By Frank Manning
As the Republican field thins out during primary season in America, British conservatives with an interest in politics on that side of the Atlantic are forced to re-examine their preferred candidate. The rapid rise and fall of many of them has made it difficult to follow here in Britain. Mainstream media tends to present the nominees as caricatures of themselves, while the liberal media, led by the Guardian, delights in picking out quotes to make candidates seem more extreme.
The secular nature of Britain means religion is never a part of elections. Tony Blair has been involved in a number of faith-based initiatives since leaving office, but he rarely mentioned his religion while serving as Prime Minister. David Cameron skirts around the issue, worried about offending anyone by talking about his faith. The secular nature of our society leads to a very different type of politics. Social issues such as abortion and gay marriage are rarely, if ever, debated in parliament. Nadine Doories, a Conservative MP, suggested that pregnant women should be able to receive advice from faith-based groups before having an abortion. She was immediately denigrated by the liberal media and even her own party. Most elections are therefore fought over fiscal issues such as tax and government spending rather than social issues.
So, bearing this in mind, how have the candidates been viewed by British conservatives?
Initially the bombastic, no nonsense approach of Herman Cain resonated on this side of the Atlantic. Think tanks such as the Taxpayers’ Alliance and the Centre for Policy Studies have campaigned for a flat tax in recent years, and the possibility of the 9-9-9 plan piqued their interest. As the salacious rumours about his personal life came up, Brits were baffled at how rapidly his ratings declined. After Bill Clinton, it seemed surprising that a candidate could be destroyed so quickly by rumours like this. We are used to our own fair share of scandal in British politics, so little shocks us.
Rick Perry had appeared to be George W. Bush mark two, an unpopular idea considering his reputation when he left office. Bush was painted as a prize idiot in England for his entire presidency, so Perry’s complete inability to stay awake or remember his policies during debates simply served to reinforce these suspicions.
There is a growing libertarian movement in Britain, and Ron Paul has a lot of young fans over here, but the same thing that stops him from getting the nomination in America stops him from attracting widespread support here. On domestic issues, conservatives admire the low tax, low regulation, small state approach to government which Paul espouses, but his foreign policy is crazy. Radical cuts in defence spending and an isolationist approach to humanitarian issues in places such as Libya are short sighted and dangerous.
As a nation we are proud of the Special Relationship between America and Britain, best shown during the era of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher . Although there are many differences between our nations, for Atlanticists like myself our relationship with America has always been the most important globally. Especially when you consider what the EU has done to our sovereignty…
On a visit to Congress last year, I got the chance to ask Ron Paul what he thought of the Special Relationship. He replied that all countries should be treated the same, as potential allies and trading partners. I asked him whether that meant treating Iran the same as Britain, which he confirmed. After Barack Obama sent the bust of Winston Churchill back to Britain in a much-derided show of contempt, I could never support a presidential candidate who does not appreciate the connection between our countries.
Newt Gingrich has received relatively little coverage on this side of the Atlantic, his time in the spotlight ending before it had really started. His recent adverts attacking Romney’s capitalist history have only served to give Obama ammunition for the fight ahead. He gave a strong performance in the Republican debate last night, but this may be too late to win the nomination.
The recent surge of Rick Santorum has put him in front of the British media for the first time. His stance on gay marriage, abortion, contraception and other faith-based issues make him a soft target for a media which has a poor understanding of American politics. Even so, it is hard to imagine him attracting the floating voters which any GOP candidate will need to beat Obama later this year.
Finally, there’s Mitt Romney. The GOP spent the last year desperately trying to find anyone else, but it looks like he’s going to be the last one standing. Ironically, his political priorities are probably the most attractive to British conservatives. His focus on the economy, jobs and growth has mass appeal. The liberal media will still try and cast him as a typical Republican, but he appears to be the only candidate who can really take on Obama.
Left-Wing politicians in England tried to use Obama’s stimulus plan as an excuse for higher public spending and tax increases, but we all know how effective those policies have been. An American president supporting free markets and scaling back the size of the government could show the way to other Western economies in dire need of urgent fiscal reform.
The best thing for the Republican Party now is to choose their candidate as soon as possible, before infighting damages reputations any further. A smart pick for Vice President by Romney, Marco Rubio would be my choice, could make all the difference when it comes to November. Whoever is on the ticket, the most important thing is getting Barack Obama as far away from the White House as possible before he completely destroys American exceptionalism.
