Democrats are praising Mitt Romney for going away. Former Rep. John Dingell said that Romney has finally said something that the American people want to hear.
On Thursday night at the House Democrats retreat, President Obama took a jab at Romney’s newfound concern about poverty, “We’ve got a former presidential candidate on the other side who suddenly is just deeply concerned about poverty. That’s great! Let’s go! Come on! Let’s do something about it!”
However, it wasn’t anything recent that pushed Romney out of the race. The reality is that his staff and donors abandoned him for Jeb Bush. According to The New York Times, “In a more than four-hour meeting last week, Mr. Romney’s top staff members and trusted advisers from 2012 relayed a sobering reality — they supported Mr. Romney and thought he would be the best president, but they did not necessarily encourage a third run. One by one, loyal supporters talked about surveying their troops from 2012, and finding that the enthusiasm and support were just not there. Some Iowa precinct leaders were not coming back, and even in New Hampshire — where Mr. Romney had won the primary — the mood was described at best as “cautiously optimistic.” The situation with donors was also going to be an uphill climb.”
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
It doesn’t matter what the Republicans who will be voting in the primaries want. It doesn’t matter that some of them have been wowed by Scott Walker. The Republican Party has decided that they are going to push Jeb Bush as their nominee. The party insiders got Romney out of the race but cutting off his supply of cash and staff. The Republican Party views Jeb Bush as new blood. The idea that nominating a Bush to go against a Clinton is a legacy argument is setting themselves up for a massive failure appears to be lost on them.
Non-Republicans are tired of Bushes and Mitt Romney. (The polling on Jeb Bush is a constant reminder that America isn’t ready for another Bush.) For years, the American people have been trying to tell Romney to go away, but Mitt kept holding on the delusion that it was still his time. Romney spent his entire 2012 campaign saying things that the American people disagreed with.
As this tweet from former Rep. John Dingell put it, Romney finally said something that the American people want to hear:
Congratulations to Mitt Romney for finally saying something the American people want to hear.
— John Dingell (@JohnDingell) January 30, 2015
Mitt Romney finally got something right. He is going away.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association