TPM: The General Election, Day One: What Romney And Obama Need To Do
On April 11, 2012, Talking Points Memo reported:
Run The GOP Primary Race On Continuous Loop Republican pundits like to comfort themselves after a long and acrimonious primary by likening the whole thing to the 2008 Obama/Clinton showdown that ended with a Democratic blowout in the general election. But the poll numbers show that comparison’s a sham: Romney has suffered major damage to his favorability numbers and the Republican brand is as weak as ever. Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom suggested the general election have an Etch-a-Sketch-like effect and reset the race. Team Obama is looking to make sure that no one forgets the primary’s greatest hits. In his first major general election speech last week, Obama name-checked an array of golden oldies from the primary, from Gingrich’s denunciation of the House GOP budget Romney supports as “right-wing social engineering” to the early debate where the whole Republican field refused to consider any kind of compromise on the deficit, no matter how stacked in their favor. And Democrats are ready to roll with a host of clips of Romney tossing red meat rhetoric on issues like immigration the second they see him trying to tack to the center. “We are going to have video archive that proves these Republicans are talking out of both sides of their mouth,” Rodell Mollineau, head of American Bridge, told TPM last week.
Romney Surrogate Once Condemned His Veto Of Women's Health Care Funding
WASHINGTON -- Gov. Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, in an obvious panic over the ever-increasing gender gap, today sent out numerous statements from female supporters. In their haste, though, it appears they looked over some crucial details. Reps. McMorris Rodgers and Bono Mack are flawed messengers on women's issues because they both opposed the wildly popular Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.
Scott Brown Reveals His True Priorities
Tax Day is almost here, which means another opportunity for Scott Brown to trot out stale Republican talking points and reveal where his true priorities are. In his recent radio report, Brown tries to tell us, "Americans pay more today in taxes than they spend on groceries, clothing, and shelter combined." The statement, taken from an RNC email sent around this time last year, may be technically true in the aggregate, but the fact that Brown cites the statistic indicates a deeply distorted set of principles guiding his legislative priorities. The numbers are distorted by the super wealthy, who though they might not pay their fair share in taxes, still can spend only so much on groceries or their designer clothes.
Columbus Dispatch: Mandel Campaign Endures ‘Rocky Start’
On April 9, 2012, The Columbus Dispatch reported:
Mandel, 34, has endured wince-inducing publicity in his bid to unseat Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, dinged by various media outlets for everything from handing plum state treasurer’s-office jobs to campaign aides to skipping 14 consecutive meetings of a state board he chairs as treasurer.
ABC News: Romney Not The ‘Best Messenger’ For Harvard Attacks On Obama
On April 6, 2012, ABC News reported:
Mitt Romney has made a habit of following up heady Republican primary victories with foot-in-mouth comments – and this week was no exception. He ripped President Obama for spending “too much time at Harvard,” even though Romney logged even more years at the Ivy League school. Oops.
POLITICO: Steve King Flags Concern On Romney Federal Court Picks
On April 5, 2012, POLITICO reported:
Iowa Congressman Steve King, one of the staunchest conservatives in the House and a member whose endorsement was sought by almost all the presidential hopefuls ahead of the caucuses, said he will be an "enthusiastic" supporter of the eventual nominee of the party - but raised concerns about Mitt Romney's potential judicial picks as opposed to those who Rick Santorum would tap at a town hall in his home state last night. He also expressed being "uneasy" about Romney and how he will address the health care law as well during the forum, which was captured by the Democratic outside group American Bridge.
Romney: Ryan Plan Is Simply 'Marvelous'
Paul Ryan's budget plan would cause the gradual demise of the Medicare system and cost 1 million students their Pell grants while preserving tax breaks for oil companies. And Mitt Romney thinks it's 'Marvelous'?
VIDEO: Josh Mandel's Flaming Pants
Washington DC - Ohio Senate candidate Josh Mandel has amassed a long trail of maliciously misleading and inaccurate statements - which is bad enough - but he did have one moment of brutal honesty lately. When confronted with his penchant for dishonesty, Mandel vowed to repeat his lies “again and again,” seeing no downside as reported by the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “Josh Mandel is so committed to rapidly advancing his career that he will stop at nothing - including shirking his responsibilities to the state of Ohio, appointing political cronies to positions of responsibility, and trampling the truth - to gain higher political office. It is a sad day when an elected official vows to continue lying to voters for political gain even when proven wrong,” said Matt Thornton, spokesman for American Bridge 21st Century. You can view the video here:
Indy Star: Senator Richard Lugar Under Attack From All Sides
On April 1, 2012, the Indianapolis Star reported:
Ferguson said Lugar's campaign has not done a good job of handling the issue so far. It got worse recently when the liberal PAC American Bridge supplied research to reporters showing that Lugar had violated Senate rules by charging taxpayers for Indianapolis hotel rooms while in Indiana during Senate recesses.
Journal Inquirer: McMahon Has Stake In Oil Pipeline Plan She Supports
On March 31, 2012, the Journal Inquirer reported:
Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Linda McMahon — a champion of the Keystone oil pipeline project — owns shares worth as much as $437,000 in nine of Canada’s largest oil-sands producers and six other Canadian companies that could profit from the business of moving crude from Alberta to U.S. refineries.