While he remains publicly coy about the possibility of another White House bid, Mitt Romney has a calendar that tells a very different story.
From returning to a key early primary state to delivering an address before a social conservative conference and reuniting with members of his campaign-in-waiting, Romney is scheduled to spend a good deal of his September in a fashion befitting a man very much interested in running for president.
Romney has been careful to avoid being overexposed this year, instead picking his spots to weigh in with an op-ed or talk show appearance when the national debate turns to health care, the auto industry or some other issue on which he’s well-versed.
But despite the relatively low media exposure, Romney has not ignored the importance of building and keeping his political contacts, especially in Washington.
To this end, the former Massachusetts governor will spend much of the middle of this month in and around the capital for a series of events aimed at retaining or building support with a number of valuable constituencies in a Republican primary.
On Saturday, Sept. 19, Romney will speak at the Values Voters Summit, an annual conference in the capital, put on by the Family Research Council, that frequently draws GOP presidential hopefuls.
Before the conference, Romney is holding a pair of events for his political action committee, Free and Strong America, that will bring him back together with some of his most loyal supporters and a few new faces.
First, on Thursday night, Romney is holding a $1,000-per-person fundraiser at a trendy Washington restaurant. Co-hosts include a number of Romney stalwarts such as former campaign counsel Ben Ginsberg and high-powered lobbyists Ron Kaufman, Drew Maloney, Al Cardenas and Jack Gerard.
Also on the host list are two of John McCain’s top donors from the 2008 campaign, Wayne Berman and Fred Malek. Both are veteran GOP fundraising dynamos who would be significant assets to a 2012 Romney presidential run. Contacted by POLITICO, Berman and Malek each praised the former governor but indicated it was too early to make presidential commitments.
Later that night, Romney is scheduled to rejoin scores of his former campaign aides for a low-dollar Sundaes With Mitt event, at which he’s expected to dish out ice cream alongside some “special guest scoopers.”
“In 2008, Mitt did events for 33 federal candidates running for office and 37 surrogate events for Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin,” Charlie Spies, Romney’s former campaign CFO, wrote in an e-mail last week about the event. “In addition, the Free and Strong America PAC made contributions to over 150 contests at the federal and state level.”
Spies and his wife, Lisa, are hosting the dairy-themed Romney reunion at their downtown Washington condo, where there also may be some former aides to other 2008 GOP candidates in attendance.
On Friday, Romney heads across the Potomac to Alexandria for a breakfast fundraiser benefiting the reelection campaign of Virginia Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, an early supporter and state chairman of the former governor’s 2008 bid.
The day after the Values Voters event, Romney is keynoting a $500-per-person afternoon reception at the Great Falls, Va., home of former solicitor general Ted Olson for Barbara Comstock, a Romney adviser now running for state delegate.
On that Monday, Romney will deliver a foreign policy address at a Washington conference put on by the hawkish Foreign Policy Initiative. Romney’s speech will come at a luncheon during what the group is billing as an event in support of “advancing and defending democracy.”
At night, he will raise money for Bob McDonnell, the GOP’s gubernatorial candidate in Virginia, at an evening reception in Washington.
But Romney’s not just tending to old relationships and building new ones inside the Beltway.
On Sept. 22, he’ll head to Atlanta – a major Republican fundraising hub – to raise money for Georgia’s House Republican caucus.
And that weekend, the son of a former Michigan governor will return to his childhood state to keynote the annual Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference, a heavily attended activist event on a picturesque island near the Upper Peninsula. In 2007, Romney used the same conference to offer a critical assessment of his own party and won the straw poll. He later carried the state during the GOP primary.
Asked about the flurry of political activity by Romney — who is also writing a future-oriented book titled “No Apology: The Case for American Greatness” — spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom suggested the fast pace wouldn’t be limited to September.
“Summer's over,” Fehrnstrom said. “With 2010 right around the corner, there's a lot of work to do, which means more travel, more fundraising and more campaigning.”
All of which, of course, could redound to Romney’s benefit should he run again for president in 2012.
By JONATHAN MARTIN | 9/2/09 10:29 AM EDT – Source: Politico
Posted: Knowledge Creates Power – Cross-Posted: Daily Thought Pad
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