Posted on 11/02/2007 9:59:15 AM PDT by Signalman
WASHINGTON — Influential conservatives said Wednesday that Mitt Romney’s naming of Sen. Jim DeMint as a national chairman of his presidential campaign will help the former Massachusetts governor woo bedrock Republicans in South Carolina and beyond.
Romney named DeMint one of three national co-chairmen, along with Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire and Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt.
Romney, who has moved into the top tier of GOP White House candidates, said the three men “bring an incredible depth of knowledge and experience to our campaign to build a stronger America with a stronger military, stronger economy and stronger families.”
David Keene, president of the American Conservative Union in Alexandria, Va., noted that DeMint was the keynote speaker last year at his group’s conference of key activists from around the country.
“There isn’t a Jesse Helms or a Ronald Reagan around, but for conservatives Jim is one of the top four or five guys in the Senate in terms of respect,” Keene said.
DeMint was one of five senators to get a 100 percent rating by the American Conservative Union last year. His lifetime rating is 98 percent, the highest among all senators.
Brian Darling, a political analyst with the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington, said DeMint’s national profile has risen sharply because of his outspoken opposition to immigration reforms and his ongoing fight against appropriations earmarks.
“This helps Romney because DeMint is perceived as being just a go-getter and leader in the conservative movement,” Darling said.
DeMint’s support for Romney puts him at odds with fellow South Carolina Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, who is backing U.S. Sen. John McCain’s bid for the GOP nomination.
Keene said Romney’s past pro-choice position on abortion remains an issue for conservatives, despite his recent statements opposing abortion.
“If there’s a real question about Romney, it’s the credibility of his rebirth,” Keene said. “But Romney has had more luck in attracting some of the small-government and managerial types (of conservatives), and Jim falls into both those categories.”
DeMint, a first-term Republican senator from Greenville, acknowledged Romney’s past support for abortion rights, saying that “he certainly made a change in the right direction on life.”
DeMint noted the recent endorsement of Romney by Bob Jones, chancellor of the ultraconservative university in Greenville.
The senator said “a lot of evangelicals have had to come to terms” with Romney’s evolving views on abortion and with his Mormon faith.
DeMint praised Romney’s opposition to “creating an amnesty program” for illegal immigrants and his support for expanding private medical coverage for uninsured Americans. He said Romney knows the private sector well as former CEO of a Boston investment firm.
“The policies of freedom and individual responsibility have been his default position,” DeMint said.
David Lightman of the McClatchy Washington Bureau contributed to this report.
Maybe Jim DeMint can teach Mitt how to be a conservative, something Fred doesn’t need to learn.
Romney is a conservative in all his adds though. And enough people are buying the makeover to give him a real shot of winning the nomination. He’s leading in Iowa, New Hampshire. He’ll spend what he has to in south carolina to win. I don’t buy into Mitt as a conservative but he’s not an idiot and seems to have a plan in place to win the nomination.
The problem with Romney as well as Giuliani is they are 51 percenters - both good enough to get 51% of Republicans to vote for nomination while losing the other 49 percent at election time.
I know. Fred’s my guy but the way the primaries stacked up, he’s got to do well early to have a shot at the nomination. A strong second in Iowa, wins in South Carolina are a must.
I’m for Fred too and I live in Florida. But if he does not do well prior to Florida, I may cast a vote for Romney to help prevent a Giuliani nomination.
Is a Romney / DeMint ticket in the offing?
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