Obama's Campaign Strategy

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"When a reporter asked President Obama about his reelection campaign strategy, he actually said, 'We may just run clips of the Republican debates verbatim.'" We all know how many there are, from Mitt Romney's "Corporations are people, too" to Rick Perry's "Oops" moment last week.

Perry's In, Pawlenty's Out, and Bachmann Wins the Iowa Straw Poll

The Iowa Straw Poll took place on August 13th, 2011. To no surprise, Michele Bachmann came out very well; she got the most votes in the Straw Poll. What's interesting is that Bachmann bought and gave out over 6,000 tickets ($30 per ticket). In the end, however, she only received 4,823 votes (80% of the votes she bought).

Ron Paul, who was once an annoyance, has finally started talking about social issues, the issues that most people care about. After switching his issues from economy to social, he received an astounding 4,671 votes (28%) in the poll, making him one of the leading candidates in the GOP.

Although Tim Pawlenty received third highest number of votes in the poll, the next day he announced that he will be ending his campaign for president, saying that "the audience was looking for something different."

Rick Perry, the Governor of Texas, has announced on the day of the Straw Poll that he will be running for president. Surprisingly, he received 718 write-in votes (3.6%). This might have had something to do with Stephen Colbert's advertisements for "Rick Parry."

More information on the 2011 Iowa Straw Poll can be found here.

Finally, A Decision

President Obama signing the bill

Our government finally made a decision on the debt ceiling crisis. Surprisingly, they didn't choose default. Instead, President Obama signed the Budget Control Act which will increase the debt ceiling by $900 billion. Liberals, don't get excited, the Republicans would never agree to this increase without something in return. Just like the old saying, "You scratch my back, I scratch yours." Republicans made sure that for the $900 billion increase, the government would have to make over $900 billion in cuts over the next decade.

Second, the government would establish a "Super Congress" — made up of six Democrats and six Republicans. The committee will have to produce a legislation by this November to cut at least $1.5 trillion over the next ten years. The decision will be immune to any amendments or filibuster.

This whole debate over the debt ceiling is a preview of the 2012 election. Obama, as always, has failed to do anything he wanted to do. Republicans got what they wanted — massive cuts and no tax increases ­— and they will even have the pleasure of voting on a Balanced Budget Amendment, which even some Democrats in the House are planning to vote for. With the support of two-thirds of the House and the Senate, the proposal will go directly to the states to be ratified, and Obama won't have a voice in the decision.

Raising the Debt Ceiling

Six months ago, President Obama told the Republicans that we have to raise the debt ceiling. The GOP first denied but later decided that in return, there must be massive budget cuts. On July 11th, Barack Obama stated that he is agreeing to bargain with the Republicans by making almost $4 trillion worth of budget cuts in welfare programs – such as Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, and food stamps – in the next 10 years. Obviously, Obama was expecting something in return. But instead, the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives Eric Cantor explained that the compromise from the GOP's side is "the fact that we have been discussing voting for a debt ceiling increase. I don't think the White House understands how difficult it is for fiscal conservatives to say that they are going to vote for a debt ceiling increase." So while President Obama is giving the Republicans everything they want, they will still stand tall without moving an inch from their stance.

The massive budget cuts that President Obama is proposing are going to severely damage the lives of the poor and the middle class. His plan did not include any job opportunities for the unemployed. The Republicans are still stubborn with their opposition to raise the taxes on the super rich and large corporations. So while the economy is plummeting, the ones who suffer are the disadvantaged and underprivileged masses.

For more information on the debt ceiling crisis:
http://www.wreporter.com/usa/debt-ceiling-no-agreement-in-washington/
http://www.wreporter.com/usa/debt-crisis-first-signs-of-compromise/

Candidates from Lesser-Known/Small Parties

Green Party Candidate

Kent Mesplay (California)

• Perennial candidate
• The California delegate to the Green National Committee
• Air Quality Inspector at the Air Pollution Control District
• Alma Mater:
  • Harvey Mudd College
  • Northwestern University (PhD)

Libertarian Party Candidate

R. Lee Wrights (Texas)

• Former Vice Chair of the Libertarian National Committee
• Founder of LibertyForAll.net
• Alma Mater: Willmar College

Prohibition Party Candidate

Jack Fellure (West Virginia)

• Perennial candidate
• Retired engineer

Socialist Party Candidate

Stewart Alexander (California)

• Drop-out from college
• Former Labor and Industry Chairman for the Inglewood South Bay Branch of the NAACP
• Former radio host on KTYM

Independent Candidates

1. Robert “Naked Cowboy” Burck (New York)

• Street performer in NYC

2. Joe Schriner (Ohio)

• Perennial candidate

Presidential Candidates of the 2012 Election

The Democratic Candidates

1. Barack Obama

·         Current President of the United States

◦   Laws Passed

▪   American Recovery and Reinvestment Act  (2009)

▪   Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act (2010)

▪   Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010)

▪   Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (2010)

▪   Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (2010)

▪   Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act (2010)

◦   Military Policies

▪   Gradually withdrew troops from Iraq (2009-2011)

▪   Sent troops to Afghanistan (2009-2011)

▪   Signed the New Start arms control treaty with Russia (2011)

▪   Ordered the enforcement of the 2011 military intervention in Libya

▪   Ordered the Operation Neptune Spear, which successfully killed Osama bin Laden

·         Former Member of the Illinois Senate

·         Former United States Senator from Illinois

·         2009 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

·         Alma Mater:

◦   Occidental College

◦   Columbia University (BA)

◦   Harvard Law School (JD)

2. Randall Terry

·         Pro-life activist

·         Founder of Operation Rescue

·         Founder of the Society of Truth and Justice

·         Arrested more than 40 times

The Republican Candidates

1. Michele Bachmann (Minnesota)

·         Current Member of the United States House of Representatives

◦   Numerously called for the repeal of the Dodd-Frank reform and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

·         Former Member of the Minnesota Senate

·         Alma Mater:

◦   Winona State University (BA)

◦   Oral Roberts University (JD)

◦   College of William & Mary Law School (LLM)

2. Herman Cain (Georgia)

·         Former Chairman and CEO of Godfather's Pizza

·         Former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City

·         Former Deputy Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City

·         Alma Mater:

◦   Morehouse College (BA)

◦   Purdue University (MS)

3. Newt Gingrich (Georgia)

·         Former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives

·         Former Member of the United States House of Representatives

·         Former United States House of Representatives Minority Whip

·         Alma Mater:

◦   Emory University (BA)

◦   Tulane University (MA/PhD)

4. Jon Huntsman, Jr. (Utah)

·         Former United States Ambassador to China

·         Former Governor of Utah

·         Former United States Ambassador to Singapore

·         Alma Mater: University of Pennsylvania (BA)

5. Gary Johnson (New Mexico)

·         Former Governor of Mexico

·         Alma Mater: University of New Mexico

6. Fred Karger (California)

·         Political Consultant

·         Gay rights activist

·         Alma Mater: University of Denver

7. Andy Martin (Illinois)

·         Perennial candidate

·         Known for vexatious litigation concerting Barack Obama's birthplace

8. Thaddeus McCotter (Michigan)

·         Member of the United States House of Representatives

·         Alma Mater: University of Detroit

9. Jimmy McMillan (New York)

·         Perennial candidate

·         Founder of the Rent Is Too Damn High Party

10. Roy Moore (Alabama)

·         Former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court

·         Former Circuit Judge

11. Ron Paul (Texas)

·         Member of the United States House of Representatives

·         Alma Mater:

◦   Gettysburg College (BS)

◦   Duke University (MD)

12. Tim Pawlenty (Minnesota)

·       Former Governor of Minnesota

·         Former Majority Leader of the Minnesota House of Representatives

·         Former Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives

·         Alma Mater: University of Minnesota

13. Buddy Roemer (Louisiana)

·         Former Governor of Louisiana

·         Former Member of the United States House of Representatives

·         Alma Mater: Harvard University

14. Mitt Romney (Massachusetts)

·         Former Governor of Massachusetts

·         Alma Mater:

◦   Stanford University

◦   Brigham Young University (BA)

◦   Harvard Business School (MBA)

◦   Harvard Law School (JD)

15. Rick Santorum (Pennsylvania)

·         Former United States Senator

·         Former Member of the United States House of Representatives

·         Alma Mater:

◦   Pennsylvania State University

◦   University of Pittsburgh

◦   Dickinson School of Law

16. Jonathan Sharkey (Florida)

·         Perennial candidate

·         Professional wrestler