So How Overhyped Will the SRLC Straw Poll Be?

The Constitutional Alamo ^ | 04/10/10 | Michael Naragon

[Publius772000]

The Drudge Report made it the headline story Saturday night: ROMNEY WINS STRAW POLL RESULTS. At the Southern Republican Leadership Conference, the former governor of Massachusetts, who, incidentally, signed into law the state health care system upon which Obamacare is based, narrowly edged Ron Paul in the informal poll of potential GOP candidates for 2012. Sarah Palin was third in the polling, with Newt Gingrich finishing out the top four.

Some of the big guns in the conservative movement and the Republican Party will make a big story out of this, as they have been pulling for Romney since the 2008 primaries. Sean Hannity has done a poor job of proclaiming his neutrality, as he continually sings Romney's praises, even going so far as to have the governor come on his radio show to try explain why Romneycare was different from Obamacare. Glenn Beck has done a better job of appearing neutral of late, but his affinity for Romney gushes at times. I tend to think this has something to do with the religious connections between the two LDS men. Rush Limbaugh has been probably the most guarded about his personal preferences for any one candidate, though he came just short of endorsing Romney in the primary season.

Now, Romney has finally won a straw poll, and the floodgates will open. This will be hailed as a very strong indicator for the former governor who now talks about fiscal responsibility and government cutbacks after signing into law a health care system that has bankrupted the insurance industry in Massachusetts...

[Publius772000]

While many in the conservative universe would love to see Mitt Romney as the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, his recent success seems to (possibly) be a sham.

[NormsRevenge]

How much did he pay for each vote?

[NormsRevenge]

Sean Hannity has done a poor job of proclaiming his neutrality, as he continually sings Romney’s praises

—

he talks conservative and pimps his show out for way too many moderates, imo.

[o_zarkman44]

Manufactured credibility by the GOP. Means nothing 2 years out except it might help fund raising.

Romney is a progressive and not a Republican.

[jimfree]

I guess listening to 30 to 50 percent of Hannity’s broadcasts is not enough to discern his raging moderatism. I just don’t see him as a Mittwit.

[ThomasSawyer]

"So How Overhyped Will the SRLC Straw Poll Be?"

The fact that the poll was even held this far out is over-hype. Real conservative leaders need to be rolling up their sleeves to win the political fight to save the country from the marxist/socialists now, not trying to win meaningless straw polls two and a half years out from the presidential election.

[Virginia Ridgerunner]

It's a meaningless sham...

Paul, Romney backers stacking straw poll deck

Is This How Straw Polls are won? (Mitt folks buying votes?) [As are the Paultards]

[Publius772000]

He has toned down the rhetoric on Romney for the past couple of months, especially as the health care debate raged (rages). But there are typically five or six things you can expect on Hannity’s show: 1) the word “specificity” will be used liberally, 2) he will describe himself as a “Reagan conservative” or will use the “bold colors not pale pastels” line, 3) he will pimp the television show, 4) he will (these days) pimp his book, 5) he will quote/interview/read/praise Mitt, Newt, or Karl Rove, and 6) he will mention at some point that he was the one telling everyone about Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayres. Fill in an audio retelling of the top Drudge stories of the day, and you have Hannity’s radio show without the commercials for Legal Zoom, 1-800-Pro-Flowers, and Ruth’s Chris.

[chicken head]

CRICKETS

[TornadoAlley3]

If we do not win in 2010, 2012 matters not.

[DarthVader]

SRLC poll = meaningless

[Publius772000]

Neal Boortz said this week that if the Republicans do not retake the House and Senate in 2010, or if they at least do not win enough seats to stop the agenda, he will not fault— nor will he be surprised to see—people making plans to leave the country. The Republic, he explained, cannot survive four full years of these people. And I believe he’s right.

[Freddd]

Depends on how much Romney paid for advertising it....

Still it’s just empty headlines. Romney wasn’t even there.

[Diogenesis]

MITT ROMNEY EXPOSED BUYING VOTES
NEW ORLEANS -- I spoke to a young female delegate who said she planned to vote for
Romney in the poll. I asked her how she had ended up at the conference.
She said "Evangelicals for Mitt" had contacted her and offered to pay for her to have a
limited-access ticket -- so long as she agreed to vote for Romney in the straw poll.
Asked how "Evangelicals for Mitt" got her name, she said she didn't know. But she said
that she was on the email list for Romney, and speculated that the Romney team
had given out their email list. “

________________________________________

[Brimack34]

All of Hot Air hates Palin and loves Rinos. I am sure there are others like that. But not here.

[Bigtigermike]

Romney- Buys 500 $119 tickets= $59,500 =TIE FOR FIRST

Paul- Buys 800 $119 tickets= $95,200 =TIE FOR FIRST

Palin- Buys 500 Caribou Jerky= $1,500 = SECOND PLACE

WHICH ONE IS FISCALLY CONSERVATIVE?
WHICH ONE GOT MORE BUCK FOR THEIR MONEY?

[chicken head]

[CedarDave]

The strawpoll was bought and paid for as other threads show. And the Rom and Ronbots on FR are drinking it like Jonestown Kool-aid. It gives the lamestream media something to crow about and with all those paid for tickets by the Bots, it probably does more than a little to put the finances of the conference sponsors in the black.

[Diogenesis]

RomneyCARE-creator, vote-buying, Mitt Romney:
”Now that Romneycare is national, ready to hurt
three hundred million, a little self examination is in order for you.
You may want to ask yourself “if I had spent my time promoting
RomneyCare and Mitt Romney, could not I have garnered more support
of both Mr. Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney?“

---

“Romney praises Obama again
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney praised President Obama
at a GOP fundraising dinner Wednesday ..
"I also think it's important for us to nod to the president when he's right," Romney said....
Romney, who spoke at a dinner for the National Republican Senatorial Committee,
said he's pleased with the president's plans to "finish the job" in Iraq and Afghanistan
-- lines that drew applause from the partisan audience. He also applauded the president
for standing up to the auto industry.
"I hope he continues to be tough ....The former businessman even offered faint praise for
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, saying that after a series of initial missteps,
"I think he's finally getting close to the right answer."

[SmokingJoe]

Same as 2006 SRLC Straw Poll, I'd imagine.

2006 SRLC Straw Poll results.

http://www.nationaljournal.com/srlc/
John McCain, who came in only 5th (behind even Bush who couldn't run in 2008), with just 4.6% of the SRLC vote, ended up winning the GOP primaries, and his strongest opposition in the primaries came from Mike Huckabee who got only 3.8% of the vote. George Allen, who came in third, couldn't even win re-election for his US Senate seat.