Not Excited About Romney?

CE.com ^ | april 25, 2012 | David J. Peterson

[Salvation]

Not Excited About Romney?

• Politics
• April 25th, 2012
• David J. Peterson

This year’s GOP primary has been an odyssey filled with sound and fury. But, like elephants who never forget, millions of Republicans are muttering “haven’t we seen this movie before?” Conservatives who were looking for a solid alternative to Democrat Barack Obama are angry and disappointed. The party rank and file was opposed to the nomination of Mitt Romney, seeing him as a weathervane – willing to adopt any position or cause to suit his ambitions.

The Republican establishment, which is dominated by big business and the Wall Street elite, heard the same chorus of protests when Senator John McCain was nominated in 2008. The party elites argue that, as a centrist, Governor Romney has the best chance of beating the incumbent president in the November US elections. They claim that since his term ended in Massachusetts, a left-leaning stronghold, Romney’s positions have “evolved” and he is now closer to mainstream conservatives. Yet, his detractors say fielding a candidate who is clearly unable to articulate any coherent moral outlook is a big blunder.

American voters have not warmed up to the nominee. Since early 2011, Romney support among Republican voters in statewide polls never rose above 20 to 30 percent. In an ABC survey in March – just 34 percent of all voters had a favorable opinion of him. His unfavorable score, nearly 50 percent, was exceeded only by one other Republican, former House speaker Newt Gingrich, and by only one top candidate in 28 years, Hillary Clinton in 2008.

It is a mystery how a candidate so unpopular among average voters could remain the “front runner”. In addition, the single issue where Barack Obama is most vulnerable is his controversial national health care mandate. Unbelievably, it turns out that the original model for the “Obamacare” health law was first enacted by Governor Romney in Massachusetts. Both laws require everyone with income to purchase health insurance. As with Obama, Romney’s plan provides free contraceptive coverage, which Catholic and other religious institutions must pay for!

The outcome of the GOP primary season poses the question: is democracy taking a long sabbatical in the country where it all began back in 1776? First, there is the obvious issue of disparity in money. Multi-millionaires like Romney have a tremendous advantage over opponents. At the same time, candidates who are not responsive to the wealthy elite will always be swimming upstream. With access to unlimited donations raised by “SuperPacs,” the GOP winner shelled out hundreds of millions in slick attack ads – helping to vilify his opponents in every state primary. The two expected nominees have already raised a combined total close to US$400 million. Overall spending by both presidential campaigns in 2008 was $1.7 billion, 10 times what it was in 1976, and perhaps this will double in 2012.

A second major concern is how Governor Romney was originally designated as the front runner. Who determined that the Republican nomination was his, unless a challenger could snatch it away? It is hard to escape the conclusion that a corrupt bargain was in place from the start involving the top US elites, the GOP establishment and the national media barons. In modern election contests, the big media carefully frame the race between two poles, the liberal Democrats against conservative Republicans. In the primary debates the media make it next to impossible for a dissenting candidate to get anywhere near the nomination.

From 1970 to 2000, America’s former Christian culture has been stripped away like bark from a tree. As with Sarah Palin – a leading Christian conservative who was nominated for vice president in 2008 – a candidate who openly talks of a serious commitment to Christian or Biblical moral virtues is considered a “cult follower” or extremist.

This year former Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, former Senator Rick Santorum and even Texas Governor Rick Perry were all bullied and ostracized by partisan TV journalists. When Perry or Santorum made foolish statements, the media labeled them hopeless bumpkins who were unfit for higher office.

Mitt Romney’s blunders were criticized but labelled as just bumps in the road. But the front runner made several mega-gaffes where he appeared to be getting coaching from Ebenezer Scrooge. During the worst economic crisis in almost a century, multi-millionaire Romney stated “I am not concerned about poor people”. Elsewhere he bragged about how he enjoys firing people. He described government loans which saved two-thirds of the auto industry and over 1 million American jobs as a terrible mistake. After first stonewalling on his taxes, he revealed that by using loopholes and off shore accounts he paid only 14 percent, a rate well below that of most middle-income Americans.

For independent minded voters, including social conservatives and Christians, there is a temptation to simply avoid the race or to stay away from the polls this fall. The damage done by Obama in the next four years may not be as bad as one or two terms under a slightly less liberal alternative. Before he suspended his surprising campaign, Rick Santorum said the difference between Romney and his Democratic rival is negligible. Arguments about the lesser of two evils, which surface like a swarm of cicadas every four years, are sounding hollow.

As Plato noted in the Republic – in an oligarchy “there is not one state but two, one of the very wealthy, and one of everyone else. “If history is a guide, then Ben Franklin’s remarks at the 1787 Constitutional Convention should be noted. When asked – ‘what have we got?’ – he replied, ‘A republic if you can keep it’.” As in earlier eras, 21st century Americans will have to provide their own answer to his timeless warning.

 

David J. Peterson is an author and a high school teacher with a degree in economics. He lives in Chicago. 

This article was originally published on MercatorNet under a Creative Commons License.

[NorthernCrunchyCon]

I’m Catholic too, and pro-life, which every Catholic ought to be. I’ve been very active in supporting pro-life candidates, however, I’m not sure how you arrived at your position. Given Romney’s past support for abortion and Planned Barrenhood, not to mention the fact he fathered so-called same-sex marriage in Canada, there is simply no difference between him and Obama on the issue.

[RipSawyer]

It is simple, the same people who are cheering for the courts to overturn our national health care disgrace are expected to vote for the person who signed the basic model into law in Mass. if that makes any kind of sense I am Santa Claus. The Republican party is simply a foil for the Democrats, it is a good cop, bad cop routine, the disagreement is over which you see as good and which is bad.

The same thing pertains to Fox News now, it is not really conservative by any stretch, it simply exists so that those who are too disgusted to watch the other propaganda channels can switch to Fox and pretend they are getting the conservative viewpoint and the leftwing MSNBC nuts can scream about the “extreme rightwing” Fox news.

Those who thought Obama would straighten up behind the Republicans were expecting a hungry lion to save them from a Chihuahua puppy, those who imagine the Republicans will fix Obama’s mess are expecting the little puppy to save them from the hungry lion.

If you think I am wrong listen to George Soros, he has already said that if the race is between Romney and Obama it makes little difference who wins.

[gghd]

From EWTN: The US Bishops are emphasizing that their opposition to the Obama administration’s contraception attempt to impose its narrow definition of religion on the country.
‘Indeed, this is not about the Church wanting to force anybody to do anything,’ said the administrative committee of the U.S. conference of Catholic Bishops in a March 14 statement.
Instead, they explained, it is ‘about the federal government forcing the Church’ consisting of its faithful and all but a few of its institutions’ to act against Church teachings.’

How Catholic are YOU? My Priest said, ‘Obama gave our Bishops the finger!’

[Patton@Bastogne]

.


"excellent" ...

please forward to rush limbaugh ... who must be "severely" perplexed today ...

/sarcasm-off


we have been betrayed ...

.

[gghd]

Please see my comments especially #103. The important part of which is: “The federal government forcing the Church ‘consisting of its faithful and all but a few of its institutions’ to act against Church teachings.’

My Priest summed it up by saying, ‘Obama gave our Bishops the finger!’

The choice is Obama or the main Republican candidate. Please take a political science class that explains the election process in the USA. Historically, 3rd Party candidates >destroy one candidates’ chance of being elected.

[gghd]

As a faithful living Catholic, I’m obligated to vote only >once. I cannot control the votes of any other person be they >living or >dead.

My Priest said, ‘Obama gave our Bishops the finger.’

[Kenny Bunk]

Dear Fellow Conservative Thinker,
Should this Romney thing survive the Convention and the RINOs succeed in making him the candidate, I will indeed brave Holder's Black Panther Club-Wielders, go to my precinct and vote for the silly SOB. (Providing of course he does not select the non-Natural Born Citizen, Marco as his running mate.)

I think of Romney as MacDonald's Ice Cream, an aerated, non-dairy, non-fat, non-sugar product, whipped up and extruded in any flavor one might desire, except that Romney comes in only artificial vanilla. (B-b-but I asked for Peach!)

From the smell emanating from the RNC, I would say that it is already a dead GOP. My problem is "What do we do in the meantime, while the common-sense people out there figure it out?" Any Third Party right now means 25 years of Democrat Administrations.

As far as your suggestions for straight talk to minorities: FUGGEDABOUTIT. Your ideas of "straight talk," which coincide with mine, will only cause your average welfare sucker to lose self-esteem and vote several times against your candidate.

What I (ME) hope will happen is that we will have two or three more midterms in which the real people take back the House AND THE SENATE and begin the long, arduous, constitutional course correction, which is the only thing that will save the Republic. Think of Romney as President with the House and Senate holding his feet to a Conservative blaze after a midterm replay on steroids of the 2010 election.

May not work the first time, but at least the fake vanilla might melt a little.

[gghd]

I’m not >FORCING anyone to vote for anyone.

It’s a sin to tell a lie.

Please repent the sin in your life & kneel now before Jesus Christ and ask for forgiveness. ‘Be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect.’

My Priest said, ‘Obama gave our Bishops the finger!’

[gghd]

Please take a political science course between now & the election. There are on-line courses & home-study books.

We are Obligated by God to be good-citizens and participate with knowledge about the election process.

My Priest said, ‘Obama gave our Bishops the finger!’

[gghd]

I have already replied to you in comment #103. Please read it again.

I’m voting for >Anybody but Obama. Because of the election process in the USA being a basically a TWO party system, I’m voting for the Republican candidate. We are ALL obligated by God to understand the duties of citizenship.

My Priest said, ‘Obama gave our Bishops the finger!’

[Sirius Lee]

Please take a political science class that explains the election process in the USA. Historically, 3rd Party candidates >destroy one candidates’ chance of being elected.

Please pick up a history book about the origins of the Republican Party - pssst, it was a 3rd party.

You would also do well to bone up on the Bull Moose Party. Yes, the purpose of a 3rd party candidate is to destroy one or both of the other candidates chances of being elected. That is the point of running! Maybe a book on logic would help you too.

The GOP candidate is a liberal
The Constitution Party's candidate is a Conservative
Conservatives vote for Conservatives, therefore if you claim to be a Conservative you have to vote for...

[faithhopecharity]

Interesting. The Texas governor seemed to have been eliminated for almost no reason, or did I miss something? Mr. Cain got “smeared” with no proof (by a woman linked to a high-level BHusseinO operative— that could’ve been the more significant story but the media never informed us any more about it)? Sen. Bachman’s campaign seemed to be going fairly well and then? Newt sounds very intelligent and knowledgeable/prepared but we’re repeatedly told he can’t get the nomination because “the party insiders don’t want him??” What’s that about? Who are those people? Do we know? Well, politics is like sausage, maybe you don’t really want to know what goes into it or how its made? Except it is a bit curious. And we all get to live with the consequences. (One thing, the caucuses look too-easily mis-used or manipulated ...?) Thanks for your info!

[muawiyah]

Perri Caliente is the personae sometimes excuded by Perry when his Mexican base is touched on ~ think of it as his third-rail.

This time it got touched and he screeched out "HEARTLESS"

That right there is when he lost it.

[gghd]

Please, take a political science class.

The 1860 election was between the Republican party & the Democratic party. Abraham Lincoln received 180 electoral votes as a Republican candidate. The 3rd & 4th political parties did not affect the outcome in the electoral college.

If you are maintaining, that you are working to build a ‘New’ political party >so be it. Please tell us the name of the >New political party & how viable it will be.

We will all stand before the Judgment Seat of Jesus Christ. We will ALL give an answer for >thoughts, words, what we do, & what we fail to do.

This is a repeat of one of my earlier comments as to why the choices are Obama or Romney:
MONEY is the ‘mother’s milk of politics.’

To say it once again: My Priest said, ‘Obama gave our Bishops the finger!’

[Biggirl]

I voted on Tuesday’s GOP primary, so I take my voting serious and I DID not vote for Romney, I voted for Newt out of protest. If need be, during the general, I will write-in.

[Biggirl]

The questions that I have in regards to the Mormon faith is these two, why the “extra book” called the Book of Mormon and why you do not put a Cross on the top of your temples?

Without the Cross of Christ, there cannot be a risen and living Lord.

[Biggirl]

“Be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect.”

Translation: Try your very best, you will struggle, but I am for you because I LOVE YOU.

[Biggirl]

THANK-YOU in shout-out for the excellent article. God Bless.

[Sirius Lee]

The Constitution Party.

We will all stand before the Judgment Seat of Jesus Christ. We will ALL give an answer for >thoughts, words, what we do, i.e. vote FOR the pro-death, pro-homo abortionist evil that is Obamney

& what we fail to do.

Then don't fail to vote for Goode.

[steve86]

Unfortunately, sometimes in life we only get to choose between bad or worse.

One of the reasons I would commit suicide before I would vote for either 'bad' or 'worse'. You are voting for the temporary triumph of Satan over God in either case.