For months, the liberal media soothsayers have claimed to be reading the bones and insist they see a “blue wave” coming to wipe out the Republican Party. Their hysteria went to a new level during Sunday’s Good Morning America when the folks at ABC tried to argue that since former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney didn’t win the Utah GOP nomination for Senate via the caucus and had to face a primary, it meant there was trouble brewing for the party.
“George, there was another political headline overnight that we want to get your take on it,” fill-in anchor Tom Llamas noted towards the end of their politics segment. “Mitt Romney trying to get the nomination for the Senate there as a Republican. And he lost. There were some local issues. He didn't get the nomination outright. He's going to have to go to a primary.”
Clinton lackey George Stephanopoulos suggested that the “local issue” that kept Romney from winning the caucus was that “they say he didn't raise his family in Utah.” “He doesn't live there, yeah,” Paula Faris chimed in. Hopefully, that was a slip of the tongue, because if it wasn’t, it means Faris doesn’t know what on Earth she’s talking about. As the Washington Post reported, Romney moved there back in 2015.
“This is someone the president did endorse. Even though he's had a strange relationship with Mitt Romney. What does this tell you going to the midterms? Are establishment Republicans still very much in trouble,” Llamas asked Stephanopoulos.
Stephanopoulos thought it was all “fascinating.” “As you pointed out, the President believes Mitt Romney is the best chance of holding the seat. So he endorsed him,” he said. “But, President Trump has a strong hold on the reddest of red voters. And the fact that Mitt Romney has often been a critic, I think, is hurting him there. Plus, I think the fact he has some ties to Utah but did not grow up, did not raise his family there.”
It’s becoming clear that the folks at ABC may not have done any research into what was actually going in Utah before spouting off. As CNN noted in their own report about the situation with the Utah Senate primary, Trump polls lower among those Republicans than in any other state. “In part because of the more moderate stance of Utah Republicans and the Mormon Church on immigration,” they explained.
And while Romney was caught up in a local issue, it doesn’t appear to be due to where he came from and had more to do with a convoluted party nominating system. As CNN found:
Some Utah delegates and grassroots activists here have fought strenuously to maintain control over the process by keeping the party's complex nominating caucuses, instead of allowing candidates to secure a spot on the ballot by gathering signatures. After the protracted legal fight, the legislature reached a compromise that created a two-option process to get to the ballot: Candidates could either gather the requisite 27,000 signatures or participate in the GOP caucuses.
“But some delegates still resent the fact that Romney collected signatures, a process they feel favors deep-pocketed candidates over lesser-known contenders,” CNN added after noting Romney did both methods.
So it’s looking like ABC was more interested in finding a way to continue their GOP doomsday spin instead of actually reporting what was going on. And for contrast, NBC’s Sunday Today skipped over the Romney story, perhaps a sign of how unimportant it was.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
ABC
Good Morning America
April 22, 2018
8:08:23 AM EasternTOM LLAMAS: George, there was another political headline overnight that we want to get your take on it. Mitt Romney trying to get the nomination for the Senate there as a Republican. And he lost. There were some local issues. He didn't get the nomination outright. He's going to have to go to a primary.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: The local issue is they say he didn't raise his family in Utah.
LLAMAS: Yeah.
PAULA FARIS: He doesn't live there, yeah.
LLAMAS: This is someone the president did endorse. Even though he's had a strange relationship with Mitt Romney. What does this tell you going to the midterms? Are establishment Republicans still very much in trouble?
STEPHANOPOULOS: Yeah, I mean, it’s a fascinating thing in which you have no love lost between the President and Mitt Romney. You know that. As you pointed out, the President believes Mitt Romney is the best chance of holding the seat. So he endorsed him.
But, President Trump has a strong hold on the reddest of red voters. And the fact that Mitt Romney has often been a critic, I think, is hurting him there. Plus, I think the fact he has some ties to Utah but did not grow up, did not raise his family there. My guess is he's still likely to get the nomination and likely to be the next Senator from Utah but it’s no guarantee.
FARIS: It may get really difficult for him. George, thank you.
