Who Is Mitt Romney Conning?

"the risk of nominating a con artist is that there’s always the chance he’s conning you."

From New York Magazine

By Jonathan Chait

The Mysterious Mr. Romney.Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Mitt Romney’s problem with the Republican Party is not just that he previously held liberal positions on a wide-ranging array of issues. That can be explained away, at least a bit, as pandering necessary to win votes in a Democratic state. The deeper problem is that Romney was promising behind closed doors to act as essentially a sleeper agent within the Republican Party, adopting liberal stances, rising to national prominence, and thereby legitimizing them and transforming the Party from within. Today’s Washington Post has more detail:

Mitt Romney was firm and direct with the abortion rights advocates sitting in his office nine years ago, assuring the group that if elected Massachusetts governor, he would protect the state’s abortion laws.

Then, as the meeting drew to a close, the businessman offered an intriguing suggestion — that he would rise to national prominence in the Republican Party as a victor in a liberal state and could use his influence to soften the GOP’s hard-line opposition to abortion.

 He would be a “good voice in the party” for their cause, and his moderation on the issue would be “widely written about,” he said, according to detailed notes taken by an officer of the group, NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts.

“You need someone like me in Washington,” several participants recalled Romney saying that day in September 2002, an apparent reference to his future ambitions.

That’s a very smart argument. Liberals have far more to gain by having a Republican advocate their views than by having a Democrat advocate their views. The article proceeds to detail meetings in which Romney told gay-rights activists the same thing:

In an Aug. 25, 1994, interview with Bay Windows, a gay newspaper in Boston, he offered this pitch, according to excerpts published on the paper’s Web site: “There’s something to be said for having a Republican who supports civil rights in this broader context, including sexual orientation. When Ted Kennedy speaks on gay rights, he’s seen as an extremist. When Mitt Romney speaks on gay rights he’s seen as a centrist and a moderate.

Now, conservatives can live with this if they think that once in office Romney will have to watch out for his right flank at all times. "Having flipped, he could not flop without risking a conservative revolt," writes former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson. "As a result, conservatives would have considerable leverage over a Romney administration."

That’s not crazy. It’s also possible to believe Romney was simply conning liberals all along — that’s something he has hinted at in debates, referencing the fact that he was running in Massachusetts. (He couldn’t oppose abortion in Massachusetts — he’s running for office, for Pete’s sake.) Of course the risk of nominating a con artist is that there’s always the chance he’s conning you.

Conservatives Defy Polls, Endorse Rick Santorum

Anti-RINO activists meet from around country to unite behind 1 choice

Rick Santorum

Delegates from a nationwide group of conservative Republicans determined to "take back" the GOP met today, defied an open-invitation straw poll taken earlier and endorsed former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania for president of the United States. 

Their endorsement further defies many national polls, which have Santorum registering in single digits.

The National Federation of Republican Assemblies, or NFRA, held today's Presidential Preference Convention to advise "Reagan conservatives who believe in small government, lower taxes, free market capitalism, a strong defense, the right to life and a decent America" in the upcoming primaries.

"We endorse candidates in contested primaries, so rank-and-file Republicans can know who the true conservative candidates really are," the NFRA website explains. "We shuck the corn with highly competitive grassroots endorsing conventions at which candidates must secure two-thirds of our delegates' support to win. And when we're done, there's no question who is who."

Read the rest of this entry at WorldNetDaily

To Restore America, Draft a Tea Party Patriot

It is a sad fact that our system for picking presidential candidates has become one in which only those with burning ambition can make it through a multi-year process that includes caucuses and primaries, followed by a punishing national campaign. 

Much criticism has been leveled at the older system whereby regional party leaders selected the nominee at national party conventions. But those party leaders, seeking the most impressive and thus electable candidate they could find, almost always chose well. Their candidates were men known for character and achievement; they were invariably men of faith; and they were typically men of means, who had not relied on a government position for their livelihoods. Like George Washington, they were drafted into service. Some accepted the nomination more eagerly than others.

President Reagan admired the principled, conservative leadership of Calvin Coolidge. Democrat Grover Cleveland was as principled and as fiscally conservative as any man who ever served in the presidency. Today, it is hard to imagine men such as these, willing to sacrifice family and the harmonies of the good life, in order to raise and spend millions while enduring the insults, the pain, and the suffering that accompany the presidential nominating process.

Unfortunately, a system that rewards "fire in the belly" ambition for power usually results in political leaders who are only too willing to use all the levers of power, while spending the taxpayer’s money in the process. The bad fruit of power-hungry political leadership has become quite apparent in recent Democrat and Republican administrations.

Members of the Tea Party movement are coming to the realization that the continuation of the current process will simply yield more of the same power-hungry charlatans -- Romney, Perry and Obama.

In response, South Carolinians, recognizing that they have a highly principled, gifted, and humble servant-leader in our own Senator Jim DeMint, are testing whether a man not consumed with ambition, but rather a desire to serve in a perilous time, can still make it to the nation's highest office. With support from Congressmen Jeff Duncan and Trey Gowdy, along with dozens of South Carolina Republican officials, two individuals -- Javan Browder of South Carolina and Laura O'Halloran of Louisiana -- are heading a grassroots movement in more than 30 states urging Jim DeMint to enter the presidential race.

Jim DeMint's candidacy would give the national Tea Party movement the focus and unity it needs. More importantly, it would fulfill an urgent need and answer the prayers of patriots throughout America who yearn to see the restoration of the City on a Hill – a nation blessed by God, which favors constitutional government that is limited in size, safeguards freedom, lives within its means, and stands proudly once again -- not only because America is strong, but because America is good.

Those wishing to support the Draft Jim DeMint movement should contact Javan Browder on FaceBook, by E-mail: javanjorie@yahoo.com, or by phone at (864) 414-3920.

Ex-Romney Campaign Chair: I'm Done With Mitt

A key Romney '08 campaigner jumps ship, saying he can’t handle the candidate's ever-changing persona.

From Mother Jones

By Andy Kroll

In the 2012 presidential race, New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary is make-or-break for Mitt Romney, and to win it, Romney's campaign will need the savviest operatives it can find. But Team Romney will have to go without one key player: Bruce Keough. The New Hampshire Republican who oversaw Romney's 2008 campaign in the Granite State says he's no longer sure what Romney stands for. 

WSJ/NBC Poll: A Donald Trump Surprise

From The Wall Street Journal

By Jonathan Weisman and Scott Greenberg

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney appears to be the early front-runner in the largely unformed race for the Republican nomination for president, but real estate magnate Donald Trump may be a surprise contender, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.

Among Republican primary voters, Mr. Romney captured the support of 21% in a broad, nine-candidate field. Mr. Trump was tied for second with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, with 17%. House Speaker Newt Gingrich got 11%, just ahead of former Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s 10%. Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, considered a strong contender by political handicappers, remains largely unknown, with just 6% support. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota had 5%, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum 3%, and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour with just 1%.

Mr. Trump “may be a punch line but when he talks about the way to solve our problems, he makes a lot of sense to the average guy out there,” said Todd Mauney, a conservative Republican in Weatherford, Texas. “I don’t know if people can get over him being the butt of every joke but for me, he can be serious when it’s time to make real decisions.“

In a narrower field of five candidates, excluding Mr. Trump but including Messrs. Gingrich, Pawlenty and Barbour and Ms. Bachmann, Mr. Romney comes out with a comfortable 20-point lead, 40% to Mr. Gingrich’s second-place 20%. Mr. Pawlenty had 12% and Ms. Bachmann 11%. Mr. Barbour, a former Republican National Committee chief and chairman of the Republican Governors Association, has a powerful fund-raising network and a vast Rolodex of contacts, but he has yet to catch on with primary voers. He garnered 3% of the support of those polled.

Full poll results: Shutdown Has Perils for GOP

DeMint is Iowa Bound, Aide Hints at Presidential Run

Fox News has reported that an aide to Senator DeMint has  suggested that South Carolina's junior Senator is "open to a presidential run if none of the other contenders proves sufficiently popular - or conservative - enough."

It is also reported that Senator DeMint will visit Iowa on March 26.  DeMint plans to keynote a conference sponsored by Iowa Congressman Steve King.  Iowa, of course, is home to the first presidential preference caucuses.

A Hillary Clinton Primary Challenge to Obama in 2012?

By Peter Roff, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

When President Barack Obama asked New York Sen. Hillary Clinton to join his cabinet as secretary of state, the move was widely praised. Clinton, his principal rival for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, added a measure of gravitas to his team of advisers and would, it was suggested, help unite the president's party at a time the Republicans appeared to be on the verge of complete collapse.

At the time, comparisons were made to Abraham Lincoln. Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin recounts in her book Team of Rivals how the 16th president of the United States invited others who held leadership claims on the new Republican Party into his cabinet in an effort to present a united front. But Lincoln's decision to invite his rivals for the 1860 Republican nomination--William H. Seward, Edward Bates, and Salmon P. Chase--into his administration was also a matter of political preservation. Their inclusion in the cabinet kept them inside the tent looking out rather than outside the tent looking in, forcing an alliance with Lincoln as the Union threatened to come apart.

Read the rest of this entry >>

GOP 2012: Huckabee 29%, Romney 24%, Palin 18%

From Rasmussen Reports

Twenty-nine percent (29%) of Republican voters nationwide say former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is their pick to represent the GOP in the 2012 Presidential campaign. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey finds that 24% prefer former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney while 18% would cast their vote for former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich gets 14% of the vote while Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty gets 4%. Six percent (6%) of GOP voters prefer some other candidate while 7% remain undecided.

These numbers reflect an improvement for Huckabee since July when the three candidates were virtually even. Huckabee's gain appears to be Palin's loss as Romney's support has barely changed.

The numbers for Huckabee and Romney look even stronger when GOP voters were asked which candidate they would least like to see get the nomination. Pawlenty came on top in that category with 28%. Palin was second at 21% while 20% named Gingrich. Romney and Huckabee were in the single digits with 9% and 8% respectively.

Huckabee and Romney are viewed favorably by 78% of Republican voters, Palin by 75%. Gingrich earns favorably reviews from 69% while Pawlenty is less well known and gets a positive assessment from 45% of Republicans.

Other data from the survey, including head-to-head match-ups with individual candidates, will be released over the weekend.

Republican voters are very confident their nominee could be the next President of the United States. Eighty-one percent (81%) of the GOP faithful say that it's at least somewhat likely the Republican nominee will defeat Barack Obama in 2012. Fifty percent (50%) say it's Very Likely.

Romney leads all prospects among voters who attend church once a month or less. Huckabee leads among more frequent churchgoers. Huckabee holds a huge lead among Evangelical Christians with Palin in second and Romney a distant third. Huckabee and Romney are essentially even among other Protestants while Romney has the edge among Catholics.

Romney leads among Republicans earning more than $75,000 a year while Huckabee leads among those who earn less.

The Next Time: Huckabee's Book Tour

From GOP Catholics

Perhaps the reason for some of the negative headlines about Huckabee's new book, Do The Right Thing, has to do with a simple fact.

The GOP leadership knows Huckabee is the biggest threat to insider politicians like Mitt Romney for 2012 and wants to stop him before the nomination literally starts falling Huckabee's way.

The leaders of the social conservative movement who helped nominate the closet liberal John McCain by refusing to help one of their own in Mike Huckabee, have realized their mistake of presuming to know who was "viable" and who was "not."

This time around, the conservatives in the party will know whom to support and avoid the fracturing which almost destroyed them during the last primaries. We must show out in force for Mike Huckabee's upcoming national book tour and show the GOP leadership and the media whom we the people want as our next nominee.

For those of you living in Iowa, Florida, Georgia, Virginia, Texas, and North Carolina and South Carolina, I would especially urge you to come out and show your support for Huckabee in these very important primary states.

Alabama
Birmingham, AL
Monday, 12/11 - 12:00-1:00 PM
Books A Million / Brockwood Village, 757 Brockwood Village, Birmingham, AL 35209
(205)870-0213

Alabama
Dothan, AL
Saturday, 11/29 - 8:00-9:00 AM
Books A Million, Northside Mall, 3489 Ross Clark Circle #54, Dothan, AL 36303
(334)712-1341

Arkansas
Bentonville, AR
Friday, 11/21 - 7:00-9:00 PM
Sam's Club** Free Pass, 3500 Southeast Club Blvd., Bentonville, AR 72712
(479)621-5537

Arkansas
El Dorado, AR
Tuesday, 11/25 - 8:00-9:00 PM
Walmart Supercenter, 2730 Northwest Ave., El Dorado, AR 71730
(870)862-2128

Arkansas
Ft. Smith, AR
Wednesday, 11/26 - 12:00-1:00 PM
Books A Million (Pavilions Store), 4145 Phoenix Ave., Ft. Smith, AR 72903
(479)484-5833

Arkansas
Little Rock, AR
Wednesday, 11/26 - 6:00-8:00 PM
Barnes & Noble,11500 Financial Ctr Pkwy., Little Rock, AR 72211
(501)954-7646

Florida
Brandon, FL
Sunday, 12/7 - Church Signing
Bell Shoals Baptist Church, 2102 Bell Shoals Rd., Brandon, FL 33511
(813)689-4229

Florida
Orlando, FL
Monday, 12/8 - 12:00-1:00 PM
Barnes & Noble, Colonial Plaza Market Center, 2418 East Colonial Drive, Orlando, FL 32803
(407)894-6024

Florida
Panama City, FL
Friday, 11/28 - 5:00-6:00 PM
Borders Super Store, 15575 Starfish Dr., Panama City Beach, FL 32413
(850)636-3181

Florida
Pensacola, FL
Friday, 11/28 - 8:00-9:00 PM
Barnes & Noble, The Cordova Crossing, 1200 Airport Blvd., Pensacola, FL 32504
(850)969-9554

Florida
Sarasota, FL
Friday, 11/28 - 7:00-8:00 AM
Books A Million, Gulf Gate Mall, 6591 S. Tamiami Trial, Sarasota, FL 34231
(941)922-7804

Florida
Southwest Ranches, FL
Sunday, 12/7 - Church Signing
Abundant Living Ministries, 14221 SW 72nd St., Southwest Ranches, FL 33330
Phone TK

Florida
Tampa, FL
Friday, 11/28 - 9:00-10:00 AM
Inkwood Books, 216 S Armenia Ave., Tampa, FL 33609
(813)253-2638

Florida
The Villages, FL
Friday, 11/28 - 11:30 AM-12:30 PM
Barnes & Noble, Lake Sumter Market Square, 1055 Old Camp Rd., The Villages, FL 32162
(352)430-3029

Georgia
Albany, GA
Saturday, 11/2912:00-1:00 PM
Books A Million, Albany Mall, 2601 Dawson Rd, Ste 3, Albany, GA 31707
(229)889-0507

Georgia
Macon, GA
Saturday, 11/29/083:00-4:00 PM
Barnes & Noble, The Shoppes at River Crossing, 5080 Riverside Dr., Macon, GA 31210
(478)474-0161

Georgia
Norcross, GA / Atlanta, GA
Sunday, 11/30 - Church Signing
Victory World Church, 5905 Brook Hollow Parkway, Norcross, GA 30071
(770)849-9400

Iowa
Cedar Rapids, IA
Thursday, 11/20 - 12:00-1:00 PM
Barnes & Noble, Northland Square, SC333 Collins Rd NE, Bldg 1, Cedar Rapids, IA 52402
(319)393-4800

Iowa
Des Moines, IA
Thursday, 11/206:00-8:00 PM
Sam's Club ** Free Pass, 1101 73rd St., Des Moines, IA 50311
(515)255-2252

Kansas
Kansas City, MO
Friday, 11/21 - 12:00-1:00 PM
Rainy Day Books, Unity Temple On The Plaza, 707 W. 47th Street, Kansas City, MO 64112
(913)384-3126

Kentucky
Lexington, KY
Tuesday, 12/22 - 12:00-1:00 PM
Joseph Beth, 161 Lexington Green Circle #B, Lexington, KY 40503
(859)273-2911

Louisiana
Bossier City, LA / Shreveport, LA
Tuesday, 11/25 - 12:00-1:00 PM
Walmart Supercenter, 2536 Airline Dr., Bossier City, LA 71111
(318)747-0173

Michigan
Birmingham, MI / Detroit, MI
Wednesday, 12/3 - 12:00-1:00 PM
Borders, 34300 Woodward, Birmingham, MI 48009
(248)203-0005

Michigan
Grand Rapids, MI
Wednesday, 12/3 - 7:30-8:30 PM
Schuler Books (Grand Rapids), 2660 28th St SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49512
(616)942-2561

Michigan
Lansing, MI
Wednesday, 12/3 - 5:00-6:00 PM
Schuler Books (Eastwood), Eastwood Towne Center, 2820 Towne Center Blvd., Lansing, MI 48912
(517)316-7495

Mississippi
Oxford, MS
Monday, 12/1 - 5:00-6:00 PM
Square Books, 160 Courthouse Square, Oxford, MS 38655
(662)236-2262

Missouri
Springfield, MO
Friday, 11/21 - 4:00-5:00 PM
Barnes & Noble, 3055 South Glenstone, Springfield, MO 65804
(417)885-0026

Ohio
Cincinnati, OH
Tuesday, 12/2 - 5:00-6:00 PM
Joseph Beth, 2692 Madison Rd., Cincinnati, OH 45208
(513)396-8960

Ohio
Columbus, OH
Tuesday, 12/2 - 8:00-9:00 PM
Barnes & Noble, Easton Town Center, 4005 Townsfair Way, Columbus, OH 43219
(614)476-8480

Oklahoma
Edmond, OK / Oklahoma City, OK
Saturday, 11/22 - 11:00 AM-12:00 PM
Best of Books, Kickingbird Sq, 1313 E Danforth Rd., Edmond, OK 73034
(405)340-9202

Oklahoma
Tulsa, OK
Saturday, 11/22 - 7:00-8:00 AM
Barnes & Noble, Southroads Shopping Center, 5231 East 41st St., Tulsa, OK 74135
(918)665-4580

South Carolina
Aiken, SC
Saturday, 12/6 - 1:00-2:00 PM
Walmart Supercenter, 2035 Whiskey Rd., Aiken, SC 29803
(803)648-9197

South Carolina
Columbia, SC
Saturday, 12/6 - 3:00-4:00 PM
Books A Million, Harbison Shopping Center, 275-1 Harbison Blvd., Columbia, SC 29212
(803)749-9378

South Carolina
Greenville, SC
Friday, 12/5 - 6:00-7:30 PM
Costco, 1021 Woodruff Rd., Greenville, SC 29607
(864)297-2560

South Carolina
Rock Hill, SC
Saturday, 12/6 - 9:00-10:00 AM
Books A Million, Manchester Village, 540 John Ross Parkway, Rock Hill, SC 29730
(803)985-5362

South Carolina
Spartanburg, SC
Friday, 12/5 - 8:00-9:00 PM
Sam's Club** Free Pass, 200 Peachwood Centre Dr., Spartanburg, SC 29301
(864)574-3480

Tennessee
Chattanooga, TN
Sunday, 11/30 - 3:00-4:00 PM
Books A Million, Hamilton Village, 2020 Gunbarrel Rd, Ste 205-A, Chattanooga, TN 37421
(423)894-1690

Tennessee
Memphis, TN
Monday, 12/1 - 8:00-9:00 PM
Davis Kidd, 387 Perkins Road Extended, Memphis, TN 38117
(901)683-9801

Tennessee
Nashville, TN
Sunday, 11/30 - 6:00-7:00 PM
Davis Kidd, The Mall at Green Hills, 2121 Green Hills Village Dr, Ste 281, Nashville, TN 37215
(615)385-2645

Texas
Amarillo, TX
Sunday, 11/23 - Church Service
Address TK
Phone TK

Texas
Arlington, TX
Saturday, 11/22 - 5:00-6:00 PM
Costco, 600 West Arbrook Blvd., Arlington, TX, 76014
(817)417-1603

Texas
College Station, TX
Monday, 11/24 - 12:00-1:00 PM
Barnes & Noble, Lone-Star Pavilion, 711 Texas Ave., College Station, TX 77840
(979)764-8955

Texas
Dallas, TX
Saturday, 11/22 - 7:00-8:00 PM
Borders, 10720 Preston Rd., Dallas, TX 75230
(214)363-1977

Texas
Houston, TX
Monday, 11/24 - 8:00-9:00 PM
Books a Million (Pavilions Store),1201 Main St., Houston, TX 77002
(713)353-5496

Texas
Killeen, TX
Sunday, 11/23 - 6:00-7:00 PM
Hastings Books, 2200 E Veterans Memorial, Killeen, TX, 76549
(254)680-5313

Texas
Lubbock, TX
Sunday, 11/23 - 2:00-3:00 PM
Barnes & Noble, 6707 Slide Rd., Lubbock, TX 79424
(806)798-8990

Texas
San Antonio, TX
Thursday, 12/11 - 2:00-3:00 PM
Barnes & Noble,18030 HWY 281N, Ste #140, San Antonio, TX 78232
(210)490-0411

Texas
Texarkana, TX
Tuesday, 11/25 - 5:00-6:00 PM
Books A Million, Central Mall, 3501 Mall Dr., Texarkana, TX 75503
(903)838-3848

Texas
The Woodlands, TX
Monday, 11/24 - 5:00-6:00 PM
Barnes & Noble, The Woodlands Mall, 1201 Lake Woodlands Dr, #3008, The Woodlands, TX 77381
(281)465-8744

Virginia
Arlington, VA / Washington, DC
Wednesday, 11/19 - 12:00-1:00 PM
Costco, Pentagon City, 1200 South Fern St., Arlington, VA 22202
(703)413-2324

Virginia
Bristol, VA
Friday, 12/5 - 12:00-1:00 PM
Books a Million, 16700 Highlands Center Blvd., Bristol, VA 24202
(276)669-2115

Virginia
Lynchburg, VA
Thursday, 12/45:30-6:30 PM
Barnes & Noble, Wards Crossing, 4024-C Wards Rd., Lynchburg, VA 24502
(434)239-8688

Virginia
Roanoke, VA
Thursday, 12/4 - 8:00-9:00 PM
Books a Million, Cross Roads Mall, 1515 Hershberger Rd., Roanoke, VA 24012
(540)366-6682

West Virginia
Charleston, WV
Thursday, 12/4 - 12:00-1:00 PM
Books a Million, Dudley Farms Plaza, 212 RHL Blvd., Charleston, WV 25309
(304)746-2984