Governor Johnson, who caused not slight controversy in calling for the legislation of marijuana while serving as his state’s chief executive, is a fine libertarian candidate in the Ron Paul tradition.  I am not sure he is as socially conservative as Cong. Paul (although he may be one of the first so-called pro-choice politicians that was endorsed by National Right to Life!), but he is a principled politician who has something to say.

Here is Evertts first blog entry:

A few TRILLION dollar nails in Americas fiscal coffin.

$1,000,000,000,000 dollars. A thousand billions. A million millions. About $3,400 dollars for every man woman and child in the United States of America. 34 million times what I made last year. You could buy 15 million houses like mine.

In the last 8 years our Federal Government has (or is a few weeks from passing) with a few yeas and nays, passed four things that will cost that much or close to that much. None of them are Constitutional, really needed, or would allocate that trillion dollars better than the people.

• The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
• TARP bank bailout
• American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Obama stimulus)
• Very soon to be healthcare bill.

Lets compare the national debt and Federal budgets to average American finances. Receipts (taxes brought in) were 2.52 trillion and the national debt was 10 trillion dollars at end of fiscal 2008. So, our Federal governement owed 3.92 times what they brought in through taxes.

Lets say you and your wife bring home $50,000, around the median American income. If you owed 3.92 times what you made in a year, you’d be $196,000 in debt. That is getting bad, way too much for me personally, but Americans if employed and being thrifty can live like that. By the way, you have ZERO savings just like the government, which means your future is very very bleak.

The three programs, purchases, boondoggles, whatever want to call Washington’s expenditures, that already passed equal around 158% of 2008’s tax receipts. For you and your family that equals to adding $60,000 in new debt over last 8 years. You’re even telling your wife you absolutely need a new  boat (healthcare bill) for another $19,500 price tag.

You were doing ok, but now you can barely afford them, I guess you wanted a few perks. Even though your perks might be renovating the kitchen, getting a nicer car, or giving the kids a real big Christmas, while the governments perks are killing thousands of people in the Middle East, paying off old buddies who run huge banks, giving every lobbyist their dream pet projects, and trying to force the whole country onto an already bankrupt Medicare system.

2010 is looking much much worse, those little projects are coming back to bite you. The deficit is expected to be $1.75 TRILLION by end of fiscal 2009, the national debt is estimated to be 12.7 TRILLION. Meaning you would now have over $250,000 in debt. Something has to give. Either you have to sell your house(reform social security), get rid of a car(cut the empire), get another job(raise taxes), or you will go bankrupt. It has to give now, you will not be able to keep this going for another year. The bank (China) is not going to give you anymore money because they see what is going on. No different for our government.

They could have keep right on going with the status quo, racking up yearly deficits of a few hundred billion dollars. We could have taken care of Osama and his gang in Afghanistan, got through the housing bubble, took care of needy Americans, and fixed Medicare all without bankrupting America. Washington lost its mind in the past decade. Only now people are wising up to what is going on. They could have kept right on being corrupt as any institution in the history of the world, but they got greedy. We needed a bigger empire, the banksters needed more of our money, lobbyists needed more influence, and the entitlement system needed expanded.

In a Gary Johnson administration, there will be people looking to the future. Short term fixes and pleasures will be out the window and the American peoples interests will be fought for. Not big business, big union, big bank, big military. Women, whites, poor, black, gay, atheist, wealthy, young, southern, catholic, healthy, hispanic, rich, sick, old, it does not matter. All Americans will equally benefit by the executive branch of government doing less. The alternative is the end of the American dream for everyone.

This is well said.  I would only add that the debt to PRC will make us subject to their persuasion on policy issues.  Better not discuss persecution of Christians or Tibet or Taiwan (Taiwan is the most mistreated nation in the world – the Republic of China is not allowed to enter the Olympic Games with their national flag or name.  They are also not in the United Nations) or we’ll not be happy!  The PRC debt should be retired first.

MORE from tajitj in a few days!  Go eat turkey and dressing and remember the important stuff:  The SAINTS will win Monday night!

Sandy the Chief Blogger

He took Indiana from a $600,000,000 deficit to a $340,000,000 surplus.  Governing magazine named Gov. Daniels the most outstanding public official in 2008. (Thanks for both facts to Americans for Mitch)   He also is a greatly admired and respected leader.  Daniels says he’s through with politics  in an Atlantic article almost Mr. Smith Goes to Washington in style.  But there is a draft Mitch site.  His supporters are also on Facebook and Twitter.  He was quoted as saying (in a nice WSJ article worth reading) his conservative credentials were “uninpeachable”.   I believe him that he won’t run BUT that does not say it can’t happen.

Jon Huntsman, former Governor of Utah and now our Ambassador to China, had been on some short lists for 2012.  His support for civil unions  for gays would hurt him with some social conservatives.  He is also LDS like Mitt Romney.  He may have some of the same issues with certain people.  Again, his beliefs could be a great asset due to the LDS reputation for honesty, integrity and family values.  But I think he is out as long as he is Ambassador to China.  (Huntsman was also Ambassador to Singapore, too.)

General David Petraeus has been banded about in several places as a great President.  I agree he’d be a decisive leader.  This site has intriguing alleged inside baseball about his interest in the job.  He was described in the Forbes article above as being a “Rockefeller Republican”, whatever that means.  If it turns out he is pro-choice and pro gays in the military that will be a hard sell to the GOP base.  The assumption that military officers are social conservatives is not necessarily true.  Despire my immense respect and admiration for General Petreaus I do not think he will run. 

Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina is a solid conservative.  There is an interesting and somewhat humorous article that suggests he is not good-looking enough to run for President!  I would suggest he has no problems on that front based on the official Senate website and GOP 12. I like him where he is.

Now I invite the readers to come up with more ideas!