I don't have a dog in this fight, but...

[classicman]

Originally Posted by DanaC

Well, duh. He's a Republican.
there's a lot that's admirable too.
I think mostly I just find him refreshingly sensible for a republican candidate. Which is fucking bizarre really.

I agree.

These days, politics is like a freak show.

FTFY

[DanaC]

I think that's probably fair. But I also think that the Republican Party, currently, is the leader in downright phreakiness.*




*Not talking about all Republicans. Just the ones running for the presidential candidacy.

[classicman]

can't deny that. They seem to be trying really hard NOT to get reelected based upon the candidates running.

[DanaC]

I imagine it must be seriously frustrating for the average republican voter.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by DanaC

I imagine it must be seriously frustrating for the average republican voter.

Not really, you just vote for the guy you want to make sure Obama does not get re-elected. My last three votes for President were based on who was going to be the best bad choice.

[BigV]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

Not really, you just vote for the guy you want to make sure Obama does not get re-elected. --snip

Holy mackeral.

I never, *ever* thought I'd see the day mercy declared he'd vote for Hillary Clinton in 2016!!!

[ faints ]

[Lamplighter]

And here comes Herman again...

NY Times
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
Published: October 22, 2011

Cain, Now Running as Outsider, Came to Washington as Lobbyist

WASHINGTON — Herman Cain, the Republican presidential candidate
with the sharp wit and easy-to-remember tax plan, is a cancer survivor,
radio host and former chief executive of Godfather’s Pizza.
On the campaign trail, he talks up his business experience and
casting himself as a “problem solver” and Washington outsider.

But the role that helped propel Mr. Cain into politics was that
of an ultimate Washington insider: industry lobbyist.

From 1996, when he left the pizza company, until 1999,
Mr. Cain ran the National Restaurant Association,
a once-sleepy trade group that he transformed into a lobbying powerhouse.
He allied himself closely with cigarette makers fighting restaurant smoking bans,
spoke out against lowering blood-alcohol limits as a way to prevent drunken driving,
fought an increase in the minimum wage and opposed a patients’ bill of rights —
all in keeping with the interests of the industry he represented.

And besides all that:
Cain writes: "Jesus was "The Perfect Conservative" and was killed by a liberal court"

The [Cain] column claims Jesus as a conservative.
"He helped the poor without one government program.
He healed the sick without a government health care system.
He feed the hungry without food stamps," wrote Cain.
"For three years He was unemployed, and never collected an unemployment check."

Cain then describes Jesus' death:
But they made Him walk when He was arrested and taken to jail,
and no, He was not read any Miranda Rights.
He was arrested for just being who He was and doing nothing wrong.
And when they tried Him in court, He never said a mumbling word.
He didn’t have a lawyer, nor did He care about who judged Him.
His judge was a higher power.
The liberal court found Him guilty of false offences and sentenced Him to death,
all because He changed the hearts and minds of men with an army of 12.
@ Huffington Post

And here I always thought Jesus was the ultimate rebel against the establishment.
So I live and learn.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by BigV

Holy mackeral.

I never, *ever* thought I'd see the day mercy declared he'd vote for Hillary Clinton in 2016!!!

[ faints ]

What a funny statement!

[Lamplighter]

The political news over the past days has been lackluster.
The media seems to be drying up on GOP tax plan proposals,
leaving Gov Rick Perry as 'foil dejour' .

With another GOP debate coming in just two weeks,
Polls are the fun and games for the news media
... in the North, Romney leads Cain
... in the South, Romney and Cain are tied
but in all the country but Texas,
it may be unanimous... Perry is at the bottom of the heap.
And maybe wants to stay there.

Christian Science Monitor
Does Rick Perry really want to be president?
Texas Gov. Rick Perry's debate performance, and other clues,
indicate to DCDecoder that Rick Perry may not be 'in it to win it.'
The Christian Science Monitor
By Liz Marlantes
October 13, 2011

Watching Rick Perry’s debate performance Tuesday night,
Decoder (along with many observers in the press) was struck by how
itching-to-get-out-of-there uncomfortable he looked.
It was like watching someone’s half-hearted attempt to engage in polite conversation
at a dinner party he was only attending as a favor to his wife.

And almost by definition, a candidate who jumps in only after some
arm twisting by supporters - as Perry did and Christie did not -
probably doesn’t want it that bad.

Even Perry's campaign staff and are admitting problems
with Perry's performance in debates, and the media are speaking openly about it.
The Atlantic
Oct 27 2011, 9:14 AM ET

Rick Perry Ponders Staying Home for Future Debates

In Michigan on November 9, Gov. Rick Perry is confirmed to be
on the debate stage beside his rivals for the GOP nomination.
But after that? "We are going to evaluate each debate as it comes
and take each one on its own merits," his campaign spokesman told the Wall Street Journal.
"The primaries are right around the corner and there is simply more to do than there is time to do it."

Conn Carroll recommended this strategy a couple weeks back:
"Perry has performed poorly in all four of the GOP debates in which he has participated.
Even the candidate himself seems to acknowledge that debates can only hurt his campaign.
So why show up?" he asked.

This announcement is an admission that the Texas governor doesn'teven expect he can improve over time.
Of course, it isn't actually essential that a president be a good debater,
but it is essential that he has a deep grasp of numerous issues,is a quick study,
and can use the bully pulpit to good effect.
As it happens, these are the very things at which Perry is failing miserably.

With nothing good to say, the news media is focusing
on Perry's role in State government, which also seems to be haphazard.

LA Times
October 26, 2011

Perry opposes Confederate Texas license plate proposal

Perry said he opposed the plan to offer the Texas license plates
with the emblem, which includes the Confederate flag.

"We don't need to be scraping old wounds," Perry said.

Afterward, a spokeswoman clarified the governor's position.
"While the governor believes this is a decision for the DMV board,
he personally does not support the Confederate plate,"
spokeswoman Lucy Nashed said via email.

And besides all that:
Perry is not despairing.
He is not the only GOP candidate whose remarks need to be clarified.
Perry has a role model in Mitt Romney:

Mitt Romney Questions Obama Troop Withdrawal, Says He’d Vote for Rick Perry

MANCHESTER, N.H., — At a campaign stop in the Granite State today,
former Mass. Governor Mitt Romney questioned whether President Barack Obama’s decision
to withdraw troops from Iraq entirely by the end of the year was “due to politics or ineptitude.”
<snip>
Having avoided mentioning any of his GOP rivals by name during brief remarks
delivered to the volunteers making calls for his campaign,
Romney was asked by a member of the press if he believes
Texas Gov. Rick Perry has the “intelligence” to be president.
“I do,” quipped Romney. “I believe every single person on the stage
in that last debate would do a better job than President Obama.
If Rick Perry were the nominee I’d be voting for him.
I, of course believe he’s qualified, as are the other people on the stage."

[classicman]

I guess. I've been all over the last few elections.

Aside/I think they should disable the "PICK A TEAM" button/lever so you actually have to select each candidate. /Aside

[Lamplighter]

Don't forget to include the last button: None of the Above

[Lamplighter]

Although Chris Christie seems to be a "normal" person,
his budget-cutting tendencies are legion*
Schools and libraries were his game targets
during his first year being Governor.
But then...

NJ.com
Jeanette Rundquist/The Star-Ledger The Star-Ledger
Updated: Tuesday, March 22, 2011, 7:40 PM

NJ Judge rules against Chris Christie:
Budget cuts left N.J. schools unable to provide 'thorough and efficient' education"

Tea Party favorite Gov. Chris Christie received a severe blow
to his education budget cuts by a Superior court judge:

Gov. Chris Christie's deep cuts to state school aid last year left New Jersey's schools unable
to provide a "thorough and efficient" education to the state's nearly 1.4 million school children,
a Superior Court judge found today.

Judge Peter Doyne, who was appointed as special master
in the long-running Abbott vs. Burke school funding case,
today issued an opinion that also found the reductions "fell more heavily
upon our high risk districts and the children educated within those districts."

"Despite spending levels that meet or exceed virtually every state in the country,
and that saw a significant increase in spending levels from 2000 to 2008,
our 'at risk' children are now moving further from proficiency," he said.

And besides all that:
Christie does not seem to learn from his mistakes.
That is, if you want decisions to be in your favor,
do you really think it wise to piss off all the judges in your state:

Bloomberg Businessweek
October 18, 2011, 5:23 PM EDT
By Elise Young
Christie Calls for Constitutional Change on Judges’ Pensions

Oct. 18 (Bloomberg) -- New Jersey Governor Chris Christie called for an amendment
to the state constitution that would subject judges to a public pension overhaul enacted this year.

Christie, 49, said he’ll try to get the proposal on the November 2012 ballot.
He spoke to reporters a day after Superior Court Judge Linda Feinberg in Mercer County
ruled that members of the judiciary are exempt from a law requiring
higher pension contributions by public workers.
Christie said he will appeal.
“This is a blatant attempt to exact special treatment for themselves because they have the power,”
Christie said today in Trenton.
“Judge Feinberg’s decision, in addition to legally indefensible, is morally indefensible.
If the courts will not fix this problem,
the Legislature has to give the people the opportunity to fix this problem.”

Feinberg, who ruled on a claim brought by Superior Court Judge Paul DePascale
in her Trenton court, declined to comment.

In the same way he told teachers they don't have to teach,
maybe he will tell judges they don't have to judge.
.

[* IM might use the word "lesion"]

[ZenGum]

I was thinking about this last night. I knew Mitch mitchel was wrong, but the only name that came to mind was Loius Lewis.

I'm going to have a few strong words with my brain.

(Also, I am a bit ill at the moment, some kind of throaty-nosey-lungy-coldy-fluey thing. And senility, apparently.)

[ZenGum]

Oh and I like the fact that he is calling the Judges BS for what it is, despite the fact they could mess him up in return. More truth, less politicking.

[DanaC]

Compared to some of the lunatics currently in the race he seems relatively sane. For a right winger.

I mean...don;t get me wrong, hell would freeze over before I'd give my vote to anyone with his political views or record. But at least he seems like an actual human being.

The rest of the field are so wrapped up in presentation and appealing to this or that demographic that they seem to have lost track of who they themselves are.