Our Platform for Outlining Colorado’s Future

washingtonpost.com 's Politics Blog   Linda Rozett, the communications director for former Sen. Fred Thompson's (R-Tenn.) presidential bid, has left the campaign, according to an internal e-mail obtained by The Fix. "It is my duty to let you know that Linda Rozett is no longer with our committee," wrote campaign manager Bill Lacy . "I will have to make a lot of tough decisions to make our venture successful, and this was one of them. Linda is a talented, professional and gracious lady who will be missed." He added: "But in the limited amount of time we have I feel it critical to have a communications point person with significant campaign experience." Rozett's departure follows that of press secretary Burson Snyder last week.

By: Tim Murphy Townhall Friday, Aug 24, 2007 "In April 2006, Massachusetts passed historic legislation aiming to increase dramatically the number of people covered by health insurance. While only in effect since July 2007, the early signs are encouraging. More people are signing up for affordable private insurance plans. Massachusetts is leading the way in the effort to provide all citizens the opportunity to purchase affordable health insurance. This landmark achievement is due in no small part to Governor Mitt Romney and his strong leadership, working in cooperation with the legislature. "Fewer Republican presidential candidates are better prepared to meet our nation's health care challenge than Governor Romney. Health care is a complex issue and tackling it is no easy task, as politicians from across the country have discovered. Yet, Governor Romney brought together all sides to find a solution that at its heart advances individual choice and responsibility, and fr...

"Flip flop" whack-a-mole By David | August 23, 2007 - 6:05 pm - Posted in Analysis, Commentary, and Editorials , 2008 , Competitors , Abortion Edit Sometimes I feel like we are playing whack-a-mole (you know, the carnival arcade game) with the whole "Mitt's a flip-flopper" meme in the MSM (and from rival campaigns). The latest concerns some comments Mitt made recently about overturning RvW and giving the Abortion decision back to the states and how that might be inconsistent with supporting the GOP platform advocating a Human Life Amendment. Having followed Mitt closely, I think it's clear that these are not mutually exclusive, but rather two phases of a long-term change effort. Rather than just give you my opinion, however, I'll let a couple well known right-wing bloggers weigh...

Former Massachusetts Health and Human Services Secretary Tim Murphy on Governor Romney's record of conservative principles in health care.

Lopez: You've hit Mike Huckabee hard. Is there a point to that? One assumes he won't be the nominee? Toomey: There is no question that Mike Huckabee is a charismatic politician, but Governor Huckabee is attempting to use his charisma to hoodwink American voters and the media with respect to his economic record. While there is little chance of Governor Huckabee catapulting into the coveted first tier, he is being discussed as a viable vice-presidential pick, especially if the eventual nominee needs a social conservative to shore up the conservative base. The Club for Growth's original observations about Huckabee's tax-and-spend record have been born out in recent weeks as Huckabee embraced a new brand of lefty populism and class warfare rhetoric that one often hears from Democrats. It is important for the Club for Growth to continue to push to clarify the true nature Mike Huckabee's economic record and policies.

The poor old Scandinavian moose is now being blamed for climate change, with researchers in Norway claiming that a grown moose can produce 2,100 kilos of methane a year -- equivalent to the CO2 output resulting from a 13,000 kilometer car journey. DPA Now poor moose are being blamed for global warming. Norway is concerned that its national animal, the moose, is harming the climate by emitting an estimated 2,100 kilos of carbon dioxide a year through its belching and farting. Norwegian newspapers, citing research from Norway's technical university, said a motorist would have to drive 13,000 kilometers in a car to emit as much CO2 as a moose does in a year. Bacteria in a moose's stomach create methane gas which is considered even more destructive to the environment than carbon dioxide gas. Cows pose the same problem (more...) . Norway has some 120,000 moose but an estimated 35,000 are expected to be killed in this year's moose hunting season, which start...

"Senator Barack Obama continues to demonstrate through his words that he does not have the strength to confront America's enemies or defend our values. First, Senator Obama said he would make it a priority to meet with Castro in his first year in office. Now, he's proposing that we begin to lift sanctions against the Castro regime. Unilateral concessions to a dictatorial regime are counterproductive, helping to secure a succession of power and repression instead of a transition to freedom. They will only embolden those who cling to power at the expense of the Cuban people. We must not weaken our policy on Cuba until the Castro regime is dismantled, all political prisoners are freed and Cuba transitions to free and fair elections."

"Senator Barack Obama continues to demonstrate through his words that he does not have the strength to confront America's enemies or defend our values. First, Senator Obama said he would make it a priority to meet with Castro in his first year in office. Now, he's proposing that we begin to lift sanctions against the Castro regime. Unilateral concessions to a dictatorial regime are counterproductive, helping to secure a succession of power and repression instead of a transition to freedom. They will only embolden those who cling to power at the expense of the Cuban people. We must not weaken our policy on Cuba until the Castro regime is dismantled, all political prisoners are freed and Cuba transitions to free and fair elections."

Mitt Romney: Putting Conservative Principles to Work in Health Care By Jim Talent Tuesday, August 21, 2007 Send an email to Jim Talent Email It Print It Take Action Read Article & Comments (182) Trackbacks Post Your Comments Each candidate in the 2008 Presidential race will undoubtedly offer a health care plan. Those plans will include initiatives ranging from a single payer system, to employer mandates, to tax incentives for the purchase of private health insurance. But only one candidate has actually done something, waded into the issue and emerged with a successful plan that does not resort to one-size-fits-all, government run "Hillary Care." That inn...

Mitt Romney's Record on Economic Issues Club for Growth Releases Fifth Presidential White Paper Romney's Record: Promise and Puzzlement Washington - Today, the Club for Growth released its presidential white paper on Republican presidential candidate Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (see PDF or HTML ). The fifth in a series of white papers on the pro-growth records of presidential candidates, the attached report provides an extensive summary of Mitt Romney's economic record from his unsuccessful run for the U.S. Senate to his single term as governor of Massachusetts. "Governor Romney's economic record contains a mixture of pro-growth accomplishments and some troublesome positions that beg to be explained," said Club for Growth President Pat Toomey. "While his record on taxes, spending, and entitlement reform is flawed, it is, on balance, encouraging, especially given the liberal Massachusetts Legislature. His record on trade, school choic...

http://wbztv.com/video/?id=35387@wbz.dayport.com

Read Jon Keller's Political Blog Slideshow: 2008 Presidential Hopefuls Jon Keller Reporting (WBZ) BOSTON Giving the little people a chance to face off with "big people" is what makes the New Hampshire primary famous. Rudy Giuliani is the latest candidate to get caught off guard by a cut-to-the-chase question from a voter. I spoke with the Derry, New Hampshire woman who brought him up short, and she's feeling the heat for her question. Katherine Prudhomme-O'Brien says she was just curious about the apparent lack of support for their father's candidacy by Giuliani's son and daughter from a previous marriage, but that query and Giuliani's dismissive reply have been the buzz of the political world all weekend. "I asked him how he'd expect the American people to give him loyal fellowship if he was having a hard time getting it from his own family." Giuliani's response: "There are complexities in every family in America. The ...

'IF YOU CAN'T RUN YOUR OWN HOUSE, YOU CAN'T RUN THE WHITE HOUSE'... Michelle Obama: 'One of the most important things that we need to know about the next President of the United States is, is he somebody that shares our values? Is he somebody that respects family? Is a good and decent person? So our view was that, if you can't run your own house, you certainly can't run the White House. So, so we've adjusted our schedules to make sure that our girls are first'... OBAMA WIFE SLAMS HILLARY?

Mitt Romney: The best solution to America's ills By Paul Schmitt Posted: 8/21/07 Section: Opinion Columns When your daughter is lost in Manhattan, overdosed on ecstasy, where do you turn? While the NYPD and other run-of-the-mill solutions are probably a safe first choice, I suggest another option - Mitt Romney. Sure, Mitt Romney doesn't wield an M9 or wear a sleek uniform, as far as I know, but he has proven himself again and again at handling crisis situations. Perhaps by the end of this column, you'll be nominating him to handle our country's current crisis situation. According to NewsMax Magazine, a bastion of respected journalism, Romney handled such a crisis in 1996 when the 14-year-old daughter of his business partner went missing in New York City. Romney sprang into action assembling a crack team of more than 20 of his employees and friends from Bain Capital, his multibillion dollar venture firm, to find the girl. Whil...

Romney Surges In Gallup Poll Who says the Iowa straw poll didn't matter? A new poll from the people at Gallup shows Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee gaining while the other top three candidates dropped (difference from Aug 3-5 in parentheses). PRESIDENT - NATIONAL - GOP PRIMARY Rudy Giuliani 32% (-1) Fred Thompson 19% (-2) Mitt Romney 14% (+6) John McCain 11% (-6) Mike Huckabee 4% (+2) Ron Paul 3% (+1) Duncan Hunter 2% (+1) Chuck Hagel 1% (NC) Sam Brownback 1% (NC) Tom Tancredo 1% (NC) This latest poll was done August 13-16 among a bunch of registered voters. Even better news for Romney, his favorable ratings have improved among the General public, and more importantly in the short term, among Republican voters. He went from net -9% favorable rating to +7% favorable rating among the public at large. Among Republican voters, his favorable rating is at 49% in this poll, up 13% form the previous Gallup poll. But before the Romney crowd starts wonder, he still trails Giul...

Wednesday, August 15, 2007 Mitt Romney's Mormon Religion Hurting Him? A funny thing happened to Mitt Romney, one of the most conservative candidates in the GOP field, on the way to the Republican nomination for President. What? The fact that he is a Mormon is hurting Mitt Romney with some hardcore conservative evangelical Christian voters and even after months of trying to change there minds, Mitt Romney is still having a tough time moving his poll numbers up to the area of Rudy Giuliani and the yet to announce Fred Thompson. What Mitt Romney is going though with a certain segment of the GOP is something other mainstream Christian Republicans have learned the hard way too and that is many social evangelical Christian voters are just as stubborn in their extreme conservative political views as the liberal kooks with crazy ideas in Hollywood are in the democratic party. However, ...

IMG_1862 , originally uploaded by Barack Obama . He actually put this on his flickr account. Click the picture to see more people being bored!

Posted by: Hugh Hewitt  at 8:56 AM That's from the Thompson Campaign, as reported by K-Lo at The Corner. Which makes Romney the only top tier candidate who does support the Federal Marriage Amendment.  (Romney's very public campaign on behalf of the Amendment is detailed in A Mormon In The White House .) Thompson leaves the door open to supporting the amendment in the future, but proponents of the amendment have long pointed to the threat of sudden, judge-imposed changes in the law that would see DOMA struck down without warning. This is a huge issue in the GOP primaries with a crucial segment of the electorate --the segment that hates court-imposed social engineering.  Fred Thompson's lassitude on this issue will undercut the enthusiasm some in the evangelical community have expressed for his possible candidacy.  If the defense of traditional marriage is one of your key issues, Fred Thompson can't be y...

Lazy Gucci-Wearing Fred Thompson Goes To The Iowa Fair With friends like Fox News, Fred Thompson doesn't need Democrats. Fox reports that Fred Thompson played like he's a real candidate by motoring around the Iowa State Fair in a golf cart and taking lots of breaks in the VIP tent, all the while wearing his Gucci loafers at the country fair. Says Fox News in another video (48 sec) clip: "He's been motoring around in a golf cart, something that no other presidential candidate has done throughout the entire two weeks of the state fair." (Video clip below is 4 minutes.) What was it that Jim Cooper said about Fred Thompson back in the 1990s? Oh, yeah, Fred Thompson is a "Gucci-wearing, Lincoln-driving, Perrier-drinking, Grey Poupon–spreading millionaire Washington special-interest lobbyist."

Fred Thompson Tries To Get It Right - Again by bigjolly | 08/08/2007 11:38 am | Alert moderator Good ol' boy, regular American guy Fred just can't seem to figure out who he wants to run his non-campaign campaign. Maybe the third time's a charm . Fred Thompson on Wednesday tapped the man he credits with saving his 1994 Senate campaign to take over his likely presidential bid. Bill Lacy, a former strategist for Ronald Reagan, Bob Dole and Republican National Committee, will run day-to-day operations of Thompson's committee to "test the waters" for a presidential run. "He turned around my campaign for Senate in 1994 Someone better turn this ship around. Lately it's been more like one of those subs in the Hunt for Red October, sinking fast. The all-but-declared candidate collected about $1.5 million less than the $5 million backers had hoped to bring in during June, his first fundraising month. In July, Thompson...

August 17, 2007 New Gallup Poll: Romney Posts Modest Gains Majority of Republicans unaware of his Iowa victory, however by Frank Newport   GALLUP NEWS SERVICE PRINCETON, NJ -- Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has posted modest gains over the last two weeks, both in his favorable rating and in his positioning in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. One presumption is that Romney's gains reflect the visibility that followed his win in the Iowa Republican Party straw poll last weekend, although data in the new Gallup Poll show that only a third of Republicans nationwide are directly aware that Romney won this unofficial contest. Republican Horse Race Romney now receives 14% of Republicans' votes when they are asked whom they would like as their party's presidential nominee,...