The Pink Flamingo :: Mitt Romney’s Little Ronald Reagan Problem, etc.

“…Romney was considered a moderate in those days, losing the Massachusetts U.S. Senate race in 1994 and winning the governorship in 2002. He voiced support for abortion rights, allowing gays to serve openly in the military and other positions that led activists to think he was a centrist.

Romney refused repeated requests to talk about his links to Reagan. Campaign spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom said that Romney's 1994 "independent" quote is out of context, that the vote for Tsongas was a vote against Bill Clinton and that not enrolling in either major party was common in Massachusetts.

Critics, however, charge that Romney's enthusiastic embrace of Reagan is another convenient, expedient Romney lunge to the right.

"He didn't support Ronald Reagan," said Mark Salter, a senior adviser to Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., one of Romney's rivals. Romney's promise to carry on Reagan's legacy is more evidence of "Mitt Romney's bizarro world," Salter added.

"This guy didn't even support Ronald Reagan," former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said disdainfully on an MSNBC show last month.

Fehrnstrom urged looking at the entire 1994 exchange between Romney and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., whom Romney was challenging at the time.

Kennedy had criticized Republicans, saying that "under your economic program, under the program of Mr. Reagan and Mr. Bush, we saw the growth in terms of the unemployment, the growth in the number of children living in poverty, the growth in terms of those children out of wedlock."

Romney replied: "Look, I was an independent during the time of Reagan-Bush. I'm not trying to return to Reagan-Bush. My positions don't talk about the things you suggest they talk about. This isn't a political issue."… However, there also were people such as Tom Middleton, a real estate broker who went to one of Reagan's inaugural balls in the 1980s. "I got cold chills. There was God," he recalled. "He made people believe in America again. He was a man of his word."

Did Romney remind him of Reagan? "Not really," said Middleton, who's still trying to decide between Romney and Giuliani. "But he does have the aura. He does have the look."…”

The Concord Monitor has openly told people NOT to vote for Romney!

“..In a scathing anti-endorsement that called Romney a "disquieting figure," the New Hampshire newspaper's editorial board said he looks and acts like a presidential contender but "surely must be stopped" because he lacks the core philosophical beliefs to be a trustworthy president….”

We Are a Christian Nation & What’s Romney Got to Do With It?

SURPRISE SURPRISE!
Shazam! (sorry, I can’t help it) the candidate the far extreme Rush Limbaugh talking papers right identifies as way too “Christian” to suit them may just be on to something. Gallup has a piece about 8 out of 10 Americans identifying themselves as “Christian”. If so, Mike Huckabee may be in the catbird seat for awhile. He is striking a chord with middle America. The actual numbers are 82% identify with “Christian”. 62% of Americans are “church members”. One-Third of Americans think the Bible is Literally True. And listen dudes, this is the one third of America who votes.

CHURCH GOERS NOT EMBRACING ROMNEY
Then like a snap of the fingers or pounding of the forehead on a wall I realized what the problem is here. According to Gallup “Churchgoing Protestants are not embracing Romney.” Consequently, now is the time for all good talking points conservatives, engaged in inside the Beltway Group Think (including Rush Limbaugh) to start disparaging Church going Protestants and Mike Huckabee. It all makes perfectly logical sense.

“…Gallup gauges overall candidate appeal by asking Americans whether they have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of a candidate. Thirty-two percent of churchgoing Protestants view Romney favorably and 29% view him unfavorably -- resulting in a net favorable rating of +3. That net favorable rating among churchgoing Protestants is far worse than those of his chief rivals for the Republican presidential nomination -- former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson (+26), Arizona Senator John McCain (+21), and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani (+19). Even worse for Romney, two Democratic presidential candidates -- Illinois Senator Barack Obama (+10) and former North Carolina Senator John Edwards (+9) -- have better net favorable ratings among this traditionally Republican group than does Romney. Only New York Senator Hillary Clinton is viewed more negatively by churchgoing Protestants than is Romney….”

ANOTHER HINT
A headline in the Chicago Trib caught my attention:
Moderate Republicans in Iowa Looking for a Comeback in 2008.

“…But the comments that day echoed a concern voiced nationally by prominent Republican moderates —that the party's rightward tilt, and the heavy spending by what had been a GOP-controlled Washington until the 2006 mid-term congressional elections, have left them little more than an afterthought in the party.  Those concerns have been heightened by a Republican presidential primary campaign that finds most of the leading candidates advocating a conservative social agenda as they try to win the nomination by appealing to a GOP base on the right that dominates turnout in many early caucus and primary states.  "It means building the farm team and taking back the word 'Republican' to say we don't have to be the way we are perceived now at the national level, as a mean-spirited narrow-minded litmus-test party," said Christine Todd Whitman, a former New Jersey governor and Bush Cabinet member who now leads the Republican Leadership Council.  "We can be moderate, conservative, liberal as long as we agree on the basic fundamental principles that make us Republicans. You can disagree with someone and not hate them. That's where we need to get, so that we can have the kind of campaigns at the federal level that actually talk about the important issues and try to solve them instead of trying to outflank the other person—'I'm more conservative than you are,' " she said….”

ANOTHER HINT
According to Flap, Romney’s strategy is in peril – or he could be LOSING! Flap has a huge amount if information here. Just digest it.

“…Romney is losing in Iowa where he has spent over $7 million to Mike Huckabee and is hanging onto a lead within the margin of error to John McCain in New Hampshire. He has never lead in a national GOP poll even though he has dumped massive $ millions of his own wealth into television advertising. Desperation in his campaign exudes with Romney hagiographer, Hugh Hewitt, former Giuliani e-employee Patrick Ruffini and the Manhattan based conservatives at National Review bashing Huckabee and Giuliani at every turn of the campaign. The Romney shill Matt Drudge HOSED Rudy over a bogus story over at the other Romney shill Politico. Flap is amazed that the public does not demand financial disclosure forms from the media - Flap wonders how much money or promises have ACTUALLY changed hands with political consulting deals, books, third party payments to foundations, etc. Throw in freshly converted Mormon Bay Buchanan (formerly Tom Tancredo’s campaign manager) and her brother Pat into the mix and you have nobody but Mitt pieces floating through the internets.

But, have they been able to fool the voters?...”

GOING AFTER ROMNEY
Flap feels that Romney is now the target, that he is giving up on Iowa, and is going to be held accountable for his canards. If so, where does this place Rush Limbaugh, Matt Drudge, Hugh Hewitt, the Washington Times, and Romney’s other shills? What are they going to try next?

Fasten your seat-belts.

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