comMITTed to Romney!

Wasn’t it great news when Rush’s mega contract was announced? Talk about a win-win situation. Conservative voices continue to dominate the airwaves because we have the best message and the best debaters. Liberals get to kvetch for at least another eight years.

Liberal radio is virtually non-existent as the last attempt to get anyone to listen to their dopey message, Air America, has failed miserably. Conservative radio is so popular and profitable for the stations that they can pay Rush $400,000,000 over the next eight years and still make money.

Anybody know how much Franken earned when he was electrifying America during his brief stint on the air?

~~John Cronin~~

http://www.townhall.com/Columnists/K…spires_america

By: Kathryn Jean Lopez

“There but for the grace of God go I.” The phrase is usually a cautionary note. My neighbor’s blunder could have been mine. My co-worker’s illness could easily be my affliction. I ought to count my blessings. But the flipside of the phrase is pregnant with promise, and many Americans felt it when they learned that radio-broadcaster phenom Rush Limbaugh, who marks his 20th year “of broadcast excellence” this summer, is making media history with a new $400 million contract.

Sure, many right-wingers were happy just to know that “El Rushbo” is making more than Katie Couric. “That could be me one day,” many surmise upon hearing news like that. With a little grace and hard work, maybe that kind of great success could be mine. Someday, that could be my son, if I teach him right. That sentiment — an appreciation of what’s possible in America, land of the free, which includes a free market — is at the heart of the non-hardcore-Left reaction to the news.

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Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave (R-Colo.) talks about the strong support Gov. Romney enjoys in her state.

~~John Cronin~~

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/musgrave-pushes-romney-for-veep-2008-06-04.html

By Jackie Kucinich Posted: 06/04/08 07:48 PM [ET]

Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-Colo.) Wednesday called on Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to select former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) as his running mate.

“I hope I’m starting a movement,” Musgrave said in an interview. “In Colorado, we love Mitt Romney.”

Musgrave said that during the Colorado Republican convention, every caucus she visited had made Romney its top choice — a trend that was reflected in the caucus totals.
Romney won the Colorado caucus with 60 percent of the vote, dwarfing McCain’s, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s and Rep. Ron Paul’s (Texas) totals.

She added that while she hadn’t spoken to her fellow House Republicans about her pitch for Romney, she expressed confidence that other members would follow suit.

She cited Romney’s “real-world experience” as an executive as a particular attribute that would “serve McCain well.”

Musgrave, a staunch conservative on social issues who is being targeted this fall by Democrats, said, “I know conservatives can count on [McCain and Romney] to support traditional values and fight to protect the tax dollars of working families.”

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Another GOP incumbent gets the surprise of his political life. Jason Chaffetz, an immigration hardliner came within a handful of votes of unseating six term Congressman, Chris Cannon.

He did it because he pledges to enforce our border laws. I’ll be posting more on this new and rising conservative star in the Republican Party in the days and weeks to come.

~~John Cronin~~

http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700226057,00.html

By Tad Walch
Deseret News

Sure, sure, Utah County voters are conservative, blah, blah.
Yeah, yeah, Utah County is the reddest county in the U.S. of A. Yada, yada, yada.
We know, already. The broad brush that paints this BYU-blue valley a blushing political red doesn’t mean that every person here is a red-eyed, straight-ticket conservative.
A vast number of real, living, breathing moderate Republicans roam these parts and even a few — whisper with me now … Democrats. But the Democrats are so November — nothing happens with them until the general election. A major June storm is brewing in the Republican Party, where Jason Chaffetz scared the stuffing out of six-term Congressman Chris Cannon on Saturday.
In fact, Cannon barely survived the day, holding onto his seat by a thread. His congressional career survived at the state GOP convention by a slim nine votes.

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News from Dr. Bob Onder’s campaign office shows a growing list of influential Missouri leaders have endorsed his candidacy. His first quarter fund raising shows some financial firepower as well.

While the national press is ringing the death knell for the Republican Party in this election, it seems the good citizens of Missouri didn’t get the memo.

~~John Cronin~~

Jefferson City – Representative Bob Onder today announced the support of twenty-two current and two former state elected officials in his bid to represent the people of the Ninth District.

Dr. Onder’s announcement comes shortly after winning the first-quarter fundraising race against
all other candidates to replace Representative Kenny Hulshof when he raised over $370,000,
more than any other candidate in the race regardless of party affiliation.

“As I prepare to bring my prescription for change to Washington, I am honored to have the
support of so many conservative leaders in the 9th District and around our great state,” said Dr. Onder. “These leaders understand what it takes to defend our freedoms and fight for mainstream Missouri values. I greatly appreciate their support.”

“Dr. Onder has been a leader in the General Assembly from his first day in office,” said House
Republican Majority Floor Leader Steve Tilley. “Simply put, he is a proven winner who gets
things done on the issues that matter most to Missourians. I know he’ll take that same ability to
Washington.”

“I can’t think of anyone more qualified to represent the people of the 9th District than Dr.
Onder,” said Representative Doug Funderburk of St. Peter’s. “His experience as a doctor and
lawyer, and his willingness to fight for the right-to-life and tax relief and to stop illegal
immigration and wasteful spending will serve the people of Missouri well in Washington.”

“From watching him work in the Missouri House, I know that Dr. Onder will stand up for
principle and Missouri values when he gets to Congress,” said Representative Jason Smith of
Crawford County. “He’s just the type of leader we need to fight the liberal excesses of Nancy
Pelosi and the MoveOn.org crowd in Washington.”

Representative Brian Nieves noted that Dr. Onder’s leadership is not restricted to the pro-life
issue. This year, Dr. Onder also sponsored House Bill 1549, an effort to outlaw sanctuary cities
in Missouri and to give local law enforcement the tools they need to stop illegal immigration.
“Last year, I stood side-by-side with Bob Onder when we passed my bill to put English as the
official language on this year’s ballot,” said Representative Brian Nieves of Franklin County.
“This year, I was proud to stand by him as he proposed House Bill 1549. When he gets to
Washington, I know Dr. Onder will fight for effective enforcement of our immigration laws and
against San Francisco-liberal calls for amnesty.”

Dr. Onder has been a leader his entire life, particularly on pro-life issues. After graduating with a
medical degree from Washington University in St. Louis, he opened his own medical practice in
St. Charles. Later, after seeing so many of his physician friends face frivolous lawsuits, he went
to night school to get a law degree at St. Louis University. He is an active member of St. Gianna Catholic Church in St. Charles, and has six children with his wife, Allison. He has served on the boards of Missouri Right to Life, the Catholic Medical Association, and the Center for Bioethics and Culture. In 2006, he led the statewide fight against Amendment 2 as President of
Missourians Against Human Cloning.

The growing list of endorsements, combined with the first-quarter fundraising win, shows
Onder’s increasing momentum and widespread support. A full list of endorsements and
statements follows:

ENDORSEMENTS

Senator Scott Rupp R-Wentzville
Brian Nieves R-Union
Jason Smith R-Salem
Sally Faith R-St. Charles County
Mark Parkinson R-St. Charles County
Doug Funderburk R-St. Peters
Cynthia Davis R-O’Fallon
Stanley Cox R-Sedalia
Jane Cunningham R-Chesterfield
Ward Franz R-West Plains
Tim Jones R-Eureka
Don Ruzicka R-Mt. Vernon
Dwight Scharnhorst R-Manchester
Shane Schoeller R-Willard
Ryan Silvey R-Kansas City
Rick Stream R-Kirkwood
Mike Thomson R-Maryville
Don Wells R-Cabool
Rod Jetton R-Marble Hill-Speaker of the House
Steve Tilley R-Perryville-Majority Floor Leader
Senator Jason Crowell R-Cape Girardeau
Former Representative Bob Behnen R-Kirksville
Former Representative John Bennett R-St. Charles
–##–

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I received a comment from a couple of our regular readers, Paulee & Mike, from the great state of Maine. Many of you no doubt remember them from all the fun we had last week when they attended the Maine Republican Convention.

Well it seems that Paulee & Mike have just volunteered to help elect conservative Republicans this fall. Yes!! I have taken the liberty of posting part of their comments that have to do with their decision to get involved with their local Republican organization. I can’t over emphasize how important their decision is. They have now placed themselves elbow to elbow with the movers and shakers of their state’s politics. When the time comes to influence their state’s leadership in favor of Mitt Romney in 2012, they will be in a position to lobby for Romney in a way that no outsider could hope to.

Congratulations, Paulee & Mike! Keep us posted on your budding political fiefdom.

~~John Cronin~~

http://committedtoromney.com/2008/05/11/romney-raises-austin-money-for-cornyn/

“Romney Raises Austin Money For Cornyn”

Paulee&Mike on 14 May 2008 at 7:21 am

John, as you suggested, we have let it be known we are available for the Rep. Party
volunteer work etc. Got a letter today about a meeting, so there. Let’s all get involved
and bring about CHANGE, YES WEeeeeeee CAN!!!!!!!!!!!!

John Cronin on 14 May 2008 at 5:58 pm
Paulee&Mike,

Welcome to the club!! It’s very gratifying to know that the Party’s volunteer ranks are growing. Keep up the good work and we will have an organization in place to help elect Mitt Romney in 2012.

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It’s almost as if Robert Novak is an avid reader of this website. My jaw almost hit the floor this morning as I read his column in the Washington Post.

He has touched on the very points that we have collectively made here. The main point being that McCain was the major beneficiary of Huckabee’s divide and conquer strategy. At one point early in the primary season, Mitt Romney appeared ready to run the table. He was in first or second place in 6 out of 7 of the first primaries. Even as a strong supporter of Mitt Romney, I had to shake my head in wonder. Coming from a virtual unknown to such a commanding lead within the space of a year was an awesome accomplishment.

But then something very strange started to happen. Social conservatives who are very “family values” oriented, who are solidly pro life and who favor a strong military and a smaller, simpler government, abandoned the candidate who supported all those positions in favor of a glib, but shallow candidate with zero foreign affairs credibility and zero economic credibility.

If what Robert Novak writes in his column is true, then these poor souls have not learned a single, solitary lesson from their disastrous experiment in Presidential politics. They are still true believers in the man from Hope.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I am getting sick of hearing the empty platitudes about “Hope” and “Change.” I will wait for 2012 when we can start talking again about “Experience” and “Competency.”

~~John Cronin~~

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article
/2008/05/11/AR2008051101786.html

McCain and Huckabee were friendly rivals in this year’s Republican competition, sharing contempt for Mitt Romney. Indeed, McCain would not be where he is today had Huckabee not mobilized born-again voters to upset Romney in the Iowa caucuses. All of Romney’s efforts to overtake McCain in conservative Southern state primaries were stifled by Huckabee’s success in those contests. Huckabee quickly endorsed McCain once he clinched the nomination. They bonded publicly in Little Rock on April 24 during McCain’s tour.

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Latest Romney event was this past Friday as MR swooped into Austin, Tx. to raise money for the re-election campaign of fellow conservative, U.S. Senator John Cornyn.

Conspicuous by his absence was ertswhile Pastor and future game show host, Mike Huckabee.

~~John Cronin~~

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/
austin/politics/entries/2008/05/09/cornyn_pounds_with_his_mitt.html

By W. Gardner Selby

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, juiced his already-bulging campaign kitty Friday with a fund-raiser in Austin featuring Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who might prove to be Sen. John McCain’s vice presidential choice.

Word is that Romney has a reunion of Texas donors in Houston on Friday night, to be followed by an event raising money for McCain’s campaign on Saturday.

U.S. Reps. John Carter, R-Round Rock, and Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, were among the 45 people at the event at Austin’s Headliners Club, helping the campaign raise about $50,000.

I wondered if former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, the Republican who outlasted Romney in the presidential race, is next up for a private shindig with Cornyn. He’s not.

Comments

Click here to report comment abuse.

By Lori

May 9, 2008 3:59 PM | Link to this

Loved the comment about Huckabee not invited. Romney clearly is preferred for raising campaign cash. He raised more than any Republican candidate. He has know-how and Cornyn recognizes who is the face of the party future. Its Romney. He’s a good man, working hard for others.

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Just got an email from Missouri Speaker of the House, Rod Jetton. I don’t have any details, but evidently something big is coming down the pike.

~~John Cronin~~

***Media Advisory***

Dr. Bob Onder (R-St. Charles) will hold a press conference today, May 5th 2008 at 9:30 AM at
the Jefferson statue on the southern steps to the Capitol.

Dr. Onder will be making a major campaign announcement this morning.
–##–

Paid for by Bob Onder for Congress

[Editor's Note: Here is the announcement from the Onder campaign]

Jefferson City, MO – Representative Bob Onder today challenged former state Senator Ken Jacob to a series of debates on the right to life. The challenge was a direct response to Senator Jacob’s request to debate “any time, any place” on the merits and constitutionality of House Bill 1831, Dr. Onder’s latest pro-life legislation.

“Societies are ultimately judged by how they treat their most vulnerable,” said Dr. Onder.

“When I decided to run for public office, I pledged to give voice to the voiceless by defending the right to life and protecting Missouri women. House Bill 1831 does both.”

“Senator Jacob’s extreme pro-abortion views are out-of-touch, and I welcome the opportunity to defend mainstream Missouri values,” said Dr. Onder. “He might have been able to bully people
in the Missouri Senate. But he can’t bully me. When Senator Jacob says he will debate my bill
any time, any place, I take him at his word. I will take him on in his home county of Boone, my
home county of St. Charles and anywhere and everywhere in between.”

Representative Onder proposed a debate in St. Charles County and invited Senator Jacob to set a date for a debate in Boone County. Other dates will be set by agreement between Representative Onder and Senator Jacob.

House Bill 1831 would strengthen Missouri’s informed consent laws, ensuring that doctors
provide expectant mothers with all relevant information before proceeding with an abortion. It
would also make it a crime to force women to have an abortion.

The House of Representatives passed House Bill 1831 by an overwhelming bi-partisan vote of
113-33 on April 21. The bill was supported by a majority of Republicans and Democrats.

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http://www.salemnews.com/puopinion/local_story_1221502

By Nelson Benton
Staff writer

Datebook: Senate Majority Leader Fred Berry, D-Peabody, is expected to announce his bid for a 14th term at a Tuesday, May 13, fundraiser (6:30-8:30 p.m.) at the Danversport Yacht Club. … Marblehead’s Tanya DeGenova, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for state representative in the 8th Essex district earlier this year, is hosting a fundraiser to benefit the U.S. Senate campaign of Jeff Beatty, a former colleague of hers in the FBI. That event is also scheduled for Tuesday, May 13, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Red Rock Bistro in Swampscott. Beatty is seeking the GOP nomination for the seat held by John Kerry.

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In keeping with my goal of doing what I can to help elect conservatives to Congress, I’d like to ask our readers, especially those who live in Indiana, to check out Mike Pence’s positions on the issues that are important to us.

I have spent some time on Congressman Pence’s website and he is another member of the legislature who is rock solid on the hot button issues that turn out the base. I am still very much getting up to speed on Mike Pence and don’t claim to know much right now, but he seems to be pitch perfect on the immigration issue.

Below are a couple of quotes from his website.

~~John Cronin~~

http://mikepence.house.gov/

Immigration

Securing the Borders and Reforming Immigration Without Amnesty

“Our plan puts border security first and cracks down on those who knowingly hire illegal workers, but it also recognizes the need for a temporary worker program that operates without amnesty and harnesses the power of the private sector to avoid creating a huge new government bureaucracy.”
-Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Rep. Mike Pence
July 25, 2006

Securing the Borders First:

• The number one priority of any serious attempt at immigration reform must be a comprehensive and successful effort to secure the borders of the United States. Such an initiative must precede—not follow—the implementation of a temporary worker program. The border security initiative must include comprehensive surveillance that utilizes personnel and technology; infrastructure improvements including fences; checkpoints; detention facilities; judicial support; and deployment of additional Border Protection and Drug Enforcement personnel.

• This plan adopts the strongest provisions of the House and Senate-passed bills and addresses unlawful entry of terrorists and instruments of terror, undocumented immigrants, narcotics and human trafficking.

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Just wanted to give our fellow Mittheads in the Northeast a heads up on a campaign appearance by Jeff Beatty. He is running against the entrenched and far left Senator John Kerry. Let’s do everything we can to help elect conservatives to Congress so we can help put the brakes on the accelerating lunge to the left that the country has taken in the last several years.

Jeff Beatty is a former Delta Force member and a Purple Heart winner. He is pro life, pro border law enforcement and is a gleeful tax cutter. Please visit his website at WWW.JEFF BEATTY.COM and get involved with his campaign.

~~John Cronin~~

Middlesex County & Framingham RTC Spring Fling
Date:
April 26, 2008
Time:
8:00-10:00 am
Location:
Nobscot Café, 847 Edgell Rd, Framingham, MA 01701

The
Middlesex County Republican Club
And
Framingham Republican Town Committee
Host a
Spring Fling with Republican Candidates
April 26, 2008
8:00-10:00 am

E-mail questions or comments to Ed McGrath at mcgrathed@rcn.com or call Ed at 508-820-0696

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I was very encouraged by the stream of comments that I have seen related to recent posts on this site. Although our candidate has suspended his campaign, I believe we have good reasons to be optimistic.

Short term, it looks like the GOP is going to get hammered in 2008. We have all seen the recently embedded YouTube video featuring John “Open Borders” McCain expounding his views on the Iraq war and being just as wrong as the day is long. The Dems will have a field day with him and his ever evolving positions. As one wag put it: “He can take three sides on a two-sided issue.”

The three remaining viable candidates are separated only by a hair’s breadth with regard to their wrong headed politics. I really don’t know which one of them is the lesser of evils. By “evils” I don’t mean their character, I mean how harmful their policies will be for the country, however well intentioned they may be.

The reason I am optimistic in the face of what our Presidential prospects look like is that I see people from all walks of life becoming engaged in the political process. College students talking about citizens getting involved at the local level, talk of petition drives to demonstrate the strength of the conservative movement in this country, new visitors coming to this site everyday, the feedback we are getting from posters at other sites about the work we are doing here, the conservative backlash that we are seeing to the McCain candidacy, voters from states with upcoming primaries who say they will still vote for MR this spring and then will write
in Gov. Romney’s name in the general election.

IMHO, this is the kind of ground swell that is needed to retake the Republican party from the Old Guard that is only interested in preserving two things that are very important to them: their jobs and the status quo.

In the ensuing four years Gov. Romney can become “the face of the conservative movement” as he was asked to be at the recent CPAC meeting. Hopefully MR will criss cross this country giving speeches, campaigning for Republican candidates and collecting a boatload of political IOU’S. Also, hopefully, the religious right will not shoot itself in the foot in 2012 as it did in 2008. I wonder if they are looking at the current delegate count and asking themselves if what they did in derailing the candidacy of the one man who best represented their views was worth it. By artificially and temporarily boosting the prospects of Pastor Mike, they have now ensured themselves of getting either McCain, Obama or Hillary, three candidates not known for their socially conservative views.

If we continue on the track we are on today, I feel confident that the country, after four bleak years of Democratic rule, will be ready for a breath of fresh air and will return to the conservative principles that made this country great.

We’ll be ready when our time comes again.

~~John Cronin~~

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Many of our readers are no doubt too young to remember Senator George McGovern. He was a radical anti-war Democrat (anti-Vietnam war) who plied his nefarious trade during the 1970’s. He has, thankfully, not been an elected official since 1981. He was so far out of the mainstream of American politics that he richly earned the distinction of suffering the second worst electoral defeat in American history. And yet he somehow won his party’s nomination. Is this story starting to remind you of anyone?

John McCain’s support of the illegal immigration amnesty bill last summer angered Americans more than any one thing that I can remember. Have we collectively forgotten our anger at this man and his attempt to ram this bill through the Senate with no public hearings and virtually no debate? Have Evangelicals forgotten that he referred to some of their leaders as “agents of intolerance?” McCain claims that he will appoint “strict constructionist” judges to the SCOTUS and yet he criticized Justice Alito for “wearing his conservatism on his sleeve.” You know what, Senator McCain? I like people who wear their conservatism on their sleeves.

He claims to be pro life, but his McCain/Feingold anti-free speech legislation has hindered groups like the National Right to Life Committee in their efforts to get their message out. I don’t want someone as the Republican party’s standard bearer who simply tries to “talk the talk”, I want someone who “walks the walk”. And McCain ain’t that someone.

Because our fellow conservatives have been asleep at the wheel, because the primaries were moved up months earlier than customary, because Indies and Dems get to pick Republican candidates in open primaries, because the MSM will prop up anybody who will help them further their liberal agenda and trash anyone (Reagan in 1980, Romney in 2008) who dares to champion conservative principles, we now appear to have, as our presumptive nominee, John “Open Borders” McCain who may well prove to be the Republican party’s version of George “Landslide” McGovern.

Below is some information from WIKEPEDIA that illustrates what happens to politicians who stray too far from the beaten path.

~~John Cronin~~

In the general election, the McGovern/Shriver ticket suffered a 60%-38% defeat to Nixon — at the time, the second biggest landslide in American history, with Electoral College totals of 520 to 17. McGovern’s two electoral vote victories came in Massachusetts and the District of Columbia; McGovern failed to win his home state of South Dakota, a state that had delivered for the Democrats in only three of the previous 18 presidential elections in the twentieth century[9]. In his telegram to Nixon conceding defeat, McGovern wrote, “I hope that in the next four years you will lead us to a time of peace abroad and justice at home. You have my full support in such efforts.”[10]

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IMHO, Mitt Romney has just won the election amongst conservatives by winning the CPAC Straw Poll two years running! I don’t know how the election will play out amongst the rest of the country’s electorate, but among the “base”, Gov. Romney is the prohibitive front runner as the choice of conservative Republicans. If 2008 turns out not to be our year, we have just gotten off to a very fast start for 2012!

~~John Cronin~~

Saturday, Feb., 9, 2008

Talk about cold comfort.

Mitt Romney, who dropped out of the Republican presidential race on Thursday, won a straw poll of conservative activists on Saturday, edging out likely nominee John McCain.

Ballots for the straw poll conducted at the Conservatives Political Action Conference were collected Thursday morning through Friday afternoon. Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, quit the race in a midday speech to the conference on Thursday.

In the straw poll vote, Romney got 35 percent and McCain 34 percent. Mike Huckabee and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas tied with 12 percent.

Romney won the straw poll at the conference last year.

On another question, two-thirds said they would vote for McCain if he’s the eventual nominee, two in 10 said they would vote for someone else and about one in 10 said they would not vote.

UPDATE by Jeff Fuller: Just to add in an interesting tidbit . . . most of the first day (of Four) of this CPAC straw poll voting occurred before Mitt dropped out–he was leading McCain 44%-27%. That would have been more representative of where conservatives were heading in droves . . . TO MITT!

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Here’s some more info. on that meeting with Laura Ingraham and other conservatives after CPAC.  It is starting to look like Mitt’s bold move yesterday in suspending his race for the good of the Party and the country, has done more to solidify him as a conservative than the past several years of governing and campaigning have.  As this article implies, the cornerstone figures of the conservative cause are looking to Mitt to be the Ronald Reagan of the 21th Century, the new leader of the movement.  This is huge!  I’m not sure how this will all play out, now or in 4 years, but it reinforces my commitment to continue to vote for Mitt at my county convention and in the general.

Right wants Romney as standard-bearer

By Ralph Z. Hallow
February 9, 2008

Republican conservatives are weighing the possibility of promoting former presidential candidate Mitt Romney as the new Ronald Reagan for their cause.

---

Some 50 stalwarts of the political right privately met with Mitt Romney minutes after he dropped out of the Republican nominating race to discuss the former Massachusetts governor becoming the face of conservatism, as Ronald Reagan became en route to his 1980 election win.

Participants said the group was not organizing against the presidential bid of Sen. John McCain, the party”s presumptive nominee, but only seeking to revive core values such as lower taxes, limited government and free speech.

“The purpose of the meeting was for him to announce his willingness to fight shoulder to shoulder with true conservatives from here on out,” said political strategist Paul Erickson, who worked for Mr. Romney”s campaign. “He did just that.”

American Conservative Union Chairman David A. Keene presided over the meeting in the Empire Ballroom of the Omni Shoreham in Washington, where the 35th annual Conservative Political Action Conference was held. Besides Mr. Romney and his wife, Ann, and deputy campaign manager Peter G. Flaherty, attendees included former Christian Coalition Executive Director Ralph Reed, radio talk show host Laura Ingraham and former Reagan White House official Donald J. Devine.

“If someone had suggested a year ago and a half ago that we would be welcoming Mitt Romney as a potential leader of the conservative movement, no one would have believed it,” Mr. Keene said to open the meeting. “But over the last year and a half, he has convinced us he is one of us and walks with us.”

Jay Sekulow, a Romney volunteer and chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice, told attendees that Mr. Romney is the “turnaround specialist” the conservative movement needs.

“The movement needs someone of Ronald Reagan’s stature and Romney could fill that role,” Mr. Sekulow told The Washington Times yesterday.

“McCain’s nomination creates an existential crisis for the Republican Party: Securing America at the price of open borders, higher taxes and the loss of free speech,” said Mr. Erickson, who organized the Empire Room meeting. “It’s a lot to ask.”

“You could tell everybody at the table sitting with Romney was asking himself: ‘Is he the one?’ Some concluded yes and others could say only that it is too soon to tell,” Mr. Erickson added.

The conservative movement has been without a leader since Mr. Reagan, and has faced competition from conservatism usually preceded by such adjectives as “big-government,” “compassionate” and “neo.”

“John McCain has nine months before the general election — a long gestation period — to show me he has become the conservative he claims to be,” said election laws attorney Cleta Mitchell, who attended the private meeting with Mr. Romney.

Other conservative leaders in attendance included Indiana Republican National Committee member James Bopp Jr.; Freedom Alliance President Tom Kilganon; former Sen. Jim Talent of Missouri; Michigan Republican Party Chairman Saul Anuzis; Human Events editor-in-chief Tom Winter; conservative activist Bay Buchanan; Ann Corkery, a Catholic activist; and Rabbi Nate Segal, a Rush Limbaugh associate. Participating via telephone was Free Congress Foundation President Paul M. Weyrich.

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