Monday, January 7, 2008

Sunday Night Debate Thoughts

Where was Ron Paul? Oh right he's not Republican enough for Fox News. Used to be a Republican had to pledge to not raise taxes. Now it seems a Republican has to pledge to love Jorge W. Arbusto unconditionally to be invited to events. Shame on Fox News.

On Illegal Immigration:

Romney was the only coherent one up there. McCain and Huckabee pulled the old Kerry "I voted for it before I voted against it" routine. And so did Rudy. On this issue alone Romney is the clear cut winner.

On Taxes:
The only Republican who can honestly say he has NEVER voted to raise taxes in Ron Paul. Where was he again? Oh yeah, not Republican enough.

On the Huckabee vs. Romney spat of who raised more, I give the decision to Romney again. What he didn't say - and I can't believe his handlers wouldn't make a point of emphasizing this - is that his $240M fees raised were for a state with 6.5 million people. That works to $36 per person. On the other hand Huckabee raised $500M in new taxes in a state of 3 million people or $166 per person. So proportionally speaking if Huck wants to go mano a mano on tax increases, he out taxed Romney by a factor of 5:1.

But the winner has to be Rudy. If you, as a Republican can cut taxes in New York City, then you know how to play politics. Hell if you can get elected - twice - in New York City as a Republican, you know how to play politics.

On Senator vs. Governor:

Rudy ran NYC which is bigger than either Mass or Arkansas so he qualifies in the governor camp as far as I am concerned. And I fully agree with the "you need experience as the top dog, not as 1 of 100". McCain does make the persuasive argument that being a Naval officer qualifies as leadership experience.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Re: Ron Paul

He's at 5% in the polls. He's a fringe candidate with no real chance.

Cool Cal said...

Gee anon-that's genius - five percent without being allowed to participate could easily be 10% or more on an even playing field.

Anyways...good stuff Ed. Most say Romney killed it. I agree with almost everything you say. The one huge positive about Huckabee is the fact he is unashamed in promoting the FairTax. It's great to get that press. That said, I can't say I would want him in there. Being fairly Libertarian myself, I like Rudy overall, especially given his accomplishments. NYC was seriously on the brink of hell before he rode in and kicked ass. That said, we'll see if his Florida then Super-Tuesday strategy pays off.

The Dude