February 2012

Republican Candidates Budgets Would Explode National Debt

Gingrich, Santorum, and Romney all stand to add huge deficits with their budget plans.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a Washington-based budget watchdog group, has released the findings of a new study look at the respective tax plans of GOP candidates. It’s conclusion? That the huge tax cut plans presented by Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum will create the kinds of trillion-dollar-deficits for which both candidates currently slam President Obama.

At issue is each candidate’s tax plan, which advocates for substantial tax cuts, even doing away with the capital gains tax which has contributed so substantially to the income disparity in this country. Newt Gingrich’s plan would, over the next decade, add $7 trillion to the national deficit, adding a third to entire present national debt. Santorum’s plan would add $4.5 trillion, by comparison, which is about $500 billion every year. Romney’s budget plan at the time of the study would add $250 billion, though a new tax plan he unveiled last week may raise that number considerably. In any case, if any of these three candidates were elected, they would add anywhere between $800 billion and $1.5 trillion by the time they were up for re-election in 2016. By comparison, President Obama’s budget plan would add $649 billion to the national deficit by the end of his second term in 2016, primarily a result of tax increases.

It’s hard to stay in the middle when the right is so far to the right.

Riding the Teeter-Totter of the Political Spectrum

When growing up in the 1970’s and 80’s my parents were staunch Republicans.  So, it was only natural that as a teenager I embraced the rhetoric of Reagan and the Republican party.  However, with time, I’ve seen a shift in where I belong politically.  In the early 1990’s I used to call myself a “Liberal Republican”.  As that decade came to a close I registered as an Independent -  “Brains not names” was my motto for voting.  I later moved more to the left and considered myself a “centrist” or “moderate”.  I now align more with the Democrats than with the Republicans and even find myself advocating for many Progressive policies.  Is this a political evolution on my part? Or is this because the centrist line keeps changing?

Rick Santorum's Words Are Very Clear

it is wise to pay attention to what he is saying

Rick Santorum's recent statement about "how things are supposed to be" should make one thing perfectly clear:  not only are your rights at stake, so is common sense.  It is a clear example of how Rick Santorum fully believes the American public should abide by his personal point of view--  and the American public will have no choice in the matter if he is elected.

Romney loses ground as Santorum picks up speed...

But Obama still leads the race.

Rick Santorum continues to rise in the polls.  It seems that some people appreciate that he actually sticks to his views.  Even though his views are often somewhat antiquated and extreme right, Mr. Santorum will not compromise on his moral beliefs.  Can you image it? A candidate with a moral center is actually seeing more in the Republican party move his direction.  Is this really about Santorum’s views? Or is another push on the most likely anti-Romney candidate?

How Crunchy Are You?

Though it sounds like a mix between funky dancing and a certain flair for food-fixing, crunchy parenthood actually refers to hippie procreators.

Today I learned what “crunchy” means when applied to motherhood, as well as other applications. It’s not the result of battering chicken in flour or fish in cracker crumbs, and it’s not an alteration in the form of crunk dancing. Crunchy apparently refers to crunchy granola, and translates to a hippie-like parent (usually a mother) or person who lives an eco-friendly, earthy lifestyle, partakes in attachment parenting, and would likely be found in a yoga class or homeschooling children in a large farmhouse or planting and reaping an organic garden rather than, say, talking on her cell phone on the way to a nine-to-five job, dropping off her child at daycare.

Can Rick Santorum Be The "Romney Alternative"?

All signs point to "not likely", but at least he's giving Gingrich a run for his money.

Rick Santorum won Tuesday’s’s primary races in Colorado, Minnesota, and Missourri, situating himself as the “Romney alternative” that Newt Gingrich had worked so hard to cultivate in South Carolina, Florida, and Nevada. Santorum’s win was forecast in Minnesota’s nonbinding primary, but surprised everyone by sweeping all three. This is partly due to his near-disappearance after a slim victory in Iowa, even bypassing any campaign stops for the Florida primary. It’s for this reason that Santorum’s recent wins do not guarantee his place with Romney as front-runners for the nomination.

Desperation Politics

How the Republicans Continue to Destroy

With all this talk about job creators, you would think that the President would receive some accolades for the face that in the last five months unemployment has steadily been dropping while new jobs have been increasing.  Instead, when asked about this, many Republicans simply call it a hoax or that the numbers have been manipulated.  It is disturbing that when there is no proof to the contraray, the policy of the right is to cry wolf.

Roseanne's Nuts-- In More Ways Than One

let's not take Ms. Barr too seriously

The photo accompanying this post is from 1990, showing Roseanne Barr giving her famous performance at a baseball stadium.  In what was described as "shrieking," Ms. Barr's version of the National Anthem could be seen as expressing her viewpoint on the United States of America.  It has recently hit the news that Ms. Barr is running for president in the 2012 election. 

Trump Endorses...

Looking forward to the 2016 Presidential Apprentice TV show

Late Wednesday Donald Trump said that he would make a major announcement Thursday morning. The wires reported that the Donald was all set to endorse Republican Newt Gingrich for President.  Newt had agreed to take part in the later defunct debate hosted by Trump.  Both Gingrich and Trump are seen as outside the Republican mainstream, so it seemed appropriate that the endorsement would go as reported. But, alas, it wasn’t to be.

Romney Won Florida, But The Damage Is Done

Why the schism in the conservative base may hamstring a Republican candidate in the general election.

Mitt Romney, former Massachusetts’s governor, won Florida by almost 15 points over his next closest opponent, Newt Gingrich. Although it remains to be seen whether this will be the beginning of the end for Gingrich and Romney’s other opponents, or whether there will be another unexpected surge in this entirely unpredictable primary race, the damage to the Republican Party is already done (and will probably continue to be done). I say this for two reasons: the tone of the primary race, and the evidence of the breakup of the conservative base.