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On the basis of Mitt
Romney's latest appeal to the far right, including a vow to "teach
Iranians the meaning of American resolve", and also on Romney's
pledge to start a trade war with China, I am now willing to state that I
would just assume see president Obama reelected as Mitt Romney be elected.
I do not say this lightly. It will likely cost me readership. So be it.
Consequences be dammed, I speak my mind.
No Hope Elsewhere
Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich are at least as bad. With those statements, I
just offended most of the country. So be it.
At least I took a stand. Most economic bloggers stay away from politics in
fear of offending anyone.
Re-Fighting the Cold War
Please consider Romney's op-ed in the Washington Post How I would check
Iran’s nuclear ambition, in which he
promises to teach the Iranians “very painful lessons about the meaning
of American resolve.”
Romney stated “My foreign policy will be the same as Ronald Reagan’s:
namely, ‘peace through strength’.
"Just as Reagan sought to defend the United States from Soviet weapons
with his Strategic Defense Initiative, I will press forward with ballistic
missile defense systems to ensure that Iranian and North Korean missiles
cannot threaten us or our allies," said Romney.
Nowhere did Romney say how he would pay for his vow to re-fight the cold-war
that has already been won. Nor did Romney provide any sensible discussion on
the merits of ballistic missile defense systems.
Romney cannot discuss the merits of new ballistic missile defense systems for
the simple reason there are none. Plane hijackings and suitcase bombs
smuggled in via diplomatic, unchecked luggage, are a
far more credible threat than a missile attack from North Korea.
Worse yet, Romney proposes to a war-weary public to "go alone [in Iran]
if we must".
Horrendous Fiscal Policy
Merrill Goozner writing for The Fiscal Times says Romney's Iran Policy Would
Cripple the Economy.
Citing a decade of unfunded wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Goozner
asks, "is this level of domestic austerity, which would likely throw the
U.S. economy back into recession, what a war-weary public wants or
needs?"
War Not What the U.S. Needs or Wants
To answer the question posed by the Goozner, war is
absolutely what the U.S. does not need and the citizens of the U.S. do not
want.
If you disagree, can I please see a show of hands on a proposal to raise
taxes to fight a war in Iran? Alternatively, please tell me how you will pay
for it.
If Romney had the honest decency to pledge to raise taxes to support his
absurd ramp in military spending, we would probably see the greatest
landslide in election history, in favor of Obama.
Smoot-Hawley Trade Policy Yet Again
Let's switch gears to vitally important trade
issues.
Mitt Romney is off his rocker by announcing support for a presidential decree
that would label China a currency manipulator. History, namely the
Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, clearly shows how seriously misguided Romney's
proposal is.
So far, president Obama has resisted such foolish measures.
Misguided Appeal to the Far-Right
The more Romney appeals to the far-right, the more leeway Obama has to move
slightly to the right to capture the middle and thus appear marginally
better.
·
If Romney wants war with Iran, all Obama needs to
say is the "US prefers diplomacy but does not preclude anything"
·
If Romney wants a trade war with China, all Obama
needs to do is act on a few items like steel and tout the imaginary results.
·
If Romney wants to trash Obamacare,
all Obama needs to do is point out that hypocrite Romney is really trashing
his own Romneycare plan.
This is certainly not an endorsement of President Obama because I will not
vote for Obama under any circumstances. Rather, I take Romney at his word,
and cannot stand a damn thing I hear.
Divided We Stand
In November, I will write in Ron Paul, because that is the only option that
makes any sense. Many independents will feel the same.
That said, I expect Republicans to hold the Senate,
and probably the House regardless of who wins the 2012 presidential sweepstakes.
My expectation and my hope are one and the same. Sadly, a divided do-nothing
electorate is the best outcome one can reasonably expect at the moment.
More Than Two Choices
There is little difference actually between Mitt Romney and president Obama.
Many will end up flipping a coin. However, that is not a choice anyone has to
make.
I can and will write in Ron Paul, just as I did four years ago.
Don't Blame Me
It's a sad state of affairs that a hopeless Democrat president might be
reelected in spite of a faltering economy where real wages are declining and
jobs extremely difficult to find.
Should that happen, don't blame me, the messenger. Rather, blame warmongers
and the extreme-right "in-your-face" social moralists for hijacking
policy far from what the war-weary, social-weary public wants and needs.
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