People continue to write about Mitt Romney as though he has any relevance at all to the 2008 presidential race.
Today's Washington Post has a story about Romney's ideological flip-flopping which only emphasizes the degree to which his prospective candidacy is a fantasy.
Romney acknowledges that his positions on abortion and gay rights have changed. He told National Review Online last week that he would like to see the Supreme Court overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision and return the issue to the states. He also said he no longer favors a federal non-discrimination law that would cover gay men and lesbians, and no longer backs accelerating the opening up of the military to gay men and lesbians.Yeah, that's the kind of decisive leadership that Americans are looking for in their next president - somebody who thinks we're stupid enough to believe he won't answer questions from the Washington Post because he doesn't have time. It's the Washington Post, Mitt, not the Tioga Tribune. You make the time. Do you think you can avoid them until after election day? Do you think they're going to forget these questions when they finally do pin you down for an interview?
Romney declined a request for an interview to discuss the evolution of his thinking on these issues. Aides said his schedule did not permit him to take the time for a telephone interview. They also said he has responded to questions on these subjects many times as he has explored a presidential candidacy.
The more we learn about Romney, the more it becomes clear that he is not ready for prime time. If he really does think he can win this thing, he needs to fire whoever is advising him on how to manage the narrative of his "evolved" views on abortion and gay rights. So far, it's a disaster.
But, as I have written before, he really might as well not bother. He is trying to win the nomination of a party that has sold its soul to religious bigots. The religious conservatives of the Republican Party think the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is a cult. They simply will not support a Mormon for president. Without their support, even if he were to get the nomination, he could not win the general election. The GOP's religious base would stay home on election day. The Democratic candidate would win. And, that's the best-case scenario. It is just as likely that a third-party Evangelical candidate would enter the race and create a permanent schism between the secular and faith-based factions of the GOP.
Within the context of the 2008 presidential race, we already know everything we need to know about Mitt Romney. He won't be president. Next!
2 comments:
Mitt Romney will WIN and I'll tell you why...
I'm looking at this from the standpoint of where we're at right now in the race...oh yeah, nobody is in the race yet. You have people with committees and so forth but no one actually saying that they're going to do it. The only one that's going to make an "official announcement" is Mitt Romney after the holidays. McCain and Guiliani haven't said it Hillary hasn't said it. You're only left to assume that by considering it there's a possibility that it may not happen. Case in point - Barrack Obama. I believe that he's prepping himself for a 2012 run depending on if Hillary wins and wins re-election which if she did win in '08 she wouldn't win a second time - the Democrat machine (MSM, Hollywood, academia) can only take you so far before the American people catch on that you really aren't who they say you are.
Back to Romney. There's an old adage that says "bad press is better than no press." This is what you aren't seeing in all of this. To say that he doesn't have a chance is mistaken because he's only come out in spurts to diffuse what anyone is saying. He only goes where he believes people who will give him freedom to answer are. Who cares what the Washington Post puts out or what the NYT puts out about you. You validate it when you go out there in a tizzy to diffuse it anyway so why bother? Are they really going to give you the benefit of the doubt? Is anyone that naive to think that?
Let the people mull it over and decide for themselves what's being thrown out there. This isn't the time to start fighting for what you believe. It may even die down some. No one has decided anyways because the thing that many underestimate about Mitt Romney is Mitt Romney. Have you seen him in an interview? Have you heard him speak? It is a stark contrast from George Bush - who has done well to let the Dem machine run its course. President Bush is not articulate enough to take them head on so he lets them do what they want and lets the people decide whether he's right or they are. Don't get me wrong if it's stupid he'll go and make his case but more times than not he doesn't care.
Another thing that you underestimate is the liberal-left and the evangelical right. As the campaigns of this race start moving and we get into the nuts and bolts of it there's no way to square them up. The evangelicals okay with a John McCain or a Guiliani and their views on gay marriage with Mitt's views now? Abortion Guiliani? Taxes for McCain? Detainee treatment again McCain? Guiliani living with his girlfriend while still married? Gays not liking Romney and Evangelicals not liking him? Doesn't square up? As an evangelical having to choose between all of this and a Mormon who has a better record of living a life that they preach than any of the potenital candidates with committees?
It will be Hillary's motherhood when she gets past the primaries vs. the values of Mitt Romney. Both will be a wash and we'll be able to get down to the issues at hand and Mitt will win that hands down.
"The religious conservatives of the Republican Party think the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is a cult."
Who thinks they aren't? There are many religions that fall under the definition of a cult, why would Mormons be viewed any differently than say, the Raelians, Wiccans, or Christian cults?
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