A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

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The first GOP Presidential debate is coming up and the GOP still hasn’t fielded a candidate capable of winning against Obama. If a Republican candidate (with at least a chance of winning) doesn’t soon toss his or her hat into the ring, Obama wins by forfeit… of a sort.

Honestly, it is becoming depressing! The candidates, I personally could support, all seem to be sitting 2012 out and waiting on 2016. The problem with that strategy is – there may not be a country to be President of by 2016!

My southern experience tells me, southerners enjoy the show Mr. Trump is providing, but we don’t take him seriously as an honest to goodness candidate – even if he decides to run.

Mr. Romney cannot carry the southern states. Why? A couple of things: RomnyCare is one reason. It is considered a form of Obamacare. It has been referred to as ObamaCare Lite. The second reason… well, let me put it this way: Do you really expect Southern Baptists to vote for a Mormon? Hey, it is an honest question based on my experience. I was reared in a Southern Baptist home. I became Lutheran in my mid-twenties and today I am considered a “recovering Baptist.”

Look, I could tick them all off, but suffice it to say, as a southerner, I am not enthused about any of them and I do not see, hear, or feel, any excitement amongst my fellow southern Americans for any candidate, or would-be candidate, in the current field.

Over the weekend, the New York Times suggested “Republicans Are Pursuing a Wider Field for 2012 Race.” (Read the article HERE.) I beg to disagree with that. Well, sort of. It is not a wider field we are looking for. It is a winning candidate. We are tired of the same old faces, the same old, “It’s my turn” plea, and the same old ambivalent promises. We yearn for a fresh face with a strong character, leadership skills, and someone who will cut through the smoke and haze and “tell it like it is!”

With the first GOP debate coming up later this week -- we STILL don’t know who will be on the panel of candidates! This is no way to inspire confidence in neither GOP supporters nor fear in the democrats. It is a sign of weakness right from the git-go. And THAT is depressing!

Telling it like it is in plain, simple language, even though some of his language is, uh, shall we say, “colorful,” is the reason why Donald Triumph has made such headway in the polls.

I could add: “Moderates and RINOS Need Not Apply.” Not this time, anyway. There is a grassroots movement of conservatives just waiting to throw their considerable support behind a hardcore conservative Republican candidate and the sooner the better. But where is he/she? Where?

I really think it is a mistake for qualified GOP candidates to sit out 2012. The country is in serious trouble. It will only get worse if Obama is not sent packing and a general house cleaning of the various agencies such as the EPA, the FCC, … well, heck, ALL of them by a new conservative President with the assistance of a GOP Congress is undertaken on day one of the new presidency.

Another thing: There is not as much money out here in the hinterlands as there has been in campaign cycles past. Sure, the money will begin flowing -- AFTER the candidates are announced and the field is set.

We know the Obama people have the money and they have home field advantage with his incumbency. We are at half time. The GOP took the first half but they can’t win the game if they only win the first half! Not in the game of politics.

Conservatives are waiting for a candidate they can rally around. So far that candidate has not stepped forward. So, we are still waiting, keeping our powder dry, just waiting, and waiting.

The longer conservatives wait the more certain it becomes that some will simply turn away in disgust and sit out the election in 2012.

May Providence forgive America for what we did to this country in 2006 and 2008. We can at least TRY to redeem ourselves in 2012… but … NOT THIS WAY!

Monday, May 02, 2011

At This Rate Obama Wins By Forfeit!