Webloggin » Mitt Romney Drops Out of Race

I just listened to Mitt Romney deliver his speech from CPAC where he officially bowed out of the race for President of the United States. Good job RNC, the organization that will likely never get a dime from my wallet.

Mark Halperin at Time magazine wrote Romney’s obit ahead of the announcement with 10 things Mitt Romney could have done differently.

Sure we can look back and blame Romney but we are witness to something much bigger than Romney’s strategic errors. Today marks the day that conservatives were rejected forcefully by the GOP. It was the RNC that allowed northeast states to stack the votes with winner takes all primaries that were designed to keep Washington insiders in power. It was the GOP that fought conservtives tooth and nail on immigration and managed to stack the odds against Mitt Romney and others that didn’t reach out to the left. It was the RNC and the GOP party establishment that destroyed a majority in both the House and the Senate and it will be the RNC and today’s GOP that is to fully blame when a Democrat takes the White House in 2008.

I am supposed to hold my nose and vote for John McCain but in all good consciousness I don’t think I can. This is not a man that represents me; he is not a man that represents the conservative party base.

Here is how Mitt framed his exit.

If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror.

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, I feel I must now stand aside, for our party and for our country.

I will continue to stand for conservative principles; I will fight alongside you for all the things we believe in. And one of those things is that we cannot allow the next President of the United States to retreat in the face evil extremism!!

It is the common task of each generation—and the burden of liberty—to preserve this country, expand its freedoms and renew its spirit so that its noble past is prologue to its glorious future.

To this task… accepting this burden… we are all dedicated, and I firmly believe, by the providence of the Almighty, that we will succeed beyond our fondest hope. America must remain, as it has always been, the hope of the earth.

Thank you, and God bless America.

So today we sit with settling for second best or worse. John McCain, conservative sellout when the party needed him most.

If you don’t think that today’s events hurt the Republican Party think again. The only thing that can save the White House is a Hillary Clinton win over Barack Obama.

Transcript of Romney’s Speech