GOP Nominee 2012 - who will it be?

[Moonlit_Angel]

Oh, Rick Santorum, please do STFU. And go crack a few history books. And go buy yourself a working brain. Thanks.

On another note, in relation to the article MrsSpringsteen shared there, my only question at the moment is: is there any chance at all we can see an end to the cheesy titles for the sorts of political books mentioned there? Seriously.

Angela

 

[anitram]

So, to summarize, Professor Santorum contends that the ancient Judeo-Christian teaching that all persons are endowed with equal rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness was the true and historical foundation for the Crusades. Except, it hadn't properly become part of the American national religion yet, which perhaps explains why the 'Judeo-Christian' Crusaders routinely slaughtered Jewish communities they encountered en route--apparently not realizing Jews actually shared their friendly intention of bringing these good tidings to the Muslim world, which unlike ours has a long and sorrowful history of slavery, imperial conquest, and clerical meddling in politics.

Better yet, they sacked their own Christian/Catholic cities and slaughtered the population and stole everything in sight. The siege of Zadar was an excellent example - the Croatian city was sacked because that's what Venice required in lieu for payment for warships and other supplies that the Venetians were producing.

 

[yolland]

Was that the Crusade where they wound up sacking Constantinople? Yeah they went pretty badly off-message with that one, even relatively speaking...

ETA--Yep Fourth Crusade, just looked it up.

Good times!

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

Mike Huckabee: Natalie Portman Pregnancy Remarks Weren't An 'Attack'

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee released a statement Friday, attempting to explain comments he made earlier this week about Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman "glamorizing" unwed pregnancy. According to Huckabee, the much-reported and largely criticized comments didn't constitute an "attack" or a "slam."

"In a recent media interview about my new book, A Simple Government, I discussed the first chapter, 'The Most Important Form of Government Is a Father, Mother, and Children,' " Huckabee said in the statement, according to Politico, referring to comments made in a radio interview Monday.

Huckabee then claimed that the controversial remarks that followed were made in response to a question about the pregnancy of Portman, who he called "extraordinary actor, very deserving of her recent Oscar." The potential 2012 Republican presidential candidate explained that he was "glad" Portman was planning to marry Benjamin Millepied, the father of her child, and that his comments weren't meant to be deprecating.

"However, contrary to what the Hollywood media reported, I did not 'slam' or 'attack' Natalie Portman, nor did I criticize the hardworking single mothers in our country," he said. "My comments were about the statistical reality that most single moms are very poor, under-educated, can't get a job, and if it weren't for government assistance, their kids would be starving to death. That's the story that we're not seeing, and it's unfortunate that society often glorifies and glamorizes the idea of having children out of wedlock."

During his interview Monday, Huckabee used Portman's situation to make a larger social commentary about single mothers.

"Most single moms are very poor, uneducated, can't get a job, and if it weren't for government assistance, their kids would be starving to death and never have health care. And that's the story that we're not seeing, and it's unfortunate that we glorify and glamorize the idea of out of children wedlock," he said. "You know, right now, 75 percent of black kids in this country are born out of wedlock. 61 percent of Hispanic kids -- across the board, 41 percent of all live births in America are out of wedlock births. And the cost of that is simply staggering."

The comments came amidst what many have considered a bad week for the presidential aspirant. Apart from recent remarks questioning Obama's childhood, the former governor also drew fire last month for comparing abortion to slavery.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

yet when bristol got pregnant that didn't "glamorise" it. huckabee is so out of touch with the real world. he just needs to shut up and keep his thoughts to himself.

 

[deep]

Huckababy is an anti-semite.

 

[Canadiens1131]

I wonder how many centuries (decades?) until we have to move to reproductive licenses in the "civilized" world. As opposed to drowning kids you don't want, a la China.

 

[Basstrap]

it would be encouraging to see more secular conservatives running for office. Conservatism does have good points to make, I will admit, but in the United States the whole republican party seems a bit of a side-show these days.
Do people actually take seriously the idea of Palin being president?

 

[BVS]

it would be encouraging to see more secular conservatives running for office. Conservatism does have good points to make, I will admit, but in the United States the whole republican party seems a bit of a side-show these days.

Absolutely! In fact I would actually consider voting for a conservative if they promised not to touch social issues, and weren't so g*ddamn backwards when it came to science.

I even thought for a brief period that Trump might actually be a good president, but now he's already started blabbing about social issues.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

Absolutely! In fact I would actually consider voting for a conservative if they promised not to touch social issues, and weren't so g*ddamn backwards when it came to science.

GOD, yes. I would do a massive happy dance if one of those conservatives popped up.

I even thought for a brief period that Trump might actually be a good president, but now he's already started blabbing about social issues.

Social issues stuff or not, I'm really not keen on the idea of him running for president. He bothers me.

Angela

 

[BVS]

Social issues stuff or not, I'm really not keen on the idea of him running for president. He bothers me.

Angela

But you have to admit he's brilliant with money, I just thought he just might be able to balance or at least get us on the right track to balancing the budget.

My only fear barring social issues is that he would favor big corporations too much and let them get away with anything.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

But you have to admit he's brilliant with money, I just thought he just might be able to balance or at least get us on the right track to balancing the budget.

My only fear barring social issues is that he would favor big corporations too much and let them get away with anything.

This is my concern. Yeah, he's clearly brilliant with money...but not in ways that I think would help people other than himself and his corporate buddies.

Plus, he's just always seemed like a bit of a tool to me. Course, if you're running for president, maybe that's a good quality to have.

Angela

 

[kramwest1]

Now's the time for a relative fiscal conservative and a social liberal/libertarian:

Spoiler

Jesse Ventura
(I'm only half kidding.)

 

[Earnie Shavers]

Why would you think Trump is suited to - essentially - running the finances of the country? Just because he's made himself personally very wealthy? I think his real genius is in marketing, and little else. It's 90% a one track business too, and not that big. The CFO of a major, diverse, truly multinational, mega-corporation would have better and more relevant budget and juggling experience. Trump builds stuff, markets it very well, and sells it very successfully. And cleverly, on the side, he's found other avenues for marketing that same image and pumping a bit more cash in. Unless I'm completely missing some part of his story, that's about it?

 

[BVS]

Why would you think Trump is suited to - essentially - running the finances of the country? Just because he's made himself personally very wealthy? I think his real genius is in marketing, and little else. It's 90% a one track business too, and not that big. The CFO of a major, diverse, truly multinational, mega-corporation would have better and more relevant budget and juggling experience. Trump builds stuff, markets it very well, and sells it very successfully. And cleverly, on the side, he's found other avenues for marketing that same image and pumping a bit more cash in. Unless I'm completely missing some part of his story, that's about it?

He's brought himself from meager means to billionaire, to in debt to billionaire again so I would say it takes a little more than marketing. Also, he's very particular and smart about who he surrounds himself with, and I think that's a BIG part of what makes a good president. Plus he has more than real estate and a tv show on his plate.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

Seriously Newt? Bill Clinton should have tried that excuse..



Gawker — Today's gossip is tomorrow's news

Gingrich's 'Passion for the Country' Led Him to Have Affairs

Presidential half-contender Newt Gingrich sat down with the Christian Broadcasting Network to discuss such past indiscretions as cheating on his two previous wives with their eventual successors. And Gingrich, at least "partially," blamed his conduct during these episodes on his love for America. Wait, what?

He tells CBN's David Brody that "there's no question at times of my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked far too hard and things happened in my life that were not appropriate."

This should settle the issue for good. He was serving his country so dutifully that he couldn't help but get an America Boner , for which the only antidote was Callista. Are you writing this down, guys?

[via the Washington Post]

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...o-kay....

Speaking of tools...

Angela

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

Well at least we know Obama will never cheat on Michelle, since he hates America. *sigh of relief *

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

Well at least we know Obama will never cheat on Michelle, since he hates America. *sigh of relief *

True! Very true! Apparently Lady Liberty's temptations aren't strong on all men .

Angela

 

[Irvine511]

i totally think it's valid for a thrice married serial adulterer who dumped his wives while they were sick (cancer, MS) to believe that marriage is only between a men and (healthy, younger, several) women.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

i totally think it's valid for a thrice married serial adulterer who dumped his wives while they were sick (cancer, MS) to believe that marriage is only between a men and (healthy, younger, several) women.

I think so too-especially since he was just being patriotic



Huffington Post

In his recently released book, Mike Huckabee invokes "death panels" -- a now-infamous and debunked attack first made by former Alaska governor Sarah Palin in 2009 in criticizing proposed health care reform legislation.

According to Media Matters, the potential presidential candidate writes in A Simple Government: Twelve Things We Really Need from Washington:

Tucked away in the $787 billion stimulus was the establishment of the Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness, which will become our version of Britain's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, the ironically and Orwellian-named NICE. NICE decides who lives and who dies based on age and the cost of treatment. So the stimulus didn't just waste your money; it planted the seeds from which the poisonous tree of death panels will grow.

The former Arkansas governor reportedly goes on to suggest that it is "the most helpless and vulnerable among us" whose care will be rationed -- including the old and the young, as well as those "who don't live politically correct lives" or "have too many cigarettes or cocktails or cans of soda."

According to Huckabee, "'Death by Chocolate' won't just be a cute name on the dessert menu.'"

Huckabee made a stop on his book tour in North Carolina on Tuesday. The Asheville Citizen-Times reports that the possible White House contender was received as "something of a Republican rock star" by the crowd.

As for when Huckabee might be expected to announce whether or not he plans to run in 2012, the former governor reportedly didn't let any details slip on his intentions at the event.

"I am very seriously considering it, and my time frame is this summer to make the decision," he said, according to the Citizen-Times.

 

[yolland]

Jeffrey Goldberg (blog), The Atlantic, Mar. 10

"There's no question at times of my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked far too hard and things happened in my life that were not appropriate." -- Newt Gingrich​

I didn't want it to happen, of course. No one does. When you take the marriage vows, you take them for life, right? So at first, I suppressed those unwanted feelings. Sure, I noticed her purple mountain majesties as soon as she walked in the room. I mean, who didn't? Believe me, in a sweater, those purple mountains sure were majestic. And her amber waves of grain? I couldn't pry my eyes away. So lush and, well, ambery. What was I to do? Maybe it's because my defenses were down--I was working so hard at the time--that my mind soon wandered to her fruited plains. Bad, bad thoughts! But I just couldn't help myself.

At first, of course, I didn't say a word. I tried to confirm my soul in self-control. Oh, how I tried! And she played it straight, even when she caught me staring at her alabaster cities. But then I succumbed. I succumbed to sin. It was a business trip, of course. What a trip! It took us from the redwood forests all the way to the gulf stream waters. I was working so hard! Did I mention that I was working so very hard?

On that perilous night, when I first lifted my lamp by her golden door, she was dressed in broad stripes and bright stars. I was always a sucker for broad stripes and bright stars. It happened after a long day of exceedingly hard work. Boy, was I tired from all that hard work! She knew I wanted her. And I knew she wanted me. In a flash, our clothes fell to the floor, and she whispered huskily in my ear, "Give me your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free," and before I knew it, I saw that golden valley. Oh, the rockets' red glare! The bombs bursting in air! In that moment of indivisible union, I screamed out, "America, America! God shed His grace on thee!"

I was hopelessly, irretrievably in love. I guess that makes me a sinner. But it also makes me a patriot.

 

[kramwest1]

Ass. Hat.

 

[Diemen]

nm

 

[kramwest1]

Sorry.

Newt Gingrich seems to treat women very poorly. I feel that makes him an ass. Yet, he goes out of his way to explain his despicable actions. He seems to wear them as proudly as one would a hat.

I feel that makes Newt Gingrich an asshat.

 

[Irvine511]

Newt Gingrich seems to treat women very poorly.

so does the Republican party.

 

[the iron horse]

"Newt Gingrich seems to treat women very poorly."

so does the Republican party.

Please post some facts to back your statement.

 

[corianderstem]

Here's a site just for you!

Republicans Hate Women

That appears to be a work in progress. But here's a collection of reasons why some people might come to this conclusion. Complete with sources listed!

http://agentlemansview.com/2011/03/09/gop-we-hate-women/

Reading is fun. CLAP CLAP CLAP

 

[kramwest1]

"Newt Gingrich and the Republican party seem to treat women very poorly."

Please post some facts to back your statement.

Minnesota GOP: Equal pay for women is “unnecessary and costly” | Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee

Twenty-two Republican state legislators in Minnesota have apparently decided that equal enough should be good enough for women who hope to be paid fairly in that state.

At least, that’s the message they’re sending through their drive to repeal Minnesota’s landmark 1984 fair pay law, the Local Government Pay Equity Act (LGPEA), which requires local governments to track and report every three years on the pay of their employees. That data is then used to ensure that systemic pay discrimination against women does not occur. The GOP’s plan to repeal LGPEA was quietly tucked within a larger bill sponsored by the legislators.

No need for equal pay if you're barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen.

 

[PhilsFan]

Please post some facts to back your statement.

Please read and respond to facts listed by multiple posters above.