Why Romney Lost?
February 23rd, 2008 Posted in Analysis, Commentary, and Editorials, Mitt Romney, Postmortem Analysis
I had a heated discussion with a friend the other day about this subject. I’m not going to give my opinion, nor his because I believe it would cloud the discussion. I’d like for you to give your reasons as to why you think Romney lost. They can be short, they can be long, but just tell us what you think.
We look forward to your responses.
February 23rd, 2008 at 4:32 pm
I feel he lost after Iowa defeat in retrospect. It was essentially between he and Huckabee, and the latter forced religion into the mix. He motivated the evangelicals to support him (according to Frozone, some had buyers remorse later)and that crippled Mitt, for the next show down with the “favorite” in NH, McCain. Had Mitt won in Iowa, he would have had that head of steam, to drive him on, and the media, without that chink in his armor, would have gone along. It reminds me of Howard Dean in 2004, and saw that as deja vu all over again , in 2008. He then got double-teamed by Huck and McCain, and the rest was history.He was the perfect candidate, Huckabee, just had that charisma that allowed his win, but now we see Huckabee has been found out, and there is no way he can be a viable standard bearer in the future.
February 23rd, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Even though I admire him very much, I just think he failed to connect with the voters on a more emotional and personal level. I may be wrong, but that’s just my opinion.
Also, the liberal media has given Americans this attitude that rich people are evil, which is not the truth.
February 23rd, 2008 at 4:34 pm
Oh yeah, I also meant to say, with that loss, McCain became re-vitalized, and he got double-teamed by Huk and McCain.
February 23rd, 2008 at 4:36 pm
What an interesting question. One that I think would be difficult to put all too susictly. However, being that I don’t have much time to put a lot of words together I will keep it somewhat brief.
I think there are a number of things that kept him from winning. One of the biggest, I believe, is the very strong anti-mormon movement in the south and Huckabee and his supporters POURING fuel on that fire at every turn. When you can get people to believe that they are voting for Satan if they vote for Romney, even if you sway a few people it spreads like wild fire. I think that this will be a test no matter how many years spread between now and a possible future run. He will have to make more and stronger in-roads with the evangelical christian groups. A message of theology not belonging in the Whitehouse and principles belonging has to be made. I don’t know if it is do-able, but it is a must.
Another large part was the splitting of the conservative vote between Huckaboob, Thompson, and Romney at the beginning and then Huckabible, and Romney towards the end against the lone moderate McCain. It is the same argument that has been made about adding another party for years. You open up another party then you splinter one and ultimately give it to the other party. It just doesn’t work out. Now you could argue that Guliani took some of the moderate vote away from McCain but look at the percentages that he took before FL., no more than 6% I believe. Whereas Huckabigot and Thompson took larger chunks in the early states.
Another reason was the comparative adds that Romney ran. I didn’t mind them but I get the impression that they were taken in bad context and the MSM used them as “attack ads” to make Romney look like the bad guy. It hurt him in NH. I don’t know how much, but I honestly think that they are what did him in in that state. If he had won in NH and then in MI I think we would be having a completely different discussion about this. The irony is that his ads were highly scrutinized and treated in a dark light but McCain was able to smear Romney with falsehoods in FL and not much came of it. McCain came out smelling like a rose.
I believe that Kerry’s foul up in 2004 and the republican’s use of it to coin the phrase Flip-flop turned around and haunted Romney even though he flipped (not flip-flopped which Kerry did) on one topic the MSM and his opponents hammered the phrase into anybody that would listen enough to shut out the truth about Romney’s stances and his historical politics. I think this will be a weapon of choice for many politicians in the years to come as it has been used so effectively on people thus far and You-Tube has become a “beacon of truth” in these political times as everything that a politician says gets caught on tape.
I think that Romney’s staunch phrasing in his debates in the past hurt merely because they did cause people to doubt his conversion to a “true conservative”. Living in the bluest of states in the Union makes it difficult for the right to believe that you are stong on conservative values, regardless of your history.
I think the saddest reason to me that he lost was people did not like how “perfect” he was. Isn’t that the most ironic statement you have ever heard????? We have a “perfect” man with a great political and business history, with a tremendous family to boot up for the Presidency of the United States and people shunned him because it seemed too good to be true. Where I saw conviction and role model material others saw a “Ken Doll”. Society has gotten to the point that we don’t believe that there is a trully honest and upright person out there so if one comes along he must just be good at hiding it. VERY SAD!!!!
There are other small parts that contributed to Mitts fall but I believe that these are the ones that stick out most in my mind.
I am curious to see what others think.
February 23rd, 2008 at 4:39 pm
I agree too, Nick, there were times when he really connected, like the religion speech, and his cpac speech. If he could have connected like that more often, he would have bested Huck in Iowa. It also did not help with the public support of conservatives coming so late.
February 23rd, 2008 at 4:49 pm
First , there was a lot of negative media stemming mostly from his religious affiliation. Of course, there was also the ‘Huckabee factor’ that made him look what he is not. This guy made him look like he was ’spineless’ because of the socalled ‘flip-flop’ _ he really made it stick to him. McCain and the rest of the GOP hopefuls alienated him by ganging up on him making him most unlikable candidate! Clearly, they were envious of him particularly ‘Huckabee’! He lost because these GOP RIVALS banded together to stop his momentum. The nation lost with his departure … Oh well, what can we say _ as an electorate, the Americans are quite qullible _ preferring to be swayed by unsubstantiated rhetoric and with Obama we’ll definitely get that! Hopefully, he’ll wise up once he’s elected and learn that things are easier said than done!
February 23rd, 2008 at 5:01 pm
Being a huge fan of Mitt, especially because of his business acumen, i thought he lost simply because he is (too) sophisticated and (too) nuanced. Qualities i think that are vital to be an effective president. However, the majority of the American GOP voters would probably disagree with me as they tend to favour candidates who like to deal in absolutes. They prefer answers such as “It is black!” instead of “well, the shade of grey depends on…”
Tim S. (from Holland)
February 23rd, 2008 at 5:16 pm
He lost because of He’s a Mormon, and sicko people made sure other people know about it. He lost because of Huckajerk glorification… but it’s just a battle that he lost… He will win the WAR… because he will RISE ABOVE POLITICS to SERVE AMERICA under GOD! Whether he will run in 2012, he still will be seen as a true servant just because he cared about America. He will be richly blessed, and then in the eternities he will be looking back this petty political bickering for it will be just a distant memory in the eternities and understand why this and that happened!
MOST OF ALL, I LOOK FORWARD TO THE DAY where many faces will be distorted by UTTER SHOCK upon realizing that the faithful and righteous Mormons are truly Christians in every way, shape and form. This absolute truth will be revealed by Jesus the Christ. As His disciples, they will be blessed and forever embraced by Jesus Christ- the ULTIMATE LAWGIVER. HOW EXCITING IT IS that Mitt and we true Christians will one day be forever vindicated!
A Valiant Disciple of Christ!
February 23rd, 2008 at 5:21 pm
I don’t think Romney lost, I think the voters, this nation lost. They lost the opportunity to have this nation flourish morally, economically, and militarily. Rather than blaming him, I think we are to blame the stupid voters. McCain? Really?
I really think Romney did almost all the right things. It was SUCH an uphill battle. He was unknown, the media (and his opponents) kept spinning the flip-flop and mormon issues, making them problems, when they’re really not.
Because of these external forces, it was an uphill battle. And he did so well. I’m proud of him. He set himself up very nicely for 2012. He grabbed the attention/support of Rush, Coulter, Hannity, and more. He left CPAC wanting more. The conservatives rallied behind him too little, too late. Rush admitted that he may have single-handedly gotten Mitt the nomination, had he stalwartly and vocally supported Mitt from the get-go. It’s too bad voters are so dumb.
February 23rd, 2008 at 5:28 pm
The Generalized Ignorance of Americans is why Mitt lost… it’s so true!
We need to place blame on the voters not Mitt… voters chose not Mitt.
Mitt already warned in his Faith in America speech… if American did not want him, then so be it! So, he knew what could also happen. So, he is right to withdraw for I hate to see him wasting more money on a lost cause, you know… but then again something big could be brewing at the GOP convention this summer. It would be interesting to wait and see what happens then.
February 23rd, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Good points all. The Iowa defeat was a derailment, but not a showstopper. The religion card played no small part. In my view the answer is “All of the Above” and “None of the Above”. It was the incessant dog piling from all angles that finally did him in. Ultimately, though, if Mitt had connected on a more personal level like Obama is doing and Reagan did, that could have nullified the onslaught. If I was to point to one thing, it would be that.
So why didn’t the regular voters get to see the real Mitt? For me the true root cause traces its way back to the culpable and complicit main stream media, as they didn’t want us to get to know the “real” Governor Romney (mostly, because they don’t understand him themselves). But from a business perspective, that would have been disastrous for them (not for the country). Governor Romney was just too good to be true, and not interesting enough to drive ratings (in a season of a writers strike). No scandal, no personal foibles, one wife, strong marriage, exemplary children, a serial succeeder, well spoken (but not flashy, that would be interesting and drive ratings), just solid, well studied excellence. Boring, but boring on the verge of greatness, if you can get people to stop and pay attention. So, add an element of entertainment value, and he takes it all the way. In the end, then, it is our fault, not his. He did nothing wrong, and too many of us did nothing to educate ourselves.
Romney didn’t lose. He ran a hard working, issue driven campaign. The country lost because they didn’t give appropriate heed to selecting our next POTUS. What a watered down, stupid, pandered, and insipid society we have become. I’m embarrassed at how the world looks at us…
We’ll have an Entertainer in Chief for sure, because that’s the only thing that plays well on the evening news and talk shows.
February 23rd, 2008 at 5:38 pm
..not an easy answer-(Ben was going to keep it brief, then wrote 8 paragraphs!) He made good points. Denise, also good point about Iowa being a crushing blow. Several months earlier we expected Mitt to landslide Iowa. I like to keep it short and not so sweet, I’m a name caller, so here goes:
1-So-called “evangellical christians” are bigots. Why else could Huckablow sway so many with his obvious gosh-oh-golly-me bullcrap. Stupid people who vote ate it up.
2-The main stream media wanted to kill Mitts chances. I can still see the smug look on Russert’s face when he interviewd Mitt and question after question was “FLIP, FLIP, FLIP”, instead of “What are your qualifications and plans and beliefs for helping our country”? Stupid people who vote ate it up.
3-People who vote have no real understanding of why they are voting for, or, against someone, and how it relates to what is BEST for our country. If you don’t believe this, go out on the street and ask people what they think: “I like McCain because he was a war hero, I like Hillary because she is a woman, I like Barak because he is new, I like Fred Thompson because I like Arthur Branch, I don’t like Mitt because he doesn’t seem sincere, I like Barak because he is a good speaker”…yada, yada, yada… Give me an F’n break! Ask them this..Who will be the best LEADER for our country, why, who has the most experience LEADING, why, who has the most EXPERIENCE accomplishing something, anything? The average person who votes doesn’t have a clue.
Sorry if I sound bitter, it’s only because I am. The voters in this country just let the most able, qualified person get away. He will now go home to his 200 million dollars and lovely family. Gues what, he didn’t need us, we needed him!!!!!!!!!!
February 23rd, 2008 at 5:41 pm
Well, it started in Iowa. Mitt had Iowa in the bag. If Mitt had won Iowa, it would have been a different story and he would be the nominee today. Turned out in the end that Iowa was a “must win”, because when Mitt lost Iowa it weakened him in New Hampshire. Mitt had Iowa until the October Values Voters Conference, when the evangelicals embraced Huckabee because he speaks their “mother tongue”, whatever the hell that means. Anyway, the evangelicals rallied around Huck and he became their candidate. Then Mitt made the fatal error of attacking Huck through “contrast ads”. Although it may have educated the public, the contrast ads actually caused the evangelicals to come to Huck’s defense, because he is one of their own. It’s similar to the situation now with Republicans backing McCain after the NYT story. Even though the story is true, republicans feel they have to back McCain because he’s on their team. (I will not be backing McCain, by the way. I believe the story, and it shows McCain has extremely poor judgement and morals). Another problem was that for a straight month the media pushed Huckabee day-in and day-out. Romney felt he had to run the contrast ads because the media wasn’t coming forward with the truth on Huckabee. Huck then portrayed the contrast ads as personal attacks, and the evangelicals believed him. They weren’t of course, but that’s not how they were perceived. In the end the negative fall-out from the contrast ads, and the evangelicals lining up behind Huckabee led to Romney’s demise.
My final comments are about 2012: Mitt must be a lot more careful about attacking other republicans, especially Huckabee. It doesn’t go down well at all, even if it’s the truth. In 2012, Mitt must run on his own record, and not concern himself with the records of fellow rivals. He must also learn how to answer religious questions. Heck, we all know Romney is a Mormon and that he has these “strange” beliefs. He must embrace his Mormon identity and beliefs, because they are who he is. No more pandering to evangelicals; They can sniff the phoniness and it totally turns them off. If he abides by these truths, he will win in 2012.
February 23rd, 2008 at 5:42 pm
Se7en, elaborate on Rush’s comment, I find that interesting, because that is what I said at the beginning of this post. Conservatives were slow to support him, they got stuck up in the Mormon issue. I think that Mitt now is positioned to finish this mission in 2012, he also needs to stay in the public eye over the next two years, because that is when running for pres really will start. I personally think Rush is bombastic, but he does have some clout.
February 23rd, 2008 at 5:43 pm
The funny thing is, Ron, I could have gone on for 15 more paragraphs. I am very analytical and it took a lot for me to stop at 8 paragraphs. lol.
I think Iowa was hurtful but to me it was foreshadowing of the South. The anti-mormon folk were gonna come out in droves and crush Mitt in any way they could with no other reason other than “I won’t vote for a Mormon”. Highly disappointing. No wonder moderates and liberals think that there is a lot of half wits on the ultra conservative side of things.
February 23rd, 2008 at 5:44 pm
Another thought occurs to me, what do you call someone who tries to pander, but is not a natural panderer? Phony? Maybe that is the cause of the “phoniness” factor touted in the media and is a result of them not looking deeply enough. Not enough people got to know the real Governor Romney. But let’s turn the mirror around, shall we?
When you look in your own heart, and realize you don’t measure up, you don’t want to know that someone else is any better. That is a base instinct. Governor Romney is better than most, in every aspect of his life, and that makes many of us feel uncomfortable. And the more uncomfortable you are, the less likely you are to vote for him.
February 23rd, 2008 at 5:45 pm
man, their are a lot of us who have nothing to do on a beautiful Saturday afternoon except sit in front of a computor…I need to get a life!!
February 23rd, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Mitt lost because he had to contend with everyone on several fronts. By that I mean the evangelical bigots, every GOP candidate was gunning for him from the get go, and the Main Stream Media, that refused to acknowledge that he was in the lead for a good portion of the race. Why South Carolina and New Hamphshire got so much air time while Nevada and Michigan were completely ignored was ridiculous. Going into Florida Romney led in the popular vote and delegate count but all we saw and heard was the McCain momentum machine. Gov. Crist’s endorsement of McCain was a death blow as well in that winner-take-all state. Also, McCain underhanded “timetable” lie hurt deeply as the main stream media for some reason kept bringing the lie up and didn’t lambast McCain for his obvious dirty trick.
Lastly, though conservative media types jumped on the Romney band-wagon. They did so way too late. They seemed to hope that Thompson would lead the conservative charge and were reluctant to back Mitt. By the time they did, it was just days before super Tuesday. Rush and Laura Ingram didn’t formally back Romney until it was to late to influence significantly.
I forgot about Huckabigot too. A truly dirty politician that won Iowa by getting free publicity by showing a negative add that he was too “moral” to show, that the msm showed over and over again…and his Satan’s brother comment. That guy remains in the race soley because he wants to surpass Mitt in delegate counts. Had he not been in the race, Romney would have survived Super Tuesday winning a good portion of the South.
February 23rd, 2008 at 5:48 pm
Frozone! I love that Mirror Analogy… it rang so true!… Americans need to invest $ in Windex
Not only this, they need to invest money in “self-help” book companies (LOL)
February 23rd, 2008 at 5:53 pm
I may be off the point. I am not sure where to post… but… wanted to share my thought. I have been to many blogs… more people miss Mitt than any other candidate, it seems to me or am I biased… ummm But then, I would not be surprised becuase his departure clearly struck a cord! Also, there seem to be more “buyer remorses” many people are blaming the fact that other people are slow to notice Mitt until it was too late???
What say you?
February 23rd, 2008 at 5:56 pm
Ben, I don’t know any Mormans, I do know some southern Baptists, some very nice, but their snakes did scare me. I would like to learn more about the LDS. Can they believe anything more crazy than a virgin giving birth, or a man walking on water? Beliefs are beliefs, and we believe them because we do! I wonder if anything can or will be done to make people more tolerant of Mormans, wait, I know, lets paint them all black!! Their is one predjudice we have almost overcome!!
February 23rd, 2008 at 5:57 pm
Ron,
I am ROTFLOL!! Here in Louisiana, I have already cleaned up my gardens, cut down dead branches, etc, done my crunches, and cleaned my house and worked on improving my stock portfolio. I come here to talk politics, and get involved with my country with people that think a lot like me. I am allowed to sit still for a few minutes.Graet thought Frozone, sometimes we all do have innate jealousies, and we vote for someone who is like us, instead of who we can be.
February 23rd, 2008 at 6:01 pm
I rhink Romney’s loss was a win in many ways. Many people have come to view Mormons as being real Christians, though those with closed minds will never learn the truth. The subject of religion and government is out in the open and people now are afraid to admit they choose their leader by his religion (though many obviously do). And, I, for one, have become a dedicated blogger and have become more informed than ever before in my life. I think all the discussion is leading people to find out for themselves what are facts and what are fables. (However, I too wonder why I’m not outside on a beautiful Washington afternoon!) These things are all good.
Whenever Mitt Romney’s name came up on the MSM, it was briefly and dismissedly. Only a few dared buck the system on cable TV (Sean Hannity, Joe Scarborough) and that happened too late…also too late with talk radio.
Now that Mitt’s name is much more a household one, if he stays around, he will be our president one day, the Lord and Mitt both willing.
February 23rd, 2008 at 6:04 pm
A complex question that I will whittle down to a few factors even though there were many.
Huckabee played the role of spoiler in Iowa before people really had a chance to realize he was a fake conservative. That really took the steam out of Romney’s run before he’d really even begun. It was an uphill battle after that, but what do you expect when you have the whole establishment (fellow candidates, the MSM, the entrenched in Washington that don’t want change, along with whispers of bigotry) doing their best to derail Romney. And it didn’t help that the conservative leaders came to rally around Romney at the 11th hour.
Sure, he failed to connect with some people and some are bothered by his good looks and perfect hair, but, lets be honest, that wasn’t the real issue.
It’s interesting how, in general, Romney received much more support from the evangelicals in the north vs the south. What’s up with that? Are the northern evangelicals more level headed or is the anti-mormon sentiment just that much stronger in the south?
As for Huckabee, after his hijacking in Iowa, he developed some seriously overdeveloped illusions of grandeur, thinking he could actually win on his “I’m defined by my bigotry…uh…I mean faith” ticket. And is still out there plugging for himself because, yes, it’s all about him folks. Just today CNN reported that Huck was asked which actor should be used to play Obama on SNL. What was his response? He gave a few names of who he thought should play HIMSELF.
February 23rd, 2008 at 6:07 pm
Not connecting . . . look at Obama. This is a man short on substance and long on charisma and throngs of people are voting for him and rallying around him. Most people pay but scant attention to politics. If a candidate does not connect with the average voter, he or she doesn’t win.
There have been highly successful candidates who have good looks, family, smarts and wealth who win. Arnold comes to mind and he was good at keeping it light and joking as required.
I think Mitt will come back stronger if he decides to run again.
February 23rd, 2008 at 6:07 pm
Ron, I am Mormon(not Morman, spelling error, I guess) and black as well, Go to lds.org to see about us. The main thing about us LDS is we love our country, we don’t force anyone to believe as we do, and we stand by our beliefs. I f the country did not whant o vote for Mitt because he would not compromise our belief system, so be it as he said. I have been a Baptist, and member of the Church of Christ, so I have a little experience with other religions. They prepped me for this fullness of the gospel,and I have the spiritual maturity to see we as a country need to follow Christ’s teachings and live our lives accordingly. That is what Mitt did with his family, and we did with ours, and our lives have been fully blessed for it. This bigotry, is a temporary setback, we will learn by it.
February 23rd, 2008 at 6:17 pm
Sorry, I finally got around to finishing my thought and realized many of you stated some similar thoughts.
One thing I would like to add is that as much as I hold Romney in high esteem (especially for a politician because he’s not really a politician), he’s a great man but not a perfect man. If we fall into the trap of thinking he’s perfect, it’s just a matter of time before we are disappointed (weak comparison I know, but like the many “Obama is our saviour” suckers out there). I know Mitt would do a great job and give it his very best as President and would avoid many of the pitfalls his predecessors have fallen into because he is a man of principle and high values.
February 23rd, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Great comments everyone! Every time Iowa is mentioned, I just cringe in disgust and embarrassment. I live in a small town in IA and saw first hand how stupid the voters, esp. in my state, are! I knew Mitt was in trouble a month before that dreadful night of the caucus, the local media wouldn’t give him any air time, it was all about Huckaphony. My husband and I were sick watching this…kind of the same sick feeling we have yet to shake, and it may never go away! I sat at the caucus that night, surrounded by Huckabee supporters, aka the local evangelical churches in town and their entire congregrations, I know who they are, many are my friends. There was a prayer at the beginning, with a few added comments to “do the right thing” tonight, basically, the pastor saying to vote for Huckabee. Then, each candidate had a person give a 2 minute speech as to why they support their chosen candidate. Huckabee’s sister from gave the speech on his behalf, her cutesy southern charm, joke after joke, and it went on WAY beyond the time limit. And so, we voted on paper, the Huckabee supporters counted them (who knows how accurately), and we went home, watched the returns, and knew Iowans had screwed up the future. So, to all of you, on behalf of the idiots in the state of IA, I apologize.
February 23rd, 2008 at 6:27 pm
Thanks Alyssa, what are those same friends saying now? I would be curious to know
February 23rd, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Mitt was way, way above the avg person. He did not explain himself in simple terms. He repeated grand generalisms without including specifics. When he did get specific, people ate it up - religion speech and CPAC.
He turned the mirror on the american people and many did not like what they saw. They could not measure up and did not want someone in power “making” them measure up to his standards. Remember the “I’m going to clean up washington”? The establishment could not take the aim of that mirror. Remember the “It’s time to clean up the ocean of garbage”? Even the relatively immoral could not take the aim of that mirror. There are other mirror angles that shined on us as a nation that we could not stand up to. He shines the light in just being who he is. Sometimes that’s just too much to take.
Humility is an unrecognizable asset in this selfish, me driven society and if you can’t boast and tear down the next guy until he is turned into nothing then you don’t have the (mispercieved) mettle that it takes to lead THIS nation at THIS time in history.
What a sad, sad day…
February 23rd, 2008 at 7:01 pm
Mitt did not LOSE. The “people” are the ones who have LOST. Mitt still has his good looks, his great sense of humor, his intelligence, his money, his family, his character and his committment. So therefore, “WE” are the losers, NOT Mitt.
February 23rd, 2008 at 7:05 pm
Sadly, many of the people who voted for Huckabee still would today! Many are extremely uninformed, they believe whatever their TV tells them, many are bigots and voted anti-Mormon, they are so blind (perhaps brainwashed) that they’d support Huck if he was a criminal (and from what I’ve learned, he probably is). The holier than though phony Baptist Huck can do no wrong in their eyes. There was a recent poll in IA, and most would vote for Huckabee again, the results were the same as the caucus. They also feel like they voted and are done with it…over and done. They had their fill of politics with the endless ads on TV and don’t want to hear anymore, esp. informationt that clearly shows how foolishly they voted, they tune out. We still PROUDLY have our Mitt signs up, the only ones in town who did. And I enjoy wearing my Mitt hat to the local grocery store, what stares I received! I have to admit, I’ve lost a lot of respect for many friends over this, it has been life changing to say the least. I can’t be friends with bigots, no matter how nice they are at the surface.
February 23rd, 2008 at 7:26 pm
1. He got double teamed by Huck and McLiar.
2. Most people in this country do not take the time that the people who post here take to evaluate the candidates. If they did, Mitt would have won in landslide victories. Most people who vote do it with very little knowledge of the candidates. They decide who they vote on after seeing one or two candidates in a 30 second commercial. Most do not spend more than 5 minutes thinking about who to vote for. Unfortunately, our country has changed; our people do not have the value system that we used to; most people are very shallow in their thinking.
Mitt Romney is the best candidate for President in my adult lifetime. I pray for Mitt2012.
February 23rd, 2008 at 7:30 pm
It’s very hard for me to try to diagnosis why this extraordinary man lost. I guess becuz I don’t think he really did lose, this is merely a stepping stone (God Willing) to 2012. I am heart sick over the three stooges we have to vote for this fall , well two , Obama & McLame. I’m with you Leslie, I too believe that McLame is hiding something. Then there is Huckaboob,. my goodness what a hypocrite, a total obnoxious physcopath and so full of himself its disgusting. The reason why my man, Mitt lost is because we learned about him to late and he’s got it all, McLame lied about him Huckaboob (the man of God) Hurl! compared his religion to Satan they both are jellous of his money not to mention his intelligence and the american people on a whole are “out to lunch” naive and yes down right stupid!
February 23rd, 2008 at 7:32 pm
By not electing Mitt as our nominee, it is truly America’s loss. It is not only a loss to the people on this site, it is this whole country that will suffer for letting the “greedy” politicians, and media, making their “backroom deals”, thinking that the likes of Huckabee, and McCain are legitimate, when they are as slimy as the Clinton’s in their underhandedness.
To try to compare Huckabee to Mitt, would be like trying to compare Huckabee’s Son’s to Mitt’s Sons.
February 23rd, 2008 at 7:46 pm
You know what I have noticed from reading articles, blogs, etc. is that anyone who meets or works with Mitt is very impressed by him. I think when he runs again in 2012 (hopefully) we need to see some advertising where people explain what they like about their experiences with Romney. Businessmen praising his honesty and integrity and smarts, Olympic organizers explaining the way he turned around the olympics, polititions stating his character as they worked with him in Massachusetts and someone telling how he did not take a salary for his service as Govenor and for his olympic work. I just so desperately want to hear people who really know and respect him to explain that to the American people in a real, clear and concise way. I think that could have made a difference in his campaign. I too am appaled at the fact that we let such a good man slip through our fingers. I have never been so inspired or excited about following politics as I was when he was running.
Hey, Ron, I also would suggest going to LDS.org if you are wanting to learn more about Mormons. I wish you luck in your search and hope that you will find the happiness that the Gospel can bring into your life.
Instead of the world making fun of how happy and perfect Mitt seemed you would think they would want to find out what made him different so they could have that same feeling in their life too.
Thank you everyone for your insightful comments and interest in Mitt. I feel as if I am among friends who are all grieving the loss of our best chance for America. Let us keep up the faith that he will return before too long.
February 23rd, 2008 at 7:52 pm
There was a whisper campaign going on prior to Iowa regarding Mitt’s religious beliefs. Huckabee was able to capitalize on that. In fact, if it weren’t for that anti Mormon sentiment, I don’t believe Huckabee would have ever gained traction. He needs to write a nice long thank you letter to Mitt and Ann thanking them for the media exposure he has received.
In addition to that I believe there was a general suspicion among many conservative voters due to Mitt’s beliefs that the media fed upon. It seemed that they really tried hard to keep that controversy alive. They saw that Mitt was creating the Reagan image and many didn’t want to see that, others thought he was hypocritical because he governed from a more liberal perspective and then took the conservative perspective as he ran for president. This aspect amazes me because many of the liberals in Massachussetes and the press somehow feel that conservatives shouldn’t even try to govern in Mass. Some conservatives bought into that but anyone who knows Mitt or studied how he ran as Governor knew that his personal views have always been very conservative but he had to take a more progressive stance to win the state. Dems would have done the exact same if the situation had been reversed. So would Huckabee and McCain if they ran for Governor there.
I think those two points sum it, but I will say this. The second time around he will do better. The electorate has learned something of Mitt Romney. The now know that he will work his butt off to get the job done. I think many will relax a bit about his religious views after seeing 11 states choose him as number one. And finally with his speech at CPAC as he annouced the suspension of his campaign, with nothing to gain, he nailed his conservative views and they are now burned into the hearts and minds of many who doubted. He will do well in 2012 or 2016. I think with either one of these election years he will just have to be careful not to cross Jeb Bush or the Bush family if Jeb decides to run. That might present a problem.
February 23rd, 2008 at 7:55 pm
Don’t get me started as to why Mitt lost……Old insider GOP Washington did not want an outsider coming in trying to change business as usual, it just might have affected them…no back room deals…. and they refused to get behind a good candidate.. MSM wants a Dem at all costs. We have a press that is not free….they report their slant and opinions. We should get use to it from here on out we will have the candidate that the media chooses, because people won’t do their own investigating of the candidates, they are to lazy, they just listen to what the media tells them and follow. (Look at Obama mania) In states with open primaries dem and indies picked the nom for the republicans by crossing over and voting for McCain. If indies want to vote in the primary get YOUR own candidate on YOUR ticket. Any state that has an open primary needs to loose delegates until at the national convention, if your state is closed than you keep your delegates and no more winner take all, make everyone work for it. If you change and register on the GOP ticket just to vote in the primary you have to vote in the general on the same ticket. It would discourage last minute side changes in the primary..such as CA and FL. (300,000 indies voted in FL…Mitt losses by 92,000 hmmmmmmm). Mitt realized how corrupt the voting is and just said enough. The whole voting process sucks. I don’t think we will ever see an uncorrupted race in the future. We need to change voting policies at the state level and the National GOP needs to get tough on the primary polices. And then there is the religious NUTS that made this a bigoted race. Really opened my eyes as to where “free, tolerant America really is. We have ALOT of work to do. Mitt didn’t loose…..America did….We really don’t want change…….we just like the warm and fuzzy sound of it….change takes hard work, Mitt was willing to do the work…….. not enough of America was ….they were just too lazy. My primary is coming and I’m voting for Mitt……..Hopefully America will not be so damaged that we might see a decent 2012 race.
February 23rd, 2008 at 8:13 pm
A lot of the dialogue from the beginning of the campaign centered around how people would accept the “Mormon” candidate.
It seemed that right before the Value Voters conference last October a breakthrough was happening. Evangelical leaders were warming to Romney. Iowa evangelical voters were looking at the major candidates and seeing that Romney’s values matched theirs were going to overcome their religious prejudice and vote for him - Romney was polling very well in Iowa. Then….2nd tier Huckabee gave a very well received speech at the Values conference and came across very well in the following debate, Romney seemed to trip on the strange Bible question in the YouTube debate, and Huckabee followed up with the “Christian Leader” ad, the sermons, Satan/Jesus comment, the church phone tree… it was just too comfortable for Iowa voters to line up behind Huckabee. The Romney momentum was lost.
Of course, there are many things that could be pointed to, but all else being equal, the Iowa upset stands out as the deal breaker.
Another question we could debate is will Romney run again?
February 23rd, 2008 at 8:24 pm
Leslie (post 13) gave one of the best explanations I’ve read anywhere of what happened to Romney. And Nick’s observation that “he failed to connect with the voters on a more emotional and personal level” was spot on.
(BTW Ron, it is the Primitive Baptist Denomination that handles snakes as an act of worship. Southern Baptists are defined by starting hospitals, colleges, orphanages; by cooking 90% of the meals Red Cross serves in disasters; and in the efficient way they fund missionary endeavors. And contrary to the post from EvanB, Evangelicals are not bigots. As Ron said, we are some of the most caring, forgiving and giving individuals you will find.)
February 23rd, 2008 at 8:34 pm
He lost because the Conservatives in the party couldnt decide on Mitt Romney and Huckabee who refused to step down. I lay the blame squarely on Huckabee, and his unorthadox approach to politics.
February 23rd, 2008 at 8:39 pm
Alyssa:
That first-hand experience you had in Iowa was enlightening to me and also sobering to the fact that Mitt may never win Iowa. In fact, I see 2012 as a total repeat of 2008, with Huck taking out Romney in Iowa. I’m wondering that if Mitt runs in 2012 he should TOTALLY write off Iowa to punish them for what they did to him in 2008. Then go after the New Hampshire vote. That may be the best strategy.
February 23rd, 2008 at 8:55 pm
MSM cheering for John McCain and against Mitt Romney, bigotry, open primaries, winner take all primaries, too many “conservatives” competing against John McCain. There were just too many obstacles.
February 23rd, 2008 at 9:05 pm
Forgot to mention that Huck was the ONLY one at my caucus here in IA that had a family member or someone from their campaign speaking on their behalf. The other speeches for candidates were done by local supporters. Just wanted to clarify regarding my post above.
Leslie: Iowans definitely don’t deserve a second chance with Mitt!!!
February 23rd, 2008 at 9:15 pm
Romney started with very little name recognition.
He competed against all the republican candidates, plus unfair treatment by the MSM.
There was no doubt some anti-mormon sentiment.
The ganging up of Huckabee and McCain.
The primary system made it very difficult for a conservative to win. (Why on earth do we allow liberals and independents to have a say in who the republican nominee will be?)
He could possibly have prevailed with just one or two of the obstacles in front of him, but all together they were insurmountable.
I still maintain that the Republican Party made the biggest mistake possible this year by nominating McCain. I personally believe he will go down in flames in November, but even if he prevails, his presidency will damage the Republican party.
February 23rd, 2008 at 9:42 pm
A second thought….maybe the states that have a bigot problem should vote LAST…not first… If your state is a bigot based state (religion, race or sex) you should vote LAST. Let the states with more tolerance and reason vote first. If the south wants to vote religion they should vote last. What would have happend to Huck, McCain and Mitt if everyone voted on the same day….
February 23rd, 2008 at 9:48 pm
There are several reasons I think. There was some anti- Mormon bias, particularly in Iowa and Missouri. But Romney generally ran better than Mccain and Huckabee among conservatives in all states. When moderates crossed over to vote , they voted for McCain. But, the big reasons are the following:
1. Too much concentration early- on on McCain’s negatives and too little on positive solutions to America’s problems.
2. A concentration on urban markets where big media buys would be helpful, giving up the suburban and rural votes to McCain and Huckabee. I live in Georgia. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, Mitt ran very well in an Evangelical state. Not a lot of anti-Mormonism, surprisingly. Romney carried the entire Atlanta metro area ( 5 counties and 3.5 million people), by 5- 10 % over both McCain and Huckabee with little local effort. An appearance or two in Macon and Savannah and he would have easily taken the 30 + delegates. Remember, he also carried Manchester in New Hampshire and the urban markets in Iowa. Its where he spent his money.
3. The early voting in Florida and California killed him. After he got momentum going in both states there were several million votes in the can already for McCain.
Of course, splitting the conservative vote 3 or 4 to one didn’t help. And when you are running against only one liberal quasi-democrat like McCain, you and all the other conservatives have little chance.
One final comment. Television and the debates will be especially critical this year, much as the Nixon-Kennedy debates were in 1960. Nixon won the radio debates on issues but Kennedy won the visual debate on the TV. Fast forward to 2008. Think of HDTV. Wait till McCain shows up under those cameras and that lens and you’ll think Bob Dole was a GQ model in comparison. It will be a disaster and we will all see it in high definition.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:42 pm
The causation factors I would list that lead to Romneys withdrawal,
Perecption of invincibility was so strong the media hit him harder than expected!
Average working folk bought into the MSM assault on Mitt being out of touch because of his wealth.
I think the most calculating mistake by the campaign was_- challenging Huckabee back after Iowa loss that Huckabee needed to raise 20 million or he could not compete. I think that motivated or rallied Huckabee and his campaign even more. It kind of painted Mitt’s image as elitist in the eyes of many. Huckabee became an underdog and the people loved it.
The campaigns inability to adequately
deal with the “mormon issue”. The speech was great but to late and to little. The bias is real and not believed.
I dont believe Mitt is done and will be back on the scene sooner than we realize. He will disect the data and lessons from the campaign and come back stronger, smarter, and better than ever.
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:06 pm
One other thought that your ideas have triggered. Mitt’s “Washington is broken,” and “I can’t wait to get my hands on Washington,” were probably received as personal insults to the insiders in DC. He may need to temper his criticism of those in power to get their support. I did feel uneasy when I heard those comments…true though they are. But the prideful don’t take criticism easily.
I have enjoyed all of your insights.
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:07 pm
I love this place. There are a lot of smart people checking in to share with each other and teach us lurkers. Thank you all. Please keep coming back. This mess can be fixed. We just need to teach the masses who can do it. Go Mitt! - P
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:26 pm
Thank you Alyssa for that very enlightening perspective from Iowa. I’m very sorry to hear that this experience has been “life changing” for you in such a negative way. But I tip my hat to you for being one of the few to stand up for what you believe no matter what the other gutless wonders may think.
Your piece on how Iowans would vote again for the phony just blows me away. I have been wondering if there was a lot of buyers remorse in Iowa by now. Apparently not, and that convinces me that Romney should waste very little time with the lemmings in your state in any future endeavors.
You know, this experience has been life changing for us too. I already read the newspaper and watched the news on tv with a dash of suspicion…but after what I have seen and read over the past 6 months, I am convinced there are very evil people in control of the media. They figured it out a long time ago, that if you control the media, you control (most of) the people. They have done a masterfully wicked job with McCain and Obama and they must be so very pleased with themselves. We hardly watch the news on tv anymore because it just disgusts my wife and I. And I read the news online with a good deal of cynicism with their liberal bias always in mind.
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:39 pm
I addressed this on my own blog (http://mike4mike.wordpress.com/2008/02/20/post-modernist-politics/) as a shift of intellectual understanding from the modernist view of “one best way” to a post-modernist understanding of community values and subjective truth. That’s why Hillary is in trouble, and that’s why Bush (Sr) endorsing McCain didn’t gain him any traction. Obama - and Huckabee to some extent - understand that postmodernist view and speak in stories that connect to the listener. Romney never really connected to the wider electorate outside his home states of Michigan and Massachusetts. Being smart or rich or good-looking doesn’t matter if people don’t know or believe your “story.” If he is to have any chance in 2012 (or a brokered convention in 2008), he will have to learn the art of effective story-telling.
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:43 pm
There was nothing Mitt did wrong. He convinced almost every single one of the prominent conservative voices in the media, no less than George Will, Thomas Sowell, Michelle Malkin, Joe Scarborough, Robert Novak, Glenn Beck, Lars Larson, Michael Reagan, Mark Levin, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Hugh Hewitt, Newt Gingrich, Pat Buchanan, Ann Coulter, and of course Rush Limbaugh. (That doesn’t leave many others besides the maverick-thinking duo of Bill Bennett and Michael Medved) All of them recognized what a disaster McCain would mean to the Republican party if elected. It’s also not their job to educate us on what we’re collectively too blind to see, or for them to analyze whether or not we’re going to be supportive enough of a conservative candidate at certain junctures.
The fact is that the Republican party has started drifting to the left and is currently in a slump. McCain being the best it can produce is a sad commentary on the current state of the GOP. It might be apathy from of the Bush era aftermath. Perhaps in four years, Romney will be more palatable to the party. But remember it’s the party’s fault for drifting, not his fault for having some imagined defect.
Also, the country isn’t quite ready for an LDS president yet, due to misconceptions and propaganda proselyting. Mitt probably had about a 5% handicap to contend with in that area. The absence of that factor alone could have tilted the scales his way.
February 24th, 2008 at 12:25 am
Thank you for your blog, and to those who have commented. My wife and I have been following Romney for some time, and have been sick that he is no longer in the race. In our opinion, he is the best candidate, by far.
We observed the bias in the TV and newspaper media. I have emailed FOX several times. We feel that the conservatives media waited to long to start supporting Romney also. The late endorsement of Charlie Christ and Mel Martinez for John McCain contrbuted much to the loss here in Florida. In addition, many of us in Florida, heard the lies spread by McCain and Huckabee on the stump (from the media) and received many phone calls filled with lies about Mitt. These also did not help. We helped as much as we could with Mitt’s campaign in Florida, but I think we had too little help, to late.
Religion played a big role in some of the areas also. This seemed to be fanned by Huckabee and the MSM.
I feel that those of us who support Romney, need to be more active with comments to the MSM if he runs again. This needs to start earlier in the campaign. We need to respond to negative articles in the newspapers.
February 24th, 2008 at 12:26 am
Technically speaking, Mitt lost, however I believe his year long candidacy was a huge success and that more good will result from it than bad. Losing is always difficult, and like Mitt said in his fairwell CPAC address, we all hate to lose! But there is something much bigger going on with the Romney/Conservative movement. I believe this will reveal itself more and more over the coming years. Let’s not forget what a brilliant mind he has, and remember that he has always been a visionary man.
February 24th, 2008 at 12:53 am
Excellent posts, everyone. I’ve missed the caliber of thought exhibited here. Keep them coming.
February 24th, 2008 at 1:10 am
Jon: You’re welcome…glad to share these experiences. It’s extremely helpful to discuss these issues with intelligent and informed people. This site is a blessing! The entire process (except for Mitt) has been a negative experience, but not enough to get me down for long, I’ll never let that happen! I am grateful that God has blessed me with the ability to see through the evil that surrounds us and to fight for what is good…and Mitt truly is good!! It doesn’t make life easy, there are times I wish I could just watch the news and be a drone like so many others, just go on with day to day life, but as a mother of 3 small children, I will fight for their futures for the rest of my life! My family will be moving in the next year (for business)…the good news…to an urban county in IA where Mitt won!!
February 24th, 2008 at 1:19 am
Interesting read tonight! I blame Romney’s loss on the media’s propping up Huckabee because they no way no how wanted Romney in there. Darkness cannot stand the light if you know what I mean. It started out being just a game to them but then got way out of hand. Let’s face it. Romney did not want to play dirty the way the big boys play. That includes the media elites and the media low lifes. I really think they just could not believe that Romney doesn’t drink, doesn’t swear, doesn’t cheat on his wife. I mean what would they have to talk about. By the time, the ‘folks’ realized he was truly the best candidate, the damage had been done. He needed to confront the flip-flop thing way sooner by putting out memos of everyone else’s flip-flops. He let that go on way to long. I think we finally saw that Mitt can fight back but it was too little too late. Can’t wait to him take on Russet again. It will be a different story. It was a tremendous learning experience for the Romney camp. They will be much better prepared if there is a next time. Personally, I can’t wait to see them (the MSM) take McCain apart now that he is the nominee. This week’s NYT article is just the beginning. Obama is the darling and he is brilliant. McCain will look like a scriveled up old man next to him and will appear to have Alzheimers. He will repeat over and over again- I am a war hero my friends, I am a war hero my friends, I am a war hero my friends.
February 24th, 2008 at 1:56 am
This has got to be the best interchange I’ve ever read. Thank you Ann Marie for starting it and thank you all for participating. In a time which is generally depressing, it really helps to know there are a bunch of people out there who understand and are planning for the future.
Just in case you missed a good article I wish all evangelicals would read, try:
http://blog.beliefnet.com/blogalogue/mormondebate/
A test for us …… keep the interest and enthusiasm for the next four years. Go Mitt! - P
February 24th, 2008 at 2:18 am
I love this site. Even in defeat I get great comfort that I’m not the only one that thinks we just blew a golden opportunity to have a great president. I feel a lot like others on this board that name recognition, hucks religious victory in iowa, and the conservative masses getting behind him with 30 seconds left in the football game sealed Mitts fate. Here in Colorado Mitt won huge, my precinct was McCain 4, Huck 2, Thompson 1, Paul 1, and Mitt 34 votes. Mitt won big amongst evangelicals in Colorado.
I think Mitts faith talk, CPAC talks, and conservative backing will launch him from a much higher position in ‘12. There will be new obstacles including Huckabee’s religious following, MSM, a possible continuing love affair with President Obama, etc,.. but i think Mitt is positioned well to really be a much stronger candidate next time. Im excited. the day Mitt withdrew i bought tons of Romney apparel from their store to get me through the next two years or so. Again, thanks to all you Mitt backers across the USA and across all religions, genders, and races. This has been disappointing but a great experience nonetheless. Go Mitt!
February 24th, 2008 at 2:25 am
First - Mitt is ahead of his time. Some of his speeches were phenomenal, but in today’s society where connecting is based on emotion he fell on a lot of ears looking for those warm fuzzies.
Second, Iowa. Without Iowa Mike is never really in this primary. The pro Mike evangelicals would not have rallied every relative, church goer, dog, and soul if it were not for Iowa. Once that happened and his base got confidence he became their identity candidate.
Third, Rudy dropped out. Once Rudy dropped out it left two candidates fighting for the conservative and evangelical crowd with only one vying for all the moderates. The split vote between Mike and Mitt watered down the numbers and John got by with all the moderate vote (which was not a majority by any means). Had it been John, Rudy, and Mitt you would have seen John and Rudy splitting votes and Mitt taking a majority of the conservatives.
Fourth, Mitt had the perfect storm against him. Yet still had 4 million votes when he dropped out. This shows that his message had strength going through the storm he faced. The MSM successfully labeled Mitt and with Mike to turn to he could pull the majority.
Good luck in what you choose to do in the future Mitt.
February 24th, 2008 at 3:43 am
In my view, Romney lost because the MSM resurrected McCain, and enough people listened to that drumbeat that he won NH when he should not have. Had the MSM not bought into and publicized McCains phantom “comeback” just prior to the NH primary, JM’s psuedo-comeback wouldn’t have existed. A McCain loss in NH and then FL (if he’s still alive), with those states going to Romney changes EVERYTHING–Iowa/Huckabee aside. I believe that it is a lesson in how powerful the MSM still is, even in an age of “new media.” The new media has a longer way to go than it thinks (California). Maybe in three years. We can hope.
February 24th, 2008 at 3:50 am
He lost because of religion. You can spin it a thousand ways, but, sadly that is the truth. I have spent a lot of time in political chats and people hear Mormon and they instantly turn off. I am Mormon. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We are highly respected through out the world. I think people would be surprised at the number of prominent people that are Mormon. We are christians! : )
February 24th, 2008 at 4:42 am
If Mitt had the same resume, but had been a drinker, swore like a sailor, on his 2nd trophy wife, had a couple of estranged kids, with lobbyists hanging all over him — and an Episcopalian, he would be our nominee, no question about that.
February 24th, 2008 at 5:15 am
Leslie, humm I think I have to agree with you on that, which says >WAKE UP AMERICA! This is the greatest and most blessed nation on the planet. Not only did the most incredible man( Mitt Romney) get knocked out of the race, the democrats want to put someone back in the White House whose husband was Impeached for lying to the Grand Jury. What message is that sending to future generations? The one criteria that kept ringing through the political chats from conservatives is the timeless values this country was founded upon. And as conservatives, we must take a stand, however big or small, and stand up for those core values you know to be true. And we can do it, even if it is one person at a time. Thank you Mitt! Thank you for waking some people up that were getting lulled away into a false sense of security and happiness.
February 24th, 2008 at 5:55 am
Pardon my English in advance.
Mr. Romney didn’t lost but America lost him.
Because of MSM’s power, anti-Mormon, voting system, McCaine’s dirty tricks and Huckabee. (He is very disagreeable )
Voters need to educate themselves and do own research.
Hollywood celebrities’ endorsements make me laugh. They know that most voters are stupid.
I am a legal immigrant from Japan and I don’t have a U.S. citizenship so I don’t have a right to vote.
This election is good and sad experience for me to learn one side of America.
I don’t mind to have a president of the Unites States of America who are black, woman or Mormon at all. I will chose who does the best job for this country. I don’t understan why some Christians are so worry about Mormons. If they believe what they believe and you know what is truth, why they do afraid of other religions. U.S. president is for all Americas but not for one group. I am afraid that Mr. Huckabee wants to be a president for a special group.
As McCain, I don’t know where to start……….. American serve and care about others very well and specially LDS people. They do serve others very quiet manners. They don’t need to ask others to pat their sholders after their service. I think if they need to write about what they have done for others, our societies,this country and the other part of the world, we can’t read them all for a day. ( That is my opinion)
They don’t brag about it. That is true spirit of service.
I have never interested in politics before because I can’t vote but my English is getting better and I understood more this time. My $250 was not wasted and I’d like to keep myself open-minded.
Checking candidate’s supporters’ comments speak volume of their candidate.
I care about this country as much as Japan.
I am a very conservative and family is a core of our societies. I agree Mr. Romney 100% about toxic of dependency and irresponsible individual in this country.
It is so sad that he is not running anymore but I don’t have to see or here anti Mr. Romney too much now from MSM and Huckabee, so that part is good. He doesn’t deserve this kind of treatment. I am very disapointed in America for the first time in my adult life… May I say that?
February 24th, 2008 at 10:58 am
I want to add to my comment (54). Many worked hard in Florida, especially with the get out the vote calls; but because of the early voting, many had voted for McCain before Mitt began to surge. Mitt’s rallys were very good, and many were moving towards him.
February 24th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Regarding the Evangelical vote, these two sites are a MUST read….
http://www.article6blog.com/
http://www.evangelicalsformitt.org/
VERY good insight!
February 24th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
One thought for all of us. The convention in Minneapolis is 180 + days from now, 6+ months, with a post convention campaign of less than 60 days. That means the campaign will begin , full bore, in mid March, after Texas and Ohio. If the Republican nominee is down a lot in the polls in August, it will be Sayonara for a lot of delegates and the latest polls in IOWA today have McCain down double digits to Obama. I’ m not so sure McCain can get the nomination, no matter the primaries, if he is getting creamed in the polls by mid Summer. That means , if he’s smart, he will pick a VP early who will help get the campaign on track IN MARCH, not SEPTEMBER. That means instant organization, instant fund raising, instant name recognition and instant support from the party’s conservative base. It also means economic smarts as the campaign will be fought on domestic economics, not foreign policy. If you think the housing sector has financial problems , wait until the credit card debacle starts with the same below prime lending drill. In short, Romney is not just the best pick for McCain, he is the ONLY pick that doesn’t waste the run up to the convention with introductions to America and someone who brings all the instant needs that McCain is desparate for. He’s also great on TV and if you think that’s frivolous, think of Nixon in 1960 and then think of McCain in 2008 with HDTV.
February 25th, 2008 at 1:15 am
Thanks, Peter (#59) for the link to BeliefNet. Confirms in my mind that some on this blog do not understand the Evangelical mindset. We are not as effective at creating evangelists for our cause as the Mormons, but are every bit as passionate about our faith. Which is, in the words of the apologist on the site (Mr Card), “Mormonism is not just another form of Christianity — it is incompatible with ‘traditional Christian orthodoxy.’” That’s why we who are intellectually honest will defend to the death the right of Gov Romney to run for President even as we vehemently oppose his protestations that his religion is not an issue because it’s the same as everyone else’s.
February 25th, 2008 at 1:21 am
I agree this is a great political strategy debate - if you can wade through the side issues. You must understand that, until the convention, there is no candidate. There is a presumed candidate. But he was presumed out of the race last summer. Others were presumed to be the front-runners before. And there’s a lot that can happen to sink a McCain candidacy (as almost happened this week, had the NYT article had had “legs.”)
Also understand that if there is no war, McCain has no platform. His “paygo” approach says for the military to recover from Iraq we will have to boost taxes or print money. Health care? Mortgage mess? Energy? There is no platform there that at the moment that will catch anyone’s attention.
February 25th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
CH.
Thanks for giving us your insight and your oppinion. I’m glad you were openminded enough to see each candidates view and that you came to the conclusion Mitt was the best presidential candidate of the Bunch. We love Japan too!
February 26th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
One other reason that Romney didn’t become the nominee is that our country is in such a sad state of affairs that it can’t even find the right candidate to help it out of the doldrums. Perhaps we are getting precipitously close to that time when the Constitution will indeed hang by a thread. When the Republican voters have trouble distinguishing between a conservative candidate and a Democrat in sheep’s clothing, that’s one indication that we’re heading down a crooked path. And for those who say the Republican ideology doesn’t revolve around conservatism, then why were both McCain and Huckabee trying to paint themselves as conservatives? Why were they trying to distance themselves from their liberal records, hmmm? Just something to think about.
February 26th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
Romney main reason for losing the nomination was because of Huckabee and Paul. The conservative and independant vote was split three times giving McCain the win nearly everytime. Romney almost always finishing a strong second. Thank Huckabee and Paul…..
February 27th, 2008 at 1:11 am
Tyler, if Senator Paul is such a poor candidate, how did his being in the race cause the downfall of GMR? Rustman, time to hit the books again, do some more thinking. The only liberal in our primay was Gulianni, and he was never much of a threat. I’m surprised that you value the Constitution so much, yet you don’t offer even seconary support to a vociferous advocate of the 2nd and 10th Amendment.
February 27th, 2008 at 2:44 am
Hey mike are you insane?!?! Guilianni the only liberial in our primary? I think you need to do a little more research yourself and then determine on what kind of person McCain really is and that includes his voting record.
1. The McCain-Snowe-Dorgan S. 2328, Pharmaceutical Market Access and Drug Safety Act of 2004. :
2. Mccain-Feingold - The infamous assault on the First Amendment primarily and doggedly pursued by John McCain: Here is commentary from various angles.
3. Mccain-Kennedy - The Amnesty and Open Borders Act
4. The Mccain-Edwards-Kennedy tort lawyers wet dream, otherwise known as “The Patient’s Bill of Rights. ”
5. The Keating Five Corruption Scandal: Again, Mark Levin sums this one up:
6. McCain’s attack on swift boat vets:
But the 60-second television commercial, being aired in three battleground states in the presidential race, sparked a furious response Thursday from Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, a former Vietnam prisoner of war, who called the ad “dishonest and dishonorable” and urged the White House to condemn it.
7. John McCain’s class warfare against “the rich” and the Bush tax cuts:
8. McCain’s “Gang of 14″ betrayal of his party in favor of Democrat filibusters against GOP judicial nominations: Mark Levin and Andy McCarthy have the goods.
9. McCain, Gitmo, and full constitutional rights for terrorists: It must be conceded that, thanks to his captivity in Vietnam, John McCain has ample personal reasons to abhor anything the he thinks smacks of mistreatment of prisoners of war. And that is perfectly okay, as long as his feelings are kept on a personal level. Unfortunately, when he elevates his personal feelings to the level of national policy in time of war, he goes badly off the rails.
Another reason why McCain will not recieve my vote…
A Quote from McCain.. “I believe my party has gone astray. I think the Democratic Party is a fine party, and I have no problems with it, in their views and in their philosophy. ”
NEW YORK (CNN) — The New York Times endorsed Arizona Sen. John McCain for the Republican presidential nomination over Rudy Giuliani and the rest of the GOP field, strongly criticizing the former mayor of its home city.
You should be smart enough to know that the New York Times is the most Liberal newspaper in the country. I thought Giulliani was the only liberial in our primary?!?!
He was endorsed by Arnold Schwarzengger and Rudy Giulliani. Hmmmmm it was a no brainer that he would recieve endorsements from them. Both Liberal Republicans. Do you see a trend here mike or do you still believe that there was only one liberal running in the Republican Primary?!?!
If you can sit there with a straight face and say that Gulianni was the only liberial in our primary, I would be shocked and that just tells me how clueless you really are. I shouldnt even have to explain what I put down to a smart guy like you mike.
I never said that Senator Paul is a poor candiate so why are you putting words in my mouth?!?! I said that he helped split the conservative and Independant vote which gave McCain the nomination. More conservatives wanted Romney over Huckabee and Paul. California Results:( McCain: 1,093,560, Romney: 890,855, Huckabee 298,914, Paul, 110,077, Giuliani 120,641). It was like that in majority of all the primaries. Which like I said gave McCain the win. He got nearly 100,000 votesI liked Ron Paul at first but after three primaries it was clear that he would never even come close to recieving the nomination. The next best choice was Mitt Romney and he acutally could of beaten McCain for the nomination if Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee were not in the race. McCain is now the Republican nominiee and when I go to vote in November, I am supposed to see a clear difference between the Republican and the Democrat….. what difference..? I’ll see a Democrat and a two faced Republican who embraces liberialism.
February 27th, 2008 at 9:25 am
McCain never considered Huckabee or Ron Paul to be a threat. His real threat was Romney because Ronmney was doing the right thing and going after McCain records and exposing him for what he really was … Trash and traitor to the Republican Party! Ronmney should of won WV and I think we all know how he lost won it then lost the state. McCain wanted Huckabee to have the win because he viewed Huckabee as no threat to him clinching the nomination. He would rather make sure Huckabee won the state over Romney .. why!?? Because Ronmney was threat to him. Paul’s race in the primaries kind of reminds of Ralph Nader being in the general. Ron will never win a state.. I think everyone knows this. Like I siad, McCain only viewed Romney as his only threat. When this is all said and done, I promise you that McCain will send a thank you note to Huckabee and Paul for splitting the conservative vote giving him(The Republican who embraces Liberalism) the nomination…..
February 27th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
Tyler, of course you are right. (I guess we’ll see plainly if McCain chooses “independent” Lieberman.) The only way to stop McCain right now is to support Huckabee or Paul, or be ready to give away the country to the Democrats. Besides, an embarrasing Huckabee loss in 2008 could make a GMR candidacy in 2012 that much stronger.
February 27th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
Regarding WV, it was Romney’s to lose, and he blew it. McCain was struggling until S Carolina, and did not pick up steam until after Romney imploded. And instead of acting presidential, Romney reacted to the losses by firing personal attacks at everyone else. Made him look weak, as if all he offered was what he wasn’t. If he’d let it slide, he could have been viewed as a great leader, instead of a whiner. It wasn’t Huckabee or Paul’s fault. Mitt did it to himself.