None of the GOP presidential hopefuls are supported above a level of about 23 percent according to polls released by New York Times and CBS News. Mitt Romney's dilemma typifies the party's dilemma. Romney, a Mormon, must get the religious extremist vote to get the nomination. If he gets it, he risks losing the White House. The GOP is now paying for having made a Faustian pact with religious right and other extremists. The numbers come from a CBS story headlined: Huckabee Soars Into GOP's Top Tier. (CBS) Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee's meteoric rise in the polls is not, it turns out, an Iowa-only phenomenon. According to a new CBS News/New York Times poll, the former Arkansas governor is running neck-and-neck with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani in the race for the support of GOP primary voters nationwide, and all the momentum is on Huckabee's side.Huckabee just pulled off a cart-wheeling flanking maneuver to strike at Romney's rear --the source of Romney's support. To be fair, Romney could not have done otherrwise. But with only 23 percent to work with, there is no chance that any Republican can find mainstream running room. That goes for Rudi Giuliani --equally insane by any standard.
Huckabee was supported by 21 percent in the poll, up from a mere 4 percent in October, thanks largely to a swell in support from Christian conservatives. He trails Giuliani by only 1 percentage point - a statistically insignificant margin. While Huckabee's support has more than quintupled in the past two months, Giuliani has seen his fall by 7 percent.--CBS News
Stuart Rothernberg, editor of the Rothernberg Political Report points out that none of the candidates have been able "to coalesce support behind him". Unless Rudi Giuliani turns over some rocks, it is unlikely he will find enough support to beat any Democrat. There is an explanation. Carl Jung stated that as much as thirty percent of any population consists of incipient psychos, presumably kept in check by a majority of some two-thirds. Having accused the GOP of mass insanity on numerous occassions, I would venture that the GOP is down to its base of some 23 percent: nut cases, religious fanatics, and other right wing extremists, a GOP base that is 180 degrees out of phase with the rest of the populuation, the principles of our founding, common sense, decency. The fanatics represent the party's hard core which finds in George Bush's failures, his only successes. I am increasingly confident that sane folk will call them what they truly are. Abysmal, miserable failures. The GOP will lose against any Democratic candidate because it is unprepared to condemn what Bush has done to the nation. No GOP candidate is prepared to tell the truth: George W. Bush is a traitor to the US and its Constitution. Nevertheless, this miserable excuse for a party should pay the price for having supported the overthrow of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and our every international obligation since George Washington.While Giuliani and Huckabee led among GOP primary voters, Mitt Romney - seen as Huckabee's top rival for the support of Christian conservative voters - also saw his support increase slightly, from 12 percent in October to 16 percent now. Both John McCain and Fred Thompson have seen their support crumble. Thompson has seen the most dramatic drop, falling from 21 percent in October - good enough for second place - to 7 percent now, tying him with McCain for fourth place.However, Republican primary voters, as a group, remain fluid, suggesting there is still room for movement in the GOP field.
--CBS News
