Vote for the Party, not for the man (I don't think you've got much choice)

The GOP is an embarrassment. The best candidate for Republican nominee, Gary Johnson, is now not running for the party, because the party snubbed him and would not support his inclusion in televised debates, even though he met the criteria for inclusion in most instances.

The spotlight is now on Rick Santorum after he won a couple of Primaries recently.

Santorum is a spender. This has got him into trouble in the past. America desperately needs a fiscal conservative right now, but Santorum’s record suggests he wouldn’t know a fiscal conservative if one snapped a bible shut on his nose.

Speaking of books, the left – particularly the secular left, despise Santorum for his devout Catholicism and social conservatism. (I’m amazed he’s even on Twitter - I bet he needed to be cajoled by his team). If he wins, it wouldn’t surprise me if he legislated a prayer room in every school and office in the country.

Santorum’s campaign lacks organisation (that’s putting it nicely.) He didn’t even make the ballot in two states. (In this respect he is kinda like Johnson, who had to fly to New Hampshire to file the papers himself).

These are a few things going against Santorum. He is definitely not my preferred Republican candidate. In fact, I don't have a preferred candidate. Some say Romney is the best of a dreadfully uninspiring bunch, but, as far as I’m concerned, the jury is still out on him.

I must admit I am getting close to the point where I don't care who wins, as long as Obama doesn’t. It wouldn’t surprise me if many in the GOP base echoed those sentiments. That the party ever let it get to this stage is something they should hang their heads over.

9 February 2012
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4 months ago Samuel Gordon-Stewart responded:

We never did agree on Gary Johnson, or on my preferred picks for the GOP nomination, but I do have to agree with some of your sentiment in this post.

The GOP race should be better than this, especially with sentiment against Obama's plans and policies being as high as it is. Quite honestly, I'm disappointed that Sarah Palin isn't running (and even more disappointed that she is supporting Gingrich).

Of the current bunch in the GOP race, I like Rick Santorum. Not as much as I liked some others before him, but he has been on my list for a while, and certainly before his recent surge in the polls. That said, I do have a few issues with him, in particular there are a few things in his voting record which make me question his fiscal conservatism, but for the most part, I believe that he believes in fiscal and social conservatism and that he knows how to pitch that to the voting public in a way which makes it attractive. He is not perfect by any means, but I'd much rather have him than any of the other current GOP candidates. Mitt and Newt I could probably accept, but not Ron Paul. (I've gone in to some detail about this in my response to your comment on my blog, if you want to know my reasoning)

In a way, what I really want to see is for Newt Gingrich to drop out in a little while from now, but hang in there for long enough to ensure that nobody can get enough delegates before the convention to secure the nomination. A brokered convention, with Newt out of the way, would allow some of the people who have endorsed him (Sarah Palin and Herman Cain in particular) to influence the outcome...and who knows, Sarah or Herman might be dissatisfied enough by then to jump in the race themselves. The Mitt people will not support Newt at the convention and vice-versa, so if Newt gets out, then I think the convention could provide an opportunity for the party to pick someone about whom you, and I, and hopefully the majority of Americans, can be truly enthused.

Failing that, unless someone better comes along, I'm supporting Rick. I can be enthused about him, even if you (understandably) can't/

That said, like you, as long as the eventual candidate is better than Obama (and with the exception of Ron Paul, I think they probably all are), they will have my backing when the Presidential race is on. Yes, even though I have some pretty big issues with Gary Johnson, I would much prefer to see him as President than Obama.

The Right Aussie

Vote for the Party, not for the man (I don't think you've got much choice)

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