comMITTed to Romney!

IMPACT: Far from a disappointment

To the editor:

Hudson Todd is correct in his analysis that this year’s IMPACT Symposium does not feature a Democrat. However, the lineup that the Speakers Committee developed over the last six months has depth and promises to be the most compelling IMPACT in several years. Both major parties are sympathetic to capitalism, and, as such, the committee needed to go beyond the labels of Republican and Democrat, as we have many times in the past, to find speakers who would cause us to ask the deepest question: Is capitalism right?

The goal of our committee was to focus on a domestic issue for this year’s IMPACT, as the past few years have dealt with foreign policy. We selected former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney as the keynote because he has the experience of an American businessman and politician. He was CEO of Bain & Company, a management-consulting firm, not to mention a former presidential candidate and a strong contender for the Republican nomination in 2012. Yes, he will present a more conservative economic dialogue, but we hope that his perspective will be refreshing and balanced.

As for the evening with journalist John Stossel and former presidential candidate and consumer advocate Ralph Nader, it will not be a “debate.” It will be a point-counterpoint discussion that will provide two unique outlooks on the current economic situation and what the future looks like for our capitalist system. We hope that following this event students will take both the positions and information provided to them and form their own opinions. We have chosen two speakers who are radically opposed in their viewpoints in an attempt to cover the entire spectrum during the discussion. The tradition of IMPACT is to have controversial discussions about current events, and Speakers Committee expects Stossel and Nader to disagree with each other in the spirit of this tradition.

Stossel will not be discussing global warming, and Nader will not be dwelling on his presidential campaigns. Their discussion, as well as Romney’s speech, will focus entirely on the American economy and its future. Since 1964 IMPACT Symposium has enhanced the political dialogue on campus by inviting diverse speakers. This year’s symposium follows up on last year’s (which did not feature a Republican) in returning IMPACT to its great days of the 1960s and 1970s.

In one year, IMPACT hosted Stokley Carmichael, Martin Luther King Jr. and Strom Thurmond, and the committee more recently convinced Ann Coulter and Al Sharpton to share a stage. We’ve also brought Bobby Kennedy, George H.W. Bush and Margaret Thatcher to campus. The Speakers Committee invites everyone to join us for what is expected to be another animated, enlightening symposium.

Ralph Nader and John Stossel will speak on March 30, followed by Mitt Romney on March 31. Both events are free and will take place in Langford Auditorium. All attendees of the Mitt Romney event will receive a copy of his new book “No Apology: The Case for American Greatness.”

Ethel Mickey
Speakers Committee

http://www.insidevandy.com/drupal/node/12789

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If you are a conservative or a center-right voter, take the time to watch this excellent YouTube video that exposes the smears and outright lies that were used to prevent Gov. Romney from winning the nomination of the Republican Party and thereby ushering into power someone who looks like a man on track to become the worst President in the history of the Unites States of America.

~~John Cronin~~

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[Here's an excerpt from an email I received from Carly Fiorina's campaign.}

Last week, America turned to Washington to tune in to the President’s State of the Union address and his budget proposal. We were promised hope for a path through these difficult economic times; we wanted change from Washington’s status quo. Unfortunately, we got neither.

As I was talking to Californians this week, I heard people say again and again how tired they are of Washington’s rhetoric and lack of real action. Barbara Boxer and her colleagues say they will fight for you and me, but they waved the white flag a long time ago when it comes to saying no to the special interests.

We don’t need another career politician in Washington. We need common-sense problem solvers who will put the needs of Californians first. As a U.S. Senator, I will stand up for California and remind Washington who is really in charge: you.

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Today, Feb.4, 2010 at 5PM Eastern, newly elected Massachusetts Republican Senator Scott Brown will take his seat in the U.S. Senate.

He originally had planned to take his seat Feb.11, but a series of votes is on the Senate calendar and Sen. Brown decided he couldn’t take the chance on missing an important vote. In my opinion, given this Congress’ shameful record of passing major legislation on weekends and slipping in toxic 300 page amendments in the dead of night, Sen. Brown has made a wise choice. If we have learned anything over the course of the last year, it is that this collection of tax and power hungry politicians can not be trusted with anything that is not welded to the floor.

We have witnessed history in the making over the course of the last several weeks and some of us have actually participated in that history. Scott Brown’s “Brigade” was a group of grassroots activists in MA. and from around the country who rose up spontaneously, much like the Tea Party movement. It has been the best civics lesson that I have ever had, to be a part of a group of free Americans, exercising our Constitutionally guaranteed rights to help steer the country back from the edge of the cliff, a cliff that Obama and his hard left enablers in Congress were trying to push us over.

Of course, none of this would have happened without the courage and vision of two men. Mitt Romney and Scott Brown.

Mitt Romney, because of his foresight and dedication. Scott Brown because of his courage and willingness to buck the MA. Democratic machine.

Gov. Romney endorsed Scott Brown in October of 2009, when Scott had the proverbial snowball’s chance in a hot place to beat Martha “Landslide” Coakley and her armies of union and out-of-state campaign workers. That move was the essence of political leadership. Romney came out for Scott Brown before he became the hottest commodity in Washington or anyplace else for that matter.

No one on the national scene had ever heard of Sen. Brown at that point, but Gov. Romney used his unique knowledge of Massachusetts politics to pluck Scott from the state Senate and encourage him to run for the “Kennedy seat,” or as Scott famously put it, the “people’s seat.”

Gov. Romney then used his vaunted fund raising ability to help provide the seed money for Scott’s campaign and a group of Romney political operatives then swung into action to advise Scott on tactics and branding. They did a masterful job of that, winning convincingly in a state that has an Independent registration of 50% of the electorate and a 3 to 1 Democrat advantage.

In the process of helping to elect Scott Brown to the U.S. Senate, Mitt Romney did more than any one person I can think of, with the possible exception of Scott Brown himself, to spare this country from the tender mercies of Obamacare. The significance of what happened in this special election may not have dawned on many people yet. We have seen the emergence of a strong, disciplined and a very effective opposition to the hard Left in this country.

I think it is highly ironic that the same people who tried in vain to label Mitt Romney a “flip-flopper” on abortion are strangely quiet these days. Where were you folks when the MA. election was coming down to the wire? You had plenty to say in 2007-2008 when Gov. Romney was running in the primaries and you were constantly informing the rest of us that Mitt was a johnny-come-lately to the pro-life camp. It’s unfortunate that you didn’t use some of that lung power to make calls from home to help Brown get elected and stop Obamacare from permanently funding abortion with your tax dollars.

So, the man who was derided as not having pro-life bona fides, who had allegedly taken the position only to court the Right Wing of the Republican Party, is the man who helped stop Obamacare dead in it’s tracks. In the process of achieving this historic win, Gov. Romney has worked to ensure that everyone in the medical profession who believes that abortion is morally wrong can continue to work in the field that they love. He has ensured that the monstrous taxes contained within this bill will not be implemented in an already weak economy.

As we move toward the 2010 elections, Gov. Romney will continue his role in rebuilding the Party and in the process, staking his richly deserved claim to the Republican Presidential nomination!

~~John Cronin~~

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For those who have never been to my Encyclopedia Mittanica here are some links. I think we need to all link to each other and build up our audience.

2012 is not far away. Before we get there we need to know the past.

Here is a rundown of his 2008 Platform:

1. Keeping Americans Safe
2. Confronting Radical Jihad
3. Combating Nuclear Terrorism
4. Strengthening Latin American Allies and Confronting Tyrants
5. Winning the Global Economic Competition
6. Ending Energy Dependence
7. Curbing Out of Control Federal Spending
8. Ending the Tide of Illegal Immigration
9. Reducing Spiraling Health Care Costs
10. Confronting Threats to American Culture, Values, and Freedoms
11. Raising the Bar on Education

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INSIDEVANDY.COM

By Hannah Twillman

Ralph Nader, John Stossel will also debate during the IMPACT week.

The speakers at this year’s IMPACT Symposium will focus on “The Future of Capitalism,” bringing the spotlight to the U.S. for the first time in recent years.

Journalist John Stossel and former presidential candidate Ralph Nader will kick off the two-day event on March 30 with a point-counterpoint discussion titled “Business or the consumer first?” and Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney will present on “American Capitalism in the World” the following night, according to Speakers Committee co-chairs Heather Borowski and Theo Samets. Audience members will have the opportunity to ask questions after each speech.

“When I applied to chair IMPACT for this year, my goal was to bring the impact home,” Samets said. “Since Heather and I have been here, the theme of impact has always been foreign-policy related. For me, my first priority was really to have a domestic impact.”

Borowski echoed the current need to focus on the state of the country.

“The recession has given us a great opportunity to focus more internally. Society is trying to re-evaluate what to do,” Borowski said. “To bring in three prominent personalities to discuss that when clearly there are no right answers at this point is going to be interesting.”

Speakers Committee, part of Vanderbilt Programming Board, has planned and hosted IMPACT Symposium since 1964, featuring speakers to discuss controversial and current events during the two- to three-day event. This will be the first symposium since the death of former Chancellor Alexander Heard, who helped conceive the idea for the student-run event. His legacy will be honored the first night of the symposium, Samets said.

http://www.insidevandy.com/drupal/node/12609

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As a small businesswoman, I can appreciate why so many small businesses in California are suffering.

My husband and I opened Cielito Lindo, a Mexican restaurant in South El Monte, in 1986. We provide jobs for more than 60 people and contribute our fair share to federal, state and local tax authorities. But like so many small businesses in California, we’ve been forced to lay off employees, trim paychecks and cut overhead just to stay afloat.

For California’s economy to rebound, we must encourage growth among the state’s small businesses.

That’s why I am supporting Republican Meg Whitman to be California’s next governor. Meg has the right kind of leadership experience and bold vision to help small businesses grow our economy, and she will make certain California stays friendly to small business owners.

As governor, Meg will cut taxes, reduce regulations and modify workplace rules to give small businesses like mine greater incentive to invest, expand and hire more workers as well as keep California competitive with other states.

Meg Whitman is the only candidate in this race with common sense solutions to stimulate our economy. And return California again to a place where small businesses can prosper.

Teresa Hernandez
South El Monte

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Somethin’ Special. A victory for Republican Sen.-elect Scott Brown’s campaign was also a victory for Mitt Romney’s team, and the consulting group’s stock has risen as a result.

The group of Massachusetts operatives from The Shawmut Group who guided the former Massachusetts governor’s bid for president in 2008 were also behind Brown’s come-from-behind special election victory this week. Romney is also considered a likely White House contender in 2012.

The Shawmut Group was responsible for general consulting and media for Brown’s campaign, while survey giant Neil Newhouse of Public Opinion Strategies performed polling on behalf of the campaign and the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

“In a very short period of time, the Brown campaign shifted from a sleepy Massachusetts campaign to a national campaign and did it with relative ease due in large part to the circle of folks around him,” said Joe Wall, a fellow former Romney aide. “A marathon presidential campaign prepares you for just about everything and their pedigree was a tremendous asset to a candidate that was largely unknown outside of Wrenthem, Mass., a mere couple weeks ago.”

The GOP consulting group includes former Romney campaign manager and gubernatorial chief of staff Beth Myers, Romney communications director Eric Fehrnstrom and former Romney deputy campaign Peter Flaherty. All three principals at the firm continue to work with Romney at his Free and Strong America Political Action Committee.

In an online post about the Brown victory, Newhouse also hailed the consulting team and the NRSC’s efforts.

“For a state so bereft of GOP officeholders, it’s a gold mine of political talent,” Newhouse wrote. “It was a seamless and selfless effort made possible by the NRSC and Mitt Romney’s on-the-ground team that made the difference here.”

In addition to Brown, The Shawmut Group also advises George Demos’ (R) bid in New York’s 1st District against Democratic Rep. Timothy H. Bishop, state House Minority Whip Rep. Rick Lazio’s (R) bid for governor in New York. The group used to work with Connecticut businessman Tom Foley(R) on his bid for Senate until November, when the Republican shifted races to run for governor instead.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee used Mark Mellman of The Mellman Group for polling and Saul Shorr for media.

State Attorney General Martha Coakley (D), who was expected to win the seat in a landslide until the last few weeks, used 4C Partners for national fundraising, GMMB for media and Celinda Lake to do her polling for the race.

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Funny how a song over 40 years old suddenly has relevance.

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A poll of GOP insiders suggests that ex-AK Gov. Sarah Palin (R) has little support among the party’s professional class — and maybe that’s just how she wants it.

In a survey of 109 party leaders, political professionals and pundits, Palin finished 5th on the list of candidates most likely to win the party’s ‘12 WH nomination. Ex-MA Gov. Mitt Romney (R) was the overwhelming choice of the Party insiders.

Voters were asked to rank 5 candidates in the order of likeliness to capture the GOP nod. The results:

Likely To Win WH’12 Nomination (First place votes)

Ex-MA Gov. Mitt Romney 81 points (62%)
MN Gov. Tim Pawlenty 46 (9%)
Sen. John Thune 38 (12%)
MS Gov. Haley Barbour 28 (6%)
IN Gov. Mitch Daniels 25
Ex-AK Gov. Sarah Palin 25

Rounding out the top 10: Ex-House Speaker Newt Gingrich, ex-AR Gov. Mike Huckabee, ex-FL Gov. Jeb Bush, LA Gov. Bobby Jindal. Candidates other than Romney, Pawlenty, Thune and Barbour split the remaining 11% of first-place votes.

Meanwhile, Dem insiders too think Romney is the most likely candidate to run against Pres. Obama next year. The results, from interviews with 111 Dem insiders:

Likely To Win WH’12 Nomination

Romney 29%
Thune 15
Pawlenty 13
Daniels 11
Gingrich 6

And Dems are even less convinced Palin is a serious candidate. Just 3% of Dem insiders said she would be the candidate running against Obama in ‘12.

Then again, Palin fans can take heart, given just how long candidates have to go until the first nominating contests. In ‘06, insiders predicted that ex-Sen. George Allen (R-VA) would be the GOP nominee, and that Sec/State Hillary Clinton would easily win the Dem nomination.

http://hotlineoncall.nationaljournal.com/archives/2010/01/gop_insiders_so.php

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Here’s a blast from the past. I remember how furious I was at Huckabee when he refused (like all tax and spenders) to answer a simple question with a simple answer. Mitt Romney asked him if he raised taxes in Arkansas and it was like root canal trying to pull the truth out of him. After three or four tries Pastor Mike finally ‘fessed up about the confiscatory tax rates he had always believed in as Gov. of Arkansas.

As Romney likes to say: “Facts are stubborn things” and the fact is that Pastor Mike raised taxes in Arkansas and he will raise them nation wide if we are naive enough to give him the opportunity.

~~John Cronin~~

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St. Martin’s Press 3/2/2010
ISBN 978-0-312-60980-1 ISBN10: 0-312-60980-9

HARDCOVER: $25.99
UNABRIDGED COMPACT DISC: $34.99

On his first presidential visit to address the European nations, President Obama felt it necessary to apologize for America’s international power. He repeated that apology when visiting Latin America, and again to Muslims worldwide in an interview broadcast on Al-Arabiya television.

In No Apology, Mitt Romney asserts that American strength is essential—not just for our own well-being, but for the world’s. Governments such as China and a newly-robust Russia threaten to overtake us on many fronts, and Islam continues its dangerous rise. Drawing on history for lessons on how great powers collapse, Romney shows how and why our national advantages have eroded. From the long-term decline of our manufacturing base, our laggard educational system that has left us without enough engineers, scientists, and other skilled professionals, our corrupted financial practices that led to the current crisis, and the crushing impact of entitlements on our future obligations, America is in debt, overtaxed, and unprepared for the challenges it must face.

We need renewal: fresh ideas to cut through complicated problems and restore our strength. Creative and bold, Romney proposes simple solutions to rebuild industry, create good jobs, reduce out of control spending on entitlements and healthcare, dramatically improve education, and restore a military battered by eight years of war. Most important, he calls for a new commitment to citizenship, a common cause we all share, rather than a laundry list of individual demands. Many of his solutions oppose President Obama’s policies, many also run counter to Republican thinking, but all have one strategic aim: to move America back to political and economic strength.

Personal and dynamically-argued, No Apology is a call to action by a man who cares deeply about America’s history, its promise, and its future.

[Editor's Note: As soon as I receive information on Gov. Romney's book tour schedule I will post it here.]

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‘No Apology’ looks at nation’s standing in world

WASHINGTON - Later this winter, Mitt Romney will strike out on a national book tour, but unlike his party’s most successful recent author he does not expect to make headlines with bits of fresh gossip from the 2008 campaign, see his fans camp overnight outside bookstores, or chat with Oprah Winfrey about his family.

“Inevitably there are going to be comparisons with the Sarah Palin book,’’ said Eric Fehrnstrom, a Romney spokesman. “We’re not going to match her crowd size or sales. These are two different people with different ways of expressing themselves.’’

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2010/01/03/romney_will_hit_key_primary_states_on_book_tour/

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Republicans have seized on the attempted terrorist attack on NWA 253 Christmas Day as evidence that the Obama administration is as feckless at protecting this country from attack as they are at stimulating the economy.

~~John Cronin~~

http://www.solidprinciples.com/blog/?p=2963

The early contours of the Republicans’ national-security narrative against Mr. Obama and his party can be seen in the theme of a book to be published this spring by Mr. Romney. The book, “No Apology: The Case for American Greatness,” touches on GOP allegations that Mr. Obama, with appeals such as his conciliatory speech over the summer to the Muslim world, has been too willing to apologize for his country’s past actions.

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