Governor Haley Barbour – 2012 Republican Presidential Candidate
Born and raised in Mississippi, Haley Reeves Barbour has a multitude of political experience starting with his work on Richard Nixon’s election campaign back in 1968. He then worked as a lawyer and lobbyist for many years. Later, Barbour was a political aide in the Reagan White House and worked on the 1988 George Bush presidential campaign. Barbour also served as Chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1993 to 1997 and executed the historic Republican takeover of Congress in 1994. His efforts as party head during this time, spawned credit for some of the political successes of several Republican icons, from Newt Gingrich to George W. Bush. Haley Barbour then ran for Governor of Mississippi in 2003 and won with 53% of the vote, marking it as the largest election voter turnout in Mississippi Gubernatorial history. In 2007, he secured a 2nd term with 58% of the vote.
Upon Barbour’s arrival as Governor, Mississippi carried a $709 million budget deficit from the 2004 fiscal year. Through bipartisan support and without raising any taxes, he implemented a plan to cut the deficit in half and accomplished such mostly by reducing spending on social services such as Medicaid for about 65,000 individuals who already qualified for the federal Medicare program. After Hurricane Katrina hit Mississippi in 2005, he gained the national spotlight by taking an early lead in helping victims recover and rebuild. He and First Lady Marsha Barbour worked with local, state, and national leadership to access multiple assistance resources. He also created an innovative commission to help rebuild Mississippi that awarded him $5.4 billion in federal funding for infrastructure, housing, and other recovery work. In 2006, the state achieved its first balanced budget in many years and by continually reducing spending over the years, projections suggest Mississippi will now see a 2010 year-end balance between $50 and $60 billion.
Under Barbour’s leadership, Mississippi has also seen a 25% increase in per capita personal income, increases in public education funding, significant civil justice tort reform, and prudent management of the state health care program. He is also creating new attention as an abundant energy producing state that can help meet our nation’s future energy needs with liquefied natural gas, bio-fuels, nuclear power, and clean coal and coal to liquid. In May 2010, Governor Haley Barbour signed Senate Bill 3214, restricting the use of federal funds to pay for most abortions under the new federal health care law. It prohibits the public or taxpayers’ funding of abortion in any health exchanges that will be created in 2014 by Obama’s recently signed federal health care law. Barbour strongly identifies as himself as pro-life and worked with conservative Democrats and Republicans to tighten its state’s abortion laws.
Haley Barbour is currently serving his 7th year as Governor of Mississippi and because of his re-election in 2007, he cannot run again in 2011 due to Mississippi’s term limits. Therefore, his visits to and speeches in Iowa and New Hampshire in late 2009 produced speculation that he may serve as a Republican Nominee for the 2012 Presidential Election. Those close to Barbour feel he is inclined to run for President as he notices weakness in other candidates, admires strengths in his own political operation, and discreetly builds a complex political operation easily rivaling those of any other 2012 Republican nominees. Through his own political action committee and other leadership committees, event fundraisers, and various associations, he has quietly accepted over a half of a million dollars in the past 6 months. As the evidence mounts, many GOP politicians also feel Haley Barbour, the current Chairman of the Republican Governor’s Association and prolific money-man has a lot to offer the Republican Party in the 2012 Presidential Election.
Vote in the 2012 Presidential Poll for Barbour Vs Obama in 2012 Election
http://2012obama.com/presidential-polls/haley-barbour-vs-obama-in-2012-presidential-election/
Unscientific Poll (Republicans only please): Nominee for 2012?
I know it’s early, and we’re just getting used to the new President elect, but the party is going to be going one of two directions, and I would like to know what the attitude is.
A.) Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN)
B.) Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK)
C.) Fmr. Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA)
D.) Fmr. Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R-NY)
E.) Fmr. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-GA)
F.) Someone else?
And to Democrats who want to answer: If you really have nothing better to do than skew the results of this unscientific poll, I guess there’s no helping you, so go ahead.
palin 2012 poll
Wow, is the list of potential Republican candidates in 2012 shrinking or what?
I mean, 2012 isn’t for 3 more years, and the Repubes are already running out of candidates…
- Jon Huntsman: Works for Obama now. OUT.
- John McCain: OUT
- Sarah Palin: OUT
- Bobby Jindal: Made a pathetic speech about Obama’s stimulus plan. OUT
- Mike Huckabee: Won’t win outside the Southern states since he’s a moronic conservative. OUT.
- Mitt Romney: He’s Mormon, so he loses 25% of the vote. OUT.
- Michael Steele: Would be playing the race card. OUT.
- Rush Limbaugh: OUT.
- Newt Gingrich: How many times has this guy been married and divorced? OUT.
Lmao, who are the Repubes going to run in 2012? Barney the Dinosaur? He’s better than the rest of the party.
huckabee 2012
In light of all the scandals and infighting, who has the best chance of being the GOP’s nominee in 2012?
Looks like we can cross Mark Sanford and John Ensign off the list.
Seems like political pundits keep mentioning people from the 2008 campaign – Romney, Huckabee, and Palin (heaven forbid) – as the most likely candidates.
Other names that keep coming up include Newt Gingrich (by 2012, 14 years would have passed since he held public office) and Rudy Giuliani (by 2012, 11 years would have passed since he held public office).
Two of the most highly respected Republicans in the US – Senators Richard Lugar and Chuck Grassley – will be way too old to run. Ditto for John McCain.
The GOP leaders in Congress – McConnell and Boehner – come across as being obstructionists who haven’t been able to generate any alternative plans to what Obama proposes.
As for the better known Republican governors… Arnold can’t run since he wasn’t born here, Rick Perry (TX) blew it after the seccesionist remarks earlier this year, Charlie Crist (FL) is too moderate for most Repubs, Bobby Jindhal (LA) is really young and didn’t make a good impression in the Repub’s response to the SotU address, Haley Barbour (MS) is a spitting image of the liberals’ stereotype of Republican politicians – an old white buffoon, and Mitch Daniels (IN) is an Arab-American (a non-starter for evangelicals) whose governing style is very heavy-handed.
Doesn’t look like the GOP has many options for 2012. Are there any rising stars that I am not aware of?
No Obama 2012
Is Obama a shoe-in for 2012?
I think so. Look at the weak competition!
John McCain already lost to Obama and will be too old to run again.
Sarah Palin is the Republican frontrunner. How sad. No one even likes her anymore because she proved herself to be too unintelligent for the position in her interview with Katie Couric. She is also a complete loon, completely off her rockers!
Bobby Jindal is a minority which helps but he would be outwitted by Obama in the debates. To me, Jindal is the GOP’s best hope because of his minority status.
Mitt Romney is the second-best hope that the GOP has because of his style, looks and well-spokenness. He could get a lot of female voters to vote for him. What hurts him more than anything is his newfound pro-life position on abortion, which will scare off moderates and lots of women. The last thing we need is another Christian fundie dictating social policy!
Mike Huckabee has a good personality and has a good sense of humor (major plus there) but this is the 21st Century and no one wants an uber-religious Christian conservative calling the shots in the White House.
Rudy Giuliani hasn’t been active in politics since Bloomberg took over as NYC mayor. Also, 9/11 was a long time ago.
Ron Paul’s positions are way too extreme to win a Republican nomination and it would make no sense for him to run as a meaningless third party candidate, so he’s out of the running.
George P. Bush gets points because he is Mexican and can get that all-important Hispanic vote. He loses points because he shares the same last name as the worst president of all time, George W. Bush.
Jeb Bush lacks the Hispanic support that the younger, half-Hispanic George P. Bush has. He also did a lousy job as Florida’s governor. Incompetence must run in the Bush family.
Michael Steele counterbalances Obama’s blackness, but the black community recognizes that he is nothing more than an Uncle Tom a la Alan Keyes.
Newt Gingrich needs to get it through his head that the 90’s were a long time ago. He was a laughing stock then and he would be an even bigger laughing stock in 2012! Give it up already, your five minutes are up!
Tom Tancredo appeals to the xenophobe Lou Dobbs-watching anti-Mexican faction, not to mainstream Americans. The open-minded Obamanation would crush him.
Rush Limbaugh…I won’t even go there! Everybody hates him now!
The rest of the GOP…old, washed-up, bitter, white men who bankrupted this country with their crooked crony capitalism. Obama will turn this country around and then the Republican Party will be dead…good riddance!
huckabee 2012
Isn’t it hilarious how the Republicans can’t come up with a decent candidate?
Seriously, Newt Gingrich? Mike Huckabee? Mitt Romney? Tim Pawlenty? Is this the best you guys can come up with? Seriously, from the looks of it, we Democrats are pretty much secured for another Obama victory in 2012.
huckabee 2012
So. how are the Republicans going to win in 2012 again?
Let’s look at the potential candidates:
Charlie Crist – Running for Florida Senate now.
Bobby Jindal – Total joke after his horrible speech against Obama’s stimulus plan.
Mitt Romney – He’s Mormon, which means he loses 25% of voters automatically.
Mike Huckabee – Only a moron would vote for this guy who thinks the Constitution needs to be “up to God’s standards.”
Newt Gingrich – LMAO. This guy has been married and divorced how many times?
John McCain – Don’t even need to touch this one.
Jon Huntsman – Works for Obama now.
Sarah Palin – LMAO. She has NO chance at winning. Many believe her nomination is what brought McCain down anyways.
So uh.. who are you guys running in 2012 again? Looks like another landslide for Obama.
Tim Pawlenty – After letting the Minnesota senate race drag on this far (when it is clear Al Franken has won), he can kiss his presidential hopes goodbye. He does not care about Minnesota’s representation, only his party’s image.
LMAO, Jeb Bush? Okay, it’s clear: Republicans have no chance at winning in 2012 now.
Vote Palin
Will Romney get another chance in 2012? Will the Religious right block him again?
“Romney picked as 2012 GOP front-runner”
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Conservative activists on Saturday named former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney the winner of a poll for best 2012 GOP presidential candidate.
The poll marked the third consecutive year Romney came out on top.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal placed second in the annual poll, conducted at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
The choices in the poll were: Florida Gov. Charlie Crist; former House speaker Newt Gingrich; former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani; former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee; Jindal; Texas Rep. Ron Paul; Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin; Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty; Romney; South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, and “Undecided.” There’s also space on the ballot for a write-in candidate.
The results, culled from the party’s most resolute activists, could go a long way in shoring up a presidential hopeful’s conservative resume, as was the case with Romney when he won the straw poll in 2007 for 2008.”
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/28/cpac/index.html
huckabee 2012
Why is that the GOP finds it so easy to not only tolerate but defend hypocrites ?
Think Larry Craig and Mark Foley regarding gay sex. Think President Bush’s willingness to send soldiers to do a job he was unwilling to do. Think of high and mighty Newt Gingrich and his scandals. Offering Clinton’s White House escapades will not suffice; Republicans claim moral purity, Democrats don’t.
Augusta Golf Packages
Why do people give Bill Clinton credit for balancing the budget and leaving the presidency with?
a surplus when the reason we had a balanced budget was the republicans gained control of the house and The contract with America that Newt Gingrich forced Clinton to balance the budget with was the real reason?
MattBreedenNow
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