The others are conservatives as far as I know.
Hello Jim,
None of the candidates meet the Reagan standard and that may be why we are so undecided. At this point, I am waiting for Tom Coburn to run. He won’t and that’s good for us in the Senate, but it’s a sad day that none of the candidates seem to be bringing conservatives together.
Rudy’s scrutiny is a good thing— as another poster said, we should hold the other candidates to the same level of review. Not to be mean, but to have an accurate understanding of whom we’d be voting for in 2008.
I appreciate Mitt Romney, but as a resident of Massachusetts, I know that he did not lead the legislature- he did not increase Republican affiliation or state candidates— not because he didn’t try, but that he could not. If he can’t lead Beacon Hill, what’s he going to do with the House and the Senate? He was and is a marvellous administrator— give him something to run and he will persuade left and right alike. But dealing with other elected pols is another issue.
Similarly, other candidates do not have executive experience, other than Mike Huckabee, and while I appreciate his brilliant idea of the “tax me more fund” box on the state income taxes, IIRC, he did increase taxes. I may be wrong and if so, I appreciate any correction.
So we may be faced with electing someone who tells us what we like but can’t deliver because he doesn’t have the management skills that Reagan had (golly, he negotiated with unions). But at this point, I have something that I don’t agree with or trust with each of the candidates.
Fred Thompson is a great guy, but there’s more to get to know before making a decision. I have to treat a McCain ally with reservation.
You are the best :-)
Cheers,
sl
LOL!!!
Everything you have said about Rudy is well documented, and I agree that beating Hillary (who by no means is a lock) is not the issue in the GOP selection process.
But to say that everyone but Rudy is a conservative is a big-time stretch. Running against him:
you got your John McCain. Lifelong MSM buttboy, his name is on one of the three worst pieces of legislation in American history. He loves illegals, and there's that Keating Five thing. And of course if there's a round of "Spot the Loony" at the GOP debates, you know who the camera will wind up. I'd vote for Rudy over a Dem if push came to shove, but I'll never vote for McCain.
you got your Mitt Romney. The Mittster was referred to by Human Events as the most pro-gay, pro-abortion Republican of the decade. Can't reject Rudy on those issues and vote for Mitt.
Then there's Fred "I'm still thinking about it" Thompson. He also supported one of the three worst laws in US history. And he seems to be kind of a Fred-come-lately on immigration. He has written some great op-eds in the last couple of months, but many others can claim that credit as well (how about a PJ O'Rourke/Michelle Malkin ticket?)
Sucks to be a conservative at this point. I could vote for Hunter, Gingrich (another ditherer) or Tancredo if I thought any of them could make it past the first round, which I doubt.
Most of us would consider McCain liberal as well