Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I can't shake my belief that the citizens of the US vote in the guy who appears to have a steady hand on the steering wheel.
15 months is a very long time in politics- long enough to see a upturn for the better in jobs, and long enough to see a upturn in the housing market. If either or both happen, the Republicans could be in trouble by the time the primaries really get going.
Romney stays as high as he is in the polls because he's managed to stay above the religious/party purity fray that's going on right now, but he reminds me of McCain; the last guy in the field who seems like someone both parties and the indies can vote for.
Except he's not the only one. Huntsman is fresher, smarter, quicker on his feet, and has more on-the-ground knowledge of Washington. I think he's a better 'last ditch' candidate than Romney.
We haven't seen him really do his stuff yet. If he makes it into the primaries, we will.
Both parties got Obama wrong. From the first, he has been a cautious centrist, not the liberal he is thought to be. He has also wasted far too much time and effort trying to reach conciliation in a Congress that simply won't conciliate. Huntsman may have greater abilities in this, and he is also a centrist.
For sure, Huntsman is a conservative in the classic term. He would not do any crazy measures or say crazy things, but he would steer the US more conservently. He is more like Ronald Reagan and Eisenhower than anyone we have seen yet. He is a real dark horse now, but time will tell.
The Republican party has a choice- it can either splinter in half, or it can come together and unite in a way it hasn't been able to do this entire term. I think this election will tell the tale, as all citizens are equally tired of politics as usual.
The Repubs are going to have to show up with some plans on how they will get us out of the dumps this time. They are going to have to show the country that they can actually lead, not just oppose. To do that, they are going to need someone like Huntsman, not a fire-breathing ideologue.
Personally, I don't think it's gonna happen. The Republicans would rather set their hair on fire than win right now, and the base is not trying to reach out to anyone but themselves. Until they can make themselves more attractive to the Big Middle, I don't think they have much of a chance.
I am very suspicious when both the right and the left are trying to convinice us Huntsman is viable. Forget it, he's polling at 2%. If you're really looking for a moderate, that would be Romney. If jobs are the top issue, Romney or Perry could fit that niche. I don't think this is the time for moderation, that's why I will vote for Ron Paul. Plus both sides are scared to death of him. The bankers are running this country - time to see the books and trim the fat.
I'm voting for Obama too. Right now the thing holding us back are the Republicans in Congress.
Get them out!
About the only thing the Republicans are holding you back from is the racist ideology of the Democrats. And thank goodness for that. I am tired of the Democrats thinking my family can't succeed in life without the help of the rich white man.
Well that only leaves two candidates...Huntsman and Obama. All of the other Republican candidates said that they would not vote to raise the debt ceiling.
You obviously don't realize how nonsensical your post is. Who will bankrupt the country: the candidate who wants to borrow and spend more money or the one who wants us to live within our means?
I have to say that I share your reservations. I was raised Republican and it wasn't until President Reagan that I moved to the Democrats, but until about ten years ago I still had a lot of respect for the GOP. No longer.
I'd like to believe that we are only seeing the extremists, but in the absence of no other GOP voice of reason raised, I've come to believe the reasonable, far-sighted ones have joined me in the exodus.
America needs a strong two-party system to remain politically viable. The independents are too fractured and self-interested to look at the BIG picture where America is part of a global entity -- not a pinnacle to the universe.
Bottom line: American's need to start thinking for themselves and stop sucking down the paid advertising currently masked as news. We need to use the tools available to us to look at what their elected (or candidates) have done, are doing, and the results. Until they start in this direction -- and VOTE, they will continue to be sheep in the jaws of the few, the audacious, and the self-interested.
republican party got hijacked by neo con war mongerers.
ron paul is trying to correct the party and bring it back to what it used to be.
me and guy at work with who is a big paul were debating iran back and forth today.
i told him the republicans want to go to war with iran because if they have 1 nuke it'll scare israel.
we both agreed iran was no threat, regardless of the nuke.
we just disagree on the base.
he thinks the base agrees with me and him, that we dont need to get into another war with iran over a nuke.
i say the republican base wants to go to war with iran, to prevent them from getting a nuke. war mongerers like palin, bachmann, santorum, perry are enough to convince me of that.
The problem with your--and Ron Paul's--analysis is that it fails to understand how destabilizing for the entire Middle East a nuclear-armed Iran will be. Iran is majority Shia. The other states in the region are Sunni-controlled. If you think the civil war between the Shia and the Sunni in 2006 in Iraq was horrendous wait until that centuries-old religious animosity spills across political borders. If Iran acquires a nuke then look for an all-out arms race throughout the Middle East. Iran armed with nukes brings us one step closer to Armaggedon.
I'll tell you what: the "culture wars" of the 60s and 70s over Vietnam, civil rights, feminism, secularism, etc. lead to the "Great Backlash" of "movement conservatism."
They see themselves as "Taking the Country back" from those "uppity folk" (blacks, gays, women, the young, the non-religious, liberals..take your pick!)
Because of the increased power of corporations and Wall Street, people are angry, and rightly so. But it's way, way too hard for them to look at the real world of politics-the economic world-because doing so would be for them, a rejection of "American values." So they blame the poor, illegal immigrants, immigrants in general, gays, Muslims, liberals, "big government" ...ANYONE but the people responsible: the unholy alliance between government and big business.
Also, the advent of unregulated cable TV and talk radio and the decline of newspapers means that people are just regurgitating talking points these days.
I don't know what the solution to all of this is though.
Yep-- pretty much everything you just said.
I'll go one step further.... the elite that control the economy are sick of Obama. He's not playing ball the way they want him to, AND he's black. There will be no appearance (read: MEDIA ILLUSIONS) that the economy can/is getting better under Obama's watch because they want the average Joe to blame Obama for everything wrong in their lives. Meanwhile the truth is Obama has actually been trying to work for the people.
Ultimately though, all the negative crap they try to throw on Obama won't work, because we still have a two party system, and the Republican party as I said in my first post is a complete joke. I mean this is now a party that actually put Sarah Palin on the ticket. And they STILL talk about her. Nuff said.
I'm voting for Obama too. Right now the thing holding us back are the Republicans in Congress.
Get them out!
Well the Republicans weren't "holding us back" during the first two years of Obama's term. The Dems had complete control. And how did that work put for us? In two and a half years Obama and the Dems added more to the national debt than Bush did in eight. It's that spending spree that has pushed us to the brink of insolvency. The only thing restraining the big spenders is the Republican House. You should be thanking them.
I'll tell you what: the "culture wars" of the 60s and 70s over Vietnam, civil rights, feminism, secularism, etc. lead to the "Great Backlash" of "movement conservatism."
They see themselves as "Taking the Country back" from those "uppity folk" (blacks, gays, women, the young, the non-religious, liberals..take your pick!)
Because of the increased power of corporations and Wall Street, people are angry, and rightly so. But it's way, way too hard for them to look at the real world of politics-the economic world-because doing so would be for them, a rejection of "American values." So they blame the poor, illegal immigrants, immigrants in general, gays, Muslims, liberals, "big government" ...ANYONE but the people responsible: the unholy alliance between government and big business.
Also, the advent of unregulated cable TV and talk radio and the decline of newspapers means that people are just regurgitating talking points these days.
I don't know what the solution to all of this is though.
I don't disagree about crony capitalism. But while Obama did not create that unholy alliance he has certainly perfected it. Look at the cozy relationship between Obama and Jeffrey Immelt of GE (to the point that GE paid no taxes on profits of $5 billion), Warren Buffet and all the Wall Street fat cats that showered cash on his 2008 campaign.
As far as "unregulated cable TV and talk radio": spoken like a true fascist.
About the only thing the Republicans are holding you back from is the racist ideology of the Democrats. And thank goodness for that. I am tired of the Democrats thinking my family can't succeed in life without the help of the rich white man.
LOL!!!
Old rich white men run everything. You can take that to the BANK.
They will gladly let you succeed in making them even richer though! Forget starting your own business. Look into a franchise. Can't afford it? Ooops.
I'm pretty much with you, except that I see Huntsman as the "even better candidate." Since it's highly unlikely that he'll get the nomination, I will most likely be voting for Obama again, right along with you.
I assume you still have a job. Good for you and the heck with the whiners without jobs.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
