Sembler, Guzzetta hook up with Romney

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has tapped a couple top Florida money men to lead his national fundraising efforts. Developer and former ambassador Mel Sembler of St. Petersburg and Boca Raton developer Mark Guzzetta are among the Massachusetts governor's first nine national finance co-chairmen for his exploratory committee.

Comments

Stronger and Stronger he grows. Impressive.

More and more owned he becomes... not so impressive.

soooooooooo, these folks r backing the mittster?
dont let them near any sharp objects!

soooooooooo, these folks r backing the mittster?
dont let them near any sharp objects!

Guzzetta gets to drive another promising candidate through the floor!

I don't like him..... McCain is my choice. A Morman being supported by the far right????

A Mormon who became governor of the most liberal state in the Union. Sounds likes a bridge builder and balancer, similiar to what our new governor touts himself to be.

I'm going to see Mitt at the Hillsborough Lincoln day dinner March 3. after that I will have an opinion.

I can help you form your opinion now:

Mitt Romney flip flops so much he makes John Kerry rock of gibralter. He's about as dependable a conservative as Tom Gallagher -- and he'll probably end up the same way.

Hey, gues what? he has the same people giving him advice! what a coincidence that Bradshaw, Herberger, Guzzetta, Browning are all on board. Wait till next week when they announce that Brett Doster is running the grassroots operation! We are all quaking in our boots.

Romney is a true conservative: if you don't believe me, just read this article in the post:

Mass. Governor's Rightward Shift Raises Questions

By Dan Balz and Shailagh Murray
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, December 21, 2006; A01

As he prepares for a 2008 presidential campaign, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) has championed the conservative principles that guided President Ronald Reagan, become an outspoken opponent of same-sex marriage and supported overturning the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.

It was not always so. Twelve years ago, Romney boasted that he would be more effective in fighting discrimination against gay men and lesbians than Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), distanced himself from some conservative policies of the Reagan administration, and proudly recalled his family's record in support of abortion rights.

The apparent gulf between the candidate who ran for the Senate in 1994 and the one getting ready to run for president has raised questions as to who is the real Mitt Romney. Is he the self-described moderate who unsuccessfully challenged Kennedy in the year of the Republican landslide, the self-described conservative now ready to bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, or merely an ambitious and adaptable politician? The answer could be crucial to Romney's presidential ambitions.

In stressing his conservative views, Romney has sought to fill a vacuum on the right in the Republican nomination contest. Neither Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) nor former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, who top the opinion polls among Republicans, has a comfortable relationship with social and cultural conservatives.

McCain has a long record of opposition to abortion rights, but many conservatives, nonetheless, remain wary of him because he went out of his way in 2000 to attack religious conservative leaders Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson. Giuliani supports abortion rights, gay rights and gun control, creating potentially irreconcilable differences with many conservatives.

Romney acknowledges that his positions on abortion and gay rights have changed. He told National Review Online last week that he would like to see the Supreme Court overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision and return the issue to the states. He also said he no longer favors a federal non-discrimination law that would cover gay men and lesbians, and no longer backs accelerating the opening up of the military to gay men and lesbians.

Romney declined a request for an interview to discuss the evolution of his thinking on these issues. Aides said his schedule did not permit him to take the time for a telephone interview. They also said he has responded to questions on these subjects many times as he has explored a presidential candidacy.

Eric Fehrnstrom, his statehouse communications director, responded to questions about the apparent shift in Romney's beliefs. "The governor should be judged on his four-year record in office in one of the most liberal states in the country," he said. "He has governed as a mainstream conservative. He's gone after wasteful spending; he's defended traditional marriage; he pushed to bring abstinence education to the classroom; he fought against embryonic cloning and stood up and vetoed an emergency-contraceptive bill."

But it will not just be that record that will attract attention as Romney leaves office in January and turns his attention toward a likely presidential campaign. The entire arc of his political career will be under examination, beginning with that 1994 race for the Senate.

When he challenged Kennedy, Romney was a young businessman with no firm ideological identity, the latest in a line of moderate Massachusetts Republicans that included former governor Francis W. Sargent and then-Gov. William F. Weld. Then 47, he had been a registered independent until 1993 and had voted for Democrat Paul Tsongas in the 1992 presidential primary. He took a tough, more conservative view of crime, immigration and welfare than Kennedy but shared the senator's liberal tolerance on social issues.

"It was a no-rocking-the-boat sort of reformism," said John Gorman, an independent Boston-based pollster.

As a Michigan-born Mormon, Romney was a cultural oddity in Massachusetts. Throughout the campaign, he sought to reassure voters that his religious faith would not influence his public actions. "One of the great things about our nation . . . is that we're each entitled to have strong, personal beliefs," Romney said during his first debate with Kennedy. "But, as a nation, we recognize the right of all people to believe as they want and not to impose our beliefs on other people."

One group he went out of his way to court was the gay rights community. While he noted that he opposed same-sex marriage, Romney said that "certain benefits and privileges should be offered to gay couples and lesbian couples." Acknowledging that Kennedy had a strong record on sexual-orientation issues, Romney said his GOP identity gave his words extra weight.

"There's something to be said for having a Republican who supports civil rights in this broader context, including sexual orientation," he told Bay Windows, a Boston-area newspaper for the gay community, in an Aug. 18, 1994, interview. "When Ted Kennedy speaks on gay rights, he's seen as an extremist. When Mitt Romney speaks on gay rights, he's seen as a centrist and a moderate."

He said he would push gay rights issues if elected. "I think the gay community needs more support from the Republican Party, and I would be a voice in the Republican Party to foster anti-discrimination efforts," he said then.

In an Oct. 6, 1994, letter to the Log Cabin Club of Massachusetts, a GOP gay and lesbian group, Romney endorsed broad federal anti-discrimination protections and the creation of a federal panel to address gay and lesbian youth suicide. He called President Bill Clinton's "don't ask, don't tell" military policy "the first of a number of steps that will ultimately lead to gays and lesbians being able to serve openly and honestly in our nation's military."

Romney has since backed away from his endorsement of that federal anti-discrimination statute and from his previously expansive position on gay people in the military. On that issue, he told National Review Online, he now defers to military leaders.

Fehrnstrom said Romney remains opposed to discrimination against gay men and lesbians, though his focus in the past few years has shifted to the issue of same-sex marriage. "Even as the governor has emerged nationally as a prime defender of traditional marriage, he always cloaks his rhetoric in tolerance and respect for people of all walks of life," he said.

Romney has long said he personally opposes abortion, and in an Oct. 25, 1994, debate with Kennedy, he was asked to reconcile his personal beliefs with his support for abortion rights.

"I believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country," Romney responded. "I have, since the time when my mom took that position when she ran in 1970 as a U.S. Senate candidate. I believe that since Roe v. Wade has been the law for 20 years, we should sustain and support it. I sustain and support that law and the right of a woman to make that choice. And my personal beliefs, like the personal beliefs of other people, should not be brought into a political campaign."

He ran for governor in 2002 promising to preserve the status quo on abortion in Massachusetts, saying he would oppose changes that either liberalized or restricted access to abortion. He has lived up to that promise. But in late 2004, as he studied the issue of embryonic stem cell research, he underwent what he has called an awakening that led him to the conclusion that "the sanctity of life had been cheapened" by the Roe decision.

That led him to describe himself as "pro-life." Still, he remained cagey about what that meant in terms of public policy, saying only that he would abide by his 2002 campaign promise. Asked in an interview with Washington Post reporters in February 2005 whether he favored making abortion illegal, he replied: "I'm telling you exactly what I will do as governor of Massachusetts, but I'm not going to tell you what I'd do as mayor of Boston or a congressman or any of those positions."

In the 1994 campaign, Romney also proudly labeled himself a moderate. "I'm not a partisan politician," he said in an interview with The Post that fall. "My hope is that, after this election, it will be the moderates of both parties who will control the Senate, not the Jesse Helmses."

Helms, the former Republican senator from North Carolina, was one of the most conservative elected officials in the country.

In his 1994 debate with Kennedy, Romney also refused to endorse the "Contract With America," which House Republicans had proudly presented as their campaign manifesto, and he balked when Kennedy tried to link him to the Reagan administration. "I was an independent during the time of Reagan-Bush," Romney retorted.

Questions about Romney's conservative credentials could provide an opening for several other Republicans exploring 2008 candidacies, among them Sen. Sam Brownback (Kan.) and outgoing Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Several conservative leaders, Falwell among them, declined to be interviewed for this article. One said it is premature to comment publicly. But Paul M. Weyrich, who is head of the Free Congress Foundation, said Romney should not underestimate the problem he may face as he prepares to launch his campaign.

"I think it's very serious," he said. "Our position is that, if a candidate can change his position sort of overnight, what would he do once he got in office? Would he do the same thing?"

Romney's right on! and so conservative!

I mean all conservatives refused to support the contract with america.

And it's totally fine for someone to change their mind on all the social issues right before they run for office.

Tom Gallagher did it, and everyone believed him. Why won't they believe Romney too?

Mitt Gallagher-Romney for President! it could happen you know. They do allow gay marriage in Massachussetts.

Do you people ever let a dog die, c'mon, gallagher is not the issue on this blog, seriously....

MITT ROCKS!!!

Willard Mitt Romney received his B.A. in 1971 from Brigham Young University, where he was class valedictorian, and then went on to simultaneously earn degrees from Harvard Business and Law schools, graduating cum laude from law school and in the top 5 percent of his business school class.

Read the info below and know why he is the BEST for 2008..

Enjoy Happy New Year
Gator Waterskiers for Mitt in 08!

Why Gov. Mitt Romney Is Right for America in 2008

1. Exceptional Executive Leadership

“Mitt Romney is the consummate leader with a rare combination of talent, sincerity, integrity, and charisma. In a world where ‘spin’ is too often king, he is the real deal. What he did with Salt Lake City’s Olympic Games is the stuff of which legends are made.”

--Sheri Dew, Deseret Book Company President & CEO

“Mitt Romney has more management ability than any potential candidate on either side. He is one of the best managers in the country. He took over Massachusetts, which is an extremely liberal state with a totally dominant Democratic Legislature and turned a $3 billion deficit into a $1 billion surplus in just the few years he's been in there.”

--Orrin Hatch, U. S. Senator (Utah-R)

2. Vocal Social Conservative

"On marriage and cloning, he has provided aggressive leadership as a positive, pro-family governor."

--Kris Mineau, Massachusetts Family Institute

3. Broad-based Voter Appeal

“Mitt Romney may just be the most appealing candidate Republicans can field in 2008, the one most likely to win the White House by shoring up social conservatives and rallying business interests without frightening swing voters.”

--Ann Sullivan, Washington Monthly editor

4. International & Homeland Security Experience

“Mr. Romney…is a governor, as four of the past five presidents were; but he can claim more international experience than most state executives. In addition to his work on the Olympics, he has served on the federal Homeland Security Advisory Council, chairing its working group on intelligence and information sharing.”

--James Taranto, OpinionJournal.com editor

5. Impeccable Ethical Reputation

“With some conservatives worried about serious Republican electoral trouble because of a growing number of bribery, money laundering, illegal lobbying, and obstruction of justice scandals embroiling many key figures in the GOP…Romney's D.C.-free whistle-clean image, coupled with his proven ability to transcend a corrupt mess, may prove a tempting antidote.”

--Michael M. Rosen, Republican Jewish Coalition-San Diego Chapter

IMAGINE…

Imagine a politician who tracks his progress on fulfilling all 97 of his campaign promises…

Imagine a politician who is called in to clean up the messes of scandal and debt caused by others…

Imagine a politician who donates his entire government salary to charity each year…

Imagine Mitt Romney!!!

Mitt Romney for President in 2008

It’s time for a higher standard!

FOR MORE INFO GO TO
www.americansformitt.com

Why Gov. Mitt Romney Is Right for America in 2008

1. Exceptional Executive Leadership

“Mitt Romney is the consummate leader with a rare combination of talent, sincerity, integrity, and charisma. In a world where ‘spin’ is too often king, he is the real deal. What he did with Salt Lake City’s Olympic Games is the stuff of which legends are made.”

--Sheri Dew, Deseret Book Company President & CEO

“Mitt Romney has more management ability than any potential candidate on either side. He is one of the best managers in the country. He took over Massachusetts, which is an extremely liberal state with a totally dominant Democratic Legislature and turned a $3 billion deficit into a $1 billion surplus in just the few years he's been in there.”

--Orrin Hatch, U. S. Senator (Utah-R)

A successful CEO in private business, he helped launch such companies as Staples and Domino’s Pizza, and takes a business approach to government, emphasizing fiscal responsibility and detailed analysis.
As the emergency replacement CEO of the Salt Lake Olympic Committee for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, he saved the Games from bankruptcy and failure.

While Governor of Massachusetts, among other accomplishments, Romney turned an inherited $3 billion budget deficit into a billion dollar surplus in three years without raising taxes; he also advanced education reform that caused Massachusetts’ 4th and 8th graders to be ranked first in the nation in English and math.

Currently Romney is the Chairman of the Republican Governor’s Association during this crucial election year.

2. Aggressive Social Conservative

"On marriage and cloning, he has provided aggressive leadership as a positive, pro-family governor."

--Kris Mineau, Massachusetts Family Institute

“Despite…fiscal achievement, a pair of social issues has done far more to define Romney's governorship: gay marriage and embryonic-stem-cell research. On either matter, a good case can be made that Romney has fought harder for social conservatives than any other governor in America, and it is difficult to imagine his doing so in a more daunting political environment.”

--John J. Miller, National Review

Romney has become the nation’s most vocal advocate of traditional marriage as he has battled the Massachusetts’ Supreme Court’s decision to legalize gay marriage in that state; he has called upon the federal and state governments to adopt marriage amendments defining marriage as between one man and one woman. Several states have since enacted marriage amendments, but federal efforts have failed.
By finding and enforcing an obscure 1913 Massachusetts law that forbade the state from solemnizing any marriage of non-residents whose home state would not recognize the marriage, Romney prevented same-sex marriage from spreading to the other 49 states.

An avowed “Pro-Lifer,” as Governor he opposed legislation that would have allowed 16 and 17 year old girls to receive the morning-after pill without parental permission (the morning-after pill that aborts an impregnated egg within 24 hours of conception).

He has repeatedly denounced embryonic stem cell, research, specifically human embryo farming, and opposed legislation that would have allowed the creation and harvesting of human life in order to turn around and destroy it; Romney even went so far as to use his own campaign funds to run ads attacking the proposed legislation.

3. Broad-based Voter Appeal

“Mitt Romney may just be the most appealing candidate Republicans can field in 2008, the one most likely to win the White House by shoring up social conservatives and rallying business interests without frightening swing voters.”

--Ann Sullivan, Washington Monthly editor

By being elected a Republican governor of the most liberal state in the country (all 10 of Massachusetts’ congressmen are Democrats and its state legislature is 85% Democrat), Romney demonstrates he can win the vote of both parties.
Romney’s strong domestic record in areas that are traditionally Democratic strengths, such as education, balancing the budget, and health care, as well as his record of being able to rise above partisanship to work with members of the opposite party, make him appealing to moderate Democrats and Independents in a closely divided nation.

4. International & Homeland Security Experience

“Mr. Romney…is a governor, as four of the past five presidents were; but he can claim more international experience than most state executives. In addition to his work on the Olympics, he has served on the federal Homeland Security Advisory Council, chairing its working group on intelligence and information sharing.”

--James Taranto, OpinionJournal.com editor

He turned the 2002 Winter Olympics from a scandal-ridden fiasco nearly $400 million in debt, to a successful national triumph that made a $100 million profit, working with the International Olympic Committee and government officials and companies throughout the world.
· Overseeing security for the first major international event after 9/11, Romney spent $300 million protecting 10 Olympic venues for 17 days during the Games.

· He currently serves on the Federal Homeland Security Advisory Council, chairing its working group on intelligence and information.

5. Impeccable Ethical Reputation

“With some conservatives worried about serious Republican electoral trouble because of a growing number of bribery, money laundering, illegal lobbying, and obstruction of justice scandals embroiling many key figures in the GOP…Romney's D.C.-free whistle-clean image, coupled with his proven ability to transcend a corrupt mess, may prove a tempting antidote.”

--Michael M. Rosen, Republican Jewish Coalition-San Diego Chapter

With the recent Washington lobbying scandals, Romney’s squeaky-clean image and reputation as someone who is called in to clean up are what the country needs to help restore confidence in our elected leaders (being a non-Washington politician is also attractive).

As Chairman of the Republican Governor’s Association, despite an internal investigation determining that prior contributions from the business partner of a questionable lobbyist in the amount of $500,000 were legal, Romney chose to take the ethical high road and donate that money (needed in an election year) to charities assisting the Hurricane Katrina-stricken states.

Romney served as the CEO of the Salt Lake Olympic Committee for three years without pay, and has donated his yearly pay ($275,000) as governor of Massachusetts entirely to charity.

who ever you are with the long posts that you copy and paste from somewhere else.... PLEASE STOP!!! this is a blog not a campaign HQ

[intelligentflcitizen]

everybody get a clue. Romney's a rock star and will be the nominee in 2 years. The team he has assembled in Florida is untouchable and we all expect Jeb to step up as his running mate. Wouldn't that be fun MittnJeb vs. McCainCrist?

Mitt is a rock star conservative true; and when people find out his credentials they will know why the media and others will attempt to take him out. But it won't happen, he is solid and the people will love him.

NEWSFLASH: Being "Conservative" got Gallagher squat - the "Conservaives have no a--.

I find it ironic that the Bradshaw duo - major marital sinners - transformed themselves into trusted advisers to the Bible-thumping right wing. That alone makes me a little suspicious of Romney's motivations.

Check out these 2 links today

One from the New York Sun the other from the Boston Globe 1/5/06

Mitt Romney is the first to sign the no new tax pledge. Go Mitt!

http://www.nysun.com/article/46129

ww.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/01/05/romney_finds_no_new_taxes_promise_suits_him_after_all/

He must be a conservative: Only a true conservative would push for allowing gays to serve openly in the military. That would be great for morale!

8:48 Sticks and stones...you can't seem to see through your envy, which is not very becoming. The color green does not do you justice.

[MedicineMan]

Romney is more anti-gun than Bill Clinton.

He will have to fight this battle without the support of 2nd Amendment advocates; we have a loooong memory.

Romney is not my kind of conservative.

don't mormons practice polygamy?

no that ended in 1903

[Samuel Adams]

Mitt will have a chance if Sembler throws in his penis pump.

[Joe from Philly]

Pretty funny stuff. Sembler shows Mitt doesn't vet his money men..if we give money to Mel for Mitt it will probably be named after Mel.

In ROME--The Washington Post reported that the C.W. Bill Young Conference Center is in the Mel Sembler Building. And there are a couple of fine bronze plaques naming the center that go on the walls there. And so it is only fitting that, despite this being only early March, the coveted In the Loop Narcissism Run Amok Award for 2005 goes to Sembler and Young for their efforts to establish an excellent new trend in American diplomacy. (Hey! How about Palais Korologos in Brussels? Palacio Argyros in Madrid?) On the other hand, if Sembler had paid for the building . . .

[Mark Bainter]

Perhaps someone should ask him how he feels about child abuse given his association with Sembler (of Straight Inc 'fame').

Does he endorse their methods? Is he ok with what is done to the children who are mistreated, and sometimes even killed under their care?

I can't believe anyone would want to even be in the same room as Mel Sembler, let alone someone who'd like to seek political office. I'd like to think that this would be akin to tying a millstone around your own neck. Apparently though, it seems nobody cares.

[matt]

How can anyone be sure Mitt wouldn't push a "morals agenda" if elected? He is a strong member of LDS, known for ultra-conservative moral values, and more so for missionary work attempting to get others to share those values... Does anyone else worry if given executive authority he would take a more "hard-line approach" in pushing those values on all Americans? Also, Mel Sembler is a scary individual -- look at the "great success" that was Strait, Inc. Mel is not much more than a big money schmoozer, a friend of the Bush family and not much more. I like the idea of a clean politician that holds himself accountable, but to be honest his church affiliations and cast of characters associated with him plain scares the hell outta me.

[Peggy Stone]

Let's condosize the USA! Lets electricute the homeless! Let's make the Middle Class our slaves!

[Bill Wilson]

sembler background

[ellie]

Romney may be losing several members of his steering committee in Michigan; Christian Broadcast Network had this article the end of December. It is interesting to note ‘it is okay to evolve, but some seem to think this is major flip-flop material” It is major flip flop material.
“What I'm being told from a well placed source on the ground is that the representatives who may leave Romney are really questioning the legitimacy of his conservative credentials. Romney has always said he has evolved on these issues over the years, but these folks in Michigan think it's okay to evolve, but some of this seems to be major flip flop material, especially on the life issue where they point out how he's gone from pro-choice in 1994, to pro-life in 2000, to pro-choice in 2002 and now back to pro-life.”
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/79371.aspx

Mr. Romney wanted to be the next JFK, interesting considering the dislike Mr. Romney’s family had for the Kennedy family. This was part of the Romney family wanting to take Mass., show the Kennedy’s up. Now that Mitt did that, he flips to opinions which will win him the White House.

Maybe us less than elite can only watch the battle of the elites with dismay, but it is a far cry from the comfort of arm chair watching; when people of the right wing and left wing are used to their determent, which Mr. Romney is doing.

Back in Massachusetts: A survey taken of Massachusetts Republican’s by the University of New Hampshire stated Romney should NOT run for the office of President. Fifty three percent of Massachusetts Republican did not feel Romney should run, with only 29 percent of Mass Republicans supporting a Romney run for office. Being a governor of Massachusetts, and not carrying the Republican support is a red flag on the Romney run.

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/1-03112005-461737.html