comMITTed to Romney!

What does Gov. Romney think about new technologies?   What about immigration for technology?   What does he think specifically about Internet taxes?   Does he prefer a Mac or PC?   What about his sons?   What kind of music does he upload to his iPod?

Click here for a great interview ——> NEW TAXES?

~ Vic

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Mitt Romney penned this article published at National Review Online:

Late last week, two developments involving stem-cell research offered a sharp contrast between the great strengths of American biomedical science and the terrible weakness of Washington politics.

First, on Wednesday, we learned that researchers in Massachusetts, building on prior accomplishments by colleagues in Japan, had managed to transform regular skin cells into the equivalent of embryonic stem cells in mice. Their work points to a way to produce cells with the qualities scientists value about embryonic stem cells, but without the need to create, harm, or destroy human embryos, and therefore without ethical or political controversy.

But then, on Thursday, the Congress passed a bill that would for the first time use taxpayer dollars to encourage the destruction of embryos for research. Just as it is becoming increasingly clear that scientific ingenuity could offer a way around the divisive controversies of the stem-cell debate, congressional Democrats are working to stoke those very controversies. They have opted to exacerbate what they see as a political debate that works in their favor, rather than encourage a scientific solution that would work in America’s favor.

When I was governor of Massachusetts, my state wrestled with the stem-cell debate and I confronted many of the same issues now being debated in Washington. I carefully listened to all sides, and came to reject the idea that the exploration of stem cells had to come into conflict with America’s commitment to the dignity of human life.

Some advocates told me that only the creation of human embryos for purposes of experimentation, otherwise known as cloning, could help them better understand and perhaps someday treat a series of dreaded diseases. But they ignored the importance of protecting human equality, dignity, and life. Opposing advocates told me that the pluripotency of stem cells — their ability to become a very wide variety of different cell types — would not be of great therapeutic value, and that other sources of tissues and cells could serve the same purpose. But they ignored the unique role pluripotent cells could play in basic science.
Couldn’t the strongest part of each side’s argument — the utility of pluripotent cells on the one hand and the importance of protecting human life on the other — be brought together? I studied the issue for many months, and entered into conversation with experts from across the nation who were looking for consensus solutions, like Stanford’s Dr. William Hurlbut. In the end, I became persuaded that the stem-cell debate was grounded in a false premise, and that the way through it was around it: by the use of scientific techniques that could produce the equivalent of embryonic stem cells but without cloning, creating, harming, or destroying developing human lives.

A number of such techniques have begun to emerge in recent years, and as last week’s exciting scientific publications showed, some of the world’s best stem-cell scientists are hard at work bringing them to fruition. Moreover, two of these techniques, Altered Nuclear Transfer and Direct Reprogramming could produce patient-specific stem-cell lines for the study of diseases. Our government should encourage and support these scientific developments, rather than undermine the effort to find a solution. Finding cures to diseases using methods that uphold ethical principles and sustain social consensus should be the objective of America’s approach to stem-cell research.

Rather than looking for such solutions, however, the Democrats in Congress have decided to turn back the clock and pass a bill that only sets research and ethics at odds, a bill they know will be vetoed by President Bush. This familiar Washington approach to controversial issues is just wrong. On matters of such significance, we should try to bring the country together, not further divide it.

Support for ethical biomedical research should be part of our collective identity as a noble society. Instead of turning the quest for cures into a partisan battle, Congress should embrace the exciting emerging lines of research that could meet the goals of all sides in the stem-cell debate. A bill to support just such a positive approach to stem cell research passed the Senate in April by a whopping margin of 70 to 28. But the House Democratic leadership, choosing politics over the prospect of consensus on science, appears to be unwilling even to allow a vote on that hopeful legislation.

It is time to move beyond typical Washington politics, and offer support for stem-cell research techniques that bring science and ethics together to promote life, protect life, and save lives.

— Mitt Romney is a former governor of Massachusetts and a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination.

~Nate Gunderson

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There is this thought that I’m just one of 300 million in this country and anything I do will not affect the country as a whole. Why is this fallacy? The Election next year is affected by what you do tonight. Did you know that less than 1/100th of 1 percent of U.S. citizens contributed to Mitt Romney’s campaign during the first quarter this year, but their contributions raised his campaign to be the leader of fundraising for the Republican Party? Is our work done? Should we leave it to everyone else to help fund the policies you and I want? If so, then we probably won’t get what we want.

How can you make a difference? United we stand, divided we fall. Most of us can look at our budgets and contribute $5 to $10 tonight. Some can share even more. If you want the things you’re interested in to happen, follow Mitt Romney’s example and do what it takes to get it done. Will your $5 make a difference to our country as a whole? Yes, but the people donating $5 to Obama hope you won’t do that tonight.

Nathan W.

Go to https://www.mittromney.com/contribution/form-SUA, and donate $5 or more.

Under Referral Information:
Fundraiser ID: 10002
Fundraiser First Name: Nathan
Fundraiser Last Name: Waite
Source Code: QC01
Event Name: Promoting What I Want

OR you can use Ann Marie’s information in the right hand column.

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http://www.foxnews.com/hannityandcolmes/

At the end of the broadcast on Feb. 8th, Mitt Romney came in second place with 31%. Giuliani had 54% and McCain had 15%. This was not a scientific poll, but a cell phone text message poll.

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Detroit, MI – Today, Governor Mitt Romney will deliver a major policy speech on the economy at the Detroit Economic Club. Governor Romney will address his policy ideas for keeping America strong and meeting a new generation of challenges so all Americans can realize the New American Dream.

Governor Romney’s Five Factors That Accelerate Growth And Assure Economic Leadership:

• Skilled, Educated, Motivated People
• Free Trade, On The Level
• Capital And Savings
• Innovation And Technology
• Consumer Freedom

Governor Romney’s Five Braking Factors That Decelerate Economic Growth:

• Excessive Taxation And Spending
• Excessive Regulation
• Excessive Burdens On Business Activity
• Excessive Health Care Costs
• Excessive Energy Costs

Governor Romney’s Initiatives To Ensure America’s Continued Economic Growth:

Below are excerpts of Governor Romney’s remarks as prepared for delivery.

MAKING THE 2001 AND 2003 TAX CUTS PERMANENT: “Which course is better for America? A European model of high taxes and regulations? Or, low taxes and free trade – the Ronald Reagan model? That’s the choice the next President will make. Some are already fighting to implement a massive tax increase. Instead, we should make the tax cuts permanent.”

• REFORMING THE TAX CODE: “However, making the tax cuts permanent is only the first step. We also need reform of the tax code that moves towards a tax system that encourages growth, fairness, and simplicity.”

TAX FREE SAVINGS: Governor Romney Proposes Allowing People To Save Tax Free. “It is time to make saving easy in America. I believe people should be allowed to earn interest, dividends and capital gains up to a certain amount a year, tax free and without restrictions on how or when their savings and investments are spent. As an example, let’s say we chose $5,000 for joint filers as the annual tax free figure for dividends, interest and capital gains. This would help middle class families to be able to save and to invest – and spend their savings the American way: any way they want.”

FISCAL DISCIPLINE: Unless Given The Line-Item Veto, Governor Romney Would Veto Any Appropriations Bills If They Exceed Spending Targets. “I have a fairly simple idea for keeping spending in check. Give Congress a spending target and then insist that it is met. If Congress does not meet the spending targets, then its appropriations bills should be vetoed. I regularly exercised my veto power while governor. The alternative is for the Congress to vest the President with a power held in some form by 43 governors, including this Governor – the line-item veto.”

REGULATORY RELIEF: Governor Romney Would Reinstitute A Regulatory Relief Board To Cut Back Regulations That Choke Off Growth. “Our regulatory burden is also overbearing. I’d re-institute a regulatory relief board to cut back the regulation weeds that choke off growth. One that deserves pruning is Sarbanes Oxley – it’s driving away IPO’s, depressing jobs, and requiring billions of unnecessary cost. Executives who violate the law should go to jail, but the entire economy shouldn’t have pay an inordinate price for the sins of the few bad actors.”

NATIONAL TORT REFORM: Governor Romney Believes America Needs National Tort Reform, Not Reform State-By-State. “Another burden on our economic future is our out-of-control tort system. Last year, U.S. corporations spent more money on tort claims than they did on R and D. If innovation is the key to our long term leadership, then some tort lawyers are cashing out our country’s future. I spoke with one member of the plaintiff’s bar the other day. He said that the tort lawyers are ok with state reform, but not national reform. You know what state level tort reform means – it means that as long as there is one lawsuit-friendly state, they can sue almost any major, deep-pocketed company in America. No thanks, America needs national tort reform.”

FUEL EFFICIENCY: Governor Romney Would Evaluate Reforms To CAFE Standards To Develop A Better Way To Get Higher Fleet Mileage Without Market Distortions. “What does this mean for Detroit? Well, it means that the automotive fleet will have to become more fuel efficient. CAFE improved mileage initially, but the consumer has gotten around it over the last couple of decades. CAFE has some real problems. It distorts the market. It penalizes the domestic automakers. It can ignore technical realities. So before I would change the CAFE standards, I want to sit down with every major knowledgeable party and evaluate each of the alternatives. A good number have been proposed; let’s decide which is the best course by looking at the data and analysis, rather than by playing to the TV cameras Let’s not forget that a far more fuel efficient fleet must be part of our energy future. The issue is which is the least distorting way to achieve it.”

Ann Marie

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Governor Romney squeaked out another win in Week 2 of the Pajamas Media Presidential Straw Poll. However, as Week 3 got underway, Rudy Giuliani bolted out to a lead, probably due to the fawning publicity he’s gotten since declaring himself both a candidate and an actual Republican yesterday. So, click HERE and cast your vote for Governor Mitt Romney, the next President of the United States!

-Kyle Joseph Farmer

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http://www.crosswalk.com/news/1466547.html

Kevin Mooney
Staff Writer

(CNSNews.com) - America is at risk of becoming “the France of the 21st Century” unless policymakers curtail burdensome government policies and extravagant entitlement spending that work against the creative energies of free people, said former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

Romney, who recently formed a presidential exploratory committee, delivered his remarks on Saturday at the National Review Conservative Summit, a gathering of conservative activists, lawmakers and pundits in Washington, D.C.

Romney said the “bar must be raised” in both domestic and foreign affairs at a time when Asian nations stand poised to challenge American primacy. The growing threat of “radical violent Islam” and the specter of a nuclear Iran also figured prominently in Romney’s talk.

Present-day superpower status will not necessarily transfer over the long term, he said, if American policy-makers entertain false notions about the true source of the nation’s strength.

Romney invoked the historical example of France to show how quickly once-great nations can lose power and influence when the wrong polices are embraced. To drive the point home, Romney quoted his father, who said, “Nothing is as vulnerable as entrenched success.”

Unlike liberal Democrats who view government as the greatest source of American strength, Republicans understand that it is the “hard-working, innovative, risk-taking, God-fearing, family-loving and freedom-loving” American people who make the nation great and ensure its superpower status, Romney said.

Americans are fully capable of meeting the challenges of the 21st Century, he continued, so long as they have greater individual freedom, lower rates of taxation, less cumbersome investment opportunities and a more efficient government.

Romney expressed support for making the Bush tax cuts permanent and pointed out that has signed the “Taxpayer Protect Pledge” (http://www.atr.org/pledge/index.html)

He also expressed concern over what he termed a “disinvestment in technology” by corporations, driven in part by a high number of lawsuits. Americans corporations spent more money defending tort claims last year, Romney contends, than they did on research and development.

He also addressed the growth of entitlement programs.

“Spending in Washington is simply out of control,” Romney said. America’s long-term vitality is threatened by a mix of “pork-barrel” projects and extravagant entitlement expenditures, he argued.

Over two-thirds of federal spending will be directed to entitlement spending and the interest expense that goes with it by the time the next president finishes his second term, Romney claimed.

“How can we remain the world’s military and economic superpower with that kind of entitlement expense trajectory?” he asked.

While he was governor, Romney said he pursued free-market reforms in health care and “choice” initiatives in education that could be applied on the national level. He also detailed efforts aimed at eliminating unnecessary and wasteful spending in the state budget.

Foreign policy

Romney said the threat of “jihadism” is “woefully misunderstood” and in some respects underestimated.

A network of radical elements — including al Qaeda, Hizballah, the Muslim Brotherhood and others - is able to reach millions of people with a message that is “devastating to civilization,” and those radicals are working “to replace all moderate Islamic governments with a single caliphate and to govern all nations that have ever been touched by Islam,” he said.

“For that to happen, they need to crush the superpower that keeps the world order in check, [and] that’s the U.S. They want to collapse our economy, our government and our military.”

While this may seem like a far-fetched proposition to some, Romney argued that the jihad elements are “crazy but not stupid,” and have identified certain points of vulnerability, such as the “interdependent” nature of the U.S. economy.

Romney said Iran is “at the heart of the jihadist threat” and “must be stopped.”

Some of the key policy proposals Romney discussed included a call to indict Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for “incitement to genocide.”

He also outlined steps that could be taken both diplomatically and financially to isolate the regime in Iran. Romney, for instance, favors the imposition of restrictions on investments that would go to corporations doing business in Iran.

“Military options are not off the table,” he added. “Nor are they coming off the table.”

Cultural issues

Several high-profile issues assumed center stage in Massachusetts during Romney’s term as governor, including same-sex marriage and the role of the judiciary.

At a time when the state supreme court was ruling in favor of homosexual marriage, Romney said he did “everything within my power and within the law to stand up for traditional marriage.” He also expressed the view that marriage is not primarily about adults and adult rights but rather about “the development and nurturing of children.”

While he acknowledged he was once “pro-choice” and not always a “Ronald Reagan conservative” on the question of abortion, Romney said he has “changed his view.”

The turning point came, he explained, when he began to study stem cell research and found that a “bright line” could be crossed making it possible to create life simply for purpose of “experimentation and destruction,” he added.

From that point forward, Romney said he squarely aligned himself with the pro-life cause and sought to advance measures as governor that would protect the “sanctity of life.”

Ann Marie

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http://netizensformitt.blogspot.com/

I came across this website today when Justin Talbot posted a comment on Kyle’s post about Romney’s newsletter. I found it extremely informative, and an awesome expression of what needs to be done online to get Governor Romney elected President. I’d strongly suggest you visiting the site, and looking around.

Ann Marie

P.S. Thanks Justin for setting this up.

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Has anyone been getting emails from the Romney campaign? I signed up and got a response and I believe that I received a response when I donated online, but I haven’t had anything in my inbox since. Anyone having a different experience?

-Kyle Joseph Farmer

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http://myclob.pbwiki.com

I have included a new link at the top of the page. It is titled Knowledge Base, and it links to Mike Laub’s PBWIKI page. If you visit the site it includes a knowledge base of all things Romney. I would sincerely check it out often, and if you’d like to contribute to the project just email him and he’d be more than happy to help you get started.

Ann Marie

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http://abcnews.go.com/Pol…=2811806&page=1

No mention of Romney in this story (which is a shame…;) ), but, it’s a pretty cool article. I especially liked this quote.

“We are about to enter the era of voter-generated content,” Rasiej said. “You’re going to see citizen activists take the technology into their own hands, create their own message on behalf of the candidate they support, and seek to distribute it on their own.”

We here at this blog have known this for what, nineteen months now?

Ann Marie

Side note, head on over to ABC’s BLOG discussing the different candidate sites.

One Romney mention:

on the GOP side, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has a pretty cool MITT-TV OFFERING

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http://www.truthmapping.com/viewtopic.php?id=575

I think if Mitt Romney is going to become president he will have to create his own forum that promotes better debate. As you can see below, Hillary and John Edwards already have online forums that allow user feedback. Mitt Romney has better ideas for our future, than John Edwards or Hillary and so their fancy forums are just make-up on a pig. But as Mitt Romney knows, political campaigns are not always about ideas and ideals.

In his (excellent) book Turnaround, Romney said of his 1994 race for Ted Kennedy’s spot in the senate that; “Ideas I brought forward were dissected and distorted to their illogical extreme.” Romney also admitted that the campaign had failed to; “…raise new ideas for government, help rebuild a disappearing second party, and stand for something bigger than self interest… the campaign had been about charges and misperceptions, not ideas and ideals.”

That’s the problem with political campaigns. Ideas that candidates forward are always “dissected and distorted to their illogical extremes”.

For instance, if you do a Google Blog-search for “Mitt Romney” you will find many Blogs saying that because of Romneycare, Mitt Romney is a socialist. This, of course is bad logic. Governor Mitt Romney cut more government programs than any other governor. He balanced the Massachusetts 3 Billion dollar deficit every year he was in office, without raising taxes. He consolidated all sorts of state agencies, and laid off all and consolidated all sorts of government offices. He advocated many times, and put forward bills to lower taxes in Massachusetts. Socialist want higher taxes, not lower taxes. But how do you fight bad logic? How do you keep your Ideas from being “dissected and distorted to their illogical extreme.” How do you keep the political debate about “ideas and ideals” not “charges and misperceptions.”

The problem is that our current system of online debate does not reward good logic, or punish bad logic. Thousands of people all say the same things on thousands of different redundant websites. Liberals only talk to liberals and conservatives only talk to conservatives, while both sides pat each other on the back, congratulating each other on how smart they are, and how stupid the “others” are.

Here is an example of a website that tries to bring better logic to our online debate:

http://www.truthmapping.com/viewtopic.php?id=575

You can see, from the map on the left, that there are numbered premises that supported numbered conclusions. People can rate the logic of each premise as to weather it really supports the conclusion.

But most debate forums are just hang-outs for the anti-social weirdoes with their own bizarre agendas. Why would Romney open his site to his competitors, which would love to bring him down?

If Romney created a similar forum to the truth-mapping site above, where people could debate the validity of each of his beliefs, he could create a centralized location where he can refute “charges and misperceptions” once and for all, so that he doesn’t have to go to each of the millions of blogs out there that are saying incorrect things. By doing this Romney can show that he is not afraid of debating his critics and that he is willing to engage with those that disagree with him.

If we can really create a truth-promoting forum, then there is nothing to be afraid of. But what would a truth promoting forum look like? I envision Romney’s beliefs at the top, like “We need to stop run away spending”. Then, below, I see two columns: Reasons to agree and reasons to disagree. People could then submit reasons to agree and disagree. Then people could post statistics, or logical arguments that agree. Users would be able to evaluate each post, giving it a score on weather the assertion is verifiable, logically correct, etc. Then each reason’s score would contribute to the overall score of Romney’s original idea.

What are the consequences of in-action? Going to

you find the following:

Soon we’ll launch the official blog of HillaryClinton.com, a crucial part of our exciting national conversation about the direction of our country and the place to go to learn more about Hillary.

We know our readers are going to have a lot to say, so we want to give you the first word.

We’re looking for your ideas on how we can work together for change. If you’d like to write the very first guest post on the HillaryClinton.com blog, submit your entry in the form below. And if you already have your own blog or other website, please post your entry there and let us know about it. We’ll select one entry as the first guest post on our blog.

If you go to John Edwards’ site you will see that he already has a blog up and running, with a section dedicated to “Arguments and Analysis”.

The arms race has begun. Mitt Romney needs to create a forum that allows users to interact with his ideas, and record yesterday. Mitt Romney will not have the first forum that allows voter’s feedback. John Edwards already has one. But the Candidates should not be judged by who has the first forum, but whose forum does the best job of advancing the truth.

~ Mike

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So far, four potential GOP presidential candidates have set up exploratory committees and websites… Mitt Romney, Rudy Guiliani, John McCain, and Sam Brownback. Each site has the same goal for the respective GOP presidential hopeful, but each are unique in style, content, complexity… even activity.

Mitt Romney’s is by the most elaborate and attractive site, and it’s updated regularly. It’s got color, style, and even a page outlining his positions on key issues. It has a media page (MittTV) with plenty of videos for you to view, and an impressive mechanism for key fundraisers to login via the ComMITT system.

Each candidate certainly knows the importance of using the internet to get their message out and to build up grassroots support, but if the candidates exploratory committee websites are any indication of their campaign’s real understanding of that importance, Romney is way ahead of the competition.

Read about the other websites here.

-Janine

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I’m going to click all categories. I am opening up the blog to whatever stories, discussions, ideas, etc…you want. Please be advised though that any crude or profane language will be deleted. You must discuss your ideas in a civil fashion with no name calling. Other than that, the floor is yours. Other posts will be posted as needed, but this one’s for you. One note: Try to think outside the box, and make this discussion as varied as possible

Read, Set, Go!!!

Ann Marie

P.S. While you’re at it contribute. Yes, I am a shameless promoter. Follow the following instructions to do so…Thanks!

—–
Contribute NOW! - Time is of the essence, and I urgently ask you to donate to Mitt Romney’s Exploratory Committee for President 2008. It is very important in terms of the future of this country that we raise the needed funds for this campaign to get off to a good start. President Bush raised over $100 million in his campaign run in 2004, and this cycle will likely need much more than that. Contributions of even $10 can make a difference in this critical phase of the campaign cycle. Let’s get rolling and show Governor Romney what we’re made of!

Guidelines for contributing:

Individuals can give up to $2100, and couples can give up to $4200 per year.

Ways to contribute:

1. Visit this URL: Contribute, and fill in your information and donate by credit card. Please use fundraiser ID: 250001, and my name Ann Marie Curling.

2. Write a check with your donation amount (please write Ann Marie Curling - 250001 in the MEMO field). Print the form located at Contribution Form PDF, and fill in all the necessary information. Then mail your form and check to the following address: Romney for President Exploratory Committee, Inc., P.O. Box 55899, Boston, MA 02205-5899.

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To all of you who have been unable to view the site via RSS readers for the past couple weeks or more, it is FIXED.

Wonderful news, and couldn’t have been fixed at a better time!

Ann Marie

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