The jet-propelled journey of a morbidly obese RINO governor to New Hampshire was the overweight straw that finally caused my inner political camel to cry ‘uncle,’ impelling me to do what I promised to myself I would not do – at least this early in the GOP primary race. But I have come to depend on RINOs as a reliable anti-bellwether when it comes to making a political decision: whenever a RINO tacks left, I’ve learned to tack to the right. And today, the governor of my home state threw his considerable weight behind Mitt Romney – the candidate that gives most Reaganite Conservatives the political willies.
I ended my earlier post today with the following exhortation:
Unless the Tea Party movement unites itself behind a truly conservative candidate, November 6, 2012 might just as well be Groundhog Day.
For years Americans have stuck to the formula that the reins of government are best managed by those who have previously managed the reins of government, usually at a lower level. With a handful of exceptional public servants over the past century, how well did that formula work out for this republic? Our economy is in shambles, unemployment is intolerably high and home mortgage foreclosures are occurring at a greater rate than what happened during the Great Depression eighty years ago. Our society is more bitterly divided than at any time in our history and with each passing day, it appears more evident that we are on the brink of civil war.
It’s time we started thinking outside the proverbial box. Here’s how I arrived at my decision:
Mitt Romney has extensive experience in both the private sector and the public sector, but he’s a RINO who still defends Romneycare. He’s out.
Rick Perry has no real private sector experience but plenty of public sector executive experience as governor of the very large state of Texas. Unfortunately, his position on illegal immigration leaves me cold. He’s out.
Newt Gingrich has very little private sector experience but considerable academic and legislative experience. Unfortunately, he carries with him a freight train of personal and political baggage – and I still can’t shake loose the image of him sitting on a sofa with Nancy Pelosi to tout “Green Energy.” He’s out.
Michele Bachmann is a stalwart conservative with no private sector experience outside of her law practice, family farm and consulting business although she does have a decade of public sector experience at the legislative level. Without question, she is passionate but also gaffe-prone to a degree that for me has diminished her stature as a serious first tier candidate. She’s out.
Rick Santorum is a solid social conservative with credible legislative experience but no private sector experience outside of a law practice – and in my book, that doesn’t count. He’s out.
Jon Huntsman is a Democrat in a Republican suit. He was never in.
Ron Paul is certifiably insane. He was never in.
This leaves Herman Cain, a man who rose from humble beginnings to achieve success in the private sector that is the stuff of Horatio Alger’s wildest dreams.
I am impressed in so many ways with this man: he’s intelligent, articulate, eloquent and at the same time earthy, friendly, good-natured and approachable. No small surprise there, seeing as how he rose from humble origins to become a captain of industry and an icon of the business world. No stranger to academia and the world of theory, he nevertheless spent his life in the real world and knows how it operates. I like what he says and how he says it. I admire his courage, his tenacity and his resolute unflappability in the face of the some of the most absurd and insulting questions any candidate could face.
But the political world? Not so much: Herman Cain has never held elective public office. You know what? I don’t care. In fact, at this stage of America’s decline I regard that as an asset, not a liability. Cain is a TRUE political outsider – as opposed, say to party hacks from the state or local GOP who claim that, because they aren’t presently located in the DC Beltway, that they are “outsiders” who will shake up the DC Ruling Class - only to be co-opted by it
That I am aware of, there are no skeletons in his closet and the only objection is have to his agenda is the 9-9-9 Plan, which I regard as seriously flawed. Then again, once Congress gets hold of it I suspect that conservative legislators will strip it of the sales tax provision, so I’m not particularly worried.
My friends: after considerable thought and a careful weighing of the pros and cons, I have decided to endorse Herman Cain as the Republican nominee for president in the 2012 election.
