Romney: Iowa Straw Poll Win Not Hollow

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Associated Press

By KEVIN FREKING

WASHINGTON (AP) - Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said Sunday that low turnout and the absence of some notable opponents shouldn't diminish his win in Iowa's Republican Party Straw Poll.


In this photo provided by FOX News, Republican presidential hopeful former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romeny, appears on "Fox News Sunday" with Chris Wallace in Des Moines, Iowa, Sunday, Aug. 12, 2007. (AP Photo/FOX News Sunday, John Johnson) MANDATORY CREDIT: FREDDIE LEE, FOX NEWS SUNDAY

Romney said the straw poll did just what it was designed to do: Let candidates demonstrate support that could propel them to victory in the state's caucuses this winter.

He maintained that the decisions by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Sen. John McCain of Arizona to skip the event demonstrated his campaign's strength.

"I think if they thought they could have won, they would have been here," Romney said on Fox News Sunday. "If you can't compete in the heartland, if you can't compete in Iowa in August, how are you going to compete in January when the caucuses are held, and how are you going to compete in November of '08?"

Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20070812/D8QVMHIO0.html

[ChairmanAgnostic]

1. I'm Series! I'm series!

trust me!

[peace frog]

8. This is HUGH!!111

:crazy:

[truthisfreedom]

2. Maybe if he spelled his name like a normal person.

And not like a smelly piece of sports equipment.

[scarface2004]

3. fuck romney

and the smirking horse he rode in on!

[Donnachaidh]

4. best *win* money could buy, right Mittster?

He's beginning to look like the evil spawn of Ronald Reagan and Howdy Doody. :puke:

[TheWatcher]

5. Perhaps not hollow, but certainly not real.

I doubt we will ever have an untainted vote in this country again.

[wordpix]

21. and certainly not competitive, hahahha

[TheFarseer]

6. hey, at least he didn't lose n/t

[alfredo]

7. If he has to defend his win, then it is hollow.

[Stuckinthebush]

9. Ummm...yeah, Mitt..yes it is hollow

You bone head.

[Rambis]

10. He bought the most tickets

Whatever you call that POS event it is meaningless beyond comprehension.
He had an air conditioned tent and he served the best barbecue in town. Hickory park provided the food for the event and it is excellent. I would almost consider voting for Mittens if I got free Hickory Park barbecue of course then I would vomit out of guilt and shame.

[Rambis]

11. article

1) Mitt Romney's millions bought him a whole mess of barbecue and red foam "mitts" -- and just enough of a win (at $800 a vote?) to declare a real victory in Ames with a straight face.


http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Decision2008/story?id=3470810&page=1

[gratuitous]

19. Eat the barbecue without guilt or shame

It was a non-binding straw poll; heck, if they'd let you vote four or five times, you could cash in on all the best goodies. Meaningless beyond comprehension about sums it up, though. The only people who think this has any importance at all are the political reporters trying to get some attention and idiots who spend upwards of $5 million to "win" the event.

If I'd plunked down that much money (and probably a lot of it was out of his own pocket), I'd want to assure folks -- if not myself -- that I'd spent wisely for something worthwhile.

[Mz Pip]

12. Right

And his dog loved being strapped in a cage on the roof of his car
And his sons don't need to go to Iraq when they are fighting for their Dad on the highways of America


Mitwit creates his own reality one day at a time.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[radfringe]

13. phhhtttt....

straws not hollow? yeah right, if they weren't hollow they couldn't suck

[Speaker]

14. This chameleon is farkin' dangerous. n/t

[Scooter24]

15. You want to know why he won in Iowa?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/09/AR2007080902379_pf.html

Romney's Cash Beckons Iowans To Straw Poll
By Michael D. Shear and Alec MacGillis
Washington Post Staff Writers

DES MOINES, Aug. 9 -- As thousands of Republican activists prepare to descend on Ames, Iowa, tomorrow for the straw poll meant to gauge support for the GOP's presidential contenders, the event has all the markings of a historic mismatch.

One candidate, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, has assembled an unrivaled operation for the event: a statewide corps of 60 "super-volunteers," who have been paid between $500 and $1,000 per month to talk him up; a fleet of buses; more than $2 million in television ads in Iowa; a sleek direct-mail campaign; and a consultant who has been paid nearly $200,000 to direct Romney's straw poll production, which will include barbecue billed as the best in the state.

...

Romney, a former venture capitalist and multimillionaire who has lent his campaign $9 million of his own money, has hired buses to travel the state, picking up supporters. It will cost his campaign hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay the entry fee when they arrive. Romney snared the prime spot for his tent -- space at the event is auctioned off by the state GOP -- reportedly by bidding $10,000 more than rivals.

...

A Democratic source who has tracked Romney's ad buys said Romney had spent about $2.4 million on TV ads in Iowa, beginning in February and running consistently since May. The source estimated Romney had spent an additional $2.5 million on campaign materials other than television in the state.

-----------
It should come as no surprise that he won given that he outspent his rivals by huge margins.

[Jim Warren]

16. Depending on who you listen to

It is being reported the total spent in Iowa by the Romney campaign is between $9M and $20M.
The later estimate comes from the conservative Manchester Union Leader.

This is clearly a ploy to buy MSM headlines positioning Romney as the front runner.

[sandnsea]

17. Sounds like Rove

at the very least, the Bushies. Tons of money is how George won.

[momster]

22. With a 2% Return on his Fortune

(est. at $250M) he's spent a year's salary in Iowa. I wonder if his 5 sons have done the math.

[Betty]

18. but romney is...

fucker will say whatever it takes to get elected.. he did it here when he ran for governor. Don't believe a word he says.

[JNelson6563]

20. So stop saying that!

:rofl:

What a moran.