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Interesting read. The article is dead-on about McCain's gloom and doom approach falling flat.
Posted on 01/16/2008 11:14:04 PM PST by Plutarch
He's not exactly a Macomb County kind of guy.
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So, how did Mitt Romney manage to score so much success here on Election Day?
The former Massachusetts governor posted 20-point victory, with Macomb giving him one of his biggest margins of any county in the state.
His 45 percent to 25 percent trouncing of John McCain all across Macomb County dramatically reversed the outcome registered here in 2000 when the Arizona senator posted a comfortable win in the GOP primary.
In fact, more than half of Romney's 80,000-vote margin on Tuesday over McCain statewide was accumulated in just two counties - Macomb and his home turf of Oakland County.
In Macomb County - a supposedly blue-collar, ethnic, working-class community - voters embraced a candidate who grew up as an Oakland County rich kid and went on to become a spectacularly wealthy venture capitalist.
The son of former American Motors president and Michigan Gov. George Romney, the candidate enjoyed "favorite son" status in Michigan. But was he a good fit for Macomb?
Romney was raised in Bloomfield Hills, attended the exclusive Cranbrook School, was educated at Harvard and then scored financially by overseeing leveraged buyouts of companies that were ripe for the picking.
Macomb Democrats seemed baffled by Romney's winning ways here. State Sen. Michael Switalski called the final Macomb election numbers "amazing." In retrospect, he assumed, like many other political observers, that Romney's well-financed campaign cashed in on his Michigan roots and his understanding of the auto industry.
But why would he win here by margins that were more than twice as large as the rest of the state? Why would a marginally Democratic, ticket-splitting county deliver more votes for Romney than the Republican strongholds of southwest Michigan?
What was the emotional connection between Macomb and Mitt?
He's not Italian or Polish or even Catholic - not even close. He's a devout Mormon. And he's a GQ-looking guy who has made his fortune - estimated at up to $250 million - by working deals on Wall Street, not Main Street.
With his perfectly coifed hair and flawless speaking style, Romney was undoubtedly the target of GOP rival Mike Huckabee's line: "People want a president who reminds them of the guy they work with, not the guy who laid them off."
In short, Romney's not the kind of guy who the typical Macomb voter would have a beer with at the local pub while watching a football game and munching on peanuts.
He's upper crust. But voters said they liked his blend of ingredients - considerable business experience, a Mr. Fix It track record, an appreciation of the auto industry's struggles, a promise to right this state's ailing economy.
He tapped into Michigan's misery. He felt our pain. Yet, he offered optimism that contrasted with McCain's gloomy assertion that auto jobs have been lost and they're not coming back.
"I think it was his message of hope that made the difference," said GOP county Commissioner Pete Lund of Shelby Township. "McCain tried 'tough talk' but he didn't offer tough solutions."
Exit polls and voter interviews showed that suburbanites were more concerned about the economy than the overall Michigan electorate. And they viewed Romney as a problem solver who could turn the state around as president. Perhaps most of all, he was "in tune" with the Great Lakes State.
On the campaign trail, he told voters he likes drinking Vernors and remembers shopping at Hudson's. But he's probably never been to Macomb Mall or went to "The Clem" to have a few drinks.
At rallies, Romney presented himself as a "car guy" and supporters shook their heads knowingly. Well, the former governor drives a Mustang now but one Boston newspaper reported that "his baby" was his classic 1985 BMW.
Not too many of those in the garages in Warren or Sterling Heights.
Pollster Ed Sarpolus, an Eastpointe native, explains Macomb's sudden affection for the man named Mitt this way: It all came down to turnout and demographics. Tuesday's primary turned on positions on issues, not personalities.
Sarpolus noted that few Democrats went to the polls to cross over and vote in the GOP primary, as McCain had hoped. Independents were also not much of a factor, so the blue-collar union vote had limited impact on the Republican outcome.
In addition, many voters didn't know details about Romney's background or how he earned his millions. What they did know, Sarpolus said, is that "he was talking about their pain, their issues."
The EPIC-MRA pollster said that Romney benefited in Macomb County from seniors who see him as the next-generation Romney, Catholics who were turned off by Huckabee's Southern Baptist sentimentalities, and conservative male voters who turned out in large numbers.
"Romney had it going all the way around," he said. "He got the seniors because of his dad. He got the angry white males who are pro-Bush. And he got those voters who are anti-immigration, anti-tax, anti-everything."
In a county that made its mark two decades ago as the home of the Reagan Democrats, some Republicans are quick to note that Reagan put us on the map, but he wasn't a guy from the neighborhood.
"Ronald Reagan didn't really fit here either. He was a Hollywood actor. He was the former governor of California," said Republican county Commissioner Leon Drolet of Macomb Township. "I think that, just because your father wasn't an auto worker doesn't mean you can't be embraced by Macomb County voters."
Wow--now I'm confused. I must say that I think 100% the same way that ILS21R does which makes me a bit bigoted, insulting and disrespectful. But I still think the same. Well, I guess I'll tend to agree with John Valentine and use noboby's perfect for cover.
Implying that a man is sleeping with his wife as a daughter is about the most insulting thing you can say about a person. If someone ever put something like that to me, he’d wind up with a bloody nose or worse.
That sort of thing has no place on Free Republic.
“Implying that a man is sleeping with his wife as a daughter is about the most insulting thing you can say about a person. If someone ever put something like that to me, he’d wind up with a bloody nose or worse.”
“That sort of thing has no place on Free Republic.”
Better response….
Genetics and Social conditioning……
With 6 billion people on the planet from different cultures and societal influences, it is important to understand the cultural and societal influences so that everyone has enough understanding to manage respectful relationships with different people. So stereotyping has some benefit to humanity.
http://www.executiveplanet.com/index.php?title=Main_Page
Spirituality…..
“I know in my heart that man is good. That what is right will always eventually triumph. And there’s purpose and worth to each and every life.”
So stereotyping can also be harmful to humanity.
If you would like to be added or dropped from the Michigan ping list, please freepmail me.
Interesting read. The article is dead-on about McCain's gloom and doom approach falling flat.
Thanks for the ping. Good article, Plutarch. Thanks for posting. Interesting thread.
“I didn’t say he was one[a pervert]. I said he “looks” like one.
It’s only anecdotal but I’ve heard that Fred’s campaign responded to this line of inquiry with (paraphrase), “It’s a GOOD thing that his wife looks better than the White House interns!”
Macomb County is also a lot different than it was in 1980. The last Census estimate I saw, it was about 900,000. And still growing despite Detroit and perhaps even Michigan trends. There is migration from Detroit. There is also a mixing across what was once a socioeconomic and ethnic Berlin Wall called Dequindre Rd., the border of Oakland County. For years, construction of I-696 and M-59 were held up, but now there is freer movement between the two. So if it seems different, it may well be.
It really warms my heart I am from Macomb County!:)
more than half of Romney's 80,000-vote margin on Tuesday over McCain statewide was accumulated in just two counties - Macomb and his home turf of Oakland County. In Macomb County - a supposedly blue-collar, ethnic, working-class community - voters embraced a candidate who grew up as an Oakland County rich kid and went on to become a spectacularly wealthy venture capitalist.Gosh, it's almost as if blue-collar working-class ethnic voters would ordinarily prefer someone who advocates redistribution from those who work to those who do not work.
That sort of thing has no place on Free Republic.
Being in Europe, after thinking for a week, I must say your comments reflect the "less image minded more pragmatic results oriented" European voters than the image, personal identity, sound bite promises, rock star, American Idol values of the majority of American voters.
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