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Washington (CNN) -- GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney won the close-watched Conservative Political Action Conference presidential straw poll on Saturday. Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, took 38% of the vote in the poll. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum received 31%, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was at 15% and Texas Rep. Ron Paul stood at 12%. When asked about their preference for vice president, 34% of the attendees at the conservative conference chose Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.

Apart from not having the first delegate commitment, exactly what have “victories” in Iowa, Missouri, Colorado and Minnesota acknowledged? First, that participants in caucuses are underwhelmed to voice their solidarity with their higher ground constituents. This “group think” forum is void, by necessity, of critical thought. This is not to say that the caucus forum is the antithesis of the primary process. It is always much easier when espousing your “heartfelt commitment” to an issue to take the high road when exposed to the crowd in a non-binding farcical display. These same “voters” will doubtlessly “rethink” that stance when confronted...

The real story of the three results from Tuesday night is not that Rick Santorum picked up some wins -- though that is big. No, the real story is that three states held votes and nobody came. Almost nobody, that is. Consider that the total turnout for Missouri, Colorado, and Minnesota combined was barely over half of the turnout of South Carolina alone and -- worse yet -- barely over half the turnout for the same three states in 2008. Thus, after South Carolina's record-setting primary turnout, the Republican Party has now seen a total of five events in a...

This image says it all. A Dogs Against Romney Pack Member was stopped by the Littleton, Colorado police yesterday for having a dog crate on the roof of his car. The Pack Member , identified only as "Oredigger," was on his way to protest at a Mitt Romney event yesterday with the crate atop his car carrying a stuffed toy dog when the police officer, believing he was actually transporting a live dog on the roof of his car, stopped him. Says Oredigger, "I was pulled over for suspected animal abuse."

So what did last night mean? Rick Santorum won the two non-binding caucuses where all candidates competed, and the Missouri non-binding primary where Newt was not on the ballot. Does it mean that the Republican electorate all of the sudden has fallen in love with Santorum? That remains to be seen. Santorum has done well in three caucus states so far (IA, MN, CO), and very poorly in one caucus state (NV) and the three binding primary states where everyone competed (NH, SC, FL). While Santorum deserves to bask in last night’s glow and the media will give him plenty...

(Reuters) - Former U.S. senator Rick Santorum rejuvenated his presidential hopes on Tuesday with a shocking sweep of the three nominating contests in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri, dealing a blow to wounded front-runner Mitt Romney. Even though Romney still holds strong advantages in financing and organization, his campaign will now have to refocus to fight back the challenge from the surging conservative Santorum...

His candidacy all but dismissed just days ago, Rick Santorum won the Minnesota and Colorado caucuses and a nonbinding primary in Missouri on Tuesday, an unexpected trifecta that raised fresh questions about Mitt Romney’s ability to corral conservative support. With his triumphs, Mr. Santorum was also suddenly presenting new competition to Newt Gingrich as the chief alternative to Mr. Romney, the front-runner. Where Mr. Gingrich has won one state, South Carolina, Mr. Santorum has now won four, including Iowa...

Open for discussion.

Today, for the first time this cycle, multiple states hold their Republican presidential nomination contests on one day, two caucuses (Colorado and Minnesota) and one primary (Missouri). They all have two things in common. First, none of them are binding, so no delegates will be formally assigned from the vote. Second, they all represent Rick Santorum’s best shot at changing the trajectory of this race and positioning himself as the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney. One final series of snap polls from PPP shows Santorum with a double-digit lead in Missouri, and nearly as much of a lead in Minnesota:...

Rick Santorum could be headed for a big day in today's contests in Colorado, Minnesota, and Missouri. Missouri looks like a probable win for Santorum. He's at 45% there to 32% for Mitt Romney and 19% for Paul. Minnesota provides an opportunity for a win as well. Currently he has a small advantage with 33% to 24% for Romney, 22% for Newt Gingrich, and 20% for Ron Paul. And Santorum should get a second place finish in Colorado, where Romney appears to be the likely winner. The standings there are Romney at 37%, Santorum at 27%, Gingrich at 21%, and...

DENVER — The Republican presidential race could be headed for another reshuffle Tuesday as Rick Santorum, who has lagged behind since his surprise Iowa victory, is once again challenging the dominance of front-runner Mitt Romney. Polling over the past week shows Mr. Santorum statistically tied with Mr. Romney in Minnesota, besting him in Missouri, and running second to him but ahead of rival Newt Gingrich in Colorado, all of which hold contests Tuesday. Mr. Romney’s camp took notice, firing the kinds of broadsides it generally has aimed at Mr. Gingrich. Romney surrogates on Monday accused Mr. Santorum of pork-barrel spending....

It was the great wildcard going into the 2012 election cycle. Republican Party insiders openly worried the Tea Party might knock off the establishment presidential candidate, just as it knocked out establishment picks in the chaotic 2010 congressional races. Party heavyweights wondered whom the upstart movement would get behind and whether Mitt Romney could even get through the early states, given the once-raging Tea Party elements in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. But after months of wondering how the Tea Party would change the primary game, leaders inside the movement admit they never came in off the sidelines. For...

This is a slam dunk for Newt. He goes after Romney, the Soros-approved candidate, on his comments about the very poor and torches the idea that the ‘safety-net’ is anything but a spider web that traps the poor: It isn’t good enough for the Republican party to nominate Obama-lite. Now, let me tell you what the difference is. If you’re a genuine conservative, first of all you don’t say that you don’t care about the poor. If you’re a genuine conservative, you believe that we are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and...

Rush Limbaugh is right in that a strong conservative message will win the election. He is wrong in his implication that Gingrich is necessarily the better man to deliver it. As much as I admire Newt, one exit poll statistic out of Florida will shape the rest of the primaries, and the general election as well. It is this: Romney led Gingrich among female voters nearly two to one, 51 to 28. Minds can still be changed, but human nature is a little tougher. Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/02/underestimating_mitt_and_newt.html#ixzz1lEpTauut

Welcome home, Mr. Governor. You have fought the good fight. You have earned a few scars, gained a few wrinkles, and absorbed a few blows. And you have nudged the country, ever so slightly, in the right direction. For that we are grateful. You brought the straightforwardness of Texas to the national limelight. You captured the resoluteness of Texans and reminded us that unambiguity and resolve are qualities that all Americans should employ. You showed us that slow talk can be straight talk, that truth is simple, that reality is easily explained. No, you can't add regulation and jobs at...

On Saturday night, at precisely 9:19 and 30 seconds, my iPhone, my iPad, my computer and, for all I know, my toaster were informed that Herman Cain had endorsed Newt Gingrich. The ping-ping of the devices suggested that something momentous had happened--alerts from both The Post and the New York Times--but in fact it was just additional evidence that the Republican Party has become a circus: One clown endorsed another. It’s hard to know who is the more ridiculous figure — the grandiloquent, bombastic and compulsively dishonest Gingrich, or the beguilingly ignorant Cain, a man who has never held elective...

Updated Full Primary/Caucus Calendar Jan 3 Iowa (caucus) 28 Delegates 28 Unbound - Allocation at State Convention Jan 10 New Hampshire (primary) 12 Delegates 12 Bound - Proportional with 10% threshold Jan 21 South Carolina (primary) 25 Delegates 25 Bound - Winner-take-all per statewide vote Jan 31 Florida (primary) 50 Delegates 50 Bound - winner-take-all per statewide vote Feb 4 Nevada (caucus) 28 Delegates 28 Bound - Allocated on results of primary Feb 4-11 Maine (caucus) 24 Delegates 24 Unbound - Convention elects delegates Feb 7 Colorado (caucus) 36 Delegates 36 Unbound - Allocated at State Convention Minnesota (caucus) 40...

Mitt has a problem. He’s had his chance to run away with the GOP nomination – but the man that so many were eager to name the “GOP frontrunner” has won only one primary, the same number as his two major competitors, Gingrich and Santorum. One would think that Romney might have had more success in the primaries so far, given the clear weaknesses of his competition. The most distinctive things about Santorum are his religion and his sweater vests. Newt has his own problems, named Jackie, Marianne, and Freddie Mac. Romney gets to be the “frontrunner” by default, but...

Tampa, Fla. — If the polls are correct, Rick Santorum will not win tonight’s primary. But he tells National Review Online that he remains in the hunt for the nomination. “This is a game of survivor,” he says. “I’m under the strong belief that we are going to hang in there. You are going to see some more ebbs and flows in this campaign. We are going to get our opportunity.” Santorum sees hope to the west, from the Upper Midwest to the Rocky Mountain region. Leaving behind Florida’s air wars, where television advertising ruled, he is confident that he...

Way back in the summer (of 2011), FHQ began fielding calls and emails from a number of media outlets asking about the filing deadlines for primaries and caucuses in the various states. It really picked up in late September and into October as some folks in the press continued to, well, press the notion of a late Palin candidacy. From that point onward, the Palin speculation may have dropped off to some extent, but a cottage industry has popped up in the wake of it and proliferated throughout the Republican presidential primary landscape around the notion of late entry....

Florida tea partiers would be most enthusiastic if former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum won the Republican presidential nomination, according to a straw poll conducted Sunday night by the Tea Party Patriots organization. The straw poll was conducted following a conference call during which Santorum, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and answered questions and made their pitch to the call’s participants. Texas Rep. Ron Paul was invited to participate, but was unable to do so. Callers were asked to rank their enthusiasm for each of the candidates receiving the nomination on a scale of...

Romney really will say anything to get elected. This is just four years ago, and he sounds like someone who works for the Obama administration. So now he’s a conservative? Really? Puleeeze.

I have been pounding the keyboard all week about the lies and distortions of the Romney campaign and supporters about Newt’s record of support for Ronald Reagan. These allegations were played out by the Romney campaign and on Drudge, and did serious damage to Newt, both substantively and by forcing Newt to get off message. I was highly suspicious of several accounts, including that by Elliot Abrams, regarding a speech by Newt in 1986. That article in National Review gave rise to this notorious Drudge headline:

Following the results of the 2012 Republican primaries and caucuses.

Ex-Alaska topper tells Fox Business Network Gingrich is being "vilified" by GOP elites and the media. Palin: "Look at Newt Gingrich, what’s going on with him, via the establishment’s attacks. They’re trying to crucify this man and rewrite history, and rewrite what it is that he has stood for all these years."

There is something truly obscene about the full blown assault on Newt Gingrich’s strong Reagan conservative history from and on behalf of Mitt Romney, who unabashedly ran away from the Reagan legacy and conservative principles in his 1994 Senate campaign and 2002 gubernatorial campaign. Truly obscene.The latest iteration comes from Elliott Abrams writing in National Review, quoting pieces of a single speech Newt apparently gave on the floor of the House on March 21, 1986, in which Newt criticized certain foreign policy decisions of the Reagan administration. Abrams does not link to the full speech or to other speeches of...

Mitt Romney has maintained his lead in the Florida Republican presidential primary. Romney leads with 41%, followed by Newt Gingrich with 34%, Rick Santorum with 9%, and Ron Paul with 7%. In a similar survey conducted January 13-15, 2012, Romney was at 42% and Gingrich was at 25%. A total of 17% of Republican primary voters say that they have already voted by absentee ballot or in early voting. Of this group of voters, Romney leads with 51%, followed by Gingrich with 39%, Paul with 6%, and Santorum with 4%. Among the 83% of the remaining likely Republican primary voters,...

<p>You have perhaps no bigger fan of your philosophy, nor a more eager consumer of your many books, broadcasts and events, than me. One of the more memorable events in my life was attending your Restoring Honor rally in Washington, D.C., and sharing breakfast with you, several hundred supporters and Gov. Sarah Palin, in support of the Special Operations Warrior Fund. Never will I forget hearing you announce, "Ladies and gentleman, security just notified me that we should all go soon, because the crowd is already filled beyond the reflecting pool." Thank you for the greatness of your vision and the amazing courage of your convictions.</p>

PPP's first post-South Carolina poll in Florida finds Newt Gingrich with a small lead. He's at 38% to 33% for Mitt Romney, 13% for Rick Santorum, and 10% for Ron Paul. Gingrich has gained 12 points since a PPP poll conducted in Florida a week ago. Romney has dropped 8 points. Paul and Santorum have pretty much remained in place. Their favorability numbers show similar trendlines. Gingrich's has increased 8 points from +15 (51/36) to +23 (57/34). Meanwhile Romney's has declined 13 points from +44 (68/24) to +31 (61/30). Here's the good news for Gingrich in this poll:

Gannett Newspaper - Link Only: http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120123/NEWS02/301230034/Gingrich-win-puts-TN-play-decide-Republican-nomination?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

Five key factors in what happened this weekend in the South Carolina primary, and five key factors in what will occur eight days from now in the Florida primary:LOOKING BACKOne: The rapidity of the Romney collapse. Since the race began to take shape in early-to-mid 2011, Mitt Romney has been mocked for having a glass jaw. In both Iowa and New Hampshire, Romney and his backers could scoff at the claim, pointing out that he had (seemingly) won Iowa and overwhelmingly won New Hampshire, not to mention that polls showed him leading in South Carolina and Florida, as well...

Newt Gingrich heads into South Carolina election day as the clear front runner in the state: he's now polling at 37% to 28% for Mitt Romney, 16% for Rick Santorum, and 14% for Ron Paul. Gingrich's lead has actually increased in the wake of his ex-wife's controversial interview with ABC. Although one night poll results should always be interpreted with caution, he led the final night of the field period by a 40-26 margin. One thing that continues to work to his advantage are the debates. 60% of primary voters report having watched the one last night, and Gingrich has...

John King has joined Juan Williams as Newt Gingrich road kill. They have both been taught a harsh lesson: Newt Gingrich will not play the “gotcha question” game and he will turn such questions into smack downs of those who insist upon asking them. In just over 2 minutes Gingrich took King’s opening question about the charges being made by his former wife and flattened the pride of CNN to the delight of hundreds in a South Carolina auditorium and millions across the country. Newt’s smack down had us banging our fists and saying “Finally! Finally somebody is punching back!”...

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina House Speaker Bobby Harrell said Thursday that he is endorsing former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in the state's Republican primary. "Cathy and I make these decisions together. We believe Newt Gingrich is the right choice for South Carolina, and for the United States," Harrell said in a statement the Gingrich campaign released. "His commitment to the conservative principles of lower taxes, smaller government, and economic development are key to restoring America to greatness. "Speaker Gingrich is the only candidate with proven leadership experience, which is what we need to effect real change in Washington." Harrell...

Charleston, SC - Medal of Honor recipient Major General James E. Livingston, USMC (Ret) today endorsed Newt Gingrich’s candidacy for president of the United States. Newt GingrichA South Carolina Lowcountry resident, decorated war hero, and prominent member of America’s veterans community, General Livingston today withdrew his support of Texas Governor Rick Perry’s candidacy and announced he intends to promptly begin campaigning for Speaker Newt Gingrich. “I appreciate Governor Perry’s efforts, and adore him and his wife Anita. But I have come to the conclusion that Republicans need to get behind a conservative candidate who is developing the momentum needed to...

(CNN) – While not offering a full endorsement, Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin urged South Carolina voters to turn out for Newt Gingrich during Saturday’s primary.

So who should get the Republican nomination? Should it go to the most “electable”? Should we follow Gallup’s poll on candidates’ “acceptability”? Mitt Romney wins these metrics hands down. But don’t take the easy way out. Romney is eminently acceptable because there’s nothing there to hate. But there’s also little there to love — nothing to inspire other than his personal qualities. But, as we’ve seen, those don’t endure.

The Republican Party's steadily rightward drift, exemplified by the tea party movement's muscle, keeps hitting a quadrennial paradox that frustrates social conservatives: presidential primaries. For all its success in congressional races, the GOP's right wing repeatedly has failed to unite behind a "movement conservative" to be the party's White House nominee. It happened in 2008 with John McCain, and in 1996 with Bob Dole. Now social conservatives fear it's happening again in, of all places, South Carolina, virtually the heartland of the tea party. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is running strong in polls there, threatening to sweep the year's...

(VANITY)Word has it that Mr. Herman Cain, a strong conservative presidential candidate incessantly attacked by the national media, the DNC and the RINO Establishment slime machine, is in a position now to endorse in pivotal South Carolina prior to its presidential primary.The problem is, some indications are coming out that such an endorsement, while "unconventional" may be going to Mitt Romney, the worst possible choice for the Republicans in 2012 and certainly no conservative, easily beatable by Barack Obama in November. Sucn an endorsement would be highly inadvisable. Many of us, former 2012 Cain supporters, volunteers and donors say this...

After Rick Santorum’s surprising showing in the January 3rd Iowa caucuses, many observers asked, “Why didn’t Mitt Romney win? What explains Santorum’s late surge?” The answer lies at the core of contemporary Republican politics: they don’t have one candidate that appeals to their fractured base. A recent Pew Research poll revealed the remarkable diversity in the US electorate. In 2012, Pew projects that 10 percent of potential voters, mostly young people, will not vote; Pew allocates the remaining 90 percent to three groups: “Mostly Republican,” 25 percent, “Mostly Independent,” 35 percent, and “Mostly Democratic,” 40 percent. (This reflects ideology not...

South Carolina has a reputation for nasty politics — and there's a good reason for that. The state has a rich history of electoral mudslinging and bare-knuckled brawling, particularly in its Republican presidential primary. With little more than a week to go before this year's Jan. 21 GOP primary, it's safe to expect that under-the-radar attacks will occur in the final run-up to the voting.

Via The Hill: "Restore Our Future, an outside group backing Mitt Romney, is taking its first shot at Rick Santorum. The group is running ads in South Carolina and Florida criticizing Santorum for supporting earmarks, part of multi-million dollar ad buys running in the states." Fair? In context? All the possibly clarifying facts disclosed? Of course not.

Mitt Romney leads the GOP presidential field in South Carolina, but his rivals are closing in fast. Newt Gingrich is close behind the former Massachusetts governor, while Ron Paul and Rick Perry have posted impressive gains over the past week, according to an American Research Group poll released on Friday. Romney came in at 29 percent, followed by Gingrich at 25 percent, Paul at 20 percent, Perry at 9 percent, Rick Santorum at 7 percent and Jon Huntsman at 1 percent. Paul has climbed 11 percent in the last week and Perry has gained 7 percent. Santorum, who was tied...

WASHINGTON -- Torn between reality and their political dreams, leading conservatives are defending Mitt Romney's private sector success and acknowledging that his presidential nomination may be inevitable even as they search for a more palatable candidate. Romney, meanwhile, is marching steadily through South Carolina, unveiling a prominent endorsement and sending a message to his party: It's time to stop bickering. Not just yet, some conservative leaders say. "Honestly, it looks like Gov. Romney's nomination is inevitable," said the Rev. Robert Jeffress, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas and a supporter of Texas Gov. Rick Perry. "Evangelicals, come November,...

Even those who believe themselves devoted patriots (including devout Christians) may foolishly be enticed by the powers that be, into violating Americans' sacred and essential Popular and national Sovereignties. It has been happening for a long time, now. People who believe in a Sovereign nation called the United States of America are being duped into not only violating the mandates of our Constitution, but even worse, into nullifying our own Declaration of Independence from the control of foreign, kleptocratic power. This is the tragedy for all, of those who foolishly follow the stratagems of those seeking hegemony over us via...

Jeff Miller, Texas Gov. Rick Perry's presidential campaign chairman in California, was in Iowa with a handful of California lawmakers for last week's caucuses. He may find himself in South Carolina when the race arrives there later this month. He isn't missing much back home. "That June primary," Miller said, "might as well be 100 years away." It sure feels like it. While the Republican presidential campaigns fast-forward to New Hampshire on Tuesday and South Carolina on Jan. 21, hardly anyone in California is off the couch. Republicans here know the race may be over before they vote on June...

Did you ever feel that eerie deja vu feeling? Here we are again, just three short years after McCain was foisted upon us and those of us who clung stubbornly to our principles along with our Bibles and guns were visciously attacked by "party trumps all" types for refusing to vote for that backstabbing sack of yak-squeeze (thanks Mr. Boortz) as if he were the second coming. Now here we are predictably once again about to nominate a worthless RINO. We have Republicans telling us that while it looks like a liberal, and talks like a liberal and has a...

NASHUA, N.H. — Mitt Romney, already under intense scrutiny for his leadership at venture capital group Bain, inadvertently gave his rivals new material today when he said that he likes “being able to fire people.” The remarks came during a speech to the Nashua Chamber of Commerce this morning in which he was trying to explain that he would like people to have the option to pick and choose their medical insurance and get rid of plans that don’t meet their needs. “I want individuals to have their own insurance,” he said. “That means the insurance company will have an...