Posted on 03/02/2010 1:41:53 PM PST by C19fan
In a vacuum there’s nothing newsy about this, but 2012 isn’t a vacuum. We’ve talked before about the developing narrative: Palin vs. anti-Palin, “true conservatives” vs. centrists, blue-collar vs. white-collar, and … populists vs. “elitists.” With Beck having brought down the house at CPAC and the GOP in the grip of tea party fee-vah, why oh why would a potential nominee spritz cold water on populism? Branding, dear boy, branding: As Mitt Romney sets out this week to promote his new book, “No Apology,’’ he is also auditioning for a rapidly disappearing role in American politics: a politician who is speaking out against the “temptations of populism.’’ “The populism I’m referring to is, if you will, demonizing certain members of society: going after businesspeople, going after Wall Street, going after people who are highly educated, people who are CEOs,’’ Romney said in an interview. “That kind of ‘All of our problems are due to that group’ is something that is unproductive.’’…
(Excerpt) Read more at hotair.com ...
Willard doesn’t like populists.
Grunthor: Beware the “temptations of RINOism”
If Willard reads this: We have nothing against CEOs and the like. What we do not like is having us tax payers bail out their butts when they make poor decisions.
Deep within the Willard headquarters...
Romney: “Darn that Caribou Barbie! She’s written a book and gotten billions of dollars of publicity!!!! AAaaarggghhh!!!!
“Wait. I know. I’ll write a book. I’ll go on tour. I’ll learn to hunt. I’ll show people I write on my hand too! I’ll buy some designer glasses.
“OK, team! Here’s what we need.
1. Hire a consultant to tell us what kind of book conservatives will buy.
2. Hire a ghost writer.
3. Set up a book tour! Do it quick people!!!
4. Get the dirty tricks squad in action fast!
I’ll need police badges made! I need to spin my
Massachusetts Socialist Health Plan somehow. Ideas?
“Quick people!
The whole situation is utterly disgusting. Main Street America has millions and milllions unemployed while BUSH and ZERO bailout (i.e. GIVE MONEY DIRECTLY TO FAILED FINANCE COMPANIES), and HOW MANY of these CEOs still have their jobs???
Does Romney know the difference between “populist” and “popular”. Does Romney categorize Bammy as a populist? One wonders.
Fidelity to the constitution isn’t populism. Demands that your elected leaders adhere to the constitution isn’t populism, either.
Classic liberal conservatism, which is limited government, individual liberty, individual responsibility, rule of law, respect for property, that isn’t populism either.
If Romney is going to disparage conservatives as populists, the onus is on him to define his terms. “Populist” is exactly what they are not.
"“The populism I’m referring to is, if you will, demonizing certain members of society: going after businesspeople, going after Wall Street, going after people who are highly educated, people who are CEOs,’’ Romney "
The only people the Tea Party is demonizing are politicians who spend without restraint, and show arrogance in ignoring the will of the people. The people going after Wall Street and CEO's are in the current administration.
The official definition of "populist" is:
Main Entry: 1pop·u·list
Pronunciation: \ˈpä-pyə-list\
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin populus the people
Date: 1892
1 : a member of a political party claiming to represent the common people; especially often capitalized : a member of a United States political party formed in 1891 primarily to represent agrarian interests and to advocate the free coinage of silver and government control of monopolies
2 : a believer in the rights, wisdom, or virtues of the common people
I think I normally think of definition #2. I always picture Andrew Jackson as the original populist, who got over 70% of the vote in his election. Of course, Washington was also a populist, in that he became President by unanimous acclamation.
Good one!
Now how does he get Americans to come out early, wait on lines for his book? He couldn’t even get them to preorder his book.
If Mitt can’t ‘buy’ it, he’s not going to have it.
Might be time to start up the ABM Treaty
Anybody But Mitt.
It’s not even “populism”,
it’s anti-elitism.
If you’ve ever uttered the phrase “for the common/greater good”, you’re what we’re “anti”.
Yep. Specifically the Ivy League grifters who rotate between the Fed, the Treasury Dept. and the Wall Street megabanks (Goldman Sachs, Citi), and make sure they always come out on top while the taxpayers get screwed, regardless of which party is in power.
As I posted in an earlier thread:
GOP Begins “Romney 2012” Campaign (with a little help from glad-to-help Liberals; take a read)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2455215/posts
The full-court press is already on, and the establishment is going to do everything in their power to promote Mitt Romney.
They also know they can succeed through the usual formula of delegate count “tweaking” and primary “tweaking,” and by promoting 1%-ers to bleed votes from a Palin-type candidate.
You watch, even here at FR, we'll have people casting suicide votes with the full knowledge that Romney might win their primary by 1% because of it. (”Mitt Romney 38.0002%, Sarah Palin 38.0001%, Allen West 0.0002%. Thanks to the winner-take-all nature of the primary, Mitt Romney gets all 62 delegates......”)
Then there’ll be results like this:
1.) Mitt Romney 36%
2.) Sarah Palin 34%
3.) Haley Barbour 9%
4.) Jim DeMint 7%
5.) Mitch Daniels 5%
6.) Tim Pawlenty 4%
7.) Newt Gingrich 4%
8.) Duncan Hunter (write-in) 1%
You mark my words: as sure as I am posting here, it will happen. Just like it did with McCain, it will happen again. You watch.
The greedy taking away from the needy.
Is the “Romney” book out yet? It will be funny to see his sales compared to Palin’s.
There is a good chance will be the nominee in 2012 in the “next-in-line” mode of the Republican Party. Republican primary voters are so uninformed that all they know to do is vote for the man who lost last time.
Hey, you are on to something with those totals. The American people just know how to rubberstamp the man on top.
Better people - like him - know what is best for the peasants.
Mitt is such an elitist loser.
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