Huckabee Thinks Romney Flip-Flops Too Much

Huckabee may think that Romney is too much of a flip-flopper, but that sounds like a perfect match for McCain:

Media Picks Up On Surrogates Ignorance Of McCain

Although this happened to Barack Obama a couple months back, with less than three months to go one of McCain's top surrogates (and potential VP pick) Mitt Romney couldn't come up with one good thing on the "Maverick's" record....probably because he has been M.I.A. from his Senate job for months and months.

Romney Continues To Lie For McCain

Ah, Mittens Romney is up to no good again. In this run-up to the selection of VP running mates, the former Governor is trying hard to please Mr. McCain and on CNN, he delivered a doosey of a lie to make his man look good.

From ThinkProgress:

Today, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney appeared on CNN’s American Morning to discuss an ad by Barack Obama that argues John McCain would give $4 billion in tax breaks to Big Oil. Romney declared the charge “dishonest” and “below the belt.” He claimed that McCain “doesn’t ask for any tax reduction for oil companies.”

There is nothing dishonest about pointing out the fact that McCain’s plan to cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent would give nearly $4 billion in tax breaks to the six largest oil companies. Ensuring that corporations pay dramatically fewer taxes is an integral part of McCain’s regressive tax plan that skews its benefits heavily toward the wealthy and offers little for the poor and middle class.[...]

Just since McCain’s embrace of offshore drilling in June, donations to his campaign from the oil and gas industry have skyrocketed. He has received $881,450 in the last 6 weeks alone.

The McCain campaign may claim to “stand up” to the oil industry, but McCain’s own plans are the stuff of Big Oil’s dreams.

Perhaps because Romney is a multi-millionaire himself, he doesn't see stuff like this as a tax break but good fiscal planning and his and others like him god-given right. Why would this plan draw any ire from Romney when he has no clue as to the sentiments of the middle class, millions of Americans who he has no idea on how to relate to?

McCain Places Third In Montana

Nearly three months have passed since John McCain became the presumptive nominee for the Republican Party. You'd think it would be pretty easy for him to win the remaining primaries and caucuses after everyone else had dropped out. Blow out margins are what we expect, yet for the last few contests he could barely register 70-80% of Republicans that turned out. Now tonight, in the nation's last contest, McCain couldn't even win. He couldn't even place second.

How's that for a unified base? The Democratic Party will come together, the Republicans should have for their own sake months ago.

UPDATE: Alright, so the Republicans held their Montana race in February. Still, the fact remains that McCain is not able to keep his base together

Its The Insurance Industry Stupid

First of all, Massachusetts should be commended that they actually tried to do something about their health care problem, one that affects every single state in this country. Unfortunately the problems of their individual mandatory insurance program for every citizen of the Bay State are starting to show and is evidence that it isn't just government involvement with the insurance companies that we need to address. The real issue is that we are dealing with and allowing the continuance of the insurance companies themselves. The problem is that they put profit ahead of patients' health and when the government starts to pay them instead of just the individual, it is obvious that costs will soar.

From RawStory:

Costs are soaring and Massachusetts lawmakers are weighing a dollar-a-pack hike in the state's cigarette tax to help pay for a larger-than-expected enrollment in the law's subsidized insurance plans.

But that hasn't dampened enthusiasm at the Statehouse. Leaders there boast that in the two years since former Gov. Mitt Romney signed the law with a choreographed flourish at historic Faneuil Hall, the number of insured residents has soared by nearly 350,000.

Along the way the law has been scrutinized by other states, sparked the ire of critics on the right and left, and drawn the attention of presidential candidates.

"It's the very first question I get when I'm with other governors," said Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick. "I don't think anybody is prepared to say that what we have done here in Massachusetts is necessarily the formula for the rest of the country or for a national reform, but at least we are trying."

Yes Deval, it does show you are trying, but running on a treadmill isn't going to get you going anywhere except for working up a sweat. Hillary Clinton is proposing pretty much the same thing for the country and although we could pay for the massive program with the money that we throw away in Iraq, the underlying problem remains. Not only will people be giving their money to an insurance system that is wholly inadequate, we'll have the Federal government paying for it as well.

What we need is true reform. It is a shame that no one will step up and carry that flag on the political battlefield. Massachusetts did its duty as a state to try out a new way of dealing with health insurance, but trying something doesn't mean it'll end up succeeding.

Forty Million For Nothing

To the astonishment of many, Mitt Romney effectively dropped out of the race today, suspending his candidacy in front of an audience at the Conservative Political Action Conference. He will hold onto his delegates, but no longer will he actively seek more. The statistical probability of him beating McCain is slim to none and for quite sometime now he has simply been spending throwing burning money at an alter to himself and for some conservatives, the anti-McCain candidacy. He leaves Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee to withstand the Maverick schmuck from Arizona further into the primary season.

And of course, he didn't go without a parting shot at Democrats, as ridiculous as it was:

"I must now stand aside, for our party and our country," Romney said. "If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win."

"And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign be a part of aiding a surrender to terror," he said.

"This is not an easy decision for me," Romney added. " I hate to lose. My family, my friends and our supporters... many of you right here in this room... have given a great deal to get me where I have a shot at becoming President. If this were only about me, I would go on. But I entered this race because I love America."

Well I guess liberals don't love America, do we Mr. Romney? One thing is for sure, we love America even more now that you are gone and out of the race, diminishing the slight chance you had to continue the destruction of the Constitution by winning the race (which was highly un-probable from the get go.

At least we'll have one less voice spouting the GOP crap that they love using to bash liberal Americans. Too bad for Mittens it cost him $40 million out of his own pocket for all of that nonsense.

Go Romney Go!

One nice thing to see as the dust settles after yesterday is that Mitt Romney is still in the race. Although many pundits are making McCain to be the inevitable Romney refuses to quit and by default, neither does his money. Sure, McCain is leading in delegates by a wide margin and will probably wrap up the nomination in the not so distant future. Yet this is still good news for the Democratic nominee, whoever that may be.

From RawStory:

After being declared the winner in most northeastern states, and California, John McCain officially declared himself the Republican Party's front-runner. But in spite of some electoral setbacks, Mitt Romney promised to carry on until the summer's Republican National Convention.[...]

Romney was declared the winner in Utah by a domineering super-majority, and also won contests in North Dakota, Montana, Minnesota, and Colorado. He pledged to his supporters that he'd go all the way to the convention.

"[Romney's Wife] Anne came to me and she said, 'The one thing that's clear tonight is nothing is clear,' but I think she's wrong," he declared. "The one thing that's clear is that this campaign is going on."

And on it goes....

Keep spending that money Mitt. Your negative ads against McCain are "brilliant, simply brilliant."

Romney And McCain Still Duking It Out

There's nothing like a good, bruising, down and dirty all-out fight....especially when it is between two candidates from the other party. John McCain and Mitt Romney are doing such a terrific job of beating each other up, Democrats rejoice at all the hard work being done by the GOP's expense. Now Obama and Hillary don't get along much either, but when you look at both sides, it is easy to tell which fight is more vicious than the other.

From The Huffington Post:

Romney said he found it "offensive" that his support for the war in Iraq has been questioned by the McCain campaign. McCain's criticism of Romney's position on the war; alleging that the former Massachusetts Governor supported a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal "sort of falls into the dirty tricks that Ronald Reagan would have found reprehensible," Romney said. McCain's tactics, he said, were "Washington- style old politics; lay a charge out there, put it out there... there isn't a single media source that said that it wasn't reprehensible. It's simply wrong and the Senator knows it." Romney insisted that he would steadfastly support current policy. "Let me make it absolutely clear tonight: I will not pull our troops out until we have success in Iraq," Romney said.

McCain heatedly fired back, saying that Romney "could spend it all" on negative ads but nothing would change the fact that Romney had not vigorously enough supported the war and this past year's surge of troops. McCain lauded himself for supporting the troop surge when it was highly unpopular and when Romney said, as a governor, he would not "weigh in" on some national issues like the war.

"How is that you're the expert on my position when my position is very clear?" a bristling Romney said, interrupting McCain. The Arizona Senator then cut off Romney in mid-sentence saying: "I'm the expert. I know the situation in Iraq and I am proud to have supported the surge."

Oooooh, "I'm the expert." Now that sounds Presidential, dare I say, Bush-like? Supporting the surge....I guess that makes him George's man and Romney must be a terrorist-loving librul.

How sad is this type of debate discourse worthless banter.

"You're A Liberal!" / "Nuh Uh, You Are....You Big Meanie"

From Yahoo News:

One day before the crucial Florida primary, Romney lambasted the Arizona senator for a host of "liberal answers" to the country's problems. Among them: McCain's legislation curbing money in politics, his more forgiving view of illegal immigrants and his backing of an energy bill that Romney said would raise consumer costs.

"And I just don't think those liberal answers are what America is looking for, not for the Republican Party or for any party, for that matter," Romney said in Fort Myers, Fla.

McCain accused Romney of "wholesale deception of voters" and of flip-flopping on the issues.

"On every one of the issues he has attacked us on, Mitt Romney was for it before he was against it," McCain said.

He added, "The truth is, Mitt Romney was a liberal governor of Massachusetts who raised taxes, imposed with Ted Kennedy a big government mandate health care plan that is now a quarter of a billion dollars in the red, and managed his state's economy incompetently, leaving Massachusetts with less job growth than 46 other states."

Now boys, boys, settle down. Neither of you are liberal, not even close. There is no need for name calling like that. We already know that you, John, want us to be in Iraq for 100 years and to prepare us for more wars on top of that. You ditched that Straight-Talk Express back in 2000 and gave George Bush a big hug and promised to be his bestest friend, even though he stabbed you in the back. I guess you let bygones be bygones, right? So don't worry, you have warmongered enough to ensure (no not your favorite drink) that you are certainly no liberal.

Now Mittens, you are certainly no liberal either. With all of that business experience, you threw out any semblance of morality or having the ability to retain principles long ago. Sure, you were Governor of a liberal state but that was just a fluke to have a title like your Daddy. You'll say one thing and then another, on any topic. Of course that doesn't mean you believe in the position you take today and the opposite one tomorrow, it just means you'll do anything to win. That has nothing to do with liberalness, that resembles something closer to greed and lust (for power that is). So don't worry about being a liberal from Massachusetts, they have plenty of them already in the Bay State.

The Eruption Of The Media

And that nasty lava from Mt. Fox-CNN-MSNBC is going everywhere. Thankfully Jon Stewart is watching out for us, thanks Jon!

Romney's Moment Of Truth

Sometimes in the midst of a crazy campaign season, the candidates let out little bits of truth while they try to spin the voters this way and that. The Democrats want to take the government back for the people, the Republicans are promising more of the same (George Bush style) and then some. What they really want is power, either power to get things done for the people or for their big money donors, depending on the candidate. Edwards talks about the people, Hillary and Obama somewhat less. Then there are the Republicans, like Mitt Romney.

From CNN:

"Well, I'm not concerned about the voters," Mitt Romney said during Thursday’s presidential debate.

The statement came during a back and forth with moderator Tim Russert, after Romney was asked how much of his own money he has donated to his presidential campaign.

"We'll report that on the 31st of January, as required by law, and probably not a minute earlier. You'll just have to wait, Tim," Romney said.

"But why not tell the voters of Florida and across the country how much of your own wealth you're spending, so they can make a judgment and factor that into their own decision?" Russert responded.

"Well, I'm not concerned about the voters," Romney replied. "I'm much more concerned about the other guys on this stage. And we have some competitive information that we make sure that we use for our own benefit.

Basically it is all about winning, not about the voters. Romney couldn't have said it better. The people in his way for the moment are McCain and Huckabee and then it'll be (assuming he wins, which is highly unlikely) the Democrats. To Romney it isn't about the people, its about the power.

Who Let This Dog Out?

Is this what you would define as pandering at it's worst? Does Romney think this will win him the African-American vote? If anything it should earn him a spat in the face:

Ch Ch Ch Ch Changes

Everyone talks about change but who can really deliver it in a beneficial way?

The Michigan Messup: Romney, McCain And The GOP Clusterf**k

Everyone is talking about Michigan this morning and what it means for the Republican party and its future. Mitt's first win in an important state takes the wind from McCain's sails since they inflated in New Hampshire and Huckabee is still following along after his upset in Iowa. What does it all mean? Did the Democrats do the trick in the mitten-looking state? Could it have been a combination of that and the fact that the Republicans have no idea who they like in their primary so they'll just vote for a different candidate in each state? I'm guessing its a mix.

The conclusions from this are many. This was clearly not what the G.O.P wanted, damn, they even sent out a press release congratulating McCain on his win. Obviously that little piece of paper was written a while back with some sort of intention for the Senator from Arizona.

The implications though could be much worse (for the Republicans) than screwing with who should or should not win the primary according to the party brass. As LithiumCola points out, maybe Republicans don't want a "Gipper" junior. Everyone in the race over there has been desperate to point out that they are more like Reagan than the rest of the pack. Maybe, their voters don't really gave a rat's ass. Most likely they are just fed up and deep down know that their party suffers from no ideas and the stench of corruption and it permeates from everyone up on their stage.

Michigan Gets Its Mittens On

Although only twenty percent of the vote is in (as of 9:30 PM EST), it seems Mitt Romney has pulled off his first real victory in Michigan. This is sure to boost his campaign (and keep it going, period) and enabling the attack ads from the multi-millionaire Massachusettian (sp) to be able to spit upon the rest of the Republican pack. This is great news for Democrats, allowing us to watch the circular firing squad continue. No empathy for McCain and Huckabee in this corner. So, being that Michigan has an open primary, was this victory pushed on the nation by Michigan's Democrats?

No one can say for sure, but in the past Republican voters have certainly crossed over to elect fringe candidates like Jesse Jackson in 88' and others as well. So perhaps they got a taste of their own medicine, but Republican pundits will probably say otherwise. Eh, whatever, they can say what they want. What is for certain is that Mitt stays in the race and will continue to spend his campaign's money.

Democrats For Mitt...In Michigan

Absolutely hilarious....Michigan Dems, you know what to do tomorrow!

Caucus-mania!!!

It is just a little past ten here on the East Coast and the first part of Election 2008 is now over. So what does it all mean? Obama takes 1st for the Dems, Huckabee crushes Romney et al. and now Clinton and Edwards are digging it out for second, though it looks like Edwards is going to eek it out past Ms. Inevitability at the moment.

The punditry class is going nuts and Chris Matthews is helping to lead the charge. Everyone is going to be talking and they have five days to do it before New Hampshire becomes the first state to cast actual ballots in their primary. From there on out the "momentum" is supposed to be cast and for now Obama is looking good and Clinton is looking bad, while Edwards is going to hang in there. Despite which way the Iowa Dems voted, they came out large, and attracted a massive amount of Independents. That means the Republicans should be running scared about where the "middle" of the country is going.

Speaking of Republicans, they got less than half the turnout of the Democrats. A minister turned governor swept the state out from an area not too far from "Nowheresville," Romney came in a distant second and the rest of the old farts are way down near 10 percent or below. The national front-runner is polling somewhere around four percent and McCain is somehow the winner in all of this, at least according to pundit-extraordinaire Chris "Tweety bird" Matthews.

Well enough about that, I'm going back to watching Cenk Uygur at the Young Turks/Brave New Films election special.

Mitt Romney Is Losing It

Ok, there really isn't much there to begin with (except for the hundreds of millions of dollars) for Mittens but the news on him today is just pitiful. Republicans in general are having a hard time deciding how much to embrace/distance themselves from the current pRezident but when you have no principles like Romney, I guess its ok to love the guy today and perhaps despise/loathe/ embrace with tepidation/want to hug him the next. When you think and act like that, no wonder you will have hopes as delusional as him.

From Slate:

In a new ad for New Hampshire voters, Mitt Romney claims:

In the next ten years, we'll see more progress, more change than the world has seen in the last ten centuries.

You read that correctly. The next ten years will run roughshod over the Enlightenment, the French Revolution, the formation of American democracy, the printing press, interchangeable parts, division of labor, the end of slavery, nuclear technology, antiseptics, the theory of gravity, the theory of relativity, the rise of communism, two world wars, universal suffrage, landing on the moon, and the Internet.

If that isn't bad enough, Mitt also proclaims his love for George Bush and all that he has done to us these past few years. I guess we'll have to see how this bullshit resonates with the hundred thousand or so Republican caucus-goers tonight.

The Politics Of Fear

How low can you go with a campaign ad? Just ask John McCain:

Late Night Links

Tomorrow, or shall I say today will be a long travel day for me so I doubt if I'll get to post much this second to last Friday of the year or even much at all for the next week. Probably some light posting here and there as long as I am out of town. So as I sit and wait to head out to the airport to catch a 5:30 AM flight, here are a few things catching my eye, and probably yours.

• Here in the city, it seems that the M.T.A. isn't only raising the fare, they'll be collecting a lot of loose change with the new 15% bonus level, leaving many MetroCards with nickels and dimes instead of whole trips that the current 20% level affords. Is this some sort of stealthy theft by Elliot Sander and his bunch?

• The Gotham Gazette reviews the biggest New York news stories this past year. Jeez, I remember them all like it happened yesterday, where did 2007 go?

• The case of the mysterious bench on Houston is still unsolved, but the bench is gone. Did anyone even get a chance to try and sit on this, I couldn't even find the time to make it down to see the damn thing.

• In national politics, local blog The Albany Project graphically details Rudy's precipitous drop in the polls.

• Meanwhile, Romney tries to emulate the former Mayor by making shit up out of thin air.

Well goodnight all, time to finish packing and head out the door soon.