March 20 marks a critical moment in the race for the presidency. Illinois citizens will have the opportunity to have their say in the state’s much-discussed Republican Primary, which selects the candidate Illinois Republicans support to face off with current president Barack Obama. Illinois as a state is particularly significant in the Republican Primary since it has a staggering 69 delegates, ranking it in influence with bigger states such as New York (95), Texas (155) and California (172).
After the events of Super Tuesday, in which a total of 10 states held primaries caucuses, Mitt Romney has been keeping a strong lead over his fellow candidates with a total of 415 delegates. Rick Santorum follows at a distance with 176 delegates. Not far behind Santorum, Newt Gingrich holds 105 delegates, and at the back of the pack, Ron Paul has gathered up 47 delegates. Despite these outcomes, upsets have occurred in the race before and it is vital to never get too comfortable in the presidential race. None of the candidates aim to drop out of the race, so it will definitely be a battle to the very end.
Steve Skora, a freshman in political science, said that as a student, being informed about politics is always critical: this includes knowing the presidential race and its potential candidates.
“The political process is going to continue whether college students are informed about it or not,” he said. “If they become informed then they will be able to have a say in the outcome and know what to expect in the world regarding important issues.”
The first step to knowing your candidates includes understanding what each individual stands for and where they are coming from.
The current pack leader, Mitt Romney, hails from Detroit, Michigan. From 2003 to 2007 he served as governor of Massachusetts and made significant changes to improve its economy. Romney has a heavy business background with a dual degree from Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School. He has also founded investment firms, such as Bain Capital.
His campaign focuses on a “smaller, smarter, simpler government,” according to his campaign website. Some of his key goals include lowering the 35% corporate tax to 25% to improve wages, forming programs to retrain workers, opening new trade markets with countries that support free enterprise, and overall striving for a better economy.
Other news sources like the Guardian, however, are quick to point out that Romney’s economic background as the “richest man ever to seek the nation’s highest office” does not paint him well in the eyes of lower and middle class voters. A majority of the Republican Party has also been slow to get on the bandwagon, as they do not see him as truly conservative. These contradictions, paired with his speculative smear campaigns of his fellow candidates, leave the public to wonder if he can be trusted to run the country with his lack of insight of the average American.
Next in line comes Rick Santorum, a self-proclaimed family man and former senator of Pennsylvania who markets himself as the most conservative of the pack. Santorum’s background presents him as a man who wants the truth. He helped to expose scandals in Congressional Banking as well as the Congressional Post Office. He supports oil and gasoline research along with cutting spending and removing restrictions on firearm purchase regulations. Overall, he seems pretty gungho on helping the little man.
Unfortunately, these ideas do not carry well into his interviews and press releases. On numerous occasions, he takes shots at the Obama Administration’s approach to immigration and defends his own stance against pornography.
A quote from his campaign website states, “While the Obama Department of Justice seems to favor pornographers over children and families, that will change under a Santorum Administration.”
No one can say that Santorum does not speak his mind on many issues. He points out that he does not enjoy using a teleprompter like his competitors, like Romney. A good deal of his current strategy seems to be riding on the Anti-Romney vote, which he controls indefinitely. Several of his views are very conservative, such as his vehemently anti-gay marriage stance and scoffing at Obama’s statement that everyone should go to college. Still, he does stay true to his statements and this appears to be winning him votes.
Trailing behind Santorum is Newt Gingrich. Sporting a lengthy educational and political career even before the current race, Gingrich is not what one would call unknown in the political world. He served in Congress from 1978 to 1998 with the last four years as Speaker of the House. Unfortunately, his name is besmirched due to ethical wrongdoings during his time as Speaker and the subsequent $300,000 penalty he paid.
Due to these past events, Gingrich has been running with a good amount of stigma toward his campaign. While his plans for rewarding higher education, telling the truth to the people, and spreading American ideals are all fine and good, his past affairs (both in marriage and politics) leave the public to wonder if he can be trusted running a country. Although he plans to cut taxes and spending, he also explicitly stated his plans for a lunar colony by the year 2020.
When the economy is apparently in such a bad place, the idea of spending millions of dollars on a lunar colony seems centuries away. Gingrich does not believe that. Despite the idea being interesting and a respectable concept, one has to wonder where the money would come from.
With his past mistakes and current statements, voters have not been taking a liking to Gingrich. Recently, his campaign focused on winning his home state, Georgia, a feat he achieved. Despite this, the future does not look bright for Newt.
At the bottom of the list is the veteran of the presidential circuit, Ron Paul, current U.S. representative of Texas. This presidential race is Paul’s third and once again, it does not look to be going well. Regardless of his pro-life and pro-family views, Paul has been known to fight against the grain of politics. While independence is usually seen as a positive, Paul tends to take it too far.
Paul campaigns for a smaller federal government and a return to conservative principles. Like his fellow candidates, he also plans to repeal ObamaCare, but Paul personally plans to create a better doctor and patient relationship. With his history as a gynecologist and 4,000 babies delivered to boot, Paul is a firm believer in keeping the old ideals alive.
Still, with this being his third attempt, voters are not taking kindly to Ron Paul as he sits in dead last of the primary. Currently, Paul has lost momentum and is falling at an increasing pace in the polls. This race looks to be Paul’s last unless he has one more in him.
These four men continue to battle for the right to face Obama in the upcoming election for president of the United States. As it stands, the race looks to be a duel with Romney and Santorum as Gingrich and Paul watch from the sidelines. Republican or Democrat, being informed about politics is vital for any college student.
“College students need to know what is at risk here and what they’re going to have to deal with once they graduate,” Skora said when asked why his peers should be ready for the Republican Primary.
“They need to vote.”
Sources:
http://www.2012presidentialelectionnews.com/2012-republican-primary-schedule/
http://www.mittromney.com/
http://www.newt.org/home/
http://www.ronpaul2012.com/
http://www.ricksantorum.com/
http://2012.republican-candidates.org/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/mar/02/mitt-romney-negatives-adding-up?newsfeed=true
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/post/rick-santorum-its-the-authenticity-stupid/2012/02/22/gIQAto8XTR_blog.html