Extracts from "My remarks on the state of the 2016 presidential race" Mitt Romney Republican Presidential Nominee, 2012 Click here to watch the video of this speech Let me put it plainly, if we Republicans choose Donald Trump as our nominee, the prospects for a safe and prosperous future are greatly diminished. Let me explain why. First, the economy: If Donald Trumps plans were ever implemented, the country would sink into a prolonged recession. A few examples: His proposed 35% tariff-like penalties would instigate a trade war that would raise prices for consumers, kill export jobs, and lead entrepreneurs and businesses to flee America. His tax plan, in combination with his refusal to reform entitlements and to honestly address spending would balloon the deficit and the national debt. So even as Donald Trump has offered very few specific economic plans, what little he has said is enough to know that he would be very bad for American workers and for American families. But wait, you say, isnt he a huge business success that knows what hes talking about? No he isnt. His bankruptcies have crushed small businesses and the men and women who worked for them. He inherited his business, he didnt create it. And what ever happened to Trump Airlines? How about Trump University? And then theres Trump Magazine and Trump Vodka and Trump Steaks, and Trump Mortgage? A business genius he is not. ... I know that some people want the race to be over. They look at history and say a trend like Mr. Trumps isnt going to be stopped. Perhaps. But the rules of political history have pretty much all been shredded during this campaign. If the other candidates can find common ground, I believe we can nominate a person who can win the general election and who will represent the values and policies of conservatism. Given the current delegate selection process, this means that I would vote for Marco Rubio in Florida, for John Kasich in Ohio, and for Ted Cruz or whichever one of the other two contenders has the best chance of beating Mr. Trump in a given state. Let me turn to national security and the safety of our homes and loved ones. Trumps bombast is already alarming our allies and fueling the enmity of our enemies. Insulting all Muslims will keep many of them from fully engaging with us in the urgent fight against ISIS. And for what purpose? Muslim terrorists would only have to lie about their religion to enter the country. What he said on 60 Minutes about Syria and ISIS has to go down as the most ridiculous and dangerous idea of the campaign season: Let ISIS take out Assad, he said, and then we can pick up the remnants. Think about that: Let the most dangerous terror organization the world has ever known take over a country? This is recklessness in the extreme. Donald Trump tells us that he is very, very smart. Im afraid that when it comes to foreign policy he is very, very not smart. I am far from the first to conclude that Donald Trump lacks the temperament of be president. After all, this is an individual who mocked a disabled reporter, who attributed a reporters questions to her menstrual cycle, who mocked a brilliant rival who happened to be a woman due to her appearance, who bragged about his marital affairs, and who laces his public speeches with vulgarity. Donald Trump says he admires Vladimir Putin, while has called George W. Bush a liar. That is a twisted example of evil trumping good. There is dark irony in his boasts of his sexual exploits during the Vietnam War while John McCain, whom he has mocked, was imprisoned and tortured. Dishonesty is Trumps hallmark: He claimed that he had spoken clearly and boldly against going into Iraq. Wrong, he spoke in favor of invading Iraq. He said he saw thousands of Muslims in New Jersey celebrating 9/11. Wrong, he saw no such thing. He imagined it. His is not the temperament of a stable, thoughtful leader. His imagination must not be married to real power. The President of the United States has long been the leader of the free world. The president and yes the nominees of the countrys great parties help define America to billions of people. All of them bear the responsibility of being an example for our children and grandchildren. Think of Donald Trumps personal qualities, the bullying, the greed, the showing off, the misogyny, the absurd third grade theatrics. We have long referred to him as The Donald. He is the only person in America to whom we have added an article before his name. It wasnt because he had attributes we admired. Now imagine your children and your grandchildren acting the way he does. Will you welcome that? Havent we seen before what happens when people in prominent positions fail the basic responsibility of honorable conduct? We have, and it always injures our families and our country. Watch how he responds to my speech today. Will he talk about our policy differences or will he attack me with every imaginable low road insult? This may tell you what you need to know about his temperament, his stability, and his suitability to be president. ... The audio and video of the infamous Tapper-Trump exchange on the Ku Klux Klan will play a hundred thousand times on cable and who knows how many million times on social media. There are a number of people who claim that Mr. Trump is a con man, a fake. There is indeed evidence of that. Mr. Trump has changed his positions not just over the years, but over the course of the campaign, and on the Ku Klux Klan, daily for three days in a row. We will only really know if he is the real deal or a phony if he releases his tax returns and the tape of his interview with the New York Times. I predict that there are more bombshells in his tax returns. I predict that he doesnt give much if anything to the disabled and to our veterans. I predict that he told the New York Times that his immigration talk is just that: talk. And I predict that despite his promise to do so, first made over a year ago, he will never ever release his tax returns. Never. Not the returns under audit, not even the returns that are no longer being audited. He has too much to hide. Nor will he authorize the Times to release the tapes. If Im right, you will have all the proof you need to know that Donald Trump is a phony. Attacking me as he surely will wont prove him any less of a phony. Its entirely in his hands to prove me wrong. All he has to do is to release his back taxes like he promised he would, and let us hear what he said behind closed doors to the New York Times. Ronald Reagan used to quote a Scottish philosopher who predicted that democracies and civilizations couldnt last more than about 200 years. John Adams wrote this: Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide. I believe that America has proven these dire predictions wrong for two reasons. ... Mr. Trump is directing our anger for less than noble purposes. He creates scapegoats of Muslims and Mexican immigrants, he calls for the use of torture and for killing the innocent children and family members of terrorists. He cheers assaults on protesters. He applauds the prospect of twisting the Constitution to limit first amendment freedom of the press. This is the very brand of anger that has led other nations into the abyss. Heres what I know. Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud. His promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University. Hes playing the American public for suckers: He gets a free ride to the White House and all we get is a lousy hat. His domestic policies would lead to recession. His foreign policies would make America and the world less safe. He has neither the temperament nor the judgment to be president. And his personal qualities would mean that America would cease to be a shining city on a hill. America has greatness ahead. This is a time for choosing. God bless us to choose a nominee who will make that vision a reality. More from Mitt Romney - https://twitter.com/MittRomney https://www.facebook.com/mittromney Mitt Romney with Condoleezza Rice in 2012. [video=youtube;ydjbvCz5ufE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydjbvCz5ufE[/video] ROMNEY - RICE - 2016
[video=youtube;I9vd4kOJwzg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9vd4kOJwzg&feature=youtu.be&t=4m54s[/video]
LOL Romney is a two-time loser now Donald Triumph always wins. Are you a RINO? Because there's one in your avatar, and only RINOs like Mitt Romney. Mitt Romney
it Does not matter what the voters want,this is all about the REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE,the voters can eat cake. SO LONG REPUBLICAN PARTY RUN DON RUN
Condoleezza Rice, speaking at a Stanford University forum "When the World Is Aflame", March 1, 2016 #GOP2016 Could Condoleezza Rice save the day? #DraftCondi Rice for President Yahoo Group Message, number 2296 Michael Gerson - Washington Post, News Service & Syndicate WASHINGTON - The GOP is not facing a debate over policy, but rather a hostile takeover by a pernicious force. Traditional Republicans are now presented with a series of deeply flawed options. And serving the partys ideals may eventually require leaving it, at least for a season. Donald Trump is winning the Republican nomination but not sweeping to it. Across the states that have voted so far, he has gotten 34 percent of the vote and is barely on track to get the requisite 1,237 delegates in order to win outright at the Cleveland convention. Under normal circumstances, a clear plurality would begin to gather into a majority, as elements of the GOP internally reconcile to the likely nominee. These are not normal circumstances. A significant group of Republicans look at #NeverTrump on Twitter cannot support Trump. This is not, as in 1964 or 1980, a clash over ideology. It is a moral objection to the return of nativism, religious prejudice and misogyny to the center stage of American politics. So what are anti-Trump Republicans Republicans who want their nominee to sound more like Abraham Lincoln and less like George Wallace or Marine Le Pen to do? Option 1: Support the candidate in second place, in the hope of beating Trumps plurality with more votes and delegates. We may be in a position, says Sen. Lindsey Graham, where we have to rally around Ted Cruz as the only way to stop Donald Trump. Marco Rubio, in this argument, simply hasnt risen to the moment. And at least Cruz is a legitimate Republican. But anyone concerned about Trumps nativism will find it very difficult to support Cruz, who has criticized Trump for being too soft on illegal immigration. Cruz would be a weak candidate against Hillary Clinton. His 100-proof conservatism is not to everyones taste. And, as one South Carolina Republican told me, he seems covered in a thick layer of people repellant. Option 2: Even if Trumps plurality cant be beaten by a single candidate, deny him a majority of delegates at the convention and stop him there. On Super Tuesday, after all, Trump lost four states and significantly underperformed his pre-election polling in Virginia, Oklahoma and Texas. And the electoral terrain gets less favorable to Trump from here on. The immediate problem here is that Trump may win Ohio or Florida (he is polling ahead in both) on March 15, which would probably doom this strategy. And if Trump goes into the convention with a strong plurality but is denied the nomination, it is easy to imagine a Republican convention with all the unity and decorum of the tumultuous 1968 Democratic convention. Option 3: Support a center-right, third-party candidate for president who would represent a civil rights Republicanism and hold the core message of the party in trust for better days. This approach would depend on finding a strong candidate who is willing to engage in an important but (given the history of such efforts) losing effort. A Mitt Romney candidacy would smack too much of an establishment bent on revenge. In contrast, Mitch Daniels, the former governor of Indiana, would carry a winsome, disciplined, conservative message. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would stand for everything Trump does not gravity, dignity, character and serious moral purpose. But why would anyone serious take such a thankless and difficult role? It would be a heroic act of self-sacrifice for the sake of the party and the country. And this candidate would probably have no political future, since he or she might tip a close election toward Clinton (which would, in fact, be part of the motivation). Option 4: Essentially sit out the election, wait for Trump to lose (he is considerably behind Clinton in most national polls) and participate in the GOP reconstruction. The problem here? Clinton is actually a dismal candidate, involved in an ongoing FBI investigation concerning the handling of classified material. A Clinton-Trump race raises the small but serious prospect of a Trump presidency. Which could bring serious and lasting damage to American democracy and standing in the world. There is, in fact, no clear or morally satisfying option for Republicans. Option 2 is the obvious choice for the next two weeks. If it comes to it, a convention battle is worth having to save the party. But if Ohio or Florida falls to Trump, anti-Trump Republicans are likely to face a choice between voting for Clinton or supporting a third-party candidate. My inclination? #DraftCondi. [video=youtube;laB7vKvOSv4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laB7vKvOSv4&list=PLC88B108ED71F35D4[/video] Condoleezza Rice for President playlist of Condi Videos on YouTube Rice for President Yahoo Group
POLITICO FLORIDA - GOP donors pushing Condoleezza Rice to run independent campaign Rice for President Yahoo Group Message, number 2298 GOP donors pushing Condoleezza Rice to run independent campaign By MATT DIXON 6:33 p.m. | Mar. 10, 2016 TALLAHASSEE A group of Republican donors and strategists has been working to persuade former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to make an independent bid for president, according to a memo outlining the plan obtained by POLITICO Florida. The group has grown increasingly dissatisfied with New York billionaire Donald Trump, the Republican front-runner who has roiled the partys establishment as he has surged ahead in the polls. The reality of the matter is that we will have President Trump or President Clinton if we dont have President Rice, read the memo, which was written by Joel Searby, a consultant with Florida-based GOP firm Data Targeting. POLITICO reported last month about a memo that a group of donors was working on with Data Targeting to look at the viability of a third-party run amid Trumps ascent. The newest memo, sent Thursday, is an update on the firms work. We have been in touch with Dr. Rice through her chief of staff, read the plan, which is stamped confidential. She is reluctant at this stage. We are asking for anyone wanting to assist to encourage her to run. Trump currently has a nearly 100-delegate lead over second-place Ted Cruz, and a more than 300-delegate lead over Florida Senator Marco Rubio. Trump is polling strong in states set to hold their primaries on Tuesday, including Florida and North Carolina, where 171 delegates are at stake. The memo also lists a partial roster of the informal advisory group, which includes Matthew Sawyer, a Dallas-based attorney specializing in ballot access; David Nolte, a media consultant; Mohammad Jazil, an attorney with Hopping Green & Sams; and Sarah Bascom, a Tallahassee-based Republican communications consultant. The list also includes Data Targeting and donors. Names associated with polling, petition gathering, state-by-state organizing and finance were blacked out in the memo. The group of people helping make the decisions was kept small by design, as donors want to keep a small inner circle during the initial stages. You will note the obvious absence of the beltway pundit set, the super consultants and 501(c)4 gurus, Searby wrote. We have tremendous respect for many of them but for now, its clear from the donors supporting this that they are wanting a lean, mean, clear look at this, without back-channel drama or vendor infighting. The memo does outline some of the groups early polling work, which they say shows Rice as the only candidate with viable numbers in a three-way race with Trump and Clinton. Her favorability was at least 15 points higher than its unfavorability in nearly every battleground state where they were in the field. Rice, who is black, also gets between 10-25 percent with black and Hispanic voters in a three-way ballot test with Trump and Clinton in states they polled, according to the memo. If Rice agrees to run, the plans first step will be focusing on North Carolina and Texas as a measure of her viability. Rice would need to gather over 79,900 valid petition signatures in Texas by May 9 and over 89,000 in North Carolina by June 9. We will have to assess the reality of going forward if we do not get on the ballot in those stats, Searby wrote. He wrote that the ultimate end game is simple: Stop Clinton. This has grown more urgent and more important, we believe, as the prospect of a brokered convention is floated, he wrote. It is this groups belief that a brokered convention is a recipe for Hillary Clintons election and the death of the Republican Party. Both Data Targeting and Bascom declined to comment other than authenticating the memo. Read the memo here: http://politi.co/1SE2dhg --additional reporting by Scott Bland http://www.capitalnewyork.com/artic...ing-condoleezza-rice-run-independent-campaign
I personally like Mitt! I have began many discussions all over this forum in an effort to encourage him to campaign for the office of President...… but about a month or two ago....... I changed my mind......… I now believe that Mitt should stay out of this and leave the decisions to the average American. Mitt.......... lacks faith in the G-d of Abraham to work with....... and through The Donald........ this lack of faith on the part of Mitt......… has significant "Artistic Value" that will soon be noticed even by Pope Francis as well as by millions of members of the Latter Day Saints church............. (it almost seems like the G-d of Abraham and Satan are preparing their groups for a massive tournament......… that will shift how we humans view our place in the universe / multiverse)?! http://www.politicalforum.com/polit...francis-donald-preparing-america-jubilee.html Pope Francis.... The Donald is preparing America for Jubilee! Dear Pope Francis........ Sir....... I am almost certain from my research that a JUBILEE year will begin on Yom Kippur 2016 and go to the day before Yom Kippur 2017. The Donald..... seems to be positioned perfectly to prepare Americans for their role in JUBILEE!?
