By November 2012, I will be eligible to participate in their first ever United States elections. For that very reason, I felt it essential to understand the current state of the Republican presidential primaries, debates, and President Obama’s approach to the campaign.
The Polls
Based on the above polls, the most promising front runners appear to be Romney, Cain, and Paul in that order. These three seem to be the most competitive for the position based on debates, policies, and public opinion.
I have not included Rick Perry in this list due to his apparent lack of maturity in debates as well as his not-so-great speaking abilities which the American people have realized, shown through the sudden drop in ratings. This was clearly evident in his “brain freeze” incident in the CNBC debate where while naming three agencies of government he wished to abolish, he forgot the third. While he is well supported for his views and accomplishments in Texas, he lacks the support of the nation as a whole.
I have additionally left out Newt Gingrich mainly due to his constant blaming of individuals or American establishments in order to make a point. Although I anticipate a temporary rise in his ratings due to his strongly definitive views in comparison to the wavering nature of other candidates, I believe that his often overly conservative views shown through the debates will not appeal the Americans in the long run.
Additionally, I do not believe that Bachmann, the only female candidate in the republican race, seems to have a limited scope on important American issues, particularly the economy. She does display depth in her policies of foreign policy because of her extensive background in the field, yet she lacks specific resolutions to the innumerous issues America is facing today. Due to her lack of defendable proposals on how to correct the American economy, she has often resorted to diverting questions to what she knows. For example, in the Oakland debate, she quickly drifted from discussing her ideas for tax reforms to “building a fence on the southwestern border” in order to control illegal immigration.
Although both Santorum and Huntsman are well qualified and knowledgeable runners in the election, both candidates lack enough support and funding to be frontrunners in the campaign.
Hence, I believe that Romney, Cain, and Paul are the best contenders for a Republican opposition to Obama.
Former Governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney has displayed greater steadiness in his high ratings than any other candidate due to his loyalty to Republican ideals, although his policies have proved to be inconsistent at times.
Basic Policies
In the recent presidential debate in Oakland, Romney has demonstrated importance towards a government focused on the domestic economy. He claimed, “Europe can take care of its own economic problems.” To clarify, he stated that he would still support US involvement in the World Bank and IMF “but not at the cost of getting domestically impacted by foreign debt.” To improve the domestic economy, Romney has said that bailouts have caused dependency and devastation and therefore believes in making the “private industries correct their own mistakes rather than the government getting too involved.” However, what Romney does want the government to do is cap spending, implement private bankruptcy processes, and alter tax codes to benefit the middle class. Simultaneously, Romney has shown interest in further involving America into the world’s economic competition with Asia by reducing tariffs and corporate taxes.
In terms of education, Romney looks to abolish the Department of Education thus creating greater freedom for teachers, schools, and states to decide their own curriculums. His educational policies are primarily based off the No Child Left Behind movement.
In his positions on healthcare, Romney has wavered from supporting federal healthcare bills to signing bills for privatizing the healthcare agencies of America which concurs with his current opinion against the Obamacare plan. Without a real plan of his own on healthcare, Romney presently stands for market-based reforms on healthcare.
To ensure the security of the American people, Romney wishes to increase the Department of Defense’s budget and its focus on foreign policy. “Over the last few years we’ve had a defense budget, excluding the cost of warfare, at about 3.8 percent of the economy, about 3.8 percent of the G.D.P.,” he said. “I’d like that be a little higher, at about 4 percent.” This approach is very different from many of the other Republican candidates looking to shrink the defense spending in order to cut the deficit. While Romney wishes to limit the spread of terrorism, I disagree with his focus towards increasing anti-terrorist funding and growth seeing that Obama has just recently ensured the return of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan by December 31st.
Overall Romney generally proves to be a confident front runner in the GOP elections. However it must be kept in mind that the candidate has previously lost in Republican preliminaries against John Kerry and others. Additionally, Romney lacks consistency in his policies which I believe is a quality America cannot afford at this point in time.
Former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza and the National Restaurant Association, Herman Cain has received a rapid rise in popularity seen through national polls, irrespective of his sexual harassment allegations. Cain has asserted his position as frontrunner in the GOP polls although he was a late comer to the 2012 Republican race.
Basic Policies
In order to counter the American financial crisis, Cain put forth that the first step would be to stagnate the GDP and recreate a sound and stable currency. “Just like 60 minutes in hour, a dollar must be dollar”, said Cain in the CNBC debate. To reestablish such stability, he believes in focusing primarily on the domestic economy through changes in taxation and privatization. Cain, as do all of the other Republican candidates, feels that the government has and continues to have too much involvement in the economy and its revival due to the bailouts provided to large American corporations. He believes in letting the corporations revive themselves without the assistance of the government. In terms of tax reforms, Cain looks to implement his 9:9:9 taxation proposal with 9 % business flat tax, 9% income tax, and 9% national sales tax.
Cain proposes educational policies of weakening the federal government’s control of over the education system by weakening the Department of Education and strengthening the state control of education instead. Cain also advocates for increase in pay and “performance- based pay” for teachers.
As a cancer survivor, Herman Cain has shown great interest in privatizing the healthcare agencies. Just as almost all of the other GOP candidates, Herman Cain wishes to abolish the Obamacare plan as well as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
In terms of foreign policy and national security, Cain believes it is necessary to suppress terrorists and all movements which pose a threat to the United States national security. For this to happen, he has spoken in favor of assisting opposition movements in various nations, increasing the size of the navy, increasing funding for ballistic missiles, and adhering to cautious relationships with Iran and Pakistan by applying economic pressure on the nations due to their nuclear capabilities.
Herman Cain has proven to be a strong contender in the presidential race due to his clearly laid out policies. However, I personally do not believe he would be an appropriate president for the time specifically due to his foreign policy with unnecessary focus on Iran and his economic stance as a representative of the 1% rather than the 99. Cain’s claim to fame is that he is the only candidate that does not have a political background. He is a businessman who was the founder and CEO of a Pizza company. He brings new thinking to the table like his 9-9-9 tax reform (9% taxes for personal income, 9% for sales tax and 9% business tax) which replaces current complex tax policy. However, his lack of experience in politics and international relations is his downfall not to mention the recent sexual harassment allegations.
Congressman Ron Paul of Texas has not necessarily been a frontrunner in the GOP 2012 presidential race but has gained a loyal 15% support due to his libertarian views. Arguably the most politically consistent of the Republican candidates, Ron Paul has often been the only Republican candidate to have remarkably different views from the rest.
Basic Policies
Very much aware of the economic crisis in America, Ron Paul sees the debt as the biggest economic importance to the nation. He proposes for liquidation of the debt and major cuts on spending in unnecessary areas such as the Department of Defense. He plans to tackle the crisis through cutting 1 trillion dollars out of the federal budget and getting rid of price fixing by the Federal Reserve due to its manipulation much below market rates which has caused inflation. Ron Paul in his debates has emphasized the mistake of bailouts to corporations as he believes that corporations should not be dependent on government support. In terms of taxes, Ron Paul looks to eliminate direct income tax and the sixteenth amendment which allows for congress to levy income tax. Instead he looks for the federal government to be funded by excise taxes. He has simultaneously supported a flat 10% income tax.
On education, Ron Paul has spoken out for providing greater flexibility to the American educational system by allowing for states to control curriculums and for families to choose the school they send their children to.
As an established physician himself, Ron Paul opposes Universal Healthcare and believes that less government intervention in healthcare will lower the prices of medication and general health-related costs. Paul has proposed tax relief bills with the sole purpose of reducing health care costs for families and senior citizens.
While most other Republican candidates pushed for aggressive foreign policies, Ron Paul has explicitly stated that relations with nations such as Iran were overcomplicated by media and propaganda and that there should not be high military involvement in foreign nations unless they factually pose a threat to the national security of the nation. In his eyes, Iran does not pose such a threat at the moment and hence does not require a war. However he did state that if war was necessary, “you fight, and you win it, and you get it over with.” Unlike many of his fellow candidates, Ron Paul stood entirely against the continuation Guantanamo Bay and torture claiming them to be “un-American”. While discussing the dictatorship of Asad in Syria, Paul stated, “Syrians ought to deal with their country” and continued to speak about self-determinism as an American ideal. “America [should] not interfere militarily, financially, or covertly in the internal affairs of other nations” and should instead strive for “open trade, travel, communication, and diplomacy with other nations”.
Ron Paul has generally shown a chief focus on improving the current state of the nation. Although I agree with the majority of his viewpoints, I also believe his highly isolationist views and passive policies internationally will not be efficient and beneficial for the nation in today’s interdependent world.
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