Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Final Blog
This will be my final blog as a member of the Road to the White House class in 2012. It has been a very rewarding experience, one I am happy that I stumbled into. I will continue to update this blog as the campaign progresses. See all of you in the fall.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Response to Arizona Debate: The Downfall of Santorum
It has been a long time since I last posted, I apologize. Life gets busy sometimes working a full time job, attending school full time, preparing to move into a new apartment, and having some semblance of a life. I did, however, take time to watch the debate in Arizona and boy was it worth it. Rick Santorum, in my humble opinion, got obliterated not only by his rivals, but by himself. I only wish that this debate would have happened sooner.
He took a what at first appeared to be a path less traveled, admitting to mistakes. This was a very bold move and something I would value above most other things. When he was pressed by the other candidates on his voting record (such as raising the debt ceiling 5 times, passing a bill that earmarked money for planned parenthood, voting for no child left behind, campaigning for Arlen Spectre etc.) he admitted to making a mistake. I would normally find this admirable, but then he said something that negated any semblance of respect I had for him. It was something along the lines of It's not necessarily what I believed in, but I politics is a team sport and sometimes you have to go with what the boss says. I can only hope that the American public sees this for what it truly is, Rick Santorum shooting himself in the foot. He reiterated this point a number of times, which only caused his sinking ship to take on more water. The audience vehemently booed him on several occasions, And I personally would've booed right along with them (if I were in Arizona at the debate and not in front of my computer at home).
This was all driven home by the other 3 candidates slamming Senator Santorum on every possible occasion, but the heavy lifting was done mostly by Gov. Romney followed closely by Ron Paul. I think the other 3 candidates realized there best shot at winning is to see Santorum Fall off from the front runner status so they were much more willing to form a sort of unspoken bond to cut the Senator off at the knees. Obviously, the person who will benefit most from this debate is Governor Romney. He was very successful at appearing to be the more competent and less defensive candidate and even had some room to use his very successful " we should focus on Obama and how much of a failure he is" rhetoric.
Ron Paul performed pretty well, I think he felt a bit rushed sometimes and it came through in his responses but he was able to get his message across. I thought that his opinions on birth control, which seems to be a big deal right now, were particularly well received because he was an OB/GYN. I thought there were three key parts of this debate that were of particular importance for Ron Paul.
1. His response to the last question "what do you think is the biggest misconception about yourself?" to which his response was that people don't think I can win. He was the only candidate that actually chose to answer the question (I'm not sure if the other candidates realized that the question was floating below their heads on the TV screen) and I think this translated well for his honesty and realness.
2. His response to the question "you called Rick Santorum fake in one of your ads, why did you say that?" he simply responded with "because he is a fake!" which was met with uproarious laughter from the crowd. He then went on to criticize Santorum's record of voting for something and then saying he wouldn't do it again. This was one of his shining moments and it cane through early in the debate.
3. His post debate interview where the moderator asked him about his response to last question. He asked why people should think he can win if he hasn't won any states yet? His answer was flawless. He first pointed out that not all the votes had been counted in Maine yet (which I believe he won and is a shady situation at best and outright corruption at worst) and that if you look at the delegates who are absolutely cemented in voting for certain candidates that he is in 2nd place. This was something I didn't know and I think is a fascinating statistic. He then went on to say how he routinely does better than the other candidates in polls against Obama through a wide variety of groups. I wish he would've conveyed this during the actual debate when more people were watching rather than after it was all said and done, but I'll take what I can get.
Overall this was my favorite debate so far and I think this will really shake things up for the upcoming contests!
Regards,
Jaryd Vartanian
P.S. don't forget to follow me on twitter @jvrp2012
He took a what at first appeared to be a path less traveled, admitting to mistakes. This was a very bold move and something I would value above most other things. When he was pressed by the other candidates on his voting record (such as raising the debt ceiling 5 times, passing a bill that earmarked money for planned parenthood, voting for no child left behind, campaigning for Arlen Spectre etc.) he admitted to making a mistake. I would normally find this admirable, but then he said something that negated any semblance of respect I had for him. It was something along the lines of It's not necessarily what I believed in, but I politics is a team sport and sometimes you have to go with what the boss says. I can only hope that the American public sees this for what it truly is, Rick Santorum shooting himself in the foot. He reiterated this point a number of times, which only caused his sinking ship to take on more water. The audience vehemently booed him on several occasions, And I personally would've booed right along with them (if I were in Arizona at the debate and not in front of my computer at home).
This was all driven home by the other 3 candidates slamming Senator Santorum on every possible occasion, but the heavy lifting was done mostly by Gov. Romney followed closely by Ron Paul. I think the other 3 candidates realized there best shot at winning is to see Santorum Fall off from the front runner status so they were much more willing to form a sort of unspoken bond to cut the Senator off at the knees. Obviously, the person who will benefit most from this debate is Governor Romney. He was very successful at appearing to be the more competent and less defensive candidate and even had some room to use his very successful " we should focus on Obama and how much of a failure he is" rhetoric.
Ron Paul performed pretty well, I think he felt a bit rushed sometimes and it came through in his responses but he was able to get his message across. I thought that his opinions on birth control, which seems to be a big deal right now, were particularly well received because he was an OB/GYN. I thought there were three key parts of this debate that were of particular importance for Ron Paul.
1. His response to the last question "what do you think is the biggest misconception about yourself?" to which his response was that people don't think I can win. He was the only candidate that actually chose to answer the question (I'm not sure if the other candidates realized that the question was floating below their heads on the TV screen) and I think this translated well for his honesty and realness.
2. His response to the question "you called Rick Santorum fake in one of your ads, why did you say that?" he simply responded with "because he is a fake!" which was met with uproarious laughter from the crowd. He then went on to criticize Santorum's record of voting for something and then saying he wouldn't do it again. This was one of his shining moments and it cane through early in the debate.
3. His post debate interview where the moderator asked him about his response to last question. He asked why people should think he can win if he hasn't won any states yet? His answer was flawless. He first pointed out that not all the votes had been counted in Maine yet (which I believe he won and is a shady situation at best and outright corruption at worst) and that if you look at the delegates who are absolutely cemented in voting for certain candidates that he is in 2nd place. This was something I didn't know and I think is a fascinating statistic. He then went on to say how he routinely does better than the other candidates in polls against Obama through a wide variety of groups. I wish he would've conveyed this during the actual debate when more people were watching rather than after it was all said and done, but I'll take what I can get.
Overall this was my favorite debate so far and I think this will really shake things up for the upcoming contests!
Regards,
Jaryd Vartanian
P.S. don't forget to follow me on twitter @jvrp2012
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Santorum Winning primaries, Obama imposing contraceptives and other thoughts.
By now most of you know my opinion on Rick Santorum, he is a nutjob in my humble opinion. He is religious extremist who is not fit to run this country and I would sooner vote for Barack Obama than for that clown. The fact that he won 2 primaries both surprises me and terrifies me. But, there is a silver lining for me in both the primaries he won. In the instance of Missouri, there were no delegates at stake. The delegates for Missouri will be decided on later in the year. For Minnesota, yes Santorum won, But Paul came in second over Romney and Gingrich. He picked up some much needed delegates and is forecasted to do extremely well in Maine.
In other news, Obama apparently just handed down a mandate that requires all church affiliated companies to provide contraceptive funding...WHAT?!!!??!?!? Has this guy even read the constitution??? I feel like one day he is going to get up on the podium and apologize for not realizing this is the US and we have a constitution we have to abide by. First of all, where does he get the power and audacity to just hand down a mandate like that? Where does he think he has such power? And second of all, has he read the first amendment? Does he believe in private enterprise and the capitalist system at all? I am really glad that a lot of democrats are taking issue with this, there is no justification for these kind of actions from our president. Where are the checks and balances? When he handed this down everyone should've just laughed and went on with their days. How is this legitimate?
Regards,
Jaryd Vartanian
Don't forget to follow me on twitter @jvrp2012
In other news, Obama apparently just handed down a mandate that requires all church affiliated companies to provide contraceptive funding...WHAT?!!!??!?!? Has this guy even read the constitution??? I feel like one day he is going to get up on the podium and apologize for not realizing this is the US and we have a constitution we have to abide by. First of all, where does he get the power and audacity to just hand down a mandate like that? Where does he think he has such power? And second of all, has he read the first amendment? Does he believe in private enterprise and the capitalist system at all? I am really glad that a lot of democrats are taking issue with this, there is no justification for these kind of actions from our president. Where are the checks and balances? When he handed this down everyone should've just laughed and went on with their days. How is this legitimate?
Regards,
Jaryd Vartanian
Don't forget to follow me on twitter @jvrp2012
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Nevada
The Nevada primaries have given Mitt Romney an easy victory, which is not surprising to most but is surprising to me. If there is any state in the country that should have a vested interest in seeing Ron Paul win the nomination, it should be Nevada. The state of Nevada relies extremely heavily on freedom of states rights and civil liberties. It has the most lax gambling laws in the country and even has a county where prostitution is legal and regulated. To think that this same state would vote for someone like Romney is beyond me. I was encouraged to see Ron Paul do better than Rick Santorum this time around, hopefully this will send Santorum packing back to PA.
The next primary, Maine, is a particularly exciting one for me because Paul has a very good chance of winning it and an almost guaranteed chance of getting second (if he doesn't win of course). None of the other candidates have been campaigning there except Paul and the people of Maine seem to like his message. The media has been picking up on this and can't ignore it. Putting Ron Paul's name in the same sentence as "competing with Mitt Romney" will bring more legitimacy to his being able to win. On top of that, if he can beat Romney in a primary I think people will begin to pay more attention to him.
I have talked to so many people who voted for Romney because they think he can beat Obama but would've voted for Paul had he been "more electable." That people will vote for someone who is electable rather than on principle is baffling and terrifying to me, this ensures a parade of presidents who are the lesser of two evils. This also ensures more presidents who pander to whomever they have to to get elected and do more unconstitutional things, giving further power to the executive branch.
Regards,
Jaryd Vartanian
Don't forget to follow me on twitter @jvrp2012
The next primary, Maine, is a particularly exciting one for me because Paul has a very good chance of winning it and an almost guaranteed chance of getting second (if he doesn't win of course). None of the other candidates have been campaigning there except Paul and the people of Maine seem to like his message. The media has been picking up on this and can't ignore it. Putting Ron Paul's name in the same sentence as "competing with Mitt Romney" will bring more legitimacy to his being able to win. On top of that, if he can beat Romney in a primary I think people will begin to pay more attention to him.
I have talked to so many people who voted for Romney because they think he can beat Obama but would've voted for Paul had he been "more electable." That people will vote for someone who is electable rather than on principle is baffling and terrifying to me, this ensures a parade of presidents who are the lesser of two evils. This also ensures more presidents who pander to whomever they have to to get elected and do more unconstitutional things, giving further power to the executive branch.
Regards,
Jaryd Vartanian
Don't forget to follow me on twitter @jvrp2012
Friday, February 3, 2012
Recap on the Florida Primary, Road Trip?
Unfortunately I was out of state when the primary happened here in Florida, but being a member of the Ron Paul campaign I don't think I missed too much.
The primary was disappointing in a lot of ways, but the results were not entirely unexpected. Dr. Paul did not really campaign in our state because it is a winner take all state. He was not going to win first place here so he has been campaigning in other states where he is guaranteed delegates even if he doesn't win. The thing to remember is that even with him getting 4th in Florida, he is still in 3rd with number of delegates behind Gingrich and Romney respectively.
It was disappointing to see my fellow Floridians vote for someone who should by all means be laughed out of the race entirely. I think Romney's record of changing his mind on issues depending where he is running for office shows he has no sincerity in any of the things he says and should be held accountable for that. But no one seems to care, and that is sad. Its sad to see that the American people will vote on someone due to a pretty face and a good speaking voice.
I will be re-vamping my efforts to contribute to the campaign and will be posting more videos at the beginning of the week. I also will be trying to organize a trip to one of the nearby primaries, maybe Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi or a combination of all 4.
Georgia is on March 6th (super tuesday). I think this would be the most beneficial primary to go to because of Super Tuesday but also because it is the largest, closest state to USFSP.
Alabama and Mississippi are on March 13th. These states are relatively small but would probably still be fun to go to. Also, because they are so close to each other if a group went we could potentially split into 2 groups. One group would stay in Bama and the the other would move on to Mississippi if there was interest to do such a thing.
Louisiana is March 24th. This would be my very close second as to which state would be most beneficial to our learning experience but first only because of the time between now and then. This would allow ample time to request off of work and plan accordingly as well as save some money.
I would be willing to drive, but fair warning I drive a very small 1989 Suzuki Sidekick 2 door. It will sit 5 people but will have no room luggage. Best case scenario it fits 3 people with small luggage bags. I am willing to take whoever wants to go regardless of party affiliation. If anyone would want to contribute in any way to make this trip happen let me know in class or in the comments. I am very serious about this happening and will be filming the whole thing. It would be a once in a lifetime opportunity and I think we could have a lot of fun doing it.
Regards,
Jaryd Vartanian
Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @jvrp2012
The primary was disappointing in a lot of ways, but the results were not entirely unexpected. Dr. Paul did not really campaign in our state because it is a winner take all state. He was not going to win first place here so he has been campaigning in other states where he is guaranteed delegates even if he doesn't win. The thing to remember is that even with him getting 4th in Florida, he is still in 3rd with number of delegates behind Gingrich and Romney respectively.
It was disappointing to see my fellow Floridians vote for someone who should by all means be laughed out of the race entirely. I think Romney's record of changing his mind on issues depending where he is running for office shows he has no sincerity in any of the things he says and should be held accountable for that. But no one seems to care, and that is sad. Its sad to see that the American people will vote on someone due to a pretty face and a good speaking voice.
I will be re-vamping my efforts to contribute to the campaign and will be posting more videos at the beginning of the week. I also will be trying to organize a trip to one of the nearby primaries, maybe Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi or a combination of all 4.
Georgia is on March 6th (super tuesday). I think this would be the most beneficial primary to go to because of Super Tuesday but also because it is the largest, closest state to USFSP.
Alabama and Mississippi are on March 13th. These states are relatively small but would probably still be fun to go to. Also, because they are so close to each other if a group went we could potentially split into 2 groups. One group would stay in Bama and the the other would move on to Mississippi if there was interest to do such a thing.
Louisiana is March 24th. This would be my very close second as to which state would be most beneficial to our learning experience but first only because of the time between now and then. This would allow ample time to request off of work and plan accordingly as well as save some money.
I would be willing to drive, but fair warning I drive a very small 1989 Suzuki Sidekick 2 door. It will sit 5 people but will have no room luggage. Best case scenario it fits 3 people with small luggage bags. I am willing to take whoever wants to go regardless of party affiliation. If anyone would want to contribute in any way to make this trip happen let me know in class or in the comments. I am very serious about this happening and will be filming the whole thing. It would be a once in a lifetime opportunity and I think we could have a lot of fun doing it.
Regards,
Jaryd Vartanian
Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @jvrp2012
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Anonymous for Ron Paul
Although I do not always agree with their stance on issues, I think Anonymous, and groups like them, have the potential to be one of the biggest voices of change in our generation. This video gave me chills. The speech is taken from a the great silent movie actor Charlie Chaplin's movie The Great Dictator, it was the first movie in which he spoke. It was a parody on Hitler and WWII, but the speech is a very serious and moving monologue that rings true for today. So, without further or do:
don't forget to follow me on twitter @jvrp2012
don't forget to follow me on twitter @jvrp2012
Rick Santorum, The Duggars, and Me!
What a day it has been and this last Sunday before the Florida primary. If I did not already know that this is the path I wanted for my life, this internship has certainly solidified it. All that being said, this day has certainly been the most interesting day and not in a place I expected.
I finally got hooked up with my hometown Ron Paul campaign for Manatee County when I went and voted earlier this week. I got an email shortly there after that they would be hosting a sign waving close to where the Rick Santorum Rally would be in Sarasota. I had some things I had to attend to so I ended up showing up a bit later than expected. By the time I got there most of the Ron Paul people had left. I decided I didn't want to film that and I figured I could gain some perspective by mingling with the Rick Santorum crowd. The Rally ended as I was entering and I got some good footage of Rick Santorum's daughter, a man dressed as Abraham Lincoln and people generally mulling out of the building. I also got some film of people taking pictures with whom I presumed to be Santorum's other, younger daughters.
As I was just about to leave I saw a young guy with a Ron Paul sign talking with some of the Rick Santorum supporters, so naturally I began filming. There was a large debate about Ron Paul's stances on civil liberties and individual rights, and the younger guy desperately tried to inform everyone that Ron Paul believed it was up to the states to decide whether or not they wanted something to be illegal because that is what it says to do in the constitution and that forcing what you think is right on other people is not constitutional or right. He started to get ganged up on, so I put the camera down and began debating. As we were all talking, this younger gentleman in a suit and tie walks up and throws his hat in the debate. He informs us that he works in law enforcement so he has an intimate understanding of the issues we are talking about. We heatedly debated for a a solid hour, but with every passing minute it seemed there was another young man that would step up in a suit and tie and assert the same opinion. I didn't know who they all were, but they all had the same socially conservative opinion that was more well informed than usual (barring the one young man who tried to tell me that the words "one man, one woman" were in the constitution). Suddenly a woman carrying a baby walked up and said the bus was leaving and it was time to go. We exchanged pleasantries and I introduced myself (funny how that works sometimes) and he told me his name was Josh.
As they walked away, I noticed the bus they were referring to was Rick Santorum's bus. I then noticed a considerable crowd had gathered around me. I asked the person nearest me "who was I just talking to?" His response was "have you ever seen that show 19 kids and Counting?" I had just had a heated political debate with the Duggar family, pretty much all of them.
I then continued my talks outside for another hour or so with two gentlemen who were very passionate and earnest about their political beliefs. We talked at length about the constitution and our stances on issues and we all found some common ground. It was a very interesting discussion and I'm hoping to see them following this blog so we can keep in touch.
I will be uploading the raw footage as soon as I get a chance, but I will be out of town for the next few days, something came up in the family and I will be flying home to Massachusetts to attend to it tomorrow morning. I'm sad I won't be here for the primaries, but I will be back soon enough.
Don't forget to follow me on twitter @jvrp2012
Regards
Jaryd Vartanian
I finally got hooked up with my hometown Ron Paul campaign for Manatee County when I went and voted earlier this week. I got an email shortly there after that they would be hosting a sign waving close to where the Rick Santorum Rally would be in Sarasota. I had some things I had to attend to so I ended up showing up a bit later than expected. By the time I got there most of the Ron Paul people had left. I decided I didn't want to film that and I figured I could gain some perspective by mingling with the Rick Santorum crowd. The Rally ended as I was entering and I got some good footage of Rick Santorum's daughter, a man dressed as Abraham Lincoln and people generally mulling out of the building. I also got some film of people taking pictures with whom I presumed to be Santorum's other, younger daughters.
As I was just about to leave I saw a young guy with a Ron Paul sign talking with some of the Rick Santorum supporters, so naturally I began filming. There was a large debate about Ron Paul's stances on civil liberties and individual rights, and the younger guy desperately tried to inform everyone that Ron Paul believed it was up to the states to decide whether or not they wanted something to be illegal because that is what it says to do in the constitution and that forcing what you think is right on other people is not constitutional or right. He started to get ganged up on, so I put the camera down and began debating. As we were all talking, this younger gentleman in a suit and tie walks up and throws his hat in the debate. He informs us that he works in law enforcement so he has an intimate understanding of the issues we are talking about. We heatedly debated for a a solid hour, but with every passing minute it seemed there was another young man that would step up in a suit and tie and assert the same opinion. I didn't know who they all were, but they all had the same socially conservative opinion that was more well informed than usual (barring the one young man who tried to tell me that the words "one man, one woman" were in the constitution). Suddenly a woman carrying a baby walked up and said the bus was leaving and it was time to go. We exchanged pleasantries and I introduced myself (funny how that works sometimes) and he told me his name was Josh.
As they walked away, I noticed the bus they were referring to was Rick Santorum's bus. I then noticed a considerable crowd had gathered around me. I asked the person nearest me "who was I just talking to?" His response was "have you ever seen that show 19 kids and Counting?" I had just had a heated political debate with the Duggar family, pretty much all of them.
I then continued my talks outside for another hour or so with two gentlemen who were very passionate and earnest about their political beliefs. We talked at length about the constitution and our stances on issues and we all found some common ground. It was a very interesting discussion and I'm hoping to see them following this blog so we can keep in touch.
I will be uploading the raw footage as soon as I get a chance, but I will be out of town for the next few days, something came up in the family and I will be flying home to Massachusetts to attend to it tomorrow morning. I'm sad I won't be here for the primaries, but I will be back soon enough.
Don't forget to follow me on twitter @jvrp2012
Regards
Jaryd Vartanian
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