Tag Archives: santorum

Politics 2012

Posted by Tim on

Well, if you haven’t heard the news – Rick Santorum officially suspended his campaign. No more “conservative alternative” to Mitt Romney. In the end, Romney’s millions of dollars were just too much for Santorum, and with numerous personal troubles with his family, (including the health of his daughter, Bella) it was time to call it quits. He was still my pick, and I’m proud to have supported a strong candidate and a good man. But he’s still young – don’t think that Santorum will be gone forever. We may very well see him in the next round of primaries in 4 or 8 years.

In the meantime, its now time to move our attention from Romney vs Santorum to Romney vs Obama. We had a hell of a time picking our team leader, but now that he’s picked, its time for Romney to show the same viciousness he showed to Gingrich and Santorum to Barack Obama. Of course, now that Obama knows who his opponent will be in November, he’ll start attacking Romney heavily as well. With that in mind, its time to rally behind Romney. Let the games begin!

Here in Wisconsin we’re also coming up on Scott Walker’s recall election. I spend enough time in the more liberal communities to hear all of the arguments against Walker. He’s against “workers’ rights”, he’s “destroying our schools”. The fact of the matter is that Wisconsin had a $3 billion deficit before Walker was elected. By the end of his first year Wisconsin had a $300,000 surplus. He did this by eliminating numerous collective bargaining privileges that were being used to take the public for every tax dollar they had. What this meant was that Wisconsin had one of the worst business climates in America, and some of the highest taxes as well.

Since Walker took over property taxes went down for the first time in years, unemployment is down, economic outlook is favorable, and 8 out of 10 business owners feel Wisconsin is on the right track. Scott Walker passed voter ID laws, concealed carry laws, the castle doctrine, and of course, his infamous “Act 10″. At the end of the day, Wisconsin is turning around. Not only do Wisconsinites know it, but so does the rest of the nation. Scott Walker was named governor of the year – by the other 49 governors of the United States.

But he’s being recalled. Public employee unions want their money, their benefits, and their so-called “rights”. Democratic candidates will battle it out soon for a chance to be Walker’s opponent. Kathleen Falk appeals to far left liberals, while Tom Barrett has the more moderate approach. Each have their own hang ups. Falk lacks the name recognition needed to bring down Walker, and Barrett has already attempted to beat Walker back in 2010 – he lost by a landslide. Only time will tell who the democratic nominee will be.

But there’s more. Long time US Senator, Herb Kohl, is retiring. His seat will be up for grabs in November, and plenty of people are jumping on board. For the democrats – just one – Tammy Baldwin. For the Republicans – 4 different names are already in the hat. Mark Neumann, who ran against Walker in the Republican primary for the governor’s office; Eric Hovde, a businessman running a similar campaign to Ron Johnson’s in 2010;  Jeff Fitzgerald, Wisconsin’s speaker of the House; and former Wisconsin governor Tommy Thompson. I’m looking forward to learning more about each of the candidates. At the moment I’m leaning towards Tommy Thompson, for the sole fact that he’d be an easy win against Baldwin. But my opinion could change.

All in all, this summer and fall are shaping up to be very interesting. The presidential election alone is enough to drive most voters crazy. Add in some heated Senate races and the recall of the most loved and hated governor in America – Ha! This is what its all about! Bring it on, baby!

Santorum and Porn?

Posted by Tim on

NOTE: I’ve held onto this post and resisted publishing it. My home state of Wisconsin is voting soon, and I didn’t want to give any extra negative attention to Rick Santorum. BUT, I’ve decided that keeping posts private for the sole purpose of helping a candidate is something that would compromise my personal integrity. While this post may hurt Santorum, in the end, he hurt himself. Keep in mind, that while I’m ranting about Rick, I’m still voting for him on April 3rd, and I urge everyone else to do the same. 

I’ve been very open about this – I’m voting for Rick Santorum in the Wisconsin primary, and if he’s the nominee I’ll gladly vote for him against Barry Obama. I like where he stands on a lot of issues. He’s a strong supporter of Israel, he’s proposed a great tax plan to bring back manufacturing jobs to America, and he’s a hero among the Pro-Life crowd. All that being said, there are still a few things that make me shake my head about him. The most recent – “ban porn”.

So much for free markets, ey? Rick’s plan to crack down of “hardcore” pornography isn’t real far fetched. He’s a family-man. He’s a practicing Catholic, and is big on family values. I can understand Rick not liking porn and the porn industry. He has strong values, and I can see why he’s against porn. He’s also brought up the fact that porn can cause problems in relationships, and can negatively affect the brain. While I’m not sure these are really “facts”, I’ll give Rick and his researchers the benefit of the doubt.

All that being said – okay. Porn is bad. BUT… that’s his opinion. There are a lot of things that are “bad”. That doesn’t mean we ban them. Cigarettes are bad. They cause so many deaths that we can measure the deaths by the minute. Why aren’t we banning cigarettes? Come on, Rick. This isn’t a path you want to go down. Are you in favor of the free market, or not?

As I discussed HERE, banning a product, whether its drugs or porn, doesn’t eliminate it. It pushes it to a black market, where the dangers are far worse. Instead of a (relatively) clean porn enviroment, we’d have a completely unregulated “black market” of porn. Does this mean little kids getting involved? Doesn’t this mean people who are filmed without their permission? Keep it legal so we can monitor it and regulate it.

This is by no means a pro-porn post. I’m indifferent on the subject. What someone does in their free time is none of my business. Frankly, I don’t want to know. Some people may say that porn is ruining relationships, and that may be true. There might be cases where it actually helps relationships though. In the end, its each individual’s responsibility to make their own choices.

The thing that frightens me about Rick’s stance on this is that its very similar to a utopian mindset. “If only we could pass enough laws and control people’s behavior, we could create a utopia!” Banning things for “people’s own good” is what the left does. Banning porn is no different than banning guns, banning sugary foods, or banning light bulbs. Let the market work, let people make their own decisions. The government has no place censoring the internet, or magazines people get. Come on, Rick.

Santorum vs The Romney Attack Machine

Posted by Tim on

I just heard the news, and I’m absolutely disgusted. As many of you already know, I’m an avid Rick Santorum supporter. He’s not perfect, but in the grand scheme of things he’s the most conservative of the four choices for president we have. I don’t really mind the other candidates. Newt Gingrich is a great debater, has a lot of great ideas, and has turned his life around after some personal troubles years ago. Ron Paul, although I don’t agree with his foreign policy, is a very likable guy. He knows his constitution, he understands the free market, and he’s a true libertarian.

But then there’s Mitt Romney. I don’t have anything personal against him, but I strongly believe that he’d be the wrong choice for our presidential nominee. He’s continual defense of RomneyCare, the blue print for ObamaCare, is frightening. The idea that a government, whether its state or federal, can mandate it’s citizens to buy a product, entering into a private contract with another party, is absurd and un-American. Mitt Romney may have a great record as a private businessman, but RomneyCare is not defendable.

With the entire issue of ObamaCare and the role of government in people’s private lives off the table, what exactly is Romney to stand on against Obama in November? Although Romney promises to either repeal ObamaCare or grant waivers (which aren’t the same thing, by the way) I’m personally worried that he won’t actually pull the trigger. He has stubbornly stood by RomneyCare and defended it to this day. Someone who believes government run healthcare is a good thing isn’t the person we need in office.

But Mitt’s track record isn’t really what bothers me. Sure, I have huge disagreements with his policies, but that’s not enough to get under my skin. I disagree with lots of people, and most politicians, but I don’t let our differences get to me. My biggest problem with Mitt Romney has to do with his character. The kind of candidate who runs ads that constantly attack his opponents is a sleazy candidate. 2012 isn’t the first time around for Romney either. Back in 2008, Romney ran a slew of disgusting attack ads on his then rival Mike Huckabee. Mitt is using his same tricks this time around. (View them HERE and HERE.)

Back when the elections were just getting started, Romney was the only person with a huge amount of money behind him. Despite all of that, he managed to lose the first Republican caucus in Iowa to Rick Santorum, a man who ran his campaign out of his family’s minivan. Romney managed to win New Hampshire, a democratic state neighboring his home state of Massachusetts. Next up – South Carolina, where Newt Gingrich took the primary easily. That was when Romney knew he needed to attack. The next primary was Florida, where Mitt won – but he outspent Newt Gingrich 5 to 1!

How does Romney spend his money? It’s not spent on promoting his own message for America. Its not spent telling people about his mediocre record as a moderate Republican on the east coast. No, its spent running vicious attack ads against his opponents – attacking their character. This is how Mitt Romney wins elections – he outspends his opponents. In Michigan he outspent Santorum 6-1, in Ohio he outspent Santorum 10-1, and now in Wisconsin (primary coming up on April 3rd) he’s outspending Santorum 50-1! This is disgusting. This is as close as you can come to literally buying an election without breaking the law.

Despite his heavy bashing of his conservative rivals, Santorum and Gingrich, Romney has repeatedly claimed that he will not attack Obama. That’s right. He’s stated that he will not make “accusatory” or “incendiary” remarks “attacking” Obama. The man who attacks his Republican opponents so ruthlessly refuses to treat Obama the same way. The fact of the matter is that Obama has a radically different view of America than most Americans. He’s pushing to destroy the foundation of our nation and “fundamentally transform” America. But in Mitt’s eyes, Obama is “just a little over his head”.

Romney’s biggest advantage is also a window into how weak he and his campaign truly are. The fact of the matter is that Romney has failed to make a connection with the majority of Republican voters. Not only do people not like him, but they don’t trust him. They don’t feel that he has their best interest at heart. Among strong conservative voters Romney is seen as a “Massachusetts Moderate”, some rich guy from the east coast who doesn’t understand the blue collar backbone of America. From his speeches in the south using words like “gritts” and “ya’ll”, and his eery smile during debates, Romney comes off as fake.

The only thing Romney has going for him is money. That’s it. Without it he’d be running a crap campaign and would probably be out of the contest by now. His ideas aren’t popular. His personality isn’t attractive. But hey – he’s got a lot of money, so he can barrage his opponents with negative TV and radio advertising. But if that is Romney’s only advantage, it won’t be enough to beat Obama. Romney can beat his Republican rivals in the money game, but he can’t beat Obama in the money game.

Instead, to beat Obama, we need someone who is genuine, conservative, and can attract people without bashing his opponents. Rick Santorum, despite some flubs in speeches and interviews, is a strong conservative who has managed to attract enough voters to become the 2nd place candidate to Mitt Romney. Although Gingrich and Paul are still officially in, the race is essentially down to two candidates – Romney and Santorum.

Santorum has been running his campaign on a shoestring. He’s not a rich guy. He isn’t getting endorsements from Donald Trump. He doesn’t have the money to continually run attack ads on other candidates. No, he’s run his campaign the old way. He goes out and talks to people, and because he comes off as a real person and not a politician, he’s managed to win over a lot of voters. Someone who can win, despite not having a lot of money is who we need. Rick Santorum has been outspent  in every state he’s won. If Romney’s money can’t knock out Santorum, how can it knock out Obama? And, if Santorum can stand up to Romney, he has the best chance against Obama.

This idea that Mitt Romney is the strongest candidate, or that he’s even a strong frontrunner is flat out wrong. He’s spent more than all his opponents combined, and still hasn’t won the nomination. At this point, the nomination may very well end in August at the Republican national convention. If Santorum can win enough delegates to keep Romney from getting the needed 1144 that he needs to win the nomination, then this race is far from over. My goal until that point is to encourage people to get behind who I believe is the best candidate to not only beat Obama, but also to lead our country over the next 8 years – Rick Santorum.

Standing by Santorum

Posted by Tim on

Well, the Florida primary is right around the corner, and from the looks of things, Mitt Romney will earn his second win. While I’m disappointed, I’m not terribly surprised. Romney has outspent Newt Gingrich by nearly $12 million. Constant ads on TV, the airwaves, and across the internet are sure to make an impact, and if you and your super-pac friends have the money, why not? This is an election everyone wants to win.

But it’s not over yet – not even close. As of right now there’s a three way tie. In case you didn’t hear the news – the numbers were recounted in Iowa and Rick Santorum was declared the winner. Romney easily won the New Hampshire primary, and with a couple of outstanding debate performances, Newt took South Carolina.

I remember the media saying that whoever wins Iowa is set to be the nominee. Then, when Romney won New Hampshire with such a strong lead, everyone declared him the nominee. But only a little while later we’d caught Newt fever and suddenly South Carolina was the end-all be-all of primaries. With all that in mind, why not just throw away your TVs. These pundits, analysts, and so-called “experts” are in the dark as much as you or I.

To me, that’s a breath of good news. Right now, Rick Santorum is at home doing his taxes. He doesn’t have the money to continue campaigning in a state he isn’t likely to win. Despite two strong debate performances (where he was more than strong – he won them, actually), Santorum is still showing third place in most the Florida polls, and the primary is on Tuesday. Depending on when I publish this, that’s 24-48 hours away. He’s not going to win. Sorry, Rick.

But like I said, it’s not the end of the world. Santorum just opened his Nevada campaign office, so he’s still in this. Newt is known to blow off his mouth and piss a lot of people off, and by and large, people still don’t want Romney as their candidate. Ron Paul… well. Yeah, Ron Paul would be lucky to win a single state, let alone the nomination.

So, is this another endorsement post? Well,  yeah, it is. Let’s review this one more time. Gingrich and Romney were both FOR government run healthcare. Santorum wasn’t. Gingrich and Romney were both FOR the TARP bailouts. Santorum wasn’t. Gingrich and Romney are both flip-floppers on issues of global warming. Gingrich is a slease ball in his personal life, and called Paul Ryan’s medicare reform “social engineering”. Romney was  pro-choice, and pro gun control. The red flags are standing all around Gingrich and Romney. Santorum is the clear conservative alternative to Romney. Santorum is Gingrich with a backbone. Santorum is Romney without the east coast moderate flip-floppery nonsense.

You may have noticed that I put a Santorum ad on this site. He didn’t pay me, I didn’t contact his campaign for it. I copied and edited an ad I saw on some other website and pasted it into my sidebar, hoping to give a little extra word-of-mouth to team Santorum, and in tern help give him a little extra cash. (*Cough* Get the idea?) It’s not over yet, folks.

Presidential Endorsement Goes To…

Posted by Tim on

Well you’re in luck. This time I thought ahead. I know I’m going to be busy pretty much all day tomorrow but instead of doing like I usually do on a busy day and post a video, I’m going to write something in advance. And you’re in luck – because I’m telling the world who I’m officially backing for the Republican presidential nomination. A handful of people already know who he is, but it’s time to make it public.

With only 5 candidates left, I feel the field has been cut down to a point where I can think clearly about who the choices are. I’ve seen them debate over the last few months, I’ve read up on them. Their histories have been exposed and their records have been laid out. There are a couple stragglers left, and three strong leaders to pick from.

The stragglers are Ron Paul and Rick Perry. I label them as stragglers because I see them as far behind the others, with little chance of either of them catching up. Ron Paul has some great stances on the economy, on limited government, and on the Fed, BUT he also has some outright dangerous ideas on foreign policy. Ron Paul is a libertarian, not a conservative. He’s running in the republican party because it’s the best way to get out his message. While he has done that, and has found himself a nice following, enough of his ideas are in stark contrast not only with mine, but the republican base, that he’s about as far as he’s going to get.

Rick Perry, despite spending of a LOT of money in his campaign, has continued to perform poorly in the debates. I like him – he seems like a genuine guy, but he does not come off as presidential. He stutters too much, and seems uninformed about specifics of certain issues – Israel for instance. If he doesn’t drop out of the race after coming in 5th in the South Carolina primary, he’ll drop out soon enough.

That leaves the top three. Good ole, Willard Romney, Newt Gingrich, and Rick Santorum. Well, let’s start with the weakest. I’m not saying weakest in terms of the polls, but in terms of policy, and that would without a doubt be Romney. I know, I know – he’s a private sector guy. And that’s what he’s going to run on. But he wasn’t always a private sector guy. He has a record as a politician, and that’s what’s important. Romney is a moderate. His views on abortion and gun control are those of no conservative. And don’t forget his biggest fumble of all – Romney-Care. Romney continues to defend Romney-Care under the guise of federalism, but federalism doesn’t explain a governor trampling on individual liberty in his state. Romney-Care is a failure, and if Mitt refuses to admit that, what’s to say he’s really against government run health care at all? Moderate is written all over him.

Newt… well. Newt is the best debater on the stage, but he’s also the most hated on the stage. His history, his personal life, and his recent attacks on Romney and Bain Capital have all made him a target. While I agree with Gingrich on most issues (especially foreign policy) I don’t see his stand on the issues as anything other than politics. I want someone who is real. A polished politician with a slick tongue is no match for someone with a backbone, and morals that live on in his personal life – Rick Santorum.

I’ve been following Rick Santorum since the beginning. He’s been the underdog, but has performed well enough in debates to keep me hooked. His stance on foreign policy is in line with mine. His stance on gun control is backed by the NRA. His stance of social issues – marriage, abortion, immigration – are all in line with me. But his policy stances aren’t enough. Rick comes off as a real guy. He didn’t have a big tour bus to take him from town to town in Iowa. He had his family’s minivan. He doesn’t come from a rich background – he’s the son of an immigrant in a blue collar town. His faith, his strong connection with his family, and his personable speech make him a real person.

Therefore – for me – the choice is easy – Rick Santorum.

But it’s important to say that Rick Santorum is also the right choice to head the attack on Obama. Many will say that we need a moderate, like Romney, in order to “win” independent voters. Let us go back in history and visit the success of that kind of thinking. Hmm, John McCain was a moderate. He lost. Bob Dole was a moderate too. He also lost. Ronald Reagan was a conservative – and he won by a landslide! We need someone who can present a stark contrast with Obama and liberalism. A moderate will not do it. We need a strong articulate conservative.

This is a great opportunity to get the right guy in the White House. Someone who will pull back spending, reign in regulations, and cut taxes on businesses. Let’s not waste the opportunity on a moderate like Romney. Try someone with more heart, more passion. A true conservative – Rick Santorum.