Willard's Speech At The RNC

Yup, he still sucks.

Sorry, Willard.

Romney's Vice-Presidential Padering Efforts In Full Swing...

So, the latest from the Willard Romney flip-flop express is, that Old Willard has made it to the elimination round of the John McCain V.P. sweepstakes (Dear God, no!) and has started his own PAC that according to a spokesman, "will be the organization that will allow Gov. Romney to stay politically active on behalf of the candidates and causes that he cares about." Like making himself the Vice Presidential nominee and continuing to hate poor people.

As part of his new duties of sucking up to major donors as well as Sen. McCain, Willard is going to be a busy boy in the coming weeks: He is hosting President Bush on May 28 at his home in Deer Valley, Utah for a Victory 2008 fundraiser. He's raising money for Rep. Tom Feeney in Florida on the 30th and then jets to Jacksonville for the Federation of Black Republicans convention (Wait, what? They know they're getting Willard, right?). In addition, he'll serve as a surrogate for McCain at two Republican conventions: in Colorado and in Texas. And he'll campaign with and raise money for Sen. McCain on June 11.

McCain veepstakes team: Don't say that we didn't warn you about letting Willard drive the "Straight Talk Express:"

Romney Ad Becomes Parody of Itself

It is nice to see Willard is still able to receive the SNL treatment...

Romney Stumps For Vice Presidency

John McCain: "I got that impression from him watching his interview last night, I got that impression," McCain said laughing on his campaign plane in New Hampshire.

McCain refused to hint at just how seriously his campaign is considering Romney for the ticket, though reports earlier this week said some aides to President Bush are pushing the idea of a McCain-Romney ticket, given the Massachusetts Republican's "credentials" with respect to economic issues.

As it turns out, if it looks like Willard can help the ticket, I don't think McCain gives a rat's ass about putting him on it.

Romney for VP? Say it Ain't So...

From News Hounds:

Robert Novak was a guest just now (March 3, 2008) on Your World w/Neil Cavuto. The topic, per the chyron was, "Can One Man Make McCain Ticket Unbeatable?" Per Novak, Karl Rove and other honchos in the conservative wing of the conservative party are pushing John McCain to pick Mitt Romney as his veep. Novak listed Romney's qualificactions: "He's rich, he's handsome," he "wasn't a conservative at one time -- he's pretty conservative now," and he would do well "in the rust belt" states.

And, per Novak, never mind that McCain and Romney hate each other. Kennedy didn't like Johnson and Reagan didn't like George I.

Hmmm...Maybe Anyone But Romney in 2008 isn't dead after all.

Great Romney Cartoon.

Willard "Mitt" Romney's Entire CPAC 2008 Farwell Speech

If you can sit through the whole thing I am impressed, though I am not sure that is the word I am looking for.

A few comments off the top of my head...

1) I don't think there are enough American flags behind him. If I didn't know better I would have assumed he was giving this speech in the Belgian Congo. I think they could have tried to fit a few more up there. You know, for freedom... and the troops.

2) GOD! Willard is such a huge doucebag. Sorry, I just had to get that out.

3) If Willard had gotten up there and said, "You know guys, I am a business man, I am pretty good at math, and it just doesn't make sense for me to be in this race any longer..." or "You know, I just can't win this, thanks a lot, I'm out." I might have gained a tad bit of respect for him. But no, not Willard. The same guy who loved America so much he couldn't find anything wrong with it decided to take the "I love America and hate terrorists so damn much, I just can't possibly take this any further" approach. What a giant douchebag.

4) This is by far the most rousing speech I have ever seen him give. That audience seems to love him. And he just dropped out of the race.

5) What Jon Stewart said.

Jon Stewart on The End of The Romney Campaign.

I couldn't have said it better myself. John seems to have Willard pretty figured out.

Part of Romney's Farwell Address to CPAC

I will hopefully be able to get the entire pro-war, fear mongering, divisive, partisan, liberal bashing, farewell address up here soon. Goodbye for now, Willard. America is a more unified and stronger country without you. Your dishonesty and lack of understanding for the needs of the average American will not be missed in any way.

Something tells me this is not the last we will hear from Willard. Many bloggers are already making comparisons to other conservatives' failed attempts at the presidency and other offices and their later successes.

Nixon's quote after his failed senate run is 62' is one of my all-time favorite election related quotes and relatively apropos to this blog:

"For 16 years, ever since the Hiss case, you've had a lot of -- a lot of fun -- that you've had an opportunity to attack me and I think I've given as good as I've taken.....But as I leave you I want you to know -- just think how much you're going to be missing. You won't have Nixon to kick around anymore, because, gentlemen, this is my last press conference."

And we cannot miss the obvious comparison between 1976 era Reagan and Willard. Aside from the hair, Reagan (also?) famously laid the groundwork for his next run with his concession/suspension speech at the 1976 GOP (Watergate) Convention.

"This is our challenge; and this is why here in this hall tonight, better than we have ever done before, we have got to quit talking to each other and about each other and go out and communicate to the world that we may be fewer in numbers than we have ever been, but we carry the message they are waiting for...We must go forth from here united, determined that what a great general said a few years ago is true: There is no substitute for victory."

See you in 2012 Willard!!!

Romney To Suspend Campaign.

"Ann came to me and she said, 'You know, the one thing that's clear tonight is that nothing's clear.' But I think she's wrong. One thing that's clear is this campaign's going on." -Mitt Romney, 02/05/08

According to CNN's "GOP sources" Former Massachusetts Gov. Willard "Mitt" Romney will suspend his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

All I can say about this is:

WOOOOOOO!!!!!! HOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Looks as though it really will be Anyone But Romney in 2008...

"Yeah, I’m a great quitter: it’s one of the few things I do well… I come from a long line of quitters. My father was a quitter, my grandfather was a quitter… I was raised to give up" - George Costanza

This Just In: Romney Spent A Crap Load Per Delegate

From The Washington Post:

Republican campaign operatives call it the Gramm-o-meter, the money a candidate spends per delegate won, in honor of Phil Gramm, the former Texas senator who spent $25 million and won just 10 delegates, or $2.5 million per, in 1996.

By Republican strategist Alex Vogel's calculation, Mitt Romney is giving Gramm a run for his money. The former Massachusetts governor has spent $1.16 million per delegate, a rate that would cost him $1.33 billion to win the nomination.

By contrast, Mike Huckabee's campaign has been the height of efficiency. Delegates haven't yet been officially apportioned, but roughly speaking, each $1 million spent by Huckabee has won him 20 delegates.

Just as a point of reference: In 2006, the median annual household income according to the US Census Bureau was estimated to be $48,201.00 (1). So, according to the Post: Willard has spent the combined yearly income of approx 24 American families for each of the delegates that he has won so far. Even if the Post's math is fuzzy, I think we can all agree that Willard has spent an awful lot of cheddar in this losing effort and that this warrants my continuing to make fun of him and his campaign.

Willard "Mitt" Did Not Have A Very Super Tuesday...

First of all, was that girl crying!?! Or wiping something off of her face? If she indeed was crying about Willard's unbelievably disappointing Tuesday...well I don't really know what to say about that.

To his (little) credit he did take his "home" state as well as Utah, Minnesota, Montana, Colorado and North Dakota. Wow Willard, those are some whoppers. Bet you wish you never hear the name Mike Huckabee again.

Look at the diversity amongst Romney's supporters. That is a broad coalition of constituent groups if I have ever seen one...Two people who appear to be under 30!!! One of them may actually not be Mormon!! Oh. My. God.

Super Tuesday: 7:20 P.S.T.

John McCain: Alabama Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma.

Mike Huckabee: Arkansas, West Virginia (convention)

Mitt Romney: Utah and Massachusetts.

Seriously Willard? The only two states that you have so far are Utah and Mass? Wow, what a disappointment. WAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAA!!!!!!!!

So Who Actually Supports Mitt Romey? And Why?!?!

These are some of the folks who waited outside a Denver car dealership waiting for a chance to see Willard "Mitt" Romney, even though they couldn't actually hear the speech.

1)That first lady holding the sign scares the crap out of me. $100.00 says she is the meanest 4th grade teacher on earth.

2)"Because he's Mormon" and "Because we're from Michigan." Hey, at least those kids and their mom are honest. "Because he's like me," however naive, is at least true and one of the more legitimate reasons I have heard to support Willard.

3) "Because he's honest" and "Because he's a Washington outsider." First off, um no, Willard is certainly many things, honest is so very clearly not one of them. Secondly, that whole Washington outsider rhetoric is all too familiar. I think most rational people can agree that it didn't go too well the last time we elected a so called Washington outsider...

Mitt Romney Disses Decorated WWII Veteran Who Also Happens To Be Bob Dole.

From CNN:

In a FOX interview Tuesday morning, Romney had said the former Kansas senator was “probably the last person I would have wanted to have write a letter for me.”

McCain immediately put out a statement condemning the comment, and told reporters on his campaign plane that Romney should apologize to Dole, a decorated World War II veteran, for the remark: "this is no way to end up this campaign, by attacking a genuine American war hero." His campaign also released a statement in which the Arizona senator called Romney’s remark “disgraceful.”

A short time later, Romney also referred to Dole as “an American hero.” He added that he would love to have the former senator’s support for his own bid.

“I think very highly of Sen. Dole,” he said, and had merely intended to criticize “the mental set that says we should choose our nominee based on how many years they’ve served and how long they’ve waited in line.” He added that he did not think McCain will benefit from the letter.

On Monday, Dole sent Rush Limbaugh defending John McCain as a "mainstream conservative," in reaction to the talk show host’s attempts to rally grassroots conservative support against the Arizona senator.

Romney unsuccessfully attempted to reach Dole by telephone Tuesday morning to clarify his statements.

Bob Dole is the last person...um...I mean American hero...Um...I can't...Stop...Flip flopping...

The "last person," Willard? Really? Personally I would have gone with Charles Manson or Osama Bin Laden as the "last person" I would want writing a letter on my behalf. Or maybe Paris Hilton. I'm not a huge Bob Dole fan or anything, but he probably wouldn't have cracked my top 1000. Who is handling this guy? Is there actually a human being under that well quaffed visage? Is there a bigger phony currently running for office in any election?

Everyone Picks McCain For Kickball and He Rubs it in Mitt's Face

I (almost) feel bad for old Willard in this one. How bad do you have to be to not receive the support of your "hometown" conservative rag? If McCain wasn't endorsed by the Republic it would be front page news. When Willard doesn't pick up the support of the Herald, it is just another day on the job. C'mon folks! When the people who know him best don't even like him, that has got to sound off some bells and whistles for the voting public?!?!

Romney Loses Florida Primary

(Associated Press):

Sen. John McCain won a breakthrough triumph in the Florida primary Tuesday night, gaining the upper hand in the battle for the Republican presidential nomination ahead of next week's contests across 21 states.

McCain and Romney clashed early and often, in personal appearances and paid television advertising, in a bruising week of campaigning in Florida.

Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, said his career as a private businessman made him perfectly suited to sit in the Oval Office with a recession looming. Sen. McCain argued he knew his economics well enough, and that his career in the military and in Congress made him the man to steer the country in an age of terrorism.

By the campaign's final hours, the two men hurled insults at one another, each saying the other hoped to travel a liberal road to the presidential nomination in a party of conservatives.

Romney attacked McCain for his signature legislation to reduce the role of money in politics, for his position on immigration and for his support of an energy bill that he said would have driven up consumer costs.

"If you ask people, 'look at the three things Senator McCain has done as a senator,' if you want that kind of a liberal Democrat course as president, then you can vote for him," Romney told campaign workers. "But those three pieces of legislation, those aren't conservative, those aren't Republican, those are not the kind of leadership that we need as we go forward."

McCain had a ready reply. "On every one of the issues he has attacked us on, Mitt Romney was for it before he was against it," he said. "The truth is, Mitt Romney was a liberal governor of Massachusetts who raised taxes, imposed with Ted Kennedy a big government mandate health care plan that is now a quarter of a billion dollars in the red, and managed his state's economy incompetently, leaving Massachusetts with less job growth than 46 other states."

That wasn't all, either.

McCain aired radio commercials criticizing Romney, and his campaign Web site has an ad superimposing Romney's face on the image of a windsurfing Sen. John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee.

The Romney campaign also reported numerous negative phone calls, accusing him incorrectly of supporting taxpayer-funded abortions, opposing President Bush's tax cuts and favoring direct talks with Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

The McCain campaign said it was not responsible for the calls.

This is a pretty big loss for Team Willard. I can't say I'm all that surprised. I'm sure he has even more xenophobic fear-mongering, lies about his record, negative ads and other divisive political tricks up his sleeve in the coming weeks...

Mitt Romney: Look At My Record As Governor.

OK Willard, no problem.

NYT: The Other G.O.P. Candidates Think Romney is Kind of a Dick.

According to today's New York Times, Willard doesn't appear to be making any friends amongst his GOP competitors:

TAMPA, Fla. — At the end of the Republican presidential debate in New Hampshire this month, when the Democrats joined the candidates on stage, Mitt Romney found himself momentarily alone as his counterparts mingled, looking around a bit stiffly for a companion.

The moment was emblematic of a broader reality that has helped shape the Republican contest and could take center stage again on Thursday at a debate in Florida. Within the small circle of contenders, Mr. Romney has become the most disliked.

With so much attention recently on the sniping between Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama on the Democratic side, the almost visceral scorn directed at Mr. Romney by his rivals has been overshadowed.

“Never get into a wrestling match with a pig,” Senator John McCain said in New Hampshire this month after reporters asked him about Mr. Romney. “You both get dirty, and the pig likes it.”

Mike Huckabee’s pugilistic campaign chairman, Ed Rollins, appeared to stop just short of threatening Mr. Romney with physical violence at one point.

“What I have to do is make sure that my anger with a guy like Romney, whose teeth I want to knock out, doesn’t get in the way of my thought process,” Mr. Rollins said.

Campaign insiders and outside strategists point to several factors driving the ill will, most notably, Mr. Romney’s attacks on opponents in television commercials, the perception of him as an ideological panderer and resentment about his seemingly unlimited resources as others have struggled to raise cash.

The rest of the story is continued here.

--UPDATE--

In additon, MLive has their own piece on the subject of Willard hating:

The glee the other candidates go after Romney with is really unique," said Dan Schnur, a Republican strategist who worked on McCain's presidential campaign bid in 2000 but currently is not affiliated with any campaign.

... In stark contrast to Romney, (John) McCain seems to be universally liked and respected by the other Republican contenders, even if they disagree with him.

Schnur used a schoolyard analogy to compare Romney, the ever proper Harvard Law School and Business School graduate, to McCain, the gregarious rebel who racked up
demerits and friends at the Naval Academy.

"John McCain and his friends used to beat up Mitt Romney at recess," Schnur said.

I don't know about you, but with regards to myself, the image of the Vietnam era McCain kicking the ass of a bicycle riding, missionary era Romney is something I am going to want to hold onto for a while.

Mitt Romney: Wins The Award For Most Awkward Moment Around African-Americans, 2008.

1) While in Florida on MLK day, Willard says: "Who let the dogs out" as a form of saying cheese while surrounded by African American youth.

2) He then points to a baby with a little necklace and says, "bling bling." Yup that's right folks, Mitt "F-ing" Romney just said, "bling bling."

Though I know some have and may still, I am not going to go as far as to call this racist, you can be the judge of that yourself. However, I will comfortably point to it as a hilariously poor attempt on ole' Willard's part to seem "hip" with young African-American voters, and how unbelievably out-of-touch he comes across as.

What reality does he live in? Does Willard really think he can drop some dated MTV lingo and be "down" with the youth? Any of the other candidates would have at least come across as a normal human beings in this situation, only Romney could have possibly made it this awkward.

Thanks to Youtube's soulmantim for posting this clip.

Romney in Heated Exchange with AP Reporter.

Well, doesn't someone seem to have their panties in a bunch. Campaign getting a little stressful for you there, Willard? Starting to feel the heat? It's nice to see this crooked car salesman show his true colors once and a while, it makes my job so easy. If this is the beginning of the end, I can't wait to see his theatrics as he goes down the flames.

Michiganders Don't Read This Blog: Romney Wins The Michigan Primary

From Reuters:

Mitt Romney scored a breakthrough win over rival John McCain in Michigan on Tuesday, reviving his struggling campaign and scrambling a chaotic Republican presidential race with no clear front-runner.

Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, desperately needed a victory in the economically ailing Midwestern state where he was raised to keep his White House hopes alive after second-place finishes in the first two contests.

"Tonight marks the beginning of a comeback, a comeback for America," Romney told cheering supporters in Southfield, Michigan. "Tonight is a victory of optimism over Washington-style pessimism."

While the Republican returns rolled in, Democratic White House contenders Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John Edwards met in a low-key debate in Nevada -- site of that party's next contest on Saturday.

The hectic schedule reflected the heightened intensity of the wide-open U.S. presidential race, as both parties choose candidates for the November election to succeed President George W. Bush.

Let's get one thing straight, Willard: This is not a "comeback for America" nor is this a "victory for optimism." You are a still a huge phony and the fact that you use language like this in describing your victory, further proves my point. Also, your dad was the Governor of the state-- if you hadn't taken this one, it would have been pretty sad.

Mitt Romney Straight Talk From The Late Show With David Letterman

Seriously now folks, this is getting ridiculous. It just goes to show how really shitty a job W has done for the past 7 years...People are so desperate for real leadership and "change" that they are actually buying the tripe being fed to them by guys like Willard. Please folks, I know we need someone new, but trust me, this guy isn't it.

Romney Pulls Ads in SC and FL

According to his campaign, Romney has decided to pull all of his TV advertising from South Carolina and from Florida. "We feel the best strategy is to focus our paid messaging in Michigan," Romney spokesman Kevin Madden said Wednesday.

Earlier on Wednesday at a call-a-thon in Boston, Romney had assured his top financial backers that he will win the upcoming Michigan primary, as he and his staff worked to soothe supporters unsettled by his losses in the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary.

Um...I don't think you can win the nomination without those states, Willard. But what the heck do I know. Obviously since I write such a silly blog, I am in no way a political expert, but considering that I can't remember that last eventual Republican nominee for President who has become such without winning IA, NH, SC or FL--it seems to me that old Willard might be trying to save some of his own cash (and face) in what has already been a very disappointing (not for me!!) campaign.

Romney Loses In New Hampshire As Well

From Bloomberg:

-- Senator John McCain of Arizona won the New Hampshire primary, handing rival Mitt Romney his second defeat and further muddying the waters for the Republican presidential nomination.

McCain had 37 percent of the vote, while Romney trailed with 29 percent, with 27 percent of the precincts reporting, according to results posted by Fox News, CNN and MSNBC.

It's a setback for former Massachusetts Governor Romney, who lost to ex-Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee in Iowa on Jan. 3 and had been counting on victories in Iowa and New Hampshire to gain front-runner status.

The defeat puts Romney, 60, ``in really, really tough shape,'' said Spiliotes. ``He has the money and the organization to stay in, but they've just beaten him so badly.''

Romney, who won Wyoming's less-closely watched nominating contest on Jan. 5, joked tonight that he had taken a second ``silver'' medal and had one ``gold.''

``But tonight, congratulations go to John McCain,'' Romney told supporters. ``He did a good job and out-competed us.''

Romney, who argued that his executive experience made him best-equipped to bring change to Washington, will head next to Michigan to campaign for the Jan. 15 primary.

And with that, Anyone But Romney in 2008 says: WHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

Willard couldn't even take the red state full of Massholes that boarders his "home" state. How sad. Dude could have rolled out of bed to campaign here. He spent more than anyone on NH, 1/2 of the state is regularly exposed to the Boston media, allowing them to be fully informed about how "well" he ran things down in MA. Oh wait...Now I know what happened...

I can smell the stench of death coming off of his campaign all the way in California...

Mitt Romney Mitt Romney Mitt Romney Mitt Romney Mitt Romney Mitt Romney Mitt Romney Mitt Romney Mitt Romney Mitt Romney Mitt Romney Mitt Romney Mitt Romney

McCain Makes A Great Point As Romney Sticks Up For The Poor Old Drug Compaines

How dare you pick on the drug companies by telling the truth, John. I'm really glad Mr. Silver medal was there to defend the defenseless against that pinko commie McCain.

Iowa Picks Crazy/Phoney Over Phoney/Crazy: Romney is The 1st Loser.

Well the first one is all over. Iowa Republicans decided that they want their candidate to tell you all of the crazy shit that they believe, rather than try to hide from it. Go Iowa! Way to stick to that Iowa stubbornness.

What really smarts is that the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Flip-Flop Gold Medalist himself spent about $7 million on ads in Iowa, compared to $1.4 million for the eventual winner Huckabee. He also both raised and spent the most of any GOP contender, including at least $17 million of his own money. That is a lot of cheddar to drop on a silver medal.

After being introduced this evening by gold medal speed skater Dan Jansen, Romney said in his concession speech: "Well, we won the silver and congratulations to Gov. Huckabee for winning the gold. Nice job."

Romney added: "You win the silver in one event, it doesn't mean you're not going to come back and win the gold in the final event, and that we're going to do."

Romney insisted the Iowa results — with outsiders like Huckabee and him finishing one-two and freshman Illinois Sen. Barack Obama winning on the Democratic side — showed voters want change in Washington.

"We need new faces in Washington, and I intend to be one of them," Romney said.

Romney's ads, criticizing Huckabee's pardons for prisoners and his position on illegal immigration, backfired with some caucus-goers.

"I was a Romney supporter, and then when the whole issue of pardons came up, I first was against Huckabee but then went back to him when I did more research and learned the full reasons why he released some people," said Colleen Vangore, 45, of Clive. "I felt that if Romney didn't tell me the whole story on that, there might be other things he wouldn't tell me the whole story on."

Really Colleen? You think that Willard "might" not tell you the whole story? Um...I think you need to read a little bit more Anyone But Romney in 2008.