I can respect those (such as the owner of this site) who choose not to support Romney as our nominee. I can respect people taking a principled stand. What I don't respect however are those who spam these threads over and over with their ugly screeds and their demonization of people who do not 100% agree with them. Do they really think these tactics are going to win people over to their side? What these tactics do however is divide us into factions when we should be on the same team, which must be a source of comfort to the Obama camp.
I refuse to take part in these wars but I have no problem stating my own views on the matter. Romney was not my choice. Pretty much since election night in 2008, I had set my sights on Sarah Palin becoming the 2012 nominee and setting things right again with respect to the presidency. However, my dreams were shattered last October when she decided to not run at all. Rather than pouting like a child, stamping my feet, etc., I started looking at the other candidates. Bachmann, Cain, Perry, Santorum, etc.
I never saw the appeal that Newt Gingrich had with this forum. I always thought of him as a self-important buffoon, an entrenched "go along to get along" party hack who enriched himself at the public trough at our expense. Somebody who was part of the problem in D.C., not part of the solution. Yet all that said, if he was our nominee, I'd still be supporting him over Obama.
I believe Romney won the nomination because he ran a smart campaign. While other candidates got caught up in the circular firing squad during the primaries, Romney stayed in the background, looked good in the debates, and methodically racked up the delegates. Thus when the primaries were over, Romney was not only the last man standing but he had the necessary delegates to secure the nomination.
So now the fact is that Mitt Romney is the only man standing between us and an Obama second term, which most of us believe will be the end of our nation as we know it. So the question remains: Is Romney so bad that we are better off with an Obama re-election?
My answer to that is a resounding NO!
For all his faults, Mitt Romney is Winston freaking Churchill compared to Barack Obama and the America-hating scum that surround him. We must remove Barack Obama this November. We must.
I will be among the first ones to hold Mitt's feet to the fire if he doesn't fly right after his election. But between now and November, I'm not going to bash Mitt Romney because he is the only person that can send the moving vans to the White House on the evening of January 19th.
Now a few things about the RECENT conduct of Mitt Romney. I must say that I have so far been impressed with the campaign that Mitt has been running since he wrapped this nomination up. No major blunders (despite mainstream media trying to manufacture them). Mitt's been like cool hand Luke these past few months. Piling up money left and right (that he can't spend until after the convention). Choosing an excellent running mate who is not only conservative but ready for prime time. Bubblehead Katie Couric is probably afraid to interview him. Now I loved Sarah Palin but during the 2008 election, I cringed whenever I saw her going up against the mainstream media talking heads who were out to get her. She just wasn't ready for that. Paul Ryan - he will eat them for breakfast and they know it.
Speaking of Paul Ryan, if this is indicative of how Mitt Romney is going to choose his staff and cabinet after he is elected, then I think a lot of us here are going to be pleasantly surprised. Remember that Mitt Romney did an excellent job picking subordinates when he headed Bain Capital. He has a knack for surrounding himself with top-notch people and this is a very important skill for a chief executive to have.
With regard to Romney's stint as Massachusetts governor, remember that he had to work with state legislature that was 90% Democrat. The Democrats controlled the entire state so while I personally was disappointed with Romney's job performance as governor, I'm hard pressed to see what he could have done differently given the environment he had to work in. As for RomneyCare, that's an awful stain that he's going to have to bear. But I also realize that this would have happened with or without Romney and had a Democrat been governor, we would have been saddled with a much more onerous and intrusive health care plan.
I also understand that Romney has taken some inexcusable positions with social issues over the years. No defense for that other than the fact that he's been silent on them since securing his nomination. Perhaps when given a Republican House and Congress, a President Romney will have no need to pander to the homosexual lobby crowd and such. Regardless, we still have the alternative of Obama and so I'll take my chances with President Romney.
So in closing, I thank you for starting the thread and the interesting discussion that followed. I've been a member of this Free Republic for fifteen years and I've been supporting it with $30 a month for most of this time. I'd hate to have those 15 years pissed away on account of a small cadre of ABR people who seem to feel that anybody voting for Mitt Romney is some kind of turncoat, so I'm not going to engage them and add to the infighting that is going on. But I'm not going to stay in the shadows either. I am voting the Romney/Ryan ticket in November and then I'm voting Tea Party conservative all the way downticket. We are going to build on our gains of 2010 and I'm banking that President Romney will pleasantly surprise us all. If not, we will at least have Obama licking ice-cream cones and playing golf on a full-time basis while the Republican controlled House and Senate go about setting things right in our country once again.
Sam, I thank you for your wise commentary and your reality-based view of the situation. I commend, endorse and echo your sentiments 100 percent. Your post #286 should be saved for re-distribution as necessary (and in fact I’m going to copy/paste it to my friends and family both on and offline (assuming that’s ok with you, with proper attribution).
This vanity may be the first that I’ve ever posted in all of my years on FR (I honestly can’t remember), but I have been wrestling with this issue for many many weeks, and after reaching the decision that I did, and posting what I have, I now have peace of mind, the kind that says I will do all that I possibly can do to see that filthy Kenyan Kommunist thrown out of OUR White House in November.
Ronald Reagan would vote for Romney. Sarah Palin is voting for Romney. So too are Gingrich, Santorum, Perry and Cain. I have no doubt that my very favorite former Congressman, Duncan Hunter of California (who would have made an excellent President), will be voting for Romney.
I remember well the campaign slogan of the GOP in 1980, “The time is now, Reagan-Bush” and although I wasn’t all that enamored with Poppy Bush on the ticket, I pulled the lever enthusiastically for the Gipper. Now, 32 years later, the slogan could well be “Time has run out, vote Romney-Ryan, while you still can.”
My best to you and yours Sam, thanks for the comments.
Your post # 286 is outstanding. It crystallizes the issues for all of us in this campaign, along with a historical perspective that I and many others here share with you.
Thank you.
Well-said Sam
I supported Ron Paul for various reasons. He has, as have all the other candidates, added depth and texutre to the discussion. I support Rommney/Ryan because I am positive that permitting Hussain and his henchmen to win again will enslave my children and rob me. And rob the country.
Excellent, SamAdams!
Being a voter in a battleground state is quite a bit different than being a voter where small cnances are presented by the action of casting a vote.
I my state, my vote gets rid of Claire McCaskill in the US Senate and gets a hard headed conservative Akin in her place with the experience of already having served in the House.
Likewise, the very real odds are that Missouri voters will not give a majority to Obama and thereby deny him the electoral votes to win. It is a bell weather state in most elections.
Running against Obama is a typical Republican compromised candidate. But with the weak field that ran against him is that his responsibility?
I will take his willingness to work with a Republican Congress to be worlds different than what would result from an Obama election.
Now if I lived in a solid leftist state and felt my vote was little more that a drop in the bucket trying to put out the fire of leftist socialism, I would be pissed that no “game changer” had risen from the ranks. I would think that my anger should be shown to those promoting others.
Both of these instances are understandable, but I am from Missouri and here we want the proof, the chance, the exhibit of what you can do — we say, Show Me and that is what my vote will allow.
Your comments about the media reminded me of something I was thinking about earlier. I hope Romney & Ryan don't accept an invitation to appear on "Saturday Night Live" like McCain and Sarah did. No minds will be changed by using that program. I mean, people who love a blowhard jerk like Alec Baldwin and whatsherhoozie that did the Palin impersonation are not going to vote for Republicans.
Yeah, I know it's Tina Fey, but she's just whatsherhoozie to me.
“For all his faults, Mitt Romney is Winston freaking Churchill compared to Barack Obama and the America-hating scum that surround him. We must remove Barack Obama this November.”
What he said.
” So in closing, I thank you for starting the thread and the interesting discussion that followed. I’ve been a member of this Free Republic for fifteen years and I’ve been supporting it with $30 a month for most of this time. I’d hate to have those 15 years pissed away on account of a small cadre of ABR people who seem to feel that anybody voting for Mitt Romney is some kind of turncoat, so I’m not going to engage them and add to the infighting that is going on. But I’m not going to stay in the shadows either. I am voting the Romney/Ryan ticket in November and then I’m voting Tea Party conservative all the way downticket. “
Well stated.
Take care friend.