Sure now there's all sort of polls giving him a close or slight edge, but once non-political junkies get to know him through the (OM)Obama machine/LSM media prism, it's an up hill battle. He is the perfect foil to help Obama gin things up enough that his base will be so angry, they will turn out in higher numbers.
A conservative message, with an articulate person standing up passionately for America and American ideas and job creation, is absolutely necessary to cut through the crap and win over those RDs in swing states.
So the Pubbies base doesn't like Gingrich sitting on the bench with Pelosi, but those RDs probably don't give a rip. That can be portrayed as just a statement that even a Republican wants clean air and water. I doubt it has the same impact on non Pubbies as it does with the Pubbie base.
RDs would like to have the years of prosperity from the Reagan years, but more importantly, they are going to remember the prosperity of the Clinton/Gingrich years.
Put the memory of Clinton/Gingrich years against the Obama record. It plays pretty well, economically. And that's the number one issue.
Now put the Bain Capital record up(as the OM will portray it) with closed factory's and heart wrenching stories. Jobs eliminated and sent to China, while rich people pocket millions. That's not going to play well with RDs or the unemployed, and will help GOTV for Dems.
If the Pubbies base doesn't trust Romney, what makes anyone think that Dems and Independents will trust him either?
As to the GOP E picking the candidate. Yup they do that. Yop they have their reasons. Yop they put up enough money to keep enough conservatives in the field long enough for their choice to win without the majority of the vote.
Reagan broke through, but he worked to take over the party from the precinct up too. Conservatives were able to agree on him. So what needs to be done:
All the conservative Republicans need to get out there and become precinct chairmen/women, and vote for conservative leadership in the party.
Redesign the primary process, and consolidate the vote around no more than 2 candidates to put up against the Rockefeller wing's choice.
If the candidate has a good vision, can speak to the heart of the average American, and is articulate enough to get through the LSM to the average American, we all win.
If GOP E keep playing this game, they are once again going to be out in the cold where they were before Regan and Gingrich came along. And if they are so all fired SMART, how come it took Reagan and Gingrich to get them back in power?
“Reagan broke through, but he worked to take over the party from the precinct up too. Conservatives were able to agree on him. So what needs to be done: All the conservative Republicans need to get out there and become precinct chairmen/women, and vote for conservative leadership in the party.”
You’re absolutely right, but that’s not what is happening. Traditional conservatives are so enthralled with the circular firing squad that they’re going to end up marginalizing themselves.
Some other folks have taken the Reagan strategy and are running with it. But they aren’t traditional conservatives.
“I doubt it has the same impact on non Pubbies as it does with the Pubbie base.”
I KNOW it doesn’t. Look, Newt’s said many times that making the ad was a very stupid thing, AND that he was speaking out against cap and trade on the House floor the day Gore was trying to push it. If R’s don’t know that, they haven’t been listening.
“He is the perfect foil to help Obama gin things up enough that his base will be so angry, they will turn out in higher numbers.”
You betcha. He’ll be painted everything from a rich fat cat who doesn’t care about “the 99%” to the architect of Obamacare 1.0. It’ll be a no-win situation. And that doesn’t even take into consideration what a wimp he’ll be debating BHO face to face. He wants so badly to be liked by everybody (including the Left), and he’s scared to death of the race card, that it’ll be Juan McLame all over again.
Are (almost all of) the so-called conservative pundits and Repub spokespeople really THAT dumb that they don’t see this??? It’s obvious why the Dems are talking him up - they DO see what an easy mark he is.
But what’s the Republicans’ excuse? Do they want to see BHO re-elected or what?
If they made all GOP primaries closed in all states, then I don’t care how many candidates are in the race.
I’m just tired of libs voting in our primaries to water down the candidates.
Does anyone truly believe that non-republicans voting for Ron Paul are going to stay with the GOP? Hell no, and probably not even with Paul the nominee.
To listen to RINO’s today saying “don’t tick off all those new voters Ron Paul is bringing to the process” is a laugh riot. He’s bringning nothing new at all. They should write a book about the Dean administration.