Over the last 2 months I have seen almost no “hit” pieces—defined as obvious unsubstantial dirt spread by political opposition—on Romney. Yet at the same time dozens of stories without a lot of merit are out “ahhah”-ing Huckabee. Romney is outspending Huckabee something like 8 to 1. It doesn’t take a lot of cynicism to know exactly where the dirt is coming from, that is the operatives of the squeakey-clean way-too-good-to-be-real ex-governor of America’s most liberal state.
The reason the dirt is not out about Mitt, is that the Rockefeller Republican establishment is behind him...and he has the bucks—while his opponents don’t.
Romney is a pro-business economic “conservative” from New England, which makes him a moderate at best anywhere else (but California). Huckabee is a social “conservative” from the old state-southern-Democrat dominated deep South...which makes him a moderate on other issues everywhere else. Neither one is anywhere near Ronald Regan, despite Romney’s pompadour. Guliani is liberal, except on law enforcement and defense, and Fred Thomson—a real conservative—is old and tired—whose heart is clearly not in the campaign(reminds me of Bob Dole), and really doesn’t have a chance. McCain’s claim to fame is whenever it is to his advantage to stick it to his own party—professing to be the righteous crusader—while eviserating the 1st Ammendment with McCain-Feingold.
We have no real viable Reaganesque conservatives—which is why the RINO attacks need to stop—even against those as flawed as Huckabee, or even Romney.
“Over the last 2 months I have seen almost no “hit” pieces—defined as obvious unsubstantial dirt spread by political opposition—on Romney”
You are not paying attention then... literally dozens of drive-by hit pieces launched against Romney just on FR, and lots more on other blogs etc. And now on the campaign trail and even in the debates; McCain and Huckabee campaigns and supporters seem to be the most vehement at it.
Last week a hit on Romney accusing him of implementing gay marriage here on FR. Even thought Romney came out strongly against the Mass supreme court ruling immediately, was consistently against gay marriage, for the FMA, worked to stop it in Massachusetss (but was undercut by others); still these hitpieces. We know that it is unfair because any decent lawyer can tell you the court defined gay marriage as part of the definition of marriage under the law. It’s been rehashed an reposted many times - untrue and unfair...
“It doesn’t take a lot of cynicism to know exactly where the dirt is coming from,” It seems that Huckabee wants the right to dish it out by cry foul when its incoming. Yeah, that’s a great way to get a candidate who will be a sure-fire LOSER to Hillary in November. A candidate so weak he begs not to be vetted.
“The reason the dirt is not out about Mitt, is that the Rockefeller Republican establishment is behind him...and he has the bucks—while his opponents don’t.” - The liberal Rockefeller Republicans were funding Rudy not Mitt. The dirt on Romney is more than out there, unless you are under a rock.
Romney has gotten the thinking conservative endorsements - Sen Jim DeMint, Robert Bork, Gov Matt Blunt, Paul Weyrich, National Review, ACU chair David Keene, and many other conservatives have lined up behind Romney. Meanwhile the moderates and liberal Republicans who were behind Rudy now have - McCain.
Romney has more unfair and unsubstantiated cr*p thrown at him than any other candidate, and on top of that has to contend with folks who hate him merely for the crime of being a Mormon.
Romney is far more of a fiscal conservative than Huckabee, the record and his agenda is clear on that.
As for “We have no real viable Reaganesque conservatives” I would agree, but by far the best of the top 3 - Huckabee, Romney, and McCain - is Romney. He at least is sticking with the main Reagan agenda, he has great executive accomplishments, skill and capability.
PS. Bork’s endorsement of Romney and note his comment on Romney and gay marriage:
Joining Romney for President, Judge Bork said, “Throughout my career, I have had the honor of serving under several Presidents and am proud to make today’s endorsement. No other candidate will do more to advance the conservative judicial movement than Governor Mitt Romney. He knows firsthand how the judicial branch can profoundly affect the future course of a state and a nation. I greatly admired his leadership in Massachusetts in the way that he responded to the activist court’s ruling legalizing same-sex ‘marriage.’ His leadership on the issue has served as a model to the nation on how to respect all of our citizens while respecting the rule of law at the same time.”
Judge Bork continued, “Our next President may be called upon to make more than one Supreme Court nomination, and Governor Romney is committed to nominating judges who take their oath of office seriously and respect the rule of law in our nation. I also support Governor Romney because of his character, his integrity and his stands on the major issues facing the United States.”
Welcoming Judge Bork’s support, Governor Romney said, “For decades, Judge Bork has been a leader in moving the conservative legal movement forward. As one of our nation’s premier conservative jurists, he has been an important voice for our conservative values in Washington. I look forward to his counsel and working with him on the most important judicial matters facing our nation today.”