SUNLIT UPLANDS: Jason Bonham

In what may signal the end of Governor Romney's campaign for the Presidency, his campaign vice chair has described that troubled campaign's fatal mistakes.

Writing in the Illinois Review, Romney campaign vice-chair Jason Bonham states that "Romney is the executive, and he made an executive mistake" when he launched negative attack ads against Huckabee and McCain.

Bonham concedes that Romney has been "effectively painted a flip flopper by the opposition" and predicts that "if he doesn't win Michigan or Nevada, ...(h)e would be smart at that point to drop out" and spend the next four years trying to "restore the Mitt brand."

Bonham advises his candidate to seize the "fork in the road."

Bonham might as well stick that fork in Romney. He's done!

See statement below by Jason Bonham, founder of www.MyManMitt.com and vice-chairman of the Romney for President National Faith And Values Steering Committee. http://www.mittromney.com/News/Press-Releases/National_Faith_Values_Committee

ILLINOIS REVIEW
Crossroads of the Conservative Community
January 9, 2008

Romney's Fork

by Jason Bonham

There comes a time where we need to accurately assess where things are, and tonight is the night where I do that.

I have tried my best to not post anything I don’t honestly believe. I will tell you right now, upfront, that Romney is the best candidate we have to occupy the White House. I truly think he would be able to solve so many of our nations problems, and frankly restore a lot of confidence in our nation.

But things didn’t work out so well the last week or two. He lost Iowa, where he had a huge lead, and he lost New Hampshire where he had a huge lead. Any honest person who supports Mitt Romney should take the time to ask why this happened.

Frankly, Romney lost Iowa and New Hampshire due to negative ads. I am sure there were dissenting voices in the campaign, but frankly Romney is the executive, and he made an executive mistake. And it cost him what was a clear path to the nomination. I don’t hold it against Romney, one bit. He is governor, with no experience (to his credit) on the national stage. A mistake like this was not too improbable. But when you have a stack of accusations against you and have been effectively painted a flip flopper by the opposition, pointing fingers just doesn’t get you anywhere. Well it does, it takes you south in the polls.

I don’t think this is news to Mitt. Not at all. This last weekend Romney hit his stride, the same one he had back in the spring and summer, optimistic and confident. A knowledgeable Mr. Fixit.

Romney isn’t done. New Hampshire wasn’t his swan song, but it could be his penultimate measure. If he wants to win Michigan, albeit with slim prospects ahead of him, he needs to realize those facts. He can win, but it will be with tough medicine. If I was the consultant, here’s the prescription I would give to Mitt:

Staff shakeup. Fire the people with the bad advice, the poor performers. Send a message you aren’t afraid to make big changes that are painful.

It’s the Economy Mitt. Michigan is in a one state economic disaster that our whole nation faces. No other candidate has the credentials you do. You need to show optimism and knowledge and a powerful plan. We don’t need the power point, just the spirit of economic leadership, competence and passion that you showed us on Saturday night.

Reach out to MI Dems. Trust me, they are hardest hit by the economic woes in Michigan. They want their jobs more than the Maverick. If you give them a reason, they will vote for you.

Michigan Dems bear the brunt of lost jobs in the auto industry because they are the union workers who, when out of a job, end up foreclosing, and working as a night janitor. All the MBA’s without a job have moved to other states to make their money by now. You have two crowds to win: Union Democrats and the MBA’s who don’t want to lose their Ford employee discount. They are your vote, not Gary Glenn.

If Mitt takes this prescription, he can win Michigan. If he wins there, he will still be a viable choice in the minds of voters having beat the two guys he just lost to. He can then win Nevada, place a strong second in SC and probably win Florida. At that point he would be the front-runner.

If Mitt doesn’t win Michigan he needs a very strong second and a win in Nevada, then a strong second in South Carolina and hope for the best in Florida. He might shake it out at that point.

If he doesn’t win Michigan or Nevada, well I am afraid I see no viable alternative. He would be smart at that point to drop out, make a huge show of it, put his weight behind McCain and bargain for a top speaking spot at the GOP convention. He then should campaign his butt off for McCain. If by some odd twist of fate McCain offers him VP, he should turn it down. After all Mitt’s an executive, not an order taker. Then the day McCain loses in November (he will), he should begin his 2012 campaign by doing these things: