Bobby Jindal

Mitt Romney’s Vetting Process For Vice President: Different Than For Himself!

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Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the Republican Presidential nominee, is deep into the process of vetting potential Vice Presidential running mates.

Among those thought to be in the competition are:

Tim Pawlenty
Rob Portman
Paul Ryan
Bobby Jindal
Marco Rubio
Condoleezza Rice
Bob McDonnell
Kelly Ayotte
Chris Christie
John Thune

What is being expected of any, and all, of the above candidates?

A complete vetting, including many years of tax returns!

Hey, wait a minute here! Mitt Romney wants these people, or at least those on the short list, to give information about their finances?

If that is so, which it is, WHY is it that Mitt Romney refuses to give the American people an accounting of his finances, as well?

Why is it that potential Vice Presidential candidates must do this, and Romney will not do so?

Does Mitt Romney think he is a “privileged character”, who does not have to meet the same standards as those who might be his Number Two, and ALL presidential nominees or contenders from his father George Romney on through both Bushes, Bob Dole, John McCain, and all others?

That is the answer: Mitt Romney THINKS he is a “privileged character”, who is “entitled” to play by his own rules, and to remain secretive about his finances!

Why would he be so vehement about this, if there is nothing to be concerned about in his finances?

BECAUSE, obviously, there is a lot to hide!

But one thought crosses one’s mind: Mitt Romney handed over 23 years of financial information to John McCain in 2008, as he was on the short list to be McCain’s running mate!

So the McCain campaign has these records, and if Mitt Romney refuses to release them, they should be released against his will!

Of course, one would say that would be illegal, which, technically it would be!

And certainly, Senator McCain, being a loyal Republican, is not about to do such a thing to his fellow Republican!

But what about the thought that to refuse to reveal information that EVERY other candidate in the past 40 years has done SHOULD be seen as disqualifying someone to be President, and should actually be illegal itself!

In conclusion: Mitt Romney is trying to hide something, probably a lot, as if that were not so, why not release the financial information?

So as Vice President Joe Biden said the other day; Mitt Romney wants Latino and Hispanic immigrants to be forced to “show their papers”, but he is not willing to show his own papers!

It is a great laugh line, but also totally TRUE!

The Vice Presidency Competition: Only Tim Pawlenty Or Rob Portman Makes Sense!

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More speculation about the race to be Vice Presidential nominee with Mitt Romney has been churning lately, with one clear conclusion: Only former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty or Ohio Senator Rob Portman make any sense!

Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan is simply too toxic with his plan to privatize Medicare and Social Security, although Mitt Romney has endorsed the plan. It would harm Romney in a major way in the upcoming campaign.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is simply too controversial and outspoken, not a good match for the reserved Mitt Romney. His image as a “Bully” Governor would be harmful.

New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte, the only woman mentioned, has too little experience to be a heartbeat away, and might bring about comparisons to Sarah Palin, although obviously Ayotte is much smarter and more intelligent than Sarah.

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal would bring little to Romney’s candidacy, and there are doubts about either being qualified to be a heartbeat away from the White House.

Marco Rubio would be too controversial, too much of a lightning rod, and would not draw Hispanic or Latino support of Mexican Americans or Puerto Rican Americans, or others, other than Cuban Americans.

The only possible alternative to Pawlenty or Portman might be Senator John Thune of South Dakota, but it is clear that Pawlenty and Portman are both qualified, non controversial, and most important, from the heartland Midwest, which Romney must win to become President. Only Thune is from the same area, unless you include Ryan, who again is extremely toxic, and would be unwise for Romney to select!

149th Anniversary Of Battle Of Gettysburg: States Rights Battle Won Then Being Revisited Again!

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On this day in 1863, the Union army defeated the Confederate army at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and prevented any further Confederate advancement into the Northern states of America, the decisive battle of the Civil War.

It was the turning point of the Civil War, and having visited the battle site, and heard stories of ghosts that still linger today, and recognizing the tremendous losses of both sides in the three day battle that was topsy turvey until the third day of the battle, one is humbled by the fact that it decided the issue of states rights, even though the war went on for nearly two more years.

It is ironic that the Republican Party under Abraham Lincoln fought against states rights, but now the Republican Party is more Southern than anything else, and has revived the issue of states rights in fury over the Affordable Care Act being declared constitutional by the Supreme Court last week.

So Southern governors, including Rick Scott, Bobby Jindal, Rick Perry, and Bob McDonnell, and joined by northern Republican governors, including Scott Walker, Rick Snyder, Paul LePage and others, are declaring “war” on setting up programs to deal with the oncoming “ObamaCare” in 2014, and in Congress, Republican leaders are making their campaign on repeal of “ObamaCare”, even though the chances of that are nearly zero.

So the GOP is fighting the Civil War all over again on another battlefield, against their own history, and they are doomed to lose yet once again!

And get this, Mitt Romney, the Republican Presidential nominee, is trying to veer away from “ObamaCare” as the major issue, causing a split within a party that has no love lost for him!

Good luck, Republicans, but you will face an historic defeat in November, while Abraham Lincoln weeps in heaven at what you have done to the party that fought states rights!

Disgraceful GOP Governors Will Fight Expansion Of Medicaid!

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The Supreme Court decision backing “ObamaCare”, sadly allowed the states an “out” on expanding Medicaid coverage to the sick and needy who do not have health insurance coverage. In so doing, it allows Republican Governors to continue to resist giving any health care services to the poor, and will likely require federal intervention once the election is over, and hopefully, the chance to repeal “ObamaCare” is over, with Democratic gains and the victory of Barack Obama over Mitt Romney in the Presidential Election.

The despicable Governors include the usual ones–Southern governors, including Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Rick Perry of Texas, Rick Scott of Florida, Bob McDonnell of Virginia, Nikki Haley of South Carolina among others; and other Republican Governors elsewhere, including Scott Walker of Wisconsin, Paul LePage of Maine, Rick Snyder of Michigan, and Sam Brownback of Kansas, among others.

These Governors have no conscience, and do not give a damn about protecting the health of their own less fortunate citizens. And yet, they are all concerned with preserving “life” when it refers to fetuses, but no concern once the fetuses are born!

What a disgrace beyond belief!

Will Mitt Romney Select A Governor As Running Mate? Highly Unlikely!

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As the speculation about who Mitt Romney will pick as his running mate picks up, it seems clear that, despite some hints, it is highly unlikely that he will select a Governor or former Governor as his Vice Presidential choice.

The last time that two Governors ran on a Presidential ticket together was 1948, when NY Governor Thomas E. Dewey ran with California Governor Earl Warren, losing to President Harry Truman.

Also, in 1944, Dewey had run against Franklin D. Roosevelt and lost, with Governor John Bricker of Ohio as his Vice Presidential choice.

Those are the only times in the 20th century that two Governors ran together, with the choice otherwise usually being a Senator running as the Vice Presidential choice of a Governor.

So do not expect New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, or former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty to be the choice of Mitt Romney!

Speculation On 2016 Presidential Election Beginning: Early Speculation For Hillary Clinton And Jeb Bush!

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Despite the ups and downs of a Presidential election campaign, most observers sense that Barack Obama is likely to win a second term in the White House.

If that is assumed to be likely, it allows for speculation as to what might happen in 2016, and early thoughts are with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush.

Both have been vetted in most aspects of their lives and careers, although certainly other information will arise as time goes by, but both are very famous and experienced, and of course, have the “sex appeal” of being the wife of a former President and the son and brother of two former Presidents, almost like having two royal families.

Hillary Clinton will be 69 years old in 2016, and will have come off two years of retirement, if her plans to leave the State Department at the beginning of the next term comes about. She will have had the eight years in the White House under her husband, Bill Clinton, as an activist First Lady, one of the standouts in that unelected office. She will also have had eight active years in the US Senate, a vigorous experience as a Presidential candidate in 2008, and four stupendous years as Secretary of State, embellishing her foreign policy credentials. With the growing emphasis on women’s rights, and her speech at the Women’s World Summit last weekend, this would be the time to start planning for another Presidential campaign, and no one would ever question her energy, her intelligence, and her breadth of knowledge and expertise. This is no Sarah Palin or Michele Bachmann for certain!

At the same time, Jeb Bush would be 63 years old, with eight years as Florida Governor, the fourth largest state in America, and a record of handling hurricane crises on a very professional level, and demonstrating intelligence, depth, and knowledge on a Presidential scale, without all of the faults and shortcomings of the present GOP Presidential field.

Bush could have entered the race this year, but chose not to, with the major reason being thought to be his secret belief that it would be better to run when the Presidency was open, rather than running against an incumbent President. Also, he is well aware that the name BUSH is still unpopular after the eight years of his brother George W. Bush in the White House.

But Bush comes across as serious and a front runner for 2016, as it would be eight years after his brother’s terms of office and 24 years after his father’s one term of office. Of course, it is highly unlikely that his parents would be here to see their second son become President, an unbelievable distinction were it to happen, but one never knows what might happen, as with modern health treatments available to former Presidents, the best there are, George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush would be 93 and 92 in 2016, and it certainly is possible they could both still be with us.

Imagine a race between Clinton and Bush, bringing back memories of a full generation, 20 years of Bush-Clinton-Bush, and possibly resulting in either a sequence of Bush-Clinton-Bush-Obama-Clinton OR Bush-Clinton-Bush-Obama-Bush! What confusion for students studying history in the future with either of the above chronological successions of the Presidents!

At the same time, there would be the desire of a younger and newer generation to challenge both Clinton and Bush, including Governor Martin O’Malley of Maryland and Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York at the minimum for the Democrats; and Florida Senator Marco Rubio and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal at the minimum for the Republicans.

Needless to say, one can be assured there would be somewhere between ten and a dozen candidates seeking the Presidency on both sides of the political equation!

But experience and family connection could be the winning combination!

The Vice Presidential Competition: Who Makes Sense For The GOP

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Assuming that Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts Governor, is going to be the Republican Presidential nominee, the speculation about who might be his Vice Presidential running mate has begun.

Were Rick Santorum, the former Pennsylvania Senator, somehow able to pull out a miracle and become the nominee, the list would change, with some of the speculative candidates being eliminated, and others not now mentioned being added to the list.

The present list, as reported by NATIONAL JOURNAL is long, but with certain candidates ranked in order of likelihood of being the nominee.

The list is fascinating, but in the opinion of the author, flawed, with the assumption that Romney wants to have a real chance to win, and many of the choices are just too controversial even for him, in the mind of this author.

So we begin with Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell and Florida Senator Marco Rubio, both attractive looking candidates from battleground states, but both highly flawed by recent events, as reported by this author just a short period of time ago. These were the top two on this list provided by NATIONAL JOURNAL.

Their active movement against women and reproductive control of their bodies is a major negative, which did not exist in the same way just a few short weeks ago. Nominating anyone closely associated with this attack on women’s rights would NOT help Mitt Romney to win this crucial voting group!

But third place finisher, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, while applauded by many conservatives, is simply too headstrong and bossy to be anyone’s Vice Presidential nominee, and has a tendency to blow up and say things that are both arrogant and nasty, and would harm the Romney candidacy for President.

Ohio Senator Rob Portman, number four on the list, is far less controversial than McDonnell, Rubio, and Christie. Not as well known as the first three, Portman is a solid conservative who one can feel supplements Romney in a competent way, with his only negative being that he was the Budget Director under George W. Bush, as the budget went awry in the past decade. But, as much as that seems to be a negative, Portman still is far better as a nominee than the previous three combined. One does not want to forget that a nominee from Ohio, being the most crucial state for a Republican Presidential candidate, makes Portman even more important. Remember that EVERY GOP Presidential winner since Abraham Lincoln, the first, has won Ohio.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal is fifth on the list, followed by Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin. Jindal has become less exciting and impressive as time has gone on, with his main advantage, sadly, is that he is an Indian American, darker skinned than any other Republican, including Hispanic and Latinos possibilities, and might fool people into thinking that he is African American, but if that is the reason to select him, it only highlights the race problem the GOP faces. His home state is not important enough to be a consideration, as it will go Republican anyway, although if the people of one of the poorest states used their head, they would not vote Republican!

Ryan, on the other hand, is very good looking and well spoken, and as head of the House Budget Committee, he would seem a good match, and his home state of Wisconsin is seen as in play. But his plan to change Medicare as we know it, and his overall controversial budget plan, makes him not as good a choice as Rob Portman. Having said that, except for Portman, he seems a better fit of the top group of six possible nominees, ahead of McDonnell, Rubio, Christie, and Jindal.

Of the so called plausible alternatives, former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, the next choice, would be an excellent candidate, even though he withdrew early from the Presidential race. A strong supporter of Romney, and a front runner for John McCain’s running mate in 2008, Pawlenty is not dynamic or exciting, but a competent choice with far less controversy than most.

The rest of the list is uninspiring: Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, Washington Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, South Dakota Senator John Thune, New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez, Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, and Puerto Rico Governor Luis Fortuno..

The mention of Rodgers, Martinez, Sandoval, and Fortuno really brings raised eyes, as simply pandering to women and Hispanics and Latinos, as they remind us too much of picking Sarah Palin for being a woman more than any true qualifying factor.

Only Thune brings any excitement, as he is handsome, dynamic, and comes from the Senate, but his state adds nothing to the electoral base of Romney.

In summary, it seems to the author that the best choices for Romney to consider for Vice President as reputable, qualified, competent, less controversial, and qualified to be President in case of an emergency (not to be ignored), would be Rob Portman, Paul Ryan, Tim Pawlenty, and John Thune.

NONE match Vice President Joe Biden as a competent, qualified person to be next in line to be President of the United States!

Mitt Romney’s Running Mate: Who Could End Up As Vice President Next Year?

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It may seem premature to ponder who could be Mitt Romney’s running mate for Vice President, after only two contests, the Iowa Caucuses and the New Hampshire Primary, but speculation is already beginning.

It is not an unimportant issue, as one must remember that a Vice President is one heartbeat away from the Presidency, and we have had nine Vice Presidents succeed to the office of President, mostly recently Gerald Ford, after Richard Nixon’s resignation in 1974.

We have now had a longer period of no Vice Presidential succession than ever since the first time the Vice President (John Tyler) replaced a President who had died after one month in office in 1841 (William Henry Harrison).

We have had Vice Presidential choices that have been nightmares, such as Sarah Palin in 2008, Dan Quayle in 1988 and Spiro Agnew in 1968, with the latter two making even opponents of George H. W. Bush and Richard Nixon wish for their continued good health!

Many individuals are being speculated about who would not be good choices in one way or another.

Among these are:

Florida Senator Marco Rubio
South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley
Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie

All of the above are highly controversial in different ways, and would not draw moderates or independents, crucial in an election more than a nomination battle. And all, except Santorum, have been in high office too briefly, so the lack of experience would be harmful, as each has only finished one year in his or her position in government on a national level, with the exception of Christie with two years in office. Santorum lost reelection by a wider margin than just about any incumbent senator in history, when he lost his seat in 2006.

So, a better list would be the following, all adding to Romney, rather than subtracting:

Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty
Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell
Tennessee Senator Bob Corker
Ohio Senator Rob Portman
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal
Missouri Senator Roy Blunt
South Dakota Senator John Thune
Illinois Senator Mark Kirk

All of these nine, four governors and five senators, have had experience and come across as less controversial, and all would be qualified to take over in an emergency, if that were to happen.

Of course, all would have to be vetted, but on first look, they all seem to be capable of serving as President if need be, and far better than Palin, Quayle or Agnew!

The “Birthers” Turn On Republicans: Marco Rubio And Bobby Jindal

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The “Birthers”, including lunatic Orly Taitz, are now turning their fire on two Republicans with Presidential ambitions in the future: Florida Senator Marco Rubio, and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.

Rubio, born of Cuban parents who were not naturalized at the time of his birth, and Jindal, born of Indian parents who were not naturalized at the time of his birth, are being attacked as ineligible to be President under a very narrow interpretation of the 14th Amendment.

Having failed to convince anyone, except lunatics and ignoramuses, that Barack Obama was ineligible to be President, now the “Birthers” are out to destroy any chance that either Republican, born 13 days apart 40 years ago, will have an opportunity to run for the Presidency.

The attempt will fail, and it is likely both will compete against each other in 2016 for President, and the issue should not be the issue of naturalization of their parents.

The issue should be whether Marco Rubio, having deceived and lied to the nation about when his parents left Cuba, has the ethics and honesty to run for President. He told Floridians that his parents fled after Fidel Castro came to power in 1959, when they came to America in 1956. By all ethical standards, he should be forced to resign, and his Senate seat declared vacant, but of course Marco has displayed no problem with ethics even during his state legislative career in Florida, and will not voluntarily leave office.

Bobby Jindal has shown bad judgment in backing Rick Perry for President, and considering the fact that Louisiana is one of the poorest states in the Union, one would think he would have a more open minded view on many issues, but such is not the case, sadly.

Both Rubio and Jindal will be heard from in the future, despite the looney “Birther” movement campaign against both of them.

The Long List Of Republican Presidential Dropouts: Why If 2012 Is Such A Great Year For The GOP?

Ronald 1 Comment

Common belief is that 2012 will see the defeat of President Barack Obama, and recent polls seem to indicate such, except, of course, for the fact that polls in the summer and fall of the year BEFORE the national elections are notoriously misleading!

But with such predictions and prognostications, why is it that a long list of Republicans, some of them very attractive possibilities, have decided NOT to seek the Presidency?

First the list of candidates in no special order:

Jeb Bush
Haley Barbour
John Bolton
Mitch Daniels
Jim DeMint
Mike Huckabee
Bobby Jindal
Mike Pence
David Petraeus
Paul Ryan
John Thune
Donald Trump
Rudy Guiliani
Sarah Palin
Chris Christie

That is a list of FIFTEEN people, some of them very appealing in different ways, who have decided NOT to run!

But why?

1. It is an arduous chore, costly, dominating, stressful to run for President, and becomes all encompassing to the candidate and his or her family.
2. It requires tremendous financial and organizational support to make a serious run for President, not easily achieved.
3. It requires a “thick skin” with the strong criticisms and investigations of one’s record, of everything ever said or done, that is automatic when one runs for President.
4. It requires a candidate to be knowledgeable, informed, and to have good debate skills against potential opponents.
5. It is required that a candidate have the “fire in the belly” that he or she is meant to run, and willingness to sacrifice his or her life for a year or more.

With all of the above, one other point should be made in conclusion: The candidate has to believe that Barack Obama can be defeated in 2012, or else it is better to wait to 2016!

The author would contend that many on this list, maybe all of them, see the chore of dislodging Barack Obama from the Presidency to be a very difficult job, no matter what is uttered publicly!

The President will have a billion dollar campaign fund; a record of major accomplishments rivaling the Great Society of Lyndon B. Johnson domestically, certainly the most since the first term of Richard Nixon, the most in FORTY YEARS, that he can be proud of; PLUS exceptional achievements in the fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban, and general respect around the world! His record on defense and foreign policy is outstanding, with his ONLY major failure being the economy, one that he inherited and has been unable to overcome due to the total intransigence of the opposition party, which now controls the House of Representatives, and is doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to create jobs, build infrastructure, promote education and innovation, and will go down as the worst Congress in decades!

Barack Obama will be able to call them the “do nothing” Congress as Harry Truman did when he ran for election in 1948. The difference is that even the GOP Congress of 1947-1948, the 80th Congress, DID support the President on foreign policy initiatives, while the Republicans today ignore or dismiss accomplishments of the President in that area! So this is actually a far worse Congress, the 112th Congress, than the 80th Congress was!

So the ultimate conclusion is that the Republicans who decided not to run assume that Obama will win, and are holding their future to 2016, when it is likely MANY of the above will be running for President in a year they project as a year when the incumbent President will NOT be able to run, an open year which maximizes their opportunities for the White House!

Finally, the reception that those candidates for President who are running are receiving is NOT a good sign for any of them, that they will somehow unite the Republican Party and defeat Barack Obama in 2012! There is great discontent over the choices, and that is the reason why there has been a clamor, unsuccessful, to get others in the race. And of course, the Tea Party Movement is also destroying any chance for GOP unity, so if the Republicans want a future, they must divorce the Tea Party Movement after what will be a likely debacle in 2012, if they wish to succeed Barack Obama in the White House in the Presidential Election Of 2016!