This is the third installment of my analysis of Obama's potential Republican foes in the general election. I have previously profiled Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney.
Today Jim Gilmore is up. Gilmore is a the longest of longshots, having raised less cash than any of the other 9 announced Republican candidates for President. He's the former Governor of Virginia. His speaking style is so boring and his answers are so tepid at the debates that it's quite easy to forget he's even running.
Gilmore's lack of traction among Republicans, however, is still a bit perplexing. Every other candidate has major problems with the conservative base. Giuliani is pro-choice. McCain is against torture. Romney's frequent ideological flip flops have angered conservatives. Brownback has a terrible record on immigration, or at least crazy anti-immigrant folks seem to think so. Tancredo backs timetables for leaving Iraq. Hunter is for restrictions on free trade. Huckabee think's its ok to sometimes raise taxes. Thompson has caused a stir among NRA activists for his views on gun control. Paul, the libertarian protest candidate, has views on foreign policy that sound like Michael Moore.
By sharp contrast, Gilmore has no apperent ideological problem. I think the real reason why he has gained no traction is because Republicans know he can't win. Why? Because Gilmore's tenure as Governor of Virginia offers such a clear example of what happens to the economy under ultra-conservative policies. Drastic cuts in taxes and spending created over a billion dollars in deficit and the economy slowed to a crawl. The economic situation was so bad that only a month after 9/11, the state home to Pat Roberson, Jerry Falwell and Robert E. Lee elected Democrat Mark Warner to take over as Governor. Thanks to his policies, Virginia's economy did a complete turnaround, Warner left office with an 80% approval rating, and he was rated one of America's top 5 Governors. If Obama was not running in this election and Mark Warner was, there would be no question that he'd have my vote.
It's very sad that Warner is not running for President, but Gilmore thinks he has a chance in this race. He says he's running because he wants to offer the nation "conservative leadership." He's a conservative, all right - that's the problem.
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