Romney is not my first choice in the Republican primary. Nor is he my second. On some days, he is not even my third choice.
It does not bother me that he is rich; I have no problems with the sort of work he does, but I do abhor dishonesty, and it riles me that he is buying this election with a staggering number of dishonest ads.
I also have problems with Romney’s core. Is he really a conservative, or is he just portraying himself as one because he thinks that will get him the presidency? Bachmann, Santorum, Palin, Cain, Paul? I know where all of these people stand and I trust that what they say is what they actually believe. Romney got elected in a blue state saying some very liberal things. He passed the precursor to Obamacare, so he’s done some very liberal things.
Some people change. Some people govern, find themselves, and become more conservative. But Romney’s dishonest negative ads make he think, maybe this guy is dishonest himself,
You see, conservatives Republicans see their candidates very differently than Democrats see theirs. You talk to any Democrat about Barrack Obama and his shortcomings, and he will defend Obama to the hilt, blame Bush or blame Republican obstructionism. Those liberals who might say something ill about Obama might admit, “He just isn’t doing enough;” as if putting 2 car companies, the entire housing market, the student loan sector, the banking industry and soon the medical sector under government control is not going far enough. Or, appointing two Supreme Court judges who could care less about the founding principles or the constitution; they will vote for their left-wing ideas every time, and write supporting opinions for same even if they have to quote Venusian law in order to support their position. Not nutty enough for some liberals. That is the worst you will hear about Obama from his fan base/supporters.
For most conservatives who are paying attention, if you ask them what’s wrong with Romney, Gingrich, Santorum, Paul, McCain or Bush, make sure you have 30 minutes each, at least, to allow them to unload. That’s how we’re different from liberals. We don’t like our own guys most of the time, and we’ll let you know why.
Conservatives aren’t looking for a messiah; conservatives aren’t looking for a utopia; we know that this is a real world with flawed candidates; so we just want someone who will actually uphold the constitution and protect our freedoms.
Many of us would love a government that was so not in our lives that, we might even forget to vote.
We all know that Romney probably doesn’t have a conservative core. It’s possible that he does, but I doubt it; and about 60% of the Republican electorate seem to feel the same way. This is why he may get a majority of the votes, but not over 50%. Even though he has been campaigning now for 6 years and even we have heard for the past 6 months that he is our inevitable nominee. We still don’t like him much.
But, who we like less? Obama. After 3 years, with our economy not really recovering, with food stamp usage soaring, with the most anemic “rebound” from a recession in American history, this guy is not able to re-calibrate. It is not in his DNA. None of his programs are really working and there are a stack of ignored jobs bills stacked up in the Senate—but, it would never occur to President Obama to try something different. It never occurs to him to take one of the small jobs bills and say, “You know, I disagree with this in principle, but I believe as President of the United States, I should at least give it a try. Reid, let this come up for a vote, and if it passes, I will sign it.” Not going to happen. Not now. Not next month. And not over the next 5 years. For whatever reason, Obama is so steeped in his political theology that he cannot even consider that he is wrong. He cannot even consider an alternate approach, even though half of the country would like to see him try something different.
When the American people sent him a message in 2010, and trounced the Democrats in the House, in historic proportions, President Obama never thinks, “Okay, this is what the American people want…maybe I should listen to them?” All he does is try to set himself up politically against the House, and “run against a do-nothing Congress.” It is political strategy to him; nothing else.
Now, he will use a conservative vocabulary when he gives a speech. He knows that polls well. He’ll talk about tax cuts all day long, but he has never proposed any tax cuts at any time ever. The best Obama has done is he has gone along with the current tax rates or he does something known as tax credits. A tax credit is, “I, the government, will give you, the taxpayer, money, if you do what I tell you to do.” That is not a tax cut. 2 or 3 years from now, the same people who pass these tax credits will rail against them as evil tax loopholes for the rich. Just in case you didn’t know, this has already happened. Democrats have come out against tax credits which they themselves passed a few years back. Most voters did not even know.
So, back to Romney. Probably not a true conservative; probably not a true conservative core. But he may be our candidate.
What are our options? Stay home and don’t vote? Send a nasty note to the GOP saying revoke my membership? Vote for some 3rd party candidate?
Here is the end result for all 3 of those approaches: Obama gets elected for a second term, and he may even see this as a mandate for more of the same.
I know one person who suggested a mass exodus from the Republican party to a 3rd party so that we would keep this discussion alive. You do know about Ralph Nader’s party right? Do you know its name? When was the last time you heard Nader spout his viewpoints?
In the past year, Ron Paul has done more for the libertarian cause than all of the libertarians added together over the past decade. I am not a libertarian, but I do know their positions, and this is because of Ron Paul—who is a Republican running as a Republican. If Ron Paul recognizes that he is more credible as a Republican than as running for the Libertarian party, maybe he knows something?
Don’t try to tell me Congress will control Obama. We have spent around $1.5 trillion more than we take in for each of the past 3 years, and one of those years was with a Republican-controlled House. Do you really think this will change in Obama’s second term? The House, theoretically, could shut this spending down…but they did not.
We already know who Obama will nominate for the Supreme Court. Do you think that will change?
We already know that Obama will do everything in his power to take over more sectors of the economy. It is in his DNA. He believes that if government runs the show, that things will be more fair. He believes that if we just take a few more dollars from the rich and give that to his rich cronies and to the poor, that things will be better.
Here’s what we get with Romney. It may not be his first instinct to move in a conservative direction. Fine. However, it will not be in his first instinct to take over any sector of our economy. What about Massachusetts healthcare, you say? That is with an 80% Democratic state congress. The likely makeup of Congress this coming term, if he gets any grandiose ideas, is to say, “No you don’t, Mr. President. That’s not happening.” Well, we can hope, anyway.
When it comes to a Supreme Court nominee; we will have to take Romney’s word on that. He has named off legitimate, constitutional justices as his preferred choice. Maybe he’s lying? I don’t know. But, at the very least, he gives a full-throated support to our good justices. Do you think Obama would ever appoint a Scalia, a Roberts or a Thomas? Never. Not on your life. However, there is a reasonable chance to suppose the Romney would. That 5th constitutional vote on the court is EVERYTHING. That will affect life in the United States for the next 30 years.
Next, legislation. It is my understanding to the House has passed 30 jobs bills and they are sitting in the trash can over at the Senate. They won’t be looked at, they won’t be debated and they will not be voted on.
Let’s say that Romney was in charge. Do you think that Speaker of the House Boehner might talk to him about this? Do you think that there might be a push from the House for him to support these bills? Again, under Romney, that is likely; under Obama, not a chance.
Let me remind you about FDR. He took a tough recession and drove us into the Great Depression. Did he change his mind? Did he try something new? For 12–13 years, even though some of his own cabinet began to disagree with his approach, he determined that the solution is government. Government is always the solution. Do you think that Obama is any less an ideologue?
So, sure, Romney is an establishment Republican; he’s a country club Republican and I’m a Sam’s Club Republican. I have no problem with his wealth; I just don’t trust his core.
But I know that he will be better than Obama. At the very least, Romney can be pushed to the right and he will probably select a good judge or two. But as the saying goes, we cannot let the perfect get in the way of the good.
This Article will be in the Conservative Review #214 when it is published this Sunday (2/5/2012) (HTML) (PDF)
A retired math teacher who spends most of his time exegeting the Old Testament and, once a week, puts out an ezeen.
@Gary Kukis: You said:
I’m not as sure about that as you are. In one sense, I get what you are saying, that Romney wouldn’t have the same ideology as Obama and therefore wouldn’t be as destructive. That may well be true.
But where I think most Conservatives begin to compare Romney to Obama is in his past positions. He ran against Teddy Kennedy for the Senate and publicly distanced himself from Reagan, claiming to be a progressive independent. He has been pro-abortion, pro gun control, and of course he gave us Romneycare, which is the precursor to Obamacare.
Now think about this – when he was trying to become a Senator from Massachusetts, he was willing to distance himself from Reagan, and as I said he called himself a progressive independent.
Flash forward to 2012 and he is trying to become the POTUS, but is NOT willing to distance himself from Romneycare.
Something to think about, wouldn’t you agree?
@openid.aol.com/runnswim: I tend to define a POTUS being a success or failure based on how he helps or hurts the country.
How has Obama helped the USA?
@johngalt:
I am well aware of the far left almost fanatical shift of the Democrat party. JFK today would be considered a reactionary by most Democrats.
It does not matter who is in the White House; if they have an R by their name, the left is going to go ballistic about it. Even if Romney is center left (which I don’t think he will be), they will be apoplectic about it.
@MataHarley:
In my first paragraph, it should be clear that I will not be voting for Romney in the primary. My article is about the distinct possibility that it may come down to Romney v. Obama in 2012, and I am shocked that some people here somehow think that you will “punish” the Republican party by not casting a vote for the president.
McCain was a lousy candidate and far too moderate for me, but I guarantee you, he would have been way better than Obama has been. I gave several examples: judges, spending and Obamacare. I know that many conservatives did not vote in that election to punish the Republican party. In retrospect, do you really think not voting for McCain was the best thing you could do for your country in 2008?
@MataHarley:
His history is being a governor in a blue state with 80% Democrats. And he caved on several occasions. Why don’t you think that he would not cave to conservative pressure if the situation is reversed? Your exact description of him gives me hope that he will be pushed in a conservative direction if we have a conservative Congress. His lack of a core is the exact thing that gives me some hope.
Have you ever changed your mind, Mata?
@MataHarley:
Again, he selected judges for a blue, blue state with an 80% Dem legislature. You do not seem to recognize that this is a big factor. He has indicated on several occasions that he would prefer strict constructionist judges, and, since Romney will probably face a conservative Congress, I think that is his likely choice. You don’t really think that he would have, under any circumstances, chosen Sotomayer or Kagen, do you? Obama poisoned the courts for the next 40 years because of this.
Where do you think Romney would have come down on the Keystone Pipeline?
I also said we would move toward a balanced budget…not because Romney has balanced budgets in the past, but because, as a businessman, he understand the concept of a bottom line and spending more than you take in. Furthermore, with Paul Ryan closely involved with the budget; I think becoming at least more fiscally responsible if far more likely to occur with Romney and not with Obama.
Even if I am only right half the time, Romney is a far better president than Obama.
Did you refuse to vote for McCain for the same reasons? He was not a perfect conservative?
@MataHarley:
My point is, Obama could move us toward institutionalized Democrat majorities if given 4 more years. Do you doubt this? How would you like an American where our choice will be mostly among different Democrats? FDR and LBJ did this. You think that Obama won’t???
I know Romney is a jerk and his lying ads against Newt piss me off. But I have to vote for who is the better candidate; I cannot vote by my emotions.
@MataHarley:
Look, you have described here the worst case scenario, that Romney is center-left rather than right or center right. First of all, that will be better than Obama; and secondly, if he is center-left, there will be an uprising against him among the public…TEA party people in particular.
This is where we retain our credibility. The news media and dems portray the TEA party movement as anti-Obama and anti-government. If they demonstrate against Romney (and they will if he is center-left), then that will push him to the right and give the conservative movement credibility. In fact, if that occurred, that would make a lot of independents more sympathetic to TEA party principles, which would make it a net gain for our side.
You need to also keep in mind, not just what Romney will or might do (which is all conjecture); but also what the activist conservatives might do, if he does wrong. It is a very big chess board that we are playing on, and that includes conservative voters as much as politicians.
Let me address this. Romney went so nuclear on Newt, that voter turnout was way, way down in the counties that Romney won. The elites notice this. If Romney does this scorched earth thing too much, he might win the primary and destroy the Republican party. RINO candidate or not, this scorched earth approach could tank the presidential election for the Republicans.
The news media has power, and they know it. They took out Cain. The Republican establishment has power and they know it; they took out Newt in Florida and Iowa. These are just facts of life. Deserting the Republican candidate just because he is not your first or second choice is a mistake.
Turning around this country in one or two elections is not going to happen. Turning around the Republican party in one or two elections is not going to happen. Particularly after being moved so far to the left.
Who do you think would have been better? McCain or Obama?
Who do you think will be better? Romney or Obama?
Sometimes we have to hold our noses to vote for our candidate. But that is not the end of it. Part of a democracy involves pushing those candidates that we elect in the correct direction. If Romney does wrong, the TEA party protests are going to pop up all over America, and if he is as spineless as you say he is, then that is going to affect his decisions.
@MataHarley:
It is nice that we can agree on something, anyway, Mata!
@Richard Wheeler:
This makes me grit my teeth and get angry, but you are absolutely correct here. Just as many young people voted for Obama because he was cool, I think many people voted for him because he looked young and more handsome than McCain. It is a very sad truth indeed.
@Clint:
I take it, that means you did not vote for McCain? How well did that work out? I heard a lot of Republicans complain bitterly about McCain, but he would have been so much better than Obama.
I do agree with the last thing you said, however. I believe our problem is spiritual more than it is economic. We babyboomers, who have been given everything from the beginning, and we took whatever we were not given, are going to be facing a moral choice over the next 20-30 years: social security and medicare. Will we be willing to give us some of our benefits for the good of the country? It is just like that huge number of retirees in California now, who are sucking the lifeblood out of California. “We negotiated these retirements, so we damn well better get them!” is the attitude of many of them. If it tanks California, so be it.
That same choice will be ours, and I know there are a lot of babyboomers who post and comment here.
@anticsrocks:
This isn’t curious nor is it hard to figure out. Romney does not want the Republican candidacy only to lose the presidential race it in 2012 due to a 3rd party candidate.
Sarah Palin recognized this early on, saying (I am paraphrasing), “It would not be smart for establishment republicans to anger Ron Paul voters.”
@anticsrocks:
Certainly, Romney has not distanced himself from Romneycare. I think this was a political calculation. Do you take your one big accomplishment off the table and say, “Yeah, I had no idea what I was doing; my bad.” If it is a popular program in Mass., then why not take credit for it?
Don’t misunderstand me; I do not want Perrycare down here in the great state of Texas; I am simply saying that Romney made a political calculation; nothing more, nothing less. I don’t read into that, a strong ideological bend. I classify this as, “I will say whatever I need to say to be prez.”
As I have stated many times, I don’t like the guy. I’ll still vote for him. I’ll vote for him because I love my country and I think he will be better for the country than Obama…just like McCain would have been better than Obama.
Giving Obama a second term could end of with a far worse presidency than I think we can even imagine at this time. If we thought Obama 1st term was bad; 2nd term Obama with no restraints I think will be far worse.
@Gary Kukis:
The same McCain who called for small arms for the Libyan rebels he called, “his heros”, despite one of their leaders admitting many of them had been in Afghanistan killing Americans the summer before, that McCain? Or the McCain who wants amnesty for the illegals, that McCain? You make a lot of assumptions about what McCain would or wouldn’t have done differently to “O”.
For the record, I voted for Sarah Palin in the sincere hope that the excitement of winning would make her President within a couple of weeks.
??? What difference does you liking someone else in te primaries make? Let me make this simple…
Did you, or did you not tell the party that you will vote for Romney, no matter what?
So why on earth should they care who you personally like in the primaries? They already have your assurance that you’ll like who they like… period. Screw you and your choice. Congratulations… you’ve given away the only power that the base has in the election… telling the Party who they will, and will not support based on their principles and evaluation of leadership. The Party cannot win by running an unacceptable candidate.
Whatever power we voters had, you’ve just given away. Thank you very much… not.
We had far more “will supports” up there than “will not” out of the original nine. But nooo… your Party has decided to back the absolute worst candidate possible – whose performance and beliefs least resemble what we want from a leader. And you’ve already said yup… okie doke! Count me in!
This isn’t about “punishing” your precious “Party”. Frankly, I don’t care about your Party, because they demonstrate no respect for my principles. Obviously, we have less and less in common as time goes one, and I’m not faking political orgasms anymore.
While we all may have our horses in the race, that doesn’t mean that the also running donkey (Romney) – to whom you pledge your trough (LOL) – is another race horse. Romney – the Godfather of O’healthcare and supporter of the mandate – is not, never has been, nor will be a conservative based on his past performance. And I don’t buy political redemption lip service from used car salesmen who behave little better than Obama during a campaign.
Now, if that’s what you want to accept as your POTUS, go right ahead. Count me out, and stop nagging me. (oooooowwwheeee… all this pun potential!) If you want my bet on a race, don’t run the damn donkey as a thoroughbred next time.
I’ll say it again, if all you want is Obama gone, and you don’t care who replaces him – and obviously you don’t – recruit Hillary. I’d say she was a shoe in, could go toe to toe with Obama in fundraising, and you wouldn’t notice much difference between her and Romney.
But sorry… not “anyone” will do when they are everything opposite of my beliefs, like Romney is. You’re going to have to do without my vote. Because I’m not picking between tea with arsenic, or coca cola with rat poison. And that is exactly what your question – Who is better? Romney or Obama? – is. A choice between arsenic or rat poison. You can assign either candidate to your chosen poison. Matters not to me. I choose neither as “better”.
@Gary Kukis: You said:
I wasn’t at a loss as to why Paul and Romney were doing this. I was stating my displeasure at this type of good ‘ole boy, back room wheeling and dealing.
McCain and Huckabee did this same sort of thing to help ensure that McCain got the nomination in 2008.
I think the voting public is entitled to our candidates being as honest and up front as possible.
For RP and Romney to coordinate such minutia as when they appear on television shows collusion and makes me distrust them right off the bat. And Palin saying that whoever the GOP nominee is ought to court the RP supporters is a far cry from sanctioning crap like this.
I will vote (holding my nose as necessary,) GOP in the upcoming general election simply because we must save our nation from the anti-republic, constitutional revisionist, socialistic power grabbing of the far left. However, I too consider the establishment elite control of the party as unacceptable. Obama and his agenda of “fundamental transformation” of the US into a European socialist entitlement state must be stopped at all costs, yet I no longer think it is reasonable, or even possible to reform the party from within, considering how they fight against the 2010 Conservative congressional replacements, and instead continue in their pathetic, weak-kneed, “deal with the devil,” bend-over and-take-it, pro-compromise practices. It will take decades to replace the progressive RINO leadership with Constitutional conservatives. When I voiced my military pro-constitution oath, I took it very seriously and have finally no confidence that the Republican party leadership will turn back from their own version of progressiveness, and return to a pro-Constitution Conservative position. Therefore, after 2012 I will be changing my voter registration to dump the GOP.
There already exists in some states (including mine) a third party that embraces my views, and I will be changing my affiliation to the Constitution Party. I suggest those who want to create a third party, instead try to bring this already existing party into their own states.
@JustAl: I am not saying that McCain is perfect; nor is any president. My point is, he would have been a lot better than Obama.
I agree with you on Palin. Every time she says this or that, I find myself in complete agreement with her.
@MataHarley:
They won’t lose my vote, but they can lose many others. Florida participation in the primary election was way down. Even the Republican suits recognize that this is very problematic, no matter who our candidate is. For Republicans to win, we need to see increases in voter participation and enthusiasm. Romney is managing to destroy that.
Yes, Gary, he is. Because so far it’s evident that:
1: The GOP big wigs and their media desperately want Romney, and
2: The base still comes back and the majority wants to choose anyone but Romney
Were they so all fired worried about losing votes were he the nominee, they wouldn’t be out there attempting to dress him up in an elephant suit every day. Because they are banking on the assertions from so many that they’ll “hold their nose” and “pull the lever” for Romney in the end. Why? Because you told them so.
I honestly believe that the only reason Romney gets the votes he does is because of the “he’s the only one electable” mantra constantly pushed. But then, there’s nothing in data to substantiate that belief. Just the exit polls saying that’s what the voters believe.
And why do they believe that? Because that’s been the GOP manipulative selling point for Romney from the start.
@anticsrocks:
This good old boy wheeling and dealing may result in a balanced budget amendment or a balanced budget becoming a part of the Republican platform. If it is a part of the official platform, that would be a good thing.
If both you and I understand what is going on in the background, then I guess this is just about as upfront as you can get, apart from having a broadcast of their meetings behind closed doors.
Some political deals are not going to be televised. That’s just the way it is.
As Hannity pointed out the other day, we have two responsibilities as voters; once we get our candidate elected, then we pressure this candidate to do the right thing.
@Gary Kukis: I guess I just expect more from our side of the aisle. Evidently honesty and integrity are not words to be found in the Romney or Paul camp.
@MataHarley:
It’s also a theme amongst many of the liberal/progressive faithful. I’m not sure if all, or any, of them truly believe that Romney is the “most electable”, or, if it’s a feint. Either way, the day I listen and follow what a liberal/progressive suggests that I do will be the day that I die. And what’s funny about that is that many liberal/progressives I know of personally will probably be happy on that day.
@MataHarley:
Even though I am flattered that you blame the choices of the Republican establishment on me, we do live in a democracy, and how people choose to vote is the problem nearly as much as my promise to vote for Romney if he is our nominee.
People in Florida, after viewing their 200th anti-Gingrich ad put out by Romney could have decided, “There is something wrong here; I will either vote for Gingrich or I’ll vote for Santorum.” They didn’t. They stayed home. They refused to even chose the lesser of two evils. Their protest vote against Romney was to stay home. Not very smart.
We get to choose how we respond to negative ads. If our voting electorate chooses to remain uninformed, that is one of the hazards of living in a country where leaders are elected via the democratic process.
Those who stayed home in 2008 because McCain was insufficiently conservative are just as much to blame as those yahoo voters who showed up and voted for Obama because he is cool. That conscious choice, made by conservatives, put Kagen and Sotomayer on the bench, and added an extra $5 trillion to our debt. Those are choices I am certain that McCain would never have made; and choices I don’t think that Romney would make.
If I was playing the odds, and had to choose, who is mostly likely to put another far, far left liberal on the bench, would it be Obama or Romney. I think the choice is obvious. Who is most likely to spend the most money when in office…I think the choice is obvious.
What Romney did, fueled the the various pacs, was despicable; but I believe that there is a lot more about Romney that is right-leaning than Obama.
@MataHarley:
I certainly agree with you here. Still, the fault of who we choose as our nominee rests with us, the voters. And if Obama is reelected, that is our fault, as voters.
The idea that there is no appreciable difference between a vote for Obama or a vote for Romney is simply without merit. Given a Republican platform, possibly a Republican Congress, and all of Romney’s right-leaning rhetoric, I would say the chances are that he will be a right-leaning president.
I will vote for the best man in my primary (not Romney) and I will vote for the best man in the presidential election (not Obama).
As a democracy, we get the leaders we deserve and the majority of the people voted for Obama last time around, or stayed home, protesting the fact that McCain was not the perfect candidate. Obviously, a similar choice will be made by many conservatives this time around.
@anticsrocks:
I agree with you completely. Negative ads would not bother me, if there was some attempt to accurately represent the other side.
Romney did this in 2008, which is the main reason I did not support him in the primary in 2008.
LOL! Gary, that “you told them so” phrase was not a personally directed at “you” – Gary. It was a collective “you” as Party loyalists.
So sorry you’ll have to lose that moment of being flattered… Frankly, the Party wouldn’t get excited about one single voter – Gary Kukis – expressing his blind loyalty. But the vast amount of people in the media, in blogs, on social media that say they will vote for whoever the GOP nominee is, gives the Party confidence to ignore any disgruntled out there, bucking the Romney coronation.
The Tea Party was successful in 2010 because locally, everyone stood their ground and rejected the GOP promoted RINO. This is the time to do it again.
How can anyone do that if so many just give away the farm in advance?
Now, since the voters have sufficiently rebelled with primaries all over the place – much to their chagrin – we’ll be hearing the lectures of how this is going to “damage” the GOP nominee and the party… all because we didn’t dutifully fall in line after a couple of state primaries. I guess collective “guilt” will be their next media ploy. And those that didn’t toe the line will be the fall guy when their RINO loses.
I guarantee you, a Romney run and loss will result in a tick up in the “independents”, and a loss of registered Republicans. I’m not a fan of any “party” in concept. I know it’s needed for financial organization, etal. But it generally results in some sort of disconnect between the “party” and the voters anyway. So I’m not a promoter of a “third party”.
What I see in the future is not necessarily a third party migration, but I do see an exodus of formal support for the Republicans. If they run a candidate I like, I’ll vote for them. If not, just as in 2010, the mass disgruntled will concentrate on Congress, or find a way that a smaller party does up an acceptable candidate. I’m not handing my principles to any “Party” on a permanent basis.
I can understand that your vote is anti-Obama, and that you are hoping against hope that Romney – despite his very liberal leadership in the past, his sleazy campaigning that isn’t much different than Obama’s, his judicial record, and his enviro, health and tax policies – will be a conservative leader. All I can say to that is I sure hope you don’t choke, inhaling all that pixie dust at once.
My problem is that this election is too important to prop up a liberal, dressed as an elephant, just to get a new rug in the Oval Office. People are free to vote for who they want in the general…. and for whatever reasons. Got no problem with that.
But I do have a problem that so many telegraph their “surrender” in the political war between the RINOs and conservative nominees in advance – all of which affects what choice we *do* have in the general. That is not fair to the rest of us in the needed conservative base, who are working against all odds to send a message to the GOP about their utter abandonment of everything conservative.
You last paragraph is, I think, where our differences are rooted. i.e.
I need to again point out that I’ve seen nothing in substantial data that supports the meme about Republican turnout. Happy to look at statistics (not pundit headlines/excuses). Personally, looking at the numbers, I don’t believe that as true. It was the largest turnout for a presidential election in decades. What I think happened is only the Dems got additional enthusiastic O’faithful to the polls, while the GOP didn’t inspire anyone new. That doesn’t mean their turnout was down. Just means that McCain didn’t inspire any of the new younger voters.
News flash. Neither does Romney.
But most importantly is you are framing today… the most important time of the primaries when we PICK the candidate… as the general. Today is the moment to avoid that “McCain” rock/hard place moment. By the time of the Convention, it’s too late.
So *now* is the time to exert pressure on the Party for an appropriate (not Romney) face of conservatism that *will* inspire the majority of the base and young voters. And that’s not done by waving the white flag, and telegraphing the withdrawal to the enemy.