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Iowa Republicans have a total of 28 delegates to this year’s national convention in Tampa, Florida. Two delegate selection committee members from each of the state’s four congressional districts met at the Republican headquarters in Des Moines today to draft the slate of 13 at-large delegates that must be ratified by convention delegates at the state convention on June 15th. Each state is awarded delegates based on a number of factors. Each state starts with ten delegates, five for each U.S. Senator. States are then awarded three delegates for every congressional district. The three members of the Republican National Committee,...

Here's what happens when the president of the United States publicly targets a private citizen for the crime of supporting his opponent. Frank VanderSloot is the CEO of Melaleuca Inc. The 63-year-old has run that wellness-products company for 26 years out of tiny Idaho Falls, Idaho. Last August, Mr. VanderSloot gave $1 million to Restore Our Future, the Super PAC that supports Mitt Romney. Three weeks ago, an Obama campaign website, "Keeping GOP Honest," took the extraordinary step of publicly naming and assailing eight private citizens backing Mr. Romney. Titled "Behind the curtain: a brief history of Romney's donors," the...

On Wednesday, I pointed out that Barack Obama’s so-called “all of the above” energy plan, as explained on his campaign website, had a very large omission. This graphic represented the energy policy on which Obama was campaigning for re-election:In case the graph on the left isn’t clear enough, here it is by itself:Oddly, the “all of the above” approach excluded coal, which sources 45% of all electricity produced in the US, sustains more than a half-million jobs, and allows for lower prices to consumers and businesses. After nearly losing in coal-dependent West Virginia’s Democratic primary to a felon currently in...

From: "Barack Obama" Add sender to Contacts To: Dear -- Today, I was asked a direct question and gave a direct answer: I believe that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry. I hope you'll take a moment to watch the conversation, consider it, and weigh in yourself on behalf of marriage equality:I've always believed that gay and lesbian Americans should be treated fairly and equally. I was reluctant to use the term marriage because of the very powerful traditions it evokes. And I thought civil union laws that conferred legal rights upon gay and lesbian couples were a solution....

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: I'll tell you, here's what I know. Here's what I know, and this is after only an hour of... and, by the way, you must know, I have to tell you what this feels like. Guilt. I only did an hour of show prep, but I feel like I'm skipping school today. I feel like I'm not fulfilling expectations, so we'll see. This is what I know. Mitt Romney was not at Chappaquiddick. Mitt Romney has not been accused of rape. Mitt Romney did not have an affair with a mob babe. He didn't have an affair...

At the end of a full report on Friday's NBC Today, based on a Washington Post hit piece that accused Mitt Romney of bullying of a gay high school classmate, correspondent Peter Alexander admitted the story may be false: "NBC News isn't naming the student who was allegedly bullied....Late last night, his sister told NBC News that his portrayal in the Washington Post story is 'factually incorrect'..." Despite that important detail, the network morning show still decided to promote the accusations. At the top of the show, co-host Ann Curry teased: "Prep school bully? Mitt Romney responds to a report...

by John HillStand With Arizona If you needed a symbol of the utterly preposterous lawsuit against Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his Maricopa County Sheriffs Department (MCSO), this may well be it. On page 2 of the 32-page complaint, filed yesterday in U.S. District Court in Phoenix, the Department of Justice references "insensitive" emails sent by MCSO employees. The prima fascie evidence? Read for yourself... MCSO supervisors involved in immigration enforcement have expressed anti-Latino bias, in one instance widely distributing an email that included a photograph of a Chihuahua dog dressed in swimming gear with the caption “A Rare Photo of...

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At the end of a full report on Friday's NBC Today, based on a Washington Post hit piece that accused Mitt Romney of bullying of a gay high school classmate, correspondent Peter Alexander admitted the story may be false: "NBC News isn't naming the student who was allegedly bullied....Late last night, his sister told NBC News that his portrayal in the Washington Post story is 'factually incorrect'..." Despite that important detail, the network morning show still decided to promote the accusations. At the top of the show, co-host Ann Curry teased: "Prep school bully? Mitt Romney responds to a report...

As devotees of Barack Obama know all too well, qualities that made him so attractive as a candidate — an affinity for subtle arguments, a tendency to carefully weigh his options — have at times proved less useful in his role as president. That carefulness has been read as indecisiveness. The subtle arguments have sounded, to some ears, like hedging. In response, the president has simplified his rhetoric. The nuances of the 2009 Cairo speech about relations between the U.S. and the Muslim world have given way to chest thumping over killing Osama bin Laden. The sophistication of the speech...

Friend Matt Damon. Ben Affleck. John Krasinski. In just two weeks, Massachusetts' most famous friends are hosting an event for Elizabeth at JJ Abrams' production company. And we're saving two tickets for our grassroots supporters. Pitch in ... to Elizabeth's campaign, and you'll be entered automatically for the chance to spend the evening with Elizabeth and guests at the party. Our campaign will handle any air transportation and accommodations -- you just need to pick who you're going to bring with you. We'll be picking our guest randomly in just a few days, so don't miss out. Good luck! Michael...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: The White House is not going to push the gay marriage plank into the party platform. As of now, the White House is not going to. Obama, the Democrats... No, Obama. Obama is not going to move to have gay marriage become part of the party platform. Those of you on the Democrat side in the gay population, you have to understand: Not one thing changed for you. Obama totally left it up to the states. He said he was perfectly fine with it. All he said was that he thinks gay people should be able to...

Here’s an old, bad (really bad) joke: During the 1973 war, the Israeli Army determined that at least one third of all Arab forces arrayed against them were named Mohammed. They quickly developed a new tactic. The IDF troops would take cover and holler out, “Mohammed!” In response to the call, one third of the Arab troops would jump out of their cover, and the Israeli forces would pick them off.You couldn’t fool the Arabs for long. They figured out that at least one third of all IDF troops arrayed against them were named David. They too quickly developed a...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Obama is at the Clooney fundraiser last night, where, by the way, the story on that is, the original expectation was ten million. That's what they were gonna raise. But then, our brave, courageous president went out there and said that he thinks the states ought to determine gay marriage, and that gay people should be able to get married. Lo and behold, the floodgates opened, and an additional five million was raised at the Clooney fundraiser. I'm not believing that either. The whole thing is a crock. They got 15 from the get-go. ou got Obama...

Go to Illinois economic growth strong, end extended unemployment benefits and read it for yourself. llinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced that the temporary extended unemployment insurance program ends as of May 12, 2012 and that Illinois claimants will be notified via mail and e-mail. Those on the Extended Benefit (EB) program will be issued a final payment during the two weeks following May 12. According to IDES reports, March local unemployment rate fell in every metro area across Illinois compared to last year and because specific economic factors set forth by federal officials were met, no further unemployment...

May 10, 2012 DOJ vs. Sheriff Joe: Hispanic Discrimination in Photo of ‘Mexican Navy Seal’ Christian Adams I just read the complaint filed by the Holder Justice Department against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. (See also PJ Tatler on the radical lawyers who wrote the complaint.) The complaint includes a collection of sufficiently insensitive anecdotes by MCSO employees. One of the acts giving rise to the federal lawsuit is this outrage: MCSO supervisors involved in immigration enforcement have expressed anti-Latino bias, in one instance widely distributing an email that included a photograph of a Chihuahua dog dressed in swimming gear...

Obama's Vote of Confidence In Gay and Lesbian Families This was a moment I'd barely dreamed of: by his leadership, the president has empowered Americans to be their inclusive best Hilary Rosen 11 May 2012 By now, the political implications of the president's public support for gay marriage have been analyzed from all angles by hundreds of pundits. And while, of course, there are significant political ramifications from the president's ABC interview, I, for one, would like to focus on those who will be most affected by it: the loving gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered couples and their children who...

Franklin Graham said President Obama has “shaken his fist” at God by announcing his support for same-sex marriage. On Wednesday, Obama voiced his support for same-sex marriage, saying he was taking a personal position on the issue. "I have hesitated on gay marriage in part because I thought that civil unions would be sufficient," Obama said in the interview with ABC. He added, "I was sensitive to the fact that for a lot of people the word 'marriage' was something that evokes very powerful traditions, religious beliefs and so forth." Now, he said, "it is important for me personally to...

When political scientist Harold Lasswell, writing in the mid-1930s, defined politics as the decisions society makes about "who gets what, when, and how," he might as well have been describing the debate over taxes and spending in the United States today. But what happens when the focus of the political debate changes from who gets what to who loses what? This concept is unfamiliar to Americans, who have enjoyed more than 100 years of (mostly) uninterrupted economic growth. The few examples in American history of the politics of loss suggest that the results tend to be explosive. Writing in the...

Obama: George Clooney and Me Are ‘Dope and Hope’ By CNSNews.com Staff May 11, 2012 (CNSNews.com) - At fundraiser dinner at the Hollywood home of actor George Clooney on Thursday night, President Barack Obama joked that he and the actor were “Dope and Hope.” “It was wonderful,” Obama said, “walking through the house, and the famous ‘Hope’ poster from the 2008 campaign--people don't realize that the photograph of me is actually me sitting next to George, because George had come into D.C. to advocate on behalf of Darfur and to make sure that we were doing the right thing for...