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WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Democratic Party has picked Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to chair its national convention this summer in Charlotte, N.C. The chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, says in an email to DNC members that Villaraigosa will be nominated to chair the September convention. Chairing the national convention, where Democrats are expected to nominate President Barack Obama for a second term, will place Villaraigosa in a national spotlight. Overseeing the gathering will also place the Latino mayor front and center as Democrats woo Latino support for Obama and other candidates.

BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- Republican presidential contender Rick Santorum is exploring Secret Service protection following a rowdy rally in Washington state earlier in the week. Santorum says it's "a sad state of affairs," especially after he spent several weeks campaigning in a supporter's pickup truck. But for his family's sake, he says, he's in discussions with the Secret Service. Santorum hosted an outdoor rally adjacent to the campsite of Tacoma, Wash., Occupy protesters Monday night. They chanted and yelled during most of the event. Two protesters were dragged away by police.

Newt Gingrich has never been shy about his love of zoos. While campaigning here for the GOP presidential nomination, Gingrich sneaked away for an unannounced Valentine’s Day visit to the San Diego Zoo. “I really like to see the animals,” Gingrich said Tuesday during a private tour in Balboa Park. “But I also like to see how zoos think. What are they trying to accomplish?” In San Diego, the elephant complex is replete with what he described as a sophisticated introduction to fossils that gives visitors “a feel for Southern California.” Gingrich spent a few extra moments staring silently at...

FEBRUARY 13, 2012 Wherefore Art Thou ACLU? Only Certain Civil Liberties Need Apply. By Charles C. W. Cooke The American Civil Liberties Union is something of a wildcard. Marked by caprice, it can be occasionally thrilling, but it is more often frustrating, inconsistent, and ramshackle. On issues of speech, the organization can be an ally of limited government — it recently played a key role in the gutting of the McCain-Feingold campaign-finance-reform bill, siding with Citizens United against the Federal Election Commission and winning a signal victory for the First Amendment — but, more often than it joins the chorus...

Walker came to office in the Republican wave of 2010. He inherited a mess. Under his profligate predecessor, Jim Doyle, state government had operated almost as a slush fund for public employee unions. Giveaways to teachers and others put the state on an unsustainable fiscal path, so Doyle raised some taxes and threatened to raise others. He raided a state fund set up to cover medical liability, essentially stealing contributions doctors had made to the pooled account. The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled against that pilfering, but the money had already been spent. Even after budget gimmickry that would make Fannie...

“We have a supply of natural gas that can last America nearly 100 years,” declared President Barack Obama in his State of the Union speech last month. “And my administration will take every possible action to safely develop this energy. Experts believe this will support more than 600,000 jobs by the end of the decade.” Hooray, right? Some environmental lobbyists aren't exactly celebrating—and some analysts say that the president doesn't know what he’s talking about. Burning natural gas adds far less of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide to the atmosphere than does burning coal, but many activists fear that cheap,...

TULARE, Calif.—Newt Gingrich is struggling to regain his political footing in the battle to capture the Republican presidential nomination, but none of that was evident Tuesday during a visit to the World Ag Expo. The former House speaker from Georgia was treated like political royalty by the hordes attending the event. They broke from their routine to shake his hand, seek his autograph or pose for a picture. Gingrich was gracious and patient as people crowded around him as he toured some of the exhibits. “I like him,” said Adam Smith, a Missouri resident who is manning an exhibit on...

From Newt Gingrich's latest campaign release: ""Speaker Newt Gingrich has unveiled his Faith Leaders Dream Team — rallying several fearless Christians including Don Wildmon, Tim and Beverly LaHaye, George Barna, JC Watts, Chuck Norris, Mat Staver and others as he takes on the the radical secularism of the Obama Administration. The Gingrich Faith Leaders Coalition is Newt Gingrich's official advisory coalition on issues pertaining to life, marriage, and religious liberty.""

Newt Gingrich spent more than 30 years building relationships in Washington, but relatively few of his old colleagues in town have ponied up for him. His campaign reported pulling in just $278,000 from the Washington metro area last year — a drop in the bucket compared with the $2.5 million raised in Washington by his chief rival, Mitt Romney, who has spent little time there. Those numbers, compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, are for checks of more than $200. Gingrich’s weak showing in Washington is not surprising to many of the former Hill staff, lobbyists and members of...

CNN Poll: Gender and Income Gaps In GOP Nomination Battle Paul Steinhauser (CNN) - A large gender gap appears to be developing between supporters of GOP presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum, as well as a split between white collar and blue collar Republicans, according to a new national survey. A CNN/ORC International poll also indicates that Santorum supporters are much more highly motivated than those backing Romney. See full results (pdf) "The new numbers indicate a split in the Republican party that goes deeper than ideology, with signs of a gender gap and class warfare breaking out in...

Feb 14, 2012 Rick Santorum Campaign Goes on the Air With Ads in Michigan BOISE, Idaho — Despite Mitt Romney’s home field advantage, Rick Santorum looks to be playing hard ball in his rival’s home state of Michigan. The Santorum campaign launched two television ads today that will run statewide. One, named “Quotes,” runs complimentary quotes from prominent conservatives like Mike Huckabee, Glenn Beck, and Rush Limbaugh across the screen while dramatic music plays over video of Santorum addressing crowds, meeting with voters, and even older footage used in other ads of him with his family. The ad even uses...

(Paulding County, Georgia) Ahead of the much anticipated March 1, 2012 debate here in Atlanta, co-hosted by the Georgia Republican Party, Ohio Republican Party, and CNN, Presidential hopeful, Newt Gingrich has assembled a large list of endorsements from elected state officials communicated through the Gingrich Political Southeast Director, Maria Strollo Zack. Among the state and local officials who are endorsing Newt Gingrich comprise of Georgia Congressmen Austin Scott, Lynn Westmoreland, Tom Price, Jack Kingston, and Phil Gingrey. Former Georgia officials include Congressmen Mac Collins, Bob Barr, and former State Representative and State Department of Transportation Member, Jeff Lewis. Former State...

Poll: Rick Santorum Leading Mitt Romney in Michigan By Shira Schoenberg FEBRUARY 14, 2012 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney campaigned in Mesa, Arizona, yesterday. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is trying to blunt criticism over his position on the auto industry bailout, as he struggles to fend off his surging rival Rick Santorum in Michigan. The Romney campaign is looking to Michigan, which holds its primary Feb. 28, to end Santorum’s momentum, after the former Pennsylvania senator won non-binding contests in Missouri, Colorado, and Minnesota. Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, won the Michigan primary in 2008. His father, George Romney,...

Former Speaker Of House Of Representatives Newt Gingrich Spoke At Event In Fairbanks Ranch SAN DIEGO -- With a new poll showing him in fourth place among Republican presidential candidates, Newt Gingrich brought his campaign to San Diego on Tuesday. The former Speaker of the House of Representatives visited the San Diego Zoo and attended a fundraiser in Fairbanks Ranch. He later went to California's Central Valley. In Fairbanks Ranch, Gingrich stressed one theme. "Would you rather have $2 a gallon gasoline or $4 a gallon gasoline?" he asked. Martha Kaloogian, who attended Gingrich's event, called him "authoritative [and] presidential."...

Reporting from San Diego— For the record: Yes, that was Newt Gingrich at the San Diego Zoo on Tuesday for a 90-minute behind-the-scenes tour. Gingrich was in the area raising money for his bid for the Republican presidential nomination but found time to visit the zoo, including feeding a young panda, looking at elephants, polar bears and tigers, and posing for pictures with zoo staffers. Gingrich has made other visits to the zoo and Safari Park, including a sleepover at the park's Snore and Roar program. -snip- The Gingrich visit was planned at the last moment with no public announcement,...

The Maine Republican Party is being urged to reconsider its announcement that presidential candidate Mitt Romney won a preference poll of state caucus-goers, the Bangor Daily News reports. The Maine GOP said on Saturday that Romney had defeated Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, 39 percent to 36 percent, or less than 200 votes, in the state’s weeklong caucuses. To be counted, party officials said the meetings had to be concluded by Feb. 11. According to the newspaper, some communities that followed caucus procedure were still not counted in the final tabulation. In addition, one county was forced to postpone its caucus...

Mitt Romney was the inevitable nominee — until he wasn't. In order to sustain a lead, a candidate's message must resonate with the heart and the mind. Mr. Romney's cakewalk to the nomination has been stymied by the inability to get anyone excited about his campaign. He has supporters but not believers. Rick Santorum's message resonates with voters' hearts and minds (this week at least), because he is a true believer. He believes in his message, and his message is consistent with core Republican values. What gave Mr. Santorum the edge in Iowa, Minnesota, Colorado and Missouri can give him...

Presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich made a campaign stop at the World Ag Expo in Tulare. Gingrich met with residents and farmers, and talked about controversial issues like the California High Speed Rail Project. "I think Californian's better make sure that it's affordable and it's not just one more one more Sacramento boon goggle," said Gingrich. Gingrich also addressed water issues that affect the Central Valley's largest industry, agriculture. "I think we have to revisit the entire way the Fish and Wildlife Service made its judgements and I would insist that we have some kind of economic rationality both with EPA...

WASHINGTON - Mitt Romney takes a hard line against congressional earmarks, but the Republican presidential candidate had a more favorable view of federal pork-barrel spending as governor of Massachusetts. Under Romney's leadership, Massachusetts sought tens of millions of dollars in earmarks for transportation projects through the state's congressional delegation. A prime example was the $30 million his administration requested to renovate the historic Longfellow Bridge over the Charles River between Cambridge and Boston.

“I might not like a lot of Santorum's views, but at least I know what they are. Saying Romney flip-flops is an insult to flip-flops. That's why, according to a poll by the American Research Group, 33% of Michigan GOP voters say they support Santorum and only 27% support Romney.”

Suffrage: A new study finds that nearly 2 million dead people remain on voter registration rolls. So tell us again why Democrats oppose voter ID laws that would help prevent these errant registrations from being exploited? The Pew Center on the States study found that our country's voter registration system is "plagued with errors and inefficiencies." That's putting it mildly. As many as 24 million registrations are invalid or contain significant errors, including almost 3 million who are registered in two or more states and 1.8 million dead people still listed as active voters. Obviously this is a problem states...

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum is scheduled to make a campaign appearance in Macomb County this week, the first GOP candidate to visit the county in 2012. Santorum will attend a rally at the Palazzo Grande in Shelby Township on Friday, Feb. 17. The banquet center is located at 54660 Van Dyke Avenue south of 25 Mile Road. There is no charge to attend and the event is open to the public.

Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine, apparently, is big into politics. When recently asked by Music Radar for his views on U.S. politics, Mustaine candidly stated that he hopes Rick Santorum takes over the White House after the 2012 election and gave his reasons. “Looking at the Republican candidates, I’ve got to tell you, I was floored the other day to see that Mitt Romney’s five boys have a $100 million trust fund,” said the self-proclaimed Republican musician. “Where does a guy make that much money? So there [are] some questions there. And watching Newt Gingrich, I was pretty excited for a...

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum -- in a neck-and-neck race with Mitt Romney in Michigan -- joined his rival in releasing new TV ad footage on Tuesday aimed at the state's voters. Santorum's spots tout him as a "trusted conservative" and the choice of supporters of the "tea party" movement, social conservatives and evangelical Christians, all important elements of the Feb. 28 primary in Romney's home state. One of the ads uses mainly written words -- praise in the form of quasi-endorsements and favorable quotes -- from Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, among others -- over an urgent sounding symphonic...

Villaraigosa Will Chair Democratic National Convention By Mark Z. Barabak and John Hoeffel February 14, 2012 Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has been selected chairman of this summer's Democratic National Convention, elevating his role as a surrogate in the Latino community and raising his national profile at a time Villaraigosa considers his political future. A formal announcement was scheduled Wednesday in Washington, with the mayor planning to join President Obama on Wednesday night for a presidential fundraiser in Los Angeles. As convention chairman, Villaraigosa will wield the gavel during the event in Charlotte, N.C., which opens with a festival on...

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — President Barack Obama is headed back to Southern California — and so is his street-closing, traffic-delaying presidential motorcade. Obama will be in town Wednesday and Thursday on a fundraising trip through Beverly Hills and Orange County. While details are still not finalized and remain highly subject to change, the closures will be over a smaller stretch of the Southland and are not expected to be as disruptive as during previous visits. The president’s itinerary for Wednesday, Feb. 15, includes: •After 3:00 p.m.: Arrival at LAX •Between 3:45 p.m. and 4:15 p.m.: Helicopter from LAX to VA...

Prominent Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel has called on Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney to “speak to his own church” and ask them to stop performing posthumous proxy baptisms on Jews. The demand, reported on the Huffington Post website, comes after members of the Mormon church, also known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), baptized the dead parents of famed Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal, an act that provoked a storm of criticism and led to an apology from the church. The site also reported that Wiesel’s name, as well as those of his father and maternal grandfather,...

"The Washington Post, New York Times, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, LA Times, it's all oriented toward two things: advancing the Democrat Party and whoever runs it -- in this case, Barack Obama -- and at the same time defeating, embarrassing, and humiliating the Republicans and conservatives." "Obama is running to be reelected by the dumbest among us. That's who he's aiming at here. That's how he looks at the 99%. The dumbest, the most uninformed, and that's why he's perfectly willing to campaign on a socialist agenda." "You need to be suspicious of virtually everything you hear and...

Do you agree with President Obama's proposed federal budget? Yes, it's the best road to recovery Maybe, but it needs more spending cuts No. No new taxes Deficit spending spells disaster Other (tell us in the comments)

Harvard Professor Alan Dershowitz told BreitbartTV Editor Larry O'Connor on the Governor Paterson Show on WOR that the Media Matters organization is full of "radical Stalinists" and says the White House and Democratic Party need to clearly separate themselves from the organization. *snip* Speaking at University of Pennsylvania last week, well-known Israel supporter and Harvard professor Alan Dershowitz reportedly warned the press about MMFA's operations. "I have, and let me tell you, Max Blumenthal (((SON OF CLINTONISTA VIPER, SYDNEY BLUMENTHAL))) and Media Matters will be singlehandedly responsible for (Obama) losing this election," he is reported saying. The Democrats "cannot win...

The Legacy Lives On! Mark’s Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation “Conservatism is the antidote to tyranny precisely because its principles are the founding principles.” --Mark Levin in Liberty and TyrannyWelcome to “The Levin Lounge”… Step in and have a virtual FRink.Taking the country by storm, one radio station at a time – and kicking the BUTTS of the competition! Welcome all, to the most FUN LIVE THREAD on FreeRepublic.com! Yo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration's corporate tax reform plan will end "dozens and dozens" of tax breaks, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Tuesday as he defended the White House's election-year call for higher taxes on the wealthy. Within days, the administration is set to unveil a blueprint for revamping the corporate tax system aimed at leveling the playing field for all companies, which pay wildly differing levels of taxes, while lowering the top corporate tax rate. Companies are clamoring for a cut in the top 35 percent corporate tax rate but disagree about how to how eliminate...

Desperate to win re-election, President Obama is taking inspiration from a tactic used by China’s Chairman Mao during so-called "Cultural Revolution."In order to spread his ideology, he creates his own army of brainwashed propagandists who are supposed to popularize talking points sent to them directly from the White House. Modern days hongweibings (Chinese for red guards) are called the Truth Team, and if everything goes as planned, the president will have an army of over two million Americans on his side.The Obama administration unveiled on Monday a campaign created to crush the GOP competition come November, a mission that...

An antiquated voter registration system is to blame for listing 1.8 million dead people as registered "active" voters in the United States, the Pew Center on the States concludes in a new study that shows millions of mistakes in voter rolls across the nation and recommends online sign-up. The study found 24 million voter registrations, or one out of every eight, were no longer valid or are significantly inaccurate. Beside the nearly 2 million dead potential voters, 12 million registrations had the wrong address and 2.75 million voters were registered in more than one state. "The system has been using...

Mitt Romney may have won the straw poll at the end of the three-day Conservative Political Action Conference in D.C. over the weekend, but CPAC's real star was Sarah Palin, says Josh Lederman at The Hill. Among the many speakers, the former Alaska governor "received far-and-away the most spirited and enthusiastic reception" from the 10,000 conservative activists in attendance. And the former vice presidential candidate, who opted out of the 2012 presidential race in October, "appeared to relish her role as conservative attack dog, blasting Obama and Democrats," and bringing the crowd repeatedly to its feet. Is Palin, even from...

RUSH: I want to move on to this Dick Morris business and the attack on the Catholic Church last week by Obama. I want to ask you, if you remember back in January there was a presidential debate, a Republican debate in Manchester. Do you remember -- 'cause this is a setup for what's coming -- do you remember, we were all perplexed here. George Stephanopoulos kept hounding Romney on contraception. It had not come up, nobody had said anything about it, and we were all confused, as was Romney, what the deal was. Well, it is Dick Morris' theorem...

An antiquated voter registration system is to blame for listing 1.8 million dead people as registered "active" voters in the United States, the Pew Center on the States concludes in a new study that shows millions of mistakes in voter rolls across the nation and recommends online sign-up. The study found 24 million voter registrations, or one out of every eight, were no longer valid or are significantly inaccurate. Beside the nearly 2 million dead potential voters, 12 million registrations had the wrong address and 2.75 million voters were registered in more than one state. "The system has been using...

The idea of the average mayor pole dancing would not appeal to most voters, but in the Italian town of Taranto, porn stars Amandha Fox and Luana Borgia both think it will get one of them the job.

His show's called The Daily Rundown. And sure enough, Chuck Todd ran down Rick Santorum this morning as just another "flavor of the day" who "probably won't be the nominee." Apparently, trouncing Mitt Romney in three contests last week, and leading by a reportedly huge margin in Romney's native state of Michigan, isn't enough to impress Chuck. But Todd totally swerved around Anita Dunn, failing to question his guest about the story of her big-money hypocrisy making today's news. As Obama's White House communications director, Dunn regularly went after hedge funds. But now as a PR consultant, as the Washington...

Just days after a mysterious incident in which she was reportedly attacked at a Newark motel by an ex-boyfriend, Alameda County Supervisor Nadia Lockyer said Tuesday that she has enrolled in a program to be treated for chemical dependency. Lockyer, 40, the wife of state Treasurer Bill Lockyer, said in a statement that she entered a “wellness and recovery center” last week for treatment of the unspecified chemical dependency and “my injuries from the assault.”She also said she was being treated for “chronic pain from a past debilitating car accident,” without giving specifics.“Alcoholism and addiction are diseases from which many...

Lovely. Just what you want to hear from the actress who plays Mrs. Palin in the soon-to-be-released HBO film, “Game Change.” Julianne Moore says she found her theatrical muse “terrifying.” Actually, Moore’s quote about SP is neither as ideological nor as personal as the headline makes it sound. NewsBusters supplies the context: Moore explained how she recognized Palin’s political appeal: “Here’s a woman who’s a parent, who’s an actual working mother, who worked her way up from local government, who was definitely middle working class, married to a commercial fisherman….She was incredibly relatable, she was attractive, she was young; she...

Rick Santorum has surged back into contention for the Republican presidential nomination because of persistent reservations among conservatives about Mitt Romney. But those on the right who embrace Santorum as an alternative should do so with no illusions. To his credit, Santorum did not support the kind of mandate and subsidize approach to health care as Romney, but as Senator, he still voted like a big government Republican on many occasions. Some of this had to do with being a loyal soldier during the Bush era, when he backed the Medicare prescription drug plan and No Child Left Behind. But...

Rick Santorum has pulled slightly ahead of Mitt Romney in Republican primary voters' preference for the presidential nomination, a national CBS News/New York Times Poll shows. Ron Paul is now in third, followed by former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. ...... Santorum receives strong backing from conservatives, tea party supporters and white evangelicals. Self-identified conservatives divided their support among the candidates in January, but in this poll they appear to be coalescing solidly behind Santorum. He receives far more support from this group than Romney does, and conservative support for Santorum has increased since last month. ...... Santorum also...

Is it time for Newt Gingrich to drop out? In an editorial published yesterday, National Review, the leading organ of the conservative movement, said the time has come for the former House speaker to leave the GOP presidential race. This editorial is a gut punch to an already staggering campaign. In the three weeks since the South Carolina primary, Gingrich’s stock has plummeted. Coming out of the Palmetto State, he “sounded really bad” in the two debates that preceded Florida, according to GOP analyst and Daily Beast contributor Rich Galen. The veteran pol may have been “sick, tired, or [just]...

Attorneys for the company filed papers in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware last week asking for a court order to dispose of up to 3,900 pallets filled with glass tubes that were used to make Solyndra’s solar panels. The lawyers said the company tried to auction the tubes, return them to a supplier and sell the material to recycling companies. But it was too expensive to ship back to the supplier and nobody seemed interested in buying the glass, the attorneys said in court papers. Unable to sell the assets, Solyndra said it would be cheaper just to abandon the...

OPINION –Opponents of Barack Obama have long questioned the legitimacy of his citizenship. They claim that Obama’s birth may have taken place outside of the United States. If Obama were born in Kenya, as some claim, he would be in violation of the Constitution’s requirement in Article 2 Section I that a candidate for president must be “natural born citizen” of the U.S. To this end, the so-called “birther” movement has spent much of the last four years demanding that Obama provide his original birth certificate as definitive proof that he was actually born in the U.S. After inexcusable foot-dragging,...

In a world where Tiger Woods can lose by eleven shots to his playing partner on a Sunday at Pebble Beach and where Joe Paterno can be fired via cell phone for the actions of a former assistant coach, almost anything previously "unthinkable" can indeed happen. However, with that said, it is becoming increasingly difficult to see how President Barack Obama is not re-elected, potentially by a healthy margin. This reality is not because of anything Obama does done to secure re-election, but rather because the Republican Party and the conservative movement have created a set of circumstances where the...

Say goodbye to the much-loathed Alternative Minimum Tax and hello to the Buffett Rule. Sweet relief. The AMT has perplexed taxpayers and agonized accountants for decades. But wait: Are the AMT and the Buffett Rule really so different? The two take aim at different types of tax avoidance, so the details have little in common. But the headline is the same: Both were designed to make sure that wealthy citizens pay their fair share of income tax -- without creating a tax monster that somehow reaches down to regular people. When the AMT came into being in 1969, rich people...

A decision was made during the Bradley County Commission work session Monday afternoon to place a resolution to call for a referendum on the question of whether a countywide motor vehicle tax (wheel tax) of $32 should be levied. Commissioner and Education Committee Chairman Jeff Yarber proposed the wheel tax resolution several weeks ago as a solution to funding requests for capital projects by the county school system. The county school system needs an estimated $25.5 million for a new elementary school, improvements and expansion for Walker Valley High School and Lake Forest Middle School and land for a third...