Polar Politics: Mitt Romney

Thursday, April, 12, 2012; 10:32 PM | 20 | | Print

by Matthew Hurt, Jason Campbell, regular columnists

Matthew Hurt

Now that Rick Santorum has suspended his presidential campaign, it has become even clearer that Mitt Romney will soon clinch the Republican nomination for president. That’s right, Mr. Sweater Vest is no longer running.

It was really a culmination of things that led to Santorum suspending his campaign. There was mounting pressure from members within the Republican Party for him to drop out so Romney could turn his attention to President Obama.

Romney was building a larger and larger delegate lead after each primary, and Santorum was also facing family issues, particularly the ailing health of his daughter.

Nevertheless, even though Romney isn’t the official nominee yet, he is basically the presumed nominee at this point. So what exactly does this mean for the GOP, and what does this mean moving forward to the general election?

It depends on whom you ask.

Some Republicans will say Romney simply can’t drum up a lot of support from the base within the Republican Party.

They will argue that he is too moderate, and Republicans and Tea Partiers alike won’t be enthusiastic to campaign for him this summer and fall.

Others will say the party finally has a nominee that can defeat President Obama, and it is time to rally behind him as the nominee. These people believe regardless of one’s own personal feelings towards Romney, Republicans want to end Obama’s presidency.

Personally, I don’t believe Romney’s eventual nomination actually means anything other than what it is.

However, if I have to align with one of the two sides I already lay out, I would align more so with the second. Was Romney my first pick? No. Will I support Romney in the general election? Of course.

I do understand why people have reservations about Romney, since he is seen as somewhat of a moderate Republican.

I do think, however, the media and even certain conservatives are missing one point: Republicans are more scared of a liberal Democrat than a moderate Republican.

For Republicans, Obama has been nothing short of a disaster for this country.

He has not turned the economy around completely like he campaigned on, his landmark legislative accomplishment is likely to be declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, and he’s even shown recently that he didn’t learn about Marbury v. Madison in high school like every other American.

The Republican Party, like I, will choose to support its nominee and rally behind him no matter what. Whether or not the Republican Party will win this November is a different story.

The outcome of the election this November is too difficult to predict at this point — a lot that can happen between now and November.

I won’t get in to all of that because that is an entirely different topic altogether. Instead, I’m focusing on members of the media trying to define “What this means for the Republican Party” now Romney is the clear eventual nominee.

Who cares? That topic might be worth debating had Donald Trump decided to run, but Mitt Romney isn’t too far off from other Republicans currently in the limelight.

He balanced the budget in Massachusetts without raising taxes. You know who else has done that? Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell.

Romney has created private sector jobs, and wants to help create an environment for private sector job growth as President. The same can be said about virtually every Republican in America.

Romney isn’t perfect. No candidate ever is. However, he is by far the best chance the Republican Party has at beating Obama in November.

He has the campaign infrastructure, fundraising ability, and debating skills to go toe-to-toe with President Obama. And even though he’s framed as a moderate, his record as Governor of Massachusetts isn’t too shabby either.

So what does Romney being the presumed nominee mean for the Republican Party? It means the Republicans have a nominee — that’s it.

And given Obama’s current approval rating, it means Democrats should watch out.

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A version of this article appeared in the Apr 13 issue of the Collegiate Times.

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Stannis 2012 | # April 14, 2012 @ 8:29 PM — Flag Comment

I want a nominee that sticks to his values and isn't wishy washy, that's why I support Stannis Baratheon. Clear answers for a trouble and divided nation. Don't need to worry about voting for a Mormon or possible Muslim when you have a candidate that openly worships R'hllor the Lord of Light. He proved his family values cred when he used a priestess of R'hllor to murder his gay brother, who was committing treason. Stannis isn't going to play favorites, he's a hard man made of metal that doesn't bend. He's endorsed by the Iron Bank of Braavos so you know he's going to be a friend of wall street and he's not afraid to roll up his sleeves and help main street either by sending Davos Seaworth to do things for him. This November don't vote Frey, Romney, Lannister, or Obama. Stannis 2012, Ours is the Fury. http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ly7fkzEXDR1r9h4heo1_1280.jpg

Collegiate Times

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