OC Blog

Romney to Address the Issue of Mormonism

Tomorrow, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney will be addressing the issue of religion in politics, specifically of his own faith - Mormonism.  Here is Paul Schutzer's take on the upcoming speech in Time Magazine:

IS THIS ROMNEY'S KENNEDY MOMENT?

Whenever a presidential candidate decides to give a speech about religious faith, he is taking his political career into his own hands.

New Hampshire's Largest Newspaper Endorses John McCain

I just learned that The Union-Leader, New Hampshire's largest newspaper just endorsed U.S. Senator John McCain for President.  This is a very important endorsement for the McCain campaign as New Hampshire is a must-win state for the maverick senator.  Here is the full text of the editorial written by the newspaper's publisher Joseph W. McQuaid:

JOHN MCCAIN IS THE MAN TO LEAD AMERICA

On Jan. 8, New Hampshire Republicans will make one of the most important choices for their party and nation in the history of our presidential primary. Their choice ought to be John McCain.

Fred Thompson in Orange County: Discussing Important Issues

Well, I’m back from the Sen. Fred Thompson rally this morning, the Fred Thompson fundraiser at Noon, and the early afternoon promotion ceremony of my former brigade combat team commander, Brigadier General John Harrel to Major General John Harrel (two-stars).  General Harrel is a great citizen-soldier leader in the California Army National Guard.  I was his S-3 operations officer, when our brigade went to Korea a few times for war games in 2001. 

While I was out, the first of the earned media has come online from Sen. Fred Thompson’s big rally today in Laguna Woods.  Reporter Richard Chang of the Orange County Register wrote a piece entitled, “Thompson appeals to his base in Laguna Woods” (see: http://www.ocregister.com/news/thompson-presidential-woods-1933239-know-rally). 

Excerpts from the piece:

Lynn Schott of Irvine walked into a Laguna Woods clubhouse Saturday morning not really sure who she'd vote for in the February presidential primary.

She walked out confident about her pick: Fred Thompson.

"I was really on the fence before," said the 45-year-old home school educator. "I came here to get more information. The combination of listening to the debate the other night and coming here to the rally and seeing him up close… really put me over into his camp."

…Thompson talked about maintaining national security, fighting against radical Islam, securing U.S. borders, lowering taxes and eliminating the estate or "death tax."

Laguna Woods residents Perry King and his wife Nancy were impressed.

"I'm a conservative," said Perry King, 69. "I stand for the things he's saying."

"I like him because he hasn't been a career politician," said his wife, 64, a college professor. "He's very charismatic. That's the thing I didn't anticipate."

Other speakers at the rally included State Sen. Tom McClintock, Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, former State Sen. Dick Mountjoy and former KFI radio talk show host John Ziegler.

In this short piece the reporter really encapsulated two of the main points I thought worth noting.

Senator Fred Thompson in Laguna Woods plays to an enthusiastic rally of 700 people

I was proud to host Senator Fred Thompson to the 70th Assembly District today to an enthusiastic crowd of 700 people in Laguna Woods. 

According to my wife, Diane, Senator Thompson, “Covered all the bases.  He hit all the conservative themes and he covered them articulately and with passion.”  I was very glad to hear that as Diane is very tough to impress (she had a weak moment when she met me, for which I am eternally grateful). 

Greeting Senator Thompson at the rally were his state chairman, Sen. Tom McClintock, radio personality John Ziegler emceed the event while former Sen. Dick Mountjoy announced his endorsement of Senator Thompson.

After I led the Pledge of Allegiance, I noticed about least half the crowd was from outside of Laguna Woods, including many friends and supporters from my hard fought 2004 election.  We had the Cal State Fullerton ROTC post the colors.  After I retired the colors, I mentioned how, as a student leader at Cal State Fullerton in 1982, I helped remove opposition to bringing ROTC on campus where it had been absent since the Vietnam era.  I ended up transferring to Claremont McKenna College on an ROTC scholarship, so I never benefited from the program I helped create.  I also asked the residents of Laguna Woods not to hold it against Sen. Thompson that he is so young – three years younger than Ronald Reagan was when first elected President.  Lastly, I reminded the crowd that Rush Limbaugh just a day ago said that Senator Thompson is the only consistent conservative in the race – the only candidate without liberal or moderate positions that he has to explain away or distance himself from – the crowd roared approval at that. 

Well, we’re off to a fundraising event for Sen. Thompson in the Newport Coast.  I’d say the Thompson campaign is having a great day in Southern California. 

All the best,

Chuck DeVore
State Assemblyman, 70th District
www.ChuckDeVore.com
www.Fred08.com

Rasmussen Report: Huckabee Surpasses Romney in Iowa

"The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of the Iowa caucus finds former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee with 28% of the vote, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney with 25% support, and everyone else far behind. National frontrunner Rudy Giuliani gets just 12% of the vote in Iowa at this time while former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson is the only other candidate in double digits at 11%.  Given the margin of error, the challenges of determining the relatively small number of people who will participate in a caucus, and other factors, the race is far too close to call at this point in time. However, the fact that Romney is no longer the clear frontrunner in Iowa reflects a stunning change in the race," Rasmussen.

Do you think it has anything to do with this hillarious TV advertisement from the Huckabee campaign:

Did Fred Thompson Wait Too Long?

That's the question James Carney of Time Magazine is pondering:

THOMPSON'S (TOO) LATE ARRIVAL

Fred Thompson is finally getting the hang of running for president. In the last few weeks, the former actor and senator from Tennessee has sharpened his message, picked up the pace of his campaign, leveled some clean shots at his opponents, cut two effective television ads, received one very big endorsement and issued some of the most substantial policy proposals of any of the Republican contenders.

But it may be too late.

Hillary Clinton Caught Flip-Flopping

Another Republican to end his Presidential Bid

Just read that Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas, a dark horse candidate, will end his quest for the GOP presidential nomination tomorrow.  This is certainly welcoming news for the other remaining candidates, especially Mike Huckabee who positioning himself to be the conservative guy on the ticket, should Rudy Giuliani captured the nomination.  With one less candidate taking up time, hopefully those future presidential debates will be more meaningful.

A Snapshot of the California GOP Presidential Primary

SurveyUSA Poll just came out with a poll on the current presidential landscape in California.  It was conducted between October 12 and 14.

 October        September       Change

Rudy Giuliani                            39%         28%           +11% 
Fred Thompson                         18%         26%             -8%
Mitt Romney                              14%         14%              0% 
John McCain                             13%         18%             -5%

Key Findings: Ruy Giuliani is surging and continues to show broad support across all ideological groupings within the Republican Party.

Assemblyman DeVore's media summary of Fred Thompson's 1st debate: "a crisp debut"

Highlights of the media coverage of the Republican Presidential debate in Michigan.

With all the shots former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson has taken for entering the race late and being rusty on the stump, today’s debate in Michigan was a clear test of Thompson’s viability.  Judging by the highlights of the three mainstream media stories below, from AP, Reuters, and the Washington Post, it looks as though Thompson not only survived the debate intact, but may actually pick up additional support.

Knowing that the media have been harshly critical of Fred Thompson, perhaps for being the only viable true limited government conservative in the race, one knows they would have annihilated him for any missteps.  Well, after these reviews, I’m feeling better and better about my choice for President.