Mitt Romney: "We're a little wiser in our spending of dollars than the other side"

Mitt Romney, in remarks at a fund-raiser Tuesday, took a jab at President Barack Obama's campaign one day after financial filings revealed the president's re-election team had spent more money than it raised in July.

"We're a little wiser in our spending of dollars than the other side, apparently," Romney said, according to pool reports. "I'm not managing their campaign for them, but we're going to spend our money wisely. We're going to spend it to win."

The presumptive GOP presidential nominee made his comments while speaking at a private fund-raising event in Houston–one of two events in Texas for Romney on Tuesday. He later heads to Midland for a reception at the Petroleum Club. Combined, the events are expected to yield $6-7 million, the campaign said.

Read the rest of the story HERE.

Obama's team took in $49.2 million in July but spent $59 million,

Poor President Obama...It's hard to break bad habits...spending more money than you're taking in...sound familiar?

Please check us out on Facebook and If you like what you see, please "Like" us. You can find us here.

VP Watch: Mitch Daniels on 'Fox News Sunday' (FULL VIDEO 06-10-12)

Mitch Daniels has been pretty much out of the picture when it comes to VP talk. However there has been some recent buzz  about Daniels being the Bilderberg's first choice as Romney's VP.

Here Daniels weighs in on the Wisconsin recall effort and the California pension votes. Host Chris Wallace asked the governor what’s the message voters are sending to unions and government workers.

If I were the Bilderbergers, I wouldn't hold my breath!

Please check us out on Facebook and If you like what you see, please "Like" us. You can find us here.

BIG MONEY donors continue to line up with Mitt Romney

Chris Cillizza reports today that the BIG MONEY donors  and bundlers are continuing to line up with Mitt Romney:

As he ramps up his 2012 presidential bid, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney (R) has been actively recruiting major donors who did not support him four years ago — with impressive results.

Many of these new Donors are moving over to Romney's camp from other places:

The list of new names is loaded with major contributors who backed Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) in 2008 including: lobbyist Wayne Berman, who served as McCain’s national finance co-chair, New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, New York Yankees president Randy Levine, oil magnate Kit Moncrief, philanthropist Mica Mosbacher, former Ambassador to Spain George Argyros and former Ambassador to Belgium Sam Fox........ Lew Eisenberg, a major GOP money man who served as the co-chairman of the 2008 Republican National Convention, is also on board with Romney.

From Mitch Daniels: attorneys Dan Dumezich and Bob Grand.

From Haley Barbour: Austin Barbour, the nephew of the governor, and Bobbie Kilberg, the president of the Northern Virginia Technology Council and the 1993 lieutenant governor nominee in Virginia.

From Pewsident Obama: Skybridge Capital managing partner Anthony Scarramucci, a former Obama donor, has signed on with Romney. Scarramucci was a law school classmate of Obama but engaged in a high profile back-and-forth with the president in a town hall meeting last fall.

Tim Pawlenty (OUCH!!!): Texas homebuilder Bob Perry, who has used his wealth to fund a number of conservative-aligned groups including Swift Boat Veterans for Truth in the 2004 election.

Read the full story HERE.

Palin Leads the Field in Texas

I like Rick Perry, but these numbers suggest that we're about due for a new flavor-of-the-week. Furthermore, I'll start taking John Huntsman seriously when he breaks 1%.

It's a good thing Rick Perry says he's not running for president: Only 4 percent of Texas Republicans say they'd vote for the governor, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll...

Read the article HERE

Mitt Romney Breathes A Sigh Of Relief

Mitch Daniels will not enter the race.

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels told supporters in a midnight email early Sunday that he is opting against a 2012 presidential run, a decision that will again roil the GOP field and leave many party establishment figures looking for alternatives.

In the end, he said, he couldn't convince his family to get on board. His wife, Cheri, was known to have concerns about a campaign.

Mitch Daniels: Say It Ain't So

I read a short piece with accompanying video today that got me thinking.

Here is Mitch Daniels at a Ripon Society function back in 2009.

One of the take-aways of this video is the line where Daniels said, "The whole concept of a wedge issue should be foreign to us if we really want to come back.”


Well Mitch, that depends on what you consider a "Wedge Issue"?

There are a lot of issues out there that throw a wedge between the people. Pro-Life vs Pro-Choice, that certainly is an issue that many folks disagree on. But I don't think you'd find to many Pro-Life supporters willing to throw that aside for the sake of getting along.

I think Governor Danels has some explaining to do. While he's at it, What did he mean by this back in 2003?

The candidate said he favors a universal health care system that would move away from employee-based health policies and make it mandatory for all Americans to have health insurance.

Daniels envisioned one scenario in which residents could certify their coverage when paying income taxes and receive a tax exemption that would cover the cost.

"We really have to have universal coverage," Daniels said.

I know this is from the Huffington Post. But they are quoting from an October 23, 2003 article in the South Bend Tribune. I can't imagine them posting this quote, if they hadn't examined the sources first. I would hope that most folks hold off any judgment on Daniels until he has a chance to respond to these past statements.

Now the reason these past statements are important, is because many are propping Daniels up as some kind of an alternative to Mitt Romney. If that statement on Universal Health Care is true, Then he's more aligned with Donald Trump.

Just when I was about to publish this piece, I find out that Daniel's Office responded to Huffington Post's piece:

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniel's office is downplaying, if not fully disregarding, a 2003 story that claims he favored requiring all Americans to purchase health service as a means of achieving universal coverage.

"Governor Daniels is against a mandate," his spokesperson, Jane Jankowski, emailed the Huffington Post on Thursday afternoon."He favors giving every American a tax credit individually so they can purchase insurance that is right for them. He believes nearly all would use it, so coverage would be nearly universal."

I mean, in a worse case scenario, Everyone has a right to change their mind. RIGHT?

Suffolk University Poll: Mitt Romney Benefits more in the absence of Huckabee and Trump

Q23 If the Republican Primary for President were held today and the candidates were (READ LIST), for whom will you vote or toward whom would you LEAN at this time?
Likely/Somewhat likely voters (468 total):

Mitt Romney 17%
Mike Huckabee 15%
Sarah Palin 10%
Newt Gingrich 9%
Rudy Giuliani 6%
Donald Trump 5%
Michele Bachmann 4%
Mitch Daniels 4%
Ron Paul 4%
Herman Cain 3%
Tim Pawlenty 2%
Rick Santorum 2%
John Huntsman 0%
Gary Johnson 0%
Buddy Roemer 0%

Q23A {CALLBACKS TO HUCKABEE AND TRUMP VOTERS} Now that has withdrawn from the race, who will you vote for in the Republican Primary?

A Question for the "Anyone But Romney" Crowd. Don't You Want to Win?

It really is getting hilarious. All last week.....Daniels This......Daniels that. This morning it's, Perry this.........Perry That!

This isn't going to be a long post because I'm trying to understand those Anti-Romney folks strategy to win if one of their reluctant phantoms ran and won the nomination.

Lets assume the following:

Obama vs Romney
Obama vs Phantom

Assuming that 99.9% of Republicans want to oust Obama and would cast a vote for a toaster as long as it was a Registered Republican in the general, lets assume in the scenario above, that both Romney and the phantom both take the Republican vote in there separate contests against Obama.

IS THAT ENOUGH TO WIN?

In order to beat President Obama, you need a candidate who can win over a LARGE PORTION of Independents. Mitt Romney has always done great with this group who for the most part seem to be a little more moderate than many Republicans. A Phantom, would NEED THIS STRENGTH as well.

Also, Lets assume there are some discruntled Democrats who are really not enthused about President Obama.....Bad economy?.........Maybe out of work........? I admit that it would be hard to make a dent into the Democrats voters hearts, but what if it was possible because of the bad economy? Democrats having a hard time in this economy would hurt just as bad as any Republicans do. Which possible candidate might have a chance of siphoning off some of those supporters? Romney? a Phantom?

I think Republicans need to decide real quick before we start bashing one another in the primaries, that anything said bad about an opponent, will be hard to take back. Independents and others will be watching the contests as well.

One last question:

Do you need the WHOLE PIE to satisfy your political appetite, or could you be satisfied with 70-90% of it? No candidate out there is going to please you 100% and win the nomination because as he/she pleases you, he/she dis-pleases someone else.

If Obama is re-elected, we get NO PIE!

Mitch Daniels or Jack Daniels...Who Cares?

It seems that in the last week or so, the wishful thinking, "Anyone but Romney" crowd have been dominating the web.

Will he?........He is!.....I've got it on the best authority that Daniels is...BLAH...BLAH....BLAH!

I feel bad for these guys. It's getting to the point now, where there are no more potential candidates left to halt the inevitable (Romney nomination!).

If Daniels doesn't run, who will carry their torch? I heard a rumor that their ace-in-the whole was to Draft Bush 1. After all, he only served one term.

Which brings me to this article that I read that points out that Daniels might be a Fred Thompson clone.

Thompson, was a reluctant candidate. There was all kinds of buzz about him entering back in the 08. Things like, "If Thompson gets in, It's all over". He'll surely get the nomination. Of course we all know that things didn't quite turn out that way.

The article points out that both candidates seemed to lack fire in the belly and had a "Self-Depreciation" thing going:

When a stranger approaches after a speech here, eager to “shake the hand of a future president,” Daniels gamely obliges. Then he mutters under his breath: “Not much chance of that.”

This same attitude seemed to resonate from Fred Thompson as well. During a trip to New Hampshire back in 08:

Trying to encourage his studio to hurry up so an interview could start, Carl Cameron of Fox News said into his microphone: “The next president of the United States has a schedule to keep.” Standing beside him, a deadpan Mr Thompson interjected: “And so do I.”

Both of these men seem to lack the fire in the belly needed to run a successful campaign. As pointed out in the article.

If he didn’t think he (Thompson) would be president then how could he expect the voters to disagree with him?.........

...........If a candidate doesn’t want the job more than almost anything else in life and doesn’t believe to their very core that they should be commander-in-chief then they really have no business running – it becomes an affront to supporters, donors and staff . As Ed Rollins put it in the context of his former boss Mike Huckabee: “I can’t want it more than the candidate does.”

Gallup: Palin and Romney are Effectively Tied

You all know how I feel about polls this far out from an election, but this is the first one to show the effects of Mike Huckabee and Donald Trump exiting the race. I have to think this makes it very tempting for the former Governor of Alaska to get into the race.

....There is no clear front-runner in the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Palin, who has given no indication of whether she will run for the nomination, has very high name identification, is near the top of Republicans' nomination preferences, and has a higher Positive Intensity Score than any other well-known candidate. Palin thus must be considered one of the GOP leaders at this point....

Results are based on telephone interviews conducted as part of Gallup Daily tracking May 2-15, 2011, with random samples of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Questions asking about the 13 potential candidates measured in this research were rotated among randomly selected samples of Republicans each night; over the 14-day period, each candidate was rated by a minimum of 1,500 Republicans and Republican-leaning independents.

For the overall ratings of each potential candidate among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, including recognition scores, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points....

Full results and analysis is HERE

2012: The Year Of The OLD GUYS (UPDATE 2)

The following was my very first post at ROS back in March of 2010.  I can remember the comments from some asking me what I was smoking. HaHaHaHa! There not asking me anymore:

"Change We Can Believe In." That's what Barack Obama promised. We got the change alright but is it change we want to believe in?

Throughout his campaign, there was this NEW KID on the block mentality that seemed to resonate with American voters. "I Like What He Says.", He Makes Me Feel Good.", "He's refreshing.", "He's Not Part Of The Old Boy Network." All of these sentiments were rebuked by his detractors with, "What do We Know About Him?", "He Has No Experience."

After 2 years of President Obama and 2 more to go, the LAST THING voters will be looking for in 2012 is, YOUTH, INEXPERIENCE, and NEW FACES. Which leads me to my Nostradamus moment. 2012 will be The Year Of The Old Guys.

If your not over 60, Forget it!

I liken it to that old pair of sneakers, that old sweatshirt, that old pair of slacks. All those worn out comfortable things that you probably have been urged by many of your friends to throw out, but you just can't. When things get tough, when you want to unwind, when you want to feel comfortable, you resort to these faithful hold-offs from your past because they make you feel good. No Surprises.

The last thing folks will want in 2012 is something else new. You can thank Obama for that.

So for 2012, OLD IS IN and OLD IS NEW. Sorry Sarah and Mike, you have a few years to go.

I believe that Mitt Romney is running already. Rudy Giuliani and Newt Gingrich will also jump into the mix. These 3 will emerge as the candidates to beat in 2012.  They're like those old sneakers that I mentioned above. They're predictable. They're comfortable. They're worn and have been around. NO SURPRISES. And that's exactly what voters will want.

This Clarus Poll supports my "OLD GUY" theory:

KNOWN NAME OR NEW FACE: (Asked after the nomination trial heat and asked only of self-identified Republicans (and independents who say they lean Republican) N=415: “Looking ahead to 2012, do you think the Republican Party should nominate a candidate for president who is already well known nationally or do you think the party should nominate a new face?”)

Nominate well-known candidate 61%
Nominate new face 28
Don’t know/no answer 11 

===============
Update 1: (March 19, 2011)

Well, since this was posted last March, Gingrich has indicated he is seriously considering a run this time. The youngsters Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee are indicating they may sit this one out.

What of Rudy Giuliani? I still think he will run. He's sniffing around NH lately and has learned that there is no benefit from jumping in early. Especially if your a known commodity.
==============
Update 2:

Well since Update 1, Gingrich is in, Pence, Thune, Barbour, Trump, and Huckabee are out. Ron Paul and old guy for sure is in. I don't believe Palin will run for the same reason as Huckabee. The money is too good and there is no guarantee that she would get the nomination or win.

As to Rudy, he's still sniffing around NH and I believe will get in the race. Huntsman, Bachmann, Pawlenty, and ?, might as well sit this one out. They were just BORN TO LATE to make any impact in this race. Daniels on the other hand is 62. His problem is that NO ONE knows who he is and there is NO COMFORT zone with him.

Come on now let's all say in unison, just to see how it sounds. Ready? 1.....2.....3......PRESIDENT ROMNEY!

Sunshine State Poll: 2012 GOP Presidential Poll

I’m going to read a list of potential candidates for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Please tell me which one, if any, you would like to be the Republican nominee. Please listen to the entire list before making your selection.

Mitt Romney 16%
Newt Gingrich 15%
Mike Huckabee 11%
Chris Christie 9%
Sarah Palin 8%
Michele Bachmann 3%
Mitch Daniels 3%
Tim Pawlenty 3%
John Huntsman 1%
Undecided/Someone else 32%

On May 11-13, 2011, we interviewed 689 randomly selected likely Republican Primary voters across Florida. The Margin of Error for this poll is +/- 3.73% at the 95% confidence level. The respondents were 52% female and 48% male.

This poll was taken before Mike Huckabee's announcement. Also, Until these polling companies stop polling candidates that said they will not run, these numbers don't mean anything.

Analysis can be viewed here.

PPP Polling: Mitt Romney comes closest to Obama

Obama hasn't received a big increase in his reelection margins, but he is still in a healthy position against his potential Republican opponents. He's up 5 points on Mitt Romney at 47-42, numbers basically identical to Obama's 47-41 lead last month. The next best Republican is Mike Huckabee who trails 49-42, a shade worse than his 48-43 deficit in April. Obama's 52-38 lead over Newt Gingrich is exactly identical to where that match up was on the last poll. And Obama's up 17 on Sarah Palin at 54-37 and 18 on Donald Trump at 53-35.

The Republican primary poll we released yesterday showed that Trump's chances of winning the nomination have pretty much disintegrated, but he could still have a major impact on the race by running as an independent, as he has threatened to do in the past. Trump gets 16% as an independent against Barack Obama (46%) and Mitt Romney (33%). A Trump third party bid increases Obama's margin over Romney by 8 points because he pulls 20% of the GOP vote but only 6% of the Democratic vote. If Trump's goal is to stay in the spotlight as long as possible the independent bid would certainly achieve that...but it would also hand Obama reelection.

Favorable/Unfavorable/Not sure:

Mike Huckabee 33/41/26 (-8)
Mitt Romney 32/41/27 (-9)
Mitch Daniels 14/33/53 (-19)
Newt Gingrich 29/53/18 (-24)
Sarah Palin 33/60/7 (-27)
Donald Trump 24/65/10 (-41)

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

Mitt Romney 47/42/11 (-5)
Mike Huckabee 49/42/9 (-7)
Newt Gingrich 52/38/10 (-14)
Sarah Palin 54/37/9 (-17)
Donald Trump 53/35/12 (--18)

3-Way contest with Trump as Independent:

Barack Obama 46%
Mitt Romney 33%
Donald Trump 16%
Undecided 5%

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 40%
Republican 34%
Independent/Other 27%

PPP surveyed 814 American voters from May 5th to 8th. The margin of error for the survey is +/-3.4%. This poll was not paid for or authorized by any campaign or political organization.

The full story is here.
To view the crosstabs click the PPP icon below:

Please check us out on Facebook and If you like what you see, please "Like" us. You can find us here.

NYT Forecast of the Republican Primary Field: Mitt Romney on Top

The NYT evaluated the Poll results since January 1, 2012 of the potential 2012 GOP candidates using 4 polling models:

Classical Model since 1/1/11

Classical Model since 4/1/11

Aggressive Model since 1/1/11

Aggressive Model since 4/1/11

All of which are explained in the HERE.

Here is a chart summarizing the 28 scientific polls that have been conducted on the Republican field since the start of the year, covering a total of 23 different candidates or prospective candidates using the 4 models above:

As part of the analysis, the candidates results were compared to the INTRADE betting lines. Some of the findings:

• The models like Mr. Romney slightly more than the bettors do, although the difference is not large. Mr. Romney, in my view, has one major asset that is not well reflected in national polls, which is that he is strongly positioned in several early primary states (New Hampshire, Michigan, Nevada). He also has one major liability, the health care legislation enacted in Massachusetts while he was governor.

• All four of the polling models think Mike Huckabee is grossly undervalued by the bettors. I’ll be writing more about Mr. Huckabee in the next week or two, so we’ll leave it at that observation for now.

• The models also think that Newt Gingrich is undervalued. I’ve been a skeptic of Mr. Gingrich’s chances, and widely known candidates who are getting only about 10 percent off the vote in polls have a very poor past record. At the same time, Mr. Gingrich is definitely running — and he has at least some popular support and at least some elite support. Even if you don’t like a company’s business model, there’s some point at which its stock price becomes low enough for it to be a good buy; that’s more or less how I feel about Mr. Gingrich right now.

• The models think Mr. Daniels is somewhat overvalued by the bettors, and that Mr. Huntsman is grossly so. Mr. Huntsman is the one I feel more confident saying that about. He’s positioned pretty far to the left (relative to the Republican field) on a lot of issues, he’s getting a late start on his campaign, and he served in President Obama’s administration — in a foreign policy capacity, no less, an area where Mr. Obama should get high marks from voters. And Mr. Huntsman is averaging only about 1 percent in the polls so far. That’s an awful lot to overcome, no matter how talented the politician.

To see more findings and analysis, read the rest of the article HERE.
The ground rules used to assemble this data can be found HERE.

Please check us out on Facebook and If you like what you see, please "Like" us. You can find us here.

NY1/YNN-Marist Poll: Guiliani and Romney on TOP in NY, No to Trump

The field of possible 2012 Republican presidential candidates is wide. But, given the choice, about one in four New York State Republican voters -- 23% -- report they would back former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and one in five -- 20% -- say they would support former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. Here is how the field stands among these Republican voters:

Rudy Giuliani 23%
Mitt Romney 20%
Sarah Palin 12%
Mike Huckabee 10%
Donald Trump 7%
Ron Paul 7%
Newt Gingrich 3%
Tim Pawlenty 2%
Mitch Daniels 2%
Herman Cain 2%
Michele Bachmann 1%
Rick Santorum 1%
Jon Huntsman 0%
Gary Johnson 0%
Undecided 10%

A survey of 205 Republicans between April 25-29, 2011. MOE of ±7.0 percentage points.

The crosstabs can be viewed here.

Mitch Daniels Speech At AEI (VIDEO)

Mitch Daniels delivered an education speech on Wednesday afternoon at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative research organization, it was difficult to discern whether he was relishing or dreading the idea of a campaign of any length. He used a slide show presentation to outline his sweeping changes for Indiana schools, which he is scheduled to sign into law later this week.

The new initiatives greatly expand charter schools, end teacher tenure, narrow teachers’ collective bargaining rights and introduce a taxpayer-financed voucher of $4,500 for students to attend private schools. The voucher program would be available to any student from a family with up to a middle-class income of about $60,000. 

WARNING! Don't view this video if your sleepy and need to get somewhere.

The full story is HERE.

WMUR/UNH Poll: Mitt Romney with 25 point lead over second place Donald Trump in NH

H/T CraigS

"I’m going to read you the names of the candidates who are either running or considering running for the Republican nomination. If the Republican primary for president were held today, which of the following would you support for the Republican nomination … Michelle Bachmann … Haley Barbour … Mitch Daniels … Newt Gingrich … Rudy Giuliani … Mike Huckabee … Gary Johnson … Sarah Palin … Ron Paul … Tim Pawlenty … Mitt Romney … Rick Santorum … Donald Trump … John Huntsman … Mitch Daniels … or someone else?" RANDOMIZE CANDIDATES

Mitt Romney 36%
Donald Trump 11%
Rudy Giuliani 7%
Mike Huckabee 6%
Ron Paul 6%
Sarah Palin 4%
Newt Gingrich 4%
Michele Bachman 4%
Tim Pawlenty 2%
Mitch Daniels 2%

These findings are based on the latest WMUR Granite State Poll,∗ conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center. Eight hundred ninety-seven (897) randomly selected New Hampshire adults were interviewed by telephone between April 15 and May 2, 2011. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 3.3%. Included in the sample were 416 likely 2012 Republican Primary voters (margin of sampling error +/- 4.8%) and 303 likely 2012 Democratic Primary voters (margin of sampling error +/- 5.6%).

The crosstabs can be viewed here.

Quinnipiac University Poll: Romney then Huckabee top GOP National Poll.

If the 2012 Republican primary for President were being held today, and the candidates were Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, Mitch Daniels, Tim Pawlenty, Ron Paul, Michelle Bachman, Gary Johnson, Rick Santorum, John Huntsman, and Donald Trump, for whom would you vote? (*na=not asked in survey reported) (November 22, 2010)

Mitt Romney 18 (18)
Mike Huckabee 15 (17)
Sarh Palin 15 (19)
Donald Trump 12 (na)
Ron Paul 5 (na)
Newt Gingrich 5 (15)
Mitch Daniels 5 (2)
Michele Bachman 4 (na)
Tim Pawlenty 4 (6)
Gary Johnson 1 (na)
Rick Santorum 1 (na)
Jon Huntsman 1 (na)
Haley Barbour na (2)
John Thune na (2)
SMONE ELSE[VOL] na (1)
WLDN'T VOTE[VOL] na (1)
DK/NA 15 (17)

By healthy margins, American voters say they would consider or be enthusiastic about backing former governors Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee for president, but 58 percent would never support Sarah Palin or Donald Trump, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

The independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University asked American voters if they are "enthusiastic" about a candidate; would consider voting for the candidate or would never vote for the candidate. Results are:

The crosstabs can be viewed HERE.

Please check us out on Facebook and If you like what you see, please "Like" us. You can find us here.

 

ARG Poll: Mitt Romney with Big Lead over GOP in Florida

Among likely primary voters registered as Republicans, Romney leads with 26%, followed by Huckabee at 14%, Gingrich at 12%, and Palin at 9%.

Among Tea Party supporters, Romney leads with 20%, followed by Huckabee at 17%, Palin at 14%, and Gingrich at 13%. Among those saying that they are not Tea Party supporters or that they are undecided about the Tea Party, Romney leads with 36%, followed by Giuliani at 16%, Trump at 9%, and Gingrich and Huckabee at 8% each.

Among those saying they will definitely vote in the Republican primary, Romney leads with 25%, followed by Huckabee at 14%, Gingrich at 12%, and Palin at 11%.

If the 2012 Republican presidential primary were being held today between (names rotated) Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Mitch Daniels, Newt Gingrich, Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, Jon Huntsman, Gary Johnson, Sarah Palin, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty, Charles Roemer, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, and Donald Trump, for whom would you vote?

600 completed telephone interviews among a random sample of likely Republican primary voters living in Florida (559 Republicans and 41 no party voters (independents). Sample Dates: April 27-May 2, 2011 Margin of Error: ± 4 percentage points, 95% of the time, on questions where opinion is evenly split.

The Full Story is HERE.
Crosstabs can be viewed HERE.

Please check us out on Facebook and If you like what you see, please "Like" us. You can find us here.

Comparing Records on Life

I consider there to be four serious republican candidates for president, Huckabee, Romney, Pawlenty, and Daniels (if Daniels decides to get in). I wanted to compare their records as governors in passing legislation to reduce abortions.

First is Mitt Romney. He doesn't really have much of a record on life as governor, not having had much of an opportunity to pass restricting legislation and not being proactive to introduce such legislation. He did hold the line on abortion legislation while governor, just as he promised he would. He did not allow expanded abortion rights, and vetoed stem cell research funding. He is not to be blamed for the $50 abortions as they were already law before he became governor. If Bosman or one of our other in the know Romney supporters can add more, or correct me, I am open to that.

Mike Huckabee signed many bills while governor that promoted life. He signed bills: banning partial birth abortion; establishing a woman's right to know, ensuring that her consent to an abortion is an informed one; mandate parental notification and consent for abortions performed on minors; requiring doctors to inform pregnant women considering abortions that the fetus does feel pain; providing immunity from criminal prosecution for women who give birth then abandon the baby at a medical facility; criminalizing assault on a pregnant woman; and funding for "Choose Life" license plates.

An article from National Review claims that Tim Pawlenty May Be the Strongest Pro-Life Candidate in 2012 . His record is pretty good, but he passed fewer laws than Huckabee did.

Pawlenty signed into law the Woman’s Right to Know Act, giving women information about abortion risks and alternatives as well as information on fetal development. Minnesota was also the first to give women information on fetal pain — coming well in advance of the new trend of banning abortions based on that scientific concept, which Nebraska started last year. The former governor followed up that bill by signing the Unborn Child Pain Prevention Act in 2005 to give women even more information on the pain their babies feel during an abortion.

In 2005 he signed the Positive Alternatives to Abortion Act to make Minnesota one of just a handful of states that send public funds to pregnancy centers providing tangible support for pregnant women and abortion alternatives.

...Governor Pawlenty issued a proclamation in 2010 designating the month of April as “Abortion Recovery Month” and urging agencies in the state to help women who are suffering problems following their abortions.

Pawlenty also vetoed a bill that would have legalized human cloning and signed a bill banning funding of human cloning.

The article provides statistics that during Pawlenty's administration abortions have dropped 14%. That's great. But as I researched statistics I found that nationwide abortion rates have been dropping over the last 20 years. So whether the drop in MN is a direct result of laws passed by Pawlenty or a more indirect result in a cultural change in the US, it is not possible to say with certainty.

It has been more difficult to find a list of the laws that Daniels has signed. I did find that he signed laws that "requires health care professionals to provide a pregnant woman with the options of obtaining an ultrasound and of listening to the fetus’ heartbeat before performing an abortion." And another bill "requiring abortion clinics to abide by the same safety and health standards as other outpatient surgical clinics." And his administration "authorized a “Choose Life” license plate."

But the most significant development is HEA bill 1210 which Daniels will sign within the next week or so. It will cut off $2 million in federal funding to Planned Parenthood that would have been used to provide abortion services. "In addition to Planned Parenthood losing 2/3 of its funding, bill 1210 will lower the window for women to have abortions to 20 weeks, as well as, require doctors to inform their patients that abortions can lead to infertility issues, and that fetuses can feel pain around 20 weeks." Indianna will be the first state to defund Planned Parenthood.

In 2008 there was really one candidate for SoCons to rally around, Mike Huckabee. As much as I admire Romney and believe that his conversion to life is legitimate, he is never going to be a standard bearer for the life movement. The great thing in 2012 is that there are now three candidates with very strong records of achievement in promoting life and restricting abortions.

However, there is one candidate that stands on a pinnacle far above all the others for achievement in restricting abortions and that is Mitch Daniels. The laws signed by Pawlenty and Huckabee are very important and they should be praised highly for signing them. It is lamentable that Romney didn't work to protect life with the dedication that those two governors did. But, while they were attempting to chop down the forest of abortions in their states with axes, Mitch Daniels plowed into his forest with a bulldozer.