Mitt, please desist
Regular readers of this blog know that I supported Mitt Romney heavily in the 2012 election. I think he’s a smart guy, and also more conservative that many other people believe.
I’m not going to rehash those arguments; we did that ad nauseam during the run-up to the election. But I really, really hope I don’t have to go through it again, because I really really hope Romney doesn’t run in 2016. Or, if he does run, I hope someone else gets the nomination, and I strongly hope that “someone else” is not Jeb Bush.
Whatever made Romney a weaker-than-required candidate in 2012 would still be operating. Plus, the conservative base is even more alienated from him than before, if such a thing be possible. If he ran and was nominated I would vote for him, but I’d much rather someone like Scott Walker or any number of other more conservative, personable, smart, younger candidates became the Republican nominee.
I understand why Romney may declare. His loss in 2012 must rankle, especially since he was right about so many things then. In addition, Bush’s entry into the race means that Romney must throw his hat into the ring sooner rather than later if he wants to challenge Bush for the big donors.
But Romney’s time has come and gone, in my opinion (and Bush’s time never was). Romney would do much better as elder statesman and advisor at this point. That said, I repeat: if he is the nominee I will vote for him.
[NOTE: Oh, dear. Does this mean I have to start a new category, “Election 2016”?]
Does this mean I have to start a new category, “Election 2016”?]
You Should do neo…..
How else could they throw the election and not end up like the 1919 white sox? put up McCain? besides, they wont put up a real conservative… they HAVE to put up the bad cop to the dems good cop… just remember, that they are both cops.
You should be proud of yourself for holding off this long. I’m seeing “how will this affect 2020” articles already on some sites.
I’d like to know how successful Jeb is at raising funds. If he is doing well, it indicates to me that a lot of Republicans with money see an entirely different world than I do, and I’d like to know just what it is that they see.
As to Romney, he just doesn’t have political talent. Some would argue that that lack would not matter once he was elected, but I disagree. Presidents not only need to make good decisions, they also need to bring others along with them and make them feel part of a team with a common purpose.
In general, second time around doesn’t work for failed Presidential candidates. It didn’t work for William Jennings Bryan, nor for Adlai Stevenson, nor for Thomas Dewey, nor for Henry Clay. It did work for Andrew Jackson and for Richard Nixon.
It did work for Salvador Allende, who won on what I believe was his fourth try. But that didn’t turn out very well.
Not until 2016, hopefully. I hate these two-year campaigns with a passion.
Well, the information available right now about the chances of Jeb beating Romney is pretty good. I think Romney’s polling better than Jeb. And a Romney vs Jeb poll over at Legal Insurrection went for Romney at 91%, iirc.
So I think it’s safe to say that if there’s a “someone else”, it will *not* be Jeb Bush.
Now as to who that someone else might be? Probably too early to start trying to figure that out.
Romney would have been a good president, but he is a lousy campaigner which is a big part of getting the job. That’s the reverse of Obama which is why he won.
Well, I have mixed feelings. I would love to see Romney as President; now or in 2017. On the other hand, I am afraid there are too many people who feel as Neo, and it would be a lost cause out of the gate.
However, for those who say Romney is a poor campaigner, I would counter that he is a very smart man. In other words, I believe that he can learn from mistakes.
I even believe that some of the media voices can learn from theirs. Am I a hopeless optimist?
I also believe that he could carry a strong message to the country. “Hey Bozos, you laughed and scorned in 2012, but now you see that I was right on nearly ever point. Don’t make the same mistake again.” Well, he might phrase it a little more diplomatically, but the message is there.
I have said before that there was a time when I would have happily suported Jeb. Not now. I am not sure why. It is not because he is a Bush; there is just something that puts me off now. I will try to stay open to his message, however.
Scott Walker remains my first choice at this point.
Maybe his current popularity has something to do with a desire for an end to all the foot stomping and soap box seeking we have been seeing on the right. If republicans could turn the next year into a serious discussion of policies and competence, someone else like Walker might very well emerge as the candidate. But I think a lot of people now want an end of flavor of the month, unvetted, inexperienced people throwing their hats in the ring and running on a single issue. I’m tired of seeing people like Paul Ryan, who isn’t even running, being chewed up because he advocates a different approach than the latest person to make the headlines. There are some interesting people on our side, but I sure haven’t heard enough from them to commit myself yet. The best rating I can give now is Seems Interesting.
Romney is (was) very vulnerable to the media demonizing him for being rich and not caring about the common man. It’s a bum rap, but it is not going away.
Jonah Goldberg offers a good perspective at the link below (“The Problem With Romney Nostalgia”).
My own take-away quote from that link: “he look[s] like the picture that came with the frame”; but Goldberg’s piece is in fact perfectly serious. Have a read!
http://townhall.com/columnists/jonahgoldberg/2015/01/14/the-problem-with-romney-nostalgia-n1942475/page/full
If it’s between Romney and Jeb Douche, I will go with Romney. Jeb has all the non-conservative instincts of the previous Georges (and several more) that drove me nuts, and few of their good points. Might as well vote for a real democrat.
Another take-away, summary paragraph from Jonah Goldberg [see my M J R comment above]:
“But Obama won’t be on the ticket in 2016. And the idea that a one-term Massachusetts governor, who hired Jonathan Gruber to help design his health-care plan, is just what the Republicans need to run against Hillary Clinton is odd, particularly when the GOP has a much more talented, and fresher, field than it did in 2012.”
The irony is that Romney would probably be a great president across the board, a less Bush-like president, even in the eyes of conservatives.
I use less Bush-like in a positive way.
But like the Bushes, his wealthy wired-in environment has insulated him from having a visceral understanding of and sympathy for what the Tea Party and everyday conservatives are actually thinking and feeling. The noblesse oblige Republicans are not Leftists or crypto-Democrats, but they do regard conservatives as icky, bitter-clingers, a perception which puts them psychologically closer to BO than Cruz, Walker or Jindal.
IOW, a Romney (like a Bush) sees conservatives as a group to be pandered to, not a group sharing the same deeply human values of compassion and integrity.
We will have to see if Scott Walker pans out. So far, so good.
Jindal seems to be making no traction, which is perplexing. He would probably be a great president also.
Cruz is a wild card. He is the secret hope. Maybe he is a great man but maybe he is not. We shall see.
M J R:
That joke was originally Romney’s joke, told in 2011 on the Letterman show. Of course, it was almost certainly written by Letterman’s writers. But it’s not by Jonah Goldberg.
It’s a great line, though, isn’t it? It sums up what people don’t like about Romney.
I happen to like Romney. But I understand what people are reacting to when they say he lacks the common touch. He most definitely does lack it.
I’m holding with Scott Walker.
In other words, I believe that he can learn from mistakes.
I doubt it. He has had plenty of opportunity to learn and has yet to show results. He reminds me of my dad, also a very intelligent man, trying to learn to play music. My dad practiced regularly, bought good instruments, belonged to groups, and after many years, could not play a tune that wasn’t painful to hear. My uncle on my dad’s side was musically talented, but the music fairy passed over my dad.
A straw poll of AZ GOP activists had the following rankings for president:
Cruz
Walker
Carson
Romney
Bush
Rand Paul
Huckabee
Perry
West
Kasich
Etc…
Cruz got over twice as many votes as Bush.
IMO, I don’t think Cruz is electable but Walker certainly is. I’ve also noticed a weakness of opposition when discussing Walker with liberals…the most they have are: didn’t graduate college, and WI hard-luck stories from union types.
Could not agree more.
No reason to think Mitt could win a second time around.
I think most of us conservative people will hold our noses and vote for anyone who is not a Democrat and that is sad but the way it is. The ones who will decide the election are the big middle undecided voters and they will be swayed by media presentation where Obama excelled.
I think it is too early to start picking the candidates because in 2007 when I first heard of Obama my thinking was no way, Hillary has it sewed up but she didn’t. I knew that someone with the name Barack Obama would never be a serious candidate but they packaged him up pretty and he took best of show.
Once plus on Romney might be that he has been trashed before and perhaps inoculated for the regular crap the media will throw at him. We kind of know who he is and perhaps most of the USA will want anyone but a Democrat, especially a cranky old lady worth a couple hundred million who has not driven herself in a car since the mid 90’s.
Of course if anyone better than Romney rises to the top all of the conservatives in our nation had best get behind him or her and fight like hell to win the next election.
Definitely written by Letterman’s writers.
I’m sorry Romney felt he had to submit himself to Letterman, but that’s what candidates have to do these days. It’s a sorry commentary on our times and culture, sez M J R.
For any of those who wretch at the mere sight of David Letterman as do I, you can fast-forward to 2:13 to see the joke; it’s done by 2:16.
By the way, neo, your recall of the origin of this joke, (especially) along with a link provided as incontrovertible evidence, is most impressive.
YIKES!! — retch, not wretch.
I, too, want Walker.
Did Mitt Romney 2012 go after his Democrat opponent as determinedly as he did his 2012 Republican primary opponents? (We know the answer.)
Is there any reason to fancy 2016 would be different? After the Candy Crowley debacle in debate #2, and given his performance in the aftermath of debate #2, including debate #3, I say NO.
End of discussion, as far as I’m concerned [in the absence of genuinely new information, of course].
I have yet to hear an autopsy report for ORCA, nor a credible explanation for why this tool wasn’t debugged and proven a dozen times over before Game Day.
Hard to trust a man, that I do like, when he trusts the wrong people so thoroughly that he allows them to destroy his election, and the country.
Karl Rove’s latest piece at WSJ says some of the things I was thinking: a more serious campaign season.
I had another quick thought that perhaps Romney being in the running now will keep all the big money from landing with Jeb till other candidates get a chance to talk about broader issues.
One more thought: Huckabee’s comments about the Obama girls listening to Beyonce is exactly the kind of talk we don’t need. Tell me one voter who will vote Republican on that.
They’ll attack Walker about his education and his hair (he’s starting to go bald). To run for president you gotta have decent hair.
They’ve already got Cruz pegged as the modern-day McCarthy.
And I still like Mitt, even with all his faults. He’s exactly the kind of CEO we needed in 2012. Is 2016 going to be that much different? I could get excited about Mitt again.
There’s ‘something’ about Jeb that I think I don’t like, but I haven’t quite decided for certain….
“Romney is (was) very vulnerable to the media demonizing him for being rich and not caring about the common man.”
And the media will skewer Walker for not having a bachelor’s degree. He might be able to overcome it based on his record of accomplishments, but Walker’s record, which we conservatives love so much, also brings out the worst in the left wing. They absolutely hate him. You don’t go messing with their public employee constituency like he did. They will pull out all the stops to destroy him. He needs to be ready for that.
I hope he runs again. I’d vote for Romney – again.
I don’t see quality of the campaign as a reflection of the man who would be President, but rather the quality of the man’s political party and, more significantly, the activist quality of affiliated activist social movement(s).
Obama didn’t win the Presidency twice. The superior activists of the Left’s social movement won it.
Romney didn’t dare go after Obama in the debates; the media would have slaughtered him as an elitist and racist. I don’t think any Republican could have won in 2012 against the Holy One.
And I worry about the chances of ANY Republican in 2016 unless the media is publicly thrashed by a gutsy candidate the first time it starts twisting the reality to suit its Democrat agenda. I watched my first debates back in the 1980s, and even then the media was reinterpreting the debates for its own purposes. Worse, it seems that no MSM outlet will move out of lockstep with the others. There needs to be a strong media challenger to the Democrat candidate’s water carriers; Jake Tapper comes to mind.
And of course we need to have less grossly biased “moderators” for the debates.
Romney is a big business conservative, demonstrated by his support for amnesty. He is also a personally decent man. He’ll stand no chance against the FIRST WOMAN President, nor will Bush.
The ONLY chance the GOP has to defeat either Clinton or Warren is to field a candidate as committed to conservative principles as was Reagan. Because only such a candidate can escape the libel of ‘beholden to the rich’ and argue convincingly (through their prior words and deeds) that the country’s problems are the result of the democrat’s actions.
The GOP leadership’s support for either Romney or Bush clearly demonstrates that if the GOP’s choice isn’t the nominee, they’d rather a democrat win.
Since neither Romney nor Bush can win, a vote for either is, more than anything else, a vote to continue the status quo within the GOP…
According to John Zogby, this is the latest from Ann Romney on a possible Mitt re-run in 2016:
“A very prominent conservative Republican consultant called me last night and said that he spoke to Ann Romney over the weekend and Ann said if Mitt runs, he will run as the first divorced Mormon candidate for the president of the United States”.
The War of the “Sources” is in full swing.
@Geoffrey Britain:
I think you’ve summed it up. The GOP would rather see a Democrat in the White House than a serious Constitutional conservative.
As I remember it, Romney won the Republican nomination in 2012 because he came across during the debates as the guy with gravitas as well as the best skill set. Those qualities looked like the best way to defeat Obama, who’d exhibited a lack of both during his first term.
In 2016, though, the Republican candidate will have to run against a female “star” (either Clinton or Warren) without a first-term track record. Other track records, yes, but not as president. Seems to me the Republicans will have to counter that star appeal with some of their own.
Anyway, I’m thinking Gov. Susana Martinez, and don’t understand just why she’s not getting any of buzz surrounding all the others.
Could not agree more with this post by neo.
I do not have the energy to conjure up again for Mr. Romney.
If they attack Walker for not finishing college this can boomerang and inspire sympathy. They attacked Reagan as being stupid forever and it just never ended conversations the way they foresaw. Walker has been hit with the kitchen sink and only improved.
It’s not a bad thing to have Bush and Romney dominate the early press. Then when they fall… you can be there as the tough underdog who never loses his cool and sticks to his guns.
I’ll second your point of view, neo. I like Romney, but I don’t want him to run again because he is “damaged goods,” so to speak.
I don’t like Jeb Bush even though everyone says he’s a “great” politician and was a good governor. At this point I’m liking Scott Walker because he has shown grit and skill in defeating the entrenched progressive interests in Wisconsin. He’s not charismatic, but he’s steady, determined, and a real conservative. Maybe too conservative for the GOP establishment. And there’s the rub. He may have trouble raising money.
All that said, when the time comes to vote in 2016, I will vote for the eventual GOP candidate. Nothing could be worse than what Obama has thrust upon us.
M J R:
I think I remembered the joke and its source because I thought it was such a clever and spot-on joke.
sophiebella: “I don’t think any Republican could have won in 2012 against the Holy One.”
Like I said, it’s the competitive quality of the social movement, not the man.
What I recall is that in 2012 and even in 2008, Obama was not a master campaigner. Obama is not a superior politician. In 2012, man vs man, Romney was the superior candidate. On the merits of the two men, Romney should have won.
But the activist game is the only social cultural/political game there is, and electoral politics are a lesser included element of the activist game. Obama is an activist and avatar of the superior activist social movement.
As such, Obama was carried to the White House by the superior activist social movement than Romney and the GOP had on their side.
For the GOP candidate to win in 2016, it behooves the people of the Right not to rely on the GOP candidate, whoever it is, or even the GOP to do the work that can only be done by an activist social movement by the people. To carry their man to the White House, it is up to the people of the Right, not the GOP candidate, to do the heavy-lifting and investment to build an activist social movement – not just an electoral campaign, but a bonafide activist social movement – that is competitively capable of defeating the Left activist social movement among the People, movement vs movement.
Man vs movement or even campaign vs movement is not enough. Any less than a superior activist social movement by the people of the Right, well, Obama’s presidency is proof that the superior man loses to the superior activist social movement.
I agree with you completely…. please DON’T run Romney! And, I will hold my nose if need be and vote for whoever the Republican candidate is. Unless McCain runs again and wins the nomination, then I will just call it a day and shoot myself ;-P
Eric,
Your are absolutely right. Last time around, there seeemed to be as many “true conservatives” attacking Romney or holding their noses as there were supporters.
Also, I don’t know whether Hillary people can use the hair thing against Walker. She doesn’t even know how to use a blowdryer. And as to atttacks on the rich, There are probably lots of ways to keep that dead broke comment in people’s minds. With Warren, we could ask if using the Redskin logo for an affirmative action job is worse than using it for a football team.
Maybe we need a people’s site to come up printable cartoon yard signs that don’t require candidate funding or approval, sort of like a Je Suis Charlie election movement. Powerline and Bookworm regularly post cartoons. It shouldn’t be too hard to do something similar to create appropriate small posters. If they are funny enough, young people might want to get involved.
If the Republican Party is not going to listen, why should I keep choosing the lesser evil? If it’s Mitt or Jeb I’ll be registering Democrat and voting for whoever they put up. It’ll be high time to claim a Defining Grievance that will entitle me and mine to a slab of that sweet, sweet gubmmint cheese before the bandwagon gets too crowded.
I have to strongly disagree. Romney was meant to be president of this country. And he will be. He represents decency, intelligence and fortitude. A large group of voters; those conservatives who decided to stay home and democrats who did vote for Obama but see how hopeless he is, would vote for him this time.
I don’t believe he’s past his time, as you say. I think he is a man of conviction and there is no expiration date on that. Every other Republian candidate absolutely pales in comparison particularly in the area of statesman. He wants to fight the democrats and the wildly biased media again – rather than to just give up. That means a lot.
They want to diffuse the Cruz missile…
Even though I don’t want Romney to win the nomination by any stretch, I hope he runs.
There will be several quality conservative candidates in the primary field splitting the conservative vote. I therefore think it would be advantageous for the establishment vote to get split, too.
If there are five conservatives running with support and just one squish (Bush), the squish wins because every squish can unite behind him. If it’s five conservatives versus two squishes (or even better three if Christie runs), a conservative actually has a fighting chance of winning
“He wants to fight the democrats and the wildly biased media again — rather than to just give up. That means a lot.”
Not from what I saw in the last campaign. Milquetoast is the best way I would describe his campaign style. Now if he would take a page or two from Newt’s playbook, I might change my mind.
On the issue of Obama being a renegado
from a comment in this pipes piece
PIPES: Obama: ‘I have never been a Muslim’
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/sep/7/obama-i-have-never-been-a-muslim/
If either Mitt or Jeb wins the nomination, it will be the functional end of the Republican party as several million people will de-register.
It’s the Joseph E Johnston moment for the GOP.
In 1865, with the Confederacy circling the drain and Sherman sweeping through the Carolinas towards Virginia, Jefferson Davis put General Joesph E Johnston in command of the Confederate army in North Carolina, such as it was. Johnston had failed in Virgina in 1862, he had failed in Mississippi in 1863, and he had failed in Georgia in 1864. But Davis really didn’t have anyone better, and at that point, it arguably didn’t make much difference anyway.
The Republican establishment is sending in their Joe Johnstons. It’s what they have, and they have no one better.
I have, in the past, argued against conservatives engaging in Kamikaze tactics. That having been said, I won’t be voting for Jeb or Mitt if one of them manages to be nominated. I am under no obligation to help the party commit suicide. I believe that that electability matters, but the fact is these guys can’t win. If the GOP nominates an unelectable candidate, then I would feel I had a duty NOT to vote for them, in the hope that the lesson would be learned. Voting for Jeb or Mitt in 2016 would be the equivalent of supporting Newt Gingrich or Herman Cain in 2012. We need a responsible, functional opposition party for the sake of the Republic. It is wrong to support a candidate who clearly can’t win. It is exactly the sort of futile, kamikaze gesture that I fear. These men are NOT electable, and telling the Republican establishment that you will vote for them is to encourage a reckless, irresponsible, and ultimately suicidal fantasy.
Peggy Noonan really doesn’t like Romney:
He is a smart, nice and accomplished man who thinks himself clever and politically insightful. He is not and will not become so. He should devote himself to supporting and not attempting to lead the party that has raised him so high.
Rather nasty. And pretty darn rich coming from a Peggy who was once enthralled with Obama.
Almost makes me want to support Mitt for another try in 2016!
Ann:
How condescending of Peggy Noonan. It occurs to me that this—“He is a smart, nice and accomplished man who thinks himself clever and politically insightful. He is not and will not become so.”—could apply much better to Peggy if you just change the pronouns to “she.”
I totally agree with you, Neo. I mean, the nerve of her!
Do you suppose she’s in the Jeb Bush camp and is furious with Romney for going after the same donors?
Still is enthralled. Will be until she gets a replacement (god), which she has been looking for ever since Reagan retreated from the scene.
These men are NOT electable, and telling the Republican establishment that you will vote for them is to encourage a reckless, irresponsible, and ultimately suicidal fantasy.
Elections are about telling people who to vote for. It was not and has never been about individuals taking the field to fight one on one with their opponents.
The fact that Americans are deluded on what political elections mean in this system, is why they are losing to the Left’s superior power system. But loser dogs will howling to the moon about something or other.
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