When the primaries began there were several candidates I was willing to support : Cain, Bachmann, Santorum, Gingrich. I even welcomed Perry to the fray and heard him out. I was certain the conservatives would coalesce around one of them. But I drew the line at Huntsman and Romney. Neither, I felt, were qualified to represent conservatives and were better suited to the Democrat party.
We expected the GOP to thrust Romney upon us. We didn't expect them to succeed. I guess we're still new to the game. But, we are learning quickly.
The names other FReepers have suggested are great. I especially like Scott Walker and Duncan Hunter, which are positively *brilliant* suggestions. But, if I were to choose the candidate for conservatives to coalesce around today, I would choose
Virgil Goode as he is already a candidate and gaining ballot access. We would be far more successful supporting him in his efforts than trying to start over so late in the game. (But, make no mistake about it, I would start over in heartbeat before I'd support Romney and permit him to redefine "conservatism" in his liberal image.)
I agree with you about Goode, so real. But, it’s threads like this that remind others that Mitt was never one of their choices and that they prefer someone else, that they prefer a conservative.