Do you believe Romney creates a long-term crisis for the GOP --

[saltpoint]

-- in that he is a Mormon, albeit it a big money Republican who would not likely ever enjoy the support from the Republicans' fundie base, at least not in percentages that would be politically sustainable.

The Republicans lost majorities in both chambers in 06 and are on track to lose still more ground in the 111th Congress.

If Romney cannot deliver a national GOP party revival because some 30% of the Republican base won't support a Mormon, does he not create a long-term crisis for the GOP if he is McCain's choice, and do you believe that consideration lessens his chance at a veep nom?

[anonymous171]

1. There already is a crisis in the GOP: Regressives vs Corporatists

[Catshrink]

3. Conservatives vs. Neocons

The conservatives in the Pentagon called the neocons like Rumsfeld, etc. "The Crazies."

[saltpoint]

4. Yes -- it's splitting them into more and more strained corners,

and I think a choice of Romney accelerates the division.

[mwb970]

14. I see it as a 3-way split.

I see three groups of Republicans, each with their own special emotion:

1. Social conservatives, the "abortion and gay sex" bunch. Emotion: hate.

2. Corporate conservatives, the Enron gang. Emotion: greed.

3. National security conservatives, with their "Islamo-fascist" fixation. Emotion: fear.

When I look at the Republican Party I see a small group of fascistic, authoritarian leaders and a large group of ignorant, sheep-like followers, all of whom speak and act on the basis of pure emotion, rather than logic, experience, knowledge of facts, etc. The emotions they act on are all negative: hate, greed, and fear, always expressed with white-hot rage (or sometimes with bullets).

Listen to Limbaugh, or Hannity, or Weiner, or any other right-wing radio wacko, if you can stand it. Do you hear logic? Do you hear facts? No, you do not. You hear hours of spluttering outrage as they angrily spew their "values": hate, greed, and fear. Rousing the rabble.

The Republicans are just lucky that so many more Americans respond to hate, greed, and fear than to liberty, justice, and equality!

[saltpoint]

15. Excellent post. And excellent insight on the hinge emotions of

the modern-day Republican Party and the windbag fascists who fan their emotions.

A keeper.

[MadMaddie]

2. One can only hope!

[katandmoon]

5. No. They'll hold their nose and vote for him if they have to.

[rurallib]

6. Interesting - Mormons are mostlyt RepubliKlan yet

the RepubliKlans don't really want them. Never saw that before. Just like them log-cabiners.

[saltpoint]

11. It is odd. Romney did well in the Mormon-heavy states but other

GOP stronghold states went cool on him.

As dense as John McCain is, I wondr if he at least has enough of his wits about him to see that Romney wants the job too badly.

[SidneyCarton]

17. The Mormon Republicans are a generational thing.

Up until the late sixties, Mormons were not reliably republican. Indeed, Utah went four times for Roosevelt. Our religion is inherently conservative, and groupthink is strong in places like Utah and Idaho.

[Motown_Johnny]

7. Lessens his consideration.. Yes... but what are the alternatives? All the GOP running this cycles

sucked.


They tend to let people ... take turns (as it were) and McGaffe was next in line. Romney is now the one after gramps.


I think he is the most likely VP choice, not a sure thing but the most likely.


As for the long term GOP problems, they already exist. Shrub has so horribly damaged their party that they already in crisis.

[saltpoint]

9. Yes. It really is a pathetic and miserable field to start with.

McCain's strapped for a good choice and there just aren't any.

He loses the fundies with Ridge and Lieberman and (maybe some with) Romney.

But Romney would at least take the job.

I'm not sure what Ridge or Portman have to gain by agreeing to board a sinking ship.

[Cosmocat]

8. We are talking about the surreal world that is ...

the MSM/Republican party ...

I am watching CNN, and they are pumping Mitt up BIG TIME ... The moron talking head actually called him a ROCK STAR in glee ...

Showed interviews with a bunch of Rs in Ohio in line to see McCain ... A lot of love there, he is the economy guy ... Yada, yada ...

Sorry, the Rs and MSM will make him out to be the next Reagan ... The Rs have NO fundamental beliefs or values other than Ds are anti-american spawn of Satan ... They make up their "beliefs" as they go along based on what they think save them from Ds ... If Mitt is the pick, the evangilicals will suddenly find a great appreciation for Mormons ...

I repeat, people here are taking Mitt as VP too lightly ...

[saltpoint]

10. it could very well be Romney. I hope to god it isn't, but

so far no body has requested my input!

I can see the media pimping him to the public, and I remember tales of BushCo preferring Romney to the GOP field generally, but of course McCain miraculously won, and Romney is rolling over and sitting up trying to get chosen as veep.

If History could nip this in the bud by having McCain choose someone else, it would be a real good thing. The more obscure Romney is, the better off we all are.

Unfortunately, the media isn't playing that game.

[Cosmocat]

19. Yep ...

The Bushies are pushing him ...

If now was then, if the death toll of US troops was what it is now, and the general public had not all but lost interest in Iraq, if all the negative economy issues were burning as bright then as they are now ...

Who would have won the R nomination - McCain or Romney ???

And, who would be the better matchup against BO ... A healthy and vibrant Mittens, or half dead McCain ???

I like BO's chances a good bit in general, but given the Reagenesque type turn the media is doing with Mittens, I think BO is 50/50 if he gets the slot ...

[Zynx]

22. The more people saw of Romney, the more they didn't like him.

[saltpoint]

23. It's true -- the more they saw of him the less likely they were to vote

for him.

Giuliani suffered a similar fate. His polling numbers fell correspondent to the amount of face-time he had with actual voters.

[Zynx]

21. Romney flopped horribly in the primaries. He got crushed.

He does not scare me.

[JCMach1]

12. JEBtm will be the anti-Romney

bank on it for 2012

[Alexander]

13. Didn't Jeb's campaign staff work for Romney or something?

I remember reading that as an implicit endorsement of Romney by the Bush clan.

[TexasObserver]

16. He is a dilemma for Republicans, who want Mormons in the party, but not as president

It's like the way the GOP is with blacks. They love to have a few blacks for window dressing, but as former Congressman Watts learned, the top spots are still "Whites Only." Anyone who thinks the racist Reps are gonna nominate a black president or VP doesn't realize they really are racist as a party. Same is true for Mormons, who are despised by Southern Fundies.

[SidneyCarton]

18. Precisely.

The situation is much like it was with Huckabee's candidacy. Southern Fundies and Mormons are expected to line up and vote, and then shut up and sit down until they are told otherwise. They are not to be in any position to actually do anything important. (Unless of course they soulless slobs like Orrin Hatch.)

Edited for the sake of kindness.

[Arnold Judas Rimmer]

20. Corporatists love Willard, Religious Reich hates him for being LDS

But I think the corporatists are fed up with the religious pandering. Sure, it's done well for them as far as fear based wedge issues go. But even though the fear of gay marriage won them 11 states in 2004, since then that battle has decidedly gone the other direction (especially in Massachusetts and California) and the 'Pukes know its only a matter of time before that issue is ripped out of their hands permanently. So, I think the religious fascists have outlived their usefulness. If Romney wants to believe he's a spirit child from Kolob, so what... as long as he keeps all the tax loopholes in place.

[saltpoint]

24. That could be Romney's ticket onto the ticket.

He could make the case, behind the scenes, that if the big-time heavy-hitters whip out their checkbooks, he'll keep it easy on them for the next 8 years.

He could be THEIR ride out of fundie Nut Land.

The GOP is going to have to face a day of reckoning on the fundies sooner or later.

I think your insight is right-on.