Get out the vote in NH
Taking the Silver in Iowa.
Like Mitt said, it’s not what we’d hoped but it’s still a great finish, and preparation for the ultimate gold. We need to keep things humming along. What can you do? Make sure you make your phone calls for Mitt (if you’re not already a volunteer, contact the campaign to find out how to become one). As I said yesterday, considering where the campaign’s been and where it’s going it’s no time to get concerned about one bump in the road. Here are some facts to keep in perspective:
Wyoming’s caucuses are tomorrow, and both Mitt and McCain have big appearances on the Sunday shows. As “Richard” posted on Politico, Mitt can actually move into first place in the delegate count depending on the showing in Wyoming, and could even retain that lead with as much as a solid 2d place showing in NH.
“Isn’t it interesting people are making fun of Wyoming. That’s like football fans saying they don’t care about field goals. They would just as soon pass them up. Well, Mitt isn’t going to pass anything up. Since not very many people are aware, it takes 1191 Delegates to WIN the republican nomination. So far Huck has 20, Romney 18, McCain and Thompson 3, Paul 2 and Giuliani 1. Wyoming has 14 delegates up for grabs, New Hampshire 14 and Michigan 30. So, because the media looks to promote certain states, it truly is the number of delegates available. By the way, Romney, Thompson and Paul are the only ones that have been to Wyoming so watch them snatch up the delegates….”
I’m not sure these numbers are right but they’re roughly consistent with what I’ve read elsewhere. Mitt being in first place for delegates after NH is more than we could have hoped for a few months ago, and that’s a very achievable goal. We all knew it would be a close race; now we need to pitch in to make it happen! A quick stat: 2 of the 5 brothers were at the Des Moines airport early this morning, and at least one was headed to Wyoming, so Wyoming is clearly going to be feeling the love.
Mitt’s Game of 3D Chess
I happened to find my way into a Q&A Kevin Madden was giving to reporters before Mitt’s appearance at the Sheraton last night. Here are a few shots:
Kevin may have the best tie I’ve seen so far in the campaign, even including Mitt. Try to get a good look.
Kevin told them that Mitt’s playing 3D chess versus his opponents’ checkers, pursuing a multi-front war while his opponents have largely focused on one state. And (using my words) this race is like the Tour de France: winning a particular stage isn’t the important thing, it’s standings at the end. In Lance’s seven tour wins, he won on average fewer than 3 stages per year (20 total stages in 7 wins).
Bring on NH!
McCain is Mitt’s main competition in NH as we all know. Mitt has a new ad, as does McCain. In his, McCain blatantly spins a couple half-quotes from Mitt to make false claims. In one of Mitt’s statements Mitt said foreign policy expertise is easy to find; you can go to the State Department to find someone versed in knowledge, but that expertise (like McCain’s) alone isn’t enough. But the ad twists the statement to say Mitt would rely on the State Department for leadership, which was the exact opposite of what was intended. We need to make sure we call him on this sort of false claim and twisted quotes. So much for John remaining above negative campaiging (as if he’d ever tried).
As a result, now would be a good time to reinforce Mitt’s leadership experience and executive successes (contrasted to McCain’s 20+ years leisurely creating laws after dispatching lackeys to do the research for him). We need to remind people of Mitt’s strengths and that he’s succeeded at nearly everything he’s touched. A few talking points:
1. He had the leadership to turn around the Olympics.
2. He had the leadership to turn around a collection of companies while at Bain, solving problems people before him couldn’t. Sound like a skill we could use in our President today?
3. He had the leadership and determination to keep all the campaign promises he made in Massachusetts, while working with a democratic legislature. By contrast a “maverick” has a hard time getting things done because they don’t tend to play well with others.
4. He had the leadership to organize and motivate volunteers to turn out more voters than expected in Iowa.
5. He showed grace and leadership last night in acknowledging Mike Huckabee’s success, but motivating and convincing the troops we’ll do better in New Hampshire.
6. He has shown the strength of character to think about solutions to problems before he implements them, but then to decisively execute on his plan.
7. He’s the only one that can represent the entire republican party, as the National Review pointed out in their endorsement. In looking at all the candidates, he has the best chance of winning it all, and if you listen carefully he is still the defacto front runner. All guns seem to be pointed at Mitt.
You heard it here first: if we can remind the people of NH what Mitt has accomplished, we will win in NH. People in NH know we need real leadership in Washington. A repackaging of the same old ideas and people just won’t cut it anymore. If there was anything clear in Iowa last night, change and effective leadership are what people are looking for. John McCain is a member of a Congress whose approval rating is abysmal. He has had his chance to be an agent of change as a Washington insider for the last 20+ years. If he hasn’t had shown the leadership yet to solve the problems we have in our society, how will he suddenly start showing leadership now as President? He’s had his chance. We need to tell Washington and Johnny Mac to lead, follow or get out of the way.
Last Thoughts About the Iowa Caucuses
My wife and I drove to a northern suburb of Des Moines last night and attended a caucus of about 130 people. The process, though less complicated than for the dems, was still fascinating. The republican leader (clearly an untrained volunteer from the local community) had an envelope of instructions on how to run the show, and was learning along with everyone else. I felt like I was watching pure democracy, with all its wrinkles. After getting organized, representatives of each campaign were given a chance to speak. When Rudy’s name came up someone shouted “Rudy who?,” generating guffaws. Statements were made on behalf of Huckabee, Fred and Mitt (this last made by yours truly). Votes were cast on yellow ballots made from quartered sheets of 8.5×11″ paper. Ballots were hand-collected and sorted into stacks for each candidate. Votes were then counted and re-counted, then telephoned into GOP headquarters. My wife noted a number of people changing their party affiliations at the door, confirming anecdotally what the national press has observed, that someone out there was driving new voters to turn out, we believe evangelicals.
The Post-Game Party
At the final party Doug Gross, Mitt and Ann re-enthused the crowd.
Here are some pictures:
Now off to bed so I can come back again tomorrow. It’s now after 3 a.m. central time, so I’ve been up about 23 hours straight. Keep it up everybody out there, we all know how much this country needs a man like Mitt Romney (for a reminder see Thomas Alan’s blog on this very site). One last bit of encouragement. Close your eyes and imagine Mitt raising his hand and taking the oath of office in January 2009. Now open those eyes and let’s get it done!
January 5th, 2008 at 10:29 am
For those who can’t go to NH and help out, here is the best way you can have an effect on the process there.
– Now, it is time to kick Call at Home into high gear for the most important project yet – winning New Hampshire for Governor Romney!
Please join your fellow Team Mitt members from across the nation for a special Call at Home day, this Monday, January 7th, from 2 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. EST. Just email “count me in” to CallAtHome@MittRomney.com to participate in this nationwide rally of support and volunteerism for Governor Romney. We will be reminding Romney supporters to turn out for the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday, January 8.
Who: You and your fellow Team Mitt members. Goal: 5,000 callers.
What: New Hampshire Get-out-the-Vote Day
When: Monday, January 7, from 2pm – 8:30pm EST
Where: From the comfort of your home
Why: Send Governor Romney to Victory in New Hampshire and on his way to the White House!
How: By emailing “count me in” to CallAtHome@MittRomney.com. You will then receive a USER NAME and PASSWORD and simple instructions.
Please ask your friends and family to make calls from home too. For those of you who participated in this high tech program in the past, you know how easy it is – spread the word!
Don’t wait! There’s no time to waste. Join our New Hampshire Get-out-the-Vote effort now. Email your name and phone number and “count me in” to CallAtHome@MittRomney.com and you will receive a USER NAME and PASSWORD, as well as simple instructions on how to use the high tech program.
Let’s bring conservative change to Washington. Let’s win New Hampshire and make history.
–Call at Home Team
P.S. Our Call at Home program has been a tremendous success! Please help make Get-out-the-Vote calls into New Hampshire by emailing your name, phone number and “count me in” to CallAtHome@MittRomney.com andhelp Mitt Romney become our next president.
January 5th, 2008 at 11:23 am
After outspending Huckabee by an outrageous margin, your man Mitt found that the voters of Iowa, in the end, could not be bought. Nor could they be fooled by a man who oozes insincerity from every pore.
After all the wasted money, and after all the weeks of relentless Huckabee bashing by people like you, your man doesn’t simply get beaten, he gets hammered, crushed. It was like a fight between the schoolyard bully and a 98 pound weakling that ends with the bully suffering a hellacious beat down. Of course the flaw in that analogy is that it is really Romney who is the weakling—a moral weakling, that is. After 7 years of Bush, Americans are used to being lied to and taken for fools. But it seems that they can’t stomach smarmy insincerity; given that this is the stock in trade of the Romney candidacy, therein lies the problem for the plastic man from Massachusetts.
You Romney folks are right about at least one thing, however. Huckabee is indeed a flawed candidate; if nominated it’s hard for me to believe that he has a chance in hell of winning the general election. Most Americans are far too open minded for the over-the-top super-Christianity that seemed to play well with the self-styled moralists in Iowa. But in your frantic search for Huckabee’s flaws as a candidate, the thing that you folks continue to ignore is Romney’s obvious flaws as a human. The ethical and moral lapses, combined with his peculiar penchant for just plain lying, all the while portraying himself as the wholesome candidate of truth, justice and the American way…well in the end even the Republicans who continue to deny themselves the truth about the Bush Administration could not be fooled by Mitt.
So now it’s on to New Hampshire where Mitt is already backpedaling furiously in an attempt to lower expectations. What’s clear, however, is that if the people of New Hampshire see Romney as clearly as Iowans did, all your frantic attempts to discredit Huckabee and McCain will be fruitless. It’s about Mitt now; people don’t trust him, they don’t believe him, they don’t like him. No amount of Huckabee and McCain bashing by the frantic legions of Romney supporters will obscure these simple facts…Mitt’s moral and ethical dwarfism will, in the end, doom him. Evidence, it seems, that primary voters are not as stupid as you and Mitt take them for. The system works!
Have a nice day
Phil
January 5th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
I watched Fox News last weekend and saw an interview with Chairman
Frank MacKay from the Independence Party of America, all I can
say is FINALLY. Even though I usually vote Republican, the party has
failed us on so much. Voting for an Independent ticket of
Bloomberg - Hagel would be really tempting.
January 5th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
Phil, thats one of the most baseless strung together set of lies and misinformation I have seen on any blog in days. To accuse Gov.Romney of immorality and lying is specious and ridiculous. You offer no evidence of anything you say regarding lies or the immorality of Gov Romney. Your rant is just the kind of drivel that we in the Romney campaign have been dealing with for weeks. Your appearant lack of knowledge of the facts makes your post lack all credibility. Gov. Romney leaves Iowa with bearly a black eye, not beaten or even limping. The selfrighteous mutant home schooler moms did come out for Huckabbee, it’s true. It was Probally the first time they have been allowed the leave the house in months. After we survive the idiocy of the Kelly Pickler wing of the Republican party in South Carolina it’s on to the White House. To bad you’re such a bad judge of character find it so easy to spew non sense against a good a accomplished man.
January 5th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Mitt Romney is a joke and everyone knows it. He couldn’t buy the election and he couldn’t buy the votes(not enough any way) so he needs to gather up his little bag of dirty tricks all his dirty push-polling and negative ads, not just T.V., radio but also all the deluge of mailers that the people are sick of and go back home if home will have the embarrassment. They are sick of Romney’s dirty tricks and they are sick of him. Does this narcissistic jerk take a hint no because he can’t accept rejection and he comments that this is the first inning ina fifty inning game is he nuts? even the press had to scratch their heads on that. He is an idiot and the fool and his money are soon parted adage sure applies to him.
January 5th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
You should know about baseless with that sacriligious apron of hypocrisy that you and your candidate are both hiding under.
January 5th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Craig,
Thanks for the feedback, but your “bearly” coherent post in support of the slimy Romney ain’t doing him any favors. Keep in mind that a charlatan in a expensive suit is still a charlatan…
Best wishes to you and to the moral Lilliputian Romney
Phil
January 5th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
Hey Phil,
You said “Evidence, it seems, that primary voters are not as stupid as you and Mitt take them for. ” with reference to Iowa.
Just so you realize, Iowa was a CAUCUS, not a PRMIARY. They are different.
You say the voters have spoken in Iowa. True. And they picked Mitt as their second choice. Not a bad place to amongst a race with 7 guys in it.
Phil, what do you think about Mitts win in the Wyoming caucus today? Did the voters there speak loud and clear just as Iowans did?
January 5th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
Vicki,
What is the “sacriligious apron of hypocrisy ” you refer to? Please elaborate so that we cannot misunderstand.