After six difficult years under Barack Obama, the country is ready for a change in the White House. The President has delivered a continual dose of no compromise liberalism that has divided the races and polarized the political climate.
This has led the presidential campaign to start earlier than ever. Among Republicans there are at least a dozen serious hopefuls who may vie for the nomination. It is a perfect opportunity for the Republican Party to take back the White House and implement conservative policies that will undue the disastrous Obama agenda.
The first step, however, is to win the presidency in 2016 and that is no easy task. Despite his limited experience and very liberal philosophy, Barack Obama was elected President in 2008. He retained the office four years later even though his signature legislation, the Affordable Care Act, was incredibly unpopular.
One of the major reasons for his success was his unimpressive opposition. The Republican presidential nominees, U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) in 2008 and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in 2012, were uninspiring moderates who were unwilling to aggressively defend the party’s platform and attack the Democrats on the issues.
These defeats continued the losing streak for the moderate, establishment, wing of the Republican Party. History shows that the moderate GOP presidential nominees lose in the general election to the Democrats as it occurred in the presidential races of 1976, 1992, 1996, 2008 and 2012.
With this horrific track record, it would seem that party honchos would be desperate to find a good conservative to win the presidential nomination in 2016. On the contrary, GOP party bosses are moving Heaven and earth to help the upcoming presidential candidacies of the three major moderate candidates: former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Romney. This is an embarrassment of riches for party’s elites who usually have only one presidential candidate to support in a particular election year.
Last week, Bush indicated his interest in running by releasing thousands of emails, resigning from boards and launching an exploratory committee. This week, Mitt Romney tried to forestall a defection of major donors to Bush by telling donors he is running for the White House a third time. This will be Mitt 3.0, but, unfortunately, this candidate edition will be just as unimpressive as the two previous editions. Finally, Christie is back in New Jersey giving his “State of the State” speech after touring the country raising money and following the Dallas Cowboys football team.
As history shows, none of these moderate candidates can win the presidency. If, sadly, any of them receive the nomination in 2016, they will lose to presumptive Democratic Party presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
The reasons for this predictable result are simple. A moderate presidential candidate will not excite the conservative base of Republican voters who are the party’s backbone. These activists are the chronic voters, who number in the millions. They run the organizations and volunteer their time on behalf of the candidates.
The conservatives are tired of being overlooked and ignored by the establishment wing of the Republican Party. The grassroots cannot match the money of the establishment, but they certainly have more passion and energy and are a needed component for any GOP presidential candidate to win the White House.
It worked for Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984. He won 44 states in the first election and 49 states in his re-election, in other words, massive landslides. According to so-called political experts he was too conservative, a wild eyed cowboy who was too threatening to the American people.
Instead of losing, he trounced his liberal opponents by offering a clear contrast to the Democratic Party. He stood on conservative principles and did not waver. This type of statesmanship appealed to not only Republicans, but also Independents and “Reagan Democrats,” who were tired of the failed liberal policies of their party.
In this election, there is a great opportunity for the Republican Party. Voters are ready to seriously consider an alternative to the failed policies of Obama. However, if the GOP offers only the “pale pastels” of another moderate loser and not the “bold colors” of a conservative, the party will surely lose again.
If Bush, Christie or Romney wins the nomination, millions of conservatives will stay away from the polls or vote third party. The days of holding one’s nose and voting for the Republican candidate as the “lesser of two evils.” are over.
It is time for a conservative victory in 2016, which requires a principled Republican Party presidential nominee. However, if one of the three amigos, devoid of conservative values, wins the presidential nomination, the result will be another loss to the Democrats and the eventual dissolution of the Grand Old Party.