Mitt ‘Mr. Excitement’ Romney not inspiring his base
Some 34,000 Republicans turned out for the Nevada caucuses on Saturday, 10,000 fewer than in 2008 and less than half the turnout predicted by Nevada Republican Chairwoman Amy Tarkanian.
In Florida, remember, turnout for the GOP primary was down by some 280,000. The only state in which Republican turnout was up significantly has been South Carolina, where voters excited by Newt Gingrich’s debate performance turned out for him.
John Sununu, a top supporter of Mitt Romney, attempts to spin those numbers, as The Hill reports:
“Former Gov. John Sununu (R-N.H.), one of Mitt Romney’s top campaign surrogates, offered a strange argument for why turnout is down (among) Republican primary voters: The GOP is so satisfied with their front-running candidate, they need not bother showing up.
“In an odd sense, when turnout is down, it means contrary to what you’re hearing from people, people are satisfied with the candidate that’s winning,” Sununu said Monday on MSNBC.”
You gotta love that diligent, if awkward, mid-sentence contradiction: ” … contrary to what you’re hearing from people, people are satisfied …”
According to exit polls, however, 38 percent of GOP voters in Florida wanted someone else to enter the race. And again, that’s among those who bothered to turn out. A Pew poll conducted in late January showed even more discontent. Only 46 percent of self-described Republicans rated their own candidates as good or excellent; 52 percent rated them fair or poor. And at a point in the process when the party ought to be rallying around its remaining champions, Republican satisfaction is instead declining. The more they see of the field, the less satisfied GOP voters become.
We’ve all heard how unhappy Republicans were with John McCain as their candidate four years ago. In fact, McCain named Sarah Palin to the ticket mainly in an effort to try to energize a lethargic conservative base. Yet as Pew points out, an identical poll question at the same point in the process in 2008 found that 68% of Republican and GOP-leaning voters rated the field as excellent or good, which is 22 points higher than it is today.
– Jay Bookman
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209 comments Add your comment
Not a Neal Boortz Redneck
February 6th, 2012
10:42 am
Romney keeps lying about Obama “apologizing” to foreign countries for the USA.
Yet I cannot find a single quote that supports this outrageous claim. How do you politely call Romney a liar in a debate if you are the President?
Cletus
February 6th, 2012
10:43 am
Don’t worry, the Mittster has a plan to fire up the base: he’s going to strap Newt Gingrich to the top of his car and drive him across the border to Canada.
Gale
February 6th, 2012
10:45 am
If the Republican party continues to insist on members following the party line, they will continue to present lackluster candidates. Those rising stars in the party learn to do what they are told to succeed.
mm
February 6th, 2012
10:46 am
Trump is trying to take credit for Mitt’s win in Nevada. Priceless.
mm
February 6th, 2012
10:50 am
Sorta like the gop trying to take credit for the improvement in the economy.
CJ
February 6th, 2012
10:52 am
Following up on the 10:42 post, the Obama apologizes for America lie is just the tip of the iceberg.
Romney says that Obama doesn’t have a jobs plan (Obama introduced and fought for the American Jobs Act), keeps claiming that the Obama made the economy worse (we were losing 800,000 jobs per month when Obama was inaugurated), claims he and his wife didn’t inherit any money (they did), claims that the Affordable Care Act increases the deficit (the CBO says that it reduces the deficit), claims the stimulus didn’t create private-sector jobs (according to the CBO, it saved and created millions of private sector jobs).
In fact, a reporter once asked Romney to explain his comment that Obama made the economy worse. Romney’s response? “I didn’t say that.” After telling this lie, he subsequently went back to telling the lie that Obama made the economy worse.
The man is a serial liar, and it’s a shame that the media hasn’t called him out on this.
USinUK
February 6th, 2012
10:57 am
“You gotta love that diligent, if awkward, mid-sentence contradiction: ” … contrary to what you’re hearing from people, people are satisfied …””
meh –
it’s all part of their “if you don’t like what’s going on, blame the media” narrative …
it’s tried and true for the mush-brains …
heck, they even trotted it out last week with the “it’s all the media’s fault Komen recanted their decision to cut off Planned Parenthood” …
they’ve obviously never heard of Twitter and Facebook …
Paul
February 6th, 2012
10:57 am
So the question is, if they aren’t inspired to enter the primary catfight and support Romney, will they be inspired to enter the election fight and vote against Pres Obama?
carlosgvv
February 6th, 2012
10:57 am
It’s no secret that a large number of the Republican electorate are not happy at the prospect of that cultist non-Christian Mormon Romney being in the White House. And yet, they seem to realize that womanizing serial adulterer Catholic Gingrich is unlikely to defeat that African Marxist Socialist Muslim non-American currently in office. Golly, what’s a poor Tea Party Republican to do?
Joe Hussein Mama
February 6th, 2012
10:59 am
Not A — “Yet I cannot find a single quote that supports this outrageous claim. How do you politely call Romney a liar in a debate if you are the President?”
Say this to Mr. Romney — “Sir, you’ve made that charge a number of times, but I don’t recall apologizing even once for the United States. So why don’t you tell me exactly when and where I supposedly did this apologizing you keep talking about?”
Turn it back on Romney. If he wants to make the claim, then let’s see him substantiate it.
CJ
February 6th, 2012
10:59 am
I found some more lies by Mitt Romney:
*”If you want to get the economy going, lower corporate tax rates. [President Obama's] raised them.” (Obama didn’t raise corporate taxes)
*”My investments, of course, are managed not by me. For the last 10 years they’ve been guided and managed by a trustee, they’re in a blind trust. And the trustee invested in mutual funds and so forth and apparently one of the funds had Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac bonds.” (Those investments were not in a blind trust).
*Romney recently said that he didn’t get involved in politics until after he ran the 2002 Olympics. (Romney ran for U.S. Senate in 1994)
The man just can’t help himself.
Brosephus
February 6th, 2012
10:59 am
So the question is, if they aren’t inspired to enter the primary catfight and support Romney, will they be inspired to enter the election fight and vote against Pres Obama?
Without a doubt… Remember, their main goal is to make Obama a one-term president. I guess that most GOP voters simply don’t give a rat’s ass who it is.
JohnnyReb
February 6th, 2012
11:00 am
It would be a fatal error for the Left to equate the luke warm support for Mitt as meaning the Right won’t turn out in November to vote against Obama. We may want trucks, but we are not accepting a Suburu without a fight.
bman
February 6th, 2012
11:00 am
“will they be inspired to enter the election fight and vote against Pres Obama?”
Paul, yes. I predict record turnout
Libertarian
February 6th, 2012
11:00 am
Eh, I think trying to analyze this to death as Jay keeps doing is kinda pointless. I’m someone who’s very into politics and I’m not even sure that I’m going to vote in the GA primary. Its not because I’m not “excited”, its because a) I feel like my vote won’t really matter/make a difference and b) regardless of who the GOP nominee is, I’m not voting for Obama in the general. Everyone knew Romney would win big in Nevada…so I’m sure a lot of people figured there was no point in voting. That’s just my opinion.
Paul
February 6th, 2012
11:01 am
carlosgvv 10:57
jconservative
February 6th, 2012
11:02 am
Let me put my own “Sununu type” spin on the turnout numbers: Republicans are perfectly happy with Barack Obama as President and do to want to do anything to jeopardize his reelection.
How does that spin?
reebok
February 6th, 2012
11:02 am
How on earth can 46% of GOP voters consider this field of clowns and losers to be ‘Excellent/Good’? It’s the worst group of choices in a primary, from either party, in my lifetime.
Brosephus
February 6th, 2012
11:03 am
Paul
As proof of my answer to your question… 11:00 posts
Midori
February 6th, 2012
11:04 am
I spy with my little eye
http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/11/2012/02/3ddf784eee499e16030269220898eb84.jpg
Welcome to the Occupation
February 6th, 2012
11:05 am
CJ: “The man is a serial liar, and it’s a shame that the media hasn’t called him out on this.”
Well said.
To paraphrase some wag in the last century, every single thing Mitt Romney says is a lie. Even the commas and the periods.
Paul
February 6th, 2012
11:06 am
CJ
That’s an inference, not evidence of when he started the blind trust.
2002.
Paul
February 6th, 2012
11:08 am
Brosephus
That position does have merit, I think.
Fedup
February 6th, 2012
11:08 am
That screeching voice of Mitt’s is a real turn off. You have to be die-hard (R) to go out and vote. Me thinks whoever hears him say lets not vote for him. The bigger the lie Mitt spews the screecher his voice gets. He better not play pocker with me.
Brosephus
February 6th, 2012
11:11 am
Paul
That position is above merit. The sad possibility is, we could potentially end up with a far worse POTUS simply because some don’t want the current one to have a 2nd term. I follow the belief that I want the best person possible in office. I don’t give a sh*t about the party. I wish more fellow Americans cared enough of their country to think like that as well.
Fred
February 6th, 2012
11:11 am
JohnnyReb
February 6th, 2012
11:00 am
It would be a fatal error for the Left to equate the luke warm support for Mitt as meaning the Right won’t turn out in November to vote against Obama. We may want trucks, but we are not accepting a Suburu without a fight.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Yet you come everyday to a battle of wits fatally unarmed.
CJ
February 6th, 2012
11:13 am
Paul @11:06 That’s an inference, not evidence of when he started the blind trust.
http://www.americanbridgepac.org/2012/01/wire/response/on-fox-news-mitt-romney-lies-about-his-investments-in-fannie-mae-freddie-mac/
Normal
February 6th, 2012
11:14 am
If you watch the videos of Mitt when he’s talking to people, when he says these things, he looks down, looks away, or has this cheesy look on his face that are “tells” that he KNOWS he’s lying.
I don’t get the man, but I’m glad he’s the best the GOP has.
Michael
February 6th, 2012
11:15 am
46% of GOP voters in primaries would probably be less than 10% of the population. It’s probably the same 10% that thinks congress is doing a good job.
ByteMe
February 6th, 2012
11:15 am
Just a guess, but I’m thinking that the pollsters are adjusting their numbers based on this new data. Instead of leaning toward the Republican, their models are now tweaked to lean away. Only reason I can think of why Obama is suddenly doing better in a Rasmussen poll, which is normally modeled to lean Republican.
Libertarian
February 6th, 2012
11:15 am
Brosephus
I want the best person too. The difference between us is that I think any of the three Republicans in the field are better than Obama. I’m entitled to my opinion, just as you are.
Granny Godzilla
February 6th, 2012
11:16 am
I don’t think it IS Mitt’s base….
Fred
February 6th, 2012
11:17 am
@Libertarian:If you live in Georgia, you HAVE to vote in the Primaries. Otherwise, you will have no say so about local offices. The Counties are so weighted one way or the other that most local offices are decided in the Primaries. When I lived in Gwinnett, I had to vote in the Republican primamry. Now I’m in Dekalb I have to vote in the Democratic. I don’t know what county you are in, but I suspect it’s the same there.
ByteMe
February 6th, 2012
11:17 am
The difference between us is that I think any of the three Republicans in the field are better than Obama. I’m entitled to my opinion, just as you are.
Your opinion that New England was the better team last night is something you are entitled to as well, but you still might want to rethink your opinion in light of new data.
Welcome to the Occupation
February 6th, 2012
11:19 am
Fedup: “That screeching voice of Mitt’s is a real turn off. ”
I’m surprised it hasn’t been more remarked on how off-putting Mitt Romney’s style of speech is. When challenged, he often sounds like a petulant jerk, and when he strains to make a point he sounds almost like a methed- or coked-up used car salesman.
Wonder why Romney fired his debate coach.
Fred
February 6th, 2012
11:20 am
ByteMe
February 6th, 2012
11:17 am
The difference between us is that I think any of the three Republicans in the field are better than Obama. I’m entitled to my opinion, just as you are.
Your opinion that New England was the better team last night is something you are entitled to as well, but you still might want to rethink your opinion in light of new data.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
No it was a “librul” media bias that caused that………..
bman
February 6th, 2012
11:20 am
“The sad possibility is, we could potentially end up with a far worse POTUS simply because some don’t want the current one to have a 2nd term”
Is it a possibility that a 2nd term could potentially be far worse than the 1st term? I’m sure different people have different reasons as to why they would vote Rep. in November.
Jefferson
February 6th, 2012
11:20 am
Mr Romney has everything he wants, almost.
JohnnyReb
February 6th, 2012
11:21 am
Fred – I don’t come here thinking I’ll win a debate. Instead, it’s more to judge the dept of lunacy of the opposition.
Normal
February 6th, 2012
11:21 am
“Wonder why Romney fired his debate coach.”
Probably told him the truth…”Mitt, you’re a lousy debater, hopeless, and there’s no help for you.”
Ayn Rant
February 6th, 2012
11:22 am
Mitt’s not a bad person, he’s just never had a brush with reality.
He grew up a rich kid, attended the best private schools and universities, lived in various Governors’ mansions for 16 years, made influential political and business connections, avoided military service, did his hardship missionary service in France, inherited millions of dollars, made millions more by downsizing and stripping the assets of companies, and retired early on a multimillion dollar, low tax investment income.
He also has a wonderful family, lots of houses to live in, plenty of grown-up toys to play with, and the prospect of enjoying the accoutrements of the President of the United States.
The only things he’s missed in life are uncertainty and hardship.
Let’s not envy him his good fortune, but let’s not expect him to understand the social and economic situation of “we, the people”. He can offer us nothing more than the twisted truth and failed policies of Republican party politics.
Jay
February 6th, 2012
11:22 am
“”There was a lot riding on that particular race in Nevada and it was interesting, because the numbers were much, much greater than you thought,” Trump told “Fox and Friends.” “And a lot of people are giving me credit for that. And I will accept that credit. Always accept credit.”
That is so damn funny.
That’s what Mitt gets for stooping to The Donald’s level and welcoming his endorsement.
Fred
February 6th, 2012
11:22 am
Boring topic follows boring topic. The only reason I’m hanging on is because SOMEONE said she was going to post a recipe for steak and Guinness stew………..
Brosephus
February 6th, 2012
11:22 am
I want the best person too. The difference between us is that I think any of the three Republicans in the field are better than Obama. I’m entitled to my opinion, just as you are.
I never stated that you, or anybody else, DID NOT think that the GOP alternatives were worse than Obama. I’ve heard all the talk about how “anybody” is better than Obama. What I don’t hear is the same crowd that’s saying Romney is better than Obama chose to run McCain against Obama in 2008. That same crowd fails to acknowledge that Obama’s term has basically been GWB’s third term in office as many of their actions are so close that you wouldn’t be able to tell them apart without knowing who did what.
In essence, the people who voted for GWB rejected Romney in 2008. Yet, they claim that Romney is better than GWB II in 2012. I just don’t get it?
ragnar danneskjold
February 6th, 2012
11:23 am
Leftists vote for overlords, conservatives vote against them. No reason for a conservative to be excited “for” anyone. We are negatively motivated, but also more negatively motivated this year than our leftist brethren are positively motivated.
Finn McCool (Class Warfare = Stopping Rich People from TAKING MORE of OUR MONEY)
February 6th, 2012
11:24 am
Well, the guy has been campaigning for 4 years…. if he ain’t got em now, he ain’t gonna get em..
RF
February 6th, 2012
11:24 am
“I guess that most GOP voters simply don’t give a rat’s ass who it is.”
That is the only reason Newt or Mitt either one is even in the race. The angry/scared on the right would vote for Mickey Mouse if he had an R by his name and could use enough empty rhetoric. Mitt is popular with his buddies in business and his Super-PAC supporters, and the rest of the right will vote for him just because he’s the NotObama…which reminds me of the show “Dinosaurs” (I think that’s the name) with the baby saying “not the Mama”. All Mitt or Newt either one has to solidly stand on is being “not the Obama”
Finn McCool (Class Warfare = Stopping Rich People from TAKING MORE of OUR MONEY)
February 6th, 2012
11:24 am
Who has the bigger ego? Newt or Trump?
Brosephus
February 6th, 2012
11:25 am
Is it a possibility that a 2nd term could potentially be far worse than the 1st term? I’m sure different people have different reasons as to why they would vote Rep. in November.
You can phrase it however you like, but the basic premise is to keep Obama from getting a 2nd term. People will try to use any rationale they can come up with, but it all boils down to that one theme.
Brosephus
February 6th, 2012
11:26 am
We are negatively motivated
More like just negative, period.