Boston Globe: Mitt Romney And Rick Santorum Fight Over Each’s Record Getting Earmarks From Washington
On February 13, 2012, the Boston Globe reported:
But Romney’s opponents are using Romney’s record against him. “Mitt Romney criticizing Rick Santorum over requesting earmarks is so blatantly hypocritical it is outright laughable,” said Ty Matsdorf, spokesman for the Democratic group American Bridge 21st Century. “As both governor and head of the Olympics, Romney actively and aggressively pursued federal funding, which makes this line of attack nothing more than a cheap political shot.”
NY Times: Romney Runs As An Outsider But Makes Room For Lobbyists
On February 12, 2012, the New York Times reported:
They have hosted fund-raisers and raised millions of dollars for his campaign. They employed some of his top operatives after his first White House run, helped create the platform for his second bid and have deployed regularly to attack his Republican rivals on the campaign trail. For a candidate running against the entrenched interests of Washington, Mitt Romney keeps an awful lot of lobbyists around.
Think Progress: Mitt Romney Is Financially Invested In The Birth Control He Seeks To Restrict
On February 8, 2012 Think Progress reported:
Now, an examination of Romney’s financial investments reveals that the very same GOP frontrunner who is now petitioning the White House to extend the regulation’s conscience clause and exclude more women from the benefits of birth control is himself invested in and profiting from pharmaceutical companies that produce the frequently prescribed and extremely common medication:
POLITICO: Mitt's Solyndra? He Handed Out Renewable Energy Subsidies, Too
On February 6, 2012, POLITICO reported:
Just under three weeks into his term as governor, Romney brought a $1.5 million check to Konarka, a well-connected solar startup in Lowell, Mass., itching to buy a new pilot production assembly line. Four other companies also scored renewable energy subsidy awards that same day, including Evergreen Solar, which won $2.5 million for a major expansion and to cover operating losses as it tried to become profitable. Also that day, Romney announced plans to take $15 million from Massachusetts' Renewable Energy Trust Fund — a pot of more than $150 million collected from electricity customers following passage of a 1998 energy deregulation law — and start up a new private venture capital outfit that would back green-minded state businesses with equity, loans and management advice.
Atlantic: Have Democrats Succeeded In Pre-Destroying Romney?
On February 2, 2012, The Atlantic reported:
Practically every day for months, Democrats and their allies have been hammering Romney like this. Unions, party committees at the national and state levels, independent groups such as American Bridge and Americans United for Change, and the Obama campaign itself have undertaken an unprecedented effort to tarnish the front-runner while virtually ignoring the rest of the GOP candidates. And it appears to be working.
Huffington Post: Mitt Romney Slams Birth Control Decision Similar To One He Made In Massachusetts
On January 30, 2012, the Huffington Post reported:
The Mitt Romney campaign sharply criticized President Barack Obama's recent decision to require most religiously affiliated employers to offer their employees birth control coverage in an email to The New York Times Sunday, calling it a "direct attack on religious liberty." But in 2005, Romney made an almost identical decision as governor of Massachusetts.
GQ: How Your Oppo-Research Sausage Is Made: Bain Vs. Newt Edition
On January 30, 2012, GQ reported:
A couple weeks ago I met some of the guys from American Bridge, the pro-Democratic super-PAC, loafing around a restaurant in New Hampshire in between interviews. Pointing out how poorly the Republican candidates have fared in attacking Romney's economic record, American Bridge president Rodell Molineau told me his crew was "here to help" with that job. Unlike the other opposition research shops, which are usually affiliated with actual campaigns and do their business only on an anonymous basis, the unaligned American Bridge actually wants credit for landing hits. Curious to sample their wares, we said we'd be happy to oblige. Here's what they sent us:
POLITICO's Arena: Will The Meaner Mitt Win?
It looks now like Florida will be Romney's second victory of the primary, meaning that he will finally get back to where he thought he was three weeks ago. But the sudden shift in strategy indicates a short-sightedness that has to call into question his long-term viability as a candidate, to say nothing of whether he is capable of serving as president. Mitt Romney has tried to convince Republican primary voters that he is the only candidate capable of defeating Barack Obama. The decision to go after the low-hanging fruit that are Newt Gingrich's shortcomings does nothing to advance that purpose. If anything, it has to be a factor in why his unfavorable ratings have risen dramatically of late. Nobody liked Romney when he was the phony who was trying way too hard to get people to like him; now we see they like him even less as the phony who is bitter and nasty about it. Being seen as the boss who enjoys firing people is not the path to victory. Instead of playing Whack-a-Newt, the Romney campaign would have been better served handling the release of his tax returns in a manner that at least resembles a competent, professional organization. They botched it so badly that it actually raised more questions than it answered. They might have also tried a little bit of self-research, so that their candidate wasn't launching attacks against Newt (e.g., Fannie and Freddie) that left him vulnerable to attacks himself - not that American Bridge is complaining about that.
BuzzFeed: Romney Camp Keeps Bad News Out Of The Emails
On January 26, 2012, BuzzFeed reported:
For example, last Monday, during a press call with Tim Pawlenty, a Miami Herald reporter asked the campaign surrogate about Romney's investments in Freddie Mac. "The Democratic group American Bridge has pointed out that Mitt Romney invested in these federal government loan ventures as well, and therefore his hands aren't clean," reporter Marc Caputo said. "Can you respond to that?" Pawlenty punted on the question--saying that he'd "have to ask the campaign to follow up with you." But when the Romney press shop e-mailed out a transcript of the call later that day, the exchange was nowhere to be found.
MEMO: 12 Things We Could Learn From Previous Romney Tax Returns
ICYMI: With Mitt Romney still refusing to release his pre-2010 returns, we wanted to be sure that you saw our previous memo explaining why it is so important that Mitt Romney release them. Click through for the 12 questions that Mitt Romney needs to answer by releasing his previous years’ tax returns.