Romney rolling right along
Two weeks after technically winning the evangelical Family Research Council (FRC) straw poll in Washington, DC, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney is rolling right along in the Republican primary for United States president.
Behind but ahead
Though he is behind Rudy Giuliani in the national poll according to Realclearpolitics.com, he is leading in Iowa by 13.5 points, 8.0 in New Hampshire and .3 in South Carolina--the three most important leadoff primary events. How has Romney done this?
Diligently and shrewdly
For a year now, he has invested time, money and ideas in his campaign for president. He has plenty of money, time and ideas but he has also been shrewd. He has advertised early, put out the necessary time and money during critical moment while also building an impressive organization, especially here in South Carolina. His economic acumen is only matched by his political shrewdness.
Shrewdness snatches a big win
During the DC FRC straw poll, he received strong support by attendees but not compared to former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee. A reliable source told me that Huckabee would win the straw poll by an overwhelming margin.
After the final vote was cast, Romney snatched victory from Huckabee by 30 votes out of almost 6000 cast.
Though he lost the attendee or on-site vote by almost 5:1, he came from nowhere to take the overall straw poll which accepted off site or online voting. Romney's shrewdness is evidence by Facebook email titled "2008 American Values Straw Poll: To members of Students for Mitt." Then it encourages supporters: "Please visit fraction.org and vote in the American Values Straw Poll by this Saturday. October 20 at noon EDT."
Mormon Romney takes evangelical vote
This last minute effort and other timely efforts allowed Mormon Romney to take the evangelical vote home.
At this moment, with Giuliani and Thompson getting a broadside from Dr. James Dobson, a prominent evangelical leader, and losing some steam, Romney seems to be swimming upstream diligently and shrewdly toward victory in the primary. After also being "rejected" by Dobson, he spoke admiring of Dobson and evangelicals during the FRC event which honored Dobson, and came away with a technical "KO" (knockout).
Getting along swimmingly
In a New York Times piece, Greenville (S.C.) County Republican chairman Samuel Harms said, Romney is running the ablest campaign. And after picking up Bob Jones, III's endorsement, the evangelical American Center for Law and Justice director Jay Sekulow and others, Romney is rolling right along. Or, as our British friends would say, he is getting along "swimmingly."
Update for November 7, 2008:
From Newsmax.com, conservative leader, Paul Weyrich, president of the Free Congress Foundation and who was the first president of the Heritage Foundation and instrumental in starting the Moral Majority, endorsed Mitt Romney as the presidential nominee of the Republican Party.
According to the Associated Press, Christian conservative leader and former presidential candidate, Pat Robertson, president of the Christian Broadcasting Network, Regent University and host the 700 Club, endorsed Rudy Giuliani as the presidential nominee of the Republican Party.
Showing posts with label Republican candidates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Republican candidates. Show all posts
Nov 3, 2007
Jul 17, 2007
Presidential Run for the Roses: The GOP (Part 2)
McCain's horse losing steam: What happened to media's darling? (For background, see previous blog entitled The GOP (Part 1)
As U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-AZ, tries to fend off the dark horses in the GOP presidential run for the roses, his campaign is imploding. Among many others, his chief fundraiser and communications director have resigned, hoping to go to greener pastures. literally. McCain's campaign is out of green cash. His Straight Talk Express is running out of gas (and gas money). What happened to this tough talking media savvy Vietnam veteran?
McCain's recent birthday bash was quite telling. The invited guests were members of the elite media. These were his darling constituents, broadcasting his every move--in a positive way. He was the Bush basher, the Republican maverick, the conservative who attacked conservatives and conservatism. He has had the backing of Indepedents nationally, particularly in New Hampshire, the first primary state. He had the cash and the best political operatives that money can buy.
McCain had the backing of the Republican establishment in South Carolina, the home of the first Southern primary. U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, R-SC, advanced his issues, including immigration. McCain's run for the roses always had an Archilles heel, or a loose horse shoe. That shoe is now falling off.
The Republican and conservatives leaders that he had distanced, sometimes attacked, are the ones who directly vote or influence major groups to vote, not the members of the elite media. Polls are now showing that his strategy has backfired.
Republicans and conservatives, the voting constituency, are not giving money and not acceding to his candidancy during state and national poll surveys. His initiatives, including the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform, his attack on President Bush's intelligence strategy, including the torture issue, his playing both sides of the abortion debate, along with pushing for the guest worker/immigration bill has caught up with him. Even his support for the War on Iraq has angered his media constitutency.
Perhaps, most of all, his media constitutency has embraced their natural allies--left leaning, egalitarian candidates U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-IL and Hilary Clinton, D-NY. McCain is back in New Hampshire to pick up the pieces, starting with the many Independent voters in the state.
In my home state of South Carolina, where McCain has nurtured the Republican party for over eight years, his efforts are not bearing fruit. The fruit is becoming stale, perhaps due to the conservative leaning of this state. His moderate, independent, and insurgency campaign is growing sour in this must-win state.
What about the other candidates, including former mayor Rudolph "Rudy" Giuliani, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and likely candidacy of former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson, R-TN? Will it be McCain at the Republican finish line or one of these other candidates? Catch me next time as I talk about these candidates and the other dark horse candidates in the Presidential Run for the Roses.
What do you think?
(For background, please see previous blog entitled Presidential Run for the Rose: GOP (Part 1)
As U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-AZ, tries to fend off the dark horses in the GOP presidential run for the roses, his campaign is imploding. Among many others, his chief fundraiser and communications director have resigned, hoping to go to greener pastures. literally. McCain's campaign is out of green cash. His Straight Talk Express is running out of gas (and gas money). What happened to this tough talking media savvy Vietnam veteran?
McCain's recent birthday bash was quite telling. The invited guests were members of the elite media. These were his darling constituents, broadcasting his every move--in a positive way. He was the Bush basher, the Republican maverick, the conservative who attacked conservatives and conservatism. He has had the backing of Indepedents nationally, particularly in New Hampshire, the first primary state. He had the cash and the best political operatives that money can buy.
McCain had the backing of the Republican establishment in South Carolina, the home of the first Southern primary. U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, R-SC, advanced his issues, including immigration. McCain's run for the roses always had an Archilles heel, or a loose horse shoe. That shoe is now falling off.
The Republican and conservatives leaders that he had distanced, sometimes attacked, are the ones who directly vote or influence major groups to vote, not the members of the elite media. Polls are now showing that his strategy has backfired.
Republicans and conservatives, the voting constituency, are not giving money and not acceding to his candidancy during state and national poll surveys. His initiatives, including the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform, his attack on President Bush's intelligence strategy, including the torture issue, his playing both sides of the abortion debate, along with pushing for the guest worker/immigration bill has caught up with him. Even his support for the War on Iraq has angered his media constitutency.
Perhaps, most of all, his media constitutency has embraced their natural allies--left leaning, egalitarian candidates U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-IL and Hilary Clinton, D-NY. McCain is back in New Hampshire to pick up the pieces, starting with the many Independent voters in the state.
In my home state of South Carolina, where McCain has nurtured the Republican party for over eight years, his efforts are not bearing fruit. The fruit is becoming stale, perhaps due to the conservative leaning of this state. His moderate, independent, and insurgency campaign is growing sour in this must-win state.
What about the other candidates, including former mayor Rudolph "Rudy" Giuliani, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and likely candidacy of former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson, R-TN? Will it be McCain at the Republican finish line or one of these other candidates? Catch me next time as I talk about these candidates and the other dark horse candidates in the Presidential Run for the Roses.
What do you think?
(For background, please see previous blog entitled Presidential Run for the Rose: GOP (Part 1)
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