Tag: Romney

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Democracy Politics

David Plouffe – The Rich Are Buying The White House for Mr. Romney

White House senior adviser David Plouffe on Tuesday explained that presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney had raised massive amounts of money in June because rich people were “trying to purchase the White House.”

During an interview on ABC, host George Stephanopoulos asked Plouffe if President Barack Obama was on track to lose after Romney raised $35 million more than him last month.

“Money matters in politics,” Plouffe said. “We’re running a great campaign. We have millions of volunteers out there registering voters, donating 25 or 50 dollars. But you have to have enough money to run and win your campaign.”

“And our big concern is these super PACs,” he added. “You’ve got a few wealthy people lining up trying to purchase the White House for Mr. Romney.”

Over the weekend, Romney raised millions of dollars in a single day by holding three fundraisers at the homes of wealthy donors in the Hamptons, including a mansion owned by conservative billionaire David Koch.

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China Politics

Obama Campaign Hits Flip Romney’s Chinese Connection

A new ad from the Obama Campaign hits Flip Romney where it hurts – in China. Yes, China, where Romney has made millions of dollars from outsourcing American jobs for cheap labor and a huge profits.

The Associated Press reports;

The 30-second spot opens with a clip of Romney during a 2011 Republican primary debate. He says “the Chinese are smiling all the way to the bank taking our jobs and taking a lot of our future. And I am not willing to let that happen.”

A narrator responds that Romney “made a fortune letting it happen.”

The Obama ad refers to a newspaper account about the role Romney’s firm played with companies that were “pioneers” in helping outsource jobs. It pointed to one business that said it was a “one-stop shop for their outsource requirements.”

“Mitt Romney’s not the solution. He’s the problem,” the narrator says.

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ObamaCare Politics

Mr. President, This Is A Big F*ing Deal – Part 2

As Donald Trump would say, what the Supreme Court did Thursday in upholding President Obama’s Affordable Healthcare Act is “HUGE!”

Even Mitt Romney realized the magnitude of what would happen if ObamaCare was declared constitutional. On the days leading up to the Court’s decision, Mitt Romney was heard at various campaign events saying, “if this law is unconstitutional, that would prove that Obama wasted his presidency.”

Needless to say, the Supreme Court – whose main task is to interpret laws in accordance with the Constitution of the United States – disagreed with Mitt Romney wholeheartedly.

But if we are to apply Romney’s logic to this, wouldn’t it mean that the President’s first term was not wasted but turned out to be a tremendous success? Wouldn’t it then mean that President Obama has done his job in accordance to the Constitution – approved and validated by the highest Court in the land – and furthermore, if we apply Romney’s logic to this situation, wouldn’t it mean that Romney, with his everlasting calls to repeal ObamaCare, is going against a Supreme Court that called the law constitutional, thus, is he not going against the United States Constitution?

When President signed the Affordable Health Care Act into law in 2010, Vice President Biden was overheard whispering in the President’s ear, “Mr President, this is a big f*cking deal.” With the Supreme validating the constitutionality of the law on Thursday, consider this a big f*cking deal… part 2!

And by the way, why exactly are Republicans pushing Mitt Romney as their presidential candidate? The  man is apparently against the Constitution of the United States.

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Politics

NBC/Marist Poll Gets It Right

On the heels of last week’s NBC News/Marist polls that underpolled Republicans and made it look as though the president was ahead when he really wasn’t, today’s NBC polls got it pretty much right. That’s good news for Obama in Nevada, Colorado, and Iowa.

In Nevada, Obama leads Romney by 48%-46%. The real voter breakdown is D=42 R=37 I=21. NBC’s poll was D=40 R=38 I=21. There was a slight underpolling of Democrats, but that’s only better news for Obama.

In Colorado, Obama leads Romney 46%-45%. The actual voter breakdown is D=33 R=35 I=32. NBC’s poll was D=31 R=35 I=34. Almost exactly correct. Nice job NBC!

In Iowa, Obama and Romney are tied at 44%. The real voter breakdown is D=34 R=31 I=35. NBC’s poll was D=34 R=35 I=31. There was a slight overpolling of Republicans, but otherwise the results seem solid.

There has been a great deal of talk about the polling in the presidential election, but 5+ months out, much of the results are not predictive of what will probably happen in November. Yes, Obama is stuck nationally at around 47%, but his approval numbers are close to 50% and he’s leading in most of the states that he needs to win to be reelected. Romney is polling close to the president in the states above and is ahead in Ohio according to a Rasmussen poll out on Thursday.

My sense is that the unemployment numbers for May, out on Friday, will do a great deal to shape the race before the summer. Remember that the June numbers will be released during the July 4 holiday week and July’s numbers come out in August when the Olympics will steal the show and, well, it’ll be August.

June could also be a make or break month for other reasons, including the Wisconsin recall race, and two Supreme Court decisions on health care and immigration. Right now Obama is still the favorite, but that could change quickly depending on these external events.

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Politics voters

This Is Too Much Excitement for Mitt Romney’s Candidacy

They can’t contain themselves! These Romney supporters are beaming with excitement for their 2012 Republican hero as they proudly display their signs in support of the candidate. Anymore display of excitement and we may have to censor this group as rated R, wait no… X!

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Ohio Politics

“I don’t know whose record [Romney] twisted the most, mine or his.” – Barack Obama

President Obama offered an earthy rural metaphor to blast Mitt Romney last night in Iowa, saying the Republican candidate offered voters “a cowpie of distortion” in a recent speech.

“I don’t know whose record he twisted the most,” Obama said. “Mine or his.”

Speaking to supporters at the state fairgrounds in Des Moines, Obama said that during Romney’s last visit to Iowa he exaggerated the administration’s spending and failed to give it credit for budget cuts.

The president also said Romney’s background as a millionaire private equity manager doesn’t prepare him for the presidency.

“The challenge we’ve faced for over a decade is that harder work hasn’t led to higher incomes,” Obama said. “Bigger profits haven’t led to better jobs. And you can’t solve that problem if you can’t even see that it’s a problem.”

[USA Today]

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new mexico governor Politics

Romney’s Potential Veep Asks, What the heck is “Self-Deportation?”

New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, who is sometimes mentioned as a possible vice presidential pick, is critical of Mitt Romney’s stance on immigration.

Martinez’s criticism of Romney’s call for self-deportation is mentioned in a Newsweek article that was posted online yesterday.

“Self-deport? What the heck does that mean,” Martinez is quoted as saying. “I have no doubt Hispanics have been alienated during this campaign. But now there’s an opportunity for Gov. Romney to have a sincere conversation about what we can do and why.”

Romney has advocated that illegal immigrants already in the USA should “self deport” and leave the country voluntarily. He has often described a situation in which illegal immigrants would apply for legal status and wait their turn to come back legally.

[USA Today]

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Politics

Mitt Romney Targets The Department of Urban Development For Elimination

In what is being billed as his most specific policy speech to date, the Republican presumptive nominee Mitt Romney, spoke to a group of donors over the weekend and explained that HUD – The Department of Urban Development – “might not be around later.”

Romney went into a level of detail not usually seen by the public in the speech, which was overheard by reporters on a sidewalk below. One possibility floated by Romney included the elimination of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Cabinet-level agency once led by Romney’s father, George.

“I’m going to take a lot of departments in Washington, and agencies, and combine them. Some eliminate, but I’m probably not going to lay out just exactly which ones are going to go,” Romney said. “Things like Housing and Urban Development, which my dad was head of, that might not be around later. But I’m not going to actually go through these one by one. What I can tell you is, we’ve got far too many bureaucrats. I will send a lot of what happens in Washington back to the states.”

So what is HUD? According to their website, HUD’s mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes: utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination.

Yep, who needs that?

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Politics

Polling Report: Special Mitt-Will-Be-the-Nominee-Edition

Since I didn’t post a Polling Report for Nevada, my public wanted to know if there was a problem, or if I was indeed in good health. All is well. I’ve just been saying for a while that Mitt will be the nominee in posts both recent and past, and there aren’t too many other ways to say it. Well, I did say it in December, but that’s the last time I’m going to remind anyone. The upshot is that I will continue to write feverishly about the campaign, but not on a primary-by-primary basis. Unless Mitt gets upset. Which he won’t.

So for Nevada, I’m going to invoke the possibly unconstitutional religious-but-maybe-I-don’t-have-to-be-religious excuse. Romney won the caucus. ‘Nuff said.

As for Tuesday’s contests in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri, the tune hasn’t changed. I expect that Romney will win two out of three solidly, with a possible loss in Minnesota to Santorum, who is ahead in the latest polls. I’ll even go out on a limb and say that Romney will sweep them all. And he’ll keep on winning, but maybe not in Georgia because that’s Newt’s home state, and he – Romney – would be the Republican nominee.

Then Barack Obama will beat him like a linty rug in November.

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Newt Gingrich Politics

Sunshine State Recap: Mitt In A Walk

At least it was quick and fairly painless. Not for Newt, but for the rest of us who need to move on to something important like Friday’s jobs numbers or the Super Bowl.

How’d I do? Again, not bad. My prediction is first, then the actual.

Romney    43%              46%

Gingrich    31%              32%

Santorum  14%              13%

Paul           11%                7%

I thought Paul would do better, but at this point we’re beyond the possible phase of the race and have entered the Nomination Zone. Boutique candidates need not apply

The other issue is this continued talk of the motivated Republican voter. Florida GOP officials had said that they were looking for north of 2 million primary voters, and it looks as though they fell a bit short. So much for the enthusiasm gap. Democrats are becoming more energized and could match Republican participation in the fall.

Newt says he’s staying in the race. We’ll see.

Will conservatives flock to Santorum as the conservative du jour? I’m thinking not. Mitt is in a commanding position and will be the nominee. The rest of the campaign will measure how much he’s been damaged by the infighting and how much that will affect his chances against Obama.

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Elections Politics

Polling Report: Special Florida Edition

I thought this one might be more fun, but Mitt’s got Florida all sewn up. It will be the first non-New England state he’ll have won so far, and if he gets over 40% (he will) he can claim a sizable mandate for the nomination. Newt is sounding too screechy these days, and his call for a moon shot was one of those over-the-top moments we came to expect from Herman Cain or Rick Perry.

Here are the latest RealClearPolitics numbers. Clearly, they show Romney running away with the Sunshine State. He’s feeling good, cracking jokes and generally loosening up on the hustings. If he can keep that up, he might actually be able to change the perception many people have of him as a tightly wound button-down candidate. The only other drama I can summon from this race is that perhaps the conservatives will abandon Newt as their standard-bearer in favor of Rick Santorum. That might take time to play out. Ron Paul is, well, Ron Paul.

The prediction:

Romney    43%

Gingrich    31%

Santorum  14%

Paul          11%

Romney gets big headlines, more endorsements and money for his PAC. Gingrich says he’s going to stay in the race, but I can see him not making it to Super Tuesday in March. Santorum leapfrogs over Newt into second place as more conservatives see him as the last best forlorn hope. Paul is, well, Paul.

That wailing sound you hear in the distance is Tim Pawlenty.

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Elections Politics republican debate

The Republican Debate – Who Won, Who Lost And Who Kept Us Laughing


The clear winner on stage last night was Willard Romney. It was obvious that he came to the debate with one goal in mind, and that was to get Newt Gingrich.

Mission Accomplished.

Newt on the other hand, wasn’t Newt. He was either mentally missing in action or wasn’t prepared for the unusual aggression he faced from the Mormon, Mitt Romney. Yes, Gingrich tried his customary one line attacks against the media and his other opponents, but when they fired back, Newt hung his head in defeat. In a race where most polls say could be won by either Newt or Romney, history will call this debate the turning point at which Gingrich, The Historian, lost Florida and ultimately, the nomination… although we all know the GOP elites were never going to nominate Gingrich in the first place.

The post game wrap-up by the talking heads at CNN suggested that Rick Santorum had “a great night.” I’ll call his performance consistent, not great. Santorum has stuck to the same message since the beginning of this process. One thing you cannot accuse him of, is doing a Romney… that is, flip-flopping.

And Ron Paul was, well… Ron Paul. I’m not sure if anyone in the audience understood anything Paul said, but he has some of the most dedicated followers and as far as I can tell and his followers are the only reason Paul is still in the race. That, and the fact that he keeps the crowd entertained.

Yes, onstage Romney won. Offstage however, President Obama won another GOP debate.

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