I’ll let others look deeply into yesterday’s Super-Duper Tuesday’s election results, but here are some new know-nothing observations from just a casual glance.
The liberal Washington Post’s headline this morning reads, “McCain Wins Big States.” But perhaps a better, more accurate headline would have been, “McCain Wins Liberal States.”
Yes, he won Arizona, but that’s his home state. And he won Missouri, but only by a razor-thin single digit. And he won Oklahoma. But the rest of the states McCain won were primarily northeastern liberal states such as New York, Connecticut, Delaware and New Jersey. He also picked up Illinois - Obama’s home, and not exactly a bastion of conservatism - and California, home to House Speaker Pelosi, Sens. Boxer and Feinstein, and liberal Republican Gov. Schwarzenegger. ‘Nuff said.
Mike Huckabee won the southern Bible Belt states of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia and Tennessee. The only state he won not perceived as being dominated by the social conservative wing of the GOP was West Virginia. But WV is the same state which keeps re-electing Sen. Robert Byrd, so it’s impossible to know what in the world they’re truly thinking there.
Mitt Romney, on the other hand, in addition to winning liberal Massachusetts and socially conservative Utah, chalked up victories in mid-Western and mountain “purple” swing states such as Colorado, Minnesota, Montana and North Dakota.
Ron Paul didn’t win anything other than the hearts and minds of a relatively small but passionate number of voters who have had it with both big-government Democrats and big-government Republicans. His influence and destiny lies elsewhere.
McCain now looks like the presumptive nominee. He’s at least, clearly, the front-runner now. But it’s also clear the Republican Party is anything but united in this decision. It’s still a longshot, but if Romney, Huckabee and Paul all stay in this race to the bitter end, maybe, just maybe, conservatives will be able force this fight into the convention next summer where a consensus candidate can be drafted who would pull the three divisions of GOP voters together for a united and successful run against the Democrats.
Or I could be completely wrong.
Posted on February 7th, 2008 by Chuck Muth
Filed under: National
I would vote for Juan McCain to keep Hillary or Obama out of office.
A convention is our only hope of keeping Hillary or Obama out of the WH. Too bad the party elite can’t see that NONE of the current Republican candidates can pull the factions of the party together enough to pull off a victory in November.
The base’s only hope lies in a brokered convention.