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A Pre-Election Challenge for 'Real' Conservatives

I Dare Ya!

David Frum

Updated Jul. 14, 2017 1:56AM ET / Published Nov. 02, 2012 10:12AM ET 

Kevork Djansezian/Getty

If Romney loses the election on Tuesday, we'll hear a lot of after the fact talk about how he lost because he was too moderate, inauthentic, not a real conservative, etc. etc. etc.

Here's my test and challenge to those who will say this:

We're now heading into the climactic weekend of the election. If you believe a "real conservative" message is a winner, shouldn't you right now be publicly urging Mitt Romney to say out loud : YES I will cut taxes for the rich, YES I will cut Medicaid, YES I will reinvent Medicare as a voucher system, YES I will favor a human life amendment to ban abortion in all cases, YES I believe it's a major priority to reverse same-sex marriage, YES i was right to say let the auto industry go bankrupt, NO I don't believe in global warming, NO I don't think it's important we cover the uninsured, NO I think we have enough immigrants already, NO I won't withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan, NO I don't think we should provide the existing level of food stamps and income support to the unemployed, etc. etc. etc.

Shouldn't you be urging Romney to remind Americans that Obama is an alien, a radical, somebody bent on destroying everything good and decent in America?

If that's the winning message, shouldn't you be pleading with Romney to say it now?

And if it's not the winning message now, how will it have retrospectively become the winning message on Wednesday morning?

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