Bill Cammack

Continued from Part 01

I had wanted to do a play-by-play breakdown of what had happened at the Republican Candidate Debate, but I didn’t complete it before President Obama’s speech, and now I have different things to discuss.

Rick Santorum

I hadn’t been aware that he was running. I had heard his name around the time of the Iowa Straw Poll, but since Michele Bachman came in first and Ron Paul came in second and Tim Pawlenty quit the race entirely, I had figured that everyone behind Pawlenty (4th place and down) would bounce as well.

They don’t give him much light (talk about him in the media) in general, and he wasn’t called on many times in the debate. When he got to speak, he sounded like he had good ideas, but didn’t sound Presidential.

Newt Gingrich

A long time ago, I had heard that his entire staff had quit. I had no idea he was still running. Isn’t the staff supposed to be comprised of your TRUE BELIEVERS? o_O

I see why he’s there, though.. Not to run for President, but to be the respected grandfather in the room.. The guy that can keep the rest of the newjacks focused on what they’re SUPPOSED to be representing for the Republican Party.

I really enjoyed when he told the moderator from Politico.com (essentially) “I’m frankly not interested in your efforts to get Republicans fighting each other. You’d like to puff this up into some giant thing. Everyone up here knows Obamacare is a disaster. If this President had any concern for working Americans, he’d ask us to repeal it because it’s a monstrosity.”

It’s good to have people in debates that aren’t electable, because they’re allowed to display ire (anger), and can say things that the actual candidates would like to say, but know it would diminish their chances of either receiving their party’s nomination or winning in the general election.

The closest anyone else came to complaining about the moderators was when several of the candidates were prompted to discuss Rick Perry’s HPV Vaccine Controversy, causing Mr. Perry to say “I feel like the piñata here at the party”.

Real Clear Politics: “Rick Perry’s Gardasil Problem”

But if Rick Perry does step under the bright lights, there’s at least one question that has the potential to hinder his pursuit of the GOP nomination: Why in early 2007 did he sign an executive order mandating that 11- and 12-year-old girls in Texas be given the vaccine Gardasil?

Gardasil was developed to prevent the human papillomavirus (HPV), the most commonly transmitted sexual disease in the United States. In June 2006, the Food and Drug Administration approved the drug, which is made by the pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. The treatment was initially hailed as a breakthrough in protecting against four strains of HPV that are responsible for 70 percent of cervical cancer cases and 90 percent of genital warts.

In January 2007, Gardasil was put on the “recommended” immunization schedule issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control. Merck immediately mounted a massive lobbying effort of state legislatures around the country to get Gardasil added to their respective lists of state-mandated vaccines.

But in Texas, Gov. Perry chose to bypass the legislature and on Feb. 2, 2007, he issued an executive order making Texas the first state in the country requiring all sixth-grade girls to receive the three-shot vaccination series (which cost about $120 per shot). The move generated a fierce public debate. Conservatives slammed Perry for promoting what they saw as an intrusion by the state into private health decisions of parents and their children. Some also complained that the mandate would encourage promiscuity among teenagers.

This situation highlights a fundamental problem for politicians.. Whether to do right by the companies that give you money or to do right by the people that voted for you.

It also highlights what seems to be a central Republican theme, which is “The fewer people and/or agencies involved in making a decision that affects an individual, the better the decision is for that individual.”

So, what the Federal Government wants to happen in your state isn’t as important as what your state wants to happen for itself.. however.. what your FAMILY wants to happen for itself is more important than what your state wants to happen to your family.

This is why, prompted by the Politico moderator, the rest of the Republican Candidates all piled up on Perry for issuing an Executive Order in February 2007 that the Texas Legislature got rid of in May 2007 (a mere 3 months later), which was telling FAMILIES what THE STATE wanted them to do.. Which, obviously, wasn’t even THE STATE wanting them to do it, because THE STATE threw it out, probably as quickly as they legally could.

In fairness, Rick Perry mentioned that his Executive Order had an opt-out clause.. prompting Rick Santorum to reply “How about PARENTAL RIGHTS being more important than STATE’S RIGHTS? How about having an opt-IN instead of an opt-OUT? I’m offended that the government would tell me, and by an Executive Order, without even going through the process of letting the people have any kind of input. I would expect this from President Obama. I would not expect this from someone who’s calling himself a Conservative Governor.”

Herman Cain

Yet another clearly unelectable Candidate. According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_Cain, he’s an American businessman, politician, columnist, and radio host from Georgia. He is the former chairman and CEO of Godfather’s Pizza and a former deputy chairman (1992–94) and chairman (1995–96) of the board of directors to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

The value Mr. Cain brings to the table is that he actually knows about business, *AND* was very willing and able to intelligently share concrete policy ideas with the crowd, who routinely applauded when he completed his explanations.

• This is what businesspeople do and politicians don’t do.

  Eliminate the current tax code. Propose the 999 Economic Growth Plan 9% tax on corporate income 9% tax on individual income, and 9% national sales tax.

  This economy is on life support. This is a bold plan and a bold solution. Easy mechanism to help the cities that are the most blighted, with empowerment zones.

• An Individual Mandate to buy something is not constitutional. I fought Hillarycare. I’m fighting to repeal Obamacare. Now, I’m running against Romneycare.

  Let’s pass patient-centered, market-driven reforms. Lose pay laws. Let’s expand medical savings accounts. Let’s allow association health plans. We would have been able to do it cheaper and cover more people without the restrictions that are preventing the free market from bringing down costs and increasing access.

• The Chilean Model – personal retirement account option. Move from entitlement society to an empowerment society. (Social Security Reform)
• There’s enough money to go around. You can find the concurrent spending cuts in order to be able to do that. Let’s fix FEMA. Let’s fix Homeland Security. The federal government isn’t good at micromanaging anything. Let the states do it.
• I do believe we can secure the border with boots on the ground, technology and a fence. Let’s promote the path to citizenship that’s already there. Enforce the laws that are there by empowering the states to do what the federal government hasn’t done, can’t do, and won’t do.

Now that we’ve all heard President Obama’s ideas about what we should do to get Americans hired for the next 14 months, I’ll be interested to hear what Mr. Cain thinks about the proposed initiatives.

Ron Paul

I see now, after this debate, why Republican Television doesn’t want to mention Ron Paul AT ALL.

He says anything he wants, which is a good thing, and you get the feeling that he’s being sincere and authentic and believes in what he’s saying, but voters generally aren’t looking for someone sincere. They’re looking for someone that believes the same things that they do.

Saying things like (essentially) “Think twice before building a wall to keep illegals from entering our country, because that same wall will KEEP YOU *IN* if you attempt to exit the USA with your capital”, while absolutely true, isn’t going to play well with the “America Rules, The Rest Of The World Drools” crowd.

Also, stuff like letting individual states determine the quality of their air traffic control is ridiculous.

Also, regarding Federal attention to disasters that occur (obviously) in individual states, saying “What happened before 1979? We didn’t have FEMA. FEMA just conditioned people to build where they shouldn’t be building.” is absolutely true, but nobody’s going to elect you as the President of the United States of America so you can go “Too Bad, So Sad” when people’s houses are floating down the river or they lose power for an entire week, and you’re like “Maine can Kick Rocks.. **** ‘em.”

Rick Perry caught him with the best zinger of the night, by far! hahaha Ron Paul had tried to get live on Perry, saying “The Governor of Texas criticized the Governor of Massachusetts for Romneycare, but he wrote a really fancy letter supporting Hillarycare! :D”

hahahaha That was really funny, until Perry goes “I actually was nodding my head about the Hillarycare comment… Speaking of letters, I was more interested in the one that you wrote to Ronald Reagan, back, and said I’m gonna quit the party because of the things you believe in. :D”

HAAAAAAAAAAAAA you saw Ron Paul’s entire body get tight while Perry proceeded to get his laugh on! :D HAHAHA oh man.. I must have watched that exchange at least 20 times! :D

Gary Johnson

Apparently, former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson is running for President, even though he wasn’t invited to the debate? o_O

Here’s his response to President Obama’s speech: (via Huffington Post)

“I suspect I am not the only American asking, if a trillion dollars’ worth of stimulus didn’t work, why will another $450 billion do the trick? Whether it be jobs created with borrowed and newly-printed dollars, temporary extensions of tax cuts, or sending money to the states to postpone layoffs, none of the President’s proposals will remove the real obstacles to job creation. Government cannot create jobs. Businesses, entrepreneurs and investors can create jobs, and right now, they are simply afraid to do so. And they should be. They are looking at a national debt that is consuming the private economy, more deficit spending with no end in sight, and a regulatory environment that promises only new and costly surprises every day.”

“Instead of nibbling around the edges of a job-killing tax code, we need to throw it out. Eliminate income, business and payroll taxes altogether, and replace them with a FAIR tax (FairTax.org) that will result in millions of jobs. Instead of spending more, balance the budget now. Get the burden of government spending and borrowing off the economy, and it will flourish. And as the government’s chief executive, the President needs to get federal agencies out of the business of managing the economy, and into the business of establishing regulatory certainty. Do those things, and the U.S. will become the job magnet of the world.”

“Government is absolutely a big part of the jobs problem, but it is not the solution — other than by getting out of the way. Congress and the Administration have almost helped us to death. What we heard tonight is that they are going to help us some more. Please, please, just stop.”

Buddy Roemer

Apparently, former Louisiana governor Buddy Roemer is also running: (via Huffington Post)

“The President’s jobs plan will certainly create jobs – jobs in China. Another $450 billion government stimulus is not the answer. The President’s job-killing economic policies have decimated domestic manufacturing, shipped thousands of good American jobs overseas and saddled future generations with an historic level of debt they may likely never be able to escape.”

Governor Roemer enacted sweeping reforms that cut unemployment by half in Louisiana during his four-year tenure by reducing the regulatory and tax burdens on families and small businesses. He has proposed a job creation plan that eliminates the tax incentives for companies that export American jobs and ends unfair trade practices that undercut the competitiveness of American goods and services. Governor Roemer has also called for the repeal of Obamacare, the reimplementation of Glass-Stegal banking principles and a commitment to energy independence.

“We must end unfair trade practices, enact real tax reforms by closing special interest loopholes and restart the idle engines of job growth in our private sector now. Mr. President, get passionate about creating jobs here at home and start standing-up for ‘Made in America’ again.”

We’ll continue with Jon Huntsman, Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney, and Rick Perry in Part 03
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