Candidate- Mitt Romney

[Jill]

The kiss of death. Romney must not want the GOP nomination after all and is sabotaging his own campaign.

[Chickadee]

The kiss of death. Romney must not want the GOP nomination after all and is sabotaging his own campaign.

"Want" may not be the operative word for me, Jill. I think he wants it, he just doesn't have enough personal insight nor good enough advisers around him to get his act together.

 

Experience? - Yes

Intelligence? - Yes

Ivy league education good enough for even the biggest snobs? - Yes

Appealing physical appearance? - Yes (though I don't understand why this is often deemed as advantageous)

His "message"? - Confusing

Charisma? - Nearly none

Bottom line? - Not for me--unless he IS the last man standing.

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Romney to Floridians: I’m also unemployed

 

Any joke about the state of the economy told by a politician is an invitation to disaster. Any joke about the state of the economy told by a politician who’s worth nine figures and is already vulnerable to blue collar/white collar class resentment points to a political death wish. Debbie Downer and the DNC are already trying to make an issue of it, just four days after her own sub-moronic comment about having turned the economy around. They won’t get much traction given all the laughter in the clip, but if one of the voters sitting there with him had freaked out when he said this, the footage would be in constant rotation on cable news tomorrow. He lucked out here, but he won’t always be so lucky. Learn from the mistake.

[saveliberty]

National Review

The Campaign Spot

Romney, Spotlighting Obama’s 20 Million Bumps in the Road

June 17, 2011 9:48 A.M.

By Jim Geraghty

 

It appears Mitt Romney is going to take Obama’s statement about “bumps on the road to recovery” and hang it around his neck like an albatross from now until his campaign ends.

 

Romney’s new ad argues, “President Obama’s 20 million bumps in the road would stretch from the White House to Los Angeles…and back.”

 

Removed video as this is on this thread, but it's worth while to read Jim's comments.

Edited June 17, 2011 by saveliberty

[Geee]

Why History Says that Mitt Romney Will be the GOP Nominee

 

I'm far from 100% sold on Mitt Romney at this point in time. While the Governor is able to speak articulately and passionately on a number of issues that matter to me, such as taxes, spending, and national defense, his record as Governor of Massachusetts and as a candidate for the Senate in that state leaves lingering doubts that the man may be just a little bit wobbly at a time when iron is required.

Even with the allowances that must be made for a Republican running for office in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the desire for a candidate whose conservatism is absolutely unquestioned and undiluted is certainly understandable. Yet, at the same time, I would be reluctant to write the man off -- and I would certainly discourage any Republicans from doing so -- since a fair examination of historical trends suggests that Governor Romney will likely be sworn in at the 45th President of the United States at noon on January 20, 2013.

First, let's look at the practical case that Mitt Romney will be the Republican nominee for President. Looking at the current field, it's hard to deny that he's the front-runner for the nod. He leads in fundraising by a mile -- and he has the ability to self-fund if necessary. He leads in every national poll. In a divided and fractured field he has the clearest path to the nomination: skip Iowa, win New Hampshire, prove his conservative credentials by winning South Carolina, and then outlast the rest of the field.

 

Now, let's combine that with the historical case. There have been twelve seriously contested Republican nomination contests in the last seventy years -- eleven where there was no incumbent President and one (1976) where there was a serious possibility of the sitting President being denied re-nomination. The results of those contests show some very consistent patterns. Consider this history:

1944: Tom Dewey wins the nomination after leading on the first ballot at the 1940 Republican National Convention.

 

1948: Former nominee and New York Governor Dewey wins again. The runner-up is Senator Robert Taft of Ohio.

 

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/06/why_history_says_that_mitt_romney_will_be_the_gop_nominee.html

[Geee]

Romney’s Religion Problem

 

 

 

Mitt Romney is said to be the early frontrunner in the GOP presidential sweepstakes. One rival, Newt Gingrich, is perceived as floundering in a swirl of unforced errors and staff insurrection. Yet when it comes to Islam, which will continue to matter mightily in the next administration, the frontrunner could learn a thing or two from the flounderer. The issue is not religion. It is the seditious Islamist political program.

 

Most Americans, myself included, would prefer not to have to think about Islam at all. Muslims forced their beliefs onto our consciousness by wanton violence and gross violations of human rights. While there are fitful efforts to reform Islam, and thus differing interpretations of its dogmas, mainstream Islam is still founded on sharia, Islam’s archaic, immutable legal framework (also known as “Allah’s law”).-

 

Sharia systematizes discrimination against (and brutal repression of) women, homosexuals, and, above all, non-Muslims (“dhimmis”). It is thus ironic that when the left-leaning legacy media broaches the subject of Islam, as CNN did during the GOP candidates’ debate this week, the context is usually claimed discrimination against Muslims. It is a testament to how deeply front groups for the Muslim Brotherhood — an enterprise that marries Islam’s Salafist fundamentalism to modern statism, under the populist banner of “social justice” — have seeped into the Democratic party, from which the press gets its talking points. And given how desperately the GOP establishment craves the crumbs of love that fall from the media’s table, it should not surprise us that Republicans, too, are cowed by the Brotherhood’s agents. That was not a Democratic president hustling over to the nearest mosque after the 9/11 attacks to brand Islam the “religion of peace.”

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/269943/romney-s-religion-problem-andrew-c-mccarthy

[Geee]

GOP rivals' knives come out for Romney

 

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's ® campaign honeymoon appears to have ended, as other candidates for the Republican presidential nomination begin voicing open criticism of Romney.

 

Romney, by virtue of his status as the putative frontrunner in the race, is now facing increasingly vocal criticism from his competitors, criticism that had otherwise been muted or nonexistent so far in the campaign.

 

 

The attacks suggest that the campaign for the 2012 Republican nomination hasn't just begun, but has advanced to the point where candidates have started to throw elbows in order to jockey for position with primary voters.

 

There was no better example of this inflection point than last week's criticism of Romney by former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty ®, who coined the term "ObamneyCare" to tie together President Obama's healthcare law, so detested by GOP primary voters, and the similar law Romney signed during his term as governor.

 

The flak Pawlenty caught for not having made that point directly when sharing a stage with Romney during last week's New Hampshire debate only underscores the pressure the campaigns are facing to throw punches.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/167253-gop-candidates-knives-come-out-for-romney

[Geee]

'Fabulous' health care law now haunts Romney

 

When former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney ran for president in 2007, he proudly touted his state's health care reform law as "fabulous."

Four years later, with Romney embarked on a second run for the Oval Office, the growing unpopularity of the Bay State's plan and its association with the national health care law Republicans want to repeal has become the greatest threat to Romney's chances of winning the Republican presidential nomination.

 

Log onto one of Romney's archived websites from his 2008 campaign for president, AmericansforMitt.com, and you can read about his views on education, immigration, taxes and a half-dozen other issues. The topic of health care is listed, but the text below it has been deleted and a link promising Romney's "in depth" views on the issue has been disabled.

 

That's because candidate Romney has been working to rewrite his past assertions about his state's troubled health care overhaul to win over Republican primary voters.

 

Gone is the effusive support Romney professed for the law in 2007, when he said during one GOP debate, "I love it. It's a fabulous program and I'm delighted with the fact that we, in our state, worked together across the aisle, Republicans and Democrats, to find a way to get health care for all of our citizens that's affordable and that's portable."

 

Now, Romney avoids talking about the specifics of his plan, its escalating costs and other problems. He described it in the last GOP debate as "a state solution. And if people don't like it in our state, they can change it."

 

Romney stops short of denouncing the Massachusetts plan he implemented, even though it requires residents to buy health insurance, a mandate conservatives deeply oppose. Program costs soared and are still rising, making it the most expensive health care program in the nation. And although more people in Massachusetts now have insurance, costly emergency room visits increased.

 

http://washingtonexaminer.com/politics/2011/06/fabulous-health-care-law-now-haunts-romney

[Geee]

Mitt Romney versus the many

 

 

The fight for the Republican presidential nomination may not be a heavyweight slugfest after all.

 

A primary campaign that was expected to pit an eggshell frontrunner, Mitt Romney, against one or more powerful, well established opponents has suddenly been flipped. The former Massachusetts governor has built up a solid early lead and looks as strong as ever; now, the burden of closing that gap falls to a group of relatively untested, unknown rivals who have yet to prove themselves on the national stage.

 

The latest would-be Romney slayer enters the race Tuesday: former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, whose personal wealth and moderate politics make him an unpredictable player in the 2012 race.

 

Other candidates are already off and running. Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann entered the race with a splash last week at the New Hampshire presidential debate. Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty continues to grind away at the early presidential primary circuit while another contender, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, waits in the wings.

 

Any one of those Republicans could eventually take flight and give Romney a real challenge for the nomination. But Republicans have come to the conclusion that only a drawn-out fight will reverse Romney’s early momentum.

 

“He looks strong. Just like you had Gov. Bush looking strong” in 2000, said former South Carolina House Speaker David Wilkins, a prominent Republican fundraiser who has yet to back a 2012 candidate. “We always knew somebody would come out of the pack to challenge him and that ended up being Sen. McCain. There’ll be someone coming out to make a strong challenge, in addition to Gov. Romney, but the jury’s still out on who that might be.”

 

The absence of Govs. Haley Barbour and Mitch Daniels has left the contest without an obvious vessel for anti-Romney sentiment. And the throng of candidates hoping to challenge Romney are placing dramatically different bets on where, exactly, the anti-Romney opening in the race is.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/57402.html

[Geee]

Willard Mitt Romney Doesn't Know Who He Is

 

NEW YORK — Will the real Willard Mitt Romney please stand up?

 

Republicans recently have watched multiple Romneys at war with each other over abortion, ethanol, global warming, and more. Alas, this is nothing new. Various Romneys have battled themselves on issues as old as the Vietnam War.

 

•“I longed in many respects to actually be in Vietnam and be representing our country there and in some ways it was frustrating not to feel like I was there as part of the troops that were fighting in Vietnam,” Hawkish Romney said in the June 24, 2007 Boston Globe while running as a conservative for 2008’s GOP nomination.

 

But Romney sang a softer song while campaigning for Senate in liberal Massachusetts. “I was not planning on signing up for the military,” Dovish Romney said in the May 2, 1994 Boston Herald. “It was not my desire to go off and serve in Vietnam.”

 

•Just last week, Romney spooked pro-lifers by refusing to sign the Susan B. Anthony List’s pledge to nominate anti-abortion judges and other federal officials. Romney properly noted that this promise might block, say, a pro-choice spy master from leading the electronic sleuths at the National Security Agency. Still, this dustup underscored Romney’s bipolarity on this key issue.

 

“I believe that abortion is the wrong choice except in cases of incest, rape, and to save the life of the mother,” Pro-Life Romney wrote in the July 26, 2005 Boston Globe.

 

But less than three years earlier, in October 2002, Pro-Choice Romney disagreed: “Let me make this very clear. I will preserve and protect a woman’s right to choose.”

 

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=44407

[Geee]

Romney Ad: Obama isn't working

 

[Valin]

 

 

What is the title of the You Tube? I'll try to fix your post.

[Geee]

Sorry Valin-tried it again and it wouldn't work

[pollyannaish]

Think I got it. It's a great ad!

 

Thanks for posting Geee!

[Geee]

Thanks Polly

[Geee]

Romney’s Resistible Rise

 

 

The Republican presidential field is starting to winnow itself, even before Iowa holds the straw poll that traditionally starts the remorseless process. The Georgians — former House speaker Newt Gingrich and businessman Herman Cain — seem to be on their way out. Former Utah governor Jon Huntsman is fizzling. Former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty has been sinking. Rep. Michele Bachmann, the other Minnesotan, is rising. Mitt Romney is more securely in front of the other candidates than ever. And Gov. Rick Perry of Texas is sizing up his chances.

 

It is Perry, Pawlenty, and Bachmann who have done the most to reshape the race in recent weeks. The others have either passively benefited from the events that trio set in motion or confirmed their marginality. When Newt Gingrich was deciding whether to run, the conventional wisdom was that he was too erratic and undisciplined to win. Once he ran, he quickly proved his doubters right. A brief flurry of interest in Cain raised the possibility that he would become a major voice for conservatives in the primaries, although no sensible person believed he could be the nominee. But Bachmann has eclipsed him (as she has also done to Sen. Rick Santorum, who remains in the race for no obvious reason), and he is losing staff.

 

It has always been difficult to see how Huntsman could win the nomination by running, at least stylistically, to the left of a frontrunner who is already positioned as a relative moderate in a conservative party. He has done little to dispel the impression that the point of his campaign is to raise his profile, perhaps in anticipation of a more serious run in 2016.

 

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/272610/romney-s-resistible-rise-ramesh-ponnuru

[Madison]

The healthcare issue is my main question about Romney. I'm looking for a candidate who will run on overturning Obamacare. Whichever one makes that a central part of their platform, I'll send support money to them.

[righteousmomma]

Welcome Madison!

I think we all here want Obama care made null and void.

I just hope whoever we end up with has the guts to stand up to the media and the Dems (same thing)on every issue.

 

Of course there is also plenty of time for others to enter and state their positions.

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Romney gets heckled by a moonbat in Iowa (via Hot Air):

[Valin]

[Geee]

After Perry bails, Romney shines in South Carolina forum

 

 

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Jim DeMint is clear: He expects some attention from Rick Perry. The South Carolina senator had been expecting the Texas governor, now leading the Republican presidential pack, to answer long-form questions from DeMint and two other panelists at Monday's Palmetto Freedom Forum. But Perry sent word just hours beforehand that he would skip the event and instead fly to Texas to deal with wildfires.

When Perry called DeMint with word -- it had already been all over the news -- Perry knew he was causing a major problem. "He just committed to spend extra time in South Carolina to make up for it," DeMint, who has never met Perry, said a short time after the call. So look for Perry to try to mend fences, and soon.

 

DeMint and the forum's other organizers are taking Perry at his word about the urgency of the situation in Texas. The fires are a serious and growing problem, and as governor, Perry has a responsibility to deal with them. On the other hand, some rival candidates aren't so understanding.

 

"It's obvious that Rick Perry is skipping the DeMint forum because he knew he was going to be asked tough questions about his previous support for gay marriage in New York, as well as his policies in Texas in favor of illegal immigration," says one representative of a rival camp. "He's looking for a reason to not actually be compared to the other candidates," says an official in another camp. "He was grasping for a reason not to show."

 

Had Perry shown up, he would have had his hands full dealing with Mitt Romney. The former Massachusetts governor originally turned down DeMint's invitation and decided to appear only after seeing Perry rocket to the front of the Republican pack. But once on stage, especially when faced with a series of questions on financial regulation -- Dodd-Frank, Fannie and Freddie, the Community Reinvestment Act, Sarbanes-Oxley -- Romney delivered a masterful performance. Asking Romney about financial matters and the economy is like asking former Sen. Rick Santorum about abortion -- it's something he seems to understand deep inside himself.

 

And even on the issue of abortion, on which he has famously flip-flopped, Romney found a way to shine. Conservative Princeton professor Robert P. George, one of the questioners, asked each candidate about a hugely unlikely scenario in which Congress, relying on the 14th Amendment, would pass a law overturning Roe v. Wade and set up a constitutional showdown with the Supreme Court over abortion. Repeated over and over, the question had the feel of a personal cause rather than an urgent national issue. Romney's carefully phrased answer was, in effect, no thanks. "I'm not looking to create a constitutional crisis," he told George.

 

http://washingtonexaminer.com/politics/2011/09/after-perry-bails-romney-shines-south-carolina-forum

[Valin]

Romney outlines jobs plan before debate, president
Matt Viser
9/6/11


Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney talks about his plan for creating jobs and improving the economy during a speech today at McCandless International Trucks in North Las Vegas, Nev.

NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Mitt Romney this afternoon called for a reduction in corporate taxes, an immediate $20 billion in federal budget cuts, and a plan that would convert Medicaid into a federal block grant program that would be administered by the states.

(Snip)

If elected, Romney says he would submit a jobs package on his first day in office consisting of five proposals. That legislation would reduce the corporate income tax rate to 25 percent; implement free trade agreements with Columbia, Panama, and South Korea; and direct the Department of the Interior to work with energy companies to survey energy reserves and lease all areas currently approved for exploration.

He would also immediately cut non-defense spending by 5 percent, reducing the federal budget by $20 billion. He would also cap spending at 20 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product.

(Snip)

[pollyannaish]

I'm glad that Perry went home to take care of his state. That speaks well for his leadership. I'm also glad that Mitt got a chance to outline his jobs proposals. He did very well.

 

I want to see a good solid primary fight to the end between Romney and Perry. That's what I'm rooting for at this point.

[clearvision]

Tim Pawlenty backs former rival Mitt Romney for president

 

Just weeks after abandoning his campaign for president, Tim Pawlenty is injecting himself back in the race with an endorsement of Mitt Romney.

 

The expression of support for his former foe is a quick turnabout for the former Minnesota governor, who earlier this summer lampooned Romney over his healthcare reform plan, which Pawlenty called "Obamneycare."

 

It also comes as the GOP race for president has entered a newly competitive phase between Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, and Rick Perry, the current governor of Texas.

 

Pawlenty announced his decision in an email Monday morning -- just hours before the GOP contenders are scheduled to meet for another debate.

 

Los Angeles Times

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Darrell Issa endorses Romney:

 

Darrell Issa, the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, will endorse Mitt Romney ahead of tonight’s debate in Florida. Issa’s battles with the White House have made him a hero to conservatives. The endorsement is doubly significant because Issa backed John McCain last time, and his rags-to-riches story gives him credibility with the GOP donor class. Romney sees him as an important asset in California. From Chairman Issa’s forthcoming statement: “The country would be well served to have someone who knows how the economy works and has worked in the private sector. President Obama never worked in the real economy – we can’t afford to have another president who has spent his career outside the real economy.”

 

Romney’s campaign will also announce the endorsement of former New Hampshire State Senate President Ed Dupont later this morning. A major McCain endorser in 2008, Dupont is the second former New Hampshire Senate president to back Romney.