What does the Etch A Sketch firestorm really mean for the Romney campaign?
The answer is bad news and good news depending on where you stand politically.
For the record, here is the entire exchange that has the chattering class all a twitter.
HOST: Is there a concern that Santorum and Gingrich might force the governor to tack so far to the right it would hurt him with moderate voters in the general election?
FEHRNSTROM: Well, I think you hit a reset button for the fall campaign. Everything changes. It’s almost like an Etch A Sketch. You can kind of shake it up and restart all over again.
First, here is the bad news.
Fehrnstrom’s answer about a reset for the fall campaign is exactly the reason why Romney has not caught fire with the base. Sure, they may eventually hold their noses and vote for him, but Fehrnstrom’s statement is significant because it is so visual.
An Etch A Sketch symbolizes what the Republican base thinks are Romney’s loosely held views that will be erased when it is politically expedient to do so. The even worse news is Fehrnstrom’s remark has wiped away all the momentum Romney gained after winning the Illinois primary, coupled with Jeb Bush’s sought after endorsement. Both events were significant and both allowed Romney to breathe easier on his way to sealing the deal for the nomination. Romney will still be the nominee of course, but an Etch A Sketch will forever stand as the symbol of mistrust with the base.
Now here is the good news.
Moderates and independent voters in key battleground states who are looking for an alternative to President Obama are generally not scared off by Romney’s brand of conservatism. They think in his heart he is a moderate who has been forced to the right by the likes of Gingrich, Santorum and a rabid red-meat base who now comprise the majority of Republican primary voters. They are assuming and fully expecting that Romney will move to the middle for the general election.
So from a moderate voter point of view, Fehrnstrom’s remark makes sense and is possibly a sigh of relief. Of course exactly how Romney moves to the middle and on what issues, is still to be determined.
Here is where the general election race stands at this moment.
The Real Clear Politics average has Romney losing to Obama by 4.5%. So clearly Romney needs to make some major headway across the political spectrum if he is to capture the White House and have some coattails to help win the Senate and keep the House.
Unfortunately, Etch A Sketch will now be the symbol of the “anyway the wind blows”, flip-flopper argument that President George W. Bush successfully used against Senator John Kerry in 2004. An argument that Obama had already fully intended to use against Romney even before he was handed the Etch A Sketch gift.
For in politics, once you give voters a strong symbol that represents an existing narrative, that symbol becomes who you are.
Just ask John Kerry who is forever linked with windsurfing.
Fire Fehrnstrom! Or at least forbid him from EVER talking to reporters of any kind.
It’s only the conventional wisdom that there is a reset for the general, this bonehead consultant only made a mistake of speaking clearly!
Of course, note that Romney didn’t say it. If need be, he can fire the flunky, he likes that, right? Maybe flog him a little first.
And good news? It got Romney’s name into the headlines. Just spell the name right, baby.
I don’t like Romney much, he’s run a stinking lousy campaign so far, but we seem to be stuck with him and of course I’ll take him over Obambus.
Negative images stick when they have a basis in reality. So do jokes.
A liberal, a moderate and a conservative walk in a bar. The bartender looks up and says “Hi, Mitt.”
Heh heh heh heh heh
Mind you, I’d still vote for him over the trainwreck that is our current administration.
It makes no difference what Romney or his staff say or do, or how worked up Ginrich and Santorum get about who is the purest conservative, the bottom line is EVERYBODY will vote for Romney because their hatred for Obama trumps EVERYTHING.
So…… why don’t you all relax, go about your lives, have a nice Summer vacation, and wake up on November 6th.
sssssshh – you have just revealed the secret Romney campaign plan as it’s been from day one. and why not, since Obambus was basically elected because nobody could stomach Hildabeast or McCain.
Or, to put it another way:
Well, I think you hit a reset button for the… Presidency. Everything changes. It’s almost like an Etch A Sketch. You can kind of shake it up and restart all over again.
Flip-flop Mitt. Etch-A-Sketch Mitt. Sooner or later, folks will figure it out.
And yeah, BadgerGirl is probably right. Folks are desperate to get rid of Obama. Romney is only viable because of that. The thing is, I think any one of the R’s would beat him, even (gulp) Ron Paul.
Except, fund-raising is going to be a problem for whomever is the nominee. And GOTV efforts. There is simply a lack-of-enthusiasm problem.
Doesn’t matter if Romney fires the guy. Etch-A-Sketch will become the narrative. It will be… etched… into the public mind. It is just so powerful!
They think in his heart he is a moderate who has been forced to the right by the likes of Gingrich, Santorum and a rabid red-meat base who now comprise the majority of Republican primary voters. They are assuming and fully expecting that Romney will move to the middle for the general election.
Except, that he has not been forced to the right in any meaningful way that we can see. Of course, he claims to be a “severe conservative”, but he has not done anything beyond saying it. And we have plenty of examples of things he has said contrarily.
He starts the campaign having run slightly to the Left of center in the Primaries, and prepared to run further left in the General. He has never run hard at a Democrat, and literally tried to run to the Left in a campaign against Teddy Kennedy.
I seem to remember a campaign in 1996. While we now realize that Clinton was but the Leftist overture; at the time it was believed that the country was sufficiently appalled at Clinton that they would vote for Bob Dole in desperate self-preservation. And Dole ran a campaign that gave new meaning to the word “narcolepsy”. After all, it would not do to campaign in a way that offended those he had spent so many years reaching across the aisle to.
It is said, “History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.”. Dole’s campaign was a tragedy. We are gearing up for the farce.
Conservatives, by the way, have another reason beyond the initial statement by Fehrnstrom to doubt anything that Romney has promised. Fehrnstrom still has a job, still is in Romney’s inner circle, and there has been no move indicate that Fehrnstrom is in trouble. As it would be if he spoke the truth, and the Etch-a-Sketch was ready to be inverted and shaken on August 30.
Subotai Bahadur