For the first time that I can recall, there does not seem to be a clear stand-out in the Presidential primary races over whom a conservative can be excited. True, there have been those over whom we got excited and elected, and we were disappointed. But, this time around, I am having real difficulty coming to a conclusion.
Fred Thompson came and went. His delay at the onset followed by the lackluster performance after he entered the race pretty well assured he wouldn't be a viable contender. Too bad, because I thought his positions were closer to mine than those of anyone else.
Rudy Giuliani has a lot of warts and baggage. His "Florida or bust" campaign tactic is 'iffy'. He, at least, is not trying to hide his beliefs, but I would have problems voting for him knowing what he stands for on those social issues. His fiscal position is closer to mine than most others.
John McCain is, from my perspective, a liberal on most every issue but is tough on defense, is a true war hero and hopes that'll gather the conservative vote. His alignment with Sen. Feingold to thwart free-speech sixty days prior to every election with the McCain Feingold bill soured me on him. That simply gave us the '529' animals that George Soros loves. I do not like his illegal immigrant position. And, he is a real son-of-a-gun so far as his temper and attitude.
Gov. Huckabee is just too liberal based on his record in Arkansas despite his protestations to the contrary. He is both socially and fiscally liberal. He has also seemingly ridden the 'evangelical' horse about as far as that is likely to take him.
Ron Paul is a Libertarian and, while some of those ideas are appealing, he is simply a loose cannon who does far less damage in Congress than would be the case if he were President. I would have to hold my nose and vote if the selection came down to Hillary/Obama or Ron Paul.
So I have ended with Mitt Romney remaining, and that seems to be where I'm putting my hopes. He has changed his mind on the abortion issue and that is very important to me. He has explained how and why that came about. I can accept that revised position. He is conservative except for the Massachusetts Connector health program he pushed through. That uses private insurers but it is a government-driven program that is already showing signs of failure. He has done some great things in business so I think he understands the economy as well as anyone. And, he almost single-handedly bailed the Utah Winter Olympics out of the mess that existed when he took over against odds that no one would've felt could be overcome.
The remaining question is whether or not our Wisconsin primary elections will count for anything on either side of the aisle. With the heavily front-loaded primary system in place this time around, that is a very real question. That troubles me a lot. I wonder if we should, as a nation, have a national primary that is held on the same day all across the country? And, I wonder if it is healthy to have absentee ballots available so far ahead of actual elections as is the case today in some states?
Logon and give us all your comments. Maybe you can change an opinion or two.
