Mort Kondracke: America needs Presidential Nominiees like Romney, McCain, or Warner

Mort Kondracke (prominent moderate political pundit and one of the "Beltway Boys" from Fox News) said the following as a lead in to his recent opinion piece (which focused mostly on Mark Warner . . . the Dems best moderate chance for winning control of the Oval Office):

Probably the best chance America has for escaping endless partisan warfare and for getting its big problems solved is for both parties to nominate moderates in 2008 and have them argue over issues, not ideology.

Like Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney or Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) on the Republican side, versus former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner on the Democratic.

Romney and McCain are busy identifying themselves as "proud conservatives" these days to maintain credibility in the GOP, and Warner, too, told me, "I desperately try to reject" the terms "moderate" and "centrist" because "they seem weaker rather than stronger on the issues" whereas he wants to be "bold."

Still, these prospective candidates have proven records of independent thinking, problem solving and bipartisanship.

I think Romney definitely has shown that he is all of these things . . . definitely an electable candidate in a general election . . . but probably just conservative enough on hot-button social issues to pull out a GOP nomination over McCain.

Here we go again . . . many voters wouldn't support a Mormon for POTUS

Romney's Religion May Be Hurdle in Presidential Bid, Poll Shows

July 3 (Bloomberg) -- Religion hasn't been an issue in American presidential politics since 1960. That may change in 2008 if Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, a Mormon, remains a leading candidate for the Republican nomination.

More than a third of registered voters -- 35 percent -- say they wouldn't vote for a Mormon for president, the latest Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll finds. That's considerably more than say they wouldn't vote for a Catholic, Jew or evangelical Christian. Only a Muslim gets a higher negative response.

By comparison, 22 percent of registered voters say they wouldn't support an evangelical Christian, 14 percent wouldn't back a Jewish candidate, and 9 percent say no to a Catholic. Fifty-three percent say they wouldn't vote for a Muslim.

Among some voters, social concerns may be partly driving the anti-Mormon numbers, said John Green, a political scientist at the University of Akron in Ohio who studies the impact of religion on politics. ``It looks like while there may be a religious factor here, it's also an ideological factor,'' he said. ``Liberals are concerned about Mormons.''

Mormon Stances

Mormons, including Romney, have supported a ban on gay marriage and limits on abortion rights and stem-cell research.

Among political groups, the highest opposition to a Mormon candidacy comes from people who describe themselves as liberal Democrats, 50 percent of whom say they wouldn't vote for a Mormon. Thirty-three percent of moderate Republicans say they wouldn't, as do 35 percent of conservative Republicans.

Minorities are more opposed to a Mormon presidential candidate than whites, with 51 percent saying they wouldn't vote for one, versus 31 percent of whites. Sixty percent of nonwhite Protestants say no to a Mormon president.

Be prepared for a barrage of these polls over the coming months. Romney's solid status among the top 2 or 3 GOP frontrunners will draw constant attention to the "Mormon issue". I expect him to be among the first people to annouce his candidacy for two reasons:

1) To help out his still poor "name recognition factor"

2) To give the electorate plenty of time to adjust to the idea of voting for a Mormon

The last poll I've heard quoted (back from Orrin Hatch's run in 2000) is that 17% of Evangelicals wouldn't vote for a Mormon POTUS . . . but this poll says that 22% of the 1300+ people surveyed wouldn't vote for an "Evangelical Christian" POTUS. Does this suggest that Evangelicals are more tolerant of Mormon leaders than the general public is of Evangelical leaders? If this is the case, then I'm not that worried about the religion issue being a huge factor in the southern primaries (I'm more worried about Romney's "Geographic Problem" . . . i.e. being from the northeast, and even worse, Massachusetts.)

I think Leavitt is right on with his belief that Romney's religion will be a "fading issue" as people get to know him and, presumably, like him. In his recent profile/interview with the 700 Club Romney, himself, addressed the 17% question. He essentially said that if you were asked a question about a hypothetical candidate and all you knew about them ex vacuo was their religion, then, sure, you would express concern about those of religions you knew less about or had strong feelings against. Romney followed that up with his belief that as people got to know more about a presidential candidate, that they would judge more on social and fiscal positions than on religious affiliation.

P.S. POTUS stands for "President Of The United States"

Cross-posted at Elect Romney in 2008 Blog

UPDATE: The LA Times has a piece relating to this poll that delves more into the religion issues . . . and also brings up the following (seeming to confirm some of my points above):

In a Roper poll from June 1960, 35 percent of respondents said either that it might be better not to have a Catholic president, or that they would be against it. Then-Sen. John F. Kennedy addressed the Southern Leadership Conference on the subject of his religion that September, and was elected president two months later.

Mitt Romney Google Calendar--Unofficial

Some visitors to this blog may have noticed the "Google Calendars" icon on the right side and the bottom of the page. I created this calendar named "Mitt Romney Visits and Events", a publically viewable calendar, as a means of keeping track of Romney's upcoming visits as well as a way to chronologically catalogue important articles/interview/videos etc . . . (by clicking on any event you will find URLs that link to the relevant sites for that event). Nobody working on the calendar is currently "plugged in" with the Romney folks and so we don't get any "heads up" on his plans much beforehand

I can add anyone who is interested to edit/update the calendar. Just contact me and I'll get you signed on and I would appreciate help in this effort. Also, anyone can add this same link to their websites/blogsites. Let me know and I'll send you the code

Also, a big "thank you" to my friend and co-worker, Jim Howard (who also runs an interesting Blog about one of his ancestors), for introducing me to the "Google Calendars" system. It's pretty cool!

Romney Public Google Calendar (Unofficial)

"Coloradans for Romney 2008" -- Great New State Site!

The "Coloradans for Romney 2008" blogsite has joined the cause as well! Paul Schoeny started the Colorado blog a few days ago. I know Paul well (old college roommate) and he is a great thinker and hard worker He also has experience in the political world having clerked for Orrin Hatch and growing up in the D.C. area -- another great "pick-up" for our Romney blogging community! Visit his blog and wish him well!

Floridians for Romney! Check it out!

The "Floridians for Romney" blogsite is up and running! Thomas Alan is running the blog and is a great addition to our "For Romney"/"For Mitt" blogging community. A large part of his draw to Romney stems from Romney's outspoken stance against activist judges.

Thomas started a Romney blog back in March '06 called "Elect Mitt Romney in 2008" and will be continuing his efforts there as well.

I also think that Thomas feels a kinship with Romney because they are both "Red specks in a Blue blob" (Thomas lives in Palm Beach County).

Visit his blogs and officially welcome him to the States for Romney community!

Romney on the Rise!

Over at Hotline On Call (an arm of The National Journal) they have a mid-year round-up on the WH '08 race where they singled out Romney as having the best last 6 months of any '08 hopeful

It's the end of the 6th month of '06. A great time to create an artificial benchmark about WH '08! Think back to the start of '06 and ask yourself who has....

-- Bettered: McCain (weak frontrunner to a confident one); Huckabee (media's favorite IA dark horse); Kerry (messaging entire party on Iraq now); Edwards (has he snatched "outsider" tag from Warner? IA standing is big).

-- Stagnated: Giuliani (back on the scene, but yet to answer the "base" question); Bayh (fear the turtle); Warner (buzz candidate who became the cocktail party candidate); Frist (colleagues still skeptical, but mistakes are fewer); Feingold (alone as liberal FAV but is he only a 1-issue candidate?)

-- Stepped Back: Clinton (public war boos were bound to happen; when the Obama whispers stop, you'll know she's golden again). Gingrich (voluble but where's the belly fire and influence?); Allen (insiders now have doubts, he can't go to IA anymore, but if he beats Webb, he's right back in).

-- And who had the best six months? Mitt Romney, incredibly, now an "outsider" who has distanced himself from his MA pedigree.

To say that no other WH ‘08’er had a better 6 months than Romney would assume that there was another politician in America who saw his stock rise as much as the MA gov in the first half of ’06.

See why they thought Romney had the best 6 months of ANY presidential hopeful (Rep. and Dem.) at the link above.

Mitt Romney on Hugh Hewitt Show--- Transcript and mp3 at "Radio Blogger"

Gov. Mitt Romney was on the Hugh Hewitt Show program yesterday. This link at Radio Blogger has the transcript of the interview as well as a link to the mp3 file.

They discussed the New York Times recent publishing classified material jeapordizing our national security and the Mass. marriage protection amendment.

You know, I find it inexplicable and inexcusable. You recognize that we are at war, and that publishing the intelligence capabilities and processes and procedures of our intelligence community is something which puts us in a jeopardized position, it puts us in peril, and it's inexcusable.

. . . ultimately, these papers publish these things to gain circulation. And what's sad to me is that people would trade off their positive reputation for being able to get a scoop, to be able to expand their circulation, and trade that off against the interests of our country.

Speaking of his recent press conference to call attention to the Mass legislature's vote on whether to allow a public vote about the definition of marriage he said:

. . . it's interesting to me that my liberal friends are very anxious to protect democracy, unless they think it might go against them.

Classic Romney!

Romney wins first online Iowa Caucus Strawpoll at Krusty Konservative blog!

Krusty has had an open online straw poll that he closed recently. The results can be found here, and our man Romney led the way with 32% of the vote! Krusty has started over a similar poll on the righthand side of his main blog page at Krusty Konservative and Romney is presently not leading the way (It seems that you can vote in this survey once each day.)

Romney: Voters (not Courts) Should Define Civil Rights

Governor Renews Support Of Gay Marriage Ballot Question

Governor Romney again took a strong stand, along with new Cardinal O'Malley (Boston Archdiocese), in defense of traditional marriage defined between one man and one woman. Romney further spoke of the importance of

"We have a Constitution. We can look in there and say, 'Does it say here you can vote on matters unless someone can define them as civil rights?' No," said the Republican governor, a graduate of Harvard Law School who is mulling a presidential run. "It says you vote on all matters in this country and we'll decide what is a civil right and what's not. So, fundamentally, we come back to the principle that the people speak."

He added: "Is there anything more fundamental to the commonwealth and this country than the principle that the power is reserved for the people, that government is the servant, not the master?"

Here is a man who will always realize the true role of government and how it should be a "by the people, of the people, and for the people.

The Governor's Office Press Release on the issue has more information (including a video of the press conference).

Cross-posted at Elect Romney in 2008 Blog

Busy week . . . sorry.

I've been having a pretty busy week and have also been compiling the Romney information on Homeland Security (which is VAST!!! . . . this will definitely be one of his strong points as a candidate and potentially, future president.) My next major blog entry will be LOOOOONG!

Ann Marie continues to do an Awesome job at the Elect Romney in 2008 blog. Check that out for the latest updates.

The "700 Club" did a profile of Romney in one of there CBN News (Christian Broadcasting Networks). Pretty positive peice from an Evangelical news source (though they did bring up the abortion issue and the "cult" issue). It's a nice 9 minute piece if you would like to see it!

Romney on Immigration . . . The Whole Enchilada

Immigration Quotes/Articles:

Speech given at the Heritage Foundation on September 14, 2005 (link is to streaming video and streaming or downloadable audio—mp3 of Romney’s 35 min speech followed by 20+ min of a Q&A session—Topic was actually Homeland Security, but during the Q&A session the topic of illegal immigration came up)—transcription of quotes below is my own:

“I would like to see us, as a nation, bringing in fewer illegal immigrants.”

“I do not like the idea, therefore, of Amnesty; because, I’m afraid, that when you have a regular Amnesty program, of one form or another, you will create a greater incentive for people to come into the country illegally.”

“In my state I’ve said that I will veto any legislation which calls for a drivers license for illegal immigrants.”

“I recently had a bill on my desk last year that said that we should give kids of illegal immigrants who lived in our state a tuition break for our state colleges and universities and I said “No” I vetoed that, it’s one of my few vetoes that has stood up. It’s not that those kids deserve to be discriminated against . . . they don’t. But I didn’t want to create any incentives to have people move to our country illegally. Now, why is that? I’d like to have more people come to our country legally. I love immigrant populations coming to this land. They’ve been an enormous source of our strength.”

“Now I realize that there are some states that rely on immigrant populations to carry out agricultural business. Maybe Pres. Bush’s idea of a guest-pass program may be the right answer for that kind of setting . . . but to have that turn into a permanent citizen status or to encourage illegal immigration is something that we should take care to avoid.”

Source: Steve LeBlanc, Associated Press Writer Nov 1, 2005

“A bill to let children of illegal immigrants pay the same lower tuition rate at state colleges as other MA residents sparked a political sparring match between Democrats and the Romney administration. Romney chastised critics for advocating a bill he said would encourage illegal behavior. Romney said the state's focus should be on helping legal immigrants. Giving children of illegal immigrants a tuition break would act as an incentive to draw in more illegal immigrants to Massachusetts, Romney said.”

Lowell Sun Online

"I don't believe in amnesty," Romney said, using a word voiced by Republicans to describe widespread forgiveness of illegal residency in the United States.

But at the same time, Romney said illegal immigrants should have a chance to obtain citizenship.

"I don't believe in rounding up 11 million people and forcing them at gunpoint from our country," Romney said. "With these 11 million people, let's have them registered, know who they are. Those who've been arrested or convicted of crimes shouldn't be here; those that are here paying taxes and not taking government benefits should begin a process towards application for citizenship, as they would from their home country."

Boston Globe April 10^th, 2006

Regarding immigration, Romney said U.S. borders should be made more secure to keep illegal immigrants from entering. He also said he opposed an amnesty program that would automatically grant citizenship to the approximately 11 million illegal immigrants already in this country.

"I think that route is not acceptable at this stage," he said. "We should report illegal behavior."

Instead, Romney said, illegal immigrants should be identified and required to apply for green cards, which would allow them to live and work in the United States. Those whose applications are accepted could stay, the rest would be returned to their native countries.

Boston Globe June 21, 2006

Governor Mitt Romney is seeking an agreement with federal authorities that would allow Massachusetts state troopers to arrest undocumented immigrants for being in the country illegally.

Under the agreement Romney is seeking, troopers would have greatly expanded powers: They could check an immigrant's legal status during routine patrols such as during a traffic stop and decide whether the immigrant should be held.

"It's one more thing you can do to make this a less attractive place for illegal aliens to come to work," said Romney.

Forthcoming Blogs: Romney on Illegal Immigration, Homeland Security, Terrorism, and Foreign Policy

I know of several people who are wondering about Mitt Romney's stance or experience with the "hot-button" issues of illegal immigraton, homeland security, terrorism, and foreign policy. All of these issues are rather interrelated. I have researched several articles and web archives and am compiling them to help inform others.

As an intro, below is Gov. Romney's experience with Massachusetts "English Immersion " Program which 68% of voters supported to end "Biligual Education" in the state schools:

bostonherald.com, 7-16-03 “Watered Down English Immersion Law Incurs Governor's Wrath”

BOSTON, MA - After the Massachusetts legislature carved out exemptions to a voter-approved English-immersion law for immigrants, Governor Mitt Romney called their action an act of "unfathomable arrogance" and vowed to oust legislators who backed the move.

An overwhelming 68% percent of Massachusetts voters approved a ballot initiative last year requiring that immigrant students be placed in all-English classes instead of bilingual classes. But on July 14 the lawmakers voted to override the governor's veto of several newly created exemptions, including one for "two-way" programs, a form of bilingual education in which students of different cultures learn each other's languages simultaneously.

Branding the loopholes as a capitulation to "special interests," including teachers unions, Romney said he wants immigrant students to learn English first. About 51,000 students in the state have limited English skills

The voter-approved law allows for "two-way" programs but requires that students be able to speak English first. The legislature rolled back that part of the law and another part that limited the programs to older students. Opponents of "two-way" programs charge that they help native English speakers who want to learn Spanish, but are a detriment to students who need to learn English.

"Individuals in the legislature or elsewhere who believe they are smarter than the voters, I'm going to campaign to find people to take their place," Romney said

Not surprisingly, this watered down version has had it’s shortcomings (Boston Globe, May 21,2006). However, one must admit, that achieving a rather large percentage of fluency at the first assessment is better than trapping kids in bilingual education programs indefinitely. One reason for the failure is a lack of support for the measure by the educators themselves:

“A state survey in December and January, which the Globe obtained, found that more than half of the 52 school systems educating the vast majority of non-native English speakers did not set up separate classes to teach English as a second language.”

Great new entries at Elect Romney in 2008 Blog

Ann Marie Curling, rejuvenated by last weekend's meeting with Gov. Romney here in Iowa, has been doing some awesome blogging over the past few days at Elect Romney in 2008. Rather than re-hash all of the same information found there at this blogsite I recommend that everyone go there and check out the most recent entries.

Iowan Supporters Develop Logo, Flyers, Bumpersticker, & Business Cards

A huge "Thank you" to Keith Steurer for contacting me and offering to produce graphics for our Iowans for Romney group. He as produced a logo, business cards, and a letterhead for our group. His dedication to the Iowans for Romney effort, career as a local engineer, and political experience (Bush campaigner in Utah-2000 and Wisconsin-2004), made him a good addition to the Commonwealth PAC Iowa Advisory Board.


Also, the flyer sitting at each place-setting for the Romney Breakfast last weekend was converted (by Keith) into a PDF that can be found at this link (Large file . . . 1.8 MB so load time for page may be long)

Jim Kirkpatrick (former Blackhawk County Chair for 2000 Bush campaign--another charter member of the "Advisory Board") seems pretty strong on the Romney train. He's considering making up buttons and bumperstickers to help get Romney's name and face out there more (still, the majority of people I talk to have never heard of Romney) He emailed me a prototype bumpersticker pictured below. Feel free to chime in with opinions on their work.

P.S. Don't forget that Romney will be highlighted in a "profile" on the "700 Club" through the Chirstian Broadcasting Network-- this will be airing on ABC Family Channel this coming Monday @ 9AM as well as many local listings I'm sure.

We're Getting Noticed in Boston & New ROMNEY site

This link from the Boston Globe's website says the following:

Romney recently signed well known Iowa consultant Doug Gross, has made past trips to the state and donations to candidates in the state. And then there is Iowans for Romney, a website run by the exuberant Jeff Fuller.

(emphasis added)

If that weren't enough, The Boston Herald has a blog section has an entry titled "ProMitt Marching Orders where "Romney Beat" writer Kimberly Atkins wrote:

Mitt supporters in the blogosphere are all atwitter over a detailed how-to guide for grassroots supporters to help get Romney elected, started on an Iowa politiblog “Iowans For Mitt Romney.”

She also noticed, and linked to, my list of things to do to support Romney and help him win the GOP nomination. She commented on a few of the ideas . . . sort of painting some of them as Machiavellian.

Obviously, both ot these Boston Newspapers are poking fun at me and my efforts . . . but since they also take every opportunity to poke fun at Gov. Romney, I feel like I'm in very good company!

Also, a Mass. based Romney blog "The Romney Report" has morphed from their blogspot home and resurfaced with the URL http://www.romneyreport.com/ with what looks like a strong 5 person team: Phil James (MA), Annie C (MA), Stu Wes (VA), Bobby T (MA), and Jon Zak (UT)