To answer that question I shall turn to my trusty “Magic 8 Ball”. Hmmm… It says “Signs point to no”.
So, seriously, I have done my homework and feel worse than when I started looking into the Republican presidential candidates. Each one of them has severe flaws that will make it nearly impossible for me to vote for them.
Here's what I've found:
McCain co-authored the McCain/Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Act. This law abridges nearly every American's constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of expression by supporting the political candidate financially. McCain also co-authored the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 (aka Kennedy/McCain, yes, that Kennedy). Kennedy/McCain would have granted amnesty to millions of criminals and opened the flood gates to millions more to come to America and further drain our economy. Suffice it to say that McCain's record could easily be mistaken for one of a liberal Democrat.
Rudy Giuliani is a typical “New York style” Republican. He is pro-entitlement, pro-abortion, anti-gun, pro-big government. While serving as New York City's mayor, Giuliani took away the right of law abiding citizens to keep and carry firearms (a direct assault on the Second Amendment). If anyone needs a gun, the crime besieged citizens of New York do.
Ron Paul sounds like a dream come true…at first. Dr. Paul believes in the free market (thumbs up there), he believes in the constitution (Amen Brother!), he has faith in each American to do what is in his or her own best interest without the influence of the Federal Government (Right On!). That's right, domestically; Paul is exactly what the US needs.
Here comes the catch: The good Dr. Paul's proposed foreign policy is downright wacky. It would seem that Paul believes that if the US leaves Afghanistan, Iraq, etc. alone, that they'll like us again and we can all live happily ever after. At best, this approach is dangerously naïve, at worst, it's downright insanity. Fundamentalist Islam's hatred of all infidels goes back to the time of Muhammad himself. Nice try Ron, but, not so much.
Mitt Romney seems to be the “odds-on” favorite for the Republican presidential primaries. And, it makes sense. Romney has the good looks, charisma, and middle of the road policy stands that will draw in the moderate crowd. What scares me is Romney's ignorance of how free-market economies are supposed to work.
In 2006 Romney signed into law a health care reform bill that required most Massachusetts citizens to buy health insurance coverage or else face a substantial penalty in the form of an additional income tax assessment. It is each individual's right to choose whether or not to purchase health insurance and to pay the consequences if they choose not to. Conservatives believe in personal responsibility, it is not the government's job to decide what we need to buy.
And, saving the best for last, there's Mike Huckabee. I absolutely love the Fair Tax, which Huckabee supports, but that's where my affinity for the man ends. Mike Huckabee's anti-wealth, populist stances only serve to split the already fractured Republican Party, and prove that he is willing to pander to the class-envy crowd. Mike Huckabee, while serving as governor of Arkansas, rose state spending by over 65 percent.
The former governor also may prate on about his 90 tax cuts while in office, but he won't tell you that they only amounted in a savings of $378 million to the taxpayers. Admittedly that sounds like a lot of money, which is, unless you consider the 21 times that taxes in Arkansas went up, totaling a cost of $883 million. Huckabee has also been the target of numerous ethics complaints.
These complaints ranged from possible misuse of campaign funds, to padding his income with money from a non-profit organization, to even trying to block the state's ethics committee from investigating complaints against him. Huckabee is also proud of the state's budget deficit that he “turned into” a surplus of $850 million. But beware; this is just deceptive math, because during Huckabee's time in office the state's debt increased by nearly $1 billion.
I look forward to your comments. I really need help here. Right now, I can't, in good conscience vote for any of these men.
By the way most of the research that I did came from On The Issues. They are an independent fact checking and political opinion tracking organization. If any of my assertions are wrong please let me know. I don't want to be misleading about any of these candidates. I'd also love to not believe some of these things I've written about them.
