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

[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."

[Cyber Wolf]

“due to politics or ineptitude or economics.”

Fixed it...

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Lamplighter

Perry opposes Confederate Texas license plate proposal

He may have a problem getting votes in GA.

[Lamplighter]

The flip flop issue has raised it's ugly head:

Washington Post
October 27, 2011
As Romney learned in Ohio, state issues can be tricky to navigate for presidential candidates

As Romney proved this week, such local issues can trip up even the most cautious candidate,
causing headaches for their national campaigns while hurting their standings in important states
for both the primary and general elections.

“Fully support that,” Romney said about the Ohio ballot initiative while visiting a local Republican Party office Wednesday in Fairfax, Va.
A day earlier, the former Massachusetts governor visited a site near Cincinnati where volunteers
were making hundreds of phone calls to help Republicans defeat the Issue Two ballot effort.
The question before voters is whether to repeal Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s restrictions on public sector employee bargaining.
But when pressed, Romney took a pass on supporting the measure —
and just as a Quinnipiac University poll indicated that Ohio voters opposed the GOP-backed restrictions 57 percent to 32 percent.

It turned out that Romney had already weighed in, supporting Kasich’s efforts in a June Facebook post.

Patience is growing thin:

The Atlantic
Mitt Romney Can't Afford Any More Flip-Flops
By Molly Ball
Oct 26 2011, 2:13 PM ET

His shifts on the Ohio unionizing bill have done little to counteract arguments he's a political animal who lacks conviction

In an election where Republican voters want an authentic champion to channel their anger,
Romney hasn't managed to shake the rap that he's the kind of politician
who has to check the record to figure out where he stands on a particular issue.
It was particularly galling to many conservatives that his hesitation came this week on an issue dear to their hearts --
reining in public-sector unions.
<snip>
Romney's slip in Ohio was immediately seized upon by a newly opportunistic Rick Perry campaign.
<snip>
And Perry, appearing on Fox News Tuesday night, twisted the knife: "I think in his own words he says,
'Listen, I need to say whatever I need to say for whatever office I'm running for.'"

And beside all that:
Mitt Romney learned from his father the need to be clear in his statements.
George Romney came under fire for his comments about being "brainwashed" on Vietnam.
"I have learned the lesson as well as I can to be careful in the words I use,"
Romney told the Globe in 2002 after he was elected as governor of Massachusetts.

And Alice responded:

"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone,
"it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less."
"The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things."
"The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master - - that's all."