Associated Press
It's late in the game for him to try to "reconnect."
A week ago, Mitt Romney and his campaign were right where they wanted to be. The former governor had scored an impressive win in Florida, he was poised to score another victory in Nevada, and the race for the Republican presidential nomination looked to be effectively over.
There was nary a whisper of internal dissension within the Romney camp. Why would there be? Their guy was the "inevitable" nominee.
A week, two caucuses, and a non-binding primary later, confidence from Team Romney has suddenly dwindled. The Washington Post reports that party officials are "expressing fresh concerns" about the former governor and are "increasingly anxious" about his candidacy.
One prominent adviser told the candidate to sharpen his use of conservative code words and create "small pictures" -- vivid imagery, in other words -- to connect with voters. Another flew to Boston to say that Romney's message is too businesslike and broad to capture the passion of angry Republican voters. Still others have gone on television and written opinion columns to hammer home what is becoming a common theme this year: that Romney has not been able to ignite a cause when the GOP is primed to become part of one.
The efforts are themselves interesting, but the larger point is the portrait that's coming into focus: the campaign is not only scrambling in a damage-control mode, but officials are dishing to reporters about the internal disarray.
MSNBC's First Read added this morning, "So we've gone from advisers taking credit (in the New York Times) for his turnaround in Florida, to now criticizing him (in the Washington Post) after his defeats on Tuesday. Folks, that isn't characteristic of a winning presidential campaign."
This comes against a backdrop of Republicans pressuring Romney to pick up his game, as well as renewing misguided chatter about finding someone new to jump into the race for the GOP nomination.
For his part, Romney, as Tricia noted earlier, huddled in D.C. yesterday with "a small gathering of leaders in the conservative movement." The meeting, which lasted more than an hour, included "evangelical organizers, conservative writers and Tea Party activists," and was apparently part of a strategy to help the candidate "reconnect" with the right.
The outreach may or may not pay dividends, but the question that should matter most to Republicans is simple: why is the ostensible frontrunner still trying to "reconnect" at this stage in the race?
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When will moderate Republicans realize that they don't count anymore??
???
As opposed to progressives counting in the dumbocrap party???
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Two months ago we had a state convention for all of the progressive democrats in the state of Indiana. Unfortunately, we were unable to get a quorum as only 17 of the 37 of us showed up.
Perhaps he should not have gotten rid of his new speech coach so soon. Just one mistake after another.
In light of Rebecca's comment - that's just it -- Romney's first massive failure in his quest for the presidency is that he is chasing the GOP base, not leading it. He is not presidential timber, no matter how much he may look the part.
"...told the candidate to sharpen his use of conservative code words and create "small pictures"
Yea, cause the GOP "base" doesn't understand large words and are confused by concept, large pictures, introspection - they like to "go with their gut".....
Exactly Zora
The base that has been so carefully tended is the very thing that has brought the GOP down. Praise the lord and pass the ammunition! What a base!
Romney's candidacy has laid bare the division in the Republican party that was created with the Tea Party. The Republican campaign contributors want Romney and the voters want someone else. This is what happens when you play snakes--they bite.
I think the division started before that with the GOP cultivating the evangelicals- even the evangelicals who kiss snakes. You know the ones that bring vipers to church and praise the lord. Somehow the GOP thinks its important to have these people as the "base." Go figure???:(
Agreed. The Republicans made deals with the devil when they played the Southern strategy and the Christian right on social issues. Now these factions and the Tea Party control the Republican party. There is no one to keep the Reagan coalition together. But I am not so sure that anyone could do that because each faction has become more radicalized. It will take major election losses for the Republicans to cleanse the party of the radicals and rebuild.
It makes me sick that the GOP feels the need to kiss the asses of these groups.
???
As opposed to AIPAC which has both dumbocrat and repugnican politicians lining up to kiss their Likud asses???
20% of the GOP will vote Obama.
Source: World Net Daily
Alfred E. Neuman could be called out of retirement to run again! He has previous experience in running for president (1956) and already has a campaign theme of "You could do worse, and always have!".
Alfred could run as the candidate you would most like to have a beer with! That would be a major step up from Mittens as the candidate you don't want to be in the same city with or Man-on-Dog as the candidate you don't want to let anywhere near your children.
It's clear that the political movers and shakers want to attach their buggy to the winning horse, no matter how late into the race it is.
When Newt was picking up steam, the surrogates were attacking the "vulture capitalist" then Newt lost steam and he's "not a serious candidate." Santorum got the "real conservative" nod and then he was the "small time guy with no real chance" and now he's back to the leading Non-Mitt candidate.
They are the opinion-less herd of the population that just want to be on the winning team of the popularity contest. They are the idiots that went with the cool kids their whole lives and they want the world to be like their high-school, forever.
If Romney wins again, and he's back on track to inevitability, the negative chatter will die down again, and eventually he'll get the political clamoring the GOP gave McCain.
The GOP are whores. First in bed with evangelicals and now in bed with Catholics. I thought we were to be free from religious influence, or so says the Constitution.
So (some of) the GOP wants Romney to run to the right, like Nixon did in '72. Of course he could do that but then he would need to run to the middle after getting the nomination. He could do that, but with the news cycles these days the American electorate is much more savvy now than they were in '72 and should see right through that tactic. The evangelicals, however, want him to run to the right and STAY to the right. They seem to think he can actually win that way. I'm perfectly fine with that strategy; that way Obama will be assured a second term.
Is anyone else concerned about the MASSIVE mormon population pooling all of their resources behind Mitt? I mean, if they can get Prop 8 passed in Cali, what can't they do? Does anyone know what states he would definitely win if mormons were told to vote for him? And isn't it funny how right when Mitt is pushing to become the first Mormon president all of those fun posters and tv commercials come out - the "i'm a mormon" ones? I'm not anti-mormon, except when it comes to their scary cult-like voting mandates...
For a while I've been feeling very comfortable that Obama will win, but the mormon vote idea has been slowly gnawing away at me.
He has advisers? Good grief I hope he gets a good feeling firing them.
Romney has presented himself as an everyman type of guy way too often. The problem with Romney is that he is uncomfortable with Romney and it shows. Romney is a rich guy - on one hand he knows that this is good (Our society has put emphasis on money, so having money is good)) but on the other, he knows HOW he got rich is not a good thing (When the "HOW" of getting rich harms others, then that "HOW" is bad). The result, that I am seeing in Mitt, is a facade that is trying to hide any one of these: guilt, shame, embarassment, loss of self. He is trying to serve two masters - one his true self ( a guy that just wants to be rich, likes being rich and doesn't really think beyond his nose) and the other the self he's trying to portray to people: a guy that really cares about people but just happens to be rich. His discomfort with himself blares to the masses big time and the masses don't like it: they want someone like Chris Christie or Newt Gringrich or Santorum: guys who say what they mean(which is often mean) and not caring who that disturbs. With the advent of facebook, myspace and other social networking, the younger crowd no longer want facades - they want the real, the gritty, in-your-face realism and truth of a person - even if it walks the edge of bullying and self-importance. Because of Romney's own inner struggle about accepting who he is, most in the general populance won't accept him.