Jeb & Mitt

The Republican Party has taken a turn to the right. Many moderate Republicans have had to turn to the right to survive politically. Those whom refused have been vanquished by ultra-conservative forces. Two men, whom may very well run for President of the United States, embody the moderate Republican agenda. These men are Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney. While Romney swung to the right during the 2012 Presidential campaign and primaries while he was Governor of Massachusetts he was a moderate common sense Republican. Quite a rarity these days.

If the Republican Party attempts to run an ultra-conservative candidate (such as a tea party backed candidate), they will certainly lose the general election against the Democratic nominee. Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney are the best chance the Republican Party has of recapturing the White House in 2016.

Governor Bush and Governor Romney have served in the highest echelons of business and have held one of the highest political offices in the United States that of Governor.

However only one can run for either to be successful. Both of them appeal to big business, posses similar philosophies, and can draw in voters whom are tired of Tea Party obstructionists and anti-modern views on social issues. Both are simply logical moderates with years of executive and business experience.

I believe Governor Bush is the best chance for Republicans to pull in swing/moderate voters and defeat the presumed Democratic nominee Hilary Clinton. Governor Bush has proclaimed, bravely (at least politically) his view on controversial issues such as immigration and gay marriage While Governor Bush didn’t come out firmly in support of gay marriage he did say that same sex couples along with rule of law must be respected. On immigration, well, Governor Bush is married to a Hispanic women born in Mexico and has strongly supported immigration reform. I say that gives him the advantage over any Republican when it comes to garnering the Hispanic-American vote. Unlike Governor Romney who said in the nineties he is to the left of Senator Ted Kennedy on abortion, Bush has proclaimed his views just a few months before potential nominees will announce their candidacies and cannot as easily cop out of them by saying his views have changed. Governor Romney was attacked constantly for ( in the 2012 Presidential Election) changing his values and views on issues he supported as Massachusetts Governor and Senatorial Candidate. Voters like firm leaders whom profess their views clearly and do not hide from them.

Jeb Bush has the powerful Bush name behind him. Much like the Clinton name the name Bush can be helpful as well as a hindrance. It can invoke emotions ranging from awe to disgust. A famous name associated with two US Presidents and a governor polarizes and garners instant support. The name Romney is simply not as powerful nor as polarizing.

Finally Jeb Bush is associated with political success. While his father, President George H.W. Bush did lose his reelection campaign to Bill Clinton, his brother, President George W. Bush served two terms as President and he himself served two terms as Governor. On the other hand Governor Romney lost his parties nomination in 2008 and lost the 2012 Presidential election to President Barack Obama. Voters can at times forgive but party leadership will rarely forget about a candidate whom has lost a Presidential election, and so the Romney name carries with it a mark of defeat. Something Jeb Bush certainly does not.

I do believe Jeb Bush will run for President. If so he can capture swing voters, appeal to the Republican base (once ultra-conservative candidates our knocked out of the race), and out fund most competitors. Other competitors such as Chris Christie are just to polarizing or like Rand Paul too conservative to win in the general election. Romney is just a non-starter, he and Bush occupy the same sphere and the weight of Bush is just to great. I do believe Jeb Bush will seek the Republicans nomination for President of the United States and if so has the greatest chance of delivering the White House to the Republican Party. Nominating Governor Romney again will be a great mistake and a waste of a campaign.

 

Victory Together or Defeat Alone

It’s a turn in tack for the United States. The United States sits at a crossroad, I believe the path we follow will determine the future of the United States. We are a prideful patriotic people long accustomed to a great smashing victory against an evil but rationale enemy. ISIS, along with any other non-state actors, is not a rational enemy whom we can defeat in a head on battle. Barack Obama earlier this week, in a startling departure from his previous war policies, laid out a new path for the United States.

President Obama has laid out a plan to destroy ISIS and disrupt terrorist activity from the deserts of the Middle East to the shores of North Africa. Yet we all know that such a task cannot be accomplished in a single presidential administration nor by a series of strategic airstrikes. With his popularity plummeting and Americans sick of a lack of leadership in the world President Obama has laid out a plan that will send Americans back to the Middle East.

While I am no Dove it would seem that since September 11^th 2001 the United States actions against terrorists have been primarily reactionary in nature. Terrorism is used by groups whom lack the power to fight through conventional and legitimate means. They use the terrorizing of civilians and suicide attacks to strike fear into the heart of industrialized nations, a glaring example of course is the United States.

Americans must lead but not alone. Europe besieged as it is by economic and political crisis must help the US in the fight against terrorists in the Middle East. If Americans truly want victory in the Middle East we must accept the fact that victory is decades if not centuries away and that the age where a super power could unilaterally act is long past.

Immigration, Obama, and the Children

President Obama must confront an immigration crisis, one that touches the very fabric of America’s national character. Children from Latin American countries, countries often with high rates of crime and poverty, are encouraged by their parents to make a dangerous hundred miles long journey to the United States. These parents do care and love their children, they believe that the only way for their children to live a life free from poverty and crime is through immigration to the US, whether that be legal or otherwise.

President Obama along with Congress must respond to the children coming over our borders and into the Unites States. President Obama is being criticized by Republicans for not going to the border and confronting the issue personally. While I do believe President Obama should go down to the border to show that he is taking an active interest in the well being of these children I also believe that such a gesture would be largely symbolic.

President Obama is on the right path (or should I say the left path, pun intended) asking Congress to appropriate him $3.7 billion to deal with the influx of youth immigrants from Latin America. Yet Republicans seem to be addressing political brinksmanship then attempting to solve the problem of the illegal minor immigrants. Instead they blame Obama for the current problem for not providing the US-Mexico border with enough security throughout his tenure as President of the United States.
I do not agree with the GOP on this issue. There is more border security personnel patrolling the border under President Obama then under President Bush yet Republicans still blame President Obama for the current immigration crisis.

If the Republican Caucus of Congress wishes to solve this crisis, instead of shifting blame upon President Obama, they should agree to his $3.7 billion appropriation measure.