Well, that’s it then. Gov. Christie’s decision to forego a presidential run has put an end to the conservative establishment’s search for a white knight to enter the race and take the nomination by acclamation. The bundlers who have been on hold all year waiting for Mr. Christie, Mr. Daniels, Mr. Ryan, or Mr. Bush (Jeb, that is) to jump into the race now realize that they’ve been waiting for Godot, and are acting accordingly as they begin to move towards the candidates who are actually running for president. With the establishment throwing in the towel, only Sarah Palin remains a potential late entry into the race, something that seems increasingly unlikely given the imminent filing deadlines for key early primaries.
As such, the field is set. And, given the choices before me, I therefore second the endorsement made earlier today by Managing Editor Kavon W. Nikrad and call on the Republican Party to nominate Gov. Mitt Romney for President of the United States.
My reasons for selecting Gov. Romney as my candidate are similar to those laid out by Kavon in his endorsement, so I won’t extrapolate on those points further. Instead, I will use this piece to focus on one key area in which Romney stands head-and-shoulders above his competition, and that is his ability to expand the GOP electoral map beyond the traditional “red states” that regularly leave Republicans struggling to break 270 electoral votes during presidential elections. This is as much a demographic problem for Republicans as it is a geographic problem, as the reason that Republicans have been struggling in the North and the West, and now in the New South and the Mountain West, has everything to do with the GOP’s inability since the Clinton years to appeal to educated whites, soccer moms, and once up-for-grabs minorities such as Asians. These are groups that voted for Reagan/Bush in the ’80s, but which Bill Clinton welcomed into the Democratic Party and which haven’t strayed since, at least not during a presidential election year. I believe that Gov. Romney is the sort of candidate who could change all of that.
If President Obama has accomplished anything over the past few years, it’s that he’s left the Clinton Coalition in tatters. The story of the 2009-2011 elections have been one of groups such as suburban whites, Jewish voters, and urban blue collar voters rejecting the Democratic Party after getting a whiff of the sorts of policies that have come out of the unreformed, leftist leadership of Obama/Pelosi/Reid. While there is no perfect Republican candidate who could appeal to all of these groups, Gov. Romney, who has won an election in a blue state, has the best chance of picking up enough of these formerly “blue” voters to truly change the electoral template that has been in place since 1992.
Again, Gov. Romney is not going to have the same appeal to Hispanic voters that, say, Sen. Marco Rubio would have. Nor will he have the same fella-next-door appeal to blue collar whites that, say, Gov. Chris Christie would have. But neither Marco Rubio nor Chris Christie are running for president. And out of those candidates who are running for president, Mitt Romney has demonstrated his ability to win “blue” voters, and brings with him the cultural cues that will appeal to at least one major swing voting bloc, college-educated urban and suburban whites who were brought into Team Blue by President Clinton and who have been kicked out of the nest by President Obama. These suburban voters were vital to the GOP’s wins in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Wisconsin in 2010-11, and have also been the reason that states like Virginia and North Carolina have been trending blue, as Northern voters continue to migrate to areas like Northern Virginia and North Carolina’s Research Triangle in search of a better life. The key to winning all of these states next year will lie in the suburbs, and Gov. Romney is an ideal candidate to appeal to such voters.
I believe that Gov. Romney, if nominated, will almost certainly defeat President Obama, and will probably do so while winning close to 35 states. The fact that Gov. Romney trails President Obama by only two points in a state like Connecticut confirms my view that Gov. Romney is the right kind of candidate, with the right kind of campaign, for a year in which the Democrats are running a president for re-election with a 40 percent approval rating. An election such as this does not require polarization in order for the challenging party to win, but a broadly acceptable nominee put forth by the party out of power. Gov. Romney is such a nominee. It is for these and many other reasons that I endorse Mitt Romney for President of the United States.
October 4th, 2011 at 10:00 pm
Romney is not a political celebrity – he comes across to some as plastic (Though I actually like his pre-programmed presidential qualities), and he’s not an everyman.
Fair enough.
But we tried both of those things in Obama, and we got what we paid for – a man with little ability to handle the responsibilities of the Presidency, little experience off which to base his policy decisions, and a much greater preference for campaigning rather than working on the nation’s problems.
Romney follows in the mold of prior presidents who were principled, but not firebrands; and who were experienced, thoughtful, and pragmatic when necessary.
October 4th, 2011 at 10:12 pm
The geographic argument for Romney cannot be understated. The man simply can put more states into play and in the end, that’s whats needed to win.
But you forgot an important factor that Romney possess that no other republican candidate save huntsman has: the ability NOT to mobilize left leaning independents/moderates, Northeastern liberal republicans and soft democratic voters to vote AGAINST Romney. That too is huge. This tepid non-support/non-opposition is whats going to make him competitive in the purple and blue states.
October 4th, 2011 at 10:26 pm
Palin v. Romney!!!
BRING IT ON!!!
grrrrrrrrrr
October 4th, 2011 at 10:27 pm
I agree with you about Romney and Cain. Have liked Cain since he entered the race. He is the only candidate that is giving definite ideas to fix our ailing economy. No political experience … no problem. It’s time for America to look outside the “political box” for a proven leader with real business experience. I like Herman Cain … I trust Herman Cain!
October 4th, 2011 at 10:29 pm
Earth to Race42012:
WILL YOU GUYS FINALLY MOVE PALIN’S PHOTO IN THE MASTHEAD OVER TO THE CENTER, NEXT TO MITT (and dump Christie’s or at least shove it to the side)
October 4th, 2011 at 10:36 pm
Cain is a general vote of dissstisfaction with the media/Dem’s fav ‘frontrunner’ Romney.
Palin will get the bulk of the Cain vote (when the time comes), certainly not Romney.
October 4th, 2011 at 10:36 pm
Race42012′s raising “Cain” is the last ditch effort against Palin.
October 4th, 2011 at 10:43 pm
Palin/Rubio ’12 does seem like a very likely ticket.
October 4th, 2011 at 11:04 pm
Excellent points, Dave and I agree. I also agree with Pee-Jay (#2) that Romney doesn’t mobilize the left and that will not only be a huge benefit for the Red Team but a huge detriment to Team Blue. The Democrats are truly demoralized right now and the only way they are going to go out and give money and work hard for Obama is if we give them someone to run against; their support for Obama isn’t strong but their opposition to say, Perry, could make up for that.
Romney puts more states in play.
Romney puts more voters in play.
Romney doesn’t give the Democrats someone to hate.
Romney can stand toe-to-toe with Obama at any venue and hold his own in the war of words.
October 4th, 2011 at 11:09 pm
Jack, even the Ron Paul people aren’t as irrational as you. This obsessive behavior is dangerous.
October 4th, 2011 at 11:20 pm
Spenza, please be specific on exactly what I am saying substantively you think as irrational?
Are you saying it’s irrational to think Palin is a top contender for POTUS nomination vs. Romney?
or are you saying it’s irrational for me to point out the irrationality of Race42012 to pretend Palin away?
October 4th, 2011 at 11:20 pm
Jack, based on the evidence (announced run, polls, buzz, fundraising, etc., etc.), we should just take out Christie and shift the remaining 4 to the left.
Notice that Giuliani isn’t even featured.
If Palin doesn’t announce soon, it won’t be long before they drop her picture as well…
October 4th, 2011 at 11:23 pm
Also Jack, if you want to complain, you should complain that Gov. Johnson’s picture is not present. After all, he has announced, has been running, and was in the last debate.
None of which Sarah was done, but we’ve got her picture up there anyway…
October 4th, 2011 at 11:23 pm
Spenza, to say someone like Ron Paul can or will get the nomination IS irrational.
To say that about Palin is precisely NOT irrational.
And, with all due respect, your failure to recognize the difference IS irrational.
October 4th, 2011 at 11:25 pm
Jerald, are you saying or implying that Johnson’s possibilities are anywhere close to Palin’s?????
October 4th, 2011 at 11:30 pm
I said what I said Jack.
Palin is making no moves toward running that can be recognized without a vivid imagination or reading tea leaves, but we have her picture up there. (Her only saving grace is that she is still pulling relatively OK, but so is Rudy…)
Gov. Johnson is actually running and particating but we don’t have his picture up. Does that seem fair to you?
October 4th, 2011 at 11:30 pm
“polling”
October 4th, 2011 at 11:33 pm
Romney will win Michigan, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Nevada, and New Hampshire. He MIGHT win Connecticut, Maine, Minnesota, and other Purple states as well, but holding Florida, Virginia, and Ohio…..as well as winning the 5 states I led off with…..is tantamount to a pretty BIG win.
The polls show him beating Obama among Independents…..and they don’t show any OTHER Republican doing this. Obama won big with Independents in 2008, and that’s why he won big in the election. These voters don’t respond well to the type of Republican that a lot of Republicans respond well to.
That’s Romney’s problem in the Primary…..and it’s his unique advantage in the General.
October 5th, 2011 at 12:33 am
[...] Romney for the Win [...]
October 5th, 2011 at 5:23 am
Gee I wonder why Indepenents numbers are so high to begin with? What did the dems and republicans do to scare this bunch of folks to the middle (becouse thats what they are in the middle). Republicans and democrats both are way to extreme for most Americans. If your not a evangelical then your not a true conservative and if you dont agree God does not exist and nothing is immoral then your not a democrat. Most Americans are actually sane and descent and do not accept those terms. Every election it just gets worse republicans go further to the right and dems go further to the left. Both parties are doomed if they dont get a grip.
October 5th, 2011 at 5:36 am
Most republicans KNow Romney is who we need to get our country of are knees and back on our feet. WHo cares who the nice guy is or who is evangelical. Is it even sane to consider electing a president at this time on those views. Who else running can compare to MItt Romney in balancing a budget? Not one other cadidate has proven what romney has proven he can do. Thats why we sane people will vote for Mitt Romney in 2012! Take your ship of extremes into the middle of the ocean and do what you want with it it will sink but we wont let you sink America.
October 5th, 2011 at 8:36 am
Jack, not sure what your obsession is with moving Palin’s picture. It’s not like you have a full sized blow up in your home to look at. The rest of us don’t need to see her front and center until she’s a front runner. But since she has yet to announce… and it is Oct 5, six days past the self imposed decision announcement – I dare say perhaps her pic does not belong on the top banner to begin with?
October 5th, 2011 at 8:45 am
solid analysis
October 5th, 2011 at 9:42 am
Slippery Mitt pandering to everyone, including Kavon and Dave. How proud they must be…
Big Government will continue to live on.
October 5th, 2011 at 9:55 am
24 Ryan
You obviously don’t have a clue.
October 5th, 2011 at 12:36 pm
Dave G for Romney? Who would have thunk it? Thought he was a tea party/conservative.
October 5th, 2011 at 12:38 pm
22.
Now that was funny, I don’t care who you are.
Good job, OCRightSurferGal
October 5th, 2011 at 3:31 pm
[...] Kavon Nikrad’s endorsement for Mitt Romney and Dave G’ seconding of the nomination, and Matt Newman’s bold declaration for Herman Cain, it seems a type for [...]
October 5th, 2011 at 3:44 pm
You make a very good argument. I’m liking Romney. I’m liking Cain. I still have a soft spot for Rick Santorum. Everyone else seems, frankly, like an afterthought at this point.