That's what LMFAO's Sky Blu told fans between sets at a concert in Boston's TD Garden last night.
“Me and Mitt are homeboys. I think it’s time to celebrate that a rapper and politician can come together. . . . We want to celebrate the Vulcan-grip counter move.”
At a Q & A with reporters in Missouri yesterday, Tim Pawlenty talked about his 4th place showing in last weekend's CPAC straw poll.
REPORTER: In that [CPAC] straw poll they did, you were down pretty low.
PAWLENTY: Actually, no. First of all, the straw poll is kind of preliminary. Last year, I finished second to last. Like, I don't know how many were there, like, 15 people? And I was second to last.
This year, out of fifteen people, or whatever it was, I came in fourth, and unfortunately, they showed just the top 4 finishers on the TV so it made it look like I was last, but there were a lot of people below me, including some [unintelligible].
So for me that's progress. You gotta remember. We just started this PAC last fall. Nobody really knows who I am. I'm from a small state, and I don't have a big, national -- what do you call it -- awareness or familiarity.
So, name recognition, yeah. So you know, most people even in the [Republican] party don't even know that much about me or even know who I am.
a. Today's letter for next week's sister site launch... "D".
So that makes... B _ _ _ _ _ M _ D
b. Ranking the most influential Republican leaders.
c. Perry tries luring FB to Austin.
d. Rubio will pony up for flights.
e. Perry's "money cannon" was loaded with only a few (but big) grapeshots.
f. Palin: "Take over the Republican, tea partiers".
g. NSFW libretto, but you already guessed that.
h. Just finished reading this book detailing Matisse and Picasso's rivalry and strained but strong friendship.
Here's your moment of poignant mortality to take you into your weekend!
Matisse died November 3, 1954.... one of the first people his family called was Picasso. A servant answered the phone and after a long wait said that Picasso was having lunch and could not be disturbed. A few hours later, the Matisse family called back, thinking that Picasso had not been given the message. Picasso still could not come to the phone.
When they called a third time, they were told, "Monsieur Picasso has nothing to say about Matisse since he is dead".
According to Matisse's daughter, Picasso never sent a telegram or a note. Years later, she still remained vexed and puzzled by Picasso's lack of response.... perhaps Picasso could not bear to think that Matisse was dead. Perhaps it undermined the idea that almost all artists cherish, that somehow the very act of working is a way of putting off death.
.... only a few weeks later when a visitor brought up the subject of Matisse, Picasso reportedly stared pensively out the window and said "Matisse is dead, Matisse is dead".
That's Charlie Crist responding forcefully to rumors that he might abandon the Republican party to run for Senate as an indie.
[Hat tip: CNN]
Meg Whitman's campaign is running four, 15-second TV spots on broadcast and cable TV stations in California. They're the first spots that explicitly attack rival Steve Poizner.
Steve Poizner's communications director, Jarrod Agen, replies:
"Meg Whitman has resorted to a negative ad campaign after her first ads proved nothing more than she didn’t know how long she lived in California and that people on her payroll support her."
The Hill's Michael O'Brien reports that Tim Pawlenty will keynote an Iowans for Tax Relief event on April 17.
Katie Koberg says the event will take place from 3:00 PM-5:00 PM at the Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites in Des Moines. Four Iowa gubernatorial candidates will also speak.
Rick Perry doing his best imitation of Rick Perry in an interview with Melinda Henneberger.
When I hear him talk about his opponent [Kay Bailey Hutchison], who for months he claimed might not even be running, I have to wonder if not taking her candidacy seriously for such a long time might not be mistaken for not taking her seriously; does he?
"I think that's a legitimate question. Whether or not it gets into the realm of taking her serious as a candidate, I take her serious. But I took Kinky Friedman serious'' when he ran against Perry as an independent in '06, and took 13 percent of the vote.
"I'm still very passionate about getting up every day doing this job, so walking away would be like Van Gogh walking away when he's two-thirds finished with a masterpiece."
Paul Bedard says Scott Brown still trucks to work; in fact, his ride still retains all its various "Brown for Senate" bumper stickers (photos here).
Oh, and...
.... when he travels around town to events, he shoves his aides into the cluttered back seat of the mid-size truck.
I've seen this poll passed around the papers in South Carolina this week, but haven't posted because the results seem too odd to be true. But now that it's hit The State in a McClatchy report... well, you can read and make the call.
UPDATE: This might explain it -- it wasn't a poll of likely or registered voters, though obviously those were included. But they weren't the entire sample.
Dan Balz introduces his analysis of the Hutchison vs. Perry race in pitch-perfect fashion.
Shortly after Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison walked into Ruby's Diner on the Square here Tuesday morning, Bob Andrews greeted her warmly. "Welcome back to Texas," he said.
Hutchison recoiled. "I live in Texas," she said.
At it turned out, Andrews was a supporter.
The Palm Beach Post editorial board conducted a really juicy interview with Charlie Crist today.
On health care, Crist uses somewhat politically-risky rhetoric (assuming he remains in the GOP primary).
Crist said he would not “start from scratch” like many Washington D.C. Republicans have suggested to President Obama.
Instead, Crist said he would remove any parts of the bill that would raise taxes, raise rates or take money out of Medicare.
“It looks like an act of financial desperation when your [sic] charging a $7 sandwich at Chik-fil-a. That doesn’t sound like sound financial management of your personal income."
Tiger Woods lawyer's threatened to sue PETA for their "too much sex can be a bad thing" slogan.
Village Voice says the group's turned to another sexed up icon -- Mark Sanford.
"Your dog doesn't have to go to South America to get laid."
As if sensing the CW that he's an inveterate flirt with Presidential speculation to merely drum up interest in his other activities, Newt Gingrich tells James Barnes that 2012 is truly a unique chance (ea).
"I knew in '96 that it was hopeless," he said. "You couldn't have taken over the House for the first time in 40 years, be in a middle of fairly profound series of reforms, and cheerfully go off to run for president. It's not physically doable, it's absurd."
By '07, however, Gingrich said he was "intrigued" by the possibility of running in '08. But timing and prospects for success dissuaded him from tossing his hat in the ring. Gingrich said that he didn't want to abandon American Solutions when it was just getting off the ground. It was formed in late '06.
But Gingrich also understood that with a very unpopular GOP incumbent in the WH, and his own dissatisfaction with his party, mounting a campaign would be problematic.
.... I was very acutely aware of how hard '08 was going to be and how likely it was that we were going to lose," he said. "'12 is different."
Family Court Judge Jocelyn Cate said Friday she plans to OK Jenny Sanford's request to split from her husband of 20 years. The divorce will become official in mid-March.
Jenny Sanford attended the 20-minute hearing without her husband. Afterward, she said she considers it "the beginning of a new chapter for me and for our children."
In a statement, his office noted "first lady" is not an official role and said the state would no longer provide Jenny Sanford with a staff assistant.
Both Texas and New Mexico are, essentially, too close to call for the 2012 GOP primary, although Mitt Romney clings to stay-up-late leads.
From a new Public Policy Polling survey (pdf):
TEXAS
1. Mitt Romney 32%
2. Mike Huckabee 29%
3. Sarah Palin 23%
NEW MEXICO:
1. Mitt Romney 33%
2. Sarah Palin 32%
3. Mike Huckabee 18%
Some interesting notes:
a. Romney runs nearly even among conservatives in Texas, but wins moderates easily.
b. In New Mexico, Palin inches out Romney among cons (+3%), but Romney takes moderates by +8%.
c. Romney does well among seniors, which PPP notes play a large role in a primary.
d. Palin actually does worse among women than men in TX and NM. That could be a function of ideology, because even though these are Republicans we're talking about, women -- in general -- tend to lean further to the left.
e. Here's a result that's hard to wrap my head around: Among Texans who view Ron Paul favorably, Mitt Romney has a stronger lead than among Texans who view him unfavorably.
f. The results -- particularly the TX one -- are good for Romney. The state is still (kind of) southern and -- as shown by her rock star appearance for Rick Perry last month -- Sarah Palin's a big draw. Nevertheless, when it comes time to voter preference, she trails both Huck and Mitt.
[Hat tip: @ppppolls]
Sarah Palin talked about the health care summit with Sean Hannity last night.
"I think Michele Bachmann summed it up very well earlier today. She suggested that maybe the beer summit was more productive and fruitful than what we saw coming today out of the health care summit.
Maybe these guys should've popped some tops off some MGD's and gotten down to business."
"Republicans with their free market, pro-traditionally American, free market principles that they want to see applied in solutions to health care challenges, I think they did a great job."
"Go into more specificity, a little bit more detail if you can, Governor, about how the Republicans did today."
Mamma Mia, Kay Bailey Hutchison's under attack as she finds the gubernatorial primary slipping through her fingers, which means 2010 might be her last summer in politics before she becomes one of us -- That's just the name of the game.
(sorry, but it's Friday).
Check out Rick Perry's new hit ad on her, sung by American Idol contestant, Stephanie Daulong, who was cut in Hollywood week this season.
[Hat tip: The New Ledger]
National Journal unveils its table, ranking the relative conservatism and liberalism of each member of Congress based on his/her voting records from 2009.
For our purposes, some 2012 names from the Senate.
#2. Jim DeMint
#6. John Thune
#34. Bob Corker
Some 2012 names from the House:
#37. Eric Cantor
#89. Paul Ryan
#140. Ron Paul
[Hat tip: Political Wire]
In what her interviewer billed as the "first major interview since kicking her campaign", Meg Whitman chats with the San Jose Mercury News on issues ranging from illegal immigration, guns, gays, the environment, and yes, Sarah Palin.
She's already articulated her positions on these subjects in various forums, so I'll just highlight the cosmetics of the interview, which seem to be something of a highlight.
.... she was far more polished than she appeared in a February 2009 interview with the Los Angeles Times, during which the political novice often seemed unschooled in the issues of the day — such as school vouchers, a key Republican issue.
In Wednesday night's interview, conducted after a speech to a Republican group in Walnut Creek, Whitman came across as a quick study — politically savvy and surprisingly comfortable in her own political skin.
Says she did a "remarkable job" after being named John McCain's running mate, but Whitman dodged a question about whether Palin was qualified to be president.
"You probably know that my first person I worked for for the Presidential campaign was Mitt Romney, so I actually thought John McCain should pick Mitt Romney, because he knew a lot about the economy, so I thought the combination of foreign policy expertise and domestic economic expertise would have been the right combination".
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Crist said any talk about party-switching "probably comes from my opponents. It's the silly season."
When asked about whether he plans to switch parties, he replied: "I sure don't. I'm happy where I am and how things are going."
Gov. Charlie Crist's Senate campaign spokeswoman says she's noticed a pattern when it comes to the "patently false" rumors that Crist is planning to drop his GOP label and run as an Independent this fall.
She says those rumors tend to coincide with bad news days for Crist's GOP primary rival, former state Speaker Marco Rubio.
.... As the back and forth over the credit card flap heated up this week, Saul said she wasn't surprised to see an uptick in chatter that Crist somehow harbored secret designs to run as an Independent.
"I believe the Rubio campaign stirs up rumors whenever it's convenient for them," said Crist's spokeswoman, Andrea Saul.
Earlier this week, it was announced that David Letterman had booked Mitt Romney next week -- the same week Sarah Palin visits Leno's show.
And now Nikki Finke says it's not only the same week, it's also the same Tuesday night.
[Hat tip: Buzz Tracker]
Jonathan Martin has a must-read on Mitch Daniels, and here's something important that isn't immediately obvious about an ostensibly unassuming governor from Indiana -- he still has deep Washington ties.
Daniels has assembled the sort of political network most potential candidates would salivate over.
A senior party operative who frequently talks to top GOP donors and elected officials said that there are two groups now starting to discuss the prospect of a Daniels run — insiders who know him from his decades in national politics and others who know him from the Bush administration.
“The Bushies are looking around and saying ‘Why not Mitch?’” the operative said.
Mary Matalin, a longtime Bush family loyalist who is also close to former Vice President Dick Cheney, called Daniels “a giant brain.”
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."
Via Newsbusters:
Meanwhile, Thune also wrote an op-ed on the issue for Roll Call today.
Far from a meeting of the minds, this summit is shaping up to be little more than a photo op to unveil the White House’s latest backroom deal.
.... Real bipartisanship means abandoning all attempts to ram through the same unpopular package of ideas, cobbled together behind closed doors, using the most partisan political tactic. Even Sen. Robert Byrd (W.Va.), the most senior Democrat in the Senate and one of the authors of reconciliation, has said that he opposes using that process to push a health care bill.
Levi has to pony up nearly $18K in back child support.
Bristol's lawyer, Thomas Van Flein, tells TMZ, "Bristol is pleased with the court rulings today and looks forward to resolving the remaining issues with Levi."
a. Marc Ambinder's 2012 darkhorse.
b. Crist sends the Rook a message.
c. Hutchison and Perry share a stage (though not together) for one last time.
d. Huck's giving a free lecture at Texas A&M next week.
e. Palin will be the featured speaker at the NRA's annual meeting.
f. Atlas Shrugs (Pamela Gellar) endorses Chuck DeVore.
g. T-Paw says the summit was "window dressing".
h. One of those commercials that gets better and better.
i. Letter of the day, pseudo-hangman game to promote next week's site launch: B _ _ _ _ _ M _ _
The Charleston Post & Courier on a story's possible last leg.
Court officials say various South Carolina television outlets have shown an interest in broadcasting the final hearing of Sanford vs. Sanford live on Friday from the Charleston County Judicial Center.
She has to be there; he doesn't. Gov. Sanford has the option of filing an affidavit in lieu of showing.
Jenny Sanford on Wednesday spoke briefly about the appearance that will end their 20-year marriage.
"I'm going to do whatever I have to do," she said
.... An assistant to Judge Cate said Wednesday as many as three television outlets, both state and local, have showed an interest in being in the courtroom Friday, some looking to broadcast live.
This is kind of health-care-ish -- Mark Sanford is considering signing a law that would let 18-20 year olds get tattoos in South Carolina.
As of now, you can't legally get a tattoo in the state until you can legally drink off your remorse.
According to Rush's criteria, another big GOP name must be excised from the 2012 contest, as Tim Pawlenty tells Minnesota Public Radio that he's supporting John McCain's reelection bid.
On Good Morning America today, Bill O'Reilly touched on Jeb Bush's suggestion that Sarah Palin needs to add "a depth of understanding of the complexity of life."
"Bush is right, the Governor is right in the sense that Sarah Palin needs to go to college. Political college, world affairs college, and she is. She's hired a bunch of advisers and they're giving her a whole bunch of tracks to learn, because it is a sophisticated deal.
But give me a break -- Nancy Pelosi's a genius? She's the Speaker of the House. She's afraid to come on my program, Stephanopoulos.... so yeah, Sarah Palin needs a little bit more seasoning, but don't tell me Harry Reid and Boehner and Pelosi are geniuses."
While U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison is hoarding money for a possible Republican runoff, campaign finance reports show Gov. Rick Perry has increased his spending on television commercials in hopes of winning Tuesday's primary outright.
.... Hutchison cut her weekly TV advertising buy on Feb. 18 to just $1 million for the campaign's home stretch, while Perry purchased $2.6 million worth of TV time.
David Kochel, a former Republican party of Iowa chairman and adviser to Terry Brandstad, excoriated Mike Huckabee yesterday for fairly politically-obvious reasons.
"Maybe Mr. Huckabee shouldn’t be raising money for an organization [Iowa Family Policy Center] that says it won’t support the Republican nominee in Iowa.
.... Mr. Huckabee will regret having given his time raising money for a group like that. They are more interested in attacking Gov. Branstad than they are going after [incumbent Democratic] Gov. Culver who really, sincerely opposes their agenda.”
In a new interview with The Hill, John McCain talks about Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney's endorsements.
McCain said he reached out to ask Palin, adding that the two talk “every few weeks.” He called Romney’s endorsement “very important.”
“He clearly ran a very impressive campaign in ’08,” McCain said of Romney. “Two, there are a lot of admirers of Gov. Romney in my state. He did very well in Arizona in the primary. And he’s viewed by many — I think very appropriately — as one of the leading candidates for the Republican nomination in 2012.”
Here's a headline you probably wouldn't expect to read in California.
"GOP Senate race grows heated over Israel".
Criticism of Campbell's voting record centers on efforts to reduce foreign aid for Israel.
While in Congress, Campbell said, he supported military aid for Israel but twice sought to reduce economic aid. In the late 1990s, when foreign aid to other nations was being cut to help balance the budget, Israel's allocation was not affected. Campbell said he favored allowing the military aid to remain unchanged but supported slightly reducing economic aid.
Here's some vid from Mitt Romney and John Thune's joint press conference in SD last week.
Romney on a Prez run:
"Speaking of 2012 reminds me of the old adage of counting your chickens before they hatch.
This is counting your chickens before the rooster and the hen have met."
With Mike Huckabee's visit on behalf of Bob Vander Plaats yesterday, Tom Beaumont takes the opportunity to review Huck's Iowa strategy, which seems to be consistent with someone who's not super interested in another run.
It's risky for a presidential candidate to take a side in a primary.
Even more surprising to some party insiders, Huckabee also appeared on behalf of a group [Iowa Family Policy Center] that specifically snubbed a heavyweight rival for the nomination, former Gov. Terry Branstad.
And unlike some other 2012 prospects, Huckabee hasn't courted state GOP leaders during his Iowa visits.
.... by siding with Iowa Family PAC, Huckabee is effectively forsaking Branstad's backing in a future caucus campaign, should Branstad win the June 8 primary, former Iowa Republican Party executive director Chuck Laudner said.
"I thought it was kind of odd that he was doing the event," said Laudner, a former aide to Congressman Steve King and a veteran conservative GOP campaign operative. "It might help him reclaim his territory from the last caucus. But it would make it very tough for him to go out beyond that."
Another signal that Huckabee does not appear focused on Iowa: Huckabee has not been in touch with state GOP officials, even though he has visited Iowa four times since the 2008 election.
Due mostly to his position on gay issues, The Iowa Family Policy Center has said it won't support Terry Branstad if he wins the GOP gubernatorial primary.
Mike Huckabee is backing gubernatorial candidate, Bob Vander Plaats, in the primary, but a reporter asked him yesterday if he'd back Branstad in a general.
Huck is politic (and it seems like he'd support Branstad), but the youtube alone is worth a watch as Vander Plaats stands uncomfortably next to Huck.
[Hat tip: The Iowa Republican]
Pop Eater reports that Sarah Palin and Adam Lambert won't meet on-stage or back-stage during their appearance on Jay Leno's show.
Apparently, that's the way both parties want it.
"The producers would love to have Sarah and Adam meet face-to-face on camera. It would be ratings gold. However, that is not going to happen," revealed a TV insider about the March 2 meeting. "Both camps have made it clear they have no interest in meeting backstage or onstage."
Erin McPike reports on the 2012 chatter surrounding John Thune and what seems to be the big question: can he make a legitimate push for 2012 without pushing too hard in 2010?
At least one prominent pol doubts it.
.... ex-Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL) of a potential Thune presidential candidacy, "I'm not sure John has the fire in the belly for something of that magnitude."
But because Martinez called Thune "tremendous" within the same breath, some Democrats wondered if it was an attempt by Martinez to fire Thune up.
Indeed, the former senator and RNC chair added of Thune and his team, "They're really going to have to get going in the next couple of months or they're going to be left behind. By January, the flags go down and the race starts. They have to get beyond the pondering and make a move."
That's Jeb Bush on whether Sarah Palin is willing to apply a "depth of understanding of the complexity of life" to her resume.
Q: Is Sarah Palin a viable Presidential candidate, do you think, and what role does she have in the future of the GOP?
A: Sarah Palin has a role to play in the future of the party, irrespective of whether she's a candidate. She's a natural. She is charismatic. She appeals to a large group of people.... that are deeply concerned about the future of the country.
My personal belief is that for Governor Palin to be a successful candidate for higher office, she needs to take this charisma she has, and also add to it some depth of understanding of the complexity of life that we're living in today.
If she had the combination of that, she would be an incredible candidate -- both a recognition that the world's moving at warp speed [and that] we're living in this globalized economy where winners and losers happen faster.
With her innate ability to communicate and connect with folks, that would be a formidable -- just a formula for incredible success.
That's up to her, I mean, I don't know what her deal is. My belief is [that] in 2010, 2012, public leaders need to have intellectual curiosity.
a. A very good profile of Mitch Daniels.
b. Kos thinks Crist should become a (D).
c. Barbour makes good on a promise.
d. T-Paw duels with Richardson.
e. Ron Paul says his CPAC win "does get me excited".
f. Mitt Romney hates weeding.
g. A gender-based case for Palin.
h. An expert-in-etiquette talks Romney vs. LMFAO.
i. Rubio seizes the Jeb moment.
j. Aww loved these (still do), except I had the L.A. Gear pumps.
With Meg Stapleton resigning, Chris Cillizza offers a cheat sheet of peeps close to Palin.
Key names: Jason Recher, Doug McMarlin, Kim Daniels, Randy Schuenemann, Fred Malek, Rebecca Mansour, Tim Crawford.
Re: McMarlin...
[He's] expected to take on a broadened role -- particularly in dealing with the press -- following Stapleton's departure.
Peter Brown's lengthy comparison of Sarah Palin to Jesse Jackson is going around, but here's a more favorable figure for Palin fans to take comfort in (electorally-speaking).
Last summer, I jotted down a couple passages from McCullough's Truman that reminded me of the Palin phenomenon.
The first takes place during Truman's reelection campaign, when he was, apparently, on his way to a big loss (pg 682).
But what to make of the phenomenon of the Truman crowds?
Most correspondents attributed it to ordinary curiosity. Truman had made his campaign a vaudeville act, said Time, so naturally people would come out to see the show
.... some correspondents, Jonathan Daniels noted, had convinced themselves that Truman's crowds were not Truman followers at all, but people wishing to see a very nice man on his way to oblivion.
"I kept reading about that Dewey fellow," said another man, "and the more I read the more he reminded me of one of those slick ads trying to get money out of my pocket.
Now Harry Truman, running around and yipping and falling all over his feet -- I had the feeling he could understand the fixes I get into."
Hugh Hewitt hosted Tim Pawlenty on his radio show yesterday for a cordial exchange, where T-Paw played swami.
"I can tell you with pretty good assurance that Republican governors will, once again, be the majority of the governorships in this country, and then some."
"By the way, Massachusetts went for Reagan twice. Minnesota never did. Indeed, it's one of the most, if not the most, the liberal state in the country, so I love my state, but politically it's a little unusual, and I'm making a difference from a conservative standpoint.
But to answer your question..."
That's Mike Huckabee, mourning some conservatives' (over) reaction regarding his decision to have Michelle Obama on his program last weekend.
The Witchita Eagle reports on his comments while he campaigned for a congressional candidate in Kansas.
Huckabee also brought up more than once the incivility of politics today. He warned that this is damaging to politics and getting things done.
He did not spare conservatives, saying that anonymous bloggers said mean and uncivil things about him recently when he brought President Obama's wife, Michelle, onto his Fox cable show to support and elaborate on her efforts to fight child obesity.
"Some bloggers, it seemed, wanted me to bring her on my show only if I yelled at her. Or it seemed they wanted me to hit her."
He said he disagrees with nearly every policy position of her husband, but that attacking people doesn't accomplish anything. The viciousness of attacks from all sides, he said, are "disgusting ... the anger and the meanness."
.... she was a guest on this show a couple of weeks ago, but her appearance sparked a very strong and mostly critical reaction. Much of the heat was directed at me for what the viewers perceived as abandonment of my Christian principles.
.... To those who felt that her brief appearance on my show signaled my abandoning Jesus, I strongly beg to differ. Some of the e-mails forcefully stated that Jesus wouldn't have anything to do with Obama Girl — I guess because of her song or her attire. I must have read a different version of the New Testament, because Jesus was all about focusing on the very people that the religious people rejected, whether ne'er-do-well tax collectors like Zaccheus, a woman at the well caught in the very act of adultery, Mary Magdalene (who had a salacious reputation) or even social outcasts like lepers.
According to its national poll released last week, Public Policy Polling finds 29% of the electorate undecided on whether they'll support Republicans this Nov or Democrats.
That 29% swung for Barack Obama in 2008 by +26%, so it's a pretty important demo for a 2012 race.
The polling group finds Mitt Romney's favs at +15% among these voters (39%/24%), Mike Huckabee's at +10% (32%/22%) and Sarah Palin's at -30% (27%/57%).
A new poll conducted by M4 Strategies for the CA Small Business Action Committee has Meg Whitman leading Steve Poizner, 60%-12% among 427 "high-propensity" voters.
So far, low name ID seems to be hurting Poizner pretty badly.
In separate questions testing the candidates’ favorable and unfavorable ratings, Whitman scored a favorable to unfavorable advantage of 53% to 9%. Poizner’s scored 20% favorable, 9% unfavorable.
Poizner’s absence from the airwaves seems to be taking a toll on his campaign.
Nearly 50% of the poll’s respondents said they have not heard of the Insurance Commissioner. Only 22% had not heard of Whitman.
The Tulsa World reports that Sarah Palin will visit the Oklahoma city on March 13 for a tour featuring Glenn Beck that focuses on family values, the national deficit etc.,
And it looks like what happens in Oklahoma won't stay in Oklahoma.
National television networks have expressed interest in airing Palin's speech, which will begin about 1:30 p.m., [Organizer Tony] Holden said.
The concert begins at noon, and Beck's speech will be about 30 minutes into the program.
Palin may spend some of her time answering questions from the audience, he said. She is receiving a speaking fee, but it is "nothing major," he said.
Just a reminder that Mike Huckabee is stumping for Iowa gubernatorial candidate, Bob Vander Plaats, today.
But don't expect too much news from it.
The only media Q&A time the campaign has set aside with Huckabee is about five minutes at the Cedar Rapids airport, according to a campaign advisory.
Politico reports that Sarah Palin spokeswoman and senior adviser, Meg Stapleton, has resigned.
Palin and her now ex-aide have been talking about her stepping down for some time, and it became official on Wednesday — Stapleton’s birthday.
Stapleton has been employed by Palin’s PAC since helping to launch it in January 2009. In an e-mail to the staff last week, she wrote: “Earlier this week, I handed Governor Palin my resignation, effective the end of this month.”
“While I had hoped to work together on so many more projects, time with my precious 2-year-old has been further minimized with the whirlwind commitments of all things Palin,” she told the SarahPAC staff.
will bristol get meg stapleton's job. the pr firm is up and running.
There are no immediate plans to hire a replacement for Stapleton, a source close to the Palin family told CNN. The source noted that the family, which takes pride in their Alaskan identity, are comfortable speaking in their own voice.
An independent expenditure committee, Level the Playing Field 2010, was recently organized to attack Meg Whitman.
After the Whitman campaign complained that the name, among other things, had mischaracterized itself, the committee agreed to come up with a new one.
Thus was born:
"Level the Playing Field 2010 Against Billionaire Meg Whitman for Governor, a Coalition of Nurses, Faculty and Painters Organizations."
Some interesting head-to-heads.
InsiderTV:
Following Monday's announcement that Jay Leno would return to 'The Tonight Show' next week with such divisive guests as Sarah Palin and the cast of MTV's 'Jersey Shore,' the 'Late Show with David Letterman' yesterday revealed a similarly heady guest lineup.
CBS' 'Late Show' will counter former vice presidential candidate-turned-Fox News correspondent Sarah Palin with another ghost of presidential election past (and 2012 hopeful): former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.
Some big news to announce (which will not affect gop12).
Next week, another guy and I are launching a new site. It will be called _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.
As a marketing gimmick, we'll be revealing a new letter each day until the whole thing is spelled. By that time, the site will be up. This is the way media empires begin -- not with a bang but a game of pseudo-hangman.
As for the site, it will be a simple, single-page news aggregate. You're probably thinking: Why does the world need another simple, single-page news aggregate?
Well, honestly... it doesn't. But even though the world didn't need a third Jonas Brother, we still got one, and even though we're doing fine with three, that doesn't mean we wouldn't smile if a fourth came along.
So consider this the fourth Jonas brother (sounds like a Denzel Washington movie).
There are three cool things about the site. First and foremost, we're going to do our best to find interesting stuff that's being overlooked. In other words, there will be no original reporting, but there will be original surfing.
Second, we've made a minor functional tweak to the single-page format that's pretty cool and should add a welcome new twist.
Third, in case you hadn't noticed, gop12 is fairly niche. The new site will be more comprehensive (in a single-page kind of way).
Again, nothing about Gop12 will change. I'm still going to be spending all my time here. I'll just be throwing a story to _ _ _ _ _ _ _ M _ _ here-and-there, doing a little of this-or-that from time-to-time, every now-and-then. Hope that's clear.
As always, thanks for reading.
A new Magellan Strategies survey (pdf) has Sarah Palin leading her prospective 2012 rivals in Kentucky.
1. Sarah Palin 28%
2. Mike Huckabee 24%
3. Mitt Romney 16%
4. Newt Gingrich 12%
5. Ron Paul 4%
6. Tim Pawlenty 2%
Breaking it down further:
Younger voters (18‐34) prefer Palin by a significant margin with 43%
support, and among senior citizens the ticket tightens up with Romney, Palin and
Huckabee in a dead heat.
This morning, Charlie Crist responded to Jeb Bush's claim that Crist's support for the stimulus was "unforgivable".
Crist, via My Fox in Tampa Bay:
"Everyone has a right to their opinion. I understand that different people view it [the stimulus] in a different way."
Via the Minnesota Independent, Michelle Bachmann and Michael Savage on yesterday's Savage Nation.
Comes about 1 minute in.
SAVAGE: I know this is a tough question. I came out earlier -- I don't know if you heard it; maybe it's zany -- to me, I said I would endorse a Bachmann/Romney ticket. I know I picked it out of the air, 'cause I've said only women could save America a long time ago.
You're a true constitutionalist. You are the real deal. Would you be interested in a higher office?
BACHMANN: You know, right now Nancy Pelosi has made me her number-one target to get rid of in the United States Congress.
SAVAGE: Oh, what an honor. What an honor that is. That's better than being banned by Gordon Brown's fascist, liberal party in Britain.
BACHMANN: Well, that's your honor. That is your honor, I guess.
She is raising money against me at a lightning clip. Every day the media hate machine is on my case daily in Minnesota in my state. She has recruited her candidate. This is extremely nasty and these people play for keeps.
One day after Florida Gov. Charlie Crist made a spirited defense of the President’s $787 billion stimulus package and his early support of it, a fellow Republican governor took sharp issue with him.
When I read Crist’s strong words of support for the Obama stimulus package to Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels yesterday (January 23rd, sic Feb 23) and asked if he agreed with the Floridian, Daniels replied: “No”
“Although let me hasten to add I didn’t criticize the idea of some fiscal stimulus as part of the attempt to jump start [the economy],” Daniels told me during a breakfast in Washington held by the Christian Science Monitor. “The way they did it turned out to be mediocre, to be gentle about it.”
In the view of onetime Office of Management and Budget chief Daniels, little of the stimulus package was spent on jump-starting the private sector and most “was spent to maintain social programs.”
Recalling his days as a Reagan White House aide and OMB director under George W. Bush -- “I served two sentences in White Houses” -- Daniels insisted that “I’m inclined to be a little charitable to whoever’s there because they always have to operate under incredible pressure.”
But he felt the results were poor and so, “I disagree with Charlie.”
"I'm sitting it out. I'm rooting for the bill to work. I'm trying to use its funds wisely."
General Motors is strongly disputing a passage in Mitt Romney's upcoming book that deals with who's running the ship (or car).
In the excerpt, Romney says that in the latter part of 2009, an unnamed CEO of an auto company told him that "the government is calling the shots on every major decision at GM, including which plants to expand" and which to close.
That, naturally, has provoked a response from both the White House and GM itself.
GM spokesman Greg Martin said the "calling the shots" assertion isn't true.
"Our experience has been that the administration has been true to their word," Martin said. "We are free to make the business decisions to restore GM to profitability. We're making progress, and we are confident we have a bright future."
White House spokesman Matt Lehrich told The Detroit News, "President Obama took difficult and politically unpopular steps to give the American auto companies a second lease on life and save tens of thousands of American jobs -- and today these companies are emerging stronger than ever.
"There's ample evidence that the government is calling the shots at GM, from the Obama administration orchestrating the selection of a new CEO to Rep. Barney Frank pressuring GM to keep open a facility slated for closure. The real issue is that government ought to get out of the auto business and distribute its shares to taxpayers."
If endorsing John McCain is career suicide, then lots of Republicans have revolvers pointed at their heads.
VA Gov. Bob McDonnell is now backing McCain.
"Over the last year, the American people have taken a firm stand for smaller government and new pro-growth policies to create the jobs we so desperately need.
These are the principles that Senator McCain fights for every day, and we need him now more than ever in the United States Senate."
On his radio show yesterday, Rush Limbaugh took some big shots at Mitt Romney for endorsing John McCain, even going so far as to suggest he'd weeded himself out of the 2012 nomination (he touches on this theme twice).
I like Mitt Romney, but I think he's risking his career over a guy, endorsing McCain, who is so out of step with what's going on right now. McCain's always conservative when he's running for reelection in Arizona. The tea parties have produced a wave of conservatism that have swept Republicans-in-name-only aside. I understand Palin endorsing McCain. She's got no choice. Loyalty.... but I don't understand Romney endorsing McCain. I just don't think it's going to fly. These endorsements are unnecessary. What is there to gain by this? Look, it's unfortunate, but people are weeding themselves out of the process all the while engaging in this kind of behavior.
"Hey, it's 2010. It's good that it happened, right? Okay, here's somebody else weeding themselves out."
Another Perry vs. Hutchison poll; another possibly insurmountable lead for Rick Perry.
Rasmussen's new survey has Perry at 48%, Kay Bailey Hutchison 27%, and Debra Medina with 16%.
Here's a rough number for Hutchison -- Perry breaks even with her among moderates. Here's another rough number for Hutchison -- not only is Perry carrying the male vote by better than 2-1, he's also leading Hutchison among females.
a. Trade mag Talkers names the Top 10 talk show hosts.
b. Rick Perry still leads in the three-some and the likely two-some.
c. Did Rush say this after Palin pledged her support?
d. Jim DeMint is getting cheeky.
e. Sarah Palin's endorsement of McCain probably means more than Mitt's.
f. Dems and the RGA start airing ads in FL's governor's race.
g. Perry and Hutchison still ahead of White.
h. Tom Campbell's sketchy record on Israel.
i. Funny headline alert.
j. Been watching Mike Starr on Celebrity Rehab this season. Pretty sad.
John Fund, whilst dining recently with Scott Brown.
.... as we passed a side room, someone noticed that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife Maria Shriver were having dinner with Kennedy family members.
Mr. Brown turned aside a suggestion that he go in and say "Hi."
"This is their event, and let's pass," he said.
The encounter would certainly have been friendly, but Mr. Brown showed admirable tact in not wanting to remind members of the Kennedy family that he's the new kid in town occupying a Senate seat that was something akin to a family possession for over 50 years.
Meg Whitman unveiled her second TV spot today, while Steve Poizner announced he'd respond by launching an ad blitz of his own soon.
Of the $19 million he's loaned his campaign:
"We're going to spend it all."
Always good fun, diminished only by the fact it's so often and easily done.
S.E. Cupp, 5:32 in and soon after Scott Brown won.
"You had this backlash after 2008 saying, 'We have to look again at the kind of conservatives we're putting up there'.
Well, Scott Brown is living proof that you can be a hard-line conservative and still get elected in Massachusetts."
From Politico's Jessica Taylor:
Virginia Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell told WTOP’s Mark Plotkin Tuesday he has “no plans to do anything but be governor of Virginia,” but when pressed didn’t completely rule out accepting a vice presidential nomination in 2012.
“I’ve got my hands so full right now I can’t see beyond putting my heart and soul into serving the people of Virginia. I don’t have any plans for higher office at this point,” McDonnell said.
In an interview with the Sun-Herald, Haley Barbour says a decision on a White House run will come shortly after the November elections.
Also, of note: he expects "more than 30" gubernatorial races will be competitive this year.
Mitch Daniels explains why he didn't attend CPAC this year.
"[There was] a lot of rowdyism and barbs cast at the other side. I think that's appropriate at a certain time. But that's not my lane right now."
On Fox & Friends this morning, Ron Paul responded to video highlighting the chorus of boos that met his CPAC 2012 straw poll victory:
"Well, that's the first time I heard it, because I wasn't there.
.... But I would say we had the largest percentage vote of anybody at CPAC, historically-speaking, so it was a significant number of people who voted for me, but also, when you only get 32% out of 100, that means there's opposition. But it sounded to me like maybe they were sore losers or something.... the truth is, the votes were there, so they have to accept it."
The Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal:
Chairman Luke Esser of the Washington State Republican Party announced that Governor Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) will deliver the keynote address at the 28th Annual WSRP Gala Dinner and Auction to be held Sat., April 24 at the Bellevue Hilton.
This is at least Mitch Daniels' third public response to 2012 chatter in the past few days (here and here for the others).
At a Christian Science Monitor breakfast...
"I don't plan to do it; I don't expect to do it; I don't want to do it."
[Daniels says] he wants to encourage and be part of "a grown-up conversation" about the nation's fiscal future, and he notes a presidential campaign is one way to do that. "I'm just very concerned about the direction of the country," he says. "I would like to have some input into a Republican alternative."
Last Tuesday, John McCain said he'd like Mitt Romney's support in his battle against J.D. Hayworth:
“I’d really appreciate it if Mitt Romney came. We’d really like to have him. We haven’t made any specific arrangement yet, but I’d like to see that. He is a man I respect.”
"Senator McCain's record of service and sacrifice for America is honored by all.
But I believe that it is his core values of courage, faith and honor – forged in battle and confirmed by a lifetime of service to America – that make Senator McCain's leadership in the United States Senate so necessary in these perilous times."