• Some people want their freedom to practice their religious one way, maybe another way. Some might not even want to practice it at all. But freedom, if you understand it, you should all fight for freedom, because you want to exert your freedom the way you want…[People] say, how are you going to compromise and give up some of your beliefs in order to get some things passed? You don’t have to compromise. What you have to do is emphasize the coalitions that people want their freedoms for a different reason and bring them together.
• Ron Paul • In his New Hampshire speech tonight. What’s notable here isn’t that Ron Paul is talking about liberty. What’s notable is that, in his tactical assessment of how to win supporters over to a movement, Paul sounds a whole lot more like a political theorist than a politician. The advice Paul is giving is very pragmatic–if you want to get people to support a cause, you must illustrate to them how they will benefit from the triumph of that cause. Of course, politicians use this technique all the time (the PATRIOT act, etc), but they rarely articulate that that’s what they’re doing. Paul is speaking in much more academic–and honest–terms than politicians normally do (with the possible exception of Newt Gingrich, though, to borrow a joke from Lewis Black, Newt is to academics what KFC is to chicken). If nothing else, it’s refreshing.  source

• 39% the average percentage the NH primary winner gets source

• » That’s according to Nate Silver: Silver crunched the numbers and did the math, and the average non-incumbent winner of the New Hampshire primary wins roughly 39 percent of the vote. Silver has Romney getting right around 39 percent. “If Mitt Romney stays close to our forecast and gets about 39 percent of the vote in New Hampshire tonight, his performance will be highly typical for the winner of the primary,” Silver writes.

• whoa! According to Rick Santorum-associated officials in South Carolina, if Newt Gingrich drops out of the race anytime soon, he would likely endorse the former Pennsylvania senator’s (and longtime fan’s) campaign.
• however … Even though Newt is totally looking like a dog in New Hampshire, don’t look for him to drop out anytime soon — he’s polling relatively decently in the Palmetto State, though he polled better about a month ago. source

• So why has he struck such a chord among GOP voters and progressives alike? Why have videos exposing his racial biases and anti-gay attitudes gone viral and inspired hashtags? It’s simple: Even in a recession, social issues like sex and race are extremely resonant. And Santorum is the only candidate talking about them.
• Good Magazine Associate Editor Nona Willis Aronowitz • Opining on exactly why Rick Santorum made a comeback in an era where his brand of social conservatism was starting to look old-hat. Essentially, because he’s the only person seriously discussing these issues, he stands out. But it goes further, Aronowitz notes: “The Santorum hubbub is a reminder that the issues we hold dear — issues of sex and race and civil rights — are absolutely recession-proof.” (Related: This Patch video, in which a heckler asks Santorum if he would abort a gay baby. Ah, campaign trail politics. Thanks John Ness for that tip.) source

• I will support the Republican nominee, because I think they will be better. But I think it will be marginally better and — I am little bit biased in this — I think Ron Paul would be dramatically better.
• Sen. Rand Paul • Offering full support for the GOP candidate, whoever it is, even if he doesn’t follow the same fully-libertarian path as his dad Ron. He’s not big on the idea of his dad running as an independent: “I’ve always been in favor of the Tea Party being part of making the Republican Party more conservative rather than trying to do our own thing,” he claimed in New Hampshire today. source

• Aren’t jokes supposed to be funny? Mitt Romney’s son Matt was on the campaign trail for his dad the other day when he made an Obama birth certificate joke, in reference to Mitt’s own tax return issues. The joke, and we quote: “I heard someone suggest the other day that as soon as President Obama releases his grades and birth certificate …then maybe he’ll do it.” This was so toxic that Matt joined Twitter just to apologize for the joke:

I repeated a dumb joke. My bad. RT @emilyrs Romney’s son Matt made an Obama birth certificate joke on the trail in NH

— Matt Romney(@Matt_Romney) December 30, 2011

• » Worst reason to join Twitter ever? Perhaps. Most people quit Twitter over saying something stupid. source

• I don’t want for a second for anyone to think that we didn’t screw up.
• Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson • Owning up to his longshot presidential campaign’s total fail, in which they had to rush to New Hampshire on Friday to fill out paperwork in person ahead of a major deadline, because they forgot to file. “Bottom line, we just screwed up,” he said. Props to Johnson for being honest about it. It’s kind of endearing, and most presidential candidates wouldn’t be so honest about their failings. source

• The manner in which some in the national team conducted themselves towards Team-NH was rude, unprofessional, dishonest, and at times cruel.
• A memo from five of Michele Bachmann’s former New Hampshire staffers • Explaining why they quit her campaign last week. The memo went on to say that it was “more concerning was how abrasive, discourteous, and dismissive some within the national team were towards many New Hampshire citizens. These are our neighbors and our friends, and some within the national team treated them more as a nuisance than as potential supporters.” These lapses of communication within Bachmann’s camp seem to show some glaring weaknesses in her campaign strategy.  source

• what A number of GOP candidates — including Michele Bachmann, Jon Huntsman, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich — have threatened to boycott the Nevada primary. Jon Huntsman went a step further, promising to boycott Tuesday’s Nevada-based debate.
• why Nevada is attempting to gain influence on the primaries by pushing their primary up to mid-January, meaning New Hampshire would have to hold theirs in December to ensure that theirs is still the first one. In effect, it gives weaker candidates less time. source

• 38% of New Hampshire GOP voters support Mitt Romney, according to a St. Anselm/Harvard poll
• 10% of those same voters say they’re “definitely” voting for Romney — now that’s some dissatisfaction source

• » Sorry guys, but Mitt’s it. It’s clear as ever this isn’t the position the GOP base wants to be in. To be clear, Romney’s polling lead is huge — Herman Cain came in second place with 20%, a full 18 points behind. The enthusiasm problem, however, as displayed by the discrepancy between his general support and those truly committed to him, should be a warning sign for Team Romney. Successful political figures usually need to inspire an extreme degree of loyalty amongst their base to weather the missteps, gaffes or scandals that usually occur over the course of a long campaign process. If it’s true that nearly 3/4ths of Romney’s New Hampshire supporters are still theoretically open to jumping ship? That’s a problem.