The First ‘Tea Partied’ Nomination: So Far, a Grand Success
My negativity regarding the prospects for a conservative nominee subsided, and disappeared, following CPAC’s impressive paeans to conservatism, along with Rick Santorum’s surge among conservatives who frankly aren’t that tickled by Rick Santorum. A recurring truth of folks’ behavior when they live guided by principles of individual autonomy is again public; PJ Media Editor Bridget Johnson noted the trend:
One of the messages sent strongly by CPAC voters — and the corresponding Washington Times phone poll of 600 self-identified conservatives — is that the general election isn’t their point.
At the conference, 59 percent of straw poll voters picked a candidate’s stances on the issues as the most important quality in choosing a nominee, compared to 56 percent in the nationwide poll. Thirty-eight percent at CPAC and 33 percent nationwide picked the candidate’s chances to beat President Obama in November as most important.
Be as sure the Rovestablishment will misinterpret this poll as you are of its message:
You need us. We do not need you.
Marco Ryan de Clarencepalin would be grand, but being alive while living according to a code of personal responsibility implies that — ahem — one has been able to remain alive without this person, and yet another political season is afire with the primary players out of touch with this phenomenon of conservatism. Despite this, the results so far are astounding: I fail to see how the box scores should be cause for anything but pride among the country class.
The continual march of conservative torch-bearers rising and falling versus Mitt Romney signals two messages. First, and obvious to all, conservatives have no interest in supporting Mitt Romney, and there is absolutely nothing he can do to change this besides being the only guy left when the music stops. And that so many have risen to challenge him should not be upsetting — the streak of upstarts is nothing less than historically phenomenal.
Simply, Romney has not worn down the conservative voter, well into the primary season, and this is because a large enough number of conservatives — for the first time in my life as a dedicated political observer — are living and acting publicly as conservatives. They detest representing Romney’s half-socialism more than they detest being stuck with a weak candidate.
Why should any observer feel down about conservatism’s prospects following this historic display of moral clarity?
The second message: the several conservatives bearing varying fulfillments of conservatism — both in service and in private (‘ello, Messrs. Cain and Gingrich) — have been rising and failing according to their bona fides, which is also historically astonishing. Conservatives are not at all representing the following message (though the GOP, of course, assumes they are):
No thanks, feel safer with this properly groom’d moppet Romney. Note the break of his pant!
The actual message, each time a challenger to Romney fails, has been:
Wake me with a true champ. Otherwise, I’m busy.
And the subtext, which has me thrilled, and should you as well:
We are never scared.
A mass of conservatives large enough to matter are finally demonstrating the great benefit of their creed: self-sufficiency that extends far beyond one’s possessions, a self-sufficiency that builds nations and prosperity, pioneers electronics, saves the sick. They pull their own, and they desire a president who will handle protecting their natural rights, but if necessary they will handle that burden on their own as well.
Romney might as well be selling his misinterpretation of conservatism to a socialist; the GOP’s attempt to frighten us towards Romney is farcical; and the challengers’ attempts to scare us with the prospect of Romney is farce as well.
Conservatism is proud and beaming. Why aren’t you?
Some nice points! I love that phrase “pull our own weight.”
I’ve felt that the ONLY reason Romney is even still in the race is his money. Let’s see how well that plays against Obama’s bizillions and his MSM and his White House pulpit and his campaigning on the tax payer’s dime.
Go Newt! We need a tank to obliterate Obama’s anti-constituion socialism. To heck with whatever fine points of conservatism we disagree on. And there’s no time to waste. He’s ready to be president on day one.
It appears that there is a very good chance that Mitt has lost Maine after being declared the winner. Shades of Iowa!
What happens if he should lose Virginia to Ron Paul?
Good point. Do we want a candidate who can buy the nomination by beating every challanger to death with negative ads, or one who represents our positions on policy? Romney may be able to beat down his opponents for the nomination with sheer bucks and GOP establishment support, but he can’t outspend Obama, or raise any excitement in the base.
We need to move the establishment again, like the Goldwater and Reagan nominations. We need to present the American people with a real choice of following the Left’s narrative, and of writing our own, and letting the historians write the narrative- a narrative of what actually happened, instead of what should have/should happen.
Here we go again. It’s Friday morning and the same old drill. Let’s nominate someone who is an authentic conservative….and send a message to the establishment! “Just like we did with Goldwater and Reagan”. I am old enough to actually have voted for Goldwater. Read his book and was inspired by it. Goldwater was clobbered in the general election and it took decades for his message to take root. Reagan needed multiple tries before he made it to the White House. Do you actually believe we have that luxury of time available to us now? Of course we don’t. We either remove Obama in November or face the fact that that there will be no tomorrow for a second shot at saving America. Newt’s message is great but he represents a real crap-shoot. Obama will have Santorum for lunch. Romney can win. Elect the sucker then beam the conservative message on him with laser-like intensity. Or “send a message” and then start looking for a new home in Costa Rica.
Here we go again, let us elect a Republican for the Sole Purpose of Electing a Republican.
In spite of the fact that Mittens has never shown an inclination to ever act outside the narrow guidlines of the MSM when it comes to public policy we need to elect him so he can do what?
Maintain the status quo for the next leftist who comes along, so they don’t have to retrace ground lost (as obama did in the stimulous bill when he erased Gingrich’s progress on Welfare Reform) before pushing the country in a harder leftward direction?
Romney established his credentials in 1994 when he first played the distinction game with the Contract with America “That’s the House, I’m Running for the Senate.” (Remember this time’s “Well States have the right, but it shouldn’t be National”) which he then refined to “I think it’s a bad idea to have a Set Agenda going in to an election,” in the debates with Teddy. Kind of like now where you see he really doesn’t have a message beyond “those other guys are bad and I’m not, vote for me, because I can win (in spite of the fact that I’ve lost the lions share of elections I’ve been in before).”
Do you really believe electing someone who will not actually UNDO any of the Obama Mess is going to help get us out of the Obama Mess?
Best response to this article. Elect Romney and keep the fire burning underneath him. The movement doesn’t have to end once Romney is elected in fact it can grow deeper and bigger.
mac, you’ve got! “Elect Romney and keep the fire burning underneath him. The movement doesn’t have to end once Romney is elected in fact it can grow deeper and bigger.” Well stated.
Not that I don’t wish that life were easier and we had an electable candidate that had the conservative fire burning within himself. But we don’t. On the other hand, we can nominate Newt or Ricky and watch the fire blaze across the horizon as one of them goes down in flames in the general election…..along with our great country. Win (the first requirement)….work…and force conservative change. Nobody is going to do it for us. Ronnie is dead.
Except Romney will never be elected.
We either have a Conservative nominee, or Obama will devour him and the base WILL NOT back Romney.
Spot. People should realize that Romney is pretty malleable. With a conservative-led House & Senate, it’s likely that Romney is going to sign off on an Obamacare repeal among other important steps towards the scaling back of the Obama administration’s overreach. Romney is far from ideal but he is better equipped to defeat Obama than any of the other candidates. A veritable Hobson’s choice but still a better one than four more of Obama.
Whoever wins will not have to worry about repealing ObamaCare because that will be decided by the Supreme Court before then and I will predict at this time that it will be a law found to be unconstitutional along with many other actions taken by him and his administration!
Need I remind you that a hobson’s choice is no choice.
Here’s my take on Rome-ny.
He’s another frat-boy politician, who never got his hands dirty doing real, genuine labor, who thinks that the way to get thinks done is through money manipulation and destruction of your opponents. He doesn’t listen to anyone but his closest “advisers” and the other “cool kids” and won’t give a DAMN about what the majority of Americans want. He will act for political expediency, not freedom, liberty and self-reliance.
The mechanism in a mind such as his, and a lot of politicians is that they can only make things happen by writing another law, another executive order, through command-and-control, rather than by consent of the people. Actually, it’s probably an easy trap to fall into. But the person most likely to resist that trap and realize that before going headlong into a new bout of government-activated BS, to stop, think and realize how this relates to the Constitution, the people and their rights and desires.
I do not see much difference between him and Obama. Some say that Gingrich is a big-government tool as well. I still believe we have the current ensemble of candidates that we do because the greatest generation is mostly gone and they were the ones who told us to “work hard, earn your pay, be square and forthright and fight for what you believe in” . Their kids were steeped heavily in that verse and almost half of them went the other direction; Rejecting religion, decency, and embracing the gestation of neo-fascism and national socialism in this country. Oh, how I have hated living in this country listening to the ticking time-bomb of it.
PC terms, labels on everything, to include people, government warnings, thousands of rules upon rules upon rules, most of which defy common sense or simply advertise that certain people need to be protected from themselves. For example, I bought a new toaster….in the box the pamphlet that came with it actually said, do not immerse in water while plugged in”. Really, this is what the government has come to?
And we have the likes of Pelosi, Reid, Frank, etc…who have perpetuated the MYTH that government is supposed to protect you from yourself. WRONG!
But because Mitten-brain signed Romney-care…I fail to see how he can defend it while campaigning for president. Some say he said he’ll set forth to repeal it…some say he won’t. I’m afraid I have to go with my gut and say, “He did it, he’s proud of it, he owns it” So why would he ever admit that it’s a bad thing? It’s not that I don’t trust him; It’s that I trust him all too well.
Here we go again. I tire of the Conservative v. RINO discussions.
Liberalism: The inability to learn from one’s mistakes.
RINOism: See Liberalism.
Before any discussion of who can beat Obama in 2012, can we at least agree that Obama is the worst president in any of our lifetimes? (And I’m old; I worked on both of Reagan’s campaigns — and he wasn’t my first!) That Obama has done more damage than any of us thought we’d ever see from any American president? That should he win another term, our republican form of constitutional government will likely not survive it? Are we really so pathetic that we think America is going to tolerate another term from this historic national disgrace and embarrassment? If you think we might, then you might as well move on to the next comment because you’ll probably forget to timely register and vote in any event.
My dog could beat Obama. Mickey Mouse would beat Obama. Any human candidate whose fly is zipped on November 6, 2012, will beat Obama. Period. So why decide to choose between the certain destruction of the republic in say, four years under Obama, or 10 years under the next RINO. The difference between Obama and W., or Romney, is nothing more than speed and intensity. I reject both and demand a 180 degree course correction.
Before I get into some recent election analysis to suggest why Romney is the MarxistStateNBC/MSM/Yooper “reasonable and electable Republican” — I assume everyone but John McCain and Karl Rove know how eager the MSM are to elect a Republican — suffer me a moment’s diversion to lay out a small portion of Romney’s election night acceptance speech that keeps playing over and over in my nightmares:
“Now, to business. As you all know I have said during the entirety of the campaign that one of my first acts as your president would be to sign the repeal of Obamacare. Well we didn’t quite get a filibuster proof majority in the Senate so I can’t promise that will happen. But what of an executive order, or orders, to cease program implementation and funding? I could do that, but after lengthy discussions with my legal team, I have determined that it would be hypocritical for me to rely on executive order authority after spending the past year criticizing the abusive over-reach in executive orders by the prior administration. Therefore, I have determined that the best plan of action begins with the recognition that many good ideas are contained in Obamacare, and the better ideas are worth saving. Rather than an axe, I therefore propose that we take a scalpel to the legislation as we move forward as bipartisan servants of the people. You know, we faced similar issues head-on when I was governor of Massachusetts . . ..”
I’m back, and have wiped the sweat of trepidation from my furrowed brow. While I certainly agree that Romney is likely to defeat Obama since he is breathing, it’s only because Obama is that bad, not because Romney is the most likely victor against Obama from the Republican field; to the contrary, he is one of the least likely (see MSM praise). To get to the heart of the matter, if you believe that it is important to win the Independents to prevail against Obama, then you should abandon Romney with all haste. If we do not give the Independents a crystal clear choice, then we will not win them. The choice between Romney and Obama may be crystal clear to you and me, but to the average uninvolved independent voter — someone too lazy to do any research themselves — Romney will be Obamacare, Pro-choice, Cap-n-Trade, and anything else Brian Williams tells them he is/was after the sudden MSM discovery that he is clearly a man without a core and definitely unelectable. The truth pales in importance to perception in politics, and that’s why Obama wants to run against Romney and is doing everything possible to destroy his conservative challengers.
Our genius pundit class keeps asking, “will a true constitutional conservative candidate drive 2008′s Independents even closer to Obama?” What one should ask is will such a candidate drive Independents AWAY FROM CONSERVATIVES? — THEY LEFT OBAMA IN 2010!! Conservatives have already won them; we need to keep them! Why did they leave Obama? Why did they come to us? What attracted them? Clearly spoken CONSERVATISM attracted them, and clearly spoken CONSERVATISM will keep them!
Several of the 2010 elections are instructive for those genuinely seeking the answer. The same factors are in play now — just more so! If you disagree, what has gotten better? If anything, it’s all much worse. The Tea Party isn’t in remission as the left likes to delude itself. They’re just watching and waiting as Obama and his base “occupy” their beloved country. I’ve posted the following stats before so my paste of portions of it may not flow perfectly, but you’ll get the point I’m sure. Let’s take a look at some 2010 election stats for “conservative extremists” running in the most hyped races.
Delaware: Let’s do the worst one first. With no support — instead outright contempt — from Castle and the RSCC, an endless national media assault led by RINOs like the “Architect” (of the destruction of the R. Party), Karl Rove, the extremist O’Donnell lost the sacred Independents 48-45 . . . in Delaware! Imagine a gracious Castle endorsement of his own party’s victorious primary candidate, and party support from the RSCC and the RINOs. The sabotage of O’Donnell was Republican establishment inflicted yet she lost the sacred Independents by only 48-45 . . . in Delaware! Do you think eliminating the in-party treason might have been good for a percentage point or two flip, or five, or 10? A gracious endorsement and active support from Castle alone would have turned the contest. He was after all, quite popular before he chose stewing in his own self-absorbed bile over doing the right thing.
With a very similar lack of establishment support in Nevada and Colorado how did the conservative extremists fare with Independents . . .
Nevada: Extremist Angle won Independents 48-44.
Colorado: Extremist Buck won Independents 53-37!
How nice might election night have been in Colorado and Nevada if our glorious establishment hadn’t convinced gullible Republicans looking for an excuse to fail that conservatives could not attract Independent voters and they should stay home and watch on TV as Rove and company helped assure their own self-fulfilling prophetic defeat. And they did. Why don’t you ever see those numbers on Rove’s white board? (Because Rove is a damn Progressive. If Progressives weren’t so damn stupid, they’d be erecting statues to Rove rather than vilifying him as part of their “Bush Derangement Syndrome.” What is conservative about TARP, NCLB, and Part D?)
Florida and Wisconsin: It is conveniently forgotten that two of the Senate’s most stalwart right-wing extremist constitutional conservatives, the DeMint-like Rubio and Ron Johnson, managed to win somehow. Rubio slaughtered RINO Crist; Johnson won 85% in the Wisconsin Primary before unseating ultra-leftist Feingold . . . in Wisconsin! Both right-wing extremists won Independents by DOUBLE-DIGIT margins. And lest we forget, extremist Mike Lee won too!
In short, the most conservative candidates won the Independents in each of their races but one, and as I recall, Ms. O’Donnell may have been a witch, but still lost only 48-45 in the Progressive sewer of Delaware. What happens when we let the MSM/RINOs convince voters that “extremist constitutional conservatives” can’t win? What happens is the Independent voter’s wishes are ignored as the self-fulfilling prophesies of the Karl Roves of the world time and again snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. The self-promoting Rove and his ilk fully understand that the only way they can remain relevant is if the establishment maintains itself by defeating conservatism.
America is not yet a Marxist sewer. We are a conservative nation at heart and we will reject Obama everywhere we are given a crystal clear choice. An articulate conservative will landslide Obama from coast to coast. Romney?
Imagine a world without RINOs. It’s easy if you try. I hope you’ll join us.
I wish I could share your optimism about defeating Obama. The polls seem to be cause for pessimism. The electorate has been drugged by the MSM and a general loss of the ability to think (driven by Marxist dogmatic “educational” institutions).
It seems that all Obama has to do is to manipulate a few “statistics” to claim the economy is improving, and all is forgiven.
Be very afraid.
The one statistic Zero won’t be able to hide is gas prices. That statistic will stare every motorist in the face once or twice a week – and many of them are unemployed. $4.00+ a gallon gets people very mad. All that has to be done is to remind these folk of Zero’s halt on oil exploration in the Gulf and his outright nix of the XL Pipeline – giving China the foot in the door to that oil supply. We’ll get some of that tar sand oil – shipped via rail to Texas compliments of Zero’s buddy Warren Buffet – who owns a large portion of BNSF railroad. Hmm… No corruption in that decision eh? Nah.
Daniel Boone, eh? Anyway, the one thing all of the Republican candidates that you note have in common is simply this. They didn’t run against a sitting president who is capable of every form of rotten political tactic that can be brought up from the sewer… with a billion bucks in the war chest..and the entire MSM working 24/7.
As to your dog beating Obama. No he wouldn’t. They would feed him poisoned hamburger. Here, nice doggy.
Honestly the only two advantages that Romney has over his competitors is a much larger money pool and he’s the least despised by the media. And even with those he had a hard time winning and now he’s not even able to barely beat his opponents, all the while if he gets elected both those advantages will mean diddly squat. He has money but nowhere near as much as Obama, and same with the media love. We have no real chance of winning if we play the game the Democrats are masters at. Hell as crazy as Paul is I would rather him than Romney, Paul may gut our foreign policy but at least one he’s done America’s internal issues will be far healthier. With Romney all we get is a cross between Bush and McCain, boy that sounds like a healthy mix.
I think your right. Romney must be nominated. With the economy improving, unemployment dropping and the wars heading to a successful conclusion we cannot afford to elect an “outside the box” apprentice. If Romney is elected, like Nixon, he will will be able to reach out to the other side and continue to make progress. He is a Republican so the base will be happy and those that need the continuity will also be happy. So its simple, with Romney, we all win !!
Removing O’bwana accomplishes nothing. Only electing a candidate who will spend his every minute repealing every law, regulation, E.O., and appointment that O’bwana has made will make any difference. Be clear: I’m talkin’ no-stone-upon-a-stone, scorched-earth, clear-cut politics here. Mitt Romney will not repeal O’bamaCare. Electing him is a futile act, just as electing Gerald Ford, Jorge Bush, or Doble-V Bush was. George Romney moved heaven and earth to defeat Barry Goldwater, but really had few problems with LBJ. If you think Mitt will go after O’bwana with 1% of the effort he’s devoting to attacking Newt, Rick, or Michelle, you’re less intelligent than I think you are (and that’s not good). Get a DVD of “Zulu” and watch it every day.
Why cant we as conservatives have a winner on our side…..In my opinion lets look to the most hated Rep. by the MSM, and get behind that person…..I say in my opn. that is Ms. Sarah Palin……she is one that could get us fired up…..thank you…….
Flip Romnney needs to drop out, he is splitting the non-conservative vote…. uh wait.
I am as thoroughly unhappy with all of the Republican candidates as anyone, but I fear this primary season has exposed the deep split between social conservatives — who are important to the Republican Party, but (i) do not have sufficient numbers in large population states to ever elect a president and (ii) scare the ‘independents’ and ‘moderates’ who, ceterus paribus, provide the margin that decides elections — and the fiscal conservatives who advocated a much lower level of federal spending, far less borrowing, and far less intrusion into the lives of citizens — who express most of the spirit of the Tea Party and strongly attract ‘independents’ and ‘moderates’ otherwise disgusted by Obama’s and the Democrat Congress’ 2009-2012 spending spree (and in many cases were disgusted by George Bush’s and the Republican Congress’ 2001-2008 spending spree).
And, arrayed against both of them is what’s left of the Washington Beltway Republican Establishment – the Karl Rove’s of the world and much of the conservative commentariat – who are perfectly happy with big government as long as they’re doing the spending and getting the spoils. They do not believe either the social cons urgency that we’re morally going to hell in a hand basket or the fiscal cons urgency that we’re bankrupt.
This disunity is a formula for disaster.
Yeah, damn those damned So-cons, always getting in the way. Why, if it wasn’t for them, we’d win every election every time. Damnit! Why can’t they just shut up and go away?
The problem is that the appeal of the social cons is limited. A lot more limited than they would like to believe. Jeremiads will not win votes. Social cons will be far more successful if they can persuade people it is their recognizable interests to behave in socially conservative ways, than if they continue to shout the country is going to hell in a hand basket. The penchant social cons have for enacting their views — even if I agree with the behavioral goal 80-90% of the time — does not sit well with anyone concerned with individual liberty and will simply not sell in this country. One of the growing objections to the left is their using the law and regulation to impose their social views on the rest of us. You don’t win votes by replicating that from the right.
Name me a major “So-con” political figure today who is attempting to “enact their views”. Not even Santorum has proposed anything of sort. He simply states his views when asked about them. It’s the hysterical social lefties who get their panties in a wad when they discover that someone actually dares to disagree with them.
Santorum is on record favoring a Constitutional Amendment banning homosexual marriage. Not a federal issue. I’m against homosexual marriage, but each state should be free to prohibit or allow it. He says he’ll preach about the evils of contraception – please. Just get the federal government out of the business altogether.
My point is this. ANYONE with an R after their name is going to be excoriated in the media. It doesn’t matter who it is. You put Romney up there and in the general, they are going to attempt to destroy him; same with Santorum or Gingrich, or anyone else you can think of. They’re not going to suddenly become fiscal conservatives if we put up someone who thinks gay marriage, abortion, and recreational drug use are just peachy. If the guy we happen to nominate isn’t even an actual social conservative, they’ll just make stuff up about him like they always do, because in Animal Farm fashion, the template is “Republican – bad. Democrat – good”.
I just can’t fathom the mindset on our side right now, of people who are scared to death of Santorum because he goes to church and actually happens to believe what’s taught there. Then, at the same time Obama is actually conducting an honest-to-God (no pun intended), real live attack on religious liberty as we speak. So apparently so-cons are just supposed to shut up and take these attacks because the so-lib/fiscal-cons on our side get their “understanding” of religious life from Hollywood movies? Real good plan. Just wait until the machine comes after something important to you. Good luck.
Mark, you say:
“…….Santorum because he goes to church and actually happens to believe what’s taught there…..”
Santorum’s congressional voting record is pretty far left. Because he takes church so seriously, he tends to vote for more government involvement on social issues. I don’t like any of the candidates. Whoever is left standing, I hope the Congressional Republicans will keep in line, including Romney. I will vote for whoever that is.
(This applies to your comment below, but I couldn’t link to it.)
“He says he’ll preach about the evils of contraception – please. Just get the federal government out of the business altogether.”
I’m not so sure that’s really the case. Consider reading this from J. E. Dyer:
http://hotair.com/greenroom/archives/2012/02/15/why-rick-santorum-doesnt-owe-us-a-contraception-speech/
She restored his remarks to their actual context by watching the entire video, and concludes, “But in context, it turns out that Santorum has no plan to do anything with federal law other than ensure that ObamaCare is repealed and that federal money is not used for contraception or abortion.”
Why shouldn’t federal funds be used for contraception? Contraception is the only thing standing between us and devastating famine and untold misery. The higher the living standards, the higher the use of contraceptives to maintain those living standards.
There is nothing noble about producing children one cannot afford, or one is ill-equipped to raise, all in the cause of avoiding the imaginary sin of artificial birth control. We’re not talking about surgical abortion, which involves a victim, here; we’re talking about preventing pregnancies, hundreds of millions, perhaps billions, of pregnancies since contraceptives became readily available. Certainly, anyone on welfare should be required to practice birth control. Morning after pills and some IUDs are not contraceptives, but that’s another issue.
The Church’s position on contraception is incredibly cruel and stupid, as evidenced by the massive over-birthing, child starvation, and poverty in Third World countries where contraception is not heavily practiced. This is the same church that rails against masturbation as “spilling ones seed,” which it classifies a mortal sin (i.e., one that damns one to eternal hell). Nobody in the sane world actually believes this, but the fathers keep hammering away, oblivious to the fact.
Santorum is a sanctimonious dinosaur preaching to the vicious, self-righteous born-again crowd. Their hatred for Romney (they describe him as a “cult follower” because he’s a Mormon) is astounding. According to this dreary bunch, nobody who isn’t a mindless, bible-clutching Christian should ever be elected president. Given time, they’ll be attacking Santorum for being a Catholic, the same way they periodically attack the Pope, claiming he’s the antichrist.
Enough with the religious litmus tests; enough with the silly, religiously-defined social issues. In a pluralistic society, no group has the right to impose its theology on everyone else. If some alleged evil cannot be shown to be harmful in any way other than by some scriptural quotation citing some arbitrary, supposedly divine edict, then the civil law should not prohibit it. This includes gay marriage.
Santorum can never win the general election: he’s a melodramtic nerd flaunting his religion on his shirt sleeve. Newt can never win the general election; he’s a physically repulsive windbag. The fact that he and Santorum are so egotistical and self-absorbed that they’re willing to hand the presidency back to Obama by uselessly dividing the Republican electorate tells me all I need to know about the two of them. They know they can’t win, but they’re too selfish to shut up.
Obama has just united the social and fiscal wings with the new HHS rule. The GOP needs to seriously keep beating that drum during the general campaign season.
11bravo, I wish it were true. Look up any column on this site about Santorum, and you’ll see comments from PJM readers that could have come right from the keyboards of Obama or Sebelius.
This message brought to you by an 11B/11C/11A. I’ve done alot of walkin’. Drive on!
There is no one on the slate that a fiscal and social conservative can feel happy to vote for.
Please do another article in this vein on the true powers given to the president by the Constitution. They are really few, but in our culture of celebrity-worship and over time, too much importance has been assigned to the office. That is why we must keep the House (which should and does have much more power than the president, being the body closest to the people) and gain the Senate, to rein in an unstable president.
I lean towards Newt now because he has shown he can take the fight to the lap-dog media, not because I think he would be a great president. He is the very type that needs to be reined in.
I’m pretty disappointed with the lack of fiscal conservatives in the race. Ron Paul is the only candidate with a legit fiscal conservative record – and I’m not particularly comfortable with some of his other policies.
The unfortunate conclusion to be drawn from this year’s candidates is that the Republican Party — as a corporate whole, as an organized political party — simply isn’t fiscally conservative. They may be marginally less profligate than the Democrats, but it’s a matter of degree. That matters, it may even be important, but it’s just not enough.
The problem of slavery in the US was not solved until the (marginally better on it) Whigs were replaced by the anti-slavery Republicans. It was a painful solution, one we would not care to repeat. But, it may take something akin to the replacement of the ‘me-too’ Republicans with a more fiscally conservative party that explicitly avoids social issues — says leave them to the states and god help the federal court that tries to overreach — and thus can appeal to every citizen not on the dole, to get this country out of the crazy bind of debt and entitlements.
Depressing – ain’t it? Barring a miracle the Republicans are going to nominate either a milk-toast moderate (Romney) or a big government social conservative / fiscal liberal (Santorum).
I think I could force myself to vote for Romney. If they nominate Santorum, I’m headed for the Libertarian Party.
I could hold my nose and support Romney – if only because he has some chance of winning and would have the least worst down ballot effect even if he loses, and therefore gives us the best chance to derail Obama’s destruction of the country.
I don’t think I could ever vote for Santorum. Never say never, but ….
I can and will vote for anybody with an R behind their name. It is absolutely imperative that we get the communists’ hands off the switches and levers of power in this Country while we still have a Country. As it is, it will take decades to remove all the sleeper cells in the federal agencies. Between over-credentialing and affirmative action hires, the US Government tends leftist under the best of circumstances and no Republican President has done much to change Democrat control of the bureaucracy; they slap on a thin veneer of sometimes competent friends and contributors at the top of the agencies and leave the Democrats in charge. GWB had two terms and was constantly thwarted, leaked, and sabotage because he didn’t clean house the second his hand came off the Bible. When he did try to get rid of some holdover Democrat in the US Attorney offices, he was cowed by the media. My state lost one of the most powerful members of the US Senate and had its Legislature paralyzed by holdover Clinton hires in the Public Integrity Section of USDOJ. Now there are more and more activist leftists in the government and they are ever more emboldened. Just wait until you get audited by the IRS because you gave money to some Tea Party related organization or some 2nd Amendment or small government candidate. They’ve already started messing with conservative organizations; the people who support them are next. If you think I’m paranoid, read “The Blueprint” and see how they attacked every significant contributor to Republican causes and candidates in Colorado. There’s a reason the Obama Immaculation was held in CO. Now they have the power to take it Nationwide and all the power of federal law enforcment and the IRS with which to do it.
My personal preference is Gingrich simply because he knows where the restrooms and light switches are. That said, only Palin draws the ire of the left in the same way and he is to say the least mercurial. Romney has yet to prove that he is capable of being nasty to anyone except Republicans and he has yet to convince me that the actually believes in anything other than getting elected. I know I couldn’t even stay in a Democrat Administration for a whole term as a high-level merit system employee; I can’t comprehend getting elected and actually trying to govern a cesspool like MA. And Santorum couldn’t even stay in office in relatively moderate PA even though he fully embraced the “bring home the bacon and they’ll forgive everything else” MO of the Republican leadership at the time he was in the Senate. The left will have a field day branding him as the American Taliban who wants to stone women who use birth control; doesn’t matter if its false, a lie is better than the truth in politics if you can get people to believe it.
NOOOOO, give The Constitution Party a look.
Libertarians support same sex marriage a homosexual special rights along with unlimited abortion.
Your comments make me ill. Not to vote Repub. is to help Obama. What the hell is tghe matter with some of you?
Your comments make me ill. Not to vote Repub. is to help Obama. What the hell is the matter with some of you?
I totally agree and have thought about that for a while. Everyday Americans who still possess common sense and love their country have tried to make change within the Republican Party. The Communists/Socialists/Progressives have already taken over the Democratic Party. It this can not be done, maybe the only other option is a third party that stays away from social issues and focuses on the business of running the country. I would also like to make the point, that I am tired of the GOP establishment telling the rank and file Republicans that “ROMNEY IS THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN APPEAL TO INDEPENDENTS”–How the heck to they KNOW that? Most of America is totally disengaged and watching Jersey Shores, the Kardashians or American Idol. The public doesn’t know who they want until the media TELLS them who they want. They are like lambs to the slaughter and that is how we got Obama. If people understood the basic fundamentals of the two parties, what they stood for and what the results were of their policies–we would not have INDEPENDENTS!! They would have formed some basic ideology and would not be straddling the fence. The very sad fact is that most of America is simply too dumb to be voting.
Santorum put it very clearly on Hannity’s radio show yesterday and it would serve him well to continue to repeat it. The role of the president in this federal republic is NOT to impose his personal views on the citizens. That he chooses to live his life according to his faith and beliefs (just like everyone else, btw) is not at odds with his outspoken support for our Constitutional foundation of individual pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. Being unafraid to talk about social issues and the consequences of our social choices is NOT the same as forcing your own choices upon others.
We would do well to also voice this same fact about Constitutional roles and responsibilities and send those from our own states who also most strongly support it to Congress from our upcoming local elections. It is far more urgent we seat a Constitution-respecting Congress; if we had one now Holder would be in a jail cell marking time with some Black Panthers and the feds wouldn’t be throwing away a child’s lunch in order to force them to eat nasty chicken nuggets.
“conservatives have no interest in supporting Mitt Romney, and there is absolutely nothing he can do to change this…”
Wrong. Mitt can go all-in with Conservatism. He’s been campaigning as a Northeastern Liberal Republican because he is a Northeastern Liberal Republican, but he can change that. He can admit that his policies are flawed, he can admit that the Liberal ideal of spending other people’s money is unsustainable, he can admit that RomenyCare, while permissible as a State initiative, utterly fails as policy, and he can lay out a Conservative agenda that he will follow.
By all accounts Mitt is a bright guy and anyone with at least a room temperature IQ knows that we’re going broke and that all those nice social safety nets will collapse, so one presumes Mitt knows what the future looks like. Now he can continue to campaign as Moderate Mitt or he can admit what everybody knows… we’re broke. And once he admits that then he can tell the voters what changes must be made because they, not the taxpayer, are responsible for their lives.
He can go all-in on rolling back the government with a simple message “In 2001 the Federal Government spent $1.8 trillion, this year it will spend $3.8 trillion. The cost of the Federal Government has doubled – has the quality of your life also doubled? For the millions out of work or underemployed the answer is “NO”, for those who lost their homes and retirement funds in the Financial Collapse the answer is “NO”, for those who can no longer afford Health Insurance the answer is “NO”. The sad truth is that Federal Spending led to the Housing Collapse which caused the Financial Collapse, Federal Spending on Health Care has caused insurance rates to skyrocket, Federal Spending on “green energy” has caused energy prices to skyrocket, and the jobs that have been lost won’t come back unless we make drastic changes. The sad truth is that every dime spent by the Federal Government over its Constitutional Founding hurts the Country. That additional spending may have been well intentioned but you only have to look around to see the damage it’s caused. Now is the time to decide… vote for me and for Real Change or vote for Obama and more of the same. Send me to Washington with a mandate for drastic change, send me to Washington with a Congress committed to drastic change and we’ll right the ship. We still have time, make the right decision in November.”
If Mitt came out with that message then I’d vote for him. But he won’t, his message is “just slightly less of more-of-the-same” so I won’t vote for him. And the GOP is useless without a President who will force them to be responsible.
Oh, you mean like George H.W. Bush did in ’88?
Talking the talk, and not walking the walk is going to give us another ’92 election in 2016. Brilliant.
So your solution to becoming a European Socialist Country by 2016 is to Become a Euro-Socialist Country by 2020.
Did you finish reading his post before you commented?
Perhaps you missed this part “send me to Washington with a Congress committed to drastic change and we’ll right the ship.”
But in other regards yes, I want Moderate Mitt to do a full frontal George H.W. “read my lips, no new taxes” Bush with the understanding that, unlike in 1988, we’re watching and paying attention. If he and the GOP fail to deliver then he’s a gone pecan and the GOP is consigned to the ash heap of dead political parties. Delaying the destruction of the country for 4 years gives us time to correct course if the politicians will actually act in the best interests of the country. However, as Moderate Mitt won’t commit Conservatism then we’re better off with Barack “Insane” Obama and a Congress divided against him.
I didn’t miss it.
I noted quite clearly how he gave himself an out.
And that’s the difference between someone who MEANS WHAT THEY SAY and Mitt.
Boehner didn’t mention the word ProRata in September or October of 2010 when he promised 100 billion in cuts, but it sure showed up in February when 100 billion miraculously became 60 billion.
Had Boehner Meant what he said he’d have gone into negotiations with the 300 billion in cuts identified by Heritage Foundation, or 350 Billion identified by Dick Morris so he could compromise down to 150, 125, or 100 billion.
Romney by qualifying showed why he’s NO Reagan. Reagan promised and delivered with a Democrat Controlled Congress.
I didn’t miss it at all.
It just confirmed my opinion of Romney.
If only you could judge the sincerity of a person according to how much he appears to mean what he says.
I’m sick and tired of people like Carl Rove trying to scare Republicans into nominating Romney. And I’m also sick and tired of everybody on Romney’s extensive payroll trying to make that same case, that he’s the only “electible” candidate out there for the Republicans. Bunk. People gave Ronald Reagan’s chances in 1980 as barely even with Carter’s. They even thought Carter could win up until the election, those “wise” pundits from the liberal branch of the Republican Party. No, Reagan was much too conservative, those nasty independents would never vote for him. And guess what? Americans voted for Reagan in droves. Why? Because he could articulate a clear conservative message to the public. And Conservatives ended up holding on to the White House for 12 years (longer if Ross Perot had not jumped into the 1992 race).
We CAN do it again. Look what we achieved in 2010. We handed the Democrats their worst defeat since the 1930s. We can do it again. But Romney is NOT the guy to do it. Romney is simply Obama light, and the people know it. If you want a lot of money and goodies from the Federal Government, just re-elect Obama. Of course, we will all go broke in the process, but hey, you have to break a few eggs to make an omelette, right?
Stay strong, stay brave, and stay conservative. All we have to do to destroy Obama is hit him with his own record. And keep asking people if they are better off today than they were four years ago. That line worked for another great American in 1980 and it will work for us again in 2012. Conservatives, in the end, will win. Never in our history has our country needed conservatism more than it needs it now. And people know it. They have been forced to look into the jaws of liberalism and they really don’t like what they see.
After watching Mitt Romney’s interview with Sean Hannity last night, I hope he’s not the nominee. He seemed wired/manic and couldn’t take the ‘cue’ from Sean to slow down a bit and answer the (soft) questions. The eagerness to be the nominee was off-putting to such an extent that I began developing conspiracy theories I’ve never entertained before. Such as, ‘this will be a sprint to victory’, rather than a marathon, and who told him that?
Fortunately, by next summer things may be in such disarray that Obama couldn’t beat PeeWee Herman. Five dollar-a-gallon gas has a way of doing funny things. Worst still is, if the economy begins to rebound (through no help from government- just people making lemonade from socialist lemons) interest rates could climb, such that payments on the interest-on-the-debt would make a Pentagon budget blush. And we’re Greece.
A loss to Obama this election would be a loss to the “Republic, for which it stands”. Mitt doesn’t excite the base. McCain didn’t excite the base- Sarah did. And they brought out every big gun they could to sink her- but she’s still afloat- to their disdain.
If the Reps choose Mitt, it may be their last rodeo. Conservatives and independents will be looking elsewhere to the future. Perhaps Karl Rove will see this in the TEA leaves at his next Chinese buffet. I just pray it’s not too late as ‘lil Hugo and his Pravada machine are going All In on this election. “A republic, if you can keep it” comes to mind.
I fear that you are right about Mitt Romney’s lousy appeal to the voting base of the party, because I believe this is a really good and capable man. I will be voting for the Republican candidate this year because I hate the regressive Communists.
Calling Romney a “half-socialist” is simply silly. He’s the only candidate other then Cain(now gone) with slightest capitalist background. The rest simply lived off the government dole all their lives.
Nancy, that’s a valid point but…there are conditions.
For example, one might think that there are a lot of “constitutionalists” in the US military but there are also a fair number of socialists. These are the people that, inside the military, a lot of folks don’t particularly care for. Although the military is fond of telling its members, “You’re on-duty, 24/7″ but these people actually carry it to the sublime. They rat people out if they see them driving to work with an expired registration tag on their personal vehicle. They call in the cops to measure the height of their grass in base-housing because they think it’s too high. They nit-pick and antagonize others constantly. They are in the military because they like the structure and all the rules are laid out. But when they come face-to-face with an equal ranked creative thinker, the sparks fly because the dyed-in-the-wool militant can’t see how anything can have any flexibility to it and they don’t like change, unless the change is directed from above.
In business, some of the same things can happen but with people like Romney, who think they understand what it’s like to have a day-to-day job, earn a paycheck and clock-in and clock-out each day..well, they simply don’t. They live in a different reality. A “major crisis” to them is that the board meeting has been moved from Tuesday to Thursday and he has to be at the shareholders meeting on Thursday but he needs to be at the board meeting to get “face-time” with the chairman lest they forget who he is. A crisis to an hourly employee is that their kid is sick and they have to be at home and lose money for time not at work. Thus the car payment for their four year old Hyundai might have to be late this month.
Romney doesn’t understand that, except in an empirical sense. Not by experience but merely by observation. He joined the business world in a way that most of us know nothing about. He was first a “junior fellow” who hobnobbed with the rich and powerful, kept his mouth shut, observed how power-plays are made and how to politic within certain groups, how to play one person off another and other manipulative tricks that are less than flattering about the human species. His level of awareness about things you and I consider important is not there. It doesn’t exist. Elite Nor-eastern frat-boy. Better-than-you. You’re here to serve me. I’m running for office because that’s what powerful people do. You never could…look at you…you’re nothing. I’m Mitt Romney….wheeler-dealer, big man on campus. I pretend to listen to you but you have no idea how things work. I do…but you couldn’t possibly understand it at my level. Again…look at you. Who are you? You’re nobody. I’m somebody and it’s the somebodys who run this place, not people like you.
That’s why I don’t like him.
He’s not the guy I want for president but I’ll pull the lever for him if it comes to that because he’s not much better than captain zero..but some.
Do you know Romney? You know so much about his inner personality. Where did you get to know him so well. Please, consider your own biases before you launch your class warfare rhetoric.
Keep your powder dry, and your indigination at what both parties have done to our country on a slow burn. Never let them break you. Never let them see you sweat, in spite of what things appear like, they are Frightened of us
The problem with the Republican Party is this:
There is no core base.
Conventional wisdom suggests that to win a national election you have to have broader appeal than will be allowed by those who screech “RINO” at everyone who has broad appeal. A congresscritter can get elected on a diet of nothing but red meat.
Unfortunately for the “blind right”,… voting arteries clog very quickly when you trample the base of the “live and let live” crowd.
More importantly, the myopic notion that you can have any influence in swing states, center-right states or center-left states by sticking to hard right positions, is so far off base it lacks an ounce of credulity.
“We DEMAND purity!!! Purity of thought, purity of deed, purity of groveling fealty!!!”. Great. Now go lose 40 states with that.
It not only is senseless, divisive and reckless, it’s horrific politics.
Romney is a bad candidate because Romney is a bad message warrior. And this verbal flatulence that having a moderate Republican governor of New Jersey or Massachusetts or California or Virginia or South Carolina or Wisconsin who has to wind his way through a minefield of hard leftist traps is WORSE than having a hard leftist Governor, where we have zero influence, is simply…well, beyond ignorant.
There is much to dislike about Romney as a candidate that doesn’t dribble drool down the front of one’s shirt.
And, if beating Obama and the hard leftists isn’t at the top of the list, with no issue even within view as second place, then the responder doesn’t understand the question. And, they clearly doesn’t understand the magnitude of the issues at hand.
NONE OF THE ABOVE is the answer for 60% right now and the reason is that this solid majority of intelligent, awake and aware voters understand that there is no other question worth asking if we lose another four years to the small c communists.
The four remaining candidates are inferior in the one thing that matters. Can they beat Obama? The answer appears to be no. Everything else about “roveestablishment” “roveromney”, RINO, …is mindless drivel. Sorry.
If we can’t agree on a consensus candidate that the “live and let live” crowd and the “I want to control your genitals” crowd can agree upon…we’re sunk.
These four candidates suck. “B” teamers. And we are going to lose what should have been a landslide, taking back all three Houses and the Supreme Court, because of asinine claims of “RINO” and “roveromney” spitball fights.
Where are the adults in the room? We need a course correction. Now.
This is out of hand. And all that is at stake…is merely where Obama and the small c communists will take us next.
Every thinking person ought to be demanding that we win. And, that demands a consensus candidate. Or we are going to lose…everything. And we won’t have to worry about controlling Republican’s genitals…Obama and the small c communists are going to cut them off.
Again, CFB, no one worth their salt is going to run against Obama. It’s going to be one of these currently-running candidates, so get used to it. The first-rate potential candidates are determined to wait until the next election cycle when they don’t have to worry about PC & AA as obstacles to their success. If you want to channel your anger somewhere other than the current situation with the Pub candidates, how about towards the Democrats who are also refusing to run someone halfway decent against this man. Face it, Obama is too much of a hot potato for them as well. Under normal circumstances (read if Obama were white), they would have a field of candidates.
I understand your thinking, bobbcat.
I just don’t agree with your conclusions.
First, I believe we are headed to the convention without a candidate. We ARE going to a brokered convention, in my estimation.
Second, I believe that all four of these candidates are losing propositions in the general election.
Third, I believe that the Democratic Party is now the small c communist party and have been taken over, lock, stock and barrel by the hard left. They are on a fascist mission, they are trampling the Constitution, beshitting their oaths of office and seizing the free market in an overthrow.
Fourth, they won’t run anyone against Obama, because they ARE Obama.
Fifth, we are in the fight of our lives. And putting up a parade of losers is a disgrace. I won’t settle for it, nor should anyone who cares about this country.
Finally, I cannot be convinced to simply roll over and lose. It’s not in my nature. Accepting these crappy, loser candidates is doing just that. As long as we are going to a brokered convention anyway…as long as the vast MAJORITY of voters agree with me, they like NONE of these candidates, then the only rational response…by any responsible party…would be to go to the brokered convention and draft a ticket of winners, instead of forcing losers down our throats.
Ryan/Rubio is the winning ticket. We ALL ought to back it …now.
Why should any observer feel down about conservatism’s prospects following this historic display of moral clarity?
Not down, just tentative, because “conservatives” (aka Americans) may well be outnumbered by ignorant voters with their blinders on and their hands out.
What was apparent in the ’08 election is even more glaringly obvious now, but until there is an election (one that the Democrat machine will do everything in its power to tweak), it will be impossible to know whether or not the majority of voters gets it.
In trench warfare, there is no time for self-congratulatory anything.
Some pundits are writing (blah blah blah) that we’ll have to wait until 2016 to unseat this cabal in Washington DC.
We don’t have that long.
When all is said and done Newt has the best chance at undoing the Obama damage and turning the country toward conservatism. Newt’s history and imperfections only make him like the rest of us imperfect citizens. The choice is either Newt or four more years of an unconstrained Obama. Santorum or Romney debating Obama and his supportive media brigade would be a pathetic joke. Newt , as we have seen, is unafraid to take on the media and has the depth of experience and the intellectual quickness and access to facts to hammer and defete Obama. Lets pick a winner this time rather than another John McCain loser.
The extent to which big money is buying elections and determining the direction of United States policy is appalling.
Aw Susie we’ll miss you at our $38,500/plate dinner in SF
It seems to me most of the commentors have missed your point.
As I read, I considered why my level of optimism has been less diminished this political season, despite all of the GOP nominee bashing and “vetting”. For a long time I have despaired the GOP does not hear me or care about my concerns. The Tea Party has changed that. Now there is a place I can go where there are people with common concerns for our country and its future. Hope remains that the TP will continue to work with me and for me. YES! The GOP needs us; we don’t need them.
Conservatives are very unhappy with the status quo and want it repealed, at least in theory. But in practice? About half the military budget will soon go to pay for personnel costs and retirement benefits. Sounds more like an entitlement program than a program of national defense. Cuts, anyone? Social Security is on an unsustainable path. Benefits must be reduced or payroll taxes raised; probably both. Ditto Medicare, which will soon bankrupt the country if it already hasn’t. Ditto Medicaid. Ditto government entitlements and assistance programs of all kinds. But again, mostly silence all around. Why is this? We all know why: Americans of all political persuasions are addicted to entitlements. They don’t want changes in them, although if pressed, they could be persuaded to take a little more. So a conservatism that professes to want a government that lives within its means turns out to be a conservatism that applies largely to others, say, for example, those just starting out. Today’s principled conservatism: loudly invoke the Founders and send the bills to the next generation.
Well, I for one want to get rid of the 27 federal bunny inspectors. I freely admit this applies only to others and not to me; as I do not raise rabbits or buy rabbits.
There has been a very recent viable plan to reform medicare/medicaid, but it was shot down by the leftists, and left undefended by the jello-spined life forms posing as Republican leadership in congress.
Plans to reform social security have likewise been presented by conservatives and suffered the same fate.
The military budget? It’s a blip on the radar screen compared to all the social spending. Not only that, but the military actually happens to be a constitutionally mandated organisation. You can’t say the same for the rest of it.
Simply talking about spending is only one side of the coin too. In theory at least, all of that stuff could be affordable if revenues were high enough – NOT THAT I SUPPORT ALL THAT SOCIALIST GARBAGE. I’M JUST MAKING A POINT.
“Americans of all political persuasions are addicted to entitlements.”
Yep. This goes a long way to explain why Democrats & moderate Republicans have he easiest time on election day. People are fine with the idea of slashing spending until the discussion moves to the sacred cows: Social security & Medicare. Even Tea Party types cringe at the thought of reforming these programs.
There has been a very recent viable plan to reform medicare/medicaid, but it was shot down by the leftists, and left undefended by the jello-spined life forms posing as Republican leadership in congress.
Plans to reform social security have likewise been presented by conservatives and suffered the same fate.
The military budget? It’s a blip on the radar screen compared to all the social spending. Not only that, but the military actually happens to be a constitutionally mandated organisation. You can’t say the same for the rest of it.
Simply talking about spending is only one side of the coin too. In theory at least, all of that stuff could be affordable if revenues were high enough – NOT THAT I SUPPORT ALL THAT SOCIALIST GARBAGE. I’M JUST MAKING A POINT. All that spending is “out of control spending” because there’s no money to pay for it. The reason there’s no money to pay for it is because our federal, state, and local governments are utterly destroying industry in this country. So yes, cut spending, cut programs, but for the love of Pete, let’s also talk about decimating/disbanding the EPA, OSHA, NLRB, and the other 3000 or so agencies and organizations designed to crush capitalism….
Sounds about right. I quit being scared of Obama the day John McCain turned his back on responsibility and consequences and voted for TARP. I can live no matter what the government is doing, if it succeeds, fails or completely disintegrates. I will not vote for Romney under any circumstance. I will vote for Obama if the candidate on the (R) line is Romney and I will live with the consequences of that decision. Those who are not willing to live with that consequence had better plan accordingly. I will not be bullied into voting for a progressive riding under the false flag of Republican.
By saying you’ll “live with the consequences” of voting for Obama, I hope this includes not a peep of complaints about the continued disastrous effects of his status as POTUS.
I use this handle everywhere I post. Please feel free to find where I have complained about his actions. For the most part, my complaints all come to the side of, what is wrong with the Republican party that they just roll over at every opportunity in order to empower the little thug in chief. I will keep that line of attack going. Obama sucks, but he is not on my team destroying my team’s reputation and thus empowering the enemy. So, you can believe that I will not be whining about Obama, I will be whining about the limp noodle Republicans that continue to refuse to face him down and do what should have already occured. Slap that president down and remind him that the Presidency is in fact a position of limited power.
I’m with you astonerii, why vote for one side of the coin or the other? Romney is like Obama who is like Bush. All of them are statists through and through. Although, I would never vote for Obama. I’d voice my disgust with the two major parties by voting 3rd part, probably Gary Johnson if he’s the libertarian candidate.
I would vote third party if it was at least as viable an option as Perot was in 1992. The only reason I will vote Obama is to send a message, I will not allow “electable” to be a prinicple and I will not allow progressive to become a valid aspect of our leadership. Bush did quite a bit of damage to our nation by destroying the brand of Republican, Romney will do even more.
Astonerii–
Okay, let’s see if I understand your logic: Mr.Obama is destroying the country, and you don’t like that. So, your solution is to vote for Mr. Obama, so he can
finally succeed in destroying the country, to send a “message” to the only people who have any possibility, however slim, of rolling back his policies.
That’s like trying to cure your cancer by committing suicide.
You do not understand it. Not even remotely. I think you do so through what I call deliberately self imposed ignorance. That is your choice.
I wrote this below earlier, and fits pretty much the entirety of it.
When your opponent is busy destroying themself you leave them to it.
When your ally is busy destroying themself, you intervene, even if they are not happy with it.
Allowing Romney to be the president is allowing your ally to destroy themself. Obama is doing a great job of destroying the percieved validity of every single aspect of the left’s repertoir of actions and policies. I am perfectly happy to not have Romney be president to allow this self destructive activity to continue.
To adendum it for you so that you are force to further strain yourself self impossing ignorance on yourself…
In other words, I do the best that can be done under the circumstances presented. I give Americans an additional 4 years to watch Obama continue to destroy all the liberal progressive platforms before their eyes at astoniching speed while allowing the only force left in the nation at this point in time the opportunity to regroup and learn those negative lessons that Obama is teaching us so hopefully in 2016 we have grown up enough to actually want to address the problems facing this nation, rather than ignoring them and saying they have been taken care of, yet again.
No, his message is: “Change is needed but the GOP won’t change unless it’s forced to change”.
As long as Conservatives will vote for ABO, the GOP has no need to compete for the Conservative Vote. Consequently, the electoral success of the GOP rests firmly with non-Conservatives and history tells us that the GOP governs according to the wishes of the Liberal Republicans and against the interests of its Conservative Base. It will continue to do so until it’s forced to change. Simply voting for Mitt, Newt, Ron, Rick or somebody else who isn’t Obama doesn’t help unless they’re actually going to govern according to Conservative Principles.
What you’re really saying is that you’re an idiot who really doesn’t understand a damned thing about politics, but don’t worry you’re in good company with all the “true conservatives;” just take your place in the circular firing squad.
What you are saying is that you are not grown up enough to be able to know when a bad tasting medicine is really what is needed to cure the ailment you are suffering from. You would rather go the homepathic cancer curing method rather than go through chemotherapy.
Lots of Americans are like that with politics, and you are right, I do not play politics, I do not like politics. I like honesty, I like honor, I like character and I like personal responsibility. Romney offers nothing for me.
Time to grow up, time to take your medicine and eat your green vegatables, time to wake yourself up early in the morning, get out of bed and get yourself to work on time.
Hi, Art–
Astonerii isn’t an idiot. He’s an Obama propagandist with a convoluted new rap that his masters hope they’ll be able to sell.
Watch for this all year. The DFemocrats regard us as “angry and disaffected,” so they will be attemnpting to get us to direct this “anger and disaffection” against ourselves. They actually think we’re nothing more than a bunch of resentful, anti-government twits whose “ignorance” can be manipulated.
This guy isn’t going to stop posting, because he’s probably being paid to invade
Conservative blogs, under this name and maybe a few others. I’d recommend reading his stuff, just as an interesting study in the technique.
Fr Jim Feel free to review my entire past. My online presence has lasted for about 2 full decades now. I have always been a conservative, I am a conservative today. I will vote for the Conservatives on my ballot. I will not vote for the non-conservatives on my ballot, I do not care what letter designation they come with.
I will not stop posting because I think there is an important message that the Republican party needs to get now, the time for catering to the progressives on all things is over. If you want to remain a valid political party, you will start practicing valid political policy.
We have only one power over our representatives, and that is our vote. If we freely give it to anyone with a letter designation (R), then we have no power, we are simply slaves and they are the masters. Feel free to allow them to abuse your vote.
But, as you accuse me of bing a false flag employer, I tend to wonder how much of that is your own reflection. I doubt your handle will show 2 decades, let alone 2 years of continuous conservativeness.
My old townhall blog is attached to my handle, as you will see, I am not some progressive. I do not attach it to my handle anymore because I can no longer update there. I am not sure why, but they do not give me the option to log on there anymore. Maybe they gave up on allowing bloggers there.
No, astonerii, what you’re saying is that you’re an idiot and you expect to be able to find kindred idiots who are willing to leave that communist SOB and his comrades in charge of the US for four more years rather than sully your idiotic sensibilities.
The Left worked incrementally for 70-odd years to set themselves up for the coup d’etat of ’08. You aren’t going to undo all that and get a socially and fiscally conservative smaller government in one election or with one candidate or even the next ten elections. A Romney, Gingrich, or Santorum, in the unlikely event that Santorum could get elected, cannot add or subtract anything from the federal government without the Congress, and especially without the House. A Republican President, any Republican President can bring a Democrat Senate to heel. A Republican President, any Republican President, can shut down the government and hear the screams of outrage from the moocher and parasites and their friends in the media without having to face re-election a few months afterward the way house members do.
The federal government we have today was built brick on brick over a hundred years and more. Every single thing it does had the support of a majority of the Congress, if not necessarily the Country, at the time it was done. The pure conservative idiots that voted the Constitution Party rather than vote for the mau-maued Ted Stevens, the pure conservative idiots who supported the one candidate the gaming industry in Nevada couldn’t divide, the pure conservative idiots that supported an idiot in Maryland cost another Senate seat. In other words, the true conservative idiots gave Comrade Obama the Senate and gave the Nation Obamacare and the most corrupt administration we’ve seen in living memory.
And, fool, I don’t need to grow up; I’ve been a part of keeping my State Republican for a very long time, even if you pure conservatives don’t much like our kind of Republicans – except the one that ran and governed as the un-Republican; you fools seem to like her a lot.
Actually Art Chance, I am not an idiot. Do you always spend your time calling people idiots? I got no desire to leave Obama in office, that is up to “we the people” as a whole. But I would rather leave him in office than put his ideological twin in office under the banner of the party that has a chance to save this nation, but will be harmed by it putting him in place. Twist is Art, twist it hard, it always comes out to the long term goal. Putting Romney into office causes harm long term. Grow up and eat your veggies!
Yes, the left worked for over 100 years in fact, they got us the popular voted into power Senators who no longer do what the founders intended them to do, defend states rights. Of course we are not going to turn it all around in one election. Then again, we are never going to save our nation unless we start somewhere. I have chosen here and now. If you are too scared and unwilling to make the sacrifices, then go on and do not turn back and claim you were ever one of the patriots of this nation, you are not!
Wow, your way up on your history, it is 236 years old in July 4 this year. 100 years or more… Wah, cry me a river about your thoughts that a moderate senate is going to save us. It will not. We have republicans in office today that stab us in the back chance they get. Notice that in 2010, the lame duck session accomplished more for the Democrats than any other time, and they had JUST LOST THE FILIBUSTER PROOF MAJORITY before that.
Yeah, you do need to grow up, you think the nation can continue to move ever leftward with your half measures. Socialism always fails, it does not matter if it gets started fast or slow. You just want a slow ride to the failure so that you personally never have to actually deal with any of the consequences and leave that to other people’s children.
Yep, you’re an idiot, and you can always tell and idiot, but you can’t tell him much.
I bet you get many people to come to your side of the argument. What do you got, name calling. Mature people with good arguments always resort to that sort of argument quickly, do they not? Oh, I have that backwards, when you are left with only having name calling left what you have done is shown your immaturity as well as your total lack of any argument. I tend to think most people grow out of the, “you are an idiot” phase as their only argument somewhere around age 10 to 12. Other people, like yourself, just never grow up, even at the ripe old age of what ever it is you are.
My position has something your position will never have. Facts, weighting, likely consequences and finally a mature accounting and final analysis of what is the best course of action.
You have, but he has an (R) after his name, he must be better!
No, astonerii, I just don’t waste electrons arguing with people so stupid that they can’t tell the difference between a politically center-right practicing Morman and an open, avowed communist trying his best to destroy our Country. Oh, and I’m not even a Romney supporter, but I’ll vote for him if he’s the nominee. I’ll vote for a yellow dog if it’s the Republican nominee against Comrade Obama.
Good deal. Then you admit that I am right, since you do not waste electrons on people who are not.
There’s a Lady, formerly of the AK (and Ntl.) political scene, who mentioned this weekend that this disarray in the GOP Primary field is starting to rekindle that Fire in her belly for electoral politics. I imagine that if things are still questionable after Super Tuesday we might see a new hat in the ring prior to the convention.
Then…ALL BETS ARE OFF!
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Our Forefathers Would Be Shooting by Now!
“Our Forefathers Would Be Shooting by Now!”
If our FF were in charge, we would not be witness to an affirmative action POTUS. NTS, they would have never allowed AA to exist.
Are many here under the illusion that the Tea Party is a set of small government Libertarians, fiscally conservative and socially liberal, and that represents the basic precepts of its formation? That what is imperative is some nebulous message of “returning to the Constitution” by getting our fiscal house in order and “live and let live” our creed, leading us to the promised land liberty? That if somehow we magically balanced our budget today and disbanded the TSA, all is well? Are you willingly blind to the moral fabric tearing at the seams of the family – which is ultimately what has given us a man of Barack Obama’s character?
I reread a speech this morning by Patrick Henry – one of the most famous and beloved in all of American history, predating even our independence. Everyone here has read it. There is nobody here worthy to debate the wisdom contained in the speech. If we are to believe the Tea Party is only about fiscal responsibility and nothing else, then it is short lived and has already failed in its mission.
Read it.
http://libertyonline.hypermall.com/henry-liberty.htm
Did you catch the part about,”Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.”
I am not going to be silenced because some of you are “uncomfortable” I find my God ultimately important. You will no more be my master or my mouthpiece than Caesar Obama will be.
=======
Now, “social” Conservatives, please be pragmatic and wise this time. This threat of just “sitting it out and pouting” because we don’t like Karl Rove’s influence is childish. The inanity of some of you finding “We are the Generation We’ve Been waiting For” as profound four years ago is an embarrassment.
It should be apparent to anyone calling themselves a Christian and attempting to live it, that Barack Obama is party to evil. Obama can attend church, he can quote from the Sermon on the Mount, he can twist Proverbs and parables to justify “social justice” – and still it should be abundantly clear to you that Barack Obama is diametrically opposed to the guidelines. Witness the demands of Caesar and his minions toward the Catholic Church these last weeks. Are you naive enough to believe that won’t happen to you? If that didn’t send a chill down your spine, then check your pulse.
If you can’t see what is going down, you’re as blind as the most amoral Libertarian.
That alone should be enough to put aside these petty squabbles when the nominee is chosen because we didn’t get Ronald Reagan. And you should enthusiastically do so this time, working to develop a better set of candidates to carry our message.
When your opponent is busy destroying themself you leave them to it.
When your ally is busy destroying themself, you intervene, even if they are not happy with it.
Allowing Romney to be the president is allowing your ally to destroy themself. Obama is doing a great job of destroying the percieved validity of every single aspect of the left’s repertoir of actions and policies. I am perfectly happy to not have Romney be president to allow this self destructive activity to continue.
Do you really honestly believe Mitt Romney is Barack Obama? And mind you, this is not coming from a wholly owned Mitt Romney fan. As recently as two months ago, Romney was last on my list of preferable Repub candidates, minus Paul.
However, that is damn sure not the way I read these diametrically opposed choices.
If you honestly think Mitt Romney is Obama, and you can’t measure that while Obama has indeed demonstrated that progressive politic is bankrupt and prescription for failure, and understand Romney’s record and history no different than Obama’s, then I call you the a different side of the same rusted coin and you should cast your vote for Obama to hasten the downfall.
All you will have left is an empty victory should you win.
Romney is Obamalite. There is not a single issue for which Romney is removed by more than a degree or two from Obama’s position.
Obamacare = Romneycare (Romney still supports his law, he must support Obamacare)
Environment and energy, Romney cut the allowable energy production at several coal plants, called them people killers, stopped coal plant construction and said only those that sequester the CO2 would be allowed to be built, stopped a wind power construction and was anti-nuclear.
Bailouts. Supported them, said the auto bailouts were the same as what he did at Bain, benefited from them.
Religious liberty, same as Obama, he forced mandates on the cathoic church. He started by giving them a waiver and then quietly revoked it forcing the church to do as Obama is.
Anything you list as a policy, you will find that Romney has already done what Obama has done.
Astonerii–
The point you’re missing is that, if Mr. Obama is re-elected, there probably won’t be a 2016 election. Mr. Obama is George Soros’ finger-puppet, and Mr. Soros has declared publicly that he considers himself a “god.” TGhis Administration is beyond concrn for anything as trivial as the continued existence of the United States, which Mr. Soros considers “evil.”
All fine and dandy to “let Obama destroy the Left,” if this were thirty or so years ago. We don’t have time for that anymore. Our nation is on the verge of
extinction, and our survival depends on getting rid of this man. If the guy who follows him is just as bad, we’re no worse off. If he’s even a little better, we’ve bought some breathing space. That is what a sane man does when he’s trapped in a room and all the air is being pumped out.
So, you are saying the progressives have me over the barrel and that fear must guide my actions? We never have time, this election is always different. The end is neigh, repent of your sins and vote (R) straight ticket or you will not be taken to heaven. The country is faltering and only inches away from destruction but by allowing the (R) party to slow it down while keeping it on track will give us time to survive.
Been there for the last several decades. Who knows, maybe you can get some 18 year old to take your fear mongering seriously, I will no longer do so. Already watched the movie, I know the ending.
I’m not asking for fear to be your guide. I’m asking for the sense to know lightness from dark, sweet from bitter, right from wrong, even if it only slows the slide.
And if your message is some coded apocalypse, spare me. That’s no more theologically sound than Obama believing he will dictate from his temple of Styrofoam columns.
You conclusion makes you no prophet, martyr or saint. But it does make you a party to illicit foolishness and depravity, while lending subtle assistance.
If anyone is assisting the darkness, that would be people who refuse to give any difference between the two. You can have Obamaevil or you can have Obamaevillite is not a choice. It has just been a slow slide perpetually in one direction, and that my friend is caused by one group of people more than anyone else, the moderates that demand we put moderates in office that automatically shifts all direction of government to be towards the progressive regressive left. So you can take your BS argument about how I am part of the group to blame for the problems of America and shove them deep inside yourself in the place you should have had a soul. I am not buying it, and I am not going to let you try and convince others that they should buy your cheap second hand oil as some kind of cure.
Forgive me from straying of my rule of no soap box preaching….all but Astonerri can ignore this:
——–
Aston,
I’m not going to try to convince you. Vote Obama, or don’t vote at all should Romney win the nomination. But I have a question if think me so unholy and misguided.
If you are what you say you are, and self-admittedly hoping for Obama to carry the day so “When your opponent is busy destroying themself you leave them to it”, explain to me why you, the righteous man, is in direct violation of the message of Ezekial’s warning of the watchman from Chapter 33:
“When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood..
Either you need to minister to Obama, or if Mitt should win the nomination, be administering to Romney, should you not? I haven’t found any instruction that explains the virtues of sitting idly by…watching the world go to hell.
I am not in the position to influence either of those two people. The people who are in a position to do something are the voters. If you want a good government, then you have to provide rewards for good governance. Those rewards are in the form of votes. That is how we are able to proselytize to politicians. If it is only beneficial for politicians to lie, cheat, steal, put off and otherwise loot our nation, then that is what they will do. Particularly when the people who give them the reward of power through their vote are all too willing to do so, for no other reason than they want their brand of politician in office and they could care less that the brand name does not offer any quality at all. The stitches are coming undone, the zippers are jamming, the cloth is fraying and disintegrating and the buttons are corroding, but by god, it has your brand name on it.
Well, we get the government we deserve, and believe it or not, the politicians are doing exactly what politicians do, they follow the rewards offered by the electorate. If you want a good government, make it so that a bad person can be in office and because they want to remain in office will still do what is good. How do you do that? Well, you kick out of office people who do not do what you want them to do, and when necessary, you prosecute them and put them in jail. Instead of that today, what we have are the people like you who will take any (R) in a storm or in the best of weather. Today is not the day to hold them to account, there will be an election in two years. Today is not the day to say enough, there will be another presidential election in 4 years.
Well, I say today is the day to hold the politicians to their oaths of office and to only reward those who do things that are good. Join me and we can make a difference for the good. Continue on your merry way, and you will be four years down the road from the election looking at things being worse than you ever imagined they could be, despite how bad things are today. It will always be like that if you have your way. If Romney wins the election, we will be 2016, having an extra $5t to $8t more debt, we will be 4 to 8 years closer to medicare and social security insolvency, the economy will have been in and out of recession after recession, unemployment will be moderate to high, even though the workforce participation level has continued to decline, and we will looking at the exact same election circumstances in 2016 that we are looking at today. The country is in the worst position it has been in ever, we must elect only someone with an (R), and yes Hilary Clinton is perfectly conservative enough to be an (R)! Vote Hilary, she has the right branding!
I’m am a Right Winger of the worst kind, and so I feel strange to be saying this, but… Romney is, far and away, the best one of them on Illegal Immigration. And being a Californian, guess what my main issue is. If it’s your main issue too, RELAX, Romney is actually your guy, far better than any of the previous GOP nominees since this became an issue.
I am certain this article was written about me. I am unabashadly Libertarian (close enough to be lumped in with the “conservatives” about which the writer writes). I will not vote for Romney or Santorum; Obama is truly a dangerous man but I will not vote for anyone who needs a soft and muffling pad before he timidly “pounds” his/her fist on the table. Might vote for Paul and suggested to him he run as a third party candidate but no other Republican is left standing for whom I will vote.
Merry Christmas.
Thanks for nuthin’.
Our predicament is so far beyond who you will (or will not) support as an antidote to The One™
Have you been following the series on Media Matters at Daily Caller ?
Our so called news-stream is so manipulated, our elections have become so about money, even the integrity of the vote so questionable…that declaiming about who you might or might not, will or will not, support with your individual vote might be a little beside the point.
Corruption at work
All I can say is we’re doomed. If Santorum is our candidate, we will spend the rest of the year talking about abortion, condoms and gays. The media will see to that. And we will lose.
And now that Republican purists have succeeded in destroying Mitt Romney, the only Republican with a chance of beating Obama, it’s all over. Conservatives have blown it, and President Obama will have them to thank for his second term.
So be it. If Americans love the culture of death more than liberty, we deserve exactly what we’ll get. This is the hill we’re prepared to die on. And if you really believed what you were saying, you’d sit down and shut up, because publicly undermining us doesn’t help.
The “pure conservatives” and Santorum supporters are interested in getting a like minded nominees who will have poor appeal to independents and those in the middle of the political spectrum. Nominating a candidate who can beat obama is beyond their mental comprehension.
Romney is the only candidate in the Republican field with a chance to win the election in November, and that opportunity seems to be declining because of the arch conservatives, social conservatives, and tea party types don’t think he is conservative enough. These fools are going to give us 4 more years of Obama and his crew who are ruining this country.
It’s tragic.
ABO ABO ABO ABO ABO ABO ABO ABO ABO ABO ABO ABO – let’s do it!
Huh?
If in the last three years there had been a congress or a Supreme Court with honor and integrity enough to stop the destructive actions of a president who has overstepped his given authority, we would not now be looking at a group of contenders that fall short of the task ahead. Seemingly. But the next president, assuming he/she will be a Republican, has not just the business of day-to-day operations, but also the undoing of years of poor legislation. The Obama years being the worst in our history. We cannot elect a sanctimonious Rhino. We need a loaded gun. We need someone who knows how to clean, load, and fire one. Plainly, whether you like him or not, Newt Gingrich is that man.
That is where I stand as well. I will vote for Santorum if he is there, but I want Newt. I will ignore Paul if he somehow gets there.
I preferred Gingrich like you. And like you, I recognize perhaps the most important issue this President will decide could be as many as three SCOTUS.
But in the advent Gingrich or Santorum do not win and Romney does, remember who Romney stated was his own personal example of preference for SCOTUS: Scalia and Roberts.
I don’t know your personal choice, but those are two good answers in my book. And they would surely be better than the alternatives Obama will nominate.
Remember what Romney did to the selection process for judges in Massachusetts. There is one sure fire way to tell what someone will do in the future, look at what they have done in the past. It does not take a genius to go to a couple web pages and pick out a couple of names of Justices conservatives find appealing. What does take genius is to look at the records of potential judges and determine how they will respond to having the power of determining constitutionality. Romney does not have that genius, in fact, when he was given the opportunity to practice picking judges for Massachusetts, he punted and created through an executive order the first in the nation judge picking process that took out every aspect of ideology and ended up nominating judges to the bench that would have made Progressive Democrat Massachusetts Governors wonder how he got them through the process. Out of 36 picks, 9 of them were progressive Republicans, the rest were extreme left progressives. I think I will stick to my position of Anyone but Romney.
Ooops.
What puerile piece! There are pros and cons on the candidates running, and I’m inclined now to Santorum. But this anonymous piece seems more concerned with how much candidates cater to you than whether or not they would be good for the country. We conservatives are all about conserving an exceptional country, not our self importance.
I have been reading this entire discussion and analyzing what all sides are saying. I believe that there is concensus that “new ideas” or “new blood” is necessary. Maybe we need to reconsider the potential of Rick Perry who can bring together most views, can certainly stand up to Obama and have Colonel West, Bobby Jindal or Herman Cain has his running mate…or even Michele Bachman to really mix up the pot against the POTUS.
Rocky, I’ve been a Rick Perry supporter since he first threw his hat in the ring. I still truly believe he had the best message and programs. If there was any way to talk him into returning I would love it. I was very disappointed by his performance in the first few debates until I read about his back surgery. I know what pain can do to a person’s performance. Unfortunately, I don’t think there is any way to get him to come back into the running. At least not this time around.
As to the live and let live idea, that pretty much is how I think. I want a candidate that will get government out of our lives as much as humanly possible. Let people do their jobs without worrying about too many regulations. I’m not sure any of the candidates we have now will do that but anybody has to be better than Obama.
As to Obama’s electability, don’t kid yourselves. Even with all his screw ups he still has pretty much the same base that got him elected last time. Even if we get a brokered deal and get our best person possible, this will still be a very close election. We have to appeal to the swing voters. Get our message out loud and clear and show Obama for what he is. Pound home all the mistakes he has made and show what he is doing to the country. Bury him with facts he can not spin.
We may get stuck with Romney but we can get control over both houses and force him to follow our will.If Obama gets back in we couldn’t get him to do our will if we held a pistol to his head. He would manage to slime his way around anything we threw in his path and the country be damned! We have to make a decision soon. Whoever we decide on must get started defeating Obama. We have to get him out of that office. There is no way we, as a nation can survive another four years of Obama unchecked.
The Republican Ruling Class has really pulled a hissy fit, haven’t they?
They would rather tank the country than give up their seats at the left hand of the throne.
For they, it’s never about the country. It’s always about their power.
Stay Positive! Remember what happened to the seat A. Weiner held. There was another seat out west that went down just as convincingly.
The year is just beginning, there is a lot that can still happen and I’m praying God doesn’t disappoint. We’re talking about the left here and sure they get a lot of passes, but they’ll never get as many as they need. That would be impossible! They are walking-talking (as my drill use to say) circle jerks that do one thing consistently, screw up!
Keep your chins up and your eyes open…
I think conservatives may win the battle but lose the war. How many voters will vote for a far right candidate? I remember leaving my mail-in ballot for Governor of Arizona on my dining room table for days because I could not bring myself to vote for the far right Republican candidate. Whether the ultra conservates will succeed in making Santorem the candidate is unknown at this time but, I think, he will forever be known for his attitude toward contraception and many voters will consider it arcane and will choose Obama.
If we have to give up on all fronts because the media and progressives have regressed American’s ideals so far backwards that we cannot win on our merits, the war is already lost.
You may be right Donna, but your post brings to my mind Kennedy. I remember so many people saying if he was elected the Pope would be running America but he had a lot of things going for him otherwise. He was a rich, young, good looking war hero with a beautiful wife and he swore his religion would not influence his presidency. At least he didn’t lie about that.
As to a war hero, many have said he just screwed up and was in a place where he shouldn’t have been in the first place. As to his money, his family made their fortune running booze from Canada during prohibition. As to his wife and in part to his religion, Jackie got him more votes than he would ever have been able to bring in on his own and he cheated on her more than any other president in history which I believe is against his church’s doctrine. but he got elected. We got Camelot, such as it was.
Now, as to Santorum, if he would just reassure the people he would not let his religion interfere with the will of the majority of the people then he would probably be a good choice. I’m not sure about the big government claims against him. He might just have been caught up in what everyone else in Washington was up to. If he gets the candidacy then he is going to have to make his points clear as to exactly what he is going to do. So far he hasn’t shown me anything to make him stand out from the crowd though.
There is no far right candidate. That’s what this thing is a farce – other than being far right on social issues, Santorum is a big government conservative.
At least those elections were lost by people who were actually conservative.
I’m sorry, I don’t even know what conservatism means anymore. Certainly not smaller government and free markets like I thought it meant.
Somehow the guy that ran a business and was a governor is the evil establishment big government liberal, while the two guys that were big washington insiders and lobbyists are the conservative outsiders?
Frankly, thanks to its stupidity, I think the Republican party just needs to crash in burn and maybe something less stupid will rise from the ashes. GWB started this mess and the Republican party wants to send his evil clone (Santorum) to office?
The candidate that conservatives want said she isn’t running.
And if she were running she would lose.
Gov. Romney is a poor choice for the presidency of the United States but he is far better for the country than is Obama. What a sad situation. Let’s hope that whatever GOP candidate makes it to the White House, he will grow into something better than he is right now. If the GOP can control both houses of Congress they can at least control whoever is elected president.
And the last time our party controlled both houses of Congress (2001-07), they spent money like drunken sailors on shore leave. G.W. Bush didn’t veto a single spending bill from the Republican Congress. How soon people forget things like the Alaska bridge to nowhere (which Santorum voted for).
And how will things be different if both houses are in Republican hands beginning next January??
We in Alaska certainly will never forget the self-serving lies told about a project that didn’t add one dime to Alaska’s proportional share of Nationwide transportation funding. And just so you’re clear, Sarah Palin took the money; she just let DOT spend it elsewhere in the State, where people more likely to support her lived. Young earmarked the Ketchikan bridge because he knew that unless it was earmarked, it would just get spent to gild the already gold-plated infrastructure in Anchorage and its suburbs like Wasilla at the expense of the infrastructure starved Southeast, Western, and Northern areas of the State.
But, it did do one thing; it gave us a very good look at how the rest of the Country sees Alaska and we’ll remember that when the Escalades in California are lawn ornaments because there’s no gas that anyone can afford. For us, selling 300K/bbl./dy. at $90/bbl. gives us the same revenue as selling 1MM/bbl./dy. at $30/bbl., and we really don’t care what you pay for gas Outside. Oh, and don’t start on other federal spending in Alaska; most of that is on stuff the US owns here, not on any direct expenditures in Alaska for specifically Alaskan things.
Awww, that just sounds terrible. People who want to live out in the boondocks were denied their god given right to other people’s money in order to imporve their plight in life. Part of the point of doing what those people do is being away from everyone else. If they want the road, they should build the road. It is part of the cost of living where they live. If it is not worth it to build the road, that is their problem. I bought land out in the middle of Western Texas no where near a road, should I be given tens of millions of dollars to build a road to my land from people who live in the city in Maine?
Romney would be a better (D) President than President Obama (D) is. The problem I have with him is that he is running to be the standard bearer of the Republican party, and we all know how less than solid conservative (R) presidents leave the white house. With the Congress having moved to the left and there being almost no chance for a (R) candidate to win the White House. Go back to Ford and move forward. Do a time line. Mark it up as how the country was run, was that 2 year period run towards conservatism or towards liberalism.
Squichy Ford handed power to Jimmy Carter! Squishy GHWBush handed power to Clinton. GWBush handed power to Obama.
Ford started with 42 (R), ended with 37 Senators. Started with 192 and ended with 144 House.
GHWBush started with 55 (R), ended with 54 Senators. Started with 175 and ended with 167 house.
GWBush started with 50 (R), got to 55 and ended with 49 and was quickly dropping to 41 senators. Started with 221 and ended with 198 which dropped to 178 house members.
So, even if Romney can win the White House, his toxic in the middle governing will decimate what congressmen we have and turn the nation over to a progressive (D) president in 2016, if we are lucky it will not happen til 2020. But in the end, we gain nothing for the 4 to 8 years, and in the process ensure we lose majorly in the years after that, as we did in 2006 and 2008.
Romney is a center-right, practicing Morman; you can’t be a Democrat these days unless you’re a public employee, an idiot, or a communist. Now, to your warped view of history. Gerald Ford was a real nice guy elected to the Senate from what we’d now call a Purple tending Blue state with powerful organized labor influence. He’d never even run for any National office when Nixon, already embroiled in scandal appointed him VP to replace Agnew. He assumed the Presidency of the US at its 20th Century nadir; we’d been defeated in Vietnam, our government was beset with scandal and corruption, our economy was in shambles at the hands of the Arabs – who in Hell ever heard of effin’ Arabs doing anything to the US? Carter was “hope and change” in his day because most people thought the Country had gone to Hell in a handbasket, and with a lot more justification than they had for feeling that way in ’08.
Ross Pee-row had more to do with GHWB’s loss than anything GHWB did as policy, though the “read my lips” thing didn’t help. Throw in some serious defense industry cutbacks in CA and GHWB being instrumental in causing peace to break out all over cost him CA.
Where your squishiness theory has some validity is during Clinton and GWB. WJC and HRC are just as radical and communist-leaning as Comrade Obama, HRC probably moreso, but when they got their heads handed to them by Gingrich in ’94 they essentially went underground and used the Republican penchant for pork and willingness to give the Ds what they wanted so long as they could get what they wanted. Clinton and later Democrats in Congress very skillfully turned the federal government into a money laundry to finance Democrat front groups and use federal grants and contracts to set up Democrat sinecures in every state and local government. By ’08 the machine was in place, just add some financial and oil price manipulation from Soros and friends and you have a coup d’etat.
Romney is not center right. He does not believe in god given rights that are inalienable. He believes that what rights people have are those the state government allows them to have. He is not socially right, he is an abortion enabling politician. He is also a gay marriage enabling person. He is not fiscally right, he believes the government can dictate wages and it will be beneficial to our economy. He thinks that government regulation and mandates on business are beneficial to our economy. He thinks coal plants kill people, that plant food should be sequestered, that rich people should be able to veto energy production if it interferes with their view. He think the medical care and insurance industry works best when placed under almost total government control.
Romney is one to two degrees out of a whole rotation away from Obama on all things ideological. He just mouths a bunch of things and you buy it whole cloth because you are to dense to question him and verify that he is telling the truth. Hint, he has a factual record to go to and look at.
The real problem with the Republican Party and America in general is that people as stupid as you can vote.
Art Chance
Yeah, because you know, I studied history, I understand how things lead to other thing, because I am educated properly and am not some easily led automaton. People like me keep the world moving in the correct direction and stop people like you from moving the world into the dream world of utopia.
All of you are so self assured that your opinion is correct you never give a thought to what this is all about. This election is not about defeating Obama. This election is about saving our country. Instead of spending so much time analyzing all the nooks and crannies of politics, spend some time alone deciding where you stand. My father swore an oath the day he enlisted in the army on his way to fight the nazis. He never spoke of his time in war, he didn’t think there was any glory in killing. He was a good man and he was a patriot. He said, doing the right thing is hard, but in the end, it is right. think for a minute about TV . We are so conditioned by the “News”, that most of our decisions are made according to the information we subconciosly pick-up from the constant bombardment from those we assume to be right. Ask yourself this November when you vote. Am I voting with my heart? If my candidate does’nt win, will I be able to say, I voted my concience? Turn off the TV, take your family to the lake, the beach, or just to visit Grandma. By standing together side by side, and pledging to each other our fortunes, our lives and our sacred honor we will be vicotorious in the battle with this evil. Good does’nt need a lable to define it. It just is. Don’t look at the man, look to his heart. You will know. I have faith in you.
http://authspot.com/thoughts/c-pact/
Gonna have to keep repeating this till it sinks in: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A CAFETERIA CONSERVATIVE.
One either embraces the conservative principle that our rights are inherent rights, given to us, as the Declaration tells us, “by our Creator,” or one doesn’t. The alternate view is that rights are social constructs invented and bestowed by human agencies where they wish. This is the view of the Progressive movement which Obama and the Democrat party embody.
I don’t care if you come to recognize the importance of the Conservative principle from the economic side (resisting government interference in the decisions of individuals how and where they spend their own money) or the social side (resisting government interference with definitions of marriage, redifining human personhood, and the education of our children). The goal of both is to counter the growth of the overreaching Nanny State. The threat is common to both self-described “economic” conservatives and “social” conservatives. Both side of the conservative spectrum need to stop dismissing the perspective of the other, and recognize their common interests.
The recent overreach of Obama and HHS against the Catholic Church is a grand opportunity to start a techtonic shift to create a permanent conservative majority. For the first time, many of the Catholic bishops and many pro-life Democrats are finally waking up to the fact that the Democrat Party has abandoned their conservative social convictions for the last several decades; that the government which gives itself the moral authority to decide that you’ve made too much money feels free to give itself the authority to compel Catholics to violate their consciences. They are without a polical home. Dropping or deemphasizing the GOP’s stance on family, marriage, and abortion at this time would discourage them from changing parties.
The strategy of the Obama camp is to divide and conquer, and the Lamestream media has certainly done their best to foment that in the endless primary debates. They seek to debase the whole GOP brand by turning the debates into mud-wrestling grudge matches, and many of the candidates and their campaigns have played along.
Kudos, David, for putting this stage of the process into proper perspective. Unlike the Democrats, we do not have to nominate a personal messiah who will give us our wish list. We only need someone who will work with conservatives in Congress to undo the constraints on our economic growth, and put the brakes on attempt to rewrite our national moral code. Any of our candidates will serve this purpose.
It is a time to embrace our allies, not to divide into factions and quarrel about who is more conservative than thou.
I love this post and have felt this way in my heart since the beginning of the nomination process. The fact that Rick Santorum is taking a turn at the top is absolutely stunning. He was my choice from the start, but I NEVER thought he’d get this far. Kudos to the conservative Tea Partiers out there, you are all doing the tough work actually paying attention to the process and allowing conservative candidates to take the lead…wow! And I fully agree with the article’s author…why be afraid, this is sooooooo cool!