Afternoon update for November 30, 2011

LATEST NEWS

Videos:

• Violence is a daily problem at #Occupy encampments - but police are the real problem?
• Obama says he's not qualified to be president
• Herman Cain, Barney Frank exit center stage
• Glenn Beck comments on the GOP candidates

Washington insider update:

• Poll: Barack Obama now worse that Jimmy Carter - Fox Phoenix
• Pakistan fired on U.S. troops first - American Spectator's Spectacle blog
• Yum! Obama approves the sale of horse meat for human consumption - Technorati
• Grover Norquist takes an unorthodox path as the supposed man behind the curtain - Washington Times
• Chris Matthews takes swipe at Obama, calls Tea Party "un-American" - Daily Caller

2012 update:

• Gingrich is on the rise because conservatives think he will govern as a conservative - ConservativeHQ
• Perry ramps up his anti-Wall Street rhetoric - Daily Caller
• Romney v. Gingrich: The gloves come off - Newsmax
• Gingrich blasts Obama over immigration litigation - CNSNews.com
• Cain attacks opponents for "character assassination" - CNN

LATEST OPINION

• John Meriline - Occupying Irrelevance: Is the Occupy movement fizzling out?
• DC Examiner - Conservatives need to think twice about Newt
• Jason Mattera - Barney, bankers and brothels

Newslinks for Wednesday November 30, 2011

John Rossomando on The Republican: The GOP needs a clear message on Iran, Russia, China and other threats

Herman Cain "reassessing" his 2012 campaign...

"Herman Cain said Tuesday he is assessing whether to continue his presidential quest after a Georgia woman's allegations that they had a lengthy extramarital affair fed doubts about the viability of his campaign. In a conference call with campaign aides, the Republican candidate said he would decide over the next several days how to proceed after weighing whether the woman's statement created "too much of a cloud" among his supporters." -  Wall Street Journal

• Transcript of Cain conference call - National Review
• Herman Cain should go - Washington Times
• "Jon Huntsman suggested Tuesday that Herman Cain's personal saga is hurting the entire field of Republican presidential hopefuls, and that the former restaurant executive is right to reconsider his candidacy." - LA Times
• But he still makes Michigan foreign policy speech: "Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain laid out his foreign policy and national security strategy on Tuesday - and attempted to slam the Obama administration's credibility in those areas." - CNN
• Who benefits if Cain drops out? "Ironically, it’s probably the candidate with the worst historical reputation who benefits from Cain’s slide: Newt Gingrich." - Tim Stanley for the Daily Telegraph

...and Newt Gingrich nearly left the presidential race in the summer

"Newt Gingrich admitted that his campaign nearly collapsed over the summer, calling the period when his staff quit and pundits mocked his trip to the Greek islands and his six-figure line of credit at Tiffany “the two hardest months in my life.” ... But he survived, he said, by creating a new, volunteer-centered campaign system. “I told somebody at one point, ‘This is like watching Walton or Kroc develop Walmart and McDonald’s,’” Gingrich said." - Politico

• "Newt Gingrich is adamant that he is not a lobbyist, but in the eight years since he started his health care consultancy, he has made millions of dollars while helping companies promote their services." - New York Times
• Conservatives should think twice about Newt - Washington Examiner editorial

Mitt Romney lands his first blow on Newt Gingrich, calling him a "lifelong politician"

"Asked by Fox News’s Bret Baier in an interview Tuesday whether Gingrich could beat President Obama, Romney said: “I think to get President Obama out of office, you’re going to have to bring something to the race that’s different than what he brings.” “He’s a lifelong politician. I think you have to have the credibility of understanding how the economy works. And I do. And that’s one reason I’m in this race.”" - Washington Post

• After 2008, Romney works a very different campaign - Washington Post

Rick Perry gaffes again: this time on voting age and the date of the election

"At a town hall meeting at the Institute of Politics at New Hampshire’s Saint Anselm’s College Tuesday, Rick Perry asked that all of the college students in the crowd who will be 21 by Nov. 12 support his bid for the presidency. ... The voting age in the United States is, of course, 18. And the 2012 election will be held on Nov. 6, 2012." - Washington Post

• Famously tough Sheriff Joe Apraio, who endorsed Perry this week, sounded weak in his praise for the Governor: "I don't know the governor that much. I've talked to him a few times, but to me, he's an honorable and ethical person." - RealClearPolitics

2012 Update:

• Gov. Huntsman may not qualify for the next two presidential debates - Politico
• Huntsman refuses to rule out possibility of independent candidacy for president - Boston Globe
• Former NM Gov. Gary Johnson also considers third-party run - ABC News
• It's only five weeks until Iowa - Washington Post
• Ron Paul's family publishes 2012 cookbook - Politico
• Dana Milbank sees a good VP contender in Sen. Rob Portman: "After the amateur hour that has been the GOP nominating process, the selection of a genuine grown-up such as Portman -- a longtime House member and President George W. Bush’s trade representative and budget director – would be reassuring." - Washington Post
• Mitch Daniels won't endorse in 2012 - Politico

Ross Douthat: Why isn't Jon Huntsman the conservative alternative to Romney?

"...Huntsman’s record as Utah’s governor isn’t “just to the right of other moderates, it is to the right of most conservatives.” Huntsman has none of Romney’s health care baggage, and unlike the former Massachusetts governor, he didn’t spend the last decade flip-flopping on gun rights, immigration and abortion. Meanwhile, on many of the highest-profile issues of the primary season (the individual mandate, Paul Ryan’s House budget, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac), he has arguably been more consistently conservative than Gingrich." - Ross Douthat for the New York Times

Support for the Tea Party falls, even in strongholds

"In Congressional districts represented by Tea Party lawmakers, the number of people saying they disagree with the movement has risen significantly since it powered a Republican sweep in midterm elections; almost as many people disagree with it as agree with it, according to the analysis by the Pew Research Center. ... In the 60 districts represented in Congress by a member of the House Tea Party Caucus, Republicans are now viewed about as negatively as Democrats." - New York Times

Congressional GOP worried Obama is winning the jobs message

"As Congress debates an extension of a payroll tax holiday, a number of Republicans are worried that their party has not done an adequate job responding to the battering they’re taking daily from President Barack Obama on the campaign trail. And in the policy realm, Republican rifts are blowing into the open: The party is split over whether to seek new tax revenue to rein in the debt, how to pay for an extension of the payroll tax credits and unemployment benefits — or whether Congress should even extend them at all." - Politico

Dick Cheney lunches with GOP senators

"Former Vice President Dick Cheney dropped in for a visit to the weekly Senate GOP luncheon, recalling a time when the then-veep was a regular fixture at the Tuesday noon-hour event. In those days, Cheney’s presence was seen by critics as an example of the President George W. Bush administration’s influence over the legislative branch, even though Cheney usually sat quietly at the lunch." - LA Times

Despite ban, earmarks continue

"Members of the House and the Senate attempted to pack hundreds of special spending provisions into at least 10 bills in the summer and fall, less than a year after congressional leaders declared a moratorium on earmarks, congressional records show." - Washington Post

Tea party, liberal coalition fails to revoke Iraq war authorization

"An unusual bipartisan coalition of liberals, moderate Democrats and tea party-backed senators failed on Tuesday evening to revoke the 2002 authorization for war in Iraq. By a 30-67 vote, the Senate rejected an amendment by libertarian-minded Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) that proponents said would have officially declared the Iraq war to be over. ... Even the four Republicans were all over the map ideologically, like tea party favorite Jim DeMint of South Carolina, conservative Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada and Maine moderate Olympia Snowe." - Politico

A Kennedy considers run for Barney Frank’s Congressional seat - Boston Globe

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Afternoon update for November 29, 2011

LATEST NEWS

Steve Emerson on the The Republican: Occupy Wall Street links up with Muslim radicals

Videos:

• Chris Christie rips Obama, says "What the hell are we paying your for?"
• Is disrespecting Michele Bachmann becoming a media sport?
• Karl Rove weighs in on Newt Gingrich's "risky" campaign strategy

Washington insider update:

• Obama spox questions why anyone would want ex-Solicitor General Kagan to judge Obamacare - CNSNews.com
• Dem retirements could hurt the party's chances to take back the House - The Hill
• Karl Rove says Barney Frank is quitting because he lost his bullying power - Newsmax
• Barney Frank joins effort to repeal Obamacare "death panels"- Daily Caller
• Fitch lowers U.S. credit rating to negative - Breitbart

2012 update:

• Richard Viguerie comments on the contrast betwen Gingrich and Ron Paul on Iran - ConservativeHQ
• Gallup poll shows Obama "shy of where he needs to be to win" in 2012 - CNSNews.com
• Herman Cain is "reassessing" his candidacy - National Review
• Huntsman rips Romney as the candidate of big bankers and of the status quo - The Hill

LATEST OPINION

• American Spectator: Occupy Wall Street dragging America back to the 1930s
• Frank Donatelli: Obama's lack of leadership killed off the Supercommittee
• Matt Lewis: Why a Cain exit could be huge
• Michelle Malkin: Did you miss the Thanksgiving White House visitor log dump?

Newslinks for Tuesday November 29, 2011

Ignoring Newt, Democrats go after Romney

"Even as the former House speaker leaped to the center of the 2012 stage, rising in the polls and winning the endorsement of New Hampshire’s powerful Union Leader newspaper, national Democrats launched a messaging campaign aimed at tearing down Romney, the opponent Obama supporters take most seriously.” - Politico

• "Democratic officials said Obama campaign leaders overwhelmingly believe Mr. Romney will be the Republican nominee, and they want to move early to undermine the image he is trying to build as a can-do businessman." - WSJ ($)
• Huntsman: Romney couldn't reform Wall Street - CNN
• Romney picks up key South Florida Cuban-American endorsements - Miami Herald
• Swing state Democrats spread DNC's latest attack on Romney - CNN
• Watch the ad itself

Newt Gingrich offers seven-point immigration plan

"At a town hall here Monday evening hosted by tea party favorite Rep. Tim Scott, Gingrich outlined a seven-part plan and called for withholding federal funds from “sanctuary cities,” that don’t enforce federal immigration laws. Gingrich also pitched a “World War II selective service model” for long-term illegal immigrants that would allow them to receive support from their communities — and remain in the country." - Politico

• "Newt Gingrich expressed support on Monday for South Carolina’s controversial law [which] would require law officers who make traffic stops to call federal immigration officials if they suspect someone is in the country illegally. Opponents say the measure would encourage racial profiling." - National Journal
• "Gingrich has surged to the top of the polls in the race for the GOP nomination, but with that front-runner status comes growing concern that his personal baggage could become a campaign liability." - The Hill
• Gingrich meets with pastors in South Carolina - CNN
• Gingrich proposes sequel to 'compassionate conservatism' - Cal Thomas for the Washington Examiner

Woman claims she had 13-Year affair with Herman Cain - National Post

"An Atlanta-area woman said in a television interview aired Monday that she had a 13-year affair with Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain. Ginger White told Fox 5 Atlanta, "It wasn't complicated. I was aware that he was married. And I was also aware I was involved in a very inappropriate situation, relationship." She told the station the physical relationship ended eight months ago, about when Mr. Cain announced his presidential run." - WSJ ($)

• "...in an extraordinary step for a presidential candidate, Cain preempted the claims on national television." - Politico
• Gov. Huckabee on new allegation: "I think this is the most damaging allegation that has been made to date. No question about it." - The Hill

Sheriff Joe Arpaio to endorse Rick Perry

"An Arizona sheriff who has gained a national reputation for his tough stance against illegal immigrants is set to endorse Texas Governor Rick Perry Tuesday in New Hampshire, Perry's campaign confirmed." - CNN

• BUT... former NH GOP Chair Fergus Cullen writes: "Sheriff Arpaio is a modern-day Bull Connor, minus the fire hoses and german shepherds. He is a disgrace and a national embarrassment." - NH Journal

Stuart Rothenberg: It's a matter of head (Romney) or heart (anyone else)

"Republicans are now chewing over their party’s potential presidential nominee for 2012, and a dramatic division has become apparent between GOP insiders and the grass roots... it’s not primarily a difference of ideology, though there is an element of that. Instead, the split centers on electability. ... The question is whether there are enough true believers to nominate someone other than Romney, thereby putting up a weaker general election candidate against Obama. In other words, is this 1964, when Republicans listened to their heart over their head?" - Stuart Rothenberg for Roll Call

• Byron York: Time running out for anti-Romney Republicans - Washington Examiner

Former Rep. Joe Scarborough has a quiz to root out the real RINO of the 2012 primaries

• "A candidate like Newt Gingrich can get away with supporting the biggest socialist scheme in American government over the past 30 years because he says nasty things about the press and calls Barack Obama a Marxist. Jon Huntsman, on the other hand, can have a stellar conservative record as Utah’s governor, be anti-abortion and adored by the NRA. But if he refuses to spit out angry screeds against Obama, he’s dismissed as a RINO, the facts be damned." - Joe Scarborough for Politico

As White House candidates abandon public funding, House Republicans look to end system - Washington Post

White House defends Obama trips to key election states - LA Times

Sen. Rob Portman holds out hope for tax reform

"A week after the supercommittee’s collapse, Sen. Rob Portman said Monday he’ll unveil a corporate tax reform plan early next year that builds off a framework negotiated by the failed bipartisan deficit panel. The Ohio Republican, one of 12 members of the supercommittee, described his plan as “pro-growth, deficit neutral,” and said it would drop tax rates to 25 percent, broaden the tax base and move to a “territorial system” where only profits earned in the U.S. would be taxed here." - Politico

• "Senate Democrats are set this week to push for an expansion of the current payroll tax cut – and pay for it by tacking on an extra tax for millionaires." - Politico

Should three key Supreme Court justices bow out of health care ruling?

"One e-mail from [Kagan] to fellow department official Laurence Tribe talked about an upcoming House vote on health care: "I hear they have the votes, Larry!! Simply amazing." ... There have been calls for Scalia and especially Thomas to recuse themselves or pull out of hearing the issue." - CNN

• "it would be refreshing to see Kagan respect the law by recusing herself when the measure comes before the nation's highest court." - Washington Examiner editorial

After less than two weeks, Wisconsin Gov. Walker recall effort has more than half required signatures

"United Wisconsin announced on Monday that more than 300,000 signatures have been gathered during the first 12 days of the recall effort, which was officially launched on Nov. 15. Organizers would need to gather 540,208 valid signatures by Jan. 17 to get the recall on the ballot next year." - Green Bay Press-Gazette

US Chamber of Commerce refutes Paul Krugman claim taxing the rich could raise $1 trillion

"By his rough estimate returning tax rates to pre-1980s levels 'could shave more than $1 trillion off the deficit' over the next 10 years. Assuming that it could, that wouldn't even cover the new debt created this year, and I'm sure job creators would be raring to hire more people if Krugman has his way and marginal tax rates rose to 70%" - Sean Hackbarth on Chamber Post

Barney Frank won't seek re-election - WSJ

• "Barney Frank's plan to leave Congress in January 2013 may make it easier for Republicans to water down the financial-regulation overhaul that bears his name, according to fans and foes of the measure." - WSJ ($)
• "The retirement of Rep. Barney Frank has put in motion a potentially brutal fight for the top Democratic slot on the Financial Services Committee, raising issues of race, seniority and ties to a vilified financial sector." - Roll Call
• "Rep. Barney Frank's (D-Mass.) decision to not seek reelection may be a sign that he's angling for a Cabinet position in the Obama administration." - The Hill
• "While the seat will definitely lean toward the Democrats, the election to replace Frank will likely be somewhat competitive." - RealClearPolitics
• Retirements hit Dem aspirations for a House takeover in 2012 - The Hill

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Afternoon update for November 28, 2011

LATEST NEWS

Dr. Terry Madonna on The Republican: Next year's election is the GOP's to lose

VIDEOS:

• Andrew Breitbart has it out with #OccupyLA
• 10 Commandments controversy flares up in Va.

Washington insider update:

• The Fed hid $13B loan to the banks from Congress - Bloomberg BusinessWeek
• Boehner had a long rocky relationship with Newt Gingrich - Roll Call
• Barney Frank to announce his retirement from Congress - Daily Caller
• Bill Clinton calls for Obama and the GOP to cooperate - Newsmax

2012 update:

• Gingrich says he's the conservative alternative to Romney - New York Times
• Poll shows Obama would beat Cain 46% to 36% - Rasmussen Reports
• Bachmann talks up her Tea Party roots, questions Gingrich's credibility - Washington Post
• GOP strategist Craig Shirley: The contest could last until June - Newsmax
• Ron Paul sets straw poll record - ConservativeHQ

LATEST OPINION

• Matt Lewis: Gingrich vs. Romney: The innovator vs. the manager
• Daniel J. Flynn: Occupy Wall Mart

Newslinks for Monday November 28, 2011

Losing the payroll tax holiday could cost the average family $1,000 in new taxes, according to President Obama, but Republicans are beginning to question the holiday’s stimulative effect on the economy

"“The payroll tax holiday has not stimulated job creation,” said Senator Jon Kyl while on “Fox News Sunday.” “We don’t think that’s a good way to do it.” Congress has until the end of the year to extend the payroll tax holiday. If it fails to act businesses will likely increase the amount of money that is taken out of your paycheck to pay for Social Security taxes." - ABC

...BUT Pat Toomey is more optimistic - Politico

• "When [Meet the Press] host David Gregory asked whether the Senate would agree on an extension of the holiday, which expires at year’s end, Schumer played pundit. “It’s hard to believe the Republicans would oppose this,” he said. “They’ve spent so much time fighting to preserve the Bush tax cuts for the millionaires, it’s hard to believe they wouldn’t want to preserve a tax cut for the middle class.” - NRO

Americans Elect has raised $22 million in order to place a third presidential candidate on the ballot in every state next year - Washington Post

> The Americans Elect website.

"Long excluded from the Republican presidential debates, former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson is now seriously considering a third party run for president in 2012." - Daily Caller

New Hampshire Union Leader's endorsement of Gingrich

"In a 354-word, front-page editorial Sunday, the New Hampshire Union Leader finally did what no Republican presidential candidate has yet been able to accomplish: make the case against Mitt Romney... In an apparent allusion to Romney, the publisher acknowledged that Gingrich is not “perfect” but explained: “We would rather back someone with whom we may sometimes disagree than one who tells us what he thinks we want to hear.” - Politico

• GOP candidates react to endorsement - Union Leader
• Bachmann brushes aside New Hampshire Union Leader Endorsement of Gingrich - MSNBC
• Union Leader Endorsement Anoints Gingrich as the Right’s “Not Romney” - Commentary
• Newspaper’s Endorsement Has Been Leading Indicator in New Hampshire - Nate Silver
• The American Spectator examines when the Union Leader's endorsement has made a difference and when it has not.
• Clinton versus Gingrich Again - David Frum

Current New Hampshire polling

"Despite the endorsement, Gingrich is unlikely to place first in New Hampshire, where Romney has been campaigning aggressively for years among the socially moderate voters in a state where he took 41 percent to Gingrich’s 14 percent in a recent Suffolk University/7 News poll." - The Hill

• RealClearPolitics has Romney an average 18.3% ahead in New Hampshire

Gingrich defends position on immigration

"Speaking to an overflow crowd here this weekend, Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich did not back down from his call for a "path to legality" for illegal immigrants who have lived in the United States for 25 years or more and who have established family and community ties. The former speaker of the House also scolded his GOP rivals for calling his proposal amnesty." - CBS

Gingrich and Boehner's difficult relationship - Roll Call

• “He’s the real deal,” Mitt Romney says of his late father, George, with whom he had a strong bond. And the father’s influence on his son is profound — except for the elder Romney’s moderate Republicanism - Washington Post
• "Despite Romney's almost flawless campaign, his impressive organisation, his five years of campaigning and his impressive debate performance, he has yet to claw himself above the national-poll threshold of 25 percent support on a consistent basis." - Toby Harnden
• Mitt Romney's "peculiar" temper - TNR

David Frum: In the Republican race, it’s Romney, Huntsman or bust - National Post

"Members of the Republican money machine that powered presidential elections from their time as “Rangers” for George W. Bush are betting almost entirely on Mitt Romney, but a large majority has so far sat out of the 2012 race altogether." - Washington Times

Herman Cain on Sunday reiterated that he opposes all forms of abortion - Washington Wire

Legal Insurrection is unimpressed with Politico's role in the allegations against Herman Cain.

Voters trust Republicans over Democrats on the all-important issue of the economy by 48-37% - PowerLine

BUT more voters blame GOP for supercommittee failure: "Dig beneath the surface of Gallup’s new poll showing that 55 percent of Americans blame both parties for the failure of the supercommittee, and you’ll see the remaining breakdown leans decidedly against the GOP: 24 percent say Republicans were to blame, while 15 percent point the finger at Democrats. Among independent voters the split is even starker: 21 percent say the GOP was to blame, while just 9 percent say Democrats were the primary problem." - Daily Beast

Should President Obama be re-named Candidate Obama?

"When President Barack Obama jets to Scranton, Pa., Wednesday to promote his jobs package, he'll log his 56th event in a presidential battleground state this year, putting him well ahead of President George W. Bush's record-breaking swing-state travel in 2003." - Wall Street Journal

...BUT reports the New York Times, conservative groups have spent $13 million attacking Obama in last six months... "Total television advertising spending on the 2012 election cycle could top $3 billion, up from $2.1 billion four years ago fueled in part by the rise of independent groups that can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money on campaigns."

Privatize the nation’s mail delivery - George Will for the Washington Post

Taxing the rich could raise $1 trillion - Paul Krugman in the New York Times

• ‘Spreading the Wealth’ message was a disadvantage for Democrats but may now work in their favor - New York Times
• But, notes Thomas B Edsall for the New York Times, there is little economic coherence to the Obama/ Democratic coalition of voters

And finally...

A 'Barack's Best Friend' dog lead is on sale in the Obama2012 shop - Fox

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Afternoon update for November 27, 2011

LATEST NEWS

Videos:

• Is the Tea Party waning?
• N.H. newspaper backs Newt's leadership
• Grover Norquist says Romney, Gingrich good on taxes
• Mitt Romney references Herman Cain in a vintage 1994 speech

Economic update:

• Fed says unemployment could top the Great Depression - Big Government
• Norquist says the spending sequester is not a failure - Politico
• Unemployment remained stuck in November - Bloomberg
• Could banking tests push the U.S. back into full-blown recession - CNBC
• Sen. Kyl opposes payroll tax extension - Huffington Post

2012 update:

• Herman Cain says false accusations behind his drop in the polls - Daily Caller
• Union Leader rejects Romneyism - Politico
• Romney camp touts positions to Iowa voters - CNN
• In 2012 race, GOP candidates rely less on fill-ins - CBSNews

LATEST OPINION

• Tawfik Hamid: U.S. involvement in Egypt must wiser
• Bill O'Reilly: Memo to the Occupiers
• Victor Davis Hanson: Mitt Romney: The castor oil candidate
• Bob Beauprez: Was it really a Super failure?

Newslinks for Sunday, November 27, 2011

Videos:

• Milton Friedman addresses the Occupy movement
• MSNBC proclaims that your taxes are too low
• Newt says Obama can use a teleprompter during the presidential debates

Forget the “green jobs boom”, we have an oil and gas boom instead.

“So President Obama was right all along. Domestic energy production really is a path to prosperity and new job creation. His mistake was predicting that those new jobs would be "green," when the real employment boom is taking place in oil and gas. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported recently that the U.S. jobless rate remains a dreadful 9%. But look more closely at the data and you can see which industries are bucking the jobless trend. One is oil and gas production, which now employs some 440,000 workers, an 80% increase, or 200,000 more jobs, since 2003. Oil and gas jobs account for more than one in five of all net new private jobs in that period.” - WSJ

Supercommittee Democrats ducked the real cause of income inequality: entitlements.

“[Paul] Ryan, a Republican from Wisconsin, makes the point that the government redistributes income not only through taxes but also through transfer payments, including Social Security, Medicare, food stamps and unemployment benefits. The CBO study helpfully measures income, adjusted for inflation, after taxes and after such transfer payments. Many may find the results of the CBO study surprising. It turns out, Ryan reports, that federal income taxes (including the refundable Earned Income Tax Credit) actually decreased income inequality slightly between 1979 and 2007, while the federal payroll taxes that supposedly fund Social Security and Medicare slightly increased income inequality. That's despite the fact that income tax rates are lower than in 1979 and payroll taxes higher,” Michael Barone writes in the Washington Examiner

New study calls global warming into question.

“The left's proposed solutions for the world's ills are based on the idea that carbon dioxide is a climate-heating poison that must be scrubbed from the global economy at all cost. Yet another study shows this is foolish. The study in the journal Science found that global temperatures appear to be far less sensitive to the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere than originally estimated.” – IBD

Lobbyist feeding frenzy developing as the Supreme Court prepares to decide Obamacare’s fate.

“Corporations, unions, trade groups and advocates are expected to spend millions of dollars over the next few months trying to shape the court's thinking on whether the law's individual mandate is constitutional. Their efforts will include ideological appeals, popularity contests and recusal campaigns - none of which are likely to have much effect on the outcome of the case.” – The Hill

Chris Matthews attacks Rush Limbaugh’s audience, accuses them of “prejudice”.

“Perhaps it is a low regard for the racial sensibilities of Rush Limbaugh’s audience, or what he calls “non-college whites” as a whole, but MSNBC host Chris Matthews and the panel on this weekend’s broadcast of ‘The Chris Matthews Show’ has branded an entire segment of society as being guilty of prejudice.” – Daily Caller

Red China remains a rising threat.

“Washington policymakers managed to convince themselves that on counter-terrorism, as well as on counter-proliferation and the growing North Korea nuclear threat, China was a committed, reliable, and essential partner—a “responsible stakeholder.” What China was doing to prepare for war against Taiwan, and against the United States should it come to Taiwan’s aid, largely became a back-burner issue. The same was true of China’s complicity in proliferating dangerous weapons and materials to the world’s most dangerous states, including North Korea and Iran.” – Weekly Standard

GOP candidates turn their guns on Obama even though the general election is a year away.

Nearly a year before Election Day, Republican presidential candidates and conservative action groups are already spending heavily on television advertising aimed at casting Mr. Obama as a failure. Their tactics, the aggressive and sometimes misleading kind not typically used until much further along in a campaign season, have led to a spat with Democrats in what is shaping up to be the most costly election advertising war yet. – New York Times

Could Obama’s financial reform give put the White House in GOP hands in 2012?

“It’s already clear what sort of reelection campaign Barack Obama is going to run. He will attempt to rebrand the Republican Party as the One Percent Party, extremist obstructionists doing the bidding of big banks and superwealthy at the expense of the rest of the American people. This was going to be the strategy even before the Occupy movement emerged, though the rabble a) helped provide the ‘1% vs. 99%’ political vocabulary and b) made the MSM to focus on inequality as a substantive 2012 issue.” – AEI’s Enterprise blog

Gingrich gains the backing of New Hampshire’s influential Manchester Union-Leader.

“Former speaker of the U.S. House and current GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich has received the coveted endorsement of the highly-influential New Hampshire newspaper "The Manchester Union Leader," an endorsement Republican rival Mitt Romney has adamantly sought. The endorsement of the conservative newspapers' editorial board places an exclamation point on Gingrich's impressive surge from has-been GOP contender to front-runner, and sets him apart as the new anti-Romney candidate amongst his competitors.” – Fox News 

• The New Hampshire Union Leader's Sunday editorial says the former House speaker "is by no means the perfect candidate" but calls him "the best candidate who is actually running." - CNN

Former President Bill Clinton praises one-time rival Newt Gingrich.

“Former President Bill Clinton praised his erstwhile nemesis former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, crediting his strong debate performances with propelling him into front-runner status for the GOP presidential nomination. “It’s not any traditional charisma,” said Clinton, who discussed his new best-seller,  ‘Back to Work: Why We Need Smart Government for a Strong Economy,” in an exclusive interview with Newsmax.TV. Instead, Clinton believes Gingrich is emerging because “he thinks about this stuff all the time.’” - Newsmax

Newt Gingrich Inc., how the former speaker built an empire and went from flameout to success.

“Anyone who doesn’t believe in an afterlife must not live in Washington. Rarely, however, has reincarnation been so lucrative as it has for the man who now tops some polls for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Former House speaker Newt Gingrich transfigured himself from a political flameout into a thriving business conglomerate. The power of the Gingrich brand fueled a for-profit collection of enterprises that generated close to $100 million in revenue over the past decade, said his longtime attorney Randy Evans.” – Washington Post 

The GOP presidential race could stay crowded all the way to the convention in Tampa next August.

“The rules of a game often determine its winner. With the approach of the Republican Party’s first presidential nomination caucuses and primaries, party rules are already playing a key role — and just may lead Republicans on a wild nomination ride that won’t end until the last day of its convention in Tampa.”- Politico 

2012 roundup:

• You can tell a lot about the GOP candidates by their choices of neckwear – New York Post
• Has Gingrich boxed in Mitt Romney – Politico
• Dems gain amid volatile GOP presidential contest – San Francisco Chronicle
• New Hampshire gives Ron Paul a second look – NPR
• Santorum, Huntsman embrace their underdog status ahead of the New Hampshire primary – WMUR New Hampshire

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Afternoon update for November 26, 2011

LATEST NEWS

John Rossomando on The Republican: Occupy Ignorance: Occupy Wall Street flunks basic economics

VIDEO:Occupy protester shows true colors threatens S.C. gov's life

2012 update:

• Ads run in Iowa urging Palin to reconsider - Daily Caller
• Herman Cain is flunking the world's toughest job interview - Baltimore Sun
• Did Newt Gingrich just flip-flop on immigration? - Christian Science Monitor
• Michele Bachmann publishes Gingrich's 2004 pro-amnesty letter - TheOtherMcCain

Afghanistan update:

• Pakistan cuts U.S. supply lines after catastrophic airstrik - Reuters
• U.S. told by Pakistan to vacate airbase along the Afghan border - Fox News
• Pakistani-US relations hit rock bottom - CNN

LATEST OPINION

• David Frum: Huntsman and Romney vs. the rest
• Jason Mattera: Is China friend or foe?
• W. Thomas Smith: Terror group has infiltrated CIA

Newslinks for Saturday, November 26, 2011

Videos:

• Chris Matthews admits the national media tilts "a little" to the left
• Video proof the Occupy protesters were warned before the pepper spray incident
• Report: Occupy Wall Street costing citiest $13M so far
• John Fund: U.S. headed for European-style bureaucratization

John Rossomando on The Republican: Tony Blankley to ConHomeUSA: Gingrich would deliver the biggest conservative agenda since Reagan if elected president

GOP Supercommittee members say the Superfailure happened because the Dems wanted $1T in new taxes.

“The essence of the plan was to dramatically reduce the deductions and credits wealthier taxpayers can claim to reduce their tax liability. That would generate enough revenue to both permanently reduce marginal rates for all taxpayers and provide more than $250 billion for deficit reduction. Added to other receipts, taxes and fees, the Republican plan amounted to more than $500 billion in deficit reduction revenue and $900 billion in spending reductions. We believe this lowering of the rates and broadening of the tax base would have spurred economic growth, created jobs and, in the process, generated billions more in revenue from growth in the economy.” – Washington Post

• “The potential for $1 trillion in cuts to the defense budget is thrusting the issue of national security back into the spotlight of the 2012 presidential race. The cuts, set for January 2013, could also turn a strength into a vulnerability for President Obama, who has more to brag about when it comes to security and foreign affairs than the economy. Obama’s supporters argue that the president is way ahead of his GOP rivals when it comes to national security, an issue that’s typically perceived as a Republican strength.” – The Hill
• “Democrats are unanimous in charging that the debt-reduction supercommittee collapsed because Republicans refused to raise taxes. Apparently, Republicans are in the thrall of one Grover Norquist, the anti-tax campaigner, whom Sen. John Kerry called ‘the 13th member of this committee without being there.” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid helpfully suggested “maybe they should impeach Grover Norquist.’”, Charles Krauthammer writes in National Review online.
• “Greece and Italy may be ungovernable, but America is ungoverned. The president ducked out of the country for an Asian tour while the supercommittee tried to reach agreement on a plan to cut the deficit. But the Democrats refused to offer specific cuts in entitlement spending, despite a Republican agreement to modifications of the tax code that would produce billions in new revenue, most of it by withdrawing from the wealthy various opportunities to use special provisions to reduce their tax burden. This increase in tax receipts, largely from the rich, did not satisfy the Democrats’ insistence on a $1 trillion increase, to come from higher tax rates on “the rich.” It might take a sharp reaction from the market to force the politicians to veer off the road to ruin on which they are taking the country.” – The Weekly Standard

An Assad collapse in Syria would bring the Muslim Brotherhood to power.

“Somewhere, probably in hell, Hafez al-Assad is biting his fingernails, hoping that his son, Bashar, remembers his history lessons. Because this is not the first time that an Assad ruling Syria has faced mounting opposition protests, deadly attacks on government personnel and installations, and army defections. A similar uprising occurred in the 1970s and early 1980s, under Assad senior’s watch.” - Forbes 

Military advocates decrying the “illegal” early termination of over 150 Air Force majors.

“Air Force spokesman Michael Dickerson explained to TheDC that “selective continuation” is the process which has resulted in the premature separation of these 157 majors. According to Dickerson, officers who fail to get a promotion two times in a row are subject to involuntary discharge — unless they are within two years of qualifying for retirement. Officers subject to discharge can be retained if tapped for continuation by a selection board — it is at these selection boards where officers six years to retirement normally are retained.” – Daily Caller  

Risks abound for the U.S. in the Obama administration’s push for a transition to civilian rule in Egypt.

“In so doing, the president opened up a litany of risks, exposing a fault line between the United States and the Egyptian military which, perhaps more than any other entity in the region, has for 30 years served as the bulwark protecting a critical American concern in the Middle East: the 1979 Camp David peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.” – New York Times 

• “The Salafist leader, whom the BBC compliments as "thoughtful and personable," acts as if the entire issue is about alcohol. What is at issue is not being harassed on vacation, and being able to relax without the fear of a dream vacation turning into a nightmare at the hands of a regime of thugs, in an atmosphere where conspiracy paranoia easily becomes hysteria. The atmosphere of hostility toward non-Muslims within the country may make non-Muslim tourists think twice as well. For women, there is also the issue of whether their bodily integrity would be respected in a place where sexual harassment and assaults go un-prosecuted, with victims blamed for not meeting standards of Islamic dress and conduct.” – JihadWatch 

GOP subsidizes McMansions as no one pays attention.

Almost two weeks ago, when they figured no one was watching, the Republican-dominated House of Representatives, by an overwhelming 292–121 margin, voted to increase funding for the Federal Housing Administration. Just as government debt hit $15 trillion, edging closer to 100 percent of GDP, these self-proclaimed scourges of spending decided Uncle Sam should continue subsidizing mini-mansion mortgage loans — up to nearly three-quarters of a million dollars,” Andrew McCarthy writes at National Review Online 

Krauthammer blasts Ron Paul’s foreign policy positions for being stuck in the 1920s.

“Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer doesn’t have a problem with any of the GOP presidential hopefuls’ policy stances, except for those held by libertarian-leaning Texas Rep. Ron Paul. On this weekend’s broadcast of ‘Inside Washington,’ Krauthammer criticized Paul for what he suggested was an antiquated view of foreign policy. ‘Probably everyone except Ron Paul, who is living in the 20s, who thinks we can have a moat around the United States and if we ignore the world, the world will ignore us,’ Krauthammer said. ‘I don’t think there is a lot of division.’”- Daily Caller  

A stark generational gap faces America for the 2012 elections.

“It’s well known that the U.S. is rife with political division: red vs. blue, the coasts vs. the interior, cities vs. rural areas, the 1% vs. the 99%. Less discussed is the yawning gap that has recently opened between young and old. America today is more politically divided by age than it has been in 40 years, according to a major new survey by the Pew Research Center,” Michael Crowley writes in Time’s Swampland blog

2012 roundup:

• Gingrich up in the polls, but lacks congressional endorsements – Newsmax
• Romney dominates the race for endorsements, Nate Silver writes in the New York Times’s Five Thirty-Eight blog 
• Santorum eyes brass ring on anti-Romney “carousel” – Washington Times
• Bachmann, Gingrich take advantage of the Black Friday sales rush – WSJ

GOP candidates running hard against the media

“Media coverage of conservatives is again in the spotlight, with the furor over the treatment of presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) on the “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” TV show. Fallon’s house band, The Roots, played a segment of Fishbone’s “Lyin’ Ass Bitch” to accompany Bachmann’s stage entrance Monday night. Bachmann was unaware of the musical reference at the time, but later described the incident as “an outrage” and “clearly a form of bias on the part of the Hollywood entertainment elite.” – The Hill 

Republicans must settle on one candidate to beat Obama.

“President Barack Obama’s approval ratings are improving steadily, and the Republicans need to rally around one candidate if they hope to beat him, GOP pollster John McLaughlin tells Newsmax.TV. After falling, Obama’s approval rating has rebounded to 47 percent, while 51 percent still disapprove of his job performance. Although the numbers show he is vulnerable, they are drastically changed from this time last year, when his approval ratings were in the 60 percent range, McLaughlin said …” – Newsmax

Romney campaign vows to tie Obama in knots in the wake of their recent ad attacking the president on the economy.

“’We get it,’ said the aide.  ‘We will tie them in knots.’ There's little doubt the use of the Obama quote in Romney's first ad -- which played only for a short time and only in New Hampshire -- was a deliberate provocation from the Romney campaign.  On November 21, the Romney press shop sent out a release announcing the ad and detailing where each of its soundbites came from.  The press release made clear -- as the ad itself did not -- that the Obama soundbite in question came from a speech in which Obama was quoting McCain.  Romney's spokeswoman Gail Gitcho, wrote a blog post on the same day explaining that ‘the tables have turned’ and that Obama today is doing the same thing he accused McCain of doing in 2008 -- avoiding the topic of the economy.”, Byron York writes in the Washington Examiner

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