OK, we’ve had exactly two primaries, and a mere handful of delegates have been allocated. Mitt Romney, the delegate leader, has just 14 of 1144 needed for nomination. (For delegate info, try here.) As I see it, we’re at the 1.5-mile marker of a 26.2-mile race.
So where are we?
Three candidates – Tim Pawlenty, Michelle Bachmann and Jon Huntsman – have dropped out. As one Twitter Wag said in last night’s GOP debate, “Seems like the introductions of the candidates took 5/8 as long as previous debates…”
Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry and Ron Paul are still in it. Romney may or may not have won Iowa (official votes are now being counted, and some reports I saw had Santorum up by 80 votes in the official recount, so that primary (or “caucus” as you might say) is possibly still up in the air. Romney won New Hampshire. South Carolina is this coming Saturday. By all accounts, last night’s debate had Mitt Romney taking some hits, and Newt and Rick Perry doing exceptionally well. There are the better parts of four days’ worth of campaigning to go, and really anything can happen. There is still plenty of time for someone to stick his foot in his mouth.
I’ve seen some, to me, disturbing trends, which bear examination:
- Class Warfare – There have been some “class warfare” attacks by some candidates on others. I *HATE* class warfare, because it uses one of the basest of human emotions – envy – to attack. Envy’s cousin – covetousness – also rears its ugly visage, and THAT one has a specific Commandment addressing it! It is NOT becoming of any GOP candidate to attack another’s apparent wealth or success. The GOP’s goal should be to enable the opportunity for *ANYONE* to achieve similar success, not to tear down success.
Closely related to Class Warfare is the cry for one candidate (Mitt Romney) to produce his tax records to prove or disprove his success or failure as the CEO of Bain Capital. Couple of points need to be made here:
- Used to be what a person made was between him and his employer, and NO ONE ELSE. It was once considered crass to inquire of another what his salary was. “None of your business,” should be the standard reply. In a similar vein, a candidate’s tax returns should not be a matter of public debate, in a civil, mannered society. It is a black mark on our society that the class warfare attack of demanding tax returns is “acceptable.”
- On Bain Capital specifically, is the CEO’s tax return the BEST yardstick of business success or performance? I would argue that there are much better yardsticks – such as financial statements, stock performance, balance sheets, etc. – that are more readily available and more morally available with which to judge a company’s performance. If Bain is a publicly traded company, either the financial statements or stock performance would be the better indicator of success. If privately held, then one may have to look at public records, historical facts, news accounts, etc. to judge.
- A question I asked on Twitter last night: Would *YOU* be comfortable if *I* demanded to see *YOUR* tax returns? I asked specifically of those “civilians” (non-candidates themselves, like staffers, or even just enthusiasts or advocates for a candidate) who were demanding to see Mitt Romney’s tax returns. My guess is: They would not. That, to me, is pretty telling.
- Anti-Capitalism – Closely related to the Class Warfare attacks have been attacks based on the candidates supposed exploitation of the capitalist system. In this, as many people have said, the attacker allies himself with the Occupy Wall Street mob. Capitalism, far from being the boogeyman, should be instead the yardstick by which we go about our legal, moral, ethical business. Not only is capitalism the best engine of success and prosperity, but we should be highlighting the ideal way capitalism should be practised with the distorted, corrupt system of “crony capitalism” we seem to accept as “normal” in America today. Capitalism works best with as little Gub’mint interference as possible in the markets, with as little D.C. distortions introduced through laws and regulations and petty bureaucracies. And most assuredly, capitalism is best practised when Gub’mint is not allowed to “partner” and pick winners and losers.
- Petulant Partisanship – I have seen, at this early stage, several people on Twitter state categorically that if such and such was the GOP nominee, they would sit out the general election. I find that extremely troubling! At the early part of the campaign, most people agreed that any one of the candidates would be acceptable and a definite improvement over the Marxist Emperor we have infesting the Oval Office at present. That would seem to lead to the assumption that, once the nomination process had shaken itself out, that all would enthusiastically rally around whomever gained the top spot. That it might not happen – at least in a few minds, but who knows how far Twitter and other communications modes allow influence to spread! – is troubling. I ask: Would you honestly give four more years to the Meddling Marxist over any of the GOP candidates? Would you sentence America to the horrors of pure Socialism – or Marxism, or Communism, depending on how far Chairman Zero wants to push it – over the chance to turn it all around, to steer clear of the cliff we’re hurtling toward? Would you really do that just because your guy didn’t get in? I find even having to ask that question fills me with sadness, and a sort of rage. Those who say they will stay away on Election Day are, to me, the “fairest” of “Fair Weather Friends and Sunshine Patriots.” It is raining out, and if you guys won’t show up to fight, I’m questioning your commitment to the cause.
OK. That’s about it for now. In the race, I still see the five remaining candidates pretty much bunched up, and we’re only about 1.5 miles into it. Any one of them can make a break, and no one is out as of this point. There is a LOT of race to be run yet. Take heart!
