Mitt Romney: Good Attack Dog, but Why Vote for Him?

COMMENTARY | According to a Rasmussen Reports poll yesterday, Mitt Romney is now behind Rick Santorum in national polls for Republican Presidential nominee and also trails Santorum in his “home” state of Michigan. Santorum is running a TV ad in Michigan against Romney called “Rombo” that I found on the Huffington Post. The ad correctly shows Romney’s dirty attack style is coming back to bite him. As reported in the Los Angeles Times, Romney spends all his time attacking President Obama and his Republican rivals. Even thought he has run for President for five years, Romney spends almost no time saying why we should vote for him. This is one of the reasons I voted for Ron Paul in January here in South Carolina.

I expect Romney to go dirty and negative on Santorum over the next two weeks leading up to contests February 28 in Michigan and Arizona as Reuters reports. But Romney will have to give voters a reason to vote for him. If Romney fails to define himself soon, Santorum will and Obama certainly will if Romney wins the Republican nomination. Romney must tell us why he wants to be President. Ted Kennedy could not answer this simple question from Roger Mudd in 1980 other than he wished to beat Jimmy Carter. Ronald Reagan did beat Jimmy Carter in 1980 because he ran on a positive, simple campaign of American optimism, tax cuts and strong defense.

Romney needs to have a strong, simple, bold and optimistic message for his four years in office. For example, Romney could borrow some ideas from Ron Paul such as $1 trillion in spending cuts or ending the Federal Reserve. He could borrow Rick Perry’s idea of a flat tax or he could adopt the Fair Tax, which would end all income taxes for everyone like Mike Huckabee did in 2008. Even if you do not agree with these ideas, one must admit that these are big, bold and simple ideas. Romney must have big, bold, simple ideas that can fit on a postcard or in a 30-second positive ad that people can understand and get behind. Romney has a 59-point economic plan that no one remembers because it is hard to follow and he never talks about it.

Republicans all want to beat Obama in November. However, Romney must give Republicans a reason to get behind him enthusiastically. Romney must clarify his flip-flops, his reversals on key issues like abortion and support of the 2009 stimulus package. If Romney does not give Republicans a reason to vote for him and give him money, he will not be president.


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