Mitt Romney had a huge evening Tuesday. To begin with, the former Governor of Massachusetts put another 41 delegates in his growing arsenal, the reward for a twelve- point shellacking of Rick Santorum.
Even more important than any single state win, Romney has managed to finally capture support from the Tea Party as reported in part at reference 1:
“The organization that ignited the tea party as a national mass movement gave Mitt Romney perhaps his biggest victory yet, deciding to drop its opposition to his candidacy, a top executive in the group told The Washington Times.
FreedomWorks, which organized the Sept. 12, 2009, mass demonstration on the Mall, says that while it will not give an explicit endorsement, the time has come for Republicans to unite around the former Massachusetts governor and focus on defeating President Obama.”
Bravo to that, even though as a Mormon, Mitt probably does not consume “strong drink” as coffee and tea are called in the LDS faith.
Then came the endorsement of Jeb Bush as reported at reference 2:
“Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush endorsed Mitt Romney after Romney’s lopsided win in Illinois Tuesday night. The former Florida Governor – a Republican heavyweight – called on members of the party to coalesce behind Romney.
“Congratulations to Governor Mitt Romney on his win last night and to all the candidates for a hard fought, thoughtful debate and primary season,” said Bush in a statement.
“Primary elections have been held in thirty-four states, and now is the time for Republicans to unite behind Governor Romney and take our message of fiscal conservatism and job creation to all voters this fall. I am endorsing Mitt Romney for our Party’s nomination. We face huge challenges, and we need a leader who understands the economy, recognizes more government regulation is not the answer, believes in entrepreneurial capitalism and works to ensure that all Americans have the opportunity to succeed.”
Bravo again, and thanks to Jeb Bush for choosing to not upset the apple cart with an ill-advised, late run for the roses on his own.
Now that Mitt Romney is “almost there,” Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum should hold a united press conference to acknowledge what seems most probable: Mitt Romney will be the nominee for the Republican Party.
They should release their delegates to Romney and agree to campaign where and when Romney needs their help.
Come on Republicans. Time to set aside differences and coalesce behind the man who can and will defeat Barack Obama and bring America back to the real world.
Reference 1
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/mar/20/romney-gets-tepid-tea-party-support/
Reference 2
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/03/jeb-bush-endorses-mitt-romney-in-gop-primary/
