Mark Steyn: 2012 Election Is The Last Exit Ramp Before The Death Spiral

Investor's Business Daily ^ | August 10, 2012 | Mark Steyn

[Zakeet]

The other day, I passed a Republican Party county office here in my home state, its window attractively emblazoned with placards declaring "Believe in America. Romney 2012" and "New Hampshire Believes. Romney 2012." There's not a lot of evidence for the latter proposition, but I'm certainly willing to believe that Romney believes that New Hampshire believes.

[Snip]

If it were up to me, the {Romney's] campaign slogan would be "You're screwed, losers. Steyn 2012" — or, after yielding to the consultants' internals showing that moderates want something more sunny and upbeat, maybe "Get real, you chumps. Steyn 2012." That's the reason I'm not running. Well, that and the Hawaiian birth certificate.

I wouldn't claim to know what America believes or even what "New Hampshire Believes," but this is what I believe — that another four years of the present statist ascendancy will seal America's fate.

As noted here previously, the International Monetary Fund predicts that China will become the world's dominant economic power by 2016. So the guy elected in November will be the first president since Grover Cleveland to know what it feels like to be the global also-ran.

Even this, however, understates the size of catastrophe the United States faces. There are no precedents in history for a great power spending itself to death on the scale America is doing. President Obama has added $5 trillion to the national debt, and has nothing to show for it. Do you know how difficult that is to do?

[DoughtyOne]

So you think Romneycare is the action of someone who isn’t a Leftist?

Sorry, not buying it.

The Ryan selection, and how they work together may cause me to change my mind about voting for the Romney ticket.

We’ll see.

[glennaro]

The Ryan selection, and how they work together may cause me to change my mind about voting for the Romney ticket Good point.

I'm sure "President Romney" will do things that will not set well with us conservatives, but I'm equally as confident that he will not "fundamentally transform America" as the current radical leftist president is effectively doing.

[DoughtyOne]

The pick of Ryan, an anti-abortion zealot, if you will, tells me that Romney isn’t threatened by people who disagree with him. I think he genuinely respects him.

Ryan may turn into the Conservative backbone Romney was lacking.

This could get interesting.

[maryz]

The visual impact of large, motivated, excited, supportive crowds is impressive and meaningful in TV land, plus.....you can coax Romney to courage

Wouldn't large cheering crowds be more likely to convince Romney he's fine as he is? Even the small cheering crowds he draws seem to be enough to reassure him on that!

[matt1234]

Leaders will emerge, but not until after the crap hits the fan.

You nailed it.

[matt1234]

2012 1992 1973 1913 is was the last exit ramp before the downward spiral.

[okie01]

I have had quite a bit of respect for Goldwater, but then I saw him pull some rather strange things in his elder years.

Senility is a difficult thing to bear.

[DoughtyOne]

Yeah, I think folks sometimes also go soft in that they start fantasizing about unrealistic agreement concerning almost any issue.