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Feature
Trying to Be Mr. Right
Mitt Romney’s quest for conservative acceptance.
MITT ROMNMEY ENDURED MONTHS of slings and arrows from his Republican primary opponents as he persevered to the nomination, but his success in November may depend on refuting Bonnie Raitt. One of the singer-songwriter’s early 1990s comeback hits was a sad, slow song called “I Can’t Make You Love Me.” The ballad was inspired by a news report about a man who had been arrested for shooting at his girlfriend’s car. At his trial he informed the judge, “I learned, Your Honor, that you can’t make a woman love you if she don’t.”
That may well be true of a woman, but what about a political party? While Romney isn’t likely to do anything as rash as the jilted lover behind the song, he could definitely use some of the GOP’s love to go along with its presidential nomination. A March Gallup poll tells the story: only 35 percent of Republicans said they were “enthusiastic” about Romney and fully 19 percent said they would either vote for Barack Obama or stay at home on election day.
Four years earlier, Gallup found that 47 percent of Republicans described themselves as enthusiastic about John McCain while 14 percent said they would either vote for Obama or sit on their hands in the general election. Before a woman from Wasilla, Alaska, came to his aid, McCain was thought to be about as bad as it could get from the perspective of Republican base enthusiasm. Yet his numbers pre-Sarah Palin were better than Romney’s now.
Even as Romney racked up primary victories, the exit polls showed cause for concern. Evangelicals and Tea Party sympathizers, as well as Republicans looking for a “true conservative,” regularly voted against him, sometimes in large numbers. In some Southern states where such voters are a majority of the GOP primary electorate, Romney finished third. In Iowa, only 1 percent of caucus-goers who preferred a true conservative voted for Romney, a sixth place showing—and that’s in a state he was initially believed to have won.
Romney’s campaign skills improved as the primaries went on, but the process unfolded in a way that deepened this conservative discontent. Romney’s main challengers were strong enough to keep him from wrapping up the nomination early, but too weak to genuinely threaten his frontrunner status. The result was that conservatives who preferred Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, or Ron Paul were constantly reminded that they disliked Romney yet were impotent to stop him.
THERE IS ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE old habits will die hard. Evangelical and Tea Party activists say privately that there is little enthusiasm for Romney among their supporters. Endorsements from prominent conservative figures, ranging from Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina to Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida (the latter a potential Romney running mate), emphasize the imperative of defeating Obama above Romney’s own merits.
“The tea party is not going to coalesce around Romney,” Tea Party Nation leader Judson Phillips bluntly told the Daily Caller. “Most of us will vote for Romney, but we will not be out there with signs for him or in his campaign.” Surveys on the Tea Party Nation website suggested that 25 percent might not even vote for the Republican nominee. That number probably won’t hold—remember the polls showing Republican-turned-Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr winning 6 to 10 percent of the vote in 2008?—but there may be a domino effect.
Voters who normally give money to Republican campaigns may only volunteer. People who volunteer may only vote. Generally reliable GOP voters may stay home. This matters because 2012 may be shaping up to be like 2004. The electorate was ready to part with the incumbent president (George W. Bush) if the opposition party could present a credible alternative, but the American people weren’t necessarily hell bent on changing course. What resulted was a closely fought election in which each party worked to turn out its base.
Bush was able to squeak through to a second term, but John Kerry only needed to do slightly better to win. Three out of every four votes for Bush were cast by white evangelicals. Romney will likely get a comparable percentage of the evangelical vote, but can he reproduce anything like their 2004 turnout? “While he will get close to three quarters of those evangelicals who do turn out to vote,” predicted RedState.com’s Erick Erickson, “he must ensure they do turn out.”
ALL IS NOT LOST, HOWEVER. Obama must also replicate an unprecedented past performance: he’ll need turnout among minorities and younger voters to approach the levels of four years ago. He also needs to carry the youth vote by the same margins as when he was a fresh face with no responsibility for the dismal post-collegiate jobs market. This basic political arithmetic is what reduced the leader of the free world to pandering to college students. Obama has been traveling to campuses in swing states and leading the coeds in chants of “Don’t double my rate!” (This battle cry was in reference to a pending Stafford loan rate hike.)
Remember James Carville’s line about the economy, stupid? In the first quarter of 2012, it grew by just 2.2 percent. The Obama stimulus package was supposed to have produced 4 percent annual growth by now. Instead GDP grew by 1.7 percent in 2011 and is likely to expand by less than 3 percent this year. In the first quarter of 1992, when Carville helped Bill Clinton beat George H.W. Bush by running against the “worst economy in fifty years,” the economy grew by 4.5 percent. What if the country continues along this path for the rest of the year? “If you plug those numbers into the forecasting model created by Ray Fair of Yale University,” writes the American Enterprise Institute’s James Pethokoukis, “Obama would get just 48.4 percent of the two-party vote, a decisive loss to Mitt Romney.”
Even if the economy picks up, Obama is no sure thing. He won 53 percent of the popular vote in 2008. That was with the advantages of a nearly flawless campaign, a floundering opponent, an unpopular Republican incumbent, a fawning news media, and no record of his own. With the political climate transformed radically, it is not unreasonable to assume—as even most favorable polls suggest—that Obama will get a smaller percentage this time around. That gives the president little margin for error.
INDEPENDENTS WILL NATURALLY be critical for both candidates, and Obama will be hard pressed to duplicate his 2008 showing among swing voters. But Romney will still have to solve, or at least mitigate, his base problem. McCain did so by choosing Palin as his running mate. Few Republicans in Washington think Romney will go this route. That’s not Romney’s temperament, and he is said to be sensitive to the perception that the Palin pick ultimately backfired. Romney is also starting out with better election prospects than McCain, so it is early to throw a Hail Mary pass.
Romney reached out to conservative organizations and institutions before launching his first presidential campaign. (Ironically, the Massachusetts health care plan that loomed as such a large problem this time around was at least partially a result of that outreach.) He will do so again, now that other more movement-friendly alternatives are out of the way. But last time this strategy produced only limited results with grassroots conservatives. Endorsements from popular radio talk show hosts and magazines like National Review failed to establish him as the undisputed conservative alternative to McCain. Relatively little of that appeal seemed to carry over to his second campaign, when he was the candidate of choice for many former McCain voters.
Maybe it had something to do with Romney’s technique. While wooing the right during his first presidential campaign, Romney often came on too strong. He positioned himself as the “three legged stool,” a full-spectrum conservative on economic, social, and national security issues, which filled a vacuum in the GOP field but didn’t comport well with his Massachusetts record. Appealing to gun owners, Romney talked about being a “rodent and rabbit hunter,” having “hunted those kinds of varmints…more than two times” since he was fifteen.
About the Author
W. James Antle, III, author of the new book Devouring Freedom: Can Big Government Ever Be Stopped?, is editor of the Daily Caller News Foundation and a senior editor of The American Spectator. You can follow him on Twitter @jimantle.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (105) | Leave a comment
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Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 6.14.12 @ 6:39AM
Here we go with the conservative malarkey again.
Since the Republicans have never elected anyone except pretend conservatives they should be overjoyed at Romney who will most likely roll the clock back on many federal regulations.
In that sense he will be more conservative than any other Republican in the last 50 years.
This story is just another swipe at Romney courtesy of AMSPEC who appears to believe and with few supporting facts, that Romney is somehow not desirable because he is not a rock hard conservative.
If that were the only consideration you wouldn't have had one qualified candidate since Nixon, including Nixon.
If this wasn't prepared as a humorous piece it could have been.
Jack in Wi| 6.14.12 @ 6:46AM
This is very good analysis. I disagree about Ryan. He is a nice guy but just another technocrat who's plan would be good target for the Democrats. It cuts little from the wars, foreign aid, and wasteful military but attacks the entitlements for Americans in a vicous depression. Most people want these wars ended and governmet departments slashed before any attempt is made to reform entitlements. Romney is just another Bush clone who will have little conervatives will like. I hope he proves me wrong. But I doubt it.
Ghost of Cicero (NB) | 6.14.12 @ 6:50AM
Yeah, Jack. What a "conservative" you are. "We need to cut the military so we can support the welfare state." What a joke you are.
Jack in Wi| 6.14.12 @ 7:01AM
I would slash the welfare state, for Americans last and the warfare state first. The military should of been slashed and the troops brought home 20 years ago. The world is capable of running itself. The whole overseas empire has done nothing good for Americans period. To hell with them. Let the people overseas figure it out themselves. This country is broke because of nonsense like nation building and endless war. The first thing to get rid of in foreign aid. It all ends up in the hands of dictators and criminals.
Ghost of Cicero (NB) | 6.14.12 @ 7:24AM
Yeah, let's slash the military so that we can become a paper tiger in the face of an enemy sworn to our destruction. Sheer genius, Jackie. Absolutely brilliant.
TLP| 6.14.12 @ 8:22AM
Like the broken clock, that he is, Jackass does have a GOOD POINT whereas these limp wristed Sissy Marys, in Europe, should be Defending their own Goddamn Interests.
These Punk*ss Homos should be fielding their own Armies. Their own Navies. That Illegal War in Libya, against a Guy wearing Lipstick and Mascara, with a Praetorian Guard (so to speak) consisting of a bunch of Unemployed Strippers, eager to get away, and start new lives elsewhere, as Prostitutes, must have had the Drunks, in Russia, laughing all the way to the Liquor Store, before snagging a Prostitute, on the way back home.
I'm just sayin.
Ghost of Cicero (NB) | 6.14.12 @ 8:56AM
I agree that the Euro pukes need to fight there own wars. And they CERTAINLY need to beef up their own armed forces. With a resurgent Russia & an increasingly Islamist Turkey, G*d knows they NEED to. However, Britain has done exactly what Jackboot says HE wants to do. As a result, they've had to scrap Ark Royal & ALL of her Harriers, even though her (Ark Royal's) replacement isn't even "in the pipeline" to be made yet. All because of the ridiculous growth & funding of their enormous welfare state. Its a sad statement that freaking FRANCE still has their own carrier, the Foch.
This is just conjecture on my part, but I think that we're gonna be having problems with our old enemy, the Russian Bear, for some time into the future. Let's face it, Ole Vlad is a reincarnation of the old Soviet General Secs. Russia is flush with petro-bucks & wanting to be a major player in the world. The problem is that they "play" with many nations who are our enemies.
TLP| 6.14.12 @ 9:12AM
Don't get me wrong. Jackass is DEFINATELY a Jackass.
He just happens to be a Broken Clock, as well.
Brooksifier | 6.14.12 @ 3:08PM
"Russia is flush with petro-bucks & wanting to be a major player in the world."
Too bad for you. This isn't 1945 when we were the colossus bestriding the world. What are you going to do, trick them on ABM? taint likely.
Brooksifier | 6.14.12 @ 3:18PM
...seriously, what are you going to do?: twist Putin's arm behind his back?; we have some leverage with the Chinese, because they do not have the resources Russia has-- Russia is a continent unto itself.
Doctor Right| 6.14.12 @ 9:58AM
We defend Europe because it's in our strategic interests to do so.
We rebuilt Western Europe after WWII to stop the spread of communism that had already boxed-in Eastern Europe and was threatening France, Italy, Greece, and Turkey. It also gave us access to valuable strategic bases that performed two (2) vital functions:
1. It kept the Soviets from expanding their naval power beyond (except submarines) beyond that of a coast guard. Choke points in the Baltic, the Black Sea, Gibraltar, and the Bering Sea prevented them from being able to utilize surface warfare to any great degree, and they knew it.
2. European bases enabled us to insert medium-range nukes that could decimate the Eastern bloc within minutes, and reach into the Soviet Union, itself. The Soviets knew this, too,which is why they were willing to trade missiles in Cuba for our defunct Jupiter missile battery in Turkey.
We continue to defend Europe and expand NATO in order to protect our vital ECONOMIC interests. Ever hear of the word "trade"???
It sounds cool to say "They should defend themselves," but the fact is that they can't. The Germans have had their ferocity beat out of them, and the Brits have so degraded their once-proud Navy that it's become irrelevant.
Additionally, there is a cultural bond between the USA and Europe that should never be allowed to deteriorate. A safer world needs a cohesive and strong western hemisphere.
Now thank me very much for the lesson.
Warrior| 6.14.12 @ 10:53AM
Well worded and spelled bullshit. You make it sound like trade never existed until we put bases in Europe. Cultural bond? You and your ilk have been spouting off about a safer world, unfortunately, with all these military bases and expenses, the world keeps getting more dangerous. You are as bad as the left wing when you remain blinded to reality by your ideology. The world is not a safe place, however, the United States would be much safer if we didn't expend hundreds of billions of dollars to protect Europe, the oil supply and Japan.
Doctor Right| 6.14.12 @ 12:03PM
"...you remain blinded to reality by your ideology."
And you remain blinded by reality due to your slavish, idiotic devotion to Alex Jones/Ron Paul-esque fantasies.
Leave the hard thinking to smarter people.
Warrior| 6.14.12 @ 12:28PM
Alinsky and Obama would be proud of you Doc. When you can't debate an issue on fact, attack the person.
Doctor Right| 6.14.12 @ 1:46PM
Ok.
You're a fool.
First of all, Einstein, you're the one who "polarized it and personalized it" first ("bullshit"; "ilk"; "You are as bad as the left wing," etc).
Secondly, you're also the one who's absolutely non-compliant on debate skills. I presented you with a plethora of facts, all of which you conveniently ignored (like a good little Paul-bot) because they conflict with your ill-informed worldview.
Alinsky and Obama would like you more because you make it too easy.
Now like I said...leave the hard thinking to the grown-ups.
Warrior| 6.14.12 @ 5:04PM
Trying to communicate with the ignorant gets tedious. Your intellect appears to have never left the 50's. Sorry some of us don't meet with your definitions of conservative. Anytime you and your ilk want to conduct an adult conversation, let me know.
Doctor Right| 6.14.12 @ 10:34PM
Don't flatter yourself; the sum total of your argument revolves around the use of the word "ilk."
You're obviously in over your head and looking for a lifeboat.
Your surrender is duly noted.
Occam's Tool| 6.14.12 @ 1:11PM
However, Doctor, the Euroweenies should start paying us to help them. I do believe we need to help them to postpone what I view as their inevitable collapse, but we need them to pay if they won't man up. Germany has cash it could be using to help us out rather than saving scumbags like the Greeks.
Islam is best defeated AWAY from our shores. The US would not be safer conceding oil, territory, and population to the Islamics. Note, warrior, no ad hominem. My concern is beating sharia.
Doctor Right| 6.14.12 @ 1:48PM
OT:
Islam IS best defeated away from our shores. The problem is that they're already here, but their supply chain is way over there.
I'd be perfectly happy to stop buying oil from the middle east, and maintain our supply by
a) Drilling for our own, and
b) Buying from Canada
Until that happens, we still need the stuff.
Occam's Tool| 6.14.12 @ 3:15PM
Yessir. Note I said---no conceding oil. The best approach is to be found in the finest novel of the 21st Century, Tom Kratman's Caliphate, on page 171 of the Hardcover version, in addition to your suggestions. If you have NOT gotten that book yet, might I suggest that you do. Tom is a friend of mine, I am very proud to say. Trust me when I say you will NOT be disappointed.
Oh, and have I mentioned how much I respect and like you, lately?
Doctor Right| 6.14.12 @ 4:23PM
No, but keep it coming.
Flattery will get you everywhere.
TLP| 6.14.12 @ 5:33PM
You have GOT to be kidding.
Warrior| 6.14.12 @ 5:29PM
OT:
We could defeat the enemy very easily if we wanted to. Our military is the most lethal force the planet has ever known. Today, we see Egypt taken over by the military, Afghanistan is more unstable now than 10 years ago, its anyone's guess as what will happen in Iraq, but by all accounts the country is growing more unstable. While the bases in Germany made sense in the 50's and 60's, they do not now. While Ron Paul, who by all accounts is no longer a factor in this election (unless he decides to run 3rd party), the obsession with ridiculing him is unexplainable. You know that I have never called for the abandonment of Israel as they are a valuable ally. I'm not sure why the tones become uncivil. I'm sure it's partly my fault.
CJW| 6.14.12 @ 12:09PM
I suspect Russia is still afraid of a united Germany.
All the European countries have a problem with the large un-assimilated Muslims, especially France. For that reason alone we need to maintain a strong close relationship with the Europeans to prevent the Muslim terrorrists from obtaining and increasing their power in those countries.
Quartermaster| 6.15.12 @ 8:23PM
Both Germany and the UK are what they are because of their welfare states. Germany has produced some of the best troops in NATO (as well as the Warsaw Pact), and the Bundeswehr was a very good force, and supported by conscription that drew little ill will from the German people while I lived there. They started cutting their military because of the increasing welfare state with the election of the Socialist Coalition in the early 60s and really went for it after the Socialists really too over, which introduced a 5th column into the FRG.
The UK, on the other hand, squandered their empire in two conflicts, WW1 & 2, which were not necessary, and when Churchill was thrown out by a war weary people and Anthony Eden took over, the new regime unraveled the empire in an irresponsible fashion that drubbed the British economy and set the stage for the conditions that ended much of the heavy industry that supported the country. Combine loss of industrial strength with socialism, and you get both the UK and Germany.
Quartermaster| 6.15.12 @ 8:23PM
Continued...
The loss of WW2 was a very heavy blow to the Germans (even the language changed quite a bit), but it did not take the fight out of them. Most of them fought faithfully for their country to the bitter end, and not just the SS either. They didn't want to meet Ivan up close and personal any more than we did, but, they would have fought like Lions again in defense of their country.
Europe can back off their welfare states and start acting like adults again. Rebuild their countries economically and their defense establishments. They could even rebuild their heavy industry, in a much different and stronger form than they were and become giants once more. But, given human nature, they won't. They are as decadent as we are becoming.
William R| 6.14.12 @ 8:48AM
Slash the military budget. We spend as much as the rest of the world combined. Bring the troops home from Europe, Korea, and Japan. Get out of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Ghost of Cicero (NB) | 6.14.12 @ 8:58AM
That's a leftist argument if I've ever heard one. "Well, everyone ELSE has/doesn't have this, that or the other, so WE need to be like them." Its a load of hot, steamy horsecrap.
Doctor Right| 6.14.12 @ 10:01AM
Right.
That makes sense.
While China is ARMING UP their 5.5 million-man army and building a blue-water Navy (and who do you geniuses think they plan on using it against???) to achieve hegemony in the Western Pacific...
...And while radical Islam is on the march all over the planet...
We should CUT our military budget????
Sorry, but that's TOO DUMB for words.
Maybe you Paul-Bots should stick to "the Fed," and leave the heavy-lifting of world politics to the brown-ups?
Warrior| 6.14.12 @ 5:33PM
Doctor Right:
After reading the threads and my responses. My apologies if ilk is offensive and the term bullshit did not further the discussion.
I disagree with your view of world politics. Maybe, and I will make an attempt, we can have a civil discussion in future posts. Enjoy the rest of your evening.
Quartermaster| 6.15.12 @ 8:33PM
I don't think we should cut our military budget, but we do need to know what is actually being on the military. There is much on the defense budget that has absolutely nothing to do with Defense, and it makes it look much larger than it is.
We can afford to bring the troops home, keep a strong standing establishment, and greatly beef up the reserve component. While the NAtional Guard is part of that component, it is not a good idea to build it beyond what it was ca 1989. The NG establishment is larded with politics and that causes serious problems with training, administration, and control. Most states did not do a good job of maintaining their NG, or training them, and the State AG job is a straight political appointment. The Air National Guard is better, but they fly missions much like the active force and so see the real thing quite frequently. ANG pilots flew a lot of missions in Vietnam, for example, and many had flown as many mission in 'nam as the active pilots when the war was over.
A strong establishment does not have to cost more than we spend now, although building it will. The Navy for example has become a shame to us, with ship acquisition programs that should lead to cashiering of a number of officers for sheer incompetence and stupidity. For what we face with China, we need about 3-4 times as many Virginia Class SSNs as we have. Rotsa ruck getting what we need. Both Bushes and Slick Willie are as much to blame here as the Kenyan is.
Truth to Power| 6.14.12 @ 10:07AM
You are a closeted big O supporter. The other day you were singing the praises of Jim Webb, a Harry Reid look alike.
Truth to Power| 6.14.12 @ 10:09AM
You would be the foolish William R.
Occam's Tool| 6.14.12 @ 3:12PM
Get Sharia started in the US. Genitally mutilate little girls. Build a Mosque in Downtown Manhattan. Let Christians get terrorized and their churches burned. Oh, and legalize Marijuana and Heroin.
Yup, William R, real Conservative positions.
Quartermaster| 6.15.12 @ 8:41PM
Either actually put the troops needed to win in the AFG there and win it. Actually win it, or come home. I doubt very seriously, that you would put your own body on the line to do it either, Mr. Tool. One thing I do agree with Clint on is this, many of you are Chickenhawks. Most of you have little knowledge of the military, and even less of an understanding of how it is applied along with the limitations of it.
Frankly, we are in another clash of civilizations that has been restarted after about a 500 year hiatus. Islam, and our decadence, is the root cause and it will not be ended until one of two things happens. First, we utterly destroy the Religion of Islam root and branch, making it utterly impossible to practice. Or Christ returns to rule the earth and he will put an end to warfare permanently.
The conflict can be contained by containing Islam in the areas it is in now, and rolling it back when its practitioners lash out as they are doing in places like Africa and India. That means only trade, no immigration, and the deportation of anyone that slightly steps out of line. or their permanent jailing of citizens who are Muslim if they misbehave, with the option of expatriating and repudiation of citizenship if they want out of jail.
There are no other options other than extermination, and how would that make you any better than a slug like Mao, Kim, Stalin, or Hitler, and do you even care?
Louis Jenkins| 6.14.12 @ 1:00PM
Germany finally cleaned up it's post WWII look in 1980. Thirty two years is plenty of time to work on it's military powers. Likewise Britian. Let's be honest europe, while you may sit back and enjoy the benefit of letting the USA defend you, how about chipping in and defending yourself for a change. Are you men or are you mice? Even if we don't reduce the military spending one cent, how about helping out for your own good.
spike59| 6.15.12 @ 6:16AM
jacquie's just another Rontard troll
Quartermaster| 6.15.12 @ 8:43PM
Nah. You're just a faux-conservative with little sense of history and don't know any better.
Brooksifier | 6.14.12 @ 3:05PM
Romney is from Massachusetts-- how does that fit into your Rightwing schemes, guys?
Truth to Power| 6.14.12 @ 4:04PM
We are going to find out.
Brooksifier | 6.14.12 @ 6:38PM
That's akin to buying a car and THEN taking it for a test drive
Truth to Power| 6.14.12 @ 7:35PM
It is akin to taking a ride with a maniac in an Italian car built in the 1920's and being willing to jump into any car with any of the first 200 names in the phone book. Romney will be a giant improvement over our incompetent amateur big O. It is going to happen and like Wisconsin you are in for some big disappointments. Maybe the West Wing will return and you will be able to absorb yourself into the kind of fantasy land where nobody gets hurt.
Brooksifier | 6.16.12 @ 2:42PM
"Romney will be a giant improvement over our incompetent amateur big O."
You guys said Dubya would be a big improvement over Clinton. He was not.
Surly Curmudgen| 6.14.12 @ 5:21PM
Obama v. Romney the differences;
Romney is a Fabien socialist, Fabians will ease us into the water and slowly turn up the heat until we are all slaves and most won’t notice.
Obama is a revolutionary Marxist Communist, The adherents of that school are willing and eager to finish taking power by lining up and shooting those who refuse to become the states slaves.
With some exceptions all to many politicians over the past one hundred years have been Fabians and we are a long ways down that dark hallway leading to enslavement. They have been turning up the heat for that long and we haven’t noticed!
Truth to Power| 6.14.12 @ 7:38PM
Both points are examples of what can happen when an individual gives into an ideology. They no longer can make available choices and dream of a man on horseback or maybe a geezer on a ten speed.
Ghost of Cicero (NB) | 6.14.12 @ 6:52AM
I have no extraordinary "enthusiasm" for Romney. He wasn't my guy in the primary, & I think we could've done better in finding a more conservative candidate. When it all boils down though, he's the only choice. And I think most people in this nation realize that another term of this Marxist putz with a racial chip on his shoulder will spell certain disaster for all of us.
TLP| 6.14.12 @ 8:09AM
Enthusiasm.
Does anyone like Needles, when they go to the Doctor? Do any old people like taking a handful of Pills every day? What about changing Diapers. Or cleaning up puke? Getting Penicilin for a case of the Clap, or having to take a Sh*t on the Toilet at the Gas Station?
I'm guessing that all of those things would register a big Negatory.
Do we do these things with "Enthusiasm"? Or do we do them because they NEED to be done. Because they're Necessary.
We've got some people out there (and SHE knows who SHE is) who would rather Sh*t her Britches, rather than go against her "Principles", concerning sitting on a Public Toilet.
There's another guy out there, who thinks that the Purity of His Principles, Superceeds the need to Save the Country.
This is what we're up against.
On that fateful day in June, at Normandy, Army Rangers pulled themselves up the Steep Cliffs, one hand over the other, as the German Troops at the top, fired down at them. I'm thinking that NOT ONE OF THEM did what they did ENTHUSIASTICALLY. But, they did it, because they knew that they had to. This is no different.
If any of you Perfectionists think that this Country can SURVIVE 4 more years of Obamageddon? Then go ahead and Sh*t your pants. Keep oozing puss, and taking your leaks in agony. Get the Measles. Get Polio. Get the Mumps.
The rest of us will do what needs to be done.
Even if it means we won't be perfect, any more.
Ghost of Cicero (NB) | 6.14.12 @ 8:23AM
WELL SAID, Mr. Pennell!!!
Occam's Tool| 6.14.12 @ 1:11PM
Concur.
Occam's Tool| 6.14.12 @ 1:13PM
BY the way: Mitt's T-shirts, etc. are well made and tasteful. I have no financial interest in this, I just plan to get a polo shirt this evening, or some more T-shirts.
Gary B| 6.14.12 @ 8:28AM
I second that...
Maxwell| 6.14.12 @ 10:22AM
TLP, I was watching the re count of the taking of that cliff this past week on the .mil channel. There were tears in my eyes. I know we have men (and ladies now too) in uniform just like that now.
TLP| 6.14.12 @ 3:29PM
Indeed, Maxwell.
We owe to them to get it right, this time.
Doctor Right| 6.14.12 @ 1:57PM
Brevity is the soul of wit.
Needless pontification is the opposite.
See?
TLP| 6.14.12 @ 5:36PM
All I see is a PUKE.
Doctor Right| 6.14.12 @ 10:37PM
Another night of bingeing and purging on Twinkies.?
spike59| 6.15.12 @ 6:21AM
EXACTLY, TLP...i boil it down to our choices in November, from the viewpoint of someone who was never a 'Romney guy', but is an adult:
1-vote ObaMao, which helps ObaMao
2-vote third party, which helps ObaMao
3-write in a candidate, which helps ObaMao
4-don't vote at all, which helps ObaMao
5-vote Romney, which hurts ObaMao
if you support ObaMao, 1-4 are your choices
if you want him out of office, only 5 will suffice to help get it done
Gary B| 6.14.12 @ 8:27AM
So far, Romney's campaign has been a pleasant surprise. It's the polar opposite of that back-stabbing little jerk McCain.
I'm sure Romney's instinct is to be an establishment darling, but this time around the republic is at stake and everyone knows it. His VP choice is critical and will tell a lot about the source and power of the influence and pressure he's under.
He better not ignore the Tea Party or he will serve only one term, which would be okay with me.
KennesawJack| 6.14.12 @ 9:04AM
I think Romney is going to give a whole new meaning to hardball before this is over. I'm not sure Obamarx knows what's coming.
Gary B| 6.14.12 @ 10:18AM
I sure hope you're right. He seems to be off to a pretty good start. His quick response team is a new thing for Republican candidates. I guess the prospect of losing the republic finally woke some people up inside the GOP. Maybe it's finally occurred to them that selling out conservatives isn't very smart. We will see.
Doctor Right| 6.14.12 @ 1:58PM
I agree.
Just because Romney has principles doesn't mean he's a wilting violet.
Mormons are anything but pansies. They've been fighting for survival since the Hill Cumorah.
Warrior| 6.14.12 @ 5:45PM
It seems clear that while Obama and his campaign are imploding. Romney has been smart to stay quiet and watch the meltdown.
ObamarStomper| 6.14.12 @ 8:55AM
Mitt Romney is a good man. He' also the BEST we've got to STOP the criminal regime that Obama has visited upon us. The KEY to keeping Romney on the "right" begins with electing a majority of Tea Party Republicans to both the House and the Senate. That will go a long way toward keeping Gov Romney on track. The congress then, should create a "Special Security" group to keep Mitt Romney AWAY FROM THE PARTISAN PRESS! If everytime a partisan such as Matthews, Madcow or any of the Liberal Socialist media types even attempted an interview, they need to receive a visit from "Special Security" and the administration of "The Shaolin Palm." Isolate Romney from his press enemies and he can't be persuaded that if he GOES LIBERAL, they'll like him! If he does anyway, then HE would need the "Shaolin Palm" as well.
Surly Curmudgen| 6.14.12 @ 5:54PM
The Democrat party, controlled by a small faction, is in a full out sprint for the cliff where they can leap into that factions oh so glorious utopia. The media, screaming and wetting their panties in excitement, cheering them on. The GOP-E and rinos, with Romney in the lead, are five yards back and mad as L that they wont be able to jump at the same time as their friends.
Both parties are well to the left of the political spectrum when they belong to the right of center. The Democrats slightly right of center and the Republicans further to the right.
Derek Leaberry| 6.14.12 @ 9:34AM
Mitt Romney is as convincing a conservative as the late Sonny Bono was of being a singer.
I would have been more accepting of Mitt Romney and his so-called allegiance to conservative values if he would have said a year or so ago that he had to compromise to get elected in Massachusetts and that he supported views he never really held. But he didn't because he isn't a conservative.
Warrior| 6.14.12 @ 12:31PM
You are stone called wrong. Using your analogy, Sonny Bono was a much better singer.
Warrior| 6.14.12 @ 12:31PM
"cold" don't want the spelling police to lecture again.
Truth to Power| 6.14.12 @ 7:49PM
Yes but you are effectively trying to doom us to listening to Roseann Barr for another four years. If I must listen to one of the two and in this analogy we will listen to one of the two, let it be Sonny. Sonny has a good chance to be accompanied by some good musicians. Sonny will allow those musicians to choose a lot of the music whereas Roseann will insist on us listening to her screeching a capella. The music analogy thing was fun and even in music we can make distinctions.
ObamarStomper| 6.14.12 @ 9:49AM
Gov Romney is no different than most politicians. He will bend whatever way he needs to in order to WIN. I think he really IS more conservative than many give him credit for. Be that as it may, the key to victory for our nation, is a TEA PARTY CONGRESS to keep "Mitten"s inline and on the right!
Gary B| 6.14.12 @ 10:24AM
He'll be dragging kicking and screaming toward conservative values. The tipping point will be whether the Tea Party has more ultimate power than the establishment. Two years ago that would have been a silly notion. Nowadays, pitchforks and torches are a very real possibility. The only way to get the guys in the smoke-filled room to mess in their pants is to have an angry mob breaking down the door.
cicero| 6.14.12 @ 10:04AM
There will only be two candidates running for the position of President of the United States, come November. You vote for one or the other. Anyone who sits on his hands is voting for the incumbent. I suggest that the tea party movements, and other conswervatives stop acting like children who didn't get their way. The most conservative (only) in this election is Romney. During the next four years we will have a chance to judge whether he has adoptedd the conservative agenda. If he shows that he has not, we can work to nominate a more conservative candidate in 2016.
Mimi | 6.14.12 @ 10:08AM
Okay....What have we got here? A GOOD man, a fine gentleman type, quite decent, normal, God loving...darn good looking and looks and acts PRESIDENTIAL! An absolutely beuatiful wife both inside and out...5 great sons...He probably NEVER took a drink in his life NEVER swore or even SPIT. He WAS the Conservative de jour in 2008 ....He took in the most money ( meaning, he had the strongest support)....Give it up....we got a darn good candidate for America. We have the election of our very lives and that of our children's....WE MUST SUPPORT HIM... with everything we got...Do you want 40% more of your net worth gone..? OR save the country!
Citizen Jerry| 6.14.12 @ 10:20AM
If Willard wants to be Mr. Right, he needs to choose a strong conservative veep, like Marco Rubio. Squishes like Rob Portman and Mitch Daniels don't sit well with TEA Party types.
loulou| 6.14.12 @ 11:37AM
Sorry but Rubio is not a strong conservative. Do some research, will you?
Anthony| 6.14.12 @ 11:00AM
You have this picture backwards. It's a whole new ballgame, with America's fate on the line and true Americans in control.
We don't need to love Romney nor do we need him to do anything other than win and get rid of Obozo before America is finished.
We will FORCE Romney to be the conservative he needs to be. The days of us plebes toiling in the fields for our D.C. "massas" are over. They've screwed this great country to the brink of destruction. No more!!!
The days of the professional pol and the D.C. establishment are over, they, like the MSM, are finished.
Romney is our tool, not the other way around. He'll find out, either the easy or the hard way. It's his choice.
Occam's Tool| 6.14.12 @ 3:09PM
Anthony: INDEED! Seriously, folks, people STAYED home on McCain. faced with Hillary, if Romney is a wishy wash, people will stay home again.
Obama, on the other hand, is a whole different kettle of fish.
Dai Alanye | 6.14.12 @ 11:15AM
Romney's biggest problem with both conservatives and some others is a seeming lack of sincerity. Unfortunately, the reason he seems insincere is that he is. But fortunately for him (and us) Obama seems to be falling apart. If The One continues to campaign and govern as clumsily as he recently has, Mitt Middle is in like Flynn.
Boar Hunter| 6.14.12 @ 12:20PM
The problem with Romney is that when the terrorists take over the plane he will caution everyone to remain in their seats and stay calm. With him in office we will simply be waiting to see which building the left crashes us into first. What we need is for someone to stand up and say lets roll.
A curse on all the cowards in the Republican Party and to their entire bloodline until the seventh generation. These wicked men have stood silently by for three and a half years as the most evil president in history dismantled our country brick by brick.
They stood by like abused women and allowed the left to act as an unopposed dictatorship for over three years. What will it take to rouse these sheep?
The left records 119% at the polls and people yawn. Illegal aliens, dead people and out of state union workers bussed in to vote and we can't find the will to require voters show ID?
Where is their promise to appeal Obama care? Oh that's right! Romney's people wrote it!
What have the Republicans done about anything except make back room deals with the devil and cry about how it's not their fault? I say give me Obama for another term. Give me this racist outlaw. Give me this drug using communist who has lied about everything he has ever done. Give me this treasonous, evil man for another term and lets see if someone on our side will finally stand up and say lets roll.
Mimi | 6.14.12 @ 2:48PM
My wish for the '
My wish for the DAY...That EVERY elected GOP congressmen and senator and Mitt Romney get to read your post....just maybe we can let them know the real deal out here...How the PEOPLE they SERVE think about their failure to act on all the outrageous activity going on in the executive....! I will say Sen.Cornyn did us proud yesterday..with little SUPPORT!
Al Adab| 6.15.12 @ 11:14AM
Insincerity is a problem for Romney and he exacerbates it among Conservatives by his pretense of Conservative leanings. He would be better served to admit he is no Conservative then forthrightly ask for Conservative support as the only viable alternative to an Obama re-election. At lease honesty could replace pandering in his relationship with the Conservative Movement. We would, I believe, have more respect for honesty than for attempts to pretend.
loulou| 6.14.12 @ 11:38AM
The only thing that can make me enthusiastic about Mitt is if he picks Col Allen West for VP.
MK48| 6.15.12 @ 12:36AM
West says.......not yet
spike59| 6.15.12 @ 6:30AM
votes in presidential elections are not graded on an 'enthusiasm scale'....'grudging' votes count exactly as much as 'hearty' votes-either vote Romney, or receive the thanks of a grateful ObaMao
Petronius| 6.14.12 @ 11:59AM
Sean Connery to Richard Harris in The Molly McGuires:
"You better be what we think you are."
Reply:
" I am what you think I am Jack."
We know that George isn't what he says. But he'd better understand what we want in exchange for electing him; Freedom. We Want Our Freedom back; All of It.
Louis Jenkins| 6.14.12 @ 1:11PM
"Appealing to gun owners, Romney talked about being a “rodent and rabbit hunter,” having “hunted those kinds of varmints…more than two times” since he was fifteen."
Well now, that sure leaves me assured of Romney's second amendment stance. Afterall, he was hunting for rabbits, and other vermin. Did he mean that he shot at everything during his two hunting trips 45 years ago? Or was he selective? Did he just say that to seem, rather than be? Rabbit hunting can be fun, however, you must pay attention and ignore the other varmints to be successful.
Who Knows?| 6.14.12 @ 1:51PM
A lot of words for political junkies like me. Thanks.
The election isn’t actually about Romney, though.
Drug addicts must reach rock bottom, in order to be scared straight. The only relevant question is, then, are enough voters thus frightened, yet?
How much more bad news is needed, before November 6th, for this to happen?
Are the middle class denizens too economically ignorant to understand that they have had their net worth reduced by almost 40%, which OUGHT TO scare the hell out of them?
Between heaven and hell, purgatory lies. Just so, each person spends their lifetime in one of those three “places”, one at a time. Mostly, the heavenly periods are short and sweet, and most of us try like hell to avoid---hell.
However, remember purgatory!
A whole lot of PURGING of accumulated crap is going on, necessarily, these days. Like a glutton who’s just finished an extended orgy, with distended gut and packed colon, whose face is red from too much alcohol consumption, most people, and the economy as a whole, is unable to keep from expelling what it previously swallowed.
Purging is good!
Drink lots of water, and stop eating---that’s my advice.
Apply, as you can imagine, to your own economic situation. In fact, go for it, bodily.
Is it a coincidence that there are going on 70% obese or fat people AND an economic purging, happening simultaneously?
Yes---fatness is a “happening”!
It’s not a STATE, but a 24/7 chosen PROCESS.
TLP| 6.14.12 @ 3:25PM
Who Kows?
Obviously, YOU KNOWS.
Nice Job.
Mimi | 6.14.12 @ 2:01PM
O.K. The Conservatives should have taken the PRIMARY....We definately had the numbers. We should have focused on the most likely candidate to win and sent him money until it hurt!
Sadly the vote was split...and we shopped around too much.... Michelle, Perry, Cain, Newt, then Santorum.
NOW...this is the way it is....REALITY. We got Mitt, he can beat O'BLAME..O! (new name thanks to Rush) we all have to get on board folks,
we just can't lose...lots of work, money and keep up the blogs...this free land deserves our BEST effort!
TLP| 6.14.12 @ 3:26PM
You're beautiful, Mimi.
You really are.
Mimi | 6.14.12 @ 5:29PM
And you just made my day!
spike59| 6.15.12 @ 6:32AM
well said, Mimi
Occam's Tool| 6.14.12 @ 3:07PM
The awesome Sheldon Adelson has stated that he will support Romney to the tune of up to $100 million. He is VERY pro-Israel, Conservative, and runs the non-union Venetian in Las Vegas, which will be the only casino I will frequent when I go there. Am Yisroel Chai, Paulbots and Dhimmicrats!
Jackboot Jack, you're a supposed rich guy---how much did you donate to Paul? Nada?
Brooksifier | 6.14.12 @ 3:13PM
You call him Jackboot when you'd just as soon bomb Islam into the dirt, as Hitler did to Belgrade.
TLP| 6.14.12 @ 3:23PM
Not into the dirt.
Into GLASS.
Get it right.
David| 6.14.12 @ 3:28PM
Mimi, I heard Rush use O'Blame O for Bam Bam, too. I prefer O'Blame "a" - much closer to Obam"a" than with an O on the end. Am I not getting something unique or significant about Rush using the "O" at the end?
Mimi | 6.14.12 @ 5:24PM
Facts...Rush is a genious! "O"'S been on the blame game and deserves the nick-name with either an "A" or a "O" it does fit!!
PCPSmokerII| 6.14.12 @ 5:43PM
He doesn't have to be anything but liberal GOP. He'll get my vote for the simple reason that he's not Obama.
Dilbert| 6.14.12 @ 6:09PM
When Mitt wins we can finally get rid of the term for moderate republicans: Rockefeller Republicans. We will now have Romney Republicans as the term for liberal republicans!
I hope he chooses John McCain or Arnold Schwarzenegger to be his running mate, that would be just perfect!
Vote for Mitt! He can be whatever you want him to be!!
owend| 6.14.12 @ 6:13PM
Romney needs to have a clearer vision of what he is going to do if elected and then articulate what his vision is. Platitudes and blanket comments like "I stand for job creation," won't cut it. He has to develop specifics in terms of economy, and the factors that influence economics, such as regulation, tax policy, etc. So far, I haven't heard this from Romney. I hope Romney and his staffers come up with something and soon. They will need it when he gets past the Republican Convention and into the final months of the campaign.
Bob Grant| 6.14.12 @ 10:22PM
I will be THRILLED to vote for Romney for the simple fact the he's not obummer.
I truly believe the economic conditions in this country and around the World will force him to be more conservative than what he would be under normal circumstances.
He simply cannot preside over a third Bush presidency and expect to be reelected. Say what you will about the man, he's not stupid. Surely he understands GW Bush had as much to do with our current economic situation as The Dictator.
Events dictate how a president governs and Romney just might (pleasantly) shock us all.
FeFe| 6.15.12 @ 6:04AM
"Three out of every four votes for Bush were cast by white evangelicals. " -Bush vs. Kerry 2004
Wow. You think they'll break to the bridle so the EU can have borderless universal healthcare? In this light, the actions of Rove/GOP leadership seem downright pernicious.
hrh| 6.15.12 @ 12:48PM
"slings and arrows" ?
I stopped right there.
Cry me a river, Mr. Antle.
Your boy, Mitt Romney, launched ICBMs against his opponents.
So I don't even want to hear about "slings and arrows."
Your dishonesty is breathtaking.
The similarity between Mitt Romney's and Barack Obama's character assassination campaigning is OBVIOUS to all but the most obsequious, violin-strumming Romney sycophants.
All of this hand-wringing in print is unnecessary.
Mitt Romney is not a conservative.
His private and public record prove this to be true. That is, what is left of his meager public record after his employees bought up laptops and destroyed government records.
obadiah| 6.15.12 @ 4:06PM
The Romney plan for prosperity:
1. Stop taxing superior corporate persons.
2. Stop regulating superior corporate persons.
3. Enact laws written by superior corporate persons.
4. Stop wasting money on old, sick and poor animal persons. They are going to stop operating anyway.
5. Have some wars, they are very profitable for superior corporate persons.
ReaganConservative4ever| 6.15.12 @ 8:48PM
A Radical anti-American Liberal Progressive Socialist-Marxist Obamacrat, or a Mass. Liberal Progressive Obama-lite RINO Republicrat. Again, another forced choice of the lesser of 2 evil.s Thus poses the question, Is this the best we, the American People can do ?
Romney's past as Gov of Mass., reflects what Romney will be in the future as President, as he has never veered away from what he was and what he is now. He is a liberal progressive, as he has so publically stated, along with his record as Gov. Thus he has never shown any ability, willingness, or propensity whatsoever to be either conservative in thought, policy, or action, ever.
As a conservative, how does one defend a Ted Kennedy collaborated forced mandated substandard inferior State Socialized Medicine that bankrupts the residents, citizens, and Independent businesses and companies in the Free Market Capitalist Free Enterprise system of a State, let alone the Nation, but then turns around and argues that he must repeal Obamacare, the very same thing he implemented and refuses to refute and repeal in his own State called Romneycare.
The Truth speaks for itself, and all the Romney GOP Progressive Republican RINO propaganda and delusional denial by all the progressive RINO Romney-ites in the world cannot hide it, let alone makes taste any better.
For all intents and purposes, Romney should be Obama's running mate.