Actor Jon Voight Endorses Mitt Romney

To be honest, I almost fell out of my chair when I found out that Jon Voight endorsed Mitt Romney at a rally at the Fish House in Pensacola, Florida today:

Academy Award winning actor Jon Voight threw his support behind Mitt Romney today, telling a crowd of hundreds at a local restaurant that Newt Gingrich “falls short” of having the characteristics needed to run the White House.

“Governor Romney is a man of faith, honor, love, and truth,” said Voight. “These are the first very important qualities a president must have. He is strong, honest, and wants to bring the country back to its exceptional place, where we have been for hundreds and hundreds of years, until President Obama decided to follow his father’s footsteps and take us to socialism.”

“I’m sorry to say Speaker Gingrich may fall short in many ways,” said Voight. “Please join me to bring in Gov. Mitt Romney as the next President of the United States.”

The reason why I am surprised by this endorsement is because Jon Voight acted in the controversial cinematic disaster called, September Dawn, in which he played the role of fictional bishop Jacob Samuelson. The movie was released during the midst of the 2008 Presidential primary when Mitt Romney was making his first attempt to become President of the United States.

The film was not a success because it received strong negative reviews from movie critics like Roger Ebert and Eric Snider. The movie also flopped because the film mixed too much fiction for it to be called a historical movie. It was a horribly written script with bad acting, bad dialogue and shoddy filming. Some people called the film massacre porn. Many Mormons and non-Mormons were upset with the film since it viciously attacked the LDS Church by falsely conflating the Mountain Meadows Massacre with modern day Islamic terrorism

Jon Voight defended the film by describing it as a warning against religious fanaticism and denied that the film was not intended as a direct criticism of Mitt Romney.

I understand that Jon Voight was just doing his job as an actor. Its good to see that he can separate his work from reality and politics.  I am surprised but happy to hear that he had endorsed Mitt Romney.

Mitt Romney Announces Endorsement From Officials Who Served In The Reagan Administration

Today, on the very day of the final Republican 2012 debates, Mitt Romney has announced that he has gathered an impressive list of people who worked in the Ronald Reagan Administration during the 1980s who are all endorsing Romney for President in 2012. Here's the list of Reaganites For Romney below: 

Members of Reaganites for Romney:

Ambassador Gerald P. Carmen – Ronald Reagan 1980 Campaign; Administrator of the U.S. General Services Administration from 1981-1984; U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva 1984-1986

Attorney General William Barr – Domestic Policy Staff 1982-1983

Lee Casey – Office of Legal Policy 1986-1990

Jimmy Gurulé – Assistant United States Attorney, Deputy Chief of the Major Narcotics Section (Los Angeles) 1985-1989

William Kilberg – President of White House Fellows 1982-1983; Appointed by Reagan to Chair of White House Fellowships in 1983

Raymond Ludwiszewski – Special Counsel to Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division 1985-1987; Associate Deputy Attorney General 1986-1991

Judge Michael McConnell – Assistant to the Solicitor General; Member of the Presidential Intelligence Oversight Committee 1988-1990

John McGinnis – Office of Legal Counsel 1985-1987; Deputy Assistant Attorney General 1987-1991

David Rivkin, Jr. – Legal Advisor to the Counsel to the VP; Deputy Director, Office of Legal Policy 1987-1993; Associate General Counsel of the Department of Energy; Associate White House Counsel

Jay Stephens – Principal Assistant Deputy Attorney General (DOJ); Assistant US Attorney; Assistant Watergate Prosecutor 1973-1986; Deputy White House Counsel 1986 – 1988; US Attorney for the District of Columbia 1988-1993

Ambassador Rich Williamson – Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs 1988-1989; Special Assistant to the President and Deputy to the White House Chief of Staff 1981; Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs, the White House 1981-83; US Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency and the UN Offices in Vienna, Austria 1983-85

Fred Cooper (GA) – Elected Chairman of the Republican Party of Georgia in 1981; Raised money during the 1980 campaign and was on the 1984 Georgia Finance Committee

Marty Connors (AL) – 1980 Communications Director for the Republican Party of Alabama; 1984 Executive Director of the Alabama Republican Party and oversaw the Alabama Reagan re-elect

Attorney General Bill Schuette (MI) – Elected in 1984, served as Member of Congress during the second Reagan administration.

Republican National Committeeman Saul Anuzis (MI) – Elected as the youngest delegate to the 1980 Republican National Convention in Detroit; and served as third vice chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, organizing youth efforts during the Reagan administrations

Ambassador Peter F. Secchia (MI) – Michigan’s Republican National Committeeman, and Vice Chairman of the Republican National Committee during the Reagan Administration, elected in 1980 and re-elected in 1984 and 1988.

Ronna Romney (MI) – Republican National Committeewoman from Michigan, serving from 1984-1992

Curt Hames (IA) – Iowa activist for Reagan

Frank Severino (IA) – Reagan volunteer in Iowa, late father-in-law served as Reagan Iowa Campaign Manager

Jim Click (AZ) – Arizona Finance Chair, 1980 and 1984

Ambassador Glen Holden (CA) – Former Ambassador to Jamaica

Ambassador Barbara Barrett (AZ) – Deputy Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration; also served as Vice Chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Board, the President’s Advisory Committee on Trade Negotiations, and the Board of the Administrative Conference of the US

Fred Balitzer (CA) – Consultant to the Secretary of the Department of Interior;  Vice Chair - Javits Fellowships, Department of Education;  Spec. Amb. - Brunei, Department of State

Ambassador Rockwell Schnabel (CA) – Former Ambassador to Finland

David C. Fischer (VA) – Special Assistant to the President, The White House; UN Human Rights Commissioner, Department of State; US Commissioner, International Boundary Commission

Joshua A. Muss (VA) – Executive Director, Property Review Board. Office of the President

Jack R. Stevens (VA) – Executive Director (1986-1988) and Western Regional Director (1983-1986), Citizens for America

Jerry Fox (FL) – Associate Administrator, General Services Administration; Associate Archivist (Management), National Archives

The Honorable Dodie Truman Stallcup (UT) – Director of Correspondence and Volunteers at the LA Headquarters and Transition Office, '79-'80; Special Assistant to the President and Director of Special Presidential Messages for the Executive Office of the President '81-'84; US Commissioner for Children, Youth, and Families and Chief of the Children's Bureau at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, '84-'89

Lindy Fekety – Secretary to Associate Director, Office of the President-Elect:  Secretary to Special Assistant to the President, Personal Office of the President - The White House:  Administrative Assistant to Director, Presidential Personnel - The White House:  Director of Administration, Citizens for America

John Agresto (NM) – Former Acting Chair of the NEH; Former President/Chancellor of three colleges and universities; President of John Agresto & Associates

Susan Alvarado (VA) – Assistant to the Vice President for Legislative Affairs, Member, Board of Governors, U.S. Postal Service

Allen K. Bahn (MD) – Co-Coordinator, Ethic Vote - Reagan/Bush 1980, 1984

Bo Denysyk (MD) – Vice Chair, Civil Aeronautics Board; Member, Presidential Advisory Committee on Trade Negotiations; Deputy Administrator, Department of Transportation/FAA

Mitt Romney has been a long time supporter of Reagan. Mitt Romney's father, George Romney, was a supporter of Ronald Reagan. You can view of photo of them together below:

I leave you with a video where Douglas Brinkley, author of The Reagan Diaries, stated during the 2008 Presidential election that he believes there is a a bit of the Reagan shine on Gov. Romney: 

Ann Coulter: Mitt Romney Is The Most Conservative Candidate Who Can Defeat Obama

 

Here's the transcript of her comments:

"What I changed my mind about is whether -- by the way I changed my mind three months after that on a FOX News show because the economy was so bad. I said, look, I'm generally a pessimist for running against -- actually, maybe I'm not. We have a popular Democratic president, who does has an attractive family, has the entire mainstream behind him, and he's an incumbent. That is why I thought the candidate we ran would lose. I no longer think. I now think Obama has a glass jaw, and I said that a few months after that statement, by the way. It's not really that big of change -- we don't know if my prediction was wrong now -- what I am saying now is of the available candidates, Romney is by far the most conservative, tied with Michele Bachmann. And he has the proven ability to win in a state like Massachusetts," Ann Coulter said on "Hannity" on Tuesday night.

After she endorsed Mitt Romney, she gave a blistering vote of no confidence in Newt Gingrich:

As the discussion continued, it took an abrupt turn to the conservative credentials of both Ron Paul and Gingrich. ”I have a problem with Ron Paul’s foreign policy. And some of his writings that went on for a decade,” Hannity said.

Coulter, seeing an opening, decided to dive into her negative assessment of Gingrich, while comparing his purported lack of conservative ideals to Paul’s. ”I have a problem with Newt Gingrich’s big government conservatism,” she said. “I think of the candidates on the stage, Newt Gingrich is tied with Ron Paul — and only Ron Paul because of his foreign policy — as the least conservative candidate on the stage."

I've always believed that Ann Coulter was a closeted Romney fan  Ann Coulter endorsed Mitt in the 2008 elections and I predicted that she would endorse Mitt Romney again in April of 2011. Turns out my prediction was correct. 

She has given a strong defense of Mitt Romney's health care plan. She also talked about him at the 2011 CPAC conference. Ann Coulter is unashamedly conservative. She wouldn't endorse Mitt Romney unless she really believes Romney was really a conservative himself.

Mitt Romney Wins Over House Republicans

Mitt Romney went to Washington D.C. to have a meeting with House Republicans today and got the House GOP very excited about his candidacy after a grueling question and answer session with the former governor of Massachusetts: 

Several dozen House Republicans grilled Mitt Romney on social issues during his visit to Capitol Hill Wednesday, including his position on abortion and gay marriage, according to attendees.

But the former Massachusetts governor generally earned rave reviews from a set of lawmakers who have yet to make an endorsement in the GOP presidential primary. Romney sought to make a distinction between his experience as an executive in the private sector and his rivals’ backgrounds.

“He hit it out of the ballpark,” said Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.), who had expressed concern Tuesday about Romney’s ability to counter attacks from President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign. “He gave a stellar performance.”

While some House GOP members were thrilled with Romney's responses to their questions, others were impressed with Romney but still wanted to learn more about him:

Oklahoma Rep. John Sullivan, who said he is “leaning” toward endorsing Romney, said the abortion issue remains “something that gives me a little bit of pause.” He said he wants more information on that topic from the Romney campaign. “He’s got a ways to go on that with me.”

Sullivan said Romney described himself during the meeting as more of a libertarian during his days as Massachusetts governor and in a Senate campaign against Ted Kennedy.

“[T]he response was when he became governor he said he’d leave things the way they were [on abortion] and then a bill came to his desk wanting the creation of embryos to destroy them and he said, ‘Look, I can’t do this,’” said Illinois Rep. Bobby Schilling. “Actually, I thought he covered it quite well today.”

Not only did Mitt Romney impress alot of House GOP members, but he managed to an introduction and endorsement from a certain House Representative:

In a bit of a coup for Romney, he was introduced by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), a conservative on immigration policy who hails from GOP contender Rick Perry’s home state. The Romney campaign announced Smith’s endorsement on Wednesday.

I think you will see many House Republicans give their endorsements of Mitt Romney in the coming days, months and weeks. Not all of them will endorse Mitt Romney but I suspect a large majority of House Republicans will.

Video: People Who Like Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney has recieved a lot of praise and endorsements from various people in the media, education, business and politics. Here's a nice 10 minute video that gives us a lot of brief clips of different people supporting Mitt Romney: 

Pat Robertson Thinks Mitt Romney Is An Outstanding Christian

Pat Robertson, a well known Christian televangelist has recently stated that he's no longer in the business of endorsing candidates: 

Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson took a tiny television station in southeast Virginia and turned it into a global network that helped him launch a presidential bid and become one of the nation's most influential conservative Christians. But as the televangelist's network turns 50 on Saturday, he says he's getting out of the political endorsement game.

Robertson's decision marks a significant departure for the founder of the Christian Coalition, who was once a central figure in Republican politics. Robertson, 81, was frequently sought out by GOP candidates hoping to curry favor with religious conservatives. His news-and-talk show on the Christian Broadcasting Network, the "700 Club," is viewed by about 1 million people in the U.S. each day.

"I've personally backed off from direct political involvement," Robertson said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press this week. "I've been there, done that. The truth of the matter is politics is not going to change our world. It's really not going to make that much of a difference."

Pat Robertson explains why he's made the decision to not endorse any candidate any more: 

"When I was in charge of the Christian Coalition I was available to mobilize grass roots support for somebody," he said. "I don't have any army right now. It's just an opinion, and that isn't quite as good as it used to be."

 Shortly after announcing that he's no longer directly endorsing political candidates, he makes this interesting comment about Mitt Romney's faith: 

Robertson said he would continue to comment on the news of the day and noted he likes Mitt Romney's politics. He said he considers the Mormon candidate "an outstanding Christian," but declined to say if he would be OK with a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the White House.

Pat Robertson isn't the only well known Christian minister to accept the idea that Romney's faith is a part of Christianity. Joel Osteen, during the 2008 Presidential election, had this to say about Mitt Romney: 

Joel Osteen also made some positive comments about Mitt Romney's faith in an interview with Chris Wallace on Fox New. His comments come at around the 1:35 mark if you want to go straight to his statement:   

Former CEO/Chairman Of General Electric Endorses Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney has received a lot of notable endorsements lately from high profile political leaders such as Tim Pawlenty, Thaddeus McCotter and Arizona Republican Congressman Jeff Flake. He's also received a slew of endorsements from elected officials around the country such as Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Colorado, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.   

While Mitt Romney is racking up an impressive list of endorsements from political leaders around the country, he's also getting endorsements from businessmen who know what it takes to create jobs and what is required to keep the economy healthy. One such businessman is Jack Welch, the former CEO and Chairman of General Electric, who recently explained why he was endorsing Mitt Romney:

Its interesting to point out that many people speculated that Jack Welch would be endorsing Tim Pawlenty and nobody knows if he would have endorsed him had he not dropped out. That's still up for speculation. However, now Tim Pawlenty is not a candidate for 2012, the former CEO and Chairman of General Electric has decided to endorse Romney. 

Now that Jack Welch has endorsed Mitt, I expect more high profile businessmen to step forward and also give their endorsement of Mitt Romney in the near future.

Congressman John Campbell Says We Need Mitt Romney

U.S House Representative for California's 48th congressional district, John Campbell, has just published his endorsement of Mitt Romney:

Today, economic issues dominate the scene in America. We have record-breaking, unsustainable deficits and face credit downgrades and a looming debt crisis. We are supposedly in the middle of economic recovery, but no one can really feel it. Unemployment is stubbornly high and shows no signs of coming down any time soon. Inflation is now running over 3%, which is relatively low, but since savings accounts pay essentially nothing, the wealth of Americans is being eroded. Europe and, yes, even China have economic challenges. Decisions about issues as diverse as national defense, the environment and immigration are all now impacted by the economic prospects and our current fiscal situation.

President Obama has been the major contributor to these problems. He has massively grown spending, deficits and debt in a misguided and failed Keynesian attempt to fix the economy. His strong and very liberal ideology continues to churn out job-killing policies in the areas of health care, energy, finance and manufacturing. He claims to love the jobs created by these industries, but his administration does whatever it can to restrict the products that these industries make and to punish those who would invest in them. And, his lack of competence and experience in matters of governance and the economy further hurt job creation and add to the uncertainty and the feeling out there that we are without direction and with little hope for the future.

“Hope and change” has failed. We need to change again. But, to whom?

I don’t want another president who has to learn management and governance on the job. I don’t want another president who doesn’t really understand how capital creates jobs and how jobs reward capital. I don’t want another president without executive experience in both the public or private sectors. I don’t want another president who blindly follows some academic ideology without assessing the practicalities of the situation he or she faces.

Please, no more people who can speak, but not lead. No more people who can read a talking point, but not think.

That’s why I am strongly supporting Governor Mitt Romney for President.

You can read the entire text of John Campbell's endorsement HERE. 

I don't know what else to add except to say that Congressman John Campbell is right. America really does need Mitt Romney to be the next President of the United States in 2012.