Ron Paul, R3VOLUTION, Give us back the CONSTITUTION!

There is one candidate that I am very certain I will not be voting for in the primary election. Okay, there are actually a couple candidates and one of them is named Ron Paul. At the same time, Ron Paul is the one candidate who fascinates me above all others. He is by far the oldest candidate in the race and, yet, he has the youngest group of supports including Obama’s supporters as well.

Without even talking about age, Dr. Paul also has the most passionate group of supporters who will follow him to the end of the Earth. I could not get the “Ron Paul revolution, give us back the constitution” chant out of my head after his second place finish in New Hampshire. His supporters were so fired up and it was intoxicating.

Most of the supporters, however, know that he is not going to win the primary, heck, even Ron Paul is aware that he is not going to win the primary. Why else would he solely focus on Caucus states? He claims that it is to send a message to Washington for a lot of different reasons, mostly pertaining to liberty and free market economics. To be honest, I am completely on board for these causes. The United States spends too much money, has too much regulation, too high taxes, and at times infringes on the liberty of citizens. 

However, I do not really believe that Ron Paul is running to send a message to Washington. It is probably an advantage, but Ron Paul is running to pave the way for his son Rand Paul to be President in 2017. Think about it, what father does not want to do everything he can to help his son succeed? Almost none. He is doing a great job too, because all the passionate supporters Dr. Paul has are going to run straight to Rand who is already a tea party favorite. Rand is going to be an unstoppable force in the 2016 elections (if the Republicans do not win in 2012) especially after having eight years of Obama.

Ron Paul has a lot of great ideas and I would love to see the budget slashed by a trillion dollars. The problem is, I agree with Ron Paul on 75% of the issues, but the other 25% I disagree with so adamantly that I can’t vote for him. I wish him the best of luck in Nevada and am almost excited to see how well he does in Maine, but my vote is not one that he will be receiving.

 

Turner Wins NY 9

            Anyone who picked up a newspaper or turned on the television in June was witness to the sex scandal involving former Representative Anthony Weiner (D-NY).  A seven term representative, who could have been the next democratic mayor of New York City, caught sending inappropriate self images through social media to women across the country.  With the exception of political pundits, far fewer people knew about the special elections, to replace Anthony Weiner, which took place on Tuesday, September 13 between Republican Bob Turner and Democrat David Weprin. 

            New York’s ninth congressional district is regarded as one of the most democratic leaning congressional districts in the United States.  A Republican has not won the seat in eight decades and democrats outnumber republicans three to one.  No one expected Turner to win the election and early in the campaign, democrats believe it to be an easy win.  However, even with a last ditch attempt by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to purchase a half a million dollar TV ad, Turner came out on top.

            Not only did the Grand Old Party win in New York’s special election, but they expectedly won Nevada’s second congressional district as well.  Some wonder if the win for the Republicans is foreshadowing the end result for the elections in November 2012.  Members of the Democratic Party brushed this theory off, justifying it as nothing more than a freak occurrence and predicting favorable outcomes for the democrats in November 2012.  Speaking about New York’s ninth congressional district, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) believes “the bottom line is it’s not a bellwether district.”  Senator Schumer is correct; traditionally it is not an indicator of future election results.  However, it confirms that there is unease within the Democratic Party that stems from a greater issue. 

            It has been argued by several politicians and multiple media sources that the election was won based off of President Obama’s poor approval rating and the struggling economy.  In addition to an economy that saw zero job growth for August, the heavily Jewish community was also reacting to a President who has lacked support for Israel.  While some believe that this was a fluke and that President Obama’s jobs plan will help democrats in 2012, this seems doubtful since 51% of Americans do not believe the plan will lower unemployment according to a recent Bloomberg poll. 

The democrats have a difficult task ahead of them, in addition to reelecting a President who continues to have a falling approval rating; they also want to maintain control of the Senate while retaking control of the House of Representatives.  Taking control of the House will require 25 seats held by Republicans to be turned over which is a considerable task in itself.  It may be too soon to tell if New York’s special election is a signal that 2012 will be a difficult year for democrats.  However, it did show every democrat who thought they were in a safe seat that no seat is going to be safe in 2012.