Politics Romney - Is he ready?

ASU2003 · May 23, 2012

Truce between Obama and Romney on faith? – CNN Belief Blog - CNN.com Blogs

There really should be a separation of church and state. Romney has a lot more to lose if it gets brought up.

Tully Mars · May 23, 2012

They hammered the Rev. Wright issue last election and where'd it get them? You could argue it would sell better this go around since the right has been primed by the GOP media arms of talk radio and Faux News with BS like Obama tripled the debt and TRAP was Obama etc... But even with all the lies they've spread once the hard core religious arm of the GOP gets well educated regarding the LDS church and it's practices I think a large % of them would think it's noting more then a cult.

Joniemack · May 23, 2012

Crazy Mormon Belief #1 - Jesus was resurrected into the flesh after his death and came to America.
Crazy part - Jesus was resurrected into the flesh after his death

Crazy Mormon Belief #2 - Mormons require 10% of all member's assets be tithed to the Mormon Church
Crazy part - US Federal taxes should not exceed Church expectations

Crazy Mormon Belief #3 - Jesus spoke to Joseph Smith and had the angel Moroni direct the young Mr. Smith to gold plates written in "reformed Egyptian" which the young man subsequently translated with a "seer stone" before returning them to the angel.
Crazy part - Joseph Smith

Crazy Mormon Belief #3 - There are multiple universes which each have a God ruling over them.
Crazy part - God (the multiple universes are actually the uncrazy part)

The more you look into the origins of this religion the more certain you become that, if J. R. Tolkien had been born a few decades earlier, there might now be a religion centered around a gold ring.

Still, it's no crazier than the events depicted in the Old Testament of the Bible.

Some people have a difficult time distinguishing fantasy from reality. We trust these people to run our country?

Tully Mars · May 24, 2012

Joniemack said: ↑

We trust these people to run our country?
Click to expand...

No, no I really don't.

rogue49 · May 24, 2012

Romney unlike any previous Governor, has avoided talking at all about his experience at being Governor...of quite a significant state too.

To me...this is more relevant than any business experience,
because in reality, government dynamics are very different than business.
In government, there are tons of conflicts, varying interests...things don't move the way you want or as fast as you want.
In business, you can flip on a dime...be very liquid, everything is top down. (at least in relative terms)

Is he either ashamed of his record there? (which is something to consider...)
Or is he avoiding it, because his style much of it is opposite what his current base is or wants??? (is he more like Obama than he'd like to admit)

Mitt Romney in Mass.: The lost years
By: Glenn Thrush
May 23, 2012 07:12 PM EDT

Michael Dukakis wouldn’t stop talking about the “Massachusetts Miracle” during the 1988 campaign.

These days, it’s a minor miracle when the word “Massachusetts” passes from Mitt Romney’s lips for more than a fleeting moment — and the presumptive GOP nominee seldom expounds on his four highly consequential years as a moderate Republican lording over an unruly pack of Bay State liberals.

By choosing to emphasize his experience as a can-do businessman who ran the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and Bain Capital, Romney is shielding himself from the charge that he’s a hidden centrist who passed the nation’s most sweeping local health care reform bill, supported abortion rights and closed tax loopholes for the rich.

President Barack Obama’s campaign, for its part, is happy to hammer Romney for job losses at companies acquired by Bain — and to mock him for dodging what they cast as a lousy record as governor.

The result is one of the oddest political storylines in an oddball year. No candidate in modern history has so aggressively undersold what has been seen as the most desirable qualification for the presidency since the 1970s — running a state — nor downplayed a string of victories, tough calls and man-up moments that a typical politician would highlight in a heartbeat. Massachusetts, it seems, doesn’t pass Romney’s risk-vs.-reward test.

“I think it’s weird for him to talk about what he wants to do in government and not make reference to what he actually did in government, ” said Democrat Deval Patrick, the Bay State’s current governor, in a phone interview with POLITICO.

“He did one profoundly important thing, and nobody can take it away from him, and that’s health care reform — and he doesn’t want to talk about that,” added Patrick, who is close to Obama. “The impression he left with people here was he was more interested in having the job [of governor] than doing the job.”

In April, the Obama campaign released a video “congratulating” Romney on the sixth anniversary of the passage of the Massachusetts health law, which the governor touted as a “national model” at the time.

“On the campaign trail, what you say in one town can show up in the next. People have him recorded as promoting Massachusetts health reform, promoting it as a national model. And now he is saying he wants to tear down the very model that he was promoting,” John McDonough, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health and a health care adviser on both the Massachusetts and Obama bills, said in the video.

The Romney campaign is clearly sensitive to such an attack — and he does occasionally reference his former state.

“Gov. Romney is proud of his record and his leadership experience in both the private and public sectors,” said campaign spokesman Ryan Williams, a veteran of Romney’s gubernatorial days.

But when he references Massachusetts, he tends to do so in passing and almost never during the campaign moments that really matter, Democrats say.

His standard stump speech during the primaries focused on his childhood vacations in the family Rambler, his father’s hardscrabble childhood in Mexico and dozens of attacks on Obama’s record.

When he talked about his moderate record in deep-blue Massachusetts, hardly a vote-grabber in GOP primaries in any event, it was to illustrate his distance from it. He governed Massachusetts, but “I like to joke that I didn’t inhale,” he said over and over during the primary season.

“It is kind of interesting that the four years he was here are kind of gone from the résumé, isn’t it?” said Ronald Mariano, the Democratic majority leader of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. “It’s amazing. If you were a recruiter or a human resources person, the first thing you ask is, ‘What are the gaps in the résumé?’ Well, with Romney, Massachusetts is that gap.”

Romney’s advisers say he has no problem talking about his record in Massachusetts or even making their case for “Romneycare” — it’s a state program, not a national mandate, they have argued exhaustively.

At this year’s meeting of the Conservative Political Action Conference, Romney touted the “19 tax cuts” he put in place as governor and his “unique experience of defending our conservative principles in the most liberal state in our union.”

His staff, at least the handful of loyalists who have been with him since the State House, enjoy recounting how he locked horns with a rogues’ gallery of corrupt, colorful Democrats. There was, for instance, his war to unseat Billy Bulger — a Democratic kingmaker whose brother was mob boss James “Whitey” Bulger — from the presidency of the University of Massachusetts.

“I thought Romney was very strong in his position — and he was right,” former state Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly, a Democrat, told the Los Angeles Times last June, when federal agents captured Whitey Bulger after 19 alleged murders and 16 years on the lam.

An even more dramatic anecdote the campaign isn’t using: In 2006, Romney took on Matthew Amorello, head of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, after a 38-year-old mother of three was killed by a falling concrete panel installed as part of Boston’s scandal-plagued “Big Dig.” When Amorello failed to show up to a meeting to discuss the agency’s response to the accident, an incensed Romney charged up to him — in front of news cameras — grabbed Amorello and asked incredulously, “You’re too big for the governor?” according to “The Real Romney,” a biography compiled by Boston Globe reporters.

Romney later forced Amorello out of office — and convinced the state Legislature to give him emergency powers to finish the project. “Immediately, Romney became a commanding and reassuring presence,” the authors reported.

Yet that battle, like a half-dozen other memorable fights, is seldom mentioned on the stump and has been absent from ads run by the campaign or the pro-Romney Super PAC Restore Our Future.

Romney’s advisers say the time for talking about Massachusetts was four years ago, when he was a relative unknown on the national stage trying to establish a reputation. Voters, they say, know all about his government service now, so it makes sense to weave it into a broader leadership package that encompasses Massachusetts, Bain and the Olympics.

If Bain and the Olympics get top billing, a senior campaign adviser told POLITICO, it’s because Romney wants to differentiate himself from his opponents.

“We are happy to compare Mitt Romney’s career as a successful businessman and a fiscally responsible governor with President Obama’s failed economic agenda and liberal policies,” Williams said. "Obama and [Vice President Joe] Biden are both career politicians who have never had any meaningful experience in the private sector. This president is an economic lightweight who doesn’t understand how the economy works and continues to propose more of the same taxes, spending and regulations that are killing jobs.”

Democrats, including Patrick, say such claims should be measured against what they claim is Romney’s subpar performance in Massachusetts.

“He doesn’t talk about his time as governor because it doesn’t tell the story he is selling,” Patrick said. “We were 47th in job creation. … I don’t think he’s a bad guy, and he’s always been good to me, … but the whole host of reforms folks have talked about for decades — he didn’t get ’em done, we got ’em done.

“Mr. Fix It didn’t fix it.”

While Bain is the focus now, Democrats say they are likely to bring up Massachusetts more and more as the campaign rolls on, focusing on the state’s anemic job growth during Romney’s term, led by a big decline in industrial employment, an increase in the state’s long-term debt load under his stewardship and a $750 million increase in taxes and fees on state residents, revenue enhancements that prompted the conservative Cato Institute in 2006 to label Romney’s no-tax hikes pledge “mostly a myth.”

At his NATO press conference in Chicago this week, Obama said attacks on Bain are fair game precisely because that’s where Romney is focusing his pitch.

“His main calling card for why he thinks he should be president is his business expertise,” Obama said. “He is not going out there touting his experience in Massachusetts. He is saying, ‘I’m a business guy and I know how to fix it,’ and this is his business.”

Republicans say they would love to debate Romney’s record as governor — because he has a better track record than Obama of stimulating job growth without massive new public spending.

“Governor Romney is running as someone whose experience as a successful governor is an important asset as he makes his case for fixing the American economy and putting the country back on track,” longtime Romney adviser Kevin Madden said in an email.

“By pointing to the fact that, as a successful governor, he came into office and wiped away a massive budget deficit while instituting government reforms, he can offer the American people an idea of the type [of] reforms and fiscal conservatism he would bring to Washington.”

© 2012 POLITICO LLC
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Tully Mars · May 24, 2012

I really don't see much light between Mitt and Obama. I read that piece on Politico last night and basically thought "meh." My concern is the right really only want someone in the WH to sign autographs on their bills. Many on the right including people like Grover Norquist et el have out and out said that's the plan. I'm not convinced Mitt will be the autobot they want. But maybe. I mean he's done, said and twisted in every way possible to get the nomination he might just continue being a GOP yes man once in the Oval Office.

redux · May 28, 2012

Romney is holding a fund raising with Donald Trump in Vegas tonight....days after Trump again claimed that Obama's birth certificate is a forgery and he was born in Kenya.

One is left to wonder who is advising Romney? Why would he associate himself with this egotistical self-promoting windbag? Does he really think Trump brings anything to the table?

George Will had it right:

"I do not understand the cost benefit here," Will said. "The costs are clear. The benefit - what voter is gonna vote for him (Romney) because he is seen with Donald Trump? The cost of appearing with this bloviating ignoramus is obvious it seems to me."

"Donald Trump is redundant evidence that if your net worth is high enough, your IQ can be very low and you can still intrude into American politics," Will added. "Again, I don't understand the benefit. What is Romney seeking?"

Conservative George Will calls Trump a Bloviating Ignoramus - National economic policy | Examiner.com
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bloviating ignoramus. Gotta love George Will.

Baraka_Guru · May 28, 2012

Maybe Trump will be his running mate.

Romney–Trump 2012

They're practically demigods in the eyes of the Ayn Rand crowd.

redux · May 28, 2012

The King of Corporate Raiders and the Baron of Bankruptcy?

With the message of how to get rich without even trying......inherit, baby, inherit!

Joniemack · May 28, 2012

A bit of irony in the fact that the Baron of Bankruptcy is also the Creator of Garish Gambling Casinos and the King of Corporate Raiders is also a very Staunch & Moral Mormon Soldier opposed to such sinful establishments.

I suspect Trump has been able to sufficiently buy his way out this little conundrum with a substantial SuperPac donation.

All he wants in return is a little face time.

ASU2003 · May 28, 2012

redux said: ↑

The King of Corporate Raiders and the Baron of Bankruptcy?

With the message of how to get rich without even trying......inherit, baby, inherit!
Click to expand...

And you wonder why they are fighting so hard to get rid of estate taxes...

While nothing would surprise me, Romney picking Trump to be the VP choice isn't too far out there. Yes, Trump needs to listen to some political advisers and drop the birther crap, he is a successful businessman. I'll give him some of the credit in turning New York City around.

If he came up with a strategy to take his TV show concept and 'fix' unemployment in this country by making the unemployed come together with inventors (or on their own) to form start-up companies, or volunteer and provide community service, it would be a great idea. Use Kickstarter to provide some funding, the public could invest, and companies can sponsor or even buy them out. Obama can steal this idea from me too. Even if the start-up companies fail, they still get good experience, and can try something else.

Joniemack · May 28, 2012

ASU2003 said: ↑

And you wonder why they are fighting so hard to get rid of estate taxes...

While nothing would surprise me, Romney picking Trump to be the VP choice isn't too far out there. Yes, Trump needs to listen to some political advisers and drop the birther crap, he is a successful businessman. I'll give him some of the credit in turning New York City around.

If he came up with a strategy to take his TV show concept and 'fix' unemployment in this country by making the unemployed come together with inventors (or on their own) to form start-up companies, or volunteer and provide community service, it would be a great idea. Use Kickstarter to provide some funding, the public could invest, and companies can sponsor or even buy them out. Obama can steal this idea from me too. Even if the start-up companies fail, they still get good experience, and can try something else.
Click to expand...

Um..you do realize that we're talking VP here. The best Trump'll get is the best Joe Biden gets. They'll drag him out as little as possible where he'll make a cringe-worthy remark which will invariably insult an entire demographic. He'll get no role in economic planning or decision making. He'll be nothing more than the embarrassment he is now.

And I like Joe Biden.

Baraka_Guru · May 28, 2012

It seems America is as good a place as any where having a shit-ton of money gets you a pass despite the crazy.

I hear Saudi Arabia is much like that too.

Tully Mars · May 28, 2012

Way too many folks in the US equate wealth with success. It's rather sad actually.

rogue49 · May 28, 2012

Logic, rationality, principles, integrity & avoiding hypocrisy are irrelevant.
The only thing is winning.

Money is winning, face-time is winning, talking points are winning, flag waving is winning...
If you win, you get to decide.

Baraka_Guru · May 28, 2012

Such is the crisis of capitalism. The plutocracy has hijacked the political process.

This is partly why America has only two choices for leadership: the centre-right and the radical right.

redux · May 29, 2012

And we thought the Republican circus sideshow ended with last contested primary.

Bring in the clown...

This afternoon, Donald Trump reminded the nation why he’s a dangerous surrogate for any political candidate.

Hours before hosting former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney for a Las Vegas fundraiser, Trump appeared on CNN and repeatedly raised questions about President Obama’s place of birth.

Obama’s campaign has been making hay out of Romney’s appearance with Trump, and the celebrity mogul only gave Democrats more fodder in the contentious interview. After criticizing CNN for focusing on the “birther” issue, Trump repeatedly argued that Obama’s origins are unclear.

“Obama does not like the issue of where he was born,” Trump said. “He does not like that issue because it’s hitting very close to home. You know it, and he knows it.” He claimed Obama’s campaign was using “reverse psychology” to make reporters think that birtherism was bad for Republicans.

When host Wolf Blitzer pointed out that, in part thanks to Trump himself, Obama released his long-form birth certificate in 2011, the mogul replied, “A lot of people don’t agree with this birth certificate, a lot of people don’t think it’s authentic.”

Blitzer suggested that Trump was “beginning to sound a little ridiculous.” Trump shot back, “I think you sound ridiculous.”

Donald Trump calls Wolf Blitzer ‘ridiculous,’ defends birtherism - The Washington Post
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BTW, with a win in the Texas primary today, Romney reaches the magic number of delegates....but the sideshow continues!

Baraka_Guru · May 29, 2012

Holy shit. Romney needs to cut him loose!

Tully Mars · May 29, 2012

Nah, it's all calculated. There a shit ton of folks who will hate Obama regardless. Mitt's depending on Trump to bring in the cash to get the message out to them. In a few months after Mitts pocketed a ton of cash he'll start to distance himself from the birthers and claim he never bought into their BS. Get the cash then dump them... kind of sounds like a vulture capitalist doesn't it?

redux · May 29, 2012

What's next for Romney?

A political fundraiser with George Zimmerman to pander to the Stand Your Ground voters in Florida?

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