Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

The Lone Republican (George Will Profiles MA Governor Mitt Romney's Blue State Stint)
Townhall.com ^ | 12/16/04 | George Will

Posted on 12/15/2004 9:24:54 PM PST by goldstategop

Edited on 12/16/2004 7:44:35 AM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]

BOSTON -- A Republican can be elected governor of the bluest state. Indeed, Republicans have held the statehouse here since Michael Dukakis' last year, 1990. Mitt Romney is the inexplicably happy holder of it now. What kind of person is preternaturally cheerful while governing with a Legislature in which 34 of 40 senators and 139 of 160 House members are Democrats?


(Excerpt) Read more at townhall.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Editorial; Government; Politics/Elections; US: Massachusetts
KEYWORDS: baystate; bluestateamerica; georgewill; lonerepublican; mittromney
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-8081 next last
Massachusetts is all prototypical Blue State America. Its a one-party state run by Democrats. It has a lone Republican Governor named Mitt Romney who's done a great job in spite of impossible odds. I'd hazard a guess we'll sooner get a Republican from the Bay State elected President in our lifetime than a Democrat.
1 posted on 12/15/2004 9:24:55 PM PST by goldstategop
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: goldstategop

I've made it no secret that I strongly think that Governor Romney would be our best choice for 2008. He has all the conservative principles to appeal to the red staters, but has the charisma to attract some blue state votes as well. He even looks "presidential"! Pair him up with a southerner with some D.C. experience (Mitch McConnell, Mark Sanford, Bill Frist, Fred Thompson, Elizabeth Dole) and he could have one hell of a future!


2 posted on 12/15/2004 9:31:51 PM PST by Bluegrass Conservative
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Bluegrass Conservative

If he wins re-election in 2006 - my guess is he'll throw in his hat for the GOP presidential nomination in 2008. As a Republican from a Blue State, he would be unbeatable paired with a Red State southern running mate. He appeals to both economic and social conservatives and at the same time he doesn't appear to rub off the libs negatively the way President Bush does.


3 posted on 12/15/2004 9:34:49 PM PST by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: goldstategop

Mitt really is a fairly amazing fellow. He isn't as conservative as I'd like, but he has managed to get elected in one of the most leftwing states in the nation.

One would think that after the Democrats, with help from the local media, smeared his religion in 1994 to save The Swimmer's bacon he wouldn't have come back to MA. But he did and smacked a Hillary clone back into obscurity while winning the governorship.


4 posted on 12/15/2004 9:34:58 PM PST by swilhelm73 (Dowd wrote that Kerry was defeated by a "jihad" of Christians...Finally – a jihad liberals oppose!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: goldstategop
He appeals to both economic and social conservatives and at the same time he doesn't appear to rub off the libs negatively the way President Bush does.

Any Republican ticks off liberals. Richard Nixon, pretty much a social liberal, ticked off liberals. George Bush Sr., a moderate, ticked off liberals.

Romney, if he wins the Republican nomination in '08, won't win Taxachusetts. Nor would Guiliani win New York if he was nominated in '08 for the GOP.

5 posted on 12/15/2004 9:39:12 PM PST by LdSentinal
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: swilhelm73

He stood up for traditional marriage. That took guts and I admire him for it. Mitt could have just taken the easy way out and ducked the issue. He may not be as conservative as some on this forum prefer but he's conservative by Blue State standards - he's no John F*ckin' Kerry, that's for sure.


6 posted on 12/15/2004 9:41:00 PM PST by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: goldstategop
If he wins re-election in 2006 - my guess is he'll throw in his hat for the GOP presidential nomination in 2008.

Good, his is one of the better names I've heard and certainly much better than McCain.

7 posted on 12/15/2004 9:55:12 PM PST by Dolphy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: goldstategop

And he's got a great sense of humor. He does just fine at the annual St. Patrick's Day Breakfast in Southie, surrounded by all those Irish pols. (For you out-of-towners, it's sort of like a Friar's Club Roast, but toned down for a Sunday morning.)


8 posted on 12/15/2004 10:12:39 PM PST by LibFreeOrDie (A Freep a day keeps the liberals away.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: goldstategop
Maybe my standards are to high, but I'd like to see some kind of results from a canidate and some kind of proof that they can either strenghten or improve the local party.

When I look back and Bush's record in texas, it was clear that despite the limitations (then) of the governors office, he was moving or working to move an agenda while building up the texas gop to where they are today.

If by 2008, Romney can even improve and do something, he would be a contender. Right now I'm leaning towards that nice governor from Minnesota.

9 posted on 12/15/2004 10:19:39 PM PST by Sonny M ("oderint dum metuant")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: goldstategop

I'm a Mormon, and I remember a few years back while I was serving a two-year stint as a missionary in Hong Kong, there was a sister missionary from Massachusetts. She swore that Mitt Romney would be president someday. At the time, I had barely heard of him, but I have become more and more convinced that sister was onto something.
Case in point: the 2002 Winter Olympics. The prospects were bleak: scandals, sweetheart contracts, and intrigue had tainted the Games. Mitt Romney singlehandedly halted the downward spiral, and the Games became a superlative success. My relatives in Salt Lake City thus speak of him in almost worshipful tones.
Mitt Romney is truly a man who has succeeded against all odds. What are the chances that a Mormon (synonymous in the MSM with "straight-laced," "staid," "clannish") could achieve electoral success in the mother of all blue states?
I have followed Mr. Romney closely, and he has my stamp of approval. If he wins the GOP nomination, he will kick some serious electoral butt.


10 posted on 12/15/2004 10:27:16 PM PST by srm913
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Bluegrass Conservative

Plus, he's a gun grabber, which will go over great with the southern states that have become the republican party's power base!

I swear, there must be something in the FR water supply that every time a rino is mentioned for 2008, people start fawning over him and believe he'll lead the republicans to the promised land.


11 posted on 12/15/2004 10:33:58 PM PST by flashbunny (Every thought that enters my head requires its own vanity thread.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: srm913

Can you tell me how he won the governorship in MA? I would think that his faith tradition would have been a no-no for most liberals. What was his "hook" to get the voters to listen to him? I would imagine that he'd use it, or some variation of it if he were a Presidential candidate.


12 posted on 12/15/2004 10:34:44 PM PST by hunter112 (Total victory, both in the USA and the Middle East!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: Bluegrass Conservative

"He has all the conservative principles to appeal to the red staters"

No he doesn't. He's a gleeful gun controller and happily promoted MA's own version of the AWB and signed it with smiles and fanfare. He doesn't even rate a consolation prize.


13 posted on 12/15/2004 10:46:52 PM PST by agitator (...And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: swilhelm73; goldstategop; Bluegrass Conservative; LdSentinal; Dolphy; LibFreeOrDie; srm913; ...
He isn't as conservative as I'd like, but he has managed to get elected in one of the most leftwing states in the nation.

But would that really matter with a Congress completely controlled by Republicans? It is quite possible for Republicans to have close to 60 senate seats by the time the 44th president is inaugurated in 2009.

14 posted on 12/15/2004 11:13:06 PM PST by Paleo Conservative (Hey! Hey! Ho! Ho! Dan Rather's got to go!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Bluegrass Conservative
Mitt Romney,Mitch McConnell, Mark Sanford, Bill Frist, Fred Thompson, Elizabeth Dole = All spineless RINOS who will be crushed by Hitlery Bin-Rotten Al-Clintooooooooon
15 posted on 12/15/2004 11:14:11 PM PST by nanak (Tom Tancredo 2008:Last Hope to Save America)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: LibFreeOrDie
That is a pretty entertaining shindig, they have there.

They broadcast the event-taped, of course-to New York City.

WPIX, I believe.

16 posted on 12/15/2004 11:14:51 PM PST by Do not dub me shapka broham (Why did it take me so long to come up with a new tag-line, huh?! What's up with that?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Dolphy

Tom Tancredo for President 2008:"Our last and only hope to save AMERICA"


17 posted on 12/15/2004 11:16:03 PM PST by nanak (Tom Tancredo 2008:Last Hope to Save America)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: flashbunny
I swear, there must be something in the FR water supply that every time a rino is mentioned for 2008, people start fawning over him and believe he'll lead the republicans to the promised land.

...and they think President BUSH is the best conservative president we have ever had.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION will be the dominant issue in 2008.

Tom Tancredo for President 2008:"Our last and only hope to save AMERICA."

18 posted on 12/15/2004 11:19:06 PM PST by nanak (Tom Tancredo 2008:Last Hope to Save America)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: goldstategop
Romney is a donkey with a horn rubber banded to this nose acting like a RINO, that likes to hang with elephants..

Don't be redidulous - Balky..

19 posted on 12/15/2004 11:29:20 PM PST by hosepipe (This Propaganda has been edited to include not a small amount of Hyperbole..)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Little Bill; ElectricStrawberry; SamAdams76; RaceBannon

ping


20 posted on 12/15/2004 11:30:36 PM PST by nutmeg ("Let the UN investigate itself." - Juan Williams (Fox News) 12/10/04)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-8081 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson