Why YOU should vote Republican (Part 2)

If you read the other article, you’re probably a newly converted Democrat. Re-reading my post, I realized how I made the Republican Party look like a bunch of bumbling buffoons.

To be fair, I’d classify Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden in the bumbling buffoon category as well.

However, the Republican Party is worthy of a vote, and there are plenty of good reasons to commit to Mitt Romney. Sure, he engaged in activities such as buying twitter followers,  but Obama does as well. And meh, using private information to find new donors  isn’t that bad compared to how under Obama the NSA intercepts billions of personal communications of Americans..

Wow that was a cynical paragraph.  Back to the point of this post.

Alexonomics presents: Why you should vote Republican.

When I use quotation marks in this post
I am quoting from Mitt Romney's website.

As usual we’ll go through a bit of history. Anti-Slavery activists formed the early Republican activists, as the Democratic party was very much pro slavery. On a side note, this is what makes Joe Biden’s remark on how the Republicans will put African Americans in “shackles” so ironic. The Republican Party was actually quite progressive as they coined the 1856 slogan of “Free Land, Free Labor, and Free Men”, and equality among all citizens. Interestingly, the Republicans were quite anti free trade and promoted high tariffs, high wages for all workers and relatively high pensions for soldiers who fought for the North during the civil war.

The Republican Party actually became known as more conservative and pro-business through its opposition of membership of the League of Nations, and high tariffs to protect local businesses.  When the "New Deal" politics of Roosevelt were introduced, the Republican Party in its opposition further cemented its view as a capitalistic pro-business party. In terms of elections, the Republicans have sent 18 men to the White House, among them Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford and Dwight Eisenhower.

Easy to see why Republicans don't like
Regulation - quite expensive. 

In terms of policy the Republicans tend to side with laissez-faire economics – which basically allows the market to dictate the economy without government intervention. Fiscal Conservatism and advocating individual responsibility over welfare are both strong ideas in the Republican Party. One of the ideas that have been pushed by many Republicans is supply side economics, which advocates that lowering incomes and capital gains taxes while reducing regulation will encourage more economic activity. In terms of health care, the Republicans do not like the concept of paying for their neighbor’s healthcare, and is against a government run health care system that taxpayers pay into.  Lastly, the Republicans generically are against unions and the minimum wage. 

So, why in the name of Elohim should you vote for Mitt Romney?

How did it come to this? Well, public sector unions are just as
(if not more)greedy as "Fat Cats" (left wing term for bankers). 

Well, he wants to cut spending – which is good. As I explained a year ago, America’s debt crisis is cause of concern. If interest rates increase on America’s debt less money will be spent on government services and more will be spent on interest payments. Romney states that he wants to cut spending 5% “across the board” and set a cap on spending at 20% of GDP. Additionally, Romney would reduce foreign aid, privatize Amtrak (America’s train/bus system), and align the grossly inflated public sector employee’s salary with the private sector. These are all good ideas, but very difficult to implement. Obama attempted to cut 1.5 trillion through a bipartisan committee only to have failed. The point is politically these ideas are very difficult to put through.

However, Romney has a record of running Bain Capital, something Obama cannot even come close to when it comes to experience. Regardless of what the media will say about Bain, it is an esteemed organization of intellectual professionals who know how to get things done. Romney’s experience in running a large organization is unquestionable.

 Romney also wants to encourage immigration for highly skilled workers and grant permanent residency to those who have engineering, math or scientific backgrounds. This is part of Romney’s idea to use human capital as effectively as possible, as the government has retraining programs that often overlap and are inefficient. To solve this, retraining will be done through private companies competing through tender for the best price. Additionally, Romney will fight union greed (yes, modern unions are as greedy as Goldman Sachs in most cases) by prohibiting the automatic deduction of funds from union employees for political use, and support right-to-work laws.

What's America doing while the rest of the world signs Free Trade
Agreements? Debating between legitimate and illegitimate rape. 

In terms of trade, Romney wants to complete negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership and continue aggressively forming Free Trade Agreements (FTA’s). Additionally, Romney may be the first President (yes, may be) who will confront China on currency manipulation – as the Chinese currency does not float freely undercutting Western manufactures through their exports.

Lastly, Romney is committed to providing the largest helping hand he can to small business, and that is in the form of repealing regulations. Amending  Sarbanes-Oxley and repealing the legislative mess that is Dodd-Frank.Although the Acts are good starts, both regulatory acts are long and complicated. Even election legislation has gotten a bit much.

Economically, Romney knows what he’s doing.

In terms of foreign policy Mitt Romney wants to support the Iranian opposition, which was led by the Green Movement in 2009. This is a very good approach, as I recommended that approach myself after briefly looking at the situation. In terms of Afghanistan and Iraq, Romney is relatively unclear on his website as he states the US clearly needs the cooperation of Afghanistan and Pakistan governments, but doesn't really say how he will receive that cooperation. Due to the hate of the United States in that region, especially considering how the US blatantly entered Pakistani territory during the bin Laden raid, I doubt cooperation will come easily. In terms of Iran, Romney’s plan is to “enter office seeking to use the broad array of our foreign-policy tools — diplomatic, economic, and military — to establish a lasting relationship with Iraq and guarantee that Baghdad remains a solid partner in a volatile and strategically vital region.”. Basically, that means Romney will assess the situation when in office, a good approach to a really complicated situation.

I think they want the Americans to leave. 

I will pause for a second, and state that sometimes the best policy is simply admitting you’re not sure. The Middle East is a prime example of this. American involvement in the area to secure oil interests has stirred much hate against the land of the home and brave. Simply stating that peace is the best idea, keeping out of the entire territory is the best idea, or bombing an entire country is the best idea is very irresponsible. The best American and Western world can do in the Middle East is gain knowledge through strong intelligence networks, and react to the information as it comes in.

However, I will admit that Americans ending their interference in the world would be a nice break from the last decade.  

Social Security and Medicare are 40% of
government spending. 

In terms of social security, Mitt Romney proposes to ensuring “that America honors all of its commitments to today’s seniors and strengthens the program so that it is financially secure for future generations”. Simply adjusting payments so those with higher incomes receive less and raising the retirement age are both practical measures. Already, Canada has risen the retirement age as it is fact the mortality rate has risen, so the retirement age must rise as well. Adjusting payments so that the less fortunate receive more is ironically would belong to a more socialist school of thought, but a good idea nonetheless.

In terms of Medicare, Romney wants to spur competition among medical insurance plans while again seeing that lower income seniors receive more support than higher income seniors. Seniors will receive a set amount to pay for a plan, if they choose a more expensive plan – they pay the difference, less expensive they can pocket the difference. Nothing will change for current seniors or those nearing retirement.

Lastly, Romney will repeal Obamacare, or the Affordable Care Act. I sort of agree. I don’t think there should be a federal health care program, instead allocate funds so each state can offer their own healthcare system that will provide competition among states. Additionally, employers should not have to pay for their employee’s health care, it is a huge cost burden on the economy. For those reasons alone, I’m not a huge fan of Obamacare. However, Romney’s ideas are not agreeable with mine – if you wish to see what Romney’s ideas are go here.

So there you have it, some solid reasons to vote Republican. Notice I never touched taxes as I completely disagree with the Republican platform on it. Removing regulation, raising the retirement age through Social Security, lowering public sector wages and instituting some reasonable cost savings are all good ideas that should be promoted.

The problem with the Republicans is they focus on issues that should not be discussed. Enraging the population with a remark on rape and fueling an abortion debate that cannot possibly end well is sheer stupidity. Additionally, Republicans need to learn to tell the truth during campaigns. Paul Ryan is looking more and more like a deadbeat Vice President with his latest speech at the convention, proven to be rife with – well – lies. Even Fox News recognized how many tall tails Ryan pronounced. Most laughable was when Paul Ryan stated Obama “ created a bipartisan debt commission. They came back with an urgent report.  He thanked them, sent them on their way, and then did exactly nothing”. Well, Paul Ryan was a member of that commission and they voted down their own recommendations –  which Paul Ryan supported.

Just shut up. Seriously. 

The Republicans need to stop spewing rhetoric and lies that is turning off any sensible voter and focus on the key elements of Mitt Romney’s plan that sound promising and effective. Paul Ryan needs to use something called facts when he opens his mouth. Romney needs to stop trying to pander to the extremist wing of the party that he clearly does not agree with.

Lastly, the Democrats can be attacked on their hypocrisy on many issues, mainly national security. The gross privacy invasions that have occurred under the TSA and NSA under the Patriot Act while the fact that SOPA was even considered as a bill is a stark reminder of the Democrat’s hypocrisy when it comes to freedom. The American government is creeping more and more into individual American life, and Obama has done nothing to stop this. Instead he’s allowed it to expand. What started under the Patriot Act is now a right infringing machine under the guise of national security.

Democrats have grown accustomed to stupidity from the Republican side ever since George Bush took office. To counter, the Republicans need to abandon rhetoric and counter the Democrats on their own faults and hypocrisy. Simply asking Obama why the NSA intercepts so many messages illegally per day during a debate may cause him to stutter.

Overall, the voting for the Democrats is like eating a rat because there is nothing better on the table except a maggot infested deer. Sure, the deer would have been great for dinner, but there’s far too many maggots to make it safe for consumption. If the Republicans can rid themselves of the maggots that have manifested themselves as lies, rhetoric, and extremism – they are a solid party to vote for.