CPAC and the Attacks on Romney's Conservatism

Only have time for a short post, because like Mr. Smith I'm taking my talents to Washington. I'll be appearing at CPAC, where presumably I will become the Republican frontrunner.

In 2008 Mitt Romney went to CPAC as the conservative alternative to John McCain. He bowed out and the party began to coalesce around Mr. McCain. It says all you need to know about the 2012 Republican campaign that the last conservative alternative is now the milquetoast moderate. It's conventional wisdom that the three candidates besides Mr. Romney are running to his right, but that perception seems slightly askew. In his rhetoric Mr. Romney normally offers equally or more conservative positions on all the issues as the rest of the field. It seems to me that the other candidates are running as the none disingenuous, articulate, and relatable alternative to Romney. The candidates attack his conservatism, specifically they point to Romneycare and his various flipflops, but what they are really attacking is his integrity. It seems ridiculous to think that Romney is some sort of Manchurian candidate, laying in wait to unleash his radical leftist ideology on America, and I don't think the rest of the Republican field believes that. They use an attack on his conservative identity to attack his personality. With all of this talk of political PACS, I'm reminded of 2pac, because these candidates seem desperate to assert their conservative 'street cred'.

The candidates have come out swinging thus far at the conference as the tenor of the race devolves into ad hominem attacks. Saturday marks the completion of the Maine Caucus which is projected to go well for Mr. Paul and Mr. Romney. After that the next couple of races aren't until the 28th and because they are supposedly solidly in Mr. Romney's camp they shouldn't have a clarifying effect on the state of the race. The forecast calls for stormy weather in the Republican field until Super Tuesday, March 6th, at the earliest. If this was Groundhog's day Punxatawny Phil wouldn't have seen his shadow, or perhaps he would've because I can't recall off top which signifies more inclement weather.