So Which Republican Candidate Do You Support? And Why?

It seems like every day someone is asking me this. So I am finally writing this blog and from now on will just link to this if anyone online asks me. First, I will support the candidate who most closely supports the United States Constitution and has a chance of winning the general election. The worst Republican candidate has more respect for the Constitution and Law and Order than the best Democratic candidate.

Second, and this is critical, the Constitution of the United States is written in English and anyone who is willing to spend some time on archives.gov can understand what the writers intended. It is not in code and anyone who is unsure as to the meaning of a word, phrase or even an entire Article in the Constitution can research and find the intended meaning.

Third, how honest is the candidate? Members of his own party constantly “praised” Bill Clinton for “being a really good liar.” The average politician does whatever he wants to do and then attempts to justify those actions by claiming that either the Constitution is unclear in that area or the Constitution does not address whatever it is that he wants to do.

Michele Bachmann had the best grasp of Constitutional principles of any candidate in either party. She confronted Rick Perry with his Gardasil fiasco, for which I am grateful. However, when her entire New Hampshire campaign staff quit and she not only did not know it but also denied it, that ended my support for her.

Jon Huntsman is unelectable, either in the primaries or the general election.

Newt Gingrich is unethical. Though he raised a lot of money, most of it is gone. His bulldog attack style turns many people off. He seems to be conservative on several important issues, but is he really?

Rick Perry would be an excellent choice if not for 2 things He insisted on forcing Gordasil on Junior High girls (which thankfully was stopped by the Texas legislature) and giving free tuition to illegals. The problem with these two major issues is the way he defends them. It seems that this man could justify just about anything in his own mind. Ann Coulter gives a very good reason why he could not win in general election.

Ron Paul can win both the Republican Primary and the general elections. I understand that very few of my friends and family members agree with me on this, so please hear me out. America is a very divided nation. Ron Paul has very strong national support. If he is consistently coming in 2nd and 3rd, he will be a major contender at the Republican National Convention. I do not believe that any Republican candidate will pick up enough delegates to win on the first ballot. So compromises and deals will have to be made. If the Republican delegation goes to a forth or fifth ballot, anything can happen. In the general election, he has one advantage over every other Republican. Certain issues, such as the legalization of Marijuana, immediate withdrawal from Afghanistan and closing some foreign military bases, would take votes away from Obama. People who would otherwise vote Democrat will vote for Ron Paul. Ronald Reagan also took away votes from Democrats. Every one of these votes not only increases his chance of winning but also decreases Obama’s chances. It is the same as picking up two undecided votes. Also, President Obama did not win in a landslide and he has far less support in his own party this time. The margins will be close and Ron Paul has the ability to squeak out a victory by appealing to millions of pacifists who normally do not block vote. While no one knows how many Amish/Mennonites there are in this country, estimates place that number over 10 million. Though many of them do vote, most will not support any kind of military intervention. They will not pick up arms and will only serve in the military in noncombatant roles such as Chaplin’s assistants or medical personal. They did not vote for John McCain or George Bush. Enough of these people voting for the first time could swing several key states where they have large populations such as Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio.

Ronald Reagan was our oldest President. He took the oath of office for the first time when he was 70 years old and 74 for his second term. Ron Paul is 76 and would not be sworn in until he was 77. With the average life expectancy in this country being 78.1, the odds are that Ron Paul would not live out his first term. He does not have the health to put his entire agenda into place. So which of his stated goals are most important to him?

The vast majority of Republicans will agree with everything, or almost everything up to this point. I like Ron Paul’s reduction in government. His foreign policy and military positions seem dangerous at best and suicidal at worst. Though Ron Paul and I both believe that recreational use of drugs is destroying the fabric of this nation, we disagree on what to do about it. Because of his age, position on legalizing drugs, reducing our military and his position toward Israel, I cannot wholeheartedly support Ron Paul. Unlike other fellow conservatives, I could vote for Ron Paul if he would miraculously survive the nominating process.

Ann Coulter wrote last week that we must nominate Mitt Romney because he is the only candidate who can win the general election for the Republicans. This seems to be the major point of conservatives who support him. Mitt Romney is an establishment Republican. I am not sure if he is a RINO (Republican In Name Only), but he is certainly not what I want in a President. Compared to Arlen Specter or Chris Christie, Mitt Romney is a conservative. But Ann Coulter also said that the most important 2 issues are stopping the invasion of illegals and ending Obamacare. The very day Ann endorsed Mitt Romney as the only candidate capable of winning, Mitt Romney had a press conference where he said that he would repeal Obamacare as one of his first acts in office. But he also said that he thinks the core of Obamacare, the individual mandate, “is fundamentally a conservative principle.” He defended the individual mandate in Massachusetts with Romneycare. So Mitt Romney believes the details of Obamacare are wrong, but the fundamental principles of Romneycare are “fundamentally a conservative principle.” Mitt Romney believes that Obamacare is wrong in the details, but its fundamental principles are conservative? This is exactly what Ann Coulter condemned as unacceptable, yet she endorses Mitt Romney anyway.

Mitt Romney had questionable judicial appointments and the MA government grew larger under his administration. To be honest, Ronald Reagan saw the government grow while was Governor of CA and while we was President. Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum take the same positions on the illegal issue.

This is sad, but I support Rick Santorum because he has the fewest negatives. Isn’t this the way American Politics usually works out? Rick Santorum can win PA, NY and maybe one or two New England states. It will be very difficult and close but I believe that he can win the general election.

He is a Roman Catholic who opposes abortion, favors the death penalty, will cut trillions from the National budget including eliminating several federal agencies, will reduce (though not eliminate) federal taxes, bomb Iran if necessary, and support the military. He homeschooled his children (which is the major reason he lost re-election to the senate), is a member of the NRA and owns guns, wears sweater vests, is a lawyer, allows (not requires) government funds for contraception, is opposed to all stimulus and welfare, opposes homosexuality, wants to cut all corporate taxes to zero, is in favor of tort reform, believes that the sagging economy is caused by the federal stop sign on oil drilling, believes that the major cause of poverty is the lack of 2-parent families, had a 100% voting record according to the Christian Coalition, wants the President to have a line item veto, believes our trade and labor laws need to change to make the USA more competitive with China, believes that higher minimum wages contribute to unemployment, believes that Social Security, welfare and all other entitlements need to change to remain solvent and that the Bush era tax cuts need to become permanent. Those tax cuts should only be a starting place for more tax cuts.

Stopping short of an endorsement, Rush Limbaugh said that he could sleep well at night knowing that Rick Santorum was commander-in-chief.

Rick Santorum authored the book It Takes A Family to counter Hillary Clinton’s It Takes A Village. I have yet to meet a Republican who did not like Rick Santorum. He is likable, with probably the best speaking abilities of the major candidates. When Rick Santorum had just been sworn in as Senator, I called him and had severe problems reaching him because the Senate refused to give him a phone or office. The only serious complaint I hear is that he is too conservative to win a national election. The last man that charge was leveled against was Ronald Reagan.