Turning Point

If the primary process starts to tilt more towards Senator Santorum and further away from Governor Romney and Speaker Gingrich, then Friday, January 26, 2012 during the debate in Jacksonville, will be remembered as the day the shift began.  On that day Santorum fully exposed the position held by Romney on the single most important issue of this election, Obamacare.  The discussion began with Romney saying:

“The system that we put in place in our state was something we worked out with the labor community, the health care community, business, and the citizens of the nation. We came together, it was voted by a 200-person legislature. Only two voted no.

Our system has a lot of flaws, a lot of things I'd do differently. It has a lot of benefits. The people of the state like it by about three to one.

We consider it very different than Obamacare. If I were president, day one I will take action to repeal Obamacare. It's bad medicine. It's bad economy. I'll repeal it.

And I believe the people -- I believe the people of each state should be able to craft programs that they feel are best for their people. I think ours is working pretty well. If I were governor, it would work a heck of a lot better. “

Santorum fired back:

What Governor Romney just said is that government-run top-down medicine is working pretty well in Massachusetts and he supports it. Now, think about what that means going up against Barack Obama, who you are going to claim, well, top-down government-run medicine on the federal level doesn't work and we should repeal it. And he's going to say, wait a minute, Governor. You just said that top-down government-run medicine in Massachusetts works well.  Folks, we can't give this issue away in this election. It is about fundamental freedom.

Santorum cut the tightrope line that Romney was walking across as he tried to defend Romneycare while bashing Obamacare.  Romney’s position is indefensible and Obama, with and without his teleprompter, will cripple Romney should Romney be the nominee.  It will sound like this:

OBAMA:  During my vacation time in Martha Vineyards, in between rounds of golf, I got to meet with a lot of folks from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  Everyone that I talked to told me how great the Massachusetts Health Care Reform Act is working.  I have heard the Governor say repeatedly how pleased he is with the system of healthcare in Massachusetts.  When we were putting together a plan to reform the healthcare system for the United States we took note of how well the plan was working in Massachusetts.  We were so impressed we brought to Washington two of the main architects of Massachusetts Health Care Reform, John Gruber & John McDonough, to help us put together the Affordable Care Act.  In fact these two patriots are here tonight.  A quick shout to my two John boys, come on guys, standup.

 

Once the act passed we hired another 25 to 30 professionals that helped implement the Massachusetts plan to help HHS implement the Affordable Care Act.  I’d like to take a moment to thank the Governor for providing the blueprint for my plan and the experienced executive talent to bring Massachusetts health care to all 57 states.

ROMNEY: Look, it’s like I told Senator Santorum in January, “in debating Barack Obama, I will be able to show that I have passion and concern for the people in this country that need health care.  But I will be able to point out that what he did was wrong. It was bad medicine, it's bad for the economy, and I will repeal it.”

A healthcare debate between Obama and Romney will be like watching a car race accident at a NASCAR event.  It will be brutally ugly but you won’t be able to take your eyes off of it.  I am already cringing.  But last night, Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri gave us some hope that come September, Romney will be off the campaign trail and Santorum or Newt will be on TV challenging Obama and the looming disaster of Obamacare.

To Debate or Not To Debate

So Donald Trump invites the leading Republican candidates to a debate and all but two, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, decline.  This is odd given the celebrity of Trump will likely cause some people who have not watched the debates or who are bored with the current debates to give the candidates some of their TV viewing time. Here are the candidates excuses in the order in which they declined:

1. John Huntsman – Thought debate would require kissing
2. Ron Paul – Trump is a distraction
3. Mitt Romney – Too busy focusing on two other debates
4. Rick Perry – Too busy
5. Michele Bachmann – Not really sure why she is not participating

Understandably, Trump is rumored to be considering canceling the debate, although it is not clear if it is his to cancel.  However, canceling this debate means the terrorists (RINOs) win.  The Republican establishment is trying to control the process.  They are desperate to keep outsiders like the Tea Party and Trump from having too much influence on the GOP campaign. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus bluntly expressed concern with the debate because Trump won’t rule out an independent run.  Apparently the way to make The Donald less likely to run is to run away from him. The GOP establishment is twisting the arms, legs and necks of the candidates to not participate in the Trump debate.

Should Trump cancel this debate? It’s not very often that I find myself in a position to give advice to The Donald so I’m going to jump all over the opportunity.  I say:

1. Do not cancel the debate.
2. At the start of the debate announce the names of all the candidates that were invited as if they were to come on stage.  Have podiums or seats available for them.
3. First question to Gingrich and Santorum.  Do you have any comments to make regarding the five candidates that choose not to attend this debate?  
4. Stick to issues that you have substantial knowledge on, such as China, real estate, business, etc.  Use your knowledge to challenge the candidates’ responses.  If you are not fluent on a topic, don’t bring it up.
5. Final question to the candidates should be, “I’m having another debate two days before Super Tuesday.  Will you attend?”
   

And lastly and most importantly, be The Donald!  One of these men may be our President which means he will be working for you and me.  Let’s make sure that we hire the right guy.