Will Palin show up on Super Sunday?

The Sarah Palin blog says the Alaska Gov. will speak to the country from Fort Richardson's base in Anchorage during pre-game.

Sarah Palin fort rich superbowl commercial


If it looks like a Palin, talks like a Palin...

Sarah Palin fort rich superbowl commercial


UPDATE!: On a more substantive note, the Star-Tribune is running an op-ed by Palin making the case for drilling in ANWR:

•Oil from ANWR represents a huge, secure domestic supply that could help satisfy U.S. demand for more than 25 years.

•ANWR sits within a 20 million-acre refuge (the size of South Carolina), but thanks to advanced technology like directional drilling, the aggregated drilling footprint would be less than 2,000 acres (about one-quarter the size of Dulles Airport). This is like laying a 2-by-3-foot welcome mat on a basketball court.

•Energy development is quite compatible with the protection of our wildlife and their habitat. For example, North Slope caribou herds have grown and remained healthy throughout more than three decades of oil development. Most of the year, our coastal plain is frozen solid and thus characterized by low biological productivity.

Keep reading...

A blowout: Senate seat for Crist's taking

Research 2000 has a new poll out for Daily Kos on potential matchups for Florida's open 2010 seat:

Charlie Crist (R) 49%
Kendrick Meek (D) 28%

Charlie Crist (R) 52%
Dan Gelber (D) 21%

Such a rare sight in modern America. A Republican dominating the race for an open seat.

Daily Kos:

I suppose it would be theoretically possible to take him down, but not bloody likely, not with his astronomical 65/23 favorables.

We all know Crist is more popular than sex, but these splits are remarkable in a state where registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans by nearly 6%:

a. Crist w/Democrats 58/30% Fav
b. Crist w/Republicans 74/16% Fav
c. Crist w/Independents 64/22% Fav

Steele: Cantor performed "best whip job I have seen in a.... long time"

Yes, the post sounds dirty.

Sean Hannity asked the new RNC chair about Eric Cantor's... (well, let's not repeat), and Steele had this to say:

I just spoke a little bit ago with Congressman Eric Cantor, the whip of for the Republican Caucus. And I had to congratulate him. This is the best whip job I have seen in a very, very long time by the Republican Caucus. He led, working with Congressman Boehner to keep the House together on this continual, you know, flow of funds away from the people out of their pockets into government.

Palin/Steele 2012?

Josh Painter says they're natural allies, and includes this interesting bit:

He [Steele] has such regard for life that he opposes the death penalty, which is consistent with his Catholic faith.

Case closed on the Can You Trust Him? thing. If a mainstream conservative is ballsy enough to oppose the death penalty on theological grounds, he sure as hell won't stray on abortion. Which prompts a thought: Perhaps if Mitt Romney came out opposing the death penalty?........

Crist's Final Four

The Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission has sent Florida Gov. Charlie Crist four names for consideration to replace retiring Justice Charles Wells.

1.. Orlando lawyer Dan Gerber, specializing in business litigation. Tough to get much ideological info on him, as could be expected.

2. Judge Debra S. Nelson, who was appointed to the 18th judicial circuit by Jeb Bush.

3. Judge James Perry, who was also appointed to the 18th judicial circuit by Jeb Bush.

4. Judge Alan Lawson from the 5th District Court of Appeal.

The Bradenton Herald on the ideological make-up:

"Most of the candidates seemed to be conservatives and not judicial activists."

This will be Crist's fourth -- FOURTH appointment to the court during his first term. Four our further coverage of the nominating process, click here. For more on Crist's last appointment, Jorge Labarga click here.

Romney to Huck is like...

The Cranky Conservative, apparently a Sarah Palin fan, has the zinger of the week.

"We are now almost a full year past the 2008 Republican primary, and yet this rivalry continues.... It’s like watching Kansas City Royals and Pittsburgh Pirates fans attacking each other."

UPDATE!: Over at Race 4 2012, there's quite a nice little thread and spirited debate on Mitt Romney v Sarah Palin. Check it out.

DOUBLE UPDATE!!: Speaking of rivalries, Semi-Autonomous Collective is in the running for nasty quip of the week with this one:

Prepare for a Romney Meltdown ‘09: “[Obama's Administration] will say nothing on behalf of the child waiting to be born, we must take the side of life.”

That’s what happens when you leave a former governor without any electorate whatsoever. They’re so desperate they resort to representing the unborn.

"If you had a trillion": Huckabee puts stimulus in layman's terms

Mike Huckabee issued a press release this morning, designed to get folks thinking "1 trillion? 1 trillion?! That's almost as many children as Shawn Kemp has."

Among the trilliony things:

a. The median salary for a family doctor in the United States is $144,719, according to Salary.com. With $1 trillion, you could hire 6.9 million general practitioners, or one for every 43 Americans.

b. If you had $1 trillion and you spent it at a rate of $1 per second, it would take you 31,709 years to go broke.

c. To put things in perspective, current estimates put the number of stars in the Milky Way at somewhere between 100 and 400 billion.

Read more, commit it to memory, and impress girls at the bar tonight with your perspective on things stimulative. You'll make their hearts go boom-boom!

Palin fires up the gas "bullet line"

Newsminer:

Gov. Sarah Palin said she will introduce legislation in February enabling Enstar Natural Gas Company to move ahead on plans to build a gas “bullet line” linking the North Slope and Southcentral.

And this is when it helps having a Republican governor in your state.

Joe Balash, special assistant to Palin(ea):

“They’ve [Enstar] spent millions in the last year on feasibility, and they’re ready to spend tens of millions of dollars on development. They’ve asked for this enabling legislation, and we want to make sure that the right regulatory environment is in place."

Read more...

Not playing around: Kyl, DeMint get way on toys

If you don't know the background for this story, click here for our brief summary of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.

But here's the two sentence version. In response to the lead toys/China thing, Congress passed an extraordinary set of guidelines not only on toys, but also on any product intended for children under the age of 12. Much of it wasn't scheduled to kick in until February 2009, when all hell was going to break loose for small businesses/thrift stores -- basically anyone who might sell things to kids.

The measure passed last year 89-3, with Jim DeMint and Jon Kyl making up 2 of the 3 opponents.

Well, now it seems lawmakers realize just how fucked up that bill was, and are postponing some testing requirements for a year:

The commission has been bombarded with thousands of calls, e-mails, letters and visits from people upset about the law, Martyak said. Reps. Henry A. Waxman (D-Beverly Hills) and Bobby L. Rush (D-Ill.) and Sens. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.) and Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) also sent the commission a seven-page letter chastising it for the "great deal of confusion and misinformation" that had arisen over the law.

For his part, DeMint said he will introduce legislation to exempt some small businesses from the law. Click here for DeMint's blog post.

Brotherly love: Jindal gives Kentucky a hand

KATC:

Gov. Bobby Jindal is sending help to Kentucky as that state responds to a severe ice storm that's suspected in dozens of deaths from the Plains to the East Coast and left about a million customers without power.

Jindal said Friday that the state is sending disaster response professionals from the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.... Jindal says Louisiana is grateful for the support Kentucky gave in the wake of recent hurricanes and ready to provide whatever help it might need to recover from the ice storm.

Stimulus $ and GOP Govs

The AP goes there. We've been talking about this for awhile, so no need to rehash theoretical points.

Except, just to mention. Don't. Please don't, Bobby. Please, no.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a former member of the House, said he would accept the stimulus money but would have voted against the bill if he were still in Congress.

Take the stimulus $, fine, but don't say you would have voted against it. That's the political answer, and you were supposed to be post-political.

Pawlenty does the dance, too:

"States have to balance their budgets. So if we're going to go down this path, we are entitled to ask for our share of the money.... I'm quite concerned about the federal government spending money it doesn't have. We're on an unsustainable path of deficit spending and borrowing."

We'll hold Sanford and Barbour's feet to the fire if they should take the $, as well. Again, it's not a matter of accepting $. It's a matter of scoring political points by railing against it, then stuffing the cash in your pocket.

With or without it. Sing it, boys.

Cantor calls out Republican Jewish Coalition Director for high $

$700 k/year.

A group of Republican Jewish leaders brought the hammer down on Republican Jewish Coalition Director Matt Brooks in a meeting with Republican Congressional Whip, Rep. Eric Cantor. The senior Republican Representative Cantor, who earns $174,000 annually, was stunned to learn from the meeting participants that Matt Brooks pays himself $700,000 annually from contributions of unsuspecting Jewish Republicans.

Matt Brooks, who loves to gamble in Vegas and participated in the World Series of Poker during this past election year, lead the RJC’s campaign as Senator Obama carried over 77% of the Jewish vote.

Palin "not so sparky" says Republican lawmaker

Another Sarah Palin Focus On Your Damned State! story. Timed perfectly for tonight's Alfalfa chow-down.

The AP:

it's part of the buzz around the Capitol among lawmakers who are seeing less of their governor than in years past and wondering what it means in the wake of a Republican vice presidential run that brought Palin global fame and notoriety..... Some say she appears more tense than the vice presidential candidate who delivered sly jokes and incendiary speeches to packed rallies across the Lower 48.

"Not so sparky," said Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, who wonders if the distractions of her newfound celebrity will keep Palin from devoting her full attention to Alaska's looming budget shortfall.

Any time a lawmaker from your own party starts hinting at focus issues, it's time to focus. So she'd do well to listen to Stedman.

On the other hand...

"So far, I've seen the governor deliver her energy package, she delivered her budget on time and she met with the majority caucus," said Sen. Gene Therriault, R-North Pole. "I've not seen or heard anyone come up with anything the executive is supposed to be doing that she has not done. It appears to me she's back on the job full-time."

Oh, be careful little feet where you go. For the AP up above, it's not looking down in love, oh be careful little feet where you go.

UPDATE!: CNN has a great piece re: Palin's strategy this weekend, aimed at defraying all of the above:

But it's what's missing from Palin's schedule that is causing more than a few heads to turn. In a city that is ground-zero for national political journalists, Palin has not scheduled a single media interview or indicated she will hold a press conference.

"She has requested we do not schedule any interviews for her," said Bill McAllister, Palin's communications director. Instead, McAllister said, Palin is traveling to Washington to lobby senators to approve certain infrastructure projects for Alaska in the economic stimulus package.

Gingrich: Steele is a "terrific choice"

Newsweek sits down with Newt re: Steele and technology:

"I thought it was a terrific choice. There were a number of first-class candidates, but he has the energy and the experience to do this job.... He's going to reach out to minorities. He's going to reach out to young people. He's going to take all the arguments against the party and talk about them in a new way. This is because he'll bring energy to the party that we haven't seen....

Anybody that wants to build a serious political movement has to start with Google and YouTube and Facebook. You have to go on cable and you have to go mobile. We learned that in the last election."

New Orleans is the place to be for 2012 candidates in 2010

Yesterday, RNC members from 14 southern states voted to hold the 2010 Southern Leadership Conference in New Orleans.

Roger Villere, Louisiana's party chair:

"[this is the] kickoff to the election cycle in 2012. We expect all major GOP Presidential candidates to be there, including our own Governor Jindal."

Barone: GOP should "go upscale" in 2012; ditch Palin

After crunching the demographic and socioeconomic data on McCain's loss in 2008, Michael Barone offers good tidings of cheer for Sarah Palin; then grim greetings of glum.

The debate among Republicans is whether to go after downscale or upscale voters. Those who argue for going downscale usually have a 2012 candidate in mind: Sarah Palin. She has an undoubted appeal to such voters and revved up part of the Republican base -- cultural conservatives, and rural and small-town voters -- throughout the campaign. Despite the scorn the media heaped on her, she has excellent political instincts and seems capable of developing the knowledge base that would make her a credible presidential candidate in the future.

But my examination of the exit poll results and county-by-county election returns has led me to conclude tentatively that going upscale is the right move. As David Frum has pointed out, we're going to have more well-educated and millennial-generation voters in the future and fewer less-educated and Baby Boomers (among whom McCain ran even).

The whole piece is worthy of a read, and there are a few things to mention.

1. currently, as barone says, palin seems to be the candidate of down-scale. so does Huckabee. does that mean they've got no upscale fans? hardly. but every candidate has her own base.

the question is: does sarah palin work at transforming her image to make herself more palatable to upscale voters? and then that begs another question: if that is her intention, what could she do practically to accomplish this?

2. much has been said about the GOP's demise among young voters, and how poorly it bodes for the party in the future. but three things tend to change political ideology. 1) getting married 2) becoming property owners and perhaps most significantly 3) having children. it's a little early to call lifetime political preferences when 1,2,3 are in the future for X.

3. after saying palin's not the one to capture upscale voters, he takes a pass on anyone else, saying "I don't have a candidate in mind". the difficult thing for republicans is that it will be tough to determine who that candidate might be, since grassroots activists play such a dominate role in nominating. with this in mind, new hampshire takes on ever greater significance, w/one caveat. Dems and inds may come out in droves to vote in the NH primary and scuttle things. who knows what might happen. huckabee could take iowa, then intent on confusing things further, dems could throw their support to huckabee in NH, angering rank and file Repubs. open primaries. wtf were they thinking of.

Touche, Eric, Touche

Mike Allen reports:

House Minority Whip Eric I. Cantor of Virginia, reading the Daschle news off his BlackBerry to last night’s banquet of a House Republican retreat in the Allegheny Mountains: “It’s easy for the other side to advocate for higher taxes because you know what? They don’t pay 'em."

Pawlenty, DeMint, and Kyl all chat on Sunday shows

Tomorrow's lineup:

a. Jim DeMint's on ABC's This Week

b. Jon Kyl's on Fox Sunday Morning

c. Tim Pawlenty's on CNN's "State of the Union" w/John King.

Romney: Obama's beholden to "most extreme wing of the abortion lobby"

At a weekend retreat with House Republicans:

Republican Mitt Romney, a potential candidate for the White House in 2012, accused President Barack Obama on Friday of answering to the "most extreme wing of the abortion lobby." Even if the administration "will say nothing on behalf of the child waiting to be born, we must take the side of life."

First, content. The words might dispel some lingering doubts re: Romney's stand on abortion. So that's one thing Mitt might have accomplished.

Second, the story's notable for the play it's had. Yahoo runs it on their front page tonight, a sign that Romney can generate a headline or two within the mainstream media. It's difficult to imagine a Republican other than Romney or Sarah Palin who could make major media headlines for an attack on abortion.

Let's try divining the MSM's thoughts in such a case:

a. Sarah Palin = run it. instantly newsworthy. everyone knows she's pro-life, but what a storyline. an attack on Obama? you get the two most popular politicians on earth battling it out in one story. a journalist's dream (a bloggers, as well, incidentally).

b. Mike Huckabee = don't run it. everyone knows he's pro-life and thanks to his ubiquity and the fact he's got his own show, he won't make any headlines for attacking Obama on abortion.

c. Any Other 2012 Candidate = don't run it. which of the others could make a yahoo headline for attacking Obama on life issues? "Sanford slams Obama on abortion" or "Pawlenty faults Obama's Mexico City Reversal" just doesn't mean much to Joe Reader, who thinks Sanford is a junk dealer, and Pawlenty a... well... um... yeah, can I take a rain check?

So whatever shape 2012 ultimately takes, look for Palin and Romney to dominate MSM coverage of potential '12 candidates for the next year or so. And naturally, as in Cavuto's i/view with Romney earlier this week, the two candidates will be increasingly thrown against each other in hopes of igniting a headline or two for starving activists (and gop12).

UPDATE!: A reader reminded me of this T-Paw/Andrea Mitchell vid where she tries stoking a Palwenty v Palin rivalry.

The Fix: 10 Republicans to Watch

And Chris Cillizza's list is loaded with 2012 candidates.

#9. Eric Cantor:

Cantor is affable and telegenic; he is also the rare Jewish Republican, which gives him a national platform and fundraising base. House members tend to struggle as voices for the national party as they get too bogged down in procedure and minutiae. Can Cantor break that pattern?

#7. Mike Huckabee:

Huckabee is working to position himself (again) as the voice of social conservatives in the party. The question for Huckabee: can he move beyond the perception that he is enormously amusing as a candidate but lacks the gravitas to occupy the Oval Office?

#6. Tim Pawlenty:

In retrospect, T-Paw being passed over as John McCain's vice presidential pick might have been the best thing that ever happened to the Minnesota governor. He can now make a clean break from the GOP of 2000-2008 and offer his Wal-Mart Republican message as the cure for what ails the party.

#5. Mark Sanford:

Sanford is THE spokesman of the Club For Growth and, in case you forgot, he comes from South Carolina -- a state with a big say in the early days of the GOP presidential nominating contest.

#4. Bobby Jindal:

in truth, how Jindal manages the next few years will be critical in determining whether or not he will keep up the momentum built in late 2008.

#3. Mitt Romney:

Romney is the party's smartest and best messenger on the economy and therefore will be front and center in the debate over the way forward. Romney will be at the Homestead Resort this weekend to speak at the House GOP retreat, and is keeping his political operation running through his Free and Strong America PAC. Will Romney's Mormonism keep him from grabbing the brass ring again in 2012?

#1. Sarah Palin:

Like her or hate her, anything Palin does is big news. Her coming to Washington this weekend for the Alfalfa Dinner drew big coverage on the cables and even on the local news. What other Republican in the country can draw that sort of attention? Answer: None.

Reaction to Michael Steele's victory

Marc Ambinder, the $ quote of the day:

In the United States, in 2009, the head of the Democratic Party and the head of the Republican Party are black.

Jim Geraghty at The Corner:

What will Republicans be getting in Steele? Maybe the ideal television presence, a dynamic and energetic speaker who cheerfully brings Republican message to communities that aren't always initially receptive. The contrast with Duncan's seemingly invisible media presence will be clear. But Steele's bid was hindered by questions about whether he would excel as much at the parts of the job that aren't in front of the cameras — the day to day management and fundraising.

In the coming year, Republicans will learn one way or the other.

Ben Smith:

Steele ran in large part on his ability to rebrand the party and to do battle on cable news. Though he is, in fact, quite conservative for the spectrum of American politics, he wasn't the conservative choice, and his win marks a real defeat for elements of the party's conservative wing. For younger Republicans and those seeking a dramatic break from the past, he was the choice, and his win suggests that the party is emerging from the phase of denying that, in the wake of its 2008 rout, it has a problem.

Think Progress:

The choice of Steele represents a considerable failure for the social conservatives who dominated during the era of Tom DeLay and George W. Bush. These far right wingers — including Phyllis Schlafly, Tony Perkins, Richard Viguerie, and Ed Meese — all backed Kenneth Blackwell, who had one of the poorest showings in the election.

Politico:

For a party seeking to define itself in the post-Bush era, the chairman’s election provided a first opportunity to chart a fresh course for the GOP. And throughout the day RNC members emphasized the potentially pivotal nature of the vote.

Holland Redfield, a committeeman from the U.S. Virgin Islands:

"We're going to push the Republican Party from vanilla to butterschotch."

Daily Kos:

"he's a political cipher, who represents change for the GOP only on the most superficial of levels."

From his 2006 campaign:



U.S. News and World Report's "10 Things You Didn't Know About Michael Steele":

Steele credits his mother, Maebell, and Ronald Reagan with turning him toward the Republican Party. Reagan's pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps message recalled a trait Steele's mother exhibited after her first husband, Steele's father, died in 1962 of alcoholism-related liver disease. She refused to go on welfare. Instead, she went to work as a laundress earning minimum wage to support Michael and his sister.

A Pajamas TV interview with Michael Steele. Features Michelle Malkin and Reynolds.

From Steele's acceptance speech after winning:

To my friends in the Northeast: get ready, baby. It's time to turn it on, and work to do what we always do well, and that is win. We're gonna win again in the Northeast. We're gonna continue to win in the South. We're gonna win with a new storm in the Midwest and we're gonna get to the West and lock it down there, too.

Will it be Steele?

a. Duncan dropped out.

b. Dawson took the lead over Steele 62-60.

c. That won't be enough. Anuzis and Blackwell votes should break for Steele.

d. $ is on Steele.

UPDATE!: Jim Geraghty:

It is not unthinkable that the race could come down to Dawson and Steele, and there are already murmurs of, "Can you imagine how the MSM's coverage will be if the guy who was in the country club with a whites-only charter beats an African-American on the final ballot?"

Follow his live-blog.

DOUBLE UPDATE!!: Yup.

There is a big crowd around Steele, only two people around Dawson. Read into that what you will.

Thune appointed Vice Chair of Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus

Co-chairs are Democratic Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Republican Senator Mike Crapo of Idaho.

Senator Thune will serve as Vice-Chair:

"Sportsmen play a critical role in protecting our natural resources and they have a tremendous impact on South Dakota's economy. As a member of the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus, I will serve the hunters and anglers in my state by ensuring that we always have places and opportunities to hunt and fish."

BREAKING: Pawlenty plans on running for third term!

KSTP:

... he told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS Chief Political Reporter Tom Hauser he's leaning toward running for a third term.

"We're in challenging times. I think I have a lot energy and a lot of ideas for this position. I'm interested in continuing in this position," said Pawlenty.

He cautions that he hasn't finalized his decision, but on the heels of strong fundraising reports for 2008, a 53% approval rating, and now his hint, hint, wink, wink interview -- the CW around Minnesota is that he's in.

Bold, politically risky choice, one belying the conventional narrative surrounding him.

Click here for video.

Bidding war to interview Palin!

Washington Whispers on a tussle between the little Grecian urn and Larry King to win the mouth of one Sarah Palin this weekend:

We hear that her attendance and the off-the-record, booze-and-beef dinner, coming during the week when she set up a political action committee, www.sarahpac.com, has sparked a bidding war for an interview between CNN's Larry King and ABC's Week host George Stephanopoulos.

A liberal rebuttal to DeMint's plan

Earlier, we linked to Michael Franc's rhapsodic praise for the Demint Plan, which he suggested would:

lead to the creation of 1.3 million new jobs in 2010, 7.5 million by 2013, and an astounding 18 million within ten years. Residential and commercial real estate activity would also soar, by almost $300 billion over 5 years.

Here's Matt Yglesias singing a different tune:

The trouble is that for job growth to keep pace with population growth, we need to add 1.5–1.6 million new jobs every year. To get a labor market recovery off the ground after well over a year of job losses, we need the pace of job growth to be considerably faster than that. DeMint’s promise of 1.3 million jobs is a promise to keep recessionary conditions going through 2010. Meanwhile, even the Bush administration Treasury Department has conceded that large, unfunded, permanent tax cuts of the sort DeMint is proposing result in slower long-run growth. Because DeMint’s plan is so generous to the richest Americans, they may well wind up better off under his slow-growth scenario than they would be under more balanced policies. But middle class Americans would be much better served by a policy that brings about more rapid recovery—the Romer-Bernstein number for the Obama plan is 3.7 million jobs instead of DeMint’s 1.3 million—and that lays the foundation for long-term growth by avoiding the sort of huge long-run deficits that DeMint’s plan would guarantee.

UPDATE!: DeMint will be on This Week with George Steph, Sunday. The Super Bowl is also on Sunday.

Weekly Intrade 2012

Friday. January 30. 2009

1. Mitt Romney 22.9

2. Bobby Jindal 22.0

3. Mark Sanford 18.0

4. Mike Huckabee 16.0

5. Tim Pawlenty 13.8

Notes: Slight tick up for Romney, who has now led six consecutive weeks. Sarah Palin's PAC may have helped her, as she moved past Newt Gingrich, but just short of cracking the top 5.

Quack, quack: Jindal teams up with Ducks Unlimited

Press release:

Governor Bobby Jindal announced that Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) is signing a cooperative agreement with Ducks Unlimited, a leading conservation organization, to restore and protect nearly 2,500 acres of coastal marshland in Southwest Louisiana.

A combined $3.26 million in state funds, federal grant money and private donations will be used to construct 250,000 linear feet of marsh terraces in areas that were once healthy marsh, but have become open water due to the effects of saltwater intrusion and wave action, largely from Hurricanes Rita and Ike.

Norah O'Donnell: Is Palin a hypocrite?

MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell muses on Sarah Palin's attendance at last night's Alfalfa Dinner:

"Sarah Palin is coming to D.C. she ran as a maverick this whole campaign, wanted nothing to do with people in Washington, the anti-establishment candidate, and now she's coming to the most exclusive dinner in Washington, to hobnob with perhaps the President, ambassadors, senators, all the people she derided during the campaign. What's up with that?"

[Hat tip: Media Research Center]

Corker breaks from party to support SCHIP

Bill's purpose:

A bill to amend title XXI of the Social Security Act to extend and improve the Children's Health Insurance Program, and for other purposes.

Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor had spoken against the House version of the bill for its potential for abuse:

“We Republicans believe that the legislation should include meaningful provisions to prevent fraudulent activity by those who seek to illegally gain access to this program."

And Jon Kyl noted that nearly 1/3 of those who'd receive the new coverage would otherwise have access to private insurance.

2012 Prospective Candidate Roll Call:

Tennessee Senator Bob Corker: YES
South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint: NO
South Dakota Senator John Thune: NO
Arizona Senator Jon Kyl: NO

Notes: McCain voted NO, Collins voted YES, Hutchison voted YES, Murkowski voted YES, Snowe voted YES, Specter voted YES, Lugar voted YES, Martinez voted YES, Alexander voted YES.

The bill passed 66-32.

GOP voters: Party should be more like Palin

Rasmussen says GOP voters disagree with our prior post:

Coming off a shellacking at the polls in November, the plurality of GOP voters (43%) say their party has been too moderate over the past eight years, and 55% think it should become more like Alaska Governor Sarah Palin in the future.

Palin's splits:

For Palin, her favorables are 52% (28% Very Favorable) and her unfavorables are 46%, with 26% who see her in a Very Unfavorable light.

Again, the party differences are enormous, although Democrats clearly like McCain more than Palin while for GOP voters the opposite is true.

And in good and counterintuitive news for Sarah Palin, unaffiliated voters like the Alaska Gov. better than her top-of-ticket bud, John McCain:

For McCain, unaffiliateds break 10% Very Favorable and eight percent (8%) Very Unfavorable. But 35% of unaffiliated voters have a Very Favorable opinion of Palin, compared to 15% who have a Very Unfavorable view.

Read more. There's a lot of meat to digest.

Maybe it wasn't the Barack Song... maybe it was Huckabee

Ambinder advances a credible theory:

Tennessean Chip Saltzman's [sic] bid was clipped early on when former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee began to make calls on his behalf. As there is no frontrunner for the 2012 nomination - not even Sarah Palin merits that designation - the committee doesn't want to endorse a chairman who is beholden to a particular candidate.

As we noted over a month ago, Mike Huckabee's early and oft support of Saltsman was strange and a bit troubling. Why open yourself up so transparently to conflict-of-interest concerns in 2012?

[Hat tip: Right Wing Watch]

Why Republicans are a minority party

There are thousands of juvenile posts and user comments like this all over the conservative blogosphere.

User Chris unwittingly makes the point himself:

It’s time start saying to the RINO ‘Moderates’ “This is a conservative party! If you don’t like it, get out!”

Well, friend, they're already out. That's kind of what the 2008 thing was all about.

UPDATE!: From First Read, this also might have some bearing:

Just askin’, but what kind of message would the GOP be sending after its 2008 losses by keeping Mitch McConnell as Senate leader, keeping John Boehner as House leader and keeping Mike Duncan as RNC chair? If that all happens, it's an odd message to send to the party and American voters.

The Battle Begins: Republican Governors vs. Republican Congress

Yesterday, we noted an enormously fascinating tension.

The widely-declared future of the Republican party ("The GOP Governor") is privately desperate for stimulus funds to help close deficits and save difficult cuts. The widely-declared past of the Republican party ("the GOP Congress") is desperate to once again take a stand on fiscal reform.

Well, consider the war on.

In Minnesota, powerful Republican U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson slammed the recently-passed stimulus package:

“This would go against everything I have been for. We need to let this thing (economy) bottom out and then spend the money to fix it."

But for his part, Republican compatriot in the Governor's mansion, Tim Pawlenty, said he kind of-sort-of thought it would be kind-of-sort-of okay.

Grand Forks Herald:

When the economic package first was being discussed, Pawlenty said he opposed federal payments to states. He since has backed off that comment.

[Spokesman Brian McClung said] “President Obama has promised that the stimulus bill will be formula-driven and fair, not based on earmarks and pork barrel spending. Gov. Pawlenty and his administration will take appropriate action to secure federal funding available for Minnesota."

Can you imagine a Republican House member using those words about the stimulus? Formula driven and fair. Not based on pork barrel spending or earmarks.

John Boehner would drop him into a shark-infested ocean with a millstone tied around his neck. And he wouldn't get last rites.

UPDATE!: Bobby Jindal says he would have voted against the stimulus. The question is: will he take the $ for Louisiana? If he does, it's difficult to view his stand as anything other than political expediency.

Coughing up 90 to 95%

Under threat of termination, ESC commissioners have told South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford they'll turn over 90-95% of unemployment data, withholding only the last few % because they simply don't have it.

Will that be enough?

Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer said the governor will have to wait and see what kind of unemployment data his office receives before deciding whether to remove the commissioners.

Would DeMint's stimulus create 7.5 million new jobs by 2013?

Michael Franc, writing at the National Review's Corner, thinks so:

DeMint plans to offer a pro-growth alternative plan, one that generates so many new jobs it practically short-circuited Heritage’s econometric model when we analyzed it..... we learned the DeMint plan would lead to the creation of 1.3 million new jobs in 2010, 7.5 million by 2013, and an astounding 18 million within ten years. Residential and commercial real estate activity would also soar, by almost $300 billion over 5 years.

And what, ask ye, is this DeMint plan?

His plan would drop the top marginal tax rate to 25% on wage earners, mom-and-pop business owners, and other employers, maintain the top rate on investment income at 15%, keep the children’s tax credit at $1,000, and impose a modest 15% tax on estates valued over $5 million.

Nate Silver: Cantor has "plausible presidential ambitions"

Over at 538, Nate Silver warns of a Republican "death spiral" or as they'd call it in academia, a feedback loop.

[The] base is not necessarily becoming smaller; it's still alive and kicking. What is true, however, is that the (1) base has never been sufficient to form a winning electoral coalition, and (2) that there are fewer and fewer non-base (e.g. moderates, libertarian Republicans, Republican leaning-independents). As these moderates have fled the GOP, the party's electoral fortunes have tanked. But simultaneously, they have had less and less influence on the Republican message.

Thus the Republicans, arguably, are in something of a death spiral. The more conservative, partisan, and strident their message becomes, the more they alienate non-base Republicans. But the more they alienate non-base Republicans, the fewer of them are left to worry about appeasing. Thus, their message becomes continually more appealing to the base -- but more conservative, partisan, and strident to the rest of us. And the process loops back upon itself.

It's something liberals were guilty of before Howard Dean did the 50-state strategy thing, and Nancy Pelosi decided she wanted to be Speaker of the House badly enough to let pro-life Democrats live and breathe in Washington.

Silver then goes on to assign Cantor-centric motives for the Virginia congressman's recent behavior:

The other possibility, of course, is that John Boehner and Eric Cantor are not so much concerned about the future of the Republican party, but about the future of John Boehner and Eric Cantor.

Cantor, in particular, is a media-savvy figure and someone with plausible presidential ambitions: one can easily imagine him trying to position himself as the new Gingrich.

(Ea) Here's where Silver's wrong: No one wants to position himself as the new Gingrich. Even Newt Gingrich.

Gingrich has been fighting his former self for years now, and finding ex-Newt a formidable foe. That's why he hasn't run for President. Because he might lose, and for years, he's been developing the meme that he's the smartest conservative out there, one who's monopolized fresh, innovative ideas.

If he decided to run with those ideas and lost, it wouldn't just cast doubt on his retail skills, it would also indict his status as Idea-Guy-In-Chief of the Republican party. And though an informal position, it must be attractive to Newt indeed, since he's become something of a science fiction movie as of late, being multiple places at the same time.

So no. Eric Cantor does not want to be the Next Newt Gingrich. President will do just fine.

[Hat tip: Blue Ollie]

Socialist Worker.org: "smarmy" Corker scapegoated unions

There are a few things you wouldn't expect a website called SocialistWorker.org to endorse: capital gains tax cuts, America, and Bob Corker.

Warning of Republican opposition to EFCA (the card check thing), Lance Selfa writes:

THE REPUBLICANS and their business allies have been road-testing their approach on EFCA in a series of skirmishes before the big battle. One of these was the GOP's campaign in December, led by smarmy Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, to make the United Autoworkers union the fall guy for the near-bankruptcy of the Detroit Three auto companies.

.... business and the Republicans have defined EFCA as a life-or-death matter. And the unions have similarly staked their future on it. EFCA is one issue where all of Obama's gauzy talk of "bipartisanship" and "working across the aisle" won't get him anywhere.

When this opposition arises, it will put Obama and the Democrats to the test. Will they take advantage of the expectations their election raised to marginalize the Republicans? Or will they retreat.

Charlie Crist delivers for the pro-life cause

The Catholic News Agency reports on Florida Gov. Charlie Crist's decision to restore full funding to crisis pregnancy centers that provide information and counseling to encourage women to give birth to their children.

Republicans in the legislature had recently cut 1/4 of funding for the center.

The Florida Family Policy Council said the budget cut would have “severely limited” services and information available for lower income women in crisis pregnancies.

“This would have prevented women from receiving critical education in prenatal care, childbirth, parenting and adoption resources,” the Florida Family Policy Council said in a statement.

Here's taking a guess that we'll be the only blog outside of Florida reporting the story. And here's taking another that if Crist had approved the cuts, it would have provoked all sorts of malicious invective from every human events to every red state to every newsmax.

Unrocket man: Barbour might lose his plane

Yesterday, Mississippi's House passed a bill requiring the state to sell its Cessna Citation, which is valued at $3.7 million and costs $1,900/hour to use.

The following might be the reason the Governor Haley Barbour's office and spokesman had "no comment" on the matter:

As governor, Barbour has priority to use state aircraft. He frequently flies around Mississippi and the rest of the country for a variety of reasons.

Flight records show he and his staff traveled around the state last year to meet with media outlets and local officials and speak at various events. Barbour and his wife attended a presidential debate at Ole Miss. His son accompanied him to a boxing match on the Coast that included a tribute to the governor, according to flight logs.

The governor also flew to Washington, Nashville and Chicago to meet with federal officials and other governors, participate in forums, receive awards and recruit business.

Maybe it won't be such a long, long time 'till touch down brings him round again.

Her letter worked: Mr. Obama hands Miss Palin victory

Miss Sarah Palin was concerned that the Department of Defense recently decided to rescind a program providing retirement payments to veterans of Alaska's Territorial Guard.

So she sat down, and like a heroine in a Jane Austen novel, wrote (pdf) President Obama of her worries and hopes, speaking aloud in Voice-over so the audience could follow along.

And guess what? One day later, the dashing and very proud but generous Mr. Obama came to her rescue, in the form of Secretary of the State Pete Geren's decision to continue the payments on a temporary basis.

Happy ending, lush score overlay.

[Hat tip: Sarah Palin for President]

RNC Chair morning

Before they decide, they need to all read two things and connect the dots. There are only two dots. This is easier than an ellipses.

1. Mitch McConnell's latest:

“We’re all concerned about the fact that the very wealthy and the very poor, the most and least educated, and a majority of minority voters, seem to have more or less stopped paying attention to us. And we should be concerned that, as a result of all this, the Republican Party seems to be slipping into a position of being more of a regional party than a national one.”

2. Jennifer Rubin's latest:

Katon Dawson, head of the South Carolina GOP, has a more difficult task. When it was revealed that he belonged to a "whites only club, the Forest Lake Country Club, for over a dozen years, a minor media firestorm erupted. Dawson played the “media card” — claiming the issue was an artificial concoction of the mainstream media.

If liberals play the gender and race cards excessively, Republicans play the media card too easily.

And one more thing, Kate Dawson used the desegregation of schools as an example of meddlesome government interference. That's going to help win the coasts back, and should do lovely things with minorities, as well.

UPDATE!: With Chip Saltsman out of the race because of the Barack song, Dawson's chances can't be good. Compare a satirical song with troubling overtones to whites-only club Dawson and desegregation is why we don't like government Dawson. The GOP will not go there, and if it does later today, even fewer will come along with them.

Sarah Palin Nightcap

Tough times for conservative governors

They're supposed to be the party's new leaders, but conservative governors are facing two very sticky issues.

1. Huge budget deficits. How do you raise revenue without raising taxes? How do you cut spending for vital services without facing the people's wrath?

So all that's well-known.

2. The trickier point comes here. Are you for the federal stimulus, or are you against it? Earlier today, we noted that Florida Gov. Charlie Crist favored the stimulus, despite not a single House Republican supporting it.

And why not? How can a governor turn down $ that can be used so deliciously to balance those budgets, and forestall the tough choices?

"Now, that's Charlie Crist", you might say. But consider Mark Sanford, opponent of the bailout before it was even born. Heck, he would have aborted the bailout.

WSPA:

South Carolina would get $3.2 billion under the current plan. But Gov. Mark Sanford says he’ll have to decide whether he’ll request the money.

As much as he’s against the bill, he says he would have to consider the fact that the money would be sent to another state if it doesn’t come to South Carolina, meaning our children and grandchildren would be paying back money they never got.

Seriously. Which. Governor. Would. Turn. Down. Federal. Funds?

If not Sanford, then whom?

When 2011 rolls around, are you going to have Senators pimping their anti-stimulus votes, while governors pimp a record based on that stimulus (ahem, providing the stimulus works)?

We're here: Pawlenty extends jobless benefits

Twin Cities:

A bill extending unemployment benefits for more than 3,000 Minnesotans cleared the Minnesota House on Thursday, and has been sent to Gov. Tim Pawlenty for his expected signature.

The bill, the first passed by the Legislature this year, affects about 10 percent of unemployed Minnesotans who have used up state unemployment benefits but don't qualify for a federal extension.

Pawlenty supports the legislation and looks forward to signing the bill as soon as possible.

This isn't a slap in fellow conservative governor Mark Sanford's face. Remember, Sanford's beef isn't about extending benefits to the unemployed; it's about rewarding fraudulent claims.

DeMint: Stimulus a "mugging"

Hyperbole: Now in session.

Senator Jim DeMint:

"This bill is not a stimulus, ladies and gentlemen; it is a mugging. It is a fraud. Not since the passage in 1909 of the 16th Amendment — which cleared the way for a federal income tax — has the United States seriously entertained a policy so comprehensively hostile to economic freedom, nor so arrogantly indifferent to economic reality."

(Ea) There's not a single conservative who's happy with the plan. But it's dangerous to start employing such incendiary language. What happens if the Fairness Doctrine moseys on over for a visit?

Will American ears be bled dry, to the point that "muggings", "frauds", and "arrogantly indifferent" are just kitchen table words?

The Political Luxury of Charlie Crist

After a flurry of speculation that Gov. Charlie Crist might run for Florida's open Senate seat, those Crist for Senate stories strangely quieted as the Governor assured voters his only interest lay in governing the Sunshine State.

But now -- sudden revival.

Asked if he could see himself in the race.... he left the door open.

“Not today. I’m not really thinking about politics. I’m thinking about our budget. I’m thinking about what I have to do.”

And why the hell not?

Charlie Crist has a luxury that no other candidate considering the Senate race has, and that’s that he is so popular, he can take a year to make up his mind.

Florida's GOP chair Jim Greer:

“I don’t think he’s ever closed the door or opened the door. Most importantly he’s focusing on being Governor of Florida. And at the end of the day, Charlie Crist is going to play a very important role in who becomes the next United States Senator from Florida.”

Here's what's going to happen.

As the year progresses, Charlie Crist will take a hard look at how Florida's economy is faring -- is it showing sparks of light or sputtering gasps of death? If the economy continues to take it up the Panhandle, expect Crist to run for reelection. He's simply not going to jump ship while survivors are still on board.

But, if the economy begins showing incipient signs of life, Crist will take a month or two to throw out national feelers re: his Presidential aspirations. If his buddy Michael Steele's the new chair, he'll have a pleasant chat over a martini about things 2012. Maybe he'll attend a CPAC or two. Perhaps he'll appoint a conservative justice. Whatever he does, he'll know fairly quickly how realistic a shot at the 2012 nomination is.

And my sense is that he'll be met with tepid response from grassroots activists, and encouraging support from rank-and-file Republicans.

So what's he to do with the ambivalence?

Know this: Charlie Crist is no dummy. You don't maintain a 67% approval rating in a state that's taking it up the Panhandle without some significant political skills. And Charlie Crist will take a look at the national landscape, process what's necessary to win a nomination in a fiercely right wing party, and decide it's not for him.

The decision will be a great relief to Charlie. Sure, no President, but no electoral defeat in an otherwise supremely charmed political life.

Charlie will decide that life as a centrist Republican in the Senate is enormously appealing. He'll campaign and vote according to his true political instincts, ones, incidentally, almost perfectly mirroring Florida's.

And he will be happy. And Florida will love him. And he will turn into a friendly, old lion of the Senate.

Taking sex fiends down: Jindal wants to make LA "safest place in the world to raise family"

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal announced seven legislative priorities for cracking down on sex offenders.

"I want the message to go out loud and clear: If you intend to break the law, if you intend to hurt a child, you better not do it here in Louisiana. Here, our justice will be swift and our penalties will be tough.

We passed a package of bills in the last session to crack down on the monsters that prey on our kids and we have already identified seven legislative priority areas that we will base bills on in this next legislative session. Our goal is to make Louisiana the safest place in the world to raise a family.”

Seven legislative priorities:

1. next step civil commitment program.
2. impose penalties when sex offenders fail to submit to electronic monitoring
3. strengthen restrictions on where sex offenders can work
4. strengthen reporting requirements on sex offenders who volunteer for activities involving children or youth
5. keep kids safe in school through eight new measures.
6. criminalize the hijacking of wireless routers for the purpose of downloading, uploading or selling child pornography
7. support the "Protect Louisiana's Children Act" that authorizes the revocation of the state license from child-care facilities to protect children from sexual predators.

Charlie Crist hails Obama's stimulus efforts

He might not have a Republican ally in Washington, but the President sure has one in snow-bird country.

The Buzz:

"God Bless him for reaching out. I'm sure all the (Republicans) had good, justifiable reasons and voted their conscience. But from a Florida perspective, this could be enormously helpful to the state - if done right - in terms of education, health care, infrastructure."

You've gotta give Charlie Christ this. He sure as hell isn't thinking about winning a gop presidential primary -- at least, not yet.

His first term is up in 2010, and he might be playing purple politics for reelection purposes. Once he's won his 2nd term, he'll turn into a right-wing, raining fire and brimstone politician.

Just imagine a white version of this, and you've got Charlie Crist, circa 2011.

Thune, DeMint introduce Life at Conception Act

Senators Jim DeMint and John Thune are re-introducing legislation declaring that life begins at conception and therefore, the unborn should be considered "persons" under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.

Senator DeMint:

“From the moment of conception, a child is created with their own unique genetic code, and it’s time that our laws protect them and their right to life.

Roe v. Wade left the question of defining a ‘human being’ open to the legislative branch. This long-overdue bill provides that definition and recognizes what science has shown and what most Americans believe: that a human life begins at conception. The unborn are individual human beings and entitled to constitutional equal protection for the right to life under the 14th Amendment.”

Senator Thune:

“Unborn children, as distinct, unique human beings, are fully deserving of our society’s attention, provision, and care. I believe this amendment would take a strong step toward achieving this goal.”

Full text of the 2008 version of the bill.

Bob McDonnell: Rising GOP star

Virginia governors invariably receive significant national attention and with it, Presidential buzz.

George Allen was once considered a front-runner for the Republican Presidential nomination, Jim Gilmore actually ran, Mark Warner thought of/is thinking about it, Kaine was a VP possibility etc.,

One of the reasons Virginia governors tend to be so abnormally popular is because they can only serve one-term. So there's the honeymoon and the farewell; and squeezed between, about two months of real political fights.

The Weekly Standard reports that in the much-hyped 2009 governor's race, the GOP has "already settled" on a candidate, while the Dems are far from any such consensus. And since nothing else is happening in fall of 2009, the race and its winner is bound to receive a trove of media attention.

The apparent Republican nominee-to-be is Virginia Attorney General Robert McDonnell, and you'd do well to keep his name in the back of your mind as a rising GOP stud.

The Weekly Standard's profile:

He is a 21-year veteran of the U.S. Army, a father of five (whose daughter just returned from service in Iraq), a Northern Virginia native, and a Catholic. He is conservative on social issues, but known for his bipartisan, workmanlike approach.... There is certainly nothing "Old Virginia" about McDonnell. He appears to be the quintessential Northern Virginia businessman. Trimly built and slightly graying, McDonnell, 54, is a departure from recent Republican candidates in Virginia......

His meeting with a group of Korean-American community leaders in a law office in Annandale--the heart of the growing Korean community in Northern Virginia--is revealing. This is the face of the "new Virginia" which a McCain campaign aide referred to as "not real Virginia." Koreans are one of the largest ethnic minorities in the state, and McDonnell wants to make inroads here. First and second generation Korean-Americans pepper him with questions: "Why do you want to be governor?" What are Republicans doing to avoid the label as the "rich, white party"? One woman says that Democrats are able to say, "We are for average people."

McDonnell is candid without being defensive. "We haven't done nearly as well as we should engaging you." He smoothly moves to talking about Republican values as a natural fit for immigrant business people--low taxes, less regulation and litigation, hard work, responsibility, and education.

[Hat tip: Capital Journal]

Folksy Gingrich "like a cross between Will Rogers and Dr. Phil"

The Political Insider on Newt's newest reinvention:

Gingrich, the former U.S. House Speaker, came to Sarasota armed with one-liners galore, sounding something like a cross between Will Rogers and Dr. Phil.

In describing his opposition to giving bail out money to big businesses, Gingrich said: “If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.”

Then a few moments later, followed it up by saying your walking in the wrong direction “walking faster won’t get you there.”

He expanded it to American spending behaviors over the last 10 years.

“If you can’t afford to buy a house,” he said inserting a long pause, “you can’t afford to buy a house.”

The speech was loaded with the quips.

The rest is worthy of a read. Has he caught the Glenn Beck "Common Sense" bug?

Palin: "I'm Alaska's Governor, first and foremost"

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin responds to the question she'll be asked most the next few years.

Q. How are you juggling (national expectations with being governor)?

A: "It's not a tough thing to juggle when I know and am grounded in the fact that I'm Alaska's governor, that is first and foremost ... I do receive, our office receives, hundreds if not thousands of requests to either speak or participate in something. We turn them down for the most part we say no, I'm not going to leave Alaska or I'll rarely travel outside of Alaska.

Full Q&A here.

Columnist: Crist has Florida on path toward junk-bond status

Mike Thomas on State Farm's hasta la vista, Florida:

I think State Farm looked at the Florida market long-term, looked at dealing with Crist for six more years and put an offer on the table it knew would be rejected so it could walk away.

There is no way the small insurers can pick up all those policies in the 2 1/2 years it will take State Farm to close out its property-insurance business. And so many of those policies will end up with Citizens Property. This only will increase the angst of credit-rating agencies.

Crist has Florida on a path toward junk-bond status.

Analysis: The many travails of Sarah Palin's words

A few, stylistic notes:

In conversational interviews, she really struggles. And I'm not talking about the obvious Katie Couric interviews, or any other oft-cited malapropisms.

I'm talking about her cadence. It's halting, as though she's playing a piano half a step behind the metronome, or driving a stick shift for the first time. In speeches, she's much better. Which is perhaps why people worry about her. A President should be able to speak fluently and effectively when divorced from her notes. It demonstrates intelligence, friendly persuasion, and competence -- all important skills for any President.

And her grammar?? Here are a few, choice contortions in the i/view.

a. "Adversely impacting".

b. "Grow the relationship we have with Canada".

c. "still disagreed much".

d. "to see some benefits that can be provided these positions we embrace."

e."Everyone working together to progress our country".

These bigger words she uses, these complex sentences she employs are twisted into strange permutations that don't quite pass the smell test. Listening to her is almost like reading a paper from a foreign student, who kind of-sort of knows English, and kind of-sort of knows the big words, but indiscriminately throws them around.

Again, this isn't a matter of intelligence. It's a matter of rhetorical competence. And both are necessary traits in an effective President.

[Hat tip: The Sarah Palin Blog]

"Outrageous" vs "Out of Control": Sanford saga, part Infinity

In a war of competing, apocalyptic adjectives between South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and his state's Employment Security Commission, the only winners appear to be... well, apocalyptic adjectives.

Click here for more of your daily Jerry Springer visits Columbia fix.

Palin has dinner with Obama this weekend

Newsminer on Sarah Palin's sup with the POTUS at the Alfalfa Club dinner in D.C. this weekend:

[She] said she will attend an exclusive club dinner in Washington this weekend because it could offer her an audience with President Obama....

“How often will I get an opportunity to have dinner with the President? I will take up that offer to do so,” Palin said.

Alaska's Governor also addressed her incipient PAC and whether it means she's running in 2012.

"No. Not at all. Not at all. No. It’s helpful to have a PAC so when I’m invited to things, even like to speak at the Lincoln Day dinner in Fairbanks, to have the PAC pay for that instead of have the state pay for that because that could be considered quasi-political."

And finally she says rumors of an $11 million book deal are "laughable".

“I will let you know if ever there is an offer, but that $11 million dollar figure I read about is laughable. It’s out of anybody’s realm of possibility of consideration.”

UPDATE!: Reporting on the story, ABC News' Jake Tapper gets in a quick, parenthetical barb:

(I hope none of the "terrorists" whom Palin during the campaign repeatedly accused the President of "palling around with" will be there. Could be a security issue.)

DOUBLE UPDATE!!: Jonathan Martin dishes more on what goes down at the dinner:

It’s a light-hearted affair, with political types playfully roasting themselves and one another. The dinner is put on by the Alfalfa Club, an exclusive list of about 200 movers and shakers whose only purpose is to throw the annual dinner on the last Saturday of January. The name is honor of a plant known to do anything for a drink.

Opening Salvo! Cavuto pits Romney against Palin

Remarkable that for half the interview, Neil Cavuto presses Mitt Romney on Sarah Palin's ideology, her PAC, and book deal.

For the most part, Mitt doesn't take the bait, except for a brief moment when he acknowledges ideological differences -- but only in a vague "we're all snowflakes" kind of way.



CAVUTO: So there's no distinctions then, Governor, between you and the Alaksa gov?

ROMNEY: Well, there are lots of distinctions between one Republican and the other. I don't think we're all exactly the same at every single issue. But I welcome the fact that Gov. Palin is very involved in the political process now. I understand she's formed a PAC. That's good news, we got a big election coming up in 2010...

CAVUTO: But she formed that PAC, ostensibly, to some, to arguably the groundwork for a 2012 run for the Presidency.

ROMNEY: You know, I think she'd say she formed a PAC to help Republican causes in races coming up, and while it may certainly benefit her long-term political ambition, if she chooses to have that ambition, it could certainly in the interim help a lot of Republican races and at this stage, we welcome all the dollars, all the support we can get. She draws a big crowd...

CAVUTO: ... do you have a PAC? Do you have a PAC like that, 'cause maybe you need one to challenge her.

ROMNEY: Oh, sure. I've had one for several years, and I work very actively to help Republian causes, conservative causes in Republican races.

CAVUTO: She is on the verge of seeking a book deal that could include $11 million for an advance. What do you think of that?

ROMNEY: Where do I sign up [laughter]... I think it's great there's some additional voices that are being heard, more power to her. If she's able to get a great book deal, that sounds good to me.

[Hat tip: Progressive Alaska]

Sigh: Olbermann names Cantor a worst person in the world

He joins nightly entry Bill-O, as well as weekly stalwart, Charles Krauthammer. And to quote Mr. and Mrs. Cantor's sperm and egg upon introduction: "this is only the beginning, Eric Cantor".

"Eric Cantor is supposed to be one of the GOP's bright new lights. He's kinda new; he seems fairly light. I don't know about the bright."

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Environmental group heaps praise on Crist

Defenders of Wildlife has found a kindred spirit in Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who restored funding to the Florida Forever land acquisition and preservation program.

Governor Crist acted on those concerns, vetoing potentially disastrous cuts to the Florida Forever program that had already been approved by the state legislature.
Please thank Governor Crist for his continuing conservation leadership.

The State of Florida is fortunate to have a conservation ally in Governor Crist. I hope you take a moment to thank him and celebrate this important victory for conservation in the Sunshine State.

Thune: Don't give us your poor and tired.... livestock

South Dakota Senator John Thune is cosponsoring legislation to preserve a ban on importing livestock and fresh meat from Argentina*.

Xenophobic? No... it's more foot-and-mouth disease-phobic. The ban was instituted 8 years ago, when infected cattle were smuggled into Argentina. Naturally, the United States is reluctant to let our cows mingle with their cows.

The Obama administration is reviewing the ban, but it's pretty safe to say he doesn't want to be the President whose legacy was reintroducing foot-and-mouth disease to America.

*ban does not extend to hot, Argentinian women. So put down your phone and delete that email you were writing Thune.

DeMint amendment to reinstate Mexico City policy fails

Never in doubt.

By a 60-37 vote, Democrats turned back an amendment that would have denied aid to groups that may be involved in abortion but also work on other health care issues abroad.

Roll Call:

2012 Prospective Candidates:

a. South Dakota Senator John Thune: YES

b. Arizona Senator Jon Kyl: YES

c. Tennessee Senator Bob Corker: YES

d. South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint: YES

Note: One Democratic Senator, Ben Nelson, joined Republicans; while four GOP Senators joined the Democrats -- Specter, Collins, Snowe, and Murkowski.

"Localism": Can Thune and DeMint stop it?

The "Fairness Doctrine" may be getting a new name, one unsullied by political polemic, but one with very real consequences.

And lo, they shall call it "localism", and how harmless, indeed, it sounds -- how could something so... well, local... bear the imprint of Orwellian federal dictates?

Inside Catholic warns:

Under the new Obama administration, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will begin applying "localism" regulations to radio station licenses. Steve Gajdosik, president of the Catholic Radio Association, calls these regulations "the death knell for Catholic radio".

So what is localism? The Minority Media and Telecommunications Council (formerly headed by Henry Rivera, chair of the FCC transition team for John Podesta and Barack Obama), explains:

"Broadcasters must . . . look for leaders in the civic, religious, and non-profit sectors that regularly serve the needs of the community, particularly the needs of minority groups that are typically poorly served by the broadcasting industry as a whole."

Or to put it in a more sinister light for free-speech advocates:

the FCC can use the localism standard to determine whether Catholic radio stations, or any radio stations, are serving the "needs of minority groups" in their communities.

The Broadcaster Freedom Act, introduced in the Senate by Senators Jim DeMint and John Thune, should take care of it -- if the act sees the light of day.

As House sponsor Mike Pence says:

"There's no doubt that if it gets to the floor of the House, it will pass by a wide margin."

Cantor: We're "bloodied but resolute"

Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor, almost Churchillian in his response to the stimulus vote(ea):

The GOP may not control the agenda, but there are reasons for hope. We share a set of values that make us unapologetic about rewarding hard work and preserving the incentive for small businesses and the self-employed to grow. History is on our side.

And more triangulation(ea):

it would be a great mistake for the House GOP to turn inward and simply become the party of “no.” We want our new president to succeed, and America needs our new President to succeed.... We must speak out when we think the president’s party has erred, as when House Democrats added hundreds of billions in unnecessary discretionary spending to the stimulus that will do nothing to create jobs.... the current House Democrat stimulus plan spends.... we need a Republican check on a Democrat-dominated Congress.