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Senator John McCain appeared on This Week today from Afghanistan, but before getting onto matters of foreign policy, he weighed in on the Republican contest going on in the United States and continued to speak out forcefully on an issue that has been part of his political identity for over a decade: campaign finance reform. McCain has not been the biggest fan of Super PACs, and McCain today blasted the Supreme Court for its decision in the Citizens United case two years ago. When Jake Tapper asked McCain about how the GOP’s divisive contest may end up handing the election...

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin discussed why she hasn't endorsed a candidate yesterday on FOX Business Network. Sarah said Newt Gingrich was the toughest fighter in the race. "You know that is what I'm saying today. I'm saying that David because Newt has learned through that school of hard knocks. And you know that is where character is shaped and that is where character is revealed. In times of controversy and conflict. Not at a time of convenience and comfort. I see that in Newt that he has learned, that he has been sharpened and strengthened through all of that...

An Arizona co-chair of Mitt Romney's presidential campaign resigned after announcing that he is gay. Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu was forced to come out after allegations that he dated a Mexican immigrant and hosted a pornographic online profile. The Romney campaign said they received a call from Babeu and accepted his resignation. "Sheriff Babeu has stepped down from his volunteer position with the campaign so he can focus on the allegations against him. We support his decision," spokesperson Ryan Williams said. Arizona is holding its primary on February 28, and all four candidates will be in the state Wednesday...

270 Electoral Votes Needed To Win Likely GOP Votes - 224 Likely Dem Votes - 217 Tossup Votes - 97

Mitt Romney, during campaign stops in Michigan yesterday, embraced his Michigan roots for all they’re worth. As he watches his popularity plummet in the state in which he grew up, he seems to be grasping at anything to keep from sinking any further. Romney tried to hit all the right buttons in order to resonate with Michigan voters leading up to their February 28 primary, by making himself one of them again. “I was born and raised here. I love being in Michigan,” Mr. Romney said. ”Everything seems right here. You know, I come back to Michigan; the trees are...

I’m going to an interesting Tea Party event here in Chicagoland that’s going to keep me busy all morning, where I’ll have the chance to meet some people with the true pulse of what’s going on. I’ve had this visual in my mind for quite a while, of the Tea Party and the Cocktail Party entering Thunderdome in this election — where one shall stand and one shall fall when the dust settles. Either Willard “Mittens” Romney becomes the Republican nominee (in which case the Cocktail Party GOP establishment wins), or he’s defeated and someone other than the permanent political...

The prospect of a brokered Republican convention has reared its head — with the re-emergence of conservative lightning rod Sarah Palin as a GOP savior — as the controversial Alaskan said she’d be willing to “help” if her party can’t choose a nominee ahead of the August rubber- stamp event. But even with the rollicking Republican primary roller coaster looking more like a trainwreck, political experts and players are split over the likelihood of a late-summer nailbiter. Sean Trende of RealClearPolitics.com said that if the current trend of stark regional divides continues — with Mitt Romney taking more moderate states,...

"Thanks" Obama for endangering the world with TWO Nuclear bombs: Pakistan and Iran Today's photo-up of the three: Pakistani leader, Afghani leader and Iran's Ahmadinejad tells a lot. Obama has managed to spoil all the good relationship Bush has forged with Karzai. Naturally, Pakistan's nuclear bomb is more endangered as it turns more towards radical-Islamism. Pakistan's president vows to continue with Iran pipeline deal despite US sanctions warnings Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/pakistans-president-vows-to-continue-with-iran-pipeline-deal-despite-us-sanctions-warnings/2012/02/17/gIQA2IgcJR_story.html Pakistan's president vows to continue with Iran pipeline deal despite US sanctions warnings http://www.dawn.com/2012/02/17/zardari-vows-to-progress-with-iran-pipeline-deal.html

Has Sarah Palin just announced her candidacy for president? On Wednesday night she told Fox Business host Eric Bolling that she still has the fire in her belly and is still game to run for office. More telling, however, is what she said about the current GOP nomination battle and the possibility of a brokered convention. Palin’s comments leading into the South Carolina primary, encouraging people to vote for Newt Gingrich because the party is strengthened by a long primary battle, were bewildering at the time. “I want to see this thing continue, because iron sharpens iron, steel sharpens steel....

Former U.S. Rep Pete Hoekstra will trot out Herman Cain, who bowed out of a bid for the Republican presidential nomination, around Michigan next week to drum up support, his campaign said today. Cain will appear in Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Ypsilanti and Troy on a blitz across the state as they tout the Holland Republican’s Tea Party ties and taking incumbent Democrat Debbie Stabenow to task for her spending policies. Cain suspended his quest for the presidency in December amid rumors of marital infidelity. “The Tea Party conservatives have been increasingly supporting Pete Hoekstra over the years as a result...

"All bets are off" as to who might lead the Republican ticket if a brokered convention becomes a reality, Sarah Palin told Eric Bolling, host of Follow the Money, on Wednesday. That's the closest Palin would come to stating her own intentions. Here's what some of the analysts and pundits say about the prospects for Sarah Palin emerging from a brokered convention as the Republican nominee: * "Notice that part of her message was that a brokered convention wouldn't be so bad and guess who could emerge out of a brokered convention, with all of this enthusiasm and energy and...

GET A LOOK AT THIS ONE................ This is without a doubt the best video that has come out and apparently 6 Million others think so too because there have been 6 million hits in 4 days. Please watch it again and again and send it on to others. I believe the pendulum has started to swing so let's keep it going. This is very well done. The Clip: http://youtube.com/embed/JVAhr4hZDJE

Allow me to preface this deeply conspiratorial post by saying that, across the board, I do not believe in conspiracy theories. There are no conspiracy theories, only conspiracy facts. By definition, any plot to affect some outcome executed by a cabal of plotters must come to light by one of two ways – either the plot is successful and the theory become fact, or the plot fails and the theory becomes fact. Either way, there are no conspiracy theories. With all that having been said, allow me to irresponsibly advance one: Actually, I’m merely adding onto a dog pile started...

When Romney's neo-con supporters make Romney win through voting fraud his neo-con supporters poison the well and make everyone lose.  The only way I can seen to wash the taint of criminal ambition out of the Republican Party in time to save the 2012 election is for a truly open transparent convention beginning with a proper invocation, followed by the the US Pledge of Allegiance, the Republican Creed and an every member oath/affirmation of there duty as it currently obligated by law.  The National Republican Party must formally man-up to their duty or lose. Many Republicans now look for a hero/ine to arise from the convention...

By now, it is clear that the Maine caucuses were a complete mess. Evidence is mounting that Mitt Romney's 194-vote victory over Ron Paul was prematurely announced, if not totally wrong. Washington County canceled their caucus on Saturday on account of three inches of snow (hardly a blizzard by Maine standards), and other towns that scheduled their caucuses for this week have been left out of the vote count. Now, it looks like caucuses that did take place before Feb. 11 have also been left out of final tally. As the full extent of the chaos unfolds, sources close to...

I’m skeptical, especially if you count his Super PAC as part of his campaign. (And who doesn’t?) But the basic logic makes sense. If you depend heavily on a small-ish base of wealthy donors who are capped by law on how much they can give, then you’d better win early to grow that base before they’re all tapped out. If Santorum bumps him off in Michigan and Romney underperforms on Super Tuesday, it suddenly gets much harder for Mitt to lure big money with the promise of access to the eventual nominee. Romney has proved unable to tap into the...

Mitt Romney on Wednesday defended his conservative bona fides following doubts expressed by Sarah Palin. The former Alaskan governor and vice presidential candidate told Fox News Sunday that she is "not convinced" by Romney's conservative instincts, indicating he may not be conservative "enough" for her. "And I don't think that the majority of GOP and Independent voters are convinced, and that is why you don't see Romney get over that hump," she said. (VIDEO AT LINK) "I'm not quite sure what she'd be referring to," Romney responded Wednesday, also on Fox News. "I'm pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, I believe in the...

Republican Rep. Dan Lungren of Gold River is getting some early help for his re-election bid from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. A new television ad airing in the Sacramento area praises Lungren for "fighting to protect California jobs" and singles out his support for repealing the federal health care overhaul. A slight voter-registration edge for Democrats in the new 7th Congressional District and high turnout for the presidential election are expected to make Lungren a top target this year. He faces a rematch with Elk Grove Democrat Ami Bera, the doctor and medical educator who lost to Lungren by...

Continuing an early trend in Washington's 2012 governor's race, a new Elway poll finds Republican Attorney General Rob McKenna with a 9-point lead over Democratic Congressman Jay Inslee. The poll, conducted last week, found 45 percent of respondents would "definitely" or "probably" vote for McKenna, compared with 36 percent for Inslee. Pollster Stuart Elway notes one "ominous" sign for Inslee in the poll data: the proportion of voters with a negative impression of him (22 percent) is nearly equal to those with a positive impression (28 percent). By contrast, McKenna has a 3 to 1 ratio of positive to negative...

Sarah Palin is weighing in on the GOP nomination race. She appears to have something to say about everyone and has little positive to say. It's almost embarrassing for the Republican Party to have her voice an opinion. Palin comes across less like an expert on campaigning and more like a washed-up booth babe trying to show she does have something useful to say. Of particular note are her recent jabs at Mitt Romney. She's calling him out for not being far enough to the political right. The former vice-presidential candidate might be suggesting Romney adopt a stance more like...

Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich is spending Valentine's Day in the Central Valley. Sure, the former House Speaker is looking to woo California Republicans, whose votes he's hoping will still make a difference by the time the state's June primary rolls around. But the real object of desire for this trip is cash to fuel his campaign fund. The GOP presidential candidate is holding an evening reception at the Fresno home of Wendy Turner, daughter of former Secretary of State Bill Jones, and her husband Ryan as part of a fundraising swing through California. Gingrich is no cheap date. Spending...

If one doubted Sarah Palin wields great power by virtue of her charisma and persona, that notion was laid to rest during her speech at the CPAC convention when she had the overflow audience on their feet numerous times. None of the presidential candidates, least of all front-runner Mitt Romney, got anywhere near that warm of reception. Newt Gingrich, who delivered a classic speech filled with ideas, came closest. But Gingrich has faltered somewhat in his presidential run. Romney still won the CPAC straw poll, likely because he filled the venue with enough of his supporters to pull off a...

Mitt Romney may have won the straw poll but Sarah Palin won CPAC’s heart--electrifying the Conservative Political Action Conference with one of the most rousing and effective political speeches of recent years. Both winners managed to advance the cause of conservative unity and raised the prospects for a competitive and formidable Republican challenge to Barack Obama’s re-election. Romney’s win among conservative activists, especially combined with his simultaneous victory in the Maine caucuses completed on Saturday, will help to change the over-stated and misleading media narrative about Mitt’s supposed inability to connect with his party’s conservative base. After spending three days...

Mitt Romney’s twin wins over the weekend in the Maine caucuses and the Conservative Political Action Conference’s annual straw poll leave the GOP presidential-nomination race right where it’s been all along — in trouble and waiting for a Prince Charming. In Maine, Romney won with 39.2 percent of the vote, less than four points ahead of Ron Paul. The principal “not-Romneys” — Paul and Rick Santorum — took 53 percent of the roughly 5,600 nonbinding votes cast, about 2 percent of the state’s Republican electorate. Romney’s numbers were similar in the CPAC poll, in which he grabbed 38 percent of...

Sarah Palin strode out on stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington carrying a red leather briefcase — and off to work she went, firing off a year’s worth of sarcastic one-liners at “Professor Obama.” “He promised to transform America, and that’s one promise he’s kept; he transformed a shining city on a hill into a sinking ship.” “This government isn’t too big to fail; it’s too big to succeed.” “Hope and change? Yeah, you gotta hope things change.” “After a year or two [in ‘Obama’s Washington,’ lawmakers] decide it’s not really a cesspool. More like a hot...

Despite a hard-charging speech over the weekend that suggested dissatisfaction with the Republican presidential primary frontrunner, Sarah Palin said Sunday that Mitt Romney "is a great candidate." But the 2008 vice presidential candidate and Tea Party darling isn't yet convinced Romney is "instinctively" a constitutional conservative. "I am not convinced and I don't think that the majority of GOP and independent voters are convinced," Palin told "Fox News Sunday." "And that is why you don't see Romney get over the hump. He's still in the 30-percentile mark when it comes to approval and primary wins and caucus wins. He still...

Issues: * Santorum Vs Romney. * Birth control. * Nuclear Iran. -- [Lib.] D. Brazil: Over 60% of Republicans like Rick Santorum On ABC 'This Week' with George Stephanopoulos. The same Dianne Brazil who says she's "catholic" defended the Pres. Whereas George Will said: This is what liberalism [and progressives] looks like, to break the [religious] institutions. WashingtonPost's 'Anti War' journalist David Ignatius had to inject his opinions too trying to scare and insist on "negotiations..." Even though he knows that Syria is Islamic-fascist Iran's door to the Arab world, and he knows that Iran is a GENOCIDE threat. George...

The Donald has spoken. He knows a done deal when he sees one. After Florida, Mitt is the Republican nominee. And the morning after, to the relief of Democrats and the distress of the conservative commentariat, he proved again that he is the gaffe machine that keeps on giving. First, the state of the race: Romney is ahead of Barack Obama's pace in 2008. It was Super Tuesday then, still a month from now, when I argued that the Democratic contest was all over except for the noise, the ritual combat, and the counting, given that party rules made it...

Former Georgia Congressman Newt Gingrich was the last one of the three GOP presidential candidates to address the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C., on Friday, February 10, 2012. The former Speaker of the House spent most of his 30 minute-speech attacking the “Washington establishment.” Incidentally, not many Congressional Republicans have been supportive of Gingrich’s candidacy, instead endorsing his main rival former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. The Speaker made it clear on Friday that there’s nothing surprising about Washington’s resistance to a possible Gingrich presidency. “For the Republican establishment managing the decay is preferable to changing the trajectory, because...

Since she was plucked from relative obscurity by John McCain to be his vice presidential candidate, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has been at the top of the American political scene. Recently, however, the ebb and flow of the primary season has called into question whether her political star has faded. During the heat of the primary battles, all of the air in the Republican-conservative-Tea Party balloon has been sucked up -- appropriately, by the candidates. Since 2008 that air was the oxygen that fueled the Palin super nova. The prospect of going from Momma Grizzly to political also-ran has...

New Mexico Lt. Gov. John Sanchez is dropping out of the open-seat Senate race, leaving former Rep. Heather Wilson with just one opponent in the Republican primary. Sanchez said Thursday that a nasty primary with Wilson and conservative challenger Greg Sowards would hurt the party’s chances of winning the seat in November. “A bitter and divisive Republican Primary would only diminish our party’s genuine opportunity to bring real change in Washington,” Sanchez said in a statement. “The reality is that the path forward to success in the campaign could cause a negative primary struggle that would leave the eventual nominee...

ATLANTA -- A day after his defeats in Colorado, Missouri and Minnesota, Mitt Romney pounded Republican presidential rivals Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich on Wednesday as big-spending Washington insiders whose careers show scant evidence of fiscal restraint. The Republican Party, he said, "lost its way" by borrowing and spending too much, particularly on the pet projects "earmarked" by members of Congress, and former Pennsylvania Sen. Santorum and former House Speaker Gingrich deserve some of the blame. "Under Newt Gingrich, earmarks doubled," Romney told reporters here on an airport tarmac. "Rick Santorum was a major earmarker and continues to defend earmarks."...

Point of Order No. 4,321,458: A recent study released by the Heritage Foundation states that the depedency index under President Obama has grown an astounding 23% during his reign er I mean presidency. In just a mere two years 67 million (yes that's MILLION) people are now relying on federal aid in one form or another. Investors.com explains "In 2010, for the first time ever, average spending on dependence programs per recipient exceeded the country's per-capita disposable income." The Left would have you believe that the reason behind this spike is mainly the crap economy, but WE'RE NOT BUYING IT....

Mecklenburg County Commissioner Jim Pendergraph formally announced his campaign for the 9th District Congressional seat Wednesday. Pendergraph will seek to replace fellow Republican Sue Myrick, who announced Tuesday she will not seek a 10th term in office. Pendergraph said he'll continue in the tradition of Myrick and acknowledged there will be many other candidates to announce in the coming weeks. “I expect a number of people will jump into this race, because the seat hasn't been open in 18 years,” Pendergraph said in his announcement. Other Republicans who have expressed interest include County Commissioner Bill James, Charlotte City Council member...

The list of possibilities to replace U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick will surely change by the hour. Within minutes of Myrick's announcement that she won't be seeking another term, Roll Call was up with some obvious names: N.C. House Speaker Thom Tillis of Huntersville, state Rep. Ruth Samuelson of Charlotte and state Sen. Bob Rucho of Matthews. We'll add former state Sen. Robert Pittenger and former Charlotte mayor Richard Vinroot. And don't discount some local prospects, including Mecklenburg county commissioner Jim Pendergraph (who will announce his intention to run, the Observer's Jim Morrill reports) and former City Councilman Edwin Peacock. Here's...

Conservatives are incessantly browbeaten into "softening their message", "moderating their stances", or "moving to the middle" (i.e., to the left) in order to win over the so-called moderates and independents of the electorate. President Ronald Reagan, the greatest conservative of our generation, didn't believe in soft-pedaling conservative principles and values.

Folks, we're not even being contrary when we point this out. For the 9th Circuit to rule Prop 8 unconstitutional, just as Gingrich is looking again for his footing -- just as Rick Santorum is about to steal his headlines -- is a Gingrichian dream. Look! He agrees: (TWEET FROM NEWT AT LINK) The link goes to the 9th (coincidentally) of Gingrich's solutions for fixing the judiciary, to prevent it from doing things that conservatives don't like -- abolishing courts that make "un-American decisions." He's been on the record wanting this treatment for the 9th circuit for a long, long...

Republican Newt Gingrich packed a Bloomington hotel ballroom Monday night, attacking President Barack Obama's economic policies and arguing that a vote for rival Mitt Romney would mean the continuation of the same failed ideas and big government spending. On the eve of state's precinct caucuses, the presidential candidate's appearance at the Ramada Mall of America was his first campaign stop in Minnesota. About 500 supporters turned out to hear the former House speaker promise to cut spending and taxes, turn welfare safety nets into springboards and stand firm against America's enemies abroad if elected president. And,Gingrich said, the only way...

Can anyone find Presidential Qualifications listed by the Missouri SOS website ?

"He could have stopped it, and should have stopped it," Huckabee said. CNSNews.com: Governor Romney should have stood up to the Court and said, "No"? Huckabee: He should've. (August 2008) Old news? Yes — and Mitt Romney hopes it will be ignored or forgotten. How does Romney manage to bury his past political sins? With a lot of help from his former critics — including Governor Huckabee — who seem to suffer from amnesia. But what of the media's duty to vet the candidates? Shouldn't every significant action in a candidate's record be under review? Why is the media —...

Chuck Norris doesn't endorse presidential candidates -- he anoints political saviors. The actor, an avowed Republican, explains at the outset of an epic editorial on WND that, "As a six-time undefeated middleweight world karate champion, I have a pretty good idea what makes a warrior." In the nearly 1,400 words that follow, the fiery-spirited, flame-haired Golden Boot Award winner lays out the "the trifecta of tyranny" that Newt Gingrich, his new favorite Republican candidate is facing. Namely, foe Mitt Romney's massive funding, the dreaded mainstream media (MSM), and the "elite power mongering" forces within the GOP party itself. As you...

The New York Times reports that President Obama's reelection campaign has always been singularly focused on Mitt Romney — and are hoping for a campaign filled with flubs and gaffes by the former Massachusetts governor: “When you guys were all out there writing your Herman Cain stories, we were not following you into that sideshow,” one Obama aide said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “We are keeping our eyes on the prize.” Recently, that prize has been giving the Obama camp plenty to work with as a series of missteps have played into the Obama re-election machine, with its...

On Friday's Inside Washington on PBS, as the panel discussed the new Obama administration rule that requires even Catholic employers to provide health insurance coverage for contraception to their employees, both liberal columnist Mark Shields and conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer hit Obama for the decision, while NPR's Nina Totenberg claimed that there were valid arguments in both directions as she made a flawed analogy between contraception and immunization as a defense of the Obama position.

MONTROSE, CO - Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum took a new jab at Newt Gingrich, saying he wants to "endanger" the former Speaker. The dig came during a campaign rally in Montrose, CO., as Santorum railed against the federal government's environmental regulations. "These are your lands! Oh but they always say we're doing it for your benefit," Santorum decried. "We'll make sure that you don't do something to scar the land or you don't do something to endanger a newt. No not that Newt, different newt. I want to endanger that Newt - that's a different story." The line drew...

Mitt Romney won last night’s Nevada caucus. It’s no shocker: he took the state by 51 percent in 2008 and it’s packed full of Mormons. But the media is predicting a sunny spring for Mr Romney, with likely victories across February. By Super Tuesday in March, he could have enough momentum to knock out Gingrich and claim the nomination. Newt was not happy with the result. During his concession speech, he lashed out at his opponent's "shameless untruths" and the media's willingness to promote them. He left the podium with a smile. Gingrich lost the Nevada caucus but won his...

Mitt’s money. Newt’s lunar landing. Rick’s abortion advice. Ron’s rip-it-all-up rhetoric. Followers of America’s Republican primary contest could easily conclude that the adults have left the political playground. And with unrefereed mud wrestling matches set to roll across the country until summer, it’s a sure bet that no candidate will be coming out as Mr. Clean. It’s a far cry from the pundits’ prediction for a short sharp contest, with former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney (“Senor Smooth”) felling former House speaker Newt Gingrich (“Mr. Mean”) in a round or two, and Pennsylvania hopeful Rick Santorum (“The Saint”) flat on the...

Newt: Obama's war on the Catholic church On NBC's 'Meet The Press.' Liberal Rachel Maddow "diasgrees..." David Brooks of the NYTimes, highligted it (that it's going to be an issue), saying though its not being talked much in the media...

In October, Sarah Palin announced that she would not run for president in 2012, ending the media frenzy around her potential candidacy even as she vowed to remain politically active and influential. “I will continue driving the discussion for freedom and free markets,” she wrote in an e-mail to her supporters. Just over three months later, her attempts to wield influence in the presidential campaign the way she did during the 2010 midterm elections have largely fizzled. And the Tea Party movement that she helped to turn into a powerful political force in 2010 has so far displayed little impact...

Las Vegas -- Today's Republican caucuses in Nevada differ from primary elections by requiring voters to devote a block of time to make their preferences known in a process that takes more time than just filling out a ballot. There are also some unusual rules set this year by the GOP officials in the state, including:Timing: Republican Party officials in each county decide when to hold caucus meetings. In Clark County, home to Las Vegas and 70 percent of state residents, the meetings are at 9 a.m. today - a time that is inconvenient for the city's taxi drivers, waitresses...

As his formidable campaign marches inexorably toward the nomination, Mitt Romney should learn a vital lesson from the guy who beat him in his first race for public office: Sen. Ted Kennedy. In 1980, Teddy lost his own bid for the presidency because he couldn’t answer a simple question about why he wanted the job. Like Kennedy, Romney could undermine his confident drive to unseat a stumbling incumbent unless he prepares clear, concise, and forceful responses on what he means to do with the office he seeks. Near the end of the disastrous Jimmy Carter administration, most analysts expected an...