Repugs relying on religious wackos to lead them out of the 'wilderness' [View All]

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Palin, Jindal Lead Republicans Seeking Exit From `Wilderness'

By Nicholas Johnston

Nov. 14 (Bloomberg) -- The future of the Republican Party is assembled in a Miami hotel.

It's a gathering of Republican governors, no small number of whom think that, after Barack Obama, they might be the next president of the United States.

Since Ronald Reagan's election in 1980, many Republicans see a governor's mansion as the ideal springboard to the White House, letting them campaign on the virtues of smaller government, the importance of states' rights and, notably, the misdeeds of Washington, D.C.

Now governors such as Alaska's Sarah Palin, who just completed her star turn as John McCain's running mate, and Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Charlie Crist of Florida and Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, would like to lay the first bricks on the path to power for the party that took a whipping on Election Day.

``Republicans in Washington are going to be in the wilderness for a little while,'' Texas Governor Rick Perry, 58, said in a ballroom at the Miami Intercontinental Hotel. ``The future of the Republican Party is in this room.''

To be sure, some of the nation's most pressing problems -- the economic crisis, health care and global climate change -- extend well beyond any state's borders, putting local officeholders at a disadvantage.

The governors still see opportunity. Reagan, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter were chief executives in California, Texas, Arkansas and Georgia before moving to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Former Republican governors Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Mike Huckabee of Arkansas are among possible contenders for the 2012 nomination. .......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=a9RqkJF3ShZI&refer=home