Posted on 12/31/2014 9:01:14 PM PST by SoConPubbie
I told you last night, there was only one way for this year to end on Hot Air. May one word ring in your ears as the ball drops, my friends: Romneymentum.
Hopefully you’re all already liquored up sufficiently to dull the pain.
“I know exactly what Mitt’s going to do,” [Ken] Gardner, a real estate developer who helped bring Romney to Utah to lead the 2002 Winter Olympics, told the Deseret News. “I think over the next few months, a lot of things will happen.”…
“If it’s Ted Cruz that’s the candidate, he’s in. If it’s Jeb Bush, he’s probably not,” Gardner said.
He said Romney doesn’t want to cost fellow moderate Republicans Bush and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie support at this point in the race.
That changes, Gardner said, “if it doesn’t look like they can do it.”
Later in the piece Gardner suggests that Romney’s bored by his retirement, which naturally means … he should run for president again? What?
Actually, I’m playing a little trick on Romney-haters by linking this piece. When you think about it, this is good news for you guys, not bad. Bush is already in the race and Chris Christie, who’s cramming on foreign policy and traveling the country to pile up favors before jumping in, will almost certainly follow soon. If only one of them were running, there’s a chance that that man would underperform early against conservative challengers, sparking the type of RINO panic that might draw Romney in as a savior. With two marquee centrists running, though, there’s zero chance that they’ll both underperform. One of two things will happen: Either one of them will consolidate most of the centrist vote at the other’s expense, propelling that man towards the top of the field, or they’ll split the centrist vote roughly evenly while some conservative champion races ahead. Even in the latter scenario, though, Romney would probably stay out and campaign on behalf of Bush or Christie (likely Bush) rather than jump in to try to usurp them as centrist champion. A late entry under those circumstances would simply be too risky. Instead of gobbling up Bush’s and Christie’s support, Romney might split off only a few voters, deepening the split among centrists and increasing the odds that Cruz is nominated. Imagine that it’s September 2015 and Cruz is pulling 25 percent with Bush and Christie each stuck in the mid-teens. If Romney then jumps in, you might well end up with him, Jeb, and Christie each pulling numbers in the low teens while Cruz remains basically unaffected. (Making a splashy announcement as the self-styled party savior and then fizzling would be hugely embarrassing for Romney too, needless to say, another reason why he’d be disinclined to do it.) The establishment impulse, wisely, is always towards consolidation, not diversification. Romney getting in would confound that logic. The day Christie announces, it effectively ends the “dream” of Romney 2016.
So there’s the “good news” for tea partiers as 2014 winds down — instead of nominating Mitt Romney again, your worst-case scenario only involves nominating, um, Jeb Bush or Chris Christie, who, by the way, already lead the field. Happy new year!
Probably true. I could’nt agree more you that GOP needs to tighten the primary voting process. The problem is, any democrat can register as a republican. In this country there is freedom to register with any party of your choice.
If in 2016 Hillary is overwhelming favorite to win nomination, more democrats will register as republicans to throw a monkey wrench in the apparatus.
What an odd misuse of the verb “save”! Usually “save” indicates preventing a bad outcome, certainly not causing one.
Please add me to the list.
He is not trying to rescue the Republicans, he is trying to rescue the “party” as in progressive communist party whisk spans both re pubs and dhimicrats.
People are tired of the R vs. D battles, more and more people identify as Independent. If someone as high profile as Ted Cruz or Allen West were to run, I think we would see HUGE enthusiasm from the conservative, constitutionalist, and libertarian voters. If the 2016 choice is between a Progressive Dem, a RINO, or Cruz? I predict that a landslide would go to Cruz.
: )
glad to hear ya got a few billion to spare. Ross Perot was a bit too poor ...
Don’t blame me because Mitt Romney wants to run for President. Trying to pretend he doesn’t want another bite at the apple is just stupid. My guess is Mitt thinks he got cheated out of it in 2012 and he probably did.
Lets all hope Ted Cruz and some other conservatives get momentum going by at least announcing in the next 2-3 months.
In all my years of voting for President the only time the guy I really wanted to win got the job was Ronald Reagan.
Its usually the lesser of two weevils and the really good guys get left behind.
I’d be all over those Nevada caucuses if I lived in your state. Then again, some people really don’t care for that type of thing ...
Well, perhaps you are entirely unconcerned with whether a center-right Republican wins the presidency, or whether a center-left Democrat wins it.
But that is a matter of rather serious concern to some of us...
Palin was not a candidate in 2012. Neither was Thompson. What are you wanging on about?
McCain won the nomination in 2008, and Palin was his VP. Romney, if he WAS hating on palin failed to do much to slow her down!
Cain ran in 2012. Cain was undone by his little-man, not by Romney.
Lets keep it real, OK? Romney ran a campaign in 2012 that hew won, but he didn't denigrate Palin or Thompson, who were on the sidelines.
Willard Romney attacked Thompson, Cain, the Speaker and Gov. Palin --- for his Obama.
"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?"
Poor sport spoiler Romney doing what he does best:
Novak: "Fred Thompson drop-out rumors traced to Romney campaign"
Conservatives aren’t able to unite because so many of the “conservative” candidates are not conservative.
I don’t want center anything!!! We’ve gone that route way too many times, only for it to fail time and again.
What makes YOU think this is a winning scenario? Why won’t you get behind a ‘conservative or nothing’ candidate. This is the problem in my opinion that people are way too afraid to have the conviction necessary and they fall for the hype and lies of the media that tell us “X is the only one that can win”.
They’re lying to you and you need to open your eyes.
If you and others hadn’t lent your support, maybe he wouldn;t be considering it.
So concerned that you’ll elect a hard leftist.
Bingo.
In what way is Obama, Hillary or Pocohontas “center”? You have bought the lamestream media meme. Romney, Bush and Krispy are center-LEFT, not center-right, BTW. Bob
“If you and others hadn’t lent your support, maybe he wouldn;t be considering it.”
Yeh Mitt always calls me first before making a big decision. LOL!!! YU SO FUNNY!
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