# Educate me on the characters of the Republican candidates **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 8, 2011, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-the-characters-of-the-republican-candidates/595604 "2011-09-08T12:06:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-the-characters-of-the-republican-candidates/595604/21 "2011-09-09T19:02:51Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Why? Because you made an assertion. Please note - I said a real cite, not an opinion piece. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-the-characters-of-the-republican-candidates/595604/22 "2011-09-09T19:21:18Z")
Lets make it simple for you. Texas has killed 4 times as many prisoners as any other state. Do you have some belief that they have a fool proof system that guarantees they have not. Statistically it is a sure thing that they have killed more innocent people than any other state. I will not scour the net looking for more examples, because you will set up an impossible feat. I have to convince you, and you are not listening. Nor can you be logical and reasonable. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-the-characters-of-the-republican-candidates/595604/23 "2011-09-10T15:58:12Z")
> **[Rick Perry and the Death Penalty: Executing Innocents](https://www.thedailybeast.com/rick-perry-and-the-death-penalty-executing-innocents)** > > Rick Perry says Texas has never executed an innocent person. David R. Dow on Perry’s overconfidence. Here is an article by an attorney showing the careful steps that Texas took to keep people on death row. In Texas it is a great badge of honor to lead in executions. Texas swagger says commit a crime .like being black and being in trouble, in Texas and frontier justice will eradicate you. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-the-characters-of-the-republican-candidates/595604/24 "2011-09-10T16:04:39Z")
[http://jimhightower.com/node/7527](http://jimhightower.com/node/7527) And Texan Jim Hightower’s take on Perry, a posturing ,lying, fool with too damn much ambition and greed for power . ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-the-characters-of-the-republican-candidates/595604/25 "2011-09-10T17:49:09Z")
Rick Perry has all the qualities of a rattlesnake, but lacks the warmth. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-the-characters-of-the-republican-candidates/595604/26 "2011-09-10T18:11:26Z")
> **[Cameron Todd Willingham](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cameron_Todd_Willingham)** > > Cameron Todd Willingham (January 9, 1968 – February 17, 2004) was an American man who was convicted and executed for the murder of his three young children by arson at the family home in Corsicana, Texas, on December 23, 1991. Since Willingham's 2004 execution, significant controversy has arisen over the legitimacy of the guilty verdict and the interpretation of the evidence that was used to convict him of arson and murder. > Willingham's case and the investigative techniques were criticized by ... Put to death for starting a fire that killed his daughters. After his execution, a review indicated that arson was unlikely as a cause of the fire. > [@](#): > > In June 2009 the State of Texas ordered an unprecedented re-examination of the case.[citation needed] In August 2009, eighteen years after the fire and five years after Willingham’s execution, a report conducted by Dr. Craig Beyler, hired by the Texas Forensic Science Commission to review the case, found that “a finding of arson could not be sustained”. Beyler said that key testimony from a fire marshal at Willingham’s trial was “hardly consistent with a scientific mind-set and is more characteristic of mystics or psychics”.[1][2] Satisfied, Shodan? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-the-characters-of-the-republican-candidates/595604/27 "2011-09-10T18:16:50Z")
Left out this part: > [@](#): > > …The Texas Forensic Science Commission was scheduled to discuss the report by Beyler at a meeting on October 2, 2009, but two days before the meeting Texas Governor Rick Perry replaced the chair of the commission and two other members. The new chair canceled the meeting—sparking accusations that Perry was interfering with the investigation[3] and using it for his own political advantage… ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-the-characters-of-the-republican-candidates/595604/28 "2011-09-11T03:28:05Z")
In a way, it does not matter which Repub would be worse. The ones in the front work for the rich and powerful. They have no qualms about saying the rich need tax cuts we must squeeze the poor and middle class more. They would be a disaster. Killing social programs, welfare and ending unemployment would cause horrible suffering. They would give corporations, who are killing jobs every day, more tax cuts and permit them to offshore everything they want. There would be no resistance. They have shown that even with a minority they will not permit the Dems to enact any programs. With the presidency and the house and senate, we could never recover. The rich would stomp the Dems into a hole for years. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-the-characters-of-the-republican-candidates/595604/29 "2011-09-11T23:30:30Z")
The question in the OP is silly. True, the media spends a lot of time on the character issue _and they generally get the story wrong_. GWBush was billed as a “Uniter, not a divider.” False: he was an ideologue. Clinton allegedly had weak character yet he was strong enough to propose budgets with falling deficits to Congress, during times of economic expansion. If you want to evaluate a candidate’s character, weigh the honesty of his policy proposals. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-the-characters-of-the-republican-candidates/595604/30 "2011-09-12T03:23:19Z")
> **[Giuliani and Kerik's Double-Mistresses: Lategano, Nathan, Regan, Pinero...](https://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2252699)** > > Giuliani and Kerik's Double-Mistresses: Lategano, Nathan, Regan, Pinero (PHOTOS) - Here is the story on Giuliani and his pal, Kerik. My brother was a New Yorker and told me their trysts were well known. This may be why Giuliani stays on the outside. Even after the over the top 911 coverage, he could not ride that train to the top. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-the-characters-of-the-republican-candidates/595604/31 "2011-09-12T04:46:07Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > The question in the OP is silly. True, the media spends a lot of time on the character issue _and they generally get the story wrong_. I wouldn’t know: being in Britain, we don’t get much if any of that stuff. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-the-characters-of-the-republican-candidates/595604/32 "2011-09-12T09:24:55Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > With the presidency and the house and senate, we could never recover. The rich would stomp the Dems into a hole for years. :Pats gonzo’s head: There, there. Once they formally disenfranchise enough of the Democratic Party’s base, there’s an opening for a faction that moves through armed revolution. Like Khrushchev said, the communists will outlive the liberals. It is through the armed struggle, not Blue Dog compromise, that economic equality will be obtained. Let them come, I say. Let them kick America so hard America finally notices, & fights back. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-the-characters-of-the-republican-candidates/595604/33 "2011-09-12T10:12:47Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > Let them come, I say. Let them kick America so hard America finally notices, & fights back. That’s assuming America survives the kick, of course. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-the-characters-of-the-republican-candidates/595604/34 "2011-09-12T16:37:28Z")
Check the economy. Look at the unemployment. Watch the foreclosures. America already has been kicked in the nads by the rich. They are buying jackboots to give us the biggest kick of all time by putting another right winger in the white house. They want to render us nadless ,so we will fight each other instead of going after the perpetrators. Bank of America is giving out huge bonuses and making zillions of dollars. They have also announced 30,000 layoffs. Do the Repubs think we should give them a few billion more dollars. Are they dumb enough to think that would save the jobs? It makes no sense at all. We saved them and they are not grateful. They are a selfish and arrogant as ever. Except now they are buoyed because they can get away with anything. There has been a back story saying Obama is intending to prosecute some bankers. Now would be good. Put the rating agencies on notice too. They lied and cheated to make money and were a huge factor in the crash. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-the-characters-of-the-republican-candidates/595604/35 "2011-09-12T18:59:40Z")
Well, whining about Presidential races gets you nowhere. You need social democrats, or “progressives” or whatever, in the legislatures, state and federal. I’m not sure whether I personally would run as a Democrat, a Green, a Communist (because the previous two are weak tea), or a populist independent, but I will support someone who does run and is more economically egalitarian/leftish. Remember, it’s Congress that passes laws. Obama’s biggest problem is that he isn’t building a party around him. The Presidency by itself is not that strong. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-the-characters-of-the-republican-candidates/595604/36 "2011-09-12T19:39:46Z")
Michele Bachmann is beyond insane. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ogf16KDoHks) Says all that really needs to be said; the sound bites near the middle of this really should be enough to invalidate her completely. She’s a conservative christian lunatic closer to Fred Phelps than Jesus Christ, denies climate change (likely to become _the_ most important issue in the coming 10 years), and thinks that women should be subservient to their husbands, as the bible says. Rick Perry is another one of the bible-thumping lunatic crowd. He incorrectly claimed that Texas taught both evolution and creationism (which makes me wonder if he has any clue about the state of education in his state), and has been attacking the scientific research on climate change not with facts, but by slandering the scientists involved, while pocketing the checks from the oil companies. He’s a bible belt religious nut through and through, and appears to be Bush Lite, although some would contend otherwise… A little article on him: [http://www.nowpublic.com/world/rick-perry-book](http://www.nowpublic.com/world/rick-perry-book) Also, it’s worth noting that he wishes to amend the constitution in 7 very harmful ways, weakening the courts, banning abortion and gay marriage (IN THE FUCKING CONSTITUTION NO LESS!), removing the 16th amendment, etc… [Seven ways Rick Perry wants to change the Constitution](http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/seven-ways-rick-perry-wants-change-constitution-131634517.html) They’re all fucking stupid. Santorum… > **[Home - Spreading Daily News](https://spreadingsantorum.com/)** > > June 30, 2019 Do I _really_ have to say more? ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-the-characters-of-the-republican-candidates/595604/37 "2011-09-14T05:42:41Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > [Cameron Todd Willingham - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cameron_Todd_Willingham) > Put to death for starting a fire that killed his daughters. After his execution, a review indicated that arson was unlikely as a cause of the fire.Satisfied, Shodan? Gonzo’s New Yorker link is an in depth investigation, not an opinion piece: it goes on for 17 internet pages. Basically Willingham was sent to death because of junk science. Dr. Gerald Hurst, an actual scientist and fire expert (PhD in Chemistry) reviewed the case files before Willingham’s death and was appalled: > [@](#): > > Hurst was also struck by Vasquez’s claim that the Willingham blaze had “burned fast and hot” because of a liquid accelerant. The notion that a flammable or combustible liquid caused flames to reach higher temperatures had been repeated in court by arson sleuths for decades. Yet the theory was nonsense: experiments have proved that wood and gasoline-fuelled fires burn at essentially the same temperature. > > Vasquez and Fogg had cited as proof of arson the fact that the front door’s aluminum threshold had melted. “The only thing that can cause that to react is an accelerant,” Vasquez said. Hurst was incredulous. A natural-wood fire can reach temperatures as high as two thousand degrees Fahrenheit—far hotter than the melting point for aluminum alloys, which ranges from a thousand to twelve hundred degrees. And, like many other investigators, Vasquez and Fogg mistakenly assumed that wood charring beneath the aluminum threshold was evidence that, as Vasquez put it, “a liquid accelerant flowed underneath and burned.” Hurst had conducted myriad experiments showing that such charring was caused simply by the aluminum conducting so much heat. In fact, when liquid accelerant is poured under a threshold a fire will extinguish, because of a lack of oxygen. (Other scientists had reached the same conclusion.) “Liquid accelerants can no more burn under an aluminum threshold than can grease burn in a skillet even with a loose-fitting lid,” Hurst declared in his report on the Willingham case. > > Read more [Trial by Fire | The New Yorker](http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/09/07/090907fa_fact_grann#ixzz1XtzAWtjN) Quacks have experience. Scientists rely on experimentation. Hurst got involved in the case in January 2004. Willingham was executed on February 17, 2004. Barry Scheck of the Innocence Project maintains: “The only reasonable conclusion is that the governor’s office and the Board of Pardons and Paroles ignored scientific evidence.” Hey we all make mistakes. But it is a mark of mendacity to plot a cover up and squash a subsequent investigation. I conclude that Perry has a bright political career in front of him-- modern conservatives are suckers for cowards with Texas accents. I don’t think he’ll be the next President though. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-the-characters-of-the-republican-candidates/595604/38 "2011-09-14T13:02:58Z")
The trouble is, Republican voters don’t give a flying fuck in a rolling donut hole whether or not Perry executed an innocent man. He’s got the numbers, baby! He’s killed more prisoners than any other governor! He cares about crime! So what if we take out a few innocents? The fact that he doesn’t care whether or not the condemned were actually guilty is a plus, as far as they’re concerned. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-the-characters-of-the-republican-candidates/595604.md?page=1)