• Michele Bachmann,  Mitt Romney,  Polling,  President 2012,  Rick Perry

    President 2012 Poll Watch: Rick Perry Moving On Up

    According to the latest CNN/ORC International Poll.

    As Texas Gov. Rick Perry comes closer to jumping into the race for the White House, he’s also close to the top of a new national survey in the battle for the GOP presidential nomination.

    A CNN/ORC International Poll released Friday indicates that 14% of Republicans and independents who lean toward the GOP pick Perry as their first choice for their party’s nomination, just two points behind former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who’s making his second bid for the White House.

    Romney’s two point margin over Perry is within the survey’s sampling error.

    Both former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin are at 13%, according to the poll.

    My feeling is that the Texas Governor will become the anti-Romney candidate and replace Michele Bachmann with that regard by the South Carolina GOP primary election. But, make no mistake that Michele Bachmann has raised a ton of money and will be formidable in Iowa and South Carolina.

    The wild card remains Sarah Palin.

  • Michele Bachmann,  President 2012

    President 2012: Michele Bachmann’s Doctor Weighs In on Her Migraine Headaches

    Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., flying in a light plane over flooding from the Missouri River, near Hamburg, Iowa, Monday, July 18, 2011. Bachmann said the magnitude of flooding along the Missouri River this summer warrants a presidential visit. Bachmann and a fellow Republican House member, Steve King, R-Iowa, took an aerial tour of the flooding on Monday morning

    I have had many family memebers, patients, employees, friends and acquaintances that have had a history of migraine headaches. These have been mostly female and some have had symptoms more severe than others.

    Now, this cheap shot against Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann has been answered by her physician.

    An insider who once worked with Rep. Michele Bachmann (R- Minn.) told ABC News he believes her migraine headaches have been a persistent and vexing problem for years, often forcing the congresswoman to cancel meetings, shut her office, turn off the lights and lie down until they pass.

    “You’re probably talking once every two to four weeks where she would have severe headaches, and at times it would be more frequent,” the former insider told ABC News, speaking on the condition he not be identified because he was concerned about retribution. “They would come on in a matter of minutes. She would be down on her couch with the lights off and unable to function.”

    The GOP presidential candidate confirmed to reporters Tuesday that she suffers from migraine headaches, but she said they were controlled by medication and her condition would not affect her ability to serve as president.

    “I’ve maintained a full schedule between my duties as a Congresswoman and a presidential candidate traveling across this nation,” Bachmann said. “I have prescribed medication I take on occasion whenever symptoms arise and they keep my migraines under control. But I’d like to make it abundantly clear, my ability to function effectively will not affect my ability to serve as Commander in Chief.”

    Here is a copy of her doctor’s note:

    This kind of personal attack on Bachmann reminds me of the age old flyer under the door late at night before the next day caucus vote in Republican Party politics. No doubt that this “insider” who leaked this not so devastating revelation about Bachmann (probably a former GOP staffer in the employ of another GOP Pol) will be identified and made to pay the price – or not.

    There seems to be quite a bit of sympathy for Michele Bachmann around the internets and particularly from women who frequently experience the worst form of migraine headaches and who are often stigmatized because of them.

  • Michele Bachmann,  Mitt Romney,  President 2012,  Rick Perry,  Sarah Palin

    President 2012: Iowa Governor Branstad Says Texas Governor Rick Perry Will Enter Presidential Race After Ames Straw Poll

    Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, right, listens as Hilton Garden Inn owner Larry Miller, foreground, talks about his hotel being surrounded by Missouri River floodwaters, during a tour Branstad took of flooding in Sioux City, Iowa, Monday, June 27, 2011

    So, how will this affect the race?

    Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad said Friday that Rick Perry, his Texas counterpart, is “seriously considering” entering the Republican presidential race.

    While he has not yet spoken to Perry about a possible run, Branstad said the Texas governor chatted recently by phone with Kim Reynolds, his lieutenant governor.

    Branstad, who was in Utah for the National Governors Association annual meeting, told CNN that Perry’s fact-finding calls into Iowa have left him with the impression that a presidential bid is likely.

    He predicted that Perry will jump in “sometime after” the Ames Straw Poll on August 13.

    Branstad also said Perry can “absolutely” afford to skip the straw poll, traditionally a test of each campaign’s organizational strength in the leadoff caucus state.

    The wild card question is: will Sarah Palin jump into the race?

    Texas Governor Rick Perry will replace Michele Bachmann as the anti-Romney candidate. But, Bachmann will run strong in Iowa but can she sustain her popularity into South Carolina and Florida?

    As the long-time Governor of Texas, he certainly has the executive experience. Look for the GOP Washington Establishment to push a Rick Perry and Marco Rubio ticket.

    Of course, Mitt Romney may have something to say about all of this and so might Sarah.

  • Michele Bachmann,  Mitt Romney,  Polling,  President 2012

    President 2012 Iowa GOP Poll Watch: Bachmann 29% Romney 16% Pawlenty 8% Cain 8%

    According to the latest Magellan Strategies Poll.

    Magellan Data and Mapping Strategies today released the results of an autodial survey of 1,024 likely 2012 Iowa Republican Caucus attendees.  The survey finds Michele Bachmann in the lead with 29% support.  Her nearest challenger is Mitt Romney with 16%, followed by Tim Pawlenty and Herman Cain with 8%.  Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich have 5% support, Rick Santorum has 3%, the generic “some other candidate” has 2% and 24% of respondents are undecided. 

     Michele Bachmann has broad support across all voting subgroups, with particular strength among men and social conservatives.  Among the 44% of respondents that identified themselves as a member of the Tea Party movement, Michele Bachmann leads by 33 points.

    Yes, it looks like Michele Bachmann is on her way to a win in Iowa, but Sarah Palin and Rick Perry remain wild cards in this race.

    Looks like Romney was wise not to waste any money in Iowa and concentrate in New Hampshire and Nevada.

  • Michele Bachmann,  Mitt Romney,  Polling,  President 2012,  Rick Perry,  Sarah Palin

    President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Romney 25% Bachmann 14% Palin 12% Perry 10%

    Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., speaks with Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa., during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, July 13, 2011

    According to the latest Quinnipiac University Poll.

    A new national poll shows Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann surging into second place behind longtime front-runner Mitt Romney in the Republican presidential race.

    Romney leads Bachmann, 25 percent to 14 percent, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday. Sarah Palin places third with 12 percent and Texas Gov. Rick Perry garners 10 percent support. Romney’s support remained unchanged since the last Quinnipiac poll taken a month ago, while Bachmann picked up eight percentage points. With Bachmann moving up, Palin lost three points.

    The poll also suggests that Romney and Bachmann have the most to gain if Perry or Palin stays out of the race. In Perry’s absence, Romney leads Bachmann by 28 percent to 16 percent and Palin places third with 13 percent. In a Palin-less race, Romney continues to lead with 28 percent support, followed by Bachmann with 17 percent and Perry at 10 percent.

    Romney comes the closest to President Obama in a head-to-head matchup, trailing the president, 47 percent to 41 percent. This margin has not changed since the last Quinnipiac poll. Though he trails overall, Romney edges Obama among independents, 42 percent to 40 percent.

    The president leads the other top candidates with at least 50 percent support, topping Bachmann, 50-38; Palin, 53-34; and Perry, 50-37. He tops these candidates among independents as well.

    So, the political world waits for Sarah Palin and/or Rick Perry to make their move. aAnd, don’t forget Rudy Giuliani who could win many Northeastern GOP states and create a “brokered” convention scenario.

    The entire poll is here.

  • Michele Bachmann,  President 2012

    President 2012: Michele Bachmann and Her Police Reports

    In this June 18, 2011 photo, Republican presidential hopeful Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., is showered with glitter after speaking at the AFP RightOnline Conference in Minneapolis. This year, for some liberal activists, the guerrilla tactic of choice is a shower of glitter tossed from close range

    Totally appropriate responses in my book.

    With a penchant for tough talk and polarizing positions, Republican presidential contender Michele Bachmann is a magnet for controversy — and there’s a trail of police reports to prove it.She and her staff over the years have requested police protection or investigations when her house was egged; when protesters threw glitter on her or held up critical signs; when her campaign yard signs were stolen; when a man wrote an email perceived as a threat; and when she screamed that two women were holding her hostage “against my will” in a city hall restroom.

    Read all of the piece, if you can stomach the left-wing slant.

    But, I hate to tell the writer for the Miami Herald, throwing glitter in someone’s face is an assault and if the glitter actually lands it is a battery. The act is called a CRIME – whether you are a homosexual, righteous in your own mind or otherwise.

    If someone blocks my path out of a restroom, the cops are going to be called and I am going to sue you for false imprisonment. So, don’t stalk people, POLS or otherwise.

    And, if some moron writes a threatening e-mail or eggs my house, the Capitol police and/or the local police are going to be called to investigate the matter.

    I guess I have a history too since I called the cops when someone dumped a bag of manure on my front door steps back in the 1980’s in response to a letter to the editor i wrote in a local newspaper.

    So, Michele Bachmann is some sort of NUTTER because she calls the police?

    Come on…..

  • Michele Bachmann,  Mitt Romney,  Polling,  President 2012,  Tim Pawlenty

    President 2012 Iowa GOP Poll Watch: Bachmann 25% Vs Romney 21% Vs Pawlenty 9%

    According to the latest TIR Poll.

    Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann has surpassed former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in a recent Iowa poll that was conducted by TheIowaRepublican.com.  With Bachmann now leading in Iowa, Romney has fallen to second place, but he is still well ahead of third place finisher Tim Pawlenty, who has overtaken Herman Cain my a miniscule margin.

    Bachmann received support from 25 percent of likely Iowa caucus goers in the poll, while Romney is backed by 21 percent.  The poll also shows signs of growth for former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, who now stands in third place in statistical tie with Herman Cain at just under nine percent.  Ron Paul finished with six percent, Newt Gingrich with four percent, Rick Santorum with two percent, and Jon Huntsman rounded out the field with one percent.

    Bachmann’s campaign has taken off like a rocket since participating and announcing her presidential intentions during the CNN debate in New Hampshire last month.  Here in Iowa, Bachmann has been playing up her Iowa roots.  She officially announced her candidacy in Waterloo, the town in which she was born and spent her formative years.  The night before she made her announcement, Bachmann’s campaign hosted a rally for 500 locals who came to welcome her home.

    While Bachmann’s lead over Romney is just within the margin of error, the poll’s cross tabs show how much momentum her campaign has generated in Iowa.  Her favorability is ten points higher than Romney’s, who had the second highest number in that category.  Her unfavorable figure is 14 points lower than Romney’s, giving her a stellar plus 65 favorability margin.  Her numbers suggest that Bachmann has found a very effective way to appeal to caucus goers.

    The conventional wisdom is that Michele Bachmann will win the Iowa Caucuses and that Romney (who is not contesting Iowa) will finish second or third. Then, Romney who has a commanding lead in the New Hampshire polls will win there.

    The only question will whether Tim Pawlenty can finish a close second to Bachmann or whether he will finish a distant third. In all reality, should Pawlenty finish third in Iowa, his campaign may be over.

  • Barack Obama,  Michele Bachmann,  Mitt Romney,  Polling,  President 2012,  Unemployment Rate

    President 2012: Romney Slams Obama for Poor Employment Numbers

    Hope and changey will be coming from the GOP. Help is on the way, no doubt.

    Republican White House hopefuls on Friday charged that dismal new jobs figures reflected President Barack Obama’s botched handling of the economy, US voters’ top grievance ahead of the 2012 elections.

    “Today’s abysmal jobs report confirms what we all know — that President Obama has failed to get this economy moving again,” thundered the field’s frontrunner, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.

    “With their cavalier attitude about the economy, the White House has turned the audacity of hope into the audacity of indifference,” he said, playing off one of the key slogans of Obama’s historic 2008 presidential campaign.

    Romney’s broadside came after the US Labor Department said that the ailing US economy, still digging out from the 2008 global meltdown, had generated a paltry 18,000 jobs in June and the unemployment rate had ticked up to 9.2 percent.

    “Today?s unemployment report is another stark reminder of the failure of President Obama?s economic policies,” charged Republican Representative Michele Bachmann, who has surged in recent polls.

    Bachmann, who is close the archconservative “Tea Party” movement, cited news reports that US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner aimed to step down pending a deal to raise the US debt ceiling and avert an early August default.

    “We can only hope that the president will be right behind him after the next election,” said the Minnesota lawmaker, who accused Obama of putting the US economy into “freefall.”

    There you go. Romney and Bachmann will be tag teaming against Obama.

    And, there is your potential GOP ticket in 2012.

    Did you see the poll numbers in Pennsylvania today?
    Obama is sinking like a stone and sinking fast.

  • Michele Bachmann,  Mitt Romney,  Polling,  President 2012,  Rick Perry,  Sarah Palin

    President 2012 GOP New Hampshire Poll Watch: Romney 25% Bachmann 18% Palin 11% Paul 9% Perry 7% Cain 6%

    According to the latest PPP Poll.

    When PPP polled New Hampshire in April Michele Bachmann was stuck at 4%. She’s gained 14 points over the last three months and now finds herself within single digits of Mitt Romney. Romney continues to lead the way in the state with 25% to 18% for Bachmann, 11% for Sarah Palin, 9% for Ron Paul, 7% for Rick Perry and Herman Cain, 6% for Jon Huntsman and Tim Pawlenty, and 4% for Newt Gingrich.

    Bachmann’s surge in New Hampshire is being built on the back of the Tea Party. Among voters identifying themselves as members of that movement she’s leading the way at 25% with Palin and Romney tying for second at 16%, and Cain also placing in double digits at 11%. Only 33% of Republican primary voters in the state identify themselves as Tea Partiers though and with the remaining folks Romney’s way ahead with 33% to 13% for Bachmann, and 10% for Huntsman and Paul.

    Romney’s starting to show some signs of weakness in New Hampshire. His support is down 12 points from 37% on the iteration of our April poll that didn’t include Mike Huckabee or Donald Trump. His favorability numbers are headed in the wrong direction as well. He’s dropped a net 18 points from +49 at 68/19 to +31 at 60/29. He’s certainly still the front runner in the state but he’s not looking as inevitable as he did a few months ago.

    Sorry I am a little late to this poll, but I have been traveling and now blogging from Indianapolis. Indiana.

    This is quite a chance in circumstances for Mitt Romney. He has decided early on not to compete in the first in the nation caucus in Iowa, certain in his own mind to win the first in the nation primary election in New Hampshire. However, Michele Bachmann has thrown a monkey wrench into this plan.

    Now, it is uncertain as to what will happen when Texas Governor Rick Perry officially enters the race and then if Sarah Palin gets in after Perry enters.

    Exit question: Is Romney a safe bet to win New Hampshire by a large enough margin to show momentum going into South Carolina and Florida?

    We shall see.

    New Hampshire may become Romney’s one and only early win and fade thereafter.