Ed Augustus: No Time for an Alternative to Mitt Romney

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Saturday, April 07, 2012

Ed Augustus, GoLocalWorcester MINDSETTER™

Have the most conservative elements of the Republican Party given up trying to find an alternative to Mitt Romney?

That is a question that is increasingly on the minds of political observers as Romney seems to be hitting his stride in terms of recent primary results and amassing what looks like an insurmountable delegate advantage. While the social conservatives and tea party elements of the Republican primary electorate may not have seen their candidate of choice win the nomination, there is no questions that their impact has been felt.

Through the fall and early winter, with what was a nearly weekly slate of debates, the candidates continued to move both their positions and rhetoric in the direction of the most conservative elements in the party to win the support of those groups that are always the most motivated and dedicated voters in the primaries and caucus. These voters were able to get comittments for on the most conservative of positions when it came to immigration, abortion, gay rights and taxes from all the candidates, including Romney.

One has to wonder if what might be necessary to win a Republican nomination will be what sinks the Republican Party’s chances to win in the general election.

With women making up more than 50 percent of the electorate, can the distracting debate over contraception or the vows to be even more aggressive to root out any role for Planned Parenthood – not just in abortion but in women’s health – be a winning strategy to close the historic gender gap and allow the Romney to win in November? That’s in addition to the extreme positions taken regarding immigration, given the huge and growing Latino population, especially in key swing states like New Mexico, Colorado and Florida.

While the social conservatives and tea party activist have not gotten their preferred candidate they have gotten policy promises from the all but certain nominee. The question is: By doing so have you ensured that he is unelectable in November?

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