Q&A Friday #96: What Do You Think About The 2012 Election?

24 Oct, 2008 by John Hawkins

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Question: “What do you think of people talking about 2012 and already trying to take down candidates who aren’t their favorites? (i.e. People who like Palin tearing down Huckabee or vice versa.)” — adamelijah

Answer: We’re not even done with this presidential election cycle, which has lasted a full two years, so it’s a little early to project how things are going to play out for 2012.

For one thing, if McCain pulls it out of the fire, he may be running for a 2nd term.

Even if he’s not, this was an unusual primary season because we had five genuinely viable contenders: McCain, Romney, Huckabee, Giuliani, & Thompson.

Typically, you end up with one powerhouse and a bunch of dwarfs fighting to become the anti-powerhouse candidate. History says that’s a more likely scenario than the one we had this time around.

We also don’t know who’ll be running. Sarah Palin could have some scandal that knocks her out. Mike Huckabee may like doing TV. Mitt Romney may get back into the business world — and there will be new contenders in the mix, some of whom may capture the base’s imagination.

As conservatives, our top priority today shouldn’t be worrying about who’ll be running, it should be changing the primary process so the majority of the early contests are closed, not open. That’s why we haven’t had a genuinely conservative nominee since Reagan: because the game is rigged. Independents end up being the decisive factor in the early races and so much momentum is built with each win that conservatives have trouble competing.

Personally, that’s all I want from whoever replaces Mike Duncan, the useless head of the RNC that we have now. If the new head of the RNC is going to work to fix the primary system, I’m for him. If he’s not going to do that, I am against him. I don’t care if Ronald Reagan and Sarah Palin had a love child who has been raised in secret by Rush Limbaugh and Michelle Malkin; if that person isn’t willing to give conservatives a fair shot in the primary system, he shouldn’t be the new head of the RNC.