Reflections on the GOP Race

  I have to admit, though I suspected this would be outcome for sometime, that I am disappointed by Tuesday’s outcome.  I really felt, and still feel, that Governor Mike Huckabee is the best candidate for President of the United States.  I also thought that after having a good Super Tuesday sweeping the South that he would have picked up traction.  This was a great race and had a couple of things went differently, well then… who knows?

Like if Fred Thompson dropped out before South Carolina – that likely would have been a Huckabee win.  Would that have given him momentum in Florida?  Who knows?  On Super Tuesday had he won Missouri.  Perhaps Tuesday would have been a lot different.  But those things didn’t happen and Tuesday wasn’t different.  It is what it is.  Mike Huckabee pledged to stay in it until the delegates needed to secure the nomination was achieved by somebody.  Until then he wanted people to have a choice, and that is something I believe many conservatives wanted.  They still wanted a voice.  Values voters want to be heard, and if nothing else Mike Huckabee staying in the race made Senator McCain listen.

I became somewhat disillusioned with the process with the vitriol conservative pundits dished out toward Huckabee.  I hated, absolutely hated, how Mitt Romney launched attack ads and then was dishonest about his record and current believes.  Negative ads and campaigning is one of the reasons I withdrew my support of Senator Sam Brownback back in June and then endorsed Huckabee.  It turns me off.  I expect better.

I am also disappointed with the Louisiana GOP for not awarding Mike Huckabee most of the delegates even though he won the popular vote in that state’s primary.  I think the chairman of the Washington GOP needs to resign for stopping the counting of votes in their primary when there was only 500 votes separating McCain from Huckabee.  Shame on them.

While I disagree with Rudy Giuliani’s positions on several issues that are important to me I did appreciate his honesty and consistency.  I didn’t think he had much of a chance to win the nomination, and I’m glad his campaign strategy was a non-starter.

I am thankful for the campaign that Mike Huckabee ran.  I liked his message.  I liked that he talked about the issues.  I liked that he stayed positive when he could have easily gone negative.  I liked where he stood on the issues.  I liked his humor and his communication style.  Most importantly I liked his values and where he stood on issues that I care about.  I would have loved to see him debate Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton.  Thank you Governor Huckabee for such a great campaign!  You proved that money doesn’t equal might.

Now our eyes turn to Senator John McCain.  McCain likely will have my vote… he is going to have to earn my endorsement.  He has some weaknesses that need to be addressed with me and other conservatives.

• He is wrong on embryonic stem cell research.   He is wrong on the  Right to  Life Amendment.  Governor Huckabee is solidly pro-life.  McCain has some gaps.  I appreciate that his voting record for the most part is good, but it doesn’t seem to be an issue that is of great concern to the Senator.  He followed rather than led the pro-life movement in the Senate.
• McCain-Finegold… enough said, and it is probably going to end up biting you in the butt during the general election.
• You need to support a Federal Marriage Amendment.
• While I’m not absolutely hard-line on immigration, he needs to further refine his immigration policy and focus on border security.  He is starting to do that.
• His domestic policies, not his strong suit.  I don’t think the tax code needs to be tweaked… it needs to be overhauled.  I also believe he needs to spend more time speaking on the economy.
• He also needs to stop talking about global warming… talk climate change, talk fuel economy and conservation, but drop global warming.

I do not have to be convinced, however, that he will be anything less that an excellent commander-in-chief.  I think he is strong on national security, Iraq, and War on Terror issues.  There is a definite contrast between him and whoever will be the Democratic nominee.

He also needs to be careful about who he chooses as a running mate.  That person needs a solid, impeccable record when it comes what values voters hold dear.  It also would be a good idea to have a running mate who is strong domestically.  My top pick?  I would like to see Mike Huckabee as his running mate.  Pundits would hate that, but I don’t think they are in touch with mainstream Americans anyway.  I could definitely go beyond just voting for him to endorsing and campaigning for him if Huckabee is on the ticket.  Another name I’ve heard circulated around is Former Oklahoma Congressman J.C. Watts.  He would also be an excellent choice.

Another suggestion I’ve heard is Michael Steele, the former Lt. Governor of Maryland, and I wouldn’t be surprised to hear former Speaker Newt Gingrich’s name come up as well.  I’ve even seen Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal’s name mentioned, but he just took the oath of office so I don’t think the voters of Louisiana would be very happy with that.  Besides, I’m not even sure he’s old enough.

I will likely vote third party (no, not Ralph Nader)  if he chooses Mitt Romney as a running mate.  That would be an extremely bad choice.  Giuliani as well for reasons mentioned above.  Quite frankly I don’t see any scenario where having two current senators running on the ticket would be a good thing.

It will be interesting to see what happens next.

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