The NC Register caught up with Jeb Bush at last weekend's annual Rimini Meeting, which featured a host of Catholic luminaries.
Asked whether his brother, former President George W. Bush, might appear at a future meeting, and perhaps as a Catholic, he replied, “That would be a great thing, but you won’t see him here as a Catholic — he’s pretty comfortable with his Methodist faith. I’d like him to come here though. It would be fun.”
Ken Vogel reports on an upgrade of sorts for SarahPAC, after the political action committee disclosed additional recipients of its largesse today in response to FEC pressure.
Those contributions, some of which were disclosed in a Friday FEC report, combined with earlier donations to the reelection campaigns of Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, brought Palin’s committee, Sarah PAC, to the five-candidate contribution minimum necessary for it to be considered a multi-candidate political action committee under federal rules. That status will enable Sarah PAC to dole out larger contributions to candidates going forward.
a. Is it a game-changer?
b. If so, why didn't it change Obama and Webb's game?
c. T-Paw's approval rating is at 49%.
d Guess who's pining for stimulus money? The mob!
e. The beginning of Palin's book starts at the beginning.
f. Rick Perry's spokesman calls Kay Bailey Hutchison's announcement an "attempted announcement".
g. Meg Whitman and Tom Campbell don't want to stop indies from voting in GOP primaries.
h. The Facebook religions of prominent politicians.
i. Jindal can't put his guy over the top.
j. A Republican calls for a boycott of World Net Daily.
k. Corzine says it's a weighty matter.
Jeb Bush was in Italy Friday to mingle and speak with other Catholic luminaries like Tony Blair, Mary Ann Glendon, and Robert George at the 30th annual Rimini Meeting.
While there, he pointedly took on Barack Obama's administration.
Newsmax:
Bush highlighted a “toxic cocktail” of government intervention in both financial services and the auto industry which, he predicted, will bring “conflicts with far-reaching implications”.
Writing for The New York Magazine, Jacob Gersham says Rudy Giuliani can't use Albany as a staging ground for 1600 PA Avenue.
If he wants to win votes in a blue state, Giuliani will have to accept an inevitable slide away from the right-wing tack he took during his previous presidential campaign.
.... And while Giuliani surveys the bleak landscape in Albany, he has his eye on the shifting ground in Washington. President Obama appears to be vulnerable, and the Republican field in 2012 is open.
"Do you go to Albany in a thankless job, or do you take another shot nationally?" asks a close observer of Giuliani. "He's aware that the Obama administration is falling apart much more quickly than anybody imagined."
The Note's Futures Calendar lists important, upcoming political events headlined by prominent pols.
Let's extract the goods on major 2012 happenings.
— Sept. 19, 2009: Gov. Tim Pawlenty, R-Minn., speaks at the 2009 Leading Ohio Dinner.
— Sept. 18-20, 2009: Values Voter Summit is held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington D.C., and kicked off by Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.
— Oct. 1, 2009: Former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Penn., participates in the American Future Fund's "Conservative Lecture Series," Dubuque, Iowa.
— Oct. 2-3, 2009: Newt Gingrich headlines at the Americans for Prosperity Foundation's Defending the American Dream National Summit at the Capitol in Washington, D.C.
— Oct. 9, 2009: Mitt Romney will be the guest speaker at the Nebraska Republican Party's biennial Founders' Day event in Omaha, Neb.
— Oct. 16-17, 2009: Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty addresses Western Conservative Political Action Conference (WCPAC) at the Radisson Newport Beach, California.
— March 2, 21010: Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney's new book, "No Apology: The Case for American Greatness" is released.
Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker is disheartened after recently meeting with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"You know they've talked to each other, not even by phone? This is, distance-wise, like me not talking to (Chattanooga City Councilman) Jack Benson."
Texans for Kay Bailey Hutchison released an ad over the weekend, slamming opponent Rick Perry for mischievous disruption* of Hutchison's announcement tour.
But as Jason Embry reports, the Perry camp love, love, loves the ad.
After the Hutchison campaign posted the Web video, Perry's aides — feeling flattered — posted it on one of their own Web sites. Perry campaign manager Rob Johnson also wrote a letter to the Texas Ethics Commission asking whether the video should be counted as an in-kind contribution to Perry's campaign.
Governor Rick Perry's operatives parked what they're calling the "Kay Bailout Express" just yards from the entrance to the venue Hutchison was heading to. The billboard, loaded on to the back of a truck, was pretty hard to miss.
And just in case Hutchison's people missed seeing the billboard, Perry's camp flew a banner from a plane circling the venue, asking Hutchison to release her tax returns.
The New York Times re-runs an interesting interview from 1995, in which Vicki Kennedy and Ted Kennedy's biographer, Adam Clymer, discuss the relatively close 1994 duel with Mitt Romney.
Among other things, there was some concern over the debates.
Mr. Clymer: One friend of his [Kennedy's] told me that he was, too, not that he was afraid to debate, but reading all these stories and clips saying about how good Romney was, but he was a little concerned about it, and how well he could handle him.
Mrs. Kennedy: That Teddy was?
Mr. Clymer: Yeah. Not true?
Mrs. Kennedy: I just think that's very funny. No, obviously he took it seriously and he prepared. I mean I know him when he prepares and he knows himself when he prepares, and when he was ready to go do his thing, two days before the debate, he was brushing his teeth in Boston and he just apropos of nothing, turned to me and he said, "I'm ready, you know." And I said, "Yeah, I know." Because I did. I knew. You could just see it.
Mr. Clymer: No, I don't mean that late because by that point he was up there campaigning, and had done the Faneuil Hall and all of that. But I mean a little bit earlier.
Another Senator, a friend of his said that he was a little worried about Romney, in debating him.
Mark DeMoss, a long-time Christian public relations executive who advised Mitt Romney during his 2008 campaign, says Christians need to start loving their enemies.
Less shouting; more op-eds (maybe with footnotes?).
He and Democratic consultant, Lanny Davis, are teaming up to form The Civility Project.
As people shout over each other at town-hall meetings, with some resorting to name-calling and even defacing a Democratic congressman's sign with a Nazi swastika, DeMoss and others say religious leaders can play a role in cooling down the ranting and rhetoric.
"Many Christians like to call ourselves followers of Christ," said DeMoss, a Southern Baptist whose office is based in Atlanta. "I can't be a follower of Christ if I'm shouting at you or interrupting your meeting, and I certainly don't look like one when I do that."
"I'm ashamed to say. Some of the worst, most uncivil treatment of Mormons came from fellow evangelicals."
A little Monday afternoon secessionist vid from ground zero. The rally took place on the Austin capitol steps on Saturday.
Watch for "Yes, we can" chants, the call for the blood of patriots, lots of Texas flags, and lots of signs about health care.
[Hat tip: Wayne Slater]
UPDATE: Since we're on the topic of anti-American hate, here's a story on a Phoenix pastor who regularly prays for Barack Obama's death.
"I hope that God strikes Barack Obama with brain cancer so he can die like Ted Kennedy and I hope it happens today."
WSMV reports:
Sen. Bob Corker is among the wealthiest members of Congress with his family's reported net assets totaling between $17.1 million and $87.6 million.
The Tennessean newspaper said the former Chattanooga developer released a personal financial disclosure statement Friday.
The Atlantic's Chris Good tells you to watch for these six topics.
#4 and #6 are especially interesting.
Marco Rubio tells the National Review who Charlie Crist should have picked to fill Senator Mel Martinez's Senate seat.
Dan Webster, a Florida House veteran, should have been picked. He understands the legislative process and is consistent and courageous. We would have known where he stands from day number one. There would have been no doubts in anyone’s mind. So, I ask the governor, why George LeMieux over Dan Webster?
Over the weekend, there was quite a to-do made over Mike Huckabee's suggestion that Barack Obama's health care plan would have ended Ted Kennedy's life earlier.
Now Huck's defending himself, via his Fox show.
After eulogizing Kennedy's service and character, Huck revisits his remarks and the remarks about the remarks.
"George Stephanopoulos, Time magazine, the Huffington Post and scores of liberal bloggers have gone berserk calling me everything imaginable and saying I had made things up. Here's my challenge to George, Time magazine and anyone else: Go to my Web site — mikehuckabee.com — click on "The Huckabee Report" and then follow the links to "On Demand" and listen to the morning commentary for Thursday, August 27.
[Sequence of vid clips of Obama talking about his plan]
[Then Huck]
My challenge: What did I say that wasn't true? In fact, listen to what I said — it was actually a tribute to Senator Kennedy and an observation that he did what other Americans want to do: Follow the best health care they can find. And we don't want the government telling us to go home and take a pain pill and die."
In the battle over who will be the next chairman of New York's Republican party, Elizabeth Benjamin says old foes are joining trunks to try to get Rudy Giuliani's horse, Henry Wojtaszek, elected.
Former Gov. George Pataki has signed on to the fight to make little-known Niagara County Republican Chairman Henry Wojtaszek head of the state party.
.... Ex-Rep. Rick Lazio, who clashed with Giuliani over a U.S. Senate seat in 2000 and also is eying a possible 2010 run for governor, is on board behind the scenes. So is ex-U.S. Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, who has long been at odds with Giuliani.
"We're calling it the 'unholy alliance,'" joked a GOP operative close to Pataki, whom Giuliani snubbed in 1994 by backing Democrat Mario Cuomo for governor.
Nevada Sen. John Ensign hit up an awards ceremony over the weekend that's sponsored by a group dedicated to helping teens "gain self-confidence and learn to take responsibility for their actions".
As if the irony weren't already clear, the following three paragraphs illustrate how hard it will be for Nevada Sen. John Ensign to claw his way back.
Sen. John Ensign, a sponsor, gave the keynote address and commended the program for teaching the youngsters the discipline and teamwork needed to be leaders.
"You can't learn the life lessons that you really need to succeed in life without some of the things that you're teaching the young people," he said.
"Everything comes from the top to inspire, to set the discipline, to set the tone for any organization."
"500 days" does sound longer than "finishing out his term".
The guy behind the ad is Democrat Dwight Drake, who's running for governor of South Carolina.
[Hat tip: First Read]
SC Sen. Jim DeMint dismisses the of running for President.
“I wouldn’t get out of my driveway without my wife shooting me in the back. You’ve got to find somebody who’s smart enough to be a great president but dumb enough to want to be president.
Right now, I think I’m still too smart to be president.”
The Associated Press' Mike Smith profiles the 2012 prospects for Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, even though Daniels -- once again-- denies interest in a run for Prez.
Daniels says he didn’t seek out the attention and attributes the speculation about a White House run in part to “how slim the pickin’s are” among potential GOP contenders. He says he wouldn’t inflict the intensity of a national campaign on his wife, Cheri, and four grown daughters.
“To me the level of not just scrutiny, but savagery is the word that comes to mind, that has attached itself to national politics is pretty sobering,” Daniels told The Associated Press. “I mean, we’ve not just seen people’s own personal backgrounds but their spouses and even their children get dragged into this.”
“If there is some kind of enormous draft movement that he’s the right person for the right time, I think he will take that very seriously."
If so, then Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty says you've got a better chance of becoming President than he does.
“When you are potentially running for president, in recent times, it tends to favor people who are wealthy, have a shtick or have some fame.
I have none of those.”
That's New Hampshire state Senator, Jeb Bradley, describing Mitt Romney's post-2008 efforts.
"He lost a tough race. After that, Mitt could have done anything he wanted with his life: back to the non-profit world or start a new business. But what has he been doing? He's kept at it. He's been busting his butt since losing more than anyone I have ever seen."
Sarah Palin's headed to Hong Kong, September 23.
MSNBC:
The former Alaska governor will visit Hong Kong to address the CLSA Investors Forum, a well-known annual conference of global investment managers, the host announced Monday.... It will be closed to the media, and the topic has not yet been confirmed.
Palin has made no commitments so far, and Washington Speakers Bureau will start responding to the invitations this week.
a. Sean Hannity for ___?
b. Who gets the Jewish vote in Hutchison vs Perry?
c. Fred Malek wants you keep your eyes on these rising stars.
d. Stossel agrees with Palin on death panels.
e. Jeb's bipartisan efforts on education continue.
f. Sanford says the press hasn't covered him objectively.
g. The new Survivor includes a "fit version of Sarah Palin".
h. Speaking of Palin, Zieg celebrates their one-year.
i. Crashing Mark Sanford's press conference.
j. Not a surprise to regular readers of bloody sock's blog.
k. Herbert rethinks Huntsman on climate change.
l. Jindal, once again, has a damned sensible take on ethics.
m. This was done in 2008, so you can tack a few hundred more days on there.
Jonathan Allen on the intriguing mix of candidates.
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's SarahPAC has donated money to the campaigns of Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Orrin Hatch of Utah, as well as to Republican Ohio Senate candidate Rob Portman, according to a Friday filing with the Federal Election Commission.
On yesterday's broadcast of his radio show, "The Huckabee Report", former Gov. Mike Huckabee invited listeners into a world where Barack Obama's health care plan and Sen. Ted Kennedy's battle with cancer intersect.
Huck, via The Tolbert Report:
.... it was President Obama himself who suggested that seniors who don’t have as long to live might want to just consider taking a pain pill instead of getting an expensive operation to cure them.
Yet when Sen. Kennedy was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer at 77, did he give up on life and go home to take pain pills and die? Of course not. He freely did what most of us would do. He choose and expansive operation and painful follow up treatments. He saw his work and vitally important and so he fought for every minute he could stay on this earth doing it.
Deborah Solomon asks Tom Daschle about his relationship with United Health Group and, you know, how that jives with his views on health care.
SOLOMON: It has been reported that you’re a paid adviser to the insurance giant UnitedHealth Group, which opposes your belief that health care reform needs to have a public option. Why do you work with them?
DASCHLE: On the left there are those who say that you should never talk to people who differ with you on a high-profile issue.
My question to the left would be, whom would they advise these insurance companies talk to? Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin? That’s the alternative. They can talk to Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin, or they can talk to me.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty will continue to raise his national profile by traveling to New Jersey next week to campaign for Republican gubernatorial candidate, Chris Christie.
Pawlenty made his comment to reporters after his weekly radio show at the Minnesota State Fair. He didn't give any details.
Palin associates say her decision to quit as Alaska governor was partly driven by her wish to help Republican candidates across the country.
But Christie says the failed vice presidential candidate would detract from the New Jersey issues he wants to emphasize.
Marco Rubio responded today to rival Charlie Crist's selection of George LeMieux to fill Florida's open Senate seat until the 2010 election.
"This is a disappointing pick for Florida. George LeMieux is a talented political operative and the governor's best friend, but that doesn't make him the right choice to represent Florida in the Senate.
That's U.S. Rep Michele Bachmann smacking down hecklers at her townhall yesterday.
[Hat tip: Michelle Malkin]
In South Carolina, ethics probes are confidential unless the target waives that right.
On August 20th, SC Gov. Mark Sanford still hadn't decided whether to allow the ethics probe over his travels to be made public.
But today, he's decided his "incredibly great story" of defending taxpayers will be open for public viewing, after all.Press Release: Governor Mark Sanford Statement
Published: August 28, 2009
Gov. Sanford Waives Confidentiality in Ethics Probe; Urges General Assembly to Make Investigations of its Own Members Public as Well
Columbia, S.C. - August 28, 2009 - Gov. Mark Sanford today issued the following statement:
“First, I’d like to emphasize that over the last several days we’ve provided documentation supporting this administration’s strong record in defending the taxpayer and in staying true to both the intent and letter of the law with regard to travel. What all this shows are the ways our administration stacks up quite favorably against previous administrations over the last 20 years when it comes to looking out for the taxpayer. It’s also worth remembering that our administration has consistently advocated for transparency in government: signing a Campaign Finance Reform bill in 2003; ending the legislative process of “pass-throughs” in 2004 that disguised where tax dollars went; working with the Comptroller General on an online spending disclosure system for state agencies; and calling for on-the-record voting so that constituents could see how their representatives in Columbia were voting.
“In the continued spirit of a fair and transparent process, I am today announcing that I’ll be waiving confidentiality as the Ethics Commission studies some of the allegations made in the press and by political detractors. Our administration has nothing to hide. We would welcome the public to scrutinize our record, just as the Ethics Commission will do.
“It’s also important to note that transparency should apply to all levels of state government. Ethics investigations involving members of the General Assembly are conducted entirely by the members of the General Assembly themselves, not by an outside Ethics Commission. And such investigations are done entirely in secret, with the results very rarely known. I welcome the taxpayers of South Carolina getting a clear view of everything our Administration has done with regarding to treatment of tax dollars. I would urge the members of the General Assembly to join this effort at greater transparency and agree to open up all future ethics matters relating to the conduct of members of the House and Senate.“
James Rowley reports on a taped interview with Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty for Bloomberg TV's "Political Capital with Al Hunt".
Pawlenty acknowledged he was considering seeking his party’s 2012 presidential nomination.
“I’m going to finish out my term as governor” and “try to speak out to how the Republican Party can and should improve,” he said. “If that gets some traction and some momentum, then I would consider” running for president.
"What I've said before, and I just said it a little different in the Bloomberg interview, was I haven't ruled anything out or in.
And that includes whole array of private sector potential choices or interests, as well as public service. But as to whether I may of may not stay in politics, or may or may not be involved on the national level, I just don't know the answer to that."
California gubernatorial candidate, Steve Poizner (R), blames name ID for polls showing him trailing rivals, Tom Campbell and Meg Whitman.
But the billionaire promises:
"I can guarantee you this: Every single Republican primary voter will know all about me as we get closer to Election Day."
Yesterday marked the 1 year anniversary of the day John McCain passed over Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty as his running mate.
The Minneapolis Star-Tribune gets both Pawlenty and his spokesman, Brian McClung, to reflect on the big day.
Pawlenty started the day with radio and television interviews at 5 a.m. Mountain Time and prepared to go nonstop through the day.
Then, without warning, he was told to stop.
"Around 12 noon, staffers for the RNC came in and said 'Don't read into this one way or the other, but we're canceling your schedule for the rest of the day," spokesman Brian McClung remembered Thursday.
A year later, McClung still has a voice mail from CBS anchor Katie Couric saved on his private cell phone.
Ex-Utah Governor and new U.S. Ambassador to China, Jon Huntsman, is lending a helping hand to the You Traded Nick Swisher and Shouldn't Have City.
Jon Huntsman presented [Chinese] President Hu Jintao with a commemorative book on Chicago, "in support of the city's bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games," the U.S. Embassy in Beijing said in a statement.
China's support could be crucial because Beijing hosted the Olympics last year and commands considerable influence within the International Olympic Committee, which meets on Oct. 2 in Copenhagen to select the 2016 host.
In an aggressive new op-ed for the Washington Examiner, Newt Gingrich scolds Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to hire a special prosecutor to investigate members of the CIA who conducted controversial interrogations.
Holder, uniquely duty-bound to uphold the law, has disregarded the law as applied by his predecessors because he disagrees with their politics.
You could say that this is behavior more befitting a Third World dictatorship than the United States of America, except that even Third World dictators don't unilaterally disarm in the process of administering politically driven "justice."
.... If Holder and his senior team won't do the right thing and resign their positions, Obama should do the right thing and fire them.
WMBF*:
South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford is in Horry County Friday and is planning a noon press conference do [sic] address an ongoing investigation into his gubernatorial travel habits.
The Republican governor's spokesman said Thursday he plans to address the inquiry prior to a scheduled meeting with the Conway Lion's Club.
Sarah Palin's Dad, Chuck Heath, and father-in-law, Jim Palin, are in Idaho campaigning for a congressional candidate.
While there, they stopped by the Idaho Statesman to chat, among other things, about Sarah Palin.
Q: Can you shed any light on Sarah Palin's decision to resign as governor?
Heath: "Whenever I'm with Sarah, we never talk politics. It's always family or sports, and it kind of caught me by surprise. All I really know is what I read in the newspaper, and you can't depend on a newspaper to get all the facts."
[Later]
Q: What's your hunch on whether Sarah Palin runs for president in 2012?
Heath: "You got a coin? I don't know. They surprise us and don't want to stress us out. 2012? I have no idea and I don't even ask or give her advice."
Palin: "My only comment would be, personally, I do not think you've seen the last of Sarah Palin in one form or another."
In a brief interview before the governor addressed the crowd, Chuck Heath, Palin’s father, said he didn’t know what was next for his daughter.
“I wish I knew,” Heath said. “I have no idea, honest.”
Noting that he had just spent several days with her on a local river, Heath quipped: “She’d be a good poker player. She never divulged what she’s going to do.”
In announcing he won't seek a 5th term* as governor, Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas (R) assures the press he doesn't have Presidential aspirations.
"[Wife] Dorothy has a divorce lawyer on speed dial if I ever utter that crazy idea".
SC Sen. Jim DeMint, at a townhall meeting yesterday.
“I continue to hope that the governor will do the right thing for our state and I’ll just have to wait and see. I’m not going to publicly say one way or another what he should do. I’m just hoping he will do what’s best for our state.”
HANNITY: "Do you think that he should go? I'm of the mind that if your life is in shambles in a case like this, maybe it's time for you to step aside. Get your personal act together. Is that good advice?"
DEMINT: "It may be. I'm not sure where he is in his personal life with his wife, and I think that does have a lot to do with whether or not he should continue.
A new Insider/Advantage poll shows 49.5% of South Carolinians think Gov. Mark Sanford should resign, while just 36.6% want him to stay.
Key findings.
a. Democrats want him to resign, 63%-21%.
b. Independents say the same, 47.8%-38.4%.
c. Republicans think he should remain governor, 47.1%-40.7%.
Insider Advantage also released a poll yesterday, asking South Carolinians whether they believed Mark Sanford was really on a hiking trip back when the story first broke.
a. 25% "completely believed" his Appalachian Story tale.
b. 63% "had some doubts or did not believe".
c. 12% had no opinion.
[Hat tip: Political Wire]
Texas Gov. Rick Perry gets some help in his primary battle with Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison:
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani embarks on a two-day fundraising swing next month for Texas Gov. Rick Perry.... [Perry] will host Giuliani at fundraisers in Houston, San Antonio, Austin and Dallas, said Perry spokesman Mark Miner.
There are two schools of thought about Florida Gov. Charlie Crist.
The first is that he's impossible to beat. That's what the scientific polls say. The second is that he's remarkable vulnerable. That's what the straw polls (and The National Review) say.
The funny thing is that one of the two is probably completely right, and the other entirely wrong, but no one seems to know the answer-- even though extremes are, by definition, clear.
The Hill's Reid Wilson looks at how Crist is taking his sweet time in appointing an interim Senator to fill retiring Mel Martinez's seat. The point? Crist can mend fences by floating disgruntled names as possible replacements. You know, flattery.
But the fact he's taken so much time, and the fact that the time is so sweet indicates the straw polls might be onto something (But again, if straw polls were onto something, Mitt Romney would have been the nominee in '08).
Wilson:
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) is using Sen. Mel Martinez's (R-Fla.) resignation to his political advantage, winning allies across the state as he searches for a replacement, whom he could name as early as this week.
.... as Crist faces his own battle for the seat to which he will appoint a caretaker, he is using the opportunity to make more friends than he is losing.
"Everybody he interviews is flattered. Who doesn't want to be known as being considered for a Senate seat?" [Orange County Republican party chairman Lew] Oliver asked.
Earlier this week, we showed a youtube from 2004 of California gubernatorial candidate, Steve Poizner (R), refusing to endorse George W. Bush's reelection effort.
According to Steven Harmon from the Contra Costa Times, that's just one of a few hiccups that might explain the trouble Poizner's had gaining traction in the polls against primary rivals, Tom Campbell and Meg Whitman.*
.... The problem for him [Poizner] is that his previous life as a moderate who considered taxes as a way to improve education is making it hard for conservative talk radio hosts and red-state bloggers — and presumably grass-roots followers — to swallow Poizner's newfound conservative pitch.
"I absolutely do not buy his sudden fiscal conservatism," conservative blogger Warner Todd Huston said. "His entire history suggests otherwise."
.... Poizner also is having to explain a number of other conservative heresies: contributing $21,000 to Al Gore in the 2000 election and recount and refusing to say during his 2004 campaign for the Assembly who he supported for president in 2004.... He's also switched his position on offshore drilling, which he opposed in his 2004 campaign, and has taken a more firm position on abortion, saying recently, "I've been opposed to abortions my whole life" after he touted the endorsement of Planned Parenthood in 2004.
a. A great guide to handicapping Charlie Crist's possible picks.
b. Sanford gets a death threat.
c. DeMint does New Hampshire (kind of).
d. Hutchison's not sleeping under a bridge.
e. A flip from Cox to Wojtaszek. Now?
f. Is Hutchison trying to save 34 for Republicans?
g. "In lieu of flowers."
h. Who's this year's Indians?
That's George Will describing upstart California gubernatorial candidate, Tom Campbell (R).
In a new column, Will brandishes Campbell's wonky, pristine conservative credentials, then provides a plausible scenario for how this underdog could become the dog in a primary contest pitting him against two billionaires (Steve Poizner and Meg Whitman).
Whoever wins the nomination, he [Campbell] says, will quickly become flush with funds. Yes, but you cannot steal first base in politics either. How can he be nominated?
Like this, he says: Gray Davis, a professional politician of modest means, won the Democratic nomination in 1998 when two rich opponents nullified each other with media bombardments.
Republicans are a shriveling tribe.... But the fastest-growing cohort of voters are independents who can vote in either party’s primary. Campbell believes he is energizing them inexpensively by buying lists of likely voters (who have voted in four of the last five elections), inviting 150,000 to call in to an enormous conference call, and discussing issues for 90 minutes with the 20,000 who do.
Personal, not political.
Former Sen. Rick Santorum, a Republican, recalled how Kennedy, a frequent foe in matters of politics, reached out to him when the Santorums' infant son Gabriel died in 1996.
"It wasn't common knowledge that we had lost a child. Kennedy found out and was the first person to call me and offer his condolences, and also to see if there was anything he could do."
SC gubernatorial candidate, Nikki Haley, isn't ready to cast her lot on either side of the Sanford impeachment question.
"We need to see what the ethics commission comes back with, and then we need to proceed according to the facts and not according to political gamesmanship that's going on in Columbia."
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced a new website today that's kind of like Progressive Auto Insurance's home page, except for health care.
You get to compare health care plans based on quality and cost in one easy place. Besides user-friendliness, one of the aims is to increase transparency and, therefore, competition.
Pawlenty:
"This reform is part of our larger effort to make Minnesota’s health care system even more market-driven, patient-centered and quality-focused.... Today’s announcement is a market-driven success. This is not government intervention and no legislation was needed. This is simply the buyer, through the Smart Buy Alliance, working with health plans and providers to meet the community’s needs.”
The AP on stirrings of life -- bipartisan life and the actual prospect of a heckuva job well done -- on the gulf coast.
Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-La., says Obama's team has brought a more practical and flexible approach. Many local officials offer similar reviews.
Even Doug O'Dell, former President George W. Bush's recovery coordinator, says the Obama administration's "new vision" appears to be turning things around.
Not too long ago, Jindal said in a telephone interview, Louisiana governors didn't have "very many positive things" to say about the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
But Jindal said he had a lot of respect for the current FEMA chief, Craig Fugate, and his team. "There is a sense of momentum and a desire to get things done," the governor said.
The state Senator investigating Mark Sanford's travel expenses, David Thomas, responded this afternoon to the governor's accusation that Thomas is guilty of "selective" outrage.
At a news conference this morning, Sanford claimed Thomas' investigation is politically-motivated, since he's prepping a run for Congress.
This afternoon, Thomas countered by saying he's just doing his job, and that he might have even shared a Coke with Sanford if the opportunity had arisen today.
The Charleston Regional Business Journal:
Had he known Sanford would be visiting Greenville today, Thomas said he would have told the governor “thanks,” and “we would have had a Coke.”
“It seems very odd to come here to do a press conference in a field,” Thomas said, calling Sanford’s visit “politically motivated” and a “soap opera.”
.... “I’m not going to be intimidated by anybody,” Thomas said. “I’m just trying to do my job.”
Politico's Andy Barr:
Responding to speculation that Romney may be interested in the seat—which he challenged Kennedy for in 1994—Eric Fehrnstrom, a spokesman for Romney’s political action committee, told POLITICO that the former one-term governor has no interest in campaigning to replace Kennedy.
“Governor Romney’s focus right now is on helping other Republicans run for office, and that is how he will be spending his time,” he said.
Obama’s still near 60 percent approval in Massachusetts.... And there’s more to lose in doing this than there is to gain. If he wins, he ends up stuck in the minority with the rest of the GOP with no way to pass legislation unless he compromises with the Democrats — not something a guy who’s already suspected of RINOism is wont to do. If he loses, it proves he’s a paper tiger who can’t even carry the moderate states to which he’s supposed to appeal as a potential Republican nominee.
Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal:
Gov. Tim Pawlenty has named Bob Schroeder as his new chief of staff, effective Aug. 31.... He most recently served as Pawlenty’s deputy chief of staff from 2003 to 2008. He was Minnesota deputy secretary of state from 2000 to 2002.
Not sure if you're too familiar with Dirk Kempthorne, but he's a former Governor and Senator from Idaho, as well as U.S. Secretary of the Interior under President George W. Bush.
To top that off, back in January, Marc Ambinder heard birds tweeting that Kempthorne was reaching out to friends to gauge interest in a 2012 bid.
You can read the GOP12 Dirk Kempthorne profile here, but here's his reflection on Kennedy from today's Idaho Statesman:
Kempthorne got to know Kennedy when they shared a balcony overlooking the Capitol. After Kempthorne arrived, Kennedy introduced himself to every staffer and sent Kempthorne's wife, Patricia, a bouquet with a note, "Welcome to the neighborhood."
.... When Kennedy gave a talk at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, he invited Kempthorne - by then U.S. secretary of the interior - to join him. "He wanted to have a Republican friend there," Kempthorne recalled.
Kempthorne spoke of a moment he and Kennedy shared with a man they met while serving on the Armed Services Committee.
The retired colonel had returned his Vietnam decorations in anger after the Pentagon determined his son committed suicide.
Kempthorne wrote the man, saluting him for his testimony and urging him to reclaim his medals.
The colonel was from Massachusetts, so Kennedy joined Kempthorne as the decorations were returned in a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.
Keep in mind, the man writing the following is Matt Mackowiak, former press secretary to Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.
The same Kay Bailey Hutchison who's trying to unseat Gov. Rick Perry.
But also keep in mind, you can fact check this (which is easy to do on the information superhighway*).
Mackowiak:
Despite Perry's strong rhetorical objections to the federal stimulus package, he freely accepted more than $17 billion (or 97 percent of it), plugging a huge budget hole to avoid raising taxes.
On July 6 Gov. Perry directly asked Vice President Joe Biden when Texas would receive its $4 billion in education-related stimulus funding, after the state barely made a July 1 request deadline.
From one side of his mouth Perry strongly criticizes the federal government, pleading for them to "leave Texas alone," while out of the other side he requests for the federal government to assist victims of hurricanes, pay for National Guard troops along the southern border and provide 37,000 courses of anti-viral medicine for the swine flu outbreak.
Gov. Rick Perry formally accepted the state's $17 billion share of the federal stimulus package Wednesday while pointedly voicing his opposition to the concept.
"I believe there are better ways to reinvigorate our economy and believe [the stimulus bill] will burden future generations with unprecedented levels of debt," Perry wrote in a letter to President Barack Obama certifying Texas' request for the money.
Vice President Joe Biden assured Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Monday that the state's application for $4 billion in federal stimulus money for education will be approved in about two weeks.
"It was a very productive and positive meeting," Perry said of his conference call with Biden and four other governors.
So it seems Brett Favre never really left New York.
Elizabeth Benjamin:
According to [Rockland County GOP chairman Vincent] Reda, Giuliani first told GOP officials he would decide some time in August, but then stretched the deadline to September. Now, he's not planning to get in - or out - until after the November elections, saying he doesn't want to steal Mayor Bloomberg's thunder.
.... The involvement of Giuliani operatives on behalf of would-be state GOP chairman Henry Wojtaszek against Ed Cox has been widely interpreted as the strongest sign yet that Giuliani is indeed serious running in 2010.
But the former mayor has yet to make any phone calls himself, which has left the county chairs wondering just how interested he is.
A new Rasmussen Reports poll has NJ gubernatorial candidate, Chris Christie (R), holding a sizable lead over incumbent John Corzine (D).
More importantly, the fundamentals are all swinging Christie's way. For example, although Christie's just up 8% with those leaning to vote and 11% among all voters, check out the candidates on the issues.
Taxes: Christie +20%
Government spending: Christie +26%
Corruption: Christie +22%
Further, Corzine's approval splits are 35%/65%, which is bad for any incumbent outside of North Korean.
[Hat tip: Pollster.com]
If you're a stood-up-a-phobe, you might want to reconsider the accomplished woman in glasses who promises she's cool with sports, hunting, and frequent travel.
The Anchorage Daily News on the latest:
Organizers of an Anchorage event that has been billing Sarah Palin for weeks as a star speaker were left scrambling Wednesday after learning that the former governor won't be there for tonight's event and claims to have never been asked.
.... This time it's an event promoting an Alaska ballot measure aimed at making it illegal for teens to get an abortion without telling their parents. The Alaska Family Council has been advertising that Palin would give a speech and become the first official signer of the ballot petition tonight at ChangePoint, the Anchorage megachurch.
Palin spokeswoman Meg Stapleton said Wednesday, in response to inquiries from the Daily News about tonight's event, that "this is the first we have ever heard of a speech." She said Palin is out of state and won't be there.
"All we can do is take people at their word that we've worked with in the past. We've been working for several weeks on the event, promoting it very heavily. It would be a grave disappointment if she doesn't show up but the show will still go on."
Mitt Romney is returning to the state that gave him his 2nd gold of the '08 primary season*.
The Michigan native and former Massachusetts governor will be the keynote speaker at the Sept. 25-27 Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference on Mackinac Island.
.... The conference will bring together GOP activists and state candidates hoping to win their votes in 2010.
a. Romney. Senate. Massachusetts?
b. What Presidents like to drink.
c. Rubio wins another straw poll.
d. Jim Wallis reflects on Kennedy's faith.
e. Obama's at -30% on health care. (note: the -30 is on today's Harris poll; below is Pollster's running aggregate).
f. Rick Perry recommends a libertarian classic.
g. Aaron Schock gets an opponent.
h. Jeb Bush speaks at a massive, international Catholic meeting this weekend.
i. Chuck Norris endorses Roy Moore for Governor of Alabama.
j. Orrin Hatch wrote it for Teddy. Phil Springer sings it for you. Nice sentiment, but...
SD Sen. John Thune issues a release.
"Senator Kennedy was a very effective advocate for the things he believed in and earned the respect of Senators on both sides of the aisle. Although we didn't always agree, I admired his service to this country and dedication to the causes he championed. Kimberley and I will keep Mrs. Kennedy and the rest of the Kennedy family in our prayers."
Alex Isenstadt says it's not as assured as assumed.
Several Giuliani insiders, who asked not to be named in order to speak freely, harbored serious doubts that the former two-term mayor would run for the governorship in 2010.
.... “I think there is, at best, a 20 percent chance that he runs,” said one Giuliani insider.
Skeptics have been quick to point out that Giuliani might be attempting to gin up attention in order to raise badly needed political funds.
Through the end of June, Giuliani had nearly $3 million in campaign debt left over from his presidential bid. Giuliani’s political action committee, Solutions America, reported just over $1,000 on hand this month.
Virginia gubernatorial candidate, Bob McDonell (R), says he'll cut his pay if elected governor.
Both of Virginia's previous governors, Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, also gave themselves pay cuts when the state was hit with budget crunches.
Stare decisis! Stare decisis!
Author Joe McGinniss, the scribe behind a controversial, March Portfolio piece on Sarah Palin, might be gearing up to write a book about the ex-governor.
The New York Observer:
According to several sources, [McGinniss' new agent] Mr. Larabell has spoken with publishers about a book Mr. McGinniss has been wanting to write about former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.... Mr. Larabell declined to comment on what Mr. McGinniss—best known for the 1983 true-crime thriller Fatal Vision and the groundbreaking campaign book The Selling of the President 1968—is currently working on, but said that at the moment, “there is no deal in place.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty showed up on the Fox set a few minutes ago to chat health care.
If you've been following the health care debate, you'll know that Pawlenty's become something of midpoint between Sarah Palin's death panel comments on the Right and Mitt Romney's Massachusetts system on the Left**.
Today, T-Paw walked back criticism of Romney, suggesting that Mitt would right many of the system's wrongs if he were still governor.
TRACE GALLAGHER: We talked in the interim of this how you're the calmer [one], trying to be the voice of reason in this health care debate, though you've taken a couple jabs at Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney for their plans.
Sarah Palin, for her death panel comments.
And Mitt Romney, for his plan in Massachusetts, which you said covered more people, but simply did not have a way to pay for those people.
PAWLENTY: I don't think I've taken a jab at them in the sense of criticizing them. I'm just saying the Massachusetts plan has succeeded in expanding access to people who are uninsured, but it has not succeeded in controlling costs. There's another, new story out there yesterday in the Boston Globe that Massachusetts has the most expensive and one of the most rapidly rising health care cost systems in the country.
I believe Governor Romney -- had he been Governor these last four years -- would have done something to address that or fix that.
He hasn't been there for 4 years, so I don't criticize him. I think it's a situation where I'm sure he would have done something differently had he been there. He hasn't been there for four years.
HEWITT: Our mutual friend, Tim Pawlenty, has taken some shots. Some people think it’s early maneuvering for 2012, Governor Romney, about the Massachusetts plan. I’m sure you noted those. Are they fair criticisms?
ROMNEY: You know, I’m sure a number of the criticisms that are spoken about our plan are fair. There are a number of adjustments that certainly need to be made from time to time, and we said that at the time we put the bill in place. There’s some things about it I don’t like that actually I vetoed at the time that the bill was coming through. My veto was overridden.
That’s the way things work in the world of politics. So I don’t mind people pointing out places where they think we could make improvements.
But I’m pretty proud of the fact that we got our citizens insured, and that we did it without breaking the bank, and that we proved that you don’t have to get the government in the insurance business to get our citizens insured. And now the big task, which is the other 90% of the job, is figuring out how to get health care costs from rising through the roof.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty showed up on Sean Hannity's show last night to chat townhalls, Michael Vick, and Eric Holder.
Regarding Holder.
As bad as the health care plan is, and it's bad for all the reasons you've been highlighting to your viewers, this decision by Eric Holder today to politicize interrogations, to bring it into the White House, we should be prosecuting individuals who are involved in the war on terror as terrorists. They are cold blood killers.
We should not be prosecuting individuals who are working hard day in and day out to protect this country. In many cases, risking their own lives. These individuals should be, you know, encouraged and supported in their roles. But to have — see the CIA basically have this taken away from them I think is outrageous.
The attorney general should be reminded we are still a nation at war and CIA shouldn't stand for "can't interrogate anyone."
Having the Democrats watch your money and keep an eye over your money is like having Michael Vick watch your dog for the weekend.
On her Facebook page.
FOX News' Glenn Beck is doing an extraordinary job this week walking America behind the scenes of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and outlining who is actually running the White House.
Monday night he asked us to invite one friend to watch; tonight I invite all my friends to watch.
-Sarah Palin