Posted on 04/20/2012 8:26:00 AM PDT by upchuck
With the Republican primary contest over and the general election underway, Mitt Romney faces a voting public whose disdain for him has reached levels that pollsters describe as "historic." From his embittered opponents as well as from Romney and his campaign, Americans have learned that the former Massachusetts governor simply won't uphold any political position, issue or achievement he thinks might cost him votes. He doesn't seem to understand that his inconstancy forfeits more respect than any disagreeable opinion would.
No matter how carefully the former Massachusetts governor parses and prevaricates, many voters, including more than a few conservatives, evidently feel they've detected the inner Mitt: a man with utmost regard for himself and people like him -- and a profound disregard for people like most of them. They've observed him straining to express concern for the unemployed, the poor and the powerless, while sounding sincerely resentful whenever the privileged are held accountable. They've perceived an attitude of entitlement, whether he is withholding tax returns, defending tax breaks for billionaires or spending vast amounts to defame opponents. And they don't like it, no matter what they may feel about Barack Obama.
Although a new Gallup poll shows Romney with a small lead matched against Obama -- indicating how close this election may ultimately become -- voters consistently appear to disapprove of the presumptive Republican nominee. As they have learned more about him over the past several years, his negative ratings have soared. Over the past five years, since he began to run for president, the latest Washington Post/ABC News poll shows that negative views of Romney have roughly doubled, from about 24 percent to 47 percent, while his positive ratings have lagged (only 12 percent express "strongly" positive feelings about him).
More important, Romney polls 21 points behind President Obama in public approval -- the worst rating for a likely presidential nominee in a Post/ABC poll since 1984. Indeed, he is the first to be "underwater," with higher negative than positive ratings, in the last eight presidential elections.
Vulnerable groups seem to find Romney particularly unappealing and unsympathetic, as the Post/ABC cross-tabulations suggest. Among voters with annual household incomes lower than $50,000, Obama leads by 29 points. Among the young, who now tend to be in debt, without jobs or both, Obama leads by 36 points. Among married women, Obama is ahead by 20 points. But among unmarried women, his lead grows to 45 points.
Obama's favorable score is 9 points higher than Romney's among married adults -- but this swells to a 37-point advantage among those who are not married. Romney and Obama are seen favorably by about equal numbers of married men, and Obama's unfavorable score is higher in this group. But he jumps to a 20-point higher favorable rating than Romney among married women, 25 points among unmarried men, and 45 points among unmarried women. Overall, Obama is seen not only as more likeable and friendly but as more understanding of the economic conditions faced by most Americans.
The latest CNN poll gives the president a substantial lead over his likely challenger, reflecting the same advantage for Obama among low-income, female and young voters. But all those surveyed felt that Obama was far more likely to stand up for his beliefs than Romney and to sympathize with those less fortunate and less powerful.
Evidently, Romney hopes to bury Obama beneath a barrage of negative advertising, with at least $800 million that his party expects to raise from wealthy conservatives like him. But that won't erase the lasting impression created by a primary campaign that left Americans with a bad impression of the Republican Party and a worse impression of the nominee that process selected so grudgingly.
Joe, you're a dumbass. There are three people in the race for the Republican nomination.
The statistics presented in this article speak volumes to why Romney doesn't stand a chance against nobama.
At this point, ABO is the best we can do.
I have no reason to engage a debate with Romney supporters because they all think the same:
“Either you vote for Bullsh*t or you’re going to get Chicken sh*t.”
I say to Romney supporters:
“Eat Sh*t and Die!”
The Conservative Cause is clearly served by an Obama re-election rather than a Romney win.
A Right leaning/Conservative Congress can easily remain united behind an Obama re-election....whereas the same Congress will be sliced and diced by the RINOS if Romney is in the White House.
The Powers That Be fully understand this....
You, however, are a very nasty, very self-righteous, very narcissistic di*k.
The Establishment has done Romney to us the same way they did McCain to us in 08.
But are you really joining forces with SALON lowlife Joe Conason?
How much of this anti-Romney passion is really conservative?
And how much of it comes from Democrat shills planted here on FR? I think that's something we should be alert to. Some of what I read from people I suspect have misappropriated FR memberships from departed FReepers is starting to sound like, "don't donate to Romney" --
Obama is not raising the money he expected. At what point are we just Obama's dupes?
Do you really, really, really think Obama is no worse than Romney?
As a Conservative, I’m disgusted with Romney as the nominee. He will never get Dem votes, and he won’t get a high percentage of Conservative votes either, since he isn’t Conservative.
I won’t vote for him, because I have standards. I could vote for Paul, and possibly Gingrich, but not Romney.
These are my own issues with Romney....He believes in nothing, he has no personality, and he has no clue, about anything.
While he may end up being “the lesser of two evils”, he is still evil.
I do think Romney could win, if he CONSTANTLY gets the message out about all the lies Obama has told, and how many promises he has broken, but he will have to be relentless, and I don’t see that in him.
AMERICA!
At this point, ABO is the best we can do.
At this point, 'anyone' is not the BEST. Newt is! America DESERVES and warrants the BEST. It cannot survive without it now.
I just wanted to look and see if anyone said Obama and Romney are brothers from another mother !
It has come to this.
Joe Conason being posted approvingly on FR.
I’m gonna miss exchanges like this if Free Republic has to go commercial and filter this stuff!
I prefer hearing it as it is and not sugar coated. No PC dwells in a conservative - just the bold hard facts.
I didn’t see that it was posted approvingly. But this is how the other side actually sees Romney. We ignore it at our peril.
Especially, since we seem to be outnumbered.
We have proof class warfare practiced by a demogogue can get you elected.
What a stupid statement. Go ahead and waste your vote on Paul and enjoy BHO for another 4 years.
I am surprised Rasmussen is publishing a column based on a CNN poll.
I looked for the “internals” on the Republican/Democrat/Independent breakdown on that poll and was unable to find them, though I did find what CNN implied was a pdf file thereof.
Assumption #1: Congress will unite against Obama after his election. The likely reality will be Romney's campaign will be such a debacle that he will take out Senate and House Repubs and give Obama full control of congress again. (Wanna guess who the RINOs will blame? Bingo! The Conservatives who wouldn't back Mittens.)
Assumption #2: The Republican Congress will not oppose Romney. Whether Obama or Romney wins, it will not matter if the Republicans have both houses of Congress. Should the Republicans hold the House and take the Senate, they will still be run by RINOs and will fold like houses of cards when confronted by Obama (or Romney). These power hungry scum don't give a damn about Americans no matter who's POTUS. To block POTUS’ power grab you need leaders with cajones and NO ONE in the so-called “leadership” has shown any sign. “Go along, get along” is the prevailing attitude.
Worse than Fritz? That is quite an achievement Milt.
The simple truth here is that Romney tells the facts factually 95% of the time while Obama is almost wholly mendacious, careless about facts and uses a Teleprompter because of he can't keep track of what he is promising or why. The useful idiots don't care about country or truth...they want handouts/entitlements for life.
"Apparently, I’m supposed to be more outraged by what Mitt Romney does with his money than by what Barack Obama does with mine."
Ok, just what does he believe in? He has changed his position on almost everything. He can’t connect with people, that is true whether you admit it or not.
The old “cut taxes on job creators” just won’t cut it anymore. He refuses to be specific about anything and that’s not going to win him any votes either.
As for wasting my vote and giving obama 4 more years, I’m fine with that. If Obama wins we’ll be that much closer to armed rebellion, which is the exact thing this nation needs. There is no other way to end the corruption in DC, period.
Compare him to Giuliani, Romney is repulsive, oily, Gollum like.
While we see them both as political threats. enemies in a political sense, most of us kind of like Giuliani when he isn't a threat to us nationally, and we are not surprised that he and Palin are friends.
Romney disturbs people at a deep, instinctual level, like snakes do.
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