Both on the ground and in the polls, it is rapidly becoming apparent that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has a huge credibility problem with the Tea Party that he must solve if he is going to have a chance against Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
FreedomWorks announced yesterday that they will protest Romney’s appearance at a rally this Sunday in Concord, N.H. The rally is part of the Tea Party Express’ cross country bus tour that is set to culminate in Tampa, Fla., before the Sept. 12 CNN presidential debate. “We have to defend our brand against poseurs,” FreedomWorks organizer Brendan Steinhauser told Politico. “If we can’t make any distinction between any of the candidates, if we’re just going to provide cover for the establishment candidates, then what is the point of having the tea party?”
Other self-identified Tea Party groups echo FreedomWorks concerns. Andrew Hemingway of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire predicted at least five other Tea Party affiliated groups would join the protest. ““The tea party stands for a few pretty core principles – limited government, individual responsibility – and Mitt Romney does not represent those.”
The anti-Romney sentiment expressed by Hemingway and Steinhauser is also evident in early polling of the GOP field. According to CNN’s latest poll, “Tea Party Supporters” prefer Perry over Romney by a 30-point margin (41 to 11). Republicans who describe themselves as “Tea Party Neutral” only prefer Perry by 3%.
Romney better choose how to close this gap wisely. If he decides to attack Perry from the left on entitlements, like Marc Thiessen reported he might, he could quickly become the next Newt Gingrich.
Around the Bigs
The Hill, ATF head removed by Justice Dept. after ‘Fast and Furious’ controversy: Two Obama administration officials were removed from their current posts yesterday for their roles on the botched Fast and Furious gun-tracking operation. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives acting director Kenneth Melson was transferred to the Office of Legal Policy and U.S. Attorney for Arizona, Dennis Burke, announced his resignation.
The Washington Examiner, New warning bells in Operation Fast and Furious probe: An Examiner editorial worries that Melson’s re-assignment to a high-paying out of the spotlight post is designed to muzzle him.
Gallup, In U.S., Worries About Job Cutbacks Return to Record Highs: According to a new Gallup poll, 30% of American workers worry they could lose their job, double the level seen in 2008 and almost tied with the 31% who felt the same way in August 2009.
The Washington Examiner, Obama, GOP clash over billion-dollar regulations: In response to an August 26th letter from Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, President Obama identified seven pending regulations that will cost the U.S. economy more than $1 billion a year each, yesterday. “At a time like this, with our economy struggling to create jobs, it’s misguided for the federal government to be imposing so many new rules with such enormous costs, even when some of those rules may be well-intentioned,” Boehner said of Obama’s letter.
The Wall Street Journal, GOP Tax Expert to Lead Deficit-Committee Staff: Super Congress co-chairs Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, named Republican Senate Finance Committee chief tax counsel Mark Prater as their staff director, yesterday. “Mark has a proven track record of putting partisanship aside and reaching across the aisle to find balanced solutions—and that’s exactly what this Joint Committee needs,” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said.
The Wall Street Journal, Economy Deeply Divides Fed: The minutes of the Federal Reserve’s August 9th meeting, released yesterday, show some Federal Reserve officials wanted to immediately resume the bank’s bond buying program, also known as quantitative easing. Others pressed for much smaller steps.
The Wall Street Journal, June home prices below year-earlier levels: According to the Case-Shiller Index, released yesterday, home prices rose 3.6% for the quarter ending in June, but fell 5.9% annually, sending prices back to 2003 levels. The Conference Board also released data showing consumer confidence has fallen to its lowest level in two years.
The New York Times, Tripoli Divided as Rebels Jostle to Fill Power Vacuum: Tripoli has been divided up into separate fiefs each controlled by quasi-independent brigades representing different geographic areas of the country. The Libyan rebels’ Transitional National Council has failed to enter Tripoli yet citing safety concerns.
Campaign 2012
Romney:Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney rearranged his New Hampshire schedule so that he can attend a Labor Day forum hosted by Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., in South Carolina. Romney had initially indicated he would not attend DeMint’s forum but after state activists complained he was not making a big enough effort in the state, Romney changed his mind.
Nevada 2: Early returns show that Republicans are out-voting Democrats far beyond their already established voter registration advantage in in Nevada’s Sept. 13 House special election. Nevada’s 2nd Congressional District has been vacant since Gov. Brian Sandoval appointed Rep. Dean Heller to the Senate.
Righty Playbook
The Heritage Foundation‘s Lachlan Markay notes that Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently told a trucking company they could not fire alcoholics.
Doug Powers takes Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator Craig Fugate to task for referring to government as our “federal family.”
The Corner‘s Mark Krikorian wonders how President Obama’s illegal alien Uncle Omar got a Social Security number.
Lefty Playbook
Talking Points Memo‘s Brian Beutler is encouraged by Mark Prater’s selection as staff director for the Super Congress: “A Republican with significant tax expertise will be fairly well positioned to find ways to accommodate Dems to some extent or other on revenue.”
ThinkProgress claims House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., wants to cut first responder funding before supporting “any” hurricane disaster funding.
Matt Yglesias explains why Obama’s job speech will disappoint progressives: “If you’re going to propose things that can pass Congress and they create jobs, then I don’t think it matters whether or not they’re popular. The job creation will be rewarded. But if you’re going to pass something that can’t pass Congress, then it doesn’t matter at all whether it would hypothetically work, all that matters is that it polls well. And as Chait says, the things that Keynesian analysis suggests would create jobs — much larger budget deficits, higher inflation — are not popular things to campaign on. The smart move, if you’re just going to give a speech for speech’s sake, is to make the speech be full of nonsense bromides that voters like to hear.”
