What a Mormon must do to win

Posted by admin on Jan 23, 2008 in Issues & Ideas | 0 comments

Mitt Romney, contender for the U.S. presidency, is in the middle of a political maelstrom. Can Romney keep his bid for the Republican nomination alive in the face of a series of losses in the U.S. primaries? He faces more than a dozen competitors in the United States’ biggest election; Fortune magazine calculates that the candidates will spend a collective $3 billion by the time campaigning ends.

Money isn’t an issue for Romney. White and wealthy—a stereotype, perhaps, of Republicans but hardly limited to the reds (Hillary Clinton raised over $100 million last year)—Romney has enough greenbacks to fund his campaign. Instead, his problem lies in the Republican Party’s own convoluted race.

Romney has often been hailed as the Republican Party’s prime choice for nomination, which would place him head-to-head against Obama or Clinton in November’s general election. However, thanks to some startling upsets, Romney has suddenly lost his lead. The presidential race is now as calculable as B.C. weather.

Three weeks ago, Romney was supposed to win in the Iowa primary. Instead, Baptist preacher Mike Huckabee attracted the votes of the conservative state’s Evangelical population and won. Romney’s second hope was to win in New Hampshire. He lost by five per cent to John McCain, who received needed support from independent voters.

Although Romney won Wyoming’s primary, coming in second in the more-publicized New Hampshire and Iowa primaries has goaded him to campaign with a passion that wasn’t seen previously. If Romney is to secure the Republican bid for president, he’ll have to pull ahead of his Republican opponents in the Nevada and South Carolina primaries (the former will have been decided by the time you read this). Victories there will help bolster his support for the Republican nomination in time for “Super Tuesday” in February, when 24 states hold simultaneous primaries.

Romney will have to do several things. He’ll have to reassure Christian America that his Mormon faith isn’t hazardous (in a speech in December, he emphasized that he believed “that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of mankind”). He’ll also have to set himself apart from other Republicans. This is Romney’s best tactic. To start with, Romney can emphasize his political experience. This would work well on an opponent like Huckabee, who was recently confused on whether or not he supported troop increases in Iraq. Even the ultra-moderate publication The Economist jumped into the fray, saying Huckabee “lacks foreign-policy savvy.” And while both Romney and Huckabee champion lowering taxes, Huckabee actually raised taxes while governing Arkansas over a decade ago. Questioned in an interview, Huckabee said he didn’t raise taxes, but raised “hope” and “expectations.” Romney needs to highlight if, and where, his actions follow through with his promises in contrast with Huckabee.

McCain, another Republican frontrunner, has recently released fliers in South Carolina accusing Romney for not voting early enough in support of tax cuts. Interestingly enough, McCain voted against the same tax cuts. And don’t even start on McCain’s view of climate change and his long-standing disagreements with other Republicans. Romney needs to capitalize on such hypocrisy. Romney is also against illegal immigration while McCain wants to make them citizens (for which the Arizona senator was booed last week while in Michigan).

Giuliani is the last serious contender in the Republican race. Romney needs to capitalize on the things that make social conservatives shudder, like Giuliani’s support for abortion. It is arguable that, should the Republicans choose Giuliani, the party will lose without the support of pro-family and pro-life advocates.

Romney has a clear advantage over his Republican opponents, but to win he’ll have to be more forceful and passionate in explaining just what sets him apart from the rest of the crowd.