The past couple of weeks, Herman Cain has dropped in the polls, largely due to the smear campaign and his own 'moments' along the way. Of course, the pinheads here will get great satisfaction in throwing this up in my face, since I have been an ardent Cain supporter from the start. But if you read my posts regarding my support for Cain, you understand that I have never believed my candidate would ultimately be the GOP nominee. I only hope he is in the race long enough to be on the ballot in my state, and I can cast my vote for him... he's my guy, I am loyal, I will vote for him. I know, his chances of actually winning the nomination are not great, they never have been, and he probably won't win, but he is the candidate I like and support, and as I have said before, the last time "my candidate" ultimately won the presidency, it was Ronald Reagan. I generally don't pick the eventual nominee, I may support them in the general, but they weren't my first choice, such was the case with Bush (both), Dole, and McCain. So while the pinheads get their jollies thinking I am butt hurt that Cain is not winning, I take it all in stride, ANY of the potential nominees is better than Obama.
This recent slowing of the Cain Train, has made me start thinking more about Newt Gingrich. He got off to a very rough start, he has all kinds of negative baggage, and his 'unfavorable' numbers rival Sarah Palin's, so those are the "cons" with Newt, off the top of my head. Still, in every debate, the consensus has been, he is the smartest man up there. He knows history, he knows policy, he has been there and in many ways, led the first conservative revolution under Reagan. Surely, if any of the nominees are familiar with Reagan Conservatism, it would have to be Newt Gingrich. If you are looking at a candidate to contrast with Obama, Newt is much better than Romney, or probably anyone else who could be nominated. Newt would absolutely crush Obama in a debate. No one has command of the issues like Newt, he may not always have the best answers or clearest solutions, but he is well-informed on just about everything related to the office of the presidency.
Cain's conservative philosophy is very close to Newt's, and much like Newt, Cain has not been afraid to propose bold innovative ideas, based in core conservative principle, like his 999 plan. When Cain was asked which person on the debate stage he would select as a VP, if he had to pick one, he picked Newt. Cain has great respect for Gingrich, and I think they are both very similarly aligned in their conservative views on most issues. Newt is like Cain with political experience and gravitas. I think this is why we are seeing the shift in the polls, as Cain declines, Newt gains... but Newt is gaining more than Cain is declining, so this leads me to believe he is also drawing in Rick Perry supporters, Rick Santorum and Michelle Bachmann supporters, and maybe a good chunk of the undecideds and independents. He has literally brought his campaign back from the dead, to contest Romney. Impressive.
Now Romney is still the GOP Golden Boy at this point, it seems the establishment elites think we have to nominate Romney in order to defeat Obama. I personally think every Liberal in America is secretly praying each night that the GOP does nominate Romney! They already have the political game plan to run against a moderate conservative. It would be a struggle, an uphill knock-down battle the whole way, and in the end, we MIGHT be able to elect a moderate "Bush/McCain-style" Republican to the presidency. Is that a "good" thing for Conservatism? I personally don't want another Bush administration, or a McCain administration, and I think that would be how a Romney administration would ultimately play out. But a Newt administration wouldn't be like Bush or McCain, as Newt's Reagan Conservatism often clashed with both, back in the day. Now is the time for conservatives to do some soul searching, and consider who we want to nominate. Time is getting close, and the shake-out is starting to happen. Are we destined to let the establishment elites pick our nominee, or are we ready to unite behind someone who we know is capable of beating the dog snot out of Obama?
