REPUBLICAN NOMINATION, WHAT'S THE RUSH

Romney leads in delegates but is still far from the 1144 needed for the nomination. With states holding primaries until the first of June there are hundreds of delegates left for grabs and a real possibility that because of the way delegates are proportioned this year no one will get the needed number to gain the nomination before the Convention in August. So what's the hurry?

Pundits, commentators, media types, the GOP establishment and many rank and file Republicans on social network sites and blogs are calling for everyone to unite behind Romney and end this process so that we can get on with the campaigning for the general election now. All claiming that continuing the GOP process will help Obama and hurt the chances of Republicans in defeating Obama this Fall.

I absolutely disagree for several reasons. Why not let the vetting and the process continue until the Convention? Vetting only helps GOP candidates because it reveals any skeletons now instead of anything coming as the much feared October surprise that Democrats love to throw into the mix in the last few days before Americans vote. Also we currently have a badly vetted former candidate in the Presidency and we STILL don't know much about his background.

So many fear what is called a brokered Convention but the reality is that a brokered Convention works to the advantage of Republicans because the spotlight will be on the GOP, viewership of the Convention will be higher than any previous Convention and the free publicity can only help the eventual nominee and give him a head of steam going into the Fall campaign that Democrats will not have since Obama's nomination is an absolute.

Another advantage for Republicans for the process going to the Convention is the lack of lull in campaign news that would take place from June to August. If the nominee is still up in the air during the Summer months once again the political focus will be on the GOP and the discussion in beating Obama rather than the Obama loving media spending the Summer months touting their boy and ignoring the GOP candidate and the failures of Obama.

Also it is quite obvious that even with the Obama campaign struggling for donations that both the campaign and the DNC will have a large war chest to run against the eventual nominee. They will as usual use every dirty trick they can find to attack and attempt to destroy the eventual candidate. Why give them the entire Summer as well as the Fall campaign to play their dirty tricks. If the nominee is not known until August, the Summer belongs to Republicans and not the Obama attack machine.

During this time GOP candidates can continue a three way attack against Obama without the Obama campaign having little ammunition against the attacks since they will have to go against three rather than just one and as such will choose to wait or continue the failing publicity tours that Obama is doing now which are hurting him more than helping him.

If the nominee is not known until August it gives Obama and the DNC much less time to play their lying blame game against Republicans and use the more than willing liberal media as a free source of campaign rhetoric. The Obama camp will have much less time to look for those gotcha moments about the Republican nominee and be forced to spend more time on the issues and Obama will lose on the issues.

We rushed to get a nominee in 2008 and had one of the weakest campaigns ever run by the GOP. The only real excitement that the McCain campaign had was Sarah Palin and as good as she was that alone was not enough to defeat the Obama/DNC machine. Mitt Romney is creating even less excitement among Republicans, Independents and unaffiliated voters that McCain and we saw the results of the less than enthusiastic support in 2008.

We do not have to have a nominee to, "unite," behind just because the pundits, GOP establishment and the media say we have to. Unless there is support that will get voters to the polls in November we could very well end up with another Obama term which will be the destruction of our country. Rushing to a nominee just, "because," is not a reason. Uniting behind a lackluster candidate works to Obama's advantage. A hard fought and well publicized Convention with a candidate leaving having a head of steam and enthusiastic support gives Republicans and the defeat of Obama the advantage going into the Fall and control of an issues related campaign rather than a series of DNC gotcha moments. All of which means the end of Obama and the beginning of the restoration of America. So why rush????

Ken Taylor