Mitt Romney's Speech

[The_Other_Waldo_Pepper]

@CarnalK

And what does it say about Romney that he begged for the endorsement of a fraud and conman?

That he can get Trump to do stuff, I guess? And that Trump doesn’t tell it like it is?

Of course, we only have Trump’s word for it that Romney begged; we all know that Trump endorsed Romney. But that’s not the point; I’m not saying you should vote for either; even if Romney is as bad as Trump says, then to the exact extent that you shouldn’t vote for Romney, you shouldn’t vote for Trump, who can’t be trusted to get stuff right.

(And if Romney isn’t as bad as Trump says, then you shouldn’t vote for Trump, who can’t be trusted to get stuff right. So was he wrong then, or is he wrong now?)

[Declan]

So , Mittens is not getting SecState then

Declan

[Sam_Stone]

Not all Trump supporters are stupid. Some of them are smart people who are just angry and frustrated and just don’t care any more. Their attitude is that if Trump burns down the Republican party, good riddance. They’re sick of their own establishment.

But what Romney did was important - As Trump looks more likely to win, there was a risk of a ‘preference cascade’, as politicians decide there is no use fighting against him and start endorsing him for political advantage. That would feed the narrative of his invincibility, and it would also make a brokered or contested convention much more difficult.

What Mitt did was set a marker that anyone in the party who endorses him can be prepared to be marginalized and ridiculed by the rest of the party. He reminded everyone in his own party that Trump was outisde the range of acceptablility, and anyone who endorsed him was going to suffer consequences.

He also did it to stop the undecideds who don’t like Trump much but who were either starting to drink the Kool-aid or rationalize voting for him on the grounds that it was time to start rallying around the leader.

He also did this to derail Trump at the debates tonight. You can bet that Trump is going to be asked about all these charges, and that might cause him to melt down a bit. It gives his opponents ammo to go after him without having to make the personal attacks themselves. They can take the high road because Mitt did the dirty work for them.

Finally, saying this right before the debate means that his words will be repeated and reinforced while a really big audience is listening. Overall, it was brilliant timing and exactly the right message.

Also, he was right, and it was enjoyable to watch. I like Romney, and I think he’d be a better president than anyone else else running in 2016.

[running_coach]

@Declan

So , Mittens is not getting SecState then

Declan

He could beg for it.

[Morgenstern]

Romney is focused on suppressing Trump’s delegate count to prevent him from accumulating the 1,237 delegates he needs to secure the nomination.

First on CNN: Team Romney explores blocking Trump at RNC | CNN Politics

Is this even possible? Could Romney actually block Trumps nomination?
I’ve never heard of any such thing. Enlighten me please.

[wolfpup]

@Sterling_Archer

Half of those words are going to be unrecognizable to the majority of Trump supporters. Let’s face it, Trump has unified the “dumb” Republican vote and if the GOP wants to right this ship, they need to speak in a way that’s going to reach these people. Another example:

I don’t think any of those phrases mean much to Trump’s supporters. It’s all over their heads …

The problem with that argument is that, dumb though many of them may be, the media has simplified it for them, and many of those statements don’t even need simplifying. Several major news sites including CNN had this as their lead story today and, never shying away from the big headline, were hyping the “Trump is a phony, a fraud” part. Mittens had a lot more to say than just the relatively tame lines that you quoted, like the stuff BobLibDem mention in #4. The CNN article follows that quote with a further comment:
Romney said that “dishonesty is Donald Trump’s hallmark,” pointing to his “bullying, the greed, the showing off, the misogyny, the absurd third-grade theatrics.”
Even the dumbasses can understand that.

The Republican party is splintering, and for good reason. You can only ignore reality for so long. The chickens have indeed come home to roost in the Party of Stupid, the party that has relied for so long on the support of the uninformed.

[Frank]

@Morgenstern

Is this even possible? Could Romney actually block Trumps nomination? I’ve never heard of any such thing. Enlighten me please.

Certainly it’s possible. If enough Republican voters are swayed by Romney’s view and do not vote for Trump, he may not arrive at the convention with a majority of delegates. (I think it’s inarguable that he will have a plurality. It would take his support dropping off a cliff–nay, dropping into the Marianas Trench–for him not to have a plurality.) At that point, break out the popcorn and lawn chairs.

[SlackerInc]

**Sam Stone **and wolfpup, glad to see there are others who recognize the significance of this development.

[Love_Rhombus]

Give the speechwriter credit for a powerful and pithy line: "His imagination must not be married to real power.”

[Lucky_Mike]

There is a possibility here which will make Trump one of the greatest heroes in American Modern Politics.

If, after he wins the vote of the Republicans, he turns and says the following statement… he will be the greatest political satirist of our modern times:

"You said I represent you, the Republican party.

You said I was a champion for capitalism and free market… yet years ago I advocated for a single payer health care system.

You “evangelicals” gave me your vote… yet I have been divorced, I spew hatred and I made money off vice.

You lovers of freedom and the CONSTITUTION, you gave me your vote… yet I called for advanced laws against those who speak ill of you in public.

You anti-abortion Christians gave me your vote… yet I have in my past demonstrated support for pro-choice.

I, Donald Trump, embodied every characteristic of a demagogue, I simply said what you wanted to hear. I played into your racism, your hate and your fear. AND YOU ALL FOLLOWED ME.

You proved beyond a reasonable doubt how close we can all get to autocracy. You should all, those who supported me, be ashamed.

For I did this only to prove that a portion of any nation, even a majority of a major party, could be swayed by a proven promoter and reality TV show host.

You are ALL losers and are pathetic and you will give leadership away based on a whim."

That will make him a hero.

[ThelmaLou]

@running_coach

He could beg for it.

On his knees.

[Sam_Stone]

One happy side benefit is that Romney’s speech probably made Chris Christie squirm. Judging by his mannerisms standing next to Trump the other day, Christie looks like someone who was either made an offer he couldn’t refuse, or who realized he made the biggest mistake of his political career.

Romney rubbed his nose in it by ridiculing the man he was endorsing, and deservedly so.

[elucidator]

@Barkis_is_Willin

…Could Mitt be angling for a brokered convention in hopes that the party turns back to him?

More conclusive evidence that the Draft Romney movement is building! Told ya so.

[SlackerInc]

Drumpf has lost any chance of being a secret hero by telling an audience members to beat up protesters.

On NPR, a reporter who has covered Christie for years says he always looks like that when he is just standing there waiting for someone else to get done talking.

[Sunny_Daze]

@Barkis_is_Willin

Of interest is that Mitt urged Republican voters to vote for the non-Trump candidate whom is most likely to win your state. He did not endorse Rubio. Could Mitt be angling for a brokered convention in hopes that the party turns back to him?

I think it’s this. They are laying the groundwork for a brokered convention. Not sure the alternative they’re offering is Mitt, but it looks like it.

@Bayard

After Romney’s speech, John McCain issued a statement “[echoing] the many concerns about Mr. Trump’s uninformed and indeed dangerous statements on national security issues that have been raised by 65 Republican defense and foreign policy leaders.”

McCain’s statement was less scathing and personal than Romney’s. But, now the last two Republican nominees are on record telling people not to vote for Trump.

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/03/john-mccain-trump-romney-220178

@RickJay

If you want potential Trump voters to not vote for him, blather like “…if we make improvident choices…” is not going to work. What will work are simple things like “Trump is lying to you. Trump will not build a wall, that is a lie. Trump will cost you your job. Trump doesn’t care about you, he just wants to steal government money.”

Mitt and McCain are not trying to speak to Trump supporters at all. They are speaking to all of the middle-of-the-road Republicans who might end up voting for Hillary over Trump, or not vote at all. They’re trying to save the Republican Party, at least as they view it.

@SlackerInc

It’s a mistake to dismiss this as having no effect. This is a BIG deal. And it also lays down a scorched earth marker: #nevertrump is for real. They will do whatever they can to deny Drumpf the nomination, and then if that fails, mount a third party “true Republican” ticket to deny him the presidency.

Agreed.

@Morgenstern

Romney is focused on suppressing Trump’s delegate count to prevent him from accumulating the 1,237 delegates he needs to secure the nomination.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/03/politics/mitt-romney-stop-trump-at-convention/index.html

Is this even possible? Could Romney actually block Trumps nomination?
I’ve never heard of any such thing. Enlighten me please.

This Wikipedia Page on Brokered Conventions in the US does a pretty good job of outlining these conventions.

Essentially, if no one candidate has enough delegates at the National Convention, then it becomes brokered. Re-votes happen until a candidate is selected.

Recent examples of almost brokered conventions that are mentioned include 1980, with Ted Kennedy and Jimmy Carter. Also the 1968 convention with RFK, had he not been assassinated, was projected to be brokered.
Overall, this approach by the Republicans makes sense to me (full disclosure - not Republican). They don’t want to become the lunatic fringe party, or have to start a new party. They should have started fighting back a LONG time ago, but no one apparently had the sense or the nerve to turn down the votes they were getting from their Tea Party compatriots.

This election just got fun.

[Procrustus]

@Sam_Stone

Not all Trump supporters are stupid. Some of them are smart people who are just angry and frustrated and just don’t care any more.

If they are angry and frustrated, yet think Trump is going to improve things they are angry and frustrated about, that’s akin to “stupid.”

[Frank]

@elucidator

More conclusive evidence that the Draft Romney movement is building! Told ya so.

I have a prediction. I predict that if Romney is nominated, you’ll be casually mentioning in conversation for the next 20 years that you predicted it.

[Ukulele_Ike]

“Mitt, drop to your knees.”

Whoa. If I could choose anyone in the world, from any period in history, to get a blowjob from, Mitt wouldn’t even make it into the top five.

[Steve_MB]

@ddsun

This election just got fun.

It also avoids awkwardness if I have to talk politics with a Trumpkin cow orker, relative, etc. I can glide around the question of Trump’s merits and focus on how dreadfully deplorable it is that the party bosses are trying to overturn the will of the voters, how I absoltively posilutely would not vote for the candidate chosen by the party bosses if my man was robbed like that, etc.

[Chihuahua]

I don’t know whether Romney’s speech will make any difference at all, but it needed to be said and I am glad he said it. The entire Republican party should be ashamed for not standing up to Trump when he first started his demagogue act.

I keep waiting for the day when someone will stand up to Trump the way Edward Murrow and Joseph Welch stood up to McCarthy.