Newt Gingrich is active in crafting Republican politics. Sarah Palin is very public. The one potential candidate we see very little of is Mit Romney. Romney has not however, gone away. He is very active behind the scenes. I believe Romney may be the best hope to retake the presidency in 2012. Can he win? What will be his strategy? This is what I think his strategy might be.
Romney was born and raised in Michigan. His father served as governor there. In 2008, Romney won the Michigan primary. His platform was on improving the economy there. Republican voters were fired up. It was one of the few times in the 2000 election that Republicans were enthusiastic. Unfortunately, after this primary his campaign ran out of steam.
Michigan is a state in trouble. It has experienced a bad economy. Detroit, once the capital of industry, is not a ghost town. Many referred to Michigan as part of the rust belt. Michigan is America. Many states are experiencing what Michigan is going through. Pennsylvania and Ohio are going through this. These are states that Republicans have not been able to win in quite a while. But these states could be the key to a Republican victory. Instead of a fifty state plan, Romney needs to come up with a one state plan. There is one state he needs to win: Michigan.
Is it wise to focus on just one state? Yes, if it is Michigan because Michigan is America. As the old song says, if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere. If Romney combines winning Michigan with Bush's strategy of winning the South and the Midwest, the Bible belt, this could be a winning strategy. Some would ask, can he win the Bible belt, since he is a Mormon. That is why he might pick someone like Sarah Pail as his VP. If Romney focuses on improving the economy, he could have a shot at winning.
I always want to rip my eyes out after reading these posts. Thanks for a good laugh, I share these with a few of my fellow English professors. We're thinking about using some of these articles as examples of how not to write.
ReplyDeleteWere you awake during the 2008 Presidential election? Just curious.
ReplyDeleteI would be absolutely thrilled to read a sample sermon of yours.
ReplyDeleteyou were warned and didn't want to change now you will feel the wrath
ReplyDeleteI am not a fan of Dan, but I must point out, Jennifer, that as an English professor, you should have known better than to use the comma after laugh in your comment. It does not belong there. A semicolon would have worked...
ReplyDeleteHey Dan, thanks for your insight into Romney. I personally don't think he'll fare any better in the Bible Belt, even with Huckabee out of the picture, but I don't know if Sistah Sarah is the answer; she is extremely polarizing, even among members of the Republican Party.
ReplyDelete(Jennifer: You might have noted I am a fan of the semi-colon, yet I had no problem with the first post. In a post containting a few curt sentences, it's not really an issue; either way is technically correct, depending on the style one is going for. :)
I don't know who blogssuck is, but he/she is just a jerk making idle threats (hopefully). But you might want to contact Blogger about these threats, as they might be illegal. Talk about needing to get a life.
ReplyDeleteI will say, about this issue, I hope Romney doesn't run. I am very conservative in all areas of my life and would have a very, very hard time voting for him. He's not at all the person I want in the seat of the President. If he ran against someone like Obama, I would vote for him because of the principle "lesser of two evils", but I think we would see another Democrat in office if he ran. I don't think he can win. I know if I have a choice between him and someone else, he won't be getting my vote. He's two-faced, says one thing and votes differently, and is just not the man to run our nation.
I'm with Jennifer on this one. Dan consistently writes at a 5th grade level. It's a wonder that he has passed any college classes at all. The senteces he writes are so simplistic and the reasoning he uses is very weak or non-existent.
ReplyDeleteAs for Michigan, my state is not America. Maybe it was in the 50's but it isn't anymore. This is a state that hasn't voted for a Republican Presidential candidate since 1988. This suggests that Michigan doesn't really represent America as a whole. This is a Democrat state. Mitt Romney has as much chance of carrying Michigan in 2012 as Sarah Palin. Before you mouth off about state politics, it might be a good idea to have an understanding of the state which you plan to mouth off about. In this case, you don't know what you're talking about so it's probably best to keep quiet.
I am born and raised in Michigan, and Mitt Romney began his Presidential campaign by speaking at my college graduation from a small private college in Michigan - and quite honestly, he doesn't stand a chance. I really liked the guy, but the Mormon thing will bother all the Dutch, Reformed, Christian conservatives on the Western side of the state (which I am one of) and he's too conservative for all the Detroit/Ann Arbor liberals on the Eastern side of the state.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, Michigan is in a constant state of panic. People who live outside of the state have *no* idea what happens here. The economy is so desperately terrible and the needs so great, I wouldn't be surprised if small scale riots break out sometime soon. Things have been desperate there for a long time, and people have been hanging on and hoping for change and rescue for a long time. The idea that they have emotional "room" to rally behind and start a grassroots movement behind *any* candidate of any party is somewhat laughable. I sure hope Michigan isn't America, because we're all in a lot of trouble then.
Publius... you think he writes at a 5th grade level? Really? Um, I taught third graders who wrote better and they could SPELL! Please learn to use "Spell Check" and a larger, easier to read font.
ReplyDeleteAnother Michigander here...did you ever consider that Romney won the Republican nomination here based only on his name? Or rather his fathers name. Then you add in the fact we technically didn't have a Democratic primary due to moving the date up, and it was not a true picture of politics as usual in Michigan.
ReplyDeleteComparing Michigan to Pennsylvania and saying they are the same when Michigan has a 14.9% unemployment rate and Pennsylvania is at 8.5% is interesting. Worst unemployment in the country or in the middle of the pack doesn't sound the same to me. You state Detroit isn't a ghost a town- have you visited it lately or at least looked at any facts regarding its unemployment rate (27% officially, though some estimates are closes to 45% if you include the people who have given up looking for employment). Detroit has had to increase prices for city services, such as garbage pick up, to extremely high amounts just to account for the loss revenue from all the vacant houses. Can you imagine paying $25 per month for garbage pick up?- $300 per year?
i wanted to get the idea out there. it seams like it is not viable. i apreciate people form mi comenting. thnak you for your thoughts.
ReplyDelete