Who Will Be The 2016 GOP Nominees?
 

Or who do you want to see as the GOP's winning ticket for 2016?




My bet for right now is on a Scott Walker/Ted Cruz ticket. How about you?

Re: Who Will Be The 2016 GOP Nominees?
 

I like Rand Paul. Ted Cruz is good as well. Not sure about Scott Walker

Do. Not. Want. Jeb Bush. Nor do I want Chris Christie, Rick Santorum, Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckleberry, Dr. Ben Carson or Rick Perry.

Re: Who Will Be The 2016 GOP Nominees?
 

I used to like Chris Christie but now I don't.

I think Rubio would make a good VP candidate for Walker. I like Rand Paul, but I don't think his foreign policy leanings will be good for the country.

I don't like Ted Cruz.

What's wrong with Carson-- other than he won't win?

Re: Who Will Be The 2016 GOP Nominees?
 

When I am not posting theological reflections, I am a delegate to the Wisconsin Conservation Congress.

As such, I interact with Gov. Walkers office on a semi regular basis.

Scott Walker has a tendency to strip authority from boards and commissions and assumes their authority as his own. For example, the Natural Resources Board determines policy for the state of Wisconsin. That board is now being made into a "recommendation" board without any power.

Scott Walker is strongly anti educational. His attack on public school teachers, in the name of "budget control" has left a bitter scar on our state. He takes tax money away from public schools and gives it to charter schools. He cut 900 million from the university system, then ordered that they could not increase tuition rates. On a local level, in Madison, nearly 50% of the black students drop out of high school. Walker has done nothing to fix that problem.

Scott Walker has the very worst environmental record of any governor we have ever had. Water regulations have been compromised. Frac sand mining has gone unregulated. The DNR faces deep cuts. Especially to it's scientific department.

Scott Walker demonstrates racism against Native Americans in his policies. He refuses to aid black kids who are dropping out of school. Face it, if you are not white, he is not your governor.

The policy changes he is introducing to our state are in the interests of his public image. He certainly did not campaign on them. He pushes through legislation that improves his political career, at the expense of the state.

The governors office refuses to work with democrats on any subject, at any level, for any reason.

I would not recommend Scott Walker for any government job.

I have no party affiliation. I was republican until Walker ruined the party for me.

Vote for some one else.

Re: Who Will Be The 2016 GOP Nominees?
 

Me, too.

I forgot about Rubio. He's not bad, and I agree to him being a VP candidate, rather than a President.

Rand Paul is my favorite because he's inserting Libertarianism into his Republican beliefs. He's also doing things no other Republican has done. His efforts in reaching out to minority voters - from having Q&A sessions at historically black colleges, to going to Ferguson to speak with residents and activists there - is to be commended. He's also co-sponsored the "Redeem Act" with Cory Booker to reform sentencing guidelines. And he's pushed for nonviolent felons, who have served their sentence, to be allowed the right to vote. I like his foreign policy, which is still strong, but not one which would make us world police.

I'd love to see Rand as President, but I'm not naive. I'd settle for him as VP.

I like Ted Cruz. Again, as VP.

Everyone jumped on the Dr. Carson bandwagon after his remarks at the prayer breakfast a couple years ago. Other than Dr. Carson being a black man who often criticizes obama, I don't know what the attraction is. This reminds me of when Republicans were drooling over Colin Powell...until they found out he was a social liberal.

Dr. Carson was a gifted neurosurgeon, no doubt. But he's managed no company or business, led no boards nor has governed in any local, state or federal compacity.

This is what I posted here back in November of last year.


Abortion
He endorsed a pro-abortion candidate and when asked why he did, he compared the issue to barnacles on the side of a ship headed over the Niagara Falls.

You have to be savvy because if you just do everything based on your principles in a political world, you’ll always be doing it from the sideline…. It means re-arranging your priorities. If the ship is about to go off Niagara Falls, which is the analogy I like to use, you probably shouldn’t spend all your time dealing with the barnacles on the side. What you need to do is get the ship turned around first and once it’s sailing in the right direction, that’s when you begin to concentrate more on the other issues.

Source Link

He did say he's against "abortion for convenience," though I have yet to find anything - a statement or paper - where he's said or written opposition to abortion in general.


Healthcare
In his book, America the Beautiful, he gave an example of assisting with a patient's death, promoting patient-assisted suicide if they choose.

I remember a case of a prominent individual who had been in an automobile accident and was rendered a C-1 quadriplegic, which means not only was he paralyzed from the neck down, but he could not breathe without assistance. We could have made the decision to keep him alive at all costs, but through a unique system of communication that we were able to work out with him, he indicated that he wanted to die. After much debate, we yielded to his wishes and withdrew ventilator support. In the long run, I think our course of action was both compassionate and pragmatic. If we integrate compassion and logic into our decision-making processes, I am convinced that we will deal with newly emerging ethical dilemmas appropriately.

He's also questioned the merits of prolonging life, since he claims that nearly half of American's medical expenses are incurred in the last six months of their life.


Free Speech
Again, in his book, he draws a line on free speech and supports curtailing it, if it becomes "hate speech."

Of all the wonderful freedoms that characterize life here in America, freedom of speech is one of the most important. This was most dramatically demonstrated in a recent Supreme Court decision, which upheld the rights of members of the Westboro Baptists Church to display extremely offensive signs and shout obscenities during funeral services for veterans. They are an intolerant hate group that despises homosexuality and are angry with the military because gays are allowed to serve. There is almost no one who agrees with the Westboro Church, but because of the Supreme Court's decision to strictly interpret the Constitution, the rights of the church members could not be denied.
I actually have some doubts about that legal decision, because the signs, obscenity, and noise infringe upon the rights of other Americans to assemble peacefully for the burial of one of their loved ones. If my right to free speech causes you actual harm, it becomes time to curtail my speech.


Gun Control
He's for gun rights, and even for semi-auto weapons...as long as you don't live in a city.

But when asked whether people should be allowed to own "semi-automatic weapons," the doctor replied: "It depends on where you live. I think if you live in the midst of a lot of people, and I'm afraid that that semi-automatic weapon is going to fall into the hands of a crazy person, I would rather you not have it," Carson elaborated. However, if you live "out in the country somewhere by yourself" and want to own a semi-automatic weapon, he added, "I've no problem with that."

Re: Who Will Be The 2016 GOP Nominees?
 

Hey Scott,

Thanks for the information on Governor Walker. I didn't know much about Walker until your post.

Re: Who Will Be The 2016 GOP Nominees?
 

david,
That's a lot of info about Dr. Carson's views. Most of it, I understand his point of view. I don't like his view on free speech though.

Re: Who Will Be The 2016 GOP Nominees?
 

I'm unsure about Walker. I've read good things and bad things about him. I liked his move against the unions. I think that endeared him to most conservatives. If he does run for President in 2016, I hope to read more of his record and what he was able to accomplish.

Thank you for your post. It's good to have first-hand information like this. I may not agree with everything written, but a do value and appreciate it.

Being on the WCC, I could see how that would upset you. From what I've read on this, it seems this could pretty much eliminate the need for the WCC. If the DNR board is made into an advisory board, then why would the DNR need the WCC...which is its advisory body. No need for two advisory bodies, right?

My disdain for the EPA somewhat biases my thoughts on this proposal. Personally, I believe policy decisions which include creating law should be made only by elected officials, not a group of people appointed who aren't accountable to anyone.

That said, I also believe in transparency and citizen input. If this takes that away, I'm not sure it's a good thing.

My daughter attends a charter school because the public schools here are terrible. I believe parents should have the freedom and be able to choose where to send their kids to school. To do that, states should allow vouchers to parents who wish to send their children to charter schools.

I've read he's proposing a $300 million cut, not $900 million. Source Link

On the flip side, he's giving UW what they've wanted for a long time, more independence.

What are your thoughts on this slush fund of $648 million found in hundreds of different accounts. If they can have $648 million hanging around, they should be able to operate with a 13% decrease in budget.

What's Walker supposed to do - force them to stay in school? Create a Truancy task force which goes out and arrests or forces kids to go to school? Where is the demand for parental responsibility. It's the parents job, not the Governor's, to make sure their kids are going to school. Blame the parents, not Walker, for this.

Again, as a representative of WCC, I could see how this would upset you.

How has he demonstrated racism against Native Americans?

Again, it's not his job to force any kids - white, black or whatever color - to stay in school. Where are the parents? What happened to parental responsibility?

Sounds like he took a page from obama's political playbook. :lol

Re: Who Will Be The 2016 GOP Nominees?
 

So basically, there's a bunch of nobody's-all-that-good in play for the GOP right now.

Re: Who Will Be The 2016 GOP Nominees?
 

Vote Indy, perhaps? :lol

Re: Who Will Be The 2016 GOP Nominees?
 

Oh, and one other thing about Scott Walker is that he really dislikes puppies and kittens.

Re: Who Will Be The 2016 GOP Nominees?
 

Did he strap a dog to the top of his car? I draw the line at strapping a dog on top of a car! :lol

Re: Who Will Be The 2016 GOP Nominees?
 

The free speech quote is a little alarming.

Rand Paul! :nod

:lol

Re: Who Will Be The 2016 GOP Nominees?
 

The total removed from the UW system is over 1 billion. NOt all at once, but in the last 2 years.

My position at the WCC is voted on by citizens in Adams County, I am elected to the post.

Walker 's disdain for the tribes can be seen in where the public hearing were held when the change to the mining law was made. None were in the watershed where the mine is located. 2 of the hearings were as far from the Bad River reservation as could possibly be. Prairie Du Chien was chosen for that very reason.

The removal of the hearings was to increase hardship to those from the local are who wanted to protest the bill. Had the mine been built, it would have destroyed the watershed of the Bad River Reservation.

Walker has been to Ashland. He has been to Hurley. He has never been to Odanah.

His staffers have openly despised the treaty rights of the Ojibwe to me in person. Every single chance he had to build a bridge with the tribe has been squandered.

Between the unions, school teachers and the tribes, Walker is leaving a legacy of civil unrest.

Please remember, I do not have a political party. These are my observations made through interacting with teachers and tribe members.

What bothers me the most is that apart from crafting policies that will improve his standing with the party, he has no distinguishing policies of his own. What legislation has he crafted that is unique to him ? I cannot think of any.

Re: Who Will Be The 2016 GOP Nominees?
 

What is Walker like ??

Our state budget is for a 2 year period. Departments turn in their budgets, they are combined and presto, you have a state budget.

Walker adds to each department budget and makes profound changes in policy or provides unplanned direction to each department, without any input from the departments. As one state employee told me today "it is the strangest budget I have ever seen".

Walker exercises power in ways not used by previous governors without providing any transparency as to the process, without seeking input from the departments themselves. Since the budget becomes law, each department is obligated to obey the nonfinancial changes to the budget put in place by the governor.

Re: Who Will Be The 2016 GOP Nominees?
 

Changes such as...?

Re: Who Will Be The 2016 GOP Nominees?
 

The Natural Resources Board has considerable power. Under the new budget, they are stripped of all power and are limited to an advisory role.

The land purchase program was killed.

Increases to park entrance fees were made.

My issue is that the DNR was not consulted at all on any of these changes. The DOT also faces unplanned changes.

We have an open records law in Wisconsin, but so far, no one knows who wrote these new changes to the budget.

This is typical of the Walker administration.

The other fun fact about Scott Walker is that he took a $700,000 bribe to pass a law changing the mining law.

Re: Who Will Be The 2016 GOP Nominees?
 

Prove it. You come on here talking against that fine man and you offer no proof for any of your negativity. There are 49 other states that you could move to if you don't like Governor Walker.

Re: Who Will Be The 2016 GOP Nominees?
 

The fine man took a $700,000 bribe. Is taking a bribe a sin ??

Call the Government Accountability Board and ask them what they think of that $700,000 bribe.

Re: Who Will Be The 2016 GOP Nominees?
 

Actually on his Harley! I still like Walker but Scott Pitta does bring up some valid points. I think some people have given him a pass on things because he is a Christian. Also he is not prepared for questions on national issues. And not just the evolution issue. I have relatives who are apostolic and don't like him because of the union thing.

Re: Who Will Be The 2016 GOP Nominees?
 

Walker, in this proposed budget, has limited the scope and authority of the board that oversees political contributions and elections. It is called the GAB or government accountability board.

Since Walker has had numerous legal difficulties, some of which resulted in his staff members gong to jail, one does not need to look hard to find a reason why he wants a bipartisan board overseeing the finances and campaigning practices to have diminished capacity and authority.

His lawyers really fought hard to hide the bribe. They failed.

Kelly Rindfleisch..was convicted of illegal campaign activity for working on the 2010 lieutenant governor's campaign of then-Rep. Brett Davis while serving as Walker's deputy chief of staff during his time as Milwaukee county executive. In Wisconsin, it is illegal for public employees to work on campaigns while on the clock and being paid to administer state services.

Tim Russell..was convicted to two years in prison for stealing more than $20,000 from a nonprofit group Walker put him in charge of...

Darlene Wink..was found guilty of engaging in campaign work for Walker's 2010 gubernatorial race while on county time.

Kevin Kavanaugh..was found guilty of embezzling more than $51,000 in donations intended for military veterans and their families

Bill Gardner..was sentenced to two years of probation in 2011 after admitting he violated campaign finance laws by laundering tens of thousands of dollars for Walker's first gubernatorial campaign.

Brian Pierick..- The investigation into Russell found that his domestic partner, Pierick, had sent lewd text messages to a 17-year-old boy. Pierick told authorities he believed the boy was 18 and pleaded struck a deal with prosecutors that resulted in community service and a $2,100 fine.

"Walker was never implicated in the investigation."

There was no $700,000 bribe. Two courts, both state and federal looked into this accusation and found it to be baseless.

Please stick to facts and not liberal talking points.

Re: Who Will Be The 2016 GOP Nominees?
 

2 weeks before the mining law was voted on, executives and their wives donated $700,000 to Walkers PAC. The law passed.

The mining law was penned by the mining company. The mine sent emails to the politicians who drafted the emails into the bill.

The Wisconsin State Journal has the emails.

Ask the GAB what they think of that $700,000.

Re: Who Will Be The 2016 GOP Nominees?
 

For what it is worth, the Wisconsin State Journal tracks the accuracy of Gov. Walker. They claim he does not tell the truth 60% of the time.

My info on politicians is first hand data. I do not have time to visit propaganda sites of any party. Nor do I have a favorite political party.

Walker is a really bad apple.

Re: Who Will Be The 2016 GOP Nominees?
 

Kevin Kavanaugh's embezzling was discovered and reported to the DA by Walker's office. Walker also had reprimanded his staff about conducting campaigning with goverment resources. In fact most of the activity was done outstide of normal work hours. Ironically this type of thing goes on all the time in both politcal parties. The "secret" John Doe investigations involved numerous leaks to the press and resulted in the reputations of numerous business people and those involved in goverment being tarnished in a hunt to find something. There is another whole list of people who had swat teams serve notice at their personal residence only to find nothing. Where does someone then go to get their reputation back?

Re: Who Will Be The 2016 GOP Nominees?
 

Its been well known how fraught with incompetence the GAB has been. They've been anything but accountable themselves. The change there is long overdue.

Re: Who Will Be The 2016 GOP Nominees?
 

This really is no different than Wisconsin's previous governor, democrat Jim Doyle, receiving contributions from the indian tribes and then approving some very lucrative casino deals for them.

Again, two courts ruled on this, both state and federal. Both ruled against this political investigation.

It's misleading and a lie to claim Walker took a bribe, especially when two Judges ruled against your claim.

:thumbsup

But you do have a bit of bias and personal issue with him, seeing your advisory board may be obsolete if Walker gets his way.

Re: Who Will Be The 2016 GOP Nominees?
 

Re: Who Will Be The 2016 GOP Nominees?
 

My observations are my own and are based on a long interaction with his office and with the GAB, the DNR and the tribes. Since I do not have a political party, I am not simply slinging partisan slander.

Despite our open records law, this budget was crafted in secret. I am in the process of trying to find out who the persons were who wrote the changes, and when. Department secretaries were not consulted about the fundamental changes made to their departments.

Civil unrest, multiple investigations, and lack of transparency are the legacy of the Walker administration. It is not life as usual for us. Walker is fundamentally different than the previous governors.

Especially odious is the restructuring of the GAB. They keep track of voting discrepancies and political contributions. The "restructuring" will severely limit their ability to do their job.

The amendment to change how the state supreme court removes the bipartisan nature of the court. Plus, Walker is simply removing a judge he does not like by putting a change to the requirements of the judges.

Re: Who Will Be The 2016 GOP Nominees?
 

Maybe Governor Walker is not the man I thought he was after all.

Re: Who Will Be The 2016 GOP Nominees?
 

Wisconsin is in 40th place out of 50 states in jobs creation. We have consistently lagged since Scott Walker became governor.

Governor Walker cannot nurture jobs creation.

Re: Who Will Be The 2016 GOP Nominees?
 

One member of Congress I follow on Twitter and Facebook, and would love to vote as President or see serve as VP is Representative Justin Amash.

He explains each vote, and why he voted the way he did on Facebook. It's refreshing to see a member of Congress not only vote each time, but also explain - in detail - their position on each vote.

Re: Who Will Be The 2016 GOP Nominees?
 

Romney.

Re: Who Will Be The 2016 GOP Nominees?
 

...some of the Reps pushing for the $269 Billion handout for the rich, of course.

Re: Who Will Be The 2016 GOP Nominees?
 

It'll be another Shrub, designed to fail so Queen Brynhild can take the throne. And no, Cruz is no Siegfried. Sorry.

Re: Who Will Be The 2016 GOP Nominees?
 

Mike Huckabee