Principle

So Santorum is out.

I caucused for Santorum two months ago – mostly, as I noted at the time, to try to use my one little vote to drive the presumptive front-runner, Romney, to the right.  I’ve got nothing against Santorum, but he’s not my ideal candidate.

Neither were any of the other candidates we’ve been through over this past few months – Huntsman, Johnson, Cain, Perry, Pawlenty, Bachmann, Paul, Gingrich, Santorum or Romney.  None of them were perfect, by the litmus tests that drive the all-important “Mitch Berg” vote; every one of them had something that kept me from jumping onto the bandwagon.

But let’s be clear – every single one of them would have been a better President than Barack Obama.  Even if they had a stroke.

My various Newt and Paul supporter friends have been bending my hear with talk of “principle” when it comes to picking the nominee – libertarian princples embodied by Paul, conservative principles re Gingrich, all juxtaposed with Romney’s purported lack of them.

Notwithstanding the idea that a committed Mormon lacks “princples”, I have to say I agree with both of ’em; princples are a good thing and, at some level, if you really have princples, they are non-negotiable.

But the one ultimate non-negotiable principle – at least as re my politics as opposed to my theology, and yes, I draw a wide black line between the two – is “doing what’s right for America”.

And so even though Mitt Romney isn’t the perfect conservative, he’s better than Obama.  Not just a little better, but much much much better.  Go ahead, Ronulans – make my day, argue with me about whether they are or are not the same thing.  They are not.

And so I’m going to pull like hell for the imperfect guy we (apparently) got, and reserve a special circle in rhetorical hell for those who say they’ll sit this election out because “their guy” didn’t get the nod.

Making America worth saving is the real principle here.

18 thoughts on “Principle

  1. In the end, Elmer Fudd* would be an improvement over the present occupier of the Oval Office. Romney was originally on my short list. I can live with it.

    * Daffy Duck
    * Popeye
    * Sponge Bob

    Fill in the blank.

  2. I certainly have no personal affection for Romney. Of all the candidates he has demonstrated the most skill at staying on-message.
    It’s very simple. The GOP has a stronger message thean the Dems on the economy. They are basically promising more of the same, i.e. a bigger crap sandwich. Obama, and his ally the MSM, do not want to talk about the economic issues that people care about the most — jobs, inflation, jobs, the deficit, jobs, the price of gas, jobs.
    Instead they want to talk about the things that the people care little about but where the Dems believe that they have an advantage — the “Buffet” rule, free abortions, and opposition to stand your ground laws.
    A candidate who can stay on-message regarding the economy will walk over Obama in November.

  3. To those who think Obama is the same as Romney, do you also think Romney is the same as Bush was? Yes? Then, I ask, would you rather have our next SCOTUS justice or two, be like Roberts and Alito, or like Sotomayor and Kagan? You put Obama back in office, and Scalia or Kennedy dies, you can kiss the 2nd amendment good bye. Ginsburg is on record as saying she hopes future, wiser SCOTUS panels can reverse the mistakes of the current panel regarding gun law. (unspoken: Precedent be damned)

  4. There is only one principle. Get the socialist out of the White House. Then we can start start getting the oil out of the ground. You have to be amazed at how a millionaire like Great Leader is unfazed by $4 gas. I guess the alternative energy he’s always promoting is the sunshine he’s been blowing up our butts.

  5. Kerm: There can be no second term. A second term shuts the doors of commerce and opens the floodgates of socialism. Might as well get your passport photo if there’s a second term. Me? I’m pulling my 401K out of the market if the dems succeed. I know I’m not alone.

  6. Why isn’t anyone anouncing the latest poison pill being rammed down our throats by Obama’s EPA?

    EPA emission standards may rule out new coal power plants

    http://articles.latimes.com/2012/mar/27/nation/la-na-epa-emissions-20120328

    People will feel it first in their own utility bills, but the greatest hit will be felt by consumers of steel, semi-conductors, plastics, and other high electrical usage materials.

    The tought of a Romney administration doesn’t make me happy, but the thought of a second spin around the block with Bammy is simply not to be contemplated.

  7. everyone shut up the only way Obama gets a second term is if he is able to convince the people that Romney will put women back in the kitchen and revoke their right to vote (believe me I’ve seen their documents, the Obama team is going to try this, they might even try to bring back the ‘when did you stop beating your wife’ meme). Of course we are all grinning ear to ear here at the DDE, with $3+ billion expected to be spent on this campaign we are going to be working overtime, but due to his obvious lack of accomplisments Obama has sought our services more than often. That being said I need to go wake Karl Rove and give him some more souls to eat. MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

  8. Also that class warfare rhetoric and OWS stuff, you can thank us for that. We had an intern come up with the OWS last spring but we laughed and thought that while an awesome idea nobody, not even the millenials, would be stupid enough to fall for that bs. Boy were we wrong.

  9. If we’ve reached the point where relying on Myth Romney is the only way to save the nation, we’re circling the bowl.

  10. Flagg, what makes him so bad? He’s further right than our last 4 nominees dating back to Reagan. He is exactly what we need. A businessman

  11. Swiftee wrote:
    EPA emission standards may rule out new coal power plants
    Great! We can sell the coal to the Chinese. They love that stuff. LNG is the way to go for new power plants.

  12. Terry the Chinese have their own issues right now. Major purge going on, DDE may be called in to help.

  13. The reason the Nation is not fazed by $4 gas is that we all knew it was coming prior to the next Presidential Election anyhow. The friggin frackin in North Dakota is a fine thing if you live there, for now, and it is as pure oil as there is. Kind of funny how North Dakota, in America, is flourishing under Obama, isn’t it?

  14. They’re only flourishing because the oil is under private land and the legislature and governor of that state are not under the jackboot of environmental fascism.

  15. POD, I was being flippant. Coal is on its way out. We’ve got a potentially cheap alternative in LNG. Coal has problems other than greenhouse gasses.

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