{Political_Views} Morning Examiner: Romney looking past primary

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Morning Examiner: Romney looking past primary

By Conn Carroll

If you needed any more proof that Mitt Romney is already looking past the primaries and towards the general election, look no further than his campaign stop in Ohio yesterday. Romney visited a Republican Party phone bank in the suburbs of Cincinnati that was making calls in support of Issue 2, a referendum placed on the ballot by the AFL-CIO to repeal a set of government union reforms signed into law by Gov. John Kasich earlier this year. A vote for the referendum is a vote to keep the law.

The Ohio Chamber of Commerce, the Columbus Dispatch, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Tim Pawlenty, and multiple mayors have all backed Kasich's law, which was passed at the height of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's fight against government unions. This is a common sense, good government law all conservatives support. But Romney refused to endorse it. "I am not speaking about the particular ballot issues. Those are up to the people of Ohio," Romney told CNN's Peter Hamby.

But Romney felt very differently back in June when he wrote on his Facebook page: "My friends in Ohio are fighting to defend crucial reforms that the state has put in place to limit the power of union bosses and keep taxes low," Romney wrote on his Facebook page in June. "I stand with John R. Kasich and Ohio's leaders as they take on this important fight to get control of government spending. Please visit www.BetterOhio.org for more information." Politico's Jonathan Martin reports that www.BetterOhio.org is a pro-Issue 2 website.

Why the flip-flop? Well back in June, Romney still faced the real candidacy of Tim Pawlenty and the possible candidacies of Mitch Daniels, Paul Ryan, and Chris Christie. Now Pawlenty is out, and Daniels, Ryan, and Christie have all declined to run. So, since the latest polling shows Issue 2  failing by a 57 to 32 percent margin, Romney feels free to hedge his bets, hoping not to offend any Ohio independents that oppose Issue 2. It is hard to picture any of the current candidates being able to make him pay for taking the nomination for granted.

Around the Bigs
The New York Times, New Poll Finds a Deep Distrust of Government: The latest NYT/CBS poll finds that 89 percent of Americans distrust government to do the right thing, 74 percent believe he country is on the wrong track, and 84 percent disapprove of Congress.

The Oakland Tribune, Occupy Oakland protesters clash with police: Oakland Police fired tear gas into a mob estimated at more than 1,000 occupiers bent on retaking the Frank Ogawa Plaza last night. The Occupy Oakland encampment had been raided by police yesterday before dawn.

The Wall Street Journal, Europe at Odds Over Crisis Package: European leaders are expected to, again, fail to reach an agreement on how to stop the Greek debt crisis from bringing down the entire European banking system with it. The heads of state will meet in Brussels today, but after a EU finance ministers' meeting was already canceled, no one expects an agreement.

The Washington Post, Obama administration announces plan to ease student loan burdens: President Obama will announce a plan today allowing all student loan borrowers to consolidate their loans into one federal account, cap payments at 10% of discretionary income, and forgive all debt after 20 years of payments.

The New York Times, Venture Capitalists Put Money on Easing Medical Device Rules: People associated with venture capital funds that have invested in medical device companies have given $3.3 million to candidates and PACs over the last five years. "This is about survival, fund manager Michael Carusi told The Times. "We are deeply concerned about the future."

Reuters, Consumer confidence tumbles, home prices stagnate: Consumer confidence unexpectedly dropped to its lowest level in two-and-a-half years in October. "You can't look at these numbers and be optimistic about growth in 2012," investor Hugh Johnson told Reuters.

The Washington Times, State Department buys $70,000 worth of Obama books: The State Department bought more than $70,000 worth of books authored by President Obama since Obama became president. Embassies around the world have given Obama's books as gifts to foreigners.

Campaign 2012
Cain: The Examiner's Michael Barone says Herman Cain's candidacy is part of a larger revolt against experts: "It's offputting to watch what a low value voters put on expertise. But that's what happens when experts blow it one time after another."

Perry: Rick Perry told Fox's Bill O'Reilly last night, that participating in the primary debates was a mistake: "So, you know, if there was a mistake made, it was probably ever doing one of the campaigns [debates] when all they're interested in is stirring up between the candidates instead of really talking about the issues that are important to the American people.

Righty Playbook
The Corner's Yuval Levin on Perry's economic plan: "I think the most important thing about this proposal is actually its entitlement reforms—and especially the fact that Perry has endorsed a premium-support reform of Medicare, which is an absolutely essential reform if we are to have any chance of getting our long-term government finances in order."

RedState's Soren Dayton flags 65 indictments for voter fraud in southern Indiana.

Mark Perry digs into the demographics of income inequality: "American households in the top income quintile have almost five times more family members working on average than the lowest quintile, and individuals in higher-income households are far more likely than lower-income households to be well-educated, married, and working full-time in their prime earning years."

Lefty Playbook
Daily Kos' Laura Clawson celebrates the AFL-CIO's partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to support more government infrastructure spending.

Talking Points Memo's Brian Beutler points out that Rick Perry's flat tax isn't a flat tax: "It turns out Perry's plan isn't flat, doesn't eliminate the current tax code, as many conservative elites claim to want, and would likely blow a huge whole in the federal budget."

Npluseone provides a gripping account of how Occupy Wall Street was almost torn apart by … drummers.