comMITTed to Romney!

Polls this far out are more important for their entertainment value than for anything else, but they do offer a very general guide for “taking the Party’s temperature.”

On two unrelated notes, did you see where Louisiana has graced the Republican Party with two seats this year? Rep. Jefferson, the scandal-tainted Democrat who evidently foresaw the banking crisis by a couple of years and providentially deposited $100,000 in cold, hard cash in the freezer compartment of his refrigerator, was unceremoniously turned out of office. We have got a long way to go, but we are moving in the right direction.

On the second note, we went out to dinner last night at a new Mexican restaurant in a St. Louis suburb and except for a couple we saw dining in another area, the four of us were the only customers during what should have been the dinner rush. Because it was so slow, we had a chance to visit with our waiter and the manager of the restaurant, both from Mexico.

The waiter didn’t speak much English and he was talking to my brother and a friend of his, while I got into a conversation with the manager about, what else, politics.

He was against the war in Iraq, citing a documentary he saw about the war which showed the wounds that our service personnel are enduring and I saw the pain in his eyes as he recalled the footage. I told him we all wish the war was over and that the killing and casualties would stop.

But I told him that there are worse things than war. I asked him to keep in mind that Islamofascists flew two airliners into the Trade Towers in lower Manhattan and killed almost 3,000 innocent people whose only offense were that they were Americans. If we didn’t respond to that, the terrorists would have taken it as a sign of weakness and would have kept coming at us here, where we live. Instead of rolling over for them, we took the fight to their neighborhood, brought democracy to 50,000,000 people and secured the world’s oil supply. All in all, not bad.

We talked about the economy, the moral decline in America, his background of moving to Mexico from Spain and then from Mexico to California. He is a hard working guy, ( I could tell from his handshake that he has done a great deal of manual labor ) loves his family and is very worried about the direction that his adopted country is moving in. At the end of the conversation, I could tell that he is about a quarter of an inch away from becoming a Republican voter. His values are the same as the members of this site and I will encourage the RNC to reach out to these voters, not by promising the illegals something they haven’t earned, but by asking them to join a conservative party that will promise to enforce the law and help to restore, first to the Party and then to the country, the principles that made us the greatest civilization on earth.

~~John Cronin~~

http://news.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view/2008_12_05_Poll_finds_Romney_in_good_shape_for_White_House_run/

By Dave Wedge

Former Bay State Gov. Mitt Romney’s bruising battle with Sen. John McCain has apparently left him in a good position should he decide to make another White House run in 2012.

According to a CNN poll released today, Romney is running third among possible Republican presidential candidates, slightly trailing Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Of the 460 Republicans polled, 67 percent said they would be “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to vote for Palin, followed by Huckabee with 65 percent and Romney with 61.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani ranked fourth with 57 percent, former House Speaker Newt

Gingrich with 52, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal with 44 and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist with 32.
Huckabee, who’s now hosting a Fox News show and recently put out a book, ranked first among those who said they’d be “very likely” to vote for him with 34 percent. Palin was second with 32 percent followed by Romney with 28.

Crist had the most opposition with 20 percent saying they were “not likely at all” to vote for him. Gingrich followed with 19 percent while just 13 percent said it was unlikely they’d vote for Romney.

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Sam Brownback, the electrifying stump speaker from Kansas, oversees McCain’s outreach to Catholics? Who’s in charge of overseeing Brownback? If this is the best McCain can do, the only thing that will save us in November is that Obama’s leftist tax and spend policies and affection for tyrants will scare the electorate into McCain’s waiting embrace!

~~John Cronin~~

http://primebuzz.kcstar.com/?q=node/12018

Among the ribs and veepstakes crowd at John McCain’s Arizona ranch for his Memorial Day barbecue was Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback.

His name has not surfaced as a possibility for the second spot on the GOP ticket with McCain. But Brownback helps oversee the presumptive nominee’s outreach to Catholics.

Attendees who could be in the vice presidential mix were Republican Govs. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana (Prime Buzz does not see how this pick helps McCain), Charlie Crist of Florida (Need we say more?) and former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts (Social conservatives like him, but McCain? Not so much.)

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The American Spectator is the first source to report on the first of McCain’s VP vetting get togethers that I am aware of. If it turns out that Mitt Romney didn’t get the nod, I have to honestly say that I am relieved.

~~John Cronin~~

http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=13271

By: The Prowler

THREE’S COMPANY

Despite the hype around the Memorial Weekend gathering in Sedona at Sen. John McCain’s ranch, only Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is being given serious consideration for the vice presidential nomination, say McCain insiders with knowledge of the ongoing vetting process. And even that serious consideration can only go so far.

“Jindal is the only one, but there seems to be general agreement that we need him to be the best governor he can be and a leader of the Republican Party more,” says one McCain campaign adviser. “McCain has gotten a good look at [Mitt] Romney as a competitor and as someone who is running in support of his candidacy, and frankly he can’t tell the difference. It’s been a very educational process. Let’s just leave it at that.”

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is not considered a serious candidate, for much the same reason as Jindal.

“People shouldn’t forget that great policy ideas that are the strength of the Republican Party rose from the state level back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, guys like [then Michigan Gov. John] Engler and [then Wisconsin Gov. Tommy] Thompson. Guys like Jindal and Crist, and women like [Sarah] Palin in Alaska, we need them to be the next great party leaders long after McCain is gone,” says an RNC political consultant.

McCain intends to hold at least two more “Sedona Getaways” with potential McCain Administration candidates before the GOP convention at the end of August.

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Even after the guy drops out, the MSM still working overtime to keep him down. McClatchy spells out their list, six deep, and Mitt is nowhere to be seen. Here’s their list:

…here’s a set of names, with the pros and cons of each person most often mentioned by Republicans:

HALEY BARBOUR, 60, governor of Mississippi

Pro: Popular former national party chairman helped Republicans win Congress in 1994 and got very good reviews for his leadership when Hurricane Katrina struck his state in 2005.

Con: A long record as a Washington lobbyist that could clash with McCain’s reform message.

CHARLIE CRIST, 51, governor of Florida

Pro: He’s a popular governor whose endorsement helped McCain win the critical Florida primary. As running mate, he’d probably help put this big swing state solidly in the Republican column.

Con: His refusal to back an anti-gay marriage initiative and appointment of Democrats to head state agencies tar him as suspect to the party base.

MIKE HUCKABEE, 52, former governor of Arkansas

Pro: He’s shown his ability to win in the South and has support among evangelical Christians. A solid social conservative.

Con: He raised taxes as governor and supported equal benefits for the Arkansas children of illegal immigrants. Picking him might not excite conservatives.

KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, 64, senator from Texas

Pro: Offers a gender balance to the ticket and wins handily in her mega-state.

Con: Support for financing embryonic stem-cell research worries social conservatives. Also, she’s probably more interested in running for governor.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, 53, secretary of state

Pro: First black woman on the ticket provides racial and gender balance against a Democratic ticket sure to have either a black or a woman.

Con: Nobody knows what she thinks about hot-button issues from abortion to taxes. Also, her record on Iraq and other security issues could provide a running debate with her own running mate, who criticized many of those stands.

MARK SANFORD, 47, governor of South Carolina

Pro: Young, vibrant conservative with a record of fighting spending while in the House, a McCain theme.

Con: Wouldn’t add a state to the McCain column. McCain should carry South Carolina without him.

Now, I’m completely undecided as to whether a Veep spot is really good for Mitt anyway, but I have a hard time believing that Mitt is not even on the top 6 list above some of these other people.

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I don’t ever recall seeing the comments section of this blog so active. Thanks to all for your interest in ALL THINGS ROMNEY and for your energy.

I wanted to touch on some of the points and comments that I see as being, in my mind, most prominent in the discussions.

One of the points that I see actively talked about is the new “write-in” strategy. I am not willing to concede anything to McCain or to Huckabee, but if it becomes necessary to adopt this strategy, several good things will happen.

1. None of us will get into the regrettable habit of voting for Democrats. You are familiar with the old saying: “Friends don’t let friends vote for Democrats.”

2. We will punish the Republican hierarchy for pushing a fairly liberal Democrat, er, I mean Republican as the party’s nominee. I don’t want to punish the party’s rank and file, just RINO”S like Crist, Schwarzzenneger and Mel Martinez. Psychologists tell us that rewarding bad behavior encourages more bad behavior. How embarrassing would it be for the RINO leadership to have pushed McCain’s candidacy so brazenly, only to have real Republicans write-in Romney’s name en masse?

3. Unlike voting for, you’ll pardon the expression, a Democrat, (any Democrat) a write-in will show up distinctly in the voting tallies, rather than being buried, to a certain extent, in the general election vote totals. I know, exit polling would measure it pretty well, but a write-in strategy would paint a clearer picture.

4. It will send a message to the party establishment that they can’t win without us, no matter how they may hold us in distain.

5. It will settle the religious bias controversy for everyone except the “invincibly ignorant” that if they insist on using this as a strategy, we will use our 35% voting bloc to over ride their 25% voting bloc.

6. It is light years more effective than “sitting the election out.” I am firmly convinced that the Democrats would like nothing better than for us pesky Reagan coalition voters to stay home and forfeit the game. Politically speaking, the general election is the SUPER BOWL. Nobody forfeits that contest. It’s what you work for all season long.

We have also talked a lot about the need to rebuild the Republican party. The current leadership needs to go. I love that old saying: “Politicians are a lot like a baby’s diaper. They need to be changed often and for the same reason.” One of our commenters talked about getting involved in a local election, I believe in a judge’s election. That’s what I’m talking about! She will get to be known within her local party’s membership and over time, access equals influence. Rather than hope the Old Guard will support Mitt in 2012 if it comes to that, why don’t we replace some of them now with Romney supporters? That way we will control the party apparatus.

Reagan built his coalition by working the grassroots for four years. Using the platform of his radio broadcast, traveling all over the country giving speeches that reinforced conservative principles, meeting and convincing voters from all walks of life that conservatism is in the best interests of the country. That is something Mitt Romney has not had a chance to do. You can build up a boatload of political IOU’s that way.

We may yet end up in a brokered convention, but that’s not for sure. Something completely unforeseen could cause us to sweep the remaining states. Never underestimate a hot head like McCain. Who knows what he might say if he explodes. The stories coming out of the U.S. Senate about his profanity-laced tirades suggest that he could change the dynamics of this race at any moment.

And finally, keep in mind that we now have identified the strongest conservative in American politics, Gov. Mitt Romney. His name recognition is now off the charts, his grassroots organization is now battle hardened and experienced. His national campaign staff is the envy of the rest of the campaigns. His fund raising strategy can now develop over a four year period and he will have the necessary time to develop a national network of political support. If, and I do mean if, it turns out that 2008 is not our time, we are in great position to take over the party, barn storm the country and finalize the work of “BUILDING THE REAGAN COALTION, PHASE II.”

~~John Cronin~~

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…Shamnesty

Say hello to another soft-on- illegal immigration Republican joining the bandwagon for the Democrats’ favorite Republican. Crist supported the Teddy Kennedy/McCain/Mel Martinez shamnesty. Crist also supported driver’s licenses for illegal aliens.

Read it all

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