Endorsements of Mitt Romney remain tepid

[CrunchyCon]

Rick Santorum declines to back his former rival. Newt Gingrich has only faint praise. Strategists say a cooling-off period might be in order: Michele Bachmann took four months to get behind the Republican front-runner.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld ... 8962.story

[Peter O'Donnell]

Let's hope Ron Paul runs under some banner -- then conservatives have a dog in the hunt, Obama has one in the stove and Romney has one on the roof of his car (roof, roof).

[Jean]

Let's hope Ron Paul runs under some banner -- then conservatives have a dog in the hunt, Obama has one in the stove and Romney has one on the roof of his car (roof, roof).

if Paul runs he'll get maybe 2-3% of the vote but that will be enough to guarentee Obama's re-election. No thanks. America can't afford another term of a president who just don't care about the debt

[Kate Shaw]

Not voting for Romney. He is Not One Of Us.

Cannot vote for Obama. He's a madman.

And Ron Paul reminds me of Foghorn Leghorn; he is daffier than Ross Perot ever was.

Guess I'll write in "Harrison Ford".

[Peter O'Donnell]

I think Ron Paul would do a lot better than 2-3 per cent, probably at least 15-20 but the point is that if he has a chance to state his message without as much media filtering as you get in primary season, he could become the "least of all evils" compromise and come down the middle (not that he's in the political middle, but middle of the madness). I'm not some long-time Paul backer by any means, I have been convinced by circumstances that he's the only real chance for economic survival. I fear that Romney will turn a blind eye to further raids on the treasury, while Obama of course is a different formula for disaster.

The alternative is to back Romney and hope for the best, but with our Harper experience as a guide, (and Romney is even less conservative than Harper) we know pretty much what to expect there.

There's time yet to prepare a solid national campaign for Ron Paul, people don't really start concentrating on this until around Labor Day anyway. The problem is falling between the two chairs of the GOP nomination (which is virtually out of reach) and a third party push (which would derail the faint chance of the GOP nomination). If I were him, I would write off that faint chance and go for broke as a third party candidate. I think most conservatives would rally behind him after some initial trepidation. Romney would see to that.

[pirapoi]

When he was the Libertarian presidential candidate in the 1988 election Ron Paul got 432,179 votes (0.5%)

[CrunchyCon]

The alternative is to back Romney and hope for the best, but with our Harper experience as a guide, (and Romney is even less conservative than Harper) we know pretty much what to expect there.

Harper is more akin to John McCain, in my opinion, except that McCain is pro-life.

Realistically, if Romney did not appear to bear certain uncomfortable similarities to the antichrist (something I don't state lightly), I would see him as more of a John Tory figure... except that Romney has actually won elected office in the past.

[Faramir]

Of course they do - he's an empty suit. Not as bad as McCain (at least I don't think so). We need to wait and see how it all plays out at the convention.

[pirapoi]

Santorum endorses former rival Romney as GOP presidential candidate

Former presidential hopeful Rick Santorum urged his supporters to back fellow Republican Mitt Romney's campaign Monday in a late-night email that ignored that Santorum once calling Romney the "worst Republican in the country" during their bitter contest.

Santorum, a former senator from Pennsylvania and a newly minted celebrity among conservatives, said that the one-time rivals would unite to deny President Barack Obama's re-election. But in a nod that the wounds had not yet healed, he reminded his supporters of the deep differences between the two and that misgivings had not yet abated.

"The primary campaign certainly made it clear that Gov. Romney and I have some differences. But there are many significant areas in which we agree," Santorum wrote, citing common ground in economic, social and foreign policy.

He added: "Above all else, we both agree that President Obama must be defeated. The task will not be easy. It will require all hands on deck if our nominee is to be victorious. Gov. Romney will be that nominee and he has my endorsement and support to win this the most critical election of our lifetime."

It was a sharp turnabout from what he had to say about Romney in Wisconsin: "Pick any other Republican in the country. He is the worst Republican in the country to put up against Barack Obama."

Romney visited Santorum for more than an hour on Friday at the Pittsburgh office of Santorum's longtime strategist. The session covered many of Santorum's concerns about Romney's campaign, especially the sincerity of his vow to repeal Democrats' national health care law that was modeled on one Romney signed into law as Massachusetts governor. Those worries, it seems, were assuaged during their private session that ended without Santorum's public backing.

"And while I had concerns about Gov. Romney making a case as a candidate about fighting against Obamacare, I have no doubt if elected he will work with a Republican Congress to repeal it and replace it with a bottom up, patient, not government, driven system," Santorum said in an email that allowed him to bypass a public event with the two standing arm in arm.

Santorum also urged Romney's campaign to incorporate some of Santorum's former aides and advisers to ensure conservatives are represented. That too seems to have begun. Santorum's former campaign manager has signed on with Romney to help his outreach to conservatives, a voting bloc that was skeptical of Romney's changed positions on bedrock issues such as abortion rights.

"You can be sure that I will work with the governor to help him in this task to ensure he has a strong team that will support him in his conservative policy initiatives," Santorum said.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/05/07/santorum-endorses-former-rival-romney-as-gop-presidential-candidate/

[Red Green]

Santorum was just waiting for a payday to endorse the fellow he said was not really any better than Obama.

[CrunchyCon]

Of course they do - he's an empty suit. Not as bad as McCain (at least I don't think so).

Er.... for all his weaknesses, McCain was nevertheless: 1) a war hero; 2) pro-life; and 3) willing to put Sarah Palin on the ticket (whom Romney's inner circle then proceeded to attack and undermine from McCain's campaign HQ).

In contrast, Governor Romney was the author of Romneycare, $50 abortions, and probably Obama's victory given that McCain/Palin was 4 to 10 percent ahead in the polls last time around when Romney's people began attacking Palin from the inside.

[Faramir]

Of course they do - he's an empty suit. Not as bad as McCain (at least I don't think so).

Er.... for all his weaknesses, McCain was nevertheless: 1) a war hero; 2) pro-life; and 3) willing to put Sarah Palin on the ticket (whom Romney's inner circle then proceeded to attack and undermine from McCain's campaign HQ).

In contrast, Governor Romney was the author of Romneycare, $50 abortions, and probably Obama's victory given that McCain/Palin was 4 to 10 percent ahead in the polls last time around when Romney's people began attacking Palin from the inside.

McCain and his campaign constantly bad mouthed the "far right" and was the author of an anti-free speech election bill that was finally overturned by the courts.

[CrunchyCon]

McCain and his campaign constantly bad mouthed the "far right" and was the author of an anti-free speech election bill that was finally overturned by the courts.

Again, most the folks from the McCain campaign who badmouthed Sarah Palin and the "far right" were operatives Romney sent over after conceding the nomination battle. This was noted by the American Spectator and other conservative friendly media at the time:

http://spectator.org/archives/2008/10/2 ... t-planners