No words needed.I value your opinions.....that's why I'm asking.
Newt Gingrich is by far and away the most impressive think out of the box candidate we have.
I want a pres that can give you some background and historical perspective on why your 20 year old son has to walk around the rest of his life on a titanium stump because of a war that he sent you off to.
I want a republican president for a change that can answer hard questions from the press and dosen’t look like Mike Tyson on Jeopardy, and an intellectual embarassment.(see Perry,bush,Cain).
Newt gets my money. Newt gets my vote. Not only do I agree and am enlightned by his views he is the best politician out there. The game is still politics and Newt knows how to play the game.
I’m still riding the Cain train, but I would enthusiastically support Santorum or Bachmann. I could support Newt, but his forays off the conservative reservation and some of his character issues dampen my enthusiasm. Perry would be acceptable, but he seems like another George W. Bush. Huntsman is disqualified because he served in the Obama administration and was a big-spending governor. Romney is out of the question.
Cain.
While successful foreign policy requires that our President have a firm grasp on the inner workings of other nations, it also requires that these same nations have a clear understanding of where our President stands, and that he stand for the U.S.
The first can be acquired; the second is a matter of character and integrity, and so cannot. With Cain’s executive style and intelligence, any possible shortcomings in the global arena would be quickly overcome, and are thus of limited concern to me.
(Recall, for example, the effectiveness of Reagan: much of his success in this area, I believe, was a direct result of our enemies —and friends— knowing exactly what he believed, and that he was a man of principle; there was no doubt in their minds that he meant what he said.)
We are going with Newt warts and all. He sees the big picture and that is what is needed. He has a vision for America not just a plan for tax reform. I don’t see a vision for America coming from any of the others even though I love Herman to death. If you watched the debate last night you saw time and time again Newt Gingrich talking about a bigger picture on all the issues. He’s right. I have shaken his hand and he’s not the warmest guy in the world but I don’t want to pal around with the President I just want him to fix the mess.
When it comes down to push and shove, at this point I’d have to go with Newt.
I am still with Herman.
To see him so clearly under attack from both the Left, AND from the Establishment Republicans tells me that he is the right man at the right time.
In response to those who buy into the media meme questioning his preparedness and even his intelligence, I humbly offer BagCamAddict’s reply from the debate thread last night -
“”You know when you assign someone a project or a task to complete, and they come into your office and start giving you excuses about why they didn’t get it done:
“Well it’s not my fault the subcontractor didn’t show up on time. And the product he brought was sub-par, so we had to re-order the supplies, and then we had 3 days of bad weather, and then the Inspector didn’t pass the plumbing....”
And as the Boss or Manager, all you’re thinking is, “I don’t care who’s fault it is and I don’t care about any of these excuses, all I care about is whether the job got done or not.”
So you finally interrupt the guy and cut to the chase and say, “When can you get it done?”
Because the bottom line is, excuses don’t matter. What can you get done, and when?
I think with Cain, what you see (that some perhaps don’t like) is that he boils things down to their most simple elements. And he makes a decision based on that, and then he moves forward. As a CEO, he knows it doesn’t ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING to stand around and talk about the problems ‘till we’re blue in the face, giving excuses about why the project wasn’t done on time. All that matters to Cain is “What are we going to do about it, and when?”
So when you say that “Santorum,(and others) display a depth of knowledge on the issues,” I really think what you’re seeing is that Santorum (and others) can talk about these things all day long. They can talk and talk and talk. What good does it do to TALK? What does it solve to be a good talker? Cain wants to actually DO something, and he doesn’t want to waste his time or ours in talking about it.””
In a general observation on all of the candidates, I will offer something I wrote last night, and shared with a young lady who called from the RNC this morning -
I believe it is extremely important for the Republican candidates to amplify the message the American people have been sending since well before 2010. That the gravy train has jumped the track - for people who are looking for free rides, AND for politicians, (regardless of party), who want to pay for power, using our money to buy votes.
The upshot of that message SHOULD encourage freeriders here to leave, and give those who were considering coming something to think about.
IMHO “Constitutional” candidates who are advancing the idea that securing our borders is too difficult, and are telling us we need to accept these individuals who have broken our laws, are in no way Constitutional candidates. Neither are our “representatives” that are currently “serving” who are continuing to play shell games about “cuts” that are not cuts, and seem to believe that all of us are still quite easily fooled.
We cannot right this ship with the business as usual, good cop/bad cop politics, where the “two parties” are simply different sides of the same coin.
The good news is, that the RNC caller I spoke with just moments ago, said they are hearing the same message from a LOT of the people that they are calling. I pray that it is so.
Sorry for the length, but thanks much for asking FRiend, and giving us all a chance to sort this out in a, (hopefully), reasonable manner.
May God guide our course.
Tatt
Then I support Gingrich until he goes out.
Then I support Romney until Obama beats him.
Why is this so difficult? :)
999 won't get traction unless it is properly vetted, so it's not anything to worry about. He wants a flat tax anyway — 999 was an interim step because he believed it would be more palatable to the masses to phase into a flat tax.
Even though Cain appears to be polling below Obama in the national polls, they fail to account for this: Cain is only courting the White vote right now. If he wins the Primary, then he'll heavily court the Black vote. He can take 20-30% of the Black vote from Obama, which not only tips the scales of this election, but it creates a paradigm shift in the whole electorate, and the whole concept of the “Democrat Plantation.”
Cain is old-school Black. He is what his generation respects and aspires to. He can get those votes because he has their values.
No words needed.Gingrich/Cain.
Cain, I think embodies the conservative ideals the best. Unfortunately, he is green and not political savvy, has a crappy team at the moment. If he ups his game, I believe he is the one most likely win the primary and to beat Obama.
Looking over this thread and being an activist from Iowa who lived in New Hampshire and South Carolina, let me tell you what all your posts mean.
Mitt Romney is going to win with 25% because you 75% will not ever agree.
The Cain haters see an inept fool who has not answered one question directly in a dozen debates and they will never support an intellectual light weight.
The Cain loves are on the train and drunk with the kool aid and exactly like the Paulites will never never never vote for anyone but the Hermonator.
The Bachmann and Santorum folks are your religious conservatives first and fiscal conservatives second and must by faith put their Jesus candidate first. They are not going to switch. If one or the other drops out, or gains a significant lead, they may switch to the other. But they are staying with “Jesus”.
Perry has no fans any more. He is the worse than Fred Thompson, Fred Thompson. He will be dead last in Iowa because Hunstman will not get any votes.
That leaves the last man standing Newt... God help us. He is the most scary because you cannot trust him to DO many of the great things he says need done. And you fear he may actually DO many of the BAD things he has done before.
So, because of these factors, Romney gets 25% in Iowa and wins. He gets 35% in New Hampshire and wins. Since everyone else is all pulling about the same NO ONE drops out.... thus Mitt wins South Carolina. And then Super Teusday and then he is the nominee.
He also LOSES to Obama.
And it is OUR fault.
Again.
Rick Perry, of course.
Best candidate is Rick Perry
The the wheel ends up on, Mr. Herman Cain. He after suffered the most (injustice) and held up the best in light of attacks none of the others had slung their way to this level. That is the mark of a true man.
Two weeks ago I would have said Newt, Cain or Bachmann, but I am having second thoughts on Newt. It is not just the issue of amnesty, but his reasoning screams “I’m a big government Conservative”. That is my greatest reservation with Newt.
Forget Santorum. I thought he was a great Senator but he endorsed Spector over Toomey which really ticked me off. Quite frankly he does not strike me as much of a leader, or I would probably be less bothered by the Spector thing.
By the way I find it interesting how Gingrich co-opted Cain’s “Chilean Model” for entitlement reform. If candidate’s are stealing his positions, then he is already effecting change!!
I say Cain/Bachmann as my favorites. The lady from Minnesota is really sharp, but I give the nod to the man who has executive experience.
My 2-cents
I continue to support Perry. And I’ve got the battle wounds to prove it.