GOP Insiders Signal Enthusiasm About Romney As Presumptive Nominee
Speaking as part of a panel of conservative lawmakers this week, Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, summed up a pretty popular sentiment among his peers. When asked if he was excited about having Mitt Romney as the Republican nominee Gohmert said, "I'm not as excited as I am desperate."
The motivation, he said was less about Romney and more about getting President Obama "out of the White House before he destroys this country."
If conservatives didn't get exactly who they might have wanted, it doesn't mean they aren't excited that Romney is the nominee. Many of them are, if for no other reason than because they like him more than Obama. When asked, 65 percent of GOP respondents in this week's National Journal Insiders Poll said they were "very excited" about the prospect of Romney's nomination, with 30 percent saying they were "somewhat excited" and five percent saying they were "apathetic." But when asked, many of these excited members spent as much time discussing their disdain for Obama as their excitement about Romney.
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How excited are you that Mitt Romney is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee? |
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| Republicans (20 votes) |
Democrats (102 votes) |
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| Very excited | 65% | 14% |
| Somewhat excited | 30% | 14% |
| Apathetic | 5% | 68% |
| Other (volunteered) | 0% | 5% |
"Compared to the prospect of four more years of failed leadership from President Obama, as a strong conservative I am very excited about a Romney White House," one Republican said.
"Barack Obama has failed to meet his own criteria for re-election and Mitt Romney is ready to lead on day one," said another member who claimed to be "very excited."
Members of the "somewhat excited" camp went even farther with this theme.
"It's all about President Obama," "The motivation is to remove Obama," and "frankly, Republicans are excited about beating Obama, not electing Romney or any of the other candidates," were all responses from this category.
Democrats on the other hand were overwhelmingly "apathetic" about the prospect of a Romney nomination.
Sixty-eight percent of them responded as such, saying he had "no principles, no core" and that he would be the "flip-flopper-in-Chief."
"He looks and acts like he was put together by a committee!" said one Democrat.
And the Democrats who were excited about his nomination were happy to have what they considered a weak opponent.
"He is a wooden out of touch rich guy that will not appeal to regular Americans," said one "very excited" Democrat. "Obama has lucked out!"
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