If I were going to list the candidates that are currently running from most conservative to least
Rick Santorum is the most conservative - but he polls at 1-2% and just rubs me the wrong way.
Michelle Bachmann - polls at 5-7% and her campaign has apparantly completely collapsed.
Cain - polls about 5% has no record, and he hates all Muslims and wont hire any apparantly.
Newt - polls about 6-7% but has more baggage than the cargo hold of an airplane.
Perry - polls about 30% but is not very good at debating.
Romney - polls in the low 20’s but has flip flopped on every major issue in order to get elected by Republicans.
Huntsman - polls about 1% and is in the wrong party
and then you got Paul and that other guy who are so far right they are left.
So having laid that out... then you are partially right that Rick when compared to the others is not as conservative as some, but he is the most conservative candidate that polls above 10%. And I always follow Reagan rule, to support the most conservative “electable” candidate.
I think Reagan adopted W.F. Buckley's rule. Either way it's the one I follow too and so far I don't see anyone in the Republican field I think can beat Obama's dirty class warfare campaigning. That worries the hell out of me because this is an "all in," history-changing election.
“And I always follow Reagan rule, to support the most conservative “electable” candidate.”
Anyone who supports illegal immigration in any way ain’t no conservative, period.
Actually, it's the Buckley rule. And, a year ago September 14, Rush Limbaugh pointed out its most serious flaw: to apply it, you need to be clairvoyant.
We still have people who think that professional Washington politicians are the way to fix this, and clearly it isn't. Some of these people are citing the Buckley Rule. Now, I can honestly say that I know what the Buckley Rule is. I can honestly say I knew William F. Buckley and Buckley was a friend of mine. The Buckley Rule is, ostensibly, that you vote for the most electable conservative option against a Democrat in November. You vote for the Republican, slash, conservative who can win. To me, this requires clairvoyance, as is being currently applied in the Mike Castle-Christine O'Donnell race in Delaware, to use an example. The polling data is that Castle will win big and O'Donnell will lose big. If she gets the Republican nomination today, if she wins the election she'll lose big. The polls say she'll lose by 25 points; that Castle will win by 20 points. But who knows this? The election's a long time off. In a year like this, it seems to me that Americanism versus socialism can make up 25 points. Why the hell not try to? Is what I don't understand. Why not try to make up the 25 points?
...
So we have professional Washingtonians now telling us that Mike Castle's the only option we've got. Well, it's time, ladies and gentlemen, for the Limbaugh Rule to supplant and replace the Buckley Rule, because the Buckley Rule requires clairvoyance. The Buckley Rule requires people who can't possibly know the outcome of anything in the middle of September to support or not support somebody based on what they think's going to happen in early November. Christine O'Donnell can't win, she's 25 points down. Can't win? If a constitutional conservative can't win in this climate coming down from 25 points, we need to find that out, find out where we are. Why not go for it? The stakes dictate it, do they not? Here's the Limbaugh Rule: In an election year when voters are fed up with liberalism and socialism, when voters are clearly frightened of where the hell the country is headed, vote for the most conservative Republican in the primary, period.
End result: In November, O'Donnell lost to Coons 40% to 56.6%.
So, while the Buckley Rule may be hard to apply, the Limbaugh Rule is far from infallible, albeit more emotionally satisfying. I would say the Limbaugh Rule is best early in the process. But you need to be prepared to switch over to the Buckley Rule before it's too late.
There is movement on your list. For instance, just yesterday, one of those guys had his afterburners light up. And there is another likely candidate not on your list whose poll numbers have recently been surging, much to the media's consternation.
It's still way too early to pick a winner.