• Send FReep Mail to Unmarked Package to get [ON] or [OFF] the Mitt Romney Ping List •
Posted on 11/06/2007 2:08:50 PM PST by Spiff
I spoke to Paul Weyrich, chairman of the Free Congress Foundation and a founder of the Heritage Foundation and the Moral Majority, about his endorsement of Mitt Romney.
“I felt it would come down to a contest between Giuliani and Romney,” Weyrich said. “I don’t want Giuliani as the nominee because a lot of our values voters will defect... I know the same argument is made about Romney, but eventually, I think those voters can be brought around. There is a hardcore group that absolutely will not vote for Giuliani… I don’t think they’ll go for a third party candidate, I think they’ll stay home. I think there’s no convincing them. I’ve talked to a number of these folks. Even though they recognize that Hillary is a real problem, they think that it’s better to have somebody bad like that than it is to have somebody halfway reasonable.”
On the other candidates, Weyrich said each one, ultimately, had flaws too large to earn his endorsement.
“I’m on the permanent executive committee of the Arlington Group, which was formed to push for the Federal Marriage Amendment. We’ve got [Fred] Thompson who says he can’t support that. I can’t push this for the past several years and then say, ‘oh, that’s not so important.’ … I’ve been working with candidates for close to fifty years I recognize candidates with fire in the belly. I’ve got to tell you, I do not think Thompson really wants to be elected that badly.”
“As for McCain, I can’t support him — McCain-Feingold is a dealbreaker, as far as I’m concerned.”
“Huckabee, I came close to supporting him, and if we were running for some sort of religious organization, I would support him, but we’re not. He has compromised on so many conservative issues, I simply can’t be for him. Every time you turn around, he’s taking the wrong stand on a different issue.”
“I know there’s the issue that Romney has flip-flopped, but so have most of the other candidates,” Weyrich said. “I’ve questioned him very thoroughly and I’m of a mind that he is sincere in his change of heart. I may be wrong but I have interviewed hundreds of candidates over the years, and I have a sense of these things.
Weyrich said he wasn’t worried about Romney’s comparatively low name ID at this point.
“If he wins Iowa, New Hampshire, maybe wins in South Carolina, that it’ll take care of itself. Anybody who wins in all of those states is going to get a lot of coverage.”
Weyrich said other candidates sought his nomination, but that he reached out to Romney, not the other way around. “I was impressed with the dynamism of the candidate. He’s a candidate that will impress the American public.”
Paul Weyrich Talks About Why He Endorsed Romney - And Not the Others
National Review Online
Jim Geraghty
6 November 2007
• Send FReep Mail to Unmarked Package to get [ON] or [OFF] the Mitt Romney Ping List •
Paul Weyrich just told the next generation of young people that being a Christian is one of those “it depends on what the definition of is is”.
So in essence , Weyrich is saying that the values voters will have to “come around” to Romney’s psuedo Conservatism ?
By that , he’s admitting that Romney has to be sold to values voters . Not good .
Thompson doesn’t need to be sold to Conservative voters , he has the Conservative track record already .
>>>Paul Weyrich just told the next generation of young people that being a Christian is one of those “it depends on what the definition of is is”.<<<
I think John 3:16 is quite clear on who a Christian is.
Or are you in favor of limiting “Believeth in Him” to its narrowest extent? And do you think Christ would do the same?
I, for one, hope not.
same here.
He sounds more like nutters such as Pat Buchanan or Paul Craig Roberts.
Romney is running as the conservative in this race. Not Thompson.
Thompson does have a relatively conservative voting record with the exceptions of tort reform and our border. That much is indisputable.
But I don’t see Thompson as the agenda setter who is going to fight the Dims tooth and nail. He’s far more of a legislator than an executive.
Subject, of course, to the whims of Big Jim Dobson.
Doesn't matter what he's "running as," but rather what he actually is: liberal enough for Massachusetts, feigning conservatism to infiltrate the GOP.
Bump
I think Weyrich has left the conservative movement.
Romney a conservative? And B Hussein Obama is a moderate. Yeah right
Hunter is much better than Romney, IMO.
Grab the hip boots. It’s chin-deep in here.
You sold your soul for a few pesos to a liberal, Weyrich.
So is Weyrich a conservative, but a gullible tool that Romney has hoodwinked?
Is Weyrich a false conservative, who welcomes a liberal President?
Or you don't have the slightest idea, but are just on this thread to mindlessly spew Romney insults, per usual?
Thompson may as well be the phony candidate. Here we have Rudy the frontrunner and Thompson bashes Romney but doesnt lay a glove on Rudy. Why is that? Thompson's real chances are in SC and FL, yet he leaves FL open for Rudy. And is suspiciously low-key and running a campaign that is suspiciously inept at taking enough advantage of openings to win ...just enough to get Rudy nominated.
“I’m on the permanent executive committee of the Arlington Group, which was formed to push for the Federal Marriage Amendment. We’ve got [Fred] Thompson who says he can’t support that. I can’t push this for the past several years and then say, ‘oh, that’s not so important.’ … I’ve been working with candidates for close to fifty years I recognize candidates with fire in the belly. I’ve got to tell you, I do not think Thompson really wants to be elected that badly.”
Jonah Goldberg on Weyrich in 2000.
Exhibit A is Paul Weyrich, head of the Free Congress Foundation. Weyrich, who was a vital leader in the conservative movement 20 years ago, is embarrassing himself and the rest of us. Last year he wrote a profoundly goofy letter to the movement calling on conservatives to take their marbles and go home because politics was no longer conservative business. Then — surprise — he endorsed Steve Forbes, whose campaign was renowned for buying support in certain conservative ghettos.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=Nzk1MmIwMDRjYmUxMzUxZjBlOTBlNGMyZTIxNmFkYjY=
True enough.
It's interesting to note the reaction women voters (old and young alike) have to Mitt; a group that the Republican Party always struggles to attract and is losing, to be honest.
Mitt Romney is a strong and persuasive spokesman for the conservative cause. Conservatism can best be advanced with a combination of a positive, optimistic message and an articulate, persuasive messenger. It's hard to succeed without both.
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.