Only Huntsman can beat Obama
To the editor:
We have been watching the never ending primary "beauty contest" as it travels the country, trying to visualize the performance of those aspirants as the "World Leader" at any number of the historic international conferences and treaty signings we have observed during the past century. We see but one that we would be comfortable with in that role. Jon Huntsman.
We are looking for a statesman - citizen soldier - not unlike George Washington, who reluctantly responded to a call of conscience, rather than hunger of ego.
The exceptionalism of our great nation has been buried and obliterated by a never ending parade of "career politicians" - an antithesis of the "citizen representatives" envisioned by our Constitution. Most of the ruling elite in the "beauty contest" have lived by an entirely different set of values and standards compared to those they purportedly "represented." Their public statements reveal their disconnect with constituency and economic conditions. They are in a continual state of campaigning for their next term, while spending a disproportionate amount of effort in preserving the Union, the American Dream and the common welfare.
Our "citizen representatives" should ideally live by the same rules of compensation, medical coverage, retirement support, and job opportunities of the constituents they represent. Conservative Jon Huntsman will move us away from class separation and back to basics - back to our Constitution - back to "one nation under God."
The exceptionalism of our great nation is losing out to the challenge of "globalization." Many emerging nations are taking constructive advantage of a shrinking globe and instant communication, while many in the "beauty contest" are living in the past, seeking to isolate themselves - and the United States - from reality.
Only Jon Huntsman has the international understanding and global perspective needed to lift our great country by its boot straps to resume its role of world industrial and moral leadership. Only Jon Huntsman understands that industry creates jobs - not government. Only Jon Huntsman knows what is required to keep newly created jobs at home, and bring back exported jobs and associated manufacturing infrastructure to the United States.
John Kennedy said: "Ask not what your country can do for you - Ask what you can do for your country." The best thing that we can all do for our country at this time is to nominate and elect Jon Huntsman as president of the United States.
Paul and Arvilla Chapman
Derry
Paul is unfit for presidency
To the editor:
Ron Paul disavowed knowledge of anti-Israel, possibly anti-Jewish, anti-black and anti-gay views expressed in his newsletters in the 1980s and 1990s, but I assume he knew the contents of his newsletters. He was the editor.
A 1987 issue stated Israel is "an aggressive, national socialist state", and another newsletter about the 1993 World Trade Center bombing stated "whether it was a setup by the Israeli Mossad, ... or was truly a retaliation by the Islamic fundamentalists, matters little."
Paul believes the U.S. should allow Israel to be independent, which is code for the U.S. to cut off foreign aid to Israel. Paul said Iran is not a dangerous country and we should not be concerned with Iran's nuclear development program.
A 1990 newsletter was critical of this country creating the holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In 1992, Paul's political report about the Los Angeles riots said: "Order was only restored in L.A. when it came time for the blacks to pick up their welfare checks."
Paul accepted a campaign donation, and posed with Don Black, a neo-Nazi white supremacist.
Paul's newsletters and his positions on Israel and Iran indicate he is not fit to be president.
Donald A. Moskowitz
Londonderry
Republicans must unite to win
To the editor:
A united Republican Party will defeat Barack Obama in 2012. This heavy task rests on the shoulders of all party members: the eventual nominee, former candidates for the nomination, high-profile activists, and voters alike.
The RealClearPolitics.com average of polling data makes it clear that more than half of Americans believe the country has been going in the wrong direction since June 2009. With approval ratings this low, voters will be presented with the choice of President Obama or "Other". The voters will likely pick a new course. I am confident the Republican Party will be able to capitalize on the public's widespread dissatisfaction and sweep our candidate into the White House, but it's going to take a tight-knit effort.
Twenty years after the Bush-Perot-Clinton election, all voters, including the current candidates for the GOP nomination, would be wise to recall that general election contest and the way independents can play the spoiler for the GOP. H. Ross Perot drew votes from then incumbent, George H.W. Bush, which aided the Democrats and set the stage for a Bill Clinton victory.
This time around, if President Obama has largely uniform support from Democrats, but independents and Republicans are divided between the chosen Republican candidate and a third party, he will escape defeat in 2012.
For this reason, the loyalty of every current Republican candidate is imperative for success in 2012. If a sore loser defects after losing the nomination, it will put not only the party's chances at the presidency, but the future of the economy in jeopardy.
For most of the Republican candidates, a third-party run is out of the question. Two, however, will not rule it out. Ron Paul is the most up-front about considering a third-party run if he fails to earn the GOP nomination. Less discussed is Jon Huntsman, who has refused to categorically rule out a third-party run.
When asked whether he would run on a third-party ticket, Huntsman replied that he "did not think so." This is not the definitive answer the question deserves. Leaving the door open for a third-party run raises doubts about whether Jon Huntsman is committed more to himself than Republican ideals or getting Barack Obama out of office.
Ambassador Huntsman's failure to close the door on an independent run for the White House has fanned the flames in the media and the "punditocracy." In early December, Politico reported that Former EPA head Christie Todd Whitman was pushing Huntsman to make a third-party bid under the auspices of a new group called "Americans Elect" that is working to get an independent on the ballot in all 50 states. Let's hope he doesn't take them up on their offer.
Ambassador Huntsman bills himself as a statesman. It's time he started acting like one. He needs to say once and for all that he is committed to the cause of defeating Barack Obama. The last thing the country needs is a third-party candidate that hands President Obama four more years.
Jim Foley
Derry
