Posted on 11/20/2007 10:25:19 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
I believe I represent the average Republican voter, or at least a significant slice of the R base. My positions - in no particular order - are as follows:
Immigration - Amnesty is a deal breaker. If they are here illegally and we come into contact with them, send them home.
Iraq - We were winning, we are winning, and we will win. The various pitfalls and difficulties that we have had do not equal defeat. We need a President to stand firm, and to fire all the traitors(I am not using this word lightly) in the State Department and the CIA who have actively sabotaged the war and President Bush for political gain.
GWOT - While Iraq is part of the GWOT, there is much more to be done. Afghanistan is still underway, OBL still needs a reckoning, Iran, Syria, Saudis - there are so many dangers and enemies that need to be dealt with. We need a leader to use the FULL power of the U.S. ; economic, law enforcement, intelligence, military might and whatever other measures to insure that there is never another 9/11.
Taxes - Cut them. Don't talk to me about a FairTax, or a flat tax, or whatever the Wizard is talking about at any given time. These grand plans are head fakes, something for us to look at and pine over while they stick it to us again. "Don't worry Mr. Taxpayer, this will only hurt for a bit, but the FlairTax is coming soon to make it all better."
Spending - Cut it. I could care less if the issue is a $5 pack of post-its that we don't need. Stop spending the money. Too many people want to wave this away because how small discretionary is compared to the Federal outlay. Here's some words to live by - "He who is faithful in the small things..."
Bureaucracies - Dissolve it. The recent food and toy tainting scares may make some grandstanders in Congress want to send more money on the FDA and the CPSC. Giving more money to the useless contractor doesn't get your house built any faster, it just makes it cost more. Period.
2nd Amendment - Government leave guns alone. Easy.
Abortion, ESCR, Euthanasia, etc. - We need to celebrate a culture of life that discourages these things. They need to be curbed with law, but laws alone don't stop bad behavior.
More...
Here is my gut feelings about the candidates:
McCain - The Republican Chuck Shumer. He loves the cameras, and will say and do what it takes to get the coverage. Not to say he is bad for conservatives, but completely unreliable.
Rudy - Guns and Life. I am also not convinced of his GWOT bonafides. Just being at the site of a terror attack, even if you perform well, does not make you an expert on global terrorism. I am also concerned that IA, MN, and WI are out of play with Rudy. These three states have been very close recently, but there are many R single issue (pro-life) voters in these states.
Romney - Try as I might, I can't get past the used car salesman feeling. His many changes on issues, his almost plastic demeanor, I am afraid he will fail to be who he says he is when the chips are down.
Huckabee - He is pro-life. Other than that, I can't see anything I have in common with him. He is also a party splitter, which is a big concern this time around.
Fred - My differences with Fred are degree rather than kind. I like that he has put out real plans, that he doesn't seem to be afraid of the tough issues, and his principle is sound. I am concerned about his campaigning style, not because I think it is ineffective, but in the 10 candidate free-for-all, his message gets drowned to easily.
Ok, so if you read through all of that you deserve a round of applause. I am trying to promote discussion. I know I said something mean about your candidate(s). I want you to convince me that your candidate is a good fit for me. If you want to post something negative about any of these (that includes candidate x is the real deal, because candidate y is a loser) please don't clutter this up. I am looking for reasons to change my mind for the positive. Anyone want to play?
bump l8r
Okay, so he supports Hunter. Why doesn’t he come out and say it? If this gentleman is the average Republican voter, then Fred and Hunter would be the top two contenders. But they’re not. Romney and Rudy are. So the average Republican voter is a RINOmm. I bet 70% of all Republicans are actually RINO’s. Which makes Pure Republicans a minority. Maybe the RINO’s should form their own national party. Obiviously the Pure Republicans don’t need RINO support. :-)
Hate to post and run, but it is late here. Good luck in your search.
Sez who? One of three guys will win this: Thompson, Romney, Giuliani. I know which one of the three is the most conservative. Do you?
Hate to post and run, but it is late here. Good luck in your search."
I am not the author of this article, merely the poster of the thread. Feel free to go to that site and communicate with him. I have a candidate, who will hopefully (for all of our sakes) be the next president of these United States.
Very similiar view.
I’d find it extremely hard to vote for Rudy, if not impossible. He’s Hillary but with a slant on some issues.
McCain...if he could only settle on a few issues, then I wouldn’t mind voting for him...as long as he’s got plenty of cool-down medicine near by. Odd temper.
Overall, I support Fred. I see Fred and Hunter as a Jefferson/Adams of our time. They’re differing views are very much needed in this country. The rest of the candidates are just paper weight as far as political philsophy goes. They’re the status quo and in some cases progressive.
I really detest the use of the suffix “bot”.
There is too much of it on FR, and it has demeaning overtones.
I think it says more about the person using the phrase than the people is is directed against.
Everyone ELSE is a mindless “bot”, but never the person using it. Why is that, I wonder?
I see FRed Thompson as the very best candidate, bar none.
He is consistent, concise, Conservative. Just as important, he is reasonable and balanced. He’s not looking to beat anyone into submission on his viewpoints, he’s looking to convince them by act, word, and deed.
He IS the voice of reason and truth that our Country so desperately needs at this time.
For all of those who have posted that they “like FRed, but”, or wantED Fred, but, or “was pullin’ for FRed, but...
Let me ask you...
If your roof had a leak, would you move?
If your kid was failing a course, would you pull ‘em out of school?
If your dog was sick, would you put him down?
If your faith is so weak that you would drop a candidate because he appears to be goin’ through a few bumps, or you can’t understand his strategy, then you have no faith, and, more than likely, no principles, either.
THIS is the election, more so than any election in my 55 years, that we should be standing our ground on Conservative principles, on OUR integrity, on OUR love of Country.
Thanks much!
bOOKmARKfORlATERrEADING (bmflr)
Well said papasmurf. They say “I support Fred but” and then list all the same ol tired MSM anti-Fred talking points, what a pile of crap. Fred ain’t perfect but he is far far far better than Rudy McRomneybee from a conservative point a view.
I concur. 2DV said it very well, “My differences with Fred are degree rather than kind.” Whereas, with all of the others, except Duncan, my differences are huge.
I noticed on another thread a Romney supporter say he doesn’t care that Romney is a liberal RINO. So he just flat out admits Romney is a liberal but he wants him to be President anyway....and there you have it.....the true color of Rominoids, they are unabashed liberals foisting their liberalism on us via the Republican party just like the Rudyphiles.
However, in that light I can understand Rominoids bashing Fred, what I don’t understand is the continued bashing of Fred by Hunter supporters. They are the ones I am really dissppointed in because, in bashing Fred, they are helping ONLY Rudy and Mitt. It is really shameful for them to keep on bashing the only conservative that has a chance.
A perfect example of what you just said is post# 3 above. Amazing.
Don’t these people realize what’s at stake? Do they really believe that myth or rudy, or huck, etc, will serve as Conservatives, will do anything to promote our values. or change public perception of Conservatism?
“Okay, so he supports Hunter. Why doesn’t he come out and say it? If this gentleman is the average Republican voter, then Fred and Hunter would be the top two contenders. But they’re not. Romney and Rudy are. So the average Republican voter is a RINOmm. I bet 70% of all Republicans are actually RINO’s. Which makes Pure Republicans a minority. Maybe the RINO’s should form their own national party. Obiviously the Pure Republicans don’t need RINO support. :-)”
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The silent (moral) majority are conservatives who refuse to vote for moderates.
I recently met Senator Thompson back stage at the NRA convention.
He’s a big guy, very robust and lively, very engaging, and downright funny in person. He worked the room, well, like a movie star. He shook my hand full-on, firmly, looked me in the eye, and asked for my vote, telling me that he was going to earn it.
He told me he would never support amnesty for “illegal alients.” He DID NOT call them “immigrants.”
He told me he would govern in a fiscally responsible manner.
He told my wife that the 2nd amendment was not about hunting but was a check against government power, just like the 1st amendment. “The first thing a dictator does is gather up all the weapons” was in there.
He complained about a diet his advisors have him on because, in their opinion, he was getting fat, and refused to make a jab at Rudy when given an opportunity. (He just laughed.) He gave a good speech, which we all saw.
His positions are about as consistent of a conservative/federalists as we have in this day-and-age. Not perfect, but reasonable, and clearly based on principle.
The fact that Fred works on internal principal is huge to me — I can’t stand fake, say-anything, politians. Indeed, I respect someone like Joe Lieberman (with whom I disagree about basically everything, except the war) much more than the say-anything crowd because it is clear that he has a guiding, internal, principle, and would not govern by polls to get elected.
Fred is the same way, albeit a conservative. What you see is what you get.
Karl Rove recently said, the way to beat Hillary, who has calculated everything in her life to become President, is to elect someone who is genuinely himself. (To paraphrase Karl in Fredspeak, “Son, Hillary doesn’t take a dump without taking a poll.”)
Ergo, our slicker candidates who say-anything will get crushed. The Dims have a friendly media and are much better at controlling their cultivated image.
Fred is genuinely just Fred.
The electorate will see that, and elect Fred as the anti-Hillary.
I understand what you are saying, however, sometimes the label is appropriate.
For example, for people who claim to be conservatives and can take a look at Rudy’s past record and then still think he is a good choice for President or that his recent conversions to conservative positions is any more than pandering.
Now that is what I call a RudyBot.
An examination of your views on the issues reveal that there realistically are only 3 candidates that you can consider -- Fred Thompson, Duncan Hunter, and Tom Tancredo.
The problem with Duncan Hunter and Tom Tancredo is they have NO chance -- neither are registering 1% in the polls. Also, both just missed the filing deadline in Arkansas -- which tells me that these campaigns are not viable.
I might also add a point about Fred which has impressed me -- and that is support for embattled conservatives. Case in point -- Scooter Libby. At a time when seemingly everyone else in the GOP was rushing to throw Libby under the bus. Fred instead was rushing to his defense. There was nothing for Fred to gain by defending Libby other than the scorn of the msm. Fred also came to Rush's defense -- unlike Mitt, the phony conservative, whose first instinct was to throw Rush under the bus.
But, if Fred fails, I am willing to support Huckabee, Hunter, Tancredo, and maybe even RuPaul.
But I will NOT support Rudy McRomney and will instead vote 3rd party.
I think a large portion of Romney supporters are Mormons. They don't want people to not support him just because he is a Mormon, while they support him just because he is a Mormon. Go figure.
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