Conservative Wanderer

“A troubled and afflicted mankind looks to us, pleading for us to keep our rendezvous with destiny; that we will uphold the principles of self-reliance, self-discipline, morality, and, above all, responsible liberty for every individual that we will become that shining city on a hill.” — Ronald Wilson Reagan

An Honest Question For All Conservatives

I’ve been reading a lot of blogs recently–more than previously, as befits the start of the 2012 election season–and I’m seeing something in both the articles and the comments that quite honestly has me scared.

There seems to be a growing sense of “my candidate or no candidate” (close cousin to “my way or the highway”) creeping in… and in some online spaces, not exactly creeping.

There are, as of the time of this writing, no less than fifteen candidates for the GOP nomination. In alphabetical order, the ones I’m counting are (the numbers are merely for counting purposes, and do not indicate any sort of ranking system):

  1. Bachmann, Michele
  2. Cain, Herman
  3. Gingrich, Newt
  4. Huntsman Jr., Jon
  5. Johnson, Gary
  6. Karger, Fred
  7. Martin, Andy
  8. McCotter, Thaddeus
  9. McMillan, Jimmy
  10. Paul, Ron
  11. Perry, Rick
  12. Roemer, Buddy
  13. Romney, Mitt
  14. Santorum, Rick
  15. Sharkey, Jonathon

Given that there can only be one GOP nominee, the big question is, what will the supporters of the other 14 do if their preferred candidate is not the one who wins the nomination? This is a very serious question, because if enough people sit out the general election because their preferred candidate doesn’t win the primary, Obama will be the winner. It’s really that simple.

Admittedly, some of the names on that list above really don’t have all that many supporters. (Fred Karger? Who’s that? Or for that matter, Jonathon Sharkey?) But some of the bigger names–and some of those that are flitting around the edges but haven’t officially tossed their hats in the ring–have quite large followings, and those followers are getting more and more vociferous online, at least as far as I can see. A few might even have enough supporters scattered throughout the battleground states to actually tilt the election to or from Obama. So what do these supporters do? Do they deliberately withhold their votes from the GOP candidate and let Obama win? Or do they bite the bullet and vote for a candidate who may not be perfect in their eyes, but who is still far and away better than four more years of Obama (not really a high bar, given the performance of The Won so far).

That’s my question to all of you, especially the most dedicated and vocal supporters of the various candidates. Will you put your candidate first, or the nation first?

(The order of the possible answers are randomized each time the page loads so as to avoid any appearance of bias.)

Category: Election 2012
Tag: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
  • tarheeltalker

    Wrote a similar post recently in which I left out the ” fringe” candidates and still had at least ten.My concern has not centered as much on people sitting out the 2012 election but more along the lines of who is actually the best choice for the Republican Party. Is there a choice that will excite the party faithful in a way similar to Obama in 2008? I don’t know if there is such an individual.

  • 49erDweet

    Deserves an honest answer. To wit: At this stage of the campaign, I don’t honestly know. If what happened in 2008 happens in 2012, [that was when the beltway RHINOs foisted McCain off on us] I will seriously and honestly consider my options. I’m so tired of professional Republicans acting like socialistic Democrats I’m honestly ready to toss the whole stinking party under the honest bus.

    OTOH if party bigwigs can see past their own egos – I’m talking about you, Carl Rove, – and jump on the bandwagon for smaller government, etc., I’d be happy to begin supporting the GOP again. But I’m honestly – your key word – keeping my options open.

    • http://conservativewanderer.wordpress.com/ Conservative Wanderer

      Ya know, I honestly think that even McCain would have been preferable to Obama, despite McCain’s undeniable RINO record.

      For example, I can’t see McCain signing ObamaCare (McCainCare?) into law… and I really doubt the Democrats would have even tried it with a Republican in the Oval Office.

      Even if McCain went along with all the rest of Obama’s blunders (and I think there’s a good chance he’d have avoided at least some of them), not having that huge monstrosity of a bill hanging over the American economy would probably have had us in better shape at this point.

      The guy who’s only 82.61% conservative (McCain’s ACU lifetime rating) is still far, far better than the guy who’s 0%… which is about what I’d estimate Obama’s rating now as.