Comments wanted: Who to Vote for?
These are great topics…keep them coming. Last post, I opened the floor to hear what you wanted to discuss. Click HERE to submit your topic. I would like to do a post on each topic, allowing you all to help address the different issues. So, I’ll just post the comments in order, one a day, and then we can discuss them separately. Today’s topic of discussion is:
“So… who to vote for in the primaries?”
By Young Christian Woman
To submit the topic you would like to see discussed, post your comment/question on the “Today is Your Debate” post, and I’ll post it in the order it comes! By the way, you are always welcome to post anonymously.
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Uncategorized | Word Warrior | 
October 29, 2007 12:03 pm
Audio available soon!
We have not yet made our decision. But last night, I watched this interview with Mike Huckabee, and was REALLY impressed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uvsf8uCcYxI
I know many conservatives are voting for Ron Paul,and I would love for someone to comment on their choice for Paul over Huckabee.
(I admit, I have not done very much research on the candidates, and am not at liberty to state who I think deserves the Presidency at this point.)
I would love to hear the major differences between these two candidates (I know their view on the war is different.)
gosh, I don’t know yet. I’m in a position of not only looking at canidates with christian values, but the canidate I vote for also has to be pro-military, since my husband is Amry.
It’s a tough call
I agree that Mike Huckabee sounds better than most of our options. However, he obviously is not a constitutionalist. In that interview with Glen Beck when asked about Katrina, he said that the federal government should have handed over some of the management of Katrina to state governments and that FEMA should be smaller. A Constitutional response would have been that the government has no business taking money from one group of people and giving it to another group of people. FEMA should not exist. Emergency management of floods, fires, etc. is clearly NOT a responsibility of the federal government. The only responsibilities that federal government has are those clearly delineated by the Constitution. They cannot take on those not given to them. The Constitution was to LIMIT the government. I will say it again the government does not have the authority to take money from one group of people and give it to another, not for any reason.
Huckabee also stated that he is for the fair tax. Let me be clear on this, I think that the fair tax would be millions of miles better than what we have now or what most other candidates propose and if push came to shove and that was the best that we could get, I would support that as a move in the right direction. (Much as I would support a ban on partial birth abortion as a move in the right direction. We haven’t won the war on abortion and I’m not really happy with where we are in that war, but it is a baby step.) The income tax, fair or not, is unconstitutional. The 16th amendment is unconstitutional.
These would be some of the differences between Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul. Ron Paul has said he would get rid of the IRS and federal reserve. He has a credible profession of faith in Jesus Christ and he is a constitutionalist. As a state senator he has opted out of the pension and magnificent health care benefits that are rightfully his. Each year Senators are given an amount of money to run their congressional offices and each year Ron Paul gives back what he does not spend.
Ron Paul is opposed to the war in Iraq BECAUSE the Congress has the responsibility to declare war and they never did. This is a clear breach of the seperation of powers per the Constitution and that is his given reason for opposing the war.
Ron Paul believes that the government should not be involved in health care, education, disaster management, or policing the world.
Some of Ron Pauls stands seems odd to those of us who are so used to the government managing every aspect of our lives. We are so far removed from real freedom that freedom scares us. Take some time to learn his positions, but also listen to why he holds those positions.
Kimberly,
I was wondering if you watched all 6 parts of the interview?
I know that later the interview, Huckabee stressed that the Fed. Gov had too much power and he would make moves to remedy that (not that that means he is a Constitutionalist)
And later he emphatically said that he would do away with the IRS altogether because the whole tax system is unconstitutional.
I favor Ron Paul over Huckabee because of his voting record
I am leaning Ron Paul overall, but I have not finished researching the topic. I’m kind of waiting til we get closer to the primaries to completely add my voice to the mix.
We are still researching and so far Ron Paul is our favorite, with Huckabee a very close second.
I just hate that so many don’t have a clue and they believe everything they hear on the evening news and Oprah.
John McCain!
I’m a Huckabee supporter, rhetorically, financially, and enthusiastically!
HERE ARE SOME THINGS HE IS:
- a man of his word (in personal AND political actions)
- pro-life
- constitutionally informed
- socially conservative and willing to ACT on it
- able to get things done in a VERY politically-divided atmosphere (his legislatures in AR were 90% Democrats and yet he moved his agenda forward with bipartisan support)
- a man with 10+ years of executive experience (being THE guy in charge)… no candidate in this race, Democrat OR Republican, has as much experience as he does
- economically, environmentally, and educationally responsible
- the best communicator BAR-NONE the Republicans have seen at least since Reagan.
HERE ARE SOME THINGS HE IS NOT:
- A party-line guy. Some of the things he’s interested in (health care for children, arts education, and immigration policies that point the finger at the gov’t rather than the immigrants) are NOT things that the avg. Republican takes on– but they ARE things that the average American is interested in!
- Merely a “preacher” (as some newsmedia folks have tried to cast him). He was a pastor, 20 years ago. Since then, he has been involved in all levels of political life AND has seen success.
- A man without a chance. He has done NOTHING but gain ground… consistently, across the board.
Rasmussen (the only poll right now that polls for LIKELY voters) has HUCKABEE AT 13% nationally. And THAT’s with fighting the name recognition factor… right now, most polls merely reflect name recognition (as in, “oh yeah, I remember him, he ________… yeah, I’d vote for HIM. “). Even without the widespread name recognition of a 9/11 mayor or a TV personality, Huckabee is gaining SIGNIFICANT ground.
I have heard many people say, “yeah, well, he doesn’t have a chance.” And with THAT kind of attitude, it’s true. No one but the media-chosen “top tier” has a chance when Americans take that kind of attitude.
NOW is the time that the average people can have a MAJOR effect on WHO WE GET TO CHOOSE FROM. Talk to your neighbors, and by all means make a donation if you can. DON’T JUST SETTLE FOR WHO THE MEDIA HAS PRE-SELECTED.
BUT COULD HE BEAT HILLARY?!
One more thing: Huckabee has THE BEST CHANCE of beating Hillary. Like Giuliani, he appeals to centrists… but unlike Giuliani, he would energize the core Republicans. Additionally, Hillary’s biggest “issue” is that no one likes her. Plenty of people admire her or even like her politics, but very few Americans would ever want to sit down and have dinner with her.
HE’S A REAL GUY
Unlike Hillary, HUCKABEE has the likability factor because he’s authentic and genuine. He’s not a silver-spoon-in-his-mouth guy who has been able to cakewalk through life. He worked his way through a private university (my alma mater) and graduated with honors in 2.5 years.
Early in their marriage, his wife Janet had spinal cancer and they worked through that together. They’ve raised three kids together, and his daughter is running his campaign.
They were even willing to save Arkansas taxpayers’ money and live in a doublewide trailer while the Governor’s mansion was being restored. This is a man who isn’t too good to serve the people. He is a hard-working, intelligent, well-spoken, man of integrity. And I can’t wait to vote for him.
Thanks for asking!
~Jess @ Making Home
If Huckabee really believes the Federal Government has too much power, why would he support the No Child Left Behind Act which set Federal standards for education. He justified this by saying the state can make their own tests, but “there’s a value of having a national effort to at least set high standards.”
He is also looking for support from the teacher’s union NEA (a group that wants to abolish homeschooling) by addressing them and making statements such as they report on the NEA site…”Teaching is “a vital and important profession” deserving of professional-level salary and benefits and elevated respect as we seek to “educate our replacements, the next generation” in this country,…”
From their website (http://www.nea.org/annualmeeting/raaction/07candidates.html#huckabee#huckabee_edwards) it looks like he was one republican among several democrats looking to please them. It just look like he is all for “improving” government education; and I am all for getting rid of it entirely. Why would he make the statement that it takes “extraordinary professional development” to become an educator, when we have to fight for our rights to homeschool our children without being certified teachers?
Any candidate courting the NEA is not for me as a first choice. He may be a decent second choice, but I haven’t searched for any beyond Ron Paul as he’s for what the country was founded on in my opinion…freedom.
Wow! Thanks for pointing all of that out Bran! Good information. I say do away with public education and let parents be responsible for their children. Community schools financed and run by the parents is the next best thing to homeschooling and Christian schools.
Thanks for sharing.
Word Warrior,
I agree with you that Huckabee may be better than many and that he does say he believes in smaller government. However, his ideas of smaller government and the Constitution’s definition of government are not in agreement.
Thanks Bran for your insight regarding the government school issue. As I stated in my first comment, it is never right for the government to take money from one group of people and give it to another group of people. This is exactly what is happening with the government schools. The government is taking money from people with no children and people who choose to educate their own children and giving it to people who choose to send their children to the government schools. This is legalized theft.
I do intend to watch the rest of the interview with Huckabee. With 8 small children running around it is just a matter of finding the time.
Again Bran, thanks for the information on Huckabee and his position on education.
Regarding experience, Ron Paul served in Congress for several years in the late 1970′s and early 1980′s. He voluntarily relinquished his position to return to his successful OB practice. He returned to Congress in 1997 and currently serves on the House Commitee on Financial Services and the House Commitee on Foreign Affairs. With more like 15+ years of political service and a public voting record, I am very comfortable with Ron Paul’s experience.
Please go research Ron Paul. Check out his voting record. I do believe he would be wonderful for our nation, not perfect, but heads and shoulders better than anyone else out there that I have heard of.
Blessings,
Kimberly
Thanks Kimberly and all of you who have given us insightful information.
I have definitely not decided my vote yet…be aware, that my questions/comments about Huckabee merely serve as a comparison point between him and Paul. I know Paul is a fantastic candidate, just by the people I know and admire who are voting for him!
He may well be our guy…I was just so impressed with the interview with Huckabee, that I needed some clarification about his differences with Paul before I can make a decision.
I am just beginning to research candidates…got a long way to go!
Wow! What a lot of information! Thank you ladies!
I was just reading in WORLD magazine about the latest Christian conference with the Republican candidates. There are a lot that are supporting Mitt Romney. My husband and I were just talking about that the other night. If you are aware of the fact that Mormonism is cult, not a branch of Christianity, then…think about this. What if a man was a member of the Church of Scientology…would you vote for him…even if he had the same “family values”? Just a thought. I know no one here has mentioned him but I was just sooo surprised at how many Evangelical Christians would support him.
Just my 2 cents!
Hugs,
Carmen
I have been asking Ron Paul to run for the presidency since I was a political science student more than 8 years ago. Now that he has finally done what I asked (tee hee!) I am very active in promoting him and working locally for his campaign.
I think every other candidate for the presidency is some form of George Bush warmed over. Perhaps the most conservative “other choice” is Mike Huckabee, but even he is merely a social conservative of a certain stripe, not a conservative through and through.
At one time I said that if Ron Paul were to leave the race, I would support Mike Huckabee. As I stated on another blog, I feel terribly convicted for saying that and perhaps influencing others in that direction. I do believe that Huckabee is a nice guy and that he is my Christian brother. But I simply can’t abide his policies, primarily on the Iraq war. Huckabee tauts himself as “pro-life for all of life” but his approach to the devastation in Iraq is quite the opposite. He has stated he would continue with things as Bush has done, excused torture committed by military personnel, and instead of consulting our Constitution (or even better for a Christian, his Bible) on whether this war was necessary and just, has said that “historians” will decide if what we have done was right. He loves to use the word “honor” to defend continuing the war in Iraq, but this war has been anything but honorable, having killed thousands of innocents and misused our brave military.
As a Christian, I cannot condone this. I can’t put my Christian principles aside and vote for someone who shares a couple of my beliefs. I realize others don’t feel the same conviction on this that I do, but there it is nonetheless. I am pro-life, for ALL LIFE, for all of life.
As for Ron Paul, here are some of what I consider to be his big selling points:
*100% pro-life. In 40 years as a doctor he has never seen a reason to commit an abortion. 4000 babies later and he sees the value of human life even more than he did as a young medical student. People sell themselves as “pro-life” hoping for a conservative vote, especially from single issue voters. Ron Paul actually acts upon his pro-life principles and has a bill in congress that would constitutionally terminate Roe vs. Wade.
*Pro-homeschooling, moreso than any other candidate. Ron Paul has for many years stated that he wants to see parents given more choice in how they educate their children, and long ago proposed an education tax credit that parents would use to educate their children how they see fit. There are many groups out there that are trying to take away our right to teach our own children, or to send them to non-government schools. Ron Paul is the only candidate who wishes to reinforce our right, not just give it a nod.
*Pro-gun rights. I believe that Americans have not only a right, but a responsibility to protect themselves. Ron Paul is the strongest supporter of the 2nd amendment in Washington. Having him in the White House would undue a lot of damage that the last 20 years or so has done. Other candidates who use their NRA memberships as a selling point don’t realize that real 2nd Amendment supporters find that not only unappealing, but a sell-out. The NRA has actually assisted the government in steadily stripping away our right to bear arms.
*Sound money. A return to the gold standard is absolutely essential if we’re not going to see our economy collapse. Most people are uninformed on this issue and sort of roll their eyes or see this as a chicken-little-the-sky-is-falling issue, but it truly isn’t. Our dollar is worth less every day and we are billions of dollars in debt to countries that are not our friends, for money that is barely worth the paper it’s printed on. They’re going to want us to pay up. When we can’t, what is going to happen? As we go further and further into debt to pay for an atrocious war and entitlement programs that EVERY other candidate promotes, Ron Paul is standing up for stewardship, for our right to property, and for sound money.
*Government waste and bureaucracy. Ron Paul was very close friends with Ronald Reagan, so much so that he was one of only 4 who supported Reagan’s initial bid for the presidency. But when congress wanted to give Reagan a congressional medal of honor, Ron Paul said no. It cost $30,000 to make one, and Ron said it wasn’t right to spend the people’s money on a fancy medal. Instead, he asked all the other congressmen to match his $100 gift, so they could personally pay for Reagan’s medal. They refused. It wasn’t important enough for them to spend THEIR money on. So they passed their bill, and spent the people’s money. Ron Paul was ashamed of his colleagues, but Ronald Reagan was proud to call Ron Paul his friend.
This has been the history of Ron Paul’s THIRTY-TWO years in congress…he respects people enough to not waste their money, and when his colleagues don’t, he is not ashamed to speak out, even if he is the only one who defends us. I teach my children every day the principles of proper stewardship. I expect no less of my government.
*A profound understanding and respect for our military. As a daughter and granddaughter of veterans, this is so important to me. I hate that the previous few administrations have sent our military personnel globe-trotting to police other countries’ doings and try to wrestle other governments under our authority. Our military personnel are a precious resource that should be respected enough to keep them from harm so that when our country needs to be defended, they are rested, capable, and well-girded. Ron Paul receives the most military support of ALL candidates, democrat and republican. They know he believes in them and believes in what they were trained for, rather than considering them to be servants at the beck and call of every whim of the sitting president, as they have been treated under Clinton and Bush.
That is all I have time for now, but I will say that I have lots of links, articles, and videos on my blog. I am an all-out Ron Paul supporter. I honestly don’t know if he can win. Hillary is, unbelievably, a serious force to be reckoned with. But as I’ve said before, winning is not the only goal here. Principle is. As a mother and as a Christian, I am supporting Ron Paul.
He shares my faith, my convictions, and my vision.
Tamara,
Thanks so much for all your info! That helps a lot!
Yes, it scares me that Hillary is any kind of force…but who knows, if we band together–and that’s why I want to make sure we understand the candidates and what they stand for–maybe we can do something amazing in this election!
I like Senator Brownback. He spoke at The Call in Nashville about repenting for the abortions in this country. He also has been an advocate for Christians persecuted for their faith.
He stopped by my church recently when we were having a conference. I was impressed….and I’m not easily impressed! LOL
Kelly, you are very welcome. I enjoy your blog, btw.
Gombojav Tribe, Brownback is pro-life but his policies on many other subjects are quite anti-constitutional, including support for this war. He pulled out of the race a couple of weeks ago. (in case you didn’t know)
Hilary Clinton IS a serious force to reckon with, but she also has a 49% negative reaction rate, so at least that is something to work with.
bcv
Obama ’08!!!