Flipping through the channels last night and ended up watching the Florida debate. Mitt and Newt have armed the democrats with all the weapons they will need to be defeated. Both appear chomping at the bit to go to war with Iran. It looks too easy for them to send someone else kid to die. Sanotorum’s idea to allow home owners to sell and then write off their housing losses met with no interest. Finally we have Ron Paul. Perhaps the best of the candidates running but way outside the mainstream GOP.
Flipping through the channels last night and ended up watching the Florida debate. Mitt and Newt have armed the democrats with all the weapons they will need to be defeated. Both appear chomping at the bit to go to war with Iran. It looks too easy for them to send someone else kid to die. Sanotorum’s idea to allow home owners to sell and then write off their housing losses met with no interest. Finally we have Ron Paul. Perhaps the best of the candidates running but way outside the mainstream GOP.
A lot of folks love Paul for his views on the relationship of government to the people, at least on the domestic front. Unfortunately, his Crazy Uncle-like foreign policy views make a lot people piss themselves in fear of what he’d create so he’s not going to be able to win by going the traditional primary route. BUT: From what I’ve heard, the Paulbots are maneuvering for a brokered or open convention in which he’d have rounded up enough delegates to prevail. Some folks in the 'Pub side of the house think the chances are better than even that a brokered Republican convention will occur this time around.
I noticed that Santorum idea. I contrasted it with his statement about Romney and Newt’s “destructive capitalism” regarding bailouts and Bain restructurings. Thought it was pretty hilarious.
Newt’s sliminess is impressive. He manages to turn any negative thing about his life into a positive by playing the victim. How dare you bring up my obvious faults, like being the only Speaker to ever resign in disgrace after his own party ditched him! There’s only so long that can last. Long enough to get him the nomination? I doubt it.
Romney is starting to get a bit more emotion going. He seems less like the Al Gore wooden indian than in 2008.
Edit: I didn’t say anything about Paul, so I will say this: he needs a new tailor. That was a poorly fitting suit.
After Iraq and Afghanistan, Mitt and Newt are hinting ever so seductively about going to war with Iran, and it’s Ron Paul who’s got the crazy foreign policy?
Yer crazy.
After Iraq and Afghanistan, Mitt and Newt are hinting ever so seductively about going to war with Iran, and it’s Ron Paul who’s got the crazy foreign policy?
Yer crazy.
Whats your solution to a radical group of people who have supported terrorism for decades getting nukes ?
There is more than one way to skin a cat and “war” has many forms. We see how Obamas pie in the sky idea of sitting down with the Iranian crazies worked out.
And yes Paul is crazy because his argument is the old “Well we have them so everyone else should be able to also”. I wonder if he supports criminally insane people buying firearms since to not do so would mean the government would be intervening in your private life.
I know the debate was all about generating sound bites and had little to do with actually with articulating real policy but I was annoyed how the Final Four seemed to think that name dropping Pam Bondi meant they knew something about Florida issues.
For example, one of the candidates mentioned something about blockading the Gulf of Mexico, which is rather an absurd thing to try to contemplate. Guantanamo is used for more than holding inconvenient prisoners, it’s a working base in a lot of other ways, there’s NAS Key West at the narrow point into the Gulf, and further along the shore there’s McDill and the Panhandle bases, of which Eglin claims most of the eastern Gulf as their own private test range. Plus lots and lots of Coasties trying to stop the drug runners and floating 1952 Buicks. In short, while they’re not going to stop every small cigarette boat illegally entering US waters, (see below) that area is extremely heavily monitored andit would be hard for ships large enough to blockade to set up shop unannounced.
Second, no real answer on the dead Castro question, which is the other 3:00am phone call that will send the state EOC in Tallahassee to Defcon 1. People remember how much of a clusterfuck Mariel was, and want a leader with a plan to prevent an influx that could be multiple times larger than that. The EOC was also fairly freaked about the Haiti earthquake before it became obvious that people were actually listening to advice not to try an ocean crossing to reach the Keys. That kind of possible mass refugee inflow is a real concern here.
Third, no comment at all about high quality standards if we are going to expand drilling in the Gulf. My friends in the tourism biz who lost their jobs over BP say Fuck You Very Much.
After Iraq and Afghanistan, Mitt and Newt are hinting ever so seductively about going to war with Iran, and it’s Ron Paul who’s got the crazy foreign policy?
Yer crazy.
Whats your solution to a radical group of people who have supported terrorism for decades getting nukes ?
There is more than one way to skin a cat and “war” has many forms. We see how Obamas pie in the sky idea of sitting down with the Iranian crazies worked out.
I think you’re missing who the radicals are in this equation. Iran’s government are hardly the ‘good guys’ but they’re not suicidal by any stretch. Their actions over the past decade have proven that they are mostly concerned with their own self-interest - and starting a nuclear war against countries with HUGE nuclear arsenals is hardly in their own self-interest.
Never mind that their program is still in its infancy and it’s hardly something that needs to be ‘dealt with’ by this or the next administration.
Maybe it’s better to look at how much money Mitt and Newt are getting from defense industry lobbyists.
Whats your solution to a radical group of people who have supported terrorism for decades getting nukes ?
I don’t need a solution because it does not present me with a problem. Iran poses no more threat to us than Iraq did.
I know the debate was all about generating sound bites and had little to do with actually with articulating real policy but I was annoyed how the Final Four seemed to think that name dropping Pam Bondi meant they knew something about Florida issues.
For example, one of the candidates mentioned something about blockading the Gulf of Mexico, which is rather an absurd thing to try to contemplate. Guantanamo is used for more than holding inconvenient prisoners, it’s a working base in a lot of other ways, there’s NAS Key West at the narrow point into the Gulf, and further along the shore there’s McDill and the Panhandle bases, of which Eglin claims most of the eastern Gulf as their own private test range. Plus lots and lots of Coasties trying to stop the drug runners and floating 1952 Buicks. In short, while they’re not going to stop every small cigarette boat illegally entering US waters, (see below) that area is extremely heavily monitored andit would be hard for ships large enough to blockade to set up shop unannounced.
Second, no real answer on the dead Castro question, which is the other 3:00am phone call that will send the state EOC in Tallahassee to Defcon 1. People remember how much of a clusterfuck Mariel was, and want a leader with a plan to prevent an influx that could be multiple times larger than that. The EOC was also fairly freaked about the Haiti earthquake before it became obvious that people were actually listening to advice not to try an ocean crossing to reach the Keys. That kind of possible mass refugee inflow is a real concern here.
Third, no comment at all about high quality standards if we are going to expand drilling in the Gulf. My friends in the tourism biz who lost their jobs over BP say Fuck You Very Much.
The Cuban related questions probably left a lot of America scratching their heads. The Cuban lobby holds a lot of sway here. Their is a contingent of Cuban exiles which include Mel Martinez, who have grand designs of returning after Castro is gone and reclaiming what they view is rightfully theirs. They already have a drafted constitution and leadership committee to make it happen. I wonder how much say the natives who have lived on that property for 40-50 years will have in the new gov’t.
Whats your solution to a radical group of people who have supported terrorism for decades getting nukes ?
I don’t need a solution because it does not present me with a problem. Iran poses no more threat to us than Iraq did.
I’m hiding Saddam’s WMD’s in my basement. Nobody thought to look there!
x2
Without war you wouldn’t need such an expensive military and that job program is very popular, especially within the ranks of those who have served bombing the world in the name of democracy…LOL!..of course the US cannot afford to sign up and pay for all those wars but the clueless haven’t figured out that the days of the USD as WRC are coming to an end.
I don’t think that it is wrong for Iran to have a nuclear weapon. I do however think it is wrong for the US to occupy foreign land and create unnecessary tension with its worldwide military presence. It’s hilarious to me how the GOP conservative base claims that having guns is a good thing as guns lower crime yet they don’t apply the same principle to foreign policy. It’s that pick and choose mentality of the GOP that is beyond hypocritical.
Iran, Russia, China, etc. all hinted at using currencies other than the USD to settle trade…
I do a lot of business at GTMO and have an optimistic outlook on Cuba post Castro. We are already seeing some private enterprise allowances there. I hope I am there for the day when we can leave the north gate to visit a cantina in Guantanamo City.
I do a lot of business at GTMO and have an optimistic outlook on Cuba post Castro. We are already seeing some private enterprise allowances there. I hope I am there for the day when we can leave the north gate to visit a cantina in Guantanamo City.
Us Canadians are trying to tick Cuba off our lists before Castro kicks it and the whole country turns into Cancun.
Let me preface this by saying I am not in favor of military action against Iran, necessarily. But your comments are naive. A nuclear armed Iran led by theocrats and threatening to shut off the Strait of Hormuz and our allies (israel) is a much greater threat than Iraq ever was, even when we thought Sadaam had WMDs. The calculus in dealing with this threat should be covert and through aggressive sanctions (EU Oil) for now.
I know, I’m hopelessly naive. I remember that I wasn’t worried about any grave and gathering threat from Iraq, and look how that turned out.
If I had a more realistic, truthy sort of view about the world, I’m sure I would just be losing sleep over the threat of Iran (and a *nuclear armed *Iran) shutting down the Strait of Hormuz.
Let me preface this by saying I am not in favor of military action against Iran, necessarily. But your comments are naive. A nuclear armed Iran led by theocrats and threatening to shut off the Strait of Hormuz and our allies (israel) is a much greater threat than Iraq ever was, even when we thought Sadaam had WMDs. The calculus in dealing with this threat should be covert and through aggressive sanctions (EU Oil) for now.
It’s an economic threat for sure. But nothing even close to worth starting WW3 over.
I know, I’m hopelessly naive. I remember that I wasn’t worried about any grave and gathering threat from Iraq, and look how that turned out.
Naive indeed! Look at the effect that Iraq had on our economy. Turns out that that was the biggest threat of all! ; ^ )
Yes, let’s go defend Israel. They are a great ally, and they never screw with us.
Did I suggest such?
Did I suggest such?
Just make sure you understand the ramifications of attacking a country which has significant military strength and many potential allies. None of the GOP candidates seem to get this.