This post has been a work in progress over the last month so pull up a chair,grab some coffee or tea and relax.

The past month, I've been journaling my thoughts on the upcoming Presidential elections. Here is what I have concluded regarding who I believe conservatives and teaparty voters, along with establishment Republicans should consider and get behind as President to unite the GOP. If we all unite in the primary behind the candidate that supports the most conservative issues,the one who is most trustworthy&moral, I believe we can win against Obama&defeat Romney from being our appointed nominee. It's time to put bickering aside and political pandering aside and consider who you can trust the most and who is most likable.

Here is some background on why I have come to the decision I have. I have been undecided for quite some time on who I will support for President, but after hearing the debates,deliberating over what each candidate has to offer based on experience,principles and records...I have found that the best choice is Governor Perry  Rick Santorum. This article and video included give some great reasons why Perry should have been considered and given a second look: http://www.redstate.com/explodinghead/2012/01/08/time-for-a-perry-surge/ 

At the time of originally writing this portion, Perry has had the most executive experience of any candidate,is was the most social&fiscal conservative,with military experience, is pro-Israel and would support a strong defense&regain US respect in the world again. As we all know, there aren't any perfect candidates and nobody is Ronald Reagan, but Perry is also a big supporter of the 10th amendment and he definitely deserved a second look.

We can't pick a candidate because the media says he's best or liberal states say so, but we must pick them based on their record and consistent conservative principles. While Rick Perry is was the only person in the Republican field that fits ALL three legs of Ronald Regan’s conservative stool:a social, fiscal/economic and a national security conservative, currently Rick Santorum fits this criteria best without the baggage and controversy Newt Gingrich&Mitt Romney carry. 

Unfortunately, since the time of originally writing the above thoughts...Governor Perry has since dropped out after losing in the South Carolina primaries. Too many conservatives couldn't forgive him for his debate flaws in the beginning, which many believe were due to his recent back surgery,and pain medication and then his comments regarding in-state tuition for illegal immigrants in Texas put the nail in the coffin. However, Perry had to sign the in-state tuition bill into law because it was passed by a veto-proof majority in the legislature.  This disloyalty or disunity&bickering and the media influence is why I believe Cain,Palin,Bachmann and Perry were thrown under the bus;conservatives& teaparty didn't stand by the true conservatives from the beginning.

I wish Perry would have stuck it out longer, because SC allowed open elections and independents and democrats were able to vote and distort the votes. I don't know why the GOP allows this in some states in our primaries but it is a horrible idea. Primaries should be primarily for the party that is nominating a candidate!

In result, after further vetting& contemplation, I have decided to support Rick Santorum, who I originally was considering, because he's been the most consistent on the issues from foreign policy to border control and social issues and will decrease government spending&entitlement programs. While all the candidates have their flaws,I think Santorum has grown,become more confident&has learned a lot since his days of 'big govt spending' as a Senator. I  also believe with the teaparty in place,he would not expand govt&increase taxes&entitlements under these dire economic circumstances. Other candidates like Newt and Romney are too hard to trust and based on their records are more likely to increase government programs,but at a slower pace than Obama,just without the anti-American sentiment. Finally, Ron Paul is just too far out there on foreign policy and some of his economic ideas are even unsustainable&unrealistic such as the gold standard.

In addition, well known conservative pundit, Michelle Malkin finally came out and endorsed a candidate on  Jan 30,2012. Last week on Hannity she said she was remaining  neutral and was vetting each carefully on the issues, but she has since decided Rick Santorum is the most conservative candidate left out of the remaining candidates. I must agree she is right. She has a great article out that covers the pros and cons of each of the remaining candidates and why she finally decided to support Santorum.  Here is a summary of Michelle Malkin's endorsement highlighting Santorum's strengths:

©2013 Patricia Garza