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Mitt Romney Has Left The Building – What Now?

I’m impressed with Mitt’s decision. According to Fox News [1], he said:

“If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator (Hillary) Clinton or (Barack) Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror.”

I’m not as torn up about this as I was with Fred’s departure, but it has definitely put us in the position of facing the inevitable starting to have the necessary discussions.

The questions now are:

  1. When will Huckabee step aside?
  2. Can the Republican Party actually succeed with McCain as the candidate?
  3. When can I stop having to remember to include Ron Paul in the list of candidates still technically in the running? Ron, yo, we’re done! Go back to serving your constituents. The longer you stay in, the less representation they get, and the more embarrassed they are, too. Unless you’re not really concerned about their interests. (did I write that out loud?)

Based on the feedback I continue to see from other conservatives, with whom I share similar points of view on the issues, we could have some amount of fracturing of the Party. The Party is never going to be able to serve any one person’s or one group of people’s point of view… although I definitely agree we’re dealing with some major issue concerns.

I read with some satisfaction today an opinion piece that articulated many of my thoughts much better than I have been able to. Daniel Henninger, WSJ Columnist and Editorial Page Deputy Editor, on the Wall Street Journal’s Opinion Page (I caught it in the print edition this morning, also available here [2]I entreat you to read it thoroughly) made a case similar to mine [3] but more eloquently and with more substance (of course, he gets paid more than I do). Daniel raises a point similar to others that have pointed to the fact that both the war in Iraq and the retirement/appointment of several SCOTUS judges will be at stake and under the direct influence of the next president. I reject the unfortunate reference (by Henninger in the title of the accompanying video at the WSJ web site) to conservatives who are not satisfied with McCain as needing to “grow up”… this kind of attack on people’s opinions is unjustified. I may disagree with the idea of ignoring the election, but I don’t consider it productive to use name-calling as an inducement encourage people to change their opinions, and I prefer to respect those opinions. However, Dan and I seem to agree that working together within the Party is essential for long-term success.

That said, I will make, and will continue to make, this call to all Republicans: let’s continue talking about the issues. Don’t stop. Continue sharing your opinions, reinforcing what is right, attacking what is wrong, and seeking to influence the Party. We can do that. We really can make a difference together. This country, and this party, are great and will continue to make themselves great by talking about what’s important, by listening to each other, by sharing each other’s visions for the future.

Hat tip to BitHead [4] for the Fox lead.

Update: Others blogging include: Sister Toldjah [5], Blue Crab Boulevard [6], Stop the ACLU [7], Gateway Pundit [8], Outside the Beltway [9], Politico [10], Captain Ed [11], and Michelle Malkin [12].