Some of my Republican friends/family are getting afraid to vote for Romney

[gollygee]

They're saying stuff like he doesn't know how to talk to people, lacks diplomacy, and will get us into a war with the whole middle east.

Now, there are those who like the idea of going to war with every Islamic nation in the middle east, but the more moderate Republicans at least seem to be getting antsy about him.

Let's hope he extends his tour.

[Javaman]

1. I casually refer to him as the anti-Pinocchio.

instead of becoming human, he remains wooden and continues to tell lies.

[ananda]

30. Lol. The anti-Pinocchio

Thanks. I'm going to use that!

[vinny9698]

2. the more people know the real Mitt, the more they will dislike him

Personally: Bully, shoving butter into your own kid's face is not a prank
Business: Outsourcing and bankrupting businesses for your own personal wealth, just to get an extra dollar
Politically: Panda Bear to the max, 1% poster boy and water carrier.
That's the real Mitt.

[Mr Dixon]

4. Agreed

[gopiscrap]

18. +1000

[Fumesucker]

3. Q: How can you tell Mitt Romney from his Secret Service escort?

A: Romney is the stiff one..

[neeksgeek]

20. Nice one! n/t

[groundloop]

37. But his wife said that when she unzips him he's NOT stiff

Sounds like he's got some serious personal problems.

[freshwest]

55. Are you saying 'Momma's baby, Daddy's maybe' about Horsey Ann?

[Garion_55]

5. just tell them

that he is a business guy not a people guy.

[ieoeja]

23. Did he every run an actual business?

At Bain they bought businesses, cut them up, then sold them. I don't think they ever took any interest in running those businesses.

[1StrongBlackMan]

31. Well ...

(From his own mouth) Yes, I ran Bain ... Out-sources ... Closing businesses ...erm ... No, I didn't run Bain ... Someone else did, I just collected a salary."

[yardwork]

39. Ran them into the ground. /nt

[yardwork]

35. What do you mean by that? In what way is Romney a "business guy?"

[The Magistrate]

43. The Usual, Ma'am: Steals Value Others Create, Leaving Them Destitute And Himself Wealthy....

"Romney loves America like a tick loves a dog."

[yardwork]

44. Sir, your simile is apt and succint. Stealing. /nt

[rurallib]

6. he doesn't lack diplomacy - it's the rest of the world

they just need step in line with him.

[ewagner]

7. Exactly what worries me...

I haven't met a republican who likes Romney. At first they said "...that's okay, we'll have a completely Republican Congress so all Mitt has to be able to do is put his signature at the bottom of the bills they pass..." Now they're getting worried whether he can or will do that...they're wondering if he'll flip-flop in the oval office like he does on the campaign trail....and here's the worrisome part...

they won't vote for Obama

they won't stay home...

they think they should deadlock the convention and pick a "real" conservative....

I've thought for a long time that Rove and Company have a Machiavellian plan to use Mitt as a stalking horse until the convention and then throw in a "game changer" who can "excite" the populace for three months before the election and not get a proper vetting...

I'm paranoid?

When you're dealing with Rove, Luntz and company you'd damn well better be paranoid!

[RC]

8. Contained in an E-mail from my daughter this morning.

You'd be shocked who'd vote for Romney. I managed to appall a room full of supposedly young bright minds by backing Obama. No one could believe anyone would still vote for him. Doubt they even know why they hate him. Of course this is South Dakota, a hard core republican state, who'd vote for Hitler or Darth Vader so long as they ran on the republican ticket. And these "young bright minds" do whatever their parents tell them to. And just remembered the backing the lovely Sarah Palin still has. At least she's not running.

She is graduating with an engineering degree this year.

[hr]
I'm afraid you may be correct about Rove and company.

[Bluenorthwest]

38. South Dakota, 2008:

McPalin: 53.16% 3
Barack Obama/Joe Bide 44.75%

Just saying....

[maddiemom]

11. Don't think you're paranoid...

I've been thinking the same thing myself . Only who would be the "game changer?" I don't think Jebby is ready to make his move this year.

[President T Toilet]

12. Mitt is the guy

I'd be surprised if they pulled a switch-a-roo this late in the game. I truly believe they are going to bank on the VP nomination to excite the base. What frightens me is that I believe that Romney and gang feel that this election is theirs for the taking simply because they can buy it. Look at what happened in Wisconsin with Scott Walker. He won that battle because a ton of money flooded into that process in his favor. I have never been so nervous about an upcoming election as I am this one.

[yellowcanine]

16. The Walker recall election is not a bell weather for November.

There were too many people, including Democrats, who opposed the idea of a a recall in the first place. Recalling a governor in California, which has a history of referendum voting, is one thing. Recalling a governor in Wisconsin is an entirely different proposition. And Walker was still an incumbent. Even unpopular incumbents are difficult to beat.

[President T Toilet]

17. Thanks for the optimism!

I truly hope that is the case. My concern is based on the trend in the General elections that he who raises the most money usually wins and with the Citizens United decision it seems to me the robber barons will stop at nothing and spare no expense to achieve their goals.

[Bluenorthwest]

41. How do you explain Meg Whitman losing to Brown? Why is Carly Fiorino not a Senator, and Boxer

is? Concern is great, but can you offer up anything like proof that 'he who raises the most money usually wins'? No, you can't, because that is not the case.
Buying a bunch of ads is not a clear path to success for any product, candidate, or entertainment. Many fail while heavily promoted. If ads were magic, and 'more ads buys success' then tell me why products fail when they are promoted tirelessly, and why, if that magic exists, don't companies just buy more ads and get success, rather than taking a loss? Why would any movie fail to draw an audience, why not just buy more ads, and get Avatar level profits?
Fact is more candidate and products fail while spending huge amounts on promotion than succeed with our without huge promotion.

[President T Toilet]

42. You have to ask yourself...

Why on Earth then do these candidates go through heaven and hell to raise millions of dollars to win a job that pays $400,000 a year. Elections are more than just branding a product it is about manipulating peoples opinions enough to get them to vote for you and you'd be foolish to think that big money doesn't get the upper hand in that department. Lest we forget there is still a large portion of the country that believes Iraq was responsible for 9/11 and continue to vote accordingly. I wasn't being sarcastic when I said I appreciate the optimism but I as it stands for me I am deeply concerned that "big money" will dominate this upcoming election cycle largely in part to the "Citizens United" decision and the Republicans doing everything they can to stop the "Disclose Act".

[yellowcanine]

14. Can't happen. Mitt will be the nominee.

[Arkansas Granny]

19. I can't remember who was speaking, but I saw either and interview or a speech

given by a prominent Republican advisor. He said that it didn't matter who they elected President because the real power was in Congress. As long as they could get a majority in the House and Senate, they just needed a face and a warm body in the White House. I wonder if that is their strategy here.

ETA: I think it was Grover Norquist.

[siligut]

21. I think that is the strategy

Mitt would just be a figure head.

[Swede Atlanta]

24. It was Grover Norquist.......

Their strategy is clear - put anyone with an R by their name in the White House and, if they are lucky enough to have control of both houses of Congress, just shove their wacky ideas through and force the President to sign them. They really don't care who is in the WH as long as it is a puppet.

[nanabugg]

52. Only if they have a veto proof numbers. nt

[1StrongBlackMan]

32. No ...

I don't think you're paranoid.

I floated the same thought shortly after romney wrapped up gop primary and still couldn't garner more than 50% of the gop vote.

But then, we both could be paranoid.

[kentuck]

40. I keep telling myself that that couldn't happen...

...that they could pick someone else at the convention. Now, I'm not so sure?

[ewagner]

45. I dunno Kentuck....

I've never been in the "big league" of politics but I've been in the upper echelons of the "farm teams" enough to be completely dumbfounded by what I'm seeing. At this level THESE things just don't happen:

1. Rmoney has the most incompetent campaign team EVAH!;
2. The press secretaries allow him to constantly contradict himself ONE CAMERA, ON TAPE AND FOR POSTERITY;
3. He consistently pisses off key voter groups that the GOP cannot win this election without (primarily Hispanic but hell, he' s insulting everybody)

At a certain point, my bullshit buzzer goes off and all I can conclude that these aren't acts of stupidity because nobody at this level can be that stupid, or, it's a deliberate ploy for some reason or another.

The "brokered convention" plot is the only one that makes any sense at all....although some here on DU think that rMoney is irrelevant because the real battle is for Congress but I think the Presidential race has a huge drag-along-factor and if they don't have a winner for President, then they will lose Congress also....so I sort of discount that....

If you smell wood burning it's just the overheating of my brain trying to come to grips with this absurd campaign that's being run.

[kentuck]

46. Also...

I have thought that the Repubs don't really want to inherit a bad economy. They don't have a record of making economies better, only worse. So if they took over right now, things could get really bad and they would be blamed for a long time to come. Preferably, some would like Obama and the Democrats to make some hard decisions to fix the economy and then they can slip in the back door in 2016. Just a thought.

[ewagner]

48. Good point

There is also the possibility that they know that the European financial crisis is going to cause another meltdown that can only be corrected with massive stimulus and they don't want their fingerprints on it.

at any rate...its just beyond strange....I don't know what games are being played out.

[MadrasT]

50. That is my theory too. n/t

[southernyankeebelle]

10. I don't blame your relatives. I mean when you think about it I have a ten year old

grandson. I sure don't want to see him grow up to be sent off to war. This man is such a wimp that he is willing to win at all costs. I couldn't vote for him. At least president Obama is a calm thinking person.

[HopeHoops]

13. We need to get our troops OUT of the Middle East, not send in more.

If there's anything the Republicans have done for me over the last 30 years, it's to make me far more of a military isolationist.

[HughBeaumont]

15. My Repub Bewsh-voting friend:

"I've never been less enthusiastic about a presidential election than I am this one."

This isn't just one person, this is several.

NO one likes that douche. He's a Gordon Gekko stereotype come to life, with zero likeable qualities.

Conservatives really have to come correct with the fact that if they want to win the Big One, they HAVE to lose the lunatic dominionist 1950s social viewpoints and renounce Reaganomics. The problem is that they're getting way TOO conservative, not that they're not conservative enough. The other problem is that everyone gets this . . . except the ruling conservatives who all think they're Charlie Kane shouting "THEY'LL THINK WHAT I TELL THEM TO THINK!"

[sofa king]

22. Seal the deal with a tax cut explanation.

It is this simple: just last week, every single Republican in the Senate voted against an extension of the middle class tax cuts.

They did it because they don't give a shit about your friends and their problems. They held your friends' tax cuts hostage so that rich people could get their tax cuts, because that's all the GOP cares about. That might be a good time to mention that it is looking like Romney paid no taxes at all for ten years.

President Obama wants an extension for the middle class, but only if the cuts for the rich expire, and he's the person with the final decision in all this.

The Republicans will block an extension for the middle class until they are voted out.

Now, one thing every one of your Republican friends loves is money for nothing. They can generate up to $3000 next year by simply toeing Grover Norquist's line and voting out every single Republican who blocked the middle class cuts--which was all of them.

Or, they can stay home that day, let us Democrats do all the heavy lifting like we always do, and pay themselves the following Spring.

Do you know any Republicans who wouldn't take money for doing nothing? Any at all?

Then tell them.

[Rozlee]

25. We're too isolated at DU.

Which is good. This is our home and who needs trolls? But, on sites like Mother Jones, TPM, Salon and other online liberal magazines, they invade the comments sections and argue ferociously with progressive posters. They defend the people that are screwing them like they'd defend their own families. The trolls come out in force and defend the wealth of the 1% and throw out the most distorted figures and outrageous claims to justify their arguments. These people are the ones that will never see Romney's gaffes and inadequacies as anything more than negativity from the lame stream media because breitbart.com tells them so. Not to mention that many of the posters also have Apocalyptic ravings and even throw in Big Foot and UFOs into the mix on occasion.

People like this aren't going to have the intellectual depth to research their candidates or analyze them in any thorough capacity. They're conspiracy-minded, brain-washed, and dumber than dogshit on pond scum. And that's an insult to dogshit and pond scum. They live in a world that only lets their hate in and has a filter that screens out logic and rationality. They'll vote for anyone that the Master Minds tell them to.

[denverbill]

27. +1 and a good rant to boot:)

[sellitman]

26. The good news is

Flipper left Europe without starting WW3.

[Cary]

28. This is a great first step

They recognize problems with Republicans. Next your Republican friends/family need to apply the same logic and reason and they need to be asking why they want to be Republicans at all.

[gollygee]

34. Hmmm. One of my neighbor's kids

said she's a Republican because she is a Christian and loves America. Granted, this is an 8-year-old, but she learned that from somewhere. There isn't a lot of critical thinking going on with these folks.

[Gman]

29. There's a small sliver of Republicans that can be won over

And that could be the difference.

[1StrongBlackMan]

36. If not won over ...

might just stay home. Same result.

[grantcart]

33. they are not the only ones

Have you noticed how OPEC has kept the price of gas low during Summer?

[Cognitive_Resonance]

47. Romney looks increasingly like a big loser. Average people don't vote for losers. Human nature. nt

[RedStateLiberal]

49. They also need to learn this:

Romney tax plan helps rich, hurts middle class: study
http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/08/01/us-usa-taxes-romney-idINBRE8700PC20120801

The report by the centrist Tax Policy Center found that Romney's tax cuts would boost after-tax income by an average of 4.1 percent for those earning more than $1 million a year, while reducing by an average of 1.2 percent the after-tax income of individuals earning less than $200,000.

And it's not a liberal biased study (like Romney is claiming)

The Tax Policy Center, a joint venture between the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute, is led by Donald Marron, a former economic official in the administration of Republican President George W. Bush.

Another of the study's authors, William Gale, was an economic adviser to Republican President George H.W. Bush

.

Keep giving them with facts like this and other examples of Rmoney's gaffes and hopefully we'll get record-low turnout among Repubs in November.

[elleng]

51. Yes, and very good news.

I'm sure your friends/family are not the only ones.

[Ilsa]

53. We need to ramp it up with other issues, including

the chasm between their religious beliefs and Rmoney's. They need to know that he views the world, afterlif, and religion very differently from them.

Something funny I noticed: during the opening ceremony for the Olympics, the non-American head of their administrative group used the term "sport" when almost every American, except Mitt, would say "sports". And this was when GOP advertising was trying to sell the idea that BO is too foreign.

[alcibiades_mystery]

54. Had some business with an R leaning "independent" today

She said, "This Romney can't fix it. Maybe Obama can't either, but Romney would make it worse."

[elleng]

57. GREAT to hear this, alci!

This is JUST WHAT WE NEED, 'indies,' and I'm sure she's not the only one.

I HOPE that those who consider themselves to be Independent (and Undecided) are, or will, pay attention to what's going on, and IF they do that honestly, there's only ONE logical decision:

[young_at_heart]

56. Force them to watch Rachel's info on Mitt's deception in Massachusetts

Media and others need to look into what he did and didn't do about his tax returns when he ran for governor of Mass. To say he was deceptive back then is an understatement!!!