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|[[Mitt Romney]]

|[[Mitt Romney]]

|Preferred by [[RINO]]s and heavily favored by the Establishment; has business experience and was a Republican governor of a Democratic state who cut taxes and the deficit.  Big money backs Romney in a big way, enabling him to benefit from millions of dollars in negative ads against his opponent Newt Gingrich.  Mitt came in second in Iowa, first in New Hampshire, a distant second in South Carolina, and first in Florida.  Has received endorsements from moderate-to-liberal Republicans, such as  [[Bob Dole]], [[John McCain]], [[Kelly Ayotte]], [[John Thune]], [[Chris Christie]],<ref>[http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Chris-Christie-Mitt-Romney-Endorse-GOP-Republicans-2012-131530343.html http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Chris-Christie-Mitt-Romney-Endorse-GOP-Republicans-2012-131530343.html]</ref> [[Dan Quayle]], [[Nikki Haley]] and [[Tim Pawlenty]].

|Preferred by [[RINO]]s and heavily favored by the Establishment; has business experience and was a Republican governor of a Democratic state who cut taxes and the deficit.  Big money backs Romney in a big way, enabling him to benefit from millions of dollars in negative ads against his opponent Newt Gingrich.  Mitt came in second in Iowa, first in New Hampshire, a distant second in South Carolina, and first in Florida.  Has received endorsements from moderate-to-liberal Republicans, such as  [[Bob Dole]], [[John McCain]], [[Kelly Ayotte]], [[John Thune]], [[Jon Huntsman]], [[Chris Christie]],<ref>[http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Chris-Christie-Mitt-Romney-Endorse-GOP-Republicans-2012-131530343.html http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Chris-Christie-Mitt-Romney-Endorse-GOP-Republicans-2012-131530343.html]</ref> [[Dan Quayle]], [[Nikki Haley]] and [[Tim Pawlenty]].

|Has big weaknesses with "[[Reagan Democrats]]," making it unlikely Romney can win the general election:  Romney has a pro-[[abortion]] record and favors big corporations; Romney also continues to believe in [[liberal]] propaganda claiming [[global warming]] and is criticized for standing behind his [[ObamaCare]]-like health plan in [[Massachusetts]], which featured "the mandate" and taxpayer-funded abortion. The lack of criticism of Romney by the [[lamestream media]] suggests that they want him to win so that they can defeat him in the general election.

|Has big weaknesses with "[[Reagan Democrats]]," making it unlikely Romney can win the general election:  Romney has a pro-[[abortion]] record and favors big corporations; Romney also continues to believe in [[liberal]] propaganda claiming [[global warming]] and is criticized for standing behind his [[ObamaCare]]-like health plan in [[Massachusetts]], which featured "the mandate" and taxpayer-funded abortion. The lack of criticism of Romney by the [[lamestream media]] suggests that they want him to win so that they can defeat him in the general election.

|Was defeated by a landslide in [[South Carolina]], despite being endorsed by foreign policy [[hawks]] [[John McCain]] and [[John Bolton]], and despite having finished a close second in the Iowa caucuses and first in the [[New Hampshire]] Primary. Romney has been strong in most of the debates and in national polling but weak in almost every straw poll. The majority of [[Republican]] voters are apparently still looking for an alternative.

|Was defeated by a landslide in [[South Carolina]], despite being endorsed by foreign policy [[hawks]] [[John McCain]] and [[John Bolton]], and despite having finished a close second in the Iowa caucuses and first in the [[New Hampshire]] Primary. Romney has been strong in most of the debates and in national polling but weak in almost every straw poll. The majority of [[Republican]] voters are apparently still looking for an alternative.

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|[[Newt Gingrich]]

|[[Newt Gingrich]]

|The [[pro-life]] candidate most opposed by [[liberal]]s, due to his political effectiveness in accomplishing [[conservative]] goals.  Newt is the only contender who stands up to liberals and to the [[lamestream media]]. His debate performances have earned him a reputation as the Republican most capable of winning debates against Obama. Newt had the early backing of Fox News before [[John McCain]] backed [[Mitt Romney]] instead, which caused Fox News to switch sides.  Newt has by far the strongest record of achievements of any candidate, including passing [[conservative]] legislation that included welfare reform, [[DOMA]], the [[Solomon Amendment]], and even [[term limits]].  Newt also had the courage to shut down the government. His story of overcoming being orphaned is inspirational.

|The [[pro-life]] candidate most opposed by [[liberal]]s, due to his political effectiveness in accomplishing [[conservative]] goals.  Newt is the only contender who stands up to liberals and to the [[lamestream media]]. His debate performances have earned him a reputation as the Republican most capable of winning debates against Obama. Newt had the early backing of Fox News before [[John McCain]] backed [[Mitt Romney]] instead, which caused Fox News to switch sides.  Newt has by far the strongest record of achievements of any candidate, including passing [[conservative]] legislation that included welfare reform, [[DOMA]], the [[Solomon Amendment]], and even [[term limits]].  Newt also had the courage to shut down the government. His story of overcoming being orphaned is inspirational. Has been endorsed by conservatives such as [[Fred Thompson]], [[Rick Perry]], [[Michael Reagan]], and[[Herman Cain]].  

|His long record of many decades in public life makes him vulnerable to negative political ads.  His personal life has been criticized:  he divorced twice and married three times. Ron Paul is particularly critical of Newt, although many of Dr. Paul's supporters are likely to prefer Newt rather than Mitt Romney.

|His long record of many decades in public life makes him vulnerable to negative political ads.  His personal life has been criticized:  he divorced twice and married three times. Ron Paul is particularly critical of Newt, although many of Dr. Paul's supporters are likely to prefer Newt rather than Mitt Romney.

|Rousing debate performances the week of Jan. 17th in South Carolina led to a landslide victory for Gingrich in the South Carolina primary. Prior to that, his strong debate performances and the weaknesses of other rivals to Romney had already pushed Gingrich up to #2. Despite having led in most polls conducted in late 2011, he lost the #1 spot on Dec. 24th due to the toll taken by attacks from the media and other candidates and his failure to qualify for the ballot in Virginia even though he lives there and is in first place in its polling. His strategy of criticizing the media in the debates has been brilliant. With Romney unable to gain 50% support in any State there remains an opportunity for conservatives to rally behind Newt. Endorsed by Rick Perry. See: [[Gingrich Administration]] for an analysis of his assumed Cabinet.

|Rousing debate performances the week of Jan. 17th in South Carolina led to a landslide victory for Gingrich in the South Carolina primary. Prior to that, his strong debate performances and the weaknesses of other rivals to Romney had already pushed Gingrich up to #2. Despite having led in most polls conducted in late 2011, he lost the #1 spot on Dec. 24th due to the toll taken by attacks from the media and other candidates and his failure to qualify for the ballot in Virginia even though he lives there and is in first place in its polling. His strategy of criticizing the media in the debates has been brilliant. With Romney unable to gain 50% support in any State there remains an opportunity for conservatives to rally behind Newt. See: [[Gingrich Administration]] for an analysis of his assumed Cabinet.

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|[[Jeb Bush]]

|[[Jeb Bush]]

|[[Jon Huntsman, Jr.]]

|[[Jon Huntsman, Jr.]]

|Has foreign policy and executive experience. Appealing to moderates, although this is because he holds numerous liberal stances.

|Has foreign policy and executive experience. Appealing to moderates, although this is because he holds numerous liberal stances.

|Quit in mid-January 2012.  Other negatives include how he worked in the Obama administration; criticized the [[economic stimulus package]] as not being big enough, favors Comprehensive Immigration Reform, supports civil unions, and is a believer in man-made global warming; the "civility" candidate adored by the media for being more willing to attack his fellow Republicans than the Democrats; could simply be a [[Utah]] decoy used by [[Team Newt]] to siphon support from [[Mitt Romney]]

|Quit in mid-January 2012.  Other negatives include how he worked in the Obama administration; criticized the [[economic stimulus package]] as not being big enough, favors Comprehensive Immigration Reform, supports civil unions, and is a believer in man-made global warming; the "civility" candidate adored by the media for being more willing to attack his fellow Republicans than the Democrats.

|Getting little support nationally, except among the media and multiple Democrats. Bypassing Iowa, Huntsman put his all into the New Hampshire primary and finished third. Claiming that there are three tickets out of New Hampshire (the usual observation made about Iowa, not New Hampshire), he originally announced that his candidacy would continue, but dropped out of the race less than a week later.  

|Getting little support nationally, except among the media and multiple Democrats. Bypassing Iowa, Huntsman put his all into the New Hampshire primary and finished third. Claiming that there are three tickets out of New Hampshire (the usual observation made about Iowa, not New Hampshire), he originally announced that his candidacy would continue, but dropped out of the race less than a week later.  

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|Outspoken supporter of conservative values as a senator, well-received by evangelicals, strongly conservative across the board.

|Outspoken supporter of conservative values as a senator, well-received by evangelicals, strongly conservative across the board.

|Almost certainly a [[stalking horse]] for [[Mitt Romney]], hoping Mitt will appoint him to a government position.  Rick's all-out support of [[RINO]] and now-Democrat [[Arlen Specter]] prevented [[Pat Toomey]] from defeating him in 2002, although he regretted it at CPAC 2010; endorsed Romney in 2008. His tax plan has been criticized for adding even more people to the number not required to pay federal income taxes.

|Almost certainly a [[stalking horse]] for [[Mitt Romney]], hoping Mitt will appoint him to a government position.  Rick's all-out support of [[RINO]] and now-Democrat [[Arlen Specter]] prevented [[Pat Toomey]] from defeating him in 2002, although he regretted it at CPAC 2010; endorsed Romney in 2008. His tax plan has been criticized for adding even more people to the number not required to pay federal income taxes.

|Won an upset victory in the [[Iowa Caucuses]], is fabulous in debates and television interviews, but has been near the bottom in polling in some key states. Campaigned relentlessly in Iowa and succeeded in picking up several important endorsements. Then sagged to only 9% of the vote in the New Hampshire primary and was an also-ran behind Gingrich and Romney in the South Carolina primary.

|Won an upset victory in the [[Iowa Caucuses]], is fabulous in debates and television interviews, but has been near the bottom in polling in some key states. Campaigned relentlessly in Iowa and succeeded in picking up several important endorsements. Then sagged to only 9% of the vote in the New Hampshire primary and was an also-ran behind Gingrich and Romney in the South Carolina and Florida primaries.

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|[[Herman Cain]]

|[[Herman Cain]]