For some time now, Obama has trailed a generic Republican opponent in likely voter polls. Next year, that is probably what the GOP needs: a generic Republican. The Democrats will try to distract voters’ attention from Obama’s record by making the race about his Republican opponent. As a result, we are in for the dirtiest campaign ever, and the Republicans need a candidate without unnecessary loose ends and eccentricities.
I respect Mr. Hinderacker's opinions immensely. Power Line is one of my must-read blogs. However, I can't agree with him on this.
No doubt he is correct, a "generic Republican" will be the easiest to get elected.
But I think this is short-sighted thinking. The goal isn't winning the election. The goal is changing the direction of the Federal government.
It's easy to forget, after 8 years of Bush Derangement Syndrome and more than two years of Obama blaming all his failures on the mess Bush left him, that Bush was a generic Republican. That's what "compassionate conservative" was.
And it wasn't just a campaign slogan. That's how Bush governed. No Child Left Behind was a bipartisan effort between him and Ted Kennedy. The Medicare Drug Prescription benefit was the biggest entitlement increase (at the time) since Lyndon Johnson. He signed McCain-Feingold. He championed combatting the spread of AIDS in Africa -- there was a reason why Bono was so friendly to him.
If Bush had just been a Democrat, he would have been hero to them.
As a conservative he was a disappointment, domestically, despite the man's many admirable qualities. (And he has many, many admirable qualities. I believe he is an honest, forthright, caring man who did his very best, in his view, to promote the well-being, not only of Americans, but people around the world -- I just disagree with how he went about it in come cases).
If we put another generic Republican in office, we'll get another four or eight years of frustration, disappointment and half measures. As with Bush, we may be sliding down the path to hell a bit slower than under Obama, but that's just not good enough.
Even if we lose this election. The people have to be able to say "This candidate would have made a real difference." I believe Ron Paul and maybe Sarah Palin have the courage of their convictions to actually chart a course away from economic failure. I'm fairly certain Mitt Romney and Huntsman don't. The rest I reserve judgment on, but I'll be watching.
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