By Nathan Rothwell
As the Republican National Convention convenes this week to
officially nominate Mitt Romney for president, the GOP is desperate to reclaim
the narrative from the potential
devastation of Tropical Storm Isaac and the definite
devastation of party castout Todd Akin. Governor Bob McDonnell, head of the
GOP Platform Committee, spent time on This Week with George Stephanopoulos to
drive home a new narrative: Mitt Romney is the new best pal of independent
voters.
After attempting to lay the blame for the U.S. credit rating
downgrade on President Obama, McDonnell had
this to say:
“So on the things that really matter to voters, George, I think the records are stark, and I think that’s why independent voters have a ten-point margin in favor of Mitt Romney right now.”
Such a claim seems dubious. And according to Politifact, the
poll McDonnell referenced comes from (surprise!) a Fox
News poll. Recent CNN and Gallup polls, however, show a Romney lead among
independents closer to the 3-4%
range.
In my opinion, if Republicans are willing to exaggerate how
well Romney is doing among independent voters, that narrative must mean
something to them. Yet this seems like a fool’s errand. I would argue that
these independents Romney seems so desperate to court don’t actually exist – or
at least, the GOP doesn’t quite understand what an independent voter actually
looks like.
