Romney will rise on Super Tuesday

By Bernie Quigley

For The Hill on 3/5/12

The reelection of Scott Brown in Massachusetts would be a landmark event. It would indicate that Massachusetts had passed its post- liberal period and is coming back to national relevance. A Suffolk University poll gives Brown a lead of nine over Elizabeth Warren, the best proxy candidate in an Obama referendum. This is bad news for President Obama. Intrade has Obama ahead at 60 % which might be a better indicator than fickle national polls which have him under 50. But that liberal Massachusetts continues with Brown a second time is a good indicator that we, the most entrenched of liberals, have reached a sea change and the Romney tide will rise on Super Tuesday.

Romney will rebuild conservatism from scratch and he is not a bad one to do it. He knows how to make things and fix things which are broke. It is what he does. And he sees utility in the everyday just as Picasso found utility in found objects. He will surprise everyone by inaugurating state sovereignty and regional responsibilities in new places and will apply much of Ron Paul’s thinking. Watching him in Massachusetts and at the Olympics I am sure of this. He is the rare politician who can see the value in new ideas when they apply and will not hesitate to use what works.

A New York Times column yesterday and my column here claimed the GOP was dying, which it is. But Romney will bring it back to life. He will make it a new party. It is what he does and has always done. “The last gasp of the GOP?” the Times asked and they insinuated that it was. But I recall asking the exact same question in a graduate class during the Jimmy Carter administration. It should be said by now that Obama is no Jimmy Carter. First off, he gets his man and the assassination of Osama bin Laden was a stunning piece of work by all involved, especially Obama.

The failure of Carter to get reelected was not policy related. It was temperament related and in that way Carter does compares with Obama. Personally, Carter was interesting and personable and so is Obama. They brought us a break at the end of stressful historic times. But after we have had our rest we return to management indicators on the resume; Nixon after Kennedy, Reagan after Carter, Romney after Obama. Rest period is over and Romney’s era starts today. One, in my opinion, in which America will prosper and the American West will rise in influence.