Peter Simmons vows to push for balanced budgets, explore the possibility of bringing a charter high school and work to beautify downtown as Bonita Springs’ new District 4 councilman.

Simmons, 44, won the race Tuesday night with 47 percent of the 2,878 voters.

After watching most of the debates and the President’s State of the Union Address, it was time to get my absentee ballot out and make a decision. There were nine names and with the exception of Jon Huntsman, I was happy that five had dropped out. While trying to decide who to pick, I realized that I couldn’t bring myself to pick one over the other. I’m a proud moderate Republican and in November I’ll vote for a candidate who truly represents family values, is trustworthy, and one who understands the frustrations and aspirations of most Americans.

Now that Jon Huntsman has dropped out of the presidential race, there isn’t a chance for a GOP candidate to beat President Barack Obama, unless there is a major scandal or further eroding of the economy.

Many political pundits and newspapers endorsed Huntsman as a moderate who would be the only GOP candidate to mount a serious run against the president. Instead, the just-say-no right-wing agenda will be the mantra of the 2012 election.

Cook Political Report - Early tracking US 2012 senate races indicate that the Republicans have a good chance to get a majority. Currently there are 51 Democrats, 47 Republicans and 2 Independents.

33 Senate seats will up for election, 23 Democrat and 10 Republican.
9 are solidly Republican and 9 are toss up seats.
If the Republicans get 4 or 5 toss up seats then the Senate would become 51 Republican, 49 Democrat/Independent.

The 12 members of Congress on the deficit reduction committee have my deepest admiration and respect. They face probably the greatest challenge they've ever faced or ever will, at least in political life!

By Christine Todd Whitman
Oct 31, 2011
Bloomberg

“You reap what you sow” used to be a widely understood principle. Today, we seem to have lost that understanding as we watch the occupation of Wall Street and cities across the country. For three years, we have been hearing how big business is bad and how the rich are avoiding their fair share of taxes. President Barack Obama has been leading that charge, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that we are now seeing the spread of the class warfare he has helped to kindle.

Governor Whitman on Bloomberg TV speaking about NH Republican Presidential Primary Debate

"Barack Obama has failed America," Mitt Romney said unequivocally at his first New Hampshire town meeting, repeating the signature line of his presidential-campaign announcement speech a day earlier. Unequivocal is not a word that traditionally has been associated with the former Massachusetts governor, but that was then, and the retooled edition of candidate Romney is much improved. He proceeded to lay out the economic case against Obama: 16 million out of work, home values collapsed, higher gas and food prices.

WASHINGTON -- To its practitioners, politics is about power: getting it, keeping it and using it. But for the nation, the basic purpose of politics is to conciliate. If everyone agreed on everything, politics would be unnecessary. So would democracy and elections.

 

A dictator could govern by universally accepted preferences and policies. Without consensus, politics is how we resolve our differences short of resorting to violence. One reason so many Americans are unhappy with politics today is that it has abdicated its central role. It doesn't narrow our differences; it exaggerates them.

New polling that shows independents fleeing President Obama and the Democrats strongly indicates predictions of a Republican tsunami in next week's congressional elections are about to be realized.