Today Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Florida Speaker Designate Will Weatherford held a hard-hitting conference call stripping Newt Gingrich of his I-wasn’t-a-Freddie-Mac-lobbyist disguise.


GOV. TIM PAWLENTY: “NEWT GINGRICH AS A POTENTIAL NOMINEE FOR PRESIDENT: REALLY? I MEAN REALLY?”

“His influence-peddling with respect to Freddie Mac to Congress, that needs to be revealed. And so he called upon Governor Romney to be transparent, well Speaker Gingrich needs to be transparent on this issue and many others. And the notion that he was paid $1.7 million as a historian for Freddie Mac is just B.S., it’s just nonsense. And so he needs to reveal, and his firm needs to reveal, that contract. He needs to go through in detail what positions and advice he gave Freddie Mac, how they responded to that. And then also what advocacy, if any, that he undertook with respect to these issues with the United States Congress.”
– Gov. Tim Pawlenty

AUDIO: Pawlenty and Weatherford: Gingrich’s “Historian” Work for Freddie

Transcript of “Definitely Not A Lobbyist” conference call:

OPERATOR: “Ms. Gail Gitcho, you may now begin.”

GAIL GITCHO, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: “Thanks Claire and thanks everyone for joining today. I have Governor Tim Pawlenty on the line and also Florida Speaker Designate Will Weatherford, and they’re going to talk about Speaker Gingrich’s record and his work for Freddie Mac. And I’ll turn it over to Governor Pawlenty and then Mr. Weatherford and then we’ll take some questions and wrap up. So Governor Pawlenty, go ahead.”

GOV. TIM PAWLENTY: “Great, thank you Gail. Good morning everyone, thanks for being on the call this morning. We’re going to talk this morning about Speaker Gingrich’s record in a couple of key areas. One, as Speaker and the other as his post-Speaker role as advocate and lobbyist and influence-peddler in Washington DC. And I think for Republicans and conservatives all across this country, a question is going to have to be as they consider Newt Gingrich as a potential nominee for president: really? I mean really? This is somebody who has had so many incredibly unfortunate and questionable activities while he was speaker, post-speaker, that he is not somebody that I think can carry the banner for the Republican Party and the conservative movement forward as the nominee or as a future president. Let me give you just a couple of example and then I’ll turn it over to Speaker-Designate Weatherford for his comments. If you’re going to be president of the United States, people have to understand your full record. They have to see it in user-friendly and transparent ways. Newt Gingrich has represented hundreds of clients and interest groups in Washington, DC since he left the speakership. We have very little insight and transparency as to what exactly he did for many for those clients, in many cases, for huge sums of money. To say that he wasn’t a lobbyist is an incredible hair-splitting. He’s been an advocate to the Congress trying to push influence in Washington, DC. In the case of Freddie Mac, he was lobbying Republican members or advocating with Republican members against Republican interests on one of the most difficult and unfortunate behaviors by the federal government in modern history, and that is their activities in the housing market. If you go down to Florida where the primary is going to occur shortly, one of the most devastating blows to the Florida economy in recent years of course has been the housing market. And on of the principle culprits in the demise of the housing market was the role of Congress and their government sponsored entities of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and their role in the housing market. And now you have a candidate for the President of the United States, Newt Gingrich, who was paid $1.7 million by Freddie Mac and we don’t have insight or transparency as to what he actually did, what positions he took, what advice that he gave. His influence-peddling with respect to Freddie Mac to Congress, that needs to be revealed. And so he called upon Governor Romney to be transparent, well Speaker Gingrich needs to be transparent on this issue and many others. And the notion that he was paid $1.7 million as a historian for Freddie Mac is just B.S., it’s just nonsense. And so he needs to reveal, and his firm needs to reveal, that contract. He needs to go through in detail what positions and advice he gave Freddie Mac, how they responded to that. And then also what advocacy, if any, that he undertook with respect to these issues with the United States Congress. And I think voters deserve to see all of that from Newt and more.

And then beyond that, he has a whole list of other clients that he should release all of the groups that have paid him for all of the reasons, over all of the years for lobbying and for advocacy, for issue work, for strategic development, release it. We should have a chance to know who he represented and for what purposes and at what price.

(Good stuff! Much more…)

Read more…

“Show me the records!”

Governor Mitt Romney has turned the tables on Newt Gingrich:

TAMPA – A combative Mitt Romney on Monday broadened his call for Newt Gingrich to release records from his work as a consultant, speculating that those documents and records from the ethics investigation that led Gingrich to resign from the House of Representatives could show “potentially wrongful activity of some kind.”

“We could see an October surprise a day from Newt Gingrich,” Romney told reporters at a media availability here. “And so let’s see the records from the ethics investigation, let’s see what they show. Let’s see who his clients were at the time he was lobbying Republican congressmen for Medicare Part D.

“Was he working or were his entities working with any health-care companies that could’ve benefited from that? That could represent not just evidence of lobbying but potentially wrongful activity of some kind.”
[…]
“He said in a debate, actually, that people who profited from the failed model of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae ought to give back their money,” Romney said. “Well, the speaker made $1.7 million in his enterprises from providing services to Freddie Mac. He ought to give it back.”

Here’s what Gingrich claims:

Gingrich repeatedly has said that he never lobbied lawmakers on behalf of Freddie Mac and health-care companies, saying he was paid for his services as a consultant and historian.

“I was not a lobbyist, I was never a lobbyist, I never did any lobbying. Don’t try to mix these things up. That fact is I was an adviser strategically,” he said Sunday on “Meet the Press.”

Earlier today Governor Tim Pawlenty and Florida House of Reps Speaker Designate Will Weatherford held a press conference call on Gingrich’s work as a “historian” for Freddie Mac. Pawlenty sums it up: “The notion that he was paid $1.7 million as a historian for Freddie Mac is just B.S. Newt Gingrich has represented hundreds of clients and interest groups in Washington, D.C., since he left the speakership. To say that he wasn’t a lobbyist is incredible hair-splitting.”

Romney hit Gingrich on his “highly eratic” style of leading:

He noted that Gingrich voted in favor of establishing the Department of Education, yet now says the department should be eliminated and its authority sent to the states. And Romney said Gingrich is “opposed vehemently” to the Massachusetts health-care system “and yet just a couple of years ago wrote about what a superb system it was.”


“He’s gone from pillar to post almost like a pinball machine, from item to item in a way which is highly erratic and does not suggest a stable, thoughtful course which is normally associated with leadership,” Romney said.

(emphasis added)

Pinball Policy Newt…



Romney speaking to the press in FL:

“By the way, saying that Newt Gingrich is a lobbyist is just a matter of fact. He indicates that he doesn’t fall within the narrow definition of lobbyists that he might have in mind. But if you’re working for a company, getting paid for a company through one of your many entities and then you’re speaking with Congressmen in a way that would help that company, that’s lobbying. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck.” ~ Mitt Romney

Romney’s new Florida radio ad features FL Atty Gen Pam Bondi:

Read more…

Following this past Christmas, reports surfaced of a meeting by prominent national evangelical leaders to be held in Texas sometime in January. You will recall this meeting involved over 150 people at a ranch outside Houston, January 15th. The ostensible purpose of the meeting was to caucus and select one of the presidential candidates behind which all voters could unite — in effect, to choose the one “non-Romney” candidate that they thought could best defeat Romney. Fascinating!

As with any caucus, some were prepared to stand and persuade others to vote for the candidate they believed to be the best to select as the Republican nominee for President.

One of those leaders present that day, at the ranch outside Houston, was nationally known and highly respected Mark DeMoss, a prominent Evangelical. Mr. DeMoss stood for Governor Mitt Romney.

Though I have never met Mr. DeMoss and therefore do not know him, I can only imagine that his remarks to this body required a tremendous amount of courage, especially with the understanding that the vast majority of those present were intent on selecting a candidate they believed could best oppose, and therefore defeat Governor Romney! For this one act alone, I have tremendous admiration and respect for Mark DeMoss. I strongly believe that Mitt Romney will be the next President of the United States — if so, I believe that history will hold Mark DeMoss out as a true American patriot in the stature of any this nation’s finest patriots of the past and present.

I am most grateful that Mr. DeMoss granted MittRomneyCentral.com the privilege of publishing his remarks to the group of 150+ Evangelicals exactly one week ago today. When I requested “an editorial” from Mr. DeMoss through our friend, John Schroeder of Article VI Blog, I never dreamed I would receive his remarks to the other evangelical leaders at the ranch that day.

Mark DeMoss’s speech that day is published below in its entirety — unedited.

[Almost exactly one year ago, Nate Gunderson published this outstanding article by Mark DeMoss that received over 2,300 views and 33 comments]

Mark DeMoss founded The DeMoss Group in 1991, and since then he has served some of the world’s most prominent and effective Christian ministries and enterprises. Mark has been involved in shaping some of the largest Christian events and campaigns over the past decade while simultaneously overseeing the growth of his firm. He has extensive media relations experience with both religious and mainstream media and provides particular expertise to clients in crisis/issues management and communications. Mark provides primary public relations counsel and strategic planning for The DeMoss Group. His first book, The Little Red Book of Wisdom, was published in 2007.

Favorite DeMoss Group Core Value > We demonstrate uncommon integrity.

REMARKS to HOUSTON EVENT January 13-14, 2012

By Mark DeMoss

In the summer of 2006 I began a search for the perfect presidential candidate. I’m here to tell you: I still haven’t found him—or her.

But I would suggest, neither have you—because there simply is no such thing. Just as there’s no such thing as the perfect employee, teacher, or pastor. None of us can find another person—including a spouse—with whom we agree on everything.

However, I’ll tell you what I did find that summer of ‘06. I found one of the most remarkable men and families I have ever met or known in Mitt Romney, his wife Ann, and their five sons. Governor Romney was my choice for president in ’08, and he remains my choice today. I didn’t arrive at this decision lightly.

So how did I, as a conservative and an evangelical, land on Mitt Romney? After reading all I could find and talking to people who knew him, I went to see him and told him I’d like to help him. I also told him he couldn’t pay me—ever.

I have a three-part litmus test for choosing a presidential candidate:

1. He/she must share my values (not necessarily my faith or theology)

2. He/she must be competent to lead and govern should they actually get elected.

3. He/she must be capable of getting elected.

So let me talk for a few minutes about values, competence and electability.

VALUES

• First, while I am not interested in (nor worried about) giving platform to Mormon theology, I think this country would benefit from a good dose of Mormon values. Their overwhelming commitment to marriage, family, hard work, honesty, integrity, morality and character is something to be admired and modeled. Frankly, this church’s record in this area often outperforms ours in many ways. (I was reminded about this again just last weekend while watching one of our fallen evangelical leaders starring in ABC’s reality show Wife Swap.)

  I’ve been in the Romney home numerous times. I’ve been with Mitt in offices, holding rooms, hotel rooms, restaurants, cars and planes all across this country and everything about him is real. I’ve gotten to know dozens of his friends, colleagues and advisors. I’ve even attended his church.

  His marriage of 42 years is rock solid, and I’ll tell you this: I don’t worry about waking up one day to a headline about Mitt Romney like we have been saddened to hear about leaders among our own ranks like Gov. Mark Sanford, Sen. John Ensign, Sen. David Vitter, and countless pastors.

• Gov. Romney has fought hard for values we care deeply about. For example, he immediately condemned the November 2003 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage in his state, and then lobbied hard for a constitutional amendment protecting traditional marriage.
• Keep in mind; Mitt had an 85% Democratic legislature in Massachusetts. This is an important point, which I think is either unknown or lost on many conservative critics. An 85% opposition legislature means bills and measures the governor proposed could be changed at will. It also means measures he vetoed could be overridden at will.

  (By the way, Mitt cast 800 vetoes as governor of Massachusetts—that’s one veto every day-and-a-half for four years.)

  Finally, it means he had to know how to work constructively with people on
  the other side, which is something we could use more of today.

  So when you hear Mitt Romney did something as governor you don’t like, take a minute to find out if he did it, or an 85% Democratic majority did it over his best efforts and objections. A fair and honest assessment of his record requires this.

• Under his leadership, Massachusetts’ public schools began offering middle school classroom programs on abstinence from a faith-based organization.
• As governor, Mitt Romney vetoed bills providing access to the “morning¬after pill” and for expansive, embryo-destroying stem cell research.
• He staunchly defended the right of the Catholic Charities of Boston to refuse to allow homosexual couples to adopt children in its care, and filed a bill to protect such religious liberty.
• National Review political reporter John Miller wrote that, “a good case can be made that Romney has fought harder for social conservatives than any other governor in America, and it is difficult to imagine his doing so in a more daunting environment.”
• Listen to what one notable Republican had to say about Mitt Romney.

  “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. 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.”

  Who said this? Rick Santorum did when he endorsed and campaigned for Mitt just four years ago. Nothing in Mitt Romney’s record, speech, or life has changed since Sen. Santorum offered that endorsement, which, knowing the senator, I believe was offered seriously, genuinely, and as a matter of real conviction.

• I have concluded that Mitt Romney’s values more closely resemble my own than any president in my lifetime.

Read more…

Five years ago, I discovered the amazing resource Article VI Blog, founded by John Schroeder and Lowell Brown. Their reporting and Op-Ed writing, in my opinion, have proved an important contribution to this nation and to the American ideal of freedom. Their tireless research will continue to enlighten Americans who treasure the blessings of diversity.

John and Lowell traveled to the Bush Library in Texas for Governor Romney’s historic Faith in America speech December 6, 2007. It was there we met and discussed their work and our hope of a Romney presidency.

Following is a candid view into John’s childhood, youth, and adulthood that I found most revealing – especially as relates to his arriving to understand Mitt Romney’s tremendous leadership skills and experience. I am grateful to him for this guest contribution to Mitt Romney Central.

From Protecting The Church To Electing A President — This Evangelical’s Story

By: John Schroeder

The story is now old about how Article VI Blog got started. We have grown from the original team of me, an evangelical Presbyterian, and my Mormon partner Lowell Brown to include John Mark Reynolds, notable Greek Orthodox academic and scholar. All three of us have our individual reasons to be there; let’s talk about mine.

When I started, I really did not care much for Mitt Romney, but I also hated bigotry. Frankly, one of Romney’s key talking points for the ’08 election was what has now come to be called “RomneyCare” and I was aghast. When Article VI Blog started I was in the process of losing about 200 pounds. That gave me a unique view of the health care system – the last thing I wanted was to give the government the power to tell me about my weight, and let’s face it, you put someone in charge of your healthcare, and that is where they are going. But again, I hate bigotry.

See, I am a son of the Deep South. I was born in 1957 in Oxford, Mississippi. My father soon finished law school and we left Mississippi, but my mother’s entire extended family was there so rarely a year has gone by in my life that I have not spent some time in the state. I grew up with “Whites Only” signs, and segregated water fountains. Most importantly, I saw the racial prejudices of the Deep South routinely turn some members of my loving and wonderful family suddenly ugly. We could be having the most wonderful evening in a household full of love and good cheer and the topic would come up and well, let’s just say I saw the good cheer leave the room.

So, on that fateful day when Hugh Hewitt introduced me to the idea that Evangelicals would oppose Romney, not because of something like RomneyCare, but because of his faith, I did not want to see the good cheer leave the “evangelical room” and decided to get involved. Right up until the day before Super Tuesday in the 2008 primary campaign, I worked hard to fight the religious bigotry that was so obviously aimed at Romney, but that did not mean he had my vote. He ended up with it, but he had to earn it.

So-called RomneyCare really was the only serious obstacle to his having my vote. John McCain was, well, not a team player with Republicans, and governance is a team game. Rudy Giuliani was waaaay too far left. Fred Thompson was a joke, and Mike Huckabee really did take the good cheer from the evangelical room. But….

In ’08 Romney ended up with my vote largely because as I studied the RomneyCare issue I came to discover that what was passed in Massachusetts was a far cry from what Romney proposed. What Romney proposed was a hybrid system between private enterprise and public health care. Most importantly it offered subsidies for people to get private healthcare; the government never became the provider. Not ideal from my perspective, but enough to make him far more palatable than the alternatives, particularly when you consider that the public, showing a lack of wisdom in my estimation, was demanding something. A reasonable politician has to act when the citizenry demand, even if the result is less than ideal. Those in elected office are, after all, servants of the people, not rulers.

Since ObamaCare has come to pass, RomneyCare is no longer an issue for me. There are many similarities in the Massachusetts healthcare system and that which ObamaCare shall bring to pass, but in the end there is no comparison. Many legal scholars think ObamaCare is unconstitutional – I am inclined to agree with them. States have a lot of power that the federal government does not. But more importantly to my mind Massachusetts healthcare now has little resemblance to what Mitt Romney originally proposed. He had some vetoes overridden and has been out of office for quite some time now, giving that heavily liberal legislature, and governor, plenty of time to fiddle about. What Mitt Romney wanted, and what Barack Obama shoved down our gullets is radically different. Romney has promised to minimize the impact of ObamaCare as much as the power of the presidency will allow and to make repeal of it a priority in his agenda. That’s all I can ask.

Let’s get back to my youthful sojourns to Mississippi and to bigotry. You cannot be about in Mississippi and not know African-Americans, lots of them. One of the reasons things seemed to turn so ugly in the family gatherings when it came up was because the blacks that I knew in Mississippi were certainly poor and generally undereducated but most of them were decent good people. As an infant, I was cared for by a woman (my mother worked while my father was in law school) who remained in service to the family her entire life, as did several of her children. Now my parents were dirt poor at the time. Mom made a pittance as a production assistant at a Memphis television station and Dad had the GI bill. That they could afford a caretaker for me explains a lot of the poverty in the African-American community of the time. Regardless, I saw that woman (Fannie was her name) on every visit I made to Mississippi until she passed away, which was about the time I graduated high school. She could not read or write, but she was a good woman – having cared not only for me, but for many of my generation. She was a decent person. But the things some of my family members would say when she was out of earshot…. Their words simply did not match the reality I witnessed, and it made some loving, beautiful people look very ugly.

Schroeder & Brown at Faith In America Speech

You cannot live in southern California, one end of the so-called “Jello Belt,” and not know Mormons – lots of them. When I contemplated my evangelical brethren discarding a candidate for POTUS because he was a Mormon, it just looked ugly to me. They were good, decent people. Politically most that I know stand right where I do. They are contributing members of the community, often leading on things that my brethren seemed too pre-occupied to tackle. As the African-Americans of the Mississippi of my youth were poor and under-educated, the Mormons of my adulthood were theologically misguided, but they were good people, even preferable as neighbors. To discard Romney on the basis of theological wrongness reflected very poorly on my evangelical brethren.

I am tempted at this point to go on about the proper relationship of theology and religious affiliation to our citizenship, but that is a scholarly topic, and this is a personal reflection. Besides, it’s getting too long anyway.

I grieve for all those that would discard Romney, or Jon Huntsman for that matter, on the basis of their Mormon faith. To do so, from my perspective, shows little faith in the God who saved me and whom I claim to serve. The New Testament is full of the message that Christ came to free us from the drudgery and ugliness of legalism. Such is not license for debauchery, but rather a reflection of the fact that Christ’s ministry transforms us. We are changed from people who obey the law out of obligation, fear and tenacity to people from whom behavior in compliance with the law flows as a natural consequence of who we are.

If we still operate out of a mindset that demands strict compliance in an obligatory and tenacious manner, then we have yet to experience the deep reality of what Jesus can do for us. Christ, it must be remembered, chose the company of sinners over the religious elite of his day. In plain speak, it is not about theology or membership, but character.

Martin Luther King Jr. spoke some of the most profound words of the last century:

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

The years since Article VI Blog started have been very interesting years in my life. Among the more interesting occurrences has been the opportunity to get to know Mitt Romney just a little and some of his extended family quite well. These are people, who when judged by the content of their character, deserve the same shot at the White House, or any other part of the American dream, that the rest of us enjoy.

I do not pretend to know what God thinks of Mormons or Mormon theology – I do not know what will happen to any individual Mormon in eternity, or anyone else for that matter – I am no where near that smart. I know what I believe and what my prayer and study has taught me, and yes, it is quite different than what they believe. But I also know that to deny them their place in our nation, based on that difference, reflects far more poorly on me than it does on them.

All said and done, that is why I started with Article VI Blog. I did not want the prejudices of some in the Evangelical community to reflect poorly on all of us. I wanted anybody that bothered to listen to know that we’re not all that way.

Some six years later the only thing that is different is that Mitt Romney is now unquestionably the best candidate qualified to steer our nation back in the proper direction. Economically, his skill is unrivalled. As an executive, his experience is unmatched. As a politician, his current victories speak for themselves – as does his character. This cycle Mitt Romney has more than earned my vote. I am proud to be behind him – 100%.

[Emphasis added by Lundquist]

If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. — C. S. Lewis

…………………. Related Resources …………………….

Why Evangelicals Can Support Mitt Romney

Evangelicals for Mitt

JFK’s Amazing, Inspiring 1960 Speech to Houston Ministers, “I Believe in America”

OUTSTANDING RESEARCH ON ROMNEYCARE (including MD experts):

The Truth About Massachusetts Health Care

Problem or Not?

Why RomneyCare Makes Mitt the Best Nominee to Face Obama

Bottomline: Romney Stands Strongly Against ObamaCare

Why Romney Care is Constitutional While ObamaCare is Not
,

Yesterday, Tim Pawlenty, National Co-Chair for the Romney campaign, put the NH Union Leader’s endorsement of Newt Gingrich in perspective…

Jonathan Martin (Politico):

Tim Pawlenty, doing surrogacy duties today for Mitt Romney, dismissed the Union Leader’s support of Newt Gingrich, framing it as just one of many New Hampshire endorsements to be had by a Republican candidate.

In a conference call with reporters, Pawlenty was clearly prepared for the question. He rattled off the list of high-profile Granite State Republicans who back Romney — former Gov. John Sununu, former Sen. Judd Gregg, Sen. Kelly Ayotte — to make his case.

“Every candidate is going to get their fair share of endorsements,” Pawlenty said, adding that Romney has “more than his fair share.”

Even as he implicitly downplayed the Union Leader’s role in the Granite State’s GOP primary process, the Minnesotan said nothing directly about the paper or Gingrich.

(emphasis added )

We’ll be hearing more from Sununu, Gregg, and Ayotte.

UPDATE – To view Romney’s interview with the NH Union Leader Editorial Board, click here.

Oct 21, 2011 – NH Union Leader’s publisher, Joseph McQuaid offers his impressions of Romney’s interview with the UL’s editorial board (Greta Brawner, host):

► Jayde Wyatt

UPDATE: MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell does his best to be an arm for the DNC and President Obama re-election campaign, but Gov. Pawlenty does a fantastic job of bringing a little truth and common sense to one of the darkest and most ignorant corners of cable news.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Romney gave a great speech on spending and fiscal policy at Americans for Prosperity Foundation’s “Defending the American Dream” Summit . (Click here to watch it)

Here is some of the reaction:

Arizona Congressman Jeff Flake

Mitt Romney spent his life in the private sector and knows that to be a viable enterprise you can’t spend more money than you take in. Washington is addicted to spending and this administration’s policies have only made things worse. We can’t continue on a path that will lead us in the direction of Greece. Mitt Romney has the conservative solutions that can be implemented on his first day as president to cut federal spending and end Washington’s spending addiction.

South Carolina Treasurer Curtis Loftis

We can see what happens when governments spend more than they take in – just look at what is happening right now in Europe. Today, Mitt Romney laid out a strategy to get our country on a sound financial footing and ensure that future generations don’t face a financial calamity like Europe. Mitt Romney has laid out simple conservative solutions that can have immediate effect: take spending to pre-Obama levels, repeal Obamacare, and cut unneeded programs. These simple solutions have seemed to evade the current administration and much of Washington, but Mitt Romney is not another career politician. He spent his life in the private sector, where you can’t spend more than you take in and as governor, he balanced the budget and left a $2 billion rainy day fund. Mitt Romney has demonstrated throughout his life that conservative solutions can fix problems, and these solutions can fix our broken federal budget.

Governor Tim Pawlenty

Mitt Romney’s record on spending is one that should be replicated in Washington. Taking the conservative principles of the private sector, Mitt was able to cut spending in Massachusetts, balance the budget, and leave a $2 billion rainy day fund. Returning non-security discretionary spending to pre-Obama levels and capping spending at 20 percent of GDP will require the same conservative principles. While it won’t be easy to stop Washington politicians’ spending habits, Mitt Romney has shown throughout his life that he doesn’t back down from difficult problems

Huntsman Campaign Spokesman

Mitt Romney’s speech was that of a typical politician, complete with a teleprompter.

^ Someone’s jealous. ^

After seeing the reaction to my piece on the anti-Romney bias emanating from many influential places from a few days ago, it’s even more obvious that we have a lot of work to do. Far too many people don’t realize what seems so obvious to us… that President Obama and the Democrats fear Mitt Romney more than any other candidate the GOP has in this election as the case was also in 2008.

Anyone who doesn’t believe me should just follow the money. The Democratic National Committee spent more money trying to dig up dirt on Mitt Romney during the 2008 primaries than they did on any other republican candidate. This time around it’s almost comical how much democrats are going out of their way to not attack other GOP candidates and instead focusing their smear efforts exclusively on Mitt Romney.

Today’s actions by President Obama’s Super PAC provided even more proof that Mitt Romney is the republican that scares democrats most. This anti-Romney ad buy is $100,000 and it’s far from the first anti-Romney attack ad President Obama’s Super PAC has produced. The continued paid attacks this early in the election illustrate a level of desperation from the Obama administration that makes sense considering President Obama’s record of accomplishment is so weak.

Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul responds with: “More middle-class Americans have lost their jobs under President Obama than any president in modern history. While Mitt Romney is focused on his jobs and economic plan, which will provide relief for the middle-income taxpayers, President Obama and his cronies are worried about their own jobs. It is no surprise since President Obama cannot run on his failed record that his political allies resort to false and negative attacks on Mitt Romney.”

While Gov. Romney and President Obama both know who the strongest GOP contender is, too many radio hosts, bloggers, and media members are creating false narratives and chasing fake stories. Rush Limbaugh went so far today as to read an entire letter on air designed to make people think Gov. Romney’s campaign was behind the leak of the current Herman Cain controversy. Fortunately, Hot Air saw through this ploy and presents a more likely source for the leak. Even Herman Cain’s own campaign is blaming an adviser to Rick Perry for leaking the story. Furthermore, a pollster for one of Rick Perry’s Super PACs is pouring fuel on the fire in an effort to end Cain’s campaign. Rush’s listeners should be outraged that Mr. Limbaugh would stoop so low as to pick up on an obvious smear like this and present it the way he did. Just like with my Red State/Free Republic piece, the point of this piece is to increase awareness of some misinformation and to hopefully start to discover the motivations of the various parties attacking Gov. Romney.

I’m starting to see a lot of caparisons between what happened in 2008 and what is happening this time around. The groups and individuals filling each role have changed in some instances, but the spirit of the final installments of Article VI’s blog about the 2008 election seem even more poignant now.

Clowns to the Left of Mitt
Jokers to the Right
Stuck in the Middle With You

UPDATE: Gov. Tim Pawlenty refutes the bias against Gov. Romney presented this time by Fox News’ Megyn Kelly. I’m just glad someone as competent as Tim Pawlenty was present to rebut these assertions because these types of claims often go unchecked. Warning: Megyn calls Mitt stagnant, not the most conservative, accuses Mitt of having an inability to connect with voters, and pretty much uses all of the talking points coming out of the DNC.

Finally, I want to thank Emily Schultheis and Tim Mak from the Politico as well as Ben Smith, Fox Nation, David French from Patheos.com, our friends from Why Romney, and also Mike Sage for helping this story gain more traction outside of our normal circles of influence. If we can keep this up, we will start to tear down the walls of bias built by the malicious or ignorant hands referenced in these posts.

Check back soon for highlights of the debate, debate reaction, and the debate in it’s entirety once it’s available.

I don’t know if the candidates, CNN, or simply not having Jon Huntsman on stage contributed to the overall improved quality of the debate or maybe a mixture of the three. Whatever it was, this was the most intellectually stimulating debate of the year so far. Every time I leaned over to talk to someone watching the debate, I had to stop because the candidates were talking about another interesting issue. There a too many memorable moments in the debate to point all of them out, but I would like to highlight the ways in which Herman Cain defended his 9-9-9 plan and the way Gov. Romney defended his record as Governor of Massachusetts. Both candidates were hit several times, but Gov. Romney clearly persuaded the majority of the crowd by the end of the debate while Herman Cain seemed to lose a little momentum. I can’t wait to see how the polls look after this debate.

Also, just like last time Perry went on the attack, I can’t wait for the fact-checkers to expose the lies Perry keeps trying to shove down our throats.

Who do you think won the debate?

Having one less candidate on stage was interesting. Any chance we won’t see Jon Huntsman in any more debates or do you think his little boycott ploy will actually help him?

UPDATE
Las Vegas Republican debate: Winners and losers

Update by Jayde – The Corner (National Review Online)
By Seth Leibsohn
Oct 18, 2011

To use his own colloquialism, there is no question but that Mitt Romney won this debate. And he showed something new as well — serious chops in quick sparring and debating skill one on one. He was quick and effective against Herman Cain on the state-tax issue, Rick Perry on several issues (most effectively, at the end, judging someone on their past), and Newt Gingrich on the issue of the health-care mandate’s origins. It was a stellar performance. I am yet to be convinced he’s the inevitable nominee but one cannot gainsay his debating skills, especially compared with the others.

Rick Perry did not overcome his debating-skills deficit. He came out of the box in his opening statement with a negative jab that seemed wrong for the moment and went downhill from there. One simply cannot look uninterested at best and throw jabs that don’t land at worst, especially when it is clear the strategy is to debate (and campaign) negatively.

Press Release – Former New Hampshire Governor and U.S. Senator Judd Gregg on tonight’s debate in Las Vegas:

“Mitt Romney showed again tonight why he is Republicans’ best candidate to defeat President Obama and turn around our failing economy. Whether it is his economic know-how or plan to create jobs, Mitt Romney stands head-and-shoulders above the rest of the field. In November 2012, Republicans will need a candidate with the record, vision, and capability to go up against President Obama – Mitt Romney displayed that once again tonight.”

Press Release – Pinal County (Ariz.) Sheriff Paul Babeu on tonight’s debate:
Romney Will Secure The Border

“Mitt Romney was the clear winner of tonight’s debate because he again showed that he is the only candidate committed to implementing policies that will secure our border. While some candidates support the magnets that draw illegal immigrants into our country, Mitt Romney will put a stop to incentives for illegal immigrants to cross our border. Governor Romney stands with all of us who believe that we can and must secure our border — that’s why I’m proud to stand with him and support him as our next president.”

CNN/WRLC Republican Presidential Debate (FULL VIDEO 10-18-11)

UPDATE: GOP12 gives Mitt the highest grade of the night as well!

Governor Tim Pawlenty wrote a strong op-ed in support of Mitt Romney which was published by Politico yesterday:

“Romney Is Electable” – By Tim Pawlenty

September 21, 2011

What do Republicans want in a presidential candidate in 2012? Certainly, someone who passionately believes in our conservative values.

But considering what’s at stake — the possibility of four more years of President Barack Obama’s ruinously wrongheaded ideas — electability is a key factor. We have to win.

This is a topic I know something about. It’s one reason I endorsed former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for president.

I served two terms as a Republican governor of a blue state. The last time Minnesota voted for a Republican candidate for president was 1972. It has the dubious distinction of the nation’s longest streak of voting for the Democratic presidential candidate.

But Republicans can be elected statewide in Minnesota. I was. The reason is fairly straightforward.

Practical, common-sense conservative ideas to increase jobs and reduce government burdens improve people’s lives. Voters, whether Republican, Democrat or independent, understand this. As governor, I found innovative ways to balance Minnesota’s budget, cut spending, reform health care and bolster education — all without raising taxes.

I also did my best to lead with a hopeful and positive message and leadership style.

Mitt has done the same. A conservative businessman, he won the support of independent voters — and even some Democrats — to win election as governor of the blue state of Massachusetts. That is no small accomplishment.

It reveals Romney’s tremendous strength in bringing Americans together.

He also governed successfully. His state’s economy was mired in recession when he took office. Expenditures exceeded revenue. Without raising taxes — he cut taxes on 19 occasions — he balanced the budget and led the effort to turn the state’s economy around.

By the time he left office, Massachusetts had a $2 billion budget surplus — and was again gaining jobs.

While all the Republican candidates have their respective strengths, Romney is uniquely positioned to help the Republican Party return to the White House.

Though he had an outstanding tenure as governor, Romney’s not a career politician. He’s spent most of his adult life working in the private sector — launching new businesses and rescuing failing ones.

He has an extraordinary command of the economic challenges we face, gained from day-in, day-out experience working in the marketplace. If ever America needed a leader who knows his way around the business world, it is now. Unemployment is more than 9 percent, and the economy is poised for a second recession.
[...]

(emphasis added) Continue reading here.

► Jayde Wyatt

UPDATE:

It’s CPAC time in The Sunshine State today.

The day long event is being held in the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL (the same location as the presidential debate last night). Kudos to those who scheduled these two events back-to-back in the same place. After his impressive performance at the presidential debate last night, hopefully Mitt Romney slept very well and then upon waking, he can simply walk to the CPAC venue. He’s scheduled to speak this morning at 9:30 AM ET.

All of the GOP presidential candidates are scheduled to speak. (Note that Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, who dropped out of the presidential race yesterday and endorsed Mitt, is scheduled to speak at 10:00 AM ET.)

For a livefeed of the events, click here. (A simple registration is required or log in if you’ve previously registered.)

Here’s a look at today’s morning schedule (click to enlarge – schedule subject to change):

Other confirmed speakers include:
Dick Armey (Freedom Works Chairman), Jeff Atwater, Pam Bondi, David Bossie, Dean Cannon, Al Cardenas, Ann Coulter, S.E. Cupp, Luis Fortuño, Mike Haridopolos, Bill Kristol, George H. Nash, Grover Norquist, Adam Putnam, Ralph Reed, Marco Rubio

To view the full schedule, click here.

► Jayde Wyatt

FULL SPEECH/VIDEO ADDED and Official release from the campaign after the fold… Read more…