The GOP Presidential primary field is kind of a mess right now (not that there’s anything wrong with that; primaries often are). But as a libertarian-conservative, I have been arguing in the past that all the GOP activist groups should join together behind a single acceptable candidate. If we do that, we can deliver the New Hampshire GOP Presidential primary to the candidate of our choice! And possibly change history, for as goes New Hampshire, sometimes goes the GOP nomination.
New Hampshire’s conservative and libertarian-conservative alliance in 2010 elevated Bill O’Brien to the Speakership of the State House, elected Jack Kimball to chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party, and created the largest State House Republican majority in New Hampshire history. That alliance includes social conservatives, Tea Partiers, libertarian-conservatives, traditional conservatives, Constitutionalists, 9/12ers, Second Amendment activists, "movement conservatives," and others.
But dammit, we can’t do anything in the GOP primary unless we unite dehind ONE GOP CANDIDATE who is acceptable to all of us! That was what carried the day for Rep. O’Brien and Jack Kimball. We were united behind ONE candidate in both elections! Yet the more I talk about this, the more my idea is greeted by outrage ("We can’t dictate who to vote for!"), apathy ("Whatever, dude"), or hesitation ("We can’t make a decision…we need to see who gets into the race").
BALONEY! A recent Gallup poll of Republican voters showed Romney (unacceptable) at 17%, Palin (maybe or maybe not acceptable) at 15%, Ron Paul (acceptable) at 10%, Newt Gingrich (unacceptable) at 9%, Herman Cain (acceptable) at 8%, Tim Pawlenty (unacceptable) at 6%, Michele Bachmann (acceptable) at 5%, and Jon Huntsman (unacceptable) at 5%. Gary Johnson (acceptable) was not listed. Nor was another potential entry, Texas Gov. Rick Perry (unacceptable).
There are ten GOP primary or potential primary candidates listed above. Palin and Texas Gov. Rick Perry have not yet announced either way. Five of the ten are acceptable or maybe candidates who believe in capitalism, freedom, small government, low taxes, lower spending, and personal responsibility. If we don’t unite behind ONE of them, our votes will be split every which way, and guess what happens then? Romney or some other representative of the elite Washington, DC political rulling class will win the GOP nomination, and it will be 1976 (Gerald Ford), 1996 (Bob Dole), and 2008 (John McCain) all over again.
Mark my words, conservatives: For the GOP Presidential primary election next year, we must….
