*SIGH* Reading The Press This Morning, I guess Romney Really Did Not Win Two Big States Yesterday
I have a friend that takes enormous, and I mean ENORMOUS, joy at pointing out whenever possible that my beloved Butler Bulldogs have pulled up one game short for the national championship the last two years running. We Butler fans tend to point out that Butler is a tiny school (Dick Vitale quipped last year the Connecticut’s recruiting phone bill was larger than Butler’s entire basketball budget) and take great pride in the achievements even without that final victory. In fact, two years ago when Butler lost to Duke by an in-and-out three pointer at the buzzer, Butler was the story, not Duke. But Duke still has the trophy, one of several.
Mitt Romney has the trophy – one of several at this point – but reading the press you would think something entirely different. The NYTimes says the race is “unsettled.“ The leading Christian branded news outlet in the nation calls the Michigan win “uninspiring” and does not mention Arizona. And then it starts to get creepy. Another NYTimes post says:
Arizona Mormons Provide an Edge
And yet one of our regular commenters, a Mormon living in Arizona, made a very relevant comment just last week:
One of the problems that Mormons have in Arizona is that many people have moved here in the last 15 years from other states. Lots from places like Michigan and the midwest, looking for employment and trying to leave the snow behind. Some of these people have brought their anti-Mormon prejudice with them. During Salmon’s run for government, I heard an exchange on the radio which I will never forget. A woman called in and expressed her concern that people would not vote for Salmon because “he is a Mormon.” This woman said she had lived in Utah for a number of years, and while not a Mormon herself, she had really liked and respected her neighbors. She said that “Mormons get a bad rap.” The radio talk show host agreed with her. He is a native Arizonan. He explained that a woman who had moved here from another state said to him, “I can’t vote for Matt Salmon because you know how those Mormons are about women.” Charles said, “Well, there might be some of the ‘get-in-the-back-of-the-station-wagon-Mormon women’, but they aren’t the Mormon women I know.” Some members of our Church have been here for seven or eight generations. They have elementary schools and streets named after them. I know at least two women who have served or are serving on the school board. The ideas expressed by this woman about Mormons are as false as they are damaging. The only reason Mormons more often get elected in states with higher Mormon populations (outside of Utah) is because most people know enough members that we don’t frighten them. [emphasis added]
Yet the actual data reveal that Romney won pretty much every demographic except “true conservatives” (whatever that means) and “born-again Christians.” Methinks I see a code here.
Yesterday afternoon when we realized the extents to which the left would go to attack religion, I said:
But in the far more likely event Romney emerges as the nominee, they can add “Mormon” into the discussion and kick start the thing all over again.
Here we go! And they are being ably assisted by the far right. Back to my quip above about “the leading Christian branded news outlet” – I flat out do not get David Brody. I met him at the “Faith in America” speech in 2007 and he had nothing bad to say about Romney. But this time….
The Dems have already launched in to the Veep race. What does that tell you about whether this thing is “unsettled” or not? And some of it has just gotten silly.
There was an op-ed out of the UK yesterday that was extraordinary:
You got an idea of McCain as a man.
You dont get that with Romney. Worse still for Romney, he cannot copper-bottom his candidacy with culture. This is not just a question of money or class but, unavoidably, one of religion.
For understandable reasons he is keen to avoid making his candidacy a referendum on Mormonism. But he cannot talk about who he is without talking about Mormonism. And talking about Mormonism makes his candidacy some kind of referendum on Mormonism. So Romney is doomed to be the Man from Nowhere, a candidate without bottom who is, and can only be, defined by his record in office and the wealth he accumulated at Bain.
[...]
If all this is the case and Romney still actually wins the nomination then, in some ways, he will have pulled off one hell of a trick. The Republican party in its present mood is not built to welcome the likes of Mitt Romney. All his advantages – save perhaps financial muscle – have been compromised and yet he remains the favourite. Doubtless this owes much to his impossibly implausible opponents but its own small way it will be an achievement if the Man from Nowhere actually prevails.
That is very insightful. But here it is – Romney now is the prohibitive favorite to win the nomination. Spin, prevaricate, and analyze the exit polls all you want – Mitt Romney has the trophy. The party that “ in its present mood is not built to welcome the likes of Mitt Romney” needs to figure out how to alter its mood pretty quickly or it is going to find itself aiding and abetting the reelection of Barack Obama. There is something wrong when David Brody sounds this much like the New York Times.
I can find no cause for the ennui amongst Republicans other than religion. The voting results tell me the ennui is overstated to some extent, but it’s there nonetheless. However, at this point such emotion is as much a weapon in the hands of Democrats as it is an expression of the party’s mood.
I love Butler, but Duke (and Connecticut) still won. Butler did amazing things and will continue to do so – God I love them. But the plaudits belong to Duke and Connecticut.
The plaudits belong to Mitt Romney and if a significant portion of the party is not willing to acknowledge that they do not benefit, Obama does. It’s time to give Romney the conference championship so Obama does not win the big dance.
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fitzwdarcey on 29 Feb 2012 at 8:23 am #
I’ve said this before but feel like I will say it many times again before this is all over, there is a reason that Romney garners such a high percentage of the Mormon vote, and I’m tired of hearing how Mormons will put him over the edge and not hearing the analysis behind it. Mormons don’t preach politics over the pulpit. You won’t see any politician introduced at an LDS meeting house by a Bishop and then giving a speech over the pulpit. Furthermore, though Mormons are reliable Republican voters to a high degree, they don’t vote in huge blocks generally. Just this primary season, out of 5 individuals talking at a picnic, only 2 were pro Romney this past summer. However, when the media and other candidates seem to use code or dog whistle like tactics to rake in a different kind of vote or tell a certain story, it creates a driving or gathering effect. I truly wonder how many members of the LDS church became Romney supporters in 2008 after the Huckabee efforts. I happen to know of 8 personally who weren’t in the Romney camp until then. Furthermore, every time there is an article about how individuals won’t vote for a Mormon, I am sure more and more Mormons feel driven to support Romney to defend against such actions. I wonder how many became Romney supporters or more active ones after Newt Gingrich said that Romney had no idea about the struggle for religious freedoms in this country (obviously paraphrased). I know of one or two that opened their wallet after that. I speak only personally and of those few examples I know of, but I have a feeling they are indicative of something more. These stories are marginalizing, and when other candidates appear to try to cash in on that portion of the vote, that is marginalizing as well. There is a feeling of being asked for votes and money and support for the causes but to otherwise shut up, be told what you believe, and sit quietly in the back until you are called upon. It pushes people into indentity politics. It makes them want to fight back in the only ways they feel they can, and that is part of why I believe Romney receives such a large portion of the Mormon vote and why they come out in such large numbers to vote for him.
sewinglady on 29 Feb 2012 at 10:18 am #
Mr. Darcy makes an interesting point that I don’t disagree with. However, I think it’s also important to note that Mitt Romney was also responsible for saving the 2002 Winter Olympics in Utah. While all roads may run to Mecca for Muslims, all roads run to Utah for most Mormons in the United States and frequently in other countries. Most members travel there and/or have friends and relatives that live there; old mission friends, someone that they know and care about enough to stay in touch with. Many have attended BYU and read about Romney’s Olympic success in the BYU MAGAZINE. [That's actually how I first became aware of Mitt's Olympic success.]
Mitt became a hero in Utah for saving the Olympics. What he did was amazing. He received much of the name recognition that a politician gets, without having to answer for a voting record. His stunning success with the Olympics helps to fuel his candidacy among members of the CJCLDS in a very quiet way. My sister has not been nearly as strong and steady a Mitt supporter as I have; however, even she marvelled at the marvelous talent he displayed in turning the Olympics from a disaster to a success. As Mitt has been attacked constantly from both the right and left media, she has become a more passionate supporter. She has seen the evidence of his ability first hand and admired it. The negative media attacks have driven her to defend her own opinion of Mitt’s abilities and have turned her from lukewarm to fiery. I guess that is first hand evidence of what Mr. Darcy was talking about in his comment.
Mitt’s Olympic success explains in part Mitt’s continued strong support even over former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman. Mitt is a hero. Jon Huntsman was, well, only a Governor.
coltakashi on 29 Feb 2012 at 12:05 pm #
I watched both CNN and Fox election returns last night and while Arizona was mentioned, that is ALL it got. All the commentary on CNN seemed focused on denigrating Romney’s victory in Michigan, a come from behind win. The only worthy information they gave was an exit poll finding that only 60% of the voters in the primary were Republicans, and of those Romney was ahead of Santorum by more than ten points! Santorum relied on Democrats voting against the strongest challenger to Obama. On Fox Carl Rove noted that many Republicans reacted negatively to Santorum asking for Democrats to interfere in the primary.
Why no weight given to Romney’ s strong win in Arizona? Because even Fox is spinning against Romney gaining momentum. They don’t want him to roll to victory. It is a better story for Fox. For CNN they have to deny that Romney has broad appeal. What do NH, FL, NV, AZ and MI have in common? Romney won in states with diverse demographics.
Retrocon on 29 Feb 2012 at 4:10 pm #
To go along with Col. Takashi’s comments, there is a lot of “opinion” about Romney not being able to “close the deal” and how this shows some weakness in Romney as a candidate. This “weakness” as a candidate somehow never gets applied to those who have long since dropped out of the race, couldn’t poll well enough to even get in the race, or are still in the race but have fewer delegates combined than does Romney.
The process is different this time around, with many states using a proportional system to allocate delegates. This methodology practically ensures the process will not be over after a few early states. This was the design. People need to realize that the issue is not so much “What’s wrong with Romney”, but why is there really such opposition to Romney from a few sectors of the Republican party, and “Hey, who else is doing even close to what Romney has done?”
Bet You Didn’t Know Romney Chalked Up Another Win Yesterday | Article VI Blog | John Schroeder on 01 Mar 2012 at 7:33 am #
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