The Battle is Joined

John McCain took the win in Florida. It's hugely disappointing to me for a number of reasons, including not only that I think the better candidate lost, but also I believe it is a setback for conservatives and the Republican Party. John McCain's dishonesty and deceit in this primary I will not forget. I will never again be able to look at him the same way. The "Straight Talk Express" is a farce.

That said, it will take a few days for things to settle out. The other candidates are trying to "gang up on" Romney right now. Giuliani and his moderate to liberal social positions will lead him to leave the race and endorse McCain tomorrow. Huckabee has been preening and fawning all over McCain to try to get the nod as his running mate down the road. And I don't even know why Ron Paul is still in the race.

John McCain was already considered the front runner by the media, and this will just intensify that.

HOWEVER...

McCain has tipped his hand now. He is pulling a Clinton in this race. He's doing it stylistically as evidenced by his dishonesty against Romney pre-Florida. He's doing it tactically by "triangulating" Republicans. He's doing it by trying to pretend to be something he is not. Just as Hillary has tried to present a "new, nicer" self to the public in the past couple of years in order to become more electable, you will see McCain trying to pretend to be conservative to try to peel off enough conservative votes to combine with the moderates votes to win the nomination.

What that sets up is a clear cut battle in the week ahead of us. 21 states, representing 60% of the nation's population, will vote next Tuesday. What has happened in the 6 states that have voted so far is a preliminary to what happens next Tuesday. Those 6 states have essentially determined for us that it is between Mitt Romney and John McCain. But if we're smart and independent, those 6 states will NOT determine the decisions of the voters who get our say next week.

We will see what we're made of as conservatives in the next week. We'll see how strong conservative talk radio can be this week. It's a tall mountain to climb, there's no doubt about it. But we have one week to work to make it happen.

I will make another donation to the Romney campaign in the next 2 days. We need to get our word out more than ever. I will spend my day off Thursday making calls on Romney's behalf. I will try to let you all know what the campaign will be doing and where they will be holding events.

My motivation is mixed...it is primarily pro-Romney, but there's no question it has also become anti-McCain. I wish him no personal ill will. But as a candidate I think he does great damage to the Republican Party and what we stand for. And just the thought of a McCain-Huckabee ticket gives me the shivers. I can't tell you right now what I would do if this is the path the nomination takes. What I can tell you is that I am highly motivated to do everything humanly possible this week to assist Governor Mitt Romney. One step at a time.

I recommend this read from my favorite Illinois conservative blogger for some early post-Florida thoughts.