The Next RPI Chairman, Is the Fix In?

February 10, 2012 by 4 Comments

About one and a half weeks ago the Iowa political world was rocked as Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Matt Strawn announced his resignation. Love him or hate him, he managed to bring the Iowa GOP into the 21st century. That resignation sparked a trio of Iowa Republicans to step up to the plate to vie for the honor of serving in a leadership capacity. I spoke with a member of the Republican Party of Iowa State Central Committee who informed me that it would be a close race between two of the candidates.  But evidently some others do not agree with that assessment.

The following is the text of an email sent out by former Republican Party of Iowa Finance Director Darrell Kearney.

Sent: 2/10/2012 3:51:01 P.M. Central Standard Time

Subj: Conservative Breakfast Club

 

THE CONSERVATIVE CLUB OF DES MOINES

THE DES MOINES CONSERVATIVE BREAKFAST CLUB

“Dedicated to Defending the American Free Enterprise System and Defeating Obama’s plans for a Socialist America”

Tuesday, February 21st, 2012

7:00am to 8:00am

Chuck Grassley Conference Center, Republican State Headquarters

621 E. 9th Street, Des Moines, Iowa

SPECIAL GUEST:

BILL SCHICKEL

STATE CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN PARTY OF IOWA

Bill Schickel assumed the Chairmanship of the Republican Party of Iowa following the recent resignation of Chairman Matt Strawn.  Schickel will serve the remaining ten months of Strawn’s Chairmanship with the approval of the State Central Committee.  The former state legislator, and Mayor of Mason City, has not made public his intention for running for State Chairman beyond 2012.

Bill Schickel is the General Manager of a KCMR radio station in Mason City.  He was a well known television news anchor before venturing into Conservative Republican politics. Schickel served in the Iowa House for three terms.  After retiring from the Legislature, he was elected to the Republican State Central Committee as Secretary and State Co-Chair.  He has been endorsed by Governor Branstad and other Republican Legislative leaders.

Schickel will comment about the change in the State GOP leadership and his plans for the Iowa 2012 Republican Party Victory effort to defeat Barack Obama and maintain the majority control in the Iowa House, help Senate Republicans take back the Iowa Senate and winning additional Congressional seats.

Menu:

Scrambled Eggs and Ham, Southern Baked Hash Browns, Fresh Fruit, assorted breads, Coffee & Juice

$8.00

Please RSVP to Wes Peterson at wpeterson19@gmail.com, or call Darrell at 515-490-7306

 

 

-Darrell-

 

When this email was forwarded to me this afternoon I really didn’t see what the big deal about it was. I simply thought I missed the election of the new Chairman. It wasn’t until after I spoke with a member of the SCC that I was mistaken. The State Central Committee has not, let me repeat that for you, the Republican Party of Iowa State Central Committee has not elected a new Chairman. Furthermore the SCC member I spoke with this afternoon admitted that the SCC did allow Schickel to serve as INTERIM Chairman, they did not choose to allow him to serve out Chairman Strawn’s term.

While this email could quite simply be an error on the part of Mr. Kearny I find that hard to believe. And while I am not ready to assert that there is some nefarious plot to “steal” the Chairmanship I am not ready to completely discount it either.

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Until We Meet Again Rich

January 20, 2012 by 3 Comments

For the better part of the last week there has been a gaping hole in the hearts and minds of a large number of Iowa Republicans. You see, Tuesday afternoon Iowa lost one of the hardest working members of the grassroots movement here in Iowa. That was the day that my friend Richard Auwerda was called home to be with his Lord. I have only known Rich for a few years, but the interaction him and I shared has been one the greatest joys during that time.

In the short time that I had to get to know Richard I found him to be one of the most intellectually honest political activists I have ever known. His constructive criticism has guided many other activists to be more honest about the issues. His quiet confidence also had a way of instilling those around him with more confidence as well. And when it came to the principles that founded our nation, Rich was unwavering.

I also found Richard to be one of those rare individuals with which it was virtually impossible to not like. And when he was your friend he stood by your side through thick and thin. He would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it.

My relationship with Rich began initially on Facebook. Though we come from distinctly backgrounds we both shared a passion for Iowa politics. This passion helped grow our relationship and quickly we began trying to find ways to unite Iowa conservatives in an effort to put forth a united front for the advancement of the principles of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. As our relationship grew I came to view Rich as more of a brother than a simple acquaintance. As our mutual friend Caree Severson so fondly states, he was truly a brother from another mother.

And so tomorrow we will gather in Huxley, IA to celebrate the richness that his life brought to all of us. We will gather to share the stories that characterized our relationships with Rich. We will lean on each other for emotional support as we mourn the possibilities that might have been. And we will look forward to the day that we are reunited in the Kingdom of Heaven. And so tomorrow we will say farewell to our friend and our brother Richard Auwerda, rest in peace at the side of the Lord until we meet again.

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IDA Caucus Countdown #1: Rick Santorum

December 30, 2011 by 3 Comments

Over the last two weeks I have worked my way through seven candidates for the Republican Presidential nomination. I have ranked the candidates based on their strengths and weaknesses. And I have even ruled some candidates out altogether based on a few extremely subjective criteria. I would like to provide a quick recap before I move on to my number one choice for the Iowa Caucus. Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman came in dead last due to his refusal to campaign in Iowa. Texas Congressman Ron Paul finishes sixth due to his reluctance to defend life and his overly naïve foreign policy. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney takes fifth place largely because I find him untrustworthy. Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann claims fourth place as she seems to find it difficult to be truthful. Coming in third is former Speaker of the US House Newt Gingrich. Gingrich’s surprising finish is largely due to his intelligence as once again I found a politician that I was unsure that I could trust. The runner up in the Countdown had an extremely weak start, but has grown stronger as the campaign has worn on and has continued to grow on my. If he had done things differently from the start it is entirely possible that Texas Governor Rick Perry could have taken the top spot. The candidate that has taken the top spot in the Iowa Defense Alliance Caucus Countdown and earned my support and my vote on January 3rd is none other than former Pennsylvania Senator, Rick Santorum.

Senator Santorum is another one of those candidates that at the beginning of the caucus season I had all but written off. I completely disregarded his campaign because of my own preconceived notion that he was not worthy of support. I erroneously viewed him as an establishment candidate. That all changed on July 28th, 2011. On that evening I had the opportunity to see Senator Santorum at the home of the Marion County Attorney. It was the first time I had the opportunity to see him and was very impressed. My first thought was that he reminded me a lot of former Arkansas Governor and the winner of the 2008 Caucus, Mike Huckabee. He proved himself to be an articulate man with a clear and concise message. I was intrigued, I had to know more.

During the course of Senator Santorum’s appearance in Pleasantville we learned that he didn’t just claim to be Pro-Life he lived his life Pro-Life. He told us about his daughter Bella. It was such a heartwarming story. Here is a video that will do better justice to that story than I ever could.

And this is just one of the reasons that I am supporting Senator Santorum.

There are many other areas that Senator Santorum is strong in as well. Take for instance energy policy. Senator Santorum has openly stated that we need to eliminate all energy subsidies and tax credits; that the government doesn’t need to be in the business of picking winners and losers.

And I agree with that sentiment. By eliminating those expenditures we can save the federal government money and in the process force a wide variety of companies to become more competitive.

And he has openly criticized the Troubled Assets and Relief Program, otherwise known as TARP; as well as other government bailouts of private industry. Senator Santorum correctly asserts that government funded bailouts do nothing more than punish the successful while rewarding the irresponsible.

As I look back at the last several months I can see how my preferences for the 2012 Iowa Caucus have evolved. Early in the race my preferences leaned toward Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul. As the days went by my preference for the candidates continually changed. That is until late July and early August. At that point Senator Santorum vaulted to the front of the pack and has remained there ever since. It had rapidly become clear that the one candidate that I could trust to restore our nation above all others was and is Rick Santorum.

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IDA Caucus Countdown #2: Rick Perry

December 30, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Welcome to the sixth installment of the Iowa Defense Alliance Caucus Countdown. Counting today’s publication we have just two installments of the Countdown left. As such today we will be covering the runner up spot on the Countdown list. But first let us briefly recap the Countdown to date. We opened the Countdown with former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman bringing up the rear of the field predominantly due to his refusal to campaign in Iowa. Next up, in the sixth position we have Texas Congressman Ron Paul largely due to what I perceive to be his naïve foreign policy positions and he reluctance to defend the sanctity of life at the federal level. In a surprisingly high finish for someone so untrustworthy we have former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney residing in the fifth slot. In the fourth position we find a candidate that has thoroughly disappointed me during this caucus season, Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann. Garnering the third place position in the Countdown was former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich largely on the strength of his intelligence and his memory. This brings us to the runner up position in the IDA Caucus Countdown, Texas Governor Rick Perry.

Back in August, when Governor Perry announced his candidacy, if anyone had told me he would be my second choice for my Iowa Caucus vote I would have called them crazy. But as crazy as it seemed then, it is certainly the case now. Over the last several months I have been pleasantly surprised by how well he has articulated his beliefs and his convictions. To be fair there are a few concerns that I have with Governor Perry’s past, but I do think that he may have learned from those mistakes.

Quite possibly the biggest mistake that Governor Perry has made in his career is when he attempted to mandate that all sixth grade girls within the State of Texas be inoculated against the human papillomavirus, HPV for short. For those of you that are unaware, HPV is a sexually transmitted disease that can possibly lead to cervical cancer in women. I can understand Governor Perry’s motivation for enacting the mandate; he wants to do everything that he can to prevent cancer. Despite the good intentions that he may have had, the message that he sent all the parents in Texas was that they cannot be trusted to take care of their daughter’s health. Fortunately for those families the legislature of Texas overwhelmingly overruled Governor Perry’s executive order. Fortunately Governor Perry has stated that the mandate was a mistake, but still asserted that his heart was in the right place.

As I stated above early on Governor Perry’s campaign for the GOP Presidential nomination I did not give his candidacy much credit. If I had done this countdown back in August I would have probably had Perry ranked down around Governor Huntsman. However as the race progressed I could feel Governor Perry grow on me. I started warming up to him. At the various events that I attended he comported himself well and he was well spoken. He doesn’t have the oratory skills of Mike Huckabee, but he is definitely more solid than the current resident of the White House. Over the last several weeks I have really gotten to like the idea of a Perry Presidency, however at this time I still believe that there is one candidate that is better. And this is why Texas Governor Rick Perry is the runner up in the Iowa Defense Alliance Caucus Countdown.

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IDA Caucus Countdown #3: Newt Gingrich

December 28, 2011 by Leave a Comment

I would like to welcome you to the fifth installment of the Iowa Defense Alliance Caucus Countdown. We are now past the halfway point in the Countdown list. Today we unveil the candidate that occupies the third spot in my preference list.  But first things first, we need to provide a short recap for those that are just joining us. Last week when we launched the IDA Caucus Countdown it was former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman that found himself trailing the rest of the field, resting securely at number seven. Next up was Texas Congressman Ron Paul sitting solidly at number six. Number five was fairly close, but in the end it was former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney that found himself in this position. And then yesterday we unveiled Romney’s closest competitor for my caucus vote, Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann. Now without further ado, let us discuss candidate number three; former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Newt Gingrich.

Entering this caucus season I did not have former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich ranked very high on my preference list. To be frank, I really did not know much about him beyond the fact that he was the architect of the 1994 Contract with America, a policy that was instrumental in allowing the Republican Party to regain majority control of Congress for the first time since 1969. My original opinion, prior to doing any major research, was that Speaker Gingrich was nothing more than a washed up political hack attempting to make a comeback. Upon doing just a small amount of research I learned much more about the former Speaker, both positive and negative.

Among the first pieces of information that I discovered, although it seems to have been common knowledge to those that had been active in politics for far longer than I have. Speaker Gingrich’s marriage infidelities have been well documented and disseminated, particularly now that he is running for the Republican Presidential nomination. It is widely known that Gingrich is on his third wife after having two affairs while married to his previous wives. I find his actions during his first two marriages absolutely abhorrent. However it does appear that Gingrich has learned from past mistakes as he has been married to his current wife, Calista, for close to twelve years. And while it is impossible for a mere mortal to know what is in his heart; it is not hard to forgive him for past transgressions.

One of Speaker Gingrich’s greatest assets is his mind. In my honest and humble opinion, Speaker Gingrich is quite possibly the most intelligent man I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. The vast amounts of knowledge that his mind holds is absolutely breathtaking. Never before have I seen an individual with the ability to accurately utilize facts and figures contained within his memory without the use of a memory aid. However this very same intellectualism that he holds can lead him astray. There are times where he lets himself be duped by faulty information.

One such example is the issue of Global Warming. In 2008 Gingrich filmed an ad with then Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi urging people to contact their leaders to address Climate Change. It is clear from the video that Speaker Gingrich had indeed bought into the theory of manmade climate change. That is until he decided to run for President. In July of this year he told Politico that he “regretted” the ad and that he did not think that scientists have proven the theory to the point that action was warranted.

Another area that Gingrich’s intellectualism may have caused him some headaches is the issue of healthcare, in particular the issue of Obamacare. On his own website Speaker Gingrich has posted a video in which that he claims that he is opposed to the Obamacare health insurance mandate. He asserts that it is not just wrong, but unconstitutional. That was not the case; however, in 1993 when Gingrich proclaimed that he supported the idea that individuals be required to have health insurance. On May 15, 2011 on an episode of “Meet the Press” Speaker Gingrich continued to assert that he was indeed supportive an individual mandate.

I have to admit that I do love the idea of Newt Gingrich debating President Obama. I have absolutely no doubt that Gingrich would dominate Obama. But the problem with Newt is his baggage. In a general election campaign the Democrats would shred Gingrich’s credibility beyond the point of no return. Speaker Gingrich also seems to have contracted Romney Syndrome, the ability to change one’s position on a particular issue and still deny that it is a flip flop with a straight face. It is these flip flops that cause me the greatest concern because it tells us that we do not actually know where Gingrich stands on the issues. We only know where he claims to stand on the issues. So the primary reason that Gingrich placed third is the fact that I find it difficult to trust him. Seems to be a lot of that going around this year.

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IDA Caucus Countdown #4: Michele Bachmann

December 26, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Now that Christmas is behind us it is time to round up the Iowa Defense Alliance Caucus Countdown. As I have mentioned before, the IDA Caucus Countdown is not my predictions as to what the results of the 2012 Iowa Caucus will be. Rather it is a countdown on the candidates based entirely on my preferences. As you will recall former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman was honored with the last place based on his decision to forego campaigning in Iowa. Number six on the list went to Texas Congressman Ron Paul primarily based upon what I perceive to be naïve foreign policy. And candidate number five was former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney due to his consistently inconsistent policy positions on issues that I feel are very important. So now it is time to unveil the candidate that inhabits position number, Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann.

To be perfectly honest, Congresswoman Bachmann was in a virtually dead heat with Mitt Romney for the fourth position on my preferences list. The only reason that she edged him out was due to the fact that Governor Romney has enacted taxpayer funded abortions, mandated same sex marriage, and enacted an unconstitutional insurance mandate. I would like to point out that at the beginning of this year’s caucus season Congresswoman Bachmann was the frontrunner to receive my support. I have numerous friends whose opinion and intelligence I admire greatly openly endorse her early in the race. However as the campaign progressed I began to have some doubts about her candidacy. We began to see some cracks appear that gave me cause for concern.

The first such crack appeared during one of Congresswoman Bachmann’s campaign events in New Hampshire. During the event she remarked that “You’re the state where the shot was heard round the world at Lexington and Concord.” Unfortunately for the Congresswoman that event took place not in New Hampshire, but Massachusetts. And then in June during Fox News interview Congresswoman Bachmann made the comment, “Well, what I want them to know is just like, John Wayne was from Waterloo, Iowa. That’s the kind of spirit that I have, too.” The problem is that John Wayne was from Winterset, not Waterloo. These comments are the kind that has become a staple of her campaign. It shows an unfortunate lack or research. One has to wonder, if she were to become President, would she continue to make these kinds of rookie mistakes?

During another Fox News interview conducted on December 21st. At the beginning of the interview a Rasmussen Poll from just a few days earlier is displayed on the screen. It clearly shows that Congresswoman Bachmann has slipped behind former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum in the polls. Just a few minutes later Bachmann makes the assertion that she has never fallen behind Senator Santorum in the polls. She also makes the absurd claim that her campaign was the only one doing a 99 County tour which is absolutely false. Senator Santorum completed one at the beginning of November and promptly began another one.

I mentioned Congresswoman Bachmann’s 99 County bus tour above. When it was announced the Bachmann campaign released what I consider to be an overly optimistic schedule to say the least. Team Bachmann claimed that they were going to hit all 99 counties in Iowa in just ten days. Unfortunately this led to some very disappointing stops along her route. For instance in Muscatine Bachmann was 50 minutes late in getting to the event, at which point she spent, according to Craig Robinson of The Iowa Republican, just 12 minutes mingling among the remaining crowd before loading back aboard her bus and heading for the next stop. On Thursday of last week I attempted to attend the Bachmann event at the Pizza Ranch in Oskaloosa, Iowa. I will openly admit I was late. The event was announced to begin at 6:30 PM; I arrived at 6:38 PM. As I was arriving, Congresswoman Bachmann was departing. It became very clear to me that the primary reason that she was engaging in this farce of a tour was to be able to claim that she had visited all 99 counties.

As I stated above, Congresswoman Bachmann was high on my preference list initially. She has advocated and supported the many issues that rank high on my list of importance, but it takes more than simple advocacy to win my support. When I decide on a candidate to support they must have a high degree of honesty, integrity, and competency. And it is in this area that I have found her candidacy lacking. I honestly don’t know if Congresswoman Bachmann is being dishonest or whether some of her campaign staff is practicing incompetency. Either way it has cost her in my opinion. And this is why she is ranked just fourth in my preference list.

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IDA Caucus Countdown #5: Mitt Romney

December 23, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Welcome to the third installment of the Iowa Defense Alliance Caucus Countdown. Please remember that the order that I am placing the candidates in is not necessarily where I think they will finish in the race, but rather their positioning in the Countdown is their acceptability based upon my preferences. My preferences are almost entirely subjective with very few criteria in place. And again the Countdown is progressing from the worst (#7) to first (#1). Now, if you have not been following the recap I will give a quick synopsis. The candidate that found himself in dead last (#7) was former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman whose main failing was refusing to campaign in Iowa. Next in line (#6) we have Texas Congressman Ron Paul whose position is almost totally dependent upon his reluctance to protect all Americans and his belief that Iran poses no threat to world peace.  This brings us to candidate #5 to which I had some difficulty deciding on. In the end it was former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney that succeeded in being ranked number five on my list.

For me it is very hard to find anything at all to like about Mitt Romney. Don’t get me wrong, it is possible, just not very likely. For instance in the midst of the debacle that was the UAW bailout I found myself in agreement with Governor Romney. Despite the few agreements I have with Governor Romney, I cannot ignore the reality that many of his positions have indeed changed between his Governorship and his first Presidential campaign.

Let’s take the issue of abortion for an example. During his first campaign (2002) for Governor of Massachusetts Governor Romney brazenly proclaimed that he would “protect a woman’s right to choose” whether she has an abortion. But just five years later Governor Romney switched his position on this important issue by claiming that he is now firmly pro-life. Personally I am pleased that Governor Romney has seen the error of his past positions and has come to the conclusion that all life is precious. However, the timing of his change of heart still causes me concern. The timing of his conversion seems to be all too convenient if you ask me.

The issue of healthcare is another albatross that Governor Romney will have to bear. It is common knowledge that President Barack Obama used Governor Romney’s 2006 Health Care Reform as the basis for Obamacare. And despite his objections; Governor Romney has in the past, advocated for an Obamacare style health care reform with individual mandates on the federal level in the past. However unlike most of the other candidates in the race, Governor Romney is not campaigning on repealing the entirety of Obamacare, a point I vehemently disagree with him on. Instead Romney is campaigning on a plan to repeal the bad portions of Obamacare and keeping the good. From any other candidate that would be a great point to highlight, however with Romney it leaves us wondering just what he considers bad and good in the plan. With Romney I think it is entirely possible that we could end up keeping the individual mandate. So when it comes to health care it is again difficult to determine just where Romney stands.

I have to admit, when the 2012 Caucus season began to pick up steam back March and April of 2011, Governor Romney was for all intents and purposes at the bottom of my potential candidate list. To have him reach an almost dead heat with the candidate that came in fourth is a testament to just how weak the 2012 field really is. With that said, I would still find it hard for me to cast a ballot at the Iowa Caucus for Mitt Romney. His positions on the issues that I find important seem to have their foundations built upon shifting sands. The timing of his “changes of heart” seems to be a little too convenient for me and leave me wondering when his next “change of heart” will happen. With Governor Romney it all comes down to the trust factor, and with him, I just can’t trust.

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IDA Caucus Countdown #6: Ron Paul

December 22, 2011 by 1 Comment

Yesterday I launched the IDA Caucus Countdown in which I am discussing the Presidential candidates in order of my preference, from worst to first. We started the countdown off with candidate #7, former Governor of Utah Jon Huntsman, Jr. The primary reason for Governor Huntsman’s low finish was his steadfast refusal to campaign in Iowa. As I mentioned yesterday it is entirely possible that Governor Huntsman may have been successful in Iowa, but now we will never know. Now let us move on to Iowa Caucus candidate #6, Texas Congressman Ron Paul.

Early in the race for the 2012 race for the Republican Presidential race for President I considered supporting Texas Congressman Ron Paul. There is a lot to like about the Congressman from Texas. In particular I adore Congressman Paul’s fiscal policy. For instance I absolutely love his position on the Federal Reserve System. He championed the Audit the Fed movement that appeared just a few years ago as a response to the federal bailout of private industry as a method of holding the aforementioned Federal Reserve System accountable. Congressman Paul has repeatedly called for massive reform of the federal government including the elimination of a number of federal agencies including but not limited to: the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Education, and the Department of Energy. The short of it is that Congressman Paul is fantastic when it comes to the economic issues for the most part. I have very little disagreement with him there; it is other issues that I have a problem with.

Up until this morning Congressman Paul has resisted placing his signature on the Personhood Pledge. For those of you that may not be familiar with this pledge the basics of the pledge are that the Presidential candidates that sign it pledge to fight to defend the unalienable right of all human beings to life regardless of their stage of development. Despite the assurance that he has made by signing the pledge Congressman Paul has repeatedly asserted that abortion is a states’ rights issue. Essentially Congressman Paul has demonstrated that, despite his repeated claims to the pro-life moniker, he cannot be trusted to do the right thing when it comes to the sanctity of life at the federal level. Of course I believe I could have supported Congressman Paul despite his inconsistency because he has indicated that the states would be able to regulate and even abolish abortion.

Despite the inconsistency that Congressman Paul has on the issue of life he may still have an even larger negative against him, his foreign policy. A lot of voters that I have spoken with are truly frightened by Congressman Paul’s isolationist foreign policy. It seems that Congressman Paul has forgotten the lessons taught to us by World War II. Just like Nazi Germany of the 1930’s and 1940’s the world is once again confronted with the threat of a tyrannical regime bent on the elimination of an entire ethnic group. Despite Congressman Paul’s assertions to the contrary, the threat posed by a nuclear Iran is real and it is imminent. Even the UN International Atomic Energy Agency is concerned over the growing evidence that Iran is indeed close to having a nuclear weapon. At this point in time the free and peace loving world should be worried about the potential devastation that could be wrought by a nuclear Iran, Congressman Ron Paul sees no reason not to let the Iranian regime achieve nuclear power status. And that belief is indeed a dangerous one.

As I stated earlier in this article, I had at one point considered Congressman Paul as a serious contender for my caucus vote. I wholeheartedly agreed with most of his domestic economic policies. However his lack of consistency and his reluctance to ensure that all Americans are afforded their basic Constitutional Right to Life did cause me some concern. And his steadfast and dangerous isolationist position on foreign policy has thrown up huge caution flags. At this point in time I could not support Texas Congressman Ron Paul for the Republican Presidential nomination.

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IDA Caucus Countdown #7: Jon Huntsman, Jr.

December 21, 2011 by Leave a Comment

I want to apologize yet again for a lack in consistency in publishing articles. I have been quite busy with life in general. I have also been working behind the scenes to help one candidate for the Iowa House of Representatives, Strong America Now, and a Presidential candidate. But with less than two weeks to go until the Iowa Caucus I felt that I should at the very least publish a series of articles about the candidates vying for the Republican nomination for the Presidency. The format that I am intending to use will start with the candidate I find myself least likely to vote for and culminating in my choice for the GOP nomination. I know that some of you out there are already aware of my choice so I will beg you not to spoil the surprise for the rest of my readers. Please keep in mind that these descriptions are totally subjective with very few pieces real criteria to measure the candidates by. To start this Countdown to the Caucus off we have former Governor of Utah, Jon Huntsman.

On the face of it, Governor Jon Huntsman seemed like he would be a strong candidate for the Republican Presidential nomination. He was twice elected to serve as the Governor of the State of Utah. He resigned during his second term when he was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve as the United States Ambassador to China. He continued to serve in that position until early 2011 when he resigned from that position. Shortly thereafter Governor Huntsman announced his intention to run for the GOP Presidential nomination.

Early during his campaign Governor Huntsman made what may prove to be a fatal mistake. During a campaign stop in New Hampshire he declared that he was not going to compete in the Iowa Caucus. It remains to be seen the reasoning behind this decision, however his stated reason was that he believed he did not have a chance at winning the caucus because of his stance on agricultural subsidies. This statement clearly demonstrated that he does not have a clear understanding of Iowa. In recent years more and more Iowans have become increasingly frustrated with the sheer number of subsidies doled out nationwide. Many of us have openly called for the elimination of all subsidies as we believe that they create an unfair advantage. We ultimately believe that subsidies of all kinds are essentially the government picking winners and losers. Of course Governor Huntsman would have found that out for himself if he had the courage to wade into the middle of the Iowa Caucus.

It is entirely possible that Governor Huntsman could have come into Iowa and became the frontrunner in the race for the nomination. However, because he fell prey to a false stereotype of Iowa voters that will never happen.

One of the criteria that I used to determine the candidate that I would support for the Iowa Caucus is that the candidate in question had to have campaigned within the State of Iowa. As I pointed out above, Governor Huntsman has refused to do just that and as a result is disqualified from receiving my support.

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The Thanksgiving Forum Recap

November 20, 2011 by Leave a Comment

The 2012 Presidential race has been billed as one the most important election cycles in recent history. And perhaps due to this prophetic proclamation it seems that the number of debates hosted around the country has increased dramatically. That would not be a bad thing if the debates that we being conducted were anything more that soundbite machines hosted by moderators that seem to want to turn the candidates on each other in some sort of political version of the a battle royal. That is why yesterday evenings Thanksgiving Family Forum hosted by The Family Leader was so refreshing. The basic rules of the evening were crafted so that the candidates could not only answer questions, but answer them in depth so as to allow the audience to really understand how the candidate reached the conclusion that they did. For those of you that were unable to attend you can view the forum in its entirety at this link.

Now I could give you a complete rundown of everything that happened during the two hour long forum, but due to time and space constraints I will simply break it down in to how I believe each participant performed.

Texas Congressman Ron Paul

In my opinion Congressman Paul started the evening out with a whimper. In his response to the very first question Congressman Paul was all over the place, but not with any comment of any consequence. And despite his longwinded answer he still provided an answer that did not satisfactorily answer the question. This appearance really hit the bottom during the second half of the program where he really let the naivety of his foreign policy stance show through.

Georgia Businessman Herman Cain

Last night we had another appearance by Mr. Cain in which there were times that he looked absolutely amazing, and then other times when he left you scratching your head in wonder. One of the times where Mr. Cain really shined was when the question revolved around the phrase “So help me God” in the Presidential oath of office. Mr. correctly asserts that when that phrase is uttered in the oath that the person is asking for God’s help in fulfilling the duties of the office in question. When the candidates were asked about the sanctity of life his answers seemed intentionally vague and evasive; and gave the audience the impression that he will not fight for life as hard as some of the other candidates would.

Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachman

I have to admit that this was one of the best performances I have seen from Congresswoman Bachmann for some time. During this forum the Congresswoman does have at least a rudimentary knowledge of American History. She demonstrated this by correctly recited the fact that it was the first President of the United States, George Washington, that was so instrumental in having that short little phrase included in the oath of office. In my opinion I really did not see the Congresswoman make any fatal mistakes last night.

Texas Governor Rick Perry

After having endured the painful experience of watching Governor Perry take part in the last several debates I was prepared for the dreadful nails on a chalkboard effect that his appearance would create. To say that I was surprised by his extremely competent performance would be an understatement. Whenever he happened to field a question the answer seemed to be directed at the audience. It was like he was just having a conversation with us, not the moderator. Not only did he do a good job speaking to the audience, he responded with well thought out remarks that demonstrated that he is not a light thinker.

Former Speaker of the US House of Representatives Newt Gingrich

If only one candidate can be said to have had a huge night, that candidate is Newt Gingrich. The former speaker’s wit and wisdom were on display for all to see last night. He repeatedly answered the questions posed to him with reason and knowledge. He really did not have any misstep for anyone to attack him on. Among the most memorable lines of the night was this gem describing the occupy movement.

“All the occupy movement starts with the premise that we all owe them everything. They take over a public park that they didn’t pay for, to go nearby to use bathrooms that they didn’t pay for, to beg for food from places that they don’t want to pay for, to obstruct those that are going to work to pay the taxes that sustain the bathrooms that sustain the park so that they can self righteously proclaim that they are the paragons of virtue to which we owe everything. Now that is a pretty good symptom of how much the left has collapsed as a moral system in this country. That is why we need to reassert something as simple as saying to them go get a job right after you take a bath.”

Former Senator Rick Santorum

This was yet another strong performance from the former Senator from Pennsylvania. He delivered strong and rational arguments supporting his beliefs and his positions. He was able to articulate clear and concise reasons for denying the nation of Iran the ability to produce a nuclear weapon. He delivered a powerful piece of testimony illustrating for all to see that even though he is a candidate for the Presidency of the United States, he is really just a flawed human being like the rest of humanity. As he was confessing this past mistake for all the world to see you could see that reliving that period of his life was just as hard now as it had been then.

Everyone at The Family Leader deserves a hearty round of applause for the outstanding event that they had put together. I would not hesitate to state that this type of format will definitely be copied and utilized in the future. As promised, last night’s forum allowed those in attendance to learn more about the candidates and what made them tick than in any of the other debates or forums combined. All in all, a great event.

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