But is there a Plan?

[from The Wild Bunch]

Well this week Ed Schultz is figuring Rick Santorum might actually be The Man, and watching his numbers pass Romney's in various states including Romney's original home state of MI, where Romney grew up and became a multi-national. Maybe he'll end up being the GOP nominee, who knows. One argument would be that his incompetence, ignorance, small-mindness, and utter inability to empathize with anyone other than another white male actually masks the greater problem which Romney presents, ultimately, to people who really think through what Romney stands for.

Go look at Romney's arch, smug rejection of the auto industry bailout, or the equally arch, smug rejection of any safety-net type solutions to the truly horrible situation millions of Americans are facing with regard to their mortgage commitments. Then ask yourself--on Romney's grounds, isn't the auto bailout (for example) still wrong even if it has succeeded? The answer must be yes, mustn't it? Because Romney has taken a principled stand, a stand based on his fundamental economics--which asserts that things are ultimately better when the free market forces simply are allowed to operate without any government adjustment or guidance (but keep taxes low on the job providers).

Romney's problem is that since he's running on a supposedly fundamental economic philosophy, when government does act and then things do get better, he's got a problem: his fundamentals turn out to be simply wrong. Santorum does not have this problem. As a muddled right-wing patriarch and defender of the keep em in the kitchen school, Santorum has no general economic view, no clarity, nothing but the right wing radio hate-ranter's ability to take Texaco cracker-barrel opinionations, his Pepsi stuffed with peanuts and fizzing over the top of the bottle and down over his nagging, pointing finger. Yes, his wife does look a little haggard these days, but soon he'll learn to leave her at home. Santorum has no fundamentals. He's just another pissed off redneck.

For the GOP candidate this year, it's looking like it's better not to have a Plan. Ain't that a pickle. Of course there is also the Mike Miller view--that people who actually think about stuff like this are so few as to be an inconsequential factor in national elections. This would explain a lot, such as the decline of the mainstream media.