Dear Arjay and Peter Hume,

I agree that the rest of the republican field are scurrilous and heavily beholden to their donors but quietly spoken idealogues scare the bejeepers out of me. I know Ron Paul is a kindly septuagenarian gynecologist but Pol Pot started out a reasonable guy as well. 

Perhaps I'm just getting older but evolution rather than revolution as a method of change would seem to cut down the risk of it going pear shaped. I think his son is even more scary but I do have time for the father's humbleness.  His followers are very passionate and his grass roots fundraising continue to amaze. You might think I'm mad but I do see a bit of Bob Brown in him.

Dear Lexi,

Thanks for posting the list. It is really disturbing we might end up with another Texan governor in Rick Perry. Here are a couple of TYT clips on the man. The first ask the question about how he got his wealth,

http://www.youtube.com/watchv=ZrddWWcvNU8&feature=youtube_gdata_player

While the second is about the cuts he has made to the fire services in his state while taking no responsibility for the out of control wildfires that have burnt so much property.

http://www.youtube.com/watchv=vM_zpmxkY0&feature=youtube_gdata_player

He however is only corrupt both morally and literally, Michele Bachmann is just plain mad.

I think Cenk went a little over the top on this but you get the drift.

http://www.youtube.com/watchv=xxBf9q8yV9g&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Forgetting about the seriousness of it all I'm finding it really good fun watching the drama unfold.

Did you have a preference?

csteele
The part I caught was certainly eye-opening. Quite a bit of diversity among the Republican candidates with some oddballs at the far Right with calls to abolish taxes and any form of social welfare. I mainly caught the discussion about illegals in Texas and how one candidate is talking up big about punishment and the other about assisting immigrants to acccess education and thus contribute to society - all the usual sound bytes from both. There is pressure on handling illegals more harshly but business also likes the cheap labour they provide. Two competing pressures on politicians just in Texas. They love their death penalty over there too - quite a different culture on some fronts.

My experience with Americans is they don't fit well with the extreme Right views espoused by some of these candidates. Even those candidates (was it just Ron Paul?) who advocate withdrawing from Iraq and Afghanistan sit in some pretty weird places on other issues.

The debate was riddled with a plethora of strawman responses - that was entertaining.

Can you imagine if the Liberal and Labor parties here had to go through a similar leader selection process. I can see it now - there would be Turnbull out there battling on his own on climate change, Abbott, Brandis and Morrisson trying to outdo each other on how to stop the boats, Corey Bernardi would be doing a ban Muslims scenario. It might even give the voters a chance to better see these politicians for who they really are and what they stand for.

Or it might be too scary. :)

Dear csteele,

Thanks for the links.

I find it all very disturbing to say the least.

I have no preferences. I wouldn't vote for any of
them.

Since Nixon, Reagan, and then George W. Bush,
the Republican Party seems to have been on
a down-hill spiral. Don't forget the great
financial meltdown caused by Big Business greed
has destroyed much of the faith for many people
in the American political system.

President Obama has made a
determined effort to drag the American economy
out of its disaster but with the depleted financial
market it's difficult without resorting to extreme
measures. The President is not popular because the
demand for instant solutions is hindered by the
economic condition of the nation . The nation is broke,
but Big Business is still piling away its wealth and
its bonuses which under the Republican model would
continue to grow.

I find it all mesmerizing - and frightening at the same time.

How do you see things?

Dear csteele,

I've had a change of heart.

I've been doing more investigating into the Republican
Presidential Candidates and have found one that I could
support. Mitt Romney. He has an impressive background,
from his family background to his professional qualifications,
to his work experience. And his reputation as a "non-ideological
data-driven problem solver," also helps. He just may be
what American needs at this time.

Also the fact that on April 12, 2006 as Governor of
Massacusetts he signed a bill - a law requiring that every
citizen in his state buy Health Insurance. The State would
help the uninsured buy private insurance. It would creat a
deregulated online marketplace and it would require that
everyone carry insurance.

He's worked in the private sector and understand the economy.
An impressive package all round.

Dear Lexi,

You are right Rommney would appear to be the least objectionable of the lot however I do not like his hypocrisy. Take the fact he has pledged to can the so called 'Obama-care' in his first day in office. This is dispute the fact that is the spitting image of what he personally had done on the State level. But on the grand scale of hypocrisy it pales compared to Perry wanting FEMA abolished but now happy to stick his hand out for relief for Texans after the fires that have swept large areas of his state, or Baccman wanting an end to government handouts yet accepting huge grants for the family farm. 

Dear Pelican,

They sure do love the death penalty and the vigorous applause when Perry spoke about not having any misgivings about sending other to their deaths was chilling. Cenk covered it well here.

http://www.youtube.com/watchv=pXB8avpzMyI&feature=youtube_gdata_player

When the moderator pointed out that as the Governor of Texas Perry had overseen the execution of 234 inmates more than any other governor of modern times the crowd bursts into spontaneous applause and you can see Perry lapping it up. Very disquieting.

A similarly disturbing audience reaction was seen when moderator Wolf Blitzer asked the candidates ""What do you tell a guy who is sick, goes into a coma and doesn't have health insurance? Who pays for his coverage? Are you saying society should just let him die?". There were cries of 'Yes' and 'Hell Yeah' from the crowd. I thought Ron Paul answered the question fairly well but then he is a doctor but there was no escaping the sentiment of a fair part of the crowd. Bizzarre.

Aren't we so damn lucky here.

Dear csteele,

I suppose at first glance you could think that Romney
lacks a certain consistency on important issues. He went
for supporting abortion rights when he was running
for state-wide office in liberal Massachusetts
to becoming anti-abortion
when as a Governor he appeared to position himself for a
Presidential run.

However, in the case of healthcare
Romney has made it quite clear that he
"doesn't believe in usurping the constitutional power of the
State with a one-size fits all Federal takeover." He says
that he believes that the States should control their own
healthcare programs it's for that reason that he wants to repeal
"Obamacare."

I agree with you. We are very lucky in this country.