GOP Candidates for the 2012 Presidential Election

Though the Presidential Election of 2012 may have absolutely nothing to do with any book, theme, poem, author, or concept we've studied in English class this year, I decided to have some fun with this extra credit opportunity and publish, for my classmates to enjoy, information on the 2012 Presidential Election (that I've been researching by my own volition anyway). Again, I acknowledge the fact that such a topic may be completely irrelevant to--some may even say inappropriate for--an English class, but I nonetheless feel compelled to complete this assignment out of a basic appreciation for and understanding of civic duty. Getting to know the prominent men and women in our government, and therefore the men and women that will one day lead this nation into the future, is an exciting opportunity indeed, and as an American blessed with a transparent democracy I feel it is my duty to voice my opinion and vote. Please, however, do not misinterpret my explanation of civic duty under the title "GOP Candidates for the 2012 Presidential Election" to mean that I am trying to impart any particular political beliefs on my peers. It just so happens that for this Presidential election, the incumbent is a Democrat, rendering any possibility of a Democratic Primary null and void. The contest this year, therefore, will not be found in the Democratic Primary, but rather, in the Republican Primary, which is why I am focusing on that party right now.

Though one could write endlessly on the topic of "GOP Candidates for the 2012 Presidential Election," my approach to this post is straightforward and simple: I am not attempting to provide a thorough, comprehensive analysis of the platform and background of every candidate. In fact, I won't even muddle this post with extraneous research: All I will do here is introduce some prominent candidates by providing a picture and basic facts about their former experience. I will then describe what I know about each candidate from my weeks of perusing the news: any controversy I've heard about, popular opinions of each candidate, pros, cons, and what comes to mind when I think of that candidates name.

Though I will try to remain objective, I will preface this post by saying that any opinions expressed are entirely my own. I also must say that I myself am just beginning to learn about these men and women, and my knowledge is therefore limited. These backgrounds should in no way be misconstrued as a complete profile of any candidate.

I invite any and everyone to add to these descriptions, challenge my assertions, argue with me, and add to this post in any way shape or form. This is really just for fun, so I hope we could all view it as such!



1. Mitt Romney
-Former Governor of Massachusetts

-Former U.S. Senator of MA

-Son of George W. Romney: Businessman/Former Governor of Michigan

-Entered Business himself at a young age; co-founded investment firm Bain Company

-CEO of the Salt Lake Organization committee, which played a large role in organizing the 2002 Olympics

-Self-proclaimed Mormon

-Praised for his background in business/in the private sector, his strong political family name (almost like the Kennedy's)

-Currently considered by many to be the front-runner of the GOP primary in 2012; considered by many to have the best shot at beating Obama

-When it comes to social beliefs and civil liberties, however, Romney appears to be quite centrist and indecisive.

-As governor of MA, Romney is plagued by what has been dubbed "RomneyCare"--the government-sponsored health care comparable to ObamaCare passed in the state of MA under Romney.

-Romney has been heard simultaneously defending RomneyCare and censuring ObamaCare. Considering the fact that health care will be a prominent issue in 2012, staunch conservatives say RomneyCare will plague Romney during his campaign.

-Romney has also flip-flopped his stance on abortion several times. In some interviews he says he supports Roe v. Wade, while in others he states that he would support a Constitutional Amendment to outlaw abortion.

-Regarding gay marriage, Romney once ran on the platform "Equality for All."

-Also invoked anti-gay rhetoric when MA legalized gay marriage.

-Proclaimed support for the Brady Bill, which would mandate background checks on anyone who wishes to buy a firearm. Then purchased lifetime membership in the NRA (National Rifle Association) and proclaimed a passion for hunting


2. Tim Pawlenty
-Former Governor of Minnesota

-Spent 10 years in the Minnesota House of Representatives; chosen as House Majority leader in '98

-Has degrees in Law and political science; worked as VP of a software company

-Evangelical Christian

-Born of humble beginnings in Minnesota, and, like Romney, is often praised for his direct experience in the private sector.

-Pundits agree that Pawlenty, like Romney, is one of the top-tier GOP candidates for the 2012 election

-Recently began "straight-talk" tour in which he excitedly and frankly explains his platform: this straight-talk tour included going to Wall street and making such assertions as, I paraphrase, "the age of bailouts is over; the age of 'too big to fail' is over"

-Respected as a Republican governor in a relatively blue state (Minnesota)

-co-chaired the Republican Governors Association with Haley Barbour, Governor of Mississippi.

-Haunted a bit by his support of cap-and-trade, which is a method of "capping," or limiting corporations greenhouse gas emissions. If a corporation wishes to increase their "cap," they can purchase another corporations emission balance. In other words, if one corporation does not reach their cap, they could sell the remaining quantity of emission to another corporation. Pawlenty has stated that he supports such market dynamics in controlling pollution.



3. Rick Santorum
-Former US Senator from PA

-Served as Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference

-Former Representative in the PA House of Reps

-Has a law degree

-Authored a book on social and family conservatism

-Sponsored a policy that is now referred to as the "Santorum Amendment," which sought to amend the No Child Left Behind Act to mandate that science classrooms in public school discuss the inconsistencies of scientific theories, particularly that of Evolution. The ultimate goal was to enable schools to teach Intelligent Design as an alternative to evolution theory.

-Encountered some controversy when he used harsh language such as "Islamic fascism" and "stuck in the seventh century" to describe his feelings on Islam in the Middle East

-Other controversial issues included Santorum's very franks statements regarding his views on gay marriage. As a social conservative, Santorum stated that he was against homosexual acts, defining proper marriage as only that between a man and a woman, and implying an inherent similarity between homosexuality, pedophilia, and incest.

-Miley Cyrus recently mocked Santorum's traditional marriage views on twitter.


Other names to know in addition to these top three candidates include...


Michele Bachmann:
U.S. House of Representatives Congresswoman

Chairman of the Tea Party Caucus in the House

Considered by many to be a bit of a nutcase in her desire to conduct a McCarthy-style with hunt of Congress to find "unamerican" Representatives / Senators





Newt Gingrich
Former Speaker of the House,

Attained celebrity status in the GOP after leading the Repubilcan surge in the House in the 90s.

Recently alienated conservative constituents when he called House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's proposed budget "right-wing social engineering"





Ron Paul
Congressman from Texas;

Ran for President in 1988 and in 2008;

OBGYN who became interested in politics during the early 70s;

Described as the "intellectual Godfather of the Tea Party movement"





Herman Cain
Former CEO of Godfather Pizza;

Chair of the Federal Reserve Bank in Kansas City;

Conservative radio talk show host;

boisterous speaker from Georgia, same state that Newt Gingrich is from.





Jon Huntsman
Former Governor of Utah;

Mormon;

Obama's ambassador to China;

Has seven kids;

Relatively centrist on several social issues, including his open support of civil unions for homosexuals, his pro-life policy, and one-time support of cap and trade.


Rick Perry - Governor of Texas
Gary Johnson - Governor of New Mexico

Summer Reading List

This afternoon, while sitting on the bleachers waiting for gym class to begin, I came across an object that would ultimately inspire this second extra-credit assignment: the 11th grade summer reading list. At the end of every school year, we are told that summer reading is a necessary, albeit burdensome component of our academic life because it prevents students' sharpened, intellectual minds from festering in all the idleness and heat of Summer Vacation. Upon this reflection, another idea crossed my mind: can the same principle not be applied to the summer between senior year in High School and freshman year in college? Though the summer following senior year should certainly be a time to unwind, de-stress, and spend quality bonding time with peers before everyone goes their separate ways, those crucial two months also present a great opportunity to read the classic works of literature teachers and authority figures have always said will invariably come up in college-level discourse. If this opportunity to read classic works of literature does not sound too appealing, then perhaps our final summer could be viewed as an opportunity to read whichever books outside the English class curriculum that truly interest us. In any event, I thought it would be nice to use the carte-blanche Ms. Silva gave us to enumerate my personal reading list for my final summer before starting college:

1. The Victors, A non-fiction work of history by Stephen E. Ambrose
Given my penchant for military history and the development and execution of WWII, The Victors was an obvious choice for me. It is in this work that Ambrose shifts his emphasis away from depth--he wrote voluminously on many specific events, outfits, and individuals involved in WWII--and towards breadth, providing a general analysis of how America and all of its allies emerged victorious in WWII. The Victors, therefore, describes many different events and people integral to the Allies' victory. A wealth of knowledge about an extremely important time period in American and World history, this book should be fun and exciting to read!



2. The Virtue of Selfishness, by Ayn Rand
Ever since I read Atlas Shrugged the summer before junior year, and went on to read Anthem and The Fountainhead in Comp and Lit, I've had a propensity for the works of Ayn Rand and a keen interest in Rand's philosophy, Objectivism. If I want to go to college a true Ayn Rand aficionado, however, it will be necessary to re-familiarize myself with her philosophy and read some of her nonfiction works. The Virtue of Selfishness will be appropriate.




3. The U.S. Constitution+Bill of Rights+Amendments 11-27
Now that I think about it, this should probably be at the top of my list, certainly above some arbitrary military history and philosophy books. I have an interest in politics, and this is the Supreme Law of the Land. The fabric of American society, law, government. I need not explain further why I would like to read this document from cover to cover. To be well-versed in Constitutional Law is to be well-versed in in the principles that founded this country and that permeate our government today. I can't even feign interest in politics unless I have a working knowledge of this document...I kinda see it as my duty as an American to know it, so this is certainly a necessary pre-college read.




4. As many books of Milton's Paradise Lost as I can
Though Paradise Lost will likely be the most torturous work to read, considering its archaic language and epic-poem format, I firmly believe that reading as much of this work as possible will be immeasurably beneficial. I will be the first to admit that Religion is one subject in which I am painfully, regretfully ignorant, so I hope that reading Paradise Lost will enhance my understanding of an important subject matter currently foreign to me. Considering the important force Religion has in this country and in its citizens' lives, attaining a more thorough understanding of religious stories and figures will certainly improve my ability to recognize allusions and positively interact and form positive relationships with my peers. I also have a great interest in mythology that the high school curriculum cannot quite satisfy, so reading Paradise Lost should be fun in that regard.

Jesse's Attempt at Billy Collins-esque Poetry

As one of my extra credit assignments, I've decided to post my rather futile, culpable imitation of Billy Collins-style poetry entitled "All Nighter." A rare sight indeed, Billy Collins is a critically-acclaimed contemporary poet whose superb command of language and imagery makes for a distinct and enjoyable poetic style accessible to readers of all ages, intellects, and backgrounds. His language, in my estimation, is marked by curt, dry humor and and imagery that elevates our most seemingly mundane, quotidian observations to deeply thought-out manifestations poignant human emotions. Though he may not be William Carlos Williams, who penned our favorite poem about an empty wheel barrel laying outside a shed, Collins does have a knack for bringing beauty and emotion to the most unimaginative observations. His poem "The Best Cigarette," for example, dissects the relatively common image of a man smoking a cigarette while working at a type writer. To Billy, the auditory and visual imagery of this scene--the sound of fingers stroking the keys of a type writer and the clouds of smoke billowing from the end of a lit cigarette, respectively--together equate to a train nosily trekking down iron tracks, emitting clouds of coal and dust along the way. This image of a train is readily identified in Western Culture with social and technological progress, thereby enhancing the image of a man smoking at his type writer to a picture of progress, creativity, and advancement. The poem "forgetfulness" also lightly mocks that oh-so familiar feeling of having a name or fact "just on the tip of your tongue" All in all, he captures the little observations and emotions that comprise our existence, and brings them to life in full color. That is what I tried to do in my poem: bring the far-too familiar misery of pulling an "all nighter" to life. To see for yourself the specific works and recitations of Collins' poetry that inspired me, see this link to Billy Collins Action Poetry: http://www.bcactionpoet.org/

All Nighter
by Jesse Young

Tomorrow’s earliest hours are fast approaching,
or perhaps they are the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth hours of to-day
owed to you by the derisive sun
whose astral rays mock you as they coast westward across the sky
two hours too early for your liking.

Even the four winged horses of Helios turn their heads and sneer,
mocking that crater-infested countenance
of the dimly-lit crescent replacing them,
as it emerges brightly against the night sky.

That night on earth, a deep stupor gradually overcomes me,
greedily hording my every modicum of energy
even the one from my dad’s favorite coffee mug
that I’ve used without him knowing.

And with your last sip, the boundary between Tuesday night
and Wednesday morning blurs and evaporates,
like the amorphous blob of water my lazy finger traced
near the faucet in Chemistry this morning.

The desperate pleas of a cold and vacant bedspread echo throughout my bedroom,
unanswered. Ignored.

As the night progresses I sit poised at my desk,
banging away ferociously at the keyboard,
hopeful eyes scanning my surroundings
in search of a moment’s distraction.

Gradually I watch motivation lock all the doors and windows of my brain,
kiss the medulla goodbye and tilt its hat to Ms. Cerebellum
not forgetting, of course, to fluff the pillows and reserve a seat on the couch
for procrastination.

A cell phone, perhaps
The mess in the corner of your desk that finally bothers you just enough,
and maybe, just maybe, the tangled headphones resting on the ground, just west of your right foot.

All of the day’s events gradually materialize
into an unbearable mass upon my eye lids.
Before long, a bird on the branch outside
issues the peremptory call to bed.

Closing the shades and curtains,
I keep my jeans on
and collapse into bed,
pulling the blanket over my entire face
to drown out the song of that bird,
and Helios’ golden horses,
whom, bedded-down in their stables, join you
in peaceful, quiet bliss.