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America Needs Buddy for President in 2012!

 

Who are you going to vote for in 2012?  Here’s how it breaks down…

 

If you’re an Obama supporter, which means you’re going to vote for Obama even though you don’t really want to.  But, you’ll explain that we have to vote for Obama again because the GOP candidates are unbelievably bad.  I mean, Santorum might be interesting, if we were living in the year 1642.  And Mitt Romney would be… or maybe he wouldn’t… but then again I think he is… except that he’s probably not… but then again…  And in terms of Romney’s position on the issues, you’ll have no trouble pointing out that Republicans are in the pocket of Wall Street… and completely insane.

 

So, okay… fair enough, I agree… they’re insane.

 

 

And if you’re a GOP supporter, which means you’re going to vote for Mitt Romney even though you don’t really want to.  But, you’re going to list the numerous and obvious reasons that Obama has been an abject failure in his first term.  You’ll remind me of how he spent a year debating health care while the economy slid off a cliff, only to pass a bill that no one really wanted, and that his economic policies have failed in every way and at every turn.  And you’ll ask, how can I possibly vote for him again, when he’s clearly not capable of leading this country at a time like this.  And all I’ll be able to say in response is “Yeah, it’s true, but the other guys are insane.”

 

So, once again… I agree, he’s been dreadful.

 

SO, FIRST LET’S LOOK AT MITT…

 

Mitt Romney is the epitome of a Wall Street “fat cat.”  He’s running on the traditional GOP platform of cutting taxes, spending, regulation (repeal Dodd Frank and Obamacare) and government programs.  He wants to increase trade (meaning jobs going overseas is a plus), energy production (drill baby drill), human capital and labor flexibility (whatever those last two mean).

 

Mitt’s already got enough money to start his own space program, but to run for President he’ll need zillions, so let’s look at a list of his top 20 contributors, according to the Center for Responsible Politics.

  • Goldman Sachs
  • JPMorgan Chase & Co.
  • Morgan Stanley
  • Credit Suisse Group
  • Citigroup
  • Bank of America
  • Kirkland & Ellis
  • Barclays
  • HIG Capital (Private Equity firm.)
  • PriceWaterhouseCoopers
  • Blackstone Group (Private equity firm)
  • Bain Capital
  • Wells Fargo
  • UBS AG
  • EMC Corp.
  • Citadel Investment Group
  • Elliott Management (A hedge fund.)
  • Bain & Co.
  • Sullivan & Cromwell (Law firm)
  • The Villages (“Florida’s friendliest retirement hometown?”)

The money donated came from the organizations’ PACs, their individual members or employees or owners, and those individuals’ immediate families… but after reading that list, do you have any questions about Mitt?  Right… you don’t.

 

Also, as far as the new “Super PACs” go, well… the top six ALL support GOP candidates.  Restore Our Future ($25 million and change for Mitt Romney), Winning Our Future, Red (just under $12.5 million for Newt Gingrich), White & Blue, Make Us Great Again (Just under $5 million for Rick Santorum), Endorse Liberty (just under $3.5 million for Ron Paul), and Our Destiny PAC (roughly $2.5 million for Huntsman).

 

“Bundlers” are another important source of campaign funds, and the Center for Responsible Politics defines “Bundlers” as being, “people with friends in high places who, after bumping against personal contribution limits, turn to those friends, associates, and, well, anyone who’s willing to give, and deliver the checks to the candidate in one big bundle.”

 

Romney’s list of bundlers, offers no real surprises, except that it’s worth noting that #4 on his list is… Lender Processing Services, better known as LPS, who I believe handle about 80% of the foreclosure market for the banks.

 

NOW, HERE’S PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA…

Now let’s look at Obama’s platform and where his money is coming from.  In the aggregate, he’s raised about twice as much as Romney, roughly $136 million to $62 million, but when Romney gets the nod and becomes the GOP’s candidate, I’m sure he’ll catch up quick.

 

There’s only one Super PAC listed as supporting Obama… “Priorities USA Action“ for $611,766.  Their Website’s main message seems to be that Mitt Romney wanted GM to go bankrupt (as did the Obama administration, and GM did go bankrupt, by the way), that he has made money from companies that have gone bankrupt, and is therefore, if elected president, going to make American businesses go bankrupt, bankrupt, bankrupt, bankrupt… it echoes.  So, don’t vote for Romney the zillionaire because he’s going to drive us into bankruptcy, I suppose is the message?

 

However, in the bundler department, Obama is the king by far with just under $75 million coming in from his “elite” friends… #1 is Jeffrey Katzenberg of DreamWorks SKG, by the way.  The president has 444 VIPs on his list, as compared with the 16 registered lobbyists that have bundled just $2.3 million for the Romney campaign.

 

Below is the list of the Obama campaign’s top contributors, and again, the “money donated came from the organizations’ PACs, their individual members or employees or owners, and those individuals’ immediate families.  Just as I did above, I’ve provided links to the names that I figured you hadn’t heard of and except for one that owns/operates movie theaters they’re all law firms, by the way.

 

 

In terms of the issues, Obama’s campaign Website says he’s “taking aggressive steps to put Americans back to work,” but that, “there’s more work to do.”  He also says that when he “took office he both addressed the immediate economic crisis and laid the foundation for a U.S. economy that can out-innovate and out-build the world.”

 

Obama’s campaign site also claims to have “made the environment a priority,” and that he is “moving us towards energy independence.”  He’s also in favor of equal rights (repealed “Don’t ask, Don’t tell”), thinks his health care bill will stop insurance company abuses, is pro national security (brought troops home), and wants tax cuts for the middle class (yeah, whatever).

 

But, how about this…

 

NEITHER CANDIDATE SO MUCH AS MENTIONS HOUSING OR THE FORECLOSURE CRISIS ANYWHERE ON THEIR CAMPAIGN WEBSITES.  IT’S JUST NOT AN ISSUE FOR EITHER OF THEM.

 

So, as I was saying… and if you go around asking people, even strangers on the street you’ll see this for yourself… if you’re pro-Obama, it’s because… “How can anyone vote for the GOP candidate, they’re insane.”  And it’s true… they are.  And if you’re pro-Mitt… it’s because… “How can you possibly vote for Obama when his first term track record sucks, and he’s not exactly inspiring confidence in next time.”  And, it does and he’s not.

 

You want to know what I decided… they’re BOTH right.

 

As a result, I had pretty much decided to do something I never do ““ stay home on election day, go to the movies on election night, and just try to avoid knowing who won for as long as possible.

 

It’s not as dumb an idea as you might think.  I mean, living in California it’s not like my state’s not going to go red under any circumstances anyway, so at least I’d help keep the popular vote numbers down, which could send a message if enough people in California did the same thing.  It’s not like I’m thinking of not voting as a resident of Florida or Ohio, the states that put the swing into swing state, right?

 

BUT…  EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED…

 

AND NOW I WANT…

BUDDY for PRESIDENT in 2012!

 

“Who’s Buddy?”  That’s how everyone I talk to about this responds, except for two friends of mine who somehow already knew about Buddy Roemer’s candidacy, Marc Dann, Ohio’s former attorney general, and Michael Hudson, author of a great book, The Monster, which is about predatory sub-prime lending.

 

Abigail Field already knew about Buddy too, in fact she’s the one who introduced me to him.  She wasn’t sure about Buddy at the time, and in fact I was pretty sure she was kidding around when she said, “What about Buddy for President?”  I was, however, desperately seeking a port in a storm of lousy options, so I jumped at the chance to find out about Buddy.  Frankly, at that moment, I was willing to glom on even if Buddy turned out to be a dog.

 

 

So, you can imagine how pleasantly surprised when my Google search turned up a Website promoting “Buddy for President,” and Buddy was actually a very serious and eminently qualified candidate for president in 2012… Charles “Buddy” Elson Roemer III.  (Apparently, “the third” makes anyone “Buddy” in the South.)

 

WHY HAS BUDDY BEEN IGNORED BY THE GOP? 

 

I think the answer to this question is clear… because he’s very smart, he knows what the real issues are and he’s willing to talk about them candidly… and when he does he doesn’t play to any base, he says what’s right for America.  He flat out makes sense, but in order to do that he doesn’t always agree with one party or the other… you know… like the rest of us.

 

He was a Democrat for 20+ years, and a Republican for 20+ years.  He tried to run as a Republican in 2012, but the GOP wouldn’t let him.  Buddy Roemer DOESN’T TAKE ANY MONEY FROM PACs, NEVER HAS, and the Republicans certainly didn’t want anyone like that on stage during the debates… so they refused to invite him.

 

He asked to be invited, however, but first the GOP said no because he didn’t have enough money… so, he raised $500,000, but then they GOP said no because he wasn’t high enough in the polls. So, he worked hard and got up higher in the polls… higher than either Rick Santorum or John Huntsman at the time… but still the GOP refused to allow him to join the other 23 candidates on the stage.

 

To those that are part of our established political machine, which we all know is BROKEN BEYOND REPAIR… Buddy must be SCARY.  SO, BUDDY DECIDED TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT AS AN INDEPENDENT.

 

 

We’ve all thought it… we’ve all said it…  we’ve all wanted it.  Well, here’s our INDEPENDENT, THRID PARTY CANDIDATE that understands that both parties are joined at the billfold.  And if there was ever a time where it’s possible to elect such a candidate, this is that time.  If the people whose lives have been torn apart by the foreclosure crisis all get behind Buddy Roemer, he will win.

 

FOR AMERICA’S SAKE, PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO GET TO KNOW BUDDY ROEMER.

The truth is that I can’t even remember being so impressed with a politician, and not because he gives good speeches, but because of the facts on his resume and because of what he believes can be accomplished.  Like all of us he expected Barack Obama to bring change, and he’s deeply disappointed.  So am I.

 

Check out these 5 FACTS I’ve learned about Charles “Buddy” Roemer III.

 

FACT #1: “Buddy” Roemer served 4 terms as a U.S. Congressman (1981-1988).  At the time, he was considered a “Conservative Democrat,” which meant that he voted for what he believed to be right for his constituency, even if that meant breaking ranks with his party.  As a U.S. Congressman, he also must have stood out like a sore thumb because he NEVER accepted special interest money, remaining free from the “special favors” expected of Congressmen by their corporate campaign contributors.

 

FACT#2: Buddy has the education and dedication we need in our president now.  Buddy was born and raised in Louisiana.  He graduated top in his class from high school at age 16 and went straight to Harvard College where graduated with a BS in ECONOMICS and then earned his MBA in FINANCE at Harvard Business School.  After Harvard, he began his political career with state-level campaigns and became a delegate to his state’s  constitutional convention where he helped to author the Louisiana Constitution.


FACT #3: Buddy was Governor of Louisiana, he has the ethics we can trust & the record we need. Buddy’s zeal for reforming government led him to leave Congress to challenge the corrupt incumbent Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards, whose ties to industry had turned Louisiana into one of the most polluted states in the country, with high unemployment and a huge deficit.  Without the help of any PAC money, “The Roemer Revolution” succeeded and Buddy Roemer moved into the Louisiana Governor’s mansion in 1988.

 

During Governor Roemer’s tenure, strict environmental protections were enacted, unemployment was reduced by nearly half, the state’s budget was balanced, education standards were enacted, and sweeping campaign finance reform legislation was passed into law.

 

FACT #4: Buddy KNOWS banks, banking reform and how to avoid foreclosures.  After leaving public office in 1992, Buddy pursued a variety of business ventures, but his most recent was as the founder, CEO, and President of Business First Bank, a community bank approaching $1 billion in assets that focused on small business lending.  Business First Bank took NO BAILOUT MONEY from the Federal Government, and RESTRUCTURED LOANS after the financial crisis of 2008 INSTEAD OF FORECLOSING ON HOMEOWNERS.

 

FACT #5: Buddy Roemer is the ONLY candidate that DOESN’T TAKE PAC OR SUPER PAC MONEY, special interest money or Wall Street money.  The MAX that anyone can contribute to Buddy’s campaign is $100, and he needs one million people to do that…. or TWO MILLION would be even better. And, in terms of experience, he’s the ONLY candidate that’s won four elections to spend 8 years in the U.S. Congress, and to beat an incumbent to become a successful state governor.

 

 

I think the FACTS about BUDDY are CLEAR…

 

BUDDY UNDERSTANDS THAT WE NEED:

  • Bank reform
  • Budget reform
  • Tax reform
  • Healthcare reform
  • Trade reform
  • Immigration reform

He agrees we need all of those things but says they can’t happen until we have campaign reform.

 

If one million people give $70 each, that’s more than any of the GOP candidates has raised.  He needs to get 15% in a national poll to get on the stage during the presidential debates so he can challenge what has become an institutionally corrupt system.  And if he does that, he could win.

 

“If we continue business as usual, and let Goldman Sachs and GE be the major contributors… and let the fat cats buy their candidates… if we just sit back in our armchairs and do not get involved, what do you think will happen?  We’ll be in a lot of trouble, I’ll tell you that.”   Charles “Buddy” Roemer III

 

Please take the time to watch Charles “Buddy” Roemer…

Governor Roemer… on C-Span.

 Mandelman out.

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