visionary Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 The problem w/ Romney, from the GOP's perspective, is that no one likes him. Yes, he's still their best (i.e. only) shot at the Presidency, but it's still a slim shot. The GOP has no shot at the Presidency, but they do have a shot in the Senate. If they get some nutter running then they may be able to get a big showing at the polls, and maybe enough to win some Senate seats and take over Congress. If Romney gets the nod, the nutters stay home and the GOP loses its chance to take Congress. That's a good point. But I would think that a nutter would also drive liberals to vote in greater numbers as well and shift moderates towards the Democrats, especially if congressional candidates tie themself closely to nutter. Although I suppose it could also keep democrats and moderates home, if they think that it will be a blowout election and there isn't any point in voting. (But that might also be the case with moderate and non-frothing at the mouth republicans) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G.A.C.O.L.B. Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 Agree with the prev posters. We should try to get back to Romney. You're right. That was just my thought as a finished reading through this. Anyway, "I'm running for president, for Pete's sake" I think sums up Romney's entire existence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@DCGoldPants Posted October 30, 2011 Author Share Posted October 30, 2011 Romney applies lessons learned last time around After losing his 2008 bid for the Republican presidential nomination, Mitt Romney jumped into his next project, conducting the kind of analysis he became famous for as a management consultant at Bain & Co. Only this time the company was Romney Inc. He sat down with aides at his Massachusetts mansion to deconstruct what went wrong and invited potential donors for a series of consultations at his New Hampshire lake house. And he took away three lessons: Sharpen the message, bank more of other people's money, and act more like an average guy. Now, Romney, leading in some polls for the nomination to challenge President Barack Obama in 2012, focuses so much on the economy that he often almost skips over questions about abortion and gay marriage and tries to project an Everyman image. "He learned to be consistent and disciplined," said Doug Gross, the Iowa chairman of Romney's 2008 campaign who is unaffiliated in this election. "Last time, I think he attempted to be all things to all people, and that created an authenticity issue and really hurt him." Still, while Romney led all Republican contenders by raising $32.6 million through Sept. 30 and has gained key endorsements, including by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, he's been stuck at well below 30 percent support in polls, a signal that he hasn't won over a large swath of party voters. Romney, 64, who has become more forceful in candidate debates, has sought to address voter perceptions of him as both inconsistent in his positions and too wooden. He's traded in his suits for jeans, touts on Twitter his commercial flights on Southwest Airlines and meals at Carl's Jr. and Subway, and pared down his staff to a close circle of aides. The former Massachusetts governor also has run a leaner campaign, spending $2.2 million on staff salaries and benefits -- compared with the $9 million he'd laid out at this time in 2007, data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics show. "We're much smaller, we're very adroit and agile, which maybe we weren't the last time around," said Tom Rath, a senior adviser in both campaigns. Though he's spending less on staff, Romney is paying more attention to fund-raising. After sinking $35.4 million of his own money into his 2008 campaign, he started wooing supporters long before he announced plans to enter this race. In 2009, he began inviting groups of donors -- including those leaning toward other candidates -- to his lake house in Wolfeboro, N.H., to spend time with him and his family. Enlisting contributors brings benefits beyond allowing Romney to avoid tapping into his own resources, said Anthony Corrado, a campaign-finance expert at Colby College in Maine. "By relying on donors rather than his own funds, he gives more supporters a stake in the campaign," Corrado said. Romney told donors that he recognized he had come across as arrogant during his last run, according to one participant at a meeting. Donors said Romney also realized voters viewed him as a flip-flopper. This time, he said, he wouldn't run from his record, including a health-care bill he passed in Massachusetts. Yet even with all the retooling, there are times Romney struggles to connect with voters. "I love this country," he said at the end of one town-hall meeting in Iowa. "I hope I made that clear. I didn't say that as directly as I would like to. I love America." That barely drew a reaction from the audience. And not everyone is convinced he has changed. The need to overcome skepticism from Tea Party supporters who advocate limited government is Romney's biggest hurdle to the nomination. "The one thing that he hasn't learned since 2008 is that government mandates at any level of government are a problem," said Max Pappas, a vice president of FreedomWorks, a Tea Party group that objects to Romney's positions on health care and the 2008 bailout of the financial industry. Romney's efforts to appear more of a common man suffered a setback in August, when his plans to almost quadruple the size of his $12 million oceanfront mansion in La Jolla, Calif., leaked to the press. "I consider him to be a fat cat," Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who's also seeking the Republican nomination and frequently highlights his rival's fortune, told CNBC in an interview this week. Romney was called names during the last election, too: His campaign was marked by so many misstatements that the Democratic National Committee derided him as the most gaffe-prone candidate in the Republican field. After losing the nomination, he traveled the country on behalf of candidates during the 2008 race, producing a binder packed with thank you notes during a meeting that November with aides at his Belmont, Mass., mansion. At that meeting, a consensus emerged on the lessons learned in defeat: Romney, who made his fortune digging into the financial minutiae of companies, had offered too many details on the campaign. He needed a more focused message. While Romney worked to develop his policy positions by writing his book, "No Apology," in his La Jolla house, aides in Iowa and New Hampshire sought to keep supporters in the fold. His campaign leadership took over his political action committee to manage campaign contributions and allow Romney to donate to candidates across the country. Today, friends say the new Romney, a self-assured business leader selling himself as a turnaround expert, is more like the man they're familiar with. "This is the Mitt I've known for 30 years," said Bob White, a confidant dubbed by Romney his "career-long wingman" from their days at Boston-based Bain. "I don't think that all came out last time." A big part of what Romney learned was that business and politics are different, say current and former aides. "In 2008, he tried to adopt the model that he had in the private sector where you get all the best minds in a room," said Gross. "Politics ain't like that. We had a cacophony of voices and no strategic direction." Now, said Greg Mueller, a Republican strategist with ties to Tea Party groups, "There's a sense that he feels like it's his time and he's on his game," Still, says Mueller, given Romney's record, he has to be "careful not to depress the energy" of Tea Party activists whose support he needs. In town-hall meetings and economic roundtables, Romney tries to erase the doubts by arguing that he can apply his experience revamping businesses to help the economy. "I have, in my view, the kinds of skills that America needs right now to get our economy going again," he told voters in Sioux City, Iowa. And rather than highlight his Wall Street background, he speaks of his father, George Romney, who started his career as a carpenter and went on to become the head of the former American Motors Corp., governor of Michigan, and a contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 1968. "My father never graduated from college," Romney told a Hispanic group recently. "He learned how to put a handful of nails in his mouth and spit them out, point forward." He tends to stick to forums where he's comfortable, like economic roundtables, and rarely takes questions from reporters. During a trip to Iowa and South Dakota last week, social issues came up only once, in an exchange with a woman over birth control. Romney quickly changed the subject. The gaffes of 2008 were replaced with a sense of confidence. "There's a good shot I might become the next president of the United States," he told business leaders in Treynor, Iowa. "It's not a sure thing, but it's a good shot." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 That article actually makes me like the guy more, as a candidate. (Which obviously means he's doomed, since it's well known that I'm The Most Liberal Socialist Hippy Person In The World. Except when somebody else is.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 Saw this on CNN yesterday. It looks interesting, but I haven't had the time to go through it yet. (it is slightly off topic maybe, but does help us know more about him, I assume) http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/29/the-shaping-of-mitt-romney-a-look-at-his-faith-journey-2/?hpt=hp_c1 The shaping of a candidate: A look at Mitt Romney's faith journey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hersh Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 Romney applies lessons learned last time around "He learned to be consistent and disciplined," said Doug Gross, the Iowa chairman of Romney's 2008 campaign who is unaffiliated in this election. "Last time, I think he attempted to be all things to all people, and that created an authenticity issue and really hurt him." Donors said Romney also realized voters viewed him as a flip-flopper. This time, he said, he wouldn't run from his record, including a health-care bill he passed in Massachusetts. Is this article supposed to be a joke? He is either didn't learn anything or is so insecure with himself that he will switch positions on anything to be liked at that very moment. He flip flopped all of this last week and he has never embraced his health-care plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjah Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 he has never embraced his health-care plan. That's just a formality though -- it's already shackled to him in a permanent embrace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@DCGoldPants Posted October 31, 2011 Author Share Posted October 31, 2011 http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/fact-checker-biography-romneys-fiscal-policies-as-governor/2011/10/27/gIQAoJUmPM_blog.html?hpid=z2 Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 10/31/2011Fact Checker biography: Romney’s fiscal policies as governor By Josh Hicks EDITOR’S NOTE: This column will be the first in a series of five columns this week examining how factual former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has been in describing his past achievements. Reporter Josh Hicks has spent weeks examining Romney’s statements and deciding which ones best represent how Romney talks about his past. After this week, he will turn to the other candidates. We welcome suggestions from readers for statements to vet. — Glenn Kessler *** “We were able to balance our budget all four years without raising taxes. We were able to cut back on government spending and government employment, and so we were able to balance that budget and ultimately build a rainy-day fund much larger than when I took office.” — Mitt Romney’s remarks during a July 5, 2011, campaign event in Iowa Romney repeats these lines often on the campaign trail, and it’s easy to see why. He needs to convince the Republican base of his fiscal-conservative credentials. These remarks obviously suggest that Romney reduced spending and balanced the budget without raising taxes. We researched his record in Massachusetts to find out how well his policies match his claims. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 I like the article. OK, he didn't officially raise taxes, but he got rid of some loopholes, and he increases some fees. That might cot him the Tea Party vote, but to me, it sounds like someone who doesn't value slogans above practicality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@DCGoldPants Posted October 31, 2011 Author Share Posted October 31, 2011 Why is it that nobody ever comes out and says "Look, once elected the realities of the position just don't jive with the 100% ideological stuff." I still don't know what the tea partiers wants. Lower taxes, lower spending? No to closing loopholes? Whatever happens because of that doesn't matter? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubbs Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 [X] Discussions of retard pundits[X] Claims of "show me where I said that" [X] HH feels victimized [. ] Got lastest info on Romney [X] Larry underlines words :ols: :applause: :applause: That's my favorite Tailgate post in a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjah Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 Why is it that nobody ever comes out and says "Look, once elected the realities of the position just don't jive with the 100% ideological stuff." They want not just the ideological votes, but also the votes of all fleas living upon the dog that gets wagged by its ideological tail. (To complete the metaphor, Fox News broadcasts from just inside the crusty rim of the dog's anus, looking backward.) I hear that the tail, submerged in hot water for 2-3 minutes, yields a delightfully robust Earl Grey. I still don't know what the tea partiers wants. Lower taxes, lower spending? No to closing loopholes? They don't know either. I don't have the source handy at the moment but I've seen surveys of tea partiers clearly indicating a vehement opposition to the idea of reducing entitlement spending in any significant (read: fiscally useful) way. Hence a GOP politician's reluctance to point out that particularly obvious problem with the tea party perspective. Democratic politicians have their own analogous reasons for not being forthcoming, though their voters don't march in the same choreographed lockstep and lack the same multitude of hopelessly slanted coordinated mouthpieces in talk radio and high-viewership 24/7 cable news. It's somewhat harder to sell baseless ideology to social progressives who have spent their entire lives watching progressive ideology so often fail to become actual practice. "Wanting nice things and wanting to not have to pay for them" is how Michael Lewis describes California's fundamental fiscal problem in his recent book/article compilation. Clearly this cognitive dissonance problem is the right's albatross as well. Almost as if it's human nature to act this way under certain, very familiar-sounding cultural conditions... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Thought I'd give Mitt a bump, here, since it seems like the only way a candidate can stay on Page 1 of Tailgate is by ****ing something on TV. The Onion: Mitt Romney Haunted By Past Of Trying To Help Uninsured Sick People Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 State treasurer of MA absolutely shreds RomneyCare, which “has nearly bankrupted the state” and is surviving solely because of federal aid http://hotair.com/greenroom/archives/2011/10/27/state-treasurer-of-ma-absolutely-shreds-romneycare-which-has-nearly-bankrupted-the-state-and-is-surviving-solely-because-of-federal-aid/ “If President Obama and the Democrats repeat the mistake of the health insurance reform here in Massachusetts on a national level, they will threaten to wipe out the American economy within four years,” Cahill said in a press conference in his office. …[T]he state’s health insurance law…Cahill said, “has nearly bankrupted the state.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Gee, and at a time when all of the other states in the country are swimming in cash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 A whopper of an ad against Romney from the Dem PAC, obviously some things taken out of context but over all...dang... Oz1aLR05eb8 BTW to those watching, this is what people do when they are actively working against a candidate as compared to the Palin treatment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Wonder why anybody would be running such an ad, now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 because all that cash needs spent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predicto Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Wonder why anybody would be running such an ad, now? Because there is only one GOP candidate in the race that the Democrats are actually scared of? :whoknows: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88Comrade2000 Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Because there is only one GOP candidate in the race that the Democrats are actually scared of? :whoknows: They would love Romney because Romney has no support. With him as nominee- there's a real strong possibility they could depress the Republican turnout and maybe even give the Dems a shot of keeping the Senate and retaking the house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prosperity Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 They would love Romney because Romney has no support. With him as nominee- there's a real strong possibility they could depress the Republican turnout and maybe even give the Dems a shot of keeping the Senate and retaking the house. Mitt Romney is John Kerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predicto Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 They would love Romney because Romney has no support. With him as nominee- there's a real strong possibility they could depress the Republican turnout and maybe even give the Dems a shot of keeping the Senate and retaking the house. Mitt Romney is John Kerry I totally disagree with both of you. The GOP is presenting the country with a bunch of nutty extremists... and Romney. In times of economic trouble, people will vote against the incumbent President, if the GOP gives them a halfway reasonable choice. In other words, if the economy had been in the dumps in 2004, Kerry would have beaten Bush easily. But if the Democrats had nominated Dennis Kucinich or Al Sharpton as their nominee, Bush would have rolled to reelection regardless of the economy. In my opinion, of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prosperity Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 I totally disagree with both of you. The GOP is presenting the country with a bunch of nutty extremists... and Romney. In times of economic trouble, people will vote against the incumbent President, if the GOP gives them a halfway reasonable choice. In other words, if the economy had been in the dumps in 2004, Kerry would have beaten Bush easily. But if the Democrats had nominated Dennis Kucinich or Al Sharpton as their nominee, Bush would have rolled to reelection regardless of the economy. In my opinion, of course. I don't think people are going to vote for Mitt "corporations are people" Romney in times of economic trouble Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predicto Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 I don't think people aren't going to vote for Mitt "corporations are people" Romney in times of economic trouble The election is not going to be about Romney. It's going to be a referendum on Obama.... UNLESS the GOP is dumb enough to put up an extremist as their candidate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 I don't think people aren't going to vote for Mitt "corporations are people" Romney in times of economic trouble You do have a valid point. Romney did say that. And if he wins the nomination, they're going to try to label him with that. OTOH, let's be honest. Romney said that corporations are people. The rest of the GOP field have made it clear, by their positions and their proposals, that they think corporations are God. You think they're going to vote for "I'm going to cut taxes on corporate profit , by 3/4 I'm going to increase taxes on money that corporations pay employees, I'm going to tax the money that corporations pay for their employee's health insurance. I'm going to cut the taxes of the top 1% in half, I'm going to eliminate taxes on unearned income for the top .01%, And I'm going to double taxes on the bottom 50% Cain? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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