David Karki

In less than a week, the Iowa Caucuses will officially begin the primary season. And as of right now, there isn’t a truly palatable choice available. It’s staggering to think that in an election year where President Obama is so vulnerable, this pathetic field is the best the Republicans can come up with.

First, you have Mitt Romney, who by all rights should be challenging Obama in a Democratic primary. His record places him solidly left of center, and, if his election is successfully orchestrated by the GOP beltway establishment who attached themselves to him from day one, we will see the massive expansion of government – and concomitant loss of personal liberty and freedom – Obama has rammed down America’s throat not repealed in their entirety but rather cemented into place forevermore. Nor can Romney make anyone believe he’ll do anything else; Mitt has reached the point where the more he talks, the less believable he becomes.

Romney’s arrogant, technocratic belief that he can simply better manage Obama’s disaster will only serve to get Republicans stuck with the blame for the enormous mess Obama has made.

Romney has been running for president for 6 years now, and he’s not polling any better now than when he started. He has a raging case of what I call Ted Kennedy-itis:  he doesn’t really know why he’s running, he simply has to because he’s been programmed from birth by his father to think this is his destiny and honestly wouldn’t know what else to do with his life if he weren’t doing this. Heck, he even looks like a president is supposed to, right?

All that’s missing to complete the parallel is the televised gaffe wherein the interviewer asks why he’s running, Romney draws a blank and can’t answer, and kills his campaign on the spot. That at least won’t happen, since he’ll be able to give yet another pre-programmed answer that no one finds particularly credible.

So, for those of us determined to stop the beltway establishment from rigging the outcome by ensuring there is absolutely no difference between the “choices” given us, the options left are pretty thin gruel. It would appear that we’ve settled upon Newt Gingrich, for lack of any better alternative.

And lest you think that’s a ringing endorsement, bear in mind that Gingrich is the fourth option that the Not Romney portion of the GOP primary electorate has perused. There is a good reason that Bachmann, Perry, and Cain all rose (and fell) before the former Speaker was even considered:  the Not Romney-ites knew full well of all the personal baggage and other negatives that he brought to the table.

Thus, despite his positives, every other possible alternative was explored first. Only when each and every one of them was found wanting in one way or another was Gingrich finally brought to the fore for consideration. He assisted his own cause through his superb debate performances and the prospect of a teleprompter-dependent Obama having to go up against that.

That we Not Romney folks would latch onto Gingrich, of all people, as the “non-establishment” candidate to take down the establishment’s pre-ordained choice only goes to show just how bereft of decent alternatives we are and how desperate we’ve become. And it’s hard not to look at the choices of Romney and Gingrich and think we’re blowing it huge; worse yet, there doesn’t appear to be anything we can do to stop it.

Speaking of hopeless causes, that brings me to Ron Paul; if he, his equally loony supporters, and a large number of crossover Democrats from MoveOn.Org and Code Pink drawn to his insane, America-hating, anti-Semitic, get-us-all-killed-by-radical-Muslim-terrorists foreign policy actually manage to get him a win in Iowa, then at least one useful purpose will have been served:

The Iowa Caucuses will have instantly been reduced to a complete and total joke and perhaps it and New Hampshire can finally be sent to the back of the line where they’ve long since deserved to go.  The death grip that these two little egomaniacal states with their non-representative demographics, completely flawed and vulnerable-to-manipulation processes, and largely whacked out voters have on foisting bad candidates on the rest of us can finally be released once and for all.

If Paul and his cult-like followers can, however unintentionally, drive a stake through the hearts of Iowa and New Hampshire, he will deserve the thanks of us all. And if he quickly goes away thereafter, he’ll deserve even more.

So, when the results of a few thousand Iowans voting come in on Tuesday night and the media starts ridiculously overhyping their meaning in whatever way best helps Obama, you’ll need to have two things in order to keep your sanity:  a sense of humor and a good, stiff drink.

And then the even more daunting task begins:  putting aside our misgivings about Newt and using him to stop Romney and all the establishment power that’s behind him.

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