Romney’s improved standing among Tea Party supporters has coincided with the candidate’s persistent criticism of President Obama as an advocate for transforming America into a “European-style social welfare state.’’ Electability has been a pillar of Romney’s strategy. The attacks - combined with the assertion that Obama does not understand traditional American values - are helping assure Republicans that Romney can mount a strong campaign against the president.
Romney also appears to be benefiting from a sense of inevitability beginning to surround his quest for the nomination. He defied expectations and barely won the Iowa caucus, then followed that achievement with his solid New Hampshire performance last week, when he captured 39 percent of the vote. That has solidified his standing atop the polls.“There is nothing like being a winner,’’ said Peter Brown, assistant director of polling at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut.
The Tea Party and its dislike of the Massachusetts health care plan and Romney’s moderate record as Bay State governor were considerable impediments to his candidacy throughout 2011. But none of the Tea Party’s darlings - Rick Perry, Herman Cain, Michele Bachmann, or Gingrich - has been able to sustain a surge, highlighting limitations of a nascent movement that couldn’t extend its 2010 congressional successes onto the presidential stage.
The latest polls suggest a good number of Tea Party supporters are getting behind the party’s most likely nominee, despite qualms about his record, because their overriding goal is removing Obama from the White House.
