What I’m looking for in Florida tonight

http://www.tooncesthecat.wordpress.com tooncesthecat

Will the networks, particularly Fox News and CNN call the election before all of the polls close in the western Panhandle. Want to take bets?

lily09

Erick, I was so disappointed in this mornings post. It seems you joined the rest of the GOP leadership, media folks, liberal talk show hosts and the Obama admin in declaring your vote for Rohmney. You haave been the almost lone, pure voice, supporting Newt for President. It appears you have joined the seeming conspiracy to make Mitt the candidate asap. I’m very disappointed in your post. What has happened to you? Do you really think Mitt can beat the Pres? Do you really think mitt is the candidate we need? Can’t believe it.

robbyahm

Off topic for a moment Mr. Erickson

You mentioned Alabama, I want let you know that we have a credible candidate running against corrupt spending porkulus Spencer Bachus, His name is Scott Beason, hes currently a state senator but has done wonders for Alabama, including fight against his own party on the issue of Amendment 1 in Alabama, consider one of the highest increases in Taxes in Ala, History. He’s also the cosponsor of the Alabama immigration law.

Here is his website, Bachus MUST be defeated in the primary if we are going to have a true conservative house.

http://scottbeason.com/about/

http://wadingacross.wordpress.com logus

and hoping Santorum sticks it out for at least another week.

If he’s still in the race next Tuesday, I’m voting for him, no matter what his current polling says.

If Santorum drops out, I’ll consider voting for Gingrich if he manages to get the nomination. I have no qualms voting for Santorum come November if he gets the nomination.

I will not vote for Romney, whether he’s inevitable or manages to nab someone with better conservative cred for his veep candidate.

This doesn’t mean I’ll stay home on voting day. I just reject the A/B paradigm that says I have to vote for either, and that a vote for C or D is a vote for A or B.

soothsayer14

What you will see now is everyone coalescing around Romney after his landslide victory in Florida.

The pressure will mount for the rest of them to concede and probably all but Ron Paul will after Super Tuesday.

The game is rigged.

soothsayer14

I can’t think you can downplay the negative effects of Palin’s embarassing endorsement.

A lot of Newt supporters I have spoken with are very dejected now having her once again forcing herself into the headlines with her over the top demagoguery. This will probably be the point historians say Gingrich’s campaign officially “jumped the shark” and was left for dead.

http://teresainfortworth.wordpress.com/ Teresa in Fort Worth, TX

would be the eventual Republican nominee for President. That’s all I remember hearing in the time leading up to the SC primary.

Then, Newt won SC (by a comfortable margin), and suddenly *crickets* from EVERYONE in the media.

So what gives?

stumpy

is running. He is a common citizen and former Marine. Don’t know the details of his issues, but he supports the Constitution based on his interview on the Matt Murphy show.

The thing I like about Beason is he will always explain why he does what he does. You may not always agree, but he doesn’t hide behind backroom deals. He will take tremendous heat for Bachus and his bankers and the gambling and pro-illegal immigrant groups. Beason has all the right people hating him.

stumpy

it didn’t fit their own goals. Now they simply ignore it. How does winning two of four states wrap up the nomination, especially given Romney’s many advantages. One of those was a home state anyway.

snowshooze

Devere had this posted yesterday that indicates this may not be winner take all.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/01/floridas-winner-will-lock-in-50-delegates-not-necessarily/

stumpy

1. Unfortunately your probably right.
2. Unfortunately your probably right.
3. I would expect Gingrich to either win the Panhandle or run much stronger there than the rest of the state. Santorum will probably also run stronger with Romney doing much worse. Given Romney’s large lead, he may still win the Panhandle. If Alabama and Georgia were tomorrow, Gingrich would win both, big. The problem is by then we will likely have a big Romney win in Florida, all MSM, establishment and talking heads declaring it is over plus a good February.
4. Unfortunately your probably right.
5. I don’t think the Florida hispanics will vote monolithically. The candidates aren’t a long way off on issues of particular importance to people of Cuban descent, with the exception of Ron Paul. There may be slight patterns, but overall I wouldn’t expect a huge swing to any candidate over the baseline Florida numbers.

robertyates

REDSTATE prominently features Utah’s Senator Mike Lee today. Do you know that Mike Lee and Mitt Romney have almost identical backgrounds?

Had Mitt Romney gotten involved in politics in Utah instead of Massachusetts, he would be sounding almost like Mike Lee today. The big difference is that he wouldn’t have any kind of national appeal or exposure.

In all my 35 years of living in Virginia (where I worked on Capitol Hill), California, Delaware, and Utah, I have never met anybody with Mitt Romney’s social, cultural, religious, educational, and economic background who is a liberal or even a moderate.

Romney will govern the US more effectively and conservatively than either Gingrich or Santorum.

Whacker77

I’ve been of two minds lately. On the one hand, I would love to see Newt used as a vessel to stop Romney so we can draft a better candidate at the convention. It has always been a long shot, but I hoped and continue to hope it might happen.

On the other hand, I’m resigned to Romney because in a two way race, I believe he is less volitile than Mitt. That matters in the House and Senate races and I think Newt, as the nominee, would be a suicide bullet train.

It’s going to be Romney though so I hope he can earn some of my respect. If he would just offer a bold tax plan, not unlike what Huntsman offered, I think it would go a long way towards winning over conservative resistance.

Whacker77

They’ve all said they will not make calls until polls in the Central time zone close.

goodgovernance

Heard this morning how Romney’s vacuous campaign (except for the negative carpet bombing) is a deliberate tactic. We’re not going to hear him offering solutions to any of the nation’s problems, we’re not going to hear him talk about what he believes, because apparently he himself has come to realize he isn’t much of anything, even compared to Obama.

His plan is going to be talk about how much he loves patriotic songs, and then bash every opponent in his way for holding positions he himself either has held, currently holds, or currently hold and simultaneously denies holding.

It’s not a the strategy of a genuine leader, it’s the strategy of a risk-averse milquetoast. But it’s the pattern we see with Mitt time and time again.

I’m really concerned about what Mitt would do in a foreign policy crisis situation. The man has no idea. None. Remember, in 2008 he was for a secret surrender instead of the surge (before he eventually flipped and came out for the surge, that is).

I’m just boggled by why such a person would even want to be president, if this is how he wants to behave. I think those who point to his father are right: Mitt wants to salve the psychic pain that was created when his father was (unjustly) spurned for the presidency because of some flippant comments he made about being brainwashed. As a result, Mitt is running to right that wrong. At the same time, though, that early event also created his deep mistrust (and maybe even disdain) for the general public. Which is why he treats us in such a disingenuous and not forthright fashion.

tngal

I’m still going with single digits 7-8 but if it turns out to be romney gets 90 percent of the vote with everyone else splitting ten Newt should stay in. Mainly because the establishment gop just can’t stand it. There’s nothing I like more than getting under the skin of a liberal. But making the establishment take heed of the phrase “Don’t Tread on Me” comes in a close second.

snowshooze

But.. here we are with Obama. Some things I just cannot ever understand.
Very little talk of issues, no major achievements, no charisma…
Just a bunch of money and a second generation establishment machine.
And some very low quality fluff.

thosjefferson

Romney is saving the GOP from itself. The thought of a Cabinet room full of Rick Perry forgetting important things, Herman Cain chanting 9-9-9 over and over, and Sarah Palin repeating Hannity’s slogans is truly frightening. And then to imagine Newt Gingrich reigning over the circus…

Santorum and Romney are both reasonable, smart,accomplished candidates who would not embarrass the GOP. Either of them could get elected by the American public and would reverse the course Obama has set. Santorum doesn’t have the resources, so it boils down to Romney or a clown circus in the White House, whether Obama or Newt is the ringleader.

codenametimna

I hate to say it but Newt Gingrich is probably temperamentally unfit to be president. Many say he?s too erratic, undisciplined, and rhetorically self-destructive. I believe the reason he’s taking a nosedive in Florida is because he’s gone extremely negative (the exact opposite of his original campaign promise to stay positive by the way), plus he whines too much and he attacks Romney in ways that are either petty, untrue, or heavily exaggerated. He’s not a terribly reliable conservative either. Newt has run the gamut on Global Warming, amnesty for illegals, Cap & Trade (TAX), the health insurance individual mandate, and has supported other bad policies. Such as going around the country with Al Sharpton promoting the socialist education policies of the Obama administration. Many would also say he’s not philosophically well-grounded either; as evidenced by his fascination with Alvin Toffler. He’s getting up there in age too. He’s also pretty hefty and looks unhealthy to me. Especially when they forget to apply a good dose of makeup prior to his interviews.

What can I say? Gingrich is “imploding” of his own volition. He was the one who decided to go from a positive and respectable campaign to what is now a flame-throwing deeply negative campaign, and then complains and whines when the other candidates turn around and give him a dose of his own medicine. Portraying a candidates record and being respectful and truthful about it is one thing. Going hog wild into the depths of negativity while forsaking any standard of ethics and lambasting a candidates record either unfairly or in some cases wrongly, is quite another. The American people see the negativity that Newt Gingrich has generated and they are voting accordingly. Mitt Romney has gone negative also and in fact Romney’s campaign was first to go negative. What distinguishes Romney’s negative ads and campaigning from Newt’s negative ads and campaigning is mostly “perception” in my opinion. Romney tries to keep a happy face and remains calm, cool and collected most of the time. On the other hand, Gingrich always seems to be whining and complaining that the other candidates are treating him unfairly; yet apparently doesn’t recognize that his own campaign is using the same kind of tactics to attack Romney, Santorum and Ron Paul with. Which leads many people to the conclusion that Newt can sure dish it out, but he doesn’t seem to be able to take any himself.

If Newt is that “thin skinned” on the campaign trail, what would happen if he actually became president and people became critical of him and his policies after being elected? Would he launch into a hissy fit like Barack Obama has done on occasion? Would he become revengeful against the people he was elected to serve and protect, just like Barack Obama is doing? And look how that’s turning out, right? Plus Gingrich’s main focus seems to be mostly on deriding Mitt Romney instead of the person he should instead be mainly focused on, and the person currently responsible for America’s economic and other ills – which is Barack Obama and his inept administration. Sorry for being so blunt. But I feel it is because of these serious character flaws and previously bad policy decisions, and constant negativity, that I feel would prevent Newt Gingrich from being an effective Republican president in my opinion. And no doubt why Floridians see through the ruse and are voting in what seems to be an overwhelming fashion for Mitt Romney.

Mittens, on the other hand, is quite another story. I’m not too sure Mittens would make an effective opponent to face Obama either. Barack Obama would likely walk all over Romney unless Mittens straightens up and flies right and starts to develop a backbone and some cojones i.e. a resolute boldness and resounding bravery to take on Obama man to man without flinching.

Mittens (kitty cat) Romney seems to kowtow and cave to opponents who boldly stand up to him and he also seems to change positions on a dime when people disagree with his current position(s), and to appease them, he reverses course “on a dime” to accommodate their positions. In other words, he doesn’t seem to have any core values on which to stand up for or fight vigorously to maintain. I just hope he doesn’t wimp out and cave to Obama’s ruthless billion dollar political machine if Romney ends up being the nominee. In other words, I hope he doesn’t go all ‘soft’ on us and refuses to boldly attack Obama. Because if Mittens (kitty cat) Romney doesn’t keep “sticking it to the man” it will make Romney appear weak and even complicit to Obama’s policies that are currently destroying the economy and ruining America’s reputation around the world, and furthermore, bankrupting the country. We need a strong leader who won’t constantly kowtow to every Tom, Dick or Harry or special interest group that begs for his attention. Oh and by the way, he should use every available means at his disposable to right the multitude of wrongs that Barack Hussein Obama and his socialist ilk have done to the country. And don’t forget to do a “full” repeal of Obamacare. Yeah, right. In your dreams most likely. Romney probably won’t do a full repeal of Obamacare since he’s already waffling on it. It’s too much like his darling in Massachusetts that he simply adores. Including the individual mandate aspect of it. Pity.

thosjefferson

Mitt Romney isn’t fair to voters. He expects them to read his extensive proposals, developed with the most qualified and experienced team of experts in the various fields. It’s as if he’s planning to run the government as President some day.

Give us funny soundbites instead, the way Newt does. We want revisionist history and moon bases. We want to rage against the media with you when you call your ex-wife a liar. Dare I say it? We want hope and change, except different from the last guy.

The last thing we want is a serious candidate with serious proposals that we have to read and think about. And please don’t remind us that our Emperor Newt has a history different from what he tells us it is!

daveinthed

utter trash. Romney has spoken at length about what he wants to do do help get this economy going again. Yet here are the nasty, anti-Romney zealots, spewing such pure vacant BS that Romney “is vacant and won’t talk about his plans because he realizes he has nothing…”

Talk about vacant. You MUST be a Newt supporter. Let’s count the ways, shall we? Newt:

- is a serial philanderer with a moral character that is VERY questionable.
- got sanctioned, fined, pled guilty to 2 violations and was run out of Congress.
- proceeded to stay in Washington and got on the Freddie Mac gravy train, singing the praises of GSE?s.
- sat on the couch with Nancy Pelosi lecturing us about “global warming”.
- trashed Paul Ryan’s entitlement reform package as “right-wing engineering”.
- used Obama’s class warfare rhetoric during the campaign.
- slimed the Swift Boaters with more class warfare.
- is a serial philanderer. oh yeah, I said that. Do we as conservatives still stand for moral character?
- was for amnesty, cap and trade, and the individual mandate…before he was against them.

This is the “real conservative”? Please.

miconservative

and see if Santorum can unify conservatives against Romney. It just doesn’t look like Newt can do it and Santorum will not be the target rich environment of negative campaigning that Newt is.

daveinthed

No matter how much Newt and his grumpy band of followers deny it, Mitt Romney is a man with an extensive, successful background in the private sector. To Boot, he ALSO has governing experience, and, unlike ANY of the other 3, from an executive position. Clearly, he is the man of the remaining 4 to carry the torch for the private sector. If all you want is a guy who challenges and picks fights with the media, the clearly Newt is your guy.

Romney/Ryan ’12

Palin at Energy
Rudy at Justice or CIA
Cain at Treasury
Newt at Education
Huntsman at State
Petraeus at Defense

lineholder

That’s ironic in and of itself. The situation our nation is facing is as dire as they come. We need leadership that will boldly pursue finding any many options as may exist to turn back the trajectory we’re currently on.

If you believe Romney to be that person, fine. Present him in that context.

But this whole idea that the choice should be made on the basis of who will and/or will not “embarass the GOP” sounds like a weak excuse for supporting the man.

lineholder

but this is a national Hispanic Republic organization that endorsed Gingrich a few weeks ago. If they have a strong influence in FL, this could become a factor in the votes.

fightnright

That is also exactly where conservatives should expend their energy and build a movement should Mitt become the nominee – not at throwing the elex back to the Obamites to further appoint reliable liberal votes in SCOTUS, expand leftist bureaucracies, regulation in lieu of legislation, fund and promulgate abortion/death for abortion-surviving infants globally, expand gay marriage, and BHO’s entire wishlist of radical goodies just waiting to be fulfilled when he is no longer hobbled by fears of second term blowback.

Mitt should have to do a lot more than earn our respect in his first term. Nobody knows better than Mitt Romney that the new paradigm of winning the WH involves years and years of campaigning. For him, that campaign should start with his first day in the Oval Office.

We’d have to organize and let Mitt know in no uncertain terms that during a first term, Romney is ON PROBATION. I’d be willing to volunteer my time, donate funds, and meet with activist conservatives locally or in DC (and I’ll even give out pins or tees with ‘On Probation’ logos to that effect).

Mitt is salivating to be PotUS, so if it happens, failing their first choice, conservatives are the folks who must spend time and money letting him sweat it out to stay there. The internet presence and groundswell of an organization to keep Mitt on a short leash must not begin a day late and a dollar short. We heard a million excuses during GWB’s term that the administration was too overwhelmed by the demands of the Iraq war to focus on the demands of the conservatives who installed them. We cannot allow a possible Romney WH which ran right to make the same excuses about the economy.

Whacker77

Sadly, I agree with the sentiment. The Republican race for president has been a circus clown show. Many allowed themselves to become distracted by the freak show that was “Oops”, “9-9-9″, and “Gardisal”. We deserved a better race, but we didn’t get it.

Santorum and Romney were the best of the lot, although I don’t feel that says much.

fpete13527

Story on MSNBC

gbenton

I assure you that cherry picking a few oops moments from Perry’s resume and defining him by that is embarrassing yourself.

The Tea Party arguably saved the GOP after the RINO years that have followed Reagan – and the moderate wing as represented by Romney ‘of RomneyCare’ is an embarrasment to any conservative who values limited government.

I’ve had just enough, thank you, of sophisticated, ‘respectable’ Republicans who seek to gain approval from the media and the left.

I’ll take Rick Perry’s Gov record over every president since Reagan in terms of accomplishment and you can keep your Romney fawning because he failed to even run for a second term and has done a whole lot of embarrasing himself with is flip flop a minute chameleon act.

I’ll vote for him, but I’m embarrassed for the GOP that he is my choice.

Whacker77

A Romney cabinet, should there ever be one, will never include Palin and Cain. Palin has become a gadfly who is losing her ability to move the needle.

Cain is just a likable goof ball. I never saw him as anything else, but he really did himself great harm by campaigning with Colbert and endorsing” the people”.

We need serious people to fix the problems of the country, not a bunch of jokers trying to sell books and raise their speaking fees.

elayman

Besides being two Mormons he and his upstanding family had a final break with the liar, manipulator and deceiver a few years back.

lineholder

and what this nation needs most right now is a bold, proactive, free-market champion who would promote fiscal Conservatism….I’m not thrilled with either one of them.

gbenton

Santorum tore a hole in Romney of this issue in the last debate and I hope everyone who cares about repealing Obamacare is paying attention.

We are walking into a trap with our eyes wide open.

Wall Street scion who sired Romneycare in a campaign where Obama will tar Wall Street and defend Obamacare…

It couldn’t be more stupid.

gbenton

Perry was a serious candidate. Gardasil became a joke because of Bachmann et al making fools of themselves distorting the issue because they lacked the resume of the Texas Governor.

Sure, 999 was cheesy… and that’s fair to go after, and Paul, is, well, Paul. But the media and the talking heads selected Ooops and a few other things to define Perry and otherwise didn’t talk about him..

The rest ARE poor candidates in my view for one reason or another, and I admit, Perry did not run the campaign I’d hoped… but he is no clown even if the rest are.

That makes it all the more tragic in my view that he’s gone and they remain.

http://908StraightSt.wordpress.com/ mbecker908

At MSNBC…

In a rare television interview, former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist — who left the Republican Party during his unsuccessful 2010 U.S. Senate bid — told Chuck Todd on MSNBC’s “Daily Rundown” that he’d consider voting for President Obama in November.

?Consider? Sure, I would consider that,? said Crist. ?I really think he?s sincere and genuine. I think we have a lot time, a lot of issues to talk about, but I think, in his heart, he?s trying to do what?s right for the country overall.?

Now a registered independent, Crist said he also wouldn’t rule out running for office as a Democrat himself in the future.

?I wouldn?t definitively rule out anything,? the former governor said.

Threadjack over…

thosjefferson

Perry has a record of paying back his financial supporters with taxpayer money, just like Obama did with Solyndra. He inherited a strong state and increased unemployment, worsened health care statistics, let the fire prevention fund lapse, opposed border control, gave benefits to illegals he denies to other Americans, and on and on.

He was run out of the primaries on the merits, not because of his debating goofs.

Romney has a far more conservative record of opposing liberals (800+ vetoes in Mass), of actually engaging in capitalism and free enterprise instead of just talking about it, and of solving problems instead of making things worse the way Perry has in Texas.

Although, to be fair, I’d much rather have Perry than Emperor Newt.

Scope

LOL

circlegranch

and yet, Romney supporters STILL can’t see why grassroots members don’t think he’s conservative?

But, fast forward to Jan 31, 2013: Pres. Romney has just been inaugurated and on Day One, fulfilled his campaign promise to repeal ObamaCare–unless Norm Coleman was right after all.

renl57

…for Newt Gingrich is Howard Dean.

In 2004, the Dem base loved Howard Dean because he articulated their rage at the incumbent president (Bush 43), whom they absolutely despised.

Many in the GOP base love Newt for the same reason: They want a candidate who acts as outraged toward the incumbent (Obama) as they feel.

The problem is this:

In 2004, the Howard Dean campaign cracked up on its own rage, turning off many voters. Observing this, Rush Limbaugh said at the time, “Anger doesn’t win elections.”

That’s a lesson that the GOP base should recall. You can’t win over voters who aren’t already on your side, by walking around angry and combative.

That’s certainly not how the GOP base acted in 1980.

aesthete

is silly: viewing them by nationality is much more productive, IMO.

Cubans (congregated in Florida/American South) are much more conservative than Central Americans (all over US), who are more conservative than Mexicans (American SW), who are more conservative than Dominicans (Eastern seaboard), who are more conservative than Puerto Ricans (Nueva York and the NE).

If Republicans are looking to win Florida and the SW, and to compete in battleground states, they should be appealing primarily to Cubans in Florida, Mexicans for the SW, and have policies that are generally amenable for Nicaraguans, Salvadoreans, and others from Central America. This is very doable within the bounds of conservative policy, and in the context of Florida I’m more interested in seeing how each candidate performs with Cubans rather than “Hispanics” in general.

aesthete

Sorry.

texastaxpayer

Please provide links to credible sources that back your many claims against governor Perry. I would like to “know” how he drove up unemployment, worsened healthcare and opposed border control. Not to mention which of his “financial supporters” he is paying back with tax money.

Funny in three statewide elections none of this came up bit I guess you have better resources than the DNC.

I eagerly await your response

texashistorian

Mitt Romney is not a Utahan (Utahite, Utaher?) like Mike Lee. Romney is from Michigan where he was the son of prominent Rockefeller Republican, went to a upscale prep school and then on to Stanford. Mitt went into business while Lee pursued the law (and clerked for Alito along the way). Lee grew up in Utah and a bit in the DC area as well. Hardly identical backgrounds

I’ll give you this similarity- they are both Mormons and both went to BYU. What else is there? I don’t see identical- I see a superficial comparison based almost solely on their church affiliations. Trying to make Romney into a Mike Lee Tea-Party style conservative is really stretching it. And that is before we even get to policy positions. If you like Mitt, fine, but please keep it real.

texashistorian

could find this all this dirt out. yes, the same folks that tried for a while to pin the closet homosexual label on Perry. Even they haven’t said the things Thosjefferson above is alleging.

gbenton

I’m sorry, but when you said Romney has a far more conservative record opposing liberals I just thought I’d try to find where Rick Perry socialized anything in Texas. Lacking an example, I have to just say WTF…

thosjefferson

just look at Texas unemployment stats when he took office and now. Look at widely available government stats on health. Watch what he said in the debates about opposing a fence, in-state tuition for illegals, etc. And if you don’t know about his payback of financial supporters, I don’t believe you live in Texas. Google it if you don’t believe me. It is always an issue in the state elections.

BTW, you’re a resident of Texas and a citizen of the U.S. Unless you have one of those fake Texas “passports.”

gracie

Last time I looked, Mike Lee had the second most conservative voting record in the Senate after DeMint. If you had ever heard him speak (like at the RedState Gathering in Austin) you would know he lives and breathes the constitution. He carries it in his pocket at all times and gives his family lessons from it on vacation.

He also is one of what three? people who had the guts to join the Tea Party Causus in the Senate that the beloved Marco Rubio did not join. He is on the spot conservative every time I have heard him speak!

I e Mike Lee is NOTHING like Romney! I realize I do not know everything there is to know about him but from what I do I would rejoice if he was about to get the nomination instead of the Mass liberal who invented Obamacare and lies through his teeth. Same background does not make a man.

thosjefferson

What you call Romneycare is a far more conservative, free market solution than what the Mass legislature wanted. But maybe you’re like many so-called conservatives who don’t understand how a Republic works; like the Constitution itself, our states and federal government require compromise. A liberal or moderate would have gone along with what the Mass legislature wanted and not issued over 800 vetoes.

At any rate, in many respects, Romneycare is the most conservative, free market solution in the country if you’re an independent businessman or own a small business. At at the time, Gingrich and the Heritage Foundation supported it. Only later, when they perceived political advantage (and a fund-raising opportunity) did they criticize it. It’s always easy to be a critic, difficult to actually govern.

Shaggy_DA

Has no problem posting his projection that Willard McDole is leading 49 to 33 well over an hour prior to the close of the polls and that the nets will be calling it for Willard promptly at 8:00 Eastern.

Not quite sure why I am even bothering to continue to visit the Mitt Drudge Report…

General_Confusion

That?s his record.

Didn?t we try Democrat-lite with McCain. That didn?t work out so well .

Honestly I?m sick in and tired of the ?Conventional Wisdom? that we must abandon principle and move just ever so slightly to the right of the current Dem to win.

Lastly, considering the currently state of the nation, we simply cannot afford someone who will do absolutely NOTHING to stop the horrendous growth of the Federal Government.

Romney, Boehner and McConnell, your go along, get along dream team.

fightnright

I like Mitt, but some in the DNC establishment had a lot to do with stirring up that voter distrust of Dean. They enlisted their media allies to play and replay the infamous ‘Dean scream’ so often that it changed from sounding overemotional to positively schizoid, thus seizing on Dean’s lapse to help rid the primary of a candidate many insiders and power brokers thought looked too fringe AND unhinged.*

*as opposed to Obama, who WAS too fringe but covered it up better.

goodgovernance

Basically, you’re arguing that “Mitt cannot be bothered to entreat with the common folk. It would belittle him to kneel down to their low, grubby level.”

You’re also saying a person can either run for Entertainer-in-Chief like Gingrich with his “funny soundbites,” or they can take Mitt’s oh-so-lofty (so lofty he ultimately winds up saying nothing at all!) approach, but that there’s no ground in between. Nice try, but in these momentous times, to be running the most vacuous campaign in decades the way Mitt is doing now? It’s a disgrace.

Tell me something. Have you even read these “extensive proposals,” written by “the most qualified and experienced team of experts”? Who are these experts, anyway? Do they include the one who informed us Mitt wants to expand Romneycare to all fifty states?

If you have read the “extensive proposals,” may I ask if you’d recognize a snow job if you saw one, or would you be too dazzled by all the buzzwords and bulleted item lists?

The truth isn’t partisan. If Romney becomes the nominee, the Democrats are going to zero in on Mitt’s flawed rationale for running for president, and they will pound him with it until Mitt (and all the rest of us, including yourself!) wishes he’d never even considered running for higher office.

Scope

Unemp is higher in Texas now than when Perry he took office- 11 years ago LOL

Perry signed tort reform legislation and medical personnel, as well as medical insurance companies are moving back to Texas in drove. The Texas population has exploded.

Perry supports strategic fencing, boots on the ground, and drone support to control the border. Yup, he is a border crosser’s dream. LOL

I’m sure the Texans here will respond to your questioning their US citizenship status.

Did you forget that Perry is no longer in the race? Why are you still going on about Perry?

goodgovernance

When Mitt’s up in the polls, they descend on this site with a vengeance. When Mitt’s down in the polls, they tuck their tails between their legs and scurry off, muttering words about how discretion is the better part of valor.

I’ll bet during the Super Bowl they’ll be cheering their favorite team loudly whenever they’re ahead. But if they ever fall behind, these folks will take off their team hats and jerseys, and sit quietly hoping no one will notice them.

Or maybe they’ll be like Romney himself, and wait to see who wins before they announce which team they were rooting for all along.

thosjefferson

BTW, Perry wouldn’t have won re-election if Romney hadn’t given him a last-minute $1 million from the RGA. http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/09/a-civil-case-texas-gov.php

As for Perry and his financial supporters, “An investigation by The Dallas Morning News found that more than $16 million from the Emerging Technology Fund has been awarded to companies with investors or officers who are large campaign donors to Perry.” http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/state-politics/20101003-perry_s-tech-fund-aided-firms-with-ties-to-his-donors.ece

thosjefferson

I mentioned Perry in passing; everyone else has made an issue about him. I merely pointed out that Texans are not “citizens” of Texas but residents of Texas and citizens of the U.S. I realize there are some Texans who think Texas shouldn’t be part of the U.S. so I was merely clarifying. No disrespect intended; I love Texas and go there often.

vangoghssister

For the last cotton pickin time, the in-state tuition thing works like this:
Copied my answer to another myth midget from my diary:

“Qualifiers for in-state tuition are that a student must have resided in Texas for at least THREE YEARS, must have GRADUATED FROM A TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL and MUST BE ACTIVELY GOING THROUGH THE CITIZENSHIP PROCESS. The state legislature VOTED 180 TO 4 in favor of this bill.

Many of these students? parents brought them here as children ? little kids ? who had no voice in what their parents did. They have grown up in Texas and know no other place as home.

They PAY tuition. It?s not a scholarship, it?s not a grant, it?s not a dang freebie.”

I am sure TexasHistorian and Texastaxpayer will correct anything that is wrong and/or add additional information.

Sheesh.

thosjefferson

Based on his record, Romney’s going to clean house in DC. That’s what’s so goofy about Gingrich complaining that Romney was too tough a businessman at Bain. Don’t we want to fire a few hundred thousand federal employees and clean up the mess?

Boehner and McConnell will have to man up or he’ll get rid of them, too. They serve at the pleasure of their members, who will vote them out if they impede the turnaround Romney’s going to administer.

Seriously, I can’t imagine why RedStaters aren’t excited at the prospect of Romney doing in DC what he did at Bain (both companies), the Olympics, and the Mass state government.

gracie

and see how many miles it is that makes the border between Texas and Mexico. Then explain how you fence the middle of a river. If you do it on this side, how you justify cutting off ranchers from their water source?

Actually I just did it for you: it is 889 to 1248 miles long depending how it is measured and it forms the border between Texas and Mexico from El Paso (by New Mexico) to the Gulf.

This is why Gov Perry had it exactly right. Strategic fencing and drones and boots. The ranchers on both sides do not want a fence on their side! Did you know that??

lineholder

Back in the 1990s and for a few years into the first decade past the turn of the century, just about every health care “expert” climbed on board the “socialized health care model is conservative” bandwagon, at least for a while.

It wasn’t just politics that changed all that…it was watching what happened in Australia, how the nation went to the verge of becoming a single-payer system, how it all but collapsed their economy to do it…and then saying, “Okay, this idea isn’t as good as it was made out to be”.

Those who like and support the idea of taking a “progressive” approach to health care (and yes, that does include a lot of moderates and Liberals) were loathe to let go of this particular big-government-expansion-of-power-and-control-scheme. Unfortunately for Romney, he lived in and governed over a state where a lot of people who come from that portion of the political spectrum happened to live.

There are still some people who cling to the ideology of it even now. It’s actually difficult to tell, most of the time, whether Romney is a member of that faction of our population or not.

clowngirl

I reject the notion that a victory of any size tonight guarantees a Romney victory or even leaves him an easy path.

Mitt Romney has personally engaged in an outright smear campaign (acting like Newt was guilty of ethics violations when, in fact, he was exonerated) that has outraged a lot of people who don’t even support Gingrich.

His lies have been discredited by Sarah Palin, Thomas Sowell, and Mark Levin (and that’s just off the top of my head) surely he can’t keep up this level of dishonesty and not completely lose credibility.

Romney’s willingness to openly go dishonest and dirty is stunning. He isn’t even trying to keep his hands clean. Has any Presidential candidate ever done this and actually won the Presidency?

I would imagine the likelihood of a backlash is very, very high.

And, last I checked, Newt is still the national front runner. People who aren’t seeing Newt smeared every 15 minutes are supporting him more than Romney (though admittedly not by the margin he had a week ago) and I can’t imagine Romney has the budget to thoroughly smear Newt in every state.

There’s also the fact that 300 tea party organizers in 36 states have promised to work to elect Newt.

And Todd Palin is going to start campaigning with him.. It’s not outside the realm of possibility that Sarah Palin will also fully endorse Newt and start campaigning with him – providing a huge boost going into super tuesday….

And then there’s also the question of how long Romney can manage to avoid being properly vetted…

http://www.doctor-bob.biz rsklaroff

[she could upset a bevy of libs on a daily basis]

thosjefferson

Palin, Cain and Newt are all incompetent. If Romney put them at those positions, he’d fire them after 30 days. Didn’t you hear him in the debate say he’d fire anyone who proposed spending billions on a moon base?

He’ll install the best people for each job, so the others might make sense.

charlemagne1979

Headline on Drudge, says networks will call for Romney exactly when polls close meaning they already called it for Romney.

thosjefferson

Romney has disagreed with his advisers publicly many times. That’s a sign of a smart, successful businessman (winner). Listen to many perspectives, analyze the situation, and make a solid decision.

Only insecure people (losers) refuse to listen to alternative viewpoints. That’s the problem with so many so-called “conservatives,” actually.

lineholder

we just don’t agree with them, especially when it comes to consideration of fiscally moderate/liberal policies when our nation is over its head in debt.

earhartam

Ooohh! Great idea

thosjefferson

Could the Newt circus get any crazier than having Todd Palin campaign for him? If I were Todd, I’d be happy for the excuse to get out of a harsh Alaska winter, but who, other than tabloid readers, cares a hoot about either Todd or Sarah Palin?

It’s laughable that Newt’s supporters don’t even know the difference between the ethics violation he committed and the subsequent IRS investigation into a separate matter. That the IRS didn’t file criminal charges is hardly a resume builder–or a qualification to become President of the United States.

charlemagne1979

Before it was, “no one has even won the presidency without winning Missouri.” Then Obama did that and that not the wisdom anymore. The media will now look at another state to keep this story going. It looks like Ohio will be the choice this time around. So remember, no one has even one the presidency without winning Ohio.

thosjefferson

Kudos to lineholder for being able to listen to other people’s viewpoints. I was referring to circlegranch, who apparently thinks it’s a disqualification to do so. Not only is it not true that Crist was advising Romney (some of his advisers were), but he claims that listening to Crist would mean Romney isn’t “conservative.”

Enough said.

charlemagne1979

None of that describes me. I was actually a Perry supporter until he was defeated by Rick Perry (Yes, he lost to himself). Romney was my second choice (not that there was a lot from me to choose from). And for the record I am a proud Giants fan 100%.

lineholder

saying something along the lines of “Yeah, I could support Obama”…it’s possible that any connection, direct or indirect, is likely to rub people a bit raw for the time being.

BrendanW

its just a hard game to play, and the players that RS (generally speaking) liked didn’t bring their A games, or didn’t have A games to begin with… the game is actually “rigged” in countries where they just lie about the vote: Russia, Iran, Cuba, Venezuela.

We need to work our best to get the most conservative and accountable congress into office and to force Romney (*should he be elected) to hold true to his new found conservatism or to resist the Obamanation for another four years.

No matter who won – the work would not be done.

greyeagle

Perry has run a state which has the 13th largest economy in the world, for 10 years. He is neither ignorant or stupid. You are certainly welcome to be a Romney supporter, but I am not.

greyeagle

Romney said in the debates that he would repeal Obamacare. However, his campaign has said more than once that he will change parts of it, but would NOT REPEAL OBAMACARE.

greyeagle

No one in Florida would be surprised that Crist voted for Obama.

greyeagle

Romney put out a bunch of ads with lies on them here in Florida. I can only imagine what he will do in the future.

greyeagle

An investigation by the Dallas Morning News does not mean much in Texas. It is another liberal media outlet which attacks Governor Perry on a regular basis. It is also NOT true. Perry does NOT make the lone decision regarding the Emerging Technology Fund. It is a group of people. It is also NOT true that Perry would not have won re-election if Romney had not given him $1million dollars from the Republican Governors Association. I lived in TX until the middle of 2010 and know the truth on these issues. The talking points you have been using is not the truth. These talking points sound like the garbage put out by supporters of Ron Paul. This garbage has also been used by other Romney supporters on other conservative web sites.

daveoconnor

because Drudge got it about dead on. The late breaking polls which kept polling through Monday evening clearly showed Mitt had the big mo.

circlegranch

in the middle of the Rio. He’s already gone soft on immigration. The flips just keep on comin’.

mikeymike143

and its no coincidence that conservative states like south carolina and florida reject that anti semtic nutjob and the cancer that him and his cult followers spread.

nepanyrush

The next state on Saturday? Nevada. Sure Romney state. The rest of February is basically Romney country (Michigan, Maine, Minnesota, etc.), and Newt didn’t even get on the ballot in 5 states. This landslide in Florida, after Newt’s terrible showing in Iowa and New Hampshire makes him seem like a regional candidate to be honest.

It is time to end his campaign for the sake of the party. Otherwise, his constant litany of “Romney lies” and “Romney is anti-religious freedom” and “Romney’s breathtaking lies in the last debate were more than any in history” is going to work in cooperation with the Obama strategy. Already Obama and the Unions were pouring millions into anti-Romney ads in Florida. And even here in Pennsylvania I was getting constant Newt’s ads calling Romney a liar, on 770 WABC, which goes all over the northeast.

Newt does not have a prayer. I hope he does not continue a campaign that since Iowa just seemed like he was angry and wanted to destroy Romney more than win himself.

Conservatives should have united behind Santorum. The guy is just terrific. I could hardly believe Newt became the standard bearer. He is so erratic and ethics challenged he never had a chance.

http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

Y’all have to earn that.

Win your delegates.

snowshooze

I am all for unity, just like you.

Common_Cents

Feb will be tough for Gingrich, he should give some more focus to fund raising and be ready for March (a debate end of Feb and a couple in early March, then more conservative states)

bonnman

I have to say that it made me less inclined to support him. It seemed like a list of one-liner campaign slogans, no substance, no message. Even with a big win he lacked personally.

Its still a long race and I think both Newt and Santorum should stay in as long as they want.

snowshooze

He isn’t Obama.
And that is about all I can say for him.
Newt’s speech was sorta inspiring,I guess… but we have heard it all before. You, me, the rest of the crowd hereabouts are probably completely immune to that.
At least Newt was addressing issues, I am not sure what Mitt was addressing.

http://908StraightSt.wordpress.com/ mbecker908

surprised…

bonnman

and seemed to have a plan, a little scattered but a plan. Santorum seemed genuine and it was refreshing to hear a positive perspective. I like the guy, not sure if he’s Presidential material though.

I’m more and more troubled by Romney’s complete lack of connecting with conservatives.

snowshooze

If it came to that.

clowngirl

I wanna meet him !

http://www.doctor-bob.biz rsklaroff

A key-discipline lacking in many candidate-advocates is the capacity to accommodate contrary-data.

For example, this [previously] pro-Perry blogger didn’t appreciate his attacks on capitalism and [previously] pro-Newt blogger doesn’t appreciate UN-Kosher robo-calls.

Having read the blogs on three “active” POTUS-oriented sites…

http://www.redstate.com/erick/2012/01/31/what-im-looking-for-in-florida-tonight/#comment-167705

http://www.redstate.com/erick/2012/01/31/moving-past-florida/#comment-167607

http://www.redstate.com/erick/2012/01/31/the-fat-lady-hasnt-sung-but-shes-warming-up/

…it is necessary to place the current situation into a context that allows for a healthy evolution of events to transpire.

I have begun to note the problematic pundits, but we must differentiate them from those who act based upon sincere-input. For example, it may be recalled that I spent an overnight-experience promoting the possibility of DeMint following the “Oops!” event; this gambit was ignored, but the concept was implanted. And, surely, this was a transparent effort…which, sadly, is rare among the current crop of talking-heads.

Let’s be clear: BHO must be defeated, and Mitt has alienated the base.

What remedies exist, lest a 3rd Party initiative undermine reasonableness?

A deal that might motivate the base–TEA [Taxed Enough Already] Party Movement & Evangelicals–could be modeled by the RR choice of Dick Schweiker in ’76 [reversing points on the political spectrum], although RR was criticized for having done so. The Veep position is not comparable to expectoration, and it could reflect a behavioral commitment comparable to how The Newt has absorbed Perry/Cain by coadopting their themes [10th Amendment-implementation & economy/tax-focus].

Some might view this as hollow; others might fear that this designee might be ignored as was Sarah. But few can deny the potential for this approach to motivate the party to [1]–heal, and [2]–send a go-forward message that integrates true-conservatism.

I am not motivated to pontificate simply to try to convince people of my rectitude, nor am I attempting to push a hidden-agenda. But there must be an action-plan [a working-hypothesis, if you will] if we are going to face realities and save the USA from another term of a newly-”validated” BHO.

I recoil @ the tactics of the GOP-Establishment, and I abhor how the MSM/LSM/ELM [Establiishment-Leaning Media] has coadopted this conduct. Sadly, FNC has been complicit, most recently a few hours ago when Rich Lawry attacked The Newt for his [negative] reaction to a knowingly-incorrect smear…instead of attacking the smear itself. And that Elliot Abrams hit-piece was effective in unnerving The Newt last Thursday [pre-debate] in conjunction with a coordinated attack, notwithstanding its having been debunked the next day.

Such orchestration may prove [short-term] effective [and seemingly validate the machinations of seasoned politicos], but they alienate [long-term] effectiveness [and undoubtedly repel sincere activists]. The fact that the TPM has produced a battle-hardened regiment is thereby upended by those who should be functioning as [grateful] colleagues.

We are Constitutional-Conservatives [encompassing all three legs of the tripod], but we are besmirched; even RS-bloggers who gloat serve only to alienate. When Rush announces Mitt isn’t a true-conservative and Santorum is known to be a pro-labor earmarker who has espoused strong social-views that would predictably alienate “independents,” is this sizable chunk of the party to be forced [as will occur in VA] to vote for a neo-isolationist who has published racist/anti-Semitic pamphlets?

Today’s WSJ piece by McGurn advised that Mitt should coadopt positive qualities in the campaigns of his rivals, but his speech [unlike that of The Newt, in SC] didn’t strike this theme. We can pine for Perry, we can identify with anguish/anger exhibited by The Newt, we can even recall the poise of Michele…but these neither alleviate angst nor inform the message that Mitt appears to be ignoring.

That Mitt has appeared to go out of his way to rebuff the TPM despite the achievements in 2008, this is unconscionable and unwise; he cannot reasonably claim that such an association [even if merely a gesture] would boomerang. One blogger yesterday suggested that he would be accused of pandering were he to associate with these people; this is the ultimate rationalization of those who would deny [and deny themselves of] the potency of these committed people.

I’ve received e-mail from a cadre of “groupies” who have read my postings @ RS, and they send a message of surprised rejection by the aggregated forces that ignored/ridiculed Perry and are now trained on The Newt. I try to be encouraging, but the wisdom of his departure from the race [only a fortnight ago!] must be questioned. Yes, The Newt won SC, but this was @ the cost of losing a strong voice, one that Mitt feared the most, one that also had to raise worriment-levels @ 1600.

My suggestion, simply, is that Toomey be ID’ed by Mitt as his putative running-mate. This would bring PA into “play” and would unify the GOP. He is a true-conservative, and he gained respect for how he conducted himself as a member of the Super-Committee. Unless someone else has a better idea, such an innovation might provide an impetus for a go-forward presentation to a hungry-public to be conveyed ASAP, short-circuiting the reality-show debates @ #19.

fpete13527

This wasn’t meant as a threadjack but it was absolutely an impulsive blurt. I sent from my phone while on the way to vote for Newt.

It wasnt appropriate. Shouldn’t have blurted that

I was hoping that any updated info would have empowered Newt over Romney, but it was already way into being a done deal..

For me, anything that can still bring forth someone conservative OTHER than Romney is still worth fighting for. It may be a bridge to far already.

The point of the article, although not stated from the blurt, was not that Crist is obviously voting for Obama. The point was that the possible GOP Primary winner is being coached by the team who’s main guy is obviously voting for Obama.

The wording and writing of comment as it came out was definitely not my intention.

gracie

Now Romney has already flipped to self-deport.

There is no end to his pandering and this is what depresses me. Truly, not a bone of integrity in his body. I keep trying to make him acceptable and daily I hear something new that disgusts me.

Sure I will have to vote for him but either way it goes America will not be the same.

I wish Rick Perry had reminded people that the border is a river and a water source; I guess he expected them to be smart enough to know it. Oh circleg what a missed opportunity!

texastaxpayer

If you dont mind me asking of course…

avagreen

Occasionally, I’d run across one of their articles and wonder if we lived on the same planet.

Same with Houston Chronicle, the , the San Antonio Express News, and the Austin American-Statesman, and the Texas Tribune (Austin).

avagreen

because as vangoghssister stated, these students had to have lived at least 3 years to qualify for this in-state tuition, which makes them……….INSTATE STUDENTS, and it would have been against the law for Texas not to have given them in-state tuition as their parents and maybe the students themselves (through work visas) have been paying taxes for AT LEAST THREE years, if not longer.

Students other than this group have only had to have resided in Texas for SIX months, paying taxes, to qualify.

Besides the fact that……13(?) other states have this same program.

romansdaughter

Hey a question.. is there any newspapers/ news outlets that you guys from Texas that are actually conservative? Isn’t it always strange that a conservative state has all these blatant liberal news outlets and newspapers??

avagreen

…the large cities whose newspapers get quoted tend to be liberal. There are conservative commentators in these papers (I’m assuming), but they don’t get the national coverage by the national media that the liberal pieces do.

Even in this town of almost 300,000 the articles tend to be liberal (huge university town), but conservatives speak up on the online version of the newspaper, including yours truly.

I’m continuing with the “identify-theft” thing, but with no help from any professional, not even ATT who bought out cingular (the genesis of those posts). Even got registered at a geek forum (finally!), but my question has gone unanswered.
It’s been my own investigation for the past three days or so. I’ve come up with some ideas of what happened, though. Plus, the fact that there’s always someone willing to take lies and run with them, don’t apologize, and act as if everything that they’ve said is correct and factual.

I pity such people. They’ve got to be miserable.

avagreen

The identify thief lives in Arkansas!
Geolocation Information
Country: United States us flag
State/Region: Arkansas
City: Maumelle
Latitude: 34.8675
Longitude: -92.4001
Area Code: 501
Postal Code: 72113

http://whatismyipaddress.com/ip/166.147.76.27

RS

EDITOR OF REDSTATE

What I’m looking for in Florida tonight

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