The 3-S Test [Surprise! Lefty thinks Mitt, not Sarah, "Safe, Sane and Selfless" candidate for 2012]

Sometime around the time Barack Obama won the White House, I started wondering who would inherit the Republican Party. I have to admit I felt a little schadenfreude when George and Dick drove the GOP off a cliff, but I also named this space “Common Ground” for a reason. We need to focus on what unites us more than the things that divide us.

Here’s some common ground: We need two functioning political parties to continue to meet the challenges of our times. Unlike Karl Rove, I don’t want one party to run the country. Hammering out public policy through competing visions for the future has always been America’s strength. But today the GOP is not functioning; it’s a rudderless bunch who just say “no” to everything, while faux-populists stoke the fires of discontent while cashing in on the emotions they manipulate. It’s not pretty.

Today’s new candidates must rise above the mess; they will set the tone for the next generation of the GOP. To judge whether they might be part of the solution for the Party, I apply what I like to call the 3-S Test to new candidates — the Safe, Sane and Selfless Test. I’ll break it down: Are they safe? Would they support starting two wars with no plan for winning or paying for them? Would they leave Wall Street and oil companies alone to pursue their profiteering? (As they instruct new doctors: First, do no harm.)

Are they sane? Will they use their office to pry into the sex lives of citizens? Will they insist that God planted dinosaur bones 5,000 years ago just for fun?

Are they selfless? Politics has become a highly lucrative career, with elected office a springboard to higher paid jobs in lobbying or speechifying. This is why I find myself trusting a guy like Michael Bloomberg — he’s already rich, so he’s obviously doing it for ego (which I can live with) and the good of the people. Normal people can be selfless, too, but you’ve got to gauge their potential greed factor.

You can apply my test to any candidate from any party, but to illustrate, let’s apply it to the GOP contenders for president. Mitt Romney passes on all three counts. Sarah Palin, meanwhile, fails across the board. So for me, to return the GOP to its Reagan-esque roots, Romney would be the wise choice. And crazy as it is to hear myself say it, America needs the GOP to make a comeback — a safe, sane and selfless one, that is.

"Romney abdicated while he was Governor. Totally. Quitter.
He was more interested in running for President (and lost).
He was more interested in inviting in millions of illegal alien Mexicans and S. Americans.
Shame on the carpetbagger. Shame on you for defending such indefensible behavior.

Darkwolf377: This is just the kind of post I was afraid of.
I don't know why people are afraid of discussing things. "

Dont be afraid and don't despair. Romney has exposed himself
for the backstabbing SOB he is. Coward he is,
having Team Romney attack a handicapped child. Disgusting RomneyBOTs.

The McCain/Palin ticket was up ++4 to 10 pts
in some polls, days prior to Election 2008.
So rather than helping the GOP, Romney and
TeamROMNEY decided …… to attack Gov. Palin to throw Election2008.

So did TEAM ROMNEY apologize and remove the saboteurs? or promote them? NO. No.

"Frum was indeed a critic of Palin, calling her nomination a "huge mistake" during an October 13 (2008, weeks before the election) Early Show appearance."

David Frum: "Two of our most plausible candidates for president in 2012 are leading Mormons: Mitt Romney and Utah governor Jon Huntsman."

David Frum: "I have a lot of regard for Mitt Romney as a man and politician… I will support him without qualm."

Late in October, The American Spectator's The Prowler revealed:
"Former Mitt Romney presidential campaign staffers…
have been involved in spreading anti-Palin spin to reporters, seeking to diminish her standing after the election.
'Sarah Palin is a lightweight, she won't be the first, not even the third, person people will think of when it comes to 2012,'
says one former Romney aide…
'The only serious candidate ready to challenge to lead the Republican Party is Mitt Romney.
"Some former Romney aides were behind the recent leaks to media, including CNN, that Governor Sarah Palin was a 'diva' and was going off message intentionally."

The Palmetto Scoop reported: "One of the first stories to hit the national airwaves was
the claim of a major internal strife between close McCain aides and the folks handling his running mate Sarah Palin."
"I’m told by very good sources that this was indeed the case and that a rift had developed, but it was between Palin’s people and the staffers brought on from the failed presidential campaign of former Gov. Mitt Romney, not McCain aides."
"The sources said nearly 80 percent of Romney’s former staff was absorbed by McCain and these individuals were responsible for what amounts to a premeditated, last-minute sabotage of Palin."
… aides loyal to Romney inside the McCain campaign, said The Scoop, reportedly saw
that Palin would be a serious contender for the Republican nomination in 2012 or 2016, which made her a threat to another presidential quest by Romney.

Erick Erickson, who organized Operation Leper, said:
"These staffers are now out trying to finish her off ….hoping it would ingratiate themselves with Mitt Romney."

"Who's the Palin Leaker from the McCain Campaign?
National Review Online The publication of a Vanity Fair profile of Sarah Palin
appears to have opened old wounds in the McCain campaign.
... the source of the “Diva” leak was Nicolle Wallace’s husband."

Kathleen Parker: "[I]t is increasingly clear that Palin is a problem." "Parker ... says something publicly that many of us have thought privately
but lacked the courage to say out loud - Palin should step down:"

"Kathleen Parker: After Interviews, Palin Should Bow Out"

Kathleen Parker: "Romney would bring more than squeaky clean qualifications
and youthful good looks to the ticket.
Romney would seem a logical choice."

"Parker: Romney raised bar on freedoms"
Kathleen Parker: "If Kennedy's speech was an important landmark in American political history,
Romney's was surpassing. With heartfelt humility and poetic eloquence,
he tracked the nation's struggle with and for freedom."

Staggering bigotry of Kathleen Parker - UPDATED"

Who benefits most from Sanford meltdown? Californian (that's right) Mitt Romney

"Peeking Out From the McCain Wreckage: Mitt Romney"

"Someone's got to say it: IS MITT ROMNEY RESPONSIBLE FOR OBAMA'S VICTORY?"

"Vanity: Team Romney Sabotaged Palin and Continuing to Do So?"

"Romney Supporters Trashing Palin"

"Romney advisors sniping at Palin?"

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FACTOID OF THE DAY:

So did TEAM ROMNEY apologize and remove the saboteurs? or promote them? NO. No.