Dorothy… “Early voting begins this weekend. Quick, tell me who to vote for!! Maybe I could write in your name.”
Me…“You’re making a really big assumption, that I know what I’m talking about.“
Dorothy…“I think you would be just fine! All I hear is a lot of hot air.”
”Hot air” is often good. It lifts great balloons and their passengers to lofty heights allowing a view of earth rarely seen.
Ronald Reagan could have been characterized by some as “full of hot air.” He lifted us as a nation to a collective height we had not seen in many years.
But to your point. There is a lot of rhetoric being bandied about, but that is the norm for both primaries and general elections. It is up to us, the voters, to parse that rhetoric and decide. That’s a hard process and one most dislike because of the effort involved to do it well.
So, on the upcoming primary Jan 31. I too am having a difficult time making a decision. I see positives and negatives for all the potential candidates. But then, that is always, always the case.
Even in Barack Obama the fair minded person will recognize positive aspects of the person whether or not they agree with his policies and ideology.
If I could take Mitt Romney’s management experience, expertise and understanding of business and our economy, Newt Gingrich’s fountain of ideas, his oratorical skills and historical perspective of our nation, Rick Santorum’s adherence to moral principles and Ron Paul’s commitment to reducing government to the smallest footprint possible, if I could consolidate that into one candidate the decision would be simple.
The current crop of candidates all maintains an adherence to those fundamental principles to one degree or another. And being human, they all have individual weaknesses, problems if you will, that serve as detraction from their strengths.
We do have a national distrust of those who’ve been very successful and accumulated a lot of wealth. Even those with whom we agree politically. We have been taught by liberals, progressives and the political left that wealth is bad and accumulation of wealth involves shady deals and dishonesty. A lesson, I must add, that has its roots in socialism. While there are examples to support the socialist story line, the reality is that their story is the rare exception, not the rule. Nearly all wealth comes through hard, smart work and risk taking.
As Christians we are wary of those who experience moral failure in their marriages and ask our forgiveness, even as we embrace and lift up those who murder and kill when they claim to be washed by God’s grace. (To that question I would ask, “which is more important, our forgiveness or God’s?” Or, “what do we do with King David who failed morally yet God trusted him with the leadership of Israel?”)
Again, as Christians, we are distrustful; this time with reason, of someone who would not wholly support Israel, while as Americans we generally understand that in today’s world there is and cannot be any such thing as isolationism.
Meanwhile, we want to be careful to not “throw away” our vote, or our support, by commitment to a candidate for whom success, both in the primary and the general election, seems less likely.
So, there you have it, the great dilemma for American and more specifically Florida conservatives and Republicans. The stuff I hear bandied about by the PACs, especially the negative, I immediately throw out. They have no connection to or control by the candidate. They will say, advertise and do whatever they think will cause harm to the competition.
I have concerns about a candidate who appears to dismiss or not address legitimate concerns. One who does the same with trumped up concerns is of lesser importance to me (i.e. Romney’s tax return issue).
A candidate who, on the other hand, directly addresses a legitimate concern will get a “tic” in the plus column for openness and honesty (i.e. Gingrich’s response regarding his former wife’s charges.) In this case, the fact that his response is bolstered by others directly involved, his daughters, is a plus.
While I have to admit I have sympathies for libertarian ideas and the freedom to live as we choose without government intrusion, taken to its fullest, libertarianism leads inevitably to chaos, not something I embrace.
When it comes to who do I think would have the best chance against Barack Obama in the general election I like Gingrich in going toe to toe in the debates, putting forth strong, well thought out ideas and scoring rhetorical points with the American electorate. On the other hand, he does seem to have a history that reminds of a child with ADHD, quickly moving from point to point to point with little willingness to see a project to its conclusion. Though some would counter that his ushering the “Contract with America” through Congress demonstrates he is able to follow through.
I’m not so sure Romney would fare well in the general election, not because of his ability to lead, he gets strong points there, but because he seems to come off unprepared and unable to handle the unanticipated. In the debates that would be a “death sentence.” His experience in business leadership may be a plus or negative. Leading a nation is not wholly like leading a company. It’s more like chairing a committee with 535 raucous members, each vying for an advantage on one hand, and to stab you in the back on the other.
Santorum I have to conclude is like Sarah Palin in that he has demonstrated unswerving commitment to his beliefs. Unlike her he has been almost completely unable to generate excitement in his candidacy. I voted for Palin and McCain in the last election based more on her then him. That a candidate who doesn’t have a “snowballs chance” in winning, electability if you will, is not a standalone reason to not vote for them.
As a Christian I know God can and will work miracles in the lives of men and of nations. In working those miracles He chooses to work through men, even groups of men, but generally in individuals. I know He will turn what seems a lost cause and make it come to pass. We thought that was the case in the last election with the McCain/Palin ticket.
Because McCain/Palin lost doesn’t mean God lost, rather, His plan and timeline was not ours. Is it this time? I want to think so, but I am human with human weaknesses and foibles.
Now, back to your question, which candidate for the Florida primary? I’m currently down to two, Gingrich and Santorum. I’m leaning Santorum, but the winds of Gingrich keep blowing me back. If I was to vote today, I think it would be Santorum, even as a very long shot. If I wait until closer to January 31, who knows?
