Social Conservatism

The Sudden Rise of Senator Rick Santorum As Possible GOP Presidential Nominee!

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With the Iowa Caucuses 24 hours away, it is very clear that with all of the public opinion polls that have taken place in the past six months, that again, while they are interesting and good discussion pieces, it does not guarantee that what these polls claim are the views of the voters will actually work out in practice.

Who would have thought that former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, long regarded as insignificant and having no chance to win, is now in a position of possibly ending up winning the Iowa Caucuses? His surge the past week has come at precisely the right time with the actual vote about to occur!

But when one hears that possibly 41 percent of those who intend to vote are not settled on who to back, it proves once again the fickle and confused nature of many voters, possibly more so in a tough time economically as we are experiencing, due to the collapse of the economy in 2008 and since.

So a good looking, friendly, warm candidate who comes across as genuine and real, as Rick Santorum does, suddenly has a real shot at winning the GOP Presidential nomination.

This does not mean that progressives should be happy at Santorum being the possible winner in Iowa, and having a good chance to be the candidate of the Republican Party. He appeals to social conservatives, highly religious voters, due to his stand against gay rights in all forms and details; his total anti abortion stands from the beginning of his political career; and his decision to home school his seven children.

The point is that Santorum might come across on the surface as a “nice” guy who is accessible, does not dodge questions from voters, looks at people he is speaking to with a direct eye on them, and appears more sincere in his views than anyone, and far less of a “flip flopper” than possibly anyone in the race.

But not only Mitt Romney, the supposed GOP front runner, but also Barack Obama, needs to be aware that a Santorum candidacy is a threat to the mainstream of the nation and the Republican Party!

If he is nominated, he should, in theory, with his extreme right wing views, the most since Barry Goldwater in 1964, be easy for Barack Obama to defeat.

To believe, however, that Santorum would be easy to defeat, could be a fatal error on the part of the Democratic Party and President Obama!

Instead, a possible Rick Santorum Presidency MUST be seen as a “clear and present danger” to the achievements of the New Deal, the Great Society, and the reforms in the 20th century brought about by both Democratic and Republican Presidents!

Rick Santorum would be a danger to women, African Americans, Hispanics and Latinos, immigrants of all backgrounds, gays and lesbians, the environment, government regulation of business, a fair tax system, labor rights, a fair balance in the federal courts including the Supreme Court, and American foreign policy with the threat of more foreign wars in the name of fighting what Santorum would call “Islamofascism”!

So no one should take the possible candidacy of Rick Santorum for President as something to dismiss or ignore. That would be at the threat and danger to too many groups and issues!

Barack Obama Invokes Teddy Roosevelt And The “New Nationalism” Of The Progressive Party Of 1912

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President Obama invoked Teddy Roosevelt and the “New Nationalism” program of the Progressive Party of 1912 in a speech today at Osawatomie, Kansas, the site of a speech by the former President in 1910, setting the standard for his later third party run for President in 1912.

Called a socialist, a radical, and even a Communist by many conservatives a century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt promoted a very advanced series of ideas out of office, more than when he was in, including the end of child labor, equal pay for women, a minimum wage, a social insurance program including social security and health care, a progressive federal income tax, and reforming the political system.

His program, known as the “New Nationalism” became the forerunner of much of the “New Freedom” of Woodrow Wilson, the “New Deal” of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the “Fair Deal” of Harry Truman, the “New Frontier” of John F. Kennedy, and the “Great Society” of Lyndon B. Johnson.

Obama talked of the need for a strong middle class and a raised standard of living, and the need to regulate corporations and to raise taxes as other Presidents have done, in order to promote a “fair shake” for everyone, giving everyone “equal opportunity” to succeed.

Obama emphasized that major tax cuts for the rich had led to greater inequality, lower creation of jobs, growing deficits, and the collapse of the American economy in the past ten years. He declared that “trickle down economics” had never worked in the past successfully, and that assertive actions by government were necessary to promote a bright future for all Americans.

He called for more investment in education, research, technology, infrastructure, and manufacturing, rather than in banking and finance which leads to phony manipulation of financial figures and causes financial “bubbles”!

His speech, as usual, was well delivered, and was designed to inspire the American people to take on the struggle that was fought during the Progressive Era by Theodore Roosevelt to promote a bright future for America!

And remember that Theodore Roosevelt was a Republican who believed in the role of government to make a better society, something regrettably not the viewpoint of the transformed Republican Party of today, which speaks only for the wealthy and the corporations, and spends time dividing people and gaining support based on social conservatism issues, including gay rights, abortion rights, gun rights, illegal immigration and affirmative action. Meanwhile, the lives of the masses of Americans who vote on their emotions, rather than their reason, for the GOP, does not lead to better lives for those people!

The Two Sides Of DC: The Vastly DIfferent Worlds Of Maryland And Virginia!

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The District of Columbia is surrounded by Maryland and Virginia, and the differences between these two states are vast!

Back in the Civil War period, Maryland remained loyal to the Union, although having slavery and secessionists, while Virginia, with vastly more slaves and more rebels, became the leader of the Confederacy, and had the Confederate capitol at Richmond.

Now, Maryland is one of the most loyal Democratic states, very liberal and progressive, and has Governor Martin O’Malley, who is seen by many as an early favorite competitor for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 2016. The legislature is heavily Democratic as well.

Meanwhile, Virginia has a possible future competitor for President in 2016 in Governor Bob McDonnell, who also may be a possible Vice Presidential nominee for Mitt Romney, if he is the GOP Presidential candidate in 2012. Also, the state legislature is heavily Republican, and now after yesterday’s election, that party will control both houses of the state legislature for only the second time in a century. Social conservatives will wish to promote their agenda as a result, although the northern part of Virginia tends to be very liberal as a bedroom community for the national capital’s work force.

Could two states be more different? That is hard to imagine, and yet it could be, in theory, that O’Malley and McDonnell could be competing against each other’s philosophies and visions and agenda in the Presidential Election of 2016!

The Iowa Faith And Freedom Coalition And The Republican Party Presidential Nomination

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The first event of the battle for the Republican Presidential nomination of 2012 occurred on Monday night in Des Moines, Iowa, when the Faith and Freedom Coalition gathering, hosted by Ralph Reed, a former aide to evangelist Pat Robertson, took place.

Only three of the major possible candidates showed up–Newt Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty, and Rick Santorum.

Also appearing were former Louisiana Governor Buddy Roemer, past Godfather Pizza executive Herman Cain, and in a separate event, Texas Congressman Ron Paul. Also, a representative of Donald Trump appeared.

The fact that only three major GOP candidates appeared was a surprise, as it is obvious no one is very anxious to jump full scale into the race.

And the three major candidates who did show up all sounded like evangelical preachers at a religious revival, and the question is whether the GOP is going to focus on abortion and gay marriage at the expense of mainstream economic issues!

And for Gingrich particularly, but also Pawlenty and Santorum, to focus on morals and ethics is quite amazing, and the level of hypocrisy, particularly for Gingrich with his three wives and scandalous behavior as Speaker of the House from 1995-1999, is absolutely amazing!