The Republican Presidential campaign for this election cycle has been very entertaining for us outsiders. We’ve watched as the conservative base has chosen one of the “not Romney” characters; Michelle Bachmann, Rick Perry, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, only to end up throwing them all back for a new one. All along they’ve tried their best to keep Mitt Romney; the current frontrunner and likely winner of the nomination, from winning the nomination. They can’t stand him but they may have to hold their noses while he takes the nomination home.
Two of the candidates, who are part of the rejected crowd, won’t take “no” for an answer; Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich. They’re both in attack mode, hoping that some way they can turn the tide towards themselves, or they’re doing it simply out of distaste and dislike for Romney. Truth is; if they’re able to stop Mitt Romney’s nomination, they will likely only turn the votes toward another candidate, like Ron Paul or maybe even Rick Santorum who doesn’t stand a chance in a General Election.
This is the conundrum the Republican Party faces with a Mitt Romney Nomination; he’s a big phony to most conservatives and many liberals. He has changed his position on major issues over the course of his political and campaign career, such as abortion and same-sex marriage. It also seems that he has changed these positions so to fit into a certain mode to win a certain office. He’s a chameleon you might say.
What really is amusing is that now Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry are attacking Romney for being a “Vulture Capitalist” which seems to be a direct attack on Capitalism and goes against the Republican brand. This attack is based on the actions of a company that Mitt Romney use to work for; Bain Capital. Mitt Romney, who led the company, bought out other companies and basically stripped them bare for a profit. Newt Gingrich recently called it “clever legal ways to loot a company.”
“If someone comes in, takes all the money out of your company and then leaves you bankrupt while they go off with millions, that’s not traditional capitalism.”
Companies like Bain have been doing this kind of thing for a long time and it’s perfectly legal, if not ethical. The ones who end up paying the price are the employees who get laid off and sometimes lose their benefits such as pensions and health care.
Texas governor Rick Perry, commenting on how Bain Capital made their money said “There is nothing wrong with being successful and making money, But getting rich off failure and sticking someone else with the bill is indefensible.”
Mitt Romney and his job at Bain Capital is what venture capitalism is all about; buying out companies on speculation and turning them for a profit, even firing thousands of workers to increase their profit margins.
As far as I’m concerned, Republicans got what they deserved with a Mitt Romney nomination. He represents a lot of what’s wrong with the Republican Party. For the last three decades they’ve brought us Reaganomics that has always favored Big Business over the common worker. Conservatives have stood up for the profits of huge corporations and lower taxes and deregulation for those corporations, even while the Middle Class took on more of the nation’s debt.
I’m sure President Barack Obama is looking forward to debating Mitt Romney when the presidential debates begin, as Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry have been doing a fine job of painting Mitt Romney as a cold-hearted capitalist who doesn’t have a clue what life is like for the common man. And that’s exactly what Mitt Romney comes off as; completely out of touch.
The question is; can Mitt Romney be stopped? I for one certainly hope not. If Republicans think they have a chance against a successful president who many Americans like, even if many conservatives don’t like, they’d better do some more thinking.