Posted on 05/19/2009 4:31:55 PM PDT by pissant
Fred Malek, a heavyweight Republican fundraiser and kingmaker, has singled out former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney as the GOPs leading contender in the early stages of the 2012 Republican presidential derby.
In a largely unnoticed post to his blog late last week, Malek, a wealthy businessman who served as national finance co-chair of John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign, ranked Romney No. 1 on a list of influential Republicans who might both lead our party back and who might be our nominee in 2012.
Malek, who did not return an email requesting comment from POLITICO, blogged that Romney has the established organization, fundraising network, time, and talent to get the nomination this time and predicted he could be in the best position when the serious campaigning begins in early 2011.
Though Malek conceded Romney does retain an image problem with some Republicans, who are not sold on his conservative credentials or upset with him for changing his emphasis of issues from his time as governor to presidential candidate, he called Romney self-aware and very smart.
South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, who is popular among fiscal conservatives, ranked second on Maleks list. Sanford recently attended a dinner with major GOP donors at Maleks McLean, Va., home. The dinner, held the night before this months White House Correspondents Association event, was intended to help party donors shop for a 2012 candidate.
Malek praised Sanfords initial stand against accepting federal stimulus funds and asserted he could be a challenger to Mitt or on the ticket if he decides to go that way.
Malek, the founder and chairman of Thayer Capital Partners, also invited Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to the dinner but Palin was unable to attend due to flooding in Alaska and instead sent her husband Todd. In January, Malek hosted her at another dinner in his home on the weekend of Washingtons prestigious Alfalfa Club dinner.
Palin, who ranked sixth on Maleks list, is vastly underestimated by the press, has an enormous grasp of issues and a strong devotion to what is important to Alaska, where she will be re-elected easily, and will be the most powerful money and mobilization magnet in GOP for some time, Malek wrote.
Malek pegged Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour third, praising him as extremely sound on policies, clear thinking and the best political strategist, but pointing out he does not have the best name recognition and asserting hes more likely a king maker than king, but one never knows.
At No. 4, Malek floated former Vice President Dick Cheney.
Thats right, I am putting Dick Cheney on this list, he wrote. He deserves to be. He is willing and able to take it to Obama, no matter the criticism, and hes on point in defending the Bush-era policies that led to 8 years of safety.
Of course, we know that he wont run but if the past few weeks tell us anything, he will be around. His presence alone will challenge other future leaders in the party to be more prepared, less squishy and sharper on core issues like foreign policy, Malek noted.
At No. 5, Malek lists a group of four moderate Republicans who are eying Senate races: Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, former New York Gov. George Pataki, Illinois Congressman Mark Kirk and Delaware Congressman Mike Castle. Though he concedes moderates arent popular with the GOP base, especially after Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter switched parties, Malek asks, [C]an we ever expect to be a majority party without embracing a tent big [sic] philosophy that encourages those at the middle of the spectrum to think of themselves as Republicans?
Rounding out the list after Palin are Virginia gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell (able to build a center-right majority), President Obamas Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman (who had yet to join the administration at the time of Maleks post), Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan (a clear and compelling message on economic reform
who will be short-listed for VP in 2012) and Virginia Congressman Eric Cantor (My guess is he has what it takes to become Speaker of the House, and Id bet that one day he will.).
The gay groups will be all over him since he is Mormon.
King maker? McCain lost. Yeah, this guy’s an authority to take to the bank. /s
The only ones talking about loser Romney are Romney,
his family, his servants, and his minions.
Romney = Poor Loser
If Romney gets on the ticket, the Republicans are going to lose, because there are going to be signficant numbers of Christians who are not going to vote for a cult-group member.
I think Steele was trying to tell the GOP about that problem... :-)
Anyone who gives more than a moment of thought to 9/11 Truthers isn't fit to be manager of the city sewer system, let alone President of the United States.
Ron Paul makes Ross Perot look sane.
You can’t discount the party’s tendency to give the nomination to someone because “it’s their turn”.
Thank goodness Malek doesn’t have Gov. Palin on the top area of his list.
When you see his background, no wonder he favors the sons of the rich, Mitt and Sandy.
Malek does not come from a political Conservative background.
GOP Kingmakers can kiss my ass.
“On August 12, 2003, the SEC filed a civil fraud lawsuit[18] against former Connecticut state Senate Majority Leader William DiBella for participating in a fraudulent scheme to invest $75 million of the state pension funds with Malek’s firm, Thayer Capital Partners.[18] [19] On May 18, 2007, DiBella and North Cove were found liable for aiding and abetting Silvester’s intentional violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Thayer was found in negligence of Investment Advisers Act of 1940. Thayer paid a civil penalty of $150,000, and Malek personally paid a fine of $100,000”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Malek#cite_note-sec2-19
http://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2008/lr20498.htm
The ONLY ONES THAT WANT BACKSTABBER, PROVEN LOSER ROMNEY is the DNC and MSM.
James Carville (DNC): "It's a feel-good story, this Romney thing. Romney is an ascendant guy."
No thanks. Not buying.
Malek’s full of himself and has no clue about how pissed-off the base really is. The RINO establishment in DC might love Romney, but no one else does, and his 2012 campaign will get no where, just like in 2008.
“Politico” is also full of liberal hacks.
Their agenda is to bash Gov. Palin by
innuendo.
Only the uneducated by into this.
BARF I won’t vote for Romney no matter how many support him..!
Candidates can only be formidable when people actually support and vote for them.
It’s not the Mormon thing that true Conservative Christians care about (politically speaking), it’s his RINO/Liberal Establishment tendances that DQ thia flip-flopper!
Don't misunderstand me. I am not trying to push him as a candidate. Palin or Sanford strike me as our best candidates thus far.
All I am saying is, don't dismiss him. He will be a lot tougher then you think to defeat.
2008 was a very strange year. It was the first time in decades that neither a sitting President nor VP was standing for election. Succinctly put, it was a free for all.
2012 should be a more traditional year with respect to an opposition party selecting a candidate to challenge a sitting President. Rarely, in these instances do "dark horses" come from nowhere to gain the party's (in the GOP) nomination. In the last 50 years, we've selected Goldwater, Reagan and Dole to challenge Dem incumbents - all very well known political figures. I'm guessing that 2012 will be the same. Whomever the nominee will be, I'm quite sure that it will be a very well-known and experienced name.
We need to catalouge each and every slip up and make sure the country knows about it. We need Palin as our contender and we need to make sure no one in our party steps out of line.
In 2008 we coalesced around McCain because of Palin. All of us rallied and even the average Joe went for her.
We are messing up because we are doing the same thing expecting different results. We need new blood and we need zealots, not jaded cynics.
The Democrats have the advantage of fighting dirty and once they have a specific candidate in mind none of them come out in public and make any disparaging remarks, all of them toe the line. Any disagreements are privately discussed.
The Republican ‘leadership’ needs to step aside if they aren’t going to get it together. If Republicans ran companies like we do the party we would never be successful.
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