GOP Field (Part One)

As we move along in 2011 and approach 2012, the GOP presidential hopeful field continues to shrink and front-runners are beginning to emerge (sort of).

Early on, in the Iowa straw poll, it looked like Michelle Bachmann was going to gain some steam. She has conservative bonifides, and she had the backing of the Tea Party. But after that early momentum, she has sort of falling off the face of the earth.

Next came Rick Perry, Governor of Texas, and heir-apparent, for good or bad, of the Bush legacy. But after several stumbles in the debates, he too has fallen by the wayside.

About the same time Perry came along John Huntsman of Utah announced he was going to run. The main stream media made much ado about his joining the race, but after about 10 minutes, he slide to the very rear of the pack.

Early in the summer Rep Thad McCotter decided to join the fray, but was quickly eliminated as his candidacy was never able to gain any traction. It didn’t help matters when the rest of the GOP field wouldn’t include him in one of what has turned out to be an endless stream of debates.

For over a year, Sarah Palin teased us. Was she going to run? Was she happy being a king-maker? When she finally made her announcement I think there were more than a few sighs of relief. Not only from the Republican field, but from the general public. I really do think she would have made terrific candidate, but the MSM would have crucified her. She has proven to be a strong woman, but I have my doubts she (or any other for that matter) could have survived the beat the media had in store for her.

Herman Cain got his 15 minutes, that eventually turned in 30 minutes with the last 5 minutes being a treatise on how to bring everything tumbling down on your head. I was actually gearing up to support Cain even after the first wave of accusations began to appear. When Gloria Allred got involved, it actually bucked up my resolve. But the latest news about the possible affair was the end for me. I feel it was wise of him to withdraw; he needs to spend some time repairing his relationships.

Newt Gingrich also teased us for while, but when he finally made it known he was going to run, it barely caused a ripple. He started off slow and only got slower. I actually thought that he might drop out, especially after his Iowa team imploded. But he has resurged in recent weeks as the GOP voters look for the “anyone but Romney candidate.

I will only mention “The Donald” because he did throw his hat into the ring for a bit, but as a complete political novice, he was more of an interesting sideshow than a candidate to really look at all that hard. It is true we are trying to find a candidate who isn’t a beltway insider, but Trump was too far out of the circle as to make Obama look like a seasoned pro.

Ron Paul cannot be forgotten here as he poses some interesting feelings. The guy has a strong conservative background, especially when it comes to small government. But as a libertarian candidate, he is going to struggle to get much more than a cursory glance from the voters. This is not to dismiss his as serious candidate, of which he is. But I think his foreign policy of isolationism is going to get him bypassed by most of the voters

Finally we have Mitt Romney, the former Governor of Massachusetts. During all of this he has remained fairly consistent. I’m not talking about his political consistency; I’m referring to his polling. Others have surged ahead of him from time to time. First Bachman, then Perry, the Cain, and now Gingrich.

As has happened with the previous candidates, the MSM has is taking it whacks at Newt.

After Bachmann gained serious traction after the Iowa straw poll, the media really began to focus on political positions, painting her as a cold-hearted person. Never mind that she and her husband took in many, many foster kids over the years.

When Perry began to surge the media was waiting in the bushes to ambush this guy and it didn’t take too long for him to provide the fodder. While his early debate performances were nothing to write home about, it was when he couldn’t remember the three government agencies he would close that did him. Granted, the wounds could be considered self-inflicted, but I certainly don’t remember the MSM going after Obama for his “57 states” comments or his mispronunciation of Corpsman. Of the first mistake, the media, playing their role as his protector, chalked it up to him being tired. As for the later, they pretty blew it off, most likely because none of them would have pronounced the word correctly either.

As for Cain, they certainly did a great job of digging into his background, which is entirely fine with me. But the question must be asked (and has many times); why didn’t they vet Obama as well as they vetted Cain? Why haven’t they insisted on Obama showing his grades while at Columbia and any of his legal papers while studying at Harvard? Why not question his alliance with proud domestic terrorist Bill Ayers? And they most certainly glossed over his 20-year association with Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Now they are going after Gingrich. Only this time they have help from the conservative wing of the Republican Party.

I will have more later.

Cain Suspends His Campaign

The “high-tech lynching” is done and Herman Cain has decided to suspend his presidential campaign.

After several allegations of sexual harassment and one woman claiming that she a Cain had a 13 year extra-marital affair, former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza and one of the more recognizable faces of the Tea Party movement, Cain has decided it would be better for him and his family if he slipped from the national scene.

We all know the story. About two months back sexual harassment allegation began to surface, although with one notable exception, the women pretty much remained unknown and the reports were anonymous. The earlier this week, which has proven to be the backbreaker, Ginger White came forward and said she had a long-lasting affair with the married Cain.

Cain Accuser Has A (Brief) History

The plot thickens. Seems that a woman who filed sexual harassment complaint against GOP hopeful Herman Cain also filed a complaint against her next employer.

Karen Kraushaar, 55, filed the complaint while working as a spokeswoman at the Immigration and Naturalization Service in the Justice Department in late 2002 or early 2003, with the assistance of her lawyer, Joel Bennett, who also handled her earlier sexual harassment complaint against Cain in 1999. Three former supervisors familiar with Kraushaar’s complaint, which did not include a claim of sexual harassment, described it for the AP under conditions of anonymity because the matter was handled internally by the agency and was not public.

To settle the complaint at the immigration service Kraushaar initially demanded thousands of dollars in payment, a reinstatement of leave she used after the accident earlier in 2002, promotion on the federal pay scale and a one-year fellowship to Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, according to a former supervisor familiar with the complaint. The promotion itself would have increased her annual salary between $12,000 and $16,000, according to salary tables in 2002 from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. (Source: Yahoo News)

I know this already old news, but I thought I’d post in case you had been away.

Heavy Thinking

Some thoughts on the brewing controversy that is surrounding GOP hopeful, Herman Cain.

Over the past six months I have been looking for a candidate that could beat Obama and was not named Mitt Romney. Because of his stances on illegal immigration, universal health care, and abortion, Romney is nothing more than Obama-lite.

There have been some possible contenders out there.

Palin teased us for a while. While I would have supported her with both guns ablazin’ I think in these divided times, she is just too polarizing. The left HATES her with every fiber of their being. Even after the vicious attacks on her ranging from her IQ level to her decision to keep her baby, an organization that purports to support women’s issues couldn’t even find the time to give even a lukewarm response in support of woman who has done it all. Career woman, raised a family, married to the same guy, things you would think NOW would get behind. But because Palin is a conservative, there wasn’t a snowballs chance in a hot place the NOW would issue even a squeak.

Christie has too many liberal stances (2nd Amendment, illegal immigration) that he never really stood a chance to gain my support. I will give credit where credit is due. He has brought NJ back from the brink with the hard choices he has made. But his non-committal to the 2nd Amendment and his stance on illegal immigration was a huge red flag for me.

Cain Accuser Comes Forward W/ Allred

I really hate to see it happen, but it certainly looks as if the “Cain Train” has derailed.

With the famous, bomb-throwing attorney Gloria Allred by her side, a fourth woman came forward Monday to charge Herman Cain with sexual harassment, giving full details on the alleged incident.

Sharon Bialek is the first woman to give her name and speak publically about what she is alleging the GOP front-runner did to her while he was head of the National Restaurant Association.

Allred introduced her client, Bialek, as a Republican, full-time, single mom and commended her client for coming forward to tell about Cain’s “idea of a ‘stimulus package.’” (Source: Daily Caller)

Media After Cain

Does this little piece of news surprise anyone? I’m not talking about the actual issue here. I am referring to the fact that the main stream media trots out 20 year old harassment charges against the GOP frontrunner, Herman Cain. That they can’t substantiate the charges is beyond the point. Anyone want to bet that some democrat operative had this in his hip pocket just in case Cain became the leader of the GOP pack?

According to the report, Cain was accused by two women, employees of the NRA [National Restaurant Association], of repeated inappropriate behavior, including “unwanted sexual advances,” but both women were paid off to leave the association, and to keep quiet. While the sourcing for this reporting is all anonymous, most of the sources bear strong attribution (e.g. “a former board member” versus “a source familiar with…”), and Politico has the names of both women involved, but has withheld them out of respect for their privacy. They also report having seen documentation relating to one of the cases. Journalistically speaking, it’s rock solid reporting. (Source: Mediate)

Cain Stands Tall

According to MSNBC, Martin Bashir, and democrat strategist Karen Finney those of who are conservative and are supporting Herman Cain (or leaning that direction such as myself) are using Cain to make us feel better about our supposed racist views.

“One of the things about Herman Cain is, I think that he makes that white Republican base of the party feel okay, feel like they are not racist because they can like this guy,” Finney said. “I think he’s giving that base a free pass. And I think they like him because they think he’s a black man who knows his place. I know that’s harsh, but that’s how it sure seems to me.”

“Thank you for spelling that out,” Bashir responded. (Source: Weekly Standard)

Of course we feel good about Cain. He stands for nearly all that we stand for. He is fiscally conservative, he wants to seriously revamp an unfair tax system, he has socially conservative views, and he just also happens to me an all around nice guy (seems that way).

And I will agree that he knows his place, as he should. His place is at the front of the conservative movement, right besides the likes of Michelle Bachmann, Sarah Palin, Rep Paul Ryan, and others who are fighting to save this country for progressives like Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and those in the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Cain Campaign Hits A Serious Bump

The state of the Herman Cain campaign is really not in a good place. I had some high hopes for this guy. I certainly hold him in higher regard than I do Romney. Not sure he was completely electable, but he had that certain something. I liked that he spoke plainly and from the heart. I liked his experience running a major company. I also liked that he did work in banking, although some balk at his job with the Kansas City Federal Reserve.

It was that plain spoken attitude that has more than likely done him in. One too many gaffes. In today’s media environment, you certainly cannot be a conservative candidate and hope to get away with speaking things that could be considered questionable.

Herman Cain's Poll Numbers Surge

While it certainly isn’t time to anoint him as the presumptive Republican nominee, Herman Cain has enjoyed a jump in his poll numbers since the debate last week. It is still waaaayyyyy too early to even hazard a supposition as to who is going to run against Obama in 2012. Several candidates are still trying to get their message out (Romney), others have yet to join (Palin, Bachmann), and still others make a little noise then flame out badly (Trump, Gingrich).

I think if most of us could think back to early 2007 no one had a clue as to the nightmare that was on the horizon. Clinton was the clear front-runner with love-monkey Edwards in the mix. Obama was a barely recognizable junior Senator from the corrupt great state of Illinois who had about 10 days under his belt when he got bored with being “just” and Senator and thought he might give the whole running for president thingy a whirl.