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“Carson is a good guy but he is not Presidential material.”
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And according to FReepers, neither were any of the 2012 candidates...that’s why we were ultimately stuck with Romney.

We will ensure every candidate we have next election is deemed: “Not Presidential Material”, “Not ready for prime time”, “Needs more experience” etc.

As I said, the Dems have nothing to worry about; we’ll eat our own as we did in 2012.

BINGO!

Thats not true at all.

2012 here played out different from that

Sarah sarah Sarah.....did not run

Then Newt and the Ricks

Then Cain...

Romney was last resort

Carson is just black.....otherwise he would be me or you

Well meaning conservatives who are nobodies to national media

You've raised a great point. So much energy was spent in the 2012 GOP Primary proving why a certain candidate had fatal flaws, while all along Romney was standing at the standlines enjoying what was basically a free ride to the nomination. The GOP nominations saw candidate after candidate spend a week or two as the frontrunner, then get hit with some aspect that discredited him/her as a real choice, and then another candidate would emerge as a frontrunner to face the same treatment. Virtually EVERY single candidate spent at least some time as frontrunner before getting their legs cut out under them. Santorum, Cain, Bachmann, Perry, Gingrich ...I am sure with more time even Paul may have had his week in the sun!

While all this was happening Romney was standing pretty.

Finally, after everyone from a Texas governor to a retail industry businessman to a former House Speaker had had their time in the limelight - and a spectacular crash - the only person left was Romney.

What happened next? Romney moves in and sweeps 43 delegates. His NEXT competitor was Santorum with 6. SIX!

Now, I cannot vote. I am not an American citizen, and all I could do is watch from the sidelines. I used to think the Achilles heel of Conservatism was lethargy (from when I was helping in grassroots campaigning for the Bush admin, and realized most young people couldn't give a damn), and then I thought it was not having a proper narrative that espoused the advantages of Conservatism (I still think that is a BIG issue). However, I have realized another big issue exists. Maybe even bigger than our apparent inability to craft an appealing narrative.

That flaw is that we eat our own.

If a candidate is not perfect - in any way - we fire away. Now, I am not saying that we should accept compromises left, right and center.

No.

However, before we start destroying (mostly) Conservative candidates, we should first ensure that the RINOs/CINOs are eliminated first. First get rid of the Romneys and McCains from the running, and then once that is done y'all are more than welcome to turn guns on each other to your heart's content. This is because, once it is only (mostly) Conservative candidates left, then whomever wins will at least be mostly conservative.

However, if we destroy our own first - even with their flaws - we guarantee that the last man/woman standing is a barely Conservative.

My hope is that the next GOP primaries will include lessons learned from the 2012 Cycle. That we will work towards ensuring that the Barely Conservatives are kicked out early, and then people can pound away at each other.

However, I am convinced that the party as a whole is not that ....logical (I wanted to say 'intelligent') ...and that it will be a repeat of 2012. We will destroy anyone who is 80% of what we want, and yet we will not be turning focus on the Barely Conservative who is around 35% of what we want.

Result: That is how a Jeb Bush can become the nominee! Yes, you read that. That is how a Jeb Bush can end up as the nominee.

Now, once something like that (not necessarily Jeb) happens, the Conservative Base is demoralized, the GOP elite guy will not ahve full support, and that GOP nominee will face a Democrat nominee (maybe Hillary Clinton) and a Liberal base that is very energized over the 'First Female President.' This will be more formidable than the 'First Black President,' but I do not expect the GOP to realize that. Hillary can be defeated, but it will require serious work.

Result? Another replay of Obama beating McCain or Obama beating Romney. I know some say it was due to rigging, but the truth is that any rigging was simply icing on the cake.

Then there will be 4 more years of posting on FR, following which the whole cycle will be repeated.

The GOP elite really laugh at Conservatives, but not as much as the Liberals do.

NOTE: This is not support for Dr. Carson. It is a general post about the general field of Conservative Candidates once the GOP Primary starts. Defeat the Barely Conservative candidate first, and then we can sling mud at each other.