Initially I supported Duncan Hunter for, I don’t know, at least 6 months? His name recognition never grew though.
Who do I support now? Right now Thompson. I don’t find him a perfect candidate. I don’t find anyoe a perfect candidate. But I find his record solid enough on every issue that matters to the different factions of the GOP base that at the very least i think he can get the usual GOP crowd out to vote. On taxes, pro-life, small government, 2A and amnesty he should barely hold everyone in the coalition. And unlike the establishment crowd in the GOP, I do think it’s important to find a candidate with a record that can reach out to all these groups.
His main knock is CFR, for which he’s admitted to disliking part of it. This is where the not perfect comes into play, but still much better then the alternative.
That’s my main worry. Nominate someone like Rudy and districts/states that SHOULD be safe for Republicans in Congressional, Senatorial and inside state legislators suddenly are up for grabs if enough conservatives sit home. It’s the same worry many Democrats have about Hillary on the ticket, that she’ll hurt down ticket races.
I think Thompson has the potential to attract blue dogs to his candidacy, but even if not, I think he’s strong enough to help us gain back some House seats on the down ticket.
As for Huckabee, he’s a social conservative. Which is cool. But he’s also big government which turns off the libertarians in the party. pro-amnesty which turns off the middle class vote. And he’s made some derogatory statements on the war turning off the Hawk faction.
I also liked Thompson. I actually “supported” him waaaay before he was even talked about by anyone else. I had a feeling about him. However, I’ve been less than impressed with his performance— but there’s still time.
My primary vote is meaningless, and I absolutely & enthusiastically will support anyone who gets the R nomination, because frankly, I think the democrats will destroy (and I mean DESTROY) this country. The prolife movement after that will be a complete meaningless joke, I doubt pro-lifers will even be permitted to protest anymore. Christians & the religious right will be relegated to the types of positions that they have in other countries such as Europe where it’ll be a crime for criticising homosexuality (or abortion, or pedophilia, etc...)I’m not kidding.
And I also don’t think politicians can or will ever do jack about abortion. Educating people will. And the proof of that is empirical. Understanding this doesn’t make me an “abortionist”, nor does it make me a liberal. I’m actually quite a bit more conservative than some people who seem to think that a “pro-life” president will be able to wave a wand and make abortion illegal (with a democrat congress & no constitutional amendment). Even though there have been several pro-life presidents over the past several decades, somehow we still have abortions.
At its heart, the abortion issue is a states issue. And an issue that is going to have to be fought personally (figuratively speaking).
Blah blah blah, we could discuss this ad nauseum.