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Did Romney Buy the GOP Nomination?

By on April 13, 2012

Now that Rick Santorum has dropped out of the GOP contest, today saying he had no money to run ads in Pennsylvania, it seems that there is no barrier to Romney’s coronation. Gingrich has curled up in a corner whimpering about injustice, but it clear he too was laid low by a lack of money, as well as an undisciplined mouth.

The trouble for the GOP is that it seems like 50% or more of Republican voters still do not want Romney. Given the lukewarm endorsements he has garnered, it seems unlikely most GOP incumbents are eager to run on a ticket this November head by him. And who can blame them? By now his say-anything-do-anything approach to campaigning is a familiar problem. Yes, Conservatives still don’t think he is a real Conservative. We hear about this endlessly. But Independents, on the other side, have no more idea what he would really do as chief executive either. I think this has graver consequences since they have alternative places to go with their votes.

How did the GOP get into this predicament? Money. Millions of dollars in PAC money from Romney’s plutocratic friends finally neutralized Newt when he was showing unexpected strength. Millions of dollars infused into TV ads knocked Santorum out of the race. OK neither was exactly another Ronald Reagan, but neither was the clueless Romney.

What Romney did have that the others lacked was access to hundreds of millions of dollars. That made the difference. And the Citizens United decision from the most political Supreme Court in a lifetime has only made it worse. As readers of these pages know, I have very serious problems with how we select our political office holders these days. Campaigns go on way too long and cost far too much. Only the rich or well-financed can afford to get involved. They have no monopoly on good ideas. The solution is not to open the flood gates to more cash.

Today’s candidate needs to have lots of it for media ads, robo-calls and junk mail. It should not be the guy who saturated the country with the most effective attack ads who prevails, but it often is. Until the voters say no to high rollers who stand for nothing but ‘office’, we will only see this phenomenon grow and grow. Is this to be democracy in the 21st Century? Is this our legacy to those follow?

 

Tom Godfrey

About Tom Godfrey

One comment on “Did Romney Buy the GOP Nomination?”

  1. KrikorD on said:

    Hello Tom,
    I received one of those mass mails and here was a response I KNOW they did not expect (I copied their pitch in quotes):

    “If Romney and the Republicans can erase their radical record and attack President Obama with enough secret SuperPAC-funded smears, then they will win in 2012.”

    If this is the case, then this country is full of people who should be lead by ignorants like themselves. At some point we need to take a step back and look at where election of our leaders is taking us. This has to stop. I am an ardent supporter of President Obama, but I refuse to compromise my principles to degraded levels as this. Yes, we may loose the office and governing seats to the likes of idiots. At some point, the battle for a cause will result in it’s very demise. If you feel you are fighting for your country, you may be gutting out any dignity left when you win.

    Politics is the engagement in the affairs of the state or community. A candidate is suppose to campaign to engage the will of the people and serve that. There is no victor or loser. One simply is to offer their vision and leadership to move a town, city, state or country in the direction the populous chooses. This obviously has reasonable limits and is governed by the constitution.
    When money is the deciding factor, then the will of the populous has gone from being an informed and constructive movement to being cast into the Plato’s cave.

    By continuing to engage in the current state of politics (they should really find another word for it), we are simply feeding further into the state’s demise. Yes, we have a right to be heard and need to engage in what is our duty.We do not need to play the game with their rules. I have yet to see a candidate who’s focus is driven by his duty to the people – this individual would only last one term, but affect the country for generations.

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