Smooth talking Mitt Romney had yet another rough weekend. The Boston Globe reported that conservative activist Brian Camenker is preparing to release a second report highlighting Romney's efforts to distance himself from his real record, this time focusing on adoption by gay parents. The Standard-Times reported that Romney's failed leadership forced a prominent Massachusetts conservative activist and radio commentator to leave the Republican Party. A new report revealed that Romney’s signature health care plan will cost participants almost twice what he promised. A Boston Globe columnist blasted Romney for his time away from Massachusetts last year, calling Romney the state's "ambassador to Iowa" and saying Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healy could have run for governor as the incumbent.
"This weekend brought more bumps in the road for smooth talking Mitt Romney's campaign," said Democratic National Committee spokesman Damien LaVera. "The harder Romney tries to smooth talk conservative Republican primary voters into ignoring his record, the harder Romney's real record fights back."
ROMNEY'S ROUGH WEEKEND
Coming Soon: "The Mitt Romney Deception Volume II." The Boston Globe reports that conservative activist Brian Camenker is preparing to release a second report highlighting Romney's un-conservative record. The new report, entitled "The Mitt Romney Deception Volume II," will reportedly focus on Romney's "previous support for adoption by gay couples." Meanwhile, activists are blasting Romney's heavy-handed response to Camenker's first report. "Some Romney supporters are anguished by the report, and dismayed by Romney's response. One blogger, Matt Lewis, wrote a posting on townhall.com, titled, 'Don't hit a gadfly with a jackhammer,' that questioned Romney's press release. 'If Camenker is so irrelevant, then why is Romney trying to take him down?' Lewis wrote. 'Why not let someone else take down Camenker . . . Get a surrogate, for crying out loud, Governor Romney, but don't dirty your hands on this man.'" [Boston Globe, 1/22/07]
"Disillusioned" Conservative Activist Quits Party Over Romney's Failed Leadership, Calls Romney’s “Worst Administration in 20 Years." "The man who has been the face of the Republican Party on the SouthCoast for the past decade has left the GOP and become an unenrolled voter. Arthur Larrivee told The Standard-Times that he has also submitted his resignation as a member of both the state GOP committee and the town of Dartmouth committee. He had been a member of the state committee for 18 years...A conservative, he was a regular guest on talk radio and commentator in the local press. 'I've been disillusioned for some time,' Mr. Larrivee said. 'We've just had one of the worst administrations (Mitt Romney) in the last 20 years.' [Standard-Times, 1/21/07]
Sticker Shock: Romney Health Plan to Cost Almost Twice Romney's Estimates. "A state panel says a package filling the minimum requirements for coverage under the state's new health insurance will cost $380 a month on average for an individual, almost twice what former Gov. Mitt Romney projected when he proposed universal coverage...Advocates for the uninsured were stunned at the proposed price, which they said could undermine the goal of universal coverage. John McDonough, executive director of Health Care for All, an advocacy group that supports the health law, called the price 'a significant disappointment...' Romney had projected monthly costs at $200 when he first proposed universal coverage. And based on information from actuaries reviewed by the board last fall, the panel had expected to get plans with a premium of about $260." [Boston Globe, 1/20/07]
Columnist: "Ambassador to Iowa" Mitt Romney Gone So Much in 2006, Lt. Gov. Healy Could Have Run as Incumbent. Said Boston Globe columnist Charles Pierce: "Recently, this very newspaper reported that your nominal superior as governor had been away from the state for 212 days last year. Possession being nine-tenths of the law, for much of 2006 we were all under your not entirely noticeable command. You were here. He wasn't. This information could have made all the difference to your campaign. Based on the empirical evidence, you legitimately could have run as the incumbent governor of the Commonwealth. After all, you did the job nearly 60 percent of the time the year before the election. (And, if anyone throws the "But we didn't vote for you" argument at you, point out to them that they didn't elect Mitt Romney ambassador to Iowa, either.) You had every right to lawn signs and bumper stickers reading, 'Reelect Governor Healey.'" [Boston Globe, 1/21/07]