Very interesting survey, Giuliani, Huckabee and Thompson declined to answer. http://www.boston.com/news/nation/a...on_executive_power_a_full_spectrum/?page=full Mitt Romney is one scary dude. He's like Alexander Hamilton on crack cocaine when it comes to Presidential power. Romney http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/specials/CandidateQA/RomneyQA Paul http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/specials/CandidateQA/PaulQA McCain http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/specials/CandidateQA/McCainQA .
I only read the summary. Bush's expansion of presidential powers has been one of the areas I see as an enormous problem. Romney's answers are troublesome. The fact that Giulani, Thompson, and Huckabee wouldn't even respond to the poll is troublesome. Those 4 seem to have dictator ingrained in their thinking.
I think this early line from Romney is disturbing. The government doesn't exist to keep us safe, alive until old age, or in any other way counteract the effects of nature. The government's primary purpose is the defense of ALL of our liberties, not compromising some for others. His view on the role of government is very misguided.
It goes back to the Benjamin Franklin quote, and Romney is willing to sacrifice liberty for temporary safety. Our Founding Fathers saw the error in this, but it's unfortunate our potential new leaders do not.
Frankly who knows what Romney really believes. He is certainly making an effort to position himself as an ultra conservative and maintain as much of a Bush like personna as possible in the primaries. His past actions, of course, define a very different person. His response and the unwillingness of the other 3 to even address the issue shows how dramatically radical they are with regard to changing the very nature of American democracy. Bush and Cheney's actions with regard to expanding the power of the presidency went way beyond issues of security. It touched on all sorts of issues and basically was done to empower the presidency and weaken congress. It looks like 4 candidates feel similarly. I'd beware of all of them.
You know Earl, I don't like Romney, but there is something about him, I can't put my finger on it, that he's not who he is playing for TV. In fact, he might even be a better man. I dunno, just an instinctual thing I have derived from observing him on the stump and at the debates.
He's been staying at Holiday Inn Expresses? $190-250 million dollars of personal wealth will buy a lot of polish.
I can't explain it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not willing to gamble on a hunch. But you have to ask yourself, when someone is willing to spend millions of their personal money to get the office, they either desire absolute power or.....
guerilla, his father was a career politician. He grew up in that environment. I think he is interested in power and nothing else.
There's a certain level of respect between Romney and Paul's campaigns now i think.. ever since the story of that one straw poll on rpforums where Romney's brother was respectful of our cause, it may not have been romney himself but i respect him. wasn't he one of the guys that came out at the last debate and made it a point to shake RP's hand?
He is just trying to regain the presidential power taken away from the president by congress after Nixon left the white house.
geez. Nixon left the White House after lying to the entire American public and instigating than continuing a crime on the nation. How sick was that guy. He set up this crime against an election opponent during an election when he was so far ahead it was ridiculous. I guess you like that dictatorial powers should sit inside the hands of a paranoid hateful man. And that is why there are strong checks and balances on the government.
Unfortunately, these have been eroded over time, although on a faster schedule recently, since Abraham Lincoln. The founders intentionally did not want that much power with a single man because they were paranoid of aristocracies and monarchies.