Posted by
Dwayne Horner on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 12:22:26 AM
After Tuesday night, the sun has now set on Rudy Giuliani and Mike Huckabee. While Rudy will get out tomorrow, Mike Huckabee will stay in one more week to grab a few more delegates for the convention this fall.
I’ve been a Huck guy since there were no Huck guys. Not many people get the unique opportunity to sit down to a private dinner with someone running for President of the United States. Granted, he was in the same no-chance category as Dennis Kucinich, but he was running. For someone who is clearly not a “big shot,” it was a thrill. Well, the thrill is fading faster than his bank account.
What do we have left to choose from? John McCain and Mitt Romney. That brings me to a question I’ve posed to conservative friends of mine for a few years now: Terminology or Ideology?
What does that mean? Simply, is it good to have RINO’s around? The question stemmed from seeing how disappointed we were in the likes of Olympia Snowe, Arlen Specter, and John McCain. While the terminology was an “R,” the ideology was an “L.” They were simply Republicans in Name Only. However, those RINO’s kept Republicans in the Majority in the Senate and so we justified it. However, when you lose the Senate, stomaching RINO’s become much more difficult.
For weeks, talk radio (minus Michael Medved) has had two men in their sites: Mike Huckabee and John McCain. While it was difficult for me to agree with the first, you got no argument out of me on the second. Huck, who has more and more lost me, doesn’t have a chance but now John McCain is the clear front runner and Michael Medved may be right in declaring talk radio is the loser during these GOP Primaries.
Going into Florida, the drumbeat has been there is no way conservatives vote for John McCain in the first real closed primary. As Dr. Phil would say, how’s that working for ya? Apparently, not very well.
So, like the democrats, we’ve got a two-and-a-half man race. McCain and Hillary are the insiders, Romney and Obama are the outsiders. McCain and Hillary both have a substantial amount of consternation amongst the base of their party. Romney and Obama are the fresh faces who were all but unknown a year ago. John Edwards and Mike Huckabee, both southerners, have the populist message and are vying to either be VP or part of a future administration…or bringing delegates to their convention so they have a significant voice this fall.
So, now, it’s time for Super Tuesday. What states does McCain win? What states does Romney win? Will there be a clear winner as a result? Probably not. Next up are two really big prizes: Texas and Ohio. Republicans cannot win the White House without winning both. McCain and Romney will have to come to the Lone Star State and make their case. So what wins, Terminology or Ideology? In a battle of the lesser of two evils, I’ll choose Mitt Romney. Not a ringing endorsement, but the bell is tolling.