santorum

Some conservatives see Santorum’s tax plan as ‘welfare in disguise’

Republican voters taking a deeper look at Rick Santorum will discover a tax plan that dovetails with the former senator’s blue-collar, socially conservative persona, but diverges from GOP orthodoxy.

Santorum’s plan has drawn fire from free-market conservative activists, who say the candidate is dabbling in “welfare in disguise” and trying to use the tax system to pick winners and losers.

Yet by proposing aid through the tax code to families and domestic manufacturing, it could prove to be a political winner for Santorum in new Hampshire as the Pennsylvania Republican tries to distinguish himself from other presidential contenders.

“He probably has the most politically effective and powerful economic plan, one that is completely synced with his image and campaign theme,” James Pethokoukis of the conservative American Enterprise Institute told the Hill.

He said Santorum has been dealing more directly with kitchen table issues than some of his rivals in the GOP race.

“His plan is a cruise missile aimed at the concerns of the beleaguered middle class,” Pethokoukis said.

Santorum – who used relentless retail politicking to score a virtual first place tie in the Iowa caucuses – has been making the case that strengthening families will help the American economy.

“People say: ‘Well, you know all we need to care about is cutting taxes and cutting government and everything will be fine,’” Santorum said at a Wednesday event in new Hampshire. “If people don’t live good, decent moral laws, government’s going to get bigger. That’s why I say families and faith is an important part of the foundation of economic limited government.”

To that end, Santorum, who strongly opposes same-sex marriage and is fervently against abortion rights, has proposed tripling the deduction taxpayers get for each dependent child and scrapping provisions that cause some married couples to pay more in taxes than they would if they had stayed single.

The former senator’s tax plan would also keep an array of tax preferences that help families – like deductions for mortgage interest, charitable giving and retirement savings – while also lowering the top individual rate to 28 percent.

On the business side, Santorum would try to give a spark to the manufacturing sector by zeroing out their tax rate, while cutting the rate for other corporations in half, to 17.5 percent.

Santorum has pressed those ideas while trying to become the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney, the presumed front-runner for the GOP nomination.

While some conservative analysts have derided Romney’s economic and tax plan as timid, right-leaning economists have also found plenty not to like in Santorum’s plan.

For instance, will McBride of the right-leaning Tax Foundation, who gave Santorum’s tax plan a D+ grade, said the manufacturing proposal “may be the worst idea of any of the Republican candidates.”

McBride argues that the proposal would encourage companies not thought of as manufacturers to try to be classified as such for tax purposes. and he said he was skeptical about Santorum’s argument that manufacturers create more jobs outside of their sector than other industries.

“That doesn’t make any sense. There’s no economic basis for that statement,” McBride told the Hill. “No other candidate has proposed such a grossly unfair system.”

Free market analysts also say that Santorum’s proposal to triple the deduction for children also would mean more people wouldn’t owe any income tax – at a time when many Republicans have made the argument that more taxpayers need to be paying. 

“The massive distortions introduced to favor manufacturing and the social engineering from radically higher exemptions are horrible tax policy,” Kevin Hassett, director of economic policy at AEI, wrote on Friday.

As Howard Gleckman of the non-partisan Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center has noted, Santorum also would look to complement his tax plan by cutting $5 trillion in federal spending over five years – including freezing spending on Medicaid, food stamps and other social programs.

Pethokoukis noted that the Santorum plan – and the criticism it has received – underscore the differences between more populist conservatives and free market types.

“Santorum views families as being the core of society, while supply-siders would probably view the entrepreneur that way,” he said.

Not all conservative analysts are crying foul on the Santorum plan, either.

Ryan Ellis of Americans for Tax Reform said his group, founded by the anti-tax activist Grover Norquist, preferred the flat tax proposals from Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich.

But Ellis also said that, unlike other conservatives, he was not concerned that Santorum’s plan would mean far fewer people would owe income taxes.

Ellis added that the former senator’s proposals would also not be a net tax increase under ATR’s definition, and would also lower rates.

“If passed as is, the plan would be perfectly acceptable,” said Ellis, ATR’s director of tax policy. “Other campaigns have come out with stronger plans that do more.”

Another Crowd Confronts Santorum

Alex Wong/Getty ImagesStudents of the Dublin School in new Hampshire watched Rick Santorum’s town-hall-style meeting from an overflow room. Mr. Santorum was confronted for a second day over his stance on same-sex marriage.

DUBLIN, N.H. — Rick Santorum faced a semihostile crowd of students here Friday afternoon at the Dublin School, a small, private high school. They challenged him on gay rights, contraception and what one questioner called his “warmongering” while he professes to be a man of faith.

Mr. Santorum’s chief talking point was that President Obama’s health care program was a turning point toward a society that is “hooked” on entitlement programs. Dependency on entitlements, he said, was making government bigger and bigger.

“This is the power that this president wants to exercise and he wants more of it, just like the kings of old, who know what’s best for you,” he said. He urged them to be bold and vote for him in Tuesday’s primary.

But the crowd, mostly high school students and a few visitors from the area, seemed more interested in his views on social issues.

Asked about gay men and lesbians serving in the military and about same-sex marriage, Mr. Santorum, a former Senator from Pennsylvania, said they should not be allowed to serve openly and called for reinstituting the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

He said that marriage was a privilege “given by society for a reason,” which is to procreate. “Lots of people love each other,” he said, “but we don’t give them this unique privilege because it’s so important that moms and dads bond together” and give their children what they need.

Jessica Scharf, 16, a student here, told Mr. Santorum that she had a handicapped brother and wanted to know how to take care of him without help from the federal government.

Mr. Santorum noted that his daughter was disabled and “we bear the cost,” but said that people who could not should seek help elsewhere before turning to the federal government. He suggested that family, friends, neighbors and the church could help, and that caring for someone would knit them all closer together.

Ms. Scharf said later she did not find the answer satisfying. “My brother is multiply handicapped,” she said. “I don’t think the church or my neighbors are equipped to handle my brother’s handicaps.”

Alison Poirier, 18, told Mr. Santorum that she had been sexually abused and thought it was important for women to have the option of abortion.

Mr. Santorum did not address abortion per se, which he opposes, but talked about contraception. He said that while he was a practicing Catholic, he did not want to impose the church’s teachings on others. “I would not vote — and I’ve said this repeatedly — I would not vote for banning contraception,” he said. “That is an individual decision.”

Ms. Poirier said later that she was surprised by his statement. “I was puzzled because I read that he’s against birth control, and for him to say he wasn’t against it was very opposing to what it says online,” she said.

During another answer, a woman called out to him, “Maybe someone else can ask you about being a warmonger and how you reconcile that with your faith.” As he started to address her, the woman said, “Jesus said, ‘Love your enemies.’ ”

After that, the hourlong discussion more or less devolved into other shouted questions. One woman stood and noted that Mr. Santorum was standing in front of a banner that said “truth and courage.”

“This audience is preparing you for facing very unpleasant truths,” she told him, “and I hope you have the courage to continue to tell the truth.”

As people filed out of the room, Marian Schwaller Carney, 54, who lives nearby and sells data services to libraries, said she had come because she was curious about Mr. Santorum. she was a Democrat but is now a Republican and is searching for a candidate to support.

“Iowa caught my attention,” she said, referring to Mr. Santorum’s finishing just eight votes behind the winner, Mitt Romney. “He really impressed me, with his intelligence and his ability to take a crowd like this,” she said of Mr. Santorum. “And he really kept his cool.”

As she left, she said she would probably vote for him.

Spotlight Shines on Santorum, Rough Edges and All

Richard Perry/The New York TimesRick Santorum arriving at the Queen City Rotary Club in Manchester, N.H., on Thursday.

MANCHESTER, N.H. — two different Rick Santorums campaigned across this state on Thursday.

There was the charming, aw-shucks Rick Santorum who stood casually in front of audiences for as long as they wanted, one hand in the pocket of his khakis, impressing them with his in-depth yet seemingly off-the-cuff answers.

Then there was the other Rick Santorum — the one who gave long, rambling answers at his town hall meetings. It was Professor Santorum, lecturing the completely silent audiences on the vagaries of constitutional history.

“He’s very bright,” explained Claira Monier, the co-chairwoman of his campaign in New Hampshire. “He’s nerdy, O.K.? You ask him a question and you get more information than you really wanted to know. He goes in the details. He knows his stuff. some of us are like that.”

As he tries to quickly build on his success in Iowa, mr. Santorum is displaying the spunk that kept him going for months despite hardly a mention by the national press corps. but he is also displaying the rough edges and lack of polish that go along with a presidential campaign that was for months conducted largely out of the public eye.

A dozen television news cameras were lined up at the Rotary Club meeting in Manchester at the crack of dawn, waiting for mr. Santorum to arrive. Reporters swarmed him a couple hours later at his first town hall meeting. and there were so many cameras and reporters at the Tilt’n Diner in Tilton that he could hardly move through the aisles to shake hands.

All the new-found attention is forcing mr. Santorum to perform under intense pressure, with only five days left before voters in New Hampshire will help decide the fate of his presidential campaign. this weekend, mr. Santorum will have two more debate appearances. and his lectern is likely to be dead center, a reward of sorts for coming in second by a ridiculously close margin in the Iowa caucuses.

But the rest of the time, mr. Santorum will be traveling from one corner of New Hampshire to the other, introducing himself to voters who have not paid much attention to his campaign until now.

On Thursday, mr. Santorum’s best moment was at the Merrimack Valley Railroad, where he held an event with about 150 people and talked confidently — and sometimes at great length — about the Constitution, gun rights, his upbringing and how to confront the growth of entitlements.

The audience seemed to like his attacks on President Obama, his criticism of burdensome regulations on banks and small businesses, and his description of the bureaucracy’s efforts to “hook” people with dependency on support.

He lost the audience a bit when he started talking about the “reconciliation process” that the Senate could use to repeal the health care law even without a 60-vote supermajority. but even that got some applause from a crowd primed to dislike the law.

“I was very impressed. He’s a sharp guy,” said Bruce Wakefield of Franklin, N.H.

But if that was his best moment, he had his worst just a few hours later, at a gathering of college students.

It’s something of a mystery why mr. Santorum chose to campaign at the event, which was billed as a way to give college students from around the state an opportunity to experience the primary process up close.

In fact, it served as a venue for liberal students to launch “gotcha” questions at mr. Santorum, as one young woman did about gay marriage. Instead of offering a sound-bite answer explaining his opposition to gay marriage and moving on, mr. Santorum engaged the young woman and her friends for 10 full minutes about the issue — with all of the cameras rolling.

The testy exchange was evidence of two things: mr. Santorum’s tendency to act like the senator that he was for 12 years and his lack of discipline as a candidate.

Senators spend most of their time debating each other, and that appears to inform mr. Santorum’s approach to his town hall meetings. Throughout the college event, mr. Santorum seemed eager to debate, often at length, with the students.

“I’m happy to engage in a discussion, give people a chance to answer,” he said at one point during the debate over gay marriage. “but we’re going to have a civil discussion.”

At the railroad event, mr. Santorum’s back-and-forth banter appeared to endear him to some members of the crowd. but faced with some tough questions from the college students later in the day, mr. Santorum’s engagement seemed to rub the crowd the wrong way.

How could you tell? The loud booing as mr. Santorum finally left the ballroom was a clue.

A candidate with more experience would likely have been able to sense the political danger sooner, and maneuver himself out of the situation. At the Iowa State fair this summer, Mitt Romney was drawn into a comment about corporations by a heckler, but quickly recovered and moved on to another questioner.

It’s not like mr. Santorum has no experience as a candidate. In addition to campaigning in his Senate and House races, he has traveled across Iowa and New Hampshire for the past six months, talking to small groups of voters at a time.

But those sessions were not being broadcast into millions of homes by news cameras. and until the Iowa caucuses, there were relatively few people who arrived at his events ready to challenge his every word during a speech.

Now that those crowds have arrived, it’s up to mr. Santorum to summon the discipline to stay on an effective message without allowing his own habits and the questions by the crowd to distract himself from his mission — to win the 2012 nomination.

And he has to do it quickly. The voting here begins in less than five days.

Rick Santorum’s Search Engine Problem Hits The Big Time

Santorum’s search engine ordeal began in 2003 after he made a series of anti-gay comments in the media. in response, columnist and gay-rights activist Dan Savage led a successful campaign to push a new definition of “santorum” to the top of search listings. The results of that campaign can be seen in the following screenshot taken this morning:

As the image shows, the leading result for “Santorum” is the website “spreading santorum.” The Google (NSDQ: GOOG) search results page also displays a definition that wouldn’t be printable in a family newspaper and a click on the top link brings up an obscene graphic.

When the former Senator was a relative obscurity, Savage’s search engine campaign was (depending on your point of view) either mean or a funny and effective political tactic. But with Santorum’s newfound prominence there is a real possibility that six-graders across the land will encounter “spreading santorum” in the course of a civics class assignment. And it is not just a “Google problem,” as Politico described it in September, but a full blown search phenomenon. A search of his name brings up the same results in Bing and Yahoo!.

What can Santorum do? for now, not much. The First Amendment and America’s defamation laws for public figures mean that a lawsuit is out of the question (and would probably spur even more interest in the site).

Santorum tried approaching Google in September but was reportedly rebuffed. According to “in the Plex” author Stephen Levy, founder Sergey Brin once wrestled with the same issue over the fact the word “Jew” once brought up offensive sites, but ultimately decided that the company’s search results should not be tampered with.

In the long run, the social conservative may eventually be able to dislodge the “spreading santorum” site if he can gain more fame as a mainstream politician than as a gay-rights opponent. As SearchEngineLand’s Danny Sullivan explained in a definitive article on the Santorum phenomenon, McDonald’s was slowly able to push down unwanted search results like “McCruelty.” But given the vigor of his opponents, there is no chance Santorum will be able do this anytime soon.

The most sensible course of action for Santorum may be to agree to Savage’s proposed truce in which he will take the website down in exchange for Santorum recognizing gay people as equal citizens. in doing so, he would be accepting a position that is receiving support from courts, the federal government and most Americans. I can also attest that my own aunts are enjoying a happy life together after getting married in Canada five years ago and that, strangely, Canada hasn’t turned into a giant gay bath house.

In the meantime, parents worried about their children learning too much from their civics lessons can change their Google search filter from “moderate” to “strict.”

Rick Santorum’s tax plan

Former Sen. Rick Santorum’s narrow loss in Iowa has raised his stature as a serious contender in the GOP race for the White House.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Presidential candidate Rick Santorum’s proposals to change taxes haven’t drawn much attention yet. but that is likely to change now that his standing in the Republican field has risen.

The former conservative senator from Pennsylvania would reduce the number of income tax brackets from six to two (10% and 28%) and triple what his campaign identifies as the personal deduction that parents can claim for their children.

Santorum would also eliminate the so-called marriage penalty, which often causes two-earner couples to owe more in federal income taxes than if they filed as single individuals. (Read: the millionaire tax)

In addition, he would eliminate both the Alternative Minimum Tax and the estate tax. and he would reduce the capital gains rate from 15% to 12%.

For businesses, he would cut the corporate income tax rate in half to 17.5% and eliminate it entirely for manufacturers. plus, he would increase the research and development credit and reduce the tax burden on U.S. companies that choose to bring back their overseas profits to the United States.

Generally speaking, Santorum proposes to simplify the tax code.

But at the same time he proposes to keep on the books many of the largest and most popular deductions, such as those for health insurance, retirement savings and mortgage interest.

And he would continue the long-lived tradition of treating industries differently in the eyes of the tax code. "the plan would still tax different forms of business income differently," the Tax Foundation noted in its preliminary assessment of the plan.

Santorum also emphasizes his desire to use the tax code to support the family — which he calls the "first economy."

There’s been no formal third-party analysis of Santorum’s plan so far. but his proposal to boost tax breaks for families may run counter to at least one oft-stated Republican beef: the number of households that end up having no federal income tax liability because of all the tax breaks they’re entitled to.

"interestingly, by using tax expenditures to support these families, Santorum would likely add significantly to the number of households that pay no income tax," wrote Urban Institute resident fellow Howard Gleckman in the blog TaxVox.

What’s more, Gleckman noted, "because [Santorum's plan] cuts rates significantly but does not eliminate tax preferences — and even expands a few — it would very likely add trillions of dollars to the federal deficit."

The Santorum campaign did not respond to CNNMoney’s requests for comment. 

First Published: January 5, 2012: 5:39 AM ET

7 Reasons America Needs Sarah Palin In 2012

The names of Mike Huckabee, Michelle Bachman may very likely be on the top of the bill and others will be in the offing if their supporters have anything to say about it. Names like Mitt Romney, Marco Rubio, Chris Christie, Haley Barbour, Newt Gingrich, Mitch Daniels, John Thune and Rick Santorum will round out the larger list.

On a personal level my first choice for a presidential candidate in 2012 would be Michelle Bachman. I must admit my bias for her is based on her strong moral stand and her willingness to be vociferous in quoting verses of the scripture. In my book, she is the perfect candidate, a veritable female Lincoln and if Palin does not run she will be my first choice; but for those who are afraid of the encroachment of religion or Biblical tenants’ into politics this may become a negative factor.

Mitt Romney would be good for the nation because of his business acumen and may be able to get a grip on the nations economic condition better than most. The latest controversy about the porn in the Marriot Hotel chain is not likely to go away soon and the Dem’s are not going to let that little gem lose its luster any time in the near future. He carries a great deal of political baggage into his bid for various reasons. Those reasons would keep whole blocks of voters away from pulling the lever in his favor.

Romney’s involvement in getting same sex marriages OK’d in Massachusetts, flip flops on abortion and the fact that he is a Mormon will all work hard against him. Main stream Evangelicals’ and Pentecostals and a good number of Catholics are not likely to cast their vote for a Mormon.

Marco Rubio who has hesitated to allow the Tea Party to include him in their caucus, even though they were instrumental in getting him elected has declared that he will not run in 2012. That doesn’t count for much in politics because he may be pressed hard by insiders who like his stand and the infusion of new blood he obviously represents for the GOP. He is a powerful man but is nevertheless only one of the new kids on the block.

Chris Christie represents a powerful possibility for the GOP in 2012 because he holds the conservative line almost to the letter. Having found little to put down Christie with, the left has put forth the notion that his being a bit overweight would put voters on the fence. but with millions of Americans battling with their own weight problems wouldn’t that be a case of the pot calling the kettle black? are Americans that shallow, sorry to say that between the antics of American Idol and the pervasive Hollywood mentality that prevails in today’s youth the answer is probably, yes

To be fair and to keep this article from breaking out into an anthology I will have to leave the list of other very worthy hopefuls and possibilities to other pundits, analysts and political campaign strategists.

As an afterthought it must never be forgotten that, unbeknownst to the political class is the often overlooked but supremely important fact, that there exists a gargantuan gap between political science and political savvy among the American people.

To keep what should be only a footnote from becoming a full treatise on the subject I will defer to some common sense, which even a politician might understand.

To start with consider just why, and more importantly what the Obama re-election campaign is going to use the projected one billion dollars of campaign cash for in 2012. make no mistake, the money will not be used to educate the public in honest practical politics and what is best for the country. If that were true Obama’s chances for re-election would be zero.

Most of the money will be used to intrude into the daily lives of Americans who are far too busy and distracted to know too much about politics, much less understand the complexities, the history and the tenants of political science. The intrusions will be public addresses, advertisements, anecdotal stories and clips of how great the President has been doing mixed with promises of more to come. Like the infomercials of late night TV, only the positive anecdotal stories are allowed. Nothing negative including the results of studies, polls or testimonies from those who hate the product will be allowed. Facts will be stretched, denied and abused on a daily basis.

I am not saying Americans are stupid but they are completely distracted by making a living, raising families, entertainment, sports attractions and personal pursuits of pleasure, to be on top of the complexities of partisan politics. The 2012 campaigns will be like one big ad campaign for about 18 months.

Those who follow politics daily or at least regularly are like the handful of handicappers who are always found at a horse race. The rank and file American is like the rest of the crowd just guessing on the best horse while they’re having a grand old time at the fairgrounds.

The handicappers have a much better chance of picking the right horse but the entire crowd has to live with the final result of the race. The only reason the larger crowd might call to disqualify a horse is if they had been cheated or there was some hanky-panky in the race. Unknown to the rank and file in the 2012 race is; just how much is at stake. In fact; choose the wrong horse in this race, and it may be the last race anyone ever attends and could result in closing down of the racetrack for good.

But those with political savvy know that if the ads are unique, colorful, glowing and obnoxiously repetitive that some of the fluff will get through and take root. Noble deeds and good intentions will be offered as the alternative to the splashy ads but they take time to ingest, digest, assimilate and only those who are accustomed to taking the time to discern the difference will see the difference.

With this in mind we can start a general perusal of why Sarah Palin is the best possible candidate to become President of these United States in 2012.

1. The simplest howbeit most important reason Sarah Palin is the best choice for President in 2012 is because she is not Barack Obama.

2. The second reason is because she has the most exposure of all the candidates. While Obama may attempt to raise a billion bucks for his campaign treasury Sarah has been climbing into the view and the hearts of millions of Americans though her work with the Tea Party, the mid-terms and her TV series on Alaska not to mention her two books, both well received throughout the nation. She would be the most well known candidate of all, right out of the gate.

3. Although it could easily be misconstrued on the most fundamental level Sarah will make a good candidate on her appearance. She is a lovely person that for many typifies the classic beauty of the American Woman. In a world where appearance counts for much she has it all. She is beautiful, well poised and dignified at all times. She would be a credit to the nation in the company of other world leaders and would certainly be respected for her manner, graceful charm and personality.

4. Sarah has faith in God. It would make some people more comfortable if this fact appeared at the end of the list or as an appendage to this piece but we must never forget that Christians still make up a majority of people here in the U.S. The apostasy and the creeping liberal influences of the day notwithstanding, two out of three people say they have faith in God and his Son Jesus Christ.

Anyone can make such a claim and it is only when compared to other nations that we can see that the most Christians do reside in America and it is singularly the only successful nation on earth that was founded on the principles of the Bible and the Christian faith. She is unashamed to speak of her faith but that is not enough. She is also ready to apply the principles of that faith and foster the morality it creates for her into her decision making.

Such an approach has existed and flourished in this land for over two centuries and there is little reason to think it will fail now. She is not likely to be found quoting Bible verses everyday in her public life but to silence the complainers and please the true believers we only need to see her live out what she believes not play the role of the preacher.

5. Sarah Palin is well endowed with what we know as character and integrity. It is that stuff that Americans used to be satisfied with in our leaders even if they weren’t the sharpest tool in the shed. The most beloved President in our history, Abraham Lincoln had almost no education at all but no one has yet come near to the amazing Presidency, life and legacy he left to posterity. We have heard the pompous declare that Sarah may not be intelligent enough to hold up the Presidency to a high standard. The best answer to that is Barack Obama. Here we have a superbly educated man that has led the nation to the brink of bankruptcy, the highest jobless rate and earned the title of being the head of the most corrupt administration in U.S. History. So much for intelligence

Anyone with a nickels worth of intelligence knows that our Presidents don’t run the office alone. The cabinet and staff are a major part of any single President’s success. Palin can be trusted to surround herself with the very best and that is the best we can hope for. In case you’re one of the few who have not read Dale Carnegie’s how to Win Friends and Influence People, let me reiterate one of the most important examples in that great book.

When Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company was dragged before the courts to relieve him of his position as CEO over one of the nation’s biggest corporations it was his lack of education or intelligence that was the primary charge leveled against him. When Ford was asked dozens of questions in common math problems, science, history and literature he could answer almost none of them. then he asked the question to the court of why he should have to know those things when he had a desk full of buttons that could summon experts in every field; the case was instantly thrown out of court.

I along with millions of American would be willing to bet our last dollar that Sarah Palin will be surrounded with the cream of the crop, the best of the best and when she needs to grasp a situation, will be advised by the tops in any field of polity and policy; that’s intelligence.

6. Sarah’s background and upbringing in one of the most rugged states in the country along with her desire to make America less dependent on foreign oil will no doubt serve to guide her decisions around the environmental lobbyists, excessive EPA regulations and do what is right for the nation. The average American is left scratching their heads when it comes to Obama’s energy policies. how can a nation that is sitting on vast reserves of natural resources look to the ever tumultuous Arab nations to supply their needs. Should a Muslim succeed to the Presidency of the EU (predicted by some) with one simple executive order that leader could plunge the American system of transportation and industry into disarray and bring it to a screeching halt.

7. The seventh reason I believe Sarah would be the best choice in 2012 is because she is affording America a real chance to make history. She would become our first female President. Obama made history as our first black President; unfortunately he is not a homeboy. He is not one of our very own up thru the ghetto or emerging from the civil rights movement kind of African American.

In fact a large contingent of Americans are still not satisfied that he was even born in America. He is still running on a lot of pop culture energy with the young and the clueless who don’t care much about roots and history but that’s not where Middle America comes from and this election will be a call to such people. If the call they answered in the mid-term elections is any indicator; Sarah has come to a very propitious moment in time to seize the day.

She has been a wonderful mother, a good Governor and a great rallying force in America since she was cast on the scene by John McCain in the 2008 race. She can be the very best choice in 2012 for all of the above reasons and a long list of others too numerous to cover in one article.

In summary I would be remiss if I did not add that no President of these United States can make up for the decisions of its people if they have decided to plunge into immorality and Godlessness. President Johnson often began his addresses with the phrase it is with a sad heart. I must borrow his phraseology in saying that It is with a sad heart I must declare that Americans have taken a deep slide into immorality.

The deaths of 53 million unborn innocents have cried from the grave. The attacks on marriage between one man and one woman, the drive toward licentiousness in Hollywood and media and the disturbing lack of truth and integrity found in modern academia, politics and the everyday lives of many Americans have all testified against us.

It is also a very sad thing to say that scripture promises that when a nation slips into such a state that God not only allows, but even engineers the rise of immoral, unscrupulous and wicked leaders. It is a sort of; you get what you asked for kind of response and is always a signal that a nation is in a serious fall.

If, however, a people see the path they are on is wrong and do everything they can to make corrections the difference can be amazing and God will help with leaders who can restore and lead by example and with God given wisdom. God can and does restore whole nations: why not us?

God will give us what we ask for by our very behavior; to wit:

This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men. (Daniel 4: 17)