Posted by
flagwaver on Saturday, February 09, 2008 7:17:05 PM
With the decision of Mitt Romney to drop out of the Presidential race, conservatives have been left hanging out to dry. Romney was not exactly Ronald Reagan, but he was way closer to that than John McCain or Mike Huckabee, both lovers of expansive government influence over the individual and both seemingly seekers of power for the sake of power. And sadly, that is what the GOP has left to go up against either Barak Obama or Hillary Clinton...or both. When you look at on the whole, with either McCain or Huckabee (or both) the GOP stands little chance of retaining the White House in November.
You see, the GOP seems to have decided that its entire strategy for the Presidential race is to try to simply run against the idea of a Hillary Clinton Presidency. They have not given the voters anything to vote for, they have decided that they can win by screaming about how bad another Clinton presidency would be for America. Think about it, from Rudy Giuliani to Mike Huckabee to John McCain, the cry has been "Vote for ___ because he is the only one who can beat Hillary!" Now we are left with two candidates that don't have the chops to even win among conservatives, much less win a general election against the Clinton machine.
Take the presumptive GOP nominee, John McCain (PLEASE!!!). A close look at John McCain's wins in the primaries and caucuses reveals that he is most successful in states where open primaries are held, so he can get votes from Democrats and Independents...votes that he will not be able to poach when there is a true Democrat on the ballot against him. And as much love as the press is showing him right now, that will be flipped as soon as the general campaign starts. Their beloved "maverick" will be portrayed as the most right wing, extremist, freedom squelching politician to ever roam the political landscape...and you can bank that, buddy! The media will turn on John McCain as sure as the sun will rise in the east... as soon as they have their nominee to prop up; that's just the way the game is played.
Then you have Mike Huckabee, whose sole claim to fame is that he is an evangelical and a former minister. Huckabee has proven that he cannot win anywhere other than the South, and once evangelicals start to really look at him they will probably abandon him. As much grief as Mitt Romney took over his Mormonism...and some of it from me...at least he never claimed, as Huckabee did, that in order for him to make a difference in this world he had to leave the ministry and get into politics! Take a minute to digest that.....a Baptist preacher says that the way to make a difference is not to serve God, but to serve in the government! Add to that his lack of foreign policy expertise, his repeated ethical lapses, and his penchant for letting violent criminals out of prison and you have all of the ingredients for a presidential loser.
But the biggest flaw in the GOP's "brilliant" plan is that Hillary Clinton may not even be the Democratic nominee! Mrs. Clinton is in a dogfight with Barak Obama for the Democratic nomination and is in real danger of having to win the nomination in a brokered convention. The Democratic Party faithful are increasingly climbing on the Obama express and are rejecting Mrs. Clinton in favor of someone promising "change". Obama may not have one truly original idea in the political realm, but his name is not Clinton and for many that is enough. Even the Democrats are starting to tire of the Clintons and their attitude of entitlement; they are rejecting the notion that somehow Hillary is owed the nomination. And as Obama gains more steam, not to mention delegates, the GOP "brain trust" has to be wondering, "What the h*ll do we do now?" Every bit of their "strategy" was built upon the notion that they could scare the GOP loyalists into line by repeating the "Stop Hillary" mantra. Where do the idiots go if Obama stops Hillary? Heck, even I don't have anything against Obama besides his liberalism, so what is the GOP going to say to stop him?
So to the GOP, I say "Welcome to the Terror Dome!" You now have a presumptive nominee that cannot galvanize the Party because of his years of p*ssing off the base, an also-ran that can only win in a select few states, and a "strategy" that was as dumb as the day is long. Add to that the fact that McCain or Huckabee will be filleted by the media as soon as the big dance starts, and you have a recipe for disaster. And come November, we can pretty much be ready to see a Democrat winning the White House. Maybe we can win enough in the Congress that we are able to at least stymie some of their plans.
The "Stupid Party" indeed...