A constellation of political nonentities?

I'm getting more and more frustrated with the various candidates vying for the Republican Party's presidential nomination next year. They've had long enough to let their true colors show by now; and those colors are pretty dull and dingy, if you ask me.

The front-runners at this point are, in my opinion, all guaranteed to lose against Obama, no matter how hard they try. I regard Mitt Romney as completely untrustworthy, having flip-flopped on any and every position imaginable, as well as being the author of Massachusetts' health care scheme (which served as a model for Obamacare, and is proving ruinously expensive), and supporting that state's draconian restrictions on Second Amendment rights. I'd rather vote for Obama than for Romney - at least I know what my vote would be getting me! Newt Gingrich is carrying too much political, moral and ethical baggage for me to ever trust him in office again. Herman Cain? I've already written about his problems. Ron Paul is a man I respect for his consistent views, but he takes libertarianism to such extremes that I can only believe he'd be a disaster as President. As for the minor players in the field, I'm afraid none of them inspire me any more than the others, with the exception of Gary Johnston. I'm afraid he's probably unelectable, but he's the only candidate so far who has a track record that demonstrates (to me, at any rate) that he's worthy of support.

Things are so bad that today I actually found myself agreeing with Rahm Emanuel, a man for whom I have, at best, a distinct distaste! CNN reports:

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel didn't mince any words Saturday when speaking about Republicans running for the 2012 nomination - calling the group "turkeys."

He lambasted the front-runner, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, for what he called inconsistencies in his record.

"I've watched a number of them, and I've got to be honest, I never thought I'd say this: I'm beginning to miss Sarah Palin's insights," Rahm told a Democratic crowd at the Jefferson-Jackson dinner in Des Moines, Iowa.

"Their debate was called the Thanksgiving Family Forum - which is fitting because I have never seen such a collection of turkeys,” Emanuel said.

There's more at the link.

Bill Quick summed it up nicely:

I look at the political landscape, and all I feel is depression. The basic analysis has to be that, despite cosmetic differences, the left and the right at all levels of politics and governance in the United States are, first and foremost, members of a ruling class, and regard maintaining their perks, privileges, powers, and status in that ruling class as being of primary importance to them. The only thing members can always agree on is defending themselves and each other from assaults on the ruling class.

This is a recipe for tyranny, corruption, and fiscal collapse, all of which we see in full play in these dangerous and degraded times. Given this bacchanalia of oppression and malfeasance is our current politican landscape, depression is a sensible, nay, required response. And my gut feeling is that the situation is not fixable within normal parameters.

Even though she hasn't given any indication that she'll join the nomination race, I don't think Sarah Palin is a realistic candidate for the Presidency, based on her track record so far (and because I think her 'grizzly mama' public image is wildly overdone - as evidenced, for example, during the Discovery Channel TV series about her, where she displayed a fundamental lack of familiarity with firearms). On the other hand, I'm forced to admit that she could hardly do worse than any of the current Republican candidates (or President Obama, for that matter), and might actually do a lot better than most of them!

If one of the present candidates wins the Republican Party's nomination for the presidency next year, I believe Obama will be re-elected. None of them are worthy contenders. We need new candidates, ones with experience, courage and the willpower to see it through. Trouble is, given the negative (indeed, destructive) politics they'll face, many good candidates would rather walk over hot coals than run for POTUS - and I can't blame them. (I still hold out hope - faint though it may be - that a more worthwhile Democratic politician may contest the 2012 presidential nomination for that party. There are a few - for example, Senator Jim Webb - for whom I'd vote in a heartbeat over any of the other politicians currently in the race, Republican or Democrat!)

Perhaps the best we can hope for is that the Tea Party will make itself felt once more, to an even greater extent than in 2010, and ensure that as many solid Representatives and Senators as possible are elected to office (and, of course, that as many less-than-solid Representatives and Senators as possible are booted out!). With the right people in Congress and the Senate, we can halt the worst excesses of the Obama administration, and override his inevitable vetoes to begin to put right the damage he's done. First step - repeal Obamacare in its entirety!

Peter