Posted on 06/15/2014 5:10:43 PM PDT by SoConPubbie
Far from being excommunicated by Republicans after his loss to President Obama, 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is enjoying a brand resurgence of late, drawing several potential 2016 candidates to his "ideas summit" this weekend in Utah and even earning some 2016 speculation himself.
Meanwhile, some other potential candidates are in Iowa for the state Republican Party's convention there Saturday. And not to be left out, Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J., was in California Friday to raise money for the Republican gubernatorial candidate there and participate in a Facebook chat.
It all adds up to a busy weekend for the early 2016 Republican presidential sweepstakes.
In Utah, Romney has billed his summit as an opportunity for a new generation of conservative thinkers and political leaders to strategize about the best path forward for the party and the country. No fewer than six potential 2016 GOP candidates made the trek to the Park City, including Christie, Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, Gov. Susana Martinez, R-Ohio, former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark., and Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., who was Romney's running mate in 2012.
Romney once worried he'd be branded a "loser for life" by his party if he failed to unseat the president, but it hasn't quite worked out that way. Despite the crowd of up-and-comers at his summit, many people there were more abuzz about the possibility that Romney himself could jump into the race in 2016.
Rommey "is the only person that can fill the stage," said MSNBC host and former Republican congressman Joe Scarborough at a private dinner on the summit's opening night, according to The Washington Post.
"He would be a giant in a field of midgets," added Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, a Democrat who's weighing a 2016 bid himself.
Romney has not entertained speculation that he could mount another bid, saying he's only interested in putting his stamp on the party going forward and positioning Republicans to win national elections. "The unavailable is always the most attractive, right?" he said, according to The Associated Press. "That goes in dating as well."
He dinged potential Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton during a campaign-style speech at the summit, pointing to mounting violence in Iraq to argue that the foreign policy Clinton helped engineer as secretary of state has been a "monumental bust."
"Tragically, all we've fought for in Iraq, all that 4,500 American lives were shed to gain, is on the cusp, potentially, of vanishing," Romney said.
The speculation swirling around Romney, who was the establishment choice in 2012, could reflect broader dissatisfaction with the party's slate of potential 2016 candidates.
One establishment favorite, Christie, has been handicapped in recent months by the traffic scandal surrounding the George Washington Bridge. And GOP officials believe former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush would be a formidable candidate, but they worry he has not demonstrated the constitution required for a brutal presidential race.
Paul, an insurgent Republican viewed skeptically by the party brass, sharpened his pitch ahead of his speech in Utah, telling Republicans they must expand their support without watering down their message.
"Our base is not big enough to win national elections and we have to reach out to new people, and that means African-Americans, Hispanics, young people, single women," Paul told The Washington Post. "We have to have a message that we don't dilute or make no longer consistent with who we are, but that we take elements that really do appeal to people."
After his appearance at the summit, Paul left Utah for Iowa to speak at the Iowa Republican Party's biennial convention in Des Moines.
Also scheduled to speak to Iowa Republicans Saturday are Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-La., and former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., who won the state's first-in-the-nation caucus during the his own 2012 presidential bid.
As they consider their future, Jindal, Paul and Santorum have all burnished their appeal among social conservatives - a voting bloc with particularly strong influence among Iowa Republicans.
Jindal and Santorum will return to Iowa in August along with Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Gov. Rick Perry, R-Texas, to participate in the Family Leadership Summit, the organizers of that event announced Saturday, according to the Des Moines Register. Other potential but unconfirmed attendees at that gathering of Christian conservatives include Paul, Bush, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Govs. Scott Walker, R-Wis., Mike Pence, R-Ind., and Christie.
Like Paul, Christie has counseled his party to reach out to Democrats and independents.
"If you want a candidate you agree with 100 percent of the time, look in the mirror," he said Friday during a fundraising trip to California to support Neel Kashkari, the Republican gubernatorial candidate there.
"I'm out here to support Neel, to let him know it can happen, but that you have to reach out to everybody," Christie said, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
During his trip, Christie also visited with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who raised money for his re-election bid, and participated in a live chat with Facebook users. In response to a question about congressional gridlock, Christie advised lawmakers to seek common ground to solve problems, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The question is why you jumped on the thread to fight for Mitt Romney?
The way it really works is that your party nominates a liberal candidate, and conservatives don't vote for your candidate, and actively campaign for others to not vote for him.
And your canidate loses (again).
It's a brave new world. Your entitlement to conservative votes has been yanked.
You want that vote? Run a conservative.
/johnny
Because as I said earlier, birds of a feather flock together.
Just like leftists think they have a right to our money.
/johnny
Every Brave New World has it’s Deltas and Epsilons...
Well its the same people after all. They can deny it like Obama denies reality. But reality is reflected in their actions.
Romney would have been a good president. Not my first choice. Not even close. But he would have been good.
Lemmie guess. you drink your corn from a jar.
Most of the voters in America rejected Nixon! Just like most of them rejected Clinton when Perot filled the void left by "Read my Lips" weenie Republicanism. But both were elected by a plurality and lacked any mandate; Nixon ended up resigning, and Clinton was impeached, though not convicted. Coincidence?
Listen, if in 2016 it's the same Democrat vs Democrat Lite as it was in 2012 for the Presidential, I am going to vote for the best limited government candidate on the ballot, which means THIRD PARTY (actually, second party). At BEST, my candidate wins and government gets pruned to bare essentials. At WORST, my vote weakens the mandate of whichever liberal wins, the Republican or the Democrat.
It's the best use of my vote to move things right.
LOL. Just pulling your chain. I know you hate Romney. Boy you’d have an apoplectic fit if Romney won on his third try, heheheheheheheh.
That sure flies in the face of his single term as governor, which he failed at.
He gave up running for reelection and left office with 34% approval after giving the state gay marriage, banning guns, and creating Obamacare.
Mason jar. Gave up the white lightning though a couple decades ago. Nuttin but tea nowadays.
If you guys would’ve gotten on board when the deal was done in 2012 instead of dogging him because he’s not pure enough we wouldn’t be in this mess today. Own it.
In that case might wanna return to the old ways because the words Mitt Romney and good president don’t belong in the same zip code based on his record.
Your RINO Republicans just pisssed all over the Iraq war dead and all those currently missing pieces by standing back and letting Barry give it back to terrorists.
Own that.
There. Fixed it for you.
Voting "against" is in your imagination. A vote is ONLY EVER for something, or for something else. Voting "against" is in your dreams. In the waking world, you only get to vote "for."
Time to wake up in time for 2016.
First, “pulling people’s chains” is called trolling, second you weren’t lying then, you are lying now.
Your being a nasty romneybot goes back many years.
To: ejonesie22
“Actually dear lady, the final “checkmate” is not your play to make. It will come when the Romneybots finally overplay their hand and the powers that be toss them.
My question would be is Romney really worth that.”
You Romney haters all use the threat of JimRob tossing anyone who disagrees with your viewpoint of Romney, don’t you. You know he doesn’t like Romney, and you play that up and hide behind that fact all the time. How very cowardly, and how anti-First Amendment rights of free speech. It appears you are the ones that act in a fascist manner, just like the Dems, threatening with the likes of shutting down talk radio through legislation to stifle any speech you don’t want to hear. Stand on your own two feet and can the threats, toots. It is very very unattractive and you are giving a supposedly free speech forum a very bad image. Grow up. I despise bullies.
165 posted on 07/17/2009 4:27:15 AM PDT by flaglady47
See if you can dig up my encounter with her in the past year. took place over 3 days and all she did was scream bully, push liberal ideas and blame everyone but her liberal candidate/philosophy for America’s woes.
Males for a masterclass into the mind of a GOP sycophant.
I spent 15 months in that hell hole. FYI. Where were you the last ten years Internet warrior?. People like you got Clinton elected twice because Bush and Dole didn’t match your level of conservatisim.
I spent 15 months in that hell hole. FYI. Where were you the last ten years Internet warrior?. People like you got Clinton elected twice because Bush and Dole didn’t match your level of conservatisim.
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.