Who's the "Next Guy" for the GOP in 2012?

The GOP has a nasty habit of choosing "whoever's next" to be their presidential nominee. That's how we ended up with Bob Dole in 1996 and John McCain in 2008. Neither nominee inspired GOP voters - they just had the best ground operation that was able to use the primary rules to their benefit. Right now Mitt Romney is sitting in the "whoever's next" chair, and that's not an inspiring choice for conservatives.

Mark Steyn, talking with Hugh Hewitt, does a little riff on the subject that's worth noting:

Hugh Hewitt: Oh, that brings me, though, to the NBC dictate, that they will run the first Republican debate at the Reagan Library on May 2nd, along with Politico. It will be hosted by Brian Williams. They just told people to show up. And you know, I’ve got to assume that Brian Williams and Chris Matthews talk a little bit. Why in the world would we allow, Mark Steyn, the conservative movement, to allow the MSM to mediate these debates?

Mark Steyn: Oh, come on, Hugh. I mean, I think Brian Williams is the perfect man to moderate the debate, and determine who is going to be this year’s Bob Dole or John McCain. We’re interested, I think in this political season, we need to identify as early as possible the decent, dignified Republican loser who knows how to give a great concession speech. And I think that’s what Brian Williams and NBC are hoping to get a jump on. And now if you’re actually interested in saving this country from sliding into a multi-trillion dollar abyss, then letting Brian Williams dictate your nominating process is a complete waste of time. But I’m not sure the Republican party at heart quite gets that yet.

The GOP doesn't have to do an NBC/Politico-sponsored debate, but you know the frontrunners won't want to make any waves with the mainstream media. It's a mistake.

Remember back when Fox News and the Congressional Black Caucus planned to host a Democrat debate during the last election? Barack Obama said he wouldn't participate (dissing his own people, no less) and the other candidates quickly pulled out as well. If Mitt Romney were to tell NBC 'no thanks' it would have the same effect on the GOP field and would allow them to hold their debates on their terms and not the MSM's.

Having NBC/Politico host the debate means the candidates will get questions on abortion, on creation/evolution, Obama's birth certificate, and other stuff that has nothing to do with their ability to be president but everything to do with trying to embarrass GOP candidates and get sound bites the Democrats can use against the GOP.

We don't need another Bob Dole or John McCain, and we don't need to let the MSM dictate our debate schedule or format.

The GOP Doesn't Need a Presumptive Nominee...Again

For some odd reason the GOP has a habit of nominating for president whoever's "next". That's how we ended up with Bob Dole in '96 and John McCain in '08. Melissa Clouthier has a good piece on Facebook encouraging GOP voters to avoid that trap again:

After George W. Bush left office, the presumptive nominee was John McCain. McCain was a relatively weak candidate but he had suffered a humiliating loss to Bush, and he was consoled with the notion that he'd get the backing of the Republican establishment this time.

Once McCain got the nomination and lost, who was second and who stepped back and waited his turn? Mitt Romney.

So now, Mitt Romney quietly raises money. He helps guys like Scott Brown get elected behind the scenes. He tries to avoid too many specific questions about the health care situation in Massachusetts.

And here comes CPAC. He's won the Straw Poll how many times?

Here's the thing: If Romney lost to a guy like McCain, what makes anyone think that he has what Americans want in their president this time around?

The Republican Party needs to stop king making. They need to stop throwing their resources behind the guy who has "waited his turn" and start looking for the nominee who is right--both literally and figuratively.

There should be no assumptions when it comes to who should be leading. The establishment folks have consistently screwed up in both message and messenger.

The Republican Party needs new blood. The people who watch, need to keep an open mind.

2012 isn't around the corner but the politicians are laying the groundwork now. Hopefully, no one is presuming the mantle. Our next president needs to earn the presidency the hard way and prove he or she has what it takes to lead the country.

Exactly.

I tend to think that the availability of other means of communication, such as Facebook, Twitter, and blogs, will tend to keep the establishment GOP from simply anointing whomever they want. The voters and the grassroots activists will have a lot more to say about things in 2012.

White House Panders to 1996 GOP Loser

How desperate is the White House to get some Republicans...any Republicans...on board with Obamacare? This desperate:

The Democratic National Committee is canceling a television ad touting GOP support for health care reform after protests from one of the Republicans mentioned, former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole.

[snip]

Dole told ABC News on Sunday that he objected to the ad’s criticism of the current Republican leadership.

“I just didn’t think it was fair, when I’ve tried to be helpful in encouraging a bipartisan solution, for the DNC to run an ad that I interpreted and I know others did as a backhanded comment about Republicans,” Dole said.

Bob Dole has not been a force in the GOP since he lost in 1996. His influence on other Republicans on this issue will be pretty much nil, but since he's still technically a Republican the White House can use his name to flaunt their "bipartisanship".

It's all smoke and mirrors.

1996 Loser Scolds Rush

The last time the GOP electorate was as unenthused as it is now was in 1996 when the GOP ran "the next guy in line" against incumbent Bill Clinton. That "next guy" was Bob ("I only got 41%") Dole who was creamed in the general election.

Today, the 1996 loser decided to tell conservatives, and especially Rush Limbaugh, that they should support John McCain:

Bob Dole, the former Senate Republican leader, wrote an insistent letter to Rush Limbaugh on Monday and suggested that for the good of the party, the conservative talk-show host should stop his strafing of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).
On Monday's show, Limbaugh asserted that McCain has "lied about his reason for opposing the Bush tax cuts," and added: "I think McCain has an animus toward the Republican Party. I think ever since South Carolina 2000 he's had it in for the Republican Party, and one of his objectives is to destroy it and change it."

McCain, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, has always had a shaky relationship with the party’s conservative base.

In a letter released Monday evening by McCain's campaign, Dole strongly defended the senator’s conservative credentials, noting that his voting record is opposed to abortion and supportive of gun-owner rights.

As McCain’s campaign gained steam, Limbaugh has used the airwaves to remind listeners daily that he does not consider the senator to be a conservative.

Limbaugh has even suggested he might not vote Republican if McCain were the nominee.

Dole makes the mistake that many are making in assuming that Rush is a Republican first and a conservative second. It's the other way around with Rush and also with me. I'm sure Rush will have an appropriate (and biting) response on his show tomorrow.

You can read Dole's letter here.

I don't think Dole got through to Scott Ott either:

(2008-02-04) — On the eve of the Super Tuesday primaries, Republican front runner John McCain said conservative voters should “shut up, suck it up, and vote for the lesser of two evils.”

The Arizona senator refused to specify which of the remaining three GOP candidates is the “other evil,” because he said, “my inner Reagan prevents me from speaking ill of a fellow Republican. But here’s a little straight talk: Fred Thompson is gone. I’m the devil you know, and I’m asking for your vote.”

Later, in an interview on the Straight-Talk Express, his campaign bus, the candidate extended an olive branch to what he called “the other side of the aisle.”

“I feel your pain,” he said. “Life’s not fair. But you radical right-wingers just have to play the hand you’re dealt by the mainstream media.”

McCain campaign volunteers will fan out across the 22 primary and caucus states tomorrow with free bottles of water that they’ll hand to conservatives leaving the polls to help those who voted for Sen. McCain, and who thus “threw up in their mouths a little.”

I won't need that water bottle today. My vote won't be going to McCain, today...or ever.