Mack says Nelson, Obama hurting small businesses; receives McCollum’s endorsement
Orlando SentinelBy Scott Powers
Posted on May 7, 2012
An Orlando company that imports high-end wines, beers and specialty foods played backdrop Monday for U.S. Rep. Connie Mack IV to rail against taxes and regulations hurting small businesses.
Mack, seeking the Republican nomination to run against incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, argued that “lockstep liberal” policies of Nelson and President Barack Obama make it tough for companies like C&B International Trading Group, 3705 Vineland Rd., to compete or expand.
“Small business owners are being squeezed by this administration and by Sen. Nelson. Sen. Nelson believes in a bigger government, a more intrusive government that squashes the hopes and dreams of small business owners,” said Mack, a Republican from Fort Myers.
Florida attorney general Bill McCollum joined a tour of the C&B warehouse and used the occasion to endorse Mack, who first faces former U.S. senator George LeMieux in an August Republican primary.
“I know that we need to turn America around. We need to cut taxes. We need to get economic growth to help small businesses like this. We need to maintain a strong defense,” McCollum said. “Connie Mack understands how to get this done.”
Former Florida AG Bill McCollum Endorses Connie Mack for U.S. Senate
Mack is conservative leaderBy Team Mack
Posted on May 7, 2012
ORLANDO - At a news conference at a Central Florida small business former Florida Attorney General and Congressman Bill McCollum endorsed Connie Mack for U.S. Senate.
McCollum said:
"From his days in the Florida Legislature where he formed and led the Freedom Caucus, to his principled fights in Washington against bailouts, the failed stimulus and ObamaCare, and for common sense ideas like the Penny Plan, Connie Mack has proven himself a tireless conservative leader for the people of Florida and the country.
"To turn this country around, cut taxes, restore economic growth, replace ObamaCare and maintain a strong national defense, it is absolutely essential that Barack Obama be defeated in November, but that alone is not enough. We must elect a Republican majority to the U.S. Senate and keep the House majority. To assure Republicans win a Senate majority, Connie Mack must be elected Florida's next United States Senator.”
Mack thanked McCollum for his support and his service to the people of Florida:
"I am truly honored to have earned the support of Bill McCollum. He has been a conservative champion for the people of our state, and we owe him a debt of gratitude for his many accomplishments – including his leadership in filing the 26 state lawsuit now before the U.S. Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of ObamaCare.
“I look forward to his help in this campaign and his advice and counsel for many years to come.”
As part of today’s announcement, McCollum and Mack toured C & B International Trading Group, a traditional small business which has been hurt by the economic realities brought about by the policies of Barack Obama.
“Everyone knows that small businesses need stability, which has not come from Obama's way of doing business. There is too much unpredictability and volatility with current policies and that needs to change, and small business owners need that change" said Mayda Carone, owner of C & B International Trading Group.
Mack brings U.S. Senate campaign, petition to Orlando
Orlando SentinelBy Scott Powers
Posted on Apr 11, 2012
U.S. Rep. Connie Mack IV brought his Republican U.S. Senate campaign to town Wednesday in the form of a petition calling on President Barack Obama and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson – both Democrats -- to change their minds on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline.
At Orange Texaco, near downtown Orlando, Mack declared Nelson should stop playing "politics" and support construction of the roughly 2,000-mile pipeline, proposed to carry oil from Canadian tar sands to American refineries in Texas. With its environmental impact still being debated, Obama rejected the northern portion of the pipeline through Nebraska, though parts of the pipeline still are being built.
"We are conducting a petition drive throughout the state of Florida and nationally to tell Sen. Nelson and Barack Obama to build the Keystone XL pipeline and build it now," said Mack, of Fort Myers. "We're tired of the politics. We're tired of seeing gas prices continue to go through the roof. We're tired of Sen. Nelson saying, 'I'd vote for the pipeline if it would only do this, if only it would do that.'"
Mack would not say how many petition signatures he hopes his campaign will collect, nor would he discuss his own record on energy, except to say he supports nuclear, drilling in Alaska, the pipeline and an "all of the above strategy."
Mack's chief Republican rival, George LeMieux, challenged Mack's past positions, charging that he had voted in favor of a 2010 Gulf of Mexico drilling moratorium and against a 2005 bill calling for an inventory of oil reserves in the Outer Continental Shelf. Asked about those votes, Mack replied, "I would suggest to my opponent that maybe he should sign our petition and stand with us."
Nelson campaign spokesman Christian Robinson said that the "if only" Nelson sought was a requirement that the Keystone oil be reserved for U.S. use and not exported.
Mack seeks support for XL Pipeline
Fort Myers News-PressBy Bob Rathgeber
Posted on Apr 10, 2012
United States Senate candidate Connie Mack IV, R-Fort Myers, is touring Florida with a petition in hand. He’s asking Floridians to tell President Barack Obama and Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Orlando, to OK the XL Pipeline that would bring oil from Canada to the United States.
Mack said he’s past fed up with high gas prices and said that access to cheaper Canadian oil would help bring down the price at the pumps.
“All we’re seeing are prices going up … $70, $80, $90, even $100 to fill our tank,” Mack said on Tuesday at the Whiskey Creek Sunoco gas station on McGregor Boulevard. “”If we could get that down to 50 bucks, then it’s a start.”
Mack is one of three Republican candidates vying to face Nelson in November’s election. The other two Republicans running are George LeMieux and Mike McCalister.
Mack blasts Nelson on gas-price speculation
South Florida Sun-SentinelBy William Gibson
Posted on Apr 4, 2012
Senate candidate Connie Mack says speculators are making money on the high price of gasoline because President Obama, backed by Senator Bill Nelson, is blocking the Keystone XL Pipeline.
Mack, a Republican congressman from Fort Myers, fired back at Nelson’s assertion on Tuesday that speculators are driving up gas prices. Nelson, a Florida Democrat, said federal regulators are slow to rein in speculation on the futures market.
The Mack attack, fueled by public dismay over gas prices, is part of his attempt to replace Nelson in the Senate.
Energy issues, especially gas prices, are a big deal in Florida, a car-happy state that has resisted offshore drilling to protect its environment and coastal tourism industry from potential oil spills.
Nelson is leading the fight in the Senate against drilling near the shores of Florida.
Concerns about the environmental impact prompted Obama to reject for now construction of the Keystone Pipeline, which would link Canadian oil supplies to refineries along the Gulf Coast.
Mack, a leading promoter of the pipeline, says Nelson is using speculators as a scapegoat while resisting attempts to expand domestic production.
This debate over energy policy is likely to remain a major issue in the Florida Senate race.
Click here to read the article.
Senate 2012 Outlook
National Review OnlineBy Jim Geraghty
Posted on Apr 4, 2012
FLORIDA: For months, Republicans saw little-known potential Senate candidates such as former (appointed, not elected) senator George LeMieux, Florida state-senate president Mike Haridopolos, and former state representative Adam Hasner polling weakly against incumbent Democrat Senator Bill Nelson. (Haridopolos and Hasner withdrew from the race in 2011.) The incumbent had mediocre approval ratings, and the Sunshine State shifted heavily to Republicans in 2010, but for some reason, the GOP upstarts couldn’t seem to get traction.
Enter Representative Connie Mack IV. Well-funded with a famous name (his father was a senator, and his great-grandfather was a baseball hall-of-famer), Mack has won every race he’s run with at least 59 percent of the vote. Rasmussen puts Mack ahead of the incumbent by seven points.
Click here to read the full article.
“LeMieux's Mack attack ducks issues”
Fort Myers News-PressBy Editorial Board
Posted on Feb 29, 2012
George LeMieux’s sudden attacks on Connie Mack IV in the Republican primary contest for U.S. Senate are personal, nasty, skillful and largely irrelevant to what should be the real issues in the campaign.
None of that will matter if they work, if they help LeMieux cut Mack’s 30-point lead in the polls.
We hope they don’t work, because voters need a campaign based on the tough issues facing America. Mack’s youthful drinking and brawling are not among them.
Questions about Mack’s more recent financial problems are more relevant.
...
The Southwest Florida congressman, son of a respected U.S. senator and great-grandson of the legendary baseball manager, had an average lead of 30 points in three polls taken in January.
LeMieux served briefly in the U.S. Senate as an appointee of former Gov. Charlie Crist. He’s trying to live down his association with Crist, who left the GOP to run unsuccessfully as an independent Senate candidate after trailing Marco Rubio in pre-primary polls. Rubio handily won the general election.
That and Mack’s lead lend a certain desperation to LeMieux’s attacks.
LeMieux says Mack’s only qualification is his name. But the congressman has a four-term record and well-known views. What does LeMieux have to say about those?
Reps. Ros-Lehtinen, Diaz-Balart, River and Fmr. Rep. Diaz-Balart Endorse Connie Mack
By
Posted on Feb 14, 2012
Connie Mack talks 'thugocrats,' touts top congressional support in Hialeah
Miami HeraldBy Marc Caputo
Posted on Feb 13, 2012
Bashing the "thugocrats" in Venezuela and Cuba, U.S. Senate candidate Connie Mack touted the support of Miami-Dade's Cuban-American congressional representatives Monday in a speech that highlighted his foreign-policy chops.
Mack, a Republican Fort Myers congressman and House Committee on Foreign Affairs member, suggested the Obama administration wasn't backing its allies as Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez expands his influence in Latin America.
"We can no longer have a government that tends to side with our enemies and turns our back on our allies," Mack said.
U.S. Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, David Rivera and Mario Diaz-Balart echoed the sentiment when they officially endorsed Mack at Chico's Restaurant in Hialeah. Also in support: former U.S. Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart.
The support of the four Miami-Dade powerbrokers is crucial in the state's largest Republican county, where nearly two-thirds of the registered Republicans are Hispanic.
Mack, leading in the polls, faces former Sen. George LeMieux and businessman Mike McCalister in the Republican primary. They seek to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, whom Mack often describes as a "lockstep liberal" for his support of Obama's policies.
Mack and his fellow representatives largely eschewed talking about Nelson on Monday and instead concentrated on Chavez and Fidel Castro, whom Mack called "thugocrats."
In a sign of Chavez strength and the waning of Castro's regime, the Republicans spent more time talking about Venezuela's leader than Castro. They also touched on the left-leaning administrations of Bolivia's Juan Evo Morales Ayma, Nicaragua's José Daniel Ortega Saavedra and former Honduran President José Manuel Zelaya Rosales.
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart credited Mack with raising concerns in Congress about Zelaya. Zelaya was ousted in a 2009 military coup because he defied the Honduran high court. He had planned to host a referendum that was ultimately aimed at giving him more time in office.
Obama, at the time, opposed the ouster of Zelaya by the military but suggested the U.S. opposed the Honduran government's policies.
Mack vocally opposed Zelaya's return, visited Honduras and sponsored a congressional resolution that effectively supported the coup.
"Because of him, Congress coalesced," Diaz-Balart said. "And because of him, and because of the heroic people of Honduras, that democracy was able to survive."
Diaz-Balart also suggested Obama joined with Castro and Chavez in helping "put an anti-American dictator in Honduras." But Zelaya was actually elected two years before Obama won the U.S. presidency.
Mack spent relatively little time talking specifics about his foreign policy positions and instead lauded the score of supporters — members of Miami's Cuban exile community.
"I would challenge anyone to come to Hialeah and talk about freedom," Mack said. "When people talk with you about what it means to be free, you're not talking from a textbook. You're talking about a life experience."
Mack pushes to bypass Obama on oil pipeline
Tallahassee DemocratBy Ledyard King
Posted on Feb 10, 2012
Rep. Connie Mack IV is leading a House effort to bypass the president and give Congress the right to approve the controversial Keystone pipeline that would deliver oil from the tar sands of Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.
Frustrated by President Barack Obama's rejection last month of a permit for the project, the Fort Myers Republican said the bill he's proposing would breathe new life into a project that environmentalists oppose but business groups and unions endorse.
"The president has an opportunity. He can either lead, follow of get out of the way," Mack said at a Capitol Hill news conference Thursday. "The president has decided he's not going to lead on this issue. He's decided he's not going to follow on this issue. And so we need to get him out of the way."
Mack, who chairs a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee that's held hearings on the project, has 50 co-sponsors on the bill, most of them Republican. The measure is similar to one that North Dakota Republican John Hoeven introduced last month in the Senate.
Keystone supporters have seized on a Jan. 23 report by the non-partisan Congressional Research Service that says the Constitution "does not expressly accord the president any authority to regulate foreign commerce."
But CRS adds that some courts have recognized the president's ability to do so.
Under review for three years, the project has won support from labor groups, businesses and many local governments along its 1,700-mile path. Supporters say it promises thousands of jobs and a relatively cheap source of domestically produced energy.
Environmentalists counter that the country needs to wean itself off fossil fuels.
The issue was complicated last fall when Nebraska objected to the path TransCanada, the pipeline's builder, chose through the state because it was near an important aquifer. The state worked with the company on a new path through the state, a process undergoing environmental review.
A temporary payroll tax cut extension that Congress approved in December included a GOP provision forcing the administration to decide by the end of February whether to grant a permit for the pipeline.
Obama decided against approving a permit on Jan. 18, agreeing with a recommendation from the State Department. He called the congressional deadline "rushed and arbitrary" and said it "prevented a full assessment of the pipeline's impact."
Mack, who is running for Senate, counters that two previous reviews have come back "overwhelmingly suggesting that this a safe and environmentally friendly project."
Mack's opponent, incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, has expressed support for the pipeline but opposes bypassing the president, spokesman Dan McLaughlin said Thursday.
U.S. Senate hopeful Mack IV campaigns in south Lee County
Fort Myers News-PressBy Bob Rathgeber
Posted on Feb 3, 2012
Four previous times, voters in Lee, Collier and Charlotte counties sent Connie Mack IV to Washington as a member of the House of Representatives.
Friday afternoon, the Fort Myers Republican asked them to stick with him and return him to the nation’s capital this fall, this time as a U.S. senator.
Mack finished a whirlwind three-day, six-city tour around Florida on Friday, rolling out his kickoff campaign at the Coconut Point Mall in Estero.
Introduced by his mother, Priscilla Mack, who called him “my little boy,” the congressman spent about 10 minutes making pledges and promises, saying that President Barack Obama and incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson would be in his cross-hairs for the next 10 months.
“I am committed to making Barack Obama a one-term president and this being the last term for liberal Sen. Bill Nelson,” Mack said to about 100 friends and supporters.
Mack has been on the road for two weeks, putting 4,000 miles on what was a brand-new car 14 days ago. He stumped for primary winner Mitt Romney, visited several Newt Gingrich rallies as Romney’s emissary and then launched his own senatorial campaign with speeches and fundraisers in Tampa, Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Boca Raton, Miami and, finally, south Lee County.
In South Florida he announced that Jeb Bush Jr. would be one of his two state campaign co-chairmen. His deputy campaign manager, David James, said the other co-chair would be announced sometime next week.
Mack spent much of his 10-minute talk linking Nelson with Obama, saying that Nelson’s voting record is 98 percent in favor of the president.
“As you all know, my wife Mary is also in Congress,” Mack said. “We don’t even vote together 98 percent of the time.”
Click here to read the original article.
Mack promises to fight for freedom at campaign kickoff rally
Naples Daily NewsBy Tracy X. Miguel
Posted on Feb 3, 2012
Promising to reduce the size of the Federal government, cut taxes and spend less, Congressman Connie Mack officially kicked off his campaign for U.S. Senate on Friday afternoon at a rally in Estero.
"I commit to you, that I will fight hard every day," Mack told a crowd of more than 50 supporters gathered at Coconut Point mall between Pagelli's and Hemingway's Island Grill restaurants. "I'll fight for those principles that I grew up sitting at the dinner table with mom and dad learning about. The idea of less government, less taxes, less spending and more freedom."
Mack and his mother, Priscilla Mack, took the platform while Johnny Cash's "I've Been Everywhere" blared through the courtyard. In a 7-minute speech, Mack asked the cheering crowd to get involved and help put the country back on the road to prosperity.
Mack, a Republican, said he wants to fight for a balanced budget and the elimination of President Barack Obama's 2010 health care reform law.
Mack, who had once announced he would not run for U.S. Senate, said he changed his mind when Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos, who he supported, dropped out of the race. He said he didn't believe any of the other Republicans in the race could beat Democratic incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson.
"I don't believe that we could continue to have a Democratic control in the Senate that believes that government is the answer to all of the problems," Mack said.
Mack said he wants to be a voice in the Senate fighting for limited government.
Click here to read the original article.
VIDEO: "It's the citizens in this country that make us strong"
WINK NewsBy Mike Walcher
Posted on Feb 3, 2012
VIDEO: Mack: I'm Offering Florida Voters a Change from Senator Nelson
FOX 4By
Posted on Feb 3, 2012
Mitt Romney boosts Connie Mack’s Senate bid
Miami HeraldBy Erika Bolstad and Marc Caputo
Posted on Feb 2, 2012
One of the unexpected winners in Tuesday’s Republican presidential primary in Florida wasn’t even on the ballot: Congressman Connie Mack.
The leading Republican candidate in the U.S. Senate race, Mack earned national media exposure stumping across the state for Mitt Romney. The former Massachusetts governor went so far as to anoint the 44-year-old Mack in campaign stops as "the next senator from Florida."
That endorsement helped drive Mack’s opponent, Adam Hasner, out of the race this week and into a congressional race in South Florida. Another GOP challenger, Craig Miller, exited to run for a congressional seat, too, leaving only former Sen. George LeMieux as a serious challenger.
Other Republican candidates may remain in the race, but Mack is acting the part of frontrunner, and is backed up by polls. Among likely Republican voters, Mack leads former Sen. George LeMieux 38 to 12 percent, according to a Mason-Dixon poll released Jan. 27 and conducted for the Miami Herald, El Nuevo Herald, the Tampa Bay Times, Bay News 9 and Central Florida News 13. Mike McCalister registered 7 percent in the poll.
Mack has aimed his campaign rhetoric squarely at the incumbent Democrat, Sen. Bill Nelson, 69, whose last election was his 2006 trouncing of then-U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris, the state’s former Secretary of State.
Mack supported Romney in 2008, too. But he called the week he spent on the campaign trail with Romney "a huge benefit" in developing a relationships with a presidential campaign that will also be running hard in Florida."
I had the opportunity to be with the guy who won the primary, and to work with him and on his behalf," he said.
Click here to read the original article.
Romney speaks to overflow crowd in Naples
WINK NewsBy Staff report
Posted on Jan 29, 2012
Rep. Connie Mack, himself a Senate Candidate, has been one of Romney's most reliable surrogates in Florida. He spent the last week on Gingrich attack mode, though Sunday he only alluded to Romney's top rival.
"There are others in this race who have a very checkered past when it comes to ethics and honesty...but not Mitt Romney," said Mack.
Click here to read the original article.
Fort Myers Congressman Mack bets his future on Romney
Ft. Myers News-PressBy Bob Rathgeber
Posted on Jan 28, 2012
Connie Mack IV and Mitt Romney have been joined at the hip as Romney campaigns for the Republican presidential nomination in Florida.
If Mack isn’t at Romney’s side joining hands in a touchdown salute, he’s serving as the former Massachusetts governor’s surrogate at Newt Gingrich campaign stops, cranking up a Mack attack on Freddie Mac.
This is how Mack, the Fort Myers Republican congressman who is running for the Senate, has been spending his time leading up to Tuesday’s presidential preference primary in Florida.
Mack has gone all-in with Romney. It’s a risky example of political gamesmanship to the nth degree, a move that could propel Mack into the Senate.
Click here to read the original article.
Nelson faces tough Senate race
Bay News 9By Staff report
Posted on Jan 27, 2012
For the first time in his race for the US Senate, Senator Bill Nelson, D-Florida, could have a tough road to re-election ahead of him.
That's according to a new, exclusive News 13 Florida Decides Poll.
That's assuming the GOP Candidate for the Senate is Rep. Connie Mack, IV, who is currently far ahead of the rest of the pack. The poll shows Mack is favored by a large margin, receiving 38 percent of the vote. The next closest competitor, George LeMieux, comes in with only 12 percent of the vote. Behind him is Mike McCalister wtih 7 percent, Adam Hasner with 4 percent and Craig Miller with only 1 percent.
Click here to read the original article.
Connie Mack Leads GOP Senate Pack
Sunshine State NewsBy Kevin Derby
Posted on Jan 19, 2012
A Sunshine State News Poll of likely Republican presidential primary voters finds a large chunk of them -- 42 percent -- remain undecided in choosing a candidate to take on Democrat incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, but those who have a preference are breaking heavily toward U.S. Rep. Connie Mack.
Mack, whose father held the Senate seat for two terms, takes 40 percent in the poll, conducted by Harrisburg, Pa.-based Voter Survey Service (VSS) and has a sizable lead over the rest of the pack of Republican hopefuls.
Click here to read the original article.
Connie Mack Takes Aim at Bill Nelson and Obama
Sunshine State NewsBy Kevin Derby
Posted on Jan 18, 2012
Republican Congressman Connie Mack, who is running in the GOP primary to challenge Democrat U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, weighed in on the incumbent avoiding President Barack Obama’s appearance at the Magic Kingdom on Thursday.
"Is Senator Nelson running from the president he has been in lockstep with 98 percent of the time, or embracing the notion that announcing another, revised economic plan in Fantasyland could possibly be rooted in reality?" Mack asked in a statement sent to Sunshine State News.