Electoral map forces RNC to nominate moderate candidate
More than half of us students here at the university will be unable to vote in Saturday’s Republican primary since we’re merely visitors from states and nations worldwide. But, for those who are residents of South Carolina, this is your chance to make your voice heard by voting to decide who will make the Republican ticket in November.
Sure, you may have a favorite candidate who supports exactly what you believe in and lines up perfectly with your morals. That’s great, except you must ask yourself whether or not he is even electable. Rather, can whomever you cast your vote for on Saturday muster enough support to give President Barack Obama a scare come November?
If the person who wins the primaries and makes the ballot doesn’t have a hope of reaching the magical number of 270 electoral votes to win the election, the Republicans might as well throw Sarah Palin back on the ballot. Regardless of views, morals, or opinions, if the Republican National Committee puts a ticket up against Obama that can’t win the electoral map, it’s a wasted ticket.
That means pandering to independents, catering to your base and when asked to jump simply responding with “How high?”. The RNC knows this, and so do those who follow politics and presidential elections.
But does the average voter? Maybe, maybe not. Possibly more important than any particular view on an issue during this primary is whether or not a candidate can win the general election. This fact alone should eliminate all but two candidates, and seriously question the viability of one of those two.
At this point none of the candidates involved except for Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney hold the electability factor needed to win come November. Gingrich, for that matter, is questionable at best.
Gingrich has too many flaws and holes from his time as Speaker of the House to win the electorate over Obama. And sure, Romney isn’t perfect; he’s flawed in many ways and occasionally too Democratic. But that in and of itself will cater to those who sit somewhere in between Republicans and Democrats, not to the extreme left or right: the self-proclaimed independents.
No president makes a single decision without a team of advisers standing over his shoulders massaging the message and facts into an acceptable, agreeable fashion. When a president takes office he always tries to put his ambitious plans he campaigned on into action; then the advisers come along, tell him that it won’t actually pass, compromise is reached, and suddenly the hard line campaign promise doesn’t ever reach fruition. Mitt Romney understands this, but Ron Paul, Rick Santorum, and to lesser extent Newt Gingrich don’t.
Mitt Romney gives Republicans the best chance to win come November. No, he’s not perfect; no candidate is, but he’s the most perfect of the imperfects to beat Obama on the electoral map.