South Carolina Debates

Tonight was the Fox News Republican debate in South Carolina and I have to say that for the "first time in my adult life" to coin a phrase, I finally feel confident that ANY one of these republican presidential candidates will be a vast improvement over our current president.

The night started out with Romney on the defense because of all the attack ad questions but under the circumstances I think he held his own.  All the other candidates did a great job and looked strong.  It's the first time I've seen each of them look Presidential.  For a link to Fox News click here.

Anyway, it's good to see that we are finally seeing some life out of the candidates.

Government Over Private Sector Jobs? I Don't Think So . . .

Today from "The Hill", Democrat Senator Harry Reid said that government jobs must take priority over private sector jobs.

In response to Mitch McConnell's accusation (and in my opinion, correct assessment) that Democrats were purposefully pursuing higher taxes as part of the teacher/first-responder bill, S. 1723, so that Republicans would oppose it, Reid stated, "It's very clear that private-sector jobs have been doing just fine; it's the public-sector jobs where we've lost huge numbers, and that's what this legislation is all about."

First of all, WHAT PLANET ARE YOU LIVING ON, HARRY REID where you believe that the private sector is doing "just fine"!?

As a person who is currently watching a MAJOR layoff happen at the company he is at, I can assure you that the private sector jobs ARE NOT "just fine".

As for the public-sector "losing huge numbers" of jobs, that's just a load of crap.

Now that I've gotten that off my chest, let's look at some cold hard numbers.

According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, since Obama took office:

• Approximately 2.2 million people have lost their jobs.
• 1.6 million jobs were lost in the private sector
• 600 thousand jobs were lost in the public sector.

Maybe it's just me but I think that the private sector is doing a LOT worse than the public sector.  Here are a few charts to illustrate our economy since Obama became President:

President Obama also promised that his Stimulus Plan "had to be passed RIGHT NOW" and if it was passed then unemployment wouldn't go above 8%.  Below is the unemployment chart showing Obama's predictions on where unemployment would be if we didn't pass the stimulus plan; where he said it would be after passing the plan; and IN RED where the unemployment ACTUALLY IS as a result of passing the stimulus plan.

Maybe I'm just letting the numbers blind me to what my heart, feelings and emotions tell me should have happened by passing this exorbitant boondoggle of a debt bill, but . . . I DON'T THINK IT WORKED!  In fact, according to Obama's own calculations, if we would have done NOTHING AT ALL we would have been much better off than we are now.  So forgive me if I look at the facts and think that this new "Jobs Bill" isn't going to work either!!!

Let's use some common sense here and look at some more facts:

1. Government DOESN'T create jobs.  In fact it can't "create" anything.  The only thing that it CAN do is TAX one group of people and use that money to give it to another group of people.  It's called, redistribution of wealth, or, if you are confused by that terminology, it's ALSO called THEFT or STEALING.
2. Government can only TAX from people that DO create jobs.
3. If the people who create jobs have less money they won't be able to create as many jobs and will, in fact, probably have to lay off their current employees.
4. Something that most people don't think about; taxes collected from people in the public sector with government jobs DOESN'T COUNT!  If the government uses other peoples money to create a job and then TAXES that same job it's just taking back the SAME MONEY that it just gave away!  Let's say a THIEF steals 2 credit cards.  On one credit card he spends a lot of money.  He then uses the other credit card to pay the bill.  He keeps doing this until both credit cards are MAXED OUT.  Once they are maxed out he calls the credit card company and asks for a credit increase (or, he RAISES HIS DEBT LIMIT!)

People, this is what we are doing today.  We have to wake up and say STOP THE MADNESS!!  We have to realize that government can't create.  It can only take and redistribute.  Only Entrepreneurs and Business people can create new wealth in this country and the only way we can do this is by getting out of the entrepreneurs way, reducing regulation, lowering taxes.  

This is the only way we can "expand our base" (or in plain English, create more money so that there is more of it to go around).  I'll leave "expanding the base" for another article however and let you ponder these tidbits till next time.

Raising Cain

It’s 2012.  The drive for the Presidency has begun and once again we are looking at a host of candidates that we are trying to figure out.  Who are the candidates that are the straight shooters?  Who are the career politicians looking to climb the next rung of the ladder?  Who is playing politics and is willing to say anything in order to be elected?  Who has experience at . . . running anything!?

Here is how I see the current slate of candidates and potential candidates.

Michele Bachman:  Michelle was one of my favorites from early on.  She’s a Tea Party favorite and shares the same values held by the Tea Party; smaller government, a reduction in taxes and a revamping of the Tax Code and in general she supports the government getting out of the way of business and the lives of the American people.  Here is where I fall away from her, and this comes from her recent debate appearances.  First off, she doesn’t seem to have a solid plan on what she would do as President.  I agree with the generalities but tell me what you are going to do.  Also, and figuring more prominently in my decision, she is coming across as someone who is willing to do or say anything in order to claw her way into the presidency.  This has been especially apparent in her attacks on Rick Perry, and although her points regarding Perry have been valid, the way she has gone about attacking him have really turned me off.

Rick Perry:  There are things that I like about Perry and things that I don’t.  I like his track record on Texas with regards to the economy but really question his stance on illegal immigration, the border, education for illegals and his HPV vaccine decision and the question that has been brought up of “crony capitalism”.  Also, Perry gives me a “Big Government” vibe.  I think we really need to reverse the big government course in this country.  These issues concern me.

Newt Gingrich:  I like Newt.  He is definitely one of the most intelligent candidates running.  He is witty and some of his responses during the debates have really put the moderators in their place.  I like how he doesn’t fall into the moderators traps and doesn’t play the game.  He’s got experience in the political arena and he’s got a proven track record during the Clinton administration of getting the job done and making changes.  I think he needs to be clearer on whether he is a big government guy or wants to shrink the size of government.  I think he is a “common sense” candidate and is willing to do what is necessary to get our economy and this country moving again.  If I have a major problem with him it’s that he is on the environmental wacko side of the man made Global Warming issue.  Standing side by side with Nancy Pelosi on Global Warming (or ANYTHING for that matter) really puts him in the “questionable”  category for me.

Jon Huntsman:  When I think of Jon Huntsman I think wishy washy.  Although his economic ideals seem to be in line with what America needs, his environmental policy and ideology are right out there with Al Gore and the rest of the environmentalist wacko’s.  This bodes badly for ANY kind of regulatory changes making it easier for our own energy independence which in turn bodes badly for our economy.  I can’t see him making changes with the EPA to make it easier for businesses and I don’t see any easing of regulatory reform under him.  Definitely a MODERATE Republican along the lines of McCain and we don’t need another McCain as a nominee.

Gary Johnson:  RINO, RINO, RINO, RINO.  Pro-choice, Pro-immigration, weak foreign policy.  Without ANY regard for what we have going on in the Middle East, he wants to bring home all of our troops from overseas.  This is definitely NOT the way to go.

Ron Paul:  I love the entertainment value of Ron Paul and agree with him about 75% of the time.  He’s great on his tax policy and his views on the Federal Reserve but his foreign policy is SO far out there and SO crazy that he is absolutely un-electable as a serious candidate.  When he started quoting Osama Bin Laden during the recent debate and implied that our foreign policy is what brought about acts of terrorism and the current hatred towards the United States throw him right into the wacko conspiracy theory category.

Mitt Romney:  I like Mitt but he comes across as a Big Government politician.  I like his business experience but the whole RomneyCare thing has me worried.  His also seems like someone willing to say anything in order to be elected.  In addition, he has switched positions on too many things for me.  Now, would he be a better President that Obama?  Hell yes!  And if he is the candidate for the Republican Party I will support him 100%.  As for the whole Mormon thing?  Get over it people.  It’s not an issue and shouldn’t be an issue.

Rick Santorum:  I REALLY like him on all of his policies and with regards to his Conservative values and beliefs I had nothing bad to say about him.  What I don’t like about him is this:  He comes across as negative in how he speaks and very negative towards the other candidates.  When he’s not being negative about the other candidates he is too self centered about himself.  He turns debate questions around about how he is “the only electable person here” and how he “was consistently elected in primarily democratic Pennsylvania.  Stop talking about yourself Rick and stop bashing the other candidates.  Instead, start talking about “specific” things that you would do as President to start changing things around.  Right now I think he would be a GREAT Vice Presidential pick, but I’m not convinced he’s the nominee for the Presidency.

Herman Cain:  Out of ALL the potential candidates, Herman Cain is by far my favorite.  He’s a straight shooter and I know EXACTLY what his positions are on every topic.  He doesn’t pull any punches and he tells it the way he sees it.  He’s NOT a politician. 

• He’s for STRONG national security and a limited government and that we must stand strong with our allies throughout the world and never be fooled by our enemies.  He understands the threat of terrorism and the need for a strong stance and military might.  In terms of war, if you are going to fight a war, you fight to WIN the war and not for political reasons.  
• He believes that government spending is out of control and understands that major cuts need to be made in entitlement programs and government bureaucracy.  There are no sacred cows as far as spending cuts go for him.  
• On illegal immigration he is for closing our borders, enforcing our current laws and promoting an “existing” path to citizenship.  
• On energy, he is for less regulation and taking advantage of our own natural resources in order to become energy independent.  He is against subsidies for agricultural products including corn for ethanol production and believes in the power of the free market.  He is also for new forms of energy production but believes that private industry should take the reins and that we should be thinking about its long term (as opposed to immediate) energy benefits.  
• On the economy he believes in less legislation, less regulation, lower taxes and business friendly policies.  He is a huge proponent of Tax reform and is the ONLY candidate who has proposed a solution through his 9-9-9 tax reform plan, which is a three part flat tax plan with a 9% corporate tax, a 9% income tax and a 9% consumption tax.  Not only would this reduce the countries tax burden but it would make the United States the country with the lowest tax rates on corporations which would encourage foreign companies to do business in the U.S.  It would also repatriate businesses that have left the country by suspending their tax burden.  
• On healthcare, he would REPEAL OBAMACARE  and institute patient centered free market reforms.  Institute Tort reforms for frivolous lawsuits and loosen restrictions on HSA’s.  
• He is against the entitlement mentality and urges reform on entitlement programs.  
• In education he is for school vouchers and decentralizing education from the federal government.

It's unfortunate that I don't see Herman Cain being treated as a serious candidate by the media.  To me he is the most viable candidate that embodies all of the values that I have as a Conservative.  He's not a politician.  He's a business man that I feel confident would turn our economy around and balance our fiasco of a federal budget.


It's time to take a closer look at Herman Cain as a serious candidate, leader and Presidential contender and I think it's time to "Raise a Little Cain!!"