Mitt takes the reigns...

No surprise to me, Mitt handily won Florida.

Mitt's acceptance speech was spot on. I think we will see snippets of it all the way to November. He went after Obama in a way the ordinarily-informed voter could understand. He was witty, confident and direct. He used anecdotes and belittled the Obama bumper sticker mindset. He threw Obama's rhetoric back in his face.

At the same time, he gave the dagger to his opponents with a friendly smile:

"Like his colleagues in the faculty lounge who think they know better, President Obama demonizes and denigrates almost every sector of our economy. I will make America the most attractive place in the world for entrepreneurs, for innovators, and for job creators. And unlike the other people running for President, I know how to do that."

On Obamacare, he uttered the golden phrase:

"[Obama] forced through Obamacare; I will repeal it."

He didn't go into illegal immigration (wise move for this speech), but what I saw most telling was that his campaign is now in a groove. He is in nominee mode and channeling Reagan more than anyone who's run for the office since 1992.

I know my conservative goddesses Michelle Malkin and Sarah Palin came out for Santorum and Newt, respectively, and I see their perspectives and I like those candidates for different reasons.

Santorum is probably the most ideologically conservative one of the bunch, so it's no wonder Malkin is endorsing him. Can he win outside of Pennsylvania? I don't count Iowa because it was only a caucus and while Mitt phoned it in for months, Santorum had to go strong to the hoop to nip Mitt with just a few dozen votes. Does Santorum have a clear message? Is his campaign oriented to defeat Obama? Can he just win on issues? Does he have the money?

I know Newt would destroy Obama in a debate (as would Palin). But could his campaign stay focused on issues or during a general election wither under the fussilade of infedelity and ethics missles from Obama and the Media as they change the conversation? Does he have the temperament to stay on message? Does he have the money to compete in the big states?

Romney has shown me he can turn the campaign into ruthless mode to ensure its survival. He is close enough on the issues to attract enough people. His only liabilities are his Mormonism and Bain -- liabilities that could make their attacker look petty and ignorant. There would be no culture war.

Romney is not the perfect candidate. He is the best candidate. He intends to dismantly Obamacare. He wants to build the border fence. Does anything else matter in the next four years?

The priority is to defeat Obama and little else. It's time to get behind Romney and run Obama out of office. This is not the campaign to argue over ideological purity: this is the campaign where the GOP puts a strong candidate in place to end the stranglehold the Liberals and the Media have on our country. 

Fall into line.

What's next for Newt?

Newt made a splash in SC and I'm glad he overcame the negative press on his personal life. Is this a watershed in the electoral process? I don't think we've seen the last of this.

What's next for Newt? Did he peak in SC?

I left out the caucuses in this preview.

January  2012

Tuesday, January 31:
Florida
According to RCP's site, Romney leads by as much as 26% and no less than 11% across all of the major polls. He's been camped out there for months and it is unclear to me if Newt has the funding to make a challenge outside of the debate forum. Unless there's a big stumble in the debates, I see this one for Romney.


2012.01.23.1541: UPDATED: The latest Rasmussen poll has Newt up by 9%. While this bump may flatten in a few days (there *is* a debate tonight), I will stay with Romney pending tonight's debate.


 

February  2012

February 2012

Tuesday, February 28:

Arizona

From the azcentral.com website on Jan. 13:

"The Rocky Mountain Poll by the Phoenix-based Behavior Research Center finds 41 percent of Republican voters support Romney." There are over 250,000 Mormons in AZ. Romney again.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/community/pinal/articles/2012/01/13/20120113arizona-primary-poll-romney-leads-race.html#ixzz1kD8MdJUD

Michigan

According to electionprojection.com:

"Michigan is the 13th least conservative state, voting 2.08% less Republican in the 2008 presidential elections than the national average...

Based on voting patterns since 1992, Michigan is trending DEMOCRAT in presidential elections."

Even Walter Mondale carried his home state in 1984. I like Romney here too despite the anti-establishment rhetoric coming from Newt's camp.

March 2012

Tuesday, March 6 (Super Tuesday):
Georgia
Gingrich will like the home cooking.

 

Massachusetts

Romney returns to a state he knows how to win.

Ohio

Edge to Romney. I think the Rust Belt will like his jobs message.

Oklahoma

Gingrich has huge lead right now and he'll probably hold it.

Tennessee

Gingrich. Vols won't go with a Yankee moderate.

Vermont
Romney.

Virginia

Romney. Will Newt spend money in VA when he's currently not on the ballot? Even if he finds a way onto the ballot, I think it will be too little to late.

Based on what I think will unfold in February, Newt will limp into Super Tuesday. Even if he has some wind in his sails, Romney has the advantage with MA, OH and VA.

As I said in a previous post, I've contributed to both of these guys. Newt's rise was fun to watch, and I would love to see him destroy Obama in a debate; but now I am thinking about August-November. Newt has the thick skin. Does he have the temperament and resources to go the distance? Does Obama and the Media have too much ammunition to go after his character? If all they have on Romney is Bain Capital, I like his chances more; although he must be careful not to come off soft.

At some point, conservatives and moderate Republicans will have to rally behind someone and my someone is Romney.

Early thoughts on SC GOP Primary...

I've made contributions to both Romney's and Gingrich's campaigns at some point in 2011. When Gingrich had his debate-fueled surge last year, I bet on him.

Then Ann Coulter wrote this column that made me wonder: no candidate can give conservatives everything, but if we prioritized the issues, one guy stands out.

Yes, I'd love to see Gingrich dress down Obama in a debate. The reality, though, would be the liberals moderating the debates would wage war on Gingrich and compel him to direct his energies against the process and not Obama's record. If Obama emerges from any of those debates with a "draw", we will lose.

After Gingrich masticated John King this week about leading off the debate with the ex-wife question, some of the 'heads at FNC agree it was the right thing to do, albeit for different reasons. My concern is that the Obama campaign will hammer away at this and the noise of the sanctimonious mob will drown out all else and no amount of GOP money will stop it. With a Gingrich nominee, will we ever get to the issues? Will it be over in July?

Then there's Romney. I kept my window sign from 2008 because I knew he'd be back. But the more I know about him, the less enamored I am of his conservatism.

Every time I see Obama or his unwieldy, gruesome spouse eating or shopping or condescending, I have to tell myself the only thing that matters is that we need a new administration. Garden gnome. Bag of dirt. Anything would be less harmful to our global position, domestic sovereignty and economic security. Obama seems to systematically hammer away at these ideals in the name of some "Soylent Green"-like utopia where only the technocrats can enjoy strawberry jam while the rest of us stand in line for people crackers.

Now back to Romney. Would a Romney presidency change directions? Yes, but maybe not fast enough, but I can live with it. If the two biggest issues we face as Americans are confronted in a bellicose manner, we can pull out of the nosedive.

ObamaCare is the mother of all poison pills. The largest piece of legislation to be passed without a single vote of the opposing party (Social Security can't even make that claim), legislation supported by barely a third of Americans, was forced upon us not unlike any tyrannical dictatorship in recent history. Transparency? The Democrats led by Nancy Pelosi strong-armed legislators in back rooms into voting for it culminating in the cowardice of Bart Stupak. Pelosi bleated that "...we have to pass the [health care ] bill so that you can find out what is in it." The economy, jobs, entitlements for the elderly... everything will be gravely damaged once the most detrimental parts of the legislation takes hold in 2014. There will be no turning back.

Romney has promised to repeal it. I hope it is the first thing he gets to.

The illegal alien issue has been obfuscated by reconquistas and liberals hoping to manufacture votes in the name of compassion. I lived in Los Angeles from 1986-2001. I was there when Reagan (yes, one of his biggest mistakes alongside pulling out of Beirut after the barracks bombing) granted amnesty to illegals. I saw first hand the rapid decline of schools, jobs, culture and public safety. On entitlements, if Greece is our future, on illegal aliens, California is our future. By 1992, southern California had changed forever.

Now the La Raza people (for that matter Obama) will screech about breaking up families going out for ice cream; but the truth is that if we seal the border thereby stemming the tide of illegals coming in, the ones already here will eventually assimilate and give up their bizarre affinity for the country they fled. Billions of American dollars once sent back over the border would stay here. Is in any wonder Mexico is joining up with OUR OWN DoJ to sue the state of Arizona? I would if it meant keeping roughly $4B pouring into my crappy, corrupt economy.

Romney supports building a border fence and opposes tuition assistance for illegals.

A Gingrich win today could be healthy. It would take the word "presumptive" out of the conversation and we could get a nice little race going. For me, I'd like to break out my old window sign from 2008 and go "green" this year.

Hooray! My daughter aced her spelling test!

CDW visit in Chicago...

Attending a customer event in Chicago for CDW. Toured their distribution and data centers in Vernon Hills. Very impressive. Amazing how they manage inventory and logistics: blend of high tech and low tech (a tip tray conveyor dumps product down a slide that deposits onto a conveyor dedicated to a specific carrier to be loaded by hand.)

Went to Mastro's last night. Had the 28oz "Chef's Cut' bone-in ribeye. Very tasty. Maker's Mark the theme for the after-dinner carousing. Nice touch: when we were seated the hostess swapped out the white napkins for dark ones so that the lint wouldn't show up on our dark pants.

Heading to the Blackhawks-Sabres game in a little while. Great sales team, really know how to throw a party!

SC GOP shooter...

Huntsman did the right thing. Now will Ron Paul do the same?

Too bad Newt went negative after those wonderful debates. I gave his campaign money back in December. Now I'll be dusting off my Romney 2008 lawn sign and go "green" this year.

VP: Santorum? Huntsman?

Hate to see Rubio get shredded by the media. He needs more time to grow his public recognition on a national level. He's just not a household name yet and I'd hate to see him get Palinized. Same for Nikki Haley.

NFL Playoff roundup....

DEN-NE: Pats continue to be the worst sportsmen in the NFL with the Brady punt in the fourth quarter with the game well in hand. Yeah, there are rules against it, but come on. Bad NFL karma.

NYG-GB: The road warriors do it again. Love to see them beat NE again.

SF-NO: Alex Smith was on the Bust Bubble his second year, now he's tearing it up. Good coaching and good systems can turn a QBs fortunes around in a hurry. Come to think of it, Brees was on the way out when SD drafted Rivers. Go figure.

HOU-BAL: Was BAL whistled for offensive holding once? The RT was arm-barring and grabbing the LDE in the second half. The BAL-NE collision will be a good one.

The Souse is back...!

After a 4 year hiatus (those are the best!) I have decided to resume my conservative, arrogant blog. Four years of the Obamas is too much for me to take.

America has taken a beating from this administration and I will do my best to provide my erudite take on the day's issues.

We are at a crossroads: our debt is practically insurmountable in our lifetimes, Obamacare will seal our socialist fate and illegal aliens are flooding our communities and draining our economy of billions of dollars a year. These are the issues closest to my heart.

Of course there are other absurdities that get my goat and I will bring them into the And There You Have It universe. Thank you for coming back with me. I have grown a thicker skin so I will open this blog up for comments! WHEEE!