“The Conservatives’ Conservative”
Some great parting thoughts over at www.mymanmitt.com - hope they don’t mind if I share them here:
Blogger Mike:
Rush Limbaugh has been saying for several years now that there has been no leader of the Conservative Movement…
Today that changed. Laura Ingraham said on the Bill O’Reilly show this evening that after the speech today she was in a short gathering of high level conservative leaders, all with long faces, who were talking with Mitt. The tone of the meeting seemed to be that conservative support should have coalesced earlier, and there seemed to be some embarrassment that it had not. The clear understanding, albeit unspoken, however, was that Mitt left that room today as the leader of that important group.
He spoke at CPAC 2007 as something of an outsider, and had a long road to travel to overcome all of the obstacles that lay before him, a change in a position or two, his religion, his wealth (I still can’t believe that one!), his too-perfect image. In the end, getting elected this year was simply a bridge too far. If CPAC 2007 marked his launch as a conservative presidential candidate, CPAC 2008 clearly marks the beginning of a new era of leadership for conservatives, with a leader around whom thinking conservatives will be able to unite.This development is confirmed by even the most casual analysis of exit polls. Thinking conservatives across the country voted for Mitt, and they will again.”
Blogger Kyle:
Hugh Hewitt: Governor Romney is an incredibly gifted man –intelligent in the way very few people are, charismatic, and blessed with an amiable openness and determined, strong character.
He is a good man, and his very successful run towards the presidency is a testament to his talents. His magnificent family represents an achievement in the private sphere that he shares with Ann Romney and which was reflected in his accomplishments in business, at the Olympics and in Massachusetts.
Because he is a very good man, a great conservative and an extraordinary patriot he is standing aside to allow Senator McCain’s national campaign to commence.
Captain’s Quarters: Mitt made the right decision, and he made the announcement in the right place. He’s a good man, and I think this will allow the Republicans a lot more time to find accommodation with John McCain.
Jim Geraghty: And he may have saved some of his best campaign moments for last. “[Dependency] is a drug, we have to fight it like the poison it is.” That got him a Standing O. If you’re gonna leave the race, this is the way to do it.
Allahpundit: In which Mitt himself answers the question posed recently by InstaGlenn about whether Romney 2008 = Reagan 1976. What’s the best thing about this? The goodwill it’ll earn him among the party establishment for not dragging out the primary? The fond memory it creates in the mind of the base of a man willing to sacrifice his own ambition to support victory in Iraq? The venom it’ll draw from the left about him using the war as political cover for his own failure? Or the fact that it backs Huckabee into a corner by framing the continuation of his own campaign as effectively furthering the Democrats’ plans for withdrawal?
Stephen Hayes: Mitt Romney withdrew from the race for the Republican nomination early this afternoon in an extraordinarily classy speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference…For those of us who raised questions about Romney’s leadership on Iraq and his willingness to put winning there ahead of his political career, he answered those questions rather decisively this afternoon.
Mark Hemmingway: And with that speech, the good will he’s engendered by his classy exit, and the support he enjoys from the conservative base, I think it’s safe to say he may have finally laid many of the questions about his conservative credentials to rest. Too bad the timing is so unfortunate.
Krempasky at Redstate: And from now on, I will not be anymore critical than Mitt Romney, who ended his campaign a few hours ago with class far too rare in this campaign to date.
And from the Boston Globe:
Although Mitt Romney abruptly pulled the plug on his 2008 presidential ambitions yesterday, his appearance before a national conservative gathering clearly signaled that he wants to be part of the Republican Party’s future.
“His speech made it clear that he is keeping his options open in terms of assuming some future role in the years to come,” said Rob Gray, a Massachusetts Republican strategist who advised George W. Bush on his 2000 and 2004 presidential campaigns.
Analysts yesterday said that the former Massachusetts governor’s success in establishing himself as a serious presidential contender has given him a foundation to build upon. Romney’s impassioned speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference, where he announced he was leaving the campaign trail, left little doubt that he will stick around…
I think there’ll be a lot of us sticking around as well.
February 8th, 2008 at 7:25 am
Savage said last night that if Mitt had spoken earlier like he spoke yesterday, that, well, he (they) would have gotten behind him long ago. I say WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN, SAVAGE? And, to all who think that way, some people should not be allowed to vote, or have to take an intellegence test first. If you cannot tell that Huckabee is a -(well maybe I shouldn’t go there) -is not the one, just by looking at him and listenning to him, then you have no sense. If anyone has a computor and a brain, they could have landed here, googled, and learned about Mitt like we all did. Years from now, people will be looking for the next Mitt Roney !!!
Thank you Ann Marie, and please keep the blog going.
February 8th, 2008 at 7:27 am
Sorry for the spelling, I’m a little upset.
Years from now, People will be looking for the next MITT ROMNEY !!!
February 8th, 2008 at 8:48 am
It’s very important that Romney said he was “suspending” his campaign and not quitting the race. Drudge has a quote from a Romney operative that his campaign will now be working forward to 2012. “We expect him to run again in 2012!”
February 8th, 2008 at 8:56 am
PLEASE join us at http://www.Ultimitt.org — we are discussing future plans and would love to see all of you there. 2012 is not that far away and the grassroots support structure that could come into play during that time is surely something to think about!
February 8th, 2008 at 9:24 am
My feeling is that in THIS re-telling of history Alexander Hamilton dodged Aaron Burr’s bullet … and eventually goes on to win his rightful place as President.
McCain’s perfect in the role of Burr, and I’ve always considered Romney as the re-incarnated Hamilton. Think about it. Maybe Romney’s a little smarter than Hamilton as Romney knew when to stand down in a strategic retreat…..let the frustrated Libs and the stupid media types have their Obama (Carter) moment and get it the hell out of their system after one term….and then they’ll finally let the country get back to reality with Romney in 2012.
February 8th, 2008 at 9:31 am
According to an article…
Montana will still give Romney his 25 delegates even after he suspended his campaign, so it means he is not NOT out of the race, he simply stopped his campaign…
He has not given up his delegates, yet… so keep working for him as if he is still in the race!
So, technically he is still in it!
Vote for Mitt… give him delegates -keep him in the second place over the opportunist Huckster…
Please spread the word… just do it… and it would pay off in the end because Mitt will definitely be at the GOP convention this summer. He will be seen as one of the most respected Republicans ever!
Don’t split or give in or give up! VOTE for Mitt in your state if you have not yet…
February 8th, 2008 at 10:14 am
I agree Ron,
Romney gave a terrific speech yesterday. His intelligence and grace were so clear. It was one of his best speeches, but for those who have followed him not surprisingly so. When you clear past the the media weeds and the effects of others trying to define him, you find the Romney displayed in that speech.
My hope is that Romney will run again. Hopefully he can gain control of the message from the beginning and keep the level at discussion at the height we heard yesterday. What a gentleman.
February 8th, 2008 at 10:30 am
I really blame the media for getting in the way of letting MR get his message across. They are determined to get a Demo in the White House. We will have to elect Republicans for congress to prevent the damage. The thought of socialized medicine is scary. Also, legalizing immigrants means changing the voting demographic to democrat. It is hard to believe we could overcome the obstacles America’s future will bring.
One thing is for sure , McCain is going down in flames. Republicans got behind the wrong man.
February 8th, 2008 at 11:55 am
CYuen,
Great point. I will be going to my county convention here in Nevada as a delegate and will cast my vote for Mitt.
February 8th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Savage and others late to recognize the greatness in Mitt are a huge fault. If they spent any time listening to every speech Mitt has given, he has been consistently impressive. Does not Savage think that the Faith speech in December was not amazing? That was 3 months ago and before Iowa.
At least the conservative heads learning there lesson not to waffle in future primary seasons because it is clear that the MSM and independent vote has taken over our selection process.
February 8th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
So, for McCain supporters, Huckabee still has a role to play. He’ll stay in the race for less than altruistic (e.g. personal) reasons, and not for the party or country. But his roll as continued foil will keep McCain in the headlines and will inadvertently help the party anyway. (Still not sure how I feel about that. I feel abandoned by my party today…)
Romney was right, McCain will be the nominee but he simply did not have the resources or the organization to slog out a protracted battle to the convention (he still doesn’t, by the way. Nothing has magically changed overnight). However, by suspending Romney’s campaign this early, McCain will now fade from the headlines (apparently that doesn’t matter, as most who have cast a ballot clearly have not thought about it anyway). So with no money, and now not having to campaign, McCain slips from public view to relative irrelevance and allows the Democrats to define the presidential debate for months to come. That is NOT good, but I can’t say I’m not just a little bit happy for that, as it hurts McCain’s chances. But that it Schadenfruede, and that is patently not Christian. I’ll have to repent. And I’ll have to repent of this too: it was gratifying to see McCain come crawling on his knees and humble himself before the CPAC yesterday. That is something we have not seen from him on the campaign trail, and one of the biggest reasons I personally object to the man. Time will tell if it is sincere (my inner cynic says no. It’s just another example of political gamesmanship from a Washington insider).
So if Huckabee stays on, don’t hold it all against him. I’m sure McCain’s machinations will have had something to do with it. They have been and continue to be an effective tag team. And to those that support either of them, I hope you realize that it really doesn’t matter who you’re for, because you are for the same goal. In other words, support for one or the other is now completely fungible and has been for some time. I can vouch for that by how those in my precinct voted. Huckabee supporters were gleefully proclaiming their support for Huckabee based on his Christian values but they were more than willing to cast their lots with McCain, who is the antithesis of most of those values.
So note to Huckabee: stay in, play McCain’s game, but don’t let your head get too big (if that is possible). You really don’t have a chance, but you still serve a purpose.
And note to Romney supporters (that is not past tense): YOU TOO STILL HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY. Don’t hang your heads in despair when Huckabee goes on to pick up a few (undeserved) nods. It’s all part of their plan. I would also encourage all you Romney supporters that haven’t yet cast a vote to continue to vote your conscience (Romney). If he continues to have a showing in the upcoming primaries, what message will that send to Huckabee when Romney is spending $0. More importantly, it will send a CLEAR message to the party without actually hurting our chances in the general election, where the only outcome will be a Hillary/Obama presidency and ensuing Supreme court nominations that will further unravel the foundation of our society.
A Rally to Mitt is now a Rally to the Message. Send the message. Don’t vote for the fool or his foil in the PRIMARIES (we’ll deal with the general election later). That’s a message that the news outlets will not be able to ignore.
Rally to MITT!!
February 8th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
A Vote for Mitt is a Vote for Mitt!
A Vote for Huckabee is a Vote for McCain (Huckabee has no chance) …what’s the difference? Yes! There’s a difference… we must not let Huckabee believe that we see him as an alternative to Mitt… and not even as a VP. I do not want him to be the Vice President. He’s merely an opportunist! He’s another Jimmy Carter. No thanks
VOTE FOR MITT no matter what… and like Frozone said, we will deal with the general election later.
Tell the GOP party and America that we want Mitt- no matter what! GO MITT! He will surely become a force to be reckoned with at the GOP convention as he will still have his delegates on his side until then… GO MITT!
February 8th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
I like that: A vote for Mitt is a vote for Mitt!
Excellent. Thanks Celestina.
February 8th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
CYuen has it exactly Right! That’s why Mitt used the word “suspending” instead of quitting. At no time did he actually endorse McCain or release his delegates to him! He has earned those delegates and wants to keep them until the Convention in St. Paul this summer. This will ensure he is a major player and has leverage and a say in the party’s platform. And one more GREAT SPEECH!
February 8th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
Wolfagain: Cyen took my words from other blog… about suspending vs withdrawing
Yes! Anything can happen down the road… who knows… ask everyone to please vote for Mitt no matter what…
February 8th, 2008 at 11:54 pm
I haven’t been able to put my distate for Huckabee into words, so I thank Celestina for the comparison of Huckabee to Jimmy Carter. That says exactly what I was thinking…and both are worthless.
Everyone should vote for Mitt every chance we get. When we get to the convention, we’ll get another great speech from Mitt and I think he’ll get a great welcome there. Then we can decide what we do in November.
Go, Mitt 2012!!