Posted on 06/19/2010 8:54:02 AM PDT by curth
Immediately after Nikki Haley's overwhelming victory in the South Carolina Primary, we noted Team Mitt's panic over the credit Governor Palin received:
It appears Mitt Romney is getting a bit nervous as a result of all the well-deserved credit Governor Palin received for helping Nikki Haley in South Carolina, both in the media and by Haley herself. In fact Romney is so nervous he feels compelled to return to South Carolina to campaign for Haley before the runoff on the 22nd.
[...]
This is classic Mitt Romney. When all the mud was flying and Governor Palin publicly and steadfastly stood behind Haley, Romney was, as is his custom, nowhere to be found. Undoubtedly Romney thought he could gain some conservative cred in South Carolina by endorsing Haley in March who, at the time, was considered a long-shot conservative candidate with little chance of winning. However, after Haley's incredible surge in the polls (following, not coincidentally, Governor Palin's endorsement) and ultimate victory last night, Romney saw his plan for making inroads in the important primary state unraveling.
Recent activities on the part of Team Mitt indicate our assessment of Romney's panic was correct. Today Romney travelled to South Carolina to campaign with Nikki Haley and, while there, announced he was giving the Haley campaign $42,000. How, you ask, can he give a candidate that much money given the limits in campaign finance laws? It's easy if you're Mitt Romney. You purchase a team of lawyers to figure out how to get around the spirit of the law. Via Andy Barr at the Politico:
...lawyers for Romneys Free and Strong America PAC discovered that multiple PACs sharing the same leadership and office space are able to contribute $3,500 each per cycle in South Carolina, according to a Romney source.
With one federal PAC and five statewide PACs each maxing out at $3,500 for Haley in both the GOP primary and general elections, Romney has contributed a total of $42,000.
This is standard operating procedure for Romney. What else can a plastic flip-flopping politician do to acquire the influence he lacks other than purchase it? Unfortunately for Romney, there's not enough money in the world for him to purchase that which he really needs: authenticity.
C4P readers may have noticed Romney's astro-turfers spamming the threads on other websites in the days immediately after Nikki Haley's victory. They repeatedly claimed that Romney, not Governor Palin, was the real endorsement powerhouse in the GOP since he purportedly endorsed 120 candidates since the beginning of the year. They even provided this link to a Romney website as evidence. What a difference a few days make. Now, believe it or not, endorsements don't really mean anything according to Team Mitt, as a Romney spokesman told Barr:
Endorsements are nice, but Governor Romney understands that money wins elections, Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom told POLITICO.
Oh, I see. A week ago Mitt was Captain America because of all the endorsements he made this year. Now endorsements may be "nice" but don't really matter, only money counts. Of course Romney's hack didn't mention all the money Governor Palin's endorsements generate for her endorsees through grass-roots contributions, but why complicate the narrative? What has happened to cause such a dramatic change in Team Mitt's attitude toward endorsements? Perhaps it's because Mitt Romney's endorsements are insignificant, as Rick Santorum indicated in an interview with the National Review to which Ian linked the night before last:
Palin is the only endorsement anyone wants, he laughs. If you ask who the most influential endorsers are, Palin is numbers one, two, and three, with maybe Sen. Jim DeMint at four. Her endorsement is the only one that matters this year. Just look at what she did for Nikki Haley.
What about Romney, the man Santorum supported in the 2008 presidential campaign? No offense to Mitt, but he doesnt carry the weight, Santorum says. Mitt can help you with some finance people, maybe in some small way, but his pull is insignificant compared to Palins.
So, to paraphrase, her endorsements are golden, his don't mean sh*t. Yeah, I guess this realization may well have had something to do with Romney's change of heart on the importance of endorsements. It also explains why he had to rush down to South Carolina and hire a team of lawyers to figure out how to give Nikki Haley $42,000 for a race she's going to win easily anyway. Mitt, your erratic actions prove beyond a doubt that, although your endorsements may not matter, hers most definitely do.
Nonsense.
Palin may have gotten it right on some but she damn sure blew it in Alabama.
The guy she endorsed here was the biggest buffoon in the race.
I could look at the candidates websites and sort of tell you which ones I would endorse. It’s not that difficult. Obviously, she didn’t know most of these folks.
Since when did you join Team Romney?
Can you say “Jealous”!
You have to wonder about so-called “conservatives” who actually get upset that someone gives the preferred conservative candidate $42,000 to win their election.
But some people are just very deranged.
I didn’t. There is more than enough ammo to mug Romney with. No need to make stuff up, like this author did.
Point taken.
No Kidding. What is Mr. Socialized medicine interested in conservative candidates for anyways?
If he actually said that, then very few people heard it. I'll stand corrected if true, but if a tree falls deep in the forest, nobody hears it.
It is fairly well known that Haley gained traction only after Sarah Palin endorsed her, and her strong defense helped a lot when the allegations came out.
As to "minions", admit it, don't you wish your candidate had even had a paltry few?
:-)
If endorsements didn't matter, they wouldn't still be made or requested.
We know that Pissant.
The point is, is that Romney's endorsements mean squat. Haley was still stuck in last place when Romney endorsed her. Only Palin's endorsement carried her to the top.
I was responding to someone who apparently is not included in the “we know that” crowd.
“Endorsements are nice, but Governor Romney understands that money wins elections,” Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom told POLITICO.”
Hmm, sounds like Mitt has a plan for 2012. I don’t trust the GOP not to go for it. At this point Obama is so low they might think that even Mitt could get elected AND bring all that money with him. God save us from this mindset, we need a true conservative leader. Not another Pres__ent.
*PING*
AND "Sour Grapes!"
Mitt Romney actually went on Letterman
(jealously choosing the same night as Gov. Palin on Leno,
and after Letterman attacked Gov. Palins daughters!
Mitt RomneyCARE (D, Shapeshifter): "I'm not running as the Republican view or a continuation of Republican values.
That's not what brings me to the race.
(Backstabber Romney Video, accessed 9/19/07)
"We don't intend to turn the Republican Party
over to the traitors in the battle just ended.
We will have no more of those candidates who are pledged
to the same goals as our opposition and who seek our support.
Turning the Party over to the so-called moderates
wouldnt make any sense at all.""
-- President Ronald Reagan
Romney (Carpetbagger shapeshifter, D, RINO): I'm very clear I think, to the people across the Commonwealth
my "R" didn't stand so much for Republican as it does for reform."
(Flip-flop chameleon artiste and Mitt RomneyCARE
Video, accessed 9/19/07)
"A political party cannot be all things to all people.
It must represent certain fundamental beliefs
which must not be compromised to political expediency
or simply to swell its numbers."
-- President Ronald Reagan
After Romney endorsed her how far did Haley’s favorables move up? And after the Palin endorsement? (I won’t ask about Duncan Hunter not endorsing Haley, he was probably busy on an elk hunt or fishing trip).
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