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Subscribe to RSSFormer Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) snagged endorsements Monday from two key Republican figures in two important primary states.
Former Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire and his wife offered their endorsement Monday for Romney, while former Sen. Mel Martinez (Fla.), a former Republican National Committee (RNC) chairman, also backed Romney.
"New Hampshire voters are looking for a candidate who will focus on the economy from day one," Gregg said in a statement. "Mitt Romney is the only candidate with a record of results in both the private sector and as governor."
The former three-term senator, who served from 1993-2011, is a longtime fixture in New Hampshire politics. He served as governor from 1989-93, and in Congress from 1981-89. He was briefly nominated for a position commerce secretary under President Obama, but withdrew his name.
Some Republicans have griped in the past, though, about Gregg's ability to deliver a vote. In 2000, Gregg endorsed George W. Bush, who went on to lose the NH primary to Sen. John McCain (Ariz.).
"They can't even deliver a pizza," GOP strategist Mike Murphy, who was working for McCain in 2000, told the New York Times that January.
Martinez, a prominent Hispanic voice in the GOP from an important primary state, will serve on the Romney campaign's National Advisory Council.
"Unemployment remains a pressing issue both in Florida and across the nation," Martinez said. "Now more than ever, we need a leader who will get our country's fiscal house in order."
The endorsements have the effect of building an impression that establishment-minded Republicans have begun to coalesce around Romney. The Republican field is seen as finalized since New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin last week both said they would not seek the GOP nomination in 2012. In the week since then, Romney has been rolling out new names of Republicans who have endorsed him, while picking up support of GOP money men behind the scenes.
Romney also picked up support from a newer face in the GOP on Monday, Staten Island Rep. Michael Grimm (R), a freshman lawmaker with a relatively moderate record in Congress.
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Aren't they underestimating those oh so powerful tea baggers?
Ignore them at your own peril... lol
oh so powerful tea baggers......
all they want is obama occupying another house.
do you think they will vote for obama instead of romney?
Yes... yes... Rob - we know their priorites!
They're more than willing to keep 14 million people out of work to put ONE man out of a job!
Don't worry - they won't be voting for Romney either... ;o)
what they really want is to not have obama put another 14 million out of work!
You know things are bad when Romney emerges as the front runner only after Sarah Palin and that guy who sounds like an actor on The Sopranos say they won't run.
Still time for a white knight?
Rob you sound a little frightened this morning. Could it be the tea people GOP republican agenda of keeping the economy bad is failing? And the only tea people GOP republican candidate you can support is Romney who has already lost his last two adventures in politics. Looks like the walls are starting to crumble.
Amy, I think they are just about out of time for a white night, but they have a black knight, Hermann Cain.
not cool, Forrest
He is black, he is doing better than most of the other republican candidates, whats not cool about it?
What would not be cool is if certain republican factions start making posters showing him with a bone through his nose, like they do our president. Will some republicans now start sending out e-mails showing Hermann in the White House Rose Garden growing watermelons, and all other manner of derogatory "jokes" like they do our President and First Lady. It is what it is, if it is not cool to point that out, then you are right I am not cool for pointing out the fact that many republicans are not cool.
Has letterman done a top ten list on these occupying fools yet? I know he's a lefty and all but it could easily be the funniest top ten ever done.
How many tea partiers have been arrested over the past couple years versus occupiers in the past couple weeks?
What's the difference between a bum and an occupier.
A bum lives on the street and panhandles for money.
An occupier lives in his mother's basement gets up at noon and panhandles in the street for money.
Hey at least this movement gave me new found respect for bums. Not so much for the latter!
I hear they hate the Jews too. Nice going lefties. Way to gain support!
Rob, don't forget how bad they smell. I was in the city over the weekend and walked past the little shanty town they have built and you cannot imagine the stench coming from them. It makes Staten Island smell like a rose garden!
at least they might have to add sanitation workers....not that those people would ever apply
Imagine somebody who lives in NJ even claiming that they can SMELL anything...that's funny! Even funnier that you claim you were there, because the only stench you'd be smelling is your own BS...
You jerks on the right have a lot more in common with your fellow jerks on the left than you realize or could ever admit...just go back to the left's TP posts from last year and replace the liberal prejudice with conservative prejudice and viola'!
The only difference between the attempts to minimize and denigrate legitimate protests from the left and the right are the "dueling" blind ideologues and their rhetoric...
The truth is;
YOUR protesters are RABBLE (oh and they STINK too!)
My protesters are PATRIOTS!
More unintentional humor from the FR crowd...
Yeah because history shows us that the REAL victims of big government NEVER get arrested, mauled, mutilated, hosed downed... *Wink*
But I guess it's easy to stay clean when you have a tank of Buses and a Koch to block (no pun intended)
"Rob, Do you have any Grey Poupon... silly Americans and their democracy..."
Cue the right wing idiot to cry "Soros" to your "Koch"
Isn't it rich?
Aren't we a pair...
(No wait, they're here!)
apologies to S. Sondheim...
Chris, Cranberry, in 2007, the head of Lehman Brothers spent 3 million dollars on his own 60th birthday party. That kind of stinks too.
Why is it so hard to believe that I was in Manhattan over the weekend? It's only a forty minute drive.
And, Dangerfield, regarding that "smell" you speak of when referring to New Jersey, that's the MUSK OF AWESOMENESS!!! Something every other state sadly lacks (except for Rhode Island!).
Amy, who cares? Look at it this way, that's three million dollars more that was pumped back into the economy. If he wants to spend it on his birthday, a new yacht, or piss it away on new hats and shoes, it's none of our business.
Chris, Cranbury, NJ.
Haha...good one!
My earliest childhood memory of NJ is the "Musk of Awsomeness" that is Elizabeth. Maybe someday Calvin Klein will even bottle it...
Oh Chris wake up man. It wasn't what he spent his money on, it's that us tax payers bailed his failed company out (BYW a company he ran into the ground) so he could get his enormous bonus and have that kind of money to spend. See Chris Cranbury, it's you man that's paying for that 3 million dollar birthday party.
The only difference between a freedom fighter and a terrorist is what side your on.
Forrest Grump 2.0
Are you agreeing with me? If so, "run Forrest, RUN!"...:)
Oh, Mo! Nobody remembers that far back anymore! That's ancient history, man! Stop living in the past, man! Embrace the "today", my brother!
Besides, I only pay about $100 a year in federal taxes. Gotta love those loopholes! (By the way, the "rich" aren't the only ones that can take advantage of them!)
Dangerfield, I'll grant you that Elizabeth does stink. But that's because of the seaport and Ikea. The rest of the Garden State is AWESOMENESS scentified! (Hey! I just created a new word!) Bottle that AWESOMENESS and you'll make a fortune!
Chris,
Maybe the stench you were smelling is the smell of libbie desperation.
Does desperation smell like B.O. and feet? 'Cause that's what it smelled like.
Chris, maybe their poop smells because they've been eating the rich. And the rich are rancid.
Romney's Dad made three times as much as the average worker back when he was CEO of General Motors. Today's CEO makes 300 times more than the average worker. Something is not right here. The folks on Wall Street were compensated handsomely despite the fact they screwed up royally. In the real world, if you tank a nation's economy, or pollute the Gulf, you don't get a bonus. The opposite is happening among the filthy rich, the top executives, the investor class, ( I almost wrote, the incestor class) these days. Something is seriously wrong here.
I'm agreeing Dangerfield, when the US has backed what would normally be considered terrorists they suddenly become freedom fighters, and when same types use the same tactics but we disagree with their cause they are terrorists, we have done it over and over throughout our history. If you look at form a historical perspective it is a lot like "professional wrestling" it's hard to tell the good guys from the bad guys, and at any moment tag team team partners can turn against each other. One decade they are a friend in the region, the next decade they are the enemy. The bottom line is every time we lay down with dogs, we get up with fleas, go figure.
It doesn't matter that people aren't remembering that far back Chris, it's the fact that your 100 dollars went to help fund his birthday party. And I take by your post you are happy with that. Your motto, if it goes to fund a billionaires birthday party it's fine, but if he goes to help the less fortunate that's just bad. Sounds to me like your priorities are all wrong Chris. Party first to he!! with the rest of the country.
Amy, that smell is from them eating a lot of cheese. And Chinese take-out.
But I get what you're saying. This is all about jealousy. They are jealous because they don't have what the "rich" have, so they feel as though if they complain enough, they'll get it. This is kind of like that kid in the cookie aisle at the supermarket screaming and yelling and stomping his feet until his mom buys him that package of Triple Double Oreos (which are probably the greatest invention in the past ten years!) that they want. The good mom doesn't reward bad behavior and doesn't buy the cookies and the bad mom buys the cookies and teaches little Johnny that if he whines and complains long enough, eventually mom will cave in and give him what he wants just to shut him up. And that's what we have here. A bunch of spoiled rotten children of all ages who will scream and yell and stomp their feet until they get what they want. And then what? We go through all this bull@!$%# again ten or fifteen years down the road?
What party are you talking about, Mo? Are you inviting me to a party? I'll probably need to get a new shirt or something for it. (It seems to me that you're a little upset you didn't get invited to his birthday party, Mo.)
For the record, I don't agree with any of the bailouts that have happened in the last few years. These companies should have been allowed to succeed or fail on their own. The government should not have gotten involved in it. Yes, some people would have suffered, but it would have gone away pretty quickly. Kind of like pulling off a band-aid really fast. It stings for a few seconds, but it's a lot less painful than pulling it off really, really slow.
But you're all for the bailout that let the CEO of Lehman Brothers keep his job and get his multimillion dollar bonus. You're talking out of both sides of your mouth Chris.
Chris, Cranberry, NJ
I was thinking of you at lunch today as I bought a chocolate covered rice crispie bar. Or, rather, Krispie bar.
It had the elf with the stripped hat on it, one the snap crackle pop people.
Anyway, Occupy Wall Street isn't about being jealous, heck, I'm jealous of George Clooney's girlfriend, you don't see me occupying Italy. It's about the top 1% profiting during a recession they caused. It's about the disconnect between performance and wealth, where failing is now rewarded.
The system is screwed up. I may do a stellar job as a receptionist, but if my company's profits plummet, I don't get a bonus, I don't get a raise, and I might not keep my health insurance. If an oil rig blows up in the Gulf why are the executives getting "safety bonuses?" In the millions? Why are hedge fund investors of bailed out banks getting raises?
No, Mo, I wasn't for that one either. I am and always have been against ALL of the bailouts our government has done. Which part of that was not made clear in my post above? Reading comprehension is a very valuable skill. I suggest you learn it.
Amy, it is about jealousy. "They" didn't cause the recession, ALL of us did by buying houses, cars and other crap that we couldn't afford. "They" didn't manipulate things this way. Think about it for a second: What would be their reason for doing so? Don't you think it would be in "their" best interest for us to have money to spend on "their" goods and services? Do you think "they" all got together in a dark room somewhere to conspire all this? That would be some huge @!$%#ing conspiracy, don't you think? Do you think anybody can pull something like that off in this day and age of 24-hour news and cell phones cameras in everyone's pocket?
Is the system screwed up or just the company that your receptionist that you mention above works for? You have to remember that being greedy is not a crime in this country as far as I know. It may be immoral, but it's not illegal. (I consider abortion as a form of birth control to be immoral, but it's perfectly legal for any woman to have one.) If there were any crimes committed, then let the justice department do it's job and prosecute to the fullest extent of the law. If that's being done, then question why it's not being done. Sitting in a park in New York or Chicago isn't doing anything to help the situation any.
OK Chris, let me try to understand you. On the one hand you're against the bail out of Lehman Brothers, but on the other hand you're happy your 100 dollars help bail them out so their CEO could have enough money to spend on his birthday party as you stated in post 2.8. Isn't that talking out of both sides of you mouth?
Right Chris,
Remember "too big to fail"?? What a load of crap. If one or more of those huge investment firms went under, they would have been replaced immediately. Nature, and the business world, hates a vacuum. Someone will fill it.
Instead, Obama, in his infinite wisdom, (LOL) dumps hundreds of billions of our hard earned money trying to save what shouldn't be saved. Whatever possessed us to put a simple minded community organizer in charge of so much money is beyond belief.
Mo, where did I say I was happy about that? The $100 was an example of how much I pay. What happens to it after that is something I can't control. I don't talk out of both sides of my mouth. I'm not a politician.
Joseph, you are correct, but don't forget that President Bush got this ball rolling before he left office. I wasn't happy with that and I haven't been happy with the results either.
Actually Lehman Bros went bankrupt. And yet, Lehman Bros executives are still solvent. Funny, isn't it?
Chris in Cranberry:
According to The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission:
The captains of finance and the public stewards of our financial system ignored warnings and failed to question, understand, and manage evolving risks within a system essential to the well-being of the American public," the report concludes. "While the business cycle cannot be repealed, a crisis of this magnitude need not have occurred."
http://money.cnn.com/2011/01/27/news/economy/fcic_crisis_avoidable/index.htm
Amy, personal assets cannot be touched during a corporate bankruptcy. Only the assets of the corporation are affected. The stockholders probably lost a lot of money and I'm sure he had a sizable chunk of it.
I found this quote from the article you cited to be an eyeopener:
The report also cites "a systemic breakdown in accountability and ethics" as a factor in the crisis. However, it states that "to pin the crisis on mortal flaws like greed and hubris would be simplistic."
"It was the failure to account for human weakness that is relevant to the crisis," the report reads.
So was it all about "greed and hubris" or was it all about the regulatory agencies not doing their job? Government competence and efficiency. You gotta love it.
I thought he only stood it one place. How'd he do that?
The Obama Diary:
Steve Benen: In a speech on Friday, Republican presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney made an important vow: “As President …. I will reverse President Obama’s massive defense cuts. Time and again, we have seen that attempts to balance the budget by weakening our military only lead to a far higher price, not only in treasure, but in blood.”
I realize Romney can be a little slow on the uptake, but when the Pentagon gets more money – in some cases, even money it didn’t ask for – that’s not a “cut.” If Romney wants to be taken seriously on these issues, he should probably take the time to brush up on these pesky details.
____________________________
Also, Romney, speaking of Occupying Wall Street, there was an important article over @ Huffington Post on Saturday about a man in California who bought a house he couldn't afford and when times got tough for him, he got zero help from his bank. And he ended up walking away.
Now we all know there were mistakes made by both buyers and the banks. No question about it. A great deal of irresponsibility is to blame on all sides, which hurt us taxpayers big time.
But it seems to me that in this economy if you lose your job, why can't the banks work with these homeowners to modify their mortgage payments so that they don't lose their homes?
Doesn't that help everybody? Specifically, he economy, the taxpayers, the homeowners and the bank? Why do the banks want to do nothing and just let these vacant homes sit there and go into disrepair? It doesn't make any sense. What is wrong with lowering these mortgage payments until they find a job? It seems so cruel and unnecessary.
And beware homeowners. The gentleman who wrote the article (Mr. Downey) talked about the banks literally losing all of his loan documents.
So the question Mr. Romney. If Trump can walk away from his obligations, ye YOU run in order to kiss his ring, who exactly are you "for"?
And yes, you lied about President Obama. Again. He hasn't made our country less safe. Your party did that. The party who can't stand you.
You are dishonest.
Romney is probably projecting the massive defense budget cuts that will occur when the super committee fails to reach it's goals due to republican intransigence to increasing revenue.
It's obvious the tea people GOP republican candidates dont' have a clue what's actually going on in this country. Their just trying to make it up as they go. Facts don't have a place in the tea people GOP republican agenda.
The fact of the matter is that those protestors are spawning a growing movement across the country, you can praise them or denigrate them but they are for real, and they are not on board with republican policies in general, they spell big trouble for the republican brand. They are definitely not buying what republicans keep trying to sell them.
Forrest,
How are you doing today? I can see this so called movement lasting a few more weeks at the most. Most of these milk toast will go home as soon as the weather gets a little more nasty. Most of these people don't vote, or won't vote anyway, kind of remind me of the Vietnam protest. Remember the Vietnam protesters brought down the sitting democrat president (LBJ), so maybe they can get Obama to resign.
Again, I believe the protesters should be demonstrating in front of the White House and Congress. They are not going to find any help from the corporations or Wall Street. The democrats can't run on their record of accomplishments, so now I see the CDC is donating money, along with labor unions, to keep this protest going.
Hey Sarge, I'm doing okay, thank you for asking, how about you? Only time will tell for sure Sarge but from what I see, it is growing, young people today communicate faster and easier than ever before, for every protester you see in the flesh there are many more in spirit. Many of these kids do vote, and will vote in the next election, the nature of the way they communicate will make it easier for them to encourage each other to do so. The young ones do not have long term affiliations with a political party so you may see them in front of the white house yet, and they will make trouble for some democrats as well as republicans. Many may see Ron Paul as the answer to what neither party can get done for them, that is a scary thought to me, but is possible. By and large they are generally against many of the things republicans candidates have been championing, so I will stand by my notion that they will be more trouble for republicans than they will be for the White House or democrats.
And that was one of his big applause lines! Nobody on the right even questions the lies.
oops - that was supposed to be a reply to Pat's "As President …. I will reverse President Obama’s massive defense cuts."
Not only does the right not question his lies, neither does the media.
Mo,
Kind of like the left not questioning the lies that Obama has made. What was the last big lie, something about talking to the teacher that had been laid off and how the jobs bill could give him back his job. However, the teacher had a job and the teacher admitted he never talked to Obama. Oh, yea and the shovel ready projects that were going to create thousands of jobs, later Obama admits the shovel ready projects were not so "shovel ready". Obama is like most politicians, ever time he opens his mouth out comes the lies.
sfcret, you know you're beat when you have to start bring up talking points from several months ago. Game set and match sfcret. See you tomorrow, but do some research this time sfcret.
Libbie desperation in the air. You can smell it everywhere.
Obama setting the stage for his resignation and allowing Hillary to be the new Democratic nominee. Now that's pitiful. Historic failure, and pitiful.