“I thought we were going to see John McCain all over again,” said Brad Thor, a bestselling novelist and popular figure on the right who supported Santorum. “But you know what? That fire I’ve felt for previous candidates, I’m starting to feel it. And that surprise presser at Solyndra was like pouring accelerant on the fire.”
Thor said when he heard about the Solyndra stunt, he cheered aloud: “Way to go Mitt!”
“My God, this is right out of Breitbart’s playbook. I love it!” he said. “I swear to God, if he roller skates into the DNC convention, or hijacks an Obama press conference–if he does either one of those I’m going to give my kid’s college money to his Super PAC.”
Yes! I felt the same way.
Who among you would have thought boring, stodgy, RINO-ey old Mitt was capable of the kind of blistering counter-punches he’s been landing of late? Who would have thought his campaign would devil David Axelrod and leave him sputtering and at the same time launch a press conference in front of the empty Solyndra headquarters?
I’m still not 100% convinced, but for the first time I’m excited. And last night my wife and I sent the Romney for President Campaign a big check.
Barack Obama’s reelection campaign of 2012 is increasingly looking like Michael Dukakis’s campaign of 1988, in which the conspicuously Dove-ish Massachusetts liberal governor tried bolstering his commander-in-chief creds by being photographed wearing a helmet and riding in the turret of an M1 Abrams tank.
First, there was the attempt to portray Mitt Romney as mean to dogs for taking his Irish setter along on a vacation trip in a rooftop carrier which exploded in a nationwide gale of jokes after Jim Treacher pointed out that Barack Obama had referred, in his famous autobiography, to eating dog as a child in Indonesia.
Then, there was the short-lived attempt to push voters’ buttons by having various democrats note that Mitt Romney was a descendant of Mormon polygamists. This one also failed when Republicans responded that it was true that, like many Mormons, Mitt Romney had fairly remote polygamous ancestry, a great-grandfather, but Barack Obama’s father was also a polygamist.
The latest attempt on the part of the Obama campaign to gain advantage involved putting Bill Clinton in a video to praise Barack Obama for making the oh-so-very-difficult decision to send in the Navy SEALs to take out Bin Ladin.
The response to what is being referred to as the Obama campaign “spiking the football” has been a combination of criticism of the president for exploiting the bravery of members of the US military and ridicule.
Mitt Romney retorted that even Jimmy Carter would have made the same decision.
John McCain, in a follow-up rejoinder, delivered a withering response.
I’ve had the great honor of serving in the company of heroes. And, you know the thing about heroes, they don’t brag.â€
And, worst news of all for the Obama team, this particular campaign ploy provoked pushback from former SEALs.
Serving and former US Navy SEALs have slammed President Barack Obama for taking the credit for killing Osama bin Laden and accused him of using Special Forces operators as ‘ammunition’ for his re-election campaign. …
Ryan Zinke, a former Commander in the US Navy who spent 23 years as a SEAL and led a SEAL Team 6 assault unit, said: ‘The decision was a no brainer. I applaud him for making it but I would not overly pat myself on the back for making the right call.
‘I think every president would have done the same. He is justified in saying it was his decision but the preparation, the sacrifice – it was a broader team effort.’
Mr Zinke, who is now a Republican state senator in Montana, added that MR Obama was exploiting bin Laden’s death for his re-election bid. ‘The President and his administration are positioning him as a war president using the SEALs as ammunition.
Some political observers think many SEALs are so infuriated by the Obama Administration’s exploitation of their valor for political gain that they are bitterly angry. SEALs commonly believe that, from the time of the actual operation, the White House has shamelessly used the Abbottabad raid, hastily and irresponsibly making details public, and placing its own interests above the safety and security of SEAL team members and American long-term strategic goals.
There is active speculation that an organized group of SEALs may play an active role later in the campaign to “Swift Boat” Barack Obama.
Hip Hop artist Sky Blu of LMFAO claimed in 2010 that Mitt Romney applied “a Vulcan grip” to him during a territorial dispute over the rapper’s seat back on board a plane preparing to embark from Vancouver to Los Angeles. Air marshals removed Mr. Blu from the flight prior to departure.
Ezra Klein notes that, if Romney wins, that means he’ll probably also deliver Republican majorities in both houses of Congress.
If Romney wins the election, it’s almost a sure bet that Republicans win control of both the House and the Senate. And that matters. Right now, the GOP’s agenda is the Ryan budget, and that’s entirely fiscal: It’s a premium support plan for Medicare, and tax cuts, and deep cuts to Medicaid, food stamps and other domestic programs. All that can be passed through budget reconciliation — which is to say, all that can be made immune to the filibuster.
So if Romney wins and the Republicans take control, they could accomplish quite a lot on party-line votes, even if their majorities are slim, and Democrats are opposed. Indeed, Romney could end up being a fairly transformational president for conservatives so long as he’s paired with a Republican Congress.
Not only will Romney most probably have Congressional majorities to work with, he will have a real mandate to do precisely all the things liberals like Klein dread, to begin the reduction of the size and responsibilities of the entitlement state.
In attempting to create an attack ad, the Obama campaign has inadvertently produced an ad that the Romney campaign ought to be broadcasting all over America.
The frontrunner’s strategy from state to state looks a bit like Galactus’s strategy for planet-devouring: Move in, absorb everything. Restore Our Future is his Silver Surfer, softening up the terrain and warning of doom.
