When I got home today (Wenesday), I took my usual after work dump. I know you didn't open this posting to read about the bowel habits of your favorite 39 year old man. But anyway, as I sat there on the john I began to think about, who I would explain why I was not going to vote for today. Well, after I got done and flushed the john, I had to wait for about a minute while my low flow toilet's tank filled up so I could flush the john again. I hate flushing the john twice.
That's when it struck me. In 2004 I encouraged people to flush the Johns (Kerry and Edwards) during the election. Man I hate flushing the john twice. What I really hate is when a turd keeps coming back up and you have to flush over and over again.
So, tonight's topic?
Why I am flushing the John again … I meant why I am not voting for John Edwards.
This John has been flushed almost as many times as a rest stop toilet. The registered Democrats flushed him as a Candidate for President 2004 during the primaries. The American people flushed him as the Democratic nominee for Vice President, in 2004. Before the 2004 Senate election, Edwards announced his retirement from the Senate and supported Erskine Bowels (Er… I meant Bowles), former Clinton White House Chief of Staff, as the successor to his seat; Bowels (Er… I meant Bowles), however, was defeated by Republican Richard Burr in the election showing that the John Edwards' home state of North Carolina, were tired of John's choices as well. You would think after being flushed twice that would be the last time you would see this turd but I guess the Them-a-crap ( Er … I meant Democrat) party is one big low flow toilet.
In November 2000, People magazine named Edwards as its choice for the "sexiest politician alive." But I am here to tell you a couple of true stories that will let you know this John dirty and smells like crap.
Bribed by Saudi Lobbyist while on the Senate Intelligence Committee:
John Edwards got into a sweetheart real estate deal with a Saudi lobbyist / registered foreign agent while John Edwards on the Senate Intelligence Committee, whose members had high security clearances, were privy to highly classified data and were actively investigating links between Saudi Arabia and the 9/11 terrorist attacks (15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis.) Michael Petruzello was a lobbyist, registered foreign agent and the manager of Qorvis Communications. That firm was hired by Saudi Arabia on November 14, 2001 (just 2 months after 9-11) to counter criticism of the Arab kingdom.
On May 17, 2002, Petruzello offered to buy Edwards' Washington home -- which had been on the market for over a year -- for 3.52 million dollars. (Edwards paid 2.2 million for it in 1999.) The deal later fell through but Edwards still has the $100,000 deposit. He says he hasn't decided whether to keep it, and would only have to report the conflict of interest if he does so. The house eventually sold for $3 million, a full $500,000 less than the Saudi agent offered.
The Edwards claims he had "no idea" Petruzzello worked for the Saudis, but in the weeks before the offer Petruzzello visited Edwards home state of North Carolina with the Saudis as part of their publicity campaign, and he was widely quoted in Washington and national publications describing his work for the Saudis. His firm even ran pro-Saudi TV ads in 20 large markets including North Carolina (and other states from which Senate Intelligence Committee members came.)
Kent Cooper, the former head of the government's public disclosure office for federal candidates, said " The potential conflict of interest is readily apparent when a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence receives $100,000 in a real or sham business deal with a foreign agent or a person with extensive foreign contracts at the same time the Senate is investigating possible lapses in national security."
So, does John want you to think he was too dumb to put two and two together? Or is this an example of a dirty Democrat being caught with his hand in the cookie jar?
Highly Suspicious Campaign Contributions:
John Edwards, who is himself a lawyer, has received tons of campaign money from law firms. Nothing illegal or particularly wrong about that, however you may feel about lawyers.
But many of them show strong signs of being illegal contributions designed to evade limits on the amount of contributions, by having employees and spouses "contribute" money that a wealthy lawyer wanted to give. Other campaigns have used these practices; Bob Dole's national campaign co-chairman was convicted of the practice in 1996.
There are several cases described in "The Hill" (a magazine about Congress) where low-paid paralegals who had never contributed to campaigns before, and weren't registered to vote (or were even Republicans) gave the maximum $2,000 donation to Edwards. So did their spouse and several other people at the law firm where they work. Two had even filed bankruptcy recently.
It can't be proved these people were helping their bosses give more than the $2,000 maximum. But, as Bill Allison of the non-partisan Center for Public Integrity said, "It seems on the surface very suspicious. I think it is somewhat questionable that people who have never donated before would suddenly donate $2,000,"
In one case there IS direct evidence that such an employee was illegally contributing for her boss. Michelle Abu-Halmeh, a legal assistant at Turner & Associates in Arkansas, told The Washington Post in April of 2003 that she expected to be reimbursed by her boss for her $2,000 contribution. The Department of Justice started a criminal investigation of this case but it petered out.
It's par for the course for Democrats to take kick backs and for them to suspicious campaign funds.
So, who is John Edwards?
He is the type of man that chooses his politicail ambitions over his family. On November 3, 2004, Elizabeth Edwards revealed that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. She was treated via chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and continued to work within the Democratic Party and her husband's One America Committee. On March 22, 2007, Edwards and his wife announced that her cancer had returned; she was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer, with newly discovered metastases to the bone and possibly to her lung They said that the cancer was "no longer curable, but is completely treatable"and that they planned to continue campaigning together with an occasional break when she requires treatment. Sorry, but if my wife got cancer, (God forbid) her treatment would be my number one priority not something I would take an occasional break for.
John Edwards was football star in high school. (Not real sure why his supporters think this a big deal but 8 of the 12 sites I looked out tonight mentioned it.) Edwards attended Clemson University and transferred to North Carolina State University earning a bachelor's degree in textile technology in 1974.Later he earned his law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC).
After law school, he worked as a law clerk for a while then worked for a series of law firms primarily defending banks and other corporate clients in Tennessee. The Edwards family returned to North Carolina in 1981, settling in the capital of Raleigh where he joined the firm of Tharrington, Smith & Hargrove and began making a living as a medical malpractice lawyer. Edwards sued the American Red Cross three times, resulting in a confidential settlement each time. In 1985, Edwards represented a five-year-old child born with cerebral palsy whose doctor did not choose to perform an immediate Caesarian delivery when a fetal monitor showed she was in distress. Edwards won a $6.5 million verdict for his client, but five weeks later, the presiding judge sustained the verdict but overturned the award on grounds that it was "excessive" and that it appeared "to have been given under the influence of passion and prejudice," adding that in his opinion "the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict."
After this trial, Edwards gained national attention as a plaintiff's lawyer. He filed at least twenty similar lawsuits in the years following and achieved verdicts and settlements of more than $60 million for his clients. His fee was one-third of the settlement plus expenses. These lawsuits were followed by similar ones across the country. When asked about an increase in Caesarean deliveries nationwide, for no other reason then to avoid similar medical malpractice lawsuits, Edwards said, "The question is, would you rather have cases where that happens instead of having cases where you don't intervene and a child either becomes disabled for life or dies in utero?"
When this cash cow dried up he started his own law firm and specialized as personnel injury lawyer. (Yah! A ambulance chaser.) In one case he won $25 million, the largest personal injury award in North Carolina history. After Edwards won a large verdict against a trucking company whose worker had been involved in a fatal accident while off the clock, the North Carolina legislature passed a law prohibiting such awards unless the employee's actions had been specifically sanctioned by the company.
Edwards won election to the U.S. Senate in 1998 as a Democrat against incumbent Republican Senator Lauch Faircloth. Despite originally being the underdog, Edwards beat Faircloth with 51.2% of the vote by margin of about 83,000 votes.
During President Bill Clinton's 1999 impeachment trial in the Senate, Edwards was responsible for the deposition of witnesses Monica Lewinsky and fellow Democrat Vernon Jordan.
He voted to authorize the use of military force against Iraq, saying on October 10, 2002 that "Almost no one disagrees with these basic facts: that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a menace; that he has weapons of mass destruction and that he is doing everything in his power to get nuclear weapons; that he has supported terrorists; that he is a grave threat to the region, to vital allies like Israel, and to the United States; and that he is thwarting the will of the international community and undermining the United Nations' credibility." (Please, note that one of his concerns was the United Nations' credibility.) In a classic democrat move, he subsequently apologized for that military authorization vote.
In 2000, after only two years in the Senate, Edwards started to campaign for the 2004 presidential election. (And you thought the campaigns for the 2008 election started early?)
Edwards struggled to gain substantial support but his poll numbers began to rise steadily weeks before the 2004 Iowa caucuses. Edwards largely avoided attacking John Kerry. In the Super Tuesday primaries on March 2, 2004 Kerry finished well ahead in nine of the ten states voting and Edwards' campaign ended. On July 6, 2004 John Kerry announced that John Edwards would be his running mate. (And the "Flush the John's" drive began.)In the vice presidential debate, Dick Cheney jokingly told Edwards they never met due to Edwards' frequent absences from the Senate. Many Democrats criticized the selection for Edwards' perceived lack of experience. Kerry's campaign advisor Bob Shrum later reported in Time magazine that Kerry said he wished he'd never picked Edwards, and the two have since stopped speaking to each other.
Although on an October 10, 2004 appearance on Meet the Press, Edwards defended voting for the Iraq War resolution to Tim Russert "I would have voted for the resolution knowing what I know today, because it was the right thing to do to give the president the authority to confront Saddam Hussein...I think Saddam Hussein was a very serious threat. I stand by that, and that's why [John Kerry and I] stand behind our vote on the resolution", on November 14, 2005, he wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post in which he said he regretted voting for the Iraq War, and discussed three solutions for success in the conflict. In a February 4, 2007 appearance on Meet the Press, Edwards told Russert "over time, when I reflected on what I thought was going to be necessary going forward, to have some moral foundation to work on issues like poverty and genocide, things that I care deeply about, I could no longer defend this vote. It was pretty simple. And I got to the place I felt like I had to say it and had to say it publicly. And so—what? — a year — a year or so ago I did that." (So are we to believe he is a man that can't make up his mind? Or a man with no convictions? Or a politician that waits to see which way the polls fall to pick a side to stand on? Or just a babbling idiot? I choice babbling idiot.)
Speaking of babbling Idiots: During Kanye West's post hurricane Katrina Torrent of Criticism he claimed "George Bush doesn't care about black people!." Well Kanye, my question to you is how many black people lost their homes when George W Bush's investment group forclosed on their subprime home mortgages? None, that's right ... that was John Edwards that did that.
In October 2005, Edwards joined the Wall Street investment firm Fortress Investment Group as a senior adviser, later working with them as a consultant and being paid $479,512 for his consulting services, a part-time job. Fortress owned a major stake in Green Tree Servicing LLC, which rose to prominence in the 1990s selling subprime loans to mobile-home owners and now services subprime loans originated by others. (Subprime loans allow buyers with poor credit histories to be funded, but they charge higher rates because of the risk, and sometimes carry hidden fees and increased charges over time.)
August of 2007, the Wall Street Journal reported that Edwards had invested $16 Million in Fortress and Fortress had bought poor performing New Orleans mortgages with the intention of foreclosing on properties in the Hurricane Katrina affected area through affiliates Only after this news came to light , did Edwards divest his funds from Fortress and start claiming he didn't know what Fortress was doing. (Can you believe that in his role as senior adviser / consultant for Fortress he didn't know what they were investing in? Or that he would put $16,000,000.00 of his own money into a company and not know what they were doing with the money? If you can I have a Subprime loan I would like to grant you so you can get your mom some discount plastic surgery. Im sorry, is it too early to make jokes about the dead mother of a idiot rapper?)
By the way, John Edwards had the audacity to officially announced his candidacy for President in the 2008 election from the yard of a home in New Orleans, Louisiana that was being rebuilt after it was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. National polls have shown Edwards turd (I meant third) among the current Democratic field, behind Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Barack Obama. As of July 2007, the Edwards campaign raised a total of $23 million from nearly 100,000 donors, placing turd (I meant third) behind Obama and Clinton in fundraising as well.
What does this turd promise to bring to the table?
Well, here are some of the things he believes in and is promising:
Economic Policy:
END POVERT IN 30 YEARS: Sounds good doesn't it? But he has yet to explain how he is going to do that. One guess would be to Give more just the $100,000 (about one mortgage) of the $16,000,000 he invested into a group intent on foreclosing the homes of Hurricane Katrina victims.
College for everyone: If a student agrees to work part-time during their first year at a public-college, the Edwards administration will pay for their tuition, books and fees. This program is based on a proposal by Edwards in 2004, which was implemented as a pilot program in North Carolina which was dropped because of the economic burden. ("I'm working at Burger King now but I plan on going to DEE-DEE-DEE University and getting my "Ding = Fries Ready" Degree and John Edwards is going to pay for it!" And if you believe that you must really like the job the government is doing with out K thru 12 schools now.)
Global warming: One of Edwards' campaign's main focuses is fighting that nasty invention of Al Gore's … no not the internet …global warming. He plans to make his presidential campaign carbon neutral by limiting energy consumption and buying carbon offsets for the energy they do end up using. (If they really wanted to end global warming the gag the Democrats so they would quit spewing so much hate air.Energy: Edwards has endorsed the widespread goal of 80% reductions of greenhouse gas emissions below 1990 levels by the year 2050. Which would put US companies out of business.) He has advocated capping emissions, reducing the cap every year, and auctioning off the right to emit a certain quantity of greenhouse gases. (Which would limit production of goods, increase operating costs and cause huge inflation all while raising taxes.)He would then use this money, an "guesstimated" $10 billion, to fund research for alternative energy sources in an effort to end the United States reliance on foreign crude oil. (Why not use the oil we have in Alaska to do the same thing and save $10 billion in tax money?)
Social Policy: National Service: John Edwards opposes a military draft under any conditions. (Wow, hope the Russian don't start rebuilding there military, or China, Turkey, Iran and North Korea don't start trying to build nukes. Because if he is President he has totally ruled out the draft.)
Abortion: Edwards is very pro-abortion. Kate Michelman, a nationally prominent abortion rights activist and former leader of NARAL, has joined the campaign as a senior adviser, charged with outreach to women. (Well, maybe he is planning on working as a abortion mal-practice lawyer after he gets flushed this time.)
Gay Agenda: During his 2004 Vice Presidential run, Edwards stated he was opposed to same-sex marriage. In late December 2006, in an interview with George Stephanopoulos of ABC News, Edwards said, "Do I believe they (gays) should have the right to marry? I'm just not there yet..." However, Edwards opposes a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. He does support civil unions and partnership benefits. (It's like trying to nail a turd to the wall to figure out where he stands on this one.)
Immigration: Edwards supported the expansion of the H-1B visa program to increase the number of work visas for immigrant workers. Edwards supports expanding legal immigration to the United States while working with Mexico to provide better border security and stop illegal trafficking. (It amazes me how Democrats always want to ask the fox to help them guard the hen house.) On February 7, 2007 Edwards said in a Cox News Service Q&A that "We want to change the immigration system, so people can get on the path to citizenship." (Hell, why would you pay for the cow when milk is free.)
Health care: On February 5, 2007, Edwards unveiled his plan for universal health care. The plan has two components: revenue sources (raising your taxes) and cost containment (eliminating your choices). The total public cost of the plan would be $90–$120 billion per year, paid for by eliminating the 2001 tax cuts, Employers would be required to either cover their employees or to pay a payroll tax , Medical Insurance Businesses would basicially be taken over by the federal government Individuals who are not covered by their employers or by an expanded Medicaid program will be required to purchase insurance from these Health Markets. His cost reductions are mostly about removing your choices in treatment. About the only thing you would be able to choose will be your malpractice lawyer. (John has to protect his buddies you know.)
Foreign Policy:
War on Terror: Edwards has called the War on Terror a "bumper sticker," saying "The War on Terror is a slogan designed only for politics, not a strategy to make America safe. It's a bumper sticker, not a plan."
Iraq: Edwards is the only 2008 Democratic presidential candidate to have not only voted for the war, but also cosponsored it. Three years after the war began, Edwards has said that the decision to go to war in Iraq was a mistake and has apologized for his 2002 vote. Edwards was a vocal critic of the Iraq War troop surge of 2007. Much to his embarrassment the troop surge is working.
Well, as you can tell, John Edwards is an ambulance chasing personnel injury lawyer that made it big. He has no convictions and flip-flops on the issues. He has made a living off of other peoples misery most of his life. And pretends to not know what he was doing every time he gets caught. And the Democrats keep forgetting he is a shyster lawyer.
I'm hoping the Democrats flush this John AGAIN. And get ride of the low flow toilet that keeps letting this turd rise back up to the surface.
My Take?
I ain't voting for him. I can't see voting for anyone that is so financially irresponsible that not only would he pay $400.00 for a haircut but go on TV bragging about it.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Why I will not Vote for Barack Hussein Obama, Jr.
OK, to recap, I started this series with explaining why I am not voting for Hillary Clinton. Then I took a comic break and told you why I am not voting for the multitude of lesser known Democrat "Nut-Jobs" out there that have throw their tin foil hats in the ring for the 2008 Presidential Bid. Then I told you why I am not voting for Joe Biden.
I know I promised to explain why I am not for each of the remaining Democrats in Alphabetical order but Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. said something the other night that really made me laugh at him.
Any Democrats out there should be used to being promised one thing and being given something different. Besides, If you're a real Democrat, then you'll forget about being lied to by tomorrow.
Some presidential contenders "have been in Washington too long," said Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. who has been only in the Senate for three years. He said his time as a local community worker in Chicago, law professor and Illinois legislator gave him vital experiences. But in the same speech he claims that experience doesn't make you good a doing you job and frankly touted his inexperience as making him a better candidate. (I don't know about you but I would rather have the Surgeon cutting on me that has done the operation a thousand times then the one that doesn't know the difference between a 10 blade and a bedpan.)
As further proof of his inexperience I have had severe trouble finding much information on his political stances or anything he has really accomplished. By all accounts Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. grew up in a broken home and used alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine during his teenage years. He has been quoted several times as saying he enjoyed using drugs. He said he used alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine during his teenage years, to "push questions of who I was out of my mind." (I would suggest that Democrats who know who he really is and still intend to vote for him have used too much alcohol, marijuana and cocaine have been able to push questions of who is out of their minds.)
His family moved to Indonesian capital city of Jakarta in 1967, where Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. attended local schools from ages 6 to 10. His 4 years aboard as a small child is the bulk of his foreign policy experience. He then returned to Honolulu to live with his maternal grandparents to attend a private, co-educational, non-sectarian college preparatory school located in Honolulu from 5th grade until his graduation in 1979. (Hawaii is Obama's home state not Illionis, which by the way is Hillary Clinton's home state. Confused yet?)
After graduating from Punahou, Obama studied at Occidental College for two years, then transferred to Columbia University, where he majored in political science with a specialization in international relations. He received his B.A. degree in 1983, then worked for one short year at Business International Corporation. (Which is the only business experience he has).
In 1985, he moved to Chicago to take a job as a community organizer. (Ok I admit I only spent 4 fruitless hours on the internet trying to figure out what he organized before going to his website. By the way his webpage is one of those irritating pages that will not let you back out of it without exiting. The back button will not let you off his page.) According to his website, he worked with a church group "seeking to improve living conditions in poor neighborhoods plagued with crime and high unemployment." His website down plays his lack of success before he gave up and went back to law school. (Failure makes you a better Democrat.)
He finished law school in 1991. And Returned to Chicago as a community organizer once again, Obama organized an aggressive voter registration effort that aided in the election of President Bill Clinton and Senator Carol Moseley Braun. 1992 The campaign registered over 100,000 voters. In an "unrelated" story Chicago has always been an Icon of voter fraud. According to a 1995 Chicago Sun Times story, Chicago's list of legal voters is swollen with thousands of people who have died, moved or registered more than once. A Chicago Sun-Times analysis of voter rolls in Chicago's 50 wards found 47,000 duplicate voters, which city election officials concede is probably the most ever for a city election.
His talents for "voter registration" earned him a position at a local civil rights law firm, and he became a lecturer of constitutional law at the University of Chicago. (Kick back?)
Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1996 from the state's 13th District in the south-side Chicago neighborhood of Hyde Park. In 2000, he made an unsuccessful Democratic primary run for the U.S. House of Representatives. He was reelected to the Illinois Senate in 1998 and 2002, officially resigning in November 2004 following his election to the U.S. Senate. However, he accomplished very little as a state legislator. Obama seemed to have survived on style rather than substance.
As a State Senator Barack Obama can best be described as just another state legislator bringing home the bacon. The Sun-Times' Mark Brown noted this six years ago in a column on the largess of lawmakers and then-Gov. George Ryan's pork-barrel Illinois First program where Springfield handed out money hand over fist to legislators to give to constituents' pet projects. As Hyde Park's state senator, Obama, got $100,000 for an exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry. The topic: The Concept of Time. (A another example of a Democrat wasting taxpayer's money.)
It can be easily argued that Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. only won his U.S. Senate because his competitors had major scandals during the Election. Blair Hull's popularity declined following allegations of domestic abuse during the primary and Obama won the Democrat nomination. His opponent in the general election was expected to be Republican primary winner Jack Ryan. However, Ryan withdrew from the race in June 2004, following public disclosure of child custody divorce records containing sexual allegations by Ryan's ex-wife, actress Jeri Ryan. In August 2004, with less than three months to go before election day, Alan Keyes accepted the Illinois Republican Party's nomination to replace Ryan.
Barack Hussein Obama, Jr.'s short stint as a U.S. Senator has mostly been unremarkable. He votes mostly along party lines and has rarely shown any true convictions. He truly has not been in the senate long enough to gain any experience or a voting record. So, I have had a almost as difficult of a time as he has with correlating what he says if stands for and what he actually votes for. After comparing notes with over a dozen of his "grass roots" support groups' and his official webpage I have decided that even his supports do not know this man from Adam.
As near as I can figure these are his actual stances on the issues:
Foreign Policy:
Barack Hussein Obama, Jr.'s first major speech on foreign policy was delivered on April 23, 2007. It truly defied common sense and showed that not only was the four years he spent in Indonesia as a pre-teen the extent of his foreign policy but that his knowledge of the world has not matured since he was 10 years old and moved back to the states. He called for "Marshalling a global effort" and agreeing to hold talks without restriction to rouge nations. (The U.N. has never succeeded in this style of diplomacy but the Democrats insist on turning the U.S. into the U.N.) In an address on national security to the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars on August 1, 2007, Obama stated that as President he would consider military action in Pakistan in order to attack al-Qaeda, even if the Pakistani government did not give approval. (I am figuring he wants to be president of Bizarro-land where we sit down to talk with out enemies and bomb our allies.) Tariq Ali, an acclaimed British-Pakistani historian, criticized Obama for his comments regarding attacking terrorists inside Pakistan and stated "Were the United States to start bombing raids inside Pakistan, there would be a massive increase of support for the jihadi fundamentalist groups in that country, and it would weaken not just secular political groups, it would weaken even the moderate religious parties who are not associated with that." (But Obama, Jr. knows better because he lived aboard for 4 years.)His take on the Arab-Israeli conflict is so convoluted that I can't make heads or tells of it.During a fall 2002 anti-war rally at Chicago's Federal Plaza, while still an Illinois State Senator, and in a speech alongside Jesse Jackson, Obama rumbled on almost as incoherently as this sentence is long. As near as I can figure from his anti-war / anti-Bush speech he wants the troops out even if the job is not done and he wants to sit down with Syria and Iran to figure out what is best for Iraq. (Why is it that Democrats seem to think that the fox is the best guard for the hen house?)
Immigration:
Obama supports a guest worker program. Obama has said that he "will not support any bill that does not provide [an] earned path to citizenship for the undocumented population." Obama doesn't believe that twelve million illegal immigrants can be sent back. He said "It's not going to happen. We're not going to go round them up ... We should give them a pathway to citizenship." (SO, if Obama was a Street cop and he pulled over a stolen car he would let the driver legally keep the car because it would be too difficult to enforce the law?)
Abortion and contraception:
While serving in the Illinois Senate, Obama had a 100 percent rating from the Illinois Planned Parenthood Council due to his consistent voting in favor of abortion rights, family planning services, and having female contraceptives covered by health insurance. Since his election to the United States Senate Obama has maintained a 100 percent rating from Planned Parenthood (as of 2007) and NARAL (as of 2005). While serving in the Illinois State Senate, Obama opposed legislation that required "medical care for aborted fetuses" because the legislation's wording defined the fetus as a child -- a measure he said would "essentially bar abortions."
Embryonic Stem Cell Research:
Obama supports embryonic stem cell research and was a co-sponsor of the 2005 Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. Obama condemned Bush's veto, saying "Democrats want this bill to pass." He also voted in favor of the 2007 bill for embryonic stem cell research that was passed but was also vetoed by President Bush. (Just because Embryonic Stem cell research give Demorats something to do with there aborted babies doesn't make it a good Idea. To date, no approved medical treatments have been derived from embryonic stem cell research despite the billions of tax dollars wasted on recycling aborted babies. However, Adult stem cells and cord blood stems cells have thus far been the only stem cells used to successfully treat any diseases.)
Gay Rights:
Obama voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment which would have defined marriage as between one man and one woman. He supports civil unions that would carry equal legal standing to that of marriage for same-sex couples. Obama stated on 15 March 2007, that "I do not agree...that homosexuality is immoral." During the 23 July 2007 CNN/Youtube debate, Obama stated that "... we've got to make sure that everybody is equal under the law. And the civil unions that I proposed would be equivalent in terms of making sure that all the rights that are conferred by the state are equal for same-sex couples as well as for heterosexual couples." (The world would have been a better place if Obama's birth parents had been two gay men.)
Gun Control: As a state legislator in Illinois, Obama supported banning the sale or transfer of all forms of semi-automatic firearms, increasing state restrictions on the purchase and possession of firearms. He sponsored a bill in 2000 limiting handgun purchases. He also voted against a 2004 measure allowing a self-defense exception for people charged with violating local weapons bans by using a gun in their home. Obama was also a board member of the Joyce Foundation which funds and maintains several gun control organizations in the United States. He supported several gun control measures, including restricting the purchase of firearms at gun shows and the reauthorization of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban. While in the US Senate, Obama has voted against legislation protecting firearm manufacturers from liability. ("Hi, I'm from the Democrat Party and I am here for your guns.")
Death Penalty:
Obama believes the death penalty is used too frequently. Speaking as a state senator he spoke out against adding to the list of factors that render a defendant eligible for the death penalty.Religion: Who really knows? He is either a Muslims like his father and step-father, an Atheist like his mother, or a member of the Church of Christ like his wife.
Energy and the Environment:
He believes the party line that global warming actually exists and that it is man made and vows to fix it but has no real plan to. And has no real plan to do anything substantive about the energy crisis.
Things the media forget to tell ya:
Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. is not the clean cut guy the media wants you to think he is. In fact, he is no stranger to scandal.
The indictment of political inside man and fundraiser Rezko on federal charges should have created problems for Barack Hussein Obama, Jr's presidential campaign. But the mainstream media largely has ignored, Obama's shady real estate relationship with Antoin "Tony" Rezko. It is a gamy story of a presidential hopeful displaying a remarkable lack of judgment by getting involved with a radioactive political fixer who got himself indicted. In November, 2006, Barack Hussein Obama, Jr drew media scrutiny because he had purchased his house in 2005, on the same day that Antoin Rezko purchased an adjoining empty lot. Obama subsequently bought from Rezko an adjoining strip of land from the empty lot. Obama freely, acknowledges that the exchange in which he benefited largely may have created the "appearance of impropriety", and stated "I consider this a mistake on my part and I regret it." In June, 2007 the Chicago Sun-Times published a story about letters Obama had written to city and state officials in support of a low-income senior citizen development project headed by Rezko and partner Allison Davis. The project received more than $14 million in taxpayer funds, including $885,000 in development fees for Rezko and Davis. Before the Sun-Times discovered Obama's letters in support of Rezko, Sen. Obama had told the Tribune, "I've never done any favors for him." Also in June 2007, The Chicago Sun-Times discovered that Obama had collected at least $168,308 from Rezko over Obama's 12 years in politics, approximately triple the estimate that Obama had provided of Rezko's donations. Obama had told the Sun-Times that Rezko raised "between $50,000 and $60,000" during Obama's political career.
His wife Michelle is no stranger to scandal either.
While she was the Vice President of External Affairs for University of Chicago Hospitals, it agreed to pay $35,000 to resolve its liability for CMPs under the patient dumping statute. The OIG alleged that the hospital failed to accept an appropriate transfer of a 61-year-old male who presented to another emergency department with a complaint of flank pain. UCH had specialized capabilities not available at the transferring hospital and allegedly refused to accept transfer after learning that the patient did not have insurance. UCH then later agreed to accept transfer of the patient only if he provided proof of funds in a bank account. The patient was transferred to another hospital where he died. However, Barack Hussein Obama, Jr did nothing while a proposal for universal coverage was killed by the Democratic legislature in his home state of Illinois. I would assume it was to ensure his wife would continue to receive the $133,483 a year the Hospital was paying her. My review of University of Chicago Hospitals 990 Federal Tax Form for 2005 showed that this "not-for-profit" hospital reported making a profit of $103,642,743 in 2005. It spent $3,784,680 on marketing (advertising) attempting to increase market share and spent $5,280,545 on collection agency fees. And after only 9 months of fiscal year 2007, the hospital has already reported making $105,746,000 in profits. (Several websites and news story point out that uninsured patients can expect to have there bills padded by upwards to 300% to 540%.
I have already talked about Obama's drug use his pork barrel projects so I guess I will end with questioning his patriotism.
He explained his refusal to wear a US flag pin on his lapel by saying "I decided I won't wear that pin on my chest. Instead, I'm going to try to tell the American people what I believe will make this country great, and hopefully that will be a testament to my patriotism." Deeds speak louder than words, I can buy that. But what deeds has he done to show his patriotism? Well, on 9/16/07 at an event in Indianola, Iowa, Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. REFUSED TO NOT ONLY PUT HIS HAND ON HIS HEART DURING THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, BUT REFUSED TO SAY THE PLEDGE. An ABC News video also, shows that Senator Obama did not salute the at any time during the anthem and that everybody else on the platform did. A Time magazine picture shows him standing with his hands crossed above his penis while everyone else has their hand over their hearts. (Is that the new liberal salute?) A spokesperson for the Senator told Fox News that it was ridiculous to suggest that Obama was making any kind of a statement and that sometimes "he does and sometimes he doesn't place his hand over his heart during the national anthem."
....how in the hell can a man like this expect to be our next Commander-in-Chief?
My Take?
I'm sorry I don't think I could drink enough alcohol, smoke enough marijuana and snort enough cocaine between now and election day "to push questions of who Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. really is far enough out of my mind," to ever even think about voting for him.
I know I promised to explain why I am not for each of the remaining Democrats in Alphabetical order but Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. said something the other night that really made me laugh at him.
Any Democrats out there should be used to being promised one thing and being given something different. Besides, If you're a real Democrat, then you'll forget about being lied to by tomorrow.
Some presidential contenders "have been in Washington too long," said Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. who has been only in the Senate for three years. He said his time as a local community worker in Chicago, law professor and Illinois legislator gave him vital experiences. But in the same speech he claims that experience doesn't make you good a doing you job and frankly touted his inexperience as making him a better candidate. (I don't know about you but I would rather have the Surgeon cutting on me that has done the operation a thousand times then the one that doesn't know the difference between a 10 blade and a bedpan.)
As further proof of his inexperience I have had severe trouble finding much information on his political stances or anything he has really accomplished. By all accounts Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. grew up in a broken home and used alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine during his teenage years. He has been quoted several times as saying he enjoyed using drugs. He said he used alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine during his teenage years, to "push questions of who I was out of my mind." (I would suggest that Democrats who know who he really is and still intend to vote for him have used too much alcohol, marijuana and cocaine have been able to push questions of who is out of their minds.)
His family moved to Indonesian capital city of Jakarta in 1967, where Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. attended local schools from ages 6 to 10. His 4 years aboard as a small child is the bulk of his foreign policy experience. He then returned to Honolulu to live with his maternal grandparents to attend a private, co-educational, non-sectarian college preparatory school located in Honolulu from 5th grade until his graduation in 1979. (Hawaii is Obama's home state not Illionis, which by the way is Hillary Clinton's home state. Confused yet?)
After graduating from Punahou, Obama studied at Occidental College for two years, then transferred to Columbia University, where he majored in political science with a specialization in international relations. He received his B.A. degree in 1983, then worked for one short year at Business International Corporation. (Which is the only business experience he has).
In 1985, he moved to Chicago to take a job as a community organizer. (Ok I admit I only spent 4 fruitless hours on the internet trying to figure out what he organized before going to his website. By the way his webpage is one of those irritating pages that will not let you back out of it without exiting. The back button will not let you off his page.) According to his website, he worked with a church group "seeking to improve living conditions in poor neighborhoods plagued with crime and high unemployment." His website down plays his lack of success before he gave up and went back to law school. (Failure makes you a better Democrat.)
He finished law school in 1991. And Returned to Chicago as a community organizer once again, Obama organized an aggressive voter registration effort that aided in the election of President Bill Clinton and Senator Carol Moseley Braun. 1992 The campaign registered over 100,000 voters. In an "unrelated" story Chicago has always been an Icon of voter fraud. According to a 1995 Chicago Sun Times story, Chicago's list of legal voters is swollen with thousands of people who have died, moved or registered more than once. A Chicago Sun-Times analysis of voter rolls in Chicago's 50 wards found 47,000 duplicate voters, which city election officials concede is probably the most ever for a city election.
His talents for "voter registration" earned him a position at a local civil rights law firm, and he became a lecturer of constitutional law at the University of Chicago. (Kick back?)
Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1996 from the state's 13th District in the south-side Chicago neighborhood of Hyde Park. In 2000, he made an unsuccessful Democratic primary run for the U.S. House of Representatives. He was reelected to the Illinois Senate in 1998 and 2002, officially resigning in November 2004 following his election to the U.S. Senate. However, he accomplished very little as a state legislator. Obama seemed to have survived on style rather than substance.
As a State Senator Barack Obama can best be described as just another state legislator bringing home the bacon. The Sun-Times' Mark Brown noted this six years ago in a column on the largess of lawmakers and then-Gov. George Ryan's pork-barrel Illinois First program where Springfield handed out money hand over fist to legislators to give to constituents' pet projects. As Hyde Park's state senator, Obama, got $100,000 for an exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry. The topic: The Concept of Time. (A another example of a Democrat wasting taxpayer's money.)
It can be easily argued that Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. only won his U.S. Senate because his competitors had major scandals during the Election. Blair Hull's popularity declined following allegations of domestic abuse during the primary and Obama won the Democrat nomination. His opponent in the general election was expected to be Republican primary winner Jack Ryan. However, Ryan withdrew from the race in June 2004, following public disclosure of child custody divorce records containing sexual allegations by Ryan's ex-wife, actress Jeri Ryan. In August 2004, with less than three months to go before election day, Alan Keyes accepted the Illinois Republican Party's nomination to replace Ryan.
Barack Hussein Obama, Jr.'s short stint as a U.S. Senator has mostly been unremarkable. He votes mostly along party lines and has rarely shown any true convictions. He truly has not been in the senate long enough to gain any experience or a voting record. So, I have had a almost as difficult of a time as he has with correlating what he says if stands for and what he actually votes for. After comparing notes with over a dozen of his "grass roots" support groups' and his official webpage I have decided that even his supports do not know this man from Adam.
As near as I can figure these are his actual stances on the issues:
Foreign Policy:
Barack Hussein Obama, Jr.'s first major speech on foreign policy was delivered on April 23, 2007. It truly defied common sense and showed that not only was the four years he spent in Indonesia as a pre-teen the extent of his foreign policy but that his knowledge of the world has not matured since he was 10 years old and moved back to the states. He called for "Marshalling a global effort" and agreeing to hold talks without restriction to rouge nations. (The U.N. has never succeeded in this style of diplomacy but the Democrats insist on turning the U.S. into the U.N.) In an address on national security to the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars on August 1, 2007, Obama stated that as President he would consider military action in Pakistan in order to attack al-Qaeda, even if the Pakistani government did not give approval. (I am figuring he wants to be president of Bizarro-land where we sit down to talk with out enemies and bomb our allies.) Tariq Ali, an acclaimed British-Pakistani historian, criticized Obama for his comments regarding attacking terrorists inside Pakistan and stated "Were the United States to start bombing raids inside Pakistan, there would be a massive increase of support for the jihadi fundamentalist groups in that country, and it would weaken not just secular political groups, it would weaken even the moderate religious parties who are not associated with that." (But Obama, Jr. knows better because he lived aboard for 4 years.)His take on the Arab-Israeli conflict is so convoluted that I can't make heads or tells of it.During a fall 2002 anti-war rally at Chicago's Federal Plaza, while still an Illinois State Senator, and in a speech alongside Jesse Jackson, Obama rumbled on almost as incoherently as this sentence is long. As near as I can figure from his anti-war / anti-Bush speech he wants the troops out even if the job is not done and he wants to sit down with Syria and Iran to figure out what is best for Iraq. (Why is it that Democrats seem to think that the fox is the best guard for the hen house?)
Immigration:
Obama supports a guest worker program. Obama has said that he "will not support any bill that does not provide [an] earned path to citizenship for the undocumented population." Obama doesn't believe that twelve million illegal immigrants can be sent back. He said "It's not going to happen. We're not going to go round them up ... We should give them a pathway to citizenship." (SO, if Obama was a Street cop and he pulled over a stolen car he would let the driver legally keep the car because it would be too difficult to enforce the law?)
Abortion and contraception:
While serving in the Illinois Senate, Obama had a 100 percent rating from the Illinois Planned Parenthood Council due to his consistent voting in favor of abortion rights, family planning services, and having female contraceptives covered by health insurance. Since his election to the United States Senate Obama has maintained a 100 percent rating from Planned Parenthood (as of 2007) and NARAL (as of 2005). While serving in the Illinois State Senate, Obama opposed legislation that required "medical care for aborted fetuses" because the legislation's wording defined the fetus as a child -- a measure he said would "essentially bar abortions."
Embryonic Stem Cell Research:
Obama supports embryonic stem cell research and was a co-sponsor of the 2005 Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. Obama condemned Bush's veto, saying "Democrats want this bill to pass." He also voted in favor of the 2007 bill for embryonic stem cell research that was passed but was also vetoed by President Bush. (Just because Embryonic Stem cell research give Demorats something to do with there aborted babies doesn't make it a good Idea. To date, no approved medical treatments have been derived from embryonic stem cell research despite the billions of tax dollars wasted on recycling aborted babies. However, Adult stem cells and cord blood stems cells have thus far been the only stem cells used to successfully treat any diseases.)
Gay Rights:
Obama voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment which would have defined marriage as between one man and one woman. He supports civil unions that would carry equal legal standing to that of marriage for same-sex couples. Obama stated on 15 March 2007, that "I do not agree...that homosexuality is immoral." During the 23 July 2007 CNN/Youtube debate, Obama stated that "... we've got to make sure that everybody is equal under the law. And the civil unions that I proposed would be equivalent in terms of making sure that all the rights that are conferred by the state are equal for same-sex couples as well as for heterosexual couples." (The world would have been a better place if Obama's birth parents had been two gay men.)
Gun Control: As a state legislator in Illinois, Obama supported banning the sale or transfer of all forms of semi-automatic firearms, increasing state restrictions on the purchase and possession of firearms. He sponsored a bill in 2000 limiting handgun purchases. He also voted against a 2004 measure allowing a self-defense exception for people charged with violating local weapons bans by using a gun in their home. Obama was also a board member of the Joyce Foundation which funds and maintains several gun control organizations in the United States. He supported several gun control measures, including restricting the purchase of firearms at gun shows and the reauthorization of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban. While in the US Senate, Obama has voted against legislation protecting firearm manufacturers from liability. ("Hi, I'm from the Democrat Party and I am here for your guns.")
Death Penalty:
Obama believes the death penalty is used too frequently. Speaking as a state senator he spoke out against adding to the list of factors that render a defendant eligible for the death penalty.Religion: Who really knows? He is either a Muslims like his father and step-father, an Atheist like his mother, or a member of the Church of Christ like his wife.
Energy and the Environment:
He believes the party line that global warming actually exists and that it is man made and vows to fix it but has no real plan to. And has no real plan to do anything substantive about the energy crisis.
Things the media forget to tell ya:
Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. is not the clean cut guy the media wants you to think he is. In fact, he is no stranger to scandal.
The indictment of political inside man and fundraiser Rezko on federal charges should have created problems for Barack Hussein Obama, Jr's presidential campaign. But the mainstream media largely has ignored, Obama's shady real estate relationship with Antoin "Tony" Rezko. It is a gamy story of a presidential hopeful displaying a remarkable lack of judgment by getting involved with a radioactive political fixer who got himself indicted. In November, 2006, Barack Hussein Obama, Jr drew media scrutiny because he had purchased his house in 2005, on the same day that Antoin Rezko purchased an adjoining empty lot. Obama subsequently bought from Rezko an adjoining strip of land from the empty lot. Obama freely, acknowledges that the exchange in which he benefited largely may have created the "appearance of impropriety", and stated "I consider this a mistake on my part and I regret it." In June, 2007 the Chicago Sun-Times published a story about letters Obama had written to city and state officials in support of a low-income senior citizen development project headed by Rezko and partner Allison Davis. The project received more than $14 million in taxpayer funds, including $885,000 in development fees for Rezko and Davis. Before the Sun-Times discovered Obama's letters in support of Rezko, Sen. Obama had told the Tribune, "I've never done any favors for him." Also in June 2007, The Chicago Sun-Times discovered that Obama had collected at least $168,308 from Rezko over Obama's 12 years in politics, approximately triple the estimate that Obama had provided of Rezko's donations. Obama had told the Sun-Times that Rezko raised "between $50,000 and $60,000" during Obama's political career.
His wife Michelle is no stranger to scandal either.
While she was the Vice President of External Affairs for University of Chicago Hospitals, it agreed to pay $35,000 to resolve its liability for CMPs under the patient dumping statute. The OIG alleged that the hospital failed to accept an appropriate transfer of a 61-year-old male who presented to another emergency department with a complaint of flank pain. UCH had specialized capabilities not available at the transferring hospital and allegedly refused to accept transfer after learning that the patient did not have insurance. UCH then later agreed to accept transfer of the patient only if he provided proof of funds in a bank account. The patient was transferred to another hospital where he died. However, Barack Hussein Obama, Jr did nothing while a proposal for universal coverage was killed by the Democratic legislature in his home state of Illinois. I would assume it was to ensure his wife would continue to receive the $133,483 a year the Hospital was paying her. My review of University of Chicago Hospitals 990 Federal Tax Form for 2005 showed that this "not-for-profit" hospital reported making a profit of $103,642,743 in 2005. It spent $3,784,680 on marketing (advertising) attempting to increase market share and spent $5,280,545 on collection agency fees. And after only 9 months of fiscal year 2007, the hospital has already reported making $105,746,000 in profits. (Several websites and news story point out that uninsured patients can expect to have there bills padded by upwards to 300% to 540%.
I have already talked about Obama's drug use his pork barrel projects so I guess I will end with questioning his patriotism.
He explained his refusal to wear a US flag pin on his lapel by saying "I decided I won't wear that pin on my chest. Instead, I'm going to try to tell the American people what I believe will make this country great, and hopefully that will be a testament to my patriotism." Deeds speak louder than words, I can buy that. But what deeds has he done to show his patriotism? Well, on 9/16/07 at an event in Indianola, Iowa, Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. REFUSED TO NOT ONLY PUT HIS HAND ON HIS HEART DURING THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, BUT REFUSED TO SAY THE PLEDGE. An ABC News video also, shows that Senator Obama did not salute the at any time during the anthem and that everybody else on the platform did. A Time magazine picture shows him standing with his hands crossed above his penis while everyone else has their hand over their hearts. (Is that the new liberal salute?) A spokesperson for the Senator told Fox News that it was ridiculous to suggest that Obama was making any kind of a statement and that sometimes "he does and sometimes he doesn't place his hand over his heart during the national anthem."
....how in the hell can a man like this expect to be our next Commander-in-Chief?
My Take?
I'm sorry I don't think I could drink enough alcohol, smoke enough marijuana and snort enough cocaine between now and election day "to push questions of who Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. really is far enough out of my mind," to ever even think about voting for him.
Why I will not vote for Joe Biden
If you are a Democrat, you are probably asking yourself: "In a race between Snow White and the 7 Dwarves who should vote for?" Well, the answer is clear: Vote Republican.
OK, I have already explained why I am not voting for Hillary Clinton and all the less known Nut Jobs. Now, I will explain why I am not voting for the rest of the Democrats running for president. Stating with ... drum roll please ... Joe Biden. (OK, so I am doing them in Alphabetical order. Sue me. I was raised by Republicans. I know my ABC's)
In 1966, while in law school, Biden married Neilia Hunter. They had three children, Joseph R. III (Beau), Robert Hunter, and Naomi. His wife and infant daughter died in a car accident shortly after he was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1972. His two young sons, Beau and Hunter, were seriously injured in the accident, but both eventually made full recoveries. Biden was sworn into office from their bedside. He allowed himself to be persuaded not to resign in order to care for them, therefore putting his political ambitions above his family.
Biden took office on January 3, 1973, at age 30, becoming the fifth-youngest U.S. Senator in United States history. He has since won additional terms easily, defeating James H. Baxter, Jr. in 1978, John M. Burris in 1984, M. Jane Brady in 1990, and Raymond J. Clatworthy in 1996 and 2002, usually with about 60 percent of the vote. He is now the longest-serving U.S. Senator in Delaware history. He is an advocate for Amtrak, the quasi-governmental corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States . Critics assert that Amtrak has proven incapable of operating as a business and does not provide valuable transportation services meriting public support. It is basically a "mobile money-burning machine." (Which would explain why a tax and spend Democrat like Joe Biden supports it.)
In February 1988, Biden was hospitalized for two brain aneurysms which kept him from the Senate for seven months.
He authored the landmark Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA), which contains a broad array of measures to combat domestic violence and provides billions of dollars in federal funds to address gender-based crimes. Although part of this legislation later was struck down as unconstitutional, it was reauthorized in 2000 and 2005. (Democrats are not known for following the constitution to appease the masses.)
Throughout his career Biden has vehemently opposed tort reform, while continuously supporting stricter bankruptcy laws. (Basically, he is in favor of allowing unlimited frivolous lawsuits and against allowing Joe Common from filing for bankruptcy. Lawyers, you got to love them.)
Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Biden was supportive of the Bush administration's efforts, calling for additional ground troops in Afghanistan and agreeing with the administration's assertion that Saddam Hussein needed to be eliminated. The Bush administration rejected an effort Biden undertook with Senator Richard Lugar to pass a resolution authorizing military action only after the exhaustion of diplomatic efforts. (Basically act like the French and use words not troops to enforce foreign policy.)
In November 2006, Biden co-wrote the ludicrous Biden-Gelb Plan for Iraq . This "plan" calls for breaking Iraq into 3 nations and giving Iraq 's major groups a measure of autonomy in their own regions. (Kurds, Shiites, and Sunnis). (How well did East and West work out for Germany ? How well did North and South work out for Korea and Vietnam ? Do Democrats not study history at all?????)
His plan also call for the de-distributing the wealth in Iraq . Guaranteeing Sunnis — who have no oil rights — a proportionate share of oil revenue and reintegrating even those who have fought against Coalition forces. (International Robinhood Syndrome … the new IRS.)
His plan also calls for a French Style diplomatic offensive to enlist the support of the major powers and neighboring countries like Iran for a political settlement in Iraq and create an Oversight Contact Group to enforce regional commitments. (Having the fox guard the hen house wow I wonder why farmers never thought of that. Guess because it won't work. If you do think having your neighboring country help govern you is a good Idea just ask Tibet how China 's help is working out for them.)
In 1987, Joe Biden ran as a Democratic presidential candidate. When the campaign began, he was considered a frontrunner because of his moderate image. However, the campaign ended when he was accused of plagiarizing a speech by Neil Kinnock, then-leader of the British Labour Party. (A Democrat that is not capable of original thought ... do tell.)
While speaking to a group of Indian-Americans in Delaware , Biden stated in regards to his relationship with the Indian-American community: "I've had a great relationship. In Delaware , the largest growth in population is Indian Americans — moving from India . You cannot go to a 7-11 or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I'm not joking." (Don't get me wrong. It great to see a democrat that is not Politically Correct unfortunately, he quickly cave to political pressure and spun his racist comment to his advantage.) When asked to explain his racist comments, Biden spokesperson Margaret Aitken stated "The Senator admires, supports and respects the Indian-American community... The point Senator Biden was making is that there has been a vibrant Indian-American community in Delaware for decades. It has primarily been made up of engineers, scientists and physicians, but more recently, middle-class families are moving into Delaware and purchasing family-run small businesses. (The Indian-American activists who were on the receiving end of Biden's comment then smiled and said "Thank you, Come Again.")
On January 31, 2007, Biden took his first steps into the presidential campaign. He started off with more of a launch pad disaster than a bang by making racial comments about his competitor Senator Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. Once again he quickly cave to political pressure and apologized. Jesse Jackson telephoned Biden and reported afterward "Senator Biden...assured me that he regrets that his remarks were misinterpreted. He was serious and contrite. To me, this was a gaffe, not a statement about his philosophy or ideology." (Had a Republican made the same comments he would have been forced to resign his post.)
So, where does this professional lawyer / closet racist stand on the issues?
Social Issues:
Abortion: He claims to be neutral on abortion but he has joined with Democrats in voting against parental notification and a ban on abortions on military bases. (You can't pray in uniform but you can get a free abortion.) Biden's record on abortion is generally in favorable towards the practice receiving a 100% rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America in four of the last five years. He also has recently appoligized for voting in favor of a 1999 bill to ban in most circumstances "partial birth abortion" and on the 2003 Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act.
Stem Cell Research: Biden supports federal funding for stem cell research and voted to expand development and voted against a 1998 ban on cloning.
The Gay Agenda: Biden voted and against the Federal Marriage Amendment which would have defined marriage in the United States as a union of one man and one woman. The FMA also would prevent judicial extension of marriage rights to same-sex or other unmarried couples, as well as preventing people from having multiple spouses.. He supports gay unions and favors adding sexual orientation to the criteria for a hate crime. (Rumor has it him and Senator Craig are "bathroom buddies".)
War on Drugs: Biden favors diverting drug offenders out of the nation's prison system. He is against making stricter laws for drug offenses.
Protecting Children: He voted against restrictions on children obtaining violent videos.
Domestic issues:
Crime: Joe Biden has been given a 71% approval rating from Coalition on Urban Renewal and Education (CURE) indicating a pro-rehab record on crime. He voted against limiting death penalty appeals indicating his opposition to the death penalty.
Education: Biden received a 91% voting record from the National Education Association (NEA) showing a pro-teacher union voting record. He supports is against student vouchers and voluntary prayer in schools. He voted in favor of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, but has subsequently called that vote "a mistake."
Energy: Biden opposes drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (where there is free and easy oil) and supports governmental funding to find new energy sources (which will cost tax payers billions if not trillions of dollars a year and not provide any energy in the foreseeable future. He has totally bought in to the whole global warming myth and probably really believes that Al Gore invented the internet.)
Gun Control: Biden was given an F by the National Rifle Association (NRA) showing a pro-gun control voting record. He supports reinstating a Federal ban on semi-automatic firearms and voted no against prohibition of lawsuits against gun manufacturers. (He also is in favor of allowing Rosie O'Donnell to sue Hershey and Mc Donald's for her butt being so big.)
Immigration: He supports guest-worker visas. He voted to provide Social Security to illegal immigrants and supports a path to citizenship. (Another example of Democrats maintaining there voting base by maintaining a lower class.)
Homeland Security: He voted to preserve habeas corpus rights to the alleged terrorists serving in Guantanamo Bay .
Economic Issues: Biden is against the Bush administration's tax cuts. (A Democrat that wants more of my tax money? … that's par for the course.) Biden was given a 32% approval rating from the United States Chamber of Commerce. (A Democrat that is bad for the economy? … again par for the course.) He voted yes on restrictions on personal bankruptcy. Biden was given a 100% approval rating from AFL-CIO indicating a heavily pro-union voting record. Biden was given a 42% approval rating from the Cato Institute, revealing a mixed record on free trade. He supports funding for health care to allow all people access regardless of citizenship. Biden is opposed to the privatization of social security (which would have bailed it out of the toilet) Voted in support of welfare block grants. (Another Democrat who thinks he know best how to hand out my tax money.)
Foreign Policy
Iraq: Biden voted in favor of the invasions of Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003. He has since said that he believes it was a mistake to support the Iraq war. (He flip-flopped on his stance to gain support, despite the fact that we are winning the war. I briefly touched on his absurd plan for Iraq above.)
Africa: Biden favors an American deployment of troops to Sudan in order to end the genocide in Darfur . He believes that the mission can be accomplished with 2,500 troops. (However, he was one of the ones saying we went into Iraq with too few troops. And has yet to say how he would propose winning Darfur 's Civil War.)
North Korea: Biden favors open dialogue with North Korea and describes them as a "paper tiger" unable to directly cause harm to America . (This show a loose grabs on reality because the North Korean situation one of the four most important things that the next president is going to have to deal with along with China , Iran and Iraq .)
Iran: Biden favors French style direct diplomacy with Iran but supports United Nations style sanctions on the regime if it does not comply with American demands. (Idle threats … wonder if Iran thinks we will be a "paper tiger" under a Democrats rule?) In 2007 Biden voted against a measure to declare the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization despite irrefutable evidence that they were supplying bombs, weapons, troops and training to Iraq based terror groups.
OK, my take?
Unless you want to be speaking Spanish to the government assigned gay doctor you're getting your free abortion for your unborn baby because of it's massive birth defects from chemicals in the Chinese products that were allowed in un-inspected, the nuclear blasts from North Korea's attacks on the United States and the chemical attacks from Islamic terrorist; DON'T VOTE FOR BIDEN
OK, I have already explained why I am not voting for Hillary Clinton and all the less known Nut Jobs. Now, I will explain why I am not voting for the rest of the Democrats running for president. Stating with ... drum roll please ... Joe Biden. (OK, so I am doing them in Alphabetical order. Sue me. I was raised by Republicans. I know my ABC's)
In 1966, while in law school, Biden married Neilia Hunter. They had three children, Joseph R. III (Beau), Robert Hunter, and Naomi. His wife and infant daughter died in a car accident shortly after he was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1972. His two young sons, Beau and Hunter, were seriously injured in the accident, but both eventually made full recoveries. Biden was sworn into office from their bedside. He allowed himself to be persuaded not to resign in order to care for them, therefore putting his political ambitions above his family.
Biden took office on January 3, 1973, at age 30, becoming the fifth-youngest U.S. Senator in United States history. He has since won additional terms easily, defeating James H. Baxter, Jr. in 1978, John M. Burris in 1984, M. Jane Brady in 1990, and Raymond J. Clatworthy in 1996 and 2002, usually with about 60 percent of the vote. He is now the longest-serving U.S. Senator in Delaware history. He is an advocate for Amtrak, the quasi-governmental corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States . Critics assert that Amtrak has proven incapable of operating as a business and does not provide valuable transportation services meriting public support. It is basically a "mobile money-burning machine." (Which would explain why a tax and spend Democrat like Joe Biden supports it.)
In February 1988, Biden was hospitalized for two brain aneurysms which kept him from the Senate for seven months.
He authored the landmark Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA), which contains a broad array of measures to combat domestic violence and provides billions of dollars in federal funds to address gender-based crimes. Although part of this legislation later was struck down as unconstitutional, it was reauthorized in 2000 and 2005. (Democrats are not known for following the constitution to appease the masses.)
Throughout his career Biden has vehemently opposed tort reform, while continuously supporting stricter bankruptcy laws. (Basically, he is in favor of allowing unlimited frivolous lawsuits and against allowing Joe Common from filing for bankruptcy. Lawyers, you got to love them.)
Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Biden was supportive of the Bush administration's efforts, calling for additional ground troops in Afghanistan and agreeing with the administration's assertion that Saddam Hussein needed to be eliminated. The Bush administration rejected an effort Biden undertook with Senator Richard Lugar to pass a resolution authorizing military action only after the exhaustion of diplomatic efforts. (Basically act like the French and use words not troops to enforce foreign policy.)
In November 2006, Biden co-wrote the ludicrous Biden-Gelb Plan for Iraq . This "plan" calls for breaking Iraq into 3 nations and giving Iraq 's major groups a measure of autonomy in their own regions. (Kurds, Shiites, and Sunnis). (How well did East and West work out for Germany ? How well did North and South work out for Korea and Vietnam ? Do Democrats not study history at all?????)
His plan also call for the de-distributing the wealth in Iraq . Guaranteeing Sunnis — who have no oil rights — a proportionate share of oil revenue and reintegrating even those who have fought against Coalition forces. (International Robinhood Syndrome … the new IRS.)
His plan also calls for a French Style diplomatic offensive to enlist the support of the major powers and neighboring countries like Iran for a political settlement in Iraq and create an Oversight Contact Group to enforce regional commitments. (Having the fox guard the hen house wow I wonder why farmers never thought of that. Guess because it won't work. If you do think having your neighboring country help govern you is a good Idea just ask Tibet how China 's help is working out for them.)
In 1987, Joe Biden ran as a Democratic presidential candidate. When the campaign began, he was considered a frontrunner because of his moderate image. However, the campaign ended when he was accused of plagiarizing a speech by Neil Kinnock, then-leader of the British Labour Party. (A Democrat that is not capable of original thought ... do tell.)
While speaking to a group of Indian-Americans in Delaware , Biden stated in regards to his relationship with the Indian-American community: "I've had a great relationship. In Delaware , the largest growth in population is Indian Americans — moving from India . You cannot go to a 7-11 or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I'm not joking." (Don't get me wrong. It great to see a democrat that is not Politically Correct unfortunately, he quickly cave to political pressure and spun his racist comment to his advantage.) When asked to explain his racist comments, Biden spokesperson Margaret Aitken stated "The Senator admires, supports and respects the Indian-American community... The point Senator Biden was making is that there has been a vibrant Indian-American community in Delaware for decades. It has primarily been made up of engineers, scientists and physicians, but more recently, middle-class families are moving into Delaware and purchasing family-run small businesses. (The Indian-American activists who were on the receiving end of Biden's comment then smiled and said "Thank you, Come Again.")
On January 31, 2007, Biden took his first steps into the presidential campaign. He started off with more of a launch pad disaster than a bang by making racial comments about his competitor Senator Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. Once again he quickly cave to political pressure and apologized. Jesse Jackson telephoned Biden and reported afterward "Senator Biden...assured me that he regrets that his remarks were misinterpreted. He was serious and contrite. To me, this was a gaffe, not a statement about his philosophy or ideology." (Had a Republican made the same comments he would have been forced to resign his post.)
So, where does this professional lawyer / closet racist stand on the issues?
Social Issues:
Abortion: He claims to be neutral on abortion but he has joined with Democrats in voting against parental notification and a ban on abortions on military bases. (You can't pray in uniform but you can get a free abortion.) Biden's record on abortion is generally in favorable towards the practice receiving a 100% rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America in four of the last five years. He also has recently appoligized for voting in favor of a 1999 bill to ban in most circumstances "partial birth abortion" and on the 2003 Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act.
Stem Cell Research: Biden supports federal funding for stem cell research and voted to expand development and voted against a 1998 ban on cloning.
The Gay Agenda: Biden voted and against the Federal Marriage Amendment which would have defined marriage in the United States as a union of one man and one woman. The FMA also would prevent judicial extension of marriage rights to same-sex or other unmarried couples, as well as preventing people from having multiple spouses.. He supports gay unions and favors adding sexual orientation to the criteria for a hate crime. (Rumor has it him and Senator Craig are "bathroom buddies".)
War on Drugs: Biden favors diverting drug offenders out of the nation's prison system. He is against making stricter laws for drug offenses.
Protecting Children: He voted against restrictions on children obtaining violent videos.
Domestic issues:
Crime: Joe Biden has been given a 71% approval rating from Coalition on Urban Renewal and Education (CURE) indicating a pro-rehab record on crime. He voted against limiting death penalty appeals indicating his opposition to the death penalty.
Education: Biden received a 91% voting record from the National Education Association (NEA) showing a pro-teacher union voting record. He supports is against student vouchers and voluntary prayer in schools. He voted in favor of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, but has subsequently called that vote "a mistake."
Energy: Biden opposes drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (where there is free and easy oil) and supports governmental funding to find new energy sources (which will cost tax payers billions if not trillions of dollars a year and not provide any energy in the foreseeable future. He has totally bought in to the whole global warming myth and probably really believes that Al Gore invented the internet.)
Gun Control: Biden was given an F by the National Rifle Association (NRA) showing a pro-gun control voting record. He supports reinstating a Federal ban on semi-automatic firearms and voted no against prohibition of lawsuits against gun manufacturers. (He also is in favor of allowing Rosie O'Donnell to sue Hershey and Mc Donald's for her butt being so big.)
Immigration: He supports guest-worker visas. He voted to provide Social Security to illegal immigrants and supports a path to citizenship. (Another example of Democrats maintaining there voting base by maintaining a lower class.)
Homeland Security: He voted to preserve habeas corpus rights to the alleged terrorists serving in Guantanamo Bay .
Economic Issues: Biden is against the Bush administration's tax cuts. (A Democrat that wants more of my tax money? … that's par for the course.) Biden was given a 32% approval rating from the United States Chamber of Commerce. (A Democrat that is bad for the economy? … again par for the course.) He voted yes on restrictions on personal bankruptcy. Biden was given a 100% approval rating from AFL-CIO indicating a heavily pro-union voting record. Biden was given a 42% approval rating from the Cato Institute, revealing a mixed record on free trade. He supports funding for health care to allow all people access regardless of citizenship. Biden is opposed to the privatization of social security (which would have bailed it out of the toilet) Voted in support of welfare block grants. (Another Democrat who thinks he know best how to hand out my tax money.)
Foreign Policy
Iraq: Biden voted in favor of the invasions of Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003. He has since said that he believes it was a mistake to support the Iraq war. (He flip-flopped on his stance to gain support, despite the fact that we are winning the war. I briefly touched on his absurd plan for Iraq above.)
Africa: Biden favors an American deployment of troops to Sudan in order to end the genocide in Darfur . He believes that the mission can be accomplished with 2,500 troops. (However, he was one of the ones saying we went into Iraq with too few troops. And has yet to say how he would propose winning Darfur 's Civil War.)
North Korea: Biden favors open dialogue with North Korea and describes them as a "paper tiger" unable to directly cause harm to America . (This show a loose grabs on reality because the North Korean situation one of the four most important things that the next president is going to have to deal with along with China , Iran and Iraq .)
Iran: Biden favors French style direct diplomacy with Iran but supports United Nations style sanctions on the regime if it does not comply with American demands. (Idle threats … wonder if Iran thinks we will be a "paper tiger" under a Democrats rule?) In 2007 Biden voted against a measure to declare the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization despite irrefutable evidence that they were supplying bombs, weapons, troops and training to Iraq based terror groups.
OK, my take?
Unless you want to be speaking Spanish to the government assigned gay doctor you're getting your free abortion for your unborn baby because of it's massive birth defects from chemicals in the Chinese products that were allowed in un-inspected, the nuclear blasts from North Korea's attacks on the United States and the chemical attacks from Islamic terrorist; DON'T VOTE FOR BIDEN
Other (Less Known) Democrats I won't vote for
I have already declared that I will never vote for Hillary Clinton. But here is a short list of other Democrat Presidential Hopefuls that I will not vote for but if I had to choose between Hillary or them I would. And Yes these people are actually running as Democrats for President in 2008.
Albert "Big Al" Hamburg (Wyoming)
Perennial candidate Al Hamburg, 76, has to date lost 17 consecutive bids for President and for Governor, US Senate and Congress. He proudly described himself in 2004 as the "Very Independent UNPOPULAR Candidate" -- unpopular, he explains, because the special interests and bureaucrats hate him (well, that ... and maybe also because of the Nazi helmet he wore in his 2004 campaign photo). "I make more people mad than I make want to vote for me," he added. A house painter by trade, Hamburg spent nearly twenty years in the Army -- serving in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. He has run for state office repeatedly -- at various times -- as a Democrat, an Independent, and as a member of the now-defunct New Alliance Party. Hamburg also made news in the 1980s when he sued a woman for breach of contract involving a car he sold to her. In the lawsuit, he said the woman agreed to have sex with him fifty times in exchange for the car -- but that she stopped performing her end of the deal after 33 times. Claiming to be a homeless veteran, Hamburg suddenly popped-up in Nebraska in 2000 -- declaring the state as his new residency -- and filed as a candidate there for US Senator in the Democratic primary. Hamburg then quickly moved back to Wyoming and has run for office again there several times since then. (Nut job with whacked out political beliefs and sex scandal / lawsuit under his belt … sounds like a Democrat to me. I will be voting elsewhere)
Roland Aranjo (California)
Self-published author Roland Aranjo is concerned with the state of democracy in the US. He even wrote a book on the topic -- Democracy, Declaring Our Power: How the Law of Attraction Applies to Society and Democracy -- which Aranjo says "traces the 2,500 year history of democracy from the city state of Athens Greece to the shores of America and throughout the world." Here is how it translates into a campaign platform: "American democracy has been corrupted by powerful special interests. Through applying the law of attraction, citizens have the power to revive democracy ... In our democracy revival campaign we will create an online Citizen's E-Legislature, where all citizens will be able to vote on the important issues impacting our nation." (Can you say "West Palm Beach"? The average Democrat has trouble with ATM machines and this nut-job wants to govern via the internet? … Sorry can't vote for him my wireless modem just crashed.)
Willie F. Carter (Texas)
Willie Carter -- who previously ran for President five times -- is an Air Force veteran, former aircraft mechanic, union member, businessman, and Pentecostal church deacon. He's also a father of nine children. His political experience seems limited to his one-time membership in the Gardena Valley Democratic Club of Southern California. In 2000, Carter captured 30 votes (17th place) in the New Hampshire Democratic primary. In 2004, Carter again appeared on the New Hampshire primary ballot (11th place - 86 votes). Carter's message is a blended theocratic/political one. "We must not forget the sacrifices made by our founders, and their belief in God our Creator, contained in many of their writings. I too share their belief, and that God governs in the affairs of men. Preserving freedom demand's diligence, patriotism, and according to our Founding fathers, a firm reliance upon Divine Protection. If I am elected President, I will take the God-fearing approach, addressing the needs of all the people of our nation, the homeless, jobless, the elderly, the business community, moving forward to reduce our national debt, and dependency on foreign resources, fair international trade, maintaining a strong military, strong foreign diplomacy, and stopping the cycle of violence across our nation," explains Carter. His typical campaign style is to drive around the nation by van, meeting with voters in churches and other places. (He talks a good game but has no plan to accomplish any of the things he talks about. I can't see myself wasting my vote on him.)
Randolph W. "Randy" Crow (North Carolina)
Randy Crow -- a small businessman and former realtor -- was an unsuccessful candidate for the Wilmington City Council in 1997. Then he ran for Congress in the 1998 primary (losing by a vote of 94% to 6%) ... then he ran for President in the 2000 primaries (he got on the ballot in New Hampshire and Louisiana) ... then he ran another losing primary for Congress later in 2000 (losing by a 93% to 7% vote) .. then he lost for Council again ... then he finished last place (9th - 1%) in the 2002 US Senate primary ... and then he ran for President again in 2004. Crow was on the 2004 primary ballot in New Hampshire (15th place - 60 votes) and Texas (10th place - 0.8% - 6,319 votes). He withdrew from the Presidential race in March 2004 -- ran another race for County Commissioner -- then announced he will run for President again in 2008. Crow explained his motives: "I am involved in politics to get rid of filthy communists and lots of others." He also believes the FBI blew up TWA Flight 800 with a laser and was likely involved in crashing Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan's 2000 campaign plane. On his website, Crow repeatedly expresses open hatred towards Jews (Example: "Vietnam was a zioni$t manipulated War designed to kill our Christian kids and install na$i communi$t zioni$m in the Vietnam region"). Most of the contents of Crow's site, however, appear to be rambling conspiracy tirades against various envisioned enemies: "It has been 13 years since the FBI fessed up to the fact they were investigating me. All my files are classified ... In 1994 the Federal Force manipulated a bunch of mess which questioned my sanity ... I think the Force had some weird blood work done on me or possibly put a computer chip in me." Crow has a "hunch ... [I] may be The Returning Christ ... I do believe firmly that in a way whether or not I am The Returning Christ is a non event and do not worry about it at all, except I do pray that if I am The Returning Christ I would like to be the coolest, greatest, most fantastic Returning Christ in the history of the Universes." By 2005, he pretty much answered his own question by releasing an Easter Message from the Returning Christ. (Yep, you can read that and lots, LOTS more whack-out nuti-job Democrat tirades on his official website. But, no I am not going to vote for him.)
Warren R. Ashe (Virginia)
Warren Ashe, who previously was a candidate for President in 2000 and 2004 (but failed to compete in any primaries), filed FEC paperwork to make a third run in 2008. From the information he filed with Project Vote Smart in 2004, Mr. Ashe is one of the more eccentric candidates in the race. Ashe claimed he holds a doctorate degree from North Carolina State University. Then again, As he also claims to have been "President, United Nations, 1973-2003 ... Appointed President, United States White House, 1981-2003 ... Candidate, United States President, 2000 ... Vice President, West Wing - Carter Administration, 1977-1981 ... [and] Vice President, West Wing - Ford Administration, 1973-1977." He also claims to be a Navy veteran, an Army veteran AND an Air Force veteran. And he writes he owns a $40 million corporation, too. Here's a choice quote: "I am involved with time travel communications that are real. And capable of time travel contact throughout history itself. I also build flying saucers that are capable of going to another solar system at high warp speed. The time travel transmissions have communicated at least and no less than 500 years into the future. I have used my saucers built by hand at Edgecombe Community College in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. That has already since 1983 taken sperm and DNA into the future. Into the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th centuries. The methods I used are through flux capacitation and wormhole technology." ("flux capacitation and wormhole technology" this Democrat Nut-job has my vote …NOT!!!)
Christina Gerasimos Billings-Elias (California)
This candidate bills herself as "Princess Christina Gerasimos Billings-Elias" because she claims her great uncle is a "descendant of Queen Victoria." As to being a Princess, it appears to be a title she bestowed upon herself. To give you an idea of just how self-aggrandizing and bizarre this candidate is, here's an excerpt from her campaign site: "Christina born to be President of 'Our America.' ©,,. 'The Chosen One," ©,, as proclaimed by Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, friends of Theodore and Evelyn Gerasimos, first Greek in Detroit 1890. People's King of the Greeks emanating from Spartan Royalty Warriors." (I really don't get her weird official campaign picture where she appears to be wearing fangs and her face and eyes are whitened to make her look like some kind of vampire. Not voting for this Democrat Nut Job either.)
Michael K. Forrester (Colorado)
Except for the facts that Michael Forrester has filed FEC paperwork to run for President in 2008 and has launched a campaign website, I cannot tell you much about this candidate. His website is filled with lots of poorly photo-shopped photos of the himself but the bio section is without any real info. In fact, both the "history" and "future plans" sections say "coming soon, check back for updates". His platform is also rather sparse: repeal the "No Child Left Behind" law, raise the minimum wage, and guarantee health care for all Americans. (Not voting for him because he has no experience, no political background or record and no real plan.)
Wrendo J.P. Godwin (Virginia)
Except for the fact that Wrendo "JP" Godwin filed paperwork with the FEC to run for President, no other info is known about this 2008 Democratic hopeful. (His website is merely a placeholder. I don't know him from Adam. So, that is no way I could vote for him.)Alfonzo Jones (California)Except for the fact that Alfonzo Jones filed paperwork with the FEC to run for President -- just as he did in 1996, 2000 and 2004 -- no other info was known about this 2008 Democratic hopeful. (Well, I don't know the guy from Adam either so I am not voting for this one either.)
Laura Davis-Aaron (Tennesse)
Except for the fact that contractor Laura Davis-Aaron filed paperwork with the FEC to run for President, little else is known about this 2008 Democratic hopeful. She lost a 2005 special election primary for an open State Senate seat (9th place - 1%), then filed for an open Congressional seat in 2006 but quit well before the primary. (Yes she is the 3rd woman running for president as a Democrat and is completely unknown. So, I can't see myself voting for her either.)
Robert E. "Bob" Boyer (Illinois)
Except for the fact that Bob Boyer lost a 2002 primary run for Jackson County Sheriff, lost a 2004 primary run for Jackson County Clerk of the Circuit Court (3rd place - 4%) and filed paperwork with the FEC to run for President, no other info is known about this 2008 Democratic hopeful. He has no website yet. He is the 4th complete unknown that is running and there is no way I would vote for him or the other 3 unless my only other choice was Hillary Clinton.)
John Joseph Kennedy (Georgia)
John Joseph Kennedy was a registered write-in candidate for President in 2004 in Georgia, Indiana and Texas. On his campaign website, he describes himself as "an outstanding community leader, humanitarian, champion of children's rights, environmentalist, motivational speaker, entrepreneur and a man of extraordinary vision." Kennedy is a freelance writer, marketing executive and former model. He explains his motives for running on his campaign site: "I have now been called to serve God and my country as the TRUE DEMOCRAT CANDIDATE for the Presidency, to right the wrongs of America!" Kennedy sees the 9/11 attacks as an "inside job" directed by the Bush Administration as a pretext for launching the war on terrorism ("It's an inside job! At the highest level on down, I will see that those who are really responsible for the insidious acts of terrorism in our country, and around the world, be prosecuted to the fullest extent of all domestic and international laws."). In 2004, Kennedy went so far as to blame Bush policies for hurricanes and other natural disasters. "I will stop the Bush family's manipulation of the elements of nature (hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes) which have wrecked insurmountable havoc on our environment and disturbed the natural-flow of all life on this planet. They (especially Bush Sr.) have done this for personal, political and financial gain and greed," explained Kennedy. (His last name is Kennedy so it leads me to believe that it may be the alcohol taking every time this Democrat nut job opens his mouth.)
Karl E. Krueger (South Dakota)
Long haul truckdriver and Vietnam War veteran Karl Krueger is running for President on a platform of promoting energy independence for the US. "I intend to put this nation on a course to be energy independent within 10 years of my election. After all, John Kennedy took us to the moon and back in 10 years with technology that didn't exist when he began, it should not be too difficult for us to become energy independent in the same amount of time using technology that we already have," he explained. Krueger was previously a Democratic nominee for Congress in Wisconsin against a GOP incumbent in 1988. (Not voting for him because he has no experience, no political background and has no real plan for his sole issue.)
Dal A. "Tweezerman" LaMagna (Washington)
Wealthy businessman Dal LaMagna acquired his "Tweezerman" nickname because it was also the name of the tweezer-manufacturing company he founded and ran from 1980-2004. LaMagna sold his Tweezerman company to a European corporation for millions of dollars in 2004 -- but notes all of his "employees kept their jobs and shared $10 million dollars in capital gains because each one was a shareholder in the company" when he sold it. LaMagna was also a Democratic/Green fusion candidate for Congress in New York in 1996 and 2000, before moving to Washington State in 2005. Well educated, LaMagna earned both his MBA (1971) and his Master's degree in Public Administration (2002) from Harvard. On the issues, LaMagna is a progressive activist concentrating his campaign on the issue of developing "a sensible plan for withdrawal from Iraq." On a related note, LaMagna was an executive producer of three feature -length Iraq War documentaries: The Ground Truth, The War Tapes, and Iraq For Sale. (Not voting for him because he has no experience, no political back bone and no real plan.)
R. Frank Lynch (Florida)
With amusingly grandiose narcissism, Lynch touts himself as "The New Ideological Leader of the Democratic Party: Presidential Candidate, Futurist, Educator, Philanthropist, Author, and Publisher." In fact, let's let Lynch describe himself some more: Lynch is "a lifelong Republican who converted to become the new ideological leader of the Democratic Party and the most exciting and important Democratic Candidate for President, leading a grassroots revolution for energy independence, free healthcare, free daycare, free college, healing the planet, anti-globalization and abolishing the income tax!" And -- just in case you haven't yet gotten the idea that this guy loves himself -- Frank wants to tell you about his other really, realy important projects: Frank Lynch University,, ("Frank Lynch, Chancellor and President" ... currently in the "developmental stage"), the Frank Lynch Foundation,, ("for Abused Children and Abused Women & America's Forgotten Poor"), Franks Heroes,, ("Where people peacefully but firmly re-take control of the nation"), Franks kids,, ("Frank Lynch proposes to construct a nationwide system of Frank's Children's Villages"), and Hot4Frank.com ("Submit links to your own Videos, Songs and Pics about Frank Lynch"). Keep in mind that "Frank Lynch University ,,, FLUNI ,, and Frankskids,, are Trademarks of Frank Lynch University,, Inc. Franksheros,,. Franksheroes,, and Frank Lynch USA,, are Trademarks of Frank Lynch USA,, LLC." Perhaps, if he wins, he'll rename the United States into "Frank Lynch USA,,". Lynch has already qualified for some primary ballots, and vows that he will appear on "every" Presidential primary ballot in the nation. (Amusingly grandiose narcissist … Do I need to say more?)
Lee L. Mercer Jr. (Texas)
Lee Mercer Jr. is a two-time veteran with an "unusual" story to tell. He first served in Navy during the Vietnam War, leaving the service in 1972. After working as a dental assistant, he earned his BS degree in business at Texas Southern University and then became a mortgage broker. Then he rejoined the military, entering the Texas National Guard in 1989 and served in the first Gulf War (which he calls "the Saudi Arabia War"). Then his story became bizarre. He states: "On August 22, 1992, The State of Texas installed an intelligence hotwire in me at the United States Army Military Intelligence Academy ... The continuation of my biography background experience, graduate education and political experience is being held because of a Lack of authorities debriefing funds and interest for their liability to me. I am in a stalled police debriefing with the Houston Police Department waiting for me to sue to complete my debriefing for my background biography with them in the United States Army Military Intelligence Academy ... I have a doctor degree Phd. as a doctor of laws, medicine, theology, management, engineering and other subjects that are guaranteed by the United States Army in ROTC to be presented to me in a court of Law only. I will receive my doctor degrees in a court of law only ... The United States Federal Congress has encouraged me to want to become President of the United States so that I can do what the President of the United States of America is supposed to do and complete the federal and military government biography and autobiography." Mercer's reasons for running are just as colorful. They include: "To prove The Klu Klux Klan and the Communist Party are gangsters and organize crime in Business and Commerce through Eye Spy Community-Military Intelligence ... To prove that every person in the United States and world is hooked up on an Eye Spy Community-Military Intelligence (All Three) Electronic surveillance hot-wires approved by the United States Congress for the U.S. Government Electronic Surveillance of every citizen in America ... To Prove I will be the 2nd Negro President of the United States of America in 2008 ... To Prove President George Walker Bush, Jr. and other Public Officials have been Impeached by the United States Congress in 2004 for torture of me and my family, capital murder in my family, Espionage and other crimes against the state and humanity ... To Prove the government owes me Zillions of Dollars in money and is refraining to pay me and my business ... To Prove Jeb Bush is all in my house with disease ... To Prove My only Guardian Former Governor of Texas Ann Richards has just joined me MERCER FOR PRESIDENT CAMPAIGN ... [To Prove] I have solved every crime in America and the world for the last 15 years dating back to before Christ." (There's lots more reasons I am not voting for this Democrat. But these excerpts should give you an idea.)
Sal Mohamed (Iowa / Egypt)
Chemical engineer Sal Mohamed lost Democratic primary contests in Iowa for Congress in 2004 and Governor in 2006 -- but he does start the race with some minimal name identification in that early contest state. Mohamed's primary campaign tactic in his past Iowa runs could be described as low tech/low cost: walking around wearing "sandwich board" signs and waving signs at busy intersections. He launched his Presidential campaign just one month after losing the '06 gubernatorial primary. Mohamed's campaign theme is "Human Decency will Prevail," which is backed by his call for having millions of US consultants held promote economic development of poor nations, place US national interests ahead of personal interests, narrowing the gap in the US between rich and poor, developing an exit strategy for Iraq, and "taking politics out of our lives and putting science in." Unfortunately for Mohamed, he was born in Egypt and became a naturalized US citizen in 1983 -- meaning he is constitutionally barred from being President. (Although the constitution is one thing liberals rarely let stand in there way, I am not voting for this train wreck.)
Oloveuse O. "Ole" Savior (Minnesota)
Ole Savior, an eccentric artist and poet, has been a frequent candidate in Minnesota over the years for many federal, state and local offices. He usually finishes around the back the of the pack with 1% -- but he keeps running year after year. His top three concerns were a "nuclear-free world, [ending] world hunger, and better education for all mankind." His favorite movie is The Terminator, his favorite TV show is X-Files and his favorite book is the Bible's Book of Revelations. If elected, he promises to "create a new and more peaceful world for the next generation of children." He previously filed FEC paperwork for the 2004 race, but failed to qualify for any Presidential primary ballots. He filed paperwork in 2006 to make a second White House run. (Not voting for him because he is a nut job with pie in the sky ideas and no plan on how to achieve them.)
Jeffrey C. "Jeff" Thomas (Wisconsin)
Orthopedic surgeon Jeff Thomas served several terms in elective office many years ago before being relegated to "perennial candidate" status with a series of failed Congressional runs. He served 12 years on the Janesville School Board (including three years as President) and four years on the Janesville City Council. Thomas then proceeded to lose runs for Congress in 1993, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006. Now he's filed with the FEC to run for President in 2008. Thomas vows to improve health care by doing "everything possible to lead the government in it's quest for providing everyone with health insurance and to challenge the wealthy insurance companies to provide people with greater benefits at less cost." He also supports "decent jobs" -- but doesn't define what he means by it. (Not voting for him because he has no experience, no plan and no brains.)
Albert "Big Al" Hamburg (Wyoming)
Perennial candidate Al Hamburg, 76, has to date lost 17 consecutive bids for President and for Governor, US Senate and Congress. He proudly described himself in 2004 as the "Very Independent UNPOPULAR Candidate" -- unpopular, he explains, because the special interests and bureaucrats hate him (well, that ... and maybe also because of the Nazi helmet he wore in his 2004 campaign photo). "I make more people mad than I make want to vote for me," he added. A house painter by trade, Hamburg spent nearly twenty years in the Army -- serving in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. He has run for state office repeatedly -- at various times -- as a Democrat, an Independent, and as a member of the now-defunct New Alliance Party. Hamburg also made news in the 1980s when he sued a woman for breach of contract involving a car he sold to her. In the lawsuit, he said the woman agreed to have sex with him fifty times in exchange for the car -- but that she stopped performing her end of the deal after 33 times. Claiming to be a homeless veteran, Hamburg suddenly popped-up in Nebraska in 2000 -- declaring the state as his new residency -- and filed as a candidate there for US Senator in the Democratic primary. Hamburg then quickly moved back to Wyoming and has run for office again there several times since then. (Nut job with whacked out political beliefs and sex scandal / lawsuit under his belt … sounds like a Democrat to me. I will be voting elsewhere)
Roland Aranjo (California)
Self-published author Roland Aranjo is concerned with the state of democracy in the US. He even wrote a book on the topic -- Democracy, Declaring Our Power: How the Law of Attraction Applies to Society and Democracy -- which Aranjo says "traces the 2,500 year history of democracy from the city state of Athens Greece to the shores of America and throughout the world." Here is how it translates into a campaign platform: "American democracy has been corrupted by powerful special interests. Through applying the law of attraction, citizens have the power to revive democracy ... In our democracy revival campaign we will create an online Citizen's E-Legislature, where all citizens will be able to vote on the important issues impacting our nation." (Can you say "West Palm Beach"? The average Democrat has trouble with ATM machines and this nut-job wants to govern via the internet? … Sorry can't vote for him my wireless modem just crashed.)
Willie F. Carter (Texas)
Willie Carter -- who previously ran for President five times -- is an Air Force veteran, former aircraft mechanic, union member, businessman, and Pentecostal church deacon. He's also a father of nine children. His political experience seems limited to his one-time membership in the Gardena Valley Democratic Club of Southern California. In 2000, Carter captured 30 votes (17th place) in the New Hampshire Democratic primary. In 2004, Carter again appeared on the New Hampshire primary ballot (11th place - 86 votes). Carter's message is a blended theocratic/political one. "We must not forget the sacrifices made by our founders, and their belief in God our Creator, contained in many of their writings. I too share their belief, and that God governs in the affairs of men. Preserving freedom demand's diligence, patriotism, and according to our Founding fathers, a firm reliance upon Divine Protection. If I am elected President, I will take the God-fearing approach, addressing the needs of all the people of our nation, the homeless, jobless, the elderly, the business community, moving forward to reduce our national debt, and dependency on foreign resources, fair international trade, maintaining a strong military, strong foreign diplomacy, and stopping the cycle of violence across our nation," explains Carter. His typical campaign style is to drive around the nation by van, meeting with voters in churches and other places. (He talks a good game but has no plan to accomplish any of the things he talks about. I can't see myself wasting my vote on him.)
Randolph W. "Randy" Crow (North Carolina)
Randy Crow -- a small businessman and former realtor -- was an unsuccessful candidate for the Wilmington City Council in 1997. Then he ran for Congress in the 1998 primary (losing by a vote of 94% to 6%) ... then he ran for President in the 2000 primaries (he got on the ballot in New Hampshire and Louisiana) ... then he ran another losing primary for Congress later in 2000 (losing by a 93% to 7% vote) .. then he lost for Council again ... then he finished last place (9th - 1%) in the 2002 US Senate primary ... and then he ran for President again in 2004. Crow was on the 2004 primary ballot in New Hampshire (15th place - 60 votes) and Texas (10th place - 0.8% - 6,319 votes). He withdrew from the Presidential race in March 2004 -- ran another race for County Commissioner -- then announced he will run for President again in 2008. Crow explained his motives: "I am involved in politics to get rid of filthy communists and lots of others." He also believes the FBI blew up TWA Flight 800 with a laser and was likely involved in crashing Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan's 2000 campaign plane. On his website, Crow repeatedly expresses open hatred towards Jews (Example: "Vietnam was a zioni$t manipulated War designed to kill our Christian kids and install na$i communi$t zioni$m in the Vietnam region"). Most of the contents of Crow's site, however, appear to be rambling conspiracy tirades against various envisioned enemies: "It has been 13 years since the FBI fessed up to the fact they were investigating me. All my files are classified ... In 1994 the Federal Force manipulated a bunch of mess which questioned my sanity ... I think the Force had some weird blood work done on me or possibly put a computer chip in me." Crow has a "hunch ... [I] may be The Returning Christ ... I do believe firmly that in a way whether or not I am The Returning Christ is a non event and do not worry about it at all, except I do pray that if I am The Returning Christ I would like to be the coolest, greatest, most fantastic Returning Christ in the history of the Universes." By 2005, he pretty much answered his own question by releasing an Easter Message from the Returning Christ. (Yep, you can read that and lots, LOTS more whack-out nuti-job Democrat tirades on his official website. But, no I am not going to vote for him.)
Warren R. Ashe (Virginia)
Warren Ashe, who previously was a candidate for President in 2000 and 2004 (but failed to compete in any primaries), filed FEC paperwork to make a third run in 2008. From the information he filed with Project Vote Smart in 2004, Mr. Ashe is one of the more eccentric candidates in the race. Ashe claimed he holds a doctorate degree from North Carolina State University. Then again, As he also claims to have been "President, United Nations, 1973-2003 ... Appointed President, United States White House, 1981-2003 ... Candidate, United States President, 2000 ... Vice President, West Wing - Carter Administration, 1977-1981 ... [and] Vice President, West Wing - Ford Administration, 1973-1977." He also claims to be a Navy veteran, an Army veteran AND an Air Force veteran. And he writes he owns a $40 million corporation, too. Here's a choice quote: "I am involved with time travel communications that are real. And capable of time travel contact throughout history itself. I also build flying saucers that are capable of going to another solar system at high warp speed. The time travel transmissions have communicated at least and no less than 500 years into the future. I have used my saucers built by hand at Edgecombe Community College in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. That has already since 1983 taken sperm and DNA into the future. Into the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th centuries. The methods I used are through flux capacitation and wormhole technology." ("flux capacitation and wormhole technology" this Democrat Nut-job has my vote …NOT!!!)
Christina Gerasimos Billings-Elias (California)
This candidate bills herself as "Princess Christina Gerasimos Billings-Elias" because she claims her great uncle is a "descendant of Queen Victoria." As to being a Princess, it appears to be a title she bestowed upon herself. To give you an idea of just how self-aggrandizing and bizarre this candidate is, here's an excerpt from her campaign site: "Christina born to be President of 'Our America.' ©,,. 'The Chosen One," ©,, as proclaimed by Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, friends of Theodore and Evelyn Gerasimos, first Greek in Detroit 1890. People's King of the Greeks emanating from Spartan Royalty Warriors." (I really don't get her weird official campaign picture where she appears to be wearing fangs and her face and eyes are whitened to make her look like some kind of vampire. Not voting for this Democrat Nut Job either.)
Michael K. Forrester (Colorado)
Except for the facts that Michael Forrester has filed FEC paperwork to run for President in 2008 and has launched a campaign website, I cannot tell you much about this candidate. His website is filled with lots of poorly photo-shopped photos of the himself but the bio section is without any real info. In fact, both the "history" and "future plans" sections say "coming soon, check back for updates". His platform is also rather sparse: repeal the "No Child Left Behind" law, raise the minimum wage, and guarantee health care for all Americans. (Not voting for him because he has no experience, no political background or record and no real plan.)
Wrendo J.P. Godwin (Virginia)
Except for the fact that Wrendo "JP" Godwin filed paperwork with the FEC to run for President, no other info is known about this 2008 Democratic hopeful. (His website is merely a placeholder. I don't know him from Adam. So, that is no way I could vote for him.)Alfonzo Jones (California)Except for the fact that Alfonzo Jones filed paperwork with the FEC to run for President -- just as he did in 1996, 2000 and 2004 -- no other info was known about this 2008 Democratic hopeful. (Well, I don't know the guy from Adam either so I am not voting for this one either.)
Laura Davis-Aaron (Tennesse)
Except for the fact that contractor Laura Davis-Aaron filed paperwork with the FEC to run for President, little else is known about this 2008 Democratic hopeful. She lost a 2005 special election primary for an open State Senate seat (9th place - 1%), then filed for an open Congressional seat in 2006 but quit well before the primary. (Yes she is the 3rd woman running for president as a Democrat and is completely unknown. So, I can't see myself voting for her either.)
Robert E. "Bob" Boyer (Illinois)
Except for the fact that Bob Boyer lost a 2002 primary run for Jackson County Sheriff, lost a 2004 primary run for Jackson County Clerk of the Circuit Court (3rd place - 4%) and filed paperwork with the FEC to run for President, no other info is known about this 2008 Democratic hopeful. He has no website yet. He is the 4th complete unknown that is running and there is no way I would vote for him or the other 3 unless my only other choice was Hillary Clinton.)
John Joseph Kennedy (Georgia)
John Joseph Kennedy was a registered write-in candidate for President in 2004 in Georgia, Indiana and Texas. On his campaign website, he describes himself as "an outstanding community leader, humanitarian, champion of children's rights, environmentalist, motivational speaker, entrepreneur and a man of extraordinary vision." Kennedy is a freelance writer, marketing executive and former model. He explains his motives for running on his campaign site: "I have now been called to serve God and my country as the TRUE DEMOCRAT CANDIDATE for the Presidency, to right the wrongs of America!" Kennedy sees the 9/11 attacks as an "inside job" directed by the Bush Administration as a pretext for launching the war on terrorism ("It's an inside job! At the highest level on down, I will see that those who are really responsible for the insidious acts of terrorism in our country, and around the world, be prosecuted to the fullest extent of all domestic and international laws."). In 2004, Kennedy went so far as to blame Bush policies for hurricanes and other natural disasters. "I will stop the Bush family's manipulation of the elements of nature (hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes) which have wrecked insurmountable havoc on our environment and disturbed the natural-flow of all life on this planet. They (especially Bush Sr.) have done this for personal, political and financial gain and greed," explained Kennedy. (His last name is Kennedy so it leads me to believe that it may be the alcohol taking every time this Democrat nut job opens his mouth.)
Karl E. Krueger (South Dakota)
Long haul truckdriver and Vietnam War veteran Karl Krueger is running for President on a platform of promoting energy independence for the US. "I intend to put this nation on a course to be energy independent within 10 years of my election. After all, John Kennedy took us to the moon and back in 10 years with technology that didn't exist when he began, it should not be too difficult for us to become energy independent in the same amount of time using technology that we already have," he explained. Krueger was previously a Democratic nominee for Congress in Wisconsin against a GOP incumbent in 1988. (Not voting for him because he has no experience, no political background and has no real plan for his sole issue.)
Dal A. "Tweezerman" LaMagna (Washington)
Wealthy businessman Dal LaMagna acquired his "Tweezerman" nickname because it was also the name of the tweezer-manufacturing company he founded and ran from 1980-2004. LaMagna sold his Tweezerman company to a European corporation for millions of dollars in 2004 -- but notes all of his "employees kept their jobs and shared $10 million dollars in capital gains because each one was a shareholder in the company" when he sold it. LaMagna was also a Democratic/Green fusion candidate for Congress in New York in 1996 and 2000, before moving to Washington State in 2005. Well educated, LaMagna earned both his MBA (1971) and his Master's degree in Public Administration (2002) from Harvard. On the issues, LaMagna is a progressive activist concentrating his campaign on the issue of developing "a sensible plan for withdrawal from Iraq." On a related note, LaMagna was an executive producer of three feature -length Iraq War documentaries: The Ground Truth, The War Tapes, and Iraq For Sale. (Not voting for him because he has no experience, no political back bone and no real plan.)
R. Frank Lynch (Florida)
With amusingly grandiose narcissism, Lynch touts himself as "The New Ideological Leader of the Democratic Party: Presidential Candidate, Futurist, Educator, Philanthropist, Author, and Publisher." In fact, let's let Lynch describe himself some more: Lynch is "a lifelong Republican who converted to become the new ideological leader of the Democratic Party and the most exciting and important Democratic Candidate for President, leading a grassroots revolution for energy independence, free healthcare, free daycare, free college, healing the planet, anti-globalization and abolishing the income tax!" And -- just in case you haven't yet gotten the idea that this guy loves himself -- Frank wants to tell you about his other really, realy important projects: Frank Lynch University,, ("Frank Lynch, Chancellor and President" ... currently in the "developmental stage"), the Frank Lynch Foundation,, ("for Abused Children and Abused Women & America's Forgotten Poor"), Franks Heroes,, ("Where people peacefully but firmly re-take control of the nation"), Franks kids,, ("Frank Lynch proposes to construct a nationwide system of Frank's Children's Villages"), and Hot4Frank.com ("Submit links to your own Videos, Songs and Pics about Frank Lynch"). Keep in mind that "Frank Lynch University ,,, FLUNI ,, and Frankskids,, are Trademarks of Frank Lynch University,, Inc. Franksheros,,. Franksheroes,, and Frank Lynch USA,, are Trademarks of Frank Lynch USA,, LLC." Perhaps, if he wins, he'll rename the United States into "Frank Lynch USA,,". Lynch has already qualified for some primary ballots, and vows that he will appear on "every" Presidential primary ballot in the nation. (Amusingly grandiose narcissist … Do I need to say more?)
Lee L. Mercer Jr. (Texas)
Lee Mercer Jr. is a two-time veteran with an "unusual" story to tell. He first served in Navy during the Vietnam War, leaving the service in 1972. After working as a dental assistant, he earned his BS degree in business at Texas Southern University and then became a mortgage broker. Then he rejoined the military, entering the Texas National Guard in 1989 and served in the first Gulf War (which he calls "the Saudi Arabia War"). Then his story became bizarre. He states: "On August 22, 1992, The State of Texas installed an intelligence hotwire in me at the United States Army Military Intelligence Academy ... The continuation of my biography background experience, graduate education and political experience is being held because of a Lack of authorities debriefing funds and interest for their liability to me. I am in a stalled police debriefing with the Houston Police Department waiting for me to sue to complete my debriefing for my background biography with them in the United States Army Military Intelligence Academy ... I have a doctor degree Phd. as a doctor of laws, medicine, theology, management, engineering and other subjects that are guaranteed by the United States Army in ROTC to be presented to me in a court of Law only. I will receive my doctor degrees in a court of law only ... The United States Federal Congress has encouraged me to want to become President of the United States so that I can do what the President of the United States of America is supposed to do and complete the federal and military government biography and autobiography." Mercer's reasons for running are just as colorful. They include: "To prove The Klu Klux Klan and the Communist Party are gangsters and organize crime in Business and Commerce through Eye Spy Community-Military Intelligence ... To prove that every person in the United States and world is hooked up on an Eye Spy Community-Military Intelligence (All Three) Electronic surveillance hot-wires approved by the United States Congress for the U.S. Government Electronic Surveillance of every citizen in America ... To Prove I will be the 2nd Negro President of the United States of America in 2008 ... To Prove President George Walker Bush, Jr. and other Public Officials have been Impeached by the United States Congress in 2004 for torture of me and my family, capital murder in my family, Espionage and other crimes against the state and humanity ... To Prove the government owes me Zillions of Dollars in money and is refraining to pay me and my business ... To Prove Jeb Bush is all in my house with disease ... To Prove My only Guardian Former Governor of Texas Ann Richards has just joined me MERCER FOR PRESIDENT CAMPAIGN ... [To Prove] I have solved every crime in America and the world for the last 15 years dating back to before Christ." (There's lots more reasons I am not voting for this Democrat. But these excerpts should give you an idea.)
Sal Mohamed (Iowa / Egypt)
Chemical engineer Sal Mohamed lost Democratic primary contests in Iowa for Congress in 2004 and Governor in 2006 -- but he does start the race with some minimal name identification in that early contest state. Mohamed's primary campaign tactic in his past Iowa runs could be described as low tech/low cost: walking around wearing "sandwich board" signs and waving signs at busy intersections. He launched his Presidential campaign just one month after losing the '06 gubernatorial primary. Mohamed's campaign theme is "Human Decency will Prevail," which is backed by his call for having millions of US consultants held promote economic development of poor nations, place US national interests ahead of personal interests, narrowing the gap in the US between rich and poor, developing an exit strategy for Iraq, and "taking politics out of our lives and putting science in." Unfortunately for Mohamed, he was born in Egypt and became a naturalized US citizen in 1983 -- meaning he is constitutionally barred from being President. (Although the constitution is one thing liberals rarely let stand in there way, I am not voting for this train wreck.)
Oloveuse O. "Ole" Savior (Minnesota)
Ole Savior, an eccentric artist and poet, has been a frequent candidate in Minnesota over the years for many federal, state and local offices. He usually finishes around the back the of the pack with 1% -- but he keeps running year after year. His top three concerns were a "nuclear-free world, [ending] world hunger, and better education for all mankind." His favorite movie is The Terminator, his favorite TV show is X-Files and his favorite book is the Bible's Book of Revelations. If elected, he promises to "create a new and more peaceful world for the next generation of children." He previously filed FEC paperwork for the 2004 race, but failed to qualify for any Presidential primary ballots. He filed paperwork in 2006 to make a second White House run. (Not voting for him because he is a nut job with pie in the sky ideas and no plan on how to achieve them.)
Jeffrey C. "Jeff" Thomas (Wisconsin)
Orthopedic surgeon Jeff Thomas served several terms in elective office many years ago before being relegated to "perennial candidate" status with a series of failed Congressional runs. He served 12 years on the Janesville School Board (including three years as President) and four years on the Janesville City Council. Thomas then proceeded to lose runs for Congress in 1993, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006. Now he's filed with the FEC to run for President in 2008. Thomas vows to improve health care by doing "everything possible to lead the government in it's quest for providing everyone with health insurance and to challenge the wealthy insurance companies to provide people with greater benefits at less cost." He also supports "decent jobs" -- but doesn't define what he means by it. (Not voting for him because he has no experience, no plan and no brains.)
Why I will not Vote for Hillary Clinton
In 1965, Clinton enrolled in Wellesley College, where she majored in political science. She wrote her senior thesis about the tactics of radical community organizer and author of Rules for Radicals Saul Alinsky. Years later while she was first lady, her thesis was suppressed at the request of the White House and became the subject of speculation as to its contents. Saul Alinky Alinsky was a critic of a passive and ineffective mainstream liberalism. In Rules for Radicals, he argued that the most effective means are whatever will achieve the desired ends. Basically, the end justifies the means even if the means were not legal. He also urged liberals to work within the system to make the masses feel "so frustrated, so defeated, so lost, so futureless in the prevailing system that they are willing to let go of the past and chance the future". (The fact that this was one of her early heros should frighten everyone in this country.)
After Law school she failed the District of Columbia bar exam. She did not tell even close friends of her failure until revealing it thirty years later in her autobiography. This speaks volumes of her character. (Somehow, being a failure makes you a better democrat.)
She later lowered her expectations passed the Arkansas bar exam and married Bill Clinton.
Later when Bill Clinton was Attorney General of Arkansas she joined the venerable Rose Law Firm, a bastion of Arkansan political and economic influence, in February 1977.
She most likely got that job as a kick-back to her husband to garnish favor for the firm with the State's Attorney General. Most accounts indicate that she was a poor to fair lawyer that rarely performed litigation work in court. She was only made a full partner at the firm after her husband was elected Governor. Bill Clinton's Republican opponent in his 1986 gubernatorial re-election campaign accused the Clintons of conflict of interest, because Rose Law did state business.
Clinton used her ties to the firm and suspected insider information to make a spectacular profit from trading cattle futures contracts; her initial $1,000 investment generated nearly $100,000 when she stopped trading after ten months. Her and her husband also began their ill-fated investment in the Whitewater Development Corporation real estate venture with Jim and Susan McDougal at this time. Jim McDougal would later be convicted of eighteen felony counts of fraud and conspiracy charges when this scandal broke while Bill Clinton was President.
The Clintons borrowed $203,000 to buy land in the Ozark Mountains for vacation homes. When the development failed, Jim McDougal attempted to cover the losses with S&L funds. McDougal was prosecuted for fraud in 1984 and hired the Mrs. Clinton's Rose Law Firm to defend him. Questions remain in regard to Mrs. Clinton's Rose Law Firm billing records on Madison Guaranty and how much work she actually did. McDougal also held a fundraiser that paid off Clinton 's then campaign debt of $50,000. Madison cashier's checks accounted for $12,000 of the funds raised.
McDougal died of a heart attack in federal prison in Fort Worth, Texas. The circumstances of his death remain questionable: he was apparently denied access to his heart medication, and he was placed in solitary confinement without the medication.
As First Lady of Arkansas, Hillary Clinton chaired the Arkansas Educational Standards Committee from 1982 to 1992, where she sought to bring about reform in the state's court-sanctioned public education system. One of the most important initiatives of the entire Clinton governorship, she fought a prolonged but ultimately successful battle against the Arkansas Education Association to put mandatory teacher testing as well as state standards for curriculum and classroom size in place. Once again failure makes you a better democrat.
Hillary's main job as First Lady was to deal with bimbo eruptions, Before the New Hampshire primary in 1992, tabloid publications printed claims that Bill Clinton had had an extramarital affair with Gennifer Flowers, an Arkansas lounge singer. In response, the Clintons appeared together on 60 Minutes, during which Bill Clinton denied the affair but acknowledged he had caused "pain" in their marriage. (Years later, he would admit that the Flowers affair had happened, but to lesser extent than she claimed.) Hillary Clinton made culturally dismissive remarks about Tammy Wynette and baking cookies and having teas during the campaign that were insulting to married women by her own admission.
Most critics called it inappropriate for the First Lady to play a central role in matters of public policy. Supporters pointed out that Clinton 's role in policy was no different from that of other White House advisors and that voters were well aware that she would play an active role in her husband's Presidency. Bill Clinton's campaign promise of "two for the price of one" led opponents to refer derisively to the Clintons as "co-presidents", or sometimes "Billary". The pressures of conflicting ideas about the role of a First Lady were enough to send Clinton into "imaginary discussions" with the also-politically-active Eleanor Roosevelt. (Can you say "nut-job".)
In 1993, the Bill appointed his Hillary to head and be the chairwoman of the Task Force on National Health Care Reform to try to make steps to socialize the American health care system. The plan was quickly derided as "Hillarycare" by its opponents; some protesters against it became vitriolic, and during a July 1994 bus tour to rally support for the plan, she was forced to wear a bulletproof vest at times. The plan did not receive enough support for a floor vote in either the House or the Senate, although both chambers were controlled by Democrats, and proposal was abandoned in September of 1994. Clinton later acknowledged in her book, "Living History", that her political inexperience partly contributed to the defeat. (Inexperience and failure the two best traits of being a democrat?)
Hillary Clinton traveled to over eighty countries during this time, breaking the mark for most-travelled First Lady held by Pat Nixon. (Wasting tax payer money another trait of democrats.)
The Whitewater controversy was the focus of media attention from the publication of a New York Times report during the 1992 presidential campaign, and throughout her time as First Lady. The Clintons had lost their late-1970s investment in the Whitewater Development Corporation; at the same time, their partners in that investment, Jim and Susan McDougal, operated Madison Guaranty, a savings and loan institution that retained the legal services of Rose Law Firm and had been improperly subsidizing Whitewater losses. Madison Guaranty later failed, and Clinton 's work at Rose was scrutinized for a possible conflict of interest in representing the bank before state regulators that her husband had appointed; she claimed she had done minimal work for the bank. Independent counsels Robert Fiske and Kenneth Starr subpoenaed Clinton 's legal billing records; she claimed to be unable to produce these records.
The records were found in the First Lady's White House book room after a two-year search, and delivered to investigators in early 1996. The delayed appearance of the records sparked intense interest and another investigation about how they surfaced and where they had been; Clinton attributed the problem to disorganization that resulted from their move from the Arkansas Governor's Mansion and the effects of a White House renovation. After the discovery of the records, on January 26, 1996, Clinton made history by becoming the first First Lady to be subpoenaed to testify before a Federal grand jury. After several Independent Counsels investigated, a final report was issued in 2000 which stated that there was insufficient evidence that either Clinton had engaged in criminal wrongdoing.
Other investigations took place during Hillary Clinton's time as First Lady. Scrutiny of the May 1993 firings of the White House Travel Office employees, an affair that became known as "Travelgate", began with charges that the White House had used alleged financial improprieties in the Travel Office operation as an excuse to replace the office staff and give the White House travel business to Arkansas friends of theirs. Over the years the investigation focused more on whether Hillary Clinton had orchestrated the firings and whether the statements she made to investigating authorities regarding her role in the firings were true. The 2000 final Independent Counsel report found that there was substantial evidence that she was involved in the firings and that she had made "factually false" statements, but that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute her.
Following deputy White House counsel Vince Foster's July 1993 "suicide", allegations were made that Hillary Clinton had ordered the removal of potentially damaging files (related to Whitewater or other matters) from Foster's office on the night of his death. Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr investigated this, and by 1999 Starr was reported to be holding the investigation open.
In March 1994 newspaper reports revealed her spectacular profits from cattle futures trading in 1978–1979; allegations were made of conflict of interest and disguised bribery, and several individuals analyzed her trading records, but no official investigation was made and she was never charged with any wrongdoing. An outgrowth of the Travelgate investigation was the June 1996 discovery of improper White House access to hundreds of FBI background reports on former Republican White House employees, an affair that some called "Filegate"; accusations were made that Hillary Clinton had requested these files and that she had recommended hiring an unqualified individual to head the White House Security Office.
In 1998, the Clintons ' relationship became the subject of much speculation and gossip when it was revealed that the President had had an extramarital affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Events surrounding the Lewinsky scandal eventually led to the impeachment of Bill Clinton. When the allegations against her husband were first made public, Hillary Clinton stated that they were the result of a "vast right-wing conspiracy", characterizing the Lewinsky charges as the latest in a long, organized, collaborative series of charges by Clinton political enemies, rather than any wrongdoing by her husband. She later said that she had been misled by her husband's initial claims that no affair had taken place. After the evidence of President Clinton's encounters with Lewinsky became incontrovertible and he admitted to her his unfaithful behavior, she still maintained her "vast right-wing conspiracy" theory. (Denial is not a river in Egypt .)
Throughout her 1st Senate campaign and during it's debates, Clinton was accused of carpetbagging by her opponents, as she had never resided in New York nor participated in the state's politics prior to this race. Most people know that she would have never been elected in either her home start, Arkansas or her birth state, of Illinois . The contest drew national attention and both candidates were well-funded. Clinton secured a broad base of support, including endorsements from conservation group sand organized labor, but not the New York City police and firefighters' unions.
On a visit to Iraq in February 2005, Clinton noted that the insurgency had failed to disrupt the democratic elections held earlier, and that parts of the country were functioning well. In late 2005, Clinton said that while immediate withdrawal from Iraq would be a mistake, Bush's pledge to stay "until the job is done" is also misguided. Her centrist and somewhat vague stance caused frustration among those in the Democratic party who favor immediate withdrawal. Later she would change her stance on the Iraq War to shore up support from Democrats during her 2006 Re-election in order to win the Democratic nomination over opposition from anti-war activist Jonathan Tasini. This produced her now infamous sound bite. "I was for the war in Iraq before I was against it." Clinton spent $36 million towards her reelection, more than any other candidate for Senate in the 2006 elections. She was criticized by some Democrats for spending too much in a one-sided contest. (Fiscal reasonability is not a Clinton strong suit.)
Her voting record speaks volumes about her tax and spend mentality and her support for the liberal agenda. Senator Clinton voted against the tax cuts introduced by President Bush, including the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 and the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003. Clinton voted in 2005 against the confirmation of John Roberts as Chief Justice of the United States, and in 2006 against the nomination of Samuel Alito to the United States Supreme Court; both were confirmed. In July 2004 and June 2006, Clinton voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment that sought to prohibit same-sex marriage.
Clinton opposed the Iraq War troop surge of 2007 and supported a February 2007 non-binding Senate resolution against it, which failed to gain cloture. In March 2007 she voted in favor of a war spending bill that required President Bush to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq within a certain deadline; it passed almost completely along party lines but was subsequently vetoed by President Bush. In May 2007 a compromise war funding bill that removed withdrawal deadlines but tied funding to progress benchmarks for the Iraqi government passed the Senate by a vote of 80-14 and would be signed by Bush; Clinton was one of those that voted against it.
Since her announcement that she was seeking the Democratic Party nomination for president, she set records for fundraising. In April 2007, the Clintons liquidated a blind trust that had been established when he became president in 1993, in order to avoid the possibility of ethical conflicts or political embarrassments in the trust as Hillary Clinton undertook her presidential race; later disclosure statements revealed that the couple's worth was now upwards of $50 million. However, ethics in fundraising has never been a Clinton strong suit.
In late August 2007, a major contributor to, and "bundler" for, Clinton's campaign, called a "HillRaiser", Norman Hsu, was revealed to be a 15-years-long fugitive in an investment fraud case. He was also suspected of having broken campaign finance law regarding his bundling collections. The Clinton campaign first said it would donate to charity the $23,000 that Hsu personally contributed to her, then said it would refund to 260 donors the full $850,000 in bundled donations raised by Hsu. Hsu was subsequently indicted on new investment fraud charges.
The Bottom Line?
National Journal's 2004 study of roll-call votes assigned Clinton a rating of 30 in the political spectrum, relative to the then-current Senate, with a rating of 1 being most liberal and 100 being most conservative.
A 2004 analysis by three political scientists found her to be likely the sixth-to-eighth-most liberal Senator.
The Almanac of American Politics, edited by Michael Barone and Richard E. Cohen, rated her votes from 2003 through 2006 as liberal or conservative, with 100 as the highest rating, in three areas: Economic, Social, and Foreign; aggregated for the four years, the ratings are: Ec.. 75 liberal, 23 conservative; Social = 83 liberal, 6 conservative; Foreign = 66 liberal, 30 conservative. Average = 75 liberal, 20 conservative. Various interest groups have given Senator Clinton scores or grades as to how well her votes align with the positions of the group: Through 2006, she has a lifetime 96% "Liberal Quotient" from Americans for Democratic Action. ProgressivePunch gives her a 91.4% lifetime progressive rating, ranking her the 28th most progressive of current senators. Through 2006, she has a lifetime 9% rating from the American Conservative Union. The American Civil Liberties Union has given her a 75% lifetime rating through September 2007. NARAL Pro-Choice America consistently gave her a 100% pro-choice rating from 2002 to 2006. Americans for Better Immigration has given her a lifetime grade of 'D-' (very near failing) through October 2007 on their Immigration-Reduction Report Card. The National Rifle Association gave her an 'F' (failing) rating in 2006 for her stance on Second Amendment issues.
My take?
I have to agree with 50% of America : I would never vote for this woman regardless of who she is running against.
After Law school she failed the District of Columbia bar exam. She did not tell even close friends of her failure until revealing it thirty years later in her autobiography. This speaks volumes of her character. (Somehow, being a failure makes you a better democrat.)
She later lowered her expectations passed the Arkansas bar exam and married Bill Clinton.
Later when Bill Clinton was Attorney General of Arkansas she joined the venerable Rose Law Firm, a bastion of Arkansan political and economic influence, in February 1977.
She most likely got that job as a kick-back to her husband to garnish favor for the firm with the State's Attorney General. Most accounts indicate that she was a poor to fair lawyer that rarely performed litigation work in court. She was only made a full partner at the firm after her husband was elected Governor. Bill Clinton's Republican opponent in his 1986 gubernatorial re-election campaign accused the Clintons of conflict of interest, because Rose Law did state business.
Clinton used her ties to the firm and suspected insider information to make a spectacular profit from trading cattle futures contracts; her initial $1,000 investment generated nearly $100,000 when she stopped trading after ten months. Her and her husband also began their ill-fated investment in the Whitewater Development Corporation real estate venture with Jim and Susan McDougal at this time. Jim McDougal would later be convicted of eighteen felony counts of fraud and conspiracy charges when this scandal broke while Bill Clinton was President.
The Clintons borrowed $203,000 to buy land in the Ozark Mountains for vacation homes. When the development failed, Jim McDougal attempted to cover the losses with S&L funds. McDougal was prosecuted for fraud in 1984 and hired the Mrs. Clinton's Rose Law Firm to defend him. Questions remain in regard to Mrs. Clinton's Rose Law Firm billing records on Madison Guaranty and how much work she actually did. McDougal also held a fundraiser that paid off Clinton 's then campaign debt of $50,000. Madison cashier's checks accounted for $12,000 of the funds raised.
McDougal died of a heart attack in federal prison in Fort Worth, Texas. The circumstances of his death remain questionable: he was apparently denied access to his heart medication, and he was placed in solitary confinement without the medication.
As First Lady of Arkansas, Hillary Clinton chaired the Arkansas Educational Standards Committee from 1982 to 1992, where she sought to bring about reform in the state's court-sanctioned public education system. One of the most important initiatives of the entire Clinton governorship, she fought a prolonged but ultimately successful battle against the Arkansas Education Association to put mandatory teacher testing as well as state standards for curriculum and classroom size in place. Once again failure makes you a better democrat.
Hillary's main job as First Lady was to deal with bimbo eruptions, Before the New Hampshire primary in 1992, tabloid publications printed claims that Bill Clinton had had an extramarital affair with Gennifer Flowers, an Arkansas lounge singer. In response, the Clintons appeared together on 60 Minutes, during which Bill Clinton denied the affair but acknowledged he had caused "pain" in their marriage. (Years later, he would admit that the Flowers affair had happened, but to lesser extent than she claimed.) Hillary Clinton made culturally dismissive remarks about Tammy Wynette and baking cookies and having teas during the campaign that were insulting to married women by her own admission.
Most critics called it inappropriate for the First Lady to play a central role in matters of public policy. Supporters pointed out that Clinton 's role in policy was no different from that of other White House advisors and that voters were well aware that she would play an active role in her husband's Presidency. Bill Clinton's campaign promise of "two for the price of one" led opponents to refer derisively to the Clintons as "co-presidents", or sometimes "Billary". The pressures of conflicting ideas about the role of a First Lady were enough to send Clinton into "imaginary discussions" with the also-politically-active Eleanor Roosevelt. (Can you say "nut-job".)
In 1993, the Bill appointed his Hillary to head and be the chairwoman of the Task Force on National Health Care Reform to try to make steps to socialize the American health care system. The plan was quickly derided as "Hillarycare" by its opponents; some protesters against it became vitriolic, and during a July 1994 bus tour to rally support for the plan, she was forced to wear a bulletproof vest at times. The plan did not receive enough support for a floor vote in either the House or the Senate, although both chambers were controlled by Democrats, and proposal was abandoned in September of 1994. Clinton later acknowledged in her book, "Living History", that her political inexperience partly contributed to the defeat. (Inexperience and failure the two best traits of being a democrat?)
Hillary Clinton traveled to over eighty countries during this time, breaking the mark for most-travelled First Lady held by Pat Nixon. (Wasting tax payer money another trait of democrats.)
The Whitewater controversy was the focus of media attention from the publication of a New York Times report during the 1992 presidential campaign, and throughout her time as First Lady. The Clintons had lost their late-1970s investment in the Whitewater Development Corporation; at the same time, their partners in that investment, Jim and Susan McDougal, operated Madison Guaranty, a savings and loan institution that retained the legal services of Rose Law Firm and had been improperly subsidizing Whitewater losses. Madison Guaranty later failed, and Clinton 's work at Rose was scrutinized for a possible conflict of interest in representing the bank before state regulators that her husband had appointed; she claimed she had done minimal work for the bank. Independent counsels Robert Fiske and Kenneth Starr subpoenaed Clinton 's legal billing records; she claimed to be unable to produce these records.
The records were found in the First Lady's White House book room after a two-year search, and delivered to investigators in early 1996. The delayed appearance of the records sparked intense interest and another investigation about how they surfaced and where they had been; Clinton attributed the problem to disorganization that resulted from their move from the Arkansas Governor's Mansion and the effects of a White House renovation. After the discovery of the records, on January 26, 1996, Clinton made history by becoming the first First Lady to be subpoenaed to testify before a Federal grand jury. After several Independent Counsels investigated, a final report was issued in 2000 which stated that there was insufficient evidence that either Clinton had engaged in criminal wrongdoing.
Other investigations took place during Hillary Clinton's time as First Lady. Scrutiny of the May 1993 firings of the White House Travel Office employees, an affair that became known as "Travelgate", began with charges that the White House had used alleged financial improprieties in the Travel Office operation as an excuse to replace the office staff and give the White House travel business to Arkansas friends of theirs. Over the years the investigation focused more on whether Hillary Clinton had orchestrated the firings and whether the statements she made to investigating authorities regarding her role in the firings were true. The 2000 final Independent Counsel report found that there was substantial evidence that she was involved in the firings and that she had made "factually false" statements, but that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute her.
Following deputy White House counsel Vince Foster's July 1993 "suicide", allegations were made that Hillary Clinton had ordered the removal of potentially damaging files (related to Whitewater or other matters) from Foster's office on the night of his death. Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr investigated this, and by 1999 Starr was reported to be holding the investigation open.
In March 1994 newspaper reports revealed her spectacular profits from cattle futures trading in 1978–1979; allegations were made of conflict of interest and disguised bribery, and several individuals analyzed her trading records, but no official investigation was made and she was never charged with any wrongdoing. An outgrowth of the Travelgate investigation was the June 1996 discovery of improper White House access to hundreds of FBI background reports on former Republican White House employees, an affair that some called "Filegate"; accusations were made that Hillary Clinton had requested these files and that she had recommended hiring an unqualified individual to head the White House Security Office.
In 1998, the Clintons ' relationship became the subject of much speculation and gossip when it was revealed that the President had had an extramarital affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Events surrounding the Lewinsky scandal eventually led to the impeachment of Bill Clinton. When the allegations against her husband were first made public, Hillary Clinton stated that they were the result of a "vast right-wing conspiracy", characterizing the Lewinsky charges as the latest in a long, organized, collaborative series of charges by Clinton political enemies, rather than any wrongdoing by her husband. She later said that she had been misled by her husband's initial claims that no affair had taken place. After the evidence of President Clinton's encounters with Lewinsky became incontrovertible and he admitted to her his unfaithful behavior, she still maintained her "vast right-wing conspiracy" theory. (Denial is not a river in Egypt .)
Throughout her 1st Senate campaign and during it's debates, Clinton was accused of carpetbagging by her opponents, as she had never resided in New York nor participated in the state's politics prior to this race. Most people know that she would have never been elected in either her home start, Arkansas or her birth state, of Illinois . The contest drew national attention and both candidates were well-funded. Clinton secured a broad base of support, including endorsements from conservation group sand organized labor, but not the New York City police and firefighters' unions.
On a visit to Iraq in February 2005, Clinton noted that the insurgency had failed to disrupt the democratic elections held earlier, and that parts of the country were functioning well. In late 2005, Clinton said that while immediate withdrawal from Iraq would be a mistake, Bush's pledge to stay "until the job is done" is also misguided. Her centrist and somewhat vague stance caused frustration among those in the Democratic party who favor immediate withdrawal. Later she would change her stance on the Iraq War to shore up support from Democrats during her 2006 Re-election in order to win the Democratic nomination over opposition from anti-war activist Jonathan Tasini. This produced her now infamous sound bite. "I was for the war in Iraq before I was against it." Clinton spent $36 million towards her reelection, more than any other candidate for Senate in the 2006 elections. She was criticized by some Democrats for spending too much in a one-sided contest. (Fiscal reasonability is not a Clinton strong suit.)
Her voting record speaks volumes about her tax and spend mentality and her support for the liberal agenda. Senator Clinton voted against the tax cuts introduced by President Bush, including the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 and the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003. Clinton voted in 2005 against the confirmation of John Roberts as Chief Justice of the United States, and in 2006 against the nomination of Samuel Alito to the United States Supreme Court; both were confirmed. In July 2004 and June 2006, Clinton voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment that sought to prohibit same-sex marriage.
Clinton opposed the Iraq War troop surge of 2007 and supported a February 2007 non-binding Senate resolution against it, which failed to gain cloture. In March 2007 she voted in favor of a war spending bill that required President Bush to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq within a certain deadline; it passed almost completely along party lines but was subsequently vetoed by President Bush. In May 2007 a compromise war funding bill that removed withdrawal deadlines but tied funding to progress benchmarks for the Iraqi government passed the Senate by a vote of 80-14 and would be signed by Bush; Clinton was one of those that voted against it.
Since her announcement that she was seeking the Democratic Party nomination for president, she set records for fundraising. In April 2007, the Clintons liquidated a blind trust that had been established when he became president in 1993, in order to avoid the possibility of ethical conflicts or political embarrassments in the trust as Hillary Clinton undertook her presidential race; later disclosure statements revealed that the couple's worth was now upwards of $50 million. However, ethics in fundraising has never been a Clinton strong suit.
In late August 2007, a major contributor to, and "bundler" for, Clinton's campaign, called a "HillRaiser", Norman Hsu, was revealed to be a 15-years-long fugitive in an investment fraud case. He was also suspected of having broken campaign finance law regarding his bundling collections. The Clinton campaign first said it would donate to charity the $23,000 that Hsu personally contributed to her, then said it would refund to 260 donors the full $850,000 in bundled donations raised by Hsu. Hsu was subsequently indicted on new investment fraud charges.
The Bottom Line?
National Journal's 2004 study of roll-call votes assigned Clinton a rating of 30 in the political spectrum, relative to the then-current Senate, with a rating of 1 being most liberal and 100 being most conservative.
A 2004 analysis by three political scientists found her to be likely the sixth-to-eighth-most liberal Senator.
The Almanac of American Politics, edited by Michael Barone and Richard E. Cohen, rated her votes from 2003 through 2006 as liberal or conservative, with 100 as the highest rating, in three areas: Economic, Social, and Foreign; aggregated for the four years, the ratings are: Ec.. 75 liberal, 23 conservative; Social = 83 liberal, 6 conservative; Foreign = 66 liberal, 30 conservative. Average = 75 liberal, 20 conservative. Various interest groups have given Senator Clinton scores or grades as to how well her votes align with the positions of the group: Through 2006, she has a lifetime 96% "Liberal Quotient" from Americans for Democratic Action. ProgressivePunch gives her a 91.4% lifetime progressive rating, ranking her the 28th most progressive of current senators. Through 2006, she has a lifetime 9% rating from the American Conservative Union. The American Civil Liberties Union has given her a 75% lifetime rating through September 2007. NARAL Pro-Choice America consistently gave her a 100% pro-choice rating from 2002 to 2006. Americans for Better Immigration has given her a lifetime grade of 'D-' (very near failing) through October 2007 on their Immigration-Reduction Report Card. The National Rifle Association gave her an 'F' (failing) rating in 2006 for her stance on Second Amendment issues.
My take?
I have to agree with 50% of America : I would never vote for this woman regardless of who she is running against.
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Well, that just about sums it up!
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