Newt’s home field advantage was among the weakest
Newt Gingrich faces some do-or-die primary contests in Dixie, his supposed home turf, over the next few days. Alabama and Mississippi hold their respective Republican primaries on Tuesday with Gingrich, the former U.S. House Speaker, and former Senator Rick Santorum expected to compete for, and potentially split, the conservative/evangelical vote.
Gingrich, though, didn’t do that well on his actual home turf – Georgia – during the Super Tuesday contests. Sure, the former history and geography professor at the University of West Georgia and 20-year representative of the state’s 6th Congressional district won 47.2 percent of the Republican vote in the Peachtree State. But according to political scientist Eric Ostermeier, that was one of the worst home-state primary performances by a Republican in decades.
Ostermeier, from the Humphrey School’s Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota, writes the blog Smart Politics, which plumbs the political data for noteworthy facts and trends.
“Gingrich – who admittedly won Georgia on Super Tuesday by a comfortable margin of 21.3 points over Mitt Romney – fared quite poorly when stacked up against the record of most Republican White House hopefuls over the last 11 cycles,” Ostermeier wrote. The only candidate to do worse than Gingrich in a home-state primary was television evangelist Pat Robertson, who pulled just 15.3 percent of the vote in Virginia in 1988.
Gingrich tied with John McCain, who also won 47.2 percent of the vote in his home-state Arizona primary in 2008, narrowly beating Romney and, of course, kicking on to win his party’s nomination.
“Overall, the average Republican White House hopeful has averaged 63.6 percent of the vote in their home state since 1972 – some 16.4 points better than Gingrich,” said Ostermeier. Romney’s 72.1 percent of the vote in Massachusetts on Tuesday was in the top one-third of outcomes for Republican candidates during that time, although it paled next to the 95.8 percent landslide that Bob Dole engineered in Kansas in 1988.
Maybe it’s better not to get that big endorsement
One staple of the U.S. political scene is the quest for endorsements, and Republican front-runner Mitt Romney seems to be leading in the race for support from the GOP establishment.
He picked up the support of Arizona Senator John McCain, who was the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and Tim Pawlenty, the former governor of Minnesota, who also was a member of the U.S. presidential field until August.
He may not be part of the party “establishment,” but Romney even got the backing of a high-profile party figure — albeit one who declared himself an independent in December — reality television star and real estate mogul Donald Trump, who called the former Massachusetts governor “tough, sharp and smart.”
But does such support really help?
“At best, so far that’s gotten him mixed results,” Republican strategist Keith Appell said, when asked about Romney’s support by party leaders. “Nikki Haley didn’t help in South Carolina. Tim Pawlenty did not help him in Minnesota.”
Prominent supporters can act as useful surrogates. Backers might pay to attend a fundraiser headlined by a well-known supporter, and voters might turn out to hear one speak.
How could a smart guy like Mitt Romney think that the endorsement of a scam artist like Trump could bolster his credibility with anybody. Romney’s ONLY asset is his business acumen, touching Trump is a “tar-baby: that tarnishes that asset.
PS. If phrase “tar-baby” could not conceivably be considered racist, when applied to anyone as “White” as Trump, pc has truly gone too far.
Romney quizzed by Occupy protesters at N.H. town hall meeting
Republican presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney got off to an awkward start back in New Hampshire on Wednesday when the first question he took at a town hall meeting was from an Occupy protester.
Fresh off his narrow win in Iowa, Romney was making his first campaign appearance ahead of the New Hampshire primary on Jan. 10 when the questioner – who said he was from both the Occupy New Hampshire and Occupy Boston protest groups against economic inequality – raised his hand and asked a question about corporate greed.
“You have said that corporations are people, but in the last two years corporate profits have surged to record highs directly at the expense of wages,” the man said. “It seems that the U.S. is a great place to be a corporation, but increasingly a desperate place to live and work.”
“Where do you think corporations’ profit goes?” Romney shot back at the protester, who responded that corporations either retain it or it goes to shareholders, “the one percent of Americans who own 90 percent of the stocks.”
“Now, let’s get the facts,” Romney said, before explaining that corporate dividends don’t just go to the “1 percent” shareholders, but also people who have pensions.
“When the business has profit it can do good things. Give it to the shareholders and grow the enterprise and, and by the way, the only way it can hire people is if it grows the enterprise.”
Whine, whine, whine. Everyone complains about “evil corporations” exporting jobs to China while they buy Chinese made crap at Walmart because it’s cheap. If you truly want jobs to remain in the USA, STOP BUYING CHINESE JUNK. You make the choice. It’s YOU who force the “evil corporations” to export jobs to China. Short economic lesson – corporations are in business to make MONEY; if they don’t make money they DIE! Realize also, that these corporations are the basis for your 401K/IRA. YOU are the reason that hard working Americans are out of work. Romney’s right.
I’m sick of you idiot wall street protesters. You idiots are the very reason that I cannot even buy decent wheel bearings made in the USA. Get a job and quit costing us workers money to clean up the mess where you protest! I’m sick of supporting you b-st-rds and those of your ilk.
Romney targeted over plans for growth — of his house
Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, who has criticized President Barack Obama for taking a nine-day vacation at a time of high unemployment, filed for permits to almost quadruple the size of his oceanfront home in La Jolla, California.
The former Massachusetts governor and his wife bought the house three years ago for $12 million. They want to knock down the one-story, 3,009-square-foot home overlooking the Pacific Ocean and replace it with an 11,062-square foot place in its stead, according to the San Diego Union Tribune.
Romney says he needs a bigger place to have room for his five sons, their wives and his 16 grandchildren. The Union Tribune said the plans would keep the house’s existing pool and spa.
Romney has fought a reputation as being somewhat out of touch, an impression that will not be enhanced by undertaking a massive renovation while campaigning for president. The super-rich candidate raised eyebrows earlier this month when he told a heckler in Iowa that “Corporations are people, my friend,” and a remark in June to unemployed workers in Florida that he was “also unemployed” fell flat and was jeered by the Democrats.
Critics have seized on the project to scoff at Romney. Jess Durfee, chairman of the San Diego County Democratic Party, used the house project to joke about Romney’s residency. “Let’s hope he hires a contractor that provides union-equivalent wages and helps to stimulate the local economy,” Durfee told the Union Tribune. “He also could register to vote here and help out the Republicans, whose numbers are dwindling.”
The magazine Vanity Fair published a tongue-in-cheek list of things that could fit into Romney’s new house, including “the world’s largest whale,” “the top-of-the-line luxury spa at the Trump International Hotel & Tower Las Vegas” and “the Memphis-area Enterprise-Rent-A-Car facility.”
Romney, at least, is likely to know how many houses he owns – three. He has a townhouse in the Boston area and a lakefront home in New Hampshire in addition to the La Jolla property. John McCain, who defeated Romney in the 2008 Republican nomination race, famously told a reporter that he was not sure how many homes he had. The Arizona senator owned as many as eight, according to news reports, which helped Obama’s Democrats paint the Republican as being out of touch with typical Americans and living an outrageously rich lifestyle.
McCain says Trump having fun, Republicans have serious candidates for 2012
Republican Senator John McCain, who lost to Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election, made clear that he doesn’t see Donald Trump as a serious candidate for 2012.
“I think Mr. Trump is having a lot of fun and it’s pretty clear he enjoys the limelight. We have very serious candidates. And I think that, if Mr. Trump wants to run, he’s welcome to run,” McCain said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
That came a day after Trump attended the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, where Obama and comedian Seth Meyers told cutting jokes about the New York real estate magnate.
“Anybody can run. He has a right to run. He is a New York icon, bigger than life in a lot of things, and he can put himself into the mix,” New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Is he worth taking seri0usly?
“That’s up to the voters,” Bloomberg said. “The nice thing about America is you get a chance to go out there and make your case. ”
Boycott everything Chump… I mean Trump
Including Chump Apprentice
What would Gingrich do?
President Obama may be in hot water with lawmakers who think the U.S.-led military mission in Libya is a big mistake. But some GOP voices are calling for an escalation of U.S. involvement — or at least an expansion of U.S. goals.
Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker who is considering a run for the Republican presidential nomination, tells NBC’s Today show that the United States will face defeat in Libya if the current mission ends with Muammar Gaddafi still in power.
People might have a hard time arguing with that point.
But what would he do now, if he were president?
Gingrich’s answer sounds just like the message John McCain conveyed on the same TV show a day earlier, when he called for arming the Libyan rebels to ensure the end of Gaddafi’s 41-year rule.
“We should be very clear to the Libyans that Gaddafi is going to go,” Gingrich says. ”We should help equip the Libyan rebels.” Otherwise he’d let the Pentagon, the CIA, etc, determine what needs to be done “to win”.
But there may be problems with the arm-the-rebels idea. Reports from the field suggest the rag-tag Libyan rebel force wouldn’t be able to defeat Gaddafi in its present state. According to accounts, some rebels are so innocent of martial tactics that they may not even be sure which end of the gun goes ‘Bang!”
Newt Gingrich famously said, “It doesn’t matter what I do. People need to hear what I have to say. There’s no one else who can say what I can say. It doesn’t matter what I live.”
So I guess the answer to the question posed by this article is, It doesn’t matter what Gingrich would do, only what he says OTHER people should do.
Lugar warns U.S. against war in Libya
In recent days some U.S. senators have been urging President Obama to consider military intervention to help Libyan rebels fighting Moammar Gaddafi.
Not Richard Lugar.
The top Republican on the Senate foreign relations committee said little while a senior member of his own party, John McCain, repeatedly urged the United States to pursue setting up a no-fly zone over Libya.
On Sunday Democrat John Kerry, the chairman of the foreign relations committee, suggested that Washington might want to ”crater” runways used by Gaddafi’s forces.
On Tuesday, Lugar issued a strong warning against U.S. intervention in what he called Libya’s civil war.
“The United States should not, in my view, launch military intervention into yet another Muslim country, without thinking long and hard about the consequences and implications,” Lugar said in a statement.
“ If a no-fly zone doesn’t stop the street-to-street fighting, are we prepared to escalate further, to put boots on the ground? Would that involve taking control of the country? Would we be obligated to stay until democracy is established?”
Washington Extra – Chaos theory
Something to ponder while thinking about the crisis in Egypt: Chaos Theory or Domino Effect?
Embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak tells ABC’s Christiane Amanpour that he’d like to step down but… “If I resign today there will be chaos.”
It seemed fairly chaotic on the streets of Cairo where protesters were fired upon and journalists were detained. Egypt’s prime minister told the interior minister not to obstruct peaceful marches at tomorrow’s “Friday of Departure” rally.
Mubarak’s image with Official Washington appears shattered. White House correspondent Steve Holland broke the story that a draft resolution sponsored by Republican Senator John McCain and Democratic Senator John Kerry called on Mubarak to transfer power to an inclusive caretaker government. The measure shows broad, unified American concern about Egypt.
The United States continued to condemn the violence in Egypt and urge political transition. And while a handful of lawmakers have said publicly that Mubarak should leave, there has not been an official U.S. call for him to immediately step down.
Here are our top stories from Washington today…
Lawmakers demand Mubarak transfer power in Egypt
One Washington day is not like another for Mr. Hu
China’s President Hu Jintao was feted with full fanfare at the White House on Wednesday, with a 21-gun salute, honor guards and a state dinner. Things might not be quite so fancy on Thursday when he goes to Capitol Hill.
There he will see Republican Speaker John Boehner in the House of Representatives, then cross the Capitol to meet Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Neither bothered to attend Wednesday’s state dinner.
Also attending the House and Senate meetings will be several other lawmakers who want a word with Hu about human rights in China, as well as China’s dealings with Iran and Chinese trade practices.
Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen plans to hand Hu an entire list of complaints in the form of a letter she sent to Obama ahead of the Chinese leader’s visit.
The letter from the Republican complains of Beijing’s “military posturing,” as well as reports that China allowed the trans-shipment of North Korean missile parts to Iran via Beijing aiport. It also calls for the closure of labor camps in China, the release of political prisoners, and “unrestricted religious freedom”.
Also attending the House meeting with Hu will be the former Speaker, now Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi. The Chinese media once called her a “defender of arsonists, looters and killers” after she visited the Dalai Lama and criticized Chinese “oppression” in Tibet.
Another lawmaker Hu will see is Democrat Sander Levin, one of Congress’s many critics of China’s trade practices. When he was chairman of the Ways and Means Committee last year, he pushed a bill through the House that threatened trade sanctions on China in retaliation for Beijing’s currency manipulation.
McCain deeply regrets Lieberman decision to retire
Republican Senator John McCain has traveled the world as part of a “three amigos” group with Senate colleagues Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham, and he is sad that Lieberman plans to retire when his term expires in 2012.
McCain told us in a telephone interview that Lieberman told him that after 40 years in politics, “every once in a while you just get a little tired.”
Lieberman was Democrat Al Gore’s vice presidential nominee in 2000. In 2008, he backed McCain over Barack Obama and campaigned for him extensively.
“He’s truly not only an independent spirit but he goes where he thinks it’s best for the country. When he supported me there was no upside to that politically, none. And I will consider it one of the great honors of my life,” McCain said.
McCain said that while Lieberman faced a tough re-election fight, he believed he could have won “because he has such a deep reservoir of goodwill in Connecticut.”
“I’m sure he’ll contribute enormously in the future. I’m sure he’ll be called on, on a lot of national security issues,” McCain said.
Photo credit: Reuters/Mike Segar (Lieberman announces he won’t seek re-election)
