Romney Team Shifts Tactics
EmailThe Mitt Romney campaign is making an immediate shift in tactics, a move that is necessary because, as one Republican close the campaign put it, “What they are doing now isn’t working.”
At an event in Arizona, Romney himself said you will see more ads, you will see him making sure the contrasts between himself and Newt Gingrich are “loud and clear.” And Romney himself said you will be seeing more interviews and press conferences.
Some other changes you will see soon?
Integrity: When former Vice President Dan Quayle spoke about the importance of Romney’s integrity “when he’s in public life. When he’s in private life,” that was no accident. Romney will not go after Gingrich on personal issues, but ABC News has learned that you can expect to see Romney surrogates making fairly direct references to Gingrich’s tumultuous past, in the vein of what Quayle did. You can also expect to see Ann Romney and the Romney family on the trail much more, especially in South Carolina, to create a visual contrast. Their presence on the trail “speaks for itself.”
Temperament: The Romney team sees Gingrich’s temperament as a weakness. Romney himself will highlight the importance of temperament by discussing his record as a leader. Surrogates are likely to go after Newt directly. The question that will be posed is, “Who do you want to make decisions?” One Romney adviser added, “Gingrich is everything people don’t like about Washington.” Romney might not try to directly rough-up Gingrich at the ABC News debate Saturday in Iowa, but he will try to establish that contrast in leadership and temperament and hope Gingrich digs a hole for himself. “Gingrich never does well when he’s doing well,” a Romney aide said.
Money: You will see the Romney team begin to utilize their huge financial advantage. One Republican says expect ads in South Carolina soon. Not because they think it will guarantee victory (polls show them trailing there), but because they are concerned with keeping it close. Florida and South Carolina are shaping up to be areas of concern right now.
Organization: The Romney team will flex its organizational muscle, especially in Florida where they have an extensive infrastructure. The campaign just sent out an email blast touting its support in West Virginia, which does not hold its primary until May.
These are changes you will see starting today. The Romney campaign is not said to be running around scared, but as one Republican put it, “They know Newt Gingrich is someone who can win elections.”
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They don’t get it. People just don’t like Romney. Get it now?
Posted by: rippedpockets | December 6, 2011, 9:06 pm 9:06 pm
The strange thing is that everyone has seen Newt’s dirty laundry and STILL he surges ahead, so the problem is not about being deceived by Newt, but why is Mitt stuck at 25%???? Clearly the people in the polls are weighing the good and the bad, the baggage and the flaws, the history of the candidates and seem to be saying that Newt’s warts are smaller than Mitt’s warts….. and all…. and that Newt’s “ideas” are more interesting to listen to than Mitt’s “ideas”…. and that Newt “seems more like them” than Mitt does… go figure? This process is alive and moving and changeable and tomorrow may be different, but if the trend line holds this pattern, uninterrupted by some dramatic events, Newt will prevail.
Posted by: wdse.ki.jor | December 6, 2011, 10:39 pm 10:39 pm
Mitt thinks he he can campaign on integrity? He’s been caught in dozens of lies these past two campaigns and changes his message to what he thinks his voters want to hear. If he thinks that no one notices, he’s in for a rude awakening
Posted by: Tom789 | December 6, 2011, 11:24 pm 11:24 pm
I wish Newt would go sliver back under his rock. He has no integrity or character and has shown this by his past actions. He has done too much to be contrite now.
Posted by: Seriously | December 6, 2011, 11:25 pm 11:25 pm
ABC loves Mitt Romney, THAT is very apparent. It’s too bad that Newspapers feel the need to pick a side before anyone is elected. They lose ALL of the other voters after the outcome of the elections.
Posted by: Buddha1127 | December 7, 2011, 12:35 am 12:35 am
Unfortunately, I don’t see any candidate worth endorsing yet. I’m not as educated as I’d like to be in politics, but there are so many things wrong with the system, it makes it hard to want to learn. The twisting of facts, the favors for campaign funds, the lobbyists, the division into parties., etc. It would be great if everyone would vote for the best candidate and eliminate party lines. I would also like to see business/corporate and PAC contributions eliminated completely and public lists of donations received.
Posted by: ocmarsha | December 7, 2011, 1:10 am 1:10 am
Add another tactical change coming to light and much too important not to tell the voting public: DESTROYING EVIDENCE : Romney and cohorts spent a lot of public money to cover up his past as Governor of Massachusetts. Erasing records. Buying up computer equipment. You can’t make this stuff up. very very sad.
Posted by: Sean | December 7, 2011, 2:33 am 2:33 am
I would vote for a third party before I would vote for Newt Gingrich and many other independents feel the same way. Reprehensible, morally bankrupt, corrupt, fat, ego-maniacal – those are the attributes that I guess appeal to Iowa and NC voters.
Posted by: welldirected | December 7, 2011, 3:51 am 3:51 am
Romney or one of the others should campaign on uniting the people of the United States. That worked for Obama – OK, he did just the opposite. That one tent, US as a family, is a message that is sorely lacking in our politics.
Posted by: welldirected | December 7, 2011, 4:00 am 4:00 am
Oh great. The media blitz begins.
Posted by: AmericaThePitiful | December 7, 2011, 4:46 am 4:46 am
Mitt’s team doesn’t get it. Between Mitt being a squish and his attacking other Republican candidates, he’s not generating a lot of support. How about spending the effort to go after Obama instead like Newt does? That would be change we can believe in.
Posted by: Larry J | December 7, 2011, 9:00 am 9:00 am
Some comments (such as Tom789) are truly Offensive. Romney has NEVER BEEN CAUGHT IN A LIE! Romney is a man of impeccable character, who has not and will not lie. If anyone’s statements are taken out of context, they can appear contradictory. Any thinking person (including Obama and Gingrich and Romney) has changed his position or point of view on an issue, but that does not mean he has lied. A person who has never changed his opinion is a person who has never learned. A person whose opinions are stuck in the past and who is unwilling to learn and change has a fossilized brain!
Posted by: Quivley | December 8, 2011, 1:01 am 1:01 am
Please have a look at the tenants of the Mormon Church. Google the words “unclean,” “temple” and “Mormon” and read the results. The Law of the Mormon Church clearly states that “no unclean person has the right to enter God’s house (the Mormon temples)” furthermore, anybody (and yes they do mean **ANYBODY**) who is not a Mormon is condisered to be “unclean”. By that definition, over 95% of the Republican Party are “unclean” and ABSOLUTELY **NOT** ALLOWED TO ENTER A MORMON CHURCH! Even the late Ronald Reagan would have been considered “unclean” and not allowed to enter the Mormon temple, he wasn’t a Mormon. The Mormon’s definition of “clean” is so narrow that **ANY** person (Republican, Democrat or otherwise) who is not a Mormon is considered “unclean” and not allowed to enter a Mormon temple. That definition includes Jews, Catholics, Baptists, Methodists, and probably you!!! In essence what the Mormon Church is saying is, “You are unclean, we won’t allow you to enter our Church, but we do want you to vote for Mitt Romney.” Republicans are not stupid, why would Republicans vote for a person in an organization that has publicly rejected them because they are not a Mormon?
Posted by: nateanthem | December 8, 2011, 1:56 am 1:56 am
“The strange thing is that everyone has seen Newt’s dirty laundry and STILL he surges ahead”
It’s just tooo funny that Newt surges, while being an immoral philanderer. This proves the low morals, nay, the extremely IMMORALITY of the RepuKelican’ts (=incompetent and makes one wanna barf) Just like with Bristol Palin, black unwed mothers are demonized as irresponsible, but we when Bristol did it, it was suddenly all okay
Cain proved this as well: sexually harassing women (criminal) was forgivable, but cheating (not a criminal act) …. well that was unforgivable.
Unless of course …. you’re a white man (Newt) sleeping with white women, of course! Then it’s a-OK.
Other well known Repubes’ cheaters: Guiliani, McCain (their wives had cancer, just like Newts two wives) , Vitter (hookers), Ensign (his subordinates wife), Sanford (argentine woman), and the gay trio, Larry Craig, Mark Foley and George Reker (google his name with rentboy.com just for laughs)
Posted by: Jack Myswag | December 12, 2011, 1:17 pm 1:17 pm