Can Anything Stop Mitt Romney? >
Conservatives Can Stop the Liberal Mitt Romney
United base must remind Republican voters of Mitt Romney's liberal past
January 11, 2012
Former Gov. Mitt Romney is polling at 27 percent of the Republican electorate. That still means that three quarters of the Republicans do not want Mitt Romney. The three conservative candidates, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Gov. Rick Perry, and former Sen. Rick Santorum together poll at almost 40 percent.
Romney can be stopped if conservatives do two things. First conservatives must unite. We must agree, regardless of whether we like Gingrich, Perry, or Santorum, that Romney must be stopped. The second thing is conservatives must hit Romney on his liberal record. Romney is not a Massachusetts moderate. He is a liberal.
[See a collection of political cartoons on Mitt Romney.]
If the conservatives will coalesce around one of the conservative candidates, Romney can be stopped. Romney has a huge problem. In surveys done on Tea Party Nation, between one third to one half of the conservatives surveyed say they will not vote for Romney if he is the nominee.
Mitt Romney has a very liberal record. This is not his campaign promises of today. This is what he has done in the past. When he was the lame duck governor of Massachusetts, when he did not have to appease a liberal base, he pushed Romneycare and some his most liberal policies.
[See pictures of the 2012 GOP candidates.]
If past actions are the best indicators of future behavior, the indicators are that despite what Romney says, if he becomes president, he will be a liberal. If conservatives want to stop Mitt Romney, they have to be blunt. Mitt Romney must be branded as a liberal. The Republican base must be reminded that Obamacare was based on Romneycare, using the same advisers and same experts to create it. The Republican base must be reminded that Mitt Romney used many of the same advisers as President Barack Obama. Republicans must be reminded that Mitt Romney believes in and has tried to enact the same policies as Barack Obama.
If the conservative candidates will work together, and will hit Romney on his record and the fact he is a liberal, Romney can be stopped.
But time is running out for the conservatives to stop the liberal Mitt Romney.
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- Other Arguments
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#1286
No — None of the other GOP candidates is likely to make it past Florida
DAVID CROCKETT, Author of 'Running Against the Grain: How Opposition Candidates Win Presidential Elections'
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#2154
No — With steady campaign, Romney limits foes' chances to rally against him
ROB COLLINS, Former Chief of Staff for Majority Leader Eric Cantor
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#2187
Yes — If S.C. knocks out Perry, Santorum, or Gingrich, conservatives could coalesce behind a Non-Romney
MATTHEW DICKINSON, Professor at Middlebury College
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#4113
No — As his New Hampshire speech shows, Mitt Romney knows the nomination contest is over
FERGUS CULLEN, Former Chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party
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#5114
Yes — Nothing can stop him in the primaries, but GOP issues with race will not go away
SIMON ROSENBERG, President and Founder of NDN
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#6104
Yes — The damage Romney's GOP rivals do in the primary will only bloody him to be defeated in the general election
KRYSTAL BALL, Former Democratic Nominee for Congress
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#754
No — It is unlikely other GOP candidates have organization or money to stop Romney
RON BONJEAN, Former Chief of Staff for the Senate Republican Conference
