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The Obama campaign has a cringe-inducing propaganda slideshow called "The Life of Julia" intended to illustrate how the Obama Administration's policies will give government help to a young woman as she is educated, works, starts a family and retires. If you had to stifle a guffaw, you're not alone. Yes, the Obama Administration's policies alone can be the savior for American children everywhere - all it takes, apparently, are piles and piles of taxpayer money thrown around recklessly. And by the end, children will still be able to retire and live comfortably on the totally-stable programs of Medicare and Social...

In a memo to reporters, Romney Political Director Rich Beeson laid out his camp's view that neither Santorum nor any of the other candidates in the race has any chance of securing enough delegates to secure the Republican nomination...... "Super Tuesday dramatically reduced the likelihood that any of Governor Romney's opponents can obtain the Republican nomination," Beeson wrote. "As Governor Romney's opponents attempt to ignore the basic principles of math, the only person's odds of winning they are increasing are President Obama's." Beeson cited Romney's current lead in delegates and a tough upcoming primary and caucus calendar as examples of...

OKLAHOMA CITY – It’s just before dawn on a Wednesday and parked at the far end of a Wal-Mart parking lot is an RV, it appears to be a model from the early-to-mid 1990’s. It’s been driven, that’s for sure, and inside the vehicle, the driver is stirring. The driver happens to be one of the best-known anti-abortion activists in the past quarter century. It’s Randall Terry, the uncompromising pro-life guy who has been arrested dozens of times and served time at the height of the 1990's abortion wars. A few days earlier, I had conducted a phone interview with...

OKLAHOMA CITY – It was short, emphatic and to the point. “No. Never.” That was the straightforward answer Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul gave Red Dirt Report Saturday afternoon, following his well-attended Oklahoma City campaign stop, when he was asked by this reporter if he was somehow working behind the scenes with the Mitt Romney campaign. The few members of the Oklahoma media that bothered to cover the Ron Paul press conference on the first floor of the State Capitol did not ask the one question many national media people are talking about – collusion between Paul and Romney to...

PRINCETON,NewJersey(CNN) - The outcome of the election of 2012 is becoming even tougher to predict, since there are many political landmines facing both parties. President BarackObama has enjoyed a resurgence in his political standing, with polls showing him ahead of the GOP rivals in hypothetical matchups for the general election. Recent statistics showing an improving economy have bolstered the president's position, while his budget proposal and increasingly populist rhetoric have generated some excitement within the base of the Democratic Party. On the Republican side, MittRomney remains the front-runner, though barely, still enjoying the kind of edge in campaign contributions that...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has named Gov. Bill Haslam his campaign chairman in Tennessee. The Romney campaign also announced Tuesday that it has gathered a full slate of 48 delegate candidates on the Tennessee ballot, led by former Gov. Winfield Dunn. Haslam said in a statement that the delegates represent the statewide strength of the Romney campaign in Tennessee. SNIP Romney supported Haslam in the state's 2010 governor's race, and Haslam's father and brother also hold leadership positions in the former Massachusetts governor's Tennessee operations.

Wisconsin lost about 3,900 private-sector jobs in December — the sixth straight month state employment has declined. But don't worry, the recalls can help fix all that. I don't mean by getting rid of Gov. Scott Walker — who has famously promised to create 250,000 private sector jobs by 2015 but who after a year in office can only point to about 13,500. Rather, last year's nine state senate recall elections and this year's likely recall elections for governor, lieutenant governor and four state senators represent Wisconsin's very own jobs package. Take the state Government Accountability Board's hiring of 50...

It came to prominence when demonstrators vowing to represent the 99 percent condemned corporate malfeasance, lopsided executive salaries and the distribution of wealth from the middle to the top. Four months later, the grievances of Occupy Wall Street have become a pillar of campaigns from Washington, D.C., to San Diego. The amalgamation of deepening distrust in the American institutions of Washington and Wall Street, the sluggish job and housing markets and the growing prospect that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney may become the Republican presidential nominee has helped thrust tenets of the Occupy movement into the political sphere. On Thursday,...

<p>With his vast trail of scandals and long list of enemies, Newt Gingrich is unlikely to win the Republican presidential nomination, even if he’s leading the polls. But if you were to imagine a path to the nomination for the former House Speaker, it would begin in Iowa. A strong win in the Iowa caucuses would provide Gingrich with the momentum necessary to place well in New Hampshire (or win it, under the right circumstances). With the momentum of two primaries behind him, Gingrich would cruise to victory in South Carolina and Florida, and finish January as the presumptive nominee.</p>

Republicans want to win Election 2012. Will voters desperate to put a republican in the White House overlook Newt's past infidelities? A group called Iowa Christian Leaders in Government blasted Bob Vander Platts and Gingrich in a scathing article about "marital problems". The President of Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition, Steve Scheffler said his group would not be endorsing any candidate. Scheffler said it was up to each supporter and member to vote for their conservative of choice.

The White House dismisses the data, but, according to a study by Brendan Doherty, a U.S. naval academy assistant professor and expert on presidential travel, President Barack Obama has visited swing states “on official business” more times in a shorter span than either George W. Bush or Bill Clinton. The Wall Street Journal reports: Between Jan. 1 and Nov. 17 of his third year in office, Bill Clinton held 40 events over 24 days in the battlegrounds of his time, according to data compiled by Brendan Doherty, a U.S. Naval Academy assistant professor who is widely viewed among political scientists...

A Pew Research Center poll of Republican, Democrat and Independent voters released Thursday shows former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney leading the field of Republican presidential nominees. The poll results suggest that Romney is benefiting from Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s debate gaffe last week and the sexual harrassment allegations against pizza magnate Herman Cain. The poll, conducted by Washington D.C. based Pew Research Center, revealed that Cain is neck and neck with Romney. The Pew poll gave Romney 23 percent of the votes and Cain 22 percent of the votes. However, the survey focused primarily on the head to head match...

TWO QUESTIONS FOR FR's REPORTERS & POSTERS Should Bloggers & web News sites Covering OWS Be taking names ? Should stories in "statist" media be reported in FR as another "services in kind campaign contribution "? While some "correspondents" covering the protestors and participants of the OWS, (occupation of Wall Street) ,the so called anti-capitalistism protest, are checking backgrounds of the participants where and when possible. It might be eye opening if those OWS participants were also asked what is their educational background including; their college,major and professor by those reporting news sites and bloggers.. There are several kinds of...

There is a movement among some prominent Iowa Republicans to undermine a scheduled GOP presidential debate sponsored by the Des Moines Register and aired by Iowa Public Television. The debate, scheduled for December 19, would be the third candidate forum in Iowa over a span of nine days. Some county GOP leaders believe that is too many. ABC and Fox News have presidential debates scheduled for December 10 and December 15, respectively. Both are sponsored by the Republican Party of Iowa. State central committee member and Carroll County GOP chair Craig Williams fears the candidates will not want to participate...

The Daily Caller spoke with Herman Cain’s chief of staff, Mark Block, about the campaign’s fundraising and the now infamous advertisement that made him an Internet celebrity.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama signed off Friday on the first three — and possibly last — free trade agreements of his administration, deals with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama that could be worth billions to American exporters and create tens of thousands of jobs. The three deals were years in the making, and the difficulty of bringing them to fruition make it unlikely there will be another bilateral trade agreement during Obama's current term. Obama signed them with none of the ceremonial fanfare that normally accompanies such triumphs. Republicans, while supportive of the deals, continue to find fault...

Former Republican Rep. Tom Tancredo blasted Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Thursday, saying "he is finished," in a sign the GOP’s immigration hawks may soon flock to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Tancredo, who is currently supporting former Godfather Pizza CEO Herman Cain for the nomination, also predicted Perry would not win the nomination. "I think he has imploded,” Tancredo said. “I think he is finished and I hope I helped kick some holes in his boat."

President Obama has Twittered, Googled and Facebooked millions of American voters at his town hall meetings in collaboration with those companies, and this week he will visit another Bay Area technology firm to push his jobs message. Obama's stop Monday in Mountain View to star at a town hall at the headquarters of social networking site LinkedIn is the first of two tech-related events planned by the White House. On Wednesday, Obama will participate with Yahoo in what's billed as "the first-ever Hispanic-focused online roundtable" at the White House. The public LinkedIn event comes at the close of Obama's two-day...

Straw polls, real polls, debates, caucuses and primaries — these comprise the public side of presidential campaigns 14 months before Election Day. But behind the scenes, strategists for President Obama and his major Republican opponents are already focused like a laser on the Electoral College. The emerging general election contest gives every sign of being highly competitive, unlike 2008. Of course, at this point in 1983 and 1995, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, respectively, were in trouble; and in 1991 George H.W. Bush still looked safe. Unexpectedly strong economic growth could make Obama’s reelection path much easier than it currently...

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said she was “wiped out” by Kinde Durkee, a well-connected California Democratic political operative who served as treasurer for hundreds of state, local and federal campaign committees. Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0911/63299.html#ixzz1XqFoJPNN

<p>I'm a whiny Romney retard who knows nothing about the First Amendment and even less about the Sixth. That's why my revised graphic got pulled by the mods, this post was inane and stupid enough without it.</p>

The Rise of the Democratic Super-Secret PACs. Posted by Moe Lane Friday, June 17th at 7:00PM EDT Super PACs are, of course, the political groups that were set up after the Supreme Court’s landmark free speech decision in Citizens United: they are able to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money advocating both for and against political candidates, but may not donate to those candidates directly. The Left ostensibly hates them, which did not stop them from using them to raise over 28 million dollars in the 2010 election cycle (44% of total Super PAC fundraising) to the Right’s over...

With proposed new district boundaries, Republicans must recruit more moderate candidates and find common ground with more Californians, experts say. ********* [snip] Labor unions, which are Democrats' biggest allies, say the combination of the "top-two" primary system and the new political maps creates unprecedented opportunities for them to influence Republican races. Last week, the Service Employees International Union launched a political action committee aimed at helping moderate Republicans be elected to the Legislature. "The California Republican Party doesn't have enough money to buy a foreclosed home in Sacramento," said SEIU Executive Director David Kieffer. Jim Brulte, a GOP operative and...

The field for the GOP 2012 Presidential primary is beginning to take shape, both in terms of who is running and who is not. Frankly, I’m neither surprised nor disappointed by Donald Trump’s announcement that he will not run. Although he promised to be an interesting candidate, it was becoming increasingly clear that he would prove to be more of a distraction than a serious contender for the office. Newt Gingrich has finally made his candidacy official, and has promptly made sure there is no chance I will be able to support his efforts by trying to co-opt Obamacare and...

IT'S MY PARTY: The Democrats in the Senate are headed to President Obama's turf on Wednesday to talk with him about the deficit and, the White House says, other things. In guidance to reporters, the White House said that at the meeting at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Obama and the "Senate Democratic Caucus" will cover "the range of important issues on the legislative agenda, including the need to adopt a balanced approach in confronting the nation’s long-term deficit challenges." The meeting is closed to the press..

The silly season is upon us. The presidential primary season is just around the corner and for the third time in a row a relatively unpopular president is likely to be reelected while his opposition is in disarray. Almost alone among European democracies, the United States elects leaders on the basis of their campaign skills, not their governing skills. We elect the best TV performer — the best campaigner — regardless of previous experience. In Britain, only three people can be leader of the nation — the heads of the Labor, Conservative and Liberal Democratic parties. No other members of...

....Now that Republicans are running the House, Democrats have tried to stymie the GOP agenda by relying on the tactic, known as the motion to recommit. But they've failed on every one of their 23 attempts this year. ...the maneuver is aimed at forcing members of the majority into an untenable choice between opposing their party's position or casting a vote that opponents could use against them in election campaigns. For a recommit motion to work, the minority party must pick off at least some members of the majority. Thus Democrats would need at least a few dozen of the...

Americans have spent the last three generations growing detached from their communities. The book “Bowling Alone” by Robert Putnam illustrates the aggressive decline of civic engagement in the United States. The premise is simple; in generations past, ending with the Greatest Generation who came of age during the Depression and World War II, Americans were engaged in everything from neighborhood clubs, civic groups — and even bowling leagues. The inventions of television and radio and suburban life with long commutes have eroded the public engagement of most Americans. Information and ideas are no longer discussed in meetings, but on the...

President Barack Obama’s pledge to veto legislation containing so-called “earmarks” has so rankled Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev) that he has vowed “to fight to my last breath against this power grab.” “The President isn’t the only one who gets to say who will be on the receiving end of government spending,” Reid said. “All of us who must face the voters need campaign donations if we’re to be reelected. Channeling federal dollars to the businesses and interest groups who fill our campaign coffers is the payback that’s expected from these donors. Without it their incentive to give will...

I have lived in Washington for over forty years. Between us, my husband and I have worked for the federal government, in private practice, in the House, in the Senate, and for nonprofits. In those years, we've learned a fair amount about the workings of this city. But there are some things I never will understand. The first of these is the utility of relying on political consultants. I am sure there must be some good ones, but I seem never to have met them. The ones I have met seem to be largely glad-handlers, purveyors of conventional pieties,...

It's taken a good part of the past week for the breadth of the conservative achievement in the midterms to sink in. Over sixty new House seats, six Senate seats (we can safely say, no matter what occurs in Alaska, since Murkowski is a member of the Murkowski Party representing only Murkowski), thirty-plus statehouses, and no fewer than twenty "trifectas" -- that is, states in which the GOP owns the House, Senate, and governorship. The 2010 election was a victory both broad and deep, one that will be paying dividends for years to come. It could have been better. Anything,...

Are these really the "dirtiest" political campaigns in history? Have this year's negative political ads really "taken dirty to a whole new level, as CNN's Anderson Cooper frets? Is a "return to civility...a relic of a bygone era," as President Barack Obama laments?

Much is being said in the 2010 campaign cycle about outside spending on political candidates. Most recently, the Democrats have been making much of some foreign contributions to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Democrats have accused the Chamber of using that foreign money as part of the millions of dollars that the Chamber has spent trying to help Republicans to get elected, which would be illegal. The Chamber, of course, denies any wrongdoing, and the majority of the evidence would seem to indicate that they are right. What seems missing from this conversation, however, is any discussion of the appropriateness...

I have posted this to a number of threads where it was germaine to the topic. Yesterday, a fellow Freeper suggested that, with a CRITICAL election coming up on 11/2, it merited its own thread. So, here it is. Have at it!! :-)) ***************************************** Over the years – when, to steal a line from Billy Joel, I wore a younger man’s clothes – I was involved with several pretty solid conservative candidates for Congress. One was a Democrat (Lawrence Patton McDonald) – because that was the only way he could win in that district. Those old-timers who know Larry’s record...

WASHINGTON — After 18 months of careful image-making and bipartisanship, Michelle Obama is shifting course as first lady, stepping up her policy agenda and dipping into election-year politics to campaign and raise money for Democrats. Despite stinging criticism of her summer vacation to Spain with daughter Sasha — aides warned her not to go, and the backlash was fiercer than they had imagined — Mrs. Obama is the most popular member of her husband’s administration. Having worked to build good will through nonideological causes like fighting obesity and assisting military families, aides say, she is ready to spend some of...

Jim Bennett, the son of Sen. Bob Bennett who ran his father’s campaign for a fourth term this year, has begun working as a volunteer on the Senate campaign of Democrat Sam Granato, who hopes to replace the senior Bennett in Washington, D.C. Bennett was ousted at the Republican State Convention earlier this year when he came in third in the delegate vote. Mike Lee then defeated Tim Bridgewater in the GOP primary to become the Republican nominee against Granato in the November election. The defeat of Bennett at the convention has triggered concerns among a number of traditional Republicans...

Just a few months ago, Cedra Crenshaw was a stay at home mom. A former accountant and auditor, she was spending her free time fighting for transparency and accountability from local governing bodies. She became a regular at school board meetings. Quality education for all, is one of her passions. Living in Illinois, she knew firsthand, what many in America are now witnessing. The liberal policies that the current administration espouse, don't work. The same Chicago Machine that put Obama in the White House is the same machine responsible for the Illinois' debt crisis. For nearly a decade, Illinois Democrats...

Concerned Women for America condemns, the passage of the DISCLOSE Act in the House of Representatives today. Penny Nance, CEO of Concerned Women for America, stated: "The DISCLOSE Act is designed to stifle Americans' legitimate right to political speech and carves out exceptions for powerful special interest groups and unions. It places onerous regulations on small business owners and grassroots groups if they attempt to educate the public on candidates and issues....

Under a "jungle" or "Louisiana primary" regime, there are no partisan ballots in the August primary election. Instead, multiple Democrats, Republicans, Greens, Libertarians, Larouchies and whoever else are all thrown into the pot with each other, and the top two vote-getters appear on the November ballot, regardless of party. Given gerrymandered districts, and even just political/cultural/geographic realities, it's very likely that many if not most November legislative elections could feature just two Democrats running against each other, or two Republicans. The system has been in place for many years in Louisiana, among other things producing the infamous 1991 general election...

The Tea Party movement had another chance to show its influence in elections in last week's primary elections in 11 states across the country. In Nevada, a Tea Party candidate knocked off a GOP competitor. Some public policy experts and a political activist give their thoughts on what it means to the Tea Party movement.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are preparing to roll out a series of changes at several privately owned immigration detention centers, including relaxing some security measures for low-risk detainees and offering art classes, bingo and continental breakfast on the weekends. The changes were welcomed by immigrant advocates who have been waiting for the Obama administration to deliver on a promise made in August to overhaul the nation's immigration detention system. The 28 changes identified in the e-mail range from the superficial to the substantive. In addition to “softening the look of the facility” with hanging plants and offering fresh carrot...

As oil continues to pour into the Gulf of Mexico with no real end in sight, the spill is becoming an issue in the 2010 campaign. On Wednesday, the League of Conservation Voters launched a TV ad using footage of the April 20 explosion on BP's Deepwater Horizon to attack Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln's ties to BP and the overall oil industry. "Big Oil has another gusher," the ad says, as a cartoon image of the U.S. Capitol dome explodes in a spout of dollar bills. "But this time it's tens of millions in campaign cash." The ad slams Lincoln,...

A letter from a union leader shows that endorsements from organized labor don't come without strings attached. Saundra Williams, president of the metropolitan Detroit AFL-CIO signed a letter dated April 30, 2010, that stated "... failure to commit to this pledge stating that you will refrain from supporting the "privatization" of public sector jobs, Charter Schools and "Right-To-Work" legislation ... will jeopardize the status of any current or future support of your candidacy for any office." Williams didn't return an e-mail or phone call seeking comment. The letter also included a questionnaire sent out by the union asking political candidates...

Here are my 99 races, grouped into five levels of difficulty. I’ve used three different measurements – the Department of Homeland Security’s old color-code alert system, a comparable degree of difficulty to beating NFL teams, and a quick assessment.

PHOENIX – Facing the toughest re-election battle of his career, John McCain is bringing in the Republican Party's newest rising star in a bid to shore up support among conservative primary voters. Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown is making his first campaign trip as senator. His visit to Arizona Friday will be a first test of his popularity among Republican activists after he broke with the GOP leadership to side with Democrats in supporting a jobs bill. Brown won his seat in January with the help national Republicans, "tea party" groups and an array of conservative special interests. Some of those...

In a stunning reversal of the nation's federal campaign finance laws, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Thursday that as an exercise of free speech, corporations, labor unions and other groups can directly spend on political campaigns. Siding with filmmakers of "Hillary: The Movie," who were challenged by the Federal Election Commission on their sources of cash to pay for the film, the court overturned a 20-year-old ruling that banned corporate and labor money. The decision threatens similar limits imposed by 24 states. The justices also struck down part of the landmark McCain-Feingold campaign

If you watched the Obama rally (which was easily accessible on national television), you saw people who showed up at a political rally excited about the president of the United States and yawning at the candidate they're being offered by the Democrats on Tuesday. If you watched the Brown rally (available via livestream on his site), you saw people revved up about an actual candidate on the ballot Tuesday. If you watched Obama, you got dismissive attacks on Scott Brown. If you watched Scott Brown, you got positive reasons to vote for him. And Brown is a guy who could...

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- Like the song goes, "something going on over there". What's happening in the New York 23rd Congressional District may have national significance. It's looking like a political earthquake in progress, and it has a San Francisco flavor to it....In San Francisco style, a Republican abandoned her own party's candidate and chose a liberal Democrat, saying it was the best choice for her district. (Recall the hundreds of San Francisco republicans who were strong early financial supporters of Democrat Mayor Gavin Newsom and his defunct run for California governor over the Republican candidate.) Didn't make much difference....

PITTSBURGH — For President Barack Obama, it's almost as if the election campaign never ended. Just look at his travel schedule. The same states that Obama targeted to win the White House are seeing an awful lot of the president, Vice President Joe Biden and top Cabinet officials. Only this year, the taxpayers are footing the multimillion-dollar tab for the trips, and Obama officials are delivering wheelbarrows of economic stimulus money — also compliments of taxpayers. An Associated Press review of administration travel records shows that three of every four official trips Obama and his key lieutenants made in his...

If you ask Americans about campaign finance reform, most likely they’ll answer something about the need for it because “there’s too much money in politics,” not realizing that to many the freedom to donate to the political candidate of their choice is a right equated with everything else granted by the First Amendment. It’s quite possible those free speech advocates will soon be pleased as a key part of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform package may be overturned by the Supreme Court. In what began as a quite innocent case brought out as a clarification request by the producers of...