Turmoil In The G.O.P.

It’s only been a couple of weeks since my last blog (sorry! Exceedingly busy at work these days..), but a lot has happened in just the past few days in the race for the Republican nomination:

1) The Herman Cain train has permanently derailed
2) Newt Gingrich has surged ahead to be the newest frontrunner
3) Rick Perry has put his foot in his mouth (again)
4) Mitt Romney has faded

The G.O.P. has never been in such disarray. It may be Old, but it is not too Grand right now and no one is Partying.

All the while, the most intelligent and most conservative candidate of the bunch can’t get arrested. John Huntsman may be the best the Republicans have to offer—and yet he cannot seem to break out of the single digits.

After a Georgia woman came out last week and admitted to a THIRTEEN YEAR affair with Herman Cain, it became increasingly clear that the pizza guy couldn’t possibly be nominated. If the personal behavior could be forgiven, certainly the denials could not be. Many Presidents have lied—and a few have strayed, but the knowledge didn’t hit the public consciousness until after the offender was in the Oval Office. We simply cannot vote for a man whose sole response to a litany of credible accusations is “I didn’t do it”—or worse…”9-9-9”

Please.

Herman Cain is not ready to assume the office. Besides an inability to tell the truth, he has exposed his complete ignorance of foreign policy. When I want extra cheese on my stuffed crust pie or an order of crazy bread, Cain is the man to call. Otherwise, he is the sideshow he has always been. Interesting and entertaining, but not credible.

Newt Gingrich?

Really? If the Obama White House is smart, they will keep their hands off him. Continue to batter the candidacy of Romney on TV—he still represents the best chance for the GOP to take the White House. Democrats are licking their chops at the prospect of facing his Newtness as the standard bearer of the Republicans in 2012. Over his long and rocky career as the ultimate Washington insider, he represents everything that Tea Party conservatives loathe. Gingrich has made millions from taxpayer dollars in “consulting fees”—there is no way he won’t be fried alive in his own juices should the GOP award him the nomination. He may be the latest “shiny new toy”, but closer look reveals a “slimy old boy”.

Rick Perry’s latest gaffe-not knowing that the voting age in America is 18, not 21—and not even knowing the date of the election—has sealed his fate. It must be embarrassing to be from Texas. This is the guy YOU voted in as your governor?


Ron Paul’s stature as the #3 guy in most polls is more of a slap in the face to the other aspirants than it is an endorsement of Paul himself. An isolationist, a libertarian and someone who is viewed as extreme on most issues, he too cannot be the nominee.

So, who will it be?

Mitt Romney will take New Hampshire, but Newt will finish second. Gingrich will likely take Iowa, South Carolina and Florida. That momentum will make him the frontrunner until he has a Rick Perry moment.

And he most assuredly will.

It won’t be a Perry “$^&*-for-brains” gaffe, but somehow Newt’s own mouth will torpedo his hopes of winning the nomination. In desperation, the party elders will have to either hold their collective noses and line up behind Romney---or maybe pluck someone from the wings.

Michael Bloomberg is the best option, but he says he doesn’t want the job. If ever there was a year in which he could win the Presidency, this is it.

All we know is that it cannot possibly be Bachman, Santoro, Paul, Perry or Huntsman (even though he most likely has earned the consideration based on his resume alone)

Romney…or….whom?

This is starting to get interesting!

If you’d like to have my blog land in your mailbox, just let me know: tim.moore@cumulus.com