Jim Davies, the brother of Ann Romney, sent this message and video out today.
When you have 22 minutes to spare, this is an absolutely must-see video! These people are
professionals and know whereof they speak.Please watch
this, share it, post to social media, etc. Every voter needs to
understand the significance of the security leaks that have come from
the Obama administration. It is time to put an end to the arrogance of
these people who either do not understand the implications of their
decisions, or are intentionally weakening and endangering our military
and intelligence heroes.
I haven't live blogged an event in a while! This will be fun!
11:15- I'd have to say Mitt Romney nailed it tonight. Powerful, strong, emotional, and very passionate. No more robot Mitt. Pretty dang amazing. Very very good. Loved it!!
Ok, except he kind of looks odd standing on the stage all by himself right now. Where are the balloons, Ryan, and his family?
Phew, there's Ryan. That was awkward for 5 seconds there.
Ok, NOW BRING ON THE BALLOONS.
Yeah, there they are! Finally. Now, where are the families? Strange backstage screwup going on!
11:07- Ha! What did I say? NOW he says protect religion, life, and marriage. All those same virtues he showcased with the previous speakers and videos!
LOVE IT-- "President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans and
heal the planet. MY promise...is to help you and your family."
"America, he said, had dictated to other nations. No Mr. President, America has freed other nations from dictators."
And now they are 10 minutes overtime. WOW.
11:05- Mitt is still talking. But I got distracted by shiny things right about the same point he got on to the policy stuff. Oops. Time to listen again.
11:04- and the RNC has officially gone over time! (Can someone text me the BYU score please?)
And look, I found the Clint Eastwood bit-
10:55- Mitt is really channeling his inner-Reagan tonight. Being fatherly, kind, trusting.
OMG he made a Mormon joke!! I never thought I'd see that!
Staples has got to be loving all the free press these days!
It was gutsy, but I like how Mitt just compared Bain to Apple and Steve Jobs. VERY gutsy. I expect that will get cut and edited into a negative commercial soon enough. But in context, it was good.
Every time I hear someone make the "better off than you were 4 years ago" bit, I really want to stand up and tell my story. Few people can compare with how much more worse off I am today than I was four years ago. Hey, Romney Camp, you should put me in a commercial! I'm your poster girl, right here!
10:50- "That morning there was no rose." I guarantee you that story goes down in history. Sounds like a classic, timeless romance for the ages!
I've noticed that the Romney camp isn't saying the words, "family values." Instead, they just keep talking about being a family. And they have really talked about love and marriage, rather than talk negative about other marriage issues (gay marriage, anyone?). Makes me curious if we'll see something about divorce and helping families make money so moms can stay home in a Romney presidency??
10:47- MITT FINALLY SAID MORMON!!!
10:43- Someone has already created an "InvisibleObama" twitter account. And it is pretty funny stuff. And it has 17,000 followers in less than half an hour. (Anderson Cooper will be so jealous.)
"When the world needs someone to do the really big stuff, you need an American." and "God Bless Neil Armstrong." - Awesome quotes!
10:38- Mitt's making jokes and talking about Paul Ryan. Interesting choice. Also, I like his suit.
So how long till someone starts talking about the price of Ann Romney's dress?
Hmm... multiple Cuba comments tonight. Foreshadowing perhaps?
Romney is not pulling his punches tonight. LOVE IT.
"It is what Americans deserve!" And then he has to pause for a long standing chanting ovation!
10:30- One of the best Rubio lines of the night, "Dad stood behind a bar in the back of the room all those years, so one
day I could stand behind a podium in the front of a room."
10:26- Food for thought- but how the heck did the tightly run ship that is the Romney campaign just let Eastwood get away with that? Was he really allowed to go completely rogue like that? Strange. Especially right after all the touchy feely stories and videos. (But I still liked it.)
10:20- this is the first time I've actually ever listened to Rubio speak. He's much better than I expected. Now I get the hype.
"He's not a bad person. The problem is he's a bad president." Well said, Senator.
10:17- Marco Rubio, "I think I just drank Clint Eastwood's water. Thank YOU!" Awesome!
10:15- Who knew the RNC could turn into a standup routine?
10:05- Clint Eastwood is obviously not using a teleprompter. Either that, or he forgot his glasses. LOVING this ad-libbed empty chair bit. "No, I can't tell him to go do that to himself!" You know that didn't get run past the RNC!
I kinda love Eastwood right now.
I can't wait to watch this all over again in a few minutes on YouTube.
"I'm sorry, I can't do that to myself either."
Yes, that line is trending on Twitter too. AS IT SHOULD.
10:02- YES! Eastwood's entrance does NOT disappoint!
10:00- where have all these awesome videos of Mitt been this whole time? These are great!
9:55- It is nice to see Ann Romney is as much as a natural blonde as I am.
OOH! There's a rumor on Twitter that Eastwood is a decoy. The real surprise might be W?? We shall see... any second now!
9:53- Sen. Marco Rubio's people just tweeted (because I seriously doubt he just said this standing backstage) "No matter how you feel about @BarackObama personally, this election is about your future, not his. #RomneyRyan2012#AmericanMiracle"
9:51- Bebe Winans was pretty dang amazing. But you know what will be more amazing? Clint Eastwood, especially if he says, "Mr. President, GET OFF OUR LAWN!" (I wish)
9:48- of all things, my comment about Jane Edmonds is getting retweeted like crazy. go figure.
9:46- Bebe Winans- now this should be good!
9:36 Took me way too long to figure out why Olympians would be at the RNC. Duh. I get it. But where are the Fab Five Gymnasts? Left out because they aren't old enough to vote yet?
9:34- phew! I remembered I was on DVR delay. Didn't have to watch that after all!
9:32- Who the heck picked Taylor Hicks to sing? Which reminds me, did anyone catch SEVEN, the opera group that sang the national anthem? They gave me chills. It was incredible!
9:28- CNN and MSNBC didn't show this. I am so grateful someone posted this on youtube so quickly!
9:22- I like Jane Edmonds. She's got spunk. A black, liberal, democrat woman is speaking at the RNC- now that's not something you see every day!
9:20 - C-span it is!
9:14 .@cnn seriously? your forcing your pundits on us? i'd much rather hear the speakers!! we're not watching to hear the arguments. #rnc
I'm forced to change channels. Again.
9:01- that didn't last long. I'm back to CNN. I really can't stand MSNBC.
Extraordinarily moving talk by Ted and Pat Oparowski about how Mitt #Romney befriended their dying son. So sad and poignant. #rnc
8:57- I was just forced to change channels away from CNN. PBS has Haley Barbour- can't stand that. And now I'm stuck with MSNBC. I may cry.
8:55- Can't remember his name to save my life, but I recognize someone over the shoulder of Piers Morgan.
8:51- I think the Oparowskis may have just won the election for Mitt! That was moving!
Ooh, CNN, you are making me mad. I see on Twitter there are more interesting speakers going on, and you're making me listen to Piers Morgan talk trash about Romney. RUDE! (And I was your one last fan!)
8:51- Wow. LDS, Mormon, and Mitt Romney are all trending on Twitter.
8:45: Unrelated: My dog has the hiccups. It is incredibly distracting &
alarming. Will she vomit, or won't she? More importantly, where will
she?
8:30: "Pure religion is to visit the fatherless and the widows in their affliction." Grant Bennett. As a Mormon, I say he nailed it
Tagg Romney just tweeted: Cool shot of Craig speaking and Mom watching w pride. #littlebrothershttp://instagr.am/p/O-MrKbkLjO/
7:30 - So who thinks we are going to see Callista Gingrich run for office soon?
From the Washington Post's Reliable Source column: Michelle Obama has been criticized for not dressing up enough for Queen Elizabeth II,
so she stepped up her game Friday night at an Olympics reception for
heads of state at Buckingham Palace. The first lady wore a very
fancy J. Mendel capsleeve jacket — “white viscose techno crepe tailored
jacket with overlapped side panels and silver embroidery” from the 2013
Resort collection, according to a press release from the company. It’s
not in stores yet, but high-end retailer Moda Operandi listed the jacket
at a princely $6,800. The White House declined to comment.
From the Washington Post's "She the People" column when Ann Romney wore her shirt:
The very wealthy Mitt and Ann Romney
have often been painted as out of touch with average Americans. Ann’s
pricey shirt will not help her husband change those perceptions, no
matter how many Laundromat photo ops are on the campaign’s daily
itinerary.
On Tuesday Ann wore a colorful silk T-shirt with a large bird print
by Reed Krakoff during an interview with her and her husband on CBS’s
“This Morning.” Fashion blogs quickly tracked down the “The Reed Audubon
Silk Shirt” and noted the whopping price tag.
A representative of the fashion house told ABC News that the shirt is
off-the-rack and it had not been a gift to Ann Romney from Krakoff...
Some Americans might be thinking that the $1,000 spent on one shirt
could help them out with a house payment or buy necessities at Walmart.
Others are counting exactly how many T-shirts that amount would buy at
Target, where first lady Michelle Obama said she often shops.
Just a little case of media bias maybe??
And could no one have at least mentioned that the $6,800 jacket is not doing Mrs. Obama's back end any favors??
Hilary Rosen, a Democratic National Committee political consultant, former Huffington Post editor, spin doctor, and overall liberal woman, was playing the part of talking head last night on CNN's AC360, when she was talking about the so-called, "War on Women," (which she says is a Republican term, not a Democrat term. I beg to differ. I say it is a media term, created by people like her for shock value.) and Romney's supposed problem with women voters, and the economy, when she said, “His wife has actually never worked a day in her life. She’s never really dealt with the
kinds of economic issues that a majority of the women in this country
are facing in terms of how do we feed our kids, how do we send them to
school and how do we — why we worry about their future.”
Hear it in context for yourself-
Just two hours later, Ann Romney and the Romney camp launched a new Twitter account for Ann Romney (@AnnDRomney). Her maiden tweet-
Less than an hour later, the Romney's son Josh came to his mother's defense as well.
Shortly after that, Obama campaign manager Jim Messina tweeted: “I could
not disagree with Hilary Rosen any more strongly. Her comments were
wrong and family should be off limits. She should apologize.”David Axelrod, Obama’s top strategist, tweeted: “Also Disappointed in
Hilary Rosen’s comments about Ann Romney. They were inappropriate and
offensive.”
And Stephanie Cutter, Obama’s deputy campaign manager, tweeted:
“Families must be off limits on campaigns, and i personally believe stay
at home moms work harder than most of us do.”
This all happened after 10 pm Wednesday night. To say it is the topic of the morning is an understatement.
Rosen, as of 10 am, has not yet apologized. But she did get pretty defensive online. Both she and Romney are making the rounds on talk shows this morning.
Via Twitter, Rosen said, (in this order)
9:55 pm: When I said @AC360 Ann Romney never worked I meant she never had to care for her kids AND earn a paycheck like MOST American women! #Truth
9:59 pm: Mitt Romney is running for President, not Ann. He hired only 10%women at
Bain; now makes up false concern for women's economic struggle.
10:09 pm: I've nothing against @AnnRomney. I just don't want Mitt using her as an expert on women struggling $ to support their family. She isn't.
10:11 pm @donnapt My point is that he should stop saying that she is his guide to women's economic problems. She doesn't have any. #IsntItObvious?
10:16 pm @morningmoneyben When Mitt says he listens to her about women's economic problems, it is fair to wonder why?
(10:18 pm- Ann Romney's tweet)
10:35 pm Bring it on!"@samsteinhp: i go away for 45 minutes and suddenly @hilaryr has become a campaign story despite not working for any campaign"
10:56 pm @AnnDRomney I am raising children too. But most young American women HAVE to BOTH earn a living AND raise children. You know that don't u?
10:58 pm @AnnDRomney Please know, I admire you. But your husband shouldn't say you are his expert on women and the economy. #HeNeedsMore
11:05 pm oh and @AnnDRomney welcome to Twitter. You will find it a very exhilarating and often unforgiving place!
Let's point out, just for fun, that Rosen defended her point of view five times before Romney even joined Twitter. This isn't an Ann v. Hilary war. This is conservative mothers v. Rosen war.
This isn't the first time we've seen Democrats accuse Republican, family-first, women of not having "real jobs." In 2004, Teresa Heinz Kerry, the incredibly wealthy heiress and wife of Senator and presidential wannabe John Kerry, said of Laura Bush, "... has actually never worked a day in her life, ... She's never
really dealt with the kinds of economic issues that a majority of the
women in this country are facing in terms of how do we feed our kids,
how do we send them to school and how do we -- why we worry about their
future."
(Great irony in the fact that Teresa Heinz Kerry was born with a silver spoon in her mouth, while Laura Bush was a school teacher in the projects, and was anything but a wealthy child.)
But back to Rosen and Romney.
The backlash on Twitter has been fascinating. There are several interesting hashtags circulating to promote stay at home mothers, Ann Romney, and more. Some of my favorites have been #MomsDoWork, #WarOnAnnRomney, #WeLoveAnnRomney, and #Rosengate.
The support for Rosen has been fairly weak on Twitter. A quick search on her name shows very few people backing her up. Most "retweets" of her comments were by Romney supporters who added on insults to Rosen.
CNN tends to have a policy of not throwing their own under the bus. They are running a blog piece on it, but haven't distanced themselves or anything from her comments. Before anyone goes crying liberal foul, that has always been the CNN style. They just stay quiet, and don't flail their people publicly. Fox News, on the other hand, will have Ann Romney appearing live in just 15 minutes. That network is having a field day with the comments.
Rosen is a highly paid DNC consultant, bringing in over $200,000 for her work there. She was the chair and CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) as well, a job with a fairly substantial paycheck. She was also the director of the Human Rights Campaign. She and her former partner, Elizabeth Birch, have twins together.
Is anyone surprised at all that a fairly wealthy, pro-LGBT activist, and Democratic consultant, has a problem with Ann Romney's idyllic life? After all, Ann Romney is everything Rosen sees as the enemy- pretty, straight women, raising successful, conservative, rich sons!
At the end of all this, I think the GOP needs to send Rosen a thank you card. She just did what they have struggled all along to do- unite conservatives behind Romney!
