Tag Archives: Republican primary

We’ll See Newt in the General — in Obama Ads

From “Obama’s not-so-secret weapon:  Newt Gingrich,” Brian Montopoli, CBS News:

“In January, Gingrich flat-out called Romney a liar and suggested his rival is someone who will ‘lie to you when they are president.’  He has attacked Romney’s record in the business world, saying that Romney and his Bain compatriots were ‘rich guys looting’ who ‘made a lot of money while people were going broke.’  And Gingrich last year deemed the Paul Ryan budget, which Romney has largely embraced, ‘radical’ and ‘right-wing social engineering’….

“Gingrich’s criticisms play into perhaps the two strongest arguments the Obama campaign will use against Romney:  That [he] is an out-of-touch plutocrat unconcerned with the working man, and that he is pushing a ‘radical’ agenda on the American people.”

The GOP’s Hypocritical War on “War”

Ok, so here comes some spokesman for the RNC, some Sean Spicer, absolutely outraged about Democrats accusing Republicans of a “war on women.”  He says it’s an insult to our veterans:

“I find it offensive….  It’s not only bad, but it’s downright pathetic they would use a term like ‘war’ when there are millions of Americans who actually have engaged in a real war.  To use a term like that borders on unpatriotic.”

Um, Sean, maybe you haven’t noticed, but the Republican presidential candidates have been accusing President Obama and the Dems of waging a “war on religion.”  Are your candidates unpatriotic?

And every year, we have to hear the folks at Fox News whine about the “war on Christmas.”  Are all those GOP cheerleaders at your propaganda arm unpatriotic?

And does anybody recall the RNC calling Nancy Reagan unpatriotic for her “war on drugs?”  Anybody?

The Emperor Has No Clothes

MSNBC’s resident conservative, former Florida Republican congressman and host of Morning Joe, Joe Scarborough said out loud what everyone is thinking (except Ann and Mittens and their five boys), that the GOP’s emperor has no clothes:

“Let’s just be honest. Can we just say this for everybody at home? The Republican establishment — I’ve yet to meet a single person in the Republican establishment who thinks Mitt Romney will win the general election this year…. I’ve yet to meet anybody in the Republican establishment that worked for George W. Bush, that works in the Republican Congress, that worked for Ronald Reagan that thinks Mitt Romney is going to win the general election.”

When Mitt infuriates me (pathetically projecting his own most obvious defects onto Obama by calling him a flip flopper, calling him out of touch, saying he’ll end Medicare, etc.), I just imagine watching Mitt’s concession speech in November.

Maybe there’s a novel to be written — Chronicle of a Defeat Foretold.

 

No One Likes a Loser

Rick “Savanarola” Santorum’s lead in Pennsylvania has evaporated.  Mitt’s now up by about 5.

If Frothy stubbornly stays in and loses his home state (again), he won’t be able to run in 2016.  He’ll be toast.   And not toast with a likeness of the Virgin Mary you can sell on eBay.  Badly burned toast, charred and crispy as Savanarola himself ended up for his extremism.

So Frothy really needs to get out not just for Mitt and the GOP, but for self-preservation.

Newt Now Literally Bankrupt, Not Just Morally

We already knew Newt was morally bankrupt.  Now he’s literally bankrupt.

His think tank, the Center for Health Transformation, filed for bankruptcy yesterday.  The filing shows liabilities of at least $1 million and perhaps as much as $10 million, owed to at least 50 and perhaps as many as 99 creditors.

Those creditors may not have had their health transformed, but Newtie certainly transformed their finances.  I guess Callista won’t be selling her Tiffany trinkets to pay their bills.

It’s a relief that he won’t ever be in charge of America’s money.

Newt said he went on that Greek cruise to observe first-hand what was going on there!  I guess he learned how to stiff your creditors, just as Greece is doing.

Wisconsin Doesn’t Really Like Mitt

Mitt won Wisconsin, but the exit polls don’t show much love for him as a person.

Voters were asked which quality mattered most to them:  Ability to defeat Obama, being a true conservative, having strong moral character, or having the right experience.

Mitt won on ability to defeat Obama and having the right experience, qualities that don’t reflect that much on him as a human being.  They reflect hope for what he can do in the future and respect for his business background in the past.  They are the two pragmatic categories among the four, the ones that don’t reflect likability.

Santorum lost overall by 10%, but he won on being a true conservative and having strong moral character, both of which are more about him as a person.  He was 34% ahead of Mitt on character and 48% ahead of Mitt on being a conservative.

Mitt has the nomination, but it’s a very grudging and reluctant coronation that doesn’t excite the base.  You know, those people who always turn out, who put up the yard signs, make the phone calls, etc.

Santorum’s toast, but really Mitt is too.

Romney Camp Split, As Usual

Politico reports that Mitt can’t decide what to do next:

“Debate at Romney HQ:  Do we pour money into Pennsylvania to crush Santorum in his home state on April 24 (also an investment in the general election), or save that money for the fall and let nature take care of itself?”

I would say the sooner they get Savonarola off the stage, the better to appeal to moderates/Independents.   Although Frothy is so convinced he’ll do well in May (Texas, Kentucky, Arkansas, North Carolina), that he might not drop out even if he loses Pennsylvania.

Mitt and President Obama are campaigning against each other, and Frothy is off on another planet.  I thought it was appropriate that his speech last night was given from Mars.  Mars, Pennsylvania, that is.

Even Mitt’s Advisers Think He Sucks

We’ve all noticed that Mitt’s endorsers aren’t exactly brimming with enthusiasm for him, that they are half-hearted and lukewarm about him.  Well, it seems his campaign advisers feel the same way!  These are people whose paychecks Mitt signs.

From Politico, “Romney image-makers split on strategy,” Mike Allen and Evan Thomas:

“Members of Mitt Romney’s inner circle acknowledge they still have yet to solve the key challenge they face in trying to help him win the presidency — finding a way to make an emotionally remote and fabulously wealthy candidate connect with average voters.

“Aides continue to debate whether they should seize even tighter control of [him] or yield to the push by some advisers to ‘let Romney be Romney’ — but they have yet to crack the code. …  [O]ne Romney adviser lamented, ‘In the absence of a candidate who has any poetry — who has any ability to connect on an emotional level — how do you create a bond?’

“Romney’s agenda, the adviser said, is ‘warmed-over oatmeal’ and needs to be bolder.

“‘If you’re a super-charismatic candidate like George W. Bush or John McCain, they both ran without a real bold agenda,’ the adviser continued.  ‘They had other, more emotional-level, values-level ways to connect with voters.  This guy just doesn’t have it.  He has all the warmth of a Wall Street CEO.'”

I would say the unnamed adviser who calls W and Johnny Mac “super-charismatic” sets a really low bar for charisma, and yet even he despairs of Mitt.  I’d also say both sides are right and both sides are wrong.  You’re damned if you rein him in and damned if you let him be himself.  He’s just a terrible candidate.

The GOP had a whole election cycle to get their “Anybody But Mitt” candidate lined up –they knew he would run again, and they knew he would be terrible again — and yet here we are.