The Ultimate GOP Candidate has yet to Step Forward….

The Ultimate GOP Candidate has yet to Step Forward…. 

By J.M. Hamilton (1-8-12)

“Today we have a similar debate over this… anyone know what this is… class?  Anyone, anyone, anyone seen this before?… the Laffer Curve.  Anyone know what this says?  It says at this point on the revenue curve you will get exactly the same amount of revenue as at this point.  This is very controversial.  Does anyone know what Vice President George Bush called this in 1980?  Anyone, Anyone?  Something D-O-O economics… voodoo economics.” 

- Ben Stein from the movie, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Happy New Year!

I don’t get it.  The GOP candidates are running around destroying each other, trying to figure out who will lead them out of diaspora and back to the White House.   Debate after Republican debate only shows which leper has the least spots (hopefully that’s not politically incorrect?)

Have you ever seen such a fatally flawed crew?

The only one in the mix with real gravitas, who could pose a serious challenge to the incumbent, is the only one who hasn’t bubbled up as the monthly Republican candidate du jour, that would be Mr. Huntsman.

Romney,who seems destined to get the nod, is going to become the “Bain” of private equity.   Seriously, if you are an executive officer for TPG Capital, Blackstone Group, KKR, Carlyle, or any number of private equity firms, you’ve got to be pouring money into the campaign coffers of anybody other than Romney.

Why?  Because with a Romney nomination will come intense and withering scrutiny of what private equity is and does:  which is kill jobs; liquidate, flip and merge companies; and increase the concentration of political power and wealth in this country into fewer hands.

And the real irony of a Romney nomination (?)… Evangelicals, who make up a substantial percentage of the core Republican base, fear a new world order and one world power.   Evangelicals believe a one world power cabal is a sign of the end times and the antichrist…. if I have that right.  If that’s the case imagine evangelical dismay when they learn that private equity is probably one of the largest single contributors to globalization and the concentration of power on the planet, aside from the Wall Street Cartel.  Yep, the likely Republican nominee, Mr. Romney, is the poster boy for private equity and the concentration of economic, and hence, political power.  President Reagan was not a huge fan of concentrated power, by the way.

Separately, just imagine the scrutiny Mr. Romney is going to bring to the “carried interest tax?”   A tax benefit that is near and dear to every private equity exec’s heart.

Moving right along… as much JMH finds the most interesting Republican candidate by far, to be Ron Paul, he unfortunately carries with him some baggage; baggage that afflicts many of his generation, and unfortunately successive generations, as well.   That people, and even political candidates, can grow, evolve, and shed intolerance over time appears lost on many who rabidly oppose Mr. Paul.   Nevertheless, racism of any kind is a very serious charge, rightfully so, and is likely to stick to his candidacy, even with earnest disavowals.  The real irony is that the twisted brother of racism, he goes by the name of Religious Bigotry, would appear to be on full display with another Republican candidate, Mr. Santorum; and yet, Religious Bigotry appears more widely tolerated in Republican circles.  J.M.H. is not the first to write it, but it bears repeating…. at least a President Ron Paul would not seek to legislate religious beliefs/morality from the White House (shucks, a President Paul just might close up shop and sell the White House), while a President Santorum would likely set up a theocracy, and a religious police force that would make the Taliban pale in comparison.

As this blog has suggested before Mr. Paul and his follower’s single biggest contribution to this election cycle is to draw attention to just how similar both parties, Republican and Democrat actually are, and how both parties are addicted to big government.   J.M.H. actually believes in the importance of the U.S. government, but also acknowledges, as Mr. Paul does so well, that our government often overextends its reach into our personal lives, through incursions upon our civil rights, and globally, in the form of taxpayer funded foreign adventures, aiding and abetting war profiteering, and nation building.

Mr. Paul, personal failings aside, has a contribution to make to these upcoming elections, that of providing competition to the duopoly that runs our country; let’s hope he stays in the race, and starts a third party.

Which brings me finally to the uber Republican candidate…  this man has out “republicaned” the Republican party, by stealing their foreign policy thunder.  On foreign policy, he is second to none in protecting America from her enemies.   He hunted down and killed Osama bin Laden, and made significant contributions to Dictator Gaddafi’s immolation (both were Republican targets).  He brought our troops home from that legacy catastrophe of a war in Iraq – handed down to him from the Bush administration; and this individual has plans to exit Afghanistan.

This gentlemen has shown international leadership and the path to how America can enlist allies, and not go it alone, in Libya, a preferred model for future martial efforts; and he has also shown us how 21st century military engagements can often be handled with technology, manless drones, and lightening quick raids.   He has almost made Al Qaeda leadership extinct.  And he is the process of stream lining the DOD to fit our national interest and budget.   On foreign policy, President Obama makes the prior Republican administration look like amateur hour, and I would suggest to my readers that no current Republican candidate could step into his shoes and do as well.

And like prior Republican administrations, President Obama has kept strong ties to our ally in the middle-east, Israel.  As quoted in the Washington Post, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel had the following to say about the President’s commitment:  “As I listened to the president’s speech on the Middle East, I heard him reaffirm his strong commitment to Israel’s safety, security and prosperity.”

On domestic policy, corporations have never been richer, profit margins are high, and balance sheets – in many instances – are rich with cash.   Fed policy under the President’s watch has been very generous to: the wealthy, Wall Street Banks, and multi-national corporations.   As for the Wall Street bail-out, again, this was a legacy project – initiated – by the Bush administration and Mr. Henry Paulson.   How this President handles the next, and inevitable, financial crisis remains to be seen; Mr. Obama’s administration will own the next crisis.

And while jobs are scarce – how much of this present economic environment is created by the plutocracy, via capital strikes, globalization, and unfair trade agreements?   These are issues that could be addressed, if the nation had a fully functioning Republican Congress that was interested in helping out the American economy, instead of holding same hostage for prospective political gain.  Unlike a President Romney, whose economic policies call for “borrowing and spending” as reported by Bloomberg last week, President Obama is more fiscally conservative and would prefer to pay as we go through a combination of spending cuts and tax increases.

President Obama does not appear to believe in what former President H.W.  Bush referred to as “voodoo economics.” He’s a pragmatic man and probably understands that politicians/congress doesn’t have the self- discipline to increase taxes in good economic times, which is the Keynesian paradigm’s shortcoming.

The argument I’m clumsily attempting to make is that, in essence, a moderate Republican already occupies the White House, and that by the standards of a H.W. Bush, or say, either an Eisenhower or Nixon, Obama should be the Republican nominee.   It is because the zealots within the Republican Party have moved the political center of this nation so far right, as to be rendered unrecognizable to many establishment Republicans from yester-year, that we have such a conservative and pro-business Democratic administration.

What this says for the economic and political aspirations of Democrats and Liberals is another story.  If I didn’t know better, it’s almost as if the plutocracy installed into the White House a Trojan Republican President, wrapped in the Democratic Party’s mantle.  It is because President Obama is the calmest, most rational, and most presidential choice, versus the Republican field of candidates, that J.M.H. supports him for a return to the White House.   Besides, the nation hasn’t had a foreign policy guru in the White House this gifted, since Nixon/Kissinger teamed up to conquer the world.

 Copyright JM Hamilton Publishing 2013