9 February 2008
Future Hope
Posted by Roy Bischoff under: Presidential Election 2008 .
Hat-tip to ElectRomneyin2008.com for this article:
The Right Wants Romney for Standard Bearer
Republican conservatives are weighing the possibility of promoting former presidential candidate Mitt Romney as the new Ronald Reagan for their cause.
Some 50 stalwarts of the political right privately met with Mitt Romney minutes after he dropped out of the Republican nominating race to discuss the former Massachusetts governor becoming the face of conservatism, as Ronald Reagan became en route to his 1980 election win.Participants said the group was not organizing against the presidential bid of Sen. John McCain, the party”s presumptive nominee, but only seeking to revive core values such as lower taxes, limited government and free speech.
“The purpose of the meeting was for him to announce his willingness to fight shoulder to shoulder with true conservatives from here on out,” said political strategist Paul Erickson, who worked for Mr. Romney”s campaign. “He did just that.”
American Conservative Union Chairman David A. Keene presided over the meeting in the Empire Ballroom of the Omni Shoreham in Washington, where the 35th annual Conservative Political Action Conference was held. Besides Mr. Romney and his wife, Ann, and deputy campaign manager Peter G. Flaherty, attendees included former Christian Coalition Executive Director Ralph Reed, radio talk show host Laura Ingraham and former Reagan White House official Donald J. Devine.
“If someone had suggested a year ago and a half ago that we would be welcoming Mitt Romney as a potential leader of the conservative movement, no one would have believed it,” Mr. Keene said to open the meeting. “But over the last year and a half, he has convinced us he is one of us and walks with us.”
Jay Sekulow, a Romney volunteer and chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice, told attendees that Mr. Romney is the “turnaround specialist” the conservative movement needs.
“The movement needs someone of Ronald Reagan’s stature and Romney could fill that role,” Mr. Sekulow told The Washington Times yesterday.
“McCain’s nomination creates an existential crisis for the Republican Party: Securing America at the price of open borders, higher taxes and the loss of free speech,” said Mr. Erickson, who organized the Empire Room meeting. “It’s a lot to ask.”
“You could tell everybody at the table sitting with Romney was asking himself: ‘Is he the one?’ Some concluded yes and others could say only that it is too soon to tell,” Mr. Erickson added.
The conservative movement has been without a leader since Mr. Reagan, and has faced competition from conservatism usually preceded by such adjectives as “big-government,” “compassionate” and “neo.”
“John McCain has nine months before the general election — a long gestation period — to show me he has become the conservative he claims to be,” said election laws attorney Cleta Mitchell, who attended the private meeting with Mr. Romney.
Other conservative leaders in attendance included Indiana Republican National Committee member James Bopp Jr.; Freedom Alliance President Tom Kilganon; former Sen. Jim Talent of Missouri; Michigan Republican Party Chairman Saul Anuzis; Human Events editor-in-chief Tom Winter; conservative activist Bay Buchanan; Ann Corkery, a Catholic activist; and Rabbi Nate Segal, a Rush Limbaugh associate. Participating via telephone was Free Congress Foundation President Paul M. Weyrich.
7 Comments so far...
Stumpy Says:
9 February 2008 at 1:00 pm.
Romney is the standard bearer? No wonder the press attacked that poor fella so much. They always target the guy holding the standard.
E.E. Says:
9 February 2008 at 2:06 pm.
I agree Stumpy. i don’t envy him being in the spotlight so much. But someone has to do it.
Mitt Romney » Blog Archive » Future Hope Says:
9 February 2008 at 2:14 pm.
[…] Allahpundit wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptSome 50 stalwarts of the political right privately met with Mitt Romney minutes after he dropped out of the Republican nominating race to discuss the former Massachusetts governor becoming the face of conservatism, as Ronald Reagan … […]
Cavetrollhead Says:
9 February 2008 at 2:27 pm.
Good point stumpy. Not even funny.
Nalvy Says:
9 February 2008 at 2:30 pm.
The Press needs to go suck on a duck for all I care…honestly i think a severe butt kicking is what they need for spreading all their lies to the public.
Mitt is a strong man and I am glad he has put up with the cruel hand he has been dealt! Here’s to the future with him in it!
…and hopefully with people to help build him up not tear him down.
Cavetrollhead Says:
9 February 2008 at 2:33 pm.
OOYah Nalvy!
Sharon Anderson Says:
9 February 2008 at 8:13 pm.
Here are a some excerpts from some interesting articles.
The Reverend Cecil “Chip” Murray:
Romney faces more prejudice than Obama: I think Governor Romney must see himself as a symbol. Symbol of the underdog, who must run a good race, fight a good fight, and if and when he loses, walk with his head high because the victory was not in the victory, but in the struggle.
To read the whole article go to: http://www.article6blog.com/2008/02/01/article-vi-interviews-the-reverend-cecil-chip-murray/
Next here is part of an email posted on http://www.evangelicalsformitt.org
“You have every reason to hold your head high. As I told Mitt and Ann today, we have no regret. All of us did the right thing by endorsing Mitt …this was one of the most important journeys we have been on. For the last two months we have been with the Romney’s in the various primary states. We would not trade the experience for anything. I do think that as a movement we need to do some soul searching. Maybe even a get together with the EFM team and some others to figure out the way out of the forest.
“We all picked the right guy. In that I have no doubt. God had other plans. We need to seek his will in this matter. There is much at stake. Just about every conservative, as well as Christian lawyers came aboard the Romney team. That was no accident. I was in DC today with Mitt and Ann and they so appreciated your tireless efforts.
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