Mitt Romney: Vote For Ted Cruz To Screw With Donald Trump

2012 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney took to his Facebook today to encourage folks to vote for Sen. Ted Cruz in the upcoming Utah GOP primary.

Not necessarily because he's a Cruz guy, but just to screw with Donald Trump's delegate count.

This week, in the Utah nominating caucus, I will vote for Senator Ted Cruz.

Today, there is a contest between Trumpism and Republicanism. Through the calculated statements of its leader, Trumpism has become associated with racism, misogyny, bigotry, xenophobia, vulgarity and, most recently, threats and violence. I am repulsed by each and every one of these.

The only path that remains to nominate a Republican rather than Mr. Trump is to have an open convention. At this stage, the only way we can reach an open convention is for Senator Cruz to be successful in as many of the remaining nominating elections as possible.

I like Governor John Kasich. I have campaigned with him. He has a solid record as governor. I would have voted for him in Ohio. But a vote for Governor Kasich in future contests makes it extremely likely that Trumpism would prevail.

I will vote for Senator Cruz and I encourage others to do so as well, so that we can have an open convention and nominate a Republican.

The Donald noticed the post. His Twitter response?

Failed presidential candidate Mitt Romney, the man who "choked" and let us all down, is now endorsing Lyin' Ted Cruz. This is good for me!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 18, 2016

Mitt Romney: "Donald Trump Is A Phony And A Fraud"

In a stunning speech, 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney labeled Donald Trump a fake, a phony, a fraud who would make the United States poorer and less safe.

Romney also said of Trump, "His promises are as worthless as a degree from (now defunct) Trump University."

He went on to attack Trump business expertise by pointing to his failed companies, "Whatever happened to Trump Airlines, Trump University, Trump magazine, Trump vodka, Trump Steaks, Trump mortgage?"

Romney called for Republicans to support the other three GOP nominees still in the hunt - Sens. Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

It's worth noting that in 2012, Romney sought and received Donald Trump's endorsement for president.

The 2008 Republican presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain, issued a statement echoing Romney: "I share the concerns about Donald Trump that my friend and former Republican nominee Mitt Romney described in his speech."

"I would also echo the many concerns about Mr. Trump's uninformed and indeed dangerous statements on national security issues that have been raised by 65 Republican defense and foreign policy leaders," continued McCain.

UPDATE - Other GOP presidential nominees chimed in after the speech:

Well said, @MittRomney. -John pic.twitter.com/pTwmBTaeAo

— John Kasich (@JohnKasich) March 3, 2016

Mitt Romney: "There's Every Appearance That Hillary Clinton Was Bribed"

Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney directly accuses Hillary Clinton of accepting bribes from Clinton Foundation donors.

“You know, I’ve got to tell you, I was stunned by it. I mean, it looks like bribery,” he said while appearing on the Hugh Hewitt Show. “I mean, there is every appearance that Hillary Clinton was bribed to grease the sale of, what, 20 percent of America’s uranium production to Russia, and then, it was covered up by lying about a meeting at her home with the principals, and by erasing emails.”

“And you know, I presume we might know for sure whether there was or was not bribery if she hadn’t wiped out thousands of emails. But this is a very, very serious series of facts, and it looks like bribery,” he added.

Mittens was referring to a Thursday New York Times story that alleged that investors in a uranium company donated to the Clinton Foundation before an inter-agency committee including Hillary Clinton’s State Department approved the sale of the company to the Russian nuclear agency.

It's important to note that the committee is led by the Treasury Department, not the State Department where Clinton worked.

Clinton's presidential campaign and her allies have pushed back against the allegations, saying there is no evidence to suggest a link between the donations and the approval.

“The decision to approve the sale of uranium never rose to Secretary Clinton’s level and was approved by at least half a dozen government agencies," said Adrienne Watson, communications director for Correct the Record, a project of the pro-Clinton group American Bridge. "Mitt Romney should take a cue from Hillary Clinton and start talking about the real problems facing people across our country.”

(source)

Quote Of The Day: Jonathan Capehart On Mitt Romney Not Running In 2016

"Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor and 2012 Republican presidential nominee, made the right decision to not seek his party’s nomination for a third run.

"By bowing out today, Romney becomes a statesman of his party rather than a punch line for comedians. Besides, Sarah Palin has the latter role on lockdown." - Jonathan Capehart writing for the Washington Post

Mittens Will Not Run In 2016

On a conference call this morning, Mitt Romney told donors he will NOT run for the 2016 GOP nomination.

From MSNBC:

Romney has spoken to supporters on a conference call, reading a statement explaining his decision. “It is best to give other leaders in the party the opportunity to become our next nominee,” he said. “I believe that one of our next generation of Republican leaders, one who may not be as well known as I am today, one who has not yet taken their message across the country, one who is just getting started, may well emerge as being better able to defeat the Democrat nominee. In fact, I expect and hope that to be the case.”

It seems in exploring the landscape Mittens found many of his major donors had moved on to Jeb Bush.

Twitter responds:

Kind of sad to hear Romney isn't running again. It was fun watching him alienate voters & talk about trickle down economics.

— Andrew (@PhortyLove) January 30, 2015

I'm kind of sad Mitt Romney isn't running for President next year. I was looking forward to him acting more like an out-of-touch plutocrat.

— βετh (@feverspell) January 30, 2015

Romney in January 2014: "Oh, no, no, no. No, no, no, no, no. No, no, no. And today: no.

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) January 30, 2015

Romney not running for president. Why is this breaking news?

— Casey. (@caseylopez_19) January 30, 2015

Mitt Romney Will Share 2016 Thoughts On Conference Call Today

Bloomberg reports that Mitt Romney is apparently set to share his next steps regarding the 2016 GOP nomination for prez today:

Late Thursday evening, Romney’s political operation sent scores of supporters an email under his name inviting them to join a Friday morning conference call to be led by Romney himself for “an update.” The email was signed “All the best, Mitt.”

Those who have been helping Romney make up his mind say there are three factors in favor of a run, and two factors against. The main rationale on the “go” side is Mitt and Ann Romney’s strongly held conviction that no one in the current field would make a better president. Critics in both parties and the press may scoff at this view, but the Romneys believe it to their core and thus feel Mitt has an obligation to his country to once again shoulder the mantle.

Ann Romney: Mitt May Run For President in 2016

Isn't it interesting that the wife of a possible presidential candidate is discussing foreign policy to such a degree with the news? And before he's even decided if he's running again?

I never a spouse give such an interview.

Mitt Romney says it will take a long time to determine societal effects of same-sex marriage

During an appearance this morning on NBC's Meet The Press, failed GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney was asked by host David Gregory if his position on same-sex marriage had changed. Not surprisingly, Romney responded it has not.

Via Mediaite:

Gregory asked if the expansion of gay marriage rights has had a “negative impact on society.” Romney said that he believes marriage is an institution that exists between a man and a woman and the “ideal” situation in which to raise children is in a family with a father and a mother.

“I think it’s going to take a long, long time to determine whether having gay marriage will make it less likely for kids to be raised in settings where there’s a mom and a dad,” Romney said. “That’s not going to happen overnight. It’s something which happens over generations.”

Asked whether the conservative right had lost the fight over marriage equality, Romney said that the issue of “who wins and who loses” over this issue is irrelevant. “Sometimes, if something is lost, you move on to the next issue,” he concluded.

Speaking of "once something is lost" - why are we still asking Mr. Romney his opinion?  Hasn't he lost enough at the ballot box that HE moves on?

(source)

"Slow Jam the News" with Mitt Romney and JImmy Fallon

Man with Romney campaign tattoo is finally removing it

I never saw this report from November with Eric Hartsburg explaining why he got this tattoo ($15,000) and why he finally decided to have it removed (Romney was a sore loser).

Remember, he got the tattoo about a week before the election when polls showed President Obama ahead.

And then there's the pink scrunchie holding his pony tail. Just saying...

Mitt Romney: "I wish the hurricane hadn't happened when it did"

Mitt Romney sat down with CNN's Gloria Borger this week to reflect on his failed Presidential campaign and episodes along the way such as the 47% video and Hurricane Sandy which proved to be major factors in the election outcome.

Mitt Romney: "And there were other things that didn’t help my campaign, either. Obviously a hurricane with a week to go before the election stalled our campaign."

Gloria Borger: "Do you blame Chris Christie as much as some other people..?

Mitt Romney: "No, no, no… No. No, no...I — I wish the hurricane hadn’t have happened…when it did, because it gave the President a chance to be presidential, and to be out showing sympathy for folks. That’s one of the advantages of incumbency. But, you know, you don’t look back and worry about each little thing, and how could that have been different. You look forward."

He wishes the hurricane didn't happen when it did?

I personally wish it never happened but maybe that's me.

Still thinking good thoughts for all the people affected by the tragedy of the storm.

Dow closes at record high 14,539

Unemployment drops, stock market hitting record highs.

Mitt Romney said things would get better once the election was over...

Mitt & Ann Romney on losing the presidency

At times fascinating and irritating.

Ann: "I wish everyone could have just been in our pockets."

Mitt Romney releases 2011 tax returns

Mitt Romney released his 2011 tax return today. Releasing information on a Friday afternoon is traditionally a way to reduce the amount of media exposure.

Trustee Brad Malt writes:  In advance of the posting of these new documents, I wanted to provide some top-line details.  Regarding the newly-filed 2011 Tax Return:

• In 2011, the Romneys paid $1,935,708 in taxes on $13,696,951 in mostly investment income.
• The Romneys’ effective tax rate for 2011 was 14.1%.
• The Romneys donated $4,020,772 to charity in 2011, amounting to nearly 30% of their income.
• The Romneys claimed a deduction for $2.25 million of those charitable contributions.

The Romneys’ generous charitable donations in 2011 could have further reduced their tax obligation for the year. However, the Romneys decided to limit their deduction of charitable contributions so to "fit" the Governor's statement in August, based upon the January estimate of income, that he paid at least 13% in income taxes in each of the last 10 years.

Had the Romney's actually taken the legal deductions available to them, they would have paid an effective tax rate of 9%.

Now, at a time when Mitt Romney is criticizing Americans for not paying their share of taxes, how would it look for Mitt to only pay 9%?

Yeah, he thought so too. And so, he chose to NOT take a deduction so that his tax rate would be in line with the figure he had previously stated.

By the way - it's worth noting that even though Mitt Romney paid more than he needed to (about $200,000), he has the right to go back and amend his tax return for three years and take that full tax deduction.

I'm betting that should he lose this election, that's exactly what he'll do.
The information was released in a blog post, written by the manager of Romney's blind trust since 2003, R. Bradford Malt, which said the Romneys had filed their 2011 tax return with the IRS Friday morning. It also indicated that the Romneys' tax preparer, PricewaterhouseCoopers, would provide a letter summarizing the tax rates that the Romneys paid from 1990 to 2009.

According to Malt, the Romneys paid an average annual effective federal tax rate of 20.2 percent, with the lowest rate coming in at 13.66 percent. Over that same stretch of time, they gave an average of 13.45 percent of their adjusted gross income to charity.

"The Romneys' generous charitable donations in 2011 would have significantly reduced their tax obligation for the year. The Romneys thus limited their deduction of charitable contributions to conform to the Governor's statement in August, based upon the January estimate of income, that he paid at least 13% in income taxes in each of the last 10 years," Malt wrote.

President Obama leads in new poll of swing states

President Obama leads Mitt Romney in a new poll of 12 key swing states. This is the news that counts, kids.

Obama leads 49 percent to 44 percent in the poll from Purple Strategies.

The poll is a combined sample of likely voters in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin, and also shows good news for Obama in over-sampled results for Ohio, Virginia, Florida and Colorado. Last month’s Purple Poll showed Romney with a slight edge in swing states, 47 percent to Obama’s 46 percent.

“One important change in the latest numbers: President Obama now leads among independents,” in the states surveyed, Purple pollsters wrote. It’s the first time Obama has led independent swing-state voters in seven months, the pollsters wrote.

Via TalkingPointsMemo

Mitt Romney looking very "tan" on Univision

SRSLY, kids.

How much bronzer does Mitt Romney have to have on to try and relate to the hispanic community?

He knows he's in trouble with this one segment of the electorate so he tries to look more "tan" so they like him better?

Says a lot of things on a lot of levels.

Pew Poll shows President Obama leading by 8 points

A new Pew Poll shows President Obama leading Mitt Romney by 8 points among Likely Voters:  51%-43%.

Likely Voters is a more accurate measurement of sentiment than Registered Voters.

From Pew Research:

At this stage in the campaign, Barack Obama is in a strong position compared with past victorious presidential candidates. With an eight-point lead over Mitt Romney among likely voters, Obama holds a bigger September lead than the last three candidates who went on to win in November, including Obama four years ago. In elections since 1988, only Bill Clinton, in 1992 and 1996, entered the fall with a larger advantage.

A lot more info from the poll can be found here.

Romney calls emergency press conference to address comments from fund raising video

Last night, as the news and details of Mitt Romney's true thoughts on President Obama's base were made public by an undercover video recorded at a Romney fundraiser in May, Mitt Romney called an emergency press conference to "stop the bleeding" and explain/clarify what he meant.

His explanations involved phrases like "campaign process" and "not elegantly stated" but in the end didn't really address why he called 47% of the American population "victims" who are "dependent on the government."

Interestingly, when you look at a map of the states with the highest levels of "non-tax paying" citizens, 8 of the top 10 are solidly Republican states.

Joe Scarborough - Religious tolerance

The reviews on Mitt Romney's Libya debacle are in!