Editorial: US Republican race Tuesday, 24 January 2012 04:57

The US Republican race to pick a presidential nominee is hotting up and promises many surprises. In the coming days, Americans will witness an intense fight as candidates rake up as much muck as possible to discredit each other and consolidate their position in the race.

The latest surprise in the race was the stunning victory of Newt Gingrich against Mitt Romney in South Carolina. Gingrich was written off just a few days ago, and the victory in Carolina places him in a strong position to oust Romney from the race. He won by more than 12 percentage points and more importantly, opened the way for a potentially contentious battle within the GOP between the establishment and insurgent wings of the party.

Reeling from the bruising defeat, Romney is now desperately seeking a win in Florida to regain traction, but polls say there too his rival is leading with a wide margin.

The major factor that worked in favour of Gingrich’s in South Carolina was the revelation that the super-rich Romney pays a lower tax rate than ordinary working Americans. To recover from the setback, Romney has pledged to release his tax returns he had hoped to keep private. But it may be too late and is unlikely to give the results he expects.

The failure of any candidate to win conclusively so far shows the disarray in the Republican camp and their indecision. Barack Obama is the clear winner in this race. Looking on from the White House, he can watch his opponents do his work by digging up all the skeletons in each one’s cupboard.

For people in this region, the Republican contest has been shocking for a different reason: the virulence of anti-Palestinian, anti-Muslim sentiment expressed during the campaign. Israel has acquired an allegiance and importance among Republicans that seems to far surpass their love for their own country, and the popularity of the candidates surges when they attack Palestinians or profess unswerving allegiance to Israel, either in the form of an attack against Iran against common sense or Palestinians. That the people of a country which is looked up to perform the role of a mediator in the Middle East conflict can stoop so low and be so blatantly partisan in their outlook is indeed disappointing.

If Gingrich finally becomes the Republican nominee and eventually the president, the region will have to face another threat. Gingrich is the person who infamously said that “the Palestinian people are an invented people”,  a statement which shocked even liberal Americans.  He is also willing to go to any extent to win the support of Israel.

One way the region can prepare for Gingrich’s presidency is by educating the people of our region what Republicans are.