Thune gives weekly Republican address

SD Sen. John Thune caps off a notable couple weeks tomorrow.

Tomorrow I will deliver the weekly Republican address to share ideas on healthcare reform. http://healthfreedomblog.com

[Hat tip: Senatus tweet]

Evening eats

a. If Palin fans are prickly, there's a reason for it.

b. Obama and Matthews, as the cover of a romance novel.

c. Will female Republicans vote for female Republican candidates?

d. Obama gives a Medal of Freedom to a good man.

e. More info on Crist's fundraising haul.

f. Headline of the day.

g. DeMint, Perry, Haley, Rubio. Why did they invite Ziegler?

h. Rick Perry shares a little something with Carrie Bradshaw.

i. You took me to a restaurant off Broadway to tell me who you are.

O'Reilly: Palin effective, but "might be a quitter"

While chatting about intellectualism in America last night, The Factor's discussion inevitably drifts into Sarah Palin territory.

Bill O'Reilly sticks up for Palin the whole way through, until he cracks a bit at the end (transcript here).

Comes with 6 seconds left, so you'll have to slog through the whole conversation if you want to hear it.

O'REILLY: And I think we all should acknowledge Sarah Palin did a good job as governor of Alaska.

[NAOMI] WOLF: I can't go there.

O'REILLY: That's bizarre.

[DR. MARC LAMONT] HILL: We went into the last second to throw that.

O'REILLY: Fifty-five percent of the people in Alaska say she did. You have no right to say she didn't.

WOLF: She quit.

O'REILLY: You don't live there.

WOLF: What kind of role model is that for our young girls…

O'REILLY: That's a different deal.

WOLF: …who want to run for president?

O'REILLY: She might be a quitter.

WOLF: She quit. She gave it up.

O'REILLY: While she was there…

WOLF: She gave it up.

O'REILLY: …she was effective.

Thune launches health care blog

Now that his site tracking Sonia Sotomayor's nomination is about to wrap, SD Sen. John Thune has launched another blog -- this time, it's devoted to health care.

Protect Healthcare Freedom posts recent articles and videos on health care reform, invites visitors to sign a petition opposing government take-over of health care, and encourages you to contribute to Thune's reelection campaign.

For Thune, this is a third play on high-profile issues in just a month (The Sotomayor nomination and gun amendment being the others).

All of this comes on the heels of his promotion to replace John Ensign in the wake of the Nevada's Senator's adulterous appetizer.

[Hat tip: Dakota Voice]

Who gets the birthers?

Suddenly, a valid question for 2012. First hunch is Ron Paul. Second hunch is Dr. Paul.

Jindal hits road for cash again

Tuesday marked the 30th day since Louisiana's legislative session ended. Which meant Gov. Bobby Jindal's now free to fundraise again.

And fundraise he did, and fundraise he did quickly.

His office announced Thursday morning that the governor was traveling to Florida to talk to the Louisiana chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors at a convention.

A fundraiser was to follow the event.

We chronicled some of Jindal's manic money-making trips on April 22, featuring the following GOP12 headlines his journeys generated in March/April 2009.

1. "Top Louisiana Repub defends Jindal's travel"

2. "Jindal will use Easter weekend to fundriase in Florida (note: that fundraiser was rescheduled)

3. "Jindal goes to Arizona for campaign cash", which incidentally, is another state -- along with Missouri, Illinois, Texas, Mississippi, California, Florida, North Carolina, Connecticut, Arkansas, and Massachusetts where Jindal's recently raised $ for his reelection campaign.

4. "Jindal back in D.C. for speech and cash".

5. "The wanderer: Jindal pumps more cash from D.C."

6. "Louisiana big-wig attacks Jindal's trips"

7. "Undaunted: Jindal in CA for fundraisers"

Cantor: "Very concerned" about Obama's Mideast policy

In advance of a weekend visit to Israel and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas' Ramallah headquarters, Minority Whip, Eric Cantor, warns the Obama Administration on what he views as an inequitable tit-for-tat between Israel and Palestine.

"We are very concerned about the direction we see this administration heading in as far as the US-Israel relationship.

.... We are very concerned about the attention being given, and focus being placed, on settlements and settlement growth when the real threat is the existential threat that Israel faces from Iran, and the impending nuclearization of Iran.

We are also concerned about the emphasis on seeking concessions from Israel without a simultaneous effort to get concessions from the Palestinians."

That's three "concerns" in three sentences.

Is Jindal blog breaking the law?

That's what Republican, Louisiana state Senator, Robert Adley, wants to know.

Here's the gist: Bobby Jindal's Division of Administration publishes a blog called "The Ledger" (click here).

Critics are wondering whether it promotes Jindal's personal, political purposes. If so, The Ledger would violate state law.

Of course, it all depends on how The Ledger is viewed (or read). In defending the site, the Division's general counsel says, at worst, there might be occasional "exuberance in metaphor and anecdote".

Well, one man's exuberance in metaphor and anecdote is another's campaign slogan.

The state's inspector general is currently screening the complaint and isn't offering further comment.

[Hat tip: Eric Zimmermann from The Hill Blog Briefing Room]

Is embattled extinct?

Ralph Hallow reports on RNC chair Michael Steele's big victory yesterday.

Florida chair and Steele favorite, Jim Greer, was narrowly elected to head the party's Rules Committee.

So what does that mean for Michael Steele?

Some of Mr. Steele's critics say they will stop regarding him, for now, as the "embattled" chairman of the Republican Party's national governing body.

"He has been doing a good job lately, and no, I wouldn't call him the 'embattled chairman' anymore, but he'll still have to prove himself with a couple of victories," said Indiana RNC member and social conservative Dee Dee Benkie.

Did you hear the one about Mitt Romney....

Writing for The Mormon Times, McKay Coppins has a self-deprecating take on intrareligion jokes.

Funny, and reminds me of the case I've made for why Brandon Flowers is the coolest person on the universe.

Former House Speaker got Bank

Ken Vogel and Kathryn McGarr report on the giant cash sucking noise of Newt Gingrich's American Solutions for Winning the Future.

... the political group quietly pulled in an impressive $8.1 million in the first half of the year, a cash haul that enabled the former Speaker of the House to finance a robust political operation that includes at least 17 employees.

As a 527, Newt's group is barred from doing some of the things other prospective 2012 candidates can do, but it works both ways -- he can raise $ in ways they can't and still do much of what they can.

.... it can pay for Gingrich to do many of the same base-building activities that other prospective 2012 Republican presidential candidates are engaged in. And it raised considerably more money than the political groups of his potential rivals, most of which are registered as federal political action committees, and therefore prohibited from accepting the types of large checks that American Solutions accepted in the first six months of the year.

It might not be a PAC. But Newt's eating up money like Pacman.

More Alaskans disapprove of Palin

Hays Research Group releases a poll showing 47.5% of Alaskans either feel somewhat or very negatively about Sarah Palin, while 46.8% feel somewhat or very positive about the ex-governor.

Some have questioned Hays' past results, and therefore, are finding cause to knock these.

But even by Hays' standard, Palin's dropped. Prior to this poll, Hays released a survey in May, showing Palin with 54%/41.6% approval rating, which means there's been about a -7% swing in two months.

And the difference is even more dramatic when you head back to March 13th. Hays released a poll showing 61.3% viewing Palin positively, and just 32.7% negatively.

So whatever your opinion of Hays, Palin's suffered a drop according to the group's own polling methodology.

[Hat tip: Political Wire]

Corker: With Obama, it's all about "I, I, I"

There should be a soundbite to describe Bob Corker's gift at coming up with soundbites.

Rich Lowry just talked with Corker about Barack Obama's health care plan and AARP, and the Tennessee Senator didn't disappoint.

Lowry:

Corker doesn't think Obama "has his feet on the ground with regard to what appropriate health reform is." He adds, "And he personalizes everything, it's all, 'I, I, I.'" Corker suspects that for Obama "doing this with some massive bill is about politics...To him, it's about a political victory, not about doing what's in the long-term interest of citizens.

He's also not a fan of where AARP is on Obamacare. He recalled that he told a representative of the AARP the other day that the organization's position on the bill shows it's a "shill for the Democrats," as it "throws its constituents under the bus" to give cover for a plan that "has nothing to do with seniors" and "hurts seniors."

Keep reading...

Mitch Daniels' evangelical cred

Here's something you rarely read about: Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels' understated but significant Christian conservative bona fides.

Evangelical World Magazine profiles him in its August 15th edition.

Daniels is pro-life and pro-family but doesn't position himself with Religious Right activists.

His wife Cheri supports crisis pregnancy center ministries, and several of his four daughters have been active in Christian ministries. When Daniels was a top business executive at Eli Lilly in Indianapolis, he helped start the Oaks Academy, an inner-city c-lassical Christian school with a 50-50 black-white student ratio. The governor knows Oaks students by name, praying for them and monitoring their progress. At the school's 10th anniversary last year, he remembered the early days of the school, hard discussions about black-white leadership, prayer meetings when money was running out, and choked with emotion as he told students, "This project is the most important human endeavor I've ever been involved in."

[Hat tip: A reader]

Waiting on her tweets...

If Sarah Palin's gubernatorial tweets got the Shatner treatment, what about her promised pc-free tweets? Brush up on your necromancy, because we might need Lord Byron.

And where are the tweets anyway?

Palin's attorney, Thomas Van Flein, said Palin will resume her Twitter feeds in the near future.

Pam Pryor, a spokeswoman for SarahPAC.

"Seeing how she just left office, I would think she's taking a few days off.... [it's time to] shut off the lights and close the door and go from one chapter to another."

UPDATE: A reader just sent over sublime irony. The title of the AP piece in question.

"Citizen Palin begins private life quietly"

HuckPAC underwhelms

Via The Tolbert Report, all is not well in HuckPAC land.

According to a release this evening from Gov. Mike Huckabee’s Political Action Committee, HuckPAC has raise [sic] just over $300,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2009.... By comparison to the other two early contenders in 2012 Presidential GOP Race, Romney’s Free and Strong America PAC raised $1,924,373 and Palin’s SarahPAC raised $732,867 for the same time period.

The numbers aren't unexpected, considering this story from July 22, which set the ominous expectations.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's political action committee, Huck Pac, is undergoing a "restructuring," Executive Director Sarah Huckabee said.

.... Sarah Huckabee declined to address directly questions about Huck Pac's finances.

"It's an off-election year. A lot of times these things come in cycles, and you're more than welcome to look at our FEC reports and make of that what you will."

KFSM says Huckabee's setting a $750K fundraising goal this year, and is hoping to endorse 50 candidates.

Ben Smith notes:

.... [it's] about a third of Palin's take in a shorter period and less than a quarter of Romney's, but not nothing for a guy who has shown his strength in Iowa.

UPDATE: Jason Tolbert, a strong Huckabee supporter, is discouraged by the news in an update to his original post.

I must admit that I share the concerns of my fellow supporters. I too am and will continue to support Gov. Huckabee but I cannot sit back and not say something when problems arise. If Gov. Huckabee is serious about running for President again in 2012 and all indications are that he is, then he must address this problem. I think it is wonderful that he has been successful with his ventures in television and radio. If he chooses to focus on that, then great. But if he really want to be a contender, then he must get serious about fundraising and he must raise these funds directly.

The limited response from HuckPAC has been to defend the numbers as being on target for their goals. If this is the case why is long term staff being let go? If fundraising is meeting budget targets, then they either are very poor at budgeting or they have way overspent thier budget.

Tim Pawlenty as Marco Scutaro

Jonathan Martin gauges Republican reaction to Tim Pawlenty's speech in San Diego yesterday, and gets one state party chairman to offer a seasonal analogy.

“I wouldn’t call it a home run. More like a solid double off the wall."

Read the whole thing. The reaction from Mitt Romney allies is especially interesting, considering the sudden Pawlenty v Romney storyline developing.

Independent word associations

According to First Read, Democratic pollster Peter Hart ran a focus group with 12 independents this week (7 voted Obama, 4 McCain, 1 Nader).

He asked them to play word association with famous political figures.

Sarah Palin's associations:

"If I wanted a stripper for president… She is not real bright," "future," "I'm glad she resigned," "average," "idiot," "nutty," "go away," "she has a good speaking voice," "celebrity," "comical."

To read Barack's, Hillary's, Rush's etc., go here.

So what would your Palin word association be?

O'Reilly confirms Values Voter Summit appearance

The Family Research Council's Values Voter Summit is turning into an impressive event.

So far, the group has locked down the following 2012 prospects for the Sept. 18-20 happening.

a) Eric Cantor

b) Mike Huckabee

c) Rick Perry

d) Mitt Romney

e) Tim Pawlenty

To that list, add other celebs like Miss California herself, and now Bill O'Reilly, who will be honored with its Media Courage Award.

Registration info here.

Minnesota DFL sends profane response to T-Paw speech

Emily Kaiser on an oops by the DFL (Democratic party of Minnesota).

While the Minnesota DFL was trying to thoughtfully counter Gov. Tim Pawlenty's speech before the Republican National Committee Thursday, they sent out a cussing grandma video along with their talking points.... The email contained links to supposed related content, but no one at the DFL checked the links and media professionals were sent to a grandma trying to learn English and being taught how to swear like a real lady.

Vid in question.

Deeds to McDonnell: Fight birther rumors

According to Virginia gubernatorial candidate, Creigh Deeds (D), it's not enough that his Republican opponent, Bob McDonnell (R), has condemned the birther rumors.

He needs to spend time fighting the issue on a national level.

From the Deeds camp, Jared Leopold:

"Creigh Deeds is disappointed at the number of Congressional representatives who are frittering away our tax dollars focused on attacking the President with conspiracy theories. As an aspiring leader in the national Republican party Bob McDonnell ought to take a role in condemning these divisive attacks — and focusing on the challenges facing our commonwealth."

But McDonnell has already addressed the birther stuff, via director of communications, Tucker Martin.

"Bob McDonnell believes this matter is a distraction. The President is a United States citizen. In this difficult time of rising unemployment and economic uncertainty we need to focus on the important issues at hand. That is what Bob McDonnell is doing in his positive campaign to bring new jobs and more opportunities to every part of Virginia.”

What's Deeds going to do next? Ask McDonnell to take more responsibility for port security in California?

[Hat tip: Blue Virginia]

Palin camp: We didn't test radio waters

But that doesn't mean they're not going to.

Inside Radio:

Industry sources told Inside Radio this week people representing the 2008 Republican Vice Presidential candidate were making informal, preliminary overtures to radio networks.

But [Palin attorney Robert] Barnett insists no such talks have begun.

"All of that is in the future," he says.

It sounds like they're going to be actively looking for a deal. Or is Barnett just making a broader statement (i.e. that all these Palin media rumors aren't on the immediate agenda)?

Lawyers choose their words very carefully. That's why the former seems a possibility.

[Hat tip: Conservatives4Palin]

Romney answers health care critics

In a lengthy interview with Human Events, Mitt Romney gets grilled on health care and offers a reply to some conservative critics, most notably the Cato and Galen Institutes.

His reply is two-fold. First, that if the criteria for the plan's success is greater coverage, it's worked. And not only has it worked, it's working "almost precisely as budgeted".

That being said, there are aspects of the program he doesn't like, and if he were King, he'd strip the program of some of its "excessive coverages" to help it break even.

Second, he claims the program's costs are unfairly maligned because they're looked at in a vacuum. Health care costs have exploded across the country, including Massachusetts. If you analyze one state, you need to look at the rest, too. One state alone can't quell health care costs, and some changes at the federal level are crucial to enabling success at the local.

Here's the aforementioned arguments, in longer form.

Allan Ryskind: I don’t know whether you’ve seen the National Journal from July 18, but it suggests that there was a $600 million cost to the state in 2007, and now they’re projecting $1.3 billion. It quotes people, liberals and conservatives, who are saying basically that the costs are out of control and there really isn’t any cost containment. The Cato Institute and the Galen Institute, which are conservative, are basically saying the same thing. What do you have to say to that?

Romney: There’s a frequent confusion between two different topics. One is the topic of the Massachusetts Plan which was designed to get people who were uninsured into the insurance system, and that’s working as planned, and almost precisely as budgeted, as forecast by the conferees who put the final bill together. As I indicated, the forecast for FY 2009 was a gross cost of $725 million and it turns out that next fiscal year the forecast of the actuaries is going to be slightly less than that, about $723 million. That’s about as close as it gets. The net cost is about half that figure, about $350 million.

An analysis of our plan was carried out by one of the watchdog groups in Massachusetts called the Massachusetts Taxpayer’s Foundation. It’s largely a business-sponsored watchdog group. They’ve carried out, I think within the last month or so, a complete evaluation of the system and they concluded that it is on budget within the forecast it was originally made, and it is a modest amount of funding to get our citizens insured. Now, I’ve also indicated that I would make some changes to the system if I had the ability to do so. I don’t, of course, but I would rein in what I think are some of the excessive coverages and at the same time I would increase some of the coinsurance payments by beneficiaries and in doing so bring it to break even. But it is in no way an out-of-control or above budget forecasted at the time of the bill’s signing.

Then there’s another issue, however, and that’s the fact that the cost of health care, generally in Massachusetts, like the rest of the nation, continues to rise at a very high rat. Health care inflation in America is very, very high. In Massachusetts, it’s higher than average even. That is not something which we were able to deal with at the state level, and, in my view, that’s something that can be dealt with in Washington in part because the federal government sends out Medicare and Medicaid, which comprise about 50% of all health care spending in this country.

Washington can help make health care more market-oriented rather than the kind of more control or subsidy orientation which it currently has. Our current fee for service system creates the absolute wrong incentives for both patients and doctors and is what’s driving the health care cost in this country higher and higher.

But the Massachusetts experience related to one key area: Getting people insured. That it’s done, and it’s done it at a forecasted cost. Another issue is one which Massachusetts did not deal with, which is how to stop the extraordinary health care cost inflation which afflicts the entire nation.

Here's the Cato report in question.

Rudy on teachable moment: "Shut up"

Last night, Rudy Giuliani stopped by to chat with Sean Hannity, and weighed in on Gates-gate and Barack Obama's response to it.

"He's [Obama's] actually right. It is teachable. Here's the lesson: Shut up."

The suddenly visible Rudy also hit the administration hard on health care.

"So far the damage that the Obama administration has done to our economy is very, very serious. I think more than any President has done ever, in a short period of time.

But most of it's reversible. It's about spending money, it's about deficits, it's about ultimately inflation. This would be almost irreversible.... Obama's made all those big spenders look like amateurs."

He also pulled the mask from blue-dog Democrats.

"They're essentially not economic conservatives. they're essentially either moderates or liberals in districts that require them to be that way. So they're doing a show, rather than coming from the heart."

Palin NOT attending Reagan Library event

Spokeswoman, Meg Stapleton, from Sarah Palin's Facebook page.

As repeatedly stated to several in the media over the last week, former Governor Sarah Palin is not committed to attend the Simi Valley Republican Women’s event at the Reagan Library and in fact is not attending the event. Neither the Governor’s state staff nor SarahPAC has ever committed to attending this event or speaking at this event, and even requested that the Governor's name be removed from the invitation several weeks ago. The Governor has other work and commitments to take care of at that time. She looks forward to visiting her friends in California soon.

All event requests must be confirmed with Meghan Stapleton of SarahPAC. Additionally, all invitations bearing the Governor’s name must be approved by her attorney before proceeding.

Thank you.
Meghan Stapleton

Is Pawlenty the only bridge to somewhere over the rainbow?

Dan Gilgoff says Tim Pawlenty's got the Bible without the thumping, and the free market without the country club.

Re: the first.

How solid are Pawlently's evangelical bona fides? The pastor of his home church is president of the National Association of Evangelicals, the nation's largest evangelical interest. Last year, as John McCain struggled to win over evangelical leaders, Pawlently quietly tried to arrange a meeting between the Republican presidential nominee and National Association of Evangelical bigs, but to no avail.

.... can his less strident tone help him win independents in a way that Huckabee and Palin have failed to, while his evangelical side makes him a hit with the GOP's social conservative base?

Good point, except Huckabee's not strident. But he's still a former Southern Baptist pastor who once recommended changing the Constitution to meet the Bible's standards. On tape. On youtube.

Rick Perry: Texas Governor, fan of HBO's True Blood

Is he pandering to vampires and telepathic waitresses?

Gromer Jeffers Jr. caught this bit from Texas Gov. Rick Perry at a Dallas County fundraiser today.

"My wife watches True Blood and I from time to time take a peep at it. It's an interesting show and I love the music."

To err is sometimes forgivable

Yet, as AllahPundit notes, that's the standard Sarah Palin will have to live up to in the wake of all the X-gates she's gone through.

I think these late-night hit-and-runs are more damaging to her than all the dreary hit pieces from left-wing politicos. Bit by bit, they’ve Quaylized her to the point where it’s hard to imagine what she could do to erase the impression that she’s a joke.

.... Any bad answer or “I don’t know” or awkward phrasing along the way would be an occasion to resuscitate it.

Caveat: if Palin's as good a politician as some claim, she won't be destroyed. Brilliant politicians can't be destroyed (although it's almost a tautological argument; well, okay, it is).

Charlie Crist's been hit mercilessly by the mainstream press in Florida for the past two years, but his approval's only taken a margin of error hit.

Barack Obama remains popular, even though his policies aren't. And you can etc the hell out of political history and find similar contradictions. If Palin's as good as they say, she'll be another of them.

T-Paw: "It is time we stand up to President Obama"

That's from Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty's big speech to the Republican National Committee in San Diego today.

Read CNN's report, but if there was ever any doubt that he was going to run, T-Paw dispels that with what's become the default sentence for 2012 contenders.

"I have some ideas, and I am going to speak about them in Minnesota and across the country and help elect Republicans in 2010."

Here's the 2012 formula.

a) solutions-oriented ("I have some ideas")

b) executive-friendly ("I am going to speak about them in Minnesota")

c) national player ("across the country")

d) team player ("help elect Republicans")

e) "2010". Payback.

Rick Perry is NOT gay

A sexual orientation oops* from the Kay Bailey Hutchison campaign, via Glenn Thrush.

Apparently, KBH's team set up her new Website standbykay.com to auto-generate catchy phrases that would appear on the home page, word-slaw like "celebrating texas" and "protect our environment."

The problem was that the vendor hired to run the site keyed the display to spit out phrases selected from searches -- including "rick perry gay," a reference to Texas Gov. Rick Perry, KBH's opponent in the GOP primary.

*Always an easy laugh in a movie. Or, an entire movie (see Chuck and Larry). Or an entire TV series (Friends).

Huntsman: "I will not be shy"

Jon Huntsman says he won't be meek and mild in his new role as Ambassador to China.

"[I look] forward to robust engagement with China on human rights, and if confirmed, I will not be shy in seeking opportunities to raise candidly with China's leaders U.S. concerns about the poor human-rights situation for Tibetans and Uighur Muslims."

Indeed, The Deseret News says Huntsman has a history of not being shy.

[He] protested outside the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C., against China's deadly crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square in 1989. The governor was running the Asian affairs bureau for the U.S. Commerce Department at the time.

15 years

PoliTex reports on Texas Gov. Rick Perry's presser yesterday.

When told by a reporter that [Kay Bailey] Hutchison had remarked that 15 years in the governor’s mansion is too long for one person, Perry said, “I guess 15 years in the United States Senate is not too long.”

Rudy sets terms for gubernatorial run

If it gets Gotham City bad, Rudy's ready.

"The only way I could get elected governor is the way I got elected mayor -- things have to be so bad.

.... I got elected mayor, I believe, on the theory of -- it can’t get worse. So if it gets to that point, maybe I’ll decide.

If I thought I could make a real difference in the state, really change things...then I would do it.”

He added that things in NY aren't as bad as they are in California, but that the Nick Swisher State still ranks about 9 or 10 on a scale of suckiness.

The Omnipresent, Won't Go Away, Energizer Bunny, Tale as old as time, Another Saw movie, Newt Gingrich Watch, part 12

Part 12, from WKBT.

A La Crosse medical facility will host a big name in U.S. politics Thursday.

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich will visit Gundersen Lutheran today to talk with medical staff.

Part 11, from St. Louis Today:

Hundreds of local and regional healthcare professionals and industry executives are expected to gather to hear Newt and Dr. Jed Jacobson, a dentist and chief science officer of Delta Dental of Michigan.

Part 10, a Broward County Republican chair in Florida.

"We're working at a fast pace with short notice, but we're happy to get Speaker Gingrich because he typically does not do this type of fundraising event."

Part 9, from Jefferson City, Missouri.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is hosting a health care conference with several health care officials and Missouri lawmakers.

The all-day conference in Jefferson City today is focusing on the state’s Medicaid program, health care technology and fighting Medicaid fraud.

Part 8, The Branson Daily News:

College of the Ozarks students got the chance this week to rub elbows with one of the nation’s most popular Republican politicians.

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich was the keynote speaker for the John N. and Ella C. Marsh Citizenship Forum.

Part 7, Lewy Body Dementia:

Alzheimer’s Study Group members Newt Gingrich, Sandra Day O’Connor, and David Satcher will appear on National Public Radio’s Talk of the Nation on Wednesday, March 25; 2-3 PM (EST) to discuss the Alzheimer crisis.

Part 6, Greta Van Susteren, while interviewing Newt.

"And I should add that while you're bouncing around Texas, you're also going to bounce up to Michigan. And we only have 30 seconds left, but in Michigan, you're going to work on health care reform, so you're working on many fronts on this stuff, right, Mr. Speaker?"

Part 5, The Hill:

Newt Gingrich has re-emerged with a constant stream of advice for congressional Republicans on big-picture policies and day-to-day tactics.

Part 4, Matt Bai:

[Rep. Paul] Ryan told me he was opening presents with his children on Christmas when his BlackBerry buzzed with a question about the tax code.

Part 3, Ben Smith:

A reader, Andrew Schwarz, sends over an unusual, unsolicited fax he received from Newt Gingrich's American Solutions.

Part 2, provided by NBC's affiliate in Naples:

For the crowd of zoo-goers in Naples Monday, a newt was the last creature they expected to see, especially a Newt Gingrich.

Part 1, Washington Post

By 12:30 p.m., close to 400 viewers were tuning in online. Newt Gingrich stopped by uninvited; he said he read about the get-together in blogs.

Perry: Borrowing federal unemployment funds routine

Texas Gov. Rick Perry talks unemployment benefits in a new op-ed.

Regardless of the policy he preaches, this line is notable, considering the source.

Borrowing from the federal unemployment fund — which employers pay taxes to maintain — is also routine.

Texas borrowed such funds during the 2003 national recession and in prior economic downturns. At least 15 other states are doing or preparing to implement similar federal borrowing.

Jindal: No one regrets voting "no" on stimulus

Neil Cavuto asks Bobby Jindal whether Democrats will cast Republicans as obstructionists if they oppose health care reform.

Jindal's answer? If the donkeys play bipartisan, we will, too. And anyway, Dems tried scare tactics on the stimulus, and look how that worked out.

Comes with about a minute left.

CAVUTO: Governor, the other night I was interviewing a very prominent Democrat who said "Neil, you mark my words. If Republicans torpedo this again, as they did with Bill Clinton in 1993 and 1994, we will remind any and all that we were this close to fixing health care, and Bobby Jindal and the troops killed it." What do you think of that?

JINDAL: Two things. One, I'd say the Democrats, if they want a deal, all they have to do is stop insisting on this government-run plan, stop insisting on this march toward a single-payer government run system. If they want a bipartisan deal, we are absolutely ready and wanting and willing to make reforms.... Secondly, I'd ask: how many members of Congress now, I don't think you'll find one Republican in Congress who would stand up now and say they regret voting against the stimulus.

[Hat tip: Freedom's Lighthouse]

Shatner does Palin's tweets

Rudy to decide on 2012 later this year

In an interview with CNN, Rudy Giuliani says he hasn't made up his mind on whether he'll run for President again.

"I don't know. We'll see. We'll have to decide that some time at the end of this year."

It's assumed Huck and Palin will split the populist vote, leaving the fiscally conservative wing to Romney. With Rudy in the race, Mitt might get split, too.

One more thing: Rudy's not happy with birthers.

"We've got better things to do than that.

I've actually seen a birth certificate that kind of satisfies me that he was born in the United States. I don't get the issue. I don't know why they're pushing it as far as they are.… To pick false issues like that hurts us more than it hurts the other side."

Sources: Clear Channel passed on Palin

Paige Albiniak's sources tell her that Clear Channel's passed on a Sarah Palin radio show.

My own sources say much what they said when asked about a TV show for Palin: Don’t think so. While you might assume Palin would be a better fit for conservative radio than the less partisan world of syndicated broadcast TV, my sources say the country’s biggest radio conglomerate, Clear Channel, has already passed on her.

The main objection to Palin as radio talk-show host is that she would have to hold forth for three hours a day.

While some of her recent remarks may indicate a talent for improvisation, anyone who’s listened to Rush Limbaugh or Thom Hartmann or Don Imus or Howard Stern or even Ryan Seacrest knows it’s the rare personality who can blab extemporaneously for 15 hours a week.

As I said on Tuesday, it's pretty hard to believe a face made for television would jump to a venue that relies on speaking ability.

[Hat tip: Huffington Post]

Corker will vote NO on Sotomayor

Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker releases a statement, saying he'll oppose Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the big bench.

Judge Sotomayor has an impressive background and an inspiring American story. I enjoyed meeting with her in June and let her know I would reserve judgment on her nomination until the conclusion of a fair and thorough hearings process.

After much deliberation and careful review, I have determined that Judge Sotomayor’s record and many of her past statements reflect a view of the Supreme Court that is different from my own.

I view the Supreme Court as a body charged with impartially deciding what the law means as it is applied to a specific case. I believe Judge Sotomayor views the Supreme Court as more of a policy-making body where laws are shaped based on the personal views of the justices.

Unfortunately, nothing I heard during Judge Sotomayor’s confirmation hearings or in my meeting with her in June sufficiently allayed this concern. For this reason, I’m disappointed to say, I will not be able to support Judge Sotomayor’s nomination.

For the Sotomayor camp, this one's a disappointment. Corker's a moderate, southern conservative with a penchant for bucking the party.

The Club for Growth gave him a 73% rating in its 2008 congressional scorecard, which compared unfavorably to Jim DeMint's 100% rating, John Ensign's 88% rating, and Jon Kyl's 90% rating.

For more on Corker's bucking, click here.

[Hat tip: Nashville Post Politics]

WSJ/NBC gauges Romney, Palin favorables

A new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll (pdf) confirms recent polling showing Sarah Palin's favorability dipping.

32% of Americans are somewhat or very positive toward Palin, while 43% have a somewhat or very negative opinion of her. 20% are neutral.

28% of Americans have a somewhat or very positive opinion of Mitt Romney, 20% don't like him, and 30% are neutral.

So Romney has a better approve/disapprove ratio (+8%) than Palin (-11%), but there are more Americans who've yet to decide if they love him or hate him.

A note: one out of every five Americans are neutral on Palin. That's good news for her. Kind of. She starts trying win those 20% with 43% already against her, which means she'll have to take a lot of the neutral vote to come up with something 50% or higher.

The question is: how hardened are those 43% against her? The answer: her opposition is much deeper than her support. 27% have a very negative view of her, while only 14% have a very positive opinion.

So suddenly, she's in the position of having to do very well, indeed, on that neutral 20%.

Mitt will attend Values Voter Summit

Mitt Romney's joined a growing list of conservative luminaries, who'll attend the Family Research Council's annual Values Voter Summit this September 18-20.

The list of 2012 prospects who've confirmed.

a. Eric Cantor

b. Mike Huckabee

c. Tim Pawlenty

d. Mike Pence

e. Rick Perry

f. Mitt Romney

Sarah Palin and Bobby Jindal have both been invited, but neither has responded.

Another note: Mitt Romney's name isn't confirmed on the website yet, but spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom has confirmed his appearance.

To register, go here.

And if you're Sarah Palin, you probably get in free.

Pawlenty's themes at tomorrow's RNC speech

CBS News says Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty will address three major topics in his big speech at the Republican National Convention tomorrow.

1. The federal budget: he'll contrast what he did in Minnesota with what Obama's done in Washington.

2. Foreign affairs: he'll note that he's recently returned from the middle east, and stress his commitment to providing maximum support for US troops.

3. Health care: This is where things get interesting. Pawlenty's advisor says:

“The health care debate in Washington is more than a difference between the two parties."

Is T-Paw going to argue that it transcends politics (the more pedestrian argument) or that there are intraparty differences (which would fit in well with his recent attacks on the Massachusetts model)?

Romney defends health care plan

After numerous hits from the conservative press and, most recently, from potential 2012 foe, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney's finally firing back in a USA Today op-ed.

A few highlights:

When our bill passed three years ago, the legislature projected that our program would cost $725 million in 2009. At $723 million, next year's forecast is pretty much on target. When you calculate all the savings, including that from the free hospital care we eliminated, the net cost to the state is approximately $350 million. The watchdog Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation concluded that our program's cost is "relatively modest" and "well within initial projections."

.... The Massachusetts reform aimed at getting virtually all our citizens insured. In that, it worked: 98% of our citizens are insured, 440,000 previously uninsured are covered and almost half of those purchased insurance on their own, with no subsidy.

And lest you think he's running from his record, he seems ready to own it.

This Republican is proud to be the first governor to insure all his state's citizens.

We'll leave the argument for smart, health-care people (and Romney, Pawlenty, Huckabe, and Palin) to parse, but politically-speaking, it's refreshing to see Romney finally address the issue, and strategically-speaking, it represents a break from 2008 Mitt.

This time, he seems ready to chart a consistent course, in spite of conservative resistance.

Evening eats

a. The Perfect Job for Sarah Palin?

b. Rubio listens to Snoop Dogg.

c. Pamela Gellar says Sarah Palin's "what Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin envisioned when they carved out the American idea."

d. Don't forget the third guy in the CA primary.

e. Hutchison will resign in fall in what's been the most confusing candidate roll-out in history.

f. Is Bill Simon pining for CA lieutenant gov?

g. Go Megs!

h. Some searing images.



Sports stuff. Lee's a Philly. Vick's probably not headed to Oak-town (my, my, that'd be a fit). Kidd's not doing Team USA.

Who would you invite into your home?

The New Republic compares Mike Huckabee's TV gig with Howard Dean's guesting gig.

"Rural authenticity"

As usual, AllahPundit's right on (ea).

Voinovich will be pilloried anyway for bringing it up, partly because he’s got a record as a RINO and therefore is presumptively wrong on everything and partly because rural “authenticity” is such a powerful meme these days in grassroots politics.

The south, being the font of rural authenticity (of which “traditional values” is a key ingredient), is basically beyond reproach, so in theory you really can’t have too many southerners.

How does a party that continually pits the heartland against every other part of America expect to win any other part of America?

Mitch Daniels on Obama's familial example

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels has continually insisted he won't run for President.

Stuff like this probably speaks louder than anything else (ea).

Mark: What in your opinion is this [Obama] administration doing well?

Daniels: Education reform is being done well by this administration. And they've been willing to take on some of their own political allies -the unions and so forth- on some of this.

I'll tell you something [else] I really applaud about the president. I believe the way he presents himself as a family man -the priority he puts on family- I think is an incredibly important signal to all Americans; maybe particularly to minority Americans.

And I don't think he gets enough credit for that. It's as important as any bill he can offer or regulation that he might write.

Hey, look at that. Three posts on Mitch Daniels in one day. After the Ensign and Sanford carnage, Daniels seems a little bit like Wall-E.

DeMint: Corker doesn't meet your stereotype

Jim DeMint responds to George Voinovich's prickly angst that the GOP is run by southerners.

From AskYourLawmaker.org.

Demint.... says Voinovich's jab at "southerners" is hard to justify. Demint specifically named Tennessee's Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander as two southern Republicans who work across the aisle.

“I mean these guys are great team players up here. So I think maybe that is misdirected, but I’ll let him clarify that if he would like."

DeMint's right. Let's go to the smoking gun numbers.

In the National Journal's 2008 Senate rankings, Bob Corker placed as only the 27th most conservative member of the Senate, while his senior colleague, Lamar Alexander, ranked 25th.

To compare, DeMint was 5th.

Now let's check out CQ's Politics' recent vote study. In 2009, Lamar Alexander has voted with his party only 81% of the time, while Bob Corker has voted with the GOP 86% of the time.

Let's compare that with the trinity of conservatism. Jim DeMint voted with his party 99% of the time, Jon Kyl 94%, and Tom Coburn 99%.

Corker and Alexander might not be the Maine sisters, but they're certainly not lock-step partisans.

[Hat tip: Nashville Post Politics]

The Daily Show's new feature

Hey now.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
GOP 2012 - What Are You Doing to Help Mitt Romney?
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Joke of the Day

[Hat tip: The Times-Picayune]

Battleground Poll: Palin favorables -5%

A new Battleground Poll conducted by the Republican Tarrance Group and Democratic Lake Research shows 42% of Americans holding a favorable opinion of Sarah Palin, with 47% dissenting.

That compares unfavorably with Barack Obama (+25%) and Joe Biden (+10%), but favorably with Nancy Pelosi ((-19%).

Check out the whole thing (pdf). Lots of questions, cool colors, and graphs.

[Hat tip: Paul Bedard]

Boffo polling for McDonnell: Up 15%

Virginian gubernatorial candidate, Bob McDonnell (R), leads his Democratic opponent, Creigh Deeds, by 15% in a new poll from Survey USA.

As befits a 15 point lead, McDonnell dominates in nearly every demo.

a. Men +25%.

b. Women, +5%

c. All age groups go McDonnell.

d. Whites, +35%, McDonnell.

e. Blacks, +64%, Deeds.

f. Independents, +25%, McDonnell

g. Most surprisingly, McDonnell takes every region of the state by double-figures, except the southeast which he wins by +9%.

And Barack Obama might have something to do with all this. A new Survey USA poll shows his approval at -5% in Virginia.

2010. 1994. What's a 16 year difference among friends?

[Hat tip: Jordan Fabian from The Hill Blog Briefing Room]

Afternoon eats

a. Four headlines on marriage you won't see in the Mainstream Press.

b. It's next week for Huntsman.

c. Rudy talks Yankees on CNBC.

d. If she's not governor, we don't want to be there.

e. Huck dominates.

DeMint's a NO on Sotomayor

Hell freezing over, speed of light changing, Jason Mraz accused of a double homicide. None of those would have anything on Jim DeMint had he chosen to support Sonia Sotomyor's nomination.

But hell is still hot, the speed of light is still 299,792,458 meters/second, and Jason Mraz is still harmless as a dead butterfly.

From DeMint's statement:

I watched Judge Sotomayor's hearings closely, and regrettably, I didn’t hear much to ease my serious concerns about her nomination.

She still refuses to affirm the clear reading of the Second Amendment as a fundamental right that applies to all Americans. Yet, on the issue of abortion, she speaks of a woman's constitutional right to 'terminate' a child, which is not written in our Constitution and says not a word of legal protections for an innocent unborn child. In fact, when I met with her in June, she said she had never even thought about whether an unborn child has any rights at all.

Knocking at the Daniels Door

In a new interview, Mark Mellinger, from WANE in Fort Wayne, does his best at getting Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels to answer the 2012 question (watch here).

Result?

Mark Mellinger: Are you open to it at all? Is there anything that could persuade you to change your mind?

Daniels: I don't know what it would be, honestly. I've painted myself in about as much as I think a person can. One thing people I hope will remember is -agree or disagree- we told the truth. We leveled with people. And we did what we said we'd do. And serving four years is one of those things that I intend to do.

Mark: But you're stopping short of a definite 'no, never.'

Daniels: I thought I'd said it. You know, I don't know what words would better convey it. So, you know, just count on me being here to kick around for another three and a half years.

Mark: I know you'll be here another three and a half years. But what you're not saying is 'I have totally, completely ruled out running in 2012. No circumstance could make me do it'.

Daniels: Well, you can't do both. Unfortunately you have these almost permanent campaigns. I mean, think about this: we just elected a president. He's in his first months, really, and everybody's in a lather now about who might run the next time.

And so I just don't think you can do both. And I'm very excited -I am- about making Indiana a better place to leave to our kids and that's plenty enough to keep me occupied for a full three and a half years.

Mark: Would you consider running in 2016?

Daniels: Aw, I'll probably be used up, long gone, forgotten (chuckle).

Mark: Then why is a friend of yours, Michael O’Brien, running the “Americans for Mitch” website that could be used to raise money and that touts your accomplishments?

Daniels: I don't know. When I first heard about it, I fired off an e-mail. [It] said 'who the heck is it?' and 'tell them to desist.'

What were you expecting? An answer?

Shatner does Rocket Man and the Constitution

Via the LA Times.



And via Robert Schlesinger.

Air Force decides not to discipline Sanford

Since adultery is punishable under the Uniform Code of Military Justice and since some of what Mark Sanford did with Maria Belen Chapur qualifies as adultery, and since Mark Sanford is a captain in the Air Force reserve, there was some speculation he might get a little love tap from the Air Force.

But the AF decided not to.

Cliff Tyler:

“They looked at all the facts and they looked at the circumstances and the decision was made as a command not to take any action against him."

Among Sanford's saving graces: he's a reservist and didn't canoodle with Maria on military time.

[Hat tip: Emily Belz]

Perry's $4.2 million, reconsidered

Texas Gov. Rick Perry lit the political world on fire when he announced he'd raised $4.2 million in just 9 days following the end of the Texas Legislative session.

Gov's are banned from raising $ during sessions, so the question was: how did Perry raise so much money in such a short amount of time?

Perry's campaign would have you believe he's just that popular. But another possibility is that he's good at skating on the thin ice that rarely covers Texas.

Christy Hoppe from The Dallas Morning News:

.... his [Perry's] schedule shows that sometimes, official business and campaign work can coincide. The same day in March that Perry stood in a small Houston hardware store to announce that he would reject $555 million in economic stimulus money for expanded unemployment benefits, he went across town to the ritzy Willy G's fish and steakhouse to talk to some of the city's business leaders.

.... One patron of the restaurant said that the list of Houston notables passing through to the private dining room was a veritable Who's Who of the business elite – most of them Perry supporters.

.... [Perry spokesman Mark] Miner would only describe those invited business leaders as "part of the engine that is driving the economy in Texas who were interested in the policies being discussed in Austin."

(ea) Just policy wonks. Like a bunch of Ezra Klein's sitting around a table.

UPDATE: The Dallas Morning News editorial board weighs in on whether Perry violated state ethics laws.

Crist sets terms for new oil drilling

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is trying to find some middle ground on the issue of oil drilling off Florida's coasts.

"I've always said it needs to be far enough, clean enough and safe enough to protect Florida's beautiful beaches. I also am cognizant of the fact that it sure would be nice to be energy independent. That's a growing concern of an awful lot of people including myself."

The U.S. Senate is set to consider legislation bringing oil drilling within 45 miles of Florida's coast.

Crist says he'll probably take a position on meausre, but again, that position's subject to the criteria above.

Beck steps into the dreck

But God bless America that you can say something like Beck did without being thrown into prison.

As an aside, Joe Scarborough tweets.

Conservatives attacked the Dixie Chicks for saying much less about President Bush than what Beck said about President Obama.

(But see, President Bush was President; Obama's not. It's patriotic to attack the non-President of the United States)!

Here's the Beck video.



The other day I was driving behind a truck with bumper stickers hurling every invective possible against the U.S. government.

If you stepped back one year, it would have been a hybrid littered with similarly anti-American sentiments.

What's changed? The people were given the freedom to vote, and chose someone with a different political ideology. What's more American than that?

David Frum, from his post, "Quit Whining 2".

If it were true that our political opponents wanted to impose tyranny on the United States – if (as Rush Limbaugh said the other day) a vote for the other party was a vote for “totalitarianism, dungeons, and torture,” then what patriot could possibly abide a political defeat?

Happily, none of those things are true. As wrong and harmful as the Obama administration’s plans are, the administration is playing by the rules of the game. To agitate people into thinking otherwise is to corrode the foundations of the American constitutional regime.

.... One bad election converts us from ardent admirers of the American people to glum declinists who can see only a miserable moldering of a once great nation. I should have thought that conservative patriotism was made of stronger stuff.

Some Heritage and NR bickering over Mitt's plan

The Heritage Foundation's Director of the Center for Health Policy Studies, Robert Moffit, defends Mitt Romney's Massachusetts health care plan against a recent attack in the National Review by Michael Cannon.

Read the defense here, the original attack here, and also the reply to the reply to the attack here (it's the stuff in parentheses).

We now have our first budding conflict of the 2012 season.

Or, if you'd prefer to be more genteel: it's a healthy "dialogue", and an important "conversation" to have at this teachable moment in history .

T-Paw: "I want to make it clear Mitt Romney is a friend"

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty showed up on Greta Van Susteren's show last night to talk about the health care letter (pdf) he sent to Minnesota's congressional delegation yesterday, and yes, Mitt Romney's health care program in Massachusetts.

T-Paw was careful to call Romney his friend, but once again, didn't have friendly things to say about Massachusetts' health care system.



From the transcript:

VAN SUSTEREN: What I thought was particularly interesting in your letter to the Minnesota delegation is your reference to Massachusetts and that program, in which, at least as far I can see from what you've written, that you see as a failure. And what's sort of interesting is that that's the one that your colleague in the Republican Party, Mitt Romney, was essentially overseeing or behind. So tell me, are you taking issue with what Governor Romney did in his state?

PAWLENTY: Well, the letter doesn't reference my friend, Mitt Romney. He is a friend. He's been an effective leader in so many circumstances over the years. He hasn't been governor of Massachusetts for four years, so there's a lot that's happened since he's been there.

But the short version of what happened in Massachusetts is they did succeed in expanding access to health care, but the cost of that program is now out of control. And the federal government, in many respects, is patterning what it wants to do after that Massachusetts model, and that would be financially devastating. It would not control costs. It would make costs worse. And so that is a model we do not want to follow.

But I want to make it clear Mitt Romney is a friend, and he hasn't been in charge of that system for going on four years. And do the letter doesn't even mention him by name. It just expresses a concern about that reform's...

VAN SUSTEREN: It certainly...

PAWLENTY: ... failure to control costs.

VAN SUSTEREN: It certainly does not mention his name, you know, without any doubt. You're absolutely right. But correct me if I'm wrong, didn't Governor Romney -- didn't he sort of brag about Massachusetts a little bit and about the program that they were doing to insure people? And you're saying, essentially, in the letter that, you know, it's spiraling out of control. It's not a model that you would want for your own state.

PAWLENTY: But it's also -- Greta, the more important point is the United States Congress and the Obama administration is really the issue here, and they are the ones who are embracing many elements of that Massachusetts plan. The initial cost estimates have tripled under that plan in just about 36 months. They've had to go back and raise taxes to pay for it. They're cutting benefits. And now they're even potentially seeking a federal bail-out because the costs of it have risen so wildly.

It's not a model that we should follow. It's a model the United States Congress should abandon.