The Mitt Romney Thread

[^_^ 5,021]

Mitt is Mormon. Who knew?

Mitt Romney's religion--not his frequently parsed Massachusetts record on health care reform--is the biggest threat to his front-running status in the GOP presidential primary, a former top adviser said on Tuesday. Carl Forti, Romney's deputy campaign manager and political director in 2008, told the National Journal Insiders Conference that the yet-undeclared candidate in 2012 will face prejudice because of his Mormonism.

"It's not something you can test. It's not something you can poll,'' Forti said after a bipartisan panel at the Grand Hyatt in Washington handicapped the 2012 field. "There's just a bias out there.''

Democratic pollster Mark Mellman agreed, calling it "the last acceptable social prejudice.''

[spookyturtle 9,466]

Romney is the only valid GOP candidate.

[The_Dude 1,142]

Romney is the only valid GOP candidate.

-1

You are quick to dismiss Mitch Daniels! If he runs, he'll win 70% of the vote! Btw Spooks, where you been? You were supposed to be on FB

[^_^ 5,021]

Chris Christie should run. NJ would be better off if he were busy elsewhere for a while.

[spookyturtle 9,466]

-1

You are quick to dismiss Mitch Daniels! If he runs, he'll win 70% of the vote! Btw Spooks, where you been? You were supposed to be on FB

Daniels may win the nomination, but Romney is the best the Repubs have to offer, IMO. I never did join FB. Are you guys still hanging out?

[The_Dude 1,142]

Daniels may win the nomination, but Romney is the best the Repubs have to offer, IMO. I never did join FB. Are you guys still hanging out?

You've got that backwards. Mitch Daniels is the most qualified candidate in the race, regardless of party. Romney may win the nomination though, he has the political infrastructure to steamroll marginal candidates like Daniels. Yup, still hanging out and chatting. It's fun.

[^_^ 5,021]

Michele Bachmann tops Mitt Romney in fundraising

Michele Bachmann became the queen of 2011 fundraising this quarter, bringing in a combined $2.2 million for the quarter – bigger than the $1.9 million that frontrunner Mitt Romney reported bringing in, officials confirmed for POLITICO.

...

The numbers are sure to roil the early presidential-watching, as the Minnesota congresswoman gears up for a likely run for the White House in 2012.

Much of her donations are reportedly small checks.

Bachmann, a tea party favorite, has been getting increasing attention as Sarah Palin appears increasingly unlikely to run.

[^_^ 5,021]

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%.

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2011/04/06/wsjnbc-poll-a-donald-trump-surprise/

[웃 910]

POLITICO Breaking News

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

Mitt Romney has launched an exploratory committee for president, he announced on Twitter Monday afternoon.

Mitt Romney forms exploratory committee

Mitt Romney made it official Monday, announcing he's formed a presidential exploratory committee for his all-but-certain second-chance Republican campaign next year with a video that highlights the nation's massive loss of jobs and says "President Obama's policies have failed."

The move makes Romney the second semi-declared contender — Tim Pawlenty was the first — and will allow him to start raking in campaign cash toward a massive fundraising goal of well over $50 million.

He also made the announcement a day before the fifth anniversary of enacting as governor a sweeping Massachusetts health care law that has emerged as one of his biggest obstacles to winning the GOP nomination and one that Democrats have been gleefully seizing on.

The video shows a casually-dressed Romney speaking direct to camera for two-and-a-half minutes in front of the football field at the University of New Hampshire, the first-in-the-nation primary state where he has staked his second run for president and one that borders Massachusetts.

"This morning, I spoke with a number of students here at the University of New Hampshire," Romney says to the camera, adding that many "wonder if they'll find good jobs when they graduate."

He adds that he went to Nevada last week, and that "unemployment there is over 13 percent."

"Over 20 million Americans still can't find a job or have given up looking," says Romney, who has made clear that "jobs, jobs, jobs" will be the lynchpin to his campaign.

"How has this happened in the nation that leads the world in innovation?" he asks. "The answer is that President Obama's policies have failed."

Romney spends much of the video highlighting his history as a businessman, saying, "That's where i spent my entire career."

He paints himself as a skilled — and experienced — jobs creator.

"Sometimes I was successful and helped create jobs," he said. "Other times I wasn't. I learned how America competes with companies in other countries, why jobs leave and how jobs are created here at home.

"Later, when I served as governor of Massachusetts," he added. "I used the skills that I used in 25 years of business to streamline state government, balance a budget every year and restore a $2 billion rainy-day fund."

After highlighting his business credentials in private practice and while serving in Massachusetts, Romney declared that the nation has been "put on a dangerous course by Washington politicians."

"I'm also convinced that with able leadership America's best days are still ahead," he added. "That's why today I'm announcing my exploratory committee for the presidency of the United States. It's time that we put America back on a course for greatness. ... I believe in America."

Romney, who spent millions during the 2008 campaign but ultimately couldn't recover from a crushing defeat in Iowa, added: "This effort isn't about a person. It's about the cause of American freedom and greatness."

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/52944.html#ixzz1JFYoeoCM

[^_^ 5,021]

[^_^ 5,021]

Romney and South Carolina. Not perfect together.

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- He may be the presumed national frontrunner, but when he launches his all-but-certain presidential campaign, Mitt Romney figures to be a heavy underdog in the historically decisive South Carolina presidential primary.

...

Ballentine, who is one of South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley's closest allies in the state legislature, described himself as a "loyal guy" who was inclined to endorse Romney again but had not yet made up his mind. Ballentine was frank in his assessment that the former Massachusetts governor, who tried to convince South Carolinians throughout 2007 that he was a "Yankee governor" with "southern values," might again have a difficult time connecting with voters here.

"You've got to be able to walk into a gas station, a restaurant, or a bar and be able to shake hands and communicate," Ballentine said. "It's street level politics, if you will. He's just very polished. He's an individual that's successful, but at the same time, I don't know how much he wants to sit around and hang out."

[^_^ 5,021]

Gov. Haley Barbour slams Mitt Romney, President Obama

[웃 910]

Mitt Romney: Rein in government - starting with Obama

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 inPresident 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.

[^_^ 5,021]

Trump also hammered at his putative competitor Mitt Romney Sunday - boasting that he was richer than Romney.

"I'm much bigger than this man and have a much, much bigger net worth," Trump scoffed. "I mean my net worth is many, many, many times Mitt Romney."

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2011/04/17/2011-04-17_donald_trump_refers_to_laguardia_airport_as_third_world_says_hes_bigger_than_mit.html

[spookyturtle 9,466]

I'd much rather have Romney as President than Trump or Palin.