Mitt Romney Just Lost the Election

With five simple words, Mitt Romney just ended any chance he has at ever being elected President of the United States. At an appearance at the Iowa State Fair Thursday, Romney actually said "Corporations are people, my friend". Yes, he really said that. Check out the video, here. I can guarantee you one thing: if Mitt Romney is the nominee for President for the Republican Party, that line will appear in every single Democrat advertisement. Every. Last. One. And why? Because it's a damning statement into the mindset of the corporate whores who have taken over our political system. Because it's an abominable thing to say and it's even worse to think it, govern by it, and manipulate America around it. Because an overwhelming majority of Americans know, intuitively, that corporate America has far more influence than it should. It's a horrible world view, and if the GOP has any common sense left in it, this will be the last we hear of Romney as a serious candidate for office. You don't have to be Dylan Ratigan to see that. I have no idea what the Republican Party will do with Romney, now that he is a dead candidate walking. The GOP has an odd tendency to rally around unpopular leaders when those leaders are "attacked" (fairly or unfairly) by the media, so in some circles, this gaffe might make him MORE popular. This is doubly true if Fox News decides to play its usual bullshit spin game, and runs cover for Romney. We will actually be able to see pretty quickly how Fox is going to play this, actually. Fox News is carrying the Republican debate tonight in Iowa. If Fox News has any integrity left at all, they will go after Romney tonight on this question. I mean, the man thinks corporations are people. That's a serious statement and it needs to be publicized and examined. The debate is the last even before Saturday's crucial Iowa straw poll. Romney is currently hanging on to a slim lead in Iowa, and any decline in that strength in the straw poll could sink him in the Iowa caucuses. Current fellow media frontrunner Michelle Bachmann (21%) and popular Congressman Ron Paul (16%) stand to pick up support if Romney drops. The wild card in that equation is Texas Governor Rick Perry, who is probably going to jump into the race sometime on Saturday. Whatever the case, the debate tonight (9 p.m EST on Fox News) and Saturday's Straw Poll just got a little more exciting. Will Romney stay a front-runner despite a fatal mistake? Who will benefit if he sinks? Will Perry overshadow the entire event? Will Ron Paul pull off a surprise finish? We shall see. You can reach the author by email john@benzinga.com or on twitter @johndthorpe.