• Bobby Jindal,  Jeb Bush,  Mitch Daniels,  Mitt Romney,  President 2012,  Rick Santorum

    President 2012: If Mitt Romney Loses Michigan – We Need a New Candidate Says Top GOP Senator

    February 17, 2012 /

    Former Gov. Jeb Bush speaks at the Hispanic Leadership Network’s conference, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012 in Miami

    You knew it was going to start.

    The GOP establishment is getting antsy about Mitt Romney and if he does manage to lose Michigan – well, he is done.

    A prominent Republican senator just told me that if Romney can’t win in Michigan, the Republican Party needs to go back to the drawing board and convince somebody new to get into the race.

    “If Romney cannot win Michigan, we need a new candidate,” said the senator, who has not endorsed anyone and requested anonymity.

    The senator believes Romney will ultimately win in Michigan but says he will publicly call for the party to find a new candidate if he does not.

    “We’d get killed,” the senator said if Romney manages to win the nomination after he failed to win the state in which he grew up.

    “He’d be too damaged,” he said.  “If he can’t even win in Michigan, where his family is from, where he grew up.”

    What about Rick Santorum?

    “He’d lose 35 states,” the senator said, predicting the same fate for Newt Gingrich.

    And, who would the new candidate be?

    Jeb Bush, said this Senator.

    I, frankly, think it will be Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels or Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal – or even Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan.

    If the GOP wants to win against President Obama, they had better hope Santorum beats Romney in Michigan.

  • Mitt Romney,  Polling,  President 2012

    President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Is Mitt Romney Electable?

    February 14, 2012 /

    Graphic from PPP Polling

    Mitt Romney’s argument that he is the most electable Republican against President Obama bares close scutiny, according to the latest PPP Polls.

    One thing that has remained constant in the ever changing GOP Presidential race is that Mitt Romney is the strongest candidate against Barack Obama…at least until now.  PPP’s newest national poll finds Romney trailing Obama by 7 points at 49-42, while Santorum trails by only 5 points at 49-44.

    Santorum’s net favorability is 21 points better than Romney’s. Santorum’s at -7 (39/46), while Romney is at -28 (29/57). That’s mostly because Republicans like Santorum a lot better (+40 at 62/22 to Romney’s +2 at 43/41). But Santorum also does a good deal better with independents, coming in at -6 (40/46) to Romney’s -23 (32/55). In the head to heads Obama leads Romney by 9 with independents, but has only a 4 point advantage on Santorum with that group.
    Ron Paul has nearly matched Romney on the electability front, trailing Obama by 8 points at 49-41. Paul does the best of the Republican candidates with independents, with only a 1 point deficit to Obama. Newt Gingrich has firmly established himself as the Republican who would be the biggest general election disaster, trailing 52-40 with a 19 point deficit among independents.

    Why is Obama doing so well? It has a lot to do with this finding: 41% of voters think the economy’s getting better to only 31% who think it’s getting worse with 27% thinking that it’s staying about the same. This is the first time since Obama took office that we’ve asked a question in this vein on a national poll and found more voters feeling optimistic than pessimistic about the way things are heading.

    If the GOP nominates Mitt Romney, he will lose by as much or more than John McCain.  Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich are flawed candidates, who also will lose. There is no path to victory for any of these pols, especially with an improving economy.

    If the GOP wants to win, they need to nominate someone outside the current field – an accomplished Governor like Bobby Jindal, Mitch Daniels or Chris Christie.

    The entire poll is here.

  • Barack Obama,  Mitt Romney,  President 2012

    Updated: President 2012 Video: Mitt Romney’s Greatest Hits

    February 9, 2012 /

    Yes, this is from an Obama supporting Super PAC, but it is a preview of what is to come, if the GOP nominates Mitt Romney.

    I mean the Republican Party has an opportunity – where are the rest?

    Update:

    Below is the 2007 John McCain Opposition Research Book on Mitt Romney:

    The Romney Book

  • Mitt Romney,  Pete Wilson,  President 2012,  Proposition 187

    President 2012: Former California Governor Pete Wilson Endorses Mitt Romney for President

    February 7, 2012 /

    Former New York City Mayor and 2008 Presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani and former California Governor Pete Wilson in Santa Monica, California, September 27, 2007

    Former California Governor Pete Wilson has endorsed Mitt Romney for President. Not as early or as flashy of an endorsement as the Rudy Giuliani endorsement in 2007, but one nevertheless.

    Former California Gov. Pete Wilson endorsed GOP presidential front-runner Mitt Romney today and will serve as the candidate’s honorary co-chairman in California, the Romney campaign announced.

    In a statement, Romney called Wilson “one of California’s most accomplished leaders.” Wilson, governor from 1991 to 1999, said Romney “is an enthusiastic believer in American exceptionalism and has been a spectacular example of it: Mitt has been a success in creating American private sector jobs, a success as the rescuer of the Salt Lake City Olympic games, and as a public chief executive as the Republican governor in the challenging environment of heavily Democratic Massachusetts.”

    The public employee unions and illegal immigration support advocates immediately attacked Romney and Wilson because of Wilson’s support of Proposition 187, a measure passed by Californians in 1994, overturned by the federal courts and which restricted benefits to illegal immigrants.

    But immigrant rights groups were quick to pounce on the association. Wilson has become a boogeyman in California politics due to his backing of Proposition 187, the 1994 ballot measure targeting illegal immigrants that many analysts believe chased California Latinos into the Democratic party and lost the state for the GOP.

    Romney has staked out an increasingly tough stance on illegal immigration during the Republican primaries this year to differentiate himself from former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

    “Romney can’t seem to stop himself from digging deeper and deeper into his hole with Latino voters,” said Eliseo Medina of the Service Employees International Union in a statement. “Here is what Pete Wilson accomplished: He turned Latino voters against the GOP brand.”

    Medina and other immigrant groups were quick to note that Romney is also being advised by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who helped write controversial laws against illegal immigration in Alabama and Arizona.

    No POL in California embodies GOP Establishment more than Pete Wilson. There is NO surprise that he will endorse the presumptive Republican nominee in Mitt Romney.

    The endorsement per se will ONLY be important, (besides appearances at the Convention this summer) if the race for President 2012 lingers on to the California June Presidential Primary election.

    By the way, California will be voting for President Obama, in any case, this November.

  • Barack Obama,  Day By Day,  Mitt Romney

    Day By Day February 5, 2012 – Third Time’s the Charm

    February 5, 2012 /

    Day By Day by Chris Muir

    Chris, it is unfortunate that a third party, a conservative one, was not started by the Tea Party movement in response to the GOP Establishment. It looks now like the Republican Party has been co-opted by the “Big Government” Goldman Sachs Establishment.

    But, will they be able to beat President Obama?

    Doubtful – no matter how much campaign money they will throw against the LEFT.

    In California, the GOP is moribund while independents are growing.

    It is time to re-think the two party system for the next Presidential cycle AND in Congress.

    In the meantime, conservatives should ignore Mitt Romney, the presumed GOP nominee for President and concentrate on the down the ticket races for the House and the Senate. The Tea Party can either block Obama out or Mitt Romney, the Massachusetts moderate in.

  • Mitt Romney,  President 2012

    President 2012: Mitt Romney Wins Nevada Big

    February 4, 2012 /


    Not really a surprise.

    No surprise: Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has been declared the winner in Nevada’s caucuses,the AP says, supported by a politically-active Mormon base. The only question was his margin of victory.

    Texas Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) has outperformed polls, vying with former House speaker Newt Gingrich for second place. Former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum is a distant fourth according to exit polls.

    Now, can Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum regroup and carry on for the rest of February contests, leading up to Super Tuesday in March?

    Campaign cash and organization will be the biggest obstacles from the Romney Juggernaut.