04 October 2010

Lessons of 2010: RUBIO -not Romney- Republicans in the Drivers' Seat for 2012

"Usually, a figure like Romney is the big shot
who arrives in town to boost a little guy like Rubio. 

This time, it's the other way round..."


With Marco Rubio pretty much running-away with it in Florida, all those with presidential ambitions on the Republican side are taking-note of the rapidly evolving political landscape in this country... and making hurried adjustments. 

Two things have become apparent re. 2012: Better give us a small-government, Reaganite-conservative... the TEA Party movement will hold de facto veto power over the nomination. 

And it won't necessarily be the next-guy-in-line this time, either... both these developments likely sound less than ideal to professional presidential candidate Mitt Romney- the father of RomneyCare does have some explaining to do.

Toby Harnden from The Telegraph (UK) was in Florida this weekend as Mitt was actually stumping for Marco Rubio's all-but-sealed Senate bid. But with GOP rising-star Rubio up 12 points over Orange Charlie, why was Romney even there... and who was more likely to benefit from the association?
Despite the shifting political sands of the past two years, one thing has been constant: Mitt Romney running for president. 

Having spent many millions of his personal fortune being defeated in 2008, he scarcely paused for breath and just carried on with his 2012 bid. Campaigning up and down the country during the mid-terms, Romney has been endorsing candidates, holding fundraisers and building up the kind of network of goodwill that traditionally stands White House aspirants in good stead. 

His message is finely honed and has resonance. Matinee Mitt will never look like that regular guy next door but he's stopped tending to his bouffant thatch, shed his tie and loosened up a little. 

Talking to several hundred fired-up Republicans crammed into Benedetto's Italian restaurant in a strip mall in Land O'Lakes, Florida on Friday, Romney accused Obama of trying to smother "the very creed of America" with taxes, excessive regulation and the growth of what Margaret Thatcher called the nanny state. 

But the star of the show was not Romney but Marco Rubio, who seems to be coasting to victory in the Florida Senate race...

America is now making a sharp turn to the right... and the next couple of years look to be quite different than the last:
The departure of his chief of staff Rahm Emanuel has forced Obama to make changes in the White House before he planned to. 

Precriminations for the expected Democratic drubbing are underway and Obama's contribution has been to berate his supporters for the "inexcusable" sin of "sitting on their hands complaining". 

Usually, a figure like Romney is the big shot who arrives in town to boost a little guy like Rubio. This time, it's the other way round. Young, bursting with energy and brimful of indignation, Rubio was the main draw in Benedetto's. Romney appeared to be hoping for a bit of the Senate candidate's magic to rub off on him. 

Initially written off as too Right-wing and young to win in Florida, Rubio will be one of the Republican kingmakers in 2012, which is shaping up to be an election like no other.
Background/update on the Rubio-Crist-Meek 
Florida Senate race -here-

 The Telegraph   Pookie's Toons