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EDITOR OF REDSTATE

Mitt Romney does good today. Endorses Nikki Haley.

By: Erick Erickson (Diary)  |  March 16th, 2010 at 02:21 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

We’ve been after Mitt Romney for a while for not going all in for Doug Hoffman or Marco Rubio then coming out for Bob Bennett.

Today he is really redeeming himself. Romney is going all in for Nikki Haley in South Carolina. The endorsement comes today. Huge news. CNN is now reporting on it (insert disclosure here related to post below).

Haley is going up in the polls thanks to RedState support.

What do we have to do to organize a money bomb for Nikki Haley? We need to make this happen folks. We need Nikki Haley in the South Carolina Governor’s Mansion.

I hope other 2012 potentials will take note of this. Palin and Pawlenty may have led in on Doug Hoffman, but this is a truly gutsy move for a 2012 candidate to involve himself in South Carolina, given the importance of South Carolina in 2012. Taking sides here is BIG.

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COMMENTS

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  • the_invisible_hand

    I, for one, am completely stunned. :-) Oh and I support Mitt Romney, but this type of zig zag has become sadly typical. I don’t understand his political acumen because it is off and on so much. How he didn’t support guys like Hoffman and Rubio is beyond me. Now what is his rationale for shifting again and now supporting the conservative candidate? He just comes off making everyone skeptical of his true intentions and motives because he is so inconsistent.

  • ColoradoRed

    …very much at all. But that’s been changing more and more lately. I can’t give him too much grief for throwing his support behind John McCain, seeing as McCain’s endorsement in 2012 is going to be huge. Throwing support to Hayworth would’ve been very, very, very politically risky. Presidential candidates have to work around the intra-party politics, but in the case of the race for SC Gov., there is no incumbent and he is therefore free to endorse whomever he pleases.

  • RealQuiet

    He’s not my first choice for president but I have to admire the shrewdness of this play.

  • Swamp_Yankee

    “Ann and I got to know Nikki Haley during my campaign for president and came away enormously impressed with her as a person of character and as the spokesperson for a new generation of leadership for South Carolina,” Romney said. “She has a proven conservative record of fighting wasteful spending and advocating for smaller, more efficient government.”

    Another personal connection.

    Sometimes there is more to endorsements then just making a check lists on the issues. Personal connections, loyalty, relationships, personality, ability, competence, integrity,… are hard to judge from afar. I’m not always keen on automatically throwin my hat into the ring for some candidate deemed the most conservative because just because someone is more conservative doesnt mean they cant suck at campaigning, communicating, leading, being a politician or being a good person in general. I know the mottos around here, but I am more cautious than most.

    Romney has his reasons, whatever they may be. It seems he saw something in her during 2007.

  • robbyshankar

    This is good. I’ve been reading a little bit on Haley and I think she would be a great Governor. I like Romney (but man do I dislike the personal mandate) and think that not only was this was smart on his part, I hope it represents what he feels is good governance.

  • http://www.carolinapoliticsonline.com Don’t Tase Me Bro

    Haley is an outstanding candidate and I plan on voting for her in June. Regarding a money bomb, perhaps you should contact the Rubio or Rand Paul people and find out how they set theirs up.

  • ColoradoRed

    …agree. The most important trait in a candidate is integrity.

  • ColoradoRed

    n/t

  • http://www.neoavatara.com/blog neoavatara

    of Ms.Haley’s. Every conservative in the state should look at her seriously, and if I had my way, vote for her.

  • jimc1969

    I was cautiously optimistic about Romney ( origionally a Fred Thompson supporter last time around, but he dropped out before my state voted, so I went with Mitt ) BUT its inexcusable that he came out for McCain. ( And Bennett too ? YUCK !!! )
    Coloradoreds comments can’t be completely dismissed, but that would have justifed taking NO STAND in these races rather than endorsing BIG TIME RINOs !!!!!
    ( I’d be VERY fearful of who he’d pick as a running mate )
    Though if its betwen Romney & Huckabee, Romney would have my FULL support !!!!

  • jimc1969

    I was cautiously optimistic about Romney ( origionally a Fred Thompson supporter last time around, but he dropped out before my state voted, so I went with Mitt ) BUT its inexcusable that he came out for McCain. ( And Bennett too ? YUCK !!! )
    Coloradoreds comments can’t be completely dismissed, but that would have justifed taking NO STAND in these races rather than endorsing BIG TIME RINOs !!!!!
    ( I’d be VERY fearful of who he’d pick as a running mate )
    Though if its betwen Romney & Huckabee, Romney would have my FULL support !!!!

  • houstoneagle

    .

  • Raven

    He received the smackdown from McCain of all people in ’08 despite being a big name and “serious conteder.” He is not now nor ever was a conservative (anyone remember RomneyCare?). And he’s yesterday’s news. He doesn’t even have the newsworthy quality of being a leader in the GOP.

    What is DeMint up to?
    Rubio?
    Toomey?
    DeVore?

    Are we really so hard up for leaders that we’re turning back to Romney? Or are we just hard up for news on our Real leaders? New news…

  • Aaron Gardner
  • Swamp_Yankee

    tell that to Nicki Haley.

    Complain and whine all you want, but you would be pressed to find a Republican who has worked harder, supported the party, and gave more than Romney.

    Just a simple fact, He’s around because he’s fighting for the cause. And that is not a bad thing.

    Of course , he could wirte a spiteful memo, take his toys home and act like a selfish brat, aka Huckabee. But that is not his style.

  • audax

    If Haley wins SC Governors race, maybe SHE would be Romney’s pick for V-P?????

  • Swamp_Yankee

    I didnt even think of that angle. I doubt it will happen, but intriguing insight.

  • scarlos

    Her term will end in 2014, right when he’s back up for re-election.

  • audax

    I like Romney but have doubts about him being a CONSERVATIVE-NOUN. Voted Thompson in Texas primary even though race had been decided because I didn’t worry a lot about his Conservative-NOUN bone fides.

    Just saying that if Haley turns out to be a Mark Sanford WITHOUT the baggage, She would be a big addition to the GOP “presidential ticket” farm team. Maybe Mitt see’s that too…..

  • Raven

    Must have been too late to be reading this stuff last night when I posted that. Thanks, Aaron.

  • audax

    ….just worried about him as a Conservative-NOUN. RomneyCare case in point number one! When the rubber of smaller government/individuals making better choices for themselves than government; meets the road of Government can make better choices and ahem,,,your gonna pay for it too sucker; just don’t think Romney will come down on the rubbers side.

  • sccrenny

    Been trying to rid us of “Goober” for 6 years now! As for Executive to Senator, there is a lot to be said for national experience prior to VP or Pres.

  • audax

    ….Can’t wait to watch the future unfold….

  • archer52

    You list a serious of professional Republicans that voted against earmarks being stopped. You want them out. Some aren’t bad guys, they just accept that earmarks, as bad as they are, are part of the system.

    Romney is now trying to position himself to gather votes. Does he really care about conservative values? No. He would be a good cabinet member, especially in the financial end, but a President? Can you see him rescinding the healthcare program, if it passes? No, he would try to “fix” it but would let it stay in place.

  • rfpzzzzz

    By the way he actually has financial and business experience which happens to be the really big problem facing the country. He started Bain Capital and I believe was instrumental in founding Staples. He is not just another Goldman type.
    If the citizens of Mass. wanted a health care bill , I am not sure what is constitutionally wrong about that (10th amendment). His view is that it is the state’s right to make these decisions for themselves. I am not really familiar with the particulars of his bill or the Mass electorate’s view of it then and now but states are where many issues should be dealt with constitutionally , I believe.
    The fact that he changed to pro life usually is seen as a positive by conservatives.
    I am open to hear him out but solid financial and business experience is something this government sorely needs and will need for the foreseeable future.

  • http://www.the41stvote.org rcov092

    n/t

  • rfpzzzzz

    I have no idea if he will be prez or if I will vote for him but did the people of Mass want the health care bill when it was signed into law? I don’t know. I think constitutionally if the people of a state want some particular service they have a right to decide it (10th amendment) as long as it does not violate some pre-existing Fed law, I believe.

  • rfpzzzzz

    The Failure of RomneyCare

    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703625304575115691871093652.html?mod=rss_opinion_main

    Having failures in one ‘s past is not a deal breaker for me, honesty is pretty important though. Nevertheless if the people of a state want something , freedom would allow them some latitude to screw up if they want to. Failure is a big part of capitalism.

  • rightwingmom52

    regarding our governor’s race and the 6th district? I’m really interested in redstate’s opinion about our candidates. I’ve donated to most if not all of the candidates you’ve endorsed in other states and am ready to help the Nikki moneybomb, but I’m not feeling the love coming our way.

  • rfpzzzzz

    The truth about Massachusetts health care reform

    http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34588.html

  • Jon_Hill

    it would have to be converted to state HC. That cannot be done but one state at a time. At the federal level you have a power grab. At state level, changes are more easily made. 50 states, 50 diferent programs without the touch, control, enfluence, federal arm twisting, leveraging, threat possibilities and all else.

    Once you know how the MA funding to the private sector works, you understand just how different MA healthcare is from federal MANDATES.