The national security brains behind the GOP candidates
Editor's note: On November 22, CNN, along with conservative think tanks AEI and The Heritage Foundation, will host a Republican candidate debate focused on national security topics.
By Senior State Department Producer Elise Labott
There are a few models for presidential candidates seeking to bone up on national security issues.
First, there's the George W. Bush model. You hire a lean, high-powered team of foreign policy heavyweights to help hammer out foreign policy, defense and intelligence proposals. The Vulcans, as the Bush team was called, included former Secretary of State George Shultz and Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice and Paul Wolfowitz. They traded e-mail messages and held conference calls and meetings at the then-Texas governor's mansion, where they hammered out his national security positions. Once in office, the majority of the Vulcans became Bush's national security team.
Then there's the Barack Obama model, which sucks up all the foreign policy talent in Washington to present an impressive front about the candidate's expertise, thereby denying the privilege to his competitors. Obama was in a brain arms race with Hillary Clinton, who had a similar approach, in the '08 primary. It's like the annual Filene's Basement wedding dress sale. When the doors open, brides rush to scoop up all of the dresses they can find, regardless of the style or fit, depriving fellow brides a dress in case they may want it later.
The problem with this approach is that you have no idea what the bride will look like on her wedding day.
Take Mitt Romney, whose impressive foreign policy brain trust reads like one of a presumptive nominee, and is by far the most extensive of all the Republican candidates this election cycle.
His team of 22 special advisers is heavy on Bush administration veterans, including such marquee names as former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and ex-CIA Director Michael Hayden. He's also tapped former Republican senators such as Minnesota's Norm Coleman and Jim Talent of Missouri, as well as several prominent former State Department officials like Elliot Cohen, who was an adviser to Rice, former Under Secretary Paula Obriansky, and Pierre Prosper, once ambassador-at-large for war crimes. Romney also announced 13 working groups on key issues and regions with prominent professors and think-tank scholars.
A common criticism is that such committees are for show, and the members have little to do with actual policy platforms. Yet Romney advisers say they were pleasantly surprised that their ideas found their way into Romney's "white paper," the most detailed foreign policy platform issued so far by any candidate.
The strength of Romney's team, however, could also be a weakness. While extremely experienced, it runs the spectrum from the far right to the center. Some Republican foreign policy gurus worry the group is so ideologically diverse, it lacks clarity of vision.
"Romney's team is almost too broad, it's soulless," worried one GOP foreign policy expert who has informally advised the Romney campaign. "You don't know what direction he would go and some conservatives are worried it could be analysis paralysis."
Richard Williamson - a former envoy to Sudan and deputy ambassador to the United Nations under Bush who is now a top foreign policy adviser to Romney - disagrees. As a young staffer for President Ronald Reagan, Williamson found a president with a firm world view but open to a robust debate on issues.
"Gov. Romney is the same way," Williamson said. "His framework is 'America is exceptional and is better off leading.' So he is willing to debate clarity of interest and then decides what the best steps to take are. I think that is comforting and is a good aspect of leadership."
Several of the biggest gets in the Washington foreign policy establishment have not endorsed or signed up to formally advise any candidate. They include former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter Liz Cheney, as well as former US ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton. Bolton, sources say, has been sought out by nearly every campaign and could play a major role in a Republican administration.
But the fact that so many people have lined up behind Romney puts the other candidates at a disadvantage, particularly Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a relative newcomer to foreign policy.
Perry's chief foreign policy adviser, Victoria Coates, a book researcher for Donald Rumsfeld, has set up briefings with several Bush administration heavyweights, such as former ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker, ex-Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith, a former National Security Council senior director, William Luti, and several people who were Pentagon officials under Rumsfeld. He's also spoken with several generals in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Yet a roster of Perry's foreign policy team has yet to come out of the woodwork. One Perry campaign adviser said that while Perry has avoided publicizing his wide pool of advice, he expects in the next month to issue a targeted list of a dozen former diplomats and military officials, "reformers who, like Governor Perry, are unabashed in their support for American exceptionalism and have no sympathy for the neo-isolationist tendencies of some of the other candidates."
Some of the candidates with the most clearly articulated foreign policies aren't relying on advisers. As House speaker, Gingrich tackled U.S. interventions in Bosnia, Kosovo and Haiti, and was a key supporter of North American Free Trade Agreement and other major Clinton-era trade deals. And he has a doctorate in European history. So it's not surprising Newt's chief foreign policy adviser is himself.
The same goes for Jon Huntsman, the former governor from Utah and three-time ambassador, most recently to China, who is campaigning on his unique credibility on global affairs. Randy Schriver, a former chief of staff to Richard Armitage who runs Huntsman's foreign policy shop, says his boss prefers to keep his own counsel.
"He's a very savvy policy analyst and is comfortable coming up with his own position," Schriver said. "That isn't the case with other candidates. He doesn't need a campaign structure that has an expert for every region because Governor Huntsman is an expert himself."
Rick Santorum, a former senator from Pennsylvania who spent eight years on the Senate Armed Service Committee, also seems to draw from his own experience for his policy positions.
Given Herman Cain's slip ups on foreign affairs, many have wondered aloud about his foreign policy team, led by J.D. Gordon, a former military spokesman and Fox News commentator.
"He may have thought foreign policy is just not going to move this election," said Chris Preble, vice president for foreign policy and defense studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, of Cain's initial blunders on foreign policy. "He probably decided initially that it wasn't that important, but has learned that other people think it is important, so he will have to make up some ground."
Gordon said he is arranging conference calls for his candidate around the clock and culling one-page briefing papers from experts far and wide to educate Cain on everything from the Arab Spring to relations with Russia. He says the candidate's many gaffes on national security are less about the quality of advice and more due to the lack of time to cram on issues about which he isn't familar with the finer points.
"He believes he will be a good president," said Gordon, who described Cain as a Reagan conservative believing in "peace through strengthen and clarity." In a recent conversation with Henry Kissenger, the former Secretary of State told the candidate the most important things he needs are the right philosophy and the right advisers
"The campaign took off in popularity so quickly before we had a chance to heavily focus on the foreign policy briefs. He is getting up to speed, day by day. We are working hard to get him there fast enough due to our whirlwind schedule. Considering where he is today from where he started, it is impressive," Gordon said. "He is doing his homework."
The campaigns of Rep. Ron Paul of Texas and Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota have released little information about who is advising the candidates on foreign policy. Bachmann sits on the House intelligence committee which gives a good grounding in many national security issues. This summer Paul, who has staked out the strongest isolationist position, announced constitutional and international law scholar Bruce Fein was advising his campaign on the "dangers to national security of an increasingly interventionist foreign policy."
Richard Grenell, a former spokesman for four U.S. ambassadors to the United Nations and a GOP commentator, said that, on the whole, Republican primary voters have fewer presidential choices this year if the party wants to maintain its traditional advantage on national security issues.
"The foreign policy blunders by some of the GOP candidates would overshadow Obama's weaknesses and mistakes," Grenell said. "I don't believe that a candidate has to know the name of every head of state to be effective in representing the U.S. abroad and keeping Americans safe. There are advantages to having a fresh perspective on old conflicts. But you have to take the time to understand the critical facts."
@natlsecuritycnn on Twitter
GOP brain trust = oxymoron.
It's interesting to see an abundance of Ron Paul supporters here...But that's not really surprising...His base is young and his past campaign relied heavily on the Internet...We'll see if it translates to the real world (This time)...It might...I mean the TeaBags have to go with somebody else now...And I really can't see them loving NEWT (a long time ultimate Washington insider) not really the Tea Bag's bag...
Speaking as a lifelong Democrat, I just would like to see some substance from these cardboard cutout candidates, other than spouting how are not Obama. Give us SOMETHING..... ANYTHING.......as far as policies that they would seek to enact as the POTUS other than "I'm not him". I will say, these debates have been HIGHLY entertaining...LOL
I absolutely agree. I would prefer to see debates where the candidates knew the questions in advance and would all be given equal time to respond. No more "tell you what you want to hear" from smiling Mitt Romney. No more "Nine! Nine! Nine!" from Herman Cain. No more, "I am pro-life, but I enjoy torturing Muslims" from Rick Santorum and Michelle Bachmann.
I believe William F. Buckley used to do these civilized kinds of debates on PBS. The reason the mainstream media doesn't want to do these is because it would diminish their power and you might actually get to hear some sense from knowledgeable candidates such as Jon Huntsman and Ron Paul.
That is if Huntsman would show up...Evidently it's beneath the Ambassador to have to resort to this type of scrutiny...
Speaking as a lifelong Democrat
Obama had a Democratic congress for 2 years
he did not do anything but line the pockets of his sponsors and his own and continues too
To vote for him would be insanity, doing the same thing over and expecting different results
I will be voting for Ron Paul
i agree with you, but i would also point out that Ron Paul actually have SPECIFIC cuts named out on his website, not just a blanket statement that we need to cut. he's also doesnt speak in sound bites which i think actually hurts him to some extend because sadly people like hearing simple sound bites instead of the truth which can be fit into a sound bite
*has...ops
CNN, u have some nerve. Why haven't u questioned the existence of a brain in Obama? EVERYTHING he says comes from a teleprompter.
no republican can fix this country at all....Why? because Republicans and conservatives are not willing to give up their wealth or take wealth from the wealthy. This is the only way to fix this mess....is to take it from the wealthy and lower the wages of nearly 80 % of the jobs out there.....especially government jobs ....no one needs to make 150k a year period. Why is it people think that they should be paid like a rock star or athlete for doing office work or thinking jobs or better yet jobs that step on the well being of others. We need a good old fashoned severe depression....one bad enough to completely make the dollar worthless.....start over everyone semi equal in wages. completely do away with ECONOMICS the way we do it now. It is the wealthy persons fualt that our country is in such bad shape.
Obama hasn't changed the taxes on the rich as well. As far as blaming people and pointing fingers for the down-turn of the economy. The real problem happened when Bush decided to do trillion dollar bail outs. Which meant he did not stay true to the conservative way of dealing with the economy. We need a president who will stop spending, start budgeting, and will get the government's big brother off the states' backs. Essentially, we need someone who is self-less and willing to do something good for the nation's sake and not just their own.
no one wants a republican in office period. Being Republican in this day and age is shameful. It does not matter one bit who wins the nomination because America is not going to put a republican in office. I know many many people who would actually rather die than vote republican.
Justinstl,
First of all...Yes...Some Americans (About half) do want a Republican in the White House (They're called Republicans)...
And don't believe for a minute that Obama being re-elected will be easy..He's wearing the economy around his neck (Although he of course is not to blame for all the troubles)...The fact is no president has ever been re-elected when the economy was doing this bad...
I take that back...FDR was re-elected during the Great Depression...But that was a different time...
Dear Author,
Ron Paul's foreign policy is not "isolationist" as you have reported. It is "non-interventionist." Two different things.
For example, when the Obama administration and the other GOP candidates want to sanction every citizen of Iran, that is "isolating" ourselves from Iran.
now that is an oxymoron!
GOP and braintrust in the same sentence!
hows GWB working out for ya?
ps. he is and was and will always be the dumbest national leader in the history of mankind!
Any GOP candidate that takes any advice from ANYONE from the G. W. Bush administration is most certainly dumber than dumb. They should all hide their faces in shame.
"Lean" or "Team of advisors". Is that a polite way stating the obvious and that the candidates are clueless on the subject? Simply,they are a collection of ignoramuses.
The Cain thing on Libya was classic...
OK...Umm...Libya...Umm...OK...Obama...Umm...He supported the uprising...Right? (As he looked at the reporter's face for a response)...Man oh man...And the Tea-Baggers were full on for him and his 9-9-9... Poor teabag...Only Ron and Newt left...Unless they can talk "Bubbles" their favorite into running (No way as she just took their money with no intention of ever actually giving them anything)...
If they are paying for a brain then they should quickly demand a refund!!!!
When the word brain or trust comes to mind the last thing I think of are the pathertic Republican choices
Oxymoron
GOP brain trust? WTH? Where is it?
I assume that's something they outsource like everything else.
"National Security brains behind the GOP candidates"
BRAINS ???
Just the phrase "GOP brain trust" is an oxymoron in and of itself. There is only one candidate in the crowd who has made any sense and that is Ron Paul. Ron Paul has won more straw polls than any of the other candidates, but has been continually down played by the Corporate mass media. Obama is no prize either since he has not fulfilled any of his canpaign promises ( Gitmo, transparency, no exec oders to name a few). I feel like Diogenes looking for a truly honest person. Haven't found one yet. Maybe a 99%er will show up with a suit of armor to defend himself from the corruption in Washington.
Fox News Propaganda
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khPpnEXuEIE
Didn't read the story, but "brain trust" when you talk about these eight clowns!?!?!? All eight put together can't make up one, heck, half a brain!
This is a better joke than oops or Libya or the pray away the gay or selling weapons to Iran or razing your house to build a bigger one or going back to the 1960s before civil rights or overpopulating the Earth with seven kids!
i was thinking the same thing. The Brain Trust.... so that's where all their brains are being held... in the trust... because certainly none of these chumps have had access to them recently.
So many Republicans hate the EPA, and even after former President Bush#2 made the toxic chemicals used in Fracking for natural gas exempt and free of EPA control....That's right, if your water is burning and you find toxic chemicals from the fracking process, the EPA can not tell the natural gas companies to stop using them...they are exempt from the control of the EPA thanks to Bush#2...
I've recently Retired to Nevada (In an almost entirely Republican district)...
You should see some of the places out here...The mining companies have raped
the land for so long in some places it's just huge leftover mountains of rock and chemicals
that have been just laying there for 30 or 40 years...And the people here in this area (Devoutly Republican)
just sent another one to Washington (Amodei) who is working for "Nevadan's Public Lands RIghts"...
Translation he wants to get them away from BLM control so they can be mined as well...
It's always amazing to me that these gun toting NRA Republican's that claim they love nature so much are
will to destroy it so readily...And yeah the EPA can be a pain in the @$$ but in the big picture it's a lot better
to have some watch dog than none...
Newt Gingrich is speaking out against Obama's decision to withdrawl from Irag...
Funny in a very sad ironic way, because Mr. Gingrich played such an important secret role in the planning of the war in the first place.. Hired as a consultant to the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board, by Rumsfled, and Cheney, Newt was involved from the start, that is in September of 2001, just days after the September 11th attack, invited to a 19 hours planning meeting at the Pentagon, on what to do in response to the 9-11-2001 attack. Even at this early date Newt was pushing the invasion of Iraq as the opportunity to replace Saddam....nothing more, the members of that meeting agreed to attack Iraq as soon as the initial phase of the war with Afghanistan was over. Newt has stated ”If we don’t use this as the moment to replace Saddam after we replace the Taliban, we are setting the stage for disaster.” Newt was right there with Cheney and Rumsfled involved in several meetings at the Pentagon and the CIA.
Newt was it you Idea to disband Iraqi army, soon after the looting of power plants, looting of Iraqi army weapons depots, blown up oil wells, blown up oil pipe lines, use of weapons for IEDS....
So many dead and wounded U.S. soldiers using Newts plans....
Why don't you tell the History that few talk about with the American public...
Why so interested in outing Saddam? Well if you look back under Reagan you see a long connection...
Under Reagan the U.S. used an Israeli operated arms dealer to sell U.S. missiles and weapons parts to Iran,in 1986, the weapons sales was to get Irans help in freeing U.S. hostages in Lebanon.
Repeating the same thing Reagan did with Oliver North's deals and suppling the Iranians secretly with weapons possibly to free the American hostages, and then used those funds to arm the Contras. (was Reagan interfering with Carter's attempts to free the Hostages).
To balance this sale of arms to Iran, and act as a counter-balance to Iran's power in the region, the US and Britain sold Saddam Hussein the technology and materials Iraq needed to develop nuclear, chemical and biological weapons of mass including anthrax, sarin, and mustard gas...A german firm even sold Saddam and entire factories...
The Americans, British, Germans, just were sure Saddam had WMD's, because we, they sold them to Saddam...
Reagan removed Iraq from the list of states sponsoring terrorism,(1982), so duel use chemicals could be openly supplied to Iraq.
Reagan staff at the time included V.P. Bush#1, Donald Rumsfled was Reagan's selected emissary to Saddam, and Dick Cheney...
Under the Reagan and Bush#1 administration the CIA setup false front companies in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Kuwait to supply Saddam, this according to signed affidavit and interviews in 1995 with then National Security Counsel member Howard Teicher..
So many of the players for the Iragi invasion after the 9-11-2011 attacks go back to Reagan giving the Anthrax and Sarin and mustard technology to Saddam in the first place...
Saddam used his new chemical weapons on the Iranian army, and later on his own Kurds.
Old weapons depots found and blownup by U.S. troops may well be the cause of the Gulf War Syndrome.
Maybe the real reason Bush#1 did not want to push on to Baghdad was the lack of protective gear for the U.S. troops..If we had brought large numbers of troops together close to Baghdad, Sadam my have used those weapons on the U.S. forces, even though he was warned, that if he used weapons of mass destruction on our troops we would responsed with nuclear weapons....
After the fall of Germany in 1945, U.S. General Patton kept Nazi party members in charge of the power plants, the rail roads, the public water systems, until trained replacements could replace them....We failed to save the Iraqi country after we won the Iraq war, by not protecting the power plants, water systems, oil wells, oil pipelines by using the Iraqi army to protect them...and by sending so many Iraqi soldiers off with no jobs, no way to feed their families, but to steal and fight back against us.
I read a post by a rightwing nuthead earlier that said Obama has been in office for four years and had not done anything for the American people. Guess what? Its still not three full years yet since the President has been in office. But what amazes me about these rightwing nutheads is that what they expected from the President in three years and in two years, they also expected of him even when he was in office for a few months. But that's no surprise to me because a black man in America always has to prove himself twice when being judged the bigots in America a black man is always judged and graded on a different measuring stick. Shame on you people.
I agree that the republican criticisms of Obama are unfair. I don't think it has anything to do with race though. Unfortunately, It is politics of the norm in the USA
Change...Dude...Get over it...It will kill you...Obama's Black dude...It's history...
No. I didn't expect him to change everything in a few years. I did expect him to abide by the Constitution, which is the law of our land and has been for centuries. Instead he sent the message that he can go to war whenever he feels like it and can sign a kill order on any American and doesn't have to be held accountable for such action. That is why I refuse to vote for him. Obama and Bush both have pushed this once great nation closer and closer to a police state.
Michele Bachmann for President 2012!!
She has been the only consistent conservative out of the 8. She voted against Obamacare and stood up for conservative principles. And she has no embarassing scandals in her background that we'd have to worry about in a general election.
Mrs. Bachmann is a lunatic and so is his wife Michelle!
Well, aside from her husband's lets-convert-the-gays psychiatry practice, she doesn't need a scandal, the thoughts that are put into words and released in the ether are embarrassing enough.
I agree comply with you minx. Michelle Bachmann for Republican Candidate. Out of all the candidates she is the most extreme and stable in being extreme. Which means it will be an easy victory for us Democrats.
Muchas gracias. ?Como puedo iniciar sesion?
Her husband is embarrassing enough!!! and she is Evil...she singles out groups of people! She in no way is presidential material....she is not even qualified enough to teach a Sunday school class let alone run a country. Plus she is wealthy....i think it should be a law stating that no person can become president if they have wealth and money no one with more than 500k in the bank unless they give 80% of their banked money and 50% of their future earnings to charity. A wealthy man does not know what is good for the people...the wealthy man does not care about the well being of ALL of the people. The only thing the wealthy care about is getting more wealth. wealthy and conservatives do not care about others ....they believe that it should be every man for himself .....this is not what this country needs.
Ron Paul is the only candidate who:
*** Predicted the current economic crisis years in advance and led the fight to prevent it – even as others running in this race were cheering on the disastrous government bailouts that have only dug us deeper into debt.
*** Possesses a consistent conservative record of standing up for the Constitution – even when it means voting alone.
*** Receives more donations from active duty military than all his Republican opponents combined!
*** Has a detailed plan to cut ONE TRILLION dollars from the federal budget in the first year of his presidency and deliver a fully balanced budget by year three.
Let's see....
Romney...Still in with the same numbers as when it started...
Bachman...Dead.
Cain...Dead.
Perry...Dead (Thank god)
Santorum...Ok no nasty jokes...Dead before it started.
Huntsman....Absent (Ambassadors don't like being ignored)
Ron Paul...That whacky and crazy guy...Always a favorite of the anarchists...Doing better now that few are left..
AND....NEWT!!! Cryogenically frozen and given a Reagan blood transfusion...HE'S ALIVE...
Gotta admit the Republicans are far more entertaining right now...
Ron Paul....that whacky and crazy guy who wants to establish fiscal responsibility and a sensible foreign policy.....
who the heck would ever vote for him?
feel better now?........got it all off your chest?.....told the whole world your side of the story? good for you sport.....lol
and you have shown how ignorant you are. and i'm sure your mother would be proud of what a condescending ass you grew up to be. also, before you go labeling someone whacky or crazy try to actually learn something about them that you didnt learn from your usual bias sources, try branching out a little. that "whacky" guy was the only politician who predicted exactly what happened in our economy, but no! why would we want to hear anything that "whacko" has to say...let's just follow all the people who never saw this coming...they'll have all the answers....you're a smart cookie aren't you.
Can ya "Feel" the Republican LOVE...Gimme a Kiss...
i'm not republican.
But...but...Your man is REPUBLICAN...Right? I mean he's standing there in the Republican debates...
I mean it would be kinda...uh...crazy to be there in the REPUBLICAN debates if you weren't a REPUBLICAN...right?
i never said anything about his political affiliation, i said I wasnt republican, you should really work on your comprehension skills. i can see why you hold such narrow views now....also, if you know anything about being a true republican you would know Ron Paul is more republican than any other person in the debate
i never said anything about his political affiliation, i said I wasnt republican, you should really work on your comprehension skills. i can see why you hold such narrow views now....also, if you know anything about being a true republican you would know Ron Paul is more republican than any other person in the debate. Of course there's no point in any of this because you wont bother to open your mind no matter what anyone says...and i feel sorry for you.
Oh Armando...Semantics...I do comprehend...You support a Republican...Ergo...You are Republican...Whether you want to call yourself an Independent...TeaBag...Anarchist...You my friend support a Republican...So now you are a REPUBLICAN.
Ce finis.
“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” Gandhi
Ron Paul might not win the election but he has planted the seed that WILL change America
Exactly what type of seed is that? An hallucinogen?
Ron Paul and his supporters are always complaining about him not getting enough speaking time in the debates. I think Paul needs to do like Bachmann does and demand time instead of waiting for it. I am no Bachmann fan, but she IS very assertive about getting her time in in debates. She'll speak even when the question was not directed at her. That's why she winds up getting a lot of speaking time even though she's really low in the polls.
Paul needs to be more assertive and just speak up more instead of waiting for questions to come to him.
I agree about Ron Paul and "assertiveness training". However, Ron Paul is polling about 20% in Iowa, while Bachmann is sitting at about 4%. There are certainly other reasons than "assertiveness"; but, I'm not about to tell Ron Paul how to behave.
He may be polling at 20% in Iowa, but he's polling at 8% nationwide just a few points higher than Bachmann.
I'm just saying instead of complaining that the media is not being fair and expecting them to change, he needs to be more forceful and just demand his time in the spotlight.
But The Government tells you what you can say and do and spend money on and vote for.... Why not give the Government power over everything? Like 99% of D.C. wants?
Ron Paul doesn't need to change anything about his pitch......hopefully that's what sets him apart from the rest.
These CLOWNS are so funny. they should go on tour with the cirus.
GOP brain trust..Isn't that an oxymoron?..
As an outsider (Democrat)...Things to me are really in upheaval as to who the Republicans will be running now...
As soon as Cain got mired in his troubles I immediately said to my wife..."God, they're funning ouf of candidates...And the Teabaggers hate Romney...My god...One of the only ones left is Newt...Sure enough...Within a couple of days Newt was near the top of the heap...This is turning into a who's left scenario with Romney sitting at the same numbers he was sitting at when it all started...To me it now looks like a Romney/Newt race (Hopefully CNN will shut the "h" up with Perry who has been dead politically for at least a month no matter how much money Teas Oil companies have given him...
As far as I can see the GOP are a group of "no brainers"
and as for Romney having most of Bush's previous advisers I can now understand why they are all so crooked !!! By the way when people make statements about the Liberals getting kick backs from the unions they should look no further than Gingrich – this man has had millions from kick backs from the Pharmaceutical Companies and Fanny Mai – make sure you know what you are talking about : that is something the Republicans still have not learned !!!!
"GOP" and "BRAIN" do not belong in the same sentence.
They still invade everyones privacy and get away with it .
When you say Romney's team is heavy with Bush advisors, I can only think of war mongers. Romney has said he would wage war with Iran!! Our youth should not die for any more arab or islamic countries. Obama has been very successful these past years in defeating our enemies with as less American blood as possible. Romney would be a disaster.
Exactly why I won't vote for Romney. I want my next president to have no one advising him that talked Bush into an unnecessary and horrific war. However I will also not vote for Obama. He has continued Bush's policy of turning the executive branch into a dictatorship. He went to war in Libya without bothering with congress, and he has asserted the right to kill Americans by signing an assassination order without any attempt at due process since he thinks they're bad guys. I'm voting for the only one who won't push us closer to a totalitarian state, and that's Ron Paul.
A GOP brain trust requires you to have faith that they will find someone with more than half a brain.
If these are the most intelligent people they could come up with, we are doomed. Brain Trust? Brain Rust!
great name sport.......the right-wingers are just cringing in fear.......lol
The Presidential race is between those who can best serve the interests of Israel. The ONLY candidate that has not put Israel as the number one issue is RON PAUL. He is America's only hope, the one who will save us from the disastrous foreign policy of the Democrats and Republicans. ALL OTHER CANDIDATES ARE KOSHER-CERTIFIED!!!
RON PAUL 2012
I agree completely... America plays favoritism with Israel and basically gives them the green light to do whatever they want(like the illegal annexation of the Palastinian territories) This must end.
You are correct. Ron Paul is the only one of the bunch that could bring sanity back to American foreign policy.
Obama lost the Democrats' credibility of the "anti-war" party. There's only one candidate with that label now. If you love your bombing of villages and military debts, you can vote for Obama or any Republican that isn't Ron Paul.
So basically, in this debate they will not only be allowed to do their usual Latino and Muslim bashing, but they'll be encouraged to do so.
By Latino bashing I guess you mean that we want people to legally come here and not violate our borders. To not fill up our already over-burdened social programs. To speak English (As that is THE language here). And to not add to our crime levels or to add unduly to our school systems without paying taxes to support those schools.
Muslim Bashing...I guess you mean we'd rather not have Mosques with tower loudspeakers calling people to prayer at 5AM in the morning. That we'd rather not have a foothold for terrorists to actively recruit (again in Mosques) within U.S. borders. That we would like them to respect OUR customs and not walk around clothed head to toe (As if anybody really cares what they look like).
Illegal immigrants do pay taxes, which then go to the schools they send their citizen children to. They pay all sorts of taxes, to include property tax, sales tax, gas tax, etc. Further, illegal immigrants are actually less likely to commit a crime (beyond their original civil crime of illegal entry) than a citizen is, due to the fact that they are trying to avoid deportation, and must be more cautious in their behavior. As for mosques and their calls to prayer, I'm awoken every Sunday morning by a Christian churches bells at 7am. How is that different?
All the GOP candidates are slaves to their ideologies or the ideologies of their political base. As a result real problems are impossible for them to solve. It doesn't mater about their so called braintrusts or anything else.
replace your first 4 words with liberals and you get the same accuracy..........
Ron Paul is mentioned 1 time in this article, but search for Ron Paul on the page. It is mentioned at least 20-30+ times. Compare that with "Perry", "bachmann", "cain", etc.... Who do you think the American People want run?
The American people, not the media, the American people (that's us) wants Ron Paul for President.
None of them...
Isn't Ron Paul the "laissez faire" guy – which in practice means, let the wealthy predate upon the less wealthy.
I'm sorry to see your brain surgery didn't go well........
@Badly
If Ron Paul's version of society would lead to corporations trampling our rights and wielding huge power, then how come none of the Wall Street banks and big corporations support him? I mean, according to you, they should be drowning him in money, right?
Actually.. they know that in a laissez faire system, the playing field would be leveled against them. That's why they don't support him. When you leave the guy with the gun (Fed Govt) out of the equation, there is nobody for wealthy corporations to try to buy to use force in their favor.
JayEm, I'm an American too and I DO NOT want Paul. I think he's a nut case. So don't lump all Americans together because that's what you believe. I want Obama to win,,,and he WILL win handily.
I voted for Obama, but I don't think he has stood his ground against the GOP. He is also bought and payed for just like the rest of 'em. What about Dr. Paul is Nutty?
The only brain trust I see is the kind that wants to figure out how to extract more wealth from the lower classes. I am keeping my eye on Romney. I voted for Obama because I thought we would get change but, he did absolutely nothing to promote fair trade so, there was no change. He makes absolutely no gestures of ever doing so and that (alone) will cost him the re-election. Obama has shown that his only strategy is to expand entitlements thinking he can wait out the economic duldrums. At this point I couldn't care less if we have a rethuglican president. Maybe then, the OWS movement will become more radicalized and inspire real action, real change!
GOP and brain trust in the same sentence constitutes an oxymoron–heavy on the moron. I have never in my 65 years seen a more unqualitied, inept lineup. These people are the laughing stock of the world. The only 2 with any merit have been rejected by the party. Shameful
And who might those two be?
Huntsman who is probably the best pick hasn't even moved the needle...Romney who seems to be an intelligent, stable fairly honest politican really rubs them the wrong way...Amazing....It seems like only people with extreme views and capable of delivering the oh so cherished little one liners are considered worthy by a large part of the Republican party.
I agree.
GOP Brain Trust. That’s gotta be a pretty small group!
All I know is that during the CBS foreign policy debate Ron Paul and Huntsman were the only ones who didn't approve waterboarding, killing u.s. citizens by drone and wanting to go to war with Iran as soon as possible. All of the others did.
Good catch. I noticed that in the foreign policy debate too. All other candidates were supporting holding people indefinitely in secret prisons, supporting torture, and warmongering about Iran. Huntsman and Ron Paul got the least time to speak, and they were the only ones who didn't deeply disturb me. Everyone else on that stage has an extremely warped view of our rules of law and seem to have a warped sense of morality as well.
RONald PAUL Revolution 2012
Why is it that the mental midgets that like Ron Paul seem to have posts that nearly 50% of the time are no more than "Ron Paul 2012"?
Could it be that, like the candidate they support, they're dumber than a box of rocks?
By the way, thanks for letting us know that "Ron" is short for "Ronald". That was a mystery that had been confounding me for ages. Thanks to the Ron Paul community for enlightening the rest of us on that point.
You are welcome Mr IGNORANCE.
I feel sorry for you Nate. thats all.
For those of you that do not think Ron Paul is electable, look at this;
Ron Paul GOP Primary Straw Poll results:
2nd – New Hampshire GOP 2012 Straw Poll – (1/22/11)
1st – DC CPAC Straw Poll – (2/10-12/11)
1st – Online Phoenix Arizona Tea Party Straw Poll – (2/27/11)
1st – Combined Phoenix Arizona Tea Party Straw Poll – (2/27/11)
3rd – Onsite Phoenix Arizona Tea Party Straw Poll – (2/27/11)
1st – RLC California Presidential Straw Poll – (3/20/11)
1st – New Orleans Republican Leadership Conference Straw Poll – (6/16-18/11)
1st – Clay County Iowa Republican Party Straw Poll – (6/19/11)
2nd – (statistical tie for 1st) – Ames Iowa Straw Poll – (8/13/11)
1st – New Hampshire Young Republicans Straw Poll – (8/20/11)
2nd – (statistical tie for 1st) – Georgia State GOP Straw Poll – (8/27/11)
3rd – Maryland GOP Straw Poll – (9/9/11)
1st – Pre-Debate Cincinnati Tea Party Straw Poll – (9/12/11)
1st – Post-Debate Cincinnati Tea Party Straw Poll – (9/12/11)
1st – California GOP Straw Poll – (9/17/11)
1st – DC Values Voter Straw Poll – (10/7/11-10/9/11)
1st – LA County RPLAC Straw Poll – (10/13/11)
1st – Charleston County Republican Party – (10/18/11)
1st – Ohio GOP Swing State Straw Poll – (10/22/11)
1st – Des Moines Iowa Voters NFRA Presidential Straw Poll – (10/29/11)
1st – Des Moines Non-Iowa Voters NFRA Presidential Straw Poll – (10/29/11)
2nd – West Alabama Straw Poll – (10/29/11)
1st – Illinois GOP Straw Poll – (11/5/11)
1st – San Diego GOP Straw Poll – (11/14/11)
And he came in 1st in the CBS Post-Debate Poll. With twice the number of votes as all the others.
People need to wise up to the media black out on this guy. It's very odd. You don't hear about these events being reported.
Ron Paul did not say "about who is advising" him on foreign policies because he is a master on foreign policies. He has been voting on the correct side of foreign policies for 30 years now.
Just goes to show how screwed up the Republican politics are right now and how split the party is...
@Dave What? That's what you see out of that? Wow!
It is..Sorry...But I have to admit...It would be fascinating having Ron Paul as president (And darn scarey)...
@Dave, what should be scary to you right now is what the others would do, especially since they will never tell you what they'll do. The reason people may be afraid of Ron Paul is because he says it like it is. And since we now live in scary times the proper solutions are scary too. Or you can just put on your blindfolds and vote the other guys.
I have news for you. Not only ultra-right wing conservative primary voters get to vote in a general election.
If you limit yourself to conservatives only, Ron Paul can clear 20% of the vote. If you throw in the rest of the population, he has no chance of ever getting close to the support you'd need to win a general election.
That's what people mean when they say he's unelectable.
Why do Ron Paul supporters always need the most basic concepts explained to them?
By the way, if you're wondering why the non-conservatives won't vote for Paul, it's because mainstream Americans don't think that every war is unjustified, that Medicare and Social Security should be abolished, that UNICEF is a waste, that all narcotics should be legal, that Wall Street should be less regulated, that taxes on corporations are way too high, or that private businesses should be allowed to discriminate against blacks or the handicapped if they so choose.
A lot of people like Ron Paul because they're against our stupid Middle East wars, and so is Crazy Ron. But, a stopped clock is still right twice a day. Incidentally, a stopped clock has about as much mental activity as Ron Paul does. Only in a place like Texas could someone like Ron Paul be considered to be a thinker.
Your comment shows how little you know about Ron Paul. It's so obvious how you have been brainwashed by the main stream media it' not funny. Learn a little about how this simple minded person predicted so much way before people knew what he was talking about. Please go and educate yourself before you simply make a fool of yourself.
Wow you know absolutely nothing about Ron Paul.
Here's some news for you Nate. Many people who voted for Obama in 08 to show they weren't racist will vote against him in 12 to show they're not stupid. Ron Paul would defeat Obama hands down for many reasons, one of which because he really is opposed to all wars except defensive wars. You clearly don't know much about Dr. Paul, who is an extremely intelligent man.
I actually think you are mistaken on a few issues. The first is that Ron Paul appeals to republicans, democrats, and independents. I am a democrat but after listening to Ron Paul speak about what should be done to help this country out of the chaos we are in I am voting for him. He doesn't think all drugs should be legalized, he wants to let the states vote on it. He doesn't think every war is unjustified, he thinks it should be voted on by congress. This is not a communist nation where one person has total power. Social security is going bankrupt and so is the nation. Did you not see the news when they had to raise the debt ceiling? The first thing Obama said was social security checks may not go out. I really wish the Ron Paul bashers would do their homework before they say things. You have the right to your opinion but at least get the facts.
Because you don't seem to get the most basic concept that polls have shown Ron Paul to have more appeal among independents than Obama. So don't whine about ignorance until you stop taking part in it.
Ralph Nader, Cynthia McKinney, Dennis Kucinich, Ed Rendell, Jon Stewart, Bill Maher, Joy Baher and Jesse Ventura are certainly NOT conservatives. Yet all have either spoken favorably or outright support Ron Paul.
Any Language ats Teacher will tell you there is nothing like a real-life examples to illustrate the definitions of literary terms
Your article is replete with examples of oxymorons
"Conservative Thinlk Tank"
"GOP Candidate's Brain Trust"
Oh well I guess you can't spell "oxymoron" with a "moron" carry on GOP.
To... Amunaka....
Carter inherited a minuscule economic downturn and he turned it into a depression. We had 12 percent unemployment, 18 percent inflation and something called the "misery factor", which, thanks to Obama, is rearing its ugly head again.
Ronald Reagan turned the country back in the right direction in two years - and Carter left him a far worse economic condition than the one Bush left Obama.
The difference? Republicans build private sector jobs. Liberals couldn't care less about the private sector because their livelihoods depend on the kickbacks they get in the form of crooked union dues.
Occupado...We get it...Reagan was GOD...Democrats are evil...
Well, I sure am glad SOMEONE on this website gets it!
Where are all the jobs, Davey?
I dunno...But I think I'll go down to GOP HQ and help out there (I'm sure I can help in some way)...
Gingrich Center Took in $37M From Healthcare:
http://www.newsmax.com/InsideCover/GingrichCenterTookin37MFromHealthcare/2011/11/18/id/418491#ixzz1e644Xhnv
Gingrich 1997: “There is No Place for Torture”
Let me be perfectly clear: If the life of my mother, father, child, friend, or basically anyone I loved could be saved by doing horrible things to some horrible person, I would do it. In fact, most normal people wouldn’t mind hurting some bad guy to save the lives of good guys.
The question of torture is not whether in some Hollywood-style, almost-never-happening life-or-death scenario, we should use it. Those who view the issue of waterboarding in this absurd light—an interrogation method everyone from Ronald Reagan to the United States military during World War II has rightly called torture—are being completely unreasonable in their general premise.
The most basic question concerning torture is whether, as a general rule, it should be endorsed. The question is whether it actually works as an interrogation tactic, which most experts say it doesn’t. The question is whether or not torture should be an acceptable rule of thumb for any civilized society.
The question is whether or not torture should be the official policy of the United States.
For most of our history, that answer has been an emphatic “no!”
Most of this year’s Republican presidential candidates care little to nothing about such questions because they know little to nothing about history, know or care little to nothing about our conventional Judeo-Christian Western morality, they know even less about the history of the conservative movement, and most seem content to try to look “tough” in front of GOP primary audiences by explicitly endorsing the use of torture, or, excuse me, “enhanced interrogation techniques.” This view on torture extends to these Republican candidates’ extremely anti-conservative views on civil liberties, recklessness concerning the constitutional powers of the Executive branch, and these candidates’ general dismissal of some of the most basic concepts and precepts of American law.
Newt Gingrich—who does know history and yet now refuses to call waterboarding “torture” or to strongly denounce it—nevertheless expressed the traditional conservative view on torture in 1997, after meeting with Chinese President Jiang Zemin. Gingrich’s language here is plain, simple, conservative…
And absolutely right—in the deepest American sense:
“There is no place for abuse in what must be considered the family of man. There is no place for torture and arbitrary detention. There is no place for forced confessions… the roots of American rule of law go back more than 700 years, to the signing of the Magna Carta. The foundation of American values, therefore, is not a passing priority or a temporary trend.”
Today, for most of the GOP presidential field, including Gingrich, this “foundational American value” of opposition to torture has become a mere “passing priority” and “temporary trend.”
God help us.
Do We Have a Constitution or Not?
The entire purpose of our Constitution is to restrain the federal government. Today, both Democrat and Republican leaders regularly pretend we don’t have a Constitution in areas where they prefer not to be restrained. First the Democrats, or as The American Spectator’s James Antle at http://spectator.org/blog/2011/11/14/do-we-even-have-a-written-cons explains concerning today’s ObamaCare court decision:
“Do we even have a written Constitution? That is really the fundamental question at stake in the Obamacare case. Many countries are governed by unwritten constitutions, a patchwork of court decisions, legal and political precedents, laws, and customs that shape the boundaries of government rather than any single document. Over the past eighty years, the United States has increasingly moved to that system as well. But even the post-New Deal, post-World War II consensus has always tried to appeal to our written Constitution for authority, which its champions have pretended to revere as a living document.
This case is the biggest conflicit between the unwritten constitution that gives the federal government virtually unlimited power to, as Laurence Silberman puts it, ‘forge national solutions to national problems’ and the actual Constitution on which Washington bases its legitimacy, a document that created a limited federal government of enumerated powers. Those powers, by the way, are delegated by the states and the people.”
Antle asks: “Who delegated the power to impose an individual mandate?”
And now for Republicans’ disregard for the Constitution, or as Conservative HQ’s Richard Viguerie at http://www.conservativehq.com/article/5461-ron-paul-constitution-and-foreign-policy writes of Saturday night’s foreign policy debate:
“Saturday’s CBS/National Journal Republican presidential debate on foreign policy once again showed the limits of the establishment media’s grasp of constitutional principles and how the Constitution, as the law that governs government, should instruct our foreign policy. During the entire event, the questions seemed to assume that the President is unconstrained in his or her ability to act in matters of national security — and that the role of Commander-in-Chief is tantamount to being a military dictator. Unfortunately, with the exception of Congressman Ron Paul, the Republican candidates for President generally joined this shallow analysis and skipped-over the Constitution in their answers…
Those who object to re-establishing the Constitutional role of Congress in matters of national security because it makes national security too public and too complicated might ponder what Congressman Ron Paul said during Saturday’s debate, ‘…you go to the Congress and find out if our national security is threatened… [then] you get a declaration of war and you fight it and you win it and get it over with.’
Viguerie concluded: “That sounds a whole lot less complicated, and a whole lot more in line with what the Founders had in mind for how to conduct our foreign relations, than what is going on in national security policy right now.”
http://www.infowars.com/ron-paul-gets-89-seconds-to-speak-in-cbs-debate/
27 Reasons Why Newt Gingrich Would Be A Really, Really Bad President:
http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/27-reasons-why-newt-gingrich-would-be-a-really-really-bad-president
Return Of The War Party?
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/blog/2011/11/14/return-of-the-war-party-2/
Why Tea Party Voters Are Returning to Ron Paul:
http://news.yahoo.com/why-tea-party-voters-returning-ron-paul-001800430.html?fb_ction_ids=1894814909530&fb_action_types=news.reads&fb_source=other_multiline&code=AQDQ0DXFSqS764JKiJXpvWf1cTCEJwENnSpv55HcIiKVXHCFxJrQ9xjarSMc6gjOj6_HF0Yn2cQdu8h6lyO3at9_IS3fssmr_9RtPrTUR4SSs2GRQpw6jBbOarvKljyycmh8qyP2qIOovXtbCIdPeMn5LSvlY4g2GYgL_s4zZYpqkBRVCRq2nruyfTPM_1DdKMg#_=
i doubt Cain knows there are countries outside the USA...., i doubt Perry knows there are states outside texas, .... nuke grendwich whoever, what a name,... a lady for president not yet,....ron paul, whats he a hundred years old, ...that leaves only the Romulan....er romney. Tall [i think] intelligent, presidential looking, religious..eh who cares its a religion even if its made up. Tell all the rest to give up and go home.
We should all insist they release their university transcripts so we can compare, even though Obuma never did. (For good reason.) A successful career means they must be idiots.
College transcripts have little to do with how well you will perfrom as president or in life for that matter...It only shows how well you memorized for those years when you were young
Actually, all religions are made up!
The loyalty of the Republican voters is amazing. GOP policies have been a complete disaster, yet many still support them. Newt could club a baby seal in the arms of a handicapped child, and conservatives would continue to vote for him.
As a matter of fact...THAT would get him quite a few votes in the Republican Party....
1) It would get him the people that think protecting nature is akin to socialism.
2) It would get them the gun-loving crowd (Cuz killin' animals is fun) (And a god given right)
3) It would get the Liberitarians (Because there really shouldn't be laws of any kind for anything...Other than laws to not have laws).
4) It would get the pure capitolists...Because we can probably put them through grinders and get a new source of oil...
5) It would appeal to the old time Repulican Types (Because they'd have some nice furskins to wear)...
Fact is this would be a darn good strategy for some in the Republican party...
Lyndon Johnson (a democrat) led us into an unnecessary war that eventually led to the deaths of 58,000 Americans. Yet less than a decade later Jimmy Carter was voted into office. I get tired of the political finger pointing and all Republicans are stupid, etc. Both sides have their problems. I personally like Ron Paul and think he's the only one that stands out from the rest of the neo-cons in this primary. However I do agree with you that Bush was a disaster. He did a lot of damage. We just disagree on a few points. I believe that the Republican party could be so much more and I am conservative, but consider myself independent as I have quite a few complaints about both parties.
Someone said brain?
Let's require a person to have an average IQ (at least) before they can vote! Who do you think would oppose this law more? Republicans or Democrats? Dems would lose alot more voters than Reps.
As a debate coach, here's some tips on how they can debate good: 1. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with, 2. Avoid alliteration always (as in Nine Nine Nine), 3. Avoid cliche's like the plague, 4. Contractions aren't acceptable, 5. Comparisons are as bad as cliche's, 6. Don't be redundant because it is highly superfluous to use more words than necessary, and it tires the listeners when they speak in meandering, long winded statements before they get to the next point blah blah blah...7. Damn profanity, 8. Who needs rhetorical questions? 9. Colloquialisms are grody to the max, 10. Bad analogies are like feathers on a snake, 11. Be specific, more or less, 12. Finally, adjure polysyllabic obsturcations.
U sound like a politician. Use a lot of unneccessary fancy words to say nothing.
And last but not least, Derogatory terms make you sound like a jerk. Heheh
Do you mean "debate well" instead of "debate good" ?
Was the plague a cliche?
I feel like with the vast majority of politicians any questions you ask them are rhetorical. They don't bother to answer the question, but they think you're stupid enough that if they act like they've answered the question you'll accept it.
GOP brain trust ...now that's just plain funny...
Yeah, I laughed when I saw this headline. I thought it was a joke, but then I realized this is CNN, not The Onion, and they are being quite serious. Which is even funnier.
yeah! Those successful hardworkers are all so stupid! They should have played video games and smoked weed like we real geniuses do.
The Republicans controlled Congress from 1994 to 2006 and nobody ever "occupied" anything because there was job growth.
^ Typical desperate lie from the GOP as expected.
There was effectively no job growth during the Bush/Cheney administration.
During the decade of 2000 America standard of living *declined* for the 1st time ever.
You are trying to ride the coat tails of Bill Clinton's presidency and running away from the GOP legacy of 2000 which is 3 things.
-> Sept 9 – 11
-> Katrina debacle
-> Economic meltdown.
GOP is hated because they stink.
The list is to big to post for obama, thats why the GOP won big in 2010
Jobs ! Jobs ! Jobs ! was the reason they were elected in the office and the do nothing Democrats that will not stand up for the principles of their own party were the reason they got elected ! Quit the spin becuase neither produced what was expected of them.
I am always at wow, how delusional republicans are.
^ GOP brain trust.
What an oxymoron!
Go find the WMD's "brainiac's" and when you do – bring back from the dead the 5 thousand of our GI's who've died in vein.
There is nothing I trust about any democrates or republicans I trust. OCCUPY America!
If you give two figs about this country, watch this video on YouTube. Listen to Jack Cafferty and Jon Stewart... they seem to be the only ones capable of real journalism anymore. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gg3EptrKOms.
John Stewart is not a Journalist...He does political satire....
I don't rely on YOUTUBE for anything...The whole Internet reality thing can be easily manipulated and there is no fact-checking authority...Ron Paul does well in the Internet World because it is dominated by the under 30 population
where a Liberitarian Ideology appeals to them (No/little government control)...It's funny how reality sets in with age....
Unlike the "fact-checking" authority overseeing other forms of media. Right.
The other media wind up policing themselves...I.E. when Either FOX or CNN or other mainstream media state something incorrect the other's are quick to pick up on it...I don't see any evidence of this on the Internet non-mainstream sites..
First of all, Jon Stewart is a political satirist, but he is respected enough to be chosen as a political commentator on actual news programs.
Secondly, you don't rely on YouTube for your news? That's unfortunate, because currently, the Internet isn't as beholden to government censorship as television. While there may be a lot of gaff out there, YouTube is also a great way to get the real story.
I once spoke to a former Times editor who told me, point blank, they couldn't run certain stories because they were at odds with the magazine's sponsors.
See the problem yet?
Perhaps those under 30 have been forced to grow up more than those of the older ages.
Older ages seem to think bankruptcy, socialism and war is a great token of Americanism.
Sorry for the delay...Yes...You are correct...Mainsteam media (Like CNN) often is slanted on a particular topic (Sometimes the reporter or sometimes it's the general Station views (Like on FOX)...However because it is in the "Light of Day" seen by millions it normally will be filtered eventually as to whether it was reliable information or not...YOU TUBE is a place to dump videos. Very little filtering of content other than things like sex, violence, racist view, etc. Extreme views and misinformation is rampant on YOUTUBE as well as other Internet only sites...If you use YOUTUBE as a source of reliable information then I can understand why you have the views that you do. Anyway it's a moot point. The vast majority of people do live in reality...Ron Paul will not be the Republican Nominee (Unless they've really gone over the edge)...
Scott,
Yes...I've worked with your generation in the work place...You do know everything...Great...I'll lean back and let you all fix it...
From what I've seen and heard, none of these idiots know sh*t from Shinola. They seem to be trying to say what they think we want to hear. The sad fact is ALL of these professional leeches are so out of touch with what is going on in the real world, I don't think they could survive if they were dropped off on the side of the road somewhere. A sad statement on the state of the Union.
The whole system is corrupt. We need to get the government out of our lives and out of foreign countries. We need less taxes, more personal liberties. Want this change to really happen? In 2012, don't vote for most incumbants and establishment candidates. Do your own research and don't trust the media. If you're a Democrat not pleased with the status quo, switch to Independant and vote for Ron Paul in the primaries. He's so close to winning both Iowa and New Hampshire, though you won't hear it from the mainstream media... we can get real change now.
All of them except Paul and Huntsman in the CBS foreign policy debate said they approve waterboarding, killing u.s. citizens by drone and going to war with Iran as soon as possible. All of them except Ron Paul and Huntsman.
Why is not Huntsman even given a thought. He is the smartest one up there, Oh thats right we do not want a President that we think is smarter than we are ! These so called presidential possibilities show that assumtion very well !
"Lady"...It's time for your meds...
What's crazy is that you actually trust the American media when so many journalists have already capitulated on objective reporting.
They press has their freedoms and their rights specifically in order to police the power of the government. When the same people holding the government's purse strings are also in bed with the media, we have a problem, and the media can no longer be trusted.
Ron Paul's been blacked out by these people for a reason. Jack Cafferty, Bill Maher and Jon Stewart have all publically acknowledged this.
Jack Cafferty: "There is one candidate that has been largely ignored by the mainstream media, shame on us. He deserves more attention from us than he's been getting. Ron Paul makes a lot of sense and more people ought to listen to him. The Texas Congressman has visionary ideas about where the company ought to be going..."
(PS: I am a writer for Hearst Media Corporation, since we're sharing our credentials...)
You are just to funny!
TOO funny. Go back to school.
Libertarian Lady, you need to register Republican to vote for Ron Paul in the primaries. I used to be a Dem who switched to Independent, but then I read in my local paper you need to register as a Republican to vote for a Republican! So not sure if that's the same as other states, but please make sure early enough if you need to change.
Ron Paul is NOT isolationist! Non-interventionist would be the correct word which means our govt. should not take tax payers' money, or put the country deeper in debt to attempt to build an empire around the world, or fight a war with an impossible mission, such as eliminating a tactic.. he knows that fighting terrorism and killing innocents in the process only breeds more terrorism. nothing wrong with wanting to just use the US military to simply protect our country. Don't believe what CNN and mainstream media about Ron Paul put a little effort into using youtube or whatever to find that Ron Paul is needed to save our country.
PRESIDENT OBAMA WINS IN 2012!!!
(get use to it....its coming LOL)
steveo...I wish I was a "CERTAIN" about things as you are...Must be my age...
"GOP Brain Trust" is an oxymoron.
Just having brainy and GOP in the same sentence makes the logic null and void.
National Security was so awful during the George W. Bush Presidency that he almost died after some idiot through a grenade just a few feet of him. The only reason he is alive today is that the grenade malfunctioned.
Republicans are scum.
Hehe...Well there's an EXTREME VIEW...
As a Democrat...I find the Republican debates extremely entertaining...As someone from outside...I see one viable Candidate...Mitt Romney...But it seems a huge part of the Republican party wants ANYBODY but Romney.
The TeaBaggers first wanted Bachman...Then when it was apparent she was going nowhere they quickly adopted
Cain with his 9-9-9 plan which appealed to them (And they could support a Black Man and prove to the world they
weren't racist)...Now that his is mired in a Sex Scandal and worse yet has displayed his incompetency for the job
now they are supporting to old Reagan era fossil New Gingrich...He's a very smart man (And a real nasty piece of work)...I hope that the less extreme of the Republican Party prevail and nominate Romney...As I Democrat I could live
with Romney as president as it does seem to be a level headed, experienced and not extreme politician. Unfortunately it appears that the major part of the Republican party does not want this type of person.
It gives me shivers to see any reference to the war criminal Bush administration. This reporter also failed to mention that all of Bush's so-called foreign policy experts were totally ignored once "the decider" obsessed on invading Iraq. His feeble brain could only stammer out the phrase "weapons of mass destruction" and "terr" when he meant terror. He was told to say those words as many times per day as he could, and he did. So he collapsed the US and world economies in one stroke, killed 6,000 of America's best young people, and blew US credibility for the next 2 decades while creating more terrorists than Osama Bin Laden could ever imagine. He also killed the Republican Party dead which is why you are witnessing this mess of a republican primary. Beyond that, this reporter also failed to mention or realize that there is a new model for shaping world events. It does not involve so called experts trying to advise and guide a sage President or formulating elaborately written policies which say nothing, then calling them 'doctrines". Did any of these experts plan out or even envision the Arab Spring? Foreign Policy is most dangerous when you are trying to do a brain dump of the right buzz words and phrases but do not possess the more expansive understanding and vision (thing) absolutely required if you are going to have a prayer of guiding the United States in our interaction with the rest of Earth.
somehow using the word "brain" in the same sentence as Republican presidential candidates seems wildly out of place and entirely inappropriate..... just saying...
It is entirely incorrect to label Ron Paul as an isolationist. His foreign policy includes friendship, and trade with all nations and no entangling alliances with any. To say that we need an interventionist foreign policy is to have a repeat of the Bush era with massive wars and the death of thousands of more troops. Keep beating your chest and demanding that our troops continue to sacrifice for unconstitutional wars, you neo conservatives. Most of those folks who demand more wars with countries never served in the military, and have definitely never witnesses a war first hand. You recklessly endanger the lives of Marines, Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen. – USMC Iraq Veteran
Agreed with just about everything you wrote...And I do agree with Ron Paul on this subject...But being isolationist and thinking you can do away with taxes is absurd. He is a very smart man...But his extreme (and bizarre) views on some things make in not suitable as President who must be a person that is able to bring differing people, views and parties together...Ron Paul is definitely not this type of person. DaveI, USAF Veteran (For reference)
Ron Paul does not want to do away with taxes. He simply wants to go back to a constitutional tax system.
Dr. Paul is a master of foreign policy. He understands foreign policy 20x's better than any of the other yahooos for the GOP. He understands that our foreign policy has put us in these (pipeline) wars, and our current foreign policy will put us into many more. Ron Paul for president 2012.
Iraq Veteran x2 (US Army)
Two words that are not fitting the current GOP field. Brain and especially Trust. All they do is keep talking in circles, evading questions and telling half truths.
GOP Brain trust? Isn't that a contradiction in terms?
..the fact of the matter is the entire idelogical stance of the GOP is obsolete...theyre the Polyester pants of the Political World..the current group of jokes define that in spectacular terms daily..finally...
Hey if Herman 'Lawn Jockey' Cain be a contender for the Presidents Office, with a background like a failed Pizza business (with 3 stores...seriously 3)...Im sure I can be Secretary of State...I ran a hot dog stand for a couple summers in College...Can I get a shot?
Condoleezza Rice for President
Yahoo Group
"Condoleezza Rice for President in 2012. Join this group of
supporters from everywhere on the world wide web."
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rice-for-president/
Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/groups/2204716695/
Condi videos on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/user/DrCondiRice#g/f
The Condoleezza Rice forum in the For Freedom Forums
http://scot.tk/forum/viewforum.php?f=16
Condi has already voiced she has no desire to be president...She even stated she was looking forward to going back to the University world when she was still Secretary of State...She's happy living in the protected artificial world of American Universities.. You are wasting your time on this..
Hi Dave. More like you and those like you who are not asking her to run, to think about changing her mind about running, are wasting an opportunity to draft someone who would be a good candidate and a great president.
No
Condoleezza Rice? Sounds like a Mexican dish
The country is tired of lying, corrupt, sleazy perverted politicians that tell you what you want to hear... Mitt Romney should just wear flip flops to his debates as he tells you what you want to hear... Gingrich... enough said.. Cain... enough said... Ron Paul is the only man with an idea...This man talks circles around them because he is brilliant and they cannot keep up. Follow the constitution, follow Ron Paul... Why do we keep voting these jokers into office? I am voting for a good man and for once in my life I have hope for America... Vote Ron Paul...
What was hilarious to me is when Perry and Gingrich all of the sudden bring up wanting to audit the Federal Reserve, as if Ron Paul supporters are suddenly going to go, "wow, these guys know what's going on!" Lol, Ron Paul has been consistent on this issue for more than 20 years, wrote books about the subject, etc. They don't even bother asking him about the Fed during the debates even though he wrote a book called "End the Fed." I'm Fed-up with the msm and their bias, and so is anyone with half a brain. Ron Paul 2012!
The words 'brain trust' and our current state of 'politicians' do not go hand in hand FOR EITHER SIDE. How about 'self-serving' and 'politician'? Our current POTS, and the last one, hold degrees from Harvard and I am not impressed with either.
This country needs a POTS who can make difficult decisions for the good of the COUNTRY and EXECUTE on those decisions. To get this to happen we need term limits to ensure these knuckleheads make decisions for the good of the country, not their careers.
I want this current guy out, but the options are limited. Who is the lesser evil? Sounds like the status quo to me!
I would rather see Chris Christie, Gary Johnson, Jesse Ventura, Bill Maher, Michael Steele, Bobby Jindal, Nickie Haley, or dare I even say Hillary on the ticket then these knucleheads.
The Economy is cyclical....It has VERY little to do with what party is in office at the time (Since it takes years to go up or down). Obama inherited a country deep in financial crisis. Deep in debt. Yes debt has increased dramatically in part due to the bailouts. If action had not been taken at the time we would be much worse off than we are now. However...It was a bandaid on a large gaping wound. Amputation may be the only correct course. But the American people don't want to face the new reality (Yes...Your life won't be as good as your parents in the future)...We have to learn to live within our means and adjust our salaries to be able to compete with the new Emerging economies in this Global Economy that we applauded back in the 80's...
Good and correct post Dave
knavery bunch of neophytes Americans have ever seen.
I am a democrat looking for change... I have come to the conclusion that there is one man that has a clue on what is going on... This man is also the only decent, honest, and intelligent man with integrity... That man is Ron Paul... He has my vote...
yea right Mike, more BS from the GOP/TP
Actually, I am being completely honest...I really don't mind Obama but nothing is being done... I voted for Obama...After hearing Ron Paul speak, I realize how brilliant this man is and how stupid we are...Ron Paul reads a lot you can tell because he speaks fluently with historical facts... You can keep voting for these same old people but nothing is going to change...I feel better knowing that my vote will be for an honest good man with a plan. People don't want to hear the truth because it hurts but Ron Paul delivers it to open our eyes...
Nothing is being done under President Obama? What are you an idiot?
My God there are so many stupid people in this country....
I guess this is why Bush got elected the second time he ran. The country is filled with morons.
Ron Paul, the Lyndon LaRouche of the GOP.
The Republicans controlled Congress from 1994 to 2006. There was job growth and nobody "occupied" anything.
And nobody helps me. I help myself.
Tell that to the occutards.
that's the problem ...helping yourselves at the expense of others has gotten us. Yep, your a republican and guess what ...a democrat as well... you should run for office they have the same credo.
Helping ourselves at the expense of others? Are you serious?
You help others when you take care of yourself because you relieve them of the burden of taking responsibility for you.
I own a house, I have a family and I don't borrow money I can't pay back.
Have I ever failed? Sure. But I never blamed it on anyone else.
Try to explain THAT to an occutard.
You are an idiot
Is that the best you can do, stevo? What're ya gonna do after the occutards fail to show up next November?
jobs are overseas, so go get one. We have bigger issues than jobs in this country. Jobs would just candy-coat the issue again. we need a change of being and a new direction so stop being slave-like and thinking about jobs. Your can't work all of your life and when your old you'll say what about my social security. Try to see the bigger issue...its not jobs.
I see, It was the MIT/Harvard "Financial Engineers" (working for Wall Street and corporations) that created finely tuned instruments of wealth that drove profit through the roof and left us with what we have now. Both Parties having their hands out gained as well. sorry for the little guy we have to live with the aftermath of the Financial WMD.
@ ClobberingTime: The Democrats have had control of this country since 2006.
Where are the jobs?
And why are angry people splayed out on sidewalks with no idea why they're even there?
were are the jobs the tea party promised thier minions in 2010?
The Tea Party never promised jobs to anyone. They said they were going to bring fiscal responsibility back to government.
The problem is there are still too many Democrats blocking the way to fiscal sanity.
Why do you pretend to care about these issues when it's clear that you have no clue what you are talking about. The Democrats gained a small majority in the House of Representatives in 2006. Nothing more nothing less. By your ridiculous standard, Republicans are in complete control of the Federal government now as they have a majority in the House.
The Democrats had a veto-proof majority in both houses from 2006 to 2010. And all they did was push through Obama care (60 percent of the electorate want it repealed). And they pumped a failed stimulus into the public sector union pension system.
You better find out what YOU'RE talking about.
I have been asking the same thing for years regarding the Bush Tax Cuts for the wealthy "Job Creators". Those tax cuts have been in place for a decade now with the intention that the wealthy would use the money saved from those tax breaks to create jobs and help stimulate the economy. Where are the jobs at that the "Job Creators" and their tax break were supposed to create? Job growth has been slow at best since 2001. So claiming there was any substantial job growth in the early 2000's and it's all the Democrats' fault is bogus.
The whole "Trickle Down" concept is a sham. The reason those people are wealthy is because their money doesn't trickle anywhere...any money they put out comes right back to them. It's called Return On Investment.
Are you under the impression that the Occupy movement is about asking for government handouts? The last time I checked it was about sending a message to the government to stop the coddling of Big Business and Wall Street through legislation that enables them to steal from the average citizen without repercussion. BOTH sides are to blame for the current circumstances...not just Democrats.
Occupado wins hands down – stupidest poster today!
But to be fair, he is just a small example of how moronic and stupid people are today. Lack of education is part of the problem. Just watching FOX news is another.
In time these people will learn, but it will take time.
Oh, before you respond Occupado, just shut up and let the grown ups talk........
Where are all the jobs, steveo?
Answer it straight up.
If you can.
Occupiedo; The Jobs are in the presidenace jobs bill that the republicans will not sign
boot Bachman and put BUDDY ROEMER in the debate please. i'd like to see some substance for once. She's done anyway stop wasting airtime on that airhead.
"We are in the Jimmy Carter phase of the next Reagan Revolution – with or without you."
Occupado...And who is going to be the Republican Reagan-God to bring us to the promised land?
Any one of the above. Just pick one and get out of the way.
The American people will do the rest.
The sad thing is that you are representative of the Tea Party "brain trust", Occupado! Half-wit right wing whiners whose definition of public policy doesn't extend beyond their own self-interest. Its all about you and the devil with everyone else's rights.
And what do YOU represent, John? Where are YOUR ideas?
Better yet, where are the jobs?
Can you answer that objectively without stooping to name calling?
C'mon... it's not THAT hard.
Or is it?
If the above are the new Republican brain trust then both the country and the Republican party are doomed.
Ron Paul is true and honest. Ron Paul 2012
It was long argued that Bush was intellectually incapable of the serious thought and so he hired a smart team of advisers to help him. This is exactly what Cain suggested he would do. The problem with a president surrounding himself with smart people is at the end of the day the president must still make the decision and it is of little comfort to know Bart Simpson must make those decisions.
I wholeheartedly agree with your comparison of Bush to Bart Simpson, he was a little more than a 10 year-old, mentally. But still Bart Simpson making his decision with the help of the expert is better than without.
It is a lie to refer to Ron Paul as an isolationist. He believes in friendship and trade with all nations, but avoiding entangling alliances, as our founders advised. Not wanting to police the world, not wanting to spill American blood for foreign interests, is not isolationism, it is good policy.
Ron Paul is not an isolationist, he's a non-interventionalist. There is a big difference. Look it up.
Why does Ron Paul waste his time going on the Alex Jones radio show?
Doesn't that bother you just a little bit?
GOP brain trust? Oxymoron.
As opposed to..... Nancy Pelosi?
facts: obama got the the number one terrorist in the world with no americans killed and it didn't cost almost $1 trillion dollars. than obama got the number 2 guy in yemmen with a drone, libyas leader was taken out without boots on the ground and again no lose of american lives! iran won't be a threat to us here in america for many years if not decades. the republicans have a very bad habit of wanting to always "PUT BOOTS ON THE GROUND" without paying for it. i am a democrat and i read history which seems to be something that republicans never do. both sides in libya are moslims that hate us so i don't care what kind of leader runs the country i just know its going to be a muslim who hates us. when we leave afganistan it will still be a moslim lead nation. its likely that in 5 or 10 years that iraq will no longer be a democracy. what is it about republicans that they think they can change years of history just because they think our form of goverment is so much better. if i were a moslim man i would think that the america the republicans are so intent on building where the very wealthy top 1% control almost all of the wealth is just like the middle east country i am already living in. i bet most people think china is a socialist country NOT they are a capitalist country on steroids were the leaders in their greed want to control and take over the economies of other countries. again a country ran by the very few for greedy gains at the exspense of its own people!
Is Joe Biden going to be replaced by SEAL Team Six on the 2012 ticket? The death of Bin Laden was the result of years of work by hundreds of professionals, across more than one presidential administration. I had about as much to do with the raid on Abbotabad as Barack Obama did.
You are an unlearned ignorant person, but it may not be your entire fault. You probably watch Fox Factless Fixed News non-stop and rely on reporters who wouldn't know a fact if God handed one to them on a stone tablet from a holy mountain. Bush himself admitted publically that he did not know where bin Laden was nor did he care to find him. In 2010, President Obama made finding bin Laden a top priority and in 2011 that became a reality. Every counter-intelligence officer, who went public, said that at no time ever, did enhanced interrogation techniques ever produce one shred of useful Intelligence to find bin Laden. That’s right – not one Intel officer will ever say differently. Go ahead; knock yourself out trying to find a credible former Intel officer who says otherwise. Even Senator John McCain went on the record on the Senate floor categorically refuting the lie that enhanced interrogation techniques were even remotely credited for tracking bin Laden down. McCain's source for this information was from then CIA Director, Leon Panetta. Obama and his Intelligence team found bin Laden through their own investigative techniques and intelligence apparatus. I am a Navy Veteran (retired) and I applaud every soldier, airman and sailor or marine who put their lives on the line against terrorists defending America and its allies, so I don’t mean to belittle in any way the sacrifices they made and contributions in the GWOT. They are America's finest and always will be. But Bush had nothing to do with finding bin Laden. He gets no credit. He only gets credit for being the idiot who attacked the wrong country (Iraq) in search of bin Laden just so he could find oil on foreign soil.
We are in the Jimmy Carter phase of the next Reagan Revolution.
Collectively the whole group doesn't have much to offer; several of them depend solely on aggressively faulting Obama without offering anything of credit for themselves. But then that seems to be as planned as the powers behind the Republican Party are really more interested in having "puppets" who will dutifully serve their interests, without their intellect getting in the way, Bush-Cheney style. Grover Norquist made that perfectly clear when he stated that "the next Republican president's qualifications don't matter as all they will have to do is sign the bills sent them by Boehner and McConnell" ... with Boehner and McConnell continuing to perform as "their strings are pulled". Totally disgusting and really sad but also scary for the majority who end up with no more than the subterfuge to con and manipulate.
Well said REG. Me, speaking as a lifelong democrat, just want to see some substance to these candidates-show me "WHY" I should vote for them. i'm so tired of how these cardboard cutouts spout how Obama is the worst thing since sliced bread, then give NO TANGIBLE alternative's other than "I'm not him". The debates ARE good television though...LOL
As a prior solid Republican, this entire group has lost me in their "pursuit to do anything including wreck our economy by saying NO to everything if it means regaining the white house". It sadly seems their goals are clearly focused on purely protecting the wealthy, and to heck with the other 99% which really makes up our great country. This is NOT what they were sent there to do and reveals their true motivations/character. As far as national security – seriously? This group? Please.
Honest Midwest: Well said and a very accurate observation.
they could wile away the hours talking to the flowers and conversing with the rain oh the thoughts they'd be thinking we could fix the party of Lincoln ...if they only had a brain!
After hearing ....painfully at times... to all the GOP candidates. I've come to the conclusion that the only one running with a brain in his head is Ron Paul. ...and sometimes what he says is questionable.
We're so screwed.
.....so my vote is for Ron Paul...the lesser of evils.
P.S. he hasn't sold out to the cooperation's yet....at least,....that we know of anyways.
And what's so bad about cooperation?
Obviously you mean "corporations" instead of "cooperation".
The problem with Ron Paul is not his advocating "smaller government" but in failing to recognize that our current problems aren't from excessive taxes or government spending but rather are the result of run-away greed, gross dishonesty and self-indulgence permitted by lax regulations, none enforcement and no real oversight by a co-responsible, permissive government. Government has to be at least big enough and strong enough to protect the majority (99%) from exploitation by the few (1%) ... else we end up with a two-class society with the few competing to have it all and the majority struggling to survive.
ou need to study up pn Dr. Paul. what he intends is to completly shut down goverment. his ideas are truly loony. and he is not a republican, he is only running as one. he is a libertarian.
In case you didn't know, our founding fathers created a handbook for dummies on running our country called the constitution...This book that we have a hard time following... These founding fathers were brilliant...Trust in the constitution, trust in Ron Paul... If our founding fathers had to vote it would be for the only decent/intelligent man running... Ron Paul...
This is the most depressing time to be a Republican that I can remember. I simply can't believe that this field of candidates is the best we could produce. It's bad enough having the Democrats giggling at us, but the rest of the world is laughing, too. When were Republicans rendered incapable of making a deal? We have become the poster child of political impotence.
What is really sad is what it costs the country, the majority when they are successful – example Bush-Cheney. As an ex-long-term registered Republican myself, I share in your disappointment. The only way to ever get the Grande Ole Party back, with a true conscience for the people instead of just being "puppets" for the "money", is to firmly and totally reject what they have become. Their past success just emboldens them and drives them further into being totally concentrated on serving the "money", who they credit with supporting them, conning the people and manipulating public opinion.
Please take a look at the intelligence levels of each GOP candidate and decide for yourself. Stop quoting whatever you read this morning in order to exemplorate your own "personal opinion." I will not express my political views here simply due to the fact that i will be knocked down by a "fair and balanced" quote from CNN. But just once, realize that your vote counts and it should be based on your own research rather than the media's opinion. Corperate super-powers and media are the ones throwing money at these candidates anyway. Is that where you want your "opinions" to lie? By the way, has anyone read the fine print at the bottom of this article? My bet is my opinion won't even be posted based on my views anyway.
double or nothinjg?
Your comments were not deleted. The censorship of these forums is wildly erratic. The only genuine reason for censorship is the remove threats and naughty words. Going farther exposes your real agenda. As for me, I learned quite enough about Republican foreign policy from 2000 to 2008. Arrogance, ineptitude, dangerous errors, and insane violence – that pretty much sums it up.
I have had many of my comments withheld pending moderator review - for no apparent reason.
With the exception of Fareed Zakaria, CNN does cull comments by conservatives when they don't coincide with the liberal group think.
Gingrich is clearly the most glib and smartest of the group. Unfortunately he is a major scam artist. Would you like to be "entrepeneur of the year" then just send him $5000. He was tossed out by his own party for unethical dealings. He has reversed his position on almost everything. Reminds you a little bit of Nixon.
He is shining only because the others are so weak. If Christie were running today it wouldn't even be close. Huntsman, who appears to have a little sanity, isn't even in the running. It is tragic that the Republican Party cannot come up with a viable candidate in a year where the Democratic incumbent is ripe for the taking.
I wouldn't trust any of these clowns to lead the country!
I would love to see a debate between Knute and Obozo.
There you go, make fun of the Presidents name. You show your depth as a human being and as a republican. Have some respect for President Obama. He is going to be around for a while.
You're right, steveo.... I'm sorry. There isn't anything funny about this administration.
I have never seen so much hopelessness, anger and poverty.
Its so funny how a man of color is pulled out of the wood work? Its like POOF...he is there. Where did he come from but waiting in the mist of things but to come out when it was time. I can never vote again for a canidate or even a repuke let alone from any party......This country should be ashamed of itself, a laughing matter 🙂
real geniuses in this bunch of clowns
You mean the ones we elected in 2008?
I couldn't agree more.
"The GOP brain trust". Someone at CNN has a great sense of humor! LOL!
Because most of them "check their brain at the door", somebody has to be trusted to watch out after the gray matter.
GOP/BRAINS, oxymoron...
good cheekbones?........ "check"
got brains?..................... "negative"
Where are the jobs?
Plenty of jobs.... look around. I'm sorry you are unemployed. Try finishing high school so you can get that job at Mickey D's.
This jobs nonsense is just propaganda. Plenty of Jobs.
Plenty.
Actually, I do have a job. A very good one. I earned it.
Why are people splayed out on sidewalks when they can't even say why they're angry?
You can relate, I'm sure.
Brain and GOP in the same sentence does not compute.
And Pelosi has a brain?
At least the majority of the Dems are recognized for cognitive resources. GOP No Brainer
No. They took it out and used it to glue her eyebrows to her forehead.
Gingrich is as smart as they come. He held his own with one of the smartest men ever to serve in the US government. Bill Clinton.
LOL. Are you speaking about the liar, adulterer, and ethics violator kicked out of the speaker's position by his own party? oh and let's not forget the lunatic who railed against taking money from Freddie and Fannie who it turns out provided "advice" to them for $1.6 million.
Easy, Carly. I despise him as much if not more than you. i am just pointing out that he is extremely intelligent and clever. Read my other post where I refer to him as "operationally more dangerous than Joseph Stalin".
AND LOST.
OOOH Carly is an idiot. Bet she voted for Bush twice..... LOL
thats really an oxymoron
There's plenty of smart guys in the GOP, its just that nobody listens to them.
Name one. i dare you.
Hiring another puppet for the white house will not stop this money game or the bigger players that tell the "brain trust" how to operate. America needs to recreate itself again if it wants to move forward and not suffer fools.
None of these candidates say what they mean. They are all trying to placate the far right Christianists who run the Republican Party at the grass roots level. Mitt Romney actually was an effective governor who would be a strong candidate if the RP wasn't now filled with Bible thumpers and knee jerk conservatives. Newt Gingrich knows his way around government, which is now a minus to the "outsider" fetishists. Rick Perry is a dolt so there's not much to say there. Ron Paul would be a foreign policy disaster but his anti-war stance is an anathema to all these Christian wingers who love to kill Muslims. Bachmann and Santorum actually are Christianists who have driven the Party so far to the right. Herman Cain? He's popular because he knows how to sell bad pizza by adopting marketing hooks like 999.
Any one of them would make a better president than the current dolt.
Liberalism does not produce prosperity. It produces malaise, poverty - and angry people defecating on sidewalks who have no idea what they're so angry about.
and it seems to have made an idiot out of you.
Is that the best you liberals can do is name call? I disagree with your politics and I'm making far more sense than anyone on this post today.
Instead of making salient points, you name call.
See where that'll get you next November.
Let's see: Gingrich is operationaly more dangerous than Joseph Stalin, Romney is a Wall Street criminal, Perry is a raving theocrat, Paul is a Ayn Rand clone, Bachmann is a lunatic republicunt and Cain is a serial republicunt sniffer. What else do you have for us?
not helping
Back up your statements, if Romney is one then file charges, but keep in mind that you might as well file charges against members of the house and senate for insider trading.
Bigfoot it sounds like you don't like any of the Republican candidates? Apparently you must be one of the lucky few who still have job?
Waiting for a Republican to create jobs after getting all that taxpayers money is like waiting for the sky to rain apple pie. They got it now they're not letting go. Tax the rich, get our taxpayer money back and quit waiting for that pie in the sky job.
It's really not that hard to have a job. Go to school, work hard, get a good job, work hard, keep your job. done. stop complaining and do something
What about Huntsman? The guy that nobody gives a damn about?
Because he seems to be the only one of them with a brain. he is way too smart to be a viable canditate. you have to be a way out loony to appeal to the far right wing republicans and their nutty clone the tea party.
Cain appears to talk to US like we are literally retarded. I find his demeanor to follow the characteristics of the personalities involved in corruption where laws have intentional loopholes and a gross lack of transparency.
Obama is the least transparent president I've come across in the past 45 years of voting!
give me a break and watch something besides fox news
Take a break watch disney or something else for a while. just lay off fox for it seems to have sponged your brain.
The only brain on that stage belongs to Ron and I don't trust him either.
I don't like or trust most of the GOP field, but it is obvious Obama and the Dems aren't able to get the job done either. We are in bad shape, and getting worse. But most folks don't seem to realize it will get far worse if we keep up with "more of the same". I find Ron Paul to be the only one who truly understands and acknowledges the depth of our situation. The more I learn about him, the more I believe he is the we need to entrust with the Presidency. Honor, experience, and serious solutions for serious problems. Please America, forget the party line insults and start working together. Otherwise we are all doomed.
This was a fantastic comment. I honestly couldn't have said it better myself!
If Ron Paul is elected we will FINALLY have Ayn Rand in the White House.
Have you actually ever READ Ayn Rand (or are you just repeating what you've heard others say?) I've NEVER read Ayn Rand and I'm voting for Ron Paul.
Ron acknowledges the issues but I fear he would be a dead president soon after the swearing in. But that may be the ignition point I see coming anyway.
Paul is like a little kid...Play my way or I'm taking my marbles and going home...This permeates the rest of the Republican party and why we can't get anything done and why the Super Committee still has not done anything...The extreme Right Wings are dragging our country in to paralysis. Unfortunately my party the Democrats placate too much to the left of the party which only adds to the stalemate and nothing gets done except finger pointing and both sides claiming the other side is the devil. I'm sick and tired of these politicians that cater to the extreme of the parties (Which unfortunately have become the main power within the parties). I don't see anything good on the horizon (unfortunately).
Dave I, once you realize that Government does almost everything incorrectly, then you would know where Paul is coming from, but obviously you do not.
Big Government is what is wrong, because the bigger it is, the harder it is to fight it. I am sorry you haven't woken up to that fact yet.
Oh, maybe when the dollar crashes soon and nobody can retire, and we have to print 200 trillion to pay for welfare and budgets, we'll make the retirees go broke and forced onto the streets.
Wonderful days. This isn't 1980 anymore. It is 2012, where governments fail, and doing the same thing is absolutely foolish.
Please tell Ron Paul to stop going on Alex Jones' radio program and saying things like the US Army invaded San Antonio in the run-up to the Gulf War.
Tell him to stop being a kook.
The reason that obama and the democrats haven't got anything done is because the republicans have blocked every thing that they have tried to do.
Thank God for that!
GOP have given up on America. Their motto is let them eat cake. If they do not believe in Govt resign. GOP with the Wall street boys have destroyed America. They only care about themselves.
Johnny's right, and when (if) enough of us wake up we should light them up. Its time for Americans to take America back from the great pretenders!
Johnny is wrong. The Democrats have run this country since 2006. Now we have chronic unemployment, the highest poverty rate in our history, and people are splayed out on sidewalks with absolutely no clue as to why they're even there.
When Ronald Reagan took this country back from Jimmy Carter in 1980, two years later we were back in positive growth and the economy was on its way to recovery.
All Obama has done is reward the bloated public sector unions at the expense of the US taxpayer. And our economy is in shambles. It reminds me of the late 1970s. It's so Jimmy Carter.
We are in the Jimmy Carter phase of the next Reagan Revolution - with or without you.
Ocupado your are wrong, its across the board ALL politicians ALL parties not just the reptile party. wake up, Reagan is not president and this is not the 70's anymore.
The Democrats have run this country since 2006.
Where are the jobs?
The only terrorist in this country are sitting in congress, the senate and the white house, and they call themselves democrats and republicans.
You hate Congress. Fine.
Where are the jobs?
and the republicans controlled the houses many times so what? how have they helped you?
The Republicans controlled Congress from 1994 to 2006 and nobody ever "occupied" anything because there was job growth.
And nobody helps me. I help myself.
Try and explain that to an occutard.
Occupado, you seem to have a rather tenuous grasp on reality.
To..Occupado"""
No ..you don't mention the mess nixon / ford left Carter or that the country went down hill with bush tax cuts and what happened when repubs controlled all three branches of government that led to mess we're in ..don't even get me started on reaguns ...
To... Amunaka....
Carter inherited a relatively small economic downturn and he turned it into a depression. We had 12 percent unemployment, 18 percent inflation and something called the "misery factor", which, thanks to Obama, is rearing its ugly head again.
Ronald Reagan turned the country back in the right direction in two years - and Carter left him a far worse economic condition than the one Bush left Obama.
The difference? Republicans build private sector jobs. Liberals couldn't care less about the private sector because their livelihoods depend on the kickbacks they get in the form of crooked union dues.