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Please watch this very interesting YouTube video. It shows Governor Mitt Romney being interviewed for a radio program Newsradio 1040 WHO with Jan Mickelson. It appears as if a hidden camera is capturing the conversations and Mitt Romney is unaware he is being recorded. In viewing it you will get some real insight into the Mormon belief of “free agency” and the manner in which Mitt Romney might lead the country.

On the program break, which would be the time that the commercials are running, Romney gets into private conversation with Jan Mickelson. Here is the video.

((YouTube embedded video. Gov. Romney Interview With Jan Mickelson))

In looking at the newest polls, we see John McCain generally falling a few percentage points. His fall is not happening as fast as I, or others, predicted. But then, the criticism of the new immigration bill was not as heavy as we expected it to be. The lack of clarity about the immigration agreement and the fact that it remains in limbo have prevented Senator John McCain from suffering a heavier blow.

Tonight, at CNN’s Republican Debate, perhaps McCains rivals will take the opportunity to attack McCain due to his association with- and support of- the pending immigration legislation. Republican voters will take note.

Jason Easley, commenting about the results of a new poll released today by Rasmussen Reports has this to say…

McCain’s latest drop in the polls can be tied to his support of the current immigration reform bill that is being debated in Congress. Only 26% of Americans and 9% of Republicans support this bill. Because of his support of the immigration bill, McCain’s favorability rating in his home state of Arizona has fallen to 47%. This is amazing when one considers that only 6 short months ago McCain was considered the GOP frontrunner, but now he may have to fight just to stay in the race. –New GOP primary poll has Thompson in second, June 5, 2007

The Straight Talk Express was running on three flat tires and just had a blowout on the good tire that was remaining. I don’t think he has a spare. He might run for a while on the rims. But it looks like his trip to the Whitehouse in 2008 is practically over.

Although the new immigration bill is not Senator John McCain’s bill, or the McCain - Kennedy immigration bill, McCain was a key architect and strongly supports it. The bill is being called Bush - Kennedy and it comes in great part from John McCain’s fellow Arizona Senator Jon Kyl. On May 17th, the day that news broke that a deal was reached, McCain rushed back to Washington. He hailed the deal as “historic”.

I have waited a couple of days now to see how it would all play out. I didn’t believe that news of a compromise on an immigration bill would be received well by the Republican base. It wasn’t.

How quickly will it kill McCain’s chances? That depends on how much his name gets associated with the bill in the media and at political events related to the 2008 race. It depends on how much the other 2008 presidential candidates scoff at the (McCain) amnesty bill; how much it is talked about with derision.

Mitt Romney was right to speak out against it immediately. By doing so he connected with those who are concerned about the illegal immigration problem.

“I strongly oppose today’s bill going through the Senate. It is the wrong approach. Any legislation that allows illegal immigrants to stay in the country indefinitely, as the new ‘Z-Visa’ does, is a form of amnesty. That is unfair to the millions of people who have applied to legally immigrate to the U.S.

“Today’s Senate agreement falls short of the actions needed to both solve our country’s illegal immigration problem and also strengthen our legal immigration system. Border security and a reliable employment verification system must be our first priority.” –Governor Mitt Romney On The Senate Immigration Agreement, May 17, 2007

Besides these very compelling reasons why Governor Romney believes that it’s wrong, let me suggest a few more.

• We as a country have not enforced our current immigration laws. What makes anyone believe that we will be able to enforce a new set of laws as laid out in this new bill?
• The proposals - that illegal immigrants pay $5,000, that the head of household must return to his former country and re-enter legally, and that they must pay back taxes, make it likely that illegal immigrants will stay in the shadows (as they are currently) rather than try to meet the requirements.
• The bill doesn’t do enough to secure our borders. Secure borders should come first.
• It’s entirely possible that once news of this compromise hits Mexico, a virtual stampede of illegal immigrants looking to take advantage of the opportunity will cross into the U.S. placing a huge burden on our government and social services. As Republican Senator Chuck Grassley says, “illegality only promotes illegality”.
• It says to the world that we do not enforce our laws and that we as a country have no backbone.
• It rewards those that have broken our laws. Those illegal immigrants that have used fake or stolen social security numbers and have not been paying taxes do not deserve amnesty. “You cannot both reward border infiltration and stop border infiltration”. –Mac Johnson
• Elected Senators and Representatives pledge to uphold the constitution and sustain the law. This legislation flies in the face of those who respect the oaths of office.

The agreement stinks.

Proponents of this insane Guest Worker Amnesty Program want to rush it through the process as fast as possible. I frankly cannot blame them for this. If I were attempting to deceive the American people and those decent politicians who truly want to represent their constituents and all citizens of our nation, the faster I could push this bill through the process the better. Legislation that smells this bad needs to be moved very quickly so that no one realizes how bad the stench is until it is too late and it is a done deal.

John McCain said, “We all know this issue can be caught up in extracurricular politics unless we move forward as quickly as possible.” This is how con artists operate. I find it reprehensible that there are members of both houses of Congress and candidates for the highest elected office of the United States who would act as mere charlatans! Any politician who could conduct himself in that fashion has made it clear that he is not worthy of our trust and should have his political head handed to him. –Exclusive: So Much for the 9/11 Commission Report’s Recommendations, May 20, 2007

Empty our jails of illegal immigrants who are non-violent offenders and deport them. It’s too much of a burden on our tax payers to keep them incarcerated.

The American citizenry, irrespective of political stripe, are compassionate people. But let’s also have compassion for the American taxpayers who are already footing the bills for these illegal aliens, which are regularly utilizing our criminal justice system, social services (mothers with anchor babies), health care and education systems (for their children). Although the exact numbers are in dispute, my sense of it is that at least one in four illegal aliens are having run-ins with law enforcement, with drug-related crime, assaults, domestic violence, driving while intoxicated, and driving without a valid license cited as the usual activities. Criminal aliens comprise about 30 percent of the prisoners in federal facilities. –Conservatives poised to battle over immigration proposal, May 21, 2007

On May 15th, 2007, Mitt Romney kicked off a campaign rally called “Sign Up America” that was a complete success.  The goal of Sign Up America was to sign up 24,000 supporters in 24 hours.

Debate watching parties were coordinated via the http://www.mittromney.com website and were held in 48 states.  Today, Wednesday May 16th, supporters gathered at improvised call centers around the country to contact friends and acquaintances to encourage them to sign up.  Video updates were posted throughout the day at the Sign Up America page (click here)

There is a message from Mitt Romney for all who participated at http://www.mittromney.com/Splash

Sign Up America is an effort to sign up 24,000 new Mitt Romney supporters in 24 hours (May 15th - May 16th, 2007).  The effort begins tonight in conjunction with the second Republican presidential debate happening in South Carolina.  Here’s how you can help.

Get together with friends, family, or neighbors this evening to watch the debate being broadcast live on FoxNews at 9pm Eastern.

• Please call or email all of your contacts to mention the debate and then let them know what kind of positive changes you think Governor Mitt Romney would bring to Washington.  Again, this sign up effort continues through tomorrow, May 16th, 2007
• Ask them to go to http://www.MittRomney.com and click on “Sign Up Now” where they will not only have an opportunity to add their name as a supporter but to also make a campaign contribution of $24, $48, $96, $250, $1000 or whatever they can afford.
• They may also “sign up” at 1-866-WIN-MITT
• Ask them to forward the email to all of their contacts so that the message continues.

To get the very latest news and coverage on the Republican presidential debates in South Carolina, please go to…

http://www.mittromney.com/News/Debates/South_Carolina_and_Sign_Up_America/

Also, please help the Sign Up America effort on Facebook.com

In conjunction with tonight’s second Republican presidential debate, shown on FOX News at 9pm EDT, Romney for President is launching “Sign Up America!” – a 24-hour grassroots rally to sign up 24,000 new supporters in just 24 hours!

Governor Romney needs your help to make history by accomplishing this ambitious goal. By working together, it’s not only possible, it’s inevitable.

So how can you help right now?

1. Join this Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2409725744

2. “Share” the group with all your friends to spread the word virally through Facebook’s News Feed.

3. Watch the debate tonight at 9pm EDT on FOX News. If you’d like to create or attend a Debate Watch Party, make sure to visit Signup.MittRomney.com and search by your ZIP code.

4. Finally, and most importantly, Join Team Mitt at www.MittRomney.com or by calling 1-866–WIN–MITT!

Most of the latest polls and surveys show a two to five point rise in Mitt Romney’s polling numbers. The rise has come most likely due to Mitt Romney’s success in the last Republican debate. But his numbers have also risen due to a windfall of publicity that he has received in the past month.

There is very encouraging news coming out of Michigan today where in the latest American Research Group poll, Mitt Romney places first with 24% of the vote. Senator John McCain came in second with 22%. Rudy Giuliani placed third with 19%.

Romney’s support has tripled since late February. McCain and Giuliani have each lost support, 13 percent and 11 percent respectively. –Poll: Romney Takes GOP Lead in Michigan, May 14, 2007

The American Research Group poll invited 600 likely Michigan Republican primary voters to respond. It was conducted May 4th, to May 7th, 2007.

In a telephone survey of 551 likely New Hampshire Republican voters, Mitt Romney was the candidate most favored with 32% of the vote. Rudy Giuliani placed a distant second with 23%.
The poll taken by SurveyUSA and released by KWCH-TV was conducted by telephone interviews from May 4, to May 6, 2007.

The results are very encouraging since it is New Hampshire that traditionally hosts the first presidential primary in the United States and that it shows such a large lead for Romney. An early win in New Hampshire could bring momentum for him and influence swing voters in other state primaries.

Polling Data

If the Republican primary were today, would you vote for… Rudy Giuliani? John McCain? Mitt Romney? Fred Thompson? Newt Gingrich? Or some other Republican?

Mitt Romney	32%
Rudy Giuliani	23%
John McCain	22%
Fred Thompson	11%
Newt Gingrich	4%
Other	5%
Undecided	3%

Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research
Romney is Top Republican in New Hampshire
May 10, 2007

The Reverend Al Sharpton and Christopher Hitchens participated in a type of religious debate on the subject “Is God Great?” on Monday May 7, 2007 in which Al Sharpton denigrated Mormons and Governor Mitt Romney. When the subject of Mormonism came up, Al Sharpton says, “As for the one Mormon running for office, those who really believe in God will defeat him anyway, so don’t worry, that’s a temporary situation.”

This was first reported (but given little mention) in a blog at the New York Times. The full article can be found here… Hitchens, Sharpton and Faith

The Mitt Romney campaign responded to Sharpton’s attack with the following statement.
“It is terribly disheartening and disappointing to hear Reverend Sharpton offer such appalling comments about a fellow American’s faith. America is a nation of diverse faiths and common values, and bigotry toward anyone because of their religious beliefs is unacceptable.” –Exclusive: Romney Campaign Responds to Sharpton Attack on Mormons, NYSunPolitics.com, May 8, 2007

Apparently they also gave the false report that the Mormons “once endorsed racial segregation.” The Mormons did not allow blacks to serve in leadership positions in the church prior to some time in the 1970’s. They were not racially segregated.

Can this man Al Sharpton really call himself a reverend? Here is a man who attacks and slanders and is shown to be racist. He is certainly not a man of God.

More commentary from Rush Limbaugh can be found here… http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_050807/content/01125108.guest.html

((YouTube embedded video, Rev Sharpton on Romney’s Religion))

As I predicted in my posting of March 10, 2007 “When Focus Shifts to Giuliani, Romney Will Surge”, there are indications that Rudy Giuliani’s statements on abortion have begun to affect his status in the polls.

During the recent Republican presidential debate, Giuliani seemed to stumble on the question posed to him regarding the repeal of Roe vs. Wade.

Strategists said Giuliani hurt himself among party conservatives in last Thursday’s debate during a question on whether he would support repealing the 1973 Roe v. Wade abortion rights issue. In the debate, Giuliani said “it would be OK” to repeal the law — but also OK if it were upheld. –Records: Rudy Gave to Abortion Group, May 7, 2007

Today, it was revealed that Rudy Giuliani together with his second wife Donna Hanover, donated to various Planned Parenthood organizations in 1993, 1994, 1998, and 1999. The supporting information shows up in Giuliani’s tax returns. The revelations were released to the press by an un-named rival campaign.

Rudy Giuliani has sought to allay the fears of conservative Republicans by saying that he would appoint “strict constructionist” judges in the model of Samuel Alito. It is thought that these types of judges would reject the liberal attempts to find new rights in the constitution. However, Giuliani’s recent statements seem to be in conflict.
Here is a partial transcript of an April 4th interview of Rudy Giuliani with CNN’s Dana Bash.

BASH: Is that also going to be your position as president?

GIULIANI: Probably. I mean, I have to re-examine all of those issues and exactly what was at stake then, and it is a long time ago. But generally that is my view, abortion is wrong, abortion shouldn’t happen, personally you should counsel people to that extent. When I was mayor, adoptions went up, abortions went down, but ultimately it is a constitutional right, and therefore if it is a constitutional right ultimately, even if you do it on a state-by-state basis, you have to make sure that people are protected.

BASH: So you support taxpayer money or public funding for abortions in some cases?

GIULIANI: If it would deprive someone of a constitutional right, yes, I mean, if that the status of the law, then I would, yes. –Giuliani’s Abortion Folly, April 7, 2007

These statements have alarmed Rudy Giuliani’s would be supporters.

There was an early sign yesterday his once-firm grip on the lead in the race for Republican nomination is weakening, as a new CNN/Opinion Research Poll shows him at his lowest level since August, with just 25 percent support among registered Republicans. John McCain, the Arizona senator, has 23 percent, effectively a tie, given the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 5 percent. –Records: Rudy Gave to Abortion Group, May 7, 2007

The drop in Giuliani’s numbers is good for Mitt Romney. A new poll shows Mitt taking the lead in New Hampshire. More on that tomorrow.

In the hours and days following the first GOP presidential debate, most have declared Mitt Romney the winner.  The win was not completely unanimous however.  Some blogs and vote tallies have Senator John McCain as the winner.  Others did not pick a winner but simply said that Romney and McCain had the best performances.  What I heard and read was that Mitt Romney was poised, confident, articulate, looked presidential, and he edged out all of his competitors.

On the Sean Hannity radio talk show the day following the debate, the question was posed to all of the callers, “Who won the debate last night?”  The answer by the overwhelming majority was that Mitt Romney won.  There was the occasional caller in the mix who would respond that a different candidate won.  I can only assume it was because that candidate made a profound connection to the caller.  For example, an anti-war Republican likely would have said that Ron Paul won the debate because he was the candidate to talk about a non-interventionist foreign policy.  A war veteran Republican might have said that John McCain won the debate because of the type of connection he felt to the war veteran’s comments.  A pro choice Republican might have picked Rudy Giuliani as the debate winner due to the fact that he did not share the same enthusiasm as the other candidates for the overturn of Roe vs. Wade.

The debate was held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.  The debate was sponsored by MSNBC and politico.com.

At least one representative from both MSNBC and politico.com declared Romney the winner.  Joe Scarborough of the Scarborough Country program on MSNBC commented…

I’m not saying that Romney is Reagan anymore than I’m predicting the collapse of John McCain’s campaign. But there were clear winners and losers in last night’s contest. Among those Red State Republicans (who will elect their party’s next nominee), Mitt Romney won while McCain and Giuliani failed to meet expectations.

That may not be how it looks in Georgetown or the Upper West Side, but that’s how it is playing in Kansas. And what’s the matter with Kansas? Not a damn thing. –Romney is the winner in Kansas, if not D.C., May 4, 2007

John Harris, Editor in Chief at POLITICO.COM said “Well, I thought Mitt Romney, who’s introducing himself to most Americans who are not familiar with him. … I thought he gave a very polished, forceful performance that clearly is going to attract a lot of second notices.”

Please see the full debate coverage here with lots of video, commentary, and quotations.

http://www.mittromney.com/News/Debates/Reagan_Library_California/index#index