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Today's Poll: If the GOP primary were held in NYS today, who would you vote for?

By Howard B. Owens
Ed Gentner

If I were a Republican I would vote for Jon Huntsman an articulate and thoughtful man who could in all likelyhood beat Pres. Obama, as a Democrat I could see voting for him in a general election....but he can't win in a Republican primary, if as a Democrat I could vote for Rick Perry in the Republican primary I would....

Sep 8, 2011, 9:36am Permalink
George Richardson

If you liked George W Bush you will love Rick Perry. He's equally evil and even dumber. Pay to play all the way and as phoney as a three dollar bill.

Sep 8, 2011, 9:48am Permalink
Dave Olsen

It's like Jesse Ventura says: "If none of the above was on the ballot, none of the above would win" Republicans please vote for Ron Paul in the primary.

Sep 8, 2011, 10:33am Permalink
Don Lovelace

I changed my voter registration from libertarian to republican yesterday so I am now able to vote for the r3VOLution!

Sep 8, 2011, 10:46am Permalink
Ed Gentner

Perry's appeal appears to rest on his being bought and paid for in advance by special interests who have convinced themselves that a majority of Americans want someone to occupy the White House that's even dumber than they ever thought they could be....Hey it worked once with George W. Bush, why not give it another shot....

Sep 8, 2011, 12:15pm Permalink
Bob Harker

Common sense, plain spoken, staunch fiscal and social conservative,proven leader, a track record of being business friendly, true conservative views, pro tax reform, job creator, Christian, proven leader, pro smaller government, pro personal responsibility, believes the Constitution is NOT a "living, changing document", veteran, will TRULY control the border and illegal immigration, anti obummercare, pro tort reform, etc.

In other words, everything obummer is not.

Sep 8, 2011, 12:22pm Permalink
C. M. Barons

Michele Bachmann (Sarah Palin with Spell Check): “If we took away minimum wage –if conceivably it was gone- we could potentially, virtually wipe out unemployment completely because we would be able to offer jobs at whatever level.”

Herman Cain (temporary career detour): “We don’t need to rewrite the Constitution of the United States—rewrite it—, we need to reread the constitution and enforce the Constitution. We don’t need to rewrite, let’s reread. And I know that there are some people that are not going to do that, so for the benefit of those that are not going to read it because they don’t want to follow the Constitution, there’s a little section in there about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. You know those ideals that we live by, that we believe in, they instilled in you… when you get to the part about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, don’t stop reading! Keep reading! When any form of government becomes destructive of those ideals, it is the right of the people to alter and abolish it. We’ve got some altering! And some abolishing to do!”

Ron Paul (Carl Paladino with an MD): “Immigrants can spread diseases for which we may have no immunity. There is also the question of crime and culture. Many immigrants come from countries with different legal structures and are not willing to behave in the way we expect American citizens to behave.”

Rick Perry (megaphone for the East Texas Glee Club): “I am a firm believer in intelligent design as a matter of faith and intellect, and I believe it should be presented in schools alongside the theories of evolution.”(On the BP oil spill) “From time to time there are going to be things that occur that are acts of God that cannot be prevented.”

Mitt Romney (W Bush w/o wireless in-ear coach): “We should double Guantanamo!”

Jon Huntsman (intelligent anomaly): “What a government should do is create the environment for growth. We don’t need any more money pumped into the economy; we don’t need any more bailouts.”

Newt Gingrich (his ego hasn't grasped his obsolescence): “The idea that a congressman would be tainted by accepting money from private industry or private sources is essentially a socialist argument.”

Rick Santorum (wannabe principal, St. Helen of the Blessed Shroud): “If the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual (gay) sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery. You have the right to anything.”

Sep 8, 2011, 1:32pm Permalink
Chris Charvella

Id have to disagree with 'common sense,' 'job creator,' 'smaller government,' and 'pro-personal responsibility.' Also, I haven't seen any policy papers from him regarding immigration.

Why is Ron Paul not a better conservative candidate than any of the other choices?

Sep 8, 2011, 12:47pm Permalink
bud prevost

Chris asked " Why is Ron Paul not a better conservative candidate than any of the other choices? "

Because he's not afraid to speak the truth. The GOP only wants conformist, don't-ask-any-questions, don't make waves candidates.
I watched the entire debate, and I was impressed by Paul, Huntsman, and Newt.
And that douchebag Brian Williams was trying to get under Rep. Paul's skin. It didn't work, but it was pissing me off to no end.

Sep 8, 2011, 1:05pm Permalink
Chris Charvella

I disagree with a lot Ron Paul has to say, particularly about safety issues etc..., but I like him. At least if Ron Paul was President, we'd know what we could expect from him.

Dominionists Perry and Bachmann scare the hell out of me and Herman Cain isn't even a contender. Gingrich and Santorum are just in it to up their speaking appearance fees.

Sep 8, 2011, 1:18pm Permalink
John Roach

And how many are happy with what we have now? Bush spent way too much, and Obama out did him. Unemployment is higher than before and if you count the underemployed and the ones who stopped looking, the real unemployment rate is estimated at around 15%.

Now Obama wants to keep troops in Iraq past the 2011 deadline. Oh yea, hope and change!

Sep 8, 2011, 2:02pm Permalink
bud prevost

Chris, notice Ron Paul prefaced his remarks with "in theory" or "ideally". He did this because he knows there would be too much reliance on people to do the right thing. In our current society, I don't believe there are enough people that could be entrusted to do the right thing. His premise of contracts and free markets being self policing is totally unrealistic. There are too many greedy SOB's out there that would sell their mother to make a buck, and the good people of our nation deserve better than that. However, duplication at the state and federal level of government should be eliminated, and the executive branch of the federal government should be downsized significantly.
And if there is one issue I wholeheartedly agree with Congressman Paul......bring our soldiers home from Afghanistan, Iraq, and every US military base outside North America. Germany, Japan, South Korea and the lot can fend for themselves. Eliminate all the foreign aid we dole out because we feel we're the parent of the world.

Sep 8, 2011, 2:20pm Permalink
Dave Olsen

I have to agree with Herman Cain regarding health insurance and tort reform. 2 good first steps. I also agree with Romney that you can't compare his experience in running Mass with Perry's running Texas, 2 distinctly different environments on many levels to be sure. Probably couldn't find 2 more diverse states. I also liked Gingrich's assessment of the mainstream media's love of Obama and how they like to keep candidates squabbling to protect his re-election and so they can get more readers/watchers/listeners and make money for their corporate masters, even if it's only because he wants to get his cut.

Yes, everyone above is correct, Ron was treated like a crazy old uncle and you should be polite and humor him a little, but not too much. Again. Kind of like Olsen family gatherings. It was the Rick Perry show. Oh well I think the main point I got out of the debate was that everyone of those people had a better understanding of our economy than President Obama, shows how clueless he really is.

Sep 8, 2011, 3:13pm Permalink
Chris Charvella

Bud if it weren't for his wrongheaded assumptions about self-regulation, I might even be persuaded to vote for the guy. But that's why I'm a Democrat and not a Libertarian.

Sep 8, 2011, 3:15pm Permalink
Jim Rosenbeck

How disappointing Don. I think you and I were one of about half a dozen libertarians in the Genesee County. :-) You have bought into the duopoly. There is still time to repent and beg forgiveness. :-)

Sep 8, 2011, 3:35pm Permalink
Ed Gentner

Fortunately for Pres. Obama, the Republicans will in all probability nominate a candidate with the least likely chance of winning the genereal election election. The two cnadidates who have a decent chance at winniing in the general election have little or no chance of prevailing in the Repuiblican primary process. Jon Huntsman and Mitt Romney both have what their Republican base see as fatal flaws, both are moderate, pragmatic,and believe in scientific facts as a basis of core beliefs such as evolution and global warming. As practicing Mormons both are viewed with suspicion if not hostility by a large number of Christian conservatives who consider their Mormon faith a cult.

The most likely candidate in the end will be Rick Perry. The Texas govenor who has a well established record of pay to play through out his elected tenure, doesn't believe in evolution, calls global warming a hoax trumped up by the scientific community as a vehicle to raise money much same way he does at his "revivals" praying for rain while filling the buckets with cash from the faithful. Perry wants to end Social Security as we know it and has embraced the idea of letting the states opt out of the program, on health insurance one only has to look at his state for the model he would employ, he calls for block grants for Medicare and Medicaid as his solution. This is the same govenor who cut funding for the states volunteer fire fighters whose main function is figthing wildfires by 75% and now sctaches his head in amazement as nearly 1000 homes in Texas have been consumed by wilfires.

As a Democrat, I think Rick Perry is a great candidate for the Republicans to run.

Sep 8, 2011, 4:02pm Permalink
Charlie Mallow

Jim, I have to agree about Ron Paul. The guy falls apart once you ask a single probing question. That question about the FAA bewilldered him, I can only imagine the beating Obama would hand that old guy in a debate. Huntsman appears to me to be the only one of the group I would conceder. The rest just give me the urge to send Obama more money, especially Perry.

Sep 8, 2011, 4:06pm Permalink
Dave Olsen

Jim, Don has to do what he feels is the right thing to do. For all my support of Ron Paul, I'll never join the Rep or Dem parties. Not even for him.

Sep 8, 2011, 4:08pm Permalink
George Richardson

Ron Paul is 77 years old and like a cool old grandpa. He has a lot of good ideas that will never get him elected President.
He really has our best interests at heart and he is harmless at this point in his life. His son Rand, however, scares the heck out of me.
Rick Perry always reminds me of three different childhood heros: Alfalfa, Lil' Abner and Elmer Gantry Fudd.

Sep 8, 2011, 4:08pm Permalink
George Richardson

Rick Perry was a DINO turned RINO who grabbed onto George W Bush's well funded scrotum and robbed Texas of a second term for the best Governor and Agricultural Commissioner of Texas, in my lifetime. I actually met and loved Ann Richards and Jim Hightower, true proud liberals the likes of which only Molly Ivins could compare, I met her too. It's been all downhill since then.

Sep 8, 2011, 4:20pm Permalink
Ed Gentner

Hey George....in the words of the immortal Yogi Berra "It ain't over til it's over and the fat lady sings"...let's hope it's not one of those "deja vu things all over again". The first drink tonight is to Molly Ivins, gone but never forgotten.

Sep 8, 2011, 4:49pm Permalink
Dave Olsen

Ron Paul will not do well in a debate unless it's one on one, especially when he's not given much opportunity to speak. He will never be a "sound bite" machine like we are accustomed to getting from our politicians. Every candidate currently running for President other than Ron with the possible exception of Herman Cain will expand the power of the Presidency. Barack Obama will continue that also. Ron is seeking to diminish the executive's reach. That is the stark difference. He also sees almost every issue we are facing as related to the devaluation of our money and not following the Constitution. Pretty simple message, pretty simple solutions. He gets a little flustered when he has to explain in detail how it applies to something like FEMA and the TSA. Not his fault Brian Williams and that Harris guy and the Republican party don't like simple solutions. Can't hide in a clearing.

I am a salesman, it's how I make my living. When sales are down, I go back to the basics that were successful in the past and apply them to the current situation. The Buffalo Bills have been pretty unsuccessful as far as winning, as a franchise the past 11 years at least. Finally, Ralph Wilson decided to get management that fits his style instead of fighting it. Buddy Nix and Chan Gailey are teachers. Sure they've been around the NFL a lot, but at heart they are college coaches who like to teach the fundamentals to young players and then form a game plan around what they have. Back to Basics. It'll take another season or maybe 2, but if they stick to the fundamentals, I believe we'll see success. Without spending boat loads of money on prima-donnas.

This country needs to get back to our fundamentals, that which made us successful. The US Constitution. Following it, sticking to it is what made the USA the greatest country on earth. We have strayed far, congress has been quick to shirk their responsibility by allowing the executive too much leeway and power. The egos and agendas and downright corruption of our Chief Executives led us down paths that shall be our un-doing. Centralized big government only works (and never very well) in a totalitarian type of setting. Americans don't like that. Government works best the closer it is to the regular Joe, everyday working people, not edicts from an ivory tower. America is in crisis, I believe, and the only way out is to follow a 224 year old set of standards. One man has pledged to do so, and has been doing it for more than 30 years. Plain and simple to understand.

Sep 9, 2011, 6:59am Permalink
Chris Charvella

Sorry Dave, but your football analogy sucks. Ralph WIlson hired people who would do what he told them to do and that's why we have a shitty football team. Example: Buddy Nix didn't have anything to do with the Evans trade, Wilson's money man set it up and executed it. Why even have a GM?

Thread derail: Successful.

Sep 9, 2011, 10:38am Permalink
Dave Olsen

Chris: how about this analogy: A.R.R.A. is Lee Evans. It may be the best offensive player we had, but it isn't really all that good, so instead of continuing to pay him when we don't have the rest of the offense to go with him, trade him off and develop the offensive unit as a whole with players earnings commensurate with ability. In other words, stop throwing good money after bad, no more stimulus plans, correct the over-spending so we don't have to continue to tax everyone, borrow money and have fights over social programs and let the country develop as a whole.

Sep 9, 2011, 11:43am Permalink
Chris Charvella

Ok, this is going to be fun:

The Bills trade Lee Evans (ARRA) of despite his relative value within the organization and receive in return a draft pick (Bush Tax cuts) that is unlikely to have any real value to the team (American Citizens) but will have an effect on the owner's (corporations) bottom line. Instead of re-investing the money in a solid left tackle (infrastructure) the Bills choose to keep the shoddy player they have (crumbling roads and bridges.)

In the midst of all this, the organization ships roughly 15% of it's operations to a foreign country every year arbitrarily taking away employees opportunity to work for a wage. This does not effect management, only average workers.

Meanwhile the owner will make at least a $20 million dollar profit every year whether the team wins or not.

Sounds like a Republican organization to me.

:)

Sep 9, 2011, 12:43pm Permalink
George Richardson

To paraphrase James Hoffa, Teamsters Union President, no connection to the AFL-CIO, "Take the SOB's out' ...to dinner, the ballpark, to see a movie, for a night on the town, etc. and then vote when the time comes and take them out of office. They don't belong there. But you will have to move your lazy butt and actually do it, that's where liberals have let the world down.

Sep 9, 2011, 2:22pm Permalink
George Richardson

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAWN...scratch...scratch........."
Doug, I'm a man and I know where you scratched and that's just gross, but whatever! You did make sure to smell your fingers, didn't you? It's like the scent of mankind throughout the ages. Thank you God for reminding me of Rick Perry.

Sep 9, 2011, 2:28pm Permalink
Dave Olsen

Chris: "I reject your reality and replace it with my own" Adam Savage-Myth Busters.
Concede: my analogy was bad, your's is better. My point is good. George is right, true liberals along with true conservatives are hard to find in government anymore, just a bunch of aimless grey matter mostly. No Anne Richards, JFKs or Barry Goldwaters
Go Bills!!

Sep 9, 2011, 2:39pm Permalink

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