Romney Is Back (In The Fog)

The "Why Not Both Sides?" Romney we dreaded in 2008 is back in 2011:

Campaigning in Ohio today, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney stopped by a Republican Party phone-bank making calls in support of Gov. John Kasich's government union reform referendum, but refused to endorse the actual referendum. CNN's Peter Hamby called the scene an "incredible moment in politics."

Incredible is an understatement.  What bright light failed to anticipate a question about Romney's view on the referendum?  And if Romney doesn't want to stand by his earlier views, why put him on the spot at that spot?

Romney was alredy challenging Republicans to hold their nose with one hand and vote for him with the other.  Now he expects us to hold our nose, close our eyes and mark the ballot.  Giminy.

LEADING FROM BEHIND: Now Romney supports the Republican side:

FAIRFAX, Va. — Mitt Romney on Wednesday reaffirmed his support for efforts to crack down on unions in Ohio, apologizing for causing “confusion” by appearing to waffle on the issue in that state a day earlier.

During a stop at a local Republican headquarters here, Mr. Romney said that his refusal to take a position on Tuesday was meant to be directed at other Ohio ballot initiatives that he was unfamiliar with.

But he insisted that he supported the ballot initiative that would ratify the legislation signed by Gov. John R. Kasich, a Republican.

“I’m sorry if I created any confusion in that regard,” Mr. Romney told a crush of reporters as he stood next to Virginia Republicans. “I fully support Governor Kasich’s, I think it’s called Question 2 in Ohio. Fully support that.”

On Tuesday in Ohio, after visiting a call center with volunteers urging passage of Mr. Kasich’s ballot measure, Mr. Romney said, “I’m not speaking about the particular ballot issues, those are up to the people of Ohio, but I certainly support the effort of the governor to rein in the scale of government.”

On Wednesday, Mr. Romney said he was speaking about other initiatives, including one on changes to Ohio’s health care system.

“I know there are other ballot initiatives out there in Ohio and I wasn’t taking a position on those,” he said, adding: “I am 110 percent behind Governor Kasich.”

There are three issues on the state-wide ballot - is that really so confusing?

Comments

[peter]

That post-Obama renaissance slip sliding away.

[Captain Hate]

Give me liberty or maybe I could live with the alternative

-- Mitt Henry

[Captain Hate]

I only regret that I have but one pander to give to this issue

--Mitt Hale

[Captain Hate]

They that can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, will get strong consideration for being my running mate

--Mitt Franklin

[Jane]

Clarice,

Re: the FOIA thing. Holder wants a " rule change". What are the mechanics for that? I'm very concerned about it.

[Captain Hate]

I have not yet begun to commit to a position

--Mitt Paul Jones

[Yes, I know St. George is supposed to kill it.]

Patience, it will take subtlety to tame the media dragon.
================

[Clarice]

Jane, I thought I answered very late last night:I don't see how he can change a federal law. It would seem only Congress can.

[narciso]

The successor to Mel Torme, 'the Velvet Fog'
or blancmange, take your pick.

[Britons are finding great need for concealment, too.]

clarice, where's the respect by this administration for Federal law? This FOI business is the beans.
==============

[I love the irony of how bound information is in the Information Age.]

St Joan of Wasilla whets away.
==============

[narciso]

My local fishwrap, had an op ed, boasting of the 'scientifivc consensus' of NOAA, The U of C, and the Hadley Centre, not realizing they
are one and the same.

[pagar]

From what I see, the Democrats consider the rule of law to be a joke.

[Jack is Back!]

Mitt is making John Kerry look like Mr. Consistent. I think he has already changed his mind and has now come out in support of SB-5.

[narciso]

Why did he go to the call center, if he wasn't going to explicitly endorse the ballot
proposition,

[GMAX]

Taegan Goddard is a very biased and partisan liberal Democrat, so you know this pains him greatly to tell the faithful this news. But it aint pretty. Zero has lost nearly every group now. For the love of God, man, just go:

A new Democracy Corps survey finds President Obama's approval rate down five points since August 40% with 53% saying they disapprove of the way he is handling his job.

Key finding: "The biggest drop-off has come among his broad base -- 79% of Democrats now say they approve of the President's job performance, the lowest in our tracking. The biggest decline has come from young people and minorities. Among minority voters, 63% now say they approve of the president's job performance, the lowest in our tracking. More significant is the drop-off among young people, who voted for the president by huge margins in 2008. Less than 40% of young people (under age 30) now say they approve of the President's performance, 54% disapprove. This is a significant drop since August when a majority of young voters (52%) approved of the way the president was handling his job, 42% disapproved. That is a net 26-point decline in two months."

[You pays your money and you takes your chances.=]

narciso, it's really fairly simple. If it cools we'll figure out the effect of CO2, probably by its failure to keep us warm. If it warms, the guilt will be placed on the human race, no matter how the science must be corrupted in order to do so.

The real irony is that a warmer world is most certainly better than a colder one. A warmer world with higher CO2 will be a boon to the plant kingdom, secondarily the animal kingdom. It would sustain a greater number and a greater diversity of all species.

You know the reasons I expect cooling, the concatenation of cooling phases of the oceanic oscillations, and the Cheshire Cat sunspots, but temperospatial chaos rules.
=================

[narciso]

Well they aren't zombies, because 'brains' won't improve the situation, 79%, well a whole new market for SCAM.

[narciso]

Yes, that's probably right, the piece by our local reporter Fred Grimm, boasts that they found records going back to the 1800s, when
we had the other wave of cooling.

[centralcal]

Why did he go to the call center, if he wasn't going to explicitly endorse the ballot proposition

No kidding. Duh!

In other news, Byron York pretty well condenses WaPo Opinion page in one Tweet:

WaPo opinion: Marcus slams GOP. Sargent slams Romney. Rubin slams Perry. V. Heuvel slams GOP…Milbank slams Dems as too weak to slam GOP.

[Danube of Thought]

I read yesterday that polls show the initiative to repeal Kasich's public-sector union law is leading by 20-25%, so Mitt doesn't want to risk the embarrassment of publicly backing a loser.

If that's true, at least he could have the decency to stay the f*** out of the state.

[pagar]

"79% of Democrats now say they approve of the President's job performance,"

Amazing--That the Communist party and the MB can provide that much support

[DebinNC]

One of the most "incredible moments in politics" imo is seeing that CNN's Pete Hamby is such an unimpeachable source of information that his opinion that Romney "refused to support" the Kasich initiatives has been accepted as gospel based on one squishy Romney quote. Hamby's reporting is so fair and impartial that his characterization of what happened, stripped of everything else that may have been said by Romney and other Republicans on scene, is all the information even our side needs to decide Romney dodged, sidestepped, and "refused to support" Kasich's effort to rein in public unions, despite his repeatedly alligning himself with that effort. It's very disheartening to me, especially that TM has now joined in.

[narciso]

So Milbank ends up being the most positive of the whole crew, good to know.

[Melinda Romanoff]

kim-

Have you been reading about that South American super-volcano base growth? Bigger than the Yellowstone caldera, as I understand it.

[GMAX]

I would be more inclined to give Romney the benefit of the doubt, if he had not many times previously been the very flip flopper he is accused of here.

[bgates]

One man with courage makes me nervous.

-Mitt Jackson

[Melinda Romanoff]

Deb-

Have you seen any other source for that other than Hamby?

[narciso]

Just like he only endorsed a candidate after the primary was over, or took a position on the budget after it was negotiated,

[Ranger]

Let the fun begin:

Riots erupt in Oakland, Atlanta clears out Occupiers

Basically, this is "Red on Red"... Dem party big city machines vs. lefties... its the 1960s all over again!

[centralcal]

Deb I do understand your frustration. No one distrusts the MFM more than me. That said however, the Hamby bit (biased as it may well have been or mischaracterized) spread around the internet pretty rapidly. Romney has a skilled team and this isn't his first Presidential run, has there been much, any, push back about this reportage?

[henry]

Have you been reading about that South American super-volcano base growth?

what did the Mayans know and when did they know it?

[narciso]

And we remember what his position was at least
part of this:

http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2011/10/welcome-to-new-middle-east-or-what-i.html

[Janet]

I did it the pollster's way.

- Mitt Sinatra

[jimmyk]

Deb, there's quite a bit more information than just Hamby. You can see the video here. I agree that it's been blown out of proportion, but the fact is that Romney is vulnerable on precisely this issue (that he's a waffler, afraid to take a clear stand, etc.). He was at best unprepared, and said something that reinforces his negative image. It would be like Bill Clinton making a possibly innocent but suggestive remark to a 25-year-old woman. Someone with a reputation for bad behavior has to be extra diligent. That's life.

[Rick Ballard]

CH,

It's rather obvious that Tex hired a hacker who figured out how to trigger the Goldilocks Option (restricted to general election use only) in Garden Gnome v.1 early. T1000 will be fine as soon as Restart is complete. After all, it's not really a bug, it's a perfect feature for general election mode.

Tex is pretty clever.

[Jim Ryan]

It's morning in this IHOP where I'm trying to get some votes.

-Mitt Reagan

[DebinNC]

Everyone I've seen appears to be regurgitating CNN Pete Hamby's onsite report, except this fellow who seems to be a Cincinatti local. He reports someone overhearing something Romney said to the OH GOP Chair on his way out the door. That second-or third-hand report doesn't inspire much confidence imo. Bottomline, the "refused to support" meme is all Hamby's.

[Jim Ryan]

Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do to get me elected.

-Mitt F. Kennedy

[Janet]

An underwater scootie chair. Who knew...

[rse]

LUN is what you get for all those dollars paid to Ivies that accept less than 10%.

I do like the prof that encourages grads to go to work in the productive area of the economy. The right to follow your passions nonsense is just a cover for state providing all with a living wage.

You can see that thinking has become synonymous with expressing an opinion.

[jimmyk]

Deb, look at the video in my 9:16 link. Plus all the other reporting.

[narciso]

As to the Iraq negotiations, wasn't Biden the one who was for partition, what better way to accomplish it, Turkey will annex the North,
Arabia will sweep in from the South into Anbar, and Iran will take the former Basra vilayet.

[Pofarmer]

Anybody else hear the Romney interview on Hannity? I simply cannot like the guy.

[And they act like they don't get it.]

Right now Memeo has Obama telling us that if he loses Government will tell you you're on your own. Next spot highlights 'Deep distrust of Government'.
=============

[Captain Hate]

Don't fire until you see the complete polling results

--Mitt Prescott

[Porchlight]

First they ignore you,
then they laugh at you,
then you give them more reason to laugh at you,
then they win.

-Mitt Gandhi

[Pofarmer]

He comes across as smarmy.

[DebinNC]

has there been much, any, push back about this reportage?

Not that I've seen, but there'd be much less push back required if we'd all stop believing anything CNN says without proof. We can't help what they write, but I don't understand our side's eagerness to believe Hamby and make immediate pronouncements based on it.

[Danube of Thought]

Let's face it, that "Issue 2" thing is the most important item on the ballot in Ohio, and Kasich's career may be in danger if it passes. Whatever Romney may have said, we can be certain that he did not give it a ringing endorsement, and I think it was craven of him not to do so.

[Let's see, what lays about here handy for sacrifice?]

Calderas chill me Melinda; wouldn't they be something to hook to the sun or the moon?
=========

[Melinda Romanoff]

Thanks, Deb. That makes much more sense.

[Captain Hate]

Committing to a position is Hell

--Mitt Tecumseh Sherman

[I can't stand it. Maybe, it's 'I can't understand it'.]

PoF, if you had to stand Romney or Obama for four more years, how would you stand?
==========

[MarkO]

What's the word I'm thinking of?

[jimmyk]

Meanwhile, the NYT does its hatchet job on Perry's tax plan:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/26/us/politics/perry-plan-would-grant-big-tax-break-to-wealthiest.html

I am a bit surprised that the plan keeps deductions of state & local taxes and mortgage interest. That plus the large exemptions ($50,000 for a family of four) make me wonder how whether it can generate enough revenue for even the 18% of GDP that he's shooting for. But of course all the NYT can talk about is that it's a "big break for the wealthy." That same wealthy who we've been told pay a lower rate than secretaries in the current system.

[Pofarmer]

"but I don't understand our side's eagerness to believe Hamby and make immediate pronouncements based on it."

Probably because nobody trusts the guy.

[Danube of Thought]

A pleasant -21 at Raz today.

[Pofarmer]

The ONLY thing that gives me pause, is SCOTUS. Otherwise, Obama with a conservative Congress with the nads not to fund his decrees would suit. I don't think Romney has the metal to even start to dig us out of this hole. He just screMs credentialed moron.

[narciso]

Does it start with a D and end with an m?

[Melinda Romanoff]

henry + kim-

Uturuncu Volcano attempting to matriculate from Mt. St. Helens stratovolcano status.

[Porchlight]

I came, I saw, I opted not to make a firm statement of support.

--Mitt Caesar

[Pofarmer]

Damned ipad

[Captain Hate]

Old panderers never die, they just keep reading poll results

--Mitt MacArthur

[Submarine Homesick Blues.]

Good points, PoF, but consider this. Romney may get in a la Carter, a less than perfect candidate reacting with dismay over the previous administration. He may still be moronic, but not in Carter's nuclear class.
===========

[Ranger]

You know, one way to settle this collective bargaining for governement workers is to pass a law that says any organization that accepts Federal funding must operate under the same rules for collective bargaining as apply to Federal workers. That would pretty much end the power of government workers' unions across the country over night.

[henry]

RSE, the YDN was always filled by NYT wannabees so the opinion expressed should surprise no one. The 25% into consulting/investment banking compares to the 66% that go to med or law school, a topic avoided by the author. Further, 30 years on I can tell you that most of that 25% is churned into B-School after two years and half go into private equity / venture capital the remainder went into IT.

[So sayeth the Angel Moroni, gilt edged glib.]

Besides, he's earned big bucks moronic.
===============

[Threadkiller]

"Mr. Gorbachev, tear down or don't tear down this wall!"

-Mitt Reagan

[They might circle drain the other direction in the Southern Hemisphere.]

Ranger, there is a self-destructive contradiction within it, ain't there.
====================

[rse]

So Obama's student loan move is to take the horrid 10% of income limitation on repayment of debt from Obamacare that would have started in 2014 and move it to 2012 before the election.

Would apply to loans taken out in 2012 before the election. Panderer in chief with taxpayer money.

Notice how EdWeek does not mention the public/nonprofit vs private sector distinction. We will let that be word of mouth among the students. Grounds to be sure and register to vote.

It also means govt is on hook for most of what does not have to be paid back. Which means us. The 50% or so who pay taxes and higher ed can just march on.

[Captain Hate]

That depends on what polling data say the definition of "is" is

--Mitt Clinton

[jimmyk]

I cannot take a stand on SB-5. It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma: but perhaps there is a key. That key is the polling numbers.

--Mitt Churchill

[jimmyk]

I cannot take a stand on SB-5. It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma: but perhaps there is a key. That key is the polling numbers.

--Mitt Churchill

[jimmyk]

oops. D*** typepad.

[DebinNC]

Deb, look at the video in my 9:16 link. Plus all the other reporting

Thanks, jimmyk, that was helpful. I agree with you that Romney's especially vulnerable to the flipper-dodger charge and should take special care, but I think he's getting a raw deal in this instance. Seeing Andrea Mitchell was the questioner at your link was an immediate red flag, because I have no confidence that the "squishy" clip of Romney wasn't purposely shed of any explanatory or favorable context. Even if one of our candidates is quoted correctly or seen actually saying troublesome things as now with Romney, I won't believe there's not more to the story if the msm is/are the ones doling out the info. My msm motto is "Don't trust until you verify, and then still don't trust."

[MarkO]

"Obama with a conservative Congress with the nads not to fund his decrees would suit."

This is how we lose to Obama. But, even Perry last night mentioned that the debates are little more than an opportunity for the press to pit one of the candidates against the other.

I see no heroes here. But I tend not to eviscerate one of more, even though it is easy on any given day. I will say this, however quietly: as I watched Perry I could see and hear an election in which it was Obama against GWB's faint shadow. As much as I respected Bush, I know who would win that election. For me, retaining and purportedly containing Obama means Obamacare lives on and his foreign non-policy continues, and the economy never recovers and there is no tax reform.

Yes, the word has a "d" and an "m".

[Pofarmer]

Am I understanding correctly, that under the new mortgage refi thingy, the loans refi's would no longer be dischargeable in bankruptcy? What's next, debtors prison? Indentured govt servitude

[Janet]

Vote for me
Vote for me in a boat.
Vote for me
Vote for me with a goat.
Vote for me if my stance is here or there.
Vote for me if my stance is everywhere.

- Mitt Seuss

[Threadkiller]

LoL Janet!!!

[Mitt Forrest.]

Life is like a box of chocolates.
===============

[Captain Hate]

So first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is inaccurate polling

--Mitt Delano Rooosevelt

[Pofarmer]

Here's the problem Mark O. I dn't think many of Romney "solutions" are going to be any more palatable than Barack Hussein. True, Barry is a Marxist, but Mitt certainly seems to be a big govt Progressive. Wil, he make the hard choices on budget cuts?

[Ya know, with experience you start figuring out what's inside the fancy wrapping.]

er, Mitt Gump.
=======

[Pofarmer]

Will he do anything about illegal immigration?

[jimmyk]

Do the safe thing. It will gratify some people and astonish no one.

- Mitt Twain

[Pofarmer]

Will he hold the Fed and big banks accountable?

[Pofarmer]

Will he allow the housing market to clear?

[Pofarmer]

Will he do anything to effect commodity price inflation?

[Captain Hate]

Not taking a position is good

--Mitt Gekko

[jimmyk]

What's next, debtors prison? Indentured govt servitude

Community organizing.

[Danube of Thought]

Agreed, Ranger. That's the law I was pushing for during the Walker/Wisconsin flap. Demagoguing against it would be quite difficult.

[MarkO]

Pofarmer, I don't know what he or any of the others will do about holding private banks or and independed Fed accountable. I know any of the GOP'ers will suspend the death spiral that is Obamacare. Obama will not. That's enough for me domestically. I also know that any of them will change our wimpy foreign policy.

As I said, it's child's play to mock or diminish the candidates. Obama can't win on his record, but our apathy and purity can beat us.

[Janet]

There was an old man whose views no one knew.
He had so many views he didn't know what to do.
He put them all forward without any thought.
He hoped you'd be fooled & your vote would be bought.

- Mitt Goose

[Clarice]

I think Romney's performance in Ohio yesterday was the most damaging thing he's yet done to his candidacy.

[BB Key]

OT, Timing is everything...Diane Rhem is going to legitimize OWS this morning...after a night of rioting in Oakland and Atlanta...grab the popcorn and look for Tea Party bashing

[DebinNC]

New Obama press policy...freeze out local reporters but bring along your WH fan club. If an Obama gaffe occurs but no one is willing to hear it, did it happen?

[peter]

I love the smell of 85 per cent napalm 15 per cent ethanol in the morning--
Mitt Kilgore

[Jane]

I know I am beating a dead horse but this really concerns me. ">http://dailycaller.com/2011/10/24/justice-dept-proposes-lying-hiding-existence-of-records-under-new-foia-rule/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter"> This is the proposed change in the rule:

A proposed revision to Freedom of Information Act rules would allow federal agencies to lie to citizens and reporters seeking certain records, telling them the records don’t exist.

The Justice Department has proposed the change as part of a large revision of FOIA rules for federal agencies. Specifically, the rule would direct government agencies who are denying a request under an established FOIA exemption to “respond to the request as if the excluded records did not exist,” rather than citing the relevant exemption.

The proposed rule has alarmed government transparency advocates across the political spectrum, who’ve called it “Orwellian” and say it will “twist” public access to government.

This is the old ruse rule:

FOIA denials will only be defended if an agency "reasonably foresees that the disclosure would harm an interest" protected by one of the exemptions to release or if it is prohibited by law; Agencies must be "fully accountable" for administering FOIA. He said each agency's Chief FOIA Officer must ensure compliance with the law and "recommend adjustments to agency practices, personnel, and funding" as needed; Agencies should "readily and systematically post information online in advance of any public request"; and FOIA professionals within the agencies are "equally important" to any other component of application and accountability to FOIA and should have "full support" from their agencies as well as "the tools they need to respond promptly and efficiently to FOIA requests."

The old rule was imposed by Holder in 2009 in response to that horrid Bush administration. So it appears Holder can change the rule.

As I understand it, this takes oversite of the executive branch pretty much off the table, absent a subpoena. and who is to say they won't lie in response to a subpoena?

[Appalled]

BB Key:

They really did not riot here in Atlanta (see LUN). They simply ended up getting arrested, and the police have surrounded the park so that reoccupation does not happen.

The local NPR media was utterly quiet about the whole thing.