Official Right Wing Rebel Endorsement (part 2): Mitt Romney
February 3, 2008 by Joe · 3 Comments
Anybody who is a regular reader of my blog, knows that I have already written out an official endorsement, unfortunately for myself — and America, Fred Thompson, the man whom I endorsed is no longer in the running.
I was not planning on writing another one of these endorsements, as after Fred Thompson dropped out, I was just going to go ahead and vote whomever the GOP nominee was, despite the fact that John McCain won South Carolina — because I honestly did not think that come a closed primary in Florida that John McCain would be the apparent frontrunner.
I was wrong.
On the basis of moderate Republicans and Independents whom declared as Republicans just to vote for him — John McCain won all of Florida’s delegates despite not having the backing of the GOP’s core of Conservatives.
Of course following the events of Florida, I was pretty upset. How could John McCain, a man whom throughout his political career has made great effort to attack Conservative principles and policies be the leading candidate to become the GOP’s presidential nominee? I was so distraught over the Florida outcome that I, (very) briefly, considered shutting down this blog and never bothering to speak my views about politics ever again.
By the next day, my anger over John McCain Florida win had subsided and shifted over to determination to make sure that I do even more to get the word out that John McCain would be a disaster for the GOP. I was even then planning on officially endorsing “anyone but McCain.”
Luckily I cooled down a bit and took a second look at Mitt Romney, I’m glad I did.
My Thoughts On The Florida Debate
January 25, 2008 by Joe · 4 Comments
The first thing I need to point out is that it has become obvious during this whole political process that the old rules about what occurs during the primaries do not necessarily apply like they have during past election cycles. Normally after Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina we would have a clear indication of who the GOP nominee would be. Despite the way the liberal media is pushing John McCain as that probable nominee, there is no such clear-cut frontrunner — that will likely, but not necessarily change following the results of the Florida primary.
For the first time since primary season opened up, we are about to witness the first winner take all contest, with the eventual Florida winner receiving all 57 delegates. The delegate count as it currently stands is: Mitt Romney (72), John McCain (38), Mike Huckabee (29), Fred Thompson [out] (8), Ron Paul (6), Rudy Giuliani (2), and Duncan Hunter [out] (1). Fred Thompson and Duncan Hunter have both dropped out, and it would have been very unlikely that either of them would have won Florida and it is even more unlikely that Florida voters would vote for them in mass even though they dropped out — though as a Fred Head, I would absolutely love that. However, theoretically if either one of them or Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee or even Ron Paul for that matter — were to win Florida, all of a sudden it would be almost a statistical dead heat going into Super Tuesday on Feb 5th. On the flipside of that, if either Romney or McCain win Florida it will be very likely, but by no means definite, that they will be the eventual nominee.
Now on to scoring the debate…
It was mostly a snooze fest and not anywhere near as enjoyable as the excellent ABC debate in New Hampshire two weeks ago, or as good as any other of the recent televised debates. The moderators Tim Russert and Brian Williams were horrid; their shameless bias was showing in full form.
As far as the candidates themselves, I don’t believe their was a clear cut winner and the clear cut loser, well I would have to agree with Michelle Malkin who said, “Conservative voters in Florida are the big losers. This debate gave them nothing.”
Everyone of the candidates on the stage took great pains in trying to say how conservative they are — but not a single one of them made me stop and thing, ‘you know, your right — you are a Conservative.’
With that being said, I think Mitt Romney had the best performance out of all the other candidates tonight. He did a great job with the economy portion of the debate and his one-liner about Bill Clinton in the White House with nothing to do will be an awesome sound bite (even though I personally detest sound bites).
Huckabee, though I will never vote for him was pretty funny at times and no doubt is a very good speaker and has a great presence on stage. I actually even sort of liked his answer on the fair tax, when he challenged the fact that it is unlikely that we would be able to implement it. The problem with Mike Huckabee, as always is his record. As much as he tries to speak differently now, he has the record of a tax and spend liberal.
If Ron Paul wasn’t just completely and utterly wrong and irresponsible with his ridiculous foreign policy thoughts — he would actually make a whole hell of a lot of sense, he was really, really good on the economic stuff. He’s just a moonbat and flat out wrong on foreign policy and thus I could never vote for him.
Rudy disappointed me, I know I have said a whole lot of bad things about him on my blog and even joined a stop Rudy Now blog roll — but I was looking for Rudy to give me a reason to back him, now that Fred Thompson dropped out and I am without a candidate that I fully support. Rudy did not do that.
He looked like a man who knows that his days as a candidate in this race are over, he put all of his eggs in the Florida basket and it looks like it will probably come to bite him in the ass. He keeps talking about what he did in New York — but in my opinion has failed to translate that into how he will do that for the country.
As far as John McCain goes — I wanted to break my television screen with the way he sidestepped Tim Russert’s question asking him about the statement he made admitting that he still needs to be educated on economic matters. He denied saying that and he told Russert that he did not know where the quote came from. As I pointed out in this post, he made that statement to Wall Street Journal editorialist Stephen Moore, in a November 2005 interview.
Fortunately, for him, not for Conservatives, he did not come off as the horrible candidate for the GOP that he is, because amongst other things he was not questioned about illegal immigration.
In closing, none of them looked like a Conservative; Romney probably looked like the most conservative-leaning one of the bunch. I really, really wish Fred Thompson would not have been so haste in his decision to drop out of the race. Despite what the liberal media and the idiots at the Politico may have said, Fred Dalton Thompson was the only candidate whose Conservatism shined. He was the only candidate who had actual sound, thought out Conservative based solutions to the issues that face our country.
Unfortunately too many idiots bought into the propaganda of him being ’lazy,’ by the way his detractors pointed out the way he said things instead of actually pointing out what he said. All the idiot sheeple out there are more concerned with electing what they perceive (through their media distorted eyes) as being the most ‘electable’ candidate rather then who is the most ‘Conservative.’ When you do that Conservatism, the Republican Party, and America lose.
Official Right Wing Rebel Endorsement: Fred Thompson
January 3, 2008 by Joe · 11 Comments
NOTE: This is the second time I have written this particular piece, the first time in the passion of writing I forgot to save the document I was working on and all 5 plus pages of work I had written was lost with one crash of my word processor. In this second attempt at writing this I am drawing upon some items which I have already blogged about in the past on this site.
Anybody who is a regular reader of my blog knows that for quite some time now I have declared myself to be a Fredhead. This took place this summer, before the former Senator from Tennessee officially declared his intention to seek the Republican party’s nomination for the position of President.
As far as endorsements go, an official endorsement from this Conservative blogger will probably register across the blogosphere with about as much impact as throwing a single grain of sand into the ocean.
That being said this Conservative blogger, officially endorses Fred Dalton Thompson for the position of 44th President of the United States of America.
When the editors of the National Review officially came out with their endorsement for former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney they started off by stating that. “Many conservatives are finding it difficult to pick a presidential candidate. Each of the men running for the Republican nomination has strengths, and none has everything — all the traits, all the positions — we are looking for. Equally conservative analysts can reach, and have reached, different judgments in this matter. There are fine conservatives supporting each of these Republicans.”
I fully agree with that assessment. Most of the men who are running on the Republican ticket have a whole lot of factors to like about them. They all have their strengths and their defining characteristics that make them who they are. I would have to add the fact that when the day arrives that an individual finds a candidate who has every single one of the traits in which that individual is looking for — that must also be the day in which that individual found themselves to be a candidate.
Nobody is ever going to find a 100% perfect match to what they are looking for in a President. Anybody who is holding out hope of finding that perfect match is only setting themselves up for a great disappointment. You can only hope to come close, and in making my decision to side with Fred Thompson, I believe that I came very, very close to my ideal candidate.
I am a Conservative first and a Republican second — in my heart I truly believe that the long established and time-tested guiding principles of Conservatism are the best method of leading our country through not just the road ahead of us, but throughout all time.
Conservatism isn’t grounded in creating new policy, new processes, or new solutions. Conservatism, by its very nature is a philosophy that does not ever become out-dated. There is no need to ever redefine or improve upon what is already proven.
Yet, that is exactly what is going on today, much like the hard core left has hijacked the term “Liberal” and raped it of everything it used to mean before leaving it for dead and moving on to the “Progressive” label — there is a movement afoot to radically redefine what it means to be a “Conservative.” This attempt has gained so much momentum that during this very Presidential election cycle there are pundits in the media, supporters of certain candidates and even these some of the candidates claiming that they are Conservatives — when actually they are anything but.
I’ll start off with the candidates I like the least, in that order, and will ignore the candidates whom I believe have a snowballs chance in hell of winning the GOP nomination, despite the fact that I I may like some of them (Duncan Hunter).
5. Mike Huckabee
I’ve never really been a huge fan of Rush Limbaugh, having always thought that the man just seems to like the sound of his own voice entirely way too much, a trait, which I do not find most favorable in a person. That being said, there can be no denying the fact that when it comes to the Conservative movement, Mr. Limbaugh one of the premier voices for the cause.
On his show yesterday, he made an excellent point about Huckabee, when he said,
“Ladies and gentlemen, Gov. Huckabee, mighty fine man and is a great Christian, is not a conservative, he’s just not. If you look at his record as governor, he’s got some conservative tendencies on things but he’s certainly not the most conservative of the candidates running on the Republican side.”
Huckabee is a pro-big government, pro-tax, pro nanny state, populist Republican — who just so happens to be one of the darlings of the extreme religious right because of his religious views. While I have no problems with Mr. Huckabee’s faith, I have to take great exception with anybody who uses that faith as an excuse to forsake Conservative values by expanding the size of government — by claiming that it is our “moral obligation” to help others.
Mike Huckabee’s political philosophy bears no resemblance what-so-ever to the guiding Conservative principles of small government, individual responsibility and personal freedom. If Mike Huckabee, the Republican Jimmy Carter, is what passes for a Conservative in this day and age — then the radicals who are attempting to hijack the true definition of Conservatism and redefine it, have won.
4. Rudy Giuliani
Rudy Giuliani did an excellent job serving the city of New York as Mayor and emerged as a true leader in the aftermath of the tragic events of September 11th.
I believe that the Islamofascist war against western culture is the single biggest threat the World has ever faced — and in fact if this was the only issue there was to look at when deciding upon whom to choose to hold the office of President — I would seriously consider voting for Rudy Giuliani come primary time herein my home state of Ohio.
However, I am not a single-issue voter and cannot over look the fact that when it comes to matters that define me as a Conservative — Rudy Giuliani does not pass the test. While he has many fine qualities, he is not a Conservative.
In 1989 the Liberal Party of New York, which was founded in 1944 to support candidates with progressive viewpoints, endorsed Rudy for Mayor of New York because,
“He agreed with the Liberal party’s views on affirmative action, gay rights, gun control, school prayer, and tuition tax credits.”
40 years ago Barry Goldwater became the standard bearer for what it meant to be a Conservative, as he won the Republican nomination for the Presidency and helped to light the spark of what would become the Reagan Revolution in the 1980’s. Here is what he had to say about Mr. Conservative, Barry Goldwater:
He [Giuliani] described John Kennedy as “great and brilliant.” Barry Goldwater was an “incompetent, confused and sometimes idiotic man.”
–New York Daily News, May 13, 1997
Rudy Giuliani as President of the United States would represent the return to power of the type of liberal leaning country club Republicans that Barry Goldwater helped to run out. He’d make a great Attorney General, but he is the type of Republican that Conservatives should never allow to regain control of the GOP.
3. Mitt Romney
On the surface Mitt Romney appears to be a Conservative. The problem I get with him is that I fail to sense any depth in his Conservative convictions. Much like another recent Presidential candidate from Massachusetts, with Mitt Romney you get the feeling that whatever position he may hold today — could completely change tomorrow.
I don’t like to be pandered to, and with Mitt Romney I get the feeling that he is just paying lip service to Conservatives — and am unsure of a candidate who seems unable to stand by his convictions.
2. John McCain
There would be far worse people to hold the office of President that John McCain (see above, the entire Democratic Ticket and Ron Paul). He is an American Hero and served his country proudly and bravely in the Vietnam War, and then came back home to answer the call to serve by running for and being elected to public office. That being said, he is no Conservative.
He actively opposed and voted against the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003. He supported the amnesty for illegal immigrants bill and voted for cloture on that bill this summer, thus going against the wishes of the majority of Americans.
He does however have the foreign policy credentials that are needed in a President and while his negatives are very, very huge — his positives do out weigh them and I would fully support him were he to win the Republican Party nomination — however unlikely that may seem at this time.
1. Fred Thompson
It was Barry Goldwater who said that, “The turn will come when we entrust the conduct of our affairs to men who understand that their duty as public officials is to divest themselves of the power that they have been given.” The Republican party seems to have forgotten this.
Unlike almost every politician in recent memory, with Fred Thompson, I don’t get the impression that being a politician and the power that comes with it — are the motivating factors that drive him. I get the feeling that the strength of his Conservative convictions and his love of this country are what drive him the most. I don’t trust anybody who seems to be even slightly consumed with the thought of the type of power that the Presidency entails — and that is why I find Fred Thompson to be the most refreshing candidate in a long, long time.
I don’t view the office of the President as a position that rules over the United States — I see it as more of the position of a short term caretaker of our American Republic. The Oval Office should be filled by someone who wants to step out of private life and serve his nation during his term and then step back into private life. I have a feeling that Fred Thompson feels the same way.
It is in Fred Thompson, where Conservatives can find the best candidate that embodies the full spectrum of the modern Goldwater/Reagan Conservative movement. In fact out of all five of these candidates that I have mentioned, Fred Thompson is the only one who is an actual honest-to-goodness Conservative.
He is a strong federalist, probably the strongest federalist we have seen emerge with an actual chance to win in decades. He has serious thoughtful and insightful proposals on all of the issues. He has a solid voting record on all of the issues and plain and simple is the only candidate for anybody who truly wants a Conservative in office.
National Review Forsakes Conservatives and Endorses Populist Candidate Mitt Romney
December 11, 2007 by Joe · 2 Comments
Anybody who is a regular reader of my blog knows that I am a Fred Thompson supporter. The reason that I am a Fred Thompson supporter is because as somebody who considers himself a “Conservative” first and a “Republican” second — Fred Thompson matches my political philosophy the closest out of all the candidates running. I truly feel that out of the top tier candidates, Fred Thompson is the only one who is a true Conservative.
Today comes the news that the National Review, which is quite arguably one of if not the foremost authority on Conservatism in the United States as far as publications go, has endorsed former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.
Many conservatives are finding it difficult to pick a presidential candidate. Each of the men running for the Republican nomination has strengths, and none has everything — all the traits, all the positions — we are looking for. Equally conservative analysts can reach, and have reached, different judgments in this matter. There are fine conservatives supporting each of these Republicans.
Our guiding principle has always been to select the most conservative viable candidate. In our judgment, that candidate is Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts. Unlike some other candidates in the race, Romney is a full-spectrum conservative: a supporter of free-market economics and limited government, moral causes such as the right to life and the preservation of marriage, and a foreign policy based on the national interest. While he has not talked much about the importance of resisting ethnic balkanization — none of the major candidates has — he supports enforcing the immigration laws and opposes amnesty. Those are important steps in the right direction.
I fully agree with the opening paragraph to that editorial, as it has perfectly summed up what the campaign season has been to date. The second paragraph is where I have issues with the National Review’s statements.
I know that I am just a regular blogger, an ordinary guy with an opinion and not a well respected Conservative Commentator, but I have to believe that the National Review has gotten it wrong.
Now, I am not anti-Romney at all and as a matter-of-fact I think that Republicans could do far worse out of the top tier candidates (Giuliani & Huckabee). Mitt Romney has many fine qualities and come general election time, if he were to win the GOP nomination, I would support him fully as I think the problems our nation are facing are too grim to leave them up to a Hillary Clinton or a Barack Obama. I just fully believe that not only is Fred Thompson the only Conservative running but that he is the best choice to be our next President.
This obsession amongst many Conservatives of having to beat Hillary at any cost has been doing, and will unfortunately probably continue to do, great damage to the Conservative movement. Just like the Democrats lost in 2004, thanks in large part to their “anybody but Bush” mantra. Conservatives are in grave danger because of this “whose best to defeat Hillary” line of thinking.
I just don’t understand how a well-respected publication amongst Conservatives can contribute to the watering down and the redefining of what it means to be a Conservative. You either are Conservative or you are not — and while Mitt Romney has many fine qualities and is conservative leaning on certain issues — he is not a Conservative, he is a populist.
Now the National Review’s official endorsement of Romney, did go on to say a few nice things about Fred Thompson, whom along with John McCain they feel are the next best choices.
Fred Thompson is as conservative as Romney, and has distinguished himself with serious proposals on Social Security, immigration, and defense. But Thompson has never run any large enterprise — and he has not run his campaign well, either. Conservatives were excited this spring to hear that he might enter the race, but have been disappointed by the reality. He has been fading in crucial early states. He has not yet passed the threshold test of establishing for voters that he truly wants to be president.
Of the three main arguments against Fred Thompson, the first one is the most laughable. Fred Thompson is not “as conservative” as Romney, Fred Thompson is “a Conservative” while Romney has many Conservative traits. As far as this thinly veiled claim of his “laziness” in that he has not truly expressed that he wants to be President — I find it irresponsible of a publication with the stature of the National Review.
Campaigning for the Presidency, especially with the nature of media in this day and age, is an extremely difficult process and unless you are ridiculously wealthy like a Ross Perot (or Mitt Romney), nobody would put themselves through it if they were not serious about it. People are confusing Fred Thompson’s laid back casual style as a lack of enthusiasm, I think he is too much of a grown-up to rant and rave like a lunatic cheerleader — especially since he is the one candidate that is the most solidly Conservative when it comes to the actual issues.
When Barry Goldwater, whom William F. Buckley founder of the National Review was a staunch supporter of, ran for President in 1964 he only had about two more years of experience in the Senate that what Fred Thompson currently has. Now while I admit, executive experience, such as being a Governor, is much different the Senatorial experience — Fred Thompson has more then enough experience in the arena of politics to warrant running for and holding the office of President, were he to be elected.
If you are truly “a Conservative” and by that I mean the way defined by Barry Goldwater and later Ronald Reagan — then I believe that the fundamental question this primary season that Conservative voters in the Republican party are facing is “whom out of the top tier candidates is the best when it comes to preserving and extending freedom?”
Barry Goldwater, the man whom defined what it means to be a Conservative, made one of my all time favorite statements when he said:
“I have little interest in streamlining government or in making it more efficient, for I mean to reduce its size.”
Fred Thompson, who has said,
“Before anything else, folks in Washington ought to be asking first and foremost, ‘Should government be doing this? And if so, then at what level of government?’ But they don’t.”
is the best choice as well as the most viable choice for anybody who calls themselves a Conservative, to be the next President of the United States.
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