It came to no surprise that Mitt Romney finally announced his bid for the presidency (again). What may have overshadowed that announcement came before and afterwards, though. On the last leg of her East Coast bus tour, Sarah Palin swept into New Hampshire today as Romney prepared to make his announcement for a second bid at the White House. One hour before Romney made his announcement, Sarah Palin appeared in his hometown and suggested that he may have a fatal flaw concerning the health-care mandate that Romney signed into state law in 2006. From MSLSD via Weasel Zippers:
“In my opinion, any mandate coming from government is not a good thing, so obviously … there will be more the explanation coming from former governor, Romney, on his support for government mandates,” Palin told reporters. “However, even on a state level and even a local level, mandates coming from a governing body, it’s tough for a lot of us independent Americans to accept, because we have great faith in the private sectors and our own families … and our own businessmen and women making decisions for ourselves. Not any level of government telling us what to do.”
Following Romney’s announcement, another hard-hitter, Rudy Giuliani, who’s just recently appeared on the ‘possible presidential contenders’ radar, made a similar comment. From the AP via the Atlantic:
Asked about how big a problem Romney faces regarding the Massachusetts health care law, Giuliani was critical. "The reality is that Obamacare and Romneycare are almost exactly the same," Giuliani said. "It's not very helpful trying to distinguish them. I would think the best way to handle it is to say, it was a terrible mistake and if I could do it over again, I wouldn't do it."
Whether either Palin or Giuliani will step into the presidential arena is still anyone’s guess, but this question of Romneycare isn’t easily going away for Mitt, that’s for certain.
On other fronts, BIG NEWS for conservatives concerning Jim DeMint that was almost buried by all the other stories out there of presidential contenders. From The Hill:
Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) says he is considering running for president after frustrated conservative activists have pleaded with him to run. DeMint told The Hill that he has discussed a White House bid with his wife and will pray on the question out of respect for his supporters across the country. The Tea Party favorite, who had indicated he was not going to run in 2012, would significantly shake up the race if he were to jump in. Many on the right have expressed major reservations about the GOP candidates in the race, claiming they have not energized the base and/or can’t beat President Obama. The second-term senator would have the inside track to win South Carolina, a key early state in the nomination process. Since 1980, every Republican who has triumphed in the Palmetto State has gone on to capture the GOP presidential nomination.
If you could see the smile on my face of learning about this news…it’s still there! Staying calm, maintaining composure…
UPDATE: Romney wasted no time in taking the Gengrich approach to torpedo his chances of a Republican nomination at his first town hall, freshly after announcing his candidacy. Bye, bye Mitt!
The reaffirmation of his stance that man-made global warming is real is not new and is not the only pandering Mitt's done. Energy independence? Certainly, but we don't have to turn towards globalized answers when we've got the real resources right here, and I'm not talking about ethanol. The way Romney embraces ethanol subsidies makes Pawlenty look good...at least he boldly dared to tell the truth when he went to Iowa! Here's a message for those still under the illusion...
The man-made element and bio-fuel subsidies are all part of the overall environmental statist agenda, but as an American Thinker blog post reports, Romney can't possibly believe this when many former alarmists are coming clean, as this scientist makes the case:
"The whole idea that carbon dioxide is the main cause of the recent global warming is based on a guess that was proved false by empirical evidence during the 1990s. But the gravy train was too big, with too many jobs, industries, trading profits, political careers, and the possibility of world governments, and their tame climate scientists, now outrageously maintain the fiction that carbon dioxide is a dangerous pollutant."
