What has happened to the Republican Party? Seriously. The limited government conservatives get nowhere and we are left in this cycle as well as the last cycle with candidates who, to one degree or another, have a love affair with government. Santorum talks the right talk but his voting record — from 1992 through 2006 — reveals a populist. Someone who is conservative on social issues like abortion and gay marriage and moderate (to downright liberal) on expanding government. And Rick was the co-founder, with Tom DeLay, of the Republican’s “K Street Project” which was about as far from limited government as you can get. Rick voted and even floor-managed votes to push Bush’s entitlement expansions. Then there is Newt, who arguably has a good record from the 90s. But then look at all the times he’s gone off the reservation sitting with Nancy on the couch, supporting Freddie and Fannie, etc. Then there’s Romney — enough said. Then you get someone with a limited government record like Perry and he falls apart. I don’t understand it. The Gods must be conspiring to keep Obama in office.
I assume you're referring to Ron Paul, Michele Bachmann, and ... ... Thad McCotter?
Rick Perry is a populist, though he did run on a somewhat limited govt platform. Pawlenty, populist, did some good things in a tough state for conservatives. Herman Cain, bless his heart, never thought he was going to be seriously considered and thus was not prepared on many levels.
So why did limited govt conservatives get nowhere? Paul is a nutcase, Bachmann couldn't stay on message, McCotter didn't really commit to the race.
Then there are the many candidates who did not run.
Mega Dittos!
I don’t think God has a whole lot to do with the actual mechanics of our elections these days. (Whether the overall decline of this once great nation is deserved or not is another discussion.)
My basic premise is that if one wants that particular office (POTUS) and one bows out due to “impact on one’s family” (which BTW includes not just wives and offspring), then one has ABSOLUTELY NOT ONE IOTA OF BUSINESS running in the first place, because one is basically a COWARD.
Again, if one allows their campaign to be derailed by innuendo, name calling and rumors, then how can we expect such a person to stand up to the REAL THREATS like A-Q, HAAMAS, Muzzie B’hood, John Hinckley etc, etc etc, ALL of whom would be happy to inflict SERIOUS Bodily Harm on ANY POTUS and those close to him/her.
If there is worrisome crap in one’s background, and having seen the extermination process used against TRUE CONSERVATIVES/CHANGEMASTERS before, why raise false hopes in the population, unless of course the whole thing is very well planned and orchestrated (KGB/Alinsky & company)?
What is that old saying? Something like (expanded after further consideration):
>Once is a random event (Barry Goldwater)
>Twice is a coincidence (Ross Perot)
>Three times kinda implies a trend/plan (Sarah Palin)
>FOUR TIMES pretty much says (at least to me) “THE PLAN IS READY FOR PRIME TIME and will work as expected each time it is implemented” (Herman Cain)
Hence my belief that any CONSERVATIVE OUTSIDER making it to the General POTUS Election is forevermore a wet dream. Look at some recent offerings by the nation’s “CONSERVATIVE” party - BOB DOLE and JOHN McCAIN (again, we’re already at suspicious coincidence). Now look at the field we will have to choose from:
ROMNEY, GINGRICH, PAUL, SANTORUM
This cast now consists of people who are either a “lesser of two evils” candidate when compared to Obama or doomed to SERIOUS trouncing by Obama in the General Election.
I think what happens goes something like this:
“Pssst, Hey POTUS Candidate from the outside, you have a choice:
(a) get relentlessly, personally decimated by our media
(b) QUIT and either enjoy a VERY profitable career as a political pundit/author/well paid speaker (Palin & Cain) or just go back to your old pre-campaign existence and fade away into the dust of history (Goldwater & Perot)”
To paraphrase one of the greatest movie script lines of all time:
“TRUTH???? We don’t need no stinkin’ TRUTH!!!!”
Yeah, it's pretty sad. I find myself slamming all three of the potential nominees right now after hopping off the Newt bandwagon with the space colony idiocy.
And on electability, I see Santorum as a disaster. He's very conservative on social issues but moderate to liberal on economic ones. I think that is a losing combination in most elections. And what favorable polls may characterize as "steadfastness", others may perceive as rigidity and dogmatism.
Somebody wake me when it is over.