Mitt Romney

[FerrisBueller86]

I keep hearing that the governor of Massachusetts will be running for the Republican nomination in 2008.

I don't know much about Romney, but I think he's a joke.  Ever since Michael Dukakis was the nominee, the Republican Party has been portraying Massachusetts as an awful, tax-infested, slum-infested hellhole.  They did it again in 2004 as they slimed John Kerry.

Mitt Romney will be stuck between a rock and a hard place.  If he talks up Massachusetts, then he's admitting that the Republican Party spin machine lied.  If he bashes Massachusetts, then that reflects badly on his tenure as governor.  I wonder what Romney will say to try to talk his way out of this one.

BUAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

[AuH2O]

He's a solid B+ candidate. Being from Mass. won't hurt him so long as his rhetoric is good and VP choice is a Southerner.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

and being Mormon will hurt him massively. Also kills his chances of winning the nomination. It almost certainly will guarantee the vote for WalterMitty for the Democrat, and thus many other Republicans.

[Erc]

By your logic, we should nominate Jane Swift for President then?

[Notre Dame rules!]

Why would his Mormonism hurt him?  I'm Catholic, but I voted for the Methodist in the last election.  I don't have to be of the same faith as the candidate that I support.  I do, however, want my candidate to be a person of strong faith.


Romney wouldn't be my first choice, nor even my second, but I wouldn't run to the Democrat Party because of his Mormonism. 

[Snowe08]

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/02/18/activists_focusing_on_romney_in_sc/

Joke or not, I think he's serious about running.

I wasn't kidding when I said that I think EVERYONE is going to run - or at least, explore a run - in 2008. As White Ayres says in the news story above - ''It is far and away the most open Republican nomination in my lifetime, and I'm 54". It's going to be fun to watch, but it's going to be brutal for the people directly involved.

[Moooooo]

Hes an ok candidate.  His religious background would probably help to fire up the base and the religous right would probably love the guy.  Although, I have heard that he is pro-choice.  That wouldnt sit to well at all, a pro-choice mormon?  Outside of his religious beliefs I dont see what he has to offer.  He will NOT deliver the state of Massachusetts or any other state in the Northeast with maybe the exception of New Hampshire.  Some say his governing style would help to flip Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, but I dont see that happening.

[Snowe08]

I don't know that I agree that a pro-choice northeastern Republican candidate couldn't bring home a handful of New England states...Depends on the candidate, and it depends who the other candidate is.

I should recuse myself from this thread, for obvious reasons.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Why would his Mormonism hurt him?  I'm Catholic, but I voted for the Methodist in the last election.  I don't have to be of the same faith as the candidate that I support.  I do, however, want my candidate to be a person of strong faith.


Romney wouldn't be my first choice, nor even my second, but I wouldn't run to the Democrat Party because of his Mormonism. 

the fundies would stay home.

[ian]

I hope he does run and win the nom--unlikely.  I would need him for comfort of knowing that I don't have to vote for Bayh or Warner or some jerk like that.

[Moooooo]

I hope he does run and win the nom--unlikely.  I would need him for comfort of knowing that I don't have to vote for Bayh or Warner or some jerk like that.

What is your grude against Evan Bayh and Mark Warner?

[Snowe08]

Why would his Mormonism hurt him?

the fundies would stay home.

I don't think they would. I think they're smart enough to know that any Republican is going to be more propitious to their agenda than any Democrat, and I think they'll act on that. I don't think that the radical right is as afflicted with the same failure of imagination that the radical left is, vis-a-vis the viability and effect of third party candidates, which is precisely why Ralph Nader still ran in 2004, and Roy Moore didn't.

[WalterMitty]

By your logic, we should nominate Jane Swift for President then?

i certainly wish we could nominate jane.

mitt, by the way, what kind of damn name is mitt? i wouldnt name my dog mitt.  all 'mitt' is for is banning agay marriage and bringing back the death penalty to mass.  a complete a-hole.

[ian]

I hope he does run and win the nom--unlikely.  I would need him for comfort of knowing that I don't have to vote for Bayh or Warner or some jerk like that.

What is your grude against Evan Bayh and Mark Warner?

Well, mostly, I am an economic centrist, contrary to what my political compass might suggest.  And even if I wasn't, the only issues I care about economically are social security, the national debt, and welfare, and I don't feel too strongly about any of them.  I am a social liberal; economic issues don't matter much to me, so these guys are my polar opposites.
And also, Warner's personality grates on me.  I feel like he's a tool every time he speaks.  I question his political motives.  I would vote for either of them if the Republicans don't nominate anyone good, I just don't want to.

[Rob]

I don't like Romney, but that's probably because I dislike Mormons in general.

[Snowe08]

By your logic, we should nominate Jane Swift for President then?

i certainly wish we could nominate jane.

Walter,
Just a question - if you want to nominate Jane, why not do something about it? The reason I ask is because, after the last election, I began a process of working out who I wanted to be the next President of the United States; having settled on a candidate (who, incidentally, several people have politely told me has absolutely no chance of winning), I bought a dot com, threw up a holding page, and started building a website explaining where that candidate sat on the issues, and why people should support her. I also started promoting that candidate across several popular blogs, and the website - or rather, until sometime next week, the holding page - is currently getting about 150 hits per week, and I've have several e-mails from people who want to help.

If you believe in your candidate, why not do something about it, Walter? Every Presidential campaign starts with someone deciding that they know who should be the next President of the United States, and choosing to do something about that belief. I have someone I believe in; I will spend the next three years trying to draw her into the race and draw people into her camp. Like me, you evidently have someone you believe in as well. I chose to do something about it. Why not choose to not only believe, but to act, Walter?

~Simon

[dazzleman]

By your logic, we should nominate Jane Swift for President then?

i certainly wish we could nominate jane.

mitt, by the way, what kind of damn name is mitt? i wouldnt name my dog mitt.  all 'mitt' is for is banning agay marriage and bringing back the death penalty to mass.  a complete a-hole.

Both good causes, in my opinion.  I don't care what his name is, and I don't care if he's Mormon.  That doesn't bother me at all.

[Hitchabrut]

Romney is O.K., but Massachusetts is not a good place for a Republican to gain states from. He might win Only a few counties, like Plymouth, Essex, Worcester, and Banstable, in his own state.

[dazzleman]

Romney is O.K., but Massachusetts is not a good place for a Republican to gain states from. He might win Only a few counties, like Plymouth, Essex, Worcester, and Banstable, in his own state.

He may not win his own state, but if he can hold the Republican base, and win some of the more moderate states that have been going Democratic (such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, etc.), it could be a winning formula.  Someone like Romney would have a better chance in those states than a southern Republican.

[WalterMitty]

By your logic, we should nominate Jane Swift for President then?

i certainly wish we could nominate jane.

Walter,
Just a question - if you want to nominate Jane, why not do something about it? The reason I ask is because, after the last election, I began a process of working out who I wanted to be the next President of the United States; having settled on a candidate (who, incidentally, several people have politely told me has absolutely no chance of winning), I bought a dot com, threw up a holding page, and started building a website explaining where that candidate sat on the issues, and why people should support her. I also started promoting that candidate across several popular blogs, and the website - or rather, until sometime next week, the holding page - is currently getting about 150 hits per week, and I've have several e-mails from people who want to help.

If you believe in your candidate, why not do something about it, Walter? Every Presidential campaign starts with someone deciding that they know who should be the next President of the United States, and choosing to do something about that belief. I have someone I believe in; I will spend the next three years trying to draw her into the race and draw people into her camp. Like me, you evidently have someone you believe in as well. I chose to do something about it. Why not choose to not only believe, but to act, Walter?

~Simon

those are good ideas.

but i dont seriously think jane is presidential material (yet).

i do hope and believe she will make a comeback in massachusetts politics, however.

[Lincoln Republican]

Mitt Romney is "A" class all the way.  He is very intelligent and an extremely capable leader.  I believe he could be competitive in parts of the northeast, as well as in some of the swing states that went Dem in '04.  With a southerner VP on the ticket, the GOP would again win the south, as well as areas of their traditional strengths.

Mormons are devout Christians, and the fact that Mitt Romney is a Mormon and a devout Christian should not enter into the equation at all.  I would vote for a Mormon, a Protestant, a Catholic, a Jew, a Muslim, white, black, oriental, whatever, if I believed they could do the job and if I liked their character and policies they stood for.

Being critical of someone because of their religious beliefs or their race is something I would have hoped died out decades ago.

Mitt Romney, and any other candidate, should be judged on their abilities, character, and stands on the issues.

I do not believe Mitt Romney will be the the GOP nominee in '08.

[Governor PiT]

[edit] Environment
Romney supports regulation of greenhouse gas emissions, primarily through voluntary measures[78] He issued a 72-point Climate Protection Plan. His staffers spent more than $500,000 negotiating the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI--pronounced "Reggie"), which Romney praised in November 2005, saying "I'm convinced it is good business."[43][44] As plan details were being worked out, Romney pushed for a cap on fees charged to businesses who exceed emission limits citing concerns of increased consumer energy costs. He stated: "New England has the highest energy rates in the country, and RGGI would cost us more." This ongoing disagreement eventually led Romney and Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcieri to pull out of the RGGI in December of 2005. [45]

In November 2006, Romney cut $7 million from the maintenance budget for the state's parklands, which are the sixth largest state park system in the country. Romney also cut $154,590 for environmental law enforcement, $288,900 for cleaner water in communities, and $181,886 for hazardous waste cleanup.[46]

Romney opposes the controversial Cape Wind offshore wind farm proposed for Nantucket Sound. Romney has stated that the proposed Cape Wind project would depress property values and damage the local economy, which depends on tourism; he has described the area as pristine and a "national treasure".[47] Cape Wind supporters have accused Romney and federal lawmakers of "back-door deal-making" in an attempt to kill the project.[48] Conversely, elected leaders in Massachusetts have accused Cape Wind developers of receiving a "back-room deal" for the 24 square miles of state controlled property to be used in the proposed project.[79] However, Romney has voiced support for wind projects in Princeton, Hull and other Massachusetts towns.[49]

Romney cites achieving energy independence as one of his key issues; he supports expanding alternative energy solutions including biodiesel, ethanol, nuclear, and coal gasification, and is in favor of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and the outer continental shelf to find more domestic sources of oil.[50] In August of 2006, Romney unveiled an energy plan that called for improved energy-efficiency requirements for state buildings, increased use of biofuels in the state automobile fleet, the creation of a prize-rewards lottery for consumers who buy energy-efficient equipment, and proposals for wind and biomass power-generation for state facilities.[49]