comMITTed to Romney!

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s name is coming up more often in recent weeks as a possible McCain VP candidate. Reportedly, WIZBANG.COM had somebody “drop a dime” about a McCain advance man being spotted recently in Juneau.

~~John Cronin~~

http://wizbangblog.com/content/2008/05/29/
alaska-gov-sarah-palin-to-meet-with-mccain-vp-search-team.php

A tipster sent us word that John McCain’s VP advance man Arthur Culvahouse has been spotted in Juneau, Alaska. There’s only one reason he would be there - to meet with Alaska Governor Sarah Palin about the Vice President position.

This comes on the heels of McCain’s Memorial Day weekend barbecue attended by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, former White House budget director Rob Portman, and Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman. Supposedly that was in informal affair, not a vetting session, but it appears that the VP selection game is very much afoot.

Governor Palin would (in my estimation) make an excellent VP candidate for McCain. Thomas Cheplick at The American Spectator makes the case that she’s probably the only VP candidate who can balance the ticket against Obama. She’s also a potential magnet for disaffected Hillary Clinton voters, many of whom are just looking for a reason not to vote for Obama

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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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From the AP:

Brownback and Giuliani Discuss Abortion

By LIBBY QUAID – 5 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Sam Brownback pronounced himself “much more comfortable” with Rudy Giuliani’s position on abortion after the one-time rivals for the Republican presidential nomination discussed the issue Thursday.

Amazing how cozy Sam has become to Rudy…especially considering this slam he made against Governor Romney:

“Mitt Romney is telling Iowans he is firmly pro-life,” the Brownback campaign’s phone message says, adding, “Nothing could be further from the truth.” The message also notes that Romney’s wife, Ann, “has contributed money to Planned Parenthood.” Romney spokesperson Tim Albrecht called the phone messages “despicable” and “negative,” adding that the campaign “should apologize to Ann Romney and Governor Romney for this personal attack” (Glover, AP/Hays Daily News, 7/24).

Rudy is an AVOWED PRO-CHOICE candidate, but Sam sure did get his kicks into Romney when he was running for President about his abortion stance that is without a doubt Pro-Life…

Pssst…tell Sam something, Mitt Romney’s going to be the nominee of the Republican Party…and then go on to be the next President of the United States.

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HT to Jason Bonham who gave me this via Instant Message!

From The Politico via The AP:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sam Brownback will drop out of the 2008 presidential campaign on Friday, people close to the Kansas senator said Thursday.

Brownback, a long-shot conservative contender, had trouble raising money to compete in the race. He is expected announce his withdrawal in Topeka, Kan.

He raised a little more than $800,000 in the third quarter of this year, his lowest quarterly amount since entering race. He has brought in more than $4 million overall and is eligible for $2 million in federal matching funds.

“I know Sen. Brownback enjoyed campaigning and meeting new people in talking about ideas for the future of America, but I think it came down to money,” said one person close to Brownback, who requested anonymity because the candidate had not yet announced his plans.

Brownback, who is in his second term, had said in his first Senate campaign he would serve no more than two terms in the Senate. He is widely expected to seek the Kansas governor’s office in 2010.

I for one wish him well in his race for Kansas Governor, and nothing but happiness now and in the future!

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“The ad” is done…let the debate begin.

Don’t forget…

This button is also found in the right side-bar.

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Scott Howard

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Rich Lowry, National Review Editor posted an article this morning that contains a very logical approach as to why Sam Brownback’s remaining an official presidential candidate is pointless. I love his final sentence: “Sam Brownback is a principled and sincere man. He can do lots of important work promoting the cause of protecting and honoring the dignity of all human lives — in the U.S. Senate.”

There is not enough room to post this great article in full here. However, I recommend you read the entire article. It is an outstanding, well argued piece. Here are a few of the exerpts:

The Sam Brownback for president campaign has reached the condition referred to by political scientists as “extreme pointlessness.” O.K., maybe political scientists don’t call it that, but pretty much any other observer would….. The Brownback campaign is essentially premised on pro-life purity. The Kansas senator himself would insist that it is based on his “whole life” views. I admire those views and think they are very important…… But it’s not any of the particularly whole-life issues — care for the elderly and disabled, Darfur, prison reform — that are driving his campaign…… Instead, it’s attacks on other candidates for not being pro-life enough, or more precisely for not being pro-life soon enough. I find this pointless. I don’t believe that Mitt Romney is ever going to go back to being pro-choice.

The logic of Brownback’s campaign suggests that he now must try to tear down Huckabee — because he needs to clear out Huckabee the pro-lifer before he can effectively tear down the other, higher-ranked pro-life candidates. On what basis he can go after Huckabee remains to be seen. It’s doubtful that he’s going to win the chronology contest with a guy who was a Baptist pastor before he entered politics in 1992. Maybe on grounds of viability? That’s a hard case to make after Ames.

All of this might end up hurting the pro-life cause. For people for whom the pro-life issue trumps all, the imperative has to be beating the pro-choice Rudy Giuliani. A fractured pro-life field probably helps Rudy, and at this point, Brownback can only help keep it fractured.

On the other hand, perhaps Brownback eating away at Huckabee’s vote keeps Huckabee from hurting the more-viable pro-life candidates. So there it is: In practical terms for pro-lifers, Brownback’s campaign is balanced somewhere between pointless and counter-productive.

Senator Brownback will eventually drop out of the presidential race before the caucuses and primaries and just speaking for myself only, I am indifferent as to when he chooses to make that decision — now or later. But Lowry makes several strong arguments that Senator Brownback should drop out of the race now because he is hurting the pro-life cause generally by staying in with his normal “tear-down-the-other-guys” strategy. I agree.

To all of the great supporters of Senator Brownback: It is my sincere invitation that, when you deem the timing appropriate, you come over to Mitt Romney’s camp and we will do everything we can to involve you in the cause that has the greatest chance of changing America for the good and we will welcome you as if you had been in our camp for years!

Thanks to reader “Rusty” for the tip to this article and request to post it.

~ Vic

More »

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Romney Wins 4516 31.5%
Mike Huckabee 2nd 18.1%
Sam Brownback 3rd 15%
Tom Tancredo 4th 13.7%

Giuliani ???
McCain 1%
Thompson 1.4%

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Well the big day of the Ames Straw Poll has finally arrived. This morning is the last chance to get all the pre-game stories out before the big news of the results are released at appox. 7 PM (Central). Below you will find all the recent news I could find as it relates to Romney.

1.
Romney, Brownback to both bring more than 100 buses to Ames -

Campaign aides for Mitt Romney and Sam Brownback have informed the Iowa GOP that they’ll each be bringing over 100 buses to the Ames Straw Poll Saturday. An Iowa Republican said that Romney was bringing about 125 onto the campus of Iowa State University and Brownback just over 100. Tommy Thompson is bringing the third most, about 75. All told, state party officials are planning on the arrival of 375 buses.

I think busing people in is going to be one of the biggest factors in getting votes and the above three candidates may do extremely well because of it. It just might the one factor that helps Thompson and Brownback get a leg up on their other second-tier competitors. But I’ve heard rumors that Brownback (perhaps Thompson too) has spent all in doing so. It’s do or die time for them.

………
2. Romney backers say Rudy trying to pick up Ames votes I didn’t need to read this article to guess that a stealth campaign was underway. Giuliani, having smelled defeat, backs out of the straw poll. But his name will still be on the ballot. If he can someway have a big surprise showing then he can further demonstrate his inevitability while not competing.

What’s more, Giuliani’s campaign has also been instructing phone bankers in at least one state to contact Iowa voters this week. In an email forwarded by a non-Romney source, Giuliani’s New Jersey field director thanks volunteers for their calls this past week. “Rudy has asked us to, again, continue making phone calls to Iowa next week,” writes Amanda Gasperino.

……….
3. All of this has to do with the expectations game. Managing Expectations at Ames - Expectations are similar to a golfer or a bowlers handicap. The handicap set for a player is based on your previous performances. Surpass your previous showings and you have victory. In essence, if Romney doesn’t live up to the lead he has in polls it will be considered a loss. On the other hand a solid win, in this case a blow out, will be a huge boon for Romney. (Note in the article linked above it says that the largest margin of victory was only 10%)

For example, Rudy Giuliani claimed this morning that Mitt Romney ought to be able to win at least by an 8:1 margin over his closest opponent - and that he ought to garner at least 24,000 votes doing so. Romney’s campaign responded:

A Romney adviser scoffs at the gambit, calling it “hysterical.”

“This is the funniest thing I’ve ever seen,” observes the Romney source, pointing out that 24,000 votes would be “nearly four times more voters than” then-Gov. Bush won at Ames in 1999.

Bush got 7,418 votes.

……….
4. Romney Bets Big on Ames Poll

It seems no detail is too small, or price too high, for Mr. Romney. His campaign plunked down $25,000 for a prime spot to pitch his tent at the polling center on the campus of Iowa State University, about $10,000 more than other campaigns paid. In his tent, supporters will feast on barbecue from Hickory Park, a well-known restaurant in Ames.

That is where Mr. Romney’s organization has impressed. Mr. Romney’s Sioux County campaign chairman, Orange City council member Mick Snieder, said he’s made about 2000 phone calls in his 29,000-population county, urging Republicans to support Mr. Romney. In the past month, he says he’s made about 500 calls specifically to recruit voters in the straw poll.

The result: About 100 Romney supporters from Sioux County are boarding two buses for a 3½-hour ride to Ames on Saturday. On the buses, they will be handed Romney
campaign T-shirts to wear during the polling.

The Romney campaign won’t say how much it is spending on Ames. The campaign is paying political consulting company Capital Resources Inc. about $200,000 to coordinate logistics for the event, said people with knowledge of the campaign. And bus company Windstar Lines in Carroll, Iowa, will act as a central dispatcher for the about 130 to 150 buses the campaign has reserved to ferry supporters to the poll. Organizers at other campaigns said buses cost $900 to $3,000, depending on whether they can be hired locally.

……….
5. Romney Family Rallies:

It feels like a family reunion here at the pre-straw poll rally for Mitt Romney. Oh wait, that’s because it is.

Some 96 members of the Romney clan have descended upon Iowa for Saturday’s Republican straw poll.

……….
6. Romney upbeat on eve of straw poll:

Romney was so confident that he joked about the prospect that the Iowa caucus will be earlier than the scheduled Jan. 14 because of other states moving up their contests. “Okay, what the heck, let’s have it in September,” he said. “We’re ready.”

Romney is going all-out to lure thousands of supporters to the straw poll in Ames, renting a fleet of air-conditioned buses, buying thousands of tickets and promising free barbecue and entertainment to supporters who make the trip.

Romney’s real opponent on Saturday is an elusive one: expectations.

To do well, Romney’s margin of victory must at least match his showing in the polls, or about 27 percent, said Dennis J. Goldford, a political scientist at Drake University.

……….
7. County chair survey shows Romney on top - This one is not related directly to the poll, rather it’s about Iowa in general. The gist: 42 Republican county chairs respond to a survey. Of those 16 say they are dedicated to a certain candidate. Of those 16, eight of them are dedicated to Romney in particular “often citing his experience, his qualifications and his effort in Iowa.”

……….
8. AMES — Inside Romney’s Push This one I already covered a few days ago, but here it is again.

Mitt Romney’s campaign is calling his Ames straw poll effort “Take The Lead,” and some of the mail that is showing up in Iowa these days suggests that the campaign is sparing no expense and really, really, wants to win this thing by a large margin.

A mailer sent to us by an Iowan this week shows that the campaign has even figured out a way to reward and incentivize supervolunteers. There are three categories.

“Bring 5: — Iowans who sign up and bring five friends, relatives, neighbors.

“Bus Captains” — Iowans who agree to recruit riders to hop on the buses that will appear on Saturday morning in every Iowa county.

“Sign up Iowa” — Iowans who agree to knock on 50 doors or make 100 telephone calls.

Meet these goals, and you’ll be placed on Romney’s “Wall of Fame”.

A picture of the mailer mentioned above can be viewed here.

……….
9. This one really gets my goat: Should a Ron Paul Supporter take Mitt’s Free Expenses to Ames?:

Mitt Romney plans to bribe Iowans to vote for him in the key Ames Straw Poll (flier below). He’ll pay all the expenses for an Iowan, feed them and transport them to and from the event in an effort to buy
their vote.

Some say if Mitt is willing to bus Iowan’s to Ames for the Straw Poll…they should take him up on his offer!

Some say Mitt Romney could pay for your $35 straw poll fee, transport you to and from the event, and buy you ‘Iowa’s Best B-B-Q.’

Some say that then, after carefully weighing their options…..they may decide to vote Ron Paul at the Ames Straw Poll!

If interested, you could call Mitt for the free package at 866.505.2008 (details on flier below).

It can’t help but have the feeling that they are stealing money from me - that my donations (and my time) are going toward a band of misfits to feign support for Romney to get to the poll then turn and back-stab him. I guess Ron Paul’s supporters are part of a rEVOLution, and they’ve decided the ends justifies the means. I personally find it completely dishonest and would buy my own ticket and transport rather than take it from a competitor. If it wins him substantial support for the poll all it will do it further delay his eventual demise. I find it ironic that Ron Paul’s supporters are also already questioning the validity of the results and are preemptively threating legal action. All we need is another “hanging chad” saga.

……….
10. Ames Predictions Predictions, and nothing but. Interesting to see what folks are thinking. Do you have any predictions? Leave them in the comments below.

Check back here about 7-ish (Central) for the final tally, or perhaps throughout the day for updates.

ADDITIONAL INFO:
PDF for the Official Schedule (plus more info)

PDF of the layout of the Straw Poll grounds That’s prime local for Romney.

and from the media advisory:

12:30 p.m.
Republican presidential candidates begin speaking. Each candidate will have 15 minutes on stage with approximately five minutes in between each candidate. The speaking order will be:

Mitt Romney
Tom Tancredo
John Cox
Ron Paul
Mike Huckabee
Duncan Hunter
Tommy Thompson
Sam Brownback

I imagine those speeches will be on C-SPAN or CNN, or somewhere, but I don’t know for sure.

~Nate Gunderson

ADDENDUM:

The Fox News website says they’ll be covering the speeches.

~~~Thomas

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Much has been made of Brownback’s Iowa robo-calls defaming Mitt’s positions on abortion. He has followed up with a blog post on his campaign site in which he claims to do a “fact check” on Mitt’s abortion record. Here’s what they say:

MITT MYTH: “The idea that, for instance, I’ve been in favor of taxpayer funding of abortion; that’s wrong. I oppose taxpayer funding of abortion.” (ABC News Iowa Debate, 8/5/07)

FACT: Mitt Romney supported taxpayer funding of abortion: “But according to an article published by the Boston Globe dated March 25, 2005, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood indicates that Romney said he ‘professed support for state funding of abortion services for low-income women’ when answering a Planned Parenthood questionnaire.” (Tahman Bradley, “FACT CHECK: Mitt Romney and Taxpayer Funding for Abortion,” ABC News Political Radar, 8/5/07)

MITT MYTH: When asked in the ABC News Iowa Debate what in an ad exposing his record on abortion is not true, Romney stated: “Virtually nothing in that ad is true.” The ad states: “As late as 2005, Mitt Romney pledged to support and uphold pro- abortion policies and pass taxpayer funding of abortions in Massachusetts.”

FACT: Watch Mitt Romney say he “absolutely committed” towards upholding pro-abortion laws in 2005. Romney is clearly contradicting himself:

MITT MYTH: Romney is opposed to embryonic stem-cell research.

FACT: “Unlike many on the right, Romney supports research on excess embryos created during fertility treatments. Because couples are making embryos to have a baby, he reasons, it is ethical to use the leftovers for research when they would otherwise just be discarded. Romney’s position, however, is at odds with the views of many conservative anti abortion activists, who believe that any work on stem cells derived from human embryos is wrong, because it destroys the embryos in the process. Some say Romney’s views make him unacceptable to many voters and will complicate his attempt to win the 2008 GOP nomination by appealing to the party’s conservative flank.” (Scott Helman, “Romney’s stem cell view may upset the right,” Boston Globe, 2/11/07)

MITT MYTH: Romney supports the Republican Party’s Pro-Life policies.

FACT: Mitt Romney does not support the Republican Party’s platform on abortion, which calls for a Human Life Amendment to the Constitution. Instead, Romney believes that states should be able to make their own decisions, even if that means abortion on demand. This approach makes Mitt Romney anti-Roe, but not pro-life:

NJ: You would favor a constitutional amendment banning abortion with exceptions for the life of the mother, rape and incest. Is that correct?

What I’ve indicated is that I am pro-life, and that my hope is that the Supreme Court will give to the states over time or give to the states soon or give to the states their own ability to make their own decisions with regard to their own abortion law.

NJ: If a state wanted unlimited abortion?

The state would fall into restrictions that had been imposed at the federal level, so they couldn’t be more expansive in abortion than currently exists under the law, but they could become more restrictive in abortion provisions. So states like Massachusetts could stay like they are if they so desire, and states that have a different view could take that course. And it would be up to the citizens of the individual states. My view is not to impose a single federal rule on the entire nation — a one-size-fits-all approach — but instead allow states to make their own decisions in this regard.
(Marc Ambinder, “Romney Explains Himself,” National Journal, 2/9/07)

If you read down to the comments, you should see mine as the 4th one (unless they’ve deleted it in moderation) where I debunk each of his four “facts.” I’ve copied my comment below:

Wow…what’s deceptive is the way your campaign has distorted the facts in this alleged fact check. I’ll take each of your allegations one at a time:

1. The Planned Parenthood representative referred to in the 2005 article is herself referring to a 2002 survey that Mitt filled out. He himself admitted that he promised to maintain the status quo, an effectively pro-choice position, so there is no news here. His survey response was prior to his change of heart while in office.

2. The YouTube video is of a press conference where Mitt is announcing that he is vetoing embryonic stem cell research and cloning legislation. At one point in the press conference a reporter asks if he is going to back away from his promise to maintain the status quo on abortion law. He states in the excerpt that he is committed to keeping that promise, which in Mass actually means vetoing additional pro-abortion legislation. Watch the full clip in context here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gP3kJLFh7s

3. Mitt’s position on excess embryos from fertility clinics is the same as the position of the Republican controlled House. (see above video link). He has indicated that this is an unfortunate compromise position, but that he is adamantly opposed to taxpayer funding of research on excess embryos.

4. The fact is that the GOP platform does not specify the specific Human Life amendment it advocates, and there have been many versions of this amendment introduced over the years, many of which essentially advocate for returning the decision to the state-level. You can see the various versions here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Life_Amendment

Digging into the “facts” cited by the Brownback campaign, there are only two possible conclusions. 1) Sam is being poorly served by his opposition research campaign staff who is intentionally distorting and taking things out of context and withholding this information from him, or 2) Sam is completely aware of the deceitful nature of this material and is supportive of its use. Given what I know of the Senator’s record and character prior to his campaign, I’d prefer to think it’s the former.

Plato once said that “Necessity is the mother of Invention.” In Sam’s case, I’d say that desperation is the mother of invention, and invent he did. It is very sad to behold. RIP (after the Ames Straw Poll).

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After watching the 4th GOP debate yesterday I’ve been thinking that it high time for some candidates, with next to no chance for the nomination, to respectfully remove themselves from the race, as Jim Gilmore has already done. After a little thinning of the field the debates will be so much more significant as there are just too many candidates vying for time and attention at this point. I sincerely hope that some of them will be making an exit after the Ames straw poll.

The purpose of this weeks poll is a matter of interest and is not an explicit attempt to gang up on the little guys - though your reasoning (venting) will be allowed in the comments. I have not included the top-tier candidates because we would of course want them to drop out to increase Romney’s odds of winning the nomination. That being said…

[poll=8]

Just for a recap of last weeks polls:

74% thought that Romney should make a speech regarding his faith, while 20% did not. (Didn’t it just happen?)

59% thought he should participate in the YouTube debates, while 39% opposed.

Check the poll archive if would like to see the results of past polls.

~Nate Gunderson (I’ve posted my take on the candidates in the comment section.)

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I spent this past Saturday and Sunday morning at the Presidential endorsing convention of the National Federation of Republican Assemblies.

My own estimate of the crowd is about 600-700 delegates from around the country.

I was fortunate to get to meet and speak with some of the leading personalities attending the event. Among them were former Majority Leader, Congressman Tom Delay (a very gracious person), the Secretary of the California Republican Assembly, Gwen Dyrud, John Putnam, State Director of the Missouri Fair Tax organization, Janet Renner, Founder of Missourians Against Illegal Immigration, a staff member from Rod Jetton’s office (who was very enthusiastic in his support for Mitt Romney), three staffers from the conservative website VANGUARD.ORG, which I understand has been around for about a year and is currently under construction and several others whose names I was not able to get.

By the way the, VANQUARD.ORG site is touted as some real competition to the liberal site and George Soros surrogate, MoveOn.org.

This weekend was the most fun that I have had at a political meeting in a long time. I entered the air-conditioned tent where they had closed circuit coverage of the speakers as well as space for the vendors and the political booths. I literally was not in the tent 60 seconds before the first of many conversations that day started. The first people I spoke with were two very well informed women from Missourians Against Illegal Immigration. They were also Tom Tancredo supporters. We quickly found out that we were very much in sync with each other on the issues. Their hot button, was, of course, the Immigration issue. What struck me was the perception of both of them that MR was not very strong on immigration. I asked them a few more questions and directed them to this site. I said that one of my more recent posts dealt with the subject and that a 30 second Romney ad that is airing in Iowa concentrated on securing the border. Their reaction was very moving. They had not realized what Romney was saying about illegals in this country and they became very elated by the fact that a top-tier candidate was carrying their banner. I don’t mean to be presumptuous, but I think we just may have won two more backers.

From there, I spoke with two members of the Fair Tax organization. I told them from the outset that I was not familiar with the subject at all. So I listened and learned. We then covered a wide range of subjects and had a great time discussing various conservative positions.

As I worked my way around the tent, I spoke to person after person who ranged from respectful to enthusiastic in their reaction to my talking about MR. I was struck by the fact that no one had anything bad to say about Mitt. And believe me, that was not the case when it came to several other candidates. I realize that I am biased in MR’s favor, but I came away from the meeting with the impression that MR is widely respected within this organization.

There were several nationally noted speakers, including Tom DeLay. Speaker DeLay said that he left Congress because his indictment precluded him from holding any leadership post in the House and because he thought he could be more effective outside of Congress, under the circumstances. He said that he “spent five weeks on my knees” praying for guidance after he left Congress.

One passage of his speech that struck me was when he said that we (Republicans) don’t realize the power of the Clinton machine. Democrats believe in grassroots efforts: ringing doorbells, phone banks, etc. He said that although he believes that the best think tanks in Washington are the conservative ones, we haven’t learned to put our ideas into action. “Real people, meeting real people, grassroots organizations on the ground, rather than E-mails and mailers, getting involved down to the local level.”

On a personal note, Speaker DeLay said that “a cameraman follows me where ever I go.” He didn’t say so, but I got the impression that he was referring to “opposition research.”

He left this final thought. “Hillary Clinton has everything she needs to win. She has the money, she has the organization and she has the discipline. If we don’t get our act together, Hillary Clinton will be the next President.”

The highlight of the event, for me, was the voting. As I said in a previous post, I wanted to get a feel for the level of support for MR within the party, the people who can influence hundreds, if nor thousands of other people because of their extensive contacts.

Since I went to the meeting not as a delegate, but as an observer, I was not knowledgeable about the mechanics of the actual voting. It is my understanding the the voting went as follows.

1. Fred Thompson……43
2. Mitt Romney……….20
3. Ron Paul……………18
4. Duncan Hunter…….13
5. Tom Tancredo……..13
6. John Cox……………. 8
7. Newt Gingrich………. 4
8. Mike Huckabee……… 4
9. Tommy Thompson….. 3
10. John McCain………… 2
11. Rudy Guiliani………… 1
12. Sam Brownback…….. 1
13. Chuck Hegel…………. 0

Because their was no plurality, the voting then was thrown into what would have been known on the national level as a “brokered convention”. When I left, my understanding was that Duncan Hunter and Fred Thompson were tied.

Summing up, I think it was a very educational and fun weekend. I can tell you that our candidate was very much on the minds of the people that I spoke with. One of the leaders of the convention said that he thought McCain was done. He went on to say, “Mitt Romney is one of the most persuasive candidates that I have ever known. All he needs to do is get into a room and start talking and people become Romney supporters. I wish his schedule had allowed him to be here this weekend. I would have loved to see him work this crowd.”

~~John Cronin~~

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Fox News and other news sources have picked-up a AP report that Mitt Romney is considering making a comprehensive speech on his LDS religion. According to the article, Gov. Romney says the question comes up often enough, especially in town-hall meeting forums, that he is thinking about making the speech, although no decision has been made.

Asked if he thought the question of religion was hurting his prospects to win the Republican presidential nomination, he replied, “I expect that evangelical Christians who believe in life and family values are going to vote for someone who shares their views and has a REAL PROSPECT of being nominated by our party and becoming President”, Romney told the AP.

As I said in the comments section on an earlier post, if we didn’t have Gov. Romney as the pro-life standard bearer for our party, we would be in dire straights right about now.

John McCain fell on his sword for the Immigration bill and the rest of the pro-life Republicans in the race are mired at or below 2% in the polls. Gov. Romney made the same point in his AP interview that I was trying to make in my previous comment. MR is the only pro-life candidate who has a realistic chance to win the nomination.

I know that many of the visitors to this website may believe that it is very early to switch their support from, say Duncan Hunter or Sam Brownback, but I would ask you to seriously consider doing so if MR (as we would expect him to) wins several of the early primaries. Lets put any differences behind us quickly and focus on winning this election, so we don’t have to witness Hillary Clinton being sworn in as commander in chief.

~~John Cronin~~

The epitaph on a negative person’s headstone should read: “I expected this.”

**Anonymous**

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If Sen. Brownback wishes to follow his silly quest to become president, fine. He’s boring and he’s only got one issue, but why should he let that stop him? I wish he could find another way to raise his non-existant poll numbers than to attack his fellow Republicans, but, again, fine. Who am I to step on his dreams?

Where my patience ends is when he lets his presidential ambitions get in the way of what’s good for this country. Last year, to strengthen his pro-marriage bonefides, he scuttled a compromise between the White House and the Michigan Senators over filling some long-vacant judicial posts because one of the nominees attended a lesbian wedding. In retaliation several more judicial nominees were held up. Democrats got their squishy judge, and conservatives got little in return. Thanks Sam.

This week Rep. King’s amendment protecting citizens from being sued for the crime of informing the authorities of suspicious behavior (this following the Flying Imams incident) came to a vote in the Senate. Amazingly, this common sense law was defeated by 3 votes. The roll call can be found here. Scroll down to the bottom and who do we see in the “Not Voting” column? That’s would be our friend Sen. Brownback. Currently making good use of the people of Kansas’s seat in the Senate to beg for votes in Iowa that he’ll never receive.

Sen. Brownback, your campaign is hurting your country. Play time is over. If you want to be a leader, I suggest you start by taking a lead in the Senate.

~~~Thomas

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Glad to see that McCain has “made nice”. I guess the religious bigotry card isn’t playing too well in Des Moines.

From The Guardian Unlimited

By AMY LORENTZEN

Associated Press Writer

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - John McCain’s presidential campaign has apologized to Republican rival Mitt Romney’s campaign for comments about the Mormon church allegedly made by a volunteer earlier this year.

The incident dates back to a meeting of Iowa Republican activists in April, where McCain’s Warren County chairman, Chad Workman, is alleged to have made negative comments about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Mormon faith. Romney is a Mormon.

A participant at the meeting said Workman questioned whether Mormons were Christians, and that he referenced an article alleging that the Mormon church supports the Islamic militant group Hamas. The participant talked to The Associated Press on Friday on condition of anonymity because he is involved in Iowa politics and wanted to protect his identity.

In response to a question on whether Mormon women were more likely to be stay-at-home mothers, the participant said Workman associated the treatment of Mormon women with the Taliban.

Workman didn’t return a call Friday afternoon.

McCain spokesman Danny Diaz said in a statement on behalf of Sen. McCain “we apologize for any comment made concerning Gov. Romney’s religion. … Such comments are inappropriate and unacceptable.”

Romney’s Iowa campaign manager Gentry Collins said the campaign has accepted the apology from McCain’s campaign, and “it’s our expectation that he’ll make sure that these kinds of things don’t happen again.

“It’s our view that attacks of religious bigotry have no place in politics today,” he said.

The apology comes just days after Republican presidential hopeful Sam Brownback issued a similar one for a campaign staffer’s e-mail to Iowa Republican leaders that was an apparent attempt to draw unfavorable scrutiny to Romney’s Mormon faith.

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