John Podhoretz: Romney’s not the conservative’s conservative…
…but he’s the conservative-enough’s conservative-enough.
And the latter are more numerous than the former.
The New Neo
A blog about political change, among other things
…but he’s the conservative-enough’s conservative-enough.
And the latter are more numerous than the former.
I originally posted this just as a vent …
What IS it with the Republican Party?!!!
After the latest two primaries (and the reactions to them), well, I’m damned if I don’t stand by it!
Come November, I hope to God the Republicans eventually recall just who the real enemy is.
–
I am of the opinion that principled people, be they conservative or Christian, are going President Obama right back in the White House.
ABO Mr. Podhoretz, ABO.
He’s probably right but, I hope that the number of moderates and independents he attracts will make up for the people who will stay home.
ABO
Elections are like negotiations for our country’s politics. Conservative enough would be just fine if our opponents were simply liberal enough. But that’s not the case by a long shot. And in all likelyhood, conservative enough isn’t conservative enough for much of anything in the way of defeating or even slowing down liberalism in its current form.
Just quoting myself from a few comments ago.
There is, among others, one very good reason to believe that Romney is the best choice to beat Obama. In the midst a campaign season that has taken so many twists and turns, Romney has remained the one constant factor. By which I mean, he has come back again and again. Others have had their moments: Bachman, Perry, Gingrich, now Santorum. They came, shone brightly for a moment, and for a moment appeared to overtake Romney, before falling away and disappearing. Romney, despite setbacks, has come back every time and overcome each upstart, and remained in the race.
I’m sure some will say that this has to do with Romney’s advantage of having money, or of his support from some supposed GOP “insiders.” And certainly his money is important, as is the support of certain important people. But surely, it also has to do with Romney’s own personal attributes as well. I mean, the man is like the Energizer bunny which appeared in commercials so many years ago: he just keeps on going and going. He keeps on being competitive even when briefly overcome, and comes back to overtake his rivals.
If you are looking to win in 2012, I would suggest that this competitiveness is exactly what will win against Obama.
I think a winning combination would be Romney, plus for VP a more “strong” conservative candidate with tea party backing. I still think Michelle Bachman would make a good choice.
What is important is for everyone who is against what Obama has been doing to finally unite behind the eventual nominee that the GOP will have. I have said I would do that for Gingrich or Santorum if they were the nominees, although I still feel Romney is the best choice.
Romney-Bachman 2012
J.L.,
I also think Romney’s perserverance might be a valuable quality in the Oval Office. There won’t be one big issue that will turn our country around. That will require one small step after another. I do think the economy and deregulation are the right first steps. This should be followed by sending many federal programs back to the state and local governments, which would then be able to use their wn private resources. The country needs to regain confidence in its own ability to solve problems. Moving too fast or on too large a scale at once could result in panic and chaos and an ultimate return to big government solutions.
As far as the circular firing squad is concerned, it seems to me Romney started “it” when he went after Gingrich’s past, when Gingrich had already been exonerated concerning his alleged problems with the IRS.
It got worse and worse, with valuable resources (including precious time) being squandered when “we” could have been taking down Obama — instead, “we”‘ve been taking down each other, making Obama look statesmanlike by comparison. And make no mistake, with Obama’s billion-dollar scorched-earth machine ready to swing into action, all those resources need to be put to good use.
Anyway, here’s where I’m going:
Is it possible that without explicitly saying so (because he cannot), Romney is, among other things, trying to assure the Republican base that when it comes to down-n-dirty hand-to-hand combat, he will fight like an S.O.B., which is exactly what the base is yearning for?
Assuming he’s noiminated, I do hope so . . .
Last sentence: “nominated”.