We tend to separate college life from “the real world,” but who says we collegiettes™ have to stay out of touch? In this blog, Her Campus Skidmore brings national and global news to the campus.
The 2012 Presidential elections may seem ages away, but news outlets are keeping a constant eye on the debates, polls and lives of GOP candidates. Even if you’re a left-leaning type of girl, it can never hurt to brush up on your political repertoire. Next time you’re caught in a pretentious academic conversation about contemporary politics, you’ll know your stuff.
Democratic Candidate
- Barack Obama, President, 43.8% – Need we even say it? For the sake of formalities, President Barack Obama will be running on behalf of the Democratic Party for the 2012 elections for his second term in office. If this was news to you, we recommend you hit those American History textbooks from 4th grade again.
GOP Candidates
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Mitt Romney, Former Governor, 22.0% – Holding the highest percentage of the republican popular vote, Romney formerly held the position of Massachusetts Governor. He also ran for president in 2008, losing the republican nomination to John McCain. Banking on his resume as a former businessman and governor, Romney hopes to boost the economyby cutting government spending and regulation and lowering tax rates for certain groups. Leaning more to the right than in his governor days, conservatives nevertheless remain skeptical mainly due to his neutral stances on gay rights and abortion. Romney is of the Mormon faith.
- Herman Cain, Businessman, 21.3% – Former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza Chain, Cain leans more right than Romney. Backed by the Tea Party, Cain approaches the presidential position with a simple business approach. He supports strong national defense, reduction in government regulations and tougher border security. Taking a non-traditional approach to his political campaign (promoting his book, “This is Herman Cain! My Journey to the White House”) has left voters skeptical of how organized he really is, or how concrete his strategies to turn the economy around are.
- Newt Gingrich, Former House Speaker, 17.6%- Gingrich has possibly best made his name in this election through his “21st Century Contract with America” plan, which would overthrow the new health care law, switch federal judges “who violate the Constitution” for new ones, and lower certain tax rates. The biggest challenges he faces are questions about his several divorces and extramarital affairs from the Clinton scandal era.
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Michele Bachmann, Congresswoman, 4.1% – Though currently low in popularity polls, Bachmann has made a stir with her political campaign. The first woman elected to the U.S. House from Minnesota, Bachmann is against abortion and gay marriage. If elected, she would revoke Obama’s health-care law and revise the tax code among other promises. Though she has possibly the strongest relationship with the Tea Party, this far right-wing approach may also be her biggest challenge in attracting less extreme republicans.
This is by no means a comprehensive list of all the candidates, but it should cover the main topics of conversation. Whip out any of these “fun facts” about our GOP candidates at the next hipster cocktail party you attend, and you’re sure to sound well-read.
What do you think about the candidates? Tell us in the comments!
Sources:
http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/primaries/candidates
http://projects.wsj.com/campaign2012/candidates?mod=wsj_elections_2012_nav