The Republican Presidential race for 2012, now effectively over, was a terrible embarrassment to American politics and history, with only three candidates fitting the image of being serious, mainstream candidates.
Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, and Ron Paul were all, at best, “cartoon” characters, not coming up to the standards expected by most sane, rational Americans for the office of President of the United States.
However, three candidates did fit the standard of what one would expect of a major party nominee for President.
With all their shortcomings, former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, and Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts all fit into the arena as legitimate candidates.
And there is a possibility that Romney might select Pawlenty for Vice President, making for a very sane, responsible ticket, which could, in theory, give Barack Obama a “run for his money” in the Presidential race.
But the whole craziness of the Republican Presidential battle helped to marginalize Romney, and destroyed the candidacies of Pawlenty and Huntsman.
2012 will not be remembered as one of the great years of exceptional candidates offered by a major political party for the Presidency of the United States!
Hello Professor,
Speaking for myself only, the most recent extreme lunacy demonstrated at the State and Local levels by the extreme aspects within the Republican Party will be what I project to the candidacy of Mitt Romney this election.
Aspects such as:
1. Union Busting and ending collective bargaining.
2. Repealing “Equal pay for women for Equal work” laws currently on the books.
3. Legislation trying to redefine rape to reduce women’s access to abortion care.
4. Republicans in South Dakota proposed a bill that could make it legal to murder a doctor who provides LEGAL abortion care.
5. Trying to cut a billion dollars in food and other aid to low-income pregnant women, mothers, babies, and their children.
6. Republicans in Congress currently have a bill that would let hospitals allow a woman to die rather than perform an abortion necessary to save her life.
7. The removal of Evolution from the school curriculum to be replaced by Creationism ignoring science fact.
I could go on and on as it is just too long to properly list.
A Presidential win by Mitt Romney will only “Empower,†“Embellish,†and “Exponentially†propagate the “Extremism†type legislation mandates that we have seen examples of already this year.
You have REAL truth to what you say above. There is no doubt that Romney cannot be relied upon to overcome the extremism at the state and local level, let alone in the House of Representatives and Senate. It is very worrisome to imagine him as President, concerned that he would not act independently of a right wing Republican Congress.
The only reason I portrayed him above as “mainstream”, along with Pawlenty and Huntsman, was the fact that his record in the past as Governor made him a “moderate centrist”, plus he did not make quite the “whacko” statements made often by Bachmann, Perry, Cain, Gingrich, Paul, and Santorum!
I agree with your comment Professor with regards to Romney not be as extreme as the others on your list. That being said, for me Romney is guilty by simple association. 🙂
HAHA I like your humor! I see Romney, if he won, either a captive of the right wing, OR a stubborn individualist, who might have a major revolt against him within the party, because of his reputation in the business world as wanting to be totally in charge. They would not like that, so he could face a right wing revolt for renomination in 2016, if he refused to bend to their will from 2013 onward!