[neverdem]

Please God, heaven forfend another RINO!

[napscoordinator]

I know and the top two candidates are both the worst. Thank God Cain is at least tied for second....that at least gives conservatives a great chance.

[ari-freedom]

“And since I want to make the best choice for our culture, I’ll support the best candidate with a chance to win. As far as the primaries go, this means I favor one Republican over the others.”

Problem is that nobody knows who that one is. So let’s just test everybody and let’s see who rises to the challenge in the end!

[nathanbedford]

... when lamenting our election choices, what are we really complaining about?

Our fellow man.

Bingo!

Every time you hear a commentator or a politician complaining about "Washington" know that these people are giving the electorate what it wants. If the country has $14 trillion worth of debt to pay for Social Security and Medicare it is because any politician who denied the electorate these entitlements while telling them the truth about the debt would be out of office. If the truth were otherwise Ron Paul would have been a president long ago.

Now that the reckoning is upon us we will continue to deceive ourselves and say that we are in this mess because of politicians. We will have Republicans blaming Democrats and liberals while conservatives blame rinos. The author has it right, in the long run you must win the cultural war to win the elections. He might have added that in the long run you cannot win the cultural war if you lose the demographics war. This is undoubtedly why the author wants to stop immigration altogether.

The problem is not in the stars but in ourselves.

[paudio]

The author simply points out the obvious: in the field where there are only 1-2 RINOS but 5-6 conservatives, and there is no clear cut majority, it’s not surprising that we end up with a RINO. The conservatives need to focus on 1-2 candidates soon.

[Ronin]

A fantasy for a Wednesday evening...

Cain, Perry and Sarah agree to meet to decide which of the three will challenge Romney for the nomination. To tell the truth, I think that most FReepers have their preference among the three — but I also think that most FReepers could support one of those three with considerable enthusiasm.

How to do it? Simple.

The three meet in Vegas for one hour of nationally televised five card stud poker.

Each candidate brings $500 to the table. If they go bust, they’re out. If all three still have chips at the end of the hour, who ever has the most chips is the winner and the other two agree to wholeheartedly support his/her bid for the nomination and, of course, the general election.

How about it? What could be more American than that?

[Happy Rain]

It's all in the hands of the Tea Party—and no person or pollster can predict their actions though some claim they can.
Just know the Tea Party WILL NOT allow a RINO nominee and WILL NOT allow an Obama second term.

Seems even some conservatives have forgotten the massive tectonic shift in American politics the Tea Party ONLY STARTED last November.
Gotta have faith in the TP brothers and sisters—I do.

[Wolfie]

Ah yes, the clarion call of “hold your nose and vote Replublican at all costs” is starting to sound.

[ballplayer]

Obama now admits in an Interview that people are not better off since he was elected President and like the suckers they are the Republicans bite at the setup. The democrats are Planning to Run against the Republicans as Far right Wingers,you know the People who Go to work everyday,pay your taxes,go by the rules,Stand and salute The flag when it Passes by,THOSE extremists,so when I hear Fox News Reporting this, I hear,we better nominate a RINO.
This is what happens when for years the Republican Party puts their tales Between their Legs and does not stand up for Traditional Americans But becomes BIPARTISAN and compromises their Principals, now we no longer Have any.
Traditional Americans have been sold out,told to hold your Nose get what you can Now,we can work toward a Conservative Later.What has that gotten us? Look at Wall st. today,that is what you get,Romney is what you get,Obama a Marxist is what you get,admitting he is Destroying the Country and getting ready to spend a Billion Dollars on Ads telling you its All your Fault,and the Best the Republicans can offer is ,LOOK Obama is admitting we are worse off!
You would think they would say Americans who Pay the Bills our responsible citizens and Pay their taxes ,worship their God ,fight and Die for their Country,donate for the Poor and sick ARE NOT RIGHT WING EXTREMISTS!!THEY ARE AMERICANS That have been sold out
If you think the people down on Wall St. in New York and in all the Other Cities across the Country demonstrating are the Real America show me the Interview where one of them says I love My country,show me one holding an American Flag High and saying we need to get back to Personal RESPONSIBILITY,hard work and to getting rid of Lying marxist Politicians preying on the Ignorance and stupidity of the American People,it would be nice if one of the parties did NOT appeal to the Lowest of Human emotions Jealousy,envy and Greed.

[behzinlea]

Oddly enough, although Romney is unacceptable to many core conservatives, he is viewed as relatively nonthreatening to dispirited moderates and soft Democrats who came out to vote for Obama in 2008--and for many of the same reasons. They are more likely to sit at home on their hands this election cycle if the race is between Romney and Obama, and that could help Republicans down ticket in swing districts.

A "scary" Perry, Christie, Bachmann, Gingrich, or Palin candidacy on the other hand, would likely fire up a lot of this dispirited crew to come out and vote--not because they are happy with Obama, but because they feel compelled to register their resistance to the "scary" Republican candidate. That could hurt Republican candidates down ticket.

Romney might be the candidate no one really passionately wants, but who ends up winning for that very reason.

Cain is about the only other viable "non-scary" Republican candidate in the race, but he is unlikely to generate much money from big donors. It might be a smart strategic move for Romney to pick the likeable "non-scary" Cain as his VP.

Again, I will vote with pleasure for WHICHEVER Republican candidate is still standing at the end of the primary road. Anything else would be a vote for Obama, and he infinitely worse than the worst Republican alternative.

[elli1]

And I'll hold fast to this principle come the general election. This means supporting the Republican nominee whoever he may be.

i.e. Romney. And that isn't going to work because you have to give people a reason to go to the polls. And Obama-lite isn't a reason.

Like it or not, the presidential slate is the major election draw. Romney's coattails are going to be threadbare. So all estimations of congressional & senate seats gained are going to have to be dialed back, way back. That's because hardly anyone is enthused about Romney. Hell, even the 'Gerald Ford wing' woulda' rather had Chris Christie. I'm afraid that we're going to have to work like hell just to hang onto the seats we have now if Romney is the nominee.

[pgyanke]

The reason for Bachman’s rise and fall, Perry’s meteoric rise and fall and now Cain’s rise is because the conservatives are searching for a standard bearer. As each candidate gains support by being “the most conservative” and then loses it by exposing something previously unknown about themselves... the conservatives shift. Cain is currently the man, despite his lack of political leadership, because he is the strongest conservative still standing. This portends very well for Palin... and I can’t wait.

[samtheman]

I have a question regarding delegates that maybe somebody here can answer.

Let’s say at the end of the primary season there are 2 contenders, A and B, with close to equal amount of delegates, but neither having the winning number.

Let’s also say there’s a third candidate C still in the race but obviously out of the running with a chunk of delegates that could put either of the 2 front-runners over the top.

If candidate C says to his own delegates: “I direct all of you to vote for candidate B”, what happens next?

Are the delegates of candidate C required to vote for candidate B? Are they very likely to vote for candidate B?

How much influence does candidate C have over what his own delegates will do if he clearly can’t win at the convention?

Thanks.

[LibLieSlayer]

We CONSERVATIVES will not give you jack sh!t. Conservatives vote CONSERVATIVE... IF the elite force a rino on us... we walk to a third party... then it is YOUR FAULT LIBERAL (to the elite party leaders and money bag-men).

LLS

[Frenetic74]

Right on man. If R’s nominate Romney, another moderate like McCain, we lose in 2012. We need a supermajority in the house and senate and a constitutionalist president who has the guts, conviction, fiscal know-how, and leadership qualities to clean house and restore our republic. So far I like what I’m seeing with Herman Cain.

[Huck]

There's a simple reason for it---Christine O'Donnell syndrome. The Tea Party seems to think that all you need to win is someone with no experience who takes the right positions.

In reality, a lot of people are pragmatists, and quite impure in their conservatism. Superficiality also plays a factor in voting decisions.

Hence, if the Tea Party wants to win, they need an experienced candidate who people will believe can win, and can govern. This person should have the ability to gain the trust of enough voters, and be reasonably well-liked. And ideally, this candidate is as conservative as can be found with all the above traits and abilities.

If you look at the GOP field, you'll notice there is no such candidate running. And the weakest candidates are the Tea Party candidates--Bachmann and Cain.

[xzins]

This author laments conservatives dividing the vote and giving the primary to Romney. He says he’s as conservative as anyone and more than most.

He ends the article by saying that we need to choose the lesser of 2 evils no matter who the Republican nominee is. Therefore, a vote for Romney, in his mind, is a vote cast the right way.

Claptrap.

A vote for Romney is a vote for the establishment to continue manipulating conservatives.

A vote for a third party candidate is a warning shot across the establishment’s bow.

I will NOT for any reason vote for Romney. I will vote the the sane, pro-life conservative who is running for president.

[grumpygresh]

Maybe we need to totally reconsider this entire nomination process. We all have seen tv shows wherby the winner is chosen by na process of elimination. What if we could simply vote for the candidate that we would most like to eliminate first.

[Theodore R.]

This is right on target; Republican primary voters in the Midwest in particularly have been nominating “moderate” congressional candidates for years under this same scenario. I don’t think the Republican primary voters can ever learn. Most are so uninformed that all they know to do is ratify the popular liberal press choice.

[Sola Veritas]

“Of course, though, for good or ill, the also-rans will always be with us. Thus, to eliminate the traditionalist vote-dilution factor would require a total revamping of our system. We would have to institute rules stating that if no prospective nominee captured 50 percent of the vote in a state, there would have to be a run-off between the top two contenders. However, the chances of our dispensing with our current system in favor of the above are about as great as those of the also-rans dispensing with their campaigns.”

It would require more than that. “Open” primaries need to go away. In Missouri where I reside, you don’t have to be registered by party....you chose which ballot you want during the primary. That is just wrong!