As delegates stack up, Romney has an eye on November
Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney greets the crowd at a primary election night rally in Milwaukee, Tuesday, April 3, 2012, after Romney won the Wisconsin Republican presidential primary.
/ AP Photo/Steven SenneOn the heels of decisive primary victories in Wisconsin, Maryland and Washington, D.C., Tuesday night, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney inched ever closer to closing out his GOP competitors in the race to the nomination.
With 19 nominating victories under his belt, CBS News estimates that he now has more than the half of the necessary delegates on his scorecard, and the former Massachusetts governor increasingly appears poised to take on President Obama in the 2012 election.
In remarks after the polls closed on Tuesday night, all signs suggested that the candidate is already gearing up for that battle.
Addressing rowdy supporters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Romney made scant mention of his Republican primary competitors, focusing his criticism instead on President Obama, whom he cast as a leader too accustomed to "flying around on Air Force One" to be in touch with the American people.
"Under this president's watch, more Americans have lost their jobs than during any other period since the Depression. Millions have lost their homes, a record number of Americans are now living in poverty," Romney said. "It's enough to make you think that years of flying around on Air Force One, surrounded by an adoring staff of true believers telling you that you're great and you're doing a great job, it's enough to make you think that you might become a little out of touch."
Romney's criticism is strikingly similar to comments Vice President Joe Biden made about the former Massachusetts governor last week. In an interview on CBS' "Face the Nation," Biden questioned Romney's ability to "understand" the struggle of the middle class. "Governor Romney's a little out of touch," Biden told anchor Bob Schieffer.
In his remarks Tuesday night, Romney went on to lay out the "different visions" between himself and Mr. Obama -- a product, he said, of differences in "the values we have."
"The different visions we have, I think, are a product of the different lives we've led, the life experiences, the values we have," he said. Romney proceeded to describe his year on the campaign trail, traveling "from student unions to kitchen tables, from factory break rooms to boardrooms."
"I've heard frustration and anger but rarely hopelessness," he added. "A lot of Americans have given up on the president but they haven't thought about giving up. Not on themselves. Not on each other. And not on America."
Romney's comments aren't the only sign that his campaign is looking ahead to November.
The candidate has in recent days made tweaks to his campaign stump speech, critiquing Mr. Obama's handling of the economy rather than addressing his Republican rivals, and targeting the president's record on poverty, unemployment and the housing market. On the sidelines, his campaign is working on developing a long-term strategy for delegate management, delineating each state's allocation process in attempts to both hold on to the delegates it has accumulated and potentially poach some from other Republican candidates as well.
Meanwhile, Romney is slated to begin joint fundraising efforts with the Republican National Committee this week, enabling donors to contribute as much as $75,000 a person rather than $2,500 -- which is the highest amount a single person can give directly to a presidential primary campaign. The move is a sign that the Republican establishment is not only rallying behind Romney, but aggressively looking toward a general election fight that is sure to be costly no matter the nominee.
The Romney campaign also confirmed that it will start to raise money this week for the general election rather than devoting all efforts toward the primary contest.
Still, Republican strategist Trey Hardin argues that the candidate can't afford turn his gaze exclusively toward the general election just yet.
"Romney still has to straddle both contests right now, because even though he is going to be the nominee, that fight is not over yet - and it cannot be neglected," Hardin says. "Just because he's going to get the nomination doesn't mean he's going to get the support of all the conservatives. He still has a lot of work to do to get them to work for him in the fall. I don't think that a big win tonight changes the focus his campaign has to have on the base."
Romney, Hardin says, can't afford to make anything but a "subtle and gradual" shift toward the general election until Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich drop out of the race, which would open the door for all conservatives to move their support to Romney.
"This has been a unique nominating fight," Hardin said. "Santorum and Gingrich - and Santorum for sure - are going to keep the conversation going among conservatives as long as they stay in it." And each of them say they are going to stay in until Romney emerges as the decisive nominee.
A prolonged primary battle can certainly have negative impacts - it creates significant fundraising hurdles and forces a candidate to face sustained negative campaigning from members of his or her own party - but Hardin points to a possible upside for Romney.
"I do believe that this drawn out process does have a silver lining for Romney," he said. "If Romney had sewn up this election three months ago, I think that you would have seen a lot of conservatives just check out and go home never to be heard from again."
"This keeps them engaged," he continued. "The closer they get to November, the more that they're vying for that bigger prize."
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But the further we move to the right (and this has been going on since Reagan), the better it is for the giant corporations, which by definition and in practice are anti-democratic institutions with no morals, no compassion and now no cares for freedom and democracy.
Now Republicans are stuck with one of the worst candidates in a century. Mitt is not just a liar and 'flip-flopper' - he is downright nutty.
Why would anyone trust anything Mitt Romney says -- he is, by far, the most dishonest politician we have seen in decades.
He is a failed one-term governor who will not even win his own state.
He made money taking over companies, looting pension funds, and sending jobs to China. Now he tries to rewrite his business history.
He was on the board of Damon Corp (as finance chair, no less) when they engaged in medicare fraud. Watch 'Blood Money' by the Gingrich team and you will begin to see how corrupt and dishonest Romney is.
Even Foxnews anchors agree that Romney is 'untrustworthy'.
And, Santorum said it himself - Obama is better...
When none of his kids served, he said they 'had better things to do'. Like stay in posh hotels and campaign for dad a few hours per day.
Romney really does not care all that much about Americans. In fact, he considers non-mormons to be 'lesser' people. And, he engages in shunning of those mormons who decide to leave the church.
Electing this nutcase would be a terrible mistake for the nation.
They conduct baptisms and post-mortem conversions of Jews, including Anne Frank.
Mitt Romney is not just a casual member of this 'church', he is/was a senior leader/bishop.
You need to refresh your far right rants.
Mr. Obama, in remarks before top editors at the Associated Press' annual luncheon, criticized Republicans for pursuing the same "trickle down" economic policies that he argued "nearly destroyed" America's financial system.
America does have a clear choice in 2012 -- MORE OF THE SAME radical "supply side economic insanity" by the delusional republicans led by willard mittens romney -- or a real path to prosperity for all Americans, and not just millionaires like 'lyin' ryan' and willard!
Yes, with cultist romney embracing the 'lyin' ryan' path to prosperity for only millionaires, Americans certainly see the clear difference between the delusional republicans willing to continue to wage their endless WAR on the middle class, and President Obama's path with shared sacrifice.
We can no longer afford MORE OF THE SAME failed GOP policies like "supply side economic insanity" that willard is pushing, and we need to force the top 1% to start paying their FAIR SHARE!
23 Polls Say People Support Higher Taxes to Reduce the Deficit
http://capitalgainsandgames.com/blog/bruce-bartlett/2341/23-polls-say-people-support-higher-taxes-reduce-deficit