Hello All, I'm new to the AARP forum. Have been an AARP member for 4 years, but never used their web site. I am Libertarian. And the reason for that is, there is no conservative party other than the Libertarians. Bush spent nearly as much as Obama. Government continues to grow under both parties. Freedom keeps diminishing, The Patriot Act and The National Defense Authorization Act, are proof. Until about a year before G.W. Bush's second election, I was a Republican. Had been all my life. Why Mitt Romney is Unlikable: There is a video on youtube, called, Great Republican Presidents. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4dwx0PNZWY Within the first 7 seconds of this video, the Republican speaker makes a statement, smiles at himself and the video continues. The statement he makes: "Our Top Priority for the next 2 years is to deny President Obama a second term". Now, I had to back this up and listen to it again. "Our Top Priority for the next 2 years is to deny President Obama a second term". And I listened to it again, and again. This was when the Republicans took over control of the house. And as I played it a few more times, I could only think of one thing. Why? Why was the Republicans Top Priority for the next 2 years is to deny President Obama a second term? Why wasn't their Top Priority, working with our president to get the country back to work, to get our boys home from the wars, to feed our poor and homeless and help get them back on their feet, to get this rotten economy moving again? You sit back and think about this for a minute, the next time you do your bills, the next time you pull up to the gas pump, the next time you go to the grocery store...."Our Top Priority for the next 2 years is to deny President Obama a second term". I'm not a fan of Obama, but when I think about this, logically, I have to think, our President had the deck stacked against him. The Republicans have sat on their butts for two years, refusing to do anything to help this country, simply because they wanted Obama to look bad and not get re-elected. They refused to negotiate or compromise on anything that would jeopardize their plan to have Obama fail, at our expense. With that said, I understand that not everything Obama wanted to do or has done was correct either. I'm not taking a Democrat stance to defend him, but I am saying, he's had no help at all from the Republicans. Let me explain something else.... I'm 55, and a trucker for the past 20 years. I pull container freight in and out of the ports. Actually I'm lying, I pull freight from the ports, I pull empty containers to the ports. You see, this country isn't shipping anything out much, but we are bringing a lot in. That tells you one thing. This country is not working, but other countries are, and their goods are being sold here. And this has a direct affect on me because some weeks, my work week will be 4 days or 3 days, due to no freight. Now, to get to the real story here. Since my work week is short, I have been at LSU studying Political Science. Mr. Romney came along seeking the presidency and for the life of me, I have yet to figure out why anyone would consider this man as a candidate. There is no platform. There is no plan. He has been on both sides of the fence on just about every issue from the beginning. So, logically, again, I don't know how people can make a rational decision to vote for someone, when you don't know where he stands on anything, or if he will have the same stance tomorrow. He is openly prejudice, as he has proven over and over by his own gaffe's.  Offending women, gays, Latino's & calling 47% of this country free loaders. His trip abroad was not very well accepted, as France, Palestine, and Poland weren't impressed, and also there is an investigation into that trip. He called it a "Fund Raising" trip. Did anyone notice that Obama didn't go abroad to do a "Fund Raising" trip? And there is a reason for that. Accepting political campaign contributions from non-US-citizens, non-US-corporations, or foreign countries is a Felony. So, this is still being looked into. http://www.veteranstoday.com/2012/08/12/foreign-cash-disqualifies-romney-from-presidential-bid/ I also noticed a post here that says Mr. Romney gave 19% of his income to charity. That is false. Completely false. We have only seen 2 years of Mr. Romney's tax returns. But let me explain 2011. He, let's say, fudged a bit. Not illegally. But fudged. Mr. Romney made a statement on NBC "anybody who didn't take the deductions they were owed, wasn't qualified to be president". And in 2011, that is exactly what he did. His 2011 tax return shows a tax rate of 13%. Exactly what Mr. Romney said he had paid. But to get to that 13%, he did not take all of his deductions he was owed. Again, this is not illegal. He actually paid 500,000 more in taxes to the IRS, than he would have if he had taken all of his deductions. That is how he got to 13%. Now that he has shown that he paid 13%, he has a legal right to file an amended return for 2011, and get that 500,000 back. Which, will actually put Mr.Romney at 12.2% tax rate for 2011. Understand one thing here, Mitt Romney knows loopholes and finance very well, when it comes to his own well being. I have no proof, but I would venture to guess, that the only reason he will not go back 8 more years is because he was able to get his tax rate down to a single digit. Romney is Mormon. He believes, Joseph Smith (Prophet) received gold tablets which showed gods words, that only he could see... he was 14. And this didn't take place a couple thousands years ago... Happened in 1820...about 40 years prior to civil war. Romney believes this 14 year-old was chosen by God to restore the church of God. That Joseph was visited by heavenly messengers, translated the book of Mormon by the power of God and received divine authority to organize the church. They have some weird beliefs, like the sacred undergarment or "magic underwear", and they tend to be more of a cult than a real religion. I tend to not get into this too much, but it seems to be sort of like the Scientology kind of belief. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cbfgmorIGE Romney as a conservative? No, Republicans and Democrats are pretty much the same these days. Moderate, Not Romney. Last nights VP debate, brought up a lot of discussion on tax cuts and raising taxes. That is pretty much the same things that Democrats do. Both parties seem to talk a good game, but the bottom line is, Ryan never mentioned too much of the defense spending, from the budget. It was brought up, a little chit chat, and disagreement and they moved on. Do you know that the U.S. spends as much on defense as the next 26 countries put together? Mr Ryan also did not tell anyone that the Republicans already have a plan to build 15 new Navy ships at a cost of 53.3 billion dollars. Are they gearing up for a big war that we don't know about? Do we really need 15 new Navy ships? http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-11/romney-plans-15-navy-ships-built-yearly-in-first-term-aide-says.html Mr. Romney has said he wants to cut the Capital Gains Tax and the eliminate the Estate tax. OK, what he doesn't tell you is by doing this, his tax rate drops to .84%. And the treasury no longer receives 30 Billion dollars, that normally come in from these 2 taxes. He says he won't raise taxes on the middle class, but now here again, logic has to come into play. Have you ever heard of our Federal Government saying "we don't need 30 Billion Dollars anymore"? No. They are not going to let 30 billion evaporate from the treasury. This doesn't take a lot of thought. If he's letting the wealthy off the hook, and the poor don't have any money, guess who is left. The middle class. The same middle class that will pay for 15 new Navy ships at 53.3 billion dollars, the same middle class that always foots the bill for this country. So, I don't want to call Mr Romney a liar, but, Mr Romney is a LIAR. There is going to be a tax increase on the middle class. They want that 30 billion in the treasury. Citizens for Tax Justice reviewed the budget form Mr. Romney, and came up with this, before the 15 ships were known about: Citizens for Tax Justice Analysis Shows That Million­aires Would Get Average Tax Cut of $250,000 Even If Deduc­tions and Exclu­sions Are Limited to Zero Today, pres­i­dential candidate and former Mass­a­chu­setts Governor Mitt Romney suggested that one way to offset the cost of his proposed tax cuts would be to limit deduc­tions to $17,000. “As an option you could say everybody’s going to get up to a $17,000 deduction; and you could use your char­i­table deduction, your home mortgage deduction, or others – your healthcare deduction. And you can fill that bucket, if you will, that $17,000 bucket that way,” he said on a local Denver news show. “And higher income people might have a lower number.” In September, Romney argued that he would elim­inate enough deduc­tions, exclu­sions and other special breaks to offset the costs of the new tax cuts he proposes, and that the net result would not be a tax increase for the middle-class or a tax cut for the rich. But an August analysis from Citizens for Tax Justice demon­strated that even if itemized deduc­tions and exclu­sions were elim­i­nated entirely, people who make over $1 million would still see an average net tax break of $250,000 in 2013 under Romney’s plan. That’s partly because the new tax breaks that Romney proposes are so generous to the rich that they would outweigh the loss of any deduc­tions or exclu­sions. In addition to making permanent all the Bush tax cuts, Romney would reduce income tax rates by a fifth and elim­inate the AMT and the estate tax. Another reason is that Romney pledges to keep the special breaks that benefit the wealthy most of all — breaks for investment and savings like the special low rate for capital gains. As a result, there is simply no way to Romney could fill in the details of his tax plan in a way that will not result in huge tax cuts for the very rich. For low– and middle-income people, the loss of tax expen­di­tures (tax deduc­tions, exclu­sions, credits and other breaks) under Romney’s plan could outweigh any gains from the tax rate reduc­tions and other new tax cuts, resulting in a net tax increase. In fact, this result is inevitable if Romney is to accom­plish his goal of not further increasing the deficit while at the same time cutting taxes for million­aires by at least $250,000 on average. http://www.ctj.org/taxjusticedigest/archive/2012/10/romneys_idea_to_limit_deductio.php The Ryan plan means MAJOR changes to Medicare. It would eliminate the Medicare guarantee and turn it into a voucher program.  Studies have shown the Ryan plan would cost anyone under 55 years of age an additional $6,000 a year with a slow increase to $12,000 extra out of pocket in later years, and it moves eligibility for seniors to get Medicare from 65 to 67. http://tinyurl.com/95egjd9 There is the Romney/Ryan logic.... increase the cost, delay giving the benefits. That way, some will die before the government has to give you back any of YOUR money, that you already paid to Medicare. Along with the Romney plan to move the retirement age to 69, so many will die before ever getting any of the SSI money YOU paid in. So think about this. This is the logic they are using to "save" money over the coming years. Make you wait longer to get eligibility, and perhaps you will pass away before then. Also, Mr. Romney made a perfect case for Obamacare. I'm sure he wasn't thinking when he said it, but that is what Mr. Romney does.... he doesn't think before he speaks most of the time. He explains exactly why Obamacare is perfect in it requirements in this article while doing an interview with Columbus Dispatch. http://tinyurl.com/9fe6qql The number 6.5 million is the amount of children that the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) serves throughout the nation. The National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) sent a questionnaire to the 2012 Presidential candidates’ campaigns asking key questions about the education issues impacting students. President Barack Obama's responses to the questionnaire is available online. It is a downloadable pdf file. http://tinyurl.com/8z4wvyn However, NCLD did not receive a response from Governor Mitt Romney. Do the lives of the children with learning disabilities, and the votes of the parents of 6.5 million children even matter to Mr. Romney? It appears not. Full Article: http://tinyurl.com/9sevhxz Romney's budget plan includes a 33% cut to education. Is this why he isn't concerned with NCLD? Are they a non-issue to him? I have to guess that education isn't a big issue in a country where there are no jobs. Mr Romney wants to kill Big Bird.... OK. He wants to save 455 million that gets spent on PBS, each year. Not a big issue, PBS is quite profitable on their own. Why he brought it up in the debate is anyone's guess. The thing is, Afghanistan war cost 3.6 Billion a month. I, for one, would rather see the war stopped, and let the children have Big Bird. I think Mr. Romney's Priorities are a bit out of alignment. Outsourcing is another thing that Mr. Romney has participated in quite frequently. South Carolina voters deserve to know about the millions Romney and his partners made off closing down the 114,000-square-foot Holson Burnes factory in Gaffney, where workers made photo albums and picture frames. Just four years after the factory opened, Bain fired 150 workers and shipped some of the operation overseas. According to the Associated Press, Bain more than doubled the return on the original investment while “workers were left jobless just as the local economy began to slump.” Armed with the facts, the American people will determine whether Mitt Romney’s track record shows he believes our prosperity will come from an economy where the wealthy and powerful can rig the game at the expense of working Americans, or every American who works hard and acts responsibly will have a fair shot at success. Voters can judge for themselves whether his vision for the future is based on outsourcing and bubble economies that enrich speculators and corporate raiders, or an economy built to last in which the productivity of our workers is rewarded. When asked by TIME Magazine whether Mitt Romney is a job creator or destroyer, Warren Buffett said that while businesses shouldn’t hang on to people they don’t need, “I don’t like what private-equity firms do in terms of taking out every dime they can and leveraging [companies] up so that they really aren't equipped, in some cases, for the future.” Voters need to understand the kind of economy Mitt Romney’s experience entails – and it doesn’t sound like the kind of economy that’s built to last. Download the pdf file here http://images.dailykos.com/i/user/191280/freeenterprisememo.pdf Another gaffe Mr. Romney made at the debate: "I don't want to go down the path of Spain," Romney said Wednesday night during the first presidential debate. He argued that government spending under Obama has reached 42 percent of the U.S. economy, a figure comparable with America's NATO ally. "I want to go down the path of growth that puts Americans to work." Spanish reaction to Romney was swift. "What I see is ignorance of what is reality, but especially of the potential of the Spanish economy," said Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria. Maria Dolores Cospedal, leader of Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's Popular Party, noted that "Spain is not on fire from all sides like some on the outside have suggested." Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo called it "very unfortunate that other countries should be put up as examples" when the facts are skewed. But the furor in Spain, however minor, instead serves as a reminder of Romney's record of diplomatic stumbles, such as calling Russia — not Iran or China, for example — America's primary global adversary in March. Russian President Vladimir Putin has since pointed to Romney's comment as justification for Russia's opposition to America's missile defense plans in Europe, saying the statement has "strengthened Russia's positions in talks on this important and sensitive subject." Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/10/07/mitt-romney-spain-jab-adds-to-foreign-policy-woes/#ixzz28eR9hDsm Now, I don't know about you, but I see Mr. Romney as one of our biggest National Security Threats. Let's suppose for a moment, that Mr. Romney says something, off the cuff, about the Saudis. Not that the Saudis would attack us or anything. They don't have to attack us. They could simply raise the price of oil to 500.00 a barrel, and sit back. With all the other gaffe's Mr. Romney has made in his campaign, this could very well happen. Think about 12.00 a gallon for gas. Not pretty. Or, worse yet, if he were to offend a country with nuclear weapons and they decide to end it all now. I don't think Mr. Romney is diplomatic enough to be in control. He speaks without thinking. GOP elector resigns, says she can't support Romney Melinda Wadsley of Ames, Iowa, told The Associated Press that she could not in good conscience vote for party nominee Mitt Romney. Wadsley was among three electors who had told the AP for a story published Thursday that they were exploring alternatives should Romney win their states. "I have always been a straight ticket Republican, and for the first time in my life I am an undecided voter, therefore, I need to resign my position as a Republican presidential elector," Wadsley said in an email exchange. Full Story: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-09-13/3-electoral-college-members-may-pass-on-gop-ticket 3 (More) Electoral College members may pass on GOP ticket At least three Republican electors say they may not support their party’s presidential ticket when the Electoral College meets in December to formally elect the new president, escalating tensions within the GOP and adding a fresh layer of intrigue to the final weeks of the White House race. The electors – all are supporters of former GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul – told The Associated Press they are exploring options should Mitt Romney win their states. They expressed frustration at how Republican leaders have worked to suppress Paul’s conservative movement and his legion of loyal supporters. Full Story: http://www.themeshreport.com/2012/09/3-electoral-college-members-may-pass-on-gop-ticket/ Just to note, Ron Paul supporters are now backing Libertarian Gary Johnson. And, I hear over and over again that Obama is a Muslim. Obama is a Christian and has labeled himself as such in his writings and interviews, and while living in Chicago he attended the Trinity United Church of Christ. Since moving into the White House, Obama has attended several different Christian churches. President Obama has been very open about his Christian faith since moving into the public spotlight. In fact, his past attendance at the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, with its controversial minister, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, itself became a heated point of political discussion during the 2008 presidential campaign. Still, just 34% of Americans say Obama is a Christian when asked what his religion is. Forty-four percent say they don't know his religion, while 11% -- mostly Republicans and independents -- say he is a Muslim. http://tinyurl.com/d9evram Really a non-issue to me, but it seems to be a point of paranoia to Republicans. And I don't find it to be a reason to fire him from the job. Forbes Website has an article that was really quite to the point. Voting for President: The Lesser Evil Is Still Rather Evil A couple quick quotes from the article: "Of course, anything is possible. Mitt Romney could be different. Just like the Israelis and Palestinians could make peace. But given the succession of truly horrid Republican Party nominees, Romney supporters bear a heavy burden of proof. Why would anyone expect him to break the mold and become the long-awaited conservative messiah and anti-government crusader?" "Whom to vote for on November 6? There is no obvious answer. But if Barack Obama or Mitt Romney is the answer, the question must be really dumb. After all, these two men are part of America’s problem. It is time for real change." Full Article: http://tinyurl.com/9te84h4 The one thing that the Romney supporters I’ve talked to, as civilly as possible of course, have been unable to provide me with is a reason to vote for Mitt Romney. When I ask for such a reason, the response usually boils down to some variation of “Barack Obama is a bad man.” Okay, let’s say I accept that, the fact is that Mitt Romney isn’t the only not-Obama on the ballot here in Louisiana (and 48 other states...to date), and Gary Johnson is far more allied with my values and beliefs than Romney is. So, why should I vote for Romney? This seems to boil down to an argument that Libertarians should vote for Mitt Romney because; he will delay the inevitable, by a couple of years and we can hope that he, and whatever kind of Congress we have in 2013, will actually do something, that will start to pull us back from the brink. This isn’t a bad argument, but it’s not exactly a great one either. It basically boils down a campaign slogan that says: “Mitt Romney: He sucks a little less than the other guy.” Are you willing to hand them a signed blank check? We have no specifics on much of what Mr. Romney will do to recover the economy. And the way he flip flops, no way to be sure he will keep any promise he has made. I don't think Mr. Romney would go into a deal, as vague as the one he is asking us to go into by voting for him. I suppose that will be enough for some people, but it certainly isn’t inspiring, and it requires a heck of a lot of faith in a Republican Party that has been nothing but a disappointment for far longer than I can remember. After all, the last time we had Republicans in charge of the Executive and Legislative Branches, we ended up with a trillion dollar unfunded entitlement, a massive increase in the Federal education bureaucracy, and two wars that we not only didn’t pay for, but which coincided with tax cuts, which is about the fiscally dumbest thing you can do. We also, of course, ended up with massive erosion of civil liberties in the name of the “War On Terror,” and people being tortured in America’s name. Given that record, why should I think that a Romney Administration would be any more palatable to Libertarians or anyone, or that it would take any real steps toward reducing the size, scope, and power of government? I have yet to hear a persuasive case for any Libertarian to support Mitt Romney. Did you know there are actually 6 candidates on the ballot? The Republicans and the Democrats don't want you to know it, along with the Debate Commission. Obama & Romney you know for sure. Libertarian: Gary Johnson Two terms as governor of New Mexico. Previously sought GOP nomination. Green Party: Jill Stein Massachusetts physician. Ran against Romney in 2002 for governor. Constitution Party: Virgil Goode Former Virginia congressman. Justice Party: Rocky Anderson Justice Party co-founder. Former Salt Lake City mayor. Worked with Romney on 2002 Olympics. You might want to visit http://www.isidewith.com They have a quiz, and based on your answers, they match you up with the candidate that best agrees with your views. You do not have to register or give any personal information. So, now I think I have made my case as to Why Mitt Romney is Unlikable, and a terrible candidate for President. And that the Republican Party itself, has become self serving. The excessive spending by the Republicans and Democrats have put us in the position we are in today, and the 3rd largest party, the Libertarians, are the only true conservative party left. Gary Johnson, is our candidate. Gary paid his way through college as a handy man, and started Big J Construction Company in New Mexico. They have 1000 employees. He ran for Governor as a Republican, in a state that votes 2:1 Democrat, and he won by a landslide. And he was re-elected for a second term. During his terms, he cut taxes 14 times. That is almost 2 time a year. He reduced the size of New Mexico's government by using the people more efficiently, with no layoffs. They were able to build new roads and schools, and by cutting taxes on corporations, they created jobs.  He vetoed wasteful spending 750 times. More than all the governors in this country put together. He balanced their budget, and when he left office, New Mexico had a billion dollar surplus. When Mr. Romney left office in Massachusetts, he had a 54% dis-approval rating. Mr. Romney has not campaigned in his home state. Don't you find that odd? Anyway, if New Mexico didn't have term limits, Gary would still be Governor. I've heard all the flack, 3rd parties don't win, voting Libertarian is a vote for Obama, your wasting your vote. Already the Debate Commission has lost 3 sponsors because Gary was excluded from the debates. These sponsors have seen the light. Sure they will probably get replaced. That's ok. You have to rock the boat some way. And the Libertarian Party has a law suit against the Debate Commission, because of the exclusion. And, this isn't a high school football game. I'm not out routing for the home team, just because they are my home team. I'm not just firing the current President, I'm hiring the most qualified man to replace him. Gary was after the Republican nomination. When Mr. Romney got it, the Libertarians ask Gary to come on board with them, and he accepted their nomination. Fact is, I don't care what party Gary is, I would vote for him on his experience, history and qualifications. You don't have to be Libertarian to vote Libertarian, and if we don't win, we send the message to the big two parties that we don't like your candidates, or the way you run this country, and yes, we will pull votes from both parties. And we are ready to do it again in 2016, 2020, 2024. We are growing, and the younger generation, that can't get work as it is, is coming up with us. The undecided voters are interested in Libertarians. It's going to happen, sooner or later. People will realize that the Repub/Demo Merry-Go-Round is a failure. Every four years, nothing changes except the players. Gary will tell you, Give us one election, and if you are not happy, you can always vote Republican or Democrat back in. And after this election, if we don't win, and nothing changes or things get worse, I'll know, in my heart, I didn't vote for that. The only wasted vote, is a vote for someone you really don't believe in. Replacing bad with bad is pointless. Replacing bad with worse, is stupidity. I met Gary Johnson in Lafayette Louisiana. He is very intelligent. Hasn't flip flopped on anything. Has a firm stance on the issues, and hasn't offended anyone. Ever hear "..... Liberty and Justice for all". I think they meant the 100%, not just the 1%. Visit: http://www.garyjohnson2012.com Visit: http://www.lp.org Libertarian. Live Free!
Posted by wisemagic