A Little Early for Endorsements

By Douglas V. Gibbs

The GOP candidates running for the nomination of the Republican Party for President of the United States all have defects. They all have flaws, and none of them have said anything impressive enough to convince me to throw all of my support behind them. Unfortunately, the way it is looking, purity is not achievable, so the Republican that I will back will be the candidate I believe will be the least damaging to this nation should they achieve being elected to the presidency.

In the beginning, I liked Pawlenty, but after the Iowa Straw Poll, the governor from Minnesota realized that he didn't have enough money, or momentum, to go the entire way.

From a conservative standpoint, Herman Cain and Michelle Bachmann are the better candidates among the leaders - but neither has the national recognition that may be required to pull off the feat.

Rick Perry and Mitt Romney are moderates that are hardly conservatives on many of the issues that matter to people like me.

Ron Paul is a fantastic Representative, understands the Constitution better than any of the candidates, but is batshit crazy when it comes to his isolationist views, his belief that the U.S. is to blame for terrorism, his national security positions, many of his libertarian beliefs such as the legalization of Marijuana, and he tends to attract the even crazier "truthers" to his ranks of followers.

Newt Gingrich is intelligent, and is saying the right things right now. He understands conservatism, understands the madness of politics, and if he was to stay true to his principles he would make a great president. His personal life baggage, and willingness to turn away from his conservative principles to play ball with the establishment, makes me not fully trust him. We need someone that will put principles before party, and I don't think that Newt is capable of that. He's a party hack, and he knows it.

Rick Santorum is the one that fits the conservative mold best, but he is not being taken seriously, has been treated as merely a bookend, and his response to the Romneycare question, where he suggested the federal government should not allow States to have programs like state-run health care, concerned me. Sure, government run health care, even at the State level, is a dangerous proposition, but it is perfectly constitutional for a State to have such a program, as long as there is no federal funding included. By saying he believes the federal government should stop a State from having such a program reveals a lack of understanding of the Constitution, as well as State's Rights, and also reveals that though he is largely conservative, he too has the foolish belief that the federal government can go around dictating to the States what they can and can't do.

Thadeous McCotter hasn't even been allowed to participate in any of the debates, and is largely an unknown. Although I like him in many ways, his history of being pro-union concerns me.

John Huntsman is so liberal, he would be more comfortable in the Democrat Party. He has no business running on a GOP ticket.

If Sarah Palin entered the race, even with her few flaws, that would be a candidate I could put all of my efforts behind. Heck, I was talking about Sarah Palin long before McCain was the candidate in 2008, and long before most people even knew who she was. July 28, 2007; September 30, 2007; November 20, 2007; November 24, 2007. Sarah, however, has shown no indication she will be running.

The people I would really like to see in the race either won't run, or claim they can't because they are not seasoned enough. . . Paul Ryan, Rand Paul, and Allen West.

Nonetheless, endorsements are being handed out, and a couple of the most recent say a lot.

Rick Perry has picked up the endorsement of Senator Jim Inhofe, a person the New York Times was careful to add is a "Climate Change Skeptic." - Well, with all of my criticism of Rick Perry, that is actually a positive for him. Any candidate that is willing to believe the bull crap of the man-made global warming myth would be a candidate I would have little ability to trust when it comes to the other lies the leftist liberal democrats would throw at him.

Tom Ridge has endorsed Jon Huntsman - and I don't have any clue what Ridge was thinking. Ridge sometimes says questionable things, but Huntsman is a liberal, despite the "R" he has attached to himself. The endorsement by Ridge did not make me consider Huntsman any more than before, but instead has made me lose respect for Ridge.

Well, okay, they have jumped the gun, but jeez, it is still over a year until the election. I think it is a little early for endorsements, myself.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary