Republican Insiders begin to prepare for post MI primary meltdown

Last edited Sat Feb 18, 2012, 09:40 PM USA/ET - Edit history (1)

edited to add PPP latest tweet "Santorum leading on the first night of our new Michigan poll, but much closer than we found there a week ago."

Romney's inevitable meltdown is coming earlier than predicted. Even if he wins Michigan it will be at such a cost in treasure and reputation that it will become the new political definition of Pyrrhic Victories.

The establishment is begining to forsee a process that would go to Santorum or Gingrich.

Fear is palpable in the country club class. Multiple senior sources are begining to leak alternative plans if Romney fails in Michigan;

http://www.politico.com/playbook/

THE CONVERSATION: A tippy-top Republican, unprompted, yesterday sketched the germ of a plan for a new candidate if Rick Santorum upsets Mitt Romney in the Michigan primary on Feb. 28. Our friend brought visual aids: chicken-scratched versions of prosaic documents that are circulating among GOP insiders like nuclear-code sheets: In case of mayhem, break glass!

Most reporters still think Romney “will find a way to win Michigan.” Nevertheless, some of the nation’s most powerful Republicans are poring over filing deadlines and pondering worst-case scenarios.

Our friend handed us a printout of FEC deadlines for ballot access, with five of them circled and starred: California (March 23), Montana (March 12), New Jersey (April 2), New Mexico (March 16) and South Dakota (March 27). The point: Even after Feb. 28, it might be possible to assemble a Hail Mary candidacy that could garner enough delegates to force a CONTESTED convention (a different nuance than BROKERED, which implies that someone is in charge).

At the same time that they were meeting they literarrly bumped into this reporter who had his own official leak from another Republican Senator

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/02/top-gop-senator-says-if-romney-loses-michigan-we-need-a-new-candidate/

A prominent Republican senator just told me that if Romney can’t win in Michigan, the Republican Party needs to go back to the drawing board and convince somebody new to get into the race.

“If Romney cannot win Michigan, we need a new candidate,” said the senator, who has not endorsed anyone and requested anonymity.

The senator believes Romney will ultimately win in Michigan but says he will publicly call for the party to find a new candidate if he does not.

“We’d get killed,” the senator said if Romney manages to win the nomination after he failed to win the state in which he grew up.

“He’d be too damaged,” he said. “If he can’t even win in Michigan, where his family is from, where he grew up.”

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15 replies	Author	Time	Post
Republican Insiders begin to prepare for post MI primary meltdown (Original post)	grantcart	Feb 2012	OP
I wonder how Santorum will take this..Kind of a slap in the face if he should win MI..n/t	monmouth	Feb 2012	#1
It would be fun for a brokered convention. Hilarious if they pick quitter Palin. I know they	southernyankeebelle	Feb 2012	#2
it will be truth...	oldhippydude	Feb 2012	#3
More bad news from PPP for Romney	grantcart	Feb 2012	#4
grantcart, just wanted to thank for your continued analysis.	joshcryer	Feb 2012	#5
I do wonder who qualifies as a "tippy-top" Repub in this post-apocolyptic hellscape they've made	bleever	Feb 2012	#6
The thing is, the candidate pool will be extremely shallow...	Drunken Irishman	Feb 2012	#7
I also still think Romney will pull Michigan out...	Drunken Irishman	Feb 2012	#8
It's times like these that I want to organize our own version of operation havoc	davidpdx	Feb 2012	#9
Well, I definitely want to engage in malicious voting on Feb. 28.	Denninmi	Feb 2012	#10
Good picture	davidpdx	Feb 2012	#15
PPP's tweet about the latest poll being much closer than a week ago could be significant.	DCBob	Feb 2012	#11
It will get closer, and the fighting will be getting nastier, in other words its a	grantcart	Feb 2012	#13
Don't forget--the Republican candidate gets 42% of the vote even if they nominate Joe The Plumber	DFW	Feb 2012	#12
Repubs are not pragmatic and will not unite to rally around whichever candidate ends up winning.	NYC Liberal	Feb 2012	#14

Response to grantcart (Original post)

Sat Feb 18, 2012, 08:45 PM

monmouth (21,078 posts)

Republican Insiders begin to prepare for post MI primary meltdown

1. I wonder how Santorum will take this..Kind of a slap in the face if he should win MI..n/t

2. It would be fun for a brokered convention. Hilarious if they pick quitter Palin. I know they

3. it will be truth...

4. More bad news from PPP for Romney

5. grantcart, just wanted to thank for your continued analysis.

6. I do wonder who qualifies as a "tippy-top" Repub in this post-apocolyptic hellscape they've made

7. The thing is, the candidate pool will be extremely shallow...

8. I also still think Romney will pull Michigan out...

9. It's times like these that I want to organize our own version of operation havoc

10. Well, I definitely want to engage in malicious voting on Feb. 28.

15. Good picture

11. PPP's tweet about the latest poll being much closer than a week ago could be significant.

13. It will get closer, and the fighting will be getting nastier, in other words its a

12. Don't forget--the Republican candidate gets 42% of the vote even if they nominate Joe The Plumber

14. Repubs are not pragmatic and will not unite to rally around whichever candidate ends up winning.