comMITTed to Romney!

This article says it all about Senator Clinton.

Either you get it, or you don’t:

DECLARATIONS — By PEGGY NOONAN — Getting Mrs. Clinton — March 28, 2008

My favorite quote from this great article:

What struck me as the best commentary on the Bosnia story came from a poster called GI Joe who wrote in to a news blog: “Actually Mrs. Clinton was too modest. I was there and saw it all. When Mrs. Clinton got off the plane the tarmac came under mortar and machine gun fire. I was blown off my tank and exposed to enemy fire. Mrs. Clinton without regard to her own safety dragged me to safety, jumped on the tank and opened fire, killing 50 of the enemy.” Soon a suicide bomber appeared, but Mrs. Clinton stopped the guards from opening fire. “She talked to the man in his own language and got him [to] surrender. She found that he had suffered terribly as a result of policies of George Bush. She defused the bomb vest herself.” Then she turned to his wounds. “She stopped my bleeding and saved my life. Chelsea donated the blood.”

~ Vic

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If you wish to read these two outstanding articles, you will need to click on “Continue Reading” at the bottom of this post.

These are two of the best secular articles I have read in many weeks. I am forwarding them to all my liberal friends asking them for their sincere editorials. The read here is rather long, but well worth every second!

There are two articles. The first one is from The Wall Street Journal; the second is the original article in The Village Voice to which the Journal article refers. Both have the URL listed there if you wish to cut/paste into a browser to see the online versions. (Editorial Insert: I have made it so those links are now clickable - No copy and paste required - Ann Marie)

~ Vic

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…but This Story, is a good one. I’m not saying I’d vote for him, or believe in a majority of his politics but it was good for the party to have him around. Check it out.

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Ya gotta love The LA Times, they seem to have some of the best stuff of late on Romney…

Josh Romney, one of former Gov. Mitt Romney’s five sons, says it’s “possible” his father may rejoin the race for the White House, either as a vice presidential candidate or seek to become the Republican Party’s standard bearer if the campaign of Sen. John McCain falters.

The 60-year-old Romney, who “suspended” his campaign for the GOP nomination after a disappointing showing on Super Tuesday and a week later endorsed McCain, was taking a break from politics this weekend on a skiing vacation in Utah with his wife Ann, according to his 32-year-old son.

The elder Romney, who was unable to assemble sufficient conservative support to thwart McCain, has made no public comment since the McCain camp was rocked….

Further into the article:

After a full year of campaigning for his father around the country, Josh Romney, who is the only Romney clan member to reside in Utah, is reported to be considering a race for the House of Representatives as a Republican representing Utah’s 2nd Congressional District, a seat currently held by Democrat Jim Matheson.

In an interview with the Deseret Morning News to be published in Monday’s editions, the younger Romney admits he is considering the House race. “I’m pretty young,” he says, “but I’ve had good experience on the campaign trail.” He campaigned for his father all year and investing the summer visiting all 99 of Iowa’s counties.

Josh Romney said he was gauging the impact of a political life on his career as a real estate developer and on his young family, his wife Jen and their three children, Gracie, who is 5, Wyatt, who’s 3, and Owen, who’s one.

He was asked about speculation that given the McCain troubles his father might re-enter the Republican race either as a candidate for the top spot or as the party nominee’s vice presidential partner and Romney replies it’s “possible.” Then, he adds, “unlikely, but possible.”

It was the first sign from the Romney camp or family that the former Massachusetts governor’s political plans for 2008 were anything but over.

Such a move could provide a possible rallying point for conservatives, who awaited a perfect conservative candidate and held back from supporting Romney all during 2007 while the campaigns of other conservatives including Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback and Fred Thompson collapsed.

By the time they began drifting toward Romney, McCain, whose campaign also collapsed earlier in 2007, had assembled a string of wins in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida and went on to win California and build a seemingly insurmountable delegate lead.

A Ticket item here Sunday noted Romney’s graceful exit from the Republican race, which was characterized by the unusual absence of a follow-up plea for donations to retire campaign debt. The Romney campaign cost $98 million, $42.3 million of it contributed by the candidate himself.

But don’t look for Josh Romney to lend his name to the McCain campaign. “It’s one thing to campaign for my dad, someone whose principles I line up with almost entirely,” he told Lisa Riley Roche. “I can’t say the same thing for Sen. McCain.”

As of early Monday morning the Romney campaign website remain shuttered, displaying only a photo of the smiling Romney couple and a thank you message extolling the greatness of America.

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No matter what Governor Romney chooses to do with the rest of his life. Should he run for President again, or do something completely different and go back into the private sector. America is a better place for having known him.

From A surprising aftermath to Mitt Romney’s campaign

Rich candidates like, say, Mitt Romney can be willing to put a large chunk of their own dough into the effort — and not charge interest. As we recently reported here, the former Massachusetts governor and his wife of 38 years, Ann, decided together to pour $42.3 million of their own money into his ultimately unsuccessful $98-million effort.

Except for being shot at, nothing focuses your mind quicker than reaching for your own wallet.

Later Down the Article:

Another option is simply to quit and close up shop yourself out of the spotlight. When Romney did disappointingly on Super Tuesday, he met with his staff the next day like a businessman. He read the delegate and expense numbers, confirmed how unlikely it was to catch McCain in delegates and, surprisingly quickly, pulled the plug during a thoughtful speech to the Conservative Political Action Committee 48 hours later that left little doubt he’d be back in GOP politics.

A week after that, again surprisingly quickly during such a healing period, Romney heartily endorsed McCain and, literally, stepped aside on that stage and off.

Now, instead of a public plea for more money to cover the massive debts of his yearlong failed effort, here’s what you get at the Romney campaign’s shuttered website.

You can’t get much better than that, class.

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The following comment came from the “Live Chat 24/7″ section, and I felt it was worthy of a blog post. Please read it, and comment in the comments section. Have a blessed Sunday all. Mine’s not starting out too well, I’m not feeling well and my oldest child has a high fever and is feeling bad too. Keep some happy thoughts, won’t you? Thanks. Now onto the comment:

Ann, you need to start a blog about how to change this horrific primary system. I’ll throw out some thoughts, but there are plenty of smart people on these blogs that can improve my thoughts significantly.

1) The order of the primary states in re-chosen every 4 years by random lottery one year in advance of the actual election. This will keep anomalous states from an inordinate influence of nominees. It will also prevent primary leapfrogging and compression.

2) The primaries go two weeks apart in waves of 5 states every two weeks. This might mitigate the “momentum” factor.

3) No “open” primaries. Your party gets to decide your parties’ candidate. Republicans can only vote in the republican primary, independents in the independent primary only, and democrats the same, green the same, etc. That will prohibit the other parties from gaming the system with crossover voting. If your party does not have a legitimate candidate, then maybe you need to think very hard about why that is.

4) Party voter registration is finalized 3 months in advance. No voting day registration nonsense to also game the system.

5) Delegates are divided up by the same formula in each state. Something like the Founding Fathers’ legislative concepts of a Senate and a House or Representatives. So maybe 50% (or so) of each states delegates are “winner take all,” and the remainder are strictly proportional to the actual vote.

6) Caucusing is out. This is voting by the people. Working people voting at polls, without the caucus day shenanigans (think WV).

Thoughts? Something has to be done, because what we currently have is….”broken.”

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I had a heated discussion with a friend the other day about this subject. I’m not going to give my opinion, nor his because I believe it would cloud the discussion. I’d like for you to give your reasons as to why you think Romney lost. They can be short, they can be long, but just tell us what you think.

We look forward to your responses.

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I know that I have endorsed Senator McCain for President, so none of the “you’ve made your bed, so now you have to lie in it” sentiments here after you read what I write.

Today, I just feel so bummed. I remember long ago when I wore number 12 on my back and I played recreation basketball. I loved it, and really got a lot out of it. Well one day one of my teammates got angry and wanted to take it out on me, so when I wasn’t expecting it she threw the ball straight at my stomach and I had the wind knocked out of me. I can remember to this day the pain of that moment. I was in a heap of pain, and boy did I ever bawl my eyes out. Well, I’m not quite bawling my eyes out here, but that lingering feeling that I felt even later that evening after the incident resonates with me still in terms of this race for President.

I’ve endorsed the man whom my man has endorsed, I feel that I did the right thing there. But I also feel such a void. I spent almost every day of the past 31 months waking up to check my mail, do the rounds looking for stories, and recruiting others to the marvelous cause of getting Governor Romney elected. I donated money for the first time ever in my life to a campaign. I traveled to and braved the bitter cold that day in Michigan for his announcement with Jason Bonham. I went to America’s Calling in Boston. I was present for his Faith in America speech in College Station TX, and I was there for his final campaign rally in Long Beach CA. I did phone banks, and I revved up the troops when I needed to.

Yes, I am on to new and exciting adventures, ones that I am absolutely happy and thrilled to be a part of. But, I have to say that this experience, this man (Mitt Romney) will leave a indelible mark on me for the rest of my life. This will go down in family history, and my children will pass it on to their children, and so on. They’ll talk about when Mommy or Grandma gave it her all for Governor Romney, I know the end of this story is yet to be written but this is how I feel about it all right now. I hope it wasn’t too sappy.

Thank you to all of you who also gave it their all, we’ll be ready to go when Gov. Romney gives us the go when and if we start this all over again!

Ann Marie

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There has been lots of discussion about where die-hard Mitt supporters should go now that he has suspended his campaign. Here is my humble contribution to that conversation.

As I see it, the answer is to support…nobody for the primaries. Let McCain and Huck battle it out. Huck will get some more delegates. McCain will either clinch or be just short, and Huck will force himself onto the ticket. We wll have a McCain/Huck ticket which will go down in flames (not saying I want this or think this is a good thing…I just think this is how it’s going to play out). Mitt can stay above the fray and become the leading Conservative candidate for 2012.

If you could guarrantee me a Republican Congress (or at least one of the chambers), I wouldn’t feel bad at all about McCain/Huck losing. Problem is that a Republican Congress seems unlikely or at least tough to project at this point, so what we do in November is a more complicated question, which I haven’t figured out yet for myself.

The plan for the primaries is easy, however. Continue to vote for Mitt (or none of the above if you can’t vote for Mitt)! Let McCain and Huck win/lose on their own merits!

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Please Respond in the Comments Section:

Ok folks, we need to get some strategy going here. I have an idea, hear me out and then support or shoot full of holes.
I propose that we (Mitt supporters) vote for Huckabee in all of the elections until he is even with McCain in delegates then start switching back an forth working one side higher, then the other. By the time we get all the way through the primaries, they will both be about even at about 150 delegates short of what they need.
Then at the convention, enters Mitt with his 300 delegates (I suspect he’ll still win Idaho before we get this off the ground). This will place him in a position of strength to via for the VP spot. I suspect that McCain (who’s constituency in Arizona is about 20-25% Mormon, and MUCH less biased then Huckabee) will offer Mitt VP to get those 300 delegates.
The next few primaries might have a chance to get a few more delegates for Mitt, but once the polls are not showing Mitt, we’ll need to go with this strategy I am proposing. We watch polls (McCain/Huckabee) just before a election and vote accordingly. Early on, will be easy, in order to catch Huckabee up with McCain, we all vote Huckabee. We need to email everyone we know in the primary state and explain what we are doing.
Once Huckabee is caught up, we’ll need to be careful and be well organized at that time to pull this through.
I want to show the liberal Media, that they screwed with the wrong people, American citizens. That WE are the ones that are empowered here, NOT them.
At the convention, Mitt will get to make the last move. He can either go with us on this or he can simply give delegates to whom he may. There will be other factors for Mitt to consider. It’s is possible that he will not want to be associated with any administration that in turn could taint his name for a bid 4 years later. Perhaps he, as their VP can help get the presidential candidate elected over the democrat nominee. There many be many other factors way beyond our comprehension. But the choice will be Mitt’s to evaluate and make.
We’ll need a central point to gather/focus around, say this website. Round up volunteers to start emailing folks in all up coming primaries.
Folks, could this work? Is an effort like this even legal? Lawyers advise? Will Mitt have sufficient power with his 300 delegates to make this matter? Add your thoughts? Shoot it down?
Until we get organized, everyone Vote Mitt!

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I love this piece from David Corn. I’m sorry some may want to “close ranks” and support McCain, but I will not. It just does not matter to me that much. I will likely sit this one out completely. The more I thought about it, I just could not support Obama or Hillary. So, I’ll just stay home this election cycle and vote my conscience by abstaining this go round, and hope for an opportunity for Governor Romney in 2012.

From Why Romney Might Not Be Rooting for McCain

I’m Ronald Reagan, and John McCain’s not.

That was Mitt Romney’s not-so-implicit message, as he announced the suspension of his presidential campaign on Thursday before the audience at the Conservative Political Action Conference. In a fiery speech, Romney hammered the point that he’s a rock-hard conservative when it comes to all three legs of the great stool of the GOP: social issues, economic issues, and national security issues. At least now he is. He decried “government welfare” as a “threat to our culture.” He essentially called Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama surrender-monkeys in the fight against radical jiihadism. He denounced regulations that choke businesses and called for lower taxes. The crowd lapped it up.

Romney knew that in a few hours McCain would appear before the same audience and try to appease those conservative activists who consider McCain an ideological turncoat. (How dare he care about global warming!) Though Romney was departing the race, he seized the moment to present himself as the real thing. Perhaps McCain will eventually be able to reach a detente with some of the conservatives who despise him (even if Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, and James Dobson don’t sign any peace treaty). Regardless of that, Romney was attempting to position himself as the true leader of the movement.

Which caused me to wonder: maybe Romney doesn’t want McCain, the presumed Republican nominee, to win in November.

Look at Reagan In 1976, he challenged President Gerald Ford in the Republican contest and argued that Ford was not sufficiently conservative (mainly on foreign policy matters). It was a close race. By the time of the Republican convention, it was not clear who would be the nominee. Ford edged out Reagan–due to some last-minute strategic missteps committed by the Reagan campaign–and went on to lose the election to Jimmy Carter. Reagan emerged as the conservative champion in the party. Four years later, he roared back, won the nomination, and gained the presidency.

Whether or not McCain loses in November, Romney will remain the heartthrob of many conservative activists. But should McCain fail, Romney could become the de facto opposition leader–that is, if he’s not chosen to be McCain’s running-mate. And Romney would be able to use those millions of dollars he didn’t spend on this campaign to bolster the conservative movement’s infrastructure and further endear himself to the rightwing establishment. (Mike Huckabee might develop a Christian right following that sticks with him after the campaign, but his stool will be lopsided.) Romney would be well-positioned for the next campaign.

Republican losers often come back and succeed. Not only did Reagan do it, so did the first George Bush (who lost to Reagan in the 1980 Republican race) and Richard Nixon.

If McCain does end up as president, it will make life messy for conservatives. They will support him on some fronts and (if Democrats are lucky) detest him on others. There likely won’t be ideological clarity. And Romney, like others, will have to navigate those shoals. But given McCain’s age, that period might last no longer than one term. If Clinton or Obama triumph, Romney will be able to lead the rightwing charge against the culture-destroyer and surrender-chicken in the White House. Won’t that be a lot of fun for him?

So Romney may not have to wait so long to have another shot. In 2012, he’ll be 65 years old. Reagan was 69 when he reached the White House.

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I thought this was so good, it deserved a much greater audience here at Elect Romney in 2008…!

photo credit - Robert Bluey
Who am I now, if I’m not the girl touting Mitt Romney for President of the United States?
by Donna Lovely
Women for Romney.

Long before the news broke, and by shear accident, I stumbled upon a tip by Byron York over at The Corner. He was reporting from CPAC this morning that rumor had it Mitt Romney was suspending his campaign for President. I reread the post three times, and with hands shaking, immediately shared the news via email with another ardent supporter of Mitts, Vic Lundquist, over at ElectRomney2008. Thankfully, Vic must have been in his office to receive my email and sent a quick response back stating that he hoped it wasn’t true, and thanked me. I’m sure I rocked his world, but Vic’s a pretty level headed guy, and I’m sure he’s heard rumors before. This rumor, however, by Byron York, had an air of credibility to it for some reason. Perhaps because the reason given for Mitt’s resignation was one of selflessness, and that rung true of the man I have come to know, admire and support …. He was doing it for the good of the country, the party, and the war.

I quickly settled down to watch the coverage of CPAC where they cut in late on Laura Ingrahams introduction of Mitt. She looked pale. She appeared shaken, but like the strong lady that she is, she got on with it. As always, Laura spoke with conviction laced with humor, got some great jabs in at McCain by way of her “just calm down” references, and proudly introduced Mitt Romney as the “Conservatives Conservative.”

One wouldn’t have guessed that Mitt had made a life changing decision by his approach to the podium, or the greeting he gave to his faithful supporters. As always, he was cheerful, strong in voice, and warm in facial expression. And then, once again, Mitt Romney delivered a speech that was clear and concise of message, optimistic and visionary in presentation, factual and moving in understanding the challenges of our time. By itself, it was a fantastic speech. The crowd was applauding enthusiastically. I kept waiting for the lead in, where one sentence would lead into the beginning of the announcement of his decision to end his bid for the White House…..and then, like a freight train in the dead of a cold winter’s night, I could hear it coming. If my ears hadn’t been waiting for it, I wouldn’t have recognized it for what it was. But it was there. He was transitioning from what he envisioned, to what was reality, and in an instant he spoke the words I was dreading.

Mitt Romney, Governor, businessman, father, husband, son, leader, man of extraordinary faith & a hero to me, resigned today from his long, hard fought battle for the Presidency of the United States. I’ve been following and working at the grass roots level since Mitt’s announcement to run, and so of course, I cried. My hope & dreams that he was the one man that could bring this country back from the brink…. culturally, economically, and militarily, would be no more. My heart broke for Ann; they gave so very much of themselves to this campaign. As a resident of Iowa, I personally witnessed the amount of time, work, energy and dedication that this family gave to get his campaign off the ground. He came so close, and to my great bewilderment and frustration, the country seemed to be realizing, too little too late, that Mitt Romney would have brought us one step closer to greatness, if only he had been given the chance, been viewed with a more open mind, listened to with less bias, and embraced with a purer heart. And now, it’s too late.

I’m sure I will cry again between now and the election; in frustration, aggravation, and definite sadness for what might have been if we had been smart enough as a nation to not let slip through our fingers the opportunity to have given this wonderful man, Mitt Romney, the chance to lead the greatest nation on earth. In the meantime, like many of the Romney faithful, I will have to ask myself again and again…..”Who am I, if I am not the girl touting Mitt Romney for President?” His reasoning for suspending his campaign gives me pause to realize I will need to reassess my commitment to the party, and more importantly, our conservative cause, and that while it may not be with Mitt as President, the stakes are just too high to sit this one out (as I had recently vowed if Mitt Romney was not elected as the GOP nominee.)

And so it is, that in one final ironic twist of fate, and overpowering the shadow of cynicism and criticalness that was raised about Governor Romney’s service to this country, Mitt Romney DID indeed ultimately make a truly unselfish sacrifice on behalf of this country, the war, and the military for whom he holds in such high regard. It was just his destiny to do it in a different sort of way. Watch his wonderful speech in it’s entirety, and you will begin to understand this too.

Like so many other Romney supporters, it has taken me all day to process the events of Governor Romney’s announcement. I would be remiss to not make a final post, and although it’s somewhat windy, like everything that I have ever done on Governor Romney’s behalf, it is done so with a heartfelt passion that few have ever inspired in me………..for that reason, among many, I will miss his presence and his candidacy. He will, however, forever be an inspiration and driving force in me to speak up, say and do what I believe and know is right.

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Everyone,

I know that you are probably expecting me to say something in regards to all the developments of the past couple of days…

I just got back to Kentucky after a week-long trip to California to help Romney. I got in very late, and I spent the entire day on a field trip with my son (remember the most important thing is the family as Governor Romney has said time and time again). I got word that Gov. Romney had dropped out through my “blackberry-like” cell phone on the way home from the field trip. I am currently in the middle of listening to the C-PAC speech given by Romney earlier today. I really can’t tell you my entire feelings yet, until I process through everything. Please understand that I won’t let you down though, I’m still here.

Just hold tight, and I’ll analyze this later tonight or early tomorrow

Ann Marie

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History looks a lot different when you are in the middle of it. For instance, I had always smiled at the outcome of the “Corrupt Bargain” of 1824, when Andrew Jackson lost the presidency because Henry Clay threw his support to John Quincy Adams. However, the corrupt bargain of 2008 and the collusion of Mike Huckabee and John McCain causes no feelings of mirth, the irony notwithstanding. Perhaps it would be different if today’s John had even a portion of the intelligence, experience, and integrity of the nation’s sixth president.

But the rise of John McCain to the top of the primary heap has caused me to ponder another historical question: What would happen with two candidates running for president who are both widely hated, especially within their own party?

It has long been assumed, though it is by no means certain, that Hillary Clinton would be the Democrat nominee for President. This in spite of the fact that her negative poll numbers are consistently around 50%. Almost no one in the country has neutral feelings about Mrs. Clinton. In my own, anecdotal experience, I have heard several outraged Demcrats declare that they would rather vote Republican than vote for another Clinton.

John McCain is also a polarizing figure. While he has been guilty of the occasional conservative vote, he has consistently sided with Democrats to thwart the will of his party. His stance “in favor” of the war in Iraq is undercut by his proposed method of carrying out this and future conflicts faced by the United States. Many Republicans, both in and out of the public sphere, have voiced their abhorrence of McCain and stated that they would rather vote Democrat than vote for McCain.

So where does that leave us? The primary process, at least in my opinion, is meant to help us weed out those candidates whom we abhor and find the best fit for our vision of good government. The fact that it seems likely to produce two candidates who are so widely despised by both the nation at large and the parties nominating them is further proof that the political system of our nation is indeed broken.

This is where I ought to unroll my brilliant plan for how to “fix” the system. I would love to suggest that a vote for Mitt Romney would cure all political ills. But I am not that ignorant or narrow-minded. Like I said, being in the middle of history is funny, much more complicated than looking back on it from a book.

Throughout the centuries the political parties of this nation have shifted ideologies and come and gone. The method by which candidates campaign and win elections has undergone numerous revisions. But these changes were not the product of a single election cycle, nor even two or three cycles. They were recognized after a span of years and as a result of underrecognized groups banding together to make their vote heard. They came about in response to the innovation of the American people coupled with advances in technology and communication.

This blog and hundreds like it are a link in the chain that will pull the political system in a new direction. Each vote for the candidate you love best, and not merely the one who seems the most “electable,” is a tug slowly and laboriously making the political system work to reflect the voice of the people. Change will take time. Ironically, in the era of newsflow and instant information, it could take longer to effect change than in the day of newpapers delivered on horseback. It is, however, worth the time and the effort.

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David Keene of the American Conservative Union (ACU) has a great article entitled “Double-Talk Jeopardy” discussing McCain’s dishonesty in the days leading up to the Floriday Primary. David has endorsed Mitt Romney. Read the whole thing, but here are a couple choice quotes below:

Most politicians who identify their interests with the national interest eventually conclude that whatever they have to do to advance those interests is justifiable; that in their case, the end almost always justifies the means. Such politicians can be dangerous and John McCain is just such a politician. In McCain’s world everything is personal: to disagree with him marks one not just as wrong, but as almost definitionally evil.

Stories of McCain’s intolerance abound in Washington. He’s attacked his fellow senators personally when they have had the temerity to actually disagree with him. Indeed, one Republican senator told me several years ago that he was confronted by an enraged McCain after voting against a minor amendment in committee and dressed down in “language that would be inappropriate in a barroom, let alone in the Senate.”

It is these qualities that concern many who know McCain best. Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran (R) is universally liked and admired by his colleagues. He’s known McCain for decades, and while he’s no camera hog, his colleagues listen when he speaks. In endorsing Romney over McCain in what many now view as a two-man race, Cochran said of McCain, “The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine.”

Help Mitt Romney win the nomination. Make a donation today and ask your family and friends to turn out for Mitt on Super Tuesday!

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