Much has been written about the Democrat plantation.  On this Democrat plantation, it is said that today's American blacks are slaves to the Democratic Party, much as their ancestors were slaves to their antebellum plantation masters.  Then, as now, they were given scraps compared to their masters.  Then, as now, running away or any disobedience by an individual was severely punished.  Conservatives who have any exposure to "conservative" media are quick to point this out.  What they fail to realize is that they, too, are on a plantation.  

"What?  Surely you must be kidding!  We conservatives are too smart for that."  Really?  Think about it.  Deep down inside you know it is true.  As I said before, any disobedience is severely punished.  Ask Sarah Palin.  She had the nerve to be an outsider who threatened the establishment.  Was she added to McCain's ticket as red meat to satiate the "God, guns, and babies" conservatives?  Or, as some say, to ensure that McCain didn't get in the way of an "historic" presidency?  When it became apparent that she just might drag the old warhorse across the finish line, and by doing so possibly get in the way of the establishment's "next in line" candidate, she had to be destroyed.  Either way, not only did the Republicans allow the Democrats to beat their charge, but they actually joined in.  Better yet, ask Herman Cain.  That man had the misfortune of wandering off not just one, but two plantations!  The current fence-jumper seems to be Newt Gingrich.  The Republican establishment has circled its wagons, and Newt is on the outside along with everybody else, including the TEA Party. 

That brings us to the candidate inside the wagon circle, Mitt Romney.  Everyone who has polled well and seemed to actually have a chance to gain momentum has had the glaring eye of the press expose his or her every flaw, real or perceived.  All except Mitt Romney.  Do all of the current candidates have issues?  Of course.  Can any of them do a better job than Obama?  Hopefully.  Have Romney's weaknesses been belabored to the extent of the other candidates?  Not even close.

We are told that Romney has the best chance of defeating Obama, and that is why we need to vote for him.  "He has the best organization!"  If you had millions to begin with and have been running for president since 2008, I would hope that you had a good one.  "He's a successful businessman, and that's what we need to get this country back to work!"  The closer you look at what his business was, the more he seems like Gordon Gekko.  If he thinks that Newt is playing unfairly, wait 'til Axelrod gets going.

Besides, to Joe Six-Pack, a successful businessman is someone who started with nothing and actually builds things.  To him, a venture capitalist reeks of Wall Street.  In flyover country, Wall Street is about as popular as the federal government.  This is a tailor-made issue for Obama.  He doesn't have anything else.  Besides, we don't need a businessman to straighten out our economic woes.  We just need to stop looting and over-regulating businesses and taxpayers and making them servants of the government instead of the other way around.

In a few months, most of us will be asked once again to hold our nose and vote for the establishment candidate because he is supposedly the only one who can beat Obama.  They will say he is the best we have.  They will say not to pay attention to the fact that the last place he governed was a liberal hell-hole.  They will say he really means what he says now.  They will not say that his past positions are anathema to most conservatives.  They will not say that he left a hollowed-out shell of a Republican party in his wake, and chances are that he will do it again (that's for another article).  C'mon, you don't want Obama again, do you? 

Those of us who do go to the polls this time to exercise our franchise won't be voting for Romney; we'll be voting against Obama.  I can't think of too many broken-glass Republicans this time around.  Except for the 2010 midterms, you usually win elections by voting for somebody.  Did the Republicans think we were actually voting for them?  Or do they think they can get away with not being Obama again?  Anyway, win or lose (honorably, of course), the Republican establishment gets what it wants.  For you and me, welcome to the plantation. 

Ebben Raves is a veteran, constitutional conservative activist, and speaker who teaches American history and has been a guest on several talk radio shows.  He can be reached at ebshumidors@yahoo.com.