|
||||||||||
     Founders
Managing Directors
Blogger Pool
|
 Saturday, July 7, 2007
I hope it's not official, because if it is, I would say they are pretty pathetic.
It's a Giuliani ad that is full of cursing, a disgusting metaphor, knocks on Mitt for being Mormon and brags about Giuliani killing immigrants. Actually after watching it, I can't help but wonder if this was actually done by someone who is trying to hurt Giuliani, because it only makes his image worse IMO.
Friday, July 6, 2007
For you single issue voters out there, I'm beginning to think there is a strong argument that Romney is more pro-life than Fred Thompson. Somebody has to be lying about this because both accounts can't be true.
The question I want to ask Fred Thompson: Are you aware if any listening devices were used by your lobbying firm? I sincerely hope no one who reads this leaks it to him before I ask it at an "Ask Fred Anything" event. National Journal Rankings
1. No One The New Smyrna Beach Times Endorsed Governor Romney today:
Although the Florida primary is more than six months away, we believe it is important to get behind the candidate we feel is best suited to be the next president of the United States: Mitt Romney. Rudy, has had a good haul on the fundraising. He was the first place fundraiser in the GOP and I believe has the most cash on hand. He has a likable demeanor and has shown McCain what "Straight Talk" can be.
But... It would be just nice to know... what...he...thinks...of... Roe V. Wade. I mean good or bad. Thumbs up or thumbs down. Yea or ney. We know he thinks abortion should be legal. We know he is OK with public funding depending on the circumstances. We also know he is OK with constructionist judges, and he is OK Roberts, Alito, Thompson, and Scalia. What we don't know is if this formal federal prosecutor is OK with the 1973 law the finds a right to abortion in the first term. We don't know if he thinks it is good law. We don't know if he thinks a landmark ruling that made a special privilege that didn't exist in the constitution was in fact good. Why don't we know? Because he won't tell us. Mr. Giuliani invoked Ronald Reagan's name repeatedly, and always as a model. There is an element of political calculation in that -- Mr. Giuliani is trying to reassure the so-called cultural conservatives that if they liked Reagan, they'll love Rudy. But can he overcome the perception that he's a culturally liberal, pro-choice New Yorker who's to the left of his own party on a number of issues? He says that his differences with the party on cultural issues are "sometimes exaggerated for political purposes." On Roe v. Wade, he says, astutely, "I don't answer that because I wouldn't want a judge to have to answer that. I don't consider it a litmus test." But he may give the pro-life crowd jitters when he adds, "I think a conservative strict constructionist judge could come to either conclusion." I think we used to know: LARRY KING: "Do you still favor 'Roe v. Wade?'" What gives Rudy? Fine, you're pro-choice. If you're the nominee we need to deal with that. But does it really matter to pro-lifers when you say you will appoint strict constructionist and somehow are not willing to open up on the validity of Roe V. Wade? Since you won't answer it now, and you favored it in February, I am left only to infer. Thursday, July 5, 2007
For some incomprehensible reason, Romney is catching press because pornography is available pay-per-view at Marriott hotels. Listen to this quote:
"'Marriott is a major pornographer. And even though he may have fought it, everyone on that board is a hypocrite for presenting themselves as family values when their hotels offer 70 different types of hardcore pornography,' said Phil Burress, president of Citizens for Community Values, an anti-pornography group based on Ohio." Does anyone actually believe that statement? Is this guy for real? So far, I have read very little to nothing about what Romney said or did on the Board that would have related to pornography. This article says it didn't ever come up that he knows of. But what this person is saying is that even if Romney opposed it on the board, he is a hypocrite for merely being on the board!!! That is ridiculous. First of all, there is little a single board member could probably do, but this person is saying even if he tried? Even if he hadn't tried though, as a board member, Romney had duties to the corporation. "'It certainly would have been wrong to impose his own personal beliefs if they were contrary to the financial interests of the company,' Marriott spokesman Roger Conner said of Romney." This episode should actually be a lesson to those of you out there who wonder whether Romney would be dictated to by someone or if he would do what is in the country's best interest as President. Romney understands that elected representatives have obligations to their electors. When he ran in MA, he ran on the basis that he would fix the financial situation there and he told the voters he would not change abortion laws. When they tried to liberalize laws related to emergency contraception, cloning and other areas, he stood in the way. He stuck to what he had told them he would do. Romney is on record as decrying pornography. He is on record as supporting the overturning of Roe v. Wade. We can expect him to do what he has said he will do. He will stand in the way of those who would liberalize these laws. If you elect him, you elect him on the basis that he wants to continue leading society in a direction that respects life, women, family and that he will set aside his personal beliefs and be President based on that contract with us. This is much the way Reagan was. Reagan laid out beforehand what he intended to do when he was running for President. Much of this was different than what he had done in CA, but it was done on the basis of this is what you are electing me to do. Romney is the best kind of elected representative that way. You know you have someone who is competent, who is laying out what they want to do, who will continue sharing as much information as possible to show you where we are headed, and who will act in the country's best interest and not their own. The Washington Post has an absolutely fascinating article about the work of Alex Gage to target specific political messages to particular voters based upon the same microtargeting theories that marketers use. Basically, a very large sample of consumer information is gathered and processed into target groups for specific political issues.
This sounds obvious to someone with a business background. In fact, "[When microtargeting was first pitched] to the Harvard MBAs advising Romney in his gubernatorial campaign, they were stunned that the idea had never been used in politics. 'You guys don't do this already?' they asked". The article goes on to discuss Gage's apparent success using this approach in New Mexico and Ohio in 2004 for President Bush. In Ohio: "In Ohio, the key battleground of the 2004 campaign, Gage's microtargeting showed that black voters -- who had traditionally not been drawn to the GOP -- wanted to hear candidates talk about education and health care. As a result, they received a series of contacts -- direct mail and phone calls, primarily -- emphasizing Bush's accomplishments on just those two issues. It was a much different message from the president's broader attempt to cast the election as a choice between staying the course in Iraq and the anti-terrorism effort or switching teams in midstream." "It worked. Nationwide, Bush won 11 percent of the black vote, a two-point increase from 2000; in Ohio, he won 16 percent, an improvement of seven percentage points. Bush won Ohio by 118,601 votes, or approximately 2 percent of the more than 5.6 million votes cast for the two major-party nominees." Romney: The Romney team has enlisted Gage to help them win the Republican nomination. Several meetings were held to determine if microtargeting would also work in a primary election. The conclusion, "After hashing out the details on maps and graphs, Myers and the rest of the Romney team reached a decision. 'The question was whether you could differentiate between the eight kinds of chocolate,' she said. 'I became convinced that the power of microtargeting was enhanced by segregating a generally homogenous universe.'" As to the Current Effort... "[T]he Romney campaign is decidedly circumspect when it comes to divulging details of exactly what Gage and his team are doing, other than to say the process of interviewing individuals has begun in Iowa." "Developing that strategy has placed Gage in a central role in the campaign. Myers describes Gage as its 'strategic orchestra leader' -- he oversees polling, media and online operations and works to ensure that every part of the Romney operation is working in concert." "Gage is more humble about his role, calling himself a 'planner.' He said, 'I have always believed in Eisenhower's observation: 'In preparing for battle, I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.'' " Just one more indication, in case you needed it, that the Romney team is on the cutting edge. Barron's Online features "The Mitt and Bill Show" Parts One and Two. I think it's a no-brainer that Romney is a natural choice for our economy. Bill Richardson scored worse than any GOP candidate, but was the best of the Dems (If I had to vote for a Dem for POTUS, I've long said that Richardson would get my vote) The actual report card is interesting as well. However, like a proud and defensive parent, I think that Romney should have got "straight A's". His only B came in "income tax reform" even though he was the first to sign Grover Norquist's/Americans for Tax Reforms no new taxes pledge and has consistently talked about his plans to drastically change or eliminate the Alt Min Tax and make Bush's Tax cuts permanent. He's also been on the record as wanting to decrease the marginal income tax rate for everyone in e | |||||||||
Show/Hide 4 Comments | Post a Comment