
My primary vote will be driven foremost by:
Total Votes: 43
Those who know me know I am conservative. They know I am charming and they know I do not like Mike Huckabee because to embrace him would not only be incongruous with my charming conservative persona it would go against my very conscience. We have been watching this surprise rally by Huckabee in Iowa where he stands a very good chance tonight of stealing the caucuses right out from under the early entrenched Romney clan. I listened last night to Iowa voters – many of them evangelicals – who say they like Huckabee primarily because of his family values and his stance on social issues. But if you ask me it seems these all-important evangelical voters are being blinded by the fact that Huckabee was once a Baptist minister. While I think it's nice to know that Huckabee is a God fearing man (and let's face it - I don't see an atheist running for President any time soon) being God fearing alone should simply not be enough for any true conservative voter.
Conservatives outside Iowa are rejecting Huckabee more and more once they get past his ability to turn a warm and fuzzy phrase (which is something I always wished George Bush could do more easily). There's no doubt Huckabee is comfortable in his own skin which is a strong voter attribute for any Presidential candidate. But what about his policy? Come on, conservatives and wake up! Don't let this Baptist Minister fool you! Huckabee's record as governor speaks for itself. He is wrong on taxes. He is wrong on illegal immigration (despite his recent cries to the contrary). He was not all the impressive in the wake of the tragic Bhutto assassination. And Huckabee is so socially conservative that he turned off even this charming GOP voter while listening to his comments regarding homosexuality this past Sunday on Meet The Press.
Another thing I heard over and over again last night but from democratic caucus participants is they want to vote for the candidate who can beat the republicans. The democrats have been down this path before as we saw when they selected John Kerry because they felt he was the most electable particularly after Howard Dean's memorable melt down. The democrats in 04 ran on an "ABB" platform and here in 08 they are still running largely against a man who is no longer even in the race. Yes, electabilty is important but to vote primarily based on "electability" seems somehow misguided to me. Nevertheless, and on the flip side – I will use this "electability" criteria in determining who I will NOT vote for in my primary. I will not vote for Mike Huckabee in my primary #1 because I believe he is no conservative (other than on social issues) and #2 because he can not win the national election. I keep hoping that the pundits are right that Huckabee is but a media creation and that he will quietly go away after this anamoly that is Iowa. Does anyone else think it's strange that the media is enamored with an even-more-than-George-Bush overtly religious candidate? The answer is quite simple and mirrors exactly the reasons why I won't vote for him: he is no conservative and he cannot win the national election.
And so it seems there is only one thing that is certain this time around and that is at this very moment on the eve of the Iowa caucuses there is no sense of inevitability on either side of the aisle. I do believe an inevitable candidate will emerge more quickly on the democrat side with a longer fight to inevitability on the republican side. And while Hillary may lose in Iowa, I still believe she will become the eventual democratic candidate. But just what will happen on the GOP side continues to be anyone's guess. In Iowa no doubt it will be Huckabee or Romney. In New Hampshire I see McCain with a better than average chance which means the GOP will move on to South Carolina, Florida, and Super Tuesday with nearly an open playing field.
But this nagging question on just who to vote for this time around in my primary has been haunting me and haunting me. And now I have my answer. It's once again a simple answer, really. Voters of Iowa, voters of the United States of America, it is time to pick our President….the time is now…..be not afraid….listen to that little voice inside you and by all means vote your conscience--vote not just for the candidate who can win but for the candidate who most closely represents both your values AND positions on the major issues of our day (no easy task to be sure). So while I have reached my answer what about the rest of you? I turn once again to you my fellow viners and I ask you to please participate in my LISAED poll. Tell me what will be the key driver of your primary vote – will it be your conscience or will it be electabilty? As always I thank you for sharing your opinions with me and Happy New Year! 2008 for better or worse is finally here!
My name is Lisa. And I approve this message. (thanks, epi!)
If you think huckelberry is a religious man.His plan is working.Here is a list of the ten most wanted corrupt politicians.Notice the three presidential candidates on it?And no one is mentioning how not honest they are.Huckelberry is just as religious as he needs to be for votes.If he becomes president he will do nothing he says he will just like bush and the democrats voted into the houses.Did you notice?In fact the only one i trust to keep his word is Ron Paul.
1. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY): In addition to her long and sordid ethics record, Senator Hillary Clinton took a lot of heat in 2007 – and rightly so – for blocking the release her official White House records. Many suspect these records contain a treasure trove of information related to her role in a number of serious Clinton-era scandals. Moreover, in March 2007, Judicial Watch filed an ethics complaint against Senator Clinton for filing false financial disclosure forms with the U.S. Senate (again). And Hillary's top campaign contributor, Norman Hsu, was exposed as a felon and a fugitive from justice in 2007. Hsu pleaded guilt to one count of grand theft for defrauding investors as part of a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme.
2. Rep. John Conyers (D-MI): Conyers reportedly repeatedly violated the law and House ethics rules, forcing his staff to serve as his personal servants, babysitters, valets and campaign workers while on the government payroll. While the House Ethics Committee investigated these allegations in 2006, and substantiated a number of the accusations against Conyers, the committee blamed the staff and required additional administrative record-keeping and employee training. Judicial Watch obtained documentation in 2007 from a former Conyers staffer that sheds new light on the activities and conduct on the part of the Michigan congressman, which appear to be at a minimum inappropriate and likely unlawful. Judicial Watch called on the Attorney General in 2007 to investigate the matter.
3. Senator Larry Craig (R-ID): In one of the most shocking scandals of 2007, Senator Craig was caught by police attempting to solicit sex in a Minneapolis International Airport men's bathroom during the summer. Senator Craig reportedly "sent signals" to a police officer in an adjacent stall that he wanted to engage in sexual activity. When the police officer showed Craig his police identification under the bathroom stall divider and pointed toward the exit, the senator reportedly exclaimed 'No!'" When asked to produce identification, Craig presented police his U.S. Senate business card and said, "What do you think of that?" The power play didn't work. Craig was arrested, charged and entered a guilty plea. Despite enormous pressure from his Republican colleagues to resign from the Senate, Craig refused.
4. Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA): As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee's subcommittee on military construction, Feinstein reviewed military construction government contracts, some of which were ultimately awarded to URS Corporation and Perini, companies then owned by Feinstein's husband, Richard Blum. While the Pentagon ultimately awards military contracts, there is a reason for the review process. The Senate's subcommittee on Military Construction's approval carries weight. Sen. Feinstein, therefore, likely had influence over the decision making process. Senator Feinstein also attempted to undermine ethics reform in 2007, arguing in favor of a perk that allows members of Congress to book multiple airline flights and then cancel them without financial penalty. Judicial Watch's investigation into this matter is ongoing.
5. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R-NY): Giuliani came under fire in late 2007 after it was discovered the former New York mayor's office "billed obscure city agencies for tens of thousands of dollars in security expenses amassed during the time when he was beginning an extramarital relationship with future wife Judith Nathan in the Hamptons…" ABC News also reported that Giuliani provided Nathan with a police vehicle and a city driver at taxpayer expense. All of this news came on the heels of the federal indictment on corruption charges of Giuliani's former Police Chief and business partner Bernard Kerik, who pleaded guilty in 2006 to accepting a $165,000 bribe in the form of renovations to his Bronx apartment from a construction company attempting to land city contracts.
6. Governor Mike Huckabee (R-AR): Governor Huckabee enjoyed a meteoric rise in the polls in December 2007, which prompted a more thorough review of his ethics record. According to The Associated Press: "[Huckabee's] career has also been colored by 14 ethics complaints and a volley of questions about his integrity, ranging from his management of campaign cash to his use of a nonprofit organization to subsidize his income to his destruction of state computer files on his way out of the governor's office." And what was Governor Huckabee's response to these ethics allegations? Rather than cooperating with investigators, Huckabee sued the state ethics commission twice and attempted to shut the ethics process down.
7. I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby: Libby, former Chief of Staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, was sentenced to 30 months in prison and fined $250,000 for lying and obstructing the Valerie Plame CIA leak investigation. Libby was found guilty of four felonies -- two counts of perjury, one count of making false statements to the FBI and one count of obstructing justice – all serious crimes. Unfortunately, Libby was largely let off the hook. In an appalling lack of judgment, President Bush issued "Executive Clemency" to Libby and commuted the sentence.
8. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL): A "Dishonorable Mention" last year, Senator Obama moves onto the "ten most wanted" list in 2007. In 2006, it was discovered that Obama was involved in a suspicious real estate deal with an indicted political fundraiser, Antoin "Tony" Rezko. In 2007, more reports surfaced of deeper and suspicious business and political connections It was reported that just two months after he joined the Senate, Obama purchased $50,000 worth of stock in speculative companies whose major investors were his biggest campaign contributors. One of the companies was a biotech concern that benefited from legislation Obama pushed just two weeks after the senator purchased $5,000 of the company's shares. Obama was also nabbed conducting campaign business in his Senate office, a violation of federal law.
9. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA): House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who promised a new era of ethics enforcement in the House of Representatives, snuck a $25 million gift to her husband, Paul Pelosi, in a $15 billion Water Resources Development Act recently passed by Congress. The pet project involved renovating ports in Speaker Pelosi's home base of San Francisco. Pelosi just happens to own apartment buildings near the areas targeted for improvement, and will almost certainly experience a significant boost in property value as a result of Pelosi's earmark. Earlier in the year, Pelosi found herself in hot water for demanding access to a luxury Air Force jet to ferry the Speaker and her entourage back and forth from San Francisco non-stop, in unprecedented request which was wisely rejected by the Pentagon. And under Pelosi's leadership, the House ethics process remains essentially shut down – which protects members in both parties from accountability.
10. Senator Harry Reid (D-NV): Over the last few years, Reid has been embroiled in a series of scandals that cast serious doubt on his credibility as a self-professed champion of government ethics, and 2007 was no different. According to The Los Angeles Times, over the last four years, Reid has used his influence in Washington to help a developer, Havey Whittemore, clear obstacles for a profitable real estate deal. As the project advanced, the Times reported, "Reid received tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from Whittemore." Whittemore also hired one of Reid's sons (Leif) as his personal lawyer and then promptly handed the junior Reid the responsibility of negotiating the real estate deal with federal officials. Leif Reid even called his father's office to talk about how to obtain the proper EPA permits, a clear conflict of interest.
Judicial Watch is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Judicial Watch neither supports nor opposes candidates for public office. For more information, visit www.judicialwatch.org.
I do like Judicial Watch.
It is my opinion the majority of people vote for a candidate who shares the same religious or secular worldview. The rest of the issues are too complex and boring for most voters. (When is the last time you read the Official Voter Information Guide from cover to cover? It works wonders for the insomniac.)
The only issues which matter to the average voter are taxes and morals. There are only two simple yes or no questions the average voter cares to know the answer: Will the candidate take more of my money? Does the candidate share my values?
And when it becomes too confusing it always comes back to money.
lisaed-
you did read that article where fred said that he wasn't interested in becoming the president?
i have a better idea.. send ME some money and i'll use it to pay my tuition. at least that way it won't be wasted.
:-)
You find a candidate who doesn't want to be president refreshing?
lisa, You know more about politics/polls, etc. Even when Mitt lost IA and tomorrow, is any way that can he win the nomination? McCain and Pick-a-boo are a pain in the neck with their envious attitude. With Fred, I gave up..
lisa,
Right now I am putting my hopes in Romney. Just the thought of having McCain or Pick-a-boo for nominees makes me sick.
Yes, I like Fred Thompson but....he looks absent, well, the numbers talk.
I guess I just don't understand backing a man who doesn't even want the job, but it is the age of the slacker...Lisa, check out Dennis's Giuliani seed here and tell me how Rudy would make a good President.
The more that I watch and listen the Preacher or Pastor, the less that I like him to be my President.
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