Now, Republican conservatives can wait to say ‘we told you so’ — again.
Mitt Romney’s clear path to the nomination means that the party’s establishment center had better win this thing or be blamed by social conservatives for blowing another election.
For all the bluster of tea partiers and evangelicals these past couple of years it was amazing to watch them fumble the GOP nomination race and make way for the guy they liked the least. Had just one politically competent right winger with a national organization emerged, Romney would be back home counting his money.
Despite their blunders, conservatives such as Santorum will assert bragging rights if Romney loses to President Obama, arguing that a “Massachusetts moderate” at the top of the ticket was a big mistake. Never mind that Santorum would have been a disaster for Republicans in November.
Now, GOP right wingers have their talking points for the future. They won’t have to prove they can win a general election, just say so — despite actually proving in this campaign they don’t even know how to win their own party’s nomination.
Others on Topic
“It’s a familiar ending. Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush, Bob Dole, and John McCain all beat back conservative insurgents to win the Republican nomination. Only the elder Bush went on to win the White House, and then only once.” — W. James Antle III, The American Spectator
“The Republican establishment is embarrassed of many conservatives, both conservative media people, conservative voters, they’re embarrassed of them. I’m talking about the New York, Washington corridor Republican establishment types. Just embarrassed of them. It was remarkable. They had their candidate, which was Romney, and then all the others which were conservatives. We ended up splitting the conservative primary vote.” — Rush Limbaugh
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76 Responses to GOP Right Wins by Losing
Now on The Trail
With Rick Santorum suspending his presidential campaign thus making the Mormon Mitt Romney the likely Republican nominee all that the Progressives need now is for the 5 conservative “partisan political” “activists” Supreme Court judges to strike down the Healthcare bill.
This combination should produce a victory for Barack Obama.
The Republican vote should be reduced as the religious right social conservatives should be apathetic to Mitt Romney and the anti Obamacare contingent will have their gratification with their Supreme Court victory. The Progressives should be impassioned to vote, unlike 2010, in order to protect the makeup of the Supreme Court and a possible opportunity of a single payer Healthcare plan.
I believe that Barack Obama is much more of a conservative in economic and the extreme form Unitary Executive Theory than Romney. Willard Mitt Romney is a Chameleon, changing his appearance to fit whatever environment he is in. Romney will say anything or be anybody to WIN. Romney has no core substance.
But Craig the Republicans have picked their nominee months before what it took the Democrats during 2008.
Lets not forget there wasn’t much love by a lot of Democrats for the way Obama and his side treated Mrs. Clinton, yet they still voted for Obama
After the “crazies” in the Republican Party shot their blanks in the 2010 cycle in those US Senate races, ie Alaska, Delaware, Nevada, Colorado, etc., the big boot of the establishment was out to make sure that it crushed all of the piss-ants this go ’round. This looks like one time the moneyed R’s were going to make sure that their side “fell in line” and not in love!
I believe in the old saying that “Democrats fall in love. Republicans fall in line.” Social conservatives don’t stay at home, and they’re not going to vote for Obama. The independents will decide this thing again. They always do.
mudcat is exactly correct here, the independents in a handful of swing states will decide this thing,and they will vote their thinking on the future of their pocketbooks, their optimism, or pessimism, about themselves and their family’s pocketbooks, job and personal and national sense of security. They always do…
“I believe in the old saying that “Democrats fall in love. Republicans fall in line.” Social conservatives don’t stay at home, and they’re not going to vote for Obama. The independents will decide this thing again. They always do.”
This independent will be listening to both of them….I don’t see much difference between Obama, and M. R….hope that he doesn’t mind me calling him M. R…….mmmm M i leaning his way????
Mov-on<
I like this post a lot.!
Craig,
Want to auction off your favorite lamp in the future…..let me know….or im going to steal it for my avatar.!
Maybe not much substantive difference twixt the two, Solar, but RCP sees a difference in the electoral map…
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/2012_elections_electoral_college_map.html
… and that’s how we elect a president, right? Even if RCP were to give half of all the leaning states and tossups to each candidate, Obama still gets 275 E votes. Romney’s camp can’t be happy with this.
Mudcat,
Independents are the ones in the middle…and will vote for anyone that they think will solve problems…not keep them going like the present President had done so far.!
A cpl of days ago, a friend of mine in Indiana that has a mortgage co. told me about some women that just lost her home…she owned more money on the house than it was worth….she applied for a restructuring of the loan over a year ago…said that the bank had told her all along that it was not going to be a problem.!!
She said that “Mr. Obama the potus” was going to help her….he promised…..but now she is out of her home….she won’t be voting for him again…..she is black…..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEV5AFFcZ-s&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Hey solarman , run across this the other day thought you might like it , caution it’s a two hr movie
Pogo,
I wouldn’t vote for Romney to save my life.!!
That would be voting for the party that gave us the Cheney/bush criminals….but the dems are the ones that keep giving in to them…..the let Bush 43 scam the country in the “too big to fail” scam, I want someone that will know when we are being taken to the cleaners…..not just carrying the clothes to those that do the cleaning…….later have to get my exercise in…
ps, It looks like once again, I will be voting with a clear conscience….for anyone that is not in the one party system…..
MQ, thanks…hope things are fine on the river…..post some pics sometimes no?
Solar , everythings ok , same old ,
In st Louis harbor now getting ready to go south with 30 loads of grain , orders to pick up 5 more at Cairo
Leaving there with 35, that’s about sixty thousand tons
Of grain ,destination new Orleans harbor
On a side note looks like I’m going to be paying more taxes this year than GE and GM combined, but of course the prez says it’s not enough , fair is fair ,right ?
MQ,
Thanks for the info….are there a lot of barges with concrete making mtls on them?
Construction here is still at a stand still basically….I know a cpl of builders that are building a cpl of homes….but they are 1/2 mil each on a few acres…..affordable homes….nada, and was just wondering….
Solar , this boat I’m on deals with mostly grain , sometimes pick up some coal,
Different boats do different things , some are dedicated to grain , coal , or petroleum , just depends , They load a lot of cement barges at st Genevieve , Holcom cement , mostly see them going south
Perhaps I’m missing something, but it seems to me that with each passing election cycle, the chances of victory for the ‘conservative insurgents’ diminishes.
The extreme right simply holds little if any appeal for minority voting blocks, women, and young voters.
Wait ’till next year may be a great rallying cry,
but next year may a long way off, especially when the demographics are against you.
Anyway back to Craigs topic , so Romney won the primary and lost the general election already ,
What ? How long have I’ve been asleep
Faireweather’s Mother is in hospice. If you are on Facebook, you might drop by at Faire Lewis
“What ? How long have I’ve been asleep”
Dear Rip,
Not to worry, it was only a catnap. Nothing has changed.
Garth Brooks tribute to Patsi for her memorial
http://m.cnbc.com/id/41491193/Bernanke_to_Congress_We_re_Much_Closer_to_Total_Destruction_Than_You_Think
mqw, will you be in nawlins in time for the tall ships?
http://nolanavyweek.com/
here are the other ports that link says they’re visiting and when:
APRIL 17-23 -- NEW ORLEANS
May 23-30 -- NEW YORK CITY
JUNE 1-12 -- NORFOLK
JUNE 13-19 -- BALTIMORE
JUNE 30-JULY 5 -- BOSTON
JULY 6-8 -- NEW LONDON
jamie, thanks for linking that garth piece. this quote could have been said by any of us trail mixers.
especially the “You felt like you could go out and slay a nation after talking with her….”
Rick Santorum Crashes, Adult Industry Celebrates
by Taylor Marsh
Fair,
Will be thinking about U and your Mom everyday.!! Thanks Jamie.!
Hey Tony the Baloneyman…..
Faireweather…
I’ll keep your mom in my prayers.
Take care and have a good evening.
mudcat, you’re right and that means a fight for who turns out the most of the true believers on both sides. and perhaps those who control the absentee ballots from the nursing homes, the military bases etc… gore v bush chads de javu-ing all over again
faire, we are there with you.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0412/75036.html
patd
Gingrich is aging. Someone has to take over the job of bilking the delusional.
Faire- My thoughts and prayers are with you my friend.
Fairweather
GOP Primary…….100% Snake Oil.
Faire thee well.
Perhaps the republican independents have been around long enough to know for certain sure that trickle down is just stale yellow urine.
Happy trails mama Faire. Sorry Faire.
Thanks for the link to the Patsi piece Jamie.
Right now, I see the electoral college voting 365 -- 170. I can’t see anything that willard inc. offers, or can offer, the swing voters in the swing states.
This is what most folks miss. It’s not the swing states; it’s not the swing voters. It’s all about the swing voters in the swing states.
oh,bummer is so far ahead (thanks to willard repeatedly shooting himself in the mouth) that he will soon be able to start chipping away at the luke warm puguglies, especially Catholics and more moderate ripper military personnel.
If it is done well, the O campaign might even turn into a 1936 or 1984 style landslide. It’s unlikely, but it’s still possible against a fractured party and a tone deaf opponent like willard.
You are in our prayers, Fair.
w. james antle III cited in Craig’s opening : “Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush, Bob Dole, and John McCain all beat back conservative insurgents to win the Republican nomination. Only the elder Bush went on to win the White House, and then only once.”
Q : Why did antle leave out richard nixon, who won twice ? ditto : Why did he leave out Ike ? ditto : Why did he leave out Dewey and Willkie ?
Irony : The ‘conservative’ dolts vote, but the Ivy League lawyers select who they’ll vote for. In the 24 years since george herbert walker bush weaseled into the White House, only 20% had any experience of life as a 99%er. 60% of the time they were Ivy Leaguers. 80% of the time they were from Big Oil. 80% were born into wealth. 100% were Big Government enthusiasts.
Good morning all and hey to you Solar..
Faire,
Sorry about your mother..I’ve experienced what you are facing and its certainly not easy..Take care of yourself through all of this as well..
Oh Faire… so very sorry to read about your mom.
Pay attention to what time you have left with her.
Jamie… thanks so much for that Garth piece on Patsi.
alert to kgc, bethy, jamie et al on the western trail
http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-mexico-quake-april-11,0,1243117.story
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/04/59-earthquake-strikes-west-coast-70-quake-hits-mexico.html
What Rick Santorum Wrought
By CHARLES M. BLOW
Wonder why candidates don’t use Perot-type charts…they seemed to be effective.
Santorum….just goes to show that they guy who talks about his grampa’s hands loses handily to the guy who talks about his pa closing down a factory.
Patd
The whole “Ring of Fire” has been on fire for months. The only place it hasn’t hit is directly in California at the “able to be felt” level until today with a tiny almost 3 pointer in the Central Valley. Precursor?
At least the one in Indonesia was a slip strike rather than an up thrust so there wasn’t a Tsunami.
Faire…your Mom named you beautifully…a tribute to her.
This registered independent voter would never vote the Can’t ticket and as a white, college educated woman, I know better. And seeing GWB the other day touting the job creators was great reminder what an absolute debase group of male humans the group collectively called Republicans can be.
Let the Battle of the Sexes continue…but, let not Hilary Rosen be my voice.
Hilary Rosen should have said that raising kids is very hard work, so Mrs Romney was lucky to have pool cleaners, grounds keepers, housekeepers, and nannies.
Faire,
Sending a prayer your way.
I left out fashion co-ordinators, tax accountants, and medical care for herself and the kids that she could easily afford. Let’s not make that mistake again.
Rosen made a huge gaff, goof…it is a War on Women, Ms. Rosen…so why would you attack a woman? I have oft wondered how gays, woman, Hispanics, etc. can vote Republican…well they do. As surprising as it is to my brain, people vote Republican. I still think it is either about God or money for them…and the Republicans have plenty of stock in both.
What? George Burns and spouse Gracie were Republicans??
Fox Mole, Joe Muto was fun reading for a bit….
http://gawker.com/5900710/announcing-our-newest-hire-a-current-fox-news-channel-employee?tag=foxmole%20In
Busted, but did get to post some great video and truth about Faux News.
God ! is dead, Flatus. I read the obit.
Some interesting stats from third way regarding independent voters:
http://www.thirdway.org/publications/472
Interesting lately to watch Ms. Rosen’s comments on CNN and how they started a “bitter twitter” war on motherhood. Sure hate to see the Dems lose their advantage in the culture war recently after having the Republicans on the ropes lately over women’s issues. Dems don’t usually win most culture wars surrounding so called “family values” issues.
BW,
When you have been taught from birth that voting against your own self interests is the way to go, you simply can not help yourself.
After all if we just didn’t have to pay those pesky medi-care and social security taxes, we could all be in the one percent, right?
Flatus…although it breaks my heart, Gracie and George could be considered Hollywood teabaggers today…they had many a routine about taxes. But, I do owe a lot to George Burns…he was the first to introduce Big Brother to me. Watching his TV show as a child with his TV screen monitoring the goings-on in his house. Steve Jobs? George was ahead of his time.
Ah, Jace…what can you say about a political party that puts teats on Alan Simpson instead of a woman where they belong!?
“God !is dead, Flatus. I read the obit.”
XR,
Reading Rupert’s newspapers again I see.
BW,
I’m appalled, and delighted at the same time. Good on you.
bw, thanks for the mole article. here’s nyt take on it and ailes trying to be funny.
http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/12/fox-quickly-hunts-down-mole-my-that-didnt-take-long/?hp
and forbes today on muto:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/04/12/how-fox-news-outed-its-gawker-mole-in-less-than-24-hours/
Patd…The Big Lie, shamelessly and proudly, continues to thrive at Faux News. Gosh…for all the phone hacking done in the name of Murdoch, it took them more than a few days to catch the Mole!
Billy Bova
I don’t claim to be a statistician _but_ efforts by republicans to make all moms fit into the same sized kitchen on Peach St will succeed if and only if empathetic Democrats make it happen.
There is no way in hell that women of privilege, taking advantage of that privilege, experience the same day-to-day stress in balancing their hands-on childrearing duties as do women of median income levels.
There is no reason in hell that Dems should accept loss of ‘family values’ issues as their place in life.
BW
George was popular at a time when the top income tax rate was 90%. Even Kennedy thought that was too high so he dropped it to 70%. The current GOP think 30% is too high which is why our infrastructure is 50 years old, our medical system, highway, and transport are all out of date. Oh well, we have plenty of unemployed bodies willing to risk getting blown up for a steady salary.
wonder if by “most powerful” they mean the smell.
in case you’re interested in who are the chosen 35 “most powerful” media see link below.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/most-powerful-people-media-new-york-matt-lauer-diane-sawyer-309166
From Faire: “Moments of grace abound as we wait-family & friends & moments when Mom is aware and answers us when we tell her we love her.”
Some folks, mostly female, will be swayed by the rippers’ War on Women.
Others will be swayed by arguments that cite the unfairness of America’s social/tax/financial system, one that rigs things in favor of those born into privilege & luxury, while stifling even small opportunities for people whose parents weren’t rich.
This verbiage is long and boring so it doesn’t fit in an 7 second ad. That’s why we use shorthand language or images to convey the message. Unfortunately, Rosen’s shorthand made her, rather than Mrs. Romney’s privilege and luxury, the story.
Here’s a suggestion :
“Mr. Romney taps his wife to communicate with women because she knows how hard a woman works to manage her household staff.”
not only did they leave out gracious host, but, gads! they left out the i-man!the champion seller of many a best seller, the guy that help put some of those 35 mosts on that list by hyping their wares.
howard stern, but not don imus?
Mrs Romney’s favorite program? Downton Abbey?
Watching Moto’s video of Sean and Willard discussing their tortured wives and how Mrs. Hannity MUST play tennis everyday and Mrs. Romney misses her horsing around…just a different social level from the rest of America…most American woman cannot afford the luxury the Misters Hannity and Romney can provide their wives. This is the point Rosen should have taken…women of privilege, not women who have never worked a day in their life. Rosen should have admitted her error and corrected the path….she might be one who has committed career suicide rather than Moto!
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