October 4, 2006 – Governor Mitt Romney’s New Hampshire Commonwealth PAC unveiled a Steering Committee today consisting of prominent Republicans and business leaders in all ten New Hampshire counties, from Coos to the sea. The Steering Committee will provide guidance to the Commonwealth PAC as it continues to provide financial and political support to New Hampshire Republican candidates in 2006.
“I am honored that so many prominent Granite Staters have joined the Commonwealth PAC’s Steering Committee,” Governor Romney said. “These people are statewide and community leaders who are committed to New Hampshire’s future and I’m proud to have them on the team.”
“This is a critically important election year for New Hampshire,” said Bruce Keough, Chairman of the New Hampshire Commonwealth PAC Steering Committee. “The Commonwealth PAC will continue to be a source of support for our candidates, local organizations and the grassroots leaders who are committed to ensuring the New Hampshire Advantage and our unparalleled quality of life remain intact.”
The New Hampshire Commonwealth PAC Steering Committee
Mr. Tom Boucher, Bedford. Former Chairman, N.H. Lodging & Restaurant Association
Sheriff Dan Collis, Laconia. Sheriff, Belknap County; Chairman, Law Enforcement for Bush 2004
Mr. Bryson Cook, Bedford. Branch Manager, Smith Barney
Atty. Wayne Coull, Laconia. Acting County Attorney, Belknap County
Atty. Craig Donais, Bedford. Former N.H. Assistant Attorney General
Mrs. Nancy Dwight, Lyme. Former Executive Director, Republican National Congressional Committee
Hon. Don Dwight, Lyme. Former Lt. Governor, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Mr. Scott Earnshaw, Bedford. President, New Hampshire Traditional Marriage and Family Institute
Mrs. Liz Feren, Hooksett. Former Hooksett GOP Chair
Hon. Kevin Gage, Nashua. Former Alderman, City of Nashua
Hon. Mary Griffin, Windham. State Representative, Deputy Majority Whip
Hon. Tony Giunta, Franklin. Former Mayor, City of Franklin
Hon. Peter Heed, Westmoreland. Former N.H. Attorney General
Hon. Will Infantine, Manchester. State Representative
Hon. Bing Judd, Pittsburg. County Commissioner, Coos County
Mr. George Kassa, Derry. Founder & Exec. V.P., Cedar Point Communications
Hon. Bruce Keough, Dublin. Steering Committee Chairman, Former State Senator & 2002 GOP gubernatorial candidate
Mr. Doug Kruse, Manchester. School Board, City of Manchester
Mr. Beno Lamontagne, Colebrook. Chairman, Coos County Economic Development Corp.
Atty. Tom Laporte, Chester. Chair, Attorneys for Bush-Cheney 2004 & Member, Chester Budget Committee
Mr. Eric Letendre, Tuftonboro. Principal, Shannon Investments
Mr. Gary Levy, Portsmouth. COMMPAC-NH Finance Chairman; President, State Street Discount
Sheriff Dan Linehan, Danville. Sheriff, Rockingham County
Hon. George Lovejoy, Barrington. Former State Senator & Co-Founder, Granite State Taxpayers
Atty. Gordon MacDonald, Concord. Former Campaign Director, Gordon Humphrey for Governor
Ms. Patricia Mahoney, Rye. NH GOP Chair, Town of Rye
Mrs. Betty Maiola, Newport. Select Board member, Town of Newport
Mr. Shane McKinney, Conway. Carroll County co-chairman, Bush 2004
Hon. Ken Merrifield, Franklin. City Councilor, City of Franklin
Atty. Jim Merrill, Manchester. Chairman, COMMPAC-NH; Grassroots Co-chair, NH Bush-Cheney 2004
Lt. Col. Mike Moffett, Concord. Lt. Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps Reserves; Professor, N.H. Technical Institute
Hon. Claira Monier, Goffstown. Executive Director, N.H, Housing Finance Authority
Hon. Paul Needham, Derry. Former Chairman, Derry Town Council
Mr. Kent Nolan, Goffstown. School Board member, Town of Goffstown
Mr. Karl Norwood, Bedford. Principal, Norwood Realty Group
Mr. German Ortiz, Bedford. Member, Governor’s Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs
Hon. Steve Panagoulis, Plymouth. Former County Commissioner, Grafton County
Hon. Betsey Patten, Moultonborough. State Representative; Former Carroll County GOP Chair
Mr. Ray Pinard, Deerfield. Principal, Monticello Group; Former Chairman, Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce; 2004 Bush-Cheney Small Business Chairman
Hon. Pam Price, Nashua. State Representative; House Majority Whip
Hon. Jim Reams, Hampton. County Attorney, Rockingham County
Mr. Jim Rivers, Concord. Senior Aide to NH House Speaker; Former Press Secretary, Governor Stephen Merrill
Mrs. Barbara Russell, Dover. NH Bush-Cheney Campaign Co-Chair 2000; Former Vice Chair, NH Republican Party
Mr. John Sangenario, Hampton. Town Chair, Bush-Cheney 2004
Mrs. Jeanne Sangenario, Hampton. Town Chair, Bush-Cheney 2004
Mr. Gene Savage, Barrington. Former Vice Chancellor, Univ. System of New Hampshire (USNH)
Hon. Paul Smith, Farmington. Former State Representative
Mr. Mark Sykas, Stratham. Town Chair, Bush-Cheney 2004
Mrs. Sharon Sykas, Stratham. Past President, Seacoast Federation of Republican Women
Mrs. Siobhan Tautkus, Manchester. Former Staff Member, Office of Governor Steve Merrill & Alderman Candidate, Manchester
Hon. Jim Tollner, Nashua. Alderman At-Large, City of Nashua
Hon. George Twigg, III, Gilmanton. Former state representative
Atty. David Vicinanzo, Concord. Former 1st Assistant U.S. Attorney, New Hampshire
Hon. Marge Webster, Wolfeboro. County Commissioner, Carroll County
Mr. Dick Wennerberg, Hopkinton. Merrimack County co-chair, Bush-Cheney 2004
Mrs. Judy Wennerberg, Hopkinton. Merrimack County co-chair, Bush-Cheney 2004
Mr. Chris Wolfe, Derry. Former NH GOP Chairman, Town of Derry
Atty. Sherilyn Young, Concord. Former legislative counsel, Governor Judd Gregg & former board member, USNH
-Dave
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David Broder and E. J. Dionne Jr. (highly influential political columnists for the ever-important Washington Post) both mentioned Romney in recent Op-Ed pieces.
Broder , the editorial king of presidential politics, discussed how Gov. Arnold in Cali has brought hope for the possibility of that state being back on the table for the Presidential race in 2008 (I know Ann Marie is excited about this possibility–I’m a native Californian and would love to see it go Red for Romney!).
Indeed, key Republicans here — including some of George W. Bush’s former people imported for the Schwarzenegger campaign — think the governor’s example is one that could be emulated in 2008.
Their argument is that at least three possible Republican contenders — Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York; John McCain, the senator from Arizona; and Mitt Romney, the governor of Massachusetts — could compete effectively for California if they made the effort.
Dionne, discussing the lay of the land in New Hampshire wrote:
Tom Rath, one of the state’s most experienced Republican power brokers, loyally insists that Bush is still “personally” liked here. But Rath sees Iraq taking a huge toll on the president, partly because so many in New Hampshire’s National Guard have served there and “the repetitious call-ups are disruptive to people’s lives.”
Rath recently announced his support for Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination. His rationale is surprisingly similar to the explanations that Democrats give for the popularity of governors such as Lynch or Sebelius: Voters are in a mood for less “doctrinaire” politicians who can fix things.
Of the federal government, Rath said: “There’s a feeling that this great big thing doesn’t work very well.” He said Republicans need to win back voters who feel they gave “the keys to the car” to their party only to have it driven “into the back of the garage.” Rath sees Romney as the GOP’s repairman.
That’s a catchy title: “The GOP’s Repairman”. . . as a DC outsider, Romney has a better chance of filling this role than many other hopefuls.
Jeff
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From NH INSIDER
The Union Leader reports, “Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a potential candidate for President in 2008, will attend two events in New Hampshire this weekend. ”
“Romney will keynote the Republican State Committee’s state convention today at the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord. The event begins at 9 a.m.”
“…Tomorrow, Romney will campaign for New Hampshire candidates at the Frank Jones Center on the Route 1 Bypass in Portsmouth, beginning at 4 p.m.”
More in depth from The Union Leader:
Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a potential candidate for President in 2008, will attend two events in New Hampshire this weekend.
Romney will keynote the Republican State Committee’s state convention today at the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord. The event begins at 9 a.m.
Prior to the convention, Romney is scheduled to host a breakfast for the delegates, also at the Capitol Center.
Tomorrow, Romney will campaign for New Hampshire candidates at the Frank Jones Center on the Route 1 Bypass in Portsmouth, beginning at 4 p.m.
Also expected to attend the rally are Sens. Judd Gregg and John Sununu, Rep. Jeb Bradley, state Sen. Charles Morse, who is a candidate for the Executive Council, and state Rep. Dan Hughes and Natalie Healey, who are state Senate candidates in the Portsmouth-Exeter area.
Ann Marie
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http://www.opinionjournal.com/diary/?id=110008991 Hot off the Press with this one:
Romney Rides High
A Mormon from Massachusetts wows social conservatives.
John Fund
Monday, September 25, 2006 12:01 a.m. EDT
WASHINGTON–Right now John McCain is the front-runner for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination. But everyone expects that a single major competitor will emerge to challenge him from the right. The question hung in the air of this past weekend’s Family Research Council summit in Washington: Who will that candidate be for the GOP’s powerful social conservative base?
FRC officials says they invited Mr. McCain to speak, but he declined. But another potential candidate benefited greatly from showing up. Surprisingly, it was Massachusetts’ Gov. Mitt Romney, a Mormon with a Harvard M.B.A who governs the nation’s most liberal state. The 1,800 delegates applauded him frequently during his Friday speech and gave him a standing ovation afterward. Mr. Romney detailed his efforts to block court-imposed same-sex marriage in the Bay State and noted that the liberal Legislature has failed to place a citizen-initiated referendum on the ballot. He excoriated liberals for supporting democracy only when they think that the outcome is a foregone conclusion that favors their views. He certainly picked up fans at the summit. “I believe Mitt Romney may be the only hope social conservatives have in 2008,” says Maggie Gallagher, author of a book defending traditional marriage.
The tall barrier many see as blocking his acceptance by evangelical voters–the fact that many Americans view Mormonism with suspicion or worse–may prove to be a mirage. “Everyone I talked to said they didn’t have a problem with it,” one attendee told me. “If enough people say that to each other, Romney creates a virtuous circle in which evangelical activists decide he’s acceptable.”
Interesting . . . very interesting. One recent GOP activist who tried to take Romney’s Mormonism to task in South Carolina was viewed as very bad taste. Fund later continued.
[Romney] impressed three separate and distinct audiences in Washington last week in a 24-hour speaking blitz. On Thursday about one out of eight House Republicans came to hear him address a weekly luncheon hosted by Rep. Jack Kingston of Georgia. Mr. Kingston told the Boston Globe that Mr. Romney made a very positive impression and was clearly positioning himself for the role opposite Mr. McCain that Mr. Allen once occupied.
Immediately afterward, Mr. Romney went across town to address a group of K Street lobbyists and economic conservatives. “He was impressive in explaining how he governed as a conservative in Ted Kennedy’s home state,” said columnist Robert Novak. The next morning, Mr. Romney appeared before the Family Research Council’s summit. “He won over a lot of people when he recalled how as a businessman he had rescued the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City,” says Chris Butler of Americans For Tax Reform.
That experience helped solidify Mr. Romney’s reputation as a can-do manager who knows how to delegate. “He is the only elected official I’ve met with who gave me a detailed power-point briefing on my area of expertise,” says Bob Moffit, a health-care expert at the Heritage Foundation who worked with Mr. Romney to craft a law mandating that everyone in Massachusetts buy health insurance.
I’ve seen that powerpoint presentation at the Heritage Foundation’s website. Romney quickly masters various areas of expertise (I also remember how he spoke and diagrammed like an engineer during the Big Dig crisis and how well versed he was in his press conferences during the Mass flooding a few months back)
But Mr. Romney also has many advantages. He is perhaps the only candidate who can plausibly claim a base in several states. He has a contributor base in Massachusetts; a large reservoir of political goodwill in Michigan, where he was born and his father served as governor in the 1960s; and the loyalty of many Mormons in Utah and neighboring states. He has a built-in corps of volunteers and contributors in any state where Mormons, the fastest-growing religion in America, have a real presence.
And then there is the charisma and poise that Mr. Romney seems to exude naturally. “Many people say he certainly looks like a president–sort of a cross between Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy,” says Genevieve Wood, who founded the conservative Center for a Just Society. Anyone who draws comparisons to those political genes merits further watching.
That’s not the first time I’ve heard the Reagan comparison. This WSJ writer has it right . . . Romney’s on the Rise!
Jeff
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http://www.newhampshireforromney.com/ Still in it’s infancy, New Hampshire for Romney is up and running. Obviously, NH is a vital presidential state (first primary) and Romney will need to be in the top two or three there if he is to make a strong push into Super Tuesday. Now all of the important early presidential states (Iowa, N.H., Delaware, S.C., and Michigan) are represented with a state Romney blogsite! Of course, there is speculateion that the primary schedule may change by the time 2008 rolls around, but it’s nice to see the strong grassroots/netroots support that Romney is gaining in states that will be important in 2008.
From Matthew’s initial post:
There is a joke in NH that you can’t really get a feel for a candidate by only meeting him or her once. Of course, we are aware that most of the voting public never gets the opportunity to be in such close quarters with presidential candidates. I believe that this close contact has allowed NH residents to get a unique insight into these people as people.
That sounds a lot like Iowa (where I live and blog). Matthew continues . . .
For many years, I worked in theatrical production and as such I have literally had a backstage pass for many political events and rallies. I can tell you stories about how poorly some of these candidates treat people (even the people who work for them) that would blow you away. I can also tell you about the individuals who make you feel as if you are the most important person around.
Governor Romney fits into the latter category. In my few years in such close proximity to presidential politics I have never come across an individual as genuine as Governor Romney. How many candidates do you know who are willing to fill in on a talk radio program and field phone calls for hours at a time? Governor Romney believes in the value of debate and is never afraid of listening to arguments that are contrary to his beliefs. He is a real man and a real role model. What more could America ask for? Over the course of the next couple of years we are all going to be exposed to our share of clowns and crooks. I know that Governor Romney will provide us an alternative to the rest of the pack. He will be our beacon of hope, strength, and integrity. He will be a candidate of whom all of us can be proud.
A great start to an important new state blog! Go check it out and wish him (them?) well.
Jeff
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