Washington Hotlist » Mitt Romney

Romney Gets It Right On Auto Bailout

Joshua Rosenstock — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:41:26 +0000

Without that bailout, Detroit will need to drastically restructure itself. With it, the automakers will stay the course â€” the suicidal course of declining market shares, insurmountable labor and retiree burdens, technology atrophy, product inferiority and never-ending job losses. Detroit needs a turnaround, not a check.

Will The Base Accept McCain?

Joshua Rosenstock — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 12:44:38 +0000

With the Democrats virtually evenly divided between Senators Clinton and Obama, an interesting divide has become exposed in the seemlingly united Republican Party. It is no secret that the Christian conservative base and its numerous compliant media mouthpieces can not stand the thought of John McCain as the presidential nominee, with talk of forming a third party (which would all but ensure a Democrat gets elected this fall) among other fantasies. The sad part is that McCain is with these folks on 90% of all issues but they hate the idea that he occasionally compromises and disagrees with his own party. Propaganda machines thrive on the inability of people to think and form opinions for themselves. It is much easier to say Democrats = traitors than explain that democracy and our legislative process requires bipartisanship for major accomplishments.

Predictably, the very influential Dr. James Dobson, Founder of the Focus on the Family endorsed former Governor Mike Huckabee, who unlike former Governor Mitt Romney, will not depart the race and unite around the presumptive nominee. You have to laugh at Dobson calling Mitt Romney “pro-family” (obvious code for pro-life, as if someone that tortured themselves for days before painfully deciding that they needed an abortion is against every single family in this country). Will Huckabee carry the mantle for the base against McCain or will he see the bigger picture and try to heal this damaging divide? Regardless of who wins in November, this country remains more divided than ever while facing substantial issues in the near future. These problems will require cooperation if they are to be solved. Will President Hillary Clinton, who would most likely govern with a fifty plus one model be able to pull it off? McCain? The future does not look very promising this morning in America.

So Long Mitt And Good Riddance

Joshua Rosenstock — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 19:03:57 +0000

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has dropped out of the presidential race, effectively giving John McCain the GOP nomination for President. Adios to the snake oil salesman that will say anything to get elected (the over-under for when Romney reverts back to being pro-choice is hereby set at two weeks). This set of circumstances certainly presents an interesting dynamic for the Republicans as McCain is vilified by the conservative base of the party, making the presence of a true believer on the ticket an absolute necessity. I can certainly foresee a scenario where McCain will ask Huckabee to join the ticket to attract these voters as well as quell the tide of hatred from the likes of the way too influential right wing noise machine, epitomized by Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh.

I wonder if Huckabee recognizes this scenario as well and will continue to campaign just as fervently or will curtail his attacks on McCain in the spirit of unifying the party and auditioning for the VP nod. Either way, the campaign seems to be running in reverse for both sides. With the country absolutely overtired and repulsed by the current Republican administration, it is the GOP that seems to be more organized and unified while the Democrats are as divided as ever. Can they find a way to blow it? With the Democratic Party, failure is always an option.

Super Tuesday Will Not Settle Democratic Race

Joshua Rosenstock — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 18:46:47 +0000

With victories in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida, John McCain is poised to virtually clinch the GOP nomination with wins in next week’s historically delegate rich Super Tuesday. Americans from the Pacific to the Atlantic have a chance to send Governor Romney, Governor Huckabee and Congressman Ron Paul home for good.

Yet, a much different scenario is playing out on the other side of the aisle. With the departure of Senator John Edwards from the race, the Democratic nomination has boiled down to a two way battle between the former First Lady and Senator Obama. The Democrats have a unique chance to decide if they want this country to go in a new direction or revert back to the same tired policies from a much different time in our history. Yes, a vote for Hillary is a vote for the first female President, but after catching Bill in action the past week, does anyone really believe Hillary will be the Alpha Dog in a future Clinton administration?

While it is impossible to know how that mess will play out, one thing that is for certain is that the closest thing we have ever had to a national primary (next week’s twenty-two state free for all) will not produce the required amount of delegates for either of the Democratic front runners. This essentially knocks California, New York and New Jersey down the totem pole in terms of relevance and importance, precisely the opposite effect that was intended when these large states front loaded the process this time around and significantly moved up their primary calendars (in the case of New Jersey, four months earlier).

No matter how many times the leadership in the major parties try to reform the process, we continue to learn the painful lesson that the parties are better at producing commercials and fundraising, and should leave more important matters like elections to the various Departments of State. So much of our tax dollars are mindlessly wasted on proposed bridges to nowhere and museums dedicated to the cotton mill. Why not allocate necessary resources to reforming our election process as well as a nationwide upgrade of voting and counting machines? Americans will support additional federal spending if it is done in a smart way for a worthwhile cause. Nothing should trump the importance of accurate voting. Let’s hope that Congress does the right thing and invests in our electoral infrastructure.

Rudy And Edwards To Drop Out And Florida Thoughts

Joshua Rosenstock — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:28:11 +0000

Last night’s Florida primary taught us several things:

1.) Rudy’s ridiculous strategy of completely ignoring Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina predictably backfired. Now the Mayor will endorse Senator McCain in an attempt to freeze out the hard-to-like Romney. Today’s photo-op at the Reagan Library may propel Giuliani to a seat in McCain’s cabinet (Homeland Security Secretary?).

2.) Mike Huckabee’s victory in Iowa appears to be a fluke, once again raising questions about why the first caucuses were so overcovered by the mainstream media.

3.) John Edwards has a great message but is not the best messenger, especially in light of the superior oratorical skills of Obama. He may have a promising future as attorney general or Supreme Court justice in the next Democratic administration.

4.) The Florida Democratic Party (among other state parties) has no regard for equity, justice or the right of its members to participate in the candidate nominating process. The rules that punish the voters because the state party leadership yearns to be a more active participant in the national picture is draconian and should be revisited. Is there anything more un-American than disenfranchising hundreds of thousands of voters for actions beyond their control?

5.) Seven years after the infamous ballot counting nightmare, it is inexcusable that areas in the Sunshine State (particularly Putnam County) still experience technical problems with the voting process. Whatever happened to the election reform we were all promised?

Rudy Should Fire His Campaign Strategists

Joshua Rosenstock — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 12:26:13 +0000

Whomever thought it was a good idea to completely ignore Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina in favor of campaigning solely in Florida should be fired quickly. I wonder if the same knuckleheads will retain positions at Giuliani Partners when the former Mayor of America returns to the executive suite sometime in the next few weeks. The feelings of New Yorkers about Rudy has spread to the rest of our fellow countrymen, as evidenced by his poll numbers dropping like flies the past 90 days. Apparently, the more Americans got to know him, the less they liked him. No wonder he was hiding out in South Florida where he can take his paranoid anti-terrorism message to old, retired New Yorkers. How embarrassing it will be when he comes in a distant third behind Romney and McCain, two candidates that actually campaigned in the aforementioned early nominating states and have realistic shots at the nomination. As usual, Rudy boasted while his audience looked the other way (or possibly fell asleep considering it was Broward County).

McCain’s Stimulus Plan Caters To Wall Street

Joshua Rosenstock — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 15:24:05 +0000

With his recently announced economic stimulus plan, Senator John McCain is directly going after a solid Mitt Romney constituency – the investor class. Similar to former Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s plan, McCain supports cutting the corporate tax rate from 35% to 25%. But, to further sweeten the pot for future campaign contributors, McCain would also establish a permanent research and development tax credit and allow additional corporate tax reductions for equipment and technology investment. These tax cuts will come while the United States carries a $9 trillion federal debt. Not surprisingly, individual tax rates will remain unchanged. Ordinary Americans have not figured into Republican fiscal policy in quite awhile.

By supporting amnesty for illegal aliens as well as tax cuts for businesses only, McCain has demonstrated that law abiding American citizens are lower down the food chain than criminals and corporate America. It is also disturbing that a Mccain administration would be almost as fiscally reckless as the current one. It didn’t always used to be this way for the former Hanoi Hilton mainstay. Senator McCain made paying down the debt a central theme in his 2000 campaign and it is both unfortunate and ironic that he has taken such a Romney-esque reversal on such an important issue.

Romney On South Carolina Jobs

Joshua Rosenstock — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 19:14:40 +0000

“You’ve seen it here, in furniture. You’ve seen the textile industry, where Washington watched, saw the jobs go and go. I’m not willing to declare defeat on any industry where we can be competitive. I’m going to fight for every job. Can I guarantee that we’ll be able to protect every industry and every job and be successful keeping every job? I don’t think any person can make that guarantee. But I can guarantee that I’ll fight and do my best.”

If Romney Loses Michigan, He Is Done

Joshua Rosenstock — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 13:44:28 +0000

Coming in a distant second in both Iowa and New Hampshire has transported Romney’s campaign to its death bed. A loss in Michigan, the state that propelled his father to political fame, will officially kill his chance to be President. What went wrong for Romney’s campaign? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that he has absolutely no principles and will say anything to get elected.

Yes, that is not exactly new in politics but you don’t go from pro-choice to pro-life that quickly. Good riddance Mitt. Hopefully the voters in Michigan will do the right thing and send this snake oil salesman back to corporate America where be belongs. Public service is not for everyone and Romney is Exhibit A of that.

Iowa Won’t Matter By Saturday

Joshua Rosenstock — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 17:49:28 +0000

Tomorrow, the media will have a field day sorting out who won today’s caucuses and what the results mean for the upcoming race. What it means? How about zilch. Remember, Iowa is where the Reverend Pat Robertson came in second place in 1988 (ahead of eventual nominee and President George H.W. Bush) and where Bill Clinton came in fourth in 1992 behind “Uncommitted.”

Fun historical footnotes but completely irrelevant to the way the process played out. At a time when our candidates for president should be more interested in how they would protect us from the magnitude of dangerous anti-American jihadists around the globe, they are instead forced to play make believe with a microscopic cross section of super partisan voters and political activists in an inconsequential state (and we continue to wonder why foreigners continue to land the best paying jobs).

2008 will be just like past meaningless Iowa caucuses, particularly on the Republican side. Huckabee, who can’t even point out where Pakistan is on a map yet is the current GOP front-runner, will have his 24 hour moment in the sun. But by Saturday, it will be forward march to New Hampshire where John McCain has an edge over Mitt Romney and Huckabee is a well deserved afterthought. Enjoy your day in the sun, Iowa and maybe a whole 15% of you will turn out for tonight’s silly caucuses.