Sunday, August 14, 2011

GOP presidental candidates breakdown

I'm going to break down all the republican candidates for president. I will do it in alphabetical order so be sure to read all the way through. I will give them a letter grade on how I think they are doing. I will sum up their policy, and I will also break down how I respond to them.

Bachmann- Grade A. She fails to get my A+ because of the way she and Pawlenty fought with each other in the debate instead of putting that aside and attacking the real political enemy, Obama. Her policy is down the line what our country needs. Pro-life in every way. Her foreign policy is on point. Her economic plan is on point. Her economic plan is right on because she is anti-debt, and anti-tax hikes. I'm a fan of her public faith. She is my 2nd pick as of right now.

Cain- Grad A-. He has made some missteps and also is lacking in money. His popularity is fizzling and he needs more positive press, that is why he only get an A-. On his policy he is pro-life, pro-family, and is in line on every social issue. His foreign policy is still evolving but his policy of listening to the generals is an excellent start. His stand on Israel is spot on and even though the way he has stated it has gotten him in trouble I think he really grasps who the enemy is and what we need to do to make sure they don't win. I think he has one of the best developed economic plans and if he could fully implement his plan our economy would gain such strength that it would dwarf any other competitors in the world. There is one other thing I think we should bring up about Cain, and that is the fact that he is black would make it harder for the Dems to use the race card and when they do it will help highlight the fact that they don't really care for minorities but that is it all about their power. Also, I think he may help to heal some of the racial division that has been increased by Obama. He is my number 1 pick as of right now.

Gingrich- Grade B. He gets a B because he has no real chance, he is low on money and couldn't even get 3% of the vote in the Iowa straw poll. As for his policy he is pro-life. He has a good record on economic issues and every indication is that he would try and balance the budget again if given the chance. I find his foreign policy to be a bit foggy and I'm not sure what he would do there. Gingrich brings too much baggage to the table from my point of view but I did appreciate his attempt to keep the press honest in the last debate. He is not likely to get my vote in the primary.

Greenspon- Grade D-. He gets a D- because I've never heard of him, he didn't go the the debate or the straw poll but he is findable on the internet lists of candidates that are reasonable. The little I found about him looks ok, but nothing clear on where he stands on the issues. The link for his website didn't work. I'm guessing he is really a non-issue.

Huntsman- Grade C-. He gets a C- because his name recognition is low and his performance in the debate and his pathetic placing in the straw poll. Policy wise he said in the debate that he is pro-life. His record is spotty on economic issues and his plan dealing with the budget seems to be reasonable. His foreign policy isn't so good. His idea of cutting our losses may show weakness to our enemies. I think he is too moderate. A better pick than Obama but not likely to get my vote in the primary and I don't think he will make it long anyway.

Johnson- Grade D+. He gets a little bit more name recognition than Greenspon but he didn't go to the last debate or the straw poll. His policies are poor. He is pro-choice and over all tends to be a middle of the road politician. He has a good stand on the 2nd amendment and states the obvious when it comes to the budget. He isn't going to get my vote.

Karger- Grade D-. He gets a D- due to the lack of name recognition, no show for the debate and straw poll. He is a little easier to find out about than Greenspon but I don't understand why he is running as a republican. His policies are rather out of the mainstream with the republican party. He is pro-choice and he is a gay rights advocate. His foreign policy is mostly sound but his domestic policy is so far off that I couldn't support him even if he was the nominee.

Martin- Grade D-. He is an unknown and there was nothing to be found on the comparison website. He didn't even have a web page listed. What I do know about him is that he plays dirty and has had his hand in the rumor emails about Obama. I don't think we have to worry about him getting anywhere.

McCotter- Grade C-. He doesn't have much traction and had a pathetic placing in the straw poll. He wasn't at the debate which I think was a shame. At the straw poll he gave a speech which will delivered in a boring manner was filled with good solid content. I looked him up on his website and here is his platform. 1. Our liberty is from God not the government. 2. Our sovereignty is in our souls not the soil. 3. Our security is from strength not surrender. 4. Our prosperity is from the private sector not the public sector. 5. Our truths are self-evident not relative. I liked what I saw in his speech and on his website but I don't think he has a chance of winning.

McMillan- Grade D. He has no real policy from what I can find. He is best known for being the “Rent Is Too Damn High Party” candidate for NY governorship. I think he is running as a joke. His website is set up to make people laugh and I guess that is refreshing in a way. He stands no chance and has not been in the debates or the straw poll.

Miller- D-. He is an unknown who hasn't been in any debate or at the straw poll. After reading up on him I think it is too bad. He is an unknown but seems to have a grip on things. Policy wise he is pro-life, pro-marriage. He has a good idea of how to fix the economy and his foreign policy is sensible. I won't say I agree with him on Afghanistan but I understand where he is coming from and the rest of his ideas are sound. My advice is that we read up on him. I don't think he has a chance, but if he came from nowhere to at least drive the debate that would be good. His name is Tom Miller and his website is http://tommiller2012.com. If he would let me write his ads I'd end them with, “After 4 years of Obama, it's Miller time!”

Moore- Grade D-. He has no real movement and was not in the debates or the straw poll. Roy Moore is a guy with more or less solid constitutional beliefs but he has become more or less shrill. I supported him in the early years when he and Fob James stood up to the feds, but as he as moved on it seems he doesn't really understand our place under authority. I don't think he has much of a chance of winning anything.

Paul- Grade A. So far Ron Paul has done well getting in the debates and coming in second in the straw poll. He doesn't get an A+ because every time he speaks it is apparent that he is not mainstream. As for his policies he is pro-life, but past that he seems to think he is running against Andrew Jackson. I'm not the biggest fan of the fed and I do think it should be audited and reformed. With that much being said I don't think I'm for getting rid of it all together and I don't think that would ever work. As for spending he is alright. He is for smaller government and cutting the spending in Washington. Sadly he doesn't stand for anything moral other than being pro-life. His foreign policy is the scariest thing I have heard from either party. He said in the debate that he wants “peaceful relations” with Iran and that “we should bring our troops home from all over the world.” This policy of isolationism is dangerous. The first thing we can know for sure is that if we let Iran get a nuke, which he said he is OK with, they will use it first to reach their first goal of wiping Israel off the map, and then they will find a way to use it for their second goal of wiping us of the map. If we were to leave South Korea as he says we should it would be over ran by North Korea in a matter of weeks. Then they would set about helping Iran deliver those nukes. After our allies around the world fall in short order what would keep the evil elements of the world from coming after us? Nothing really. Ron Paul's ideas didn't work in a pre-World War II world and they won't work now. I hope for the safety of our country that his campaign fizzles out soon.
With the total lack of moral standing, other than being pro-life, it is no wonder that last time around the Bunny Ranch, a brothel, was raising money for him. I don't understand how any Christian could back this guy with is lack of moral campus and his lack of support for Israel but I'm afraid I have been seeing some of them doing it. On the brighter side if you total all of the votes in the straw poll that went to real conservative candidates they out numbered his votes by better than 2 to 1. Other good news is that even with the conservatives splitting 6 ways he still only came in second. There is no way I would vote for this man in the primaries and I may have to leave the president part of the ballot blank if he were to somehow win the nomination.

Perry- Grade A+. Perry joined the race after the debate and was announcing his run in North Carolina during the straw poll and still picked up over 4% of the vote. That means that without spending a dime to get the vote out he had 4% of the folks there write his name in on the ballot. Not bad! Gov. Perry is a pro-life, pro-family no nonsense kind of conservative. Some folks here in Texas have had some issues with him on roads and immunizations but I don't think it will slow him down one bit. Rick Perry as it sits right now is my 3rd pick for who I would like to vote for.

Roemer- Grade D-. He gets a D- because he wasn't in the debates or straw poll. He has little name recognition, and what little he does have is for being a former governor of Louisiana. A job that doesn't just shout great guy unless your name is Bobby Jindal. As for his policies, his website says nothing about abortion, he has a plan to rain in government spending and bring down the debt. I don't think he has much of a chance of winning.

Romney- Grade B+. Romney has lots of money, and is making the best of the media attention yet he still came in behind Perry in the straw poll. Romney has been moving to the right through out his life and while he was once pro-choice he is now (and I do believe he is for real) pro-life. He is weak on this issue because he believes it should be up to the states not the feds. While Romney brings economic knowledge to the table that is seconded only to Cain's he will be haunted by “Romney Care” and that may cost him the election. Over all he is not on my list of favored candidates.

Santorum- Grade A+. He is getting as much press as he can and in the debate he didn't take the bait to fight with the other republicans like the press wanted him to. He also dodged the trick of trying to get him to say he was the leader of the Tea Party and in both the debate and his straw poll speech he delivered a strong on point message of conservative values. He also came in 4th in the straw poll. He is pro-life, pro-marriage, and pro-family. He has a solid economic policy as well as a solid foreign policy. Over the weekend he went from a not so well known to a solid 4th pick for me in the primary.

Wuensche- D-. He is a D- because he has no name recognition, no press, and wasn't even at the straw poll. As for policy he is week on abortion saying only that it should be banned as a form of birth control. However he seems solid on foreign policy, budget issues, same sex issues, and I like his view that the departments of education and energy be abolished. I think it would be good to hear him out but I'm not sure president is where we want to hear his ideas at. I don't think he has much of a chance of shaping the race at all.

3 comments:

  1. Good breakdown. I am placing Perry higher than Cain and Bachmann based on his executive experience.

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  2. McCotter dropped out today and endorsed Romney.

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  3. Herman Cain won the straw poll in Florida Thursday following the debate. Will he be able to capitalize on that?

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