Fox's "Balancing" Act: Romney TV Personified

Since Rick has been having his wife speak more on the campaign, I decided to post a comment my wife, Jessica, had previously made on Rick's official Facebook page:

Post by Jessica Abbott: Fox News' slogan has always been "fair and balanced"; however, in this GOP primary, they have been anything but that! I was probably the most disgusted by them on March 5 (the day before Super Tuesday and coincidentally my birthday)...they might as well have been raining down confetti and balloons with a large blinking ticker that said "vote Mitt Romney (aka savior of the world)...down with Rick Santorum, the demon bigot". I myself "almost threw up" when they had nearly 90-year-old Barbara Bush (I could barely understand the poor woman's speech) on a phone interview talking about her Romney endorsement, flashing awkward images of with him/her at some luncheon and other "family/friend" moments. Then, all the polls throughout that day (when Santorum had just days and weeks before been leading in OH) coincidentally that day showed Romney galloping in to save their pitter pattering polling hearts and took the lead just hours before real OH polls opened! PUKE!

Needless to say, the next day, my husband Jared and I tuned in to CNN for the results...at least theirs was more results reporting, rather than a night long celebration (or diminishing a win in Santorum's 3 cases that night....heck, they [Fox] talked more about Gingrich taking GA in a positive light than Santorum rightfully winning a third of the states and several delegates more in the others where he got second).

Ok, so I say all this to say that Fox News has now gone so far down hill and sold out just like all the other media outlets...unlike anything I've seen. Its not fair and balanced reporting....its "Romney reporting." They are so hell-bent on helping him get the nomination -- it's beyond believable. At least with the other liberal news outlets, you know what you're getting...with Fox, they are force-feeding the American public with a "Romney is the only real candidate with a chance". I've seen the Huckabee interview Jobs 3 Forum thing with the Vet dad about a million times where Romney answered a question....."Wowee! What a concept!" What about when Santorum talked with the college student about pursuing what paths were right for him, or the little lady on Medicare, or the unemployed disabled gentleman? (Where are those repeated sound bytes and news clips, Fox?) My own husband, Jared, is a vet so I'm not discrediting that topic...I'm simply furious with a network who takes one section of an interview and replays it 10000 times in a week to their candidate's hopeful advantage!

I follow each state's results very closely each day/week. I just am hopeful that such networks as Fox aren't on the Romney payroll! It makes one wonder. So many in America (and around the world for that matter) depend on the news and many conservatives turn to networks like Fox. A lot of them may work more than one job to make ends meet and if they go to the polls to vote on their lunch breaks, they depend on friends, family or reliable news sources to give them the best candidate. Not that the average American isn't perfectly capable of going and seeking out what these candidates stand for, its that most won't take the time. Most go with the hype or who or what they are told is most electable. My husband and I have been to 2 Santorum rallies now....he speaks with conviction and heart like I've never heard Romney speak even for a second (even on the Jobs 3 Forum). I proudly cast my vote for him in TN and was glad to see my state went to Santorum. Yes, even as a  middle class, college-educated woman, who according to Fox, supposedly despises Rick Santorum in every one of "their latest Fox exit polls".

Here's a test for you (even tomorrow): watch next time, as a state that Rick is doing well in, approaches the final hours prior to poll closings on Fox  - - they give no "exit poll" numbers and hardly "call" until the last minute. They certainly wouldn't want to "sway the vote" in the last five minutes of the polls, now would they?

One other final note: What happens when (and yes I said when) Santorum does get the nomination? Who will Fox back then? Obama??? Just a thought... :)

Friends, Mississippians, Alabamians, Hawaiians: Tomorrow is another important Tuesday (call it mini-Tuesday if you like) as far as the South is concerned. Two important states - - Mississippi and Alabama (total of 90 delegates up for grabs), along with Hawaii. As my father wisely stated earlier, call up, e-mail, "tweet", "Facebook" anyone you might know in these states for voting tomorrow. Let's go against the "establishment" -- Vote Rick Santorum for President 2012!

Today's the Day we make or break

Today is Primary Day, and if you haven't cast your ballot to Pick Rick, get out before eight o' clock and get it done.

Rick will be in Steubenville, Ohio tonight celebrating victory, but if we all get out and do our duty, we will all have something to celebrate this evening.

Today I wrote a somewhat personal "Election Reflection" in my column for The Examiner, but perhaps it will help you understand why today is so important, it is make-or-break. If you know someone who wants to support Rick and they need a ride to the polls, get them there. Call your family, tell your friends, do all that you can.

Just maybe you can tell your grandchildren or other family members how you helped make political history in the Republican Party.

Later tonight, if you are so inclined, join me, Hatton Humphrey, Ken Marrero, and maybe even Senator Stacey Campfield for a special Super Tuesday podcast at 9:30pm Eastern and 8:30pm Central time.

Doing the right thing

On Saturday, Senator Stacey Campfield, who had been the co-director for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's campaign in Tennessee, announced that he was withdrawing as Newt's statewide co-chair, and as a Gingrich delegate, and throwing his support behind Rick Santorum. Stacey also announced that he wasn't alone.

Therefore, as of now, I am stepping down as the statewide co chairman for Newt Gingrich and throwing all of my support behind Rick Santorum. Going with me are the top 3 second congressional district delegates for Newt (Dr. Leonard Brown, Dr. Aaron Margulise and Scott Smith).

I know that this was a tough decision for Stacey, and I am not just saying that because it is the polite and politick thing to say, I am saying it because I really do know. I've known Stacey personally for years, and I consider him to be one of my best friends, and he is certainly the best friend I have in the politics of this State-he has stood with me and stood up for me and behind me when no one else would. He is a real champion of the conservative movement if there ever was one in Tennessee.

Stacey called me Thursday to let me know that he was considering this switch. He said that Rick had called him personally, and they dealt with scenarios and with political realities. Stacey said he really enjoyed his talk with Rick, and said he felt that Rick had a real strategy in place to win. When I talked to Stacey, though, he still hadn't made his decision. He's a loyalist to the bone whose word is known to be his bond. He didn't want to seem like he was betraying a commitment that he had made. I reminded him of words he had once said to me: "Politics is a cruel and expensive mistress, and when the votes aren't there, you just have to move on."  He repeated part of that in his blog post announcing his decision. It is a reality that any of us who have ever been involved in political campaigns have had to deal with at some point, and it is always a hard one, especially when it is confronting a candidate that you believe deeply in.

I shared with Stacey why I feel the way I do about Rick, of course, but I didn't try to persuade him, only offered my help in any way I could to help make it a smooth transition if he did decide to switch. "I can only offer you one word of advice," I told him, "do the right thing."

He, Dr. Brown, Dr. Marguilise, and Mr. Smith made their choice for the good of the Republican Party and the country.

Vote Democratic-vote for Willard Mitt!

I might have more sympathy for the Frontrunner's "outrage" over some Democrats crossing over into Republican primaries in Michigan voting for Rick Santorum if the Frontrunner hadn't done the same thing himself. He voted in 1992 in the Democratic Presidential Primary for Paul Tsongas. Now he says he did it to try and badly influence the Democrats' primary process in 1992. Back then, the Frontrunner was humming a different tune:

Back in the 1990s, he said he voted for Tsongas out of home state pride and because he liked his platform better than Clinton. Either way, Romney is on record saying that it’s fair game for partisans to participate in the primary with their own team’s best interests in mind.

Now, the Frontrunner (or people in his camp) believe that Rick deep-sixed the Frontrunner's so-called "win" in Michigan-you know, the primary where Rick got half the delegates-because Democrats crossed over to vote for Rick in significant numbers (Where are the numbers?). In Mittworld, it is okay for slick-haired sons of politicians who claim to be Republican to vote in Democratic primaries, but it is not okay for his political opponents inside the party to ask for Reagan Democrats to be helpful in defeating the Frontrunner. In short, the Frontrunner thinks it is okay for him to pinch-hit for the other team, but he doesn't think you should be able to if you don't vote for him.

Let me be clear about something: I do not and never have supported crossover voting. I am a Republican, and I vote in Republican primaries only, because I do not believe that it is right for me to tell the other party who they ought to nominate for offices. I have never voted in a Democratic primary of any kind in my life-for that matter, I have never voted for a Democrat in my life. I've met some Democrats and know many who were and are incredibly nice folks and decent human beings, which, considering the current state and wording of the Democratic platform, leaves us to wonder why they would want to be Democrats-but we'll leave that between them and the Lord.

                 "Crossover voting is bad except when I do it!"



The reality is that in many primary states, open primaries are the reality, crossover voting is something that any candidate running in such a primary has to consider-it can work for them or it can work against them, but it will happen. Until primaries close or are replaced with a caucus/convention system universally, it makes sense for any candidate to make sure that the crossover vote is working in their favor.

The Frontrunner would do it, he has before, most recently in Michigan in 2008. So either what's good for the goose is good for the gander, or the Frontrunner preferred voting in the Democratic Primary!

The heat and the fight is on (Yes your vote counts)

The media spin of supposed inevitability of the Frontrunner has already begun after the Frontrunner just barely survived in Michigan last night. A serious look at the map does not show us inevitability, but shows precisely what I predicted here yesterday, a delegate split out of Michigan. Indeed, had it not been for the vote in Oakland County, where the Frontrunner grew up, the Frontrunner would likely not have "won" at all.

Now comes Tennessee's turn, and while polls have consistently shown a lead for Rick Santorum, it is important to remember that the money and power of this State are behind the Frontrunner, and if it appears that the Frontrunner will do badly here, he may rely on Ron Paul to do his dirtywork of undercutting Rick's votes, or perhaps even try and throw the State to Newt Gingrich, not to help Newt, just to hurt Rick.

The political holy war over the next week will be in the State of Ohio. No Republican has ever won the Presidency without carrying Ohio, so it is very important for any potential Republican nominee to show that they are capable of winning there. Failure to do so brings the viability of a candidate into very serious question, so Ohio is a must-win for both Rick Santorum and the Frontrunner. If you think the ads and the blanket campaigning has been a sight to behold here in Tennessee, it will be a hundred times more intense in Ohio over the next seven days.

Former Ohio Lt. Governor, U.S. Senator, and current Attorney General Mike DeWine withdrew his support as a Romney delegate so that he could join Rick's team. (Photo: beta.wosu.org/Mandie Trimble)


Rick has said that he is relying on Washington State (which votes Saturday), Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Ohio to propel him on in the race for the Republican nomination. That makes Tennessee not only important, but a must-win for Rick (not for the Frontrunner), and the opposition knows it. We're in the primary homestretch, and we can win this thing! We can't afford to let up now. Every phone call, every door knocked on, every friend reached out to, every person driven to the polls, every sign, every minute, and every vote matters. After this primary, none of us will ever be able to say "my vote doesn't count."

The Frontrunner uses a tactic from four years ago

The last day of early voting in Tennessee's presidential primary (note: if you have a chance to get out and pick Rick before your local early voting polling station closes tonight, please do so) also happens to be the day of one of the most critical primaries of the season so far-Michigan. This State was supposed to be a "gimmie" for the Frontrunner. He was born and raised there, his father was Governor there, and he is supposed to know the local lingo. This Michigan supporter of the Frontrunner admits, however, that the Frontrunner has been away from Michigan too long for his so-called roots to make much of a difference, even admitting that the younger generation could care less about the Frontrunner's family name.




 The Frontrunner seems to know he has a problem, because he has resorted to a tactic which he first used in 2008-whining like a spoiled rich kid who doesn't get his way. In 2008, Romney whined like a baby whose candy had been taken away after the West Virginia State Republican Convention voted for former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee instead of Romney. Instead of congratulating Huckabee like a man, Romney blamed John McCain because the few McCain delegates in West Virginia opted to vote for Huckabee rather than hold up their State's nominating process indefinitely.I discussed the Frontrunner's whiny child persona in this Super Tuesday 2008 podcast with Adam Graham, Ken Marrero, Warner Todd Huston, and John McJunkin. My description begins at 21:05 and ends at 23:26.

One possible scenario being thrown around that could happen in Michigan tonight is a delegate split. Michigan's delegates are awarded by congressional district and there are 14 congressional districts in Michigan. There is some talk that if Rick can take at least seven of those districts, he will walk out of Michigan with half of that State's delegates regardless of the final results.

You can join Rick Santorum's Idaho State coordinator, Adam Graham, along with me (David Oatney, and maybe a few other guests) as we break down the results from Michigan and Arizona in a live podcast beginning at 9:30pm Eastern and 8:30pm Central time tonight. We'll talk about what these results mean for Rick's campaign and where the race for the Republican nomination goes from here.

Willard Mitt can't run from his past

Normally, I wouldn't share my daily Examiner column in this space as a primary source, because this blog exists to help elect Rick Santorum, not to promote my column. However, much has been said within conservative circles in recent days about why the Frontrunner has failed to "close the door" with conservatives among the base of Republican Party. Today, I posited that a big part of the reason is that religious conservatives matter much more than the so called "party establishment" seems to think.

The Frontrunner should not be discounted as a candidate because of his Mormon faith, and to do so would be a profoundly un-American position. However, it is quite reasonable to hold any candidate accountable for their positions based on the tenets of the faith that they profess, and the Frontrunner has shifted positions on social issues repeatedly depending on who his political audience happened to be.


 


This 2008 McCain ad successfully highlighted the problems with the Frontrunner's flip-flops.

It is precisely because so many of us cannot pinpoint where the Frontrunner really stands on almost anything that he is not the wonderboy that so many people at the top of the party heap have spent so much time leading us to believe. Does this look like enthusiasm for a candidate to you?

  This was an address to the Detroit Economic Club and rally for the Frontrunner at Ford Field in Detroit. The Frontrunner's people apparently really believed they could bring in enough people to make the place look full, or at least make it appear as though the voters gave a flying flip. Ego, anyone?

If you want to win the votes of conservative people, it might help if you behave and act as if you are one of them.

Get out early to pick Rick

Just in case you live in Tennessee and you might have forgotten, you don't have to wait until March 6th to cast your vote, you can vote early until February 28th-that's this Tuesday. All 95 counties allow registered voters in those counties to cast their ballots early at your county election commission office. In addition, many counties have opened other satellite locations where voters can come and participate in the early voting process. In counties such as Knox, Hamilton, Johnson, Sullivan, Davidson, and Shelby, there are several early voting locations to choose from, and many of our suburban and rural counties have also adopted an early voting program that encompasses more than one early voting site.

Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett and Election Administrator Mark Goins say they are encouraging early voting this year, and they invite Tennesseans to contact their county election offices to find out where to cast their votes early. You won't want to forget that photo ID as part of Tennessee's new voter identification law, and remember that if you don't drive, even if your ID card is expired so long as it is a Tennessee-issued identification with your picture, you are good to cast your vote, whether early or on Primary Day itself.

Yesterday we talked about a couple of important and fun straw polls that Rick's supporters could participate in. Straw polls are extremely enjoyable and sometimes they can even be politically important, but no poll is more important than the one that really counts, and thanks to the sacrifice of so many of our veterans and men and women still in uniform, that poll is absolutely free-all you need to do is show up-and if you can't do that, you can even vote absentee.

If you are familiar with Tennessee politics, you know that since early voting has been introduced here, it has been a real factor in our electoral process. I've seen elections decided on the early votes alone, and we've seen some of our news media able to successfully call elections based on the return of the early vote, which in most counties in Tennessee are always the first votes to be counted. If you vote early in this Presidential Primary, your votes could help show us quickly who the delegates go to on Primary Night.

I've already picked Rick! You can too, if you haven't already-find out where to go tomorrow (Saturday), Monday, or Tuesday by contacting your county election commission. If you can't vote early, remember to pick Rick Santorum at your local precinct on March 6th.

Ron selling out so that Rand can reap the profits?

If you watched the debate the other night you noticed that the Frontrunner wasn't the only candidate throwing unsubstantiated half-truths and epithets such as "fake" at Rick Santorum. Texas Congressman Ron Paul, the so-called libertarian in the race, was leading the attack in a supporting role, attempting, it would seem, to assist the Frontrunner in his campaign against Rick. This was a strange spectacle to observe from a man who hasn't even pretended to like the Frontrunner-until now.

It seems like a strange alliance-the libertarian and the pseudo-Democrat-two people who, within the Republican coalition, could not be further apart ideologically. Why on earth would Ron Paul want to help the Frontrunner, unless he thought he could get something out of it?

...Or at least that a member of his family might.

Matt Lewis of The Daily Caller says Paul hasn't really gone after the Frontrunner, while he routinely attacks more conservative candidates such as Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain, and now, Rick Santorum. Ron Paul's attacks aren't helping him in the polls in the least, but the one person they do seem to help when he lobs them is the Frontrunner.

What has the Frontrunner promised Ron Paul for his backhanded help, assistance which literally contradicts everything Ron Paul purports to believe? Lewis says the promise may have been to Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), and that Romney or his campaign may quietly be dangling the Vice Presidency in front of Rand Paul in return for his father's delegates, should the Frontrunner need them to win the nomination.

Conservative radio host Mark Levin says that Ron Paul is acting as the Frontrunner's wingman so that Rand can get the number two spot.


Mark Levin says Ron Paul is acting as Willard Mitt's wingman in order to get something out of it for Rand

If our friends the Paulies had the kind of principles that so many of them claim to have, they would be outraged at the very thought that their man would sell out to get something for a family member...that would mean that Ron Paul is playing politics and being pragmatic, something the Paulies claim to detest most horribly.

That would make Ron Paul...oh, perish the thought...a FAKE!

Can you pick Rick in a straw poll?

If you want to know a way that you can show Rick Santorum some Tennessee support that might help turnout among the Republican base on March 6th, you can show up and participate in one of two straw polls coming up in the next few days (if you have the funds and can spare them, by all means vote in both).

The first straw poll will be taken at the Hamblen County Republican Party Lincoln/Reagan Day Dinner, which will be held tomorrow night, February 24th, 2012 at 6:30pm at First Presbyterian Church, located at 600 West Main Street in Morristown. Tickets are $25/each, and can be obtained by calling Hamblen County GOP Chairman Paul Chapman at 423-312-2027. You can also get tickets at the door provided that they aren't sold out.

The second straw poll opportunity will be the Tennessee Conservative Union's Reagan Day Dinner and Southern Conservative Caucus. This important event will be on Saturday, March 3rd, 2012 at the ballroom of the Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown Knoxville. It's quite a bit more pricey than the Morristown straw poll at $100 a ticket, but the food is always fabulous at this annual who's who of East Tennessee conservatism (fried chicken, collards, hominy, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, fat and calories et. al.), and a big part of that hundred bucks a head is going to pay for Herman Cain's speaking fee. If you can spare the time, travel, and funds for either or both of these straw polls, please show up and pick Rick!