Romney to Flip-flop If He Wins Convention

[BigSkyBob]

You miss my point.

A Presidential campaign is obviously organized differently from a primary campaign.

Unless everyone working for the campaign is presumed to submit their resignation the day after the convention, any Etch-A-Sketch analogy isn't accurate. Team Romney will stay. Only his promises to Republican primary voters will be discarded.

His meaning was clear: the words Mitt Romney used to pursue the nomination were not in any way binding on Mitt Romney the moment he seizes the nomination. Why should "swing" voters in the general believe a single word Romney has to say to them after the words he said to primary voters were rescinded the minute he seized the nomination?

[LINCOLN REPUBLICAN]

It is really sad to see those who despise Romney so much latch onto a stupid statement by an idiotic campaign advisor about using a ridiculous etch a sketch analogy and blowing it completely out of all proportion and turning it into something completely different than what was intended by the one who made the statement.

[Joe Republic]

It is really sad to see those who despise Romney so much latch onto a stupid statement by an idiotic campaign advisor about using a ridiculous etch a sketch analogy and blowing it completely out of all proportion and turning it into something completely different than what was intended by the one who made the statement.

It is even sadder to see a fifty-six word sentence unbroken by any punctuation until the end.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Team Obama is screwed if their whole strategy revolves around painting Romney as a flip-flopper. Why?

A) It was used in 2004 by the Bush campaign against John Kerry, a more notorious flip-flopper than Mitt Romney even. Bush BARELY beat Kerry (e.g., a swing in Ohio the size of Ohio State's football stadium would have given Kerry the presidency). And this was in an environment where gasoline cost less than $2/gallon and unemployment was less than 5%. We were also in the middle of a war that caused many to rally to the cause of the Commander-in-Chief. Obama has none of these advantages.

B) Bush's top strategist is a backer of the Romney campaign. It is not much of a stretch to imagine that the man who invented attacking a presidential candidate over flip-flopping is also well-aware of how to adequately defend against such charges. In other words, good luck beating Rove at his own game.

The truth of the matter is that Mitt will continue to have a moderate TEMPERAMENT coupled with the ideas he presented in his victory speech tonight. That speech last night is what Mitt is going to run on, with continued fine tuning between now and November. It's going to work unless 2012 really is the end of the world. The only reason Obama won in 2008 is because everything fell right for him (i.e., the financial crisis, McCain's horrendous pick of Palin, etc.). 2012 is not the same ballpark as 2008. Hell, it's not even the same game.

Romney has way out flipped Kerry, and Romney is clearly severely conservative.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

The DNC already has an Etch-A-Sketch web ad up:
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/03/21/dnc_puts_out_etch-a-sketch_video.html

The irony is the Dems are arguing this is proof that Romney is going to try to hide his true extreme agenda and Santorum and Gingrich are arguing that he is hiding his true moderate agenda

Is there a single issue where Romney's current position is to the left of Bush?

[Senator North Carolina Yankee]

The DNC already has an Etch-A-Sketch web ad up:
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/03/21/dnc_puts_out_etch-a-sketch_video.html

The irony is the Dems are arguing this is proof that Romney is going to try to hide his true extreme agenda and Santorum and Gingrich are arguing that he is hiding his true moderate agenda

Is there a single issue where Romney's current position is to the left of Bush?

You will reveive an automated response in the affirmative sometime in mid August.

[Nagas]

The DNC already has an Etch-A-Sketch web ad up:
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/03/21/dnc_puts_out_etch-a-sketch_video.html

The irony is the Dems are arguing this is proof that Romney is going to try to hide his true extreme agenda and Santorum and Gingrich are arguing that he is hiding his true moderate agenda

Is there a single issue where Romney's current position is to the left of Bush?

There will be tomorrow.

[BigSkyBob]

It is really sad to see those who despise Romney so much latch onto a stupid statement by an idiotic campaign advisor about using a ridiculous etch a sketch analogy and blowing it completely out of all proportion and turning it into something completely different than what was intended by the one who made the statement.

I think that "idiotic" adviser said what he meant, and meant what he said: swing voters in the fall matter to him, and rank-and-file Republican don't. That has been pretty much SOP for establishment Republicans. The only thing he'd think was "idiotic" was making that revelation while his campaign was still in boob-bait-for-bubba mode.

The actual conservative whom helped Romney turn around his debate performances against Gingrich was fired. Given that track record, this moderate will probably be promoted, and, promised a cushy job.

[Matthew]

It's very typical for a canidate to go towards the center come the general election. This isn't a big deal!

[Nagas]

It's very typical for a canidate to go towards the center come the general election. This isn't a big deal!

Yes, but openly revealing your plan to deceive your base is a big deal.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

It's very typical for a canidate to go towards the center come the general election. This isn't a big deal!

Yes, but openly revealing your plan to deceive your base is a big deal.

Romney isn't deceiving his base of his fellow 0.01%ers who want to become even richer.

[Frodo]

I guess the thinking of this adviser is that if he reveals that Romney has plans for the general election campaign to repudiate the conservative positions he has taken in order to win the nomination, it will increase pressure on Romney not to. 

Just a thought. 

[Senator North Carolina Yankee]

I guess the thinking of this adviser is that if he reveals that Romney has plans for the general election campaign to repudiate the conservative positions he has taken in order to win the nomination, it will increase pressure on Romney not to. 

Just a thought. 

Actually that is not as crazy as it sounds. This isn't the first time that Romney or his allies were allegedly undermined by either disloyalty or the advancement of alterior motives by campaign staff.

[Runeghost]

This isn't a huge deal, although I think it will help Santorum at least a little. But it does show that the strategy of hanging on and hoping that Romney will blow his own candidacy up with a badly placed malapropism before he secures the nomination is not completely hopeless.

[Insula Dei]

How did this guy get to be a campaign advisor?

I'm guessing he probably isn't anymore.

Yeah. Romney, after all, likes to fire people.

[TheGlobalizer]

FWIW, I prefer a flip-flopper to someone who sticks to idiotic positions.

Also, Ron Paul.

[oakvale]

someone who sticks to idiotic positions.

Ron Paul.

Yes indeed.

[argentarius]

FWIW, I prefer a flip-flopper to someone who sticks to idiotic positions.

Also, Ron Paul.

But so what if they're only claiming to change their opinion.

[Yank2133]

It's very typical for a canidate to go towards the center come the general election. This isn't a big deal!

Yes, but openly revealing your plan to deceive your base is a big deal.

Especially when everyone already thinks you will say anything to get elected.

[Volrath50]

Weirdly enough, Etch-a-Sketch stock is up 140% today.

http://www.google.com/finance?q=oart

http://www.cnbc.com/id/46823585

[Politico]

You miss my point.

A Presidential campaign is obviously organized differently from a primary campaign.

Unless everyone working for the campaign is presumed to submit their resignation the day after the convention, any Etch-A-Sketch analogy isn't accurate. Team Romney will stay. Only his promises to Republican primary voters will be discarded.

His meaning was clear: the words Mitt Romney used to pursue the nomination were not in any way binding on Mitt Romney the moment he seizes the nomination. Why should "swing" voters in the general believe a single word Romney has to say to them after the words he said to primary voters were rescinded the minute he seized the nomination?

No matter who you are, you have to say certain things to win a nomination. No matter who you are, you have to say certain things differently to win the general election. No matter who you are, you need to do both to become president and actually accomplish things.

The only people who are benefiting from this circus are those in the media who need high ratings (Rush Limbaugh and his ilk included).

[LINCOLN REPUBLICAN]

The definitive and only true explanation:

“As we move from the primary to the general election, the campaign changes,” spokeswoman Andrea Saul said. “It’s a different race, with different candidates, and the main issue now becomes President Obama’s failure to create jobs and get this economy moving.”

[TheGlobalizer]

someone who sticks to idiotic positions.

Ron Paul.

Yes indeed.

Also, Obama.

[Governor Scott]

You miss my point.

A Presidential campaign is obviously organized differently from a primary campaign.

Unless everyone working for the campaign is presumed to submit their resignation the day after the convention, any Etch-A-Sketch analogy isn't accurate. Team Romney will stay. Only his promises to Republican primary voters will be discarded.

His meaning was clear: the words Mitt Romney used to pursue the nomination were not in any way binding on Mitt Romney the moment he seizes the nomination. Why should "swing" voters in the general believe a single word Romney has to say to them after the words he said to primary voters were rescinded the minute he seized the nomination?

No matter who you are, you have to say certain things to win a nomination. No matter who you are, you have to say certain things differently to win the general election. No matter who you are, you need to do both to become president and actually accomplish things.

The only people who are benefiting from this circus are those in the media who need high ratings (Rush Limbaugh and his ilk included).

No, you do not have to say certain things differently to win a general election at all.  If you truly stand by your positions, then you shouldn't have a problem talking about them despite the type of electorate you're faced with.  Swing voters don't want someone who's going to put on a new mask for every election they run in.  It didn't work for Kerry, and it won't work for Romney, who has taken flip-flopping to a completely different level.