VP Beat: Count Rubio Out, Romney Team Not Vetting Him - East Idaho News
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VP Beat: Count Rubio Out, Romney Team Not Vetting Him

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Getty 090611 MittRomney?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1340128060054Ethan Miller/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — RUBIO’S NOT THE ONE: ABC News’ Jonathan Karl scoops that the Romney campaign is not vetting Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., for the VP spot. “Knowledgeable Republican sources tell me that Rubio is not being vetted by Mitt Romney’s vice presidential search team. He has not been asked to complete any questionnaires or been asked to turn over any financial documents typically required of potential vice presidential candidates,” Karl reports. “Although it is possible that Rubio may yet be asked to go through the vetting process, it has been nearly two months since Romney named his long-time aide Beth Myers to run his vice presidential search. The fact that Rubio has not been asked to turn over any documents by now is a strong indication that he is not on Romney’s short list of potential running mates.” Watch Jon Karl’s report on Good Morning America here Where he puts former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty at the top of his veepstakes list.

ROMNEY ON VEEPSTAKES ADVICE: ABC News’ Emily Friedman reports Romney said he gets a lot of tips about who he should pick as VP while working the “advice line,” more commonly known as the ropeline. “You know I get a lot of that.  I didn’t get any of it today on the rope line today in Iowa, but in Wisconsin, I get a lot of people saying Paul Ryan ought to be your VP.  When I’m in Ohio, I get Rob Portman.  I get a very biased audience depending on the state I’m in which should not be surprising,” Romney told reporters Monday.

RUBIO ON OBAMA’S IMMIGRATION MOVE:
Rubio told ABC News’ David Muir, who was with the Florida senator when the president’s immigration decision was announced, that he was troubled by the White House’s decision not to consult him about its immigration move when staffers knew he was developing a plan to tackle the issue of undocumented students. “Why wouldn’t someone [from the White House] call me?” Rubio asked.  “I’m trying to find a solution here, not a talking point. I’m trying to find an answer here, not a bumper-sticker slogan,” Rubio continued in an interview Friday. “The president’s is a two-year solution that expires after two years and does not really solve this in a lasting way. It just gets him through the election. … The White House never called us about this. No one reached out to us and told us this was on its way. And, I mean, if they were serious about a real solution to this problem and not politicizing it, then why don’t you reach out to people.” Watch more of Muir’s interview with Rubio here.

RUBIO’S AUTOBIOGRAPHY OUT TODAY: Rubio’s autobiography, An American Son, hits bookshelves today.  In his memoir, Rubio discusses his family’s relationship with the Mormon Church, in which the Rubios briefly were involved during his childhood before they returned to Catholicism.

RUBIO LIKELY SHELVING VERSION OF DREAM ACT: Rubio told the Wall Street Journal’s Neil King that his efforts to craft an alternative to the DREAM ACT were disrupted after the Obama administration’s immigration move last week.  “People are going to say to me, ‘Why are we going to need to do anything on this now. It has been dealt with. We can wait until after the election,’” Rubio told the Wall Street Journal. “And it is going to be hard to argue against that.”

RYAN TAKES A VP TRYOUT SPIN:
Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., joined Romney in the congressman’s hometown of Janesville, Wis. Monday, the latest VP contender to campaign with the presumptive GOP nominee on his five-day bus tour.  As ABC News’ Emily Friedman reported, Ryan’s appearance with Romney fueled speculation in the small Wisconsin town about his chances of appearing on the GOP ticket this fall.  “Gov. Romney, we are in congressman Ryan’s hometown, he is right here if you have an announcement to make,” Dan Sinykin, the owner of the factory where Romney held a rally, joked in his introduction.

CHRISTIE TO FUNDRAISE FOR ROMNEY:
ABC News’ Shushannah Walshe confirms N.J. Gov. Chris Christie will attend a fundraiser with Mitt Romney on June 26 at the Renaissance Woodbridge Hotel in Iselin, N.J.

CHRISTIE ORDERS INCREASE IN INSPECTIONS OF HALFWAY HOUSES:
N.J. Gov. Chris Christie ordered the state to conduct new inspections of halfway houses after a New York Times report about problems in New Jersey’s halfway house system. “Gov. Chris Christie ordered new inspections on Monday of New Jersey’s large, privately run halfway houses, saying his administration would ensure that the system operated ‘effectively and safely,’ Mr. Christie issued a statement in response to articles published this week in The New York Times that examined the state’s troubled halfway-house system, which has beds for roughly 3,500 parolees and state inmates finishing their sentences,” The New York Times reported.  “‘I am calling on the Department of Corrections commissioner, Gary Lanigan, to immediately step up inspections of all halfway houses and report any violations and recommendations for changes to the deputy chief of staff for policy,’ Mr. Christie said in the statement. ‘While many of the disturbing accounts reported in today’s New York Times documenting lax oversight and accountability in some of New Jersey’s halfway houses took place prior to this administration, we have an obligation to ensure the community placements program is effectively and safely operating today,’ he said.”

AYOTTE, RUBIO TO FUNDRAISE: ABC News confirmed Rubio will attend an event for Restore Our Future, a super PAC supporting Romney, in New York City today.  The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the details of the event, said Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., also will be in attendance.

AYOTTE PRONUNCIATION TEST: In an interview with the Daily Caller, Ayotte revealed a trick to pronouncing her last name. “It’s not a boat.  It’s a yacht,” Ayotte said.  Video here.

HALEY MISSES TEEN EVENT:
S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley is being criticized for missing a teen leader event in the Palmetto State last week, The State newspaper reported: “Gov. Nikki Haley is getting heat for skipping the traditional gubernatorial appearance at an annual gathering of teen leaders. Some organizers and parents are upset at her absence at Friday’s conclusion of Palmetto Boys State and Palmetto Girls State, a week-long lesson in civics for 1,450 of South Carolina’s top high school students,” The State reported.  “Haley went instead to celebrate a manufacturing plant opening in York. ‘Scheduling conflicts arise in any governor’s office and on Friday, the governor was committed to a grand-opening celebration in York that represents a $20 million job-creating investment,’ Haley spokesman Rob Godfrey said.”

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