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Showdown in Corn Country

By on 8.5.11 @ 6:08AM

Republican rivals fight it out in Iowa.

DES MOINES, Iowa — Highway 193 runs nearly flat and straight some 60 miles southeast from the state capital in Des Moines to the Mahaska County seat of Oskaloosa, where the monument in the town square honors the tribal chieftain for whom the county was named. Chief Mahaska “lived at peace with the white man and was slain by an Indian in 1834,” a plaque at the base of the statue explains to visitors.

There were many visitors in the Oskaloosa town square Thursday for the “Sweet Corn Serenade,” the annual festival celebrating the region’s most famous product. And this being Iowa in the summer before an election year, one of the visitors was running for president.

Herman Cain didn’t stay long enough to sample the corn — roasted in the husk and served with a pork sandwich for $3 a plate — but he did shake hands with residents and talk with several of the vendors before adjourning to the Smokey Row Coffee Shop on Market Street for a meeting with two dozen or so of his local supporters. “Happy to be here,” the retired Atlanta businessman began his presentation, “because I like to get out and meet people and talk to people.” He quickly segued into a variation of his standard stump speech, emphasizing his background as an executive — “a problem-solver, not a politician” — and his plan to boost economic growth. And given that the Dow Jones Industrial Average had just lost more than 500 points in the aftermath of an unpopular compromise debt deal in Washington, Thursday was a good day to be a non-politician with a pro-growth economic message.

Less than ten days before the Ames Straw Poll on Aug. 13, Iowa is swarming with Republican presidential candidates, nine of whom will appear on the straw-poll ballot. Rightly or wrongly, the vote in Ames is seen as a make-or-break test for some of the hopefuls, especially former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who has practically become a full-time Iowa resident in recent weeks. The strategic logic of Pawlenty’s campaign was to position him as a respectable conservative alternative to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Whereas Romney is seen as nearly certain to win the New Hampshire primary, Pawlenty’s Midwestern credentials were expected to make him a heavy favorite in the Iowa caucuses. That campaign calculus has so far failed to work out.

The first shock came three months ago in Greenville, S.C., when Pawlenty turned in a lackluster performance in the first televised debate of the 2012 campaign and Cain was immediately proclaimed the big winner. The second shock came five weeks later, in a June debate in New Hampshire, when Pawlenty was again upstaged, this time by his fellow Minnesotan, Rep. Michele Bachmann. Reports of bad blood between Pawlenty and Bachmann have circulated widely and he has even lashed out at her directly on occasion. During an appearance last month on NBC’s Meet the Press, for example, Pawlenty said of Bachmann that “her record of accomplishment in Congress is non-existent.” Bachmann, however, is using her congressional record to advantage now. Her latest TV ad in Iowa touts her vote against the debt-ceiling deal: “Somebody needs to say no.” Considering that the entire Iowa congressional delegation also voted against the bill, that message is likely to resonate here. And the contrast between Bachmann’s new ad and Pawlenty’s more generic campaign commercial is highlighted by the fact that the two ads often run back-to-back on local TV.

But while the Bachmann-Pawlenty battle has drawn attention for weeks, another ad that recently began airing in Iowa threatens to upstage both the Minnesotans. “What if we had a candidate for President with a real record of creating jobs?” the new TV spot asks. “A conservative with proven leadership in tough times. The leader of a state that created more jobs in the past two years than the other 49 states combined.” Funded by a PAC called “Jobs for Iowa,” that ad promotes a Republican whose name won’t be on the Ames Straw Poll ballot: Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

If Perry enters the 2012 race — as most political observers are nearly certain he will — it would drastically alter the Republican landscape, not only in Iowa but nationwide. At this point, however, the Texan’s prospects are merely a hypothetical, as are those of another GOP big name: Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. The same people who are almost certain that Perry will run are beginning to be quite nearly certain that Palin will not. While Palin has not yet ruled out a 2012 presidential campaign, her supporters have assembled nothing to match the “Jobs for Iowa” PAC that’s supporting Perry.

At any rate, neither Perry nor Palin will be on the straw-poll ballot at Ames on Aug. 13, nor will they be on stage for the Aug. 11 debate — also at Ames — to be televised by Fox News. One who will be on hand for both events is Herman Cain, who created a small stir yesterday by saying he hopes to finish among the top three in the straw poll. While it is notoriously difficult to predict the outcome of that vote, a third-place finish for Cain at Ames would likely put him ahead of Pawlenty. At least one longtime Iowa GOP operative has said that, given how much Pawlenty has already invested in this state, his campaign’s viability would be in jeopardy if he didn’t place at least second at Ames. If Pawlenty actually were to place fourth — behind Cain, who wasn’t even considered a “first-tier” candidate three months ago — that likely would be seen as a humiliation for the former Minnesota governor. But that’s a huge “if,” and few Iowa observers expect Cain to place better than fifth at Ames.

Hypotheticals and possibilities and predictions are a difficult proposition here in Iowa, where it is not likely that any 19th-century pundit ever expected that Chief Mahaska — who had always “lived at peace with the white man” — would be done in by one of his own. By the time the Ames Straw Poll is over, some Republicans will probably sympathize with the chief.

About the Author

Robert Stacy McCain is co-author (with Lynn Vincent) of Donkey Cons: Sex, Crime, and Corruption in the Democratic Party (Nelson Current). He blogs at The Other McCain.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (86) |

Anommynous| 8.5.11 @ 7:26AM

Perry/Palin, either order. That's the ticket to prosperity.

massmile | 8.5.11 @ 9:25AM

Does negotiating the person down to five drops improve the situation? No, it doesn't. That's exactly how America has been poisoned over time. Sometimes the dosages are smaller, but it's the same lethal stuff for our long-term fiscal situation.
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Kingofthenet| 8.5.11 @ 10:32AM

I can give you REAL love, but I gotta ask a question, can you handle REAL Love? if so check me out, I got a username D I R T Y O L D P E R V E R T on A O L dot Commie

Elron H.| 8.5.11 @ 10:45AM

Can you define "real love"?

...Please try. This forum needs some excitement...

Elron H.| 8.5.11 @ 10:59AM

I really love Obama.

Clint| 8.5.11 @ 11:11AM

TGI-Friggin'-F!!!

Can't wait to have some drinks and...other stuff...after work at the "Throbbing Shaft" bar-n-grill!

Dr.Reich| 8.5.11 @ 11:21AM

I go to "The Meat Pole Lounge" to get my men.

Dr.Right| 8.5.11 @ 11:24AM

Me too.

Those Boys Are Sooooo Bigggggggggg !

Clint| 8.5.11 @ 11:46AM

Unlike Dr. Right, I'm Hung Like a Pimple, So I Always Take the Submissive Role.

I Wish We Could Rename the Tea Party the Felch Party...

And What's Wrong With a Pole-Tax??? I Wish My Pole Could Get Audited Every Day.

Carpe Do-me!

Dr.Right| 8.5.11 @ 12:00PM

Oooohhhhh !

I just hate Clint & all those Tea Party Ruffians.

They're such Terrorists.

But, my fellow, Barney Frank & I will try really hard to stop them.

Ooooohhh, did I say "Hard".

Barney Sweetie, I'm ready again.

Occam's Tool| 8.5.11 @ 1:21PM

See, Clint, you're just not funny. And I can tell you why---Comedy is "hard."

Sincerely,

Hung Jury Mensan.

Clint| 8.5.11 @ 2:37PM

Dr.Reich,"Occam, honey, is it supposed to be this soft? "

Cosmo| 8.6.11 @ 1:32AM

The problem is, November 2012 is a year and 1/2 away....There may not be anything left of the US economy by that time....

Occam's Tool| 8.5.11 @ 1:20PM

No Clint, you're a hermaphroditic, self fertilizing free living nematode---C(lint) Elegans.

I love Elron.

Doctor Right| 8.5.11 @ 1:25PM

O.T.,

You're a shrink, right?

What does your training tell you about the way that Clint writes his posts?

My armchair psychiatric analysis screams suppressed rage, self-loathing, and a desire for control...

...But what do I know?

Clint| 8.5.11 @ 2:42PM

Dr.Reich is a Fixated Lapsed Catholic Turned Anti-Catholic Bigot With A Marked Propensity For Procrastination & Sloth.

Have Two Kapos & Goosestep Around Your Concentration Camp In The Morning.

Occam's Tool| 8.5.11 @ 8:09PM

Doctor Right:

Pure Psychopathy will do.

Clint| 8.6.11 @ 10:13AM

More Pure Tool Job Screwball Israel Firster Neo-Chickenhawk Fanatic Horse Shit.

Tool Job's A Bottom Of The Barrel, Sorry-Ass Excuse Loser Government Shrink.

Clint| 8.5.11 @ 2:45PM

Yup , We Heard You & Elron Love Each Other.

Oldefarte| 8.5.11 @ 4:12PM

You people must be extremely wealthy to be able to spend all day wasting your employers' time/money by verbalizing CRAP all day long!!!!!!

Al Adab| 8.5.11 @ 6:03PM

My question is whether anyone remembers what it is all about.

Occam's Tool| 8.5.11 @ 8:26PM

Al,

You are correct. I can't stand Clint because of two things: his "non-interventionalism," which will open us up to assaults all over the world if implemented (Seriously, free of ad hominem on my part---Ron Paul thinks withdrawal from intervention will end assaults---I think Clint would agree with that statement---I believe that is hopelessly naive and that withdrawal will escalate assaults.) In addition, Clint despises Jews although he claims to have Jewish friends, with a passion that includes trying to prove that Jews don't win a large number of Nobel Prizes.

Caenorhabditis elegans, or C. Elegans, is a free living nematode used in genetics experiments in place of the annoying fruit fly. Its number of cells, including neuronal cells, is set by genetics. It comes in two types---a preferentially fertilized male, and an otherwise true breeding self fertilizing hermaphrodite. I did work with that animal in college, trying to find a caffeine resistant mutant.

The jokes associated with a self fertilizing hermaphroditic creature with one of the simplest nervous systems known to man of any multicellular creature are fairly obvious.

Clint is also a pre-Vatican II Catholic in many ways. Dr. Right believes that Catholicism is bunk, and this sets Clint off to no end. Dr Right also believes that I am condemned because of my religious beliefs, but as a graduate of TCU, I recognize that there is no animosity there---it is a logical conclusion which I disagree with as my faith system is different. In the mean time, Dr. Right otherwise believes in almost everything else I do, and is supportive of my position on foreign policy and Sharia. That position on Sharia is where Clint is curiously blank for a supposed admirer of Benedict.

All this is, of course, aided by the fact that both Dr. Right and I despise Clint personally. Any time Dr. R finds himself going to Fargo or Grand Forks he should let me know so that we can get together and I will treat him to dinner and introduce the brood. My view on Clint is that if he were on fire....you can finish the sentence.

As Tim*, Clint was banned from the site. I see no change.

I try to be nice, Al, I really do, and simple disagreement does NOT make me tear at someone (i.e. RCV), but this guy is really unpleasant. I do try to insult back with some wit, however. (He calls me Tool Job, I call him C(lint) Elegans.) Again, my apologies to you and Oldefarte.

Clint| 8.6.11 @ 10:20AM

Oh Look !

Tool Job Attempts To Play The Anti-Semite Card, For The Umpteenth Time On Tea Party Clint.

Our Tea Party Patriots Mission Statement Says Nothing About Supporting Tool Job's Personal Neo-Chickenhawk Israel Firster Agenda.

You're A Serial Slandering Liar Tool Job.

Aaaand It's Interesting, That Tool Job Uses The Moniker Of A Catholic Heretic.

Joseph| 8.7.11 @ 11:36AM

By your explanation of why you hate Clint you admit his charge that you are an Israeli firster. You praise Dr.Right because he agrees with you to nuke the Muslims even though Dr.Right,and his friends, believe your religion is false, and his religion is better than yours. I don't like Clint or Dr.Right, if you have read one insult, you have read them all. Thank God for the scroll key.

rdman| 8.7.11 @ 4:52PM

I doubt if they are wealthy... more likely government dependents on food stamps and 99 weeks of unemployment insurance.

rdman| 8.7.11 @ 4:57PM

I doubt if they are wealthy... more likely government dependents on food stamps and 99 weeks of unemployment insurance.

Occam's Tool| 8.5.11 @ 8:30PM

Yes, I think he's amusing and witty and intelligent. He also has more than 302 nerve cells.

Clint, you are TIRESOME!

Oldefarte---I do have a wee bit O'Cash.

Clint| 8.6.11 @ 10:25AM

Tool Job's The Chairman Of The Bores.

Aaaaand, Tool Job Only Has "a wee bit O' Cash" Because Tool Job's A Bottom Of The Barrel Loser, Sorry Ass Excuse Government Shrink.

Topper| 8.6.11 @ 1:30AM

It's going to be Perry or Romney...take your pick.
We're loaded with VP talent: Bachmann, Rubio,
Susana Martinez of NM, Mike Lee of Utah....and
anyone who voted against the "Grand Bargain" debt deal...

Jack in Wi.| 8.7.11 @ 4:19PM

If it's Perry or Romney learn how to say president Obama for another 4 years. Why should any sane person vote for either of these guys? The only one out there that makes any sense is Ron Paul. Michelle Bachman is a nice person but can't think very fast on her feet just like Palin. Herman Cain Is just another FED candidate. End the Fed bring home all the troops, end foreign aid especially for Israel, slash federal spending by at least a trillion. That can't be done without cutting the defense buget at least 50%. Ron Paul, Pat Buchanan, Bob Novak, General Skowcroft and other realists have been right for 20 years. The neocon Trotskyites and the countryclub Republicans have been wrong for at least 20 years.

chuck| 8.5.11 @ 7:35AM

Cain/Bachmann, either order. Time for some fresh faces, outsiders, non-politicians. These two know what made this country great, and can make the case to reduce government. Plus the liberals and the media(the same, of course) hate them. They hate the ones they fear.

Anommynous| 8.5.11 @ 8:18AM

Cain I can definitely get behind, 100%. What I like about Perry and Palin is that they have been governors, good governors, and Cain's executive experience heading large corporations in the private sector is comparable to their experience as governors. I also like Cain's educational background. I think it's refreshing that he has a master's in computer science rather than a law degree. Lord knows we have enough lawyers, which is strike one against Bachmann. (But at least most lawyers can "talk good.") The Pope-as-anti-christ sentiment of her former church is strike two. So there are two things right there that she has in common with Obama: they're both lawyers, and I don't like the rhetoric of their former churches. Could strike three be her lack of executive experience? That was easily one of my biggest gripes about Obama in 2008, that he lacked executive experience. What type of executive experience has Bachmann gained that is comparable to governing a state or running a major corporation? Heck, what has she even done in the House that sets her apart? I think it's difficult to win the nomination from the House, but it's possible for someone like Paul Ryan who has clearly emerged as one of our greatest leaders and idea people. What has Bachmann done in the House besides talk a good game and run for President? Sounds like Obama in 2008. I'm more impressed by the backgrounds of Perry, Palin, and Cain. I'm not all that enthusiastic about Bachmann, who reminds me too much of Obama. Can you change my mind? This is one time that I would really like to be wrong.

MATT M.| 8.5.11 @ 9:48AM

Palin was the halftime quitter Gonernor of the third smallest state in this Once Great Nation. Perry is a successful two term Governor of the third LARGEST tate in this Once Great Nation.

To compare the two is to invite ridicule.

Dai Alanye | 8.5.11 @ 2:37PM

Except... Palin ran a state where the Governor has considerable power. Perry runs a state with the weakest governor powers in the nation. He's more a cheerleader than a leader.

idalily| 8.5.11 @ 4:07PM

Well, I don't know about you, but I think the country needs a cheerleader right about now. As for leadership, Sarah did not demonstrate that quality when she quit halfway through her governorship. I know she had her reasons, but still, it's a legit concern. I know it affected my opinion of her as POTUS material. That's a much tougher gig than AK guv even with the stupid ethics lawsuits. Polls thus far show I'm not alone on this. Perry, IMO, is more electable.

TrueBlue| 8.5.11 @ 4:37PM

Also, Perry passed a budget that he KNEW would put the state $5 billion in the whole each year. Nobody ever likes to mention that, but given the current fiscal issue that isn't someone I want to see in the White House.

Another thing, people keep pointing to Palin as being a quitter, but she started off as a PTA mom for crying out loud and then worked her way up. On top of that the REASON she quit was because of the number of frivolous lawsuits being thrown her way by liberal extremists. Even though they were against her and not the state, so it didn't cost the state money, she left because the sheer number of them were preventing her from doing the job she was elected to do.

Palin did the responsible thing and stepped down so the state could actually be run.

Nathan| 8.7.11 @ 12:39PM

Perry also had a hand in the the prevention of Texas TSA Ant-Groping Bill passing as well.

rdman| 8.6.11 @ 7:16PM

Your "quitter" spew has been repeatedly and effectively debunked, yet you knuckheads persist... or is it that you just don't get it or are you just simply ignorant???

MATT M.| 8.7.11 @ 10:01AM

Debunked? You telling me she did not quit? Did I miss something

A PTA mom who rose to half time governor of a state the size of Rochester, NY is not Presidential timber. Hell, she ain't even Presidential splinter.

rdman| 8.7.11 @ 4:36PM

Your mind is locked up with "Quitter" and you ignore or are simply uninformed of the salient points.

Palin accomplished more for the Alaskan people in her years of public service and governorship than the DC establishment government class has accomplished in their entire political careers.

A state the "size" of Rochester, NY????... ohhh, I get where you're coming from now... not only a knucklehead, you're a moron too!!

Are you one of the gangsters with a law degree that was dispatched to Alaska to file 50 frivolous lawsuits against the Presidential "splinter"??

PCC| 8.6.11 @ 5:01AM

Anomm,

I like Bachmann a lot but you make some good points and have given me pause. Thanks.

NedB| 8.5.11 @ 8:02AM

How about Obama dumps Biden and puts Romney on the ticket?

Yeah, I'm just causing some trouble. ;)

TrueBlue| 8.5.11 @ 4:38PM

May as well, they think the same. Romney is just hiding it now in attempt to get "his turn" at the Presidency run. RomneyCare disqualifies him as a Conservative candidate IMO.

Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 8.5.11 @ 8:19AM

And here's precisely why we're in trouble. Pawlenty claims that Bachmann has done nothing in Congress and that shows you that deep down inside Pawlenty is just another government agent.

Here's how it works, from the Casey Newsletter:

Sinking Back to the Past
By Vedran Vuk

Dear Reader,

With a last-minute debt deal reached, I'm reminded of two holy words in Washington: "compromise" and "bipartisanship." It's amazing that the political elite have so twisted the English language as to lend virtue to these terms. In Washington, these words hold intrinsic value... similar to how "truth" and "honesty" do outside D.C. Unfortunately for the American public, Washington compromises have been and will continue to be the death knell of the U.S. economy - and particularly the free market.

Rarely does compromise ever benefit the small-government side of the argument. Instead, compromise increases the size of the state step by step. For example, suppose the left wants $2 billion for organic school lunches. Of course, the free-market guys are against this bill; they want $0 dollars in extra spending. So, what's the compromise? The two meet at $1 billion.

But this only makes one side better off. In a true compromise, each side would get something. In this case, spending grows by $1 billion, and the small-government side gets nothing from the deal. Future spending was simply reduced from $2 billion to $1 billion. The small-government advocates are further away from their goal than they were prior to the deal. In a way, this really isn't a compromise at all.

One could think of similar examples to prove the point. Suppose someone wanted to put ten drops of arsenic in your food. Does negotiating the person down to five drops improve the situation? No, it doesn't. That's exactly how America has been poisoned over time. Sometimes the dosages are smaller, but it's the same lethal stuff for our long-term fiscal situation.

This happens with regulation as well. Think about the Dodd-Frank Act. The financial industry has been fighting tooth and nail first with Congressmen and now with the government bureaucrats implementing the law to reach a compromise on the particulars of the law. But it's not a compromise where the financials win: Rather, it's a battle to lose less. "The struggle to lose less" has become the definition of a Washington compromise.

Bob| 8.5.11 @ 8:23AM

Michele took a wrong turn and ended up campaigning in Lexington & Concord, Nova Scotia. Mapleleafs beware!

Nick| 8.5.11 @ 10:50AM

Bob,

"I've now been in 57 states, I think? One left to go."

- President Ditherer, the incompetent boob currently occupying the White House, with his corrupt regime.

Kingofthenet| 8.5.11 @ 10:37AM

Cain/Papa John, campaign slogan: Neither one of us knows how to make a Pizza.

Purple Lips| 8.5.11 @ 5:18PM

But I hear Barney Frank can make a mean bowl of Manwich.

Doctor Right| 8.5.11 @ 10:44AM

Pawlenty needs to accept reality and bow-out gracefully. He's NOT going to be the nominee. He's got a funny name, and zero charisma.

All 5 of his supporters will initially be upset, but they'll get over it.

Elron H.| 8.5.11 @ 11:01AM

I'm voting for Obama

Clint| 8.5.11 @ 11:08AM

I'm voting for Rachel Maddow! She's my friggin' hero!

Dr.Right| 8.5.11 @ 11:30AM

I'm voting for my partner Barney Frank

Clint| 8.5.11 @ 11:48AM

I Wish I Could Take a Stab at Barney! He's So Soft and Fluffy! I Could Just Get Lost in All That Flesh!

Carpe Diddly-Doodly!

Dr.Right| 8.5.11 @ 12:03PM

Ooooohhhh You Silly Thing.

Barney takes his stabs at meeeeeeeee.

I'm his designated catcher.

Ohhh Barney, I'm ready again.

Doctor Right| 8.5.11 @ 1:27PM

Clint, now you're being REALLY silly.

NO ONE can envision Barney Frank as the dominant partner!

You've jumped the shark, Clinton.

Clint| 8.5.11 @ 2:33PM

We Hear You & Your Boyfriend Barney Jumped A Shark, On Fire Island.

PsychoDad| 8.5.11 @ 10:04PM

I'm-a gonna write in Jimmeh Carter.

Maddox| 8.5.11 @ 11:37AM

...and Matthews as VP.

rtaylortitle| 8.5.11 @ 12:46PM

It's Ron Paul or I'll vote 3rd Party. He's the only true libertarian in the mix. I wish Gary Johnson were in the lineup as well.
rtaylortitle@aol.com

Nick| 8.5.11 @ 1:26PM

rtaylortitle,

Umm...Gary Johnson is running for the GOP nomination. Keep up with current events much?

Michael L. Hauschild| 8.5.11 @ 5:34PM

He was referring to the Birdman Pier Ganja lineup.

Occam's Tool| 8.5.11 @ 8:28PM

Dear Michael:

Marijuana does NOT Cause...er, I forgot what I was saying.

Al Adab| 8.5.11 @ 1:37PM

Focus on the states at issue rather than the who. Why is it that Iowa, NH get to set the agenda for the GOP? Why does the CA primary deliver so many delegates to the GOP convention? It cannot be wise to allow states like these along with NJ, NY, and others that a GOP candidate will never carry to determine, through weight of delegate numbers, who the ultimate candidate will be. Those states which are reliable in casting electoral votes should be the ones that choose the candidate.

TrueBlue| 8.5.11 @ 4:46PM

I agree, if the state doesn't consistently vote Republican, or at least have vary its vote away from the Dems somewhat regularly, why do they get any say in who our candidate is? That's why we keep ending up with people like McCain.

Johnny H| 8.5.11 @ 2:41PM

I want to see a conservative african-american running against obama. It could possibly cause some of the "color first" crowd to have to examine their core beliefs and select the candidate that most closely aligns with them.

Wait a second..., isn't that what a voter is SUPPOSED to do??!

"...content of their character rather than the color of their skin..."

Yes, I, too have a dream.

Solo| 8.5.11 @ 3:19PM

Ahh....preparations for the Iowa Straw Poll.

And let the pandering to ethanol subsidies begin!

Ever wonder why it's so hard to get a conservative nominated to the GOP ticket?

New Hampshire and Iowa, that's why.

RCV| 8.5.11 @ 4:05PM

If a conservative can't win in states like New Hampshire and Iowa, it's hard to imagine how he or she will sell in the big electoral states.

JimH| 8.5.11 @ 4:45PM

It'll get harder for conservatives in N.H. because they let in all the Vermonters who moved they they got done voting for more taxes.

RCV| 8.5.11 @ 7:15PM

Plus, they've got that Dartmouth College place, with all those smart liberal kids. :-)

Oldefarte| 8.5.11 @ 4:16PM

I don't care who wins.....AS LONG AS IT'S A REPUBLICAN!!!!!!!

John Kerry Reporting for Duty| 8.5.11 @ 5:22PM

Will you vote for me? I have a great CV, decorated 'Nam Vet, Lawyer, I look great in a jock, married to some rich ketchup gal...

Oldefarte| 8.5.11 @ 4:48PM

Ron Paul is becoming a viable player:

'....Ron Paul: Debt Deal is a 'Fraud'
Friday, August 5, 2011 12:37 PM
By: Jim Meyers and Ashley Martella

Republican Congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul tells Newsmax the bill designed to cut the budget deficit and raise the debt ceiling is a “fraud” because it actually does nothing to reduce current spending levels.

The Texas lawmaker also says it is “discouraging” that many new members of Congress who were backed by the tea party voted in favor of the bill, the Budget Control Act of 2011.

Rep. Paul has served 12 terms in Congress and is chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology. He previously ran for president in 1988 and 2008, and has announced he will retire from Congress when his current term ends.

Paul is one of five Republicans from the Texas congressional delegation to vote against passage of the budget bill. In an exclusive interview with Newsmax.TV, he takes issue with claims that the bill contains cuts in current spending.

“This is one of the most annoying things about the reporting on what we’ve been trying to do in Washington and what we pretend to be doing,” he says.

“They always talk about cuts, cuts, cuts, and everyone’s screaming you can’t cut this, you can’t cut that. But there are no cuts. What they’re talking about is cutting proposed increases. So it’s a real misleading definition when they talk about cuts. Anything we do for future years doesn’t hold water anyway because you can’t tell the next Congress what to do.

“Basically it’s a fraud. If they were serious about it they could freeze the budget and give everybody the same amount of money they got last year.”

Paul maintains that if the federal government went back to 2004 spending levels, we would have a balanced budget right now.

“Even now if you freeze the budget, within about five years it would be balanced again,” he explains. “But nobody’s quite willing to do that because they think they have to have steady increases.

“There’s a strong appetite for government and that is where the problem is. People don’t want to cut back on the militarism or anything that looks like it might cut into the check they’re getting from government, and a lot of people are getting checks from the government.”

Paul tells Newsmax the federal budget has doubled in 10 years because “the appetite for government never ends. There are more retired people because of the demographics, less people coming into the workforce. Unemployment rates go up so the benefits go up automatically. It’s endless.

“And there are always new programs. There are hundreds and hundreds of programs that are brand new. They just won’t stop. It’s like an addiction. I don’t think they realize the seriousness of this problem.”

Paul is disappointed that most Republicans who were backed by the tea party in 2010 voted for the budget bill.

“The tea party people have helped because it has changed the atmosphere and at least they’re talking about this,” he says.

“But it has to be awfully discouraging for all of us if they’re not voting against these kinds of programs where we raise the national debt.

“It’s a real mess. People realize that when you do cut there’s a political liability there. But the tea party people got here because it was a political liability to continue the spending.

“That has to be ironed out and it will be ironed out pretty soon because we cannot maintain what we’re doing.”

Paul believes there will be a backlash from the tea party against members of Congress who voted for the bill.

“I think there will be but I don’t think it will be quite the same thing that happened last year when so many [incumbents] were routed.

“There will be so many people who will be disenchanted, saying, ‘We changed the Congress but we didn’t change the votes.’

“If things don’t improve and we don’t get our house in order and control this budget, I think there will be a lot of people saying, ‘We sent you over there but you kept voting for more spending.’”

If Republicans take control of the Senate in the 2012 elections next year, Paul was asked, will that change anything regarding reckless spending?
“Let’s hope so, but there’s no guarantee,” he responds.

“When George Bush was in charge and we had the Senate and the House, we didn’t do a very good job.

“Then the battle becomes between the two factions within the Republican Party, the conservatives versus the big spenders. It depends on who shows up in the Senate. But certainly the way it’s formulated right now there’s no way the conservatives can win a fight and have the Senate support it and then have the president sign a bill.”

Explaining why he decided to leave Congress after his current term expires, Paul tells Newsmax: “I wanted to concentrate on the race for the presidency. The last time I ran I did both and it’s distracting, and I wanted to make sure people knew I was very, very serious about the presidential run. I was also content to know that I am ready to leave the Congress.”

Paul adds that as a presidential candidate his poll numbers “have been improving. We have to continue to campaign, we have to continue to raise money.

“We have to continue to do what I’m doing, and more so.” '

Occam's Tool| 8.5.11 @ 8:28PM

Perry will enter, Paul will go.

PsychoDad| 8.5.11 @ 10:06PM

Paulifarians are almost as annoying as Jehovahs Witnesses, anybody else notice that?

Clint| 8.6.11 @ 10:33AM

"Harris Poll: If Ron Paul Won GOP Nomination, He Would Split Vote With Obama.

TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2011:

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.), an official candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, has performed well in several polls throughout his campaign. In may, Paul took second place in a CNN/WMUR poll of likely Republican voters. In June, Paul won a Republican Leadership Conference straw poll. At the beginning of July, Paul came in first in a Texas GOP poll, conducted by the Azimuth Research Group.

Perhaps the best indication of Paul’s candidacy so far is a Harris poll released today by Harris Interactive. According to the Harris poll, Obama and Paul would split the vote right down the middle if they were to run against each other in 2012.

Between July 11th and 18th, 2011, nearly 2200 adults were surveyed online by Harris Interactive. According to the Harris poll, 50 percent of those surveyed would vote for Paul if he were matched up against Obama and 50 percent would vote for the President."

We Tea Party Patriots Are Gonna Step On The RINO-CINO's & Their Apologist Flunkies.

Carpe Diem.

POST American| 8.5.11 @ 11:07PM

-----'70's Show' 'Up With People' Tavistock/
Stanford Research SAP OP ----ALERT!---

Unbridled, Globalist, USURY feuled TREASON remains the CORE issue ---unmentioned by our
CON-trolled Rockefeller capstone press.

---YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED---

Anthony| 8.6.11 @ 11:27AM

Tell me, what does all this homo-erotic reparte coming from the boys above, while Obozo Hip-Hopped in the W.H., get us?
While Obozo "did his thing", America's credit rating was downgraded for the 1st time in American history. Imagine if Bush held a fund raiser and B.D party with a 500 pt drop and 37 brave Americans dead!!! HELLO... ANY OF YOU WHORES AWAKE IN THE MSM??
Well done Boeher and McConnell as well. Yep, job well done. We got the credit downgrade and the market crash you patted yourselves on the back in preventing. What pathetic losers you all are!!!
While Obozo and Michelle chowed down on chicken, ribs and wings, 37 wonderful and brave Americans died in Afghanistan, in a war that neither Obozo nor the media recognize is still going on?
We had better get serious and find a real conservative, articulate leader to rally around, because if we don't rid America of Obozo, the radical left, and theWashington RINOs in 2012, the war will be on American soil for the 1st time in over 100 years.
Perhaps it's a fait acompli and long overdue. Lock and load!!!

rdman| 8.6.11 @ 7:23PM

Well stated, especially your reference to the MSM or LSM... disgusting, despicable WHORES!!

Solo| 8.6.11 @ 12:17PM

@RCV:

"If a conservative can't win in states like New Hampshire and Iowa, it's hard to imagine how he or she will sell in the big electoral states."

New Hampshire allows "cross-over" voting in Primaries. Thus...much mischief played by democrats and "Independents".

Iowa is the center of the "Tractor-riding Welfare Queens" in America.
These are the first two in the Primary process and once won tend to suck all the air (and money) out of the room of other candidates.

As far as those "smart college kids"....
We can't know that they're "smart". Only that they're "educated". But...."educated" to what, is the question.

As Reagan said:

"It's not that liberals are ignorant. It's just that so much of what they 'know' simply isn't true".

;)

RCV| 8.6.11 @ 2:45PM

All of what you say may be true, but the reality is that a candidate must be able to garner a majority of electoral votes to win. The country is filled with groups of people you dismiss, including what you disparage as "educated" people. If a conservative can't make it in New Hampshire and Iowa, there's little hope they could pull off the big electoral states. That's just reality.

Solo| 8.7.11 @ 9:14AM

RCV...you were speaking of the Primaries--not the general election.

New Hampshire allows cross-over voting. IOW....democrats are allowed to vote for the GOP nominee.

Iowa is a Farm Welfare state--a singularly un-conservative position.
These are the first two Primary states. Few conservatives are going to fair well in either. Reagan lost both state Primaries in those states and still won the election--an exception, to be sure.

Anyone who wins those first two primaries has to be a RINO, first of all....and the end result of those two wins is that all the media attention immediately shifts to that "front-runner". The people often take on the "Band-wagon effect" and follow suit and the money starts to flow in that direction.

Moreover...unlike the democrats who use a proportional allocation for primary votes (thus allowing extreme leftists like Obama to survive deeper into the primary process), the republicans still use "winner take all".

The end result of this dynamic is that candidates on both sides tend more left than they otherwise would...a rather curious outcome considering that we are largely a "Center-Right" society.

Oh...and I wasn't "disparaging" "educated" people. I'm one of them. I was merely challenging your specious assumption that college kids are "smart"--because simply attending college does not make one "smart".

martin j smith| 8.7.11 @ 1:17PM

For those who want to dump the Socialists along with Obama better have plan A

martin j smith| 8.7.11 @ 1:18PM

should continue b plan c,d,e,f g etc. and then pick win a winner in 2012 then kill each other to your hearts content. NOT

POST American| 8.8.11 @ 1:54AM

--------------------BOTTOM LINE----------------------

"Every single country that signed on th the UN
agreed to make all treaties and agreements in
such a way as to bypass national governments,
aiming eventually for an authoritarian NWO
run by appointed experts. In short, every single
figure who signed on in 1946 ---was and is
---A TRAITOR."
-ALAN WATT

NOTICE one and all the TOTAL SILENCE
on the part of even such well meaning, hopelessly
'Calm-part-mentalists' as John Bolton aren't
saying a word about the ILLEGAL, private,
elite, unelected, USURY and EUGENICS
driven United Nations ---even as Obama is
himself bypassing Congress on a host of
internaitonal and even national issues?

WHERE is Bachmann? ---ANYONE! on either
side on these monstrous developments?

---------------THIS IS TREASON

AS the RED China sellout op finishes off

---------AS the greatest world depop OP in
history pulses away in Fukishima

--------------AS John Wheeler's murder is now
beyond memory holed

--------------------AS the police state surveillance
grid is now UNDENIABLY ubiquitous and full
spectrum

---------------------------AS the OBVIOUSLY set up
Freemasonic horror in Norway is 'managed' out
of consciousness

----------------WHERE ARE THEY?

Carrie K| 8.8.11 @ 9:52AM

Ron Paul 2012!

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Doomed Beyond All Hope of Redemption

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