2012, Politics, Idealism and Choices … and about Ron Paul, too.

“Ron Paul, for all his faults, is the only Republican who gives a damn about civil liberties and isn’t a neocon warmonger.”
— Bruce Barlett, 2011.12.23

Bruce Bartlett, former Reagan economics guru, 2008 Obama voter, and Ron Paul critic … that Bruce Bartlett.

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I accept that Ron Paul will never be able to explain racist comments which appeared in some of his newsletters.

Racism is unacceptable to me. I reject all things racist. However, when I look at the 2012 election options: choices are slim — and that includes whether to vote for President Obama.

For now I will continue to support Ron Paul. He has 30 years of actual votes to consider. Maybe he has some darkness in his heart but when it comes time to vote he is one of the few to vote for liberty for all and to demand actual transparency in our government. … I would vote Huntsman given the chance but he will never appear on my ballot in Virginia so for now I will continue to support our crazy ol’uncle Ron Paul.

Politics makes for strangeness in life.

I am an idealist at heart but we need to admit that idealism doesn’t pay bills, protect your civil rights, guarantee balanced budgets, or prevent wars.

We need to move beyond voting for people that say that would do X, Y and Z given the chance. Inevitably most, once elected, vote the party line or flip due to some ‘new perspective’.

New perspective is good but when has President Obama ever had the backbone to use a veto when he threatened it? And when has he led from the front battlelines of an issue rather than at the 11th hour once the poll results are in?

As for Republicans, may God save us.

Gingrich would be darkness with a grandfatherly face. He would challenge the power of the courts to enforce laws, he would/has shutdown the government to make his point-of-the-day, and he is beholden to those that support him with contributions of hundreds of thousands or recently even a $20,000,000 contribution. Please don’t tell me that Gingrich is the answer. I will vote Obama first.

Perry. Am not voting Perry.

Santorum and Bachman – see Perry. All are social conservatives. If fear of racism is a qualifier for whom you vote then race-based policies are more likely to come from social conservatives than libertarians. Am not accusing any of racism, but since I am discussing Ron Paul and the prospect that racism is the boogeyman that we should fear in 2012, well my thoughts are as stated above.

John Huntsman – yes, could vote for him. He will not appear on Virginia’s state ballot so my remaining option is Romney.

Romney – I could possibly vote Romney but that is not a guarantee. Romney was generally a good governor of Massachusetts but he has repudiated much of what he achieved or previously believed. He is a serial flipflopper. Romney is an opportunist — although a good hearted opportunist. He means well. Yet Romney will veer significantly towards the right if that will get him votes. And he will veer back to the center too if that is where the electorate resides. I like the center, but I don’t like pandering veerers.

Ron Paul – while he is accused of having made racist commentary in his newsletters he is one of the few to have voted against almost every law restricting our rights and freedoms. He did so when only several others in his party had to guts to vote for freedom in the face of fear after 9/11. He has been willing to buck his party on so many occasions that his American Conservative Union (ACU) ranking in the mid-2000s were so low that he qualified as one of the most liberal congressmen in the Republican party. Yes, he is America’s crazy ol’uncle. He says sometimes the most astounding, and upon repeated occasions, maybe even embarrassing things. But his heart is good and his proven action in voting has been predictable and for the greater good.

So yes, I continue to support Ron Paul in 2012. I do so contradictory to many of my ideals. But politics is about more than ideals. It is about working with the cards that you’ve been dealt.

2012 is a year of really, extremely bad choices. So my bad choice is Ron Paul … for now.

Rick Perry IS good for business! Credo Mobile, the ‘only’ progressive phone company in USA uses him to sell its phones AND bash AT&T

My emailbox is always full of interesting stuff.

Today I got a marketing piece from CREDO Mobile, America’s only progressive phone company.

The subject line of the email was “Why did AT&T give Rick Perry $462,739?” (since 2000).

That is a very good question. That is certainly a few dollars more than Merck gave to him directly — although indirectly it gave hundreds of thousands to the Republican Governors Association which in turn supported Perry with hundreds of thousands of dollars …

Anyway, if you are looking for phones that are no cheaper with plans that are no cheaper than anywhere else BUT you want to support progressive politics that are just as bad as other winger politics then perhaps you should consider CREDO Mobile.

Below is the introduction from the email marketing piece that I got today. CREDO Mobile certainly is putting Rick Perry to work creating business for their product line and services.

 

September 8th Republican Presidential Debate Summarized in 45 Seconds

Back to the future: 1980 or 2012?

The Big Lie of the Texas Miracle – Some Clarification / You Can Do The Math

Texans – I dearly love you, just not your big fish story governor.

Texas: 8.4% unemployed. It doesn’t matter how many jobs you’ve created when the fact is you are still at the back of the pack in your region.

Your neighbors Oklahoma 5.5%, New Mexico 6.7%, Louisiana 7.6%, Arkansas 8.2% — ok, so Arkansas has not a lot to brag about other than it is doing better than Texas at higher wages.

More on the ‘Texas Miracle’

Texas is #1 in agricultural subsidies nationwide since 1995 and continuing until the present date.

— Texas’ economy has run on $24.4 billion just in agricultural subsidies since it took the #1 spot:
— $14.9 billion in commodity subsidies.
— $3.64 billion in crop insurance subsidies.
— $2.77 billion in conservation subsidies.
— $3.13 billion in disaster subsidies.

Source: 2011 Farm Subsidy Database

Texas is also #1 in highway and infrastructure maintenance subsidies.

Source: Texas State 2011 Legislature Handbook

Texas is also #1 in:

— Childcare subsidies.
— Medicare subsidies.
— Recipient of bailout funds.
— Energy subsidies.

Other than that, Texas is also #1 in minimum wage jobs.

And on top of that it is now $27 billion in the red over its two year budget cycle.

About many of those jobs brought to your state, would that have happened if you didn’t bankroll companies to move to Texas, spending hundreds of millions ($400M +) to make it all happen plus other incentives?

So I guess that government does have a roll in creating jobs, eh?!

It must be nice to be #1 in so many things.

Civil War v2.0 – Talking Our Way Into A Fight

It was San Angelo, Texas and I was stationed at Goodfellow Air Force Base. A favorite hangout was the New Dixie Club — a great place to drink, to dance and to just be a people watcher.

One evening I stepped into the restroom. Immediately upon entering someone grabbed me and threw me against the wall and started pounding, all the while screaming “I hate f**king Air Force people!”

“But I’m Army” say I, and with that I heard “Then you are OK” and out they walked.

That person didn’t know me. They didn’t care whether I was good, bad or even lying. I was just a target of opportunity.

TALKING OUR WAY INTO A NEW CIVIL WAR

Within the Republican party there are new targets of opportunity: each other.

Thomas Sowell (TownHall): “As if it is not enough that they have been decimated by the Democrats in the past couple of elections, the Republican survivors are now turning their guns on each other.”

Sowell was quick to identify the perps of this new war, “At the heart of these internal battles have been attacks on Rush Limbaugh by Republicans who imagine themselves to be so much more sophisticated because they are so much more in step with the political fashions of the time.”

Moderates are the attackers? Non-conservatives are inflamming the base by first selling out the party and now defaming its few remaining defenders?

Hello?! I didn’t start anything that night in San Angelo, and I don’t remember being part of any mob now in 2009 launching attacks on rightwingers. And since I’m conservative in both mind and spirit then I surely am not part of any attack there either.

On August 17th there was this headline on the ‘DownWithTyranny’ blog: Texas Republican Civil War Officially Kicks Off. Obviously favoring Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson’s run for governor against Texas’ incumbent, Gov. Rick Perry is described as a “… far right extremist and secessionist …”

Bailey is described as a Reagan big tent conservative, but she let loose with a full volley. The target has been engaged. Perhaps the war has begun. Perhaps it will be a real war.

Texas Republicans have many issues facing them, but words like civil war and secession seem to be what has them all fired up — with 48% both supporting and opposing Texas becoming its own independent nation (Salon).

In Georgia, back in April, state Senate Resolution 632 passed by a 43-1 vote; the resolution threatened to to secede from and even disband the United States citing Jeffersonian principles.

The strange thing is that most of the ‘states right, Jeffersonian principles, and civil war’ debate seems to be between Republicans, either for or against.

Now talk is cheap, but resolutions and continuous use of “brother against brother” language (GOP12) is dangerous; worthy of great thought and consideration as being more than a passing fad.

As Americans we need to think before we speak. The next attack on Fort Sumter, whether political or actual physical act, will not be so easy to end as Civil War v1.0.

Be careful of what you wish for. I’ve walked the battlefields of Fredericksburg, Manassas and Gettysburg. There are monuments everywhere to the valiant, the sometimes vain, and mostly to those that died for plans and strategies that someone else devised.

Best regards,
Bill4DogCatcher.com

Sources:

TownHall, Thomas Sowell, ‘The Republican Civil War’, http://townhall.com/columnists/ThomasSowell/2009/03/17/the_republican_civil_war

Down With Tyranny Blog, ‘Texas Republican Civil War Officially Kicks Off’, http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2009/08/texas-republican-civil-war-officially.html

Salon, ‘Half of Texas Republicans favor secession’, http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2009/04/23/texas_secession/

Atlanta Journal-Constitution, ‘Georgia Senate endorses radical idea’, http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/stories/2009/04/16/bookmaned_0416.html and you can read the original “ADOPTED” version here: http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2009_10/pdf/sr632.pdf

GOP12.com, “This is a civil war, brother against brother”, http://www.gop12.com/2009/08/this-is-civil-war-brother-against.html