GOP contenders fight for Florida

GOP contenders fight for Florida

The Republican White House hopefuls have their eyes set on Florida, while the Democratic contenders are looking ahead to next week's Super Tuesday contests.

The Democratic Party stripped Florida of its delegates as a way of penalizing the state for moving its primary from mid-March to early January.

After the sanctions, the party's major presidential candidates agreed not to formally campaign in the state.

The Republicans barred half of Florida's delegates to the convention, leaving the GOP candidates fighting for the 57 delegates still at stake.

Florida has a closed primary, meaning only registered party members may vote in their own party's primary.

Recent polls show Arizona Sen. John McCain and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in a tight race for first.

Really now...did they have to do that? just because they weren't ready to vote down there yet? I don't think it personally matters anyway - the GOP wont win this year hopefully...not with the embarrassment Bush has caused them. Not much to say at all with the elections quickly arriving at our doorstep.
Yours Truly ~~
()_BOB_)~~*

Thompson Urges Immigration Action

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2007-10-23-thompson-immigration_n.htm

Republican Fred Thompson said Tuesday the government should yank federal dollars from cities and states that don't report illegal immigrants.

In his first major policy proposal, Thompson challenged presidential rivals Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney by criticizing "sanctuary cities" where city workers are barred from reporting suspected illegal immigrants who enroll their children in school or seek hospital treatment.

"Taxpayer money should not be provided to illegal immigrants," Thompson said at a roundtable discussion that included Collier County, Fla., sheriff Don Hunter.

Thompson has argued his rivals are soft on illegal immigration because Giuliani, as New York mayor, sued the federal government to keep his city's sanctuary policy and because Romney tolerated sanctuary cities as Massachusetts' governor.

[...]

The former Tennessee senator also called for stronger laws forcing employers to verify that workers aren't illegal immigrants, for a more rigorous system to track who is coming in and out of the country and for increased prosecution of "coyotes," smugglers who bring illegal immigrants across the Mexican border.

Calling for stronger border security, he said: "A small amount of nuclear material could do a lot of damage in the wrong hands. It makes you wonder why a terrorist would bother going through an airport or a port ... when we have an open border."

"In 1996 we passed a bill, I was in the Senate, that outlawed sanctuary city cities. Mayor Giuliani went to court to defeat that law," Thompson said.

Its official. Thompson is a moron. Anyone thinking about voting for this "man" is clearly out of their mind. 22% of crime by illegal immigrants? is he crazy? Does he not realize that EVERY "AMERICAN" CITIZEN is or is a descendant of an immigrant. There cant be such a thing as illegal immigration in that sense if everyone has come here through one mean or another
Yours Truly ~~
()_BOB_)~~*

Ron Paul, Loser Again

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/01/ron-paul-loser.html

As he did in Iowa, Paul, despite raising the most money of any Republican presidential ....

candidate in the fourth quarter -- nearly $20 million -- (and another $600,000 this month) and despite the vociferous support of many young supporters, once again finished in the back of the GOP pack

[...]

Despite his enthusiastic supporters. Despite all the hand-painted signs and chants. Despite the long hours handwriting letters to voters in other states. Despite the yard signs that bloomed everywhere like winter dandelions.

Despite his millions of dollars. Despite his growing political infrastructure in other states. Despite his book. Despite the 1,400 meet-up groups nationally. Despite all the positive publicity surrounding his being snubbed by Fox News for the Sunday night debate and his second appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." Despite all of his advertising in the Granite State, which seemed fertile soil for his less-government approach.

Paul lost. Again.

Well. isnt that all the proof this takes...first he gets ten percent in Iowa, now getting 8% in the New Hampshire primaries...i for one thing his long shot campaign is just about to loose its final wing. sucks for him honestly...but it just goes to show you - cash means very little.
Yours Truly ~~
()_BOB_)~~*

It's showtime for Republican Thompson in Iowa

After a late start, poor reviews for a lackluster campaign and a slide in opinion polls sending him behind several rivals, he says he is ready to make his move in Iowa.

"People are paying attention now, people are focused," said Thompson, who launched a marathon Iowa bus tour this week ahead of January 3, when the state kicks off the race to choose the Republican and Democratic candidates for the November 2008 presidential election.

[...]

Thompson has been falling in polls since his delayed entry in September and a series of campaign-trail gaffes. He has been criticized for spending too little time campaigning. Some days, his entire schedule consists of a few call-in radio shows.
But a strong showing in Iowa after months of neglect could give Thompson new momentum. He has visited the state just eight times, less than any other Republican candidate except Texas Rep. Ron Paul, according to the political Web site Hotline.

[...]

While Thompson has fallen well behind the pack in national polls, he is in a race for third in Iowa behind Huckabee and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. A slip by either could give him a shot at a surprise.

Thompson's rivals for third in Iowa, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Arizona Sen. John McCain, also have barely campaigned in the state while looking to later primary votes elsewhere across the country.

[...]

Earlier this week, Thompson picked up the backing of Rep. Steve King, who represents the heavily Republican western half of Iowa and holds considerable sway with the state's sizable bloc of social and religious conservatives.

But Thompson's late start could prove a handicap in organizing voter turnout efforts in Iowa, often a requirement for success in the state.

"If you are going to participate in the Iowa caucuses, you have to get on the ground and fight it out county by county," said Steve Roberts, a Republican National Committee member from Iowa. "He just hasn't done that so far."

Well - I'm not sure what this is going to matter for in the end - He doesn't stand much of a chance at winning in this election at all - But Iowa does contribute 7 electoral college votes, which isn't very much - but can easily help mount up some votes for himself. At any rate - Hes not much of a public speaker and I don't think hes taking his own campaign seriously - If your only going to do a few call in shows - your not thinking very smart. I'd wish him good luck...but I don't think it would matter.

Yours Truly ~~

()_BOB_)~~*

Tancredo Won't seek re-election to Congress

Tancredo won't seek re-election to Congress

"Several weeks ago I made the decision[...]" the five-term Republican congressman and longshot (his word) presidential candidate told his staff Sunday night in a note posted online today by the Rocky Mountain News.

[...]

"I have decided that I have accomplished all I can in the U.S. House of Representatives on the issue of immigration reform and will therefore not seek a 6th term.

"I broke my term limits pledge because at the time, there was no one else to whom the baton could have been passed. Now there are so many folks working the issue from our side that I think I can safely say my work there is done."

When he first ran for his seat in 1998, Tancredo said he would serve no more than three terms. During his tenure, he became the leading congressional critic of illegal immigration, an issue on which he has based his bid for the Republican presidential nomination. He also gained notoriety in 2005 when he suggested that the United States could retaliate for a nuclear attack by Islamist terrorists by bombing the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina.

Tancredo’s presidential campaign continues.

Meanwhile, he becomes the latest high-profile House Republican to announce his retirement at the end of the 110th Congress. The GOP considers his a safe seat.

"A Republican has held Colorado’s Sixth Congressional District for more than 30 years," Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said in a statement. "There is a strong Republican bench in this seat and we expect the people of central Colorado to send another Republican to the House."

This man is a joke. truly. For those readers that dont know - Tancredo is a one-issue man who believes the solution to Americas problems is to deport each and every illegal immigrant and stop incoming legal immigration. Hes a joke who takes his own act seriously. Hes racist and a supremacist - threating to bomb Mecca and Medina (two of the holiest Muslim site in the world) if Islamic Terrorists bombed America. This guy is a moron and America - if not the world - is better off if he disappears from politics.

Yours Truly ~~
()_BOB_)~~*

Ron Paul's thought-provoking choice on racist money

Ron Paul's thought-provoking choice on racist's $$$
The article is short - so here is it in its entirety

You have to hand it to Ron Paul. Most presidential candidates who weren't running as white supremacists themselves would reflexively return a donation from a self-proclaimed racist so fast they would break speed records for financial transactions.

But as has been reported, Paul has decided to keep a $500 donation from Don Black of West Palm Beach who runs a website called Stormfront whose slogan is "White Pride World Wide."

As Paul's campaign explained, it plans to keep the money because that will reduce the cash Black has to spend on spreading his controversial ideology by $500.

And, according to the campaign, another good will occur. Paul will have $500 more with which to spread his libertarian message of freedom from big government, including his opposition to the Iraq War.

One freedom Paul has comes from the unlikelihood he'll receive his party's nomination. If he were a real threat to be the Republican nominee, he would've given back the money immediately since no top tier candidate would want to take a chance on losing the big prize because of the kind of controversy surrounding this kind of controversy.

But a lot of money is given to candidates by supporters with views out of the mainstream, views many other Americans would find objectionable. That's a given. The only difference is that Black doesn't hide his views.

Still, the unwritten rule in politics is that when you find yourself getting money from someone controversial because of what they do or say, someone with views repugnant to most Americans, you give their cash back like it's radioactive.

Paul's approach is certainly unorthodox, like so much about the man. That doesn't necessarily make it wrong. And because it's so different a way of handling such a situation, it presents an opportunity for a discussion about what's right and wrong in such situations. In short, it makes you think.

Ron Paul has officially lost my respect as a politician. I'm not sure he ever HAD any - but why would you willingly accept money from someone with a slogan like "White Pride, World Wide."
And its not that racism doesn't exist in society - but what kind of excuse is "If i take his money, he cant support his bigotry!"...Paul - wake up. if he sent five hundred dollars to you - then quite obviously, he had the money to spare. Its not hurting his message because hes obviously making his own money on the side. Ron Paul simply is a bit more money-hungry and doesn't mind breaking a few moral codes to grab some.

Yours Truly ~~
()_BOB_)~~*

McCain Voices "Guarded Optimism" on Iraq...

McCain Voices "Guarded Optimism" on Iraq but says hurdles are high

Republican presidential contender John McCain said yesterday he was "guardedly optimistic" about the ability of Iraqis to make political, economic, and social progress, thanks to what he described as the "fundamental of a secure environment" brought about by the US troop increase he championed.

[...]

McCain, who met with Iraqi political leaders in Baghdad over Thanksgiving, cited indicators of both success (the return of refugees, a 5K run in Ramadi) and failure (the persistence of suicide bombers, physical threats to Iraqi judges) in building the nation's civil society amid the mission that he boasted was once called the "McCain surge" by critics.

Yet the hurdles to assembling a strong government, McCain suggested, were high, from sectarian squabbling he had personally witnessed among the country's leaders and the "byzantine" lawmaking structure.

"They've got something like 41 ministers in their government," McCain said. "Who designed that? They ought to take that guy out and shoot him."

The Arizona senator said the best-case political scenario for Iraq would be a "loose confederation . . . with a very bumbling, not terribly effective central government with a lot of the autonomy being exercised but Iraq not breaking up into three different countries." To get there, he said, would require a continued US military presence in an advisory role as responsibility is transferred to Iraqi authorities.

[...]

"Some say open, formal talks; others say don't talk to them at all," he said. "I think this business of how you communicate is the most overrated aspect of diplomacy, because you can always communicate."

On that subject and others, McCain frequently turned to history, particularly Vietnam, where he was held as a prisoner of war. For example, in this case, he suggested that it was not laborious peace negotiations in Paris - where delegations bickered over the shape of the table - but military realities that ended American involvement in Southeast Asia.

Im having trouble liking any of these candidates - and now im beginning to wonder if ANY of them are serious in any way. "The buisness of how you communicate is the most overrated aspect of diplomacy"?? are you JOKING? is he stupid? what is deplomacy without communication? History is something to LEARN from not - Not REPEAT.
he has to grow up. hes got to get over his POW status and stop looking for sympathy on that issue. Every time you see him on TV or in the news "...well i was prisoner of war in 'Nam. So i know what I'm saying!"

Yours Truly ~~
()_BOB_)~~*