New York's Heilemann: Conservative 'Ferocity' In Defeat Will Be 'Breathtaking' and 'Scary'

In his day job at New York magazine, political writer John Heilemann is throwing cold water on Romney victory hopes. “What's true, however, is that two or three weeks ago, Mitt Romney and his people were fully convinced, and not entirely without reason, that victory was within their grasp. The reality now, though, is that this is no longer true.”

As victory eludes Romney’s grasp, beware the “ferocity” of the Romney voters who “despise Obama,” for it will be “breathtaking, and perhaps not a little scary”: 

That Romney and his people have not yet completely wrapped their heads and hearts around this is unsurprising: In politics as in life, the recognition of deep loss comes slowly and with no small degree of anguish before it takes hold fully. But, eventually, take hold it does. And if loss is to be Romney's fate, the question for him will be how handles it, for the ferocity of the reaction of many of his supporters — those who despise Obama with a passion so raw and burning it is hard to comprehend — will be breathtaking, and perhaps not a little scary.

Heilemann argued, “More than a few Republicans are already blaming Sandy for the defeat that Romney is likely to suffer — but this is the purest bulls--t, for the Republican's post-Denver momentum had already stalled out well before the hurricane hit.”