Year: 2007

Romney Says Fund Raising Deficit is a Strategy

Trish

You have to hand it to Mitt Romney’s campaign folks. They are painting the millions he’s contributing to his own campaign as a choice to remain independent of special interests.

Right.

To date, the venture capitalist has contributed $9 million to his campaign, nearly a quarter of his overall contributions.

But that’s a good thing, he says.

Romney has contributed $9 million to his own campaign, nearly a quarter of the overall contributions

“I’m not beholden to any particular group for getting me into this race or for getting me elected. My family, that’s the only one I’m really beholden to, they’re the ones who let their inheritance slip away, dollar by dollar.”

Of course, the Romney boys are soaking up a lot of that future inheritance right now.

Yet, Romney’s rugged independence isn’t stopping him from holding $1,000-a-plate fund-raising dinners. The problem appears to be that the cash, and the poll numbers, aren’t increasing.

…a new CNN/WMUR-TV poll in the early voting state of New Hampshire showed that former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has pulled into a statistical dead heat with Romney, with Romney garnering 23 percent of the vote and Giuliani 22 percent. In July, Romney had a clear lead, 33 percent to Giuliani’s 18 percent.

Bush: “Childrens Do Learn”

Trish

…But presidentses have lost the ability to form sentences.

On pretty much a daily basis, Bush says something weird or phrases something wrong. Yesterday was no exception.

With a group of New York City elementary school students standing behind him, President Bush touted higher national test scores by proudly declaring: “Childrens do learn.”

…Bush followed with another cringe-worthy slipup: “Congress needs to work with this administration to pass legislation that helps gives our children the education they deserve.”

We believe the evidence indicates Bush has moved beyond the cute dumb stage to the dangerously incoherent stage, and someone needs to act. Very soon.

Inspired Casting: Laura Dern to Play Katherine Harris

Trish

We told you about the HBO feature film about the aftermath of the 2000 election, titled “Recount.” More cast members are being named and some of the choices make a lot of sense.

Kevin Spacey, Laura Dern, Ed Begley Jr., Denis Leary, John Hurt, Tom Wilkinson and Bob Balaban will star in HBO’s Recount, sources close to the production confirmed on Monday.

Spacey will play Ron Klain, former chief of staff to Al Gore, while Dern will portray Katherine Harris, Florida’s secretary of state, who certified that George W. Bush won the state during the closely contested 2000 presidential election.

Recount, which starts filming in Jacksonville next month, takes place during the five weeks between the 2000 election and the U.S. Supreme Court 5-4 decision that ended the Florida recounts. Jacksonville will stand in for numerous locations around Florida.

Balaban will play Ben Ginsberg, lead attorney for the Bush/Cheney camp. Begley will play David Boies, lead attorney for Gore.

Wilkinson will play James Baker, the secretary of state for George H.W. Bush, an advisor to George W. Bush during the recount. John Hurt will play Warren Christopher, secretary of state for Bill Clinton, who advised Gore.

Denis Leary will be Michael Wouley, Gore’s chief field operative.

Jay Roach, who directed the Meet the Parents and Austin Powers franchises, will direct. Executive producers are Paula Weinstein, Sydney Pollack, Len Amato and Roach. The film was written by Danny Strong.

Laura Dern was so likable in Jurassic Park(s) that it should be a challenge for her to play America’s most famous nutcase.

The roles of Poppy and Laura Bush are still open, we’ve noted. Both Bush and Gore have been cast although the actors playing them have not yet been publicly named.

Romney Shows He Read the Republican Playbook

Trish

Mitt Romney’s comments about the civilian killings by the Blackwater private security guards sound kind of familiar. Romney’s counterterrorism advisor, Cofer Black, is vice chair of Blackwater USA.

“I think the allegations are very serious indeed and that there is an investigation which is under way,” Romney told reporters in his first public comment on the case. “I don’t want to prejudge what will happen from the investigation, but if the investigations go through in a legitimate and appropriate way, then I would expect an appropriate response.”

Hmmm, that’s rings a bell. Especially the “prejudge” part. Where have I heard that before?

“I have instructed every member of my staff to fully cooperate in this investigation,” Bush told reporters after a Cabinet meeting at the White House.

“I also will not prejudge the investigation based on media reports. We’re in the midst of an ongoing investigation, and I will be more than happy to comment further once the investigation is completed.”

Yeah, that’s it! Bush talking about Rove and the CIA leak scandal.

No one will ever accuse Mitt Romney of original thinking but isn’t it funny how Republicans have complete confidence in the courts and the judicial process until they’re found out, or until they disagree with a ruling?

Why You Should Care About Florida’s Primary

Trish

You might already know the facts, but here they are again: Florida’s majority Republican legislature passed a bill earlier this year changing the state’s primary to Jan. 29. This placed the Florida election ahead of Iowa, South Carolina, Nevada, and good old New Hampshire, which is a violation of both Republican and Democratic party rules.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) punished Florida by taking away half its delegates to the 2008 Republican convention. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) took away all Florida’s delegates and made the Democratic frontrunners sign a pledge not to campaign in Florida. The pledge does not prohibit fund-raising.

Before, it looked like all Democrats needed to do to win in 2008 was show up — but we can’t even do that right

The DNC offered Florida Democratic party leaders a deal: if you nullify the results of the statewide Jan. 29 primary and hold party caucuses, pay-per-vote straw polls like Iowa, or some other behind-the-scenes event with extremely limited participation on Feb. 5, we will forgive you.

FDP leaders, wisely, went with “no deal.” They argue correctly that there is more for Florida voters to decide on Jan. 29 than just presidential preference, and besides, your average voter (like me) doesn’t agree that his or her vote should be tossed in favor of those from Democratic party insiders.

Here’s why you should care. The DNC, in refusing to allow candidates to campaign in Florida, is throwing the 2008 election to the Republicans. Picture it: months of TV spots with Rudy and Mitt telling Florida voters why we should love them, but also increasingly hammering away at Hillary, Barack, and John. Headlines like, “Thompson Eats Fried Gator Tail at Rotary Picnic” and “McCain Tours Military Base.”

And on the Democratic side? Silence, broken only the occasional dive for dollars at private parties.

“You’re going to continue to see Republican candidates coming to Florida, shaking hands, listening to voters,” said Erin Van Sickle, a Florida Republican Party spokeswoman.

Said Merle Black, a political scientist at Emory University and expert on Southern politics: “It’s a huge power struggle within the Democratic Party that cannot help the party’s candidates in Florida.

“But having nobody come to Florida, that’s theater of the absurd,” he added.

The fourth biggest state in the country, always a toss-up, is abandoned — no, handed on a silver platter — to the Republicans. And why? Because national Democrats have their panties in a wad over something Florida Democrats can’t change: the legislatively mandated election date.

If there was ever a time for the DNC to get its head out of its ass, the time is now. As Ben Weaver, North Florida Regional Director for the Florida Young Democrats, noted, before it looked like all Democrats needed to do to win in 2008 was show up. And we can’t even do that right!

Frustration with the DNC, and the candidates who fear losing its funding, is high.

Republicans have been aggressively mobilizing and courting Florida voters, while Democratic candidates have been wary of doing anything to antagonize party leaders in those early nominating states.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson’s campaign even refused recently to send a letter of greeting to a Jackson County Democratic picnic for fear of violating his pledge to the four early states.

And all the front-runners, even those who originally accepted, have now declined invitations to the state party convention in Orlando at the end of October.

But Weaver, and quite a few others, are betting that Florida will get its delegates back even if the DNC rigidly stays the course, as they say they will. He thinks that on the first day of the national convention the front-runner will reinstate our 210 delegates in a show of party unity. I hope it won’t be too late by then, that too many Floridians will have only heard the GOP’s side of things for so long that they’ve tuned out whatever last-minute campaigning the Democrats engage in. If so, Howard Dean can take the credit for blowing it — again.

If They Weren’t Republicans, I’d Feel Sorry for Them

Buck Banks

Seems the news from the GOP side of the aisle just keeps getting better and better or worse and worse, depending on your orientation:

Top Republicans are privately bracing for the possibility that they could lose additional House seats in next year’s elections as a result of untimely retirements, ongoing scandals and unexpectedly gloomy fundraising forecasts, according to several members and aides.

It seems every day brings more bad news for Republicans. As Politico first reported Friday, House Majority Leader John Boehner and his campaign chief, Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole, are at war over campaign tactics and operations. Boehner is demanding a major shake-up at the National Republican Congressional Committee.

If the election were held this November, Republicans would be in for a disastrous result.

And besides being morally bankrupt as a political party, the National Republican Congressional Committee, which is charged with getting GOPers elected to Congress, is literally broke. As in having more debt than cash.

At the end of August, the National Republican Congressional Committee reported only $1.6 million cash on hand, with $4 million in debt. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, by comparison, had banked over $22 million, with only $3 million in debt.

Of course, a popular Republican presidential candidate could pull in the big bucks and help hold some jeopardized congressional seats, but the key word there is “popular.” Unfortunately for the Repugs, a recent Mason-Dixon poll found that Undecided is running neck and neck with Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani. That’s not going to energize the base.

A popular incumbent president could also be of some fundraising use to the GOP, but George W. Bush has become a pariah to his party, and is widely hated by Democrats and Republicans alike.

“If the election were held this November, Republicans would be in for a disastrous result,” said Cook Political Report House analyst David Wasserman. “The thinking goes: It will have to be another cycle before Republicans get their act together.”

Excuse me for being gleeful, but it looks bad for the Republicans. The only downside is that it looks good for the Democrats, who have shown they don’t know what to do with a majority when they get one. And they’d rather circle up for a firing squad than loosen their stupid rules on primary dates. Too bad it’s probably going to take another election cycle before the Dems get their act together, too.

Ahmadinejad: ‘We Don’t Have Homosexuals’ in Iran – Same Country That Executed Two Gay Teens in 2005

Jon Ponder


Iranian Pres. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaking today at Columbia University:

“In Iran, we don’t have homosexuals like in your country. We don’t have that in our country. In Iran, we do not have this phenomenon. I do not know who has told you that we have it.”

July 2005:

Three weeks ago, two Iranian teenagers who had been imprisoned and mercilessly beaten, were finally executed by hanging in Iran for the crime of sex with another male, indeed, apparently it now seems within the context of a committed relationship. At that time, … The young guys, one of whom was under the age of 18 at the time of the execution and both of whom were under 18 at the time of their arrest, underwent more than a year in prison and were subjected to 228 lashes of a whip, before Iran robbed them of their young lives on Tuesday, July 19, 2005.

The teenagers, Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni (yes, these two human beings had names), still call to me from their graves. I can hear their plaintive cries that we shall forget them and their deaths will be for naught.