Georgia for Mitt

Georgia Romney supporter to be on The Daily Show

2012-01-13T21:51:00.000-05:00

From The AJC Political Insider:

Georgia's own Joe McCutchen, who spoke at our grassroots meeting last Saturday, has been dubbed by Politico as Mitt Romney's #1 fan. As a result "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" ventured to Ellijay today to interview Joe and Oscar Poole.

As Joe says "Mitt Romney will be the greatest President since Ronald Reagan."

No word when the segment will air, but we'll post it here.

Congrats Joe and Oscar.

Amb. Bolton endorses Gov. Romney

2012-01-13T06:25:00.000-05:00

In a big pickup, former UN Ambassador John Bolton has endorsed Gov. Romney. Click the link below to see the video from Fox News.

http://video.foxnews.com/v/1384651566001/

Well written endorsement by an attorney in Macon

2011-12-28T15:41:00.000-05:00

From We Are Politics:

Click the link for the full piece, but here are a couple key paragraphs:

"Yes, I’m THAT guy. In the land of Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich, deep in the South, where the red of the state stains like fresh blood on the national map, I am a Mitt Romney supporter. While my fellow Republicans and conservatives around me here in Georgia throw their support behind Newt Gingrich (now that Herman Cain has suspended his campaign), I remain the voice (of reason) for Romney."
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"Romney also has the credentials as a successful businessman in the private sector to attack the President’s failed economic ideas and regulations. When Romney took over as Governor of Massachusetts, he inherited a significant deficit that was paid down under his watch. Romney’s tax plan is right for the Middle Class in America- keep the Bush Presidency Income Tax Rates, eliminate the Death Tax, and reduce corporate tax rates to allow for more job growth. He also wants to pursue a Balanced Budget Amendment for the Federal Government, and decrease the size of said government by 10% through attrition. His plans are traditionally conservative- he does not come from the tax-and-spend way of thinking. A vote for Romney is a solidly conservative vote for President."

New Iowa ad -- Character

2011-12-21T21:40:00.002-05:00

Des Moines Register endorses Gov. Romney

2011-12-17T23:49:00.000-05:00

The big paper in Iowa announced tonight that they are endorsing Gov. Romney in the upcoming caucuses. Read it by clicking here.

Sobriety, wisdom and judgment.

Those are qualities Mitt Romney said he looks for in a leader. Those are qualities Romney himself has demonstrated in his career in business, public service and government. Those qualities help the former Massachusetts governor stand out as the most qualified Republican candidate competing in the Iowa caucuses.

Gov. Nikki Haley to endorse Gov. Romney

2011-12-16T06:35:00.000-05:00

This is a big pickup from Gov. Romney in our neighboring state. Read the news piece here from Politico.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, one of the most sought-after remaining Republican endorsements, will come out for Mitt Romney Friday morning, POLITICO has learned.

Haley will offer her formal endorsement on Fox and Friends, giving Romney an important boost ahead of South Carolina's primary next month.

Romney is heading to South Carolina this weekend, where he's likely to be joined by Haley at town hall meetings on the coast.

Haley, a tea party favorite who upended South Carolina's GOP establishment by winning last year, has been courted by all of the GOP presidential contenders. As a state representative, she backed Romney in 2008.

Washington Examiner Endorses Gov. Romney

2011-12-14T19:09:00.000-05:00

The conservative DC newspaper, the Washington Examiner, has endorsed Gov. Romney for President. It's well worth a read, but here are some excerpts:

The only Republican who can beat Obama

The headlines Wednesday morning brought the stunning news that Newt Gingrich had surged to a 40-23 lead over Mitt Romney among likely GOP voters. But the more important story in the Wall Street Journal/NBC poll of 1,000 registered voters was what happened when Romney and Gingrich were pitted against Barack Obama. The president barely edged Romney 47-45, within the margin of error of 3.1 percentage points. Against Gingrich, Obama held a commanding 51-40 lead. Most importantly, half of all of all voters said they wouldn't vote for Gingrich.

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Romney has the misfortune of being an earnest man running in an ironic time, and the leitmotif of the Republican race so far has been the search for the "anti-Romney." Party activists reached out to several men who declined to run, and then Republican voters lavished their affections on, successively, Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, Herman Cain and now Newt Gingrich, all the while keeping Romney's poll numbers hovering around 25 percent. They have been searching for a candidate who shared their conservative principles, who had strength of character, and who, above all, could beat Barack Obama. We believe this candidate has been hiding in plain sight. Mitt Romney is not "too perfect," as some political analysts have argued, but he is perfect enough.

Leader -- Running in Iowa now

2011-12-13T21:12:00.002-05:00

First Ad of the year

2011-11-22T06:21:00.002-05:00

Ann Coulter on Gov. Romney

2011-11-17T11:46:00.000-05:00

From Ann Coulter:

This comes this week from Ann Coulter. I like the conclusion. Click on the link above for the full piece, but here are some key paragraphs:

IF NOT ROMNEY, WHO? IF NOT NOW, WHEN?

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Meanwhile, everyone knows the nominee is going to be Romney.

That's not so bad if you think the most important issues in this election are defeating Obama and repealing Obamacare.

There may be better ways to stop Obamacare than Romney, but, unfortunately, they're not available right now. (And, by the way, where were you conservative purists when Republicans were nominating Waterboarding-Is-Torture-Jerry-Falwell-Is-an-Agent-of-Intolerance-My-Good-Friend-Teddy-Kennedy-Amnesty-for-Illegals John McCain-Feingold for president?)

Among Romney's positives is the fact that he has a demonstrated ability to trick liberals into voting for him. He was elected governor of Massachusetts -- one of the most liberal states in the union -- by appealing to Democrats, independents and suburban women.

He came close to stopping the greatest calamity to befall this nation since Pearl Harbor by nearly beating Teddy Kennedy in a Senate race. (That is when he said a lot of the things about which he's since "changed his mind.") If he had won, we'd be carving his image on Mount Rushmore.

He is not part of the Washington establishment, so he won't be caught taking money from Freddie Mac or cutting commercials with Nancy Pelosi.

Also, Romney will be the first Republican presidential nominee since Ronald Reagan who can talk. Liberals are going to have to dust off their playbook from 30 years ago to figure out how to run against a Republican who isn't a tongue-tied marble-mouth.
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Instead of sitting on our thumbs, wishing Ronald Reagan were around, or chasing the latest mechanical rabbit flashed by the media, conservatives ought to start rallying around Romney as the only Republican who has a shot at beating Obama. We'll attack him when he's president.

It's fun to be a purist, but let's put that on hold until Obama and his abominable health care plan are gone, please.

Ryan Praises Romney

2011-11-05T11:02:00.002-04:00

From National Review:

The budget hawk applauds Romney’s fiscal plan:

For months, Rep. Paul Ryan has been watching the GOP presidential primary. As candidates have outlined tax reforms and championed growth, he’s cheered. On the fiscal front, however, he has heard little from leading contenders. Privately, he’s grumbled about the lack of specifics.
But after recent conversations with Romney and reading his latest USA Today op-ed, Ryan is enthused. The former Massachusetts governor supports a defined-contribution model forMedicare — in which beneficiaries are allowed to choose their own plans — the keystone of the budget passed by House Republicans. “It shows we’re all singing from the same hymnal,” he says.

Ryan spoke with NRO on Friday. Read the rest here.

More Georgia Endorsements

2011-10-31T08:14:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the lack of postings lately, but this came out on Friday:

MITT ROMNEY ANNOUNCES SUPPORT OF ADDITIONAL GEORGIA ELECTED OFFICIALS AND LEADERS

Boston, MA – Mitt Romney today announced additional endorsements of elected officials and leaders in Georgia.

“It’s an honor to receive the support of these great Georgians,” said Mitt Romney. “They share my vision for reduced government spending and regulation in order to get the economy moving again. I’m looking forward to working with them to bring my message to all Georgians.”

Announcing his support, State Senator Fran Millar, who also endorsed Mitt Romney in 2008, said, “I am proud to support Mitt Romney for president. He is the only candidate with both the conservative record and plan to get our economy on the right track again. After three years, it is clear that we cannot afford to elect a president without experience working in the economy. Mitt Romney will bring the skills of a successful businessman and governor to help fix our economy. With his leadership in Washington, I have no doubt that we will be able to reverse the failures of the last three years and get Americans working again.”

State Representative B.J. Pak said, “It is clear that President Obama’s liberal policies are not helping Georgians or the rest of the country. Mitt Romney has a record of leadership as a conservative businessman and as a governor who was able to cut taxes and spending. He knows that we need those conservative principles in the White House if we are to turn around the economy – that is why Georgians will support his effort to defeat President Obama.”

Georgia Elected Officials And Leaders Endorsing Mitt Romney:

· Fran Millar, State Senator

· B.J. Pak, State Representative

· Nancy Coverdell

· Kelley O'Bryan Gary, Chairman, Jackson County GOP

· Robert J. Walker, Former Mayor, Dublin

· Jon Jones, Chairman, Tift County GOP

· James P. Golden, Former Chairman, Tift County GOP and Former 2nd District Director, Young Republicans

· Myron Faircloth, Chairman, South Georgia Young Republicans

· Ruth Malhotra, Former Executive Director, Georgia Association of College Republicans

· Orit Sklar, Former Executive Director, Fulton County GOP

· Jaime F. Aguilera, Former Director of Hispanic Outreach, Cobb County GOP

· Ron Johnson, Former Chairman, Jackson GOP

Georgia Elected Officials And Leaders Already Supporting Mitt Romney:

· Attorney General Sam Olens

· Former House Speaker Mark Burkhalter

· State Senator Bill Hamrick, Chairman of Senate Judiciary Committee

· State Representative Calvin Hill, Vice Chairman of House Appropriations Committee

· State Representative & House Majority Whip Edward Lindsey

· State Representative Wendell Willard, Chairman of House Judiciary Committee

· State Representative Bruce Williamson

· Lynne Riley, State Representative

· Val Clark, State Representative

· Public Service Commissioner Doug Everett

· Max Bacon, Mayor of Smyrna

· Gabriel Sterling, Sandy Springs City Councilman

· Dan Israel, State Board of Education

· Jose Perez, Former State Board of Education

· Molly Dye, Chief of Staff to the late Senator Paul Coverdell

· Heath Garrett, Former Chief of Staff to Senator Isakson

· Fred Cooper, State Chairman for President George H. W. Bush’s Presidential Campaign

· Oscar Persons, State Chairman for Senator Bob Dole’s Presidential Campaign

· Eric Tanenblatt, State Chairman for President George W. Bush’s Presidential Campaign and Chief of Staff to Governor Sonny Perdue

· Lori Pesta, National Federation of Republican Women, Board of Directors

· Ric Mayfield, Former Assistant Treasurer – Georgia Republican Party

· Chandler Epp, Former Vice Chair – Georgia College Republicans

· Marion Hay, Chairman, Moultrie/Colquitt County Industrial Development Authority

· Keith Stone, 1^st District GOP Chair

· David Burge, 5^th District GOP Chair

· Ryan Boland, Former Habersham County GOP Chair

· Jerry Loupee, Former Chatham County GOP Chair

· Michael Barrett, Vice Chairman – Towns County GOP

· Ryan Cleveland, Decatur County GOP Chair

· Tom Morrill, Peach County GOP Chair

Vegas Debate Feedback

2011-10-19T06:20:00.000-04:00

This is the last one for about a month.

Here is some initial feedback from The National Review:

On the Debate

October 18, 2011 11:10 P.M.

By Seth Leibsohn

To use his own colloquialism, there is no question but that Mitt Romney won this debate. And he showed something new as well — serious chops in quick sparring and debating skill one on one. He was quick and effective against Herman Cain on the state-tax issue, Rick Perry on several issues (most effectively, at the end, judging someone on their past), and Newt Gingrich on the issue of the health-care mandate’s origins. It was a stellar performance. I am yet to be convinced he’s the inevitable nominee but one cannot gainsay his debating skills, especially compared with the others.

Rick Perry did not overcome his debating-skills deficit. He came out of the box in his opening statement with a negative jab that seemed wrong for the moment and went downhill from there. One simply cannot look uninterested at best and throw jabs that don’t land at worst, especially when it is clear the strategy is to debate (and campaign) negatively.

Debate Roundup

October 18, 2011 11:04 P.M.

By Victor Davis Hanson

I don’t think the debate will change much in the polls, and those without the money are not going to gain some by tonight’s performance. Obama surely gains when the debaters end up shouting at each other and forget about the present mess. Cain took a lot of hits that scored. Here’s a quick take.

Romney: I think he won the weird crossfires with Perry: a) illegal aliens working on his property were hired by contractors, not him personally (most recognize the difference); b) Perry’s ad hominem came off too calculated and studied rather than an ad hoc jousting point. He scored points for being above the fray, and parried all the blows pretty well. Along with Gingrich and Santorum, he seems to have the best command of the facts, and is doing a good job presenting a certain presidential calm. He is often aware that the debate is being watched by independents as well as the base. When he survives these sharp attacks, he gets better — much better than in 2008. The flash of anger at Perry was a sort of Reagan “I’m paying for this” moment.

Perry: He is not the somnolent Perry of past debates, but his animation is mostly ad hominem and comes off mean-spirited. He seems to have realized that midway, and gets better when he talks about energy. Tonight: two steps forward for passion, two and a half steps back for a bothersome abrasiveness. Passion is not just invective.

Mitt Romney builds case for inevitability

2011-10-12T08:04:00.000-04:00

From Politico:

Click the link for the full story, but here are the opening paragraphs:

HANOVER, N.H – Hours after Chris Christie signaled he believes Mitt Romney is the Republican party’s inevitable nominee, Romney and the rest of the GOP field went about proving him right.

Romney again outclassed the opposition in Tuesday’s Bloomberg/Washington Post debate. Again, none of the other GOP contenders laid a glove on him. And in a telling move that seemed to acknowledge the limits of Rick Perry’s candidacy, the Texas governor effectively tried to survive the debate by not losing it.

After starting the day with a coveted endorsement from Christie, the New Jersey governor who may have posed the most serious threat to Romney’s candidacy, the former Massachusetts governor ended it by standing above an increasingly muddled group of rivals. Aided by a group of competitors who’ve risen and fallen — or not run altogether — the former Massachusetts governor’s steady-as-he-goes strategy has returned him to unqualified frontrunner

Debate Feedback

2011-10-12T06:23:00.000-04:00

Mark Halperin at The Page:

Romney

Style: Perfect pitch for the Republican electorate (and many independents) on assailing Obama’s record with both sadness and anger. Confident, yet not arrogant. Maintained a good balance between cheerful and tough.

Substance: Showed his usual fluidity on economic issues. Rightly called out the other candidates for not putting forward their own health care plans. Offered a good defense of a capital gains tax proposal that wouldn’t benefit the wealthiest Americans.

His worst moment: Came dangerously close to defending TARP.

His best moment: All two hours — no one laid a glove on him — nor barely tried.

The main thing: It's increasingly difficult to see how he trips up in one of these debates. In his second serious national go-round, a much more polished performer than his rivals, and well aware of the traps to avoid. Clocked 120 more minutes of playing at a different level than everyone else on the stage, highlighting his exclusive presidential aura. With his Christie endorsement and another non-game-changing debate under his belt, he is another two steps closer to the nomination.

Grade: A

Washington Post's The Fix:

WINNERS

* Mitt Romney: We expected Romney to shine in this economic-focused debate and shine he did. Romney was knowledgeable and detailed — as expected — but also relaxed to the point where he let a little bit of his personality show. Romney’s biggest hurdle in this race is that he strikes lots of people as inauthentic and awkward. Not only was he head and shoulders above the other candidates on stage when it came to looking presidential, Romney also showcased his human side. His best debate in a string of very solid performances.

Bundlers lining up behind Gov. Romney with Christie not running

2011-10-04T21:17:00.000-04:00

From CapitalNewYork.Com:

With Governor Chris Christie confirming today that he won't seek the presidency, some big-name donors are finally ready to commit themselves to Mitt Romney.

"A lot of us who normally would have been in this presidential race a long time ago, have been waiting for Christie to make a decision," said Georgette Mosbacher, a Republican uber-fund-raiser and finance co-chair of the Republican National Committee who was among a group of Republican bundlers hoping to convince Christie to enter the race. "I think tomorrow, we’ll be contacting one another and probably put something together with Romney."

"I’m going to go with Mitt Romney," said John Catsimatidis, another donor who had been intrigued with Christie, in a brief phone interview this afternoon.

"You're calling about yesterday's news," said Catsimatidis, who said he had gotten the indication Christie wouldn't run from some of the governor's advisers yesterday.

Catsimatidis said he had started pitching Romney in the last couple weeks, on the expectation the governor wouldn't seek the nomination. At a meeting with other conservatives last Monday night, Catsimatidis said, he made the pitch for Romney's electability.

"The speech I gave to my conservative friends was, if you pick somebody who makes you 100 percent happy, you only get 47 percent against Obama," said Catsimatidis. "We have to capture the middle in order to win and make a change in this country. Ninety percent of them stood up and said, 'You’re right.'"

Mosbacher conceded there was "some disappointment" at Christie's decision, but said the public flirtation with Christie wouldn't make it tougher to raise for Romney, especially with Texas governor Rick Perry suddenly slipping in the polls after a couple of disastrous debate performances.

"Look, we’ll raise the money that’s necessary to beat Obama," she said. "It’s not going to be any harder than it would have been a month ago, or two months ago, or six months ago. Now it’s pretty clear. Perry has dropped pretty quickly. And I would say that the race is now Romney and Obama. Quite frankly, the enthusiasm wasn’t there at the outset. He’s less conservative than a lot of us would like.

However, our first and foremost goal is to defeat Obama. And we do believe Romney, in terms of independents, will be a strong candidate. We will coalesce behind him now."

Mosbacher said the big bundlers in her circle "do not consider a Perry factor."

"I don’t think Perry has it in him to do it," said Catsimatidis. "He’s a lot better than Sarah Palin, but not a lot lot better. The danger is in the South, if the South fights the North all over again."

Catsimatidis said his level of involvement would depend on what the Romney campaign asks of him, but he expected to be more involved than simply cutting a check.

Mosbacher said she would be on the phone for Romney as soon as the Christie decision becomes official.

"The time has come. With the primaries being moved up, the time has come to get behind him," she said.

In the second quarter of this year, and the first after Romney officially announced his candidacy, the former Massachusetts governor raised $18 million dollars, substantially outraising every other challenger at the time.

But when Rick Perry, who has raised more than $100 million dollars in a decade as Texas governor, entered the race in August, he was expected to cut into some of Romney's support, and also collect many of the deep-pocketed donors who had yet to commit to Romney's campaign.

For a brief time after Perry's first debate, during which he and Romney aggressively attacked each other, it seemed as if a decision had been made among elite conservatives that the Republican primary had become a two-man race. ("From here on in, it's just Perry and Romney," wrote New York Post columnist John Podhoretz, in a column entitled "A national Republican star is born.")

On Perry's subsequent swing through New York last month, several New York fund-raisers quickly committed to hosting events for him, including real estate executive Myers Mermel, former Senate candidate David Malpass, and former AIG CEO Hank Greenberg.

Still, many of the biggest bundlers—like hedge-fund manager Paul Singer, who met with Perry on that trip, as well as Mosbacher—remained firmly uncommitted.

Then Perry stumbled, badly, muffing consecutive debate performances and trafficking in rhetoric not ordinarily associated with Republican primary candidates. As his fortunes dipped, those hold-out donors responded, in real time, by redoubling their efforts to recruit Christie into the race before the final filing deadlines for the state primaries, with the promise that there were still enough uncommitteds to fund a Christie campign.

That effort temporarily paralyzed the money race, and coincided with the end of the third-quarter filing deadline, leaving both Romney and Perry to lower their expectations to totals just north of $10 million. Romney supporters still reported better-than-expected turnouts at events in New York, but the race was clearly still at the mercy of Christie. The support of some of the top Republican bundlers in New York, and the country, was his to refuse, and finally, today, he refused it.

"Tomorrow I’ll be on the phone all day," Mosbacher told me today.

"Quite frankly, it’ll be easier, because now we know who it is who will be our nominee," she added. "So we will pull our Rolodexes out and get to work."

As for Christie?

"It’s good to have a great bullpen in the Republican Party for our future races," said Catsimatidis.

"I think he’s got to deliver New Jersey for our candidate, is now what we would hope," said Mosbacher.

Gov. Romney on Mike Huckabee's show

2011-10-03T08:42:00.002-04:00

Gov. Romney was interviewed by Mike Huckabee on his Fox show this weekend. Quite a good interview I thought.

Click here to watch.

GA Primary set for March 6th

2011-09-29T14:45:00.000-04:00

The date has been set for March 6th, 2012. Sec of State Brian Kemp announced this morning that we will be voting on "Super Tuesday." As of right now, we'll have the third most delegates of any state voting that day behind Texas and Massachusetts. With Govs. Romney and Perry most likely not spending any time in those two states, it may mean that Georgia will be getting a lot of attention.

Read the article from the AJC here.

Gov. Romney at Florida CPAC

2011-09-26T06:23:00.000-04:00

Debate Feedback Summary

2011-09-23T09:39:00.000-04:00

I received this from The National Review this morning. It does a good job of summarizing the quick takes from various pundits. I've included the feedback on Gov. Romney and Perry (good and bad):

Romney Rebounding?
Stephen Hayes gave Romney the win: "Romney w/a pretty clean debate win. Strong, consistent answers. Seemed confident, poised. Perry struggled. Santorum/Gingrich substantive."

"You can't underestimate the value of Romney having run for president before. It made him slicker, and made his problems seem like old news," declared Matt Lewis.

"I think Romney was a bit more loose tonight. He made some funnies too!" said a cheery Susan Anne Hiller, a Breitbart contributor.
Patrick Ruffini offers a controversial theory: "Conservatives are willing to forgive someone who can string sentences together. Maybe unfair, but true. A big part of Reagan's appeal."

Perhaps there is such a yearning for a figure who can persuade the public about the value of conservative ideas and policies that they'll forgive past decisions that have not pursued conservative ideas and policies.

But Jim Antle throws cold water on the Rom-mentum talk: "Romney shouldn't get too comfortable, however, because his inadequacies are why conservatives keep looking for flavors of the month."

Rick Perry

Ramesh: "Rick Perry will always err on the side of life. Get ready for federal speed limit of 25 mph." (I dunno, I figure the ensuing road rage would drive up the murder rate.)

"By third debate, Perry's now got his HPV response down," noted Chuck Todd.

Actually, he may not have. ABC News's Jonathan Karl noted, "Key point: Perry says he was lobbied by 31-year-old woman with cervical cancer on the HPV exec order. But Perry met her after he signed it."

But perhaps the most memorable moment for Perry came late, probably his worst answer, when he tried to argue that Mitt Romney's policy changes were confusing, and seemed to get confused himself. To those who have followed Romney's moderate-sounding 2002 gubernatorial-campaign pledges to his conservative-wooing rhetoric in the 2008 race, this is an easy lay-up. I'm sure you can come up with a couple of Romney flip-flops off the top of your head right now. But for some reason, Perry seemed to lose track of his words, and his whole answer came out tentative and rambling and unfocused.

And no, it wasn't just me reacting that way.

"Rick Perry entered tonight's Republican presidential debate with an opportunity to reverse the image of him as a poor speaker that had slowed the momentum of his campaign. Instead, he reinforced it," concluded Jonathan Tobin at Commentary:

Perry may have started out strong but once again his energy and focus seemed to leave him in the second hour of the debate. He clearly flubbed a chance to nail Romney on health care as well as his other changes of position.

Even worse for Perry, immigration emerged as an issue in which the Texas governor has taken a position that, however justified, allows his main rival Mitt Romney to outflank him on the right. That's a potentially crippling blow to Perry since it could serve to distract conservatives from Romney's sponsorship of the law that inspired Obamacare and the other flip-flops that have defined his political career.

Ruth Anne Adams labels it, "Romney jujitsu."
Dave Weigel summarized Perry's comments as, "Mumble mumble uuuuuuh."

"Perry is stumbling on his attack against Romney as a flip-flopper. This should be a piece of cake. Geez," lamented Michelle Malkin.

"Perry seems like he's running out of batteries. Literally. Yikes," reacted Guy Benson.

"I think Perry almost fell asleep mid-sentence there. I know I did," reacted AlexaShrugged.

"Oh, Rick. You need a Red Bull," groaned Tabitha Hale.
Jeff Greenfield thought of a historical analogy: "I think Rick Perry was channeling Ted Kennedy with Roger Mudd from that 1979 intvw: ('Senator, why do you want to be president?' uh . . . uh . . . uh)"

ABC News's political director Amy Walter suggested, "If I'm Romney, next time I ask for a 3 hr. debate. Perry's stamina wears off at around minute 42."
Molly Ball, soon to leave Politico: "I've watched all of Perry's debates from the last 10 years, and I've never seen him this wobbly."

An interesting metaphor from the great Dana Perino: "This was like a 3rd date with Perry -- where you decide if you'll go on a 4^th . . . would you?"

Eh, if he kept talking about "mating" Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich, ladies, it's your call, but I'd be looking elsewhere.

Perry's performance left Tim Williams unnerved: "But to me the big story is that Rick Perry has been incredibly weak in every debate appearance. I think he's done. I'd be shocked if he wins a single primary. Yet somehow, his weakness makes the entire field, which I once defended, seem even weaker than it did before Perry's entry. And that worries me."

"So I take it our love affair with Perry is over?" concludes Keder

National Review on Sen. Blunt

2011-09-20T20:10:00.000-04:00

This is an interesting posting on The Corner, which discusses the announcement today of Sen. Roy Blunt's endorsement. The link will take you to the full piece, but here are some excerpts:

Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri may be a GOP freshman, but he’s one of Washington’s most-connected players. That’s part of the reason Mitt Romney tapped him to count noses, serving as his Capitol Hill coordinator. A former top-ranking House member, Blunt should be an able messenger for the former Bay State governor.
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Indeed, Blunt, a low-key but talkative fellow, should be able to make the soft sell with ease. He served in a similar role for George W. Bush in the 2000 cycle. “I helped House members organize for Governor Bush,” he recalls. With Romney, he will, as he did then, talk about the governor’s record, to be sure, but also his electability.

“I think [Romney] is a candidate who can be competitive in lots of states in November, in places where we might not otherwise be,” he says. “I just announced this assignment today,” he says. “I’ve had a few of my colleagues come up and talk to me about it. I think there’s a lot of interest in his candidacy, and there is incredible interest in doing whatever is necessary to have a Republican president who is focused on getting this economy moving again.”

Sen. Roy Blunt endorses Gov. Romney

2011-09-20T09:31:00.000-04:00

In another big pickup for the campaign, Politico reports that Sen. Roy Blunt (Missouri) has decided to endorse Gov. Romney.

Roy Blunt's decision to endorse Mitt Romney is a "Richter-rattler," Mike Allen writes, and "reflects an emerging effort by establishment Republicans to coalesce around Mitt Romney." And it's hard to read this as anything more or less than a coup for Romney in the inside game:

More Georgia Endorsements

2011-09-19T10:52:00.000-04:00

The list of Georgia endorsements grew quite a bit today as announced by the campaign.

Here's the link:

Mitt Romney Announces Additional Georgia Endorsements

September 19, 2011

Boston, MA

United States

Mitt Romney today announced additional endorsements of elected officials and leaders in Georgia.

“Georgia is important to my campaign and I am thrilled to be receiving the support of so many of its great leaders,” said Mitt Romney. “We will work together closely to reverse the failed policies of the last three years and get our economy heading in the right direction.”

“I am excited to see so many great Georgians joining me in supporting Governor Romney,” said Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens. “His experience is unmatched and he is the only candidate with the right set of skills we need to move our country forward into prosperity.”

Attorney General Olens previously endorsed Governor Romney along with Public Service Commissioner Doug Everett, former Speaker Mark Burkhalter, House Majority Whip Ed Lindsey, State Senator Bill Hamrick, State Representative Calvin Hill, State Representative Wendell Willard, and State Representative Bruce Williamson.

Georgia Elected Officials And Leaders Endorsing Mitt Romney:

Lynne Riley, State Representative
Val Clark, State Representative
Max Bacon, Mayor of Smyrna
Gabriel Sterling, Sandy Springs City Councilman
Dan Israel, State Board of Education
Jose Perez, Former State Board of Education
Molly Dye, Chief of Staff to the late Senator Paul Coverdell
Heath Garrett, Former Chief of Staff to Senator Isakson
Fred Cooper, State Chairman for President George H. W. Bush’s Presidential Campaign
Oscar Persons, State Chairman for Senator Bob Dole’s Presidential Campaign
Eric Tanenblatt, State Chairman for President George W. Bush’s Presidential Campaign and Chief of Staff to Governor Sonny Perdue
Lori Pesta, National Federation of Republican Women, Board of Directors
Ric Mayfield, Former Assistant Treasurer – Georgia Republican Party
Chandler Epp, Former Vice Chair – Georgia College Republicans
Marion Hay, Chairman, Moultrie/Colquitt County Industrial Development Authority
Keith Stone, 1^st District GOP Chair
David Burge, 5^th District GOP Chair
Ryan Boland, Former Habersham County GOP Chair
Jerry Loupee, Former Chatham County GOP Chair
Michael Barrett, Vice Chairman – Towns County GOP
Ryan Cleveland, Decatur County GOP Chair
Tom Morrill, Peach County GOP Chair

Rep. Jeff Flake endorses Gov. Romney

2011-09-19T10:44:00.000-04:00

Good news from Arizona. Congressman Jeff Flake, a well respected conservative and Senate candidate, has endorsed Gov. Romney.

Read about it here on Politico.

Gov. Romney enters Bill O'Reilly's No Spin Zone

2011-09-14T06:21:00.000-04:00

More debate feedback: from Fred Barnes

2011-09-13T06:24:00.000-04:00

From The Weekly Standard:

If a debate more than four months before the first vote is cast can influence the outcome of a presidential nomination race, the debate last night among eight Republicans should aid Mitt Romney’s candidacy. Seldom has there been as clear a winner.

He did well in these instances, among others: spelling out the differences between the health care plan he championed in Massachusetts and Obamacare; explaining the problem with the Fair Tax is that it gives short shrift to the middle class; pointing out the built-in advantages Perry has in Texas in governing successfully; and refraining from boasting, except to say that “if America needs a turnaround, that’s what I do.” Romney was crisp and succinct, prepared and focused, and aggressive in going after his chief rival for the GOP presidential nomination, Texas governor Rick Perry, when he needed to be. Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, showed once again that he’s a far better candidate now than he was four years ago.

Mark Halperin grades last night debate

2011-09-13T06:20:00.000-04:00

From The Page:

Romney

Style: At times a little too proud of himself, but again put forth a decisive turn and skillfully delivered a series of effective, prepared lines—flaunting his solid experience as a presidential candidate.

Substance: Ably delivered his seven-point plan for the economy.

His worst moment: Didn’t quite know how to complete the script when Perry backed away from his previous position on eliminating Social Security.

His best moment: Smoothly took on Perry’s job record in Texas, without sounding whiny or nit-picky.

The main thing: Well prepared and confident when confronting Perry on Social Security, but the crowd was not with him, even when he offered up Tea-pleasing lines. Still, another good night for him in the era of the two-man race: he was on the receiving end of very few shots (and those he got, he deflected pretty well), while it was Perry-as-piñata night yet again. Romney was not as good (or presidential) as last time, but still best in show.

Grade: B+

Gov. Tim Pawlenty endorses Gov. Romney

2011-09-13T06:16:00.002-04:00

Gov. Romney's webvideo response to the President's speech

2011-09-09T06:46:00.001-04:00

The campaign continues to turn out excellent videos:

They also set up a new website: http://www.obamaisntworking.com/

Some Debate Feedback

2011-09-08T09:24:00.000-04:00

From TheCollegeFix.Com:

Cameron Parker, UNC-Chapel Hill

Mitt Romney has to be feeling pretty good about tonight’s debate.

The first five minutes were the most revealing. Rick Perry came out swinging — as expected. But the level of vitriol between himself and Romney — strategically placed next to him — was still a little shocking. Romney and Perry spent several exchanges comparing their respective gubernatorial records, but methinks Romney ultimately prevailed by pointing out that frankly, the whole argument was like comparing apples and oranges.
........

WINNER: Romney

Matt Berry, Tulane University College Republicans

Rick Perry had one job tonight: to appear as a frontrunner for the GOP nomination and a serious threat to President Obama’s reelection. He did not accomplish this. Despite his ability in connecting with primary voters on the stump, he is not an effective debater. His style was unfocused. His strategy was unclear. In this, I am left with serious reservations about Perry as the most effective vehicle for conservative ideas when combating President Obama mano-a-mano. Governor Perry is excellent at presenting his ideas to Republicans. The problem is that Republicans already agree with him.

Tonight the candidates stood before Ronald Reagan’s legacy and each tried to make the case that he should be the standard-bearer of that legacy. We celebrate Reagan’s greatness in large part for his ability to present conservatism to people who weren’t already conservative and win them over. If tonight was any indication, then Rick Perry is either unable or unwilling to do this. He seemed to be in Simi Valley to attract refugees from the sinking U.S.S. Bachmann. He probably did this well. But meanwhile, Mitt Romney was running for President.

WINNER: Romney

---------------------

The Page by Mark Halperin
Romney

Style: Proved every bit as tough as Perry in opening jousts. More natural and comfortable than usual, even/especially when delivering his pre-canned lines—many of which scored powerfully.

Substance: Strong on a variety of issues, but surprisingly, never shifted the focus to his detailed economic plan unveiled Tuesday.

His worst moment: Had trouble defending his Massachusetts health care law, still sounding addled and uncertain every time it comes up.

His best moment: Fluid, politically potent slap-down of Perry on his inflammatory Social Security rhetoric: “Our nominee has to be somebody who isn’t committed to abolishing Social Security.”

The main thing: Came prepared with clear stats and a good attitude. Showed he won’t back down in the face of the Perry surge. Smart enough to retreat after Perry’s Social Security flap, increasing the odds that it will be the story of the night. Once again, looked fit, at ease, and more like a president than anyone on stage--including his main competition.

Grade: A

Gov. Romney's Jobs Speech

2011-09-07T06:28:00.000-04:00

In case you missed it, you can watch the full video here: I can't embed the video as usual. This link will take you to CSPAN where the speech is listed in the right hand column under Video Playlist. Click on "Mitt Romney Speech on Jobs and Economy from Earlier."

Right after the speech Larry Kudlow from CNBC interviewed Gov. Romney:

Part 2:

Byron York on the South Carolina Forum

2011-09-06T09:32:00.000-04:00

I think the title says it all: "After Perry bails, Romney shines in SC Forum."

--------------------
"
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."
............................
"Could Perry have outperformed Romney? After the forum, one Perry partisan said the Texas governor could have "out-commonsensed" Romney. Perry would certainly have scored some points, and perhaps delivered a good show, but it's hard to see him beating Romney on the substance of the issues."

Stanley Kurtz (National Review) on electability

2011-09-01T16:15:00.000-04:00

Stanley Kurtz has a very good posting today walking through his thoughts on Perry vs. Romney on the issue of electability. Click here to read the entire post, but here are some main points:
--------------------
Quite possibly, the liberal caricatures of Perry will backfire. And while I don’t at all agree that Perry plans to dismantle entitlements, I do think he’s likely to pare back welfare-state overreach to an even greater extent than Romney. That’s a good thing.

On the other hand, Romney is no slouch. I’ve been reading Romney’s book, No Apology. Perry’s federalism makes him a polar opposite of Obama. In a slightly different way, however, Romney’s business experience does the same. Just about every lesson about economic productivity Romney draws out of his extensive background in business puts him dead against Obama’s regulatory state.
...........................
It’s still early in the process. The upcoming debates will tell us a lot. Conservatives are right to be excited by Perry. He may be the solution we’ve been looking for. But the fundamental goal is, and must remain, to defeat Obama. Things could change, but as of now Perry remains the riskier bet. Flaws and all, Romney is not only the more likely winner, but a candidate with more positives than conservatives now give him credit for.

Review of Gov. Romney's Speech today at the VFW

2011-08-30T20:17:00.000-04:00

This is a very good review of Gov. Romney's speech today by Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post. Click here to read the full article, but here are a few key excerpts:
----------------------------

As those in and around the Mitt Romney campaign have explained privately and on the record, the frenzy about Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s surge in the national polls hasn’t panicked them. They, of course, lived through the 2008 race when Sen. John McCain came from far behind, Rudy Giuliani melted and Fred Thompson turned out to be much to do about nothing. That isn’t to say they intend to sit back. Their game plan was in full view at the VFW speech today in Texas.

Whoever Romney has fired or hired to assist with speechwriting, the change was somewhat dramatic. Gone were equivocations and recycled stump speech lines. This is a more aggressive and more colorful Romney.
...................

I am a conservative businessman. I have spent most of my life outside of politics, dealing with real problems in the real economy. Career politicians got us into this mess and they simply don’t know how to get us out!

...............................
Romney’s team has insisted that as voters turn the attention back to the campaign and the fall debates dominate the political news, we will see some robust policy pronouncements. This had the feel of a warm-up, an effort to lay down some markers and begin to introduce some themes. It was a different sort of speech than Perry’s, more specific and more attention paid to the economy. Expect more of that and a clearer delineation between the candidates, if not on ideology then on experience and capability.

Romney Remains the GOP's Best Bet

2011-08-30T10:51:00.000-04:00

Here is a well written commentary published in the Kansas City Star that pretty well sums up my thoughts.

Romney remains the GOP’s best bet

By STEVE KRASKE

The Kansas City Star

One year from today, the 2012 Republican National Convention opens in Tampa, Fla.

Today’s question is: Whom will the GOP be nominating during its four-day extravaganza?

No beating around bushes here: Mitt Romney.

Yes, I know about that latest Gallup poll showing Texas Gov. Rick Perry zooming into first place among rank-and-file Republicans. He topped Romney 29 to 17 percent, with Ron Paul and Michele Bachmann emerging as the only other candidates in double digits.

Perry is all sparkle and glitter — a brand new candidate with a brand new candidate’s appeal. His strength among tea partyers is something to behold. That same Gallup poll showed Perry topping Romney and Bachmann among Republicans who identify themselves as tea party backers by a solid 21 points.

That’s formidable.

But the Gallup poll came as Perry’s much anticipated announcement had reached its zenith. Gallup went into the field just four days after Perry kicked off his campaign with his “It is time to get America working again” speech.

Perry’s numbers may never be higher.

Romney’s standing has been on the wane for weeks. But his prospects remain strong because of timing, his own record of executive experience and Perry’s penchant for uttering the kinds of quotes that quickly undercut poll numbers.

The old conventional wisdom about the former Massachusetts governor was that he was tainted by his implementation of a President Obama-style health care system to be viable. Others thought he had wiggled and waffled too many times on key social issues.

While those concerns remain, America’s rabid focus on jobs should help voters overlook Romney’s drawbacks in favor of his pitch that he’s best positioned to boost monthly employment numbers.
Romney, remember, is not only a one-time governor. He was co-founder and head of Bain Capital, a highly profitable private equity firm that became one of the largest in the country.

And he pulled the 2002 Winter Olympics’ fat out of the fire.

That type of successful executive experience will contrast well with so many Americans’ doubts about Obama’s leadership.

Perry has his own economic credentials, although critics are calling his achievements paper-thin. Many of those Texas jobs created in recent years don’t come with benefits and don’t pay well either.

In a presidential race that’s all about early momentum, Perry may not win either Iowa or New Hampshire.
Ask yourself this: Is America really ready to elect another governor from Texas — one who sounds and even acts a little like George W. Bush?

An Environment for Job Creation

2011-08-29T20:41:00.000-04:00

From Fosters.Com:

When regulations drive up the cost of energy, the impact is felt by every business and every consumer. In this sense, such regulations are no different from tax increases. They discourage investment, hurt the competitiveness of the American economy, and ultimately destroy jobs.

As governor of Massachusetts, lots of unnecessary regulations and taxes came to my desk and I saw it is as my job to say no to them. Concern about the environment brought the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) before me. The cap-and-trade program for New England electric utilities imposes a charge for carbon dioxide emissions above certain limits. I examined the costs, which included possible spikes of more than 20 percent in electricity rates for our state's manufacturers. And I studied the claimed benefits to the environment, which seemed to be extraordinarily thin. I said no thanks.

Unfortunately for its residents, New Hampshire signed up for the program. Businesses and consumers are already seeing higher electricity bills, and RGGI's major effects are yet to come. With RGGI on the books, firms looking up the road at the significant new costs RGGI imposes on them are less likely to invest or create jobs in New Hampshire. New Jersey is fortunate that its governor, Chris Christie, has withdrawn from the program. If New Hampshire does the smart thing and follows suit, I won't be in the least surprised.

The same set of dilemmas is now playing out in Washington. In the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, Barack Obama came into office as a fervent proponent of a national cap-and-trade program. Even he knew enough to admit that under his plan "electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket." And he was candid enough to admit that it would cause entire industries to go under: "if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can," said the President. "It's just that it will bankrupt them."

The cap-and-trade bill that finally reached Congress would have cost trillions of dollars and destroyed millions of jobs. President Obama applauded it as "a historic leap." He should have recognized that it was a leap off a cliff.
Fortunately, Congress had the good sense not to compound our economic challenges by imposing cap-and-trade's extraordinary costs on the American people. Unfortunately, President Obama did not get the message. There's "more than one way to skin a cat," he said. His Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proceeded to pursue through executive fiat what the President could not get the American people's representatives to support.

Irresponsibly, the EPA declared carbon dioxide, the same carbon dioxide that humans exhale, to be a "pollutant" that poses risks to human health. As a result, the EPA is now issuing regulations under the Clean Air Act that will produce the same sort of economic devastation that Congress had wisely rejected.

These regulations are only one piece of an expansive and destructive regulatory agenda. The administration's proposed regulations for coal-fired power plants could destroy what even the President's union allies estimate to be 250,000 jobs. A proposed regulation on industrial boilers puts 800,000 more workers at risk. The EPA is considering an ozone regulation that could cost $90 billion per year and destroy more than seven million jobs. Seven million jobs is not a trivial number!

Even in the best of economic times, these steps would be highly irresponsible. But these are not the best of economic times. Unemployment is above nine percent and the economy is hovering on the edge of a double-dip recession. When Obama talks about his commitment to creating jobs while simultaneously suffocating the economy with new regulations, we must judge him by his actions not his words.
We need to move in the opposite direction and fast. My primary objective as President would be to put America back to work. I would seek out every opportunity to reduce the regulatory burden on industry. I would systematically remove the obstacles that the Obama administration has placed in the way of energy producers. And I would support the aggressive expansion of domestic energy production.

With the right policies and the right leadership millions of American could be at work drilling for oil and natural gas, mining coal, and operating power plants. The country would be richer and less dependent on foreign energy. As President I would understand the importance of safeguarding the environment, but I would be mindful at every step of the way of keeping our country secure and protecting American jobs.
Mitt Romney

Republican Presidential Primary Candidate

Obama isn't Working -- Right to Work

2011-08-27T16:54:00.000-04:00

Ann Romney coming to Georgia

2011-08-23T21:51:00.002-04:00

Ann Romney, the Governor's wife, will be coming to Atlanta on Wednesday, Aug. 31st for a fundraising luncheon. If you've never had the chance to meet her, this is a wonderful opportunity. She is an exceptional woman and has a compelling person story to tell.

Email me if you're interested in attending, and here's the invite:

YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO A RECEPTION WITH

ANN ROMNEY

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2011

AT THE HOME OF

KELLY LOEFFLER

3650 TUXEDO RD ATLANTA, GA 30305

11:45AM RECEPTION

12:15PM LUNCH

Contribution to Romney for:

$250 Per Person for RECEPTION

Gov. Romney fares best against Obama

2011-08-23T20:07:00.000-04:00

From The Corner:

Democratic firm Public Policy Polling released today their match-up of the top GOP contenders with President Obama in a general election. Mitt Romney would tie with President Obama, 45 percent to 45 percent. The other GOP candidates would lose: Rick Perry is 43 percent to Obama’s 49 percent, Bachmann 42 percent to 50 percent, Herman Cain 39 percent to 49 percent, and Sarah Palin 40 percent to 53 percent.

Georgia Endorsements for Gov. Romney

2011-08-22T14:50:00.000-04:00

From MittRomney.com:

Mitt Romney today announced the endorsements of current and former elected officials in Georgia.
“I am pleased to receive the endorsements of so many great leaders in Georgia,” said Mitt Romney. “I look forward to working with these leaders to reverse the failed policies of the Obama administration, put Americans back to work, and get the economy turned around.”

“Georgians are suffering under the leadership of President Obama. Mitt Romney is the candidate with the vision and experience to turn around the failing economy,” said House Majority Whip Edward Lindsey. “As governor, he balanced the budget without raising taxes and created jobs. He has the experience in both the private and public sectors to get Americans back to work.”

Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens has also endorsed Governor Romney.

Georgia Elected Officials Endorsing Mitt Romney:

Former House Speaker Mark Burkhalter
State Senator Bill Hamrick, Chairman of Senate Judiciary Committee
State Representative Calvin Hill, Vice Chairman of House Appropriations Committee
State Representative & House Majority Whip Edward Lindsey
State Representative Wendell Willard, Chairman of House Judiciary Committee
State Representative Bruce Williamson
Public Service Commissioner Doug Everett

Gov. Romney maintains big lead in NH polling

2011-08-18T11:47:00.000-04:00

In the most recent polling from New Hampshire (after Perry's entry) Gov. Romney still maintains a strong lead coming in at 36%. Rick Perry, his closest challenger is pulling in 18%.

Read the full story here.

"On the ballot Romney remains in a strong position. He leads all candidates with 36% of the vote. However, Perry, making his first appearance in the NH Journal poll, debuts with a strong 18%. Ron Paul continues to impress despite relatively little media attention with 14%. And Bachmann earns 10%. All other candidates were in single digits.

Among all voters surveyed Romney remains very popular with a favorable rating of 66% and an unfavorable rating of 24%."

Obama Isn't Working -- Minnesota

2011-08-16T06:38:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the lack of posts over the last week. I was out of town without access to a computer to make updates. We'll be posting more regularly going forward.

There were a lot of developments over the last week, but here is a new web ad produced by the campaign in conjunction with Obama's "Magical Misery Bus" Tour:

Democrats view Gov. Romney as biggest threat to Obama

2011-08-04T20:45:00.000-04:00

From Hotline:

Click above for the link, but Democrats are feeling that Gov. Romney is the biggest threat to Obama. I think they must be watching the same economy and jobs situation the rest of us are.

Here are some of the key points:

With the economy sputtering, Democratic political operatives view former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney as the main Republican threat to President Obama's reelection, according to this week's National Journal Political Insiders Poll.

Just two months ago, Democratic Insiders also saw Romney as the lead GOP challenger for Obama to overcome, but today, they sound like that hurdle is considerably higher. "He is the best counter to Obama," said one Democratic Insider of the former Massachusetts governor. "He is an executive while Obama was a legislator. Romney ran a company--Obama never made a payroll. Romney created jobs--unemployment is 9 percent-plus under Obama." Echoed another, "Strong business background in a bad economy is a plus for him, as is the Massachusetts health care plan in a general election." Added a third: "He forces Obama to defend the Democratic base states, and will be able to talk about the economy better than any other Republican."

In American: Anything is Possible

2011-08-04T20:36:00.002-04:00

Gov. Romney and Obama tied in Florida

2011-08-04T09:31:00.001-04:00

From the Associated Press:

Click the link above for the full story, but it appears that the debt fight has hurt Obama's numbers with independent voters in the key battleground state of Florida. Gov. Romney is tied with him in a one-on-one matchup. He is the only GOP candidate that matches him.

Here are some of the key excerpts:

Fifty percent of voters surveyed randomly by landline telephone between July 27-Aug. 2 by Quinnipiac (Conn.) University said Obama would not deserve a second term in the election were held today. However, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was the only announced Republican candidate with enough support in the poll to give the president a strong challenge. Both men were favored by 44 percent of those questioned.

Josh Romney coming to Atlanta for a Young Professionals Event

2011-08-02T20:53:00.001-04:00

Josh Romney, one of Gov. Romney's sons, will be in Atlanta on Wednesday, Aug. 17th and will be headlining an event for Young Professionals. The details are below, but you can use this link to register and purchase your ticket: YP Event Email me if you have any questions at gaformitt@gmail.com

YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO A RECEPTION WITH

JOSH ROMNEY

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2011

AT THE HOME OF

SALLY & ROSS SINGLETARY

ONE WEST MUSCOGEE ATLANTA, GA 30305

6-7:30PM Reception

Contribution to Romney for:

$250 Per Person for RECEPTION

KINDLY RSVP TO DABNEY HOLLIS at (404)791-7179 or DABNEYH@ME.COM

Contributions are not tax deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes.

By law, the maximum amount an individual may contribute is $2,500 ($5,000 per couple) per election.

Federal multi-candidate PACs may contribute $5,000 per election. Contributions by corporations, foreign nationals (non-green card holders), labor unions, federal government contractors, and minors under the age of 18 are prohibited.

Obama's poll numbers even worse in the battleground states

2011-07-27T07:52:00.000-04:00

From the National Journal:

More indications that Pres. Obama may have a hard time getting reelected in 2012 especially when matched against Gov. Romney. Click the link above for the full article, but here are a couple key paragraphs:

"The race for president isn’t a national contest. It’s a state-by-state battle to cobble an electoral vote majority. So while the national polls are useful in gauging the president’s popularity, the more instructive numbers are those from the battlegrounds.

Those polls are even more ominous for the president: In every reputable battleground state poll conducted over the past month, Obama’s support is weak. In most of them, he trails Republican front-runner Mitt Romney. For all the talk of a closely fought 2012 election, if Obama can’t turn around his fortunes in states such as Michigan and New Hampshire, next year’s presidential election could end up being a GOP landslide."

Gov. Romney leading in South Carolina

2011-07-18T13:22:00.000-04:00

Some good news from our neighbors in South Carolina: Gov. Romney leads in a new poll of that key early primary state. He pulls in 25% while Sarah Palin is second with 16%. Read the full article here.

"Romney leads the pack with 25 percent, with former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who has yet to declare if she is running, in second with 16 percent. U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota placed third with 13 percent, followed by businessman Herman Cain, based in neighboring Georgia, with 10 percent."

Gov. Romney comments on the debt ceiling

2011-07-14T19:50:00.000-04:00

At an event today in New Hampshire, Gov. Romney answered a question about the debt ceiling. Read the full story here, but below are some of the key points:

After Romney’s opening remarks – and promising the audience that he wasn’t going to “be the cure to their insomnia” – he took questions from the audience.

The first one asked what he would do regarding the debt ceiling if he were president.

“The answer for the country is for the president to agree to cut federal spending and cap federal spending and put into place a balanced budget amendment,” said Romney. “That for me is the line in the sand.”

“It is within the president’s power to say to the leadership in the house and the senate that ‘I’ll cut spending I’ll cap the amount of spending and I’ll pursue a balanced budget amendment and if the president were to do that this whole debt limit problem goes away,” he said.

Some nice additions to the Romney Team

2011-07-13T16:58:00.000-04:00

Over the last couple days, the campaign has announced some nice pickups in the key states of Florida and Iowa.

Today, Gov. Romney announced that Brian Ballard in Florida has joined the fund raising team. Ballard was one of John McCain's National Finance members and was recently Finance Chairman for Gov. Rick Scott's Inaugural.

Yesterday, the campaign announced the addition of several members to the Statewide Leadership in Iowa including State Senator James Hahn. These new members add to the already strong team that the campaign has built in the first caucus state.

Click the links to read the full stories.

Conservative Leaders Privately Favor Romney

2011-07-12T10:05:00.000-04:00

From Newsmax.com:

In the stock market, it’s known as the whisper number. It’s the stock market analysts’ consensus on what earnings a company will report. Because they give their forecasts anonymously, the analysts tend to be more honest. Over time, the whisper number has proven to be more accurate than the figure analysts cite on the record.

In politics, it works the same way. When speaking publicly, conservative leaders usually hedge their bets. They don’t want to be seen as favoring one candidate over another.

In private, it’s a different matter. In those off-the-record conversations, a range of conservative leaders I have chatted with favor Mitt Romney for president.
In public, conservative leaders invariably speak well of Sarah Palin. They cite her loyal following and her ability to whip up crowds and articulate a conservative message. In private, they diss her for her high unfavorability ratings, the fact that she quit as governor of Alaska, and the disorganization of her staff and her chaotic personal scheduling.

An exception to the rule of silence is David Keene, former chairman of the American Conservative Union, who just took over as president of the National Rifle Association. In an interview, Keene says Palin is not ready for a run at the presidency.

Unlike former governors such as Romney, Ronald Reagan, or George W. Bush, Palin did not establish her credentials before leaving office, Keene has told me. Whining about the media is not a winning strategy, Keene noted.

To be sure, each potential candidate has flaws. But conservative leaders I have talked to see Romney as the best bet to win the presidency. He looks and acts presidential. He has the experience and chops to handle the economy. He takes a tough approach to dealing with foreign adversaries. And traditionally, Republicans who win the presidency have run previously for the office.

Things have to change

2011-07-09T18:06:00.000-04:00

Gov. Romney raises more than $18 million

2011-07-06T09:21:00.000-04:00

The campaign announced today that it raised $18.25 million during the second quarter. This is quite an impressive sum especially considering the amounts raised by the rest of the GOP field. Based on the amounts reported by his rivals so far, Gov. Romney has raised four times his closest rival and has $12 million on hand.

This is in addition to the $12 million the Restore Our Future PAC that was formed by some former aides to Gov. Romney.

Thank you to all of you who made contributions during the first quarter. By clicking here, you can get the campaign off to a strong start for the third quarter as well.

Gov. Romney holds a town hall meeting in NH

2011-07-05T19:05:00.000-04:00

In keeping with my recent trend of posting videos, here's one of a town hall meeting Gov. Romney held today. It wasn't all softball questions.

Happy July 4th!

2011-07-04T09:49:00.000-04:00

Celebrate America's Greatness

Obama isn't working -- Allentown, PA

2011-06-30T17:51:00.002-04:00

Gov. Romney to sign Sen DeMint's Debt Limit Pledge

2011-06-29T18:21:00.000-04:00

Today Gov. Romney vowed to support the effort being led by Sen. Jim DeMint to "Cut, Cap, and Balance" the Federal budget.

From Boston.com:

Mitt Romney said this afternoon that he would sign a pledge that would encourage Congress to block an increase of the federal debt limit unless the legislation includes spending cuts and budget caps.

Joining five other Republican presidential candidates, Romney said he would support the ”Cut, Cap and Balance Pledge.” The pledge, which has been pushed by a wide range of conservative groups, urges Congress to oppose debt limit increases unless it includes: “substanital cuts” in spending; spending caps that would put limits on the federal budget; and passage of a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution.

Gov. Romney leading in Iowa

2011-06-26T16:25:00.000-04:00

Gov. Romney is leading in the first Des Moines Register poll of the campaign season. He has a narrow lead over Michelle Bachmann. I think this is fairly good news given the results of 2008.

Read the results here:

Obama's Misery Index -- Ryan's Story

2011-06-24T17:05:00.000-04:00

Another well done video from the Romney campaign today:

Hold him accountable

2011-06-24T06:55:00.000-04:00

Quietly and steadily, Mitt Romney continues to creep ahead in developing Republican race

2011-06-23T10:19:00.000-04:00

From the Los Angeles Times comes this article talking about the way Gov. Romney is solidifying his lead in the race for the GOP nomination. The piece quotes the recent poll highlighting Gov. Romney's favorable vs. unfavorable polling, and the fact that Republican voters are looking for someone who can beat Obama.

"The summer has just begun. It's still very early. A lot can happen in the 14 month run-up to the Republican National Convention in Tampa. Yada Yada Yada.

But right now Republican voters seem to have decided a) they're more interested in winning than refining social issue purity, b) the economy is the top topic (also No. 2 and 3 actually) and c) they seem to be lining up for now behind Mitt Romney as their guy."

More endorsements across the U.S. for Gov. Romney

2011-06-22T18:52:00.000-04:00

Some big endorsements have been announced over the last couple days by the campaign.

First, in Virginia, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling has announced his support of Gov. Romney.
"Bolling also said he thinks Mitt Romney is the only Republican presidential candidate who can win in 2012, and that he will be chairman of Romney’s campaign in Virginia just as he was in 2008."

Then, in Michigan, Gov. Romney announced the support of almost two dozen state officials including the Attorney General Bill Schuette.

"Schuette takes over as Romney’s statewide chairman in Michigan. 'America needs a new president and Michigan, more than any other state, needs jobs, jobs, jobs,” Schuette said. “Mitt Romney is a bold leader with solid conservative credentials who can get our state and our country back on the right track.'"

Gov. Romney's Pro-Life Pledge

2011-06-21T06:44:00.000-04:00

Charles Krauthammer tonight on Fox News talked about the strength of the statement Gov. Romney released over the weekend. Here it is, and here's the link to National Review where it was published.

My Pro-Life Pledge

June 18, 2011 12:50 P.M.

By Mitt Romney

I am pro-life and believe that abortion should be limited to only instances of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother.

I support the reversal of Roe v. Wade, because it is bad law and bad medicine. Roe was a misguided ruling that was a result of a small group of activist federal judges legislating from the bench.

I support the Hyde Amendment, which broadly bars the use of federal funds for abortions. And as president, I will support efforts to prohibit federal funding for any organization like Planned Parenthood, which primarily performs abortions or offers abortion-related services.

I will reinstate the Mexico City Policy to ensure that nongovernmental organizations that receive funding from America refrain from performing or promoting abortion services, as a method of family planning, in other countries. This includes ending American funding for any United Nations or other foreign assistance program that promotes or performs abortions on women around the world.

I will advocate for and support a Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act to protect unborn children who are capable of feeling pain from abortion.

And perhaps most importantly, I will only appoint judges who adhere to the Constitution and the laws as they are written, not as they want them to be written.

As much as I share the goals of the Susan B. Anthony List, its well-meaning pledge is overly broad and would have unintended consequences. That is why I could not sign it. It is one thing to end federal funding for an organization like Planned Parenthood; it is entirely another to end all federal funding for thousands of hospitals across America. That is precisely what the pledge would demand and require of a president who signed it.

The pledge also unduly burdens a president’s ability to appoint the most qualified individuals to a broad array of key positions in the federal government. I would expect every one of my appointees to carry out my policies on abortion and every other issue, irrespective of their personal views.

If I have the opportunity to serve as our nation’s next president, I commit to doing everything in my power to cultivate, promote, and support a culture of life in America.

Bump in the Road

2011-06-21T06:41:00.000-04:00

Gov. Romney polling well in California

2011-06-20T09:07:00.000-04:00

Another state poll out shows Gov. Romney leading the pack of Republican hopefuls. His lead in California is in the double digits, and interesting the second and third place vote getters are Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin, two people who haven't announced their intentions.

Read the entire article here:

Romney is preferred by 25 percent of registered GOP voters, giving the former Massachusetts governor a double-digit lead over each of his challengers. Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, viewed as Romney's leading competitor for the nomination, barely registered in the poll, earning just 3 percent support.

Romney's closest competition comes from two candidates who haven't even joined the race to deny Democratic President Obama a second term: former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (17 percent), and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (10 percent). If Giuliani is taken out of the field, Romney's lead widens - to 30 percent and a more than 2-to-1 lead over Palin at 12 percent in second position, the poll shows.

Photos from tonight's Atlanta event

2011-06-16T22:22:00.000-04:00

A few photos from tonight:

Attorney General Sam Olens endorses Gov. Romney

2011-06-16T15:31:00.000-04:00

Gov. Romney has picked up a big endorsement today as he visits Georgia tonight for a fundraiser. AG Sam Olens has come out in support of the Governor.

Boston, MA – Mitt Romney today welcomed the support of Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens.

"I am proud to have the support of Attorney General Sam Olens," Mitt Romney said. "Attorney General Olens shares my goals of reversing President Obama's failed policies and pulling the country out of this economic downturn."

Announcing his support, Attorney General Sam Olens said, "Mitt Romney has a proven record of creating jobs, balancing budgets, and cutting taxes. He has the needed experience to lead the country out of this economic downturn."

Romney and state Attorney General Sam Olens will meet at 3:30 pm.m to visit Kenny's Great Pies in Smyrna and later tonight, he will be attending a fundraiser at a private home in Atlanta.

More debate feedback

2011-06-14T06:31:00.000-04:00

The Washington Post's The Fix:

The Winners:
Mitt Romney: Romney came into the debate as the frontrunner in New Hampshire and nationally and he did nothing in the 120 minutes on stage at Saint Anselm College to change that. Romney was serious and well informed — in a word: presidential. His debate experience from 2008 clearly paid off as he stayed focused on President Obama and the economy to the exclusion of almost everything else. Romney also benefited from the fact that none of his rivals seemed to have the stomach to attack him directly. And, health care was — at best — a tangential topic. All in all a very good night for Romney.

National Review Online -- The Corner Debate notes

2011-06-13T22:15:00.000-04:00

From The Corner:

Daniel Foster:

“Anyone on this stage would do a better job then President Obama.”

Stanley Kurtz:

Debate tonight and "Mitt underestimated"

2011-06-13T13:29:00.000-04:00

The first GOP Presidential debate of the season taking place in New Hampshire occurs tonight at 8:00. It will be broadcast on CNN. On the same day, CNN has released another poll showing Gov. Romney in the lead:

Mitt Romney – 24 %Sarah Palin – 16%
Herman Cain – 9%
"The poll takes a closer look at how Republicans perceive the five best-known candidates or potential candidates for the nomination. Two-thirds say that Romney can beat the president in the general election"

Finally, this piece from Politico titled "Mitt Underestimated:"

"....Romney has had his best political month in nearly four years. He increasingly looks like the 2012 election’s marathon man, a steady and durable candidate who enters Monday’s New Hampshire presidential debate with a better shot than ever at becoming his party’s nominee."
-----------------------
"“He’s found a way to connect with voters,” said Kevin Madden, a top adviser to Romney’s 2008 campaign. “The criticism of the governor was that he wasn’t connecting. Well, he’s worried about the economy and wants to fix it and the public is worried about the economy and wants someone to fix it. There’s your connection.”

Among political elites, there’s a different factor strengthening Romney’s appeal: He looks like the most viable general election candidate in an increasingly settled field. With brash figures like Sarah Palin and Donald Trump still hovering around the race, supporting Romney also looks like a way for GOP leaders to avoid what columnist Peggy Noonan called “a trip to Crazytown” – nominating a divisive candidate who cannot defeat the president. "
------------------
"Austin Barbour, a Republican fundraiser and a nephew of Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, is among the GOP money men to sign on with Romney in the last month, as the race has picked up and other Republicans have removed themselves from consideration.

“Haley decided not to run. Gov. Daniels decided not to run. But there’s no question that Gov. Romney was the obvious choice to me as the candidate who can change the dynamic in this country,” Barbour said.

“Republicans and conservatives, they want to beat Barack Obama. They want to change the person in the White House,” he continued. “They feel – the ones I talk to – that Gov. Romney is the right person to do that and the right person to turn the economy around.” "

Strong polling numbers for Gov. Romney

2011-06-07T16:53:00.000-04:00

The economic news we mentioned last week have helped propel Gov. Romney ahead of Obama in an ABC National Poll. Read about it here, but the bottom line in this "Shock Poll" is Gov. Romney is leading by 49 to 46 among registered voters. I'm not sure why it's considered a shock. It reinforces that this election is by no means a slam dunk for Obama as some in the media have said.

In further news in neighboring South Carolina, Gov. Romney is leading. This is very good news given the importance of the first-in-the-South primary. Gov. Romney's 2008 showing was considered by many pundits to be detrimental to his campaign. The poll shows him at 27% with Sarah Palin in second drawing 18%.

Here is a key excerpt from the National Polling:

Meanwhile, Romney emerges in the new survey as the strongest current or prospective Republican candidate in the 2012 presidential field. Although he is by no means in a secure spot, on virtually every measure, the former governor appears better positioned than any of his rivals.

Gov. Romney on Hannity

2011-06-05T22:02:00.000-04:00

Gov. Romney at Faith and Freedom Conference

2011-06-05T21:59:00.000-04:00

Click here to watch Gov. Romney's remarks at this weekend's Faith and Freedom Conference: http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/AnnualFai/start/8424/stop/9500

Gov. Romney's Statement on Today's Employment Numbers

2011-06-03T11:52:00.000-04:00

Building upon the economic themes Gov. Romney stressed in his announcement yesterday, today's employment numbers were disappointing. New jobs were below expectations and the unemployment rate climbed to 9.1%.

Gov. Romney released this statement:

“Today’s unemployment numbers show that we are going backwards, and that is the wrong direction for America. President Obama’s policies made the recession worse and as a result more people are out of work. These unemployment numbers should not be viewed as just statistics – these are real families facing significant economic peril because President Obama has failed to pull us out of this economic downturn. Americans deserve a president who will make job creation his number one priority.”

The Announcement Video

2011-06-02T19:09:00.002-04:00

Governor Romney Coming to Atlanta for a Fundraiser

2011-06-02T14:13:00.000-04:00

Gov. Romney will be returning to Atlanta in two weeks for the first visit as an official candidate in the 2012 race. He will be attending a fundraiser here as he focuses on announcing a strong fundraising report for June 30th.

If you're interested in attending, either email me at gaformitt@gmail.com or make a contribution at this link. It will count toward the event.

Here are the details:

Co-Chairs

John & Mark Brock Prescott & Ashley Miller

Hon. Mark & Gina Burkhalter Hon. Sam & Lisa Olens

Fred Cooper Ross & Sally Singletary

Tom & Kathy Haynes Rick & Joan Smith

Jeff Sprecher & Kelly Loeffler Jim & Margaret McCurry

Karole Lloyd Eric & Mary Tanenblatt

Event Hosts

Joseph & Lisa Blanco Tim & Diana McRoberts

Ulrich & Michelle Brechbuhl Bo & Leah Moore

Clark Dean Oscar & Virginia Persons

Mark & April DeMoss Karen Pope

Alec & Shelia Fraser Spence & Lissa Pryor

Heath & Lee Garrett David & Kathy Rubenstein

Gardiner & Wick Gerrard Julian & Anita Saul

Cindy Gillespie Ray & Lynn Smith

Sam & Dabney Hollis Richard & Louellen Stormont

Carlton & Lee Joiner Tim & Leigh Walsh

David Martin Philip & Alston Watt

Ric & Lori Mayfield Mike & Dana White

Hon. Bruce Williamson

CORDIALLY INVITE YOU TO A RECEPTION WITH

GOVERNOR MITT ROMNEY

THURSDAY, JUNE 16th, 2011

AT THE HOME OF

KELLY LOEFFLER AND JEFF SPRECHER

3650 TUXEDO RD ATLANTA, GA 30305

5:30 PM Private Reception and Photo Opportunity

6:00PM – 7:00 PM General Reception

Contribution to Romney for President Exploratory Committee:

private RECEPTION and photo opportunity $5,000/couple

General reception $1,000/Person

KINDLY RSVP TO DABNEY HOLLIS, State finance director at (404) 791-7179 or DABNEYH@ME.COM

Valet Parking Available

Contributions are not tax deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes.

By law, the maximum amount an individual may contribute is $2,500 ($5,000 per couple) per election.

Romney for President Exploratory Committee, Inc.

Post Office Box 149756

Boston, MA 02114-9756

It's official! Gov. Romney is in.

2011-06-02T14:00:00.000-04:00

I'll post video later, but here's the news for now:

From the Associated Press/Westport News:

STRATHAM, N.H. (AP) — Republican Mitt Romney says President Barack Obama has failed the United States and is pitching himself as an alternative who can fix the nation's ailing economy.

The former Massachusetts governor on Thursday made official his White House run and offered a blistering critique of President Barack Obama. Romney says he would rein in Washington spending and put the country on a course toward economic recovery.

-----------------------------

"A few years ago, Americans did something that was, actually, very much the sort of thing Americans like to do: We gave someone new a chance to lead, someone we hadn't known for very long, who didn't have much of a record but promised to lead us to a better place," Romney said, describing the man he hopes to meet head-to-head in November 2012.

"At the time, we didn't know what sort of a president he would make. ... Now, in the third year of his four-year term, we have more than promises and slogans to go by. Barack Obama has failed America."

Gov. Romney leads in Iowa

2011-06-01T15:08:00.000-04:00

As I've stated before, polling this far out is obviously no guarantee of results, but I like where we are especially given the nature of the Iowa caucus. According to Public Policy Polling, Gov. Romney is in first place.

From Examiner.Com:

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney leads in Iowa according to a new survey by Public Policy Polling. The poll was conducted between 5/22/11-5/30/11 and included 491 Iowa Republicans. The full results of the poll will be released Wednesday morning, but MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show received an exclusive partial first look (from which I got my screen grab, see left) of the top three contenders.
-----------------------------

The PPP survey adds further credence to Romney's reputation as the nominal nominee. Romney now leads in Iowa and New Hampshire, whose primary follows Iowa's, as a CNN/WMUR survey published in late May had him as the preferred candidate of 32% of Republicans in the New England state.

2011-05-31T22:05:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the lack of postings over Memorial Day. I was not able to access the web while I was on a family trip.

Anyway.....a bit of news obviously broke while I was out. The announcement is coming this Thursday at 12:30 EST. You can watch it live at www.mittromney.com

Also this morning, Gov. and Mrs. Romney were on the Today show and I thought it was a well done interview. Gov. Romney stresses the campaign's theme, the economy. This is very timely given the release of a couple polls today showing the approval of Obama's handling of the economy dropping even further.

Here's the interview:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Analysis: Romney is the guy to catch in GOP field

2011-05-25T11:49:00.000-04:00

The AP has written a detailed story on the shape of the race as we head into Memorial Day weekend. Their bottom line is reflected in the title: Romney is the guy to catch in GOP field. As the race is coalescing, Gov. Romney continues to be the candidate that both the media and the rest of the field are singling out as being the frontrunner. Does this mean that Gov. Romney will be the nominee? Of course not, but I'd certainly rather be sitting where we are at this point in the cycle than any of our opponents.

You can read the entire piece by clicking here, but here are some of the key paragraphs:

With Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels becoming the latest respected Republican to forgo a candidacy, many party insiders say the field is largely set. And Romney, the former Massachusetts governor and Olympic Games organizer, is in front.

"It's Romney's to lose," said Scott Reed, a GOP consultant who managed Bob Dole's presidential campaign. He said Romney's biggest advantages are his personal wealth, fundraising know-how and experience as a 2008 contender, when John McCain won the nomination.

"He has been around the track," Reed said. "He knows from a difficult experience how not to waste time and how not to try to be all things to all people."
------------------
According to the most recent AP-GfK poll, 66 percent of Republicans nationwide view him favorably, and 22 percent unfavorably. Eleven percent have no opinion. His positive numbers are higher among self-described conservatives (75 percent favorable) and "strong" Republicans (81 percent favorable).

Gov. Romney way ahead in New Hampshire

2011-05-24T07:50:00.001-04:00

As the race is taking shape, Gov. Romney is still enjoying strong support in New Hampshire. Winning New Hampshire, the second race of the nominating season, will solidify Gov. Romney's position as the frontrunner.

Here's an interesting tidbit from the poll:

Which Republican candidate do you feel is best able to handle health care issues:
Romney 32%
Paul 8%
Gingrich 7%
Palin 5%

From The Hill:

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) enjoys more than triple the support of his next closest competitor in New Hampshire's Republican primary, according to a poll released Monday.

Thirty-two percent of New Hampshire's Republican voters said they would support Romney in next year's first-in-the-nation primary, according to a CNN/WMUR poll conducted through last weekend.
That puts Romney well ahead of the poll's second place finisher, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), whom 9 percent of New Hampshire Republicans said they would support in the primary.

Six percent each said they would support former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R). Five percent said they would support former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R).

Five Republicans were tied at four percent: Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), former Godfather's Pizza CEO Herman Cain, former Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R), and Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R), whose name was included in the poll results before he withdrew from the race on Sunday.

Two percent support former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and 17 percent of New Hampshire GOP voters said they had no opinion at this point in the race.

Reflecting his advantage so far in the Granite State, Romney scored high marks from the state's Republicans when it came to opinions about handling of the economy and the budget, as well as his experience and leadership qualities.

But perhaps most importantly, primary voters saw Romney as the candidate best-equipped to beat Obama in 2012; 42 percent of Republicans named Romney as the candidate that has the best chance of beating Obama.
For the other candidates in the race, though, there was some silver lining: A whopping 87 percent of Republican primary voters said they had no idea who they'll vote for in next year's primary, meaning the field is still very much fluid.

The poll, conducted May 18-22, has a five percent margin of error among the sample of Republican primary voters.

Daniels out...what does it mean?

2011-05-23T09:38:00.000-04:00

From the Washington Post:

WINNERS
* Mitt Romney: Daniels was being cast as the establishment alternative to Romney. And now he’s gone. While Romney remains a somewhat tenuous frontrunner, the decisions by Daniels and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee to stay on the sidelines clearly strengthen his hand. Romney will almost certainly make a behind-the-scenes push to coalesce the establishment behind him in the coming weeks. He has a better chance at succeeding in that endeavor than he did going into this past weekend.

Gov. Romney is the first target

2011-05-20T19:44:00.000-04:00

As we've mentioned in other posts, it looks like Democrats agree that Gov. Romney is the frontrunner. He has the distinction of being the first target of an attack ad from an independent group made of former aides to Obama.

From Boston Globe:

WASHINGTON – Mitt Romney is the focus of the first attack ad of the 2012 presidential race, with an independent group run by former aides to President Obama tagging Romney as both a flip-flopper and a politician who would not protect Medicare.

“Mitt Romney says he's 'on the same page' as Paul Ryan, who wrote the plan to essentially end Medicare,” a narrator says, as dark, black and white images of the former Massachusetts governor flash across the screen. “But with Mitt Romney, you have to wonder...which page is he on today?"

The ad, which also tweaks Newt Gingrich, is going to be running in South Carolina just as Romney makes his first visit of the year to the state tomorrow.

The ad is being run by Priorities USA Action, a political action committee that is headed by President Obama’s former deputy press secretary, Bill Burton. The group can accept unlimited donations and is meant to counter Republican groups that were formed during the 2010 midterm elections. Those groups were criticized at the time by top Democrats, who have filed legislation to curb the influence of outside money in politics.

" President Obama and his team are desperate to change the subject to anything other than jobs and the millions of Americans out of work,” Andrea Saul, a spokeswoman for Romney’s presidential exploratory committee, said in a statement. “With 9.6% unemployment in South Carolina, voters are looking for a jobs plan not a smear campaign."

Romney tomorrow is planning to visit South Carolina and meet with business owners. It is his first trip to the Palmetto State this year.

Romney has in fact said that he and Ryan were “on the same page,” although he has not wholly embraced the Wisconsin Republican’s budget plan, which includes drastic cuts to Medicare. Romney said last week that he would at some point present his own plan on reforming the health care program for the elderly sand said it would “not be identical but shares objectives” with Ryan’s plan.

Obama 'disrespected' Israel, threw it 'under the bus,' says Romney

2011-05-19T21:01:00.003-04:00

Quite a speech today by the President. Yet another indication that Pres. Obama will have trouble getting the same level of the Jewish vote as he got in 2008.

From The Hill:

President Obama "disrespected" Israel and threw it "under the bus" in a wide-ranging speech on the Middle East on Thursday, GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney charged.

Romney strongly criticized Obama, who, in a speech at the State Department, called for Israel to return to its border lines as drawn before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

"President Obama has thrown Israel under the bus. He has disrespected Israel and undermined its ability to negotiate peace," Romney said in a statement.

"He has also violated a first principle of American foreign policy, which is to stand firm by our friends," added the former Massachusetts governor.

Romney led Republicans in criticizing the Obama speech, which touched on broader themes throughout the Middle East, including the popular movements for democratization, from Egypt to Yemen, during the first half of the year.

"President Obama has betrayed Israel and made a grievous mistake by suggesting borders of Israel go back to pre-1967 borders. This is an outrage to peace, sovereignty of Israel, and a stable Middle East," former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R), a 2008 Republican presidential candidate who's been a staunch supporter of Israel, said in a statement.

Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.), meanwhile, suggested Obama's stance could represent "the beginning of the end as we know it for the Jewish state."

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, another Republican presidential candidate, declined to comment on the Obama speech during an appearance on the Rush Limbaugh radio show this afternoon, explaining that he hadn't yet been able to listen to the speech or digest its contents.

The political battle lines emerged quickly on Thursday afternoon after Obama's speech, especially after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the president's call for a return to 1967 borders.

Netanyahu will meet with Obama on Friday at the White House, and he'll stay in Washington over the weekend before addressing the AIPAC conference Monday and a joint meeting of Congress on Tuesday.

Mitt Romney Leads GOP Field With Trump, Huckabee Out

2011-05-19T08:02:00.000-04:00

From Sunshine State News:

Most of the early polling after Huckabee and Trump dropped out shows Gov. Romney picking up support. This article is an example of this trend:

A poll released Wednesday revealed that former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts is benefiting from Mike Huckabee and Donald Trump announcing they will not run for the Republican presidential nomination.

The poll from Suffolk University found Romney in front of the Republican pack with 20 percent. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who has left the door open for making a presidential bid, placed second with 12 percent. Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia came in third with 9 percent. Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani of New York City, who like Romney and Huckabee sought the Republican nomination in 2008, took 7 percent followed by yet another veteran of the 2008 field -- U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas with 5 percent.

Three candidates -- U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, businessman Herman Cain and Gov. Mitch Daniels of Indiana -- tied for sixth with 4 percent. Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania tied for ninth with 3 percent, while three former governors -- Jon Huntsman of Utah, Gary Johnson of New Mexico and Buddy Roemer of Louisiana -- took less than one-half of 1 percent.

“With Huckabee and Trump out of the race, the whole dynamic has changed,” said David Paleologos of the Political Research Center at Suffolk University. “Romney is the clear front-runner now; that’s a position he’ll have to be prepared to defend over the coming months.”

Romney also came closer than the other Republican hopefuls in the poll when matched up against President Barack Obama. Obama took 46 percent while Romney was right behind him with 43 percent. Obama did better against other Republicans, beating Gingrich by 14 points, Pawlenty by 16 points, Daniels by 18 points and Bachmann by 20 points.

The poll found more people viewed Obama favorably than unfavorably, 51 percent to 42 percent, but 48 percent of those surveyed did not think he deserved a second term compared to 43 percent who did.

The field of Republican hopefuls got mixed marks in the poll. Romney was seen favorably by 39 percent and unfavorably by 32 percent. Gingrich’s numbers were upside down in the poll -- with 50 percent of those surveyed viewing the former congressman unfavorably while only 29 percent saw him a favorable light. Palin was seen as favorable by 31 percent but 58 percent viewed her unfavorably. Paul was seen as favorable by 24 percent and unfavorable by 34 percent.

Other candidates remained unknown. Daniels was seen as favorable by 10 percent and unfavorable by 14 percent. Pawlenty was seen as favorable by 18 percent and unfavorable by 16 percent. Bachmann was viewed favorably by 20 percent as opposed to 28 percent who saw her as unfavorable. While 15 percent of those surveyed viewed Santorum favorably, 21 percent saw him as unfavorable.

The survey of 1,070 likely voters was taken between May 10-17 and had a margin of error of +/- 3 percent.

Scenes from Las Vegas

2011-05-19T06:20:00.000-04:00

Here are some photos from the National Call Day in Las Vegas earlier this week.

I've told many of you already that I'm even more convinced that Gov. Romney will be the nominee after attending the event. There is no other campaign that comes close to the organization on either the political or finance side that the Romney team has.

Mitt Romney sends a money message

2011-05-17T22:57:00.000-04:00

Georgia's own Eric Tannenblatt is quoted in the Washington Post:

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney collected more than $10 million for his presidential primary bid on Monday, a show of financial force meant to remind his opponents that knocking off the frontrunner won’t be an easy task.

More than 800 Romney donors and supporters traveled to Las Vegas on Monday for a call-day designed to demonstrate his financial might — and demonstrate it they did.

“The results are a strong indication of the national enthusiasm for Governor Romney and his pro-jobs platform,” said Romney finance chair Spencer Zwick.

Eric Tanenblatt, an Atlanta-based Romney major donor who participated in the call day, said that “there was an enthusiastic crowd from all across the country present and you could feel the excitement in the room.”

Expectations were high for Romney who is widely expected to be the financial frontrunner in the GOP nomination fight.

In a similar call-in day for his 2008 presidential bid, Romney collected $6.5 million. For the entire campaign, Romney raised $113 million — $46.6 million of which he gave to himself.

Bringing in more than $10 million in a single day suggests that Romney is going for a financial knockout — or at least a knockdown — over his GOP opponents in the second fundraising quarter, which ends June 30.
“It’s a meaningful testimony to donor confidence in him as well as the continued loyalty of his 2008 team,” said Fred Malek, a major GOP donor who is not committed in the 2012 contest.

It’s a near-certainty that Romney will far outdistance his rivals in his first three months of active fundraising. Former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty lacks the fully-realized national network of Romney while former Utah governor Jon Huntsman, who has considerable personal wealth, won’t be in the race long enough to stockpile funds to come anywhere near Romney’s total. Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann has demonstrated a capacity to raise millions but hasn’t yet decided whether to run.

How Romney’s haul affects the field remains to be seen. All of the other campaigns are doing what they can to lower expectations, noting that Romney was the top fundraiser in 2008 even though he didn’t win the nomination.

For Romney, the key then may his ability not to assert his financial dominance but to maintain it between now and early next year.

“I think if others catch political fire, they will have the ability to catch up rather rapidly,” predicted Sig Rogich, a donor and GOP strategist based in Las Vegas. “And remember, as quickly as funds come in now....they can dry up if there is a hiccup along the way.”

Results from Las Vegas

2011-05-17T21:54:00.000-04:00

As I mentioned, I was out in Las Vegas at the Romney event. I'll post some pictures later (assuming they came out.) It was a great event and sends quite a message to the rest of the field.

Here's a report from NY Magazine:

After an unsuccessful attempt at convincing Republicans of the vast differences between RomneyCare and ObamaCare last week, Mitt Romney has found himself on the receiving end of some outrageously pessimistic political predictions. George Will claimed on Sunday that only three people are capable of winning in 2012: President Obama, Tim Pawlenty, or Mitch Daniels. The New Republic's Jonathan Chait is calling Romney a "longshot."

Romney certainly has his flaws, but we continue to maintain that Massachusetts's health-care reform will not be the be-all-end-all for Republican primary voters that political commentators make it seem. The economy will be the most important issue in 2012, and Romney is seen as a successful businessman. As a reminder, he's also the only person actually running (unlike Mike Huckabee and Donald Trump) to lead a poll this entire year, and upcoming polls without Huckabee and Trump will probably show him with a big lead over the rest of the field. In addition, not incidentally, he can raise a ton of money.

Exhibit A: Yesterday, Romney and over 700 of his closest friends (and Cindy Crawford, for unexplained reasons) filled the Las Vegas Convention Center in a dialing-for-dollars event that brought in $10.25 million in eight hours. It would probably take Tim Pawlenty about a month to raise that much, especially with all the time his phone-bank volunteers would spend explaining to potential donors who Tim Pawlenty is. It was a display of fund-raising muscle-flexing that should remind both his opponents and his media doubters that, far from a longshot, Romney is still the front-runner.

Gov. Romney planning Las Vegas Call Day

2011-05-09T22:20:00.000-04:00

I'll be attending this event next week and will post pictures. To make a contribution, click here.

From Boston.Com:

Mitt Romney is planning to make a show of force next week in Las Vegas, expecting to bring in around 800 supporters to place calls around the country and display one of the most important attributes for his emerging campaign: raising money.

The supporters will start making calls next Monday around 5:30 a.m. (or 8:30 a.m. on the East Coast), according to a copy of the invitation obtained by the Globe. There will be an opening ceremony at 8 a.m.

The National Call Day will be similar to a daylong fundraising event Romney held in Boston during his last campaign, which drew 600 to 800 people and raised more than $1 million.

That event, held at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, was meant to highlight his home state, with the Fenway Park anthem “Dirty Water” blaring from the loudspeakers after he spoke.

This time, the event is behind held 2,700 miles away, at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The invitation offered group rates at two of the strip’s most luxurious hotels – The Encore by Wynn, and the Venetian (although the group rates don’t seem to offer that steep a discount: A two-night stay in a luxury suite at the Venetian costs $174 through Romney, or $189 through the hotel website).

Regardless, the volunteers should come prepared. There is one reminder at the bottom of the invitation: "Please bring with you: cell phone, cell phone charger, iPad and/or laptop.”

Gov. Romney still dominating in New Hampshire

2011-05-05T06:45:00.000-04:00

From Boston.com:

WASHINGTON – Mitt Romney continues to dominate in early polls in New Hampshire, holding onto a sizable lead in a state that is crucial for his presidential bid.

The former Massachusetts governor is favored by 35 percent of those polled, giving him a lead of more than 27 points, according to a poll released tonight by WHDH-TV.

None of the other 17 potential candidates included in the poll, which was conducted by Suffolk University, are in the double-digits.

And despite Donald Trump’s much-heralded visit to the Granite State last week, only 8 percent of those polled said they would support him. That was the same percentage as former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and Representative Ron Paul, a Texas Republican who Trump has said stands “zero chance” at being elected.

Read the rest at the link above.

Gov. Romney is the only Republican that leads Obama in Arizona

2011-05-03T21:24:00.000-04:00

As an example of what we mentioned in the early post about Gov. Romney's expanding the electoral map, here comes another poll showing him being the strongest Republican against Obama. This one in Arizona.

From Public Policy Polling:

Obama trails only one Republican- Mitt Romney- in a hypothetical match up in the state. Romney has a 48-44 advantage against him. This makes Arizona the third state in the last month, along with Nevada and Pennsylvania, where we've found Romney as the only Republican who leads Obama. Romney and Mike Huckabee generally post similar numbers against Obama in our national polling but that's because Huckabee posts much larger leads than Romney against Obama in southern states that the GOP will win regardless of who the party's nominee is. Romney is clearly proving to be the stronger candidate in important swing states, meaning that for whatever it's worth he has claim to the 'electability' mantle right now.
Obama leads Huckabee by 2 points at 46-44, Newt Gingrich by 7 at 47-40, Sarah Palin by 11 at 49-38, and Donald Trump by 12 at 48-36. Arizona voters might not like Obama, but they like him better than any of these folks. Huckabee's favorability is a 35/48 spread, Palin's at 32/62, Gingrich is at 26/59, and Trump comes down at 24/66. Particularly noteworthy in Trump's numbers is that even among Republicans only 38% have a favorable opinion of him to 49% with a negative one. We'll have to see if our polling nationally and in other key states over the next few weeks confirms it, but those numbers suggest that the Trump bubble is already starting to burst.

Osama Dead

2011-05-02T07:44:00.000-04:00

Gov. Romney's statement after Navy Seals kill bin Laden:

“This is a great victory for lovers of freedom and justice everywhere. Congratulations to our intelligence community, our military and the president. My thoughts are with the families of Osama bin Laden’s many thousands of victims, and the brave servicemen and women who have laid down their lives in pursuit of this murderous terrorist.”

Romney Expands the Electoral Map

2011-04-29T17:35:00.000-04:00

Interesting article from The Daily Caller:

President Obama’s quest for reelection in 2012 could be a real battle in the trenches, but only if the GOP and its eventual presidential nominee are able to get their acts together. At this juncture, President Obama certainly has the upper hand, but if gas prices continue to rise and the economy does not improve, his hold on the Oval Office could be on life-support.

A recent USA Today/Gallup poll indicates that “46 percent of Americans say Obama will definitely not get their vote — a number that suggests the president has little room for error in his effort to win reelection.” At the same time, the GOP cannot get ahead of itself, because the same survey data shows “about an equal percentage of Americans say they definitely won’t vote for Mitt Romney or Mike Huckabee — the two Republicans and former presidential candidates that are leading in most primary polls.” For those who still believe the past predicts the future, NBC News’ Michael Isikoff notes that only two presidential incumbents since Herbert Hoover have lost reelection: Jimmy Carter in 1980 and George H. W. Bush in 1992.

Earlier this week, Obama’s reelection campaign manager Jim Messina made it clear “that Democrats couldn’t rely on their 2008 game plan to win a second term for Obama in 2012.” As Messina describes it, one of the keys to winning in 2012 is for Obama is to “[e]expand the electorate.” Ironically, there is one GOP presidential frontrunner who is currently expanding the electoral map on Team Obama — Mitt Romney.

We all know the pluses (former governor, deep pockets, previously sought GOP nomination in 2008) and minuses (Romneycare and perceptions of Mormon faith) that will be in play during Romney’s GOP primary run. But there is one item that usually escapes the casual political handicapper: Romney’s appeal among independents. This group, which swung to Obama in 2008 and then to the GOP’s congressional candidates in 2010, will be the single most important voting block for either party in 2012. In two battleground states that had been trending blue — Michigan and New Hampshire — Romney has, at times, led President Obama in a hypothetical general election match-up largely because of his appeal among these voters.

Several polls show that Romney is also leading Obama in Florida, a state that is essentially a political microcosm of all the battleground states and a state that the eventual GOP nominee cannot lose if Republicans have any hope of winning the White House in 2012.

Make no mistake — Romney is far from being the first choice of many conservatives. At the risk of being labeled as “in the tank” for Romney, we’ll point out that our top priority remains the defeat of President Obama in 2012. If Romney is at the top of the GOP ticket in 2012, then conservatives will need to ask themselves one question: What will be the future of America if we allow President Obama a second term to push his agenda?

Ford O’Connell and Steve Pearson are co-founders of CivicForumPAC and advisors to conservative candidates on Internet outreach, communications and campaign strategy.

Gov. Barbour decides not to run

2011-04-26T22:19:00.000-04:00

Gov. Barbour of Mississippi has decided not to run for President. Here is what a few websites are saying about his decision:

Politico: "With Barbour Out Of The Running, Romney's Financial Strength
And Well Developed Political Machine Set Him Apart Even More Starkly
From The Rest Of The GOP Field." "Now, it's not clear whether any
Republican not named Romney will be able to capture the broad
establishment support and cash that would have gravitated naturally to
Barbour. ... With Barbour out of the running, Romney's financial
strength and well developed political machine set him apart even more
starkly from the rest of the GOP field. There's no other candidate in
the running with a national operation that can match the one Romney has
maintained since his first run for president in 2008 - or the one
Barbour has been building since well before that. Barbour would have
been able to raise the money to compete with Romney in all 50
states-both Republicans had set goals to raise over $50 million for the
primary campaign. It remains to be seen whether other Republicans can
plausibly aim to do that." (Politico, Alexander Burns. "Barbour move
blows up 2012 GOP field," 4/26/11)

Conservative Columnist David Frum: "Barbour's Withdrawal Boosts Romney."
Who benefits from Barbour's withdrawal? Short answer: Romney. Barbour
would have been effective competition for support of Romney donors. As
is, Barbour - the ultimate party regular - will gravitate to the party
regulars' consensus choice. ... 2012 is shaping up as an all-out battle
between big donors and local activists, with the big donors coalesced
around Romney ..." (Frum Forum, David Frum, "Barbour's Withdrawal Boosts
Romney," 4/25/11)

Republican Strategist Scott Reed: "It's A Good Day For Romney
Headquarters." "Republican strategist Scott Reed said Barbour's decision
may end up helping the presumptive front-runner, former Massachusetts
Governor Mitt Romney. 'Haley would have been positioned to become the
conservative alternative to Romney and made it a race. It's a good day
for Romney headquarters,' Reed said." (Reuters, Steve Holland,
"Republican Barbour says no to 2012 White House run," 4/25/11)

Los Angeles Times: "Monday Wasn't A Bad Day For Romney. Barbour, Like
Romney Is A Fundraising Force, An Establishment Republican Known For His
Business Savvy. He Would Have Chased Much Of The Same Kind Of Support
Romney Is Looking To Attract." "Monday wasn't a bad day for Romney.
Barbour, like Romney, is a fundraising force, an establishment
Republican known for his business savvy. He would have chased much of
the same kind of support Romney is looking to attract. And perhaps,
most important, Barbour's reluctance could go viral. With other possible
contenders such as Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin on the fence, along
with Barbour's close ally, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, the conclusion by
someone as politically astute as Barbour that the conditions aren't
right for a run could have some sway on the decision-making proceesses
of others. All of that hesitation plays into Romney's hands. The
Republican would like to acquire some patina of inevitability to propel
his candidacy." (Los Angeles Times, James Oliphant, "Mitt Romney's
down-and-up day," 4/26/11)

American Spectator: "Without Barbour, Romney May Be Able To Gain A
Larger Comparative Advantage Over His Rivals In Terms Of Money And
Organization." "... Barbour's exit helps Mitt Romney. ... what he [has]
going for him is the inertia that often makes Republicans nominate the
person who is seen as 'next in line' or the one who is perceived as
'having paid their dues' into the party. ... With Barbour in the race,
it could be argued that he earned that claim, but without him, Romney
may end up benefiting from this tendency. Also, without Barbour, Romney
may be able to gain a larger comparative advantage over his rivals in
terms of money and organization. To the extent that it potentially
helps Romney and Daniels, Barbour's exit hurts Tim Pawlenty ..."
(American Spectator, Philip Klein, "Barbour not running," 4/25/11)

Thoughts on November 2012

2011-04-20T10:27:00.000-04:00

Among the many emails I receive is one from Political pundit Rich Galen. In his most recent piece he discusses the state of Obama's Presidency. (My emphasis)

The new ABC-Washington Post poll shows President Obama is in a precarious political position. Asked if they approve or disapprove at the way Obama is handling his job as President, only 47 percent of respondents approved; 50 percent disapproved.
This is significant because, other than the run-up to the mid-term elections last November, Obama has avoided the dreaded 50 percent threshold of disapproval. November was the last time rank-and-file Americans were paying close attention to goings-on in Washington prior to the Blink-a-Thon over the government shutdown a couple of weeks ago.
When it comes to his handling of the economy and the deficit, only 42 percent approve of Obama's ability to deal with the economy (57 disapprove), and only 39 percent think he knows what he's doing when it comes to dealing with the deficit (58 disapprove).
If Barack Obama were a Republican, every news story would begin with phrases like "In an attempt to save his embattled Presidency …," and "As national polls show a continuing and growing disaffection …," and "With his re-election in real doubt, President Obama today …"

Here's his conclusion:

All that to say that there is a real opportunity for Republicans in 2012 if they get behind a serious, competent candidate. The poll shows only 26 percent of respondents would "definitely" vote for Obama in 2012 while an astounding 45 percent "definitely will not" vote for him.
Among Republicans in the sample, 16 percent said they would vote for Mitt Romney if there was a primary in their state on the day they took the poll. Trump came in second at eight percent. Mike Huckabee was third with six, Sarah Palin at five; Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich tied for 5th place with two percent each.

My conclusion: Gov. Romney is that serious, competent candidate.

Romney and the Tea Party

2011-04-20T10:06:00.000-04:00

From today's Washington Post's Note:

NOTABLE: THREE CUPS OF TEA PARTY FOR ROMNEY. Speaking of presidential candidates, one of the big questions heading into the 2012 campaign season is which Republican will win the affection of Tea Party voters. While ex-Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Rep. Michele Bachmann are the most closely identified with the Tea Party cause, our ABC News-Washington Post poll finds that it's ex-Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney who does best among voters who identify as Tea Party supporters. In a head to head match-up against President Barack Obama, seventy percent of those who say they are Tea Party supporters say they'll vote for Romney compared to 61 percent for Palin and 60 percent for Bachmann. Ex-Gov. Mike Huckabee narrowly trails Romney, taking 69 percent of the Tea Party vote. Among those who identify as "strongly supportive" of the Tea Party movement, Trump is the most popular, but Romney is also well-liked. Of this group, 79 percent of said they'd support Trump over President Obama compared to 78 percent for Palin, 77 percent for Huckabee and 76 percent for Romney. More analysis from ABC Political Director Amy Walter: http://abcn.ws/f2yWXq

Gov. Romney on Hannity

2011-04-19T18:16:00.000-04:00

Celebrating Romney's True Role

2011-04-18T12:16:00.002-04:00

A good editorial in the Boston Globe today on Romney's Healthcare plan:

Celebrating Romney’s true role

April 18, 2011

Still, conservatives might be more favorably disposed if they understood the part Romney played in warding off various schemes feared by business. After an Urban Institute study recommended an individual mandate, Romney made that the core of his plan. That was a way of sidestepping the approach many Democrats favored: a payroll tax of 5 to 7 percent on businesses that did not offer health coverage.

That idea, the subject of a planned ballot question, became the preferred approach of then-House speaker Sal DiMasi. Businesses worried, and with good reason, about the costs such a plan would impose.

DiMasi, however, remained adamant about putting much of the responsibility on business, something both Romney and then-Senate president Robert Travaglini opposed. At one point, DiMasi talked of forcing firms to pay $800 to $1,000 per uncovered employee.

The compromise that finally broke the long stalemate was based on an individual mandate, but called for companies without coverage to pay $295 per worker per year. That was essentially the Romney plan, but with enough of a business contribution to let DiMasi save face. In a move that angered DiMasi, Romney signed the bill, but vetoed the business levy. The Legislature overrode his veto, reimposing the fee.

All in all, then, the role Romney played was of a governor sensitive to business concerns and worried about the state’s business climate. Now, conservatives have come to view that individual mandate as an intolerable imposition on personal liberty, rather than an insistence on personal responsibility.

In no small part that’s because such a mandate also plays a central role in Obama’s health care plan. But if they weren’t hyperventilating about the national law, they might come to recognize that the role Romney played on the state level was skillful, creative, and business-friendly.

Romney Editorial -- Rein in government -- starting with Obama

2011-04-15T13:15:00.000-04:00

An editorial written by Gov. Romney in today's Orlando Sentinel:

"There's some good news and some bad news as we mark the unhappy occasion of the April 18 tax filing deadline. Let's start with the good news.

For the first time in the post-World War II era, there is a significant popular movement to scale back government and reduce the tax burden that has been stifling our economy. A lot of this is because members of the Tea Party are making their voices heard.

Almost 21/2 centuries after the original Boston Tea Party of 1773, the idea of limited government that inspired our forebears is very much alive. The growth of government is not some inexorable force. In a democracy, we the people decide. Thanks to the Tea Party, there's real hope that we can rein in our profligate federal government.

But in order to make progress, we have to first rein in President Obama, whose spending binge is driving our national debt to historic highs. When Obama took office in 2009, the national debt was about 50 percent of the Gross Domestic Product. Over the past two years, our national debt has risen to about 70 percent of the GDP and is expected to be 100 percent of the GDP by 2020.

The Obama administration's $800 billion stimulus package is one-half of the unfolding disaster. The other half is Obamacare, which will cost more than a trillion dollars unless it can be repealed — something the next president must make a priority on Day 1 in office.

These staggering new burdens are made worse by the fact that our system of taxation is killing our nation's once-strong economic engine. The mind-boggling complexity of our tax system is only part of the problem. As of last year, the U.S. tax code had mushroomed into 71,684 pages that no one human being can fully understand. Along with complexity comes a dizzying array of perverse incentives.

For example, we tax companies that make money overseas if they want to bring the money home, but we don't tax them if they keep it abroad. The result is that as much as a trillion dollars in private capital is parked offshore. With proper incentives, that money would be infused into our economy and invested in new equipment and factories. Repatriating a trillion dollars could create lots of good, permanent, private-sector jobs.

Then there are the disincentives that flow from the high rates themselves, for entrepreneurs, small business owners and other job-creators. American employers bear the highest tax burden in the world, tied with Japan and above even European countries like Italy and France. But instead of making ourselves more competitive by reducing rates across the board, we've created myriad loopholes that are confusing to everyone except the lawyers, accountants and lobbyists who make a living off them.

We have also built a paralyzing uncertainty into our system. In December, Congress and President Obama agreed to temporarily extend the Bush tax cuts. But under the terms of the congressional compromise with the White House, high rates will come back into force in two years unless Congress acts again. Every entrepreneur, every small business owner and every employer knows that the clock is ticking. This uncertainty translates directly into caution about investing and taking on additional workers.

A smart tax system would reward investment, savings and entrepreneurship, while providing job-creators with the predictability and stability they need to grow our economy. But our tax system is not smart; it's quite the opposite. It needs urgent reform that reduces rates and restores a climate of confidence in our economy. With millions of Americans seeking but not finding work, a transformation of our approach to taxes is both an economic and moral imperative.

But reform requires both understanding and leadership. Unfortunately, when it comes to those qualities, we are facing Washington's biggest deficit of all."

Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts, is a Republican candidate for U.S. president in 2012.