Conservatives Left Standing At the Altar
By ilja Posted in 2008 — Comments (17) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
In the beginning, the candidates we had to choose from were mostly like the guys you went to elementary, middle and high school with whom you had known all your life. You know how after awhile, you've dated a few, had crushes on a couple but mostly you feel like you know them all so well that you think of them more as brothers than possible love interests. Not to mention the fact that you've been through so much together that there's some bad blood between you and a couple of them that you could never entirely forget.
Let's take a look at each of them.
First, there was Rudy. He was the first candidate to ride high in the polls and as far as Fox News was concerned, the race was all but over. Which was part of what scared you so bad if like myself, you considered abortion murder. Sure you loved the way he led New York after the 9/11 attacks and you even admired the way he brought crime down during his tenure as Mayor. You did know he use to be Mayor of New York, didn't you?
But to you that was like loving your high-school basketball star who made the final basket to win the big game by one point. While he will always hold a special place in your heart, you can't dismiss the fact that he was also a man-slut who had slept around with everything and anything that wore a dress and for all you know maybe even a few who didn't since after all, he has been known to wear one a time or two himself. You just don't trust him and you have no respect for his morals or lack thereof.
Then there was Mitt. While he is great eye-candy and that is putting it mildly . . . er . . . what were we talking about . . . oh yeah, that was also part of what bothered you about him. Oh yes, you admired the way he turned around the Olympics in Utah and you especially admired his strong family values and beautiful wife and children. You also admired the great success he has had in life in all of his business ventures. But this was also part of what made you question him. Just what would he do to succeed? How far would he go to get what he wanted? Besides, he use to be one way and now he's another. Or at least that is your impression of him. Not to mention the fact that he seems to have brought pander to a whole new art form.
He reminds you of the guy in High School who won every superlative there was to give. He was the star quarterback, Class President, Salutatorian, voted Best-Looking and most likely to succeed. He dated and married the Prom Queen and of course he was the Prom King. He just seemed to get everything he ever wanted and while you admired him, that made him anything but approachable. He was not one of you and never would be therefore he could not possibly understand where you are coming from since he's never been there.
Next there was McCain. Ugh. Sure he was a POW and you do admire him for surviving that horrid experience not to mention you will always be grateful to him for serving his country. There's just a special pedestal where you place those who have served for your freedom. But John McCain is a media prostitute who would do anything and I do mean anything for face time in front of a camera. Unfortunately, the only reason he is so loved by the MSM is because he can always be counted on to be the burr in anything Conservatives find really important. Besides, look what happened the last time we chose a Republican Presidential candidate because it was his turn. Can you say Bob Dole?
McCain is like the guy in high school who always seemed to come in second best to guys like Mitt and yet he had done his part for the team. He played defense which of course he was well suited for what with his extreme temper. While he did a pretty good job, since he was not the one to score, he never got the attention that he thought he deserved. Therefore, he walked around with a chip on his shoulder. While you might have tried to befriend him unless you treated him as if his caca didn't stink, he wouldn't give you the time of day. Therefore, he was never one that you would have ever considered possible dating material.
And yes, John McCain, it was AMNESTY!
Next up is Ron Paul. While Ron Paul is one of the most trustworthy candidates there is, at least I believe that he really believes what he is saying most of the time, I have been quite offended by his accusations that we would not have been attacked on September 11th if we had not been in Saudi Arabia. Which somewhat leads to why I could not support Ron Paul, his stance on fighting terrorism by not fighting at all. I believe we should finish the job in Iraq at least as much as is possible in what we can control.
Yet, Ron Paul and some of his more sane followers have taught me quite a bit and I feel myself sliding more and more in agreement with libertarians.
So who does he remind me of from high school? I would have to say that he reminds me of one of those guys that use to hang out in shop class all day. You know the type. They were fabulous at fixing anything that went wrong with your wheels but unless you were into partaking of illegal substances, you were wise to never date them. How does this relate to Ron Paul, you ask? Can we say legalized drugs?
Then there was the surprise top tier candidate, Mike Huckabee. Would you believe there was a time that I could have been a very strong supporter of this man? Of course, there was also a time that I didn't know much about him except I liked him from his interviews on TV and I knew he was very strong on life issues. Unfortunately for Mr. Huckabee, by the time he did rise up from the ashes, I had already learned too much about his liberal stances on taxes and illegal immigration to give him any serious considerations.
Huckabee reminds me of the class clown. He can be a blast to be around and is always good for a laugh but other than being a friend, who would really take him seriously? At least high school teenage girls wouldn't since they are all about drama and angst. Guys like Mike never knew how to dance and definitely didn't know how to woo a lady. They were band members who were a bit geekish even if they were funny. Sure they had the other girls in the band to play around with, if you know what I mean, but I wasn't in the band. Okay, so I'm exaggerating just a tad but hey, you try writing one of these.
So given all of the above, is there any wonder that a Conservative would start looking elsewhere for the man of her dreams?
Which brings us to Fred Dalton Thompson.
The first reason I started looking around was because of Rudy being so high in the polls that it scared me to death that I would not have a Presidential candidate to vote for who did not believe it was okay to take the life of an innocent unborn baby. Then of course, the more I learned about the other candidates, the more desperate I became. So when rumors started flying that Fred Thompson might consider running, I naturally got extremely excited because if he did run, I would finally have a viable conservative for whom I could vote.
It was like meeting a guy from another school who had all the qualities you were looking for in a fella without all the baggage like those whom you had always known. He said all the right things and not only that but had the reputation to back them up. Shoot, even his exes talked glowingly about him and how often does that happen?
Sure you might have been a little hesitant at first since you had been there before but after awhile, you just knew he was the one. You were ready to commit and could hardly wait for the big day. He taught you things that you had never known before and made you want to learn even more and more about the Constitution and a new-fangled concept called Federalism.
Yes, there were some major bumps along the way but you thought y'all had worked past them or at least were working past the major ones and things were finally starting to look up.
Which is probably part of the reason you took it so hard when he left you standing at the altar. You were thinking you were on your way when suddenly he quit. Not only did he drop you but he did it by sending you a 'Dear John' letter.
Is it any wonder you are so heart-broken? You had so many hopes and dreams tied up with this man and now, you were back at square one left with the previous fellas whom you had already discounted for all the reasons already cited. Not only did none of them reach your standards, in the past few months, the more you learned about them, the more you saw just how right you were that they were all wrong for you.
And now that you had experienced your Knight in Shining Armor, your Sir Lancelot, how could you possibly settle for something, someone so much less? No one measures up to Fred's 6'6" height.
So here you are looking at the leftovers and just not having the appetite for even a snack. Oh the pain of being a jilted voter. Someone remind me next time to not get so involved in the dating scene. Someone remind me next time just to sit back and watch during the primaries so I can keep from getting my hopes up so high where I won't have to experience these pangs of a broken-heart again.
Oh Fred, where art thou?
Elusively yours,
ilja
Cross posted at Elusively Yours
I've been rather surprised at how much I did admire Fred Thompson in ways that I didn't realize until after he dropped out.
This week has been pure Hades for me. I just love our country and Constitution so much, which I am afraid we are abandoning. Not to mention, what this is going to do to our kids and grandkids.
Maybe if some of our classmates had done a little selective dating as we did then we would be in the middle of the ceremony right now!I'm still holding a torch for Fred Thompson.These kind of relationships don't die they just make the heart grow fonder.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of voters just doesn't seem interested in digging any deeper than skin-deep.
My heart is doing all sorts of things. Did you ever read Kubler-Ross's stages of grief? That seems to fit me to a tee right now.
"you can't dismiss the fact that he was also a man-slut who had slept around with everything and anything that wore a dress and for all you know maybe even a few who didn't since after all, he has been known to wear one a time or two himself."
I stopped reading at this point because I realized you had nothing to offer. But I will give your headline "conservatives left at the altar" a response. Conservatives, social cons I am sure you mean, have no one to blame but themselves. They failed to put a single strong candidate in the race. How can you win if you don't run?
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Molon Labe!
Yes, I was stretching things a bit but hey he does have a pretty bad reputation when it comes to marriage, that you surely can't deny.
I thought I was being an equal opportunity candidate basher. I apologize if I went over the line. Of course, I thought it was the rest of the description that was going to get me in trouble.
No I didn't mean just Social Conservatives. Fred Thompson was the only candidate that appealled to all three legs of the Reagan Coalition.
Those who supported Rudy, on the other hand, were sticking a knife in the eyes of those of us who are Social Cons, IMHO, saying you didn't need us anymore.
lost in the desert of total desolation with NOT one single elgible candidate to VOTE FOR in caucus, what an obscene waste.
Thank you for putting into words what so many of us feel.
Linda D, Henderson NV
Very well written!
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Pete Fanning
Brown Deer, WI
From a guy's standpoint, using the high school analogy theme...
Rudy is the guy who it was fun to hang around with until you got to know him better and learned that he was into some things that were beyond your pale.
Mitt was the over-achiever who excelled at everything but was hard to have as a friend. He was always the first guy to latch onto a new fad or trend, but he changed with every breeze. He would tell you that he considered that you were his best buddy, but he told everyone else the same thing. And he would do anything to win the contest for class president, including spreading false rumors about the other candidates.
McCain was the guy who you thought had no fear. He would bust his gut on the football field for the team. But if any trouble ever brewed up, he would rat his teamates out to the vice principal to save his own skin. Like Mitt, you really wanted to like the guy, but you just couldn't trust him.
Huck was the guy who led the prayer meetings before and after school held in the lot that was just off of school property.
He was the Clean Gene guy who had a dark side that he only occasionally showed. Everyone liked him so much that only about half the kids in the school believed that he got caught engaging in misdemeanors by the cops several times. But he always managed to squirm out of trouble.
Paul was the little geek that was always getting beat up. Sad for him that his big mouth was what always provoked the fight, too. He just never learned...
Hunter was the guy in ROTC who was respected by all who got to know him. Unfortunately, very few got to know him becausse he didn't have much of a personality.
Fred was the guy who everyone turned to when they needed a friend or a favor. If you treated him well, he would reward you with his unwavering loyalty. But if you crossed him, he would kick your butt. He was the defensive end on the football team who made the key stops but never got the glory. He could do just about anything he wanted to, but you had to motivate him to get involved in it. And after he got involved, if he didn't see that he was getting enough support from his classmates in something, he would just blow it off.
Yeah, I remember all of these guys...
You got him so much better than I did.
And I can't believe I forgot the religious angle with Huckabee.
As for your description of Fred, I'm still too heartbroken to go into too much detail with him since I still miss him so much.
Why FRED? Why?
Didn't you know how many of us are out here who believe in you?
(FRED, PLEASE TELL ME YOU NOTICE THE PRESENT TENSE?)
Did you think we had all deserted you because a few got scared and ran? Why did you give up so easily?
Couldn't you hear us cheering you on?
Didn't you know how serious we took this?
Didn't you know how much you meant to us?
Didn't you know we thought we had a future together?
realize just how much this meant to us. I can't believe he was thinking clearly because of his mother's illness. I can't believe he understood just how hopeless he would leave us by dropping out.
Oh if only there was a way to take it back. Oh if only he would accept a brokered convention nomination if it came to that.
Thank you Eagleyed for digging my article.

This article expresses almost exactly why I'm hanging out in the shop, smokin' a doobie with Ron. In a VERY VERY non-gay way. Nothing serious yet, but vulnerable to being caught on the rebound.