Tea Party/Conservative Voter Guide for Ohio, 2012

Ohio Tea Party and conservative groups like the Ohio Liberty Coalition, the Portage County Tea Party, the Lake County Tea Party, the Geauga County Tea Party (candidates, issues), the Mansfield North Central Ohio Tea Party Association (about), and COAST, as well as the national Tea Party Express, have endorsed some or all of the following candidates and positions on the issues:

• Mitt Romney for president

• Josh Mandel for Senate

Romney Landslide Possible? Plus: Obama Recommends ‘Revenge’; Steyn Recommends Getting Serious

The Heritage Foundation’s Michael Franc offers an encouraging word in “Parsing the Polls: If Gallup is right, Tuesday will be a long night for the Democratic party.”  (On the main page, National Review Online subtitles it “If Gallup’s right, Obama’s toast.”)

A Very Unscientific Survey: Romney Ahead among Independents in Ohio

Out of the last 25 people I’ve called (who answered the phone and were willing to take a survey), 56% are likely to vote for Romney, only 12% for Obama.  12% said they were still undecided; 16% declined to answer.  (The remaining one respondent said that politicians are awful and he won’t be voting for either of them.)

Other conservatives working in the trenches report similar results (warning: language).

Mitt Romney Dropped Everything and Used His Whole Company to Find and Save Missing Girl

Did you know that Mitt Romney once turned his company and its business partners into a huge operation to find a missing girl?  The story has been reported in several places (below), and even Politifact admits it’s true, as does Snopes.  Deroy Murdock describes what happened:

Melissa Gay, Bain Capital partner Robert Gay’s daughter, vanished while visiting New York City in July 1996. Then-CEO Romney closed Bain’s Boston headquarters and jetted to Gotham to find the 14-year-old. Romney flew in his private-equity company’s 50 employees and transformed a Marriott Hotel into a command post. He consulted the NYPD and recruited private eyes. He dispatched staffers to enlist Bain’s business associates. Bain’s printer, R. R. Donnelly, produced 300,000 missing-person fliers. Bain’s CPAs at Price Waterhouse placed the handbills all over town. Duane Reade, a Bain-portfolio company, stuck leaflets in shopping bags at 52 local outlets.

Second-term Agenda? Plus: Romney Pulls Ahead in N. C., Electoral College

After Tuesday’s debate, Charles Cooke had a good line:

As far as I can see, Obama’s main plan for the next four years is to be president in them, and that may well not be enough to win reelection . . . .

Hat tip to unassumingpseudonym of Far-flung Fancies, who sent it to me.

In other news, Real Clear Politics’ Electoral College map has just moved North Carolina into Romney’s column, putting Romney ahead in that count for the first time this whole election cycle; it’s now 206 to 201, Romney’s favor.  (It’s big news—by coincidence, Rush Limbaugh mentioned it just as I was writing this!)  But arguably North Carolina had already been lost to Obama for some time—recall “Pollster Writes Off Three Swing States, Says Obama Won’t Win Them”.  Just look at Real Clear Politics’ polling averages in North Carolina:  Romney has been rising and Obama falling, steeply, all month.  Romney currently leads 50.3-44.7.

Gallup: Romney Won Debate 72-20

Last week I related that, according to a CNN poll, 67% of people who watched the debate last Wednesday thought Romney won, while only 25% thought Obama won.  Today Gallup reports an even bigger Romney win:

Those who viewed the debate overwhelmingly believe Romney did a better job than Obama, 72% to 20%. Republicans were nearly unanimous in judging Romney the winner. But even Democrats rated Romney as doing a better job than Obama, 49% to 39%.

(Emphasis added.)

As with the CNN poll, I can say again with this one:  Not to put too fine a point on it, Romney did better than anyone else ever:

Romney and Sons Saved Floundering Family, Dog

Did you know that Mitt Romney and his sons once saved a family whose boat sank in the middle of a lake?

Via Wintery Knight and John Hawkins, the Hunterdon Review and the Dedham Transcript have the story.  (I’m not familiar with the Dedham Transcript or Daily News Transcript .com, but I have independently confirmed that the story linked above did indeed run in the Boston Herald, Monday, July 7th, 2003, “all editions”, front page.)

Gubernatorial son Josh Romney told the Herald yesterday that he and brother Craig were cleaning the beach while their father puttered in the garage when the quiet night air was pierced with screams.

Romney Donated Inheritance

Did you know that Mitt Romney gave away his inheritance?

Even the New York Times, trying to give him no quarter, admits it.  The Times and Politifact try to say that if Romney’s parents helped him pay for college or his first house (more than twenty years before his father died), that somehow makes his statement only partially true, but it clearly doesn’t.  Politifact admits that Romney made his fortune himself, by doing an excellent job at Bain Capital.

Mitt Romney Has Wife, Children

Did you know that Mitt Romney has a wife and children?  He and Mrs. Romney have been married for more than forty years.

Mitt married his wife, Ann, in 1969. They first met in elementary school when he was a Cub Scout; he remembers tossing pebbles at her when she rode by on a horse. When they met again years later at a friend’s house, he was smitten. Between them, they have five sons and eighteen grandchildren, who are the center of their lives.

Mitt Romney, the Person

It has come to my attention that some well-meaning voters are being influenced by certain narratives about Mitt Romney, put out especially by the Obama campaign, Obama supporters, and the liberal news media—e.g., that Romney is somehow inappropriately rich.  (News flash: President Obama is a millionaire, too.)

I would prefer that elections be decided more on the basis of candidates’ policy positions and job-related qualifications, but if personal narratives are what the voters want, who am I to say they’re wrong?  (I actually do think it makes sense for voters to take indicators of a candidate’s character into account, within reason, though I’d prefer that voters not take them from vague impressions created by the liberal news media.)

Mitt Romney Picks Paul Ryan for Vice President

Romney announced his running mate this morning: Congressman Paul Ryan.

A few days ago, when everyone was speculating about who it would be, I read National Review editor Rich Lowry in Politico arguing that, contrary to what some critics were saying, Paul Ryan could be a great choice, not least because he is the face of the desperate effort to save America from “the most predictable crisis in history”:

Ryan tops the Democratic target list for the offense of proposing serious reform of Medicare, as part of a budget that puts federal obligations on a sustainable path. It’s been a cardinal rule of Republican politics that it’s OK to talk about balancing the budget, so long as no one talks about touching the entitlements that drive the long-term debt. Ryan broke the rule.

Of All the Men I’ve Ever Known—He Was One of Them

First paragraph of a Romney fundraising letter I received recently:

I am running for President of the United States and because you are one of America’s most notable Republicans, I want to personally let you know why.

(I’m not.)

Santorum on Our Decline

Is it because Ohio is a “swing state”?  I got to hear both Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney speak at campaign events in the Cincinnati area today.  (Newt Gingrich was also in the area, but his event conflicted with Santorum’s.  Anyway I heard Gingrich when he was in town last month.)

Romney May Already Be a Winner!

From an actual unsolicited e-mail solicitation:

[Chillingworth],

I’ve had the privilege of meeting thousands of you in your diners, town halls, and homes as I travel from state to state. I wish there were more hours in the day to spend more time with each and every one of you.

That’s why I wanted to grab a bite with a supporter like you to hear your questions and thoughts on how to fix this country.  

Oxymoron for President

More inside baseball, but if you’re interested in this stuff, another writer at National Review Online also pans most of the rest of the Republican governors (and one speaker of the House) expected to run for president in 2012—Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty, Haley Barbour, and Mitch Daniels—as big-government conservatives (in which case, “conservatives”).

Does anyone have an opinion on whether Rick Perry or John Bolton is a serious possibility?