At 7:00pm ET/PT on Sunday night, Governor Romney and the Romney family will be featured on CBS' "60 Minutes with Mike Wallace." Make sure to watch Mitt on Sunday!
While some of the forward information about the interview seems to suggest that it will get distracted by tertiary questions at times, it should be good.
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"There is pretty outspoken derision, on the hustings, on the matter of Mitt Romney and his evolved stand on abortion. In Iowa, which Romney recently visited, a county chairman accosted a skeptic. What he said was that Romney's opposition to abortion was the result of a 'thoughtful moral process.' People on the other side, whether of Romney, or of abortion, are expressing their skepticism."
"What I have found most arresting is the refusal of so many in the pro-choice army to submit the question to 'thoughtful moral process,' as we have been told Mitt Romney did. One can choose to ignore the moral question, but one cannot easily decline to acknowledge that there is a moral question underlying the dispute."
"The movement to eliminate thought on abortion has failed. Failed, because there is an assertive human point at issue, which cannot be denied consideration, any more than the question of slavery could forever be denied consideration."
"Mitt Romney is hardly entitled to the Republican nomination just because he has confessed his doubts on the subject of abortion. But moral history is likely to bow its head to remark this sign of life of the moral conscience. "
I think Buckley is hitting upon something significant here, which is, much of the skepticism regarding Romney's reasoning for becoming more pro-life is largely rooted in an aversion to moral contemplation and discourse. Romney's "conversion" experience strike sincere to those who believe in coming to an understanding through learning and seeking to become better. I suspect that many of those who view it as pandering would prefer moral thought be driven from the res publica.
Significant moral problems are ignored in the guise of abstract notions of precedent and penumbras. What is lost is the limitation on human understanding that should inform even those who do not have faith in the sanctity of unborn life. A moral inquiry might proceed like this...
Hopefully, everyone can agree that it would be wrong to kill a person for no good reason. The best science can do in determining when a developing baby becomes a person is to say "I don't know." Consciousness is difficult to discern. In light of the fact that we do not know when a developing baby becomes a "person" it would be very reckless indeed to destroy that life for no good reason because it could be a person. As such, abortion on demand in the first trimester is very reckless. You could be killing a person. Society's basic function should be to protect people, especially those who cannot protect themselves. Hence, it would be fair for society to legislate restrictions on abortion pursuant to that duty.
When Mitt Romney says, he thinks state's should be able to legislate on the issue of abortion, he is essentially saying that state's should be allowed to have a moral discourse about life. Simply put, "The Roe v. Wade mentality has so cheapened the value of human life that rational people [see] human life as mere research material to be used, then destroyed."
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The Goodridge decision in MA: "I believe that the Court erred because it focused on adults and adult rights. They should have focused on the rights of children. The ideal setting for the raising of a child is a home with a loving mother and father."
Cloning: "What some see as a mere clump of cells is actually a human life. Human life has identity. Human life has the capacity to love and be loved. Human life has a profound dignity, undiminished by age or infirmity."
Judicial Temperment: "I think Chief Justice John Roberts put it best at his confirmation hearing, when he described the role of a judge. Chief Justice Roberts said, 'Judges and Justices are servants of the law, not the other way around. Judges are like umpires. Umpires don't make the rules, they apply them...and I will remember that it's my job to call balls and strikes and not to pitch or bat.' Now that's the type of Justice that I would appoint to the court. "
The American People: "We are a decent people who have a commitment to the worth and dignity of every person, ingrained in our hearts and etched in our national purpose."
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Hey I liked this. I actually was feeling pretty attacked by some of the stuff out there. I especially liked the Evangelical scholar article you linked to. Even the suposed scholarly documentry PBS did about 10 days ago re-hashed some of the same old debunked myths about the church.
I don't know for sure if Romney is my choice for President but so far so good. I actually hope if there is any dirt to find--someone finds it. Because having a Mormon President who doesn't live his religon would be the worst possible outcome.
The abortion and gay stance has been a question for me. But I guess I was actually in a similar place in the early 90s on both the gay issues and abortion rights. You don't want people beat up or fired for being gay but then "gay marriage" thats a whole new thing. And I don't remember it being an issue back then.
I am pretty sensitive about not judging others by Mormon standards that they don't agree with. So I have been a little wishy washy on abortion too. However, when I really get down to it. It is just wrong for us as a society to throw away human life as though it was an apendex or something. When you really look at the issue there is very little gray.
I'm starting to be convinced. I still don't think he'll win. I've experienced too much haterd to think hate is easily overcome. But why not give it a shot.
Do mormons hate or like asian people? I am asian and I like mitt romney but on his website lists many grous you can join but left out Asian coalitions. Maybe this was an oversight or not?
I think that is a great idea. If I had any kind of affiliation with the campaign, I would try to get an Asian-American coalition started. I am, however, reduced to sending than an email to info@mittromney.com. So, we'll see if anyone appropriate in the campaign gets the email. And to answer your question, I think Romney respects all people regardless of national origin or ethnicity as children of the same God.
I was surprised when visiting the Mitt Romeny web site that his web site seeking volunteers did not have a special category for Asian Americans like African Americans, Hispanics. The same oversight occurs even in corporate America for example Pepsico has special advisory groups for African Americans and Hispanics but overlooks Asians. Pepsico's reply is that Asians make up only a small portion of their market and thus do not warrant an advisory group . Certainly someone doesn't see the global economy not only in Asia but Asian Americans here in the US.
The piece is generally fair. But there are two troubling aspects that I can summarize in two questions:
To Nancy: Can you point me to a religious view that Mormons hold that would directly call into question Mitt's fitness for office?
To Jacob Weisberg (whom Nancy quotes prominently): Should the "Weisberg Principle of Nutiness" (my phrase) apply just to people running for President? How about Senate Majority Leader? Congressman? Councilman? Dog Catcher? At what point does someone's faith hit the Weisberg religious ceiling?
OK... now that I have that out of the way. Let's discuss the article in detail:
The Mormon question has settled in right next to the issue of whether a twice-divorced man has credibility discussing family values or whether changing one's mind on an issue like abortion is a sign of moral growth or cynical retreat. Unlike in 1960, today the argument is less about the role of religion in public life than in private. It is about what our faith says about our judgment and how our traditions shape our instincts--and about what we have the right to ask those who run for the highest office in the land.
This is a fair assessment of the general problem before us. I should point out - there's nothing new here - there were similar questions in 2000 and 2004. What's changed? A Mormon has entered the race.
[Referring to Romney's explanation of a "person of faith"] But he can hardly suggest to the devout voters of the G.O.P. base that religious views don't matter, don't warrant discussion or don't affect one's conduct in office. These are voters inclined to think the wall of church-state separation is too high; it is certainly not one any candidate can hide behind. So his challenge is to draw the lines about what's relevant and what's not.
Of course religious views matter and I love discussing them. Here's where I raise my first question from above: Can someone point me to one religious view that Mormons hold that directly disqualifies someone from a political office?
But when it comes to religiously conservative voters, the more people learn, the greater Romney's problem may become. And he will have to decide whether he's willing to provide the kind of public theology lesson that no other candidate has been asked to deliver.
I've found quite the opposite. Everyone I speak to who gets to know Romney is quite taken with him. Take this instance cited in today's New York Times (h/t HH)
Even among evangelicals who say they are at least willing to consider Mr. Romney, support in many cases appears to be shaky. Larry Gordon, senior pastor of Cornerstone World Outreach in Sioux City, said his initial instinct was to rule out Mr. Romney because of his faith. But after his son, who is also a pastor at the church, came away impressed by Mr. Romney after an event, he began to examine him more closely.
Back to Nancy. One error (minor or not):
A separate ceremony was held for "gentiles," as non- Mormons are called.
We don't call them "gentiles". Michael Medved makes a joke about that sometimes. But we refer to non-mormons internally as non-Mormons. I've never heard anyone refer to non-Mormons as gentiles. This is a quibble... but any Mormon proofing the article could have told her that - which indicates that probably no Mormon did review this. Not a big deal... moving on...
"Someone who believes, seriously believes, in a modern hoax is someone we should think hard about," Weisberg argues, "whether they have the skepticism and intellectual seriousness to take on this job."
Here's where our second question comes up: should the "Weisberg Principle of Nuttiness" apply only to people running for President? How about Speaker of the House? How about Congressman? Councilman? Dog catcher? What is the level of importance in public life where the religious ceiling is hit? The other aspect has already been asked... what level of nuttiness is needed? What do you qualify as nutty?
Justin, that's funny that you noticed the "gentile" phrasing. That too stuck out at me. I have been a member all my life, and I don't remember once having someone get up in church and say, "My next door neighbor, a gentile, drinks coffee" or whatever. It is always "non-member" or "non-Mormon."
I thought it was fairly good, but some parts did make me wonder a bit. Oh well, it's MSM--anything even slightly good ought to be celebrated. ;)
As you noted, it's a very minor point: Do some Mormon's refer to those not of their faith as "gentiles"? Yes. I've heard it several times. However, the term would never be used to refer to someone, like Medved, who is a Jew. The term is used in the Book of Mormon to refer to any who are not part of the House of Israel. Jews are of the House of Israel by birth and so are those who are adopted into the House through baptism.
On May 15th... the Romney campaign is encouraging people to take action and sign up 24,000 new supporters. To help jump start this effort they have invited fans across the country to host "Sign-up America" parties on the night of the South Carolina debates (May 15th.)
Ok, I hope we can put this behind us and move on. I don't think complaining any more about Sharpton will accomplish anything. Complaining puts a bad taste in my mouth whether it comes from Sharpton or from Romney supporters. So please, no more Al Sharpton posts.
I think it is obvious that Chris Matthews is off the mark in suggesting that Romney is criticizing Sharpton for political gain. Give me a break. Nice try Matthews but that is a retarded idea.
Well, there you have it! No matter how you look at it in context or out Sharpton went after the Mormon church and used religion to attempt to discount Romney. Nice try but no cigar!
After getting in hot water for his comments on "true" believers defeating the "one Mormon" in the race, Sharpton gets out his shovel and keeps digging. The logic runs thus:
1) Mormonism didn't allow blacks the priesthood before 1978 2) Mormonism is therefore racist 3) Romney was a Mormon before 1978 (1965 or whatever) 4) Romney is not a believer in God
I am not a member of the LDS church. The bigotry Mitt has endured ENRAGES ME especially that from the right as I expected better of them. But Al Sharpton is doing Mitt a huge favor here. The RIGHT is going to rally to Romney's defense against Sharpton's bigoted and ignorant rantings.
The debate now is not about Mitt being a Mormon but about the right of all American citizens to worship as they wish.
This will be a defining moment for the Romney campaign. If it can handle Sharpton's barbs really well, then it can survive anything and yes it will thrive.
I will be a curious observer how this will be done.
P.S. Isn't Katie Adams, a Mormon, on the Rutgers Woman Basketball Team. I would be curious of her thoughts on the matter?
You really need to let this issue die. I am as big a Romney fan as they come, but continuing to push this issue is not going to win allies. Just about everyone outside of Sharpton sees the folly of his remarks. Dwelling on it incessantly is unnecessary and overplayed. Let's not waste more bandwidth on this chump and get back to the real issues of the campaign. Unfortunate as it is, continuing to drag this out just opens the door, as Sharpton points out, to focus on obscure aspects of Mormon history that simply will NOT play well with most voters if given continual airtime. It removes the focus from Mitt's message and places squarely where the MSM wants it. Stop giving your opponent a podium. It isn't helping ANYONE anyone, anymore - particularly GMR.
Am I the only one who sees this episode as potentially harmful to Romney? The beginning of the whole affair was a comment by Sharpton's debate opponent regarding the status of blacks in the LDS church in decades past. Sharpton made his inappropriate comment in partial response. That was where the issue should have been left to die. Instead, the Romney camp implies that Sharpton is a "bigot" with the result that Sharpton has now turned the bigotry accusation back on Romney and the LDS church and gone on record (with CNN) demanding that Romney repudiate the church's former position on blacks.
I fail to see how this does anything but put Romney on the defensive and call attention to an issue that would better be left out of the headlines.
Already, in comments from all corners, I see various glaring errors in the way the LDS church's relationship to blacks is being portrayed. Stuff like this definitely hurts Romney more than helps. I have to wonder what the Romney camp expected to have happen once they opened this Pandora's box. I suppose they were thinking that any publicity is good publicity. I would respectfully disagree.
Sharpton's comment highlights a fundamental truth. Mormons and Evangelical and Pentecostals don't believe in the same God. Mormons believe that a man ascended to godhood, I say they believe in 'that guy, god.' Evangelical and Pentecostal Christians believe in God who always existed, is eternal, and manifested as a man in Jesus Christ. It's an important distinction. I live in a 99% mormon community and have heard all sides of the doctrine. The mormon community should not try to blur doctrinal lines.
You see, before 1978, black males were not allowed to hold the priesthood (for a deeper discussion see here). So Mormons are bigots and don't deserve to run for President.
I can't cite the quote yet (I'll look for the transcript somewhere shortly here) but essentially Al's logic is thus:
1) The Mormon church didn't allow blacks to hold the Priesthood until 1978 2) The Mormon church was therefore racist and bigoted 3) If you belonged to the Mormon church before 1978 that made you a racist and a bigot 4) Therefore he can decry any Mormon running for public office and wave them off because "true" believers in God will defeat them.
Did I get that right? Can I take that shovel from you Reverend?
You will seriously not believe what you hear when the YouTube is posted.
I don't particularly expect anything more than this from Sharpton. What we must realize, I think, is that he is merely part of the democrat smear machine. Since the official candidates will, hopefully, not be dirtying themselves too much in religion bashing, they need surrogates to perform the role for them. Sharpton wants to reinforce those who may be inclined to pre-judge Romney based on his religion, and pre-judgment is prejudice.
From my perspective, I don't believe you can ever kick a guy like Romney down. You only kick him up. His vision to strengthen the economy, the military, and the family shine through amidst the slander. Ultimately, I, like him, have faith in the strength of the American people to be conscious, considered, and informed voters. We believe in the ultimate good of America and the voter's ability to resist demagoguery. In the end, we believe in the triumph of reasoned discourse over ad hominem argument. That is why it is so good to be a part of the party of ideas and to support the candidate of ideas, Mitt Romney.
Justin - while your efforts to combat Sharpton's unfortunate antics are sincere and well-placed, I offer that you are playing right into his hands, and into the hands of whoever may have put him up to making his comments.
He now has a forum and for at least two days, the attention from Romney's campaign and post-debate successes has been diverted to a bright spotlight, once again, on his religion, with Sharpton using the stage to highlight (as unfairly and out of context it may be) the LDS former ban on black priests.
Continuing to respond to Sharpton does nothing more, at this point, than keep the attention right where the liberals, democratic candidates, and MSM want it: squarely on hard to understand nuances of Mitt's religion.
Both the campaign and volunteer supporters alike should rise above this and refuse to let it generate discussion. Rather, after a brief calling out of Sharpton, time to return the focus onto Romney's agenda for America. A return to that focus can't come too soon. This is a loser of a fight and time to cut the damages.
Paging Don Imus: MSNBC and CBS are seeking your input on this latest Al Sharpton episode of bigoted faith-baiting. I agree with the previous comment, this only helps elevate Romney. Sharpton pulls these stunts to try and raise his own profile as he's being overshadowed by more sincere and untainted persons. Hopefully after this 2008 cycle his days as "leader" are over. Or sooner.
My point wasn't necessarily to calm anyone down, but to look at his motive. It makes little difference to me, at least, that Sharpton is bigoted for its own sake or for partisan political reasons.
I am not a religious person (Baptized a Catholic and have struggled my whole life to even wonder how we could possibly understand the nature of God) but this whole thing angers me to no end.
Mitt Romney has lived his life as a MODEL CHRISTIAN on this earth. That is all people on THIS EARTH need be concerned with.
The disposition of his soul should be left to God, not the likes of Al Sharpton or any other mortal.
Even if you actually buy his explanation about when he said "we people who believe in God", he was actually comparing himself to the athiest he was debating, and not to Romney. It actually makes sense in the context of the debate.
However, that only takes one of the points away that Justin wrote earlier, and it still smacks of egoistic, snobbish politics, at best.
There is a PBS documentary that starts tonight about the Spanish Inquisition.
I wonder if Sharpton will claim Rudy Giuliani isn't a real believer in God, because God wouldn't have priest kill people in his name. No... probably not. Bigotry is only ok for certain religions.
David Frum does some party soul searching and some hand wringing over the candidates. Yet in his brief post he manages to continue to peddle a falsity about Mitt Romney: that Mitt has somehow abandoned his healthcare program from Massachusetts. Apparently Frum did not see the debate:
Umm...I think it is best to ignore this kind of slander which is blatantly stupid and wait to respond against the more outrageous attacks which will occur in the future.
In my opinion this is a contrived controversy. Sharpton gave this answer unrelated to the question being asked. He wanted the controversy and he wants to engage the Romney campaign in this nonsense.
Justin, I think you ARE missing the point. I've seen and heard Sharpton do this type of thing before. Sharpton's comment has to be interpreted for its intent and not its language or logic.
Sharpton's comment is a purely partisan comment. Sharpton has largely been a political, and not a religious, operative for many years in the Democratic Party. In his statement he makes an invidious slight of hand(in the verbal sense) by replacing the word Democrat with believers in God. It's not that Sharpton believes that evangelicals will not vote for Romney because of disagreement with his faith, but that eventually a Democrat will win the presidency. Sharpton's thoughts about Mormonism are probably the same as other religious leaders (a general distrust), but he doesn't share the values and purpose that Mitt, as a Republican nominee, has with other religious leaders. Thus, Sharpton feels free to disparage Mitt by using religious terminology to advance a partisan political point.
Sharpton regularly pulls this trick be making a faith argument when he really is making a partisan argument. This type of casual interchange of political and religious motives is especially harmful. It encourages stereotypes about both Mormons and Christians. Mormons in that they are still some sort of outcast or outlier of society. Christians in that they are an unwelcoming and biased group, who know better than to vote for a Mormon because of religious differences. Both of these are patently false. That a person of Sharpton's profile continues to maintain legitimacy in the face of statements that are false and bigoted on so many levels is sad to say the least.
Now that the initial shock of Al's jab has worn off -- I have to revisit his quote again and try to decipher the logic therein.
There is none.
Here's the offending sentence: "As for the one Mormon running for office, those who really believe in God will defeat him anyway, so don’t worry, that’s a temporary situation.”
It's almost a throw away insult from Sharpton which makes the insult even worse. With 25 words Sharpton insinuates a boat load of raw bigoted crap:
1) Romney is a Mormon and therefore not a serious candidate. In Al's mind, Romney's denomination is as much a disqualifying characteristic as it is a defining one. The "one Mormon running for office" - he can only bring himself to refer to Romney by his abhorrent faith and not by name. In Al's world, Romney's faith makes him irrelevant. It also layers his bigoted cake with a twinge of removal and flippancy, something Al is adept at using when confronted with, say, Tawana Brawley.
2) Romney is a Mormon and thus disqualified. In Al's mind, no right-thinking Christian could ever vote for the "one Mormon". According to Al, Romney is as much a throw away as his one-liner. No need to worry of course: "those who really believe in God will defeat him anyway." Who is he referring to here? Will McCain and Rudy be hailed as the Mormon-eating Christian warriors for Al? Will Obama defeat Romney next November with Sharpton whistling "Onward Christian Soldiers" as they unlatch the door on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue? Why did he need to make this statement in the first place? Is there "worry" out there about the "one Mormon" might actually win this election?
3) Mormons have no place in the American politics. What!? A Jew is on the ship? No worries, those right thinking Christians will toss him overboard. That's offensive... but it's essentially what he said. How about we lower the race a bit... say School Superinendent of Fairfax County, Virginia. Let's do a bit of editing and roll tape... "As for the one Mormon running for [School Superintendent], those who really believe in God will defeat him anyway, so don’t worry, that’s a temporary situation.” Yikes! That sounds almost as bad as our semitic replacement. Use anything... how about Student Body President, PTA Board member, paper boy... where does it stop? Or... is it only for important jobs.
4) Real believers in God will rise up and defeat all non-believers in God. The subsequent deed following the cry of "Allah Ho Akbar!" is thankfully absent from Al's quick diatribe... but the sentiment is striking similar. Al - Let's leave the religious political poisonous infighting to the Shiia and Sunii. There's no place for it here. You see Mormons don't really believe in God. Al may question (indeed many of my readers may question) the God I believe in but don't tell me I don't believe in God. And don't tell me that someone who doesn't even believe in God can't participate in American politics. And what does "temporary situation" really mean? I can picture Marlon Brando, cotton balls in mouth, reciting that quick diddy... but I expect more from a supposed religious leader.
Perhaps I'm missing the context. Here's the quote again in the context of the NY Times writer:
Noting that Dr. King had established the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, he said, “There’s no question that he himself saw that the basis of the movement was God-based.” He added, “To try and secularize the civil-rights movement is just totally inaccurate. It was a church-based, faith-based movement; there’s just no question about that. … Let’s not reinvent Dr. King any more than we try to reduce God to some denomination or convention.”
But Mr. Sharpton, in a jab at Mitt Romney (and the Mormon religion, which Mr. Hitchens had criticized because it once endorsed racial segregation), added, “As for the one Mormon running for office, those who really believe in God will defeat him anyway, so don’t worry, that’s a temporary situation.”
Well, that didn't help his case any. So Sharpton declares that Dr. King's movement was a faith-based movement, a God-based movement. But apparently, Al's interpretation of the movement has no room for Mormons even though Mormons made room for him 30 years ago.
This is upsetting on so many levels. I guess I shouldn't be shocked. Al Sharpton has a history of this type of divisive nonsense.
One last word... watch out Harry Reid, Al is coming after you with his legions of true God-fearing challengers. They will defeat you... and all of us if we don't call Al on his bigoted comment.
Al Sharpton is an ignorant man. If he were white, he'd be lucky to get a job working fast food. Al's the political equivalent of "Eddie the Eagle," the infamous English ski jumper. He doesn't know what he's doing but he's entertaining to watch.
Yesterday Al Sharpton said: “As for the one Jew running for office, those who really believe in God will defeat him anyway, so don’t worry, that’s a temporary situation.”
Are you kidding me! Oh, wait... I got that quote wrong.... here's the actual quote:
“As for the one Mormon running for office, those who really believe in God will defeat him anyway, so don’t worry, that’s a temporary situation.”
Does that sound any better? As Hugh Hewitt points out... if Al said:
If Al had declared that a Buddhist, Hindu or Muslim or candidate would be defeated by those "who really believe in God," how great would the outcry be?
I'm speechless?!
For all his banter and vile against Imus (some of it justified) -- how does he justify these comments? Any ideas on how to counter this? I'll have more later.
No no please do not dignify this malicious nutcase by putting his picture on your website! He causes me complete revulsion because of his total, Godless, lack of morality. I don't want to hear another word about this poser.
We should approach this as honorable Latter Day Saints.
I suggest we flood his show with calls. I just called and the producer I spoke to insists that it's not a topic they are discussing right now. He told me to call back on Friday. I think if we all start calling we will get some play.
If I have the opportunity to speak to Rev Sharpton, I will address this issue calmly and ask him to apologize to the millions of LDS people he discriminated against by making this remark.
Anyone know where we can send a letter/email/fax to Sharpton? I see that Heather posted the phone number for his show but I would like to send a letter if possible. Why is it that this is the only place where I have seen this piece of news?(No need to answer...)
My first thoughts are anger and annoyance; but, my LDS upbringing has taught me better. The very UN-reverend Sharpton is nothing more than a bigot who will do or say anything to get attention and we all know that includes blantant falsehoods. He's not worthy of any additional effort on behalf of the public. Let Mr. Romney handle him. His words will be sufficient...at least for me.
It's all over the news--the Washington Post, the Guardian, the LA Times. Google [al sharpton mitt romney] and you'll get a lot of hits—Google News lists >300 stories. (This site is #1 in the regular search.)
Take a minute and vote on this poll at IowaVotes2008.com... if only to make sure that Joseph Biden doesn't end up on the TV. The Senator can thank us later for ensuring he doesn't step in it again?
Well, I figured it was never too late to signup to have friends over for the debate May 15th on Fox News. You can sign up to host a private event or a public event. I opted for the private event at my house. After you sign up, you simply blast out invitation emails to all of your friends and family. The campaign promises to send you materials to make it successful. Or, you can even search for a public event in your area. There are several within reasonable driving distance of my Southern California location. You can sign up as well, here.
Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani in his campaign appearances this year has stated that he personally abhors abortion, even though he supports keeping a legal right to choose. But records show that in the '90s he contributed money at least six times to Planned Parenthood, one of the country's leading abortion rights groups and its top provider of abortions.
Governor Romney took some grief for giving a $250 donation to a Democrat... but I would say this is just a bit worse for the wear for Rudy. Hmmm... Deroy, any thoughts on this?
Here's one of my favorite ads from Planned Parenthood.
This is the kind of stuff I abhor. I hope the mayor does as well.
Someone should ask if, like Gov. Romney, he regrets his previous positions. Someone should ask if he regrets these contributions?
If I am treated poorly by an employee I leave and take my hard earned money elsewhere. I can't imagine giving money to a company that supports something I "HATE"
Rudy lied when he said he hated abortions. He said he would pay for his daughter to have one (this is documented). As mayor he CELEBRATED every single anniversary of Roe V Wade. We spoke at NARAL and Planned Parenthood events.
No reasonable person could ever believe Rudy HATES abortion.
UPDATE: Matt Lewis of Townhall.com and others have some legitimate qualms with the NH poll. That's fine. But the % error in the poll to show anything but movement upward for Mitt is convincing enough to me to tout it.
So what's happening here? How is a small no-name Governor making a name for himself in a state that borders Massachusetts but prides itself on being very different than it's southern neighbor?
Two words: ground game.
Fred Thompson advocates are all excited about running a virtual campaign that has few boots but lots of national pizazz. "National pizazz" should be part of every campaign (Romney has the national fundraising snazzy programs for example) but you NEED BOOTS ON THE GROUND to make a difference.
Dick Morris loves to talk about the Internet making a big difference.... he's right about that... but he has misguided expectations if he things it will make ALL the difference. It won't.
We are ardent supporters of Mitt Romney for president and have helped develop a huge following for him in southern Colorado. We want to see him begin entertaining a possible VP running mate, preferably (and one of the few that can help beat the Clinton/Obama juggernaut in the general election) Senator Elizabeth Dole. Senator Dole is respected and admired by a wide swath of Americans. She is trusted by conservatives and moderates alike, and feared enough by liberals not to critisize her for fear of voter-backlash. A Romney/Dole team-up, if hinted at NOW---not after the priamries have started---will assure Romney's rise in the national polls. If only we can get the message to Romney's people to start such talks ASAP. He needs that boost now, even if he can't make it official just yet. Please, help us get the word to Romney's team on this. We've contacted his campaign on this, but are doubtful that it has been shared with Romney himself. --Dr. Max S. Chartrand
According to a SurveyUSA poll of 551 likely Republican Primary voters, Mitt Romney gathered 32%, followed by Rudy Guiliani at 23% and John McCain with 22%. Fred Thompson finished fourth with 11%.
Over the past few weeks I've been working with David All and other bloggers to launch TechRepublican.com – a site dedicated to filling the online fundraising gap between the DEMs and GOP. Here's my first post. Please visit TechRepublican.com for more!
Facts are facts: the GOP is falling behind online.
Before we approach anything resembling an autopsy let's get hip to the "scholarship" preceding this conversation. Read these pieces first:
I'm of the mindset that there are numerous issues at play holding us back from full online GOP potential:
No Bugbear for the Right - (at least not in the Primaries) - If Hillary pulls it off (and there's every reason to believe she will) the generative animus of the Right will be there. But can we wait that long before the ship is lost??
No Umbrella Strategy - (at least not at the national RNC level) - With the recent changes in RNC leadership it seems there's a bit of catch-up to do. Since the election I've received all of 4 emails from the RNC. Howard Dean sends me something almost every week.
In-fighting - (all this Primary fighting is fairly new ground for us) - The disadvantage of having a 2-term President with no VP successor is that we now have a new generation of political advocates to educate on what Primaries are all about. Couple this with the 2-year breakneck sprint to 2008 and we have some natural built-in problems.
Failure to Grasp Web 2.0 – (not to mention Web 1.0!) - This isn't just a plea for technology. It's a plea for usability. For instance, take a gander at the page that the DNC utilized in January the night of the State of the Union Address. All of the elements of campaign success are evident. In the email that I received from Howard Dean there was a dynamic graphic that reflected the number of donations they had received to date (interactivity, sociability). The donation landing page has the entire contribution form above the fold - quite the feat for those of you who have worked with these things before - (usability). The code words for the Left, the belittling of the "other", the timeframe, the goals. Everything was in sync. I have yet to see this from the GOP.
Ignoring Randian Self-aggrandizement – ("greed is good?!) - One of the advantages that the left has is that there are SIGNIFICANT hubs that foster mass movement forces. Compare the top right-leaning sites to the top lefty sites <http://truthlaidbear.com/ecosystem.php>. With the exception of Talking Points Memo, the lefty blogs are massive group blogs. RedState is a good focal point, Townhall is a great hub, Rob is ramping up the Victory Caucus... but they just don't have the same impact as Daily Kos when it comes to pure numbers.
So, what's to do?
FIRST: Know your customer. Let's take advantage of point #5 and plug into Right Wing bloggers desire for recognition. The Victory Caucus pledge against the NRSC (which garnered almost 40,000 sigs) was great. Imagine how many more sigs they could have gotten if they had a recognition policy for "referrals" to the petition! Let's harness our Randian desires!
SECOND: Experiment. The best ad agencies in the world run ads that they think will fail just to test them out. Let's set our expectations that we are not going to get this right the first time out. But we need to try and test different ways to approach this.
THIRD: Deliver the Primal Code. Some people tout Seth Godin, others are big Bezos fans... I like Patrick Hanlon. In his book: Primal Branding<http://www.amazon.com/Primalbranding-Create-Zealots-Company-Future/dp...>, Hanlon defines the seven aspects of a good brand: "the creation story"; "the creed"; "the icons"; "the rituals"; "the pagans"; "the sacred words"; and "the leader". The GOP is seriously deficient on many of these. (More on this later)
If we can steel ourselves to face the brutal facts, curb our egos enough to foster genuine momentum, and prep our troops for the General election without dividing the base in the Primaries… we have a real chance to turn this around.
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