Texas Governor Rick Perry announced today that he’s dropping out of the GOP race for President , admitting there’s no “viable path” to the nomination. He then endorsed Newt Gingrich ( who happens to be right on the food stamp thing ). I happen to agree with Perry’s choice and his campaign assessment. He peaked last Fall when it was his turn and has been hanging around ever since. Unfortunately for him, the build-up was too huge and his debate performances were too small, more memorable for his gaffes than his policy positions . That leaves only Newt, Ron Paul, Romney, and Santorum left for the chance to oust Obama in the Fall.
Rick Perry Heading Back to Texas
As in: Mitt Romney or Ron Paul only! As of this moment a district judge has ruled that Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Rick Perry and Jon Huntsman failed to complete the paperwork in time and therefore cannot appear on the ballot when votes are taken on March 6. Obviously, the remaining candidates are not pleased and will appeal! Fascinating that the district judge was an Obama appointee and still managed to interpret Virginia law strictly. Hmm… Too terrible Virginia is not New Jersey and the GOP weren’t Democrats in this case. Rewriting election law as they go along is not a foreign concept to the Garden State: Back in 2002, incumbent NJ Senator Bob “The Torch” Torricelli was caught in an ethics scandal and was losing mightily to his Republican opponent. The Dems, under the leadership of Governor McGreevey , chose to rewrite election law in the middle of the cycle while counting votes on the NJ Supreme Court before replacing Torricelli with Frank Lautenberg weeks before the election — in clear violation of existing law and precedent. The people needed a “choice”. They had one and the Dems screwed up by nominating a crook — law be damned! From what I know, the current group of GOP candidates simply didn’t file properly in time. If the appeals court upholds the district judge’s interpretation, then so be it — why should the people who did things correctly be negatively impacted by those who want a second chance after the fact? Unfortunately, it doesn’t help my endorsed candidate in VA.
Read the original post:
Virginia’s GOP Ballot is Kind of Small
The first part isn’t as terrible it sounds, but it was still a excellent night for Mitt Romney. It always is when you win a caucus or a primary, especially if it is the first one. That said, the vote was remarkably close , with Romney edging out my candidate, Rick Santorum, by just 8 votes out of over 121,000 cast. The winners last night are obvious. Romney was a winner because, well, he won. Santorum was also a winner because he finished in the strongest second possible after wallowing in the low-single digits for months on end. Unlike placing second in an opinion poll or even a string of polls, finishing a close second to the frontrunner in a contest where votes are really cast ensures a fantastic deal of free media coverage and a bump in fundraising. That momentum doesn’t guarantee future success, but it does provide an opportunity for the candidate to tell his tale. When that candidate hasn’t raised money in the past, trailed in the polls, and occupied the edge of the debate stages, the importance of that opportunity cannot be overstated. Ron Paul was also a winner by placing a very strong third. This is more debatable, but I reckon Newt Gingrich was a quasi-winner by placing fourth. Prior to Iowa, the Speaker’s standing was dropping and there was a question as to whether he could end fourth, and if so, how strong a fourth. By finishing in double digits with a somewhat comfortable margin over Rick Perry (who had a better organization in Iowa), the Speaker may have done himself a favor. He is still in a precarious position, but Iowa wasn’t fatal to his chances. The losers were Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann. Perry’s loss is curable. It was clear that he was going to end in the so-called lower tier, but he had the money, organization, and standing to beat Gingrich but he didn’t. That said, Newt’s upcoming antics will probably transfer some of the benefits of his fourth place end to Perry. Like I said, those benefits aren’t much to hang your hat on, but it is a lifeline in this primary. Bachmann has already suspended (that’s the twenty first century political term for “ending”) her campaign . Now that I’ve given you my generic “second is better than third, but not as excellent as first” post, here are some other observations. Despite winning the caucus, Romney can’t be thrilled with his end. The 25 percent vote total confirms what every poll outside of New Hampshire (where Mitt owns a pretty sweet house) has shown for a long time: the frontrunner has distress breaking 30 percent despite his overwhelming fundraising, name recognition, and organizational advantages. That’s fine when there are 512 candidates in the race, but as the field narrows and the number of anti-Romney’s shrink in a contest where the overwhelming majority of voters play a game of musical anti-Romneys, 25 percent won’t be excellent enough. Unless Romney can cause anti-Romney voters to change their minds like he does on a regular basis, he will be in distress, eventually. Part of the reason why Romney may be in distress is that Newt Gingrich is really pissed off . Romney, technically a non-affiliated PAC, targeted Gingrich in Iowa early and often and hurt his standing in the polls. Now, Newt seems to be hellbent on revenge. In his speech last night, he lavished Rick Santorum with praise and seemed ready to embark on a scorched earth campaign against Romney. That’s terrible news for Romney because he needs to avoid scrutiny of his record. It’s also terrible news for Gingrich because direct negative attacks can also hurt the source, but I don’t reckon Gingrich cares. I reckon his number one goal is to make sure Romney doesn’t win. That’s fantastic news for Santorum, Perry, and the country. I can’t wait for the two New Hampshire debates this week.
Read this article: Mitt Romney Wins Iowa Caucuses; Santorum Now Relevant
There are allegations of homosexual conduct against President Obama and no buy Pariet online major media outlet is or has ever mentioned it. Why? If this was Gov. Perry, or Mitt Romney, every media outlet in the world would be on this tale. Is Obama that really untouchable? Well we are going to try to touch Obama.
Listen to this interview with Larry Sinclair, the man who provided oral sex on Mr. Obama when he was running for president.
MP3 Audio Interview
Quin Hillyer sings the praises of Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and thinks he should consider a bid for the 2012 GOP nomination in light of his convincing re-election over the weekend.
But, there's one thing that stands between Jindal and a White House bid - his endorsement of Rick Perry. Hillyer writes:
Jindal already has endorsed Rick Perry buy Stress Gum online for president. Party leaders still looking to recruit another candidate might want to consider convincing him to renege on that endorsement. This nomination battle is still volatile enough for one more candidate to blow into the race with hurricane force tailwinds.Methinks that Jindal bailing on Perry would be spitting in the wind with a excellent chance of a gust blowing back in his face. I realize that alliances in politics aren't set in stone but Jindal didn't just endorse Perry, he's acted as a surrogate on his behalf. As recently as nine days ago, Jindal was on Meet the Press lauding Perry's "proven track record" and his credentials as "a consistent conservative." If Jindal were to run now he would make himself vulnerable to criticism of not being loyal and not meaning what he says. Under those circumstances, if I were running for office I would be disinclined to seek an endorsement from Jindal if his support is going to be a mile wide and an inch deep. Now if Perry were to abruptly exit the race then it would be a different matter. But despite a rough campaign, Perry has been doing a solid job of fundraising. Perry is in it for the long haul and Jindal has to stick by him for better or for worse. Bobby Jindal is a bright guy whose best days are probably still ahead of him. I want to reckon he's too smart to jump into the race on a whim.
