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| Mitt Romney looks to Illinois after winning Puerto Rico – US elections live | Mitt Romney looks to Illinois after winning Puerto Rico – US elections live |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| 2.15pm: And the curtain falls on Mitt Romney's address on the economy at the University of Chicago. | |
| Exit music for Romney speech: "(I've Got a Gal in) Kalamazoo." | |
| — Molly Ball (@mollyesque) March 19, 2012 | |
| Nice tune, that. And it worked in Michigan. | |
| Romney used the speech to attack the Obama administration for what he said was oppressive regulation, to roll out a list of federal fundees he would cut off and to tell young voters that unless they want to go broke paying for grandma's medicine they should vote Republican. "Freedom is on the ballot this year," he said. | |
| 2.06pm: Time for Mitt Romney's economy talk at the University of Chicago. We have some dispatches from the Twittersphere: | |
| Romney tries to turn page and elevate candidacy with economic speech at U of Chicago. Professor introducing him begins with delegate lead. | |
| — Jeff Zeleny (@jeffzeleny) March 19, 2012 | |
| Romney says government regulation is hurting the economy – and it's gotten worse under President Obama: | |
| Romney: Under Obama, "the government would have banned Thomas Edison's light bulb. Oh yeah -- they just did." | |
| — Molly Ball (@mollyesque) March 19, 2012 | |
| Which might have been quite a zinger – except for this: | |
| Romney appears to have forgotten that it was President Bush who pushed to phase out Edison's incandescent bulb. | |
| — Neil King, WSJ (@NKingofDC) March 19, 2012 | |
| Romney is listing federal funding he would cut: | |
| Amtrak, PBS, Planned Parenthood, National Endowment for the Arts are all listed among those on the Romney chopping block | |
| — Sam Stein (@samsteinhp) March 19, 2012 | |
| The candidate makes an unusual pitch to young voters. It's not an appeal to shared ideals. Instead he talks about entitlements, arguing that Democrats would be less willing to cut them, costing young voters more in debt service over their lifetimes. Which for young voters really into CBO reports should work great. | |
| romney says young voters "ought to be out there working like crazy for me and others like me, conservatives" who will work to reduce debt | |
| — Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) March 19, 2012 | |
| 11.31am: Mitt Romney's messaging on the economy took a slightly different tack this morning, as the candidate told diners in Springfield, Illinois, that the economy is recovering and will continue to do so. | 11.31am: Mitt Romney's messaging on the economy took a slightly different tack this morning, as the candidate told diners in Springfield, Illinois, that the economy is recovering and will continue to do so. |
| Politico's Reid Epstein reported: | Politico's Reid Epstein reported: |
| "I believe the economy is coming back, by the way," Romney said. "We'll see what happens. It's had ups and downs. I think it's finally coming back. The economy always comes back after a recession, of course. There's never been one that we didn't recover from. The problem is this one has been deeper than it needed to be and a slower recovery than it should have been, by virtue of the policies of this president. Almost everything he's done has made it harder for this economy to recover." | "I believe the economy is coming back, by the way," Romney said. "We'll see what happens. It's had ups and downs. I think it's finally coming back. The economy always comes back after a recession, of course. There's never been one that we didn't recover from. The problem is this one has been deeper than it needed to be and a slower recovery than it should have been, by virtue of the policies of this president. Almost everything he's done has made it harder for this economy to recover." |
| The fine line Romney is walking here is how to talk about the economy in a way that reflects what voters are seeing – without crediting the president with good economic news. | The fine line Romney is walking here is how to talk about the economy in a way that reflects what voters are seeing – without crediting the president with good economic news. |
| New Gallup numbers out today show that unemployment ticked down in the first half of March. "The percentage of Americans working part time but wanting full-time work also declined in mid-March, to 9.8% from 10.0% in February," Gallup reports. | New Gallup numbers out today show that unemployment ticked down in the first half of March. "The percentage of Americans working part time but wanting full-time work also declined in mid-March, to 9.8% from 10.0% in February," Gallup reports. |
| 11.24am: Santorum to Romney: I'll see your endorsement and raise you a cash contribution. | 11.24am: Santorum to Romney: I'll see your endorsement and raise you a cash contribution. |
| So it turns out the two Republican titans currently battling it out for the presidential nomination haven't always occupied opposite poles of the party. Santorum endorsed Romney for president in 2008. Now the reminder that Romney gave Santorum money for his doomed 2006 Senate reelection campaign. | So it turns out the two Republican titans currently battling it out for the presidential nomination haven't always occupied opposite poles of the party. Santorum endorsed Romney for president in 2008. Now the reminder that Romney gave Santorum money for his doomed 2006 Senate reelection campaign. |
| Romney's PAC donated to Santorum in 2006. | Romney's PAC donated to Santorum in 2006. |
| — Andrew Kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) March 19, 2012 | — Andrew Kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) March 19, 2012 |
| It's almost as if America's political leaders are capable of striking alliances of convenience that supercede policy disagreements or even personal animosity. At this rate whichever one loses the nomination process is going to end up endorsing the other one for president. | It's almost as if America's political leaders are capable of striking alliances of convenience that supercede policy disagreements or even personal animosity. At this rate whichever one loses the nomination process is going to end up endorsing the other one for president. |
| 11.17am: Matt Drudge pulls a funny. | 11.17am: Matt Drudge pulls a funny. |
| The conservative newshound and Romney booster has drudged up Rick Santorum's endorsement of Mitt Romney the last time Romney ran for president. | The conservative newshound and Romney booster has drudged up Rick Santorum's endorsement of Mitt Romney the last time Romney ran for president. |
| It's no secret that Santorum endorsed Romney in 2008. It's something to see him standing in front of that Romney sign though (and the glasses!). Here is the news item the Drudge front page links to. | It's no secret that Santorum endorsed Romney in 2008. It's something to see him standing in front of that Romney sign though (and the glasses!). Here is the news item the Drudge front page links to. |
| 11.04am: After Mitt Romney lost in Colorado and Minnesota, his campaign was blamed for not energetically contesting those primaries. It appears that they are not about to commit a similar error in Illinois. | 11.04am: After Mitt Romney lost in Colorado and Minnesota, his campaign was blamed for not energetically contesting those primaries. It appears that they are not about to commit a similar error in Illinois. |
| Romney's Super PAC reports another 200K ad buy in IL and is crushing Santorum's Super PAC -- spending almost 9 times as much in Illinois. | Romney's Super PAC reports another 200K ad buy in IL and is crushing Santorum's Super PAC -- spending almost 9 times as much in Illinois. |
| — Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) March 19, 2012 | — Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) March 19, 2012 |
| 10.53am: Whoever the Republican nominee may be, he will need a firecracker running mate to take on the sitting president, someone who can energize voters and help bring the competition in swing states and across a diverse electorate. | 10.53am: Whoever the Republican nominee may be, he will need a firecracker running mate to take on the sitting president, someone who can energize voters and help bring the competition in swing states and across a diverse electorate. |
| In other news, Marco Rubio, the 41-year-old first-term senator from Florida of Cuban extraction with sterling conservative credentials and matinee star looks, has bumped up the publication of his autobiography from October to June. Politico's Mike Allen broke the news this morning. Full-size book jacket image here. | In other news, Marco Rubio, the 41-year-old first-term senator from Florida of Cuban extraction with sterling conservative credentials and matinee star looks, has bumped up the publication of his autobiography from October to June. Politico's Mike Allen broke the news this morning. Full-size book jacket image here. |
| It should be noted that Rubio has explicitly dismissed speculation that he would sign on to the 2012 Republican ticket as the candidate for vice president. Some tie his reluctance to the risk that a 2012 run could make him into something that he definitely isn't so far: A loser. | It should be noted that Rubio has explicitly dismissed speculation that he would sign on to the 2012 Republican ticket as the candidate for vice president. Some tie his reluctance to the risk that a 2012 run could make him into something that he definitely isn't so far: A loser. |
| 10.26am: And if you've been following our coverage of the primary race in Illinois – Romney's going to win. That, at least, is the conclusion of the major pollsters and forecasters, who are predicting a "blowout" victory for the former Massachusetts governor.* Sixty-nine delegates are at stake in Illinois. The latest delegate count in the race to 1,144 has Romney with 503, Santorum with 252, Gingrich with 129 and Paul with 49. The Guardian delegate tracker is here. *N.B.: The polls are sometimes wrong.** **N.B.: Not that wrong. | 10.26am: And if you've been following our coverage of the primary race in Illinois – Romney's going to win. That, at least, is the conclusion of the major pollsters and forecasters, who are predicting a "blowout" victory for the former Massachusetts governor.* Sixty-nine delegates are at stake in Illinois. The latest delegate count in the race to 1,144 has Romney with 503, Santorum with 252, Gingrich with 129 and Paul with 49. The Guardian delegate tracker is here. *N.B.: The polls are sometimes wrong.** **N.B.: Not that wrong. |
| 10.00am: Illinois votes tomorrow, the Obama campaign raises cash, Romney to speak on economy, Santorum is in rally mode – welcome to your politics Monday. Tom McCarthy here in New York with live blog coverage. | 10.00am: Illinois votes tomorrow, the Obama campaign raises cash, Romney to speak on economy, Santorum is in rally mode – welcome to your politics Monday. Tom McCarthy here in New York with live blog coverage. |
| • A Republican primary election in Illinois. One great thing about the 2012 primary season is that states that never expected their votes to matter suddenly are at the center of the action. What's at stake in the Land of Lincoln? This vote isn't likely to tip the race. But we're watching to see whether Rick Santorum can grab a state with a huge built-in base (Chicago and environs) for Romney. | • A Republican primary election in Illinois. One great thing about the 2012 primary season is that states that never expected their votes to matter suddenly are at the center of the action. What's at stake in the Land of Lincoln? This vote isn't likely to tip the race. But we're watching to see whether Rick Santorum can grab a state with a huge built-in base (Chicago and environs) for Romney. |
| • While you were out: Mitt Romney waxed Rick Santorum in the Puerto Rico primary over the weekend, taking all 20 delegates and close to 90 percent of the vote. "Those people who don't think that Latinos will vote for a Republican need to take a look at Puerto Rico," Romney said. Which is a little like saying that New Yorkers love traffic – you can tell by how many of them sit in it. | • While you were out: Mitt Romney waxed Rick Santorum in the Puerto Rico primary over the weekend, taking all 20 delegates and close to 90 percent of the vote. "Those people who don't think that Latinos will vote for a Republican need to take a look at Puerto Rico," Romney said. Which is a little like saying that New Yorkers love traffic – you can tell by how many of them sit in it. |
| • Mitt Romney plans to drop by the University of Chicago today for what's being billed as a major-ish speech on the economy. Rick Santorum is hosting no fewer than four (4) rallies across Illinois. | • Mitt Romney plans to drop by the University of Chicago today for what's being billed as a major-ish speech on the economy. Rick Santorum is hosting no fewer than four (4) rallies across Illinois. |
| • The Obama campaign announces that it raised $45m in February, bringing the president's re-election war chest total to about $300m. | • The Obama campaign announces that it raised $45m in February, bringing the president's re-election war chest total to about $300m. |