{"id":2018,"date":"2008-01-25T06:34:30","date_gmt":"2008-01-25T11:34:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/?p=2018"},"modified":"2008-03-17T10:50:33","modified_gmt":"2008-03-17T15:50:33","slug":"bogus-gold-you-make-me-tired-republican-primary-voters-confront-reality-reluctantly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/?p=2018","title":{"rendered":"Shaking Off The Fatigue"},"content":{"rendered":"

My blog child, Doug Williams, notes in a long and essential post that’s chock-full of good stuff you need to read<\/a>, (and not just because it links back to me) that…:<\/p>\n

[Republicans, as opposed to Conservatives] don’t nominate Ronald Reagan every 4 years. We only nominated him twice… and he was personally available before that and rejected. We USUALLY nominate someone like Gerald Ford, George Bush (either one), or Bob Dole.<\/p>\n

Considering that is our OBVIOUS habit, what the hell is so shocking about the current slate of candidates?!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I’ll go one step further; given the “choices” we’ve had to put up with in the past – George HW Bush, Bob Dole, Gerald Ford – this year’s slate might, by some measures, be a big step up from the usual fare we get.<\/p>\n

I don’t care why you disagree with them or where… Romney, McCain, and Giuliani are all WELL within the mainstream of the Republican nominations of the recent past. So many people are acting like something is SOOO special about not getting a perfect candidate this year. Hell… when has that EVER happened? Even Saint Ronald had crap he endorsed as California Governor AND as President which the current generation of chucklehead voters would apparently find disqualifying because such things are evidence that someone is not a “true conservative.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

One of my most special possessions is a book of George Will columns from the eighties.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Guess what he said about Reagan?<\/p>\n

My advice to all involved is to step back juuuust enough to embrace the notion that our system of government has ALWAYS been one in which movements have to deal with compromise and the lesser of evils. That’s not new. It’s not a crisis. It’s just the way America’s government works. Blame your teachers if you find your expectations dashed coming to grips with this reality, because it’s not remotely new.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You will never get a 100% perfect candidate – at least, not from a party that every has to govern, anywhere (get outta here, Libertarians).\u00a0 The goal is to find one that’s better than the alternative.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As I said on Wednesday – is there any rational doubt that any<\/em> of the current crop of Republicans, whatever their imperfections as first-principle conservatives, wouldn’t be better than Ms. Putin, Silkypony or Obie?<\/p>\n

If you’re not sure (and by “you”, I mean this blog’s conservative<\/em> audience), consider the following:<\/p>\n