Snakes On A Plain

It’s ironic that the candidate with less in common with the other candidates gets a surprising defection.  As Iowa State Senator Kent Sorenson publicly resigns, via a grand support speech for Doctor and Representative Ron Paul, the Bachmann campaign just has to close their eyes, as the political migraine continues for the poor Minnesota Rep.

And I feel for this.  Because as supporters desert campaigns for the most likely candidate in this luridly fluid campaign, you can actually see political positioning in real-time.  Senator Kent Sorenson, long-known for his social conservative rhetoric, abandons the most credible of social conservatives for the most liberal social rights individual on the campaign trail.

And if you’re Michele Bachmann, you should probably be happy to see such a snake depart the garden, as it were.

The greatest trick a politician can pull is the idea that their so-called conservative nature is easily bought by a poll that places his influence at a disadvantage.  In that, like a Lions fan in 2006, you suddenly don Steeler Black and Gold…

And as the media continues to hammer Ron Paul for things Ron Paul never said, it’s apparent that the stature and commitment of a real candidate for President is ignored not only on the ground, but in the airwaves.  It’s as if Ron Paul’s problem with racism, homosexuality, and other no-go zones of Republican platform and ideology are threatened somehow by Ron Paul’s plain expression of opposition, not because it is right to oppress or deny, but that it is and always has been the state’s voters who decide these matters.

It’s funny as well to see so-called “conservative” voters and pundits declare Paul’s faults, when their candidates are flagging back-and-forth like a windsock.  Paul’s commitment isn’t seen just in rhetorical posture, but also the consistency of his beliefs.

So yeah, you can think Dr. Paul’s view of the world is myopic, or  crazy/moonbat/wth sort of beliefs.  But at the same time, you have to credit Ron Paul for being honest.  This is something hard to find in the current vein of Iowa’s Post-Christmas Advertising Armageddon.

Newt went negative, because he never wanted to be positive (just during Christmas to pander to Iowans), and now that Romney stands a chance to actually win, is suddenly spending his last dollars on attack ads.  You know, the same Newt who “leaked” his intention to the media…

But past all this circus-like environment, we see that Rick Santorum … is surging.  Yep, I was sorta being facetious about each candidate getting some bump, but this is the problem with the GOP and Mitt Romney.

The GOP, if Romney were their nominee, would have to sell out all of their states, local reps, government, state representatives … to sell Romney.  If Romney were to win, the Democrats would devour local, state, and a majority of federal election races.  And it’s easy to see why.

Romney represents everything the GOP has been trying to focus on since 2010.  And to defend Romney would in turn, force GOPers to become as flip-floppy as a Windsurfer Kerry in 2004.

And if the GOP goes Paul in Iowa, then Romney in New Hampshire…Will Santorum get the South Carolina nod?  South Carolina folks are staunch allies of the social conservative agenda.  They were tricked by Gov. Nikki “Trikki” Haley (who now has a near 35% approval rating), but have consolidated to a degree to stand for their same convictions they still believe in.

From the PeeDee to the Points, the real question is if the RNC has enough power to steer the future primaries towards an eventual candidate who can actually win in November next year.  If the first three states go to three separate people, then the RNC finds itself rudderless.  They can’t steer national races, state races…anywhere.  And if you’re Reince Priebus, you’re stuck with an oar on the shore.  You could probably scream to the boat, throw the oar at them, but you’re not steering anything from here on out.

And that’s the problem here.  If Romney is the candidate, the nominee, the GOP will have to sell this guy as if he were their own.  They will have to use their same emotional rhetoric for a guy they never supported more than a month at a time.  In the meantime, Bachmann, Perry, Cain, and Gingrich were yards above him.  Then Ron Paul’s ground troops have tied him only days to the caucus.

It’s less about Paul or Romney, folks.  It’s about the GOP base in Iowa without a single clue as to who to stand for.  And most of their hesitant nature isn’t in any of their previous choices.  Each month, a protest vote sent another candidate other than Romney to the top.  That means they’re asking for someone else, as the personal pride and pain of supporting someone who makes them look like a fool, looms.

If the initial three states coalesce, the GOP still has a shot at the White House.  If they’re stuck in limbo, they’re probably going to have a long-battled contest that unearths far more division than unity.  I noted the advice for all the main contenders, to coalesce in their rhetoric before Iowa. But as we reach the end of the month, the new year looks just as uncertain as our snowfall next week.  And if you’re a GOPer, you should be calling your boosters and telling them to put pressure on this race before they lose more than just the presidency.  Mako out.