Who Will be Thrown Under the Bus Next After Marco Rubio?

About a month ago, many conservatives pounced upon Nikki Haley when she endorsed Mitt Romney and branded her as a traitor and RINO as though she is failing to govern South Carolina in a conservative manner.

I’ve asked it at the time and I’ll ask it again; where had Newt Gingrich been when these very conservatives including Nikki Haley and Marco Rubio challenged establishment Republicans in primaries in 2010? Why, he was busy endorsing others like Dede Scozzafava over tea-partier Doug Hoffman, Robert Bennet over Mike Lee, and so on. Not only has Newt chosen to support left-leaning candidates over Tea-partiers, he had repeatedly supported liberal legislation first as a Congressman and later as a private citizen.

The Drudge Report has become the number one news source for millions of conservatives who are refreshed to see news which the mainstream media fails to report. Drudge has linked to and helped make viral many liberal-exposures including Breitbart’s explosive Acorn videos.

I remember listening to the Mark Levin Show October 5th when he stunned us with Governor Palin’s letter informing us she won’t be seeking the nomination. A bit later, after Governor Palin called into his show, Mark informed her and the audience that Matt Drudge had sent him an email saying “It’s a sad day for America.” I wasn’t the slightest bit surprised to hear him echoing the precise sentiments I and millions of others had felt, for The Drudge Report had always been from the handful of sites that reported the truth about the Governor and refused to participate in the liberal hateful slander machine which spread ridiculous lies about Palin.

Last week, Drudge had a headline about a network’s upcoming interview with a presidential candidate’s ex-wife; a news that would under normal circumstances be featured on every website. Although divorces are usually a messy business and many ex-spouses seek to slander their former spouse, it is only reasonable that voters will still want to hear what the candidate’s ex-wife has to say (taking it perhaps with a grain of salt) especially since the court documents regarding his first divorce have shown that Newt and not his wife had requested the divorce, contrary to his claims.

Drudge had come under heavy attack from Newt supporters for reporting this news, and Saturday night after Newt had won South Carolina, twitter was loaded with messages proclaiming Matt Drudge had lost. What has he lost? He owns a news site, and reported this piece news as he does with all other news.

Also, what’s wrong if he personally doesn’t support Newt (although I haven’t heard him say so)? It has come to the point that anyone who says anything not so complimentary of Newt, even when it’s the truth, is branded as in the camp for Romney. I, for instance, support neither Newt nor Romney. I support Rick Santorum. I’ve found it quite disturbing, though, to have been told by Newt that supporting Santorum is equivalent to supporting Romney. No, it isn’t and being told so won’t change that. I don’t support many of Romney’s policies of which Santorum has always held contrary views. I’m of the opinion that I will support the person who appears to me as the only principled conservative still in the race and I also feel that supporting Newt is similar to supporting Romney since they’ve held similar views on a majority of the issues. You may disagree with that, but don’t say I’m not allowed to support someone other than yourself.

It’s true that a huge chunk of conservatives are currently supporting Newt. However, that doesn’t mean one isn’t a conservative if he supports another candidate, including Romney. Furthermore, disagreeing with Newt doesn’t automatically mean the individual supports Romney; he may be supporting an alternative candidate such as Santorum or has not yet made up his/her mind.

Conservatives have already dumped Nikki Haley. They’ve blasted Matt Drudge for the past week. Now Rubio has become the target of attacks. What has Rubio done? Rubio hadn’t questioned Newt’s conservatism or dared discuss Newt’s past. He simply responded to an analogy that Newt had made which included Rubio. Also, after having been questioned about a specific ad, he responded that it was more befitted for a liberal with its false fear-mongering message to Hispanics (much in the manner Obama has engaged in the 2010 midterms). The Newt team apparently felt Rubio was in the right for it responded quite quickly and promised to pull the ad.

Newt is beloved by many for his sharp responses and hard-hitting answers. At times, though his remarks seem to follow liberal tactics or deliver a punch which is contradictory with conservative values, and he’s admitted as much. Just as he’d apologized for his fear-mongering comments on the Paul Ryan Plan as “right-wing social engineering” which hurt conservatism at a time when the left attempted to portray conservatives as throwing grandma off the cliff, so too, his portrayal of Romney as anti-immigration without differentiating between legal and illegal immigration has struck the wrong balance.

If we’re going to throw under the bus every conservative who utters anything anti-Newt I think we’ll need super-long tractor-trailers to fit everyone under. We should be able to understand that conservative opinion will be split in a primary and that not everyone will agree with your choice of candidate. That’s what primaries are all about. Let’s stop the trashing and bashing of conservatives solely because their opinion conflicts yours.

After the Nikki Haley Endorsement, the Conservative Media has become Nasty

The conservative media's current behavior in response to Nikki Haley's endorsement is not too shocking, since many had revealed their self-serving nature at prior occasions, such as during the 2010 elections.

Sarah Palin endorsed John McCain in 2010 for the Arizona senatorial seat, and understandably so, since she was his former running mate. In addition, McCain is the individual who launched Palin onto the national stage. Her endorsement of McCain was seen by many as an act of gratitude and doing that which had always been considered basic human decency. Despite the debt of gratitude she owed McCain, there were quite a number of conservatives who criticized her endorsement and even questioned her conservatism because of it.

Nikki Haley's endorsement of Romney for 2012 can be seen and understood in a similar light. Tea Party candidate Nikki Haley was one of many candidates seeking the governorship of South Carolina in 2010. During her campaign, she came under a considerable number of false attacks. Nevertheless, she bravely fought the attacks and forged forward, and with the support and endorsement of Palin and Romney ultimately won the nomination.

I've written two articles against David Frum and rarely agree with him, though I'm beginning to think he might be right for once. Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin, Sean Hannity may be creating a negative image of and causing considerable damage to the conservative movement. Just to make it absolutely clear, Levin is my favorite talk-show hosts and I listen to him and Limbaugh daily. However, their behavior of the last several weeks has taken a negative turn.

Haley's endorsement of Romney for the 2012 presidential campaign is an obvious act of gratitude and thankfulness for his support in 2010, and conservatives shouldn't blast Haley for attempting to pay back Romney for his support during her difficult campaign. Why do some conservatives find it so difficult to comprehend that she owes him a tremendous debt of gratitude and that basic human decency demands one to remember one's benefactors?

When Haley fought to win the governorship in South Carolina in 2010 despite false and harmful allegations, Romney stood by her side and expressed her support while Newt endorsed one of the others. I no longer remember whether the individual Newt had endorsed was a RINO or not, although Newt's endorsements in 2010 consisted primarily of moderates. Either way, it doesn't make much of a difference. What does matter, is that he didn't stand with Nikki.

Why has my favorite talk-show host Levin bitingly bid her goodbye? Why doesn't he remember that not a single one of the other current presidential candidates have felt it necessary to defend her, the conservative, in 2010? Why was that not enough to say bye to Newt and the others forever? Why are conservatives so eager to throw their fellow conservatives under the bus because they disagree with one single act they've done?

Besides, it just so happens to be that Romney's flip flops are pretty much equal to Newt's “change of hearts” regarding each and every single issue. Their records on most major issues are strikingly similar, and both of their records are sprinkled with conservative acts. Romney actually carries less baggage than Newt, and I say this not as a Romney supporter for I've criticized his flip-flops on many occasions. My original choice for the presidency was Sarah Palin, and since she isn't running I am currently considering supporting Santorum with Perry coming in not too far behind.

What irks me more than anything else, is how countless conservatives bash Romney and in the same breath bash those who unfairly attack Newt. Since when is criticizing Romney's record part of the vetting process, yet doing the same to Newt unfair attacks? The disingenuous two-faced acts of these conservatives does not go unnoticed by many of their listeners and readers, and I'm afraid their hypocrisy will lead to the weakening of the conservative message and movement.

Not only does the truth no longer matter for them, but with the free pass they provide for Newt, conservatives will no longer be able to blast a politician for adultery, serial or single. Nor will conservatives be capable of lambasting a president for his big-government solutions if conservatives continue to promote Newt for the presidency. Unless we wish to appear as hypocritical and character-less as the left.

Now, with the waves of criticism directed towards Haley, one can no longer even expect from conservatives to act with basic decency such as returning a favor to a fellow human being.