Day: February 23, 2012

Speculation About Reported Alliance Between Mitt Romney And Ron Paul: Could It Lead To Rand Paul Being Vice Presidential Running Mate Of Romney?

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Political pundits, including Joe Scarborough of MORNING JOE on MSNBC, have noticed what seems like a warm friendship between two Republican Presidential candidates, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Texas Congressman Ron Paul.

It has become obvious that Ron Paul has spent a lot of money on attack ads in various states against Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich, and now Rick Santorum, as each has become a major challenger to Mitt Romney. He has also attacked them on debate stages, as he did last night against Rick Santorum.

This seems very weird to many observers, as Mitt Romney is not a libertarian or a believer in the withdrawal of America’s involvement overseas, which Ron Paul stands for.

And Ron Paul is too old to be considered as a running mate, but then it is recognized that his son, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, who is 49 years old, has already said he would be honored to be considered for Vice President, a very strong hint that a deal could be struck to put Rand Paul in the Vice Presidential slot as a way to unite diverse elements of the GOP for November.

In many ways, it would be a “shotgun marriage”, but not the first in American history, as for instance, the team of Franklin D. Roosevelt and John Nance Garner in 1932; the team of Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon in 1952; the team of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson in 1960; and the team of Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush in 1980, were not based on close friendship or ties between the Presidential and Vice Presidential nominees. They were done for maximum political advantage.

The problem with this possibility of Mitt Romney teaming with Rand Paul is that it puts Rand Paul and his extremist libertarian philosophy a potential heartbeat away from the Presidency, although the positive side for Romney is that it makes a Libertarian Party challenger less likely or, at least, less able to draw away votes if there is one, such as former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson. Ron Paul has a lot of supporters, who could be drawn to support Mitt Romney, if he selected Rand Paul.

So this new rumor makes one think that it could be a way to help Romney clinch the nomination and have somewhat united support, but the thought of a possible President Rand Paul would be a radical change unacceptable to mainstream and centrist political attitudes.

Republicans Committing “Suicide” Among Many Voting Groups

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The Republican Party, with its extreme right wing taking hold of the party, are only insuring their ultimate defeat in many Congressional races and in the race for the Presidency.

It can be assured that a vast majority of the following voting blocs will NOT vote Republican:

Women
African Americans
Hispanics and Latinos
Labor
Gays and Lesbians
Jews
White Collar College Educated Middle Class
Independents

Of course, SOME people in these different categories will vote Republican, but with a strong majority alienated by the extremism of the GOP, the Democrats will win the majority, often very strong majority, of these groups.

Barack Obama has not pleased everyone with all of his policies, but again, the election is a choice between alternatives, not perfection of anyone. There is no question that the Republican Party is committing political “suicide”, the only good thing about this for them being that it will force them to move back to the center of American politics in the future, or be repudiated and replaced by a new “centrist” party in the mainstream of America!

Maryland And Virginia: Two Different Worlds Politically, From Different “Planets”!

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There seems to be no comparison of two geographically neighboring states quite on the level of Maryland and Virginia, two diametrically opposite governments, seemingly from different “planets”.

Maryland, one of the most prosperous states, has a Democratic dominated state government and Congressional delegation, and has a Governor, Martin O’Malley, who comes across as a national leader of the future. Maryland has become the eighth state to legalize gay marriage. It has dealt with the issue of the Great Recession and its aftermath in a socially responsible way, and is seen as a model of progressive viewpoint and outlook.

Virginia, on the other hand, while it has the Northern Virginia suburbs, which are more progressive, has an extremely conservative and Republican state government under the leadership of Bob McDonnell and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who makes McDonnell look moderate, not an easy task!

Virginia was moving toward requiring vaginal exams of any woman who wanted to get an abortion. The ultrasound law would have allowed the state to invade women’s bodies in the name of fanatical religious zealots who wanted to stop all abortions, even though it is allowed by Supreme Court decisions. But McDonnell, seen as on the short list for Vice Presidential nomination, came to the conclusion yesterday that such a law would harm his chances of moving ahead politically, as the Virginia Governorship limit is one term. So he suddenly backed off from a pledge to sign such an invasive, insulting bill as this one.

The likelihood of Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, an extreme right winger, succeeding McDonnell in November 2013, as Virginia Governor, is a horrifying thought to many, particularly women and gays, as Cuccinelli is a hardliner on the social issues that are dominating the GOP race for President right now!

So a world of difference exists between Maryland and Virginia, an amazing manifestation considering their being in the same “neighborhood”!

The Likely End Of The Republican Presidential Debates: A Relief For America!

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With last night’s 20th Republican Presidential debate, it now seems likely that we have seen the last of the debates until the three Presidential debates and one Vice Presidential debate in the fall.

The end of the debates could not be soon enough, as what they revealed made us wish for them to end mercifully for those of us who felt a commitment to sit through them, while rolling our eyes and covering our mouths in disbelief.

They revealed the incompetence, recklessness, stupidity, and lack of compassion of this motley group of Republicans, past and present, and the horror of imagining any of them becoming our President next January 20.

Sure, some were worse than others, and on that scale, Mitt Romney looks to be the “best” of the survivors, but that is a pitiful test of competence.

To have had such fools as Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, Herman Cain, and Rick Santorum even imagining themselves as “qualified” to be President demonstrates the extent of hallucination and arrogance of these four candidates.

Looking back, it could be argued that the two best candidates had no chance at all–Jon Huntsman and Tim Pawlenty–because the GOP crowds at these events proved that they were total airheads and Neanderthals, who one had to believe was just those crowds, and not potential Republican voters nationwide. If this is indeed the norm of Republican registered voters, which with lots of prayer can be hoped is not the case, then this country is doomed to go into the Dark Ages, rather than into the Enlightenment of the future world. But then, the historical Enlightenment was a challenge to, and skeptic of, the power and influence of organized religion over government, and the thought that we are receding into the pervasive influence of religion over government which led to the struggle for separation of church and state is a terrifying sense of deja vu!

The Republican Party has abdicated its right to the Presidency and to control of Congress, until and when they start displaying responsibility, intelligence, and sanity, making them worthy of national power again.

Wanting to believe in the intelligence and humanity of the American people at large, one can only hope reason and compassion win, and that Barack Obama achieves the victory he so richly deserves for dealing competently with the biggest set of problems faced by any President since Franklin D. Roosevelt!