Posted on 03/01/2002 11:07:31 PM PST by BillyBoy
Hey freeper boys and girls, it's that time again-- PRIMARY ELECTION TIME! As of the time of this writing, most states have their primaries mere weeks or even DAYS (hello, California) away. With the Senate in the balance, the House in need of stronger conservatives, and the nation's governships being overrun with liberal Democrats in conservative states (hi, Dixieland and rural Midwest), this election is CRITICAL. Even moreso in the primary to prevent RINOs beforehand. It is the mission of FreeRepublic to elect conservative candidates at federal, state, and local levels. We may disagree on some things, but we are almost always united by candidates who believe in less government, lower taxes, personal responsibility, and traditional values. That's where YOU come in. Individual FreeRepublic chapters CANNOT endorse candidates. But individual freepers sure as heck can. Is there a MAJOR statewide candidate (Governor or Senate) who you'd like to call attention to? Well, now's your chance. There are thousands of freepers in each of the 50 states waiting to hear your pitch. Give us the lowdown on conservative candidates that you feel haven't received enough attention or merit on this forum (or even if you feel they have!) This is ESPECIALLY true for you guys in small states, or liberal states that lack local chapters or big name conservatives. Give Freepers your best pitch. I want a thread FULL of interesting, IMPORTANT primary candidates in statewide races that span from the lakes of Minnesota, to the hills of Tennessee.
>> we don't have the luxury of nominating nobodies for Governor of Wisconsin and New York. <<
1) Ed Thompson is NOT a "nobody". He is the sitting mayor of Tomah, a city in Wisconsin with over 10,000 people. He is also the biological younger BROTHER the ex-governor (and current Sec. of Health), Tommy Thompson. Ed even looks and sounds alot like Tommy. Tommy is the most popular governor they ever had. Hopefully some of it will rub off on Ed.
2) Lou Wein isn't a nobody either, he has served many presigious appointed offices. Here's an excetrt from his bio "Lou served in the Nixon White House and as the only organizational Republican in New York City's Abe Beame Administration serving as Director of Federal Relations (in which he brought more than $400 million in discretionary federal dollars to NYC) and as Executive Director of the Mayor's Task Force for Emergency Preparedness. The Father of Modern Emergency Management in NYC, Lou chose to be fired by the Mayor rather than squelch a report which was critical of City's firing of police and firemen as well as the lack of adequate emergency preparedness. Dubbed the "Wein Report" by the national media, Lou correctly identified The World Trade Center as a terrorist target. The Report also prophetically cited many other potential hazards the City was unprepared to respond to. Lou received the highest citizen's Commendation for heroism from the New York Police Department five times."
>> Wisconsin and New York both said "no" to Bush in 2000. Any Republican that gets elected there is better than no Republican. <<
I will concede that both Thompson and Wein would be pretty long-shots in the general election. I doubt they'll win the primary. However, if they get a large share of the protest votes, they might serve as WAKEUP CALLS to Pataki and McCallum that it's time to pay attention to the conservatives in your party.
>> Pataki and McCallum should be supported because the Democrats have very good chances of winning both seats<< <<
That's why we have general elections. This is the primary. If they win it, I'll support them. ;-)
>> I had no idea how Bill Salier looked until this thread. Wow! If he is even semi-articulate and had Harkin's warchest, Harkin would be having nightmares about running against him. <<
Agree. I was of the opinion that Ganske was the only shot we had to unseat Harkin until I compared his website to Sailer's. Ganske looks like a dull, tired old man in comparsion. Sailer really DID come out of nowhere, but he's got the fire in his belly as the skills to match.
>> Bob Smith is an enviro-liberal and will not get my vote. <<
You guys really love to scream about his stance on ANWR, don't you? That's the ONLY "liberal" vote you can locate on his entire record, so you bash him for it. The truth is, Smith has the MOST conservative record is the entire Senate, which has been verified by numerous conservative organizations from the ACU to the John Birch Soeity, to the Family Values Coalition, etc. etc.
Given the fact he's only running three points behind a sitting Governor, I'd say Smith is doing pretty damn good. The same people who screamed "he can't win RE-ELECTION-- he's DOOMED!" said the SAME thing when he ran against Swett in '96. We're used to hearing that false state about conservatives in Illinois all the time. ("Fitzgerald CAN'T win! Nominate the status quo Republican!")
Don't write your Senator off, he is hero to many of around the nation, let alone you New Hampshirites.
>> Sununu is a very conservative and would easily beat Shaheen. There is nothing that Smith offers that Sununu doesn't offer. <<
*Smith was only one of three Senators to vote against Darth Bader Ginsburg. That takes SPINE. Sununu voted to confirm many leftist Clinton judges. I can't trust his judgement after his daddy told G.H.W.B. that Souter would be a "home run" for conservatives. Did Sununu Jr. ever admit that was a BAD judgement call?
*Smith is the ONLY member of the New Hampshire delegation to SERVE his nation in war. He understands vets. The rest of them (Gregg, Bass, and Sununu) are pampered blue-blooded politician's kids
*Smith is the ONLY member of the New Hampshire delegation to actually have a REAL career before entering politics. He understands real life. The rest of them (Gregg, Bass, and Sununu) are pampered blue-blooded politician's kids
*Sununu voted for lots more NEA (National Endowment for the Arts) funding mant times, the big Democrat-sponcered U.N. debt "payment dues", the CATS budget, and cutting funding for the B-2 bomber program. Smith voted AGAINST all these things.
*Bob Smith is the NUMBER ONE support of gun-rights in the Senate. He fights tirelessly to stand up for gun-owners rights in his floor speeches and legislation. Sununu simply votes the party line on this after Smith does all the hard work.
*Substitute the word "pro-lifers" for "gun owners" and the same issues applies.
*Smith has a ton of senority in the Senate, having served in office for two decades, and was a tremendous influence when he chaired two committees. Sununu has been elected to three small terms in the House and all his influence comes from daddy's name.
*Smith has ALREADY been elected STATEWIDE. Twice.
>> Smith is a stuborn old fool. <<
Smith is a statesman who holds my great-great grand uncle's-- Daniel Webster's-- Senate seat. Johnny boy is an average, inexperienced congressman who wouldn't even be considered for the Senate if his last name wasn't "Sununu". ;-)
Regarding Thompson, I thought he was running as a Libertarian. I thought this thread was about GOP primary voting.
Sununu got solid approval from the ACU and Smith's perfect ACU rating is due more to Daschle bottling up things like ANWR exploration-- no vote, no "bad" vote. I believe that Sununu is the stronger challenger to Shaheen and is equally conservative. Shaheen already beat an old white guy senator in Gordon Humphrey. She'll beat Smith the same way-- use the same playbook. Dick Swett was not nearly the candidate that Shaheen is. We'll agree to disagree.
I hope you don't mind me pinging you. Speak now, or forever hold your peace. I've already recommended Bill Simon for Governor, but I know next to nothing about the other statewide primary contests. The only other California canidate I'm going to recommend is BILL CONRAD for Congress in the 18th district Republican primary. Conrad is a true conservative and I'm confident he can beat Gary Condidit in November.
GOOD LUCK, California Freepers!
BILL SIMON
for
CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR!
I was also unaware that Thompson is running on the Libertarian ticket in Wisconsin? This is a mistake, IMO. He should challendge McCallum in the Republican primary. Republican voters would much rather have a Thompson in office than a McCallum. ;-)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.