Monday, 21 January 2008
Looking at the South Carolina Primary Results
Four questions from the South Carolina Primary.
1) What happened to Fred Thompson?
The short answer is he finished third. His campaign for the presidency save some miracle is finished.
2) How is it that the most complete conservative in the race lost?
I have been pondering this for a while and believe to have the answer. Thompson's campaign had too much Lincoln and not enough American Idol. Look at Thompson's campaign. He spent all of his time talking about the issues. He talked about conservative principles. Yet he was unable to do better than third in the most conservative state. The bottom line is he didn't have the glitz and sparkle of a candidate like Obama.
Unfortunately, our society has become the entertainment generation. Unless people can be entertained then the content of the message is ignored. In fact if you don't have "star power" then you are lazy and don't want the job. The foil for Thompson in this year's presidential election is Obama. Listen to any of his speeches. He is full of glitz and glamor while saying absolutely nothing of substance. Yet he still has a legitimate shot of winning the Democratic primary.
3) Now that Thompson is done, who is your second choice?
I don't have one. To be honest, I don't see much difference between the remaining candidates. They all have aspects of their campaign which violates conservative principles. Giuliani is a social liberal. Romney sees government as a means to solve problems. Huckabee is a fiscal liberal. McCain goes off the reservation frequently, but it is different every time. The latest is his pro Eco-Socialism stance. For some strange reason, he has apparently bought into the man made global warming hoax.
So from my stand point they all have their weaknesses. How do you go about picking your liberal poison? At the end of the day it is still poison.
4) What does this mean for conservatism?
It doesn't mean anything. Conservatism is not a movement. It is a timeless set of principles that provide guidance on public policy. They are like the law of the farm. If you want to harvest a crop you have to plan seeds in the spring and tend to it over the summer before it can be harvested in the fall. There are no shortcuts to the process. It is a natural law. Conservatism are tried and true laws of public policy. Laws that have been proven thought the history of the world. There is no shortcut to the process.
The Republican party is supposedly built around people who hold these principles dear. The problem is those leading our party aren't practicing those principles. None of the remaining candidates will change that fact. It is the same problem that caused our defeat in 2006. Republicans had the reigns of power but our elected officials abandoned many of the principles that brought us to power. It cost us at the ballot box. We will get more of the same with any of the candidates that remain.
I have a sinking feeling that if we win this election we will continue to lose house and senate seats over the next four to eight years. At the same time I can't say I want Republicans lose. The disaster of a Democratic presidency is not worth any gains that would be made in the house and senate.
My hope for this year is that we Republicans can win the presidency and limp along with minimal damage for the next four to eight years. Hopefully in that time the Republican party can discover the next American Idol who both understands and lives conservative principles.
