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October 11, 2014
Saturday Politics Thread: Familiar Faces (Romney, Ryan, Huckabee, Palin) [Y-not]Because I'm a "giver" who puts the needs of the horde above her own happiness, this week's thread is on Familiar Faces: Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, Mike Huckabee, and Sarah Palin. You owe me. Big. Before we begin, let's have a sense of where these four politicians rank in popularity as potential 2016 Presidential candidates: In the interest of space, I'm going to try to keep these summaries short, but provide you with some links touting their potential candidacies and any red flags, as I know them. Usual caveats about taking these "issues" tables and political philosophy diagrams with huge grains of salt apply. As always, it would be great to hear from you in the comments section if you have additional insights about them, positive or negative.
Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) was a 2012 Republican candidate for President of the United States. He served as Governor of Massachusetts from January 2, 2003 to January 4, 2007. Courtesy of U.S. News, here's a list of "10 Things You Didn't Know About Mitt Romney" with more biographical information. Mitt Romney made an unsuccessful bid for the GOP Presidential nomination in 2008. He won the nomination on his second try, but lost the 2012 Presidential election to Barack Obama. To help you catch up on what Mitt Romney has been up to since 2012, here's a summary of his activities as covered by the NY Times. Since the 2012 election, Romney has written quite a few opinion pieces, most often on foreign policy (for example here and here), but also on things like the cost of the Olympics. Interestingly, although his tough stance on immigration was largely credited with him emerging victorious from the GOP primary, I could not find any evidence of Romney speaking out during Obama's manufactured border crisis this summer. I did find this report in the Washington Post last May: Mitt Romney said Friday that he hopes an immigration reform measure will be signed into law before the 2016 presidential election, a striking posture considering his hard-line stance in the immigration debate during his 2012 campaign for president. Late last year he was reported to have said: "I do believe those who come here illegally ought to have an opportunity to get in line with everybody else." My interpretation of this, coupled with the continued support Romney has from corporate circles that clamor for cheap labor, is that he has backed off his "self-deportation" concept from the 2012 campaign in favor of granting legal status to illegal aliens. I admit I find it annoying that he did not criticize the Administration over the border stunt, but instead seems to be making statements that imply the Republican-controlled House is the source of the problem. Ballotpedia has this to say about Mitt Romney's 2016 prospects: On September 8, 2014, the former Governor of Massachusetts Romney stated, when asked about the potential of running in 2016, "Let me tell you, it was a great experience running for president. I loved that. But my time has come and gone. I had that opportunity. I ran, I didn't win." Romney's name garnered attention in regard to the race after his name was placed on a straw poll in Iowa on September 1, 2014. A September 22, 2014 opinion piece in The Hill called the potential duo of Romney and Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval a "perfect Republican dream team." Recently, Romney was reported by Byron York as believing that only he or Jeb Bush could defeat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election. Per On the Issues, here's a summary of his positions: *Romney appears to have softened his position on a pathway to citizenship since this Vote Match Quiz was compiled.
Paul Ryan (b. January 29, 1970, in Janesville, WI) is a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the state of Wisconsin. Ryan represents Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District and was first elected to the House in 1998. He is running for re-election in 2014... Here's 10 Things You Don't Know About Paul Ryan compiled by the Fiscal Times in 2012. To help you catch up on what Paul Ryan has been up to recently, here's a summary of his activities as covered by the NY Times. Ryan has taken an interesting path since the 2012 election. He seemed to be a popular choice for many owing to his reputation as a budget hawk. But after a disappointing performance on the campaign trail, and a devastating loss to Obama and Biden, Ryan's popularity with "the base" has really fallen. I've been trying to track down what happened and I think a lot of it is attributable to the budget deal cut with Democrats late last year. Here's a refresher: Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) have spent the past several weeks huddled with their staffs in budget negotiations, and Tuesday evening they emerged with the impossible: a deal to keep the government open and avoid another shutdown when current funding expires next month. Their proposal will replace part of sequestration -- the automatic cuts to domestic and military spending in the Budget Control Act that averted the 2011 debt ceiling standoff -- for the next two years. Domestic and military spending will be set at $1.012 trillion for fiscal year 2014, higher than the $967 billion called for by sequestration but far less than the $1.058 trillion Murray's original budget called for... I was curious where Ryan stood on immigration and found this: Ryan also defended his efforts to pass an immigration overhaul, saying that the legislation should secure the border, and having verified that it was secure, change legal immigration programs to meet labor shortages in the United States. Although I hate that introductory sentence (what labor shortage?), I think the specifics he describes seem semi-reasonable. So is this all bullshit? Would he toss aside all of these conditions (which seem pretty expensive, frankly) to address the so-called labor shortage? I don't know. It's so hard to trust these guys. Per Ballotpedia, here's a link to his votes on key bills in the 113th Congress. And here is a summary of his positions on various issues, per On the Issues:
Michael Dale "Mike" Huckabee (born August 24, 1955, in Hope, AR) is the host of the Fox News Channel talk show Huckabee. He was the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996-2007 and a 2008 candidate for President. You can read more about Governor Huckabee here and here. To help you catch up on what Mike Huckabee has been up to recently, here's a listing of news reports from the NY Times. Here's a summary of his positions on various issues, per On the Issues: Although I don't track Huckabee's activities very closely (I don't watch his show and he doesn't pop up on the news sites I read very often), after doing a little digging this week my impression is that he is a pretty reliable critic of this Administration. I ran across him vocally supporting faith-based objections to Obamacare, for example, and he even wrote a tough indictment of Obama's open borders policy. Good for him. Is that enough to render him a Presidential contender? Apparently, he is considering another run: ...Byron York of The Washington Examiner interpreted Huckabee's emphasis on foreign affairs as making it "clear Huckabee has been studying up -- for a former governor steeped in domestic policy, often a sign of an impending run." I confess that I hope he doesn't run. I find him to be a very divisive figure within the GOP. I am not sure I could support him, even in the general election.
Sarah Louise Palin (born February 11, 1964, in Sandpoint, ID) is the former Governor of Alaska. She was elected in 2006 but resigned in July 2009 before the completion of her first term. Palin was also the Republican vice presidential nominee for the 2008 United States presidential election. Here's U.S. News' "Ten Things You Didn't Know About Sarah Palin," from her 2008 VP run. To help you catch up on what Sarah Palin has been up to recently, here's a summary of her activities as reported by the NY Times. Last summer, Palin launched an online TV channel which is available by subscription. As with Mike Huckabee, I don't really follow Sarah Palin's activities very closely except for knowing that she is a commentator on Fox News and that she is still regarded as an important endorsement in many conservative circles. I would also note that in my opinion Palin is a "good soldier" when it comes to endorsing or working for GOP candidates, including GOPe figures like Orrin hosta and Pat Roberts. Overall, I think that is a good thing in terms of mending fences within the Republican Party, which (despite its many flaws) remains the only in game in town for advancing any sort of conservative agenda nationally. Of the four candidates discussed today, Palin came out with the strongest condemnation of Obama over the border crisis: Enough is enough of the years of abuse from this president. His unsecured border crisis is the last straw that makes the battered wife say, "no mas." Per On the Issues, here's a summary of her positions on various issues: I thought Palin was the better half of our 2008 ticket. I think she and I share a lot of the same values. But I am not sure she is well-positioned to either win the nomination or to defeat the Democrat in 2016. And, I'm not sure that she is really seriously considering a run.
You can read about how these diagrams are made here.
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11/6/24 Wednesday Overnight Open Thread (11/6/24)
Greet the New Day Cafe Gloat Part 2: The Engloatening Democrat Hit Man Jack Smith Discussing How to "Wind Down" His Political Prosecutions of Donald Trump With Merrick Garland Pro-Crime Soros "Prosecutor" George Gascon Booted Out of Office In 60%-40% Wipeout Quick Post: Whither Ka-Mala? Kamala Harris Addresses What Can Be (Unburdened By What Has Been) Kamala Has Finally Sobered Up Enough to Call Trump to Concede Trump Officially Wins Michigan And Now: The Gloating Search
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