As a registered Republican, I am watching the unfolding Republican primary wondering who in the heck I can vote for. The leading candidate changes by the hour, the platforms are non-existent (more on that in a second), and there is little difference between their stories and ideas.

Meanwhile, President Obama knows he simply needs to let the Republicans beat each other up and hope the economy gets better so that he can fight the Republican nominee in a few battleground states.

I am currently a registered Republican and my principles focus on a generally smaller government that lets the private sector perform more services for the people. The government, I believe, is there to set the table and the private sector is there to cook the food. 

However, at all levels our government is now setting the table, cooking the food, serving it, cleaning the dishes, and putting out the trash. It’s unsustainable and the debt crisis is forcing governments around the globe – including our own – to make tough decisions and slowly get out of the kitchen to allow the private sector do the job better, usually more efficient, and without unlimited funding in the form of taxes.

If I asked 100 people on the street what the ideas of the current slate of candidates running for President are, they would say “to get President Obama out of office.” As the opposing party in any political race against an incumbent, this is a goal but it should not be the platform of the party.

In the multiple debates that have been held over the past months, rarely is a question answered by a candidate that does not start or end with a bashing of the President. If there wasn’t Obama-bashing in the question then the answer usually referred to former President Reagan. It would be refreshing to hear a candidate running for President of the United States of America speak to the American people in a way that instilled hope instead of hate for the current President.

Our country needs direction because our people distrust both political parties and the world is sinking into a chaotic mess due to a void in leadership from the greatest country on earth. It will be tough for the American people to vote for a person simply because they hate President Obama. The American people need and deserve a more honorable reason to vote for their leader.

The last bite…

We spent New Year’s Eve with two close friends in what is beginning to be a wonderful tradition. Dinner was at Café Adelaide in the Lowes Hotel but I won’t tell you the entire menu because it would be too much to list. However, my Seafood Court-Boullion had Gulf shrimp, fish, mussels, and baby octopus! After dinner we watched the countdown from the rooftop of a building in downtown New Orleans and welcomed in the New Year! I give ringing in the New Year with friends 5 (out of 5) crumbs!

Buddy Boe, a resident of Garyville, owns a public relations and program management company and is well known on the local political (and food) scenes. His column appears Wednesdays in L’Observateur.