Romney’s Day to Relish Is Marred by Aide’s Gaffe

New York Times ^ | March 21, 2012 | EFF ZELENY and JIM RUTENBERG

[Cincinatus' Wife]

WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney sought to use the coveted endorsement of Jeb Bush on Wednesday to amplify his call for Republicans to rally behind his candidacy and get on with the mission of ousting President Obama...............

But if the endorsement held the potential to further choke off the oxygen to Mr. Santorum’s insurgent candidacy, the Romney campaign inadvertently gave Mr. Santorum a new supply when a senior adviser went on CNN and seemed to suggest that Mr. Romney’s conservative positions in the primary season could change like an Etch a Sketch drawing.

“I think you hit a reset button for the fall campaign,” Eric Fehrnstrom, a longtime adviser to Mr. Romney, said in response to a question about pivoting to a matchup with Mr. Obama and appealing to moderate swing voters. “Everything changes. It’s almost like an Etch a Sketch. You can kind of shake it up and restart all over again.”...........

The comments from Mr. Fehrnstrom followed a Romney campaign pattern of committing unforced errors after major victories. And they flared throughout the day from Republicans and Democrats alike, moving beyond politics into a hard-to-forget moment of popular culture that could be difficult for Mr. Romney to shake.

Even Rush Limbaugh questioned whether the remark was an error or a deliberate campaign strategy to send the message, “Don’t worry, we’ll do the right things to get the moderates.”..........

“He is smart enough to know that to have a future in the party, for a role in the government, or to run again or whatever, there will come a time when he needs to be a team player,” Charlie Black, an informal adviser to Mr. Romney and a veteran Republican presidential strategist, said of Mr. Santorum......

[iowamark]

“I think you hit a reset button for the fall campaign,” Eric Fehrnstrom, a longtime adviser to Mr. Romney, said in response to a question about pivoting to a matchup with Mr. Obama and appealing to moderate swing voters. “Everything changes. It’s almost like an Etch a Sketch. You can kind of shake it up and restart all over again.”

[SWAMPSNIPER]

"There will come a time when he needs to be a team player.”

Yeah, but will he be on the same team we are on?

[fieldmarshaldj]

Willard ain’t on our team.

[Diogenesis]

Team Player? Romney is the Team Backstabber.. and deserves HIS Karma.

---

FLASHBACK:

The McCain/Palin ticket was up ++4 to 10 pts
in some polls, days prior to Election 2008.
So rather than helping the GOP, Romney and
TeamROMNEY and the RNME (Republican National Media Establishment)
decided …to attack Gov. Palin to throw Election2008.

Romney, and the Van der Sloot RNME RINOs for Obama in 2008

Late in October, The American Spectator's The Prowler revealed:
"Former Mitt Romney presidential campaign staffers…
have been involved in spreading anti-Palin spin to reporters, seeking to diminish her standing after the election.
'Sarah Palin is a lightweight, she won't be the first, not even the third, person people will think of when it comes to 2012,'
says one former Romney aide…
'The only serious candidate ready to challenge to lead the Republican Party is Mitt Romney.
"Some former Romney aides were behind the recent leaks to media, including CNN, that Governor Sarah Palin was a 'diva' and was going off message intentionally."

---

The Palmetto Scoop reported: "One of the first stories to hit the national airwaves was
the claim of a major internal strife between close McCain aides and the folks handling his running mate Sarah Palin."
"I’m told by very good sources that this was indeed the case and that a rift had developed, but it was between Palin’s people and the staffers brought on from the failed presidential campaign of former Gov. Mitt Romney, not McCain aides."
"The sources said nearly 80 percent of Romney’s former staff was absorbed by McCain and these individuals were responsible for what amounts to a premeditated, last-minute sabotage of Palin."
… aides loyal to Romney inside the McCain campaign, said The Scoop, reportedly saw
that Palin would be a serious contender for the Republican nomination in 2012 or 2016, which made her a threat to another presidential quest by Romney.

---

"These staffers are now out trying to finish her off ….hoping it would ingratiate themselves with Mitt Romney."

---

"Who's the Palin Leaker from the McCain Campaign?
National Review Online The publication of a Vanity Fair profile of Sarah Palin
appears to have opened old wounds in the McCain campaign.
... the source of the “Diva” leak was Nicolle Wallace’s husband."

---

"Peeking Out From the McCain Wreckage: Mitt Romney"

"Someone's got to say it: IS MITT ROMNEY RESPONSIBLE FOR OBAMA'S VICTORY?"

"Vanity: Team Romney Sabotaged Palin and Continuing to Do So?"

"Romney Supporters Trashing Palin"

"Romney advisors sniping at Palin?"

---

[Vaquero]

‘Sparky’ Romney takes Seamus for a ride, in the Family Truckster.

[iontheball]

Very astute analysis.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Obama’s Dream — someone to lampoon as an Elite 1 Percenter (using his own words).

Etch A Sketch’- “You can kind of shake it up and restart all of over again.” (Campaign when asked about Romney being pushed to the right by Santorum and Gingrich – we can hit re-set button and like an etch-a-sketch)

‘Great Friends’ Are ‘NASCAR Team Owners’ (doesn’t follow racing as closely as some of the most ardent fans but knows owners.”)

‘A Couple of Cadillacs’ (wife’s)

‘$10,000 Bet’ (about removing sentence about RomneyCare being good for all states from paperback edition of “No Apologies”)

$370,000 Is ‘Not Very Much’ (about his speaking fees)

‘I’m Also Unemployed’ (”I have my sight on a particular job.”)

‘Corporations Are People, My Friend’

‘I Like Being Able to Fire People’

‘Worried’ About Getting a ‘Pink Slip’

‘Not Concerned About the Very Poor’ (”I’m not concerned about the very poor,. We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I’ll fix it. )

‘Let Detroit Go Bankrupt’

Let the Housing Crisis ‘Hit the Bottom’

‘I’m running for office, for Pete’s sake, I can’t have illegals’ (confronted about hiring illegals

‘Severely Conservative”

_____________________________

The Etch-a-Sketch “gaffe” reminds the base once again of the ill-fitting “I am a conservative” mask that Mitt is wearing for the GOP Primary; his reversal of positions on Life, gun control and mandated healthcare.

[LibsRJerks]

Come ON republicans — the evidence is now all around you. Just like it was 4 years ago.

Why are you making the same mistakes?

Either you have FULL knowledge of this, and you are entrenched in the Establishment muck and mire of doing things, which is DESTROYING the country . ...or you’re mentally deficient.

Get over it. Newt is the only AUTHENTIC conservative we have. Decades and decades of being conservative and accomplishment behind him.

Come on, don’t be afraid. He’s won’t ruin things. Let go of the status quo. We can do better.

[freedomfiter2]

Come ON republicans — the evidence is now all around you. Just like it was 4 years ago.

Why are you making the same mistakes?

The GOP elites aren’t making any mistakes. The last mistake they made was allowing Reagan to win. Putting a liberal into the White House and growing government is the goal.

[Guenevere]

Diogenesis, YOU are always spot on!!

NO ROMNEY!

Yet, there are some at FR who have written post after post against Santorum, who is the most viable candidate in the field who can overcome Romney.

But here at FR, he is constantly belittled, ridiculed and marginalized.

....It doesn't make sense to do this....only Romney benefits!

[PBRSTREETGANG]

[Happy Rain]

I respect and would not insult the anti-Romney conservative voter and they have made their choice...

RICK SANTORUM

[LibLieSlayer]

Progressives will tell you exactly what they are going to do... obama did many times... and the left think that unless THEY interpret their statements for conservatives... we are too stupid to comprehend their brilliance... **** the gop/e and **** mitt romney.

LLS

[ThePatriotsFlag]

The GOP elites aren’t making any mistakes. The last mistake they made was allowing Reagan to win. Putting a liberal into the White House and growing government is the goal.

Exactly! (...note tag line)

[DH]

Anyone who does not believe that Romney will not do (and say) anything to get elected is a fool.

What gives these spoiled rich people the amazing gift to be the only livestock capable of governing? What makes them smarter than the common prole? Why are people so attracted to liars and “flim-flam” types? Why do people vote blindly for a specific political party?

There a so many “why” questions but no logical answers.

Romney was picked by the GOP to run as “da boy” when he was only a gleam in his daddy’s eye. After he was born he was groomed for a charmed life and a more than good chance to eventually become president. It was a family political dream.

Every time I hear someone championing him, I am stupefied at the fact that that individual can’t relate Obamacare to Romneycare...and the man who invented it. How stupid can the general public be?

We are in “hollywood” mode now. The stars of the political season are now shining and the public is going wild at anyone being held up as the latest political movie star with the only requirement being that the media approves of them. The future of our country is based on a love affair with a beauty contest and nothing else.

What the hell has happened to our culture and society?

[Happy Rain]

Conservative voters have chosen Rick over Newt to stop Mitt.

But this only makes some "conservatives" want to smear Santorum even more and I'm sure Mitt Romney really appreciates the help.

[MulberryDraw]

Is Romney a Nixon rerun, an Obama in sheep’s clothing or none of the above?

[monkapotamus]

[ncalburt]

What is your point in attacking Rick in the title ?
A big SO WHAT if. Rick has. It gone off the wall on this aides comments .

Rick is the only one left to stop Mittens .
Newt has been finished for awhile and needed to leave with class but he decided to be a bitter angry spoiler .

[ncalburt]

Good points .
What is the point of this poster to attack Rick for not being a petty ?
This poster is getting desperate and petty .

[chainsaw]

Will Romney become another Dole...McCain type candidate?

[NonValueAdded]

So now the truth is a gaffe, is it?

[Durus]

No we didn’t.

[3rdcoastislander]

This has been one of the worse campaigns I have seen run in a long time. It’s pathetic. By the time he gets to the primary Obama won’t even have to spend any money bashing him because he has done it himself, with the help of his own party Newt and Rick. Total disaster, not that I was going to vote for him anyway.

[AngelesCrestHighway]

“Romney’s Day to Relish Is Marred by Aide’s Gaffe?”...

Who cares?...The big question is what to do about the “BIG Gaffe” in the White House?

[Condor51]

Forget the Etch-A-Sketch blurb. THIS is what scares the heck out of me......

“Now is the time for Republicans to unite behind Governor Romney and take our message of fiscal conservatism and job creation to all voters this fall,” Mr. Bush said..

Well exsqueeze me Mr Bush, but what about SOCIAL conservatism? Huh Mr OPEN BORDER, LATINO PANDERING, AMNESTY PUSHER. Where's your boy Mittens stand on THAT?!?!

Should we look to who he put on the Taxachusetts Bench as governor? A bunch of constitution following conservatives, right Jeb? Or on the 2nd Amendment -- Mitten's is a life long NRA member and: gun owning - hunter - target shooter - firearm collector - Stand Your Ground - concealed carry 'gun nut' - kind of guy, correct? And that Mittens is a firm believer in peoples freedoms and doesn't think believe that Gubmint Mandates of ANY KIND are constitutional, and is basically UN-AMERICAN, no?

Huh? What's that Mr: 'John Ellis Pierce Bush'. No you say, to all of that 'stuff'? You mean Mittens appointed LIBERAL JUDGES. He IS in favor of an Assault Weapon Ban and really isn't that big on that whole 2A Rights thingy. And that yes he believes that 'the G' can dictate what people MUST DO, 'for the greater good'.

Wow 'Jeb' (I may cal you Jeb, right?), now those are real shockers. Sounds to me like your boy Mittens is really .... a LIBERAL! .... you blithering numb-skull.

an aside Señor Arbusto. One cannot be a 'fiscal conservative' unless one is also a 'social conservative'. Or in simple Inglés -- A Conservative, period. As liberal social policies or, 'compassionate conservatism'(/s), COSTS TAXPAYERS MONEY! And that, Buster, ain't 'Fiscally Conservative'.

[/Rant]

[presently no screen name]

with the help of his own party Newt and Rick.

First of all, this POS doesn't belong in the GOP. He is a snakeinthegrass, pro homo, pro abortion, anti-traditional marriage, appointing liberal judges, big gov't and socialism healthcare LIBERAL. What's wrong with you 'his own party'???.

He is a LIAR and backstabber. He has bought the votes he has and lied about Newt every step of the way. He has done NOTHING for America.

[presently no screen name]

Rick is in it to STOP Newt!! A plan since ‘08 when Rick campaigned for Mitt. Mitt needed buffer Rick who claims to be conservative. Voters bought the whole d*mn package! Conservatives they aren’t. BTW, where are his taxes?

[JediJones]

[3rdcoastislander]

He is a registered Republican, so he is part of the Republican party. I can tell you dislike the man but the facts are he is running for the Repub nomination. I agree with you he has many liberal agendas. I would much rather have another guy out in front. The whole thing is a mess, which makes it a cake walk for Obama. They need unity right now.

[JediJones]

Romney has the charisma of Michael Dukakis, the likability of John Kerry, the natural warmth of Richard Nixon, the honesty of Bill Clinton, the business ethics of Michael Milken, the populist appeal of Thurston Howell, III, the socialist leanings of Barack Obama and he practices the weirdest religion outside of Scientology. A candidate like that just screams electability.

[JediJones]

They need to see Romney’s candidacy go down in flames so they learn a lesson not to push any more RINOs on us. At this point I’m pretty sure I’d be happier to see Romney lose in November. Time to push the reset switch on the GOP. All that will happen if Romney wins is a repeat of 2006-2008, the Democrats packing the Congress and then lining up a lefty President to boot the weak Romney out. And Romney will spend his second two years pandering to the new liberal Congress, happily passing everything they want, hoping that liberal/moderate/swing voters won’t vote him out in 2016 if he turns hard left. After which, of course they will vote him out. Better for us to pack the Congress with conservatives now, keep gridlock in place, let the GOP suffer a loss with their 100% RINO that we can stick in their nose for years, and get another chance to nominate a conservative in 2016. Besides, if Romney loses, it won’t give Obama a mandate. Everyone will know Obama only won because Romney just sucked eggs as a candidate.

[presently no screen name]

He is a registered Republican,

Yeah, and he is a KNOWN LIAR, also.

The GOP E and the 'rat party are ONE. But for votes ONLY - they are TWO. Anyone supporting him is attracted/drawn to evil. It is well past time for a SECOND party.

I agree with you he has many liberal agendas.

Make that ALL and socialism you'll be right. His record as governor is worst than a liberal one. His answer to 'what has he done for the conservative cause?' - "I'm married to the same woman and have five children". You can't make this stuff up. And he's getting votes with the GOP E behind him?

[3rdcoastislander]

I get your logic. I too am in the camp for getting the RINOs out, many of them are too reluctant and do not fight back against the dems.