Who do you think won the GOP debate?

[Laz]

Maybe the governments role should be to pass legislation that the water must be clean, the food safe, air clean, etc.. Then get out of the way and let private industry solve the problem of how to do it and pay for the cost of doing it. Remember the last thing a successful company wants is a bad reputation.

[Tellsoftly]

Um, I hate to break it to you but we have been off of the Gold standard for a long, long time. The economic system laid out during the Bretton Woods agreement has very much mutated and currency doesn't work that way anymore.

That said, you need some sort of body to make certain that everyone is complying. That body needs to be large enough with enough influence to check multiple large and possibly international corporations. It needs to be funded. It needs teeth. Hence necessitating the other portions of government so decried by libertarians. Even when describing the invisible hand, Adam Smith said that the visible hand was emphasized as necessary to check certain abuses that the market alone could not always account for.

It's not that I think Ron Paul would be terrible: I think that in the short term he'd be okay given that there is no way his really radical reforms would ever pass, so maybe a few of his low level policies and reforms might be okay. That said, I agree with maybe only half of the less extreme stuff, so it would be a serious tradeoff for me to consider voting for him.

What I'm really curious about is how the upcoming change in the makeup of congress will go.

[Laz]

No one ever has said no government. The laws are the teeth. The courts, criminal and civil, are the enforcement. There are ways to accomplish this with minimal government. The industies would probably create certification companies that they pay for to do the job. Remember that most of what you are concerned about is also what the companies want. In todays environment of instant worldwide communication bad news is bad for a company.

It will be a bad year for Democrats again.

[Tellsoftly]

I'm in Arkansas. Big oil wants to do frapping. Any chemical spillage of any sort that reaches down into the karst topography will be there for the foreseeable future and then some. Already in some places the water can be lit on fire, I've been shown videos of taps being turned on followed by combustion. The industry in those areas lobbies heavily for free market access and self regulation.

Is that your corporate responsibility at work?

[Laz]

Originally Posted by Tellsoftly

I'm in Arkansas. Big oil wants to do frapping. Any chemical spillage of any sort that reaches down into the karst topography will be there for the foreseeable future and then some. Already in some places the water can be lit on fire, I've been shown videos of taps being turned on followed by combustion. The industry in those areas lobbies heavily for free market access and self regulation.

Is that your corporate responsibility at work?

And in those situations where drilling caused a problem the courts will hold them financially liable. So yes. Please remember that just like the oil companies show what is in their best interests those opposed do the same thing. The water can not be lit on fire. The gas that comes up with the water is lit. I wonder if that ever happened before the drilling occured?

[Tellsoftly]

It was not, no. The drilling was also linked to the minor quakes, which is why they were ordered to stop for now.

And how exactly is even an oil company going to pay for destroying the water supply of an entire region and everywhere that touches it for the next few centuries? Nobody has got that kind of money, even if they are a part of a global oligopoly?

And what if they don't pay and just go elsewhere, how is your small government going to deal with a multinational corporation?

You know, I'm reminded of something: we once had what it seems libertarians and the right keep talking about. It was called the articles of confederation, and it was all about small government. It had glaring problems, and couldn't work even with a simple colonial economy and without all of the political and socioeconomic forces at play today, which is why we now have a federal system and the constitution.

[Munchmasterman]

Originally Posted by Tellsoftly

I'm in Arkansas. Big oil wants to do frapping. Any chemical spillage of any sort that reaches down into the karst topography will be there for the foreseeable future and then some. Already in some places the water can be lit on fire, I've been shown videos of taps being turned on followed by combustion. The industry in those areas lobbies heavily for free market access and self regulation.

Is that your corporate responsibility at work?

The proper term is "fracking".

[Tellsoftly]

Originally Posted by Munchmasterman

The proper term is "fracking".

My bad. Been drinking.

[CPT Savajo]

Ron Paul

[Munchmasterman]

Originally Posted by Tellsoftly

My bad. Been drinking.

I will pass on the chance to call you every negative name in the book, to besmirch your character for a mis-speak, or to speculate what your real reason for using "frapping" was.

Enjoy your beverage. Have one for me.

[waverunner234]

Ron Paul was winner, too bad he has no chance to be elected, he's too honest

[TexasT]

Not much mention of Huntsman, whom I understand has gotten at least double digits in one major poll. I think he has done reasonably well in the debates. Sure looks like a TV show host, anyway.

Thought Perry stumbled on too many questions (it's like he gets brainlock for 5 seconds and has to reboot). Romney did ok, no mistakes. Bachmann is irrelevant at this point. Newt did good (maybe the smartest guy on the stage), and Herman Cain seemed likable. Ron Paul has very, very enthusiastic followers that give very loud applause to anything he says, so its tough to say how well he really did.

[Yssup Rider]

Perry will be irrelevant within 10 days. Every time he opens his mouth, he moves another mile away from the White House.

[cookie man]

Gingrich is smart. Cain is charismatic. Huntstman is rational. Paul is eccentric. Perry is John Wayne with Sybil tendacies. Bachmann is way too conservative with a shrill voice. Romney is the best choice.

The fact that the Republican debates are drawing this much attention with the 2012 elections more than a year away illustrates how badly Americans are looking for direction from our government. Sadly the leadership in Washington has been a dismal failure in a time people needed it the most. Obama has no clue how to get us out of this mess. He was never qualified and set this country back in it's recovery. The sooner he is gone, the sooner America will get on track.

[CuteOldGuy]

Tellsoftly, we haven't paid attention to our Constitution in at least 100 years. It would be nice to get back to it. Don't forget Gary Johnson, he'd be a terrific candidate, and loves and promotes freedom as much or more than Ron Paul.