Thursday, June 30, 2011

Full Video of Palin's Remarks Following the Premiere of "The Undefeated"

Some of you may be familiar with the blogger, "Teledude" from Race42012.com. Apparently, he had a front row seat for the premiere of "The Undefeated." The following is the video he took of Governor Palin's remarks following the movie. This is the best, most complete video of the speech available.

Here's is a little of what Teledude had to say about his experience.
(...)

We got our tickets for the movie and as we went in we found we had assigned seats. Ours were in the very front row, which were excellent seats. Governor Palin was seated just four rows behind us. What happened next has been much talked about, and it was totally unexpected, but after the movie ended Governor Palin got up and gave some extemporaneous remarks .

Siting in the front row, we had the perfect vantage point. We were so close we could have almost reached out and touched her. She was literally only a couple feet in front of us as she delivered this heart felt and moving, off the cuff speech. You will notice there was no teleprompter nor even any notes.

She spoke with the conviction of someone who believes what they are saying. Sitting that close for this stirring speech was truly inspirational. She is the real deal.

(...)


You can read Teledude's full report on his site, Iowans4Palin@blogspot.com

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CBN's David Brody on Palin's Visit to Pella, Iowa

CBN News Chief Political Correspondent, David Brody reported on Sarah Palin's visit to Pella, Iowa. The following is a great video, which includes interviews with Iowa residents and clips of Palin interacting with the crowd in front of the Pella Opera Center. A conversation she had with a young boy in a wheelchair was especially heartwarming.



Read the article HERE

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Majority of Republicans Voting for "No One" in latest CBS News/NYT Poll

The latest CBS News/NYT Poll shows Republicans lack enthusiasm for the GOP Presidential field.

CBS News/New York Times 2012 Campaign

Any Candidate You Feel Enthusiastic About?

Among Republicans

No one 67% (56%)
Other  10%
Mitt Romney  7%(9%)
Michele Bachmann 7%
Don't Know  7%
Herman Cain  2%

* Note that Romney lost two points since the last poll was taken in April and No One increased by 11%.

This poll was conducted among a random sample of 979 adults nationwide, interviewed by telephone June 24-28, 2011. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups is higher. This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.


This graphic's lack of color emphasizes the GOP's malaise for the current crop of GOP candidates:

Obama Isn't Working: Allentown, PA (Mitt Romney ad)

Over 100,000 Pennsylvania jobs lost since President Obama took office. 39,800 manufacturing jobs lost since 2009. 470,774 people looking for work. Obama isn't working:



Romney will be in Allentown today:
President Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) are set to do battle Thursday when both visit the southeast Pennsylvania area.

Romney will hold a press conference Thursday afternoon at a factory in Allentown, Pa., that was supposed to be a beneficiary of the president’s stimulus, while Obama, an hour later, visits two Democratic National Committee fundraisers.

The events will be the most direct showdown between Obama and his leading Republican challenger, possibly offering a preview of next fall’s election, should Romney win the 2012 GOP nomination.
The full story is HERE.

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The stimulus: A microeconomic analysis

While I understand the title of this post probably scared away 90 % of all readers, let me assure the remaining 10 % that this post won't be nearly as complicated as it sounds.

First, for those of you who haven't studied economics, let me just introduce you to the terms macro and micro: Macroeconomics is all economics that concerns inflation, unemployment, growth etc. The "big" view so to speak. Microeconomics on the other hand, is about trade, competition (how a monopolist sets prices compared to a company with a lot of competitors), and most of all about incentives: Motivations for doing stuff, that is.

The above is a bit of a general, non-academic way of defining the areas, but basically that's what the different terms are all about.

The stimulus is often analysed and discussed from a macroeconomic perspective: How much growth has it created or not created, how much unemployment was caused or prevented, when will the government get the money back if at all etc.

This perspective is very important, of course. But if you're a conservative (and I know the very majority of our visitors, and all of our writers, are conservative) then you already agree that the stimulus was a failure.

The question is; why did it fail? Conservative pundits and activists may dumb it down to "Because Obama is a socialist".

Maybe he is, maybe he is not - let's not have that debate here, please - but the problem is deeper than that.

Romney Is Wrong To Take The Balanced Budget Amendment Pledge

I had a post almost ready yesterday on the debt ceiling, when I got the news that Mitt Romney supports the Cut, Cap, and Balance Amendment Pledge. I would love to know what when on with Romney's meeting with Senator Lee yesterday in Washington. Romney's decision, to the outside world, just doesn't make sense. My only guess is that Romney thinks that DeMint's endorsement is just too important and that he is willing to go on record for not supporting the raising of the debt ceiling.

Let's look at this in detail.

The Pledge demands that unless there are substantial cuts to the deficit and a Balanced Budget Amendment is passed, then conservatives should refuse to raise the debt ceiling. Sounds great, right?

First, let's look at what happens if the debt ceiling is not raised. Luckily, the Bipartisan Policy Center (as reported by The Hill) just released a giant report that tells us.

1. "The Department of Treasury would need to implement an immediate 44% cut in federal spending."

2. "The daily inflows of revenue and outflows of obligations are 'lumpy' and it would be difficult for Treasury to prioritize 80 million different payments. For the month of August, the deficit from Aug. 3 to Aug. 31 would be $134 billion."

3. "In one scenario, if the administration tries to protect Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, defense contracts and unemployment insurance, then no military pay, tax refunds, federal civilian pay or welfare payments could be made that month."

4. "Protecting the social safety net, including Pell Grants and welfare, along with the big entitlement programs, still means that no federal workers would be paid in August and no tax refunds would be issued.

In both scenarios, the entire budgets of the Justice, Labor, Energy, Interior, Health and Human Services and Commerce departments are zeroed out, as are the budgets of NASA, Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Transit Administration and Federal Highway Administration."

McClatchy-Marist Poll: Romney and Perry most popular with Tea Party

I found some interesting results buried in the latest McClatchy-Marist Poll. It shows that Mitt Romney and Rick Perry are the most popular 2012ers with the Tea Party:

Tea Party Support in General election-Registered voters: (Candidate/Obama/Undecided)

Mitt Romney 81/12/7 (+69)
Rick Perry 82/14/4 (+68)
Michele Bachman 80/13/7 (+67)
Rudy Giuliani 79/19/2 (+60)
Tim Pawlenty 66/19/15 (+47)
Sarah Palin 67/23/10 (+44)

Percentage Tea Party support for GOP Nomination:

Rick Perry 20%
Mitt Romney 17%
Sarah Palin 16%
Michele Bachmann 12%
Rudy Giuliani 6%
Tim Pawlenty 4%

Cross tabs can be viewed here (See Pages 11-19).

To see the rest of the Poll in which Romney won, go here.


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Tim Pawlenty: Gimme Da Money

Fundraising is vital to a successful presidential bid, and the Republican 2012 hopefuls are already raking in cash to put toward their campaigns. But money equates to power in more than one way this early in the race: it means strength, and hopefully, support down the line.
....The money news won't be nearly as good for former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty. The Pawlenty team is already downplaying expectations. But if Pawlenty trails the likes of Romney and Bachmann badly in the cash dash, he will be faced with questions about whether his campaign is already in trouble.
The full story is HERE.

Pawlenty's staff is already working for little of no money and rumors are flying that he is having a hard time keeping up with the bills especially in Iowa where he will need deep pockets to keep up with the other candidates. Them Iowan's like to be wined and dined!

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Mitt Romney to sign Jim DeMint's Pledge

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) will become the latest signatory to a pledge being promoted by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) as a litmus test for presidential candidates.
Romney indicated on Capitol Hill that he's a supporter of the new "Cut, Cap and Balance" pledge, and his campaign confirmed Wednesday that he intends to sign it.
The full story is HERE.

In a sort of related story:

Jim DeMint just explained to CNN recently why he supported the candidacy of Mitt Romney in 2008 and his Health Care Plan in Massachusetts.

My prediction is the Jim DeMint WILL SUPPORT Mitt Romney in 2012 and that Romney WILL WIN South Carolina's primary.

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PPP Polling: Johnson and Romney Obama’s only competition in NM

Favorable/Unfavorable/Not sure:

Gary Johnson 43/40/18 (+3)
Herman Cain 24/27/49 (-3)
Michele Bachman 30/42/28 (-12)
Mitt Romney 33/46/21 (-13)
Tim Pawlenty 20/35/45 (-15)
Sarah Palin 31/61/7 (-30)

Head-to-Head: (Obama/Candidate/Undecided)

Gary Johnson 46/43/11 (-3)
Mitt Romney 49/42/10 (-7)
Tim Pawlenty 51/36/13 (-15)
Michele Bachman 52/37/11 (-15)
Herman Cain 52/36/13 (-16)
Sarah Palin 56/36/8 (-20)

If you are a Democrat, press 1. If a Republican, press 2. If you are an independent or identify with another party, press 3.

Democrat 51%
Republican 32%
Independent/Other 17%
PPP surveyed 732 New Mexico voters from June 23th to 26th. The margin of error for the survey is +/-3.6%.
To view the crosstabs click HERE.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

The Palins at the Mall Of America Book Signing.

I stopped by the Mall Of America tonight to check out Bristol and Sarah Palin's book signing. It was wrapping up just as I got there, but I was able to get a few decent photos as they were leaving.



I also took this short video of Palin mixing it up with the crowd. Apparently, I was holding my iPhone the wrong way, but it still turned out OK.




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Fox News Poll: Mitt Romney on top of GOP, Perry 2nd

I’m going to read a list of potential candidates for the 2012 Republican nomination. Please tell me which one you would like to see as the Republican presidential nominee. (RANDOMIZE LIST) And from the same list, who would be your second choice?

Mitt Romney 18%
Rick Perry 13%
Michele Bachmann 11%
Rudy Giuliani 10%
Sarah Palin 8%
Ron Paul 7%
Herman Cain 5%
Tim Pawlenty 3%
Newt Gingrich 3%
Jon Huntsman 3%
Rick Santorum 2%
Gary Johnson 1%
Fred Karger 0%
Thaddeus McCotter 0%
Roy Moore 0%
Buddy Roemer 0%

Without Giuliani:

Mitt Romney 22%
Rick Perry 14%
Michele Bachmann 13%
Sarah Palin 9%
Ron Paul 7%
Herman Cain 5%
Newt Gingrich 4%
Tim Pawlenty 3%
Jon Huntsman 3%
Rick Santorum 3%
Gary Johnson 1%
Roy Moore 1%
Fred Karger 0%
Thaddeus McCotter 0%
Buddy Roemer 0%

Mike Huckabee interviews Newt Gingrich

Mike Huckabee interviews GOP Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich on the Huckabee show:



Interesting question that Huckabee asks Gingrich:

Did your consultants leave to go work for Rick Perry who is rumored to be considering a bid for the White House?

U.S. Court of Appeals: Obamacare Mandate is Constitutional

A federal appeals court in Cincinnati has ruled in favor of the Obama administration and Congress, ruling a key provision in the sweeping health care reform bill passed last year was constitutional.

The "individual mandate" requiring nearly all Americans purchase health insurance by 2014 or face financial penalties -- was challenged in federal courts by a large number of individuals and groups, saying people should not be forced to purchase a product like health insurance. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit panel disagreed.

"We find that the minimum coverage provision is a valid exercise of legislative power by Congress under the Commerce Clause," said the three-judge panel on Wednesday, in a 64-page opinion.
You can view the 64 page opinion HERE.
Read the rest of the story HERE.

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PPP Polling: Romney beats Obama in Texas OUTSIDE the M.O.E. RICK WHO?

“Rick Perry may prove to be a strong candidate for President in other places,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “But the home state voters who know him best aren’t showing a lot of support for a White House bid.”
Head-to-Head: (Obama/Candidate/Undecided)

Mitt Romney 42/50/9 (+8)
Ron Paul 40/45/15 (+5)
Michele Bachmann 44/47/9 (+3)
Tim Pawlenty 43/44/13 (+1)
Herman Cain 43/43/14 (-)
Sarah Palin 46/44/10 (-2)
Rick Perry 47/45/8 (-2)

Favorable/Unfavorable/Not sure:

Michele Bachmann 39/36/25 (+3)
Mitt Romney 37/43/20 (-6)
Herman Cain 27/33/40 (-6)
Rick Perry 43/52/4 (-9)
Tim Pawlenty 22/37/41 (-15)
Ron Paul 30/46/24 (-16)
Sarah Palin 37/55/8 (-18)

Do you think Rick Perry should run for president next year, or not?

He should run   33%
He should not   59%
Not sure   8%

If you are a Democrat, press 1. If a Republican, press 2. If you are an independent or identify with another party, press 3.


Republican   44%
Democrat   35%
Independent/Other   21%
PPP surveyed 795 Texas voters from June 25th to 27th. The margin of error for the survey is +/-3.5%.
To view the crosstabs click HERE.

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NYT: Only 23% of Republican Voters Are Satisfied With Current Field

This poll should serve as a reality check for the announced candidates. It appears as though it's not too late for someone else to jump in to the race.
Republican voters are not satisfied with the candidates running for the Republican nomination and wish they had more choices, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll. None of the candidates currently hoping to challenge President Obama in 2012 has earned enthusiastic support from more than 7 percent of Republican voters.

(...)

Nine candidates have officially declared they are running for the Republican nomination. About 70 percent of Republican voters said they wished there were more candidates; only 23 percent said they were satisfied with the current field.

When asked to name a Republican presidential candidate they were enthusiastic about right now, two-thirds of Republican voters said they were not excited by any of them. The former Massachusetts governor, Mitt Romney, and Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota did best, each named by 7 percent of Republican voters.

(...)
Read the entire article HERE

Suffolk University/7 News Poll: Romney with 25 point lead over 2nd place Bachmann in NH

GOP Nomination: (results from May)

Mitt Romney 36% (35)
Michele Bachmann 11% (3)
Ron Paul 8% (8)
Rudy Giuliani 5% (8)
Jon Huntsman 4% (-)
Sarah Palin 4% (7)
Herman Cain 2% (2)
Newt Gingrich 2% (3)
Rick Perry 2% (-)
Tim Pawlenty 2% (5)
George Pataki 1% (-)
Rick Santorum 1% (2)
Undecided 21%
Gary Johnson, Fred Karger, Roy Moore, Buddy Roemer received 0%

Favorable/Unfavorable/Never heard of-Undecided:


Mitt Romney 64/19/17 (+45)
Michele Bachmann 44/22/31 (+22)
Tim Pawlenty 34/15/51 (+19)
Herman Cain 24/15/61 (+9)
Rick Santorum 27/20/54 (+7)
Jon Huntsman 19/18/64 (+1)
Ron Paul 36/36/28 (-)
Sarah Palin 37/50/14 (-13)
Newt Gingrich 24/56/21 (-32)

The crosstabs can be viewed here.


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McClatchy-Marist Poll: Mitt Romney on top of GOP


.......Two candidates scored 2 percent each: former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, who announced his candidacy last week and is trying to position himself as a moderate-conservative alternative to Romney. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum got 1 percent, while former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson and political activist Fred Karger each had less than 1 percent. 15 percent were undecided.....
The survey included 801 registered voters, with 308 Republicans or GOP-leaning independents. The error margin was plus or minus 3.5 percentage points for registered voters and plus or minus 5.5 percentage points for questions asked only of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents.
Read the full story HERE.

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PPP Polling: Mitt Romney Beats Obama in Montana outside the M.O.E.

Montana once again appears likely to grace the GOP with its three electoral votes, but only by a modest margin. All Republican contenders have the edge over Obama. Mitt Romney performs strongest, leading Obama 49-41 (50-39 when we last polled there in November). Michele Bachmann has the edge, 48-42; Herman Cain,
46-41; Sarah Palin 48-44 (47-45); and Tim Pawlenty, 45-41. All lead by a larger marginthan McCain’s three-point victory in 2008. These larger leads can be explained in part bya more Republican electorate. Among registered voters polled in Montana, voterssupported McCain in 2008, 50-41. Obama can improve his chances in Montana if he isable to bring out his 2008 voters once again.
Head-to-Head: (Obama/Candidate/Undecided)

Mitt Romney 41/49/10 (+8)
Michele Bachman 42/48/10 (+6)
Herman Cain 41/46/13 (+5)
Tim Pawlenty 41/45/14 (+4)
Sarah Palin 44/48/9 (+4)

Favorable/Unfavorable/Not sure:

Herman Cain 25/27/48 (-2)
Michele Bachman 34/40/26 (-6)
Sarah Palin 41/51/8 (-10)
Tim Pawlenty 22/36/42 (-14)
Mitt Romney 33/48/19 (-15)
PPP surveyed 819 Montana voters from June 16th to 19th. The margin of error for thesurvey is +/-3.4%.
To view the crosstabs click HERE.

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Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Mitt Romney, Who are You?



H/T RedState contributor Labor Union Report who posted about this new video and RedState for tweeting:

RedState
Who Are You, Mitt? http://bit.ly/jhSuTr #TCOT #RS

PPP Polling: Romney and Bachmann top GOP in Oregon

Favorable/Unfavorable/Not sure:

Sarah Palin 67/26/7 (+41)
Michele Bachmann 54/19/27 (+35)
Herman Cain 41/15/43 (+26)
Mitt Romney 54/30/16 (+24)
Tim Pawlenty 40/23/36 (+17)

Given the choices of Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman, Sarah Palin, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty, and Mitt Romney, who would you most like to see as the Republican candidate for President next year?

Mitt Romney 28%
Michele Bachmann 18%
Sarah Palin 16%
Ron Paul 9%
Herman Cain 8%
Newt Gingrich 6%
Tim Pawlenty 6%
Jon Huntsman 0%
Someone else/Undecided 9%

Without Palin:

Michele Bachmann 29%
Mitt Romney 28%
Ron Paul 10%
Newt Gingrich 9%
Herman Cain 7%
Tim Pawlenty 6%
Jon Huntsman 2%
Someone else/Undecided 8%
PPP surveyed 262 usual Oregon Republican primary voters from June 19th to 21st. The margin of error for the survey is +/-6.1%.
To view the crosstabs click here.

PPP Polling: Palin and Bachmann top the GOP in Montana

Favorable/Unfavorable/Not sure:

Sarah Palin 72/21/8 (+51)
Herman Cain 44/15/41 (+29)
Michele Bachman 50/25/25 (+25)
Tim Pawlenty 38/20/42 (+18)
Mitt Romney 47/36/16 (+11)

Given the choices of Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman, Sarah Palin, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty, and Mitt Romney, who would you most like to see as the Republican candidate for President next year?
[From November 2010]

Sarah Palin 20% [23%]
Michele Bachmann 18%
Mitt Romney 17% [12%]
Newt Gingrich 9% [16%]
Ron Paul 9% [9%]
Herman Cain 8%
Tim Pawlenty 7% [3%]
Jon Huntsman 4%
Someone else/Undecided 9%

Without Palin:

Michele Bachmann 25%
Mitt Romney 22%
Newt Gingrich 11%
Ron Paul 10%
Tim Pawlenty 9%
Herman Cain 8%
Jon Huntsman 4%
Someone else/Undecided 10%
PPP surveyed PPP surveyed 382 usual Montana Republican primary voters from June 16th to 19th. The margin of error for the survey is +/-5%.
To view the crosstabs click here.

Does Michele Bachmann and her husband earn income from the family farm or not?

I'd like to start off by saying:

1. That I'm not accusing Michele Bachmann of anything.
2. I'm not an expert on tax law and how earned and unearned income is used when determining ones income for any given year.
3. I'm just confused about her statements.

Here Bachmann is with Chis Wallace talking about her husband's family farm on Fox News Sunday:



Now this was reported in an AP article in the DesMoines Register:
BACHMANN: “The farm is my father-in-law’s farm. It’s not my husband and my farm. It’s my father-in-law’s farm. And my husband and I have never gotten a penny of money from the farm.” – On “Fox News Sunday.”
THE FACTS: In personal financial disclosure reports required annually from members of Congress, Bachmann reported that she holds an interest in a family farm in Independence, Wis., with her share worth between $100,000 and $250,000.
The farm, which was owned by her father-in-law, produced income for Bachmann of at least $32,500 and as much as $105,000 from 2006 through 2009, according to the reports.
The farm also received federal crop and disaster subsidies, according to a database maintained by the Environmental Working Group. From 1995 through 2010, the farm got $259,332 in federal payments.
Bachmann told the Associated Press Monday that her husband became a trustee of the farm because his father had dementia before he died two years ago, and “oversees the legal entity.”
“Everything we do with those forms is in an abundance of caution,” she said Monday, insisting she and her husband receive no farm income despite the forms reporting it.
If you follow these links, you can see her House of Representative financial disclosures from 2005-9 in which the Bachmann Family Farm is listed as Unearned Income with a notation that reads, "Royalties". the 2009 filing is HERE.

Now I'm confused. Is she and her husband getting income from that farm or not? She seems to be saying one thing and her finacial disclosures show something else.

BTW, Bachmann requested an extension of the May 15 filing deadline of her House of Representatives Financial disclosure. Perhaps to clear things up now that she's running for President?

Maybe one of our readers can explain these discrepencies because I sure can't.

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Does the setting of this President Obama Campaign ad look familiar? Oops!

NRO's Jim Geraghty raises the question of whether Barack Obama filmed a video for his reelection campaign in the White House, which may possibly be a violation of federal election laws.
In the video, President Obama promotes a "Dinner With Barack" raffle. To participate in the contest you need to donate at least $5 to the president's re-election campaign and your name will be raffled off to enjoy a dinner with the President, airfare and accommodations included. In a new web video, Obama announced Vice President Joe Biden will also be attending the dinner.
There is one problem, however. This campaign ad was most likely recorded in the White House, which may have violated FEC campaign finance laws.


The full story is HERE.

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An Obama recovery that no one is feeling

For the first time in a year, Americans have stopped spending more.

Consumer spending failed to budge from April to May, evidence that high gas prices and unemployment are squeezing household budgets. When adjusted for inflation, spending actually dropped 0.1 percent last month, the Commerce Department reported Monday.

April's consumer spending figures were revised to show a similar decline when adjusting for inflation. It marked the first two-month decline in inflation-adjusted spending since April 2009.
The full story is HERE.

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Michele Bachmann announcing here candidacy for President

Here is Minnesota Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann announcing her candidacy for President of the United States in Waterloo, Iowa, the city of her birth:

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Monday, June 27, 2011

Will Thaddeus McCotter run in 2012? Huckabee interviews him to find out.

Mike Huckabee interviews Michigan Republican Congressman Thaddeus McCotter on the Huckabee Show.



They both play a mean guitar:

RM-DCNR Poll: Oh No! Mitt Romney least favorite among Liberals and Progressives

I came upon this poll by accident. It was a poll on Obama and his base and I happened to open the crosstabs. The poll was conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner of roughly one-fifth of the attendees at the Netroots Nation 2011 Convention in Minneapolis.
What caught my eye was this:
"80% approval among the convention-goers! All is well! Obama has no problems with his base! Any concerns with the president are largely limited to the "Professional Left"!
These folks are obviously delusional and are very protective of Obama. So after viewing the above, I took a closer look.

Political breakdown of those polled:

Please choose the term that best describes how you think of yourself in political terms

Liberal 42%
Progressive 51%

Moderate 5%
Conservative 0%
Libertarian 0%
Prefer not to say 1%

Now the punchline!

Which of the following people would you LEAST LIKE to see as the Republican nominee for president in 2012?

Mitt Romney 39%
Sarah Palin 14%
Michelle Bachmann 12%
Chris Christie 12%
Tim Pawlenty 7%
Ron Paul 5%
Paul Ryan 4%
Rick Santorum 4%
Newt Gingrich 3%

And who do you believe the GOP will nominate for President?


Mitt Romney 72%
Tim Pawlenty 12%
Michelle Bachmann 8%
Chris Christie 3%
Sarah Palin 2%
Paul Ryan 1%
Rick Santorum 1%
Newt Gingrich 0%
Ron Paul 0%

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Michele Bachmann: Romneycare is unconstitutional ("I Think")

Well then, I guess that's it. The current flavor of the week claims that The health care system in MY STATE is unconstitutional. I'm glad she feels she's looking out for us poor misguided Massachusetts residents all the way from Minnesota.
“I firmly am against the individual mandate. I think it is unconstitutional, whether it’s put into place at the state level by a state legislature or whether it’s put into place at the federal level. I think it’s unconstitutional,” said Ms. Bachmann.
What's wrong with this is that unless she's talking about a different Constitution and not the Constitution of the United States, she really doesn't know what the hell she's talking about. Michelle, read the 10th Amendment.

Maybe you can slide by with your assessment because you qualify it by saying, "I think"? Then again, you think a lot of things. Among them, the shot heard around the world was fired in Concord, NH rather than Concord, MA. But I won't go into that today, there are TOO MANY  of your gaffes to cover in one post.

According to recent polls (1, 2) , Massachusetts residents are very happy with our health care system. The Boston Globe came out with an in depth article about Romneycare Sunday that said basically the same thing. Perhaps Ms. Bachmann, you're just not used to politicians listening to their constituents and giving theme what they want. I can understand that. There aren't to many. Other than Mitt Romney, they're few and far between.

Now let's get back to what is unconstitutional. Now I'll tell you what I think is Unconstitutional and why I supported Romneycare from the beginning. What is unconstitutional, Is the voluntarily uninsured STIFFING tax payers and those with health insurance EVERY TIME they walk into an emergency room. THAT is no longer the case in Massachusetts.

BTW, I wonder if Michele told Mitt that she thought Romneycare was unconstitutional when he was campaigning for her in Minnesota for re-election back in 2008? She didn't seem to question is Ma health care plan then. Come to think of it, She didn't question his stand on Pro-life issues either.

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Mitt Romney on the campaign trail (More VIDEOS)

Here are more videos from Mitt Romney's stop last Friday at a Hire's Big H Burgers in Utah:





If you missed Romney's entire speech from Friday, you can view it HERE.

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The problem with finance: Engineers

Few people have any real insight into the financial sector. We see the finance guys in the news, and in movies (typically as villains).

What we don't hear about very often, is the fact that a lot of finance guys... aren't even finance guys in the first place!

You see, during the last boom (and earlier as well to some extent), Wall Street was invaded by a lot of people who didn't know a thing about finance.

It's well-known that having a job within the financial sector, in particular if it's on Wall Street, means you don't have to worry about being able to afford the phone bills or electricity. A lot of young students are doing degrees in Finance, economics and business hoping to be able to land a finance job when they graduate, so that they can live that models & bottles lifestyle and have a million dollars in their bank accounts by the time they are 30. Of course, that's a glamorized view (as they are soon to discover), and most of them will probably end up as "back office monkeys" or bank tellers.

The students are dreamers. That's not a problem. The problem is: There are cheaters.

These are people who didn't go to Business school, but who instead majored subjects such as engineering, mathematics and theoretical physics. They get a job a job, for example as an engineer, but soon decide that their life is boring. Not only is it boring, they're not getting paid very well. Sure they can pay their utility bills, but they can only dream of getting bottle service in Vegas. However, they take a look in the mirror, or maybe a look in their textbooks from college more the like, and they realize: I already know all the math those finance wizards are using! I can calculate return, variance, covariance, standard deviation and everything - I should totally be in finance!

Unfortunately, there are Managing Directors (ie, bosses, the guys responsible for hiring decisions) within finance who agrees - so they hire engineers instead of real finance graduates, because the engineers are at least as good at math.

A lot of trading today are done with mathematical formulas alone. Algorithmic trading, they call it - you program a computer into selecting shares, bonds or derivatives. Even regular traders rely more on math than they do on common sense.

Crossroads GPS: Shovel Ready ad

Crossroads GPS, a well-funded conservative campaign group, will launch a $20 million advertising campaign during the next two months against President Barack Obama’s economic policies, the group announced Friday. It’s an unusually early – and expensive – salvo against the White House this early in the 2012 campaign season.

The group said it has already spent $5 million on a new television ad that will air on national cable news channels and local TV stations in battleground states including Colorado , Florida and Virginia, three states Mr. Obama won in 2008.


Read the full story HERE.

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Sunday, June 26, 2011

How trade will help the US win the war on terror

Isolation has been used against several countries as a way of affecting that country's policies in some matter - whether the goal is to promote democracy or to stop them from getting nukes (Cuba being the most prominent example of the latter). By not trading with them, it is thought that they may be forced to reform.

This is a bad idea. In particular in the war on terror.

There is a great reason why we should both import and export from dictatorships. It is the best advertising America can ever get. In short, people who buy American products are less likely to hate America. They are able to see another picture of America, not just the political one.

You see, even European leftists tend to like America. Yes, they may hate America as a political player in world politics, but "American" is still something positive to them. American movies, food, drinks, sitcoms... we all enjoy them. If a movie is from America or has American actors in it, it will instantly get more interest than if it's Swedish. Virtually every American sitcom is shown on Swedish TV (Friends, That '70s show, 90210... personally, I'll never forgive you for 90210).

The english language also has a high reputation in Sweden - you are expected to know english, and be able to speak it fluently. The more you can conceal your accent, the better. Inability to speak english is seen as primitive. American is a synonym for something that is cool and modern.

In other words, even in the midst of a leftist country, no-one really hates America. We may hate your politicians (and really, don't people in the US hate their politicians too?), but we know that your politicians don't show the full picture of your country. Therefore, we would never attack you, because when we attack you, we don't really hurt the politicians. We only hurt the American people - and we actually like the American people, even though we can't always understand why you vote the way you do. Even hardcore leftists like the leader of a communist youthgroup admitted he thought America was a great country and that he loved New York - something you would never hear an islamist say. Yes, he hated America's foreign policy, but he'd never hate America just because of that.

‘RomneyCare’ met it's principal goal of covering nearly every citizen

A detailed Globe examination of voluminous health care and financial data, and interviews with key figures in every sector of the health care system, makes it clear that while there have been some stumbles — and some elements of the effort merit a grade of “incomplete’’ — the overhaul has, after five years, worked as well as or better than expected:
CLICK photo to enlarge.
■ The percentage of residents without insurance coverage is down dramatically, to less than 2 percent; for children, the figure is a tiny fraction of 1 percent, a state survey shows. These are by far the lowest rates in the nation.
■ Many more businesses are offering insurance to employees than were before the law. The fear going in was that the opposite would happen.
■ The cost of the changes, while large, has proved manageable thus far, though there are some serious warning signs on the horizon, especially as federal stimulus funds, which have helped defray the cost, run out.
■ The plan remains exceptionally popular among state residents — indeed its popularity has only grown with time. There are some unhappy sectors — notably small business owners, who had hoped to see moderating premiums and chafe, in some cases, at the heavy-handed enforcement of the rules by the state. And support for the requirement that individuals obtain insurance is down to a slender majority, a recent poll shows. But there is no significant constituency here for repeal.
CLICK photo to enlarge
■ And while health care costs continue to grow at alarming rates, as they have nationally, the consensus of industry leaders and health care economists is that this trend cannot be fairly traced to the makeover but rather to cost pressures baked into the existing health care payment system. Massachusetts does have the highest health care costs in the nation, but it owned this dubious distinction long before “RomneyCare’’ was born.

Taken in sum, it is a far cry from what critics of Romney, and of Obama, are saying about the Massachusetts plan. The attacks often rely on distortions, omissions or flagrant inaccuracies, and typically ignore the fact that the law accomplished its principal goal — expanding coverage to nearly every citizen.
The full story is HERE.

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Chris Christie wins BIG against Unions

New Jersey lawmakers on Thursday approved a broad rollback of benefits for 750,000 government workers and retirees, the deepest cut in state and local costs in memory, in a major victory for Gov. Chris Christie and a once-unthinkable setback for the state’s powerful public employee unions.

The Assembly passed the bill 46 to 32, as Republicans and a few Democrats defied raucous protests by thousands of people whose chants, vowing electoral revenge, shook the State House. Leaders in the State Senate said their chamber, which had already passed a slightly different version of the bill, would approve the Assembly version on Monday. Mr. Christie, a Republican, was expected to sign the measure into law quickly.

.....The legislation will sharply increase what state and local workers must contribute for their health insurance and pensions, suspend cost-of-living increases to retirees’ pension checks, raise retirement ages and curb the unions’ contract bargaining rights. It will save local and state governments $132 billion over the next 30 years, by the administration’s estimate, and give the troubled benefit systems a sounder financial footing, mostly by shifting costs onto workers.
Read the full story HERE.

Here is Governor Christie discussing this acheivement on the Today Show with Matt Lauer:

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Saturday, June 25, 2011

Des Moines Register’s Iowa Poll: Romney and Bachmann top the GOP

Romney, the national front-runner and a familiar face in Iowa after his 2008 presidential run, attracts support from 23 percent of likely Republican caucus-goers. Bachmann, who will officially kick off her campaign in Iowa on Monday, nearly matches him, with 22 percent.
“She’s up there as a real competitor and a real contender,” said Republican pollster Randy Gutermuth, who is unaffiliated with any of the presidential candidates. “This would indicate that she’s going to be a real player in Iowa.”
GOP Nomination:

Mitt Romney 23%
Michele Bachmann 22%
Herman Cain 10%
Newt Gingrich 7%
Ron Paul 7%
Tim Pawlenty 6%
Rick Santorum 4%
Jon Huntsman 2%
The poll, conducted by Selzer & Co. Inc. of Des Moines, was based on telephone interviews with 400 likely Republican caucus-goers June 19 to 22. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.

The full story is HERE.

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Mitt Romney, Margaret Thatcher, and worried Americans living abroad.

With the way that President Obama has treated our allies since taking the oath, it's no wonder that Mitt Romney will use this to his advantage.

Romney has adapted a poster and slogan used by former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to boost his Republican presidential bid.

Mr Romney is likening President Obama's America to the economic blight that dogged late 1970s Britain.

Here is Romney's poster and explanation from his website:

In 1978, Saatchi and Saatchi, then an up-and-coming advertising agency hired by the British Conservative Party and their campaign for Margaret Thatcher, created a historic political poster depicting the negative economic conditions and the government's failed attempts to correct that path. Labeled the poster of the century by the magazine Campaign, the image pointed to Britain's economic climate of rising unemployment, rising inflation, and a large and growing national debt. Those conditions and the public discontent throughout the country during that election and the parallels that Americans face today cannot be ignored. With unemployment rising from 3.6% in 1974 to 5.3% in 1979, the British knew there was a problem. Now, America faces 9.1% unemployment, record deficits, a soaring national debt, and millions of struggling families. One thing is clear – Obama isn't working, either.
Romney, is also heading to London for a fundraiser:
Romney, in the midst of a money-raising push, is planning to travel across the pond for a July 6 fundraiser.
Held at the upscale Dartmouth House near Hyde Park, the fundraiser will be co-chaired by financial heavy hitters like Raj Bhattacharyya, managing director at Deutsche Bank, hedge fund manager Louis Bacon, and Woody Johnson, owner of the New York Jets.
"There is a lot of interest in this election among Americans living abroad who, like everyone else, are worried about what the weak economy and lack of jobs means for our status in the world.
The event will cost attendees, $2,500 a pop.

It looks like President Obama has some HEAVY COMPETITION in the Fund Raising Department.

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How do you spell Rick Perry's Presidential aspirations for 2012?

Sooner or later, those Republicans who are pushing for a Rick Perry candidacy in 2012, will need to take their blinders off. Hopefully sooner, rather than later.

It seems that not only did Perry want to take parental rights away from Texas citizens, by MANDATING every female child attending public school age12 and above receive a controversial HPV vaccine, he decided to pass a Texas version of the "Dream Act" that would encourage illegal immigration into his state by providing a "resident rate" to the children of undocumented workers. Here is an excerpt from a speech Governor Perry gave during the border summit in August of 2001:
As a compassionate state, we know that for our children to succeed, they must not only be healthy, but educated. The future leaders of our two nations are learning their fractions and their ABC’s in classrooms all along this border. Immigrants from around the world are being taught in Texas classrooms, and our history is rich with examples of new citizens who have made great contributions. We must say to every Texas child learning in a Texas classroom, “we don’t care where you come from, but where you are going, and we are going to do everything we can to help you get there.” And that vision must include the children of undocumented workers. That’s why Texas took the national lead in allowing such deserving young minds to attend a Texas college at a resident rate. Those young minds are a part of a new generation of leaders, the doors of higher education must be open to them. The message is simple: educacion es el futuro, y si se puede. (emphasis mine)
The above, along with Perry's problem of separating church and state, and a long list of other issues, are not the ingredients one would put into a candidate that would successfully unseat President Obama.

To Answer my own question, "How do I spell Rick Perry's Presidential aspirations?
T O A S T

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Sarah Palin Fans: 'something to talk about' (VIDEO)

Today, it's not Sarah Palin, but her fans who are giving media "something to talk about" - a new video: "The Arizona Organize 4 Palin Brigade welcomes the Palin Family to our great state. We are ready... to answer the call," is the message prefacing the release of a new video to welcome Sarah Palin and her family to Arizona while adding just a little pressure on Palin to toss her flag pin into the GOP presidential circle.


The full story is HERE.

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THE AP-GfK POLL: Romney is the most favored in the GOP

Do you have a favorable or unfavorable impression of [INSERT NAME]?
[FOR EACH “FAVORABLE,” ASK:] Is that very favorable or somewhat favorable?
[FOR EACH “UNFAVORABLE,” ASK:] Is that very unfavorable or somewhat unfavorable?
[RANDOMIZE ITEMS]


Total Favorable/Unfavorable/Don't Know-refused:

Mitt Romney 45/35/20 (+10)
Michele Bachmann 37/28/35 (+9)
Ron Paul 39/31/30 (+8)
Tim Pawlenty 29/24/47 (+5)
Herman Cain 25/23/52 (+2)
Rick Santorum 25/27/48 (-2)
Rick Perry 22/25/53 (-3)
Jon Huntsman 18/21/61 (-3)
Sarah Palin 38/55/7 (-17)
Newt Gingrich 26/59/15 (-33)
The Associated Press-GfK Poll was conducted from June 16 through June 20, 2011, by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Corporate Communications. Interviews were conducted with 1001 respondents. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 4.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample of adults.
The crosstabs can be viewed here.


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