Although this is a fairly political post, I thought it was rather interesting that Romney is still having a problem with this, particularly this close to the general election. As new jobs numbers come out that don't particularly help Obama, one would think that Romney has a great opportunity to take over the current news cycle for a few days, including the Sunday talk shows.
However, reports are surfacing that Governor Mitt Romney's STILL having trouble connecting to the core conservative base in his party. A recent article from the New York Times shows that Romney has been trying to reach out to the Republican establishment over the past couple of years...with not much success.
The main focus of the article is based on Rupert Murdoch's opinion of him and how it's ultimately filtering into all of the news organizations under his control. This has led to an editorial at The Wall Street Journal (a publication that you'd think would love him) that was far from kind, which worried many insiders.
The editorial was a stern reminder of Mr. Romney’s failure to win the trust of the Republican Party’s core conservatives, a group that pays close attention to Mr. Murdoch’s newspapers and cable news outlets. Though political strategists debate the ultimate impact of any single media outlet, what is written in the pages of The Journal and The New York Post and talked about on Fox News — all Murdoch properties — could have the collective power to shape the thinking of millions of voters.
Some other interesting highlights form the article:
- When asked about how he form his cabinet, he responded that he would use McKinsey, the consulting firm, to help him build it.
- After a meeting with the WSJ editorial board, the write-up that summarized it referred to him as "Consultant-in-Chief"
What was surprising to me is that he really does have the qualities that you would want from a president. He's sort of a nerd, sure, but who cares? The article discusses how he loves data crunching and using his organizational skills to fix complex problems, which we have a shit load of. And yet, conservatives aren't that enthusiastic about him.
What do you guys think? Why is this such a problem for Governor Romney? How can he fix it? By the way, let's try and keep this discussion civil.
I'm just surprised he said he would use McKinsey.
The "core republican" base will vote for whatever candidate has Republican listed next to his/her name ( they certainly aren't voting dem, independent, libertarian, green, and Perot is 20 years gone). He just needs to make sure they get to the polls in states up for grabs.
.
Look at his record. Romney is a chameleon. He will do what it takes to get elected, and the hardest/most idiotic thing to do today in politics is to stand for something, especially if it defies the status quo. Successful politicians don't ardently stand for anything, which is why when shit hits the fan...they are able to retain their office. If you stand for nothing/play it safe/the middle road, as opposed to the other guy, you are able to more easily handle damage control, frame arguments in your favor, and invoke plausible deniability.
This is why Romney and all other past, present, and future presidential candidates have absolutely no reason to come out and do anything extreme...least of all talk about "principles", which can galvanize a specific base of people, but only at the expense of other groups. This is why playing the "anti-incumbent and everything he stands for" card is the tried and true method of successfully getting elected...your opponent has already backed himself into a corner with his policies (standing for something), so now you have a thousand ways to attack something that your opponent MUST defend, lest they be deemed a hypocrite.
Anyway...from that article, I would guess that Romney's problem is not appealing to "core conservatives" as much as it is about him appealing to a concentrated group of so-called "conservatives" who exact a lot of power within the party.
http://www.youtube.com/embed/pJWSIqv8NOc
You have to say though, the man has tact.
Well said. Coincidentally your post is very relevant to your signature - Patrice was the realest there ever was.
There is a difference between a malleable chameleon and an indecisive spin artist. Unfortunately Romney appears to be the latter. He is completely unwilling to stand up for any principles whatsoever.
Just look at the example of Obamacare. The SC upheld the mandate as a tax and all the congressional Republicans are attacking it as a tax yet the Romney camp went out there and claimed that it was not a tax repeatedly. Then a few days later he changed his mind and now says that it is a tax. His monumental fumble on this issue caused a great deal of confusion and opened up a rift between his camp and the GOP establishment. You really can't believe the Republicans for not standing behind this man when he is out there contradicting one of their core campaign messages of this election season.
(The WSJ op-ed the OP linked to provides a great write-down of this)
He does the same thing with other issues like Immigration, carried interes as well. Folks in PE in particular should watch out that under a Romney administration there is actually a greater chance of carried interest being treated as ordinary income than a second term with Obama. Romney has been struggling to harness a coherent message to appeal to the constituents and motivate them to get out and vote. And this is going to cost him in the election.
Obama does not deserve to get re-elected, but at least with The President we already know where he stands on the issues. Nobody knows where Romney stands on anything. Also it doesn't help that he was the one who instituted the precursor of Obamacare in MA. It is hard to get excited over such an unknown substance.
Quisquam corporis est voluptas sunt mollitia explicabo. Voluptatem reiciendis excepturi dolor dolores ut unde. Eos et aut quia nihil laborum eius similique veritatis. Animi itaque voluptatem debitis consequatur quam labore nulla. Illo quaerat officia mollitia commodi nobis.
A mollitia voluptas aperiam aliquam. Ab tempora illum harum magni iste neque. Voluptatibus praesentium rerum harum tempore.
Accusantium recusandae pariatur qui eveniet autem necessitatibus in. Non asperiores quod quaerat quam est quis exercitationem. Maxime quis repudiandae est provident dicta. Repudiandae omnis nesciunt quibusdam eius dolor repellendus nam.
Explicabo sit blanditiis eos libero consectetur id. Magni quo expedita qui eos. Error porro ut et sint et itaque iusto. Dolor tempore quia quam. Nulla vero voluptatem et recusandae.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...