President Ryan?

Writing at the Washington Compost’s Right Turn, Matthew Continetti offers a plausible explanation as to just how Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) might become the nation’s 45th President in January 2013:

In January 2013, when (Mark) Halperin and (John) Heilemann set down to write this hypothetical book, they will focus on a few key events. The first is Obama’s singling out Ryan during the House Republican retreat in January 2010. That’s when the president elevated Ryan to the level of presidential foil.

Next is the White House health-care summit in February 2010, when Ryan rose to the challenge and eviscerated Obamacare in a few minutes, leaving the president more or less dumbfounded. After that, the narrative will move to the August 2010 Weekly Standard cruise, where Paul Ryan won the informal straw poll.

Halperin and Heilemann will touch on the 2010 election, when the Democrats’ demagogic attacks on Ryan’s Roadmap failed to sway seniors. They’ll write about Ryan’s 2012 budget and how it forced Obama to throw out his original proposal and counterattack. The dueling budgets, they’ll recall, became the poles of the 2012 debate.

Right now, from this perspective, it’s anybody but Huckabee. And yes, or Donald Trump. Huckabee is a progressive who just happens to be pro-life. His positions are indistinguishable from those of Our Lord and Savior Barack Hussein Obama.

Also, as of this time, polls taken showing hypothetical match-ups are useless and irrelevant. Why? Because they are being used by the state-run media and the Beltway GOP to shape the race. Once again, the Republican Ruling Class is not content to allow GOP voters to actually choose a candidate. Hellbent on narrowing the race down to some Beltway favorites, once of which is Huckabee.

One key word to watch for is “electability.” The elites want GOP voters to choose a candidate that the elites have decided is “electable.” Translated: a candidate that is not conservative and will be easier for Obama to defeat. One guaranteed to depress the GOP base and hold down turn out.

These pinheads — and yes, Charles Krauthammer and George Will are among those pinheads — would be OK with a second Obama terms (which may result in a third, a fourth, a fifth, well, you get the drift term) rather than see a true conservative win. Remember 1979 and 1980, when the blueblood countryclubbers tried every candidate available to stop Ronald Reagan. They tried Howard Baker. FAIL. They tried Bob Dole. Epic FAIL. They even approached former President Ford about running. That dog didn’t hunt. Eventually they settled on George H.W. Bush, and fell short.

What did they say about Reagan? He was … unelectable. He wasn’t intellectual enough (translated: he didn’t have an Ivy League ejookayshun). He was a dumb movie actor. He was dangerous. The Soviets would never take him seriously. He might start World War III. And, he trailed Jimmy Carter by as much as 25 points in hypothetical match-ups in 1979 and early 1980. How’d that turn out again?

Be it Paul Ryan. Be it Herman Cain. Be it Sarah Palin. The GOP elites have to allow the GOP voters to choose the candidate, rather than manipulate the process from inside the Beltway. We do not need John McCain 2.0. We need Ronald Reagan 2.0, or as close as we can to that.

Advertisement