was very little time for me to correct the record, when the date of withdrawal," sort of falls in the kind of dirty tricks that I think Ronald Reagan would have found to be reprehensible.
(APPLAUSE)
COOPER: Senator McCain, tough words.
MCCAIN: Well, of course, he said he wanted a timetable. Before that, we have to understand that we lost the 2006 election and the Democrats thought that they had a mandate. They thought they had a mandate to get us out of Iraq.
And I was prepared to sacrifice whatever was necessary in order to stand up for what I believed in.
Now, in December of 2006, after the election, Governor Romney was won't weigh in. I'm a governor."
At the time, he didn't want to weigh in because he was a governor, I was out there on the front lines with my friends saying, "We not only can't withdraw, but we've got to have additional troops over there in order for us to have a chance to succeed."
Then in April, April was a very interesting year (sic) in 2007. That's when Harry Reid said the war is lost and we've got to get out. And the buzzword was "timetables, timetables."
Governor, the right answer to that question was "no," not what you said, and that was we don't want to have them lay in the weeds until we leave and Maliki and the president should enter into some kind of agreement for, quote, "timetables."
"Timetables" was the buzzword for the...
ROMNEY: Why don't you use the whole quote, Senator?
MCCAIN: ... withdrawal. That...
ROMNEY: Why don't you use the whole quote? Why do you insist on...
MCCAIN: I'm using the whole quote, where you said "I won't"...
ROMNEY: ... not using the actual quote? That's not what I said.
MCCAIN: The actual quote is, "We don't want them to lay in the weeds until we leave." That is the actual quote and I'm sure...
ROMNEY: What does that mean?
MCCAIN: ... fact-checkers --
ROMNEY: What is the meaning?
MCCAIN: It means a timetable until we leave.
ROMNEY: Listen, Senator, let's...
COOPER: Let me jump in, because the quote that I have...
ROMNEY: Is it not fair -- is it not fair to have the person who's being accused of having a position he doesn't have be the expert on what his position is?
How is it that you're the expert on my position, when my position has been very clear?
(APPLAUSE)
I'll tell you, this is...
MCCAIN: I'm the expert. I'm the expert on this. When you said...
ROMNEY: This is the kind -- this is the kind -- this is...
MCCAIN: ... "I won't weigh in. I'm a governor." You couldn't weigh in because you were a governor...
ROMNEY: That's a separate point.
MCCAIN: ... back when we were having the fight over it.
ROMNEY: That's a separate point.
MCCAIN: The fact is...
ROMNEY: That's a separate point.
MCCAIN: ... that I have fought for this surge. I have said we need to have this succeed. I know the situation in Iraq and I am proud to have supported this president and supported the fact that we are succeeding in Iraq today.
ROMNEY: There's...
MCCAIN: If we had done -- if we had waited and laid in the weeds until we leave, then al Qaeda would have won and we would be facing a disastrous situation in the...
COOPER: There's two separate issues being discussed...
MCCAIN: ... today.
COOPER: ... and I just want to clarify both of them. First of all...
MCCAIN: These are...
COOPER: ... Senator McCain...
MCCAIN: ... quotes that I am giving you that are direct quotes.
COOPER: So, Senator McCain, the quote is from Governor Romney on GMA that you've been quoting. The actual quote is, "Well, there's no question that the president and Prime Minister al-Maliki have to have a series of timetables and milestones"...
MCCAIN: Timetables and milestones.
COOPER: ... "that they speak about, but those shouldn't be for public pronouncement. You don't want the enemy to understand how long they have to wait in the weeds until you're going to be gone."
MCCAIN: You don't have to...
COOPER: He does not say he is supporting a withdrawal.
MCCAIN: ... wait until the enemy lays in the weeds until we leave. That means that we were leaving.
COOPER: It's open to interpretation.
MCCAIN: If we weren't leaving, how could the enemy lay in the weeds?
(CROSSTALK)
ROMNEY: Senator, if you have question on this, if you have a question on this, you can just ask it.
MCCAIN: I'm sorry you did not have -- could not weigh in as governor on the surge when it was the critical issue. And I'm sorry...
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: ... so let me just allow you to respond to the issue of the going to be gone, laying in the weeds question.
MCCAIN: Timetables was the buzzword for those that wanted to get out.
COOPER: OK.
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: And you're saying, point blank, you did not want to get out then. What did you mean by that statement?
ROMNEY: That we have a series of timetables and milestones for working on the progress that they're making, the progress we're making, the rule of law, what their soldiers are doing, what our soldiers are doing.
COOPER: OK.
ROMNEY: How many troops they're able to recruit, how well the following question, "do you have a specific time, would you support Congress if they gave you a specific time?" I said "absolutely not."
COOPER: Let me -- OK, on the...
ROMNEY: By the way, this has been around. If this was a question, it could have been raised in April or May.
COOPER: On the second issue...
ROMNEY: But it was raised...
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: I want to give you an opportunity...
MCCAIN: It was raised many times. I raised it many times, as to whether you have the experience and the judgment to lead this country in the war against radical Islamic extremism. I've raised that many times.
ROMNEY: Senator McCain...
MCCAIN: And I will continue to raise it.
COOPER: I want to give you, Governor Romney...
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: ... a chance to respond to the other accusation.
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: All right. Let's just focus on this, the second one, which is the issue that Senator McCain raised, which was actually back in the surge, when you were a governor, and you did say you would not take a position.
This was in January -- excuse me -- December of 2006. Two months later, you announced you were running for president.
Why two months before you were running for president were you not willing to take a position on supporting or not supporting a surge?
ROMNEY: Look, as governor of the state, there are a lot of issues of a federal nature that I didn't take a position on. I was running a state. My responsibility was for running a state. When I became a governor, I took a whole series of positions on national issues. That's normal and natural.
With regard to the surge, the briefing that I received -- I received an early briefing from Fred Kagan on the size of our military. After I received that, I said I support increasing our military by at least 100,000. And then just prior to the president's announcement of the surge, I spoke again with Fred Kagan, and he laid out the philosophy of the surge, his vision for it. As you know, many consider him one of the authors of the surge idea. And when he gave me that report, I met with my staff and announced that day that I supported a surge. The president announced later that day the entire program.
So I supported it as a candidate for president, No. 1.
No. 2, with regards to this idea that I favor a specific date for withdrawal -- I do not. We've had, I believe since that interview that the senator quotes, we've had 10 or 12 debates. He's never raised that issue with me. He's never said, "are you for a date specific?" had, I said I will not leave Iraq until we have secured Iraq, make sure it will never become a safe haven.
And what's interesting here is it's an attempt to do the Washington-style old politics, which is lay a charge out there, regardless of whether it's true or not, don't check it, don't talk to the other candidate, just throw it out there, get it in the media and the stream.
There's not a single media source that I've seen that hasn't said it wasn't reprehensible. Even the New York Times said it was wrong. The Washington Post -- they endorsed you -- The Washington Post gave you three Pinocchios for it. It's simply -- it's simply wrong, and the senator knows it.
My favorite Mitt Romney quotes
"Dependency is death to initiative, risk-taking and opportunity. Dependency is a culture-killing drug—we have got to fight it like the poison it is!"
"America is unique in the history of the world. In the history of the world, whenever there's been conflict, the nation that wins takes land from the nation that loses. One nation in history, and this during the last century, laid down hundreds of thousands of lives and took no land: no land from Germany, no land from Korea, no land from Japan. America, is unique in the sacrifice it has made for liberty, for itself and for freedom-loving people around the world.""The best ally peace has ever known and will ever know is a strong America."
"It's high time to lower taxes, including corporate taxes, to take a weed-whacker to government regulations, to reform entitlements, and to stand up to the increasingly voracious appetite of the unions in our government!"
"I firmly believe, by the providence of the Almighty, that we will succeed beyond our fondest hope. America must remain, as it has always been, the hope of the earth."
Moderator: Governor Romney, Daniel Duchovnik (ph) from Walnut Creek, California, wants to know: What do you dislike most about America?Romney: Gosh. I love America. I'm afraid I'm going to be at a loss for words because America for me is not just our rolling mountains and hills and streams and great cities. It's the American people.
And the American people are the greatest people in the world. What makes America the greatest nation in the world is the heart of the American people: hardworking, innovative, risk-taking, God- loving, family-oriented American people.
It's that optimism we thank Ronald Reagan for. Thank you, Mrs. Reagan, for opening up this place in his memory for us. It is that optimism about this great people that makes this the greatest nation on earth.
"I can't imagine a government telling a church who can have Communion in their church. We have a separation of church and state. It's served us well in this country."
"Freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom. Freedom opens the windows of the soul so that man can discover his most profound beliefs and commune with God. Freedom and religion endure together, or perish alone."
"in recent years, the notion of the separation of church and state has been taken by some well beyond its original meaning. They seek to remove from the public domain any acknowledgment of God. Religion is seen as merely a private affair with no place in public life. It is as if they are intent on establishing a new religion in America – the religion of secularism."
"Recall the early days of the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia, during the fall of 1774. With Boston occupied by British troops, there were rumors of imminent hostilities and fears of an impending war. In this time of peril, someone suggested that they pray. But there were objections. 'They were too divided in religious sentiments', what with Episcopalians and Quakers, Anabaptists and Congregationalists, Presbyterians and Catholics.Then Sam Adams rose, and said he would hear a prayer from anyone of piety and good character, as long as they were a patriot.
"And so together they prayed, and together they fought, and together, by the grace of God ... they founded this great nation. "
"We all talked about benchmarks. Well, how about benchmarks in Washington? Let's lay out what we're going to get done, and instead of just talking about the same old same old, let's streamline and make Washington more efficient."
"We're going to have about 40 percent of the government employees turn over in the next couple of terms. And if we can -- we can reduce the employment there, but more importantly, is to go through all the agencies, all the departments, all the programs and cut out the unnecessary and the wasteful."
"The truth of the matter is, it really is kind of offensive, I think, when I watch our Democrats, or anybody else, for that matter, attacking corporations that are creating jobs. I’ve spent 30 years in the private sector. I spent my time learning how to build a small business. I built a small business and grew it. I helped go back and turn around a company that was in trouble.I’m proud of the fact that some of the companies we invested in
created a lot of jobs. I had some failures, too. I know what it’s
like to have to make a tough decision. I’ve seen businesses go under.
But I can tell you, I’ve been in the economy, I’ve been there in the
real world, and we need a president who knows how the economy works,
knows why jobs come and go, understands what the competition from
China really means and how to stand up to it.We also need a president who knows how to shrink the federal
government, and I know how to take out people that aren’t needed and
how to take out programs that aren’t needed, and we need some of that
in Washington."
February 11, 2008
Mitt Romney: The future of the Republican Party
This video, built using Mitt Romney's CPAC speech... reminds me why I have supported Mitt Romney, why I support him now, and why I will support him in the future. Mitt Romney will return the United States to the great nation that it once was.
Romney and Paul supporters for Huckabee
Huckabee cannot win in the primaries... but he can take this to a brokered convention. The only chance Romney and Paul have is to bring this to a brokered convention. I do not want McCain to be our nominee. I do not support Huckabee's platform either; however, I will vote for him because I want to bring this to the convention. If I have to choose between Obama and McCain I will bring a puke bucket to the polls and vote for McCain... but I would much rather get the chance to support a true CONSERVATIVE.
Vote Huckabee!
OH MAN IT FEELS GOOD TO BE A BOILERMAKER!
I had one of the best sports experiences ever in my life this saturday. Purdue upset 8th ranked Wisconsin at Wisconsin this saturday. Wisconsin won 111 out out of the last 118 at home prior to this loss. Purdue now sits on top of the Big Ten with a one game lead over IU. They face Michigan state tomorrow (Tuesday) at home. This will be a tough game as Michigan State is the only big ten team that has beaten the Boilermakers this season.
The game was good, but the best part of the night didn't come until 2:00 AM that night. I got a phone call from a fellow member of the "Boiler Brass" basketball pep band. We were going to try and organize a welcome home group for my Boilermakers. On 45 minutes notice, we assembled a 30 piece pep band and managed to get close to 1000 students from the "Paint Crew," the student section, to show up at the airport. The team arrived at 2:00 AM. We gave them a very spirited welcome to the greatest of all college fight songs, "Hail Purdue!" This is one of those things in sports that will stick with me the rest of my life. Below are some videos taken of the occasion.
February 09, 2008
Setting the story straignt about Mitt Romney
This video outlines all the false claims brought against Mitt Romney this campaign. Flip-flopper? I don't think so. Sure... he flipped on abortion(which he has a 100% executive record on)... but he doesn't flip flop back and forth to try and have it both ways. He says he is pro life even if it hurts him politically against pro choice voters. I challenge you to find any flips besides abortion.
February 08, 2008
Potential VP candidates
Mike Pence- Being at Purdue, I hear a lot about this guy. He is a conservative's conservative. He has a strong conservative voting record.
Mitt Romney - How do you bring in the alienated Romney supporters? Work their candidate into your campaign. I know they hate each other... but I think they could settle their differences for the sake of the country.
Ken Blackwell - He has raised his stock as a conservative voice in america. Ken Blackwell, referred to as a black version of Ronald Reagan on this blog, could reassure many voters.
Steve Forbes - He is another businessman. Many would welcome adding a businessman to the administration.
Newt Gingrich - He is one of the most intellectual conservatives out there. He helped orchestrate the conservative takeover of congress. He is slightly polarizing, but I think that compared to McCain, he doesn't have much of a problem there.
Huckabee - No way this happens. He would alienate the conservatives in the party even more than they already are.
Fred Thompson - He would be an excellent choice. He is very conservative. His does carry a bit of baggage with his history as a lobbyist and some marriage issues. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations which has drawn criticism.
Interesting note:
Council on Foreign Relations members:
1) Dick Cheney
2) John McCain
3) Joe Lieberman
4) Fred Thompson
5) Newt Gingrich
6) Alan Greenspan
7) Bill Clinton
8) Jimmy Carter
They do all seem to be helping each other... Fred Thompson, Newt Gingrich, and Joe Lieberman all helped to get McCain in.
February 07, 2008
It's about the Judges stupid!
Now that the emotions have calmed down a bit... there is a bit of a conservative case for McCain in a race against Obama or Clinton. There are 6 judges over the age of 68 on the supreme court. Who would you want to set the supreme court for the next generation... John McCain or Hillary?
Reports: Romney to suspend campaign
This is troubling... however... there is one thing that McCain can do to reassure me and many other Romney supporters. He needs to pick a strong fiscal conservative for his Vice President. I think Mitt Romney would be a smart pick. There are many other possibilities. I sit and wait... and remain an undecided voter.
February 04, 2008
Mitt Romney has the message that can take down Hillary or Obama
Why I support Mitt Romney
I am going to be graduating from Purdue University in less than a year. I am ready to go off into the wild unknown that is the real world. I worked very hard to get George W. Bush into office. I witnessed the Newt Gingrich Revolution, the George H.W. Bush Presidency, and a bit of the Reagan Presidency. I have seen quite a volatile few decades. Many of my friends have graduated already. Many of them still want to live in Ohio, but there are NO JOBS. While the economy is doing well, Ohio is in a two state recession with Michigan. This has driven the economy front and center this election cycle. There is one man that can turn around the state of Ohio and the rest of this country, and that man is Mitt Romney
I witnessed both Bushes shrink away from their conservative principles at the hands of people they owe favors to. I saw both Bushes shy away from their conservative principles at any sign of trouble. Looking back into history, lifelong politicians have a hard time getting things done Washington. They lack that certain ability to look outside the box. Mitt Romney has that ability.
Mitt Romney spent 25 years in the private sector before becoming governor of Massachusetts. He was in an industry known as venture capitalism. The role of a venture capitalist is to invest in troubled companies, take executive control, and turn the companies around. This included domestic and global businesses. He would essentially take executive leadership of the company, trim out wasteful spending, and remove and corruption in the system. One of his finest success stories is that of the well known office company Staples. His finest moment came shortly after September 11th. The Olympic Games were in peril. There was corruption among top executives and catastrophic budget shortfalls. The committee in charge of the games decided to bring in Mitt Romney to turn around the games. He did exactly that. He pulled off the games without any problems what-so-ever. This shows that he can turn around a corrupt over budget organization. This is a miniature version of our federal government. He could purge corruption and streamline our government so that our economy is improved.
Mitt Romney showed that he can apply his strong sense of economics to the business world when he was elected governor of Massachusetts. He turned a 1.3 billion dollar deficit into a 500 million dollar surplus while cutting taxes. This was all done while lowering taxes and cutting spending.
Mitt Romney has a lot of knowledge on the global economy from his time as a venture capitalist. He understands the threat of China to our economy. He is the only one who consistently mentions it on the trail and during debates. He understands that we have to take measures to compete in global market. Mitt Romney knows what types of regulations and taxes need to be addressed for job creation.
Mitt Romney’s economic expertise will be very important against the democrats. As I come closer to entering the working world, there is one thing on my mind, the economy. JOBS JOBS JOBS! It’s the economy stupid! Lets face it, the economy will be the leading issue next November. Mitt Romney is someone who can take the Democrats to town the economy. More importantly, he is someone who can get our economy back on the right chance if only given the opportunity. Mitt Romney is someone who can come into Washington and strengthen the US economy to points it has never seen before.
February 03, 2008
"This is not a time to shrink from CONSERVATIVE principles" - Mitt Romney
John McCain has been wrong on many of the most important issues of our time. I am reaching out to Huckabee and Paul supporters... get behind the person who will stand up for CONSERVATIVE principles. While you may not agree how Romney applies those in all cases... he will not shrink from his conservative principles. He stands the best chance of taking down McCain. America is asking for your vote.
“Never give in — never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”
– Winston Churchill, 29 October 1941
(thanks to bethtopaz for supplying me with this beautiful quote)
Courtesy of Paul Mirengoff's endorsement of Mitt Romney.
The decision thus comes down to policy and effectiveness. I give Romney the edge on both counts.Rick Santorum says that when he was in the Senate, there were three parties -- the Democratic party, the Republican party, and the McCain party. This is an exaggeration, but it contains some truth. Think of McCain-Feingold, McCain-Kennedy, "McCain-Byrd" (the gang of 14 deal), and now McCain-Lieberman. On some of the most important issues of our time -- political speech, immigration, judicial nominations, taxation, and now climate change -- McCain has been more comfortable with liberal or centrist positions than with conservative Republican ones. Let’s not deceive ourselves into believing that this will change if McCain gains the highest office in the land. It’s far more likely that we’ll actually have a McCain party instead of just a McCain faction.
...
Finally, we get to the question of effectiveness and administrative ability. Romney has demonstrated these qualities throughout his career; McCain not so much. Yet, McCain is correct when he asserts his superiority over Romney in terms of foreign policy and national security experience, and when he takes credit for his role in denouncing the administration's approach in Iraq and leading the charge in favor of the surge. Though McCain misrepresents the facts about what Romney said on the subject, there’s no doubt that, where McCain led, Romney followed – and cautiously at that.
In the end, the choice boils down to two very different decisionmaking styles. Romney decides by immersion in "the data." McCain decides based on “instinct” – some combination of a few old-fashioned conservative values (keep government spending down and our defense strong); generalizations from his experience (e.g., torture didn't work on me, so waterboarding should be outlawed); and whatever he happens to pick up from people of various persuasions whom he happens to respect.
Instinct can trump data mining at times, especially with respect to decisions that fall within the decisionmaker's area of expertise. It did so with respect to the surge. However, as I put it a few days ago, "a president who consistently relies on instinct and pooh-poohs data is likely to make major mistakes. Unless one thinks McCain is a genius (and I don't), we'd probably be better off with Romney's approach to making decisions.”
Mitt Romney understands the GLOBAL Economy... IT'S THE ECONOMY STUPID!
Our economy is slowing... in order to remain the strongest economy in the world. We must get behind someone who understands the economy. John McCain is not that person. He was quoted saying that he doesn't know much about the economy. Mitt Romney was in the economy for 25 years! He helped build global companies. He knows how to create jobs. He knows what taxes and regulations he needs to address to stop america from losing it's economic super power status. Mitt Romney knows how a GLOBAL ECONOMY works. Life-long politicians can talk about economics, but they have never run anything. Being the chair of a committee in congress does not teach a person how our economy works. Running businesses teaches a person about the economy. Mitt Romney has lived a very successful life because he understands the economy. He was brought in to turn around the corrupted, over budget, olympics. Everyone said it was NOT POSSIBLE. He did it. He turned the games around. He can do the same in Washington.
February 01, 2008
Santorum, Hannity, Ingraham endorse Romney
While the RINOs are endorsing McCain, the grass roots conservative leaders are endorsing Romney. Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, and Senator Rick Santorum have all endorsed Romney today. They understand that this is a fight to the death for conservatism. This nominee will define the republican party of the future. Are we the party of fiscal conservatism and social conservatism? If McCain gets the nod, NO. This is why we must fight together. A vote for Huckabee or Paul is a vote for McCain. Romney may not be your number 1 candidate, but ask yourself this. Do you want the Republican party to be the Diet Coke of liberalism?
January 28, 2008
Romney the best candidate to take on Hillary Clinton
He can pose himself as an outsider pitting himself against washington. Hillary IS washington. Romney also is very resolute at debates. He won almost all of the GOP debates. He would do the same against Hillary or Obama.
January 27, 2008
A CONSERVATIVE solution to our nation's health care woes
America has a problem. We have all known about this problem for some time, but no one has done anything about it. Not everyone can get health insurance. This is not exclusive to the poor, the lazy, or any of the other stereotypes at are out there. I have a plan that takes a common sense approach to health coverage in America. Our nation can solve this problem without having to create an inefficient government program. In order to best understand my plan, one must understand my perspective as a college student, why government run universal health care cannot work, and my plan to fix America’s health insurance system.
First of all, one must view this problem through my perspective in order to best understand my thinking. I am 22 years old. I am a college student working towards an undergraduate degree in engineering. I also have a chronic medical condition called Crohn’s disease that requires a bimonthly IV treatment. This treatment can cost in upwards of $7,000 dollars an infusion. This boils down $42,000 a year. Right now insurance covers it. However, I will no longer be eligible for my parents’ medical insurance once I reach the age of 23 years old. I will not graduate until I am 24. There is a program called COBRA that allows me to extend that coverage, but one can only utilize this program for two years. For those two years, the rates are almost $500 a month. This means that I would have a lapse in coverage if I were to pursue a more advanced degree. I cannot afford a $40,000 education and $42,000 in medical bills, so a graduate degree is completely out of the question for me. My problems would not stop at the end of that lapse in coverage. Assuming I can somehow come up with the money to pay for my treatment throughout a graduate degree program, after six months off of insurance, my Crohn’s disease will be a pre-existing condition. This means that even when I graduate and get insured, I will have to wait a year for my new insurance to even begin to cover any medical expenses related to the disease. There is a major problem with college students and health insurance. Something needs to be done about it.
Hillary Clinton and Obama are always talking up a universal health care program. That sounds so perfect. Under their plan everyone would have free medical insurance. No one would have to pay for any prescriptions, hospital visits, or surgeries. This sounds great to the casual observer; however, upon further examination, it is far less beneficial than it sounds. First of all, taxes would have to be raised astronomically to fund such a program. This would place even more burden on domestic businesses where it is already difficult to compete in a global economy with current taxes and regulations. It would be even more difficult to compete because more taxes would further increase the cost for product development and production. More importantly, a universal health care system would disrupt the most powerful medical system in the world. Right now, hospitals are competing to provide the most advanced treatments to draw customers. If a socialized health care system is put in place, competition would be replaced with government regulations. This would greatly hinder future advances in medicine. Most importantly, this would result in patients receiving the cheapest treatments and not the best treatments. This is clear in the treatment of Crohn’s disease in Canada where the health care system is socialized. The government will not pay for the regular IV treatments that I receive. They will only pay for much cheaper treatments like prednisone. While prednisone is only twenty dollars a month, it can destroy one’s bones and liver. It also can lead to extreme anger, mood swings, weight gain, acne, glaucoma, ulcers, abdominal pain, cataracts, insomnia, horrible infections, diabetes, and hypertension. Even with all those side effects, it only works in some cases. In my case, my body did not respond to it at all. With the treatment that I am currently receiving, Remicade, I have been nearly symptom free for almost six years. Some people from Canada are so desperate to get Remicade treatments that they travel to the Cleveland Clinic to receive treatments at their own expense. This is not acceptable. I cannot even imagine having to live without my medication. My life would be absolutely miserable. Canada’s system also shows that the class division that they believe this gets rid of is only strengthened.
I have a plan that could fix the problem with health care without having to socialize it. The concept is quite simple. The biggest problem with America’s health insurance system is the necessity to be part of a group to get affordable coverage. As a college student, once I am off my parents’ coverage, I have nowhere to turn to. Even if I wanted to pay a premium rate, I could not get coverage. My plan would effectively get rid of that problem. The expected outcome is to allow United States citizens to purchase an individual, affordable health insurance plan through a private company. In order to accomplish that, the federal or state congress will first determine minimal standards for two types of coverage: minimal coverage and premium coverage. After that is set, they will set up a linear tax cut system. This system would provide a certain amount of tax relief to health insurance companies who provide individual plans that meet the standards set. The system would be linear because the amount of tax relief would be proportional to the number of people insured. This would encourage competition between the insurance companies to receive the maximum tax break. Competition ensures the best value for the consumers. It is also necessary for the government to require that the company offer the two plans for the same price to all members. This will help to ensure that people with chronic conditions will be able to afford coverage as well. Essentially, this allows for individuals to pool together to get their health coverage. This type of system would be great for college students like me. It will be necessary that a dialog take place to determine what level of tax cuts are necessary for the insurance companies to participate.
This plan would create and utilize the same capitalistic environment that has made our country such a great and powerful nation. This would make insurance companies compete for tax breaks. Any time companies are competing, the consumer wins. This would allow any citizen of the United States of America to get health coverage at an affordable rate without the creation of an inefficient government program. With the available coverage, the life expectancy and overall health of our nation will likely improve. The tax cuts provided to the insurance companies would also help to improve economic conditions. It would put money back into our economy to help create economic growth. This plan would provide an affordable means of purchasing health insurance for those who simply do not have a means of purchasing it in a group. The most important thing about this plan is that all of these results could be achieved without disrupting the operation of our globally superior medical institutions.
Purdue beats #11 Wisconsin
As many may know, I have transfered to Purdue. I am taking a break from politics for a little sports. There is a great story in the Big Ten this season. After a lull for several years, Purdue Basketball is back! Purdue recruited 4 of the top recruits in the country for this season. However, they had little on the team returning to help shape these rookies. Yesterday, purdue's 4 freshman played a majority of the minutes. There is only one senior on this team. Despite their youth, their coach Matt Painter turned this team into a legitimate big ten title contender.
Yesterday was a huge step for Purdue's basketball program. They beat the number 11 team in the country, Wisconsin, 60-56. It came down to a last second play. Wisconsin got the ball with 10 seconds left down 58-56. Wisconsin penetrated the defense and went for what was thought to be an easy layup. Robbie Hummel, the 6-8 freshman out of Valparaiso, Indiana, blocked the shot and recovered the rebound. He proceeded to make his 2 free throws at the other end to seal the deal. At the conclusion of the game, the student section charged the court and carried Robbie Hummel off the court on their shoulders.
Boiler up!
For those of you who are going to complain about me talking about something other than Case... I was at the playoff game against Wabash College this year. I am still a Spartan at heart.
January 25, 2008
Democrats FEAR Mitt Romney
MSNBC makes the point that I have been making for the last week. Mitt Romney is the man that can take on General Hillary Clinton.
January 23, 2008
The CONSERVATIVES are the rebels in today's society
The Democrats are often considered the rebels in society. However, in the current college generation, this has taken a turn to the right. The rebels in today's society are the outspoken young Republicans. The college environment that has developed is lined with liberal propaganda. By definition, a rebel is one who goes against what the environment around them is pushing them to do. The teachers in our education system, and the mainstream media are pushing the children and young adults to conform to their liberal way of thinking.
The teachers in our education system from elementary school on up favor liberal ways of thinking. Perhaps one of the strongest demographics for the democrats is the teachers union vote. However, if they were able to keep their views to themselves, that would not be a problem. This is not the case. All across the country, Republican students who speak out their views in the classroom are getting discriminated against. It happened to me in high school on more than one occasion. I have witnessed it happen numerous times in college as well.
The former president of the College Republicans Case chapter was intending on majoring in Political Science. His teacher was a very opinionated professor who attacked George W. Bush's stance on the war in Iraq on a daily basis. About halfway through the course, he spoke up to defend our president and his own beliefs. His grades shortly after this dropped from A's to F's. Similar things began to occur in other classes. He was forced to switch majors shortly after.
One other fine example of the liberal leanings in the education system is their approach towards religious issues. Rather than take a neutral stance and introduce a diverse gathering of ideas, they choose the scientific, atheist approach. One fine example of this is the origin of man. Evolution is taught in high schools across the country. Only a small handful of states even do as much as suggest intelligent design as a possibility. Once again, a belief of many in the conservative movement is being attacked.
The most significant source of liberal pressure is the media. Even the most liberal minds would admit the left leaning tendencies of mass media. Irresponsible story selection and spin is something that has occurred since the dawn of mass media. Story selection is where the media picks and chooses what stories they cover based what is best for their political interests. This occurs a lot on networks like CNN and MSNBC. The most recent example of this is the media’s definite bias towards the democrat Trojan Horse, John McCain. Mitt Romney won Wyoming and Nevada by epic proportions. The media wrote it off as no big deal. Mitt Romney won Michigan by a large margin. The media blew it off as a home state win despite the fact that he hasn’t lived there in 40 years. John McCain won New Hampshire and South Carolina with the help of independents, and the media paints him as the Republican favorite.
There is pressure from many aspects of society for the children and young adults of America today to conform to liberal thinking. Doing so, is conforming to what everyone wants you to do. While many liberal thinkers consider themselves rebels, this is clearly not the case. A rebel is one who goes against societal pressures; the true rebels are the CONSERVATIVES who stand up against the liberalism that surrounds them.
January 16, 2008
The Democrat's plan to take back the white house will fail
The Democrats have followed through with what they thought to the perfect plan. They systematically convinced the entire nation that our booming economy the last few years was terrible. Now our economy is starting to wobble. There is a growing concern about the future of it as a result. The economy is coming front and center in this election. The Democrats have been driving the pessimism with the hope that this would sway the American people to throw the Republican party out of the White House this year. However, there is one Republican candidate that can break up this plan. Mitt Romney's has the economic expertise to turn around our struggling economy and the American people are starting to see that.
Mitt Romney spent most of his life in the private sector as a venture capitalist. A venture capitalist takes over struggling companies and helps to turn them around. Mitt Romney was very successful as a venture capitalist because he was able to cut the wasteful in companies. Mitt Romney and his firm invested in Staples. Because of Mitt Romney's keen eye for the wasteful, Staples turned their fortunes around and now employs over 50,000 employees nationwide. It is now one of the most successful office companies in the country. Mitt Romney and his firm have also turned around Bright Horizons Family Solutions, Brookstone, Domino's Pizza, Sealy, Guitar Center and The Sports Authority.
Mitt Romney's shining moment as a business man came when he was tapped to turn around the Salt Lake City Olympic Games. During the preparations for the games, the project was running grossly over budget. There was corruption among the leading officials on the Salt Lake City Olympic Games that seemed to have doomed the games. Many believed that the games could not be pulled off. Salt Lake City turned to Mitt Romney to turn it all around. He reduced the budget by cutting out the wasteful and and purged the corruption to get the games off without any problems.
Mitt Romney's political life started in the most unlikely of places, the bluest of blue states, Massachusetts. When he came into office, there was a 2.3 billion dollar deficit. For the first time in his life, he was able to apply his business savvy in the political world. When he left office, there was a 700 million dollar surplus while cutting taxes. This was done despite being hindered with a heavily democratic congress.
Michigan is like looking into a crystal ball and seeing what the nation will think this November. The state is already in a recession. Mitt Romney played to his strength during his campaign in Michigan, the economy. His message consisted of two themes. One theme was that he is not a life-long politician. McCain, Clinton, and Obama are all life-long politicians. He is presenting himself as an outsider with business experience who can turn around our economy by bringing a fresh face into Washington. This brings us to his second theme. Mitt Romney has presented his business experience as something that can be used to turn around the corruption and financial disaster that is our federal government. This is a valid claim since he has done this as a venture capitalist as well as governor of Massachusetts. This message resonated with many as he won the primary 39 to 30 percent in a state that went heavily for McCain in 2000. The Democrats have convinced the entire nation that our economy is in shambles. This will bring the economy front and center in the 2008 election. This plays right into Mitt Romney's strength. The Michigan primary shows that his economic message resonates well for those concerned about a recession. I am predicting that the same will be true throughout the nation come November.
September 08, 2006
A conservative solution to America's health insurance problems
America has a problem. Not everyone can get health insurance. I have a plan that takes a common sense approach to health coverage in America. Our nation can solve this problem without having to create an inefficient government program. In order to best understand my plan, one must understand my perspective as a college student, why government run universal health care cannot work, and my plan to fix America’s health insurance system.
First of all, one must view this problem through my perspective in order to best understand my thinking. I am 21 years old. I am a college student working towards an undergraduate degree in engineering. I also have a chronic medical condition called Crohn’s disease that requires a bimonthly IV treatment. This treatment can cost in upwards of $7,000 dollars an infusion. This boils down $42,000 a year. Right now insurance covers it. However, I will no longer be eligible for my parents’ medical insurance once I reach the age of 23 years old. I will not graduate until I am 24. There is a program called COBRA that allows me to extend that coverage, but one can only utilize this program for two years. This means that I would have a lapse in coverage if I were to pursue a more advanced degree. I cannot afford a $40,000 education and $42,000 in medical bills, so a graduate degree is completely out of the question for me. My problems would not stop at the end of that lapse in coverage. Assuming I can somehow come up with the money to pay for my treatment throughout a graduate degree program, after six months off of insurance, my Crohn’s disease will be a pre-existing condition. This means that even when I graduate and get insured, I will have to wait a year for my new insurance to even begin to cover any medical expenses related to the disease.
Hillary Clinton and John Kerry are always talking up a universal health care program. That sounds so perfect. Under their plan everyone would have free medical insurance. No one would have to pay for any prescriptions, hospital visits, or surgeries. This sounds great to the casual observer; however, upon further examination, it is far less beneficial than it sounds. First of all, taxes would have to be raised astronomically to fund such a program. This would place even more burden on domestic businesses where it is already difficult to compete in a global economy with current taxes and regulations. It would be even more difficult to compete because more taxes would further increase the cost for product development and production. More importantly, a universal health care system would disrupt the most powerful medical system in the world. Right now, hospitals are competing to provide the most advanced treatments to draw customers. If a socialized health care system is put in place, competition would be replaced with government regulations. This would greatly hinder future advances in medicine. Most importantly, this would result in patients receiving the cheapest treatments and not the best treatments. This is clear in the treatment of Crohn’s disease in Canada where the health care system is socialized. The government will not pay for the regular IV treatments that I receive. They will only pay for much cheaper treatments like prednisone. While prednisone is only twenty dollars, it can destroy one’s bones and liver. It also can lead to extreme anger, mood swings, weight gain, acne, glaucoma, ulcers, abdominal pain, cataracts, insomnia, horrible infections, diabetes, and hypertension. Even with all those side effects, it only works in some cases. In my case, my body did not respond to it at all. With the treatment that I am currently receiving, Remicade, I have been nearly symptom free for almost five years. Some people from Canada are so desperate to get Remicade treatments that they travel to the Cleveland Clinic to receive treatments at their own expense. This is not acceptable. I cannot even imagine having to live without my medication. My life would be absolutely miserable.
I have a plan that could fix the problem with health care without having to socialize it. The concept is quite simple. The biggest problem with America’s health insurance system is the necessity to be part of a group to get affordable coverage. As a college student, once I am off my parents’ coverage, I have nowhere to turn to. Even if I wanted to pay a premium rate, I could not get coverage. My plan would effectively get rid of that problem. The expected outcome is to allow United States citizens to purchase an individual, affordable health insurance plan through a private company. In order to accomplish that, the federal or state congress will first determine minimal standards for two types of coverage: minimal coverage and premium coverage. After that is set, they will set up a linear tax cut system. This system would provide a certain amount of tax relief to health insurance companies who provide individual plans that meet the standards set. The system would be linear because the amount of tax relief would be proportional to the number of people insured. This would encourage competition between the insurance companies to receive the maximum tax break. Competition ensures the best value for the consumers. It is also necessary for the government to require that the company offer the two plans for the same price to all members. This will help to ensure that people with chronic conditions will be able to afford coverage as well. It is necessary that a dialog take place to determine what level of tax cuts are necessary for the insurance companies to participate.
This plan would create and utilize the same capitalistic environment that has made our country such a great and powerful nation. This would make insurance companies compete for tax breaks. Any time companies are competing, the consumer wins. This would allow any citizen of the United States of America to get health coverage at an affordable rate without the creation of an inefficient government program. With the available coverage, the life expectancy and overall health of our nation will likely improve. The tax cuts provided to the insurance companies would also help to improve economic conditions. It would put money back into our economy to help create economic growth. The most important thing about this plan is that all of these results could be achieved without disrupting the operation of our globally superior medical institutions.
August 27, 2006
The UN can't handle Iran
I can't believe the UN cannot do as much as enforce their own resolutions. They are blatantly going against a UN resolution. They are blatantly pursuing nuclear weapons. If the UN does not do anything when their resolutions are ignored, what are they worth? Do you think Iran really cares that the UN is upset with them? No... not at all. Diplomacy is only worth anything if it is used from a position of strength. The UN must apply economic sanctions to Iran.