Day: June 23, 2010

The Potential Influence Of Nikki Haley In GOP Politics In 2012!

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South Carolina Republicans nominated 38 year old state representative Nikki Haley for Governor on Tuesday, and it has attracted a lot of interest!

Why, one might ask? There are several reasons!

First, Haley would be the first woman governor in South Carolina history!

Secondly, she was accused of sexual liaisons with two different men, and denied both, and it had no effect on her being chosen by the voters!

Third, she was backed by outgoing Governor Mark Sanford, whose reputation has been in the toilet since it was revealed he was having an affair with a woman in Argentina, behind the backs of his wife and fellow South Carolinians, who wondered where had disappeared for a period of days last year!

Fourth, she was endorsed by Sarah Palin, and is seen as a similar conservative rallying point for many Republicans nationwide! She could also help Palin in the South Carolina presidential primary in 2012!

Fifth, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney made a major financial and campaigning commitment to Haley, and might also be helped in return by Haley in a 2012 Presidential race!

Sixth, Haley is an Indian American, and would become the second person from that Asian country (after Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana), to become a high ranking leader as the Governor of another Southern state, improving the image of the Palmetto state, which it badly needs!

Seventh, the fact that Haley was born as a Sikh, and converted to Methodism at age 24, became an issue when her primary opponent, and evangelical Christians, brought up the issue of whether she was a “good Christian”! By overcoming that religion issue, the issue of religion mattering in choosing a nominee may have been retired as a controversy, which could help Mitt Romney (a Mormon) if he competed in the Republican nomination contest in 2012!

Finally, Haley is another attractive conservative woman, just like Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann, but it is hoped she will come across as more substantive and less divisive than her cohorts! 🙁

Some feel that IF she is elected Governor, she could be a candidate for Vice President, and in the long term, the Presidency!

Imagine–a young, attractive woman of Asian Indian heritage–as a possible future national leader! Certainly, she will be worthy of notice and attention! For her sake, hopefully, she will not self destruct as others have been prone to do! 🙁

Eliot Spitzer And Kathleen Parker Team Up For New CNN Show In Fall!

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Former NY Governor Eliot Spitzer, who was forced out of office after 14 months due to a sex scandal, is now about to take on an hourly news program on CNN, cohosting it at 8 pm weekdays with Kathleen Parker, a 2010 winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Journalism for the Washington Post, who defines herself as a “rational conservative”!

Spitzer had a dry run as a substitute talk show host for MSNBC, and proved to be very stimulating, and effective in arguing ideas and points with conservative guests! Parker is very articulate when she has appeared on cable shows, and it sounds like a great debate and point-counterpoint will develop between Spitzer and Parker, as well as their guests!

This could be another “Crossfire” type show, and it sounds as if CNN is attempting to challenge their tough opposition at 8 pm–Bill O’Reilly on Fox News Channel and Keith Olbermann on MSNBC! All for the better! 🙂

The Tea Party “Flame Throwers”: Will They Stir Up The Senate In 2011?

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Reality has started to set in that we are witnessing the strong possibility of several “Flame Throwing” Tea Party Movement activists possibly being elected to the Senate this fall, and therefore adding tension and confrontation to an already divided, less than congenial institution! 🙁

The Senate historically has been considered a dignified body in which there is some “crossing of the aisle” and bipartisanship, but that has been disappearing in recent years! It is clear that Tea Party activists are not interested in promoting understanding and camaraderie, and they will cause much embarrassment in the Senate, as if there are not enough such cases who are already members of that body! 🙁

The most likely such Tea Party winners would include Rand Paul of Kentucky and Sharron Angle of Nevada, although both have been running defensively because of their record of statements and actions, which has caused avoidance of mainstream media by both of these characters!

But now, the new GOP nominee for the Senate in Utah, replacing the gentlemanly Robert Bennett, is a Tea Party activist, who is bound to stir up animosity and confrontation, based on his background! Mike Lee has the edge to be elected in traditionally Republican and conservative Utah, even if he acts or speaks in a nutty way! And being only 38 years old, he would be the youngest senator, and the likelihood of him keeping his seat beyond one six year term is quite assured! 🙁

There are still other possible Tea Party activists running for office who might become a problem in 2011, if they win office, as they have made it clear they have no desire to fit in, but would rather be rebels, even after attaining public office! 🙁

In any case, the Tea Party people now, and if they win office, will continue to provide much political entertainment for the media in the future! 🙂

Proper Move By Obama, Replacing McChrystal With Petraeus, But Now Listen To Joe Biden On Afghanistan!

Ronald 1 Comment

President Obama this afternoon did the absolutely proper thing, when he dismissed General Stanley McChrystal as head of American and NATO forces in Afghanistan, and replaced him with his superior, the head of Central Command in the Middle East, General David Petraeus!

No military leader can be allowed to be disrespectful to the President of the United States, as civilian command over the military is paramount in our system of government! McChrystal’s insubordination, on top of his coverup of the “friendly fire” death of Pat Tillman, the football player who volunteered to fight in Afghanistan, required his dismissal, as no General is indispensable! 🙁

Petraeus is an excellent alternative, although it adds to his total burden, being in both positions, so one wonders if he will keep the head of Central Command for long, or whether someone else will eventually become the head of forces in Afghanistan, once things settle down!

In any case, Obama took the right step, but now he needs to go one step further, and have the courage to do what his Vice President, Joe Biden, a foreign policy specialist in his 36 years in the Senate, has been advocating!

Biden has been the loyal partner, not complaining that Obama chose to escalate US involvement in Afghanistan, but Biden is still advocating that we rapidly withdraw troops a year from now, to keep with Obama’s date of starting to remove our combat soldiers!

Biden has not been afraid to contradict Petraeus on the need to have rapid withdrawal next year! It is obvious the battle for the heart and mind of President Obama continues on this issue!

With so many problems at home, and such a big budget deficit, we need to lay down plans to withdraw, and not only save hundreds of billions of dollars annually, but also the lives of our courageous troops!

President Obama, the author has stated this before, and says it again! We need to get out of Afghanistan, a cemetery for the British and the Soviet Union, and fight terrorism in other ways! Listen to Joe Biden, as he is a brilliant man who knows what he is talking about! And realize the fact that McChrystal’s ridicule of Biden should be seen for what it is: McChrystal is not to be respected, as he has attacked the man who, in many ways, makes your Presidency better than it could have been with anyone else in the Vice Presidency!

Joe Biden should be respected and listened to, as he has the proper perspective and insights, and he is there to support you and back you up! He is an jewel of unlimited value! 🙂