Republicans, Libertarians, and maybe a RINO

Tomorrow is the Florida Republican Presidential Primary.

We will have a number of names on the ballot, but at this point only four candidates will be followed by the media, and in order of expected finish, you'll have Romney (whom conservatives call a RINO), Gingrich, Santorum, and Paul. Now, I've actually only met one of them, who may not be around much longer unless he surprises everybody and takes a strong third. All will agree that Ron Paul, the clear Libertarian running as an Uber Conservative Republican, will come in last, and yet will carry forward to the convention this fall in Tampa. Ron Paul supporters are true believers, but some of Paul's positions remind you of Ross Perot, or at least his description of a "crazy aunt in the antic". In this election, Paul could be the gold standard for crazy uncles, but with 20 years in Congress, Dr. Paul at least has been consistent with his message. At times, it's pretty naive, but it's consistent.

Williad Romney (yes, that's Mitt's real first name) is the "Massachusetts Moderate" to hear former Speaker of the House Gingrich refer to him, and Gingrich is certainly playing the role of the angry fiscal conservative, angry at Obama, angry at Mitt, and angry at the media, but clearly fast thinking on his feet, with a tendency to also be a bit too quick with what comes out of his mouth. Rick Santorum looks like he's too young to be taken seriously, but he's clearly the serious social conservative in the crowd. Mitt leaves FLorida with 50 delegates tomorrow in this "winner take all" state. I don't know if any winnowing of the field will happen, but if it does, it'll be the guy who comes in third. They (the pundits) refer to only "3 tickets out of Iowa", but they were wrong on that count. Only Michelle Bachman dropped out after Iowa (Tim Pawlenty never got that far), and then it was Rick Perry's turn after South Carolina. Herman Cain, who was apparently channeling Bill Clinton ("our first Black President") imploded along the way after suffering multiple "bimbo eruptions". Oh, and does anybody even remember Gary Johnson? He's from the Libertarian wing of the party, and former Governor of New Mexico. You had to figure only one Libertarian would come out of Iowa. So, the number of "tickets" coming out of Iowa was not three, and ultimately the only ticket that will count will be who is the candidate and who is chosen to be the running mate. I keep thinking both of those positions will be chosen not so much by personal chemistry, but by who brings the most electoral votes to the counting table next November.

Ought to be fun tomorrow........I'm working the polls for the local GOP Club, showing the flag (while showing no favorites) and prepared to hail the victor and carry the wounded off the field of battle. The best part of tomorrow is only one more day of automated "robo calls" from Mitt, Newt, and their thinly veiled surrogate committees. My wife said she's voting for whomever has NOT called the house. I did turn down the invitation to attend the victory party for Mitt - oh, BTW, it's an hour away in Tampa. Think I'll pass on that one too.

Next stop - Super Tuesday.