Twelve for '12: A Dozen Republicans Who Could Be the Next President

[Dos Equis]

Saw most of the CNBC debate.  They all did a good job, except for Perry (again).  

- Perry's senior moment was just downright embarrassing.  What the heck is wrong with that dude?  Was he not prepared for this debate too?  Maybe he should pull a page out of Palin's book and write notes on his hand.  

- Romney was solid as usual.  As long as he talks about business, job growth, and the economy, he can compete with anyone on the stage.  Head and shoulders better than Obama in that regard too.  

- Paul did well.  Liked his comments about student loans.  

- Bachmann was sort of invisible.  

- Cain did a good job.  Still a serious contender IMO.  

- Newt still comes across as the most qualified man on the stage.  His comments about student loans were outstanding.  I could see him making a late surge.  I might have to rethink whether his nomination is an impossibility.  

[240 is Back]

LOL @ Bragging that "only" 45% of republican primary voters aren't concerned about Cain harassments claims.

Methinks a lot more than 45% of TOTAL voters will be troubled with it.

I just don't see why the "anybody but obama" party would attach their 2012 chances to a guy with so many Q marks.

[Dos Equis]

Quinnipiac Poll: Obama, Romney Close in Swing States
Thursday, 10 Nov 2011

Little distance separates President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney in a potential 2012 matchup in three large states, a new poll finds, with Obama leading by 3 percentage points in Ohio, trailing by the same margin in Florida and barely ahead in Pennsylvania.

The “swing state poll” conducted for Quinnipiac University also offers no assurance that Romney will be the Republican presidential nominee.

Conducted as sexual harassment charges swirled around rival Herman Cain, the survey shows the former businessman leading Romney in the Republican race in Ohio and Florida and tied with him in Pennsylvania.

Obama leads Cain and two other Republican contenders -- Texas Governor Rick Perry and former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia -- in all three states, in most cases by wide margins.

Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania combine for 67 of the 270 electoral votes needed to be elected president. Obama carried all of them in 2008.

Florida -- with 29 electoral votes -- is shaping up as “the toughest of the ‘big three’ for Obama to carry” in a contest against Romney, said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Hamden, Connecticut-based polling institute.

Rubio Factor

Brown added that if Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio emerges as the party’s vice presidential nominee, as has been speculated, “that would make the Sunshine State even a tougher sale for the president.”

Romney leads the president 45 percent to 42 percent in Florida, according to the survey. The figures are exactly reversed in Ohio in Obama’s favor, and in Pennsylvania the president is ahead of Romney 44 percent to 43 percent, the poll finds.

The poll of registered voters was taken Oct. 31-Nov. 7, and has error margins of plus-or-minus 2.9 percentage points in Florida, 2.7 points in Ohio and 2.6 points in Pennsylvania.

The harassment allegations against Cain surfaced Oct. 30 and have dogged him since then. He called a news conference yesterday in Arizona a day after one of four women to have made allegations detailed her claims of inappropriate sexual behavior by him in 1997.

Cain has denied all of the accusations; he said yesterday “I have never acted inappropriately with anyone, period.”

The poll results show that the charges “haven’t derailed his candidacy so far, and he remains strong among Republicans,” Brown said.

‘Cain Train’

Still, Brown cautioned that “while the immediate effect hasn’t been catastrophic, it’s unclear whether the story will have legs that will make a larger dent in the ‘Cain Train’ as we get closer to the actual primaries.”

Among Republican voters in Florida, Cain leads the primary field with 27 percent, followed by Romney at 21 percent, Gingrich at 17 percent and Perry at 5 percent, according to the poll.

In Ohio, the results are Cain 25 percent, Romney 20 percent, Gingrich 11 percent and U.S. Representative Ron Paul of Texas 9 percent. Perry and Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota each have 4 percent.

In the Republican race in Pennsylvania, Cain and Romney are tied at 17 percent. Gingrich and Rick Santorum, the state’s former U.S. senator, follow with 13 percent, and Perry and Paul each have 5 percent.

Among all voters in the three states, the poll finds that Romney “is considered more honest and trustworthy and makes a more favorable impression, while Cain is viewed more unfavorably,” according to a statement by the Quinnipiac pollsters.

Florida, violating Republican Party rules, has set its primary for Jan. 31. Pennsylvania Republicans are scheduled to vote on April 24 and Ohio Republicans on June 12.

http://www.newsmax.com/InsideCover/obama-romney-close-polls/2011/11/10/id/417535

[Dos Equis]

 

Gingrich Catches Romney, New Poll Shows
Monday, 14 Nov 2011
By Newsmax Wires

A new national survey of Republicans shows former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has tied Mitt Romney in the race for the party's nomination, as support for Herman Cain's candidacy wanes in light of sexual harassment allegations against him.

A CNN/ORC International Poll  shows 24 percent of Republicans and independents who lean GOP say that Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, is their most likely choice for the nomination while Gingrich is at a close 22 percent, a statistical tie.

The poll has a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percent, or 4.5 percent on questions only for Republicans and GOP-leaning independents.

For Gingrich, the news is especially good because since October, his support has jumped 14 points.  Romney's numbers have held steady.

With just seven weeks until the Iowa caucuses, Gingrich is surging and taking the "anybody but Romney" spot among the contenders, CNN reports.

Yet, the two men seem to be well-liked by voters. The poll indicates the two are the most popular Republican candidates among the GOP rank-and-file, and the only two with favorable ratings above 50 percent among the Republicans surveyed. Three-quarters say the two have the right qualities to be president.

When matched against President Barack Obama, however, Gingrich falls by 8 points, while Romney, for the first time, tops the president.

The poll  found that 14 percent of those potential voters back Cain, down 11 points from October.  Four women have made claims that Cain sexually harassed them during the late 1990s when he headed the National Restaurant Association.

Cain has denied the allegations. The poll indicated that Cain is holding on to a bare majority of GOP-leaning voters, and a third say he should end his campaign.

"Cain is struggling with the charges of sexual harassment, and while most Republicans tend to dismiss those charges, roughly four in 10 Republicans think this is a serious matter and tend to believe the women who made those charges," CNN Polling Director Keating Holland said.

In the general population, 50 percent of Americans say they believe the women, not Cain. More women say they don't believe Cain, too.

"Not surprisingly, there is a big gender gap on this matter - women say this is a serious matter and believe the women, but men say the story has been overblown and are split on which side they believe," Holland added.

For Texas Gov. Rick Perry, his numbers held at 12 percent  in the survey, just one point less than a month ago. While the poll was conducted after Perry's 'oops' moment during last week's GOP debate in Michigan, his numbers show that in September, 72 percent of Republicans said Perry was presidential material. A majority still believe that, but that number has dropped 14 points, according to the poll, indicating his 'oops' may have had an impact on voters.

Rep. Ron Paul of Texas ranked at 8 percent in the poll, with Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota at 6 percent and former Utah Gov. and former ambassador to China Jon Huntsman and former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania each at 3 percent.

http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/Romney-Gingrich-Tied-Poll/2011/11/14/id/418016

[Dos Equis]

Iowa poll: 4-way battle 7 weeks from caucuses
Posted by
CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser

(CNN) - With the Iowa caucuses just seven weeks away, a new poll indicates that it's a four-way battle in the race for the GOP nomination in the Hawkeye State.

A Bloomberg News survey indicates 20% of Iowans likely to take part in the Republican caucuses say they support businessman Herman Cain for the nomination, with 19% backing Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, who's making his third run for the White House. Eighteen percent say they support former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who's making his second run for the GOP nomination and 17% backing former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

It's basically a four-way tie for the top spot when taking into account the survey's sampling error. The poll's Tuesday release comes seven weeks before Iowa's January 3 caucuses, which kick off the presidential primary and caucus calendar.

According to the survey, Texas Gov. Rick Perry's at 7%, Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota's at 5%, former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania's at 3% and former Utah Gov. and former ambassador to China Jon Huntsman's at 1%, with one in 10 unsure of who they'll support.

The poll also indicates that six in 10 say they could still change their minds on which candidate they are backing.

"In Iowa, it's long been a two-person race between Romney and someone else," said J. Ann Selzer, president of Selzer & Company, which conducted the poll for Bloomberg. "It is now a four-person race between Romney and three someone-elses."

Selzer and Co. is a West Des Moines-based firm that also conducts the Iowa Poll for the Des Moines Register.

More than seven in 10 say that fiscal concerns are most important to them, with only around a quarter of likely caucus-goers saying social or constitutional issues are their top concern.

The Bloomberg News poll was conducted between November 10-12 with 503 adult Iowans who say they are likely to vote in the state's Republican caucuses questioned by telephone. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/15/iowa-poll-4-way-battle-7-weeks-from-caucuses/

[Dos Equis]

Romney remains overwhelming favorite in New Hampshire
Posted by
CNN Political Producer Rachel Streitfeld

Manchester, New Hampshire (CNN) – Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney retains a commanding lead over the rest of the field in New Hampshire, according to a new poll.

A Bloomberg News survey released Wednesday indicates that the two-time Republican presidential candidate received 40% support among likely Granite State GOP primary voters.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul came in second, with 17% support.

The poll shows more encouraging news for Romney, who has been the frontrunner in New Hampshire surveys for well over a year. According to the survey, Romney leads President Barack Obama by 10 points in the battleground state in a hypothetical 2012 general election match-up.

Bloomberg said voters were not surveyed about match-ups between the president and other Republican candidates.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has seen a similar rise in polling in New Hampshire as elsewhere in the nation, coming in at 11%. Gingrich was in the state last week to open his campaign headquarters in Manchester and has been adding staff here.

Businessman Herman Cain seems to have lost some ground in the Granite State, receiving 8% support in the poll. Cain will host a rally in the state Thursday.

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, who hosted his 100th New Hampshire campaign event Tuesday evening, came in fourth with 7%.

The other candidates polled in the low single digits: Texas Gov. Rick Perry at 3%, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann at 2% and former Sen. Rick Santorum at 1%.

Ten percent of those questioned said they were not sure who they would support.

The Bloomberg News poll was conducted Nov. 10-12, with 504 likely GOP primary voters in New Hampshire questioned by telephone. The survey has a sampling error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.

New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary is 55 days away. Voters head to the polls Jan. 10.

 http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/16/romney-remains-overwhelming-favorite-in-new-hampshire/

[Dos Equis]

The sexual harassment talk caught up with Cain. 

Fox News Poll: Gingrich and Romney Top GOP Nominee Picks
By Dana Blanton
Published November 16, 2011
FoxNews.com
 
AP

Republican presidential candidates former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney laugh before a Republican presidential debate at Oakland University in Auburn Hills, Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011.

Newt Gingrich has catapulted to the front of the race for the 2012 Republican nomination while Herman Cain has lost ground with GOP primary voters. Mitt Romney, once again, is holding steady.

A Fox News poll released Wednesday shows Gingrich’s support doubling in the last three weeks. He stood at 12 percent in late October -- before the Cain harassment allegations and Rick Perry’s “oops” debate. Now the former House speaker is at 23 percent, essentially tied for the lead with Romney, with 22 percent.

Romney has been either the frontrunner or in second place in every Fox poll since July. He’s received the backing of between 20-26 percent of GOP primary voters for the last five months.

Cain garners 15 percent. That’s down from 24 percent last month, and slightly below his late-September standing of 17 percent.

Click here to see the full results of the poll

Ron Paul receives the backing of 8 percent, edging out Perry at 7 percent. This is the first time Perry has been in single digits in Fox polling.

Among GOP primary voters who are part of the Tea Party movement, Gingrich is the top pick (35 percent), followed by Cain (20 percent). Romney (15 percent) comes in third -- receiving less than half Gingrich’s support among this group.

The poll suggests this may be only the latest re-shuffling of the Republican deck. Most GOP primary voters say they may change their mind (60 percent). That includes just over half of Gingrich and Cain supporters, and almost 7 in 10 Romney supporters.
Candidate Qualities

GOP primary voters see Romney (26 percent) and Cain (25 percent) as the most likeable Republican contenders. They view Paul (15 percent) and Bachmann (12 percent) as the least likeable. Cain ties with Bachmann as the second least likeable (12 percent), putting him in the unique position of making the top three in both likeable and unlikeable groups.

When asked who they would trust most with nuclear weapons, nearly twice as many primary voters say Gingrich than Romney (30 percent and 17 percent respectively). Those voters would least trust Paul (13 percent), Bachmann (11 percent) and Cain (10 percent) with nukes.

What about electability? GOP primary voters overwhelmingly see Romney as the Republican with the best chance of beating Barack Obama in the general election. Thirty-seven percent of primary voters think Romney is the most electable candidate. That’s double the number that says Gingrich (18 percent) and Cain (17 percent). Three percent of GOP primary voters think none of the Republicans can beat Obama.

Even though about a third of voters say presidential debates are a waste of time, a majority thinks they are a good way to get to know the candidates (35-56 percent). And what have voters learned about the key attributes of integrity and experience?

Romney is the only Republican candidate a majority of registered voters thinks has the integrity to serve effectively as president (55 percent “yes”). Nearly half think Gingrich does (45 percent “yes”). Just over one third says Cain (36 percent “yes”) and Perry (35 percent “yes”) have the integrity to serve.

When asked about experience to serve as president, equal majorities say Romney (59 percent) and Gingrich (58 percent) have it. Compare that with about one in three saying Cain (31 percent) and Perry (35 percent) have the right experience.

Among Republicans, the assessments are more positive. Majorities think Romney (72 percent), Gingrich (70 percent), Cain (59 percent) and Perry (56 percent) have the integrity to serve. And three-quarters of GOPers think Gingrich (79 percent) and Romney (76 percent) have the right experience, while about half say the same of Perry (53 percent) and Cain (47 percent).
Hypothetical Matchups

In hypothetical matchups against his Republican rivals, President Obama’s support remains below 50 percent.

In the new poll Romney narrowly edges Obama by 2 percentage points. In September the results were reversed, with Obama up by 3 points. Both leads are within the polls’ margins of sampling error.

Obama bests Gingrich (by 5 points) and Cain (by 9 points) by single digits. In June, the last time the Obama-Gingrich matchup was asked, the president’s lead was 19 points.

Among independents, Romney’s advantage over Obama increases to 13 points. Obama has a small advantage over Cain (by 6 points) and Gingrich (by 4 points).

Meanwhile, 9 percent of Obama voters “regret” their vote in the 2008 election, and 13 percent say they would back Romney over Obama if the election were held today.

How about bringing back the past instead? When asked to imagine former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush could serve a third term, by a 58-34 percent margin voters would pick Clinton.

The Fox News poll is based on landline and cell phone interviews with 914 randomly-chosen registered voters nationwide and was conducted under the joint direction of Anderson Robbins Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R) from November 13 to November 15. For the total sample, it has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. For the subgroup of 370 GOP primary voters it is plus or minus 5 percentage points.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/11/16/fox-news-poll-gingrich-and-romney-top-gop-nominee-picks/

[240 is Back]

The sexual harassment talk caught up with Cain. 

A lot of getbiggers said it would not and has not.

[chadstallion]

A lot of getbiggers said it would not and has not.

and once we start revisiting all of Newt's sexual background issues, his star will be in descent, too.

[Soul Crusher]

and once we start revisiting all of Newt's sexual background issues, his star will be in descent, too.

Doesnt matter - at this rate Pee Wee Herman would beat Obama, the rat communist traitor he is. 

[chadstallion]

Doesnt matter - at this rate Pee Wee Herman would beat Obama, the rat communist traitor he is. 

funny you should pick on pee wee...and his masturbatory issues in public theaters.

[240 is Back]

funny you should pick on pee wee...and his masturbatory issues in public theaters.

i dont think pee wee was married 3 times then tried to tell people who to live their own romantic lives.

[Soul Crusher]

i dont think pee wee was married 3 times then tried to tell people who to live their own romantic lives.

Sort of like your communist messiah screaming about the top 1% daily and yet giving away the store to them via DOE loans, etc? 


HHHMMMM - never ever see you complain about that hypocrisy.   


Bro - JUST ADMIT YOU ARE A FAR LEFT IN THE TANK FOR OBAMA LIB.  Its ok - at least you will gain some credibility back for being honest.   

[240 is Back]

Sort of like your communist messiah screaming about the top 1% daily and yet giving away the store to them via DOE loans, etc? 


HHHMMMM - never ever see you complain about that hypocrisy.   


Bro - JUST ADMIT YOU ARE A FAR LEFT IN THE TANK FOR OBAMA LIB.  Its ok - at least you will gain some credibility back for being honest.   

pleas,e please don[t move newt into that bag of shit pile that you put obama and cain into, mmmkay?

this defense of "yeah, well obama did this" just doesn't work in primary comparisons, hoss.

obama belongs in jail.  The minute you start using that moral equiv bullshit, dude, you really look stupid on this.  I'll just say it.  Tell us why newt is good or bad... but don't just pull out that "what about when Obama does this..." defense.

[chadstallion]

pleas,e please don[t move newt into that bag of shit pile that you put obama and cain into, mmmkay?

this defense of "yeah, well obama did this" just doesn't work in primary comparisons, hoss.

obama belongs in jail.  The minute you start using that moral equiv bullshit, dude, you really look stupid on this.  I'll just say it.  Tell us why newt is good or bad... but don't just pull out that "what about when Obama does this..." defense.

Ann Coulter does the same thing. perhaps 333386 and Ann are related...
OR....

have we ever seen them in the same room together?? OH NO !   could they be one and the same; just one in drag? (that would be Ann)

[Dos Equis]

Good commentary by my favorite liberal.

Here Comes Iowa -- Who Will Win, Place and Show In the 2012 Caucuses?
By Juan Williams
Published November 25, 2011
FoxNews.com

With 40 days to go before Iowans cast their votes for the GOP presidential nominee, here are my best bets for the top three winners of the 2012 Iowa Caucuses: Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, and Newt Gingrich.

Romney has been trailing in Iowa for most the year but his campaign is now shifting gears. His smart campaign team has decided to begin investing the money needed to build the big campaign organization necessary to get people to the caucuses. And right now it looks as if that money, plus television ads showing a less buttoned-up Romney capable of sharp attacks on President Obama, is the whip to drive Romney to the front of the pack.

The Romney campaign had been willing to cede Iowa to more socially conservative candidates. The Evangelical Christians and hardcore conservative activists who attend the caucuses have never trusted Romney. His 2008 campaign spent $10 million in Iowa only to finish far behind former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

But a Des Moines register poll from late October had Romney statistically tied for first place in Iowa with Herman Cain. And Cain has since seen a sharp drop in his support.

Former Speaker of the House Gingrich is now the alternative to Romney and social conservatives have reservations about Gingrich’s personal history and policy positions. Gingrich is also in debt and is only now putting a campaign structure on the ground in Iowa.

That means the path is clear for Romney’s campaign dollars to push him to victory. And Romney has reason to believe that a win in Iowa, before going into the New Hampshire primary, where he has held a consistent lead for months, will have intimidating political impact on the race.

A win in Iowa could give him insurmountable momentum before the campaign heads back to difficult terrain for him in socially conservative South Carolina.

And the Romney campaign has the money to spend. So, with a month to go Romney is looking to be the smart bet to win in Iowa.
Now who is the best bet to be the place horse – the candidate most likely to finish second in Iowa?

Of all the candidates, Ron Paul probably has the most enthusiastic and steadfast supporters. His Internet-based fundraising and organizational machine has kept him alive in the polls. His team is well organized in Iowa.

Paul came within 200 votes of winning the Ames Straw Poll back in August. He finished a close second behind Michele Bachmann who has since dropped to single digits in Iowa.

Paul, the 74-year-old Libertarian icon has stressed that he wants to be the Republican nominee for president in order to bring the party back to its conservative ideological roots. He is not running for re-election to Congress and this may be his last hurrah.

With a fragmented GOP contest and a comparatively weak front-runner, he is becoming the safe haven for Iowans who don’t want to give Romney the crown. He is not a social conservative but he is in line with Tea Party discontent with the status quo and a terrific protest vote.

Smart money is beginning to load up on Ron Paul because he is looking very strong for a second place finish as we head into the final stretch.
And now for the final entry in the contest to finish in the top three in Iowa: Gingrich.

He has surged to the top of the polls in the last week. Propelled by his strong debate performances and signature skewering of the liberal media, the Republican Party faithful are giving him a second look.

On the ground in Iowa, the lack of money and lack of political organization are holding Gingrich back. But Republicans nationwide, including those in Iowa, highly respect his intelligence and his willingness to put forward bold, original ideas.

The odds are against him winning Iowa only because of all the problems with his family life, his policy flip flops on global warming, his acerbic attack on House Republicans for right-wing social “engineering” and the very big money he earned playing the inside Washington game with conservative demons such as Freddie Mac.

But Gingrich is right when he brags that conservatives who can’t stand President Obama relish the prospect of sending the voluble, pithy, former professor to debate him. Gingrich is capable of launching zingers against the President that will thrill the right-wing.

In every Iowa Caucus since 1972, the eventual Republican nominee has finished in the top three -- win, place or show. Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bob Dole, George W. Bush and even John McCain all had to clear this first hurdle of the Republican contest before they could go on to be their party’s nominee.

For GOP presidential hopefuls who finish out of the money in the Hawkeye State, it is a good bet that they will soon find themselves out of the race entirely.

It also true that the result of the Iowa Caucuses do not always match up with the national polls.

In 2008, Mike Huckabee won the Iowa caucuses with 34% of the vote, Mitt Romney came in second with 25% and Fred Thompson and John McCain tied for third place, each with 13% of the vote.

At the time, the national polls still showed Rudy Giuliani as the clear frontrunner with Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney rounding out the top three. McCain was stuck in fourth place. Recall that McCain did not compete in Iowa in 2008. When he did better than expected in the Caucuses, it gave him the momentum he needed to seal the deal in New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Another point to keep in mind before Iowa is that the most recent Real Clear Politics average of the national polls shows that none of candidates vying for the GOP nomination win in a head-to-head matchup with President Obama.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie had some characteristically blunt advice for Republicans last week.

“I think anybody who underestimates the president over the next year, underestimates him at their own peril. These guys have shown that they don't know a hell of a lot about governing, but they know how to campaign. They know how to campaign” said Christie, a Romney supporter.
“I have watched the president now since he's gotten into more campaign-styled things, he gets more energized, he gets more animated, he's off the prompter…speaking from his gut. That's the person that people elected in 2008. That's the guy.” Christie added.

Let the fun begin.

Juan Williams is a writer, author and Fox News political analyst. His latest book is "Muzzled: The Assault On Honest Debate" (Crown/Random House) which was published in July.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/11/25/here-comes-iowa-who-will-win-place-and-show-in-2012-caucuses/

[Dos Equis]

Too late.

Pro-Palin Group to Launch Iowa Ad
Saturday, 26 Nov 2011
By Gary Cohen

With the primary and caucus season just weeks away, a pro-Sarah Palin group is doing its part to get the former Alaska governor and GOP vice-presidential candidate into the 2012 Republican White House nomination sweepstakes.

Conservatives4Palin says in a blog on its website that it will use Iowa as the launchpad for a TV ad pushing Palin to get into the race for the Republican presidential nomination — and with good reason: the Iowa caucuses are Jan. 3.

The group plans to air the ad on KCAU TV in Sioux City on Nov. 29.

The support group acknowledges on its site that it does not know where its efforts will go next after the ad launch, but it floats the idea of commisioning a national GOP primary poll including Palin as one of the options.

They remind Palin and fellow supporters that "time is running short for her to reconsider."

Conservatives4Palin describes itself as a group of everyday Americans who believe in what Palin stands for, including her push for an energy independent America and her belief in free market capitalism.

The movement says it is "not a draft Palin site" but adds it is dedicated to "rectifying the great wrong committed against Sarah Palin, an honest and honorable leader, in the 2008 election."

The group says its supporters "watched in horror" as a "biased media" attacked Palin during and after the election.

Palin said in October that she would not run for public office. The announcement at the time ended months of speculation about whether she would enter the 2012 race.

In a YouTube video she proclaimed, "You don't need an office or a title to make a difference."

http://www.newsmax.com/InsideCover/Pro-Palin-Group-Iowa-Ad/2011/11/26/id/419139

[240 is Back]

what kind of brainless idiot would honestly want palin to wreck the GOP's chances of beating obama?

Mitt, newt, Ron paul will all be able to attack obama for his actions and on issues.

cain/perry are mental midgets and unprepard, but GOP voters seem to get their - their polling is falling.

Perhaps this company is run by dems, I dunno.

[Dos Equis]

Three N.H. sheriffs back Romney
Posted by CNN Political Producer Rachel Streitfeld

Manchester, New Hampshire (CNN) - Mitt Romney has gained the support of three more New Hampshire sheriffs, CNN has learned.

Sheriffs Mike Downing, Craig Wiggin and Michael Prozzo will officially endorse Romney on Monday.

Two other sheriffs had already signed onto the former Massachusetts governor's campaign. There are ten sheriffs in the state, one for each county in New Hampshire.

Romney has long been considered the front-runner in New Hampshire, where he has racked up endorsements from two of three Republican members of the state's congressional delegation, as well as many local officials.

On Sunday he was passed over for one of the biggest coups for a presidential candidate - the support of New Hampshire's Union Leader. The influential state-wide paper threw its support behind former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who has gained momentum in the state and said he hopes to become voters' alternative to Romney.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/28/three-n-h-sheriffs-back-romney/

[240 is Back]

wow, 4/5 of repubs truly HATE Mitt, don't they?

Newt was polling in the single digits... repubs don't liek him any more... they just hate him LESS than romney, huh?

[Soul Crusher]

wow, 4/5 of repubs truly HATE Mitt, don't they?

Newt was polling in the single digits... repubs don't liek him any more... they just hate him LESS than romney, huh?

I don't trust Romney one bit.   Putting Paul aside,  Newt and Hunts are the only two left.  Bachmann is cool and I like her, but she is going nowhere.     

[240 is Back]

all things equal, in terms of being a spend-wise statesman, huntsmann is right up there with ron paul.

he is rated very highly by conservatives, he's religious, he was #1 in job creation in utah.  great economic experience.

It's funny that repubs say "we can't look past the fact obama appointed him to the chinese finance job" and they CAN look past all the junk the other candidates have.  The ONLY prob with Huntsmann is that he's fluent in chinese finance... LMAO... they prefer "a leader, not a reader" who can't find china on the map.

Sheesh.

[Dos Equis]

Looks like Newt will definitely benefit from Cain's troubles. 

Gingrich Soars in Florida Poll
Wednesday, 30 Nov 2011

A new poll shows Newt Gingrich is favored to take Florida's Jan. 31 Republican presidential primary, apparently the beneficiary of conservative voters leaving Herman Cain.

The InsiderAdvantage/Majority Opinion Research poll conducted Tuesday night for the Florida Times-Union shows Gingrich leading the pack by 41 percent.

The survey of 513 registered voters shows Gingrich has as much support as the next four candidates combined. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent.

The Times-Union poll was the first in Florida since an Atlanta woman made claims that Cain had a casual 13-year affair with her. Cain drops to third place with 13 percent, behind Mitt Romney’s 17. No other candidate has double digits.

“I am totally shocked by these numbers,” pollster Matt Towery, CEO of InsiderAdvantage told The Times-Union. “Newt Gingrich is winning nearly 50 percent of the independent vote, but more importantly, the Republican vote which makes up the vast majority of the Florida Republican primary.”

Cain holds just 12 percent of Republicans and only 3 percent of independents.

http://www.newsmax.com/InsideCover/gingrich-poll-florida-cain/2011/11/30/id/419484

[Dos Equis]

Holy smokes.   

Gingrich Pulls Ahead With 21-Point Lead
Friday, 02 Dec 2011
By Margaret Menge

Newt Gingrich leads Mitt Romney by a stunning 21 percentage points in the latest national poll by Rasmussen Reports.

More than 38 percent of likely Republican voters told the pollsters they’d vote for Gingrich, with 17 percent supporting Romney. Herman Cain and Ron Paul each got 8 percent, with the remaining candidates — Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann, Jon Huntsman, and  Rick Santorum — all at 4 percent.

It’s a big jump up for the former Speaker of the House, who just six months ago was considered an also-ran. And it’s the largest lead that any of the Republican candidates have so far commanded in the race for the Republican nomination.

“I’m going to be the nominee,” a confident Gingrich told ABC News yesterday.

“The question is whether or not Gingrich can handle the front-runner’s spotlight more successfully than the others,” said Scott Rassmussen, noting that Michele Bachmann, Perry, and Cain all enjoyed surges of support in polls in the last few months, but then dropped back.

Gingrich, many have noted, has the advantage of experience in dealing with political and media attacks as the most controversial Speaker of the House in recent decades.

“I don’t object if people want to attack me,” he said yesterday. “That’s their right. All I’m suggesting is that it’s not going to be very effective and that people are going to get sick of it very fast.”

Gingrich is also leading in recent polls in Iowa, New Hampshire, and  Florida. The Iowa Caucuses take place Jan. 3, with the first-in-the-nation primary in New Hampshire on Jan. 10.

http://www.newsmax.com/InsideCover/Gingrich-poll-Romney-lead/2011/12/02/id/419792

[240 is Back]

Mitt looks to be in near-meltdown mode every time he's near a camera now.  You know he's punching walls.