Coulter's Cant on Romney's Loss

Romney lost because he was running against an incumbent, was beaten up during a long and vicious primary fight, and ran in a year with a very different electorate from 1980. At least one of those won't be true next time. But we're not going to win any elections by telling ourselves fairy tales about a candidate who lost because he wasn't conservative enough, articulate enough or mean enough.
--- Ann Coulter Romney was Not the Problem

Ann Coulter was a vocal Romney supporter early, and she harped on his candidacy repeatedly throughout the primaries until election day, when he lost by over one hundred electoral votes o an incumbent who was weighed down by his own broken promises, including high unemployment, stagnant economic growth, foreign policy crises, notably the Benghazi terrorist attack, and domestic concerns unchecked, like the ballooning national debt.

And let's not forget the unpopular health insurance mandate, ObamaCare, which a majority of Americans still opposed up until election day.

Coulter is now trying to save face by justifying her support for the former Massachusetts Governor.

One local party leader commented that he was the best out of the cadre of GOP Presidential candidates, and he was also a mediocre candidate.

Coulter wisely compares Governor Ronald Reagan's campaign against incumbent Jimmy Carter in the 1980 campaign. Yes, it is very difficult to unseat and incumbent. Yes, Ronald Reagan used to be a Democrat, and he signed into law and abortion bill, and he raised taxes in California. He was also an effective communicator, unlike Mitt Romney. Ronald Reagan had developed a sound and stable following among Republicans, even capturing the hearts of the 1976 delegates, although Ford won the nomination and lost the Presidency the same year.

Then again, Ford had never been elected in the first place. He pardoned Richard Nixon, who almost certainly would have been tried and convicted in a DC court for obstruction of justice. Ford's move was a long-term win for the country, but it was a short-term loss and irrevocable loss for his political career.

The 1980 Presidential campaign is not the best example for making the case for just about anything. The factors in this country, the previous voting population compared to now, the issues which dominated the public discussion, and the fledgling polling props do not compare with the technologies and techniques of politics today.

Besides, I do not recall $6 billion dollars being spent in the 1980 election by presidential candidates, parties, or independent groups.

Coulter cannot ignore the three complaints which in fact diminished interest, outcome, and victory for Romney:

He wasn't conservative enough:

The bruising primary exacerbated this problem. His stance on abortion and gay marriage did not change, but his views on gun control and healthcare, with RomneyCare as the crown jewel of gleaming, screaming skepticism among red-state base voters, permitted big government long-shots like Rick Santorum to drag out the primary process until April

The Republican Party decided to adopt a similar delegate apportionment system to the 2008 Democratic Party, one which created an unending fight between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton all the way until June.

He wasn't articulate enough

This gripe is a legitimate one. He seemed robotic and unreal in many interviews, including the one with Piers Morgan, in which Romney continued to deflect religious questions to "his church". He did not come off as warm and trustworthy. I do believe that Governor Romney is a warm and compassionate person, but unintended remarks like "47%"

He wasn't mean enough.

Romney pulled his punches way too much. Still lingering in his mind the one flub that brought down his father's candidacy in 1968, Mitt was too preserved and distant.

At the 2012 Convention, Clint Eastwood then Chris Christie stole the stage and the spotlight, leaving a tepid enthusiasm for the intended "start" of the show. In all too many ways, the 2012 election more resembled the 1976 outcomes, in which the real deal gave the keynote speech, but the Establishment pick walked away with the nomination (but not the election).

During the primaries and then the first few months of the campaign, Romney attacked Republicans with their unconventional responses to social questions, but he failed to go on the attack on the President, either in the swing states, during the summer hiatus, or in the third debate with the President. Senator-elect Ted Cruz was accurate in his snide appraisal, in that Romney was too nice. Too many foreign policy slips just passed by unchecked and unchallenged.

Too many debates, too long a primary, and a candidate who had been working for the nomination without working up any relevant enthusiasm all contributed to the widespread low-voter turnout. Plus a party playing from an older set of strategies which ignored the fiscal trials of men and women who are hard-working yet still struggling, along with minority groups growing closer to majority influence.

Coulter's assessment and defense of Mitt Romney rests on her characteristic blazing rhetoric, both to fire up her readers and justify her choice. She would send the wrong message about her analysis and her legacy if she confessed to backing a not-so winning horse.