The 2016 Presidential Candidates
Republican Class of 2012: Where are you Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman, Michelle Bachman, Herman Cain, and my personal favorite: Sarah Palin?With 16 Republican candidates (and counting) it is hard to follow the action without a scorecard. I invite you to learn more about the Republican Class of 2016:
Included in the spreadsheet whose link is above are a few facts about each candidate and links to their corresponding Wikipedia and official campaign websites for a deeper dive. If you have suggestions for additional columns in the spreadsheet, please comment.
The Republican "Debates"
I have watched the first two debates and I am embarrassed. I can't imagine how silly we look to people in other countries, particularly our allies in Europe. We aren't going to talk to our enemies, including Putin? We need to expand the Sixth Fleet (Fiorina)? We don't believe in vaccinating our children (Trump)? When the other candidates' behavior and opinion lead one to conclude that Rand Paul and Donald Trump are the most mature people on the stage, it gives me chills.
All the attempts to bask in the dubious glory of Ronald Reagan were overt and disgusting. "I believe I flew with Reagan in that very plane" (Kusch). Give me a break.
The Republican solution for the non-problem of illegal Mexican immigration is to seal the border. Not to be content with the one wall proposed by most of the candidates, Carson wants to build two walls separated by a road!!
Questions such as whose face to put on the new $10 bill and asking the candidates to choose their own Secret Service code names did nothing to add to the luster of the debate.
Is it possible that our country is collectively stupid enough to elect any of these men? I hope not.
My Rant About the Republican Agenda
Is "Republican humanitarian" an oxymoron? Apparently so. There is a long list of civil rights and social issues, the majority of which each Republican candidate opposes. I hedge a bit here because in the August 6th Republican debate Kusich hedged on gay marriage. Although he says he is against it, he can tolerate/respect others' decisions. One wonders if Kusich can survive the primary process with such a liberal view. My guess is not.
The following issues disfavored by Republicans affect the lives of individuals, particularly those at the lower end of the socioeconomic scale:
- Voter equality
- Gay rights
- Abortion rights
- Funding of Planned parenthood
- A living wage
- Affordable healthcare for all
- Medicare
- Social Security
- A path to citizenship for illegal immigrants
- Infrastructure improvements such as rail, highway and bridge maintenance
- Environmental protection
- Labor unions, particularly in education (reference Jeb Bush & Scott Walker)
- Free or affordable higher education
- Funding Public Radio
- Gun control
I will never understand how cutting taxes will create jobs. Trickle-down economics has never worked. The reason is that the money does not actually trickle down. The richest 1% of Americans now are reported to have more wealth than 90% of the rest of America. Consult: U.S. Wealth Inequality.
When did this inequity begin? It started with old "trickle down" Reagan:
Tax cuts under Republican administrations have historically benefited the wealthy. During World War II the marginal rate on the wealthy was above 90% and it remained at least 70% until Ronald Reagan slashed it to 28% in 1988. No wonder he was revered by wealthy Republicans. Today it stands at 39.6%, very low by historical standards, but higher than the Reagan years due to push-back from Democratic majorities in Congress. For further information consult: Historical Tax Rates and Historical Wealth Distribution in the U.S.
Therefore it is a matter of choice. If you are not a member of the 1% club, why would you vote for Republicans against your own self-interest? Do you truly believe that the 1% is going to share that wealth with you? History says no. While income has barely kept pace with inflation for the 99%, income for the 1% has tripled over the 35 years since the Reagan Presidency began.
A flat tax proposed by most Republican candidates will benefit the wealthy, giving them a dramatically lower rate than they currently pay. It will punish the 99% of Americans who can least afford it. In particular, the poorest will subsidize the richest among us, i.e. a flat tax is regressive. Instead, we should raise taxes on the 1% and raise the minimum wage to make it a living wage. We need to resuscitate the middle class. Putting more money in the hands of the 99% will stimulate demand in the economy. Conversely, the concentration of wealth in the hands of the 1% is a drag on the economy because it is merely accumulated and not spent on goods and services which lead to job creation. Republicans are fond of saying that small business is the job generator in this country. Truly small business is not started by the 1%, they own the blue chip companies of the world. Small business is struggling not because of tax rates that are too high or the Affordable Care Act, but instead because of inequality in the distribution of income in the U.S. Income inequality reduces the capital that fuels the creation of small business and depletes the ranks of their potential customers.
About the Republican Candidates
Educational Achievement:
Scott Walker and Mike Huckabee have humble educational achievement. Even George W. Bush had a college degree (Yale). Are these men intellectually qualified to be President? A college dropout, a pastor? Seriously? Regardless of their positions on the issues of the day, having one of them become President is a sobering thought.Republicans toss around the word "elite" when referring to Democratic candidates. Used as a pejorative does "elite" connote "well educated", "Ivy League", or just plain "smart"? Looking at the educational achievement of several of the Republican candidates (MIT, Stanford, Yale, Harvard, Oxford University, University of Michigan, etc.), why does the term not apply equally to them? If elite means liberal then "liberal elite" is redundant.
The Candidates in Their Own Words:
All quotes are taken directly from the candidates' official campaign sites. The date I provide is the date the quote was lifted from the website, just in case the candidate might pivot.Jeb Bush
His campaign website reviews his early political career, his family, and touts his fiscal shrewdness in Florida as Governor. His reason for wanting to be President: apparently millions of Floridians would not be capable of reading without having had Jeb as Governor. Seriously?
July 17, 2015: All this work paid off: millions of Floridians today are reading, doing math, getting the benefit of high-school and college degrees and rising up in life because of what we did.
That is a record I am proud to claim. That is a record I would like to bring to Washington, D.C.
Carly Fiorina
Her campaign website is devoid of any rationale for her candidacy. The only quotable line seems to speak to her lack of political experience and casts her as a political outsider in the race. There is no information about what she believes in, what choices she would make, or how she would govern.
July 16, 2015: Our founders never intended us to have a professional political class. They believed that citizens and leaders needed to step forward. If you believe that it's time for citizens to stand up to the political class and say enough, then join us.
Jim Glilmore
August 4th, 2015: I’m a candidate for president because our current Washington leadership is guiding America on a path to decline and I can reverse that decline. That current leadership is damaging our economic and national security to such a degree that for the first time in American history, most Americans believe their children will not be better off than they are.
I have a vision for a different America. One that will return America’s policies of a dynamic entrepreneurial free market economy and a policy of peace through strength for our national security. To learn more, watch the video of my announcement or read about the Growth Code , my plan for economic prosperity.
John Kasich
There is nothing particularly new in his mission statement. Like the rest of the Republican party he is speaking to his white, wealthy base. I have no idea what DEV refers to. "Americans who live in the shadows" refers to whom: non-whites? immigrants? the poor? Who leads a "self-sufficient" life?
July 21, 2015: It’s time for a New Day for America DEV. It’s time to put aside the petty differences that divide us and rediscover the values we all share. There’s so much more that brings us together than divides us. Values that make America great, like personal responsibility, community, respect, courage and, faith. When we remember our shared values, we can come together and do what we all know needs to be done: balance our nation’s budget, create jobs by cutting taxes and reforming our tax code, help our fellow Americans who live in the shadows move up and lead self-sufficient lives, finally get smart about making health care affordable and help make the world a safer place by spreading freedom and prosperity.
Scott Walker
July 15, 2015: In Wisconsin, we took on the unions and big-government special interests and won. We cut spending and transformed an inherited $3.6 billion deficit into a surplus. We cut taxes by $2 billion, reducing the burden on individuals, employers and property owners. We enacted lawsuit reform and regulatory reform. We defunded Planned Parenthood and enacted pro-life legislation. We defended the Second Amendment by passing castle doctrine and concealed carry. And we now require a photo ID to vote.
