Gingrich offers “dream team” to supporters
For a $100 donation, this free poster of Newt Gingrich and his conservative “Dream Team” can be yours.
The poster — featuring the Republican presidential candidate flanked by endorsers of his White House bid — was offered to supporters Tuesday in a new fundraising appeal.
The Dream Team photo was unveiled at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington last week. The Gingrich campaign said it was hit, and now conservatives across the country are clamoring for a copy of their own.
We wondered whether the Gingrich folks were inspired by the reported success of rival Rick Santorum’s sweater vest campaign. But there was no immediate response to an email inquiry about the initial poster offering.
By its own account, the Santorum campaign’s “thank you” gift to small donors — supporters without SuperPAC money — has been a hit too.
The Santorum camp has “extended by popular demand” — for a limited time — its offer of the official Rick Santorum For President sweater vest, which can be had for a minimum contribution of $100. “It’s a great way to show your support for Rick,” the campaign says, describing the vest as 100 percent cotton, made in the USA, and grey (shouldn’t that be g-r-a-y?).
And that’s not even the biggest acknowledgement being offered to people willing to make small contributions to their favorite candidate.
Obama says biggest task left for him is to fix U.S. politics
President Barack Obama has lots of reasons he wants to hold on to the White House in 2012.
There’s energy policy, for example, which he would like to revamp. There’s immigration reform, which he hopes to “implement.”
But at a fundraiser on Monday night, the president said the real challenge he had left to handle was “fixing” the political atmosphere in Washington.
“The challenge we have now is fixing our politics,” Obama said at fundraiser held at a private home in Washington.
“That is probably the biggest piece of business that remains unfinished. That’s probably the area where we’ve been most stymied over the last three years.”
In 2008 one of Obama’s campaign promises was to bring a greater spirit of bipartisanship to the capital. Both Republicans and Democrats would likely agree that that has not happened.
Whether a second Obama term would change that is hard to say. But the president is raising money to help advance his cause.
We sure as hell can’t afford any of the GOP’s fixes. Everything they want to enact raises the deficit, increases unemployment, and shrinks the economy.
Big campaign bucks don’t always spell victory
Expectations for massive fund-raising in the 2012 election may obscure one point — big bucks don’t always lead to victory. And in fact, too much spending — especially in the form of too many advertisements — can turn off voters.
There have been several notable examples of heavy, but ultimately fruitless, outspending in recent elections.
In the 2010 midterms, Republican Meg Whitman, the billionaire former chief executive of eBay, spent $140 million of her own money, or about $43 per vote,to campaign for governor against Democrat Jerry Brown. Brown spent $7.50 per vote to defeat her by 12 percentage points, in a race that was a rare bright spot for Democrats in elections that saw most Republicans sweep to victory.
Another Republican, wrestling executive Linda McMahon, also spent lots of her own money last year — lending her campaign about $50 million — or about $100 per vote — in losing by 12 percentage points to her Democratic rival Richard Blumenthal.
But big spenders don’t always lose. Jon Corzine, a liberal Democrat who made a fortune as a Wall Street executive, spent $60 million of his own money as he won his U.S. Senate race in 2000, his first run for public office. That race broke the previous record, set by Republican Michael Huffington as he lost his bid for a U.S. Senate seat in California in 1994.
Michael Malbin, executive director of Washington’s Campaign Finance Institute, said Huffington’s race was infamous because his poll numbers dropped as his spending on advertisements increased. “There are plenty of examples of people who spend way more and lose,” Malbin said. “… In the end, the voters will decide which message they like.”
Despite their reputation as the wealthier party, it is by no means always Republicans who spend more money in losing campaigns.
Former “start-up” Obama wouldn’t mind being as popular as…SpongeBob
He’s been president of the United States for about two-and-a-half years, but Barack Obama still remembers being a “start-up” — and he wouldn’t mind being as popular as SpongeBob SquarePants.
The Democratic president, who is in the middle of a road show to sell his ideas for cutting the deficit, spent the evening in San Francisco on Wednesday raising money for his campaign, and he targeted tech-savvy donors who had started successful companies of their own.
“Some of you are involved in start-ups, well I was a start-up just not so long ago,” Obama told a dinner fundraiser at the home of Marc Benioff, the chief executive of salesforce.com.
There’s big money in California. Donors paid as much as $35,800 a piece to dine with the president or hear him speak.
Earlier in the day the president held a townhall meeting at the social networking giant Facebook. At a second fundraiser later in the evening, he said he was pleased that his own Facebook page was so popular.
“I’ve got 19 million friends,” he marveled, noting, however, that he was less loved than the cartoon character SpongeBob.
Something to aspire to, he said.
Is Palin fundraising a path to 2012?
Is 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin laying the groundwork for a 2012 presidential run?
Some experts reading the tea leaves, or pages from her fundraising reports, think the answer may lie in the numbers.
The former Alaska governor’s political action committee, Sarah PAC, tells the Federal Election Commission it raised more than $865,000 in the last quarter. About half the money came from small donors, people who gave $200 or less.
Sarah PAC raised about $1.3 million in the first half of this year. By this time last year, Palin’s PAC had picked up only $730,000 in contributions.
Republican strategist Ron Bonjean says with that kind of money “all signs point to her (Palin) running for president in 2012.”
Palin’s people aren’t saying anything, but she has not ruled out a White House bid.
Before the campaign finance numbers, the release of Palin’s new “mama grizzlies” video once again fueled speculation that she may indeed be thinking about pursuing a presidential run.
Don’t know what you’re all worrying about. The Monty Python team write her scripts, she’s proof that God has a sense of humour and four years in the White House might just help her to grow, lose the mental acne and get rid of the dumb barbie doll appearance.
I’m looking forward to her campaign, so I am. God knows, we could do with some levity.
Romney rakes in the dough, gives generously
Former, and perhaps future, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney raked in some serious cash — $1.6 million — for his political action committee during the first half of 2009, despite the recession.
Romney, who dropped out of the 2008 presidential campaign after poor showings in the early primaries despite raising huge sums of money, is considered one of the untainted potential candidates for 2012. Problems saddling fellow Republicans like outgoing Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and Nevada Senator John Ensign have put their presidential aspirations in question.
In addition to trying to stockpile some cash in case he decides he will make another White House bid, Romney donated $5,000 to Missouri Republican Representative Roy Blunt, who is running for Senate in 2010, and Republican Bob McDonnell, who is seeking Virginia’s governorship.
Romney also gave $1,000 to Representative Mark Kirk, who has been weighing a bid for President Barack Obama’s old Senate seat in Illinois. Kirk has wavered on whether to run for the open seat being vacated by Democratic Senator Roland Burris.
One of the biggest recipients of Romney’s largess was the New Hampshire Republican State Committee, which got $10,000. He served as governor of neighboring Massachusetts.
Romney’s PAC ended the six-month period with almost $850,000 in cash on hand.
I think Mitt Romney for President and Mike Huckabee as v/pres would make an awesome team for 2012. I would certainly be proud to support their candidacy should we be lucky enough for them to run.
Republicans seek dough to help defeat Specter after his defection
Reaction among Republicans to Senator Arlen Specter’s decision to defect to the Democratic party ranged from somber disappointment to outrage, and now the Republican National Committee hopes to capitalize on that anger.
RNC Chairman Michael Steele sent an e-mail to supporters expressing his outrage and disbelief that Specter was blaming his fellow Republicans for leaving. He beseeched party members to send in donations to help defeat Specter in the 2010 election.
“He simply believes he has a better chance of saving his political hide and his job as a Democrat,” Steele said in the e-mail. ”He loves the title of senator more than he loves the party — and the principles — that elected him and nurtured him.”
In Steele’s bid to gin up donations, he told supporters: “Some will use Specter’s defection as an excuse to fold the tent and give up. I believe that you are not one of those people. When Benedict Arnold defected to the British, George Washington didn’t fold the tent and give up either.”
Specter, who has broken with Republicans on several key votes, said that he decided to switch parties because the Republican party swerved further to the right and he recognized he would not likely survive a primary challenge against a more conservative Republican in Pennsylvania.
He was greeted at the White House on Wednesday with open arms by President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden — which will likely spark more cash appeals from Republicans.
Specter and Obama acknowledged that the two would likely differ in the future. To that end, a key test vote will come later on Wednesday when the Senate votes on the Democratic-authored fiscal 2010 budget blueprint. Specter opposed the Senate version earlier this month.
Obama claimed that arly spector acted “courageously” by changing to the other side of the isle. Absolute bull! His loyalty is to Arly Spector first, second and last. Dinosaurs like him need put out to pasture. We need to vote un-patriots like Frank, Pelosi and Reed out along with Spector. Dynasties such as Kennedy and Byrd should never happen. We need to vote them out ladies and gentlemen! Vote them out of there. Clean up the House and the Senate.
Sarah Palin starts a PAC
If you thought Sarah Palin was going to just fade away, you clearly weren’t listening when she said the only difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull was lipstick. The Alaska governor, who was the Republican nominee for vice president in the race that John McCain lost to Democrat Barack Obama last year, is already laying the groundwork for another run at something. She has started her own political action committee, SarahPAC, complete with a website. And she’s learned a trick from Obama — the site’s main feature is a page where you can put down your name and donate $25 or $5,000 or more. “Welcome to SarahPAC, Sarah Palin’s official PAC,” the site says. “Dedicated to building America’s future, supporting fresh ideas and candidates who share our vision for reform and innovation.” “SarahPAC believes the Republican Party is at the threshold of an historic renaissance that will build a better future for all,” the site says. “Health care, education and reform of government are among our key goals.” The site’s home page shows Palin against a backdrop of Alaska’s sweeping mountain vistas. While declaring it is not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee, SarahPAC has a full biography of the former vice presidential candidate. It notes she made history by becoming the first woman governor of Alaska and the first woman on a Republican presidential ticket. “Gov. Palin has a long record of achievement and experience in public office,” it says, including her service as governor, her time as mayor of the town of Wasilla and her stint on the Wasilla City Council.
For more Reuters political news, click here. Photo credit: Reuters/Tami Chappell (Palin campaigns for Senator Saxby Chambliss in Georgia in December)
Don’t run for Congress – too qualified, too honest to be one of the 100 loser known as Senator.
I voted for Mrs. Pailn – not for RINO McCain
100% for her 2012 run in money,time and energy
Not a Republican or Democrat or member of any party
Obama campaign looks for dollars to help retire DNC debt
WASHINGTON – The 2008 campaign is over and while President-elect Barack Obama shattered pretty much every fundraising record in the book, he’s still looking for a buck or two.
Obama’s campaign sent out an appeal on Monday, almost a week after the election, seeking to help retire debt incurred by the Democratic National Committee. As a thank you, the campaign offered to throw in a commemorative 2008 victory t-shirt for contributors who give $30 or more.
“The Democratic National Committee poured all of its resources into building our successful 50-state field program. And they played a crucial role in helping Barack win in unlikely states like North Carolina and Indiana. We even picked up an electoral vote in Nebraska,” said the e-mail appeal sent to millions of Obama supporters.
The DNC has about $15 million in debt to retire, according to a party official. Democrats ended up picking up 22 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, with three still too close to call. In the Senate, Democrats picked up six seats so far, with three races not yet decided.
Click here for more Reuters political coverage.
- Photo credit: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque (Obama on his flight to Washington to meet President George W. Bush.)
Peter, your assumption is incorrect. I was merely stating that the people who are blogging here should have the right to voice their opinion and not be told that they do not count. I said nothing about the Bush policies. There are checks and balances in our government and there is a limit to the number of times one can obtain the highest office for a reason. Nothing is perfect, even a government run by all Democrats would not be perfect. If you feel that this is a “dictatorship” that we live in perhaps you should go a live under one for a while so you can see what one is really like. Otherwise work with you fellow Americans to improve our policies and don’t attack others for their views.
Bush to make rare fundraising appearance for McCain, but without McCain
WASHINGTON – President George W. Bush will make a rare appearance on the campaign trail on Friday, attending a closed-door fundraiser in Oklahoma City to benefit Republican hopeful John McCain and the Republican National Committee – but the candidate will not be there.
Despite being a prolific fundraiser during his first seven years in office, Bush has only attended a handful of events this year and almost all of them have been closed to the press, which experts have attributed to his low job approval ratings. His last appearance was in Gates Mills, Ohio, near Cleveland, in late July.
Bush attended three closed-door fundraisers during a fundraising swing for McCain in late May, but they only appeared together at one event and then in public for a brief minute afterwards at the airport before Bush departed.
Still, Bush said in an interview this week with Fox News that he didn’t particularly feel left out of the campaign season.
“It’s interesting to observe the race,” Bush said, according to a transcript of the interview. ”You know, sometimes I long to be out there campaigning, but everything comes to an end.”
Click here for more Reuters 2008 campaign coverage.
- Photo credit: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque (Bush and McCain at the Phoenix airport in May)
In 2004, after Bush won, The UK Daily Mirror wrote on their front page: ‘How Can 59,054,087 people be so DUMB?”
Some were outraged in the US, do they now agree?
Four years later, and thousands/millions are screaming at Sarah Palin/McCain, to be VP and president. We can only hope that 60 million people will not turn out to be so dumb to make the samew mistake again. What will be left of the US culture, economy and scholars in the end.
The decline of the American Century,
The pity of it all…
oh man, part of that $100 goes to the guy that photoshopped 20 lbs of bacon fat off Newt’s neck. That’s great. It looks like some kind of poster for CSI: Ignorantville.