2012 ELECTION

[HairOfTheDog]

No doubt he's quick and sharp but he's also unabashed about his "satan is targeting the U.S." remarks.

They're all pandering to their far right constituency and they're killing themselves in the general election. I would absolutely vote for a fiscally conservative Republican candidate but not someone who sounds like a right wing, televangelist.

I would vote for a fiscally conservative candidate from any party too, if they possessed the leadership qualities and abilities to choose the right Cabinet and staff to also handle foreign relations and manage social issues skillfully (and with respect to input from the people who they are supposed to be representing).

I just took a look at some of the write-ups about last night's debate. Most seem to be giving Romney a victory over Santorum. I saw it differently, but maybe because I expected so little from Santorum and a better showing from Romney. A political analyst, I most surely am not...

Santorum's satan shit doesn't bother me as much as his positions on some issues. He is against abortion even for pregnancies resulting from rape and incest. He is against all birth control, period. Though he says he will put aside his personal feelings on these matters (which he considers "moral" issues, if I understand correctly) and consider the views of the masses and others in government if elected, it bothers me that these are social issues that involve legislation. The hard-core Catholic beliefs and evil-fearing jargon don't bother me as much because while they may affect his decision making, they aren't beliefs or matters that can be directly legislated. If he were to have wise advisors and Cabinet members, major decisions couldn't be made based on one person's religious idealogy (hopefully I'm not being naive about that; separation of church and state seems to work pretty well for us, in my opinion).

The LDS/Mormom religion keeps a lot of its belief systems and Mormon practices out of the public spectrum and limited to its followers. That's probably a plus for Romney. Not sure the same portions of the voting public who are turned off by Santorum's religious rhetoric would be any less turned off by some LDS beliefs, particularly those related to LDS men's god-like status on earth (and the ultimate level of satisfaction for LDS women). IDK, I guess I don't care about the candidates' religious beliefs, as long as they don't affect legislation and conflict with the Constitution.

I think Paul and Gingrich are pretty much out after last night, but lots of my instincts have been incorrect since the first televised debate. Ha. I'd be surprised if the final ticket is not Romney or Santorum vs. Obama, who current polls indicate cannot be defeated by any of the GOP candidates. Still early though and lots of shit will undoubtedly change before November. This has been a very interesting election race so far.