Reagan White House staffer says Romney 'least electable'

Liberal pundit Chris Matthews discussed the ad the Kennedy campaign prepared for Teddy's Senate race in 1994. Romney failed in his effort to unseat the longtime Democrat party boss. (Screen snip from Political Articles video at YouTube)There’s a deep concern among conservatives of different persuasions that former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, should he win the GOP nomination, will not be able to win the White House in November.

Despite victories in the 2010 Midterm Elections—victories directly enabled by conservatives and tea partiers—Republican power brokers virtually anointed a single candidate in 2011. The Republican National Committee Finance co-chair saw to that in October.

Remember if power brokers had prevailed, Ronald Reagan would’ve never been president.

Reagan White House staffer Peter Ferrara wrote an article in the American Spectator expressing concerns I’ve also written about.

In his article RINO Romney is the least electable, Ferrara wrote about Bush 41:

[B]ush agreed to permanent tax increases that are still with us. But the economy declined into recession as a result, so revenues actually declined as a percent of GDP as well…In return, Bush was supposed to get spending cuts. But spending actually rose as a percent of GDP after the 1990 budget deal. As a result, the deficit soared after that deal as well, from $221 billion in 1990, to $269 billion in 1991, to $290 billion in 1992. No wonder the voters booted Bush out in the 1992 election.

Ferrara also predicted what a Romney administration would be like:

Besides an income tax increase through a 1990 style budget deal, Romney's establishment RINOs will bring us a payroll tax increase as well. That is because they are promoting substantial Social Security benefit cuts from what is promised under current law, including delaying the retirement age, and changing the basic Social Security benefit formula to reduce future benefits to be paid under current law eventually by as much as one-third.

Numerous Romney supporters have decried recent attack ads PACs have launched, although pro-Romney PACs took no prisoners when they launched attack ads against the governor’s opponents early on.

For an idea about what the opposition will use to make a case against Romney, visit Red State or check out the video of Chris Matthews showing a 1994 opposition ad against Romney who lost the US Senate race for Massachusetts against Teddy Kennedy the Democrat.

Newt Gingrich’s campaign issued a statement on Thursday about the endorsements Romney has received from GOP luminaries like Gov. Nikki Haley (S.C.).  Salon said 35 Romney endorsers received contributions from his PAC prior to their endorsements.

Salon noted:

Romney’s Free and Strong America PAC and its affiliates states have lavished close to $1.3 million in campaign donations to federal, state and local GOP politicians, almost all since 2010. His recipients include officials in the major upcoming primary states of New Hampshire and South Carolina, and in three southern Super Tuesday states where he was trounced four years ago.

Also among FSA recipients was former GOP presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann who received funds for her 2008 congressional race.

Open Secrets has the full list of candidates who benefited from Romney’s PAC.

It’s fine for a PAC to help candidates. However, it’s useful to bear facts in mind when you hear a popular official offering an endorsement. In politics, context is everything.

Romney obviously worked very hard to raise funds for Republican candidates. Does that effort guarantee he would be a strong president?

(Commentary by Kay B. Day/Jan. 13. 2012)