S456 ARCHIVES: The 2012 Presidential Election - An Overview

~~ the following is a piece I did for the 2012-13 year of "The Ram Pride," Ringgold High School's school newspaper ~~

The 2012 presidential election is quickly approaching, and the question on everybody’s mind is simple: Who should we vote for? Should President Barrack Obama be reelected, should the Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney get the job, or should we throw our votes at someone else like Gary Johnson, Ron Paul or Rocky Anderson? Let’s take a closer look at these gentlemen.

***

Barrack Obama is the current president of the United States. Barack Obama is our first president to officially back Gay Marriage. On abortion, he is adamant in securing a woman’s right to choose with his pro-choice position. Obama’s health care plan is very controversial, especially with the insurance mandate which came along with the Affordable Care Act. On taxes, Obama believes in the rich paying more than they currently do and the middle class paying less, respectively. Obama had Osama Bin Laden killed and brought the troops home from Iraq, which is a part of his fight against Al Qaeda. The national debt has increased by approximately five trillion dollars since Obama took office. His VP choice – and current Vice President, of course – is Joe Biden.

Official Website: http://www.barackobama.com/

***

Mitt Romney is the official Republican nominee running against Obama. Mitt Romney believes strongly in “traditional marriage.” On a federal level, Romney wants Gay Marriage to be outlawed. On abortion, he believes in overturning Roe v. Wade and making abortion a state’s rights issues. He is personally pro-life and is against any federal funding towards abortion. When it comes to health care, Mitt wants Obama’s health care smacked down on a federal level in exchange for policies that, as his official website reads, “give each state the power to craft a health care reform plan that is best for its own citizens.” He wants the federal government’s only roll in health care to be helping to secure a “level playing field for competition,” his website also reads. Romney wants more money going to National Defense. Mitt believes in tax rates much more similar across the board than what Obama wants. He is running with his VP pick Paul Ryan.

Offical Website: http://www.mittromney.com/

***

When it comes to third-parties, Gary Johnson is probably the most well-known. Gary Johnson is a Libertarian with the basic belief structure built around limited government and liberty. He believes in non-interventionalism, meaning he only thinks that military actions should be taken when absolutely necessary. When it comes to the economy, he wants spending to be cute and taxes to be cut. He thinks that removing Obama’s proposed insurance mandate and focusing on competition is the solution to America’s health care problem. He is in favor of ending America’s strong efforts to incriminate drug users and wants marijuana prohibition to cease. He is very similar to Congressman Ron Paul, who is more popular but has ended his campaign.

Official Website: http://www.garyjohnson2012.com/front

***

Though not as popular as Gary Johnson, at least from my observations, Rocky Anderson is another third party gaining traction. On health care, Rocky takes a more far-left approach to health care, standing for the single-payer approach that Canada takes, or at least something similar. Rocky Anderson wants Minimum Wage to be raised to “no less than $10.00 an hour,” as to help fight disparity amongst the economic branches. Anderson wants America to end its financial and diplomatic support for Israel. Anderson is against the death penalty and thinks that life sentences bereft of parole may be a better option. Rocky is firmly against Guantanamo Bay, wanting it shut down, and for fair trials for terrorists to fill the void. He is a part of the Justice Party.

Official Website: http://www.voterocky.org/

***

I asked around and students of Ringgold High School certainly have things to say. I do not have enough data to give an approximation of where Ringgold stands as a whole, but I can give you some individuals’ opinions.

Students like Sam Allman (11^th) and Jonathan Layton (11^th) support Barrack Obama. Liz Gearhart (12^th) and Aaron Turkovich (11^th) are willing to throw their hats in the ring with Mitt Romney, even though only the former is of age to actually vote. Nate Petrosky (11^th) supports Gary Johnson, while Alex Ferguson (10^th) sticks with his support for Ron Paul. Yet still, students like Eric Rosenburg (10^th) don’t particularly care, and students like Alex Stumpf (11^th) don’t really like anyone.

As for me? Well, before I wrote this I half-heartedly was rooting for Obama, but after writing this, I have to say, I’m quite smitten by Rocky Anderson.