Romney pivots after controversies distract campaign
September 23, 2012

Republican challenger Mitt Romney tweaked his campaign strategy twice this week in an attempt to refocus the election debate on President Barack Obama's record after controversial remarks that brought criticism from both his Democratic opponent and some GOP colleagues.
Unable to overtake Obama less than seven weeks from Election Day, the former Massachusetts governor and his campaign team have been lambasted by some Republicans for veering away from messaging focused on what they call the president's failed policies and broken promises.
Former GOP speechwriter Peggy Noonan urged a campaign intervention in the pages of the Wall Street Journal, while conservative Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, said Romney needed to press more flesh in battleground states.
"I cannot think of one campaign that has not had a rough patch like this, including then Sen. Obama's campaign back in 2008," said CNN Chief National Correspondent John King, adding that Republicans are nervous about Romney's chances as well as possible "collateral damage" to GOP candidates in Senate and House races.

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Libya consulate siege that killed four was 'terrorist attack'
September 22, 2012

The siege of the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya last week that left four dead, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, was a "terrorist attack," a White House spokesman said Thursday.
"It is I think self-evident that what happened in Benghazi was a terrorist attack, our (consulate) was attacked violently and the result was four deaths of American officials. That is self-evident," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters on Air Force One.
Since the Benghazi attack occurred amid protests of an American-made anti-Islam video that was circulating on the Internet, it has been unclear whether it was planned independently or launched opportunistically when the demonstration was under way, or if it was a spontaneous attack emerging out of the protests.
This was the first time the White House called it a "terrorist attack."

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Tax penalty to hit nearly 6M uninsured people, under ObamaCare
September 21, 2012

Nearly 6 million Americans -- most of them in the middle class -- will face a tax penalty for not carrying medical coverage once President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law is fully in place, congressional budget analysts said Wednesday.
The new estimate amounts to an inconvenient fact for the administration, a reminder of what critics see as broken promises.
The numbers from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office are significantly higher than a previous projection by the same office in 2010, shortly after the law passed.
The earlier estimate found 4 million people would be affected. The difference -- 2 million people-- represents a 50 percent increase.
That's still only a sliver of the population, given that more than 150 million people currently are covered by employer plans. Nonetheless, in his first campaign for the White House, Obama pledged not to raise taxes on individuals making less than $200,000 a year and couples making less than $250,000.
And the budget office analysis found that nearly 80 percent of those who'll face the penalty would be making up to or less than five times the federal poverty level. Currently that would work out to $55,850 or less for an individual and $115,250 or less for a family of four.
Average penalty: about $1,200 in 2016.

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Actress in anti-Muslim film sues for its removal online
September 20, 2012

An actress who appears in the anti-Muslim film trailer that has been blamed for riots in the Middle East is suing the filmmaker for fraud and slander, and is asking a judge to order YouTube to take down the clip.
Cindy Lee Garcia's lawsuit filed Wednesday in Los Angeles claims the actress was duped by Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, the man behind "Innocence of Muslims" who has been forced into hiding since its 14-minute trailer rose to prominence last week. She was unaware of the film's anti-Muslim content and the pages of the script she received had no mention of the prophet Muhammad, religion or sexual content, according to her complaint.
The lawsuit states Garcia responded to an ad and thought she was appearing in an ancient Egyptian adventure film called "Desert Warriors." Dialogue in the amateurish film was later dubbed to include anti-Islamic messages and to portray Muhammad as a fraud, a womanizer and a child molester, and it was also translated into Arabic.
"The film is vile and reprehensible," Garcia's attorney, M. Cris Armenta, wrote in the document. Her client has received death threats since the film's trailer began drawing attention, and she is no longer able to care for her grandchildren, the lawsuit states.
"This lawsuit is not an attack on the First Amendment nor on the right of Americans to say what they think, but does request that the offending content be removed from the Internet," the complaint states. Garcia's attorneys plan to seek an injunction against the film Thursday in a Los Angeles court.
YouTube has refused Garcia's requests to remove the film, according to the lawsuit. The complaint contends that keeping it online violates her right of publicity, invades her privacy rights and the post-filming dialogue changes cast her in a false light. "(Garcia) had a legally protected interest in her privacy and the right to be free from having hateful words put in her mouth or being depicted as a bigot," the lawsuit states.
YouTube said it is reviewing the complaint and its lawyers will be in court on Thursday. The site is owned by search giant Google and has blocked users in Saudi Arabia, Libya and Egypt from viewing the "Innocence of Muslims" trailer. It has also blocked the video from being viewed in Indonesia and India because it violates laws in those countries.

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Romney seeks advantage from controversial comments
September 20, 2012

Fighting criticism of his controversial remarks on government dependency, Republican challenger Mitt Romney said Wednesday that he would better help poor and middle class Americans than President Barack Obama.
Romney and running mate Rep. Paul Ryan also sought to reshape the campaign narrative less than seven weeks before the November vote by accusing Obama of favoring wealth redistribution -- code for socialism among conservatives -- based on a 1998 video of the president as a state Senate candidate in Illinois.
America does not work by government making people dependent on government, Romney told a fundraising event in Atlanta, adding "that will kill the American entrepreneurship that's lifted our economy over the years."
"The question of this campaign is not who cares about the poor and the middle class? I do. He does," the former Massachusetts governor said to rising cheers. "The question is who can help the poor and the middle class? I can! He can't!"
Romney spoke as fellow Republicans appeared divided over his secretly recorded comments from a May 17 fundraiser that were made public this week.
"There are 47% of the people who will vote for the president no matter what," Romney said in a clip from the event first posted online on Monday. "There are 47% who are with him, who are dependent on government, who believe that, that they are victims, who believe that government has the responsibility to care for them. Who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing."
He also said he would "never convince" the 47% of Americans who pay no federal income tax "that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."
In response, three GOP Senate candidates in tough races this fall have distanced themselves from Romney's comments.
Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nevada, told CNN on Wednesday that he had a "a very different view of the world" than what Romney expressed.
"As a United States senator, I think I represent everybody, and I think every vote is important," Heller said, adding: "I don't write off anybody."
A day earlier, Republican Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts and GOP candidate Linda McMahon of Connecticut released campaign statements denouncing Romney's comments.
Some conservative commentators also criticized Romney, questioning whether he understood the conservative principles he championed to win the Republican nomination.
"These appear to be the words of somebody who doesn't understand American conservatism and its relationship to the American idea," wrote journalist John McCormack of the conservative Weekly Standard. "Conservatives don't believe in economic determinism. Conservatives know -- and explain why -- their economic policies will help the poor, as well as senior citizens, working families, and our troops who pay no income taxes."

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Chicago teachers suspend strike
September 20, 2012

Teachers agreed Tuesday to return to the classroom after more than a week on the picket lines in Chicago, ending a combative stalemate with Mayor Rahm Emanuel over evaluations and job security, two issues at the heart of efforts to reform the nation's public schools.
Union delegates voted overwhelmingly to suspend the strike after discussing a proposed contract settlement that had been on the table for days. Classes were to resume Wednesday.
Jubilant delegates poured out of a South Side union hall singing a song called "Solidarity Forever," honking horns and yelling, "We're going back." Most were eager to get to work and proud of a walkout that yielded results.
"I'm very excited. I miss my students. I'm relieved because I think this contract was better than what they offered," said America Olmedo, who teaches fourth- and fifth-grade bilingual classes. "They tried to take everything away."
Mayor Rahm Emanuel called the settlement "an honest compromise" that "means a new day and a new direction for the Chicago public schools."

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Romney doesn't back away from message caught on secret tape
September 19, 2012

Mitt Romney on Tuesday didn't back away from remarks he made in a secretly recorded video casting supporters of President Barack Obama as dependent on welfare, and instead said the comments that generated more problems for him in a tight race were an honest reflection of his campaign's message.
"This is a message I'm carrying day and day out and will carry over the coming months," Romney said on Fox News. "This is a decision about the course of America, where we're going to head. We've seen the president's policies play out over the last four years."
Romney cited an opposition research video that Republicans began circulating on Tuesday afternoon that shows Obama speaking at Loyola University in 1998 about making government more effective.
"I think the trick is how do we structure government systems that pool resources and hence facilitate some redistribution, because I actually believe in redistribution, at least at a certain level, to make sure that everybody's got a shot," Obama is heard saying.
In his interview Tuesday, Romney framed Obama's remarks as an endorsement of redistributing private wealth, rather than on making sure government agencies were well supported.
"The president's view is one of larger government," Romney said. "There's a tape that came out today where the president's saying he likes redistribution. I disagree. I think a society based upon a government centered nation where government plays a larger and larger role, redistributes money, that's the wrong course for America, that will not build a stronger America, or help people out of poverty."
Republicans have used the issue against Obama in the past.
Romney's charged comments at a May fund-raising event were recorded with a hidden camera. The video shows him telling his donors that nearly half of Americans back Obama because they rely on government support.
"There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what," Romney says in one clip first posted on Monday afternoon. "There are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent on government, who believe that, that they are victims, who believe that government has the responsibility to care for them. Who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing."

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Egypt issues arrest warrants over anti-Islam video
September 19, 2012

Egyptian authorities on Tuesday ordered the arrest of seven Egyptian Coptic Christians and a U.S. pastor for alleged involvement in the production of an anti-Islam video tied to protests across the Middle East and North Africa, the BBC reported.

The seven Egyptians -- one woman and seven men -- and Florida Pastor Terry Jones will be tried by a criminal court on charges of "insulting the Islamic religion, insulting the prophet and inciting sectarian strife," in the "Innocence of Muslims" film made in California, the BBC reported, citing Egypt's public prosecutor.

The seven Copts to be tried include Elia Basseley, who the prosecutor said is also known as Nakoula Basseley Nakoula. The 55-year-old, widely linked to the film, has been interviewed by U.S. federal officers probing possible probation violations. Also named was U.S.-based Morris Sadek, who has said he promoted the film that provoked outrage in the Muslim world.
Jones, who angered Muslims in 2010 by threatening to burn the Quran, also is accused for supporting the film.
The connection of the other five Copts accused in the case, who were not identified, to the film was unclear.

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Controversial private fund-raiser video shows candid Romney
September 18, 2012

Mitt Romney on Monday said his controversial statements caught on tape were "off the cuff" and "not elegantly stated," but he defended the main message of his remarks.
Romney took three questions in a brief press conference with pool reporters late Monday night in California, scheduled at the last minute in response to the release of secretly recorded video of the candidate speaking at a private fund-raiser in May.

The video quickly caught fire as potentially damaging material to the Republican presidential nominee.
In the footage, taped with a hidden camera, Romney argued nearly half of Americans will vote for President Barack Obama because they rely on government support, made apparent jokes about wishing he had Latino heritage, and talks about a Chinese factory his former firm purchased.
"There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what," Romney says in one clip. "There are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent on government, who believe that, that they are victims, who believe that government has the responsibility to care for them. Who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing."

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Judge declines to expedite hearing in Chicago teacher strike
September 18, 2012

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's effort to use the courts to end a strike by thousands of public school teachers stalled on Monday as the contentious walkout moved into a second week.
During a short meeting, Judge Peter Flynn of Cook County Circuit Court postponed until Wednesday a request to hold an immediate hearing on an injunction to stop the strike, city law department spokesman Roderick Drew said.
Striking teachers are due to meet on Tuesday to decide whether to end the strike after delaying a decision on Sunday. Picketing at dozens of schools by teachers continued on Monday but was thinned by the Rosh Hashanah holiday.
The Chicago Public Schools filed a complaint in circuit court against the Chicago Teachers Union seeking a preliminary injunction "to end the strike immediately." It cited two reasons: danger to "public health and safety" of the students and alleged violation of Illinois state law that prohibits strikes except for wages and benefits.
"State law expressly prohibits the CTU from striking over non-economic issues, such as layoff and recall policies, teacher evaluations, class sizes and the length of the school day and year," the school district said in a statement. "The CTU's repeated statements and recent advertising campaign have made clear that these are exactly the subjects over which the CTU is striking."

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