‘Where’s Mitt?’

National Review Online ^ | 10/28/08 | Kathryn Jean Lopez

[Reaganesque]

It’s been the most frequently asked question I’ve gotten from National Review Online readers and conservatives over e-mail and in person since the market chaos and subsequent bailout circus began.

My answer these last few months has always been: Turn on MSNBC. Turn on FOX. Google a conservative candidate for Congress. Romney is liable to turn up.

And yet, a ridiculous item on the Internet yesterday suggested that he’s been in hiding, keeping a “low profile nationally” and unwilling to help out Republicans who aren’t a sure thing.

There are problems with that contention: Why do I keep seeing the man on television? Is any Republican a shoe-in this year? Someone get Norm Coleman on the phone with the good news! Because Romney is scheduled to campaign with the Minnesota senator, who is fighting for his political life against the not-so-funny prospect of Senator Al Franken. The images on his website blog do not suggest someone who’s decided to sit out the election — they suggest someone still engaged in the election year. Nor does his travelog, as he’s been doing McCain surrogate events everywhere from Pennylvania and Colorado to Nevada and Texas (among other places including Oregon, Georgia, Nashville ... ). Nor do his post-debate spin-room appearances or his interview on The Laura Ingraham Show this morning suggest that Mitt is standing down on election 2008.

Romney’s been in Virginia helping Keith Fimian in that newly blue-leaning state. He’s campaigned for Michele Bachman, now a favorite of MSNBC. He’s raised money for John Sununu in New Hampshire and Oregon senator Gordon Smith — both of whose reelection prospects are far from guaranteed. The list goes on.

Since Romney suspended his campaign and subsequently formed the Free and Strong America political action committee in April, he has donated approximately $202,000 to 75 GOP candidates, according to numbers made available to NRO from the PAC. Romney has also made an additional $173,000 in donations through flexible spending accounts to five affiliated state PACS, including $10,000 to the National Organization for Marriage, which is working to pass Proposition 8 in California, and $5,000 to stop a ballot initiative in Massachusetts to decriminalize marijuana.

And when the McCain campaign famously withdrew from Michigan, Romney contributed $50,000 to the demoralized GOP there. According to his PAC, “The total amount of financial support to GOP candidates and conservative causes through Romney-controlled state and federal PACs is $375,000.”

The web piece further blamed former Romney aides for being the source of the Sarah-Palin-is-a-diva complaints coming out of the McCain camp, presumably meant to damage her post-election prospects should the Republican ticket lose next week. The problem with that is: Most of Romney’s inner circle is still his inner circle — some having come from the business world, others being Massachusetts people now running his PAC. Others returned to Washington, and are doing McCain surrogate work, but are far from campaign insiders. Whomever is shooting at Palin from the McCain camp is not doing Romney’s bidding.

The good news for Mitt Romney is folks care what he’s doing. And someone out there sees him as enough of a threat to their ambitions to try to wound him. That rarely happens to irrelevant also-rans.

When longtime Romney spokesman Eric Fernstrom was asked about the former Massachusetts governor’s future on Monday, the longtime aide suggested Romney’s 2008 presidential ambitions weren’t running his life: “Gov. Romney had his shot at the White House, and he lost fair and square.” After a hostile primary season that highlighted some shameful instincts hostile to religious liberty both in the mainstream media and on the Right, you might not blame Romney if he went into retreat. But he never did. Romney got on the campaign trail for John McCain, defending the free-market policies that this successful businessman could no doubt run with, if he were in the driver’s seat.

Romney’s been a team player. Is it because he wants a Cabinet seat? Ask him — but I doubt it. There are easier jobs that taking over a massive bureacracy with limited freedom. Is it because he wants to be president? Ask him, but I don’t think that’s it either — and only time will tell, anyway, who will be Right prospects in a few years.


Watching him these past few months, he acts like a man who found a home on the Right, who both personally and philosophically appreciates those who were open to what he brought to the campaign trail, and continues to want to serve his country in whatever capacity she needs him. Right now, that’s by fundraising, contributing, and campaigning for conservative candidates and causes like the Susan B. Anthony List and Proposition 8 in California.

In his final primary-campaign speech in February, Mitt Romney said:

I entered this race because I love America, and because I love America, I feel I must now stand aside, for our party and for our country.

I will continue to stand for conservative principles. I will fight alongside you for all the things we believe in. And one of those things is that we cannot allow the next President of the United States to retreat in the face of evil extremism.

And so he campaigns for candidates who share his general vision of the world. Romney was with McCain in Ohio on Monday. He’ll be in New Hampshire on Wednesday campaigning for congressional candidates Jeb Bradley and Jennifer Horn. And then he’ll take off for get-out-the-vote rallies.

If you’re wondering where Mitt is — and you can suspend some of your cynicism — the answer might just be: Where he can be of use. If you take him at his word and his schedule, that’s what it reads like anyway.

— Kathryn Jean Lopez is the editor of National Review Online.

[Reaganesque]

Its fascinating. Here we are, in the middle of an election where the very core of our representative Republic is at risk with the possible election of a neo-Marxist to the Presidency and a handful of alleged Conservatives are miles behind the battle lines, kicking the corpse of the Romney campaign.

My one and only comment to these people is this: Get your priorities straight. We have a task at hand, the defense of our political beliefs against a political coup that seeks to bring about a Socialist United States. Surely that outweighs whatever personal grudge you have against one man, doesn't it?

[ncfool]

How about Ollie North. He has been MIA for at least 30 days. Will he appear the next 48 hours with something breaking like the OCTOBER SURPRISE?

I sure hope so!

[NYC Republican]

Excellent article... Disgusting anti-Mitt folks will be here in 1-2-3... even though this article clearly articulates what I’ve been saying for days... Mitt’s been all over the place, supporting the ticket, and the rumors are absolute LIES.

[perfect_rovian_storm]

Here we are with much more important things to worry about and here’s K-Lo putting on her kneepads for Slick Willard again.

There are reports of Romney not helping certain people. There are reports of staffers who are backstabbing the McCain campaign.

I can’t say they’re surprising to me considering what we all know about Mitt Romney, but they may well be complete BS.

Those allegations, however, are Romney’s to answer and not K-Lo’s.

[ladyjane]

The anti-Mitt comments here recently on FR are puzzling. Does it simply boil down to anti-Mormon sentiment or is it class-envy?

[allmendream]

But...but....but... they WANT to believe all the media “unnamed sources” within the McCain camp that are sniping at Gov. Palin for the “benefit” of Mitt Romney's run in 2012.

Not that they will believe OTHER media stories from “unnamed sources”, but these they will believe.

[auto power]

Isn’t K. Lopez the same writer for NR who ridiculed Sarah Palin as VP and asked that she step down from the campaign??...this was all in the same week that the NR issue had Sarah on the front cover with the title...”The One”....

[Diogenesis]

"Here we are, in the middle of an election where the very core of our representative
Republic is at risk with the possible election of a neo-Marxist to the
Presidency and a handful of Romney's "Harpies of Hate" are behind the battle lines,
kicking the GOP and Gov. Palin.

There, fixed it for you.

[GOP_Lady]

Indeed. It will be the same half-dozen or so who like to instigate.

[GOP_Lady]

Reaganesque, how very nice to see you.

I hope all is well with you and yours.

:-)

[Reagan69]

Mitt was on Hugh Hewitt last night and it sounded like he’s been going to a lot of rallies and states to campaign for Mac & SARAH !!!

He sounded great and fully supportive of MAC.

[GOP_Lady]

Good morning!

There’s snow here in my area today.

[GOP_Lady]

KJL has the answer: “Where he can be of use.”

That’s all Mr. Romney has ever wanted, whatever the capacity, and he’s said so.

[perfect_rovian_storm]

Grow up. What is it with you people that you have to claim that everyone ‘hates’ Mitt Romney?

With the way you sycophants behave, is it any wonder that people would lend credence to the rumors? We could all tell how many of you were just itching to go Anti-Palin right after Mitt didn’t get picked.

As long as Mitt Romney is not attempting to be the standard bearer for the Republican Party, I have no problem with him whatsoever. In fact, I’d like to see him run for the Senate in NV against Reid in 2010.

[greyfoxx39]

So This Is "Growing" In Washington: The Kevin Madden Saga

Posted by: Erick Erickson

Redstate.com

Wednesday, October 29, 2008 at 06:00AM CDT

Yesterday, I blogged about Romneybots trying to smear Sarah Palin. One of the ones who has been willing to do it on record is former John Boehner spokesman and, more recently, former Mitt Romney spokesman Kevin Madden.

Now Madden was a Hill guy. And he was good. Smooth, polished, a party man.

Then he went to Mitt Romney and was mostly smooth and polished, but not quite as good.

Well, where to go now? Oh . . . the private sector.

Where did Kevin Madden go in the private sector?
The Glover Park Group.

The Glover Park Group is a Democrat group. Who is there?

Carter Eskew from Gore 2000; Michael Feldman from the Clinton White House; Gigi Gorges who worked with Hillary; Joel Johnson from Team Daschle; Joe Lockhart from the Clinton White House; Jonathan Sallet from the Clinton White House; Chip Smith from Gore 2000; and Howard Wolfson most recently of the Hillary Campaign.

They are good at what they do. Now they can play both sides having Kevin on board. But how much of the Palin bashing is Kevin trying to fit in and suck up to his new masters? Maybe he's just killing two birds with one stone: sabotage Palin to help him get back on the Romney train in 2012 if he thinks Obama is going to win and make himself palatable in an all blue Washington. Still, so much for loyalties, etc.

This doesn't explain the other Romneybots doing the same.

  K-Lo's still in love, I see.

[Reaganesque]

Thank you! I’ve been well. And you? :-)

[Shery]

Maybe you have to take some of the reports with a grain of salt. The left is always accusing the right of falling apart and trying to hurt each other. When asked for details, it gets hazy. We need to concentrate less on their tactic of divide and conquer and more on winning.

[mrsmith]

"a handful of alleged Conservatives are miles behind the battle lines, kicking the corpse of the Romney campaign. "

Well said!

Nonetheless it would be politically smart for Romney to make some very strong public endorsements of McCain and The Governor to counter the media's attempts to smear him.

[GOP_Lady]

Things are just fine, thank you.

Last Saturday was my parent’s 50th Wedding Anniversary. We took them out to dinner to celebrate and had a wonderful time.

[AmericanGirlRising]

Isn’t K. Lopez the same writer for NR who ridiculed Sarah Palin as VP and asked that she step down from the campaign??...this was all in the same week that the NR issue had Sarah on the front cover with the title...”The One”....

No that's National Review's Kathleen Parker.

National Review should really stop promoting Mitt as strongly as they've been allowed to do during this general election. I think Rich Lowrey knows better.

Mitt's involvement in this campaign isn't coming into question. It's his staff (e.g. Kevin Madden) that has pushed anti-Palin stories to a red-meat-hungry press. Mitt should distance himself from them. Read here: http://redgirlrising.blogdns.net/romney-moles/