Thanks to Rachel Streitfeld from CNN for posting this!

After Newt’s team confirmed to the press last night that Donald Trump was endorsing the former Speaker, news comes today that they were mistaken – the Donald is endorsing Mitt.

Say what you will about the man, he happens to influence of a good chunk of people – a chunk that we may need to have on board to beat Obama. His endorsement as well as anyone else’s should be welcome – after all, we’re building bridges with all coalitions that will support our man, not fences.

From CBS News:

Donald Trump said Thursday he’s endorsing Mitt Romney because of his position on catching up to China’s economic growth and because he believes Romney can out-debate President Obama.

“You look at what’s going on with China, you look at what’s going on with the other OPEC nations and how they are absolutely destroying this country, and he’s the only one who talks about it,” Trump told a group of reporters at an impromptu news conference in Las Vegas. “So that was very important to me. I thought he did very well in the debates, that was very important… I think if he debates that well, I don’t think Obama will fare well against him.

Romney’s campaign is expected to formally unveil the endorsement at an event at 3:30 Eastern Time.

Update: In case you’re hungry for more, here’s Trump with Cavuto immediately after the presser.

On the night of Mitt’s huge Florida victory, his team launched a moneybomb aimed at making Obama a one-term president, appropriately called the “One Term Fund.”

You can tell this perturbed the Obama folks [is this the general election already?] who within 24 hours set up TwoTermFund.com [I refuse to link to it] and told their minions that Mitt Romney was out to replace their master. This evolved into a all out battle between thew two camps. Much of the back and forth took place on twitter and in emails to their respective donor lists (see tweets below).

The battle continues & Mitt needs your help!

The fact that Obama’s team is even engaging with Mitt this long before the general election shows you how afraid these chumps are of our man, Mitt. We need to step up and offer some backup. Everyone please reach into your wallet, and send some support to our guy!

And please let everyone know that the President of the United States has singled Mitt Romney out and started an all out war with the people that want him out of office!

DONATE NOW TO HELP MAKE OBAMA A ONE TERM PRESIDENT!

Romney’s wife wows crowd at Hispanic conference (link)

Before Feliciano Ramirez heard Mitt Romney speak today, he was all-but certain he was going to vote for Newt Gingrich.

“He can really debate Obama on all of the issues because he’s a Washington insider,” Ramirez said, echoing the sentiments of many recent converts to the Gingrich camp.

However, after hearing the two candidates deliver back-to-back speeches at the Hispanic Leadership Network, Ramirez’s vote in Tuesday’s GOP primary wasn’t so certain.

“I’m going to have to pray on it,” he said with a laugh after the Massachusetts governor gave a rousing speech to roughly 500 Latin American leaders.

And, he said, it wasn’t just Romney’s enthusiastic rhetoric or Gingrich’s more professorial speech. Ramirez said he was impressed with the candidate’s wife, Ann.

Read more…

This open letter from Bob Dole comes as many conservatives feel this is their last chance to speak their mind on creature of Washington that is Newt Gingrich.

Read it, comment on it, and share it far and wide in hopes that it will prompt a decision among the undecided:

I have not been critical of Newt Gingrich but it is now time to take a stand before it is too late. If Gingrich is the nominee it will have an adverse impact on Republican candidates running for county, state, and federal offices. Hardly anyone who served with Newt in Congress has endorsed him and that fact speaks for itself. He was a one-man-band who rarely took advice. It was his way or the highway.

Gingrich served as Speaker from 1995 to 1999 and had trouble within his own party. Already in 1997 a number of House members wanted to throw him out as Speaker. But he hung on until after the 1998 elections when the writing was on the wall. His mounting ethics problems caused him to resign in early 1999. I know whereof I speak as I helped establish a line of credit of $150,000 to help Newt pay off the fine for his ethics violations. In the end, he paid the fine with money from other sources.

Gingrich had a new idea every minute and most of them were off the wall. He loved picking a fight with Bill Clinton because he knew this would get the attention of the press. This and a myriad of other specifics helped to topple Gingrich in 1998.

In my run for the presidency in 1996 the Democrats greeted me with a number of negative TV ads and in every one of them Newt was in the ad. He was very unpopular and I am not only certain that this did not help me, but that it also cost House seats that year. Newt would show up at the campaign headquarters with an empty ice-bucket in his hand—that was a symbol of some sort for him—and I never did know what he was doing or why he was doing it.

In my opinion if we want to avoid an Obama landslide in November, Republicans should nominate Governor Romney as our standard bearer. He has the requisite experience in the public and private sectors. He would be a president we could have confidence in.

The newest trend in skirts — Mitt Romney yard signs twitter.com/streitfeldcnn/…

— Rachel Streitfeld (@streitfeldcnn) January 24, 2012

If you thought the 2012 State of the Union was very similar to President Obama’s past State of the Union speeches, you were right…

Check out Mitt Romney’s prebuttal to President Obama’s State of the Union Address

Independent fact-checkers have labeled the near 30 minute documentary “When Mitt Romney Came to Town” as “misleading” and “manipulative” — awarding it the maximum of 4 Pinocchios on the truth scale and comparing it to something Michael Moore could have produced (meaning that it is utterly full of horse manure).

But in case you needed more proof that the claims made in the video are completely bogus, look no further than this seven minute interview with a man that was unknowingly used as a political prop in the same film: Mike Baxley.

In the short interview, Baxley says he is wasn’t even talking about Mitt Romney or Bain in the clips that they used in the video. In fact, Baxley says that he received two promotions and a 30% salary increase while the company he worked for was under Bain Capital management.

This is politics at it’s worst – but get used to it, folks. The Obama campaign and the DNC, using these same tactics, will put nearly a billion dollars into distorting Mitt Romney’s record (assuming he’ll be the nominee), and they’ll drag American capitalism and free enterprise through the dirt with them.

No worries though, American people are smart enough to see through this. Obama’s attacks on free enterprise will have the same effect they’ve had on Gingrich, causing him to appear desperate and his poll numbers to plummet.

Here is the interview:

PS: Even though Gingrich has claimed to take the high road by asking his Super PAC to remove inaccurate portions of the film (all of it), the film remains – in it’s gross entirety – available for all to view in it’s original form (with plenty of ad money pushing people to view it). Watch him totally ignore this fact in tomorrow’s debate.


-Luke G.

Update: See video of Tommy Jones and Mike Baxley appearing today on America Live with Megyn Kelly (FOX News). Jones and Baxley take down claims made in the attack video. Watch it here.

Rick Santorum has been on the offensive lately after his surprise second place finish in Iowa. He’s now claiming Mitt Romney isn’t conservative enough to be the Republican nominee. In 2008, Santorum was singing a much different tune: “Romney is the candidate who will stand up for the conservative principles that we hold dear. Governor Romney has a deep understanding of the important issues confronting our country today, and he is the clear conservative candidate that can go into the general election with a united Republican party.”

Nothing’s changed, Rick!

Here is the press release from 2008:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 1, 2008

FORMER U.S. SENATOR RICK SANTORUM (R-PA)
ENDORSES GOVERNOR MITT ROMNEY

Boston, MA – Today, former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) announced his endorsement of Governor Mitt Romney. Senator Santorum served two terms in the United States Senate where he was also Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, the third-ranking member of the Republican leadership.

“In a few short days, Republicans from across this country will decide more than their party’s nominee. They will decide the very future of our party and the conservative coalition that Ronald Reagan built. Conservatives can no longer afford to stand on the sidelines in this election, and Governor Romney is the candidate who will stand up for the conservative principles that we hold dear,” said Senator Santorum. “Governor Romney has a deep understanding of the important issues confronting our country today, and he is the clear conservative candidate that can go into the general election with a united Republican party.”

Get your daily dose of Chris Christie below the fold: It does the body good. Read more…

This guest post was cross-posted from the We Believe in America blog.

You’ve heard the narrative. It goes something like this: “Why should I vote for Mitt Romney? Why would ANY Tea Party-loving Conservative Republican ever vote for Mitt Romney? Haven’t you heard?

Mitt Romney isn’t a Conservative. Mitt Romney is a flip-flopper. Mitt Romney isn’t genuine. Mitt Romney is an elitist who doesn’t understand the challenges of the average American. Mitt Romney isn’t ‘one of us.’ He’s a RINO. Mitt Romney is ‘the establishment’ candidate. Mitt Romney is ‘Obama-lite.’ Romneycare=Obamacare. Mitt Romney used to be pro-choice. Mitt Romney doesn’t connect to the voters. Mitt Romney is robotic. Mitt Romney just seems ‘too polished.’ Mitt Romney is a Mormon, and ‘Mormonism is a cult.’ Mitt Romney will say anything to get elected and I don’t trust him.”

I’m reminded of a quote I read some years ago from Wendell Berry’s essay entitled “In Defense of Literacy.” May I use it for my purposes: “It may seem absurd to offer a defense of [Mitt Romney], and yet I believe that such a defense is in order, and that the absurdity lies not in the defense, but in the necessity for it” (emphasis added).

I’ll dispense with policy wonkish discussions, and dismiss hashed out, re-hashed out, and—frankly—tired, though regularly regurgitated media narratives designed to create a campaign horse race so as to therefore have something to report on.

Here’s why you should vote for Mitt Romney: because he will make an exceptional President of the United States. It’s that simple. He’s Presidential. Not in appearance only (which, by the way, I can’t ever get anybody to define what “Presidential” looks like), but in substance, and character, and competence. He is a living, breathing example of American exceptionalism. And not least because, in the words of Governor Chris Christie, “He’s gonna win!” He will—pardon the reference—be America’s Gold Medal.

So, let’s run down the list: Read more…