If Mitt Romney wishes to lock up the Republican nomination and rally those parts of the conservative base which remain cool to him, he would be wise to learn from Newt Gingrich’s defeat in Florida. The returns last night in the Sunshine State were as much a defeat for Newt Gingrich as they were for Mitt Romney’s organization.
Had Newt shown greater class in responding his primary opponent’s negative ads, he might have done better last night. He’s been in politics now for close to forty years — and been the subject of some pretty ruthless attacks. Why, one wonders, was he not been prepared for them?
He’s been though this before — in this very campaign. Byron York reminds us that when “Gingrich reacted angrily and publicly” to Romney’s attack ads in Iowa, “Voters in New Hampshire who were once open to Gingrich’s candidacy turned away from him, saying his hot-tempered response to the ads — rather than the ads themselves — just turned them off.” (Emphasis added.)
Gingrich saw his fortunes shift in South Carolina only after he ceased attacking Romney on Bain Capital. When “he moved back to talking about the issues,” York recalls, “he won decisively.”
Even Rush Limbaugh has been telling Gingrich to stop whining. Ed Morrissey contends his plaints as a sign that the former Speaker would wither in the face of a far more ruthless opponent than the man who vanquished him last night, “As Rush says, if Newt’s whining about this, how can we expect him to handle what a billion-dollar campaign will lay out against him in the fall?”
To win Florida, York contends, “Gingrich had two must-dos:” 1) respond calmly to Romney’s attacks; “and 2) keep up the solid message he rode to victory in South Carolina.” Roger Simon agrees with that latter point:
After his solid victory in South Carolina, Gingrich did not continue the obvious strategy that got him there – running against Barack Obama by presenting himself to Republican voters as the great orator and thinker who could bring down the noxious incumbent, the man who rose above internecine intra-party squabbles for the greater good of his country.
Instead, he did the exact opposite. He spent the balance of his time in Florida running against Romney when he had already beaten the former governor in South Carolina. Talk about dumb. Newt let his personal antipathy overwhelm his good sense. He played defense about the picayune and the irrelevant when he should have played offense on the philosophical and substantial.
Now that Romney has beaten the former Speaker in Florida, he needs avoid his Republican rival’s mistakes. Instead of attacking said rival, he needs to focus on his message, much in the spirit of his speech last night. He should play offense by hitting Obama on the issues, putting forward ideas to repeal the policies that retard job creation and which unleash the entrepreneurial spirit of the American people.
Romney would do well to release a tax reform proposal before the “Super Tuesday” primaries in March. His one-time rival, now supporter, has just such a plan already prepared.
Plenty of folks ’round here think that he did. Now we’re stuck with voting for a giant douche or a turd sandwich.
Throwing vinegar on the tracks does not usually derail the train roaring at you.
Newt would be better advised to narrow his grand schemes to a handful of important ideas that address the crisis and chaos of the present and stick to outperforming Romney. If he can’t sell himself, what good is he? Wrecking Romney is a spiteful, oxygen consuming waste of time that makes him look like a bigger ass than he has already displayed.
When Romney lies or flip-flops Newt should advise people to go to Newt.org and read the list and explanations of Romney lies and flip-flops. Then he should get off the defensive and go after Obama. And he should trashcan the impulse to colonize the moon and run wi-fi on bat snot and all the other stuff that makes him look like a wonk on steroids.
Romney, on the other hand, is operating as if Newt is an interloper attempting to derail the Romney right of succession to be the 2012 nominee. At the same time Romney is a dark conniver whose facade of noblesse oblige masks an extraordinary willingness to play dirty behind the scenes.
Romney has yet to present a case that he has the plans and ability to attack the crisis and chaos created or escalated by Obama and his dastardly band of Obamarrhoids. As I view Romney, I see another McCain without the Yosemite Sam temper tantrums.
Newt got standing ovations for planting his flag firmly and boldly. Romney seems believe that he is still running in Massachusetts where he will have to play footsie with a huge opposition majority. He seems to want the White House more than he wants the job of turning the country around and getting us back on firm footing. At least he has failed to convince me that has any stomach whatsoever for heavy lifting.
There is no doubt in my mind that Romney went out immediately after 2008 and stitched together as huge a number of the Republican movers and shakers as he could and kept constant contact with those he needed to win over. I suppose that makes him the “establishment” candidate.
But Romney got clocked in 2008 and it can happen again. If Newt and Romney keep this dirty-birdy game up, I would hardly be surprised if Santorum were to come rowing through unscathed while attracting a lot of support from disaffected, battle weary folks who are tired of the internecine scrapping.
All that Newt has to do to take the nomination away from Mitt is to stop calling him a Massachusetts moderate and call him Obama Light. Constant mentioning George Soros speaking favorably about Mitt (¨no real difference between the two¨) to european leaders should anger Republicans and independents to drop Mitt like a hot potato. How much did Soros spend in his attempt keep GW from a second term and how much to put Obama in the WH? Is there a possiblity than some of Soros´money being donated to Romney´s campaign?
Other considerations:
1. Does Santorum stand to significantly gain if Newt continues to sputter? (Is he poised to rack up more delegates?)
1a. If so, how will that impact upcoming contests?
2. What are the chances of a brokered convention?
2a. Will Non-Romney/Tea Party forces unite and wrestle for influence at the convention?