Baingate is starting to divide Republicans along lines seen during the primary. The Romney camp, much like McCain in 2008, says it has "a plan" and will stick by "the plan." Nobody knows what the plan is and apparently Romney isn't going to tell his fellow Republicans.
Bain barrage worries Republicans
We have a plan. We know what the plan is, and we’re going to implement the plan.”
For Republicans in his base who aren't convinced by the super-secret McCain strategy, Romney has a message for you:
All of this hew and cry, you know, from the bedwetters who get to sit on the sidelines, aren’t going to affect what we’re going to do and our plan.
Got that? He's not listening to you, so shut up GOP bedwetters!
The surest sign that information is damaging a campaign is when the party starts eating itself alive. The Romney camp isn't only on defense from newly revealed information by leading newspapers, but also now from Republicans in his own party.
“Mitt Romney had an opportunity to answer these questions during the primary,” said Rick Tyler, who ran the pro-Gingrich super PAC that spent millions attacking Romney on the Bain issue. “ He did not answer these questions and now they’re coming up again.”
Tyler warned that the newest Bain twist has the potential to inflict real harm if Romney doesn’t start providing answers.
“I saw Andrea Saul’s robotic response, which was the same as it’s always been,” Tyler said, referring to Romney’s press secretary. “That doesn’t comport with documents that have his name on it after 1999 that list him as CEO who was making money off of transactions. If he wasn’t making money from Bain, then his tax returns from the period in question would reveal that.”
Got that? Now Republicans are agreeing with Obama and the newspapers. They can't deny the truth of what's unfolding and they're eager to point out that Romney was the wrong choice as their candidate.
Newt Gingrich warned Republicans about this in January, and evidently he was right:
“If there’s nothing in there, why not release them, and if there is something in them, better to know now,” former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said in January.
There's more, from Mike Huckabee's camp:
“He needs to get way out in front of it, explain it with detail No. 1 to 100,” said former Mike Huckabee manager Chip Saltsman.
“It festers...
And Huntsman's camp:
Ana Navarro, a Republican strategist who worked for Jon Huntsman during the primary, said the controversy could be solved if Romney were to release his tax returns... "He should just release the stupid taxes"
And:
“It could be a real problem,” said GOP strategist Mark McKinnon. “The accumulation of stories about taxes and Bain and offshore and Swiss accounts and secrecy begin to put glue into the narrative Team Obama is pushing that could make it really start to stick.”
And:
“We’re starting to see evidence in some of the battleground states that this is working in the favor of the president,” O’Connell said. “There are only so many more of these chinks in the armor Romney can take.”
Many Republicans obviously regret the mistake to choose a guy like Romney as their candidate. They're truly terrified that Romney is going to sink them in November. And Romney's reaction:
These Republicans in my base are "bedwetters."
That sounds like a winning strategy that should unify Republicans. Or Something.