comMITTed to Romney!

[ Editor's Commentary: Kudos to New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond for not dignifying the presence of the most pro abortion President to ever occupy the Oval Office in connection with his scheduled speech at Xavier University. The Archbishop was not invited to Obama's speech at the school and my understanding is that he would not have attended the speech even had he been invited.

We need to maintain a principled resistance to this failed President and his ruinous policies and "being otherwise occupied" when President Frequent Flier blows into town is a good start.

~~John Cronin~~]

FOXNEWS.COM

President Obama will be in New Orleans Saturday to remember the devastation of Hurricane Katrina five years after the storm roared ashore, but the location the White House has picked for his remarks is stirring an old controversy — and it has nothing to do with storm or the rebuilding of the Gulf.

Some Catholics don’t agree with the fact that the president is being allowed to speak at Xavier University, a Catholic institution, because it is giving a platform to someone who is very publically opposed to the teachings of the Catholic church.

They argue that his positions on issues of life — abortion and stem cell research specifically — means that he should not be given the chance to speak so openly at a Catholic university.

It all goes back to a 2004 United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) statement on “Catholics in Political Life.” It reads in part, “The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.”

The controversy similarly swirled when the pro-choice and pro-stem cell research president was invited to speak at Notre Dame’s commencement address in 2009, where he was also given an honorary degree.

While neither the Notre Dame speech nor the Xavier one were set up to be outright political events, some argue there can always be a political dimension and that in his commencement address the president did bring up both abortion and stem cells.

“The situations are similar in that President Obama is choosing a Catholic environment to provide a platform for his political activity, and the U.S. Bishops have expressed concern about a Catholic institution being used for purposes by individuals who are clearly opposed to Catholic teaching,” said Patrick Reilly, the president of the Cardinal Newman Society a lay Catholic educational group.

Reilly also mentioned there’s the possibility of becoming political and argued it’s a bigger issue that Xavier is not taking a stand, “[The] Greater concern about Catholic institutions trying to simply be a neutral platform, when they ought to be actively promoting Christian values,” he said.

The USCCB is the organization that issued that 2004 statement, however in matters like these, as with the Notre Dame case, the group doesn’t take a stand on specific matters, and leaves that to the local archdiocese.The issue delves into a bit of church hierarchy, but ultimately the USCCB, a national group, defers to the local jurisdiction and wouldn’t supercede their views. That allows for the local church officials to interpret the 2004 USCCB statement’s meaning.

New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond will not be attending Obama’s speech at Xavier and has no plans to meet with the president.

“He was not in any way consulted, invited — nor will he attend the event with President Obama at Xavier,” said Sarah McDonald, Director of Communications for Archdiocese of New Orleans.

As far as invitations go, university officials say, all questions regarding invitation process go to the White House.

The archbishop will be taking part in other services that day that were already planned.

Read more: http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/08/26/obama-violating-catholic-bishops-position-katrina-speech-location#ixzz0xiQ1fCxh

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NEW ORLEANS — Mitt Romney won the straw poll at the Southern Republican Leadership conference here Saturday in a victory that will be taken as a sign of the former Massachusetts governor’s strength as a 2012 presidential candidate.

That’s because the 2008 GOP presidential hopeful elected to skip the conference to continue his book tour, unlike many of his rivals.

Romney triumphed by a single vote over Ron Paul, who took second place, 439 votes to 438. Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich tied for third with 18 percent of the vote each.

1,806 ballots were cast by the conservative activists who attended the conference. No other candidate got more than four percent of the vote.

On the straw poll ballot, conference attendees were asked who they would vote for if the Republican presidential primary were today. They were asked for a first and second choice from among nine candidates: Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee, Gary Johnson, Palin, Paul, Tim Pawlenty, Mike Pence, Romney and Rick Santorum. (See the ballot here.)

Huckabee, Pawlenty and Romney did not appear at the conference, though Pawlenty sent in a video address. Some rumored 2012 candidates, including Rick Perry, Haley Barbour and Bobby Jindal asked to be taken off the ballot, Hotline’s Reid Wilson reported.

Supporters of both Romney and Paul spent money in an effort to win the straw poll, with a group called “Evangelicals for Mitt” paying for 200 tickets for supporters and Paul’s Campaign for Liberty offering more than 600 discounted tickets for Paul backers, according to Washington Post’s David Weigel.

Paul’s mostly-college age supporters stood out form the rest of the conference-goers and cheered their preferred candidate loudly when he spoke. Many other attendees remained silent or offered only polite applause during Paul’s speech. Paul won the Conservative Political Action Conference in February on the strength of his passionate if limited following.

“Evangelicals for MItt” gave away books, buttons and piggy banks to conference attendees and urged them to cast ballots. Organizers claimed they did not coordinate with Romney’s Political Action Committee or staff, though one attendee speculated that they found her via Romney’s e-mail list and offered a free ticket.

Straw polls offer a signal about the level of support for various candidates, though detractors are quick to note they are easily manipulated and that the pool of respondents do not necessarily represent the party overall. The winner in 2006 was former Tennessee Sen. Bill Frist, who won when the conference was held in his home state of Memphis.

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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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Here are some latest news bits about Mitt.

Top Thompson Fla. fundraiser joins Romney

By The Hill Staff

Mitchell said she decided to go with Romney after she was contacted by the other GOP campaigns. She said she will likely start raising money for the former governor after she meets with him Sunday.
Mitchell said she thinks “a lot of the people I brought to the table for Fred will go with Romney.”

Scoring Mitchell and her considerable Sunshine State connections could prove to be invaluable for Romney in Florida’s Jan. 29 primary, as poll after poll continues to show a tight race.

Duncan Hunter endorses …. Mike Huckabee?!  Hmmm…

Hunter backs Huckabee

Hunter’s endorsement could help Huckabee with his credentials on illegal immigration and border security. The congressman’s presidential campaign never caught fire and ended Saturday, following the Nevada Caucus.
 

Louisiana results - Mitt gets another bronze - well, probably…

Louisiana Caucus: McCain wins, Paul second, Romney third

State party officials cautioned that the results were preliminary. In order for a voter to be eligible to participate in the Caucus they must have been registered with the state Republican Party by November 30 2007. Party official are still verifying provisional ballots for newly registered voters which may boost Paul’s numbers a little since most of the newly registered voters supported his candidacy.
The delegates elected at the Caucus will attend a state convention on February 16th where they will elect national delegates. As a result it is unclear at this time how many delegates each candidate will receive.

Finally, on a McCant, McCranky, McCain note - Ann Coulter says it like only Ann can.  Hat tip to reader Louise for this one!

‘Straight Talk’ Express Takes Scenic Route to Truth

 

John McCain is Bob Dole minus the charm, conservatism and youth. Like McCain, pollsters assured us that Dole was the most “electable” Republican. Unlike McCain, Dole didn’t lie all the time while claiming to engage in Straight Talk.

Of course, I might lie constantly too, if I were seeking the Republican presidential nomination after enthusiastically promoting amnesty for illegal aliens, Social Security credit for illegal aliens, criminal trials for terrorists, stem-cell research on human embryos, crackpot global warming legislation and free speech-crushing campaign-finance laws.

I might lie too, if I had opposed the Bush tax cuts, a marriage amendment to the Constitution, waterboarding terrorists and drilling in Alaska.

It’s good, keep reading …

More »

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This piece at New Orleans City Business mentions Romney’s great reception in LA.

The Louisiana Republican Party held its annual Red, White and Roux Gala Dec. 9 at the Astor Crowne Plaza Hotel in New Orleans. A sellout crowd heard from Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon, Sen. David Vitter, R-Metairie, and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a potential presidential candidate in 2008.

Romney, well received by GOP activists at the event, is hoping to line up support in Louisiana for his presidential campaign. Louisiana will be one of the first states to select delegates, which attracts interest from potential presidential candidates. Earlier in the year, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., held a breakfast fundraiser for the Louisiana party. State Republicans should expect more attention in the months ahead from all other presidential candidates.

Also, the latest installment of the “Battle Royale” of Romney and McCain in Michigan is covered in this piece in the Detroit News

[Weiser is] one of a number of Bush supporters who has signed on with McCain. That list includes Republican National Committee member Chuck Yob and Dave Dishaw, a former Bush campaign organizer in the state.

Romney also has roped in Bush Pioneers from the state, including Detroit-area car dealer David Fischer and Detroit builder John Rakolta.

But the contest has not been entirely peaceful. Unsuccessful efforts this fall by some Republicans to oust state party Chairman Saul Anuzis were widely seen as a fight between McCain — whose camp wanted Anuzis out — and Romney.

Other Bush fundraisers, such as Muchmore, are assessing the field.

“The thing I look for, from a practical standpoint, is whether this person is capable of running a two-year election,” said Muchmore, who said he is leaning toward supporting Romney or Giuliani. “I’ve been in a lot of campaigns where you contribute money and three months later the candidate drops out.”

That sounds good for Romney . . . Giuliani is much more likely not to run or drop out than Romney judged by the amount of excited supporters, big donors lined up, and political advisors lined up.

I’m still of the opinion that if that Anuzi and clan can get it to be a “closed GOP primary” in MI, then Romney will win it running away. If they decide to still let Democrats and Independants help choose the GOP nominee then it will be a closer competition. That Chuck Yob (McCain’s point man in MI) failed to get Anuzis outsted is an initial positive sign in this regard.

Jeff

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http://www.huffingtonpost…d-_b_25051.html

Harry Shearer makes the point that Governor Romney is taking better charge of The Big Dig problem, than was handled after the Katrina disaster. Check it out.

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