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Which 2008 Candidate am I Supporting?

April 30th, 2008

I took a rather fair and balanced survey for which 2008 presidential candidate would ideal. (I was initially researching their stances on Net Neutrality, but decided this would be interesting.)

The survey results are somewhat correct. I’m not as much of a liberal as the results might speculate — heck, I support unfettered interpretation of the Second Amendment and Abortion Rights — but it does paint a picture as to whom I respect more in the upcoming 2008 election.

1. Theoretical Ideal Candidate (100%)
2. Barack Obama (76%) Information link
3. Hillary Clinton (67%) Information link
4. John Edwards (withdrawn) (64%) Information link
5. Alan Augustson (campaign suspended) (63%) Information link
6. Joseph Biden (withdrawn) (61%) Information link
7. Al Gore (not announced) (59%) Information link
8. Dennis Kucinich (withdrawn) (59%) Information link
9. Christopher Dodd (endorsed Obama) (58%) Information link
10. Ron Paul (concedes nomination not possible) (58%) Information link
11. Wesley Clark (not running, endorsed Clinton) (58%) Information link
12. Bill Richardson (withdrawn, endorsed Obama) (57%) Information link
13. Mike Gravel (56%) Information link
14. Kent McManigal (campaign suspended) (48%) Information link
15. Wayne Allyn Root (46%) Information link
16. Michael Bloomberg (says he will not run) (40%) Information link
17. Tom Tancredo (withdrawn, endorsed Romney) (38%) Information link
18. Alan Keyes (35%) Information link
19. Mike Huckabee (withdrawn) (34%) Information link
20. John McCain (34%) Information link
21. Tommy Thompson (withdrawn, endorsed Giuliani) (32%) Information link
22. Newt Gingrich (says he will not run) (31%) Information link
23. Duncan Hunter (withdrawn, endorsed Huckabee) (31%) Information link
24. Elaine Brown (30%) Information link
25. Mitt Romney (withdrawn, endorsed McCain) (30%) Information link
26. Jim Gilmore (withdrawn) (30%) Information link
27. Rudolph Giuliani (withdrawn, endorsed McCain) (29%) Information link
28. Chuck Hagel (not running) (29%) Information link
29. Fred Thompson (withdrawn) (29%) Information link
30. Sam Brownback (withdrawn, endorsed McCain) (28%) Information link
31. Stephen Colbert (campaign halted) (26%) Information link

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  1. Winghunter
    April 30th, 2008 at 08:08 | #1

    Choosing a candidate is every bit as much as declaring your personal ability to be capable of your own governance. Therefore, information is everything…the kind of information that we can’t afford to be played with by the agenda driven mainstream media;

    Barack Hussein Obama
    http://bhobama.blogspot.com/

    John “Juan” McCain
    http://juanmccain.blogspot.com/

    Hillary Can’t Wait: Screw’emGate
    http://conservativesuperiority.com/?p=205

    Hildabeast
    http://hilldabeast.com/index.php?m=s

    Downside Legacy at Two Degrees of Bill Clinton
    http://alamo-girl.com/index.htm

    The Clinton Legacy
    http://clinton-legacy.org/

    ( And just in case McCain is about to pick the Huckster for Veep )

    Mike “The Huckster” Huckabee
    http://mikeyhuckabee.blogspot.com/

    Mike Huckabee’s Skeleton Closet
    http://www.realchange.org/huckabee.htm

    You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.

    You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.

    You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.

    You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.

    You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.

    You cannot build character and courage by taking away men’s initiative
    and independence.

    You cannot help men permanently by doing for them, what they could and
    should do for themselves.

    Abraham Lincoln

  2. April 30th, 2008 at 08:16 | #2

    Winghunter,

    Thanks for the comment. Something bothers me by the radical views that you’ve demonstrated. I sense that people are becoming more politically segregated than ever before because people cling to their polar opposites.

    Despite my disagreement in these blogs — they are merely attacks on all the candidates — I’ll let them stay. I can tolerate differing opinions, but please, know that these are not balanced sources.

    Also, one thing that 98% of the American voters don’t care about: Middle names. Get over it, it’s not the end of the world that someone has a middle name asynchronous with a dead War criminal.

    ~Joe

  3. Winghunter
    April 30th, 2008 at 08:49 | #3

    Oh HO! You may delete the post without an ounce of my care in the slightest.

    An American citizen listens to the candidates, checks their backgrounds thoroughly for a number of reasons, learns the issues to truly competent levels and looks at all available information to make their informed choice in the responsibility as we’ve been specifically instructed to do from our founding fathers who designed our government and its safeguards through situational genius.

    However, to offer the vast amount of information in the above links as being my personal “radical view” is quite insane and to further suggest voters are not capable of discerning truth from fiction on their own when presented ALL the material required is a statement of denial…nothing more.

    FURTHER, to suggest we should never mention a middle name of a candidate because it also happens to be a “dead war criminal” and disregarding the fact that this candidate also did not observe the simplest of American customs in adopting an American first name is another statement of sheer denial.

    After reviewing your ludicrous positions I would actually prefer to see reasonable and rational information not listed on a personal blog whose host is far too busy in denial to be capable of their own governance. However, you may keep the following quote to commit to your memory;

    “At the core of liberalism is the spoiled child - miserable, as all spoiled children are, unsatisfied, demanding, ill disciplined, despotic, and useless. Liberalism is the philosophy of sniveling brats.” - P.J. O’Rourke

  4. April 30th, 2008 at 10:50 | #4

    Winghunter,

    I respect your point of view, I’m just saying that I disagree and wanted to point out that the Internet fuels free speech.

    I’m all for full disclosure so people can make informed decisions, don’t get me wrong about that. It’s rather unfortunate that a majority of people just consume what the media tells them without merit usually with prejudice.

    While liberalism is “childish” and “miserable,” it is the founding principles in this country. Without liberals who dare to challenge the status-quo, we’d become a socialist republic (the likes of China and North Korea) where free expression, speech and thought are prohibited by the government.

    I’m not sure what you know about me, but I fully support small government and civil rights. Many people associate “civil liberties” as liberalism, but I hold much doubt in that claim since civil rights promotes smaller government. I’m all for less regulation of people’s personal lives and choices.

    As far naming conventions in our culture, should an American citizen be forced to adopt a traditional North American name to be a viable candidate for president? In this country, anyone can become president no matter what name they were born with or whose family tree they represent. I find it very shallow for someone to judge a candidate because they failed to acquire a name like “John,” “George,” “Michael,” “Joseph,” “Mary,” “Jane,” or any other common American names. In the Constitution, (Article 2 Section 1) states that the only requirements to become president in this country is to be at least 35 years old, an natural citizen of the United States, and have had residency for a minimum of 14 years.

    Let me remind you that my blog consists of my personal views. Much like you have your perspective, I have mine and I wish to share it openly. If I find someone’s contributions are radical or extreme — I damn well have the right to say so in the same fashion that you can, too.

    Only in America, one can think, talk, and spread thought freely. Only in America, one can expect a fair trial and due process of the law. Only in America, someone can share thoughts and expressions freely without retribution from their government. It is my belief that all Constitutional rights must be preserved, otherwise the whole document becomes less worthy to uphold.

    CIVIL RIGHTS: USE THEM OR LOSE THEM.

    Thanks again for your insight, even if I disagree.

    ~Joe

  5. May 3rd, 2008 at 01:06 | #5

    For what it’s worth, Obama is one of very few Congressmen to have a worse record on gun rights than Rodham-Clinton; and that’s saying something. On the plus side he’s more legitimately anti-war than Hillary, although his health care plan makes less sense. The only other thing positive I can say about Rodham-Clinton is that she’s so divisive that members of Congress won’t have any political fallout from opposing her ideas; where on the other hand they might catch flak for opposing the ideas of Mr. Audacious Hope for Change (not to mention additional flak for opposing the First Black President®). I’m actually a supporter of legislative gridlock- don’t forget, “bipartisanship” is what got you the border fence, the Iraq war, No Child Left Behind, drug war escalation, and the PATRIOT Act.

    This election year is pretty apathy-inducing when you think about it. Hillary will be more like Bush than any other candidate (McCain included), Obama looks good on paper but so did Bill Clinton; and Juan McCain is totally unacceptable. McCain will stay in Iraq and so will Hillary, make no mistake- and it wouldn’t surprise me if Obama found a reason to stay as well. The Iraq war is good political hay for a re-election campaign on the part of either Democrat- each dead soldier is a talking point about “Bush’s War” or “The Republicans’ War” and the sooner it’s over the sooner they lose the anti-war vote. Hillary herself said that she’d be out by 2013, she’s hedging her bets on her re-election already.

    Obama is currently the darling of the Internet and I understand your endorsement of him, but there are several problems with him: He openly admits that he would repeal the Tiahrt Amendment, support a reintroduction of the 1994 “Assault Weapon” ban, and other anti-gun-rights positions even more ridiculous than those, such as “gun show loophole” nonsense and others. He talks about energy but refuses to endorse (or even talk about) nuclear- this is unforgivable in today’s energy debate. He supports expanding hate-crime laws and enforcement… and nothing has changed in 20 years, hate-crime laws are still an answer in search of a question. On immigration he promises to crack down on employers but anyone with a brain knows that’s not going to happen with any candidate. Plus he talks about “creating secure borders” and “increasing personnel/infrastructure/etc” (which is what they all say), and that means billions more wasted and increased militarization of police- this is also unacceptable. On Iraq he pledges to continue humanitiarian efforts in that country- that means more combat soldiers repurposed as police and social workers; and billions more dollars to companies to go and fix power lines at an 800% markup… with more soldiers getting killed in convoys in support of these contractors, more lives wasted for nothing. He supports increased surveillance and regulation of Internet traffic.

    One good thing I will say about him is that he calls for increased care for veterans, although that’s the same thing Bush said and look at the abysmal state of veterans’ care these days.

    Again, on paper Obama seems the lesser of the three evils; and as much as I absolutely detest Rodham-Clinton, from a pragmatic perspective she may be a wiser choice due to solely to the fact that many of her proposals would be gridlocked. McCain is so unappealing to me that I’ll not mention him again.

    I could get behind Obama if he would amend his platform to:
    Expedite construction of nuclear power plants- 40% of nation’s electricity generated via nuclear by end of first term or begin construction of at least 50 plants by that time. Double funding for research and construction of pebble-bed reactors.
    Roll back militarization of police forces- end federal equipment purchase programs and crosstraining with military forces.
    Effective legislation (up to and including Constitutional Ammendments) regulating procedures for no-knock warrant service and dynamic entries.
    Immediate withdrawal from Iraq, enforcement of no-fly zones and punitive airstrikes only.*
    Phased withdrawal from Afghanistan, to begin immediately.
    Comprehensive review of all Iraq contracts.
    Total and unconditional repeal of USA PATRIOT.
    Reduce size and budget of DHS by at least 50%
    Remeber the lessons of 1994 and stop beating the gun control drum.
    Mandatory criminal prosecution for Congressmen who commit financial misconduct.
    Federal oversight of state prison systems; nationwide initiative to eliminate prison rape and violence against staff and/or inmates. Eliminate private prisons, alternatively hold contractors criminally liable for abuse/neglect or violence.
    End No Child Left Behind.

    *Alternatively, suspend all non-Iraq spending and properly arm and armor forces stationed in Iraq; bolster troop numbers by 25-40% (via draft if necessary)… basically, get it done or get out. Also, define what “getting it done” means; lay out what the conditions of “victory” are. /sarcasm

  6. May 3rd, 2008 at 01:09 | #6

    Eh, if I had noticed that the guy above me who copied & pasted all the Michael Savage nicknames/talking points had used “Juan McCain,” I wouldn’t have. Oh well.

  7. May 3rd, 2008 at 09:41 | #7

    Thanks for the very descriptive comments, Junkyard Willie.

    I hold more faith in Obama in sticking to his promises than Hillary. Hillary would placate the victim mentality (much like Bush did recently discussing the economy, energy prices, etc). Watch all the finger pointing in these clips: One, Two, Three, Four, Five. I expect that Hillary would hold press conferences like this and won’t be able to be truly progressive in moving this country’s shortcomings forward. And like you mentioned, there will be less backfire if a Congressman/woman disagrees with her.

    Bipartisanship is fine when passing issues that have a direct benefit for people as it pertains to energy, tax cuts, education and health care reform. However, having debate and discussion on various issues — on the merit of the issues — is encouraged. I am completely fine though if people disagree on bills and Filibuster each other as long as there is no corporate or financial interest. Bipartisanship is another word for conformity, and that isn’t what Congress is for.

    I support a repeal of the PATRIOT Acts, shrinking DHS. Bear in mind in moving forward, all the Republicans in Congress will scream “Danger” and “Terrorism” and scare people to petition the repeal of it. You see, those acts were created on the basis of fear — not logic — so it will take the same amount of fear to repeal them. How someone could re-write the Constitution and the Bill of Rights is beyond me.

    Gun Control has had no effect on gun crime. The AWB hasn’t had any effect at preventing people from going ‘Postal’ and murdering hundreds of people. I wonder why people bother lobbying the firearm industry. It should be within everyone’s right to possess a firearm, with no limits on the clip/magazine length, pistol grip positioning/length, flash suppressors, rifle barrel shrouds or any other bureaucratic means of regulating firearms.

    If someone wants to shoot up their class, a precinct of cops, a government office; they will. There is no law or amount of regulation that prevents people from going nuts and executing their personal Armageddon.

    It is only because of the liberal gun laws here in AZ that I don’t carjack anyone or engage in aggressive driving. Every driver likely has a firearm and probably isn’t afraid to use it. If we just stick to the plain-interpretation of the Second Amendment, then we will [all] be much more secure and responsible for our personal security.

    If a student at VA Tech had a firearm (hopefully >.22 cal), then they would just unload their clip into the chest of Seung-Hui Cho and perhaps thirty two more people would be alive today. Critics say that if students had guns they would all shoot each other all the time. It’s such bull and only further makes people reliant on the government to protect the sheep, as wolves devour the herd.

    I agree, we need to GTFO of Iraq. We’ve been there long enough and it shouldn’t be our fault if the government is so unstable. We’ve given them arms, infrastructure and combat training. What more do they need? It’s moments like these that Saddam Hussein didn’t seem all that bad since he had his people on lockdown. Not every country needs a democracy. We should have just provided logistical support and combat training and let their leaders build their government the way that is best suited for the people.

    Who pays for the War in Iraq? We do in three ways:
    – High Oil/Gas Prices (as of this writing, it’s at $3.50 near my house).
    – High Taxes (approximately every man woman and child owes $10,000 debt to pay for the War).
    – Decreased focus on domestic policies like education, civil liberties, lending industry, etc.

    I would be content if Iraq sold oil at an insanely discounted rate to us, assuming we built their government, liberated the people from oppression, and spent 4,000+ soldiers at our expense. That is, sell gas at $20 per barrel for the next four years. That should result in a nearly 80% drop in gas prices. It also enables Americans to save up for the increase in gas prices later on. This would be the only way to equally split the cost of going into Iraq. The incentive for us — get it done right, quick and sustainable. The incentive for them — learn quickly, build foreign relations and stop being the epicenter for terrorism.

    ~Joe

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