Open Thread: Not Mitt Romney Movement?

November 7th, 2011 9:09 AM

With a number of news organizations labeling former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney "inevitable", a group of conservative bloggers and activists has banded together to demand a different Republican nominee. Their website, Not Mitt Romney, launched yesterday to encourage conservative primary voters to select a different nominee that conservatives are enthusiastic about supporting.

Do you think conservatives can agree on a different candidate? Read bloggers' takes after the break, and let us know your thoughts in the comments.

John Hawkins of Right Wing News explained why he helped found Not Mitt Romney

...[I]f Romney gets elected, which Romney will be President?

Romney 1.0: The left-of-center Republican who was adamantly pro-choice and wasn’t a fan of Reagan or the Contract with America during his run at Ted Kennedy’s seat?

Romney 2.0: The moderate, center-right governor of Massachusetts who left after one term because he would have lost if he ran again in 2006?

Romney 3.0: The fire breathing “conservative alternative” to John McCain who pretended like he was the reincarnation of Reagan?

Romney 4.0: The guy who’s running now, who believes whatever you believe, no matter what you believe?

Remember how Nancy Pelosi said we need to pass Obamacare “so you can find out what’s in it?” Well, is it any different with Mitt Romney? Does anybody really have the slightest idea what he’d do as President? Nobody can even reasonably predict where the guy will be on any issue six months from now, much less what he’ll do if he becomes the leader of the free world. [...] 

A lot of conservatives think exactly the way that we do, but they don’t want to take any flack for hammering Romney, think Romney is inevitable, or aren’t in a position where they can risk making the potential Republican nominee for the presidency angry. Well, we can speak out on their behalf and we think that after the Tea Party helped deliver the strongest performance for the Republican Party in 50 years, it’s a mistake to go backwards and select a guy like Mitt Romney as our nominee.

Do grassroots conservatives really want to spend a year defending a flip-flopping hack that we don’t even like? We already have one man running for the presidency whose every promise comes with an expiration date; so does America need two candidates like that? Does this have to be yet another “lesser of two evils” election where people have to hold their nose and choose between two candidates that they don’t want? 

Hawkins is working with a number of other prominent conservatives, including Ali Akbar, Matt Mackowiak, Tiffiny Ruegner, and Robert Stacy McCain, to stop Mitt Romney's campaign in favor of a different GOP candidate.

Beyond Not Mitt Romney, other conservatives are also working to end Romney support. Free Republic founder Jim Robinson has explicitly stated his website does not welcome Romney supporters in the past, and has further explained why Free Republic does not support Romney as the GOP nominee.

Free Republic is a pro-life, pro-family, pro-gun, pro-small government, pro-constitution, pro-liberty site. Governor Romney is none of the above. His record is that of an abortionist, gay rights pushing, gun grabbing, global warming advocating, big government, mandate loving, constitution trampling, flip-flopping liberal progressive with no core values. That and the fact that he is the chief architect and advocate for ObamaCare disqualifies him for any consideration whatsoever on Free Republic as a potential nominee for the presidency.

Do you agree that conservatives should find a different nominee besides Mitt Romney?