Perceived Prejudice Against RomneyApril 29th, 2006 | 1 Comment | Posted in Analysis, Commentary, and Editorials, News Articles, The Mormon Issue
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http://blog.electromneyin…3&more=1&page=1
In light of Mr. Novak’s piece this week, I feel that we should harken back to a blog I wrote last year about this very subject.
Romney setting off for Guantanamo |
http://www.boston.com/new…for_guantanamo/
It looks that the Democrats are running a bit scared here, worrying about his “national ambitions”. Mr. Romney definitely has traction, and it would make sense for those who stand to lose because of his ideas to be a bit concerned.
Mighty Mitt Romney |
http://www.spectator.org/…asp?art_id=9666
Here’s an article that you can actually read. Sorry about the previous one, I am still trying to get a copy of that Salem News article. But, enjoy this American Spectator Piece.
Issues favor Mitt over McCain |
http://www.ecnnews.com/cg…0060418-+page_1
Well, I know it’s taken me a while to get this posted in full since the link does not take it to you, but without further adieu the full article.
By Claude R. Marx
Column for April 16
Will health care reform be Gov. Mtt Romney’s ticket to the White House while immigration prevents Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., from getting there?
Romney is basking in the triumph of his just-passed health insurance measure and can position himself as someone who has helped solve a problem that effects millions of Americans. By contrast, McCain is trying to solve a hot-button issue while angering some of his party’s hard-core conservatives.
The respective political standings of Romney and McCain reflect the contrasting dynamics of the two issues and highlight the differences between being a governor and a legislator.
After last week’s bill signing, Romney comes across as a pragmatic problem solver who can work with Democrats and a range of interest groups. That has been exactly what Americans have looked for when picking presidents.
Romney shed his image as an aloof executive who cared little about the day-to-day doings on Beacon Hill. Further, his compromise, while not thrilling to those on the far left or far right, is a quintessentially centrist approach. Should he win the White House, it might reinforce the adage expressed by an earlier Bay State governor, Michael Dukakis, that voters care more about competence than ideology. That’s how Bill Clinton and George W. Bush built their successful presidential campaigns.
Coupled with Romney’s experience as a businessman, his latest feat could make him appealing to party power brokers, activists and voters.
Even the fact that we don’t know how much the measure will cost probably won’t hurt the governor. When when the bills start coming in to the Bay State treasury, Romney will be long gone from office.
To paraphrase the sage philosopher Woody Allen: take the credit and run.
By contrast, McCain can’t seem to reap any political benefits from his work on immigration.
His bill, which he is working on with Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., is anathema to the very conservatives he is trying to woo in his White House run. Also, as a senator, McCain has little individual control over the outcome.
Further, the rules of the 100-member Senate are designed to make it difficult produce legislation. For example, a measure needs the support of 60 members to avoid being talked to death by filibuster.
The Senate is made up of prima donnas who are often more concerned with their political well- being than with passing legislation. This prompted former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole to say that his job “required more pleading than leading.”
Those dynamics are among the reasons why only two senators –Warren Harding and John F. Kennedy– have gone directly from that chamber to the White House.
Immigration is an especially difficult subject because of the emotional and economic issues involved. Even though the McCain-Kennedy measure has the support of some liberals, others on the left fear that having more foreigners willing to work for low wages will hurt American workers.
Consequently, McCain will have a hard time satisfying those who vote in Republican primaries and caucuses or the independent/liberal types who might support him in the general election. Talk about being between a rock and a hard place.
McCain’s troubles with immigration policy couldn’t come at a worse time for him. In addition to the national attention on the subject, his home state of Arizona has become Ground Zero in the battle over the issue. One U.S. House member from that state, Congressman J.D. Hayworth, R-Scottsdale, is a sponsor of one the most restrictive immigration-control bills. His measure would take a polar opposite to that of the McCain-Kennedy bill.
Last week’s massive demonstrations supporting that measure, and the equally strong opposition to it, show how sharply divided the public is on the issue. That’s why, by taking a lead role on the subject, McCain may be doing his White House prospects no favors.
The 2008 presidential election is a political lifetime away. The maneuvers of Romney and McCain on the key issues of health care and immigration could provide hints of how a possible intraparty contest between the two of them will play out.
Claude R. Marx writes a weekly column on politics. Contract him at crmarx@aol.com.
Ceremony looks good to Mass. and also potential Romney Campaign |
http://www.wfsb.com/Global/story.asp?S=4762631
Here’s a surprisingly long piece from TV station Eyewitness News 3 in Hartford CT. It really shines for Mr. Romney.
Romney And Healthcare (Video) |
With Sincere Thanks to The Political Pit Bull here is Mr. Romney on today’s Your World With Neil Cavuto.
Majority of Americans Want Massachusetts-Style Health Law |
http://abcnews.go.com/Hea…tory?id=1834807
As you can tell by this ABC NEWS graphic with corresponding ABC News article; health care is not just on the minds of Democrats, it’s on the minds of many Republicans as well. Mr. Romney and The Mass. Legislature’s plan has positive support across the board.
Romney signs health bill; vetoes key provision |
http://www.boston.com/new…_key_provision/
There we have it…it’s now official.
Health Care for Everyone? We’ve found a way. By Mitt Romney |
http://www.opinionjournal…ml?id=110008213
An editorial written by Mr. Romney himself about the health care plan recently passed in Massachusetts.
Romney campaigns for Michigan candidate - More Immigration Talk |
http://www.boston.com/new…igan_candidate/
In this piece from The Boston Globe via AP, Mr Romney was campaigning for Dick DeVos who is the Republican candidate for Governor of Mr. Romney’s home state of Michigan. In his stump speech he expounded on his immigration views.
Regarding immigration, Romney said U.S. borders should be made more secure to keep illegal immigrants from entering. He also said he opposed an amnesty program that would automatically grant citizenship to the approximately 11 million illegal immigrants already in this country.
“I think that route is not acceptable at this stage,” he said. “We should report illegal behavior.”
Instead, Romney said, illegal immigrants should be identified and required to apply for green cards, which would allow them to live and work in the United States. Those whose applications are accepted could stay, the rest would be returned to their native countries.
Insider Interview: A Granite State Republican’s Early Take on ‘08 - Romney Mention |
http://blog.washingtonpos…anite_stat.html
From Chris Cillzza’s Politics Blog at The Washington Post…
Who other than McCain will be a contender in New Hampshire? Rath is high on outgoing Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s potential, calling him the “buzz” candidate in the state. As governor of a neighboring state for the past four years, Romney is a familiar name to many New Hampshire voters (the Boston media market reaches much of the southern half of the state). Even before being elected governor, Romney was viewed positively by Granite State voters, according to Rath, for his work during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City; “the Olympics we watch the most,” Rath added.
Reforming education - The Romney Model |
http://www.washingtontime…01256-6627r.htm
It’s obvious by reading this, that Mr. Romney is not pulling any punches in any area. Today’s spotlight…Education!
By Mitt Romney
April 10, 2006I was in high school when Sputnik happened. Russia’s lead in space frightened us. It also woke us up. President Kennedy issued a call to boost science and math education, to produce more engineers. His vision: Put a man on the moon. America, as always, rose to the occasion.
One could argue that there have been quite a few Sputniks lately, but that we haven’t noticed. Tom Friedman’s flat world is tilting toward Asia, taking investment and jobs. Of 120 new chemical plants worldwide with over $1 billion in capital, 50 are planned for China, only one for the United States. Bill Gates says Microsoft’s best new ideas are coming from his Asian team. And last year, America bought $160 billion more from China than China bought from us. America is still way ahead, but in the words of Will Rogers: “Even if you’re on the right track, if you don’t move, you’ll get run over.” It’s time we get moving, starting with education. First, close the Excellence Gap. American 15-year-olds rank 24th out of 29 OECD countries in math literacy and 19th in science. Fifteen years ago, the United States and Asia produced about the same number of Ph.D.’s in math and physical science: 4,700 a year. Today, we graduate 4,400; Asia graduates 24,900. Second, close the Achievement Gap. Failing urban schools are a dead end for too many minority children. This is the civil rights issue of our generation.
How to close the education gaps? The teacher’s unions have their answers: simply spend more money and hire more teachers for smaller classroom size. But the data show that those are not the answers at all. Massachusetts tests our kids regularly; when studentproficiencyis matched with classroom size and per-pupil spending, there is absolutely no relationship. In fact, the district with the highest per-pupil spending in our state — almost $19,000 per student — is in the bottom 10 percent of our state in student proficiency.
We found our education prescription by interviewing parents, teachers and principals, studying actual data, mining lessons from successful districts and charter schools, and digesting the recommendations from commissions and experts. Here are some of the real answers:
1) Make teaching a true profession. The 19th-century industrial labor-union model doesn’t make sense for educating children. Teachers aren’t manufacturing widgets. Better teachers should have better pay, advancement opportunities and mentoring responsibilities. Better pay should also accompany the most challenging assignments — needed specialties like math and science, advanced placement skills and extra effort.
2) Let the leaders lead. Superintendents and principals must have authority to hire, deploy resources, assign mentors and training, and remove nonperformers. Seniority cannot trump the needs of our children.
3) Measure up. Over union objections, Massachusetts implemented standardized testing and a mandatory graduation exam. With measurement, we finally see our successes and failures and can take corrective action. Without measurement, we were blind.
4) Let freedom ring. When parents, teachers and kids are free to choose their school, everyone benefits. Charter schools free of union restraints and, yes, even home schools, teach lessons we can apply to improve standard public schools.
5) Pull in the parents. Teachers tell us that the best predictor of student success is parental involvement. For our lowest-performing schools, I’ve proposed mandatory parental preparation courses. Over two days, parents learn about America’s education culture, homework, school discipline, available after-school programs, what TV is harmful or helpful and so on. And for parents who don’t speak English, help them understand why their child’s English immersion in school is a key to a bright future.
6) Raise the bar. Our kids need to be pushed harder. Less about self-esteem; more about learning. I have proposed advanced math and science schools for the very brightest (the one we have is a huge success, but we need more); advanced placement in every high school, more teachers with serious science and math credentials, and laptop computers for every middle- and high-school student. We’ve also added science as a graduation exam requirement, in addition to math and English.
These ideas should sound familiar — they turn up in virtually every unbiased look at education. The opposition comes from some teachers unions. They fight better pay for better teachers, principal authority, testing and standards, school choice and English immersion. With their focus on themselves and their members, they have failed to see how we have failed our children. But that will change as testing produces data and data debunks the myth that more and more spending is the answer.
A continuing failure to close the excellence and achievement gaps would have catastrophic consequences, for individual human lives left short of their potential, and for our nation. Students around the world are racing ahead of ours. If we don’t move, we’ll become the France of the 21st century, starting as a superpower and exiting as something far less. Education must be one of our first priorities, as it was when Sputnik was launched the last time. We succeeded before. We will do it again.Mitt Romney is governor of Massachusetts.
Mitt Romney For President? George Will Dec 16, 2004 |
http://www.pittsburghlive…l/s_283684.html
Here is a piece written by George Will back in December of 2004. It gives a little biographical information. I’d suggest you read it.
Comments |
As regular readers of this blog know, I have had serious problems with spam on this site. It’s gotten to the point where I have decided to by default close down comments. Today I have opened up comments on the top three blogs listed, and I will leave them that way for a week or so (unless they get spammed), and then I’ll go ahead and close them down to comments again. I know that this curtails some banter. I had to decide for the sake of the blog, and it’s seriousness whether to just let the spam continue, or to cut it off at the knees. I decided on the latter. I have contemplated getting another software, but unless one of you have a remarkable solution that guarantees my google, yahoo, and msn rankings (that are all currently on the first page for just about every “Romney” search term) I am stuck with it. Anyway, didn’t mean to turn this into a novel. I just wanted to make those aware who have emailed me about it why the comments function was turned off.
Romney Rolls the DiceApril 9th, 2006 | 1 Comment | Posted in Analysis, Commentary, and Editorials, Health Care, News Articles
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http://www.spectator.org/…asp?art_id=9648
This American Spectator article about the Romney Health Care plan sees the plan as innovative, and with so many Democrats jumping on board it shows that Mr. Romney can work with the other side. Remember those days in the 80’s when another President also starting with the letter R did that?
