Posted on 01/22/2011 3:16:40 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
The Boston Globe has an interesting story pointing out that once-and-future GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney is not trying to suck up to the Tea Party movement, a fact which distinguishes Romney from virtually every other potential Republican presidential candidate. According to the Globe:
As the former Massachusetts governor lays the groundwork for a possible second presidential run, he has largely shunned Tea Party activists in key primary states, including the state he must win if he enters the race, New Hampshire. Thus far, Romney is on track to present himself as the establishment candidate--a responsible, mainstream Republican leader with the necessary financial resources and credentials to beat President Obama.
Off the top of my head, I can think of three good reasons for Romney to keep his distance from the Tea Party.
First, as mentioned, the rest of the field seems to be vying for Tea Party support. By standing apart, Romney stands a chance of having the party establishment coalesce behind him. And while the Tea Party may be ascendant in the GOP, and may wield outsized influence in the primaries, the movement has not always demonstrated an ability to coalesce around a single candidate. If, say, Sarah Palin, Rick Santorum, Tim Pawlenty, Newt Gingrich, and Mike Pence fracture the Tea Party votes Romney alone as the establishment figure could triumph. This scenario is bolstered by the fact that, as the Globe notes:
Without a Democratic primary contest in the upcoming election, Romney supporters can count on a wave of independents casting ballots in New Hampshire and South Carolina — which allow nonparty voters to participate in the primary.
Second by using the Tea Party as a foil Romney can combat one of his own biggest negatives: his reputation for being a political weather vane (see his positions on abortion, gay marriage, and gun control for example). As one Tea Party activists tells the Globe, Romney is “a fraudulent conservative. I don’t trust the guy. Be it health care, be it social issues, he’s a chameleon."
But by refusing to kowtow to the Tea Party Romney could build a counter-narrative. “I don’t think you’re going to see a different persona than the persona that’s been there for 20 years. That would be jarring. That’s not going to happen,” Romney adviser Tom Rath tells the Globe.
Finally, Romney could be positioning the Tea Party for something of a Sister Souljah moment with an eye toward avoiding a Sharron Angle moment. The 2012 election will turn on the economy. If unemployment is down and voter confidence is up, Obama will be very hard to beat; if we’re still looking at a jobless rate north of 9 percent, the president will be highly vulnerable—unless a Tea Party-dominated GOP produces an Angle-like nominee (see Palin, Sarah, who is viewed positively by 17 percent of Americans and negatively by 49 percent according to the latest NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll). Indeed, while the Tea Party has huge influence in the GOP it remains unpopular nationally, with 29 percent viewing it very or somewhat favorably and 38 percent viewing it very or somewhat negatively—Pelosi-like numbers (26 very or somewhat positive and 40 very or somewhat negative) that the GOP nominee will want to avoid being tarred with. By steering clear of the fringe, Romney could position himself as the kind of acceptable Republican able to take advantage of a faltering Obama. If, that is, he can get the nomination.
Yes, that's been apparent for a while, that Mittens has the Bush Family dedazo (pointing finger) of approval. That's how the Mexicans pick their presidents, or did under the PRI monopoly.
Fortunately, the Poppy Bush dedazo has been toxic to most of its recipients: Rob Mosbacher and Orlando Sanchez for mayor of Houston, for example, and most recently Kay Bailey Hutchison for governor of Texas.
After the Manor Bush touch of death, candidates shrivel and disappear. Now Hutchison has announced her retirement, lest she get primaried next year.
I didn't think McCain had a chance in hell because of his connection to the Tides Foundation and his main claim to fame the McCain/Feingold bill which was pure fascism disguised as voter protection. But we see how that turned out.
So Conservative candidates you need to get out in front or the Mitt Machine is going to run you over.
We as conservatives have to be very vigilante and make sure we turn out in droves in each and every primary in every state or we will have another McCain boondoggle on our hands that will give the BTR(Barry)an easy win. We have to get the vote out this time or we are so screwed it will be no coming back from. We as a Tea Party have to control the agenda make the MSM see us everyday during this election cycle or we will be silenced. We have to end run the MSM and pour our voice into all the media everyday with out ceasing or the progressive spin machine will drown us out.
The bottom line people you need to get ready for the political battle of your lives if this nation is to survive.
FIGHT THE BTR!!!-(Barry's Tyrannical Regime) Stop America from becoming the next Euro-Disney-Socialist-Wasteland!
I wouldn’t say that Mike Pence is an establishment elitist.
Stop worrying about Mitt. He is DOA for getting the GOP nod. The REAL base of the GOP is the Religious Right...they (we) won’t support him. The straw poll in liberal N.H. doesn’t mean a thing. There are a whole host of candidates that would be chosen by morale/social conservatives over Mr. Romney. Examples (alphbetical): Bachman, Huckabee, Palin, et. Al. Also, as long as one of these social/moral conservatives win the primary, the base will rally around them in the general election.
What is of great importance is that those members of the Tea Party, that aren’t also moral/social conservatives, don’t pull some stunt and refuse to support the pick because they weren’t their particular horse...i.e. Palinistas, etc.
Btw, I will not vote for Romney. The left is banking on the fact Romney will also kill down ballot races because he will KILL Tea Party morale.
>> “I wouldn’t say that Mike Pence is an establishment elitist.” <<
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Then perhaps you don’t understand how a person gains a position of power in congress.
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We’re not worrying about ‘Mitt,’ per se.
We’re worrying about how the media and the GOP establishment are likely to use him, or someone like him such as Huck or Pawlenty, to prevent relinquishing control of the White House back to the American people.
The GOP elite would rather see Obama remain than to see a real American with understanding and vision, such as Palin get elected.
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“We’re worrying about how the media and the GOP establishment are likely to use him, or someone like him such as Huck or Pawlenty, to prevent relinquishing control of the White House back to the American people.”
I’m NOT going to play the role of Huckabee apologist. I have supported him in 2008, but he has fallen behind many others in my thinking today and I prefer others to him. HOWEVER, stop including Huckabee in the same vein as Pawlenty or Romney. Huckabee is soft on illegal aliens, but on purely moral issues he is ROCK solid and liked by the religious evangelical right that IS the base of the GOP. Stop bad mouthing the man because it just sets us up for failure and a bloodly primary.
There are certainly more desireable candidates to be the GOP nominee that Mike Huckabee, but he is far superior to a Romney ANY DAY. Also, you need to be just a “little” pragmatic. Ultimately, a solid candidate to beat Mr. Obama is going to have to appeal to more than just the base and NOT have high negatives. Palin and Huckabee are roughly veiwed with equal favor by GOP voters (no FR is NOT indicative of the entire GOP). However, Palin is viewed unfavorably by a much larger margin than Huckabee. I’M NOT SAYING THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO HAPPEN, but I can see where Huckabee might be the unifyer for various factions of the party, and be electable. Also, he has been careful to avoid foot in mouth disease.
So, if my FR friends are going to keep denigrating Huckabee, they risk becoming irrelevant. I’m glad that Bachman and others are in the race because I believe they will keep the real contenders, like Palin & Huckabee clearly right of middle.
Romney will never survive the primaries because he doesn’t appeal to social/moral conservatives like myself.
What is Obama and is that really better than a Mormon?
I don't think it matters, because regardless of whichever religions Obama and Romney profess to be, they think and act alike.
Politically, Romney and Obama are two peas in a pod. They both favor socialized medicine; they both favor strict gun control; they both favor wide-ranging access to abortion; and they both believe that government should be used to "help" people through taxation and wealth redistribution.
Romney and Obama both show deep contempt for the military; and they both carry an air of effete girlishness that is off-putting to all but their most ardent fans.
All of which means it'll be a cold day in Hell when I vote for either of them.
I understand that, but Pence is one of the most ideologically pure people in the House. He’s articulate and votes the right way, which is all I really care about.
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