Posted on 02/09/2008 5:09:21 PM PST by Bokababe
WASHINGTON (CNN) – Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney narrowly beat John McCain, 35 to 34 percent, in a straw poll of conservative political activists gathered Saturday in Washington — a vote that is viewed as a barometer of support from that major GOP voting bloc.
The announcement of Romney’s win was greeted by cheers from the crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference. McCain is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination.
Roughly three-quarters of the votes in the three-day CPAC 2008 straw poll were cast before Mitt Romney dropped out of the presidential race, and one-quarter after his withdrawal.....
(Excerpt) Read more at politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com ...
I was not a Romney backer but I must admit his speech at CPAC was absolutely terrific.
I was a late convert to Romney.
It should still be up for grabs were it not for these ‘Winner take all’ (Even if you get only 35%) Primaries.
You lefted out the chicken pluckers and drywallers.
If the republican party limited the primaries to registered Democrats, McCain would have had it locked up months ago.
Stick with Mitt...the rest is sh_ _.
Mitt happens.
ROTFLMAO!
Me too. I couldn't stand Romney in the beginning. But he grew on me to the point where I wasn't only for Romney as a protest vote AGAINST McCain. I was actually FOR him. And deeply saddened by this withdrawal from the race.
Why o why more people don’t see Romneys potential is beyond me. I said in other threads several weeks ago he has the potential to be another Reagan.
Thirty-one percent said that if John McCain were the GOP presidential nominee, they would either vote for someone else, or not vote at all.
Huckabee fared even worse in the survey – 36 percent said they would not support him, or would back someone else, if he were the Republican nominee.
AHA....31% won’t vote for mccain (this could change of course,either way).
I wonder if mccain’s PR group has made any ground yet? lol.
ps i picked Mitt in 2006 based on his antiamnesty immigration policy.
Or anyone, for that matter.
Various reasons.
Some people think that once you’re pro-choice you’re always pro-choice and can’t change you’re mind.
Name recognition is another. I know lots of people that knew McCain, but not Romney. Then I’d say “he’s the guy that bailed out the SLC Olympics” and they would know who I was talking about. (Sidebar: surprisingly Fred had the same problem. I’d say “that guy that played the DA in Law and Order” and they’d say oh yea...” but they wouldn’t know his real career.)
Others see Mormon and won’t vote for a Mormon because somehow that legitimizes the religion (both soft and hard bigotry reasons here).
There is a few more but Romney was playing against a stacked deck to start with. He actually did fairly well considering. He’ll be back around.
Romney wins straw poll at CPAC ping!
My personal progression just makes me sick:
In the beginning I was for Hunter.
As it appeared Duncan wasn’t getting much traction and Fred Thompson began to make noises, I started shifting Fred’s way.
After Thompson announced and wrote his position papers and Duncan still wasn’t getting traction, I reluctantly shifted to Fred.
I voted for Fred in the SC PUB primary on Jan 19th.
Then Fred began to loose steam and eventually dropped out. I was very disappointed and began looking around again.
During this I decided I could not support Huckleberry or McCain.
I decided that Romney, although not what I would call a true conservative, was the last, best hope.
Then Mitt “suspended” his campaign. Woe is me.
My big concern now is that a RAT will be elected POTUS and play hell with the SCOTUS for the next four years. That could spell the end of our country.
But even with that concern I still have many, many problems with McCain. I just plain don’t trust him.
I have said over and over again, Romney was the best qualified candidate that we’ve had in many years. He was clearly superior to the rest of the field.
I think the main reason that he didn’t catch on are he wasn’t the insiders’ choice. The bighats in the Party wanted a pro-amnesty Party man, either Rudy or Juan. McCain was clearly the second choice. I think some major problems showed up with Rudy’s candidacy prior to the Iowa caucus, and they engineered a switch to Juan.
I think Romney was beyond the control of the Party bighats and reliably anti-amnesty. There was a reason Tancredo endorsed him.
I think your story is a very typical one for conservatives. I settled on Romney earlier because I did not see the others gaining any traction with the people that should have been supporting them. Romney is a conservative convert. He is not a flip flopper. I have not seen any evidence that he has ever migrated leftward (flopped) for political expediency. His political odyssey seems to have been to the right. He takes awhile to warm up to. I think being born into money has created an awkwardness in him that he has only recently overcome. I will work for him in 2012 when he goes up against Hillary.
I agree. I was for Thompson, but after he left the nomination process, Romney was the absolute best choice.
Time will tell whether McCain can gather enough conservatives to keep the race close.
Dear Saundra,
If you have not heard by now, I have decided to suspend my campaign for president. This was not an easy decision for me, and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support from the beginning to the point where we are today. We’ve come such a long way, and our hard work together will leave an imprint on the course of history.
As I addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) yesterday in Washington, D.C., I outlined what I know is the right course ahead for our nation – a course based on conservative principles such as individual responsibility, strong faith and values, economic strength with lower taxes and a national defense that will not retreat from the threat of evil extremism.
I disagree with Senator McCain on a number of issues, as you know. But I agree with him on doing whatever it takes to be successful in Iraq, on finding and executing Osama bin Laden, and on eliminating Al Qaeda and terror. If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign be a part of aiding surrender to terror.
This is not an easy decision for me. I hate to lose. My family, my friends and, you, our supporters, have given a great deal to get me where I have a shot at becoming President. If this were only about me, I would go on. But I entered this race because I love America, and because I love America, I feel I must now stand aside, for our party and for our country.
You can be sure I will continue to stand for conservative principles. I will fight alongside you for all the things we believe in. And one of those things is that we cannot allow the next President of the United States to retreat in the face evil extremism.
It is the common task of each generation – and the burden of liberty – to preserve this country, expand its freedoms and renew its spirit so that its noble past is prologue to its glorious future.
Please stand proud today that you fought for a cause greater than yourself, and please continue to fight to preserve our ideals.
Thank you again so very much.
Mitt Romney
If it wasn't for Fl and a few other big states being winner take all, he wouldn't even be in the lead. This primary process is ridiculous!
McCain's a vicious, nasty little man, who is in the pay of Church-burning, Christian-killing Islamist Albanians And anyone thinks McCain is going to win the WOT is sadly misinformed -- he's supporting them!
Romney is getting a good number of votes in Louisana despite his withdrawell.
Seems his name is still on the ballot, even though he will not get the delegates.
Or maybe he will. Who knows.
Romney could still be a Reagan. The man could give a helluva speech at the convention, and then spend the next four years sowing seeds, just like Reagan did from 1976 to 1980.
Couple of great short, anti-McCain pro-Mitt videos that sum it up quite nicely.
"Even in his own lifetime Caravaggio was considered enigmatic, fascinating, rebellious and dangerous." --wikipedia
Re post #23. Romney is a class act. You can be proud you saw that way before the rest of us and did your best to support him. Mitt will be fine. It’s our country that will pay a dear price for kicking to the curb a decent and honorable man.
“It’s our country that will pay a dear price for kicking to the curb a decent and honorable man.”
I need a bumper sticker: “Don’t blame me, I voted for Mitt Romney”
Romney in 2012.
You know, been a fan of Caravaggio paintings for a while now and like you, he’s one of my favourite painters. I like his style better even more than Michelangelo (which was my screen name on another website!)
When I first read about his life I was surprised that works of such beauty could emerge from such a scandal-ridden life.
that’s been my experience and it all happened so quickly. I had the opportunity to vote for Mitt before he drew back. Strange how the one no one seemed to want is the one still standing. Weird election cycle.
I didn’t want Mitt in the beginning. I guess listening or reading instead of forming my own opinion. Came to my senses in the end and was happy to have voted for him and to be finally settled in. What a whirlwind it’s been and all for naught.
Does anyone see a situation where Huckabee and McCain gather enough delegates to be within striking distance of the final total but fall short by about, say 290 odd (the amount of delegates Mitt currently has).
Could it come down to Mitt deciding who the nomination would be? I would love to see a scenario in which McCain needs Mitt’s delegates to ensure the victory by making Mitt his VP.
Ann Coulter said she’d actually vote for McCain if Mitt Romney was on the ticket. Stranger things have happened. I try not to post on here anymore but you made me do it. (Rats.)
PING!
I believe he still gets the delegates, since he just suspended his race, he didn’t withdraw.
From your mouth to God's Ear!
“Why o why more people don’t see Romneys potential is beyond me. I said in other threads several weeks ago he has the potential to be another Reagan.”
Because we don’t believe him. It’s as simple as that. I don’t believe him any more than I believe McCain...or, for that matter, Huckabee.
I trust him. He’s not a professional politiician like the rest.
That said, how ya been doing? We’re still punning away.
Check this recent one out:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1967865/posts
Cheers
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.