Strengthening Constitutional Self-Government

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George Will on the Right Candidates

Here are some sober and responsible thoughts for Republicans by our friend George. Despite their flaws--especially from a socially conservative view, we should admit that McCain, Giuliani, and Romney are all pretty darn good candidates. And there are good reasons to believe that each would be a pretty darn good president. So maybe we should stop whining and wishing for something better, and maybe we shouldn’t criticize, at least too much, a "front-loaded" process that will very likely freeze out Brownback, Gingrich, Huckabee, and Hunter and so forth. We can add that, on the Democratic side, Obama and Sen. Clinton may well be the best they got (my own view is that Richardson deserves a serious look he probably won’t get), or at least they’re both quite impressive, from their perspective. Too bad, of course, for Biden and Gravel.

Discussions - 11 Comments

MeCain is very problematic. Rudy and Romney are somewhat problematic, but have serious substantive strengths. Rudy also has serious political strengths, and Romney might. Gingrich is very impressive substantively, but probably not in terms of vote-getting.

Unfortunately, none of this matters to certain social conservatives, who don’t really care if a Republican or Democrat wins the White House unless the Republican is someone who meets all their tests. Since none of the big guys do, these folks will spend 2008 whining. It will be up to us grownups.

David Frisk--I basically agree with your analysis and so disagree with social conservatives who’d rather lose...I don’t know whether I’m actually a grownup yet, though.

That’s right David because we all know that winning is all that matters. Principles are for rubes. Why worry about silly little things like dead babies and the sanctity of marriage? Or cutting spending. Or controlling the debt. Or the immigrant invasion. Or following that pesky little Constitution (Paul). (Social conservatives aren’t the only ones who are upset, BTW.



If all the "conservatives" who are trying to justify supporting one of the top three (otherwise known as selling out) would get behind a conservative candidate, then the nomination of one of the top three wouldn’t be so inevitable now would it? This is all one huge self fulfilling prophecy.



I actually think there are a lot of people supporting one of the top three who actually want to move the party to the left. I just wish they would be honest and stop pretending.

I’m really hoping the Dems start looking more seriously at Richardson, because he is a whole lot better than Clinton and Obama.

Bill Richardson is a smooth, smart megalomaniac. I live under King Bill’s rule here in New Mexico. Lauded by even conservatives for "lowering taxes" (which he’s done nominally), few go on to note (and report) that in EVERY instance he’s raised taxes and fees in other places to MORE THAN replace the tax cuts.
King Bill brooks NO opposition to his agenda here in NM. Republican legislators who have opposed him have had their capital spending requests cut in half. He not only supports abortion (as a putative Catholic), he authors fundraising letters for NARAL. And he forced - with no advance warning - a $20Mil ESCR state funding initiative on the Univ. of New Mexico Medical School.
I agree that Richardson (in large part due to his varied resume’) deserves a long look by Dems and the electorate. I even predict he’ll be Hillary’s VP candidate. But when the chips are down he’s a hardnosed pol who loves spending OPM (we’re awash in cash in NM because of high energy prices), and who’s reliably anti-life, while trading on his nominal Catholicism.
He’s a snake. You heard it here first.

Careful, Gary. You may be too partisan for NLT.

True Right: LOL. I don’t worry about the moderators of NLT. They’re magnanimous men (and women). But I *do* worry about being singled out for an audit by the Richardson administration.... They play hardball, and they mean to win. (Can I trademark that last half-phrase??) Richardson has NO scruples about ends not justifying means. He is all about power, all of the time. He *IS* moderately pro-business and is relentlessly proactive. He’s also spent $200Mil+ on two boondoggle projects: light rail that will eventually connect the southern Abq suburbs with Santa Fe (which is presently costing something like $10 in public subsidies for every $1 in ticket sales)....conveniently allowing (overwhelmingly Democratic) state workers to ride the train to affordable housing down south. Secondly, he’s "investing" $225Mil to enable Richard Branson to launch for-pay space tourists from southern NM. Branson will pay $1Mil/yr rent beginning in........5 years. Richardson will be LONG GONE before the pipers come calling. In a recent multi-week profile by the Abq Journal (by far the state’s largest and most influential newspaper), even former Richardson staffers noted how power-seeking, egocentric and calculating Richardson has been, and is. His "friends" were more devastating in their descriptions than his "enemies". But he *IS* a leader, and deserves serious watching. St. Michael the Archangel,........

Gary, Don’t worry about the audit. You’ve given the case both for and against the man, in effect. I agree he deserves serious watching.

I think Richardson would make a better Secretary of State, rather than a President.

There is no way any conservative I know would vote for some left-wing globalist like McCain, Giuliani or Romney. They have too much self-respect.

It seems that others think so too:

https://www.conservativeexodusproject.com/

.

It’s unthinkable that Richard Nixon could have been elected--nobody I know voted for him!

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