Gingrich, Santorum and Paul seem beat up in the Florida Primary: Is Candidate Romney the Answer to Republican Party Search?

Keywords or Terms: Mitt Romney; Newt Gingrich; Nick Santorum; Ron Paul; Bob Dole; Florida Primary; Political Debates; Soul of Republican Party; 'Tea Party'; Polls; President Obama;  Civil War;  and United States of America; Delegates' Spread

The Republican candidacy of Newt Gingrich is getting a reality check today in Florida. There was a time, after the South Carolina primaries results, when the candidacy of the former speaker of the US House of Representatives seemed probably inevitable. Today however, if the polls from political gurus watching the Florida primaries are anything to go by, Candidate Gingrich may not be the favorite candidate to carry the Republican flag come November 6, 2012. Many National Republican leaders may not want to offer their personal opinions regarding the forthcoming results from Florida, as has been insinuated by Bob Dole; however, there are some relief contemplated by some that candidate Gingrich is loosing to candidate Mitt Romney in Florida. Is Mitt Romney the messiah to bring Republicans out of the Wilderness of Negation in 2012? Would Mitt Romney resolve the brewing civil war in the Republican Party? Can Mitt Romney pull the party together, the Tea Party Group and Mainstream Republicans? The blog tonight attempts to answer one or two of these questions.

For the Republican establishment, candidate Gingrich is the ideas guy; but hardly a stable leader or hand to manage a nation as ours; ours, is too challenging and complicated to accommodate a leader with past congressional infractions that outnumber the number of states in the union. Candidate Gingrich could be engaging, entertaining in political debates and sometime somewhat brilliant; however, there are all reasons to believe that this man is unsuitable to be the President of the United States. To some Republicans, calling Gingrich as engaging and entertaining is too generous. For this group, Gingrich creates the illusion of hawkish conservatism but in reality, is a dishonest leader that may undermine his own follower-ship. 


For conservative Republicans, including the Tea Party group, Mitt Romney money bags have been denigrating Newt Gingrich as suspected of too many baggage against President Obama. Sad though, Romney baggage also, can actually derail his chances against the same man, Gingrich is suspected as having too many baggage to match, the President of United States of America, Barack H. Obama. The relative size of baggage carried against each other, may not really provide the trump card to win a national election; however, Republican leaders are willing to take the risk with Mitt Romney, not Newt Gingrich. 

Almost as soon as the Florida primaries end, tonight, the battle for Nevada and the remaining states, forty-six, in the union will proceed. Accepting failures for Gingrich, Santorum or Paul in Florida cannot stand in the way of their dream: Winning the Republican Party nomination! The focus will shift for these candidates, just like Romney. Thus, a loss in Florida wouldn't be so bad, to prevent shifting attention to harnessing Republican votes in other states who are willing to support the candidacy of these aspirants. This time though, the challenges of garnering enough support to achieve the threshold of dominance, may have been defined by the Florida primary results. For now, the nomination process has not be written-off by any of these candidates; for, the number of delegates required to achieve prominence among the remaining four candidates is so far along as to give every of the candidate a fair chance to still debate and harvest support. As useful and better to withal down the number of candidates still standing, the Florida primary result has not discouraged any of the candidate to throw in the towel. In one sentence you might surmise: it is not over until it is over!

Within hours of the close of the voting booth in Florida, you probably heard the pronouncement from the former speaker of the United States House of Representative, Newt Gingrich : 1) This is now a two way (man) race, between the Conservative Republican Gingrich and Massachusetts Moderate Republican Mitt Romney; 2) I will continue the nomination fight till the Republican convention in Tampa, Florida; and, 3) This is going to be a drag-out race and I am heading to Nevada. Newt Gingrich is optimistic, he is decisive and committed to the race; what he is lacking in cash and support, he finds in his grandiose dream. What he is lacking in Washington DC and New York mainstream Republican support, he finds in the condemnation of this group. For him, the mainstream Republicans are seeking to buy the people's vote and conscience. He is particularly uninterested in the hopelessness that this mainstream Republicans see in his candidature. He is being urged on by the grassroots Republicans, the Tea Party faction and all those, who would rather have any other candidate as the Republican nominee but, Mitt Romney.

Do you see a civil war brewing in the Republican Party. There are already skepticism by the Evangelical Christians, who have bastardized Romney's religion as a cult. You have heard the Sarah Palin bandwagon who probably believe that the mainstream Republicans have sold their souls to a northeast liberal Republican, without the needed spine to address the desires of the those in the Tea Party; and, confront their nemesis, President Obama. The battle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party is about to be defined by this nomination process. Do you sense a Civil War within the Party? Some deep throat will say yes, but many Republicans would probably deny the obvious. Seeking a consensus candidate is truly not easy at a time like this, when and where the stakes are considered by Republicans, as too high.

The unique nature of the demands of the conservative Evangelical Christians; and or, the those of the Tea Party faction in the Republican Party, may seem distant at this time. However, if Mitt Romney discovers that without their support, he may just be a floating Republican nominee, he may concede on some of his prompts for the general elections contest. Every mainstream Republican wishes the demands of the various factional groups within the party do not end up in a fractional convention that may lead to fratricide. Whether this become the case, is better left for time to tall. For now, Candidate Romney may be bright and gleeful from Florida primary result; however, the demands of any Republican who do not support his candidacy will become obvious as long as Newt Gingrich continues his renegade, or Ron Paul chooses to continue to be his libertarian self, if you can call it that. Conservatives and Evangelical Republican are probably willing to drag the fight out and would probably refrain from yielding to Mitt Romney in the primaries.

To paraphrase comments on the twentieth anniversary of the Voice of America in the context of the Republican slug-out for the party's flag bear: A potential nominee that is afraid to entrust to its members, unpleasant facts, foreign ides, alien philosophies, and competitive values of may the better one over the other, is one that is moribund. A party that is afraid to let its members in generality, judge the truth and falsehood in an an open market, is a party that is afraid of its members. When Romney is unable to call a spade a spade and has turned to denigrating new ideas that can change the status of this nation, you begin to wonder if he is the right person to carry the Republican flag. When Newt Gingrich calls Romney, his fervent competitor, a liar; and, many within the Republican Party fault Mitt Romney for the 'RomneyCare'; you are apt to believe that the competition is not over. Although Romney may have articulated the electorate in the Florida Republican Primary, he probably has not wrapped the nomination up. 

Is Romney the messiah for the Republican Party in Negation? Going by the results of the Florida Primary, one probably will answer that question in affirmative. Romney won big in Florida, winning about (769,599 ) 46% of the votes as against (530,125) 32% for Gingrich; Santorum, (221,789) 13%; and, Ron Paul, (117,488) 9%, with 99% Precinct counted. There are One thousand, one hundred and forty-four (1,144) delegates in contest for the nomination and the results from the caucuses and primaries already completed, identify Mitt Romney as the front runner, with 80 delegates; however, this hardly shows that the race for the nomination is practically over. The Super Tuesday Primary and Caucus results are very important and crucial on the road to the needed majority number of delegates to win the nomination. The negative tone that the Republican primaries and caucuses have taken shows to some extent, the indiscipline of both front runners for the Republican Party nomination. Each of them has won the last two last primaries by turning to mudslinging; Gingrich in South Carolina and Romney in Florida. Both candidates have been Roller Coaster fighters and candidates with relative shortcoming that have made this campaign a thing of a theater. Gingrich was not in the mood to congratulate Romney for his Florida victory; Romney mention his three opponents hardly paying much attention to Gingrich's reservation; however, Santorum and Paul were magnanimous enough to congratulate Governor Romney on his Florida victory.

The delegate's map for the Republican Party nomination shows the following delegate spread for the candidates: Mitt Romney - 84; Newt Gingrich - 27; Ron Paul - 10; and, Nick Sanatorium - 8. Nevada is next on February 4, 2012. Arizona and Michigan are the big prizes in subsequent contests. Voters are constantly being told that the old laws of politics may no longer apply and factional groups like the Tea Party and the Evangelical Christians are already flexing their muscles. Each group sees something good and bad with each of the front runner; but places a bet that the right candidate will triumph, if even he does not completely represent what each is looking for in an ideal Republican candidate for the November 6, 2012 contest. The lesson from the current Republican contests is, if you want to generate the type of momentous follower-ship or support for your party's candidate, similar to the experience of Barack Obama in 2008, you need a fairly contested nomination process that puts your candidate in front of the daily news and debates.

Would Mitt Romney resolve the brewing civil war in the Republican Party? For argument sake, Romney may be able to achieve that threshold once Republicans choose their flag bearer. Past contestants for party nomination have been beaten up in consecutive primaries and caucus throughout the nation, to the extent that some party stalwarts often indicate that, bitterly contested party nomination process, is bad for the party's chances in general election. We have seen this in the past with the Democrat's Primary in 2008; with Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton ducking it out to the bitter end for the nomination. Nothing happened to each candidate, the fight actually strengthened the chance of the superior candidate and plates him or her in the fore-front of consideration by many more voters. No one must now wonder why similar experience is taking place in the Republican Party. The basics is: each aspiring candidate is challenged to articulate his reasoning for wanting to be his or her party's flag bearer. Each candidate has to allow voters to discover him or her and the primaries and caucus give each candidate an avenue for his message and opportunity to be discovered by voters who would not have considered him or her in the first place.As articulated by Obama in 2008 and Romney in 2012, a bitterly fought out primary is not a cause but a blessing to the process of party nomination and probably, national general elections.