Monday, January 30, 2012

The Mein Kampf Question

The German magazine Zeitungszeugen has backed down from its efforts to reprint portions of Adolph Hitler’s Mein Kampf in order to avoid legal proceedings by the Bavarian government, who holds the copyright. The Bavarian government has blocked all other attempts to print and sell the book in Germany since the end of World War II.

Germany has very strict laws against the display of Nazi symbols and the distribution of texts inciting anti-Semitism and racial hatred. Mein Kampf is not banned outright, copies published before 1945 can be purchased online, through second-hand bookshops, and checked out from libraries.

Zeitungszeugen has previously been accused of attempting to profit from the publication of Nazi propaganda under the pretext of historical interest. The magazine often publishes newspaper sections written from 1933-45 with commentary by modern historians. Source: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2012/0126/German-magazine-caves-in-battle-to-reprint-Hitler-s-Mein-Kampf

The broader issue is when is it okay for governments to engage in censorship?

The Holocaust was one of the most horrific events in human history, but I believe the German people are capable of owning up their national past. This national past includes the publication of Mein Kampf. We can’t get in the business of not publishing material because it may upset people. Doing this would give governments a blank check to ban anything that they find objectionable.

Censorship is the way of totalitarian regimes, Freedom and Ideas belong to democrats.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Braver than Scotland

Could Scotland become independent? There’s a referendum scheduled for 2014 that may provide the answer to that question.

In the meantime, a recent survey by the Institute for Public Policy research reveals that just under half of English respondents identified themselves as more English than British.

The feeling is no less pronounced on the British side of the equation, as 45% believe that Scotland gets more than its share in public spending.

Further, 79% percent believe that Scottish members of Parliament should not vote on English matters that come before Parliament.

Yet, only 22% say Scots should vote for total independence. Source: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2012/0126/As-Scottish-clamor-for-independence-English-beginning-to-say-me-too.

Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have experimented with devolved political and electoral systems [much to my chagrin.] The results of this survey indicate that this devolution has created a strain, but not enough of a strain to warrant full independence.

There is probably an element of British unionism here. Taking Scotland from the U.K. would be an affront to the character of the nation for some people within the U.K.

Asia’s Nuclear Cloud

The nuclear disaster at Japan’s Fukushima plant on March 11th 2011 has inspired a new wind to blow concerning the nuclear power industry in Asia.

 Nuclear power still has a strong base of support within the region, but mixed public opinion might be indicating a moments reconsideration of nuclear energy within the region.

I believe what we are experiencing is typical post-disaster blowback. Nuclear energy has been hailed as a safe source of energy throughout much of the world.

Enter the disaster at the Fukushima plant where a massive earthquake led to a catastrophic failure at the nuclear plant. Nature will always find a way to out duel the best in human ingenuity, that’s just the way it is.

I am fully onboard with governments in Asia reassessing the role of nuclear power in their states. No one wants to wake up one morning and see thousands of people washed away and nuclear plant workers marching off to sacrifice themselves for the good of the homeland.

 Before nuclear power is jettisoned though, governments need to ask themselves two questions: Are there safer alternatives that are ready to provide energy? Secondly, is there any way to make nuclear energy safer?

Fukushima was a once in a lifetime human catastrophe, does it mean the end for nuclear energy?

Why all the U.N. Hate?

Fair question, given that the United Nations emergence on the global stage opened new doors for diplomacy. Talking about things has probably averted a conflict or seven over the years, and United Nations reports are typically plentiful sources of information that provide guidance to the issues of the world.

For all the criticism lobbed at the United Nations, it beats the alternative of tanks rumbling through the streets of Berlin, rioting in the streets and burning buildings in downtown Paris.

I think the hatred for the United Nations comes from its’ performance in the big moments. It's sort of like if your a really nice person, but tend to shoot your mouth off when people are listening. You'll get a reputation as a jerk and a blowhard whether its deserved or not.

The United Nations has frozen in some pretty big spots. I'm thinking particularly about the Rwandan genocide. The U.N. failed to listen to their people on the ground and now the death toll in Rwanda is over a million.

The U.N. has done great works throughout the world, but they've also had occasion to falter when it mattered most. Rightly or wrongly, their failures have been broadcast to the entire world and stand out more than their successes.

Friday, January 27, 2012

Cocaine Diplomacy

Imagine my shock when I discovered that a sizeable amount of cocaine showed up at U.N. headquarters.

  Was this done by some drug cartel to prove a point? Find it difficult to believe that any drug cartel would bother themselves with what the U.N. thinks when there's money to be made hand over fist in any number of global locales.

An alternative view is that someone within the U.N. is trying to send a message that the organizations efforts in this area are lacking.

 The Oliver Stone conspiracy theorist in me, suggests that someone at the U.N. is engaging in large-scale drug trafficking. But that scenario feels like the next Stephen King novel rather than a likelihood.

 I’ll be keeping tabs on this very bizarre story as events warrant.

Happy 25th Birthday Hannah Teter

I’d like to wish a Happy 25th Birthday to my favorite snowboarder and not so secret Olympic crush Hannah Teter. Hopefully, she’ll continue to commit herself to good deeds throughout this world.

I Want To Be Your God

I want to be your God. That revelation came to me yesterday as I was making my way to the car. In thinking about research paper topics for this term, I zoned in on two topics: human trafficking or ethnic conflict.

 I want both of those human cruelties ended, but a paper doesn’t seem nearly good enough. I’ll write this paper as thousands of people are enslaved or killed. Doesn’t seem anywhere near good enough L

I keep thinking that maybe I’ll develop the magic bullet that will stop all conflict in the world. Sadly, it hasn’t come to me, yet.

I would gladly lay down my life, if I knew that genocides, ethnic cleansings, and human slavery became relics of the past from some nightmarish world long gone.

That’s when I realized that I want to be your God because only divine intervention can put an end to this crap.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

My Agenda

In my final days at Rock Valley, I have things that I’d like to work on.

The most important of these is to “Be Mike” even though I’m not entirely sure who he is. Being the shy guy hasn’t worked and being the pretend thug just made me look like a bitter and jealous boyfriend wannabe.

 Not to mention that it created some absolutely awful moments for a bunch of innocent people. I don’t know what I’ll do with my final RVC days, but I’d rather play the hero than the villain.

Napoleon’s Gangster Complex

There’s gotta be a better way to do this angry thing. When I’m upset, I have this gigantic bad tendency to lose all control of my verbal functions and the results have been quite ugly.

I’ve threatened to pound on a couple of idiotic boyfriends, said really cruel things about a girl I want/ed? to be friends with, and then there was the epic “I’m going to enjoy putting the screws to him” rant of 2007.

 Most of these have occurred at my home away from home Rock Valley College. Yes, ladies and gentleman Napoleon has a gangster complex.
 The problem is, I’m not a gangster, a thug, a badass. Just some guy who can’t properly process his emotions.

 Don’t play a role that degrades who you really are as a person, it never ends well. You just end up feeling alone and empty inside.

Those few brief moments that you feel good are soon replaced by skeletons of your past misdeeds that you have to struggle with daily.

 It’s not a struggle that you want to fight, trust me on that point.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Talking and Words

I have an absolutely massive breaking news story: I CAN TALK!

Somewhere along the way, I’ve gotten the reputation of some sort of angry, mute, tyrant, which couldn’t be further from the truth. I’ve spent a lot of years trapped in shyness, which had made my relationships either superficial or non existent.

 Shyness can do a hell of a lot to ruin a life. It has the ability to make you feel like something less than human.

 Talking is often a great liberator, but you better be packing the right words for the hyper-sensitive climate we currently live in.

 Anymore, you can’t say anything without sending someone sprawling into a current of tears.

People can be cruel, but don’t let that cruelty turn you into a mute. I’m a rolling testament to what you’ll lose by going silent.

Mitt Romney: There just not that into me!

According to USA Today, some influential Republicans are still urging Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels to mount an eleventh hour run for the presidency.

I think that Mitch Daniels missed the boat for a successful run for the Republican presidential nomination. He lags way behind in financing and does not really have the national profile to compete against Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich.

He’d have to run the table to win the nomination outright, which is virtually impossible.

There is the possibility that if no candidate reaches the minimum number of delegates by the time of the Republican National Convention, the parties leaders could hold a brokered convention, which would release pledged delegates from their obligations to candidates and allow partisans to negotiate for the nomination.

 Source: http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/story/2012-01-24/indiana-governor/52769606/1?csp=24&kjnd=3SPPIQr2ObzRX0k3%2BN5man81Th4%2FgoKKPjnHrUfqfP%2FDOX2N0bjTQWLfoaORl7N0-807e9c57-831d-47f0-ac4d-27f61e1b84aa_w7nYWRvMNN1rpbJCVmuVMaHrCedMqAcufeKw2WaTOm1oZ2jT3Hjb%2BF6vA8AfqA4t

The fact that we’re even having this debate tells me that the Republicans are still not in love with Mitt Romney. This baffles me because senior party leadership knew that Romney wasn’t immensely popular six years ago.

Politicians do not get better on future examination.

Problem Solvers Not Politicians

Enough with this political crap. Any American who believes that politicians have the answers to our problems is in dire need of a cats scan.

 If politicians had the capacity to solve problems, we would not have the same buffet of problems that plagued us thirty years ago + scores of new problems.

 Politicians have access to tremendous resources, but often get bogged down in self interests like re-election campaigns and bought off by special interests, which have largely maintained the status quo.

 The United States is in trouble and I don't think I’ve heard a politician who has a meaningful answer of how to fix the problems.

We need problem solvers--visionaries who have not been effectively defanged out of concern for themselves. There are many gifted scientists and thinkers who’ve spent entire lifetimes working to find solutions to the seemingly impossible problems of the world.

These people are often unreasonable and uncompromising, simply because they have to be. With reason and logic come doubt, and it is our doubts and fears that bore into us, and prevent us from ascending to the greatness that dwells inside us.

But still we wait for politicians to save us.

Disabled in Illinois

I know I’m a little late to the party, but I would like to speak out on the potential closures of various facilities for the mentally ill and disabled in Illinois.

 It’s no secret that Illinois is about neck-high in financial hock thanks to a runaway train-wreck of spending and pension programs. Our lottery bounced checks a couple of weeks ago, for Christ’s sake.
 One of the ideas that has been floated by officials in Springfield has been to close some facilities that provide services to the mentally ill and disabled within the state.

According to Governor Pat Quinn, this would save the state millions of dollars. This only serves to illustrate how divorced from reality most politicians in this state are.

There has been no discussion of what you plan to do with these people, if you actually close these facilities.

 I’m assuming that you don’t think that we should just throw them in the gutter. In my opinion, you risk flooding the group homes and other twenty-four care facilities with a glut of new patients.

And here’s the kicker: it costs more to house someone in group home or care facility than it would to provide them services to help them live independently. Yeah, math isn't a political skill.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Crazy in Arizona

I was very saddened to hear that Gabrielle Gifford’s has decided to resign her seat in Congress. Her decision is perfectly understandable, given the long road to recovery still in front of her. But, it should have never come to this.

As a moderate Democrat living in a fairly conservative section of Illinois, I disagree with many of my representatives positions. There are ways to voice disagreement with our elected officials without taking a gun and killing six people at a supermarket.

 You could write a letter, show up at a public event, call their office. There were millions of better ways to deal with your problems without critically wounding a United States Congresswoman and killing six others. Christ, what the hell did a six year old girl have to do with anything?

It’s always baffled me, why we have these crazy people who feel some diseased need to commit a mass shooting. They are so mentally unhinged that they need to take a bunch of people with them on the way out.

 If life sucks so badly, could you please not be so damn selfish in your psychosis, and just end your own life, if mental health services are not an option?

SANTORUM WINS IN IOWA?

Though it lacks the intrigue of the DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN headline of 1948, Rick Santorum has won the Iowa Caucuses.

While this result does not inspire mass faith in the Iowa Republican parties’ counting ability, this apparent Santorum victory has wrenched the Republican Presidential race in an entirely new direction. Mitt Romney went from a slam dunk nominee to having only won New Hampshire.

Now, we have three candidates with a victory each. A protracted race appears likely. The likely candidates are Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich. Ron Paul will be an intriguing wild card. Santorum was probably the 2012 version of Mike Huckabee, successful in Iowa, but unlikely to draw blood elsewhere.

 Of course, just a week ago, I was predicting a Romney runaway. Politics is a lot like the weather: wait a week, it’ll change.

South Carolina: Campaign Graveyard

The lead up to the South Carolina Primary saw the end of the presidential campaigns of Rick Perry and Jon Huntsmen.

Jon Huntsman never really gained any traction in the race. Never really polling higher than three-four percent of the vote nationally. Was it his previous work as the Ambassador to China within the Obama administration or his rather moderate voice, being inaudible within the sea of extremism?

 We may never know. Primary contests are not generally contests of moderation these days. Therefore, the mere act of showing moderation may have made Huntsman dead in the water from day one.

Rick Perry is a far more interesting story. Perry was once the Republican candidate of the month, before a series of debate gaffs, sunk the Texas Governor. He had the conservative credentials to mount a challenge to Mitt Romney.


Unfortunately, forgetting one of three federal departments that you want to cut, does not inspire confidence in your presidential abilities. In a hyper-media culture, everything one does is repeated millions of times, making Rick Perry’s series of gaffs unforgivable.

Monday, January 23, 2012

America’s Political Problem

I think I understand the large-scale problem with politics in this country. We have two political parties who seem obsessed with the notion that the other party is ruining the country.

 Conservatives claim that liberals are ruining the country, while liberals claim that extreme conservatism is ruining the country. The sad commentary is that their both right.

The moderate voice in American politics has been largely cowed and driven from the halls of Congress. In its’ place, we have a group of ideologues intent on demonizing the other to score points from their base, rather than doing anything for the people.

Extremism is poisonous no matter what party claims it. Our current political climate wrongly implies that one form of extremism is better than another. This is flat out wrong and absolutely ignorant. Both extreme liberalism and extreme conservatism will ruin a nation.

For anyone who doesn’t see that enjoy being blind.

 As long as this culture of one good extremism continues, there will continue to be rough times ahead because the voters will continue to alternate extremisms each change ultimately proving less successful than the last.

Moderation isn’t such a dirty word.

Mitt Romney: Sure as Granite?

Due to a blog backlog, this was written before the Iowa and South Carolina episodes.

Mitt Romney had the expected victory in New Hampshire becoming the first non incumbent Republican to win both Iowa and New Hampshire. Ron Paul and Jon Huntsmen finished second and third.

 Voters in New Hampshire claimed they were looking for the candidate most likely to defeat President Obama in a general election.

 I think he’s the best candidate in a largely uninspiring field of Republican candidates who are too easily branded as too moderate to please the conservative wing of the party, or too conservative to win a general election.

But one cannot deny his position of strength. He’s won Iowa and New Hampshire and is likely to win in South Carolina before Florida. The more he wins, the harder it is to deny him the nomination as candidates continue to engage in chest thumping to decide whose more conservative.

I’m not sure that Romney will prove ultimately satisfying to a conservative base, but Obama has disappointed many people as well. This could become the most hold your nose election this side of Bush-Kerry.

Will the 2012 Presidential Election Matter?

Disclaimer: Written before the reversal in Iowa and the South Carolina

Legislative elections seem to be the forgotten step-child of elections in this country. All eyes are fixed on a likely Romney-Obama presidential election in 2012 and with good reason, but control of the House and Senate will be on the line as well.

 Most Americans will tell you that they are dissatisfied with the job performance of Congress as its’ currently constituted. How the voters decide to fix the problem of legislative gridlock in this country will determine whether who wins the 2012 Presidential election will even matter, at least in the short term.

Currently the Democrats hold the Senate, while the Republicans hold the House of Representatives. It is my fear that voters will simply decide to flip the legislative houses, giving the Democrats the House, while Republicans win the Senate.

 This scenario basically leaves us with the same gridlock that we’ve seen for the last two years. Even worse, it makes whomever sits in the oval office largely irrelevant.

 Romney and Obama would be largely handcuffed in getting their agenda from conception to reality.

Then again, having one party control everything hasn’t exactly been great for the country either.

My Wishes For Others in 2012


My mother- I hope my mother finishes the manuscripts she’s worked on and gets them published so she can make some $.

Model UN Advisors Quirk and Dinwiddie- I wish you two a semester free of personal drama.

All of RVC Humanity- An easier research paper for myself, so freshman don’t have to pass this guy who looks like he’s on the verge of a meltdown.

My best friend Ryan- Find something about Springfield you like…anything at all.

For myself, I wish that i'd grow to realize to walk away when people who want to be your friend are just going to bring you pain.

Hailey Barbour: The Problem With Pardon

A few months ago, Mississippi Governor Hailey Barbour was hailed as a potential Republican presidential candidate. Now, he’s embroiled in a pardons scandal that may mute any higher political ambitions.

 Of the 200 pardons that were issued, four of five are raising the most eyebrows because of the fact that the pardoned worked in the governors’ mansion. While Barbour certainly has the right to issue pardons [it‘s common practice for outgoing governors and presidents], he seems to need a little help in understanding why this is an issue.

Former Governor Barbour, in a political climate distrustful of politicians, you’ve just illustrated the problem. These men worked in the governors mansion and have been granted pardons. Those two facts are just happy coincidences right? Uh-Huh, sure, yeah right.

 The message is: help the governor and he helps you. Apparently, who cares about the victims or their families? This move could be costly for Mr. Barbour though, he can probably kiss any presidential aspirations goodbye, if he holds them. I can see the Democratic campaign ad now:

Hailey Barbour: Who let the Murderers Out!

The Propaganda of Urine

As a lover of our military veterans, the recent video of a group of Marines urinating on some Taliban corpses is morally upsetting. As the United States, we would like the claim a moral high-ground. This ground is shaken when incidents like this occur.

Our military needs stiffer penalties for this kind of crap. Abu Ghraib and other fiascos have set a rather shallow precedent for penalties facing these marines. We are being watched by our enemies and friends alike, and what we’ve set is a horrible double standard.

By not punishing our troops, we indicate that those who do harm to our troops will die, but if you hurt an Afghan, Taliban or not, you’ll get a slap on the wrist. We’ll never be able to satisfy the die-hards in the Islamic world, but if we are going to meaningfully fight this war than we need more equalized treatment.

 These soldiers have just given the enemy the last thing America needs: a new propaganda tool for jihadists throughout the world.

Human Rights: Beyond Moral Imperative

Human rights advocates often seize upon a moral imperative and the rather giving nature of the American public in dealing with human rights events. If we really give a damn about human rights, we need to move beyond the moral imperative, into an action based plan. We can listen to people talk about the starving children of Africa until we’re blue in the damn face, but its’ precious few souls who have dared to do anything about this moral imperative, other than say we should do something.

Friday, January 6, 2012

New Hampshire: Huntsman’s Last Stand?

Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman is betting everything on Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary.

Huntsman made a calculated, and I believe correct call to bypass the Iowa Caucus. The large numbers of prevalence of evangelical voters within Iowa would’ve made a sustained campaign by the moderate Huntsman futile because he isn’t conservative enough to appeal to the primary voters in Iowa.

This leaves Huntsman camping in New Hampshire, hoping for an eleventh hour miracle to salvage his presidential campaign. If Huntsman doesn’t win there, his campaign is effectively over because he has staked so much on the state.

 At the moment, Mitt Romney holds a commanding lead over Ron Paul and others. Too bad, because Huntsman is my preferred Republican presidential candidate.

Huntsman is a moderate, something the Republican party seems to be lacking these days. He has intimate knowledge of China and the challenges that the United States will face there in the coming years and decades.

As governor of Utah, he has experience being the chief executive of state, one of the key criticisms of our current president.

The Republican party is failing to grasp that they need a moderate to win, and I’m not sure I’d put my faith in Massachusetts Mitt, if I were them.

Mitt Romney: John Kerry of 2012

Congratulations Mitt Romney, you’ve won the Iowa Caucus and stand poised for a crushing victory in New Hampshire on Tuesday. Your well on your way to becoming the 2012 version of John Kerry.

John Kerry won Iowa and New Hampshire, fending off a marginal challenge from John Edwards before feeding on a delegate buffet to win the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004.

Turns out John Kerry was not very popular with moderate and independent voters and lost the general election to President Bush, despite his overwhelming support among Democratic primary and caucus goers.

This should raise alarm bells for Romney. I don’t see any current candidate who challenges Romney at the primary level, beyond a token state or two. This means that like John Kerry, he’ll rack up a huge number of delegates and win the nomination.

But Romney has a huge problem with the conservative wings of the party that question his conservative credentials. He was governor of Massachusetts, a state where extreme Republicans get eaten for lunch, if that’s a clue.

An uninspiring candidate will just as easily reelect an unpopular president, just ask John Kerry. That’s the road Romney risks traveling, if he can’t win over conservative voters.

Michelle Bachmann: Hawkeye Down

From Ames straw poll winner to seventh place finish in the Iowa Caucus. That was the candidacy of Michelle Bachmann.

There was no future in this contest for Bachmann without a victory in Iowa. If your home state doesn’t believe you’re the best person for the job, than you have no hope nationally. Even a post-scream Howard Dean was able to win the Vermont primary, where he had been a two term governor.

Michelle Bachmann brought a unique voice to the campaign trail that will be sorely missed. Bachmann is still a powerful voice for the Tea Party within the halls of Congress and is best suited to return to that role.

This will probably be her one and only shot at the presidency, unless something drastic occurs. I don’t believe her views are mainstream enough to win the job, ultimately.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Whose Debate?

With a slew of presidential debates leading up to the Iowa Caucuses and at least two more before the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday. The question needs to be asked: Who are all these debates really for?

Conventional wisdom says there not designed to make the candidates look less appealing or out of touch with the reality faced by the people whose vote they are seeking.

Logically, these debates are taking place in order to give perspective Republican voters the greatest opportunity to choose their candidate among the field of potential nominees. But how many debates would the average voter need before coming to a decision?

The high ratings for these contests suggest that most Republicans don’t have their candidate, yet.
It’s as if the average voter watches these debates pleading “Someone, please say something to win my vote.”

Perhaps, the debate heavy schedule is a primer for the general election campaign against President Obama, which is sure to be bruising affair.

But, how often is the Republican nominee going to really debate the President Obama 1 on 1? Maybe five times, at best. Furthermore, Barack Obama is a gifted orator, out-debating him is not a winning strategy.

Debates are not the domains of policy and ideas, which can beat President Obama in November 2012.

Iowa and New Hampshire in New Politics

There has been considerable debate about the role of Iowa and New Hampshire with the changing face of politics. Not long ago, presidential candidates launched barnstorming campaigns across the entire states of Iowa and New Hampshire.

Now, because of the increased influence of super PAC’s and the sheer amount of money involved in presidential campaigns, there’s less of a need to mount the state-wide bus tour because you can just run a bunch of ads if your pockets are deep enough.

The greater number of debates is also giving voters more of an opportunity to size up the candidates before voting, I leave it to the readers to determine whether this is a good or bad thing.

There is a danger in this, because candidates who aren’t in Iowa and New Hampshire enough can be seen as aloof or detached, which is obviously never good for a campaign.

And the new debate heavy format has obviously caused candidates to falter (Rick Perry.)

Iowa and New Hampshire still matter. Without Iowa, Rick Santorum is a footnote candidate in otherwise fairly obvious race. Santorum ran a very traditional campaign leading into Tuesday night’s caucuses and almost won.

This indicates that the “old way” of doing things in Iowa can still pay major dividends, even if Santorum is now the exception, not the rule.

Santorum’s Iowa: Does It Matter?

Rick Santorum came within eight votes of pulling off the greatest political upset of my lifetime on Tuesday night. What does Santorum’s last moment surge in Iowa ultimately mean going forward?

Ultimately, not much. Romney holds a commanding lead in New Hampshire and Santorum doesn’t have the nationwide organization to compete in other states. Santorum's message worked well among the large evangelical population in Iowa. Santorum will ultimately struggle in states where the evangelical vote isn’t as strong.

I think Santorum’s record will ultimately be a concern. In trying to appear moderate as a Senator seeking re-election in Pennsylvania, he created inconsistencies that will be hard to explain away to a conservative primary audience.

Santorum had a great night, but will ultimately have little impact on the race at large.

Monday, January 2, 2012

The Virginia Primary Feels Purple

Note: This commentary does not account for planned action by the Attorney General of Virginia that may allow Rick Perry and other candidates to compete in the state’s primary.

When I say that the Virginia Republican primary feels purple, I mean that the lack of candidates with enough signatures to get on the ballot in the state has rendered the state fangless in choosing the Republican presidential nominee.

With Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich failing to submit enough required signatures to get on the ballot and Bachmann, Santorum, and Huntsman not submitting signatures, Virginia is a two horse race between Mitt Romney and Ron Paul.

 The case of the Virginia primary is a failure of campaign organizations.

Nationwide electoral campaigns are a complicated business, but the failure to organize results in embarrassing failures like the Gingrich campaign in Virginia.

What are you saying to the general electorate, if you can’t even get on the ballot in a state?

 As a candidate, you could be sending the undesirable message that the voters in state x do not matter to you. In a potentially close election, every state and voter should and will matter.

That one of the most important states in the countries political history should be reduced to a watered down selection of candidates is a political tragedy.

Would Ron Paul Make Iowa Irrelevant?

Would the selection of Ron Paul or another of the so called “second tier” candidate in Tuesday’s Iowa Caucus render Iowa irrelevant? The moment we attack anyone else’s opinion is the exact moment that our opinion becomes worthless.

Just because they pick a candidate that isn’t favored by polls or perhaps even the national party does not make the choice itself any less legitimate.

Fifty states will have the opportunity to cast a vote in a primary or caucus. Every state should be allowed to make that choice without feeling pressured into making the “right choice” based on whatever the media or pollsters are saying.

Often finances and delegate mathematics make this an impossibility. Voters in Iowa always have this chance however, and should not worry about whether or not their choice meets with the approval of pundits or party elitists.