ran 3.1 miles
Ames, Iowa has spoken and they want Bachmann. The Iowa Straw Poll, a rite of passage since 1979 for all Republican presidential candidates facing an incumbent Democrat, has been tallied and here are the numbers:
1. Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (4823, 28.55%)
2. Congressman Ron Paul (4671, 27.65%)
3. Governor Tim Pawlenty (2293, 13.57%)
4. Senator Rick Santorum (1657, 9.81%)
5. Herman Cain (1456, 8.62%)
6. Governor Rick Perry (718, 3.62%) write-in
7. Governor Mitt Romney (567, 3.36%)
8. Speaker Newt Gingrich (385, 2.28%)
9. Governor Jon Huntsman (69, 0.41%)
10. Congressman Thad McCotter (35, 0.21%)
Texas Governor Rick Perry did not participate in Thursday’s Iowan debate, but he did announce his candidacy today. He did pretty well considering he threw his name in the hat only hours before the vote. Governor Mitt Romney placed a disappointing seventh behind procrastinating Rick Perry. That is surprising. Bachmann and Paul were within less than 1% of one another. I like Bachmann and Paul but we have the consent of an entire nation to deal with, not just Republicans from the state of Iowa. But it was an impressive victory, nevertheless. Pawlenty and Santorum did well but I can’t tell one from the other. I don’t feel these two guys have asserted themselves compared to others who did better or worse than them in the Iowa Straw Poll. I’m a big fan of Herman Cain and, while he did place in the top five, I had hoped he would have placed higher. Thad McCotter is the unknown candidate and Jon Huntsman is, in my opinion, a RINO. I purposely didn’t mention Newt Gingrich because he has done nothing impressive lately except for losing campaign staff members. And, in case you didn’t know, a RINO is a Republican In Name Only. There are a lot of them out there.
It will be interesting to see how this thing plays out. When November 6, 2012 arrives I will vote for a plank of wood before voting for Barack Obama. I definitely have a strong opinion of who this country needs as a president for the post-Obama era, but at the same time I firmly believe that a plank of wood could do a better job of not destroying our country than he has.
And, on a completely different note, our current president is going around encouraging Americans to call their Congressmen and women to tell them that we are tired of the lack of bipartisanship on both sides. Nice touch, Mr. President, to include both sides, but the reason there is gridlock is because Republicans and their constituents are tired of, completely exhausted by, nearly everything you do. When I call or write my members of Congress I encourage them to stand up to your agenda and to not cross the aisle. Our president has had almost three years and all he has done is spend and blame. When he says, “Call your Senators and Representatives and demand they compromise,” he is really saying, “Encourage your elected officials to let me dig this country deeper and deeper to the point of no return.”
1042.9 miles to go.
1. Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (4823, 28.55%)
2. Congressman Ron Paul (4671, 27.65%)
3. Governor Tim Pawlenty (2293, 13.57%)
4. Senator Rick Santorum (1657, 9.81%)
5. Herman Cain (1456, 8.62%)
6. Governor Rick Perry (718, 3.62%) write-in
7. Governor Mitt Romney (567, 3.36%)
8. Speaker Newt Gingrich (385, 2.28%)
9. Governor Jon Huntsman (69, 0.41%)
10. Congressman Thad McCotter (35, 0.21%)
Texas Governor Rick Perry did not participate in Thursday’s Iowan debate, but he did announce his candidacy today. He did pretty well considering he threw his name in the hat only hours before the vote. Governor Mitt Romney placed a disappointing seventh behind procrastinating Rick Perry. That is surprising. Bachmann and Paul were within less than 1% of one another. I like Bachmann and Paul but we have the consent of an entire nation to deal with, not just Republicans from the state of Iowa. But it was an impressive victory, nevertheless. Pawlenty and Santorum did well but I can’t tell one from the other. I don’t feel these two guys have asserted themselves compared to others who did better or worse than them in the Iowa Straw Poll. I’m a big fan of Herman Cain and, while he did place in the top five, I had hoped he would have placed higher. Thad McCotter is the unknown candidate and Jon Huntsman is, in my opinion, a RINO. I purposely didn’t mention Newt Gingrich because he has done nothing impressive lately except for losing campaign staff members. And, in case you didn’t know, a RINO is a Republican In Name Only. There are a lot of them out there.
It will be interesting to see how this thing plays out. When November 6, 2012 arrives I will vote for a plank of wood before voting for Barack Obama. I definitely have a strong opinion of who this country needs as a president for the post-Obama era, but at the same time I firmly believe that a plank of wood could do a better job of not destroying our country than he has.
And, on a completely different note, our current president is going around encouraging Americans to call their Congressmen and women to tell them that we are tired of the lack of bipartisanship on both sides. Nice touch, Mr. President, to include both sides, but the reason there is gridlock is because Republicans and their constituents are tired of, completely exhausted by, nearly everything you do. When I call or write my members of Congress I encourage them to stand up to your agenda and to not cross the aisle. Our president has had almost three years and all he has done is spend and blame. When he says, “Call your Senators and Representatives and demand they compromise,” he is really saying, “Encourage your elected officials to let me dig this country deeper and deeper to the point of no return.”
1042.9 miles to go.
