Nice try

Posted at 8:44 PM on September 27, 2006 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)

Now that we're the center of the GOP universe, we have to broaden our knowledge a little bit, I guess. So...enough of the Senate race! Enough of the 6th district. That's just so..... so..... Minnesota.

Let's talk presidential race for a minute. I stopped by Red State today and noticed this.

We call Massachusetts the most liberal state commonwealth in the nation only because we call Vermont the only socialist state in the nation. Yet, in that dynamic, Massachusetts elected Mitt Romney as Governor and Romney is widely regarded as one of the front runners for the Republican nomination in 2008.

The suggestion would seem to be that since Romney -- a Republican -- was elected governor of a liberal state like Massachusetts, he must be the frontrunner for president when the Republicans convene in St. Paul, I mean the Twin Cities, in '08. A Republican winning in Massachusetts? Something special, eh?

Nice try.

Want to guess how many Democrats Massachusetts voters have elected governor since 1956?

Two.

Mike Dukakis (twice) and Ed King. And Ed King, said to be Ronald Reagan's favorite Democrat, eventually became a Republican.

It's been 20 years since Massachusetts put a Democrat into the governor's office. That, by the way, is apparently about to change, according to the latest polls.

But let's consider this notion that Romney is a frontrunner. Really? A rich kid from Massachusetts/Michigan carrying the South. Don't tell the voters in Georgia that. I'll give you that he might be a "frontrunner" as in "we've heard of him," however.

But the real frontrunners right now are John McCain and Rudy Guiliani. That, of course, could change, but it hasn't changed yet. And, if the '04 delegates are any indication, Guiliani will find a much friendlier crowd here than McCain will.

Now, don't get me wrong. Romney has a lot going for him. The top GOPer in the Iowa House just joined his campaign, which would be a bigger deal, I guess, if Iowa mattered as much in '08 as it has in the past. And if New Hampshire mattered as much as it has in the past. But, neither does.

And besides, the only people with worse track records at running for president than people from Massachusetts are people from Minnesota.

If Romney should walk out of St. Paul -- I mean the Twin Cities -- with the nomination on September 4, 2008, he likely won't even carry his home state -- either one of them. Ask Al Gore how that works.

Say, now that we're big enough to host a national political convention, can we have a real presidential primary now?

The GOP candidates. Get to know 'em, Minnesota!

Comments (1)

I'm very interested in the GOP candidates. It's such a wide-open field. Much more interesting than usual (for both major parties).

But I'm having a hard time seeing either Guiliani (pro-choice, socially liberal in general, big sex scandal just waiting for a chance to give him a hard time) or Romney (Massachusetts, silver spoon, Mormon) as a front runner.

Maybe I'm a cynic, but I think as a country that we're generally not too comfortable with Mormonism in general - not comfortable enough, at least, to elect one as President.

Posted by Victoria | September 28, 2006 11:02 AM

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