Romney is edging away from Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who now trails Romney 29-27, according to The Hill’s lawmaker endorsements list. The GOP presidential candidate next most endorsed by members of Congress is former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, whom 21 lawmakers support. Undeclared candidate Fred Thompson, former senator from Tennessee, has been endorsed by 18 members of Congress.

Labels: Endorsements

A Christian Coalition of America officer who ran a successful campaign to ban gay marriage in South Carolina said Thursday he is endorsing Republican Mitt Romney's presidential bid and will work for the campaign.

Drew McKissick, the national coalition's secretary and board member, will be a paid "South Carolina grass roots adviser" for the campaign, Romney spokeswoman Gail Gitcho said Thursday.

Labels: endoresements, Endorse, Endorsements, mckissick

Chart as of 2/23

We admit up front that this list is not official. We've gathered the names from public news articles and on the candidates website. With that in mind there is no mistake that Mitt Romney increased his endorsement edge.

The difference seems to be a good majority of the Utah delegation getting behind him and making their names public. But there were also numerous endorsements from Georgia and South Carolina. Next week we will make available an endorsement application that will allow you to make contributions to this effort. We will try to source each of these as well.

Labels: david brody mitt romney, election, endoresements, Endorse, Endorsement, Endorsements, McCain, rudy

Labels: Endorsements, Georgia

MMM: Why did you endorse Mitt Romney?

Bopp: I believe that Governor Romney is the best qualified person for President. He is a fiscal and social conservative, he has impressive administrative experience in the private, non-profit and public sectors, and he is a proven and successful politician.

MMM: Given Governor Romney's well documented statements on abortion in the past what would you say to pro-life leaders who remain concerned about Romney's commitment to the movement given his recent conversion to it.

Bopp: The pro-life movement is open to converts. Two of our most stalwart pro-life presidents, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, were converts. I believe that Governor Romney's conversion on the pro-life issue is sincere for three reasons. First, it was based on a real life pivot point, when Harvard researchers told him that there was no "moral issue" with embryonic stem cell research because they "destroy the embryos at 14 days." This had a profound effect on him.

Second, as Governor, he consistently pursued pro-life policies. He vetoed the bill providing state funding for embryonic stem cell research, he vetoed a bill that provided for the "morning after pill" without a prescription because it is an abortifacient, he vetoed legislation which would have redefined Massachusetts longstanding definition of the beginning of human life from fertilization to implantation, and he fought to promote abstinence education in the classroom. These actions as Governor, and others, have lead leaders of the most important social conservative groups in Massachusetts, including Massachusetts Citizens for Life, Massachusetts Family Institute and the Knights of Columbus, to observe that, while previous comments by Ronmey "are, taken by themselves, obviously worrisome to social conservatives including ourselves, they do not dovetail with the actions of Governor Romney from 2003 until now - and those actions positively and demonstrably impacted the social climate of Massachusetts." They conclude that Romney "demonstrat[ed] [his] solid social conservative credentials by undertaking" these actions, and has, therefore, "proven that he shares our values, as well as our determination to protect them."

Third, I have met with Governor Romney and asked him the questions that I think need answered. I am satisfied with his answers.

MMM:While Rudy Giuliani has obvious flaws for the Pro-life movement John McCain's are not as apparent.Why should pro-life voters care about the Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act(BCFRA), or McCain-Feingold.

Bopp: While both Giuliani and McCain would be superior to any potential Democrat nominee, I have serious policy differences with each of them.

Senator McCain opposes the federal marriage amendment, supports embryonic stem cell research and was a ringleader of the Gang-of-14 compromise that made it easier for Democrats to block President Bush's judicial nominees. He voted against Bush's tax cuts, supports an amnesty plan for illegal immigrants, and supports the Kyoto-like restrictions on the American economy.

Finally, Senator McCain is the principal sponsor of the McCain-Feingold bill which imposes severe limits on the participation of citizens groups and political parties in our representative democracy. The pro-life movement should care about McCain-Feingold because it has seriously undermined our ability to accomplish our policy goals by making it much harder to influence public policy.

Labels: Bopp, Endorsements, pro-life, Romney

WHO IS JAMES BOPP, JR. ESQ. (View full Bio here)

• General Counsel to National Right to Life Committee (1978-present)


• General Counsel to James Madison Center for Free Speech(1994-present


• Special Counsel to Focus on the Family(2004 - present)


• President of National Legal Center for the Medically Dependent and Disabled, Inc(1984-present)


• Practice area: Constitutional Law; Civil Litigation; Non-Profit Corporations Law; Election and Campaign Finance Law; Civil Appeals; Administrative Agency Practice


• RNC member

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT

This is important on two levels. First, James Bopp is a trusted figure in the Pro-life movement. Hundreds, if not thousands of local pro-life leaders have used James Bopps legal memos in their activism. He has spoken at many pro-life events and conventions, including three that I've been at. This will go a long way in gaining the trust of the pro-life movement.

It is also important on another level. James Bopp is one of the leading opponents of Campaign Finance Reform Laws, or put another way: McCain-Feingold.

Consider the following:

Bopp's actions at the RNC Winter Meeting:

Members of the Republican Nat'l Committee passed on Thursday a
strongly-worded resolution rebuking a signature accomplishment of their party's
frontrunner, Sen. John McCain -- his Bipartisan Campaign Finance Act, known as
McCain-Feingold.

The 13-paragraph resolution, sponsored by RNC member and campaign finance
litigator James Bopp Jr, urges Congress to "adopt common sensereforms of BCRA"

Bopp's latest legal actions:

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to take another look at the federal ban on
naming specific candidates in "issue ads" immediately before elections.

The ban, which applies 30 days before primaries and 60 days before general
elections, is a key provision in the 2002 McCain-Feingold Act. The court
upheld the act three years ago, when Sandra Day O'Connor was still an
associate justice.

She has since retired and has been replaced by Samuel Alito.

FINAL ANALYSIS:

Giuliani is completely unacceptable to Pro-Life issue voters. McCain, though, isn't as obvious in his threat to the Pro-Life movement. Romney's latest endorsement gives him a forceful, pro-life voice to remind the movement why McCain has been a threat to the movement.

It's a two-for-one deal for the Romney Campaign: burnishing Romney's pro-life credentials and tarnishing McCain's.

Labels: Endorsements, Giuliani, McCain, pro-life, Romney