What I watched of the debates was not complete or comprehensive. I have to say I couldn’t stomach much of what was said, except maybe Rand Paul, who I actually like from the perspective that I think his foreign policy of getting the hell out of the middle-east is pretty spot on. I always have had a Libertarian view of foreign policy. In my humble opinion we either need to get the hell out of there, or we wage war on any country where the terrorists hide. We’re not good at surgery. However, we’re great at mass destruction. If we take the position that if your country houses and funds terrorism then you’re the terrorists and we will attack your capital perhaps we’ll get some local support. If not then we have our own solution. We can give them a carrot, or a very, very big stick.
With that said, listening to some of the candidates just makes my head hurt. Let’s start with Chris Christy. He’s an idiot. Actually, I don’t think he’s an idiot, I think he’s playing to the crowd, and he’s being silly. With that said do not elect a person that thinks attacking Russia is a good plan. They’re clueless. Our enemy is not Russia. We tried the strategy of invading the country that didn’t attack us. It didn’t work out so well. Attacking a country that has a military and nuclear capability equal to ours is just bat…shit…crazy! There’s a reason it was a Cold War and not a hot one. The grownups knew what would happen. These children are ridiculous. So far we have been playing the neighborhood bully. Which is why they all hate us by the way. A war with Russia or China will mean not a few thousand dead, but millions of dead Americans. We might win, but Russia has the capability to bomb New York and Washington D.C., and China has a solid mass of so many people their sheer numbers could wipe us out before our technology made a difference. These would be real wars. We would lose much more than we would gain.
Ben Carson is still an idiot. I watched his one question and then had to turn him off. The question: “Could you really order a strike on ISIS that could result in children being killed as collateral damage?” His answer was yes. The commentator went on to reiterate that his decision would kill innocent women and children only to be booed by the crowd. What he was trying to do was push Carson to understand the ramifications of the answer. He wanted to make sure that Carson knew that his actions could kill innocent people and was he OK with that. Evidently, he is. However, I think it just showed that Carson, like many Republicans react rather than reflect. You have to think of the consequences of your actions. You know…like going to war with a country because they threatened Daddy might not turn out the way you want.
The Donald wants to shut down the Internet. I would fault him for this idea, but neither he, nor anyone else on the panel really understand how the Internet works. I barely understand it, and I’ve worked in high tech for 20 years. However, I do understand enough to know that you can’t shut it down for a particular region, at least not easily. However, what you can do is get companies like Facebook, Yahoo, Twitter, and Google, to deny access within those regions. However, tell them they’re giving up revenue and the Republican Party will hop up to say that that’s just un-American. Kind of like telling terrorists they can’t have guns. Evidently the gun lobby won’t even deny a terrorist a firearm. It’s their God given right to protect themselves while we try to keep them from killing us.
Jeb Bush. I think he and Rand Paul were the only grownups on that stage. I don’t agree with a lot of their policies, but I think they are at least logical in their approach. They understand how the world works, and are capable of addressing issues in a fashion that was more professional than anyone else. They are thoughtful of how their actions can have global repercussions and that’s what you want from a leader.
Marco Rubio, and good God, Ted Cruz have immigration policies that are kind of sad. Both are children of immigrants, but neither like immigrants. It just seems rather silly to me. I’m not a fan of Cruz as the darling of the Tea Party. However, I think with some growing up Rubio might actually be a viable candidate one day. However, he needs a little more seasoning.
Carly Fiorina. If feel about her the way Republicans feel about Hilary Clinton. Nothing that comes out of her mouth can be trusted. Her quote “If you want something talked about, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman,” is just stupid. I will admit if you want something done there are a whole host of women that work quicker and more efficiently than men. However, that doesn’t make them any better, or lesser decision makers than men. What you want in a President is a person that can analyze a problem and provide a solution. The Republican Party has too many people who think that “do something…anything!” is a good strategy. It is not. One of my pet peeves in business is when managers want you to “act with a sense of urgency.” If I have to always “act with a sense of urgency” then I’m failing. I plan so I don’t have to act with a sense of urgency. All you have to do is see how Fiorina ran HP into the ground to know that she has no ability to analyze a problem and just flails her arms in hopes of anything she does might work. We’ve had too much of that in our country and it’s killing us.
And last, but not least, from the kid’s table there is Lindsey Graham. He had some good lines last night, which shows he has some great writers. He needs some training on his delivery, however. He’s like a guy who’s trying to act a part, but has never had an acting lesson. It’s hard to watch. I think the reason he’s still at the kid’s table is because he is terrible at speaking. However, I do like that he is running away from the crazy. He’s acting like the grownup we need in the Whitehouse. I don’t agree with his policy of more troops in Syria. However, he’s at least not thinking we need to start WWIII.
Now at the beginning of this piece I implied that if we are going to go to war, then we need to do it full tilt. I still feel that way. However, that doesn’t mean that I want to go to war. Especially with some back-water desert sheep herders who are of no more threat to me than the sheep they herd. Republicans have made an industry out of fear and that’s why their followers need so many guns to go to the bathroom. It’s a poor way to win an election.
However, mark my words, if we do go to a full out war with say Russia or China thinking that will make us feel better, our lives will be much different. I really want you, and the candidates to read what it was really like the last time we had a World War. It’s wasn’t pretty. Millions of people died. If we do it now it will be billions. Industries will fail, and you won’t get that fancy new SUV next year because GM and Ford will be making military vehicles. It won’t matter anyway because you won’t be able to buy gas or tires, or food for that matter because everything will be rationed. That fancy new cellphone will be a memory too since communication will be dead due to all the bombings on American soil. The Internet won’t even matter. This is not to mention that we will all of a sudden be afraid of every neighbor because not only will we think they could be Muslim, but now they could be a Russian. Because you see…like us…most of them are white.