Massachusetts Liberal, Flip-Flop Romney, Did NOT Even Make A Speech Tonight

[AmPat]

Ultra conservative idealogs would rather hand the re-election to Obama than elect the most conservative person who can actually win.
Either Santorum or Gingrich will lose against the Rat-in-Chief.
Aside for the fact that I do not like the character of either Gingrich or Santorum .... that's why I back Romney. He is our best chance.

I'd like to know what Character traits you dislike about Santorum. Gingrich I can guess, although he has apparently changed since last on the scene. Santorum looks squeeky clean, especially since the leftist attack dogs have yet to dig up or make up any dirt on him.

[wwworkingguy]

I'd like to know what Character traits you dislike about Santorum. Gingrich I can guess, although he has apparently changed since last on the scene. Santorum looks squeeky clean, especially since the leftist attack dogs have yet to dig up or make up any dirt on him.

Gingrich is more reprehensible to me. He is arrogant, vindictive, selfish and petty. He also has way too much baggage that can be drug up.

There's just something about Santorum's persona that that shouts loser to me.
I also remember when he backed Arlen Specter and I cannot forgive him for that.
Specter is the reason we have ObamaCare.

[AmPat]

Gingrich is more reprehensible to me. He is arrogant, vindictive, selfish and petty. He also has way too much baggage that can be drug up.

There's just something about Santorum's persona that that shouts loser to me.
I also remember when he backed Arlen Specter and I cannot forgive him for that.
Specter is the reason we have ObamaCare.

The lis of those that supported Specturd is long and distinquished. To use that against him now while ignoring the circumstances present at the time is not useful for today. George Bush also supported Specturd and I'd support him today over Romney, even in light of his last disasterous term.

[wwworkingguy]

The lis of those that supported Specturd is long and distinquished. To use that against him now while ignoring the circumstances present at the time is not useful for today. George Bush also supported Specturd and I'd support him today over Romney, even in light of his last disasterous term.

That being said..... I think that many or all who supported Specter will admit is was a horrible error.

It still does not change my thoughts about Santorum. I don't like people who get preachy and concentrate and harp too much on religious values.
You will find that it may play well in the South but we have got to win an National election.

[AmPat]

That being said..... I think that many or all who supported Specter will admit is was a horrible error.

It still does not change my thoughts about Santorum. I don't like people who get preachy and concentrate and harp too much on religious values.
You will find that it may play well in the South but we have got to win an National election.

Santorum himself fits that discription. He regrets supporting Specturd. He isn't the one bringing up religion either. You are falling for the leftist media BS. THEY, the left, are the ones bringing up religious minutia. Santorum usually tries to steer the retards back onto real issues. The media then duly reports the anciallary religious or other social issues that don't matter.

Don't fall for it, it is another liberal strategy to select our candidate.

[Zathras]

Congratulations to the Honorable Rick Santorum for winning both Mississippi & Alabama. But where was Flip Romney tonight?? Where was his speech??

Seems like he was a "sore loser". Oh well. I guess the "establishment" "moderate" candidate isn't THAT inevitable after all.

[Eupher]

Here's the thing. snipped for brevity.

This is why Gingrich is my first choice among those remaining. But, Romney brings some critical strengths to the fight, and we need to look at them dispassionately. First, his experience at Bain Capital and with the Winter Olympics demonstrates that he can take failing enterprises and turn them around. Bain took failing (but viable) companies and, through a mixture of restructuring, cutting and infusions of capital, turned them around. He did the same thing with the Salt Lake City Olympics. He brings a critical skillset to the government, the ability to see what's wrong and fix it. My concern is that, because he is ideologically suspect, he will not make the kind of sweeping cuts that are needed, but will simply try to be too clever and tinker around the edges of the federal leviathan, which is exactly what we don't need. Our critical task now is to shape the environment by making Romney understand what his party and nation need him to do. Conservative leaders have to persuade him, reason with him and appeal to his rational businessman side.

BTW, Mikey128, that's what we call analysis. Ranting and raving won't accomplish anything. That's what DU is for. Now go away and don't come back until you've done some growing up.

Sorry, Ody, but I lived in Salt Lake City during the so-called "failed" Olympics.

There was nothing failed about it except that the president and the VP of the Salt Lake Olympic Committee got caught doing what every other Olympic Committee in every country on the planet has done when they want to host the Olympics -- they provided "gifts" to the IOC.

DOJ actually brought charges against these two guys (Welch and Johnson) -- and were acquitted later.

Bullshit, in a word. A bunch of people got the duffs fluffed and these two guys were pariahed, made into evil twins, and otherwise took the fall for something that we Americans utterly fail to accept -- that bribery and palm-greasing is an accepted practice in most of the rest of the world, but it's not something we can engage in.

But back to the point -

Here comes the saving grace, the Hero of Hildale and the President of Putrefaction (that's what I think of when I look at Romney, who doesn't go to the barber for a haircut -- he goes for an oil change).

Fact is, Romney waltzed onto the scene at the 11th hour, 59th minute when all the heavy lifting had been done, all the transportation issues had been resolved, all the infrastructure had been built, or was ahead of schedule. I-15 was a dream to drive and I-215 that rings part of the city was also ticking over very well. Transportation up to the venues in the Wasatch was also fairly well nailed down and virtually most details were done or nearly so.

And yet to hear the backlash from those two poor bastards who had the temerity of doing what ALL of them do, you'd think that they each strapped on a couple of AK's and went through five grade schools killing everybody they saw.

Mitt Romney didn't save anything. All he did was walk into a well-managed situation and take credit for shit he didn't do.

Classic politician -- then the fucktard decided that taking credit for that wasn't enough and that he had to totter off back to Massachusetts where he could get his ticket punched one more time by becoming governor of the Bay State in his inevitable march to the RNC nomination for president -- at which he's been working for the past 4.5 years.

While I'm not nearly as negatively vocal as Mike128 is about Mitt Romney, I've seen that slickster operate up close and personal. I wouldn't piss on him if he were on fire, but if he winds up being the RNC nominee [shudder], I'll have to hold my nose and pull the handle for him.

[Eupher]

Gingrich is more reprehensible to me. He is arrogant, vindictive, selfish and petty. He also has way too much baggage that can be drug up.

There's just something about Santorum's persona that that shouts loser to me.
I also remember when he backed Arlen Specter and I cannot forgive him for that.
Specter is the reason we have ObamaCare.

I think this summarizes the dilemma that many conservatives face. Professional politicians, despite their efforts to the contrary, have their individual styles and voting records. And each of them stinks like shit when the wind is just right.

Not one of the current crop of candidates has the complete, unbridled support of the party -- unlike what happened when Barry managed to finally finish off Hillary for the DNC nomination in '08.

[Odysseus]

Sorry, Ody, but I lived in Salt Lake City during the so-called "failed" Olympics.

There was nothing failed about it except that the president and the VP of the Salt Lake Olympic Committee got caught doing what every other Olympic Committee in every country on the planet has done when they want to host the Olympics -- they provided "gifts" to the IOC.

DOJ actually brought charges against these two guys (Welch and Johnson) -- and were acquitted later.

Bullshit, in a word. A bunch of people got the duffs fluffed and these two guys were pariahed, made into evil twins, and otherwise took the fall for something that we Americans utterly fail to accept -- that bribery and palm-greasing is an accepted practice in most of the rest of the world, but it's not something we can engage in.

But back to the point -

Here comes the saving grace, the Hero of Hildale and the President of Putrefaction (that's what I think of when I look at Romney, who doesn't go to the barber for a haircut -- he goes for an oil change).

Fact is, Romney waltzed onto the scene at the 11th hour, 59th minute when all the heavy lifting had been done, all the transportation issues had been resolved, all the infrastructure had been built, or was ahead of schedule. I-15 was a dream to drive and I-215 that rings part of the city was also ticking over very well. Transportation up to the venues in the Wasatch was also fairly well nailed down and virtually most details were done or nearly so.

And yet to hear the backlash from those two poor bastards who had the temerity of doing what ALL of them do, you'd think that they each strapped on a couple of AK's and went through five grade schools killing everybody they saw.

Mitt Romney didn't save anything. All he did was walk into a well-managed situation and take credit for shit he didn't do.

Classic politician -- then the fucktard decided that taking credit for that wasn't enough and that he had to totter off back to Massachusetts where he could get his ticket punched one more time by becoming governor of the Bay State in his inevitable march to the RNC nomination for president -- at which he's been working for the past 4.5 years.

While I'm not nearly as negatively vocal as Mike128 is about Mitt Romney, I've seen that slickster operate up close and personal. I wouldn't piss on him if he were on fire, but if he winds up being the RNC nominee [shudder], I'll have to hold my nose and pull the handle for him.

I'm not big on bribery. The fact that the IOC is a corrupt cesspool doesn't mean that we have to play along with it. Better not to have the damned thing than to become like them. But, once we had it, we needed to run it, and the resignations and chaos threatened the entire enterprise.

And, you are leaving out a salient fact, that the Olympics were $379 million short of their operating budget when Welch and Johnson resigned as heads of the SLOC, and many of their subordinates also jumped ship. Romney raised the funds, closed the shortfall and ran the committee with reduced staff. Wikipedia's summary follows:

On February 11, 1999, Romney was hired as the president and CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games of 2002.^[104] Before Romney came on, the event was running $379 million short of its revenue benchmarks.^[104] Plans were being made to scale back the games to compensate for the fiscal crisis and there were fears the games might be moved away entirely.^[105] The Games had also been damaged by allegations of bribery involving top officials, including prior Salt Lake Olympic Committee president and CEO Frank Joklik. Joklik and committee vice president Dave Johnson were forced to resign.^[106] Romney's appointment faced some initial criticism from non-Mormons, and fears from Mormons, that it represented cronyism or gave the games too Mormon an image.^[31]
Romney revamped the organization's leadership and policies, reduced budgets, and boosted fund raising. He soothed worried corporate sponsors and recruited many new ones.^[101][107] He admitted past problems, listened to local critics, and rallied Utah's citizenry with a sense of optimism.^[101] Romney worked to ensure the safety of the Games following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks by ignoring those who suggested the games be called off and coordinating a $300 million security budget.^[103][108] Overall he oversaw a $1.32 billion budget, 700 employees, and 26,000 volunteers.^[104] The federal government provided $382 million of that budget,^[107] much of it because Romney successfully lobbied Congress to provide money for both security- and non-security-related items.^[109] An additional federal $1.1 billion was spent on indirect support in the form of highway and transit projects.^[109]
Romney became the public face of the Olympic effort, appearing in countless photographs and news stories and even on Olympics souvenir pins.^[101] Romney's omnipresence irked those who thought he was taking too much of the credit for the success, or had exaggerated the state of initial distress, or was primarily looking to improve his own image.^[101][107]
Despite the initial fiscal shortfall, the Games ended up clearing a profit of $100 million,^[110] not counting the $224.5 million in security costs contributed by outside sources.^[111] Romney broke the record for most private money raised by any individual for an Olympics games, summer or winter.^[103] His performance as Olympics head was rated positively by 87 percent of Utahns.^[112] Romney and his wife contributed $1 million to the Olympics, and he donated to charity the $1.4 million in salary and severance payments he received for his three years as president and CEO.^[113]

No matter how you spin it, that's a terrific accomplishment. Give credit where it is due.

[Eupher]

I'm not big on bribery. The fact that the IOC is a corrupt cesspool doesn't mean that we have to play along with it. Better not to have the damned thing than to become like them. But, once we had it, we needed to run it, and the resignations and chaos threatened the entire enterprise.

And, you are leaving out a salient fact, that the Olympics were $379 million short of their operating budget when Welch and Johnson resigned as heads of the SLOC, and many of their subordinates also jumped ship. Romney raised the funds, closed the shortfall and ran the committee with reduced staff. Wikipedia's summary follows:

On February 11, 1999, Romney was hired as the president and CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games of 2002.^[104] Before Romney came on, the event was running $379 million short of its revenue benchmarks.^[104] Plans were being made to scale back the games to compensate for the fiscal crisis and there were fears the games might be moved away entirely.^[105] The Games had also been damaged by allegations of bribery involving top officials, including prior Salt Lake Olympic Committee president and CEO Frank Joklik. Joklik and committee vice president Dave Johnson were forced to resign.^[106] Romney's appointment faced some initial criticism from non-Mormons, and fears from Mormons, that it represented cronyism or gave the games too Mormon an image.^[31]
Romney revamped the organization's leadership and policies, reduced budgets, and boosted fund raising. He soothed worried corporate sponsors and recruited many new ones.^[101][107] He admitted past problems, listened to local critics, and rallied Utah's citizenry with a sense of optimism.^[101] Romney worked to ensure the safety of the Games following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks by ignoring those who suggested the games be called off and coordinating a $300 million security budget.^[103][108] Overall he oversaw a $1.32 billion budget, 700 employees, and 26,000 volunteers.^[104] The federal government provided $382 million of that budget,^[107] much of it because Romney successfully lobbied Congress to provide money for both security- and non-security-related items.^[109] An additional federal $1.1 billion was spent on indirect support in the form of highway and transit projects.^[109]
Romney became the public face of the Olympic effort, appearing in countless photographs and news stories and even on Olympics souvenir pins.^[101] Romney's omnipresence irked those who thought he was taking too much of the credit for the success, or had exaggerated the state of initial distress, or was primarily looking to improve his own image.^[101][107]
Despite the initial fiscal shortfall, the Games ended up clearing a profit of $100 million,^[110] not counting the $224.5 million in security costs contributed by outside sources.^[111] Romney broke the record for most private money raised by any individual for an Olympics games, summer or winter.^[103] His performance as Olympics head was rated positively by 87 percent of Utahns.^[112] Romney and his wife contributed $1 million to the Olympics, and he donated to charity the $1.4 million in salary and severance payments he received for his three years as president and CEO.^[113]

No matter how you spin it, that's a terrific accomplishment. Give credit where it is due.

yeah, I read the Wiki article too, and despite the naysaying and the $379M (which is chump change at that level), let's keep in mind this article is a Wikipedia article -- meaning, of course, I take the article's "facts" with grains of salt.

I guess I was one of the 13% of Utahns that saw Romney for what he was -- a Mormon brought in to "fix" a Mormon non-problem. But then again, I'm not a Mormon. Go figure.

Most of the hand-wringing and woe-is-us crap was induced by the media -- which, of course, played handily into Romney's overall game plan which is what we're seeing today.

You bet -- I'll give credit where credit is due: Romney's ambitious. But then, so was Jimmy Hart, the "Mouth of the South" and just about as trustworthy.