“Flip-flopper!” “Not authentic!” “Fake!” “Plastic!” “Slick!”
We heard’em all this year, Save Jerseyans, directed at Mitt Romney by his primary opponents’ supporters. And those attacks had their desired effect… just not in the primary.
By Election Day 2012, a majority of battleground voters thought they were worse off than four years ago, and believed Mitt would be a better economic steward. He nevertheless lost the empathy game, and the seeds of that loss were sown long before he locked up the GOP nomination.
At the end of the day, you could even make a good argument that Mitt’s real problem was demonstrating something voters claim they want but really don’t…
…too much honesty?
A little ironic given the “flip flopper” charge. But there’s plenty of evidence for it, both foreign and domestic.
Governor Romney 47% remark — and his poor handling of the aftermath — likely hurt him in the empathy department. Nevermind that it was true! Much like his “gifts” comment made after the election was already on the books. My only qualm with the “gift” remark is that it didn’t go far enough, folks; “bribe” is a much more appropriate label since unlike in a gifting situation, President Obama’s giveaways come with an expectation of recipient reciprocity at the ballot box.
Of course no one likes to think they’re being bought. Pangs of conscience still don’t change the reality of the situation.
For the guilty, look to foreign affairs for a less personal, and therefore perhaps easier-to-digest example of Mitt Romney having been punished for being right.
The MSM let O off the hook for promising Russian leaders “greater flexibility” via a hot mic in March ’12, and following his earlier-in-time decision to abandon our Eastern European allies in the face of elevated Russian aggression under the regime of Vladimir Putin. You’d be hard pressed to find an international affairs analyst who doesn’t believe Russia is aggressively attempting to build a second, economic soviet-style hegemony within its former sphere of influence.
But when Mitt called Russia our top “geopolitical adversary,” he was pilloried by the Left just as Ronald Reagan had been criticized for labeling the Soviet Union “evil.” Obama backers wondered aloud how Romney could be so naive? Ignorant? Oafish? Ill-prepared to tackle foreign policy challenges and finesse the intricacies of high-level diplomacy?
Flash forward to after the election. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is publicly promising to thwart the rise of a new “economic” Soviet Empire, telling journalists “[w]e know what the goal is and we are trying to figure out effective ways to slow down or prevent it.” Putin’s regime is also busy playing both sides of the fence by arming our enemies in the Middle East. Moscow is even taking steps to restrict U.S. imports!
"There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what … who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims. … These are people who pay no income tax. … and so my job is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."
My Father, who was one of those 47%'s, lived basically on his social security and a small disability check from being wounded in WWII…he worked his whole life, paid into the fund, fought for his country on Tarawa and was wounded and sent back to the states. He didn't pay any income tax on his social security and he never considered himself a "victim" as Romney portrayed him. This proud man, this veteran, was degraded and besmirched by Romney and his callous comments. This man, who fought so you can have this blog, is exactly one of the people that a candidate for the Presidency SHOULD worry about. He was also a republican. This was one of the most egregious statements that Romney made and obviously, was a contributor to his downfall. Thank God.