United States Primaries: From Easy to Chaos
Published in Le Devoir
(Canada) on 12 January 2012
by Serge Truffaut (link to original)
For the first time since 1976, a Republican candidate has won the primaries in both Iowa and New Hampshire. It is clearly Mitt Romney. The next step, South Carolina, promises to be even more turbulent for the Mormon Romney, the master of provocation.
Romney’s victory in New Hampshire was easy and convincing. The victory was explained, at least in part, by a sociological fact combined with the factor of proximity. This state is the second least religious one; therefore it was quite impervious to Rick Santorum’s discourse of Christianity and family values, which came as a surprise in Iowa. That’s one.
Second, because he was governor of neighboring state Massachusetts, New Hampshire’s residents had a deeper insight into Romney’s records and political positions. Where others bothered or troubled, so to speak, Romney reassured his position as a more conventional or traditional Republican, against classic approaches used by Santorum, Gingrich and Ron Paul. Surprisingly, Paul is strangely as libertarian as isolationist.
That being said, Romney’s adventure in the roads of South Carolina is expected to be more chaotic — once again for religious reasons. Unlike New Hampshire, the residents of this state do not kid with others bearing the imprint of the divine and relayed by the Baptists, Evangelicals or Episcopalians among others, with the explicit condition that it will not be by a Mormon. The latter prohibits alcohol, which is offensive in this state based in Bordeaux, the capital of Saint-Emilion, Medoc. After religion, let’s move on to Romney’s other handicap: he is rich. Very rich. In fact, in the history of the United States, Romney is a candidate who has amassed the largest fortune yet.
Gingrich is preparing to brutally attack Romney with the wealth factor. How? A millionaire friend of Gingrich has produced a film to expose the times of Romney as governor of Massachusetts. In the 30-minute documentary, Gingrich’s counterparts focus on detailing the actions taken by the Mormon candidate to butcher a number of companies while he was boss of an investment fund in the Boston area. In short, they make him seem as a “producer” of unemployed.
This spot had not already been taken, as other competitors followed Gingrich’s footsteps. Santorum and Rick Perry, former governor of Texas, speak of Romney as being a “vulture of capitalism” when they are not using the term “job cutter.” And how did the victim react to this offense? Badly. Very badly. Instead of clearly exposing what he did in this matter, he went vague. The more time he takes to explain himself, the more it will benefit… Barack Obama! Especially since the unemployment rate has been falling for several consecutive months.
Romney’s victory in New Hampshire was easy and convincing. The victory was explained, at least in part, by a sociological fact combined with the factor of proximity. This state is the second least religious one; therefore it was quite impervious to Rick Santorum’s discourse of Christianity and family values, which came as a surprise in Iowa. That’s one.
Second, because he was governor of neighboring state Massachusetts, New Hampshire’s residents had a deeper insight into Romney’s records and political positions. Where others bothered or troubled, so to speak, Romney reassured his position as a more conventional or traditional Republican, against classic approaches used by Santorum, Gingrich and Ron Paul. Surprisingly, Paul is strangely as libertarian as isolationist.
That being said, Romney’s adventure in the roads of South Carolina is expected to be more chaotic — once again for religious reasons. Unlike New Hampshire, the residents of this state do not kid with others bearing the imprint of the divine and relayed by the Baptists, Evangelicals or Episcopalians among others, with the explicit condition that it will not be by a Mormon. The latter prohibits alcohol, which is offensive in this state based in Bordeaux, the capital of Saint-Emilion, Medoc. After religion, let’s move on to Romney’s other handicap: he is rich. Very rich. In fact, in the history of the United States, Romney is a candidate who has amassed the largest fortune yet.
Gingrich is preparing to brutally attack Romney with the wealth factor. How? A millionaire friend of Gingrich has produced a film to expose the times of Romney as governor of Massachusetts. In the 30-minute documentary, Gingrich’s counterparts focus on detailing the actions taken by the Mormon candidate to butcher a number of companies while he was boss of an investment fund in the Boston area. In short, they make him seem as a “producer” of unemployed.
This spot had not already been taken, as other competitors followed Gingrich’s footsteps. Santorum and Rick Perry, former governor of Texas, speak of Romney as being a “vulture of capitalism” when they are not using the term “job cutter.” And how did the victim react to this offense? Badly. Very badly. Instead of clearly exposing what he did in this matter, he went vague. The more time he takes to explain himself, the more it will benefit… Barack Obama! Especially since the unemployment rate has been falling for several consecutive months.