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14 Feb 2011 21:51

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Politics: Does Rudy have a shot at the Republican nomination?

  • unsurprisingNew Hampshire Republicans want Mitt Romney as their presidential nominee in 2012, according to a recent poll. It wasn’t a shock last time he won such a poll, and it’s not a shock now.
  • surprisingWho came in second place behind Romney? Why, none other than America’s Mayor himself, Mr. Rudolph Giuliani. His mere inclusion in the poll is almost as surprising as his placing. source
  • » But take this with a grain of salt: Encouraging as these results may be to Giuliani, he still finished thirty (30) points behind Romney, which is an awfully steep deficit to overcome. And New Hampshire’s not exactly a deep red state, so it’s expected that they’d favor a moderate like Giuliani over someone like Mike Huckabee (who tied with Tim Pawlenty for third)). Still, just about nobody in the media has been taking a potential Giuliani candidacy seriously, so this second place showing is, if nothing else, a surprise.
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Feb 2011 20:13

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U.S.: PATRIOT Act renewal passes House – with simple majority in tow

  • last week It appeared a far-right uprising had sidelined the PATRIOT Act’s renewal in the House, with the bill falling short of the two-thirds total it needed to succeed.
  • this week By passing the bill with rules that only required a simple majority, the extension will go over to the Senate. The vote totals were nearly the same as last week. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Feb 2011 23:54

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U.S.: GOP budget plan: How 2% can save you $626 billion or more!

  • 15.4% GOP’s proposed cuts to non-defense spending for the rest of 2011
  • 2.2% GOP’s proposed cuts to defense spending, under the same plan source
  • » Here’s the interesting part: Despite those numbers, the cuts to defense spending actually net about $165 billion more in savings than the non-defense cuts. Why? Simple: We spend a crapload of money on defense. (Bonus chart with more information here.)
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Feb 2011 21:07

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Politics: PATRIOT Act renewal not sure thing … thanks to the Tea Party

  • renewal The House is going to vote on whether or not to permanently extend the PATRIOT Act, that uber-controversial privacy-exploiting leftover from the Bush era.
  • denial Unfortunately for the GOPers pushing the bill’s renewal, this isn’t the same Congress that passed the bill, and the party’s Tea Party backers may not support it. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Feb 2011 23:45

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U.S.: 2012 field starts to solidify, but still lots of uncertainty

  • in It’s looking very, very likely that Haley Barbour will seek the nomination for President: an unnamed advisor said that “he’s running until he says he’s not.”
  • out John Thune, who up until recently seemed like an almost-definite yes, looks to be having some second thoughts about running (or, more specifically, his wife is).
  • odd Apparently, Bob Riley (who?) is now also considering a run. Because, you know, there aren’t enough obscure candidates in the race already. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Jan 2011 11:21

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Politics: Tea Partiers: We’re NOT trying to usurp Paul Ryan’s SOTU response

  • I think you get a variety of opinions and all Republicans aren’t the same, but I don’t see it as trying to usurp somebody else’s prerogative. I think one main Republican message, but other voices as well.
  • Sen. Rand Paul • Defending Michele Bachmann’s decision to offer her own, secondary, Tea-Party-focused response to the State of the Union speech tonight. (We’ll be covering this as much as we can tonight, by the way.) Anyway, Paul is trying to make it clear that Bachmann’s speech isn’t meant to take the wind out of the sails of Paul Ryan’s speech, but just to offer a different perspective. To which we say, don’t do this, Michele. People already don’t take you seriously, and this only makes you look worse. It also greatly damages your party, which, based on the “R” next to your name, is not the Tea Party. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

24 Jan 2011 13:00

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U.S.: George Allen back in the Virginia electoral saddle

  • then George Allen, Virginia’s Republican Senator in 2006, was thought to have ended his career after publicly calling a Jim Webb aide of Indian descent “macaca,” a racial slur.
  • now Five years after his “macaca” foul-up, Allen has announced he’ll be jumping into the Virginia Senate race in 2012, hoping that gaffe won’t hurt anymore. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

22 Jan 2011 20:03

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Politics: Mitt Romney wins New Hampshire GOP straw poll

  • 35% Mitt Romney’s take in the New Hampshire poll
  • Why this matters: As one of the earliest states to hold its primary (only Iowa votes first), New Hampshire is critically important in determining presidential nominees. Although he won the state in ’08, some had worried that the presence of Tea Partiers might thwart his chances this time around. But if this poll is any indicator, Romney can relax: the very same people surveyed here also just elected a Tea Party activist to head the state GOP. Seeing as he probably won’t win in socially-conservative Iowa, New Hampshire is crucial if Romney wants to be the Republican nominee for President. This poll suggests he might have a fighting chance. Some other notable results:
  • 11% libertarian hero Ron Paul’s second-place result
  • <3% ultra-coiffed Donald Trump’s absurdly high showing
  • 0% well-regarded former lobbyist Haley Barbour’s showing; ouch source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Jan 2011 18:03

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Politics: State of the Union: There’s a response to Paul Ryan’s response

  • reasoned The GOP’s official response to Obama’s State of the Union will feature Paul Ryan’s uniquely reasonable principled fiscal conservatism on display.
  • crazy But wait, there’s another “official” response. Michele Bachmann will be on the Tea Party Express Web site after Ryan gets done to offer a second response. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Jan 2011 13:54

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Politics: Paul Ryan’s Republican State of the Union response: The right guy?

  • Paul Ryan, here’s your potential moment. If the GOP wants to get any leverage on Obama’s upcoming State of the Union address, they’d be crazy not to go with someone like Ryan for the response. Already a political lifer at age 39 (almost 40), his thoughtful approach to the budget crisis, which still emphasizes extreme cuts, is at least put a little bit more nicely than anything Mitch McConnell has ever said. Obama even takes him seriously, and we’ve taken notice of him in the past, too. The thing is, if Ryan keeps at what he’s good at – his honest likability, his sincere belief in the issues and his nicer approach than some of his colleagues – he’ll do better than some of the other guys recently in this spot, like Bobby Jindal (though Bob McDonnell did well in 2010). source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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