Mitt Romney Is Driving The GOP To Pieces

[Lakhota]

By Howard Fineman

WASHINGTON -- The attack on Mitt Romney was tough, even vicious.

As expressed at a now-infamous fundraiser in Florida, the Republican nominee's "ideology, pitting the 'makers' against the 'takers,' offers nothing," the writer said. "No sympathy for our fellow citizens. No insight into our social challenge. No hope of change."

"This approach involves a relentless reductionism," the writer argued Thursday in the Washington Post. "Human worth is reduced to economic production. Social problems are reduced to personal vices. Politics is reduced to class warfare on behalf of the upper class."

It was perhaps the most thorough, full-throated denunciation of Romney this year -- and, of course, a conservative Republican wrote it.

The author, Michael Gerson, has impeccable right-wing bona fides: He worked at the Heritage Foundation, served Chuck Colson and Bob Dole, and was President George W. Bush's chief speechwriter.

On this 46th day before Election Day, the story is not the alleged disintegration of the Romney campaign team in Boston. Yes, there is a lot of infighting going on. "It's a shame to see it," said Hogan Gidley, who was Rick Santorum's campaign spokesman. "They're all trying to save themselves." Still, it looks like the band will stick together (and give each other bonuses) until what could be a bitter end in November.

The real story, the deeper story, is the flying apart of the modern GOP into its constituent but rivalrous pieces. The Romney campaign feels like the end of an era in the party, rather than the beginning of one, because there's no center and it cannot hold.

More: Howard Fineman: Mitt Romney Is Driving The GOP To Pieces: Countdown Day 46

Source (nice article): Michael Gerson: A Republican mind-set without promise - The Washington Post

 

[Lakhota]

Yet a Republican ideology pitting the “makers” against the “takers” offers nothing. No sympathy for our fellow citizens. No insight into our social challenge. No hope of change. This approach involves a relentless reductionism. Human worth is reduced to economic production. Social problems are reduced to personal vices. Politics is reduced to class warfare on behalf of the upper class.

A few libertarians have wanted this fight ever since they read “Atlas Shrugged” as pimply adolescents. Given Romney’s background, record and faith, I don’t believe that he holds this view. I do believe that Republicans often parrot it, because they lack familiarity with other forms of conservatism that include a conception of the common good.

But there really is no excuse. Republican politicians could turn to Burkean conservatism, with its emphasis on the “little platoons” of civil society. They could reflect on the Catholic tradition of subsidiarity, and solidarity with the poor. They could draw inspiration from Tory evangelical social reformers such as William Wilberforce or Lord Shaftesbury. Or they could just read Abraham Lincoln, who stood for “an unfettered start, and a fair chance, in the race of life.”

Instead they mouth libertarian nonsense, unable to even describe some of the largest challenges of our time.

More: Michael Gerson: A Republican mind-set without promise - The Washington Post

 

[Lakhota]

The crazies are destroying the GOP.

 

[Political Junky]

The crazies think they can win like the teabaggers did in 2010. I think people learned a lesson from that.

 

[C_Clayton_Jones]

Gerson is just the latest Republican to unload on Romney for what he sees as the nominee's ineptitude, ignorance, confusion, apostasy -- or all four. Others include, in varying degrees, Peggy Noonan, Bill Kristol, the Wall Street Journal editorial page, Joe Scarborough, Ron Paul, Rick Santorum, Herman Cain, Frank Luntz, several GOP U.S. Senate candidates, and even Romney's campaign co-chair Tim Pawlenty, who quit that role to become a business lobbyist in Washington.

Behind the scenes, other figures -- from Karl Rove and Charlie Black to the advisers for some silent big-money donors -- are not only nervous about Romney's prospects but irritated at what he has done (or not done) for (or to) the party.

It could be argued that Romney is in fact a victim of general GOP incompetence; a hapless dupe set up to fail in an election no republican candidate was expected to win. Or perhaps it was assumed by GOP party bosses that, given the economy and ‘hatred’ of Obama, it wouldn’t matter the republican nominee, he’d realize easy victory regardless the quality of campaign.

Indeed, the Romney campaign does appear to be merely going through the motions, as if scripted at the start of the primaries where Romney would be well ahead in the polls come September/October. He’s spent more time recently in non-swing states like Utah and California ‘fund-raising’ rather than in battleground states like Ohio, where he must win if he’s to have any chance.

"We saw the party starting to come apart in 2010 with the rise of the Tea Party," said Gidley. "This isn't anything of Mitt Romney's making."

Perhaps not, but unlike Reagan or even the Bushes, Romney so far has not shown the candidate skills, the depth of thought or the ideological commitment that would give him the strength to bind the party into one force.

Again, which was likely not the intent of the GOP establishment given their perception of the election back in January – where all republicans had to do was run a warm body (or ham sandwich, as it were…) to an easy November victory.

Needless to say that victory won’t materialize, and republicans will learn a hard lesson about underestimating an opponent and misjudging the American voter.

 

[editec]

Openly expressing the contempt that today's GOP seems to have for the working classes was an incredibly stupid thing to do.

Its one thing to feel that way, another entirely to admit it.

Romney has proven himself to be not up to the grand conspiracy that is currently running the GOP.

Naturally many of those uber-conservative cooks are distancing themselves from the chef who spilled their beans

 

[SillyWabbit]

I'll not ramble. Yes on 32 no on 30.

 

[Stephanie]

openly expressing the contempt for the working class people?

good grief

But Pelosi and ALL OF YOU calling people "freeloaders" who don't want to buy ObamaCare is SHOWING LOVE

please get real people

 

[Stephanie]

the only one being driven nuts is the idiot troll OP

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

 

[JoeB131]

openly expressing the contempt for the working class people?

good grief

But Pelosi and ALL OF YOU calling people "freeloaders" who don't want to buy ObamaCare is SHOWING LOVE

please get real people

I think it's a concept of CONTEXT.

The context of Pelosi's comments is that when people who get sick or injured who can afford insurance and don't buy it, the rest of us end up paying for it. It's a valid complaint about a bad system.

Mittens had everything wrong in his statement about the "47%".

 

[Stephanie]

openly expressing the contempt for the working class people?

good grief

But Pelosi and ALL OF YOU calling people "freeloaders" who don't want to buy ObamaCare is SHOWING LOVE

please get real people

I think it's a concept of CONTEXT.

The context of Pelosi's comments is that when people who get sick or injured who can afford insurance and don't buy it, the rest of us end up paying for it. It's a valid complaint about a bad system.

Mittens had everything wrong in his statement about the "47%".

Ah well, leave it to you to defend the Democrat calling people FREELOADERS..no damn CONTEMP for the people there, oh no

 

[JoeB131]

openly expressing the contempt for the working class people?

good grief

But Pelosi and ALL OF YOU calling people "freeloaders" who don't want to buy ObamaCare is SHOWING LOVE

please get real people

I think it's a concept of CONTEXT.

The context of Pelosi's comments is that when people who get sick or injured who can afford insurance and don't buy it, the rest of us end up paying for it. It's a valid complaint about a bad system.

Mittens had everything wrong in his statement about the "47%".

Ah well, leave it to you to defend the Democrat calling people FREELOADERS..

I'm sorry, do you have another word for it.

A 25 year old doesn't get insurance. He gets into a car accident, runs up $50,000 in medical bills, has no money to pay it, walks away from his bills.

The hospitals redistrubute that cost to the rest of us who buy insurance and pay our bills. Period.

That is being a freeloader. Particularly if that young man had done the responsible thing and bought health insurance from the get-go.

 

[Mac1958]

.

The GOP has a real mess to clean up. But first they have to admit they have a problem.

No excuse, none, for not having a nominee who is leading Obama by at least 15% right now.

.

 

[JoeB131]

.

The GOP has a real mess to clean up. But first they have to admit they have a problem.

No excuse, none, for not having a nominee who is leading Obama by at least 15% right now.

.

Exactly.

I didn't want to have to vote for Obama. I think the man's a weak leader.

But it was almost like the Republicans WANT to lose.

I've been watching politics for over 30 years now, and I've been involved in no less than 4 presidential campaigns (Reagan both times, Bush-43 both times). I have never seen a campaign run this badly.

 

[Mac1958]

.

The GOP has a real mess to clean up. But first they have to admit they have a problem.

No excuse, none, for not having a nominee who is leading Obama by at least 15% right now.

.

Exactly.

I didn't want to have to vote for Obama. I think the man's a weak leader.

But it was almost like the Republicans WANT to lose.

I've been watching politics for over 30 years now, and I've been involved in no less than 4 presidential campaigns (Reagan both times, Bush-43 both times). I have never seen a campaign run this badly.

What's really fascinating to me is how a party that is so influenced and controlled by the crazies on its fringe can end up with a nominee like Romney. And then those same crazies have to pretend they like him. Holy crap, you can't make this stuff up.

.

 

[JoeB131]

.

The GOP has a real mess to clean up. But first they have to admit they have a problem.

No excuse, none, for not having a nominee who is leading Obama by at least 15% right now.

.

Exactly.

I didn't want to have to vote for Obama. I think the man's a weak leader.

But it was almost like the Republicans WANT to lose.

I've been watching politics for over 30 years now, and I've been involved in no less than 4 presidential campaigns (Reagan both times, Bush-43 both times). I have never seen a campaign run this badly.

What's really fascinating to me is how a party that is so influenced and controlled by the crazies on its fringe can end up with a nominee like Romney. And then those same crazies have to pretend they like him. Holy crap, you can't make this stuff up.

.

Five minutes after he loses, they won't like him so much.

The whole thing has been a Faustian bargain. Romney pretends he agrees with the crazies, and the crazies pretend to believe him, because they all hate Obama so much.

The scam was when the Establishment insisted that no one else be considered because Romney was "electable".

He's not looking so "electable" now.

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

Exactly.

I didn't want to have to vote for Obama. I think the man's a weak leader.

But it was almost like the Republicans WANT to lose.

I've been watching politics for over 30 years now, and I've been involved in no less than 4 presidential campaigns (Reagan both times, Bush-43 both times). I have never seen a campaign run this badly.

What's really fascinating to me is how a party that is so influenced and controlled by the crazies on its fringe can end up with a nominee like Romney. And then those same crazies have to pretend they like him. Holy crap, you can't make this stuff up.

.

Five minutes after he loses, they won't like him so much.

The whole thing has been a Faustian bargain. Romney pretends he agrees with the crazies, and the crazies pretend to believe him, because they all hate Obama so much.

The scam was when the Establishment insisted that no one else be considered because Romney was "electable".

He's not looking so "electable" now.

the conservatives are already hedging bets with comments that lean towards throwing Romney under the Bus before the Bus even leaves the Bus Barn to start on it's route