Tag Archives: Romney

What Mitt Really Thinks About Jebbie and Christie

“But those familiar with Romney’s thinking as he’s been contemplating a run and over the years say that he has held a jaundiced view of the former Florida governor dating all the way back to his handling of the Terri Schiavo case, and has come to see Bush as a non-entity in the 2016 nomination contest. Romney is said to see Bush as a small-time businessman whose financial transactions would nonetheless be fodder for the Democrats and as terminally weighed down with voters across the board based on his family name. Romney also doesn’t think much of Bush’s political skills (a view mocked by Bush’s camp, who say Romney is nowhere near Bush’s league as a campaigner).  Romney also considers Bush the national Republican figure who was the least helpful to him during his last run for the White House, a position that has darkened Ann Romney’s view of Bush as well.

“Romney and Christie became friends in the last cycle, but Romney nevertheless has dismissed his pal as a non-factor. Thanks to the 2012 veep vetting process, Romney became intimately familiar with some of the less publicized controversies from the New Jersey governor’s past, and believes that several of those flaps would mushroom so broadly that Christie soon would be eliminated from consideration by voters and donors.”

From “How Mitt Romney Made His Decision Not To Run,” Mark Halperin, Bloomberg Politics

Oh, God, He’s Baaaaack

Mittens has an op-ed in the WSJ journal, “The Price of Failed Leadership.”  He’s not writing about his 2012 campaign, he’s writing about Obama.

He says that if only Obama had assured Putin that “we would not exclude Russia from its base in Sevastopol or threaten its influence in Kiev,” Putin might not have invaded Crimea.

But I don’t think it ever occurred to Putin (or to Obama) that we might kick him out of Sevastopol.  I don’t think even Dick Cheney or John Bolton ever wanted to do that.  If you like your warm water port, you can keep your warm water port.  Nor were we threatening Russia’s influence in Kiev.  In case, Mitt hasn’t noticed, we kind of have enough problems right now, and we’ve been trying to get Putin to work with us on stuff like Syria and Iran.  We really weren’t looking for trouble in Ukraine, of all places.

Putin has long wanted to get Crimea back.  Events in Ukraine gave him an opening/excuse, and he took it.  I don’t blame Putin for doing what he thinks is in Russia’s interest, and I don’t blame Obama, any more than I blame Bush for what happened in Georgia in 2008.  Geo-political shit happens.

Not Exactly Cassandra

Michael Barone predicts disaster for the Dems this year.  His headline today in The Washington Examiner says it all — “Democratic Strategists in 2014 Are Like French Generals in 1940.”

Y’all remember Michael Barone writing on November 2, 2012, don’t you?  He predicted that Mittens would get 315 electoral votes, and the Kenyan Muslim Socialist would get 223.

Kind of makes you think “Republican Strategists in 2012 Were Like French Generals in 1940,” doesn’t it?

Also kind of makes you think, “Why does this guy still have a job?”

 

Quote of the Day

“And yet, even post-Bridgegate, the prevailing interpretations of Christie fundamentally miss the mark. He has been so singularly successful at constructing his own mythology—as a reformer, a crusader, a bipartisan problem-solver—that people have never really seen him clearly. Over the past three months, I talked to more than 50 people who have crossed paths with Christie throughout his career—legislators, officials, Democrats, Republicans, lawyers, longtime New Jersey politicos. (Christie himself didn’t respond to a detailed request for comment.) The problem with Christie isn’t merely that he is a bully. It’s that his political career is built on a rotten foundation. Christie owes his rise to some of the most toxic forces in his state—powerful bosses who ensure that his vow to clean up New Jersey will never come to pass. He has allowed them to escape scrutiny, rewarded them for their support, and punished their enemies. All along, even as it looked like Christie was attacking the machine, he was really just mastering it.”

Alec MacGillis, “Chris Christie’s Entire Career Reeks,” The New Republic

The article is today’s must read.

I think Mitt’s people figured this out when they were vetting him for Veep and ran screaming.

Mitt Did Us a Favor

From “Paul Ryan’s disappearing act,” Jonathan Martin, Politico:

“Last year’s It Boy of the graying Republican Party has been bigfooted by the GOP’s new twin heartthrobs, Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Rand Paul of Kentucky.

“Ryan is actually hurt by having been on the ticket last year.  Many Republican activists had heard of the smart young Wisconsin conservative but not actually seen him up close.  And when they did, well, it didn’t send their pulses racing.

“‘He fell flat out here,” said Sam Clovis, a conservative talk radio show host in northwest Iowa.  ‘He just didn’t measure up to the hype.'”

Just as McCain showed us that Sarah Palin is empty-headed, Mitt showed us that Paul Ryan is empty-hearted.  Ryan had his moment, and he won’t be president.

As for Rubio, he’s very slick, but not very bright.  All he really has going for him is that he is Cuban-American, but the GOP will figure out that Cuba-Americans don’t identify with other Hispanics and, more importantly, vice versa.

Rand Paul may be less weird than his father, but he’s still way too weird to be president.

Jeb Bush has that fatal last name, Scott Walker is arrogant and dumb, John Kasich is arrogant and obnoxious, Bobby Jindal is simply goofy…  I’d go with Christie.  Sure he’s over-the-top Jersey to GOP Southerners, but what are they going to do, vote for Hillary?   He‘d keep red states, swing purple states, and put blue states in play.

New GOP — Same as the Old

North Dakota is going to have a “personhood amendment” on its ballot in 2014.

You know, the provision that says a fertilized egg has the same constitutional rights you and I have.   The thing that would ban not only all abortions (rape, incest, life of the mother), but also hormonal birth control and in vitro fertilization.

The provision that those wild and crazy leftist radicals in Mississippi defeated.

Having measures like this on the ballot will generate lots of attention beyond North Dakota in 2014 and affect other races, just as ignorant extremists like Todd “Legitimate Rape” Akin tainted the GOP beyond their own losing races and hurt the party across the board, including Mitt.