Why there is no GOP frontrunner.

I posted this over at Michelle Malkin’s blog (it’s over at Hot Air now, too) and deemed it good enough for re-posting. It’s a comment responding to concerns about how Mitt Romney comes off to voters, something written about in the NYT by Dean Barnett.

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Many people have their theories on why Romney isn’t running away with the campaign. And Barnett’s partially right, but he’s missing the obivous.The Republican field is full of reasonable choices for the nomination (reasonable to a certain set of voters, that is!)Romney’s a good manager & a nice guy, but he was governor of Mass. Any East Coast Republican is immediately going to turn off any social conservative because there are taxes they have to pay to the social liberals in order to get elected.

Rudy’s got a similar problem. We all know he did a great job with 9/11 and cleaning up NYC. In the meantime he dumped his 2nd wife after she stuck through his cancer run. Then he married his nurse! That sound you hear is the puking of several social conservatives, especially after knowing Rudy’s pro-choice stances.

Fred! seems great. Good ol’ Southern Boy. Nice charm, wit, relaxed, and seemingly conservative. But he got in the race way too late (or the race started way too early– you decide) and he’s fighting an uphill battle to capture those who’ve committed to Mitt or Rudy or McCain. He’s gathering steam– but is it enough steam to win on Super Tuesday? That’s the question.

Huckabee is a Christian Minister, which really excites the Americans for Jesus crowd. I’m Catholic and I like Jesus just fine– what I don’t like is Huckabee’s complete capitulation to higher taxes and bigger government in Arkansas. He’s a social conservative but political liberal. (Didn’t the USS Enterprise use those two forces to power the warp drive?) He’s got the Christian vote– well, the ignorant Christian vote, and that’s power from the pulpit.

And don’t forget McCain. He’s great with foreign policy. But as the season rolls on, we are reminded again of the horrible McCain-Fiengold legislation. Don’t forget his formation of his coalition of senators to undermine Republican leadership in the Senate. And don’t forget his tarnished past– AZSCAM, for example. He may be an ex-POW, but he’s spent so long in politics he’s got a closet full of skeletons and a Conservative base that doesn’t trust him.

So we’ve got Rudy, Mitt, Fred, Huck, and McCain– each with a solid core of supporters. (And there’s Ron Paul, too, bringing in the Troofer/Stormfront vote.) The vote is solidly split because each of the candidates has something that attracts a core of voters.

So the idea that “people don’t like Mitt” is tenuous. I’d be more willing to state that people like other people more than Mitt. Or Rudy. Or McCain. Or Huckabee. Or Ron Paul.

(But everyone likes Duncan Hunter– they just don’t think he can win. How can someone everyone likes not win?)

Bobby Jindal Sworn In Today

The new governor of Louisiana is in.  He’s pledging to rid Louisiana of the corruption and usher in a new era of ethics.  Hopefully he’ll have more success than Nancy Pelosi in Congress.

I think Jindal would be an ideal running mate for Fred Thompson if he pulls off the upset win, but I hope he declines.  We need new, young, principled blood in key positions around the nation, Democrat & Republican.  Dump the old ways of doing things, and that’s about 75% of Congress.

What does this poll tell you?

That the “unelectable” Hunter is the most widely palatable to all voters/conservatives.

Universally, the GOP is missing the boat.  Hunter is the best candidate.

SO VOTE FOR HIM.

I can’t understand why we’ve elected so many losers lately– and it’s because the GOP is too busy nominating losers.  Big tent syndrome.  Come on folks!

The Coveted Autopsy GOP Endorsement for President

I throwing my support behind Duncan Hunter for President.

Hunter’s been solid on every issue.  Immigration.  Tax reform.  Reducing government spending.  Abortion.  Foreign policy.  The war in Iraq.  He’s got all the right messages in all the right places.

The only reason he’s not getting traction is because of name recognition.  The only people who know him are people in the political know and those from San Diego.  He’s had a presence in every GOP debate, but his questions have been loaded and few, and most of the time we heard from Mitt, Rudy, McCain, Huck, or Fred!.  Hunter was the one who was sandbagged by Anderson Cooper and the Gay General Hillary plant.  He’s been asked about China quite a bit, but nothing else of real significance, which is a shame.  He has so much to say but nobody gives him a platform.

Instead we’re treated to the parade of mediocrity which is the current GOP field.  McCain’s the Maverick who gave us such winning legislation as Campaign Finance Reform.   Rudy the pro-choice philanderer.  Mitt the flip-flopper mormon.  Huckabee the liberal Christian in GOP clothing.  And Fred, someone who’s been sleepwalking through the election process.

So, even though Hunter doesn’t have the name recognition, I say, give him the name recognition by NOMINATING HIM FOR THE PRESIDENCY.  The GOP voters are worried about putting up a no-name against Hillary, or Barak.  Well, Hunter’s the perfect foil.  He’s not an empty suit (Obama), and he’s not a closet socialist (Hillary).

So, get off your duff, stop vacillating between barely-palatable top-tier candidates, and throw your primary support behind the only experienced, solid conservative in the lot- Duncan Hunter.

I can’t wait for the Wisconsin primary.

The Big Drudge-Huck Hit

Recently, Drudge ran a banner piece on GOP Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee about how “he wants to take America back for Christ”, or something along those lines. Webutante, among many others, explains why this particular attack is disingenuous, primarily that at the time Huckabee was a pastor and not an elected official.

But Drudge’s attack is very useful, because it’s those types of statements by Huckabee that are going to be the “red meat” Democrats toss to their supporters. “Do you want Mike Huckabee, Uber-Christian White Male, to be your president?” Talk about riling up an already apathetic base.

Drudge passes on another warning today– and it’s the same warning I’d be issuing. The Democrats think Mike Huckabee is a “glass jaw” candidate. I completely agree. Huckabee’s record on taxes in his state is horrible. His Baptist background and his ordained status in the Baptist congregations really makes people skittish as far as separation of Church & State (and, as I mentioned, it will fire up the Democratic base). He seems vastly ignorant of foreign policy. He doesn’t know much about CDC quarantine procedure. And he’s a supporter of the “Fair Tax“, a plan which is good from a philosophical angle but cannot be implemented as currently suggested. (I think it could be implemented, but not at 30%– that’s just economic foolishness.)

I never liked Huckabee, and now I’m going on the record as being anti-Huckabee. This guy is a GOP disaster, and I really hope we don’t nominate him. If the DNC is not willing to oppose a Huckabee nomination, that should send up red flags everywhere. They’re itching to pound him.

UPDATE:  Seems I’m not the only one.

Hugh Hewitt is Stealing My Lines

From Hugh’s piece posted yesterday around noon:

The network is either incompetent in a way no serious news organization should be, or wholly captured by agenda journalists of the left.

From my “Another Plant” post:

If Anderson Cooper and his staff weren’t checking the backgrounds on their chosen questioners, then they’re incompetent. If they did know the background of their questioners, they’re partisans for the Democrats.

Where’s the love, Hugh?

Seriously, though, it just shows that great minds are thinking alike. And we aren’t the only ones.

H/T:  Instapundit.

Debate Reactions

Well, in between getting the kids into bed and watching Shrek and the Grinch, I caught blurbs of the first hour and most of the 2nd hour.  I think Hunter was strong, as was Mitt.  Huckabee had the best performance, but I wasn’t surprised.  Who were they going to feed questions to– Rudy, Romney, McCain or Thompson, the candidates who could soundly trounce Hillary, or Huckabee, who will turn out to be someone most Republicans won’t be able to get behind?

The Fred Thompson Tax Plan

There’s a lot there to like.

Let’s go through it:

Permanently Extend the 2001 and 2003 Tax Cuts.

1. Reduced individual income tax rates, saving every tax-paying family a minimum of $600.
2. Preserving the $1000 child tax credit, which was doubled from $500 per child.
3. Protecting Marriage penalty relief.
4. Retaining Education tax incentives, including Coverdell Education Savings Accounts, 529 college savings plans, and deductions for higher education expenses.
5. Reduced tax rates on capital gains and qualified dividends.
6. Increased expensing of investment for small businesses.

All good stuff so far.  Bush’s tax cuts have really helped the economy, and making them permanent will keep the economy happy.

 Permanently Repeal the Death Tax.

Excellent.  You shouldn’t be taxed twice on your money.

 Repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax.

Now that the AMT is hitting people who aren’t considered “rich” anymore, it makes sense to either change it or remove it entirely.

Reduce the Corporate Tax Rate. 

And where does that money go?  To the UBER RICH, of course.  (And that means Democrats!)

I kid, of course.  It gets reinvested into the economy!  Better than being flushed down the government moneyhole.

 Permanently Extend Small Business Expensing.

 Update and Simplify Depreciation Schedules.

Both would do wonders for small business.

 Expand Taxpayer Choice.

This is the only part of the plan I’m not entirely enamored with, although it’s better than what we currently have.  Effectively it’s “pay income tax like it normally goes OR pay a flat tax”.  It’s like the old square on the Monopoly board where your Income Tax was 10% of the money you had or $200 (if only it were that simple!).  I don’t like it because it’s a cop out.  Fiscal conservatives have been after a Flat Tax for a long time, and what Fred has in his tax proposal is a good start.  But homeowners aren’t given an incentive to select the flat tax so long as they have a mortgage, because with the Flat Tax there are no deductions for mortgage interest.   If there’s one deduction that people really want, it’s the mortgage interest deduction because it helps people buy a house and live the dream.

Flat tax doesn’t account for it.  But otherwise, it’s great for single people who rent (which the current system is not good for) or people who have small deductions.

Fred missed an opportunity here.  The Flat Tax can allow some deductions, like for mortgage, if it’s built in.  Go ahead, allow the mortgage deduction and child-related expenses, but toss every other deduction that’s out there.  If you simplify the tax code to a Flat Tax with minimal deduction, there’s no reason to have the staffing of the IRS as it’s been with the current tax code.  Reducing the number of IRS accountants frees up government money and reduces overhead and bureaucracy.  So why not go whole hog?

But this is the kind of thing I like to see from candidates– plans.  Not a nebulous “what I would do if I were Prez” type of BS.  I’m talking steps to a tax plan.  Steps to reducing government.  Changes that need to be made at certain levels.  And for goodness sake, don’t say stupid things like “No Muslims in my cabinet”, Mitt.

Rudy’s Dirty Little Secret?

Looks like Rudy was hiding tabs for trips to the Hamptons for his illicit affair with his then-mistress Judith Nathan by charging them to lesser-known city agencies.

Rudy’s been a solid guy on crime. He’s good with finances, too. But I never really liked the way he’s run his personal life (he ditched his wife after he recovered from cancer). And now I like him even less.

More coverage:  Hot Air

The GOP race is Newtered.

Newt Gingrich says he won’t seek the 2008 GOP Presidential nomination. I like Newt’s politics and ideology, but he’s as polarizing as Hillary. Nomination of Newt would guarantee failure in 2008, so it’s good he’s stepping aside.

I’m still waiting for the GOP to go on the attack against the DNC. All of the Democratic candidates are out there being horrible, and their leaders in Congress are viewed with contempt by most people. In addition, their buddies at MoveOn and Daily Kos are not helping matters. All of this is a sign of monumental weakness for the Democrats, and it’s now that the GOP should press the attack and swing the tide for 2008.

Hillary is their candidate. Make no mistake, she’s the best candidate they’ve got. Her positioning on issues has been clever and well-timed, keeping her insulated from most attacks. But if the GOP can wreck Democrats en masse, Hillary will go down by association, and it saves the GOP from attacking her directly. It also raises the possibility of the GOP retaking the House/Senate in 2008.

But the problem is the GOP isn’t doing anything. I get emails from Mel Martinez that literally do nothing to inspire me. They are attacks and barbs of the DNC, but how is emailing a GOP booster going to change public opinion?

The GOP needs to start fielding ads, either directly or through 527s, and start fielding them during football games, Oprah, nightly newscasts, Grey’s Anatomy– wherever they can get maximum exposure. And all they need to do is point out the horrible approval ratings, expose Harry Reid’s comments that Iraq is “already lost”, that MoveOn is calling a highly decorated 4-star general a “betrayer”, and that the Daily Kos site, a Democratic heavyweight, admits to not supporting the troops. And just end with “Is this the kind of leadership we want in America?”

If I had more time, I’d make my own ad. Maybe I will.