Unbeatable

Let’s cut to the chase. 

Gingrich is dropping faster than Bill Clinton’s drawers at an intern convention.  After six years hard at it, Romney has not inspired one single Mitt-bot.  Santorum is everyone’s second choice – he’s the guy that the girl in your home town settled for when the dude that gave her the tingles hopped on his Harley and disappeared out west.  And of course there is my man Ron Paul - interloper from the Peace and Freedom Party, fighting the hate since ’88.  

It would behoove the GOP’s final four to quit field-gutting each other, because the only way that President Obama wins re-election is if disgruntled libertarians, or social conservatives, or establishment republicans, or tea partiers or single-issue activists boycott the winner of the Republican primary contests. 

That five-part coalition of the willing is the unbeatable team; so the answer to Obama is to give each anti-Obama faction the chance to vote for someone who shares their values - on the same ticket.  Which ever faction’s favorite son wins should pick a running mate that the losing factions absolutely adore. 

And my suggestion for that unbeatable ticket is President Ron Paul and Vice President Allen West.  Stop laughing.   

Think about it.  What voter anywhere to the right of Hugo Chavez can't find a good reason to punch the Paul/West chad all the way through with gusto?  To all my conservative friends who say they like Ron Paul on most things but can’t bring themselves to vote for him because of this or that, I say ok, don't vote for him then - vote for his Vice President instead. 

What’s your problem with Ron Paul – that he’s supposedly racist?  Hello, Allen West.  Anti-Israel?  Shalom, Allen West.  Soft on Defense?  Make that Col. West, pal.  Too old?  Allen West, youngster.  Meandering answers? Allen-get-the-hell-out-West.  Appeaser?  Allen-obliterate-them-West.  Too Muslim-tolerant?  Allen-pee-on-‘em-twice-West.  You get the picture.

And to all my libertarian friends who are still breathing into a bag at the thought of Col. West standing next to our icon, I say that I, too, could list a dozen policy disagreements with the conservative Rep. West.  But if conservative Vice President Allen West is what it takes to elect libertarian President Ron Paul, then the Colonel overcomes my lesser objections by the score of 1-12.  As an MOC reader comment recently reminded us – politics isn’t religion, and compromise is not a mortal sin.   

Every poll shows that independents and Democrats will come over to Ron Paul in numbers that no other Republican can match.  Young people, who will set voting patterns for life, flock to the old geezer in droves - and they bring enthusiasm with them.  A Paul-West ticket does not simply motivate a conservative/libertarian base; it pulls voters away from key demographic blocks ceded to Obama by the professional vote-herders.

Seriously, a Paul/West pairing is a 60-40 hammering waiting to happen.  Throw in the re-election Wisconsin of Governor Scott Walker and the taking of the U.S. Senate and the Government Party may never recover.  

Let’s face it - there will be no defeat of President Obama this fall without some serious nose-holding.  This is the reality that is settling in upon all of us who understand that losing the battle for the lesser of two evils this time will mean a lot more evil than normal. 

In Barack Obama’s post-Constitutional America, the idea of a second term without the restraint of a re-election bid drops a Paul/West ticket down to a distant second place in the rankings of the unthinkable.  

What are the alternatives?  A Romney/Gingrich ticket seems less likely with each kick to the groin.  A Ron Paul/Gary Johnson pairing would thrill libertarians but alienate the much larger voting block of conservatives.  Romney/Huntsman locks up the Mormon millionaire vote, but Axlerod wasn’t going to waste a stamp on them anyway.  And Paul/Paul runs the American Chopper risk – waycool junior might upstage the original badass daddy.    

But either Paul or Romney could instantly assemble the unbeatable coalition by adding a rock-star running mate from the losing faction to the ticket.  If the mere thought of Paul/West triggers your vertigo, think about Romney selecting Rand Paul and you will achieve a similar, if far less entertaining, result.  The only purpose of choosing a running mate is to win, and winning back rivals' supporters alienated in this primary fight is the most important decision the GOP nominee will make.  

Conservatives and libertarians agree on the most fundamental of binary political choices – government or liberty – and we need each other to defeat the Government Party, and I mean both its Democrat and Republican franchises.   

The only reason we know what an unlikely pairing Ron Paul and Allen West would be is that they are quite likely the two most honest, straight-talking, principled politicians in the nation.  That alone is the margin of victory when 1/3 of the voters self-identify as independents.  An independent voter is a Republican or Democrat who got tired of playing sucker; honesty is a pretty big deal with us.   

And just imagine the sound bites generated by these two; they would dominate the news every single day of the campaign, neutralizing the President’s single most important advantage – a cheerleading mainstream media.  And the schooling of both incumbents in the fall debates would be simply awesome.  Biden: “I’ve been to Iraq 6 times and…”  West interrupts, “shoot any of ‘em, Joe?  No? Wuss.”   Chris Matthews would pass out and Wolf Blitzer would hurl.  Television worth watching. 

Well, that’s my Dream Team – got a better one?  That’s what the comment section is for, so let’s hear it.


“Moment Of Clarity” is a weekly commentary by Libertarian writer and speaker Tim Nerenz, Ph.D.  Visit Tim’s website www.timnerenz.com to find your moment and order Tim’s new book, “BRING IT!”