Friday, January 11, 2008

Stand By Your Mitt?

While all sorts of Mike Rogers-related miscellanea float through my inbox, some recent references to Rogers and Romney caught my eye. Since Saturday is a good day to tidy up loose ends, enjoy this collection of The Adventures of Mike & Mitten.

Rogers has been scrupulously avoiding commitment to any GOP candidate -- he dislikes making any decision without (a) guaranteed financial benefit, (b) guaranteed safety or (c) all of the above.

[Of course, once the dust has settled on a clear Republican nominee Rogers will be by his side quicker than a Congressional staffer at an open bar.]

A recent AP story on the MI GOP primary confirmed this unaffiliated stance:

"The number one issue in Michigan is jobs," says Rep. Mike Rogers, a Republican from the area around Lansing, who has not endorsed any of the candidates for his party's nomination. (emphasis mine)

This Switzerland-like pose has been going on for a while. Last summer, the Press & Argus' Buzz column noted that quite a few Rogers supporters were wearing Romney stickers at the Brighton 4th of July Parade, and asked:
Does that mean Rogers supports Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who spoke at a Republican Party event in Livingston County in April?

The answer, according to an e-mail from Rogers' spokeswoman Sylvia Warner, is simple: No.
So I was surprised to read a post at CoMITTed to Romney (hey, I don't make this stuff up!) stating that Representative Mike Rogers of Michigan was endorsing Romney -- on camera. You'd think that this would have received some local media attention. So I visited the site and clicked on the posted YouTube video which started with the title "Rep. Mike Rogers, R-AL."

Deary me. Being the helpful gal that I am, I left a comment on the guy's blog stating that he had the wrong Mike Rogers. I wasn't even snarky (seriously!), just stated a fact.

Apparently, one dares not challenge the Mittiness and wisdom of the "#1 grassroots site" that has been "coMITTed to promoting and electing Mitt Romney President in 2008 since June 2005." When I stopped by yesterday, the video was still titled with the MI Mike and my helpful comment wasn't posted.

Since I'm not smitten with the Mitten, I helpfully posted again:

Please change the title on your “Mike Rogers of Michigan” video– it incorrectly identifies the Congressman who is speaking. Michiganders are tired of their Mike Rogers being confused with the Alabama one!

Not only has Mike Rogers (MI-08) not endorsed anyone (see the AP story, :http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i5xVGjP2icV1Q2o-iiKe22oGa3AD8U3SK780)but the misidentification is very disrespectful to Mike Rogers (AL-03).

My strategy of sounding like an outraged Michigan Republican (or an Alabama Republican who's offended by the comparison) seems to have worked. This comment did indeed make it to the website.

But wait -- the plot thickens! The Press & Argus tells us that Mr. Rogers will be partying this afternoon with Ann Romney (wife o' Mitt) and James Bopp (campaigner for Mitt) at the LivCo GOP's Shark Club bash. Not familiar with Bopp? He's a conservative political activist, attorney, Special Adviser on Life Issues to the Romney campaign, and author of such deathless prose as The Best Choice Is Also a Good Choice. Bopp has "turned into one of the more effective surrogates for Mitt Romney and his pro-life conversion."

(Yes, Duncan "0% in NH" Hunter will be there, too, but purely in the capacity of fig leaf.)

So Mike "Finger In The Wind" Rogers is doubling down on Mitt, giving a little wink'n'nudge to the Romney clan just in case Willard pans out. No public announcement, though, just in case McCain takes the lead...

Which way will the wind blow on Tuesday?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

who are you going to vote for???