I think the GOP/Romney strategy is clear

[SonofThunder]

The Romney camp isn't going to go after Ron Paul directly because they don't want to give Ron Paul any legitimacy. So what they are doing is going after Obama non-stop as if Romney has already won the nomination. Look at all of the headlines today: Romney would deport Obama's Uncle, Romney would go toe to toe with Obama on Job Creation, etc etc etc

At the same time, the GOP Establishment is doing whatever it can to try and sucker-punch the Ron paul campaign. This keeps Romney's hands clean in the whole mess, while trying to divert attention away from the rising momentum of Ron Paul.

To me, this fully explains the comments the Iowa governor had the other day, along with a slew of other media hacks and GOP regulars.

[libertyfanatic]

Sounds about right

[Merk]

I think Romney and the GOP leaders are under some incredibly misguided perception that if Ron drops out (lolz) then his support will go to Romney because his campaign has been "nice" to us this time around (more lolz).

They just cannot get it though their heads that we will vote for no one but Ron. Anyone other than Ron getting the GOP nomination = Obama re-elected.

[SonofThunder]

I think Romney and the GOP leaders are under some incredibly misguided perception that if Ron drops out (lolz) then his support will go to Romney because his campaign has been "nice" to us this time around (more lolz).

They just cannot get it though their heads that we will vote for no one but Ron. Anyone other than Ron getting the GOP nomination = Obama re-elected.

I agree. I didn't say their strategy would work, just that it is clear :)

PS - by "work" I mean Romney winning the presidency

[CaptUSA]

Also, Ron Paul's campaign is a good blocker for Romney. Their calculus is if Paul stays strong enough to win second place in NH and can divert some of the anti-Romney vote in the south, Romney comes out stronger.

It's a good strategy from their perspective, but it can backfire if Paul gets too strong. It will be interesting how the calculus changes once candidates start dropping out. You must understand, though, that the decision as to when a candidate drops out will be coordinated with the other campaigns. Paul doesn't get to play in this game.

[bbartlog]

Why would Romney spend his cash attacking Paul when the media will do it for him for free?

[SonofThunder]

Also, Ron Paul's campaign is a good blocker for Romney. Their calculus is if Paul stays strong enough to win second place in NH and can divert some of the anti-Romney vote in the south, Romney comes out stronger.

It's a good strategy from their perspective, but it can backfire if Paul gets too strong. It will be interesting how the calculus changes once candidates start dropping out. You must understand, though, that the decision as to when a candidate drops out will be coordinated with the other campaigns. Paul doesn't get to play in this game.

Yes, this is the third leg that I neglected to mention.

I believe one of two things will happen:
1) The strategy will backfire because Ron Paul will gain more momentum than Romney expects and will beat him.
2) The strategy will backfire because Ron Paul's votes will all leave the GOP if he isn't the nominee, thus giving Obama another 4 years.

Either way, liberty wins! (OK it will be more difficult with #2, but we'll still win)

[Joseph]

Romney does go toe-to-toe with Obama on job creation. They both would be competing on who created the least amount of jobs. I don't know it's a toss up, it's pretty close.:D

[smithtg]

I also heard alot of chatter today that Newt wants a one on one debate with Romney next week - again I think an effort from the bosses to deflect attention away from RP. If Romney accepts (which he might) that would only help prove my argument IMO

[KingNothing]

Romney's run a tremendous campaign. He's convinced everyone that he's the front-runner, in spite of an absolutely abhorrent record. He's talking the talk now, and he's worked hard to convince everyone that he is the man for the Republican party.

I wouldn't say that he gets a pass now, though. Everyone, and I mean everyone, knows his record. Everyone knows he's flipped and flopped. Everyone knows he has no principles. Everyone knows he reeeeaaaalllllly wants to be President. What he has done, though, is position himself as the front-runner and then play a wonderful defensive game.

The media has run through basically every other candidate to find one that can beat him. So far they haven't found anyone that could hold up to scrutiny.

I say "so far" because I suspect that Paul will come out of this mess now relatively unscathed and win Iowa. When that happens.... who knows what will happen.

[SonofThunder]

Romney's run a tremendous campaign. He's convinced everyone that he's the front-runner, in spite of an absolutely abhorrent record. He's talking the talk now, and he's worked hard to convince everyone that he is the man for the Republican party.

I wouldn't say that he gets a pass now, though. Everyone, and I mean everyone, knows his record. Everyone knows he's flipped and flopped. Everyone knows he has no principles. Everyone knows he reeeeaaaalllllly wants to be President. What he has done, though, is position himself as the front-runner and then play a wonderful defensive game.

The media has run through basically every other candidate to find one that can beat him. So far they haven't found anyone that could hold up to scrutiny.

I say "so far" because I suspect that Paul will come out of this mess now relatively unscathed and win Iowa. When that happens.... who knows what will happen.
That's a good synopsis.

Call me a conspiracy theorist, but I don't think it is an accident that his biggest contributors also own large shares of the media companies.

[roversaurus]

Yes, this is the third leg that I neglected to mention.

I believe one of two things will happen:
1) The strategy will backfire because Ron Paul will gain more momentum than Romney expects and will beat him.
2) The strategy will backfire because Ron Paul's votes will all leave the GOP if he isn't the nominee, thus giving Obama another 4 years.

Either way, liberty wins! (OK it will be more difficult with #2, but we'll still win)

Absolutely. We need to vote for Obama if Paul is not the nominee... Because Obama is out in 4 years. If Romney is the Nominee then no decent republican will be the nominee in 4 years so we have to wait 8 years ... after 8 years of Romney will voters choose another republican? So we are looking at 12 more years before there is a chance at electing Rand Paul... Can the country survive 12 more years of bailouts?