Having interacted a fair amount with some Huckabee supporters the past week, and noting the take of the mainstream media, let me take a shot at listing some commonly expressed concerns about Romney, and how I would respond to those concerns.I should say that I could go into them in great detail with documentation, but I give you just my summary here.
“Romney is a flip-flopper and has changed his positions for political purposes from the time of his run for governor to now.He’s not really committed to conservative causes—it’s all just talk.”
-This is a tired argument, and really not that hard to address.First, prior to his run for governor of Massachusetts, his political views were not well known or documented.Second, when he ran for the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts against Ted Kennedy, and when he ran for governor, he went on record with a number of positions.On social issues it’s true he was moderate at best, but in every other case they were conservative positions, and it was his economic policies that were the real focus of his campaign for governor.The pro-life issue is instructive, as he basically said “look, I’m personally against abortion, but this is a heavily pro-choice state and this is the law of the land, so I will leave the issue alone and not try to change it.”As governor, he did just that, including working against expansion of access to abortion in the state.And on another major social issue, Romney was a true hero in combating changes in the definition of marriage to include “gay marriage.”
-Now that he is running a national campaign, he is able to and has defined his positions which are down the line conservative.Note that when he made pledges in his run for governor, he kept them.He has made pledges as part of his campaign for the presidency.He will keep them.He has shown nothing but trustworthiness when he has given his word.
“Romney is not really committed to the pro-life and pro-marriage/family causes important to many social conservatives.”
- Again, see above.But also, look at this link regarding his work to protect marriage here.
“Romney is just a typical rich guy, out of touch with the average person and he’s trying to buy the election but it isn’t working because he’s spent much more than other candidates and still isn’t the leading candidate.”
-Romney is a rich guy.Since when, especially among Republicans who believe in the free enterprise system, did it become a bad thing to succeed based on hard work, skills, and ability?That’s what America is all about!Certainly Ronald Reagan believed in this, and traditionally conservatives do as well.
-As Romney himself has said, if so many of his friends are willing to give to his campaign and ask others to do the same, how could he refrain from sacrificing his own money in the cause?He’s done so because he believes he can do the job well, and to give America a choice based on what he can offer.
-Romney began the campaign with very limited name recognition.A significant portion of the money spent has been just to increase his visibility.Romney began without a “natural base of support” of any significant size, which is in contrast to his major competitors, who all had name recognition and/or a natural base of support of significant size.
“Romney isn’t a natural politician so he can’t win in November.”
-True, he has limited experience in politics, and especially national politics.Isn’t that one reason we want him?As he says, are we going to solve problems that have been debated but not solved for years, just by sending Washington insiders back there just to sit in different seats?
-Plus, he is developing this skill.You could see it developing in Michigan and since then.He’s becoming better, and his campaign has made smart adjustments as they’ve gone along.
“Romney won’t be able to attract the moderates and cross-over Democrats needed to help beat the Democrat in November.”
- Romney nearly beat Senator Kennedy, a liberal icon, in Massachusetts and did win the governorship there.He certainly understands moderates and even liberals and this gives him a leg up on persuading many to join him.We shouldn’t underestimate him in this area.
“Romney’s will be handicapped by being Mormon.”
- This seems to be fading as an issue as people have been able to listen to him, consider and digest this issue.He has won a majority of evangelical voters in some states and a number of significant conservative religious leaders have come to his defense.In a year in which the four leading candidates are a black candidate, a woman candidate, a Mormon candidate, and an “old guy” candidate, Americans have shown they are willing to vote for the best candidate regardless of issues of race, gender, specific religion, or age.
Consider this video segment from a black conservative religious leader:
It has been remarkable who strong and fast and hard conservatives have come to Romney’s support and defense in the past week.The prospect of McCain as the Republican nominee has done an amazing job at focusing the mind in this regard.
Just a partial list of these conservative ‘endorsements’ is impressive:
-Rush Limbaugh
-Sean Hannity
-Laura Ingraham
-Lars Larson
-Mark Levin
-Kathryn Lopez
-Former Senator Rick Santorum
-Former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert
-Joe Scarborough
These folks and others are working tirelessly this week to get conservatives united and onboard with Romney.This has been a truly remarkable and urgently organized effort.Let’s add our voices to the mix!
Posted by: Hugh Hewitt at 10:18 AM We have had exactly three days since Rudy threw in with McCain, the clearest signal yet to values voters that their agenda will not be the agenda of a McCain campaign.
The fight against McCain-Kennedy in the spring and summer took about two weeks to first organize and then gather overwhelming strength.
The battle against Harriet Miers (yes, I backed the president on the losing side of that one so I recall it well) took a week or so longer.
But once the conservative voice begins speaking as one or nearly one, it is very effective, and that began to emerge on Thursday after the Reagan Library debate.
When Rush declared on Thursday that a "vote for Huckabee is a vote for McCain," the focus became very, very clear for conservative voters --who heard it.
That message has been repeated a few times by others from Laura Ingraham to Mark Levin and most of us in between, as well as by folks like Rick Santorum and Denny Hastert. Messages take a while to get delivered, but they eventually get there. McCain is using endorsements from the political elites like Arnold and Rick Perry to blunt the new media, and MSM is pushing back with an "inevitability" narrative that is nonsense even as realistic assessments give McCain a great advantage going forward.
But the picture is very clear and voters see it: McCain or Romney. Huck doesn't have a shot, an thus a vote for him is a vote for McCain.
Romney doesn't even have to spend much more money to communicate this or the crucial differences between him and McCain on taxes, the First Amendment, judges, climate change, and especially illegal immigration. He now has the new media on board and amplifying his message. If there is movement towards Romney on Tuesday, he has many incentives to stay on through St. Paul, and especially through Ohio and Texas in early March. He gets more earned media every day from here on than any candidate has enjoyed on the GOP side since the campaign began. That's a huge force multiplier and it is just coming to bear on the race.
A Huckabee voter on Tuesday could have a lot of reasons for sticking with Mike, but one of them cannot be protecting the legacy of Reagan or the platform of the GOP as it has existed since 1980.
It's official: Maine voters have given Romney a surprising and dominating win in their state, and in addition a boost in the arm to conservatives and Romney supporters everywhere. Thank you, Maine! Please consider what more you can do to help in the next 3 days.
Also of note: more Maine Republicans came out to caucus (primarily in support of Romney) since Ronald Reagan's first win in 1980. An indication of conservatives becoming instantly and highly motivated to stop McCain?
Since Florida, the Rasmussen polls nationally have shown McCain with not much change but Romney with an uptick which has pulled him into a tie with McCain nationally, each with 30%. This is good, but it's the state-by-state races as below that will matter most on Tuesday.
3 days remain until most of us have the chance to have our say in the nomination process. I have such a sense of urgency with so much at stake. Normally I don’t have this sense of urgency until we are facing the Democrats, but this is an unusual year. I believe, as has been said, that this is a fight for the heart and soul of the Republican Party and for the future of the conservative cause in America.
I am much more pro-Romney than anything else, but I feel like I have to address as much what I’m against right now as what I’m for. Time is short.
In John McCain, we have a man who has been strong on the war on terror. Unfortunately, that’s about the only nice thing I can think of to say about him. Can you think of any other conservative cause he has contributed significantly to? And then think of all the things he has fought for on the other side—working with liberal senators like Feingold (in restriction of free speech), Kennedy (amnesty for illegals), Edwards (boon for trial lawyers), and Lieberman (unilateral pollution caps that only Americans will pay for and will do little to clean up the environment). He seems to delight in sticking it, not to Democrats and liberals, but to conservatives, and has shown a serious mean streak in doing so over the years.
Because of this, many conservatives are prepared to “sit this one out” rather than put a man who has championed liberal causes more than conservative ones in the White House with a “Republican” label to his name. The danger is not only of losing the presidency, but of suppressing the conservative vote enough to lose seats in the Senate and the House, which would significantly weaken our only protection left against liberal legislation. It could also deeply divide the Republican Party and require rebuilding that could take years…and this at a time when we are already in it to the hilt trying to stop liberals from further changing America from its traditional values and roots.
So, at this crucial time, let me give you somewhat of an “executive summary” of where we stand today:
(1) After Florida, we must say that nearly across the board McCain has a slight advantage. However, the way this 21-state Super Tuesday sets up, that slight advantage could well become an unstoppable one if we don’t gain support for Romney now.
(2) Mike Huckabee and his supporters are key to what will happen on Tuesday and beyond. For some reason that I can’t quite fathom, Huckabee has been supporting McCain against Romney, despite the fact that most Huckabee supporters are strong conservatives who abhor John McCain’s liberal accomplishments and mocking of conservatives many times in the past.
a) Huckabee’s supporters have been committed to him, but there are some that recognize that, if their support of their candidate could be deeply damaging to the conservative cause they might consider their options, even in support of Romney.There are a couple of examples I’ve mentioned here and here. (3) As in the post below, there is some encouraging news out of Maine, where Romney looks like he may get the win in the caucuses there today!
(4) Before I go over the status report of all the Super Tuesday states, may I just highlight the importance of a few states: California, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Colorado and Georgia I think are 6 critical Super Tuesday “swing states” and may I also say that if Romney supporters in Arizona could pull off the surprise, it would be massive in importance. And since Alabama is a second home for us, nothing would please me more than a win there!
(5) Here is the list of states voting on Tuesday (yes, it is long!) and a short review of what the optimistic chances are in each state (yes, you who know me, I am natively optimistic but I’ll try to be reasonable). An ‘*’ means the state delegates are winner-take-all. The other states divide the delegates in some way.
West • California (173) – A real battleground which could well be divided down the middle, but Romey has a real chance to get significant delegates here. • Arizona (53*) – McCain expected to win in his home state, but Romney has good support there. A Romney win there would be unexpected but HUGE. • Utah (36*) – Romney likely to win. The LDS population and the fondness we hold for him due to his work at making the 2002 Olympics successful give him strong support here. • Colorado (46) – A close one, but some recent polls give Romney an edge. This would be a critical one to help Romney turn things around against McCain. • Montana (25*) – Polls suggest Romney has gained support in Montana, again would be a critical win. • Alaska (29) – No good polling there. This is the one state where Ron Paul hopes to win or do well, but I’ve seen reports from Alaska suggesting that Romney has really come on strong there. They hate McCain due to his siding with the Democrats against drilling for oil resources in ANWR in northern Alaska.
Western Midwest • North Dakota (29) – Again no great polling that I’ve seen, but there are suggestions Romney has real support there and could win. This is one of those “off-the-radar” states that could really help Romney. • Oklahoma (41) – McCain has a lead in polls, but it’s not insurmountable. This is one of the “swing states” if you will in this Super Tuesday vote, and a Romney win would be amplified greatly in its significance. • Minnesota (40) – Very much like Oklahoma in that McCain has some lead in polls and is expected to win, but a great outpouring of support for Romney there would be like a bullhorn to the nation.
Midwest • Illinois (70) – I consider the two “birthplaces of the Republican Party” to be Abraham Lincoln’s Illinois, and Ronald Reagan’s California. Expectations are for McCain here, but again it is not an insurmountable lead in the polls. Maybe this birthplace of the Republican Party can be the lead in the rebirth of the party! • Missouri (58*) – McCain has a small lead, but recent polls have shown a tightening, almost a 3-way tie between him and Romney and Huckabee. Missourians for Romney! Again, a swing state that would be huge.
South • Alabama (48) – Huckabee has a definite lead. This looks like a long shot but again, we’re not talking about 20 point leads here. At least McCain is not so strong there, but a shift from Huckabee to Romney might make a difference. • Georgia (72) – Polls have showed a real tightening, with a situation not unlike Missouri. Georgia has a lot of delegates. Even a relatively small shift of Huckabee supporters to Romney in Georgia could make a big difference. • Tennessee (55) – McCain has more of a lead here. Situation otherwise like Alabama. It’s the divided vote of conservatives that could give it to McCain, so again much is in the hands of Huckabee supporters in the next 3 days. • Arkansas (34*) – Huckabee unlikely to lose his home state, although he does have his own opposition in the state. • West Virginia (30) – Not much polling there, but it does appear to be leaning McCain. See the discussion of Tennessee, because I think the same could be said of WV.
Northeast • New York (101*) – This one of only a couple of states where I have a hard time seeing McCain lose. This is in large part due to Giuliani’s endorsement and his support among Republican insiders and moderates. • Massachusetts (41) – Polls have shown Romney with a large lead in his home state, so hopefully a big win there and significant delegates. • New Jersey (52*) – The discussion here is identical to New York. • Connecticut (30*) – Haven’t seen much polling there. The assumption is that McCain will win there like NY and NJ, but until we know otherwise, why shouldn’t Romney win there? They’ve been able to observe the turnaround of Massachusetts in their region under Governor Romney and may see and appreciate the strengths he offers. • Delaware (18*) – Polls have suggested that courageous Delaware may buck the trend of NY/NJ, etc. and vote for Romney. This would show some regional support in New England for Mitt.
(6) I’ve recently posted a couple of other things if you would like to scroll down to review…especially about an event in Illinois.
(7) Finally, later tonight I will post a review of what I think are the principal concerns of voters who have not yet embraced Romney, and in particular Huckabee supporters, and see if we can’t work those out. Again, I keep saying this but I sure wish we had more time to discuss and work out differences, but the moment of decision is fast approaching. Let’s do what we can!
Just a note that I saw a brief interview of Mitt Romney after the funeral this morning of LDS President Gordon Hinckley in Salt Lake City. He was great as always. I believe he was on his way to Colorado having come from California if I'm following his movements correctly during this blitzkrieg week!
Here's some info for those of you in Illinois if you can attend tomorrow:
Rally for Governor Romney We are moving the Rally for Governor Romney to a larger venue. It is still on Sunday, February 3, at 11:50 AM. It will be held at the College of DuPage in the McAninch Arts Center at 425 Fawell Boulevard at the intersection of Fawell and Park Boulevard in Glen Ellyn.
You can download the flyer for the event with the new information at: http://www.committeetoelectdelegates.org/Rally_for_Romney_Flyer.pdf
This is going to be a great event, I hope you will join us. I look forward to seeing you on Sunday.
Sincerely,
Dan Rutherford State Senator Illinois Chairman Romney for President
As I mentioned before, I lived in the South, Alabama specifically, for several years, and have great fondness for the South and for Southerners. I think perhaps the greatest issue over the next 3 days is this: will the South give Mitt Romney a fair shake and consider supporting him? This becomes more urgent, of course, due to the fact that the alternative is liberal McCain becoming the Republican nominee and the Republican Party becoming deeply divided for some time.
Please revisit my post on a call to the South: here.
You cannot help the poor, by destroying the rich. You cannot strengthen the weak, by weakening the strong. You cannot bring about prosperity, by discouraging thrift. You cannot lift the wage earner up, by pulling the wage payer down. You cannot further the brotherhood of man, by inciting class hatred. You cannot build character and courage, by taking away men's initiative and independence. You cannot help men permanently, by doing for them what they could and should, do for themselves.
The author? Abraham Lincoln. Let's not forget what has made America great and unique in the world.
