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December 31 Jim Rubens: NH Republicans, don't be fooled by Mitt RomneyMore evidence for why New Hampshire voters deserve to have the first primary in the nation.
You know you're in trouble when an editorial from a conservative newspaper in the state bordering the one you just left the governorship of in January starts off with the following:
So, I'm not the only one who sees the parallels with Slick Willy. But even though Slick Willy lied regularly, he at least tried harder at it and looked a little more sincere. Romney's lies about King (including the statement nearly thirty years ago that he marched with his dad and MLK - meaning he may have cavalierly lied even then), the NRA endorsement, and multiple embellishments about his own record and distortions of almost all of his competitors, were generally easy to catch and didn't make sense to bother trying. Can he help it, or is it one of those compulsive personality attributes (like Clinton)?
Thank God for New Hampshire and I hope Iowa doesn't get sold a false bill of goods here. Romney's untrue statementsA set of Mitt Romney misstatements
December 30 Romney is the GOP's John KerryMaybe it's the fact that both are from Massachucets and served in the Executive Branch there, pandering to the state's liberal electorate in order to gain power. Maybe it's the slickness factor, the way that both of them seemed so heavily coached and polished, as if they spent all day in the spa while simultaneously working with a public relations expert. It definitely has something to do with their tendencies to flip flop and try to say whatever the voters want to hear.
But Mitt Romney is the 2008 GOP equivalent of John Kerry. And just as I saw disaster looming in 2004 as the Democrats pushed aside a good man (Lieberman) in favor of the package that looked and sounded just like the Presedential Ken doll, I see otherwise smart Republicans seduced by what looks good and what the party establishment says shall come to pass.
Don't vote for what looks good. Don't just listen to what other people say. Trust your gut and do your research (http://www.ontheissues.org). Romney is a disaster waiting to happen with only slightly lesser vulnerabilities than Rudy. He will put Hillary right into the White House. December 29 Video of Romney flip flopsWhy should any conservative listen to the New York/Washington Republican Establishment's recommendations?Think about it. If you are a social conservative, what good has listening to the Republican power brokers done you?
We as a nation are 9 trillion dollars in debt. Our enemies could practically buy us, and some of our Republican-elected leaders wanted to help them actually do this in small chunks (think of the Dubai Ports deal). Under Reagan, the Republican Party used to stand for morals and socially conservative positions. However, in the past couple of years, we've had at least two Republican members of Congress imprisoned, another one indicted, another who has a sick fascination with Congressional Pages, and numerous more caught up in immoral scandals. We have even more caught up in corruption scandals that are being investigated. All of this used to be mainly the territory of the Democratic party.
We got here by listening to the same pundits who are telling us who is and who isn't conservative enough and who to vote for in 2008. Insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results. The RINOs versus the Social ConservativesAt the end of the day, there are a lot of people in the Republican party establishment who don't give a flip whether or not a million babies a year are aborted, marriage is redefined - or even if the tax code is completely revamped. But they plug those issues because they covet the votes that they bring, which allow them to stay in power. The Republican Establishment Elite - the Fox News crowd and those that orbit around them, are not really social conservatives (note the excessive amount of lewd footage regularly shown in Fox News segments). This is why they attack Huckabee and before him, McCain.
I wouldn't trust a sportswriter who picked Miami to be in the playoffs this year. And I wouldn't trust a movie critic who told me that Gigli was a great flick. And likewise, I will not trust a network or pundits who seriously tried to push Rudy Giuliani or Mitt Romney (with the former being openly liberal in his social positions and the latter being dishonest in my opinion about his "conversion" at the start of the election cycle) to tell me who should be the nominee for the "party of values."
I also wonder how many lobbyists and politicians really want the tax code rewritten. All that pork that will go to waste - what a shame. They don't tend to like candidates that go against the status quo, do they? That's why they worked over McCain now and why they're all against Huckabee now. They talk change but don't really want it. Is Mitt Romney capable of going a whole day without attacking the nearest Republican Competitor?I don't particularly care for Giuliani, but I'll admit that he hasn't run a negative campaign. Neither has McCain. Or Huckabee. Thompson gets in a barb or too between naps, but he hasn't been nasty or obsessive about it. Duncan Hunter has been a stand-up guy. Tancredo sort of had some directed fire toward the end of his campaign, but it wasn't the attack-the-other-guy-every-day type of thing.
But, Romney ...
Every time Romney releases an ad or tries to advance, he does it by attacking other GOP candidates. He lured Giuliani into a one on one nasty-fest that Romney initiated. He's been trying to get Huckabee to fight him. Now he goes after McCain. All of this in my view doesn't make Romney look tough or anything positive. It makes him look desperate. And extremely annoying. I get the strong impression that the other candidates don't like him (note Thompson's statement at the end of the last "debate" - or whatever it was - Thompson said that Romney was getting to be a "pretty good actor"). He messes up all the GOP chemistry that's supposed to work together to put up a united front against the Democrats next year. And the return on investment is so low that it's amazing - he is simply trying to sell a product that not enough people want to buy.
Something about his persistence and annoying qualities - reminding everyone of how great he is and pushing out exaggerated claims of what he's done and what he believes while he manuevers into whatever position he thinks the public wants to see - reminds me eerily of Al Gore in the 2000 election. "Everybody, look at me! I'm much better than this schmuck. Or that guy. That guy can't even spell GOP. That's why I'm the best - and, oh yeah, I also cut government spending to the lowest level in human history. I promise I'll be really, really conservative because I know that's important to you people. Just elect me, please!" December 27 Just a question here ... why should I listen to someone who criticizes Huckabee as being too liberal but praises Giuliani and Romney as being conservatives?A number of the establishment Republicans (R-I-N-O) are bashing Huckabee as not being a conservative. But many of these people are the same people who were just lushing over Giuliani (pro-abortion, pro-late-term-abortion, pro same-gender-marriage, etc.) as being a conservative, and Mitt Romney 5.0 ("this time, he's really a conservative") as being "the real deal." Why should any of us social conservatives listen to these people at all? It's a little bit like listening to the recommendation of a movie critic who thought Gigli was a great flick, isn't it? Mitt Romney and experienceThis sales pitch is the hardest Romney claim to believe. He's better off insisting his dad marched with MLK.
Reading from notes and speaking in a serious tone, the former governor said his personal upbringing, background in business and experience running the Winter Olympics and the state of Massachusetts surpasses the resume of unnamed rivals like former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who leads in Iowa, and Arizona Sen. John McCain, who has been surging in New Hampshire.
Now here's the truth on this claim: Romney has a single four year term of Governor to his claim - his only elected political experience. If elected, Romney would come to the White House with LESS ELECTED EXPERIENCE THAN ANY OF THE PAST NINE PRESIDENTS!
In the field of 2008 Candidates, he has less elected experience than Huckabee, McCain, Giuliani, Thompson, Clinton, Edwards, and less overall time in elected politics than Barack Obama. Is anyone around to challenge him on this?? Mitt Romney as Joe Isuzu Commercial Part 3This time, our hero Mitt gives us the straight talk on a wide range of issues that address the concerns of every voter. He's going to sell us that he's the answer to ... everything. Let's tune in to our latest fictional Mitt commercial.
Romney: In my vast experience in government, I never raised taxes, not a single time, and I managed to close a three billion dollar budget gap in Massachusets, which is hard to do, by the way.
(He has four years experience in government. He raised fees twice as Governor. And the budget gap was actually about $1.2 billion - not three - but that depends on the definition of the word billion)
Romney: And I was extremely succesful in keeping Massachusets in line by using the line item veto 844 times
(700 got overriden)
Romney: I was also instrumental in making Massachusets the state with the highest test scores
(It had the highest scores before he got elected, but, that's beside the point - http://www.ontheissues.org/2008/Mitt_Romney_Education.htm)
Romney: Vote for me!! Huckabee's Rise Drives Wedge Between Wall Street, EvangelicalsThis is a new revelation for me, but I now realize fully that many in the Republican Party leadership aren't any less secular than many in the Democratic Party leadership. All the outrage about same-gender marriage and abortion in the past was almost a show to many of the leadership. I do not believe that the Republican elites - the folks you see on the cable talk shows and writing conservative publication editorials - are values voters. They are partisans who love Evangelicals as long as we get with their program and don't get in the way or speak our convictions too loudly to the point that it inconveniences them.
If they push too hard against Huckabee and try to destroy the reputation of a good man, they WILL face backlash next November. Some of the party hacks will again be distancing themselves from their role in picking the nominee and the fallout from a Republican loss (which WILL happen if Evangelicals stay home or organize around a third party).
A few myths:
An interesting article ... Huckabee's Rise Drives Wedge Between Wall Street, Evangelicals
Dec. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Wealthy Republicans have a new political nightmare that may be scarier than Hillary Clinton: Mike Huckabee. The former Arkansas governor has surged in Republican presidential-preference polls, winning the support of Christian fundamentalists while peppering his campaign rhetoric with jabs at the financial industry. He calls himself the candidate who isn't a ``wholly owned subsidiary'' of investment banks, decries large executive-pay packages and says the party needs to shift its focus from Wall Street to Main Street. In doing so, he threatens the uneasy if effective coalition Republicans have counted on for three decades: abortion opponents and other social-issue activists supplying foot soldiers, proponents of tax cuts and business-friendly regulatory policies putting up the money and getting the biggest economic benefits. ``Huckabee puts this long-simmering feud between the social-conservative wing and the country-club and business crowd into starker contrast,'' said Stuart Rothenberg, publisher of the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report in Washington. Polls show Huckabee, 52, leading in the first Republican electoral contest, the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses. In national polls, he is within striking distance of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Backlash The stronger he gets in the polls, the stronger the intra- party backlash against him. ``He's sort of a populist, and that doesn't sell too well on Wall Street,'' said David Hedley, a retired managing director at Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette who raised at least $100,000 for George W. Bush in the 2000 presidential election. The Club for Growth, a Washington-based group that advocates tax and spending cuts, has mounted a campaign against Huckabee in Iowa and South Carolina, which holds its Republican primary on Jan. 19. The group said Dec. 14 it is doubling advertising purchases and urged taxpayers to call Huckabee and challenge him on his tax policy. The group says Huckabee's tax increases while governor from 1996 to 2007 far surpassed reductions, with the average tax burden for state residents increasing 47 percent during his tenure. ``Mike Huckabee is not an economic conservative,'' said Pat Toomey, a former Pennsylvania congressman and the club's president. ``He's the only Republican in the field who really is truly a big-government liberal.'' `Huckacide' The Wall Street Journal editorial page has repeatedly attacked Huckabee in recent weeks, and the National Review magazine warned Republicans against committing ``Huckacide.'' ``These guys don't like Huckabee because he's not one of them,'' said Ed Rollins, the Huckabee campaign chairman. ``They have enjoyed the reins of power a long time, and he's a threat.'' Rollins, who ran Ronald Reagan's re-election campaign in 1984, recalls that some economic conservatives were initially suspicious of him too: ``Ronald Reagan wasn't one of them, and he also had raised taxes to fix problems.'' After Huckabee finished second in an August Iowa straw poll, he said in an interview that his biggest asset going into the contest ``was the negative attack ads that the Club for Greed, excuse me, the Club for Growth was running.'' `Extraordinary Disconnect' Huckabee said he represents Republican voters who feel estranged from the party. ``There's an extraordinary disconnect between people who have sort of had a traditional leadership role in the Republican Party and the folks on Main Street,'' he said. ``There's a difference between Wall Street Republicans and Main Street Republicans.'' For the moment, the shots at Wall Street are helping Huckabee among Republican voters, said Costas Panagopolous, director of the Center for Electoral Politics and Democracy at Fordham University in New York. ``In rural America and most of the country, Wall Street is a big, bad bogeyman, and he's tapping into this perception.'' Chuck Hurley, president of the Iowa Family Policy Center, a nonprofit pro-family organization in Des Moines, said that ``it wouldn't surprise me that there's some antipathy for the Goldman Sachs bonuses among rank-and-file stockholders in rural Iowa.'' Hurley has endorsed Huckabee, though his organization remains neutral. Behind on Funds A lack of fundraising may yet hurt the candidate, especially on Feb. 5, when more than 20 states, including California and New York, will vote for a nominee. ``That's where having the dollars to do targeted advertising is particularly important,'' said Tony Corrado, a campaign-finance expert and professor of government at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. ``He won't be able to rely on momentum.'' Huckabee raised about $2.3 million as of Sept. 30, the most recent date for which figures are available. While analysts say his fundraising has picked up in recent months, his total take is a fraction of the more than $40 million that Giuliani, 63, and Romney, 60, have each brought in. Republicans have seen social-economic rifts before, as when television evangelist Pat Robertson challenged then-Vice President George H.W. Bush for the Republican nomination in 1988. The difference now is that Robertson was never a threat to win. ``From Reagan on, the rhetoric from Republican presidents was always more responsive to the evangelical community than the actions that they took,'' said Thomas Mann, a political scientist at the Brookings Institution in Washington. ``It's one of the reasons why some religious conservatives have become disaffected by the political process.'' OK, GOP Establishment. Your turn. YOU tell us which candidate is "Republican Enough"?The smug group of GOP establishment members sit around the set of Fox News or in the editorial room of the National Review and nit pick on the candidate who has done the most with the least and who has done what only a couple of GOP candidates have done since the days of Reagan - win voters over with his personality, words, and ideas. They give us a bunch of reasons why they say Mike Huckabee is not "republican enough." As I hear the wise men (and women) talk, seeming to be in possession of all of the answers ("voters just aren't going to go for that"), I think one thing to myself: aren't these the same people who helped get the Republican Party into the mess that it's in right now? The mess in which no one seems happy with the party direction. The mess in which it's been Republicans who have been caught up in the type of embarassing scandals once reserved for Democrats named Kennedy or Frank. The mess in which the Republicans have been the ones who have been spending ... and spending ... and spending. Are these really the people we should be listening to?
Even though I know the answer to that question, I'm going to reach out and ask GOP folks everywhere to help me understand what I'm supposedly missing here. Because I think Mike Huckabee is the best in the GOP field. I have very warm feelings as well toward John McCain. Both of these fine men have been just trashed - sometimes almost literally - by the GOP establishment. So, wise and patriotic GOP folks everywhere, help me understand which GOP candidates are better than Mike Huckabee and John McCain. I await your comments - seriously (no moderation for comments here). Let's review:
Any other viable candidates left? No - there are not. If the GOP is going to win next November, it will be because the GOP ticket contains Huckabee, McCain, or (if they're really smart) - both. Otherwise, they won't. If they pick the gaffe-prone or bones-in-the-closet candidate, the whole election could be over by a month or so after the conventions. Please let me know what I'm missing here in terms of logic. December 26 Ouch! Romney gets the beat down from his "home state" (one of them)There is a bright side for Mitt Romney, who is being rejected by the leading newspapers of one of the states he calls home. He's got other "home" states - Massachusets and Utah. Somebody else will probably say something nice about his candidacy soon.
As much as I dislike Romney as a candidate, this almost hurts to read. It's almost as bad as the Romney King beating of last week. But, I have to admire the fact that the New Hampshire voters seem so perceptive and unable to be duped - they deserve to be the first primary state. McCain is indeed a good man and deserves credit for having actual convictions as much as the target of their criticism lacks these qualities.
THERE IS A reason Mitt Romney has not received a single newspaper endorsement in New Hampshire. It's the same reason his poll numbers are dropping. He has not been able to convince the people of this state that he's the conservative he says he is. Like a lot of people in New Hampshire, we wanted to believe Romney. We gave him the benefit of the doubt. We listened very carefully to his expertly rehearsed sales pitch. But in the end he didn't close the deal for us. Now, two weeks before the primary, the same is happening with voters. Republicans and right-leaning independents in New Hampshire gave Romney a chance. His events have not been sparsely attended. Nor have they been scarce. He's made more campaign stops here this year than any other Republican, even John McCain. And after a year of comparing Romney to McCain, of sizing up the two in person and in the media, Granite Staters are turning back to McCain. The former Navy pilot, once written off by the national media establishment, is now in a statistical dead heat with Romney here. How could that be? Romney has all the advantages: money, organization, geographic proximity, statesman-like hair, etc. But he lacks something John McCain has in spades: conviction. Granite Staters want a candidate who will look them in the eye and tell them the truth. John McCain has done that day in and day out, never wavering, never faltering, never pandering. Mitt Romney has not. He has spoken his lines well, but the people can sense that the words are memorized, not heartfelt. Last week Romney was reduced to debating what the meaning of "saw" is. It was only the latest in a string of demonstrably false claims -- he'd been a hunter "pretty much" all his life, he'd had the NRA's endorsement, he marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. -- that call into question the veracity of his justifications for switching sides on immigration, abortion, taxes and his affection for Ronald Reagan. In this primary, the more Mitt Romney speaks, the less believable he becomes. That is why Granite Staters who have listened attentively are now returning to John McCain. They might not agree with McCain on everything, as we don't, but like us, they judge him to be a man of integrity and conviction, a man who won't sell them out, who won't break his promises, and who won't lie to get elected. Voters can see that John McCain is trustworthy. Mitt Romney has spent a year trying to convince Granite Staters that he is as well. It looks like they aren't buying it. And for good reason. Wyoming Governor Jim Geringer Endorses Mike HuckabeeIn spite of the best efforts of the Republican Establishment to put a liberal or a waffler on the ticket instead of a genuine cultural and fiscal conservative, Huckabee (who isn't part of the Republican Establishment), the endorsements keep coming. Sorry, Fox News and National Review Online - you folks need to spin harder. http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,247572.shtml 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Former Arkansas Governor and Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee announced the endorsement today from former Wyoming Governor Jim Geringer. The Republican Establishment's attempt to keep helping RomneyFred Barnes just effectively ignored and tried to downplay the bodyslam of Romney by the Manchester Union Leader by almost skipping over the question (at one point implying that Iowans wouldn't care because they didn't pay attention to what happens in New Hampshire) and spending three times as long talking about the flap last week between Huckabee and Rush Limbaugh.
The establishment wants Romney, but they fail to realize that he's a ship that won't float all the way through the General Election to a Republican victory. I don't know why they fear Huckabee so much, but they are trying to endorse someone whose conservative credentials and intents are suspect at the very best in favor of someone who is sincere about who they are. Why is the establishment so fearful here? December 23 The American Right-to-Life Anti-Romney AdInteresting perspective on the evolution of his positions. Mitt Romney "Joe Isuzu" Pt 2: Experience and ToughnessJoin our fictitious commercial as our hero attempts to sell us on the fact that he's the most conservative and most qualified candidate to represent the GOP next November.
Romney: Hello! I'm Mitt Reagan, and I'm not just the most conservative, most qualified, most inteligent and most driven candidate for my party but I also happen to be proud to admit I'm the most experienced.
(He's Lying)
Romney: I say I'm experienced because I have more than 28 years in elected politics
(In dog years. In human years, he's held an elected office for four years - and two days!)
Romney: And I have more experience than my fellow candidates in knowing how to run a government
(Actually, if elected, he would have less elected experience than any of the last nine U.S. Presidents, including President Bush)
Romney: And I know how to support our troops and also be tough on crime - in fact, I've never granted a pardon
(True. He also refused to pardon one of our troops who was convicted of a BB gun offense at age 13 - preventing him from becoming a Massachusets Police Officer. Very tough)
Romney: And I flat-out, simply, unapologetically refused to grant drivers licenses to illegal aliens
(True. But he may have given driving directions to illegal immigrants - to let them know where to show up for work at his house)
Romney: So, if you want simply the most conservative, most tough-minded, most experienced, most principled candidate for the Oval Office, I see you voting for me. Of course "see" means only that I in fact can envision you voting for me, not that I actually see you in the present tense voting for me - although I do not see you voting against ..
(???)
Romney: So, vote for me, Mitt Romney! December 22 Romney tied with Hillary for the highest negativesRasmussen: Romney as unelectable as Clinton?
Among the leading Presidential candidates, New York Senator Hillary Clinton and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney have the highest level of core opposition among voters. Forty-seven percent (47%) say they will vote against each of these candidates no matter who else is on the ballot
Nice job, National Review!
I told you ... |
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