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Final Romney-Gingrich attacks before Floridians vote today
Nearly 600,000 cast early votes in Florida - WSJ
Romney and Gingrich describe the first month of their administrations
"[B]oth men said one of their first acts would be to repeal President Obama's health care law. Gingrich said he also would ask Congress to remain in session before his swearing-in to repeal the Dodd-Frank overhaul of the financial services industry and the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate governance law... In addition to Obama's health care law, Romney said he would give licenses to companies that have been approved for drilling for gas and oil on federal lands as well as issue an executive order saying that unions are not required to work on government projects." - National Journal
Romney appears to abandon entitlement reform
"At a campaign rally in Florida Monday evening, Mitt Romney told the crowd: "We will never go after Medicare and Social Security." Romney's remark is already causing some conservatives to despair that he is throwing entitlement reform under the bus in order to pander to seniors." - Weekly Standard
Thomas Sowell accuses Romney of incorrectly attacking Gingrich
"Among the claims going out through the mass media in Florida, on the eve of that state's primary election, is that Newt Gingrich "resigned in disgrace"... His resignation was not due to those charges and occurred much later. Do the Romney camp and the Republican establishment not know this, a dozen years later? Or are they far less concerned with whether the charges will stand up than they are about smearing Gingrich on the eve of the Florida primaries?" - Thomas Sowell for TownHall
Sen. Jon Kyl urges an end to negative attacks and warns against a long, drawn-out race
"“I’m concerned that if we don’t have a nominee earlier rather than later it could” hurt the GOP, said Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), who is unaligned in the race. “But maybe part of it depends on how they conduct themselves, and if they continue doing what they’ve been doing the past week, it probably wouldn’t be the best thing for the Republican nominee who eventually wins.”" - Politico
As candidates battle in Florida, Rick Santorum to watch from Las Vegas
"A Nevada Tea Party-cum-conservatives group run by Sharron Angle’s old boosters, T.R.U.N.C., is hosting Santorum for a Florida Primary results-watching party Tuesday night at the Santorum campaign’s Nevada headquarters... The event is doubling as a way to find and build an army of canvassers and callers to promote Santorum in the few days that remain before Nevada’s GOP caucuses on Saturday." - Las Vegas Sun
Ron Paul is trying to attract the Mormon vote- American Spectator
Fred Barnes says Jeb Bush is staying out of the 2012 race - for now - for three reasons
It is now technically impossible for a new challenger to win the GOP primary - Salon
George Soros: There’s not much difference between Obama and Romney - Hot Air
Ouch. Rick Perry’s campaign burned through MILLIONS in the final quarter of 2011
"Texas Gov. Rick Perry burned through the bulk of a once-sizable campaign war chest late last year in what became an increasingly desperate attempt to right his listing — and ultimately doomed — presidential campaign, federal financial disclosures released late Monday show... Perry’s campaign had more than $15 million cash on hand in early October. By the year’s end, that dwindled to less than $3.77 million." - Politico
House GOP closer to vote on making English the official language
"Spurred by Republicans running for the White House, GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill are moving closer to a vote that would make English the official language of the United States. Republicans believe a vote on the bipartisan measure would put the Obama administration on the defensive. President Obama voted against the effort when he served in the Senate." - The Hill
Jonah Goldberg: Liberals are using a confrontation between Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and Obama to make cheap racial points - LA Times
David Brooks: Over the last 50 years, America's rich and poor have become segregated from each other - with terrible consequences
"Roughly 7 percent of the white kids in the upper tribe are born out of wedlock, compared with roughly 45 percent of the kids in the lower tribe. In the upper tribe, nearly every man aged 30 to 49 is in the labor force. In the lower tribe, men in their prime working ages have been steadily dropping out of the labor force, in good times and bad. People in the lower tribe are much less likely to get married, less likely to go to church, less likely to be active in their communities, more likely to watch TV excessively, more likely to be obese." - David Brooks for the New York Times
And finally... A sing-off between Romney and Obama - BuzzFeed
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Romney maintains attacks against Gingrich, determined to win big in Florida
Newt pledges to take the nomination "all the way to the convention"
"A pugnacious Newt Gingrich reiterated his intention to stay in the Republican presidential primary “all the way to the convention,” telling reporters Sunday morning that he believed that “this is going to be a straight-out contest for the next four or five months” between him and Mitt Romney." - Wall Street Journal
VIDEO: Herman Cain endorses Newt Gingrich at Palm Beach County event
Gingrich doubles down on claim to President Reagan’s legacy -
"Newt Gingrich linked Mitt Romney to Wall Street malfeasants, compared himself with Ronald Reagan, Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy, and stridently attacked President Obama — all at one campaign event here Sunday afternoon." - The Hill
New polls have Romney solidly leading Gingrich in Florida
Rick Santorum’s daughter hospitalized
"On Thursday and Friday, some of us... were speculating over whether or not Senator Rick Santorum would be remaining in the hunt for the nomination when news broke that he was returning to Pennsylvania from the campaign trail in Florida. Now it’s very likely that the news was somewhat different and far more disconcerting. Reports are coming in that the Santorums’ youngest daughter, Bella, has been hospitalized." - Hot Air
Michael Barone: This three-way contest has given Romney the time and reason to develop better skills as a candidate
"The race so far has given Romney the opportunity to develop the political instincts that he might have obtained from going door-to-door for votes or interacting with lowly colleagues in a caucus as his three rivals have. His performances in the two Florida debates show he is making some progress. Not enough to be the ideal nominee, perhaps, but maybe enough to beat an incumbent with serious weaknesses, as well as some strengths." - Michael Barone for TownHall
Why hasn't Jeb Bush endorsed any candidate?
"Mr. Bush has made clear in television interviews and in conversations with friends that he is troubled by the sharpening tenor of the race, particularly on immigration. He voiced his concern directly to Mr. Romney, two people close to him said, urging him to moderate his oratory and views to avoid a collapse of support among Hispanic voters in the general election." - New York Times
Juan Williams: 2012 GOP should think about the poverty, unemployment and the hopelessness that pervade minority communities - The Hill
Muslim Americans unsure whether to support Obama or the GOP - Roll Call
John McCain condemns SuperPACs
"Sen. John McCain on Sunday attacked super PACs and the Supreme Court ruling that unleashed them on the 2012 presidential race. "I condemn them on all sides," the Arizona Republican said of super PACs on NBC News's "Meet the Press," "and I condemn the United States Supreme Court for their naivety in the Citizens versus United (sic) decision, which is an outrage."" - Politico
Paul Ryan slams Obama's sloganeering and election campaigning
"House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said that Obama uses the rhetoric of the right to make a case about fairness and equality, but produces policies that lead to "crony capitalism" and result in giving the government more power." - Fox News
Many Texas Republicans would oppose Rick Perry running for re-election as Governor - Houston Chronicle
David Frum: Ten years later, the content of the 'Axis of Evil' speech stands up to scrutiny - Daily Beast
Jeb Hensarling eyes financial panel chairmanship - Politico
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ATTACK, ATTACK, ATTACK
Drudge Report, National Review, American Spectator, Ann Coulter all attack Newt - Politico
WATCH: Romney attack ad enlists Nancy Pelosi to raise fears about risky Gingrich
An increasing number of Republicans now describe Gingrich as something akin to political plague - National Journal
Bob Dole, the Republican presidential nominee in 1996, took a big swing at candidate Newt Gingrich on Thursday, saying a Gingrich nomination will sink GOP contenders across the country - WSJ
Romney paints Gingrich as mentally unstable - Washington Post
What they’re saying about Gingrich’s not-so-great grasp of his own history with Reagan - HotAir
The latest FOUR polls have Romney leading Gingrich in Florida - RCP
"MITTZKRIEG" - How Daily Caller interprets Romney's aggressive debate performance
Newt Gingrich got slammed in the debate by a remarkably invigorated Mitt Romney, an impressive Rick Santorum and CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, who really wouldn’t let him get away with much - Jennifer Rubin
Romney wins latest debate say vast range of commentators - Byron York | Henry Olsen | John McCormack | Jonathan Tobin | Erick Erickson | Rod Dreher | Rich Galen | Michael Falone
Newt Gingrich turned in an oddly passive debate performance that left his supporters scratching their heads and illustrated his unpredictable and even whimsical style - Politico
"Mr. Gingrich seemed to be playing for a draw. He passed upon several opportunities to push back at Mr. Romney, despite being expressly presented with opportunities to do so — on health care, on Ronald Reagan’s legacy, on immigration, and on Mr. Romney’s personal finances among other issues." - Nate Silver says passive debating has hurt every candidate who's tried it.
Santorum reasserts himself with attacks on RomneyCare - RCP
Rubio may not be endorsing but he's clearly favoring Romney - Andrew Goldman
Rubio comes to Romney's defence after Gingrich had likened him to Charlie Crist - Politico
Romney appears to give more to charity than he pays in tax and he gives more than any other presidential candidate - Commentary
Nonetheless... doubts persist about Romney
Ten days after dropping out of the GOP race, erstwhile candidate and former Utah governor Jon Huntsman has accepted his next job: chairman of the Salt Lake City-based Huntsman Cancer Foundation - MSNBC
House Conservatives focus on battles ahead in three day Heritage Foundation retreat - Roll Call
Obama's testy exchange with Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer on runway undermines his claim to want bipartisanship - Washington Post
Krauthammer and Brooks critique Obama's "small" agenda
Obamanomics = Mercantilism - Ross Douthat
"Equality and freedom have often been trumpeted as the key words in the lexicon of liberal democracy. But they are too abstract and they won’t play in the political arena. Everyone understands fair, and fair is the word Obama should be uttering again and again and again." - Stanley Fish for the New York Times
Polls are finding that Americans seem less upset by the existence of income inequality than by the perception that federal policies unfairly favor the rich - Andrew Kohut for the New York Times
Americans see Iran as top threat to peace and security - Weekly Standard
Tales of atrocities from my visit to the Congo - Mike Gerson in the Washington Post
Is Yahoo News more anti-conservative than the New York Times?
The Yahoo News headline: “Low IQ & Conservative Beliefs Linked to Prejudice.” It is just one of thousands of examples of the sort of headwinds that conservatives fight against every day - PowerLine
And finally... The Economist informs us what's it's like to be on the receiving end of the campaign emails.
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Gingrich tries to woo Hispanics in Florida, calls Romney "anti-immigrant"
After Newt surge, Romney seems to have steadied the polls in his favor. Now Romney leads Gingrich by 8, leads big amongst Hispanics
"A Times-Union/Insider Advantage survey out Wednesday has Mitt Romney with a 40-32 lead on Newt Gingrich, a significant swing in less than two days. No other candidate polled in double-digits. The Insider Advantage numbers had Romney up in almost every demographic, including a 66-34 lead with Hispanic voters, one of Florida’s most important blocs." - Florida Times-Union
Newt Gingrich pledges to build a colony on the moon during his presidency
Ouch! What Ronald Reagan wrote about Gingrich in his diaries
"Newt Gingrich has a proposal for freezing the budget at the 1983 level. It's a tempting idea except that it would cripple our defense programs. And if we make an exception on that every special interest group will be asking for the same." - Ronald Reagan's diaries, quoted at Weekly Standard
Stuart Rothenberg: Newt Gingrich is Barry Goldwater II
"His populist message makes conservatives feel good, much as former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean’s angry message of change resonated with Democrats in late 2003 and much as Goldwater’s “in your heart, you know he’s right” message won over conservatives almost 50 years ago. Republican grass-roots conservatives unquestionably are angry... They might be so angry that they are willing to overlook Gingrich’s character flaws — character flaws they would scream about in a liberal Democrat." - Rothenberg Political Report
Karl Rove imagines the thoughts of David Axelrod - WSJ
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush: Four ways Republicans can win Hispanics back
Obama snubs Republican Gov. Jan Brewer on campaign trip to Arizona
"Gov. Jan Brewer met him at first stop of his five-state campaign swing with a hand-written letter asking him to visit the state’s southern border, which is a hotbed of illegal immigration and drug trafficking. But Obama suddenly turned cold, claiming that her Nov. 2011 book mischaracterized their previous White House meeting in June 2010. He then quickly walked away." - Daily Caller
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker leads Democratic opponents in polling for his recall election
"According to a new Marquette Law School poll the governor leads Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, a likely candidate, 50 percent to 44 percent. He leads former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk, the only declared Democratic candidate, 49 percent to 42 percent margin, former Rep. David Obey 49 percent to 43 percent and state Sen. Tim Cullen 50 percent to 40 percent." - RedState
Bachmann to run for re-election in House - USA Today
House GOP to offer health reform 'replace' plan after SCOTUS rules
"A top House Republican on Wednesday said GOP lawmakers will put forward an alternative to the health care reform law after the Supreme Court rules on the constitutionality of the law. ... Pitts said he personally anticipates that the court could strike the mandate but is unlikely to strike the entire law. He said House leadership is looking to the timing of a likely court decision to make its case against the Democrats’ signature health reform law." - Politico
Taxpayers still owed $132.9B from bailout - Fox News
Timothy Geithner says a second term unlikely at Treasury - LA Times
Gabrielle Giffords leaves Congress - New York Times
And finally... Ron Paul action figures
"This week, Ron Paul’s SuperPAC, RevolutionPAC, launched an innovative and unique fundraising idea: Ron Paul action figures. For $94.95 (plus $7.50 for shipping) supporters can purchase a fun-sized version of his or her favorite politician. The action figure is 12 inches tall and has talking capabilities to voice his best Ron Paul catch phrases." - Houston Chronicle
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Full text of speech | Video highlights | New York Times factcheck and analysis.
Did you think you had heard Obama's words before? 'You have' blogs The Weekly Standard.
The GOP response gets the thumbs up
WATCH: Herman Cain delivers Tea Party Movement response to State of the Union, accusing Obama of "class warfare", "more excuses" and "little ideas"
Obama styles himself as the crusader against the wealthy and economic injustices
Other SotU in brief:
"The problem isn't that Mr. Romney is paying too little, but that Mr. Obama wants everyone but his voters and green business cronies to pay too much" - WSJ editorial
Pelosi: I know something about Gingrich that ensures he’ll never be president - HotAir
Nate Silver: Gingrich now favorite to win Florida - New York Times
Gingrich now enjoys the support of 52% of Tea Party voters - Weekly Standard
Republicans focused on House and Senate races are growing anxious that former Speaker Newt Gingrich might win the GOP presidential nomination - Roll Call
"Democrats can’t believe their luck!" - Left-winger Markos Moulitsas is enjoying the GOP bloodbath - The Hill
Abrams: Gingrich undermined Reagan
Elliott Abrams points out on NRO, Gingrich is fraudulent to present himself as a Reaganite: "As a new member of Congress in the Reagan years — and I was an assistant secretary of state — Mr. Gingrich voted with the president regularly, but equally often spewed insulting rhetoric at Reagan, his top aides, and his policies to defeat Communism. Gingrich was voluble and certain in predicting that Reagan’s policies would fail, and in all of this he was dead wrong."
John McCain joins chorus who believe record-breaking number of debates is hurting GOP - USA Today
Democrats enjoy 11% lead over Republicans in a generic ballot question asked to registered voters - Hotline
And finally... Obama wants you to think he's like Reagan but the Wall Street Journal compares Reagan's economic recovery with today's...
Roughly one out of eight Americans who presumably want to work, and were working before 2007, can’t find work today - Spengler
Capitalism will be rescued by more competition, not more of Obama's government red tape - PowerLine
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Romney now has the support of 29% of Republican registered voters to Gingrich's 28%, according to Gallup - USA Today
VIDEO: New Romney ad hits Gingrich has someone who "cashed in" on America's housing crisis
Mitt Romney paid $3M in taxes in 2010 - USA Today
Romney paid a 14% Effective Tax Rate for 2010 on $21.7 Million in Income - WSJ
They say Romney is the establishment candidate but the establishment is slow to endorse him...
- More via Nate Silver
Meanwhile, Gingrich’s former firm releases Freddie Mac contract - Washington Post
Romney levelled a searing attack against Newt Gingrich’s character and raised pointed questions about his ability to lead - New York Times
Romney advocates 'self-deportation' for illegal immigrants - LA Times
Now it's Santorum's turn to take aim at the mainstream media - WSJ
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said a quick end to the presidential primary battle would be best so the GOP can unify around the nominee - Roll Call
Stephens and Gerson see support for Gingrich as a desire for excitement
Jonah Goldberg at the LA Times reaches similar conclusions: "For whatever reason, Romney seems like a creature put on Earth to blend in with the humans and report back what he finds. He clearly likes earthlings, and they in turn find him pleasant enough, and surprisingly lifelike. Occasionally he finds the right words, but he rarely connects them to the right tone. This dearth of convincing passion in the front-runner makes the passionate base of the party want to look elsewhere — even to Newtzilla."
"Mr Romney's challenge is to talk conservatives down from the ledge without worsening his position by insulting them for climbing up there with Newt in the first place" - Economist
Jonathan Tobin is perplexed that some people are still wanting a new candidate to emerge
"Anyone who really wanted to be president and thought they could win has already jumped in (and in a number of cases they have also already jumped out again). The only realistic possibilities for the Republican presidential nomination are named Gingrich or Romney." - Commentary
Republicans choose Mitch Daniels to respond to State of the Union - New York Times
Eric Cantor calls for replacing defense cuts one year at a time, if necessary - The Hill
House GOP: Medicare reform on 2012 agenda... but "scaled back" - Washington Times
Wisconsin Scott Walker's reforms are saving money, which unions cannot forgive - WSJ editorial
Chris Christie made a point of advertising that he’s nominating the first openly gay member of the New Jersey State Supreme Court along with the court’s first Asian-American - WSJ
Sen. Mark Kirk, an Illinois Republican who captured President Barack Obama's former U.S. Senate seat in 2010, faces a difficult recovery from a stroke - WSJ
Thoughts on yesterday's March for Life - Michelle Malkin
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Christie says he'd consider being Romney's VP - The Fix
GOP contest could be lengthy fight - USA Today
Romney attacks Gingrich as DC insider who had to resign "in disgrace"
"I don't think that the people of this country are going to choose as the next president of the United States a person who spent 40 years in Washington as a congressman and a lobbyist." Quoted by the Wall Street Journal.
And MSNBC has this from Romney: "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."
Gingrich leads Romney by 8% in Florida, according to a poll conducted after South Carolina result - RCP | Before SC, Romney had 14.7% average lead
Gingrich: Yes, the establishment SHOULD be worried about me
"“The establishment is right to be worried about a Gingrich nomination,” he said. “We are going to make the establishment very uncomfortable. We are going to demand real change in Washington.”" - New York Times
Gingrich's victory is further sign of declining power of GOP establishment - Timothy Carney for the Washington Examiner
Jennifer Rubin writes a letter to the GOP's big beasts and urges them to stop Newt
"The voters in their infinite wisdom have just given a huge boost to perhaps the only GOP candidate who could shift the spotlight from President Obama to himself, alienate virtually all independent voters, lose more than 40 states and put the House majority in jeopardy." - Washington Post
The unlikeable Newt
"Mr. Gingrich's biggest problem is that more voters say they dislike than like him. In a recent Fox News poll, 56% said they had an unfavorable view of him, versus 27% favorable. That's a net unfavorable rating of minus 29%, compared with a plus 5% for Mr. Obama and plus 7% for Mr. Romney." - WSJ editorial
Mitt Romney to release tax returns Tuesday - Washington Post
"Mitt Romney said Sunday that he will release his 2010 tax returns this week so that he can put behind him an issue that he acknowledged is causing a big distraction for his campaign." - Fox
Romney would have been more competitive in SC if he'd released his tax returns earlier - HotAir
Mitt Romney’s Bain Capital problem is real and Republicans are asking: Why wasn’t the GOP frontrunner better prepared to handle it all?
- Politico
"The country is thinking more skeptically about wealth and privilege in the wake of the Occupy Wall Street protests. Romney has not adjusted." - E J Dionne for the Washington Post
Mitt’s problem isn’t that he’s rich. It’s that he can’t seem to relate to voters who aren’t - Paul Begala for the Daily Beast
"Mitt Romney cannot get the votes of those who think we need to reform and reduce the power of Washington, which I venture to say is a sizable portion of the base." - Red State
Romney still has bigger financial warchest and has recruited Perry's top fundraisers - WSJ
Santorum emphasizes pro-life credentials while Obama celebrates Row V Wade anniversary - Washington Times
"I am disappointed that President Obama, who rightfully fights for civil rights, refuses to recognize the civil rights of the unborn in his country. I am disappointed that the other three Republican candidates in this race for president simply check the box. The unborn need leaders who will stand for life; so does the soul of America." - Rick Santorum in the Wall Street Journal
A Defense of Negative Campaigning - Michael Barone for NRO
House GOP hopes to focus on four issues in 2012: the Keystone XL pipeline, domestic energy production, infrastructure spending and tax reform - Politico
Or NPR's take: House GOP's 2012 Mission equals Unity Against Obama
GOP will revive Keystone deal that Obama killed - Washington Examiner
"If Democrats can make the presidential election into a choice between the president, whose job approval is in the mid-40s, and House Republicans, with a job approval hovering around 10 percent, Obama would have a solid chance of winning a second term." - Roll Call
Experts say tax reform will take backseat in Obama’s State of the Union address - The Hill
President Obama has given up on doing the White House job
"Obama is in full-time campaign mode. And it’s only January. This week the president sets off on a three-day campaign jaunt through five different states. Last week he held four Manhattan fundraisers and took a trip to Disney World." - RNC Chairman Reince Priebus for Fox
Obama's re-election hopes hinge on Hispanic vote - TNR
Gabrielle Giffords resigning from Congress - Washington Post
Watch her moving resignation video.
Conservative commentators answer the question: “What does the left get right?” - Thomas B Edsall for the New York Times
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NEWT WINS SOUTH CAROLINA
Graphic from USA Today. The Washington Examiner has the detailed results.
THE BIG THING
"For Mitt Romney, the South Carolina primary was not just a defeat, though it was most emphatically that. It was also where his campaign confronted the prospect it had most hoped to avoid: a dominant, surging and energized rival." - New York Times
"The story of the Republican race for months has been the search for an anti-Mitt, a non-Romney, a single candidate who conservatives could unite around. It is now possible, but by no means inevitable, that Gingrich has the momentum to become that candidate." - BBC
THE MESSAGE OF THE EXIT POLLS
GINGRICH'S VICTORY
ROMNEY BEGINS HIS FIGHTBACK
Charges from rival Republican candidates that he's a closet moderate don't hold up - Doyle McManus in the LA Times
SANTORUM FAILS TO EMERGE AS CONSERVATIVE ALTERNATIVE TO ROMNEY
Santorum's 3rd place in SC confirms Dana Milbank's argument that religious conservative leaders are losing influence - Washington Post
ON TO FLORIDA
After three different candidates win the first three contests Bill Kristol wonders if another candidate might yet run - Weekly Standard
Commentary fears Obama will be big winner of long campaign: "As long as Republicans are tearing each other apart rather than focusing the public on President Obama’s failures, they will not be laying the groundwork for victory in November."
Christie sets ambitious agenda in New Jersey amid 2016 speculation - Fox
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GOV. RICK PERRY WITHDRAWS FROM 2012 RACE
"Texas Gov. Rick Perry dropped out of the Republican presidential race on Thursday, two days ahead of the South Carolina primary, and endorsed Newt Gingrich in an apparent effort to stop Mitt Romney from winning the nomination." - Daily Caller
"Perry explained today that he came to the conclusion that there was "no viable path to victory...in 2012." While undoubtedly true, given his sagging poll numbers, aides — and Perry himself — are looking at another run in 2016 or 2020." - BuzzFeed
Final debate before South Carolina vote
Gingrich delivers show-stopper at beginning of South Carolina debate
"Newt Gingrich turned his contempt for the media into one of his strongest performances yet. When CNN Chief National Correspondent John King opened the debate with a question about open marriage, following an interview by Gingrich's ex-wife that he had sought one, the Republican chastised him. "To take an ex-wife and make it two days before the primary a significant question in a presidential campaign is as close to despicable as anything I can imagine," Gingrich told King, the moderator of the debate. Gingrich's response elicited loud applause from the audience." - CNN
Newt leads South Carolina polling
"Newtmentum is back, per Public Policy Polling: The company's second of three daily tracking polls, released tonight, shows Newt Gingrich in first place in South Carolina with 35 percent and Mitt Romney 6 points behind at 29 percent. Rick Santorum and Ron Paul were tied for third with 15 percent each." - Politico
Gingrich paid just under $1M in taxes for 2010 - USA Today
Herman Cain reappears
"The retired pizza chain executive... thrust himself back into the spotlight Wednesday with an "unconventional" endorsement in the GOP primary race. "Here is my unconventional endorsement," he said... "Not a candidate seeking the nomination, not someone that's not running. My unconventional endorsement is the people. We the people of this nation are still in charge."" - LA Times
Was yesterday the most eventful day of the whole campaign?
"It was a day of split-screen viewing and almost hourly recalibration. Iowa Republicans declared former senator Rick Santorum (Pa.) the new winner of their Jan. 3 caucuses, erasing Mitt Romney’s eight-vote victory. Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who had one of the largest donor networks of any candidate, quit the race and endorsed former House speaker Newt Gingrich, who was gaining momentum but faced new challenges as an ex-wife accused him in two interviews of asking for an “open marriage.”" - Washington Post
David Brooks: Money didn’t make Mitt Romney. A legacy of persistence and dogged determination did.
"Is Romney a spoiled, cosseted character? Has he been corrupted by ease and luxury? The notion is preposterous. All his life, Romney has been a worker and a grinder. He earned two degrees at Harvard simultaneously (in law and business). He built a business. He’s persevered year after year, amid defeat after defeat, to build a political career. Romney’s salient quality is not wealth. It is, for better and worse, his tenacious drive — the sort of relentlessness that we associate with striving immigrants, not rich scions." - David Brooks for the New York Times
Charles Krauthammer: If Obama wins re-election, it will be because of the self-destructing Republican field
"Suddenly Romney’s wealth, practices and taxes take center stage. And why not? If leading Republicans are denouncing rapacious capitalism that enriches the 1 percent while impoverishing everyone else, should this not be the paramount issue in a campaign occurring at a time of economic distress? ... in a stroke, the Republicans have succeeded in turning a Democratic talking point — a last-ditch attempt to salvage reelection by distracting from their record — into a central focus of the nation’s political discourse." - Charles Krauthammer for the Washington Post
Key message from House Republican retreat: blame Obama
"With South Carolina’s primary heating up, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) opened the party’s annual Congress of Tomorrow retreat by homing in on President Barack Obama, saying that 2012 will be all about him... Members are being instructed to keep everything they do in Congress framed as a referendum on Obama... Boehner said the party would have a renewed focus on “oversight of administration policies that are getting in the way of small-business job creation,” a sign they’ll use their agenda to jab at the president’s initiatives." - Politico
Justice Department coordinates suits with ACORN's Project Vote - Washington Examiner editorial
PIPA on life support -- is SOPA next?
"Capitol Hill’s effort to crack down on Internet piracy was hanging on for dear life Thursday after Senate leaders gave the green light to abandon ship following the Internet backlash led by Wikipedia, Google and other sites this week. The signs of distress came from the top, as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid released Democrats from casting their lot with the PROTECT IP Act during a procedural vote scheduled for Tuesday." - Politico
Hollywood liberals annoyed at Congress and Obama for not passing the legislation
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South Carolina is Newt's last chance
Interview with Newt's ex-wife to air on ABC?
"ABC plans to air an interview with Marianne Gingrich Thursday night on Nightline, after the second and final debate before the South Carolina primary on Saturday. Ms. Gingrich was married to the former House speaker for 18 years. After they divorced, Mr. Gingrich married his current wife, Callista, with whom he had an extramarital affair." - WSJ
South Carolina roundup
Media attack Romney for his tax situation
Karl Rove: It's time for Romney to talk about his record at Bain
"Bain invested in struggling or stagnant companies needing both money and management assistance... Without entrepreneurs like Bain willing to pony up with cash and expertise, many of these companies would still be struggling, stagnant or dead with all jobs lost. The temptation for Team Romney will be to avoid this fight now and wait for Mr. Obama to raise it. But Florida is the place, and early February the time, to set the record straight. Doing so will not only deliver a body blow to Mr. Romney's most aggressive GOP competitor; but it will strengthen him for the coming battle. However nasty the GOP primary has become, it is a stroll in the park compared to what lies ahead." - Karl Rove for the WSJ ($)
Rick Perry will quit - but will he be a hero or a spoiler to the anti-Romneys?
"Rick Perry will quit. He knows it. I know it. You know it. The question is whether he will quit before Saturday’s primary and help someone else win as a hero and king maker, or will he quit next week and see Mitt Romney win with Perry serving as the spoiler, keeping either Gingrich or Santorum from winning." - Erick Erickson at RedState
Rick Santorum may have won Iowa
"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." - Des Moines Register
Polling shows a Ron Paul third-party candidacy would more-or-less guarantee Obama re-election
VP watch: Sen. Portman to endorse Romney - Washington Examiner
Congressmen rush to drop piracy bills as websites go dark
"The unprecedented online demonstration against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) — epitomized by a black censorship bar plastered over the Google logo — spurred a rush for the exits on Capitol Hill as lawmakers rapidly withdrew their support for the legislation. ... GOP Sens. Roy Blunt (Mo.), Orrin Hatch (Utah), John Boozman (Ark.) and Marco Rubio (Fla.) dropped their support for the Senate version of the anti-piracy legislation, and Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), who leads the Senate GOP’s campaign arm, said the legislation should be put on hold." - The Hill
Republicans and Democrats equally to blame for standing of Congress - Washington Examiner editorial
House rejects debt ceiling hike in largely symbolic vote - LA Times
Obama administration rejects Keystone Pipeline
"The Obama administration will announce this afternoon it is rejecting a Canadian firm’s application for a permit to build and operate a massive oil pipeline across the U.S.-Canada border, according to sources who have been briefed on the matter." - Washington Post
Obama's first re-election TV ad defends energy record
"Pushing back aggressively at his critics, President Obama’s reelection campaign is launching its first television ad campaign of the race Thursday with a spot that defends his ethics and energy policy. The commercial fires back at the conservative organization Americans for Prosperity, which started its own $6-million ad campaign this week attacking the Obama administration’s support for the failed solar energy company Solyndra." - LA Times
Obama rejects GOP field's foreign policy attacks
"“I think Mr. Romney and the rest of the Republican field are going to be playing to their base until the primary season is over,” Obama told TIME’s Fareed Zakaria during a White House interview that will appear in the next issue of TIME magazine. “Overall, I think it’s going to be pretty hard to argue that we have not executed a strategy over the last three years that has put America in a stronger position than it was than when I came into office.”" - TIME
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Newslinks for Friday April 27: Boehner emerges as Romney's chief ally on Capitol Hill
Apr 27, 2012 7:01:37 AM | Comments (0)Newslinks for Thursday April 26: Romney urged to set out positive vision
Apr 26, 2012 6:47:57 AM | Comments (0)Newslinks for Wednesday April 25: Romney kicks off general election campaign
Apr 25, 2012 6:46:54 AM | Comments (0)Newslinks for Tuesday April 24: Romney and Rubio campaign together in sign of things to come?
Apr 24, 2012 6:41:46 AM | Comments (0)Newslinks for Monday April 23: Romney's healthcare plan may be more revolutionary than Obama's
Apr 23, 2012 7:00:16 AM | Comments (0)Newslinks for Friday April 20: Only 24% (RECORD LOW) think USA is on right track
Apr 20, 2012 6:54:24 AM | Comments (0)Newslinks for Thursday April 19: Romney keeps polling level with Obama, despite class war attacks
Apr 19, 2012 6:59:01 AM | Comments (0)Newslinks for Wednesday April 18: More evidence that Republicans are rallying to Romney
Apr 18, 2012 6:43:56 AM | Comments (0) Apr 17, 2012 7:01:18 AM | Comments (0)