Sometimes political pretense is so ridiculous, pandering so blatant, it defies words – but I’ll try. On May 6, 2010, Nancy Pelosi spoke at a Catholic Community Conference on Capitol Hill. In her fluttery, flouncy way, she claimed that she is obligated to support public policies “in keeping with the values” of Jesus Christ. Pelosi said her favorite word is – THE WORD – Jesus’ word.

Pelosi: “They ask me all the time, what is your favorite this? What is your favorite that? What is your favorite that?’ And one time, ‘What is your favorite word?’ And I said, ‘My favorite word? That is really easy. My favorite word is the Word, is the Word. And that is everything. It says it all for us. And you know the biblical reference, you know the Gospel reference of the Word.”

“And, uh, that… Word,” Pelosi said, “is, uh, we have to give voice to what that means in terms of public policy that would be in keeping with the values of the Word. The Word. Isn’t it a beautiful word when you think of it? It just covers everything. The Word. (laughter)

“Fill, ya know, fill it in with anything you want. [...]

Flagrant flim-flam.

Nancy Pelosi voted for partial-birth abortion which became law in 2003. She has a perfect pro-abortion voting record.

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A few other Pelosi WORDS:

“…I don’t think anybody can tell you when life begins, human life begins.”

“I will lead the most honest, the most open and the most ethical Congress in history.”

On September 24, 2009 Speaker Nancy Pelosi told THE WEEKLY STANDARD that she was “absolutely” committed to putting the text of the final House bill [health care] online for 72 hours before the House votes:

TWS: Madam Speaker, do you support the measure to put the final House bill online for 72 hours before it’s voted on at the very end?

PELOSI: Absolutely. Without question.

“We have to pass the bill to know what’s in it.”

“There has never been a more open process for any legislation.”

“I knew nothing about the CIA and water boarding.”

“The CIA is misleading the United States. They mislead us all the time.”

“Every month that we do not have a recovery package 500 million Americans lose their jobs.”

“There will be no earmarks in the economic recovery package that passes the house.”

Wolf Blitzer (CNN) interviews Pelosi (posted on YouTube March 10, 2010):

Yesterday in the chatbox Jayde pointed out an article written by Teresa Pullium of the Cherokee Scout. Teresa’s article was a review of a recent speech by Mitt Romney which was the Annual Reagan Lecture given on May 25th at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.

What was interesting to me about Pullium’s review was that though she was familiar with Mitt Romney she had not yet heard him speak before, nor yet met him in person. Pullium admits “I knew he was handsome, but I had no idea he was brilliant.” She waited in line for more than hour for Romney to sign her new copy of No Apology, and found Romney to be very sincere even in asking the simple question “how are you doing today?”

Some selections from Pullium’s review:

I was fortunate to have been in attendance at the lecture last week. After standing in line for more than an hour to meet him and get his signature on my copy of his new book, it was a pleasure to shake hands and be able to share a few words with him. He looks you directly in the eye, smiles and wants to know, “How are you doing today?” You know he’s not just asking to be polite.

[...]

One of the first things that impressed me about Romney was his grasp of facts. He didn’t use a Teleprompter, nor notes – just what was in his head. He spoke from the heart with a passion and love for America and the people who work so hard everyday just to make ends meet.

Romney shares Reagan’s optimism that we are still, and always will be, the “shining city on the hill.” He voiced his frustration at current and past administrations who seem to just accept that an “inevitable decline” is the norm.

[...]

In No Apology, Romney outlines the “three pillars that sustain a free and strong America.” These pillars are a strong economy, a strong military, and a free and strong people. He says, with all honesty, that he believes we’ve lost all three due to what is going on in Washington.

He makes the strongest case I’ve heard yet for why it’s important that we don’t concede and abandon agreements we’ve made with our allies. Doing so, Romney believes, will only make us weaker in the eyes of other countries who used to look to us for guidance.

[...]
I hope Romney decides to run for president again. Having met the man, heard him speak with honesty and sincerity, I would be proud to help with his campaign. Not too many politicians who speak today do so in a way that makes you forget they are involved in politics in any fashion.

Thanks Teresa. We too hope he runs again in 2012 and we’ll be very proud to help on on his campaign.

~Nate Gunderson

Click here to read the entire review.
Click here to watch Mitt Romney’s speech at the Reagan Presidential Library.

Continuing to put his money where his mouth is, Mitt Romney has announced political endorsements in New Mexico and additional endorsements in Pennsylvania today. Romney’s recommendations and funds from his Free and Strong America PAC are welcome additions to candidates as they battle their way to victory this fall.

New Mexico (three candidates - $10,000):

Susana Martinez: Susana Martinez currently serves as a District Attorney in New Mexico and is now the Republican nominee for Governor. She is the first Hispanic woman nominated for Governor by either of the major parties in the United States. For more information about her and her campaign, visit www.susanamartinez2010.com.

Jon Barela: Jon Barela, a longtime public servant and community leader, is now running to represent New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District. For more information about him and his campaign, visit www.jonbarela.com.

Steve Pearce: Steve Pearce previously represented the 2nd Congressional District of New Mexico, and is running to reclaim his seat. For more information about him and his campaign, visit www.peopleforpearce.com.

The PAC also announced that it is sending Susana Martinez a $5,000 contribution, and Jon Barela and Steve Pearce each a $2,500 contribution.

“At a time when too many of our leaders are interested in growing the size of government, we need leaders who will stand up and say no to higher taxes and higher spending. This is why it is so important that we elect people like Susana Martinez, Jon Barela, and Steve Pearce who will work to get our economy back on track and make job creation a priority,” said Romney.

Pennsylvania (seven additional candidates - $15,000):

Attorney General Tom Corbett: Tom Corbett currently serves as the Attorney General of Pennsylvania and is now running for Governor. For more information about him and his campaign, visit www.tomcorbettforgovernor.com.

Congressman Charlie Dent: Charlie Dent currently represents the 15th Congressional District of Pennsylvania and is running for reelection. For more information about him and his campaign, visit www.dentforcongress.com.

Congressman Jim Gerlach: Jim Gerlach currently represents the 6th Congressional District of Pennsylvania and is running for reelection. For more information about him and his campaign, visit www.jimgerlachforcongress.com.

Congressman Joe Pitts: Joe Pitts currently represents the 16th Congressional District of Pennsylvania and is running for reelection. For more information about him and his campaign, visit www.joepittsforcongress.com.

Congressman Bill Shuster: Bill Shuster currently represents the 9th Congressional District of Pennsylvania and is running for reelection. For more information about him and his campaign, visit www.billshusterforcongress.com.

Lou Barletta: Lou Barletta currently serves as a Pennsylvania mayor and is now running to represent the 11th Congressional District of Pennsylvania. For more information about him and his campaign, please visit www.loubarletta.com.

Mike Fitzpatrick: Mike Fitzpatrick previously represented the 8th Congressional District of Pennsylvania, and is running to reclaim his seat. For more information about him and his campaign, visit www.fitzpatrickforcongress.com.

The PAC also announced that it is sending each of the federal candidates a $2,500 general election contribution toward their respective Congressional campaigns.

“Pennsylvanians are fortunate to have so many candidates committed to keeping taxes low, cutting wasteful spending, and creating a pro-growth environment. It is critical that we elect fiscally-conservative leaders who will focus on turning our economy around rather than growing the size of government, and that is why I am proud to endorse these candidates today,” said Romney.

Good luck to these candidates in the Land of Enchantment and the Keystone State!

Public education: Is it meeting America’s needs for a stronger tomorrow?

Close to a 1,000 people paid big bucks to hear Mitt Romney address that question when he spoke at the Alliance for Choice in Education (ACE) 10th Anniversary Luncheon on May 27, 2010 in Denver, CO. Comparing the differences between working in the private sector and public sector, Romney shared his views on school choice, charter schools, teachers’ unions, scholarship programs, hiring highest qualified teachers, technology and education, the power and impact of competition and innovation, and more.

ACE event sponsorship costs give an idea of attendees’ commitment to reform public education:
Table = $2500
Bronze = $5000
Silver = $10,000
Gold = $15,000
Lunch = $25,000
Title = $50,000

The fundraiser SOLD OUT. Profits benefitted the Alliance for Choice in Education.

The following videos are excerpts from Romney’s speech:

ACE speech #1

ACE speech #2

ACE speech #3

ACE speech #4

Thank you, Governor Romney!

Recommended reading:
No Apology: The Case for American Greatness by Mitt Romney, Chapter 8 An American Education Pages 194-223

(Hat tip to Bosman, Romney supporter)

Early polling from PPP indicates that there is still no clear front-runner for the 2012 race. I find the numbers very interesting but can’t help but feel they may be very far from what will really happen as I’m very doubtful that all five (Gingrich, Palin, Huckabee, Romney, and Paul) will be running. In fact I would wager that only 2 or 3 of those will actually be running, and 2 or 3 other candidates not mentioned will run as well, ie. Mike Pence, Tim Pawlenty, Mitch Daniels, or Rick Santorum.

In my view the problem with these polls is that Gingrich is not going to run. No matter what he does or says, or where he’s at in the polls, I won’t believe that Gingrich will run until the moment he actually files papers to form an exploratory committee. In 2008, he toyed with the idea, gave hints etc., just the same as he is doing now. He eventually let on that he would run if he was essentially drafted into doing so by some sweeping ground-swell of grassroots support, which never happened.

Gingrich, as well as Romney, Huckabee and Palin, have much to gain in terms of name ID and national stardom, AS LONG AS they continue to flirt with the possibility of making a 2012 run. The same is true for T-Paw, Daniels or whoever. There is just something about running for president that sparks people’s interest in who you are. Otherwise we might have never known who Sam Brownback or Tom Tancredo are. But Gingrich knows, as do the others, that the minute they completely rule out running in 2012, and convince of that fact, they are no longer as interesting to the public eye and will be found in less demand for the daily news cycles.

Am I wrong on Gingrich? Anyone have hard evidence that he is running? Let me know please, I don’t want to be completely blindsided by it if he does run.

So, here are the numbers from the PPP poll:

Iowa:

Candidate	Base	Mod.	Cons.	Female	Male	18-29	30-45	46-65	65+
Huckabee	27%	26	28	34	21	38	21	32	19
Palin	17%	17	16	15	18	15	14	21	11
Gingrich	16%	10	19	17	15	15	22	11	21
Romney	15%	20	14	11	18	8	12	13	23
Ron Paul	7%	9	7	3	11	8	12	5	5
DeMint	2%	2	1	2	1	8	-	1	1
Thune	2%	-	3	1	3	-	3	2	1
Someone Else	3%	6	2	3	4	-	5	4	2
Undecided	11%	9	11	13	9	8	10	9	16

South Carolina:

Candidate	Base	Mod.	Cons.	Female	Male
Gingrich	25%	11	29	22	27
Romney	24%	33	21	22	25
Palin	22%	23	21	27	17
Huckabee	19%	12	21	20	18
Ron Paul	7%	12	6	4	10
Undecided	4%	10	1	5	3

Michigan:

Candidate	Base	Mod.	Cons.	Female	Male	18-29	30-45	46-65	65+
Romney	37%	56	32	45	31	10	39	38	42
Palin	24%	8	29	22	26	50	20	19	30
Gingrich	16%	11	19	7	24	10	15	19	15
Huckabee	12%	14	13	17	8	20	17	13	3
Ron Paul	6%	8	6	3	9	-	7	6	6
Undecided	4%	3	2	6	3	10	2	5	3

Romney showing in 4th in Iowa, but it looks like it’s essentially a 3-way tie for second. He’s in a close second in South Carolina, but my guess is that poll may be entirely inaccurate. It’s no surprise that he continues to lead Michigan in a dominating fashion. What I will note is that the 65+ crowd seems to love Romney… perhaps because they are the oldest and the wisest.

~Nate Gunderson