MORNING MESSAGE: How Many Lies Can Romney Tell In One Week?
OurFuture.org's Bill Scher: "It's been one week since the debate. How many lies has Mitt Romney and his campaign told since? Let's tally it up … 1. Pre-Existing Conditions … 2. Abortion … 3. "More Teachers" … 4. Taxes on the Rich … 5. 47% … The answer is five in seven days. Impressive."
Can Romney Pull Off The Moderate Etch-a-Sketch?
Can Romney pull off the moderate Etch-a-Sketch? NYT: " Inside Mitt Romney’s campaign headquarters over the past few days, the data pouring in was unmistakable … The voters, they discovered, consistently reserved their highest marks for moments when Mr. Romney sounded bipartisan and moderate … But the appearance at this late stage of a modulating Mitt Romney risks reopening a long-running debate about his authenticity, given that he has described himself as 'severely conservative,' dismissed 47 percent of voters as government dependent, and picked a bold conservative as his running mate."
Politico tracks the "U-turns": "For the third time in a week, Mitt Romney has taken a prominent U-turn on something that’s supposed to be a matter of fundamental principles. This time, he tacked back to the center on abortion — risking reviving the original and potentially most damaging rap against Romney: He stands for nothing. He first tested how far he can stray from party orthodoxy on taxes and health care…"
New Romney stump speech tries faux populism. NYT: "Many of Mr. Romney’s talking points have a populist ring, though they are less populist on closer inspection. Attacking Mr. Obama, he said, 'He wants to raise the tax on savings,' a reference to the president’s proposal to increase taxes on investment income, even though it is mostly the rich who receive income from dividends and capital gains. The president wants to 'put in place a death tax which will make it more difficult for people to pass farms on,' Mr. Romney said … He did not mention that Mr. Obama’s proposal includes a $3.5 million exemption. The Congressional Budget Office has said that only a handful of farms a year nationally would owe any estate taxes."
VP debate tonight 9 PM ET. McClatchy previews: "'For Democrats, it’s an opportunity to start the comeback narrative,' said Fred Yang, a Democratic pollster. 'It’s a chance to restart, to acknowledge that we had a tough debate, but we’ve had some improving jobs numbers and we’ve got momentum heading into the next round.' … [Biden will] look to tie Ryan to his budget plan, which cuts into popular programs, and charge that he wants to radically change Medicare and cut taxes for the wealthy."
Little movement in swing state polls. NYT: "The positive economic news appears to have buffered the president in Virginia, Wisconsin and Colorado from the substantial improvement in Mr. Romney’s national poll numbers over the past week. The three battleground polls suggest that challenges remain for Mr. Romney in the next 26 days even as his supporters express new confidence about their candidate."
Election most ideologically significant since 1936. NYT: "…historians and policy makers believe this election could be the most significant referendum on a piece of social legislation since 1936, when the Republican Alf M. Landon ran against Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal programs … Landon described the Social Security Act, passed in 1935, as 'the largest tax bill in history' and called for its repeal … 'It is very rare for a political party to pass a social program of this magnitude [ObamaCare] and then to face the possibility of a rollback or repeal in a presidential election,' said James A. Morone, a professor of political science at Brown University … Armed with data suggesting that the law is popular with crucial groups of voters — including young people, women and Hispanics — Mr. Obama plans to run more television commercials and distribute fliers taking credit for popular provisions…"
MA's Brown Runs Toward, AZ's Flake Runs Away From Norquist
GOP Sen. Scott Brown hugs Grover Norquist in third debate with Elizabeth Warren. Boston Globe: "'Listen, I am glad Grover Norquist agrees with me: We shouldn’t be raising taxes on anybody in the middle of a 3½-year recession,' he said … 'I think I just heard Senator Brown say that instead of working for the people of Massachusetts he’s taken a pledge to work for Grover Norquist, to make sure that no tax deal occurs that costs millionaires or billionaires even one dollar more,' Warren said."
AZ Senate candidate GOP Rep. Jeff Flake pretends he never signed Norquist anti-tax pledge. NY Mag: "During the first Arizona Senate debate on Wednesday, Rep. Jeff Flake said … 'The only pledge I'd sign is a pledge to sign no more pledges … I don't want higher taxes. But no more pledges.' It turns out Flake was only half right. Americans for Tax Reform lists him as one of the 238 Representatives who have signed the bill, which does mean he can't sign it again."
Breakfast Sides
Sen. Chuck Schumer's tax move backed by Dem leaders. TPM: "…nobody’s anywhere close to a deal, and even if they were, they’d still need to sell it to a certain skeptical Democrat — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. 'He’s supportive of the Schumer approach, thinks it’s smart to put the goalposts where Schumer set them,' said a Senate Dem leadership aide, who confirmed that Reid questions a framework — like Simpson-Bowles — which cedes tax rate cuts for top earners at the outset … The Obama administration, which has also typically premised negotiations on increasing top-bracket tax rates and plying additional revenues from high-income earners, gave Schumer its blessing Wednesday."
Obama administration slaps tariffs on Chinese solar panels. Reuters: "The United States on Wednesday set steep final duties on billions of dollars of solar energy products from China …Chinese solar manufacturers criticized the decision … The Commerce Department said Chinese companies were 'dumping' solar cells and panels in the United States at prices 18.32 percent to 249.96 percent below fair value … the department turned down pleas to expand the scope of its order to include Chinese panels (or modules) made with non-Chinese solar cells."
Big OIl tries to block rule exposing their payments to foreign governments. The Hill: "Oil industry groups and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are asking a federal court to overturn new Securities and Exchange Commission rules that will force oil, gas and mining companies to disclose their payments to foreign governments … It’s aimed at increasing transparency to help undo the 'resource curse,' in which some impoverished countries in Africa and elsewhere are plagued by high levels of corruption and conflict alongside their energy and mineral wealth."
