Posted on 04/12/2012 6:12:01 PM PDT by Morgana
WASHINGTON, D.C., April 12, 2012, (LifeSiteNews.com) – Despite the fact that Rick Santorum has dropped out of the presidential race and his next leading rival, Newt Gingrich, has called Mitt Romney “far and away the most likely nominee,” the former Massachusetts governor still faces a serious problem, conservative leaders warn.
“There is a huge enthusiasm gap among grass roots conservatives that must be addressed by the Romney campaign,” former presidential candidate Gary Bauer, now president of American Values, told LifeSiteNews.com. Mitt Romney
A deficit with the party’s conservative base, especially its pro-life and pro-family base, will prove costly in November, he warned. “These people provide the passion and hard work that are key to GOP election success. It is almost impossible to win without them,” Bauer said. “Just ask John McCain.”
If he is interested in uniting the party around his candidacy, Romney must not take social conservatives for granted, Bauer said. “Every time an anonymous Romney advisor or GOP insider says these voters will ‘fall in line’ because they can’t stand Obama, it is like finger nails on a chalkboard,” Bauer told LifeSiteNews. Assuming right-leaning voters will simply show up at the polls out of fear of Obama – much less become active in his campaign – “would be a huge mistake. ”
“If Mitt Romney wants to capture some of that support that Rick Santorum gained with very little money based solely upon his message, then Mitt Romney needs to pick up that message,” Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, told LifeSiteNews.com.
Dr. Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and, wrote an op-ed in the New York Times stating it is “critically important that [Romney] name a trusted social conservative” as his running mate. “I would encourage him to break with tradition and pick a running mate well before the convention and have them begin campaigning as a team as early as possible,” he wrote.
Dr. Land also advised Romney to articulate “a strict constructionist, ‘original intent’ judicial philosophy.”
Bauer agreed. “Governor Romney has three opportunities” to reunite his party’s conservative wing, he told LifeSiteNews: “VP selection, party platform and acceptance speech to send the right message. He also has to signal early that he won’t be shy on fighting Obama on cultural/values issues.”
He noted Hilary Rosen’s attack that Ann Romney had never worked a day in her life provided a perfect starting point.
“To the degree that one candidate or another aligns with the core moral issues in addition to fiscal conservatism, they’re going to find support,” Perkins said. “If they don’t, they’re not going to get the unbridled enthusiastic support that Rick Santorum enjoys.”
LLS
LLS
Romney Needs to Quit
The Primary was a trial,
One that has revealed,
Romney lacks the Fire in the Belly,
That thrills the crowds so frail.
On and on the Chuckle-Meister,
Repeats his scripted lines.
No soaring rhetoric, inspiring words
There is no sand for the line.
Enter Left, the Marxist orator,
With basketball in hand,
Romney dribbles as he walks,
To bow and shake his better’s hand - - - .
If there is anyone who would recognize an enthusiasm gap, it's Gary Bauer.
I think a few strong, well-targeted attacks on the obama regime will dissipate this lassitude and malaise. It sucks he's not a conservative but Romney is very likely to win in November so may as well get used to the idea.
Now the kneepad wearers are using the “you go to war with the army you have” analogy.
Well I’m not following a general who has already betrayed me. He’ll lead us into an ambush and trade our butts for his release.
When I face HIM... I will not have voted for a baby killing, homosexual advocate.
LLS
As long as you're going to vote in the House and Senate races, that's all a responsible person can ask if we're stuck with Romney as the GOP candidate.
There has never ever been anything conservative about Romney.
And frankly, I hope he’s honest enough not to adopt a pro-life/family message, because he’s not in favor of either of these things and I’d respect him more if he just stated that.
And if he seriously thinks that suddenly being “reborn” as a faux pro-lifer is going to make up for his track record and his serious deficiencies in just about every other area (ranging from economics to foreign policy), he’s nutz.
My primary reason for voting at all will be to move the Stabenow seat to the right. Probablt Pete Stabenow who has some RINO tendencies of his own but he’s well to the right of Romney.
Romney is just a bridge too far.
enthusiasm gap: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1tCsOHiHUk&feature=related
Won’t anyone think of the children?
“What he needs to do is admit that he’s unworthy of the American people, drop out of the race, move to the Falkland islands, and live out his days in a shack far from phones and internet.”
Tomorrow at the latest would be nice.
Romney has yet to do ONE SINGLE THING to demonstrate that he has my best interests at heart!
Some Sociopathic personality types are less destructive than others. You can use them as public executioners, prison guards, or maybe arbitrage managers! I"m sure Bain made use of more than its fair share of such folks.
Mitt Romney...The Franklin Delano Roosevelt of Republicans
Mitt Romney...The Franklin Delano Roosevelt of Republicans
I got a few nastygrams from the Romneybots for pointing out that he is a socialist POS. Here is my response to one.
Re: Notice: Free Republic has been in full rebellion mode since 2008 and will remain so for the dura
From rurgan | 04/12/2012 6:35:45 PM PDT replied
“I think you are a democrat, you do the mainstream media’s work”
My response to rurgan.
If you are talking about vetting a candidate’s positions...you are right. Im doing what they should be doing. Pointing out that Romney has all the same positions as Obama is what all conservatives should be doing. Blindly supporting a liberal candidate with a known socialist record does nothing but damage the conservative movement. It makes us all hypocrites.
If you are ok with supporting Planned Parenthood, abortion, liberal judges, socialized healthcare, government mandates, global warming, cap & trade, forcing Catholic hospitals to violate their faith, TARP bailouts, a tax plan that defines the “rich” at an even lower $$ amount than Zero, and empty political rhetoric, Romney may be the right candidate for you. To me, it’s like distinguishing between Obama and Hillary. Are their differences?...sure. Would Hillary be better than Zero?...probably. Would I vote for her if she had an R behind her name and was running against Zero? No. Likewise, I won’t support Romney. Some folks are just a bridge too far....even if they have an R behind their name.
Your answer was not only unresponsive, it was insane.
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