CPAC Chicago, Part 4: Joe Walsh, Randy Hultgren, Straw Poll Results

-By Warner Todd Huston

Finally, in part four we’ll hear from two solid Illinois Congressmen, the 8th District’s Joe Walsh and Randy Hultgren of the 14th. We’ll also hear the, perhaps not startling results of the straw poll, the most important question from which was who Romney should pick for his vice presidential candidate (hint, the top picks weren’t any of his one-time rivals for the nomination).

Congressman Joe Walsh


Rep. Joe Walsh gins up the crowd

Joe Walsh of the Illinois 8th District is the one Congressman that the left wants to eliminate more than any other Republican Congressman. This is because Joe has carved out from among his fellows an outsized voice for conservatism. He appears regularly on TV and radio to tout the conservative message. But he’s become a major target of Democrat redistricting and now faces a tough challenge to be reelected in his newly reconfigured 8th District. Me, I think he can easily beat the know-nothing candidate the Democrats have put up against him, but Joe is taking nothing for granted.

One thing is sure, though, Joe Walsh knows how to get a conservative audience in motion.
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CPAC Chicago, Part 4: Joe Walsh, Randy Hultgren, Straw Poll Results”


CPAC Chicago, Part 3: Bobby Jindal, Peter Roskam, Michele Bachman

-By Warner Todd Huston

In part three of our series we’ll take a look at the speeches of Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, Illinois Congressman Peter Roskam, and Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota. Bachmann’s speech was quite interesting for its singular focus on a particular jihad-supporting Muslim group that is operating in America today. Bachmann was vehement that Obama ban this group.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal


Gov. Bobby Jindal on the main stage

Jindal is another favorite of the greater conservative movement. He has a very compelling story of immigrant parents that came to America to become part of this great nation to finally see their little son become the most powerful man in their adopted state. It’s the perfect American story, for sure.

Speaking of stories, Jindal has a lot of them especially where it concerns his involvement in the BP Oil spill from 2010. I’ve seen Jindal relate this tale several times and it is always a good one. His description of how the federal government was more interested in observing its silly OSHA than deal quickly with the emergency before them was telling and hilarious — though ultimately sad and infuriating. Since this is standard stump speech stuff of Jindal’s, though, I did not Tweet that segment.

Like the others Jindal started praising the Walker win in Wisconsin. One of his funniest lines was that all the news people were proclaiming that the vote would be so close that it would be a long night for Wisconsin as they tallied the votes. But reality proved that the whole thing was over in a matter of hours with Walker’s landslide. Instead of it being a long night for Wisconsin, Jindal joked that it was instead a “long night at Obama headquarters in Chicago!”
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CPAC Chicago, Part 3: Bobby Jindal, Peter Roskam, Michele Bachman”


CPAC Chicago, Part 2: Richard Mourdock, Chris Christie, Herman Cain

-By Warner Todd Huston

In part two of my coverage of CPACs first Midwestern conference event, we will see some of the high spots of the floor speeches of Indiana Senate Candidate Richard Mourdock, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie – always a crowd favorite – and the redoubtable Herman Cain. Cain also visited the media room and I have video of that below the fold.

Indiana Senate Candidate Richard Mourdock

Richard Mourdock is the current Indiana State treasurer but he also just defeated long-time incumbent Senator Richard Lugar for the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate from Indiana. He’ll face the Democrat come November. Mourdock has been widely touted as the insurgent Tea Party candidate that beat Lugar, the old line, establishment man.

“No one expected a lowly state treasurer could take out a 36-year Senator! But we DID,” Mourdock said triumphantly.

Mourdock also noted that Senator Chuck Schumer of New York has called him the “Hoosier headache.” Mourdock was rather proud of that appellation.
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CPAC Chicago, Part 2: Richard Mourdock, Chris Christie, Herman Cain”


Santorum/Romney/Paul: So What Did Iowa Prove?

-By Warner Todd Huston

The 2012 Iowa Caucuses are now over and in a nail biting ending the two highest vote getters were separated by only eight votes. So, what did this caucus prove? It proved that organization matters, personal contact matters, and finally big money spent on TV might not matter as much.

The biggest news was that Rick Santorum came from the back of the pack — his numbers had been so bad that he almost got excluded from some of the many debates — almost taking first place in Iowa. He was, in fact, leading for most of the night until that final count showed him in second place losing only by eight votes. This was fantastic showing was due to one thing: Santorum’s hard work at retail politics.

Santorum spent much of his campaign treasury and much time in Iowa. He visited all 99 counties in the state and was for weeks on Iowa radio and TV morning noon and night. He pressed a lot of flesh and kissed a lot of babies. Santorum invested his campaign and himself in Iowa in a last ditch effort to keep his campaign alive. If he hadn’t it is likely that today he would be announcing the end of his campaign for the White House.
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Santorum/Romney/Paul: So What Did Iowa Prove?”


How Ron Paul Might Win Iowa and STILL Get No Hawkeye Delegates

-By Warner Todd Huston

My friend Michael Bates has raised some interesting — if technical — points. He notes that Ron Paul could very will win Iowa but still come away with few or even no Iowa delegates. After looking over Bates’ points, I think he has it right. But one thing he said is really trenchant when he noted that journalists don’t bother to read the party rules of correlate past history to see if Paul’s win in Iowa would really mean anything at all.

But first, we should note that the winner of the Iowa Republican caucus rarely becomes president. Many others have noted that the Iowa caucuses don’t pick winners. In fact, over the last six GOP presidential contests, only one Iowa winner became president (George W. Bush). Two others won the caucuses in Iowa but did not win the White House (Bob Dole and Gerald Ford).

That aside, Bates makes some important points in the delegates process. He finds that Ron Paul might win a plurality in Iowa and still come away with no delegates. The most important point he makes is to remind us all that the Iowa Caucus is not a primary election. It is only a straw poll and what happens there is not binding. This is a point that the media almost never make.

As the popularity polls are telling us, Ron Paul is neck-and-neck with Mitt Romney with Santorum have a last minute surge. But this shows that Paul will not be running away with it all, here. This also means that his support will be spread all over the state in numbers that will not commandingly control too many districts. This leaves the door open for the other candidates to band together to prevent Paul delegates from getting any traction and just might result on Paul have few or even no delegates at the state convention.

As Bates has it:
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How Ron Paul Might Win Iowa and STILL Get No Hawkeye Delegates”


Yes Virginia The Internet Does NOT Replace Old Fashioned Politics

-By Warner Todd Huston

When Howard Dean became a surprise front runner in the Democrat primary of 2004 doing so on the basis of a strong Internet-based campaign effort, tongues began to wag that the Internet might replace old fashioned retail politics. This time ’round Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich served to get people to question the old way of organizing a campaign.

But this week we’ve seen in Virginia why these airy claims of the Internet’s new dominance is a bit chimerical. We see that old fashioned, boots on the ground politics is still the best method to election.

By all methods of measure, Texas Governor Rick Perry is still a strong candidate in the 2012 GOP Primary race. He sometimes comes in second, third or fourth in polls, but is still considered a top contender for the nomination. Yet as the time came to file his petition signatures in Virginia, it turned out his campaign could not collect enough to get his name on the ballot. So, a reputed front running candidate for the nomination, Rick Perry, will not even appear on the Virginia primary ballot.
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Yes Virginia The Internet Does NOT Replace Old Fashioned Politics”


Eating Our Own & Providing Strategy

-By Frank Salvato

One cannot turn on the television or radio without some talking head or so-called political analyst pontificating about how Newt Gingrich is grandiose, how Mitt Romney isn’t really a Conservative – and how they both have flipped on several issues – or how Ron Paul’s foreign policy is isolationist. Glenn Beck, to many people’s extreme disappointment, even went so far as to call Speaker Gingrich a Progressive (I guess ratings are down as GBTV). It makes for good news show content, to be sure. In certain respects there is truth to the critiques. But this hyper-critiquing and self-immolation also does two things that Conservatives and Republicans fall prey to each and every time the General Election cycle comes calling: It deflects from addressing the differences between the GOP field and the opposition; and it provides the opposition with talking points, opponent research and the luxury of hiatus.

Make no mistake, the primaries are where each party – when not in incumbency – needs to critique and evaluate their prospective candidates. A hard-fought primary, when devoid of “it’s my turn” establishment national party politics, usually results in the fielding of the best candidate, and a candidate who is sufficiently prepped to engage in the “main event.” But there is a difference between an intellectual meeting of the minds, where policy differences and a juxtaposition of experiences are proposed, examined and debated, and the childish, nonsensical “braggateering” (to coin a word); of trading insignificant insults; of executing a campaign of personality-based mudslinging.

As we approach the actual start of the primary cycle – yes, we haven’t begun the cycle just yet – this act of political stupidity is coming into play, yet again, among the front runners for the 2012 Republican Presidential Nomination.

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Eating Our Own & Providing Strategy”


Romney, Newt, Bachtorum, Ron Puntsman: Who Cares?

-By Warner Todd Huston

Like nearly every conservative in America today I am unimpressed by the current crop of GOP nominees for president and feel they all have major flaws — especially the two frontrunners Newt and Romney, both of whom have major deficits as far as staunch conservatives are concerned. But at this point I’ve come to realize that I don’t think I care which one of them is nominated. In fact, I think the White House is not where we should be focusing our intensity in 2012.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not saying we shouldn’t vote for whichever GOP nominee wins the game show plaudits. We should absolutely pick one of them and then we all, conservatives and Republicans alike, should vote for him (or her).

So, what am I saying? I am saying that the White House is less important than people are saying it is. Instead, we need a two-point focus for 2012 that doesn’t include the White House. We don’t need 999 points. Just two. 1). Gaining control of Congress and 2). turning Obama out. The identity and purity of our presidential nominee is the last thing we should be worried about at this point. It is a bit late for that anyway.

Let me assure you that I don’t have a favorite in this GOP race. And I have three real dislikes: Romney, Huntsman, and Ron Paul. This article is no stealth shilling for any particular candidate. I really do have big problems with all of them. But, again, I don’t think it matters which of them we pick if we focus on the two points I note above.

First of all, any of the GOP candidates (yes even the cranky uncle of the GOP, Ron Paul) would be better than Obama. But that goes without saying because I am a conservative that votes Republican. No surprise there, really.

But there are reasons besides blind partisanship that any of the GOP nominees is better than Obama. In fact, it can really be boiled down to but one issue that makes getting rid of Obama imperative: the courts. He has been thoroughly destructive to this country with his judicial picks.
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Romney, Newt, Bachtorum, Ron Puntsman: Who Cares?”


Three More GOP Hopefuls Calling for Holder’s Resignation Over Fast and Furious

-By Warner Todd Huston

Last week I noted that not too many of the candidates for the GOP nomination for President had said much about Obama’s murderous Operation Fast and Furious. But since then we’ve gotten two more than Just Bachmann to call for Holder’s resignation.

As I mentioned a few days ago, Michelle Bachmann became the first GOP hopeful to call for Holder’s resignation over the disastrous gunrunning program that armed Mexican narco-terrorists, arms used to kill over 200 Mexican citizens…

Read the rest at RightPundits.com.


NBC, Jimmy Fallon Call Michele Bachmann ‘Lyin’ Ass Bitch’

-By Warner Todd Huston

Remember when the whole Old Media establishment was aghast at how sexist the treatment of Hillary Clinton was in 2007/08? Then there was much wringing of hands over how rotten it was to mistreat a female Senator and presidential candidate. But apparently that same Old Media finds it hilarious when NBC’s Jimmy Fallon introduces Michele Bachmann to the song “Lyin’ Ass Bitch” on his late night show. Suddenly they just don’t care about mistreating a female politician running for president.

The song is by the band Fishbone and features uplifting lyrics such as, “The lyin’, piss off, sack of shit, Slut trash can scumish, Dirt bag… Biiiitch!”…

Read the rest at RightPundits.com.


ENOUGH of GOP ‘Debates’ Where Mediots Show Us How Tough They Are

-By Warner Todd Huston

In the upcoming Republican primary I am not voting for Brian Williams, Brett Baier, Scott Pelly, Wolf Blitzer or any other member of the Old Media. I am trying to figure out which Republican nominee for president I might want to support. So why has every so-called debate featured mediots trying to prove to their mediots pals how tough they can be on Republican candidates instead of the Republican candidates actually debating each other?

Lately every one has been harkening back to those Lincoln-Douglass-styled debates of yesteryear and there is a reason that the famous debates between GOP Senate candidate Abe Lincoln and incumbent Democrat Stephen Douglass held over 150 years ago come so easily to mind. It’s because we aren’t getting that these days!

What we are getting instead are media personalities trying to make reputations for themselves instead of debates that tell us what the GOP candidates know, if they can articulate it, and if they can defend same.

I wish the candidates would stop going to these worthless excuses for debates forthwith. We need real debates and that means substance. The candidates should stop worrying that they might look “afraid” to debate and demand some format changes for any future outings before they show up again.
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ENOUGH of GOP ‘Debates’ Where Mediots Show Us How Tough They Are”


More Than Winning – Can the GOP Candidates Mend the Divide?

-By Rev Michael Bresciani

No one has done more to divide the nation in its entire history than the incumbent, Barack Obama. The one who said America should drop all its divides including Democrat and Republican has pitted whole blocs of us against each other.

The Tea Party now seems to be running as the exact opposite of the Flea Party. (Occupy) The states with crippled economies are pitted against unions. The Border States have to defend against the dangerous influx of illegal immigrants, drugs and violence then must also defend themselves from the DOJ, DOJ Hotlines (Alabama) and a President who would take them to court rather than do his own part according to the law, to defend them.

The tax payers must continue to cough up their share even as they see the Fed spread it around to failed stimulus bills, bankrupt bailed out businesses and overseas help for corn-ball things like the rebuilding of sagging Islamic Mosques. (Started during Bush adm.) The taxed are beginning to see that ‘united we stand’ must be modified to, ‘united we stand against it.’
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More Than Winning – Can the GOP Candidates Mend the Divide?”


Cain Rises at TeaCon 2011: Straw Poll Win, Communications Director Loss, Disagreements With Jack Roeser

-By Warner Todd Huston

Herman Cain wins yet another straw poll of conservative activists. This time at Teacon 2011 held in a northwestern suburb of Chicago. There was no surprise that Cain won the straw poll, but there was some surprise fireworks in the media room and another surprise elsewhere in the Cain campaign as his long-serving Communications Director resigned over the weekend.

Herman Cain was the only candidate that decided to come in person, but to be honest, this crowd was a Cain hotspot even before that. Rep. Michele Bachmann sent in a video address that found favor with the crowd, too. But Cain and she were the only ones to give TeaCon 2011 the time of day.

The results, with over 77% of the vote, put Herman Cain in the lead. And in descending order was Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry, Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Rick Santorum — oddly enough President Obama came in next — and Jon Huntsman and Gary Johnson came in last.

As Erik Telford said on Twitter, “If you can’t beat Obama in a tea party straw poll, it’s probably time to end your campaign. (cc: Huntsman and Johnson).”

Ouch, indeed.
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Cain Rises at TeaCon 2011: Straw Poll Win, Communications Director Loss, Disagreements With Jack Roeser”


My Live Tweets of the August Fox GOP Debate

-By Warner Todd Huston

I usually live Tweet many events like this at my Twitter account: http://twitter.com/#!/warnerthuston. The Fox GOP debate is no exception.

As to the debate, who won and who lost?

I’d say Tim Pawlenty ended his run last night. His bickering with Michele Bachmann rattled him and made him look a bit silly. Tim lost but so did Rick Santorum who kept attacking Ron Paul for some crazy reason. Rick seemed like the queen of rage last night, not Bachmann.

As to Bachmann, she did not damage herself in the room, but a few of the things she said about Pawlenty’s past positions were a bit of a misrepresentation. Still, she could think on her feet and seemed in command of herself whereas Pawlenty was getting mad.
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My Live Tweets of the August Fox GOP Debate”


Conservatives, Tea Partiers Still Not Warming to Mitt Romney

-By Warner Todd Huston

CNN is reporting that the “Christian right” and the Tea Partiers are still nowhere near supporting Mitt Romney’s bid for the GOP nomination for president. Romney’s flip flopping on abortion, his full-on and continued support for his disastrous Romneycare health plan in Massachusetts prompting fear that he will end up supporting Obamacare if he wins, and other flip flops in his record have kept conservatives of many stripes away from supporting him.

Rightfully so, I should hasten to add.

Of course, Romney is leading far and away in most of the polls with Michele Bachmann currently coming in a distant second, so it is interesting to see the base still leery of a Romney candidacy. One has to wonder how the polls can show Romney so far ahead if CNNs report is correct on the base and it’s feelings against Romney. Perhaps these polls are really only based on name recognition even still and the real race has yet to begin…

Read the rest at RightPundits.com.


Tea Party Poll: Rick Perry On Top

-By Warner Todd Huston

According to a McClatchy-Marist poll from Wednesday, Texas Governor Rick Perry is the Tea Party favorite to be president of the Untied States in 2012.

Perry has not made any announcement of running as of yet, but he comes in above Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann and the others either announced or mulling still.

The poll shows that Perry garners 20% support with Mitt Romney coming in second at 17%. Palin comes in third at 16% while Michele Bachmann rings in at 12%.

Read the rest at RightPundits.com.


Michele Bachmann Is In!

-By Warner Todd Huston

Michele Bachmann, a representative from Minnesota, has finally thrown her hat in the ring. As of Monday, June 27, Bachmann made it official in front of a crowd in Waterloo, Iowa.

It is no mistake that she did so in Iowa, either, Bachmann has been polling quite well in Iowa coming in near the top of the heap along with long-time candidate Mitt Romney. Interestingly, neither Romney nor Bachmann have been campaigning too heavily in Iowa as of yet and Bachmann is a late comer to the race on top of that…

Read the rest at RightPundits.com.


Romney’s Huge Money Advantage

-By Warner Todd Huston

A few weeks ago, Herman Cain said that he wasn’t worried about facing Mitt Romney, but he was worried about facing Mitt’s money. Today, Politico reports that Romney has a huge advantage over the other Republican candidates with a campaign war chest they can’t duplicate.

If his one-day fundraiser in May that brought in $10 million is any indication, Romney seems to be on target to raise nearly $40 million for the 2012 election and the primaries that precede it. The campaign is low-balling that figure by saying that he will only reach about $20 million, but even to me that seems low…

Read the rest at RightPundits.com.


Thoughts on the CNN Republican Debate

-By Warner Todd Huston

Well the CNN debate of some of the GOP candidates for president is now in the history books and I thought I’d give my impression of those vying there.

Before I do that, I have to comment on John King’s constant guttural vocal tick. It sounded like he had Tourette Syndrome with the grunts and other noises. He was an utter failure as a moderator. His annoying grunts HAVE to go. It was also clear that his goal was not to hear what the candidates wanted to say, but that he wanted them to attack each other. He was constantly trying to pit them against each other. Fortunately, they did not take the bait for the most part. This was a civil debate, for sure. But if anyone failed tonight it was John King.

The debate format was rotten, too. This 30-second limit on answers for complex issues is absurd. I am glad that about halfway through the thing the time limit went by the wayside.

Now Let’s take the candidates as they appeared on the stage.
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Thoughts on the CNN Republican Debate”


The Left’s Lying Liars Trying to Smear Michelle Bachmann’s Tea Party Response

-By Warner Todd Huston

The left’s latest unfair, false, and downright scurrilous attack on Michelle Bachmann focuses on her Tea Party response video aired after President Obama’s State of the Union speech last week. I am a bit late to this story, I realize, but I wanted to get it aired here regardless.

The left’s claim is that Michelle is too stupid to understand how TV works because she was not looking into the camera as she delivered her comments. Further, the left (and some uninformed conservatives, too) are saying that Bachmann is dividing the Republican Party by delivering the speech at all.

Both claims are flat out false.
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The Left’s Lying Liars Trying to Smear Michelle Bachmann’s Tea Party Response”