Some were surprised that Mitt Romney won the CPAC straw poll last week. Rick Santorum sure was and has suggested the poll was rigged. But the real news from CPAC besides Sarah Palin’s great speech was that during Romney’s speech to the convention he called himself a “severe conservative”.

Ok, what the heck is a severe conservative? Is that some new type of term Romney created just for CPAC to show them that he is a true conservative? Mitt Romney has a problem. He can’t seem to get over the hump and seal the deal on the Republican nomination. There is a reason he can’t seem to get that done and the reason is he is not a true conservative and the base of the Republican party knows it. Mitt Romney’s problem is Mitt Romney. “I was a severely conservative Governor” Huh?

Despite the millions and millions of dollars he has raised and spent in his quest to win the Republican nomination he just seems to have a hard time getting it done. Even when you consider he really has not had a strong group of contenders to beat out.

Why does the base not think Romney is a true conservative? Because of his record as Governor of Massachusetts! Romneycare was the product of a liberal mindset and nothing he says short of denouncing it as a wrong decision can change that fact. And guess what? Mitt won’t say he was wrong.

Instead he defends Romneycare with some kind of double speak that it is OK for a state but not for a nation. His ego is so big that he just can’t admit he was wrong on a major decision. Instead he thinks it is better to play political word games with the voters. That is typical of how liberals think, not conservatives. Of course, maybe he still does think a mandate was the right decision and if that is the case he should be running against Barack Obama for the Democratic Party nomination.

Mitt Romney tells us that he is a brilliant businessman and not a politician. The truth is that if Romney was really a smart “businessman” and not a political person, someone driven solely by ego to win the Presidency he would have said he was wrong about Romneycare long ago. That would have been the action of a smart businessman. In business you address your mistake head on, fix it and move forward. If he had done that he would have wrapped up the GOP nomination before it even started. If Mitt is not a smart businessman but more of a political creature than what possible credential does he posses that compels us to vote for him?

How many of you fancy yourself as a true conservative? I do. I always have since I can remember. Somehow back when I was about 12 years old I realized that liberals were hypocrites and used unethical techniques and statements to try and get their way. That liberals believed they were superior to the rest of us and wanted to keep us in our place like a king would keep his pheasants in place. It was easy for me to see that. Yes, I realize that many people learn as they grow older and change their views but I do not believe we are seeing this transformation with Mitt Romney. I believe we are seeing a man driven by ego to somehow ‘complete’ his resume.

Would any of you that consider yourselves true conservatives ever call yourself  “severely” conservative? Would that word even enter your mind? Not me. It sounds more like something a liberal would say about a conservative. Much like when liberals label us ‘extreme’. I don’t think this was a slip of the lip from Mitt. I think it was a subconscious act that shows he is not comfortable ‘trying’ to portray himself as a true conservative.

Rush always tells us that you have to be comfortable with being a true conservative. That a true conservative has no problems speaking about conservatism because it comes from their core. Conservatism comes from their heart so it is easy for them to talk about it. Mitt calling himself  “severely conservative” tells us everything we need to know. Sounds like he is saying he has some kind of disease.

It sure has not been easy for Romney to talk about conservatism. It never has and seems like it never will be. Is this who we really want to lead our party in the fall?

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Or did he?

Clearly, Newt changed his tactics in the last two debates this week. It was very clear to anyone who has watched his other performances that something was different. Why? Was he tired? Was the questioning ‘changed’ by the networks to make sure Newt did not have a “Newt Moment” again? Was this a strategic move on Gingrich’s part? I guess only Newt and insiders at his campaign know the answer to those questions.

Whatever the case may be I know there are a lot of disappointed ‘Newt Fans’ out there tonight. Many of us were hoping that someone, anyone could beat Mitt Romney. It seemed like Newt missed so many opportunities to score points. Also, Romney stepped up his game tonight. While he was still not great he did show improvement in style enough to make the media and Republican establishment breath a sign of relief. They think they put Newt back in his place tonight and Romney can take a giant step towards the nomination with a win in Florida now.

So did Newt lose the Florida primary tonight with his debate performance? I don’t think so. Sure, he did not perform the way many wanted him to but are we to really think that people vote just based on what they see in a debate? How many people could have even watched that debate that will be voting Tuesday? The truth is probably not that many. I know my sister and her family did not watch it. My Mother did not watch it. In fact, none of my friends in Florida watched it either.

Newt did OK in the debate.  He was not bad at all. No Perry moments, not even close. He made his points well. Newt just did not hit one out of the park. It is not realistic to think he can do that in every debate. The expectations were just too high for him to meet after the South Carolina debates.

Lets hope the people in Florida working for Newt are not depressed because that is exactly what the Romney people and RINO’s are hoping for! Florida is NOT lost by any means. Maybe Newt knows what he is doing. If not and he loses then so be it. But never give up before the game is over. Tim Tebow proved that many, many times this year.

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Last night Florida and NBC got their turn at a Republican Presidential Nominee debate. Unlike in South Carolina on CNN and Fox News, NBC and Brian Williams told the audience that applause and outbursts would not be permitted. So here we have the media telling people what to do and how to act. Good start to the debate huh? Too bad “Freedom” and the fact that we lose more and more of it each day was not the topic of conversation last night.

First off, did anyone really watch this debate? I bet not many. Hard to imagine that just two days after the South Carolina vote took place there was already another Republican Presidential Race. The sheer number of these debates is becoming overwhelming (or underwhelming) to say the least.

Some have said the purpose of all these debates is that the Republicans wanted the greatest amount of ‘airtime’ possible for their candidates during the nomination process. Maybe, but could it also be that there is a huge amount of money being made by having so many TV events? Have no idea but just wondering.

Anyway, the debate last night was a boring one. Nothing really took place that might change the dynamic of the race. Pretty much if you were already backing one candidate over another you probably still are and if you are an undecided it seems unlikely anything took place that would change your mind.

One notable thing was that Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich seemed to change roles. Romney was the attack dog from the very start of the debate tossing out a long list of negative assertions about Newt Gingrich and his past. Newt tried to stay above it all and play the new role of front runner since he now leads in the latest Florida polls and has pulled even with Romney in some national polls.

For those tuning in to see another “Newt Moment” it never happened. Granted, it would be almost impossible for Newt to continue to have moments like he did in the two South Carolina debates last week. People these days expect excitement and drama on every occasion and that is just not realistic. Remember when one short moment is said to have propelled Ronald Reagan to the nomination? One short sentence was all it took back then in 1980 but now people want a dramatic comment at every debate it seems. Not going to happen.

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So Mitt Romney went on the attack which in the past he has not done real well in that role. How did he do? Actually, he did pretty well attacking Newt! He must have been practicing because he was polished in his presentation on subjects like Newt’s arrangement with Freddie Mac which Romney called ‘Influence Peddling’ and the fact that Gingrich had 85 ethics violations against him and later resigned as Speaker of the House.

Surprisingly, Gingrich did not really attack back too much. Several times Romney said, “You resigned in disgrace” and Gingrich just let it go without a challenge. Newt did point out that 84 of the 85 ethics violations were totally dismissed as having no merit and were simply brought about by the Democrats trying to damage him as Speaker and get control of the House back. He mentioned that the Democrats were not too happy having lost control of the House for the first time in 40 years and wanted it back no matter what. The one remaining ethics charge he was later cleared of in 1999 after an IRS investigation. You can read about the dismissal of that charge here IRS Clears Gingrich Foundation

Newt said Romney was not telling the truth and making false statements and that he did not want to waste time discussing them but he would dispute each one on his website www.newt.org. He also pointed out that Romney used these same tactics against McCain and Huckabee in 2008 and the ‘American People will not fall for it.’ You can see Romney’s latest attack ads at http://www.mittromney.com/

Without going through all the back and forth between Romney and Gingrich on who ‘won’ it seemed like the bottom line comes down to who you believe more. Romney’s attacks seemed to have merit and so did Gingrich’s defenses. So it is probably a wash as far as changing any votes. As stated above, if you were for Mitt going in you probably still are and the same can be said if you were leaning towards Newt you most likely remain in his camp.

About all these attacks back and forth…People do change over time and change their positions. A big part of politics is bringing up your opponents past record and trying to use that against them. As a voter how can we decide if a person truly has changed their views on certain subjects or are just saying what they think we want to hear? Newt is a politician and Romney is a salesman so they both are well skilled in knowing and saying what they think people want to hear.

As both candidates keep bringing up the others past it makes you wonder but the only proper way to move forward is to take them at their word now. We have all changed our minds. It does not seem logical to use something a candidate did or said 5-10-15 years ago against them today if they have come out and said they were wrong in the past and have changed their mind. We should take both of them at their word if they say they have changed their minds and were wrong in the past.

Remember, Newt’s rise in South Carolina came about NOT from an attack on Romney. It came about from his attack on Juan William’s and John King’s questions in the debates that had nothing to do with Romney. That should be a lesson learned to both these guys on how to best move forward from here.

Yes, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul were at the debate and both did well but attention clearly was focused on Mitt and Newt and rightfully so because Santorum and Paul are only showing support in the 10% range in Florida. Reports say that Paul is not going to even contest Florida except for the debates and Santorum will have a hard time competing because Florida is a media intensive state and requires lots of money spent on television which he does not have.

Ron Paul and Rick Santorum will probably do better down the road in other states. For Santorum to really get back in the race Newt will have to collapse. Since he is used to campaigning with little money though Santorum will hang around hoping that happens. Paul will stay until the end no matter what.

There is another debate coming up Thursday night. Hopefully, this one will be better.

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If you want to watch the debate here is a link to a replay (don’t know how long it will stay active)

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Everyone this morning is talking about how good the Republican debate was last night. It was a good debate and had several memorable moments. Here is my take of what happened and who came out on top.

1) Newt Gingrich clearly won the debate. He probably has won all the debates though so that is not new. But he seemed to win this one by the largest margin yet. At one moment his answer even got a standing ovation from the audience. That was the first time we have seen that in all these events to date. Newt said he wants to teach young people how to get a job and then ultimately how to ‘own’ the job.

Gingrich stood strong on the work ethic and what makes America great. Probably the biggest positive thing that he did was make everyone realize what they like about Newt and how great it would be to have him taking it to Obama in the debates next fall. Newt is an idea guy. It would be nice to have a Republican in the White House that the Democrats can’t say is dumb for a change!

There is not an endorsement but there is no one else in the race who knows how Washington works and potentially has the ability to get things done there as well as he does. Some say that is a bad thing but if Newt truly does what he says in his 21st Century Contract With America we would be taking a big step towards restoring the country to what it should be. No one can speak as in depth about the issues as Newt can.

2) Mitt Romney did a ‘capable’ job which is what he always does. Did he inspire anyone? Not really. He never does for some reason. He seems to come off like a “Ken doll’ and that may be the problem. On the other hand his real problem with conservatives (not RINO’s) may be his record as MA Governor. Despite what you hear from some there was really nothing conservative about his MA record and that fact makes it hard for a true conservative to support him.

Romney got booed when he came out in full support last night of Obama’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). He stated that just as he is “sure” President Obama will not abuse the provisions in that bill about detaining American citizens without charging them with anything he would not abuse that power either. Hmmm, really? Romney stated that ‘the people’ elect people to represent them and then they ‘trust’ those people not to abuse the power they have been given. Really? We (the American people) don’t blindly trust anyone. We believe in what Reagan said, “Trust but Verify”. NDAA is a scary bill and should not be taken lightly. Does anyone know where Newt stands on this bill?

Romney also gave an answer about gun control that left many 2nd Amendment supporters yelling at their TV screens. He said that while he did not support any ‘new’ gun laws we should actively enforce the ones on the books now. His big claim to showing his support of gun rights was a bill he championed as the Governor of MA which according to Mitt was a good compromise between guns rights advocates and people who oppose gun rights. He highlighted that the bill actually had a provision that “allowed hunters to cross roads with a rifle”. Wow! Really? That is his idea of supporting gun rights? Geez, he sounds like he supports the UN position on this subject.

He also told us about how he likes to hunt every now and then, but he is not an active hunter. So Mitt showed his hand on the 2nd Amendment with his words that gun rights are a ‘compromise’ and not a certainty. This was a huge moment if you are a gun rights supporter. Mitt sounds like he is one of those that say it is OK to have a rifle for hunting but not much else. The 2nd Amendment is not a comprise with gun rights opponents. It is black and white with no gray. American citizens have the right to bear arms and that cannot be infringed upon. Period. Romney raised taxes on guns in MA by a huge amount while Governor.

Of course, the media folks say Romney did fine and nothing that took place last night will change his status as the front runner. I don’t fully agree with that spin.

3) Rick Santorum started out fast attacking Romney and actually getting him to fall into a trap about one of Romney’s SuperPac ads claiming Santorum thinks Felons (in jail) should be able to vote. Santorum says he thinks once you complete your sentence and are not on parole or probation anymore then you should be able to vote again. He flat out asked Romney to state his position on that and after a couple awkward moments Mitt said he did not support that idea. I tend to think that most conservatives do not support the right of former felons to vote again but would like to hear your thoughts on that subject. It seemed like Santorum’s trap may have ended up making Romney look better to conservatives on that topic.

Rick seemed to slow down some after that opening battle and it pretty much seemed like Newt stole the show after the first 30 minutes of the debate.

4) Governor Perry was sharp giving his best debate performance by far. The question is will it be too little too late to help him? He made some excellent points including that based on Freddie and Fannie the Federal Government should not be involved in housing at all. He got loud positive response from the audience several times but if he does not win SC (which he won’t) will he drop out of the race? Perry hinted around this week that he will decide after Saturday if he stays in or not. Well, that is not a good thing to say! How many people in South Carolina will vote for a guy if they are not sure he will be in the race next week?

Perry is too far behind in the polls to win SC. His best hope is 3rd but is that even realistic when you consider Ron Paul has a solid base of supporters? Probably the best he can hope for would be to beat out Santorum but that will even be tough. I hope he does well though.

5) Ron Paul really just needs to talk about the economy and his stances on that subject. He does great on economics issues but when it goes to foreign policy he loses a lot of people. In fact, he loses the majority of people! Sure, there are many that support his views but not enough to get him anywhere near winning the nomination. Yes, yes, despite what Ron Paul supporters say.

An excellent point he made was when he reminded people that up until 1913 there was no income tax and that he wants us to go back to “0%” on income tax which would be great. He did not give a real clear positive answer though when challenged by Rick Santorum about gun rights. Ron Paul has such a strong base of supporters he will probably do well in SC.

6) Glad to see Huntsman out of the race. The best part about Huntsman was he rides dirt bikes like I do!

The bottom line is if someone does not beat Mitt Romney in South Carolina it looks like there is no stopping him. Right now with Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Rick Perry all doing well in the debate they will split the conservative vote which helps Mitt Romney win again. Ron Paul will get his share of votes and that helps Romney also. He won’t need that much to win just like in Iowa.

I think Newt did well enough to cement a second place showing in SC but he really needs a win. There is another debate Thursday evening on CNN. If any one is going to beat Romney in SC they need to score more hits on him then. It looks like Gingrich is the only one within range of stopping the Romney momentum at this point unless Perry pulls out some kind of miracle.

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Allen West - Marines Peeing on Taliban

This week  a video came out showing some US Marines ‘peeing’ on dead Taliban fighters and it has created a firestorm of controversy. Rep. Allen West who is a retired Army Lt Colonel with combat experience commented on the video saying…

All these people like Hillary Clinton (who does not like the military anyway) condemning the Marines are ridiculous to say the least. So it is OK to kill them but ‘peeing’ on them after they are dead is a sin of the highest order.

Thank goodness for Newt! It literally amazes me how everyone and I mean everyone (yes, even all of them on Fox News) are attacking and criticizing Newt like he is the devil or something. The establishment wants who they want (Romney) and like democrats they will do anything to get their person the nomination. Pretty sad what has become of the GOP.

At first glance I also cringed when I heard Newt’s attacks on Romney and Bain Capital but in his defense Newt has made it VERY clear he is not attacking free enterprise in anyway. When you actually listen to Newt and not just the spin on what he said it makes sense. He is just questioning Mitt’s judgment and decisions not free enterprise or capitalism despite what the media keeps saying he is doing. Also, remember Newt did not start this plus it is better that it all comes out now instead of next fall. At least Romney has a chance to practice his response now because Obama WILL bring it up again.

Again, Newt has made it very clear that this is not an attack on capitalism but no one seems to be listening. He says it is about questioning Romney’s tactics in some situations. Not all, but some. Of course, no one on Fox or anywhere else will make clear what Newt is saying. Instead they just bash him and call him names like ‘Angry Newt’, ‘Road Rage Newt’, ‘Crazy Newt’, etc. I watch Newt all the time and I never see ‘Angry Newt’. I only see someone who is serious and makes solid points in a professional “matter of fact” manner. I like that! I want that in a President!

I get so sick of seeing Romney constantly smiling like a fake beauty pageant contestant and standing there with his hands in his pockets. I was in the Navy and standing around with your hands in your pocket was not a professional thing to do and not allowed.

Fox has really been disappointing me lately. It seemed to start back when Glenn Beck left the network. Does anyone else see them trying hard to be much more “middle of the road?” It is like listening to Michael Smerconish the way Fox is now. As if being a ‘moderate’ is the answer. Republicans falling for the trap of being a ‘moderate’ is why the country is in the shape it is now! Bi-partisanship and the phony notion that being a moderate is a ‘good’ thing are bringing our country to its knees and must stop. We need strong conservative leaders or there is no chance of fixing things.

The way Fox is attacking Newt makes me hope he succeeds if only to tic them off even more. Newt is not my first choice but I defend him on this one. I have a long history of being in business myself. I have dealt with venture capitalists before and while they do some good they can also do some bad. It is not like a regular business. Newt wants an explanation of Bain’s tactics in certain situations. This is a legitimate challenge! Mitt has hammered Newt over ‘certain’ situations in his past. This is no different.

People who are criticizing Newt so much saying he is attacking free enterprise are wrong. He is not. I love business and free enterprise more than anyone and will defend it to my death but I also realize that sometimes people do things in business that are wrong. Newt is asking the question of Romney to explain something in his past just like Romney challenged Newt on his past. Romney brought this up by bragging about how many jobs Bain Capital had created. If he had never brought that up this would be probably not be a topic of conversation right now.

Sure, Mitt had every right to do what he did. No one is saying he did anything illegal. I have no problem with what he did but the greater point here is that his VC background makes him the PERFECT opponent for Obama.

The Democrats have long been suggesting it will be Mitt Romney they will face. As Rush told us before, they always tell us who they want to go against and who they don’t. They have been telling us they want Romney for a long time. Now why in the world would they want Romney as the Republican nominee? The Occupy Wall Street movement did not just come about for any reason. It was not simply a spontaneous outcry. There is a reason it happened and helping Obama defeat Mitt Romney is one of them.

I can see it vividly…20,000 Occupy protesters camping out and rioting at the Republican convention this summer…Protesting Mitt Romney and his Wall Street pedigree. Is that what Republicans really want? That is coming if we nominate Mitt Romney. I would rather take my chances with Perry or Newt. I think their ‘issues’ are less damming than Mitt’s. Also, there is no doubt they are much more conservative than Romney.

I just don’t agree with the narrative that Romney has the best chance to beat Obama. CNN, MSNBC and the Republican establishment telling me that everyday confirms my belief it is not true.

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Since he entered the race Rick Perry has been his own worst enemy and last night nothing changed. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot! Again!

Let me say that I like Rick Perry and have liked him for a long time. I was very excited when he decided to enter the race because at that point there was no one else that really appealed to me. Sarah Palin was my first choice and as it looked more and more that she was not going to run Perry was my hope.

Even today I was happy to hear that he decided to stay in the race as I still support him. But (there is always a but) he has not run a good campaign and there is no one to blame except himself. Last night was another prime example of a very ‘bad’ night for Rick Perry and I am not talking about coming in a distant fifth place despite spending millions of dollars in the small state of Iowa.

What I am referring to is his ‘speech’ after the results were known saying he was going home to Texas to determine “if” there was still a path for him to continue in the race. What? Was that the same guy who for the last three days was insisting that he was in it for the long haul and that he was the only candidate besides Romney that had the ability to run a national campaign? I could not believe what he said as he was saying it last night. When it was clear that he was Mr. 10% in Iowa I waited for his comments as I did with the rest of the candidates. Bachmann was strong and still acted like she was in the race. Newt was very strong and said basically, “On to New Hampshire!”

Then we have Governor Perry come out and state that he was not sure he could continue and had to “think about it”. Perry should have done exactly as Bachmann did. Give a strong statement and then go home to think about it over night. I was very surprised with what he said.

I was a military pilot like Governor Perry and the first thing we learned as a pilot when facing adversity was an old saying to ‘sit on your hands.’ What that means is when things are tumultuous don’t just react. Sit on your hands for a little bit and think about the best thing to do. Don’t act rashly and make a foolish mistake like shutting down the wrong engine in the case of a fire. Make sure what you do is the right thing and not an emotional reaction. I was a Naval Aviator…maybe they don’t teach that in the Air Force.

Rick Perry reacted emotionally last night. It was his first defeat as a Politian and a big one at that. I guess he was depressed after working so hard and spending so much money to only get fifth. I don’t blame him! I would have been depressed also! But he is a professional Politian and HAD to realize that Iowa is not the jury and judge of this race. It is mostly a media event these days and the winner of Iowa does not even take the nomination most of the time!  Heck, Reagan even lost in Iowa! Does he not realize this?

With his statement last night he had every media person (and voter) in the country thinking he was out. Then the very next morning he is back in. It does not look good and Rick Perry did not need another ‘oops’ moment in his campaign but that is what we had yesterday. A strong leader (which I still think he could be) does not do things like that.

For me I can still support him. But every time he has issues like this he loses supporters. Today’s voters are very superficial and they are looking for someone that does not make silly mistakes. Too bad for Perry as he has made many. It is sad to me because he was my best hope for someone to beat Obama that would truly try to change Washington DC. None of the others (except Ron Paul) talk about dismantling Washington DC like Perry has talked about. He has a great message but it gets lost with these silly little mistakes. A good friend of mine was for Perry and after last night he has decided to back Newt. I am sure there are many more like him.

I hope a miracle happens and somehow he does well in South Carolina. It could happen but (another but) then I hear he is not even going to South Carolina until next week. I realize that he needs to prepare for the debates this weekend but not going to SC for at least a day or two is a mistake. Everyone is in New Hampshire and it would be a great opportunity to get all the free media attention in SC! I just don’t get it. My only thought is maybe, just maybe he is totally revamping his staff for a final ‘Hail Mary’ in SC.

One last comment…it sure would have been a good thing if Governor Perry had taken a Dale Carnegie course before he announced he was running. No kidding! Running for President REQUIRES you to be a great speaker and a great debater these days and that is a learned skill set. One week with Dale Carnegie before the first debate and Rick Perry would still be the front runner today.

I am still in his camp but Oh what could have been.

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