Jeff Flake va con Romney

El Congresista Jeff Flake, de Arizona, un querido del Tea Party, ha hecho público esta mañana su apoyo a Mitt Romney, para sorpresa de muchos.

Hot Air nos explica por qué es un endorsement importante:

Flake’s endorsement might have an outsized impact on the perceptions of Romney in this Tea Party environment. Flake’s credentials as a small-government conservative are nearly unimpeachable; while a lot of Republicans claim to have been Tea Party before Tea Party was cool, Flake is the genuine article. He fought his own party as much as the opposition in attempting to end pork-barrel spending, and got locked out of the Appropriations Committee for his efforts until this session. He was an early banner-carrier for Porkbusters on Capitol Hill, and eventually began looking like a prophet when the GOP lost Congress in 2006 and the White House in 2008. Flake has provided a consistent voice for smaller government, dramatic cuts to spending, and a return to federalism.

One might have expected Flake to gravitate more towards his Tea Party colleague Michele Bachmann, or perhaps Rick Perry. Choosing Romney seems counter-intuitive, especially with RomneyCare on the record. That may give the endorsement even more power among small-government conservatives who admire Flake’s independence and enthusiasm for their cause. Plus, as the field narrows, an endorsement at this stage also serves as an anti-endorsement of the other leading candidates, a rejection (for now) of both Bachmann and Perry.

Es necesario señalar que Flake es mormón, igual que Romney, y que eso ha podido tener algo que ver.

También me parece importante señalar que Flake se presenta al Senado el año que viene para suceder a Jon Kyl, de modo que el endorsement puede ser la consecuencia de una reflexión sobre qué candidato le conviene en la papeleta presidencial el mismo día que él se jugará un escaño en el Senado.

O igual es sólo estrategia. No necesita probar sus credenciales conservadoras. Apoyar a Romney puede ser su manera de empezar un acercamiento a los independientes de cara a su elección. Si el GOP nomina a Perry y no convence a los independientes, él podrá recordarles que apoyó a Romney. Y si Perry se convierte en un candidato sensacional, podrá decir que son almas gemelas y que ya pensaba como Perry antes que Perry.