Very popular blog Capitol Commentary has been around since February 2009 and is mostly about free markets, economics and how Liberals are mostly screwing up life for the rest of us. Here is the interview:
What are your thoughts about the GOP campaign so far?
The GOP campaign is not interesting in the sense of learning who will rise to the challenge of toppling Obama, more so who will sink lowest to beat their fellow Republican in the primaries. None of the candidates inspires me or gives me confidence that the Republicans will deal from a position of strength against the Democrats.
All of the current candidates are deeply flawed in their own way but the nominee might get lucky in that he won’t be Barack Obama and thus find himself elected president.
At the end of the day if a Republican does find himself elected it will be because of Obama’s failings not because of the candidate’s strength. I find that depressing.
What do you think of Romney vs. Gingrich race?
The old saying of not wrestling with a pig because you both get dirty but the pig likes it comes to mind here. Gingrich is the metaphorical pig. He has always been a deeply flawed, selfish man and now that he’s running for president these characteristics are only amplified.
I was living in Washington, D.C. when Gingrich and Clinton faced off against one another and the Federal Government shut down. Both sides tried to spin it to their party’s advantage. Gingrich’s version lost. I believed he liked the attention his Contract with America and the shutdown gave him and that he did his best to prolong the crisis.
My main objection to Gingrich is that while he tries to paint everything in ideological terms it’s really all about him. I don’t think we need somebody else like that running the country.
How do you think Social Media will play a role in this campaign? and can you compare it to Obama’s campaign of 2008?
The term “social media” has changed over the years but at the end of the day it’s just advertising. Bill Clinton was the first president to go on MTV and while he was there he answered such important questions such as whether he wore boxers or briefs.
It’s all been downhill since.
I think the biggest change between the last election and this one is the degree and rapidity with which each side uses Twitter and Facebook to try and take down the other side. Look at how the Anthony Weiner scandal went down… before he knew it it was national news and he was encircled by forces intent upon taking a Democrat out of his seat because of his personal failings. That demonstrates the power of social media to not only get yourself in trouble but also to be buried by your opponents.
It also shows that as social media grows traditional media erodes. The New York Times lost $40 million last year, for example.
Ron Paul has a great Internet following what do you think other candidates are not doing right or need to do better?
I think at least half of Ron Paul followers aren’t aware of what their candidate stands for. Iran is not only working on a nuclear weapon and a missile that can reach America but they openly call for the destruction of other nations and the United States shouldn’t try to do anything about that?
Many Ron Paul supporters just don’t think things through. They would be like somebody saying Peter, Paul, and Mary’s song Puff the Magic Dragon is just about a dragon who lives by the sea.
I admire the fervor of Mr. Paul’s supporters but I think they are mostly misguided and that this support won’t translate into real results.
What is your opinion of Super PACs and its influence in this GOP race?
Money has always bought influence in political races. Super PACs have only been around since 2010 but Conservsative groups have certainly raised more money through them than Democrats have. The top Super PAC for the 2010 election cycle was Conservative and raised over $21 million while the top Democratic group raised almost $9 million.
However if you look at donations in general you will find that Democrats do very well compared to Republicans. The top donor from 1998 until 2012 was a Liberal lobbying group ActBlue with almost $60 million at #1 with the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees donated over $46 million at the #3 spot (#2 was AT&T which donated evenly between political parties). That’s why Democrats were and still are in a fit about Wisconsin because it threatens union domination. The recent switch of Indiana to a Right to Work state shows that, regarding unions, fate may not be with the Democrats.
In fact, if you look at all the top donors you have to get to #19 on the list to find one that favors Republicans:
http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/list.php
Democrats have unions as their captive audience and this brings them a major amount of money. Take away that money and influence and there isn’t much left. In my opinion, such support is more damaging to the political process than Super PACs becasue each group, aside from ActBlue, tends to be from one united organization.
If you have some other thought you would like to share please feel free.
The election coming up will very much determine the type of America we see in 10 or 20 years from now. With so much riding on the results I predict we will see plenty of allegations of voter fraud and the degree of political venom found online will be at an all time high. I hope my fellow bloggers will not lose sight of the forest for the trees.
Thank you for the interview I have posted a link to it on my site.
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