About Victor Lundquist

Victor is a businessman working in the healthcare industry. He and his wife of 33 years have five children and four grandchildren. Vic has been blogging for Mitt Romney since 2007. View Posts | View Profile

Gingrich…”Talking about Capitalism like it was a Serial Killer!” — “STUPID! STUPID! STUPID!”

By Victor Lundquist | December 15, 2011 - 12:33 AM | 2012 Election, Fox News, GOP, Iowa, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Polls, States 1 views

2 Comments

And this is the guy some people in Iowa are lining up behind? I must admit: I really don’t get it!

Dennis Miller cracks me up — partly because he always seems to crack himself up! No need to watch the entire 6+ minutes here; the best part of tonight’s “Miller Time” is the first 2:20 minutes. I do think that Mr. Gingrich’s “staff” as he likes to refer to them (it is more in character for him to refer to them as his minions), is in the process of child-proofing his campaign. Oh, wait a minute, there should be no need for that — at age 68, he told us he has “matured” in the last few years; he’s a grandfather, right? Newt’s campfire is starting to fade to smolder. Did I get this right? Did Miller call him “Goot” instead of Newt? “In the space of one week, he reminds me that he is still Newt Gingrich…” I love his comment about “the smart money” — “those smart guys.”

Miller gets it now.

By the way, Intrade has been moving wildly in favor of Romney since yesterday. Just since I started writing this, Romney went from 51.8% to 55.0% (Mitt Romney to be Republican Nominee in 2012). Gingrich has dropped from near 40% last Sunday to 25.0% at this writing. Last Sunday, the spread between the two closed to about five points. The spread right now is 30 points — that move was in two days! Again, I could be wrong, but I honestly believe that when we look back, we will see that 12/13/11 was the day Gingrich peaked in the polls.

Mitt Romney can be trusted — he is absolutely trustworthy. Newt Gingrich cannot be trusted and most knowledgeable people know that. The rest (like Miller) are finding out this week.

“Men make history and not other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.” — Harry S. Truman

A Vote for Gingrich is a Vote for Obama

By Victor Lundquist | December 14, 2011 - 2:14 AM | 2012 Election, Conservatives, Donald Trump, Donald Trump, Family Values, GOP, Iowa, Mitt Romney, New Hampshire, Newt Gingrich, Race to the Top 1 views

3 Comments

The three most arrogant and condescending people that keep coming to my mind in recent days are Rod Blagojevich, Don Trump, and Newt Gingrich. A couple of years ago I remember seeing Blagojevich on TV many times telling the world he was innocent and that he would eventually be completely exonerated in court — totally and confidently arrogant (and now he complains from behind bars that his 14-year sentence was too harsh!). And Mr. Trump? Need I say more? His looming threat that he will run for President as an Independent if the right Republican is not nominated — as if to rise to the occasion as America’s savior! And Gingrich. Don’t forget folks. In the last couple of weeks, Mr. Gingrich told the entire world on national TV that he would be the Republican nominee. And when asked if he “would go negative” in his campaign, he said something to the effect, “No! I don’t need to. Because I will be the nominee! Why would I need to go negative?” Is such hubris matched by any other human alive? And what does NG do? Not only does he go negative on Romney, he does so showing his full colors, as if he were a complete liberal (see great posts below for this information).

You know what? I love it! There is something about watching arrogant people make the beds they sleep in! When Blagojevich was prancing around Chicago like a peacock, I knew he would meet justice; if not obvious to him, it was obvious to all other observers. NG did something that I think was a HUGE mistake when he told the world he would be the GOP nominee. He set the bar of expectations to the highest level. Who does that? Nobody. Contrast NG’s rhetoric with that of Romney’s. Romney states that the campaign will be long and hard and that he believes Americans will eventually select him as the nominee. Which is more appealing? Condescending hubris or simple, steady modesty? I love watching NG make the bed he will sleep in.

Character matters. Take a moment and compare what we know of each candidate’s character. Need I say more? If someone were to accuse me of even one “ethics” charge, I would be embarrassed and I would do everything in my power to redeem my reputation. Gingrich has 84 ethics sanctions to his reputation! Will Obama exploit that fact? And what about his affairs and his obvious hypocrisy (ripping Clinton while he was carrying on a six-year secret affair himself)? How will the “family man” Obama exploit this character flaw? Do you think he will care one whit that NG says he is older, wiser, and repentant? Heck no! He will simply pull the character card. Does one’s character change throughout life? Gingrich is so arrogant in dismissing all the stupid things he has done. In doing the commercial with Nancy, he dismisses that major blunder by stating that it was, “the stupidist thing I have done” as he condescendingly thinks we Americans are gullible enough to accept such a brush off as naive. No. It is all about character, Newt.

There are other great Americans with characters above reproach among the Republican candidates. Top of the “character list” for me is Mitt Romney. Mitt Romney’s character is above reproach in every way. This is only my opinion, but of all the Republican candidates, Newt Gingrich’s character is permanently flawed and he is at the bottom of the “character list” of all the current candidates. Of this, I don’t think there is any question at all.

Who do we want as President of the United States of America? A person of unquestioned character or some man that is constantly making excuses for his past and who expects us to forget it all because he is now a grandfather? I mean really — is there even a question on this?

By the way, I think NG peaked today (12/13). I could be wrong, but I think we will look back to this week to see his highest poll numbers. Intrade has already changed quite a bit in Romney’s favor.

“A single lie destroys a whole reputation for integrity” — Baltasar Gracian

Intrade.com: The Best “Survey”

By Victor Lundquist | December 10, 2011 - 10:00 PM | 2012 Election, GOP, Newt Gingrich, On-site Polls, Polls 1 views

9 Comments

Are you ever annoyed to see survey results reported on TV, not knowing how the questions are asked and how many people participated, etc? I am frequently annoyed because there are many ways survey results can be manipulated. You may have seen survey results that involved as few as 200 participants. Anyone who has had a basic statistics class knows that sample size, and how a question is posed, is critical. Statistics are very easily manipulated.

You may have heard Ann Coulter refer to a website called “Intrade” — There is a reason for that. It is historically accurate. It is a market of political votes. What does that mean? All “voters” on this site pay money to make their predictions. In effect, people are “putting their money where their mouths are.” On a given day, the number of trades is usually in the thousands. For example, the number of trades predicting Gingrich will be the Republican nominee reached near 15,000 predictions (for and against) in recent days and weeks.

Here is a quote from Wikipedia on Intrade: “Intrade has offered since 2002 the widest range of markets for political events, such as ‘George W. Bush to win 2004 US Presidential Election’. In the 2004 presidential election, the market favorite won the electoral vote in every state. This occurred when, even as late as election day, many pollsters and analysts were predicting a John Kerry victory. In Florida, a number of polls put Kerry ahead in that state, or said the race was too close to call. The betting markets, however, correctly and consistently showed Bush would win Florida comfortably.”

Why does “market voting” carry more clout than other surveys? The presumption is that “investors” putting money on the line possess as much information about the subject “market” as is possible. Obviously, there is no perfect way to predict future events, but people investing real money “to vote” is a much truer form of survey than anything being collected over the phone. The person answering the phone for a survey may not know anything and may not really care.

As of this writing (12/10/11 at 2:30 PST), Intrade is predicting Gingrich will be the nominee at a 32.5% probability, with Romney at a 47.4% probability. It also shows that the probability is increasing for Romney and decreasing for Gingrich.

So, when you are annoyed at all the noise coming from the pundits — spouting their predictions — just go to your favorites tab, click on www.intrade.com and look at what the markets are predicting. And you will be far more informed than all those who are repeating the noise of the talking heads. To get a thorough understanding of how Intrade makes its predictions, click on the tab HOW IT WORKS for a complete explanation. It is a very simple, but efficient market. It is a great way to get a quick view of “the market” for Governor Romney.

“LEADERSHIP” – Mitt Romney is Far Superior to Newt Gingrich

By Victor Lundquist | December 10, 2011 - 3:14 AM | 2012 Election, Donald Trump, Family Values, Florida, GOP, Iowa, Mitt Romney, New Hampshire, Newt Gingrich, Obama Isn't Working, Olympics, Op-eds, Religion, South Carolina, States 1 views

11 Comments

Governor Romney has been getting a bum rap these past couple of weeks, in my opinion. No whine here. Just fact. I must admit that I don’t understand how any significant numbers of values based conservatives can think Gingrich is superior to Romney in any way, let alone in character. Do we really know that Gingrich won’t eventually migrate to a fourth wife and religion? I realize that most Americans aren’t paying that much attention to politics right now, but those who know anything about Gingrich understand that he is the very epitome of all that is negative in politicians.

My biggest criticism of Obama in the last election was that he had never been a leader; that he had never led anything. Unfortunately for Americans, he is not even learning “on the job” to be a leader now. Gingrich has extensive leadership experience. By many measures, Gingrich is a leader. With this contrast, I do believe he would be superior to Obama as President. But frankly, that is not saying much at all. In my opinion, Gingrich as a leader does not hold a candle to Romney as a leader. Not even close. The very definition of “leader” and “leadership”, especially in relation to the Office of President of the United States of America, carries with it the highest expectations of character in all personal and public attributes, such as absolute integrity. What are all the character traits that come to mind when we remember that President Reagan would never consider walking into the Oval Office without wearing his suit coat out of respect? What do we think of when we think of President Clinton and the Oval Office? The Office of President is a sacred trust. No man or woman is perfect, but the President should be a person of unquestioned integrity and character and above reproach in every sense.

For what it is worth, I believe Obama to be a more principled man than Gingrich, though I could not disagree with his ideology more.

Is there a man more self-absorbed and arrogant than Gingrich? Well, then again there is Trump and Blagojevich — I almost forgot. Gingrich already declared victory in the primary. He so dismissively waves off his 84 congressional ethics sanctions, liberal partnering, lobbying, and extramarital affair with a smile and quick retorts of his being older, wiser, and repentant. And we are to believe that? Oh, and the mistress with whom he had the years long secret affair was the one that taught him repentance and converted him to his current belief structure. And this secret affair he was nurturing all the while Gingrich was publicly hammering Clinton for his extramarital relationships! Oh, but all of us voters are now to actually believe Gingrich is a new man? The Gingrich hubris will continue.

I could list dozens of character traits that Romney has had his entire life; they run deep. The strongest character trait, and most important of all to me, is Romney’s integrity. His person, reputation, past, character, and integrity are above reproach. It would be a very sad day in America if Republicans were to choose a man like Gingrich over a man like Romney. Frankly, it is offensive to me that many people consider Gingrich to be a man of high character. His past behavior, actions, and life define the man’s character.

Mitt Romney will accept the mantle of President as a sacred trust. This nation needs Mitt Romney to lead it and the world like no other time in its history. By the way, if you want to get a glimpse of the kind of President Romney will be, read his book, Turnaround: Crisis, Leadership, and the Olympic Games — Gingrich could not have done what Romney did with the failing Olympics; not even close.

It is a privilege to be able to contribute to MittRomneyCentral.com. This is my first post. The MRC team is AWESOME.

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