I’ve got something to say aboot the 2012 primaries that is going to blow your mind: It’s between Mitt Romney and not Mitt Romney. Shocking, right? Never mind the fact that the not-Mitt forces are the same people who were pro-Mitt in 2008 and thought he was the true conservative, second coming of Reagan, three legged stool, etc. This is where we are at. Mitt vs. Not Mitt.
I don’t have a dog in the hunt. I was more pro-Mitt right after 2008 (once I finally realized how much of an embarrassing train wreck John McCain turned out to be), but now I’m just pro whoever I think will be the best chance to defeat President Hopeandchange in 2012.
It just so happens that right now, that person happens to be Romney. Without getting into who is the truuuuuer conservative (any of our candidates would be better than one we have), there are three areas I think are important:
Fundraising: I know people like to say that money doesn’t matter if the candidate is a “RINO,” to which I quote from the book of Kanye…let ‘em hate and watch the money pile up. Our candidate not only needs to be able to raise ludacris amounts of coin, but they also have to know to spend it wisely. Romney has triple what was closest competitor in the bank, a low burn rate, and incredible commercials that even the most die hard Romney supporters admit are incredible.
Expanding the map: We’re probably looking at more of a traditional 2004 red vs. blue map, with elements of Obama 2008 and GOP 2010 thrown in. Our candidate needs to be able to win back the Red states we lost in 2008, and pick off a few of the states we didn’t surprisingly well in lat cycle (PA, WI, MI, etc.). This requires appealing to a dirty word in some circles: independent voters. Can the candidate appeal to Indy’s the way Bob McDonnell did in Virginia by focusing on jobs and the economy?
Media: Let’s be honest, we’re not only running against Obama we’re running against all his supporters in the media. Liberal political organizations like MSNBC, CNN, NYT, WaPo, Newsweek, Time, ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, NPR and so on are going to be waiting for every slip up. They’ll look for any excuse to play the race card, find anyone wackjob in a crowd they can cherry pick, look for any conservative who said anything anywhere and demand the Republican candidate respond. That’s why our candidate needs to be able to both not fall into the media’s trap while not giving them any material on their own.
At this point in the race (mind you, actual voting doesn’t start until next year), Mitt Romney is the only one I think falls into those three categories.
I am however open to have any of the other candidates change my mind.
Ooooh. Glad to see you’re still in the Romney camp. Thought I’d lost you for sure until Daniels’ wife revoked his application.
On the media note..I find it humorous that the only way I even know people like Huntsman are still in the race is because I peruse the liberal headlines just to know what’s going on in their silly little worlds sometimes.
Posted by DaciaNichol | July 20, 2011, 12:02 am