Thursday, January 31, 2008

Nancy's Got It Right

Drudge is reporting that Nancy Reagan enthusiastically supports John McCain. It's worth noting that a few years ago Mrs. Reagan asked Sen. McCain to accept the Conservative of the Century award on behalf of President Reagan.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Which Candidate is Best for the Economy and is Best Able to Enact Conservative Economic Legislation?

The following is an editorial endorsement I wrote in my Business Growth Newsletter:

ENDORSEMENT

The Republican Primary Endorsement of the South Florida Newsletter for Business Growth goes to Sen. John McCain. It is his program that best serves South Florida businesses and American businesses in general.

GRADING THE CANDIDATES

John McCain A+
Based on his 25 year consistent record of fighting wasteful spending, the fact that his economic program is innovative and hits on all major economic issues facing America and the fact that he is uniquely able to achieve passage of his program through Congress. The other candidates may have some good ideas, but if they have no realistic way of seeing them enacted their programs become of little value.

Mike Huckabee B-
He receives a B- provided that the final plan, as approved and signed into law, would include prebates (monthly checks) to offset taxes on food and other essentials, that only new construction be taxed and existing homes be exempt and that the plan be able to generate sufficient revenue to allow for needed spending without growing the recession.
His plan would take years of lobbying to garner enough congressional support to implement, but unlike Giuliani’s plan (see below), it may eventually pass.
He would receive a C if not for his overall economic populism, with his emphasis on programs that benefit the middle class. These programs, such as aggressively fighting inflation through stable interest rates, are separate from his “fair tax” plan, would be more easily enacted and count in his favor.

Rudy Giuliani C-
His federal disaster fund would be a cumbersome and ineffective way of handling disaster insurance needs but that’s not why the former Mayor of New York receives a low grade. His general economic plan is far too sweeping to hope to achieve congressional support. It has virtually no chance of being implemented and he has yet to offer any alternatives in its place.

Mitt Romney D-
If Gov. Romney were to have championed a conservative economic course, we would have examined the merits of the program and graded it accordingly. Likewise, if Romney had championed a liberal economic course, we would have examined the merits of the program and graded it accordingly.

Instead the Gov. has been all over the place. The same man who just last year proposed criminalization of refusal to carry health insurance in his own state has now campaigned as a nouveau economic conservative. Of course, that was until he went to Michigan, where he again switched back to an economically liberal position, one that involved bailouts that seem unlikely to be sustainable.

His economic “positions” seem to change from state to state and from one debate to the next. This kind of grandstanding is simply not worthy of comment and certainly cannot be analyzed.

It also must be noted that the economic experience he touts does not work in his favor. Romney has a record of merging companies, something that may benefit a particular corporation, but that generally involves laying off workers. In any case, it has no relation to the promotion of general economic growth.

Ron Paul F
His general desire to curb spending is admirable. His proposal to get rid of the Department of Education is not and would have the effect of increasing illiteracy, significantly lower the number of college graduates and would lead to a host of other problems that would render America uncompetitive on the world stage.

It is worth noting that three other candidates who withdrew from the race receive higher grades than most of the remaining contenders. Fred Thompson, Sam Brownback and Duncan Hunter would have all received As or Bs, though none of their economic programs are as sound and realistic as that of Sen. McCain’s.

REASONING

The South Florida Newsletter for Business Growth has examined the positions of each of the leading candidates as they pertain to small business and general economics. After much deliberation, we have come to the opinion that John McCain the Republican candidate with the best economic program.

It is no secret that our economy faces some serious tough times and that concrete, well thought out, real results are needed. We have therefore examined the economic platform of each candidate and are basing our endorsement based on a number of factors.

Specifically, while Mitt Romney has been all over the spectrum on issues such as taxation and spending, John McCain has strenuously and consistently demanded an end to pork barrel spending. He has never voted for a tax increase, as such increases usually cause unemployment and economic stagnation, but has demanded that lower taxes be coupled with spending cuts.

Three points in particular lead us to endorse John McCain:

In his unwavering battle against reckless spending, he has often gone so far as to fight the leadership of both parties in Congress and has never backed down from a fight.

Central to his economic proposals is the fact that he recognizes the need to reform corporate tax rates. US corporations are taxed at a higher rate than in any other industrialized nation except for Japan. If this situation is not rectified more and more American corporations will move their headquarters to other countries. John McCain’s proposal to reduce corporate tax rates in a responsible way is something that members of both parties can rally around and is clearly needed.

Most importantly, John McCain is the only candidate who can work with both parties in Congress to actually achieve economic change. He enjoys wide respect that crosses party lines. While the other candidates would almost certainly see their economic programs held up by Congress, only McCain enjoys the stature and respect to push through his economic policies. This is largely because his proposals are reasonable and widely recognized as being needed.

McCain’s abhorrence of spending should not be viewed lightly. According to non-partisan federal budgetary agencies, the United States faces falling into a junk bond credit rating within the next 15-20 years should we not take aggressive measures to curb spending and promote growth. McCain recognized the dangers of waste well before most others did and is one of a select few members of congress to consistently take aggressive action to put government spending on the right path.

Rudy Giuliani’s proposal of a federal disaster fund seems intriguing on face value. In reality, however, it would only create a new department that would be managed no better and no more cost effectively than any other federal department is currently run. This is why it is opposed by all other candidates, who unlike Giuliani have had experience running or overseeing spending of federal or state agencies. Contrastingly, McCain’s proposal to bring together the various governors of disaster prone states to find a solution would be far more efficient and cost effective. State governments are far more in tune with the needs of their citizens than a federal agency would be, making his solution the most likely to produce meaningful results.

Governor Huckabee’s proposal to replace the income tax system with a national sales tax seems intriguing in that it would encourage personal savings and penalize reckless spending. We would, however, want assurances that basic food, clothing and school supplies be exempted, this problem is solved with his monthly rebates to middle and low income families and recognize that this may be an effective way of countering the issue. Our last hang up, taxes on existing homes, was answered to a large extent by the fact that only new construction would be subject to the tax. However, the fact is that this proposal has virtually no chance of being adopted by congress at this present time makes us unable to support it as a viable proposal.

While Ron Paul may want to curb spending, his efforts to cut the Department of Education and other needed and beneficial programs that protect and sustain America’s economic and societal future, have rightly been opposed by all other Republicans and Democrats alike. We take solace in the fact that all other Republican candidates believe that his proposals have no place in American life and that he is largely alone, with no support from either party, in many a congressional vote. While we strongly applaud his desire to cut spending, we wish that he would differentiate between needed allocations and wasteful spending, just as we always encourage entrepreneurs to accumulate savings, but not at the cost of their children’s education.

In short, of all the candidates, none come close to the legislative expertise of John McCain, his 25 year record of fighting pork barrel spending even when he had to oppose the congressional leadership of both parties to do so or his consistent stand on taxes that are as low as possible but that allow for investment in America’s future are worthy of support. His personal integrity speaks for itself and makes him least likely to waiver on important economic issues and most likely to be able to bring together members of both political parties to effect economic change. This last factor is crucial as most reforms need the support of a minimum of 60 senators to accomplish.

Why Social Conservatives Should Support John McCain

As is usually the case in politics, in recent weeks we’ve seen a lot of unfair
bashing of John McCain as well as gross distortion of his record. Of
the two or three candidates with a shot winning the nomination, only
John McCain has been a consistent conservative, dating back to before President
Reagan.

The issues on which he differs with the party are never moral in nature and even then, he's never supported a tax increase and was only opposed to the last two major tax cuts because they contained no curbs on spending.

Romney sounds conservative now, but has a history of switching
positions whichever way the wind blows. Promoting moral values can't be trusted to someone who will take whatever position is popular. Just look at Romney's
supposed championing of conservative economics before switching last
week to propose a liberal bailout in Michigan (that, by the way,
wouldn't work). Simply put, someone who claims to have
held "heartfelt" positions on both sides of the abortion debate,
economic growth and every other major issue is not someone we want to
trust with the issues that matter most to us. Who would?

Giuliani supports positions that are contrary to morally conservative
values and has vastly less experience and less stature
to affect any policies than does John McCain. McCain has a history of standing by his
positions even if they become unpopular. Rudy's career as US
Attorney for the Southern Dist. of New York was extremely self
serving and a black mark on his career that questions whether he
would take many positions if they didn't seem to his advantage to do so.
McCain's record of consistency is far more reassuring and his
personal character makes him more worthy of support.

And McCain is a conservative. He's the only candidate left in the
race with an 82.3% lifetime conservative rating. Compare that to
Fred Thompson (who was called the "clear conservative candidate")'s
lifetime rating of 86%. On social issues McCain is actually more
conservative than Thompson, far more so than Giuliani and more
consistent and trustworthy than Romney.

He's also the only candidate who polls ahead of both Clinton and
Obama in poll after poll after poll, making him the best option for
keeping the White House in Republican hands. For all of these
reasons and more I'd encourage you to support John McCain for the
nomination and to urge your friends, family and acquaintances to do
likewise.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Florida Vote McCain

The need for Florida to vote for John McCain is imperative. Rudy would not be a good general election candidate in the crucial Midwest. The public perception of Romney is that he'll say anything to win and he has not been able to shake this off. This perception may not be true but it wounds him severely in a general election.

John McCain is a man of integritry, a man who served this country well, a compassionate conservative and leader and someone who has always fought hard for what he believes in. He's a true social and fiscal conservative with a 82.3% conservative voting record in Congress. He'd make a terrific president and is our best general election candidate.

Thursday, January 03, 2008

McCain and Huckabee Are Not Only Good Men – They’re Key to Victory

In every election season a different issue or leadership quality resonates with the voters. After a long, drawn out campaign cycle that seemed to be overly “celebritized,” for lack of a better moniker, nothing resonates more than authenticity and ability to connect with voters. In this cycle electing a candidate with a record of authenticity will resonate, while electing another fine man whose genuineness is widely, albeit unfairly, questioned or who comes across as too polished, and therefore too out of touch, will not go over well with the electorate.

On the GOP side, while none of the may embody the ideal conservative position, Gov. Huckabee and Sen. McCain have long track records of supporting over 80% of conservative causes and their promises to adhere to the conservative base ring true, as even their opponents attest to their strong record of keeping promises. No presidential candidate has ever agreed with the conservative position on all issues, yet many have advanced the conservative cause by effectively using their true leadership skills and their ability to connect with voters.

Say what you want about Sen. McCain. When he makes a promise he keeps it. He’s also been a staunch conservative on all issues except for those that were most publicized, which although they received much attention, were actually few and far between. He is also widely trusted by the public and deservedly so. For this reason there are few candidates who can bring independents back to reality on the importance of the War on Terror and few people who can garner the support, and therefore the votes, of the public on as wide a level as Sen. McCain.

Gov. Huckabee is also such a candidate. Whether you like him or not, he is extremely trustworthy and the public knows this. Many of his ideas on education as well as his general down to earth ability to connect with voters will be crucial assets in a general election. He has agreed to implement conservative fiscal policies and supports tax relief. Those who suggest that he may break with these policies fail to realize that doing so would be so large a death nail on his support from the base that the possibility of him doing so while in office would be nonexistent. There are some mistakes that all politicians learn from and never forget and the effects of candidate campaigning on a fiscally conservative policy and then deviating from it in any way is one such colossal mistake that will not be repeated.

When Gov. Huckabee or Sen. McCain say something they can be believed and the public knows this. Additionally, their personalities resonate with the voters. The first of these qualities also applies to Sen. Thompson but his ability to rally the electorate seems questionable. Other candidates who may be trustworthy but who cannot project this image with the voters won’t be able to convince voters of it or have any effect in terms of getting independents and those sitting on the fence to listen to them and whether we like it or not, election battles are fought on these very abilities.

And both the war hero and the long serving governor both have a long history of vocal support for 80% of conservative causes. In other words, both start out just as well as some of our best conservative presidents. Both can be believed to keep their promises to adhere to conservative social, fiscal and security policies because both do keep their words and in terms of an election match up, it’s hard to picture a candidate who can get swing voters to listen to the side of reason better than either of these two. In fact, it’s doubtful that others can, making nominating one of them essential to the election effort.