Drawing on some of the successful fundraising techniques of President Bush’s two campaigns for the White House, the McCain campaign now plans to mirror the Bush-Cheney campaign’s Pioneers, Rangers and Mavericks with the McCain 50s, McCain 100s, McCain 200s and other elite designations for top fundraisers who agree to raise $50,000, $100,000, $200,000 or more.

Today, as an extra special reward for your efforts, you can earn two tickets to the NCAA College Basketball Final Four. Just earn the most points using MittLink from today, Tuesday, March 27th through 11:59 p.m. EST, Thursday, March 29th, and the tickets are yours!

Labels: fundraising, McCain

• Mitt starts out the week on Monday in Texas with fundraising events in Dallas an Houston
• Tuesday, the campaign heads to California (which is proving very generous in their contributions) for fundraisers in Palm Desert and Los Angeles
• Wednesday the Governor jets across the country for a luncheon in Baton Rouge and northward for a dinner in in Charleston, SC
• Thursday the Romney camp awakens to the beautiful SC dawn for a luncheon in Greenville
• Finally, Friday finds Mitt in Palm Beach for the final fundraiser of the 1st Quarter

• Rudy is the rock star with wide (but shallow) support across the country
  
• McCain is the long-timer maverick, loathed by many in the GOP base, but has built up the best mailing list in the business
• Romney is the underdog who has hired the A-team but lacks the name recognition, relying instead on the ground game
• What about the others... If they garner more than a few million each... i would be surprised

To be fair, Sen. McCain has amassed a number of pro-growth votes over his 24 years in Congress, and his record in support of school choice and free trade is impressive, as is his opposition to wasteful government spending. He has battled to eliminate outrageous pork-barrel projects and has courageously voted against pricey laws like the 2005 Highway Bill. But his vigorous opposition to the most pro-growth tax cuts in 20 years, and his outspoken pursuit of anti-growth and anti-free market policies in the realms of regulation, entitlement reform and campaign finance reveal a philosophical ambivalence, if not hostility, toward limited government and personal freedom.

While Sen. McCain's economic record is clearly mixed, a careful study demonstrates that even his pro-growth positions tend to be tainted by a heavy anti-growth undercurrent. This evidence, and the virulence of his rhetoric, suggest that American taxpayers cannot expect consistently pro-growth economic policies from a McCain administration.

Labels: McCain

John McCain's Obama-esque remarks about our "wasted" resources in Iraq weren't the only comments that landed him in hot water after a recent appearance on Late Night with David Letterman. Many of his staff were blindsided by his campaign announcement. And several aides were so outraged that they've quit, say Republican insiders.

"They're imploding—he had a game plan that had him announcing much later in the year," one top Republican aide tells Radar, adding that the campaign is "in serious trouble ... Romney's plan and Rudy's jump in the polls caused him to scrap his plans completely. When you do that, and you're not prepared for it, the staff goes crazy. Some of his coordinators in different states were pulling their hair out!"

Another insider, a guru to the conservative movement, says that McCain himself is growing increasingly desperate in the wake of his downward slide in the polls—a slip hastened by his steadfast support of the very man who savaged him and his family during the 2000 election, George W. Bush, and the president's unpopular plan for troop surge in Iraq. "One of the top aides to the Republican leadership told me that McCain has lost so much support, he's simply beside himself. He's wringing his hands. Things are sinking fast—in two or three weeks, we'll know if there is any recovery."

It didn't help any that McCain was the one leading Republican candidate who skipped last weekend's Conservative Political Action Conference. In CPAC's straw poll on Saturday, McCain came in fifth place—behind Sam Brownback. When the results were announced, attendees booed at the mention of his name.

Labels: John McCain, McCain

First is Romney's plan to game the primary system, in other words, play it smart:

Republican primaries are winner-take-all. Whoever wins statewide gets all the
delegates at stake. This favors front-runners, who, with their early money and
early support, can wrap up the nomination quickly.
But, in a barely noticed move, California Republicans have changed the system. Now it is winner-take-all by congressional district.
That means a candidate no longer needs to win the whole state to get delegates.

This means that California's primary is now 53 individual contests and the candidates will be able to cherry pick which districts they want to be competitive in, limiting the expense of advertising in CA.

Romney also plans to bring a new kind of politics to CA:

he intends to treat California as if it were a "retail" political state instead of a tarmac state. (Because California is so large geographically, candidates spend most of their time flying from airport to airport, standing on the tarmac, doing a sound bite for local TV and then flying on.) Romney intends to emphasize more intensive, face-to-face campaigning in select congressional districts in which he has the best chance of winning delegates.

He is going to spend money.

He will exploit the differences between him and his chief rivals:

Romney intends to exploit what he perceives as two of McCain's great vulnerabilities in the Republican primaries: the McCain-Feingold law, which restricts campaign contributions, and the McCain-Kennedy bill, which would change immigration laws and allow for a guest-worker program. And while Romney disagrees explicitly with Giuliani on issues such as abortion, gun control and gay rights, he implicitly draws distinctions between Giuliani's rather turbulent personal life -- he has been married three times -- and Romney's own marriage of nearly 38 years.

In Iowa he is going to go all out at the Ames straw poll August 11th

Finally, he is going to try to talk about the Mormon issue thusly:

Romney intends to recast the issue by emphasizing that he is a person of
faith and that that is more important to voters than what faith he is. Second,
his Mormon faith has been fundamental to his commitment to family, which he
believes people of all faiths can respect.

And realize he can be funny about it:

Romney quoted Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, a Mormon, telling other senators the
difficulty he has raising money among members of his own faith.
"You'd have had trouble raising money, too, if all the people you were asking money from were sober," Hatch said.

Mormons generally do not drink.

Of course, Mittheads, he can't do it alone. If you haven't already please go to Mitt's Website and sign up to volunteer and prepare for the battle ahead. There is much to do and barely a year to do it in. Also make sure all of your friends and family who support Mitt have done the same. YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!

Labels: California, Giuliani, iowa, McCain, mitt romney

Compare that to:

Rep John Campbell	Sen. Jim DeMint

WHO ARE SUPPORTING THIS GUY:

DOES THAT HELP YOUR DECISION?

Labels: endoresements, Endorse, Endorsement, John McCain, McCain

A page titled "Primal Code for Brand Romney" said that Romney should define himself as a foil to Bay State Democrats such as Senators Edward M. Kennedy and John Kerry and former governor Michael Dukakis.

MCCAIN:
McCain is described as a war hero and maverick with a compelling narrative and a reputation for wit, authenticity, and straight talk. But he's also seen as "too Washington," "too close to [Democratic] Left," an "uncertain, erratic, unreliable leader in uncertain times." "Does he fit The Big Chair?" the document asks. The plan calls McCain, 70, a "mature brand" and raises questions about whether he could handle the rigors of leading the free world.

GIULIANI:
Giuliani is called an outside-the-Beltway rock star and truth teller who earned the nation's trust for his leadership of New York City's response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. But he is described as a one-dimensional Lone Ranger whose social views -- he supports abortion rights and civil unions for gay couples -- could destroy the "GOP brand." "We can't disqualify Dems like Hillary on social issues ever again" if Giuliani is the nominee, the document states.

ON ROMNEY AGAIN:
The case for Romney, according to the plan, is this: "Mitt Romney, tested, intelligent, get-it-done, turnaround CEO Governor and strong leader from outside Washington, is a better candidate than McCain & Giuliani to ensure that America's strength is maintained so we can meet a new generation of global challenges."
...
In addition, the document provides a Romney roadmap for the early primaries, suggesting that he hopes to emerge as a credible "alternative to frontrunner" in Iowa, win New Hampshire, show strength in South Carolina, and be dominant in states, such as Michigan, that are eyeing early primary dates. The plan suggests Romney make full use of new media to reach voters, from feeding videos to YouTube to perhaps creating his own radio programming.

Labels: campaign, John McCain, McCain, mitt, mitt romney, rudy

Labels: endoresements, Endorse, Endorsement, John McCain, McCain, mitt, rudy

Senator Warner Joins Supporters Of John McCain

ARLINGTON, VA - U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential exploratory committee today announced that Virginia's senior senator, John Warner, will support the Arizona Senator should he decide to seek the presidency.

Senator Warner, now serving in his 5th term in the U.S. Senate, has spent the greater portion of his career working with our military, beginning at age 17 enlisting in the U.S. Navy during the last year of World War II, later as a U.S. Marine officer during the Korean War, and then during the Vietnam War serving as Under Secretary and Secretary of the Navy.

During his service as Secretary of Navy, Secretary Warner learned about McCain's distinguished career, and upon his return from Vietnam, the two met and established their long friendship and professional association.

"America's next President will be challenged by a range of diplomatic and security issues of unprecedented complexity largely due to growing, worldwide, terrorist threats. Senator McCain's long experience with, and understanding of, our military coupled with his proven, unquestioned courage and leadership, provide him with the essential qualifications for our next President," said Senator Warner. "America's prosperity and personal freedoms at home must be protected from threats beyond our shores. Security will be the primary issue in the forthcoming Presidential campaign. I consider it a privilege to join the McCain team."

Senator John McCain said that he was honored to have the support of such a distinguished public servant. "Senator Warner has served his country with honor, courage, and commitment," said Senator McCain. "His support means a great deal to me as a person, fellow Senator, and veteran. I look forward to his advice and counsel."

Labels: john warner, McCain

Labels: McCain