Hat tip to Myclob for this transcript which he sent in an e-mail yesterday.
Mitt Romney’s Speech Wednesday night to the 2008 GOP Natl Convention
FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR MITT ROMNEY:
For decades, the Washington sun has been rising in the east -Washington has been looking to the eastern elites, to the editorial pages of the Times and the Post, and to the broadcasters from the coast.
If America really wants change, it’s time to look for the sun in the west, cause it’s about to rise and shine from Arizona and Alaska!
Last week, the Democrats talked about change. But let me ask you — what do you think Washington is right now, liberal or conservative? Is a Supreme Court liberal or conservative that awards Guantanamo
terrorists with constitution rights? It’s liberal! Is a government liberal or conservative that puts the interests of the teachers union ahead of the needs of our children? — It’s liberal!
Is a Congress liberal or conservative that stops nuclear power plants and off-shore drilling, making us more and more dependent on Middle East tyrants? — It’s liberal!
Is government spending - excluding inflation - liberal or conservative if it doubles since 1980? — It’s liberal!
We need change all right - change from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington! We have a prescription for every American who wants change in Washington — throw out the big government liberals and elect John McCain!
It’s the same prescription for a stronger economy. I spent 25 years in the private sector. I’ve done business in many foreign countries. I know why jobs come and why they go away. And I know that liberals don’t have a clue.
They think we have the biggest and strongest economy in the world because of our government. They’re wrong. America is strong because of the ingenuity and entrepreneurship and hard work of the American people.
The American people have always been the source of our nation’s strength and they always will be!
We strengthen our people and our economy when we preserve and promote opportunity. Opportunity is what lets hope become reality.
Opportunity expands when there is excellence and choice in education, when taxes are lowered, when every citizen has affordable, portable health insurance, and when constitutional freedoms are preserved.
Opportunity rises when children are raised in homes and schools that are free from pornography, promiscuity and drugs; in homes that are blessed with family values and the presence of a father and a mother.
America cannot long lead the family of nations if we fail the family here at home!
Liberals would replace opportunity with dependency on government largesse. They grow government and raise taxes to put more people on Medicaid, to take work requirements out of welfare, and to grow the
ranks of those who pay no taxes at all. Dependency is death to initiative, risk-taking and opportunity.
It is time to stop the spread of government dependency to fight it like the poison it is!
It’s time for the party of big ideas, not the party of Big Brother!
Our economy is under attack. China is acting like Adam Smith on steroids, buying oil from the world’s worst, and selling nuclear technology. Russia and the oil states are siphoning more than 500
billion dollars a year from us in what could become the greatest transfer of economic wealth in history. This is no time for timid, liberal empty gestures.
Our economy has slowed down this year and a lot of people are hurting. What happened? Mortgage money was handed out like candy, speculators bought homes for free - when this mortgage mania finally broke, it slammed the economy. And stratospheric gas prices made things even
worse.
Democrats want to use the slowdown as an excuse to do what their special interests are always begging for: higher taxes, bigger government and less trade with other nations.
It’s the same path Europe took a few decades ago. It leads to moribund
growth and double-digit unemployment.
The right course is the one championed by Ronald Reagan 30 years ago, and by John McCain today. It is to rein in government spending and to lower taxes, for taking a weed-whacker to excessive regulation and mandates, for putting a stop to tort windfalls, and to stand up to the Tyrannosaurus appetite of government unions!
It is to pursue every source of energy security, from new efficiencies to renewables, from clean coal to non-CO2 producing nuclear, and the immediate drilling for more oil off of our shores! And I have one more recommendation for energy conservation — let’s keep Al Gore’s private jet on the ground!
Did you hear any Democrats talk last week about the threat from radical, violent Jihad? Republicans believe that there is good and evil in the world. Ronald Reagan called-out the Evil Empire. George Bush labeled the terror-sponsor states the Axis of Evil.
And at Saddleback, after Barak Obama dodged and ducked every direct question, John McCain hit the nail on the head: radical violent Islam is evil, and he will defeat it! Republicans prefer straight talk to politically correct talk!
Republicans, led by John McCain and Sarah Palin, will fight to preserve the values that have preserved the nation. We will strengthen our economy and keep us from being held hostage by Putin, Chavez and
Ahmadinejad.
And we will never allow America to retreat in the face of evil extremism!
Just like you, there has never been a day when I was not proud to be an American. We inherited the greatest nation in the history of the earth.
It is our burden and privilege to preserve it, to renew its spirit so that its noble past is prologue to its glorious future.
To this we are all dedicated and I firmly believe, by the providence of the Almighty, that we will succeed.
President McCain and Vice President Palin will keep America as it has always been — the hope of the world.
The media has been driving me absolutely crazy these last two weeks. The manner in which they have unabashedly attacked Sarah Palin and her family is deplorable, and their blatant bias is intolerable. I was discussing the media coverage of the two conventions with one of my brothers yesterday and he was remarking about the vast differences of the coverage by CNN of the two events. I watched the PBS coverage of the speeches last night and it made me absolutely sick. Whatever happened to fair and balanced? They had a series of liberal journalists the proceeded to rip apart Romney after his speech, but there was absolutely no counter argument.
Sorry for the rant. Just had to get that out of my system.
I Tivoed the speeches last night, but since I got home so late I was only able to watch Romney and Palin, and I thought their speeches were fantastic. I couldn’t be more pleased. I did delve a few minutes into Huckabee’s as well, which wasn’t that bad. I noticed he couldn’t resist doing the most subtle jab at Romney by once again pointing out that McCain was his second pick. Not bad though, in light of his numerous recent underhand jabs.
I’ve been amused by the coverage of Romney’s speech this morning. The writers are making the appearance of being unbiased, but can’t help inserting their true feelings somewhere along the way.
“Is a Supreme Court decision liberal or conservative that awards Guantanamo terrorists with constitutional rights? It’s liberal!” he said, as the crowd joined him in response. “Is a government liberal or conservative that puts the interests of the teachers union ahead of our children? It’s liberal! Is a Congress liberal or conservative that stops nuclear power plants and offshore drilling making us more and more dependent on Middle Eastern tyrants? It’s liberal! . . .
“We need change all right, change from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington!”
And the stupid quote of the day:
In at least one case, however, Romney seemed to venture too far, saying that liberals want to “grow government and raise taxes to put more people on Medicaid.” Dependency, he said, “is death to initiative, to risk-taking, and opportunity.”
The Massachusetts health reform law, which Romney took credit for helping to create and signed into law in 2006, depends on expanding the Medicaid program to extend health insurance to more people. Since it was implemented, Medicaid rolls have increased by 72,000, and 176,000 people have obtained insurance partially subsidized with Medicaid money.
How about mentioning that the money used for this project came from the money that the government was giving away to pay for those who show up in the emergency room without health insurance and still get covered?
The Boston Globe also has the picture of the day:
(Dina Rudick / Globe Staff)
And finally, from the Relentless WSJ: Romney Takes Aim at Michelle Obama One, Romney’s dig at Michelle was just one comment, not the entire focus of his speech. Two, I agree that family members of the candidate of the family should be left out, UNLESS they are actively getting on stage and campaigning for the candidate. Equally I would agree that Ann Romney and her sons were fair game because they did so as well. Michelle Obama is an open target as far as I’m concerned.
UPDATE: Obama adviser Anita Dunn accused the McCain campaign in a statement of using Romney to violate a verbal agreement that family members are off limits. “Mitt Romney’s attack on a candidate’s wife is as pathetic as his failed presidential campaign,” Dunn said.
To view the following movie you need to have Real Player installed. I don’t think it’s worth installing just for this video, but if you already it click the link below to view the full 42 min C-Span coverage of the rally held yesterday in Missouri.
Some more-than-candid words from the former POTUS candidate Tom Toncredo in a recent interview:
[John] McCain had been farthest away. I remember thinking and saying to my wife, when this was all over with, I said, “Well, at least McCain is not going to make it.” And it’s just kind of strange. Because remember, he was like $25 million in debt. He was nowhere in the polls. So it really did look like he was out of it.
It was the Huckabee factor. [Former Arkansas] Governor [Mike] Huckabee decided to stay in even though he could not have won. He absolutely made a difference, and he knew it, and that difference was he was able to keep Mitt Romney out of the play by draining off conservative votes. And I think he did it to a large extent because Mitt is a Mormon. It was really to ruin Romney’s chances. So that created the pathway for Senator McCain.
I am in no way hoping that McCain fails so that Romney could have a clear shot at 2012, and there is one big reason for that: OBAMA. I would rather that Romney was never heard of again than to face an Obama presidency. He is so far to the left of anything we have ever seen, the Clintons included.
BUT, I am anxious and excited for a second run by Governor Romney, whether it be 2012 or 2016.
Lastly, I’ve got some final comments of the Palin poll in the left side bar. The purpose of the poll was to gauge how Romney supporters felt about the Palin selection but after reviewing my site’s traffic sources I’ve had a huge influx of new visitors who googled “Palin poll”. In fact they make a far majority of people who have voted and there is no reason to believe that they represent the Romney crowd. I’m inclined to believe that many of them are possibly liberals who are attempting to make the VP pick look as bad as possible.
If you haven’t voted yet, do so on the left sidebar. (If you’re reading this at PlanetRomney.org you need to click on the link above to actually come to TheMittBlog.com to vote in the poll.)
I must say that I am quite surprised with the results of the poll so far. I know that a lot of Romney supporters were eager to have Romney on the ticket, but I didn’t realize it would be a deal-breaker for so many. Granted the sampling is not that large, but there already seems to be a pattern.
If the results were weighted +2 for ‘ecstatic’ to -2 for ‘Mac just lost my vote’, we would have a total of 41 positive points and 43 negative points for a net -2. (note: 60 total votes so far)
I believe (and hope) that most of those who have written off McCain because of his veep pick will come around. I think as we start seeing a lot more of Obama and his dangerous platforms that most will return.
Some post-primary polling in Utah comes to mind. I recall reports immediately after Romney dropped out of the primaries that showed McCain polling extremely low in Utah which was hugely supportive of Romney. The result in fact showed him just a fraction higher than Obama with most of the crowd in the ‘undecided’ category. Fortunately, primary bitterness has worn off in Utah and clearer heads are prevailing. The polls for Utah now show McCain up 62% to 23%, one of the largest pro-McCain gaps in the country.
Hopefully we’ll see some more of that as November nears.
I have a number of thoughts on Palin. After initial thoughts I have very quickly come to believe that this is a brilliant pick by team McCain. Here are some reasons why people will be willing to accept her as VP:
Pros
very conservative governor with all the right stances on issues
has an excellent record as a reformist
being from AK and wanting to drill in ANWR makes her a strong voice for energy independence, which will be a hot issue the election round
has a son in the military - and is a life-long member of the NRA
has five children including a very young son with Downs Syndrome, attractive to those with strong family values
frequently described as ‘very down to earth’ and not a Washington insider
last, and probably most important, she is not only acceptable to both parties of the Huckabee/Romney feud, but also to Hillary supporters thanks to the Clinton/Obama feud.
In short, she does no harm to the ticket, but in fact brings in other would-be fence-sitters had someone else been chosen.
Cons
relatively unknown
though able to fulfill the roll of VP, I’m not confident in her ability to step into the roll of Commander in Chief in a moments notice should the need arise
unsure of how she will hold up in debate versus Biden, though she does have the advantage of her being right and him being wrong
currently under investigation for alleged abuse of power for helping to get her ex-brother-in-law fired
I think the pros seriously out weigh the cons in this case. I do have one rambling thought I’d like to express concerning this pick. I can’t help thinking that her being a woman was a major factor in her being selected (brings in huge crowds of Hillary supporters). Being a woman is neither a qualification, nor a disqualification. Identity politics has won the day. If this is true it is akin to voting for (or against) Obama because he is black, or voting for Romney solely because he is Mormon. One’s identity is not a qualification! I think Romney and Pawlenty are better qualified, but Palin (my third pick) is the clearly the smarter pick if you want to win the election. Well I do want win the election because of the serious threat of an Obama presidency.
That said I feel that I can wholeheartedly support the Republican 2008 ticket of McCain/Palin.
BTW, I stole the image from Race42008.com where there is a big discussion going on about the pick. Kavon says “Best. Vice. Presidential. Pick. Ever.” Also of interest at Race42008.com is a post from Romney supporter Jason Bonham “Gov. Palin: Awesome Choice, But Still a Bet”
Well, for one he will get a huge spike in Google searches. Look at the comparison (below) of indexed searches in the U.S. of ‘Biden’ and ‘Romney’. Notice the 3400% spike in ‘Biden’ on the 23rd.
Click the image to visit Google Insights
And if you’re keeping score…..here’s another fun one.
Click on the image to see Romney tosses Huck around on google searches
Is this kind of news indicative a Veep selection for Mitt? I don’t know, but they are peculiar signs not dissimilar to those events leading up to the announcement of Biden for the Dems.
H/T to Justin Hart of MyManMitt.com for the news. There was no post on it, but he sent it in an e-mail.
According to sources with strong Michigan ties, the Secret Service has conducted a security sweep of the home of Romney’s sister. Romney was raised in Michigan, where his father served as governor.
However, one campaign operative familiar with the working of a presidential-level campaign cautioned that a sweep of such a location could have been conducted in advance of Romney appearing as a surrogate — not the vice presidential nominee — at an upcoming McCain campaign stop in Michigan.
…
Other sources and some news reports have also suggested that Romney in the last few days might be traveling with a security detail, although exactly who employs this security detail could not be confirmed.
My intent is not to unnecessarily get all the Rombots’ hopes up, but the news will be of interest to most of them I’m sure. Remember to keep a level head, because there is a great possibility still that Mitt won’t be selected.
What odds do you give McCain of selecting Romney for Veep?
60% (40%, 19 Votes)
80% (28%, 13 Votes)
100% (19%, 9 Votes)
40% (6%, 3 Votes)
20% (4%, 2 Votes)
0% (2%, 1 Votes)
Total Voters: 47
Loading ...
My, oh my, there are a lot of rumors floating around regarding McCain selection of a running mate. A lot of the rumors seem to contradict each others. Well we will know soon enough.
The volatility of Romney’s stock on Intrade is a clear indication of differing news reports and rumors. Who knows what to believe?
As Veep Rumors Rage, Romney On the Move
Email
Share
August 27, 2008 10:28 PM
ABC New’s Matt Stuart reports: As rumors about Sen. John McCain’s vice president selection reach a fever pitch, likely short lister Gov. Mitt Romney is heading to San Diego.
Following a raucous rally in Henderson, NV on behalf of the Arizona Senator and presumptive Republican nominee, during which there were multiple calls for Romney to get to the VP nod, the former Massachusetts Governor sped off in a white SUV flanked by police cars. Just a day earlier, Romney was in Denver, providing counter programming to the Democrats convention just a few blocks away.
Arriving at the terminal in Nevada this evening, Romney told ABC News that he was headed to San Diego, where the wealthy former primary contender owns one of several homes. When asked if he would stay at his new home in La Jolla, Romney said he couldn’t because the floors were being redone.
Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom earlier said that Romney was headed to California for private meetings and had no public events scheduled.
Could he possibly be heading to Ohio later in the week? McCain reportedly will announce his veep selection in that battleground state on Friday.
There are a lot of rumors going around that the VP is not Romney, but I’m hoping he will be making a trip to Ohio on Friday.
Topics discusses: The ‘Are Jesus and Satan Brothers?’ issue, the WV primary convention, the RNC convention, acceptability of Veep candidates, and a possible hurricane in New Orleans during the RNCC. The transcript also has a caller afterwards who says Huck is flat out lying about what happened in WV.
I was only able to skim the transcript. Does anyone who listened to it have some thoughts on it?
~Nate Gunderson
Recap by Lizzie (thank you for doing this):
I heard it. Rush pretty much asserted that McCain and Huckabee combined against Romney in WV. Huckabee said, not so, it was Ron Paul’s group that did it. I wasn’t sure if Rush was doubtful when Huckabee explained how the WV thing went, or if he was “set straight”. But, I do recall one thing of note. Rush said, I had no idea that is how the thing came down. Then Mike said, well that’s how it was, I know because I was there. Then Rush seemed to have a “knowing” sound to his voice, like, “oh, you were there, and you want me to really believe you had nothing to do with it.”
Of course, I’m just remembering this, I didn’t read the transcript. And it could be that I wanted to believe that that is what Rush was insinuating. It was a very veiled comment, but I thought that was the underlying thought.
I was happy that Rush defended Mitt when Huck was saying Mitt went all negative in his campaign. Rush said, yeah, so what, that’s just politics and you and McCain gained up on Romney yourselves. That’s what started the whole WV topic I believe.
Just read the article about Romney helping McCain so much in Florida. It seems like Romney would help signigficantly in several states. So what is all this talk about Kay Bailey Hutchison? Is that a decoy, or is McCain foolish enough to pass on the guy most people want for VP?
August 26, 2008, 11:19 pm
Romney — Matt, That Is — Causes Stir at McCain Fund-Raiser
Elizabeth Holmes reports from San Diego on the presidential race.
With John McCain’s vice presidential selection coming in a matter of days, every appearance matters.
Which is why Matt Romney, the second of Mitt Romney’s five sons and the only one who lives in Southern California, caused such a stir when he attended a fund-raiser for the Republican candidate Tuesday. Mitt Romney, who is in Denver working for the Republicans during the Democratic convention, is rumored to be among the finalists to be McCain’s running mate.
“Matt Romney is here,” McCain said to the audience at the luxurious Grande Del Mar Hotel. “Matt, where are you? I’d like to just say a word about the Romney family. Nobody worked harder, nobody worked harder than the five Romney sons. In fact, I don’t know if it was you, Matt, that drove all around every county in Iowa? Now that’s above an beyond the call of duty.”
In fact, it was Josh Romney, the third of the five sons, who drove the RV to all 99 counties of Iowa. Josh Romney, who lives in Utah and works in real estate, was among the most active of the sons on the campaign trail for his father. Matt volunteered for his father while maintaining his full-time job in California.
“Cindy and I have gotten to know Ann very well, as well as Mitt, and I am grateful,” McCain added, and he repeated his standard line about Mitt Romney: “By the way, he does better on television for me than he did for himself.”
Also noted in the article was that Jon Voight was in attendance, and it mentions that he is Angelina Jolie’s father. I didn’t know that. I guess you learn something new (however worthless) every day.
Voters in California will be voting this November on the fate of same-sex marriage in the state of California. Of course this will have a huge impact on others state as well. Proponents of Proposition 8 are seeking to overturn the California Supreme Courts recent decision that allowed same-sex marriage. I would urge those who live in CA to join the “Yes on 8″ volunteer campaign.
Proposition 8: The California Marriage Protection Amendment
Places into the California Constitution the same language that voters already passed by 61% of the vote in 2000. This is necessary to overturn an outrageous California Supreme Court decision that overturned Proposition 22.
The entire text of Proposition 8 is as follows:
“Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid and recognized in California.”
The following are two recent and interesting articles about the organization that is going on help win Prop 8:
Loading ...
"Celebrity Voice Impersonated"
