Nicholas Goldberg: Why I’m voting against Rick Caruso. (It’s not because of his positions on the issues.)
It was a dark and somber moment on the steps of Los Angeles City Hall a year ago when, on the last night of the Primary Election, a friend of mine said something that hit me hard and made me stop. He said, “If I vote for Rick Caruso, I can’t stand to see him on the ballot next year.” I agreed.
I wasn’t voting for Caruso. I knew he was an honest conservative, but that was as far as my support went. I had never been a big fan of Caruso because of his positions on the issues. I think it’s time to get real about some of these positions, and I’ll explain why in this edition of New Liberty:
First, many of these positions are just plain wrong. I’ve written this before so I won’t bore you with my arguments here.
In case you missed it, I voted for Rick Santorum in the Republican primary and then Rick Caruso in the Primary for the Democratic nomination. Rick Caruso lost the election. I’m not going to blame Rick Caruso for that. That was his decision to make, but I will take responsibility for the fact that he lost.
I do feel sorry for Rick Santorum, who was a loser in the Primary of his own party. I’m sorry for the people who voted for Rick Santorum. I think he had the right idea back in 1994 when he ran to be Governor of Pennsylvania. I think he had the right idea in 1992 when he ran for President. But it’s too late to wish him well. I feel sorry for Rick Santorum. I think that makes me a bad person.
And I’m even more sorry for Rick Santorum if we make a mistake by voting for him in November. I don’t have the slightest doubt that he will be reelected with the support of the Democrats. However, he cannot take us to the promised land if we don’t vote him in. If we do vote for Rick Santorum in November, we are voting for a party that hasn’t won a national election since