Mitt Romney's Man

The Dailu Beast ^ | Samuel P. Jacobs

[svxdave]

Mitt Romney's Man by Samuel P. Jacobs

AP Photo If Scott Brown pulls off an upset in the race to replace Ted Kennedy in the Senate, he may have Mitt Romney to thank.

Samuel P. Jacobs on the 2012 GOP presidential hopeful's hidden hand. There are a number of forces driving Republican Scott Brown’s surprising surge in the Massachusetts special Senate election campaign. He’s benefiting from public anger over the Obama administration’s health-care reform plan. He’s buoyed by a tide of cash from around the country, donated by conservatives eager to send a message by upsetting Democratic front-runner Martha Coakley. And then there’s the lackluster campaign Coakley herself has run.

From the start, Brown has been counseled by members of the Shawmut Group, a Boston-based consulting firm that acts as the Romney political brain trust in exile.

Largely overlooked in assessing Brown’s prospects: the hidden hand of Mitt Romney. The former Massachusetts governor headlined at a fundraiser for Brown last October. And Romney has helped Brown raise money outside the state as well. “I know Scott and how determined he is to win. I've campaigned for him, raised money on his behalf, and we're doing all we can to help him over the finish line,” Romney wrote supporters last Monday. Brown, 50, raised $1.3 million that day. But lest anyone accuse Romney of being a Johnny-come-lately—stepping up only as Brown has vaulted from sacrificial lamb to serious threat—the 2008 presidential hopeful has lent crucial support behind the scenes from the start of Brown’s campaign. Ever since he entered the race to succeed the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, Brown has been counseled by members of the Shawmut Group, a Boston-based consulting firm that acts as the Romney political brain trust in exile. Among the many Romney disciples running Brown’s campaign are Beth Myers, the campaign manager of Romney’s presidential run; Eric Fehrnstrom, Romney’s chief spokesman; Peter Flaherty, Romney’s “go-to-guy for conservatives”; and Rob Cole, Romney’s 2008 deputy chairman manager. Beth Lindstrom, another player in Romney World, is working as Brown’s campaign manager. Lindstrom’s ties to Romney go back years; she started working with him in the Massachusetts State House as director of consumer affairs. A Brown victory would be a huge upset—threatening the viability of Obama’s health-care plan and providing the GOP a burst of energy and confidence heading into the 2010 midterm elections this fall. It would also be a big boost for Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign. Up against a populist wave on the right that favors candidates like Sarah Palin, Romney can improve his appeal and influence by gaining the loyalty of newly elected officials. And Brown is hardly the only GOP contender Romney is helping. The Hill reported in September, Romney’s followers have spread throughout the country to help candidates in Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, and California. Most notable among them: Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman has a stable of Romney aides helping her try to her win the governor’s mansion in Sacramento.

Romney’s role is all the more interesting because he’s not exactly Brown’s ideological soulmate. One of the winning lines of the Brown campaign was his protestation that he can’t be tied to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. “I’m Scott Brown,” the state senator told the audience of the campaign’s only debate. “I’m from Wrentham. I drive a truck.” Wrentham is best known for its shopping outlets. Romney, before recently decamping for New Hampshire, lived in Belmont, a tony Boston suburb, home to Harvard professors and families who send their kids to local private schools. Brown’s worked in state government since 1992; Romney made his name in private equity. Brown went to Boston College Law School, and Mitt Romney was schooled at Harvard Business School. They represent two different strands of American conservatism, or at least their New England versions.

But Romney intimates see similarities between the two.

“If you called central casting and said, ‘Give me the right candidate,’ you couldn’t get a better guy than Scott,” says Ron Kaufman, who is Massachusetts chairman of the Republican National Committee, an unofficial Brown adviser, and an adviser to Romney. Brown is married to a local newscaster and has one daughter at Syracuse; another is a former American Idol star and now plays Division I basketball at Boston College. Romney’s seemingly perfect profile—the looks, the clean-cut Mormon family—also elicited references to “central casting.”

“They are both happy warriors. They are both indefatigable. Both are kinds of policy wonks. Scott was very helpful to the governor with health care,” Kaufman says.

As Tuesday’s vote nears, Team Romney’s role in the Brown campaign is tumbling into the open. Talking to The Washington Post, strategist Eric Fehrnstrom trumpeted his campaign’s use of an ad featuring John F. Kennedy, Jr. and called the Coakley camp’s ensuing silence the turning point in the campaign.

“One thing it does say about Mitt is that his folks know how to run a campaign,” Kaufman says.

Democrats are not as psyched about the Romney crowd’s role in the Massachusetts special election; indeed, they’ve tried to make an issue of it. They point to his fingerprints on a negative ad about Coakley’s tax policy, paid for by an out-of-state group, the American Future Fund. The 30-second spot was produced by Larry McCarthy, who is famous for the “Willie Horton” ad. He too was a Romney hand in 2008.

“The Romney playbook is being used again,” says Boston-based Democratic strategist Mary Anne Marsh. She did not intend the comment as a compliment.

For Marsh, that playbook means a sharp turn to the right to attract support from national conservatives and what she calls “selective amnesia” about past legislative efforts or associates. Brown’s been hit by the Democrats for supporting an amendment which would have allowed hospital workers to refuse emergency conception to rape victims on account of religious beliefs. They’ve also pointed Brown’s effort to distance himself from out-of-state Tea Party groups.

Andrew Sullivan, for instance, wrote that he sees various contortions in Brown’s economic policies and found a “Romney-like cynicism” in a recent Boston Globe op-ed authored by the candidate. The upside for Brown is that Romney’s team has a proven track record of success in statewide campaigns in the state. And that team has stayed remarkably cohesive through Romney’s post-gubernatorial career. That stands in marked contrast to the crackup John McCain’s aides went through following their losing 2008 campaign. And that, Romney supporters say, bodes well not only for Brown—but also for Romney’s White House chances in 2012.

“When you read the new book Game Change,” says the Republican strategist Kaufman, “the one thing that impresses you is how loyal the Obama folks were to their guy in a cycle where that was not the strong suit. The truth is the same with the Romney folks. They are dead loyal to their guy.”

Samuel P. Jacobs is a staff reporter at The Daily Beast. He has also written for The Boston Globe, The New York Observer, and The New Republic Online.

For more of The Daily Beast, become a fan on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

For inquiries, please contact The Daily Beast at editorial@thedailybeast.com.

[svxdave]

This is another reason why we should not let the Anti Romney crowd reject anything Romney.

[HiTech RedNeck]

"... Scott was very helpful to the governor with health care,” Kaufman says.

And from that, Scott learned the lesson that gummit health care is a tragedy mixed with a disaster on top of a horrible flop.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Had Cheney been in better health he would have been the GOP presidential candidate and he would have walked all over that flim flam Obama.

[Venturer]

Romney can bite me, and this story sucks.

Trying to credit Romney for this man’s run sucks. Sucks big time. Makes me even more against Romney.

[ari-freedom]

Brown is nothing like Romney...he actually served in the MA National Guard.

I smiled at the irony of what I just typed...it used to be that a VP candidate who ‘only’ served in the National Guard was mocked at. Today we have a president who didn’t serve in the military at all yet he imagines himself to be an effective commander in chief.

[ari-freedom]

“the one thing that impresses you is how loyal the Obama folks were to their guy in a cycle where that was not the strong suit. The truth is the same with the Romney folks. They are dead loyal to their guy.”

yeah because romneymania was like a cult. And if you were against Romney then ‘obviously’ it was because you hated Mormons (just like you are ‘obviously’ a racist if you oppose Obama...but it gets a little more complicated if you also oppose Reid, who is a racist and a Mormon)

[9YearLurker]

I took Romney’s line about all he’d done for Brown as credit-grabbing once Brown had surged, rather than focusing on showcasing Brown. And Brown’s campaign really goes back to the playbook from Bill Weld’s gubernatorial wins, of which Romney followed suit (but then in governing so turned off voters that they went radical left and back to the Dems with Obama version 1.0 in Patrick).

I do believe that political team of Lindstrom, et al. goes all the way back to Weld as well. Can any MA Freepers here remember and confirm? Certainly MA GOP candidates have long pressed to distance themselves from the national party figures and identity when running statewide in MA.

But the MA Republican world is tiny, and these are the top operatives the Pubbies have in the state. It makes sense that they’d be paid both by Romney and whomever the state establishment backed against Coakley.

Also, my recollection is that Romney was straining moderate in his failed Senatorial run in MA, then moved conservative while he was out in Utah, and furiously scrambled back “moderate” when running for governor—before finally jerking back right for his presidential run in ‘07-’08.

Of course Romney and his paid team are pressing for credit now that Brown’s looking like a big-time winner. (And Brown’s team does deserve a lot of credit—as well as Brown, who has been a great candidate himself.)

[fieldmarshaldj]

Remember whose website you’re on, Dave. This ain’t the Slick Willard fanboi worship club. If Scott Brown is going to be a puppet for Slick Willard, he will be no Conservative ally. That is a very serious worry here that we’re getting rolled again by the DIABLO/RINO left.

[tgusa]

I’m with you. Frankly, I could give a rat’s rectum if Scott Brown is a Romney man. THE PATRIOTS OF MASSACHUSETTS WILL MAKE THAT DECISION. GOT IT??? This is their election - and their decision, assuming they can keep ACORN and SEIU under control.

GO SCOTT GO!!!

[Leisler]

Already posted.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2430818/posts

There are like five Republicans in my state. Now that Brown, a working class, easy going, earthy, always been the same fun loving guy is winning.....why it’s Mitt....because the same handful of elitist activists are around.

Who would fall, stretch that to Californian resident, Mitt?
A Mittbott, of course.

[rlmorel]

"Only" served in the National Guard.

This is a particular slander against men and women who have worked, bled and died as hard as our regular army. They have been used much differently in Iraq and Afghanistan than ever before, and the role of the National Guard has changed.

I read that the the Air National Guard had been actively using F-84 Thunderstreaks as late as 1972...a plane that was obsolete in the 1950s. Now, the ANG and the National Guard have better equipment and better training.

Also, if you look at the image of Scott Brown shown below, you can see that even though he works in the legal end of things, he is a real soldier.

Freeper Tailback wrote the following: "He’s got jump wings which means he’s paratrooper qualified. (not easy to get those) He’s got the expert marksman badge which means he qualified at the highest level on either the rifle or pistol. (definately not easy to get, I was one of 6 out of 260 in basic training) he has what I believe is the German sports badge on his right breast above his nameplate. If that’s what I think it is, he is one seriously fit and tough dude. The German sports badge is really really really hard to get. When you put all those things together, I’d say he could give Chuck Norris a run for his money."

So, bottom line, Scott Brown has worked hard to better himself as a soldier, and deserves credit for doing so.

[Leisler]

It gets even weirder. No Romney since they came to the US as English Mormons BEFORE the Civil War, has ever worn a uniform. Not one, not once, ever. ( Who has a family like that? )

[Leisler]

A lot of this is lefties voting against this particular era of Democrat Hacks. It’s really the bench in charge now. The Democrats will put out to pasture this generation, and buff up a new team, a la Obama.

[rlmorel]

scxdave, this story comes up just because Brown happens to be a Republican in a state where there are only a very small number of Republicans elected few of whom can even be named besides Brown.

It is BS. I think it is the Romney people trying to take credit for Brown’s hard work.

Brown is his own man.

[Leisler]

Jump badge is fairly easy. Be in shape and do as you are told, which basically is fall out the door like a inert package.

I anti bolo badges on uniforms. Only three were given out in the Revolutionary war. Not three types, three medals total. US Grant, from Captain to 5 star received and worn none.

Basically people used to fight for a reason. As the philosophers used to say, the thing was reason enough. Now everybody looks like an Italian General. Like it’s the glorified Boy Scouts or something.

[jocon307]

“.but it gets a little more complicated if you also oppose Reid, who is a racist and a Mormon”

LOL, good point! Reid 2012?

[Rome2000]

This just shows what a scumbag Romney is, he signs a law that uses the state department of revenue to fine people who don’t have health insurance and blows up the state deficit and then has the audacity walk around and lie with a straight face and say his plan is “nothing like Obamacare” and is “working fine” for the people of his state.

This silly SOB has got another thing coming if he thinks he’s going to lie his smug conniving ass all the way to the nomination.

[Diogenesis]

The Bishop Romney, having ruined Massachusettes,
did nothing to help Scott Brown.

Sen. Brown did it alone with what was left of the GOP.

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"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

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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>

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"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

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“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

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"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