Josh Mandel's Series Of Unfortunate Events

Despite starting his Senate campaign just weeks after taking office as Ohio's Treasurer, Josh Mandel is making his campaign "official" at the Akron Press Club today - an event he initially refused to attend because he was "too busy." The story of his campaign to this point has been nothing but embarrassing; here is a look back at some of his greatest hits:

• Mandel "Aggressively Worked" Fundraising And Speaking Tours As State Treasurer While Office Schedule Was Neglected. [AP, 1/14/12]
• Mandel's First Senate Campaign Flight Occurred Less Than One Month After Taking Office As State Treasurer. [AP, 1/14/12]
• February 2012: Mandel Skipped 14th Consecutive Board Of Deposit Meeting, Still Failed To Attend A Single Meeting Since Taking Office. [Columbus Dispatch, 2/23/12]
• Mandel Disclosed His Personal Finances 177 Days Late. [Cleveland Plain Dealer, 11/4/11; Mandel Personal Financial Disclosure]
• Mandel Released Official Schedules, Did Not Include Out-Of-State Fundraising Trips. [Cleveland Plain Dealer, 1/20/12]
• Mandel Attack On Sherrod Brown Rated "Pants On Fire" By PolitiFact. [PolitiFact Ohio, 11/18/11]

[UPDATED] Which Is It, Mitt? Romney Website Promotes Two Contradictory Tax Policies.

We all expected Mitt Romney would flip-flop on many issues during the course of a long campaign in which he's desperate to appease the GOP base. We just thought he'd be better at covering his tracks. On one page of his website, Mitt Romney promotes an economic plan that stresses how important it is to maintain marginal tax rates at the current level. [Screenshot available here.] Yet just a few clicks away, the website promote a different tax plan that seeks to reduce marginal tax rates across the board. [Screenshot available here.] Which is it, Mitt? We knew that Mitt Romney doesn't agree with the Mitt Romney of 10 years ago, but apparently he can't even agree with the Mitt Romney of today.

Dean Heller Changes His Tune On Housing

Senator Dean Heller has just changed his tune regarding federal assistance to help underwater homeowners and mitigate the foreclosure crisis in Nevada. He has an extensive record of voting against federal foreclosure programs, yet has now suddenly decided such federal assistance is necessary. “Senator Heller appears to have come down with a case of the Romney flip-flops. Surely he doesn’t think Nevadans will suddenly consider him a champion of foreclosure assistance despite his long record of voting against efforts to help,” said Matt Thornton, spokesman for American Bridge 21st Century.

Washington Post: Mitt Romney Consultants Benefit From Campaign

On February 27, 2012, the Washington Post reported:

The arrangement not only benefits several of those close to the former Massachusetts governor but also makes it harder to determine how he is spending his donors’ money, because salaries and other details about outside operations are kept under wraps.

ABC News: Mitt Romney's Surrogate Headache: Can't Live With 'Em, Can't Live Without 'Em

On February 27, 2012, ABC News reported:

[Jim] Talent, a senior adviser to the Romney campaign and former senator from Missouri, recently spoke on a conference call to call Rick Santorum out as an over-spender. But as the Democratic super PAC, American Bridge, was only too pleased to point out, the conservative Club for Growth once called Talent out for exactly the same kind of spending behavior. "In his previous time in the Senate, prior to losing to [Sen. Claire] McCaskill in 2006, Talent voted to raid the Social Security Trust Fund, for the infamous 'Bridge to Nowhere' earmark, and for other pork-laden budget busters," the Club wrote in a 2010 news release, unearthed by American Bridge.

NY Times: Santorum Makes Case For Religion In Public Sphere

On February 26, 2012, the New York Times reported:

But the crowd initially booed Mr. Romney, who occasionally struck a discordant note, as when he approached a group of fans wearing plastic ponchos. “I like those fancy raincoats you bought,” he said. “Really sprung for the big bucks.” And when asked if he was a fan of the sport, he mentioned that “I have some great friends who are Nascar team owners.”

Boston Globe: Mitt Romney, PAC Share Consultants In Single Office

On February 26, 2012, the Boston Globe reported:

When Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign needs advice on direct mail strategies for reaching voters, it looks to TargetPoint Consulting. And when the independent super PAC supporting him needs voter research, it, too, goes to TargetPoint. Sharing a consultant would seem to be an embodiment of coordination between a candidate and an independent group, something prohibited under federal law. But TargetPoint is just one of a handful of interconnected firms in the same office suite in Alexandria, Va., all working for the Romney campaign or the super PAC Restore Our Future.

Huffington Post: Josh Mandel, Ohio Treasurer And Senate Candidate, Skipped Board Meetings For No Known Reason

On February 24, 2012, the Huffington Post reported:

Josh Mandel, the Republican Ohio treasurer looking to move up to the Senate seat held by Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, appears to have skipped meetings of the state Board of Deposit for mysterious reasons. Mandel, who officially chairs the board, has not attended even one of its 14 monthly meetings since he was elected treasurer. His schedules for those days, provided to The Huffington Post, do not clarify what was more pressing for the young treasurer than attending sessions of a body that oversees billions in state funds.

POLITICO: Romney's New Mich. Ad Hits Santorum Experience, Sotomayor Vote

On February 24, 2012, POLITICO reported:

The Sotomayor criticism is notable, since she’s a figure of real popularity among some Latinos and particularly Puerto Rican voters. It’s also a bit awkward, timing-wise, since Romney just picked up the endorsement of Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander, who supported Sotomayor for the Supreme Court.

TPM: Denny Rehberg’s Drunk Boating Joke Hits Close To Home

On February 24, 2012, Talking Points Memo reported:

However, a joke about a drunken boating accident might not be the best analogy for Rehberg to be making — as he was himself injured in a serious boating accident in August 2009.