Mitt Romney, the stealth tea party candidate

[ProSense]

Mitt Romney, the stealth tea party candidate

By Theda Skocpol

“Many tea party folks are going to find me, I believe, to be the ideal candidate,” the Republican presidential contender said in a news conference in December. “I sure hope so.”

These words were uttered not by Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul or Rick Perry — but by Mitt Romney. Yes, the same Romney who has been pegged as too moderate to attract tea party voters and hard-core conservatives.

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Romney has become the stealth tea party candidate, endorsing the essence of the movement while remaining unburdened by its public label. This makes him the ideal tea party candidate for the general-election battle against President Obama.

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A year or so ago, many such top-down tea party forces were skeptical about Romney — a skepticism reflected in the editorial pages of the Wall Street Journal and in checks sent by the Koch brothers to rival GOP contenders such as Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.). But with elite conservative heartthrobs such as Rep. Paul Ryan (Wis.) and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie staying out of the fray, possibilities at the top opened for Romney, particularly as he pledged fidelity to far-right tax and budget priorities.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/mitt-romney-the-stealth-tea-party-candidate/2012/01/31/gIQAy0BZnQ_story.html

The RW machine (not the rank-and-file teabagger) is banking on Romney. The right's go-for-broke strategy was put in place years ago, and it kicked into full gear with the 2010 election. Buying politicians is so much easier than suppressing the vote. Connect the dots:

MEMO: Health Insurance, Banking, Oil Industries Met With Koch, Chamber, Glenn Beck To Plot 2010 Election
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2010/10/20/124642/beck-koch-chamber-meeting/

Exclusive: Republican Budget Chairman Paul Ryan Spoke At The Koch Strategy Meeting
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/02/02/142061/paul-ryan-koch/

Think you know the Koch story? Not if you don't know ALEC.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/07/13/994204/-Think-you-know-the-Koch-story-Not-if-you-dont-know-ALEC

Oops: Florida Republican Forgets To Remove ALEC Mission Statement From Boilerplate Anti-Tax Bill
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002258358

How Scott Walker and ALEC Plotted the Attack on Arizona's Unions
http://www.thenation.com/blog/166038/how-scott-walker-and-alec-plotted-attack-arizonas-unions

Brewer Distances Herself From Arizona’s Anti-Union Bills
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/02/brewer_distances_herself_from_arizonas_anti-union.php

Koch Brothers, Allies Pledge $100 Million At Private Meeting To Beat Obama
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/03/koch-brothers-100-million-obama_n_1250828.html

[ProSense]

1. Kick n/t

[pampango]

2. From link: During the primary campaign, he’s repeatedly pledged fealty to key tea party priorities:

cracking down on illegal immigration, repealing “ObamaCare,” slashing taxes and drastically scaling back government spending. It’s working: Half of the primary voters in Florida who say they support the tea party went for Romney.

Romney has become the stealth tea party candidate, endorsing the essence of the movement while remaining unburdened by its public label. This makes him the ideal tea party candidate for the general-election battle against President Obama.

..we assumed that government spending is the chief irritant for the tea party, but we soon realized that anger about illegal immigrants rivals that concern. With many older men and women (including retirees) making up the movement, its members do not usually point to immigration as a threat against U.S. workers; rather, they are upset at the thought of undocumented children overburdening public schools or illegal immigrants crowding emergency rooms.

In Romney, the tea party has found the ultimate prize: a candidate loyal to the movement’s agenda, but able to fool enough pundits and moderate voters to win the White House at a time when the tea party has lost broad appeal. Pushing the Republican Party to the hard right and denying Obama a second term have always been top tea party goals. In Romney, the movement has just the man it needs.

[ProSense]

3. Romney

is the perfect Koch candidate, one for sale.