"I don't have lobbyists running my campaign"
 

What a damn liar. Romney is turning out to be one slippery sob. He says that his campaign is not run by lobbyists, but one of his top campaign advisors is, yes, a lobbyist. Then, when the truth is rammed down his throat (by a reporter) on camera, he shoots back the same canned answer - "My campaign is not run by lobbyists." Wtf? I know it's business as usual, but when is enough enough? It smacks of Clinton's - "How do you define sex?" Apparently, when confronted with the truth, simply repeat the lie. Why waste time with explanaitions? :rolleyes:

ROFL. That confrontation with the AP(?) reporter was pure gold. He has more than one lobbyist serving on his campaign staff. :)

and this just in......

Reports (recently confirmed by an un-named source) indicate that ANY politician
running for ANY office is lying ...if their lips are moving! Gasp!!!

Highlights at eleven.

(yawn)

Romney is as fake as a three dollar bill.

The Republican John Kerry

I just get sick of rolling over and taking it in the a$$ everyday from these slimes. I'm happy you are comfortable with it though.

Could they at least be a little more clever? It reminds me of the Austin Powers, penis enlarger scene. "One Swedish penis enlarger" - "That's not mine baby!" -- "One receipt for Swedish penis enlarger....., signed by Austin Powers" "Honestly, that's not my bag baby." - "One book entitled, Swedish penis enlargers are my bag baby" written by Austin Powers.

I'm going to vote for the best liar I guess.

but much prettier

Romney is definitely slimey, but in a much sexier way than Kerry. He has a very sexy presence about him. Mmmm... yeah, he is a sexy man. Next to John Kerry, Romney is borderline doable.

Mitt does his best to look like a young Ronald Reagan, and when his five or so sons get together it looks like a collection of Ken dolls.

I hate good looking people.;)

Quote: "I just get sick of rolling over and taking it in the a$$ everyday from these slimes. I'm happy you are comfortable with it though."
______________________

Don't be that slooooooow Bob.

If you think 'I' am comfortable with it (by something I have written) please explain how you arrived at that conclusion??

So I take it you're for gay marriage then? ;)

Only if they are as cute as Romney and Edwards.... OOOOOoohh...

They would make such a lovely couple ;):o

I took a second look at Romney recently and I'm definitly voting for him. Of all the candidates, he's the closest I've seen to a true conservative.

And the way the press are jocking Huckabee and McCain, that's pretty much what pushed me into his corner. Both of those guys are unelectable.

I'd go for Ron Paul (he's my congressman), but he doesn't have the base to get the nomination.

Your post seemed a bit sarcastic. I got the impression (from your words) you think these kind of antics are so common they are acceptable. Did I misunderstand?:confused:

I'm surprised that Romney lied. Usually, he's pretty spineless. At least he was as a governor.

Stuff happens. People/politicos form opinions and take stands on issues. Sometimes that position happens to be popular with the constituency, and other times politicians fall on their faces. That's life. Except for Mitt. He always seemed to defer public opinion. He'd be studying the issue, or some crap like that. Wait for public opinion to form over a week or two, and then hop onto the bandwagon and support whatever side seemed to be most popular. I'm not encouraging rash decision-making. But at the same time, that's not leadership material, IMO.

Since when did ethics and honesty have a productive part in world politics? Fact is, an honest and ethical politician would get chewed up and spit out in minutes. Our political problems are much bigger than any one man (or woman). Even POTUS. It's a culture that needs to change...and that ain't likely to occur! So...vote for the scumbag best equipped to succeed in such an environment. Now...how do we define success? Never mind.

I give Mitt a "big balls" award for being able to look the other way on illegals in the construction and service industries so that the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics could be completed in time, and then turn around and claim he is the toughest on the illegal immigration issue.

Big, big balls........................and no one has called him on it.

I think a lot of people feel this way. If everyone who felt that way gave him their vote anyhow, it WOULD make a difference.

I think at this point I will write him in. I don't care about the 'throw away a vote' nonsense. Its not thrown away- its who I think the best of the worst is.

I'm seriously considering Romney...for the simple fact that by dropping a few oil rigs on that greasy head we could eliminate our dependence on foreign oil.:cool:

My wife is a huge Ron Paul supporter - and she's a teacher! I think it has to do with eliminating the IRS and the department of education.

Since when is "running" something (being a manager) the same thing as being an advisor?

With 40,000+ lobbyists in Washington these days, I imagine it would be difficult to have NONE affiliated with your campaign.

While I'm disappointed Romney tried so hard to dance around a non-issue, it should surprise no one that just about all the campaigns are run by lobbyists. Running a campaign is not a full-time job. Well, it's a lot of hours, but the gig only exists for 18-24 of every 48 mos. Professional campaign staffers, at least the ones at the top, are all either lobbyists or "consultants" in the off season. BTW, could anyone who's posted here so far name Romney's top campaign staffers before this little spat on tv? Doubt it. Doesn't matter who runs the campaigns. You don't get a job like that by being a nobody in Washington and there's nothing illegal about lobbying. Any one of you guys who belongs to AAA, AARP, the NRA or any union pays dues to lobbyists.

While it's not illegal, it has been a bone of contention in this election. Obama was the first guy saying that he will not cater to lobbyists. Then Hillary accuses him of having a lobbyist in his campaign crew.

The problem I have with Romney is not that he has a lobbyist(s) in his organization. It's the pathetic way he got cornered by a nobody. He has no balls or substance. Of course, the fact that he squeezed out a tear last week ala Hillary makes me loath him all the more. Pick a reason - he jumps on whatever bandwagon he thinks will sell (here's the point - - hint hint) even if it won't! What kind of weak a$$ fool does that? Not one I'm likely to vote for. Say what you want about GW - at least he has sack.

Rick, your final sentence makes no more sense than if someone told you that when you buy gasoline, use an insurance company, dial the phone, use air travel, buy drugs, etc etc etc that you also are paying and supporting lobbyists.

Works both ways my friend.

Wrong. Membership dues paid to lobbying orgs are quite different than prices to businesses that happen to also pay lobbyists.

QUOTE: Your post seemed a bit sarcastic. I got the impression (from your words) you think these kind of antics are so common they are acceptable. Did I misunderstand?
__________________

I guess I need look up the word sarcastic?

'Sharp, often satirical or ironic utterance; bitter or caustic.'
so......
Common (absolutely)
Acceptable? Hardly.

Yes they are. A 501 (c) (3) has to keep separate accounts, one for membership and donations, and another for PAC contributions. These two can not mix. If you pay dues to CCA, NRA, DU or any other non profit organization, your general membership dues do not go to lobbying. However, those organizations can hold auctions to sell off donated items, and those items have to be listed specifically informing bidders that when sold the proceeds are to be distributed to the PAC fund. You may also make a contribution directly to the PAC, but you knew that.

Rick....A while back, you railed against "all" organizations that lobby. I posit that there are "good" lobbies and "bad" lobbies. Since when is a lobby "bad" when it works to make medical care less expensive and more universally available, for example? A far different scenario from large corporate lobbies that want to max out the costs for these services. Yes, I belong to AARP. That makes me, in a remote way, an "contributor to an actvist organization" Perhaps, when you reach the ripe old age of 50 (when you can join AARP) you will see that there are some benefits. To condemn ALL organizations is tantamount to labelling huge numbers of Americans as this or that.

Sometimes one has to be an activist to maintain the balance.

I never railed against lobbying! Quite the opposite. It's a fundamental of the First Amendment and I fully support it.

Matt, PAC contributions are not the same thing as paying for lobbyist fees. Yes, membership dues are kept separate from political or PAC contributions. But lobbying is not considered political activity. So yes, your membership dues do go to pay lobbyists. They don't go toward political contributions to or passed through lobbyists. But rest assured, you're paying for the actual lobbying activity.

I hadn't had my coffee yet. I had to re-read what I mis read. You are right. I need to pay a little more attention. That sounded pretty bad, like I forgot how I used to get paid.:eek:

Bob, as I've written here several times, if you support their cause, they are a watchdog or advocacy group. If you disagree with their cause, they are a special interest. Either way, they all lobby and are all subject to the same laws and restrictions. Pick your poison. But railing against "special interests" is pretty hypocritical. Sometimes those special interest groups represent your interests very well.....sometimes to the detriment of others.

I think we are going on a tangent from the main point. It's not that he has lobbyists in his campaign because i'm sure most if not all do. It's that he got confronted for it and lied when he was cornered. Seems about the same as when clinton lied when cornered about his "adventures". But as others have stated, politics and lying go together very well.

Not really. It's simply a different way of accumulating the $$$ to pay thwe lobbyists. Or do you actually think that the costs of the thousands of oil and drug company lobbyists are not factored into the price of their products? Wake up.

I accept your apology.

;)

Ok, I'm awake now. Of course, businesses build the cost of their lobbying into their prices. They also build in the cost of the regulation their lobbying efforts are meant to counter. But when I buy something at the grocery store, I really don't know where the money goes after the store and wholesalers get paid. Could be the store is a mom and pop shop and the owner is some right wing nut like me. Could also be that he sends $.50 from every case of beer sold to Hillary Clinton's campaign. But when I write a check to the NRA, I know exactly what cause that money is going to support. Ditto for the ACLU or AARP, etc. Point is that plenty of people rail against lobbying, but support it directly through the dues they pay to places they think represent their interests.

In Romney's little tv spat, I only fault him for getting so hot under the collar about something that's really a non-issue. All campaigns have lots of unpaid "co-chairs". IIRC, the reporter questioning Romney was asking about Ron Kaufman, who's an unpaid advisor or co-chair for Romney. That's a far cry from running Romney's campaign. If you're working for free, you really ain't running anything.

FWIW, I just landed Romney's campaign as a client today. Got the email an hour ago. But I'm uncommitted to any candidate and will gladly take money from all of them and work equally hard, since it's my job to do so.

Just curious, exactly what will you be doing for the Romney campaign?

The company I work for will be distributing Romney's press releases to the wires and various websites. We currently do so for Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee. None of the others have signed on yet, but I'm sure whoever gets the nomination for each party will eventually sign up. Most of the campaigns' main press people were clients of ours in their previous jobs.

I'm not too fond of that news host but here is the confrontation between romney and some reporter named glen. There is more than one part to it, and the second part is priceless.
http://www.spikedhumor.com/articles/139627/Mitt_Romney_Lying_About_Lobbyist_s_In_His_Campaign .html