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.