When Rudy Giuliani became mayor of New York City, he enacted a number of major reforms based on "Broken Window Theory." An ultra-simplified version of the theory might be summarized as "Small crimes lead to big crimes." A broken window (vandalism) leads to the presence of junkies (since clearly no one is there to fix the window) leads to the presence of drug dealers and mobsters leads to violence on the streets as gangs clash, leads to murder.
Giuliani's work in NYC speaks for itself. After riots in the streets under his predecessor, New York reached historic lows for crime and especially violent crime. And his successor has kept crime low, despite the economic pressures of the Great Recession.
Unfortunately, many communities have apparently not learned the lessons of NYC. In order to meet the budget, they are now openly announcing that reports of "minor" crimes will be ignored, as the police force focuses on "major" or "violent" crimes. If "Broken Window Theory" is right, we know what to expect afterward. A marked increase in all kinds of crime, which the cash-strapped, under-manned police force will be even less able to handle.
Cutting waste is one thing. But in our quest for austerity, we must remember the essential services that a society exists to provide. Safety and security is at the top of that list.
Giulliani etiketine sahip kayıtlar gösteriliyor. Tüm kayıtları göster
Giulliani etiketine sahip kayıtlar gösteriliyor. Tüm kayıtları göster
25 Ağustos 2010 Çarşamba
1 Şubat 2008 Cuma
Why I'm Voting For Romney
Well, I've done a complete 180-degree turn. Originally, I was leaning strongly towards McCain, as I outlined here. I've now decided to vote for Romney. Here's why.
My thought process for voting for McCain went something like this: I read a debate in which I really liked his answers, an online quiz had McCain as one of my top picks, and I found someone else I knew who felt, like me, surprised that they were leaning towards McCain. I figured I wasn't completely crazy and McCain was the one left after I discounted the other candidates. I got to the point where I was liking the things McCain was saying, so I didn't give as much weight to the issues I disagree with him on.
1. I realize that his stance on embryonic stem cell is not something I can endorse if there is another candidate that I agree with. My two big issue this election is government spending / the economy and national security. I also have a requirement that the candidate hold beliefs that will help the pro-life movement and will keep us in Iraq to finish the job. Personally, I believe that embryonic stem cell research is a waste of money and killing embryos for research is the same as killing babies for research. By supporting McCain, I'd be going against my big issue and one of my requirements.
2. McCain's stance on the environment is that we shouldn't drill in ANWR. This will hurt both our national security (dependence on foreign oil) and our economy (having the government spend money on alternative energy). To be fair, Romney also supports spending government money on alternative energy, but he is in favor of drilling in ANWR.
3. McCain's endorsements by Schwarzenegger and Giuliani gives him the support he needs to be a moderate president and push his more moderate agenda as opposed to his conservative positions.
4. The one McCain supporter I personally know is now pretty sure that s/he won't be voting for McCain either.
5. There are some conservatives who, given the choice of McCain or any Democratic candidate would either vote third party or stay home. We need the conservatives to beat whatever Democrat gets the nomination, especially Obama.
6. McCain has basically two choices for VP: Huckabee or Lieberman. I was having trouble feeling completely settled in my choice for McCain. I would have trouble voting for a McCain / Lieberman ticket. Even more conservatives would stay home or vote third party. Huckabee, while liked by social conservatives, is frowned upon by fiscal conservatives. Voting for a McCain / Huckabee ticket would be setting up a future Huckabee presidency. Consequently, we still lose a good chunk of the conservative vote.
7. A vote for anybody other than Romney at this point, gives McCain the nomination. That leaves me with a choice of Romney or McCain.
8. I've mentioned before that I don't trust Romney. I still don't trust him. I think he will do what is politically expedient. The difference is that if he gets the nomination and is elected, it will be because of conservatives. To quote Clear and Present Danger(?), "He wants what every first-term president wants, a second term." Romney will know that he was put in the White House by conservatives and that to get a second term, he will need to keep the support of the conservatives. Otherwise, there will be a number of candidates waiting in the wings to go against him. After four years of "being a conservative", my guess is that he would want to keep his legacy and not go down as "the president that completely duped the Republican party in his second term." As I said, I still don't trust him, but I think his political expediency will be to our favor.
9. I finally took a look at Romney's positions (or looked at them after it had been a while.) Many of the positions I like by McCain are held by Romney. Romney also wants to bring decency back to America (a noble position, though I don't know how much the president can directly do about that). Given #7, it's a good chance that he'll follow these positions as closely as any other politician does.
I still think that McCain will do a decent job if elected president. If he gets the Republican nomination, I see myself voting for him in the general election, unless he starts leaning further left or picks Lieberman as his running mate. That being said, I will be voting for Romney given that I believe he will embrace the conservative platforms, even if only for political expediency.
My thought process for voting for McCain went something like this: I read a debate in which I really liked his answers, an online quiz had McCain as one of my top picks, and I found someone else I knew who felt, like me, surprised that they were leaning towards McCain. I figured I wasn't completely crazy and McCain was the one left after I discounted the other candidates. I got to the point where I was liking the things McCain was saying, so I didn't give as much weight to the issues I disagree with him on.
1. I realize that his stance on embryonic stem cell is not something I can endorse if there is another candidate that I agree with. My two big issue this election is government spending / the economy and national security. I also have a requirement that the candidate hold beliefs that will help the pro-life movement and will keep us in Iraq to finish the job. Personally, I believe that embryonic stem cell research is a waste of money and killing embryos for research is the same as killing babies for research. By supporting McCain, I'd be going against my big issue and one of my requirements.
2. McCain's stance on the environment is that we shouldn't drill in ANWR. This will hurt both our national security (dependence on foreign oil) and our economy (having the government spend money on alternative energy). To be fair, Romney also supports spending government money on alternative energy, but he is in favor of drilling in ANWR.
3. McCain's endorsements by Schwarzenegger and Giuliani gives him the support he needs to be a moderate president and push his more moderate agenda as opposed to his conservative positions.
4. The one McCain supporter I personally know is now pretty sure that s/he won't be voting for McCain either.
5. There are some conservatives who, given the choice of McCain or any Democratic candidate would either vote third party or stay home. We need the conservatives to beat whatever Democrat gets the nomination, especially Obama.
6. McCain has basically two choices for VP: Huckabee or Lieberman. I was having trouble feeling completely settled in my choice for McCain. I would have trouble voting for a McCain / Lieberman ticket. Even more conservatives would stay home or vote third party. Huckabee, while liked by social conservatives, is frowned upon by fiscal conservatives. Voting for a McCain / Huckabee ticket would be setting up a future Huckabee presidency. Consequently, we still lose a good chunk of the conservative vote.
7. A vote for anybody other than Romney at this point, gives McCain the nomination. That leaves me with a choice of Romney or McCain.
8. I've mentioned before that I don't trust Romney. I still don't trust him. I think he will do what is politically expedient. The difference is that if he gets the nomination and is elected, it will be because of conservatives. To quote Clear and Present Danger(?), "He wants what every first-term president wants, a second term." Romney will know that he was put in the White House by conservatives and that to get a second term, he will need to keep the support of the conservatives. Otherwise, there will be a number of candidates waiting in the wings to go against him. After four years of "being a conservative", my guess is that he would want to keep his legacy and not go down as "the president that completely duped the Republican party in his second term." As I said, I still don't trust him, but I think his political expediency will be to our favor.
9. I finally took a look at Romney's positions (or looked at them after it had been a while.) Many of the positions I like by McCain are held by Romney. Romney also wants to bring decency back to America (a noble position, though I don't know how much the president can directly do about that). Given #7, it's a good chance that he'll follow these positions as closely as any other politician does.
I still think that McCain will do a decent job if elected president. If he gets the Republican nomination, I see myself voting for him in the general election, unless he starts leaning further left or picks Lieberman as his running mate. That being said, I will be voting for Romney given that I believe he will embrace the conservative platforms, even if only for political expediency.
7 Kasım 2007 Çarşamba
Giuliani Endorsed By Pat Robertson
Pat Robertson has officially endorsed Rudy Giuliani. While this doesn't change my vote (not a huge fan of Pat Robertson), I suspect it will for some. I'm actually surprised that Pat Robertson has endorsed him. On the other hand, Rudy Giuliani could take some heat because of Robertson's past comments.
7 Ekim 2007 Pazar
Alan Keyes is Back!!!
Alan Keyes is back running for President. He has entered the race for the Republican nomination. I guess this signals 2 things to me. One, he doesn't see any of the candidates being able to challenge Giuliani at a debate on abortion or other moral issues. And two, he wants to boost the ratings of his radio show. Alan Keyes is a good representative of the religious conservative cause, but is hardly a credible presidential candidate anymore. He has lost Senate bids in two states by wide margins. (Illinois and Maryland)
Kaydol:
Kayıtlar (Atom)