With three states down and 47 to go, Republican Party leaders must be sweating bullets right about now as the two most likely candidates for the GOP ticket this fall appear to be more buffoons than viable opponents for President Obama.
Several contenders have already bowed out either because they were ineffective, were forced to step away when potential scandal stared them in the face, or they just committed too many blunders to carry on. With four left standing, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, former Republican speaker of the house from 1995-98, seem to be the front runners for the nomination, although each have one victory during this process.
Rick Santorum, a former U.S. Representative from 1991-94 and Senator from 1995-2007, both for Pennsylvania, eventually was awarded the win in Iowa two weeks after the caucus. Even with the victory, Santorum isn’t getting much love from pundits and pollsters, although he might be the more stable candidate left.
But I digress. Back to the buffoons.
Romney has no chance to connect with the average American, especially after his released income tax documents showed, according to media reports, that he earned about $43 million over the last two years and paid taxes at a rate of about 14 percent. He also admits to having bank accounts in Switzerland, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. Perhaps that’s why he stalled the release of documents and why he had no answer when asked about his returns.
The governor also tends to flip-flop more than a short order cook at an International House of Pancakes restaurant. The Washington Post did a nice job of chronicling Romney’s moments of “misremembrances” over the past several years.
A few highlights include his adamant denial in 2011 that he ever supported an economic stimulus plan; however he was quoted as supporting the plan in 2009. Romney also flip-flopped on the topic of abortion, claiming in 2002 that a woman should have the right to choose, but then saying in 2007 Roe v. Wade should be overturned.
Read more for a head-spinning experience.
Gingrich is simply someone who is too unstable for the GOP to trust as a viable candidate. David Frum, in his article “Why GOP leaders don’t trust Gingrich” published on Jan. 23 on www.cnn.com, said Gingrich is the type of politician that is more focused on trashing his opponents than talking about substantive issues that apply to the everyday American. It’s providing plenty of talking points for his opponents, liberals and talk shows. And has drawn criticism and expulsion from colleagues.
“Over a political career of nearly 40 years, Gingrich has convinced almost everybody who has ever worked closely with him that he cannot and should not be trusted with executive power,” Frum said in his article.
But that wasn’t the death-nail comment by Frum. He said that although Gingrich has garnered the endorsement of Texas Gov. Rick Perry and the supposed – however not official – endorsement of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, he is not a candidate of “those who know him best and worked with him most closely.”
In fact, he said, it could be the undoing of the party. Gingrich has picked up steam after the South Carolina primary, but Frum predicts Romney will prevail because of “the great national network of Republicans who recognize that to nominate Gingrich is to commit party suicide.”
Although there is no evidence to suggest this, perhaps the good old boys in the Grand Old Party have decided to hitch their wagon to Romney in hopes that they can groom a candidate for 2016. A few candidates on the short list possibly include Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana or Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger.
Pay close attention to Kinzinger. His star is bright and quickly rising.
Whoever the nominee would be in 2016 – supposing this year’s GOP candidate loses – he or she will hopefully be “cleaner” than the two buffoons out front today.