McKinley County Democratic Party
ICYMI: 8 Months Before November Election, NM GOP in Civil War
In Case You Missed It...the New Mexico Republican Party and their very own Governor Susana Martinez are in the midst of a very public Civil War.
We already knew Susana likes to have things her way. She's shown she's incapable of working across the aisle. Now it's clear she just can't take anyone disagreeing with her even within her own Party.
This story is just beginning, and you can expect the GOP's un-Civil War to last well into 2012 and beyond. Get the inside scoop from NM's Joe Monahan below:
Wednesday, February 29, 2012 - http://joemonahansnewmexico.blogspot.com/
GOP State Senate Intrigue: Team Susana Seen Hatching Plot To Oust Their Senate Leader
Martinez vs. Ingle
More today on the the dark twist the Governor's relationship has taken with some state Senators of her own party and also the travails of her chief of staff--Keith Gardner--in dealing with the chamber.
Today we have a report from a former Republican lawmaker still in contact with his Santa Fe colleagues who sheds light on how the power playing in your government is taking shape. And we add how the Governor's political machine appears to be taking on members of her own party as it seeks to oust the Senate minority leader. First, our politico:
Friends say Senator Clint Harden is leaving because the Guv found someone to run against him. One reason seems to be his friendship with Senate Minority Leader Stuart Ingle who (Martinez chief political adviser) Jay McCleskey wants out of that position. Two R's who had other candidates to replace Harden were told to butt out unless they wanted to get on the wrong side of the Guv and that a final choice had been made (A niece of GOP Public Regulation Commission Chairman Pat Lyons, Angie Spears, is the GOP Senate candidate favored to replace Harden in the east side seat).
Guv Chief of Staff Keith Gardner is persona non grata in the Senate except for a few on the Guv's side. His bullying this last legislative session was the last straw and they will never let it happen again.
McCleskey is said to have told Republican Senators that he will target R's who side with those not succumbing to the Guv. That caused two previous supporters of the Guv to tell her that she may be high in the polls, but you're the lowest you can get in the Senate. Republican Senators can't remember anyone from their own party ever informing them that members of their own caucus were being targeted. They expect more Senators to leave because of threats and future disruption of legislative process..
Another GOP Senator leaving this cycle is Vern Asbill of Carlsbad and ABQ's Mark Boitano announced this week he is retiring. There are a total of five Senators who have announced they are departing so far--not the four we initially blogged Tuesday. The two Dems are Feldman and Griego.
Senate candidates have until March 20 to file their required petition signatures.
MINORITY LEADER WHO?
There were rumblings that Sen. Ingle, in the Senate game since '85, could draw a GOP challenger drafted by the Guv's operatives but the talk has since died down. If our former GOP Senator turned Alligator has it right, the play could be to try to round up enough votes to vote Ingle out as minority leader. Let's go behind the curtain and once again to the top sources in state politics and outline what may be McCleskey's strategy on behalf of Susana...
First, the Guv sees Ingle as too willing to work with the likes of veteran Dem Senator Tim Jennings and not pushing hard enough for her agenda. They don't like the institutional independence that Ingle has shown. That is the premise for dethroning him. Insiders say it will take only eight Republican votes to topple Ingle.
If SusanaPAC flush with cash comes out strong for the winning GOP candidates in the three state Senate seats that will switch hands because of retirements, we assume the Guv will have their votes for a new leader. That's only five to go. Senators Rod Adair and John Ryan are seen as easy anti-Ingle votes. Now we need only three to get a more Susana friendly GOP leader. And there are lots of easy pickings.
Ousting one of your own is a brutal business but Susana's strategy is to have her team be more hard-hitting with the majority Senate Dems. But going after your own is never without consequence. Fielding a strong GOP opponent against Ingle could make the Republican natives restless. (There was political gossip about having State Rep. Dennis Kintigh mounting a challenge to Ingle, but nothing came of it.)
Taking the leadership post away from Ingle, but not his seat would be the safe way. So far, that seems to be the play and if the vote count above is right, there is no need for Susana to provoke a bloody, cannibalistic and intramural feud over Ingle. Like Caesar, the killing can take place on the floor of the Senate.
And if you noted that the three retiring Senators and Ingle can be described as easier going conservatives with some moderate leanings, you had it right. Compromise and working across the aisle are dirty phrases in gridlocked Santa Fe. With Susana and company seeking retribution for those who cross the line, don't look for a new mood swing anytime soon.
Obama Opens Swing State Lead Amid GOP Infighting
Obama Opens Swing State Lead Amid GOP Infighting
By Chris Stirewalt
Published February 16, 2012 | FoxNews.com
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Obama Opens Swing State Lead Amid GOP Infighting; Congress to Cool It for Awhile
Long Process Isn’t Helping Republicans in November Battlegrounds
“8.5 percent”
-- President Obama’s average lead against Republican frontrunners Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum in a new FOX News poll of 10 battleground states: Ohio, Nevada, Florida, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Colorado, Iowa, Virginia, North Carolina and New Mexico.
It’s getting harder for Republicans to argue that their protracted nomination process isn’t doing serious damage to their chances of unseating President Obama in the fall.
The latest FOX News swing state poll has some sobering news for the Republicans. Not only do both of their current frontrunners, Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney, trail nationally (Romney trails by 5 points in all states, Santorum by 12), but they lose in the 10 key states that are likely to decide the election.
While Santorum can tout the fact that his margin of defeat falls to 9 points in the battleground states (which include his former home state of Pennsylvania), both he and Romney got shellacked, with the former Massachusetts governor trailing Obama by 8 points in the swing states.
In a FOX News poll from the same time in 2008 (then conducted with research firm Opinion Dynamics) eventual Democratic nominee Barack Obama led already inevitable Republican nominee John McCain by 4 points nationally.
Though McCain once popped up to a 3-point lead during the Democratic nomination fight that year, Obama generally led in head-to-head matchups throughout the process. By the end of the Democratic derby in June, Obama was still ahead by 4 points.
The difference likely has a lot to do with tone.
With Republican voters generally unsatisfied with the choices on offer, the primary process has often turned intensely negative. Romney has sought to disqualify his challengers and his challengers have sought to disqualify him. Add in Super PACs – unlimited in spending and unbound by the expectations of decorum and civility that keep campaigns on a leash – and you have a very ugly-looking process.
That means that in key general-election states like Iowa, Florida, Ohio, Michigan and Nevada, persuadable voters, mostly independent-minded moderates, have already seen very unpleasant renderings of all the remaining contenders.
Meanwhile, Obama and his fellow Democrats are missing no opportunity to reinforce these negatives as the Republican road show moves from swing state to swing state. They are currently buttressing Santorum’s attacks on Romney in Michigan. Last month, it was Newt Gingrich’s attacks on Romney in Florida that labor unions and Democrats were touting.
Then, when the president hits the campaign trail, he is free to talk up the economy and keep selling his plan for manufacturing and a blue-collar renaissance achieved by government spending. It’s something his party has been selling in the Rust Belt since the 1970s, and sometimes it works.
Only twice in modern political history has an open Republican nominating contest produced a general election candidate that thrilled the GOP base, Barry Goldwater in 1964 and Ronald Reagan in 1980.
In the nine other contests since the end of World War II, the process was more about acceptance than enthusiasm. Because of the distrust between the two halves of Republican coalition – a base of heartland conservatives and a hierarchy of urban pro-business moderates -- the party’s process is most often a struggle to find a broadly acceptable choice.
So why on earth would a party such as this decide to prolong its nominating process? That would be like having a long engagement before an arranged marriage. It’s just asking for trouble.
After the 2008 contest Republicans were envious of the Democratic drama that had carried on for months as Hillary Clintonslowly succumbed to Obama. So Republicans rearranged their calendar to drag out the process for 2012.
Now, as Republican voters grow weary of the process and an incumbent Democratic president is free to campaign and define the issues of the race, the Republicans remain locked in mortal combat.
On this day in 2008, the Republican frontrunner had 827 delegates, more than double his two closest competitors combined and almost 70 percent of the total needed to clinch the nomination.
Today, even counting projected delegate hauls based on straw polls in states that don’t hold primary elections, the Republican frontrunner has 105 delegates, only five more than his two closest competitors combined and only 9 percent of the total needed to clinch the nomination.
That means that whoever wins the Republican nomination, it will still be a long time in coming. If Romney performs very well on the three-week, delegate-rich run that begins on Feb. 28, he could shorten the process dramatically, but a strong showing by either of his pursuers or a split decision would mean it could be May before any clarity comes to the race.
Some Republicans argue that the process should go longer so that voters can learn as much as possible about the candidates and put them to the test. But the discoveries have mostly been unhappy. That edifies Republicans, but it is a turnoff for general-election voters.
The best argument for a protracted process is that it holds the American electorate’s attention. If there weren’t such drama and so many surprises in the GOP, the Obama Democrats would have nearly unlimited opportunities to praise the president and pummel the Republican nominee.
No doubt that if Romney had run the table in January as once looked possible and was already well on his way to inevitability, he would be quickly forgotten by the establishment press, except as a foil for Obama. A quick coronation would have left Romney moldering for many months.
So maybe it could have been worse for Republicans, but the current situation suggests that it certainly could be a lot better.
Republican Enthusiasm Issue is Real
The paltry turnout in the Republican Presidential contests over the last week reflects what we've seen in our recent national polling: Democrats are now more excited about voting this fall than Republicans are, reversing the enthusiasm gap that plagued the party in 2010.
Our last national survey for Daily Kos found that 58% of Democrats were 'very excited' about voting this fall, compared to 54% of Republicans. Six months ago the figures were 48% of Democrats 'very excited' and Republicans at the same 54%. Generally you would expect voters to get more excited as the election gets nearer. That trend is occurring on the Democratic side, but not for the GOP.
Going deeper inside the numbers:
-25% of conservatives are not at all excited to vote this fall, compared to only 16% of liberals.
-The percentage of Tea Party voters 'very excited' about voting in November has declined from 73% to 62% since late July.
-The single group of voters most enthused about turning this year are African Americans, 72% of whom say they're 'very excited' to cast their ballots.
Obviously all this could change once Republicans are settled on a nominee. But for now Barack Obama's prospects in both our state and national polling are looking the best they have in quite a long time.
Film Yourself, Governor!
As seen on the front page of the Abq Journal today, Governor Susana Martinez is using your tax dollars to pay for political and selective filming of the State Legislature conducting business.
That's right, she's taking state money that could be going to educating our students, and using it to try and score political points by catching Democrats out of context and using the video to aid her political cause.
It's a clear double standard, but that's not stopping Susana. Chairman Gonzales is calling on Governor Martinez to end the double standard and give the public the same access to her office that she's using state dollars to force on the Legislature - but to have an impact we need you to join your voice with his! Susana can't ignore all of us.
Call her right now at (505) 476-2200 and demand that she stopping using taxpayer dollars for political purposes! We deserve access to our government - not selectively, not on her political whims, but fully and completely.
It's very easy to focus the camera lens on someone else and sanctimoniously talk about transparency in government. It's quite another to apply the same standard to yourself. But that's the difference between leadership and hypocritical grandstanding.
There have been and will be plenty of chances for Susana to be transparent. Here are a just a few that come to mind:
When Martinez accepted $70,000 from The Downs at Albuquerque right before their pending lease came up for renewal. The public has a right to know - and would have if Martinez had filmed that exchange.
The cameras could have and should have been rolling when Martinez and her staff created new government jobs for the spouses of her Chief of Staff Keith Gardner and Press Secretary Scott Darnell
The camera should always be on whenever Martinez and her political consultant Jay McCleskey meet to discuss state business. Or when Martinez meets with Republican National Committeman Pat Rogers - who also happens to be the lawyer for Paul Blanchard and The Downs.
And wouldn't it be nice to have film of the Governor on her out-of-state junkets to places like Napa Valley as she campaigns for Vice Presidency instead of doing her job in New Mexico?
Call her right now at (505) 476-2200 and ask her why she thinks transparency should only apply to her political opponents! Together we can find out what's really going on on the 4th floor in Santa Fe!
Sincerely,
Scott Forrester
Executive Director, DPNM
ICYMI: HOUSE DEMS PROPOSE "BELIEVE IN THE BEST" JOBS PROGRAM
ICYMI: HOUSE DEMS PROPOSE "BELIEVE IN THE BEST" JOBS PROGRAM
In Case You Missed It… Yesterday, House Democrats introduced their “Believe in the Best” plan -- An ambitious package which will not only help spur job creation in New Mexico but also makes critical investments in our future.
The “Believe in the Best” package proposes fundamental investments in energy efficiency and includes aid for communities to rebuild and recover from the devastating wildfires of last year. In short, the bills help create jobs by investing in shovel ready programs that put people to work immediately while investing in our future. This is in sharp contrast to the “drop in the bucket” plan offered by the Governor.
“New Mexico is struggling -- we need innovative solutions not only to get New Mexicans back to work, but also to build a sustainable economy for the future. With investments based on our shared goals and values, the ‘Believe in the Best’ package is a plan that everyone should support,” said Javier Gonzales, DPNM Chairman. "Governor Martinez doesn’t get it. Her Jobs ‘plan’ relies on small tax cuts for corporations, an approach that is both antiquated and too small.
“Only one party realizes the tough times New Mexicans face. The jobs programs proposed by House and Senate Democrats show we are up to the challenge of getting New Mexico back on track and back to work,” said Gonzales.
"Watch Your Representatives Introduce the Democratic House Jobs Plan!"
Rep. Martinez overview on Jobs Plan | Rep. Martinez overview on Jobs Plan
Rep. Egolf on HB 177 | Rep. Chasey on HJM 13 | Rep. Madalena on HB 9
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Dems Tout Jobs Plan; GOP, Education Reform
Deborah Baker | Albuquerque Journal
Posted: Tuesday, January 31, 2012
...
The Democrats’ proposed home buyers energy savings tax credit plan
would for two years provide refundable tax credits of either $4,000,
$6,000 or $8,000 for buying energy-efficient homes — either new ones
or foreclosed homes renovated to high efficiency standards.
They said the proposal would generate construction spending, create
jobs and decrease energy consumption.
Democrats want tax credit for home buyers
Milan Simonich | NM Capitol Report
Posted: Monday, January 30, 2012
Egolf said the program would put carpenters, electricians and plumbers
to work and do something rare in the process — provide a tax break for
ordinary people. Legislators craft most tax credits for corporations.
Hometown banks also could profit from the program because it would
improve the market for foreclosed properties that they are managing,
said Egolf, D-Santa Fe.
Egolf’s proposal in House Bill 177. He said it easily has enough votes
to clear the 70-member House of Representatives, and he is optimistic
that state senators will back it too.
The bill was one of several job-creation proposals that House
Democrats outlined today.
Another would allocate $1 million over the next two years to help
communities recover from last year’s series of wildfires. The money
would be managed by the state Department of Homeland Security and
Emergency Management.
…
Democrats dust off blueprints for job creation in legislative session
Stuart Dyson | KOB Eyewitness News 4
Posted: Monday, January 30, 2012
...
"It's important," said House majority Leader Ken Martinez of Grants.
"The government does create jobs, and we do that through our
infrastructure, so I think it's important that we have the
shovel-ready capital outlay ready to go."
Other initiatives sponsored by the Democratic majority in the House
include tax credits for homeowners who make their homes more
energy-efficient, and an ambitious plan to hire people to help
communities rebuild and recover form last year's terrible wildfires.
ICYMI: Senate Dems Introduce Comprehensive Jobs Package
In Case You Missed It...Yesterday Senate Democrats came to the rescue of our struggling economy with H.I.R.E. (Helping Incentivize Real Employment) - the Democratic plan to create jobs and lay the foundation for long-term economic success.
Their 11 proposals make up the first comprehensive jobs package to be introduced in the Legislature or announced by any elected officials this year - including the Governor. And don't be fooled - the Governor's "Jobs Package" is nothing more than a symbolic gesture and yet another tax cut for corporations - it's not big enough or targeted enough to create a single job!
DPNM Chairman Javier Gonzales set the tone for what this means when he said:
"The Democratic HIRE Jobs Plan addresses everything from education to incentives to lowering the cost of doing business at every stage of the production cycle. Cutting taxes by a few hundred dollars a month on a few thousand businesses is a nice break for small businesses in tough times, but it's not going to get people hiring again, and that's not good enough.
The Democratic HIRE Jobs Plan is more than just a stop-gap, more than a symbolic gesture. Our economic situation requires a plan that is comprehensive, and Democrats have met that challenge!"
Stay tuned for more to come on what you can do - on what we all need to do - to support this critical legislation and demand it's passage!
Excerpts from the articles below, or read the full version here, here, or here.
Democrats aim to trump Martinez on jobs, taxesState senators say their plans will have quicker economic impact than Martinez's
Trip Jennings | The New Mexican
Posted: Monday, January 23, 2012
...Senate Democratic lawmakers pitched several ideas Monday that they said would spark New Mexico's economy faster and better than tax cuts proposed by Gov. Susana Martinez.
"A lot of these ideas are big ideas. They are ideas that would put a 'Now Hiring' sign out in front of almost every storefront in New Mexico," said Sen. Tim Keller, D-Albuquerque. "We think it will make a difference right away."
Gov., Dems Offer Dueling Job-Growth Plans
By James Monteleone and Dan Boyd / Copyright © 2012 Albuquerque Journal on Tue, Jan 24, 2012
The package unveiled by Senate Democrats on Monday included 11 measures, more than half of them proposing new tax credits, that supporters said will lead to more hiring, companies moving to the state and less reliance on the oil and natural gas industries.
The plan includes $5,000 per year for hiring a graduate of a state university, lower income taxes for increasing the wages of current workers and a tax break on transporting agricultural crops outside state lines.
But Senate Democrats said their package of proposed legislation – dubbed the HIRE initiative (Helping Incentivize Real Employment) – would boost the state’s economy without providing “giveaways” to specific companies.
“What we’re asking in each of these bills is true investment in New Mexico before a credit goes out the other end,” said Sen. John Sapien, D-Corrales.
The plan also includes Senate Democrats’ take on how to address the state’s tax pyramiding for businesses and a tax credit for private companies that give pay raises to their New Mexico workers.
Democrat senators offer jobs package
The Alamogordo Daily News
By Milan Simonich Texas-New Mexico Newspapers
Posted: 01/23/2012 12:27:50 PM MST
SANTA FE -- Senate Democrats said Monday their business this session is business.
Seven senators outlined 11 bills that would give tax breaks to businesses that add employees, expand product sales or improve wages. Another component of one bill would close tax loopholes, offsetting costs of providing certain incentives.
Sen. Michael Sanchez of Belen, the Democrats' leader, said the collective effort is called HIRE -- Helping Incentivize Real Employment. He launched the campaign last summer with the help of corporate managers, unions and rank-and-file workers.
Sanchez said one myth of politics is that Democrats are not so interested in job creation as the rival party. Never has that been true, but the jobs package makes it especially plain this session, Sanchez said.
STATEMENT: Susana presser on ethics is laughable, insulting to New Mexicans
January 23, 2012
For Immediate Release
Contact: Scott Forrester, (505) 934-5681
Albuquerque, NM - Recently Governor Susana Martinez held a press conference at which she touted her support for ethics reform in New Mexico and claimed to be a champion of ethical government. Sadly, her actions clearly do not live up to what she said, at the press conference or on the campaign trail before she was elected.
The following is a statement from Scott Forrester, Executive Director of the Democratic Party of New Mexico:
"Any New Mexican who has followed the coverage of the Governor's first year in office - especially her work to steer millions of dollars in contracts to her political donors - must have had a good laugh today when the Governor claimed to be a champion of ethics.
We shouldn't be surprised. Sadly this Governor's actions just don't match her words. She says "I'm for job creation" but attacks proven incentives; she says "I'm against cronyism" but wastes no time arranging jobs for Darren White, Jon Barela and a dozen others; she says "I'm against judges who contribute to politicians" but she appoints her contributors to the bench.
And, Lord knows, she never stopped shouting from the rooftops that Pay-to-Play would end when she took office. Now that's become the biggest broken promise of them all.
Democrats have taken the lead on ethics reform in New Mexico for years, carrying legislation to cap political contributions, end contributions from lobbyists and government contractors and create unprecedented access to state government
.
Somehow, Susana kept a straight face through the entire press conference, at one point even saying she was appalled that elected officials would abuse their power. But just two weeks ago, the Governor rigged a bid process that gave millions to one of her donors.
The hypocrisy of it all is enough to make you think that the Susana Martinez who convinced New Mexicans to elect her and the one who showed up in Santa Fe last year are two completely different people - with opposite beliefs."
###
STATEMENT: DPNM on Senate Redistricting Decision
January 11, 2012
Contact: Scott Forrester, (505) 934-5681
Albuquerque, NM - The following is a statement from Javier Gonzales, Chairman of the Democratic Party of New Mexico, on the approval of a compromise redistricting plan for State Senate districts:
"This compromise plan is not a victory for one political party or another, it's a victory for New Mexicans and the constitutional principle of one person, one vote. Judge Hall chose a map based on fairness and equality for every voter.
"While this is a victory in the Senate, the fight to protect the power of the vote in New Mexico continues. It was a shame to see the Governor's cynical game plan to not participate in redistricting, hire a partisan map-drawer and attempt to win the favor of the court when there were multiple other plans that were less partisan, more fair to voters and more reflective of the massive population shifts we are experiencing.
"The Governor vetoed the democratically drawn map, forced the taxpayers to pay for her lawsuit, then pulled a fast one to rig the game in Republicans' favor. That never should have flown with the judge, and we will continue to fight for every New Mexican until all of our legal options have been exhausted."
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STATEMENT: DPNM Chair Urges Republicans: Give Small Business a Break
DPNM Chair Urges Republicans to Join Democrats, Give Small Business A Break
Payroll Tax Cut Extension Would Mean More Money in the Pockets of New Mexican Families
For Immediate Release
Contact: Scott Forrester, (505) 934-5681
Albuquerque, NM – The Senate is expected to vote on an extension of President Obama’s middle-class tax cut package. Ahead of the vote DPNM Chairman Javier Gonzales released the following statement:
“Last year President Obama lowered the payroll tax so middle class families could keep more of what they earn. This year, the President wants to extend and expand that tax break, which would boost our state economy by putting more money in the pockets of approximately 900,000 middle class New Mexico families. But with Republicans like Mitt Romney belittling middle-class tax cuts as nothing more than ‘little band-aids,’ the Republican Party is sending a clear signal to the American people: They’re willing to raise taxes on middle-class Americans just to pay for more tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires and big oil. It’s shameful.
“At a time when we need to continue rebuilding the economy and restore security for the middle class, Republicans’ opposition to the payroll tax cut would mean less money for New Mexicans trying to put food on the table, buy books for college, or pay their mortgage — precisely the opposite of what our economy needs. It’s time for the GOP to put aside their partisan games. I urge the Senate to join with President Obama and the Democrats in Congress to vote to extend and expand the payroll tax cut for middle class families.”
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RESOURCES: See page three of: http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/payroll_tax_cuts_for_worki...
Boston Globe: Mitt Romney's biggest enemy: Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney’s biggest enemy: Mitt Romney
By Brian McGrory
Admittedly, and please don’t hold this against me, I always kind of liked Mitt Romney.
I liked when he told me, fresh off his gubernatorial election, “I want to do a better job for people who need government’s help,’’ and when he oversaw the landmark health care reform and when he restored hundreds of thousands of dollars in the budget for the homeless.
But somewhere around the time he was disavowing his stands on abortion rights, on sensible immigration policies, on pretty much the entire role of government in society, I came to realize one true thing: I liked the concept of Mitt Romney more than I liked the man himself.
The concept is the businessman who neither needs nor craves the elective job. The concept is the fully formed adult who refuses to get caught up in the petty semantics and intellectual gymnastics that consume so many career politicians. The concept is the person more devoted to ideas than ideology, someone who doesn’t sweat every poll.
By the time he got to the cornfields of Iowa and the strip malls of New Hampshire four years ago, the man and the concept had irreparable differences. He distorted his past. He contorted his views. Mitt Romney seemed diminished by what should have been a grand pursuit.
Still, when this campaign rolled around, and the economy was the focus, Romney seemed like the man for the moment. He was a titan in business. He had governed Massachusetts out of a recession. He is uncommonly intelligent. And it doesn’t hurt that he basically comes across as Abraham Lincoln compared to the assorted cranks and crackpots who make up most of the Republican field.
He’s even pushed an early, effective message, one that goes like this: Voters in 2008 put their faith in a young, untested candidate in Barack Obama, as is the American way. Nothing against him, Romney says, but time has shown he isn’t up to the job. The message may work, because it may be right.
But then came last week’s television ad, the first of Romney’s campaign, and everything old is new again. The spot shows Obama saying, “If we keep talking about the economy, we’re going to lose.’’ Problem is, as has been widely reported, Obama was repeating and mocking what a John McCain aide said about the GOP strategy in the 2008 race. The full Obama quote went like this: “Senator McCain’s campaign actually said, and I quote, if we keep talking about the economy, we’re going to lose.’’
Which brings us to Romney adviser Eric Fehrnstrom. He may or may not be better than his recent zero-for-six record reflects, though he was great as CrazyKhazei on Twitter, circulating anonymous insults in the Massachusetts Senate race on behalf of Scott Brown. Then his identity was revealed, and he looked like he was running for student council at a reform school.
Of the Romney ad and the out-of-context quote, Fehrnstrom bizarrely told the Globe, “It’s all deliberate.’’ Of the outcry from Obama’s camp: “Their reaction was quite hysterical.’’ Of the obvious deception: “If you do your job, [voters] will learn about it.’’
So basically, Romney deliberately deceived the public; he’s laughing because his opponent thinks it’s wrong; he feels no obligation to the truth. Is that about right?
And with that, Mitt Romney has yet again relinquished his role as the adult in this race, the serious-minded reformer who soars above the fray to tell it like it is. Romney, yet again, is just another politician willing to sacrifice what’s left of his integrity for a vote.
If he deceives in an ad, does he deceive in a speech? Does he have that little respect for the voters? In this environment, with these opponents, is he really incapable of making an honest, straightforward case?
Romney and the concept have never been so far apart. At a time when nothing good ever seems to get done in government, he’s showing himself to be another face in the crowd.