Tag Archives: Topic: Politics

Sacramento Bee: U.S. District Judge Fred Biery on Thursday admonished those who “demagogued this case for their own political goals.” He then added, “You should be ashamed of yourselves.”

Republican Conservative Base Starts Rallying Around Santorum: The Republican Party’s socially conservative base, conflicted for months over which presidential candidate to back, is increasingly coalescing behind Rick Santorum in a shift that some observers say may energize his bid and slow Mitt Romney’s momentum toward the nomination.

Rasmussen Reports: A new telephone survey of Likely Voters in the state finds Obama earning 45% support to Romney’s 41%.

WorldNetDaily: The latest WND/Wenzel Poll shows none of the current crop of Republican presidential candidates has solidified the base of the party, with one in five GOP voters leaning toward support of Obama in November.

CBS News: Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich on Tuesday decried the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for striking down California’s Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage — both of them targeting the judiciary system for invoking what Gingrich described as a “radical overreach” of power.

The Hill: “Today’s decision by the 9th Circuit is another in a long line of radical activist rulings by this rogue circuit – and it is precisely why I have called for that circuit to be abolished and split up,” Santorum said in a statement Tuesday. “Marriage is defined and has always been defined as ‘one man and one woman.’ We simply cannot allow 50 different definitions of marriage.”

News from The Associated Press: Romney has accused Obama of an “assault on religion” over the issue. But Carney says a virtually identical policy is in place in Massachusetts, where Romney served as governor, and that it’s ironic for Romney to criticize Obama over it.

In today’s broadcast, Rush Limbaugh read from this report –  LifeSiteNews, December 9, 2005 by Gudrun Schultz: In a shocking turn-around, Massachusetts’s governor Mitt Romney announced yesterday that Roman Catholic and other private hospitals in the state will be forced to offer emergency contraception to sexual assault victims under new state legislation, regardless of the hospitals’ moral position on the issue . . .

News from The Associated Press: And that reality is undercutting his effort to cast himself as the inevitable Republican presidential nominee and prolonging a race that each day exposes deep divisions within the party.

CBS News: The former Pennsylvania senator came out on top in the voting in all three contests Tuesday night, including an unexpected five-point victory in Colorado’s caucuses. Santorum also won the Minnesota caucuses, by an 18-point margin, and he won by 30 points in the Missouri primary.

Stephen J. Heaney at Public Discourse: Personally opposed, but actively supporting…well, it’s complicated.

Religion Clause: As previously reported, the Nevada Republican Party yesterday scheduled an evening caucus to accommodate Orthodox Jews who could not attend Saturday daytime caucuses for religious reasons.

Baptist Press: Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich finished in a virtual tie among evangelicals in Florida’s Republican primary, with each candidate claiming a small victory depending on which exit poll was used.

Washington Examiner: Gallup released their annual state-by-state presidential approval numbers yesterday, and the results should have 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue very worried

TheHill.com: With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Romney topped his nearest rival, Newt Gingrich, by 14 points, 46 percent to 32.

Washington Times: While the Obama campaign has consistently touted its grassroots, small-donor fundraising appeal, the reach of the tentacles of a few hundred Hollywood executives and financial moguls is astonishing.

The Washington Post: Something unexpected happened on the way to North Carolina’s vote on a gay marriage ban this May: Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue decided not to run for re-election, meaning more voters who oppose the ban could turn out at the polls.

News from The Associated Press: Republican Rep. Dan Burton of Indiana says he won’t seek re-election to a 16th term.

CSMonitor.com: Ron Paul is likely to win more delegates to the 2012 GOP convention than either Newt Gingrich or Rick Santorum this week. Wait. What? That’s why he campaigned in Maine this weekend.

The Hill: Former presidential candidate Herman Cain endorsed his fellow Georgian Newt Gingrich in a surprise appearance at the Palm Beach County Republican Party Lincoln Day dinner Saturday.

LifeNews.com: Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum said late Sunday that the medical condition that forced the Santorum family to hospitalize the little girl over the weekend has dramatically improved.

News from The Associated Press: Republican presidential contender Newt Gingrich called Sunday for a commission to study the ethical issues relating to in vitro fertilization clinics, where infertile women receive treatment to get pregnant and large numbers of embryos are created.

LaTimes.com: Members of a younger generation care less about Castro and are more liberal, but many are disappointed in President Obama.

NYTimes.com: A steady stream of endorsements has been flowing to Mitt Romney, with his campaign promoting Republicans who are giving their blessing to his presidential candidacy. Yet on the eve of the Florida primary, he has been unable to land the biggest catch of all: Jeb Bush.

Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion reports and links to the audio.

NationalJournal.com: Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich rode a strong performance and crowd enthusiasm at a debate in South Carolina to victory in that state’s primary, but the crowds at two debates in Florida this week haven’t been as wild for Gingrich.

InfoWars carries the video.

Pat Buchanan at Townhall: We’re not going to get into the business of dictating (Russia’s) path (to democracy). … We’re just going to support what we like to call ‘universal values’ — not American values, not Western values, universal values.” But what, exactly, are these “universal values”? And who are we to impose them on other nations? Did Divine Providence assign us this mission? Who do we Americans think we are?

News from The Associated Press: Forget the so-called liberal media. Right now Newt Gingrich’s most ardent critics are conservative pundits and columnists, many of whom have launched aggressive campaigns to discredit him and trip up his run for the Republican nomination.

News from The Associated Press: Democratic North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue, the first woman elected governor in the state, said Thursday she would not seek re-election . . .

UnionLeader.com: “Live Free or Die” isn’t just the official motto for a great state. As the 62nd Republican National Committee Chairman, I think it’s a mantra our party should live by. I hope that New Hampshire legislators will remember this slogan and reject proposals to strip citizens of their right to marry.

OneNewsNow.com: In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network on Wednesday, GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich explained why he believes evangelicals are able to get behind his campaign.

Rasmussen: Mitt Romney has jumped back ahead in the fevered Florida Republican Primary race with his support back to where it was before Newt Gingrich’s big win Saturday in South Carolina.

David Malpass at WSJ (full access via Google): The central bank should take note when a popular presidential contender calls for limits on its power . . . The Fed’s responsibility is to create confidence in price stability and the dollar, thus providing the best monetary policy environment for full employment. Most central banks operate on this principle. Instead, the Fed has systematically undermined economic confidence by promising to maintain zero interest rates for privileged borrowers. That policy will have to stop if the U.S. is to again achieve impressive growth.

News from The Associated Press: With a flurry of coast-to-coast developments this week, same-sex marriage is back in the political spotlight and likely to remain there through Election Day as a half-dozen states face potentially wrenching votes on the issue.

Hot Air (includes video): Former Senator Norm Coleman joined the Mitt Romney campaign in September, but hasn’t made an impact until now — and Romney may have wished he hadn’t. In an interview Sunday for BioCentury, a health-industry roundtable forum, Coleman said that ObamaCare won’t ever be repealed “in its entirety,” and that “you can’t whole cloth throw it out.”

Deirdre Cooper at Public Discourse: In order to win, do Republicans really need to stop talking about abortion and marriage?

News from The Associated Press: Democrats who have been boycotting the Indiana House in a battle over right-to-work legislation could each face a $5,000 fine if they stay away another day.

Washington Post

Wall Street Journal transcript.

Real Clear Politics reports and has the video of Pelosi.

Washington Times: “I have a simple challenge for Speaker Pelosi…you know, put up or shut up. I mean, I have no idea what she’s talking about. I don’t think she has any idea what she’s talking about, but bring it on,” he said.

Law firm knee deep in state’s many hot-button issues: As a result, the most influential three names in state politics, outside of Walker, Fitzgerald and Fitzgerald, just might be Michael Best & Friedrich.

National Review: I called up the Commission on Presidential Debates, which handles the general election debates, and they confirmed that audience participation has not been allowed in the past in debates, and will not be allowed this cycle either.

William McGurn at WSJ.com: Less predictable—and far more interesting—has been the heat from the Catholic left, including many who have in the past given the president vital cover.

The Washington Post: Mitt Romney offered a partial snapshot of his vast personal fortune late Monday, disclosing income of $21.7 million in 2010 and $20.9 million last year — virtually all of it profits, dividends or interest from investments.

IrishCentral: The American Civil Liberties Union has insisted on the right of political candidates of all kinds to walk in the Dublin Ohio St.Patrick’s Day parade.

2012 Florida Republican Primary – Rasmussen Reports: Less than two weeks ago, Mitt Romney had a 22-point lead in Florida, but that’s ancient history in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

The Tennessean: Rand Paul’s office claimed the senator set off the full body scanner and then refused a full pat down.

News from The Associated Press: The race to replace Rep. Gabrielle Giffords begins in earnest Monday as the Arizona congresswoman’s planned resignation sets up a free-for-all in a competitive district.

NBC Politics: Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who just a few days ago seemed poised to capitalize on his New Hampshire primary victory to win South Carolina, failed to appeal to conservative, lower-income, and evangelical Christian voters in the state, which led to Saturday’s victory for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

LifeSiteNews.com: When it comes to the voting booth, pro-life and pro-family voters are among the most passionately dedicated to their issues. Their zeal may be challenged by only one other group: Ron Paul enthusiasts. Although mainstream politics may look at both groups askance, the relationship between the two themselves is not so clear. At the center of the question, of course, is Ron Paul himself: is the Paul philosophy compatible with the voter who puts life and family first?

MetroWeekly: Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) announced today on Facebook that her campaign for U.S. Senate raised more than $1 million in the last three months of 2011.

News from The Associated Press: The Supreme Court on Friday threw out electoral maps drawn by federal judges in Texas that favored minorities.

The district court granted a preliminary injunction prohibiting the State of Washington from enforcing its limitation on contributions to political committees supporting the recall of a state or county official.

Charles Hurt at Washington Times: There is growing consternation in Republican circles and among conservatives over why Republicans keep allowing the various Communist, leftist and otherwise anti-American TV networks to host GOP debates.

Politico (includes video): Gingrich called that story “false” — and delivered an extended denunciation of ABC and CNN for engaging Marianne Gingrich in the first place. “I am appalled that you would begin a presidential debate on a topic like that,” Gingrich said. “Every person in here knows personal pain. Every person in here has had someone close to them go through painful things. To take an ex-wife and make it two days before the primary a significant question for a presidential campaign is as close to despicable as anything I can imagine.”

Rasmussen Reports: The latest telephone survey of Likely GOP Primary Voters in the state finds Gingrich with 33% support to Romney’s 31%. Two days ago, before the last debate, it was Romney by 14 percentage points.

LifeNews.com: James Dobson, the founder and former president of Focus on the Family, has joined a number of social conservative and pro-life leaders have who announced endorsements for Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum.

OneNewsNow.com: everal prominent Christian leaders from across the country have signed on to lead the official “pastors and leaders faith coalition” for one of the GOP presidential hopefuls. The group was introduced during a recent nationwide conference call.

NYTimes.com: With a fortune estimated to be as large as a quarter of a billion dollars, Mitt Romney is among the wealthiest men ever to run for president.

The Hill: Five board members of the Palmetto Family Council, a leading South Carolina group of social conservatives, plan to endorse Rick Santorum after a series of meetings looking to coalesce around a candidate, one of the leaders told The Hill Wednesday evening.

Politico Poll: Several polls released during the past few days show that Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich is drawing close — or even surpassing — front-runner Mitt Romney in South Carolina, where the primary election is Saturday. Politico offered the latest evidence Thursday.

The Hill (includes video): In an explosive interview, Newt Gingrich’s second wife, Marianne Gingrich, says the former House Speaker wanted an “open marriage,” but that she refused.

News from The Associated Press: Texas Gov. Rick Perry said Wednesday that Mitt Romney changed his position on legalized abortion out of political convenience, one of the sharpest allegations leveled yet in the South Carolina GOP presidential primary

Des Moines Register: There are too many holes in the certified totals from the Iowa caucuses to know for certain who won, but Rick Santorum wound up with a 34-vote advantage.

News from The Associated Press: The Greenville-Spartanburg area, home to many of South Carolina’s evangelical voters, should be prime political ground for Rick Santorum, a longtime anti-abortion crusader who was embraced by a group of Christian leaders meeting last weekend in Texas.

AZCentral.com: Texas Gov. Rick Perry is abandoning his presidential bid and endorsing Newt Gingrich.

News from The Associated Press: New Jersey Sen. Joseph Kyrillos will seek the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate to run against Sen. Bob Menendez in November.

WSJ: The mayors of several big cities, including Chicago, New York, Boston and Los Angeles, are joining together to support same-sex marriage rights, a move that could put additional pressure on President Barack Obama to do the same.

Fox News (includes video): The largest Muslim civil liberties group in the United States on Wednesday condemned Newt Gingrich for saying he would only hire Muslims to his administration if they renounced the use of Islam’s Shariah law as a tool for U.S. government.

Barry Lynn at Opposing Views: Nothing I heard in the news reports about this incident indicates that Jarrett told people how to vote. Yes, she praised Obama and criticized the GOP. But pastors laud or blast politicians all of the time. Unless they take the additional step of advising congregants how they ought to vote or engage in some other action (distributing candidate literature in church, endorsing a candidate on the church website, donating church funds to a candidate), they’re not likely to attract IRS scrutiny.

Rasmussen Reports: The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely Republican Primary Voters nationwide shows Romney with 30% support and Gingrich with 27% of the vote. Former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum, who was running second two weeks ago, has now dropped to 15%.

Mary C. Curtis at The Washington Post: The debate about how one chooses to practice any faith – or not – is public. While many still see the separation as benefit for both church and state, Santorum has said he judges Kennedy’s speech and his sentiments “appalling,” and he hopes South Carolina voters agree. When the divide is not just over religious doctrine but also the role of faith itself in government, the alliance between conservative Catholics and evangelical Protestants isn’t puzzling at all. It makes perfect sense.

Chicago Tribune: Organizers of a drive to recall Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker said they have far more signatures than they need to file on Tuesday to force the
controversial Republican to defend his seat in a special election barely a year into his first term.