#KoolMitt: Romney's New Look
In perhaps the greatest development for high-end fashion since Derelicte, witness the look being modeled by Mitt Romney on the campaign trail this year: Averàge.
Averàge is designed to give the impression that you’re just an average guy. With the help of a team of image consultants, Mitt Romney’s traded in his suits and ties for jeans and loafers. And while his wallet may still be flush with the money of someone who owns a couple mansions, that wallet is now in a pair of jeans that says “Corporations The super wealthy are people too.”
And for that extra “cool” factor, you can even supplement the look by lying about smoking a cigarette and drinking a beer once.
Bloomberg: Romney in 2006 Backed Immigration Stance He Now Deems ‘Amnesty’
On November 28, 2011, Bloomberg reported:
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who charged Republican presidential primary rival Newt Gingrich with proposing “amnesty” for certain illegal immigrants, took a nearly identical position in a 2006 Bloomberg interview, saying some foreigners who entered the U.S. illegally should be allowed to remain and gain legal status.
LA Times: Mitt Romney still faces a trust deficit with GOP voters
On November 24, 2011, the Los Angeles Times reported:
But for months, the threshold of support for the former Massachusetts governor [Mitt Romney] hasn't inched above a quarter of Republican voters in national polls. For many GOP voters in early primary states, hesitation about Romney comes back to one thing: their perception that he has routinely molded his views to suit the political mood, with ambition his overriding principle. "He's not a person we could trust to lead our country," said Angela Cesar, a 41-year-old Republican from Ypsilanti, Mich., who said Romney had changed his position on too many issues. "He's going to be listening to voices outside. I want someone who can hear his own voice — a clear voice." Steve Holroyd, a 54-year-old chef from Rye, N.H., was initially attracted to Romney's candidacy, but now describes him as evasive: "The more I listen to him, the more he just kind of flip-flops and doesn't know where he stands on anything." Romney's advisors say the argument that their candidate is a political contortionist will not resonate because voters are concerned about the economy — and little else. But in his failed 2008 bid, when the issue was raised — as now — by opponents, it hit its mark not because of the issues involved but because of what Romney's flip-flops suggested about his character.Click here to read the entire story.
POLITICO: Mitt Romney Says Americans Avoiding 'The Hard Work' In Book, American Bridge Reports
On November 16, 2011, POLITCO reported:
The folks at the Democratic-backing group American Bridge flagged a quote from Mitt Romney's book "No Apology" amid the flap over the Republican hitting President Obama for describing Americans as having become "lazy" in terms of preserving exceptionalism.(emphasis added)The passage in the book reads this way:
“We have been accustomed to being the world’s leading nation for so long, enjoying the freedom, security, and prosperity that comes with that leadership, that we have tended to avoid the hard work that overcoming challenges requires. When I was about ten, I asked my dad how he thought his company’s Rambler automobile could ever successfully compete with General Motors; they were so far ahead that catching up appeared impossible. He said something that has since been widely attributed to him: “There is nothing as vulnerable as entrenched success.” I believe that our many years of success may, in fact, be the greatest obstacle we face. In election after election, candidates have told us that simple measures will solve our challenges, and that their election alone will guarantee a bright future. We have joined in the cheering for this heady prospect. But much more than cheering is going to be required in the years ahead.”
CBS News: Mitt Romney's shifting views on climate change
On October 28, 20111, CBS News reported:
The longer he runs for president, the more doubts Republican front-runner Mitt Romney seems to have about the science behind global climate change...
VIDEO: Mitt Romney's Ohio "Confusion"
Here's American Bridge's newest video demonstrating perhaps Romney's fastest & most transparently political flip yet: Yesterday's refusal to weigh in on local Ohio issues & today's statement "fully support[ing]" Gov. Kasich's anti-union measure. Yesterday: “I’m not speaking about the particular ballot issues, those are up to the people of Ohio." Today: "I’m sorry if I created any confusion in that regard. I fully support Gov. Kasich’s – I think it’s called ‘Question 2′ in Ohio. Fully support that."
USA Today: On immigration issues, Mitt Romney's record is thin
On October 5, 2011, USA Today reported:
Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has slammed Texas Gov.Rick Perry as soft on immigration while touting his own conservative positions on the issue. But beyond a handful of decisions, including one issued the month before he left office and never fully implemented, Romney's experience with immigration issues in his home state is sparse, according to immigration experts in Massachusetts. As governor, Romney moved from being positive on immigration to negative, particularly as it became apparent he was going to run for president, says Westy Egmont, co-chairman of the Governor's Advisory Council for Refugees and Immigrants. Egmont held the same position during Romney's term as governor from 2003 to 2007.
VIDEO: Mitt's Flips: Harvard
American Bridge today released its third "Mitt's Flips" video -- this one focused on Romney's new habit of mocking Harvard, his own alma mater. Romney clearly enjoys mocking Democrats for what he implies is their connection with the "Harvard faculty lounge." Of course, Romney earned his JD & MBA degrees there and his campaign relies on Harvard policy advisers and Harvard campaign donations.
TPM: Did Romney Flip Flop On ‘Race To The Top’?
"Democratic tracker American Bridge is accusing Mitt Romney of flip flopping on the Obama administration’s “Race to the Top” program, posting video of him lavishing praise on the program and then denying any association with it on Thursday."
Washington Monthly: Race to the flip-flop
"Romney told a Florida audience on Wednesday that he supports many of the provisions in President Obama’s “Race to the Top” education reform policy. Last night, just a day later, Romney denied supporting “any particular program” in the president’s policy. The clip, from American Bridge, highlights the contradicting positions plainly — what Romney was for on Wednesday he was against on Thursday. [...] The point, though, is the ugly habit Romney has of taking one position on an issue and then soon after taking the exact opposite position. In this case, the 180-degree turn on education policy took literally just one day. And then Romney has the chutzpah to boast, “I stand by my positions”?Seriously? I can vaguely understand how Romney became a leading presidential candidate. How anyone trusts his word, however, remains a mystery to me."