Romney picked as 2012 GOP front-runner

www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/28/cpac/index.html

[RED SOUTH]

Conservative activists on Saturday named former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney the winner of a poll for best 2012 GOP presidential candidate.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won 20 percent of the vote in straw poll for presidential favorites.

The poll marked the third consecutive year Romney came out on top

[Oztrich Boy]

I support Romney, and I don’t really see how 20% of a CPAC straw poll translates into a 2012 front runner

It's how it happens. Barack Obama became the front runner in 2008 by winning the Ottawa caucus.

(Come to think of it Huckabee and Romney topped that one too.)

[Norman Bates]

McCain never had me “hoodwinked.” I always accepted that he was a flawed candidate, like everyone else in 2008.

[deannadurbin]

Yes but the straw poll was done before everyone had a chance to speak.

Romney just should give it up. He’s stiff and doesn’t have that Reagan appeal. And whether we like it or not a lot of people just will not vote for a Mormon.

[BarnacleCenturion]

“That type of ‘compromise’ got us McCain, instead of a real conservative.”

Did you compromise by supporting McCain? What got us McCain was the fact that candidates more Conservative than he`ll ever be were shot down on behalf of the “Perfect Conservatives” who then had to drop out early on due to total lack of support at the polls. McCain was simply the last man standing.

[Norman Bates]

I didn’t say electability only - I said balance.

Well that was the nature of the crash, and of the future. Events in the future don’t send me a memo in January that on September 15th it was coming. Huh?

You want to punch me? Grow up.

“Jumping on the Romney bandwagon doesn’t make you a conservative.”

No it wouldn’t, you’re right. But I’m not on the Romney “bandwagon.” As I’ve said elsewhere repeatedly I haven’t officially settled on a candidate. To be frank, I enjoy rising to the challange of the Romney bashers here - if that’s what you call “bandwagon.” But the only banwagon I see here is that of the Romney bashers. Apparently you are now one of them.

[Norman Bates]

You’re wrong. This board is suffering from this kind of exchange which passes for real thought. Nuff said because clearly there’s nothing left to be said at this juncture.

[deport]

Jindal’s mom is in about her 31st year of working for the state of Louisiana as far as I know.

---

She was in the process of retiring from the state job before Jindal was elected but one story dated a few months after Jindal was sworn in indicated that hadn't been finalized. His father, Amar, worked for Exxon in the Baton Rouge area as a civil engineer. I don't know his status today but he was still working there not to long ago.

Jindal has the same problem that Obama had in that stories abound about his life some of which are true and others which aren't. It's truly hard to find a definitive history of his life in one location.

Just for information:

The Advocate/ADVOCATE STAFF PHOTO BY BILL FEIG: Bobby Jindal, right, arrives for the inauguration ceremonies with his wife, Supriya Jindal,
and gets a thumbs up from his father, Amar Jindal, second from left, in passing. Raj Jindal, mother, is at far left.

[Pistolshot]

McCain was the 'last man standing' because we let the MEDIA choose our candidate for us instead of letting the process evolve itself.

Johhny Mac only had support for the WOT as his advantage, everything else he had for policy, immigration, guns, economy was nothing more than 'Dihm lite'.

The 'conservatives' who give up principles for convienence deserved to lose.

We are a long way from 2012. No candidate from this last go round has the claim on 2012. None of them. We don't know who is out there who has the right ideas, the charisma, and the skills to put us back on track as a party and a country.

We, as conservatives, didn't do enough to find that candidate to represent us. We had enough good choices; Hunter, Thompson(Fred), Thompson(Tommy). Who will be the next great Republican? It's too early to tell, but one thing is for sure, Mitt ain't it.

[deport]

Yes but the straw poll was done before everyone had a chance to speak.

---

Really....... I thought the poll was open as an ongoing thing for the entire conference and the votes were tallied and announced just before Limbaugh’s closing address. Anyway one speech by one speakeer or the other shouldn’t be that much of an influnce on a vote should it? Doesn’t really matter does it as this was a straw poll which in the end really means nothing as to what the voters will do when they get into the booth.

[Diogenesis]

[jveritas]

Yes.

[BarnacleCenturion]

I guess I just tend to be more practical than you. Let`s say you spend 4 years bashing candidate X because you disagree with him on one or two issues out of maybe hundreds.

Then things don`t quite work out for your perfect candidate and he has to drop out of the race, or doesn`t even run in the first place.

You`re then left with a race between X and a Communist from Kenya. But after all the attacks, lies and backstabbings, X might be mortally wounded and in your quest for purity of conviction you`ll bring about the end of the republic.

[Pistolshot]

Being ‘practical’ got us that communist from Kenya.

[Reagan Man]

If anything, at times this forum seems to suffer from the same maladies that have been afflicting the GOP in recent years. A propensity to embrace moderate-centrist-liberal Republicans and along with it, reckless policies that have caused serious damage to the GOP brand. With you and others abandoning conservatism and conservative solutions in favor of wishy-washy, middle of the road politics, you have undermined the successes of Reaganism and the 1994 Republican Revolution. Its that mentality, that type of wrong headed thinking that led to two huge losses in the 2006 and 2008 national election cycles. Continuing down that same road will give the GOP the same results in 2010, 2012 and beyond.

From a conservative perspective, you are dead wrong.

[deannadurbin]

lol

[deannadurbin]

That’s my point. Limbaugh hadn’t spoken yet. His speech might have made people think on their choice a little more deeply before voting.

These straw polls are easily manipulated and have little value. Anyone who think Romney could beat Obama when he couldn’t even beat McCain is living in a dream world.

We need a fresh face for 2012.

[ansel12]

Jindal’s mom is in about her 31st year of working for the state of Louisiana as far as I know.

"You may be correct, it may be his father that works for an engineering company."

"His home town in India, had a story of his mother being about six months pregnant when she and her husband went to the united states on student visa. They also have several story's of the time he was in India and going to school there."

============================================================

So you just decided to make things up like his mother living in Saudi Arabia all this time and Bobby Jindal's having lived in India and naming his home town as Indian instead of Baton rouge?

I don't know if you want to spread these lies or if you are the victim of emails and other propagandists that are trying to create a mythology about Governor Jindal but I would like you to explain what your role is in this nonsense.

[Norman Bates]

There is a certain arrogance in your attitude, namely, one which presupposes that your opinion is absolute and that you are the final arbiter of all things conservative.

“you have undermined the successes of Reaganism and the 1994 Republican Revolution.”

Delusional. You must enjoy alienating those who probably agree with you on 95% or more of ISSUES. (You and others continue to whine over a candidate I’ve never given a dime to, never placed a bumper sticker on my car for, never went door to door for, never posted a yard sign for, never anything but make some blandly pleasant comments about of late and defend agaisnt what I see as over-the-top character attacks.)

“From a conservative perspective, you are dead wrong.”

There you go again. No - from YOUR perspective. This board is a testament to a great range and depth in Conservative thought. If that were not true or Conservative thought were not rich and multi-faceted this board wouldn’t be possible as a discussion board.

[org.whodat]

So you just decided to make things up like his mother living in Saudi Arabia all this time and Bobby Jindal's having lived in India and naming his home town as Indian instead of Baton rouge?

The paper had it backward, in the search posting, next, it was his home town in India, he lived there several years that is where he started grade school. It also says his mother raised him as a Hindu, but later he attended a catholic school in India. You sure do have a little chip on your shoulder, why should these facts bother you. He makes one more stupid speech and he's history anyway if not already.

[ansel12]

The paper had it backward, in the search posting, next, it was his home town in India, he lived there several years that is where he started grade school. It also says his mother raised him as a Hindu, but later he attended a catholic school in India. You sure do have a little chip on your shoulder, why should these facts bother you.

Because you are lying, give me the links. And of course he was raised Hindu he converted in High school when in intense bible study with a Christian brother and he is a very devout Catholic. Give me the links where you are getting this crap from.