Less than two years ago and under a Hurricane Watch, the Republicans gathered in Tampa to nominate Mitt Romney as their candidate for President. Romney, a good and decent man, unfortunately didn't have the Conservative spirit in his belly and went down to defeat against Barack Obama, much like John McCain did four years prior. And even though it is still more than two years from the next RNC Convention, the Establishment is already pushing furiously to crown their next moderate, or RINO in my mind, to take the party down to another stinging defeat.
So this begs the question of what should we do as Conservatives? Do we just sit back and cut each of our Conservative possibilities apart and let them fight amongst themselves and, in so doing, negate any possibility of coming up with a winner? Or do we coalesce around one person, admittedly something hard to accomplish but possible through good strategy negotiations, and thereby end Establishment rule of the roost again?
Well, perhaps we should start looking at a few polls, not to panic or think that things are already set up, but to get an idea of where things are heading and use that to begin formulating a sound strategy. A poll in Iowa just came out this morning (see the Daily Caller) which shows no candidate with anywhere near the percentage needed to win the delegates in that state, yet a good indication of the wide disparity that likely Republican voters have in their views.
Leading the poll by the narrowest of margins is Governor Mike Huckabee at 20%, the man who surprised everyone back in 2008 by winning in Iowa. Following closely behind him are Jeb Bush and Paul Ryan with Ted Cruz and Rand Paul trailing in the high single digits. Governor Christie has slipped back even farther. These numbers don't mean much right now except to indicate that a large number of potential candidates are interested in the run and, if that is a correct assessment, they will be at each other's throat early on, allowing Democrats to pick up sound bites to use against the ultimate nominee, much as they did in 2012.
Both Bush and Ryan are clearly the Establishment favorites at this point. Bush strongly supports Amnesty as well as the dreaded (in my opinion) Common Core. All of his speeches are awash in Progressivism and even have given considerable praise for Hillary. As for Ryan, he has signed on to Amnesty lock, stock and barrel while also going along with Obama on the debt limit extension, indicating that for political reasons he will support whatever the Establishment wants which seems to be more of the same big government.
We have a pretty good idea about both Cruz and Paul since they are clearly the anti-Establishment favorites, both seeking a new direction with new ideas and vision with an emphasis on individual freedom. While I have my favorite among the two, I could certainly support either one of these fine and patriotic men.
And that brings us to Huckabee, the former Arkansas Governor and current TV host for Fox News. Huckabee certainly has name recognition from his television show and while I am uncertain about his views on some of the issues, I find him to be certainly right of center. I particularly like his stand on taxes (a supporter of the Fair Tax) and his belief that the government has no place involving itself in the moral issue of abortion. Some of his social welfare comments have disturbed me but, then again, being a former active man of the cloth it is reasonable to expect him to have those sentiments. And he certainly does have the gift of gab and would not be nervous against the most formidable of opposition.
I doubt, however, that the Establishment would support him, but they might be willing to change that view if he shows the necessary voter strength. Hopefully he wouldn't "sell his soul" to them like so many others have done in the past.
For the Conservatives to gain the nomination, I truly believe they have to unite behind one strong candidate, something which is hard to accomplish. But if they will figure out a way to do that, I think they can carry the day. Maybe the Rand Pauls, Ted Cruzes, Marco Rubios, Mike Lees and yes, even Mike Huckabees, need to get together in a Conservative Candidate's Summit and do a little horse trading. In this way someone could get at least some of what they want for a commitment to support one viable candidate. It's just a thought.
Folks, it's imperative that we not allow the Establishment to call the short for 2016 for, if we do, I think the Republican Party will die a quick death. And building a new and viable party is a slow process and America doesn't have too much time. Let's try and steer the party back toward the voter base and in so doing rebuild it in the image that we want.
God bless you all and have a great day.
So this begs the question of what should we do as Conservatives? Do we just sit back and cut each of our Conservative possibilities apart and let them fight amongst themselves and, in so doing, negate any possibility of coming up with a winner? Or do we coalesce around one person, admittedly something hard to accomplish but possible through good strategy negotiations, and thereby end Establishment rule of the roost again?
Well, perhaps we should start looking at a few polls, not to panic or think that things are already set up, but to get an idea of where things are heading and use that to begin formulating a sound strategy. A poll in Iowa just came out this morning (see the Daily Caller) which shows no candidate with anywhere near the percentage needed to win the delegates in that state, yet a good indication of the wide disparity that likely Republican voters have in their views.
Leading the poll by the narrowest of margins is Governor Mike Huckabee at 20%, the man who surprised everyone back in 2008 by winning in Iowa. Following closely behind him are Jeb Bush and Paul Ryan with Ted Cruz and Rand Paul trailing in the high single digits. Governor Christie has slipped back even farther. These numbers don't mean much right now except to indicate that a large number of potential candidates are interested in the run and, if that is a correct assessment, they will be at each other's throat early on, allowing Democrats to pick up sound bites to use against the ultimate nominee, much as they did in 2012.
Both Bush and Ryan are clearly the Establishment favorites at this point. Bush strongly supports Amnesty as well as the dreaded (in my opinion) Common Core. All of his speeches are awash in Progressivism and even have given considerable praise for Hillary. As for Ryan, he has signed on to Amnesty lock, stock and barrel while also going along with Obama on the debt limit extension, indicating that for political reasons he will support whatever the Establishment wants which seems to be more of the same big government.
We have a pretty good idea about both Cruz and Paul since they are clearly the anti-Establishment favorites, both seeking a new direction with new ideas and vision with an emphasis on individual freedom. While I have my favorite among the two, I could certainly support either one of these fine and patriotic men.
And that brings us to Huckabee, the former Arkansas Governor and current TV host for Fox News. Huckabee certainly has name recognition from his television show and while I am uncertain about his views on some of the issues, I find him to be certainly right of center. I particularly like his stand on taxes (a supporter of the Fair Tax) and his belief that the government has no place involving itself in the moral issue of abortion. Some of his social welfare comments have disturbed me but, then again, being a former active man of the cloth it is reasonable to expect him to have those sentiments. And he certainly does have the gift of gab and would not be nervous against the most formidable of opposition.
I doubt, however, that the Establishment would support him, but they might be willing to change that view if he shows the necessary voter strength. Hopefully he wouldn't "sell his soul" to them like so many others have done in the past.
For the Conservatives to gain the nomination, I truly believe they have to unite behind one strong candidate, something which is hard to accomplish. But if they will figure out a way to do that, I think they can carry the day. Maybe the Rand Pauls, Ted Cruzes, Marco Rubios, Mike Lees and yes, even Mike Huckabees, need to get together in a Conservative Candidate's Summit and do a little horse trading. In this way someone could get at least some of what they want for a commitment to support one viable candidate. It's just a thought.
Folks, it's imperative that we not allow the Establishment to call the short for 2016 for, if we do, I think the Republican Party will die a quick death. And building a new and viable party is a slow process and America doesn't have too much time. Let's try and steer the party back toward the voter base and in so doing rebuild it in the image that we want.
God bless you all and have a great day.
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