And the winner is…
by andrea on Aug.03, 2009, under Week 7
After three weeks and more than 4,000 votes, our tournament is finally over. No surprise here: you’ve decided that Mitt Romney should speak for the G.O.P. He held a commanding lead over all his opponents, knocking out Eric Cantor in the final round by slightly more than 900.
So why Romney?
Many of you have singled him out as the candidate with the best chance of unifying the party in a way the McCain/Palin ticket failed to in 2008. Mike noted that, unlike Palin or Rush, Romney doesn’t “stir up” passion among Republicans, yet he’s often sought after as a voice of reason and intelligence.
In fact, many of you pointed to his patient positions regarding issues such as health care that paint him as a rational, reliable choice. The ideal candidate, you said, is competent, not extremist. For now, while most states identify with the Democratic Party, the G.O.P. must attract independent and crossover voters to grow stronger. The party’s looking for a more moderate leader to take them forward, and it seems Mitt is the man.
Is this an accurate summary of what I’ve learned these past few weeks? What would you add that I might be missing?
August 3rd, 2009 on 10:49 pm
Romney will not lead the party….
Right now, people gravitate towards Romney because we’re fighting the last election.
Romney’s Massachusettes record is imploding. His socialized health care “record” is a disaster. How well he governed Mass is also coming forward.
Combine that with a fair amount of the base thinks Romney’s religion is a cult… and he’s toast.
I met the guy several times. He’s smart, intellectual, etc. But (and I say this candidly) - he totally sucks at retail politics. People don’t connect with him. That means he loses states like Iowa and New Hampshire. That means he wins only primary states…
Romney will continue to be around… he may even run…
… but I’ll be very surprised if he becomes the nominee. He most assuredly is not a likely candidate to “unite” the party.
Bryan
August 4th, 2009 on 1:59 am
I’m an independent and small business owner, I like your choice of Mitt and would vote for him. Same with my friends and family who are Repubs, Independents and moderate Dems. HTH
August 4th, 2009 on 2:08 am
Just one more point, I’m a Christian and descended from Revolutionary War soldiers. If I see Repubs humoring bigots again to get votes, you’re toast.
August 4th, 2009 on 7:21 am
Please do your homework, Mitt released very detailed interview about the Health care in Mass. and the plan has changed due to many factors. Mitt is the adult, honest, energetic, moral, intelligent, has common sense, knows profit and loss and how to make a profit..We need trustworthy business heads in Washington. Mitt loves this country and is more like Reagan than anyone that has stepped on the presidential candidate stage..Don’t let him slip away this time.. We made a huge mistake, but let’s correct it in 2012…Mitt Romney, a man of integrity..He is warm, kind, and he CARES…
August 4th, 2009 on 8:05 am
And I also would like to point out we had too many that saw the light too late. Rally strong and get behind the best candidate with the most credentials coming out of the shoot. Be wise, and think about America’s tomorrow, and who can lead and organize with the skills and maturity we will need. Romney hands down 2012….
August 4th, 2009 on 9:52 am
I believe Mitt Romney is the most qualified person we have had run for President for a very long time. He is tremendously intelligent, or the highest moral fabric, and loves this country so very much. The bigotry that beat him last time is diminishing as shown by the recent poll that asked “Which candidate would you most like refuse to vote for”? Mitt Romney had the fewest of all candidates at 9%. Palin had 21% as a comparision. These were Republicans.
Unfortunately we still have bigotry as #1 comment above illustrates. In spite of that Mitt Romney will win the nomination, and go on to beat Obama like a drum.
August 4th, 2009 on 10:13 am
Romney was doing well in Iowa until the whisper campaign about his religion began. I received several robo-calls about his beliefs being ‘non-Christian.’ I met him and was impressed that he was warm, funny, a good listener, and very intelligent. Observing him throughout the campaign and post-campaign, Romney was the most Christian of all the candidates.
I was a Thompson fan but I am now convinced that Mitt Romney will be the most powerful candidate to go up against the Obama machine.
The robo-calls need to stop.
August 4th, 2009 on 10:38 am
I agree Joshua! The robo-calls that McCain used in the last couple days of the Florida primary were despicable as well. Praying on old people like McCain did then was just reprehensible.
August 4th, 2009 on 11:47 am
Bryan you are wrong about Mitt. He is EXACTLY the right person to unite the party. After 4 years of on-the-job training by our novice community-organizing president, people will be looking for a proven leader with competence, experince, wisdom and a steady hand. Also, while the MA plan is not perfect (Mitt said so himself given the liberal legislature overrode 8 of his vetoes), it has done what it set out to do for the most part.
Please do some more research and consider the following analysis: http://www.committedtoromney.net/profiles/blog/show?id=3049549%3ABlogPost%3A7824
as well as Mitt’s thorough analysis in Human Events:
The plan that I proposed was a “break even” plan, meaning it didn’t cost the state any additional funding. The legislature decided to make it a more generous plan than the one that I proposed, and as a result the cost which they forecast for this last fiscal year was $725 million, as I recall. The forecast for next year is about $723 million, so it’s pretty much on plan. The net cost to the state is about $350 million. But that, in my view, could be brought down to 0 net cost by reining in the coverages that are required under the Massachusetts plan and by increasing the payments that are required to people who get subsidized care.
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=32944
August 4th, 2009 on 12:39 pm
Bryan,
Have you actually studied Mitt’s MA health plan? Or are you just pretending to be educated because you are being “informed” by the media and talk radio? EVERYONE is reporting falsely on the MA health plan.
Here are the facts: http://thecompetentconservative.com/2009/07/24/health-law-costs-are-not-the-problem-in-ma/
Here are some others to read: http://thecompetentconservative.com/2009/07/30/mitt-romney-mr-president-whats-the-rush/
http://thecompetentconservative.com/2009/07/31/mitt-romney-attacks-obamacare/
I think it will be totally opposite from what you think it will be come 2010. I believe that Mitt’s successful “free market” plan will give him more authority against Obama.
August 4th, 2009 on 2:30 pm
One more response to Bryan,
I have heard people say that people don’t connect with Romney - I can’t really comment on that, but to say that he did the best in primary states is misleading - Romney beat McCain in the caucus states hands down. He lost some key caucus states to Huckabee, but he is not a primary-states-only winner.
August 4th, 2009 on 5:59 pm
The only arguments I’ve seen against Romney are emotionally charged and not fact based. Needless to say, he has my support if he runs for POTUS.
August 5th, 2009 on 3:11 am
I have no doubt Mitt Romney will be the republican nominee for 2012. I also have no doubt he’s not conservative enough and too wishy-washy to draw the republicans who left the party back in, and without them he has no chance to win the election. It’s going to take much more than his bed tanned skin, plasticized hair and a goofy smirk to for him to become the president. What people really want is substance. They don’t want another fake.
August 7th, 2009 on 10:08 pm
The media picked McCain over Romney and the commentators that were for him weren\’t for him until near the end, but he has that advantage this time around because he has already been introduced per say.
August 9th, 2009 on 11:59 am
Competent Conservative:
Yes, I have studied Romney’s plan. I also know most aren’t particularly happy with it… and it’s being used as an effective foil against Obamacare.
Here’s what I thought was a particularly good video… I ran it at my blog:
http://rightcommentary.com/2009/07/17/a-short-lesson-on-obama-care-video/
I think when Romney runs… he gets cut down by the R’s… especially by then Obamacare is likely a retality… and everyone is suffering.
I understand lots of you like Romney… but I still say, he ain’t the one.
August 9th, 2009 on 12:28 pm
Bryan - I’m not particularly a Romney fan either, nor a Palin fan. I struggled with his sincerity as he campaigned last year, while selling himself as a great fundraiser (he personally funded most of his campaign), and he strikes me as a perfect example of a country club representative. I don’t disagree with a lot of what he’s saying now…but don’t see a lot of proof in his governing that his words now were part of his core principles then.
But I’m curious as to who you see as a legitimate candidate. In my opinion, it’s still too early to get wrapped up in it, but just for giggles, I’m curious who you see as potential front runners, or at least strong voices in the next two election cycles (’10/’12).