I have been struggling with my decision for several months. I do not take this lightly. However, I have come to a decision.
First a little background on my voting history. I have been attending Iowa caucuses since 1984. I am a conservative Republican and because Pres. Reagan was running for re-election in 1984, I went to the Democrat Caucus, not to disrupt, but to simply observe the process. I believe I caucused for Alan Cranston, but I cannot be sure. It was educating to witness the negotiations that went on to get the undecided to move to another camp, because you had to have a certain percentage (15%) to receive a representative at the county caucus.
The Republican caucus is much different. It is a secret ballot that is blank and any name can be written on it. A certain number of delegates go to the county convention, but it is the state convention that actually determines the delegates for each candidate and that does not take place until June!
I have caucused for the following, 1988 (Jack Kemp), 1996 (Steve Forbes), 2000 (George Bush) and 2008 (Fred Thompson). As you can see I almost never pick the winner, but I try to be consistent.
This year has been very difficult. Out of the gate, Romney has had the money and ground crew to fight a long battle and has scored in the mid-twenties since last year. He is presidential looking and I believe he has the countries best interest at heart. However, he has shown the ability to just say whatever it takes to win. Running for Senator and Governor in Massachusetts would be very difficult for any Republican, but don’t turn around and tell me 4 years later that you are a conservative after supporting abortion and forcing mandatory health insurance.
Mr. Gingrich can spin a phrase or throw out 10 new ideas without blinking an eye. However, he too has been very inconsistent when it comes to health insurance, assigning blame for the housing bubble or sitting on a couch for a commercial with Nancy Pelosi spouting an Al Gore environmental agenda.
Ron Paul. What can I say? He is consistent, he has the right ideas for the nation’s budget issues. However, the rest of everything he says is a train wreck. You can understand Iran’s desire for a nuclear weapon? Well sure, I guess you get a cool jacket. But Mr. Paul, that doesn’t mean we have to accept them, getting one. I might understand a teenagers desire to drink and drive, but I don’t have to allow it. Don’t get me started on the Federal Reserve. If he eliminates it that would leave the government (yes those idiots in Washington) in charge of the money supply and they would print cash at even a faster rate. They have problems but that is not the solution.
So, those guys are going to get their ticket punched and move on to New Hampshire and South Carolina. So what I want to do is give another person a ticket on that same trip. To me the only candidate that has been consistent, and hasn’t put their own foot in their mouth (Perry & Bachmann) is Rick Santorum. He took up residency (almost) here in Iowa, unlike Huntsman. He has been pro-life, fiscally conservative and seems to understand what is needed for our foreign policy. I will be caucusing for Rick Santorum, not as some anti (fill in the blank) but as a supporter of a fellow conservative.
Chris Mendelsohn - Urbandale, IA
