Virginia up to no good with their (sic) “Loyalty Oath”

Doesn't it seem odd, in such a narrow field of TWO CANDIDATES that there would be need for an honor system? Well, that's what the state of Virginia has surmised. ABC reported today that the Virginia State Board of Elections has issued (on behalf of the Virginia GOP) a “loyalty oath” for voters to take before casting their vote for the state primary. Its not a law or a regulation, its clearly of the “honor system” but one has to ask them-self: is their anything honorable about putting party over candidate? Then, you have to consider who put it out… the state GOP. The Establishment. They see party above all else both state and nationally and that is why the GOP is in such disarray.

Ideas that are outside of that narrow thought box that currently dominates the present Republican Party will not be tolerated. Thus, you should be of honor and vote your party regardless who the candidate is; even if the Establishment Republican party is out of touch with a good portion of its base. Gee, what a bummer for the GOP if one of the two candidates on the ballot was to run third party? Or what if one of the candidates supporters didn't like the treatment of said candidate and decided to "spoil" the election for the GOP?

Again, there are only two candidates on the states ballot. That is Mitt Romney and Ron Paul. Can you guess who the establishment chosen one is? That only leaves one person left who doesn’t fit the mold. Seems as if “they” are pulling out all the stops doesn’t it?

Michelle Bachman, a liar and clearly not a physics major (Thank you Mr Hicks:)

There has been much ado about Michele Bachman’s Co-Chair, Kent Sorenson, defecting to the Ron Paul camp and justifiably so; its not often such an important if not visible role in a campaign as chair is - leaves for a rival with the outcome of the primary still in doubt. So to make up for this obvious sucker punch Bachman does what most politicians would do; they threw mud saying Mr Sorenson left for a large sum of money. If he did or did not (he denies it) is irrelevant, because this about as clear of an SOS signal as a sinking ship can deliver.

How does one fall from winning the straw poll with 24% to fall into the single digits just six months later? It’s hard to pinpoint what or how but what is not hard to pontificate is the fact that Michele Bachman just doesn’t get it. This was her quote today on the subject:

"Clearly, I think that was a reaction from the Ron Paul campaign because they've seen the overwhelming momentum that we've had for candidacy. People have left his campaign and have come to ours in terms of supporters and I think that's unruffled their feathers," said Bachmann.

HUH? Overwhelming momentum? The only momentum she has is downward… like free falling. There is no momentum. There are reports of pastors asking her or Santorum to quit! People leaving the Paul campaign for hers? He leads the field with the most veracious support and is often polled as having the people less likely to change their minds, yet they are leaving for her sinking ship at the same time her co-chair leaves it?

Then there is this story from reuters quoting Bachman's own political director in Iowa, Wes Enos who came to the former Co-Chairs defense contradicting Bachmans claim that Sorenson left for money. This was Enos' statement:

"I can say unequivocally that Kent Sorenson’s decision was, in no way financially motivated. His decision had more to do with the fact that the Ron Paul supporters have been something of a family to him since he was first elected in 2008 and here in the end, as it becomes more and more apparent that the caucus cycle is coming to an end, Kent believed that he needed to be with them as they stand on the cusp of a potential caucus upset. While I personally disagree with Kent’s decision, and plan to stay with Michele Bachmann because I truly believe in her, I cannot, in good conscious watch a good man like Kent Sorenson be attacked as a “sell-out” …. That is simply not the case, and it was not the basis of his decision."

A day later, Enos resigned as well. Ouch.

Is Mitt Romney the "hope and change" candidate of '12?

It’s kind of funny to watch Mitt Romney nestle up to the American working man of the mid-west. You see it all over Iowa as if he feels in his heart of heart… he understands their problems and really feels their plight. The man who once joked he was “also unemployed” to a table of alleged people in Florida who were actually… unemployed. All this despite that he sits on a net worth that’s said to be over 200+ million. Hardly, the same situation the almost 10% of Americans face, no doubt.

See, Romney chooses to be unemployed. He quit his job as Governor. What has he done since? He’s run for President ... yes, for four years. So, in reality, Romney should be the shoe in for the Republican nomination. He has obviously concentrated four years on this moment, thus his organization is strong and built up. He has the biggest war chest of anyone running. Last but not least, he has K-Street and big business on his side.

Politico ran a story in July about the super PAC: Restore Our Future, where 90 of the wealthiest citizens poured in 12.2 million dollars for Mr Romney. This was the same month where Jonathen Martin of Politico reported a fundraiser where Romney joined Trent (super lobby) Lott in a “lawyers for Romney” dinner that included a who’s who of lobbyists. According to OpenSecrets.com, Romney at this time, leads all candidates (including Pres Obama) in fundraising in the following sectors:

Commercial banks

Hedge Funds & Private Equity

Securities and Investment

And not just leading; he’s cleaning up, at a rate of at least 2:1 in all three sectors. Why do you suppose Romney attracts the elite? Because, Mr. Romney is quite frankly, one of them. Good or bad he is big business through and through. He’s Wall Street incarnate. He presents both the ideals and the soul of Wall Street. That isn’t necessarily bad, but the soul and ideals of Wall Street are on separate paths.

The soul of Wall Street was and will always be the investing in America. It’s the place where mice become giants; both individually and corporately. It goes back to the time where people bought into companies for the long term because they believed in them. Not because of some algorithm or day trader of the modern era... it was but the true investing in the future of Americana. Mitt Romney is proof of that. He climbed the ladder. However, the ideals of Wall Street are much less clear. The best description would be murky at best; while many might say – haughty and insatiable. And it appears that is how some see Mr Romney as well.

This is a guy who made a fortune off leveraged buyouts; buying up struggling companies (with borrowed money) and then slashing personnel, shipping jobs overseas and selling off assets to pay off his company; while many of them filed for bankruptcy afterwards. If he views corporations as people, what does he see the people inside those corporations as? This is hardly a job creator...think of him more in the Ryan Bingham mold. But, its part of that Wall Street ideal he is a part of. How can anyone go into a job creation business (i don’t agree with this Presidential notion of job creating, it’s the general economy, but I digress) when all they have done is take them away?

Some might point to his tenure at governor where he left with a 2 Billion dollar surplus as an indication of fiscal conservatism and it would be hard to argue but should the government be running a profit? If you think about it, shouldn’t all levels of government look to break even? In an economy where jobs are at the forefront his term as Governor paints a picture that isn’t as rosy as his profits. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in his time in office the state only seen 1.2% more jobs then when he entered office, hardly a guy “who knows jobs”. If you factor in population and other variables; 1.2% isn’t worth a hill of beans. In fact during that time period, it ranked 47^th in the nation.

What does this all mean? It means the country faces an era of uncertainty and a looming battle for what we want and how we will have to pay (without borrowing) for it. There is going to come a time where Americans have to understand that our way of life as we know it cannot be sustained on its current path and tough choices are going to have to be made. Is Mitt Romney a guy to do so? On the outside it appears, yes, he is. He has the credentials and the reputation as a “cleaner” and in this environment that could play well; we need someone to do just that, clean up the mess in Washington. However, underneath the surface what does that entail? His constant politicking and coming off chameleon like has put people off and the perception is he will say anything to anyone to win their vote; that just isn’t principled.

Then you have his ties to Wall Street. President Obama ran on a platform that was about as anti-establishment/Wall Street as you can get; however his cabinet was anything but. We didn’t see any change but instead more of the same old failures. How will Mitt Romney be any different, despite his proven ability to do so? From my view it’s hard to take the Establishment out of an Establishment candidate and if his backers are any indication - it looks like business as usual.

Santorum poses for the first token hunting trip of the season...

With less then a week left Rick Santorum, the social conservative who once lobbied for the WWF (now WWE) apparently learned a thing or two about acting during his work as he "tried" to impress gun owners and hunters with his ridiculous and obvious hunting (for votes) paraphernalia yesterday.

According to Santorum, he took his son out with him for his first hunting trip (i would assume to be true) and bought all his kids guns for Christmas and then ate the wild game he took that day. It seems pretty desperate to put your family through all this to appeal to a voter but if his sons liked it and they had food to eat... i guess its a win-win for all of the Santorum's. However, I don't know what to make of this aggressive pandering by Santorum. I mean he already has the coveted A+ rating from the NRA (just ask him); did he really need to wear the hat?

Its little wonder why Santorum is lagging in the polls. He probably has invested more time into Iowa then anyone, hes also the only candidate to my recollection that has visited every county in the state as well; so its not like he hasn't been noticed. In this election and whats paramount to win, Santorum will always be; a day late and a dollar short.

Mr Santorum represents the essence of the liberal neoconservative. Hes a hawk in our FP who sees the entire Middle East as DEFCON 1 when in reality it appears more and more as an idle threat. This is a person who had a fit over Kosovo and demanded to know an exit strategy and fumed over the cost, while dismissing to know the same for Iraq. And now he wants to wage war with Iran... if they get 1 nuclear weapon.

If that wasnt enough he puts incest and adultery in the same category as homosexuality. He agrees that the deficit and debt are out of control but refuses to cut a penny from the defense budget, concentrating only on entitlements. Hes a compassionate-conservative leftover; out of office and out of touch with reality. He cant claim a seat in the tea party nor can he claim a seat at the adult table at Christmas when talking about adult stuff like...economics. Hes a lawyer who knows whats better for you then you do. Afterall:

"Privacy. [Religious] neutrality. Free Expression. None of these terms is in the Constitution. ... [T]hese 'philosophical' tenets are pure abstractions." Santorum, It Takes a Family

Keep on hunting Iowa Rick, but you might want to pack a lunch(s).