Not all smooth sailing for Romney in Maine
Republican Mitt Romney found it was not all smooth sailing in Maine on Friday night when he was heckled repeatedly at a town hall meeting in Portland at a marine storage and repair facility.
Romney jetted in from Washington to fire up his base a day before the Maine Republican Party announces the results of a week-long caucusing process. But the well-attended meeting wasn’t without some unexpected drama that showed the candidate’s testy side.
The event’s second question centered on “stashing your money away in Cayman Islands,” based on investment strategies revealed when Romney recently released his 2010 tax returns. “ First of all, first of all, I’ll have to take a look at what the trustee says,” Romney said, adding that his fortune — estimated to be as high as $250 million — has been managed in a blind trust for ten years.
When Romney later talked about the importance of increasing domestic oil production, an audience member yelled, “NO FRACKING, NO FRACKING,” referring to the technique for extracting oil and natural gas from deep underground by the injection of a highly pressurized fluid. Fracking has been linked to a number of unintended consequences, from water contamination to earthquakes. A brief, heated exchange followed, before Romney finally shot back, “don’t get so upset about it, madam. It’s not worth getting upset about.”
On the Keystone Pipeline itself, Romney said, “If you don’t want oil from Canada, vote for Barack Obama.”
Romney also endured heckling on his proposal to immediately overturn President Barack Obama’s healthcare reforms if elected president. “OBAMACARE IS ROMNEYCARE,” shouted a man with a ponytail. And when Romney used one of his standard stump lines –- that U.S. household incomes have fallen under Obama’s watch, the same man yelled, “THERE’S A RECESSION GOING ON, MISTER ROMNEY!”
Snowe says “yes” to Wall St. bill
The decision is in….
Senator Olympia Snowe has ended the suspense, announcing that she will support the financial regulatory reform bill.
Snowe, a moderate Republican from Maine, joined fellow Republicans Scott Brown and Susan Collins – the other senator from Maine — in saying “yes” to the measure that most in their party strongly oppose.
Their backing leaves Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Democrats just one vote shy of the 60 needed for the measure to advance.
While still on the fence over the weekend, Snowe said that the most important thing for her was “to get it right.”
In a statement on Monday, she said the legislation isn’t perfect but “takes necessary steps to implement meaningful regulatory reforms, create strong consumer protections, and restore confidence in the American financial system.”
The three Republican renegades each got some change they wanted before getting behind the bill.
Will she or won’t she?
The suspense continues…
All eyes are on Senator Olympia Snowe, a moderate Republican from Maine, who has not yet decided on how she will vote on financial regulatory reform.
Snowe’s could be the crucial 60th vote after Republican Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown said on Monday that he will support the bill.
On Saturday Snowe said she hadn’t decided and that the most important thing was “to get it right.” Her view had not changed so far today, a staffer tells me.
Republican Senator Judd Gregg told CNBC TV that he expected Democrats to win enough support to pass a broad financial regulation bill.
Democrats are closing in on that magic 60 votes needed in the Senate to clear a procedural hurdle after Brown said: ”While it isn’t perfect, I expect to support the bill when it comes up for a vote.”
If they fail to gain Snowe’s support, the vote will likely have to wait for the governor of West Virginia, a Democrat, to name a Democrat to fill the late Senator Robert Byrd’s seat.
Ron Paul takes commanding early lead in Maine Caucus http://www.examiner.com/libertarian-in-d enver/ron-paul-takes-commanding-early-le ad-maine-caucus