After Florida Primary, natter about ‘very poor’ and phone calls

The parking lot at one NE Florida precinct says it all. About 300 people had voted there by 12:30 p.m. on Primary Day. The US Report made calls to voters in several areas. All said they didn't have to wait in line.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney’s infrastructure paid off on Tuesday when he added Florida to his victory roster in the Republican primaries and caucuses. Most Florida political observers expected Romney to win, especially after former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich’s restraint in the two debates a week ahead of the primary

By Wednesday morning, the blogosphere was abuzz over something Romney did and something Gingrich didn’t do.

Both candidates’ supporters are at odds, judging by social media like Facebook and Twitter, and it appears the candidate field won’t be winnowed before Super Tuesday in March.

Romney told a CNN pundit he wasn’t concerned about the ‘very poor’—he’s focused on middle income Americans. After all the very poor have a safety net.

The ‘sphere lit up, as did big media who spun it as a sizable gaffe. It may be, if media coalesces around it. It’s a certainty the Left made a note of it.

However, for the middle class working folks, it’s red meat. There’s a near-universal cry among some sectors of the middle class, regardless of race, creed or gender, that they’re working hard while others get a free ride.

The natter class makes much of the ‘very poor’ but it’s likely not a single ‘natterer’ would invite a ‘very poor’ individual to supper.

The danger in a remark like Romney made is what the political sphere does with it and of course the Left will be happy to accommodate anything potentially damaging to a Republican.

In sharp contrast on Tuesday, President Barack Obama confused himself about the country of Georgia—he alluded to it as ‘Russia’, temporarily forgetting that Georgia fought to break away from Russia. As always, even when he expanded the number of US states, Obama more or less got a pass.

Meanwhile, pundits on Fox couldn’t seem to get over the fact Gingrich didn’t call Romney to congratulate him. Why that would be important to the people is anyone’s guess. Do you care if one politician calls the other after a race?

Gingrich was the target of more than a thousand negative ads that left an impression he’d done some sort of horrible misdeed in office. Those ads of course stopped short of admitting the former speaker was cleared, on tax charges. Why would you call an adversary in circumstances like that? For show? Spare me.

On Facebook, the Republican National Committee posted a note asking for support, and the responses were not kind. Conservatives in particular seemed angry, but fact is, the RNC is not terribly concerned with conservatives—fiscal, social or otherwise.

Romney’s victory agreed with him—he seems far more personable than he did at the outset of the primary season. Romney’s victory in Florida was the result of a remarkable infrastructure dating to his 2008 loss—many Republican women, GOP youth, state and US legislators and power brokers did the heavy lifting with fundraising, knocking on doors and distributing signs and other materials. He had the foresight to take advantage of absentee ballot mailings.

He also had the millions to pay for those attack ads.

Gingrich on the other hand, didn’t have millions for such a purpose and in my opinion, his money would have been better spent defining his own narrative in a sharply contrasting manner. You can’t mount an attack campaign without a ton of money. Furthermore, Gingrich is at his best when he focuses on Every-Man’s-America.  That was what drew supporters, if you recall, early on.

Whatever your candidate in this race that will surely continue, it must be pointed out that Romney and the team he attracted in Florida were well-prepared to take on his challengers.

How that would work against President Barack Obama in November is a topic for another column.

The Associated Press pegged the turnout at approximately 40 percent, noting that was less than in 2008.

(Commentary by Kay B. Day/Feb. 1, 2012)

Visit Election Resource pages at The US Report.