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Luis Palau
Hmm…My Vote in the forthcoming FL Primary….. See 1/30/2008 Update Below
Being a legal resident of Florida I am now and looking forward to the Florida Primary which is scheduled for January 29th. Actually the voting in Florida has already begun in what is called “early voting” but we have decided to wait until the official date for a couple of reasons, with one being important and another being not so important.
First of all we will delay because we have never voted in Florida and sort of want to get a first hand orientation with process and our precinct (not so important on some metaphysical scale) and the opportunity to evaluate the candidates in the daily changing landscape (ostensibly more important).
I must say that my sentiments in this race had been shifting towards (not to) Mitt Romney and I had been alarmed somewhat at John McCain’s resurgence. I have over recent years come to pretty much dislike John McCain. I haven’t always felt this way about Mr. McCain and was even a defender and proponent of him during the era of the Keating Five and its role in the collapse of many Savings and Loan companies in the 1980’s. This was an investigation initiated by the Senate Ethics Committee that was controlled by the Democrats in the Senate. There was some real misdeeds emanating from the “gang of five” when examined as a whole, but it was clear to me at the time that it encompassed McCain in order to dilute the accountability of the Democrats who held the other four slots in that grouping. Also innocently accused in this group of five was Democrat John Glenn but he became the sacrificial inclusion in the group to insure that it was a “bi-partisan” operation.
Well it didn’t work and no guilt was found in Glenn and even less guilt was found in McCain. This little blip in the career of McCain has not seemed to have any impact on his political career since then.
But in short I had not yet picked a candidate in 08’ but had McCain ranked as third from last on my personal preference list of the Republican hopefuls. Of course Paul was last and I had Huckabee as second to last. The primary reason for my low regard for McCain stems from my disdain for his liberal leanings in the more recent years in the Senate (McCain-Feingold & opposition to Bush tax cuts-I am not going to again defend those tax cuts here, but if you are interested you can read the posts on the topic tax cuts and numerous comment responses throughout this website).
So what is the purpose of this post? I might (don’t read this as a conclusion) vote for McCain. Not because of a single thing he has said but because I saw an interview of Jack Kemp tonight where Jack has endorsed John. Yes part of that is the “winability” strategy but he has explained his recent meetings with McCain where they discussed fiscal policy (both taxation and budgetary). Jack dislikes the past of McCain as much as I do, but if Jack is satisfied with McCain on where he will head in the future, so am I. (McCain has pledged a conservative tax and spending program) I have been sort of an acolyte of Kemp’s and over the past 30 years he has been my preferred person to rise to the level of Presidency himself. He was actually the intellectual architect of the Reagan Revolution at least as it depended on the tax reductions to come from Reagan’s administration. You may recall the accolade of the “Kemp-Roth” tax cuts. Well Regan’s tax cuts were authored by Jack Kemp.
So this leads me to my vote. Yes…….it MIGHT be for John McCain. (sheesh……I almost can’t even say that.)
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25 Responses to “Hmm…My Vote in the forthcoming FL Primary….. See 1/30/2008 Update Below”
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That’s an insightful bit about where McCain seems to be heading. I was wondering what your thoughts on Thompson are? I realize he’s a bit of a long shot at this point, but I strongly feel that Fred best fits my requirements/expectations for a president.
Hi bd………I like Thompson, but he is no longer a long shot but a blank shot. Even one of his campaign operatives was openly discussing that he might end up being a better VP candidate to bring the “true” conservative credentials to the ticket, something I agree with quite a bit. I think Thompson could be a good asset to a McCain even though he didn’t attract many votes to himself. If McCain can hold the independents and win the conservatives, he can win the election short of a major disaster in Iraq, but things seem to be heading in the opposite direction there. It could be hard for the Democrats to believably criticize McCain since an offer of the VP postion was extended to McCain by Kerry………..steve
Hi Steve,
I’ll admit I don’t care for any of the Republican candidates aside from Thompson, so if he were to be someone’s running mate, that would be highly influential in swinging my vote.
bd………I know exactly what you mean………..steve
[…] Gavin Wilson wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptI must say that my sentiments in this race had been shifting towards (not to) Mitt Romney and I had been alarmed somewhat at John McCain’s resurgence. I have over recent years come to pretty much dislike John McCain. … […]
bd
How can you only care about Fred Thompson?
Help me understand…
If Kemp says McCain, any real republican follows his lead!
Do you think Kemp wanted to endorse Thompson but understands he can’t win? How about NO…
Anyway Steve, McCain is your ONLY option so don’t hurt your nose holding it so hard… Looks like Kemp won’t.
M2……..I am starting to realize that he may be our only option and I’ll ease up on the nose. As to bd I’ll say that I suppose Kemp would have preferred to endorse Thompson and probablly would have even preferred Gingrich over that but as I said in the post I suppose some of his basis for McCain was “winability.” Yes Thompson CAN’T win even if he “stays the course” but he could calm the nerves of some conservatives on another’s ticket. He (to me) is probably a good fit for either a Giuliani, Romney or McCain on the ticket. (But don’t discount a Liberman on a McCain ticket if he wants to do a little Clinton style Triangularation.) (I can’t believe I’m saying it.)…….steve
P.S. I wrote this response at around 8:30 AM on Tuesday morning (EST) and just noticed that they published just prior to that 23 minutes ago that the Federal Reserve Board (actually the Federal Open Market Committee-FOMC) cut the Federal Funds Rate by a whopping 3/4 of a point. I mention this because during the Kemp interview last night he was asked about the current economic situation and he stated that the Fed needed to cut the Funds Rate by 3/4 of a percent and pronto. So they did this morning before the opening of U.S. markets. You have to go back pretty far to find a time they cut 3/4 of a percent in a single move………….steve
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080122/fed_interest_rates.html?.v=1
Full Text Statment by the FOMC (8:23 AM 1/22/08):
http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN2247590020080122
Hi M2,
I think that Thompson best represents conservative values in economic/fiscal and social policy areas. The others might be conservative in one, but not both areas and certainly don’t have a long-term track record to back up their claims otherwise.
I underst and the “might” this is a hard choice this time around.
By the way
I left a present for you on my blog!
» http://www.xerraireart.com/blog/2008/01/22/excellence/
Barb…………as I said on you site, thank you, I feel honored to make your list, best wishes…….steve
McCain / Thompson = Thompson is a sell out!
McCain / Liberman = McCains true colors!
M2……….Don’t be so hasty, Liberman might be a man in the midst of a political flux and may be evolving. Ever since he was dumped by Move On and their Amen Chorus I have noticed subtle things about him that might make him ultimately a good Republican. I always wondered why (apart from electability) he chimed in with the NE Liberals when it didn’t seem like a natural home for him. He did dart to the left when he got on algore’s ticket however………..steve
way to go dad. I think I’m with you in the end but our primary won’t happen for awhile. Much can change between now and then. McCain can beat Hill-Bill but can she beat Obama? Don’t discredit the American ability to vote on emotion.
Still he quite possibly is the “republican” best hope. A not so true republican or a far left democrat.
I still like huckabee in a lot of regards though.
MZ………sorry, but I think Huckabee is already out of it. We must stop HRc (or the other two boys on the stage) from ascension to the throne………..dad
In what regards?
& you’re right, America voted on emotion in the last two generals…
Thanks for posting ANYTHING - really tired of seeing Jimmy’s face
every time I checked your site. Trust trip down was uneventful. Told you Georgia was better than Oklahoma!
Ditto’s on Kemp - his “An American Renaissance” had a huge impact
on my thinking back in college.
I can live with McCain if that means victory. Don’t really want GOP
in office to get blamed for deep economic problems coming our
way - but I’d sure feel safer with McCain as C in C. Can see Thompson
destroying most Dem. VP candidates in a debate. (Can’t imagine
Hildebeast is secure enough to pick a strong VP, see Obama going
to a Wesley Clark for foreign policy cred.) Thompson endorsed and
campaigned for McCain in 2000 against W.
Could well be the last time you can vote for a candidate older than
you are!
Erston……….Hey how are you? Watch that talk about me being older than all future Presidential Candidates. I think that McCain may be the only one older than me now. Kemp is the man. My best shot at getting him to the White House went down the Bob Dole sink. You’re right the 2008 Republican Campaign Slogan may become “Anybody but Hillary” (or Barack, you fill in the blank)………steve
With Thompson now dropping out of the Presidential race that moves things right along for a possible VP spot for him, eh? Frankly I’m a little surprised at McCain’s surge at this point. Guess I kind of had that situation wrong. I sorta thought McCains political sun had set. Huh. Yeah, Kerry’s thinking McCain might be a good VP would seem to make it harder for Democratic attacks on him. It may turn out to be the best thing John Kerry ever did for a POW (Oops…did I say that?). Although, somehow that same consideration kind of makes me a little nervous about McCain, but maybe I’m being too swift to come to that non-conclusion. Perhaps McCain is worth some more looking into (haven’t much, ’cause, like I said, I didn’t think he was very promising candidate material).
plodon………..Yep, it might end up being a bitter pill to swallow, but like much medicine it may be the only cure for the disease (HRc)……………steve
with Thompson dropping out today, I might have to write in Steve as my candidate of choice.
Thanks, Bd…………but “I shall not seek and I will not accept the nomination of my party for………………..”
……….steve
Hey Steve,
Interesting point of view. He is not a favorite of mine either. As to the surge, it’s still so early on in the race that I wouldn’t give it that much creedence. Also, from what I understand, Romney has gotten quite a few delegates, if I’m not mistaken, quite a few more than McCain.
Aside from all the usual McCain tricks of acting like a Democrat - the other thing that really bothers me about him - is that he is an angry person. He seems to have a similar temperment to Hillary. I’m hoping I don’t have to hold my nose and vote for the guy - if he does get the nod (which I seriously doubt) I’m not sure there would be very much difference between a Hillary presidency or a McCain presidency.
WC
WC………I understand you sentiment and even feel your pain, but I am coming around to believing that we may have underestimated McCain’s viability and I am thinking over estimated Mitt’s (just opposite of what I was hoping for, but in the end (as I told plodon) the bitter pill of McCain may be what the doctor ordered to cure the disease. But in short I am trusting Kemp (not McCain)……………steve
You might have a few underlying issues, too, if you had been treated to an extended stay at Hanoi Resorts. I wouldn’t be surprised if that had been at bottom of things the guy may have developed. You see Hillary as angry? I dunno, she seems to be fairly in control of her emotions to me. It would seem to be fairly difficult to be as conniving if one weren’t in control of one’s emotions.
plodon…….yep, and I think the spat during the debate on the 21st was staged by HRc to call Barack out of his cocoon of the “nice guy” image. She is a steely woman and fully in control of her emotional appearance…………steve
Hi Steve
McCain is infamous for his kissing the feet of democrats and sticking it to the people of his own party. Every now and then he does something right, but much too often he compromises the nation with his poor judgment.
Considering his age and the stress involved in the job, he would unlikely live long enough to finish his term. It would be interesting to see exactly who he would choose as a running mate. Living up to his reputation for sticking a sharp stick in the eye of the nation he would probably choose John Kerry.
Lord Crimson
Hi LC…..I think you have him pegged correctly, hopefully this is in the past if he wants to be a Republican President and be re-elected. Yes…..the VP slot will be an interesting and important pick……..steve
Hi Steve,
A tough choice indeed! It’s even worse now that the only obviously acceptable candidate is out. This makes it one of those lesser evil selection chores, which in this case isn’t easy. Rudy is a closet liberal. Huckabee is a smoking Nazi and a little too religiously fanatic for my taste. McCain, sorry, but I’ve read the Manchurian Candidate. Ron Paul, while I agree with most of his views, doesn’t seem to have the patience to get any of them enacted into law or, depending on how one looks at these things, get any of the laws diverting us from the Constitution repealed. That leaves Mitt, who I must admit isn’t totally repulsive as a candidate, although he still hasn’t convinced me to trust what he says.
All of which means, I am confused. I may have to switch parties so I can vote for Edwards in an effort to spread this confusion to our enemies.
the Grit
Hi Grit………my biggest problem(s) with Paul are his view of National Defense/Foreign Policy and I must say he scares me a bit on the Federal Reserve as well. I understand you interest in switching your voting to help cause a little havoc. Think it might be happening anyway………..steve
Switch parties…
M2……..you’d like this hey? ………steve
Hey Grit
After months of comparing the various candidates I have finally decided on who would be the best President. Sorry, but it’s not Ron Paul.
Lord Crimson
your previous discussions with m2 and me on the economy used a concept “moral hazard”. this word is now popping up frequently in another context. this is the moral hazard of the fed using the rate cut to not make the ones who bet in the wrong direction on stocks and mortgages pay for the fact they loose money.
to the average voter coming up, it appears as if the reason the stock market recovered was due to the fed lowering the rate. this seems to the average person that the rich can make mistakes, and not pay for their error because uncle ben will rescue them. this perception, (even though i know you will correct the fallacy in the perception from an economic perspective) will definetly push voters to democrats in november, or mccain.
so, my whole point is why cant those in the beltway (both houses, the pres and justices) collective agree that a long term answer of controlling spending, paying off debt, and answers on entitlement programs are the only answer. volker and greenspan were most likely miffed at ben’s response…
hope this is not a thread hijack, but you man mccain looks more like a man who is against nsl style economics. i just wonder when the real mccain will stand up. god i miss h ross perot
Hi Matt……….Look I know what you are saying here. I think Bernake can be criticized for sophmoric management of the Fed in the margins, meaning he probably would have averted the current action had he been more engaged before the sub prime crisis much earlier and therefore avoided the overt actions that you feel the voters will percieve as his pandering to Wall Street………
As for McCain, what ever support for him you read from me is reluctant and not so NSL, but as I said in my post my confidence rests in Kemp who is my mentor and I trust he has essentially had that “come to Jesus” encounter with McCain as is suggested and I do so because I see my practical options contracting with the hope that Kemp is right and we have a true conversion in need of the appropriate pennance and forgiveness………….
……steve
P.S. Perot? In the end he was only a fifth colum for Clinton empowering a President without majority support as they claim against Bush 43
i do feel what you are saying. my biggest concern right now is that the beltway does not act in the interest of the people. when will they collectively discuss the large scale impact of the consumer economy we are in on our future. meaning, not everybody can, should or needs to have the latest and greatest gadget, drugs, car, etc that saves you 25 minutes everyday in multitasking efforts. purchasing the gadgets, gizmos and trendy expensive stuff is a luxery, not a necessity, or an entitlement. the massive consumer debt already on the books is more frightening to me than the governements debt.
the perot comment was mainly his excellent ability to discuss and present ideas for dealing with long term problems over business as usual in dc. i voted for him in 92 becasue i really thought he could win and would have not played beltway politics. but, the law of unintended consequences was a factor in my subsequent voting record.
your guy kemp is on my radar and i do hope that he will be on the vice pres. side. i read once, but forgot where that he considers thomas sowell (one of my fav authors) to be a must in the cabinet. if mccain does get the nod, i would really consider voting for him if he would present a well balanced and honest cabinet proposal before election. dont know if nomimee’s do this but it would be nice. bush 43 ran into some big misses on his cabinet and i do think this advisors need to take responsibility for the low approval rating for bush 43.
also, dont know if there is a date set, but when would congress consider bush 43 a “lame-duck” pres, and no pun is intended, jsut wondering how he can get anything of substance passed before he gives up 1600 penn ave.
Hi Steve,
Yeah, the problem with Ron Paul, while he’s essentially correct in his views, is that he’ hasn’t bothered to take the current reality into consideration. Really, he should have run 30 years ago when it might have mattered.
Hi LC,
Duh!
the Grit
Well time is short and I have to vote tomorrow morning….we’ll see………steve
“So this leads me to my vote. Yes…….it MIGHT be for John McCain. (sheesh……I almost can’t even say that.)”
Then don’t!
Hi Bob………yep, I hear you. I may in fact vote for Romney (don’t like him much either) believing that McCain will get the nod in the end, but want to hold his feet to the fire longer causing him to repeat more often his “conservative” economic program and rely on Kemp for the rest……….steve
ugh..McLame came in!..sigh
Hi Angel………I think he is going to get the nod and may be the one to beat HRc, but I don’t like him and am only trusting him in the sense that I trust Kemp…….steve
so, what did you think of the outcome? sad to see rudy go? phony conservative that he was–not me:0)
Hi Heidi Jo………..Not really surprised. I actually voted for Romney because I don’t want McCain to walk away with the lock too soon so he can have his feet held to the fire longer on courting Conservative positions……..steve
Shoot, by the time the NC primary comes around and I get a chance to vote it won’t matter. That sure stinks.
John………I don’t know what the laws are in NC, but you could try to play some mischievousness in the Democratic Primary……..steve