Elections Blog

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/11/16/romney_hires_ex_bush_ad_man/ Yesterday’s rumor is now fact:

Governor Mitt Romney, who continues to sign up big-name political consultants for a probable presidential run, has hired bare-knuckles GOP ad man Alex Castellanos, a veteran of presidential campaigns known for his tough ads against Democratic candidates.

Widely considered one of the country’s more influential Republican image-makers, Castellanos has produced television spots for President Bush, presidential candidate Bob Dole, and former senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina. Romney’s move to recruit him sends a strong signal that the governor plans to mount a serious national campaign for 2008, political observers say.

This is interesting:

Romney knows Castellanos’s work well. The media strategist produced a glowing video about Romney’s four years as governor that the Massachusetts Republican Party showed at its convention in Lowell this spring. Romney’s political action committee, the Commonwealth PAC, then bought the rights to the video, and it is now featured prominently on the PAC’s website.

Read the rest of the story at The Boston Globe.

Kevin Davis Jr.

Technorati Tags: Mitt Romney, 2008, Presidential Election, Election 2008.

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http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6391173.html?display=Breaking+News From Broadcasting & Cable:

With the ink hardly dry on the ballots, Washington is already turning to the 2008 race, with Chris Matthews in hot pursuit.

Beginning Nov. 19, The Chris Matthews Show, the weekend, half-hour roundtable public affairs series produced by NBC News and syndicated by NBC Universal, is launching an eight-part series of profiles of potential candidates.

The lineup will be: ex-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R)–who last week declared he was exploring the possibility; Sen. John McCain (R-AZ); Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R); Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY); former Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards; Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill); Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del); and New Mexico Democratic Governor Bill Richardson.

Kevin Davis Jr.

Technorati Tags: Mitt Romney, 2008, Presidential Election, Election 2008.

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“If Democrats had done that there would be mobs carrying torches in the streets tonight. The Democrats would be accused of treason and there would be calls for resignation,”
That quote is from StageLeft in response to their own question: “What if… the DNC put up a website telling people how to build nuclear bombs. Can [...]

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Governor Romney will appear on MSNBC today at 2:20PM Eastern Time.

Ann Marie

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http://www.abc4.com/local_news/local_headlines/story.aspx?content_id=CDE57811-FDE8-4FCE-9B52-B122C85E71DD Click the link and you can view the video of the story at the local ABC affiliate.

Story by: Chris Vanocur
chris@abc4.com

As Mitt Romney gears up for a possible presidential run, the LDS Church has begun meeting quietly with the nation’s top political reporters.

ABC 4 News has confirmed that in the last few weeks, high ranking LDS Church officials have met with top TV and print political reporters.

A LDS Church spokesperson says that as Mitt Romney gets more exposure, more is being written about his LDS religion.

And the LDS Church says it simply wants to set reporters straight on some of the myths surrounding its religion and to re-affirm the church’s political neutrality.

Romney is expected to announce whether he’s running for president sometime early next year.

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http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/10/26/airing_of_romney_clip_fuels_question_of_politicking_on_state_time/ Granted this isn’t written by a Boston Globe reporter, but it is published there. It talks about how that Romney/Boston Globe video exchange was supposedly engaging in political activity on state property.

I’m not going to post the entire article, first it’s AP, and second there is other stuff about Kerry Healey mentioned as well.

Here is the meat though:

Airing of Romney clip fuels question of politicking on state time

By Glen Johnson, AP Political Writer | October 26, 2006

BOSTON –A state videotape of Gov. Mitt Romney clashing with a local reporter has made it onto the Internet and landed at a conservative Web site that celebrates the potential 2008 presidential candidate for taking on “the elitist left-wing media.”

A Romney spokesman said the tape — shot at public expense and in the custody of no one other than employees of the Gov.’s Office — became public after it was posted last week on an internal government Web site and e-mailed by various members of the Republican’s staff.

It is illegal for state employees to engage in political activity while on state property, while using state property or while on state time.

“This isn’t classified material; it’s a video of a public news conference. Things get e-mailed, and the fact this ended up on a Web site is not surprising at all,” said Eric Fehrnstrom, the governor’s communications director.

It’s like Romney’s team is getting accused of purposely making this videotape. I mean gosh, the Governor didn’t MAKE the reporter say what he said. And as Mr. Fehrnstrom said it’s public material.

The video currently on the Internet shows Romney clashing last week with a reporter who was interrupted by the governor as he attempted to ask a lengthy question about the wisdom of eliminating Turnpike tolls in western Massachusetts when the state had numerous expensive transportation projects.

The reporter tried to forge ahead, saying he represented “the people.”

The governor retorted, “No, I represent the people. You represent the media. You’re supposed to be unbiased.”

A clip of the exchange is now available on YouTube, a Web site for trading video. It also is featured on “RedState,” a Web site relaying news about conservative causes and issues of interest to Republicans, whose presence on electoral maps is usually depicted with the color red.

The headline reads, “Mitt Romney Takes on Elitist Left-Wing Media.”
Incredible how this writer so empathizes with the reporter in the story. “Tried to forge ahead”? It gives me the picture of the reporter trying to be “The Little Engine That Could”. The poor reporter couldn’t pester the Governor with his lengthy question (one that if you look at the video is filled with ah’s and filler statements). This is just another example of the media trying to look for something that isn’t there.

Ann Marie

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Robin Williams is Candidate Tom Dobbs

The concept of a female president is increasingly finding it’s way into popular culture. Robin Williams, while promoting his new movie Man of the Year, a comedy about a comedian that runs for President and wins, spoke about the race in 2008 during an interview with Susan Wloszczyna, of [...]

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Epidemic of exploding heads reported in Massachusetts and California
Robert Novak has been informed by Patrick Fitzgerald that he will not be indicted for Plamegate and he is now free to discuss the case. In his column at Human Events Online he states:
Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has informed my attorneys that, after two and [...]

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John McCain says that he wants Christian fundamentalists who oppose the teaching of evolution and favor mixing church and state to have a major role to play in Republican politics. McCain is now working in coordination with Jerry Falwell, to help Falwell advance his agenda.

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Another online cooperative community to see what kind of potential it might have for enhancing the presence of progressive political causes online is Squidoo, a name that evokes tentacles stretching and exploring dark corners and crevices - something that the Internet is quite useful for

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