The Republican Party has quite a few choices to be their new face of the party. The big decision is what direction they will turn. Will the party go toward the middle and try to be more appealing to moderates and right leaning Democrats, as Meghan McCain and Colin Powell have suggested? The party could also go the media route, and choose for its face to be someone like Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck, or Mark Levin. Then there is the route that seems most promising - return to its conservative roots and find a face for the party. Whatever way the party chooses, here are some prominent Republicans who have a chance.
- Mike Huckabee: Huckabee was one of those long-shot candidates running for President in the Republican primaries in 2008. Not much was known of Huckabee early on except he was a former Governor of Arkansas and was born in Hope, Arkansas (the same place that produced Democratic President Bill Clinton). Huckabee gained exposure by winning the first primary of the season, the Iowa Caucus, and that launched him to an unforeseensecond place finish in the Republican primary. He was now in the Republican spotlight.
A little about Mike Huckabee - he plays bass guitar, is a former Baptist preacher, served two terms as Arkansas Governor (after the seat was opened by the leaving of Bill Clinton), lost a lot of weight and wrote the book "Stop Digging Your Grave with a Knife and Fork" about it, and now has his own weekend show on Fox-News Channel. Huckabeeis a likeable guy, there can be no denying that. In his latest book "Do the Right Thing" he describes an experience where an African American cab driver pulled over and his taxi and comes up to Huckabee saying, "I'm a lifelong Democrat, always voted that way, but I like you and could vote for you." That is an appeal Huckabee brings to the Republican Party that not many others can. During the primaries there was a debate held at the majority African American, Morgan State University, that John McCain, Fred Thompson, Mitt Romney, and Rudy Giuliani all skipped. Mike Huckabee was there, and was received well by the majority African American crowd. That is an appeal the GOP desperately needs when the Democrats have a stranglehold on the black vote.
- Sarah Palin: Sarah Palin reignited John McCain's Presidential run. Her speech at the 2008 GOP Convention in Minnesota was brilliant, and it sure fired up the party for this Presidential ticket. She is smart, extremely attractive, and has appeal to middle class Americans. (The fact that Palin is a working mother who raises a family and also has time to hunt and fish could go far in middle America).
Palin is loved by the social conservative portion of the Republican party. Her biggest downfall in being the "face of the Republican Party" is that she may not want to be in that spot. Palin has been demonetized on countless occasions by the left, and has taken far more personal criticism then she deserved. Another problem I foresee is should Palin and Huckabee both run primary campaigns for the 2012 nomination their social conservative votes will split (a common problem in Republican primaries) and a more moderate candidate will again emerge, like in 2008 when McCain earned the nomination. Too many social conservatives splitting votes in a primary is a bad thing, period!
- Rush Limbaugh: Rush has been the center of talk since the Obama administration took office in January 2009. The Democrats seemed for months to be trying to paint Rush as the GOP face, when he did not want that position. Then Rush was the keynote speaker at the 2009 CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference), and his speech was broadcast on every network and cable news program. The fact is this - Limbaugh is a conservative radio personality, one who is very popular with about 20 million listeners a day, but that is all Rush is. He is not someone running for political office, and will never be Senator or President Limbaugh. I love Rush Limbaugh, and yes he does speak for numerous conservatives in the US, but he is not the face of the Republican Party.
- Meghan McCain: She is the young and beautiful daughter of Republican Senator John McCain. Meghan become very popular during the 2008 Presidential campaign with her blog and many pictures that she updated daily. She became quite vocal after her father's loss on the direction the GOP needs to earn the younger generation's vote. Meghan is more on the Colin Powell side - that the GOP needs to shift to the center and do things like expand welfare programs, promote gay marriage, and embrace abortion.
- Mark Sanford: Well, he had a chance, but this recent affair with an Argentinian woman kind of killed that.
- Mike Pence: Pence is a Congressman from the state of Indiana. He is very conservative in all political matters. Pence has been on a media tour since Obama's election- criticizing the administration's spending habits, economic stimulus bill, and health care plan. He also had a speech at the 2009 CPAC Conference that really fired the crowd up, and is confirmed to speak at the Family Research Council sponsored "Values Voter Summit" in September 2009, which is a large get-together of social conservatives. Pence has a shot at being the face of the Republican Party, should the GOP take their path down that of conservatism.
- Dick Morris: A common commentator on Fox News shows like Hannity and The O'Reilly Factor, Dick Morris could be interesting if given a bigger role in the GOP. He is a former adviser to the Bill Clinton from his Presidency, and now speaks out greatly against the expansion of government, Obama policies, Hilary Clinton in general, and spending habits of government. Morris is a very smart man, and has a lot to offer if the GOP would reach out to him.
That is just a few of the nominees for the new "Face of the Republican Party." Personally, I'm a very conservative individual and want to see the party return to its conservative roots. The GOP needs to find the next Ronald Reagan! It was under Reagan, after all, that the GOP saw the two largest victories in Presidential history in 1980 and 1984. The Republican Party returns to the ways of Reagan and it could be on that path again in no time.