Why I Want To Be Your President: Republican Round-Up

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney seems to be, in the money:

A mystery company that pumped $1 million into a political committee backing Mitt Romney has been dissolved just months after it was formed, leaving few clues as to who was behind one of the biggest contributions yet of the 2012 presidential campaign.

The existence of the million-dollar donation — as gleaned from campaign and corporate records obtained by NBC News — provides a vivid example of how secret campaign cash is being funneled in ever more circuitous ways into the political system.

The company, W Spann LLC, was formed in March by a Boston lawyer who specializes in estate tax planning for “high net worth individuals,” according to corporate records and the lawyer’s bio on her firm’s website.

The corporate records provide no information about the owner of the firm, its address or its type of business.

Any clues in this story about how he might run the economy?

UPDATE:  Mystery solved.   The anonymous done is Ed Conard, a strong Romney supporter who was a top official at the private-equity firm Romney helped create.  And I ask again:  any clues in this story about how Romney might run the economy?

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty flip-flopped on gay marriage:

A day after refusing the sign a pledge from the National Organization for Marriage to oppose gay marriage, Tim Pawlenty changed his mind.

“After reviewing the pledge, the governor wanted to sign it and we sent it to them this morning,” said Pawlenty spokesman Alex Conant.

The five-step pledge asks candidates to commit to steps to “protect marriage nationally.” It includes supporting a federal marriage amendment defining marriage as the union between one man and one woman, defending the Defense of Marriage Act in court and appointing Supreme Court justices who will “not invent a right to gay marriage.”

On Thursday Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney all signed it. And Maggie Gallagher, chairman of the board of NOM, expressed her disappointment about Pawlenty to The Wall Street Journal:

Not to mention the fact that when Mitt Romney was running against Ted Kennedy in his 1994 Senate race, he said he would be a better advocate for gay rights than Kennedy. So many ways to say “flip-flop…”

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich seems to think President Obama is actually listening to Paul Krugman:

Newt Gingrich may not be reading New York Times columnist Paul Krugman’s columns very carefully.

On Monday, Gingrich appeared on Bill O’Reilly’s Fox News show and said that President Barack Obama’s tenure in the White House “is a Paul Krugman presidency.”

“He believes that stuff. He actually believes in left-wing economic idea. The only problem with them is it doesn’t work,” said Gingrich. “All the advisers he has and ideas he has are wrong.”

If only. Sigh.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin ♡s Michele Bachmann:

Did any of the Republican contenders please Palin?

"Michele Bachmann," she said (Bachmann voted against the debt-ceiling increase). "She spoke out and she cast her vote according to her principles, she stood true."

But on Mitt Romney, not so much:

"Bless his heart, I have respect for Mitt Romney, but I do not have respect for what he has done through this debt increase debate," she said. "He did this, he waited until it was a done deal that we would increase the debt ceiling and more money would be spent, more money would be borrowed and spent on bigger government, and then he came out and made a statement that he didn't like the deal after all. You can't defer an issue and assume that the problem is then going to be avoided."

Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum thinks schools indoctrinate our children. The emphasis is mine:

“You wonder why young people can vote and flock for a guy like Barack Obama and say, if you look at the surveys, that socialism is better than capitalism — well, that’s because they don’t understand America,” Santorum said. “They haven’t been taught.”

Santorum said he’s been criticized for saying earlier this week, “Schools indoctrinate our children.” He added, “I said ‘indoctrination’ and I meant it.”

Well, at least it got me thinking about the differences between educating and indoctrinating, in this era where public schools are indeed failing our children.

And finally, kudos to Herman Cain!

Presidential candidate Herman Cain won the straw poll at the Western Conservative Summit in Denver this weekend with 48 percent of the votes, followed by Texas Governor Rick Perry.

“How about spectacular,” Cain said to ABC News when asked how he felt about winning. “I would say that winning the straw poll is not bad for somebody who has a 48 percent name ID and with a lot of people who didn’t really give me a chance. I am doing as well as I’m doing for one simple reason. My message is resonating with the people. Secondly, my approach to problem solving, so I guess there’s two reasons, is resonating with the people, so that does make us feel really really excited.”

More as the week goes on, for sure!