If the Michigan primary revealed anything it’s not just how precarious Mitt Romney’s fortunes are in his own home state, it’s how precarious the Republican Party’s fortunes may be in both Michigan and Ohio. In Michigan “the most striking fact from the exit polls there was the fact that four in ten primary voters said they supported the Obama Administration’s 2009 intervention to rescue the big automakers.” If this is the case in Michigan one could logically extrapolate a similar situation in Ohio as that state is second only to Michigan when you consider how important the auto industry is to the state’s economy.
Both Romney and Santorum, in their pandering to the extremists within the G.O.P. have railed against the auto industry bailout, Romney doing so even after he supported bailing out his Wall Street pals. Thus there is little damage they can to to each other in their struggle for the G.O.P. nomination. However, at the same time they could be unwittingly aiding and abetting the cause of Barack Obama in these states come November. To wit: “Before the auto giants began revving back up last year, Michigan was hurting so badly that it seemed capable of voting Republican for President for the first time since 1988. Not so much anymore. And Ohio? Obama is already holding his ground there against both Romney and Santorum (and has a solid lead if you discount one seemingly anomalous Fox News survey).”
To make matters worse for the G.O.P. Chrysler’s sales were recently at record levels and it’s profitable for the first time in years, G.M. is once again the world’s largest car maker, and, rank and file auto workers are going to get a profit sharing bonus. So let me ask everyone, how’s that bashing the auto bailout working for conservatives? Not to well, why even their opposition to Clint Eastwood’s Super Bowl commercial blew up in their face and sent them scrambling into the damage control mode. Yup, it’s bad mojo to bet against the American worker and even worse mojo to root against your own country. Unfortunately for the Republican Party, its rhetoric on the auto bailout could be the gift that keeps on giving for Barack Obama and the Democrats.
S.J.G.
3/1/12
Source: Why the GOP Has Auto-Bailout Blues; http://swampland.time.com/2012/03/01/why-the-gop-has-auto-bailout-blues/?xid=thepage_newsletter
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MI’s been Blue for President since 1984.
Ohio is still in the up for grabs column. If it’s not the election’s over.
Romney needs to bring back all the traditionally red states (which he can) NH, VA, NC, CO, IA, WI, NV.
He has to win FL and he has to win OH.
Electoral math is really the guiding force in Presidential elections, and it sort of negates the whole “one man, one vote” concept.
It’s not looking that great for him.
Michigan voted for Reagan in 1984 (like virtually everywhere else) and also for Bush Senior in 1992. Since 1996, they’ve voted Democratic. It was very close in 2004 (when Kerry won but, so they claim, lost Ohio).
But Obama won big in Michigan in 2008 (57% of the vote). So, I tend to agree with your conclusion if not your facts on Michigan.
Ohio – I agree and the polls show – is still too close to call. I expect the President to spend a lot of time in Ohio between now and November.