Time for conservatives to unite behind Governor Mitt Romney

This is a very good piece for your consideration.


Al Cardenas, Chairman of the American Conservative Union
Daily Caller
10:13 AM 03/26/2012
http://dailycaller.com/2012/03/26/time-for-conservatives-to-unite-behind-governor-mitt-romney/

As a father to six, I vividly remember those wonderful road trips with my wife and kids. When the miles to our destination seemed endless, our young passengers would impatiently ask: “Are we there yet?”

One full year since the first Republican formed a presidential exploratory committee — the official beginning of this interminable primary election campaign — it’s time for my fellow conservatives to come to grips with the answer to that same question.

Frustratingly, the mainstream media remains determined to prolong a horserace among the Republican candidates, rather than focus on the dismal record of the current White House occupant. Every week the primary continues, Republican chances for victory in November diminish because our sights are not set on our chief goal — defeating President Obama.

The lure of the contest seems to have replaced the passion which united all conservatives in the 2010 cycle, when commitment to our shared principles and goals trumped individual agendas. But our predicament is not solely the candidates’ or the media’s fault. The dynamics of the 2012 race are unprecedented — a late start in the primary season, new proportional delegate selection rules, innumerable, tide-shifting debates and the massive impact of well-funded super PACs.

All the while, President Obama, unchallenged, continues to build his war chest, grow his campaign team and organize the greatest get-out-the-vote effort the Democrats have ever undertaken. His unsuccessful record and policies go unvetted and uncontested while his campaign advisors foretell a likelier and likelier second term.

Since the president’s inauguration, the national debt, the size of our government, its ever expanding reach into our private lives and the war on our traditional values and religious freedom have only grown and worsened. Yet, our attention is easily shifted. Cable shows and water cooler conversations remain inexplicably dominated by delegate counts, minor gaffes and inconsequential campaign-related fixations.

Are conservatives really distracted this easily?

At the American Conservative Union, we have issued our Ratings of Congress for 41 years. Our annual guide has become the gold standard in identifying true conservatives — those with a lifetime rating of 80 percent or more. Former Speaker Newt Gingrich, Congressman Ron Paul and former Senator Rick Santorum all meet that criteria based on their voting records. Although former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has never served in Congress, we have similarly reviewed his gubernatorial record and campaign positions — both of which earn him bona fides as a true conservative.

Every conservative likely has had his or her favorite candidate, but this lingering primary is not to be mistaken as a fight over the soul of the conservative movement. It’s about preferences and style, not a true ideological gulf of differences on principles. It has been a very competitive, very enthralling, very hard-fought primary campaign — one that’s time should and must come to an end.

We don’t need a fight on the Convention floor in Tampa to justify the strength of the conservative movement. One needs to look no further than the 2010 repossession of the House of Representatives, our big gains in the Senate and 10 big gubernatorial victories as evidence of the power of our conservative principles and ideas.

As of today, it is clear neither Senator Santorum nor Speaker Gingrich nor Congressman Paul can amass the required majority of delegates required to be the Republican nominee. Their only paths to victory feature a contested, anarchic floor fight just weeks before Americans vote on whether or not to give President Obama a second term.

With all due respect to my fellow conservative leaders determined to oppose Governor Romney, that is not a worthy endeavor. For the sake of our Republic, I’m not willing to wait until the Republican National Convention to sort this out. It’s time to unite behind a worthy presidential candidate, build our organization and raise the resources necessary to defeat the liberal electoral machine.

Instead of gaming out unrealistic dark horse scenarios, it is far more important for our movement leaders to communicate our RNC platform agenda, dialogue with our nominee about our shared vision for America’s future and do our part to bring this primary to an end.

We are now less than eight months away from one of the most critical elections in a generation — a great decision point for Americans.

Governor Romney is an honorable, worthy, competent, conservative candidate for our next commander-in-chief. I’m proud to support his campaign for president. His opponents ran great races and all four men became better candidates because of the effort. I thank and congratulate them all on their contributions to the race, but their time is over.

I’m calling on my fellow conservatives, for goals both lofty and pragmatic, to join me in supporting the only candidate that can ensure President Obama’s legacy is limited to just four years of fiscal irresponsibility and disregard for our Constitution, and not eight.

The 2012 primary battle has been a worthy journey and a great ride — one for the record books. But, we’ve reached our destination. Let’s get to work on sending our nominee, Governor Mitt Romney, to the White House.

Al Cardenas is the chairman of the American Conservative Union. He is a former chairman of the Republican Party of Florida. His personal endorsement of Governor Romney does not reflect an endorsement by the Board of the American Conservative Union.