the current field, but it’s hard to think of the candidate they’re hoping for.
The disgruntled third are likely conservatives who believe that each of the remaining candidates has too often deviated from conservative orthodoxy, and they do have a point. Despite its reputation as a bastion of right-wing extremism, however, the Republican party doesn’t seem to have any true-blue, dyed-in-the-wool, bred-in-the-bones, any-cliché-you-can-think-of conservatives on hand.
Texas Governor Rick Perry, Minnesota Representative Michelle Bachman, and former pizza magnate Herman Cain were all arguably more conservative than the surviving contenders, but each had their own insufficiently right-wing stands and all were knocked out of contention for other reasons. Some still pine for New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who has shown admirable grit in cutting a bloated government down to size, but he has a decidedly northeastern attitude toward guns and other issues dear to conservative hearts. Others are calling for Mitch Daniels, who has done some conservative things as Governor of Indiana, but was budget director for deficit-prone George W. Bush and has toyed with such decidedly un-conservative ideas as a value added tax. Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan and Florida Senator Marco Rubio are both impeccably conservative, but both have declared themselves too young and inexperienced to seek the presidency.
All of which raises the question of why there are no sufficiently conservative candidates with the necessary qualifications to run for president. Conservatism has a long and distinguished history in the country, as many as 40 percent of Americans consider themselves conservative, and there are prominent and respected conservatives in nearly every field, yet when it comes time to pick a president the right is usually reduced to find the least objectionable choice. This has long been true, too, with only a precious few presidents meeting the conservative stand in the past century or so.
One reason, of course, is that most conservatives are reluctant to enter politics in the first place. They’re unashamed to make a good living in the private sector, confident they can do good for their country as private citizens, and by definition believe that government isn’t the solution to every problem. Conservatism holds that the government is more likely to screw things up, and few people will enter the rough game of politics with the modest hope of limiting the damage done.
Those who do enter the political arena, and manage to win office on the platform of not screwing things up, quickly find themselves being pulled to the left. Most voters, even the ones who describe themselves as conservatives, want their states and districts to get a share of the goodies government hands out. Everyone enjoys good press, and compromising conservatives principles are always the best way to get it. Invitations to the swankest Georgetown parties are nice, too, and they also require a certain amount of liberalism.
— Bud Norman
