GOP Nomination: Which Candidate is Most Electable?

As the Republican nomination process moves forward and we take a closer look at each candidate, it is apparent which campaign is in the best position to not only capture the Republican nomination but also defeat Barack Obama next fall in the general election.

               Although the nomination process has just begun, the media-elite have already decided which candidate to throw their weight behind- and his name: Mitt Romney. Romney has received the endorsements of highly influential Republicans including Chris Christie, John McCain and most recently, former Republican presidential contender Jon Huntsman. These endorsements along with a heavily funded campaign put Romney in a strong position moving forward to both capture the nomination and fight for the presidency.

                              It is not just the media-elite and Republican leadership that have jumped on the Romney bandwagon, polling suggests that the general electorate has overwhelmingly placed their support behind Romney in national polls as well as in head-to-head matchups with Barack Obama, often pulling in more support than the incumbent Democrat.

               In the most recent national Gallup poll, Romney holds a nineteen-point lead over the struggling Newt Gingrich who has been the recipient of many questionable attack ads that have led to his seemingly inevitable decline. Gingrich has responded by launching his own barrage of attack ads mainly targeting Romney's tenure at investment firm, Bain Capital.

               However, there are a few glaring weaknesses in Romney’s campaign:

1.      Romney is a serial flip-flopper who has changed his position regarding countless issues including abortion, gay marriage, global warming and immigration; all of which are cornerstones of the Conservative-Republican platform that Romney does not appeal to in the least.

2.      Romney’s Massachusetts health-care mandate is seen as the blueprint for the overwhelmingly unpopular Obamacare insurance program.

3.      Romney fails to attract self-identified “strong conservatives”. Even as Romney’s poll numbers rise, his support among this crucial voting-bloc remains stagnant and very weak.

4.      Despite popular belief, Romney does not poll well among Independent voters, especially when matched up against Obama. Recent polling suggests that Obama holds around a 15 point lead over Romney with respect to Independent voters.

5.      Mitt Romney is a Mormon! Although most Americans do not garner prejudice towards individuals of differing religious backgrounds, there is still a large portion of the population that is turned-off and confused by Romney’s religious upbringing.

I thought Mitt Romney was “electable”?

In reality, there is only one electable candidate in these Republican primaries. There is only one candidate with a consistent, constitutional Congressional voting record. There is only one candidate who is willing to cut $1 trillion from the federal budget, year one. There is only one candidate offering a logical foreign policy that is consistent with the non-interventionist principles our founding fathers defended. There is only one candidate worthy of being the next president of these United States.

His name?

Ron Paul