Over the last twenty five years I served as a Republican precinct chairman, attended conventions from the county to the district to the state to national levels. I have been involved in camapaigns at all levels, in most all parts of the country. I have firm political affiliations with principled conservatives in all 50 states, and speak several times weekly with many of them.
So, your assumptions couldn't be more wrong.
So, your assumptions couldn't be more wrong.
And yet you dispute how much impact the incoming Tea Party/movement conservative have been at the local and state level? For maybe the first time I can EVER remember, we are actually aggressively going after the Democrat/union goon alliance. Success at that single issue alone is, quite literally, like a driving a dagger through the heart of the Democrat vampire. We've passed school choice initiatives in several states, tuition rules are being changed just about everywhere Republicans have the numbers to force the changes through, voter ID laws being pushed in many states where it would have been unthinkable prior to 2010, gun restrictions repealed or dropped at the local and state level almost across the board, etc, etc.
I just don't see with your level of involvement and activism how you can possible be depressed.
I think it is at least worth studying the implications of supporting an independent run by Ron Paul now. Although my first choice would be Gingrich, his chances of being nominated seem remote, and it would do no real good to have him as the vice-presidential nominee if Romney is not forced to commit to much smaller government. Not that I was ever that sold on Gingrich being on an express route to smaller government either, but until today I have been hesitant to support Ron Paul due to the uncertainties about his foreign policy stands. However, there’s nothing to defend if the country goes bankrupt, and I see a lot of logic in his position that the rest of the world should pick up the slack. All things considered, I think it might now make sense for all “real” conservatives to get behind Ron Paul and give him some momentum towards a viable third party candidacy. Maybe somehow this would even force the GOP convention to back him, but I realize these are long odds. But Mitt Romney? When you combine the moderate-liberal tendencies with the Mormon uncertainties, the net result is hardly better than Obama. At the very least, Romney would need to sign documents committing to certain objectives and making absolute guarantees about freedom of religion because the last thing America needs is some crazy period of Mormon-evangelical-Catholic religious bickering. But with the unknowns that surround Romney this seems almost guaranteed especially if he managed to beat Obama, which frankly, I don’t think he can do (unless Obama does something even stranger than what he’s already done, and we all know he’s waiting for 2013 to start that stuff).
Sorry to ramble, but give Ron a chance is my motto.