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At least one House Republican thinks Mitt Romney will make another run for the White House in 2016 — and this time, he says the 2012 runner-up will emerge victorious. “I think he actually is gonna run for president. He probably doesn’t want me to say that,” Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) told host Chris Matthews on MSNBC’s “Hardball” on Monday. Chaffetz also backed the former Massachusetts governor early in the GOP nomination process for 2012. “A hundred times he says he’s not, but Mitt Romney has always accomplished what he’s set out to do. I think he’s proven right on...

Allahpundit touched on this idea briefly this week in an article primarily to do with Mitt Romney in specific and the general question of whether or not there are second acts for losing party nominees in the 21st century. But apparently the idea has taken root in a few places, and as he noted in the article, the Daily Caller (or at least Mark Halperin) talked about it without being entirely tongue in cheek. Mark Halperin, the senior political analyst for “Time” magazine, appeared on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Thursday and boldly reiterated his Wednesday Twitter assertion that Al Gore —...

After an absence of several years, the new Pew Research Center political typology poll was just released. It breaks the American political electorate into eight groups. And, it makes clear what the Democratic challenge is in November midterm election. The Pew political typology has two dimensions. One is the likelihood of voting. Pew factors voters into three categories: "General Public," "Registered Voter," and "Politically Engaged." I'll assume the "Politically Engaged" are those likely to vote in the November midterm election and focus on those percentages. The second Pew dimension is the degree of partisanship. Pew sees three clusters. The first...

A new conventional wisdom is forming which says Democrat's gaffes don't matter because they aren't connected to (bad) Republican policies. There's a grain of truth to this argument and yet it misses the big picture. Hillary's policy positions won't be able to save her from her own serious flaws as a candidate. Progressive writer Brian Beutler explained why Romney's gaffe's mattered (and Hillary's didn't) this way: "Romney's weaknesses ran much deeper than tone-deaf asides about close friendships with NASCAR team owners, or a car elevator. His unfamiliarity with material deprivation was badly compounded by his devotion to an agenda (and...

Bill Maher took on Hillary Clinton‘s big book tour/2016 pre-campaign and amid the mockery of Clinton downplaying how well-off her family is (he sarcastically sympathized with someone emerging “from the financial rut that is the U.S. presidency”), Maher had some advice for the soon-to-be-official presidential candidate: go away. Contrary to people saying that doing the book tour now will inoculate her from criticism in 2016, Maher said Clinton being constantly on TV and in the news will give way to a different result; namely, “we’re sick of you.” And people will grow tired of her by 2016 anyway.

At the end of the Civil War, but before the pernicious reach of Jim Crow undermined the Union Army’s battlefield victory, former slaves and free blacks found themselves in possession of a most precious right -- the right to vote. It didn’t matter if a man had been a war hero in the famed, all-black 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment or a house servant on a Southern plantation. All that mattered was that he was a man. To say that this development didn’t sit well with the progressive-minded women of this country is an understatement. Before the war, the abolitionist...

Hillary Clinton says she and her husband aren’t truly “well off,” despite the fact that they’ve made millions. Clinton made the comment in an interview published Saturday night in The Guardian. The exchange touched on the recent comment she made about how she and former President Bill Clinton were “dead broke” when they left the White House in 2001—a statement many regarded as out of touch. "But they don't see me as part of the problem," she said of voters, "because we pay ordinary income tax, unlike a lot of people who are truly well off, not to name names;...

“Hillary was stunned when she heard the president talk about the Benghazi attack,” one of her top legal advisers said in an interview. “Obama wanted her to say that the attack had been a spontaneous demonstration triggered by an obscure video on the Internet that demeaned the Prophet Mohammed.” This adviser continued: “Hillary told Obama, ‘Mr. President, that story isn’t credible. Among other things, it ignores the fact that the attack occurred on 9/11.’ But the president was adamant. He said, ‘Hillary, I need you to put out a State Department release as soon as possible.’”

We all have read about Hillary's legal defense of the accused child rapist and her callous interview about the case. As I saw yet another article about it today, I realized that year in which the rapist died, 1992, was the year in which Bill Clinton was running for his first term as President and conservatives' attention was drawn to the number and nature of deaths of those people who could have said things to compromise his campaign. Does anyone know how this rapist died in 1992? Was there anything mysterious or untoward about his death?

Newly released documents show prosecutors believe Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker was at the center of a nationwide "criminal scheme" to illegally coordinate fundraising with outside conservative groups. No charges have been filed against Walker or any member of his staff. Prosecutors say Walker, his chief of staff and others who worked for him were discussing illegal coordination with a number of national groups and prominent figures, including GOP strategist Karl Rove.

Hillary Clinton has told a German magazine the United States should follow Germany, where Angela Merkel is chancellor, and have a woman in charge. She stopped short of saying, however, that it should be her. "We are way behind you in Germany on this," the former secretary of state told stern magazine in an interview to be published in its next edition on Wednesday. "Of course I want the U.S.A. to have a woman leader soon as well and I will do all I can for that to happen, though I don't know yet if it will be me," she...

Did Clinton nod to Mubarak overthrow? Book suggests foreign policy goof led to Luxor terror massacre © 2001 WorldNetDaily.com A secret deal between the Clinton administration and terrorists linked with Osama bin Laden led directly to the senseless slaughter of some 70 West European tourists and the wounding of hundreds, according to a book written by a former congressional terrorism expert. According to Yossef Bodansky, author of "Bin Laden: The Man Who Declared War on America," a Central Intelligence Agency operative dealing with Islamic terrorists on matters of security for the U.S. forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina led them to believe President Clinton ...

Gov. Chris Christie appears confident in his presidential prospects despite the ongoing bridge scandal that has tarnished his national reputation. During an appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” that aired late Thursday night, Christie was asked whether, “hypothetically,” he thinks he could beat Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton in a one-on-one matchup. …

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/05/how-can-we-understand-benghazi-without-probing-the-cias-role/275781/

Lots of tense, awkward laughter on NPR today! Hillary Clinton's book tour took her to "Fresh Air" with Terry Gross this afternoon, where the two got into it a bit over if and when Clinton "evolved," as they say, on the issue of gay marriage, or whether she held her personal opinions in favor of equality until they were politically viable. The answer is: Clinton is not telling. But it wasn't for Gross's lack of trying. "So what's it like when you're in office and you have to do all these political calculations to not be able to support something...

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) wave to the crowd June 27, 2008 in Unity, New Hampshire. Obama and Clinton appeared together in a show of unity for Obama's presidential campaign. Almost exactly six years ago, when Hillary Clinton finally conceded the Democratic presidential nomination to Barack Obama, she bore the scars of years of partisan warfare that he had soared above. As Clinton unofficially embarks upon her second presidential campaign with the release of her book, the two figures have nearly reversed roles. Now Obama is a figure brought low by accumulated...

Hillary Rodham Clinton retains broad public support for her performance as secretary of state, a sign that President Obama’s struggles abroad and Republican attacks over Benghazi have not been a major drag on her reputation. “More people blame the White House than they blame the secretary of state, and that strikes me as quite appropriate,” said Kori Schake, a former State Department official during the George W. Bush administration. The public “admires Secretary Clinton’s toughness and how much she got out there and tried to do stuff.” With many of the Obama administration’s foreign policy priorities still unresolved, Clinton has...

One-time presidential candidate Hillary Clinton refused to go along with an Obama campaign attack against Sarah Palin in 2008 that she saw as gender baiting, according to an except from her new memoir reported Friday. NBC News’ Kelly O’Donnell said during a morning segment on “The Today Show” that despite reconciling with the Obama camp after the primaries, Clinton didn’t endorse the campaign’s anti-Palin line upon her selection as John McCain’s vice-presidential nominee. “When Sarah Palin was picked by John McCain, Clinton refused to back up a ‘dismissive statement’ from Obama’s campaign,” O’Donnell reported. “‘I was not going to attack...

Talk along the lines of Hillary, Hillary, Hillary dominated the network news shows Sunday, as hosts and their guests mulled Hillary Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state, excerpts from her forthcoming memoir Hard Choices and her potential 2016 presidential bid. Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace countered praise of Clinton from Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., by listing some of Clinton’s troubles as President Barack Obama’s top diplomat. Wallace singled out developments in U.S. relations during Obama’s first term with Russia, Iran and Syria."She defended Syria’s President Assad as a possible reformer at the start of that country’s civil war," he...

One great big GOP/Fox News rebuke. That’s the early word on Hillary Clinton’s Benghazi explanation in her new book, “Hard Choices,” out on June 10. She’s “defiant,” not “defensive.” She blames her Ben-ghazi critics for exploiting the “tragedy over and over as a political tool” against her that has nothing to do with justice for the four Americans who died there. Since that’s an accurate summation of Republicans’ cynical agenda on Benghazi — and since an awful lot of Americans can see that clearly — I’d say those who think Ben-ghazi will sink Clinton in 2016, well, they better think...

Medical research has indicated that people like schizophrenics, or people suffering from mania, cannot distinguish between voices outside of themselves and the self-talk that goes inside their head. It’s just a simple biologic matter of that particular brain not being able to make that distinction. Democrats have that same problem. And here’s why: the only voices that are truly outside Democrats’ heads are voices from the opposition that they pay no attention to. Criticism to Democrats is like a dog whistle. They just can’t hear that frequency. The media, the bureaucracy, the economists, the government funded nongovernmental organizations and...

President Barack Obama kicked off a campaign to promote new restrictions on U.S. power plant emissions on Saturday by tying the fight against climate change with efforts to promote better health for children and the elderly. In his weekly radio address, Obama said the United States had to do more to reduce carbon emissions so that children suffering from asthma and other related ailments did not face further problems as a result of polluted air. Obama said the new guidelines would reduce smog and soot that threaten vulnerable populations such as the young and the aged and he said up...

Calling someone a "racist" used to mean that a person disliked certain people because of their skin color. Today, MOST OF THE TIME, it means something entirely different. Now, if someone is better and smarter than a liberal, a liberal cries "white privilege." If a liberal is failing and he doesn't know what to do about it, he yells "racism." If a liberal doesn't know how to counter your argument, he calls it "racist." If liberal can't counter your political argument, he screams out "bigot." So, if you're conservative, it's almost a backwards compliment at this point. "You're just...

In his highly anticipated new book and movie "America," conservative author Dinesh D'Souza is warning that Hillary Clinton won't be a clone of her moderate husband, but will instead take the baton from President Obama to continue radicalizing the country and “undo the nation's founding ideals.”

As she prepares to answer questions about the Benghazi attacks of 2012, Hillary Clinton has hired former Obama aide Tommy Vietor to help with the roll out of her new book. Earlier this month, Vietor, a former Obama administration national security spokesman, appeared on Fox News to defend the administration’s response to the attacks and famously said to anchor Bret Baier: “Dude, this was like two years ago.” Here is the transcript from that exchange: BAIER: Did you also change ‘attacks’ to ‘demonstrations’ in the talking points? VIETOR: Maybe. I don’t really remember. BAIER: You don’t remember? VIETOR: Dude, this...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)Hillary Clinton may not be much at administering the State Department, but she’s certainly a pro when it comes to expressing outrage at her own persecution. For the woman who is supposedly the world’s most powerful feminist, her sense of victimhood remains surprisingly strong. That’s never been more true than in her new book, Hard Choices, which points out that she – not the four men who died in Benghazi, Libya, on the night of September 11, 2012 – is the victim. The Clinton camp reportedly leaked the 34-page Benghazi chapter of Hillary’s latest tome to favored outlet Politico. The...

“It is inaccurate to state that every single one of them was influenced by this hateful video." This statement is part of Hillary's 36 page "fog of war" chapter on Benghazi in her forthcoming memoir, a chapter obtained at least in part by Politico's Maggie Haberman, and it appears to be indicative of how she filled those 36 pages without answering any of the crucial questions about the events of that night and the following day. This line refers to the killers. And this line is of course a straw man, easily recognized after the president's straw man Woodstock at...

Behind Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s visit to Iowa this week to campaign for local politicians is a careful effort to remake his image from the 2012 Republican presidential candidate who couldn’t remember a key message during a debate, to a more polished and prepared contender. While he denies it is a dress rehearsal for a second presidential run, Perry is studying policy, traveling and meeting with key activists as he campaigns for Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad and U.S. Senate candidate Matt Whitaker in the state expected to host the first presidential caucus of 2016. …

First lady Michelle Obama is more aggressively wading into policy fights while expanding her portfolio. Six years into the Obama administration, the first lady has gone to bat on issues outside her bailiwick in the East Wing. [snip] Most notably, earlier this month, she spoke out on the kidnapping of more than 200 Nigerian girls......[snip] She also made a rare foray into Capitol Hill politics earlier this week when House Republicans threatened to rollback the school lunch programs......[snip] The first lady’s more public role in politics goes beyond Boko Haram and the fight over school lunches.[snip] the first lady is...

The scandal over a made-up study that badly disrupted traffic at the George Washington Bridge may not be New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's biggest problem after all. Less than a year after the charismatic governor was the toast of the Republican Party and a leading contender to run for the White House in 2016, the story was supposed to be about a New Jersey economy that he had managed to turn around and budget problems he had been able to solve. That narrative appears to be unraveling.

Is it better for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton if Democrats boycott or participate in the new House investigation of the Benghazi attacks? That question is central to Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s decision whether to appoint Democratic members to the House select committee.

WASHINGTON, May 19 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama chastised his Republican opponents on Monday for focusing criticism on the events surrounding the deaths of four Americans in Benghazi, Libya, and on his signature healthcare law."The debate we're having now is about what, Benghazi? Obamacare? And it becomes this endless loop. It's not serious. It's not speaking to the real concerns that people have," Obama said.He was speaking to more than 60 people at a fundraising dinner for Democratic candidates for the House of Representatives.The event took place at a physician's home in the Washington suburb of Potomac, Maryland, as Obama...

Some 57 percent of Americans “who were aware of Clinton” (isn’t that everyone?) have a favorable opinion, while 43 percent see her negatively. And “nearly one-quarter of Republicans said they had a favorable view of Clinton.” That’s pretty remarkable in a polarized electorate, suggesting a certain crossover appeal. Clinton was most frequently described as “strong,” but “‘Benghazi’ was the term that stood out most when respondents who said they had an unfavorable view of Clinton were asked to explain this perspective.” And therein lies the rub. […] “The reality is that if nothing extraordinary happens, the only person who could...

In 2008, Democrats insisted that Senator John McCain was too old to be president. At a rally introducing Hillary Clinton, Congressman John Murtha criticized him for even running. "It's no old man's job," he said. Obama and Kerry used language suggesting that McCain was senile. Left-wing activists claimed that could die of skin cancer at any moment. Late night comedians turned McCain's age into a target. McClatchy headlined a story, "Some wonder if McCain's too old and wrinkly to be president." There are no stories in which reporters ask passerby if Hillary is too old and wrinkly to take...

Gun control supporters appear poised to force New Jersey's Republican governor, Chris Christie, often discussed as a potential presidential candidate in 2016, to show where he stands on the Second Amendment. On Monday, the state's Senate passed A2006, legislation to lower the state's magazine-capacity limit from 15 rounds to 10 rounds, by a vote of 22-17, mostly along party lines. The bill will be sent to Christie for signature or veto after the Assembly, which previously approved it by a vote of 46-31, approves technical changes made to the bill by the Senate. Once the bill reaches Christie's desk, he...

<p>Same-sex marriage is accepted by younger conservatives and won’t likely be an issue in upcoming political races, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said.</p> <p>Urgent: Should Pope Francis Allow Women Priests, Contraception? Vote Here Now.</p> <p>The discussion stemmed from Republican Sen. Rob Portman’s announcement last week that he has changed his position on same-sex marriage because he wants his son, who is gay, to have the same “joy and stability of marriage� that he has had and that he wishes for his other two children.</p>

Sunday on CBS's "Face the Nation," former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Hillary Clinton would make a "spectacular candidate" for president in 2016. “I think she would be a spectacular candidate on the Democratic side. Bloomberg also praised former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-FL) and Govs. Chris Christie (R-NJ) and Scott Walker (R-WI) pointing to their "executive experience"on the potential candidates on the Republican side of the ticket.

When Barack Obama was first elected President he took to the podium along with his smiling V.P. and announced that America would be brought back with “shovel ready” jobs. In other words the construction business would be aboomin. Unfortunately like many of the President’s promises, too many to mention, it turned out to be just another illusion. A few years later, when both the President and Vice President were taking questions about the lack of jobs, and their shovel ready promises, they looked at each other, laughed and said “Right”. Unless we go down the road of the Chinese and...

On May 6th, Hillary Clinton gave a speech at a National Council for Behavioral Health conference in which she suggested that "fully licensed" and "fully validated" gun owners cannot be trusted to make sound decisions regarding gun usage. According to Politico, Clinton's said: At the rate we're going, we're going to have so many people with guns everywhere, fully licensed, fully validated, in settings where [one] could be in a movie theater, and they don't like someone chewing gum loudly or talking on their cell phone and decide they have the perfect right to defend themselves against the gun chewer...

A good rule of thumb with Hillary Clinton is this: If it comes out of her mouth, it’s insincere. You will never lose money taking that bet 100 times out of 100. And a good corollary to that rule is this: When she tells you what something is supposed to mean, that’s not what it means at all. Especially when she’s talking about the Bible. Pay attention: When a liberal who “rarely mentions his or her faith” suddenly shows up in a church quoting Scripture to you, it’s a pretty good bet that liberal is trying to pervert the Scripture...

Hillary Clinton knows better than you do how to spend your paycheck. Really she does. Just ask her. Few media have trumpeted that Sen. Clinton exposed her socialist agenda during a speech Monday in San Francisco (which the Associated Press dubbed the "leftiest big city on the Left Coast"). But don't take our word for it. We'll go straight to the horse's mouth. "Many of you are well enough off that ... the tax cuts may have helped you. We're saying that for America to get back on track, we're probably going to cut that short and not give...

Tuesday, June 29, 2004 Hillary: We'll take your money for 'common good'Senator speaks to wealthy taxpayers at San Francisco fund-raiser Posted: June 29, 20045:00 p.m. Eastern © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y. Addressing a Democratic fund-raiser yesterday, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., told wealthy supporters the government will need to take money away from them for the "common good." Clinton headlined an appearance with other women Democratic senators in San Francisco, where donors gave as much as $10,000 to California Sen. Barbara Boxer's campaign. "Many of you are well enough off that ... the tax cuts may have helped you," Clinton...

The leftiest big city on the Left Coast was Clinton country on Monday, with former President Clinton continuing his blockbuster book tour and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton headlining a Democratic fund-raiser where she vowed to defeat the Republicans' "extraordinarily ruthless machine." Headlining an appearance with other Democratic women senators on behalf of Sen. Barbara Boxer, who is up for re-election this year, Hillary Clinton told several hundred supporters -- some of whom had ponied up as much as $10,000 to attend -- to expect to lose some of the tax cuts passed by President Bush if Democrats win the White...

..."Many of you are well enough off that ... the tax cuts may have helped you," Sen. Clinton said. "We're saying that for America to get back on track, we're probably going to cut that short and not give it to you. We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good."

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-Cuba), speaking at a Democratic party fundraiser in San Francisco yesterday, was remarkably frank about the Democrats' intentions to use socialist redistribution policies if the party gains power after the November elections.As reported by the Associated Press, Sen. Clinton said, "Many of you are well enough off that ... the tax cuts may have helped you. We're saying that for America to get back on track, we're probably going to cut that short and not give it to you. We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good."With her blunt statement,...

SAN FRANCISCO — The heavily Democratic San Francisco Bay area welcomed two of its political darlings Monday, with former President Clinton continuing his blockbuster book tour and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton headlining a campaign fund-raiser. Joining other Democratic women senators at an event for Sen. Barbara Boxer, who's seeking re-election, Hillary Clinton told hundreds of party faithful to expect to lose some of the tax cuts passed under President Bush if Democrats take control in Washington next year. "Many of you are well enough off that ... the tax cuts may have helped you," Sen. Clinton said. "We're saying...

For most American women beyond the age of high school gym class, “I’ve got my period” isn’t considered much of an excuse for anything. We’re meant to pop an Advil and get on with things, Red Devil be damned. But in several, mostly East Asian, countries, so-called “menstrual leave” is a legally enshrined right for female workers. However, as these countries attempt to move toward greater gender equality in the workplace, menstrual leave has come under debate. Do these policies simply further the notion that women are weak, hormonally-addled creatures controlled by their uteri? Or do they encourage more equality...

Hillary Clinton touted the economic growth seen during the last two Democratic presidencies during a speech before the New America Foundation on Friday, and she warned that the U.S. risks falling behind global competitors if policymakers do not do more to revive the middle class by generating broad-based economic growth. Clinton, a former secretary of state who's eyeing a presidential bid in 2016, praised both President Obama and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, for their economic stewardship. And she contrasted their years in the White House with the tenure of former President George W. Bush, saying eight years of...

Bill and Hillary Clinton are fighting back against critics as if they are waging another campaign, the clearest sign yet that, perhaps, they are. The former secretary of state and her former president husband are defending their records, showing off their health and humor and raising money for fellow Democrats, fresh indications that Hillary Clinton has her eye on running for president in 2016. […] Confronting Republican critics, the Clintons responded with humor and heft to suggestions by Republican strategist Karl Rove that Hillary Clinton may have suffered health problems more serious than she acknowledged after a concussion and hospitalization...

Former President Bill Clinton divulged on Wednesday that it took former secretary of state Hillary Clinton 'six months of very serious work' last year to recover from a fainting spell in December 2012 that resulted in a concussion and blood clot.