Dukakis, Kerry ... Romney?

Weekly Standard ^ | Thursday July 5, 2012 | William Kristol

[Bigtigermike]

Remember Michael Dukakis (1988) and John Kerry (2004)? It's possible to lose a winnable presidential election to a vulnerable incumbent in the White House (or in the case of 1988, a sitting vice president). So, speaking of losing candidates from Massachusetts: Is it too much to ask Mitt Romney to get off autopilot and actually think about the race he's running?

Adopting a prevent defense when it's only the second quarter and you're not even ahead is dubious enough as a strategy. But his campaign's monomaniacal belief that it's about the economy and only the economy, and that they need to keep telling us stupid voters that it's only about the economy, has gone from being an annoying tick to a dangerous self-delusion.

As Frank Cannon and Jeff Bell, among others, have pointed out, the economy is not an automatic path to victory. It does provide a favorable backdrop for this year's campaign. But what are voters to think when they hear the GOP nominee say, as he did yesterday to CBS’s Jan Crawford, "As long as I continue to speak about the economy, I'm going to win"? That they're dopes who don't know the economy's bad, but as long as the Romney campaign keeps instructing them that it is bad, they'll react correctly and vote the incumbent out of office? 

The economy is of course important. But voters want to hear what Romney is going to do about the economy. He can "speak about" how bad the economy is all he wants—though Americans are already well aware of the economy's problems—but doesn't the content of what Romney has to say matter? What is his economic growth agenda? His deficit reform agenda? His health care reform agenda? His tax reform agenda? His replacement for Dodd-Frank?

[Perdogg]

What about Calvin Coolidge?

[newzjunkey]

Wasn’t Kristol one of Romney’s biggest cheerleaders during the primary season? The checks must’ve stopped coming.

[rhinohunter]

Yes....BUT...As I recall it was the Weekly Standard and other RINO media that were pushing for milt all along.

[Bigtigermike]

If I recalled correctly....Bill Kristol during the primary was tepid at best in supporting Mittens and warned about the challenges if he was the nominee

[originalbuckeye]

He seems to be running a timid campaign , a la John McCain. Wake up, Mitt! Trumpet your good ideas..... NOW!

[nhwingut]

Romney needs to stop talking about the economy and focusing on bombing Iran or invading Syria. Them the little neocon twerp will be happy.

[cripplecreek]

I’m not gonna say I told ya so......

[ClidePenbroke]

yes Mitt. Open up and give the media and Obama a target to shoot at.

Kristol ought to stfu, nobody is paying attention yet and Obama seems to be digging holes at a furious clip.

Who knows what the economy, or anything else for that matter, will be like in 3 months.

[cripplecreek]

We’ll have to vote for him to see what’s in him. LOL

[Ron C.]

"Wake up, Mitt! Trumpet your good ideas."

Trouble is, he has no good ideas, as far as I can tell...

The ONLY idea most conservatives want to see implemented is - ROLL BACK THE SIZE OF GOVERNMENT - by at least 25 to 30 percent. Preferably 50 percent at minimum. Hell, a 15 percent front-end promise would get this twit elected.

[jagusafr]

If it wasn’t so damn tragic I’d be L’ing MAO...

[sibb1213]

I am!!! Told you so! Told my husband and all my friends.

[cripplecreek]

Way back in December Rush was on Van Sustren's show and warned about picking a moderate for exactly the reasons we're seeing play out today. Just this morning Michelle Malkin was on FOX saying that we all knew what Romney was.

USH: Well, every poll I've seen of Republican primary voters, he can't crack 30 percent. It has been curious. And you look at it from the reverse, 70 percent of Republican voters want somebody else. This is why we have the phenomenon of the "Not-Romney." Bachmann was the "Not-Romney" for a while. Herman Cain was the "Not-Romney." Now Newt is the "Not-Romney." I think it boils down to something that's not complicated at all. Republican primary voters are conservative. They don't believe that Romney is. They believe that he will stick a finger in the air and moisten it and see which way the winds are blowing and try to get in that direction. They remember that Romney said he believes in global warming and he believes that man is causing it. Well, conservatives don't believe that. They believe it's a hoax. Conservatives know that the whole story of man-made global warming is a hoax. And they're not going to get excited by a candidate who is trying to gain favor with non-Republican primary voters by articulating that stuff.

Here's the big problem, Greta, for the Republicans. And I am a lone wolf on this. The rule of thumb in elections, both parties, 40 percent are going to vote Democrat automatically, whatever you do, 40 percent are going to vote Republican, automatic, no matter what you do. And in the middle, who do we have? The precious, God love them, independents and the moderates. And they are the targets. They are the focus of every election. And our brilliant campaign consultants tell our candidates they are the ones that know how to go get a majority of those independents. And we have, as Republicans, put ourselves in prison to this whole silly notion that you only win elections by moving to the center and getting great independents. Fine and dandy, but if you squander your base in the process, you haven't a prayer.

Rush then goes on to name Bachmann, Perry, and Santorum as the true conservative firebrands who won't pander.

Rush Goes On the Record with Fox News Channel's Greta Van Susteren

[BfloGuy]

If I recalled correctly....Bill Kristol during the primary was tepid at best in supporting Mittens and warned about the challenges if he was the nominee

You spoilsport. Kristol is third on the list of conservative pundits [behind Krauthammer and Will] that FReepers love to bash without any facts to back it up.

[OrangeHoof]

Dukakis and Kerry were proxies for the Kennedy wing of the Democrat Party, as is Obama. What Obama got to do to the country was the same thing Dukakis and Kerry wanted to do but America refused them.

Romney is not the ideological continuum of Dukakis and Kerry - Obama is and the proof is that Uncle Teddy himself got Obama’s campaign rolling when he endorsed Obama over Hillary. That was the signal for the rest of the Kennedy liberals to choose Obama over Hillary which is what turned the nomination.

[CrouchingTiger620]

typical lame stream media bs.........didn’t kerry come within a handful of votes in Ohio from beating an incumbent with 5% unemployment..........

[Carry me back]

As long as Mitt doesn’t shoot himself in the foot he has a decent shot. He doesn’t need to be a fire brand. It is about Obama’s record imo. Obama is not well thought of, obviously. Go Mitt Go !

[Cicero]

This does sound a bit unusual coming form Bill Kristol and the Weekly Standard.

All of the “conservative” pundits pushed for Romney, and now he’s saying maybe he was a poor choice, one of those guys who gives a losing incumbant a win.

A bit late for this sort of doubt, I’m afraid. Romney is going to wreck the GOP’s election chances, unless something very unexpected happens between now and the convention, and he is sidetracked. Unlikely, I’m afraid.

[Flintlock]

Buncha RINOS.
Very, very squishey on the issues of import.............not that I’m a great fan of Romney, or anything.