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  1. M.P. Inactive
    M.P.
    @MP

    Good for him! He’s one of the most honourable politicians the U.S. has produced in some time.

    • #1
  2. Sash Member
    Sash
    @Sash

    It was painful to see what a real President should look like.

    I thought Mitt would have been eclipsed by the other governors in the race this time, that he only won because he was the best in the field last time.

    But I longed for the President that never was when I heard him.

    It’s unbelievable where we find ourselves.

    • #2
  3. Hoyacon Member
    Hoyacon
    @Hoyacon

    Aside from “What can you expect from a RINO like Romney? ” I’d really like to hear some serious critiques of this speech.  It was measured, and, most important of all, specific in it’s critiques of Trump’s initiatives.  IMO, there was little or nothing that was hyperventilating or over-the-top, and it displayed some commentary on Trump’s business practices and economic talents from someone who knows.

    • #3
  4. Douglas Inactive
    Douglas
    @Douglas

    “Not quite as successful as this guy…”

    • #4
  5. Mike LaRoche Inactive
    Mike LaRoche
    @MikeLaRoche

    The only thing Mitt Romney ever smashed was his own political career back in 2012.

    • #5
  6. Karen Humiston Inactive
    Karen Humiston
    @KarenHumiston

    Watching Mitt Romney speak, I mourn again at the opportunity this country threw away three and a half years ago. Can the same party that chose this good, brilliant, accomplished, decent man in the last election really be on the verge this time of choosing a blowhard, dangerous con-man like Donald Trump? As Scrooge once said, “I retire to Bedlam.”

    • #6
  7. Southern Yankee Inactive
    Southern Yankee
    @SouthernYankee

    Douglas:“Not quite as successful as this guy…”

    Too funny.

    • #7
  8. Freesmith Member
    Freesmith
    @

    This gratuitous stunt makes me sick.

    Romney wins the William Scranton Award, which I had thought Ray Bliss and Ronald Reagan had mothballed 35 years ago.

    • #8
  9. ConservativeFred Member
    ConservativeFred
    @

    [Sarcasm On]

    Yes. This will help.

    [Sarcasm Off]

    • #9
  10. Hoyacon Member
    Hoyacon
    @Hoyacon

    Karen Humiston:Watching Mitt Romney speak, I mourn again at the opportunity this country threw away three and a half years ago.

    The same thought occurred to me, but I’m “establishment” as my support for Rubio proves.  It’s fairly ironic that a portion of Trump’s support who stayed home in ’12 rather than support elitist Romney (and gave us Obama) are becoming disturbed about conservatives who are considering staying home this year.

    • #10
  11. Hoyacon Member
    Hoyacon
    @Hoyacon

    Freesmith:This gratuitous stunt makes me sick.

    Romney wins the William Scranton Award, which I had thought Ray Bliss and Ronald Reagan had mothballed 35 years ago.

    So I guess my request for specific criticisms is a non-starter?

    • #11
  12. Lily Bart Inactive
    Lily Bart
    @LilyBart

    The question is:  will this sway the people Romney et al want to sway?

    • #12
  13. PHenry Inactive
    PHenry
    @PHenry

    Well, the party just threw in the towel and elected Hillary.  How else can you describe the party sabotaging the leader of their primary?

    I predict super delegates in the Republican party primary in four years. They have given up on letting the primary voters make the choice.  The pretense of a democratically chosen candidate has been rejected.

    Good lord, I don’t want Trump, but this won’t stop him from winning the primary, it will just polarize his supporters and give ammunition to the Democrats.

    The only chance the party has at this time to have someone not Trump as the candidate is to consolidate the not Trump votes – that is, put up one candidate to oppose him.  It isn’t hard to see that the only candidate left with any hope is Cruz, he is within reach.  But unless Cruz can beat Trump in most of the upcoming primary states, it is over.  So,  if Romney was serious about beating Trump, he would have endorsed Cruz, and demanded that Kasich and Rubio drop out, for the good of the country and the party.

    Instead, he effectively endorsed Hillary.

    Next time the party tells me I have to hold my nose and vote for their moderate candidate (IE Romney) or it will elect a democrat and move us closer to destruction, I will laugh in their faces.  The first time the primary didn’t go their way, THEY abandoned the party.

    • #13
  14. Columbo Inactive
    Columbo
    @Columbo

    Lily Bart:The question is: will this sway the people Romney et al want to sway?

    Good question. And as you know … the answer is ‘No’.

    • #14
  15. Redneck Desi Inactive
    Redneck Desi
    @RedneckDesi

    I have no doubt that Romney would have made a great president.

    • #15
  16. M.P. Inactive
    M.P.
    @MP

    ConservativeFred:[Sarcasm On]

    Yes. This will help.

    [Sarcasm Off]

    It probably will. Exit polls show time and again that the vast majority of people voting for Trump don’t know anything about his positions or history. It’s up to the GOP to saturate the airwaves with the truth about this vile man, because the Democrats will definitely do it if he is the nominee.

    I’d bet good money that a majority of people voting for Trump like and respect Romney and will be surprised to hear the truth about Trump. Of course, this speech won’t reach anywhere close to all of them, but conservatives have zeroed-in the attacks on Trump and now they need to fire for effect.

    • #16
  17. Guruforhire Inactive
    Guruforhire
    @Guruforhire

    Mike LaRoche:The only thing Mitt Romney ever smashed was his own political career back in 2012.

    Pretty much.

    • #17
  18. M.P. Inactive
    M.P.
    @MP

    PHenry: I predict super delegates in the Republican party primary in four years. They have given up on letting the primary voters make the choice. The pretense of a democratically chosen candidate has been rejected.

    Too much democracy leads to disasters like Trump. I have no problem with this.

    PHenry: Good lord, I don’t want Trump, but this won’t stop him from winning the primary, it will just polarize his supporters and give ammunition to the Democrats.

    I disagree. A lot of Trump voters don’t know the truth about him. And the Democrats already have this ammo. It’s better that the GOP try to expend it all now and save the nomination rather than wait for the Democrats and MSM to do it after the nomination.

    PHenry: The only chance the party has at this time to have someone not Trump as the candidate is to consolidate the not Trump votes – that is, put up one candidate to oppose him. It isn’t hard to see that the only candidate left with any hope is Cruz, he is within reach. But unless Cruz can beat Trump in most of the upcoming primary states, it is over. So, if Romney was serious about beating Trump, he would have endorsed Cruz, and demanded that Kasich and Rubio drop out, for the good of the country and the party.

    I’m a Cruz guy, but for the next races it seems best to keep more people in. After that, someone can drop out. Honestly, I think Rubio stands the best chance of beating Trump, even though I prefer Cruz. Either way, there are still several routes to sinking Trump.

    • #18
  19. Bob W Member
    Bob W
    @WBob

    Good speech.  I agree with almost all of it. But what a spectacle of the party establishment having to say these things to their base. It’s pretty much unprecedented.

    Trump is right in my opinion…depending on what he meant by it… that the US should adopt a policy that families of terrorists die in retribution for mass casualty attacks.  That policy is so much less severe than how we ended WW2, and cannot be denounced without also denouncing that.  It smacks of weakness for Romney to act all flabbergasted by it.

    • #19
  20. Roberto Inactive
    Roberto
    @Roberto

    This effort is indescribably ill-conceived.

    Anyone who believes that a denunciation of this sort, coming from Romney of all people, will sway a single supporter has learned nothing from the current election cycle. If anything this risks being very counterproductive.

    • #20
  21. Hoyacon Member
    Hoyacon
    @Hoyacon

    PHenry:Well, the party just threw in the towel and elected Hillary. How else can you describe the party sabotaging the leader of their primary?

    So, as the present leader part of the way through the process, Trump should be immune from criticism by individuals within the party?

    • #21
  22. DrewInWisconsin Member
    DrewInWisconsin
    @DrewInWisconsin

    Lily Bart:The question is: will this sway the people Romney et al want to sway?

    Those people, I think, are “unswayable.”

    • #22
  23. Roberto Inactive
    Roberto
    @Roberto

    M.P.:I’d bet good money that a majority of people voting for Trump like and respect Romney…

    If you truly believe this is to be the case you are very much indeed out of touch with those who are considering Trump as their candidate.

    • #23
  24. Columbo Inactive
    Columbo
    @Columbo

    smash [smash]

    verb (used with object)
    1. to break to pieces with violence and often with a crashing sound, as by striking, letting fall, or dashing against something; shatter

    2. to defeat, disappoint, or disillusion utterly.

    3. to hit or strike (someone or something) with force.

    4. to overthrow or destroy something considered as harmful: They smashed the drug racket.

    I think this Romney speech is very illuminating of the great disconnect between the Republican Party and its natural electorate (aka base). The #NeverTrump folks see this as a smashing success. To the #OnlyTrump folks, it did not matter at all what Mitt Romney said. Before he spoke a word, this is what was heard by anyone not already sympathetic to Romney (and even many who are somewhat sympathetic) …

    charliebrownteacher

    Here’s the former head of the RNC who got it immediately that this was doomed. And yet the GOP trots out Mitt?! This is just as tone deaf as its favorite son was throughout the primary and who was ignominiously dispatched because of it …. please clap.

    Michael Steele Dumbfounded By Romney Speech: “I Don’t Know Who They Think This Is Going To Influence”

    • #24
  25. PHenry Inactive
    PHenry
    @PHenry

    Hoyacon: So, as the present leader part of the way through the process, Trump should be immune from criticism by individuals within the party?

    Romney is not some random individual in the party.  He, as their last presidential candidate, is in a party leadership position.

    The party leadership should not be criticizing any of their candidates.  They should be letting the primary voters decide.

    Instead, now Hillary can say ‘Even the Republicans reject their own candidate, so you have no choice but vote for me’.

    • #25
  26. Eugene Kriegsmann Member
    Eugene Kriegsmann
    @EugeneKriegsmann

    I found the speech to be terrific. Its only problem being that he should have done this months ago. The response from the Trump supporters is predictable, calling Romney names rather than refuting specific points that he made about Trump’s record and plans or his complete lack of dignity.

    That Romney lost the last election to Obama does not disqualify him from presenting a view. A very large number of Republican voters chose him, believed in him, and were deeply disappointed when he lost the election. That loss does not mean that what he has to say lacks validity.

    I am not enamoured with the leaders of our party, but, at the same time, I am aware that a very large majority of the people who call themselves Republicans do not want Trump or the destruction of the party. They want an end to Democrat rule and a beginning of a return to sanity and civility. To achieve that, a candidate needs to be selected who can, first of all, win, and,  second, unite the party. That, obviously, isn’t Trump.

    • #26
  27. The Question Inactive
    The Question
    @TheQuestion

    Maybe there’s something wrong with me, since I’m a Cruz supporter, but I like Romney.  I know he’s not very conservative, but he has many great attributes and would have been a fine president.  I thought this speech was very good.  The only thing I thought was a little off was his suggestion that saying rude things about Muslims incites violence.  We should not be rude as a matter of principle, but I think it’s a liberal fantasy that rudeness will make terrorism worse than it already is.  That’s the kind of talk that makes Trump look good.

    • #27
  28. Jamie Lockett Member
    Jamie Lockett
    @JamieLockett

    Damn Romney, that was solid.

    • #28
  29. Hoyacon Member
    Hoyacon
    @Hoyacon

    PHenry:

    Hoyacon: So, as the present leader part of the way through the process, Trump should be immune from criticism by individuals within the party?

    Romney is not some random individual in the party. He, as their last presidential candidate, is in a party leadership position.

    Romney is a former presidential candidate and is not in any position of party leadership.  He has the right to speak his mind; you have the right to object to it.  If you think that this helps HRC, it might be of value to rebut some of the specifics that Romney raised.

    • #29
  30. M.P. Inactive
    M.P.
    @MP

    Roberto: If you truly believe this is to be the case you are very much indeed out of touch with those who are considering Trump as their candidate.

    Nope. It’s actually you who have not been paying attention, I’d say. You’re conflating Trump’s small core of vocal populists and white nationalists with all of the people voting for him. Trump has high name recognition and is getting more media attention than all of the other candidates combined (because, of course, the media only wants to help the GOP elect the best candidate..)

    Up until a week ago, Trump had only a tiny amount of ad spending against him. Exit polls show the vast majority of people voting for him don’t know his positions or his history of business failures and scandals.

    I’ve changed the minds of people intending to vote for Trump simply by pointing out that he donated money to Hillary Clinton. That was disqualifying for them, but they had never heard it before. Don’t make the mistake of assuming that most voters are that well-informed. Also, keep in mind that Trump has lost 3 out of 4 states where only Republicans can vote in primaries. The states coming up have a higher percentage of closed primaries than the states that have voted thus far.

    • #30
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