[camle]

one sure way to lose in 2012 - nominate Romney. tha last thing we need to a liberal heading our ticket.

[wolfcreek]

I vote Republican. (not literally)

If we screw this one up, it’s lights out,

[Diogenesis]

[Huck]

Reagan picked out a few key things that he wanted to accomplish. He effectively prioritized and was able to communicate his priorities effectively.

We need that today. But anytime someone tries to prioritize things today, some faction within the GOP electorate has a hissy fit.

[Da Coyote]

If it’s RINOmney, guess I’ll have to hang separately after CW II...because electing that guy is only slightly less repulsive than seeing the Obamaloon back in office. The effects will be the same - only delayed.

[pgkdan]

With all due respect, Reagan’s so called Eleventh Commandment was more of a quip than a core principle. He was more than willing to criticize Jerry Ford in 1976...although he did fall in line and support the eventual nominee.

[WFTR]

I don't think John McCain lost because Republicans failed to support him. He lost because he was a clearly pathetic candidate and independents recognized that he was pathetic. Obama has turned out to be a pathetic president, but he was a strong candidate. The swing voters voted for the candidate who ran the better campaign.

Otherwise, we need to support the nominee no matter who he or she is. I see Rick Perry as a clod. He's really not very conservative. The Texas DREAM Act, his refusal to support E-verify, and his talk of a bi-national health insurance with Mexico show that he's not conservative on immigration. The executive order on Gardasil shows that he's not a conservative on several issues of government power and morality. That executive order was a mandate. The opt-out process was very difficult, and by forcing every insurance company in Texas to cover the vaccine, he drove up the costs of health insurance. When the legislature overturned his order, he first tried to pretend that they couldn't and then held a press conference to attack them. He signed a letter as head of the Republican Governors' Association asking Congress to pass TARP, and now he claims that he didn't support TARP. He's all over the place on Social Security and doesn't seem to offer anything other than posturing. The only way that he can be seen as a very strong conservative is if someone measures conservatism by bombast. Otherwise, Perry is just a blowhard who isn't that conservative but won't appeal to swing voters. In spite of these things, I'll hold my nose and vote for him if he's the nominee.