Joe Roybal 1

September 21, 2012

2 Min Read
Opinion: Romney/Ryan Ticket Is What The U.S. Needs

Following the conclusion of the two major political party conventions in early September, BEEF magazine ran a weeklong online poll on beefmagazine.com. We asked readers to weigh in on which ticket would win in November. Of more than 500 responses, 72% said Romney/Ryan, while 20% said Obama/Biden, and 8% didn’t know.

Our reader audience tends to be independent and fiercely self-reliant, as you’d expect from folks who, unlike other commodities, largely compete without a government safety net. Thus, that heavy Romney/Ryan sentiment might be wishful thinking given that most national polls of the general electorate tend to depict a close race.

Or maybe it’s a harbinger of coming results. After all, 60% of Americans say the country is headed in the wrong direction, a $16-trillion deficit continues to climb, unemployment has surpassed 8% for more than 40 months, and many other indicators also run against the incumbent.

I did not vote for Obama in 2008 but I will admit I was excited about the historic significance of his win and hopeful that what others saw in this political unknown would bear out. What really disturbed me at the time was that the national media seemed unwilling to critically examine Obama’s past, his lack of executive experience, and/or how his soaring rhetoric about hope and change actually squared with his record.

In 2012, he remains almost as much of an enigma. But what is known is his poor record of results over the past four years. And his plan to continue doing more of the same doesn’t drive much confidence that the results will change in the next four years.

It’s clear that the current system isn’t sustainable, and kicking the can down the road will only postpone the inevitable result, with perhaps much worse consequences. We need to get government out of the way and turn loose the free-enterprise system.

Obama famously said four years ago that if he didn’t turn around the economy in his first term, he didn’t deserve a second term. By his own standard, he seconds the motion that it’s time to give someone else a chance – Romney/Ryan.

Radke honored by Folio! Magazine

Congratulations are in order for Amanda Radke, BEEF Daily Editor. In the October issue of Folio! magazine, she was recognized as one of the “15 Under 30,” a profile of 15 emerging leaders in the national publishing scene.

At just 24 years of age, Radke has been with BEEF Daily since its startup and was integral in the research that developed and launched the electronic publication almost five years ago. Since then, BEEF Daily has become a huge success, and Radke has become a leading voice of advocacy for U.S. agriculture. The Folio! fete is a well-deserved honor. Congratulations, Amanda. 

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