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WASHINGTON, DC -- After his stinging losses to Rick Santorum on Tuesday, Mitt Romney has responded with this message: He’s the only Washington outsider left in the race and, thus, the only one capable of changing its culture.
And he has lumped his two main challengers – Santorum and Newt Gingrich – into the dreaded “Washington insider” category.
"I happen to believe that the American people recognize that if we’re going to see change in Washington, we’ve got to see some new faces," Romney said at a campaign event in Atlanta. "I haven’t spent any time working in Washington. I spent my life out in the real economy."
He added: "Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, they've spent a lot of time in Washington and during their years we spent more money than we were taking in … Actually, during Sen. Santorum's time in Washington, the government grew by 80 percent. And he voted to raise the debt ceiling five times. This may work in Washington, or it may have worked in the past, it will not work in the future."
But Romney's efforts to claim the Washington outsider mantle – including calling for a permanent ban on congressional earmarks this afternoon – are at odds with the deep Washington connections he and his campaign have built, winning the support of dozens of members of Congress, and millions of dollars in donations from the Washington power structure.
The fundraiser being hosted by Romney tonight at Washington’s J.W. Marriott hotel is just the latest example.
The former Massachusetts governor’s top policy advisers, along with a group of top congressional supporters, will brief donors on issues ranging from the economy to energy to foreign policy. Donors had to raise $10,000 for the campaign to score the best tickets to the event.
Romney, like other candidates, has turned to elite bundlers in order to help finance the heavy price tag of waging a run for the White House. While the Romney campaign is not obligated to disclose most of its bundlers (The Obama campaign voluntarily makes public its bundlers.), it is required by federal law to disclose which of those elite fundraisers are registered lobbyists.
Romney's fourteen lobbyist bundlers – including representatives from powerhouse D.C. lobbying firms Dutko Worldwide and Ogilvy Government Relations – raised $1.1 million for his campaign in the second half of 2011, according to recent Federal Election Commission filings. Ogilvy chief Wayne Berman, one of Romney's top bundlers, is also a co-chair of his national finance committee.
But Romney’s connection to elite D.C. operatives don’t end with fundraising.
Ron Kaufman, a former Bush Sr. advisers and now one of Romney's top advisers was a top lobbyist for Dutko for years, telling the Boston Globe he decertified as a lobbyist just last year.
Team Romney also includes other top-tier Washington power brokers like Charlie Black, a former top adviser to John McCain began advising Romney earlier this year, and Romney's chief counsel Ben Gingsberg, who held the same role in both Bush-Cheney campaigns, and has represented numerous house and senate campaigns and PACs.
Romney's commanding lead in congressional endorsements, which would otherwise be seen as a sign of strength, also undercuts his outsider message. The former Massachusetts governor's campaign rolled out two new endorsements from Michigan Reps. Fred Upton and Tim Walberg just yesterday, and the Romney campaign has more than double the congressional endorsementsof Paul, Santorum and Gingrich combined.
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Romney has more relevant experience in his little pinky than Obama will EVER have. I'm pretty sure my Golden Retriever is smarter than Obama too. She's at least smart enough to come in out of the rain. Obama? I'm not so sure. Three and a half years and not one single accomplishment that's helped the American people.
Romney has the most experience as a leader.....
^ He has experience destroying American business and lives at Baine Capital true.
Poor Willard, tomorrow he will have to give an Oscar worthy performance to the tea bagger crowd!
These die hard neocons can smell a phony from a mile away...
^ Exactly.
Teabaggers require bat-bleep crazy.
And Romney's only faking it.
Romney ran for President and lost, ran for governor and won one term, ran for senator and lost, so for 20 years he has been deeply rooted in the Republicrat political machine, yes it is a huge well financed conglomerate.
To say he is not a Washington insider, is to imply he is not an American!
Romney will twist the truth until it is not recognizable if he thinks his audience will buy it!
The absence of government is anarchy. He is to radical in his approach to social safety nets and business regulation. We have tried unregulated business before with disastrous results and as far as turning welfare and healthcare over to religious organizations that's been tried before too.It is a shame that his views are so radical because we need a true conservative who knows the difference between bad regulations and needed regulations. A man that represents the vast majority of people. The greatest expansion of the middle class was when the elite paid their fair share and the income was used to expand the infrastructure. China is out spending us in education, infrastructure and research and development. We on the other hand are spending seven times more than they are on our military. It is a case of priorities.
Those that have compassion for others will not vote for Romney.
He could careless about the poor/working poor.
GIVE IT UP REPUBLICAN CONSERVATIVE GREEDIES ; because of ya'll hipocritical stance for the greedy , and not the needy , ya'll GOLDEN GOD OF GREED IS AWAITING HIS RIGHTFUL THROWN TO THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. YA'LL MIGHT AS WELL START BOWING DOWN TO THE ALTAR OF '' MORONI '' RIGHT NOW. that's what ya'll get to help in ya'll righteous fight to '' steal from the dirt poor , and give to the filthy rich ''!!!!!
I am a registered Dem who voted Obama the first time. Mitt, Newt and Rick are establishment Republicans which I oppose. Obama is simply an extension of Bush if you look at their voting records and oppression of civil rights.
I have no choice but to vote Ron Paul (who is Independant but running under the Republican ticket) to restore our Constitution and Civil Rights. He is the only one who will restore power to "We The People".
Ron Paul 2012!
Old Vet,
re: previous post where you asked about Obamas Executive Order 13575:
theblaze.com/stories/does-the-new-white-house-rural-council-uns-agenda-21/
TexasFighterGal has written the best post in this thread. If you read it and ponder it, you may understand what is happening with our government and why we feel the way that we do. I am registered Democrat and voted Obama the first time. I will not vote for Obama again, NOR will I vote for an establishment Republican candidate.
The post is located on page 1 (#25.1).
Ron Paul 2012!
Watch this short video on how the Billionaire Koch Brothers are actively working to destroy Social Security: www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFymBUsoNWY
Yep. But Ron Paul doesn't take bribe money - not from special interest, not from Wall Street. There's a stark difference between establishment Dem/Repub (which are both the same), and Independant Ron Paul who just happens to be running under a Republican ticket.
Read and learn, my friend. Create yourself a spreadsheet of the candidates and their recorded voting records (as I have done). You will see that Bush=Obama to the core, and Newt, Mitt and Rick don't know which way the wind blows.
Ron Paul 2012!
Very good observation on #25.1. It was well thought out and researched. There is no mudslinging only logic and facts. I enjoyed it.
republicangreedy guy..... The Koch Brothers are so small potatoes it is not even funny. Obama and the Democratic party have been supported by the Rockefellers, Rothschilds, Warburgs, Soros and a host of others that either are trillion-airs or soon will be. Then we have both Israel and the Saudi's. All these people had more money in their spare change pockets 50 or 100 years ago than the Koch Brothers made in their lives. These Democratic party alliances go back 50 to 100 years... coincidence?
Then we have his/their corrupted relationships with the FEDERAL RESERVE, GOLDMAN SACHS!!! FANNIE/FREDDIE, Teamsters Union, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, CitiCorp, Wells Fargo, B of A, General Electric, General Motors...ect ect ect These are all the whose/who of corruption, tax evasion, bribery and federal regulation violators. You
Not to mention the worst crooks in the country the "TRIAL LAWYERS".
Now if this is not bad enough everyone of these were "BAILED OUT" by this administration and are now pouring much of that bailout money back into Obama and the Democratic party through lobbying and campaign contributions. They are using OUR taxpayer money to fund Obama's election!
It bothers me when you believe one party, group or individual has corrupt alliances or is taking lobby money. Ron Paul is the only one not taking lobby money or special interest money.
Every politician taking lobby and special interest money is DIRTY. They are taking bribes and owe favors for that bribery money. The politicians use the taxpayer money to payoff their lobby's.
Ron Paul never took a dime in lobby money over a 30 year career. He was elected 12 terms and ran for the Presidency twice. The only reason these other take all the lobby and special interest money is because they can't run on honesty, values and real change. They run on extorting money from one group to give to another.
I voted for Obama before and see no reason to do differently this time. If the blue collar voters get to vote, and their votes are counted, Obama should win. We need to remember the down ballot races too.
Romney has not been in the political system, he has just used the system for his financial gain. that's even worse. can not imagine how much he would gain for himself and the billionaire buddies that are controlling, and supporting him right now.
Really hate to break anyone's bubble, but Wrong Paul will never win. He's tried before, and lost each time. While he does have a few very good ideas, he will never ever get any of those ideas into law if he happens to win.
You think the GOP is the party of NO. Wait until Wrong Paul gets the oval office, the whole house and senate will together say NO to everything. The only support Wrong Paul has is from a few fringe voters.
This is for sure a very interesting year, all the mess in the middle east, the War on WOMEN here, the tea baggers promised jobs, gave us a blank budget, previously said the deficit doesn't matter, but now it does? Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. Pass the popcorn. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
This all reminds me of the television game-show back in the 1960's years ago, where the moderator at the end of the segment, would ask one of the three guests on the panel, "Will the real Mitt Romney please stand up."
So the question is, is Romney a Liberal, Moderate, or Conservative. Only his hair-dresser knows.
There's a really great word to describe Romney: SMARMY. Look it up. I think you'll agree it fits him absolutely perfectly.
Prez O is smart. He doesn't have to seriously campaign; Just let these RepublicanCrimeCartelThugClowns go public with their unacceptably criminal behavior, and Voila!!!!!
There they are!!!: All TV'd Up! Like Dracula, Frankenstein and The WolfMan; MittTaxPittance Rommel, THEGangrene and, last BUT NOT in the least, The WolfManVomitorium! YESSSSSS!!!!! First off is DRAC: aka MittTaxPittanceRommel, Who will START A WAR WITH Iran, And A very Profitable War for his RepublicanCrimeCartelCorporateMasters AT THAT!! The Count was "nice enough" to expose his taxes!! Hmmm...Let Me See Now...Drac paid 13% on $42,000,000 income EEEZZZZ MONEY: About 5million AND!!! WE American Taxpayer Victims PAID The Count's REMAINING $7,800,000 Tax Liability!!!! Thanks for SUCKING US Dry Drac!!! AND Aren't We "LittlePeople" Thrilled that The Count is nice enough to Let US have the Honor of Paying His Taxes!! He WILL ALLOW Even, the Poor, Whom HE HAS STATED He "DOES NOT CARE ABOUT" To coughUp his Tax Liability!; 'Long as they got A BloodyJob with deductions Drac can get his FANGS into their BloodMoney as small as it might be!
Then There is Frankenstein, err...THEGangrene who, with his department store mannequin "Other Half", will turn to Destructive Rage at the drop of a wrong word or moment!!! EGADZ, This SelfEntitled Creature of Pleasure will Start A War for his RepublicanCorporateMasters AnyWhere, AnyHow, AnyWay, EVEN On The Moon!, as long as there is profit and Franky gets a stipend from it!!! ANYTHING TheGangrene Touches will Putrify and Rot like what is left of OUR AmericanBodyPolitic!!! Watch Franky TRY to Come alive with "lightening" speed at the RepublicanNationalCrimeCartelConvention!!!
Now Comes The WolfMan Vomitorium... What Can be said!! Such a Goot'Lookin'Boy! Ooh Facime! What A Face!! how could he do Anything Unsavory!!! BUT When The CORPORATE SYMBOLS rise in his eyes TheVomitorium begins his hungry and Very Hairy Growling for American Taxpayer's Blood!!!!
Yes!! THERE is your victim Wolfy!! Go and Savage It WolfMan with BloodLust Fangs and All! Our American UniversalHealthCare System!! All of OUR Allys have it, EVEN the TowelHeads Have A NationalHealthCareSystem!, This Political Beast Savaged and ALSO Struck down OUR Bill for AnAmericanNationalHealthCareSystem!!! Then, when The Killing Is Over, Out Steps The 'A nica'Boy Vomitorium; Ooohh!! How CleanCut!! Yes And so are His savage sever wounds on OUR AmericanHealthCareBill!!!!Brother And Sister American Putting these guys In Power is Having Dracula Guard our BloodBanks!!! You Saw What the Count Did......
I think this woman is speaking liberal "Ebonics". It certainly is not English. Wow, Welcome to the the new world order!
LET'S BE HONEST , '' THE WORLD IS A HAPPIER PLACE SINCE THE ELECTION OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA , '' PRESIDENT BARACK HUSSEIN '' OOOOBAMMMMMAAAA '' !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hope and change is coming to a place near you , '' just keep the faith '' !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What's up with facebook blocking you from making comments. Just making comments like everyone else. I guess too many people afraid to hear the truth. Delete facebook.
This compassionate Christian conservative founded a charity that was actually a bit of a scam. In 2001, following up on a faith-based urban charity initiative around the 2000 GOP convention in Philadelphia, Santorum launched a charitable foundation called the Operation Good Neighbor Foundation. While in its first few years the charity cut checks to community groups for $474,000, Operation Good Neighbor Foundation had actually raised more than $1 million, from donors who overlapped with Santorum's political fund raising. Where did the majority of the charity's money go? In salary and consulting fees to a network of politically connected lobbyists, aides and fundraisers, including rent and office payments to Santorum's finance director Rob Bickhart, later finance chair of the Republican National Committee. When I reported on Santorum's charity for The American Prospect in 2006, experts told me a responsible charity doles out at least 75 percent of its income in grants, and they were shocked to learn the figure for Operation Good Neighbor Fund was less than 36 percent. The charity -- which didn't register with the state of Pennsylvania as required under the law --- was finally disbanded in 2007. Huffington Post
Likewise, a so-called "leadership PAC" created by Santorum that was supposed to fund other Republicans instead seemed to mostly pay for the lifestyle of Santorum and those around him. My investigation of the America's Foundation PAC showed that only 18 percent of its money went to fund political candidates, less -- and typically far less -- than any other "leadership PACs." What America's Foundation did spend a lot on with what looked like everyday expenses, including 66 trips to the Starbucks in Santorum's then-hometown of Leesburg, Va., multiple fast-food outings and expenditures at Walmart, Target and Giant supermarkets. Campaign finance experts said the PAC's expenses -- paid for by donations from wealthy businessmen and lobbyists -- were "unconventional," at best and arguably not legal. Santorum also funded his large Leesburg "McMansion" with a $500,000 mortgage from a private bank run by a major campaign donor, in a program that was only supposed to be open to high-wealth investment clients in the trust, which Santorum was not, and closed to the general public. Huffington Post
Rick Santorum was named among the top most corrupt politicians in 2005-2006 by a Washington watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. Watch the youtube video The Santorum Connection.
Enter Jack Abramoff and his happy mixing with Santorum.
In 1996 the sweatshop interests were facing an extension of US immigration and labor laws to the islands because of endless reports of horrific abuse. One of the first hearing of the Gingrich Congress was a bipartisan one committed to an end of this blight on American honor. To fight this effort, the sweatshop owners—and their partners controlling the local government—hired Jack Abramoff. Working with his Republican allies, Jack was able to protect their labor abuse scam for a decade—and even today others are still working with these Pirates of Saipan to protect and maintain the abuse. In this effort, Rick Santorum was one of Jack’s first points of contact:
Santorum helped Jack win his legislative battle. He was one of the first elected members of Team Abramoff and throughout the rest of his years in Congress he was a reliable supporter of the Saipan Sweatshops. Naturally, he was well paid for this support. Shortly after his meetings with Abramoff, Willie Tan—the sweatshop owner—and some of his employees attended a Santorum fundraiser as part of their Abramoff-organized tour of America for the 1996 GOP Convention:Satorum’s FightPAC recieved $5,000 just before the sweatshop owner and his employees went to his fundraiser and another $5,000 just after Abramoff won a Santorum supported legislative victory for his sweatshop dependent clients. Both payments to his PAC were from John Pangelinan, a long-time Tan Family employee. Watch the youtube video and type in Rick Santorum Who Is He Walmart,pretty intereseting stuff.
After loosing his senate position Rick Santorum earned millions of dollars including payments from a lobbying firm, an energy company engaged in controversial practice which pollutes ground water and endangers the public and a hospital conglomerate that was sued for allegedly defrauding the federal government. Santorum was a board of director for Universal Health Services which illegally billed the federal government. UHS paid $27.5 million dollars to settle the suite. Innocent children of a Pennsylvania public school district were deprived of valuable school funds when Santorum refused to pay the $100,000 education bill he owned to the school district.
WHY in the 21st Century - - - does religion have anything to do with government ?
Should we be diplomatic and switch religions every month to give everybody a shot at
advertising their religions and telling us why theirs is right !
There have been millions of people sacrificed in the name of "gods" or wars because
of archaic beliefs over the century's and we are still complying with religious rules ?
It is more than the people who really believe, it is the politicians who could care less
that presume to lead in the name of their religions that are sickening to the lowest
level.
I agree. I'm a Christian Bob. And proud of it. I'm a Born Again Christian. I'm an Independent voter. I've been listening to pastors preach about our evil government for a long time. During Clinton's years in office every church I attended for various functions and special events was in sinc with the others. Clinton was evil and his administration was made up of evil. His wife and daughter were evil. Then Bush II. Now we had done the right thing. We had a Godly man in the White House surrounded by Godly men. We had pleased God. Then Obama was elected and it started again. Obama is evil and his entire staff and family as well. It is never ending.
I do not agree with this. I'm just telling you how it is. The churches and my brothers and sisters in Christ are being USED by the right wing Republicans and it is breaking my heart. THIS is not what our Constitution intends. The Christian members of government should work and vote their conscience on all matters without making accusations and denigrating our President and other leaders.
The two parties, right and left, have disagreed on many things since the beginning. But things keep getting uglier and uglier in Washington. And it's just sick. I've admired, some well known Evanglicals, Dr. Dobson is one. But now I'm just suspicious of him! I've seen him make very UNCHRISTLIKE comments and read his commentary of hatred toward our President. He speaks this way of a man who is one of his brothers in Christ. Obama IS a Christian. I will not believe that Dobson is really a good man now. And everything he says is now suspect.
Don't worry Bob. I'm not the only Christian waking up to this. When God speaks to me I listen. He gives us all discernment so that we can know the truth. He opens our eyes.
So we are seeing an increase in frothy anal excretions in the GOP, no surprise.
They are prolific with their propaganda but words are cheap and without guarantees; only actions clearly indicate their real identity, loyalty and commitment. For the last twelve years the Republican Party has made their total loyalty to “the few” (1%), and their real identity as “puppets” for the influential, powerful and extremely wealthy, who strongly support them and who “pull their strings”, and their stubborn commitment to their political ambitions above all else, no matter what the cost to the majority (99%), crystal clear. Bush-Cheney proved beyond any doubt that the “trickle down” theory is a total fraud only making the wealthy wealthier and soliciting political support. Throughout that process and ever since the Republican / Tea Party has arrogantly demonstrated their total fixation on their political goals, obnoxiously without conscience or any responsible concern, by always faulting and blocking any real efforts and belligerently withholding all bipartisan cooperation, with their self-serving full intention to continue the problems and to gain political advantage. They even have aggressively coerced and intimidated their own to assure complete unity and to effectively squelch individual consciences. With their abundant funds, including but not limited to the SuperPacs, they seek to scare, intimidate and to appeal to people’s biases, prejudices, loyalties and emotions, using words like “socialism”, “liberal”, “big government” and “deficit” as negatives and words like “conservative”, “constitutional” and “small government” as positives ... but the history of their actions shows only a performance that concentrates on their interests and those interests of “the few”.
It has been said that the current Republican Party, with their being totally owned and controlled by “the money”, is completely incapable of ever responsibly governing. It would seem that their actions over the last twelve years have done nothing but substantiate that and their propaganda as being empty and totally misleading. While there is merit in cutting government spending, reducing the deficit and achieving “smaller government”, those things won’t solve the existing problems as they didn’t cause the problems ... rather all of the problems were created in the repeated exploitation by the advantaged few, encouraged by a co-responsible permissive government that takes care of “the few” who provide the money, power and influence to buy and control those “puppet” politicians. To ever return to “more of the same”, Bush-Cheney style, would be to continue that mentality and the drastic costs to the majority.
Wow !! As I said months ago,if you just stand still in the gop race,everyone else will eventually drop below you !!! Well Rick,they have all dropped by you except the big prize...Mitty !! If you think Newty was nasty,wait until you get a load of the HATE that Santorum has for Mitty. Of course Mitty will open up his coin purse and unleash the Romney poodles on Rick as he did on Newty. At the end of the day,we will have a gay hating,woman hating,Obama hating Santorum vs a squishy pants,flip floppy,peter pandering,Mister Rogers looking...Mitt Romney...hmmmm its like trying to pick an STD that is just right for you !!! FOMOFO-O !!!