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Saturday, August 11, 2012

Florida reaction to Romney’s Ryan pick 



TALLAHASSEE — With Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney’s VP pick of Paul Ryan, the partisan praises are pouring into the inboxes — including from Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who was rumored to be a candidate, and former Gov. Jeb Bush, who was lobbying for Rubio.
The reaction from Jeb:
“I applaud Mitt Romney’s selection of Paul Ryan as his Vice Presidential running mate. Congressman Ryan’s command of economic policy and the federal budget will prove invaluable as Governor Romney fights to reform government, accelerate job growth and rein in the out-of-control spending that has been a hallmark of President Obama’s years in office. This courageous choice is the type of leadership American voters deserve. And, I believe it will ensure a victory for the Romney-Ryan ticket this November.”
And the response from Rubio:
“Throughout his life, Mitt Romney has made great decisions, and choosing Paul Ryan as his running mate is a truly inspired choice. I got to know Paul during my Senate campaign when he endorsed me early on when I was still considered a long shot. Paul Ryan is a courageous reformer who understands our nation’s challenges, has proposed bold policy solutions to solve them, and has shown the courage to stand up to President Obama and other Washington politicians trying to tear him down.
“The Romney-Ryan ticket is going to win in November because it offers the American people visionary leadership to recapture the free enterprise spirit that has empowered countless Americans to build businesses from scratch and live the American dream. I’m excited about the visionary change a Romney-Ryan team will bring to Washington, and I look forward to campaigning with them this fall.”
And here’s the response from Obama campaign manager Jim Messina:
“In naming Congressman Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney has chosen a leader of the House Republicans who shares his commitment to the flawed theory that new budget-busting tax cuts for the wealthy, while placing greater burdens on the middle class and seniors, will somehow deliver a stronger economy. The architect of the radical Republican House budget, Ryan, like Romney, proposed an additional $250,000 tax cut for millionaires, and deep cuts in education from Head Start to college aid. His plan also would end Medicare as we know it by turning it into a voucher system, shifting thousands of dollars in health care costs to seniors. As a member of Congress, Ryan rubber-stamped the reckless Bush economic policies that exploded our deficit and crashed our economy. Now the Romney-Ryan ticket would take us back by repeating the same, catastrophic mistakes.”

Romney selected Ryan in large part for his fiscal savvy, the latter being the architect of the GOP’s master budget plan. So let’s take a look at their shared economic philosophy:
Fiscal conservatives such as Romney and Ryan are primarily interested in two outcomes:
1) Increasing the income divide between the wealthiest Americans and the rest of society
2) Increasing profit margins for corporations via lowered taxes and minimized environmental and workplace regulations
Reducing unemployment is a secondary issue — if said corporations opt to use their increased profits to hire additional employees, that’s their prerogative.
Alas, historical evidence overwhelming demonstrates that increased corporate profits do not translate into increased hiring — increased demand for goods and services does.
And, of course, increased demand requires increased purchasing power by that subset of society which does the majority of the purchasing, i.e., the middle class.
And yet the budget plan championed by Romney and Ryan is designed to shift the federal tax burden further away from the ultra-wealthy toward the middle class. Go figure.
Furthermore, virtually every nonpartisan economist has confirmed that the Romney/Ryan budget plan contains impossible to attain, mutually-exclusive goals — cutting taxes on corporations and upper class Americans while simultaneously reducing the federal deficit. Must be the new math!
In addition, Ryan and his fellow health insurance lobby lackeys in the Republican Party have taken a “General MacArthur” approach to destroying our nation’s Medicare system. His plan will not make it immediately die — he simply wants it to slowly fade away.
… and with it the ability of future senior citizens to obtain affordable chronic condition treatment and preventative health care.
Once again, the tea party tail wags the GOP dog … and the middle class gets stuck with cleaning up the lawn.


Listen to Ryan and imagine Biden or even Obama sounding this smart. Ryan speaks facts not spin, how refreshing.

Uploaded by  on Feb 25, 2010
"I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits -- either now or in the future."
(Remarks by President Obama to a Joint Session of Congress, September 9, 2009)

This afternoon Budget Committee Ranking Member Ryan walked through why the bill put forward by Democrats FAILS the President's deficit test.
--

The Majority Leader said the bill scores as reducing deficit by $131 billion over the next 10 years.

First a little bit about CBO: I work with them every single day; very good people; great professionals. They do their jobs well. But their job is to score what is placed in front of them. And what has been placed in front of them is a bill that is fill of gimmicks and smoke and mirrors.

Now what do I mean when I say that?

First off, the bill has ten years of tax increases and ten years of Medicare cuts to pay for six years of spending. The true ten year cost when subsidies kick-in? $2.3 trillion.

The bill is full of gimmicks that more than erase the false claim of deficit reduction:

- $52 billion of savings is claimed by counting increased Social Security payroll revenues. These dollars are already claimed for future Social Security beneficiaries, and claiming to offset the cost of this bill either means were double-counting or were not going to pay Social Security benefits.

- $72 billion in savings is claimed from the CLASS Act long-term care insurance. These so-called savings are not offsets, but rather premiums collected to pay for future benefits. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad has called these savings, A ponzi scheme that would make Bernie Madoff proud.

Additionally, the nearly half-trillion dollars in Medicare cuts cannot be counted twice. Medicare is in dire need of reform in order to make certain that we can ensure health security for future seniors.

Using Medicare as a piggy bank, it raids a half trillion dollars from retirees health coverage to fund the creation of another open-ended health care entitlement.

The Presidents chief Medicare actuary says up to 20% of Medicare providers may go bankrupt or stop taking Medicare beneficiaries as a result. Millions of seniors who have chosen Medicare Advantage will lose the coverage they now enjoy.

Objections to the policy aside, you cannot use these savings twice to both extend the life of Medicare and to pay for other spending. The half-trillion dollars in Medicare cuts are either to extend the programs solvency or to reduce the cost of this deficit but not both as its authors claim.

When you strip away the double-counting of Medicare cuts, the so-called savings from Social Security payroll taxes and the CLASS Act, the deficit increases by $460 billion over first ten years and $1.4 trillion over second ten years.

Finally, one of the most expensive and most cynical of the gimmicks applies to Medicare physician payments, the so-called Doc Fix.

By your own estimate, the Doc Fix adds an additional $371 billion to the cost of health care reform. With the price tag beyond what most Americans could handle, the Majority decided to simply remove this costly provision and deal with it in a stand-alone bill.

Ignoring this additional cost does not remove it from the backs of taxpayers. Hiding spending doesnt reduce spending.


  So So 

Obama campaign is well prepared in matchup against ‘radical’ Ryan

By Updated: Saturday, August 11, 5:17 PM


Video: Mitt Romney introduced Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) as his vice presidential nominee at a campaign event in Norfolk, Va. on Saturday.

Republican Mitt Romney is betting that his selection of Rep. Paul Ryan as a running mate will rally his conservative base in a nip-and-tuck election. President Obama and his Democratic allies are counting on its having the same effect on their side.

No sooner had Romney introduced the Wisconsin congressman as his vice presidential choice in front of a battleship in Norfolk, Va. on Saturday, than the Obama campaign went to war, painting Ryan as a “radical” ideologue whose extreme views would lead to a reprise of the “same, catastrophic mistakes” of the George W. Bush era.

Democrats in Congress and liberal activist groups piled on, denouncing Ryan and sending out frantic fundraising pitches that played off fears of a GOP administration to solicit donations in hopes of matching the Republican cash grab in the wake of the announcement.

Beneath the fierce response was a sense of delight among Democrats that they got the vice presidential candidate they wanted in Ryan, a staunch fiscal conservative. For months, the Obamacampaign has been trying to tie Romney to Ryan’s Republican House budget proposal, which the president in April called “social Darwinism” that would pit the poor against the wealthy.

Democrats believe Ryan’s ideological views will turn off moderate voters and drive liberals to the polls, especially in Florida, a critical swing state where Obama, in two appearances last month, vilified the congressman’s proposal to partially privatize Medicare. In this way, Democrats say, Ryan provides a natural foil for the president, who has framed the election as a choice between sharply contrasting visions that could fundamentally reshape the nation.
In a statement, Obama campaign manager Jim Messina said that Romney has “chosen a leader of the House Republicans who shares his commitment to the flawed theory that new budget-busting tax cuts for the wealthy, while placing greater burdens on the middle class and seniors, will somehow deliver a stronger economy.”

Obama did not respond to questions shouted by reporters as he left the White House on Saturday afternoon for a trip to Chicago, where he is to attend four fundraising events Sunday. The president’s campaign said that Vice President Biden called Ryan to welcome him to the race, saying he “looked forward to engaging him on the clear choice voters face this November.” The two are scheduled to debate Oct. 11 in Danville, Ky.

Yet the Obama campaign’s rapid response showed it was well-prepared for Ryan. The president’s operatives posted a Web video denouncing Ryan as the “mastermind behind the extreme GOP budget plan,” and they added a new page to the campaign’s Web site mocking the Romney-Ryan partnership as the “Go Back Team,” riffing off the Romney campaign’s labeling of the ticket as “America’s Comeback Team.”

In a fundraising e-mail, Messina wrote: “Our job is to make sure Americans know the truth about what Romney’s choice says about him as a candidate and leader.”

The president’s Democratic allies echoed the campaign’s criticism of Ryan. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said that Romney’s choice “demonstrates that catering to the tea party and the far right is more important to him that standing up for the middle class.”
Bill Burton of Priorities USA Action, a super PAC that supports Obama, vowed that his organization would shift the focus of its television ads--which have focused exclusively on Romney’s tenure at Bain Capital two decades ago--to Ryan and his budget.

“He was the one nominee who could actually do damage to the ticket,” Burton said, acknowledging that he was surprised by Romney’s choice. “Everybody else was fairly neutral. No doubt he will fire up conservatives, but he also comes with so many liabilities from his budget that Romney will come to think he made a sizable mistake attaching himself so closely to Paul Ryan.”

Democrats running in statewide races also jumped on the anti-Ryan bandwagon. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee warned in a fundraising e-mail that Ryan will “open the floodgates” of donations from conservatives to Romney.

“Don’t let them use this moment to beat us. Help us keep pace,” the e-mail pleaded.
Tim Kaine, who is engaged in a fierce battle against Republican — and fellow former Virginia governor — George Allen for a Senate seat from that state, sent a fundraising e-mail that tied Allen to the Ryan budget and added: “Even Newt Gingrich called it ‘right-wing social engineering.’ 

Obama has centered his campaign on an appeal to the middle class, emphasizing his belief that the federal government should play a role in investing in critical public needs such as infrastructure, education and health care. Republicans have attacked him for allowing the deficit to grow while pumping money into government programs, such as the stimulus package and the health-care reform bill, that have failed to jump-start the economy.

In a speech in April to the Associated Press, Obama used the Ryan plan as a metaphor for a GOP vision for the country that he said is “antithetical to our entire history” as a land that promises an upward path for the middle class.

“It’s a Trojan horse. Disguised as deficit reduction plan, it’s really an attempt to impose a radical vision on our country. It’s nothing but thinly veiled social Darwinism,” Obama said then. “It’s a prescription for decline.”

By Saturday evening, Obama had arrived in Chicago, his Marine One helicopter swooping into his home town and dropping him near Soldier Field. His motorcade then proceeded directly to his campaign headquarters, where the president huddled with senior staff members, plotting the next steps in a campaign entering a new phase.


GOP Responds To Paul Ryan Pick

By |8/11/2012 11:22 AM


August 11, 2012 
Contact: Virginia Davis virginiadavis05@gmail.com

Rick Santorum Applauds Paul Ryan as VP Choice
Verona, PA - Rick Santorum, former Republican presidential candidate and Chairman of Patriot Voices, offered his strong support for Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI) as Governor Romney's vice presidential running mate.  Senator Santorum issued the following statement: 

"Congressman Paul Ryan is an outstanding choice as our country's next vice president, and today's announcement demonstrates Governor Romney's commitment to returning fiscal sanity back to Washington, DC.  

"I have long supported Paul Ryan's fiscal and entitlement reforms to return our country back on a path of fiscal health.  At a time when our country is at an economic crossroads, Congressman Ryan's depth of knowledge on how to tackle these challenges is unparalleled.  He will serve Governor Romney and our country well to undo the flawed policies of the last four years.

"In addition to Congressman Ryan's stellar fiscal conservative positions, he is indeed a full-spectrum conservative.  He is solidly pro-life, pro-family, and will be an advocate for our military and our national security priorities.  I look forward to supporting the Romney-Ryan ticket in the weeks to come."
RNC Chair Reince Priebus
“My friend and fellow Wisconsinite Paul Ryan will serve America admirably as the next Vice President of the United States. Today, Americans are starving for leaders who can fix our economy and get our spending under control. Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan have the knowledge, expertise and vision we need to get America working again and get our fiscal house in order. Across the country, Americans are hurting, but America’s Comeback Team will offer us a new direction and a brighter future. I congratulate Governor Romney on his excellent decision. This is a great day for Wisconsin and for America.”
 New Jersey Governor Chris Christie
“With Paul Ryan on the ticket this is a team that understands the economic stagnation our country has been facing the last four years and the urgency with which we need to change course. The Romney-Ryan team is uniquely positioned to make the tough choices necessary to confront our fiscal challenges and get results.”
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal
“Paul is a good friend and one of the smartest guys I served with in Congress.  He has the courage of his convictions, which is what our nation needs.”
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush
“I applaud Mitt Romney’s selection of Paul Ryan as his Vice Presidential running mate. Congressman Ryan’s command of economic policy and the federal budget will prove invaluable as Governor Romney fights to reform government, accelerate job growth and rein in the out-of-control spending that has been a hallmark of President Obama’s years in office. This courageous choice is the type of leadership American voters deserve. And, I believe it will ensure a victory for the Romney-Ryan ticket this November.”If 
Florida Governor Rick Scott
“Congratulations to Governor Romney on picking Congressman Paul Ryan as his running mate.  Like Governor Romney, Congressman Ryan understands that government doesn’t create jobs, people do.  And that the best way to create jobs is to get government out of the way.  I’m confident that Congressman Ryan will be a great partner for Governor Romney in getting America back to work.”
 House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio)
“Paul Ryan is a reformer and a proven leader who will be a great partner to Governor Romney in his efforts to get our country, and our economy, back on track.  At a time when millions of Americans are still looking at President Obama’s policies and asking ‘where are the jobs?’ Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney will focus on common sense solutions to stop Washington from spending money it doesn’t have and get the federal government out of the way of small business job creators.
“I’m proud to call Paul Ryan a friend, and I will do everything in my power to make sure that he and Mitt Romney – along with our entire Republican ticket – are well positioned to win in November.”
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)
“Governor Romney and Representative Ryan are the strongest team to return America to prosperity and to defend our interests abroad. Paul Ryan has proven that he is fully prepared to address our nation’s economic challenges, which have only worsened over the last four years under the Obama-Biden Administration. I look forward to working for the election of the Romney-Ryan team this fall.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)
“Gov. Romney showed today that he is determined to confront a host of growing crises that President Obama has ignored. Where the current President has simply refused to act, Gov. Romney has now pledged to lead. Paul Ryan is an excellent choice, and a confirmation that Gov. Romney is serious about strengthening America’s economic future, tackling the deficits and debt that have skyrocketed under President Obama, and returning to a path to solvency and security.
“Americans are looking for leadership that has been lacking on the most critical issues facing our country’s economic future. The Romney-Ryan team can return much-needed leadership from day one and help bring real recovery to our economy, reverse the damage of the Obama economy, and take a serious approach to the Obama debt and focus on growing jobs—not the size of the government.
“President Obama’s term has been marked by overwhelming national debt, a first-ever downgrade of America’s credit rating, high unemployment and a disappointing lack of leadership when it comes to addressing spending. It’s time to change that, and Gov. Romney and Chairman Ryan will be ready on day one to give America the leadership it deserves.”
Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.)
“Paul Ryan leads with ideas and solutions and is committed to the principles that made America great. He will be a strong leader for America that will be a tireless advocate to find solutions to end reckless spending and solutions that will leave a better country for the next generation. He also understands the specific economic opportunities and challenges of the Midwest. I look forward to working with my good friend.”

Hillary Clinton South Africa "dance video"

By Lynn Sweet on August 8, 2012 10:25 AM | No Comments

Sec. of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in South Africa on the dance floor

WASHINGTON---Secretary of State Hillary Clinton showed off her dancing moves in Johannesburg Tuesday night at a dinner hosted by South African Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane. The diplomatic entertaining took place around the South Africa-United States of America Strategic Dialogue meetings.


From State.gov "The South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, hosted the United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the second meeting of the South Africa-United States of America Strategic Dialogue

(above) "A joint statement issued August 7, 2012 by the United States of America and the Republic of South Africa during the 2012 South Africa-United States Strategic Dialogue."



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Black Clergy Group Opposes Pres. Obama on Gay Marriage




WASHINGTON, DC
Tuesday, July 31, 2012

A group of Black pastors held a press conference Tuesday opposing President Obama’s position of same-sex marriage. The Coalition of African American Pastors (CAAP) called the President’s stance “disgraceful” and has launched a marriage petition in a nation-wide campaign to rallying African Americans to withdraw support from the President. In May, President Obama announced that he supports same -sex marriage- and this year’s Democratic National Convention; gay marriage language will be included in the party platform.

Rev. William Owens, President and Founder of the Coalition of African-American Pastors, believes that President Obama takes the vote of the black community for granted and that he is putting the interests of his gay supporters ahead of the religious beliefs of his African-American backers.
A recent poll conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found that 47% of whites support gay marriage compared to 39% of blacks.
President Obama's attitudes towards gay marriage has evolved since he came to the White House. He originally supported civil unions, not same sex marriage. Then, in May, he told ABC News that he supported gay marriage and would announce his position during the Democratic National Convention in early September. Recently, a draft committee approved a gay marriage plank to be included in the party platform.

Updated: Tuesday, July 31, 2012 at 1:55pm (ET)
Posted at 01:36 PM ET, 08/06/2012

“Mr. President, I’m not going to stand with you, and we have thousands of others across this country that are not going to stand with you with this foolishness [about legalizing gay marriage. ...] For the president to bow to the money, as Judas did for Jesus Christ, is a disgrace, and we’re ashamed. [...] We feel Mr. Obama because of the money has bowed to the money people, the homosexual community. We’re the ones who put him where he is. Where was the gay community when he was running for president? The Civil Rights Movement opened the door for him to become president. At this point he’s pandering to the homosexual community. He’s forgotten where he came from, forgotten who put him there.”
During a press conference Tuesday, the Rev. William Owens, founder and president of the Coalition of African-American Pastors, announced a new campaign against President Obama due to his stance on same-sex marriage.
Read more in the Faith 2012 Quote Archives.

President Obama speaks at an Aug. 1 campaign event in Akron, Ohio. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais - AP)

By Georgetown/On Faith  |  01:36 PM ET, 08/06/2012 

Black churches split over gay marriage and Obama
By Adelle M. Banks| Religion News ServicePublished: August 7
At Charity Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., the Rev. Nelson B. Rivers III supports and follows his African-American congregation’s policy: They will only conduct marriages between one man and one woman.
But the vice president of the NAACP also backed his civil rights organization’s recent statement supporting “marriage equality.”“We see no conflict in that,” Rivers said, “because I am the leader of the r-i-t-e at my church, the rites, but I’m also a strong advocate of the r-i-g-h-t-s of my members.”
President Obama’s support for gay marriage, followed quickly by the NAACP’s, has put some black clergy in a bind, torn between their political loyalties and their religious beliefs. For some, like Rivers, it’s been a both/and proposition, while others say they can support the president without endorsing his position on gay marriage.But the issue has highlighted that the black church has never been monolithic. The black church’s response is further complicated by the fact that people in the pew may not always go along with what pastors in the pulpit preach.
“You’ve got to balance religious convictions with all of your other interests, your racial interests, your economic interests,” said Andra Gillespie, an associate professor of politics at Emory University who studies African-American politics.
Most blacks still prioritize their rights as African-Americans and economic issues over social issues, she said.
Drawing the same distinction as Rivers, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church issued a statement at its recent quadrennial meeting declaring that its churches cannot perform same-sex rituals. But it also noted that while it differed with Obama on gay marriage, his positions on health care and student loans are “consistent with the interests of our congregant members.”
“We do not believe in same-sex marriage but we do not believe that’s the only issue,” explained AME Zion Bishop Darryl Starnes. “There is more in the scriptures about treating the poor right and championing the cause of the oppressed than some of these other issues.”
Likewise, the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World has said it is “in conflict” with the president’s stance but applauds Obama for “his many achievements in improving the quality of life for all Americans.”
Overall, African-Americans remain one of the groups most opposed to gay marriage: 51 percent are opposed, while 40 percent support it, according to a recent poll by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. That support, however, has edged up from 26 percent just four years ago. Among black Protestants, opposition is slightly higher, at 54 percent.
Pew researchers said Obama’s support hasn’t noticeably shifted opinion in either direction, but some smaller groups are seeking to galvanize lingering black skepticism over gay marriage to make it a wedge issue for African-American voters this November.
“I would hope that the president would become wise, come to his senses and know that he has made a mistake,” said the Rev. William Owens, president of the fledgling Coalition of African-American Pastors, at a recent National Press Club news conference.
His group is circulating an online petition to ask Obama to “repudiate his assertion that gay marriage is a civil right.”
Still others, including the Washington-based group Many Voices, are working to reshape the notion that all black churches are against gay rights. Rather, many clergy are thinking carefully about their stance, said the Rev. Cedric Harmon, co-director of the three-year-old nonprofit.
“They’re weighing this out; they’re considering who they know, what they believe,” he said. “They don’t want to be mean. They don’t want to be hateful.”
Rivers said while his church doesn’t sanction same-sex ceremonies, another across town might conduct them. If gay members were to request such a service from him, he said he would recommend they find such a congregation for a ceremony because it is their right to have one.
“On the issues of justice, fairness and equality and the prophetic role of clergy and standing up for what is right, there is much consensus,” he said. “On the other issues, how you interpret doctrine, that’s up to your church.”
Anti-Obama black pastors group has deep conservative ties, records show

By Aamer Madhani| Religion News ServicePublished: August 10



Since the Rev. William Owens launched his national campaign in May calling on African-Americans to withdraw their support of President Obama because of his stance on gay marriage, he has claimed the backing of 3,700 black clergy and touted his organization as predominantly Democratic.
But Owens and his group, the Coalition of African-American Pastors, are drawing criticism from black leaders and the political left who note Owens’ long-standing ties with GOP politicians. They charge CAAP misrepresents itself as a nonpartisan grass-roots organization when it is actually backed financially by right-leaning conservative groups.
“He is the poster person of conservative evangelicals ... who are trying to use this as an emotional wedge issue to divide the black community,” said the Rev. Amos Brown, pastor of the Third Baptist Church in San Francisco and a protege of the civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Owens has become an outspoken critic of Obama since the president announced in May that he was switching his position on gay marriage. The pastor has railed against Obama in cable news network interviews and has held a series of news conferences warning that Obama is in danger of losing black voters’ support.
He has also vowed to collect 100,000 churchgoers’ signatures in support of “traditional” marriage and plans to hold an Aug. 16 rally in Memphis, his hometown, to focus attention on the issue. “We will see that the black community is informed that the president is taking them for granted while pandering to the gay community,” he said last week.
The coalition describes itself on its website as a “nonpartisan group of truthfully mostly Democrats.” But interviews and a review of tax documents reveal deep connections with the right:

  • Owens was appointed this year as the African-American liaison for the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), a Washington-based group opposed to same-sex marriage that has endorsed Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
  •  Frank Cannon, head of the American Principles Project, a group opposed to same-sex marriage, confirms his group’s political action fund is paying public relations firm Shirley & Banister to assist CAAP’s communications strategy.
  • CAAP received loans totaling $26,000 in 2004 from the conservative Family Research Council, American Family Association and Mississippi Tea Party activist Ed Holliday, according to its IRS filings.
Owens, who didn’t respond to requests for comment, endorsed 2008 GOP presidential contender Mike Huckabee and Ohio GOP gubernatorial candidate Ken Blackwell.
“CAAP bears all the hallmarks of a front group,” said Michael Keegan of the liberal People for the American Way. “Owens presents himself and his group as non-partisan or, if anything, leaning in the direction of the Democrats. That makes him more useful to religious-right groups and easier to book on cable news.”
NOM set out to find African-American spokespeople to develop “a media campaign around their objection to gay marriage as a civil right” and “provoke the gay marriage base into ... denouncing these spokesmen and women as bigots,” according to internal documents unveiled earlier this year in a Maine lawsuit.
Maggie Gallagher, co-founder of NOM, called the language in the internal documents “regrettable” but denied that the group’s alliance with Owens reflects a wedge strategy. “The belief that this is somehow a front group, I think, is unfair to the majority of black pastors that have appeared with Rev. Owens.”
Polls show black voters are deeply divided on gay marriage. Still, “this idea that there is going to be black voters coming out against a candidate or coalescing for a candidate on one issue is simply not true,” said the Rev. William Barber, president of the North Carolina chapter of the NAACP.

Faith in the 2012 Election
Religion is emerging as an important issue in the 2012 presidential campaign. The personal religious identity of President Barack Obama and one of the leading Republican co...
 Faith in the 2008 Election
Religion played a significant role in the 2008 presidential campaign. Barack Obama, John McCain, Joe Biden, Sarah Palin and the participants in both the Democratic and Repu...




Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney is the former governor of Massachusetts and a 2012 Republican candidate for President. He is the author of No Apology: The Case for American Greatness (2010) and founder of the Free & Strong America PAC (political action committee). Romney's failed 2008 campaign emphasized his success as a businessman and chief executive; his membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints played an important role in that campaign, as some leaders of the Religious Right hesitated in supporting his candidacy because of ongoing skepticism about Romney's Mormon faith. Romney frequently spoke of his faith in general terms accessible to evangelical voters, but he has resisted more detailed discussion of Mormonism. The anti-Mormon sentiment in 2008 was frequently compared to the anti-Catholicism that faced both Al Smith in his failed 1928 Presidential bid and John F. Kennedy in his 1960 victory.
United StatesCountry:
United States

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Mitt Romney on Reiterating His Pro-Life Stance at the CNN Southern Republican Debate
January 19, 2012

Mitt Romney on Abortion and Changing Perspectives at the Fox News/WSJ Debate
January 16, 2012

Mitt Romney on His Committed Opposition to Same Sex Marriage at the Fox News/WSJ Debate
January 16, 2012

Mitt Romney on His Career and His Passions at the NBC/Facebook NH Debate
January 8, 2012

Mitt Romney on Homosexuality and the Definition of Marriage at the ABC/YAHOO/WMUR NH Debate
January 7, 2012

Mitt Romney on the Gift of Freedom and American Meritocracy
January 3, 2012

Mitt Romney on His Daily Faith Practice
December 29, 2011

Mitt Romney on Freedom and Americans Values
December 19, 2011

Mitt Romney on His Future for the United States in a Fox News Interview
November 29, 2011

Mitt Romney on His Faith and His Electoral Chances in a Fox News Interview
November 29, 2011

Mitt Romney on Defending Americans' Rights at the CNN National Security Debate
November 22, 2011

Mitt Romney on the Values of His Foreign Policy at the CBS News/NJ Commander in Chief Debate
November 12, 2011

Mitt Romney on Consistency and Values at the CNBC GOP Debate
November 9, 2011

Mitt Romney on the Danger of Choosing Public Office Holders Based on Their Religion at the Las Vegas GOP Debate
October 18, 2011

Mitt Romney on an American Century and the Conviction to Lead at the 2011 Values Voter Summit
October 8, 2011

Mitt Romney on Defending Marriage at the 2011 Values Voter Summit
October 8, 2011

Mitt Romney on Faith in the Public Square at the 2011 Values Voter Summit
October 8, 2011

Mitt Romney on Israel and the Push for Palestinian Statehood Recognition
September 20, 2011

Mitt Romney on the Issue of Religion in the 2012 Election on Fox News Radio
September 16, 2011

Mitt Romney on His Decision-Making Process in Office
September 5, 2011

Mitt Romney on Same-Sex Marriage in the Iowa Republican Debate
August 12, 2011

Mitt Romney on Remembering American Values on the Fourth of July
July 4, 2011

Mitt Romney on Religious Freedom in his Administration
June 13, 2011

Mitt Romney on Sharia Law in US Courts
June 13, 2011

Mitt Romney on His Pro-Life Positions
June 13, 2011

Mitt Romney on the Relationship between Religious Doctrine and Political Leadership
June 8, 2011

Mitt Romney on His Relationship to the Mormon Church in Politics
June 8, 2011

Mitt Romney on Personal Faith and Political Leadership
June 8, 2011

Mitt Romney on Representing All People as President
June 7, 2011

Mitt Romney on Learning about Mormonism
June 7, 2011

Mitt Romney on Personal Faith and Leadership
June 7, 2011

Mitt Romney on Same-Sex Marriage
June 7, 2011

Mitt Romney on Balancing the Budget
June 2, 2011

Mitt Romney on America's True Strength
June 2, 2011

Mitt Romney on Defending American Ideals
June 2, 2011

Mitt Romney on Obama's Response to the Arab Spring
May 31, 2011

Mitt Romney on President Obama's Israel Remarks
May 19, 2011

Mitt Romney on Guiding Tenets of America
March 5, 2011

Mitt Romney on Political Candidacy as a Mormon
February 2, 2011

Mitt Romney on Religious Tolerance in America
February 1, 2011

Mitt Romney on Politicians' Shifting Values
September 17, 2010

Mitt Romney on Saying No and the Party of No at CPAC 2010
February 18, 2010

Mitt Romney on Family Values and Opportunity at the 2008 Republican Convention
September 3, 2008

Mitt Romney on Pride and Responsibility at the 2008 Republican Convention
September 3, 2008

Mitt Romney on the Importance of Candidates' Religions in Boca Raton Republican Presidential Debate
January 24, 2008

Mitt Romney on Battles within Islam at the New Hampshire Republican Presidential Debate
January 5, 2008

Mitt Romney on Taking Advice from Religious Leaders on "Meet the Press"
December 16, 2007

Mitt Romney on Common Principles in Different Faiths on "Meet the Press"
December 16, 2007

Mitt Romney on Mormonism and Racial Equality on "Meet the Press"
December 16, 2007

Mitt Romney Responds to Mike Huckabee's Question about Mormonism on Today Show
December 12, 2007

Mitt Romney on His Mormon Faith
December 7, 2007

Mitt Romney on the Separation of Church and State in his "Faith in America" Speech
December 6, 2007

Mitt Romney Discusses Theocratic Tyranny in his Faith in America Speech
December 6, 2007

Mitt Romney on the Essential Connection Between Religion and Freedom in the US
December 6, 2007

Mitt Romney on His Faith and the Test of Religious Tolerance
December 6, 2007

Mitt Romney on Parenthood at Values Voter Summit
October 19, 2007

Mitt Romney on the Reagan Coalition at Values Voter Summit
October 19, 2007

Mitt Romney on Discrimination in Michigan Republican Presidential Debate
October 9, 2007

Mitt Romney on Supporting Muslim Communities in National Review
September 25, 2007

Mitt Romney on Ahmadinejad in a Letter to UN
September 17, 2007

Mitt Romney on his Mormon Faith in the Third G.O.P. Debate
June 5, 2007

Mitt Romney on Abortion at the Republican Presidential Debate in South Carolina
May 15, 2007

Mitt Romney on Radical Jihadists at the Republican Presidential Debate in South Carolina
May 15, 2007

Mitt Romney on Protecting Religious Liberty
May 10, 2007

Mitt Romney on Church and State at the Simi Valley Republican Presidential Debate
May 3, 2007

Mitt Romney on Faith and Values at Simi Valley Republican Presidential Debate
May 3, 2007

Mitt Romney on Radical Jihadism at Yeshiva University
April 26, 2007

Mitt Romney on Good and Evil at the Frontiers Of Freedom Ronald Reagan Gala
April 18, 2007

Mitt Romney on Murder at the Frontiers Of Freedom Ronald Reagan Gala
April 18, 2007

Mitt Romney on how Muslims Might React to his Mormonism on This Week
February 18, 2007

Mitt Romney on Campaigning to Evangelicals on This Week
February 18, 2007

Mitt Romney on Combating Islamist Terrorism on Campaign Website
November 30, 2006

Mitt Romney on his Mormon Faith in The Atlantic
August 31, 2005