In the two videos below, Gov. Mitt Romney is grilled like I can’t recall him being grilled before on national television. In what could’ve been a disastrous moment that hurt Mitt’s chances to Bring America Back in 2012, Mitt actually comes out looking stronger and more equipped to take on the challenges our country faces. Chris Wallace brings up many of the studies and talking points used by the right and the left to attack what Mitt did as governor of Massachusetts to reform health care. Without skipping a beat, Mitt calmly and successfully explains point by point why his plan is different from Obamacare and why health care in Massachusetts still has a ways to go in regards to health care.
This interview may very well be the interview that we can direct people to for years to come whenever the question is raised about health care in Massachusetts. With this interview and Mitt’s recent interview with NPR I love the way Mitt is confronting his detractors head on and isn’t afraid to engage people on liberal leaning news organizations like NPR and MSNBC.
UPDATE: I very much enjoy the analysis at RightOSphere entitled: Hard Questions (You may need to register for the site *FREE* in order to read the article.)
While Mitt Romney continues to impress Americans during the first week of his whirlwind book signing tour for No Apology: The Case for American Greatness, a date in April is worth noting. On April 9, 2010, Romney will address the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota and sign copies of his new book. Present on the same stage will be a Republican notable who some say could be a potential 2012 presidential rival and who has recently been critical of Romney’s Massachusetts health care plan. Neither men have declared intentions to run for the highest office in the land, but both are giving indications of that possibility. Will Gov Tim Pawlenty have a copy of Romney’s new book tucked under his arm? If so, I’m sure Gov Romney will be happy to cordially sign it for him.
Former Massachusetts Governor and 2008 presidential candidate Mitt Romney will visit the Twin Cities on April 9, 2010 to speak at a dinner sponsored by the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota (FFM) and sign copies of his newly released book. Joining Governor Romney for the event will be Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. The title of Governor Romney’s book is also the topic of his remarks: No Apology: The Case for American Greatness.
“The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota is both honored and excited to host two of our country’s most influential and important conservative leaders,” said Annette Meeks, CEO of the Freedom Foundation. “Governor Romney has been and continues to be one of the most powerful voices advancing free market policy alternatives. We’re planning an exciting evening where Minnesotans will hear Romney’s public policy ideas first hand.
“We are equally excited that Governor Tim Pawlenty will be joining us on April 9th. While Pawlenty’s public policy leadership is no secret to Minnesota conservatives, this will be the first major event where these two American leaders will appear on the same stage – a spectacular opportunity for the Freedom Foundation to highlight two dynamic American leaders.”
The event will be held at the Hotel Sofitel in Bloomington, beginning with a private reception and dinner. A dessert reception will precede remarks by the two governors with a book signing by Governor Romney to occur at the end of the evening. Registration details can be found at www.freedomfoundationofminnesota.com and tickets must be purchased in advance for all events.
Governor Romney is at the top of his game in this interview that is well worth the time to listen. Romney interviews with the hosts of the show and takes several questions from callers. The interview is part of his No Apology Tour, more info at NoApology.com, and http://bit.ly/RomneyBook. A full transcript of his portion of the interview is available below the fold.
Want to read one of the first reviews offered on Mitt Romney’s highly anticipated new political book? James R. Holland handily summarizes Romney’s instructive, solution-based reader: No Apology: The Case for American Greatness. Holland reveals that Romney offers ‘pretty decent’ solutions to today’s problems and is surprised by personal stories that evoked a few tears. Romney will be making the rounds on NBC’s “Today” show, ABC’s “The View”, Fox News Channel’s “Hannity” program, and CBS’s “Late Show with David Letterman” on March 2nd, the day of No Apology’s debut. If you haven’t pre-ordered your book, better hurry!
Can Mitt Romney Save America?
The answer to that question is why most readers will bother buying, borrowing or reading this book by the former Massachusetts Governor and 2008 Presidential primary candidate. In this time of national and international recession, the voters and affected non-voters around the world are looking for a leader who can actually solve the major emergencies facing America, freedom and capitalism itself.
As the son of a third generation American Immigrant whose family was run out of Mexico by Mexican revolutionaries angry with American expatriates, Mitt grew up as part of a family that worked themselves up from desperate poverty to live the American Dream. His father worked as a wall plasterer while he supported his family and worked his way through college. He eventually earned his way into the presidency of American Motor Corporation (AMC) and bet his house (or at least the money he’d made from selling his home) on the successful development of the Rambler compact car. He later became three-time governor of Michigan.
Mitt grew up in a family that had strong core values and he discusses those core values throughout this book. This reviewer actually met most of Mitt’s family including Gov. George Romney when Mitt ran an unsuccessful campaign for Senate in Massachusetts. The whole family was part of that campaign and the lessons they learned with that loss served Mitt well a few years later when he successfully won election for the Governorship of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Romney managed to do a good job managing that state even though he didn’t have enough Republican legislative votes to uphold a veto and therefore had to reach across the aisle to the Democrats controlling the State House in order to accomplish his agenda.
Romney believes that if America becomes a victim of socialism that freedom throughout the world will be lost. If the nation is not careful, it will become a second rate world country--still strong enough to survive, but not strong enough to defend freedom anywhere else in the world.
“There are three pillars that sustain a free and strong America:
l. A Strong Economy
2. A Strong Military
3. A free and Strong People.”
Romney then provides an agenda for a free and strong America. His list of goals includes 64 separate items and even Romney admits that his is not a complete list of changes needed. Studying that agenda will provide the reader with a decent idea of how Romney would tackle the nation’s problems.
The book’s second chapter “Why Nations Decline” is also instructive. Mitt briefly examines the reasons the Ottomans, the Spanish, the Portuguese, the Chinese, the British, the Soviets—these were all super-powers of their respective eras “and they were all surpassed.” The reasons for these nation’s failures were eerily similar to much of what is occurring in the USA and Western Europe.
The book examines many of the reasons for today’s problems and provides some pretty decent ideas about how to solve them. Romney also describes why many people prefer to live in denial of the facts and why in past civilizations that failure to face undeniable facts led to the destruction of those great civilizations.
In the book’s eleventh and last chapter this reader was surprised by some personal stories that brought tears to my eyes. Since I was reading while seated at the Prudential Center Food Court Terrace, it was a little embarrassing to suddenly find my eyes tearing up and salty streams trickling down my cheeks. That anything in this volume might require having tissues available was a total shock. Surprise, surprise, because the previous 99% of the book had been straight-forward logic and business-like explanations of Romney’s beliefs and ideas on how to solve the nation’s rapidly expanding and very dangerous problems, this ability to bring forth tears in an audience was enlightening.
The text was not boring and there was a little humor such as Mitt’s description of the fall his wife Ann experienced when the stage they were speaking from in Dubuque, Iowa, collapsed. When she got up, “dusted herself off, and later ad-libbed, ‘Well, I fell on de butt in Dubuque.’” The man obvious isn’t just a cool-headed, unflappable, maybe sometimes seemingly unfeeling man; he is an experienced leader and is well schooled in the workings of Capitalism, industrial production and job producing economics. He is also amazingly well spoken and as Bostonians know, he used to sometimes substitute as a host on a popular conservative talk show in order to keep in touch with the Massachusetts public. He wasn’t afraid to talk to the general public, but he relished the opportunity that only talk radio provides for contact with typical voters. He loved that form of give and take communication.
This is a good read for this political genre. It will provide the information that many people will need to decide if years of leadership experience should triumph over hope.
Romney reads from No Apology: The Case for American Greatness
Described as ‘Mardi Gras for the Right’, CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) opened this morning at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington D.C. Excited GOP power players, power player makers, and everyday citizens concerned about the abuse of political power are streaming through the doors. The three-day conference will be filled with speeches, exhibits, forums, panel discussions, book signings, networking, hospitality suites, banquets, and entertainment.
Among official bloggers attending is our own Nate Gunderson. He will be posting blog updates and sending live tweets. We’ve already received several tweets today from Nate, including one received this morning: “Governor Romney just dropped by to tell some jokes.” Tonight, Nate will be tying on his bowling shoes as he joins Romney’s ‘bowling for bucks’ to support Romney’s PAC. We eagerly anticipate more of Nate’s coverage of CPAC goings-on and especially, Mitt Romney!
As CPAC director, De Pasquale spends all year planning and organizing the annual three-day conference that is the largest gathering of its kind in the country. The event has become so huge that it was moved this year from its longtime home at the Omni Shoreham Hotel to the larger Marriott Wardman Park, just off Connecticut Avenue near the Woodley Park Metro station.
“We’re at a larger facility this year, but it looks like we’re already going to be bursting at the seams,” said De Pasquale. “Right now, we’re about 20 percent above pre-registration for last year. So we’re expecting between 9,000 and 10,000, if on-site registration is on pace with last year.”
Not only will this be the biggest CPAC ever, but it is likely to be the most energized conference in several years. This year’s conference will bring the added enthusiasm of hundreds of new attendees who have been active in the Tea Party movement. In fact, one of the movement’s first events took place during last year’s conference, when about 200 CPAC attendees gathered for a rally in front of the White House that featured Michelle Malkin.
That February 2009 LaFayette Park rally was mocked by liberal bloggers — “puny,” sniffed the Village Voice — but the grassroots movement swelled into a force that made a real political impact. Tea Party activism helped conservatives score big wins in last fall’s Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial elections, as well as Republican Scott Brown’s stunning victory in Massachusetts, capturing the Senate seat held for nearly four decades by Ted Kennedy.
The Tea Party movement will be represented by speakers and panelists on this year’s CPAC agenda, including Jenny Beth Martin of the Tea Party Patriots and Dana Loesch of the St. Louis Tea Party. And the final keynote speech on Saturday will be given by Glenn Beck, who helped spur on the movement with his 9-12 Project.
“I think he’s someone who’s going to energize the conference,” De Pasquale said of Beck. “I expect him to give a call to action that will help our attendees take the energy from CPAC into the 2010 mid-term election.”
This will be the first-ever CPAC appearance for Beck. Also making their CPAC speaking debuts at this year’s event will be Allen West, an Iraq war hero and congressional candidate, and Marco Rubio, whose Florida Senate campaign has ignited a grassroots uprising against the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which backed Gov. Charlie Crist in the GOP primary.
Liz Cheney and Michigan Rep. Thaddeus McCotter will make their first CPAC speaking appearances this year, said De Pasquale, while Internet news entrepreneur Andrew Breitbart (who has previously participated in panel discusses at the conference) will give a main-stage speech Saturday. Breitbart will be introduced by Hannah Giles, who became famous in a series of videos exposing the community organizing group ACORN. Giles will also be a participant in XPAC, a series of events for younger conference attendees — and there will be lots of them.
“As in years past, we’re expecting that more than 50 percent of our attendance will be college students,” De Pasquale said. “It bodes well for the movement that there are so many young people who are energized about attending CPAC.”
Attendees young and old will hear from a stellar list of conservative speakers, including South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, House members Steve King, Mike Pence, Jason Chaffetz, Darrell Issa, Scott Garrett, Eric Cantor, Dan Lungren and Ron Paul, and numerous commentators including Andrew Napolitano, John Fund, George F. Will and Ann Coulter.
Beyond the speeches and panel discussions, the conference features numerous book signings, receptions and an enormous exhibition hall.
“The official schedule is just one part of the CPAC experience,” De Pasquale said, adding that the chance to meet with fellow conservatives is a major attraction of the annual conference.
Governor Romney will fire up the crowd tomorrow (2/18/10) when he speaks at 1:30 PM Eastern Standard Time in the Marriott Ballroom. Dr. Jay Sekulow, (American Center for Law and Justice) will introduce him.
Romney, who has won the last 3 CPAC straw polls, has a crucial leg up on other contenders, according to many who think he will win a fourth. His team’s ability to organize around the event in previous years is likely to give him some residual good will among attendees.
“Everyone knows how good his organization was in the lead-up to the 08 primaries, but not everyone realizes how sneaky-good that organization remains,” said one respondent. Added another: “Mitt bears the high expectations of having won CPAC three years in a row. While this establishes him as the clear favorite of mainstream conservatives, it also keeps the pressure on for him to win every time he shows up.”
I have a hunch this new ad from Senate Republicans will be shown at CPAC:
CPAC runs today through Saturday when it will adjourn at 6:45 PM EST. We’ll keep you informed on the latest from CPAC and news from Nate Gunderson.
Update: CPAC coverage for 2/18/10:
Townhall.com -- UStream live stream click here.
C-Span online stream click here.
C-Span network TV coverage of CPAC begins at 9:45 – 4:30 PM EST. TV schedule here.
“If the Senator-elect will now present himself to the desk, the chair will administer the oath of office,” intoned Vice President Joe Biden yesterday (2/4/10) at Scott Brown’s swearing-in ceremony. Brown, accompanied by Senator John Kerry (D-MA) and Senator Paul Kirk (D-MA), strode across the senate floor where Biden was waiting to administer the constitutionally required oath of office:
I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.
Within moments, the Senator-elect became United States Senator Scott Brown.
Senate Chamber swearing-in ceremony. (Biden begins at 3:45):
A private swearing-in ceremony which included the 41st Senator’s wife, reporter Gail Huff, was later conducted in the Old Senate Chamber where press photos are allowed. Although the Brown daughters were unable to attend, Senator Brown carried his daughters’ bibles at both ceremonies. Daughter Ayla was committed to play a basketball game with Duke that evening and youngest daughter, pre-med student Arianna, was taking tests at Syracuse University:
After being sworn in, Senator Brown immediately held a press conference where he endorsed across-the-board JFK-style tax cuts and mentioned job creation and terrorism among his top priorities. He also deftly handled ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ queries by stating his desire to talk to generals in the field before forming an opinion on the polemic issue:
Washington D.C. is expecting a ‘snowmageddon’ snow storm this weekend. Depending on Mother Nature’s proclivities, Brown’s first vote may come as early as Tuesday of next week. Obama’s controversial choice of SEIU union attorney, Craig Becker, to be seated on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) will be first on the senate agenda to vote on next week. Fearing that Becker will use his post to create more union-friendly labor laws sans congressional approval, Republicans have stalled Becker’s confirmation for months.
Even if D.C. is up to the Capitol Dome in snow next Tuesday, I have no doubt Senator Brown’s trusty truck will get him were he needs to be to cast his first vote.
For the first time in decades, a Republican has been elected to a Senate seat in Massachusetts. Senator Scott Brown ran a grassroots campaign based on cutting wasteful spending, lowering taxes and getting tough on terrorists. The election sent shockwaves around the political world.
As supporters of the PAC, you deserve a thank you. Your support made it possible for Governor Romney to get behind Senator Brown from the very beginning, when polls showed him a 30-point underdog and everyone assumed the outcome was pre-ordained in favor of the Democrats.
Governor Romney asked his entire political team to help the then-unknown Brown, and he raised early money for him at a time when very few people would give him a second look.
At his January 19 victory speech at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel, Senator Brown told the entire country: “I’m grateful to all those from across Massachusetts who came through for me even when I was a long shot. I especially thank a friend who was there with encouragement from the very beginning, and helped show us the way to victory — former Governor Mitt Romney.”
Exclusive Audio: Governor Romney Reads from “No Apology”
We wanted you to be the first to hear this clip of Governor Romney reading a selection from his new book “No Apology: The Case for American Greatness” courtesy of the book’s publisher, St. Martin’s Press.
The paper version of the book hits shelves on March 2nd, but you can pre-order a copy today. In the book, Governor Romney outlines his views on how to create a stronger economy, military, and families, and his vision on jobs, education, health care, energy, and citizenship.
Free and Strong America PAC Raises Nearly $3 million in 2009
The PAC’s contributions included $9,000 in early “seed money” to U.S. Senator-Elect Scott Brown, who went on to win a special election in Massachusetts to become the state’s first Republican Senator in decades. The PAC also gave $5,000 each to Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina, Republican Whip Eric Cantor (VA-07), Missouri Representative Roy Blunt who is running for U.S. Senate, Jim Tedisco who ran in a special election in New York’s 20th congressional district, and David Harmer who ran in a special election to represent California’s 10th congressional district.
While Nancy Pelosi tests the ‘spring’ in her pole vaulting apparatus and packs her parachute, House Republicans converged yesterday evening (Jan 28, 2010) for a three-day strategy session at the Inner Harbor hotel in Baltimore, Maryland. President Obama will join them today to speak and participate in a question-and-answer session. No doubt, health care will be a priority topic.
FOX News anchor Patti Ann Brown talks with reporter Carl Cameron, Jan 28, 2010:
Pelosi Pole Vault
Pelosi on Obamacare:
“You go through the gate. If the gate’s closed, you go over the fence. If the fence is too high, we’ll pole vault in. If that doesn’t work, we’ll parachute in. But we’re going to get health care reform passed for the American people.”
Responding to Obama’s State of the Union speech and the President’s invitation that if anyone from either party has a better aproach to bring down health care premiums, House Republican Leader John Boehner revealed to reporters yesterday that he hasn’t been contacted by White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel or any one on the President’s team in over a year:
John Boehner responds to Obama (Jan 28, 2010)
Boehner:
“And so, we’re eager for the President to come to our retreat tomorrow. We’re going to have an honest conversation about America’s priorities and trying to find ways to find some common ground.”
NOTE: The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) confirms that the House Republican health care plan will lower health care premiums by up to 10 percent and reduce the deficit by $68 billion over 10 years without imposing tax increases on small businesses and families. For more information on the GOP plan, go here.
“Republicans are emboldened. They think Obama has overshot the runway, and they’re going to stick with their strategy,” said Scott Reed, a Republican consultant.
As they left Washington for the three-day strategy session, Republican leaders did not seem to be in a frame of mind for compromising.
Minority Leader John A. Boehner of Ohio said that Obama had “decided to just double-down on his job-killing agenda,” while ignoring the angry voter message behind recent Republican victories in New Jersey, Virginia and Massachusetts.
“There was nothing last night in the president’s speech to indicate that there was any willingness to sit down and work together,” he said of Obama’s State of the Union address Wednesday. Boehner added that Republicans would try to find common ground with Obama, “but we’re not going to roll over on our principles.”
Heading into this year’s congressional campaigns, Republican fundraising and recruitment have picked up. National opinion surveys show steady improvement in the party’s prospects. And independent analysts predict that Democrats could lose dozens of House seats and, possibly, majority control of the chamber in the first midterm election of Obama’s presidency.
Obama acknowledged the effectiveness of the opposition’s strategy, even as he took a swipe at Republican obstructionism.
For now, at least, Republicans have little incentive to cooperate. Only three of the 37 most competitive House races this year feature a Democratic challenge to a Republican incumbent, according to the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report.
And Obama’s attempts to woo Republicans could be constrained by growing restiveness within the president’s own party. His pitch, during the State of the Union address, for building a new generation of nuclear power plants and possibly expanding offshore oil and gas drilling won immediate Republican approval but fell flat with Democratic liberals.
“It is in the president’s interests, politically and probably governmentally, to try to get some Republican cooperation and some Republican buy-in,” said former Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.).
Obama passed up opportunities during his first year that might have made it more costly for Republicans to oppose him.
For example, the administration bowed to a powerful Democratic special interest, the trial-lawyer lobby, and refused to make significant changes in medical liability as part of healthcare legislation. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that a Republican proposal to limit medical malpractice costs would save taxpayers $54 billion over 10 years.
With elections ahead, a weakened Obama may find it more difficult to win Republican support for his agenda. But simply making a sustained attempt at bipartisan outreach could help put Democrats in a better position to attract swing votes this fall.
The Republican retreat, which runs through Saturday, is designed to help develop the party’s strategic plan for the midterm elections. Independent campaign analysts are forecasting significant Republican gains this November, with some predicting at least an outside chance for Republicans to knock Democrats from the majority.
Republicans “look forward to sharing with the president our better solutions for getting this economy moving again [and] putting our fiscal house in order. Our proposals for health care reform [and] energy will all be part of what we are describing as a conversation between the president and House Republicans,” Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana, chairman of the House Republican conference, said Wednesday.
Besides Obama, scheduled speakers at the Baltimore retreat include former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich, newly elected Republican Gov. Robert McDonnell of Virginia and former House Republican Leader Dick Army, who chairs a conservative group that has aggressively opposed Obama’s agenda. Retired football coach Lou Holtz, a longtime Republican activist who gave a pep talk at the 2007 retreat on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, is the Friday night dinner speaker.
Gingrich, whose former aides are active in the Congressional Institute, also addressed last winter’s retreat, held at the Homestead in Hot Springs, Va. Other speakers there included 2012 Republican presidential possibilities Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty newly elected Republican National Chairman Michael S. Steele
Keep an eye out for a party-crashing parachuting Pelosi.
After the knock-out senatorial election of Scott Brown (R-MA), President Obama blatantly declared, “The same thing that swept Scott Brown into office swept me into office.” Obama’s 71-minute State of the Union speech to the nation last night signaled he’s ignoring Massachusetts’ cold-water-in-the-face message. He’s quickly toweled off and plans to keep slugging. With an overall combative tone, peppered with patronization and huge doses of hypocrisy, here are just a few jabs from last night’s speech:
“We have the largest majority in decades and people expect us to solve problems, not run for the hills.” (Obama warns Democrats to stay in the ring with him. 78% of Americans believe the Democrat super-majority loss is a positive for America. 22% feel it is a negative for America.)
“Let’s try common sense. Let’s invest in our people without leaving them a mountain of debt. Let’s meet our responsibility to the people who sent us here.” (Obama’s policies have put us on a road that will triple our national debt to $22 trillion over the next ten years. The fiscal policies of the United States are unsustainable.)
“And what the American people hope — what they deserve — is for all of us, Democrats and Republicans, to work through our differences, to overcome the numbing weight of our politics… Just saying ‘no’ to everything may be good short term politics but it’s not leadership.” (Capitol Hill doors have been locked – figuratively and in actuality - to prevent policy negotiations with Republicans. Update: House Republican Leader John Boehner (OH-8) said today that it had been over a year since he has been contacted by White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel or anyone in the Obama administration.)
“One year ago, I took office amid two wars, an economy rocked by a severe recession, financial system on the verge of collapse and a government deeply in debt. Experts from across the political spectrum warned that if we did not act, we might face a second depression. So we acted — immediately and aggressively. And one year later, the worst of the storm has passed.” (Of Obama’s controversial $787 billion Stimulus Bill, only $264 billion has been spent. That leaves $523 billion more for Obama’s pay-backs and pet projects. He promised us that passing the Stimulus Bill would hold unemployment at 8%. It’s now over 10%. The Labor Dept reports today that for the week ending Jan. 23, another 470,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits. UPDATE: Dr. Frank Luntz conducted a poll today among an equal number of Republicans and Democrats in Philadelphia, PA. This statement polled as the WORST MOMENT in Obama’s speech.)
“…I’ve proposed a fee on the biggest banks. Now, I know Wall Street isn’t keen on this idea. But if these firms can afford to hand out big bonuses again, they can afford a modest fee to pay back the taxpayers who rescued them in their time of need.” (TARP funds prevented our entire financial system from collapsing. Obama wants banks who have paid back TARP money -- with interest -- to now pay a fee. Obama ignores the federal government’s part in contributing to our economic crisis and is deflecting from the bonuses his own administration allowed.)
“You see, Washington has been telling us to wait for decades, even as the problems have grown worse. Meanwhile, China is not waiting to revamp its economy.” (Of course China isn’t waiting. They own us! Just a couple of months into Obama’s presidency, the Chinese were expressing concerns over his penchant for trillion dollar borrowing from them. U.S. taxpayers pay the Chinese government $50 billion per year on interest – alone.)
“Still, this is a complex issue [health care], and the longer it was debated, the more skeptical people became. I take my share of the blame for not explaining it more clearly to the American people.” (Does Obama really believe 61% of Americans want him to move off the health care issue and focus on job creation because he didn’t explain it well enough? 81% of Americans believe Obamacare will raise taxes.)
“Let’s put aside the schoolyard taunts about who is tough. Let’s reject the false choice between protecting our people and upholding our values.” (Obama foreign policy gobbledy gook. The Commander-in-Chief conveniently forgot to mention his policy of giving U.S. constitutional rights to terrorists and trials in U.S. courts.)
“And, yes, it [clean energy] means passing a comprehensive energy and climate bill with incentives that will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy in America. I know there have been questions about whether we can afford such changes in a tough economy. I know that there are those who disagree with the overwhelming scientific evidence on climate change.” (Obama is willing to cripple our economy further by refusing to even consider real science and the scandalous suppressing of evidence regarding climate change. Cap-and-Trade legislation isn’t global warming/climate change. It’s about creating profit -- money out of thin air.)
A jaw-dropping breach of decorum occurred last night when Obama scolded the Supreme Court regarding the reversal of the McCain-Feingold bill. Watch Justice Alito mouth “that’s not true”:
Like us, Harry Reid has heard it all before:
Governor Bob McDonnell’s (R-VA) response to Obama’s State of the Union Speech:
Obama’s condescension and arrogance doesn’t bode well for 2010. The President’s hoped-for left hook last night may cost him seats in the mid-term elections. Will Blue Dog Democrats go to the ropes for him? We’ll see.
Obama may have bloodied our noses this past year, but I feel a whopping right-hook coming on. The American people refuse to be his punching bag any longer.
Read full text of Governor Bob McDonnell’s (R-WA) rebuttal speech here.
Read full text of President Obama’s State of the Union Speech here.
Before Obama turns on the teleprompters and clears his throat to speak before a State-of-the-Union joint session of Congress tomorrow evening, it’s worth highlighting the ONE campaign promise he DID keep this past year.
Peppered throughout his presidential campaign were pronouncements that he, the community organizer, would meet with tyrannical leaders of nations that are antagonistic toward the United States. As a new president, he would proudly go eye-ball to eye-ball with them -- without pre-conditions.
April 17, 2009: At the ‘Summit of the Americas’ on twin-island nation Trinidad and Tobago, an eager-as-a-puppy Obama met, chatted, and back-slapped Marxist Hugo Chavez. Chavez sweetened the meeting by gifting Obama with a copy of The Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent. Written by Eduardo Galeano, the book portrays U.S. and European economic and political interference in the region.
A promise fulfilled.
Let’s examine dates of note that have taken place since President Obama’s meeting with Chavez.
April 19, 2009: Obama referenced the Chavez meeting:
The whole notion was that if we showed courtesy or opened up dialogue with governments that had previously been hostile to us, that that somehow would be a sign of weakness,” Obama said, recalling his race for the White House and challenging his critics today. “The American people didn’t buy it,” Obama said. “And there’s a good reason the American people didn’t buy it — because it doesn’t make sense.”
May 7, 2009: News broke that well-known Venezuelan nongovernmental organizations were warned that a bill was being drafted by loyal Chavez lawmakers that would be used to financially cripple entities that criticized Chavez.
May 8, 2009: The next day, Chavez seized the assets of foreign and domestic oil contractors in his country to control more of Venezuela’s oil industry:
“They come with their soldiers from the National Guard, and they take what they want,” he [oil industry official] said, “and you, as the owner of your company, can do absolutely nothing.”
June 3, 2009: Referencing the U.S. government’s taking 60% ownership in a once-powerful symbol of American ingenuity -- General Motors, Chavez was haranguing the ‘curse’ of capitalism and praising socialism. He joked on live television:
“Hey, Obama has just nationalized nothing more and nothing less than General Motors. Comrade Obama! Fidel [Castro], careful or we are going to end up to his right!”
July 10, 2009: The Irish Examiner reported: President Hugo Chavez’s government was imposing tough new regulations on Venezuela’s cable television while revoking the licenses of more than 200 radio stations.
July 29, 2009: Obama appointed Chavez-admirer Mark Lloyd ‘Chief Diversity Officer’ at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to a position specially formed for him. Back in 2006, Lloyd authored Prologue to a Farce: Communication and Democracy in America – a book outlining how leftist activists can oust commercial broadcasters (conservative talk radio) off the airwaves and replace them with public broadcasters.
The National Conference for Media Reform (NCMR) unearthed a 2006 a tape of Mark Lloyd praising Chavez:
“In Venezuela, with Chavez, is really an incredible revolution -- a democratic revolution. To begin to put in place things that are going to have an impact on the people of Venezuela.
“The property owners and the folks who then controlled the media in Venezuela rebelled -- worked, frankly, with folks here in the U.S. government -- worked to oust him. But he came back with another revolution, and then Chavez began to take very seriously the media in his country.”
August 4, 2009: The White House issued a call for informants to report on Americans who publicly opposed the President’s health care plan ASAP – even those speaking against it in casual conversation. (What a coincidence this happened six days AFTER Mark Lloyd was appointed FCC Commissioner!)
There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.
August 14, 2009: The Miami Herald revealed that an unclassified report listed examples of Venezuelan government efforts to crack down on or seize control of media outlets to stifle criticism.
November 25, 2009: Reuters news agency reported the arrival of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Caracas as part of a South America tour. Ahmadinejad hailed Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez as a fellow anti-US ‘brother’:
Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez used a visit by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday to brand Israel as a murderous agent of Washington. Chavez and Ahmadinejad, on the last leg of a tour of three left-leaning South American nations, hugged, held hands, and praised each other as fellow revolutionaries.
The Venezuelan singled out a comment by Israeli President Shimon Peres, during a visit this month to South America, that his and Ahmadinejad’s days in power may be numbered.
“We know what the state of Israel stands for — a murderous arm of the Yankee empire,” Chavez told joint news conference. “What the president of Israel said, we take as a threat.”
Chavez broke relations with Israel this year. He won praise in the Muslim world after branding an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip as genocide.
December 18, 2009:
Obama met with world leaders, including Chavez, and addressed the Global Warming Summit in Copenhagen (in the middle of a blizzard). After our president spoke, Chavez stepped to the podium. Referring to the ‘sulfur’ stench at the pulpit, Chavez mockingly referred to Obama as “Obama Nobel War Prize” and chastened him for his lack of commitment to climate change and lack of transparency.
Chavez: “If Obama, Nobel War Prize, said here -by the way, it smells of sulfur here. It smells of sulfur. It keeps smelling of sulfur in this world.”
January 20, 2010: American-hating Chavez declared that the United States Navy, incognito and in the dark of night, launched a weapon of such colossal capacity that it triggered the massive, deadly earthquake in Haiti. Chavez also warned the world that it was only a drill for the United States THIS time, but the final target is destroying and taking over…Iran:
January 25, 2010: Six TV stations forced off air in Venezuela.
An opposition TV station in Venezuela along with five others were taken off the air early Sunday for violating rules issued by President Hugo Chavez’s government, a station spokeswoman said.
The new rules require stations to air Chavez’s speeches, among other mandates. Chavez critics view many of those speeches, which can last for hours, as government propaganda
We’re going to hear powerful language from the President tomorrow night. Populist language - language meant to disguise philosophies and failings. Language to deflect and delude. Language punctuated with big smiles, broad gestures, stern gazes, varying volumes, clipped sentences, and a jutting jaw.
In spite of the political theater on display, let’s never forget the many reasons Obama won’t mention the one promise he kept.
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While Mitt Romney continues to impress Americans during the first week of his whirlwind book signing tour for 
Described as ‘Mardi Gras for the Right’, 
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