Mitt Romney Politics

Jon Huntsman may have gotten out just in time.

In front of by FAR the most raucous crowd of any Republican debate held thus far, the five remaining GOP hopefuls squared off in South Carolina last night.

Ostensibly, everybody not named Mitt Romney angled to knock the frontrunner off his pedestal. In reality, it became a game of rhetorical one-upmanship.

South Carolina GOP Debate

The crowd cheered their support of U.S. soldiers urinating on dead Afghan bodies and their condemnation of the Obama administration’s condemnation of it.

Newt Gingrich earned a standing ovation for this quote: “Andrew Jackson knew what to do with his enemies - he killed them.” How professorial he can be.

Even Romney, the most vanilla of all candidates, got into the act, saying “The right thing for Osama bin Laden was the bullet in the head that he received.”

No one here's missing Osama, but really Mitt?

The audience then jeered Ron Paul for suggesting that “we should practice the Golden Rule in foreign policy.” Nice to see we boo NOT bombing people.

The yelled their approval of Rick Perry saying America should “go to zero on foreign aid.” They booed Juan Williams for questioning Newt's big janitor idea.

The South Carolina primary has a reputation for being a bloodbath, and last night's rancor showed why. Just imagine if this race were in any way close.

And then there were five. Jon Huntsman has become the latest casualty of the race for the Republican presidential nomination, dropping out this morning after a decent, but not overwhelming showing in the New Hampshire primary last week.

In announcing his withdrawal today, he derided the negativity permeating the GOP primary race and immediately threw his support behind Mitt Romney.

"Today, I am suspending my campaign for the presidency," the ex-Utah governor and U.S. ambassador to China said at a news conference in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Jon Huntsman Drops Out of Presidential Race

"I believe it is now time for our party to unite around a candidate best equipped to defeat Barack Obama. Despite our differences and the space between us on some of the issues, I believe that candidate is Governor Mitt Romney."

Huntsman's support for the one-time Massachusetts governor is not unexpected given Romney's frontrunner status (he won both Iowa and New Hampshire).

There are also issues on which the two men agree, and both are open about their strong Mormon faith, though relations between the two have been frosty of late.

Huntsman, who was polling behind Stephen Colbert in South Carolina, had no path forward and exited not by criticizing Romney, but the "toxic" tone of the race.

"This race has degenerated into an onslaught of negative and personal attacks not worthy of the American people and not worthy of this critical time," Huntsman said.

Stephen Colbert does not want to disturb you, but the leading candidate for the Republication Presidential nomination might be a serial killer.

The Comedy Central host, who is actually running in the upcoming South Carolina Primary, makes this startling accusation in a new ad from his Super PAC, one in which narrator John Lithgow follows Mitt Romney's own line of reasoning to its logical conclusion.

If corporations are people, as Romney famously said at a campaign event last year, and if Romney gutted a number of businesses during his days in the private sector, well... what other conclusion can be draw?

On ABC’s This Week today, Colbert was asked by George Stephanopoulos whether he truly believes Romney is a serial killer and replied: “That’s a question he has to answer."

Watch the commercial below and decide: Does it cross a line? Or is it a perfect form of satire?

Continue Reading...

Newt Gingrich is just throwing $h!t at the wall at this point.

During his college years in the '60s, Mitt Romney spent two years as a Mormon missionary in France. Now, Newt is trying to use that time against his rival as part of his desperate, scorched-earth campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.

Here's his new ad, titled "The French Connection" ...

Newt Gingrich Ad - French Connection

The crux of the ad - that Mitt Romney isn't too different politically from failed Democratic Massachusetts presidential hopefuls Michael Dukakis and Sen. John Kerry - might've been effective, but Newt is clearly just bitter at this point.

In a parting shot, the voiceover explains: "Just like John Kerry," the voice in the ad says, "he speaks French too!" Mitt Romney: He's ... multilingual!

Guess he and Jon Huntsman are automatically DQ'd in Newt's mind.

In the aftermath of the New Hampshire primary this week, in which Mitt Romney placed first and Ron Paul second, plenty of serious political analysis occurred.

Just not here.

The true hazards of running live broadcasts including viewer participation were on full display on C-SPAN, when a Granite State resident called to offer his two cents.

Really, he just wanted to know one thing ...

C-Span Prank Call

Mitt Romney got virtually all that he needed out of the New Hampshire primary last night, putting himself on track to claim the Republican presidential nomination.

At the same time, he seems to generate little to no enthusiasm.

As he moves on to South Carolina with his opposition badly splintered and running out of time to stop him, the question becomes whether anyone can actually do it.

Mitt Romney Speech After New Hampshire Primary

With a strong third in Iowa and a strong second in New Hampshire, Ron Paul outperforms all the other anti-Romneys. Yet mainstream media outlets write him off.

This becomes something of a self-fulfilling prophecy as people are less inclined to vote for someone they are TOLD can't win, rather than casting ballots on conviction.

Can the electorate coalesce possibly around Paul? Will Newt Gingrich or Rick Santorum leap back into contention? If not, Mitt way run away with this thing by default.

Somewhat ironically, the principal motivator in many voters' decision to pull the lever for Romney is his perceived ability to beat President Obama in November.

At the same time, many Democrats feel Obama is best positioned to defeat Romney than other candidates and he is actually their preferred opponent of choice.

Will South Carolina deliver a surprise January 21, with Florida to follow? Or will Mitt coast into the GOP convention with an endless string of pluralities and no energy?

Mitt Romney rolled to victory in the New Hampshire primary Tuesday, becoming the first GOP candidate since 1976 to win the Iowa caucuses and N.H. back-to-back.

“Tonight we celebrate. Tomorrow we go back to work,” said Romney, who turned back a ferocious assault from his GOP rivals in recent days to win fairly handily.

In accepting victory, he delivered a pointed message to his opponents, urging them not to play into President Obama’s hands by trying to destroy his candidacy.

“In the last few days, we have seen some desperate Republicans join forces with him,” Romney said. “This is such a mistake for our party and for our nation."

"This country already has a leader who divides us with the bitter politics of envy.”

Congressman Ron Paul of Texas came in second place, with approximately 24 percent of the Granite State vote to Romney's 36 percent as of this posting.

Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman is third, around 17 percent, with Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich tied for fourth, struggling to crack double digits.

Romney leads Ron Paul in nine of the state's 10 counties, with Paul second in each of those and ahead in the 10th. A little over half the votes have been tallied.

The contest now moves to South Carolina January 21. The Palmetto State is considered less welcoming terrain for Romney, though he still leads in polls.

Final N.H. primary results to come after all precincts report.

Are Democrats salivating at facing the guy winning - or at least perceived, by the media, to have the best chance of winning - the Republican presidential race?

Yes, Rush Limbaugh says.

The radio host is one of several prominent Republicans who believe the party would stand a better chance with a less vanilla candidate - and Democrats know it.

Rush Limbaugh: Dems Want Romney!

"The Democrats are afraid of any candidate they have sought to destroy. You can start with Sarah Palin, you can move on to Santorum. Any - any conservative who shows any interest - the Democrats set out to destroy," he said.

"That’s who they’re genuinely afraid of. They are not hammering Mitt Romney at all, and (Democratic strategist) Donna Brazile let the cat out of the bag. Don’t doubt me."

Do you agree with Limbaugh's point? Makes you wonder if Ron Paul were leading polls, how the White House and other prominent Dems would react.

Newt Gingrich, the former House Speaker, is striking a populist tone as he looks to fight back against Mitt Romney, the frontrunner in the Republican nomination fight.

In a bid to discredit Romney's economic expertise - the strength of his candidacy, besides perceived "electability" - Gingrich lambasts him for firing people and ruining lives.

In a manner of speaking, of course.

Insisting he is “totally for capitalism,” Newt cited Microsoft for becoming “extraordinarily rich” by “providing a service” while firms such as Bain strip companies down for profit.

It's unclear if this will resonate with voters, but a pro-Gingrich PAC, Winning Our Future, produced a movie about Mitt's tenure at Bain to make its point. Here's the trailer:

Mitt Romney - King of Bain Movie Trailer

A deluge of pro-Romney PAC ads have drawn fire from Newt Gingrich in recent weeks. Now it seems the one-time national frontrunner is firing back in kind.

Time will tell if this line of attacks pays dividends, but it almost seems better suited to a Democratic National Committee ad, not one from a fellow Republican.

Probably not the best word choice, Mitt, regardless of context.

The frontrunner in New Hampshire since, oh, 2009, Mitt Romney will likely win today's GOP primary, according to polling estimates. But the former Bain Capital CEO is still under fire over a comment he made Monday on the campaign trail.

Talking about how he wants to allow people to shop for their own health insurance and to change insurers if they aren't happy with them, Romney said he likes being able to fire people who don't provide adequate business services.

While Mitt's remarks don't imply he wants to lay people off en masse, this is not exactly a great quote from a guy branded as a corporate raider who laid people off en masse:

Mitt Romney: You're Fired!