Libertarian Leanings endorses Ted Cruz in the upcoming New Hampshire Republican Presidential Primary. But before we get into the reasons for our endorsement, let's talk about the candidates that Libertarian Leanings does not endorse. At the top of that list is Hillary Clinton.
In the view of Libertarian Leanings Hillary Clinton has demonstrated nothing that qualifies her to be president. Her record in the public eye is highlighted by several major events. First on the list is her attempt to pass the comprehensive health care overhaul known as HillaryCare. By virtue of her position as First Lady she was given the lead role. She conducted high level meetings to shape the proposed legislation and organized town hall meetings throughout the nation to sell it to the American people. But nationalized health care was as unpopular with Americans then, as ObamaCare is now. On the bright side, as a result of Hillary's push for socialized medicine, 1994 saw Republicans winning majorities in both houses of congress for the first time in 40 years. Bottom line: In her first high visibility project at a national level Hillary failed.
The next major event we would like to raise was Hillary's "3:00AM phone call," which for her came on the afternoon of September 11, 2012. At the time, Hillary was Secretary of State. The consulate in Benghazi, Libya was under attack by Islamic terrorists, and as we all know, Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed. Hillary made no effort to initiate a rescue operation during the attack, but that isn't the worst of it. Ambassador Stevens had made several requests for additional security at the consulate in the weeks leading up to the terrorist attacks. All of the Ambassador's requests were denied. In the aftermath of the attacks, which went on for over seven hours, her State Department and the White House concocted the unbelievable explanation that the terrorist attacks were actually an out of control protest by enraged Muslims over an obscure internet video that was insulting to the Prophet Mohammed. She failed to insure that there was adequate security at the consulate, even though she was asked to provide it. She failed to initiate a rescue while attacks were under way. She failed to provide any credible explanation for her inaction.
And then, there is the issue of her unsecured email server. Her obvious purpose in setting up the unauthorized email server was to provide her with complete control over her official communications, specifically to provide her with the ability to prevent the release of any information that might cast her in an unfavorable light. As we all know, the FBI is conducting an investigation into classified information that was put at risk when it passed through her unsecured email server. Recent news reports say that the FBI is on the verge of recommending that Hillary be prosecuted for violating national security laws, and that a refusal by the Obama administration's politicized Justice Department could trigger a mass of high level FBI resignations in protest. By attempting to hide her communications from the public, Hillary failed to abide by the laws that govern the handling of classified information, and she failed to protect classified information. In spite of her penchant for secrecy, she even failed to keep a large part of her communications from being made public.
Finally, there is the Clinton Foundation which looks more than anything like vehicle by which Hillary may accept bribes disguised as charitable contributions. The Foundation accepted millions in donations, even from foreign governments, while Hillary was Secretary of State. According to news reports the FBI has expanded its investigation of Hillary's private emails to include a look into possible violations of public corruption laws where Clinton Foundation donations may have influenced the awarding of State Department contracts.
Throughout her entire public life, Hillary Clinton has told lies of convenience that ultimately come back to haunt her. Hillary Clinton has neither the talent nor the integrity to be President of the United States. In fact it is long past time that jury decide whether or not Hillary Clinton belongs in prison. She most certainly does not belong in the White House.
Libertarian Leanings does not mean to imply that her opponent in the Democratic primary, Bernie Sanders, would be an acceptable alternative to Hillary Clinton. Sanders' success as a socialist candidate is testament to the abject failure of our system of higher education to educate students in the realities of socialism. It has never worked anywhere, at any time. The most recent demonstration of this is in the socialist paradise of Venezuela which has the highest inflation rate in the world. Nearly 300 percent in 2015, it may reach 720 percent in 2016. This according to the International Monetary Fund. Shortages of food, medicines, and capital goods exceed 80 percent, while Venezuela endures record levels of violence. This is socialism in action.
Incapable of holding a job in the private sector, Bernie Sanders is completely unsuitable to be President of the United States. There is no Democrat currently running for president, or who might jump into the race if Hillary is indicted, who wins an endorsement from Libertarian Leanings.
The crucial issue of this presidential election is the state of our federal government, agencies of which have gone beyond mere politicization, and have ventured into the realm of criminality. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is a most blatant case in point with its improper targeting of conservatives for tax scrutiny in the 2012 elections. Recall that IRS official Lois Lerner took the fifth rather than testify to congress about the scandal. The IRS also leaked confidential taxpayer information to a liberal organization, and most recently, the agency deliberately erased a computer hard drive in defiance of a court order to preserve records. It is an agency out of control.
The situation at the IRS exemplifies the plight of the American voters. They have no power to stop the slide as federal abuse drifts towards federal criminality. Voting the Democrat bums out over three election cycles and replacing them with Republicans did nothing to alleviate the situation. Republican committees investigating bureaucratic abuses postured in the face of stonewalling by the abusers. Meanwhile, contempt citations that were ignored by the Obama Justice Department, and through it all Republican lawmakers sat on the sidelines on the excuse that Obama would only veto whatever legislation they passed. So they did nothing. The rise of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump are manifestations of our current voter dissatisfaction with establishment candidates of either party.
Candidates on the Republican side who might be characterized as establishment include John Kasich, Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, and Marco Rubio. None of them have a credible plan for curbing federal abuse, aside from the usual Republican rhetoric about cutting down the size of government. In the view of Libertarian Leanings, the election of any of these candidates would provide only a temporary respite from progressive onslaught that seeks a totalitarian America, characterized by limits on freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the right to keep and bear arms. That said, temporary is better than nothing. Each of these four is preferable to either of the Democrats currently running.
Of the outsider candidates, Libertarian Leanings would be happy to endorse Carly Fiorina or Ben Carson, but neither seems to have a realistic shot at winning New Hampshire, much less the presidency. Perhaps that's the sad result of our current media reporting that is so driven by opinion polls. But both candidates seem to understand the challenges that we face, and both offer tax plans that would promote economic growth. Carly Fiorina's rise in the corporate world argues that she has the necessary talent, toughness, and integrity. Ben Carson has, in all likelihood, made more life and death decisions under intense pressure than all of the other candidates combined. We have no doubt that he would bear up well under the pressures of the presidency. In the view of Libertarian Leanings, both Fiorina and Carson are well qualified to be President of the United States.
While we applaud Donald Trump's ability and willingness to fight the forces of political correctitude, we hesitate to predict how he would perform as president. If he is elected Trump might turn out to be one of the great presidents, but he might also turn out to be an opportunist. Should he win the nomination, he will win our vote and support on election day, but he does not win our endorsement at this time.
As we said at the outset, Ted Cruz wins the Libertarian Leanings endorsement in the upcoming New Hampshire Republican Presidential Primary. This in spite of the fact that Libertarian Leanings is not thrilled with some of Cruz's position on social issues. For example, Libertarian Leanings supports gay marriage. However, we don't believe that liberties will be abridged in a Cruz presidency, and social issues are not the most important ones that we face. Defending the nation from Islamic terrorism, curtailing illegal immigration, getting control of our borders, and taking on the federal bureaucracy are in our view more important. The future of our country is at stake. Senator Cruz has the courage, perseverance, and integrity that we need in a president. He is the boldest of the front running conservative candidates, and it is this that wins him our endorsement.
This was demonstrated when Senator Cruz campaigned in the Iowa Caucuses in favor of phasing out the the federal ethanol mandate. The mandate requires fuel refiners to blend ethanol into their gasoline, which is of particular benefit to Iowa farmers. All of the other candidates campaigning in the Iowa Caucuses lined up with their promises to extend ethanol mandate. Ted Cruz was the lone exception, the only candidate to favor phasing it out. His victory in the Iowa Caucuses demonstrated that voters can be trusted to support a candidate, like Cruz, who has the courage and faith to take a principled stand against federal largess. We need more candidates who are willing to take this kind of electoral risk.
To the issue of reining in our out of control federal bureaucracy, Senator Cruz proposes the elimination of five federal agencies: the IRS, the Department of Education, the Department of Energy, the Department of Commerce, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. When elected Ted Cruz will require his newly appointed heads of those five agencies to wind them down, determining whether any their programs need to be preserved.
Elimination of the IRS as we know it would not be possible without the tax plan like the one proposed by Senator Cruz. Cruz's tax plan imposes a single 16 percent rate on businesses and a 10 percent rate on individual taxpayers for all income including wages and investment. For individuals Senator Cruz's plan eliminates all deductions except for charitable giving and home mortgage interest on principals up to $500,000. Ted Cruz's tax plan would promote economic growth and jobs, and by providing greater opportunity at all levels of income it would help to restore the path of American upward mobility that has been destroyed by the Obama administration's policies of economic stagnation.
In conclusion, Ted Cruz is our best chance at closing down the influence peddling marketplace that Washington has become, and restoring power to the American voter. Libertarian Leanings is pleased to endorse him in the New Hampshire Republican Presidential Primary.
