Posted by
Georgiaboy on Sunday, July 16, 2006 5:29:10 PM
Couldn't contain myself any longer... Had to speculate on '08... To give you some background, I have several primary interests in selecting my favorite for the nomination. First, they have to be able to win. I would rather spend 8 years with a liberal republican like Guliani than 8 months with a conservative Democrat. The nice thing is, with the exception of Mark Warner and Bill Richardson, the Democrats don't have many exceptional candidates. So, I can be a bit more selective.
McCain, as the frontrunner, deserves consideration first. McCain is so popular that I have tried so hard to like him. I know he would trounce almost anyone in the general election, barring some new development in the next 2 years. The problem is, he keeps making me mad. I wasn't paying that much attention back when he pushed through campaign finance reform, but in hindsight, it's his first strike. Then he infuriated me with the Gang of 14 deal. It snatched defeat from the jaws of victory and has wreaked havoc with the confirmation of Court of Appeals nominees. Why compromise when you can win? Just about the time the confirmation of Alito and Roberts cooled me off from this fit of rage, immigration came up. Who in the world does McCain think he is to be working on immigration bills with Ted Kennedy? His comment about Americans not being willing to pick lettuce for $50 per hour just made the whole thing worse (No, you would have to pick lettuce for a WHOLE season!) It just sounded so elitist. Doesn't he know that many Americans do labor twice that hard for a fourth of those wages. There are no jobs Americans are unwilling to do, only jobs that don't pay enough. So, McCain is on my naughty list. If he wins the nomination, his strong record on spending and Iraq will make him palatable, but I hope we can do better.
Which leads me to the two people I think are right for the job. George Allen, senator and former governor from Virginia, and Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the House. Both have impeccable conservative credentials, standing strong on spending, immigration, the war on terror, social issues, tax cuts, and judges.
I like George Allen because he was a governor. History has shown that Governors do well in elections, Senators fail. Just look at the loser in almost every race over the last 30 years and it was a Senator. Kerry, Dole, Mondale, the list goes on. He also does an excellent job of articulating the conservative message. Finally, he is in good position to challenge McCain or Guliani. It doesn't do any good to be conservative if you can't beat the other guy.
I like Newt Gingrich because nobody else has explained as clearly a vision for true reform. Whether it be entitlements, the budget process, or any other broken antique of 20th century Democratic control, Newt has a bold plan to fix it. I think that the American people are tired. They are ready for a change. If Democrats are the only change they can find, they will go against their better inclinations and vote for them just for the sake of change. But, if Republicans offer not only change, but a bold platform of reform and good, old-fashion small government conservatism, we will trounce the Dems in '08. Newt provides all this, I am only afraid that he may be viewed as old news and passed over.
A lot can change in 2 years and the race for the nomination will change a lot when people start paying attention to '08, but I'm ready for the ride.