After watching the debate last night here in Orlando I was able to get a clear picture of who would be the best candidate for the Republicans in 2012. I think Michelle Bachman said it best when she said that Obama had dropped so far in popular support that it's time for Republicans to find their candidate instead of looking for who can beat Obama. I would say my top 4 candidates would be Ron Paul, Gary Johnson, Huntsman, and Newt Gingrich.
Newt Gingrich
Although Newt was the House Speaker during the 90's, I still think he's a relevant candidate. I do not agree with him, but if we were looking at qualifications, I think he would fit the build. As House Speaker he was able to get through a lot of entitlement reform. Considering our current economic condition, I think he may actually be the only one who could touch entitlements and get away with it.
During the debate last night Newt said he would outline his new 21st century contract with America, sorry Newt, you already wrote a book on it. I would suggest that if this candidate interests you to read his book 21st century contract with America. This was one of the few books I was able to read all the way through without having to put it down for a period of time. The reading is simple and easy for the average American to understand. I think that his book will do him more justice than a debating forum where he won't have as much a chance to outline his plan.
Huntsman
I verified with my dad last night that Huntsman is the son of John Huntsman who is friends with Glenn Beck and tycoon. I think that alone gives him a leg up over Gingrich any day of the week. The Huntsman family is a money trust family. After seeing Huntsman's father on Glenn Beck I was able to get the impression that for a money trust family, they're one of the good guys.
What I liked most about Huntsman along with several other candidates is the issue of states rights. There were several times when he made sure to include states rights in almost all his arguments. This is important because since 1933 the states rights have been eroded to a point where states are almost as irrelevant as Congress has become over the last 2 years. This is the only reason I like this candidate.
Gary Johnson
If you know your history then you'll know that a candidate with his record directly aligns itself with the Constitution. Gary Johnson was a popular governor in New Mexico. If there weren't term limits in his State I believe he'd still be governor. Gary Johnson's record shows that he did veto several hundred bills during his time in office, reduced taxes 3 times, and protected the civil liberties of his State Citizens. If you are a Constitutionalist or Tea Party member, this candidate should be in your top 2 picks during the primaries.
Ron Paul
For those of us who like history, Ron Paul is a novelty in politics because he's a cross between Andrew Jackson and Thomas Jefferson. Both Presidents abolished their Federal Reserves, but back then it was called the First Bank of the United States both times it was abolished. Ron Paul is in line with American policy before 1913 and the establishment of the Federal Reserve Act.
Another point to note is that Ron Paul is the chairman of the Financial Services Committee, this means he knows more about economics than everyone on stage except maybe Herman Cain. Ron Paul has been an advocate of sound currency, he's even sponsored the Competition and Currency Act which would allow competitors of currency to compete. This is good because as most Americans know our dollar is about to collapse, currency competition would allow a smooth transition into an alternative currency that is sound in nature and will do less harm to the people.
If Ron Paul were to be defined I think it would be three topics, civil liberty, sound money, and bringing all of our troops home. In my opinion and based upon Ron Paul's record, I think he would be the only candidate besides Gary Johnson who would follow through on his promise to bring our troops home. Ron Paul is a strong advocate of Nationalism which promotes individual sovereignty among the many nations, this in turn would cause a large majority of overseas bases to be closed reducing our control over the governments of the world.
Message of warning
Although we've got a bigger array of candidates who believe in States rights, I warn you that the front runners are RINO's. Candidates like Sen. Santorum, Gov. Perry, and Gov. Romney are the Republican equivalent to Obama; they're just telling you what you want to hear to get elected. I would suggest looking at a candidates track record in order to find out what type of President they will be, unfortunately people aren't going off of that which is why they have no right to complain when they get Obama light. It's time we started selecting candidates based upon their ability to stay in line with the Constitution instead of having a beauty pageant for the White House.
