Photo: Emmanuel Dunand
Santorum’s wins this week in Missouri, Minnesota, and Colorado caused some to cry out, “The sky is falling!” Everybody needs to calm down and look to our file leader. None of us should allow the mainstream media (or “new media”) or outside source define how the campaign for Governor Romney is progressing, or not.
From day one, Governor Romney told the world the race to the nomination would be a long, competitive process, probably not decided until April. Yet, we allow the MSM make us feel that Governor Romney has it in the bag early, or not. Governor Romney has told us from day one that the nomination process would be competitive and then when it is, the MSM tells the world that he does not have conservative backing, when in fact he does. Governor Romney has told us from day one that his strategy is based on securing as many delegates along the way as possible — the MSM tries to change the subject at every turn — because it needs a new story every day; and that is what it does.
We all just need to settle down and take our lead from Governor Romney.
Remember this: Every writer, every pundit, every blog, every “news” organization, every knucklehead out there needs to write something new every day. Their desire to be clever causes them to come up with crazy stuff to make us all think that Governor Romney’s strategy is somehow not working. Just keep your eyes on Governor Romney himself. Nobody has more experience in planning a successful strategy and executing to it than Governor Romney. Nobody still left in this hunt.
On the Hannity show yesterday, Governor Romney leads the way — CLICK TO WATCH
Meanwhile, the boogeyman Gingrich would have us all believe that he will be hitting doubles, triples, and home runs (I can’t wait for baseball’s spring training!) on Super Tuesday and in the South. Oooooooh, my knees have been shaking for weeks now as I have imagined him secretly lining up support down there. Well yes, he is going South. BTW, I heard that his wife may speak soon! Can’t wait!
Karl Rove brought some sanity to the race yesterday in the Journal in his Op-Ed column titled, NEWT’S SOUTHERN STRATEGY WON’T WORK. While the many points Rove makes below are all spot-on, I will never count Gingrich out — not ever — with an ego the size of Texas and a determination driven by revenge, he will always be dangerous.
I just love Rove’s pragmatism and dry humor!
By Karl Rove
Newt Gingrich’s remarks Saturday night after the Nevada caucuses and on NBC’s “Meet the Press” the next morning proved that presidential candidates should talk policy, not process.
Proclaiming “We want to get to Georgia, to Alabama, to Tennessee,” Mr. Gingrich said primaries in the South would produce “a series of victories” that by the April 4 Texas primary would make him “very, very competitive in the delegate count.”
Well, the Gingrich Southern strategy faces big obstacles, starting with Rick Santorum and Ron Paul. Demanding that these two candidates drop out so he becomes the only conservative alternative to Mitt Romney hasn’t worked.
Mr. Paul sees himself as the leader of an insurgency. He’s made it clear he’s in the race to stay. And while Mr. Santorum’s victories on Tuesday in the Minnesota and Colorado caucuses and Missouri’s beauty contest primary didn’t produce any national convention delegates (Missouri’s vote was nonbinding, and the caucuses were for precinct delegates), his wins also spell trouble for the former House speaker’s plans.
Mr. Santorum’s success came because while Mr. Romney and Mr. Gingrich battled in Florida and Nevada, he barnstormed Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri, making 22 stops in the three states to Mitt’s three and Newt’s two. He demonstrated that showing up matters and gained critical momentum toward becoming the not-Romney alternative.Headed South -- Photo: Getty Images
Newt’s Southern strategy also faces a geographical obstacle. There are 25 contests in February and March, and 18 of them, with 579 delegates, are outside the South.
The remaining seven in the South have 371 delegates at stake. Mr. Gingrich can compete for only 322 of them because neither he nor Mr. Santorum qualified for the Virginia ballot. (Messrs. Romney and Paul did.) Mr. Romney will, in all likelihood, grab the 33 delegates awarded winner-take-all at the congressional district level and most of the delegates allocated proportionally by Virginia’s statewide results.
The other six Southern contests in March award delegates proportionally. Even if Mr. Gingrich wins, Mr. Romney could get a slug of delegates, especially where most delegates are awarded by statewide results, not congressional districts. For example, 25 of Oklahoma’s 43 delegates and 25 of Mississippi’s 40 delegates will be awarded proportionally statewide.
By contrast, in February and March one non-Southern state (Arizona with 29 delegates) is winner-take-all, and four others (Michigan, Ohio, Vermont and Kansas, with a combined 153 delegates) are so-called “hybrid proportional.” Like Virginia, they award most delegates on a winner-take-all basis. Mr. Romney is favored in this group of states and could, as a result, walk away with the bulk of their delegates.
Three caucuses with 95 delegates will be held before Texas: Maine, Washington and North Dakota. Every other campaign has fared better in caucuses than the Gingrich team.
Mr. Romney will also be a favorite son in at least two upcoming contests: Michigan (30 delegates) on Feb. 28 and Massachusetts (41 delegates) on Super Tuesday, March 6. Texas’s 155 delegates will be awarded proportionally by the statewide results. But the primary may be delayed past April 4 because of redistricting disagreements, keeping Mr. Gingrich from being rescued by a posse of Lone Star GOP delegates.
To remain a plausible alternative to Mr. Romney by April, Mr. Gingrich must not only sweep the South but also break through in the Midwest. One possibility is Ohio on March 6 with its 66 delegates. But it’s expensive to compete there, to say nothing of competing “in every single state,” as Mr. Gingrich vowed this weekend. He has less than $1 million on hand, which is why he’ll spend three precious days next week raising cash in California (172 delegates), which votes in June.
In the coming weeks, Mr. Gingrich needs a better and more consistent message. He’s already won over everyone he was going to get by bashing Mr. Romney as a “pro-abortion, pro-gun-control, pro-tax-increase . . . Massachusetts liberal.” The self-proclaimed “bold Reagan conservative” must offer more than nostalgic references and calls for moon colonies.
His campaign must be more about his ideas than his emotional state. After Tuesday, he’ll need a clear explanation of why he should be the not-Romney rather than the issue-focused and increasingly likable Rick Santorum.
Newt Gingrich has been a consequential political leader for 30 years. But counting on his Southern strategy is hoping to draw an inside straight. And after his impressive hat-trick victories Tuesday, Mr. Santorum is, for the time being at least, Mr. Romney’s main challenger.
Secret Service
[emphasis added]
THE GLITTER GUNNER: Remember that guy that fired glitter at Governor Romney the other night? One of the pundits said something to the effect, “Wow, the Secret Service got to that guy fast and got him out of there!” Not fast enough; had that whacko had a pistol, Governor Romney would be dead today. His aim to the chest with glitter was perfect. Seeing that happen was sobering to me. Who was that guy? Read here: CLICK
BTW, I think Governor Romney needs to contact the head of the Secret Service immediately and request a more diverse team. Should Governor Romney become our nominee, Obama is certainly going to stoop to play the race card against him somehow and we don’t need to be defending his all white detail! Let’s get a team in there that represents the diversity we have in California: Americans of Vietnamese, Latin, and African descent. Just two cents from the South Orange County bubble. And since the Secret Service has outstanding intel gathering tools, they will see what I am writing here, so I wish to tell the Secret Service this:
I have the highest regard for every one of you! I really do. I have studied your skill and art most of my life. Your loyalty, dedication, and commitment are second to none and I believe I speak for all Americans when I say that I am most grateful for your willingness to sacrifice all to protect our President and any presidential candidate. Thank you for your service to our nation — past and present.
What about all the noise in the press about Romney not appealing to conservatives? It is HOGWASH!
Don’t ever forget this: Every writer in America loves a good horse race! Every one of them! This one included. No other nation possesses a competitive spirit greater than that of Americans! We love to see a hard fought World Series, Super Bowl, World Cup, etc. So what? The Limbaughs, Levins, Palins, Hannitys, and Noonans of the world all want this horse race to continue as far out into the future as possible, REGARDLESS of what they are saying. For some of them, this horse race is far more important than the good of America. I mean that. Just don’t forget that those in the media make a lot more money in higher ratings when there is a competitive horse race. Pure and simple. Knowing this allows a worrier like me to not worry at all. The pundits want to tear down the front runner and build up the laggards. That will never change in America.
I have to tell you this. I hate to admit this, knowing that CNN has a certain history of being a liberal megaphone, but I have been really impressed with CNN’s election coverage overall. Though I don’t know that I am yet willing to state that its coverage is completely balanced, I think it is has been fair. I would even say it has been more “fair” than FOX by a long shot!
Consider this outstanding report from CNN titled, ROMNEY MEETS PRIVATELY WITH CONSERVATIVE LEADERS AT CPAC yesterday. This is the last paragraph from this CNN piece:
“People have all sorts of reasons to support whatever candidate they choose when looking at the race,” Bopp told CNN. “But I do see it coming around to Romney. I think Romney will dominate the race in the next few weeks, by Super Tuesday.”
Please read the entire article. It really is excellent: CLICK
Keep your eyes on our file leader, Governor Romney. Keep the faith.
“A man of courage is also full of faith.” –Marcus Tullius Cicero
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Victor is a businessman working in the healthcare industry. He and his wife of 33 years have five children and four grandchildren. Vic has been blogging for Mitt Romney since 2007.
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What is a file leader?
From the Free Dictionary: File Leader = the soldier at the front of any file, who covers and leads those in rear of him.
Thank you for this article. I’ll be referring back to it when I get discouraged. We need to “BELIEVE” that the process will work and good people will see through the media hype.
I have been going to CNN for their election return coverage and I have also been impressed with it. John King, Anderson Cooper, Wolf Blitzer, and I don’t know the woman’s name, but they comprise the hard core news team. I have found they are informative and pretty much just stick to reporting the returns. They have a little commentary, but they balance it out with Ari Fleischer (Bush’s former press secretary) who has supported Romney. It was from this team that I learned Romney was to submit his tax returns and was going to become aggressive with Newt Gingrich at the Florida debates. I heard it there first and certainly would have never heard it on Fox News. I have always listened to Fox but they down play Romney’s success and viability as a candidate, but are giddy with excitement over any success an ABR has.
Great article. I’ve known that info from the beginning. Mitt has always been passionate but the media hasn’t shown this. Mitt’s townhalls and speeches need to be televised more so the people can witness his passion and convictions on a broader field. Go Mitt!
Atta kid, Vic—I love your optimistic enthusiasm, it is contagious! Between your clever use of baseball metaphors in this article, and the title that the MRC site attributed to Romney’s speech at CPAC today “Mitt Hits a Homerun”, I felt compelled today to share an idea I’ve been formulating in my head for a new Romney campaign t-shirt design. I think your store should offer baseball-style “sleeves” (white body with red or navy blue 3/4 raglan sleeves) with the slogan “I”, then a “Heart Shape”, then a “Baseball Mitt” graphic,–perhaps with a replica of Mitt’s signature on it to resemble an autographed baseball glove?–for the front design. Get it??? “I LOVE MITT”! On the back, it would be cool to stick with the Romney name across the top and the number 12 below it, so that the shirt would resemble a baseball jersey. I’m a teacher, a mother, and a Little League volunteer living in the southeast part of Washington State, and we play a lot of baseball around here. I have shared this t-shirt design idea with several of my fellow Romney-supporter friends and they all love it! I believe a shirt like this would be a fun, clever and unique way for many Americans to show their support for Mitt, and I believe they would sell extremely well, especially with baseball season being just around the corner. What do you think? Go Mitt! Go Mitt! Go Mitt!