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 Saturday, March 17, 2007
I stumbled onto this story at Evangelicals For Mitt this morning. The author is John Mark Reynolds, founder and director of the Torrey Honors Institute, and Associate Professor of Philosophy, at Biola University (private Christian university located in Southern California). This is an outstanding piece. Initially, I hesitated posting something of this length. Then, considering its quality, clarity, and relevance to current arguments I included Reynolds' entire story.
The Returned Prodigal or the Ally: Why Romney Should Beat Rudy John Mark Reynolds 03.13.2007 In any church, the person who does the most work and is most dedicated to the cause is the convert or the prodigal member who has come back to faith. Have a meeting and he will come . . . ask for help and he is there. In short order, the convert is soon a leader . . . often blowing past more stable older brothers who have become a bit tired in their dedication to the cause. It sometimes causes resentment in the older brothers, but the prodigal who returns often makes the best new leader. Nobody has to tell them the value of Father’s house . . . and nobody has to worry that they will be seduced by the other side. They have eaten pig food and don’t want to go back! Good churches also attract friends and allies that are not members, could never be members, but who help it talk to the outside world. These allies can never join or lead the church, but keep it from becoming cult-like and too insulated. I believe in the power of the convert . . . and am always looking for allies. What applies to a church or club also is true in politics . . . and in this race we are blessed with one candidate who is a very attractive social conservative prodigal son and a liberal ally both of whom want the Republican nomination. We are also stuck with an older brother whose main reason for running seems to be that he has run before and feels due. Far from worrying about our prodigal Romney who has come home to social conservative values . . . I worry about him least on these issues. Why? Romney has over time come to traditional points of view on culture of life and family issues. This is not surprising given his religious and social background. Romney is a man of profound faith (though it is not my own) and of deep and abiding traditional values in his personal life. As he has grown older, it is no surprise that a maturing statesman would bring his personal life into closer consistency with his political life. Romney has the zeal of a new convert tempered by the pragmatic wisdom of one who knows the strengths and weaknesses of his old views. Even on pragmatic grounds, the convert can be trusted more than the older member. He cannot afford to switch again without looking like a disaster and will work hard to keep his new allies. The prodigal Romney has come back to his conservative roots having tried to eat the pig food of Harvard and the secular left. I am not going to be an older brother who sniffs when he is invited to the party. . . and if he is given the fatted calf of the nomination . . .well every analogy breaks down at some point! His main foe for the nomination does not even pretend to agree with traditional religious folk. He is an ally in many ways . . . and a noble pagan. . . the guy who might have kept the prodigal safe when far from Father’s house, but not a member of the team. Rudy is a great, though flawed man. He has a personal life that is beyond a mess . . . and that most Americans do not know about yet. When queried whether they will support a person with three (count-them) divorces, a big majority say “no.” Most Americans don’t know his views on gay marriage, abortion, or gun control, and these issues are as big as Iraq to Republican primary voters. If he gets the nomination, we can expect a prolonged investigation into finances that have in the past looked confusing at best. I like Rudy . . . and admire him on many levels. I would love to see him as an attorney general chasing the Mob or Terrorists. He is a liberal of the old school . . . willing to work with conservatives for the good of the nation. We need more liberals like him, but he is a liberal and the Republican party is the conservative party in America. Rudy is a friend of the conservative movement . . . and an ally, but he should not lead that movement. The Romans were finished when they picked Germans to lead them . . . and the Republicans do not need a friendly foe to head their cause. Romney, the social conservative convert, has the friends, traditional back ground, and pragmatic political will needed to stick to his new found positions. He is also a highly skilled communicator without Rudy’s temper . . . and has been a successful governor of a blue state. Conservatives may dream of the perfect candidate. I often ponder some person with the mind of Burke, the communication skills of Reagan, and the back bone of George W. Bush . . . but this man or woman does not exist so far as I know. There is seldom room in a primary season for more than three viable candidates. Like it or not, the choice is Rudy, Romney, or the Retread. McCain is too tired to win . . . the Bob Dole of this race. It seems better at this point to trust the Prodigal Convert over the noble Ally. Nice work, indeed, Dr. Reynolds! Friday, March 16, 2007
This week we had a flurry of activity around Mitt Romney.
Labels: campaign, mitt romney
Thursday, March 15, 2007
MMM reader Neal points out two stories about Mitt's opponents.
 1) Guliani and Chavez. From CNN.com:At first glance, former New York Mayor and 2008 presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani wouldn't seem to have much in common with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. 2) FoxNews reports from Susan Estrich: While Giuliani is riding high in the polls, and attracting the critics, John McCain is in the even less enviable position of sagging in the polls, and being asked to explain it. McCain has the Swift Boaters, literally some of the same ones, coming after him too, but on that front at least, he’s fortified by his standing as a former POW, which is pretty firm cement for the hero label. Labels: hugo chavez, John McCain, Polls, rudy Governor Romney's California Finance Co-Chairs:
· Scott Baugh, Chairman, Orange County Republican Party, Orange County · Dick Boyce, Partner, Texas Pacific Group, San Francisco · David Bradford, CEO, OWNLI, Orange County · Jonathan Bullen, CEO/President, Eagle State College Group, San Diego · Malin Burnham, Chairman, Burnham Real Estate, San Diego · Kelly Burt, Chairman and CEO, Price Self Storage, San Diego · Roger Carter, Investments, Morgan Stanley, San Francisco · Rick J. Caruso, President and CEO, Caruso Affiliated, Los Angeles · Mark Chapin Johnson, President and CEO, Chapin Medical Company, Orange County · John Clarey, Chairman, RF Comsites, Orange County · Robert Day, Chairman, Trust Company of the West, Los Angeles · Bill Draper, General Partner, Draper Richards L.P., San Francisco · Steven Fink, CEO, Lawrence Investments, Los Angeles · Bradford M. Freeman, Founder, Freeman Spogli & Company, Los Angeles · Sam Ginn, Director, Chevron Corporation, San Francisco · Howard Leach, Former Ambassador to France, San Francisco · Hadi Makarechian, Founder, Chairman of the Board, CEO and President, Capital Pacific Holdings, Inc., Orange County · Papa Doug Manchester, Chairman, Manchester Financial Group, San Diego · David Parker, Managing Partner and Principal, SRS Capital Partners, Orange County · Matt Romney, Vice President, Excel, San Diego · Kenneth R. Satterlee, CEO/President, St. Croix Capital Corp./Kelly Capital, San Diego · Boyd Smith, Partner, WSJ Properties, San Francisco · Peter Starrett, President, Peter Starrett Associates, Los Angeles · Tom Stephenson, Sequoia Capital, San Francisco · Romney National Finance Co-Chair Thomas Tellefsen, Tellefsen Investments, Los Angeles · Romney National Finance Co-Chair Meg Whitman, CEO, eBay, San Francisco · Doug Wilson, CEO, Next Solutions, Inc., Orange County Romney clocks in at 22% in the latest poll in New Hampshire.
THE POLL: Franklin Pierce College and WBZ-TV New Hampshire telephone survey March 7-12. Labels: New Hampshire, poll Wednesday, March 14, 2007
We reported last week on the numerous errors and exaggerations that novak/Evans purported in last week's newsletter.
This week they step in it again. Here's the quote: Romney reportedly spent more than $300,000 in organizing for the event and transporting, registering and housing volunteers. Brownback's backers assert that if the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., hadn't been on spring break, Brownback could have beaten Giuliani. This is another outrageous statement. From what I understand they are off by a factor of 10! As we reported, the "busses" that brought people in were all of 3 vans with perhaps 20 people total. There were buttons, flyers and t-shirts for the event which was probably the bulk of the cost. It did NOT... I repeat NOT cost $300,000. Romney is probably burning through money. But he knows where to put it. Perhaps we can buy Evans/Novak some information.... they were sure misled. Labels: evans novak In our unrelenting efforts to provide you with the best information in an original, interactive, and digestible format... we give you the Romney Campaign Interactive Timeline: 
Alec MacGillis, a journalist for the Washington Post has been contacting several Iowans who support Romney. In his intitial contact to me he stated he was "trying to gauge the level and nature of support for Mitt Romney around the country, particularly in early primary and caucus states."
As we spoke on the phone, his questions quickly moved to how the LDS community here is responding to Romney and to what level we are "organizing" for Romney. He asked about BYU alumni chapters that might be here and if that's a form of networking for Romney. He asked if there were "coffee groups" (he quickly retracted that one) or anything similar where LDS frequently get together in a non-church system. My answers were that there is no LDS network for Romney . . . at least, not in the way that his probing questions were leading. I told him how apolitical our church is and how I've never even seen a "voting guide" anywhere near our churches. I re-affirmed the church's stance/policy about not endorsing candidates, parties, or platforms and that all LDS know that neither the pulpit nor church membership lists (with contact info) are not to be used for political purposes etc . . . I gave him the names of a few LDS and non-LDS Iowan grassroots Romney supporters as well including Jim Kirkpatrick (Waverly, IA) and Joni Scotter (Cedar Rapids, IA). Well, looks like Alec contacted the LDS people I mentioned but NONE of the non-LDS people I mentioned. That seemed odd, but what was even odder was that at least three other LDS Iowans (all BYU grads) that I hadn't mentioned ended up being contacted by Alec as well. I'm guessing that Alec "Googled" "U.Iowa and BYU" and found these people this way. I can only surmise from all this that Alec really isn't trying to objectively "gauge the level and nature of support for Mitt Romney" like he stated . . . he's more than likely preparing a "Early State Mormons: A Force for Romney" story, the kind of agenda-driven journalism aimed at creating a generalized distrust of Romney because of the "VAST MORMON CONSPIRACY" to get one of your own elected President. Keep your eyes out for this story and refer back to this then. Jeff Fuller Tuesday, March 13, 2007
 I get a lot of questions on where Mitt stands on various issues. We put together the interactive issue list together with a quick FAQ on top issues. One of the issues that bother people is really easy to answer and Mitt's record on the issue is pretty darn good: gun control. Imagine fighting a legislature with 85% Democrats on gun control issues. Luckily you don't have to take my word for it. Senator Craig of Idaho had this to say about Mitt and Gun Control: Couple of excerpts: "Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has announced his candidacy for president, and I support him because he is someone who has a record of standing up for the rights of ordinary Americans – people who are starting a business, looking for a job, building a family, and enjoying the freedoms guaranteed to them by the U.S. Constitution.more here *Me again :) * Bottom line: Romney supports the second amendment and showed unique prowess in helping gun owners in a extremely blue state. Labels: 2nd amendment, gun control, guns, mitt romney, senator craig
I get a lot of questions on where Mitt stands on various issues. We put together the interactive issue list together with a quick FAQ on top issues. One of the issues that bother people is really easy to answer and Mitt's record on the issue is pretty darn good: gun control. Imagine fighting a legislature with 85% Democrats on gun control issues. Luckily you don't have to take my word for it. Senator Craig of Idaho had this to say about Mitt and Gun Control: Couple of excerpts: "Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has announced his candidacy for president, and I support him because he is someone who has a record of standing up for the rights of ordinary Americans – people who are starting a business, looking for a job, building a family, and enjoying the freedoms guaranteed to them by the U.S. Constitution.more here *Me again :) * Bottom line: Romney supports the second amendment and showed unique prowess in helping gun owners in a extremely blue state. Labels: gun control, mitt romney John McCain has refused an invitation to the Club for Growth's annual conference.
Time for updated collateral that made it's way to our desktop: (click to enlarge)  Pat Toomey expressed his angst today in the Wall Street Journal: To be fair, Sen. McCain has amassed a number of pro-growth votes over his 24 years in Congress, and his record in support of school choice and free trade is impressive, as is his opposition to wasteful government spending. He has battled to eliminate outrageous pork-barrel projects and has courageously voted against pricey laws like the 2005 Highway Bill. But his vigorous opposition to the most pro-growth tax cuts in 20 years, and his outspoken pursuit of anti-growth and anti-free market policies in the realms of regulation, entitlement reform and campaign finance reveal a philosophical ambivalence, if not hostility, toward limited government and personal freedom. Labels: McCain Admittedly, Romney is not first place in the polls a year out from the primaries. But he is in a strong third place and is slowly ebbing up. McCain seems to be slowly bleeding his numbers away (tanking) and Guiliani is the shooting star at the top. Not to worry, things can change on a dime in the world of elections. Here are two of the latest polls coming out today, followed by my 4 month average for Romney:
CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll. March 9-11, 2007. N=401 registered voters nationwide who are Republicans or lean Republican. MoE ± 4.9. Link
Rasmussen Reports Poll
My 4 month polling average for Romney
The last poll I have rounded all numbers to the nearest percentage point. Since March has yet to conclude most polls have Romney 9-10% so at the end of the month I will average them out. The Internet seems to be having a profound effect on the status of this election. Basically every speech a candidate gives is posted on the web now it seems. That doesn’t even count when you have a Macaca YouTube moment moment.
A new phenomenon that really gained steam in 04 with Bloggers for Bush is grassroots sites in support of a chosen candidate. These sites tend to be started by some guy (or girl- but oddly enough usually a guy) who just likes the candidate. Some sites might have 10-20 visitors a day, others might have 2000 or more per day. These sites do not necessarily lead to more votes on voting day (at least to my knowledge) but they do in fact indicate the level of support a candidate’s supporters are willing to offer. They also serve to get the candidates favorable message out. As someone who runs one, admittedly I am quite privy to them and read many each day. Along with polling I would make the case that fundraising, endorsements, infrastructure and Internet support (though to a lesser extent) are indicators of a candidate’s strength. I would probably say the last week or two before an election polls are a clear number one although a year before they are only one factor among many to be looked at in context. I would not dismiss polls (actually I post them myself) but I wouldn’t rely too heavily upon them at this stage. I will argue/conceed that an across the board average of them over several months would indicate certain trends. This graph represents the blogger count given by Daniel Owen at Oval Office 2008. As best as I can tell it is accurate, but these numbers change every day and there are always more sites hidden in some Internet nook, unchecked. Feel free to let us now if you think the numbers are off. This is something I will be keeping track of and giving occasional updates.  (again thanks to Justin for the graph) Labels: hannity and colmes, mitt romney  Labels: book, hugh hewitt, mitt romney, Mormon Monday, March 12, 2007
This site (TheHill.com) is tracking US Legislators endorsements for 2008.
Romney has more endorsements than any candidate on either side at 27. However, a closer look shows that Romney's support is broader and deeper than any other candidate by a long shot. Why? Well, there seems to be a lot of "homerism" with these endorsements (i.e. US Legislators from the candidates home state endorsing them). Let's look at endorsements excluding home states: Democrats: Hillary: 4 (from 3 states) Barack: 3 (from 3 states) Edwards: 3 (from 3 states) Richardson: 0 Dodd: 2 (from 2 states) Biden: 0 Kucinich: 0 Gravel: 0 Republicans: Romney: 27 (from 16 states) None from his home state Mass . . . oh, that's right--THERE ARE NO GOP US LEGISLATORS FROM MASS. McCain: 19 (from 11 states) -- fighting hard to keep pace with Romney. Giuliani: 7 (from 5 states) Hunter: 6 (from 5 states) Brownback: 0 Huckabee: 1 Thompson: 0 Paul: 0 Tancredo: 0 Gilmore: 0 With insider support, strong endorsements, excellent fundraising, still low-name recognition, telegenicity, and stellar speaking/interviewing skills, Romney stands out as the candidate who will be garnering more and more attention and broader support through the next few months. Jeff Fuller Happy Birthday, Mitt!
Mitt Romney will be on Hannity and Colmes tonight at 9PM Eastern. Don't miss it. I'll have to Tivo "24" so I won't miss Jack Bauer keeping us safe from terrorists. By the way, have you seen The 1/2 Hour News Hour on Fox News? It has got to be the funniest show I've seen in a long, long time. Scott Allan Labels: Fox News, mitt romney, Scott Allan Sunday, March 11, 2007
Also out today is the new book from Hugh Hewitt. Here's a a quick review: You don't need a taste for politics to devour this tome. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of inside baseball here - details to satisfy even the most politically addicted among us - but the layman will also appreciate this candid and fair examination of Governor Mitt Romney and his presidential aspirations. From the meticulous picture of Romney's Mother Lenore to the savvy analysis demonstrating the angst that many conservatives have towards John McCain, Hewitt weaves facts and insights in a way that is both sympathetic and honest. The picture that emerges is not the fainting, fawning, flush that some detractors predicted. Rather, the famous chiseled chin (which Hewitt admits will be used for and against Romney) comes even more clearly into relief; wrinkles and all. And, from the interviews in the book, this seems just fine with Mitt. "Hang a lantern on your problems..." a maxim that Romney cites in the book seems a savvy approach to both business and politics. Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, calls it "facing the brutal facts." No doubt this was something that Romney practiced in the private sector. It's also something that Hewitt employs throughout the book. Whether detailing the failures of George Romney's presidential bid or handicapping the Mormon issue for Romney 2.0, Hewitt pulls no punches pressing sons, associates and political pundits about Mitt's advantages and disadvantages in the 2008 race. Admittedly, I'm a fan of Romney, but the book provided me with numerous angles and views I hadn't considered before. For example, in my mind Romney has always stood solidly in the spotlight, always providing the solo with some ragtag chorus as backup. Hewitt brought into the foreground the interesting characters of Peter Flaherty, Kevin Madden, Spencer Zwick, and many others. In truth, what Hewitt shows, is that Romney is the man who brings the "team of rivals" together, constantly looking for people to challenge his assumptions and forge new ideas. Hugh also handles the Mormon question extremely well. He provides both the pro-Mormon doctrinal viewpoint (from noted Mormon lawyer Rex E. Lee) and the detractors' stance (from Walter Martin). Hewitt wisely leaves this doctrinal debate to the professionals but elucidates the constitutional precedent for disposing of denominational litmus tests pretty handily. The book also does a masterful job of defining what bigotry against Mormons really looks like. Hewitt's ultimate warning is this: "if because of his faith, he lost the Republican primaries to a less able candidate and that in turn led to the election if Hillary, the defeat of Romney on the grounds of his religious beliefs would be a great tragedy." [page16]. In short, "A Mormon in the White House" is great read about a tremendous subject and a boon to the conservative movement in this challenging election season. Labels: birthday, donate, mitt romney
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