U.S. Edition
Des Moines, Iowa (CNN) – On Tuesday evening, Mitt Romney’s campaign reversed one scheduling decision, and switched course on another regarding the candidate’s attendance at two major conservative events. The decisions irritated organizers of one of the events.
Just hours after CNN first reported that Romney would appear at a Tea Party Express rally on Monday Sept. 5 - Labor Day – in Manchester, New Hampshire, the campaign changed that decision. Instead, the campaign said the Republican presidential candidate would attend the Express’ tea party rally Sunday evening in Concord, New Hampshire. Once that was done, Romney’s campaign reversed its decision regarding another event. It now says the candidate will attend a conservative group’s forum hosted by tea party booster Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina on Labor Day.
Romney’s campaign initially declined the Monday invitation to the DeMint event, citing a scheduling conflict. That conflict, revealed later, was the campaign's commitment to attend the Tea Party Express rally that day.
“We were able to reschedule Gov. Romney’s calendar in order to be in South Carolina and New Hampshire on both days,” Romney spokesman Ryan Williams told CNN.
Williams said the campaign only found out about the Express’ Concord stop today. “We asked the Tea Party Express if that would be an event where Gov. Romney could speak. They said yes. We actually were able to shift from Manchester to Concord,” the spokesman said.
“Gov. Romney is happy to be able to talk to voters in both New Hampshire and South Carolina about his plans to strengthen our economy and create jobs,” Williams added.
CNN pressed the spokesman about the campaign being faced with two events on Labor Day - and initially choosing the Tea Party Express event over the DeMint forum. Williams would only say that the campaign wanted to do both.
Organizers of the Tea Party Express are not happy about the schedule course changes. The group’s national spokesman, Levi Russell, spoke to CNN.
“I don’t know. They just got with us an hour or so ago and just said, ‘No.' They want to come to Concord,” Russell said. “They didn’t give us any reason, basically.”
Russell continued: “We said, ‘Yes.' But the CNN article has already gone out really wide…It’s been sent around everywhere and we’ve been getting a ton of people asking us about it. We’ve been confirming it, also.”
Russell said his group urged Romney’s campaign keep Romney's confirmed Monday appearance, “So that we can avoid people being frustrated that they got the wrong info.”
“The only preference is the fact it’s been so widely reported it would be the Monday I think no matter what, we’ll have disappointed folks there and probably disappointed people in the media too expecting to see him,” Russell said. “Just because the word has gone out pretty far and wide and it’s pretty hard to put the genie back in the bottle.”
But Russell said, if Romney insists on the scheduling change, his group would work with him.
“We know that campaigns are constantly adjusting their schedules as things come up. So we didn’t push them for an explanation,” Russell said.
True political campaigning from a true flip flopper. He Reverses one scheduling decision and switched course on another all to try to catch up with Perry. Maybe Mitt can get Perry to explain the porn company he invested in and the enormous budget deficit he created for Texas. Good questions to ask if you are trailing behind the leader. Mitt also needs to After research Mr. Perry's policies because he will find Perry is not a good leader, Governor and would make an even less effective President than anyone that has ever held the position before, including GW Bush.
Really who cares...people would have been disappointed no matter what eventually...flip flop!
Wow , maybe the flip flop name has some credibility ?
Mitt is looking more haggard by the day. Too bad he still doesn't have anything to offer ..
...because you know, he's the super-organized, decisive, businessman with all the experience.
Romney is in a panic mode. He can forget about getting the nomination.
Yea romney it's time to suck up to the lunatic right. They thinks your not lunatic enough even though your trying your dimness to look like one. The tea baggers sees every thing in black and white, and if you dare try to go into the grey area your toast. Perry is the man they want, who will destroy Medicare, social security and Medicare for his own tea bagging constituency. This will bring America way back in the libertarian age. Oh I forgot they've got a libertarian running in Ron Paul. This will allow insurance companies to throw grandma off the cliff, and people that pays into social security to get left on the side walk when they're retired. Hey these repugs will gleefully do any thing to get rid of Obama. I wonder when they accomplish this feat, if time will stop for them and their self interest will magically stay in tack. I wonder if this was the same mind frame the people in Wisconsin had, with their collective bargaining debacle.
Its too bad the Tea Party has been circumvented and synonymous with the GOP. I was hoping it would become a genuine third party with some new mandates for fiscal responsibility and libertarianism. Instead, its just become another wing of the religious right.
This guy flip-flops on everything!
I loved Dennis Miller's comments the other day about possible sucession of states from the U.S. Some of us are fed up with Obamism and the fact CNN is jamming it down our collective throats. Miller said in a decade or two some states like Texas may refuse to "take that Nantucket sleigh ride into Hell". Obviously referring to the over abundence ot radicals and CNNistas in New England who are, on a daily basis, raping the American people.
You mean flip flopped?
Looks like Palin is going to be there instead. Okay you will actually have a huge crowd now that Palin is coming.
That's Romney. He change position constantly. Not good to be president.
Romney flip-flops on every single thing. I can imagine him as Potus receiving that 3:00am phone call. He would flip-flop whether to answer it or not.
Its over Mittens. Do the Pawlenty thing and bow out gracefully. There is no way you can compete with the Texas governor/gynecologist.
Son of of gun, I can't believe it. He actually didn't heed a call of the Tea Party. He didn't heel? How dare he! Oh, he's gotta get with Jim Demint for some fairy dust. Alvin Greene failed us and himself for not defeating Demint. The only person he didn't fail is whomever paid him that 10K$ for signin' up and handing the keys over to SC. What a clownfest. Romney, if you can't beat'm, you might just as well join them.
This clown is done !!
Flip flop. Flip flop. Flip-flopper.
Those folks won't be disappointed. Gov. Palin is going to take Romney's place. Just confirmed by SarahPac.
He needs to buy a sheet and a pointy hat. Romney is seen as too normal by the Tea Party crowd. I recommend he beat up a homosexual, pour motor oil in a stream, call for a nuclear strike on National Public Radio, and fault President Obama for WWII. Eating a live spotted owl while flogging a homeless person couldn't hurt. He's not as sane as Huntsman, but still too rational for the Tea Party.
Is it really any surprise that he is trying to suck up to these people? I guess that he wants a piece of that action. There seems to be the understanding that these people, who don't care about compromise and advancing the whole country, are the king makers for the nomination. That is a sad fact.
Potato- patatoe – He is going to talk to a bunch of old white people that still think we are fighting WWII. I hope he's got good graphics ( or so they know what I'm talking about- pictures) so they can follow what he's saying. Big speakers might help as well.
Where are the jobs promised in 2010 by these wingnuts? They have no solutions, just lies and promises. Romney is desperate thanks to Perry and the teabaggers
Reverse,bait and switch, flip to the flop, it all sounds like the Republican Handbook.The Tea Party is hated by the majority and Romney is taking a step towards hell and selling his soul for false praise and he may get some Tea Party boost but he has moved so far to the right that he will be spinning a circle that gets him nowhere fast.
Romney flip-flopping on issues and dancing around what voter rally to attend? Unheard of!... 'OMG, I can't decide which type of right-wing extremists will I pretend to be lifelong supporter of/make excuses about my record to...'