Romney Reboots (National Review Pimp Fest)

National Review ^ | October 19, 2009 | RAMESH PONNURU

[greyfoxx39]

In the early stages of the undeclared race for the Republican presidential nomination, Mitt Romney is the frontrunner. The former governor of Massachusetts has the best-developed national network of supporters of any of the potential candidates. He is the one doing the most party-building across the country; of his potential rivals, only Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty comes close. He is the one to whom other Republicans are most likely to turn for answers on economic policy, and on many issues he is the only one giving them. When the auto companies came to Washington only Romney had a plan (“Detroit needs a turnaround, not a check,” he wrote in the New York Times).

He knows more about a larger range of policy issues than most of the other Republican candidates. All the candidates can, presumably, say something plausible about Afghanistan; not many can give a credible answer to a question about the role mark-to-market accounting rules played in the financial crisis, as Romney recently did in an interview with me.

A Republican strategist with no ties to Romney recently heard him speak and came away impressed by how much better a speaker he has become. “His stump speech has gotten very, very good. It’s very honed.” In a recent Rasmussen poll, Romney narrowly beat Sarah Palin as the candidate Republican voters most favored. Even the narrowness of that win may work to his advantage. Romney is not so far out in front that he has to worry about meeting high expectations. Nor has he ever made himself the center of attention. Thus he has avoided much criticism and kept voters from getting bored with him. He has been detached and analytical rather than angry.

-SNIP-

 

Romney’s current and former consultants tend to agree about what he did wrong last time. They do not fault the flip-flops. But “inauthentic” is a word that often comes up. “It’s a matter of emphasis,” says one former adviser. “He emphasized issues that didn’t fit his profile. The volume, the way he presented them, didn’t fit with who he is.” This adviser cites Romney’s attacks on McCain and Giuliani over their support for an amnesty for illegal immigrants. Another ’08 veteran agrees that Romney was badly positioned but mostly blames reporters. “They wanted to write the Mormon story and the abortion flip-flop story. And then in Iowa when the marriage issue [came] up, you [had] to talk about it.”

These Romneyites do not believe that the governor should abandon his conservative positions on the social issues.

 

-SNIP-

 

Yet it is extremely difficult — more difficult than many people realize — to capture the Republican presidential nomination from the right in the modern era. The politics of religion largely account for this difficulty. The movement candidacy always runs a risk of being destroyed by an evangelical candidacy. No movement candidate can win without strong support from evangelical voters. But an evangelical candidate running on the basis of his religion can win a lot of votes from his coreligionists, and thus block the movement candidate’s progress, without being able to win the nomination himself. As Huckabee showed in the last race, the evangelical candidate need not be well-known or well-funded to play this role. Pat Robertson played it in 1988. (Pat Buchanan splintered the movement in a slightly different way in 1996.)

Romney’s problem was not that he is a Mormon. It was that he is not an evangelical. A strong plurality of evangelicals “would have backed Huckabee against anybody — Mormon, Buddhist, or Catholic,” says another former Romney adviser. “They were voting for one of their own.” To attribute Romney’s loss in Iowa to anti-Mormon prejudice from evangelicals, he says, is like attributing Romney’s victories in Utah and Nevada to Mormons’ hostility to people from all other faiths. But this adviser reaches the same conclusion as his colleagues who blamed anti-Mormonism: Romney should not spend as much time and resources on Iowa next time.

-SNIP-

Earlier in the interview, he spoke about his primary campaign and McCain’s general-election campaign in 2008. “I heard something from [former HHS] secretary Mike Leavitt which has stuck with me. . . . He said he was watching the ABC Wide World of Sports years ago with the surfing championships. The commentator said that to win the surfing championships requires a person of extraordinary skill and a good wave.” Few have ever doubted that Mitt Romney is a person of extraordinary skill.

[Will88]

But an evangelical candidate running on the basis of his religion can win a lot of votes from his coreligionists, and thus block the movement candidate’s progress, without being able to win the nomination himself. As Huckabee showed in the last race...

Whether intended or not, Huckabee was McCain's stalking horse and also the spoiler in the 2008 primaries. He'll do the same in 2012 if he runs again, and he might well screw sit up whether someone supports Palin or Romney. Some moderate RINO like Pawlenty could win by winning blue state primaries while others split the votes in red states and battleground states like Ohio and Florida.

Huckabee could kill Republicans chances in 2012 by helping another tepid, moderate sort win the nomination with mostly blue state primary victories, just as he helped McCain in 2008.

[Dr. Thorne]

"The former governor of Massachusetts has the best-developed national network of supporters..."

Read: Mormons. Yes, they are organized, but they are not getting enough national support from non-Mormons to win.

[Buckeye Battle Cry]

CLOSE the primaries and END same-day voter registration and Romney and Pawlenty will never get out of the starting gate. Otherwise, Romney WILL be the GOP nominee as selected by the media, the RINOs and busloads of SEIU and ACORN operatives driving into Iowa and new Hampshire to make sure Romney walks out of the first primaries in a comfortable lead.

Then, with Obama the dem nominee, dems all over the primary states will cross-over to hend-pick Romney for Obama to slaughter.

Romney cannot win, but he will not go away. We will suffer for his arrogance.

[Godzilla]

It is amazing how QUIET, romney is regarding the current health care debacle.

[Diogenesis]

The article falsely characterizes the Mormon-backstabber
as a good economist.

But Massachusetts TANKED under Romney and he fled the state.

Mitt Romney got a "C" rating from CATO.
And that was BEFORE Romney's uberfailure re: Socialized medicine.

Here are the facts from CATO.

"As U.S. real output grew 13 percent between 2002 and 2006, Massachusetts trailed at 9 percent.
* Manufacturing employment fell 7 percent nationwide those years, but sank 14 percent under Romney, placing Massachusetts 48th among the states.
* Between fall 2003 and autumn 2006, U.S. job growth averaged 5.4 percent, nearly three times Massachusetts' anemic 1.9 percent pace."

There is one conclusion: Romney is a PROVEN failure.

[MortMan]

I will not support Romney. PERIOD.

[trisham]

We're fighting Obamacare tooth and nail so give us Romneycare? Please.

******************

Exactly right. This is a cruel joke.

[Diogenesis]

What does this thread have to do with Huckabee?

He is another GOP candidate mauled by Team Romney, isnt he?

The McCain/Palin ticket was up ++10 pts. (in some polls) days prior to the election.
So rather than helping the GOP, backstabbing RomneyTeam attacked Gov. Palin and her children to throw Election2008.

"Frum was indeed a critic of Palin, calling her nomination a "huge mistake" during an October 13 (2008, weeks before the election) Early Show appearance."

---

David Frum: "Two of our most plausible candidates for president in 2012 are leading Mormons: Mitt Romney and Utah governor Jon Huntsman."

---

David Frum: "I have a lot of regard for Mitt Romney as a man and politician.
Let me say for the record: If Romney emerges as the Republican nominee, I will support him without qualm."

---

Late in October, The American Spectator's The Prowler revealed:
"Former Mitt Romney presidential campaign staffers, some of whom are currently working for Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin's bid for the White House,
have been involved in spreading anti-Palin spin to reporters, seeking to diminish her standing after the election.
'Sarah Palin is a lightweight, she won't be the first, not even the third, person people will think of when it comes to 2012,'
says one former Romney aide, now working for McCain-Palin.
'The only serious candidate ready to challenge to lead the Republican Party is Mitt Romney.
He's in charge on November 5th.'"
The Prowler added: "Some former Romney aides were behind the recent leaks to media, including CNN, that Governor Sarah Palin was a 'diva' and was going off message intentionally."
The Romney supporters in the McCain campaign had access to internal polling which indicated well in advance of the November 4 election that McCain had no chance to win.
So they began working to position their man Mitt for a run in 2012. Just two days after the election,The Palmetto Scoop reported:
"One of the first stories to hit the national airwaves was the claim of a major internal strife between close McCain aides and the folks handling his running mate Sarah Palin."
"I’m told by very good sources that this was indeed the case and that a rift had developed, but it was between Palin’s people and the staffers brought on from the failed presidential campaign of former Gov. Mitt Romney, not McCain aides."
"The sources said nearly 80 percent of Romney’s former staff was absorbed by McCain and these individuals were responsible for what amounts to a premeditated, last-minute sabotage of Palin."
These aides loyal to Romney inside the McCain campaign, said The Scoop, reportedly saw that Palin would be a serious contender for the Republican nomination in 2012 or 2016, which made her a threat to another presidential quest by Romney.
Erick Erickson, who organized Operation Leper, said:
"Here’s what I think: I think there are some staffers on the McCain campaign who seriously screwed up the roll out of Sarah Palin, to which Governor Palin herself objected.
These staffers are now out trying to finish her off thinking, as typical D.C. types do, that if they don’t do it to her, she’ll do it to them. They just never understood who Palin is or what she is about."
"Likewise, I do think there are some staffers and others who expect Mitt Romney to run again in 2012,
they decided McCain could not win, and decided to undermine Sarah Palin and her chances hoping it would ingratiate themselves with Mitt Romney."

---

"Who's the Palin Leaker from the McCain Campaign? (Mark Wallace, Romney pimp)
National Review Online The publication of a Vanity Fair profile of Sarah Palin
appears to have opened old wounds in the McCain campaign.
... the source of the “Diva” leak was Nicolle Wallace’s husband."

---

Who benefits most from Sanford meltdown? Californian (that's right) Mitt Romney

---

"Peeking Out From the McCain Wreckage: Mitt Romney"

"Someone's got to say it: IS MITT ROMNEY RESPONSIBLE FOR OBAMA'S VICTORY?"

"Vanity: Team Romney Sabotaged Palin and Continuing to Do So?"

"Romney Supporters Trashing Palin"

"Romney advisors sniping at Palin?"

[trisham]

It’s going to get much worse.

[Jim Robinson]

"Romney’s problem was not that he is a Mormon. It was that he is not an evangelical."

Bzzzzzt! Wrong! Romney's problem is he's a freaking statist!

[Beagle8U]

No Republican in history has EVER won the POTUS election without the endorsement of the NRA, NEVER!

Can they endorse a gun grabber like Mutt? If they do the NRA will lose half their members!

[greyfoxx39]

Whether intended or not, Huckabee was McCain's stalking horse and also the spoiler in the 2008 primaries.

I never occurs to MittBots that Romney just plain lost!

Similar to Obama whines, it's always someone else to blame for Mitt's going down.

Why don't I hear the complaint that Mitt got 95% of the mormon vote and that's a dirty shame?

he (Huck) might well screw sit up whether someone supports Palin or Romney

Hmmm....Conservative Joe Evangelical, weighing his support....Palin...Romney...Palin...Romney....hmmmmm....

Somehow, I don't see that as a hugh problem.

[Diogenesis]

Romney - writing his own "laws"

Romney aide’s bogus badges: Sources detail ‘illegal’ security tactic

" Boston Herald - Friday, July 20, 2007
In an apparent violation of the law, a controverisal aide to ex-Gov. Mitt Romney
created phony law enforcement badges that he and other staffers used on the campaign trail
to strong-arm reporters, avoid paying tolls and trick security guards
into giving them immediate access to campaign venues, sources told the Herald.
“They (the aides) knew the badges were fake and probably illegal,”
said a presidential campaign source who asked for anonymity
because the story could damage the individual’s career.
Two additional sources confirmed that the badges - described as bright silver plates with a state seal attached -
were first created and used by Garrity while Romney was still governor."

FAKE TROOPER (and Chief of Operations)

More here

More here - Romney aide is the focus of probe

Romney aide accused of faking badges

[Diogenesis]

Romney - screwing conservatives who stupidly voted for him
[now known as the Romney-Way(TM)]

"Governor Mitt Romney, who touts his conservative credentials to out-of-state Republicans,
has passed over GOP lawyers for three-quarters of the 36 judicial vacancies he has faced,
instead tapping registered Democrats or independents -- including two gay lawyers who
have supported expanded same-sex rights, a Globe review of the nominations has found.
Of the 36 people Romney named to be judges or clerk magistrates, 23 are either registered Democrats
or unenrolled voters who have made multiple contributions to Democratic politicians
or who voted in Democratic primaries, state and local records show.
In all, he has nominated nine registered Republicans, 13 unenrolled voters,
and 14 registered Democrats."
- Boston Globe 7/25/2005

---

Romney Rewards one of the State's Leading Anti-Marriage Attorneys by Making him a Judge
Romney told the U.S. Senate on June 22, 2004, that the "real threat to the States is not the
constitutional amendment process, in which the states participate,
but activist judges who disregard the law and redefine marriage . . ."
Romney sounds tough but yet he had no qualms advancing the legal career of one
of the leading anti-marriage attorneys. He nominated Stephen Abany to a District Court.
Abany has been a key player in the Massachusetts Lesbian and Gay Bar Association which,
in its own words, is "dedicated to ensuring that the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision
on marriage equality is upheld, and that any anti-gay amendment or legislation is defeated."
- U.S. Senate testimony by Gov. Mitt Romney, 6/22/2004 P>

---

"Romney announces he won't fill judicial vacancies before term ends
Despite his rhetoric about judicial activism, Romney announced that
he won't fill all the remaining vacancies during his term - but instead
leave them for his liberal Democrat successor!
Governor Mitt Romney pledged yesterday not to make a flurry of lame-duck
judicial appointments in the final days of his administration . . . David Yas,
editor of Lawyers Weekly, said Romney is "bucking tradition" by resisting the urge to
fill all remaining judgeships. "It is a tradition for governors to use that power to appoint judges
aggressively in the waning moments of their administration," Yas said.
He added that Romney has been criticized for failing to make judicial appointments.
"The legal community has consistently criticized him for not filling open seats quickly enough
and being a little too painstaking in the process and being dismissive of the input of the
Judicial Nominating Commission," Yas said.
- Boston Globe 11/2/2006

---

“The Massachusetts Republican Party died last Tuesday.
The cause of death: failed leadership.
The party is survived by a few leftover legislators
and a handful of county officials and grassroots activists
who have been ignored for years.
Services will be public and a mass exodus of taxpayers will follow.
In lieu of flowers, send messages to Republican voters
warning them about a certain presidential candidate named Romney.”
- Boston Herald, 11/12/2006

---

"In 2006, while Romney was chairman of the National Republican
Governors Association - a group dedicated to electing more
Republican governors - his own hand-picked Republican successor
as governor lost badly to the Democrat, despite the fact that Republicans
have held the governorship in Massachusetts since 1990. Romney largely
ignored the Massachusetts elections and spent most of the time
during the campaign out of state building his presidential campaign.
He came back and publicly campaigned for the Republican candidate
the day before the general election!
“Locally, this is a rebuke to Mitt Romney and checking out within six months
after being elected and having accomplished almost nothing,”
[Jim] Rappaport [former chairman of the state Republican Party]."
- Boston Globe, 11/8/2006

[Diogenesis]

Romney - screwing those who served in the military
[now known as the Romney-Way(TM)]

---

"National Guard Lt. Anthony Circosta poses in his backyard in Agawam, Mass., on June 9, 2007.
At left, his wife Danielle and daughter Kylie, 2, talk near the swing set. Circosta,
a decorated Iraq War veteran, seemed like an ideal candidate for a pardon from
then-Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for the 29-year-old's boyhood conviction
for a BB gun shooting. Romney denied the pardon,
twice, despite the recommendation of the Governor's Council."

versus

"Governor Orders POW/MIA Flags Flown for Former Prisoners of War Recognition Day"

"Office of the Governor of the State of Alaska ^ | 04-09-09 | Gov. Sarah Palin
April 9, 2009, Juneau, Alaska – Governor Sarah Palin today signed a proclamation declaring April 9, 2009,
as Former Prisoners of War Recognition Day. The governor has ordered POW/MIA flags
to be flown in honor and memory of American men and women
who have placed themselves in harm’s way and faced the horrors of combat."
“The price paid by POW/MIA soldiers in defense of liberty is worthy of our highest
gratitude and most solemn remembrance,” Governor Palin said.
“On this day and always, they are in our thoughts and prayers. We will never forget them or their service.”

[Diogenesis]

Romney - abusing animals (and people)
[now known as the Romney-Way(TM)]

---

"But the details of the event are more than unseemly — they may, in fact, be illegal.
Massachusetts's animal cruelty laws specifically prohibit anyone
from carrying an animal "in or upon a vehicle, or otherwise, in an unnecessarily cruel
or inhuman manner or in a way and manner which might endanger the
animal carried thereon." An officer for the Massachusetts Society
for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals responded to a description of the situation
saying "it's definitely something I'd want to check out." The officer,
Nadia Branca, declined to give a definitive opinion on whether Romney broke the law
but did note that it's against state law to have a dog in an open bed of a pick-up truck,
and "if the dog was being carried in a way that endangers it, that would be illegal."

---

"Dog on Roof? What Was It Like for Romney's Pooch?
Scientists Say Dog Likely Experienced Wind-Whipped, Uncomfortable Trip
"Before beginning the drive, Mitt Romney put Seamus, the family's hulking Irish setter,
in a dog carrier and attached it to the station wagon's roof rack.
e'd built a windshield for the carrier, to make the ride more comfortable for the dog," read the article.
Jordan Kaplan, the owner of Petaholics, a dog walking service in New York City,
and a lifelong dog owner and dog lover, said Romney's actions were uncalled for.
....What Happens to a Dog on a Roof Traveling 50 MPH?"

---

"Romney's dog - This is a distinction Mitt Romney probably could do without, but he is surely
the first presidential candidate to be attacked for putting a dog with diarrhea
in a carrier and tying it to the top of a station wagon.
Romney's defense: Seamus liked it. "He scrambled up there every time we went on trips,"
the Republican said during a campaign stop in Pittsburgh. "He got in all by himself and enjoyed it."

---

"As the oldest son, Tagg Romney commandeered the way-back of the wagon,
keeping his eyes fixed out the rear window, where he glimpsed the first sign of trouble.
''Dad!'' he yelled. ''Gross!'' A brown liquid was dripping down the back window,
payback from an Irish setter who'd been riding on the roof in the wind for hours.
As the rest of the boys joined in the howls of disgust,
Romney coolly pulled off the highway and into a service station.
There, he borrowed a hose, washed down Seamus and the car,
then hopped back onto the highway."

---

"Story about dog on car roof comes back to bite Romney
Critics, jokesters make issue of tale
TIME.com's Swampland blog has been flooded with more than 200 comments
from readers complaining of animal cruelty"

---

Romney's bad behavior Exposed by Seamus

"Romney Loses Nomination Over Dog Abuse?
Romney was traveling that summer with his wife, five sons, and Seamus to his parent's cottage on Lake Huron.
But hours into the ride, Seamus apparently suffered diarrhea,
which ran down the back window of the car. Romney's sons, all under 13, howled in disgust.
Romney pulled off the road into a service station.
There, he borrowed a hose, washed down Seamus and the car, and they drove on to Ontario.
.....David Kravitz wrote on BlueMassGroup, a liberal blog.
"It also strikes me as classic Romney: it solves a problem efficiently,
in a business-like manner, and with no regard whatsoever
for the suffering that the solution may cause."

[Will88]

What does this thread have to do with Huckabee?

Lol, you people are so obsessed, you're actually entertaining. My remarks discussed a specific quote from the article, and I copied the quote from the article. I'm on subject, unlike you and others here.

Of course, all you guys have to see is the name Romney and you start frothing at the mouth. Any attempt at rational, on topic discussion after the name Romney has appeared around here is wasted time.

FR Romney Haters, paving the way for Tim Pawlenty in 2012.

I'm outta this snake pit. Maybe later.

[Diogenesis]

Romney - screwing and impugning radio amateurs
[now known as the Romney-Way(TM)]

---

Mr. Romney "Disses" Amateur Radio In Televised Town Meeting

"Mitt Romney...alienating America one group at a time."

AlaskaErik

Gov. Sarah Palin, Governor of the state of Alaska, proclaimed the week of July 28 through August 3, 2008 as: Amateur Radio Week

[Diogenesis]

The day that even one of you RomneyBOTS truthfully rebuts
anything posted (which you nutcases call “frothing”)
will be a day without a “y” in the name of that day.

Have a great day back at DU.

[svcw]

FR Romney Haters

NO, its liberal haters on FR.