Romney's the Man

The 2012 Presidential election is in full swing.

Every major news outlet obsessively covers every primary and every conservative pundit seems to be hoping desperately for some candidate other than Mitt Romney. Why not Mitt Romney? Well, he simply is not conservative enough, say many of his Republican critics. After all, ‘Obamacare’ is largely modeled after Romney’s healthcare reform during his tenure as governor of Massachusetts (a single four-year stint that somehow paints Romney as a political insider, as opposed to Newt Gingrich, who has worked in Washington for 30 years and who now successfully brands himself an outsider). For whatever reason, even though Romney polls very well and has been the frontrunner since the 2012 election cycle began, everyone seems to want to look for someone else. A dark horse approaches.

The radical conservativism of the Tea Party that catapulted the Tea Party into the majority of both houses of Congress two years ago has dissipated. Their idea of smaller government (unless it pertains to social issues, the military, or farming subsidies) has basically reached a broad consensus with both parties. The Tea Party required vehement opposition to thrive, and that can’t happen if the Democrats agree with the idea the government needs to be smaller and smarter. Besides, the Tea Party favorite freshmen have mostly flopped as legislators, resembling those so-called insiders they waged war against in the 2010 elections. The Karl Rove clique worried the Tea Party was the end of the GOP, but now, with the nomination of Mitt Romney all but assured, old-school Republicans believe their tradition will survive.

Right now, conservativism in the United States is geared towards shooting itself in the foot. Newt Gingrich is clearly a very intelligent man, and he can credit getting Congress back for the Republicans after decades of Democratic control, but the fact of the matter is he is not a viable candidate. Though he has diverted attention away from his marital infidelity (did I mention he was fined severely for ethical violations as Speaker of the House in the 90s?) by claiming accusations of his wanting an “open” relationship with his ex-wife were fabrications of the liberal media. When his conservative rivals ask about that part of his past, he’ll likely claim they’re just afraid of his greatness. Newt Gingrich is terribly polarizing. So too is Rick Santorum. Rick Perry is clearly an ignoramus. Ron Paul advocates far too radical of an American foreign policy, though I have tremendous respect for him in that he seems to be of that rare and elusive breed of earnest politician.

The year 2012 will be the story of Mitt Romney, but this winter is the season of alternative candidates. Ron Paul has consistently done incredibly well in the primaries and his continued success may very well encourage him to run as a third party candidate—no other candidate could so credibly claim to be outside of the mainstream Republican party. If he were to do so, Obama’s victory would be all but assured. So, exciting and interesting though the primaries may be (well, to some of us anyway), the bottom line is Mitt Romney is our man to watch. I’d be willing to bet you 10,000 dollars he is.