Can Mitt Romney Close the Deal With Conservatives? >
Conservatives Won't Vote for Barack Obama
Mitt Romney needs to be bold to win the general election
February 29, 2012
About Fergus Cullen:
Fergus Cullen is principal of Fergus Cullen Communications, a research, advocacy, and public affairs consulting company started in 1998. Fergus was chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party in 2007-08, the youngest state chairman in the country when elected at age 34.
Mitt Romney has done a good job throughout the campaign of running as a mainstream conservative while avoiding the trap of trying to win over the most conservative primary audiences and ideological purists. He's paid a price for this in the primaries by ceding an opening on his right that Rick Santorum is only the most recent alternative to exploit. But Romney appears to be threading the needle in a way that keeps him competitive in the general election—something Santorum would not be.
[See a collection of political cartoons on Mitt Romney.]
In the end, some conservatives will put a Romney sticker on their car, and others will put an anti-Obama sticker on theirs instead. Either way, Romney gets their vote. For conservative voters and swing voters alike, the election really comes down to the same question: Is President Obama a success, or a failure? If he's a failure, vote to replace him with a credible alternative, Romney.
My advice to Romney is this: Be bold, not timid, and embrace your own financial success. Romney is often too cautious about drawing bright policy distinctions with the Democrats. This is especially true about his jobs and economic proposals. They are defensive, trying to avoid being attacked more than going on offense. As for his wealth, Americans of all economic classes admire earned success. If Romney believes in an America in which everyone has a chance to maximize opportunities the way he has, and to do so in a way that creates jobs and wealth for others as well as for oneself, he should say so, proudly.
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- Other Arguments
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#110327
No — Romney ultimately may not ever win over conservatives
FORD O'CONNELL, Republican Strategist, Conservative Activist, and Political Analyst
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#2819
Yes — Mitt Romney can only close the deal with conservatives by pushing his electability
JAMIE CHANDLER, Professor at Hunter College
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#35616
Yes — Mitt Romney will gain conservative support once alternatives drop out of the race
DAVID CROCKETT, Author of 'Running Against the Grain: How Opposition Candidates Win Presidential Election'
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#44013
Yes — Mitt Romney is proving himself to conservatives, one primary win at a time
LARA BROWN, Professor at Villanova University
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#61319
No — Romney will never be able to close the deal with conservatives because he is a liberal
JUDSON PHILLIPS, Founder of Tea Party Nation
