Republicans run from Romney

Mitt Romney said “gifts” to youth, minorities and the poor helped President Obama win. Leaders of his Republican Party rushed to disagree, some vehemently. Here’s what they’ve said.

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Sen.-elect Ted Cruz, Texas

The Texas Republican moved beyond the '''gifts'' comment to criticize Romney for failing to give voters a reason to vote Republican. And Romney got a little too close to President Obama on their third debate, Cruz told the Federalist Society on Friday. "I'm pretty certain Mitt Romney actually French-kissed Barack Obama.''

Harry Hamburg / AP

Sen. Kelly Ayotte, New Hampshire

For some, Romney's comments harkened back to the disastrous Romney fundraising assertion that 47 percent of the nation was dependent on government — and he wouldn't represent them. "I don't agree with the [gifts] comments,'' Ayotte told MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell on Thursday.

Charlie Neibergall / AP

Gov. Bobby Jindal, Louisiana

When asked about Romney's ''gifts'' comment, Jindal called for an end to such politics of division. "I absolutely reject that notion, that description. I think that’s absolutely wrong,” Jindal said late Wednesday. He said Romney erred by going after 53 percent of the vote, not 100 percent. "We need to continue to show how our policies help every voter out there achieve the American Dream.''

Patrick Kane / AP

Rubio told the Washington Ideas Forum: 'It's really hard to get people to listen to you <span>. . .</span> if they think you want to deport their grandmother.'' He added: 'I don’t want to rebut him [Romney] point by point. I would just say to you, I don’t believe that we have millions and millions of people in this country that don’t want to work.''

Sen. Marco Rubio, Florida

Rubio told the Washington Ideas Forum: "It's really hard to get people to listen to you . . . if they think you want to deport their grandmother.'' He added: "I don’t want to rebut him [Romney] point by point. I would just say to you, I don’t believe that we have millions and millions of people in this country that don’t want to work.''

Alex Brandon / AP

Gov. Rick Scott, Florida

Scott, plagued by questions after a four-day count where Romney lost by a razor-thin margin, called Romney's comments ''inappropriate.'' "It's wrong, it's not true. What we've got to do is say we want every vote, we want to take care of every citizen in our state."

Scott Keeler / AP

Gov. John Kasich, Ohio

Kasich said Romney's losing effort should prompt an image makeover. He called the GOP “a party that has creative, imaginative ideas — that’s inclusive, that’s compassionate — has a great, great future in terms of appealing to people across the country.”

Jay LaPrete / AP

Michael Steele, ex-Republican National Committee chief

Steele slammed the GOP effort to require voter IDs at the polls in many states, saying it looked like Romney and company supported voter suppression. "The Republican effort was not a concerted grand cabal to go out and suppress the vote, but it was highly stupid," Steele told the Washington Ideas Forum.

Steven Senne / AP

Gov. Scott Walker, Wisconsin

The Wisconsin governor, at the Republican Governors Association meeting in Las Vegas, called for a break from the relentlessly negative effort the Romney camp employed. ''There’s got to be a positive reason to support Republicans.” The GOP, he said, isn't ''just for people who are currently not dependent on the government.”

Alex Wong / Getty Images

Haley Barbour, ex-governor, Mississippi

Barbour said after the Romney campaign, “We’ve got to give our political organization a very serious proctology exam.” The party must attract, not repel, the growing Hispanic vote. Republicans “cannot be ignorant of demography,” he said.

Molly Riley / Reuters

Mitt Romney

Romney's comments, made Wednesday to donors, were slammed by President Obama's spokesman as ''at odds with the truth.'' The desire to build the middle class is ''not just the view we take but the decision the American people made last week,'' White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

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Contestant Travis Rumans, 31 dances with his beloved glow sticks for talent at Penn Social in Washington, DC on May 22, 2013. The contestants help raise over $15,000 for the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
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