Akron Beacon Journal: State Treasurer Announces He’s Running For U.S. Senate

On March 1, 2012, the Akron Beacon Journal reported:

During a nearly hourlong appearance, Mandel’s staff tried to obstruct the view of two people shooting video of the candidate’s public address, Cohen said. One camera belonged to American Bridge 21st Century, a self-proclaimed Democratic-leaning political action committee. The organization’s president, Rodell Mollineau, said his group tracks Mandel’s events and are regularly obstructed at public events. It was Cohen who noticed the Mandel staffers putting paper in front of the lenses. He said he asked them to stop, and they obliged. “It is Akron Press Club policy and tradition that anybody who wants to record audio or video is free to do so,” Cohen said afterward. “We’re the Press Club, after all. We’re all about free speech and free press. We would protect [Mandel’s] rights just as strenuously.”

Huffington Post: 'Virginia Is For Lugars' Website Unveiled Attacking Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar

On March 2, 2012, the Huffington Post reported:

Democrats are almost as entertained by Indiana Sen. Dick Lugar's residency questions as Lugar's Republican primary opponent, state Treasurer Richard Mourdock, and have whipped up a new website called Virginia Is for Lugars" mocking the fact that Lugar lives in the Washington, D.C., suburbs.

National Journal: After Attacking Gingrich As Lobbyist, Romney Endorsed By One

On February 29, 2012, National Journal reported:

What the campaign failed to mention is that after leaving the governor's mansion, Racicot worked as a registered lobbyist and later earned millions as the president of the American Insurance Association -- an even more explicit brand of "influence peddling" than the kind Romney attacked Newt Gingrich for earlier this year.

AP: Snowe's Retirement, Kerrey's Entrance Highlight New Optimism In Democrats' Bid To Hold Senate

On February 29, 2012, the Associated Press reported:

Rodell Mollineau, president of Democratic group American Bridge 21st Century and a former spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, echoed Garin's optimism. "If you look at the numbers, where we are, and the places for potential pickups and the strength of our incumbents, I think we're in a good place now," Mollineau said. "I think we've been in a good place; people are just starting to recognize it. This week put us in an even better place."

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.”