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.)
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.
Romney continues the rounds with a number of media appearances today to promote his new book. Stops will include the Laura Ingraham radio show, Morning Joe on MSNBC, The Joe Scarborough Radio Show, and Your World with Neil Cavuto on FOX News. I was not aware of any of these yesterday so there may be more. If you know of any please let us know and we’ll post what we can.
Later today Governor Romney is doing a speech and book signing in Huntington, NY. Information here. Full schedule listed here.
Below is video from the segment on Morning Joe. (H/T Jacob at NYforMitt)
IN CASE you missed it: yesterday’s post has YouTube videos of Romney’s appearances at The Today Show, The View, Hannity, and the Late Show with David Letterman. Watch them all by clicking here.
~Nate Gunderson
Addendum: K-Lo of NRO’s The Corner opines on Romney, his book, and his appearance on Letterman:
If you had any doubts about who he is, you’re seeing the real thing now. Watching Mitt Romney on the No Apology tour thus far, he’s talking about what he wants to talk about, what moves him: being a Mr. Fix-It businessman — on the economy, on diplomacy, on health care. He wants to do this because he believes America is great and should and can continue to be. He appreciates — in a firsthand and in a practical, sociological way — that families are the building block of a great country, and he sees how good policies help them. And that’s what he wants to talk about.
…
And so, on Letterman last night, you didn’t see pizazz or stand-up. You heard dorky jokes — the rapper on the plane broke my hair — and a serious guy. That’s who he is. His CPAC speech this year and his book reflect that. He’s uncomfortable changing his emphases to fit Iowa or anywhere else, and he doesn’t pull it off convincingly when he tries it. If he runs again, don’t expect him to.
That, I believe, is the No Apology big picture: This is Mitt Romney.
Chat has been moved back to the side bar, or the full which can be found in the chat room.
Update 14: Video of Mitt Romney on David Letterman
Update 13: NO APOLOGY makes it to the #1 Political book on Amazon.com today(11:00 PM) According to Mitt Romney’s official Facebook account.
Update 12: Romney’s Appearance on FOX News with Hannity (10:20 PM): HT to Kris Lorelli at RightOSphere.com for both of the these last two videos.
Update 11: Preview Video of Mitt on Letterman’s show (10:15 PM): SNIP: see the full video above
Update 10: Preview/overview of Mitt on Letterman’s show (8:00 PM): The show is recorded in late afternoon. CBS gives the spoilers here. Quick highlight quote: Romney warns Letterman that “Palin has a rifle, you know.”
Update 9: Video: The Today Show with Matt Lauer (6:30 PM)
Update 8: We’ve finally got video! The View (5:40 PM)
Update 7: Allahpundit weighs in (5:10 PM)HotAir.com’s summation: “This ain’t your daddy’s Mitt Romney. (Or, rather, your slightly older brother’s.) Still not convinced? Well, when he was asked today on “The View” who he thought might be a formidable candidate in 2012, he singled out Bob McDonnell, who won the governor’s seat in Virginia last year by running a sort of proto-Romney campaign — socially conservative, yes, but verrry quiet about it compared to his meat-and-potatoes rhetoric about jobs. That’ll be the upshot of Mitt ‘12 too, the “non-ideological conservative” versus whoever emerges as the ideological darling. It’s Palin’s slot if she wants it…” HotAir.com is a great site, but I somewhat tire of how the whole world revolves around Palin when what I mostly want is conservative news. Still I check it daily.
Update 6: More ‘No Apology’ news and reviews (2:50 PM)
NYforMitt: tracking ‘No Apology’s ranking on Amazon – looking better than I thought
Human Events: a thorough and thoughtful review of No Apology by Ms. Jedediah Bila – “Romney’s No Apology: The Case for American Greatness is a sound expression of his approach to some of our nation’s greatest present challenges.”
Hannity: promo for Romney’s appearance later today states “Romney will be in studio tonight to discuss his explosive new book ‘No Apology: The Case for American Greatness.’”
MSNBC: More Romney vs. Populism “The populism I’m referring to is, if you will, demonizing certain members of society: going after businesspeople, going after Wall Street, going after people who are highly educated, people who are CEOs. That kind of ‘All of our problems are due to that group’ is something that is unproductive.”
Update 4: Liberal Reaction to No Apology (11:44 AM) – Will be posting the video from the Today show soon. In the mean time check out the comments to see some of the liberal love from our mail bag. I clearly state on the contact page that this is not an official site and that emails are not forwarded to Romney, but some get through all the same.
Update 2: Mitt Romney on the Today Show (8:55 AM) – Stay tuned for videos of Mitt Romney’s video appearances. He has already done the Today show and the report is that he was excellent on the show. Here is a picture of Romney with the Partridge family after the doing the today show: http://twitpic.com/166zd1Click here for list of his media appearances today.
Update 1: Launch of No Apology (by Nate 8:40 AM) – New website launched: NOAPOLOGY.COM. Follow Mitt over the next few months as he progresses through his book tour. Watch videos, see photos, etc. Is this going to be the new Mitt Romney logo if he runs in 2012?
Tomorrow is the big day! The much awaited public release of Romney’s new book is here and Mitt will be in the Big Apple doing interviews and media appearances to promote his book. The one day media blitz will include appearances on ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX News. A 3-month book tour will initiate the following day. Check this list (click here) to see if he’s coming to a city near you.
SHOW TIMES:
The Today Show on NBC: Begins at 7AM ET and runs for 4 hours. I don’t what segment Romney is on. I’ll update this if anyone can verify what time his appearance is.
The Late Show with David Letterman on CBS: Typically at 11:35 PM in all time zones.
For a little added drama, Sarah Palin will be on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on the same evening. Ted Jones of Variety.com has some interesting remarks on the “matchup”.
Not reading too much into this, Palin probably wouldn’t be caught dead doing Letterman at this point, and Romney is embarking on a book tour, meaning he’d probably be just as happy doing Leno.
What’s gratifying is the extent to which late night is seeking out politicians not just as novel guests, but as actual draws. We’re long past the point of lamenting the fusion of politics and entertainment in the talk show arena to a recognition that these appearances, whether on Leno or Letterman or Colbert or Stewart, often make news, sometime even of substance. It sure beats another star tubthumping their latest project, even if these politicos have their own tomes and agendas to promote.
It’s probably just a matter of time and Romney will be on Leno’s show as well. I remember he was on Jay’s show right before a primary debate in 2008. Has he done it more recently than that?
Mitt Romney’s speech brought viewers to their feet many times this afternoon at CPAC. It was truly inspirational. Divided into four segments, the video footage of Mitt’s speech is posted below. Included is a short introduction by Senator Scott Brown (he had very kind words to say about Mitt).
Be sure you bookmark this, as it will be neat to come back often and refresh your memory of why this man needs to be the next President of the United States:
Scott Brown Introduces Mitt Romney at CPAC
Mitt Romney’s Speech at CPAC 2/18/2010 (PART 1)
Mitt Romney’s Speech at CPAC 2/18/2010 (PART 2)
Mitt Romney’s Speech at CPAC 2/18/2010 (PART 3)
Governor Romney’s Remarks to CPAC 2010
Feb 18, 2010
Thank you to Jay and to Scott for those generous introductions. Both these men have made real contributions to our nation. It’s good to be back at CPAC. I can’t think of an audience I’d rather be addressing today.
I spent the weekend in Vancouver. As always, the Olympic Games were inspiring. But in case you didn’t hear the late-breaking news, the gold medal in the downhill was taken away from American Lindsey Vonn. It was determined that President Obama is going downhill faster than she is.
I’m not telling you something you don’t know when I say that our conservative movement took a real hit in the 2008 elections. The victors were not exactly gracious in their big win: Media legs were tingling. Time Magazine’s cover pictured the Republican elephant and declared it an endangered species. The new president himself promised change of biblical proportion. And given his filibuster-proof Senate and lopsided House, he had everything he needed to deliver it.
They won, we lost. But you know, you learn a lot about people when you see how they react to losing. We didn’t serve up excuses or blame our fellow citizens. Instead, we listened to the American people, we sharpened our thinking and our arguments, we spoke with greater persuasiveness, we took our message to more journals and airwaves, and in the American tradition, some even brought attention to our cause with rallies and Tea parties.
I know that most of you have watched intently as the conservative comeback began in Virginia and exploded onto the scene in New Jersey. But as a Massachusetts man, who, like my fellow Bay-staters, has over the years, been understandably regarded somewhat suspiciously in gatherings like this, let me take just a moment to exalt in a Scott Brown victory!
For that victory that stopped Obama–care and turned back the Reid-Pelosi liberal tide, we have something to that you’d never think you’d hear at CPAC, “Thank you Massachusetts!”
2009 was the President’s turn to suffer losses, and not just at the ballot box, but also in bill after bill in Congress, and most importantly, in his failure to reignite the economy. In how he has responded to these defeats, too, we have learned a great about him and about his team.
He began by claiming that he had not failed at all. Remember the B+ grade he gave himself for his first year? Tell that to the 4 million Americans who lost their jobs last year, and to the millions more who stopped looking. Explain that to the world’s financial markets who gaped at trillion dollar deficits as far as the eye can see. Square that with the absence of any meaningful sanctions against Iran even as it funds terror and races to become a nuclear nation. President Obama’s self-proclaimed B+ will go down in history as the biggest exaggeration since Al Gore’s invention of the internet!
Unable to convince us that his failure was a success, he turned to the second dodge of losing teams: try to pin the blame on someone else. Did you see his State of the Union address? First, he took on the one group in the room that was restrained from responding—the Supreme Court. The President found it inexplicable that the first amendment right of free speech should be guaranteed not just to labor union corporations and media corporations, but equally to all corporations, big and small. When it was all over, I think most Americans felt as I did: his noisy critique and bombast did not register as clear and convincingly as Justice Alito’s silent lips forming these words: “Not true!”
Next he blamed the Republicans in the room, condescending to lecture them on the workings of the budget process, a process many of them had in fact mastered while he was still at Harvard Law School. He blamed Republicans for the gridlock that has blocked his favorite legislation; but he knows as well as we do that he did not need one single solitary Republican vote in either house to pass his legislation. It was Democrats who blocked him, Democrats who said “no” to his liberal agenda after they had been home to their districts and heard from the American people. As Everett Dirksen used to say, “When they felt the heat, they saw the light.” God bless every American who said no!
Of course, the President accuses us of being the party of “no.” It’s as if he thinks that saying “no” is by definition a bad thing. In fact, it is right and praiseworthy to say no to bad things. It is right to say no to cap and trade, no to card check, no to government healthcare, and no to higher taxes. My party should never be a rubber stamp for rubber check spending.
But before we move away from this “no” epithet the Democrats are fond of applying to us, let’s ask the Obama folks why they say “no” –no to a balanced budget, no to reforming entitlements, no to malpractice reform, no to missile defense In Eastern Europe, no to prosecuting Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in a military tribunal, and no to tax cuts that create new jobs. You see, we conservatives don’t have a corner on saying no; we’re just the ones who say it when that’s the right thing to do!
And that leads us to who he has most recently charged with culpability for his failures: the American people. It seems that we have failed to understand his wise plans for us. If he just slows down, he reasons, and makes a concerted effort to explain Obama-care in a way even we can understand, if we just listen better, then we will get it.
Actually, Americans have been listening quite attentively. And they have been watching. When he barred CSPAN from covering the healthcare deliberations, they saw President Obama break his promise of transparency. When the Democrat leadership was empowered to bribe Nebraska’s Senator Nelson, they saw President Obama break his promise of a new kind of politics in Washington. And when he cut a special and certainly unconstitutional healthcare deal with the unions, they saw him not just break his promise, they saw the most blatant and reprehensible manifestation of political payoff in modern memory. No, Mr. President, the American people didn’t hear and see too little, they saw too much!
Here again, with all due respect, President Obama fails to understand America. He said: “With all the lobbying and horse-trading, the process left most Americans wondering, ‘What’s in it for me?’” That’s not at all what they were asking. They were asking: “What’s in it for America?”
America will not endure government run healthcare, a new and expansive entitlement, an inexplicable and surely vanishing cut in Medicare and an even greater burden of taxes. Americans said no because Obama-care is bad care for America!
When it comes to shifting responsibility for failure, however, no one is a more frequent object of President Obama’s reproach than President Bush. It’s wearing so thin that even the late night shows make fun of it. I am convinced that history will judge President Bush far more kindly—he pulled us from a deepening recession following the attack of 9-11, he overcame teachers unions to test school children and evaluate schools, he took down the Taliban, waged a war against the jihadists and was not afraid to call it what it is—a war, and he kept us safe. I respect his silence even in the face of the assaults on his record that come from this administration. But at the same time, I also respect the loyalty and indefatigable defense of truth that comes from our “I don’t give a damn” Vice President Dick Cheney!
I’m afraid that after all the finger pointing is finished, it has become clear who is responsible for President Obama’s lost year, the 10% unemployment year—President Obama and his fellow Democrats. So when it comes to pinning blame, pin the tail on the donkeys.
There’s a good deal of conjecture about the cause of President Obama’s failures. As he frequently reminds us, he assumed the presidency at a difficult time. That’s the reason we argued during the campaign that these were not the times for on the job training. Had he or his advisors spent even a few years in the real economy, they would have learned that the number one cause of failure in the private sector is lack of focus, and that the first rule of turning around any troubled enterprise is focus, focus, focus. And so, when he assumed the presidency, his energy should have been focused on fixing the economy and creating jobs, and to succeeding in our fight against radical violent jihad in Iraq and Afghanistan. Instead, he applied his time and political capital to his ill-conceived healthcare takeover and to building his personal popularity in foreign countries. He failed to focus, and so he failed.
But there was an even bigger problem than lack of focus. Ronald Reagan used to say this about liberals: “It’s not that they’re ignorant, it’s that what they know is wrong.” Too often, when it came to what President Obama knew, he was wrong.
He correctly acknowledged that the government doesn’t create jobs, that only the private sector can do that. He said that the government can create the conditions, the environment, which leads the private sector to add employment. But consider not what he said, but what he did last year, and ask whether it helped or hurt the environment for investment, growth, and new jobs.
Announcing 2011 tax increases for individuals and businesses and for capital gains, hurt.
Passing cap and trade, hurt.
Giving trial lawyers a free pass, hurt.
Proposing card check to eliminate secret ballots in union elections, hurt.
Holding on to GM stock and insisting on calling the shots there, hurt.
Making a grab for healthcare, almost 1/5th of our economy, hurt.
Budgeting government deficits in the trillions, hurt.
And scapegoating and demonizing businesspeople, hurt.
President Obama instituted the most anti-growth, anti-investment, anti-jobs measures we’ve seen in our lifetimes. He called his agenda ambitious. I call it reckless. He scared employers, so jobs were scarce. His nearly trillion dollar stimulus created not one net new job in the private sector, but it saved and grew jobs in the government sector– the one place we should have shed jobs. And even today, because he has been unwilling or unable to define the road ahead, uncertainty and lack of predictability permeate the private economy, and prolongs its stall. America is not better off than it was 1.8 trillion dollars ago.
Will the economy and unemployment recover? Of course. Thanks to a vibrant and innovative citizenry, they always do. But this president will not deserve the credit he will undoubtedly claim. He has prolonged the recession, expanded the pain of unemployment, and added to the burden of debt we will leave future generations. President Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and their team have failed the American people, and that is why their majority will be out the door. Isn’t it fitting that so many of those who have contempt for the private sector will soon find themselves back in it?
The people of America are looking to conservatives for leadership, and we must not fail them.
Conservatism has had from its inception a vigorously positive, intellectually rigorous agenda. That agenda should have three pillars: strengthen the economy, strengthen our security, and strengthen our families.
We will strengthen the economy by simplifying and lowering taxes, by replacing outmoded regulation with modern, dynamic regulation, by opening markets to American goods, by strengthening our currency and our capital markets, and by investing in research and basic science. Instead of leading the world in how much we borrow, we will make sure that we lead the world in how much we build and create and invest.
We will strengthen our security by building missile defense, restoring our military might, and standing-by and strengthening our intelligence officers. And conservatives believe in providing constitutional rights to our citizens, not to enemy combatants like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed!
On our watch, the conversation with a would-be suicide bomber will not begin with the words, “You have the right to remain silent!”
Our conservative agenda strengthens our families in part by putting our schools on track to be the best in the world. Because great schools start with great teachers, we will insist on hiring teachers from the top third of college graduates, and we will give better teachers better pay. School accountability, school choice and cyber schools will be priorities. We will put parents and teachers back in charge of education, not the fat cat CEO’s of the teachers unions!
Strong families will have excellent healthcare. Getting healthcare coverage for the uninsured should be accomplished at the state level, not a one-size-fits all Pelosi plan. The right way to rein-in healthcare cost is not by making it more like the Post Office, it’s by making it more like a consumer-driven market. The answer for healthcare is market incentives not healthcare by a Godzilla-size government bureaucracy!
When it comes to our role in the world, our conservative agenda hews to the principles that have defined our nation’s foreign policy for over six decades: we will promote and defend the American ideals of political freedom, free enterprise, and human rights. We will stand with our allies, and confront those who threaten peace and destroy liberty.
There’s much more on our positive, intellectually rigorous conservative agenda. Not all of it is popular. But the American people have shown that they are ready for truth to trump hope. The truth is that government is not the solution to all our problems.
This year, I have taken the time to write a book that tells the truth about the challenges our nation faces, and about the conservative solutions needed to overcome them. I have titled it: No Apology: The Case for American Greatness. I’ve set up a booth outside so that you can buy a few hundred copies each. Well, maybe one or two.
Sometimes I wonder whether Washington’s liberal politicians understand the greatness of America. Let me explain why I say that.
At Christmas-time, I was in Wal-Mart to buy some toys for my grandkids. As I waited in the check-out line, I took a good look around the store. I thought to myself of the impact Sam Walton had on his company. Sam Walton was all about good value on everything the customer might want. And so is Wal-Mart: rock bottom prices and tens of thousands of items.
The impact that founders like Sam Walton have on their enterprises is actually quite remarkable. In many ways, Microsoft is a reflection of Bill Gates, just as Apple is of Steve Jobs. Disneyland is a permanent tribute to Walt Disney himself—imaginative and whimsical. Virgin Airlines is as irreverent and edgy as its founder. As you look around you, you see that people shape enterprises, sometimes for many years even after they are gone.
People shape businesses.
People shape countries.
America reflects the values of the people who first landed here, those who founded the nation, those who won our freedom, and those who made America the leader of the world.
America was discovered and settled by pioneers. Later, the founders launched an entirely new concept of nation, one where the people would be sovereign, not the king, not the state. And this would apply not just to government, but also to the American economy: the individual would pursue his or her happiness in freedom, independent from government dictate. Every American was free to be an inventor, an innovator, a founder. America became the land of opportunity and a nation of pioneers.
We attracted people of pioneering spirit from around the world. They came here for freedom and opportunity, knowing that the cost was incredibly high: leaving behind family and the familiar, learning a new language, often living at first in poverty, sometimes facing prejudice, working long and hard hours.
All of these pioneers built a nation of incomparable prosperity and unrivaled security.
After its founding, our national economy grew thanks to more pioneers—people like Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, William Procter and Robert Wood Johnson, Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard and Thomas Watson. These are names we know—but the less well known are just as vital American innovators, and they number in the millions.
That American pioneering spirit is what propelled us to master the industrial age just as today we marshal the information age.
This course for America, chosen by the founders, has been settled for over 200 years. Ours is the creed of the pioneers, the innovators, the strivers who expect no guarantee of success, but ask only to live and work in freedom. This creed is under assault in Washington today. Liberals are convinced that government knows better than the people how to run our businesses, how to choose winning technologies, how to manage healthcare, how to grow an economy, and how to order our very lives. They want to gain through government takeover what they could never achieve in the competitive economy—power and control over the people of America. If these liberal neo-monarchists succeed, they will kill the very spirit that has built the nation—the innovating, inventing, creating, independent current that runs from coast to coast.
This is the liberal agenda for government. It does not encourage pioneers, inventors and investors—it suffocates them.
In a world where others have lost their liberty by trading it away for the false promises of the state, we choose to hold to our founding principles. We will stop these power-seekers where they stand. We will keep America, America, by retaining its character as the land of opportunity. We welcome the entrepreneur, the inventor, the innovator. We will insist on greatness from every one of our citizens, and rather than apologizing for who we are or for what we have accomplished, we will celebrate our nation’s strength and goodness. American patriots have defeated tyrants, liberated the oppressed, and rescued the afflicted. America’s model of innovation, capitalism and free enterprise has lifted literally billons of the world’s people out of poverty. America has been a force for good like no other in this world, and for that we make no apology.
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.
Anticipation is building in Vancouver, Canada! Tonight, the Opening Ceremony of the XXIst Winter Olympiad will unfold in all of its frosty glory. Numbered among the thousands of down-coated, mufflered spectators will be guests of honor, Mitt and Ann Romney.
Widely recognized for turning around the 2002 scandal-ridden Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, Romney’s outstanding leadership in cleaning up Olympic corruption, reversing fiscal woes, restoring the integrity the Games, and turning a profit for the Games caught the attention of nations across the globe. Romney’s exemplary performance has made him a highly-valued guest at subsequent Winter Games.
The Romneys will be in Canada today through Monday.
Notably, not attending is President Obama. Vice President Joe Biden and wife Dr. Jill Biden will do the honors in his stead:
The official U.S. delegation includes the Bidens, David Jacobson, U.S. Ambassador to Canada; Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President; Mike Eruzione, 1980 Olympic gold medalist, U.S. Men’s Hockey Team; Peggy Fleming, 1968 Olympic gold medalist, Ladies Figure Skating, and Vonetta Flowers, 2002 Olympic gold medalist, Women’s Bobsledding.
The vice president and Dr. Biden will make remarks at a kick-off rally for American athletes today and later attend a reception honoring heads of the Olympic delegations.
Vancouver at a Glance
Canada is geared up to impress and rumors are rampant as to which Canadian performing artists will rock the crowds in tonight’s show:
Canadians Nelly Furtado, Sarah McLachlan, and Bryan Adams are all likely bets for Friday’s performance, although program details for the opening ceremonies have yet to be disclosed by Vancouver Olympic organizers.
According to a Toronto Sun report, the above-named singers were spotted arriving at the dress rehearsal this week.
People.com predicts that rockers Rush and jazz singer Nikky Yanofsky, also Canadians, are sure bets as well.
There is no yet word on whether other Canadian A-listers, like Shania Twain, Avril Lavigne, and Celine Dion will perform at any time during the games.
One part of the opening ceremony lineup had been confirmed. The new star-studded “We are the World” video for Haiti earthquake relief is slated to make its debut during tonight’s coverage.
VANOC (Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games), the Canadian Forces, and Nike have joined together to deliver desperately yearned-for sports equipment to children in some of the most isolated communities in Northern Canada. Here’s a look at the far-reaching influence of the Olympic Spirit that Mitt Romney sacrificed greatly for and loves so much:
This month, 216 Americans will venture north to Vancouver to compete in the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Team USA is represented by 123 men and 93 women.
Thirty-one different Americans have won Olympic medals in previous Winter Games, collecting a total of 48 Olympic medals among them (12 gold, 20 silver and 16 bronze).
At the 2006 Games, the United States had its most successful Winter Olympics ever on foreign snow and ice – winning nine gold, nine silver and seven bronze for a total of 25 medals. Snowboarding and speed skating led the way for the U.S. with seven medals each.
Since then, the winter success has only continued. At the individual 2009 World Championships, the U.S. won more gold medals (13) in events on the Olympic program than any country and finished second overall in medals to Canada.
While some of the 13 world champions are unlikely to find similar results in Vancouver, the number speaks to the depth and talent of the Americans.
The Olympics are a showcase of some of the great qualities of the human spirit: determination, persistence, hard work, sacrifice, dedication, faith, passion, teamwork, loyalty, honor, character. The Olympics celebrate the human spirit by revealing the athlete’s unrelenting drive to push the limits of human capacity. ~ Turnaround by Mitt Romney, p.xiii-xiv Aug 25, 2004
Thank you, Canada! Good luck to all the athletes. BEST of luck to the Americans! USA! USA! USA!
Television coverage of the excitement in Vancouver begins tonight, February 12, 2010, at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time and Pacific Standard Time on NBC. For Vancouver, British Columbia, the opening ceremony will actually begin at 6 p.m. PST.
Additional Info:
Online Olympic Coverage here. (Avoid NBC’s delayed coverage and choose events you wish to watch/ignore.)
2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games Medal Event Schedule here.
Olympic results, Team USA, athlete profiles, video, photos, schedules, etc. here.
From FoxNewsnow.com: Mitt Romney is shown reading in studio for his new book: “No Apology: The Case for American Greatness.” FOX 13 has obtained a peek to the first chapter of the book provided by the publisher, Macmillan. Hinckley Institute director, Kirk Jowers says that the writings take a “fresh look” at America’s rising debt and global image regarding foreign diplomacy. The book will be available March 2.
Romney Releases Early Sample of Upcoming New Book
(Please note: the text “Former Senator” below the video is part of the video embed code and we are not able to change it. Someone from Fox13 put it in when they made the code. We are very aware that Romney was a former Mayor and not a Senator. Err… Governor… I kid.)
Mitt Romney Book Reading – ‘No Apology: A Case for American Greatness’
Disclaimer: MittRomneyCentral.com is a pure grassroots website. It is not paid for, endorsed by, or affiliated in any way with Governor Mitt Romney or his official campaign.
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