Sunday, January 22, 2012

Win-grich

So, here's what you get for attacking free-market capitalism, cozying up to Freddie Mac, and having cheated on not one but two wives: a 12-point win in S.C.

Sounds like the kind of guy who best exemplifies conservative principles, both fiscal and social.

Well played, S.C., you've just set back Republicans enormously. Here's why. First, in the long-shot chance that Gingrich actually ends up being the party nominee, he will lose to Obama. Period.

But in the more likely scenario that Romney still wins the nomination, all you've done is extend the primary thus allowing more time for in-party attacks against Romney that will subsequently be used by Obama in the general election. The longer this primary goes, the more fodder we generate for Dems to use against us. Santorum's weak finish in SC also unfortunately suggests he will not get much traction. One can only hope Romney gets a big win in FL to keep his momentum going.

If Mitt is smart he will not attack Ron Paul or Santorum, making sure he can line up their supporters in the future. There are also rumors he could pick Santorum as VP candidate, which would be a great choice (as well as Rubio and Christie).

8 comments:

Fredo said...

While I may not agree philosophically with Newt's attacks on Bain, the fact remains that, politically speaking, it's fair game. And I think it's a favor to Republican voters to have the debate now, before we've settled on a candidate.

I don't blame the voters for this result. Mitt had a double digit lead here a week and a half ago. He responded ineffectively to Newt's attacks, and if he can't improve his game in the next week and a half, he'll lose Florida as well. And you know what? He should. Because if he can't parry attacks like these amongst GOP voters, who are probably philosophically open to his counter-argument, he's not going to be able to do it with moderates who are less convinced that private equity has value.

Fredo said...

Additionally, Mitt absolutely fumbled in the debates with his weak reply to whether he'll release his taxes.

Mitt still has huge structural advantages in the remaining contests. He should still win.

He will have to prove he can play offense, and hit Newt's many weaknesses, as well as play defense, and show why his track record at Bain and his huge income are positives, not negatives.

dark commenteer said...

In this age of sound bites and YouTube, I think Newt getting ambushed during the CNN debate the other night was the best thing that could have happened to him.

That footage was shown everywhere (unlike the actual substance of the event) and what people took away was Newt as a strong, no-nonsense MAN who will stand up for himself and tear the face off of an insolent little piss-ant.

And it gave him a colossal win.

I sure am glad I already cleaned up with Mitt early...#winningmad money.

For the record, I'm all for supporting Romney and having Rubio as the VP.

SheaHeyKid said...

Agreed that Romney needs a better defense against both the Bain attacks as well as his taxes, and better for him to figure this out sooner. Frustrating that he didn't knock this out of the park since (a) he MUST have known this line of attack would come out, at least from Obama, and (b) there are many ways to easily defend this while not alienating typical independent voters (the only swing votes that matter).

That said, I'm not sure why Newt gets rewarded for this. Yes, I completely agree that ABC and other media did a smear job on him. The timing reeks, it's really old news in any case, and as usual they are just trying to take down a Republican. Media = flaming liberals, nothing new there. And I agree Newt's defense was brilliant and this worked in his favor. But it still doesn't change the fact that his life doesn't embody socially conservative principles, and his attacks on Bain go against fiscal conservatism. If anything voters could have rewarded Santorum.

Fredo said...

They're all flawed candidates. As Ed Rollins said, Mitt's a guy who ran away from Reagan in his MA Sen race, endorsed a woman's right choose, and ran for Gov as a moderate. A lot of conservatives have trouble swallowing that he's one of them.

I actually believe he is a conservative, but it's not a slam dunk case for those who like to see a consistent track record.

He's got to win the argument.

SheaHeyKid said...

No doubt, mitt's got to strengthen his game and soon. I also agree he's fundamentally conservative, hard to see how a guy who spent that much time in private equity and is as truly devout as he is could be anything other than conservative.

As Ann coulter said, newt's got a lot of flaws.

Fredo said...

Newt's got bigger flaws. And more flaws. He's also a better debater and connects more naturally with the conservative base. It's the difference between a career politican who's steeped in the "language" of the right, vs. a personally conservative person who's a businessman and isn't as practiced in making ideological, dogmatic pronouncements.

Mitt's got to prove his policy prescriptions are conservative, and that he's more likely to effect his agenda than Newt is. Go out there and win the argument. He's got the money, the endorsements, and the organization. No one else to blame if he fails to win.

Fredo said...

Well, guess he's getting right to the offense.

He's got to do it convincingly, though, to Newt's face. Chance #1 comes in the debate tonight.

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Always sniffing for the truth

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