Posted on 01/30/2008 10:02:49 AM PST by jdm
In the wake of the loss in Florida yesterday, Mitt Romney needs to focus on tonight's debate to break out as the conservative choice for the nomination. John McCain has taken leads in significant Super Tuesday states, and tonight will be the last national audience for all of the remaining candidates before 21 states go to the polls or the caucuses. Romney has to ignite conservatives and make this a binary race across a clear ideological line.
Some feel that the moment has already passed. Writers at The Corner and Dick Morris have resigned themselves to a Romney loss before more than 10% of the necessary delegates have been won. Others, like my friend and indefatigable Romney supporter Hugh Hewitt, argue that the numbers show that no one can win next week. The truth lies in between, as Hugh has the numbers correct but avoids acknowledging the role momentum plays.
Romney has one big advantage, but it will only be an advantage this week. He has better organizational strength and more resources. He can be more places at the same time as John McCain, which makes a difference when 21 states hold their contests on the same day. He can get his message across to more people simultaneously after this debate, and do it more often. After February 5th, that becomes far less necessary as we go back to a series of one- or two-state primary dates that stretches into April, when Pennsylvania goes to the polls.
If Romney wants to build momentum and define the race in binary conservative vs moderate terms, he has to start tonight and get aggressively positive about his credentials. He has only a few days in which he can crowd McCain out of the messaging. If he can't do that tonight and for the next five days, he will have little chance of prevailing, especially if McCain takes a big delegate lead next week.
What does McCain need to do? He needs to reach out to conservatives. He started last night with a gracious victory speech, but he needs to address the real and honest concerns on policy that conservatives still have with McCain. They need to see McCain promise to go after the Democrats with the same fervor that he went after Republicans over the years, and he has to convince them that he won't go back on his word on border security and tax cuts. After this debate, he has to make a significant outreach effort, and CPAC would be the best place to do this.
What Romney needs to do is bow out. He can’t win and he’s keeping votes from the only true social conservative Huckabee.
Someone needs to tell Huckabutt to take his jowls and go home.
A waste of time. Might pick up a few fools on the margin, but that's all. I'll vote for McCain against Hillary or Obama, but it won't be due to some phony overture.
Go Mitt go.. Git-’R-Done.
Romney's entire campaign is hyberbole.
Why would I trust anything McCain says now? I would vote for B. Husseing Obama before I vote for McCain. I would rather have a socialist democrat get blamed for economic woes than a socialist republican.
Romney is THE ONLY ONE LEFT that can defeat Hillary Clinton...
I’d like to see a VICTORY, not a pyrrhic victory.
McCain means SURE DEFEAT...
Hussein..not Husseing. Oops.
Ask McCain if he would like to fly on his jet like he did Charles Keating’s....
He has to out Shamnesty McCain’s “hispanic outreach” director Reconquista Hernandez.
What we will see tonight is the Mitt/Mac show. RP and Huckster will be garnish and irrelevant.
He needs to bring up the NYT story McCain got spiked, and frame it within the first amendment and then slam McCain-Feingold. Put doubt in the voters mind as to this story that was spiked.
You mean Mike “Open Borders for Jesus” Huckabee? The nanny stater that wants to ban smoking nationwide? The guy from Tyson Foods? Taxing junk food? Change the constitution? Hahahahaha! You’re killin’ me!!
McCain has far too long a history of kicking sand into the eyes of conservatives to win them over with with platitudes or promises. Who believes him when he says he was not for amnesty, for instance or who trusts him to be for free speech after McCain-Feingold?
Where is your LOLOL - you forgot to included it.
Don't all the liberals need to do that?
"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt." -- Mark Twain
That's not true. A Romney nomination means I vote for Hillary.
McCain or Huckabee either one could beat Hillary better than Romney.
What Huckabee needs to do is bow out.
He can’t win and he’s keeping votes from the only true alternative to McCain.
Huckabee is a joke.
Romney has 74 delegates, Huckabee has 29. Huckabee’s running third in the Rasmussen and Gallup polls behind Romney. Huckabee needs to bow out.
See my Best-Possible-Scenario at #121.
ML/NJ
Being pro-life doesn't make Huckabee a "social conservative." Huckabee is a social liberal except on a few moral issues. Using the same standard that makes Huckabee a social conservative makes McCain a social conservative, and perhaps to Huckabee's right.
I dare him to tell everyone tonight that he's 2nd in delegates like he did last night lying thru his teeth. Nice Christian witness.
And McCain's history in all of these areas is the complete opposite of any true conservative principals. The entire last paragraph is something McCain cannot do and why he absolutely cannot win the presidency.
Don't know if Romney could but I'm certain McCain cannot.
McCain is preferable to Romney. I’ll vote Democrat for the first time to keep Romney out.
Everyone needs to stop talking about what Romney needs to do, and start focusing on what WE need to do. We need to wake up and realize that the party of Ronald Reagan is about to nominate McCain - the most liberal candidate in half a century. People need to get out and vote for Romney to stop this. Enough with the bickering about how good a conservative Romney is - we all know what McCain is.
Everyone needs to stop talking about what Romney needs to do, and start focusing on what WE need to do. We need to wake up and realize that the party of Ronald Reagan is about to nominate McCain - the most liberal candidate in half a century. People need to get out and vote for Romney to stop this. Enough with the bickering about how good a conservative Romney is - we all know what McCain is.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=peFGA_HN3Yc Duncan Hunter: Romney a NO GO
http://www.redlasso.com/ClipPlayer.aspx?id=b08fdcb0-01c8-47b9-8eb3-fef1fd1c255e
The flip-flopper from Mass should bow out and stop spending a fortune criticizing Republicans.
Well, yeah, thanks to your help, by voting for Hillary, right?
Even if "McIdiot" promises with his life that he won't go back on his "word" on border security and tax cuts, he is STILL NOT TO BE TRUSTED! He will say anything, and I mean ANYTHING, at this point to advance his political aspirations. He is NOT TO BE TRUSTED! PERIOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Personally I think that’s wishful thinking. Romney is sure to lose against Clinton.
Romney is a Democrat dressed as a chameleon.
Enough with the bickering about how good a conservative Romney is - we all know what McCain is.
I actually did vote for Mitt, even though I saw firsthand how stong McCain was in Florida, across the board.
And Florida is far from a liberal state.
Most conservatives did vote for Mitt.
I believe that we have already hit high water with Mitt and need to figure out what to do after the carnage hits us in November.
Cold Shoulder Politics
http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=12662
sHuckster would get eaten alive in Nov. anyway. A goofy RINO Gov. from Arkansas no less, a funny sounding name and I really dislike to say this because it sounds mean but Hucks wife (a nice lady) is not appealing enough in looks as a first lady for this plastic society of ours.
Interesting that none have done that.
Makes one wonder where Fred would have been if he had found his voice (hitting them all very hard) and come in a little earlier.
As it is ... we are screwed.
Bend over and take it like a metro sexual.
Me? I'm gonna hunker down and sell illegal weapons to legal citizens for the next five years, or until the Feds catch me. ;)
I think you've had to many fried squirrels my friend. You are starting to sound like one.
Not so sure about that.
McCain is the best kind of Straw Man. He’s the kind that doesn’t know he is one.
I wonder which is worse, Romneycare or Hillarycare?
I’m convinced that everyone at free republic will be charged with some type of crime if McCain wins. Hate speech, unamerican activities. Whatever they can think of will be shoved down our throats.
LOL, that is a real knee slapper, you just run on over and vote! Huckster is not going to beat anybody.
The British came after the American Patriots too.
“A Romney nomination means I vote for Hillary.”
Now there is a true conservative.....
“Romney supporters would never support Mike Huckabee.”
I disagree. I think evangelical social conservatives that those that held their noses over Romney’s mormonisn - but backed Romney because of perceived “electibility” would switch to Huckabee whom they probably wanted to vote for in the first place. I’ve seen too many interviews where the voter said he/she liked Huckabee but backed Romney because they thought him more electible.
Romney cannot beat John McCain. For that matter, Mike Huckabee cannot beat him either. However, Huckabee can and will make a good VP pick for McCain. Huckabee is the ONLY true social conservative left, and him being on a ticket with McCain will shore up McCain with the religious base of the GOP. Also, Huckabee doesn’t carry Romney’s (deserved) mormon stigma.
God Bless and Keep Mike Huckabee. I know he will stay in the race all the way and be a TRUE choice for the values/moral voters and keep our interests forefront. His continued running keeps our group alive and engaged.
If Romney wants to keep spending his kids inheritance.....well that is his choice.
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