Whoa
That was unexpected, at least by me. Last I heard, nobody had achieved a sufficient number of delegates to lock it up.
"I feel I have to now stand aside, for our party and our country," Romney said to a room full of supporters at the tail end of an emotional speech at CPAC.
"This is not an easy decision for me. I hate to lose. My family, my friends and our supporters... many of you right here in this room... have given a great deal to get me where I have a shot at becoming President. If this were only about me, I would go on. But I entered this race because I love America, and because I love America," said Romney.
HumanEvents.com*
Article comment:
This is the end of the Republican party as we know it. God help us.
I wonder what it says about the difference in psychology between Democrats and Republicans. RightWing pundits are trying to portray the Democrats as in chaos and disarray because a clear frontrunner hasn't emerged, but that's not what I see at all. A lot of us over here find it exhilarating that the horserace continues, possibly right down to the wire. Voters in later primaries aren't disenfranchised, the candidates will worry every issue to death...this is great! Democracy in action.
But I think that Republicans were becoming increasingly uneasy at the absence of a resolution. Conservatives are uncomfortable with grey areas, and that authoritarian streak seems to make them uncomfortable not knowing to whom to give their allegiance. I think Romney finally broke under the strain..."...for the good of the Party" sounds a lot like a mercy-killing.
I pity the millions of Republicans whose votes in those future primaries are now an exercize in futility.
*--Says it's been "Leading the Conservative Movement * Since 1944", making it by far the oldest site on the Web. Somehow the image of a Conservative Web server powered by vacuum tubes seems so apropos.