The Pajama Pundit

New Gingrich Ad Asks, "What Kind Of Man Would Deceive?"

2012-01-27T15:17:00.000-05:00

And the answer is "this man".

Wow. They're using stuff from last night's debate. Talk about rapid response...

UPDATE: Mike Huckabee responds to the use of his clip in the above ad:

Any use of an out of context quote from the Republican Presidential primary 4 years ago in a political ad to advocate for the election or defeat of another candidate is not authorized, approved, or known in advance by me. I have made it clear that I have not and do not anticipate making an endorsement in the GOP primary, but will support the nominee. My hope is to defeat Barack Obama and win majorities in both the House and Senate, not to attack any of the Presidential candidates who might be our nominee.

Well, the boat sailed on that one Huck because Newt TOTALLY used you to smear Mitt Romney.

Just sayin'.

Sh*t Samuel L. Jackson Says (NSFW)

2012-01-27T15:07:00.000-05:00

WARNING: Totally and completely NSFW.

I am so utterly tired of the "sh*t [insert group of people here] says" meme. But, I thought this one was good, because the dude's impression of Samuel L. Jackson is spot-on.

Some humor for your Friday afternoon. Just make sure you turn down your speakers and that there are no children nearby...

Ron Paul "Signed Off" On Controversial Newsletters

2012-01-27T14:45:00.000-05:00

It appears that the kindly Congressman from Texas hasn't been telling the truth:

Ron Paul, well known as a physician, congressman and libertarian , has also been a businessman who pursued a marketing strategy that included publishing provocative, racially charged newsletters to make money and spread his ideas, according to three people with direct knowledge of Paul’s businesses.

The Republican presidential candidate has denied writing inflammatory passages in the pamphlets from the 1990s and said recently that he did not read them at the time or for years afterward. Numerous colleagues said he does not hold racist views.

But people close to Paul’s operations said he was deeply involved in the company that produced the newsletters, Ron Paul & Associates, and closely monitored its operations, signing off on articles and speaking to staff members virtually every day.

“It was his newsletter, and it was under his name, so he always got to see the final product. . . . He would proof it,’’ said Renae Hathway, a former secretary in Paul’s company and a supporter of the Texas congressman.

Heretofore, Ron Paul has maintained that he didn't have editorial control of the newsletters in question (for the long backstory, check out James Kirchick's 2008 article at The New Republic), and that the controversial material had been written by a 'ghost-writer'.

Over at OTB, Doug responds to the newest chapter in this saga:

One of the reasons that Paul gets a break on some of this stuff, is simply because of his steadfastness on issues of principles. I can certainly understand that, but at some point one has to stand up and denounce something that’s wrong, and Paul not only didn’t do that in the 1990s, he apparently consciously decided to appeal to it in order to make his business more profitable. Far be it from me to deny someone the right to make a profit, but when you do it by pandering to base racial hatreds you’ve got some questions to answer for it. Whether one believes in those ideas or not, providing voice to them is a tacit endorsement, especially if one if a former Congressman and Presidential candidate.

My emphasis.

This latest revelation will likely have very little, if any affect on his most ardent supporters. They are the 'true believers' who think that the political establishment is trying to silence their candidate-of-choice.

BUT, I think that cumulative effect of this story has single-handedly ruined Ron Paul's chances of higher office. He could still act as something of a kingmaker if the GOP primary goes to a brokered convention (which it won't), but any thoughts of a cabinet position -- much less a VP consideration -- are long gone.

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Photo: A. Nelles/ZUMA Press/Newscom

Nomination For The Craziest Campaign Ad This Year

2012-01-27T13:36:00.000-05:00

Wow.

Note to candidates for public office: comparing anything to slavery is a bad idea. Whether it's in a speech or in a campaign ad, people will not react well.

In fact, I would argue that it's up there with comparing your political opponent(s) with Adolf Hitler on the list of "things that you probably shouldn't do".

The Tide Turns For Newt Gingrich (Again)

2012-01-27T12:29:00.001-05:00

Dude. What happened Newt?

Seriously. One week ago, you were the darling of the Republican party. You stood up for yourself and swatted every attack that came your direction. By most accounts you won the debates in South Carolina, which (undoubtedly) carried you to a primary victory in the Palmetto State.

But last night, that candidate all-but disappeared.

I watched the 1,208,317th debate last night on CNN and I have to say Newt, you got clobbered by Mitt Romney. None of your attacks stuck. All of his rhetorical punches landed with a resounding 'thud'. Bruised and battered was your political appearance by the conclusion.

That's not to say that you didn't give it your best.

For example, this exchange with newsman and moderator Wolf Blitzer was priceless:

WOLF BLITZER: We're continuing the debate here in Jacksonville, Florida.

Let's get to the issue of transparency, because voters out there, they want to know as much about you four gentlemen as possible before they vote.

Tax returns - let me bring this to Speaker Gingrich.

Earlier this week, you said Governor Romney, after he released his taxes, you said that you were satisfied with the level of transparency of his personal finances when it comes to this. And I just want to reiterate and ask you, are you satisfied right now with the level of transparency as far as his personal finances?

NEWT GINGRICH: Wolf, you and I have a great relationship, it goes back a long way. I'm with [Rick Santorum]. This is a nonsense question. [APPLAUSE, CHEERS FROM CROWD] Look, how about if the four of us agree for the rest of the evening, we'll actually talk about issues that relate to governing America?

BLITZER: But, Mr. Speaker, you made an issue of this, this week, when you said that, "He lives in a world of Swiss bank and Cayman Island bank accounts." I didn't say that. You did.

GINGRICH: I did. And I'm perfectly happy to say that on an interview on some TV show. But this is a national debate, where you have a chance to get the four of us to talk about a whole range of issues.

BLITZER: But if you make a serious accusation against Governor Romney like that, you need to explain that. [BOOS AND JEERS FROM CROWD]

Newt, you have the Republican audience eating conservative fruit right out of your hand! Fantastic! Now, bring it on home with a slam on the liberal media, and you'll have this thing all wrapped up, with a pretty bow on top!

Then, just when I thought that your fellow Republican candidates would help you pile-on Wolf Blitzer for asking "nonsense questions", Mitt Romney jumps in:

Wouldn't it be nice if people didn't make accusations somewhere else that they weren't willing to defend here?

Damn.

That's where I think that the tide turned for you Newt.

There are lots of folks saying that last night's debate was your 'last chance' to make a stand Newt -- and I have to say that I am starting to agree. You surged upward in the polls last fall, then fell off. Last week, after some great debate performances and a strong finish in South Carolina's primary, you got another bounce in the polls, but have fallen off once again.

Unless there is some kind of game-changer (like, winning the Florida primary on Tuesday, for example), I really don't see how you come back again.

Time and time again, I have heard from those who support Newt Gingrich -- as well as from the former Speaker of the House himself -- that a chief reason for backing his candidacy in the Republican primary is his superior debating skill. Many a supporter has argued that Gingrich will be able to defeat Barack Obama in a series of Lincoln-Douglas style debates (over which, you seem to be obsessed Newt). After your performance last night, I would LOVE to hear from Gingrich supporters regarding this theory. It seems to me that Mitt Romney debated circles around you Newt. And that is being generous.

On Wednesday, GOP12's Christian Heinze outlined the reasons that the 'Newt-As-A-Superior-Debater' argument simply doesn't work. And there are three very good reasons...

Look Newt, I'm not telling you how to run your show. Clearly, you are a far-more experienced politician than I. However, I would argue that your continued candidacy in the 2012 primary for the Republican nomination will not help the eventual nominee.

Whomever that may be (*cough* ROMNEY *cough*).

Mitt Romney: We Can't Afford To Take A Risk On Newt

2012-01-26T17:00:00.000-05:00

Wow. And this one is from the Mitt Romney campaign, not some shadowy surrogate SuperPAC.

How Will Newt Gingrich Survive In Florida?

2012-01-26T15:58:00.000-05:00

...if he has to sustain political advertisements like these:

Both of these ads are from Restore America's Future, Mitt Romney's SuperPAC. And man, they are effective.

As an independent, I cannot vote in the primary election in Pennsylvania. But if I could vote, and I had been subjected to a major ad-buy of this nature -- as I'm sure that the folks in Florida have -- there's no way that I would vote for Newt Gingrich.

Mitt Romney Tells The Truth

2012-01-26T15:22:00.000-05:00

Mitt Romney concedes to radio host Laura Ingraham that it will be a tough argument to get people to vote for a Republican if the economy continues to get stronger.

Here is the much talked-about back-and-forth:

LAURA INGRAHAM: You’ve also noted that there are signs of improvement on the horizon in the economy. How do you answer the president’s argument that the economy is getting better in a general election campaign if you yourself are saying it’s getting better?

MITT ROMNEY: Well, of course it’s getting better. The economy always gets better after a recession, there is always a recovery. There's never been a time anywhere in the world where an economy has never recovered. The question is, has it recovered by virtue of something the President's done or has he delayed the recovery and made it more painful?

The latter is, of course, the truth. The President's policies have made it, have made this recession deeper, and have made the recovery more tepid, more difficult on the American people. This is the worst recovery we've seen from a recession since Hoover. And President Obama wants to take credit for things getting better, he in fact has made things worse. He's made this recovery take much longer.

But will our economy get better someday? Of course it will, and it will not be thanks to the President Obama. It will be in spite of President Obama, and that's of course the message we have to give. If people think the right course for improving an economy is to massively expand debt and grow the government, well they can vote for Barack Obama. But, we know better.

INGRAHAM: Isn’t it a hard argument to make if you’re saying, like, OK, he inherited this recession, he took a bunch of steps to try to turn the economy around, and now, we’re seeing more jobs, but vote against him anyway? Isn’t that a hard argument to make? Is that a stark enough contrast?

ROMNEY: Have you got a better one, Laura? (laughs) It just happens to be the truth. We're going to see the numbers, in terms of how the economy does. It's very possible, by the way, that the economy will go into a decline again. I can't tell you that I can predict that's it going to get better. But I think at some point it's going to get better.

I have to say, it's probably the most surreal thing that I've heard any of the GOP candidates say thus far in the 2012 primary campaign -- and Gingrich has suggested an American moon-base by 2020.

I think that I can hear Newt Gingrich's opposition research team drooling....

Quote Of The Day: Tom DeLay Dumps On Newt Gringrich

2012-01-26T14:43:00.000-05:00

"What has been said about Newt is pretty much true. He had to step down because Republicans, conservative Republicans, wouldn't vote for him again as Speaker. Because he's not really a conservative. I mean, he'll tell you what you want to hear. He has an uncanny ability, sort of like Clinton, to feel your pain and know his audience and speak to his audience and fire them up. But when he was speaker, he was erratic, undisciplined." -former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX), in a radio interview with KTRH-AM in Houston, Texas.

Head nod: Taegan Goddard

Bob Dole UNLOADS On Newt Gingrich

2012-01-26T13:58:00.000-05:00

Daaaaaaaaaaaang:

I have not been critical of Newt Gingrich but it is now time to take a stand before it is too late. If Gingrich is the nominee it will have an adverse impact on Republican candidates running for county, state, and federal offices. Hardly anyone who served with Newt in Congress has endorsed him and that fact speaks for itself. He was a one-man-band who rarely took advice. It was his way or the highway.

Gingrich served as Speaker from 1995 to 1999 and had trouble within his own party. By 1997 a number of House Republican members wanted to throw him out as Speaker. But he hung on until after the 1998 elections when Newt could read the writing on the wall. His mounting ethics problems caused him to resign in early 1999. I know whereof I speak as I helped establish a line of credit of $150,000 to help Newt pay off the fine for his ethics violations. In the end, he paid the fine with money from other sources.

Gingrich had a new idea every minute and most of them were off the wall. He loved picking a fight with President Clinton because he knew this would get the attention of the press. This and a myriad of other specifics like shutting down the government helped to topple Gingrich in 1998.

In my run for the presidency in 1996 the Democrats greeted me with a number of negative TV ads and in every one of them Newt was in the ad. He was very unpopular and I am not only certain that this did not help me, but that it also cost House seats that year. Newt would show up at the campaign headquarters with an empty bucket in his hand — that was a symbol of some sort for him — and I never did know what he was doing or why he was doing it, and I’m not certain he knew either.

The Democrats are spending millions of dollars running negative ads against Romney as they are hoping that Gingrich will be the nominee which could result in a landslide victory for Obama and a crushing defeat for Republicans from the courthouse to the White House. Democrats are not running ads against Gingrich which is further proof they want to derail Governor Romney.

In my opinion if we want to avoid a sweeping victory by Obama in November, Republicans should nominate Governor Romney as our standard bearer. He could win because he has the requisite experience in the public and private sectors. He would be a president in whom we could have confidence and he would make us proud.

I wonder if anyone will mention this in the debate tonight...

The Wealth Of Statesmen (Infographic)

2012-01-26T13:50:00.001-05:00

An interesting (and timely infographic regarding Mitt Romney's wealth -- and taxation.

Created by: Online MBA Programs

Hard Wuerk

2012-01-26T13:03:00.004-05:00

-M.Wuerker, Wuerking Drawings

Newt Gingrich Appears To Have Lied About ABC News Story

2012-01-26T11:05:00.001-05:00

GOP12:

The story in bullet points.

a. During Monday's debate, he said that he offered ABC "several" personal friends to dispute his ex-wife, Marianne's "open marriage" claims.

ABC said it received no such offer of personal friends, countering that Newt's daughters were the only ones offered and that they were, indeed, included in the story.

b. One day later, he repeated the "several" personal friends line to CNN and said it was "just plain baloney" when ABC denied Newt's claim.

c. Yesterday, Newt's spokesman finally fessed up, and admitted that the "several" personal friends were, simply, his two daughters, and nobody else.

If Mitt Romney's campaign doesn't capitalize on Newt's egregious error, they're stupid.

The argument doesn't have to be about Marianne Gingrich either. The argument that Romney -- or Santorum & Paul -- should make is that Newt is simply untrustworthy. Gingrich came out guns-a-blazin' at the CNN debate. He slammed John King and ABC News for their irresponsible reporting.

But it seems that Gingrich was the irresponsible one.

My Thoughts On President Obama's SOTU Remarks

2012-01-26T10:33:00.000-05:00

So, I meant to post my reaction to the State Of The Union address yesterday, but work responsibilities got in the way (don't you hate it when that happens?). It may be a day late, but it's definitely not a dollar short. 'Cause it's free, dummy.

Firstly, if you missed it, here is the transcript. You can watch the entire thing here.

Okay, the good news is: I didn't feel like the entire thing was one big campaign speech. Particularly at the beginning.

But, now that I've read the speech (as opposed to watching it) and am now writing about it, some of the remarks come across as more-than-a-bit campaign-y. But, in the moment on Tuesday evening, it didn't feel that way.

What I found to be the most interesting and compelling moments were in the first several minutes of the address. Particularly this bit:

Let’s remember how we got here. Long before the recession, jobs and manufacturing began leaving our shores. Technology made businesses more efficient, but also made some jobs obsolete. Folks at the top saw their incomes rise like never before, but most hardworking Americans struggled with costs that were growing, paychecks that weren’t, and personal debt that kept piling up.

In 2008, the house of cards collapsed. We learned that mortgages had been sold to people who couldn’t afford or understand them. Banks had made huge bets and bonuses with other people’s money. Regulators had looked the other way, or didn’t have the authority to stop the bad behavior.

It was wrong. It was irresponsible. And it plunged our economy into a crisis that put millions out of work, saddled us with more debt, and left innocent, hard-working Americans holding the bag. In the six months before I took office, we lost nearly four million jobs. And we lost another four million before our policies were in full effect.

Those are the facts. But so are these. In the last 22 months, businesses have created more than three million jobs. Last year, they created the most jobs since 2005. American manufacturers are hiring again, creating jobs for the first time since the late 1990s. Together, we’ve agreed to cut the deficit by more than $2 trillion. And we’ve put in place new rules to hold Wall Street accountable, so a crisis like that never happens again.

The state of our Union is getting stronger. And we’ve come too far to turn back now. As long as I’m President, I will work with anyone in this chamber to build on this momentum. But I intend to fight obstruction with action, and I will oppose any effort to return to the very same policies that brought on this economic crisis in the first place.

No, we will not go back to an economy weakened by outsourcing, bad debt, and phony financial profits. Tonight, I want to speak about how we move forward, and lay out a blueprint for an economy that’s built to last – an economy built on American manufacturing, American energy, skills for American workers, and a renewal of American values.

This blueprint begins with American manufacturing.

My emphasis.

As the President started in with the "Let's remember how we got here...", I must admit that I was concerned that he was going to re-hash the 'failed policies of President Bush' talking points that, in essence, won Obama the 2008 election. At first this bothered me because, as I've talked about before, Americans aren't going to buy that argument this time around.

But when the President continued, "I will work with anyone in this chamber...", I started to worry less. While he was still hinting at 'remember, I inherited this mess' language, it seemed that he was turning something of a corner with some talk of the future, and his willingness to get things done.

Also worth noting, Obama followed that conciliatory tone with a strong call to arms for Democrats. The line about intending 'to fight obstruction with action' was some of the most forceful rhetoric that I have heard from Obama-as-President.

One of my biggest criticisms of President Obama in the last three years is that he has lacked, well, balls. Oh sure he's gotten some ballsy things done (bin Laden, healthcare, et al), but it is only in the aftermath of these ballsy things that the President seems to misplace his metaphorical testicles.

Let me put it another way; heretofore, I haven't felt like the President brags about his successes enough. He hasn't used forceful language enough. You may not agree with him on a whole host of issues (see above), but you have to admit that he got sh*t done.

It appears that this campaign may be different. And it should be.

While the President is well known for his 'laid-back' persona, looking very comfortable on the stump, this election is not going to be based on 'hope and change' imagery. Voters this time around are going to be looking at the President's record over the last three-plus years. Barack Obama needs to stand up and fight for what he and his administration have done -- and what he plans to do in the next four years.

You may think me naive, but I was also impressed by the call for bipartisanship using our nation's military as an example:

At a time when too many of our institutions have let us down, [the military of the United States] exceed all expectations. They’re not consumed with personal ambition. They don’t obsess over their differences. They focus on the mission at hand. They work together.

Imagine what we could accomplish if we followed their example. Think about the America within our reach: A country that leads the world in educating its people. An America that attracts a new generation of high-tech manufacturing and high-paying jobs. A future where we’re in control of our own energy, and our security and prosperity aren’t so tied to unstable parts of the world. An economy built to last, where hard work pays off, and responsibility is rewarded.

What I heard was, "You know what? Democrats and Republicans are too bitterly divided. We haven't gotten much done in Washington, D.C. because of our partisan gridlock. If we pattered our governance after the the example of teamwork and leadership that our military sets -- we would be in much better shape."

Now, Jason Kuznicki at The League thinks differently:

[T]o imagine that our economy and the rest of our society should be run just like the military is the very essence of fascism.

...and while I think that Jason has a point about the militarization of America, I'm not so sure that this is what Obama was referring to in his speech.

On the contrary, I interpreted the President's rhetoric as a plea to set aside our political and ideological differences and work together towards a common goal: getting our country working again. I don't think that the President is suggesting that all Americans need to 'fall in line' like the military does -- for, as Kuznicki points out, surely that would be fascism. I think that Obama was simply going for a 'teamwork' message here.

...and at the same time, he got to plug the successes of our nation's military members. What ~~President~~ politician would pass on an opportunity to do that?

James Joyner and I agree on that last point:

Like John Kennedy’s famous line, “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country,” this is simultaneously uplifting and outrageous. It’s beautiful speechcraft and political theater; who could dare not applaud this and be seen as not supporting the troops?

Indeed.

All in all, save for the things that I've talked about, the speech was (sometimes eerily) similar to previous State Of The Union addresses. The RNC put out an extremely effective web ad that speaks to this:

Much of the speech was indeed standard boilerplate from an incumbent President up for re-election. But, as I mentioned above, I think that I sensed more of a fire in the President's belly.

We'll see just how strong that fire is in the coming months.

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Photo: U.S. President Barack Obama gets a standing ovation as he makes his State of the Union address to a joint session of congress and the American people in the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol on January 24, 2012 in Washington, DC. UPI/Pat Benic

New DNC Ad Hits Romney On Banks And Tax Returns

2012-01-25T10:04:00.000-05:00

For my money, this ad is not particularly effective. The accusation that Romney 'parked his money in off-shore accounts' and Swiss banks is one that rings hollow to me.

So what? Romney is free to do with his money as he pleases.

Now, if there is mounting evidence that he was doing this solely to avoid paying his taxes, then I've got a (small) problem with that -- but I still don't see it as a major campaign issue.

SEALs Rescue Hostages In Somalia In Overnight Raid

2012-01-25T08:14:00.000-05:00

Dang.

In a daring nighttime raid Tuesday, U.S. Navy SEALs rescued two hostages, including one American, who were being held by kidnappers in Somalia, U.S. officials tell NBC News.

American Jessica Buchanan, 32, and a 60-year-old Dane, Poul Thisted, were working for a Danish relief organization in northern Somalia when they were kidnapped last October. U.S. officials described their kidnappers as heavily armed common criminals with no known ties to any organized militant group.

According to the U.S. officials, two teams of Navy SEALs landed by helicopter near the compound where the two hostages were being held.

As the SEALS approached the compound on foot gunfire broke out, the U.S. officials said, and several of the militants were reportedly killed. There is no word that any of the Americans were wounded.

The SEALs gathered up Buchanan and Thisted, loaded them onto the helicopters and flew them to safety at an undisclosed location. The two hostages were not injured during the rescue operation and are reported to be in relatively good condition.

This must be why the President said, "Good job tonight" to Leon Panetta at the State Of The Union address last night.

More as it develops...

Santorum: It's Not My Job To Defend The President

2012-01-24T17:02:00.001-05:00

So, yesterday at a townhall event, a woman told Rick Santorum that "I never refer to Obama as President Obama because legally he is not. He constantly says that our constitution is passé, and he ignores it as you know and does what he darn well pleases. He is an avowed Muslim and my question is, why isn't something being done to get him out of government? He has no legal right to be calling himself president."

Today, Santorum defended his non-action on Morning Joe saying that it is not his job to defend the President:

Rick Santorum is more concerned about saving the feelings of an 'elderly lady leaning on a cane' than he is about setting the record straight -- even if he has already done so in the past.

I may disagree with John Heilman on many things, but he is right in saying that Santorum needs to take a page out of John McCain's 2008 playbook. Santorum should quickly and deliberately put down the falsehoods and not let these untruths continue.

I will concede that it is not Santorum's job 'to defend the President', but he rightly points out that others do not correct his record when presented with inaccuracies.

Hey, I've got an idea; anytime you are at a political rally and are presented with rhetoric that is blatantly false, call out the presenter. Regardless of who it is.

Joe The Plumber's Confusing Advertising

2012-01-24T15:10:00.000-05:00

So, I was perusing this very interesting article by Matt Lewis at The Daily Caller and when I scrolled down the page I saw this advertisement:

Now, if you'll note the image contained in that ad, Mr. The Plumber is standing and chatting with then-Presidential -candidate Senator Barack Obama. Obama appears to be, well, lecturing the plumber-turned-Congressional candidate.

My question: Why use an image that includes President Obama? Ostensibly, Samuel "Joe the Plumber" Wurzelbacher is running as a darling of the Tea Party, right?

Right.

So, why would a rabid anti-Obama candidate for Congress use an image of said candidate and Obama?

Seriously. I'm really asking.

Boehner: "Obama's Policies Are Almost Un-American"

2012-01-24T14:07:00.000-05:00

The Speaker of the House is not mincing words:

House Speaker John Boehner Tuesday forcefully denounced the Democrats' campaign theme that they are for the middle class and Republicans are for the wealthy – saying the policies the president is running on are "almost un-American."

"This is a president who said I'm not going to be a divider, I'm going to be a uniter, and running on the policies of division and envy is – to me it's almost un-American," said Boehner.

Speaking to a small group of reporters in his Capitol office ahead of the president's State of the Union address, Boehner said Democrats have been trying to push the same middle class versus wealthy theme for "eighty years" and suggested it won't work for President Obama.

"He can run, he can hide, make all the noise he wants – but it's going to be a referendum on his policies, and they haven't worked," said Boehner.

My emphasis.

So, the pre-State of the Union fireworks appear to have begun.

Mitt Vs. Newt

2012-01-24T13:18:00.000-05:00

-R.J. Matson, St. Louis Dispatch

Gingrich Supported The Death Penalty For Drug Smuggling

2012-01-24T12:28:00.001-05:00

This past weekend on MSNBC, former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson highlighted something about Newt Gingrich that I'd never heard before:

Foreal? Newt Gingrich supported the idea that people bringing drugs into the United States should be put to death?

And sure enough, there it is at the Library of Congress:

HR 4170 IH

104th CONGRESS
2d Session

H. R. 4170
To provide a sentence of death for certain importations of significant quantities of controlled substances.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 25, 1996

Mr. GINGRICH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL
To provide a sentence of death for certain importations of significant quantities of controlled substances.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Drug Importer Death Penalty Act of 1996'.

SEC. 2. INCREASED PENALTIES FOR INTERNATIONAL DRUG TRAFFICKING.

Section 1010 of the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act (21 U.S.C. 960) is amended by adding at the end the following:
`(e)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the court shall sentence a person convicted of a violation of subsection (a), consisting of bringing into the United States a mixture or substance--
`(A) which is described in subsection (b)(1); and
`(B) in an amount the Attorney General by rule has determined is equal to 100 usual dosage amounts of such mixture or substance;
to imprisonment for life without possibility of release. If the defendant has violated this subsection on more than one occasion and the requirements of chapter 228 of title 18, United States Code, are satisfied, the court shall sentence the defendant to death.
`(2) The maximum fine that otherwise may be imposed, but for this subsection, shall not be reduced by operation of this subsection.'

SEC. 3. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 18, UNITED STATES CODE.

(a) INCLUSION OF OFFENSE- Section 3591(b) of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by striking `or' at the end of paragraph (1);
(2) by striking the comma at the end of paragraph (2) and inserting `; or' at the end of paragraph (2); and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
`(3) an offense described in section 1010(e)(1) of the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act;'
(b) ADDITIONAL AGGRAVATING FACTOR- Section 3592(d) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after paragraph (8) the following:
`(9) SECOND IMPORTATION OFFENSE- The offense consisted of a second or subsequent violation of section 1010(a) of the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act consisting of bringing a controlled substance into the United States.'.

Wow. Conor Friedersdorf makes a great point:

More noteworthy still is what actually sponsoring a bill like this says about Gingrich's moral compass. For him, exercising the most extreme, irreversible, and morally fraught power that the state possesses -- the power to kill someone -- is appropriate as a punishment for a nonviolent crime.

This insufficient regard for the sanctity of human life and willingness to pander with the death penalty is problematic enough when exhibited by a powerful legislator. Electing a president with that mindset is terrifying, especially now that President Obama has recklessly set the precedent for secret extrajudicial kill orders to be issue by the executive branch. Though Gingrich still insists the War on Drugs should be fought more aggressively, it is admittedly unlikely that drug smugglers would be executed by the federal government were he elected. At the same time, it's extraordinary likely that he'll make judgment calls about officially sanctioned killings and appropriate punishments for transgressions against the law. Do Republicans really want to trust those decisions to a man who once tried to apply the death penalty to marijuana smugglers?

My emphasis.

To Mr. Friedersdorf's last question: yes. Right now it appears that Republican want to trust this type of a decision to Newt Gingrich. Next week? Who knows...

Congressional Reaction To SOPA/PIPA Protests

2012-01-24T10:53:00.000-05:00

The graphic speaks for itself.

[via the ProPublica Nerd Blog, head nod: Dish]

Bad Lip Reading With Mitt Romney

2012-01-24T10:11:00.000-05:00

Head nod: TYWKIWDBI

By The Way, President Obama Is Out There Too

2012-01-23T14:44:00.001-05:00

...lest you think that the President is sitting on his laurels. Quite the contrary.

I know that I've been posting quite a bit (understatement) about the GOP primary battle -- but Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and the other Republicans aren't the only high-profile politicians running advertisements.

President Obama's re-election machine has just released this ad, as something of a defense of his first term.

It's a quick 15-second spot -- but it illustrates the message quite well. I have to admit that I like the infographic-y look to the ad.

Newt Gingrich On The Air In Florida

2012-01-23T14:15:00.000-05:00

Via BuzzFeed:

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich is buying airtime in Florida and will be up state-wide on Fox News Channel beginning tomorrow, a source tells BuzzFeed.

The ad has the same title as the one he released last week in South Carolina, "The Moment," that highlighted the best moments from his debate performance in last week's Fox News debate in Myrtle Beach. It remains to be seen whether Gingrich will incorporate Thursday's CNN debate or tonight's NBC debate in the new ad.

The impact of Gingrich's debate performances on his South Carolina victory on Saturday is hard to understate — with this ad serving as a closing argument of sorts — which is why the selection is understandable. It also matches Gingrich's broader theme: That he is the larger man, a heavyweight contrast to Obama and a plausible conservative president.

If you ask me, Newt should find a way to use last Thursday's CNN debate to his advantage. After all, it helped him win the state...

Senator Mark Kirk Hospitalized For Stroke

2012-01-23T13:33:00.001-05:00

The Senator from Illinois is now recovering:

Sen. Mark Kirk was hospitalized after suffering a stroke over the weekend and underwent surgery Monday in Chicago, his office said.

According to a statement, Kirk, 52, checked himself in to Lake Forest Hospital in the Chicago area on Saturday, where doctors discovered a carotid artery dissection in the right side of the neck.

After being transferred to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, further tests showed the senator had suffered an ischemic stroke.

On Monday, Kirk underwent "successful" surgery to relieve swelling around his brain that resulted from the stroke, the statement continues.

"Due to his young age, good health and the nature of the stroke, doctors are very confident in the senator's recovery over the weeks ahead," Kirk's office said.

Mitt Romney Steps Up Attacks On Newt Gingrich

2012-01-23T11:57:00.001-05:00

Both in advertising:

And in stump-speech rhetoric. Romney, in Florida:

So I've had the experience of leadership. Now Speaker Gingrich has also been a leader. He was a leader for four years as speaker of the House. And at the end of four years it was proven he was a failed leader. And he had to resign in disgrace. I don't know if you knew that. He actually resigned after four years in disgrace. He was investigated under an ethics panel and had to make a payment associated with that and then his fellow Republicans, 88 percent of Republicans, voted to reprimand Speaker Gingrich. He has not had a record of successful leadership.

This is quite a large deviation from Romney's strategy. Heretofore, Romney has been focusing nearly all of his criticism on President Obama -- staying above the fray, as it were -- but now it seems that his campaign is adopting a different tack.

Weekend Snow Day, FTW!

2012-01-23T09:32:00.000-05:00

Had a great time this weekend with The Pajama Family. On Saturday morning, we awoke to nearly seven inches of the powdery white stuff. Awesome.

After suiting-up the kiddos, we walked to my folks' house to fetch our sleds (which had been left there since LAST winter). Then we headed back to our house (in the background on the video), where there are some small hills nearby.

That's my daughter in the sled and my son falling up the hill. TPW is the cheering her daughter on...

Now: back to the grind.

Gabby Giffords Announces That She Is Stepping Down

2012-01-22T14:42:00.001-05:00

Big news regarding Congresswoman Gabby Giffords via POLITICO:

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), who was severely wounded just over one year ago in a shooting rampage, announced Sunday that she is resigning from Congress.

“I have more work to do on my recovery so to do what is best for Arizona, I will step down this week,” she told supporters in a video message. “I'm getting better, every day.”

Giffords says she will resign this week from Congress so that she can devote herself to her rehabilitation, which has been under way for more than a year since a bullet pierced her brain during the mass shooting in a Tucson parking lot that left six people dead.

Here's the YouTube video announcement.

Sunday Morning Music

2012-01-22T08:55:00.000-05:00

You are watching & listening to the Beastie Boys' "Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win (featuring Santigold)", from their eighth studio album Hot Sauce Committee Part Two.

Enjoy your Sunday.

Newt Gingrich Wins The South Carolina Primary

2012-01-21T19:33:00.001-05:00

CNN has just projected that Newt Gingrich will win the South Carolina primary for the Republican nomination for President.

It looks like the debate on Thursday evening really benefitted Gingrich.

More on Monday.

Saturday Morning Cartoon

2012-01-21T08:52:00.000-05:00

Eat your Wheaties -- it's cartoon time!

Is it just me, or does this cartoon -- Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch, from 1974 -- look like a very early predecessor for the 2003 Disney/Pixar film Cars?

Nah. It's just me.

SOPA/PIPA Gets Put On Hold

2012-01-20T16:49:00.001-05:00

For now, at least. Via POLITICO:

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) said today that his committee won't take up SOPA until "there is wider agreement on a solution." "I have heard from the critics and I take seriously their concerns regarding proposed legislation to address the problem of online piracy," he said in a statement. "It is clear that we need to revisit the approach on how best to address the problem of foreign thieves that steal and sell American inventions and products."

And as for PIPA...

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has put off Tuesday's vote on anti-piracy legislation, according to his spokesman. "In light of recent events, I have decided to postpone Tuesday's vote on the PROTECT IP Act," Reid said in a statement, according to a tweet from his communications director, Adam Jentleson.

More as it develops.

On The Republican Debate In South Carolina

2012-01-20T10:42:00.001-05:00

In case you missed it, here is the transcript of the debate.

Here is the full video of the debate:

As I see it, there were two winners at the debate last night -- and one loser.

Newt Gingrich was the first winner.

Right out of the gate, he was strong. CNN's John King asked Newt to address the interview that his ex-wife Marianne Gingrich gave to ABC News and The Washington Post -- and Gingrich fired back. Hard.

While I do believe that the personal lives of the candidates is a factor for most voters, I do NOT believe that this line of questioning is appropriate for the debates. There is a very big difference between a campaign issue and a debate issue. The bottom-line is that voters will look at a candidate's record -- both in their public and private life -- and make a decision. The debate format is no place to tackle this kind of thing.

Gingrich's passionate and heated response was appropriate. And it scored him some BIG points right off the bat.

The rest of the debate was good for him, but this will be the moment that everyone remembers from this debate.

The other winner was Rick Santorum.

Santorum had a free pass all evening. Nobody attacked him and -- on the flip side of things -- he was all over everyone else.

For example, Santorum goes full torque after Newt Gingrich's, err, larger than life personality:

[via Buzzfeed]

"Grandiosity has never been a problem with Newt Gingrich"? DAMN. Santorum goes on to say that he doesn't want to have a candidate where he is "worried about what he's going to say next." Ouch.

Rick Santorum also went after both Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney. Romney, as expected, bore the brunt of Santorum's "Romneycare" attacks. But Santorum also continued to go after Gingrich for supporting an individual mandate in healthcare. After a long back-and-forth on the topic, I think this exchange was the most damning to Gingrich:

MR. SANTORUM: The core of "Obamacare" is an individual mandate. It is what is being litigated in the Supreme Court right now. It is government top-down telling every business and every American what kind of health care that you will have. That is the problem with "Obamacare" at the core of it. And the speaker supported it repeatedly for a 10-year period. So when he goes and says, I can, you know, run rings around President Obama in a Lincoln-Douglas debate, you can't run rings around the fact, Newt, that you supported the primary core basis of what President Obama's put in place.

[snip]

MR. GINGRICH: Well, one -- just one brief comment. Of course you can. I can say, you know, I was wrong, and I figured it out; you were wrong, and you didn't. (Cheers, applause.)

MR. SANTORUM: You held that -- Newt -- Newt, you held that position for over 10 years. And, you know, it's not going to be the most attractive thing to go out there and say, you know, it took me 10 or 12 years to figure out I was wrong, when guys like Rick Santorum knew it was wrong from the beginning. (Cheers, applause.)

Yikes.

Sorry Newt. Using the argument 'I made a mistake and know better now' works for a high school student in detention -- not for a Presidential candidate.

To this end, yesterday on the Twitters, Allahpundit made a great point:

The very worst argument for Gingrich is this fantasy that the debates will become gamechangers because he'd TOTALLY PWN Obama [1]

General-election debates almost never matter. And O's not remotely the stammering idiot that the TOTUS caricature makes him out to be [2]

So, Santorum comes out clean with some very effective attacks on the current (former?) front-runners.

That sums up the winners. Now: the losers.

The first is CNN.

I'm sorry gang, the CNN hosted a great debate -- but that first question-and-response between King and Gingrich just made CNN look terrible. It feeds directly into the hands of the 'liberal media is outta getcha' meme that dominates so much of our political discourse these days. CNN made a HUGE mistake in asking that question -- much less leading off the debate with it.

The second loser is a good one: SOPA/PIPA.

Alex Howard noted:

At [last night's] debate in South Carolina, the remaining 4 candidates for the Republican nomination for president were asked if they supported the Stop Online Piracy Act. An unprecedented day of online protests over the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the U.S. House of Representatives and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) in the U.S. Senate and the resulting coverage on cable and broadcast news networks finally brought one of the most important questions about the future of the Internet into a presidential debate.

[snip]

Santorum, Romney and Gingrich have publicly come out all against these bills. If asked last week, would they have given the same answers? I’ve been frustrated that so few questions about the Internet and technology have been asked. Clearly, the political calculus around supporting them has shifted. At least Ron Paul is consistent; he — and Rep Michele Bachmann — came out against SOPA weeks ago.

So, this is a good type of loser, if you ask me. The more high-profile politicians that come out against SOPA/PIPA (regardless of political party), the better.

So, the no-pun-intended 'elephant in the room' is, of course, Ron Paul.

Congressman Paul performed very well. As usual, he stated his positions and policy ideas -- but he didn't have any 'testy' moments like the other three candidates had. His debate performances have been very even-keeled. He doesn't make too many mistakes, but on the other hand he never really gets much traction with post-debate analyses this this.

All in all, I think Newt Gingrich -- despite sustaining some withering attacks from Rick Santorum -- fares best in the wake of this debate. He had been gaining on Mitt Romney in the polls, and is now overtaking in some, and I think his red-meat Republican performance at this debate only helps his cause.

It will be interesting to see the votes come in on Saturday. If Newt wins South Carolina, I'm sure that his performance at the CNN debate will be why.

Dems Propose Regulatory Board For Oil Company Profits

2012-01-19T15:06:00.000-05:00

And -- I'm not making this up -- the group would be called the "Reasonable Profits Board". Oy:

Six House Democrats, led by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), want to set up a "Reasonable Profits Board" to control gas profits.

The Democrats, worried about higher gas prices, want to set up a board that would apply a "windfall profit tax" as high as 100 percent on the sale of oil and gas, according to their legislation. The bill provides no specific guidance for how the board would determine what constitutes a reasonable profit.

The Gas Price Spike Act, H.R. 3784, would apply a windfall tax on the sale of oil and gas that ranges from 50 percent to 100 percent on all surplus earnings exceeding "a reasonable profit." It would set up a Reasonable Profits Board made up of three presidential nominees that will serve three-year terms. Unlike other bills setting up advisory boards, the Reasonable Profits Board would not be made up of any nominees from Congress.

The bill would also seem to exclude industry representatives from the board, as it says members "shall have no financial interests in any of the businesses for which reasonable profits are determined by the Board."

According to the bill, a windfall tax of 50 percent would be applied when the sale of oil or gas leads to a profit of between 100 percent and 102 percent of a reasonable profit. The windfall tax would jump to 75 percent when the profit is between 102 and 105 percent of a reasonable profit, and above that, the windfall tax would be 100 percent. The bill also specifies that the oil-and-gas companies, as the seller, would have to pay this tax.

Now, I'm no fan of huge windfall profits that these "big oil" companies receive. I'd love it if Exxon/Mobile and their ilk felt the same tax burden as the average middle-class American.

HOWEVER, the idea that we should create a regulatory 'board' dedicated to ensuring 'reasonable profits' is, well, crazy.

What is to stop a regulatory body like this to move from the oil companies to, say, the entertainment industry? Or convenience store chains?

It is not outside of reasonable assumption to say that a group of regulators will eventually work their way into the private lives of individuals who they feel are making too much money.

Bottom line: it's a slippery slope folks.

Rick Perry's Announcement And Endorsement

2012-01-19T14:08:00.000-05:00

"I believe Newt [Gingrich] is a conservative visionary who can transform our country. We've had our differences, which campaigns will inevitably have. And Newt is not perfect, but who among us is? The fact is there is forgiveness for those who seek God. And I believe in the power of redemption, for it is a central tenet of my Christian faith. I have no question that Newt Gingrich has the heart of a conservative reformer with the ability to rally and captivate the conservative movement, the courage to tell those Washington interests to 'take a hike', if that's what in the best interest of our country." -Texas Governor Rick Perry, with a luke-warm endorsement of Newt Gingrich earlier today.

Samuel L. Jackson Narrates Stephen Colbert Attack Ad

2012-01-19T13:10:00.000-05:00

Against... Colbert?

Heh. Brilliant.

Volkswagen Releases "Teaser" Superbowl Commercial

2012-01-19T12:17:00.000-05:00

Am I allowed to say "Superbowl"? Isn't that illegal or something?

Anywhooooo. VW released a 64-second teaser for their game-day ad. A teaser. For a commercial.

Yeah. I thought the same thing.

BUT -- get a load of this ad:

Clever. Funny. AWESOME.

I can't wait to see the real ad.

ABC Set To Release Interview With Marianne Gingrich

2012-01-19T11:29:00.000-05:00

...with some excerpts prior to tonight's GOP Presidential debate on CNN:

ABC News reportedly plans to air a "potentially explosive" interview with Newt Gingrich's second ex-wife Marianne, just two days before the South Carolina primary and hours after tonight's CNN Republican debate. Matt Drudge first reported that the interview with ABC's Brian Ross was "set to rock the trail," but that the decision about when and if to air it had set off an "ethical" debate inside the network, with some execs questioning whether it should be shown so close to the primary.

The AP and The New York Times both report that there was indeed some disagreement, but that ABC has decided to air the interview on Nightline on Thursday night, with excerpts being released earlier in the evening, before the scheduled GOP debate on CNN at 8:00 p.m. ET. However, as of this morning there's no mention of the interview anywhere on ABCNews.com or the Nightline website. (Ironically, there is an AP report republished on the site, but it's not linked from the front pages.)

Howard Kurtz at The Daily Beast concurred with the Drudge and AP stories, but adds that Marianne Gingrich does not say anything in the new interview that she hasn't said in the past. However, her most prominent previous comments were given in this 2010 interview with Esquire magazine, one that we're sure a lot of voters haven't read. Even if they had (and already forgot about it), there's a big difference between a year-old print interview and fresh TV sound bites two days before a big voting day.

I'd feel bad for Newt Gingrich if, you know, he hadn't (allegedly) treated Marianne Gingrich so poorly.

Still, I'll be very interested in what Mrs. Gingrich #2 has to say -- as I'm sure many primary voters in South Carolina (and beyond) will as well.

President Obama Rejects Keystone XL Pipeline

2012-01-19T10:36:00.000-05:00

I meant to get this up yesterday afternoon -- but got sidetracked.

The President has rejected the Keystone XL pipeline and is placing the blame squarely with Republicans in Congress:

The White House issued a statement shortly after 3:10 p.m. saying Obama agreed with the State Department’s recommendation to deny TransCanada a permit for the 1,700-mile pipeline, which would carry crude oil from Canadian tar sands to refineries in Texas.

"This announcement is not a judgment on the merits of the pipeline, but the arbitrary nature of a deadline that prevented the State Department from gathering the information necessary to approve the project and protect the American people,” Obama said in a statement. “I’m disappointed that Republicans in Congress forced this decision, but it does not change my administration’s commitment to American-made energy that creates jobs and reduces our dependence on oil."

Actually, It Appears That Rick Santorum (Kind Of) Won Iowa

2012-01-19T09:47:00.000-05:00

Um... WHAAAA?!!

THE RESULTS: Santorum finished ahead by 34 votes
MISSING DATA: 8 precincts’ numbers will never be certified
PARTY VERDICT: GOP official says, ‘It’s a split decision’

Rick Santorum – Final total: 29,839 Change: -168
Mitt Romney – Final total: 29,805 Change: -210

It’s a tie for the ages.

There are too many holes in the certified totals from the Iowa caucuses to know for certain who won, but Rick Santorum wound up with a 34-vote advantage.

Results from eight precincts are missing — any of which could hold an advantage for Mitt Romney — and will never be recovered and certified, Republican Party of Iowa officials told The Des Moines Register on Wednesday.

GOP officials discovered inaccuracies in 131 precincts, although not all the changes affected the two leaders. Changes in one precinct alone shifted the vote by 50 — a margin greater than the certified tally.

The certified numbers: 29,839 for Santorum and 29,805 for Romney. The turnout: 121,503.

It’s not a surprise that the ultra-thin gap of eight votes on caucus night didn’t hold up, but it’s tough to swallow the fact that there will always be a question mark hanging over this race, politics insiders said.

Wow.

I enjoyed Doug's response:

Ed Morrissey also makes a great point about the Iowa caucuses:

The better question is this: why should we pay this much attention to a non-binding caucus that can’t get a close count straight?

Indeed.

BREAKING: Rick Perry To Drop Out Of Race

2012-01-19T09:14:00.001-05:00

Not surprising:

Charleston, South Carolina (CNN) - Rick Perry is telling supporters that he will drop his bid for the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday, two sources familiar with the plans told CNN.

UPDATE: It now appears that Rick Perry will be endorsing Newt Gingrich for the Republican nomination:

Rick Perry is expected to drop out later this morning at an 11 a.m. press conference and endorse Newt Gingrich, two sources confirmed to POLITICO.

Palin: I'd Vote For Newt Gingrich If I Lived In South Carolina

2012-01-18T16:39:00.000-05:00

As it happened, I was flipping through the channels last night and caught Palin's appearance on Hannity. Rather than skipping the Fox News Channel (as I usually do), I decided to stop and take a listen.

This just in: Palin is still, well, Palin.

At no point during her rambling, seemingly incoherent conversation with Sean Hannity did I get the sense that Sarah Palin has a firm grasp on, well, anything.

My favorite part was when Palin suggested that President Obama hadn't been 'vetted' appropriately in the run-up to the last presidential election. Honestly, was she paying attention in 2008? Yikes.

But, the big takeaway from this clip is that -- even though she doesn't come out and say it directly -- Sarah Palin is supporting Newt Gingrich.

... well, in South Carolina, at least.

Contradicting Views On Mitt Romney's Tax Returns

2012-01-18T15:42:00.000-05:00

... from a couple of Republicans?

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley thinks that calls for Romney's tax records are a 'distraction':

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley told The Daily Caller that Texas Gov. Rick Perry challenging former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney to release his tax returns is a “distraction” and “nothing but a political ploy.”

“I think those are distractions. I saw it in my race. They always say ‘show me your tax return’ just so they can start throwing holes in it. I think that will be his decision to make, but that’s nothing but a political ploy,” Haley told TheDC in the spin room of the GOP presidential debate. Gov. Haley, a tea party favorite, has endorsed Romney for president.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie seems to think otherwise (sorry about the ad):

Both of these Republican governors have endorsed Mitt Romney for the GOP nomination -- and have made appearances with him. My guess is that one of them needs to check their list of talking-points.

The Huntsman Daughters' Unaired Ad

2012-01-18T15:01:00.000-05:00

[via]
I'm not sure why they didn't release this ad. After all, what's the worst that could have happened?

The original (and AWESOME ad) can be found here.

More On Protect IP And SOPA

2012-01-18T14:07:00.000-05:00

Worth the four minutes that it takes to watch. More here.

Quote Of The Day: Ron Paul's South Carolina Endorsement

2012-01-18T13:12:00.000-05:00

"At the end of the day, when I sat down, I realized there were a lot of good people running for this race. But there's only one person, there's only one person speaking to what I believe is the core problem of our country today. The biggest threat to our liberty comes from debt. There is only one candidate that is talking about this problem to the degree, at the scale and with the scope that it needs to be talked about. You can't nibble around the edges anymore." -Tom Davis, a state Senator in South Carolina, during his announcement endorsing Ron Paul.

Poll: Mitt Romney Has Significant Lead

2012-01-18T11:13:00.000-05:00

Some numbers from the latest New York Times/CBS News polling:

...Mitt Romney has opened up a statistically significant lead among Republican primary voters across the nation trying to decide who should represent their party in this year's presidential election, but it's still a fluid race.

Romney gets 28 percent support among a fractured field of candidates, with Newt Gingrich in second with 21 percent, and Rick Santorum and Ron Paul (each coming off a strong early-state showings) nearly tied for third place with 16 and 15 percent, respectively.

Most surprising to me is that Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich are doing so well with respondents who align themselves with the Tea Party.

Also notable, now that Huntsman is out of the race for the Republican nomination, Rick Perry is polling in last place at a dismal seven percent. His fall in polling has been dramatic. So much so that TPM has a page dedicated to "things that are less steep than Rick Perry's drop in the polls".

Ouch.

New Mitt Romney Ad: Newt Gingrich Is "Undisciplined"

2012-01-18T10:38:00.000-05:00

Mitt Romney supporter former Representative Susan Molinari says she worries about Republicans' chances of winning the White House in November if Newt Gingrich is the party's nominee for President -- due to his 'lack of discipline'. Ouch.

The Black Market (Infographic)

2012-01-18T09:56:00.000-05:00

Shocking. I had no idea regarding the influence -- and employment -- in so-called "black markets" around the globe. The statistic that one-half of the world's population works in a "black market" job surprised the hell out of me.

Created by: Business Degree

Blackout: Stop Online Piracy, Not Online Freedom

2012-01-18T08:29:00.000-05:00

So, in an effort to show solidarity with other bloggers and online entities, I have blacked-out my masthead logo in opposition to SOPA/PIPA.

For more information about pending legislation that could undermine online liberties in America, check out Google's page devoted to action.

Update: E.D. Kain has an informative post about all of this at Forbes.com.

Obama To Betty White: Show Me The Birth Certificate

2012-01-17T16:38:00.000-05:00

Heh.

New Mitt Romney Ad: "Huckabee" UPDATED

2012-01-17T16:12:00.000-05:00

The support for Mitt Romney is starting to stack up.

UPDATE: It seems that Mike Huckabee is distancing himself from this ad:

The use of the actual audio from my show, The Huckabee Report, was not authorized for use by any candidate. My quotes are public domain and just like the numerous complementary things I have said about other candidates they have been used to highlight something positive in a political ad. However, this in no way is an endorsement of any candidate. I have not nor do I anticipate endorsing anyone until after the primary at which time I will fervently campaign for the Republican nominee so that we can make sure Obama is a one term President. Any attempt by anyone to imply an endorsement of a candidate or opposition to a candidate is not true.

My emphasis.

Thoughts On The South Carolina Debate

2012-01-17T16:07:00.000-05:00

Truthfully, I didn't watch the entire debate. At this point -- 16 debates so far in the GOP primary season --who does? [TPM has my back -- they sum-up the debate in 100 seconds]

I caught a few minutes of hot contention between Rick Perry and Mitt Romney. It was the exchange over Romney's SuperPAC ads that Santorum decries are false. From the transcript:

JUAN WILLIAMS: Senator Santorum, today you said Governor Romney is guilty of distorting your record as well as, quote, "lies and hypocrisy." You said this behavior is classic Romney, and no one is holding him accountable.

So the same question that Kelly asked, this time to you, should these barbed personal attacks against fellow Republicans be abandoned by the candidates?

RICK SANTORUM: I -- look, I have run a very strong and positive campaign. My ads have been positive. The only ad that I've ever put up that has contrasted myself with the other candidates, and does so in a way talking about issues.

Governor Romney's super PAC has put an ad out there suggesting that I voted to allow felons to be able to vote from prison, because they said I'm allowing felons to vote, and they put a prisoner -- a person in a prison jumpsuit.

I would ask Governor Romney, do you believe people who have -- who were felons, who served their time, who have extended -- exhausted their parole and probation, should they be given the right to vote?

WILLIAMS: Governor Romney?

MITT ROMNEY: First of all, as you know, the PACs that run ads on various candidates, as we unfortunately know in this -

SANTORUM: I'm looking for a question -- an answer to the question first.

(APPLAUSE)

ROMNEY: We have plenty of time. I'll get there. I'll do it in the order I want to do. I believe that, as you realize that the super PACs run ads. And if they ever run an ad or say something that is not accurate, I hope they either take off the ad or make it -- or make it correct. I guess that you said that they -- they said that you voted to make felons vote? Is that it?

SANTORUM: That's correct. That's what the ad says.

ROMNEY: And you're saying that you didn't?

SANTORUM: Well, first, I'm asking you to answer the question, because that's how you got the time. It's actually my time. So if you can answer the question, do you believe, do you believe that felons who have served their time, gone through probation and parole, exhausted their entire sentence, should they be given the right to have a vote?

This is Martin Luther King Day. This is a huge deal in the African-American community, because we have very high rates of incarceration, disproportionately high rates, particularly with drug crimes, in the African-American community.

The bill I voted on was the Martin Luther King Voting Rights bill. And this was a provision that said, particularly targeted African-Americans. And I voted to allow -- to allow them to have their voting rights back once they completed their sentence.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Governor Romney, 30 seconds to respond.

ROMNEY: Yes. I don't think people who have committed violent crimes should be allowed to vote again. That's my own view.

(APPLAUSE)

SANTORUM: That's very -

QUESTION: Last thing, Senator.

SANTORUM: You know, it's very interesting you should say that, Governor Romney, because in the state of Massachusetts, when you were governor, the law was that not only could violent felons vote after they exhausted their sentences, but they could vote while they were on probation and parole, which was a more liberal position than I took when I voted for the bill in the -- in the Congress. So...

(CROSSTALK)

BRETT BAIER: Governor?

SANTORUM: If, in fact -- let me finish -- if, in fact, you felt so passionately about this that you are now going to go out and have somebody criticize me for restoring voting rights to people who have -- who have exhausted their sentence and served their time and paid their debt to society, then why didn't you try to change that when you were governor of Massachusetts?

ROMNEY: Well, first of all, as...

(APPLAUSE)

As governor of Massachusetts, I had an 85 percent Democratic legislature. This is something we discussed. My view was people who committed violent crimes should not be able to vote, even upon coming out of office.
Secondly, I did not have a super PAC run an ad against you. That's -- as you know, that's something which is completely out of the control of candidates.

One of the things I decried in the current financial system that gets behind campaigns is that we have these voting requirements that put these super PACs in power that say things we disagree with. And I'll tell you, there have been some -- there have been some attacks on me, I mean, that -- that have just been outrageous and completely inaccurate and have been shown to be inaccurate. That's the nature of the process. I hope...

BAIER: We have a...

ROMNEY: I hope -- I hope it ends. I hope it ends.

(CROSSTALK)

BAIER: We have a lot of questions.

SANTORUM: I need to -- I need to respond to this. What the governor said is he didn't propose anything to change that law, and what he's saying is that the -- the ad that says that I said that -- or I voted to allow felons to vote is inaccurate. And it is inaccurate. And if I had something -- the super PAC that was supporting me that was inaccurate, I would go out and say, "Stop it," that you're representing me and you're representing my campaign. Stop it.

(APPLAUSE)

BAIER: Governor -- Governor Perry, go ahead.

RICK PERRY: Here's -- here's the issue.

ROMNEY: I actually think...

PERRY: And this is a great -- this is a great example of the insiders that are having the conversation up here. And the fact of the matter is this. (APPLAUSE) Washington, D.C., needs to leave the states alone and let the states decide these issues and don't do it from Washington, D.C. That's what needs to happen.

(APPLAUSE)

BAIER: Governor Romney, any response to either one of those?

ROMNEY: I -- I agree with Governor Perry, that it should be decided at the state level. I also agree with -- with Congressman Paul that -- that a number of the positions that were described that Governor -- or that Senator Santorum took were -- were positions that were very different than the conservative views that he would suggest today.

I think the decision on -- on voting against right-to-work was a bad decision and was made -- as he indicated -- based upon the -- the reflection of the people of the state he was representing. It's politics, if you will.

In my state, I had a state that -- that said that they did not favor my position. I'm not letting felons who had committed violent crimes vote. I think it's a -- a position that's reasonable, and that's the position I've got.

BAIER: We may have to rethink that whole bell thing, but we're going to take a break right here. Remember to send your thoughts on how the candidates are answering the questions via Twitter. Tweet the candidate's last name and hashtag answer or hashtag dodge. Send me questions at bretbaier. Include that hashtag scdebate.
After the break, key issues and some more fireworks. We'll see. Stay with us.

Okay, so maybe I watched a bit more than I thought....

BUT, my take-away from this small segment of the debate is that Romney is not getting any kind of a 'pass' on his record.

I thought that Rick Santorum did a great job of holding Romney's feet to the proverbial fire.

I thought that Rick Perry is just trying to keep his political head above water.

And I thought that Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul were... well, there.

All of that said, the majority of debate reactions that I've been seeing today are all of a similar tone; Mitt Romney took a beating, but nobody else stepped up to replace him as front-runner. FirstRead:

Last night’s Republican debate summed up the upcoming South Carolina primary, if not the entire GOP nominating race: Despite front-runner Mitt Romney showing some real vulnerabilities -- in fact, it might have been his most uneven debate performance to date -- none of his conservative alternatives owned the night. Why? All of them (Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry, and Rick Santorum) had their strong moments and received plenty of applause from the rowdy audience. And given the evangelical endorsement of Santorum over the weekend, that’s only good news for Romney. After last night’s debate, the conservative vote might be more splintered than it was going into the debate. The only way that Romney will lose Saturday’s South Carolina primary is if one of the candidates consolidates the conservative vote. And last night, we didn’t see ONE of them emerge.

Politico:

Romney did manage to recover for some better moments, but overall it was not his best night — and it served as a reminder that he has thin skin when attacked. The good news for him? There’s only one debate left before South Carolina votes Saturday, when he could come close to wrapping up the nomination in a state that is hardly favorable terrain for his candidacy.

Bottom line, Romney still owns the front-runner's slot.

The strangest moment from the debate that I've seen is this [via Buzzfeed]:

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that the crowd is booing Juan Williams' mention of Mexico. REALLY? Booing Mexico?

In my search to find reasons to boo one of the United States' neighboring countries, I found this interesting piece at CNN:

Lately it's hard to tell the difference between a presidential debate and "The Jerry Springer Show." Yeah, I know. Some of you have been saying this for months. But my comment isn't a criticism of the candidates, but the live audience. I was hoping this audience "whoop" factor would go away over the long debate season, but it has only grown worse.

Are they serving alcohol at the debates? It seems like it. In last night's Republican presidential debate, held in the Myrtle Beach Convention Center in South Carolina, the chaotic audience once again played an awkward role in the questions and answers.

Hmm. Alcohol, you say?

So, there you have it. Now, get ready for the next debate -- tomorrow night. Ugh.

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Photo: David Goldman/AP photo

New Rick Santorum Ad Fires Back At Mitt Romney

2012-01-17T12:17:00.000-05:00

Wow. That's a dark ad. It's starting to get heated out there. Santorum is fast leaving that positive campaign behind.

Rick Perry Defends Marines Who Urinated On Corpses

2012-01-16T16:24:00.000-05:00

I haven't talked about it, because I felt that it was outside of political bounds for my site **. But, in case you missed it, here is some background.

Now, Rick Perry:

Sullivan reacts:

We know a little bit more about him now, don't we? He'd be happy to see Ben Bernanke lynched. He'd re-invade Iraq. And he'd also celebrate the counter-productive, obscene and profane pissing on enemy corpses by a handful of Marines in Afghanistan. That's the kind of thuggish mindset we have come to expect from a man who appears to be a walking parody of a troglodyte.

But where he truly captures the spirit of the current GOP is in saying that by disciplining these Marines - as urged by the Pentagon and any sane person who actually respects the Armed Services' professionalism and ethics - the White House and State Department have revealed a "disdain" for the military. Seriously. Of course, the opposite is true. Finding anything to approve of in the errant Marine's disgrace is to disdain the quality of the US military.

But Perry, like Romney, will say anything to smear the commander in chief as a traitor.

My emphasis.

So, after I looked-up the word 'troglodyte', I must say that I am once again in agreement with Sullivan.

Perry -- and anyone else who is criticizing Obama/DoD/Pentagon over this scandal -- is saying that we should support and praise any action taken by U.S. military personnel.

While I applaud the feeling of support for any person who dons a uniform in the defense of our country, there is a line that ought not be crossed. Pardon my language here but, these dudes f**kin' crossed the line. There is nothing that I find defensible in the actions of these few soldiers.

Granted, the bodies are allegedly those of the Taliban -- but that does not excuse the heinous acts of these few soldiers.

Rule 113 of the Geneva Conventions -- which the United States adheres to -- states:

Each party to the conflict must take all possible measures to prevent the dead from being despoiled. Mutilation of dead bodies is prohibited.

Now, call me crazy, but pissing on dead bodies probably counts as 'being despoiled'.

These Marines were wrong -- and they should be punished for breaking military rules. Plain and simple. This does not mean that I dislike, or disrespect our military. This does not mean that I somehow support America's enemies. It simply means that these few Marines -- not all Marines -- have done wrong and should be tried for their crimes. If and when they are found guilty, they should be punished accordingly.

I have the highest respect for anyone in any branch of the U.S. military. But, the soldiers that perpetrated this act do not. By desecrating the dead bodies this way (or any way), these Marines have disrespected not only the deceased, but also every other member of the United States' armed forces.

Rick Perry is simply adding his voice to the echo chamber of conservatives who will look for any reason to criticize the President. Even if said criticism is not based in reason.

** I normally stick to politics. I feel that, prior to Rick Perry and others politicizing the situation, the urinating on dead bodies was strictly a military issue.

What Liberals Will Be Saying In November

2012-01-16T16:08:00.001-05:00

...and probably many of moderates/independents:

via Simon Owens, on the Twitters

DNC Ad Uses Jon Huntsman's Words Against Mitt Romney

2012-01-16T15:33:00.000-05:00

Interesting. I love how the DNC used the motorbike footage from Huntsman's previous ads.

SNL Open: A Message From Mitt Romney

2012-01-16T13:34:00.000-05:00

John Stossel: Young People Shouldn't Vote

2012-01-16T12:09:00.000-05:00

Admittedly, the post title is something of an oversimplification. Here's exactly what Stossel argues:

I’m not saying we should have a test or something. But this endless cheerleading — let’s go to the rock concerts and register the kids. And the kids aren’t paying attention. And it’s important in a democracy, it’s important to vote. And these are important issues. The people who participate ought to be the ones who pay attention… I’m just saying we shouldn’t have these “Get Out The Vote” campaigns and make these statements: “Everyone has to vote. It’s your patriotic duty!” Well if you’re not paying attention, I think it’s your patriotic duty not to vote.

My emphasis.

There is a subtext here that John Stossel is not verbalizing; "these 'Get Out The Vote' campaigns" typically favor the Democratic party. So, I can see where this might be frustrating to Stossel.

Okay Mr. Stossel, let me ask you a question: Would these 'get out the vote' events be so bad if they benefited conservative candidates?

Also worth noting,

While Stossel raises a good point about voter awareness of issues and candidates, the idea that it's just young voters who are woefully misinformed is foolish. Period.

But, what really troubles me about Stossel's argument here is the notion that in our great republic Americans should have to prove that they are knowledgeable enough to vote. On what basis? Via what mode? Stossel says "I'm not we should have a test". Well then Mr. Stossel, what should we have?

The idea that one would need to prove anything other than their citizenship to vote is preposterous, on many levels.

Stephen Colbert SuperPAC Airs Ad In South Carolina

2012-01-16T11:07:00.000-05:00

The irony is that this ad is not too different from "real" anti-Mitt Romney ads that are out there (I'm looking at you, Gingrich).

Over-the-top? Sure -- but what ads aren't these days...

Postscript: "Americans For A Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow" is the name of the PAC. Classic.

Jon Huntsman Calling It Quits

2012-01-16T10:56:00.000-05:00

Later today, Jon Huntsman will formally announce withdrawal from the primary campaign and his support of Mitt Romney. FirstRead:

And then there were five. At a speech from Myrtle Beach, SC at 11:00 am ET, former Utah Gov. (and former China ambassador) Jon Huntsman will announce his departure from the Republican presidential race and will endorse Mitt Romney, NBC’s Jo Ling Kent reported last night. Despite the attention his candidacy received from the Chattering Class and despite the help from a Super PAC financed in part by his wealthy father, Huntsman never took off. A big reason was tone. He was the only GOP presidential candidate who never adopted the Tea Party’s rhetoric. Besides Ron Paul, he was the only one calling for the U.S. to withdraw from Afghanistan. And he was the only one calling for civility in politics. “We will conduct this campaign on the high road; I don't think you need to run down someone's reputation in order to run for the office of president,” Huntsman said at his presidential kick-off speech. As BuzzFeed’s Ben Smith noted, Huntsman made a gamble -- back in 2009 -- that his party would turn to the middle either tonally or ideologically. And that gamble turned out to be wrong.

But does Huntsman's endorsement of Mitt Romney strike you as strange?

If you continue to read the piece at FirstRead, which has some great reactions to Huntsman's exit, they talk about exactly what I am thinking; Huntsman is supporting Romney, when earlier in the campaign he said that Romney was "unelectable against Barack Obama" due to his varying stances on the "issues of the day".

How can Huntsman throw his support behind a candidate about whom he had some pretty harsh things to say?

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Photo: AP

On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

2012-01-16T10:07:00.001-05:00

"I have traveled the length and breadth of Alabama, Mississippi and all the other southern states. On sweltering summer days and crisp autumn mornings I have looked at the South's beautiful churches with their lofty spires pointing heavenward. I have beheld the impressive outlines of her massive religious education buildings. Over and over I have found myself asking: 'What kind of people worship here? Who is their God? Where were their voices when the lips of Governor Barnett dripped with words of interposition and nullification? Where were they when Governor Wallace gave a clarion call for defiance and hatred? Where were their voices of support when bruised and weary Negro men and women decided to rise from the dark dungeons of complacency to the bright hills of creative protest?'

"Yes, these questions are still in my mind. In deep disappointment I have wept over the laxity of the church. But be assured that my tears have been tears of love. There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love. Yes, I love the church. How could I do otherwise? I am in the rather unique position of being the son, the grandson and the great grandson of preachers. Yes, I see the church as the body of Christ. But, oh! How we have blemished and scarred that body through social neglect and through fear of being nonconformists.

"There was a time when the church was very powerful--in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Whenever the early Christians entered a town, the people in power became disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being 'disturbers of the peace' and 'outside agitators'. But the Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were 'a colony of heaven,' called to obey God rather than man. Small in number, they were big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be 'astronomically intimidated'. By their effort and example they brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contests. Things are different now. So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an archdefender of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's silent--and often even vocal--sanction of things as they are.

"But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If today's church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. Every day I meet young people whose disappointment with the church has turned into outright disgust.

"Perhaps I have once again been too optimistic. Is organized religion too inextricably bound to the status quo to save our nation and the world?" -Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. -- in his "Letter from Birmingham Jail" to leaders of southern churches in the United States as a direct response to "A call for unity", 16 April 1963.

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Photo: Charles Harrity/AP photo

White House Appears To Reject SOPA Legislation

2012-01-14T13:35:00.001-05:00

Or at least parts of it. In my inbox this morning via POLITICO:

Obama administration officials said in a blog post today that they would "not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet." The White House did not take a definite position on SOPA and the PROTECT IP Act, but said "the DNS filtering provisions in some proposed legislation suggests that they pose a real risk to cybersecurity and yet leave contraband goods and services accessible online." The officials said, however, that legislation is needed to combat online piracy.

Why New Hampshire Was A Win For Ron Paul

2012-01-13T15:51:00.000-05:00

Charles Krauthammer thinks that Ron Paul's runner-up placement in New Hampshire is a bigger story than Mitt Romney's win in the Granite State:

There are two stories coming out of New Hampshire. The big story is Mitt Romney. The bigger one is Ron Paul.

Romney won a major victory with nearly 40 percent of the vote, 16 points ahead of number two. The split among his challengers made the outcome even more decisive. Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich were diminished by distant, lower-tier finishes. Rick Perry got less than 1 percent. And Jon Huntsman, who staked everything on New Hampshire, came in a weak third with less than half of Romney’s vote. He practically moved to the state — and then received exactly one-sixth of the vote in a six-man contest. Where does he go from here?

But the bigger winner was Ron Paul. He got 21 percent in Iowa, 23 in New Hampshire, making him the only candidate other than Romney to do well with two very different electorates, one more evangelical and socially conservative, the other more moderate and fiscally conservative.

[snip]

Paul was genuinely delighted with his [sic], because, after a quarter-century in the wilderness, he’s within reach of putting his cherished cause on the map. Libertarianism will have gone from the fringes — those hopeless, pathetic third-party runs — to a position of prominence in a major party.

Look at him now. He’s getting prime-time air, interviews everywhere, and, most important, respect for defeating every Republican candidate but one. His goal is to make himself leader of the opposition — within the Republican party.

My emphases.

I think that Krauthammer is absolutely right here. I've never viewed Ron Paul as a true contender for the nomination -- much less the Presidency. Not because he has 'fringy' policy ideas -- I'd actually like to see someone try to bring all of our military home and defend our borders instead of building bases around the globe -- but rather because I don't think that Paul exudes Presidential characteristics.

Then again, maybe we need a non-presidential President.

Regardless, the big winner in New Hampshire -- nay, the whole primary -- is small-L libertarian conservatism. Whether or not Ron Paul has the ability to defeat Mitt Romney is irrelevant. What is relevant is that Republican candidates will now need to speak to the desires of the libertarian wing of the Republican party.

Or, at the very least, mainstreamy GOPers need to start to listen to differing conservative viewpoints.

That is a win for the fiesty Congressman from Texas.

Romney SuperPAC Ad: Santorum Can't Beat Obama

2012-01-13T13:17:00.000-05:00

Why did Restore Our Future launch an attack on Rick Santorum? Doesn't this elevate Santorum? It gives the impression that he is a candidate to worry about -- even though I think that Romney will handily beat Santorum in any primary that is left.

Gingrich: Mitt Romney Is A Liberal French Guy, Or Something

2012-01-13T12:04:00.000-05:00

[UPDATE BELOW]

This ad is almost comical. In fact, it would be comical if it weren't so sad. Newt's campaign smacks of desperation.

I was with them through all of the policy stuff. Voting for Democrats, pro-choice, against Reagan/Bush. But then they throw the strangest attack in there at the end: John Kerry speaking French, then Mitt Romney speaking French (albeit poorly). This is supposed to be some big, scary indictment of Mitt Romney?

Honestly. How is speaking a different language a bad thing?

Postscript: Even though I disagree with the premise of the ad, the title is a winner. "The French Connection". YES.

UPDATE: reader Cory sends a link to the Passport blog at Foreign Policy. As it turns out, Newt speaks more-than-a-little French himself:

Newt not only had enough French to "survive" when venturing into town for a baguette, he had a strong enough command of the language to write a doctoral thesis of Belgian colonial policies in the Congo that cites multiple French-language original sources.

So either Gingrich never actually read Pierre Wigny's seminal 1955 work "Dix Anées historiques et perspectives d'avenir au Congo" as he claims in a footnote on page 250 or the Belgian senate's 1947 "Rapport de la Mission Sénatoriale au Congo Belge" as he claims on page 245, or his French is a hell of a lot better than Romney's (and probably Kerry's). J'accuse!

Thanks Cory!

Rick Perry Flubs The 3 Departments He'd Cut. Again.

2012-01-13T11:14:00.000-05:00

Really Rick? Again?

When asked to name and provide the number of federal departments he’d eliminate as president, Texas Gov. Rick Perry managed to list three, but they weren’t the three agencies he consistently names on the stump or that he attempted to name when he committed his now infamous “oops” moment.

“Three right off the bat, you know, commerce, interior and energy are three that you think,” Perry said during a radio interview with Bill Edwards on WTKS Radio in Savannah.

Perry made no mention of the Department of Education, one of the agencies he consistently rails against on the campaign trail, until Edwards asked Perry later in the interview if he’d eliminate that department as well.

“They are blackmailing states with our own money, basically saying here is the national test, and here are the national standards you’re going to put into place,” Perry said. “One size fits all doesn’t work. Well maybe it does in gym socks but it sure doesn’t in how we educate our children.”

Asked if Perry meant to include the Department of Interior in his list, Mark Miner, spokesman for Perry, told reporters: “It shouldn’t be surprising the governor is talking about another federal agency that needs to be looked at and cut.”

Somewhere, Rick Perry's campaign manager Rob Johnson is repeatedly hitting his head on a desk.

Clearly, this "gaffe" is a minor thing. Hell, I wouldn't even classify it as a gaffe. BUT, it is a minor thing that Perry consistently gets wrong. One has to wonder if the guy doesn't believe his own talking points, since he continues to botch them.

In the end, this is just one more reason that Perry will get knocked out of the race very soon. Even if voters like his policy positions, people are going to have a hard time getting past the 'oops' moments that continue to dog his campaign.

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Photo: Steve Pope/Getty Images

New Romney Ad Defends His Work At Bain

2012-01-13T10:35:00.000-05:00

The ad argues that "Mitt Romney is a conservative businessman who helped create and run a company that invested in struggling businesses, started new ones, and rebuilt old ones, creating thousands of jobs."

Et tu, Gingrich & Perry?

Stephen Colbert Might Run For President

2012-01-13T09:38:00.000-05:00

Stephen Colbert:

I am proud to announce that I am forming an exploratory committee to lay the groundwork for my possible candidacy for the president of the United States of South Carolina. I'M DOIN' IT!

Hard Wuerk

2012-01-12T16:50:00.000-05:00

-M.Wuerker, Wuerking Drawings

Perry Financial Adviser Defects To Support Romney

2012-01-12T15:53:00.000-05:00

And it's all about the recent criticism of Romney's work at Bain:

Columbia, South Carolina (CNN) – One of Rick Perry's leading financial supporters in South Carolina is defecting to Mitt Romney – and he told CNN Thursday that Perry's sharp criticisms of Romney as a "vulture capitalist" were the main factor in his decision.

Both Perry and Newt Gingrich recently began hammering Romney as a predatory capitalist who looted companies and fired workers when he was running the private equity firm Bain Capital in the 1980s and 1990s.

Barry Wynn, the former chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party and a financial adviser in Spartanburg, said the escalating rhetoric about Romney's business background is "destructive."

"It's just a dance I didn't want to be a part of," Wynn said in an interview, explaining his decision to leave Perry's campaign.

Wynn, along with a handful of other previously neutral South Carolina moneymen, will publicly endorse Romney on Thursday.

"This latest attack, it's so foreign to me, I couldn't see myself being a part of that," he explained. "I don't think you can be on both sides of free market capitalism. A big part of me being a Republican for the last 40 years is that I think it's the best hope to protect free market capitalism, the growth engine of our economy."

My emphasis.

This is a major coup for the Romney campaign, and hurts Perry on both strategy and credibility.

Head nod: Ed Morrissey

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Photo: Isaac Brekken/AP photo

McCain To Huckabee: You're Not Telling The Truth

2012-01-12T14:43:00.001-05:00

Lately in the Republican party it seems that Reagan's 11th Commandment has been thrown to the breeze. Big time.

Head nod: GOP12

Rick Perry's New Ad: "Champion"

2012-01-12T14:31:00.000-05:00

Anyone else catch the Tebow reference in there?

Regarding Mitt Romney's Penis...

2012-01-12T14:23:00.000-05:00

Weirdest. Post title. Evah.

I was waiting for the "Baba-booey! Baba-booey!" at the end of the clip.

[via]

Quote Of The Day: Rudy Giuliani Defends Mitt Romney

2012-01-12T13:19:00.000-05:00

“I’m shocked at what they’re [Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry] doing. It’s ignorant and dumb. It’s building something we should be fighting in America, ignorance of the economic system, playing on the dumbest, most ridiculous ideas about how you grow jobs.” -Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New York City and current -- well, what does he do again? -- this morning on Fox & Friends.

Giuliani, like many other Republicans, is worried that Gingrich and Perry's attack on Mitt Romney's work at Bain Capital is akin to an anti-capitalist argument. The very same type of argument that will be adopted by Democrats, as well as President Obama's campaign in the general election.

Newt Gingrich Ad Mentions Abortion Five Times

2012-01-11T16:53:00.000-05:00

...in only 30 seconds.

That's an icky ad. And it is clear that Newt Gingrich has taken off the proverbial gloves.

Brit Hume Compares Ron Paul To RuPaul

2012-01-11T15:46:00.002-05:00

"This proves once again that the New Hampshire primary matters, it matters a lot. The [Ron] Paul showing is interesting because I think he, it is perhaps a closer second that many of us thought he would achieve. But I, I continue to believe -– and I think most observers do -– that he has got about as much a chance of being nominated as RuPaul would, and so I don't think, you know all he does is block the others from any real effort to overtake Romney." -Brit Hume, last night on Fox News.

I think that this is a fantastic example of how mainstreamy Republicans routinely brush-off Ron Paul as a fringe candidate... that he is somehow 'as strange and unelectable' as someone like RuPaul.

Head nod: Mediaite

Ron Paul To The Anti-Mitt Romneys: Drop Out Now

2012-01-11T14:26:00.000-05:00

That's right folks, Ron Paul's campaign thinks that that GOP field should be whittled down to only two candidates. A statement from Ron Paul's National Campaign Chair Jesse Benton:

Ron Paul tonight had an incredibly strong second-place finish in New Hampshire and has stunned the national media and political establishment.

When added to Paul’s top-tier showing in Iowa, it’s clear he is the sole Republican candidate who can take on and defeat both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama.

The race is becoming more clearly a two-man race between establishment candidate Mitt Romney and Ron Paul, the candidate of authentic change. That means there is only one true conservative choice.

Ron Paul has won more votes in Iowa and New Hampshire than any candidate but Mitt Romney.

Ron Paul and Mitt Romney have been shown in national polls to be the only two candidates who can defeat Barack Obama.

And Ron Paul and Mitt Romney are the only two candidates who can run a full, national campaign, competing in state after state over the coming weeks and months. Ron Paul’s fundraising numbers — over $13 million this quarter — also prove he will be able to compete with Mitt Romney. No other candidate can do all of these things.

Ron Paul is clearly the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney as the campaign goes forward.

We urge Ron Paul’s opponents who have been unsuccessfully trying to be the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney to unite by getting out of the race and uniting behind Paul’s candidacy.

Ron Paul has the boldest plan to cut spending, a dedication to protecting life, and a lifelong dedication to the Constitution and limited government. He also has the necessary support to campaign nationwide against Mitt Romney.

Our campaign is already planning ahead for South Carolina, Florida, and beyond. Soon Ron Paul will head to South Carolina to begin a feverish round of campaigning.

Ron Paul is in this race for the long haul. And he is ready to fight.

See you on the campaign trail.

My emphasis.

I guess that I can kind of see Benton's (Paul's) point, but like Mike Huckabee in 2008, I think that Rick Santorum will want to continue through South Carolina next week. My guess is that he and Rick Perry will do reasonably well there.

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Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Mitt Romney's New Ad: "Nosotros"

2012-01-11T13:58:00.000-05:00

And this ad appears to be going somewhat viral... at least among political nerds on Twitter.

The New Hampshire Speeches

2012-01-11T13:18:00.000-05:00

It was an evening chock full o' speeches. CNN projected the results around 8:00 p.m. and as the rest of the ballots were counted, each candidate trotted onto a stage to address their supporters -- and a national audience.

Mitt Romney:

Romney did a great job of getting fired up. For the first time in a long time, I felt that Romney has that proverbial 'fire in his belly'. HOWEVER, I should note that the entire speech was highly scripted. Romney did not deviate from the teleprompter (insert Obama teleprompter joke here... oh wait), as he did in Iowa.

This is in stark contrast to...

Ron Paul:

Dr. Paul was, well, Dr. Paul. As opposed to the other GOP candidates in this race, Ron Paul is nothing if not consistent. At any point during his speech last night, you could have closed your eyes and imagined that it was 2008 (or, 1988?) as his message has never waivered.

That said, Paul is simply a terrible speaker. B-Diddy and I were texting back-and-forth throughout the evening and here's what we had to say about Ron Paul's speech, as it happened:

PJ: [when Ron Paul starts railing on the Fed and U.S. currency] This is where Paul loses a lot of people. When he starts to go off on the Fed.

Diddy: Right zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Diddy: Romney's speech was 10x better

PJ: Yes. I don't think that Paul is reading this [speech]. I think that he's just spitballing. Making it up as he goes...

Diddy: Yea but he sounds so angry like he's yelling at us

PJ: He is!!! Ha!

Diddy: I'm like "ok grandpa tell me abou tthe good ole days"

Now, B-Diddy and I are politicos who are very interested in this stuff. We know that this is Ron Paul's bread & butter. But what about those Republicans -- particularly in South Carolina -- who are just tuning into the GOP primary? What will they think when they watch Ron Paul ramble on for 20 minutes about monetary policy that few Americans truly understand? My guess is that they will succumb to the Ari Fleischer style of thinking; 'Ron Paul is unelectable anyway, so I'll just assume the nominee is going to be Mitt Romney.'

Right.

Jon Huntsman:

I like Jon Huntsman. I really do. He has a bipartisan appeal and, whether you think he is a Manchurian Candidate or not, that helps in the general election.

But, last night Huntsman seemed to be a bit, well, 'off'.

At around 8:00 p.m., Huntsman was interviewed on CNN and he seemed upbeat and cheerful about his then-projected third-place finish in the New Hampshire primary election. But, about 90 minutes later when he took the stage to speak to his supporters, I thought that Huntsman appeared to sway and slur his speech a bit. Now, I'm not accusing Huntsman of anything -- I just thought that it was a bit peculiar.

Watch the video embedded above and tell me what you think.

Putting my perceived strangeness of Huntsman's behavior aside, the speech itself was very vanilla. I thought that, if he's planning on riding his third-place momentum (?) to South Carolina, he would have a better, more inspirational speech prepared. Instead, it was the same old speech that declared that America is the best nation in the world, blah blah blah. Also, what's with Huntsman stealing (borrowing?) all of John McCain's schtick? "Country First" was a terrible slogan in the 2008 election Jon -- and it's not getting any better.

Don't misunderstand, I think that Huntsman's recent attacks on Mitt Romney are very effective -- and arguably helped him to garner just over 16% of the vote in New Hampshire. But as a campaign slogan on buttons, yard signs and the backdrop of your speeches, it smacks of 2008.

Truthfully, I didn't stay up to watch Rick Santorum or Newt Gingrich give their speeches. If you did and you'd like to sound off, the comment section is yours.

Bottom line: for my money (free), Mitt Romney had the best speech of the night. I think that CNN's David Gergen was right when he said that Romney's speech last night was a preview of what his general election stump speech will be. If Romney can maintain that type of excitement that he exhibited on that stage, then I think that he will have no problem securing the nomination.

Mitt Romney Wins New Hampshire

2012-01-10T20:09:00.001-05:00

CNN just called it. Mitt Romney has won the New Hampshire primary.

Hard Wuerk

2012-01-10T16:46:00.000-05:00

-M.Wuerker, Wuerking Drawings

Poll: 58% Of Republicans Disapprove Of Candidates

2012-01-10T16:31:00.000-05:00

How's that for a majority of support?

The nominating process may officially be underway, but Republicans have yet to enthusiastically embrace a potential nominee for president - and despite the late date, most would like to see other candidates enter the race, according to a new CBS News poll.

The survey finds that 58 percent of Republican primary voters want more presidential choices, while just 37 percent say they are satisfied with the current field. The percentage of Republican primary voters that wants more choices has increased 12 percentage points since October.

Mitt Romney, the frontrunner for the nomination, has struggled to break 30 percent support in state and local polls in an election cycle that has seen multiple candidates move ahead of Romney in the polls before seeing their support erode. In this national survey, taken after Romney's narrow victory in the Iowa caucuses, the former Massachusetts governor leads the field - though he holds just 19 percent support. Only 28 percent of GOP primary voters say they've made up their mind, and just 20 percent who've made a choice strongly favor their candidate.

It's mathematically possible for another candidate to enter the race as late as early February and still win enough delegates to take the nomination, though some deadlines for candidates to get on state ballots have already passed, including those in delegate-rich Virginia and Illinois. A late entry into the GOP race would come with potentially-overwhelming obstacles, including the need to instantly build a national campaign apparatus and do the hard work of getting on state ballots in an extremely compressed time period.

My emphases.

While it may be "mathematically possible" for someone else to throw their hat into the proverbial ring, I think that it is 'statistically unlikely' for someone to do so -- for the reasons mentioned in the article. All of the other candidates have, at the very least, a somewhat organized operation on the ground. Save for someone with an existing cult following like, say, Bobby Jindal or (on the Democratic side) Hillary Clinton, I think it is highly unlikely -- and for the most part logistically impossible, for a new candidate to enter the race and have a fighting chance.

But, the good news is that Republicans are in agreement; they want to vote for... someone else.

The First New Hampshire Votes Are In...

2012-01-10T10:05:00.000-05:00

In Dixville Notch, the small New Hampshire town that has correctly predicted the outcome of the Presidential Election since 1960, the first voters cast their ballots at midnight:

Voters in the tiny New Hampshire village famed for casting the first ballots in the nation's first presidential primary found themselves in a tie Tuesday between Republicans Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman.

Nine ballots were cast in New Hampshire's Dixville Notch just after midnight.

Romney and Huntsman received two votes each. Coming in second with one vote apiece were Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul.

For the Democrats, President Barack Obama received three votes.

The nine residents who cast their ballots include three registered Republicans and two registered Democrats. Four other voters haven't declared a party.

Thus starts a very busy (but fun!) day of watching the results come in for the Granite State primary.

Newt Gingrich SuperPAC Hits The Air In South Carolina

2012-01-09T16:29:00.000-05:00

The Fix:

Winning Our Future, a super PAC supporting former House speaker Newt Gingrich, is putting $3.4 million into ads in the Palmetto State attacking former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney’s record running the investment firm Bain Capital.

The pro-Gingrich ads will draw from a documentary made by the group that depicts Romney as an unscrupulous corporate raider who got rich by buying struggling companies and laying off tens of thousands of workers.

My emphasis.

Check out that ad/film. It is harsh -- but effective.

Bill Daley Stepping Down As White Chief-Of-Staff

2012-01-09T15:59:00.001-05:00

Hope and... change:

William Daley is stepping down as White House chief of staff and budget director Jack Lew is taking over the President Obama’s team as it heads into a tough election year, senior administration officials say.

Daley gave his letter of resignation to the president in a private meeting in the Oval Office last week, recounting the administration's successes of his one year on the job and saying it was time for him to return to his hometown of Chicago.

President Obama made the news official this afternoon in a brief appearance in the state dining room of the White House, where he told reporters in somber tones that he is sorry to see Daley leave.

"There's no question I will deeply miss having Bill at my side here at the White House," Obama said. "But Chicago is only a phone call away."

Budget director Jack Lew will be Daley's replacement.

I Must Refudiate That Use Of Emoticon

2012-01-09T14:58:00.000-05:00

Ugh. I think she must have meant modicum. At least, I hope that's what she meant.

[via]

New Mitt Romney Ad In New Hampshire

2012-01-09T14:10:00.000-05:00

So, it looks like Mitt is trying to seal the proverbial deal in New Hampshire. This ad does a good job of making his case there, but I would think that we should look for a different tone from him in South Carolina.

GOPers Sharpening Their Knives On Mitt Romney

2012-01-09T13:12:00.000-05:00

Over the past few days, Mitt Romney has had to weather a storm of increasingly sharp criticism.

First, he had Newt Gingrich's soundbyte-friendly attack on Romney's "pious baloney":

Then, Jon Huntsman lent his voice to the fray regarding Mitt's lack of "putting his country first".

Now we have Texas Governor Rick Perry piling on for Romney's comments about his pink slip worries:

“Now I have no doubt that Mitt Romney was worried about pink slips — whether he was going to have enough of them to hand out because his company Bain Capital with all the jobs that they killed, I’m sure he was worried that he’d run out of pink slips,” Perry told the crowd at Mama Penn’s restaurant.

Perry laid into Romney for heading a company which Perry alleged eliminated hundreds of South Carolina jobs.

“There is something inherently wrong when getting rich off failure and sticking it to someone else is how you do your business and I happen to think that’s indefensible,” said Perry. “If you’re a victim of Bain Capital’s downsizing, it’s the ultimate insult for Mitt Romney to come to South Carolina and tell you he feels your pain, because he caused it.”

Two things are clear:

1) Mitt Romney is in for a tough spring of primaries if these candidates continue to attack in this manner.

- BUT -

2) Mitt Romney is the CLEAR front-runner. In politics, if your opponents are ganging-up on you, you have something that they want. Usually, it's power. If nothing else, Romney can feel good that he is clearly leading the pack of GOP candidates.

Quote Of The Day: Mitt Romney's Pink Slip Worries

2012-01-09T12:31:00.000-05:00

“I’ve learned what its like to sign the front of the paycheck, not just the back of the paycheck and to know how frightening it is to see whether you can make payroll at the end of the week. These are experiences that many of you, that many of you, know. I know what it’s like to worry whether you’re going to get fired. There were a couple of times I wondered whether I was going to get a pink slip.” -Mitt Romney, describing his 'by-the-bootstraps' business upbringing to a crowd of supporters in New Hampshire yesterday.

Needless to say, this quote is getting a lot of play today -- and not all of it good.

Jon Huntsman's (New?) Voice

2012-01-09T11:44:00.000-05:00

At the debate yesterday morning, Jon Huntsman took a criticism from Mitt Romney and turned it on its head. It appears that this may be a new talking point for Mr. Huntsman:

Later [Sunday] afternoon, at a coffee shop miles away from the stage, Huntsman was asked if he felt that he “found his voice.”

Clad in his signature bomber jacket emblazoned with “Governor Huntsman” and an American flag, Huntsman did not politely steer away from attacking his rival as he is wont to do. For once, he capitalized on the attack and fired back.

“Let's just be honest about it. I put my country first. Apparently, Mitt Romney doesn't believe in putting country first,” Huntsman told reporters. “He's got this bumper sticker that says ‘believe in America.’ How can you believe in America when you're not willing to serve America? That's just phony nonsense.”

Referring to Romney’s ubiquitous blue bumper stickers and signs that far outnumber his red counterparts along New Hampshire roads, Huntsman explained a position he and his wife Mary Kaye have articulated ad nauseam at more than 160 public events across the state.

“I say I served my country, I step up when my president asked and I always will, its part of my philosophy. I know it may be hard for Mitt Romney and some people to take, but most of America is with me because in the end they want this America to be working together.”

My emphasis.

This is what Huntsman should be doing -- embracing and even taunting his service as Ambassador to China in the Obama administration.

The big question is this: Is anyone even listening to Huntsman?

SNL Lambastes Rick Santorum

2012-01-09T10:58:00.000-05:00

Guess what Rick? You've made it. You know that you are doing something right (or really wrong) when Saturday Night Live devotes an ENTIRE cold opening to you and your, errr, Google problem.

Also worthy of noting, now that she's out of the campaign, Michele Bachmann is finally able to blink.

Chris Christie Responds To Protester At Romney Rally

2012-01-09T10:04:00.000-05:00

The Note:

EXETER, N.H. — At a rally meant to be all about boosting support for Mitt Romney, protesters instead took center stage, evoking colorful responses from both Romney and his outspoken surrogate, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who at one time referred to one of the protestors as “sweetheart.”

“Really?” said Christie, as soon as protestors interrupted him, the second outburst of the night from the group, who had already gone after Romney. “You know, something may go down tonight, but it ain’t going to be jobs, sweetheart.”

“See it’s this confusion that’s out there because if she was in New Jersey like these Jersey girls out there she would know that we’ve created 60,000 new private sector jobs after Jon Corzine killed 120,000,” Christie said. “And if she wasn’t so blinded by her Barack Obama-induced anger, she’d know that American jobs are coming back when Mitt Romney is the next president of the United States, and if she wasn’t so disorientated by the loss of hope and change she’d understand that Mitt Romney is the hope for America’s future.”

Classic Christie. He turns the protester into a victim of Barack Obama's "hope and change" rhetoric.

Now that is some spin.

If Mitt Romney becomes the nominee for the Republican party and wins in November, it will be because of surrogates like Christie.

Video via The Patch.

VIDEO: The Republican Debate In New Hampshire

2012-01-09T08:32:00.002-05:00

Yes, there were TWO debates in New Hampshire this weekend. I am somewhat embarrassed to admit that I watched neither of them. Call me crazy, but I wanted to spend some quality time with The Pajama Family. And I did.

So, in case you are like me and were doing other things Sunday morning, here is the full video from yesterday's Meet The Press debate in New Hampshire.

As I understand it, the debate that took place on Saturday was very bland -- hence I have not posted it here. The non-Romney candidates apparently did not use their time wisely. They should have been doing everything they could to chase the front-runner.

The Sunday debate, however, proved to be something of an opportunity to make-up those losses. The short clips that I've seen consist of everyone piling on Mitt Romney.

Last chance guys. The primary is tomorrow...

Sunday Morning Music

2012-01-08T09:27:00.000-05:00

This is The Meters (sometimes referred to as "The Original Meters"), performing the first song off of their 1969 self-titled debut album "Cissy Strut".

Enjoy some laid back grooviness to start your Sunday.

Ron Paul Hits Rick Santorum

2012-01-07T12:17:00.000-05:00

Saturday Morning Cartoon

2012-01-07T09:03:00.000-05:00

Eat your Wheaties -- it's cartoon time!

This is "Goober and the Ghost Chasers". Honestly, it looks like a complete rip-off of "Scooby Doo". The dog even appears to be a combination of Scooby and Shaggy.

Has anyone ever seen this?

Eye Quit (Infographic)

2012-01-06T15:40:00.000-05:00

This is a very interesting, um, thing. And a very different take on the infographic. Her eyes follow you...

FYI: when you click, there will be sound.

via: Online Schools

Rasmussen's Newest GOP Numbers

2012-01-06T15:36:00.001-05:00

And it's all good for this guy:

Rasmussen in South Carolina:

What a difference a caucus makes. Rick Santorum who two months ago had one percent (1%) support among likely South Carolina Republican Primary voters now is running a close second there with 24% of the vote.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the Palmetto State finds former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney still in the lead, earning 27% support from likely GOP Primary Voters, up from 23% in early November. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is in third with 18% of the vote, followed by Texas Congressman Ron Paul at 11%.

Bringing up the rear are Texas Governor Rick Perry with five percent (5%) and former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman at two percent (2%). Another two percent (2%) of these likely primary voters like some other candidate, and 11% remain undecided.

See also: Rasmussen Reports' national GOP poll:

Former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum, coming off his photo finish with Mitt Romney in the Iowa caucuses, is now in second place among Republican voters in the race for the party’s 2012 presidential nomination.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey, taken the night after the caucuses, shows Romney again in first place with support from 29% of Likely Republican Primary Voters, followed by Santorum with 21%.

My emphases.

So, the takeaway points are:

1) Rick Santorum's near-win in Iowa has catapulted him from the back-of-the-pack, to front runner status -- nearly overnight.

2) Rick Perry, on the other hand, has fallen quite dramatically from a top-tier candidate to the proverbial bottom of the barrel. He only garners 3% more support than Jon Huntsman.

3) Lastly, and most importantly, Romney is leading the pack -- IN SOUTH CAROLINA. Previously, as recently as earlier this week, the conventional wisdom was that Mitt Romney would perform moderately in Iowa and (likely) poorly in South Carolina. Clearly Romney did fine in Iowa -- and now is leading in the South Carolina polling.

Now, grain of salt with polling numbers, but I think that Romney is inching closer and closer to becoming the nominee.

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Photo: David Goldman/AP photo