2016 Polls: Republican Candidate

[ishii]

I’d take a guess that the GOP platform hurts many African-Americans and by that I mean the proposed cuts in social programs, repeal of ACA, etc. Why would anyone support a candidate who, in their opinion, would make changes that might not represent their best interests? I know I wouldn’t.

Hello gamewell. My question was more rhetorical. Of course the GOP doesn’t get the black vote because the black community has been conditioned and socialized to equate support for blacks with government spending and rhetoric for blacks. Ironic, isn’t it, that the very thing that has hurt the black family so much - welfare, entitlements, etc. - is also the thing that keeps their support. I am not saying that the GOP strategy has been particularly effective at gaining support from blacks. But when proposed reduces in spending (or reductions in rate of spending) are met with cries of “racism!” then its no wonder that the GOP doesn’t make much headway.

Ishii

 

[ishii]

cbn.com/cbnnews/politics/2014/October/Huckabee-Ill-Leave-GOP-Become-Independent/

Totally agree, what I wonder is if the Tyrannical Court of America forces homosexuality on the country in same-sex marriage if the GOP will continue to state their support for the morality of traditional marriage in their platform.

Well - perhaps we’d have more solid justices who believe in the constitution if fewer “conservatives” stayed at home refusing to vote for the GOP candidate because he was not the perfect candidate. Either McCain or Romney picked justices would have been light years better than what Obama has picked. More to the point, the next GOP candidate in 2016 will definitely pick better justices than a Hillary Clinton will. Hopefully the true believer types will keep that in mind.

But good on Huckabee for sticking to his guns and his principles.

Ishii

 

[RGCheek]

Well - perhaps we’d have more solid justices who believe in the constitution if fewer “conservatives” stayed at home refusing to vote for the GOP candidate because he was not the perfect candidate. Either McCain or Romney picked justices would have been light years better than what Obama has picked. More to the point, the next GOP candidate in 2016 will definitely pick better justices than a Hillary Clinton will. Hopefully the true believer types will keep that in mind.

But good on Huckabee for sticking to his guns and his principles.

Ishii

Not voting for anything less than the ‘perfect’ candidate is a straw man.

I am saying I wont vote for ANYONE that is in favor of tolerating moves toward same sex marriage, promotes restricting gun rights one more iota, does not want to effectively end abortion, or who wants to increase the size of the federal government and entangle us in more wars around the globe.

If the GOP can put some ‘conservative’ with a track record that confirms his words and supports these items I would gladly vote for him and that leaves out the last three of four Presidential GOP nominees.

 

[Jennifer_G]

Dr. Ben Carson for President, with Condi as Veep.

If he does, at least we know he’ll run his campaign with surgical precision.

 

[Path_Finder]

Not voting for anything less than the ‘perfect’ candidate is a straw man.

I am saying I wont vote for ANYONE that is in favor of tolerating moves toward same sex marriage, promotes restricting gun rights one more iota, does not want to effectively end abortion, or who wants to increase the size of the federal government and entangle us in more wars around the globe.

If the GOP can put some ‘conservative’ with a track record that confirms his words and supports these items I would gladly vote for him and that leaves out the last three of four Presidential GOP nominees.

So you did vote for Romney, he ran pro-life in 2008; that qualifies as a track record.

He got the pro-life endorsements, including those of Massachusetts who know his record better than anyone.

Planned Parenthood spent millions in ads saying he’d overturn Roe v. Wade.

 

[Path_Finder]

Irresponsible foreign affairs, Middle-East and so on and someone who ships $225 million to the UN for population control, abortions in China, this is what we’ve gotten with Obama and fully funded Planned Parenthood.

Anne Fox of Massachusetts citizens for life:

lifenews.com/2012/01/19/mitt-romney-is-consistently-pro-life-mass-activist-says/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+lifenews%2Fnewsfeed+%28LifeNews.com%29

aboutmittromney.com/pro-life-endorsements.htm

“Since being elected governor, Mitt Romney has had a consistent commitment to the culture of life. As governor, he worked closely with Massachusetts Citizens for Life. Misguided attempts to blame Mitt Romney for the fact that state-funded health care in Massachusetts funds abortion ignore the facts. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled in 1981 that the Massachusetts Constitution requires the funding of abortion. This decision forces Massachusetts to fund abortion to the same extent it funds other medical procedures. A 1986 attempt to overturn the court ruling with a Constitutional Amendment failed. Obviously, in providing health coverage, the governor and the legislature were bound by this decision.”

LifeNews.com - Mitt Romney is “Consistently” Pro-Life, Mass Activist Says - Jan 19, 2012

“Ms. Fox of Citizens for Life says her antiabortion group began having regular contact with a Romney aide [while Romney was governor] and through him asked if Mr. Romney’s wife, Ann, would become an honorary chairwoman of its new capital campaign. She did so.”

massprolife.org - Jan 4, 2012

So no reason to post again that Planned Parenthood was adamantly against Romney, so who do we trust on this?

I will go with trusting the pro-life organizations and others.

 

[Path_Finder]

Planned Parenthood gets Federal Monies, I don’t care how they say they divide it? What are they doing endorsing candidates? Needs to have a stop put to it.

Planned Parenthood Abortion Biz Trashes Pro-Life Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker

lifenews.com/2014/10/10/planned-parenthood-abortion-biz-trashes-pro-life-wisconsin-governor-scott-walker/

Governor Walker has been a tireless advocate for women and unborn children, and when the bill passed, Wisconsin Right to Life applauded his efforts to protect citizens in their state. The legislative director of Wisconsin Right to Life, Susan Armacost, said “We thank Governor Walker for signing this important piece of legislation into law. Sonya’s Law will empower women to make truly informed decisions regarding how they will proceed with their pregnancies and will protect the lives of women who experience complications after their abortions.”

 

[ishii]

Not voting for anything less than the ‘perfect’ candidate is a straw man.

I am saying I wont vote for ANYONE that is in favor of tolerating moves toward same sex marriage, promotes restricting gun rights one more iota, does not want to effectively end abortion, or who wants to increase the size of the federal government and entangle us in more wars around the globe.

If the GOP can put some ‘conservative’ with a track record that confirms his words and supports these items I would gladly vote for him and that leaves out the last three of four Presidential GOP nominees.

In other words, you won’t settle for anything less than the “perfect conservative” - and you decide what “pefect” means to you. You’re unrealistic. For example, you say “effectively ends abortion” - but as you know, unless Roe V Wade is overturned, it will be difficult for states to pass laws that truly end abortion in their states. So the president needs to nominate constructionist judges. The right to life groups understand this. Apparently you don’t. There is no perfect conservative. Politics is about compromise. You don’t always get everything you want. Sometimes you have to make concessions. You can be one of those “true believers” who doesn’t compromise at all. Just don’t be surprised when your candidate gets a whopping .09% of the vote next election. The rest of us will deal with political reality and remain in the trenches fighting to elect the most conservative candidate possible with the best chance of winning. If that is Christ Christie, so be it. If its Romney again, so be it. If that is Ted Cruz, so be it. I would rather have any one of those I mentioned choosing the justices, not Hillary.

The left is real. The left is not Romney. It is not Christie. Or Jeb Bush. It needs to be opposed. If we sit at home in a fit of self-righteous perfectionism then the left will surely win.

Ishii

 

[ishii]

So you did vote for Romney, he ran pro-life in 2008; that qualifies as a track record.

He got the pro-life endorsements, including those of Massachusetts who know his record better than anyone.

Planned Parenthood spent millions in ads saying he’d overturn Roe v. Wade.

I am convinced that Romney would have pursued pro-life policies. Of course we’ll never know because too many conservatives thought he wasn’t conservative enough. His advisor on justices was Robert Bork. His VP was Paul Ryan.

Those who think Obama and Romney were more or less the same (if they truly believe that) are not in touch with reality.

Ishii

 

[Path_Finder]

I am convinced that Romney would have pursued pro-life policies. Of course we’ll never know because too many conservatives thought he wasn’t conservative enough. His advisor on justices was Robert Bork. His VP was Paul Ryan.

Those who think Obama and Romney were more or less the same (if they truly believe that) are not in touch with reality.

Ishii

I definitely think he would have been a good President if not better. What we have here is for those who did not show up and it is blamed on a number of factors, Romney still won the Republican strongholds, they really didn’t have a 2nd choice, so the swing-states, Ohio, Virginia, Iowa, this was where the breakthrough was needed. Sad state of affairs.

President Obama had also a lot going for him as being relatively charismatic to many people and being the first black President, Hillary conceivably could be the first woman President if she wins but I don’t think she has that same attractiveness. Scanning headlines earlier, I think I actually saw one that Joe Biden was doing better with young people.

Romney was needed for strong leadership as we see so much trouble in the Middle East, we need good job creation. So it goes, unfortunate.

 

[RGCheek]

So you did vote for Romney, he ran pro-life in 2008; that qualifies as a track record.

No, that qualifies as rhetorical smoke. His track record on abortion comes from his ACTIONS as governor of Mass.

slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/the_conversion/2012/02/mitt_romney_s_abortion_record_flip_flop_or_conversion_.html

Romney began his political career as a pro-choicer. …
Romney has complex views and a talent for framing them either way, depending on his audience. He values truth, so he makes sure there’s an element of it in everything he says. He can’t stand to break his promises, so he reinterprets them.
Parts of the story have been told before. But no one has put it together. And no one has assembled the many video and audio clips that bear witness to what happened. In this article, the first complete examination of Romney’s journey, you’ll see his transformation on camera. …
When you see the story in its full context, three things become clear. First, this was no flip-flop. Romney is a man with many facets, groping his way through a series of fluid positions on an array of difficult issues. His journey isn’t complete. It never will be. Second, for Romney, abortion was never really a policy question. He didn’t want to change the law. What he wanted to change was his identity. And third, the malleability at Romney’s core is as much about his past as about his future. Again and again, he has struggled to make sense not just of what he should do, but of who he has been. The problem with Romney isn’t that he keeps changing his mind. The problem is that he keeps changing his story.
Romney didn’t ask the brethren in Salt Lake what his abortion position should be. He had already decided on it. He didn’t ask them to endorse it, either. He came to explain his position, why he had to take it, and how it conformed to church doctrine. He told them he would say that he opposed abortion personally but that such private beliefs shouldn’t be imposed on others. Romney argued that this view was acceptable under the doctrine of free agency, and he used the poll data to close the sale. If he didn’t frame his position as pro-choice, he’d lose. Many of the church leaders were unhappy with Romney’s formulation. But if they wanted him in the Senate, this was the best they were going to get.

issues2000.org/2012/Mitt_Romney_Abortion.htm

Abortion burned as a front burner issue in 1994. Romney established himself as a passionate supporter of abortion rights early on in the campaign, despite his personal opposition to abortion. In fact, his professed views would grow more liberal over the course of the race. Romney initially said he opposed Medicaid funding for abortion. He later softened that position to say he favored leaving the question of coverage up to the states. Romney also endorsed the legalization of RU-486, the abortion-inducing drug, and appeared in June at a fund-raiser for Planned Parenthood. Ann Romney gave the group $150.
Romney asserted that his family had supported a woman’s right to a safe, legal abortion ever since the October 1963 death of his brother-in-law’s sister, Ann Hartman Keenan, from complication following an illegal abortion.

Romney is pro-life like Pelosi is pro-life; personally opposed to murdering unborn babies but opposed to making it illegal too. That isn’t pro-life, that is pro-choice and he has said so.

He got the pro-life endorsements, including those of Massachusetts who know his record better than anyone.

These pro-life organizations are so joined at the hip to the GOP now it wouldn’t matter who they nominated.

Planned Parenthood spent millions in ads saying he’d overturn Roe v. Wade.

Yeah, because they wanted more donations. Having approvable candidates on BOTH tickets has long been Progressive tactics 101.

And Romney met that need for the Progressives in 2012.

 

[RGCheek]

I am convinced that Romney would have pursued pro-life policies. Of course we’ll never know because too many conservatives thought he wasn’t conservative enough.

No, it is that he wasn’t a conservative at all on the top issues like abortion, gun rights and smaller government. Romney is a classic RINO, liberal-by-another-name.

Those who think Obama and Romney were more or less the same (if they truly believe that) are not in touch with reality.

Ishii

No they are totally in touch with reality Notice how Romney campaigned so hard on ending Obamacare? Of course not because he couldn’t after his own passage of Romneycare in Mass.

Notice Romney’s strong support of conservatives over RINOs in the GOP primaries and state conventions? Of course not, because Romney and his people gutted these people like day old fish and kicked them out of the top GOP positions. The way his people ran rough-shod over social conservatives was a disgrace and borderline criminal.

No one his people bullied and locked out will ever forget the treatment, no, not ever.

But you can keep on talking about this being about unperfect conservatives all you want; but that is not reality.

 

[Mulligan2]

If he does, at least we know he’ll run his campaign with surgical precision.

I suspect the opposite is true - if he runs he will have about as much success as Ted Cruz would have trying to perform an actual surgery. But I hope he does run, for the same reason I hope Donald Trump runs - it will be an entertaining train wreck, and they will find out how the voters of America really feel about them.

 

[ishii]

No, it is that he wasn’t a conservative at all on the top issues like abortion, gun rights and smaller government. Romney is a classic RINO, liberal-by-another-name.

No they are totally in touch with reality Notice how Romney campaigned so hard on ending Obamacare? Of course not because he couldn’t after his own passage of Romneycare in Mass.

Notice Romney’s strong support of conservatives over RINOs in the GOP primaries and state conventions? Of course not, because Romney and his people gutted these people like day old fish and kicked them out of the top GOP positions. The way his people ran rough-shod over social conservatives was a disgrace and borderline criminal.

No one his people bullied and locked out will ever forget the treatment, no, not ever.

But you can keep on talking about this being about unperfect conservatives all you want; but that is not reality.

Yes, RGCheek, I am familiar with the litany of excuses trotted out by the true believers to rationalize abandoning the only guy who could put a stop to all the things Obama was doing to our country. So you didn’t like Romney because of what he said/did in 1994 in Massachusetts. I did like what Romney was saying/doing circa 2012. Two of the things he did was to pick Paul Ryan as his running mate and pick Robert Bork to advise on his judicial policy.

But he was secretly doing the bidding of Planned Parenthood. Right. Yes, as we know, Robert Bork is the favorite of the abortion lobby. And Paul Ryan is/was secretly pro-choice too or he really didn’t care about abortion. Or he was stupid. That is what you have to believe in order to believe that Romney was pro-abortion or would have pursued pro-abortion policies while president. You also have to believe the pro-life movement is corrupt and doesn’t care about ending legal abortion. Ultimately the true believers have to believe that anyone who disagrees with them is either a closet progressive, a dupe, or doesn’t care. Yes - as I said earlier, some are not quite in touch with reality. (political reality).

But don’t worry about it. I think you should either stay at home or vote for Virgil Goode or Howard Phillips so you can feel right about who you voted for. Leave the fighting against the secular leftists to those who understand what is at stake and know who the enemies and friends really are.

Ishii

 

[ishii]

I suspect the opposite is true - if he runs he will have about as much success as Ted Cruz would have trying to perform an actual surgery. But I hope he does run, for the same reason I hope Donald Trump runs - it will be an entertaining train wreck, and they will find out how the voters of America really feel about them.

I would like to see Ben Carson as surgeon general or perhaps a US Senator. His life is an amazing American success story of hard work and persistence. What a powerful contrast to the Democrat message of reliance on the government. He is admired by so many people - and rightly so. That said, he wouldn’t be a serious candidate any more than Herman Cain was. You need to hold elective office to run for president - unless you led the Union army in the Civil war to victory, or were the Supreme Commander of Allied Forces during WW2.

Ishii

 

[ishii]

Irresponsible foreign affairs, Middle-East and so on and someone who ships $225 million to the UN for population control, abortions in China, this is what we’ve gotten with Obama and fully funded Planned Parenthood.

Anne Fox of Massachusetts citizens for life:

lifenews.com/2012/01/19/mitt-romney-is-consistently-pro-life-mass-activist-says/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+lifenews%2Fnewsfeed+%28LifeNews.com%29

aboutmittromney.com/pro-life-endorsements.htm

So no reason to post again that Planned Parenthood was adamantly against Romney, so who do we trust on this?

I will go with trusting the pro-life organizations and others.

These pro-life organizations are so joined at the hip to the GOP now it wouldn’t matter who they nominated.
.

Thanks Pathfinder for the info and links. To believe what the True Believers say about Romney, you have to believe that Bork was a traitor - a secret pro-abortionist. Or stupid. Paul Ryan was a traitor, a secret abortion supporter. Or stupid. and the pro-life movement is fraudulent/corrupt. Or stupid.

Perhaps, RGCheek, there is a grand conspiracy. Maybe you should look into that.

Ishii

 

[Hoosier_Daddy]

I understand how you feel. I feel conflicted at times, too. I feel like it’s getting more difficult to vote, as time goes by.

I never feel conflicted. Just sad.
To me there is not two options to feel a conflict about. I think voting for a certain party is something I can never do because of my beliefs and faith. And I think a third party vote is just as bad as it is allowing a party that I would never want to win, to win. Primaries are fun, because you can really vote your exact pick. But when it comes down to the general election… Well, I usually pull the lever for the “R” with tears in my eyes and a heavy heart. But zero conflict.

 

[ishii]

I understand how you feel. I feel conflicted at times, too. I feel like it’s getting more difficult to vote, as time goes by.

I never feel conflicted. Just sad.
To me there is not two options to feel a conflict about. I think voting for a certain party is something I can never do because of my beliefs and faith. And I think a third party vote is just as bad as it is allowing a party that I would never want to win, to win. Primaries are fun, because you can really vote your exact pick. But when it comes down to the general election… Well, I usually pull the lever for the “R” with tears in my eyes and a heavy heart. But zero conflict.

I have no problem voting for the best possible candidate among a flawed field. I am not sure why pulling the lever for the “R” would cause tears. I may not agree with everything a candidate stands for but I know what the left is. And I know which candidates are not of the left. I recently had the opportunity to say hello to Dan Evans - formerUS senator and 3 term governor of Washington. He’s in his late 80’s. I told him we need him back in the senate and he laughed. I wasn’t kidding though.

Ishii

 

[SunnyslopeIII]

I’m liking Jindal and Walker, so far. But, there certainly are a lot of great choices, and it’s early.

 

[ishii]

I’m liking Jindal and Walker, so far. But, there certainly are a lot of great choices, and it’s early.

Jindal is brilliant. Walker took on the whole liberal establishment in Wisconsin and survived the recall. I think a walker/jindal ticket would be formidable.

Ishii