Looking to the Future of 2012, The GOP, and Senator John Ensign (R-NV)

Since the successful election of Barack Obama last November, democrats have been perpetuating the notion that the republican party is in disarray and without leadership. Moderate democrats argue that Rush Limbaugh is bad for the party and staunch conservatives claim John McCain is not a true conservative. The truth of the matter is that the republican party is down, but by no means out. While the democrats would like us to think they are sitting comfortably atop every branch of government in the United States, some republican congressmen are giving us reason to believe the race for 2012 is already here.

Something I have recently learned about the science of running for political office is that announcing your candidacy must be done at exactly the right time. Jumping into the political race earlier may give you more time to raise the finances for the campaign trail, but it also gives your opponents more time to dig up the dirt and attack your political platform. This is why, the news media often begs the question, "Will you be running for president in the next election?" Almost always the politician in question will give a stereotypical political answer such as, "Ummm, I haven't given it any thought." Despite these vague answers, you can bet several conservatives are already considering a possible 2012 run. One of the candidates that I has very strong potential to represent the GOP is junior senator John Ensign from Nevada.

This week, Senator Ensign took a trip to Iowa to meet the people and get his face out beyond the state lines of Nevada. But as a Nevada member of the United States Senate, why would John Ensign care to leave his constituents in the battle born state to indulge in some ice cream at a local parlor in a rural Iowa town? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Iowa is the first stop on the long trek through the presidential primary race.

Along with his recent visits to other states, John Ensign has made several trips to meet with the troops in Iraq dating back to 2003. Senator Ensign has also recently visited the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan and the southern border in response to the escalated war on drugs.

Senator Ensign climbing into a BMP-1 tactical vehicle (Feb. 10, 2008)

As far as his membership in the Senate, Mr. Ensign is the ranking member of the Subcommittee on State, Local, and Private Sector Preparedness and Integration. He also serves as the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet. Some other Senate committees John Ensign serves on are:
The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
The Budget Committee
The Finance Committee
The Committee on Rules and Administration
The Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee

As a veterinarian by profession, Senator Ensign's passion for animals led him to be a lead sponsor of the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act. Other sponsors of the act included Maria Cantwell of Washington, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, and Dianne Feinstein of California, all of which are democrats.

Finally, in what is likely to be a hot topic in the 2012 election, Senator John Ensign has proved to have an outstanding track record on fiscal responsibility. Citizens Against Governmental Waste, a financial watchdog group, gave John Ensign a 97% rating for the year of 2007, bringing his lifetime fiscal responsibility rating to 92%, the 4th highest in the entire U.S. Senate. This compares John Ensign's Nevada counterpart, democrat Harry Reid, who has accumulated an 18% lifetime rating for fiscal responsibility, not to mention an astonishing 0% for the year 2007. With President Obama's massive debt accumulation and government expansion in his first 4 months alone, Senator John Ensign's sense of financial restraint will be a valuable asset if he so chooses to take the next step towards the presidential race in 2012.