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Mitt Romney For President

my assimilation is complete

By: streiff (Diary) | April 2nd, 2012 at 04:00 AM |

RESIZE: AAA

This has been an extraordinarily difficult primary season for many conservatives, me among them.

Against what is probably the weakest incumbent president since Herbert Hoover, we have managed to field an array of candidates worse than those we had in 2008 and perhaps worse than those competing for the nomination at our low point of 1996.

Our best candidate, Texas Governor Rick Perry, was torpedoed by a lack of preparation on his part. Sure the patent dishonesty of Michele Bachmann’s Tardasil nonsense had an impact as well as the demagoguing of a state educational issue as a soft-on-immigration stance but let’s not excuse the fact that these attacks should have been anticipated by anyone participating in a GOP primary.

For some months I have held the view that conservatives could very well be better served by a President Obama opposed by a Republican Congress than a President Romney working in concert with a decidedly un-conservative Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

The events of the past few weeks have convinced me I was wrong. We are one election away from entering the death spiral to status as a Third World kleptocracy and I believe Governor Mitt Romney, for all his manifest faults, is the best man left standing to prevent that from happening.

To be clear, my endorsement and support of Romney is a function of the actions of President Obama rather than any eighty-leven point plan Romney’s campaign staff has devised to technocrat our way out of a philosophical and moral morass because our fiscal difficulties are merely the symptoms of the true problem.

I developed misgivings about my original strategy in January when Obama made patently illegal recess appointments. These misgivings have increased day by day as the EPA has essentially declared the coal industry illegal, religious liberty has been tossed under the bus in favor of consequence-free sexual gratification, Egypt and Libya have been turned over to either al-Qaeda or its sympathizers, billions of dollars have disappeared into the wallets of Obama donors in the guise of “green energy”, and our European allies have heard Obama tell a fellow kleptocrat that their security is up for grabs in a second Obama term.

None of these actions could have been prevented by a GOP Congress that could not override a presidential veto and there are no circumstances I foresee that gets us to that number of seats in the House and Senate. In the final analysis, the president controls the regulatory agencies and the policy making apparatus of the United States. A determined president can do pretty much what he will so long as he commands at least 35 votes in the United States Senate and the Congress is unwilling to impeach.

I’d feel a lot more comfortable with Governor Romney if I actually had a sense that he believed in anything. I don’t have that feeling and there is nothing in the man’s record that indicates he values principle over expediency. I don’t think bailing out the Salt Lake City Games by digging deep into Uncle Sugar’s pockets demonstrates very much skill, I find his record at Bain nauseating, and the disarray he inflicted upon the Massachusetts GOP gives me pause for the fate of the GOP under a Romney presidency.

On the other hand I have no doubt that the Romney’s will restore a dignity and grace to the White House and the Office of the President that has been trashed by the gauche, nouveau riche, and monumentally entitled Obamas, both the Mom-jeans, weenie-armed Barack and the hulking, hectoring Michelle.

In that way the situation will be similar for Governor Romney as it was for George Bush when the Clampetts departed. I think the Justice Department will again to begin to resemble a place where “justice” is a concern rather than peddling guns to Mexican narcotraficantes, arresting various Walter-Mittyesque groups as terrorists, and engaging in race-baiting of the worst sort. I don’t think the nation’s GPS system will be hamstrung to make a campaign donor very wealthy. We won’t be “investing” in solar panels and other cutesy technologies that have little demonstrable value. The Department of Defense will not be used as some sort of social laboratory to test out the latest academic theories. I will no longer fear for any of our basic rights. In particular, Ann Romney would be a stellar first lady.

This was a difficult choice as I find a lot to like in both Newt Gingrich, whom I have met, and Rick Santorum, whom I have not. Mr. Gingrich, in particular, embodies the enthusiasm for tomorrow that has long been a quintessentially American trademark. Mr. Santorum has demonstrated that morality matters to the electorate and it should not be shunted to the side in either the Fall campaign or in governance.

Unfortunately, both men have flaws that have convinced me they cannot win in November and that if they did win they would be ineffectual. The purpose of this is to not enumerate those flaws beyond the point of saying I have concluded that they outweigh any advantage either man brings to the table.

In closing I wish to acknowledge the surprise this endorsement is sure to cause some RedState readers.

For the past four years I’ve been very critical of Governor Romney and I continue to stand by those criticisms (read above if you have any doubts). Significantly for blogging in his support, I continue to find his supporters, with the possible exception of those I’ve yet to encounter, to be among the most ignorant, dishonest advocates of any candidate, anywhere, anytime possessing a blindness to facts and a subservience that borders on cult-like. I intend to continue to ban them at the slightest opportunity.

So after much soul searching I’ve decided to climb up on the roof, snuggle in beside Seamus, and enjoy the ride.

COMMENTS

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http://www.doctor-bob.biz rsklaroff

As Santorum’s stridency/arrogance and Mitt’s gaffes/elitism accumulate, the “tortoise” labors on, setting the tone for the fundamental debate rhetorically and stylistically.

If Mitt defeats Santorum in April–and prompts him to recede after losing PA–there are plenty of delegates to accumulate prior to the end of June.

True, Perry would have been ideal, and this narrative overlooks the blow-by-blow of how he was decimated by Mitt, et al. [including the SCUM...so-called unbiased-media, per the appellation of Galveston], but does no one recall the prospect of watching The Newt pick-apart BHO during debates?

http://www.doctor-bob.biz rsklaroff

It was “Flagstaff” who coined the abbreviation “SCUM”; I had previously used MSM/LSM/ELM [with the ELM denoting the Establishment-Leaning Media]. Remember the “N-word” Rock? Tuition-decreases for kids of illegals? Gardisil’s “mental retardation” side-effect? The Perry Posse won’t forget!

Streiff, you remain premature, perhaps goaded by the spate of endorsements and encouraged by the “narrative.” You overlook the scorched-earth campaign Mitt has conducted. All of the benefits to be accrued via your projection of Mitt’s victory would be enjoyed by any R…and it will be far easier to lock-in “fly-over-America” with someone who doesn’t smack of Rockefeller-RINO’ism.

My stance may be diminishing [among the RS "electorate"], but look @ the emerging discussion of the Veep-stakes as a metaphor, for most handicappers invoke this as a vehicle to plug weaknesses. On one of the interview shows yesterday–after running the usual-suspect-gamut and including NM’s first-term gubernatorial-star–the patter of accumulated-deficiencies [involving upwards of a dozen characteristics] provoked a shared-guffaw among the panelists as the commercial-break approached.

[*]Mitt remains what he has been, a poor advocate of conservative principles; listen to Rush’s in-between-the-lines lamentations for documentation, as he off-the-cuff quotes what The Newt has said regarding whatever issue he might be eviscerating. [*]

A contested-convention could select The Newt, and allow the punditry-class to pontificate about the “electability” parameter [which permeates this post]. Mitt’s failure to reach-out [even to GESTURE towards] the Evangelicals, TEA [Taxed-Enough-Already] Party Movement, the Constitutional Conservatives, the Blue-Collar Reaganites…he doesn’t merit the reward of capitulation from a principled effort which [not too long ago] was driving the process.

Do not forget that Rick Perry could help The Newt prevail in Texas [assuming those who SHOULD promote his exposure STOP ridiculing his yeoman's efforts]. Do not forget that the not-Mitt blocs remain definable, and not enthused currently; if memory serves, another recent poll still puts the “I want the candidate chosen @ the convention” GOP-segment @ ~40%.

I may be accumulating people to join me @ the Alamo, but Mitt remains too focused on appearing “moderate” for the fall campaign. He has not staked-out any position forthrightly during the past YEAR [if not half-decade], and he continues to sport all the trappings of Bob Dole [minus a stellar military record and strong legislative experience and likability and the absence of mis-statements and...].

wennejunk

Between debate rules that effectively muzzled him to the POTUS declining to debate him more than once – all we would get is a bristling, angry Newt pacing about like an kenneled dog that desperately needs to go outside.

http://www.doctor-bob.biz rsklaroff

…or did you forget the Standing-O’s that he uniquely received?

There are already two debates scheduled, and excerpts therefrom would presumably be embedded in subsequent ads.

The Newt has demonstrated poise and focus and the ability to cite data…off the top of his head…and he could project a “Presidential” mien that simultaneously could puncture the elitism projected by the TOTUS, denuded of his teleprompter.

habeumnominee

I think that Newt got a standing o for challenging the moderator for challenging Newt on the issue of whether or not he tried to force his second wife to consent to some type of swinging relationship with Callista.

That gets a standing o? I’d rather hear ol’ Newt discuss policy. I bet his support for an individual mandate on health care didn’t get too many standing o’s. Not even in South Carolina.
Melody Warbington (rwm52)

if only he had shown up for the Presidential Forum sponsored by the AL-GOP. Then again, probably not which is most likely why he didn’t bother. Why reach out to those pesky conservatives? I mean, it’s not like we were serving grits or anything.
snowshooze

Everbody knows it now.
Heck, he has nothing to gain… everything to lose.
Why debate?
acat

Romney doesn’t want to be tied into a position.

That’s good strategy, much as I dislike the result.

Mew
snowshooze

You’d have to find one that wasn’t flying all over before you could tie him to it.
acat

He’s a weather vane, he’s gotta be free.

That’s, *as a strategy*, not a bad choice…. it just means all of the “I stand for X” stuff is going to come in the general.

This is part of why I expect to hear a vast wailing and gnashing of teeth (and quiet retreating) by the moderate/squishies in the GOP .. because there’s no way Romney can *win* without some rather conservative-tinged vision casting.

Mew
acat

(just as we saw with Dole, McCain, Bush 1.0 … give the squishies what they want and they realize they didn’t want it after all …)
goodgovernance

Or does the fact Mitt has hired a lobbyist for just one of his beach houses pretty much removed that from the table?

naraht

The parties decided when and where the debates would be in October 2011. the only way for Obama to avoid the debates without it being a bigger hit than debating Gingrich would be to have a brand new war (Iran, North Korea) or a 9/11 level act of Terrorism..

snowshooze

Bucause Mitt WILL meltdown again.
Barring that, my remaining hope will withstand the wait all the way to the convention just fine.
Somehow, I just don’t give a dang enough, or somehow i don’t feel the need to jump aboard a trainload of crazies.
Naw, I am content to let this play out in the time allotted. As scheduled. According to plan. All that.
But wait!!! There’s More!!!
If you buy during this commercial—–You will get a second Mitt Romney wind up Doll at ABSOLUTELY NO additional charge!!!!
You just pay the small extra shipping fee….
Call NOW!!! Lines are open!!! MC/VISA/AMX

habeumnominee

They’re going to go up in value after he’s sworn in as president next year.

goodgovernance

Just looking at the terrain ahead, and the candidates’ relative shortcomings (from a purely political, not ideological, standpoint).

I’m for the nominee even if it is Romney.

http://www.doctor-bob.biz rsklaroff

You “kill with faint praise” when you note The Newt “embodies the enthusiasm for tomorrow that has long been a quintessentially American trademark,” and then proceed to allude to his defects.

If we are again recalling of his three wives, let’s not continue to play the D-game of holier-than-thou [after he has led a stable existence for two decades and has provided a roll-model during this entire millennium]. If we are again pondering his lobbying, let’s not forget his American Solutions think-tanks [and note the quality track-record he developed regarding energy-related concerns]. If we are recalling his advocacy for everyone to buy health insurance of post a bond…well…he STILL hasn’t completely dissipated that cloud wafting overhead [apologies to Wonkish1 & JSobieski], but hope springs eternal.

Santorum’s moralism would kill-off any potential Indie-support, and The Newt has sufficiently integrated this parameter [remember the Frank Luntz Evangelical experience in Iowa]. Yes, there is that claim that Mitt could grow among swing-voters, but does anyone recall the enthusiasm ignited in 1980?

Locked and Loaded

A double entendre and a Freudian slip right there together. You have neatly summed up two of the traits that quite bother people about Gingrich.
Lynn Otting

that Romney has 3 or 4 former EPA cap and trade supporters on his staff? There are so many things to dislike about Romney, but I have come to the conclusion that you can’t fight the establishment and win this primary. While I will not actively support Romney until this primary is officially over, I will vote for him and try to get as many people as I can to vote for him because Obama scares the heck out of me. With that said, I do not think he believes in conservative values enough to fight for them. I think he will compromise too much as he did in MA and I am skeptical he will appoint conservatives to his staff or the judiciary. I honestly don’t think it will matter if he is moderate, but I hope I am wrong. Not even Romney could be as destructive a leader as Obama. I certainly don’t think he would sell out our allies and support our enemies.
http://theheartlander.wordpress.com/ heartlander

…because if there were even the vaguest hint of a whiff of a rumor of the slightest chance of hanky-panky, the MSM and the GOP Establishment would be all over it.

jaykali

Just sayin’…

jaykali

And Sheldon Adelson. The fat lady has sung.

jimmyg

Chalk against the blackboard= “the Newt”

habeumnominee

Kind of like how the fat kid’s nickname is always either “Slim” or “Tiny”.
Lynn Otting

continue to be as disrespectful as the you, then I can promise you, he will not be winning in November.
jaykali

I don’t mind Newt in some respects, sometimes he will create a great talking point that really gets to the heart of the matter. He is just not a viable candidate at all, Santorum isn’t even a viable candidate anymore. I just wish we could get on with this thing. Santorum had his chance to unseat Romney and he couldn’t get there. He is talking brave now, but he is going to drop out this month for sure. There is no way this goes to convention, that is a stupid idea that I think has gain steam bc it makes for a nice blog here and there but it makes no sense by any measure.
snowshooze

With Romney’s help.
Romney, off script is a nightmare. So long as he stays away from debates, keeps his opinions to himslef and doesn’t talk to any reporters… he will be just fine.
Quite a strategy there.
jaykali

He needs to get like 80% of the delegates.

Romney has issues just like everyone else does. He was at least smart enough to avoid the Birth Control quick sand that Santorum gleefully jumped into head first. That was probably the beginning of the end for Rick who I like to call ‘sour face’.
snowshooze

He could say something dumb enough to pull this off.
Like what he really thinks.
jaykali

He is going to be our nominee at this point, it looks like sour grapes for the other candidates who can’t let go. I don’t think it’s a great strategy to continually tear down the de-facto nominee at this point.

http://www.nighttwister.com NightTwister

Newt was dead after Florida. He and Santorum are now just political versions of Weekend at Bernie’s.

denoff51

I did not vote in 1996 because I could not bring my self to vote for Dole. I held my nose and voted for McCain (Palin actually) in 2008. Now I feel I have no choice but to vote for Romney. Obama must go and he must go fast.
God help us all if he is re elected.

http://www.doctor-bob.biz rsklaroff

…because we must displace BHO, although the individual best prepared to do so [who is continuing to campaign] remains The Newt.

Leon H. Wolf

-nt

http://www.doctor-bob.biz rsklaroff

hope springs eternal

http://bobnew.com robertnew

Regardless of issues look at Romney’s past performance in elections. He is unelectable because of his shear inability to campaign. The closer we get to his “inevitable nomination” the more he proves it.

His inept staff will be no match against the campaign machine who outsmart and out campaigned the Clinton powerhouse.

habeumnominee

But he’s light-years ahead of Little Newton and Sweater-vest Santorum.

I think that Mitt has the likeability of Bush. He’s not as trusted by the far right as Bush was. But Bush ran Washington as a moderate Republican would. So being trusted by the far right does not guarantee conservative governance.

Mitt will be kept in check by Speaker Boehner and Majority Leader McConnell. Obamacare will be rolled back. The Bush tax cuts will be made permanent (or at least extended for 10 more years). And the economy will rebound once companies know that they won’t be expected to fund Obamacare.

Lynn Otting

At least you are admitting that Romney will not lead as a conservative. Obviously, the more you spew off childish remarks in an effort to promote your candidate, the less you impress anyone to vote for him.
http://bobnew.com robertnew

Romney can’t beat Obama. Look at his past elections. When he ran against Kennedy he had it won and blew it. It is the same story every time he runs. He couldn’t beat McCain, the worst campaigner in modern history. It has nothing to do with how would govern, you have to get there first.

standingonthewall

When the candidates are selected and the general campaign begins, the MSM will carry water for Obama. Any Republican nominee will become the bad guy, the for-the-rich guy, or the dumb guy, or the out of touch guy, or all-of-the-above and then some.

Romney would be running with the MSM wind in his face, not at his back. In the general Mitt will not have a funding advantage.

Mitt is not a great campaigner. Take away his funding advantage and throw a hostile MSM at him…

Rack up one more election loss for Mitt. Only this time when he loses, we will all suffer.

streiff

our candidates. Gingrich is by far the best of the three on the trail but none of them are terribly polished. Their staffs suck,
JSobieski

Romney had to throw some hard punches to beat Newt and Rick. The odds that he will be similarly aggressive against Obama are low.

habeumnominee

He’s sticking it to him for trying to work a backdoor deal with the Russians. He’s promised to repeal all of Obamacare.

If anything, this primary season has proven that Mitt can keep his cool while fending off attacks from all sides.

streiff

that is all.
Lynn Otting

he doesn’t do it in a manner that gets massive media attention….
JSobieski

If you could stop spinning for more than 5 seconds and actually address my point, you might actually help the public debate on this.

The problem with so much of the Romney advocacy (and the advocacy of his supporters) is that it is far more rude to the right than it is the center.

Romney 2012: Because you really do prefer spinach to chocolate, you just won’t admit it to yourself

Romney 2012: Because otherwise, Romney will run again for a first term in 2016 and a second term in 2020

Romney 2012: Because the Borg are here, and there is no Picard to save us

raginpatriot

I’ve come to accept the “inevitability” of Romney getting the nomination. After all, the GOP hasn’t nominated a genuine conservative in almost 30 years (Reagan in 1984). The Bushes were arguably “conservative” in foreign matters, but big spending liberals on the domestic front. And Dole / McCain need no elaboration.

As with grief, I’ve come to the acceptance stage that this country I love is probably now terminal — the 100 year Progressive (incremental) assault is about to pass the tipping point of irreversibility.

If Obama wins — likely given Romney’s manifest weaknesses as a candidate and the record of GOP moderates losing — his second term, unbridled by a re-election need to pretense moderation, will become ever-more resemblant of fascism.

If Romney wins, as is the “moderate Republican” wont, this beta-tester for Obamacare will serve as the groundskeeper for the newly planed Obama garden, which will take root and become permanent under his watch.

RIP America, you were the shining city on the hill. To the Founding Fathers, thank you for what you bequeathed us, and shame on us for allowing the GOP to let it slip from our grasp.

To our progeny, your cursing of us will be well-placed.

http://www.doctor-bob.biz rsklaroff

…for you have not accurately cited/traversed Elisabeth K?bler-Ross.

http://grief.com/the-five-stages-of-grief/

They are: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance.

No one can DENY that Mitt was the front-runner all along, but few can dispute the fact that he promoted ANGER in the not-Mitt contingent via his aggressive negative-campaigning. There was no BARGAINING with him [and his super-PAC] when it came to efforts to convince him that he was compromising his ability to unify the party via this degree of [many would feel] unnecessary destructiveness. This is why so many Republicans are DEPRESSED when envisioning the Fall campaign [assuming he's to represent "conservative" values]…and this is why ACCEPTANCE remains so evasive.

Soooooo, let’s all take a deep breath, agree that Walt Kelly’s “Pogo” remains applicable ["the enemy is us"] if we don’t guard against remembering that BHO must be defeated, and strategize accordingly.

I still like The Newt, I still feel Perry would have been ideal [before he allowed himself to be bushwhacked, no pun intended], but I will surely vote for Mitt if he emerges [scathed] from this process.

http://www.doctor-bob.biz rsklaroff

…I have employed this construct with-a-twist.

These are not actually tiers that yield Nirvana; rather, they are emotional reactions to any insult, and they can occur simultaneously and repetitively.

Thus, “America” might quote Twain [corrupting his words] by stating: “The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated for, they are at-least premature.”

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/marktwain141773.html

Chin-up!

redstateneck

Obviously, Obama is more socialist than true democrats ever intended. He is the cancer destroying our nation with his soft words forcing us to eliminate the middle class.

The other cancer is the party of the republican party that fails to understand politics. If you can’t support Romney because you thought the other guys had a chance then you’re smokin’ something. If you can’t support Romney because the party leadership selected him then try to become a leader in the party. The cancer of the bigoted wing of the party may ironically be what allows the dems to rule. That would be ashamed. After the fodder lands, their was not the raving lunatic candidate that the ultra right wing could support. All the candidate were really moderate and pragmatic. None of them were really scortched earth conservatives.

http://www.doctor-bob.biz rsklaroff

…because one cannot equate the danger inherent in the D’s progressive-malignancy with that of the R’s RINO-infestation.
Lynn Otting

the Republican Party has in you. The cancer in the Republican Party could possibly the childish name calling that emerges when the members are not willing to give up until the primary is over.

rightlane1111

I, like you, will vote for Romney IF he is the nominee. There is one big difference between the Democratic Party infested with Socialistic (if not more to the left) ideology than RINO ideology..IMHO. It is imperative that we get Obama out of office and it is imperative that we get more Conservative members of Congress and get Harry Reid out of the leadership in the Senate.

habeumnominee

We nominated “Read My Lips” Bush and beat the liberal Dukakis in 40 states.

Why? Because the American public trusts moderate-to-conservative Republicans more than they trust liberals.

1992 and 1996 don’t count when you look at past elections because in those elections, Clinton was able to effectively market himself as a “centrist”.

BHO is no centrist. Not by any stretch of the imagination. His approval ratings are still below 50%. A three-legged dog should be able to beat him.

papabear

Unfortunately, Obama has already provided the closing argument for Empty Mittens.

It is a terrible choice to have to make:

Bad vs. Evil
westcoastpatriette

I am not there yet. That is, I am not able to form coherent reasons for who I support for the Presidency. I seem only to be able to speak in the negative such as “this wouldn’t be as bad as that” or “if only this would happen…” I suppose the only conclusion for me will be ABO and I will remain a passive observer of the process. Can’t fake enthusiasm or manufacture strong stances for any of them.
infiltr8tr

I enjoyed your tome, but I think your missing something – something VERY important if Mitt loses. Despite the fact that the Tea party gave the GOP control of the house back, we still have 1 – party rule, I’ve read the articles here for the last year and every day there is at least one that hgihlights how the GOP “leadersip” has caved on nearly everything that Obongo & his crime syndicate have put before them (And in far too many cases, gone around them illegally.) without so much as a raised eyebrow.
What makes you think that they’ll act any different if he gets a second term? I for one don’t think they will. They won’t call this guy, or his party out on the carpet for fear of, well, pick your reason; The media saying nasty things about them, et al. Regardless of who wins, the “leadership” must go, otherwise nothing will get done, or stopped. I’d love to see Demint as the leader in the senate and maybe West, or Pence over in the house.
But saying that the GOP will be a counter to Obongo in the house, I think is way off the mark. And if he does win a second term, all bets are off, you think things are ugly now?

streiff

I’m guessing no because I spent the second half of it making the point that you’re claiming I’ve missed.

adamsweb

Like all the establishment folks that’ve been put up: Dole, McCain, and George H.W. Bush without the aura of Reagan in ’92, Romney isn’t electable.

When a vast section of the GOP believes our nominee sucks, but will vote for him for ideological purposes. In fact, take a look at his nationwide favorable numbers and it’s 34% Favorable, 50% Unfavorable. And he’s electable?
scook84

We “must” vote for the RINO because if we do not, “we will all surely die”. So we vote for the RINO. Conservative principles die as there is no one who advocates on its behalf. The Tea Party revolution of 2010 is largely forgotten, the continual slide toward statism continues under the guise of “compromise”. The same people who villified O’Donnell, Angle, and Palin will continue the “go-along-to-get-along” and, once again, individual freedom dies a little bit more.

I think Thomas Paine said it best: “I know not what course other men might take, but as for myself, Give me liberty, or give me death!”

No Mitt, No How, No Way! Either the RINO’s and other socialists are defeated or we start another party.

I tire of these games.

angryguy77

on.
Jack_Savage

Things are what things are. Conservatives got outsmarted, outmoneyed and outworked by Romney. Simple as that. The establishment ran one candidate, we ran thirty-seven, and split our votes. It’s either Romney, or Obama, Period.

In my view conservatives should have a convention BEFORE the first primary. We pick a candidate, then roll with one. Until that time, the one moderate will always, always, always beat the herd of conservatives.

hls87

Conservatives only had one candidate. That part we got right. The problem was that candidate entered late and most conservative voters couldn’t find him, or anything else, with both hands and a flashlight.

The conventional progressives like Romney are always going to win GOP nominations until conservatives can both cultivate and recognize serious candidates. The lesson of 2012 is that most conservatives can’t tell at a glance that even such ridiculous candidates as Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich won’t fly. As long as we have to contend with that sort of blindness, we will be at a crippling strategic disadvantage in presidential politics.

Jack_Savage

I agree that Perry was the man, but I believe that he was woefully unprepared. The simple fact is that in today’s political world you need to make points in sound bites and be very, very quick on your feet. He could do neither, which hurt him terribly. I blame Perry and his campaign staff more than conservative voters.

I also agree that some candidates never had a chance, but I will say that they exhibited traits that were top on the list for some voters. For example, values voters had no choice but Santorum. Those who wanted to see Obama gutted like a fish in the debates voted Gingrich. Those who perceive Romney as most electable voted for him, and so on.

We’ll be fine in 2016, either way I believe.

http://www.doctor-bob.biz rsklaroff

…because, if nothing else, all efforts must be trained on 2012!
Jack_Savage

But we also need to mull how to get a more conservative nominee as time rolls on.
scook84

You have 1 RINO against 3-4 conservatives fighting in mostly liberal/moderate enclaves. The game is rigged. The 3-4 conservative get the majority of the votes, but the 1 RINO wins the primary.

This must stop. No Mitt, No How, No Way.
hls87

But you’re cutting the voters too much slack.

I don’t carry any brief for the Perry campaign’s preparation, but its failure to prepare isn’t really an excuse for the electorate’s failure to understand the choices before it. A certain amount of floundering comes with the territory when a candidate tries to put together a presidential campaign just a year before the nominating convention. If the conservative electorate weren’t hopelessly naive it would have understood that, embarassing moments aside, Perry was their only alternative to Romney and that Romney was flatly unacceptable.

Nor is it any excuse to say that the electorate was looking for qualities in a candidate Perry lacked but Santorum or Gingrich had. Anyone who believed that the fall debates (or debate) would be structured to permit the Republican candidate to humiliate Obama or that doing so would contribute to electoral victory, is too stupid to be allowed outside off a leash. Anyone who thought Rick Santorum and his brand of undisciplined social issue advocacy could win a national election, is similarly impaired. If conservatives failed to nominate a minimally acceptable candidate in 2012 because some of them wanted a debate performer and some of them wanted a social issue crusader with logorreah, we need a smarter, better educated electorate.

I’m reminded of one of my favorite political moments. Many years ago there was a prison riot in Georgia. Governor Lester Maddox was asked about how to avoid such problems in the future. As I remember it, he said such things were bound to happen “until we get a better class of inmate.” Republicans are in the same situation. We’re going to keep on getting hopeless nominees until we get, or at any rate shape, a better class of conservative voters. The ones we have are, unfortunately, clueless.
Jack_Savage

And I think you hit the nail on the head with this line:

“We?re going to keep on getting hopeless nominees until we get, or at any rate shape, a better class of conservative voters.”

Emphasis on “shape”. I think the genius of Ronald Reagan was that he spoke truth consistently, and in a fashion everyone could understand, because he actually believed it. My point would be that it is up to the potential nominees to shape the voters, just as Reagan was able to do, and if they are not able to the fault lies more with them than the voters. Not by much, mind you, but it still does.
hls87

And our small slice of America’s intelligensia. It’s not just the candidates that need to shape a better electorate. There’s no way that can be done effectively in a single electoral cycle in any case. You go into a primary fight with the electorate you have . . . .

Where were the opinion leaders telling voters that Bachmann, Cain, Santorum and Gingrich were mere distractions? Most of the respectable commentators devoted themselves to Romney apologetics and welcomed the distractions because they shaped the race in Romney’s favor. Others were beguiled by one or more ersatz candidates and couldn’t bring themselves, or anyone else, back to reality.

Long before the primary process got underway, commentators should have been laying the groundwork. For the last four years every conservative with a keyboard should have been hammering the theme that the progressive project is collapsing and the Republican Party has to propose a genuine alternative. It didn’t happen and we remain stuck within a rapidly decaying paradigm.

There’s a lot of work to do. My greatest fear in this situation is that a Romney victory would make most of that work impossible as conservatives turn from proposing an alternative to the progressive world view to defending their own progressive President. We can’t afford another 8 years of the sort of conservative stagnation we experienced under GWB.

What a mess we have all made.
Jack_Savage

“We can?t afford another 8 years of the sort of conservative stagnation we experienced under GWB.”

My hope, and prayer, is that a newly organized and energized segment of the party won’t stand for it.

http://www.thestandardcandle.com Justin Spagnolo

We already do have conventions prior to first primary.

Our expectations regarding how voters ‘ought’ to vote, are sorely misplaced. We already have conservative gatherings prior to election season… CPAC, Redstate Gathering, Family Research Council, etc. Not one of them were able to provide consensus on a Not-Romney… and that’s because the social conservatives had their not-Romney, and the fiscal-conservatives had their not-Romney, and the foreign policy/immigration conservatives were left wondering which not-Romney they should support in the wake of the tension between the social/fiscal conservatives…

Conservatives come in many stripes… and consensus is impossible even if you’re a Reagan Coalition styled conservative… because many of the ‘conservative’ mindset, are really issue-driven factions without a party. It’s not a bad thing to be issue-driven, it is however impossible to convince one issue-driven group to align with another issue driven group, when there will always be candidates that fail to lead out on all issues, or candidates that attempt to prove how much more “pure” they are than the other candidates. (and by ‘pure’ I’m referencing the debates which were really media driven sound-bites where candidates were forced to prove how they are more authentic on an issue than the other candidate).

In my opinion we had a ‘balanced’ conservative in Rick Perry, but too many conservatives were too quick to accept the media narrative that he’s a gaffe machine, unworthy to debate Obama…

So instead the ‘not-Romney’ candidates hit the same ceiling as the ‘pro-Romney’ supporters… being divided on who best represents the issue-driven factions… the division of conservative issue-driven factions led to a coalescing around the ‘front-runner not-Romney’… and those holding out now, are those that are so issue-driven they’ve convinced themselves that it would be a literal sin to support Romney… This is what happens when you spend the better part of a year and a half saying the worst possible things you can say about another candidate…

Conservatives in the ‘not-Romney’ camp are just as negative as Romney has been with his competing candidates…

I for one believe that there is no purity to be found in ANY of the candidates, but I think the purity issues are more the fault of conservatives than they are the candidates themselves.

Jack_Savage

If Romney governs as a conservative, then good for us. If he doesn’t, he is a placeholder until we can primary him. Our bench will be four years tougher and wiser.

The simple fact is that you are exactly correct about the President’s grip on policy and the regulatory machine. If Romney did nothing more than promise to dismantle the latter he would have my full support. At any rate, we have to stop this disaster and arrest the decline before the opportunity is gone forever. If we have to do it with Romney, so be it.
http://haroldmccoy.com Harold McCoy

but my largest problem again this primary cycle is the call to end everything early for the sake of a presumed nominee. Being a Pennsylvania resident, this will make the second primary in a row where our state voices will not be heard. And while I can understand the time and resources argument, it was presented the same way last time and to what end?

It’s also deja vu all over again except the scorecard has changed the names. An intelligent person with a memory remembers Romney dropping out in favor of McCain, and can only make the connect this time that it is felt it is “his turn”.

It truly distresses me that late staters, like Pennsylvania, are constantly told to sacrifice for the greater good. But what is more distressing is this seemingly unending battle to “be first” in primaries that only give the opposition more time and fuel to win elections.

I, for one, want a knock-down, drag-out battle to the last vote and then an edge-of-the-seat convention process that will yield a feel-good story that will change the tone and timber of this cycle. I will hold out that hope until what some are working so hard for occurs – our defeat at the hands of a non-winner.

http://theheartlander.wordpress.com/ heartlander

jaykali

I hate to be obvious man, but this should be fairly obvious to people. No matter how much of a ‘RINO’ you think someone is, at some point you have to rally around ‘the guy’ just like Paul Ryan and Marco Rubio and everyone else bc 4 years more of Obama isn’t an option. You can’t ram through legislation with even 2 houses in control, even a super-majority would be difficult as you would need a super-super-majority to override vetoes. Anyways this should be obvious, but let’s get this thing over with and focus on the positives of a Mitt Romney who I think you’ll find is going to have a broad appeal in a national election.
salemst

I’m an across the board conservative–as conservative as anyone here. All issues. Mitt Romney is, and will be, a Reaganesque campaigner and president, when elected.

The problem within my fellow conservative ranks are these…

1) Many conservatives judge candidates/people based on if what they say today is the same as 2008, 2002, 1994, 1974…..and if not, “they’re RINOS” not to be trusted. This conservative believes people can and do change their views–far more important is “did he do what he campaigned/said he was going to do?” Living in Massachusetts–Romney did EXACTLY what he campaigned on in 2002 while governor, or more conservatively. I welcome aboard people to the conservative cause. I was a Reagan Democrat. If you don’t welcome converts, why proselytize? When one converts to Christianity don’t you accept them into your church welcoming with both arms?

2) Many conservatives believe everyone’s nothing more than a lying recycled politician. That politicians always shamelessly lie (cause they do). Romney’s obviously not a politician, as Streiff pointed out, based on his campaigning. Romney is authentic, choppy. He’s not a politician. He’s a businessman. If you know most successful businessmen over a period of time they have one thing in common…..they have enormous integrity. If they lie to their clients and staff, they’re eventually sooner rather than later out of business. I trust the successful businessman to keep his word WAY more than 2 recycled politicians believing the presidency is public sector career advancemen, or promotion, from Congress.

3) Final lesson. It is equally conservative fighting/slowing down/stopping liberalism in a liberal state like Massachusetts as it is is to advance conservatism in a conservative state like Texas.

Think about it.

Mitt Romney will be Ronald Reagan II–and a far better government cost cutter. RUTHLESS, as he was in Massachusetts.

streiff

but don’t spoon up baby-sh** and tell me it’s butterscotch on my story. Read the next to the last paragraph again.

Jack_Savage

Replacing “Don’t piss on my leg and tell me it’s raining.”

But I do pray that he is correct.
salemst

I read your next to last paragraph again. I live in Massachusetts. Grew up in Newton at the time Father Drinan was our Rep, and is now Barney Frank’s district roughly 6-7 miles West of Boston.

I was here when Romney was Governor. I know what he did. I know how he campaigned. I saw the results. He came in exactly as he campaigned, a fiscal hawk and social moderate. He left as a fiscal hawk and social conservative. He NEVER veered left from how he campaigned, only as he campaigned or right.

My point is Romney is credible. What he says he’ll do based on his track record as governor. The political landscape here is awful. Romney had a 145-15 Democrat House (He need 16 GOPers to sustain his veto), 35-5 Democrat Senate, vetoed 844 times in four years, liberal majority state Supreme Court, 42% Democrat, 42% Independent, and 14% GOP voter registration yet was tremendously successful in fiscal responsibility and slowed down best he could liberal cultural values.

Thus, I say give him a break. He had a much tougher landscape than Reagan. Perry? can’t hold a candle to what Mitt Romney did here under the circumstances.

streiff

if you think Romney was a success in Massachusetts good on you. I think that position is ludicrous. I think he would agree with me because he declined to run for reelection rather than take the spanking that was coming his way.

Be that as it may, I don’t intent to argue that with you because we are never going to agree on how we see the man.

salemst

Romney succeeded doing what he was elected to do–turn around our financial mess. He took a 3 Billion deficit and turned it into a 2 Billion surplus. Otherwise, we’re a liberal state so of course he wouldn’t have been re-elected again.

He was too CONSERVATIVE for Massachusetts. He did his job, and it was time to go. I knew it. Massachusetts knew it. And Mitt Romney knew it.

Wasn’t cause he failed. It’s because he succeeded.

habeumnominee

That doesn’t make a lot of sense.

I’m way more excited about Romney than I was about McCain in 2008.

And I find your reference to Romney supporters as being “bordering on cult-like” a snide reference to all of the ugly attacks on Romney’s religion.

Just sayin’.

streiff

you’re gone. I’m not going to be accused of bigotry by you.

http://www.thestandardcandle.com Justin Spagnolo

I called him out within his first 3 comments on Redstate… I just knew it would come to this…

It’s very annoying to have ‘chip on the shoulder’ folks put meaning into your words that were never intended…

This guy had the nerve to call me ‘Bro. Spagnolo’… I suspect he was more than a Romney-Candi-bot… that language I believe points to him being an ‘injured feelings-Mormon Republican’ that sees Romney as heaven’s gift to the world… As a Mormon… this ‘blind-faith’ in a fellow faither… is a failure to separate identity politics from manifest destiny…

it was only a matter of time. good show my man!

salemst

I 100% agree with you. McCain campaigned appealing to “Vegetarians” deliberately eschewing conservatism refusing to hit Obama. Romney’s running conservative hammering Obama when he gets the opportunity in the primary campaign.

I dragged my rear end to the polls in 2008. Palin got me excited to get down there, not McCain.

As you stated, I support Romney cause he has vastly superior to all other candidates running–it isn’t close. We need an economic transformation in this era of globalization so America can prosper with middle and upper middle class jobs creation. Only Romney understands how to do this. Newt and Santorum are public sector creatures. That won’t work today. Romney’s had executive experience as a ruthless government cost cutter–Newt and Santorum hasn’t. Romney’s far more intelligent than either. This isn’t even close.

It’s not about “cult like” support. Romney is the most capable, best experienced, and smartest candidate we have, who also happens to be squeaky clean with an exceptional wife/family. I rate McCain a 45 on a 1-100 scale. Romney an 85, with the chance to be higher when elected and with a GOP Congress.

http://theheartlander.wordpress.com/ heartlander

I’ll listen to your arguments, but no way do I buy that Mitt’s more intelligent than Newt.
salemst

Romney graduated Harvard in 1975 with concurrent double degrees…..MBA in top 5% of his class and JD Cum Laude graduating in the top 20% of his class.

Combining his education with his non profit, government, and real private sector business experience wisdom attained starting up a company making it enormously profitable/successful there’s no way Newt compares to him in overall intelligence/wisdom.

Newt has a million ideas, 5% of which may be worth considering.
JSobieski

Steve Jobs
Bill Gates
Warren Buffet
Frankly, all of the silicon valley guys (Oracle, Intel, Google,

Political ntelligence and public policy intelligence hardly correlate to intelligence generally.

Moreover, educational credentials are even less revealing.

Was Jimmy Carter smarter than Rush Limbaugh? Carter was the only US president who could solve a differential equation.

Is Obama smarter than Reagan? Reagan had a BS from Eureka college.

It is precisely these arguments from Romney supporters that force me to write refutations.
Melody Warbington (rwm52)

of one’s intellect. Didn’t Obama go to Harvard?

I’ll take Newt’s accomplishments over Romney’s any day. In fact, I wrote a diary about them here. Since 2002 when Romney won election as MA governor by calling himself a moderate with progressive ideas, what has he done besides serve one term as governor, write a book, and run for POTUS?

Oh, yeah, Romneycare.
salemst

My point was made, Romney is more intelligent than Newt.

As for Conservatism, I believe Romney’s the most conservative candidate in the race. Reaganesque, and a superior cost cutter.

By the way, I opposed Romneycare. But Massachusetts citizens wanted a healthcare system. If it weren’t for Romneycare, we’d have been stuck via ballot initiative with Universal Healthcare. I’ll take Romneycare created through the Heritage Foundation market run over Universal created by and run by government, if I had to choose.
Melody Warbington (rwm52)

of Romney’s intelligence. I counter that there’s more idiocy in the supposed intellect at Harvard than just about anywhere in the country.

Further, lots of folks have a degree or even two. Doesn’t make them wise or provide them with a lick of common sense. I give you Algore, both Roosevelts, Jennifer Granholm, Barack Obama, just to name a few. What have they done that’s been good for this country?

Lynn Otting

but Romney will not campaign like Reagan. He doesn’t have conservativism in his blood and he lacks the Reaganesque integrity of truly fighting for what you believe.

salemst

After legalizing abortion and raising taxes in California as Governor what was your view of Reagan during the 1980 campaign?

deVere

So much so, that sometimes Bain isn’t invited to bid any more:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/when-romney-ran-bain-capital-his-word-was-not-his-bond/2012/01/12/gIQACvQxwP_story.html

” If you know most successful businessmen over a period of time they have one thing in common?..they have enormous integrity. If they lie to their clients and staff, they?re eventually sooner rather than later out of business.”

Yes that is true, but unfortunately some say that Mitt Romney an exception to that rule.

salemst

How do you explain Staples going from one store in 1985 to 100,000 employees? Sports Authority? Dominos Pizza? Bright Horizons? And many more.

By the way, your source is the Washington Post. Are they pro or anti private sector business capitalism? Which political side do you think they’ll be on this Fall?

garfieldjl

Furthermore, Romney can’t claim to be responsible for Staples yet not responsible for the shannigans Bain pulled.

You can’t have it both ways.

salemst

Have you read the statement the Staples president Stenberg has made on Romney? Referred to him as exceptional. I don’t know of any Bain “shenanigans.” There were some ventures which failed. In business, that sometimes happens.

It’s risk versus reward.

deVere

If Romney has evidence that Cohan is an unreliable man with an axe to grind, he is certainly entitled to defend his own reputation by criticizing Cohan. So far I haven’t seen any response to this article from the Romney campaign, and a general legal principle is qui tacet consentit.

As for the Washington Post, they also publish George Will and Charles Krauthammer. Have Will and Krauthammer become “progressives” because they allow their columns to be published in the Post? There are unfortunately far too few conservative media outlets to be able to rely on them for all relevant news and opinion. Life is difficult for conservatives, who need to be very discerning consumers of news and opinion.

gawken

The next president of thew US will most likely get to appoint one, if not two, justices to the Supreme Court. ‘Nuff said.

streiff

a pair of “wise Latinas.”

snowshooze

But.. there are a couple other things that need to be attended to.
But I am willing to bet Mitt cannot attract the voters in the general election. Obviously, I think he has a heart of pure slime…but the greater concerns are he will not be even a Republican… no… he is a Democrat in every sense of the word. The epitomy of RINO.
And while he may be given a lukewarm pass as the Nominee…
Nobody is really gonna be exited about fighting traffic after work to vote for him. Go in early??? No, sorry, coffee time is mine. sacred.

Lynn Otting

of conservatives will still be a concern because unless true conservative principled judges are selected, the end result will be the same.
salemst

The campaign this Fall will hinge on two things.
One, whoever the campaign focus is on will be on the defensive and lose.
Two, “Are you better off today than 4 years ago?” Gallup’s last poll stated 20% are better off today than 4 years ago.
Romney will win the popular vote identically to what Obama won in 2008, IMO. No McCain states go to Obama. Romney will pick up several Obama won states.

acat

Four of the justices are over 73, two are over 76..

Ginsberg effectively can’t be replaced – even if she becomes physically unable to continue – until January. …

You say the next POTUS will get to pick 1 or 2 .. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s 3 or 4 .. and nothing on earth will help us if the next POTUS is Obama.

Mew

rightlane1111

People…I am not a Romney fan…but we must get SCOTUS nominees that are not the likes of Ginsberg, Sotomayor or God help us, Kagen.

This presidency is pivotal to our freedoms and Kitty is right…we cannot afford to have Leftists as a majority in the court.

snowshooze

IF we got ANYONE off our side to the finish line, they will do their best on the selection.
Which would make the more conservative selection?
Anybody but Obama.
We are not selecting the SC right now.
That argument is irrelevant entirely.
Now who would do the best job running this country?
That is what we are talking about.
Nice try on the distracting point though, but rather shallow.
morrigan

on Supreme Court picks.

But neither of those men is going to be the Republican candidate. So unless they have some plan to run and win as a third party candidate, their possible judicial picks are irrelevant.
acat

Gingrich is just about done, and Santorum isn’t picking up enough disaffected Newtonians to move the needle.

Short of Romney getting caught with a live boy or a dead girl, as the saying goes, I think he’s got this locked up … and I do think his picks will be better than Obama’s.

I *hope* conservatives have long enough memories to remember the lesson from the “Stealth Justice”…

Mew
snowshooze

Romney agrees to debate Santorum.
Romney agrees to debate Newt.
Romney actually states his positions and convictions.
Romney talks to a reporter where Romney tells the trith.
Any of those could throw the primary.
But the favorite one I think is were Santorum and Gingrich decide as was mentioned to run around together everywhere debating the issues, head to head, with always a standing invitation for Romney to participate. And have a podium there on stage for him every time.
He could laugh it off for a while.
But guys would look at that, and wonder where that Romney fellow is…
And I think it would work. He would soon start to look like a coward.
Then, he would be forced to Man up, and win this on merit, or at least decent BS
.
http://www.doctor-bob.biz rsklaroff

[see my diary]
snowshooze

Dug through the Diary.
acat

Yes, another debate – now that people are paying attention – would probably do enough to turn it.

Won’t happen.

The main problem is Santorum doesn’t want to face Gingrich either… and that won’t change until it’s mathematically impossible for Santorum to reach 1144… and by then it’ll be too late.

Mew
snowshooze

Mitt is too much a coward to debate his own party.
Obama will allow only 3 debates. Two peas in a pod. Both chickens. Both trying to manipulate the game from a position of power.
Neither having any respect from me.
Lovely.
acat

when the only candidate who was trying to follow Reagan’ strategy of tying up the Conservative vote before Iowa was .. Palin.

Here we are.

Mew

salemst

Robert Bork heads Romney’s Legal Team. Bork is a Constitutional ‘Original Intent Constructionist.” Romney has stated that’s who he’ll be nominating to the SJC.

We won’t be seeing any “living breathing” Justices being nominated by Romney

garfieldjl

Romney is likely to only appoint someone as conservative as Kennedy by accident.

Remember Romney called himself a “Severe Conservative” as though it were some sort of disease or disorder.

He’s more apt to appoint 2 more Kagens, or Ginsbergs, than he is to appoint a moderate, much less a Conservative.

streiff

He’ll nominate mushy centrists. There is no way he will be able to get Kagans or Ginsbergs past the Senate.

garfieldjl

The fact he called himself a “severe conservative,” should set off warning bells.

He could have used words like ‘strong’ for example, but he didn’t, he chose “severe.”

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/severe?s=t

Looks to me like he said being conservative is a bad thing.

Look at the definition of strong by comparison:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/strong?s=t

Sorry, but it looks like your thoughts that Romney would even consider someone as Conservative as Kennedy is wishful thinking on your part.
streiff

based on even sillier reasoning, but you’re welcome to it so long as you don’t require me to not laugh when I read it.
garfieldjl

Remember I’m on the spectrum, people commonly trying to use the terms “severely autistic,” or describe people on the spectrum as though they have a disease.

The tone Romney used combined with the wording, suggests that’s what he really feels about Conservatism. Whether or not you choose to accept that fact is immaterial. What Romney really believes is not dependent on what you think Romney really believes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DI8PlTtM7DU

The emphasis he puts on ‘severely conservative,’ would suggest that my interpretation is the correct one.
streiff

if you want to believe it fine. I don’t care. I still think it is silly.
garfieldjl

1. Body language, Romney seemed rather stiff and uncomfortable.
2. The tone of his voice when he said “severely conservative” indicates that he thinks conservatism is a bad thing. Coupled with the 3rd key indicator that you missed.
3. Romney wasn’t looking around the room, he was reading off one of his teleprompters. This can indicate discomfort or deception, like he isn’t comfortable about saying he’s conservative, almost like one wouldn’t be comfortable saying they are a recovering alcoholic.

streiff, if you think I want to believe this about Romney, then you are gravely mistaken, I don’t want to believe it, but all the indicators are there.

Whether or not you choose to accept it is your decision, but I posted the url to a video, and pointed out the key indicators that I was looking at.

The indicators, with the video speaks for itself.
http://908StraightSt.wordpress.com/ mbecker908

There is no – repeat NO – way of stopping Romney from getting to 1144 before the convention. Newt won’t get another delegate. Santorum is going to get his clock cleaned in Wisconsin and then the guns will turn on him in his “home state” (not like he’s lived there in years) where his double digit lead of a month ago had dropped to two with no effort on Romney’s part. He could still pull PA out, but it won’t be the blowout that is expected of a credible candidate in the place people know him best.

You can continue to engage in this mental masturbation for another month or two, but all you’re doing is demonstrating a complete lack of coherence.

I would note that streiff certainly speaks for me with this diary, and I’m pretty confident he speaks for the rational here at Redstate.
garfieldjl

If I can’t trust the candidate he doesn’t get my support, it’s that simple.
http://908StraightSt.wordpress.com/ mbecker908

Is that right, because that’s exactly what you’ve implied.
vastrightwingconspiracy

…in other threads.

Both he and Santorum will be voting for Obama in November.
EyeofMitt

your compulsive, repetition.
garfieldjl

Seriously I am continually bringing this up because Romney actually scares me about as much as Obama did in 08.

I continually bring this stuff up, because I’m even more scared that people are missing the blatently obvious warning signs just like what happened in 2008.

This isn’t about my being on the Spectrum, this is about the fact I’m scared to death for this country!!!
http://908StraightSt.wordpress.com/ mbecker908

as to just how Romney is going to be stopped short of 1144. Please provide specifics and not the insane and inane clap-trap you’ve been throwing against the wall.

Personally, I can’t wait for the enlightenment.
garfieldjl

Given how much Romney surrogates are trying to force Santorum and Gingrich out of the race, I honestly don’t see Romney hitting 1144.

The delegate counts are actually up in the air. The longer this drags on the less likely Romney will be the nominee.

Furthermore, the longer Romney has to be in the primary the more likely he’ll have another major gaffe. I would rather Romney implode in the primary than him imploding when we don’t have the option of getting another candidate.
JSobieski

Romney was way down on my list . . but we are getting close to the point where it is time to stand behind the almost certain nominee.

If the Romney supporters would utilize a little bit of human psychology and let people come to this realization in their own time and in their own way, RS would be a tolerable place.

Unfortunately, Romney supporters are as one-note as the Romney campaign has been.

I would rather not argue with rabid Romney supporters, but given the lessons of W, I do feel compelled to say BS when the situation merits it.
garfieldjl

It’s called a brokered convention which would be a lot less damaging to the party than Romney being the nominee.
JSobieski

neither of which will be a good ticket.
garfieldjl

Face it, Romney stands to lose quite a few delegates because Florida didn’t follow the rules.

The delegate counts are still very much up in the air, so I rather doubt Romney will have 90% the necessary delegates and even if that is the case, Santorum, Gingrich, and Paul would have the necessary delegates if they combined totals.
JSobieski

A regression analysis would almost certainly suggest that Romney gets the required amount or falls just short.

When you factor in the upcoming blue states, it really drives the point home.
http://908StraightSt.wordpress.com/ mbecker908

in PA. As of Saturday he was up 10 in WI and within the margin of error (down 2) in PA.

Face it, Romney is building a big head of steam and there’s nothing standing in his way. And, you have not, because you cannot, provide any rational way of stopping him.
JSobieski

I’d bet more, but then I would get lumped in Romney, something I would find distasteful at the moment.
JSobieski

So the most like brokered convention scenario results in Romney-Santorum, a prospect I do not like. A potential 16 year window of Romney/Santorum will be far worse than 8 years of W—and look how that turned out.
http://908StraightSt.wordpress.com/ mbecker908

or tactics to stop Romney, all you’ve given us – which is more of what you’ve been posting since you started here – is opinion based totally on ignorance.

Look at the states that are left and come up with a rationale that stops Romney.

“Major gaffe”? Like what? He’s had some minor dings, but nothing that’s particularly taken him off message like “JFK makes me want to throw up…”, etc.
JSobieski

then there isn’t go to be a major gaffe in the primary season.

Romney ran an almost purely negative campaign, and is the de facto nominee at this point.

I still urge people to vote their consciences in the primary.
I urge Romney supporters to dial it back several notches.

Let the primary season die peacefully . . .
http://908StraightSt.wordpress.com/ mbecker908

in the least.

Look, I don’t like the guy, but he’s going to be the nominee. There is no path to stop him and no path to a brokered convention. And, even if the convention is brokered – which it absolutely will not be – Romney would be the consensus nominee.

No campaign is gaffe free and thus far Romney’s haven’t dented him, unlike everybody else. Obama certainly won’t run a gaffe-free campaign either and my hope (and I know hope ain’t a plan) is the Romney will beat him to death with them.
JSobieski

I would suggest the following “rules” for the remainder of the primary:

(1) people vote for whom they want

(2) people promise to vote for the eventual nominee (“I will vote for Romney and support him if he is the nominee”)

(3) Romney supporters back the hell off and stop trying to “persuade” people

(4) Romney critics promise parallel/proportional de-escalation.

Otherwise, RS is just going to descend into harmful intra-party arguments with a lot of emotion and not a lot of light
aesthete

1) Be consistent. If you supported some other candidate and were “meh” on Romney, don’t pretend to be excited, and certainly don’t make strengths out of his weaknesses. (I.e., don’t pretend that his MA record was good if you didn’t think that at the beginning of the primaries).

2) Make all arguments from a conservative premises (or at least be upfront about your use of other premises). If you think that Romney or Santorum or whoever has a weakness that could be exploited by liberals, state it as such.

Good: “Romney is wealthy. This will be used by progressives to drive a wedge between himself and working-class white voters, who are crucial for victory in battleground states.”

Bad: “ZOMG ROMNEY HAS MONEY!!!!! HE MADE IT IN THE FINANCIAL SECTOR!!!! WALL STREET HATE EM”

3) Find avenues besides the Presidential election to invest yourself in — both in terms of politics and life. Don’t let yourself get emotionally invested in individual politicians, for they will fail you. Go play Yahtzee. Go on a date. Have fun with friends. Or… argue on the internet with a bunch of strangers who are probably only posting on RS while they wait for a funny Youtube video. Your choice
EyeofMitt

how do you expect Romney supporters to sit idly by when RS has repetitive, 24/7 rants about Romney by the likes of garfield, snowshooze, the most recent waxman. Waxmam even titles his rant as “Romney is a liberal Democrat.”
Come on. Do you think the supporters of the presumptive Republican nominee should say nothing in response?
acat

I’ve been asking questions about Romney for over a year now, and most of the replies are just a reprise of the Larsen Bros. Comedy Hour.

Give me a reason to believe Wafflin’ Willard will appoint strict constitutionalists, please.

Give me a reason to believe Romney will repeal Obamacare when his alleged HHS pick (former Sen. Coleman, R-MN) likes it.

Don’t be a candi-bot, or an anti-bot .. but if you do support Romney, be able to defend his record. All of it.

Mew
JSobieski

Proportionality is the key.

Don’t tell me Romney is some kind of great conservative. Emphasize that he is better than Obama, and that he is the only non-Obama option at this point.

Both sides need to de-escalate, and since the Romney supporters are the winners—–they should take the first steps.

My suggestion is to do what MBecker did—ask if they will support Romney if he is the nominee. If they say yes, leave them alone. If they say no, then they deserve a hassle.

None of that requires pumping Romney up to beyond what he really is—a disappointing option for many.
http://908StraightSt.wordpress.com/ mbecker908

Just like him, there’s no “there” there.
EyeofMitt

You ask for civility but can never give it back. Never. So, just continue as you were.
http://908StraightSt.wordpress.com/ mbecker908

civility. Simply a well thought out and presented argument. And I happen to have VERY thick skin, so I really don’t give a rip what or how anybody says anything to me.

The point of my comment, which you ignored as you do with most comments, was simply this. Neither you or garfield have – and in at least his case, can – put together an argument in favor of your positions. Certainly one can be made for Romney, other than the obvious “He’s not Obama”, and I’ve seen some good arguments in Mitt’s favor. Do some research, come back with one.
EyeofMitt

Isn’t uniting behind the candidate what we should be doing? Not for you and so many of your electronic fight-club members. I will not start this whole primary season all over again just so you can further agitate. No, becker. I won’t fall for that. It is so ironic that you chide others for rash statements but yet you are always one of the first ones to jump in with some inane insult. Pot. Meet. Kettle. I am going to end this conversation with you NOW because you are clearly the kind of disordered personality that lends itself to always, always wanting to have the last word. So have your last word with me, b.
http://908StraightSt.wordpress.com/ mbecker908

…
aesthete

Not in a stupid or counterproductive way.

Utilizing dishonest argumentation, or rationalizing your way to seeing Romney as a demigod, ain’t honest or productive for the cause.

The candidate is worth uniting behind only to the extent that it serves our goals.
JSobieski

First, turning a blind eye to bad W policies is what created Obama’s opportunity to become President in the first. Out of control spending happened under the nose of R’s controlling the House, the Senate, and the WH. NEVER AGAIN.

Second,your over the top spin in favor of Romney is generating a backlash here at RS. From the comments of Aesthete, MBecker, acat, and others, I can tell you that NONE OF US want to make criticial statement re: Romney at this point. Romney will be the nominee, and there are better ways to spend time. Unfortunately, you and other advocates make claims that can only be classified as “excessive spin” and given the lessons of (1) above, we feel compelled to bring a sense of reality to the discussion.

If you want the rest of us to stop pointing out Romney’s flaws, use some ju jitsu and just stop advocating in favor of Romney. You can’t do it well—i.e. you create on balance more opposition than support for Romney because you have absolutely NO IDEA how to appeal to Romney skeptics.

Frankly, you and Garfield are so similarly unproductive, the first one to apply some basic rationality would do a lot to engender support. Since Romney needs to win in the end, it should be you.

In case you don’t understand the nuances above—-a winner can afford to be gracious, so just be quiet about Romney for a while. That will be more of a positive contribution to Romney than anything you will say here.
EyeOnThePrize

I will show you that I can listen. And change. Which is much more than I expect of your pals. I have even changed my moniker so as not to offend anybody. After all, I would never want to be overzealous in a political campaign. So, I’ll lay off. But it will not change anything at this site. Your echo chamber will continue all the way into November. That writing is writ largely.
I do want to point out one statement of yours, though.
“From the comments of Aesthete, MBecker, acat, and others, I can tell you that NONE OF US want to make criticial statement re: Romney at this point.”

Really? Really? I will be most gladdened if that statement reveals itself in followed behavior. I have enough impulse control to stop my “excessive spin” beginning now — the question is do your all of your buddies?
http://908StraightSt.wordpress.com/ mbecker908

Two things. First, once you’ve established yourself as a jerk changing your screen name won’t fix the problem.

Two. Find anywhere I’ve made a critical statement about Romney. Good luck.

I’ve said repeatedly I don’t like him and don’t trust him but I’ll vote for him. Hell, I voted for McCain. I’ve pretty much ignored the Mitt worshipers until today, and my issue today isn’t with Mitt. He’s what he is and he’s going to be the nominee. My issue is with your consistent crap. Keep it up, you’ll get skinned. You might want to refer yourself to my comment here”.
JSobieski

Remember that winners can more easily afford to be gracious.

Romney 2012: Because he is getting better at talking like a conservative
http://908StraightSt.wordpress.com/ mbecker908

Recognize that Mitt has strengths and weaknesses.

With his strengths, you might highlight them vs. Obama. You also could show how a specific strength addresses a specific problem in the the government, like the economy or foreign policy.

With his weaknesses, admit he’s got a wart and put it in perspective where possible and plausible. For instance, with RomneyCare you might discuss the political situation in Mass and what options Romney was faced with and how the end product is arguably better than it would have been had Romney not been governor.

That is how an argument is formulated. The crap you’ve been throwing on the wall isn’t an argument, it’s just crap.
JSobieski

better for him just not to talk primaries at all, and instead some of the good stuff that Romney is saying at the moment.

As an aside, I just heard Romney make a decent supply-side argument on Greta—too bad he couldn’t sound like this a year ago.
http://908StraightSt.wordpress.com/ mbecker908

But he can’t complain about me not contributing.

I really liked the speech he gave after winning on Super Tuesday, especially the parts where he just heaped scorn on Obama.
garfieldjl

n/t
http://908StraightSt.wordpress.com/ mbecker908

It’s just further proof that idiots and trolls congregate.
acat

lemmings.

Cliffs ahead.

Mew
http://908StraightSt.wordpress.com/ mbecker908
garfieldjl

Being compared to an “etch-a-sketch” while already having the reputation to flip-flopping by someone high up in your own campaign is rather major. On it’s own that’s probably enough to hurt Romney rather badly in the General.

Then we have him bragging about his dad closed down a bunch of factories, not sure of all the particulars of what he said, but that isn’t going to win any blue collar worker votes.

So actually I do see a path for the other people to win.

The longer this drags out the worse the situation is for Romney, and the more likely he won’t be the nominee.
http://908StraightSt.wordpress.com/ mbecker908

You keep saying “I see a path…” but offer NOTHING of substance. NOTHING.

Now then, if Romney is the nominee are you:

1. Voting for Romney.
2. Voting for Obama.
3. Voting for a third party candidate.
4. Staying home.

Please provide an answer.
gekster

this guy is a lefty troll who is here just to get kicks by being a total dufus.
I quit engageing him after I seen that a few weeks ago.
Google his name. He got tired of starwars to come here.
JSobieski

/sarc off/
Your arguments disprove your own point.

None of that recent stuff has put a dent in the campaign. Conservatism is ultimately about being anti-utopian. At this point, hoping for a non-Romney is essentially hoping for Romney to get hit by a car.
salemst

Robert Bork heads Romney’s legal team.
He’ll appoint original intent constructionists to the SJC.

http://www.thestandardcandle.com Justin Spagnolo

your assertion just doesn’t have any premise.

Romney is advised by Robert H. Bork. Romney also has a J.D. from Harvard… flip a coin… you tell me what’s going to happen.

What I can tell you is if Obama wins the election… we’ll get another Kagan, Sotomayor, or worse for the potential next 3-4 appointments.

So by all means, complain away your conscience vote using unknown anecdotal evidence.

snowshooze

Unless the primary is over.

http://908StraightSt.wordpress.com/ mbecker908

he hasn’t melted down yet. Of course he hasn’t caught fire either. But he’s head and shoulders better than Santorum – and the one point I disagree with streiff on is that Santorum’s “followers” are every bit as dumb and obnoxious as Mitt’s – and Newt can’t generate any interest.

Oh well. Sarah’s going to be on Good Morning America tomorrow .

snowshooze

That was a meltdown
” I am not concerned about the poor ”
That was a meltdown
“Obama’s done a good job on the economy”
That was a meltdown.
You say that on National TV against Obama and you are eating it.
He is going to have all those statements rubbed in his face…
plus how many more?
Who could overlook them?
Apparently, all of his supporters.
Yes, he has been campaigning since 2006. Guess what. He lost.
And the guy who beat him lost too.
He’s not going to be able to win.
And I really think you know it.

streiff

and you can’t control for that.

snowshooze

But, well… at least in your case…
You know what we are dealing with. A Hobson’s choice.
You know it’s nuts, I know it’s nuts, and your judgement leads to a decision that differs from mine.
I’m gonna wait ‘er out.
So far as the guns and stuff… don’t worry. They will bring enough for both of us.

snowshooze

Millions of reasons…
Mitt will drop the ball, we just can’t say when. I’d bet ya $10,000.00 if I had it. And I don’t give a damn about the poor either.
Oh yeah.. and like Mitt, we are all so glad that Obamanomics is starting to kick in, and everything is turning around.
So, I am sticking to my integrity. I MIGHT have a chance if there are a couple more out there like me.
Anyway, I think you made a serious mistake.
We shall save the ” I told ya so’s” for later and laugh about it.
I guess,

streiff

nights in one of FEMA’s Montana reeducation camps.

snowshooze

Montana ain’t so bad

http://908StraightSt.wordpress.com/ mbecker908

from the north or the south.

streetwise

from the JRB in Fort Worth, Texas.

Do you know something we don’t?

hls87

And it hardly matters what choices we make. Notwithstanding the advocacy of conservative opinion leaders, Romney will have a problem with failing to motivate core GOP constituencies. We can all chant “conservative in the primary, Republican in the general” until we’re blue in the face. Romney’s problem won’t go away. We can babble about Supreme Court nominations and unconstitutional assertions of executive power. Romney will still have a problem.

The country is on course for disaster and there is very little hope that another Republican “moderate” in the White House will do anything to change course. Many people who understande the nature of our problems are going to understand that Romney’s nomination confirms something congressional Republicans have already made fairly clear: the GOP as presently constituted has no intention of doing anything that might postpone, let alone avert, the disaster. There is little, if any hope, to be found in politics for at least the next four years. Hope is the essential ingredient in a GOTV operation. Without it the GOP won’t be able to maximize its vote.

There’s no point in arguing that this shouldn’t be the case, that every good conservative should be champing at the bit to elect any alternative to BHO. They won’t be. That’s a reality we all have to deal with.

Romney is an uninspiring candidate and Republican voters won’t be inspired this November, which means that relatively few of them will show up at the polls. Barring a meltdown in world financial markets, something the smart guys can probably postpone just a bit longer, Romney will lose and take a lot of winnable down ticket races down with him. Every effort to put lipstick on the pig that is his candidacy is wasted.

It’s past time to look beyond the trainwreck of 2012 and start planning for a conservative takeover of the GOP. This year’s a write off, but elections come around every two years and we’re going to need a presidential candidate in 2016. There’s plenty to do without wasting time and energy on the likes of Mitt Romney.

streiff

I don’t think Romney can stop the trend but I think he can slow it substantially. I am afraid that by 2016 there may not be a a solution.

Melody Warbington (rwm52)

This is where I am, although I’d rather vote for a candidate than against the other (I’m sure others would as well). I have my doubts as to whether or not fear can get us a win. That being said, your diary and others have made it all seem a little more real.

Romney 2012: If you can’t vote your hopes, vote your fears.

acat

Romney 2012
If you can?t vote your hopes, vote your fears

Get thee to CafePress.com and see what you can do.

Mew

Melody Warbington (rwm52)

He’s been coming up with bumper stickers for Romney based on comments all over the place lately. I just picked up on it.

hls87

It’s clear that there isn’t much to hope for this year. It isn’t clear what fear should drive a conservative to do. I very much doubt fear will do much to help close Romney’s enthusiasm gap.

2016 may be too late, whichever candidate wins this year. Whatever happens, conservatives have plenty to fear. If Romney wins, the only alternative on the table in 2016 will be to his, and probably Obama’s, left. 2024 is even more likely to be too late than 2016. A Romney win would mean that his brand of progressivism would define the far-right boundary of American politics for the next eight years. That might be the worst possible outcome this year, no matter how horrifying the prospect of a second Obama term may be..

Without the benefit of hindsight it is impossible to know whether Romney colluding with congressional Republicans would do more damage in the next four years than Obama would do feuding with them. We can’t know which result gives us the best chance of national survival. Unfortunately, that leaves Republicans without much of a rallying cry for the fall campaign.
waxmanlaw

I fear Romney will destroy the country more than I fear Obama will. So I fear Romney worse than I fear Obama.

http://908StraightSt.wordpress.com/ mbecker908

nt

garfieldjl

It would be a lot easier for Republicans to stand up to a Democrat than go against a President from their own party.

Further, Romney will cost us credibility as soon as he starts to veer left, which he does every chance he gets.

If Romney has really become a Conservative, then he needs to prove that.

If he hasn’t, then waxmanlaw raises a valid concern.
acat

Actually .. the time was December 1, 2008 .. but I understand that math is hard.

Mew
powertothepeople

is that you are an idiot, moron, and full of bullsh*t. I am a big tent republican, but you are one who needs to be kicked out.

I have seen stupid many times in my life, but you take the cake. And what is even more entertaining is that your IQ is so low, you incessantly repeat the same tired ole stupidity.

By the way dummy, how well have we stood up to the democrat we have as president the last 3 years? Maybe you should stop typing or at least use the disclaimer, “I am a moron who has no idea about the current topics so I simply type things that sound good to me but that will be seen as pure stupid to anyone else with an IQ over 60.”
http://908StraightSt.wordpress.com/ mbecker908

1. Romney.
2. Obama.
3. Third party candidate.
4. Staying home.

Pick one.
garfieldjl

Based on how even Romney supporters act just like Obama supporters, I’d say I’m just going to focus on the house and senate and I really don’t know whom I will vote for on the Presidential level.

Why should I vote for someone whose supporters insult me rather than giving me actually reasons to vote for Romney?

Also this primary isn’t over, longer it drags on the less likely Romney will be the nominee.
http://908StraightSt.wordpress.com/ mbecker908

And please note, I didn’t ask you for an “intelligent” answer.

You want a reason to vote for Romney? Easy, read streiff’s diary. The choice is Obama. You – and waxmanlaw – are neither bright enough to be able to process the difference and you both should zip up, leave the basement and give your mom her laptop back.
garfieldjl

We know Obama is the worst President in US History. waxmanlaw and I both want Obama out of office.

You aren’t getting the real issue.

waxmanlaw and myself consider Romney to be so bad that we have a tough time differentiating Romney and Obama.

I have yet to see anyone give real reasons to support Romney, not one. The last person that tried gave reasons that were bogus because the facts contradicted them.

Instead, people have insulted me because I’m being completely honest by telling people I don’t see much difference between Romney and Obama.

Got news for you mbecker, if you can’t make a clear case to prove Romney is different from Obama, then congratulations you gave Obama four more years. Let’s see you write a diary and prove Romney is better than Obama.

If you can’t make the case, then I think you’ve proven my point that Romney should not be our nominee.
http://908StraightSt.wordpress.com/ mbecker908

We’ve had some dumb people pass through here garfield, but you and waxmanlaw are poster morons.

Zip up your pants and clean off your mom’s laptop.
garfieldjl

Seriously, if you want to continue to further alienate me and any other critic of Romney to the point that we’re more apt to stay home than support the candidate you support, then please feel free.

.
http://908StraightSt.wordpress.com/ mbecker908

You’re up to zero so far. You post like a 14 year old in the basement, you get treated like one kid.

The last thing that concerns me is “alienat[ing] [you]” given that you haven’t demonstrated any ability for rational thought in your posting history.

If you are stupid enough to stay home when the option is Obama, that says all that needs to be said about you. I suspect if you were on fire you’d have a hard time finding someone to pour yellow liquid on you.
JSobieski

Chance of repealing Obamacare with Obama in Office? 0%
Chance of getting a good justice to the US Supreme Court with Obama in office? 0%
Chance of cutting spending in a meaningful way with Obama in office? 0%
Chance of meaningful tax reform with Obama in office? 0%

If you think that Romney is a zero on all 4 of the above, you lack the ability to discern and distinguish
garfieldjl

If a campfire isn’t put out and left unsupervised, it has a tendency to cause a forest fire practicularly when there hasn’t been a lot of rain.

The analogy you gave doesn’t inspire confidence.
http://908StraightSt.wordpress.com/ mbecker908
aesthete

than from a forest fire.
JSobieski

You are incapable of absorbing and processing data in a meaningful way if you can’t distinguish Romney as less bad than Obama.

You are the kind of person who refuses to buy a car because they can’t get a top of the line vehicle.

A 2008 Ford Focus isn’t a bad car—better than walking in the rain.
snowshooze

Months to go.
Oh, that is right, yer a Romney guy, and we know he is gonna fade real quick.

EyeofMitt

NT

waxmanlaw

And those are my better qualities. Anyway, thank you all for the insults. Now I will feel justified when I never ever vote for RomSCUMNey
Bill S

when I throw you off this web site for trying to get people to not vote for our nominee. Now you could avoid that by just not coming back after Romney is nominated, but somehow I don’t think you’re bright enough to do that.
http://www.nighttwister.com NightTwister

I’m really getting bored with the whole thing.
garfieldjl

I am not going to post anything bashing Romney because that would be supporting Obama.

Won’t post anything bashing Obama, because that would be supporting someone that I view to be just as bad as Obama, i.e. Romney.

Then when your “nominee” loses or stabs you in the back after being elected, I will tell you all that I told you so.

As for whom I’m voting for as President, if the nominee is Gingrich or Santorum, I’ll be voting for them

If it is Romney vs. Obama I honestly have no clue, unless someone can convince me Romney is worth supporting, then I don’t know who I’ll vote for in the Presidential election.
http://www.nighttwister.com NightTwister

I’ve got odds you won’t be able to contain yourself. And even if you do, I’m can pretty much guarantee saying I told you so would get you banned then anyway.
garfieldjl

Sounds to me at that point you’d have to ban about every critic of Romney and rename the place to Blue State and start catering to Democrats.

Seriously, I see people bash McCain all the time, and last I checked he was a Republican.
http://www.nighttwister.com NightTwister

But I’ve been around long enough that I know what one looks like. This is just an observation. I don’t expect it to change your behavior.
streiff

as we have since 2004.
acat

Oh, and by the way, Harriet Miers would have been better than Elena Kagan. So would Robert Bork.

Mew
garfieldjl

In order for Romney to have appointed a judge, the general election would have to be over, with Romney winning it.

I said “President Romney,” to make the distinction that I was talking about AFTER THE GENERAL ELECTION. Last I looked, it wasn’t against the rules to be critical of a Republican AFTER the election is over especially if they start veering hard left. I see people here complain about McCain for instance quite a bit.

If Romney ends up being the nominee, I’m not going to be critical of him during the general election, I don’t want to see Obama be re-elected. I have stated that I’m not going to do anything to support Obama in the general, and I mean it.

I’m just going to focus on getting Republicans to maintain control of the Governorship in my state, and see to it that Republicans win in House and Senate races.

I’m hoping strieff simply misinterpretted what I said, and there hasn’t been a rule change that we can’t be critical of a Republican when they do something objectionable while in office.
acat

Focus on Congress, focus on the Statehouse races, focus on Governors. That’s all great. Just … say nothing negative about Romney until Dec. 1.

Mew
http://908StraightSt.wordpress.com/ mbecker908

The $64 question is still “Will you vote for Romney in the General”?
http://908StraightSt.wordpress.com/ mbecker908

discussing a policy difference or a candidate’s historical record and refusing to support the nominee of the Party. That is the line you’ve crossed, as did waxmanlaw and he’s no longer here. Fortunately for him, streiff got him, had I been wielding the blam stick, I’d have contacted the president of his company since he was using company email.

There’s nothing wrong with saying that Romney can be stopped short of the 1144 either, as long as you can back up the argument with an actual strategy that relates to specific delegate counts. And, with respect to Florida and any other state that may lose delegates because they accelerated their primaries, that will simply bring down the total number needed for nomination and would likely make stopping Romney even more difficult.

Your posts are neither contemporary or rational, you keep arguing that people will magically “see” something in Romney and vote for somebody else. Hint, if they vote for Newt it’s a null because Newt won’t get one more delegate. And, given that Romney is picking up major steam over the past month in both Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, it makes no sense that the “see” meme makes any sense at all.

deVere

Let Mitt win it on his own, if he can.

And let his occasionally obnoxious supporters stop telling everyone they must support Mitt right now. They’re Mitt’s worst enemy, generating resentment in place of goodwill among their fellow Republicans.

habeumnominee

Jim Demint has said that it is time to get behind the presumptive nominee, Governor Romney.

The fact is that all this misplaced faith that some messianic “Zombie Reagan” candidate will arise and unite all republicans against Obama is just dragging out the primary and causing Republicans to spend money and goodwill on an intra-party fight that is helping Obama.

Make no mistake: Obama wants Santorum to win as many primaries as he can because it increases his chances of being re-elected.

I’m expecting Sarah Palin to endorse Mitt by the end of this month. Enthusiastically.

http://www.doctor-bob.biz rsklaroff

Sarah likes the process, she keeps saying.

Let’s watch her tomorrow on “Today” and read more tea-leaves….

clintonformccain

… but my sense that people aren’t sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for Sarah Palin’s analysis of the race anymore.

deVere

He’s a loyal American and Republican first, isn’t he?

“Jim DeMint has said that it is time to get behind the presumptive nominee, Governor Romney.”
Are you really a shameless liar, or are you just mentally confused? Senator Jim DeMint hasn’t endorsed anyone.for President yet.

As I posted previously, Romney’s supporters are his worst enemies. A “tell any lie and hope it’s believed” mentality seems to pervade the Romney campaign, so I suppose it’s understandable that Romney supporters should imitate what they think is the style of the candidate. I do hope they are mistaken in their judgment about Mitt Romney.

Every time I start thinking that perhaps Romney is the best of a bad lot, I am brought back to reality by Romney supporters. It is only with a sad and solemn sense of duty that I will vote for Romney in November if he is the Republican nominee. Obama is really that bad!

radicalrighty

?I can tell conservatives from my perspective is that, I?m not only comfortable with Romney, I?m excited about the possibility of him possibly being our nominee,? said Senator DeMint.

Read more: http://www.thestatecolumn.com/articles/jim-demint-endorses-mitt-romney/#ixzz1qtnzZh3o
Lynn Otting

…

dajeeps

All along conservatives have been resiting Romney because (non-exclusive list):

1) He didn’t care enough to even try to sound like us
2) Assumed we would just roll over and vote for him like good little sheep even though he gave us not one shred of evidence he has anything in common with us
3) He has campaign staffers who are more like thugs doing more of 1&2

None of these things have I gotten over. My preparation to bury the axe is because I made a choice that has nothing to do with Romney himself, but for the good of the party and country.

I get and respect that you like Romney, but what you said about the zombie Reagan thing was out of line. You should respect that not everyone here, and probably very few are Romney fanatics and we aren’t the kind who believe everything we read and hear without even thinking about it first and checking on it twice. So please do not make me regret my choice by insulting me with Romney campaign propaganda.

snowshooze

It won’t be because he was debating the other contenders, It won’t ne because of his policies. It won’t be because of his history.
It won’t be because of his honesty, his character…
Sometimes it isn’t what you know. It is WHO you know.
Otherwise.. I am all out of explanations why he might win.
Money? Certainly a big factor. Now.
But in the General… the Mitt fortune is chump change compared to Obama.
If the GOP had the common sense to invest in a candidate with some GOP values earlier on, that Candidate might be gaining plenty of popular support by now and they would have turned a buck on the investment.
But they were too cheap. Wanted to spend the money on themselves… Romney can self-fund! He is our guy!!!
morrigan

“no case for supporting Romney for the nomination”

The case for supporting Romney for the nomination is that he is the only one left who can win it. I’ve crunched the numbers, and you are free to do the same if you don’t believe me. Santorum would have to win 72% of the remaining delegates to win the nomination. That is, he would have to win 72% of the delegates in places like New York and New Jersey and California and Utah. And he would have to do this even though so far, has never won anything close to that number in any primary state, and he has never won a primary in any non-Southern state. (He did win over 72% of the delegates in Kansas, but that was a caucus)

Unless Romney is found in bed with a live boy and a dead girl, Santorum is not going to win this thing. I’ve never seen anyone describe a plausible scenario where he does.

Some people are hoping for a brokered convention. Again, the odds against this are high (though not as high as the odds against a Santorum win) and even if we DID have a brokered convention, nobody can describe how anything good is supposed to come out of it.

Even if the brokered convention selected Jim DeMint – somebody acceptable to me and probably to most on this site – it would still be voiding the votes of about twenty million Republican primary voters. You think that’s not going to upset a lot of people?

deVere

Nevertheless, the party convention nominated Senator Warren Harding on the 10th ballot.

In spite of the disappointment of Wood’s supporters, apparently accurate claims that Harding was of 1/8 negro ancestry, and the problem of two mistresses, one of whom extorted the Republican party, Senator Harding managed to win over 60% of the vote in November.

I think we would do quite well with another “brokered convention”, but I don’t expect it to happen.

http://908StraightSt.wordpress.com/ mbecker908

And frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised if the electorate was better educated and better informed.

Tbone

this diary is one with which we all should agree.

snowshooze

It’s a bad bet we all know.
I am not flying the white flag just yet. In fact… I don’t even have one.
But that is the official flag of the Romney Campaign, so it shouldn’t surprise you I ain’t stocked up.
lineholder

It isn’t going to be easy either. Romney’s team has already indicated that they’ll shift left in the general election with the whole “etch-a-sketch” brouhaha. That’s going to make it even more difficult for Conservatives to stay motivated about voting for the man, much less to put boots on the ground.

And for all the claims a man like Romney might want or try to make about being capable of pulling off a win on his own…have you seen his negative ratings in the polls lately? It does not bode well for the general election at all. He’ll have to get some practical support behind him from somewhere in the general public. And where is it going to come from? Independents? Moderates? I just don’t see that happening.

This is by far the most frustrating experience I’ve gone through in many a year. I don’t like the man. I don’t trust him. Yet here I am, looking at all the facts as realistically as I possibly can, saying to myself, “Will I just stand by through to the date of the general election and let the chips fall where they will? Or will I dig deeper inside myself than I’ve gone for a long, long time, find whatever inner resolve I have, suck it up, and be one of the ones who will put boots on the ground?”

If choose the latter, it will be love of country that gets me there, not confidence or trust in Mitt Romney.

Lynn Otting

I have concluded that they outweigh any advantage either man brings to the table.

The advantages Newt brings to the table could never outweigh his flaws, but he can’t win the primary. It isn’t even so much Romney destroyed him as it was the establishment and other candidates. They allowed all those destructive comments about Newt to go unchallenged in the media. It wasn’t just the establishment that showed their lack of integrity, it was Santorum and Paul. Obviously, the public perception of these two candidates in regards to honesty is far from true. What is even more amazing is that of all of the candidates still in this primary, Newt is the only one that truly knows what it means to lead with conservative values. Yes, I know some will say his actions and words have not always been conservatively principled, but regardless of his faults, he does breathe conservatism and it runs through his body like his own blood. He is not racist in the way the media portrays him, but he is politically racist. Nobody is perfect when it comes to all the issues of the day, but at least, when Newt wasn’t politically perfect, his intentions were always to better the American people. Now people can call him an erratic, egotistical, loud mouth manic, but unless you are truly blind to his past record, people can not say he implemented anything but conservative based ideas for the benefit of all Americans.

Newt could win the general election, but the establishment, his unorganized campaign and evangelical voters destroyed his chances of winning the primary. I do think the establishment picked the wrong person to nominate and evangelicals picked the wrong conservative with the best chance of winning, but perhaps I am the one that is delusional.

http://www.doctor-bob.biz rsklaroff

5

snowshooze

Better late.

streiff

for today so it would be obvious it is not an April Fool’s joke. It isn’t.

snowshooze

Yep. Grave error.

colonelflagg

Sorry. I won’t live on my knees. Unlike some ‘conservatives’.
Marcus_Traianus

Seems like a lot of words to say I’ll vote for Romney because he sucks less than Obama and he is more likely than not going to be the nominee. Oh- and he has a stellar wife.

I may not be the Mane Man’s biggest fan. But I have read whatever policies are available and know they are much better than what we are facing today. They are also largely better, in a comprehensive sense, than his primary competitors. I also firmly believe that, not only will he work in the American people’s interest, but will surround himself with good people. That is also his history.

Plus I am done with electing amateurs sans any executive experience. I see how that has worked out with the current President. That would be not at all. In retrospect, it seems like a pretty reliable bipartisan yardstick.

Ultimately, I certainly would love to wait for my perfect candidate. But I am pretty sure that person has not been born yet. Meanwhile, Rome would burn and the ground salted. I ain’t about to wait for that. I’ve seen ancient Carthage- what’s left of it.

streiff

give us an audience and we just don’t want to go away.

I basically agree with you, I just see no evidence that either Romney or any of the “good people” that he’ll surround himself with will be conservative or give a rip about conservatism.

Marcus_Traianus

I basically agree with you, I just see no evidence that either Romney or any of the ?good people? that he?ll surround himself with will be conservative or give a rip about conservatism.

God in Heaven. Infantry and Airman agree. Surely the apocalypse is upon us.

Keeping with that theme. I am proceeding very much on faith…and this thought, which surely you know;

Neither a wise nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him

snowshooze

So he has about a 5 year advantage over his closest competitors.
Funny that for all that… Romney supporters are scared to death.
Can’t take any more primary. Please stop now!
We got our guy…
Whatsamatter? Chicken?

jon11

I’ve been with Mitt all along but i can see why a lot of conservatives don’t trust/like him.

For me the choice was easy.

Clearly Mitt isn’t an ideal conservative. Trouble is, none of the other guys are either. Newt has been on every side of every issue at least once in his long career and Santorum has never met a spending bill he didn’t like…but he makes up for it by wanting big government in the bedroom and in other places government has no business being…at least from a conservative point of view.

So you have 3 flawed conservatives to choose from.

For me, Jobs, the economy and the debt are the most important issues facing our country and mitt is the only candidate with actual, significant, real world business experience and economic understanding. Neither santorum nor Newt have ever had a real job, as far as i know.

Thats the substance portion of the equation.

Then there is the political calculas. Polls show and have shown that Romney has the best shot at beating Obama. Thats just a simple, objective, quantitative, incontravertible fact.

I suppose if there was some ideal conservative in this race who didn’t poll as well against obama as Mitt, i could understand people standing on principle, ie…”we don’t care if he loses at least he’s a real conservative”

Given that candidate isn’t in the race, its hard for me to see getting behind any flawed conservative that doesn’t have the best chance at winning in november.

Another factor that might cause me to say ‘what the hell lets take a chance’ would be if we had a moderate democrat in the WH. But we don’t. We’ve got a chomskyesqu third-worldist who is actively seeking to weaken America economically and militarily…as penence…i suppose…for our great collective ‘sins’ against humanity.

And lets give credit where credit is due, he’s doing a fine job of it.

Rome wasn’t built in a day. Conservatives/republicans have been asleep at the switch for a long, long time. Decades really. Now they are fired up and want to undo 50 years of liberal ‘progress’ in one or two change elections.

No one would like to see that more than me, but its not going to happen.

Above all else we must stop the bleeding. When you’re bleeding to death you don’t argue over how bad the scar is going to be…you stop it anyway you can.

You worry about the little things, the cosmetics, later.

We need to get obama out and show that we can govern conservatively and effectively. Then, after we’ve restored some measure of faith in our ability to do that, we can start working on the the conservative wish list.

but first things first.

snowshooze

If you really want a candidate that can and will make a change and fix this mess…
He is going to have to be able to win. All By Hisself.
Why did he endorse Obamanomics? Why did he pull his entire campaign out of Florida?
Where are the debates and parties?
He won’t debate and nobody want’s to party with him.
This isn’t looking too peachy.

rightlane1111

Under NO circumstances can Obama be allowed another term. If Romney can’t do it…then we will do it for him. I will get involved, I will write letters to the Editor (they don’t like him where I live)…I will blog on the major sites. I will do whatever it takes to save this country.

On another note…can you imagine how hopeless our soldiers feel should we have another four with Obama? If nothing else, let’s do it for them. They gave their lives and limbs for us…the very least we can do is DRAG ROMNEY OVER THE FINISH LINE.

snowshooze

No help here.
If he cannot even win the danged primary without resorting to the scorched earth techniques of sliming everyone else..
If he declines to debate
If he is spending 20:1 in an obviously desperate atempt to claim his place to contest Obama…and he cannot even confidently take his own party nomination.
Look, you got a bad horse, and you want me to feed it.
Romney is gonna have to rise up on his back feet and prove he is worth consideration.
Romney has to do it.
Himself, not his Mommy, not his Wife.

Lynn Otting

the reasoning is flawed. The biggest concern most of us have is that he will not defeat Obama…well maybe not the biggest, but it is no greater than any of the other reasons…

snowshooze

Lynn, you brought up a really good point there.
Well, the construction update is great!
We are well ahead of schedule, and we can nearly see hell from here.

http://impudent.edublogs.org/ kyle8

because I think that Romney will be, at least on the fiscal side, more conservative than was either of the Bush’s, who were, after all, not very conservative.

But more important than that is who he will pick for his Cabinet and advisers. I just think he is a very competent and cautious man, That might not make up for having no vision or core principals, but the way things are right now, Ill take it.

snowshooze

I don’t have any trust in a deal with him.
He has pulled some pretty dirty deals.
I am having an honor problem with the man.
I voted McCain last time, and I still regret it. ( Primary )
This time Gingrich. Scumbag he is.. but still, an honor problem there as well. I know at least Newt will noyt charge into battle with a white flag.
Romney won’t even discuss what he will do. Oh yeah, waivers. Great. But the Obamacare machine will still grow.
So Romney might go out and screw China… but he might screw me. And as he just endorsed Obamanomics, hell… he might be on the take. Why did he shut down the entire Florida operation?
Does he think he doesn’t need it?
Possibly Obama pays well.

Seedyrom

except to say till Texas, Santorum has a chance to garner delegates and position himself for either a job in the Romney administration or turn the tides and win some states. Long shot but no one expected him to win Iowa let alone the rest. I’ll support whomever the nominee is but Santorum has a chance despite the lying money machine. Thanks for banning the robotic romneybots, lying is for lefties. One reason conservatism is strong and consistent is we expect honesty and we communicate far better than liberals.
glorybee

sends great men in time to lead the fight to preserve the embodiment of the ideals of freedom and individual rights that is Western Civilization in general; and the United States of America in particular. Recent literature on Washington, Lincoln and Reagan reinforces the idea that certain leaders rise in times of great need. Tragically, the leader for whom these desperate times cry out is not among the current crop of Republicans (nor perhaps conservatives at all). Thus it is our job to preserve the current environment, inimical though it may be to true conservative ideals, in order to prevent further cultural and political deterioration. We must not let the Republic fall past the point that the next true leader finds his(her)t task to be insurmountable. Therefore, I will vote for Romney; I will work as a precinct delegate, I will do my best for the GOP candidates down ticket – and I will help to protect the country we have now until we get the right people to build the country as it should be.
waxmanlaw

I fear Romney worse than I fear Obama.
http://theheartlander.wordpress.com/ heartlander

…but I wonder if America is not already past the point where a principles-free, rudderless managerial type could help us hang on for another four years without imploding.

I think the combination of national-security threats, pending economic collapse, and intensified social and ethnic passions are creating a “perfect storm” that puts America in as much existential danger now as Britain was in in 1940, with Hitler preparing the Battle of Britain. What we need is not a “manager” but a Churchill. Romney is not that man. Santorum, as much as I like him, is not that man. The “happy warrior” that we need — the one who can, as Rush Limbaugh called for — articulate conservative principles persuasively, and “with passion and good cheer” — is Newt Gingrich.

Let it not be forgotten that Winston Churchill was despised by a majority of Brits for a very long time. It was not until Hitler’s tanks rolled into Poland, just as that lonely voice, Churchill, had predicted, that Churchill began to come back into favor. And only when the British homeland itself was directly threatened did they make him prime minister.

Going from that “big picture” to the smaller, more immediate picture, it amazes and appalls me that our party might choose as its standard-bearer the “godfather” of Obamacare — that monstrosity that was the single biggest driver of the Tea Party and of the 2010 nationwide conservative landslide, What are we, crazy? Have we devolved from the Party of Stupid to the Party of Certifiably Insane?

Not to mention that the Democrats are chomping at the bit to play both the race card and the class card against Romney. See here.

One final thing. The Obama machine is preparing an anschluss that will make the vicious 2008 campaign look like a Sunday School picnic by comparison. They will set new records for campaign funding fraud, voter registration fraud, ballot stuffing and tampering, slander, intimidation, harassment and violence. We ain’t seen nothin’ yet. By the time you factor in all the Democrat election-stealing efforts, we will need a real, on-the-ground victory margin of 20 percent to result in an official margin of 5 percent. We will need a get-out-the-vote effort such as Republicans have never managed before. The only — I repeat, the only — way we stand a chance of winning this election is for huge, unprecedented, massive numbers of Republicans to pour their heart and soul and strength into this election.

I just can’t see that happening if the candidate is Mitt Romney.

http://theheartlander.wordpress.com/ heartlander

Can you even imagine the judges and justices Romney would nominate?

Sure you can. Just look at who he appointed when he was Governor.

Next president will be appointing at least 2 justices. Lifetime appointments. Your great-grandchildren will be living under decisions made by these people. And you would trust Mitt Romney with those appointments?!

Newt Gingrich takes the nomination of solid constitutionalists to the judiciary so seriously — and has given so much thought to the need for judicial reform — that he issued this bold, thorough, 54-page white paper on the subject. Check it out.

http://908StraightSt.wordpress.com/ mbecker908

and, like it or not, those are your choices. And apparently, Robert Bork has no problem with Romney choosing Justices – see the bottom.

I would prefer Newt, but that’s not gonna happen. He won’t win another delegate and the convention will not be brokered.

If you’ve got some rational way to stop Romney short of 1144 please let us know. NOTE: “rational way”, not the same clap-trap the Santorum dolts have been posting.

jon11

we’ve had what, 21 or 22 already?

The last one CNN tried to put together before Ohio (or was it michigan…can’t remember) was declined by Santorum, Romney and Paul.

Romney, by most accounts, is a pretty solid debator. Not quite the rhetoritician Newt is but not at all bad. He destroyed Santorum in the last debate in Arizona and got the better of Newt in Jacksonville.

As for showing he can win the nomination, well, i think he’s done that. Other than establishment republicans (many of whom have only just come on board), Romney hasn’t had too many people in his corner. He’s had to fight a two front war against the left and the right…and he’s won. He’s been down numerous times and come back.

There is a certain segment of the base that wouldn’t vote for him in the primary if he saved them from drowning. But i think for most folks he’s shown himself to be a tough nut to crack.

HEARTLANDER

I certainly see where you’re coming from and agree with a lot of what you say…but not entirely.

Heres why.

I don’t believe America is as down and out as the conventional wisdom suggests.

Since Obama took office, no narrative has been more fashionable than the one of ‘america in decline.’ Its actually been fashionable for 200+ years but thats a different post)

Some of this is based of solid evidence, but much of it is simply wishful thinking on the part of the left, at home and abroad.

The only real existential threat to this country in the near/ medium term is our looming debt crisis. I don’t agree with you that Romney has ‘no principles’ but even if thats true, the debt crisis CAN be fixed by a good Manager.

It can certainly be fixed by two good managers: Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan.

But all the talk of our waning influnence in the world is rot. People point to Afghanistan as evidence that we’re not the military power we once were. I say bollocks to that. Our soldiers toppled the taliban in a matter of weeks. The rest of the time we’ve been using them as social workers…which they aren’t and were never trained nor intended to be.

We still spend more than the rest of the planet combined on our military and there isn’t another nation (china included) who will pose any kind of serious challenge to our hegemony in the near or medium term.

Our problems are real and they are large, but they are imminently fixable.

I like Newt well enough but don’t think he’s a Churchill.

And i think Romney would be a great improvement over Obama until a Churhill appears on the scene…and on our ballots.
http://theheartlander.wordpress.com/ heartlander

for your thoughtful comments. All I can say is I hope you’re right.

I hope for the best, but try to prepare for the worst. The reason the worst is no long er unthinkable is that Obama has been both accelerating his subversion of our laws and Constitution, and getting more and more open about it.

Plus he’s been deliberately heating up the race and class warfare that are the far Left’s specialties, as they hope that the ensuing chaos will enable them to seize total power, a la Lenin and the Bolsheviks. Obama buddy/mentor/coworker Bill Ayers, the cofounder of Weather Underground which tried to trigger a communist revolution, is right out in front of the Occupy movement these days. People on the Left are no longer even trying to hide their contempt for America and for the vast majority of her people.

I’m just hoping Obama doesn’t activate Executive Order 13603 between now and November. That’s the National Defense Resources Preparedness order, which Obama signed on March 16, and which gives him virtually unlimited power, including the suspension of habeas corpus, “in emergency and non-emergency conditions.” [emphasis mine]
morrigan

I’d trust Robert Bork. And he obviously trusts Romney.

“Bork says he has known Romney, the on-and-off-again Republican frontrunner, for the past decade and supported his candidacy last time around as well as during the current race.”

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/10/16/robert-bork-on-romney-obama-and-biden.html

If Bork thinks Romney can be trusted on judges, that’s good enough for me.
jiminga

I’ll hold my nose and “pull the lever” for Romney. Why can’t we find a real Republican to run?

acat

The exceptions to this are Bush 2.0, an establishment pick who made some conservative noises, and Reagan, who ran for 4 years… not counting 1968.

If Conservatives want a voice in the process, we need to get behind one candidate *before* the Iowa caucuses. Period.

Mew

http://www.thestandardcandle.com Justin Spagnolo

but NOOOOOOOO they don’t listen to us, we’re just well adjusted internet trolls that have a website for our lamentations…

(that was meant to be self-deprecating… of course I don’t view you as a trollish cat…)

redstateneck

Exactly what is an authentic RINO. Romney is an aristocrat. He was at the far conservative end of the spectrum in his home state. He has embraced a commitment for smaller government and sees states rights threatened by the Obamacare. (by the way, I went to a college that required us to buy health insurance long before Romney used it. I think it made sense to reduce risk for the university and to avoid catastrophic loss.) Romney has run on the republican ballot in all the state primaries. You might be critical of Romney because has all of his teeth. He doesn’t play banjo. And, he has shown compassion for individuals throughout his life. Seems like he has a lovely family. Sounds like he’s used his education to make as much money legally as he could. He hasn’t tried to squelch out personal liberty.
whitfox3

The problem is, this doesn’t necessarily translate to candidates who agree with us.

Perry, Newt, Cain, and Bachman all washed out. And while personal weaknesses certainly played a role, that’s at least partly because of policy calls the Republican party isn’t all that fond of. If the Republican party were really thrilled about reducing government agencies and changing Social Security, they’d be as excusing of Perry’s debate performances as we generally are.

Santorum the socially conservative populist is the party’s choice for conservative. We may not be thrilled with his fiscal credentials, but that wasn’t enough to sway the electorate – unless they took it as a positive.

And that goes double for Romney as the party’s choice for moderate. His appeal quickly forced Pawlenty and Huntsman to give up.

If we want the party to move right, we have to win the war of ideas first. I’ll be supporting the more conservative while we have the option, partly because Santorum works from usable ideals.

waxmanlaw

He won’t shrink the federal budget. He won’t shrink government. He won’t repeal ORomneyCare. He won’t rescind the executive orders that Obama wrote. He won’t nominate conservative judges to the Supreme Court. He won’t fire the czars and powerbrokers that Obama set up while in office.

How in the world can he not be as bad as Obama?

gekster

O wise one, did you win the big lotto.
With your claravoyant powers, why not.

waxmanlaw

Now and forevermore.

Probability. Mitt Romney?s political viewpoints can be expressed only in terms of likelihood, not certainty. While some views are obviously far less likely than others, no view can be thought of as absolutely impossible. Thus, for instance, there is at any given moment a nonzero chance that Mitt Romney supports child slavery.

gekster
http://www.thestandardcandle.com Justin Spagnolo

notext.
http://908StraightSt.wordpress.com/ mbecker908

Thanks.

waxmanlaw

Uncertainty. Frustrating as it may be, the rules of romneality campaigning dictate that no human being can ever simultaneously know both what Mitt Romney?s current position is and where that position will be at some future date. This is know as the principle uncertainty principle.

gekster

Or are you trying to be just like him.

waxmanlaw

NO

gekster

that other anti-romney-i-love-obama-more poster.

(does your Mom kow you have her laptop?)

garfieldjl

I want Obama out of office, the thing is I’m a little more picky about whom we are trying to replace Obama with.

To put it simply, I don’t really see the point in replacing Obama with someone whom is nearly as liberal as Obama is.

I want a clear choice in November, not having to pick between a Liberal with an R by their name versing a Liberal with a D by their name.

Whomever we choose will be the one that is supposed to be leading the Republican party, not simply being one of the team, but the one that is calling the shots.

Do we really want a liberal being the leader for the Republicans?

You need to stop looking at beating Obama. It is important, but we need to look at what happens after beating Obama.

Romney’s record indicates that he will veer left, as the party leader for the Republicans, it will be very hard for them to stand up to him, particularly when the Dems will be perfectly happy to help Romney with the veering.

Santorum and Gingrich have records that indicate that they will likely veer to the right. So a Gingrich or Santorum Presidency would push congressional Republicans to the right, Dems would be fighting tooth and nail, but we’d have a President pushing the country away from the abyss.

Focusing on beating Obama to the exclusion of all else is causing you to have tunnel vision. While beating Obama is important, we also need to consider what the person we replace Obama with is going to do after he is elected.

I desperately want to be wrong about Romney, but I really don’t think I am.

I want the Saul Alinski Radical to be thrown out of office, my problem is that we’re intending to replace one liberal with another liberal.
http://908StraightSt.wordpress.com/ mbecker908

..

http://www.thestandardcandle.com Justin Spagnolo

You just keep rolling with the combineawordology… It’s like you’re a master at expressing disdain in less than an alliteration will allow… by using fancy single word expressions combined to make a super-word expression.

waxmanlaw

NT

kowalski

Thanks for reprising the NYT’s opinion column from Sunday, which was a direct rip-off of one of my comments about the Schrodinger equation regarding Obamacare the other day.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/opinion/sunday/a-quantum-theory-of-mitt-romney.html

At least they had the amusing Feynman diagram, and at least we know Important People are reading Redstate, particularly the things I write.

waxmanlaw

What does all this bode for the general election? By this point it won?t surprise you to learn the answer is, ?We don?t know.? Because according to the latest theories, the ?Mitt Romney? who seems poised to be the Republican nominee is but one of countless Mitt Romneys, each occupying his own cosmos, each supporting a different platform, each being compared to a different beloved children?s toy but all of them equally real, all of them equally valid and all of them running for president at the same time, in their own alternative Romnealities, somewhere in the vast Romniverse.

gekster

reply to this is a sign of inteligence around here.
try it.

kowalski

This stuff with Santorum blaming Drudge for his problems is getting to be too much to handle. The latest episode today makes Santorum seem more petulant and thin-skinned than ever.

waxmanlaw

Drudge is a s*ck A$$ to a scum bucket (aka in the tank for RomSCUMney)

kowalski

.

waxmanlaw

abandon Romniverse is another sign of intelligence Try it.

gekster

…

waxmanlaw

Romney and his supporters will be the death of our Republic if allowed, just as anti-matter annihilates matter.

waxmanlaw

I don’t like those endless multilayered comment threads. Hard on the eyes.

gekster

You do know this is a conservative site.
Check out the Huffpo, you would get along fine with them over there.

gekster

your Moms basement every now and then, you wouldn’t have that problem with your eyes.

streiff

I terminated your account for this exercise in value-free trolling. If you re-register your consulting firm will be informed of what you are doing while billing hours to clients.

aesthete

He’s uncharismatic, gaffe-prone, and people don’t like him — that’s why he was dead last in so many polls until he was the last viable not-Romney left. (Sorry, Newt supporters, but that moon base comment, and Newt’s general personality, really did him in.) Not that Romney is much better, but you don’t beat nothing with nothing and, erm, more nothing.

Santorum’s gone, dead and buried — to say nothing of Newt, whose fetid corpse has filled the high heavens with its stench for weeks now. Support either of them in the primaries if you wish, if that’s what it takes to maintain your dignity — but do so with the knowledge that your cause is as futile and silly in pragmatic terms as that of the Jacobites after the Forty Five Rebellion.

It’s Mitt. Deal with that as you wish (copious alcohol, watching the entire Stargate series backwards, whatever floats your boat), but let’s not pretend that it’s not a fact at this point.

http://908StraightSt.wordpress.com/ mbecker908

Sweater Boy get beaten in PA. We’ll see how the polls roll out over the next couple of weeks, but it isn’t looking real good right now.

lineholder

I’ve done a bit soul-searching of my own today, and I just can’t bring myself to that point. My own dislike for Romney has hit that visceral level that triggers a werewolf-in-the-moonlight kind of transformation in me (fangs and all).

Plus, the way his supporters keep trying to feed Conservatives sugar-coated feces on a spoon (and hey, not only are we supposed to consume it without asking what it is, but we’re supposed to like it, too!) has triggered a hyper-sensitive gag reflex response in me that it could take a good while to overcome.

The sooner I back away, the better chance I’ll have of working past it.

You guys keep up the good work, though. Proud of ya’, I am.
AndrewHyman

Streiff has joined the cult! Welcome, Streiff.

Seriously, Romney is fairly upstanding, and seems to recognize the sort of abyss into which we are now headed economically (at least). Much preferable to the incumbents or the Clampetts. I may volunteer now that Streiif has given the yellow light. Cheers. I miss Weverton Cliffs.
severeconservative

1) Obamacare is essentially Romneycare.

2) Both supported taxpayer funded government bailouts of priveledged companies who donate to their political coffers.

3) At least Obama’s family hasn’t donated to planned parenthood.

4) Both support continued assault on our civil liberties.

5) If you enjoy having your taxdollars go to banker bonuses, vote for Romney.

Bill S

(and wesley1 also)

But one substantial similarity is that they’re (you’re) all banned now.

You really do have a fetish, don’t you?

cheetah2

Time to move on.
snowshooze

Could West still be President?
I would have to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Ha.
Not serious,
snowshooze

I am sanding Sheetrock. I am Magoo anyway, can’t type.
I often flub the keys.
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