Posted on 11/22/2010 7:01:21 AM PST by Bigtigermike
Mitt Romney hasn't changed a bit, and carries even more damning baggage.
The serious rumblings are already out there. Undaunted by the failure of one of the most expensive presidential primary runs in history, Mitt Romney apparently wants to take another shot at getting the GOPs nomination. Utah Senator Orrin Hatch is quite sure Romney will run, and has said that the former Massachusetts governor would be my preference.
Sadly, theres a hoary tradition in the GOP that certain establishment-favored candidates, even though theyre not the best available, have somehow earned their turn. That belief has usually led the party straight to the presidential political graveyard, which includes the campaign corpses of John McCain (2008) and Bob Dole (1996). Following that tradition this time around would mean that the partys its my turn nominees would have moved from a somewhat conservative and usually credible war hero (Dole), to an occasionally conservative and all too often not credible war hero (McCain), to a decidedly not conservative and not credible guy who didnt serve (Romney). Theres a reason why the GOP is often called the Stupid Party.
Perhaps the most potent portent that Romneys 2012 aspirations are serious lies in an attempt by some to explain away his 2008 defeat as supposedly the result of his membership in and the publics bigotry against the Mormon religion. In a pair of presentations on the program at the Mormon Media Studies Symposium earlier this month, a trio of Brigham Young University professors attempted to prove this claim. According to the Salt Lake City Deseret News:
[BYU prof John] Gee cited examples of counter-cult activity by the John McCain and Mike Huckabee campaigns. These politicians would slip false information about Mormons into a casual message.
[The media] need to know some of these things that have been going on that havent been covered, the way the coded language and off-hand remarks can be inserted in, Gee said.
Mitt Romney will not be able to overcome half a century of hate and bigotry, but I would love to be proven wrong, he said. The media has to get the story correct, and its too much to ask for.
Cry me a river. As far as I know, and I followed the GOP primaries very closely, the only evidence that anyone attempted to use Mitt Romneys religion against him was one alleged early-December 2007 push poll in Iowa. Oddly enough, the only people who came forward to claim they had received the offensive phone calls were Romney campaign operatives, who somehow forgot to tell the press that they were on the candidates payroll.
The alleged push poll gave Romney, whose Hawkeye State campaign was already in serious trouble, an excuse to garner national attention with his Faith in America speech. Patrick Ruffini, who was blogging at the site of Romney cheerleader Hugh Hewitt at the time, observed:
This is relatively unexpected. Romneys Mormon faith, though ever-present, has not been as big an issue as could have been expected earlier in the year. Questions still linger as to whether the most recent Mormon controversy (the push polls) actually reflected any real concerted anti-Romney strategy.
Apparently Professor Gee wont let the lack of real evidence of a concerted anti-Romney strategy based on Mormonism get in the way of a historically revisionist fable.
The fact is that Mitt Romney lost in 2008 for a huge collection of reasons having absolutely nothing to do with his religious affiliation. Heres the short list:
His heinous betrayals of social conservatives in Massachusetts when he was governor. On Romneys watch, abortion became a legislated, subsidized, state-sponsored benefit for the first time. Regarding same-sex marriage, Romney broke his sworn oath to uphold the states constitution by implementing the Goodridge decision before the Bay States legislature enacted the enabling law the courts ruling required (to my knowledge, the legislature still has not done this).
His proactive pursuit of state-controlled health care legislation in Massachusetts, signed with the late Ted Kennedy standing behind him approvingly. By late 2007, it was already clear, despite sympathetic media attempts to portray it as pioneering and a grand experiment, that Commonwealth Care (aka RomneyCare) was turning into a coercive, failing statist monstrosity. Despite its self-evident flaws, RomneyCare was often cited by leftists as the prototype for ObamaCare.
A host of life story and resume inconsistencies, including but not limited to: his antiabortion epiphany, after which he signed the abortion-enabling Commonwealth Care law; his assertion, having hunted twice, that he was a lifelong hunter; and a completely disproven contention that his father George marched with Martin Luther King in Michigan.
On the ground, the real reason why Mitt Romney lost is that a few brave conservative activists whom Romney abandoned while governor banded together to get the truth out to a legion of sympathizers and then to the electorate first in Iowa, then in New Hampshire, and finally on Super Tuesday. Theres your conspiracy, Professor Gee.
There are even more reasons why, if he chooses to run this time, Mitt Romney should again be summarily rejected. Among the new ones are at least these two biggies:
At crunch time in March 2009, when the Obama administration was orchestrating a statist boardroom coup at General Motors, Romney went on CNN and applauded the president for his backbone. Seriously.
After all these years, Romney refuses to concede that creating Commonwealth Care was a mistake. In March, he even called its imposition of an individual mandate to purchase insurance the ultimate conservative plan.
The majority of the USAs population, which Frank Luntz recently found is sensible, constitution-loving, and conservative, cannot and will not abide Mitt Romney receiving the GOPs presidential nomination in 2012. Weve had more than enough of this Mitt.
Who hates Mormons? Most people I know are indifferent to the religion.
Newsweek/Time/etc... would have cover stories on the Mormon Book of Abraham all on the same week. The NY Times would be running front page articles on the many historical inaccuracies in the book of Mormon (from horses to iron).
And they will all ask the same question: how can we trust the presidency to a guy that believes something that can be so easily disproven.
What really bothers me and which was mentioned at the beginning of this article is this frustrating and irritating habit of the GOP to say this established member has 'earned their turn'. It's the Good 'Ol Boys Club all over again. Did the GOP learn anything from this last election? The people will be determining the course from now on, not the GOP leadership.
Mitt not changed a bit?
Oh $#!T!
The key paragraph.
Romney would win the nomination the same way McCain did last time. The conservative vote splits, the RINO vote doesn’t.
That’s why it’s important conservatives settle on a single candidate early. If it is Palin, or a Palin endorsed candidate, I don’t care, but it needs to be a single conservative candidate.
I agree with most of the comments here, this guy will simply be whatever he thinks will garner him the most support. From a MA resident.
It may be different this time around. Last time McCain was running so he captured the RINO vote. Conservatives never trusted Romney when he faked his Conservatism so Romney’s candidacy was doomed. Little RINO vote and little Conservative vote.
This time Romney will likely have all the RINO vote. He will not get the Conservative vote, but the RINO vote may be enough, particularly if there are several Conservative candidates splitting their votes.
Mitt puts the ‘NO’ in ‘RINO’
But, but, but he saved the Olympics...
Run negative ads and lots of them. People often think of negative ads as being lying or slanderous. Often though it's the only effective way of handling deception by one candidate. Romney has a history of making promises to one special interest group then a week later making an opposing promise to another group. Honestly I don't know if I have ever seen a bigger liar in my life, Republican or Democrat, than Mitt Romney. Regardless of how the attacks are done you are correct. He campaign needs to crash at the outset. He has to be ruined in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Real men will vote for Palin because they knows she has more balls then 99% of the men they know, either way the majority of men will vote Republican. Men have not voted for a Democrat for President 70 years.
Because of Sarah Palin the Woman voted Republican in the midterms November Gd, 2010 for the First time every!
The only men who will vote for Zero are THOSE FOR GAY MARRIGE, and those men jealous of Sarah Palins BALLS!
I think Mittens very well could win the 2012 election. Why? Because, as the article said, due to the "earned my turn" mentality, he has a chance at getting the nomination, due to help from the GOP machine. Many people have been well trained by the LSM to recoil in horror and recite a little spell at the mention of Sarah Palin. Romney is a 'safer' candidate in the establishment sense. He's one of those moderately to the right, don't rock the boat, been around awhile politicians. People may be more comfortable with him, because he's the kind of DC slickster they're used to.
That said, if the tea-party and similar movements continue to grow, Palin's chances will increase. But like I said, many many people are scared out of their wits by Palin without even knowing why.
Its all speculation. My two cents, for whats its worth.
Real men will vote for Palin because they knows she has more balls then 99% of the men they know, either way the majority of men will vote Republican. Men have not voted for a Democrat for President 70 years.
Because of Sarah Palin the Woman voted Republican in the midterms November 2nd, 2010 for the First time every!
The only men who will vote for Zero are THOSE FOR GAY MARRIGE, and those men jealous of Sarah Palins BALLS!
I'm one of them.
Hey Bigtigermike,
Ya gots to know the dems conspired with their crossover voting in primaries last go around to get freaken Juan McLame as the pubbie nominee.
What makes you think with Obammy and his Chicago crime syndicate aren’t planning some of the same or worse.
Maybe wag Iran about time to get serious about 2012? Or help get Mitt the Rino fool nominated.
Yes, bears repeating (with pictures).
Hahaha. Yes, my friend and political soulmate, I love nothing more than screwing those stupid conservatives.
The problem of course is that if Mitt Romney gets the GOP nomination ONE of them will be elected in 2012.
That's certainly been true in the past but I think we have a new GOP today. And if not, and Romney gets the nod, we'll have a much smaller GOP I'm afraid.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.