Elections Blog

http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2006/11/13/daily9.html?page=1 From The Business Journal:

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney met with Valley business and Republican leaders Monday, part of an effort to build a “network of people” in states with primary elections early in 2008.

Romney, who declined to run for gubernatorial re-election, is seen as a potential GOP presidential candidate and a more hard-line conservative than likely frontrunners Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and former New York City Mayor Rudy Guliani.

“I’m keeping the option open,” Romney said Monday to a small group of reporters inside Vestar offices at the Camelback Esplanade.

Romney has visited the Grand Canyon State four times in the last 18 months and said he will make an announcement on whether he’ll run for the GOP nomination after the holidays.

During the 30-minute interview, the Massachusetts governor talked about his views on Iraq, the federal debt, immigration and other domestic and national issues, while pointing some policy differences between him and McCain.

Romney supported the Bush tax cut, while McCain did not. He also isn’t in favor of the McCain-Feingold finance reform bill, saying now “there’s more money in politics, not less.”

Romney also said he doesn’t support same-sex marriages or civil unions and would only extend rights or benefits pertaining to hospital visitations.

He said last week’s elections sent a message to the Republican Party that it strayed from its hallmarks of fiscal conservatism, strong national defense and small government, and maintained that “Republicans shouldn’t go liberal.”

Romney applauded President Bush’s motion to assemble a team to analyze, debate and recommend changes to the Iraq war policy, but fell short of saying that should have happened years ago.

“I’m glad it’s happening now,” Romney, 59, said. “We need definitive measurements to see if we’re making progress.”

Romney said he was against a military draft, but admitted, “our military is stretched thin,” specifically pointing out the National Guard.

He said the federal government should issue a biometric employment card to every noncitizen in the country, deport criminals who are illegal residents, and give welfare and Medicaid timetables for noncitizens to get off those programs or face deportation. And for those law-abiding, tax-paying illegal immigrants who have been here for years, he wants to see them go to the back of the line to apply for legal status.

“We have to secure our borders and have a policy we can control,” he said.

He said the four biggest challenges facing the country are jihadists, Asia’s emergence as a competitor, reliance on oil and the federal debt.

“The financial crisis is not far from our doorstep,” he said.

Romney, an outspoken member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serves as the chairman of the Republican Governors Association and is honorary chairman of the Commonwealth Political Action Committee. Before becoming governor of Massachusetts, Romney rose to prominence in an unsuccessful 1994 campaign against Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass. and as chief executive and organizer of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Romney’s term as governor ends Jan. 4.

Impressive! Is January 5th the day that Mitt Romney announces that he is running for president?

Kevin Davis Jr.

Technorati Tags: Mitt Romney, 2008, Presidential Election, Illegal Immigration, Iraq, Federal Debt, Arizona, Election 2008.

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http://myclob.pbwiki.com/11-10-2006 A fair and balanced Report on Romney!

Of course, it was not written by anyone at the Globe, but hay, they put it on their site! It was written by Glen Johnson, an AP Political Writer.

Click here for the article.

Governor Mitt Romney today used his budget-balancing powers to withhold $425 million in spending in the current fiscal year. The reductions amount to 1.7 percent of the $25.7 billion state budget.

The Governor said the budget gap is not the result of a flagging economy or a drop in state revenues. In fact, the state economy is growing at twice the national rate, and state revenues are at an all-time high. Instead, he said, it reflects a dispute with the Legislature over the use of the rainy day fund.

Romney repeated his warning that the Legislature is heading down a “dangerous path” by dipping into the rainy day fund to pay for millions of new spending. Last month, Romney vetoed a transfer of $450 million from the rainy day fund, necessitating today’s action.

“State revenues are at an all-time high, jobs are being created by the thousands and the stock market is at historic levels. This is not the time to be dipping into the rainy day fund. The state is not in a fiscal crisis, but a crisis is looming if the Legislature continues to overspend,” Romney said.

The Governor used his “9C” authority to withhold spending in the following manner:

$388 million in items previously vetoed by the Governor and overridden by the Legislature, or in accounts where a surplus is projected. Millions of dollars in earmarks for pet projects and providers were eliminated, as well as funding to build decking over portions of the Central Artery slated for private development, the annual purchase of service rate increase for private vendors, water and sewer rate subsidies and retroactive pay increases at institutions of higher education.

$37 million through an across-the-board reduction of one percent in payroll and administrative expenses. Many agencies received increases to their budget this year and planned to hire additional personnel. In most cases, these reductions will force agencies to forego the planned hires.
In all, there are 455 budgetary items that will be reduced. The median reduction is $60,000. Exempt from any reductions are debt service and local aid payments, including Chapter 70 and other local education accounts. In addition, Constitutional Officers and the Judiciary are exempt by law from reductions. The Governor also directed that programs benefiting veterans and the DSS social worker account be held harmless.

“The problem we have here is overspending. Rainy day funds should not be used in the good times to support a level of spending that is not sustainable. This level of spending will put us on the same road to ruin we’ve been down before,” said Romney.

The rainy day fund has a balance of $2.1 billion, thanks to sizable annual deposits over the last couple of years.

The Governor’s power to act comes from Chapter 29, Section 9c of the state finance law, which permits him to reduce spending if revenues are determined by him to be insufficient to pay for expenditures.

Click here for a high speed video.

Click here for a dial-up video.

Click here for a real video of press confrence.

~~~Mike

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http://www.thecommonwealthpac.com/news/pr_061108.html News
STATEMENT BY GOVERNOR MITT ROMNEY

November 8, 2006 - Americans spoke last night and Republicans are listening. Americans have not become less conservative, but they believe some Republicans have. As a party, we need to remember who we are and the principles that have always led our party and our country to success.

We must return to the common sense Reagan Republican ideals of fighting for hard working Americans, lowering taxes, shrinking government, curbing out-of-control spending, promoting the traditional values of faith, family and freedom, and providing a strong national security with all the necessary tools to protect the American people and win the War on Terror.

This country wants resolute leadership to tackle tough issues and a positive vision for a better future here at home and around the world. They want leadership that trusts the American people, keeps America strong and moves our country forward.

Americans across the country over the past year didn’t say they want higher taxes. They didn’t say they want more run-away wasteful spending or a Congress that continues irresponsible pork projects. Nobody ever said that this nation needs a bigger deficit.

Americans didn’t say they wanted more activist judges who legislate from the bench and they don’t want less secure borders.

No one said they want more rights for terrorists, nor did they ask that we stop terrorist surveillance … and nobody suggested that we should make life even harder for our brave men and women fighting terror around the world.

We didn’t hear a mandate for a more liberal direction because the Democrats didn’t present one. Americans don’t share those liberal ideas.

What voters told us is that America is stuck and Washington is broken. Voters told us to move forward by embracing our conservative convictions that Americans agree with and value – and we will.

Americans are looking for more fiscal responsibility, less government and sound traditional values. They want leadership and vision with conservative principles. You don’t develop a vision by looking backwards. I’m keeping my eyes on the horizon – where the future is, and where America is going.

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http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/10274565/detail.html From TheBostonChannel.com.

Eliminating Tolls On To-Do List

BOSTON — Gov. Mitt Romney, preparing to leave office early next year, said Wednesday he wants to move forward with a plan to eliminate Massachusetts Turnpike tolls outside Route 128.

The Republican chief executive also said he plans to push for approval of a new liquid natural gas terminal site before leaving office on Jan. 4.

Kevin Davis Jr.

Technorati Tags: Mitt Romney, 2008, Presidential Election.

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http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa581/reportcard_table.html One full day on the Globe/Mormon piece was enough. Changing subjects . . .

The Cato Institute released it’s “grades” for the fiscal policy records (taxes and spending) of the governors of all 50 states. The full report card is here.
While officially Romney got a “C” that is the highest grade that any Governor got that had to work with a Democratic legislature. That he tied for 12th in the nation when he has to work with a 87% Democratic legislature is truly amazing.

In the full report (warning . . . it’s a 40 page pdf) there’s a lot more info, data, and even commentary on each of the Governors. Of Romney they write:

As Mitt Romney launches his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, his fiscal record as governor should be scrutinized. Romney likes to advance the image of himself as a governor who has fought a liberal Democratic legislature on various fronts. That’s mostly true on spending: he proposed modest increases to the budget and line-item vetoed millions of dollars each year only to have most of those vetoes overridden. But Romney will likely also be eager to push the message that he was a governor who stood by a no-new-taxes pledge. That’s mostly a myth. His first budget included no general tax increases but did include a $500 million increase in various fees. He later proposed $140 in business tax hikes through the closing of “loopholes” in the tax code. He announced in May 2004 that he wanted to cut the top income tax rate from 5.3 to 5 percent, but that was hardly an audacious stand. Voters had already passed a plan to do just that before Romney even took office. In his budget for 2006, he proposed $170 million more in business tax hikes, almost completely neutralizing the proposed income tax cut. If you consider the massive costs to taxpayers that his universal health care plan will inflict once he’s left office, Romney’s tenure is clearly not a triumph of small-government activism.

Much of that sounds pretty harsh (and some of it is outright misrepresentation or speculation), but the Cato Institue isn’t dishing out praise to anyone. Even Gov. Blunt of Missouri (the ONLY one who got an “A” grade) didn’t get only kind words from Cato:

Blunt hasn’t had to fight against tax increases since they are nowhere on anyone’s political radar screen. The second year of Blunt’s tenure, however, indicates that his status as one of the most fiscally disciplined new governors may be short-lived. His second budget proposed a massive spending increase of more than 8 percent, and the legislature was only too happy to oblige. It even reversed some of the cuts to Medicaid that passed in 2005.

For comparison of other 2008 GOP hopefuls:

Pataki got a “D”

If he runs for the Republican presidential nomination on a record like that, it’s going to be very hard for him to convince the small-government advocates who vote in the GOP presidential primaries that he’s still one of them.

Huckabee got an “F”:

Huckabee wants to run for the GOP presidential nomination next year. He’s already been hailed as a viable big-government conservative candidate by some. That seems about right: Huckabee’s leadership has left taxpayers in Arkansas much worse off.

Overall, Romney did better than anyone else who had to work with a Democratic legislature. He’s a true fiscal conservative . . . imagine what he could of done if he had the chance to work with a fiscally conservative legislature!

Jeff

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http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/09/12/binge_spending_days_are_over/ Gov. Romney penned a piece in the Boston Globe yesterday about some basic concepts of fiscal responsibility that members of both parties in Congress would do well to remember:

Which brings us to today. When things are up, it’s easy to forget the law of cycles, and to spend like “up” is the only direction the economy will ever go. That’s just what happened in this year’s budget debate. On June 30, the Legislature passed a budget that spent not only all of the record tax revenues and all of the billion-dollar surplus, but also $500 million from the rainy day fund. The Legislature’s bet must be that if the Massachusetts economy keeps booming next year, no one will be the wiser. But there may already be signs that this is a bad bet: Tax revenues are below forecast for each of the last two months. And the law of cycles will not go away. Sooner or later, a downturn is inevitable. The spending spree will lead to deep cuts, big borrowing, a call for higher taxes, or all of the above. The fingers of blame will be pointed in many directions, but spending– runaway spending– will be the real culprit.

Nationally we should have learned this lesson in 2001 when a mild recession wiped out the expected budget surpluses and have given us years of deficits that we’re only now beginning to recover from.

‘Tis good to see that Gov. Romney understands just how quickly seemingly sunny days can turn into a fiscal crunch.

Also, I’m looking through our posts for the last few days and we appear to have neglected this () long and interesting article from Bill Salmon from Monday. It asks the question about Romney “The Man to Beat?”. Answer: Yep. Give it a read. There’s more commentary on the The Mormon Issue™ than I’m interested in, but it’s an overall good read.

~~~Thomas

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http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2006/09/08/romney_pushing_his_energy_saving_plan/ Romney’s pragmatism and his ability to understand business and economics are excellent. A large part of the energy plan for Mass he laid out last month was re-emphasized today in a Boston Globe piece.

Four months before he leaves office, Governor Mitt Romney is moving to turn elements of a big state energy plan he unveiled last month into reality — possibly including a new system of higher afternoon electricity rates to promote conservation.

The administration hopes to ask state utility regulators within several weeks to approve a plan for higher rates between about 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. — offset by lower rates the rest of the day

Initially, this sounded sort of scary to me . . . maybe like a way for the energy companies to increase their rates and rack up profits at the consumers expense. However the piece continues . . .

Particularly during the summer, demand for electricity normally peaks during those hours. Because of the wholesale electric market’s unusual economics, prices can soar to 15 times normal levels during those hours. But . . . utility rates remain constant every hour, so few customers have an economic incentive to conserve during the hours it would help most.

Are you kidding me? Who here would forget to turn off the TV or close the door on a hot summer day if they knew it would be costing them 15 times the normal rate? I’d be a conservation freak during those hours.

The real issue is that this massively inflated cost is “passed on” to consumers without us knowing about it. We just all must be paying a higher flat rate. Where are the incentives to conserve during these ultra-expensive peak times? Romney and team identified this as an area where there was a huge potential for cutting costs and conserving energy. It’s the simple economic principle of supply and demand. This plan will decrease demand and therby reduce the amount of supply needed.

Once again, Romney has come through with a plan that ALL SIDES CAN BE PLEASED WITH.

Seth Kaplan , a senior attorney for the Conservation Law Foundation, a Boston environmental group active in energy policy making, said: “If it’s implemented properly, it’s a very good idea.”

Chalk another notch on the belt of Gov. Romney. His political portfolio is filling out nicely as he preps for a 2008 GOP POTUS candidacy.

Jeff

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I remember when the Sales Tax Holiday was signed by Romney a few weeks back . . . but I didn’t realize that what he signed was the largest such law in the nation (among the many states that have one as reviewed in the USA Today)

On Wednesday, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican, signed a law that creates the nation’s biggest tax holiday. All retail sales under $2,500 will be exempt from the state’s 5% sales tax Aug. 12-13.

Also from the USAToday, a review of 2008 hopefuls actions in the early primary/caucus states highlights how the political landscape may change in this next election cycle. Alabama will stand poised to be “a player” in the Presidential Primaries in ‘08:

Six prospects also showed up over the past year in Alabama, which recently moved its 2008 presidential primary from June 3 to Feb. 5.

Alabama looms large for Republicans as well. Arizona Sen. John McCain has given $107,750 to state and local candidates and committees there since January. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., a leading campaigner for GOP Senate candidates, is squeezing in three fundraisers Tuesday for state legislative candidates. Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee spoke at a state party fundraising dinner, and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is planning a trip.

One of the more palatable Democratic possibles, Evan Bayh is “employing” (literally) and interesting strategey:

Besides giving money, Bayh has found, trained and paid 50 campaign operatives in a program called Camp Bayh. Besides the three in Nevada, he’s sent one to South Carolina, 15 to New Hampshire, 25 to Iowa and six to Indiana.

Bayh’s Iowa contingent is “by far” the largest any Democrat has ever fielded, Bayh spokesman Dan Pfeiffer says. Most are working on legislative races. All, like their counterparts in the other states, are gaining knowledge and contacts that will be invaluable if Bayh runs and they stick with him.

Bayh isn’t the only one getting creative . . . Romney’s state PAC idea has given him an advantage over many other GOP hopefuls:

Romney has created political action committees in Iowa, New Hampshire, Michigan and South Carolina. They can raise lots of money fast because they aren’t subject to federal contribution limits. He’s spent most of his money on state and local races: $192,650 in Iowa, $95,000 in New Hampshire, $168,715 in Michigan and $131,500 in South Carolina, Romney’s records show.

Romney and McCain are fighting a money battle in Michigan and South Carolina, which usually follow Iowa and New Hampshire in the GOP primary lineup. McCain, who won Michigan in 2000, has given at least $158,000 to state and local party committees there, according to federal records and McCain’s staff. In South Carolina, which he lost in 2000, McCain has already spent nearly $150,000 on state and local campaigns.

Another interesting find was someone pointing out the irony of Romney’s “Polygamy Problem” among the GOP frontrunner field.

Romney’s “name recognition” must be improving some . . . because he’s starting to do a little better in phone “cold call” polls about the 2008 GOP race. According to some recent Strategic Vision polls Romney placed in 3rd (behind McCain and Giuliani) in New Jersey, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and 4th (behind those two and homeboy Newt). In about 8 weeks Romney has made some progress in Georgia (from 5th and 4% to 4th and 6%). Granted, not huge numbers, but Romney is definitely headed in the right direction (just a few months ago it was not uncommon for him to get 0-2% in these polls)!

This New York Times piece reveiws the landscape for the 2008 presidential race and had a few Romney tidbits:

Mr. Romney has four full-time workers in Iowa and three in South Carolina, his aides said. And the candidates themselves do seem to be everywhere, in what officials in both parties take as a sign of how times have shifted . . . Mr. Romney announced that he had created a 75-member Michigan Steering Committee, widely viewed as the cornerstone of a Romney-for-President operation in the state.

There may be a dwindling opportunity to nail down big names — Mr. McCain’s aides said this week that Robert B. Zoellick, the former deputy secretary of state, was the latest big name to join the McCain camp. But it is also important to be perceived by contributors and political journalists as viable and gaining support.

Mr. Romney’s supporters were understandably cheered when David Yepsen, the influential columnist for The Des Moines Register, wrote a column showering Mr. Romney’s efforts with praise, calling him the best organized of any Republican candidate in the state and declaring that he was “well on his way toward winning the 2008 Iowa Republican caucuses.”

Mr. Romney, clearly enjoying his role as chairman of the Republican Governors Association, went to Cedar Rapids to campaign with Representative Jim Nussle, the Republican candidate for governor. There, Mr. Romney announced, to the audible gasps from an audience of devoted Republicans, that his committee was giving $500,000 to the Nussle campaign.

One of the top members of Mr. Bush’s campaigns, Matthew Dowd, who was his chief strategist, is the object of at least interest of both the McCain and Romney campaigns, Republicans say. “Matt is the biggest fish out there who hasn’t signed,” said one of Mr. McCain’s associates, who insisted on anonymity to discuss internal campaign deliberations.

But Mr. Dowd, along with two of the other top lieutenants in the Bush presidential campaign — Karl Rove, the president’s chief political adviser, and Ken Mehlman, the chairman of the Republican National Committee — have told friends they are unlikely to do another campaign.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see Dowd follow the rest of Bush’s team to McCain . . . further flaming the fire of a “quid pro quo” between McCain and Bush

In other news:

Amid a gaggle of events and gatherings one stood out: a Romney event on Aug. 18 at a coast resort. Nearly 1,000 people showed up and Romney’s CommonwealthPac garnered more than $1 million. The locals were stunned: Where did that come from?

Romney’s performance at the state’s semi-annual GOP Convention in Century City on Aug. 20—he received a rousing standing ovation following his keynote address and kudos as well from the arch-conservative California Republican Federation—kept the political buzz mounting. One local congressman remarked that Romney “is the most gifted politician I’ve ever met.”
. . .

But the impression is growing of significant Romney momentum among Republican elites and grassroots alike, and some pros compare Team Romney’s prowess to George Bush’s organizational edge in 1999. Now that the internet has changed profoundly the nature of grassroots, no campaign can play a waiting game.

Romney recently touted his record of fiscal conservatism in Iowa:

Romney touted his own record for cutting unnecessary spending in his home state. He said he has eliminated redundant agencies such as combining the state’s three highway departments to save money.

Romney said he doesn’t support cutting costs in areas such as homelessness prevention but has advocated for better use of the money. In Massachusetts, the state spent $20 million on hotel rooms for 599 rooms a night for homeless people to stay after shelters were too full.

Romney said he reorganized the system so that those people who had stayed at the shelter the longest would qualify for the hotel room instead of the newcomers. Now, the state has eliminated the need for hotel rooms, Romney said, and the money has gone to improving housing options for the homeless and low-income people.

“We’ve gotten people out of homelessness,” he said.

That’s a loooong post . . . sorry.

Jeff

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http://www.radioiowa.com/gestalt/go.cfm?objectid=9909F703-3052-4643-B0D01B92C9FAC2B0&dbtranslator=local.cfm Romney’s recent stint in Western Iowa supporting local candidates Thursday and Friday provided an opportunity for him to address the largest fiscal problem facing our nation–excessive “entitlement programs” . . . including the two burdensome behemoths, Medicare and Social Security.

From Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson (emphasis mine):

Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, a potential Republican presidential candidate in 2008, says it’s time to reform the two major “entitlement” programs in America: Social Security and Medicare, government-paid health care insurance for the elderly. “It’s really not possible for us to remain an economic and military super power without rethinking and restructuring our entitlements programs,” Romney says.

After getting re-elected in 2004, President Bush proposed revamping the Social Security system but has abandoned his plan in the face of stiff opposition. Romney, as the governor of Massachusetts, signed legislation this spring that ensures nearly every citizen in his state is covered with health insurance. Premiums are based on income, low income residents are given subsidies to purchase insurance and companies that do not provide health care insurance for their workers pay a premium, too. Romney says the move will eventually reduce the amount of charity health care in Massachusetts because the very poor won’t wait ’til they’re very sick and need very expensive health services.

Romney suggests it’s time to tackle the nation’s health care system for the elderly, too. “Medicare is the largest challenge. Social Security is up there,” Romney says. “Today entitlements represent, plus interest, about 60 percent of federal spending. It grows to 70 percent over the next decade as the result of the Baby Boomers flowing into the system.”

Romney says leaders from both political parties will have to quit “filibustering” in public and come up with a solution in private. “Sitting down, quietly, behind closed doors and having a full and complete discussion of various ways to bring the costs down and to keep it from getting out of control,” Romney says. “In my state the way we were able to do that was on Medicaid, for instance, we sat down and completely re-did our Medicaid program and put in place a new health care system that got everybody in the system and everybody paying their fair share. Those kinds of changes can occur at the federal level and there’s going to be a wide array of options that will be considered.”

Romney says “statesmen” from both political parties should sit down and “say honestly: ‘What can we do?’” to fix Social Security. Romney says the solution should “make sure that we honor the expections” of those who are already getting Social Security and those who are about to get regular Social Security checks from the government, while at the same time ensuring the system will be solvent when the 30- and 40-year-olds of today reach retirement age.

Romney says the political reality is that changes won’t happen until both political parties agree there’s a problem. “We need to finally take action in this country on entitlements, on spending too much money generally, on using too much oil, on winning against the jihadists,” Romney says. “There are a number of challenges that we face and we’ve got to take some pretty bold action.”

Bold words from a bold man.

Jeff (Crossposted at Iowans for Romney

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Several different news sources covered Romney’s new Energy Plan for Massachusetts.

First off, Mitchell over at Washingtonians for Mitt beat Romney’s team to the punch with an Aug 10th call for Romney to solidify his environmentally friendly stances in a post called “Go Green Mitt, Go Green”

Just the next day, Romney unveiled his energy plan for Mass.
Press Release
Watch the Press Conference

Or, dig through Romney’s PowerPoint presentation

Some highlights:
“If we do nothing, the high cost of energy will go even higher and residents and businesses will have to pay more,” said Romney. “By taking control of our energy future, we’ll save hundreds of millions of dollars and continue growing our economy.”
Romney said the four steps necessary to take control include becoming more energy efficient, diversifying and increasing our energy supply, fixing our inadequate energy infrastructure and leading the nation in developing advanced energy technologies.
Romney’s plan drew praise from several groups and individuals:
“The cost and reliability of energy is a major issue of economic competitiveness for employers and impacts the state’s ability to attract and retain employers and create jobs,” said Christopher Anderson, president of the Massachusetts High Technology Council. “The Governor has put forth a plan that has concrete actions to address our energy needs for today and the future.”

“Massachusetts has the combination of world class research universities, high tech innovators and entrepreneurs to develop clean energy technologies, and I commend Governor Romney for including this as a key element of his energy plan.” said President Susan Hockfield of MIT.

“We applaud the Governor’s push on advanced energy technologies and believe Massachusetts can become the clear industry leader,” said Jack M. Wilson, president for the University of Massachusetts. “The Lowell campus helped launch Konarka Technologies, a developer of solar technologies, and the Amherst campus has already established bio-energy science and engineering programs to help develop renewable energy devices that use fuels of the future like hydrogen and new organic materials.”

“Through the Trust’s efforts to help grow the clean energy cluster, businesses are thriving and developing new technologies in Massachusetts,” said Warren Leon, director of the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust. “Businesses and consumers are taking advantage of rebates to install solar and wind power that result in significant economic and environmental benefits. We appreciate the Governor’s efforts to focus attention on a sector that can produce savings to companies and individuals as well as generate new jobs.”

Outside news-sources also gave strong coverage.

From the Metro West story on the issue.

The Boston Herald.
The Republican governor won support yesterday from a usually skeptical and critical force: environmentalists. “There’s a lot of good things in there,” said Sue Reid, an attorney with the Conservation Law Foundation.
“(Romney’s) record on energy is not so good, but this is a good plan,” said Frank Gorke, an energy specialist for MassPIRG, noting Romney has opposed the controversial Cape Wind plan for Nantucket Sound.

This other piece has some interesting points as well:

The ultimate goal would be to create sector jobs while fulfilling the state’s long-term energy needs. Romney projects the plan could save the state $575 million in energy costs.

Romney’s 10-year plan includes strategies to entice consumers to reduce consumption and expand the state’s natural gas supply. The plan also encourages adoption of renewable energy sources such as wind.

Mass-SPRIG (the major Environmental political lobbying group on state issues.) released this statement on the Romney’s new energy plan.

First, we want to thank Gov. Romney for taking separate action to stand up for renewable energy in Massachusetts.

This makes the right call by committing to put efficiency first, and that’s a very positive step. It is clear that a lot of thought has gone into this plan, and, for the sake of comparison, this plan is light-years better than what Congress and the Bush administration have put together in recent years.

So, can a conservative be solid on environmental issues? Part of me is thinking: “Where’s the catch?” However, we might be seeing a paradigm shift on this issue.

Jeff

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http://www.lowellsun.com/editorials/ci_4176623 Realizing what a friend she’s had in Governor Romney, Barabara Anderson, Executive Director of Massachusetts-based Citizens for Limited Taxation wrote today an opinion piece praising many of Romney’s recent and ongoing actions.

. . . while other states are moving to prevent eminent-domain abuse, Romney had to veto an amendment to the economic stimulus bill that will allow developers to create their own little mini-towns-within-towns by floating bonds to pay for the infrastructure. As one legislative opponent wrote in support of the veto, this whole concept “would benefit from undergoing full legislative process, including public hearing, rather than enactment as a veto override of a Senate amendment to a spending bill.”

Trying to sneak in eminent-domain as a minor point on a big bill. Nice try, but Romney’s too swift for that! Later Anderson contrasted Romney and former Gov. Dukakis.

Fortunately, Mitt Romney is now in charge of the Big Dig, and is clearly in his element when addressing a crisis. And for contrast, we have former Democratic Gov. Michael Dukakis, returned to rewrite history.

He is everywhere, on television, talk radio, in newspaper articles, insisting that the Big Digaster wouldn’t have happened if the Republican governors had listened to him: They should have kept his transportation secretary, Fred Salvucci, to run it right and for his estimated $2.4 billion cost.

Michael, you can’t rewrite history until everyone who actually lived it and remembers it is dead. And I’m not.

The detials that follow prove her point. Dukakis seems to be suffering from selective memory and an overly partisan mindset.

Jeff

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http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=N2VlMjAwZGQ0YTNlZjNhZWQwZDE0MGYxNTMxOWU0M2I= Carrie Lukas, on Governor Romney’s veto of the preschool bill last week:Politicians all talk about “fiscal responsibility,” but few put that principle into action — particularly when faced with a call for a politically attractive program. Governor Mitt Romney (R., Mass.) deserves applause for doing just that by vetoing a bill last week that promised to provide universal preschool to Bay State toddlers.
Universal preschool is not the way to help parents realize that goal. These programs are expensive. Without Gov. Romney’s veto, Massachusetts taxpayers would have faced a billion-dollar-per-year price tag. Virginia’s program would cost $300 million annually. Families would see their tax burden rising, making it more difficult to make ends meet on just one salary.

Policymakers should join Governor Romney in opposing universal preschool. It may sound like a political winner, but when government expands, we all lose.This was another unpopular but correct move on the Governor’s part, and it’s nice to see people recognize that.

Dave

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http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/08/04/romney_vetoes_bill_to_create_pre_kindergarten_programs/ What? Do we need pre-kindergarten? I skipped kindergarten!

Read about it at the Boston Globe.

Kevin

Addendum by Jeff:

I’m not a huge fan of free pre-K programs. I know this is an unpopular opinion to voice . . . but I feel (and even more so, my wife feels) that children are generally better off in a setting with a parent in their home whenever possible. These universally applicable pre-K programs end up being a costly “entitlement program” and often people who do no need to use them end up using them . . . sometimes to the detriment of the children. A hard-line stance, I realize and individual exceptions obviously exist, but this is, down deep, a BIG GOVERNMENT program that is fiscally unwise and get kids under state tutelage sooner than is beneficial.

Now, that’s my personal opinion and I don’t think Romney is quite as hard line on it . . . or maybe he is. I’m just glad that he vetoed it. I hope this veto stands!

Gov. Mitt Romney vetoed a bill Friday that would have moved Massachusetts closer to universal pre-kindergarten, saying the program could end up costing taxpayers as much as $1 billion a year.

Yikes . . . that’s a huge chunck of change. Romney shows wisdom in denying such a plan.

Romney said the state should instead wait to see the results of a smaller $4.6 million pre-kindergarten test program before embarking on the more ambitious statewide initiative.

“Before we create an expensive new burden on Massachusetts taxpayers, one that could lead to future tax increases, we ought to await the results of the pilot program, particularly as it relates to the cost of a large scale operation,” Romney said.In other words, even if it has some obvious merits, the feasibility and wisdom of funding such a program should be the deciding factor. Now that’s our fiscally conservative future President at work, doing what he does best!

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http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2006/07/31/daily20.html Gov. Romney signed a bill that will allow for certain districts to opt for a fast-track 180-day permitting process that side-steps the Superior Court.

This probably isn’t the sexiest issue in the world, but anyone who has been involved with the hassles of getting a permit for a large project knows that it’s one major pain in the tokhis. If someone objects, the issue can spend years in court and make the effort so costly that the builders simply give up. Heck, the fact that we’re talking about a 6 month schedule as fast-track should give you a hint.

Congratulations to Gov. Romney (and the legislature) for helping the builders of your state remove excess obstacles.

~~~Thomas

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http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/08/02/massachusetts_to_get_government_sponsored_shopping_spree/ Hey, by my reckoning any tax cut is news.

The goal of the holiday weekend, which will take place Aug. 12-13, is to give the economy a jolt during a traditionally slow month. Sales during the past two tax holidays in 2004 and 2005 rivaled figures normally only seen during Thanksgiving and the day before Christmas.

Taxes go down, economy goes up? What a concept!

~~~Thomas

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http://www.boston.com/news/traffic/bigdig/articles/2006/07/30/governor_vetoes_31m_for_greenway/?page=1
Governor Mitt Romney has vetoed $31 million for the Rose Kennedy Greenway, the 27-acre ribbon of parks and development being built in downtown Boston, saying it is much more important to use the money to repair the Big Dig tunnels underground.

The move has surprised and angered supporters of the Greenway, who said the veto could delay construction of two highly anticipated cultural institutions — The Boston Museum, a history center near Quincy Market; and the New

Center for Arts and Culture, a forum for music, theater, and dance near The Boston Harbor Hotel. And tentative plans for a YMCA community center near the TD Banknorth Garden might have to be scrapped altogether, said John M. Ferrell, president and chief executive of the YMCA of Greater Boston.

Supporters fear that Romney is losing sight of the grand vision of renewal for Boston that Big Dig planners promised, epitomized by the replacement of the hulking Central Artery with an inviting green space and a walkway from the North End to downtown.

“You’ve got to take the long view, and the long view is the tunnel is going to be repaired, public confidence is going to be restored, and we have to create the Greenway that has been envisioned all along,” said Ronald M. Druker , chairman of the New Center.

The Legislature had approved the money to build covers over the ramps that connect Interstate 93 to streets near the North End, Faneuil Hall, and Rowes Wharf, where each of the proposed buildings is planned.

But Romney — having seized control of Big Dig inspections from the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and forced out its chairman, Matthew J. Amorello — said the state must reserve the money for fixes to the project’s highways and tunnels.

I understand why some people want this beautification project to continue, but, I believe that Governor Romney is doing the right thing here. Sometimes being a leader requires that tough choices be made, oftentimes unpopular at that. He’s making a decision that is fiscally smart, and responsible. The project has already overrun it’s budget multiple times, and this $31 million should be used in making sure the infrastructure is sound. It just makes good budgetary sense.

Romney also argued that spending $31 million on Greenway ramps placed an unfair burden on the millions of taxpayers who live outside Boston.

“Massachusetts taxpayers throughout the state should not be forced to pay for the build-out and development of parcels that will benefit predominantly residents of the city of Boston and select organizations that are capable of accessing private funds,” Romney wrote in a letter to the Legislature accompanying his veto Friday. “It is more appropriate to rely on the private sector and the City of Boston for additional costs.”

Romney vetoed the $31 million as part of $56 million that he cut from an approximately $189 million spending bill passed by the Legislature.

This also makes sense. It could foster community pride if the private sector were to pay for it. They could possibly set up sponsorships for certain parts of the project (i.e. planting flowers, etc), and put individuals and corporations names on them. Also, maybe the community could come together and do some of the work in a volunteer capacity, thus bringing the cost down. Teams could be brought together, they could have competitions, and bring out a sense of community pride. Just imagine how much more it would be appreciated too if some of the communities sweat went into it?

Greenway supporters said they would push legislators to override the veto tomorrow, the last day of formal sessions.

“It’s not realistic to expect nonprofit organizations to pay for those ramps, and if you look at the record, it’s always been up to the government to do that,” Ferrell said. “And I’m surprised that the governor doesn’t see it that way because the legislative leaders in the House and Senate and the Boston Redevelopment Authority have been very supportive of this, and the governor is the only public official I know who is not.”

So, because “it’s always been up to the government to do that”, it needs to continue to be done that way? Just because something has always been done one way does not mean it’s the responsible way of doing things. If one wants to use that analogy then we my as well be using horses and buggies instead of automobiles.

The veto surprised city leaders because the state agreed to pay for the ramps in the early 1990s when it certified the Big Dig’s environmental credentials, said Richard A. Dimino, president and chief executive of A Better City, a coalition of downtown business leaders formerly known as the Artery Business Committee.

Well, I’m sure that back in the early 1990s it wasn’t expected that:
A ) The project would have gone so overbudget.
B ) The construction would have been so shoddy that it would have killed someone.

So, it’s a whole new ballgame. Tough decisions have to be made, and Governor Romney is making them.

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http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/07/25/romney_says_keeping_minimum_wage_low_preserves_jobs_for_poor/ In this article by Glen Johnson of the AP Governor Romney states:

Gov. Mitt Romney said Tuesday he is opposing a legislative proposal to raise the state minimum wage to $8 per hour because while it would increase pay for roughly 250,000 of the poorest workers in Massachusetts, it might also end up costing them their jobs.

“I think it would be great if everybody could earn very high levels of compensation, but the challenge with raising the minimum wage excessively is it is a hurt to those that are entering the work force, the very poor, those that are trying to get early jobs, get those first jobs,” the Republican chief executive told reporters in his first public appearance since seeking to amend the legislation late Friday.

“I have spent hours reading a wide array of reviews on the minimum wage and it’s impact on the economy, and there’s no question raising the minimum wage excessively causes a loss of jobs, and the loss of jobs is at the entry level,” Romney said.

The article then goes on to say that he’s flip flopped on the issue, but Romney comes back with this statement:

Asked if that was different from his 2002 campaign promise, Romney said: “It’s more expansive and comprehensive.”

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The Club for Growth blog today chose to pull a Romney quote out of context in order to make him look unsuitable to conservatives. The quote:“I’d be embarrassed if I didn’t always ask for federal money whenever I got the chance.”Of course, that makes Governor Romney look like a big spending liberal feasting at the trough of the federal government. However, take into account a few things.

1. Initial funding for the Big Dig was authorized by Congress, over President Reagan’s veto, in 1987. So, it makes sense that if the Big Dig would not exist without Congress that Congress should share the cost.

2. The rest of the sentence from the quoted Boston Globe story — “‘I’d be embarrassed if I didn’t always ask for federal money whenever I got the chance,’ Romney quipped, saying he had asked for help in paying for a comprehensive safety review of the Big Dig, for which the state has allocated $20 million.”So the state has already offered up a large share and they’re asking Congress to pay part of the way for a project that wouldn’t have existed without them.

Romney advocates will have to deal with this misrepresentation from now through the primary process, so it’s important that we make sure people look at the full picture if they want to use that quote against us.

Dave

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http://www.hubpolitics.com/ This post comes to us from Hub Politics. This just shows the type of conditions he’s had to work with since becoming Governor with an overwhelminly Democratic legislature. It goes on to describe that despite the stiff opposition he’s still been able to get things done.

Romney’s Alleged “Job Deficit” Wiped Out By June Job Surge

Democratic logic says that when a Democrat is in charge, good news is great news; there is no bad news.

Democratic logic says that when a Republican is in charge, there is no good news.

Case in point, reactions to the news that 4,400 jobs were added to Massachusetts payrolls last month, technically ending the so-called “job deficit” during the Romney administration.

Starting with the official response from the Romney administration…

“State revenues are surging; jobs are up; and people are feeling more confident about the Massachusetts economy,” said Eric Fehrnstrom, Romney’s spokesman. “This is a dramatic turnaround from the dark days of the economic and fiscal crisis that Governor Romney faced when he took office 3 1/2 years ago.”

Now, let’s move towards the responses by a few people running for governor of the Commonwealth.

“While it is certainly positive news that we had a one-month gain in jobs, the fact of the matter is it has taken over three years for Mitt Romney and Kerry Healey to net a single new job, while smaller neighboring states like New Hampshire and Rhode Island have created thousands more,” Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly said in a statement.

Dan Cence, a spokesman for Christopher F. Gabrieli, another Democratic candidate, said, “I don’t think it’s time to break out the champagne just yet to celebrate the creation of 700 jobs over 3 1/2 years.”

If you want to talk about grasping for straws, these examples are just that.

As Governor, Mitt Romney has not had the luxury of a state legislature that is willing to approve his fiscally conservative policies, highlighted in particular by the legislature’s failure, or rather, lack of desire to rollback the income tax. Beacon Hill has done nothing about Romney’s economic stimulus package, including the Jobs Incentive Fund, a fund worth $185 million over five years that would have provided incentive payments of up to $10,000 per new job to companies in a traded cluster that add at least 100 new jobs over two years. The legislature has also not acted on Permitting Reform. Governor Romney has been talking about this and trying to pass this for years and the legislature won’t act. Even all the gubernatorial candidates agree that we need permitting reform, yet, the 87% Democratic legislature won’t act on it (perhaps they are waiting until they get a Democrat in the corner office). Unemployment Insurance Reform was also stepped over by the legislature. And while it hasn’t happened yet, you can expect the legislature to eventually override a Romney veto of the minimum wage bill when it comes back to his desk unchanged.

If the Democrats haven’t approved any of Romney’s economic stimulus policies, how can they suggest his administration has been lackluster with regards to job creation? Democrats can not say out one corner of their mouths that Romney has been powerless and can’t get anything done, and through the other corner of their mouths say that his administration has failed the Commonwealth. There may be an 87% Democratic legislature on Beacon Hill, but they aren’t all carbon-copies of John Kerry.

While Romney has been almost virtually powerless during his administration due to the 87% Democratic legislature, one can only wonder how much sooner this so-called “job deficit” would have been wiped out had the Democrats approved Romney’s economic policies, let alone the income tax rollback that we citizen voted into law the day we voted Romney into office.

For those who enjoy a positive view on the state of the State, here are more key points about the latest economic news for Massachusetts.

* Massachusetts has added jobs at 1.2 percent annual rate since September–about the same as the national pace and nearly double the state’s average rate since the state’s labor market recovery began at the end of 2003 (28,000 jobs created since then)

* Most of the job growth comes from high-paying sectors of the economy, such as professional and business services have added 8,000 jobs in the past year

* Financial services, education and health services, and manufacturing services have each added over 500 jobs in June

Doom and gloom is the strategy of the Democrats when Republicans are in charge. Nothing is good, all is bad. Are the Democrats just waiting to pass these kinds of economic policies for when a Democrat gets into the corner office, so that a Democrat can take credit for it? It certainly seems like that is the case; after all, what kind of topsy turvy world do we live in where job growth is a bad thing? I guess you might call it the People’s Republic of Massachusetts.
Posted by Aaron Margolis at 08:10 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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http://www.boston.com/news/local/politics/candidates/articles/2006/07/22/romney_criticizes_welfare_reform_bill/ Read about it at The Boston Globe.

Kevin

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