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Romney falls flat with GOP lawmakers
The Hill
By Jonathan Easley
January 13, 2015, 08:34 pm
Excerpt:
Republican lawmakers aren’t jumping on the Mitt Romney 2016 bandwagon.
...
Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Romney’s congressional liaison for his 2012 run, said Tuesday he might support one of his Senate colleagues for president.
Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), who backed Romney before the 2012 Iowa caucus, said he’s going to “wait and see.”
...
“What we know about Romney last time, he lost the election with working Americans,” said the conservative senator, who backed Romney in 2012. “[Among] those making $30,000 to $50,000, he lost it by 15 percent, and [those making] under $30,000 by 28 percent. You can’t win an election like that. And it can’t just be words. I’ll be looking for candidates who are authentic, who have credibility.”
...
Several, like Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Blunt, also have ties to the Bush family, and could be wooed by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who’s also exploring a run. Portman was former President George W. Bush’s budget director, while Blunt was the House GOP whip during his administration and helped push the White House’s agenda through Congress.
...
“There are a lot of qualified candidates on the Republican side and it will be a great opportunity for all of us to support someone who has a better vision [than President Obama] for this country,” the freshman senator said.
Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.), another Romney backer from 2012, also said he’d have to see how things shake out.
“I’m going to reserve judgment. It’s too early in the process for me to make that decision,” he said. “We’re going to have quite a number of good candidates.”
...
“I haven’t had a conversation with Mitt Romney since the last time he was in Iowa in 2012, so I wouldn’t know what’s behind his motivations,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who held out before finally endorsing Romney in 2012.
“Who?” Portman asked jokingly. The Washington Post reported Romney had phoned the senator over the weekend.
“I don’t know if he is [running] or not,” Portman told The Hill.
...
GOP indifference in Washington underscores the challenges Romney will face if he embarks on another presidential run. He struggled throughout the last presidential cycle to excite the conservative base, and that will be just as big of an issue in 2016 if he runs.
“There are some in Washington who put forth the theory that the path to electoral victory is nominating the most moderate candidates we can find,” said conservative Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who’s also weighing a presidential bid.
“It is not a path to winning and if we nominate a candidate in 2016 in the same mold as Bob Dole, or John McCain or Mitt Romney … then the same voters who stayed home in 2008 and 2012 will stay home in 2016, and Hillary Clinton will be the next president,” Cruz continued.
...
“One of the questions for Mitt Romney is, are you going to run the same campaign as last time? If so, then you may not be the right candidate,” said Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.). “If you’re prepared to run a thoughtful, learned-from-experience campaign, then we’d like to hear your thoughts.
“It cannot be identical to last time, because many people were disappointed in his ability to properly define who he was and what he would do,” Issa warned. “That’s not a left or right statement, but it’s a statement about his campaign, which was certainly not good enough to define a clear difference between RomneyCare and ObamaCare, between Romney foreign affairs and Obama foreign affairs, and so on.”
Read more at:
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/...-gop-lawmakers
The Hill
By Jonathan Easley
January 13, 2015, 08:34 pm
Excerpt:
Republican lawmakers aren’t jumping on the Mitt Romney 2016 bandwagon.
...
Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Romney’s congressional liaison for his 2012 run, said Tuesday he might support one of his Senate colleagues for president.
Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), who backed Romney before the 2012 Iowa caucus, said he’s going to “wait and see.”
...
“What we know about Romney last time, he lost the election with working Americans,” said the conservative senator, who backed Romney in 2012. “[Among] those making $30,000 to $50,000, he lost it by 15 percent, and [those making] under $30,000 by 28 percent. You can’t win an election like that. And it can’t just be words. I’ll be looking for candidates who are authentic, who have credibility.”
...
Several, like Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Blunt, also have ties to the Bush family, and could be wooed by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who’s also exploring a run. Portman was former President George W. Bush’s budget director, while Blunt was the House GOP whip during his administration and helped push the White House’s agenda through Congress.
...
“There are a lot of qualified candidates on the Republican side and it will be a great opportunity for all of us to support someone who has a better vision [than President Obama] for this country,” the freshman senator said.
Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.), another Romney backer from 2012, also said he’d have to see how things shake out.
“I’m going to reserve judgment. It’s too early in the process for me to make that decision,” he said. “We’re going to have quite a number of good candidates.”
...
“I haven’t had a conversation with Mitt Romney since the last time he was in Iowa in 2012, so I wouldn’t know what’s behind his motivations,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who held out before finally endorsing Romney in 2012.
“Who?” Portman asked jokingly. The Washington Post reported Romney had phoned the senator over the weekend.
“I don’t know if he is [running] or not,” Portman told The Hill.
...
GOP indifference in Washington underscores the challenges Romney will face if he embarks on another presidential run. He struggled throughout the last presidential cycle to excite the conservative base, and that will be just as big of an issue in 2016 if he runs.
“There are some in Washington who put forth the theory that the path to electoral victory is nominating the most moderate candidates we can find,” said conservative Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who’s also weighing a presidential bid.
“It is not a path to winning and if we nominate a candidate in 2016 in the same mold as Bob Dole, or John McCain or Mitt Romney … then the same voters who stayed home in 2008 and 2012 will stay home in 2016, and Hillary Clinton will be the next president,” Cruz continued.
...
“One of the questions for Mitt Romney is, are you going to run the same campaign as last time? If so, then you may not be the right candidate,” said Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.). “If you’re prepared to run a thoughtful, learned-from-experience campaign, then we’d like to hear your thoughts.
“It cannot be identical to last time, because many people were disappointed in his ability to properly define who he was and what he would do,” Issa warned. “That’s not a left or right statement, but it’s a statement about his campaign, which was certainly not good enough to define a clear difference between RomneyCare and ObamaCare, between Romney foreign affairs and Obama foreign affairs, and so on.”
Read more at:
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/...-gop-lawmakers
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