• Mitt Romney,  Newt Gingrich,  President 2012,  Rick Santorum,  Ron Paul

    President 2012: State of the GOP Race

    Mitt Romney had a big night last night (Super Tuesday Eve) winning 6 of 10 races but….

    Mitt Romney eked out a win in Ohio over Rick Santorum which, when coupled with victories for the former Massachusetts governor in Vermont, Massachusetts, Virginia and Idaho, ensured that he would remain the frontrunner for the Republican nomination heading out of Super Tuesday.

    And, Romney leads in the actual Republican Party delegate count.

    A few more “bad nights” like Super Tuesday and Mitt Romney will be the Republican presidential nominee. With his haul from yesterday, according to AP, Romney now has 415 delegates, Rick Santorum 176, Newt Gingrich 105, and Ron Paul 47 out of the 1,144 needed for the GOP nomination.

    To be the frontrunner, you need to kill the frontrunner. And like a poor marksman—or at least an underfunded one—Santorum keeps missing the target. First Michigan, now Ohio. Online betting market Intrade gives Romney a 90% chance of being the GOP nominee. Of course, no one has a mathematical lock on the nomination yet. The fight will continue.

    But….

    Mitt Romney has not closed the door on Newt, Santorum or Paul. They all will continue in the race and probably draw enough votes and delegates to deny Mitt Romney the 1,144 needed to win the Presidential nomination.

    It’s far from over. Despite claiming six state wins last night and upping his delegate count to 404, Mitt Romney still does not have a lock on the nomination—or even a clear path to claiming it if his opponents don’t leave the field.

    Consider this: if Mitt wins every remaining all-or-nothing state but one, and half of the remaining proportional delegates, he would likely still fall short of the magic nomination number of 1,144—which would force him to rely on unpledged delegates, the Republican version of the infamous Democratic super-delegates in 2008, to claim his party’s mantle.

    After last night’s election results the chances of a “brokered Republican convention” have increased and the nomination of a candidate, like Jeb Bush, Mitch Daniels or Bobby Jindal. This will probably not be a bad thing, especially looking at certain polls.

    However, if Rick Santorum can beat Newt Gingrich in the upcoming Alabama and Mississippi primary elections, it is possible that Gingrich will quit the race. Santo would then compete one on one with Romney. Santorum might be able to beat Mitt or vice versa. Perhaps they just divide up the remaining delegates.

    Should Gingrich prove obstinate and stay in the race (no matter what), it is very likely that NO candidate will have the 1,144 needed on the first nomination ballot. Then, hold onto your hats for backroom deals and the emergence of a “NEW” candidate.

    Stay tuned….

  • Mitt Romney,  Newt Gingrich,  President 2012,  Rick Santorum,  Ron Paul

    President 2012: Gingrich and Santorum Get Testy with Opponents on the Day of the Iowa Caucus

    First, there is Newt going ballistic at Mitt Romney:

    Newt should probably be mad about his abysmal campaign response to Romney’s negative television ads who everyone knew were going to hit him.

    Then, there is Rick Santorum going after Ron Paul.

    “Ron Paul is disgusting,” presidential candidate Rick Santorum said to a handful of Fox News and Business reporters shortly after his Fox and Friends interview Tuesday morning.

    Santorum blamed his rival for Iowa robo calls that claimed that the former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania was Pro-Choice and against the second amendment.

    There will be some bad blood among the GOP ranks after Iowa tonight.

    But, hey, isn’t that politics?

  • Ron Paul

    Ron Paul Watch: AIDS Patients and Sexual Harassment – Oh My!

    Texas Congressman Ron Paul

    More from an early book written by Ron Paul or does Paul disavow writing this too?

    Texas Rep. Ron Paul has distanced himself from a series of controversial newsletters from the 1980s and 1990s that bore his name and included inflammatory and racially charged language.

    As the newsletters burst into view, first during his 2008 presidential bid and again in recent weeks after he climbed to the front of the Republican race in Iowa, Paul has blamed the writings on ghostwriters. He said he was not aware of the “bad stuff,” as he described it.

    But one of Paul’s own books, published solely under his name, contains several passages that could be problematic as he attempts to push his libertarian message into the political mainstream.

    In his 1987 manifesto “Freedom Under Siege: The U.S. Constitution after 200-Plus Years,” Paul wrote that AIDS patients were victims of their own lifestyle, questioned the rights of minorities and argued that people who are sexually harassed at work should quit their jobs.

    Read the rest, but it is the same ol’ extremism and cranky weirdness from Ron Paul.

  • David Duke,  Don Black,  President 2012,  Ron Paul

    Ron Paul Watch: Don Black, David Duke, Stormfront.org 2012 Edition

    The same characters from the White Supremacy Movement are supporting Ron Paul for President.

    As you recall, during the 2008 Presidential campaign I had a lot to say about the issue.

    I guess voters have a short memory.

    Ron Paul was a hot topic this week on the talk radio show hosted by prominent white supremacist Don Black and his son Derek. Mr. Black said he received Mr. Paul’s controversial newsletters when they were first published about two decades ago and described how the publications were perceived by members of the white supremacist movement. Former KKK Grand Wizard and Louisiana Congressman David Duke also phoned in to explain why he’s voting for Mr. Paul.

    “Everybody, all of us back in the 80′s and 90′s, felt Ron Paul was, you know, unusual in that he had actually been a Congressman, that he was one of us and now, of course, that he has this broad demographic–broad base of support,” Mr. Black said on his broadcast yesterday.

    Mr. Black is a former Klansman and member of the American Nazi Party who founded the “white nationalist” website Stormfront in 1995. He donated to Mr. Paul in 2007 and has been photographed with the candidate. Mr. Paul has vocal supporters in Stormfront’s online forum. Mr. Black has repeatedly said he doesn’t currently think Mr. Paul is a “white nationalist.

    Mr. Paul’s newsletters contained threats of a “coming race war,” worries about America’s “disappearing white majority and warning against “the federal-homosexual cover-up on AIDS.” He has since denied writing the newsletters, which appeared under his own name.

    “I didn’t write them, I disavow them, that’s it,” Mr. Paul said in a tense CNN interview.

    On Monday, Mr. Black said he originally believed the newsletters were written by Mr. Paul.

    Yeah,  Ron Paul continues to receive support, including campaign cash  from these folks. He disavows what they say but accepts the support anyway.

    The White Supremicists think Ron Paul is one of their own – same ol’ story.

    Vote accordingly, Iowans.

  • Newt Gingrich,  President 2012,  Ron Paul

    President 2012: Ron Paul Attacks Newt Gingrich for Serial Hypocrisy – But Does it Matter?

    Probably the first of many attacks on Newt as he has become the front-runner in the GOP Presidential nomination race. But, will Ron Paul’s attack stick?

    The video does not hit Newt over his recent support for amnesty, but does detail: 1) Newt’s partnership with Nancy Pelosi in support of climate change legislation; 2) Newt’s support of TARP; 3) Newt’s attack on Paul Ryan’s budget as “right-wing social engineering; 4) the fact that Newt took more than $1.5 million from Freddie Mac to lobby Congress; and 5) the fact that Newt’s think tank took $37 million from the health care companies that support individual mandates.

    Paul Ryan is quoted in the ad saying, “With allies like that, who needs the left?” And Rush Limbaugh clips are prominently featured, including his claim that Newt’s attack on Ryan “supports the Obama administration.”

    The video raises valid issues, but what are voter’s alternatives?

    Mitt Romney, who has similar issues?

    Certainly, NOT Ron Paul.

    At this point, Newt Gingrich is looking like the Teflon Candidate.

  • President 2012,  Rick Perry,  Ron Paul

    President 2012: Rick Perry Gets Physical …..Against Ron Paul

    I missed this since I wasn’t at the debate.

    During the Sept. 7 Republican debate, Ron Paul clashed with fellow Texan Rick Perry once again.

    This time, things got physical.

    During a commercial break, Perry walked up to Paul’s podium, physically grabbed Paul’s wrist, and pointed at Paul’s face with his other hand (photo below from Reuters).

    Perry and Paul were placed next to each other at the center for the Republican debate.

    Before the physical exchange, the war of words between Paul and Perry was perhaps even more heated.

    Now all of the Ronbots who already hate Rick Perry will be all over him….

    Looks like Perry is telling Dr. Paul to take his meds.

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

    President 2012 GOP Iowa Poll Watch: Perry 22% Vs. Romney 19% Vs. Bachmann 18% Vs. Paul 16%

    According to the latest PPP Poll.

    The race is pretty close four ways in Iowa but Rick Perry is the new favorite among Republican voters in the state. Among announced candidates he’s at 22% to 19% for Mitt Romney, 18% for Michele Bachmann, and 16% for Ron Paul. Further back are Herman Cain at 7%, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum at 5%, and Jon Huntsman at 3%.

    If you throw Sarah Palin into the mix the numbers are pretty similar with Perry at 21%, Romney at 18%, Bachmann at 15%, Paul at 12%, and Palin registering at only 10%.

    Looks like Texas Governor Rick Perry has leap frogged over Michele Bachmann to become the anti-Romney candidate. Bachmann is fading even after her Ames Straw Poll win.

    Now, the question is will Sarah Palin jump into this race and if so, how will she play in light of her lower poll numbers? Will Palin even be a player in Iowa?

    The entire poll is here.

  • Barbara Boxer,  Michele Bachmann,  Mitt Romney,  Polling,  President 2012,  Rick Perry,  Ron Paul

    President 2012 Poll Watch: Romney 48% Vs. Obama 46%, Perry 47% Vs. Obama 47%

    According to the latest Gallup Poll.

    President Barack Obama is closely matched against each of four possible Republican opponents when registered voters are asked whom they would support if the 2012 presidential election were held today. Mitt Romney leads Obama by two percentage points, 48% to 46%, Rick Perry and Obama are tied at 47%, and Obama edges out Ron Paul and Michele Bachmann by two and four points, respectively.

    These prospective election ballots — measured Aug. 17-18, well over a year before the Nov. 6, 2012, election — indicate that the race for president at this point is generally competitive, with voters fairly evenly divided in their preference for giving Obama a second term or electing a Republican candidate. Even though the four Republican candidates tested have varying degrees of name recognition, they all fare roughly the same.

    Gallup’s generic presidential ballot — measured six times this year — shows a close race between Obama and a generic “Republican presidential candidate,” although there have been survey-to-survey variations on this measure, with the Republican candidate leading in June and July.

    This a poor poll for President Obama’s re-election efforts. Just about any GOP Presidential candidate, including Ron Paul are within striking distance.

    Plus, this poses a dilemma of sorts because who does the LEFT attack when any of the candidates that are running for the GOP nomination are in a good position to beat you.

    President Obama is at the moment in a rough parity position when registered voters are asked whether they would vote for him in election matchups against four potential Republican candidates. Romney fares slightly better than the other GOP candidates, and Bachmann slightly worse, but these are not large differences. Gallup research shows that these types of election measures at this stage in the campaign are not highly stable, and one can expect changes in the relative positioning of Obama and various GOP candidates in the months ahead.

  • Michele Bachmann,  Mitt Romney,  Newt Gingrich,  Polling,  President 2012,  Ron Paul,  Rudy Giuliani,  Sarah Palin,  Tim Pawlenty

    President 2012 New Hampshire GOP Poll Watch: Michele Bachmann Now in Second Place to Mitt Romney

    According to the latest Suffolk University Poll.

    While former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney remains a front-runner in New Hampshire, Michele Bachmann climbed 8 points since May, to 11 percent, according to a Suffolk University/7NEWS (WHDH TV) poll of likely voters in New Hampshire’s GOP presidential primary.

    Bachmann’s gain was more than that of any other candidate. Romney, with 36 percent support, gained 1 point since Suffolk University’s last Granite State poll was released nearly two months ago.

    GOP Primary election:

    • Mitt Romney – 36%
    • Michele Bachmann – 11%
    • Ron Paul – 8%
    • Rudy Giuliani – 5%
    • Sarah Paln – 4%
    • Jon Huntsman – 4%
    • Tim Pawlenty – 2%
    • Newt Gingrich – 2%

    Michele Bachmann distinguished herself in he Manchester, New Hampshire debate a few weeks ago and it is paying her dividends in the polls.

    Among those who watched the Republican Presidential debate in Manchester earlier this month, 33 percent said Romney won the debate, while 31 percent gave the win to Bachmann.