Posted on 10/04/2011 1:59:53 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
Mitt Romney has finally found a groove on the right. But he could find himself stuck there if he wins the GOP nomination.
With Romney’s recent move to wield the immigration issue as a club against Rick Perry — painting him as “soft” on a topic that resonates with the Republican primary electorate — the former Massachusetts governor is taking advantage of a rare opportunity to outflank Perry on the right among conservatives.
After the Texas governor wounded himself with his remarks in the last debate, Romney seized on the issue of illegal immigration, trying to paint Perry as an open-border softy who is giving out freebies to people who enter the country illegally.
But the tactic is not without risk, and some strategists — and even some Romney supporters — are beginning to worry that he could damage himself as a general election candidate with the fastest-growing population of voters who are up for grabs: Hispanics.
“Mitt Romney has definitely adopted [a hostile] tone, and needlessly,” said Ana Navarro, the national Hispanic chairperson of Jon Huntsman’s campaign who served the same role on John McCain’s 2008 campaign.
“Barack Obama’s basic vulnerability was that he made Latinos a promise on immigration that he has not delivered and Latinos remembered,” she added, referring to the president’s pledge for immigration reform. “We have a unique opportunity to capitalize on a broken promise to the Latino community, and instead of capitalizing on that, we are fighting over who is tougher and meaner and stricter when it comes to immigration. We’re completely missing the boat.”............
Sorry but Perry’s going to have to do better than that if he wants to win the nomination. He will have to renounce his support for the tuition breaks and other pro-illegal policies. If he can admit his mistake, just like he did with Gardasil, then we will be able to move on.
This idea that Romney is the one benefiting from Perry’s pro-illegals face-plant is not connected with reality.
In the new Washington Post Poll, Romney is stuck at the same number he was a month ago.
In the Fox News poll, Romney has been declining-to-flat for months.
The support draining away from Perry is NOT going to Romney, it is going over to the conservative candidates in the race.
If candidate Perry had any cahones (for America
as opposed to MEXICO), he would confront Romney
about Romney’s illegal alien sanctuaries, such as
in Belmont, where illegals festered, and which
where exposed by the local newspapers, over and over.
It would be so easy to go after Romney if he’d just put more EFFORT into it
But this will change.
The problem is both perry and romney are rino putzes. They both suck real bad.
And yet he still leads in most polls. None of the other candidates has taken a firm lead over him and held it. If the story is that his steady 28 percent marks him as weak, the other candidates' steady single digit numbers (Huntsman, Bachmann, Gingrich) or wildly gyrating numbers (Perry, Cain) mark them as even weaker.
In sum, the polls consistently mark Romney as the consistently strongest Republican candidate in a highly fractured group of weak candidates.
And in the race that matters most to swing voters--the presidency--he is the only candidate that consistently polls well ahead of Obama.
As detestable as Romney is to a lot of conservatives, as a purely practical matter he seems to be the only Republican candidate who can attract enough support from swing voters to get over the hump.
The American people may end up with Romney because they're too conflicted and fractured to settle on anyone better. Whatever Romney's flaws and weaknesses--and they are many--he is still better than the master of disaster Barack Obama.
I can and will support whichever of the "weak" Republican candidates wins the nomination. That includes Romney. The alternative--four more years of Obama--is too horrible to contemplate.
Obama sucks worse. Far worse.
The poor, weak, candidate-baby.
Hiding in his bunker?
If he is THAT weak, he should consider just staying there.
Romney is worse than Obama.
Romney gave America Obama through his treachery in 2008.
You support that, too?
“risky immigration play?” Romney has a better NumbersUSA record than Perry, and I don’t know of anyone who wants non-citizens voting in our elections. Citizens of Mexican descent are against illegal immigration by huge numbers.
Forget the wishes of the MSM.
NEITHER Riccardo Pherry nor RINO Romney is electable.
Can we please move on now?
And I am sick and tired of all these elitists who insist that only someone of high, or medium, intelligence should be president!
1. Romney would fit the ultimate playbook for Obama re-eelction campaign. Obama would run as the defender of the working class against the Wall Street Banker Romney whose company Bain Capital has destroyed a lot of jobs. As an example see how Tedd Kennedy destroyed Romney using the same tactic in 1994 during the Massachusetts Senate race. Watch Kennedy TV ads on youtube regarding this issue. Obama will do the same but with a thousand time stronger and more efficient.
2. Romney does not energize the base because he is too liberal and too stiff. In fact do not be surprised if Obama creates some fake conservative groups to go after Romney liberal record and further de-energize the Republican base.
In the meanwhile the Republican voters have to decide if giving in-state tuition for children of illegal immigrants is far more important and far more dangerous than Romney super liberal record and if they decide that this is the case then they can have Romney as the nominee and be responsible for Obama re-election.
It is Romney or Perry as the Republican nominee and there is no other despite all the delusions of some. Choose wisely.
“In the meanwhile the Republican voters have to decide if giving in-state tuition for children of illegal immigrants is far more important “
Let’s put it another way. Perry will have to decide what is most important: defending tuition for illegals or winning the GOP nomination. If he wants to win, he will have to fight for it. Gosh, you don’t help these guys by sticking up for them when they are wrong or lazy.
Romneycare Romney cannot hurt himself with this Republican.
He is a slimy character, the quickest way to re-elect Obama is to run Romneycare against him.
Romney is not fighting for the nomination and he is so happy to have the “conservatives” doing the fighting for him by going exclusively after Perry. He sends you his thanks and regards.
There is no spoon...
I can’t think of anything more demoralizing than if this turns into a contest between Willard and Ricardo only.
We deserve better.
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.