Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

Seamus! Romney Drops Out, Rehires Gardeners

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(AP) — States he will run again for Massachusetts Governor and, if successful, use it to kick-start 2012 White House attempt. (Just kidding, I hope).

This was first reported by alert BMG commenter Cayres1 at 12.20 as a possibility, (note that all BMG timestamps are about 10 minutes late, for some weird reason), and confirmed by kyledeb at 12.53 or so. Pablo explained why he feels so so sad 10 minutes later, ProgressiveMan called for the blimp about two minutes after that, and LynPB explained that His Expediency said that if he stays in the race Senators Clinton or Obama might win in November (ah, so that’s it). It takes a village.

Per the NYT:

Members of the campaign staff were told they will be getting two weeks pay, according one staffer.

That’s what happens when the VC guys pull the plug.

Well, well. What went wrong? Does this mean that our great country is now consigned to an inevitable decline? Are we (as noted by several alert commenters below), just one Democratic candidate away from surrender in the war on terror? Could construction of an Al-Qaeda base in Belmont and forced enrollment of all U.S. children in Wahhabi madrassas be far behind?

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Comments

  1. I think I just saw a blimp crash to the ground off in the distance near Belmont…  It may have gotten impaled on that tall spire of the Mormon Temple on Rte. 2.

  4. Wow!  So, what happens to his 200 delegates, and how will this affect the rest of the primaries?

    • My understanding is that a key difference between ending a campaign and suspending it is that ending automatically releases delegates, whereas suspending keeps them committed to Romney on the first ballot.  With McCain likely to clinch the nomination before the convention, Romney probably will release his eventually.

      <

      p>On our side its more interesting.  I don’t remember how many delegates Edwards managed to get before SUSPENDING his campaign, but if Clinton and Obama remain close and no-one clinches, Edwards can use his delegates as leverage.  If he had simply ended his campaign they would simply be on their own.

      <

      p>As to benefit from Romney’s exit I would say advantage to Huckabee.  He’s still not likely to be the nominee, but now there is only one conservative candidate to take all of the base anti-McCain vote.  He continued to say after Romney’s decision that he is still in the race.

      • Edwards had 26, or .6% of the total.  Equal to the combined weight of unpledged DNC members from California and Florida.  It’s not much leverage, though it is fair game in the momentum balance.  

      • well, sort of.

        <

        p>On Dem side, suspended have to stay loyal.  However, IIUC, on the GOP side each state controls the level of loyalty for Mittgates.

  5. Will the Godless GOPers surge for RP?  He might break into double digits… but in GOP land, that rarely earns any delegates.

  6. … due to this gem:

    <

    p>

    If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror

    <

    p>I have no response to that.

    • … is that I only have but one lie to give to my country…”  *

      <

      p>  

      If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror

      <

      p>Put me down as more willing to die at the hands of a terrorist than live under a Romney Presidency.

      <

      p>*no, it’s not a typo….  

    • Romney shows himself to be just another limp dick corporatist who can’t accept his own failures. Instead of departing gracefully, he claims to fall on his sword in order to protect the republic from the terrorist sympathizing progressives. He’s a fraud to his core.

  8. An idiot to the end, from TPM

    <

    p>

    “If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror.”

  9. Note, though, that Romney is not ending his campaign; he is suspending it. There’s always room for him to change his mind on this.

    <

    p>Let’s remain hopeful.

    • If not, his final flip-flop as a candidate goes down in history as his pledge to fight on through the convention, less than 48 hours ago.  Though to be fair, most unsuccessful candidates probably deny they are going to quit within 48 hours of announcing that they are quitting.

      <

      p>”Surrender to terror” — jeez, what a maroon!

  12. Sorry, couldn’t resist.

    <

    p>Anyway, I’ll repeat here what I’ve said several times before:

    <

    p>

    What a tragedy the Romney campaign is.  Here’s an indisputably smart and successful guy who could have run an interesting and competitive campaign, if he had only run as what he is: a Club for Growth, Wall Street conservative who believes deeply in free markets as a way to create a rising tide that lifts all boats.  My guess is that that guy also understands that immigration is a complicated issue and that the reactionary talk-radio approach to it will hurt American business, and also that he doesn’t really care much about social issues as long as people basically mind their own business.  But no.  Some lame-ass consultant decided that that guy couldn’t win in Iowa and New Hampshire, and Romney believed it, so instead Romney created a new, incoherent, and utterly unconvincing persona for himself.

    <

    p>That’s what went wrong.

    <

    p>What do we have to look forward to?  How about Jim Ogonowski beating Romney in the primary for John Kerry’s seat.  That might be fun.

    • I think he started to figure it out after his IA/NH losses, but by then the mark had been made.  

  13. ” I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror.”

    <

    p>Well he’s right about that.  If he actually ever became President it would certainly fill me with terror!

  14. So, I suppose it’s a bit premature to start taking bets on which of the five Romney boys will run for President in 20 years, continuing the family tradition.

      • and this is my brother Romney and my other brother Romney.

        <

        p>And my other other brother Romney and my other other other other brother Romney.

  15. Take a look at his prepared remarks and one quote in particular:

    <

    p>

    And Barack and Hillary have made their intentions clear regarding Iraq and the war on terror. They would retreat and declare defeat. And the consequence of that would be devastating. It would mean attacks on America, launched from safe havens that make Afghanistan under the Taliban look like child’s play. About this, I have no doubt.

    <

    p>Let’s see who’s willing to denounce this statement in the next few days…and whether McCain has the cojones to distance himself from it.

    • I’m just a conduit for the General Will of the BMG community.

      <

      p>I do think I can see the tiny silhouette of a three-legged dog there, though, in the lower right. The fourth leg is raised in an eternal salute.

  17. I expect an animated .gif by the end of the day lol.

    <

    p>A bad week for PP. The Pats and Willard Mitt – is PP curse? I can’t wait until that PP Kiss o’ Death is sent McCain’s way.

  20. Does this mean that the five brothers are all going to enlist in the armed services?  Because they clearly can’t show their love for America by campaigning for dear old dad anymore.

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