Friday, August 10, 2012

Get over the Hangover

 (image from Washington Post)

The candidates aren't the problem.

OK, yes they were. Who seriously thought Rick Santorum, Rick Perry, Herman Cain, or Michele Bachmann would be considered credible Presidential candidates? The truth of the matter is that yes, the candidates the GOP put up weren't the greatest. There were a couple good ones (Ron Paul, Gary Johnson and Thad McCotter come to mind) but they mostly didn't do well in polls and had to drop out. For the most part, the debate stage didn't have that many great candidates.

There was no Mitch Daniels or Jeb Bush. No great Republicans that embodied the changes made to the party since the last Presidential election. Instead we were left with a choice between Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney. These weren't candidates that inspired the great changes made to the Republican Party since 2008.

After John McCain lost the 2008 elections to now President Obama, it looked like the Republican Party finally woke up and said, "No more liberal Republicans. We need someone who can make a strong case for a true conservative message." And with that came the fiscally conservative TEA Party. I won't get much into it, I've mentioned on a previous post how I support the original libertarian TEA Party (which I dub the "Ron Paul TEA Party") not the neo-con Rick Santorum TEA Party. After McCain's loss, there seemed to be a wake up call in the GOP that we needed true Barry Goldwater conservatives much like Senator Jim DeMint, Governor Mitch Daniels and Governor Mark Sanford. The party needed someone who can not only deliver an effective small government message, but also someone who could walk the walk.

Then came the start of the 2012 Presidential Primaries. People like Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, and El Rushbo (who I do listen to on some occasions) claimed that we will not go and pick a liberal moderate like John McCain. We will pick a True Conservative this time around. Then what happened? Mitt Romney got the nomination. The reason why I said that the candidates weren't the problem was because Mitt Romney didn't get the nomination on his own. Voters gave it to him. Voters who said "No more liberals" gave the Republican nomination to the liberal Republican governor of Massachusetts.

Why? Why did they elect him? First off, I would say, "Did you see the other candidates on the debate stage?" Like I said before, out of the candidates that were invited to all the debates, Ron Paul was probably the best one out there. Governor Gary Johnson and Rep. Thaddeus McCotter were good candidates but lack of media attention didn't get them anywhere. So seeing the lack of very good candidates, voters voted for Gov. Romney.

So OK, the candidates were the problem.

Now that I concede that, I want to talk about one of the reasons why Romney was elected: He was a safe candidate. He's an even tempered guy, doesn't smoke, doesn't drink, and he isn't very polarizing. For the most part, he is the anti-Palin.

You see, the Republican Party is still getting over a hangover from the 2008 elections known as the Sarah Palin Hangover. McCain picked a running mate that was high risk, high reward. Unfortunately, it didn't play out the way they planned. So this time around, Republicans were still feeling the pain of the 2008 loss were hesitant to pick a candidate who would too risky. So Mitt Romney seemed like the perfect candidate.

Now as Mitt Romney chooses his running mate, the Sarah Palin Hangover is being talked about again. People like former Vice President Dick Cheney are talking about how Romney needs to pick a safe candidate, not a risky "Sarah-like" candidate. Because of this Hangover, the two likely names floating around are Ohio Senator Rob Portman and former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty.

Picking these two candidates could be the biggest mistake Romney could make.

Yes, Portman and T-Paw are safe candidates. But they are too safe. A Romney/Portman ticket or a Romney/Pawlenty  ticket would be one of the whitest, blandest, and worst tickets they could possible put up. Remember, our candidate is a middle aged, boring white guy. The opponent is a charismatic black man. We can't have another middle aged, boring white guy as the second half of the ticket.

Republicans need to go big or go home this time around. Get over the hangover and pick someone who is young, charismatic, and can make the conservative argument. This election is between Mr. Salt Lake City and Mr. Chicago. Mitt Romney is going up against the toughest political machine in modern Presidential politics. Hell, they're not afraid to call him a tax evading murderer. He isn't going to win by being Mr. Nice Guy. They need a Vice Presidential candidate who is tough and hold no punches. They need someone with a vision and who can stir some enthusiasm for Romney. Portman and T-Paw won't do that for him.

It seems like Romney needs to go and pick a running mate who is the future of the party. And it seems like the future of the party is best held by four men: Rand Paul, Paul Ryan, Marco Rubio and Chris Christie. These men are the future of the Republican Party and can make the case for true conservatism. Yes, they are risky, but it will show that Romney can make bold decisions and not just play it safe.

It's time to hand the baton over to the next generation of conservatives. Get over the hangover and choose the right man for the job.







SIDE NOTE: Given the image above, my personal favorite (besides a Paul) would be Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan. Ryan is one of the country's top Republicans and will most likely be a party leader in years to come. He is also very articulate and intelligent. When it comes to the budget and government spending, he knows the budget better than anyone else in the country. Sure, his embrace of the third rail of American politics (Medicare and Social Security reform) may be his downfall with Dems, but the Obama campaign is going to make Mitt talk about those issues anyway, he might as well have the one guy who knows what he's talking about defend it. Paul Ryan really is one of the best we have to defend True Conservatism. Romney says he wants a running mate with vision. Out of all the names floating around, Paul Ryan is the only one with vision.

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