Mitt Romney

From SourceWatch

Mitt Romney, Former Governor of Massachusetts (Romney campaign)

This article is part of the
SourceWatch and Congresspedia coverage
of Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and
the 2008 presidential election

Main article:

Mitt Romney

Sub-articles:

Mitt Romney, elected in 2002 as the Republican governor of Massachusetts, officially announced his candidacy for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination on February 13, 2007.

Romney is a Director of the Points of Light Foundation.

Corection to Right:

This article is part of the SourceWatch and Congresspedia coverage of Mitt Romney (R-Massachusetts) and the 2008 presidential election

[edit]

Controversy

[edit]

Iran: let the lawyers sort it out

When asked October 9, 2007, by Chris Matthews during the CNBC Republican debate "'If you were president of the United States, would you need to go to Congress to get authorization to take military action against Iran's nuclear facilities?' Romney's answer: let the lawyers sort it out."^[1]

[edit]

"Seeks Ties to Christian Right"

"He has invoked the Rev. Rick Warren, a popular evangelical author and megachurch pastor. He has quoted Scripture and alluded to the Gideon Bible as favorite late-night reading. And he has cited his belief in Jesus Christ as his personal 'savior.'

"As Mitt Romney has had to grapple with suspicions about his Mormon religion during his presidential run, he has tried in various ways to signal his kinship with evangelical Christians, who represent a crucial constituency of the Republican base but consider his religious beliefs to be heretical.

"He faces a delicate task in trying to stake out common ground with conservative Christians, while not running afoul of deeply rooted evangelical sensitivities about any blurring of distinctions between Mormonism and conventional Protestantism," Michael Luo wrote October 16, 2007, in the New York Times.^[2]

[edit]

National Faith and Values Steering Committee

On June 13, 2007, the Romney campaign announced its National Faith and Values Steering Committee,^[3] with additions made September 6, 2007.^[4] The following are all co-chairs; see press releases for vice-chairs:

Dr. Robert Andringa, President Emeritus, Council for Christian Colleges & Universities, Arizona
Steve Appel, Communications Director, The Joni and Friends International Disability Center, California
James Bopp, Jr., Romney For President Special Adviser on Life Issues, Indiana (See Faith and Family Alliance.)
Barbara Comstock, Former Department of Justice Spokesperson and former Susan B. Anthony List Advisory Committee Member, Virginia
Ann Corkery, Bishop Gassis Sudan Relief Fund, Catholic Activist, Virginia
Mark DeMoss, President, DeMoss Group Public Relations, Georgia
E. Peb Jackson, Board Member, Legacy, Colorado^[5]
Ovide Lamontagne, New Hampshire^[6]
Christopher Long, Chief Operation Officer, Foster Friess & Associates, Delaware
Gary Marx, Executive Director of the Judicial Confirmation Network, Former Executive Director of the Virginia Christian Coalition, Bush-Cheney '04 Conservative Coalitions Director, Virginia (and who "was a political consultant for George W. Bush's campaign at Century Strategies in 1999, when its founder and president Ralph E. Reed was allegedly helping his long-time friend Jack Abramoff swindle over $1.2 million from the Choctaw Indians."^[7])
George Seay III, Co-Founder and CEO, Annandale Capital; Co-Founder and Chairman, Legacy, Texas; Seay also serves on Romney's Texas Finance Committee, which includes Swiftboat funder Bob Perry.^[8]
Jay Allan Sekulow, Constitutional Attorney and Supreme Court Advocate, District of Columbia
Lou Sheldon, President, Traditional Values Coalition, California
Matthew Spalding, Director, B. Kenneth Simon Center For American Studies, The Heritage Foundation, District of Columbia
Stephan Tchividijan, President, The Caleb Group, Florida
Jack Templeton, Jr., Chairman, Let Freedom Ring, Pennsylvania (and Freedom's Watch funder)
Tom Vegh, Board Member, Legacy; Former owner, Maranatha Music, California

[edit]

Flip flop on gay rights

John Aravosis, "Mitt Romney's youthful indiscretion," AMERICAblog, September 17, 2007.

[edit]

Flip flop flap on abortion rights

Joan Vennochi, "Romney's honesty problem," Boston Globe, August 9, 2007.

[edit]

Flip flop flag on illegal immigration

"Good God Mitt Romney Sucks," AMERICAblog, August 9, 2007.

[edit]

Political attacks on Democratic candidates

[edit]

Attacking Hillary

Barbara Comstock, described in August 2001 by the Washington Post's John Mintz as a "one-woman wrecking crew", is a member of Romney's campaign team. Comstock's handiwork may possibly be evidenced in two news reports on Romney's May 31, 2007, appearance at the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce in Sioux City, Iowa.

The Associated Press reported that Romney "criticized Sen. Hillary Clinton 'as a European caricature who would turn the United States into a welfare state, ... Her view is the old, classic, European caricature that we describe of big government, big taxation, welfare state. ... Her platform wouldn't even get her elected in France."

The Sioux City Journal reported that, during a question-and-answer session, Romney was asked, "If you win the nomination of the Republican Party and Hillary wins the nomination of the Democratic Party, will you take the gloves off?" Following applause and laughter, Romney responded "I'm sure we'll have a good time; the gloves will come off," adding "Shudder the thought, if Hillary were president."

David Brock, in his memoir, Blinded by the Right, "described Comstock as almost unhinged in her passion to bring down the Clintons." [2]

[edit]

Hillary-Osama bashing signs

"Mitt Catches S**t Over Hillary-Bashing Sign," TMZ.com, July 21, 2007.
Eric Kleefeld, "Spokesman: Romney Not 'Equating Or Comparing Anyone' When Holding 'Obama Osama' Sign," Election Central Blog/TPM Cafe, July 21, 2007.
Jake Tapper, "Romney Grabs a Sign," Political Punch Blog, July 22, 2007.
Phil Bailey, "Romney Denies Ties to Osama Signs," The Stump AOL Elections Blog, July 22, 2007.
Dave Wedge, "Mitt blasts Dems in N.H.: Likens Clinton’s views to those of Marx," Boston Herald, July 23, 2007: "blasting Sen. Barack Obama for backing kindergarten sex education and comparing Sen. Hillary Clinton to communist Karl Marx."

[edit]

Osama as Obama

Steve Benen, "Romney’s convenient slip," The Carpetbagger Report, October 23, 2007.
"Romney refers to Osama as Obama," Think Progress, October 23, 2007.

[edit]

Political Campaign

[edit]

Announcement

On February 13, 2007, in Dearborn, Mich., Romney officially announced his candidacy for the 2008 presidential race. Romney, a former one-term Republican governor of Massachusetts, suggested that his "record of leadership inside and outside government uniquely positions him to tackle the country's challenges." [3]

Further, he asserted, "I do not believe Washington can be transformed from within by a lifelong politician...There have been too many deals, too many favors, too many entanglements and too little real world experience managing, guiding, leading." [4]