OPINION:
After wrapping up their convention Thursday, Republicans are optimistic that their choice of Mitt Romney will make Barack Obama a one-term president. The general consensus in Tampa is Mr. Romney will succeed if he sticks to economic issues and is tough as nails.
The party faithful want Mr. Romney to continue pushing the key issues that matter most to voters in these tough times. “His effort to focus on the economy is very important,” Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown told The Washington Times. “It’s debt, deficit, taxes, spending, jobs, national security, energy — the things people want to hear about and getting our country back on track.”
GOP leaders and delegates want a tax-code overhaul on the table, along with entitlement and regulatory reform, because these are at the heart of our country’s most dire problems. They are also subjects Democrats are afraid to address.
Rep. Allen West, Florida Republican, told The Washington Times Mr. Romney should, “reinforce the message of this campaign — which is we have solutions to the issues facing this nation — and talk about what you are for, not just what you are against, which is you are voting for a team that will restore our economy and financial security.”
Desperate Democrats appear willing to do anything to turn the public against Mr. Romney. Former Republican National Committee Chairman Jim Nicholson told us, “Gov. Romney has to maintain a high-intensity campaign and not take anything for granted. He can’t let their viscous attacks take him off message. If he stays positive, we will win.”
Bestselling author Ann Coulter pointed to an Obama campaign ad that blamed Bain Capital for a woman’s cancer to urge the Romney campaign to fire back at the liberal media when necessary. “The media is really outrageous — the worst since 1992,” she told us. “When you’re accused of killing a steel worker’s wife, you say, ’You effing liar. How dare you spread these slanders of me.’ It shows what a dirty street fighter Obama is and how in the tank the media is for him.”
Miss Coulter is confident Mr. Romney won’t be thrown by these nasty, Chicago-style attacks. “Romney’s a rare Republican presidential candidate; you’re not constantly having your stomach in a knot when he speaks. He’s a smart man. He’s a careful man.” Mr. West, a Tea Party freshman, predicted, “You’re going to see a lot of chatter from the left starting next week at their convention. All that is going to be just sniping little chihuahuas at your ankles.”
In his address to delegates on Wednesday, vice-presidential nominee Paul Ryan showed he gets all this. “When Governor Romney asked me to join the ticket, I said, ’let’s get this done,’ and that is exactly what we are going to do,” the Wisconsin Republican congressman asserted. He lobbed a few shots toward the administration while making clear the GOP has the policies needed to restore prosperity. Mr. Obama has reason to be worried.
Emily Miller is a senior editor for the Opinion pages at The Washington Times.
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