Republicans, Start paying attention

Published in the Holland Sentinel on September 17, 2007

Wake up, Michigan Republicans! We are now 10 months into the 2008 presidential campaign cycle and it is time to start paying attention to the candidates and their positions If you haven't been following the race, it's time to get caught up.

Thanks to the big brains in Lansing, Michigan's presidential primary is just four months away. In spite of threats from the Republican National Committee (RNC) to chop the number of delegates for the national convention in half, our GOP leaders voted to bump Michigan's primary up to Jan. 15, 2008.

In their infinite wisdom, our legislators and the governor decided that neither the RNC nor the Democratic National Committee (DNC) would actually enforce the election rules approved during the 2004 conventions. I guess the new Super Tuesday of Feb. 5 wasn't good enough for Michigan to make a big enough splash in the national pond.

Meanwhile, candidates from both parties have stated that they will not be campaigning in Michigan. And why would they? If the Dems lose all of their delegates and the GOP loses half of theirs, just how big of an impact is Michigan even capable of making on the national level?

As for the candidates, Rudy Giuliani, the only pro-choice candidate in the GOP race, is leading in the polls, as he has been since the beginning. Although Fred Thompson just recently put his hat in the ring, he is securely in second place. Mitt Romney and John McCain have swapped third for fourth positions, with McCain presently ahead of Romney. Meanwhile, Mike Huckabee has crawled out of the gutter of the second-tier candidates and is now polling in fifth place.

While Rudy is doing well nationally, I cannot imagine a pro-choice candidate winning enough states to take the nomination. McCain may be celebrating a bounce in the polls following the recent New Hampshire debate, but his "pro-citizenship for illegal aliens" position will keep him from ever regaining the trust of the conservative base. That leaves us with Thompson and Romney.

Mitt has a ton of GOP support here in Michigan and is also doing well in both New Hampshire and Iowa. However, voters still seem to have issues with his faith. While I personally believe voters should be looking at a candidate's core values as opposed to their religious denomination, I don't know if Mitt will be able to win over enough conservative Christians in time to take the key states.

So far, Thompson seems to be the answer that the GOP base has been waiting for. His second-place position in the national polls has been solid since mid-June, almost three months before he officially entered the race. The question is: Will we have a short-lived honeymoon with the actor-turned-politician or is he the real deal? Can Fred (or Mitt for that matter) step out of the pack and become the new trendsetter for the GOP?

Although there is a secondary tier of candidates, this will soon be a three-way contest, barring of course some major upset in the race. Michigan Republicans are going to have to decide whether they want half of their delegate votes to go to Giuliani, Thompson or Romney. If you are not already on board with one of these camps, now is the time to do your research, make your choice and get involved.

So what's it going to be, Michigan? America's future may rest in your hands.

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