Buzz Bissinger Endorses ... Mitt Romney?
I can't help but think this latest endorsement of Mitt Romney means that Paul Rahe might be right.
When I think of Bissinger, I think of Friday Night Lights and 3 Nights in August, of course. But when I think of his politics, I think of him as a loud-mouthed, foul-mouthed progressive.
And yet he just wrote a piece headlined "Why I’m Voting for Mitt Romney" that lays out the case in detail. His prelude:
This is not a frivolous decision, nor is it an easy one. I grew up on the Upper West Side of New York, arguably the country’s nexus of liberalogy, where it wouldn’t have surprised me in the least as a child to discover that my parents, along with all the other attendees in some basement garret reminiscent of the French Resistance, had thrown eggs at Abbie Hoffman at a political get-together because he wasn’t liberal enough.
Voting for a president is based on a combination of factual and emotional perception. The tipping point was last week’s debate in Denver. Romney finally did what he should have done all along instead of his balky cha cha with the old white men of the conservative Republican wing: he acted as the moderate he is, for the first time running as himself, not against himself, embracing his record as governor of Massachusetts.
I have never seen a performance worse than Obama’s, distracted, his head dipped into the podium as if avoiding the smell of something rotten, acting above the very idea that a debate does provide a pivotal referendum on his first term as it has for all incumbent presidents, whipsawed by the legion of usual advisers telling him to play defense when his own intuition should have told him that he needed to go on the offensive as Romney slapped him around.
But there was more than the entitlement of entitlement. He struck me as burnt out, tired of selling his message although he has always been terrible at selling his message when it veers from idealism into the practical.
By instinct I still cling to my Democrat roots. But I admit that as I get older, on the cusp of 58, I am moving more to the center or even tweaking right, or at least not tied to any ideology. Those making more than $250,000 should pay more taxes, and that does include me. But I also am tired of Obama’s constant demonization, of those he spits out as “millionaires and billionaires,” as pariahs. Romney’s comments at a fundraiser were stupid, but 47 percent of Americans do not pay federal income taxes. Yes, a majority are poor and seniors. But millions do not pay such taxes with incomes of more than $50,000, and whether it’s as little as $10, every American should contribute both as a patriotic obligation and skin in the game. This is our country, not our country club.
He gets into specifics, and mentions that he expects this message to cost him friends.
But I found it striking that the 47 percent message -- something that is supposed to be so devastating for Romney -- plays a part in a member of the cultural elite turning from Obama.
The whole thing is interesting. Probably few here at Ricochet -- whether libertarian, RINO, conservative or something else -- share much of Bissinger's politics. But many here are now part of the same coalition. Perhaps those polls will be shifting some more in coming days.
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Apr '12
Re: Buzz Bissinger Endorses ... Mitt Romney?
Has he been talking to Rob about skin in the game?
Sep '12
Re: Buzz Bissinger Endorses ... Mitt Romney?
The most important line you excerpted was about Romney " embracing his record as governor of Massachusetts." Indeed. For months, a casual observer could be forgiven for thinking the nominee went directly from private equity into politics.
Obama was doing his magic trick again. You know the one, where he puts a cloak around the bulk of an adversary's C.V. I remember how John McCain vanished entirely, and so did the "governor" part of Palin's resume, until all Obama faced was a small-town mayor. Kudos to Romney for owning the full body of his work.
Jan '11
Re: Buzz Bissinger Endorses ... Mitt Romney?
I'm not a big fan of Bissinger's, but the coalition against Obama is a big tent now.
Obama stopped trying to govern after the 2010 election, and went full time into campaigning. I think that was obvious to everyone, and it's a glaring problem now. The most pathetic excuse of his debate performance was that Obama didn't have time to prepare because he was too busy governing. He hasn't governed since 2010.
We haven't had a president for two years. We haven't had a functioning government for two years.
The irony of the Big Government argument is that they claim it's really starting to turn things around. But they haven't done anything for the last two years. Which means that, at best, we only need two years of government out of four.
Jul '12
Re: Buzz Bissinger Endorses ... Mitt Romney?
This is very interesting, and encouraging. I don't really know anything about Bissinger; I loved the tv version of Friday Night Lights, but haven't read the book or seen the movie. But I had been wondering about this after seeing a picture like this one after the debate (I think it was supposed to be backstage):
And then this picture came in an email from Ann today with the subject line "Clear Eyes. Full Hearts". So I had been wondering about their use of that very identifiable line, and whether they could use it without permission. Apparently he gave them permission! (assuming it's his to give? or was this saying from the actual school the story was based on?)
I love it, and I think "Clear eyes. Full hearts. Can't lose!" is a great new slogan for the Romney campaign. It's full of warm, fuzzy, can-do-in-the-face-of-adversity, hard-working real Americans, Coach Taylor goodness. (At least for someone who loved that show!)
Oct '10
Re: Buzz Bissinger Endorses ... Mitt Romney?
"Romney finally...acted as the moderate he is."
I've heard this a few times now, yet I don't know any conservatives who watched the debate who feel as though he has abandoned them.
So either Romney was able to "thread the needle" and appeal to both groups by speaking out of both sides of his mouth, or perhaps, conservative ideas, when articulated well, have a very broad appeal.
Edited on October 8, 2012 at 7:01amApr '11
Re: Buzz Bissinger Endorses ... Mitt Romney?
I smell a rat. Bissinger's image at the end, of the country club, is inapt. The 1% get the country club membership. You don't get in one without paying up front. Yet, he likens the 47% problem to a country club. That's odd.
And should we really be happy that Romney is a moderate not a conservative? I dunno.
I'm happy he can beat Obama. Nothing else about Romney appeals to me.
I think that's really what Bissinger is about. He has had it with Obama, because Obama is really, really bad - and Bissinger will hold his nose to vote for Romney.
So will I, for similar but politically orthogonal reasons.
Sep '12
Re: Buzz Bissinger Endorses ... Mitt Romney?
The Permian Panthers of Odessa don't use the slogan. It is indeed an invention of TV's Dillon Panthers.
Aug '10
Re: Buzz Bissinger Endorses ... Mitt Romney?
The Romney Democrats begin to emerge...
Jul '11
Re: Buzz Bissinger Endorses ... Mitt Romney?
People are sick of partisan games. Obama claimed to be cooperative and he's been just awful to interact with. The problem will be how to dismantle his government monster with his highly positioned minions while staying polite and cooperative for the most part.
Mar '11
Re: Buzz Bissinger Endorses ... Mitt Romney?
Todd:"Romney finally...acted as the moderate he is."
I've heard this a few times now, yet I don't know any conservatives who watched the debate who feel as though he has abandoned them.
So either Romney was able to "thread the needle" and appeal to both groups by speaking out of both sides of his mouth, or perhaps, conservative ideas, when articulated well, have a very broad appeal. · 2 hours ago
Edited 2 hours ago
I don't think he abandoned conservatives because I don't think he IS one, and never has been. He just has no principled conservative bedrock beliefs other than "markets are good". What he HAS done is promised to govern in a conservative manner. And while I did indeed perceive a move to the middle in his speech, it was definitely center-right. The guy did, after all, straight out promise to repeal Obamacare and eventually put Social Security on a voucher system. Sounds like his argument was "other than Obamacare, I won't change much right now, but as time goes by, we're going to shrink government". Not exactly CPAC stuff, but better than what Obama is selling.
Sep '12
Re: Buzz Bissinger Endorses ... Mitt Romney?
Defections like these are delicious to see. I want Obama to lose big. I want him to eat a humiliation sandwich with extra shame. Because he deserves it. The more liberal defections, the more shame. Pile it on, ladies and gentlemen.
Sep '12
Re: Buzz Bissinger Endorses ... Mitt Romney?
Bissinger does a local radio show here in Philadelphia which I occasionally attempt to stomach, and the main reason for his flip, according to everything he's said in the last week, was Obama's mailed-in performance at the debate. Bissinger wants a president who at least wants the job. So those 90 minutes of lame from Obama may prove to be the last jenga block he pulls before the tower comes down.
Apr '11
Re: Buzz Bissinger Endorses ... Mitt Romney?
Todd:"Romney finally...acted as the moderate he is."
I've heard this a few times now, yet I don't know any conservatives who watched the debate who feel as though he has abandoned them.
I put this under the heading "rationalizations". I have a very liberal Georgetown sister who has been complainig about Obama's abilities for over a year now, at one point calling him incompetent. She could never pull the lever for a true "conservative" but could pull the lever for someone that she convinced herself is "moderate". I think that's what's going on here. Romney talked about small gov't, states rights, getting rid of Obamacare and PBS, lowere taxes, entrepeneurs, oil drilling on gov't land, etc. Anyone who gets a moderate message out of this is an idiot. No, what we have here are people who know Obama is terrible and can't admit it so they make up a new reality that fits their world view. Rather than blame the liberal agenda they blame Obama and fall back on a refreshing moderate alternaive. This gives them the out should ROmney track right that he fooled them during the campaign.
Jun '12
Re: Buzz Bissinger Endorses ... Mitt Romney?
Don't worry, we'll soon have the usual suspects assuring us that even with this endorsement and the sentiment behind it, Romney is doomed to lose.
Re: Buzz Bissinger Endorses ... Mitt Romney?
Obama allowed himself to be built up as a messianic figure. He's paying the price politically now, as his followers come to grips with his falability for the first time.
May '10
Re: Buzz Bissinger Endorses ... Mitt Romney?
Mollie (and Rob and Prof. Rahe if you're there),
Do you suppose Mr. Billinger understands that the 47% number will increase under Romney, not decrease, given that his 20% across-the-board cut will cause fewer people to meet the net-income-tax-payer threshhold and have "skin in the game" as he (wrongly) defines it? No, I don't suppose he does understand.
Uncle Milt, Reagan, Gingrich, W, Santorum, Perry, et al -- and, yes, Romney -- are not wrong to encourage the poor and just-gettin'-started young families to hop on those first rungs of the economic ladder by keeping their taxes low or non-existent (income taxes, that is -- they pay plenty of others) at those early stages. It's good, conservative policy: get 'em climbing, and they'll pay their share soon enough.
Crazily, Republicans have become the party that quietly, even secretly, institutes policies that help poor and young workers with tax relief, but uses rhetoric that indicates they'd like to increase their taxes (?????!!!!!), while Democrats do precisely the opposite on both counts.
We're now one month into the "47%" discussion, and the ignorance is as pervasive as the day it started. Painful.
Edited on October 8, 2012 at 2:49pmJun '12
Re: Buzz Bissinger Endorses ... Mitt Romney?
This puts a picture in my mind of Harry Reid raising his head and beginning to sing "My mind is clearer now, at last I can see where we all soon will be"
Edited for spelling.
Edited on October 8, 2012 at 2:50pmJul '12
Re: Buzz Bissinger Endorses ... Mitt Romney?
This endorsement is sure to create a bit of a buzz.
May '10
Re: Buzz Bissinger Endorses ... Mitt Romney?
And if anyone thinks the 47% riff is good politics because it manages to eek out support from one rich lefty, imagine the politics if the Republican party openly, loudly trumpeted itself as the party that wants income taxes low for one half of the population and nonexistent for the other half.
Yeah, I think that would be good politics.
Sep '10
Re: Buzz Bissinger Endorses ... Mitt Romney?
More please!