Major Conservative Mag Issues Major Endorsement

The venerable National Review has done its part to stop the Huckabee surge. One of the oldest and most trusted conservative magazines, founded by William F. Buckley over 30 years ago, the National Review may not have made the choice we would have made, but they make a strong case for their endorsement.

National Review has endorsed former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney for President.

Surprised? I was too. But the magazine lays out a very logical, reasoned argument to back up their choice.

Social conservatives will reject Rudy Giuliani and thus split the GOP vote. Fiscal and traditional conservatives in the Goldwater tradition will reject Mike Huckabee, resulting in a split as well.

Thus, according the editors of the Review, Mitt Romney is the logical choice due to his embrace of both social and fiscal conservatism.

The editors acknowledge that the candidate has changed his mind on some issues. Yet they point to a little-publicized fact about Romney that is very telling. When Romney ran against Ted Kennedy for the U.S. Senate back in the early 1990s, he rang all of the bells that are important to Buckley-Reagan conservatives both in terms of social and economic policy.

Thus, it is the contention of the editors that Romney was forced to move to the center when he became Governor of the State in order to work with an overwhelmingly liberal and Democratic legislature. But they believe that in his heart of hearts he is a sincere social and fiscal conservative.

Romney's record supports a great deal of that notion. He has consistently stood for tax cuts, balanced budgets, fiscal restraint, small government, a healthy private sector, and family values.

The magazine believes that there are two other GOP candidates who could potentially unite fiscal and social conservatives in the GOP--Thompson and McCain. McCain has his own baggage, however, on his consistent support for limiting the First Amendment right of free speech. And Thompson seems to be in a free-fall due to a poorly run campaign, according to the editors.

National Review does state, however, that Thompson is the one who has delineated clear positions and detailed proposals on a variety of issues that other candidates will not touch.

While I do not agree with the magazine's endorsement, I understand why they would do it. My hope is that Fred Thompson can surprise everyone and pull it back together as we head ever so close to the first round of primaries.

Click below for the full article in the National Review. It is well worth your full consideration even if you disagree with their endorsement:
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YmMxYTUyYzA1YTk2YzE5NGVmNjc0OGFjYWJmNzMzNjI=