I have watched Ron Paul for a very long time and one trend I see over and over is the split that emerges between people of roughly under the age of 40 and those who are older when his name is mentioned. I have no polling data to back this up, but young people seem to like Ron Paul and older people seem not to.

This is by no means uniform. I know plenty of older folks who love the good doctor and plenty of young people who do not like him, but generally the above statement holds I think. Why is this?

Fundamentally I believe it comes down to faith in the markets and whether or not one is playing for the future, or if one is clinging to the past.

Young people have much to lose in the economic quagmire we find ourselves in, namely their future. They recognize that times have changed, that the old economic regime is corrupt, and in order to get things going in any real way (not government stimulated) fundamental reforms must be implemented. Many, including myself would embrace a gold standard or a standard based on a basket of commodities. This is a radical departure from the Fed centered fiat currency regime. It would disrupt the current economic order, but a reset is needed and many young people recognize that it is vital that we head in this direction before it is too late. The economic hubris of the 20th century has come home to roost. We would like a real economy.

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As Newt Gingrich’s victory in the South Carolina primary upended all previously held notions surrounding the unfolding GOP primary race, a common and vocal narrative has become increasingly prevalent; namely, that while he excites the Republican base, Gingrich is an unelectable, personally unlikable candidate that will be trounced in the general election.

This notion is utterly false.

While it is certainly accurate that any of the four remaining candidates for the Republican nomination will provide a stark, and compelling, contrast to the failed policies of the Obama administration, it is Newt Gingrich who has of late tapped into a visceral chord of discontent that permeates throughout much of the nation.

And, contrary to the narrative promoting Gingrich’s un-electability, the anger and discontent felt throughout the nation is not relegated to the conservative base of the Republican party. Nearly every political demographic in the nation, left, right, and middle, is frustrated with the Obama administration’s failure to improve the economic health and overall condition of the country.

Right direction/wrong direction polls have consistently shown that more than three-quarters of the country feel as though the nation is on the wrong track. In a recent poll released by Rasmussen Reports, only 24% of American feel the country is headed in the right direction.

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If you allow the media to tell the story about Mitt Romney’s comment, “I like being able to fire people who provide services to me” you can easily be mislead that Romney is a emotionless, suit and tie wearing, profit hoarding CEO. On second thought, that last part may be entirely true. Aside from that, what’s even truer, and totally acceptable, is Romney’s attitude.

Yes, it is perfectly OK to fire someone if you are not satisfied with their performance or service, especially if you are the one forking over the dough. That is what makes a free market, capitalist system run in high gear. It feeds competition and pushes service providers to deliver the very best quality. Accountability is an important reason why free societies produce more than controlled societies. Moreover, it’s why many trust the private sector over government. This was precisely what Romney was referring to. Anyone who pays for a service ought to have the ability and right to terminate any agreement with a service provider if certain expectations are not met.

Answering a question about health care Monday morning, Mr. Romney said he would allow individuals to have their own insurance because it would provide the insurance company with an incentive to keep its clients healthy.“It also means that if you don’t like what they do, you can fire them,” Mr. Romney said. “I like being able to fire people who provide services to me.”

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“The essential issue in this race is freedom,” said Senator Rick Santorum in a triumphant speech on the eve of his strong second-place showing in the Iowa caucus.

But what kind of freedom is Santorum talking about? Reason.tv caught up with Santorum at a campaign stop at Des Moines Christian Assembly in Urbandale, Iowa, where he spoke to schoolchildren and their parents about the importance of electing a leader who will promote good social values to the citizens.

“Why wouldn’t leaders in this country stand up and promote marriage?” asked Santorum. “Stop, in any way they could, the sexual promiscuity that goes on that leads to out-of-wedlock births.”

Santorum picked up the endorsement of Jim Bob Duggar, patriarch of the Duggar family (of TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting”), who sung the national anthem to kick off the festivities. Also in attendance was social conservative activist and founder of the Faith and Freedom Coalition Ralph Reed. Reed has not endorsed a candidate in the race yet, but he stresses that social conservatism remains a core value to GOP voters.

“You’re not going to do well, either in Iowa or beyond, if you’re not pro-marriage, pro-family, and pro-life,” said Reed. “Whether you’re coming from a libertarian perspective or a more traditional conservative perspective.” (more…)

With the Iowa caucuses kicking off the primary season to decide the Republican presidential challenger, it is important to reflect on what President Obama will be doing to secure a second term, as he has no Democratic challenger. As Obama basks in the warmth of Hawaii for 19 days after three years of failed leadership, political game playing, lack of work ethic and historical divisiveness, he must use this down time to repair strained relations with big labor and pull some magic rabbits out of the hat to have a chance at re-election.

Enter the National Labor Relations Board and its radical Obama appointees Craig Becker and Mark Pierce, as well as proposed appointees Sharon Block, a former liberal NLRB attorney, and Richard Griffin, General Counsel for the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) and a member of the AFL-CIO Lawyer Coordinating Committee. The Senate has declined to vote on approval of the two appointees or on the reappointment of Craig Becker, whose term mercifully ended December 31, 2011. However, it remains to be seen if Obama will use his Rule by Fiat mentality in an attempt to recess appoint them as he did with Craig Becker during a Senate recess in the spring of 2009. If he does, it will be obvious payback to AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and former SEIU President Andy Stern, both Obama cronies and admitted frequent White House visitors.

Under the regime of Becker and Pierce, the NLRB wreaked havoc on the business community in 2011, as highlighted in The Cold War Within: The Fight for America’s Future. The fallout is still being felt as two of the principal regulations implemented by the Becker-Pierce NLRB are set to take effect in 2012. The first of these, the “Posting” rule, requires employers to post information apprising employees of their right to organize in accordance with the National Labor Relations Act.  Implementation has been delayed until April 30th, 2012 due to legal challenges, while the even more controversial “Quickie Elections” are also scheduled to go into effect April 30, 2011 (see NLRB Adopts Quickie Election Procedure, Sets Start Date). (more…)

President Obama has not been defeated. He still occupies the White House, and that will continue until next November. But the nation is readying itself for what will prove to be a high octane race for the presidency. President Obama will have a mountain of cash to spend and will attempt to campaign energetically. I say “attempt” because he’ll find defending his administration will be much harder than his last campaign when he was a fresh-faced Senator billed as an outsider who used rhetoric and platitudes in place of actual accomplishments.

Team Obama will likely select only a few issues. The economy, of course, will be a big part, because he can’t very well ignore it. So he’ll spin it in a way to suggest he actually saved it from collapse. In the process, he will not even so much as mention our nation’s debt and deficits.

Instead, he’ll the talk up the bold raid into Abbottabad that killed Osama bin Laden and the recent withdrawal from Iraq. He’ll leave out things like Russia, China, Iran, and forfeiting our missile defenses and snubbing our allies in Eastern Europe, our strained relationship with Israel and the quickly deteriorating situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Domestically he’ll speak of progress, sacrifice, and the pains his administration helped to soften. He’ll not mention his divisive comments that he and Eric Holder have made and the social resentment he stirred through class warfare. Lastly, we can expect amnesia over our nation’s credit downgrade and the ever-climbing debt ceiling. (more…)

Republican presidential contender Newt Gingrich has come under fire for his amnesty plan. Most Americans cringe at the word “amnesty.” After all, most citizens view it as government acquiescence for political expediency, and, of course, they are right to feel that way. Amnesty is nothing more than to say that elected officials do not possess the will to enforce federal laws — the very thing they take an oath on before assuming their congressional duties.

With that being said, the details for amnesty make the whole gimmick all the more preposterous. Take Newt Gingrich’s plan, the Pew Hispanic Center concluded in their research that an estimated 3.5 million illegal aliens would qualify for amnesty under Gingrich’s plan. That means roughly 30% of the estimated 11 million illegal aliens would be “graced” into society after arriving here illegally. If the number is much higher than 11 million, which many experts say is very likely, then the prospects of amnesty will never really reveal the actual problem and will offer no incentive to fix it.

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In the latest Gallup poll taken the day before the last Republican debate on Thursday, Newt Gingrich was leading Mitt Romney by 20 points- 41% to 21%- among those who profess themselves to be “conservatives.” Gov. Romney, however, was leading the former Speaker by 10 points- 27% to 17%- among those who describe themselves as “liberal” or “moderate.”

Even Republican presidential candidate, and head of the congressional Tea Party caucus, Michele Bachmann, who invoked the name of George Will to accuse Mr. Gingrich, during Thursday night’s debate, of “tolerating infanticide,” once thought he was the greatest conservative since sliced bread. Does this count as a “flip-flop?”

Now, Gov. Nikki Haley (R-S. Carolina) has given her much-coveted endorsement of Mitt Romney. This is, perhaps, not a shock since, despite her rise to power on the wings of Tea Party support, she and Mr. Romney have had a mutual admiration society “thing” happening since 2008, when Ms. Haley served as Gov. Romney’s state co-chair for his presidential bid that year. Mr. Romney then supported her in her gubernatorial bid in 2010, for which she reportedly received $900,000 worth of ads paid for by the Republican Governors’ Association. After former Gov. Sarah Palin endorsed her, Ms. Haley’s status as a rising star of the Republican party was solidified.

Gov. Haley’s endorsement is considered significant because, since 1980, South Carolina has successfully picked the Republican nominee for president. Now, Gov. Romney undoubtedly hopes her Tea Party “glow” will rub off on him, since it appears many conservatives of the Tea Party philosophy are still supportive of Speaker Gingrich and some of the other Republican candidates. In a pointed dismissal of Mr. Gingrich, Gov. Haley said of Mr. Romney, “He is not a creature of Washington, and he knows what it means to make decisions – real decisions – not simply cast a vote.”

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It appears that the most far-left Democratic party in the history of the nation may finally be figuring out that the man who was supposed to part the seas and cure all sorts of social illness isn’t doing too well in the polls. In a Wall Street Journal editorial, moderate Democratic pollsters and pundits, Patrick Caddell and Douglas Schoen, have sounded the call for President Obama to give up his bid for another term, and for Secretary of State HIllary Clinton to become the party’s nominee.

To support their cheer for Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Caddell and Mr. Schoen write:

Even though Mrs. Clinton has expressed no interest in running, and we have no information to suggest that she is running any sort of stealth campaign, it is clear that she commands majority support throughout the country. A CNN/ORC poll released in late September had Mrs. Clinton’s approval rating at an all-time high of 69%—even better than when she was the nation’s first lady. Meanwhile, a Time Magazine poll shows that Mrs. Clinton is favored over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney by 17 points (55%-38%), and Texas Gov. Rick Perry by 26 points (58%-32%).

But, are the authors under the impression that Mrs. Clinton would be more of a central candidate than President Obama? Likely not, on all the important domestic issues. Do the authors believe that Mrs. Clinton would have less “personal baggage” than any of the Republican candidates? Hardly, given her husband’s record, and the likelihood, in light of the size of the former president’s ego, that a “Hillary nomination” would really mean a “Hillary and Bill” nomination. Of course, we all know that Democrats are permitted to have untold pieces of “personal baggage” that are miraculously “lost.” The “personal baggage” of Republicans is right there on the luggage belt, on time and up front.

The fact that Mr. Obama’s highest level of favorability appears to be in the area of foreign policy, the domain of Mrs. Clinton, is also only curious, at best. Despite the fact that he has succeeded in knocking off a few terrorists and dictators, the president’s foreign policy has been clear on only one point: that the United States must apologize to the rest of the world for its exceptional nature. The rest of his policy abroad has been vague and unfocused, and his initial “rock star” domestic image has not spread to other nations. After nearly three years, the United States’ role in the world is considerably weaker due to this administration.

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A number of people have contacted me voicing their concern that my coming out against Mitt Romney by signing onto the Not Mitt Romney pledge isn’t helpful. Their argument is that we must ensure that Obama is not re-elected. I agree. America is at a serious crossroads.

If Mitt Romney nabs the nomination as Republican candidate for President of the United States, I will support him with every breath of my body. That said, Obama Lite is not the answer. Obama Lite will not defeat Obama. In the lead-up to the primaries, we should fight for a candidate with the most principled values. Political will and courage is what we are in dire need of.

John Bolton was my candidate. He didn’t run.

Rudolph Giuliani was next in line for me. He didn’t run.

Sarah Palin had my vote. She didn’t run.

Herman Cain, Rick Santorum, and Michele Bachmann are next.

Rick Perry? Please. I questioned his very bad judgment when I exposed his entire Islamic curriculum, dawah and proselytizing, to Texas school children. To this day he has never come clean about that. And the fact that he was Al Gore’s manager does not bode well.

Perry is a snake. Watch him. He is creepy. And his freak show speech in New Hampshire recently belonged in a Roger Corman film. (more…)

This Rick Perry video — which is really all about Mitt Romney — has caught some attention on the heels of a front page story by the Wall Street Journal raising the issue of Mitt Romney’s record on energy and environment issues. It’s not on the editorial page, mind you, but the less market-friendly news pages. This is a good thing, and wherever it leads, I do not believe the video can be shown, viewed or written about too often.

Mr. Romney finds himself needing to detach himself from these past positions on environmental issues without painting a target on his back for more accusations of flip-floppery. Otherwise, he must plainly state that voters should expect him to stick to his prior instincts on these issues.

This is too big a topic to pussyfoot around. The importance of Romney’s views on energy and his courting of environmental lobbyists — including a venture capitalist about to take the reins of what has become the world’s largest (and worst) VC slushy fund — cannot be overstated at this point.

This would be true even without Solyndra having exposed many voters to the growing fiscal disease in “green” industries, which is so typical and predictable that some of us foresaw it long ago.

Romney’s seeming embrace of the corrupt environmental lobby is made all the sadder by the fact that this country has a real opportunity for a spectacular revival with a domestic energy production boom. But such a change will require a leader with both strong vision and the will to stand up to anti-business, anti-energy extremists. (more…)

We broke it here, first. If you’ll remember, I wrote an early piece on the unique challenges Governor Perry must overcome in order to be President in this country. Over the following days just about everything mentioned came to pass. Believe it or not, a major Canadian news outlet – yes all the way up in Canada – contacted me over its content. I shared with them the ugliness and overt disdain Conservatives and Southern Conservatives must contend and overcome, especially in the arena of politics. It was so interesting to them they want to do a follow-up. I am more than happy to enlighten them. I could have continuously written on that subject but there is always more than one egg to fry in Obamaland. Secondly, the opportunities will present themselves. It’s almost predictable as to how the liberal media will behave.

However, the fact such open hostility by liberals towards Perry is so obvious; and, two, it’s totally acceptable as to be actually news worthy should be self evident of their bigotry. The Bush era gave the cultural elites considerable heartburn and there is no way possible for them to stomach Perry – considered Bush-lite. So how are they voicing their opposition to Governor Perry? It certainly isn’t his policies or record as governor of Texas. Of course those who are bold enough to go after Perry’s actual record, their complaint is he wasn’t imaginative enough from a legislative and government perspective. You know, because evidently government creates jobs.

No, Perry’s biggest sin is that he drops his “g’s.” He speaks with that nails-on-a-chalkboard Southern-Texan accent. I bet the big rube replaces his “s’s” with “z’s.” “Boy howdy, I declare this here chicken sure his greazy!”

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Take a look at this video.

Doesn’t this sound like a nice guy? Isn’t this the kind of guy you’d love to have as your president? He sounds so…caring…even frustrated that he can’t make things better for us as soon as he’d like. He even sounds like he really believes that jobs should be created in the private sector. He just wants to help that along a little with things like…”partnering”…what a nice word…it sounds so…cooperative… and lets us know that the government is here to help us during this difficult time.

The president says, in his weekly address, that he wants to help create jobs by giving community college manufacturing students an extra little advantage of having a special seal of approval credential. This way, businesses who are hiring will know that the graduates with the credential are approved for their new jobs. Problem is, Mr. President, nobody is hiring…there are no jobs. And the reason for that is your policies have made a bad recession worse. Your policies have created so much uncertainty, so much ambivalence, and so much fear in small businesses and companies that no one wants to commit to hiring more employees. I believe you are referring to this phenomenon as “bumps in the road.”

Does the president really want to help Americans find jobs? To be sure, the president would say, “Of course.” What he might not say, but think, is, “I want to help people find the right kind of jobs, like green jobs that help me to achieve my green energy agenda, because that is what is really important to me.” And that is what the president actually does.

Ah, the difference between what the president says, and what he does!

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Potential Presidential candidate Mitt Romney was in his home state of Michigan yesterday and gave a much-anticipated address on the health care plan he implemented while Governor of Massachusetts.  “RomneyCare” has been cited as one of the models for much of ObamaCare including the very unpopular and (probably) unconstitutional Individual Mandate provision.

RomneyCare is seen as Romney’s biggest obstacle in pursuit of the GOP nomination.

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The field of candidates for the 2012 presidential election may not yet be set, but the themes are coming into focus, as are the messages that each side will use to appeal to American voters.

The key to Republican victory will be to contrast a positive, conservative vision of America’s future with Obama’s doubtful, radical vision, as reflected in his record.

Obama stands for what he calls a “social compact”–a vague socialist ideal, grafted onto the Constitution, in which individual freedom and self-government must bow to the (never realized) ideal of material equality or fairness.

Republicans, bolstered by the Tea Party, must stand for the liberty that our Founders enshrined in the Constitution, informed by the timeless values that nurture it and expressed through policies that advance growth and opportunity.

Gallup Presidential Approval Tracking Poll (5/11/2010)

In a moment, I’ll consider the best arguments each side will make. First, however, it’s important to consider five key background factors that will affect the race and the result.

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I tuned in for the first GOP debate held in South Carolina. Everyone did fine. I laughed, I cried, and had some chicken nuggets. A few at the podiums were more polished than others. Pawlenty seemed to distance himself from the pack in key places. Overall, the opinions and styles were as numerous as the questions being asked. Having said that, none present tonight showcased the ability or the talent to go all the way. Even a wounded Obama is still a formidable Obama, and a sitting president has a four year record to run on — good, bad, or indifferent. And when you don’t point out the bad, that leaves the good and the indifferent.

Certainly, President Obama will have the biggest and shiniest trophy in which to hold and parade around the country: Osama bin Laden. And what a trophy it is. President Obama was in charge when the most wanted person on earth was finally brought to justice. Obama will go down in presidential history as the owner and author of one of the greatest foreign policy achievements in our nation’s history. Undoubtedly he should win an easy ….. Wait a minute: Didn’t George H.W. Bush also receive similar praise for assembling and leading a multi-national military force against Saddam Hussein in the first Persian Gulf War?

The Republican candidates must not fall for the trap of having the foreign policy angle used against them. As if questioning the president on his foreign policy agenda is now all the sudden not an option. There are plenty of past and current decisions in which to choose from that shows President Obama’s lack of strategic insight. More importantly, they must not allow it to prevent them from discussing the real issue in America and for Americans.

The Republicans may not have a trophy such as OBL but they do hold kryptonite and it’s called the economy.

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“The Donald” for President? Would any Republican have considered the idea of a “President Trump” six months ago?

On both sides of the political aisle, people are doubting Trump’s “seriousness” as a candidate.

Democrats are snickering and mocking Trump- and not just about his hair. White House adviser David Plouffe touts that he “hopes” Trump is the Republican candidate- kind of in the same way Democrats say they “hope” Sarah Palin is the candidate, implying that both are easily beatable.

The skepticism regarding Trump’s seriousness has been further heightened- in both Republican and Democrat political classes-by Trump’s recent focus on whether the president was born in this country. Both Republican strategist Karl Rove and Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren have openly criticized Trump for bringing the potentially toxic issue front and center once again, asserting that he is simply playing right into the hands of the Democrats.

Pundits claim the only reason why Trump could be running is because the Republican field of candidates is so weak. In fact, this past week’s Public Policy Polling survey, of the national 2012 presidential race, shows President Obama maintaining, or slightly increasing, his share of the vote over his Republican opponent, whether that individual is Huckabee, Romney, Christie, Rand Paul, Gingrich, or Palin. Donald Trump was not included in this survey.

Another recent poll of New Hampshire Republicans, by the same organization, has Mitt Romney as a front-runner among likely Republican primary voters, with 27%, Donald Trump, with 21%, and Mike Huckabee and Newt Gingrich tied for third place, with 12% of the vote.

And the most recent national Republican poll, conducted by Public Policy Polling, shows Trump in the lead, with 26%, Mike Huckabee, with 17%, Mitt Romney, 15%, and Newt Gingrich, with 11%. Another poll, conducted by the Wall Street Journal and NBC News, has Trump tied with Huckabee, at 17%, behind Romney, at 21%, among Republican primary voters.

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President Obama officially kicked off his 2012 reelection campaign today. Noticeably absent from his new campaign is the phrase, “Hope and Change,” the hallmark catch phrase of his 2008 successful presidential bid.

Interestingly, the president appears only briefly in his opening video, as featured supporters make no mention of any accomplishments of his current term- an omission that perhaps speaks more loudly than any video the GOP could create. Further, the video seems bent on continuing the familiar theme of drumming up sympathy for the president- “He’s got a job now so we have to help him”- and idolatry for no apparent reason.

On the other hand, will a low-key start to his campaign, in contrast to the last one, be effective as a means to portray him as a more mature person who is busy with his job and not concerned about “thrills” up anyone’s leg?

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All presidents take their share of lumps and tough breaks from the unpredictable nature of things in the world. Criticism, fair or not, is as much apart of the office of the presidency as Air Force One. President Obama is no different and has received his share. Considering healthcare and the hyper-partisan and corrupt way the debate was handled, his Department of Justice and its race baiting chief, Eric Holder, the economy and the associated stimulus, the several gaffes and political miscalculations; furthermore, holding the presidency during a time in which Americans view the country as divided and politics more partisan than ever before, President Obama has remained relatively popular. However, his total detachment or disinterest, or both, in what has gone on in Libya, and Egypt before that, and Iran even before that, is starting to make Obama look indecisive and unwilling to make tough executive decisions.

Certainly one could argue that President Obama is on the same side as the majority of Americans in not calling for a No-Fly Zone in Libya. I am in that camp myself. Not because I am anti-military action or American strength abroad, I am anti-dealing with and assisting the schizophrenic Middle East. President Obama’s predicament though is something different. He called for the Gadaffi to step down and, then later, ramped up the rhetoric and said he must go. To quote the President during his campaign, “Don’t tell me that words don’t matter.” They do matter and as President of the United States they matter a great deal. When a president fells to follow-up and act according to those words, he looks weak, unsure, and ineffective. If the president wanted to stay out of the fray and let Europe handle the matter, since Libya is in their backyard, fair enough than; but he should have stated his case exactly like that and carried on like a president.

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