comMITTed to Romney!

In the “lest we forget department” Austin Hill at Townhall.com has a good article on those two zany Democrat politicians, Bill and Hill. Worth the read to remind ourselves what we are up against in this election. If they somehow pull their bacon out of the fire and wind up the “co-nominees” of the Democrat Party, we will have to hit the ground running to prevent a re-run of the first scandal-plagued Clinton administration.

~~John Cronin~~

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/AustinHill/2008/04/27/
the_democrats__indignation_over_the_clintons__better_late_than_never

Breaking news - - Bill and Hillary Clinton are nasty, frequently inauthentic, and dishonest.

Actually this is not “news” at all. But many Liberal Americans have just begun to discover this painful reality, and it’s an arduous process for them to stumble out of their denial.

My concerns about Bill’s relationship with the truth date back to his now-famous “I experimented with marijuana a time or two“ and I “didn‘t inhale” shtick of 1992. So many others seemed to revel in the entertainment value that then-Governor Clinton provided with those remarks. I, on the other hand, was horrified that a serious candidate for the presidency would utter such absurdities, and expect, as he apparently did, to be taken seriously.

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Matt Lewis TownHall.com

Some conservative leaders are now publicly opposing Mitt Romney’s consideration for VP. 

This is from the Government is not God PAC website:

More than 20 leading social conservatives signed an open letter to Senator John McCain expressing their displeasure over the prospect of an “M&M” ticket being pushed by Karl Rove, Sean Hannity and others in the economic wing of the Republican Party.

Among the signers are those, such as Paul Weyrich of the Free Congress Foundation, who once supported Mitt Romney and now publicly regret it. 

View the PDF IMAGE OF AD 

Note:  A trusted source tells me that the minute Romney endorsed McCain, Weyrich decided he couldn’t stomach Mitt’s decision, and promptly endorsed Huckabee.  With the exception of Weyrich, who endorsed Romney, the signers all tend to be former Huckabee supporters.One source, who was close to the Romney campaign, tells me this is an attempt to elevate Mike Huckabee as a possible VP pick: 

“Who has been talking about Huckabee as Veep?  Nobody.  I’d rather have Hannity and Ingraham saying good things about me to millions of people, rather than worrying about what this rag-tag group says about me.”

It has been reported that this full-page ad will run tomorrow in various cities and towns where John McCain will be campaigning.  But I’m doubtful it will see the light of day in more than a few small publications (As Jim Geraghty writes, ”This is absolutely fantastic news… for the advertising department of the Prescott Daily Courier.”). 

If this organization were really serious, they would probably focus on targeted direct mail and phone calls.  Instead, this is more likely an attention-getting device to try to get some attention for the Huckabee for Veep movement.

Here are some an excerpts from the ad: 

FOR US THE BOTTOM LINE IS THIS: The unvarnished facts of Mitt Romney’s record as governor of Massachusetts make him utterly unacceptable as a Vice Presidential choice.  

Governor Romney got no traction during the primaries simply because his recent “conversion” to conservative and pro-life principles is not credible.

Question:  Knowing what you do of McCain, do you think that these guys opinion of Mitt makes him more or less likely to pick Mitt based on their opinion?  … My guess is that they have achieved the opposite of their supposed intent and in fact made Mitt more acceptable to McCain after their attacks.

Update: You can indicate your willingess to vote for Gov. Romney here.

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From Matt Lewis at Townhall:

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Mitt Romney’s “Hero’s Journey”

Posted by: Matt Lewis at 6:00 PM

Michael Reagan says Ronald Reagan would have endorsed John McCain; He’s right.  As Michael notes: In 1976 the Ford vs. Reagan campaign for the Republican presidential nomination got so heated it looked as if my father and Jerry Ford would never again talk to one another.  When it was over and Ford had won, what did Ronald Reagan do? He simply went all-out to help Ford win his re-election, as did I and as did my sister Maureen. My dad simply followed his rule of backing the Republican candidate no matter who he was. Of course, as we have noted here on several occasions – Mitt Romney seems to be following the Ronald Reagan 1976 playbook.  His CPAC speech has been compared to Reagan’s ‘76 convention speech – and now – his endorsement is being compared to Reagan’s support of Ford …  But while Ronald Reagan’s loss — and his re-birth in ‘80 — is a fairly recent model to use as a comarision, the archetype is almost as old as time.  As Jung would put it, this entire narrative has long been a part of our “collective unconscious.”  In essence, whether he’s doing it consciously. or not, Mitt Romney is seeking to tap into a mythological narrative called the “Hero’s Journey.” If you’ve read Arthur or the Odyssey – or have seen Star Wars or Rocky — you are familiar with the idea.  Before reaching the “promised land,” a hero must first endure his “wilderness years.”  This is essentially a right of passage or initiation (I’ve written that Mitt Romney finally passed his “Initiation” into the conservative movement.)  Of course, the last stage of the “Hero’s Journey” is when the hero reaches his destiny and in a sense, rises from the dead.  If you’re a movie fan, this is the part when Rocky finally wins or when Han Solo and Luke Skywalker are given their awards.  Or if you like politics, it’s the day Reagan wins after everyone thought he was finished in ‘76. In Mitt Romney’s scenario, he becomes the Republican standard-bearer, and ultimately is elected president.

I was struck today, watching the endorsement, by the contrast in demeanor and presentation between Mitt and McCain.  Mitt - positive, affable, and eloquent; McCain - dour, testy with the press, and looking old with a twitchy right eye as he listened to Mitt.  As I’m still recovering from last week’s pull out, I didn’t know if I should laugh or cry at how absurd it was that Mitt was deferring to cranky McCain, pulling his delegates, and supporting McCain for President.  It just seemed so backwards, so appalling, so frustrating, and so wrong.  I tried to watch with an open mind, to listen to what Mitt was really saying, hoping that despite the endorsement, I’d find something to justify my intent to vote for Mitt at my upcoming county convention in Nevada, where I am a delegate.  I’m still confused. 

Anyone reading the comments of our incredible readers on the posts here today understands the pros and cons of Mitt’s endorsement, and of voting for McCain.  I know why I should vote for McCain, I just can’t quite bring myself to say I will yet.  What I do know is that Mitt is smart.  Mitt is pragmatic.  Mitt is about following the path that leads to him making a difference in this country.  I understand that many of the pundits are already painting this as another Mitt flip-flop - Mitt doing whatever it takes to get elected.  The way I see it, Mitt is doing what he needs to do, to put himself in the best position he can to effect conservative change in the country.  When Mitt said, “I can’t wait to get my hands on Washington,” he really meant it.  Mitt will do what needs to be done to get the job done.  Some label this as a type of pandering.  Again, I see it as the practical CEO delivering the goods (conservative leadership) to the customers (us).  Mitt understands that talk is cheap.  In order to be a change agent, you have to be in a position of authority to actually have the power to effect that change.  The fact that Mitt has the humility and foresight to understand this is another reason I am a true Mitt supporter.  As I said last week, I’m a Mitt supporter first and a Republican second.  If I vote for John McCain, it won’t be for the good of the party, it won’t be to beat the Dems, and it won’t be because Mitt told me to. It will be because I believe it will help Mitt continue through his “Hero’s Journey,” all the way to the Presidency.

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Hugh Hewitt was at the Long Beach rally tonight.  As always, his insight is invaluable.  Tonight, he looks forward and gives us an idea of what to expect:

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Rallying To Romney

Posted by: Hugh Hewitt at 12:31 AM

A large, enthusiastic crowd gathered on extremely short notice for a last minute Long Beach, California stop for Romney tonight.  I talked to the get-out-the-vote staffer who was heading back to Sacramento and the headquarters even as Romney took off for West Virginia and that state’s Super Tuesday convention.  The Romney team is wired, the sort of energy that can be faked but only flows from conviction that the political wind is at your back.  Similar reprots are arriving from Colorado and Georgia. Romney clearly has momentum in California, and a win here will send the campaign into a month of head-to-head contests culminating in Ohio and Texas in early March.  Expect Romney to challenge McCain to a series of one-on-one debates that McCain really cannot accept, underscoring the weakness of the McCain campaign if it has to match up against Obama.  Not only would McCain be overwhelmed by the volcano of money exploding for Obama, he can’t match the Illinois senator on the small screen.  The recognition of the mismatch looming is adding fuel to the Romney rally. Romney by contrast has enormous energy and an appeal built on the future, not the past.  He can easily raise the money necessary to contest the next eight months until public financing takes over on 9/1, and he would easily best Obama in one-on-ones on television. Romney has reassembled the Reagan coalition and may have done so just in time to save the GOP from lapsing into its pre-Reagan days.  If the Huck vote continues to dwindle at the rate it has been fading over the past ten days, tomorrow could have many surprises.  Romney thanked Rush, Sean, Laura, Mark Levin, Lars Larson and others among the conservative punditry for leading the rally.  If he can keep it close tomorrow, the shift to him will accelerate as the GOP decides to contest 2008 on the basis of free markets, free minds, traditional values, and victory in the war –in short, on a 2008 edition of the 1980 platform.

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Interesting comment thread over at Townhall.com. It’s still early, but it looks like Mitt could be a real beneficiary if Fred throws in the towel.

Best case scenario: Fred drops out and endorses Mitt

Second best case scenario: Fred drops out and endorses nobody

Neutral case scenario: Fred drops out and endorses McCandidate (I think most Fred-Heads are smart enough to realize McCain’s flaws)

Worst case scenario: Fred stays in, dies a slow and painful death, and siphons off enough votes to enable a McCandidate/Duckabee ticket which goes on to lose to the Dems.

Taking a page from Vic Lundquist…let’s all make nice with the Fred-heads and join forces to stop McCandidate!

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THANK YOU to reader NevadaGirl for pointing me to this article. The entire article is outstanding and rather than quote the whole thing in this post, I recommend you click through and read the article at the Townhall blog. This is one of the best articles I have read in a long time about the state of the presidential race today.  It does not address the whole whisper campaign that is preventing the evangelical lemmings from using their heads; it just tells them they better start using their minds or they will lose clout altogether; and the election.

Evangelicals thumbing their nose at the GOP — Friday, January 11, 2008 11:42 AM

Fortunately, I honestly believe that most Americans who identify as evangelicals, will use their minds and not just fall in line with Huckabee in the traditional Democrat “identity politics” way.    Evangelicals were burned for supporting Carter.     In my opinion, they will be severely impacted if they support Huckabee simply because they have the same religion.

~ Vic

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TOWNHALL.COM here http://www.townhall.com/blog

Posted by: Hugh Hewitt at 6:59 PM

I know Ann Marie has a previous post on Mr. Monaghan’s endorsement of Mitt Romney, but I thought what Hugh Hewitt had to say was so important that it bore repeating.

One of the most important points Mr. Hewitt makes is that conservatives are not going to surrender their party without a fight. Their have been numerous calls for Mitt Romney to withdraw from the race. Interesting advise to the candidate who is leading in the delegate count!

I have some unsolicited advise for the ink-stained wretches who are calling for us to hand over the GOP to them on a silver platter……we will see you at the polls in November!

Domino’s Pizza founder Tom Monaghan endorsed Mitt Romney today. As one of Michigan’s highest profile business successes this would be news in itself, but it is far more important than just another keen observer of the economy recognizing Romney’s qualifications to serve as president.

Monaghan is a Catholic’s Catholic, the founder of Ave Maria University and Law School, and one of the forces behind Legatus, an organization of senior Catholic business leaders. He is an ardent pro-lifer, and a man deeply concerned with rescuing the culture.

Monaghan’s decision to announce today is a clear signal to social conservatives that it is time to chose and get in the game, first in Michigan and then South Carolina, Nevada and Florida in an effort to save the GOP from capture by the anti-conservative John McCain and the neopopulist Mike Huckabee.

Many leaders of the value voters have stayed on the sidelines, buffeted by conflicting pressures and a sometimes noisy anti-Mormon fringe. They may stay there, but if they do and the presidency is lost and with it the Surpreme Court, their inactivity in January 2008 will be a heavy burden to bear. Monaghan apparently knows this and is leading the way that social conservatives should follow.

There is no way Romney should retire from this race before Super Tuesday no matter how many Beltway-Manhattan pundits want him out. The conservatives are not going to surrender their party, and they want a chance to say so at the ballot box. As the upheaval on the Democratic side showed yesterday, there are many surprises in store for pollsters and pundits in the new media age of politics. By February 5, a thoroughly disgusted core of Republican activists from the center-right will be mobilized across the country to keep their party on the path established by the Reagan-Bush coalitions.

~~John Cronin~~

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Anybody nervous out there? I am.

I really want Governor Romney, his team, and all his amazing, dedicated volunteers to experience a win in New Hampshire today. So for all of them, all of you, and for me — I am nervous.

I am feeling good vibes. Any of you remember the film Kelly’s Heroes when Sutherland is standing with his body out of a tank, going through that tunnel yelling, “No negative vibes! Only positive vibes!” ? All right, I just dated myself.

Check out this great post by Hewitt today. Hewitt always thinks through the issues in a very thorough way, always looking to the long-term. I think his analysis here is spot-on. Click here to read it:

Tuesday, January 08, 2008 — Preempting Nonsense On A Deadline — Posted by: Hugh Hewitt at 8:47 AM

I am feelin’ it today.

~ Vic

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By Doug Wilson, Dec 31, 2007

Read this article Here at Townhall.com

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Campaign Chairman Says Reagan Legacy “Doesn’t Mean A Whole Lot”
“All along, Mitt Romney has wisely run as the only candidate who represents all three legs of the ‘three legged stool’ that is the Republican coalition. For those of us who believe it is imperative to preserve the Reagan coalition, Rollins’ pronouncement is almost an argument to vote for Mitt Romney.” – Townhall’s Matt Lewis (Matt Lewis, “Rollins: Reagan Coalition Is Done,” Townhall, Posted 12/29/07)
Gov. Huckabee’s Campaign Chairman Declared The Reagan Coalition Dead:
Gov. Huckabee’s Campaign Chair Ed Rollins: The Reagan Coalition Of Social, Fiscal, And Defense Conservatives “Doesn’t Mean A Whole Lot To People Anymore.” Huckabee Campaign Chairman Ed Rollins: “The breakup of what was the Reagan coalition — social conservatives, defense conservatives, anti-tax conservatives — it doesn’t mean a whole lot to people anymore.” (David Kirkpatrick, “Shake, Rattle And Roil The Grand Ol’ Coalition,” The New York Times, 12/30/07)
Rollins On The Reagan Coalition:
“It’s Gone.” “[Huckabee's] success is setting off a debate in his party over whether his success marks the fading of the old Reaganite conservative coalition — social conservatives, anti-tax activists and advocates of a muscular defense — or, rather, offers a chance for its rejuvenation. ‘It’s gone,’ said Ed Rollins, who once worked as President Reagan’s political director and recently became Mr. Huckabee’s national campaign chairman.” (David Kirkpatrick, “Shake, Rattle And Roil The Grand Ol’ Coalition,” The New York Times, 12/30/07)
Rollins:
Some Parts Of Reagan Coalition May “Go By The Wayside.” “‘It is a time for a whole new coalition — that is the key,’ he said, adding that some part of the original triad might ‘go by the wayside.’” (David Kirkpatrick, “Shake, Rattle And Roil The Grand Ol’ Coalition,” The New York Times, 12/30/07)
Gov. Romney Aims To Keep The Reagan Coalition United:
Townhall’s Matt Lewis: “Rollins’ Pronouncement Is Almost An Argument To Vote For Mitt Romney.” “All along, Mitt Romney has wisely run as the only candidate who represents all three legs of the ‘three legged stool’ that is the Republican coalition. For those of us who believe it is imperative to preserve the Reagan coalition, Rollins’ pronouncement is almost an argument to vote for Mitt Romney.” (Matt Lewis, “Rollins: Reagan Coalition Is Done,” Townhall, Posted 12/29/07)
National Review:
“Romney Is A Full-Spectrum Conservative.” “Our guiding principle has always been to select the most conservative viable candidate. In our judgment, that candidate is Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts. Unlike some other candidates in the race, Romney is a full-spectrum conservative: a supporter of free-market economics and limited government, moral causes such as the right to life and the preservation of marriage, and a foreign policy based on the national interest.” (Editorial, “Romney For President,” National Review, 12/11/07)
Gov. Mitt Romney:
We Need To Unite “Social Conservatives, Economic Conservatives And Defense Conservatives.”
GOV. ROMNEY: “I believe that to win the White House that our candidate has to be somebody who can represent and speak for all three legs of the conservative stool or conservative coalition that Ronald Reagan put together – social conservatives, economic conservatives and defense conservatives.” (Gov. Mitt Romney, Press Availability, Grand Rapids, MI, 10/13/07)
Gov. Huckabee Alienates Fiscal And Foreign Policy Conservatives:
National Review:
Gov. Huckabee Would Pull Apart The Conservative Coalition By Alienating Economic And Foreign Policy Conservatives. “Uniting the conservative coalition is not enough to win a presidential election, but it is a prerequisite for building on that coalition. Rudolph Giuliani did extraordinary work as mayor of New York and was inspirational on 9/11. But he and Mike Huckabee would pull apart the coalition from opposite ends: Giuliani alienating the social conservatives, and Huckabee the economic (and foreign-policy) conservatives. A Republican party that abandoned either limited government or moral standards would be much diminished in the service it could give the country.” (Editorial, “Romney For President,” National Review, 12/11/07)
Club For Growth’s Pat Toomey:
Gov. Huckabee Is “A Big-Government Liberal.” “In order to earn back the public’s trust on economic issues, not to mention offer a compelling contrast with a Hillary Clinton-led Democratic ticket, Republicans must present a consistent message. A big-government liberal like Mike Huckabee, who takes pleasure in attacking the Republican party as the ‘party of Wall Street,’ will only reinforce the image of Republicans as ‘the big spenders that they used to oppose.’ A Huckabee nomination, even as vice president, will make it impossible for the Republican party to reclaim its brand of fiscal conservatism and limited government, without which it cannot be a majority party again.” (Pat Toomey, “Dump The Huck,” National Review, 10/26/07)
Columnist Robert Novak:
Gov. Huckabee “Is A High-Tax, Protectionist Advocate Of Big Government.” “Huckabee is campaigning as a conservative, but serious Republicans know that he is a high-tax, protectionist advocate of big government and a strong hand in the Oval Office directing the lives of Americans.” (Robert Novak, “The False Conservative,” The Washington Post, 11/26/07)
CNBC’s Larry Kudlow:
Gov. Huckabee Naïve “On Dealing In International Affairs With Iran And Others.” CNBC’s LARRY KUDLOW: ” Condi Rice came out of the State Department … and attacked him because of his naïveté on dealing in international affairs with Iran and others. He doesn’t seem to understand power politics, and that we are in a jihadist global war.” (Hugh Hewitt Radio show, YouTube, 12/21/07)
Columnist Charles Krauthammer Said Gov. Huckabee’s “Naïve And Unconvincing” Views On Foreign Policy Are Disqualifications To Be President. “Huckabee is funny, well spoken and gave a preacher’s stemwinder that wowed the religious right gathering in Washington last Saturday. But whatever foreign policy he has is naive and unconvincing. In wartime, that is a disqualification for commander in chief.” (Charles Krauthammer, Op-Ed, “A Fine Field Of 4½,” The Washington Post, 10/26/07)

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