Mitt Romney's off-hand revelations about his low tax rate and high speaker fees, combined with his growing list of Clueless Things Only a One-Percenter Could Say, raise a fundamental question: Is it possible for an elitist Republican to win a presidential election? Starting in the early 1970s, when Richard Nixon adapted George Wallace's right-wing populism to Republican purposes, the GOP has won national elections by appealing to blue-collar and middle-class whites as the rhetorical champions of anti-elitism. From Nixon's dog whistles about "crime" and "forced busing" to Ronald Reagan's welfare queens to George W. Bush's fake ranch and regular-guy patter, the party of the rich has won the White House by posing as exactly the opposite-the natural home of good ol' boys and gals. Only one Republican nominee has conveyed a sniffy air of privilege-George Bush I, who beat a hapless Democratic technocrat in 1988 only to be crushed by the one-two punch of plain-speaking Ross Perot and "Putting People First" Bill Clinton the next time around. No wonder Romney's campaign is giving Maureen Dowd, along with many a worried Republican, "acid flashbacks to Poppy Bush."
So They Say
"People power will beat money power."
-Newt Gingrich, campaigning in South Carolina
Daily Meme: This Is Rich
- Romney's tax plan would carve his already low rate in half.
- By turning his tax returns into an "slow striptease," he's inadvertently making his wealth a bigger issue.
- Bloomberg Businessweek looks in-depth at Romney's investments, his tax rate, and their toll on his campaign.
- The debate shouldn't focus on Romney's tax rate, but the relationship between his tax rate and his policies.
- Gingrich says he paid a 31 percent rate in 2010.
- Romney's only way out of this hole is to propose a big new tax reform plan, says The Wall Street Journal.
- Is the timing of his tax-rate disclosure actually a good thing for Romney?
What We're Writing
- Abby Rapoport previews the battle to come in Wisconsin.
- Jamelle Bouie marvels at Romney's lack of likeability.
What We're Reading
- Obama rejects the Keystone pipeline, blaming Republicans' "arbitrary deadline."
- Romney calls the Keystone decision "as shocking as it is revealing."
- BuzzFeed publishes the McCain campaign's 200-page opposition-research file on Romney.
- The Wall Street Journal looks at Gingrich's teaching years-complete with a photo of '70s-era Newt.
- Is Romney really an Eisenhower Republican?
Poll Of The Day
In two new polls, Obama leads Romney in Ohio.
