Just to counter the "Perry can't win" Thread-
Several reasons, and I know I've hit on them before.
1) His Religion- Fair or not, anti-Mormonism is alive and well in America. A recent Gallup polls sows that 22% of Americans would not vote for a member of the Latter Day Saints. This includes 18% of Republicans and 19% of independents (as well as 29% of Democrats). Even if only a quarter of that vote holds true, it could spell trouble in a close race.
In U.S., 22% Are Hesitant to Support a Mormon in 2012
Now people have made the comparison between Romney's LDS and JFK's Catholicism, but the comparison doesn't work. Catholics were 25% of the population in 1960. Mormons are less than 2% of the country today. Nor did anti-Catholic sentiments run all that deep by 1960.
In short defeating Obama is too important to risk on a Kumbaya Interfaith pancake breakfast moment.
2) RomneyCare - A large part of the justified resentment towards Obama is that he implemented ObamaCare. But who came up with the brilliant idea to force every citizen to buy an insurance policy if they wanted or needed one or not? Oh, yeah, that would be Mitt Romney. ObamaCare is still massively unpopular, but Republicans give away their best argument by nominating the guy who created the beta version.
3 "Corporations are People, too." - This demonstrates Romney's biggest weakness, that he is seen as being someone who is more sympathetic to the interests of Wall Street and Corporations than the people who work for them. There's a whole litany of sob stories Obama will be able to drag out from people who worked for companies that Romney downsized, fired or deprived of their good salaries.
The most devastating thing ever said about Mitt Romney was by Mike Huckabee, and it had nothing to do with religion. "Romney looks like the guy who lays you off." Exactly!
4) Inability to connect - As Karl Rove once wisely observed, elections are won by the guy you'd most like to have a beer with. In the Beer Primary, Perry can easily best Obama. He's a regular, salt of the earth guy. Romney is a guy who can't tell people how many mansions he owns, but his 12 million dollar house in California just ain't big enough, so he has to make it bigger.
Remember that awkward moment in 2004 when John Kerry tried to prove he was a regular guy by getting a gun and going out and trying to shoot some animals. Romney exudes the same kind of fakeness when he walks around state fairs eating food his chef would never be caught dead preparing for him. Not to say anyone who plays the game at that level is preparing his own food at this point. But Romney comes off like a guy who never prepared his own food.
5) General Weirdness- Remember that story about how Romney strapped his dog to his car roof? Yes, "Weird" will be a code word for "Mormon", but there's a lot of stuff out there that this guy has done that they will make hay about, and he'll no doubt add to it.
6) Flip-Flopper- The best commercials anyone can use against Romney would be Mitt Romney taking the exact oppossite position in the past. Gay marriage, gun control, abortion, Ronald Reagan, at some point, you are going to find a tape of Romney saying the exact opposite of what he is saying now. It makes you wonder if the guy actually stands for, well, anything.
Several reasons, and I know I've hit on them before.
1) His Religion- Fair or not, anti-Mormonism is alive and well in America. A recent Gallup polls sows that 22% of Americans would not vote for a member of the Latter Day Saints. This includes 18% of Republicans and 19% of independents (as well as 29% of Democrats). Even if only a quarter of that vote holds true, it could spell trouble in a close race.
In U.S., 22% Are Hesitant to Support a Mormon in 2012
Now people have made the comparison between Romney's LDS and JFK's Catholicism, but the comparison doesn't work. Catholics were 25% of the population in 1960. Mormons are less than 2% of the country today. Nor did anti-Catholic sentiments run all that deep by 1960.
In short defeating Obama is too important to risk on a Kumbaya Interfaith pancake breakfast moment.
2) RomneyCare - A large part of the justified resentment towards Obama is that he implemented ObamaCare. But who came up with the brilliant idea to force every citizen to buy an insurance policy if they wanted or needed one or not? Oh, yeah, that would be Mitt Romney. ObamaCare is still massively unpopular, but Republicans give away their best argument by nominating the guy who created the beta version.
3 "Corporations are People, too." - This demonstrates Romney's biggest weakness, that he is seen as being someone who is more sympathetic to the interests of Wall Street and Corporations than the people who work for them. There's a whole litany of sob stories Obama will be able to drag out from people who worked for companies that Romney downsized, fired or deprived of their good salaries.
The most devastating thing ever said about Mitt Romney was by Mike Huckabee, and it had nothing to do with religion. "Romney looks like the guy who lays you off." Exactly!
4) Inability to connect - As Karl Rove once wisely observed, elections are won by the guy you'd most like to have a beer with. In the Beer Primary, Perry can easily best Obama. He's a regular, salt of the earth guy. Romney is a guy who can't tell people how many mansions he owns, but his 12 million dollar house in California just ain't big enough, so he has to make it bigger.
Remember that awkward moment in 2004 when John Kerry tried to prove he was a regular guy by getting a gun and going out and trying to shoot some animals. Romney exudes the same kind of fakeness when he walks around state fairs eating food his chef would never be caught dead preparing for him. Not to say anyone who plays the game at that level is preparing his own food at this point. But Romney comes off like a guy who never prepared his own food.
5) General Weirdness- Remember that story about how Romney strapped his dog to his car roof? Yes, "Weird" will be a code word for "Mormon", but there's a lot of stuff out there that this guy has done that they will make hay about, and he'll no doubt add to it.
6) Flip-Flopper- The best commercials anyone can use against Romney would be Mitt Romney taking the exact oppossite position in the past. Gay marriage, gun control, abortion, Ronald Reagan, at some point, you are going to find a tape of Romney saying the exact opposite of what he is saying now. It makes you wonder if the guy actually stands for, well, anything.
