"Hello, this is Mitt Romney, and I'm asking you to cast your vote for Marco Rubio."

[The Tradition]

Mitt Romney is lending Marco Rubio his voice with a phone recording airing in the four states conducting GOP presidential contests on Tuesday.

“[Vote for] a candidate who can defeat [Democratic presidential front-runner] Hillary Clinton and who can make us proud,” the 2012 GOP nominee said in the message, according to The New York Times.

“If we Republicans were to choose [Republican presidential front-runner] Donald Trump as our nominee, I believe that the prospects for a safe and prosperous future would be greatly diminished — and I’m convinced Donald Trump would lose to Hillary Clinton.”

Romney stops short of formally endorsing Rubio’s Oval Office bid in the clip, the Times reported late Monday evening.

It also said the Florida senator’s presidential campaign is sending the call to likely voters in Idaho, Hawaii, Michigan and Mississippi.

Romney’s message may resonate most in Idaho, the paper said, where many Republican primary voters are Mormon like the 2012 GOP presidential nominee. It may additionally help Rubio in Michigan, the news publication added, as Romney grew up in the Great Lakes State.

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box...omney-tapes-phone-message-for-rubios-campaign

 

[thewop]

I didn't vote for Trump, but Mitt Romney makes me wish I would have.

 

[AuroraHawk]

Mitt Romney is lending Marco Rubio his voice with a phone recording airing in the four states conducting GOP presidential contests on Tuesday.

“[Vote for] a candidate who can defeat [Democratic presidential front-runner] Hillary Clinton and who can make us proud,” the 2012 GOP nominee said in the message, according to The New York Times.

“If we Republicans were to choose [Republican presidential front-runner] Donald Trump as our nominee, I believe that the prospects for a safe and prosperous future would be greatly diminished — and I’m convinced Donald Trump would lose to Hillary Clinton.”

Romney stops short of formally endorsing Rubio’s Oval Office bid in the clip, the Times reported late Monday evening.

It also said the Florida senator’s presidential campaign is sending the call to likely voters in Idaho, Hawaii, Michigan and Mississippi.

Romney’s message may resonate most in Idaho, the paper said, where many Republican primary voters are Mormon like the 2012 GOP presidential nominee. It may additionally help Rubio in Michigan, the news publication added, as Romney grew up in the Great Lakes State.

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box...omney-tapes-phone-message-for-rubios-campaign

The strategy is simple. "On the fence" Trump supporters aren't going to switch to The Televangelist. They will switch to Rubio. The GOP leadership is desperately trying to prevent Trump from reaching 1237 delegates. The most likely path to that result requires convincing Trump supporters to switch to Rubio.

The Televangelist sees the writing on the wall and that is why he is urging Rubio to drop out. With Rubio in, he can't get to 1237 and won't succeed in securing the nomination in a brokered convention.

 

[ottumwan in tx]

The strategy is simple. "On the fence" Trump supporters aren't going to switch to The Televangelist. They will switch to Rubio. The GOP leadership is desperately trying to prevent Trump from reaching 1237 delegates. The most likely path to that result requires convincing Trump supporters to switch to Rubio.

The Televangelist sees the writing on the wall and that is why he is urging Rubio to drop out. With Rubio in, he can't get to 1237 and won't succeed in securing the nomination in a brokered convention.

televangelist vs stand up comedian

 

[IowaHawkeyeFBnBB4Life]

Romney just needs to come out and endorse Trump already. Unless the plan is for a brokered convention and a Romney/Rubio ticket.

 

[ottumwan in tx]

Romney just needs to come out and endorse Trump already. Unless the plan is for a brokered convention and a Romney/Rubio ticket.

the plan is for a brokered convention and for a jeb /perry ticket or Romney, maybe Rubio as his vp. you might be on to something. notice how palin disappeared also

 

[IowaHawkeyeFBnBB4Life]

Romney just needs to come out and endorse Trump already. Unless the plan is for a brokered convention and a Romney/Rubio ticket.

Oops, I meant endorse Rubio

 

[ottumwan in tx]

Oops, I meant endorse Rubio

yes, I agree btw, he should just endorse Rubio, he just simply said vote for three of the four. any of the three, he would not endorse the fourth

 

[AuroraHawk]

Oops, I meant endorse Rubio

The GOP establishment doesn't want a one-on-one fight. If it's Trump v. Rubio, there is absolutely no guarantee that The Televangelist's supporters will jump to Rubio. Similarly, if it's Trump v. The Televangelist, there is no guarantee that Rubio's supporters will embrace The Televangelist's preachings.

The GOP establishment may be many things but it doesn't lack shrewdness. The GOP hierarchy firmly believes that neither Trump nor The Televangelist carries broad enough appeal to win a general election. Rubio, or some other person whom they will prop up at the Convention, possesses the best chance at the White House. The only way to move such a candidate forward is to maintain this three-way (or four-way) fight.

For the GOP, its no longer about getting a preferred candidate to 1237. It's about keeping Trump from reaching that number.

The truly interesting sideshow will be if (assuming it plays this way) Trump feels cheated by the GOP and his ego drives him to run for POTUS as a third-party candidate.

It's equivalent to a circus freak show. Simultaneously entertaining and pathetic ....

 

[ICHawk-I]

... notice how palin disappeared also

Palin disappeared because Trump didn't want anyone on stage who could out-crazy him, and she did it.

 

[nolesincebirth]

Romney won't endorse because he is being a coward and trying to back-door his way to the nomination. If he endorses someone, he loses the ability to later claim that he is the best person to run.