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20081208

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"Romney paves way for possible '12 run: Bulk of PAC fund goes for political ambitions." ... "Republican Mitt Romney is laying the groundwork for a possible White House campaign in 2012, hiring a team of staff members and consultants with money from a fund-raising committee he established with the ostensible purpose of supporting other GOP candidates." ... "The former Massachusetts governor has raised $2.1 million for his Free and Strong America political action committee. But only 12 percent of the money has been spent distributing checks to Romney's fellow Republicans around the country." ... "Instead, the largest chunk of the money has gone to support Romney's political ambitions, paying for salaries and consulting fees to over a half-dozen of Romney's longtime political aides, according to a Globe review of expenditures." ... "Romney founded the Free and Strong America Committee shortly after dropping out of the 2008 presidential primary. He filled its coffers by telling conservative contributors around the country that their money would be used to support Republican candidates and causes." ... "According to the Globe analysis, he spent $244,000 on contributions to congressional and other candidates between April and the November elections. He has spent more than twice as much on staff salaries and contracts to hire professional fund-raisers, who are compiling contributor lists that will serve Romney well in a future presidential campaign." ... "In essence, Romney is financing a political enterprise that he can use to remain a national GOP leader and use as a springboard should he decide to launch another presidential bid for 2012." - By Frank Phillips

-Boston/Globe

20080707

Mitt Romney

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2008 Election

"Romney, McCain's `Logical' Choice, Must Overcome Primary Animus." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain, 71, said in December that he doesn't understand economics ``as well as I should'' and his lack of comfort is apparent on the stump." ... "[McCain's 2000 Election communications director Dan] Schnur said [Republican Mitt] Romney's apparent advantage on the economy may have a down side. During his unsuccessful 1994 run against incumbent [Massachusetts Democratic Senator] Democrat Ted Kennedy for a Massachusetts Senate seat, Romney was criticized for overseeing layoffs while working at Bain [Capital]." ... "``The Democrats could have a heyday talking about downsizing and lay-offs,'' Schnur said. ``It's the type of thing that in a difficult economic climate could be a real problem.''" -By Heidi Przybyla

-Bloomberg

20080324

John McCain - Foreign - Military - Intelligence - Economic - Religious - Torture - Media - Politician - Mitt Romney - John Hagee - US - 2008 Election - "McCAIN'S CRED." ... "Foreign policy cred lets him [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain] get away with wild howlers on foreign policy. Fiscal integrity cred lets him get away with outlandishly irresponsible economic plans. Anti-lobbyist cred lets him get away with pandering to lobbyists. Campaign finance reform cred lets him get away with gaming the campaign finance system. Straight talking cred lets him get away with brutally slandering [former 2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney in the closing days of the Republican primary. Maverick uprightness cred allows him to get away with begging for endorsements from extremist religious leaders like John Hagee. "Man of conviction" cred allows him to get away with transparent flip-flopping so egregious it would make any other politician a laughingstock. Anti-torture cred allows him to get away with supporting torture as long as only the CIA [Central Intelligence Agency] does it." ... "Remind me again: where does all this cred come from? And what window do Democrats go to to get the same treatment the press gives McCain?" -By Kevin Drum -WashingtonMonthly.com

20080221

Mitt Romney - 2008 Election - History - Politics - "Romney spent $42.3m of own money." ... "Before abandoning his bid to become president, [former 2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney put in at least $42.3 million of his own money, a big chunk of the $97 million he spent on the campaign." ... "The former Massachusetts governor's total self-financing puts him ahead of Steve Forbes, the publisher who spent $38 million on his unsuccessful run for the GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] nomination in 1996, but shy of the $63.5 million that H. Ross Perot spent on his 1992 third-party presidential campaign." ... "Romney's total loan also equates to about $167,000 for each of the 253 delegates he won before suspending his campaign. By suspending his bid, Romney, who made an estimated $250 million as a venture capitalist, can keep raising money to possibly pay himself back." ... "Romney also reported raising $9.7 million last month, bringing his campaign total to $63.6 million." -BostonGlobe

20080210

Mike Huckabee - John McCain - Ron Paul - Mitt Romney - Washington_State - Arizona - Arkansas - Texas - Massachusetts - 2008 Election - "Huckabee won't concede state; GOP resuming delegate count." ... "According to the Saturday tally [in Washington State], [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Senator from] Arizona Sen. John McCain won about 26 percent of delegates, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and] former Arkansas Gov. [Governer] Huckabee won 24 percent, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Representative from] Texas Rep. Ron Paul finished with 21 percent, and [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and] former Massachusetts Gov. [Governer] Mitt Romney, who has dropped out of the race, got 17 percent." ... "Pastor Joseph Fuiten of Bothell [Washington], who's heading Huckabee's volunteer effort in the state, said three Huckabee supporters in Pierce County [Washington] reported voting irregularities on Saturday." ... "Fuiten said one woman reported that she and a Ron Paul supporter were told that they wouldn't be allowed to run for alternative delegate positions — and that no actual vote was taken at the caucus. Instead, Fuiten said the woman reported that the caucus leaders simply tallied up the sign-in sheets to get the results." ... ""Counting is not so much the issue, so much as it is a concern about disenfranchisement," Fuiten said." ... "Paul's campaign is also not conceding the state." -By Janet I. Tu -SeattleTimes

20080205

John McCain - Mitt Romney - Money - Immigration - Ethanol - Religious - Abortion - Law - Fla - 2008 Election - Media - "Dancing With GOP Stars: McCain, Romney Do Flip-Flop Waltz." ... "The record shows that [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt] Romney and [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain have both changed their positions on taxes, immigration and other issues that are important to GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] voters. Romney's changes have garnered more attention, raising questions about his core convictions, but McCain has changed his stances more often than he is usually prepared to admit." ... "Speaking in Jacksonville, Fla. [Florida], McCain sarcastically praised Romney: "He's consistently taken both sides of any major issue. He has consistently flip-flopped on every issue."" ... "Romney shot back that McCain was "against the Bush tax cuts" but "now he's for making them permanent." And "he was for McCain-Kennedy" immigration reform, Romney continued. "Now he's for a new program on immigration. He's changed his view on issue after issue. He was against ethanol, then for it, then against it again."" ... "Romney supporters argue that McCain's flip-flops have largely been under the public radar because they conflict with the "straight shooter" narrative that they say has been accepted and promoted by the media. McCain has altered his position on such issues as taxes, immigration, the religious right, Roe v. Wade [the Supreme Court case legalizing abortion] and ethanol." ... "The senator has sought to disguise his flip-flop on the [Republican President] Bush tax cuts by arguing that the main reason he opposed them was that they were not accompanied by cuts in government spending. This was not the explanation he gave at the time, however. In a May 2001 speech on the Senate floor, he said he could not "in good conscience support a tax cut in which so many of the benefits go to the most fortunate among us, at the expense of middle-class Americans who most need tax relief."" -By Michael Dobbs -WashingtonPost

20080131

Mitt Romney - John McCain - US - Iraq - Military - History - 2008 Election - "Romney accuses McCain of using Nixon tactic on Iraq." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney accused Republican [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] rival John McCain of adopting underhanded tactics from [Republican President] Richard Nixon, the GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] president who resigned in disgrace." ... ""I don't think I want to see our party go back to that kind of campaigning," Mr. Romney said in his most pointed rebuttal yet to front-runner Mr. McCain's claim that the former Massachusetts governor favors a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq. Mr. Romney denies this charge, and most media analyses have concluded that Mr. Romney wasn't using "timetable" in the same way Democratic candidates have." -AP via -DallasNews.com
Mitt Romney - John McCain - Rudy Giuliani - US - Iraq - Military - 2008 Election - Massachusetts - Florida - Arizona - New York - Florida - "Romney Accuses McCain of 'Dirty Tricks': Romney Accuses McCain of Resorting to 'Dirty Tricks' Over Iraq Timetable Issue in Debate." ... "Republican [2008 Election Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney accused [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain of using dirty tricks by suggesting the former Massachusetts governor wanted a deadline for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq, in a spirited debate Wednesday night that underscored the intensity of their presidential rivalry." ... "Coming 24 hours after McCain defeated him in Florida, Romney vented his frustrations over the Arizona senator's claims from last weekend." ... ""I have never, ever supported a specific timetable" for withdrawing troops, Romney said. McCain's accusation on the eve of Tuesday's primary, he said, "sort of falls into the dirty tricks that I think [Republican President] Ronald Reagan would have found reprehensible."" ... "Former New York City [New York] Mayor Rudy Giuliani left the race earlier Wednesday [after losing Florida to McCain]] and endorsed McCain." (1, 2, 3) -By Liz Sidoti -AP via -ABCNEWS.com

20080127

Mitt Romney - John McCain - Economy - US - Iraq - Military - 2008 Election - Florida - Massachusetts - Arizona - "Romney Slams McCain On Economy, Climate Bill." ... "After predicting a Florida victory in front of a raucous, heavily Latino crowd, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney told members of the media that [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain’s interpretation of Romney’s past remarks on Iraq timetables were “obviously false” and “yesterday’s news.” The former Massachusetts governor then changed the subject by rehashing some of McCain’s past comments, which seemed to disparage the Arizona senator’s own understanding of economic policy." ... "“I simply don’t think that the people of Florida are gonna say the nominee of our party ought to be a person who on more than one occasion has expressed lack of understanding of our economy at a time when the economy is the number one issue that people are talking about here in the state of Florida,” Romney said." -By Scott Conroy -CBSNews

20080126

Mitt Romney - John McCain - US - Iraq - Military - 2008 Election - Florida - Arizona - Massachusetts - "Republican Candidates Trade Attacks in Florida." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain of Arizona accused [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and] former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney of having once supported a U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq, sparking an angry demand for an apology from Romney, who called the statement "dishonest."" ... "Romney, who said in April the military should consider a "private timetable" but not public deadlines, shot back: "That's dishonest, to say that I have a specific date. That's simply wrong . . . I know he's trying desperately to change the topic from the economy and trying to get back to Iraq, but to say something that's not accurate is simply wrong and he knows better."" ... "Later, Romney added that McCain's comment on Iraq is "simply wrong and it's dishonest, and he should apologize."" (1, 2) -By Michael D. Shear and Juliet Eilperin -WashingtonPost

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20080119

Mitt Romney - Politics - Massachusetts - New Hampshire - Nevada - South Carolina - 2008 Election - "More than a dozen lobbyists working to raise money for Romney." ... "Former Bay State Gov. [Massachusetts Republican Governor and 2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney, who has cast himself as a Washington outsider and blasted his opponents’ ties to lobbyists, has more than a dozen federally registered lobbyists raising money for him and several others advising his campaign, records show." ... "At a Nashua event the day before the New Hampshire primary, Romney said, “I don’t have years and years of favors to repay, lobbyists who have raised all sorts of money for me.”" ... "But at least 13 lobbyists work as so-called bundlers - those responsible for prodding deep-pocketed donors and generating vast sums of money for the candidate - according to records compiled by nonprofit Washington watchdog Public Citizen." ... "Romney, who faces a critical doubleheader in South Carolina and Nevada today, got into a tussle Thursday with an Associated Press reporter over the issue. “I don’t have lobbyists running my campaign,” Romney remarked. “I don’t have lobbyists that are tied to my . . .” The reporter interrupted him saying, “That is not true,” and naming [lobbyist Ronald C.] Kaufman, which provoked a tense exchange." -By Jessica Van Sack -BostonHerald.com
Duncan Hunter - Mitt Romney - Fred Thompson - California - Nevada - Wyoming - Massachusetts - Tennessee - 2008 Election - "Poor Showings Push GOP’s Hunter to Quit White House Bid." ... "California [Republican Representative and 2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Rep. Duncan Hunter dropped his longshot bid for the Republican presidential nomination Saturday night after drawing minimal support in the contests so far — including Nevada’s GOP caucuses, in which he took just 2 percent of the vote." ... "Hunter did win one delegate in Wyoming’s Republican county conventions on Jan. 5, where former Massachusetts Gov. [Governor and 2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney won eight and ex-Tennessee Sen. [Senator and 2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Fred Thompson won three." -By Marie Horrigan -CQPolitics.com

20080118

Mitt Romney - Money - Politics - Health-Care - 2008 Election - "Mitt Romney's Lobbyist Connections." ... "In a tense exchange with an AP reporter on Thursday, Mitt Romney insisted that even though a registered lobbyist is one of his senior advisers, lobbyists do not "run" his campaign." ... "The claim is part of Romney's new self-styled outsider message: lobbyists are part of a broken Washington system and Romney has nothing to do with them." ... ""My campaign is not based on Washington lobbyists," Romney said. "I haven't been in Washington. I don't have lobbyists at my elbow that are arguing for one industry or another industry and I do not have favors I have to repay to people who have been in Washington for years."" ... "The truth is that Romney is tied closely with many lobbyists. The AP reporter Romney exchanged sharp words with later reported that several Romney aides and advisers are lobbyists. Additionally, as the Nation first reported, Romney has accepted the second most money from lobbyists of any Republican presidential candidate, and has received the most endorsements from lobbyists." ... "The lobbyists who have endorsed Romney have represented, in 2007 alone, nearly every part of the health care and financial services industries, the NRA, members of the tobacco industry, and gambling interests." ... "In fact, nearly every lobbyist who has endorsed Romney is peddling influence for the health care industry." -By Jonathan Stein -MotherJones.com

20080109

John McCain - Mitt Romney - Mike Huckabee - Rudy Giuliani - Ron Paul - Fred Thompson - New Hampshire - 2008 Election - "McCain Stages "Lazarus-Like" Comeback In New Hampshire." ... "While most analysts remain unsure of its effect on the race for the GOP nomination, John McCain's victory in New Hampshire is being hailed as an remarkable comeback for a campaign that had been given up for dead last summer. The Chicago Tribune reports McCain "won with 37 percent compared to 32 percent for Romney, who was forced to re-examine his candidacy, which was premised on winning Iowa and New Hampshire to create a national juggernaut." Mike Huckabee placed 3rd with 11%, followed by Rudy Giuliani, 9%; Ron Paul, 8%; and Fred Thompson, 1%." ... "USA Today reports "political analyst Charles Cook called McCain's victory 'the greatest comeback since Lazarus,'" and "attributes it to 'an enormous vacuum in the Republican Party.'" Using the same metaphor, the New York Times reports McCain "revived his presidential bid with a Lazarus-like victory." The Times adds that "to cheers of 'Mac is back,' Mr. McCain told supporters last night: 'My friends, you know I'm past the age when I can claim the noun "kid," no matter what adjective precedes it. But tonight, we sure showed them what a comeback looks like.'"" -USNews.com

20080108

John McCain - Mitt Romney - New Hampshire - Arizona - Massachusetts - 2008 Election - "Schneider: Bush has clear effect." ... "Roughly half of [New Hampshire] Republican primary voters had a negative opinion of the [Republican President] Bush administration, and those voters significantly went for [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and] Arizona Sen. [Senator] John McCain by nearly a 2-to-1 margin. Of the GOP voters who said they had a positive opinion of the Bush administration, 37 percent voted for [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and] former Massachusetts Gov. [Governor] Mitt Romney." -By Bill Schneider -CNN

20080106

Mitt Romney - Bain Capital - US - China - Military - Intelligence - Telecommunications - Manufacturing - Computer - Networking - Hackers - Technology - Corporation - Government - Lawmakers - Politics - Mass - California - India - 2008 Election - "Telecom Firm in China Sets Sights on U.S. Market: Ownership, Tactics Raise Security Issues." ... "From a fortress-like corporate campus in this southern city [of Shenzen, China], retired army officer Ren Zhengfei is building one of China's most successful experiments in capitalism. A mammoth operation with 70,000 employees and strong backing from the state, Huawei Technologies brags that its goal is to dominate telecommunications equipment markets all over the world." ... "Its current focus: America." ... "Three months ago, Huawei teamed up with Bain Capital Partners [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney's venture capital firm] in a $2.2 billion takeover bid for U.S. [United States] networking pioneer 3Com Corp. [Corporation], a Marlborough, Mass. [Massachusetts], company that makes systems to protect against computer hackers." ... "Fueling [American] lawmakers' unease about the Huawei deal is that no one knows exactly who owns it. Technically, Huawei is a private venture, not state-owned. But the company won't reveal information about its shareholders except to say it's "100 percent employee-owned," with its chief executive owning 1 percent." ... "Research organization Rand Corp. said that Huawei has "deep ties" with the Chinese military. It is not only a customer of Huawei's, Rand said in an analysis prepared for the U.S. government, but also was a "political patron and research and development partner."" ... "The United States is not the only place where Huawei's operations have triggered national security concerns. In India, where Huawei operates its largest research and development facility outside of China, the company's efforts to build a manufacturing base have raised concerns among the country's intelligence agencies." ... "In a note circulated at a meeting of India's joint intelligence committee on Nov. [November] 8, Huawei is listed as a "sectoral threat."" ... "Huawei's approach to leadership and innovation is in some ways the antithesis of its Silicon Valley competitors. While California's high-tech giants pride themselves on their flat management structure, in which chief executives sit down next to engineers to brainstorm and allow their scientists and engineers the freedom to think big thoughts, Huawei is known for its military-style approach." (1, 2) -By Ariana Eunjung Cha with contributions by Wu Meng and Rama Lakshmi -WashingtonPost

20080104

Obama - Edwards - Clinton - Huckabee - Romney - McCain - Thompson - Iowa - 2008 Election - Media - "Iowa....Once Again Shaping A New Political Reality." ... "Let's put things in perspective." ... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama just won 18 delegates to the Democratic Party's national nominating convention. A total of 2025 are needed to become the party's presidential nominee. [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] John Edwards just won 17 delegates. [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Hillary Clinton won 16." ... "On the Republican side, if Iowa apportions according to yesterday's vote, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mike Huckabee will get 14 delegates. [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney will get 10. [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidates] John McCain and Fred Thompson will get 5 each. A total of 1191 delegates are needed to win the Republican presidential nomination." ... "The way people get nominated for president is to win the majority of delegate votes at national conventions. Measured against the number of delegate votes needed, what happened yesterday was a small blip on the scoreboard. Obama won 2 more delegates than Clinton. Huckabee won 4 more than Romney." ... "But Iowa happens to be in the center ring of a gigantic media circus. And so it becomes the main act, well beyond what all rationality and common sense would dictate." -By Joe Rothstein -EinNews.com
Mike Huckabee - Mitt Romney - John McCain - Iowa - New Hampshire - Religion - Money - 2008 Election - "Huckabee sweeps Iowa in big upset GOP victory." ... "Buoyed by a wave of Christian conservative support, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mike Huckabee pulled off a major upset victory here yesterday, forcing one-time Iowa front-runner [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney into a do-or-die contest against [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain in New Hampshire in just four days." ... "The Huckabee win is also a major setback for Romney, who far outspent and out-advertised Huckabee in this key first presidential contest, and a boost for McCain, whose positive finish only helps his chances of pulling out a win in New Hampshire." ... ""Most of the pundits said when you are outspent at least 15 to 1 it's impossible to win the election," said a jubilant Huckabee. "Tonight we proved that American politics is still in the hands of ordinary people like you."" ... "Romney, who spent an estimated $7 million on ads here, the most of any Republican, came under criticism by Huckabee and McCain for running what they considered negative ads about them and their pasts." ... ""I think the lesson of this election in Iowa is, one, you can't buy an election, and two, that negative campaigns don't work," said McCain in New Hampshire. "They don't work there and they don't work here in New Hampshire."" (1, 2) -By Tom Brune and Letta Tayler -Newsday.com

20080103

2008 Election

Money Spent by 2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidates as reported by FEC.gov through 9/30/2007.

Romney
Spent: $52,354,735

Giuliani
Spent: $30,095,792

McCain
Spent: $27,899,349

Thompson
Spent: $5,606,451

Paul
Spent: $2,786,056

Hunter
Spent: $1,744,427

Huckabee
Spent: $1,692,112

[Money spent is likely underreported as it doesn't include the most recent expenditures by Candidates].

20071231

Mike Huckabee - Mitt Romney - Iowa - Television - Ads - Crime - Money - Illegal - Immigrants - Colleges - Abortion - Health-Care - Arkansas - Massachusetts - 2008 Election - "Huckabee: Romney running 'dishonest' campaign." ... "Former Arkansas [Governor and 2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Gov. Mike Huckabee blasted Republican presidential rival [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney as running a "desperate and dishonest" campaign and predicted the former Massachusetts governor won't be the Republican nominee." ... "Romney has been blasting Huckabee's record on crime and taxes as governor of Arkansas in [Iowa] television ads in the last days of the race." ... "Asked on Monday on CNN's "American Morning" why he felt the need to respond to Romney's attacks, Huckabee said, "I think a lot of people are deceived, and you have to ask do people want to elect a president who has been dishonest in order to get the job and said things about his opponents that simply aren't true?"" ... "With the two men locked in a statistical dead heat atop the latest Iowa polls, Romney has been airing television ads criticizing Huckabee for raising state spending, backing in-state tuition for illegal immigrants at state colleges and granting more than 1,000 pardons and commutations." ... "Huckabee has said the claims are taken out of context, and hit back by questioning the sincerity of Romney's opposition to abortion -- which was covered by the state health care program Romney pushed through in Massachusetts." -CNN

20071230

John Edwards - Mike Huckabee - Hillary Clinton - Barack Obama- Mitt Romney - Money - Religion - People - US - Iraq - Military - Iowa - 2008 Election - Poll - "Iowa: Edwards surges, Huckabees bubble bursts." ... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] John Edwards has clawed his way into contention to win Iowa's caucuses on Thursday in the first vote for the Democratic presidential nomination, gaining strength even as rivals [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Hillary Clinton and [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama have lost ground, according to a new McClatchy-MSNBC poll." ... "At the same time, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney has regained the lead among Iowa Republicans as [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mike Huckabee has lost momentum and support, even among the evangelical Christians who had propelled him into the top spot just weeks ago." ... "If all second-tier Democratic candidates fall short [in Iowa’s Democratic caucuses] and their supporters switch to other candidates, Edwards gains the most, rolling up a clear lead at 33 percent to 26 percent each for Clinton and Obama." ... "Edwards, pushing a people-versus-the powerful message, owes his gains to voters looking for a general election winner, someone who agrees with them on the issues, and those who rank Iraq their top concern." -By Steven Thomma -McClatchyDC.com
Mitt Romney - Mike Huckabee - John McCain - Iowa - Television - Ads - 2008 Election - New Hampshire - Arizona - Illegal - Immigrants - "Romney, Huckabee attack each other in Iowa." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney's blistering ads criticizing [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mike Huckabee and [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain drew sharp rebukes from their targets and wary responses from voters Saturday, as candidates barnstormed Iowa five days before the nation's first presidential voting takes place in caucuses here." ... "Romney launched a new one against McCain in New Hampshire on Saturday." ... ""McCain championed a bill to let every illegal immigrant stay in American permanently," the 30-second TV spot says. "He even voted to allow illegal immigrants to collect Social Security."" ... "The tone was similar to one Romney rolled out Friday in Iowa against Huckabee." ... ""Soft on government spending," the ad charges. "His foreign policy? 'Ludicrous,' says Condoleezza Rice." ... "Huckabee fought back Saturday." ... ""Every time you turn on your television you're going to see all the terrible things my opponents said I did," he told hundreds crowded into a restaurant in Indianola [Iowa]. "Mitt Romney's not only attacking me. He's now attacked John McCain, he's attacked Rudy Giuliani, he's attacked everybody. He's not telling people why he ought to be president."" ... "McCain, the Arizona senator, dismissed Romney's charges and called him "a phony."" -By David Lightman with contributions by Jim Morrill -McClatchyDC.com

20071226

John McCain - Mitt Romney - Politics - Abortion - Immigration - New Hampshire - 2008 Election - "The Romney backlash: Conservatives are coming home." ... "[New Hampshire] Granite Staters want a candidate who will look them in the eye and tell them the truth. [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain has done that day in and day out, never wavering, never faltering, never pandering." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney has not. He has spoken his lines well, but the people can sense that the words are memorized, not heartfelt." ... "Last week Romney was reduced to debating what the meaning of "saw" is. It was only the latest in a string of demonstrably false claims -- he'd been a hunter "pretty much" all his life, he'd had the NRA's endorsement, he marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. -- that call into question the veracity of his justifications for switching sides on immigration, abortion, taxes and his affection for Ronald Reagan." ... "In this primary, the more Mitt Romney speaks, the less believable he becomes. That is why Granite Staters who have listened attentively are now returning to John McCain. They might not agree with McCain on everything, as we don't, but like us, they judge him to be a man of integrity and conviction, a man who won't sell them out, who won't break his promises, and who won't lie to get elected." -UnionLeader.com

20071222

Mitt Romney - Political - Corporation - Marketing - History - Gay-Rights - Pro-Choice - Stem Cell - Science - Health - Law - Religious - Salt Lake City - Utah - Massachusetts - New Hampshire - US - Torture - Prison - Guantanamo Bay - Cuba - 2008 Election - "Romney should not be the next president." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt] Romney's main business experience is as a management consultant, a field in which smart, fast-moving specialists often advise corporations on how to reinvent themselves. His memoir is called Turnaround - the story of his successful rescue of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City [Utah] - but the most stunning turnaround he has engineered is his own political career." ... "If you followed only his tenure as governor of Massachusetts, you might imagine Romney as a pragmatic moderate with liberal positions on numerous social issues and an ability to work well with Democrats. If you followed only his campaign for president, you'd swear he was a red-meat conservative, pandering to the religious right, whatever the cost. Pay attention to both, and you're left to wonder if there's anything at all at his core." ... "As a candidate for the U.S. [United States] Senate in 1994, he boasted that he would be a stronger advocate of gay rights than his opponent, [Massachusetts Democratic Senator] Ted Kennedy. These days, he makes a point of his opposition to gay marriage and adoption." ... "There was a time that he said he wanted to make contraception more available - and a time that he vetoed a bill to sell it over-the-counter." ... "The old Romney assured voters he was pro-choice on abortion. "You will not see me wavering on that," he said in 1994, and he cited the tragedy of a relative's botched illegal abortion as the reason to keep abortions safe and legal. These days, he describes himself as pro-life." ... "There was a time that he supported stem-cell research and cited his own wife's multiple sclerosis in explaining his thinking; such research, he reasoned, could help families like his. These days, he largely opposes it. As a candidate for governor, Romney dismissed an anti-tax pledge as a gimmick. In this race, he was the first to sign." ... "In the 2008 campaign for president, there are numerous issues on which Romney has no record, and so voters must take him at his word. On these issues, those words are often chilling. While other candidates of both parties speak of restoring America's moral leadership in the world, Romney has said he'd like to "double" the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay [Cuba], where inmates have been held for years without formal charge or access to the courts. He dodges the issue of torture - unable to say, simply, that waterboarding is torture and America won't do it." ... "When New Hampshire partisans are asked to defend the state's first-in-the-nation primary, we talk about our ability to see the candidates up close, ask tough questions and see through the baloney. If a candidate is a phony, we assure ourselves and the rest of the world, we'll know it." ... "Mitt Romney is such a candidate. New Hampshire Republicans and independents must vote no." -ConcordMonitor.com

20071221

Mitt Romney - Civil Rights - Race - History - 2008 Election - "Romney never saw father on King march: Defends figurative words; evidence contradicts story." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney acknowledged yesterday that he never saw his father march with Martin Luther King Jr. as he asserted in a nationally televised speech this month, and historical evidence shows that Michigan's Governor George Romney and the civil rights leader never did march together." ... "Romney said his father had told him he had marched with King and that he had been using the word "saw" in a "figurative sense."" ... "But historical evidence, including news accounts at the time, shows that George Romney never marched with King, though he supported King's agenda." ... "Romney has repeated the story of his father marching with King in some of his most prominent presidential campaign appearances, including the "Tonight" show with Jay Leno in May, his address on faith and politics Dec. 6 in Texas, and on NBC's "Meet The Press" on Sunday, when he was questioned about the Mormon Church's ban on full participation by black members. He said that he had cried in his car in 1978 when he heard the ban had ended, and added, "My father marched with Martin Luther King."" ... "Mitt Romney went a step further in a 1978 interview with the Boston Herald. Talking about the Mormon Church and racial discrimination, he said: "My father and I marched with Martin Luther King Jr. through the streets of Detroit."" ... "Yesterday, Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom acknowledged that was not true. "Mitt Romney did not march with Martin Luther King," he said in an e-mail statement to the Globe." -By Michael Levenson -BostonGlobe
Mitt Romney - Pro-Choice - Stem Cells - Illegal - Immigrant - Health - Crime - Politics - History - Massachusetts - Michigan - 2008 Election - "King said George Romney didn't march: But, as usual, the truth wasn't good enough for Mitt." ... "Running for Senate in Massachusetts, in 1994, and trying to establish pro-choice credibility that he had done nothing to earn, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt] Romney told stories about his mother, Lenore Romney, running on a strong pro-choice platform in her own unsuccessful bid for public office in 1970. Those tales were debunked by Boston Globe columnist Eileen McNamara." ... "Then, as now, Romney tried to buttress his statement with weak documentation at odds with the precision of the claim: in that case, Romney provided the Globe with a vaguely-worded campaign document that could be read as supporting the pre-Roe v Wade status quo, in which abortion was a felony in Michigan. ''I support and recognize the need for more liberal abortion rights while reaffirming the legal and medical measures needed to protect the unborn and pregnant woman [sic]," the document read." ... "Again, at that time, Romney did not just pass along falsehood as fact. He sold it as personal truth, speaking of the painful memories of a close relative's death, from complications of an illegal abortion." ... "Romney was telling that tale, of course, when it was politically expedient to be pro-choice. Today, needing to be pro-life, he has a new, highly personal and emotional tale of personal conversion after a doctor showed him how stem cells are handled in research — another specific but uncorroborated story, about which even the doctor involved has expressed skepticism." ... "Romney once favored gun control; now, needing gun-rights voters, he has falsely claimed to be a "lifelong hunter" and to have been endorsed in 2002 by the National Rifle Association – an endorsement the NRA never gave him. Needing to establish anti-illegal-immigrant credentials, he boasts of an attitude that he never displayed while governor — when he expressed no concern over several "sanctuary cities" in the state — until the very end of his term, when he had turned his attention to the Republican Presidential nomination." ... "This week, he finds the need to attack [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidat] Mike Huckabee on crime, and so Romney has re-invented his record there, falsely claiming, in a new ad, to have cracked down on methamphetamine." ... "It is not just that these are untruths. They are the actions of a man desperate to cater to the whims of his audience. What they want, he must appear to be. " -By David S. Bernstein -ThePhoenix.com
Tom Tancredo - Mitt Romney - Illegal - Immigration - Colorado - Iowa - 2008 Election - "Tancredo pulls out, backing Romney: Says he has best chance of winning." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Tom Tancredo pulled out of the presidential race yesterday and endorsed [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney, saying his erstwhile rival is the Republican with the best chance to win the White House and continue the fight to end illegal immigration, an issue the Coloradan helped push to the forefront of the campaign." ... "The fifth-term congressman, who consistently polled at the bottom of the nine-candidate GOP [Grand Old Party=Republican] field, said he dropped out two weeks before the Iowa caucuses because he feared his continued candidacy could enable an opponent favoring a less-stringent approach to immigration to win." -BostonGlobe

20071220

Mitt Romney - Civil Rights - Race - Politics - Michigan - Massachusetts - Texas - 2008 Election - "Romney fields questions on King: Campaign says claim not literal." ... "[2008 Election] Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has said he watched his father, the late Michigan Gov. [Governor] George Romney, in a 1960s civil rights march in Michigan with Martin Luther King Jr." ... "On Wednesday, Romney's campaign said his recollections of watching his father, an ardent civil rights supporter, march with King were meant to be figurative." ... ""He was speaking figuratively, not literally," Eric Fehrnstrom, spokesman for the Romney campaign, said of the candidate." ... "The campaign was responding to questions raised by the Free Press and other media after a Boston [Massachusetts] publication challenged the accuracy of Mitt Romney's account." ... "In a major speech on faith and politics earlier this month in Texas, Mitt Romney said: "I saw my father march with Martin Luther King."" ... "He made a similar statement Sunday during an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press." He said, "You can see what I believed and what my family believed by looking at our lives. My dad marched with Martin Luther King. My mom was a tireless crusader for civil rights."" -By Todd Spangler and Alice Pepper-FreeP.com
Mitt Romney - Rudy Giuliani - Mike Huckabee - Tom Tancredo - Criminal - Illegal - Employer - Immigrants - Employees - Language - Terrorism - History - Colo - New York - Arkansas - US - Mexican - People - Noteworthy - 2008 Election - "GOP hopefuls run in a hypocrisy derby." ... "Everybody knows that [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney was running - as [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Rudy Giuliani put it - a "sanctuary mansion." But not many people know that he was not the only one." ... "No less an anti-immigrant zealot than [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Colorado Representative] Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.[Republican-Colorado]), the would-be President who built a failing campaign on the single issue of persecuting "criminal aliens" - as he is fond of calling undocumented immigrants - also has a few skeletons in his closet." ... "Listen to this: Five years ago, when Tancredo wanted to install a home theater and make other renovations in his house, he had no qualms hiring a contractor that - gasp! - also employed undocumented workers." ... "The man who had said, "[The face of illegal immigration] is the face of murder. It is the face of infiltration into the country of people who are coming to do us great harm," wasn't at all troubled by the fact that only two in the crew of five or six laborers spoke English." ... "[In 1994, then New York Republican Mayor Rudy Giuliani said] "If you come here and you work hard, and you happen to be in an undocumented status, you're one of the people who we want in this city," he told The New York Times in 1994." ... "While in Arkansas, he [Arkansas Republican Governor and 2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee] was instrumental in bringing a Mexican Consulate to Little Rock [Arkansas's capital]. That consulate issued thousands of identification forms that now, after he has become a presidential hopeful, Huckabee has begun to call "illegal immigrant identification cards."" ... "And do not forget that if he is elected President, he has vowed to expel the nation's estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants within 120 days, which comes to deporting 100,000 people per day." -By Albor Ruiz -NYDailyNews.com

20071218

Mitt Romney - Abortion-Rights - Money - Parent - Mass - History - 2008 Election - "Romney Attended Planned Parenthood Fundraiser in 1994." ... "ABC News' Rick Klein Reports: [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney attended a fund-raising reception for Planned Parenthood in 1994 in conjunction with a $150 donation his wife made to the organization -- notwithstanding Romney's contention that he had "no recollection" of the circumstances under which his wife gave money to the abortion-rights group." ... "In the photograph obtained by ABC News, Romney and his wife, Ann, are shown in a yellow-and-white tent chatting with local political activists, including Nicki Nichols Gamble, who was then president and CEO of the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts." ... "Nichols Gamble -- whose back is the camera in the photograph -- told ABC that the event was a Planned Parenthood fundraising "house party" in Cohasset, Mass., in June 1994. At the time, Romney, R-Mass., was locked in a tight Senate campaign with [Massachusetts Democratic Senator] Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and was touting his support for abortion rights." ... "That event, Nichols Gamble said, was the occasion where Ann Romney wrote her $150 check -- drafted on a joint checking account she had with her husband -- to Planned Parenthood of Massachusetts." ... ""They were both there, and I remember very well chatting with both of them, and talking about his support for the pro-choice agenda," she said. "We talked about the fact that he was taking a pro-choice position on the issues, and we were very pleased about that."" -By Rick Klein -ABCNEWS.com
Mitt Romney - Religion - Secret - 2008 Election - "Ex-Mormon Cartoonist Says Romney Not Telling Truth." ... "As an ex-Mormon, Arizona Republic editorial cartoonist Steve Benson has strong opinions about current Mormon Mitt Romney [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate]. He said the Republican candidate's recent speech on religion should not be trusted by media people and other Americans." ... "In his talk, Romney said "I believe in my Mormon faith" while also noting that the church's "teachings" would not influence his decisions if elected president." ... ""Yeah, right," responded Benson, adding that "Romney also believes in misrepresenting what his Mormon Church actually espouses."" ... "Benson is the grandson of former Mormon leader Ezra Taft Benson." ... "He told E&P that, in his view, a Mormon believer is required by church doctrine (as dictated by the church's "living prophet") to "obey God's commands" over anything else. He said "Romney, like all 'temple Mormons,' made his secret vows using Masonic-derived handshakes, passwords, and symbolic death oaths that he promised in the temple never to reveal to the outside world" -- and that Romney also secretly vowed to devote his "time, talents" and more "to the building of the Mormon religion on earth."" ... ""When Mitt says he belongs to a church that doesn't tell him what to do, that's false; it's a 24/7, do-what-you're-told-to-do church," asserted Benson, who won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning in 1993." -By Dave Astor -EditorAndPublisher.com
Mitt Romney - Mike Huckabee - South Carolina - Utah - Arkansas - Massachusetts - Politics - Poll - 2008 Election - "Mormonism an issue for Romney in South Carolina." ... "Something about [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney just isn't right with Bill Burdette. And something about [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mike Huckabee is." ... ""Romney's from Utah and he's Mormon," said the 41-year-old software engineer from Iva, S.C. [South Carolina] "Huckabee's from the South and he's Baptist."" ... "Understand, Burdette said, he's not choosing his candidate based on religion, but Huckabee, a Baptist minister who was the governor of Arkansas for 10 and a half years, is someone he's comfortable with." ... "That's Romney's problem throughout this crucial early-voting state, where a win Jan. 19 by the former Massachusetts governor would give him a huge boost in his quest for the Republican presidential nomination." ... "An estimated 63 percent of Republican primary voters in South Carolina are "born again" or evangelical Christians, so a Romney win would be hailed as dramatic proof that his Mormon faith wasn't a big factor in voter judgments." ... "Except that evidence from polls and visits throughout the state shows that it is." -By David Lightman -McClatchyDC.com
Mitt Romney - Mike Huckabee - Crime - Drug - Religious - Television - Ad - Iowa - New Hampshire - South Carolina - 2008 Election - "Romney continues Huckabee attacks." ... "This week, the [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt] Romney campaign launched a TV ad in Iowa accusing [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate Mike] Huckabee of being soft on crime and reducing punishments for those caught manufacturing meth." ... ""I think people recognize this is very critical time in our nation's history and the issues are important," he said. "This is not just about feel-good. This is about how we would deal with important issues."" ... "Romney's "feel-good" comment was a reference to Huckabee's own television ad currently running in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, in which Huckabee dons a red sweater and tells viewers that "what really matters is the celebration of the birth of Christ."" ... "Romney questioned whether the ad, with its clear Christian overtones, is politically appropriate. He said he hopes "we don't divide America on the basis of faith."" -By Peter Hamby -CNN
John McCain - Mitt Romney - Immigrants - Gay-Rights - Abortion - Finance - Law - New Hampshire - Arizona - Mass - 2008 Election - "McCain launches direct mail attack." ... "Republican hopeful [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain, of Arizona, launched an attack – a direct mail campaign labeling New Hampshire primary front-runner [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney as a serial flip-flopper that "voters can't trust.''" ... "The two-page flier cites a May 2007 article in the Tampa Tribune, which states Romney had once supported allowing illegal immigrants to "apply for citizenship and permanent residency''" ... "It then refers to Romney's decision to re-hire a firm after it had been found to have used illegal immigrants to work on his Belmont, Mass.[Massachusetts], home." ... ""How many times has Mitt Romney flip-flopped?'' the mailing asks. "Immigration, taxes, gay rights, abortion, campaign finance reform.'' -By Kevin Landrigan -NashuaTelegraph.com

20071217

Ron Paul - Mitt Romney - Politics - History - Online - 2008 Election - 2004 Election - "Ron Paul Supporters Make History with $6 Million Online Haul -- Updated." ... "[2008 Election] Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul made history Sunday by raising $6 million in online contributions in 24 hours, breaking the record for the most money raised by a national candidate in a single day, and potentially putting Paul on track to surpass the fourth quarter fund raising of all of his competitors in both parties." ... ""I just think it's extraordinary," says Anthony J. Corrado, a campaign finance expert and professor of government at Colby College in Maine. "In my view, I expect that Ron Paul will raise more money than any other candidate this quarter. At this point, his main competition will be [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] (Mitt) Romney's checkbook."" ... "The $6 million number beats the 2004 [Election] record set by Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, who raised $5.7 million after he gave his nomination speech." -By Sarah Lai Stirland -Wired
Mitt Romney - Mike Huckabee - US - Foreign - Military - Mentality - 2008 Election - "Romney Again Seeks Huckabee Apology." ... "At a campaign stop here on Monday, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney continued his blunt criticism of his Republican rival [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mike Huckabee, renewing a call for Mr. Huckabee to apologize for characterizing the [Republican President] Bush administration’s foreign policy as “arrogant.”" ... "Mr. Romney once again accused Mr. Huckabee of using “the language of a Democrat” in an article he wrote for the January/February 2008 issue of Foreign Affairs in which he asserts that “the Bush administration’s arrogant bunker mentality has been counterproductive at home and abroad.”" -By Michael Falcone -NYTimes
Mike Huckabee - Mitt Romney - John Edwards - New Hampshire - Iowa - US - Foreign - Corporate - 2008 Election - "Candidates Scrambling to Cope With Rise of Huckabee." ... "The campaign most immediately threatened by [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate Mike] Mr. Huckabee’s rise was that of [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mr. Romney." ... "Mr. Huckabee, in his latest campaign swing through New Hampshire, sounded almost like [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] John Edwards, a Democrat running for president, when he decried what he called “fat cat” chief executive officers and their outsize paychecks." ... "In Iowa last week, Mr. Romney regularly tore into Mr. Huckabee’s record, sometimes bringing it up directly with audiences in town hall forums and other times waiting to do it with reporters afterward. And after the Foreign Affairs article [where Mike Huckabee described Republican President Bush's foreign policy as an "arrogant bunker mentality"], he questioned Mr. Huckabee’s Republicanism." ... "“That’s an insult to the president, and Mike Huckabee should apologize to the president,” Mr. Romney said Sunday on the NBC program “Meet the Press.”" ... "The Romney campaign’s decision to directly engage Mr. Huckabee carries risk; Iowans are known to dislike negative campaigning." (1, 2) -By Michael Cooper -NYTimes

20071216

Mitt Romney - Abortion - Gay - Money - Law - History - Massachusetts - 2008 Election - "Romney Defends Charges Of Flip-Flopping: Says He Will Keep Campaign Promises Despite Changing Views On Abortion, Same-Sex Rights." ... "Republican [2008 Election Presidenticdal Candidate] Mitt Romney sought Sunday to deflect charges that he is a flip-flopper, insisting he had learned from experience and could be counted on to keep his campaign promises if elected president." ... "Romney acknowledged changing his views in 2004 from supporting abortion rights to opposing abortion. He said he did not entirely betray abortion-rights voters, either, because he did not seek to change Massachusetts abortion laws." ... "Romney said he promised not to raise taxes as governor and did not go back on his word by raising fees by about $240 million to help balance the budget. The fees were on services such as gun licenses and training to combat domestic violence." ... "Romney acknowledged that he initially supported federal efforts to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation, but now only supports such laws at the state level. In an unsuccessful Senate run in 1994, Romney promised to be "more effective on gay rights in the Senate than [Massachusetts Democratic Senator] Ted Kennedy."" -AP via -CBSNews
Mitt Romney - Massachusetts - 2008 Election - 2002 Election - "Romney Claims NRA Endorsement He Didn't Receive." ... "Under [MSNBC TV host Tim] Russert's grilling about guns on this morning's "Meet the Press," former Massachusetts governor [and 2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney claimed an endorsement he'd never won." ... "In answer to questions about whether he would sign an assault weapons ban, Romney said: "Just as the president said, he would have, he would have signed that bill if it came to his desk, and so would have I. And, and, and yet I also was pleased to have the support of the NRA when I ran for governor. I sought it, I seek it now. I'd love to have their support."" ... "Later in the interview, he added the following:" ... ""I just talked about, about guns. I told you what my position was, and what I, what I did as governor; the fact that I received the endorsement of the NRA."" ... "The problem?" ... "He was never endorsed by the NRA, and didn't have their official support during his 2002 [Election] gubernatorial campaign." -By Michael D. Shear -WashingtonPost

20071215

Mitt Romney- Mike Huckabee - Foreign - US - Military - Illegal - Immigrants - People - Baptist - Iowa - Massachusetts - Arkansas - Ads - 2008 Election - "Romney Hits Huckabee for Criticizing Bush." ... "Sensing an opening in his desperate effort to retake the lead in Iowa, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and] former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney on Saturday pounced on comments by [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and] former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee in which he characterized [Republican] President Bush's foreign policy as an "arrogant bunker mentality."" ... "Romney has started heaping criticism on Huckabee as the former baptist minister has climbed into a comfortable lead in Iowa caucuses. On television and in mailings to voters, Romney has attacked Huckabee's position on illegal immigrants in the hopes of halting his momentum." -By Michael D. Shear -WashingtonPost

20071211

Mitt Romney - Mike Huckabee - Religion - 2008 Election - "Romney hits Huckabee on remark on Mormonism." ... ""Don't Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?" [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate Mike] Huckabee asks, according to a preview of the article posted on the Times website. He made the comment after being asked whether he believes Mormonism is a cult, as some evangelical Christians do." ... "On morning news shows today, he [Mitt Romney, 2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] said the comments amounted to an attack that was un-American." ... ""I think attacking someone's religion is really going too far," Romney said on the "Today" show. It's just not the American way, and I think people will reject that."" ... "On MSNBC, he called the comment "an old attack. I was sad to see it come out again....Attacking someone's faith is simply un-American." " -By Foon Rhee -BostonGlobe
Mike Huckabee - Mitt Romney - Money - 2008 Election - "Huckabee says Romney 'desperate,' acting like a 'tattle-tale'." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mike Huckabee called fellow Republican [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney’s new ad “desperate” Tuesday, comparing his actions to those of “a tattle-tale in third grade.”" ... "“The more desperate and frantic campaigns get when they see how much money they’ve spent and we’re winning, that causes people to do some sometimes desperate things.”" -By Dana Bash and Rebecca Sinderbrand -CNN
Mike Huckabee - Mitt Romney - Religion - Massachusetts - Iowa - 2008 Election - "Huckabee Asks if Mormons Believe Jesus, Devil Are Brothers." ... "[2008 Election] Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, asks in an upcoming article, ''Don't Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?''" ... "His rival [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, is a member of the Mormon church, which is known officially as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." ... "The authoritative Encyclopedia of Mormonism, published in 1992, does not refer to Jesus and Satan as brothers. It speaks of Jesus as the son of God and of Satan as a fallen angel, which is a Biblical account." ... "Earlier this month in Iowa, Huckabee wouldn't say whether he thought Mormonism — rival Romney's religion — was a cult." -By Libby Quaid -AP via -TIME.com
Mike Huckabee - Fred Thompson - Mitt Romney - Employed - Illegal - Immigrants - Enforcement - Tennessee - Massachusetts - Iowa - 2008 Election - Ad - US - Cuba- Money - "Huckabee rivals go on the attack." ... "Former Tennessee [Senator and 2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Sen. Fred Thompson’s campaign kept up a steady stream of attack, criticizing [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate Mike] Huckabee for everything from past support for ending the Cuban embargo to allegedly allowing state hard drives and servers to be destroyed while he was governor." ... "And CNN’s John King reports that former Massachusetts [Governor and 2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Gov. Mitt Romney’s campaign announced that it plans to run a television ad in Iowa that targets Huckabee’s record on illegal immigration. The spot, which attacks him by name, hits the airwaves Tuesday." ... "Romney spokesman Kevin Madden said the ad was intended to highlight the difference between the former Massachusetts governor’s “pro-enforcement record” – under assault after recent revelations that he employed illegal immigrants on his property – and Huckabee’s somewhat softer stance in the past." -By John King, Alexander Mooney and Rebecca Sinderbrand -CNN

20071210

John Edwards - John McCain - Barack Obama - Hillary Clinton - Rudy Giuliani - Mitt Romney - Mike Huckabee - Arizona - Massachusetts - North Carolina - 2008 Election - Poll - "Poll: Huckabee would lose to top Democrats by double digits." ... "While [2008 Election Republican] presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee is surging in new polls of GOP candidates, a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released Tuesday shows he would lose to all three leading Democratic candidates by double digits in hypothetical contests." ... "The poll also shows that [2008 Election] Republican [Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain of Arizona would do best against leading Democrats. He beats [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Hillary] Clinton by 2 percentage points (50 percent to 48 percent), ties [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack] Obama (48 percent to 48 percent) and loses to [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate John] Edwards by a smaller margin (8 points) than the other Republican candidates do." ... "In addition to Huckabee, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate Rudy] Giuliani and former Massachusetts [Governor, 2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Gov. Mitt Romney lose to all three top Democrats in the survey." ... "On the Democratic side, Edwards performs best against each of the leading Republicans. In addition to beating Huckabee by 25 percent and McCain by 8 percent, the North Carolina Democrat beats Romney by 22 percentage points (59 percent to 37 percent) and Giuliani by 9 percentage points (53 percent to 44 percent)." ... ""Edwards is the only Democrat who beats all four Republicans, and McCain is the only Republican who beats any of the three Democrats," [CNN's polling director, Keating] Holland said." -By Alexander Mooney -CNN

20071205

Mitt Romney - Rudy Giuliani - Immigrant - Workers - Company - 2008 Election - Politics - Florida - New York - Massachusetts - New Hampshire - Arizona - "More immigrant woes for Romney: GOP candidate fires landscaper after Globe shows continued use of illegal workers." ... "Standing on stage at a Republican debate on the Gulf Coast of Florida last week, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney repeatedly lashed out at rival [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Rudy Giuliani for providing sanctuary to illegal immigrants in New York City [New York]." ... "Yet, the next morning, on Thursday, at least two illegal immigrants stepped out of a hulking maroon pickup truck in the driveway of Romney's [Massachusetts] Belmont house, then proceeded to spend several hours raking leaves, clearing debris from Romney's tennis court, and loading the refuse onto the truck." ... "In fact, their work was part of a regular pattern. Even after a Globe story in December 2006 highlighted Romney's use of a landscaping company that employs illegal immigrants to tend to his grounds, Romney continued to employ Community Lawn Service With a Heart - until yesterday. The company continued to employ illegal immigrants." ... "The two workers confirmed in separate interviews with Globe reporters last week that they were in the country without documents. One said he had paid $7,000 to a smuggler to escort him across the desert into Arizona; the other said he had come into the country with a student visa that has expired. Both were seen working on the lawn by either Globe reporters or photographers over the last two months." ... "Questioned yesterday afternoon during a campaign swing through New Hampshire about the use of illegal immigrants on his lawn, Romney declined to answer." -By Maria Cramer and Maria Sacchetti with contributions by Connie Paige and James Pindell -Boston/Globe

20071129

Rudolph Giuliani - Mitt Romney - Bernie Kerik - Police - Law - Immigrants - New York - Massachusetts - 2008 Election - Hillary Clinton - "Republicans eat their own in increasingly nasty race." ... "At Wednesday's CNN/YouTube debate, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and] former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani accused [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and] former Massachusetts Gov. [Governor] Mitt Romney of running a "sanctuary mansion" because Romney had illegal immigrants doing yard work at his home. Earlier in the week, Giuliani's campaign manager called Romney a "mediocre one-term governor."" ... "Romney has lambasted Giuliani's judgment in hiring as police commissioner Bernie Kerik, who was indicted on corruption charges recently. Both candidates routinely accuse each other of resembling Hillary Clinton, perhaps the unkindest cut of all among Republicans." -By Matt Stearns with contributions by William Douglas and David Lightman -McClatchyDC.com
Rudolph Giuliani - Mitt Romney - Mike Huckabee - Immigration - Politics - Employee - Legal - Children- College - 2008 Election - Iowa - New York - Arkansas - "Topic of immigration animates testy Republican debate." ... "The Republican candidates for the presidency engaged in a slashing debate over immigration and other issues, confronting one another in testy exchanges that reflected the wide-open nature of the race in the final sprint toward the Iowa caucuses." ... "The debate Wednesday night showcased some of the fierce battles that have raged recently between [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidates] Rudolph Giuliani and Mitt Romney. Romney accused Giuliani of making New York a "sanctuary city" for illegal immigrants when he was mayor; Giuliani turned the tables on him, noting that Romney had employed illegal immigrants at his home and adding, "I would say he had sanctuary mansion, not just sanctuary city."" ... "After Romney and Giuliani argued over immigration, Romney turned on [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidates Mike] Huckabee for a proposal he made as governor of Arkansas to give breaks in college tuition to the children of illegal immigrants." (1, 2) -By Michael Cooper and Marc Santora -IHT.com

20071128

Mike Huckabee - Mitt Romney - Religion - Polls - Iowa - Historic - 2008 Election - "In Iowa, Mormon Issue Is Benefiting Huckabee." ... "The religious divide over [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney's Mormon faith that his supporters had long feared would occur is emerging in Iowa as he is being challenged in state polls by [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mike Huckabee, a former Baptist pastor who has played up his faith in his bid for the Republican presidential nomination." ... "Mr. Huckabee s rise in Iowa — some recent polls now put him in a dead heat with Mr. Romney, who had led surveys for months — has been fueled by evangelical Christians, who believe Mormonism runs counter to Christian orthodoxy." ... "The issue is a delicate one for Mr. Huckabee. He has waffled in recent interviews about whether he considers Mormons to be Christians. The Southern Baptist Convention, the denomination he is a part of, does not consider Mormons to be part of historic Christianity." -By Michael Luo with contributions by Marjorie Connelly -NYTimes

20071127

Mitt Romney - Religion - 2008 Election - Nevada - Op-Ed - "Exclusive: Romney Opposed Naming Muslim To Cabinet On Second Occasion, Witnesses Say." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney has discounted appointing Muslims to his cabinet on more than just the one occasion reported in a CSM [Christian Science Monitor ] op-ed yesterday." ... "The witness, Irma Aguirre, a former finance director of the Nevada Republican Party, paraphrased Romney as saying [of Muslims]: "They're radical. There's no talking to them. There's no negotiating with them."" ... "A second witness, a self-described local registered Republican named George Harris, confirmed her account." ... "The new accounts provided by the witnesses lend credence to the now-notorious account of a more recent private Romney event that appeared in the Christian Science Monitor yesterday that already caused an uproar." -By Greg Sargent -TPMElectionCentral.com
Mitt Romney - Religious - Politics - Government - National-Security - 2008 Election - People - Massachusetts - US - Foreign - "Religious Minority Candidate Mitt Romney Comes Out In Favor Of Religious Bigotry." ... "In a recent interview with [2008 Election] Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, former conservative Fox News pundit Mansoor Ijaz asked the former [Massachusetts] governor whether he would consider nominating a Muslim to be a member of his national security cabinet. Ijaz reports:"

I asked Mr. Romney whether he would consider including qualified Americans of the Islamic faith in his cabinet as advisers on national security matters, given his position that “jihadism” is the principal foreign policy threat facing America today. [Emphasis added:] He answered, “…based on the numbers of American Muslims [as a percentage] in our population, I cannot see that a cabinet position would be justified. But of course, I would imagine that Muslims could serve at lower levels of my administration.”

"Note to Romney: As a Mormon running for President, you’re going to need to come up with a better justification for religious bigotry against Muslims." ... "According to the CIA World Factbook (which uses 2002 numbers), Mormons comprise just 2 percent of the U.S. population, while Jews and Muslims comprise 1 percent each. Based on 2001 numbers, there were 2.8 million Mormons and 1.1 million Muslims in the United States. Surveys since that time indicate that the number of Muslims may have eclipsed the number of Mormons living in the U.S." -By Faiz Shakir

-ThinkProgress.org

20071121

Mike Huckabee - Fred Thompson - Mitt Romney - Religion - Abortion - Gay - Iowa - New Hampshire - Massachusetts - 2008 Election - "Huckabee Makes Crucial Gains Among GOP Base." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate Mike] Huckabee says he was surprised by [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate Fred] Thompson's securing of the NRLC [National Right to Life Committee] endorsement. "I mean, he's lobbied for a pro-abortion group in the past," he said. "His right-to-life score card was 33 percent one year, 76 percent one year, 88 percent, never was 100 percent. He doesn't support the human life amendment, which is the linchpin, not just of the right-to-life movement, but it's been part of the GOP platform since 1980, for 28 years. So it just didn't match up."" ... "But Huckabee's clearly more focused on defeating [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt] Romney, with whom he's tied in Iowa and who leads considerably in New Hampshire. Veiled digs at the former Massachusetts governor are peppered throughout his pitch." ... "Iowans, he told ABC News, "believe what I'm telling them, to be true, true to my own heart and convictions, that I'm not just saying something that a focus group gave me or a room full of consultants handed me in the form of a script and said, 'Hey, if you want to be president, go out and say this stuff. People will buy it.'"" ... "Voters, he said, "know that what I'm saying is what I truly believe. It comes out of my heart. I don't have to wonder, 'What did I say last week?' Because I'm going to say the same thing."" ... "Romney, Huckabee said, is "going to have to convince voters that he's really had conversions" on issues ranging from abortion to gay rights." ... "Many evangelicals have expressed concern about Romney's Mormonism, which some consider a cult. When asked whether Mormonism is Christianity, Huckabee, a former Baptist minister, said, "I don't know enough about Mormonism to know. I really have a hard enough time practicing my faith. I'm not going to try to practice somebody else's."" (1, 2, 3, 4) -By Jake Tapper -ABCNEWS.com

20071115

Mitt Romney - TV - 2008 Election - Iowa - Massachusetts - "Iowa GOP cancels Dec. 4 debate." ... "The Iowa Republican Party has canceled a presidential debate that was scheduled to be televised on the FOX News Channel on Dec. 4." ... "Craig Robinson, the party's political director, said the debate was canceled because of former Massachusetts [Governor and 2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Gov. Mitt Romney's unwillingness to participate." -DesMoinesRegister

20071109

Rudy Giuliani - Mitt Romney - Pat Robertson - Abortion - Poll - Gay - Economy - New Hampshire - 2008 Election - "Giuliani leaves trail of doubt amid Republican applause: Rivals are focusing on what they see as the pro-choice, pro-gay candidate's soft lead." ... "At a public meeting in one of New Hampshire's remoter communities [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Rudy Giuliani went down a storm. The mainly Republican audience in Shelburne [New Hampshire], population 379, laughed and cheered, especially at his impersonation of Hillary Clinton, and queued for autographs. But in the cold, dark car park afterwards, there were mutterings about the city boy uneasy at questions on the rural economy, regrets that no one had asked him about guns, abortion or gay rights, and a desire to wait and hear what other candidates had to say." ... "It is this paradox that [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney, one of Mr Giuliani's main rivals for the Republican nomination for the 2008 presidential election, homed in on yesterday. Mr Romney was asked by reporters to respond to the surprise endorsement of Mr Giuliani by the Christian television evangelist Pat Robertson. He replied: "I don't think the Republican party will choose a pro-choice, pro-gay civil union candidate to lead our party."" ... "An hour later, at a public meeting at Dixville Notch, pop 31, he faced more direct rejection when he was asked about abortion, the defining issue for 7% of Republicans, according to a Pew survey. Mr Giuliani said: "Ultimately, that's a choice I have to leave to the person to make in their own conscience." He lost more than one vote at that point. The woman who asked him the question, identifying herself only as Carole, said afterwards: "I would not vote for him. I like the man, but not his policy."" ... "A more detailed survey of Republican voting intentions, published by Gallup last month, suggested that many were still unaware of his views on abortion, gays and guns; 74% of those polled said they were unsure whether he favoured or opposed civil unions for same-sex couples (he favours them), while 55% were unsure whether he was pro- or anti-abortion." -By Ewen MacAskill -Guardian.co.uk

20071106

Fred Thompson - Mitt Romney - Money - South Carolina - Immigration - 2008 Election - "Thompson Accuses Romney Of Trying To "Buy South Carolina"." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Fred Thompson stepped up his attacks against [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney today in South Carolina on two fronts: his immigration stance and his campaign financing." ... "“Governor Romney supported the immigration bill that I opposed back before it became a controversial issue,” Thompson said, referring to the failed immigration bill put forth earlier this year. “The governor once again has changed his position.”" ... "Thompson told a packed lunchtime crowd at the Beef O’Brady’s restaurant in Ft. Mill that Romney was trying to buy his way to the nomination. "Governor, you can’t buy South Carolina. You can’t even rent it.”" -From John Bentley with Brian Montopoli -CBSNews

20070910

Mitt Romney - Fred Thompson - Religious - Massachusetts - 2008 Election - "Anti-Thompson Site Connects to Romney Camp." ... "A top adviser to former Massachusetts governor [2008 election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney appears to be behind today's launch of a new Web site attacking GOP presidential rival [2008 election Republican Presidential Candidate] Fred Thompson." ... "The site, www.phoneyfred.org, paints an unflattering picture of Thompson, dubbing him: Fancy Fred, Five O'clock Fred, Flip-Flop Fred, McCain Fred, Moron Fred, Playboy Fred, Pro-Choice Fred, Son-of-a-Fred and Trial Lawyer Fred. [View an image of the Web site]" ... "Shortly after a Washington Post reporter made inquiries about the site to the Romney campaign, the site was taken down." ... "Before it vanished, the front page of the website featured a picture of a regal Thompson dressed in a frilly outfit more befitting a Gilbert and Sullivan production than a presidential campaign. Under the heading, "Playboy Fred," the site asks the question: "Once a Pro-Choice Skirt Chaser, Now Standard Bearer of the Religious Right?"" -By Michael D. Shear and Rob Pegoraro -WashingtonPost

20070908

Mitt Romney - Robert Lichfield - Political - Money - Child - Behavior - Schools - Utah - Massachusetts - Maine - 2006 Election - 2008 Election - "Businessman quits as fundraiser for Romney: Robert Lichfield of Utah is linked to the largest contribution in the 2006 Maine governor's race." ... "Robert Lichfield, a controversial Utah businessman linked to an organization facing civil allegations of child abuse and also connected to the largest contribution in the 2006 [election] Maine governor's race, has resigned from a fundraising position with [2008 election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney's presidential campaign." ... "Lichfield is named as a defendant in a federal lawsuit filed by more than 100 families alleging that their teenaged children were mistreated at "behavior modification" centers associated with the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools, an organization that Lichfield founded." ... "Until he resigned from the Romney campaign, Lichfield was co- chairman of its Utah finance committee." ... "Lichfield's role with the former Massachusettts governor's campaign has come under scrutiny since the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram reported in May on both the civil lawsuit and Lichfield's connection to contributions totaling $250,000 to a political action committee established in Maine by the Republican Governors Association. " -By Kevin Wack -MaineToday.com

20070906

Mitt Romney - Robert Lichfield - Money - Politics - Child - Behavior - Schools - Utah - Massachusetts - 2008 Election - "Top Utah money man leaves Romney campaign." ... "A top Utah fund-raiser for [2008 election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney's presidential campaign - who has links to an organization facing a civil lawsuit alleging child abuse - is no longer part of Romney's state finance team." ... "Robert Lichfield of La Verkin [Utah], who founded the umbrella group called the Worldwide Association of Specialty Schools, brought in some $300,000 earlier this year for Romney during a single Utah event and has donated tens of thousands to the former Massachusetts governor and other Republicans in recent years." ... "Lichfield is named in a federal lawsuit charging that students of the "behavior modification" schools with ties to WWASPS were subjected to "physical abuse, emotional abuse and sexual abuse." The suit had 140 defendants at last count. " -By Thomas Burr -SLTrib.com

20070905

Mitt Romney - Robert Lichfield - Money - Politics - US - Worldwide - Children - Behavior - Schools - Utah - New York - 2008 Election - "Romney Cans Golden Goose Over Abuse." ... "[2008 election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney has asked his Utah finance committee co-chair, Robert Lichfield, who is affiliated with a controversial network of schools for troubled teens and has been dogged by allegations of abuse and fraud, to step down, Radar has learned." ... "Lichfield was named in a June 2007 complaint filed in federal court in Utah by the families of 133 children who have attended schools associated with WWASP, alleging that they were subjected to physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. Plaintiff Chase Wood, who attended the Cross Creek Center for Boys [in Utah] (founded by Lichfield in the late 1970s) and another WWASP-affiliated school, claims he was fondled, forced to eat his own vomit, and locked in a dog cage." ... "According to a class-action lawsuit filed against him in New York in 2006 for fraud, Lichfield makes $90 million a year through a complicated network of businesses based around behavior modification and has owned or operated a total of 26 schools worldwide, some of which have been closed by local authorities for mistreatment. The lawsuit claims that the Academy at Ivy Ridge [in New York], a school that sits on land owned by Lichfield and for which he has provided consulting services, admitted students for five years without any accreditation as an educational institution from the state." -By John Cook -RadarOnline.com
Mitt Romney - Money - Abortion - Immigration - Stem Cell - Massachusetts - 2008 Election - Reference - Online - "Democrats unveil a file on Romney: Tout exhaustive site as online weapon." ... "The Massachusetts Democratic Party is launching today a first-of-its-kind website that it says contains an unparalleled repository of information about [2008 election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney's record that could be used against the former [Massachusetts] governor in his White House run." ... "RomneyFacts.com lays out a wealth of documents: personal financial disclosure statements he filed as governor; policy proposals he put forward in his 2002 campaign; several old campaign ads; and a unique searchable database of campaign contributions from his entire political career." ... "RomneyFacts.com is clearly a partisan clearinghouse, painting Romney as a "flip-flopper" who has traded in the moderate Republican credentials he presented as a candidate for governor in 2002 for a new set of conservative beliefs in his campaign for president." ... "Its home page compares statements "Massachusetts Mitt" made on abortion, immigration, stem cell research, and other hot-button issues with those made by "Red State Romney."" -By Lisa Wangsness -Boston/Globe

20070827

Larry Craig- Mitt Romney - Idaho - Utah - Law - Politics - - 2008 Election - "Senator Craig withdraws from Romney campaign role." ... "[Idaho Republican] US Senator Larry Craig resigned tonight as Senate co-chairman for [2008 election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, within hours after news broke of Craig's guilty plea to disorderly conduct after an incident in a men's bathroom." ... "In February, Romney announced that Craig of Idaho and [Utah Republican Senator] Robert Bennett of Utah would serve as co-Senate liaisons." ... "In May, Romney's campaign announced that Craig would be co-chairman of the Romney for President Idaho Leadership Team." ... "After reports of Craig's arrest, the Romney campaign made private a YouTube video in which Craig also praised Romney." -By Foon Rhee -BostonGlobe
Larry Craig - Mitt Romney - Gay - Idaho - Minnesota - Airport - Privacy - Law - Politics- 2008 Election - "Idaho senator arrested in airport." ... "[Idaho Republican Senator] Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho pleaded guilty this month to misdemeanor disorderly conduct after being arrested at the Minneapolis airport." ... "A Hennepin County court docket showed Craig pleading guilty to the disorderly conduct charge Aug. 8, with the court dismissing a charge of gross misdemeanor interference to privacy." ... "He is up for re-election next year [2008 election]." ... "He has been one of [2008 election] Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's top Senate supporters, serving as a Senate liaison for the campaign since February." ... "Roll Call quoted the Aug. 8 police report as saying that Craig had handed the arresting officer a business card that identified him as a member of the Senate." ... ""What do you think about that?" Craig is alleged to have said, according to the report." -By Steve Karnowski with contributions by Matthew Daly, Fred Frommer, and John Miller -AP via -Yahoo

20070817

Iowa - 2008 Election - Arkansas - Massachusetts - Mitt Romney - Money- "A GOP underdog finds 'new life' after Iowa poll." ... "As a little-known former Arkansas governor whose claim to fame is losing more than 100 pounds, [2008 election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mike Huckabee knows that few people ever expected he would amount to much as a presidential candidate." ... "But following his surprise second-place showing in the Iowa straw poll last weekend, behind former Massachusetts Gov. [2008 election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney, Huckabee is making his case that he is a legitimate Republican contender. "There's a new life in our campaign," he said Thursday." ... "Huckabee managed to do well in Iowa even against the formidable Romney organization, which had far more money and campaign staff." -By Jill Zuckman -ChicagoTribune

20070815

Mitt Romney - Stem Cell - Politics - Legislation - Abortion - 2008 Election - US - Mass - Danish - "Romney in Stem Cell Biz, Despite Political Opposition: Campaign Insists Investments Are in Blind Trust Only." ... "Among the investments in [2008 election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney's vast portfolio worth upward of $287 million are two companies that perform or support stem cell research." ... "The former Massachusetts governor opposes the creation of new lines of human stem cells for research and vetoed a stem cell research bill as governor. He has said it was while considering that legislation that he evolved to his current opposition to abortion." ... "Many abortion opponents also oppose embryonic stem cell research, because it is conducted on cellular lines from embryos." ... "Romney's investments are in Novo Nordisk, a Danish company, and Millipore Corp., based in Billerica, Mass. According to their Public Financial Disclosure Form released Monday, the Romneys -- Mitt Romney and his wife, Ann -- jointly own shares in Novo Nordisk, valued between $100,101 to $250,000. They also have a mutual fund investment that includes shares in Millipore, which supplies research tools and human embryonic stem cells to researchers. " (1, 2) -By Ron Claiborne -ABCNEWS.com

20070814

US - Sudan - Iran - China - Mitt Romney - Oil - Money - People - Human Rights - 2008 Election - Massachusetts - California - Iowa - Nevada - "Romney portfolio has link to Sudan: The GOP candidate's trustee has recently sold other potentially controversial holdings." ... "[2008 election] Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney divested from companies doing business in Iran, but he still holds stock in an oil company that does business in Sudan -- where the government is accused of sponsoring genocide -- his financial disclosure report filed Monday shows." ... "Romney, the wealthiest presidential contender, is worth $190 million to $250 million, with investments spread among stocks, treasuries and high-end funds. R. Bradford Malt, Romney's attorney, acts as sole trustee of what until Monday was a blind trust, and makes investment decisions." ... "His wealth is key to his candidacy. As he did when he successfully ran for Massachusetts governor in 2002, he is dipping into his accounts. He has lent his presidential campaign more than $9 million." ... "According to the report, Romney holds stock in China Petroleum and Chemical (also known as SinoPec), an oil supply company that has dealings in Sudan, according to an organization dedicated to ending the genocide in the African nation's Darfur region." ... "[Republican] President Bush has denounced the killings of tens of thousands of civilians in Darfur [Sudan] and declared that genocide is being committed. California and early-voting Iowa are among the states where officials have urged divestment." ... "The report shows that Romney has numerous offshore holdings." ... "His biggest single holding appears to have been MGM Mirage, owners of a major casino in Las Vegas [Nevada]." (1, 2) -By Dan Morain -LAtimes

20070813

2008 Election - Mitt Romney - Money - Iowa - Arkansas - Massachusetts - "Huckabee Scores Second Place in Iowa Poll Despite Lack of Funds." ... "After months of dismal national poll numbers and lackluster fundraising, [2008 election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mike Huckabee believes he broke into the top-tier Republican presidential field when he took second-place in Saturday’s Iowa straw poll." ... "The former Arkansas governor finished with 18 percent of the vote, far behind first-place finisher [2008 election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, who took 32 percent of the more than 14,000 total votes cast." ... "Huckabee’s showing was surprising to many, given his low-tier status. Heading into the poll, Huckabee garnered less than 5 percentage points in many national polls and raised less than seven of his GOP competitors as of June 30, with just $1.3 million in receipts. Romney reported raising more than $44 million." ... "Huckabee said his lack of financial strength made his poll showing all the more meaningful." -By Rachel Kapochunas -CQPolitics.com

20070808

US - Vietnam - France - Iraq - Military- Mitt Romney - Religion - Family - Ill - Quad City - Iowa - 2008 Election - "Romney speaks up for sons' decisions." ... "[2008 election] Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on Wednesday defended his five sons' decision not to enlist in the military, saying they're showing their support for the country by "helping me get elected."" ... "Romney, who did not serve in Vietnam due to his Mormon missionary work [in France] and a high draft lottery number, was asked the question by an anti-war activist after a speech in which he called for "a surge of support" for U.S. forces in Iraq." ... ""The good news is that we have a volunteer Army and that's the way we're going to keep it," Romney told some 200 people gathered in an abbey near the Mississippi River that had been converted into a hotel. "My sons are all adults and they've made decisions about their careers and they've chosen not to serve in the military and active duty and I respect their decision in that regard."" ... "He added: "One of the ways my sons are showing support for our nation is helping me get elected because they think I'd be a great president."" ... "The woman who asked the question, Rachel Griffiths, 41, of Milan, Ill [Illinois]., identified herself as a member of Quad City Progressive Action for the Common Good, as well as the sister of an Army major who had served in Iraq." ... ""Of course not," Griffiths said when asked if she was satisfied with Romney's answer. "He told me the way his son shows support for our military and our nation is to buy a Winnebago and ride across Iowa and help him get elected."" -By Glen Johnson -AP via -Yahoo

20070720

Mitt Romney - Jay Garrity - Law Enforcement - Politics - Massachusetts - 2008 Election - "Romney aide’s bogus badges: Sources detail ‘illegal’ security tactic." ... "In an apparent violation of the law, a controversial aide to [Republican 2008 election Presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor] ex-Gov. Mitt Romney created phony law enforcement badges that he and other staffers used on the campaign trail to strong-arm reporters, avoid paying tolls and trick security guards into giving them immediate access to campaign venues, sources told the Herald." ... "The bogus badges were part of the bizarre security tactics allegedly employed by Jay Garrity, the director of operations for Romney who is under investigation for impersonating a law enforcement officer in two states." ... "“They (the [Mitt Romney] aides) knew the badges were fake and probably illegal,” said a presidential campaign source who asked for anonymity because the story could damage the individual’s career. “But they went along with it because Jay (Garrity) pushed it on them.”" ... "In addition to Garrity, other [Mitt Romney] aides who used the badges included advance staffers Mark Glanville and William Ritter, the source said." (1, 2) -By Casey Ross -BostonHerald.com

20070629

US - Massachusetts - Canada - Car - Travel - Pet - Animal - Mitt Romney - 2008 Election - "Romney Accused of Mistreating Family Dog." ... "[2008 election Presidential candidate Mitt] Romney placed his family dog, an Irish setter named Seamus, into a kennel lashed to the top of his station wagon for a 12-hour family trip from Boston [Massachusetts] to Ontario [Canada] in 1983. Despite being shielded by a wind screen the former Massachusetts governor erected, Seamus expressed his discomfort with a diarrhea attack." -By Glen Johnson -AP via -SFGate.com

20070625

Mitt Romney - Jay Garrity - Police - Politics - 2008 Election - Reporter - Car - Surveillance - New Hampshire - Massachusetts - "Fortune reporter: Garrity pulled me over, too." ... "After New York Times reporter Mark Leibovitch reported on June 16 that an aide to [2008 election Republican Presidential candidate] Mitt Romney -- later identified as Jay Garrity, Romney's director of operations -- had ordered him to stop following Romney's car on a campaign trip to New Hampshire, Romney's campaign denied that Leibovitch's car was ever pulled over." ... "Now another reporter is saying she had an experience similar to Leibovitch's account. Marcia Vickers, a senior writer with Fortune magazine, said that while trailing Romney in New Hampshire on Memorial Day for a forthcoming magazine piece, Garrity instructed her at one point to stop tailing Romney's car." ... "The incident with Leibovitch, in which Garrity, by Leibovitch's account, also told him he had run his license plate number, has prompted an investigation by the New Hampshire attorney general's office. State law prohibits private citizens from accessing license plate databases or pulling over fellow citizens. Garrity is now on paid leave amid an investigation by Massachusetts State Police into whether he impersonated a state trooper in a May 13 phone call to a Wilmington [Massachusetts] company." -By Scott Helman -Boston/Globe

20070624

US - Vietnam - Military - History - France - Academic - Mitt Romney - 2008 Election - Politician - Utah - "Mormon church obtained Vietnam draft deferrals for Romney, other missionaries." ... "As the Vietnam War raged in the 1960s, Mitt Romney received a deferment from the draft as a Mormon "minister of religion" for the duration of his missionary work in France, which lasted two and a half years." ... "Before and after his missionary deferment, Romney also received nearly three years of deferments for his academic studies. When his deferments ended and he became eligible for military service in 1970, he drew a high number in the annual lottery that determined which young men were drafted. His high number ensured he was not drafted into the military." ... "The exemption for Mormon missionaries created controversy at the time. Non-Mormons in Utah filed a lawsuit against the federal government in 1968. The suit was still in court two years later, at a time when "the church and the Selective Service System work hand-in-hand in deferring the missionaries," according to an article from the period published by The New York Times." ... "Richard Leedy, the lawyer who brought the suit, said in a telephone interview that he did so because "the substantial number of deferments to missionaries made the likelihood of us non-Mormons going to Vietnam a lot more likely."" -By Michael Kranish -Boston/Globe

20070622

Mitt Romney - 2008 Election - Jay Garrity - Police - Car - Politics - Massachusetts - "Romney aide, targeted in probe, takes leave of absence." ... "[2008 election Republican Presidential candidate] Mitt Romney's director of operations is taking a leave of absence from the presidential campaign after becoming the focus of an investigation into allegations that he posed as a state trooper in a recorded phone call [transcript] complaining about a company's driver, the campaign announced today." ... "During the phone call, a recording of which was made by the answering service and obtained by the Globe, a man calling himself "Trooper Garrity of the Massachusetts State Police" threatens to cite the driver he says he saw speeding and cutting off cars in the Ted Williams Tunnel." -By Stephanie Ebbert -Boston/Globe
TV Report - Mitt Romney - 2008 Election - Jay Garrity - Police - Politics - "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Romney Aide [Jay Garrity] Takes Leave Amid [Police Officer] Impersonation Accusation." -MyFoxBoston.com
Mitt Romney - Jay Garrity - Police - Car - Politics - Massachusetts - Mother's-Day - 2008 Election - "Romney aide takes leave amid probes." ... "An ever-present aide to [2008 election] Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney took a leave of absence Friday after he became the subject of investigations in two states for allegedly impersonating a law enforcement officer. His attorney denied the charges." ... "Jay Garrity, who serves as director of operations and is constantly at the side of the former Massachusetts governor, is accused of leaving a lengthy message with the answering service of a plumbing company on Mother's Day, identifying himself as "Trooper Garrity" of the Massachusetts State Police and complaining about erratic driving by a company driver." ... "In 2004, Garrity was cited and fined by Massachusetts officials after a Ford Crown Victoria registered to him was found to have lights, a siren, radios and other law enforcement equipment -- including a baton -- after it was parked illegally in Boston's North End." -By Glen Johnson -AP via -BostonGlobe
Listen to phone call - Mitt Romney - 2008 Election - Jay Garrity - Police - Politics - "Listen to Phone Call at Center of [2008 election Republican President Mitt] Romney Aide [Jay Garrity Police Officer Impersonation] Probe." -MyFoxBoston.com
Mitt Romney - Jay Garrity - Political - Police - Car - Massachusetts - Company - New Hampshire - Databases - Reporter - Privacy - 2008 Election - "Romney aide is the focus of probe: Allegedly acted as State Police trooper." ... "State Police are investigating one of [2008 election Republican Presidential candidate] Mitt Romney's top campaign aides for allegedly impersonating a trooper by calling a Wilmington [Massachusetts] company and threatening to cite the driver of a company van for erratic driving, according to two law enforcement sources familiar with the probe." ... "Jay Garrity, who is director of operations on Romney's presidential campaign and a constant presence at his side, became the primary target of the investigation, according to one of the sources, after authorities traced the cellphone used to make the call back to him" ... "The New Hampshire attorney general, according to the Associated Press, has also opened an investigation into a report that a Romney aide, later identified as Garrity, pulled over a New York Times reporter in New Hampshire and said he had run his license plate." ... "New Hampshire law prohibits private citizens from accessing license plate databases or pulling over fellow citizens." ... "In 2004, the Globe reported, Garrity was cited and fined for driving a Crown Victoria with red and blue lights mounted in the grill, a siren, a PA system, and strobe lights; and for having a nightstick and identification showing a State Police patch that read "Official Business."" -By Stephanie Ebbert and Scott Helman with contributions by Suzanne Smalley, Andrea Estes, and Jonathan Saltzman -Boston/Globe

20070612

US - Iraq - Military - Police - Massachusetts - Kid - Cheney - I Lewis "Scooter" Libby - Intelligence - Politics- 2008 Election - Mitt Romney - "Gov. Romney held fast against pardons." ... "Iraq war veteran Anthony Circosta seemed like an ideal candidate for a pardon from then-Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney [Republican 2008 Presidential candidate] for his boyhood conviction for a BB gun shooting. Romney said no — twice —despite the recommendation of the state's Board of Pardons." ... "At age 13, Circosta was convicted of assault for shooting another boy in the arm with a BB gun, a shot that didn't break the skin. Circosta worked his way through college, joined the Army National Guard and led a platoon of 20 soldiers in Iraq's deadly Sunni triangle." ... "In 2005, as he was serving in Iraq, he sought a pardon to fulfill his dream of becoming a police officer." ... ""I've done everything I can to give back to my state and my community and my country and to get brushed aside is very frustrating," said Circosta, 29, of Agawam, Mass. "I'm not some shlub off the street."" ... "Asked in last week's debate if he would consider pardoning [Republican] Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, who was convicted of lying and obstructing the CIA leak investigation, Romney said: "It's worth looking at that. I will study it very closely if I'm lucky enough to be president. And I'd keep that option open."" -By Steve LeBlanc -AP via -Yahoo
2008 Election - Government - Wiretap - Freedom - Military - Terrorism - Torture - Law - History - "Disaffected conservatives set a litmus test for '08: Want vow to curb presidential power." ... "A new political group recently asked [Republican 2008 election Presidential candidate] Mitt Romney to promise not to wiretap Americans without a judge's approval or to imprison US citizens without a trial as "enemy combatants." When Romney declined to sign their pledge, the group denounced him as "unfit to serve as president."" ... "Such rhetoric might be expected from liberal activists. But these critics, who call their organization American Freedom Agenda, are hardly leftists. They represent what they insist is a growing group of disaffected conservatives who are demanding that the Republican Party return to its traditional mistrust of concentrated government power." ... ""Mitt Romney's ignorance of the Constitution's checks and balances and protections against government abuses would have alarmed the Founding Fathers and their conservative philosophy," said Bruce Fein, one of the group's co founders and a Reagan administration attorney, in a press release last month attacking Romney for not signing the pledge." ... "The American Freedom Agenda, which intends to put all candidates in both parties to the same test, is aiming to revive a strand of conservatism that they say has been drowned out since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The conservative principle of limited government, they say, means not just cutting the budget, but imposing checks and balances on those who wield power." ... "... Fein argued the country would be more secure if the presidency adhered to checks on its power. Such [Republican President] Bush administration policies as authorizing harsh interrogation techniques despite laws and treaties forbidding torture, he said, "are making us more vulnerable" by inflaming anti-American sentiment and "creating new generations of jihadists."" -By Charlie Savage -Boston/Globe

20070611

2008 Election - Politics - Utah - Massachusetts - Missouri - "Romney’s Run Has Mormons Wary of Scrutiny." ... "In this wide [Utah] valley where the twin spires of the Mormon temple dominate the landscape and some neighborhoods have a Mormon chapel every few blocks, [2008 election Presidential candidate] Mitt Romney’s bid for president is both a proud sign of progress and a cause of trepidation." ... "John Hatch, 30, a history student at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, said, “What most Mormons desire is acceptance.”" ... "“We see ourselves as normal,” Mr. Hatch said. “We struggle with those outsiders who see us as weird — the magic underwear stuff,” a reference to the ritual garments that Mormons are supposed to wear under their clothing." ... "Some Mormons have watched with concern how Mr. Romney has responded to grilling by interviewers about his church’s distinctive doctrines." ... "Mr. Romney has been questioned about the Mormon definition of God, polygamy, the location of Jesus’s arrival when he returns to earth, and even a mysterious saying attributed to Joseph Smith Jr. called the “White Horse Prophecy,” which some interpret as a prediction that when the American Constitution is hanging “by a thread,” a Mormon will rescue the nation." ... "Mr. Romney’s tendency to gloss over Mormonism’s history and distinctive tenets has upset some fellow Mormons. Some said they cringed when Mr. Romney said on “60 Minutes,” “I can’t imagine anything more awful than polygamy.”" ... "Another case arose when George Stephanopoulos of ABC News asked Mr. Romney about a Mormon teaching that Jesus will come to the United States when he returns to reign on earth. Mr. Romney responded that the Messiah will return to the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, “the same as the other Christian tradition.”" ... "[Utah radio host Tom] Mr. Grover said some of his radio listeners were astounded." ... "“They were just in disbelief, saying that’s not true, Jesus is coming back to Missouri,” Mr. Grover said. “It’s the L.D.S. [Latter Day Saints] Church’s 10th article of faith that Zion will be built upon the American continent.”" (1, 2) -By Laurie Goodstein -NYTimes

20070601

2008 Election - Money - Law - Politics - Massachusetts - Florida - "Separation of Church and State and Tax Exemptions." ... "Florida evangelist Bill Keller says he was making a spiritual -- not political -- statement when he warned the 2.4 million subscribers to his Internet prayer ministry that "if you vote for Mitt Romney, you are voting for Satan!"" ... "But the Washington-based advocacy group Americans United for Separation of Church and State says the Internal Revenue Service should revoke the 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status of Bill Keller Ministries, nonetheless." ... "Keller, 49, who has a call-in show on a Tampa [Florida] television station and a Web site called Liveprayer.com, on May 11 sent out a "daily devotional" that called Romney "an unabashed and proud member of the Mormon cult founded by a murdering polygamist pedophile named Joseph Smith nearly 200 years ago." If the former Massachusetts governor wins the GOP nomination and the presidency, Keller's message added, it will "ultimately lead millions of souls to the eternal flames of hell."" -WashingtonPost

20070521

2008 Election - US Immigration - Legislation - Arizona - Massachusetts - "McCain says Romney flip-flops on immigration." ... "[2008 election Presidential candidate and Arizona Senator] Republican John McCain accused presidential rival [Republican] Mitt Romney of flip-flopping on immigration Monday and said with sarcasm: "Maybe his solution will be to get out his small varmint gun and drive those Guatemalans off his lawn."" ... "McCain also said he was disappointed in potential candidate [Republican] Fred Thompson for opposing immigration legislation the Arizona senator is co-sponsoring." ... "Referring to Romney's stance, McCain said: "Maybe I should wait a couple of weeks and see if it changes because it's changed in less than a year from his position before."" ... "Romney has faced criticism for calling himself a lifelong hunter even though he joined the National Rifle Association in August and officials in four states where he has lived said he never took out a hunting license. Defending himself, he said in April, "I've always been a rodent and rabbit hunter, small varmints, if you will."" ... "Also, The Boston Globe reported late last year that several illegal immigrants, including at least one from Guatemala, worked at the lawn care company that worked on Romney's two-and-a-half acre property in a Boston [Massachusetts] suburb for a decade. His aides have said that Romney was not aware of the workers' status, and that the owner was in the country legally." -By Liz Sidoti -AP via -BostonGlobe

20070519

2008 Election - Iowa - Massachusetts - Arizona - New York - "Mitt Romney leads Republicans [in Iowa poll]." ... "[Republican] Mitt Romney has sprinted ahead of presidential competitors [Republican] John McCain and [Republican] Rudy Giuliani in a new Iowa Poll of likely Republican caucus participants." ... "The Des Moines Register poll shows Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, is the top choice of 30 percent of those who say they definitely or probably will attend the leadoff Iowa caucuses in January." ... "McCain, a U.S. senator from Arizona, nips former New York Mayor Giuliani for second place — 18 percent to 17 percent." ... "Giuliani leads in recent national surveys of Republican voters, although there are has been some slippage in his support at a time when his position in support of abortion rights has come under increased scrutiny from the news media and his GOP rivals." ... "Twelve percent of those polled are undecided or declare themselves uncommitted. Among those stating a preference, 87 percent say they could still be persuaded to support another candidate as their first choice." -DesMoinesRegister

20070430

2008 Election - Religion - "Romney Favors Hubbard Novel." ... "When asked his favorite novel in an interview shown yesterday on the Fox News Channel, Mitt Romney pointed to “Battlefield Earth,” a novel by L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology." ... "“I’m not in favor of his religion by any means,” Mr. Romney, a Mormon, said." -By Jim Rutenberg -NYTimes

20070426

2008 Election - Military - Terrorism - Intelligence - Money - Osama bin Laden - Religion - North Carolina - "AP Interview: Romney says he's not the only one switching positions, [Republican] rivals do it too." ... "[Republican Mitt Romney] said the country would be safer by only "a small percentage" and would see "a very insignificant increase in safety" if al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden was caught because another terrorist would rise to power. "It's not worth moving heaven and earth spending billions of dollars just trying to catch one person," Romney said. Instead, he said he supports a broader strategy to defeat the Islamic jihad movement." ... "The Romney campaign said Thursday that a former counterterrorism chief who served during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks has joined the campaign as a senior adviser." ... "Cofer Black served as the director of the CIA Counterterrorism Center during the attacks and was singled out for especially harsh criticism by the agency's inspector general in a 2005 report on faulty intelligence efforts before the attacks." ... "Black has worked for the past two years as vice chairman of Blackwater USA, a North Carolina-based security firm which specializes in private security and private military services." ... "Earlier this year, Black announced he had formed a new company called Total Intelligence Solutions, which focuses on providing intelligence gathering to companies." -By Liz Sidoti with contributions by Michael R. Baker -AP via -SFGate.com

20070325

US - Florida - Cuba - Venezuela- 2008 Election - Languages - "Romney Finds Peril in Checklist for '08." ... "As [Republican] Mitt Romney transitions from one-term governor to presidential candidate [2008 election], he has been ticking through a presidential checklist, sometimes with perilous results." ... "But this month, Romney scratched when he tried to wade through the cauldron of Cuban-American politics during a speech to South Florida Republicans." ... ""Hugo Chavez has tried to steal an inspiring phrase - 'Patria o muerte, venceremos.'" Romney said, referring to the Venezuelan president and persistent U.S. critic. "It does not belong to him. It belongs to a free Cuba."" ... "In truth, the phrase does not belong to free Cubans. It has been the trademark speechmaking sign-off of their most despised opponent, Fidel Castro. And unlike Romney, Castro would switch to English to declare, "Fatherland or death, we shall overcome."" -By Glen Johnson -AP

20060412

Massachusetts - Government - Law - Politics - "Mass. Governor OKs Landmark Health Bill." ... "[Republican] Gov. Mitt Romney signed legislation Wednesday that would make Massachusetts the first state to require everyone to have health insurance, just as drivers must have automobile coverage." ... "The law would make Massachusetts the only state with universal health coverage, employing a combination of subsidies and penalties to make insurance more affordable and to force people to buy it, too." ... "The law has thrust the state to the forefront of the national debate over how to extend coverage to the uninsured without creating a single government-controlled system. Massachusetts has an estimated 550,000 uninsured." -By Steve LeBlanc -AP via -HoustonChronicle.com

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