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By Wellington C. Ramos

I was reading an article in the New York Times recently about how good Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan look when they are campaigning together as a team and how it will increase their chances of winning this presidential election.

Born in Dangriga Town, the cultural capital of Belize, Wellington Ramos has BAs in Political Science and History from Hunter College, NY, and an MA in Urban Studies from Long Island University. He is an Adjunct Professor of Political Science and History

Whoever wrote that article is not telling the truth because Mitt Romney was a conservative Republican who changed to become a moderate Republican in order to run for governor of Massachusetts and win. After he left the governor’s office, he decided to run for president in 2008 and reverted to his old values as a conservative Republican. Now, I do not know who he really is, like many other Americans.

Due to his moderate Republican policies as governor of Massachusetts, the Republican members of the party did not trust him and they gave the nomination to John McCain who lost to President Barack Obama.

Between 2008 and 2012, the Tea Party took over the Republican Party and they aggressively went on a drive to eliminate all the liberal and moderate Republicans out of the Republican Party. They are backed up by the neo-conservative Republicans, who are wealthy and have some extreme ideological, fiscal, social, religious, economic and political views that most Americans are against.

The Tea Party is going to destroy the Republican Party and this is good for the Democratic Party because their party is inclusive. Mitt Romney is now being told by the Tea Party, the neo-conservatives and the conservatives who to be, what to accept, how to speak and how to behave, like a robot so that they can continue to support him. This became very obvious during the campaign for the Republican primary among all the candidates who ran for the party’s nomination.

Mitt Romney is now in a position where he is not trusted and liked by too many people because he changes his position too many times on so many issues. Even if I had liked Mitt Romney, I personally would not have voted for him because it is clear that he does not stand for anything and would do or say anything to get my vote and I am not foolish. This is the reason why many Americans are not motivated to vote for him, including many Republicans.

While I do not agree with his running-mate Paul Ryan, I must say that he believes in what he preaches and has remained consistent and persistent as a conservative Republican over the years. His selection was made due to the demands of the conservative Republicans and the Tea Party members to rally the conservatives and Tea Party members behind Mitt Romney. I do not think it is going to work because when they are not campaigning together they tend to state different positions when it comes to several issues that people care about, like abortion, gun control, Medicare, social security, taxes, the budget, healthcare and immigration.

They were told to campaign together because that way they could be controlled by their campaign advisors on how to avoid making mistakes as a team. Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are also different in their personalities as to how people perceive them as individuals and this is important for acceptance in politics.

Paul Ryan was not a good pick for the Republican Party. In looking at the choices they had in the primary for the nomination, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich articulated their vision and views very effectively and they are both seasoned politicians who know how to convince people that change was worth taking a risk. Santorum is from Pennsylvania, a large Electoral College vote state compared to Wisconsin that Romney needs to win if he wants to be president. Senator Bob Portman from Ohio would have also helped his ticket and possibly given him the chance to win Ohio.

This is a state that no Republican candidate in history has become president without winning. This election is already lost by Mitt Romney and most people are only waiting to go and vote to re-elect President Barack Obama. People are not convinced that he is responsible for the state of our economy alone because of what he inherited when he became our president.

With the Republican Party becoming more exclusionary by getting rid of gays, lesbians, poor, middle class, blacks, Hispanics, liberal Republicans, moderate Republicans and others they are making it easier for the president come November.

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Clyde Duncan:

Although the author may be right, I am concerned about sending this message too soon. After reading this, lazy and complacent voters will likely stay at home, rather than get out to vote. You have got to keep motivating the Democratic voters, like Michael Moore did recently, when he said, "You better get used to saying 'President Romney!'" - Our people need that kind of motivation. Moore understands that!

STEVE_HUGGINS:

Is this how dumb, close-minded, bigoted, biassed, and prejudiced an avowed adjunct/part-time lecturer in Political 'science' and history, is in the dumbed-down, ideologically doctrinaire, one-sided American higher education become? The educated/schooled ignorance, or blatant intellectual dishonesty, is palpably nauseating. No wonder the continued under-performance, decadence, and rot in contemporary education at all levels. And, all this in illogical support of repeatedly discovered corrupt POLITICIANS !

Clyde Duncan:

After reading my comment again, I thought that I should clarify what I meant to say was "Although the author may be right [about the outcome of the US elections], ...