Posted on 11/14/2007 7:07:30 AM PST by Reaganesque
I realize everything can change fast in Iowa and New Hampshire, and some are rightly skeptical about the value of polling in a caucus state. I also recognize that some pollsters' methods of figuring out who's a "likely voter" are better than others.
But if I were a Romney guy, I'd be pretty pleased about the trends in those two primary states.
Romney's had a lead in the Hawkeye state for a while, but that lead seems to be growing, across several pollsters. Romney is up 16 on his nearest competitor (Huckabee) in Zogby, up 8 on his nearest competitor in ARG, up 23 on Rudy and Huck in University of Iowa, up 14 in Strategic Vision, up 7 in Rasmussen.
In New Hampshire, we see a similar dynamic. Romney is up 12 on Giuliani in the Globe/University of New Hampshire poll, up 11 on Giuliani in Marist, up 15 on Giuliani in Rasmussen, up 7 in ARG, up 9 in the previous Rasmussen, up 10 in St. Anselm.
When the Marist poll came out, I asked the Romney campaign what was driving that, and they responded, "we've been campaigning hard in New Hampshire, including three days there last week. Senator Judd Gregg's endorsement was certainly a boost for us. But while this particular poll may show us with a strong lead, we're going to continue to run in New Hampshire as if we were ten points behind."
Even the South Carolina numbers are starting to look better across several polls he's leading the field at 29 percent, up 6 percentage points on Giuliani in ARG (okay, really, how is Fred Thompson getting 10 percent in South Carolina?), tied with Giuliani and one point behind Thompson in Winthrop/ETV, in a three-way tie for second and five points behind Thompson in InsiderAdvantage, leading the previous ARG by 3, and down 9 percent in Rasmussen, and even that's five percent higher than the previous poll by that organization.
Because we're seeing an effect in several states where there is advertising, and not just where Romney picked up a big endorsement (like Gregg), I suspect the ads are what is driving the Romney surge. I would also note that we've seen little, if any, change in Romney's national numbers during this time.
You gotta be kidding.
Romney forcefully asserts his pro-abortion credentials
You I don't know about...
His phenominal number of in-laws?
Thanks for keeping these threads bumped!
I hope every FReeper will be smart enough to watch Mitt Romney's smarmy defense of his pro-abort credentials at least once.
Abortion and Sanctity of Life
http://www.freerepublic.com/~unmarkedpackage/#abortion
Governor Romney was presented with legislation concerning life issues on several occasions from the 85% majority Democrat Legislature in Massachusetts. In every instance he took the pro-life position by vetoing bills or lobbying for the pro-life approach, including the following actions:
He vetoed the bill providing state funding for human embryonic stem cell research
(Theo Emery, “Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney Vetoes Stem Cell Bill,” The Associated Press, 5/27/2005)
He vetoed a bill that provided for the “morning after pill” without a prescription because it is an abortifacient and would have been available to minors without parental notification and consent
(Governor Mitt Romney, Op-Ed, “Why I Vetoed Contraception Bill,” The Boston Globe, 7/26/2005)
He vetoed legislation which would have redefined Massachusetts longstanding definition of the beginning of human life from fertilization to implantation
(Governor Mitt Romney, Letter To The Massachusetts State Senate And House Of Representatives, 5/12/2005)
He supported parental notification laws and opposed efforts to weaken parental involvement
(John McElhenny, “O’Brien And Romney Spar In Last Debate Before Election,” The Associated Press, 10/29/2002)
He fought to promote abstinence education in public school classrooms with a program offered by faith-based Boston group Healthy Futures to middle school students. Gov. Romney’s administration was the first in Massachusetts to use federal abstinence education funds for classroom programs.
(Office of Gov. Mitt Romney, “Romney Announces Award of Abstinence Education Contract,” Press Release, 4/20/2006)
Governor Romney: “Times of decision are moments of great clarity. Before I was Governor, the life issue was just that, an issue. But when responsibility for life or ending life was placed in my hands, I made the right decision. I chose life.”
(Governor Mitt Romney, Remarks At The National Right To Life Convention Forum, Kansas City, MO, 6/15/2007)
Eight prominent leaders of pro-life and pro-family groups in Massachusetts wrote an open letter on January 11, 2007 praising Gov. Romney for his leadership and accomplishments in these important issues and attesting to his commitment to the pro-life and pro-family causes. (This letter is a MUST READ)
Excerpt:
“Since well before 2003, we have been laboring in the trenches of Massachusetts, fighting for the family values you and we share. It is difficult work indeed not for the faint of heart. In this challenging environment, Governor Romney has proven that he shares our values, as well as our determination to protect them.
“For four years, Governor Romney has been right there beside us, providing leadership on key issues whether it was politically expedient to do so or not. He has stood on principle, and we have benefited greatly from having him with us.
“It is clear that Governor Romney has learned much since 1994 to the benefit of our movement and our Commonwealth. In fact, the entire nation has benefited from his socially conservative, pro-family actions in office. As we explained earlier, his leadership on the marriage issue helped prevent our nation from being plunged into even worse legal turmoil following the court decision that forced gay marriage upon our Commonwealth.
“For that our country ought to be thankful. We certainly are.
Massachusetts Citizens for Life recently gave Gov. Romney their 2007 Mullins Award for Outstanding Political Leadership presented at the Mother’s Day Pioneer Valley Dinner where Romney delivered the keynote speech.
Ann Romney serves as co-chairman of the Massachusetts Citizens for Life capital campaign.
Massachusetts Citizens For Life Executive Director Marie Sturgis: “Having Governor Romney in the corner office for the last four years has been one of the strongest assets the pro-life movement has had in Massachusetts.”
(Kathryn Jean Lopez, “An Early Massachusetts Primary,” National Review Online, 1/10/2007)
Massachusetts Citizens For Life Pioneer Valley Chapter Chairman Kevin Jourdain: “Mitt Romney was a great Governor, who served with honor and distinction. But most importantly, he was a pro-life Governor. He vetoed a number of pro-abortion pieces of legislation and made many pro-life appointments. He was always there for us.”
(Kevin Jourdain, Remarks at Massachusetts Citizens for Life Mother’s Day Pioneer Valley Dinner, Agawam, MA, 5/10/2007)
Governor Romney has received the important endorsement of James Bopp, Jr., a nationally-known constitutional lawyer and leading advocate for the pro-life movement. Jim Bopp reviewed Romney’s record as Governor and questioned him personally before giving Romney his endorsement. Bopp later joined the Romney Presidential campaign as a special adviser on life issues, an unpaid position.
Jim Bopp wrote about the record of Governor Romney,
“These actions as governor have lead leaders of the most important social conservative groups in Massachusetts, including Massachusetts Citizens for Life, Massachusetts Family Institute, and the Knights of Columbus, to observe that, while previous comments by Romney are, taken by themselves, obviously worrisome to social conservatives including ourselves, they do not dovetail with the actions of Governor Romney from 2003 until now and those actions positively and demonstrably impacted the social climate of Massachusetts. They conclude that Romney demonstrat[ed] [his] solid social conservative credentials by undertaking these actions, and has therefore proven that he shares our values, as well as our determination to protect them.
(James Bopp Jr., “The Best Choice Is Also a Good Choice - Why social conservatives should support Mitt Romney for president,” National Review Online, 2/21/2007)
Governor Romney believes Roe v. Wade should be overturned as a first step, allowing the States to set abortion policy, as a goal that can be achieved more quickly. For a longer range goal after overturning Roe v. Wade, he supports a Human Life Amendment to the Constitution and endorses legislation to make it clear that the 14th Amendment’s protections apply to unborn children.
Romney believes that controversial abortion policy should be decided through the democratic process by citizens in the several states and their elected representatives rather than by federal judicial mandate.
Governor Romney: “I understand that my views on laws governing abortion set me in the minority in our Commonwealth. I am prolife. I believe that abortion is the wrong choice except in cases of incest, rape, and to save the life of the mother. I wish the people of America agreed, and that the laws of our nation could reflect that view. But while the nation remains so divided over abortion, I believe that the states, through the democratic process, should determine their own abortion laws and not have them dictated by judicial mandate.”
(Governor Mitt Romney, Op-Ed, “Why I vetoed contraception bill,” The Boston Globe, 7/26/2005)
Gov. Romney Praised The U.S. Supreme Court Decision Upholding A Partial-Birth Abortion Ban. “Today, our nation’s highest court reaffirmed the value of life in America by upholding a ban on a practice that offends basic human decency. This decision represents a step forward in protecting the weakest and most innocent among us.”
(Romney for President, “Statement On Supreme Court’s Partial Birth Abortion Ruling,” Press Release, 4/18/2007)
View video of a portion of a speech delivered by Mitt Romney at the National Review Institute Conservative Summit in which he describes a pivotal event in his life while learning about stem cell research and embryo farming from Harvard research scientists. From a researcher’s comment explaining that there wasn’t a moral issue at stake in the embryo farming process because the embryos are destroyed after 14 days, Romney was hit hard by the harsh realization that, in his words, “We have so cheapened the value and sanctity of human life in our society that someone could think there is not a moral issue because we kill human embryos at 14 days.” Gov. Romney publicly affirmed his pro-life position thereafter.
Governor Romney: “I don’t believe that somatic cell nuclear transfer or cloning and embryo farming are appropriate and would not pursue federal funding of those forms of stem cell research.”
(David A. Lieb, “Romney Wraps Self In Reagan Lingo,” The Associated Press, 2/11/2007)
Governor Romney Believes We Can Support Techniques That “Produce The Equivalent Of Embryonic Stem Cells But Without Cloning, Creating, Harming, Or Destroying Developing Human Lives.” “I studied the issue for many months, and entered into conversation with experts from across the nation who were looking for consensus solutions, like Stanford’s Dr. William Hurlbut. In the end, I became persuaded that the stem-cell debate was grounded in a false premise, and that the way through it was around it: by the use of scientific techniques that could produce the equivalent of embryonic stem cells but without cloning, creating, harming, or destroying developing human lives.”
(Governor Mitt Romney, Op-Ed, “A Stem-Cell Solution,” National Review Online, 6/15/2007)
Read more in a Research Briefing: Promoting A Culture Of Life: The Romney Vision Vs. The Democrat Vision
The influence of family members and events in Mitt Romney’s life on matters of abortion are worth considering. They illuminate obstacles he surmounted to adopt pro-life beliefs in his private life. Mitt Romneys mother, Lenore Romney, advocated a pro-choice position in her unsuccessful 1970 run for the U.S. Senate in Michigan, writing in her campaign platform, “I support and recognize the need for more liberal abortion rights while reaffirming the legal and medical measures needed to protect the unborn and pregnant woman [sic].” Mitt Romney revealed in 1994 that his brother-in-law’s sister, a close family friend, died after a botched illegal abortion in the 1960s when Mitt would have been in his teens and early 20s.
(Stephanie Ebbert, “Romney releases mother’s statement on abortion issue,” The Boston Globe, 6/28/2005)
In a February 14, 2007 appearance on ABC Good Morning America, Ann Romney talked about her personal struggle with multiple sclerosis and offered her perspective on embryonic stem cell research with a powerful, inspiring message opposing medical experimentation that could conceivably relieve her own suffering. Read a thought-provoking commentary by Alliance Defense Fund constitutional lawyer David French on Ann Romney’s strength of character in opposing embryonic stem cell research as seen in the ABC Good Morning America segment.
Gov. Romney made a $15,000 contribution in 2006 to the pro-life group Massachusetts Citizens for Life from the Tyler Charitable Foundation, a joint family trust of Mitt and Ann Romney. They also donated $10,000 to the Massachusetts Family Institute during the same time period.
The Tyler Charitable Foundation has donated more than $2.9 million to more than 40 healthcare groups, schools, and other charitable organizations since 1999.
Romney’s campaign will continue to surge. You will just have to get used to it.
So will Hillary's. Big deal.
Romney is simply the best choice and a lot of people are starting to figure it out. In my opinion, he will eat Hillarys lunch.
check the cash flow at benficial life or at the tabernacle.....
Romney was the most liberal Governor in our nation’s history. Any Republican who falls for his scam is either a) a liberal, b) dangerously naive, or c) bought.
Which are you?
Mutt sent us a picture of his “family.”
Strange bunch - three of the young women have severe scoliosis. It must run in his family.
What BS!
Romney may have presided over a liberal state but he did so as a Conservative. Who do you think is going to buy the junk you post?
Strong chance of that. I'm an anybody but rootie or McLame voter.
Thompson will take Viagra, and all the Depends commercials he can get. He's the Bob Dole for this election.
Thompson will take Viagra, and all the Depends commercials he can get. He’s the Bob Dole for this election.
how droll of you.
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