Limited Government?

I think not.

 

 

 

Rick Santorum – My View

I got into a twitter debate yesterday with a big Santorum supporter.  It is very difficult to share your feelings 140 characters at a time.  I think many know that I don’t like Rick Santorum.  Or I should say I don’t want him to the nominee, let alone be president.  I only met the man once and that was at the Virginia Tea Party Convention when I was sitting at the bloggers table and got a chance to talk to him.  I did not really take that chance since there were others with him at the time that I wanted to speak to more.  He probably is a very nice man, he seems like he is.  But we are not voting for prom king.  We are voting for someone who has a great deal of influence on the direction of our country and with the ages of some of the justices on the supreme court they could have a legacy that will last decades.

Rick Santorum’s voting record speaks for itself.  He has voted for expanding government time and time again.  He said he took one for the team on No Child Left Behind.  I am not naive, that happens in politics all the time.  I don’t like it, but it does.  The real problem that I have is that he later said he thought it would work.  Why?  No Child Left Behind was just one more big government, one-sized fits all overreach that never had a chance of helping our broken educational system.  Dismantling the board of ed should have been the focus, not increasing it.  No one that voted for that boondoggle ever bothered to consider very rural school districts in such places as Alaska.  They don’t have another school down the street to go if their local one fails.  Are we supposed to bus children 100 miles a day to the next closet school?  Ridiculous.  NCLB was, and continues to be, unconstitutional.  So please don’t tell me that he votes based on the constitution, clearly he doesn’t.

I have had conversations with a few other bloggers about him.  Some are willing to admit that he has a big government record.  One of the bloggers here, Fuzzi, and Pete over at the DaTech Guy have said as much.  I admire that they are not denying it.  DaTech Guy and I had a back and forth over it at CPAC.  His take is this, that Santorum realized that is part of the reason he lost his re-election bid, realizes he made a mistake, and learned his lessons.  OK.  That is great if you believe that.  I just am not buying it.

Lets move onto one of his debate performances.  Many of which were displays of defensiveness and whiny behavior.  I was told by his supporters that was due to him being ignored in many of them.  True enough, but that didn’t seem to change once he was being taken more seriously.  Romney was hitting him on his support for the unions.  I actually loved his answer. He said that his state was a pro union state and he was representing the people who sent him there.  While I think that those people are wrong, he was doing his job.  Then he had to keep on going.  This is where he lost me.  He then went on to say as president he would have a different role.  He would support national right to work laws.  Really?  Where in the constitution does it say that is a federal issue?  No where.  He would have an even lesser role as president than as a senator.  While I would love to see all 50 states have right to work laws, it isn’t the place of the federal government to make it so.  Those are decisions that should be left to the states.  If you don’t like living in a state that isn’t right to work, move.  That is how the framers set things up, we get to make decisions with our feet.  If we don’t like the government in one particular state we can move to another.  I am huge supporter and defender of the 10th amendment.  I don’t see that he is.

His passion on social issues is commendable.  He is very much in love with this wife and that shows.  I like that.  That shows stability to me.  There is no doubt that the media is especially focusing on his social views.  He has complained that the media keeps bringing things back to his social views. I am not buying that either.  In a speech that he was giving he brought up Obamacare’s mandates in regards to prenatal testing; specifically having amnino’s being covered.  First and foremost, I don’t think there is a rash of women unable to get the test if it is deemed medically necessary.  So why the mandate is necessary I don’t fully understand.  There are some that say the reason is a push for abortions on babies that are found to have Down’s. The media didn’t bring up this topic; he did.  It was done for one reason and one reason only, to bring the topic back to abortion.  Obamacare is nothing but 2K plus pages of mandates.  We all know that, even the people who are for it know that.  I will admit that abortion is not a push button issue for me as it is for some.  I personally believe making it illegal won’t solve the problem.  Of course it will cut down on the numbers, but it won’t change hearts and minds.  Only promoting a culture of life will do that.  Demonizing women who make the choice to end their pregnancies is not the way to go about it.  Many on the pro-life side seem to disagree with me and say and do things that to me, are a demonization. (Such as holding up signs of bloody babies)  You can disagree, but that is my view.  But back to the amnio.  There are studies done of the abortion rates of babies with Down’s are very small, but most importantly are very localized.  There is a doctor who moved from one region of the country to another.  Her original practice had very high rates of these babies being aborted.  When she moved to another location in the country (Pittsburg) the rates went down dramatically.  There is a great deal of evidence that one of the factors in the decision in ending the pregnancy has to do with the support systems and the resources that are available to the families in their local communities.  Apparently in the Pittsburg area there is a higher population of Catholics and more resources for special needs children and adults.  Limiting access to the test will do nothing to stop those numbers.  When asked about this test again he said something like well of course they can have them.  Well, gee thanks Rick.  But I don’t think you get make my medical decisions for me or for anyone else.  Isn’t that what we are fighting for about Obamacare?  Yeah, if it were up to him that test would be done away with, and that scares me.  That scares me as a woman and as a special needs mom.  That test gave me time to prepare for what I was going to be facing and more importantly what my little man faces.  I was able to look into therapy and educational options. But even more importantly if that test is not widely available it will actually increase the amount of abortions not decrease them.  The blood work that is done as a normal course of pregnancy has a very high rate of false positive results; almost 50%.  If a woman is pre-disposed to ending that pregnancy she may well be ending the life a perfectly healthy baby due to some spike in blood work that nothing to do with the health of the baby.  I know someone who went through a week of hell after having a blood test coming back with a positive result.  Her son is perfectly healthy.  More information is a good thing, not a bad one.  There are also life saving surgeries performed on babies in utero as result of finding about health issues after this test.  Yes, there is bad with it, but there is also good.  The issue of mandating the coverage of the test is a completely different issue.  You want to decrease the amount of abortions performed on special needs children, then work in local areas to increase the amount of services available to the families.  You also need to lift the stigma that goes along with these babies.  People are afraid.  Not just of the costs, but of what is going to happen to that child after they are gone.  It is frightening as a parent to think about not being able to protect your child and not knowing if there will be someone to care for them when you are gone.  Parents also wonder how will affect their other children.  The issues that run through your mind when you are told this are numerous and overwhelming.  Help parents deal with those issues.  People need to see for themselves what joy a special needs child brings into their lives as well as the lives of their families.  That test does more than just cause abortions.   As a parent to two special needs children, one of which did get surgery in utero he should be well aware of it.

Another statement of his that I find frightening:

“We say to Mom that you tell us the wrong name, and we’ll bring that guy in and we’ll do a blood test and that’s not Dad, you lose your welfare benefits,” he said at another event that same day in New Bloomfield. “You lose your welfare benefits … Not till you tell us another name, but till we find out who Dad is, we establish it.

This is a quote from an article on lefty website in an attempt to smear him.  So, I went and found three other sources that have it quoted the exact same way and done at the time that he said it.  What exactly is conservative about forcing people to give blood to the federal government?  Sorry, no way, no how.  I believe in welfare reform.  I think that welfare has hurt families.  It has institutionalized poverty for many in this country.  Does he think that forcing men to give blood to the federal government is going to stop that?  You want to know why so many young girls from welfare families have babies at such a young age?  They don’t see another way out.  Welfare is a system that is set up to fail and to keep you living that way.  It isn’t designed to help you get out.  The original purpose was to be a safety net until people could get back on their feet and it has failed miserably.  You want to help people get off welfare then one of things we need to do is prorate the benefits so they can get a better paying job without losing everything.  I went on a tour of the Capital with Congressman Gohmert of Texas several months back.  He used to be a judge.  He told us that one of the reasons he decided to run for congress was because of all the welfare fraud he saw.  Young women who didn’t see any other way other than to commit fraud to get more money.  You can live on welfare.  You have what you need when it comes to the basics.  You can even afford some of the little extras, but not very many.  But you won’t be able to do is save enough money to get yourself off.  Of course there are exceptions, but generally speaking welfare will keep you in the same place that you started in.  We need to give these families, especially young women, other alternatives; such as a better education and the belief that they can go to college and start a career that will lift their families out of poverty.  All this statement does is make them feel that are being demonized.  Demonizing people will rarely bring about the desired result you are seeking.  I do agree that if you bring a child into the world you should be responsible for it.  I do agree that fathers need to step up and help raise their child both financially and emotionally, but to require blood work is way over the line.  Just think about what else that dna info could be used for.  Sorry, I pass.  This is big government run amok.

I could go on, but I am out of time.  Bottom line is this, yeah I think he believes in right-wing social engineering.  (Yeah, Fuzzi, I know you hate this term) but I do.  I firmly believe that he thinks that the federal government has a role in raising families, deciding morality, and making decisions that are to me, none of their darn business.

Convince me I am wrong.  And if you decide to use the really ineffective tactic of calling me names, your post will be deleted.  I am not brainwashed, stupid, or unable to see the truth.  I have my own set of values, and by the way, I didn’t get them from the federal government nor would I want to.  It isn’t their role.

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CPAC Day One – Part 1

The security is overwhelming. I have never seen it like this. They are checking each and every pass at the door for every speaker and event. That has not happened in the past. I guess they are taking the occupier protests seriously and doing their best to protect the speakers and the attendees. I am sure that they have had to hire additional people.

AFL-CIO has decided to up the game and has rented rooms here, so it will be impossible to throw them out, as they are guests. Lovely.

I just met Victoria Jackson from SNL fame. I ran into Stacy from the Other McCain and The DaTech Guy earlier this morning. They were both telling me I need to support Santorum.

Santorum stickers are everywhere. He seems to have a great deal of support here. I would venture to say he could win the straw poll.

Romney has a plan to use this conference to “woo” conservatives. Good luck with that venture.

The Citadel has 31 cadets here. Nice to see people who not only willing to serve in the military, but also politically active at such a young age.

Jim DeMint gave a great opening speech. I believe that CSPAN covers the event and will have videos.

Herman Cain’s bus is here. I have not yet seen Mr. Cain himself, but the bus is at least here. He is due to speak after 4 today.

The blogger bash is tonight, that should be a good time.

It is still early, so not much more to report.

But, I have to say, I always love it when conservatives are in town. They are in short supply in this neck of the woods.

Quote of the Day – Rick Santorum Edition

 ‘I KNOW ALAN IS A VERY GOOD PERSON AT HEART’

Rick Santorum on Alan Colmes apology regarding his comments on how he mourned his child.

I am glad that you think so Senator.  Does Mr. Colmes really have a heart?  After those comments I have to wonder.  You are a class act Mr. Santorum.  I wouldn’t have been nearly as kind.

How Low Can We Go?

It seems pretty darn low.  Lower than we should be going.  The day started out the news that the ever sensitive Mr. Alan Colmes went after Rick Santorum about how he and his wife decided to mourn the loss of their newborn baby, Gabriel.  So of course the press has jumped all over it.  I have been reading some different news accounts of the back and forth between Colmes and Rich Lowry who rightly pointed out that Colmes hit way below the belt bringing this up.  Let’s take a look at who our voting public is:

Santorum has been playing his fetal corpse shtick in front of audiences for years. He thinks it works in the polls. Others think it shows he is too unstable to govern. Besides, he couldn’t let Newt get away with performing the only crocodile tears act in Iowa this year.

I don’t understand why Santorum didn’t have it stuffed so he could use it as a prop on the campaign trail. Why not keep it home for a week, or a year, or celebrate Christmas with it?

I’m not picking on the poor little baby, but on his father who shamelessly exploits the tragedy for political gain instead of talking about the issues, like why he endorsed pro-abortion Arlen Specter in 2004 who voted for ObamaCare or why he endorsed pro-flipflop-anti-abortion Mitt RomneyCare in 2008.

Rick tried to keep it at home longer, until he caught his housekeeper, Margarita, vacuuming the dust off of it.

“Lowry called Colmes’ description of the ordeal and bringing it up “a cheap shot”
so now pointing out irrational behavior in the candidates is wrong – this was a psychotic act – taking a dead baby home to “prove” something to little children is sick –
if some welfare mother did this – they would take her kids & lock her up –
the santorums are sick –
infected with XIANITY = god delusions !!

Oh my God! Imagine if Obama brought his dead newborn home and him and Michelle cuddled with the cold corpse for a few hours! The decision to elect the president is dependant on one thing above everything else (not including those who will vote for someone just because he is a republican), his ability to act rationally in hectic crises. If this weird and demented act of affection proves anything at all, it is that Santorm obviously breaks very easily. Americans this is not the dude you want with his fingertip over the red button in the oval office.

We are so screwed in this country.  People are just evil.  Look, I would not have handled it the way the Santorum’s did, but I am not going to judge them.  They did the best that they could in an extremely difficult and painful situation.  There is no greater pain than the loss of a child.  Leave the man and his family alone about this topic.  You want to go after him, ask him about his backing of The Patriot Act and No Child Left Behind.

This is why I don’t like candidates that have young children.  His littlest children have no way of dealing with this horror.

Some Thoughts on Virginia’s Primary Ballot Failures

As a resident of Virginia I will say that I am not at all pleased to have two choices and only two choices.  That said, there are very clear rules in place and every candidate had the same access to those rules.  Three candidates never even bothered to put in signatures for review.  I suppose they just never got enough to make it worthwhile.  One of those candidates, Rick Santorum, lives in Virginia.

Now, our Lt. Governor Bill Bolling is one of the Chairs for the Virginia for Romney campaign.  That has led to some charges that he was rooting for this and possibly there was corruption involved.  Anyone involved in the republican party in Virginia could have gone to help verify the signatures.  I myself was sent an email with an invitation to attend and volunteer to help verify all the signatures.  There is no proof whatsoever that Bolling had anything to do with the outcome.  It is very unseemly to make these charges without any evidence to support them.  Bolling has already announced his bid for the Governorship in 13, I don’t think he would take the chance of ruining his chances to help Mitt Romney get elected.  He has had his eyes on the governor’s chair for quite some time.  The ballots were verified by mainly volunteers.  The likelihood that all of them were corrupted to push the outcome in any one direction is very hard to believe.

Gingrich has made the following statement:

The Gingrich campaign responded that “only a failed system” would disqualify Gingrich and other candidates. It said Gingrich would pursue an aggressive write-in campaign in Virginia.

The law is very clear in Virginia, there is no option for a write in campaign.  While I am sure that people can still write in a name, it will not be counted.  This law has been in place since 1999.  This will be the fourth presidential election since these laws have been implemented.  In this time no other major candidate has failed to get on the ballot.  Here is a list of people who qualified for the Virginia ballots in the past:

2008 – Barack Obama, Dennis Kucinich, Hillary Clinton, Bill Richardson, Joe Biden, John Edwards; Ron Paul, John McCain, Fred Thompson, Mike Huckabee, Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney.

2004 – Al Sharpton, John Kerry, Wesley Clark, Howard Dean, Joe Lieberman, John Edwards, Dennis Kucinich, Dick Gephardt, Lyndon Larouche.

2000 – Alan Keyes, Gary Bauer, George W. Bush, John McCain, Steve Forbes.

So Newt wants me to believe that the system is broken even when the like of Lyndon Larouche or Al Sharpton can get the necessary signatures?  That doesn’t pass the smell test to me.   Does it to you?

This comes down to one thing and one thing only.  They lack the organization necessary to run a national campaign.  Running for president is very difficult.  As it should be since it is a very difficult job.  Even Jill over at Pundit and Pundette; a huge Perry supporter, asked if he was just winging it.  Perry turned in sheets that were not notarized.  A very simple and free thing to do.  It is also is clear indication that no one on Perry’s staff bothered to look at the sheets when they were turned in by the volunteers.  I will give Perry credit here as he is not making himself into a victim as Newt appears to be doing.  So far he seems to accept the inevitable.  He will not be on the ballot for one of the biggest prizes of Super Tuesday.

Look, getting people to sign these petitions is not easy.  I am not saying that it is, but they were only required to get less than barely over one tenth of one percent of qualified voters.  But the fact that it is difficult is the reason that an organized campaign is vital.  You must have the staff to organize the volunteers.  Another thing to remember is Virginia has off-year elections.  We had an election last month.  Every campaign has access to the information on where the voting locations were and what the past numbers of voters showing up to those locations are.   This is low hanging fruit, everyone showing up is a registered voter.  I volunteered on election day.  I only saw people out for Romney, Newt, and Obama.  I asked the other volunteers at the results party that I went to and none of them saw any for any of the other candidates that I listed.  I personally signed for Cain, Newt, and Rick Santorum.  I wouldn’t sign for Romney and was never asked to sign for any other candidate.  I am also on the email list for virtually every candidate and was only asked to collect signatures for Romney and Cain.

Newt would like to change the rules because he is unhappy with the results.  That is a leftist tactic.  I find it abhorrent that Newt is now looking for a way around the rules.  While I do feel cheated that I only have two choices on my ballot.  The people who cheated me were the candidates themselves.

Now, I am going to get back to celebrating Christmas.

The GOP Fox News Google Debate

Ok, first, the debate was way toooooooooo long. 

I personally feel that Perry did better.  I am not sure that is a popular belief though.  He still did some damage to himself tonight with his answers on in-state tuition and immigration.  I feel that as a governor of a border state his view is different from others.  He has a very long border with Mexico and the economy of his state is very intertwined with immigrants be it legal or illegal.  I do not agree with in-state tuition for illegals.  Is it a deal breaker? Not really because that is not a federal issue, that is a state issue.  So as president it wouldn’t have anything to do with him.  I also do agree with him that the policies that will lead to fixing our porous borders have to be done on the federal level and will require boots on the ground. 

Newt is a smart man and a good debater.  But I do feel this was his weakest performance yet.  He could potentially be a good VP candidate.  Can you imagine him debating Joe Biden?  That would be classic.

Michele Bachmann did a better job with her answer on Gardasil this time around, but too little too late.  She did nothing to help herself today and her candidacy will not lead to the nomination.  She does look fabulous in red though. 

Ron Paul did a very good job tonight.  I agree with him on many fiscal issues and the rights of the states.  He didn’t answer many questions on foreign policy so that is a help with many in the republican gop base, as that is where he loses much of his support. 

Rick Santorum is another very good debater.  He also would make a strong VP candidate.  But he did nothing that will bring him to the upper tier of candidates. 

I was happy to see that Fox decided to include Gary Johnson.  I have felt is was very unfair to include Huntsman and leave out Johnson.  He did nothing to help himself.  He will fade into oblivion after Iowa, if he makes that far. 

Romney again proved that he can debate on the issues.  I don’t like his answers on Romneycare, mainly because they are not even truthful.  To me he really hurt himself with the GOP base by going back to his answer about an executive order to give waivers on Obamacare.  That will not solve the problem.  It must be repealed on the legislative level otherwise the feds will still be required by law to fund it.  But part of his plan in these debates is to do no harm, and he did accomplish that. 

Huntsman gave some good answers, but he does stray from conservative principles and that is a deal breaker for me.  But he held his own tonight. 

Hands down the winner of tonight’s debate was Herman Cain.  He sharpened his answers, he has done his due diligence on the issues and his 9-9-9 plan is something that I could get behind.  I don’t like everything about it, but it is a start.  He will get more people to notice him and will more than likely drive some cash flow to his campaign.  He is a likable man and has a compelling and very human life story.  General election voters like that.  I looked up the stats on the blog and see that some hits have come in where he stands on the issues, so he did himself some good tonight.  I personally believe that the best he can hope for is the VP slot and I do believe that he would fill that role well.  I firmly believe that the job of the VP during a general election campaign is to be the attack dog, and he will do that very well.  He is an articulate man who can draw a crowd in.  I have seen him speak three or four different times and it is something to watch live.

Ames Straw Poll Predications

Michele Bachmann will win by a small margin

Ron Paul will come in second or third.  He is an expert at getting people to vote in straw polls

Mitt Romney will do better than most people think. 

Herman Cain will place in the top 6, but it will not be enough to give him the momentum he needs to raise his profile and much-needed cash

Pawlenty really hurt himself the other night and he fill finish very poorly and will be dropping out of the race before the real vote is cast

Gingrich will finish close to the bottom, he won’t be too far behind Pawlenty in calling it a day

Huntsman won’t even register

Rick Perry will have a very good showing even though he is a write in

Sarah Palin will do remarkably well for someone who has not announced her candidacy

Santorum I think will do better than originally predicted, he had a good showing at the debate last night, he is also beloved by social conservatives for his strong and outspoken voice for the voiceless on abortion

McCotter may actually have a bit of an impact in the poll.  He has a wonderful dry sense of humor and is a Midwesterner  Some votes of his are suspect, but overall a good solid conservative

I read in the paper today what the candidates are serving in their tents – i.e Cain is serving Godfather Pizza of course, Bachmann is doing B-B-Q and Funnel Cake, Paul wouldn’t announce what he was serving, but the funniest part is that almost every candidate is having Mike Huckabee playing his bass.  He will be making the rounds for the party tomorrow in Ames – I suppose he need to fill his one hour show on Fox

Who do you think will win? 

 

Video: Santorum family vacation

I can relate:

The CNN Debate

Just some quick thoughts as I don’t have a great deal of time. 

 I think that Michele Bachman did a great job.  She sometimes has a habit of getting her facts a little mixed up, but not tonight.  She showed that she is able to stay on topic and answer questions with quick soundbites that get to the point. 

 I think that Tim Pawlenty was the big winner tonight.  He came across as likable, knowledgeable, and a good conservative.  Job well done. 

 Newt showed why he has been described as the brain or the idea guy.  He is in his element in a debate format and tonight was no exception.  The big downside was that he outright lied in my opinion.  He is sticking to his ridiculous story that what he said about Paul Ryan was taken out of context.  It was a live interview Newt, we ain’t buying what you are trying to sell with this one.  You just made yourself look dishonest. 

 Herman Cain I think was one of the biggest losers.  Not because of his answers, just that he wasn’t given much of a chance to speak.  The questions went mainly to Romney, Newt, and Pawlenty.  I guess these are the three that CNN has deigned the viable candidates for the nomination.  Overall his performance was strong, just not nearly enough face time. 

 Ron Paul was Ron Paul.  I agree with much of what he would do on fiscal policy, but he loses me on social issues and foreign policy. 

 Romney was doing his somersaults about Romneycare or as Pawlenty’s newest phrase Obamney Care.  Not happening Mitt.  I am not buying it, you seem unwilling to sign an all out repeal and nothing less is acceptable.  Screw this waiver idea of yours. 

 Rick Santorum also did pretty well, he showed he can debate with the rest of the field.  Santorum is out for me, I will not vote for him even if he is the nominee so I don’t really care what he has to say. 

 What I did find refreshing is that they talked about some of the third rail topics.  Ethanol and entitlement reform.  We need to open and honest to the American people, we are broke and it is time we take on the tough and scary subjects.  We are almost out of road and can no longer just the kick the can.  The right needs to talk openly and honestly about these topics and not allow the media and the left to turn this into throwing granny over the cliff scenario.  Oh, wait they already did that. 

 What are your thoughts? 

Politico spins Santorum

Politico‘s Andy Barr tries to stir up some drama on the right, accusing Rick Santorum of attacking Sarah Palin in the interview below. Santorum responded with an unambiguous, and accurate,  “This article is garbage.”  But Barr stands by his distorted reading, hoping, I guess, that no one will actually watch the video:

Cross-posted at P&P.