While it seems like there is little talk about Democratic candidates for the 2012 presidential election in the United States, there is an outpouring of potential and declared candidates for the Republican primary. The following is an overview of each candidate’s policies, status and a prediction on their success.

Name: Michelle Bachmann
Status: Declared candidacy
Background: U.S. Representative of Minnesota’s sixth Congressional district, first woman representative to Minnesota in Congress. She is a supporter of the Tea Party movement,
She has accused Tim Pawlenty of being a Marxist and increasingly called Obama out over a variety of issues. Bachmann positions herself, however extreme her views, as a bipartisan who works with both Republicans and Democrats to make Congress better.
Platform: Unannounced. However, Bachmann does oppose minimum wage increases, any sort of taxes, health care, welfare assistance, same-sex marriage, and abortion (although thinks it should be allowed in cases of rape and incest). She supports increases in domestic oil production, nuclear power, free-market health care insurance, state-developed education curriculums, cutting wasteful spending, and disclosing committed government spending.
Prediction: Survives until the end of voting, 60% chance she receives the nomination.

Name: Herman Cain
Status: Declared candidacy
Background: Cain has worked in all levels of various restaurants, turning many of them around at the brink of bankruptcy. He touts himself as a family man from humble beginnings.
Platform: Plans include reining in public spending, securing borders against illegal immigrants, alternative energies, ‘meaningful’ tax reform, repeal universal healthcare, remove medicare and social security, remove excessive regulations, and decentralize control of education.
Prediction: Drops out after voting starts, endorses Sarah Palin.

Name: Newt Gingrich
Status: Declared candidacy
Background: Former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Gingrich is a disciple of Ronald Reagan, quoting him often and adhering to his economic theories. He has been in the news with the revelation that he once had a million dollar line of credit at Tiffany’s and Co. As well, basically his entire campaign team has quit over financial worries that the campaign will end in arrears.
Platform: Stop tax increases, strengthen the dollar, remove bureaucratic red tape, control spending, repeal ‘Obamacare’, fundamental reform of entitlement programs, nominate conservative judges, combat judicial activism, protect religious expression in public, diversify health care insurance, create a High Risk Pool of insurance for those already too sick to afford health insurance, reform the Food and Drug Administration, replace the Environmental Protection Agency with an Environmental Solutions Agency, end ban on oil shale development, differentiate between radical Islam and the majority of Muslims, and secure American borders. He is also opposed to euthanasia and abortion.
Prediction: Drops out before voting starts, endorses Gary Johnson.

Name: Gary Johnson
Status: Declared candidacy
Background: Former Governor of New Mexico, one of the most fiscally conservative governors in the last twenty years. He is an expressed libertarian and often used his veto power to block legislation that increased spending.
Platform: Johnson is committed to bringing the troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan, using ‘soft power’ to influence the world, internet freedom, ending stimulus programs, ending excessive spending and earmarks, reforms to Medicare and Social Security, auditing the Federal Reserve, cutting taxes, removing the government from the economy, local control of education, ending the Department of Education, simplifying legal immigration procedures, legalization marijuana, making government neutral on personal beliefs, and allowing the Patriot Act to expire.
Prediction: Concedes during voting, gains 15% of the vote. Johnson is my personal choice.

Name: Fred Karger
Status: Declared candidacy
Background: The first openly gay presidential candidate in U.S. history, Karger has worked on nine presidential campaigns. He is a gay rights activist, including running his own organization Rights Equal Rights.
Platform: Topics include keeping jobs in America, transformation and revitalization of public education, create a plan for granting citizenship to illegal immigrants, end dependence on foreign oil, gay rights, lower the voting age to 16 or 17, entrench pro-choice values, and legalize and tax marijuana.
Prediction: Drops out of the race before voting starts, endorses Gary Johnson.

Name: Andy Martin
Status: Declared candidacy
Background: Graduated from Law at University of Illinois, he has run 16 times unsuccessfully for public office at varying levels. He has a history of filing ‘vexatious’ and frivolous lawsuits, many of which have been anti-Semitic in nature. He was likely the source of the rumours that President Obama was a Muslim and was the one who filed the petition to the State of Hawaii to release Obama’s birth certificate, claiming that Obama was not actually American.
Platform: Martin touts himself as a corruption fighter, having exposed corruption in courts and through politics. He claims to be an internationally recognized expert on Middle Eastern and foreign affairs. He is opposed to cap-and-trade and mandated coverage for abortion, and in favour of the right to bear arms and freedom of speech.
Prediction: Drops out of the race before voting starts, endorses Michelle Bachmann.

Name: Mitt Romney
Status: Declared candidacy
Background: Former governor of Massachusetts, Romney ran in the Republic Primary in the 2008 election. He is a Mormon, which marginalized his campaign in the last election. He made it to voting, receiving 4.7 million votes and 280 Electoral College delegates.
Platform: Smaller, less intrusive government and freedom of enterprise, lower business taxes, limit influence of union bosses, increase nuclear power and use of domestic fossil fuels, end deficit spending, cut spending on entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security, repeal ‘Obamacare’, open market health care, more military spending, and revitalize current alliances.
Prediction: Survives through voting, does about the same as 2008.

Name: Rick Perry
Status: Undeclared.
Background: current governor of Texas, serving his third term. Although he has not declared candidacy, he is apparently leaning increasingly towards it as supporters urge him to do so.
Platform: None yet. In the past has campaigned on the stances of tough on crime, fiscal conservatism (he would not accept $555 million from the Obama administration in stimulus spending for unemployment), opposition to gay rights and opposition to the theory of global warming.
Prediction: Drops out as voting starts, and endorses Sarah Palin.

Name: Jon Huntsman, Jr.
Status: Declared candidate
Background: Former governor of Utah. A self-confessed conservative, Huntsman’s claim to fame is that he balanced the Utah budget when it seemed impossible and passed a conservative, free market health care model bill that he thinks can be the basis for all health care in America. He has also been the U.S. Ambassador to Singapore, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Trade Development Bureau of the Commerce Department and Deputy U.S. Trade Representative, U.S. Trade Ambassador and Ambassador to China. He has also served at different levels of Huntsman Corporation, started by his father. Huntsman has 5 biological children and 2 adopted children from India and Taiwan.
Platform: None as of yet. One can only speculate that it will involve massive budget cuts, rollback of ‘Obamacare’ and introduction of free market health care, and corporate tax cuts.
Prediction: Survives until the end of voting, garners 20% of the vote.

Name: Jimmy McMillan
Status: Declared candidacy
Background: McMillan has run in elections for the Rent’s Too Damn High Party at various levels of government. He is humorous, and one cannot decide if his campaign is serious or a farce. However, his message does resonate with ordinary Americans.
Platform: McMillan is against home and property taxes and federal bailouts of corporations. He believes in same-sex marriage but thinks that global warming is ‘punk science’. He wants to write off all taxes owed to the state, as well as free college tuition, reforming the state court system, and seizing unoccupied apartment buildings. McMillan wants to create a system of fixed rents across the country to help the poor afford housing.
Prediction: Drops out before voting, endorses Sarah Palin.

Name: Dr. Ron Paul
Status: Declared candidacy
Background: Ron Paul has been a medical doctor and a congressman from the state of Texas. He was a candidate in the 2008 GOP primary.
Platform: Ron Paul wants to remove federal barriers to drilling for domestic oil as well as repeal the federal tax on gasoline, eliminate the EPA, end birthright citizenship, abolish the welfare state, enforce border security, streamline the process for legal immigration, and enact a $5,000 tax credit for home schooling. Dr. Paul is pro-life and believes that life starts at conception. He wants to stop unions from being able to force members of a particular trade to pay dues, to repeal any infringements of the 2nd amendment, to repeal ‘Obamacare’, and to provide health care tax credits and other help for those who are seriously ill. Dr. Paul wants to eliminate income and death taxes, and increase the number of tax credits and deductions available. He also wants to get rid of the Federal Reserve.
Prediction: Drops out during voting, endorses Jon Huntsman, Jr.

***This is a work in progress. More will be added as it comes out.***

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