Who will be riding the Ron Paul blimp in 2012?

There is a spirited debate over who actually constituted Ron Paul's base in the 2008 presidential primaries. Ron Paul successfully captured the young Republican vote and created much enthusiasm among this demographic. This is insignificant, however, as young Americans are overwhelmingly Democratic or independently affiliated. The key to Ron Paul's base is the current following of the Tea Party.

Ron Paul's son, Rand Paul, is currently the front runner in the Republican senatorial primary in Kentucky to fill the open seat of retiring senator Jim Bunning. He has never held political office before this campaign and shares many of the libertarian views of his father. He has quickly pulled away from the establishment candidate, Trey Grayson, capturing much of the die-hard Republican base that one needs to win any Republican primary fight. His campaign is relevant, because it is drawing on much of the Tea Party movement's enthusiasm and supporters.

So my question is, will Ron Paul run for president in 2012? And if he does, will he become the Tea Party insurgent for the Republican nomination? Ron Paul is no orthodox conservative. Instead, he is a paleo-conservative, a dying breed of anti-interventionist Republicans. It would be easy to criticize many stances he has taken which pitted himself against the neo-conservatives in his party, particularly on international issues. For instance, he opposes the Iraq wars and all foreign involvement. He also does not believe in free trade, favoring protectionism. Some of these stances could be criticized by the modern conservative base who love to point out flaws in a candidate's credentials.

Sarah Palin, once thought to be the darling of the Tea Party movement, is now completely irrelevant from the 2012 elections. Ron Paul could fill this vacuum of anti-establishment anger present in the primary electorate. It would be easy for him to overcome a moderate candidate such as Mitt Romney, but he would have to change some of his stances. It will be interesting to see if Paul molds himself into something more digestible, or continues to pursue his unique path of libertarianism. If the Kentucky senatorial primary stands as any lesson, it is likely that conservative voters will hop on the Ron Paul blimp, only to pull it down during the general election.

Palin-Bachmann in 2012?

OK this just scares me. Now, don't automatically think I am being biased in saying this. I am predisposed against both of these people because of their ideological stances, yes, but I also would not advocate for this for other reasons. These two women come from the ideological right wing of American politics. I mean far right. Not as far right as the Illinois Nazis from the Blues Brothers, but far right enough to put gun targets on a map of democrats that voted for health-care reform. Far right enough to call for investigations into the un-American activities of congressmen. This is not the country we are.

It is like electing Jim DeMint (most conservative in the senate) as the senator from Rhode Island. It is like electing Dennis Kucinich as the mayor of Boise. Whoever is elected to the only nationwide office should represent a centrist, center-left or center right ideological position. That is why I believe Mitt Romney, though likely unable to compete in a closed GOP primary, would be a responsible choice to be the party's standard banner. He, unlike this pair, has actual experience dealing with some crucial issues such as health-care, the economy and taxes. He is a conservative that our country could live with.

Now, democrats, think twice before you pray for these two to become the Republican presidential nominees so we have a landslide victory in 2012 for Obama. If it is discovered that Obama is having an affair two days before the election, there is a good potential for our country to be in for some serious trouble.