Todayโs Jolt is heavy on late-night analyses of Romneyโs big win in Florida, but I conclude by looking around the Twitterverse of the Right and looking at all of the impending . . . unity. . .
Our Robert Costa wonders if Romneyโs negative ads enraged Gingrich so much that Romneyโs top rival now has no other desire than vengeance:
Remember, in Florida, Team Romney didnโt just knock Gingrich; they aired an ad that selectively documented the Georgianโs past. Citing ethics allegations, they tarred Gingrich as a โdisgracedโ speaker, but they neglected to mention that Gingrich was later exonerated by the IRS.
The Sunshine State slams kept coming. Gingrichโs work for Freddie Mac as a โhistorian,โ enough to sour any Florida homeowner, was complemented by 30-second spots calling Gingrich โchaoticโ and โunreliable.โ On the stump, Romney called Gingrich a โpinball machine.โ At debates he called him an โinfluence peddler.โ
โWhen attacked, you have to respond,โ Romney explained earlier today. โIt would be wonderful if campaigns were nothing but positive, but thatโs certainly not the reality.โ
One can argue whether those actions were โnegativeโ or fair punches in a rough-and-tumble contest. But as the primary moves west and the field remains the same, the consequences of Romneyโs Florida brawl are unpredictable.
If Romney isnโt careful, a wounded, bloodied Gingrich may be more dangerous than a slow Gingrich fade.
But the good news is, most good folks on the Right who preferred someone besides Romney took it well:
Baseball Crank: โImagine a guy who is tall, rich, good-looking, and has no fixed principles. Itโs easy if you try.โ
Drew M: โThis is why I canโt stand Mitt and a lot of his supporters . . . they all whine like a toddler and have the same level of self awareness of one.โ He adds, โYou Mittheads are in for a rude awakening when the MFM stops carrying your water against Obama. Good luck with all of that.โ
Teri Peters: โHmm. Iโve never seen Mitt tweet out a donate link before. Buying Florida is expensive.โ
When Katie Pavlich qualified an earlier observation about Romney cleaning up the Hispanic vote with โno, that last tweet wasnโt an endorsement of Romney,โ BlondeAmerican responded, โSweetie, he hasnโt paid you yet?โ
Erick Erickson offered an email from a friend: โThe real lesson Romney learned tonight is that he doesnโt need conservatives to put this away.โ
I wonder if that friend noticed that Romney won those who consider themselves โsomewhat conservativeโ 52 percent to 32 percent, and only lost the โvery conservativeโ voters by 30 percent to 41 percent. To listen to the โanybody but Mittโ crowd, you would think no one who considers themselves โvery conservativeโ would ever vote for Romney.
โGood Lord, the rank defeatism and hatred for Republicans on Twitter is inspiring,โ gasps Jason Whitman.
Yay, team! Group hug! Kuuuuuuuumbaya, my Lord . . . Kuuuuuuuumbaya . . .
Ow. Somebody just stuck a peace-pipe in my eye.






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