Archive for the ‘Mitt Romney’ Category

Months ago, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich spoke of health care reform as an issue that had compromised Republican Mitt Romney as much as it had President Barack Obama.

Both may be muttering an “I told you so” or two today. Via the McClatchy/Tribune wire service:

WASHINGTON — There’s a conspicuous holdout in Republican Party messaging that President Barack Obama’s landmark overhaul of the nation’s health care system represents a tax increase on middle-class Americans: the party’s presumptive nominee for president.

Eric Fehrnstrom, a senior Mitt Romney campaign adviser, said in an interview Monday that Romney agrees with Obama that the mechanism to enforce the so-called mandate that Americans have insurance — a provision modeled after the Massachusetts law Romney had signed as governor — was a penalty and not a tax, a statement that runs counter to what the rest of the GOP has argued in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling last Thursday.

“He disagreed with …

Continue reading Mitt Romney camp: Barack Obama’s right — it’s not a tax »

In 2009, there was no hotter commodity than 13-year-old wunderkind Jonathan Krohn at the annual CPAC meeting in Washington D.C. Check out the video if you need a reminder:

The surprisingly eloquent Duluth, Ga., home-schooler penned a book endorsed by the likes of Newt Gingrich and Bill Bennett, and was generally feted as GOP presidential fodder, albeit not until 2032. But at 17, the world seems much different to a college-bound Krohn. No so Republican.

From Politico.com:

Gay marriage? In favor. Obamacare? “It’s a good idea.” Who would he vote for (if he could) in November? “Probably Barack Obama.” His favorite TV shows? “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report.” His favorite magazine? The New Yorker. And, perhaps telling of all, Krohn is enrolling this fall at a college not exactly known for its conservatism: New York University.

“One of the first things that changed was that I stopped being a social conservative,” said Krohn. “It just didn’t seem …

Continue reading Jonathan Krohn: Three years later, a Barack Obama fan »

According to the Athens Banner-Herald, three people in Athens have used guns to halt crimes in progress recently, prompting cops to caution that a call to 911 may be safer:

“Athenians seem to be making more use of the Second Amendment these days,” said Ron Carlson, professor emeritus at the University of Georgia School of Law.

“These and other recent cases involve very different facts, but one theme resonates as a common denominator: citizens seem more ready these days to protect themselves or others who may be in mortal danger by using a gun,” Carlson said.

From Athens police:

“I believe in the Second Amendment, but I wish people wouldn’t take the law into their own hands unless it’s a direct threat where they know their life is in danger or someone else’s is,” said Capt. Clarence Holeman, commander of the Athens-Clarke police Centralized Criminal Investigations Division.

“If time permits, the appropriate thing to do would always be to call the …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: Miscreants, armed citizens clash in Athens »

Suffice it to say when Mitt Romney next talks about U.S. Supreme Court nominations he intends to make as president, he’ll point to Antonin Scalia, or Samuel Alito, or Clarence Thomas.

In this Jan. 27, 2010 file photo, President Barack Obama greets Chief Justice John Roberts before he delivered his State of the Union Address on Capitol Hill in Washington. AP/Charles Dharapak

John Roberts, the surprise swing vote in the court’s 5-4 decision to uphold President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, has suddenly become persona non grata in certain Republican circles – although friends of the chief justice are putting up a healthy defense. Here’s a quick afternoon breakdown:

From Rush Limbaugh:

”The chief justice was hell-bent to find a way to make this law applicable, so he just decided, you know what, as a tax increase, it works, because there’s no limit on the federal government’s ability to tax….Even when they don’t ask for it, the Supreme Court is gonna find a way …

Continue reading Chief Justice John Roberts targeted by conservative ire »

A report from my AJC colleague Aaron Gould Sheinin:

Atlanta’s Eric Tanenblatt was among about 800 supporters and donors to attend this past week’s retreat for Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney in Park City, Utah.

Tanenblatt, who is on Romney’s national finance team, said the retreat was part rally and part strategic planning for November. News reports said it also featured a number of potential vice presidential picks. Among the big names in attendance: U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio; Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal; Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell; former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty; U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc.; former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush; former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and U.S. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D.

“It was just a really impressive group of people,” Tanenblatt said. “Really, the mood was very optimistic. Given how the governor did in terms of fundraising in May, I think that sent a good signal.”

Tanenblatt also took part in a finance team …

Continue reading A brief summary of a summer Romney retreat in Utah »

The Metro Atlanta Chamber is coordinating an effort to identify legislative candidates on the July 31 primary ballots who support – or oppose – the transportation sales tax that will be decided the same day.

A letter sent over the names of 25 business groups and chambers of commerce – many of which can be counted on for regular campaign contributions through their political action committees – opens with these paragraphs:

Your response is kindly requested to better inform these and other businesses, organizations and voters as they make decisions about which candidates to support during the 2012 election cycle.

We believe the regional transportation referendum is the only option available to address metro Atlanta’s traffic congestion problem. We also believe the project selection process was an open and collective effort by local elected leaders and thousands of citizens across our region. We believe this is our best opportunity to improve and expand our …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: 25 business groups pin down candidates on transportation tax »

Politico is reporting that real news may have happened before that $3 million fundraiser in Cobb County last night:

Speaker John Boehner and Mitt Romney huddled in Atlanta Monday, their first face-to-face meeting since the Ohio Republican endorsed his candidacy in April.

In the meeting, they discussed how they can “work together over the months ahead,” an aide to Boehner said.

The aide would not discuss whether that meant legislatively, on the campaign trail or in terms of fundraising.

A Romney campaign source confirmed that the meeting took place, that it lasted about an hour, and that it had a “friendly” tone. More than that couldn’t be confirmed.

Boehner was in downtown Atlanta on Monday – at the Capital City Club — for a separate lunch-time fundraiser sponsored by House Republicans. But we were told that the speaker didn’t intend to hang for Romney’s bash at the Cobb Energy Centre.

The Capital City Club, with its plethora of private rooms, would have been an ideal …

Continue reading A secret Mitt Romney-John Boehner meeting in Atlanta »

Last night, Doug Collins sent out a list of endorsements in his GOP race for the new 9th District congressional seat.

Former U.S. senator Zell Miller, left, and state Rep. Doug Collins of Gainesville/SPECIAL

Topping the roll call was 80-year-old Zell Miller, the former governor and U.S. senator, who now appears only rarely on the political circuit. Loree Thompson, spokeswoman for the Collins campaign, says Miller will appear with Collins at “a few events” before the July 31 primary.

But Thompson did toss us a photo of the pair, taken last week.

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At last night’s fund-raiser at Cobb Energy Centre, one pool reporter, Trip Gabriel of the New York Times, was allowed in to witness Newt Gingrich’s introduction of former Republican presidential rival Mitt Romney. Gingrich first flayed President Barack Obama, then patched things up with the man who skewered him in Iowa and Florida, according to Gabriel’s report:

“You have I think a tremendous nominee. I can say this from …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: Zell Miller dips into 9th District race »

The Associated Press has cobbled together a report from the closed-press event at the Cobb Energy Centre:

ATLANTA — Mitt Romney says he hopes the Supreme Court does “the right thing” and strikes down President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee [told] donors at a fundraising reception in Atlanta that the health care law hurts small businesses and costs too much.

The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the law’s constitutionality later this month.
Romney said Monday that he hopes the justices, in his words, “do the right thing and turn this thing down.”

As Massachusetts governor, Romney signed into law a measure that forces state residents to purchase health insurance. The so-called individual mandate is at the heart of the Supreme Court case.

The Romney campaign says it raised more than $3 million Monday night in Georgia.

Interestingly, the report includes no mention of Newt Gingrich, who was to give a “special …

Continue reading Mitt Romney campaign quietly raises $3 million in Georgia »

Consider this interview of former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida as proof that he really doesn’t want to be Mitt Romney’s running mate. From Bloomberg.com:

The political environment in Washington has veered so far from any spirit of compromise, Bush said, that figures such as his father — and even Ronald Reagan — would find it more difficult campaigning for their party’s nomination today.

“They got a lot of things done with bipartisan support, but right now it’s just difficult to imagine,” Bush said.

“Context changes; history changes,” he said. “Ronald Reagan would have, based on his record of finding accommodation, finding some degree of common ground, similar to my dad, they would have a hard time if you define the Republican Party — and I don’t — as having an orthodoxy that doesn’t allow for disagreement,” he said. “We’re in a political system in general that is in a very different place right now.”

There’s an implication here that his brother, Bush No. …

Continue reading Jeb Bush: Ronald Reagan, Bush No. 41 would find current GOP climate ‘difficult’ »