The race for the Republican nomination is off to a very depressing start. One of the front-runners is John McCain, a 70-year-old man with a bad temper and a history of 2 malignant melanomas.  He's on the wrong side of one of the most important issues of our day--immigration. Also in the hunt is America's Mayor, Rudy Giuliani. Mr. Giuliani is a 68-year-old man with a recent history of prostate cancer. His personal life has not been picture perfect to say the least. His first marriage of 14 years ended when the couple found out they were 2nd cousins. His second marriage terminated with the good mayor admitting an adulterous affair with a woman who is now his 3rd wife. During the separation, he stayed at his gay friend's apartment. He's a social liberal who is pro-abortion, supports civil unions between same sex partners, & is a strong proponent of federal gun control laws.  Then there is Mitt Romney who has flipped-flopped on abortion, made contributions to liberal democrats in the early 90's, supports the inclusion of homosexuals in the boy scouts, supported Pres. Clinton's 'don't ask, don't tell' policy with regards to homosexuals in the military with the goal of gays being able, in Romney's words, "to serve openly and honestly in our nation’s military". Romney's more recent turn to the right on social issues seems suspiciously disingenuous. Could it be that he realizes that only a social conservative can capture the nomination?

What's a conservative to do?  We hear a lot about Ronald Reagan recently. There's a longing for a true statesman to rise up and unite the party based on its conservative principles. But let's be honest. There is no Ronald Reagan in the mix. This isn't 1980. I see a closer parallel to 1964. There's a real struggle for the heart of the party. Are we going to move to the middle and abandon the Reagan revolution or will we once again be unashamed in our defense of limited government and conservative roots? What the Republican party needs in 2008 is a Barry Goldwater. He may not be "the guy", but he will be a voice crying in the wilderness who's willing to speak truth and not talking points. Goldwater wasn't electable in '64, but he was the right guy for the nomination. He paved the way for Ronald Reagan. Without Goldwater in '64, there would have been no Reagan in '80. What we need is someone to step up and take the Goldwater-torch and perform some ideological CPR on the Grand Ol' Party.