There are a bunch of good reasons why Republicans should think twice about Romney.
1) His religion. According to a Gallup Poll, 22% say that they would not vote for a Mormon even if they thought he was qualified. This was higher than black, female, Catholic or Jewish. In fact, the only two groups that scored higher negatives were gays and atheists. The same poll found that 18% of Republicans and 19% of Independents wouldn't vote for a Mormon. This is potentially fatal for a GOP Candidate who belongs to the Latter Day Saints.
Incidently, I think that the number might well be higher. I suspect a few people thought it but didn't say it because they didn't want to the pollster to think they were bigoted. (the same poll found that 5% won't vote for a black and 6% won't vote for a woman, but I suspect those numbers are low for the same reason.) Further, I think should Romney secure the nomination, we are going to see a lot of hit pieces on Mormonism, it's questionable history and strange beliefs from our liberal friends in the MSM.
Magic Underpants. Planet Kolob. Eternal Marriage. Blood atonement. LDS is Scientology plus 150 years.
Bad News For Mitt Romney: 22% Of Americans Won
2- Romney lacks an empathy factor. This is a guy who made his money essentially buying up companies, putting people out of good paying union jobs, and looting them to make investors rich. Now, a conservative could make an argument why this is good business, I guess. But that won't impress mom and pop who are worried the merger their company just did will put them out of a job or not.
What makes Romney's actions in this regard even more contemptable and a juicy target for Obama hit pieces is that there was no reason for it. Romney was already rich. He didn't need the money. As Mike Huckabee once opined, "Romney looks like the guy who lays you off."
3- Throwing away your best issue- ObamaCare is still massively unpopular. It's a great issue to hit Obama with, not only in the fact it will make a bad situation worse, but the way the Democrats crammed it down the throat of an electorate that didn't want it.
Why ObamaCare Remains Unpopular
But Romney was the guy who came up with the "Beta Version". The version that is already failing in Massachusetts.
Romneycare proves failure - BostonHerald.com
4) Flip-Flops- Romney has been on both sides of so many issues, depending on what his pollsters tell him to believe. Short list-
The Auto Bailout-
Abortion
Gay Rights
Gun Rights
TARP
. The most effective attack launched on John Kerry was that he was a "flip-flopper", but Kerry's inconsistencies are nothing compared to Romney's, who once said he wasn't a Reagan Republican and that he'd be better on gay rights than Ted Kennedy. (Really!)
Mitt Romney Flip-Flops)
5) General Weirdness- Romney has said some bizarre off the wall things over the years, like the time that he bragged about having strapped his dog to the top of his car for a 12 hour drive. (The dog released its bowels, causing the Romneys to have to pull over to clean up the car.)
Heck, you know it's a problem when your opponent promises to fire anyone on his staff who says you're weird. It's kind of like when Truman Capote denounced rumors that J. Edgar Hoover was a transvestite.
1) His religion. According to a Gallup Poll, 22% say that they would not vote for a Mormon even if they thought he was qualified. This was higher than black, female, Catholic or Jewish. In fact, the only two groups that scored higher negatives were gays and atheists. The same poll found that 18% of Republicans and 19% of Independents wouldn't vote for a Mormon. This is potentially fatal for a GOP Candidate who belongs to the Latter Day Saints.
Incidently, I think that the number might well be higher. I suspect a few people thought it but didn't say it because they didn't want to the pollster to think they were bigoted. (the same poll found that 5% won't vote for a black and 6% won't vote for a woman, but I suspect those numbers are low for the same reason.) Further, I think should Romney secure the nomination, we are going to see a lot of hit pieces on Mormonism, it's questionable history and strange beliefs from our liberal friends in the MSM.
Magic Underpants. Planet Kolob. Eternal Marriage. Blood atonement. LDS is Scientology plus 150 years.
Bad News For Mitt Romney: 22% Of Americans Won
2- Romney lacks an empathy factor. This is a guy who made his money essentially buying up companies, putting people out of good paying union jobs, and looting them to make investors rich. Now, a conservative could make an argument why this is good business, I guess. But that won't impress mom and pop who are worried the merger their company just did will put them out of a job or not.
What makes Romney's actions in this regard even more contemptable and a juicy target for Obama hit pieces is that there was no reason for it. Romney was already rich. He didn't need the money. As Mike Huckabee once opined, "Romney looks like the guy who lays you off."
3- Throwing away your best issue- ObamaCare is still massively unpopular. It's a great issue to hit Obama with, not only in the fact it will make a bad situation worse, but the way the Democrats crammed it down the throat of an electorate that didn't want it.
Why ObamaCare Remains Unpopular
But Romney was the guy who came up with the "Beta Version". The version that is already failing in Massachusetts.
Romneycare proves failure - BostonHerald.com
4) Flip-Flops- Romney has been on both sides of so many issues, depending on what his pollsters tell him to believe. Short list-
The Auto Bailout-
Abortion
Gay Rights
Gun Rights
TARP
. The most effective attack launched on John Kerry was that he was a "flip-flopper", but Kerry's inconsistencies are nothing compared to Romney's, who once said he wasn't a Reagan Republican and that he'd be better on gay rights than Ted Kennedy. (Really!)
Mitt Romney Flip-Flops)
5) General Weirdness- Romney has said some bizarre off the wall things over the years, like the time that he bragged about having strapped his dog to the top of his car for a 12 hour drive. (The dog released its bowels, causing the Romneys to have to pull over to clean up the car.)
Heck, you know it's a problem when your opponent promises to fire anyone on his staff who says you're weird. It's kind of like when Truman Capote denounced rumors that J. Edgar Hoover was a transvestite.
