Winners and Losers of the 2012 RNC
The condensed version of the Republican National Convention has drawn to a close, and out come of the scorecards. Who hit it out of the park in a lasting way, and who came limping out of Tampa? A few thoughts…
Winners
Mitt Romney: How many people tuned into his speech fearing the worst — meaning a lifeless, blasé, business-as-usual accounting of his years at Bain and blanket criticism of President Obama’s term? Or something similar to his speech before CPAC, where he turned up the volume more than the passion and threw out the head-scratching primary pander line about being a “severely conservative Republican”? One of Romney’s greatest accomplishments last night was not offering any odd or gaffe-y lines that would have overshadowed the Monday morning quarterbacking of the most important speech of his career. Instead, he gave a well-rounded talk that included touching personal bits and specific policy hits. He focused on the moderate voters without losing the conservatives. And someone lit a fire under him after a bit of a slow start — “wooden” could not be used to describe Romney in the second half of his speech last night. It’s doubtful that he can maintain this verve on the campaign trail, as he can’t change who he is, but for the night that mattered he let Americans see under the knife-and-fork-at-KFC uptight stereotype.
Mormons: The families brought up to tell the convention how Romney had reached out in their hours of need were both from his church, and the candidate himself dropped the “M” word for the first time in campaign reporters’ memories. The messaging was crafted to lessen fears about Romney’s faith but put the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the mainstream political conversation. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) was pitching to C-SPAN last night that Mormons make great neighbors who don’t drink or smoke. I half-expected Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to walk out and make a pitch for the church’s charitable candidate.
House Republicans: Having Paul Ryan as the poster boy for your party in one of the least liked institutions in the country doesn’t hurt. The House Budget Committee chairman is the first sitting House member to be tapped for VP since Geraldine Ferraro in 1984. Whereas Romney’s speech served to humanize a stiff candidate known mostly for his wealth, Ryan’s speech helped humanize those reviled politicos huddled in the office buildings flanking the Capitol. And his new national role, buoyed by a great debut speech, helps de-wonkify his “Path to Prosperity” labor-of-love budget plan.
Condoleezza Rice: Despite years of protestations by the former secretary of State that she’s not interested in running for office, the political world is now her oyster given the response to her speech. She could easily fill the void left by Colin Powell for Republicans who are looking for an accomplished, inspiring figure not all that far to the right who can handily win general elections.
Diversity: The RNC lineup was scripted to bring a noticeable gender, racial, and ethnic mix before the national television audience, but the execution came off with an easy, natural feeling. You just weren’t cool at the convention if you didn’t drop some español (with excellent pronunciation, mind you — gracias, Marco Rubio) into your speech. The nods by so many speakers to their immigrant families were also heartfelt and authentic, and the tales of life experiences such as Rice in Jim Crow Birmingham and New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez working as a security guard in a border town were touching and highly effective.
Rand Paul: The younger Paul is handily paving his own way in the Senate. But this convention was almost a torch-passing — by dropping several libertarian planks and Paul family themes into his speech, the senator ensured that the Paul pack who has pushed his dad’s candidacies with religious fervor will be there for the younger Paul’s inevitable future presidential run, as well.
John Boehner: He’s long clamored for a shorter convention and, thanks to Isaac, his point was made that it can be done. Maybe even whittled down more. Now if he’d only get his GOP platform Cliff’s Notes…
Rubio was another winner. 2020?
2020?? Why wait?
Why not 2016?
Romney in 2012? OK, fine. He’s better than Obama. But will he be the best in 2016?
You want Romney to be a conservative president, rather than a moderate squish (as he probably will be), then you hold the prospect of a challenge from the right in 2016 over his head.
Perhaps you missed it, but the RNC has just changed the rules to guarantee that no sitting President can be ‘primaried’.
If Mittens runs for reelection in 2016, I doubt Marco, or most any other Republican will challenge him. Party discipline and all. Carter only got challenged by Kennedy because he was singularly inept (well, maybe not so singular anymore.) And I think Mittens will have the economy straightened out by then.
‘Straighten out the Economy’
Romney _might_ get the US economy out of its recession,
except that the _world_ economy will crater during his
first term, possibly before his inauguration if Greece
defaults; When Shell stops investing in Europe and
Rothshild bets against the Euro, it is time to worry.
Kennedy despised Carter. All the Kennedy’s did–none of them voted for him (neither did the McGoverns who all had voted for Ford).
Well, the Reps can run, but they can’t hide. The Tea Party will keep knocking off the establishment, until they get the message. We even got Cruz nominated in Texas over the establishment candidate. Not a small feat in a big state. And I’ll keep on donating to the Senate Conservatives Fund; not the RNC.
Oh, and I sent some money to poor Akin in Missouri. The establishment can throw him under the bus AND run over him, but he’s pro life and I’ll help him defeat the establishment, too. If we don’t stop abandoning our candidates once they make one stupid remark, the Democrap establishment will never let up. And we can’t always be perfect. Better Akin than McCrapskill.
The bad news is that before the grassroots overgrow the GOP the
world economic collapse will leave the Feds poor and powerless.
The good news is that grassroots organizations in the _solvent_
states will provide a power base for reform and reconstruction.
Do not forget The Club for Growth which strove to replace Rinos with conservatives long before the Tea Party existed. Give money to them.
The 14 Senators Who Voted Against NDAA (D-MD), Coburn (R-OK), Crapo (R-ID), DeMint (R-SC), Durbin (D-IL), Franken (D-MN), Harkin (D-IA), Lee (R-UT), Merkley (D-OR), Paul (R-KY), Risch (R-ID), Sanders (I-VT), Wyden (D-OR) (14 American Heroes) Look no Rubio on this list. Beware he is Progressive folks!
Just because Rubio has better reading comprehension than you doesn’t make him progressive. Here’s a hint: The NDAA doesn’t say what you think it says.
Once a bill like this is passed, language can be added to it at anytime. I think you have not been watching things very long. Once a bill is passed the bureaucrats will always, and I mean always add what they want. There are so many, many acts that this applies to! Endangered species Act is my first thought and example!
#InsertChair – Obama Now Identified as “Empty Seat” through Eastwood Magic
Tea Party, a loser?
Have you heard of Paul Ryan, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Nikki Haley?
Paul Ryan, like DeMint, was a Tea Party patron saint.
Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Nikki Haley were Tea Party candidates who defeated the Republican establishment candidates to get to where they are.
The loser is the GOP establishment, the old guards.
The Tea Party is the future Republican Party. They are the GOP darlings, the young faces of the Old Party. They revitalize the Old Party to make it Grand again.
With Paul Ryan as VP and Ron Paul’s son making a major speech, the Tea Party didn’t flex muscle at this convention it simply raised an eyebrow and got what it wanted.
As a Tea Partier, I couldn’t be more pleased at the lineup at this year’s convention. The Tea Party cause is to fix our budget and entitlements problems. Nobody is more dedicated to that task than Ryan. Marco Rubio is also a Tea Party star; he was a major speaker. So I don’t see us as losers at all. This is not your Father’s Republican Party.
I think Paul’s delegates are being a bit silly. Did he come even close to winning the nomination? Would his delegates have been able to change the nominee? No. So what’s the point in having a fight on the floor and making us look divided?
D
The Tea Party a loser? Really??
I wasn’t aware there was an “exit strategy” in place. It should be fairly clear that we’re tackling this problem from within the system (with some rather remarkable success, I might add, and in spite of a few spectacular failures). And since when do we care if we always get stuck in the cheap seats or what anyone thinks of us. When we’re not being ignored, we’re being maligned; it’s been so since the beginning. We just get on with our business. Frankly, it’s a badge of honor to be held in open contempt by the Republican establishment. Those dinosaurs are part of the problem, not part of the solution.
Third parties are folly and I think enough of us know that.
Loser? Chris Cristie hands down. Winner? Romney/Ryan 2012.(But memo to Mitt – the Tea Party isn’t going anywhere.)
I’m with you on this. This Convention was not the same-old sorry RNC-orchestrated performance of aging GOP vaudevillians abd Fearless Fliers who went down in flames. It had Romney’s stamp all over it and reflected the emergence of the 87 Republican freshmen in the House and the rise of Pawlenty, Portman, Santorum, et al. The Tea Party felt energized, not neglected. One of the most heartening things emerging here is the clear evidence that Romney and his cadre are coyotes “cast out your old tired elitists” – and the sclerotic GOP is under new management.
Anyone who thinks Romney will be “squishy” hasn’t been doing his homework. Bain was squishy?
My reply at #8 should have been tied to elkh 1, #5
i don’t know what convention you were at, but at the one i watched ryan’s speech was one of the most politically embarrassing moments in american history. so replete with blatant lies, even fox news had to rip him a new one. when he debates biden, its going to be a bloodbath.
really, wake up and smell the cappuccino.
this convention was yawn from beginning to end; the only mirth came from clint’s speech. and, btw, clint is pro-choice, convinced global warming has a human cause and supports gay marriage.
And yet, Clint, this pro-choice guy who has no problem with same-sex marriage is supporting Romney, not Obama.
How do you explain that?
How do you explain that my dad, a retired blue-collar factory worker and former union shop steward, is also voting for Romney this year?
The reason is that Obama’s incompetence, arrogance, and obvious detachment from ordinary Americans trumps all those ideological issues.
In short, you and Obama are NOT representative of real Americans. (How many callouses from hard factory labor do you have on YOUR hands?)
How do you spell Obama? CARTER. Carter on steroids and with a shrew for a wife.
Will the RINOs win? Most likely. Will there be a reduction in the size, scope, and cost of the Federal Govt? NOPE.
You guys are like little old ladies pruning the Bushes while the house is falling apart…
“one of the most politically embarrassing moments in american history”
definitely a candidate for facepalm of the week
The is Random Progressive. They (it) are showing all over PJM. Things gets a little warm and out it comes. This is most likely the “work” of one said progressive, using whatever ID.
They are generally one offs and consist of a couple of random declarations, and then some vomit.
A tag like this “really, wake up and smell the cappuccino.” will show up as well, about the same length with generally telling you what to do, etc.
Statements about mental capacity appear quite often as well.
An attempt to get some attention as it gets lonely sitting on an inner tube in a cesspool looking into a mirror and seeing nothing.
Nothing new, it’s all it has.
The “Ryan Lied” meme has been so roundly refuted by now that it does not deserve another point-by-point dissection. But you are right about the VP debate–it will be a bloodbath, and the blood will be Biden’s. If he shows up.
Regarding Clint, our tent is big. As long as your believe in the constitution,free markets, individual initiative and American Exceptionalism, the GOP is the place to be.
10. d. drimer
Does the d. stand for democrat? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
I thought Condi gave the best speech. Clint was funny.
Your boy is toast.
Haji can’t shoot.
I would say “dumbass” but that’s a distinction without a difference, really.
Actually I think the real losers are those who actually believed obama’s wild promises and voted for him. Some appeared on Fox tonight. I would be very embarassed to admit that I had done that. It’s tantamount to admitting I coouldn’t read ot, worse yet, couldn’t think. I can understand the reason for their acceptqance…..every vote counts but, with their Romney vote should be a contract to attend some night classes on the US Constitution and a pair of plain glasses to replace the rose colored ones they have ween wearing.
But the signal gets weaker and the noise gets stronger.
Carter’s slogan for the 1976 campaign: “A Leader, For A Change.”
Obama 2008: HOPE and CHANGE
Obama 2012: FORWARD
See a trend?
Sell the dream. Deliver nothing.
dq: “coouldn’t read ot”
They could read, but you couldn’t type. Sorry for the jab.
But they certainly couldn’t think. Proof: they think a man who could read the Teleprompter was a brilliant orator, even though he could hardly utter a coherent thought whenever the Teleprompter took a hiatus.
Afghanistan was the low point for me during the convention. When you have roughly 80,000 American men and women stuck in a war that nobody wants and even fewer people know how to end, it would be nice to hear what the Republican candidates, and by extension the Republican party, plans on doing about it.
But there was not much (or at least very little) mention of it and certainly NO ideas on what Romney’s strategy would be regarding Afghanistan and how to end that war. This is no small thing, because if Romney is elected and just pulls out the troops and Afghanistan simply falls back into the hands of the Taliban, Romney is going to get stuck with that failure, NOT Obama. So either Romney or Ryan had better start talking about it, and fast. People are going to want some answers on why we spent all that blood and treasure in that third-world dirt hole and I don’t think we’re in any mood to watch American helicopters pulling people off the roof the of American embassy in Kabul, like they did when Vietnam fell.
Obama’s only plan is to run away after the election. Do the Republicans have any better ideas? If so, I want to hear them, now. I’m still going to vote for Romney no matter what, but Romney has to understand that it’s not JUST about the economy. There’s a whole world out there, and right now we have almost 100,000 troops stuck in a war that looks like it has no end. I can’t accept that, nor should you.
Winning an election – even against a gross incompetent – when 90% of the MSM is against you, is no easy task. So I’m going to cut Romney some slack on this. It is also not clear to me why Romney should have a plan until he’s met with those who have been fighting this war. He is not the type to form an opinion without research.
Well put. I would not want my son to die in a war for which the president is not even able to articulate a rationale. Apparently people in the armed services are generally not pro-Obama. The SEALS apparently are blatantly against him. I think Romney avoids talking about it because “Americans are tired of war” and he doesn’t want to come across as a hawk.
Condoleezza Rice: Despite years of protestations by the former secretary of State that she’s not interested in running for office, the political world is now her oyster given the response to her speech. She could easily fill the void left by Colin Powell for Republicans who are looking for an accomplished, inspiring figure not all that far to the right who can handily win general elections
Rice is not a politician. If she were, she would be liberal, except on Defense. Colin Powell is a disaster who is not smart enough to be color blind. Rice wasted her years as SOS trying to reason with Palestinians. They should be left to wallow in their hate and ferociously counter-attacked when they attack the peace loving Israelis, who, of all the peoples on the face of this holocaust- stained earth, deserve to be left alone to do what they do best- invent and thrive.
Like most, Bridget missed the big story on Tuesday. The GOP Politboro consolidated power to change the rules, purging the grassroots activists. Rules committee members were on buses that got “lost,” and a bus was refused entry. Speaker Bonehead declared a voice vote for the ayes when the nayes were louder, and declared no objections when there were many. Stalin could not have been more contemptous of the democratic process. It’s all documented and on video. See Michelle Mailkin, the Washington Examiner and Conservatives4Palin. Palin objected from Arizona. Maybe that had something to do with FOX’s temporary gag on Palin. The story is a sleeper now but it will get out and the Speaker may pay with his job.
“…the Speaker may pay with his job.”
the Speaker should pay with his job
I have to laugh every time I read about the conspiracy that had Morton B on a bus that circled and got him to the convention too late to vote. The entire bus system was an epic fail that first day. Bus drivers brought in from all over the region got lost, many were misdirected or not allowed through by volunteers who had no clue what they were supposed to do or where the buses were supposed to go. At midnight many of us waited in long bus lines for HOURS before we finally found, in the dark, and across DARK and uneven fields and parking lots the buses that finally drove us back to our resort an hour from Tampa–I was a TX delegate.
As a matter of fact, no buses even showed up to take FL or CA delegated to the convention until an hour or more later on Tuesday. They didn’t arrive until long after that bus that circled three times. What must be known however, is that the Tampa Police Chief and her marvelous police force immediately went to work that next day and totally coordinated their own and the volunteers’ and staff’s efforts to the point that the rest of our bus rides were not just better, they were stupendous. From lighted parking lots, to a Tampa police officer on every bus to make sure no driver got lost, to volunteers with cold water, signs, and flashlights to point out uneven ground or obstacles. Even golf carts to help the elderly or lame to their buses. They really rolled out the red carpet treatment for all us delegates. So please, no more conspiracy theories at least about the bus rides. We all suffered through those first day’s inept bus rides.
I just wish the Tampa Police and the Convention volunteers received more credit. Their hard work, hospitality, and thoughtfulness were greatly appreciated by all of us delegates!
The convention worked. The Republicans have some talented speakers. Humor is risky in a serious situation but Clint Eastwood was passable as a comic. But the message got out: 23,000,000 are with little hope and no change because Obama is ineffective, and incompetent.
Nothing else matters, unless an atomic war explodes between Israel and Iran before election day. If Romney’s chances are viable, Israel will risk annihilation, and wait. Nevertheless, if America does not get its economy back of its feet, soon, the entire world will spin out of control. Hitler came to power because Germans were starving. It can happen again.
America was presented a clear choice: Will big government save you, or destroy you? And we learned that we are out of time; the days of kicking the can down the street are gone.
The convention worked.
Jul 28, 2012 Mitt Romney caught on hidden camera – claims some Church Leadership is Pro-Choice
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vINVnWYk0U&feature=watch-vrec
Good video. But Romney comes off better being candid than when sticking to the program.
Why is Mia Love’s speech missing from the rundown of winners and losers? It was a definite win.
Reality Check: Did Paul Ryan Throw Todd Akin Under The Bus?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrYFCxXhbHY&feature=plcp
A member of the Texas delegation discusses the dispute over new rules changes that were pushed by the Romney camp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ibZIw9P3pc
I am the President of the Kingwood TEA Party, and have never met Julie from NE Tarrant Co., though I do know Konni Burton. Julie is certainly speaks for me, even though I was not a Santorum supporter– he is too big government and big spending for me. However, I too had to work hard to be able to effectively argue for grassroots support of Romney and now find myself at ground zero once more due to this ill-advised power grab. There is no way Paul was going to win, but disenfranchising Paul supporters in their States and at the Convention was not respectful of their God-given rights to dissent from the Repubican establishment. I believe TX’ Steve Munisteri, using Robert’s Rules of Order could have effectively given them their voice, allowed a free vote, and left us all in a better place to work together to remove the “empty chair” from the Oval Office.
What they did to the Paul supporters they could easily do to Tea Partiers in the future. This will need to be addressed, and I am certain it will be, but for now, we must go about the serious business of voting Romney in with enough constitutionalist House and Senate members to begin to effect the conservative changes needed to save our Republic. Thank you, Julie, for your wonderful representation of ur side of the RNC power grab!