Romney Locks Up GOP Nomination

Former Senator Rick Santorum effectively ended his presidential bid today when he announced that he's suspending it.  This pretty much clears the path for former Massachusettes Governor Mitt Romney to secure the GOP presidential nomination.

Romney is not the "perfect" candidate.  Who is?  But he has the experience in private enterprise and in government to turn this country away from the socialist policies of the Obama and the Democrats.  In 2008, I preferred Romney over John McCain.

It is time to get on board the Romney campaign to defeat Barack Obama this November.   Go to www.mittromney.com to volunteer or donate.  Get involved!

Santorum's Dumb Comment: Time To Hang It Up!

Former Senator and presidential candidate Rick Santorum stepped in it yesterday when he said (about a choice between rival Mitt Romney and Barack Obama), “We might as well stay with what we have.”

This comment disappointed Santorum supporters, including columnist Michelle Malkin, who wrote, "I remain a Rick Santorum supporter, but I do not agree with the comments he reportedly made earlier tonight about Barack Obama being preferable to Mitt Romney."

Romney answered Santorum during an interview with Hugh Hewitt:

HH: Well, I’ve got to talk to you about something Rick Santorum said today. He shocked a lot of people when he said that you know, we might as well stick with President Obama rather than elect Mitt Romney if you’re the nominee. That’s a paraphrase. But what do you think of that statement?

MR: Well, I’m afraid Rick is confusing the nature of this race. This race is not about one person. This is a race about the direction for the country. The country is going in a very seriously wrong direction under President Obama. And I’m afraid that Rick increasingly thinks this race is about him. It’s not about him. It’s not about me. It’s not about a personality. It’s about the country. And I’m really disappointed in Rick’s statement. Obviously, he endorsed me three years ago when I was running for president. He had no problem calling me a real conservative, a solid conservative. But now that he’s in the race, it has become all about Rick. And that’s just not right for the party, it’s not right for the country.

HH: Governor Romney, the exact quote from Senator Santorum is “We might as well stay with what we have.” You have talked about the consequences of a second term for Barack Obama. Now one of two people are going to be president a year from now – you or Barack Obama. What difference will it make?

MR: Well, first of all, under Barack Obama, we’d keep Obamacare. If I’m president, we’ll get rid of Obamacare. Under President Obama, we’ll have probably two, maybe even three new Supreme Court justices, liberals, progressives, so to speak. If I’m president, we’ll have strict constructionists on the Court. Under Barack Obama, we’ll have more restriction on fossil fuels, and a higher cost of gasoline. If I’m president, we’ll take advantage of our energy resources. Under Barack Obama, we’ll continue to tilt the playing field towards organized labor. If I’m president, we’ll allow individuals to have a secret ballot to decide if they want a union or not. I mean, my list goes on. You could not have much more differences than those that add up, for instance, to a deficit under Barack Obama of a trillion dollars a year, with America ultimately hitting a Greek-like wall. If I’m president, we will finally balance our budget, we will secure Social Security and Medicare without bankrupting the next generation. It’s a wholly different course if I’m president than if Barack Obama is president.

Romney has an overwhelming lead in the delegate count. Santorum has virtually no chance in overtaking Romney.

Rick, it's time to hang it up!

Washington State Caucus

Those of you who are political junkies (or those who aren't but curious anyway) may wonder how the caucus process works. Well, a friend in Washington state recently emailed about the Washington GOP caucus. He agreed to let me pass on his experience (some editing was done to protect the innocent).

Caucuses (caucii?), I don’t know, I’m kinda’ torn between primaries and the caucuses. There’s good and bad in both. Yes, with a caucus, there is considerably less financial involvement. If you weren’t paying attention, the average person had no idea there was even a caucus here last Saturday. I saw one TV ad (for Paul). I did get numerous phone calls from Romney urging me to attend. In the days leading up to the caucus, Romney, Gingrich and Paul showed up. Don’t know about Santorum.

Yes, it’s a great grass roots kinda thing. You get together with your neighbors on a precinct level. There’s about 600 voters in a precinct here, normal turnout for caucus from my precinct is 5-7 people. The local precinct captain picks the location, it can be in his home. Went to one of those back in ’88. All of ‘em since have been in a school cafeteria with dozen or so other precincts. While I missed the ’04 ( I mean, why bother), I’ve been to all the others. Generally, pretty boring.

During the first hour, you discuss what should be in the platform, so really it’s an hour wasted on arguing about abortion. At a specified time, generally 60-90 minutes after the start time, you get to vote for delegates to the county convention. Most years, anybody, regardless of who they want for president, who promises to go to the county convention gets picked as a delegate. We’re a big precinct, so we get two delegates.

A couple of months later, you get to go the county convention. Bunch of speakers, hours spent arguing over abortion and then finally you get to vote for this slate of delegates or that slate of delegates to go to the state convention. I’ve been to a 3-4 county conventions, but never been to a state convention. At the state convention, held a month or so later, they pick the 43 lucky bastards who get to go the national convention.

Only thing different about this year, was that as you signed in, there was a spot where you vote in a straw poll who you were supporting for president. And that’s the number the news reported later in the day. Who knows the number of delegates everybody got. Probably the same percentages. But the numbers aren’t really going to matter by the time the state convention gets around to selecting delegates.

Honestly, I much prefer the primaries, but maybe without the TV ads. Once it’s over, it’s over. And everybody knows how many delegates everyone won.

Who did I vote for? I didn’t. I never got in. Another downside to the caucus. It’s my own damn fault. The doors opened at 9:00 AM, proceedings started at 10:00. I got there at 9:30, in plenty of time. Or so I thought. Never ever had lines before. Never had all those people show up.

However, had I gotten in and gotten to vote, I would have voted for Romney. Now, I expect the rest of can handle that, but James, I know that won’t sit well with you. Sorry about that, but that’s the way it is. Santorum’s a religious nut case. Gingrich (whom I’ve always admired) just has too many things wrong with him. While I like half of what Paul says, he’s off the deep end. And the bottom line here, none of those three are going to beat Obama. Romney has a chance.

The Fat Lady's Number Is Still Far Away

It isn't over in the GOP race for the Republican presidential nomination as former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum swept the Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado contests last night.

Santorum hit the right note when he said, "I am not the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney. I am the conservative alternative to Barack Obama!" He emphasized freedom over nanny government. He also said that God-given rights cannot be taken away, but rights given by the government can.

It ain't over until the fat lady sings. That is still far off as last night's results show.

The Good Ol' Days

Above, Ronald Reagan at the 1976 Republican National Convention. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

This year's GOP primary season is different for me.

In past election cycles, I've always had a clear favorite candidate. This year I don't, although all of the Republican contenders would be light years better than the Marxist incumbent in the White House.

This year also brings me back to days of yesteryear when Ronald Reagan was running and I was heavily into political activism.

At the "ripe old age" of 22, I was a California area chairman in my congressional distict (the Hawthorne-Lawndale-Gardena area of Los Angeles County) for Reagan when he ran against President Gerald Ford. I was also a Reagan delegate to the 1976 Republican National Convention in Kansas City, Missouri.

Although Reagan lost the nomination to Ford, I still wouldn't trade that experience for anything. After the convention, as we were being bused to the airport for our flight home, we passed a business that had a sign that read, "Goodbye, Republicans. You blew it!" Sure enough, Ford lost to Jimmy Carter in the general election.


Right, actor Michael Landon with Ronald Reagan at the 1980 California Primary Victory Party at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

In 1980, I again was the area chairman for Reagan as well as a delegate to the 1980 Republican National Convention in Detroit, Michigan. That year, it was plainly obvious that Carter was an incompetent president (much like Obama this year) and that he should be defeated.

Thankfully, Reagan won the GOP nomination and general election.




In 1984, I served as the area chairman for Reagan's re-election campaign and served as an alternate delegate to the 1984 Republican National Convention in Dallas, Texas.


Above, a "welcome home" rally was held for Ronald and Nancy Reagan at Los Angeles International Airport following the 1980 GOP National Convention. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

After that year, I ended up getting married and had a daughter (now age 25). That pretty much ended my years of hardcore political activism. But I remain somewhat involved here and there. Once it gets into your blood, it's hard to completely quit.

It will be interesting to see how this year's campaign turns out. This country is at the crossroads. Will it return to being the country that we grew up with or will it be permanently transformed into a socialist mess if Obama wins re-election?

Iowa A Virtual Tie Between Romney and Santorum

The Iowa caucuses are now over and the result is a virtual tie between Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum with an eight-vote difference between the two.

The results: MITT 30,015; RICK 30,007.

Either one of these two would be perfectly acceptable to me as the GOP nominee to face the most radical and incompetent president we've ever had in the White House.

Next, is the New Hampshire Primary on January 10.

Michael Reagan Considering Senate Bid In 2012

Left, Michael Reagan and Armand in 1977.

California U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein is reportedly having weak favorable ratings in the polls. This is leading to speculation on a possible GOP challenger in next year's elections.

Her support for President Obama's policies is the main factor.

Michael Reagan, the eldest son of former President Ronald Reagan, is reportedly considering a bid to unseat Feinstein.

According to SFGate.com:

One Republican who is considering a run is Michael Reagan. "Yes," he said in an e-mail to The Chronicle Thursday, "but can't talk about it now." Reagan, who has never held public office, declined to respond to further questions.

If Reagan decides to run he would have my full support without question.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/09/16/MNJT1L533F.DTL#ixzz1YAmbIthY