Romney/Ryan Lose 2012 Election Thread

[Dan T.]

[Meh Romney video]

The "Underdog Frontrunner"* in pictures...









*Copyright 2012 by Dan T. Amalgamated Industries

[PeterMP]

In my lifetime?

Mondale.

The base probably wanted Gary Hart but Jesse Jackson kept grabbing just enough of the African American vote to keep himself viable and to keep Hart from getting closer in the South or Rust Belt.

Mondale was the old guard who know one had any particular affinity for and he got the nomination thanks to calling in all his old favors and a belief that he could beat Reagan.

That primary is insane. Hart won more states but had fewer delegates. And look at Illinois: Mondale wins 40 to 35 over Hart. But Chicago is Jesse Jackson's home town and he gets 20 percent of the vote. Without Jesse, Hart probably wins Illinois in a landslide. Hart squeaked out a win in Ohio, but - again - Jesse got 16 percent. Without Jesse, Hart might pull off a 10 point win there.

Mondale had a ceiling in that primary somewhere around 40 percent - just like Mitt. But Mondale never allowed himself to get knocked out. And in the end....we ended up with Walter Freakin' Mondale.

Actually George HW Bush in 1992. A moderate Republican that is forced to pull right due to challenges from his right.

And a guy that couldn't connect with the average person.

That will likely givien up some pretty big stuff to the right of his party, including prime speaking slots at the convention (and potentially even the VP slot).

[Jumbo]

Is this is what to expect more of, media wise, once Mittens gets the official nod? I mean more "Mormon-focused" stuff (story also on cable news now)? That could be verrrrrry interesting.

Mormon Church Limits Access to Controversial Baptism Records

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/...aptism-records

The controversy briefly touched the presidential campaign of Republican Mitt Romney, a member of the Mormon faith, when Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel asked Romney to denounce Mormon baptisms of Holocaust victims.

BTW, Buford, I enjoy your participation here, but I once again (for about the tenth time) find you ignoring rules that have been here since you joined. When you quote an article, quote just a brief section or two.The next time I find you in this situation you are going to be gone for a very long time. I am weary of this apparent lack of interest in knowing and following the forum rules.

[Larry]

Where's the baptism certificate?

[visionary]

Romney wins American Samoa and Hawaii.

http://www.cnn.com/election/2012/primaries/state/as
http://www.cnn.com/election/2012/primaries/state/hi

[Buford]

all the Jeff Foxworthy and Cheesy Grits talk did nothing for Romney last night. We keep seeing these polls of him vs. Obama in the general, but even in this primary its not like the other guys have had the the money to return the attacks Romney has laid at them. What happens in the fall? What happens if nobody shows up to the convention with enough delegates? Must see TV.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

Actually George HW Bush in 1992. A moderate Republican that is forced to pull right due to challenges from his right.

Well..except for the fact he was the goddamn incumbent...yea...I guess. Or are you thinking of '88?

Anyway, the Mondale comparisons are poor. Romney is the weakest front-runner I've ever seen. He is openly hated by Evangelicals. How can a Republican nominee be despised by Evanagelicals? It would be like the Democrats running a candidate who has no support among black voters.

[Kilmer17]

Hillary had no support from Black Voters in 2008 in the primary, but she would have had 90 percent of their support in the General.

The same thing will happen if Mitt wins the nomination.

Evangelicals may not like him, but they HATE Obama.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

Hillary had no support from Black Voters in 2008 in the primary, but she would have had 90 percent of their support in the General.

The same thing will happen if Mitt wins the nomination.

Evangelicals may not like him, but they HATE Obama.

Hillary had early support from black voters. The 2008 Democratic primary was fascinating. Bill Clinton was extraordinarily popular among black voters and there was a sense with Obama that he wasn't really "culturally" African-American. (Father from Kenya. White mother. Raised in Hawaii and Indonesia). Early polls showed Hillary beating Obama with black voters.

Sen. Hillary Clinton's lead over Sen. Barack Obama, her chief rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, is growing among African-American voters who are registered Democrats, and particularly among black women, a poll said Wednesday.

Among black registered Democrats overall, Clinton had a 57 percent to 33 percent lead over Obama.

That's up from 53 percent for Clinton and 36 percent for Obama in a poll carried out in April.

http://articles.cnn.com/2007-10-17/p..._s=PM:POLITICS

Hillary "lost" the black vote to Obama in the primary. She would have easily taken it back in the general.

Mitt's never had the Evangelical vote and - frankly - I think that Evangelicals will stay at home rather than face a choice between a Mormon and a "Muslim."

You know who is at home kicking himself right now? Mike Huckabee. Am I crazy or would Mike Huckabee be running away with the nomination right now?

[Larry]

I think that Evangelicals will stay at home rather than face a choice between a Mormon and a "Muslim."

I understand your opinion, but I disagree with you.

I'm with Kilmer. A dead skunk would get 40% of the popular vote, in this country, if he had an R or a D after his name.

[Duckus]

This guy can't even keep it straight regarding cat fish. . . . seriously, cat fish.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney reversed his position on catfish Monday at a campaign stop in Alabama, according to the LA Times.

Romney, who is campaigning in the state ahead of its Tuesday primary, said he loved the freshwater fish.

"I had catfish for the second time," Romney said. “It was delicious, just like the first time.”

But as LA Times reporter Matea Gold pointed out in a tweet, the former Massachusetts governor expressed a different opinion just two short months ago.

During a campaign stop in Lexington, S.C. in Jan. 2012, the LA Times reported on an exchange between Romney and the owner of Hudson’s Smokehouse.

Romney peered into the smoker, and said he was not “a catfish man, or not a fish man so much."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...elections-2012

[mjah]

You know who is at home kicking himself right now? Mike Huckabee. Am I crazy or would Mike Huckabee be running away with the nomination right now?

That's hard to say. In terms of balancing the GOP's moderate and looney wings, he might have looked like either an attractive jack-of-all-trades, or a noodly master-of-none. There are some intra-GOP issues right now between those two factions that seem awfully difficult to straddle effectively.

And I think it's even harder to say how Huckabee would have fared against Obama, given some of the crazy things Huck has said in the past. He at least would have authenticity going for him, which is one of Romney's weakest points.

But Huck definitely shouldn't have stayed home -- that's for sure. At a brokered convention (which won't happen), he'd be one of the first people I started looking around for.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

I understand your opinion, but I disagree with you.

I'm with Kilmer. A dead skunk would get 40% of the popular vote, in this country, if he had an R or a D after his name.

I don't think it will be massive. But in this election, having that 40 percent number be 39.1 percent could be a massive massive problem for Romney.

The electorate is so evenly split that turnout among key constituencies is really important. Having a handful of Evangelicals in the Florida panhandle stay at home could sway the whole damn thing.

---------- Post added March-14th-2012 at 12:08 PM ----------

That's hard to say. In terms of balancing the GOP's moderate and looney wings, he might have looked like either an attractive jack-of-all-trades, or a noodly master-of-none. There are some intra-GOP issues right now between those two factions that seem awfully difficult to straddle effectively.

You have to think three dimensionally.

With Huckabee in the race, Santorum probably finishes something like fourth in Iowa and quits.

Now, its' social conservative warrior Huckabee, Gingrich and Romney instead of social conservative warrior Santorum, Gingrich and Romney.

The diference being Huckabee would have money, organization, and established inroads in the South.

Imagine Huckabee doing everything Santorum has done, except winning South Carolina and Virginia. Doesn't that drive Newt out of the game?

Now, the issue would be that Huckabee probably wouldn't play in the midwest the same way Santorum does. So, factor that.

The difference is: Huckabee would have turned this into Romney versus Not Romney by Super Tuesday and would be on every state ballot.

They key to this race has always been becoming "Not Romney." Santorum has finally maybe possibly achieved that. Except he is horribly behind, out of money, and still has Gingrich splitting the vote.

Huckabee could be "Not Romney" in a two man race. And I don't think he would have collapsed in Florida like Gingrich did.

The thing to remember is Romney had and has every advantage here. Any candidate would be playing short-stacked against him. The problem for Santorum and Gingrich is that they are still trying to figure out who is going to quit. Huckabee likely would have ended that issue a long time ago. Certainly, Gingrich would not have been floating some stupid Southern Strategy with him in the race.

[Rdskns2000]

Hillary had no support from Black Voters in 2008 in the primary, but she would have had 90 percent of their support in the General.

The same thing will happen if Mitt wins the nomination.

Evangelicals may not like him, but they HATE Obama.

Hate will not be enough to bring all of them out. All you need is certain percentage to just stay home. Part of the reason why Florida went to the Supremes is same of the evangelicals stayed home. If they didn't stay home, maybe Bush wins Florida by a big enough margin there wouldn't have been any recounts.


If Mittens will have trouble appeal to the base of his own party, he's going to have a hard time appealing to the rest of the people he will need.

[Buford]

Mitt Romney Doesn't Have Enough Information To 'Take A Stand' On Afghanistan

WASHINGTON -- More than a decade into the war in Afghanistan, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney does not have enough information to "take a stand" on whether troops should remain or continue to withdraw on the timetable set by President Obama.

"Before I take a stand, I want to get input [from military leaders] that are there," Romney said on "Fox News Sunday." "General [John] Allen is coming to Washington and testifying about what the conditions are," he noted, adding that some conclusions can already be drawn.

"I think it is plain to see conditions are not going very well," Romney said. "And I lay part of the blame on that on the lack of leadership on our president."

much much more from the link.