As an extension of an earlier post from this morning, and echoing similar sentiments, Janice Shaw Crouse captures the spirit of the common conservative in her latest op-ed at American Thinker:
In the view of many pundits, the GOP primary has boiled down to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich versus former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. But the consensus among numerous commentators is that former Senator Rick Santorum won the last two debates, and he has pushed ahead of Gingrich in some polls pitting various GOP candidates against President Obama.
Certainly, Santorum's performance in the Tampa debate earned him recognition as a contender. In one of the most prescient moments of the Republican primary, Santorum gave an impassioned explanation of why RomneyCare's role as the model for ObamaCare is the central issue for 2012.
The anger of Main-Street Americans turned white-hot when it became increasingly clear that ObamaCare mandates taxpayer funding of abortion, and then the Obama administration issued a federal mandate requiring coverage of abortion drugs, sterilization, and all FDA-approved contraceptives -- including those that are abortifacients -- by virtually all employers.
...let's face it. The GOP grassroots voters are not just angry at the radical left; they are angry at the go-along-to-get-along, country-club Republicans who are hung up on the power that big government confers and the spoils that go with it. Recent history indicates to voters that the establishment GOP lacks the stomach to stand up for conservative principles and fight for conservative policies -- beginning with a balanced budget that addresses the fiscal crisis, government expansion, and runaway entitlements, as well as a determination to repeal ObamaCare and its inevitable health care rationing and skyrocketing health care costs.
Further, the GOP base is skeptical about flimsy campaign promises that do not translate into action to rein in and pare down the size of the bloated federal government; they are fired up to oppose establishment Republicans who have a patronizing, dismissive attitude toward social conservatives who oppose abortion and work to protect marriage and family.
The bottom line is simple and inescapable: the "religious right" is tired of being taken for granted and having party leaders who don't think a government that tramples their values is "worth getting angry about." Will the Republican leadership "have eyes to see and ears to hear" the grassroots warning to return to the limited government established by the Founders? If the GOP establishment does not recognize that it is on a collision course with its fed-up base, its ineptitude will rival that of Francesco Schettino, captain of the Costa Concordia, and the resulting crash of the moderates against the fired up conservatives' rock-solid demands will cripple the Grand Old Party.
