anyone watch the debate last night?
anyone have any candidates they like yet? anyone you dislike?
here's my rundown.
my favorite thus far is duncan hunter from california. he seemed like he was one of the few true conservatives on there who wasn't a religious fanatic. i liked how he said the government is spending like a drunken sailor. i liked how he called romney/mccain/guliani out on their stances on gun control and other stances. i also liked his stance on immigration and the way he likes small government. i wish he had a little more exposure, it seemed to me that the debate has basically revolved around romney/mccain/guliani. so i doubt he'll win, but if i had to vote right now, he would have my vote.
my second favorite was probably mike huckabee from virginia. although i didn't like his stance on evolution, i did like his use of local and states right to adress the issue. i also liked his true conservative views, and "down home" views. since he's been in charge in virginia he has made lots of gains in that state in conservation issues which is very important to me as a hunter.
i liked tommy tompson's health care stance he really made a lot of sense and it seemed like he wanted to work within the system rather than tearing it down. he wanted to deal with prevention and regular maintenence for our bodies rather that only getting medical care when we break down. as car guys i think we can all agree that makes sense.
the only good thing i can say about romney is that i liked how he stuck to his guns when it came down to his mormon faith. he was also a very charismatic guy. but at the same time he reminded me too much of john kerry, too much of a polititian, too much of a flip flopper, trying to be everything to everyone. also, in the past he said he was a lifelong hunter however he has never taken out a hunting liscence. seems to be like he was trying to appeal to the hunting/gun lobby which is pretty powerful in america, and it also seems like he's kind of a liar. also his healthcare plan seemed a little too much like socialism to me, although it was nice to see someone with an actual plan on the topic so the negatives and positives even out there for me.
mccain i think is probably the most popular guy right now but he is waaay to liberal for me. he doens't think english should be our national language, he is a softy on immigration. he is a softy on gun control. he could just as easily run as a democrat as he can as a republican.
i feel the same way about guliani. i hate his stance on gun control. i dont mind too much on abortion but i dont like that he flip flopped, he needs to stick to his guns. but he is way to liberal for me too. i liked his ideas about giving tax credits for businesses and people who have insureance, and allowing people to buy overstate lines,that seems to make sense to me. it keeps it a private market but also makes the burden much easier to bear.
btw. i used to consider myself a die hard republican but in recent years i consider myself to be an independant conservative.
what are your thoughts?