Showing posts with label 2012 Election. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2012 Election. Show all posts

Democratic Insiders View Romney as Obama's Main Threat - Hotline On Call

Democratic Insiders View Romney as Obama's Main Threat - Hotline On Call: "With the economy sputtering, Democratic political operatives view former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney as the main Republican threat to President Obama's reelection, according to this week's National Journal Political Insiders Poll.
Democratic Insiders see Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who has not yet declared whether or not he will run for president, as the second strongest against Obama. A separate poll of Republican insiders, released Thursday, also showed Perry as Romney's main GOP challenger."
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California set to move its presidential primary back to June

But the significance of California's participation isn't clear. Voters chose Democrat Hillary Clinton, who did not win the nomination, and Republican John McCain, who did. In the Democratic primary, which remained competitive after Super Tuesday, California might have fared better if it had weighed in later, observers said."The idea of the early primary was a huge bust," said Tony Quinn, a political analyst and former Republican legislative aide. "We're just out of luck when it comes to affecting presidential politics."
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Palin political committee spent tens of thousands on "family vacation" bus trip

I was wondering about this last month...interesting to see the Washington Post start to wonder as well.

Palin political committee spent tens of thousands on bus trip - The Washington Post:
"Sarah Palin’s political action committee spent tens of thousands of dollars covering the costs of the former Alaska governor’s “One Nation” East Coast bus tour this spring — a trip that Palin (R) has repeatedly characterized as a “family vacation.”

According to a list of itemized expenditures filed by SarahPAC to the Federal Elections Committee and published Thursday, Palin’s committee spent nearly $14,000 on the “bus wrap” that festooned the family’s tour bus with images of the Liberty Bell, Constitution and American flag. The committee spent $10,000 on “logistical trip consulting,” $3,600 to the bus driver and at least $7,000 on lodging."

Jon Huntsman 2012 announcement countdown begins with video

POLITICO.com:
"The countdown to his campaign launch begins, with a web video noting very prominently that Huntsman “did not become famous with his band ‘wizard.’”

The video went out in an email from Huntsman’s wife, Mary Kaye, saying that in “less than a week, a new generation of conservative leadership will emerge. No loud voices or drama, instead a vision for America that reverses the course we're on.”"
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Ed Rollins slams Palin and praises Bachmann

2012 Presidential Election - News, Analysis, Candidates, Polls - POLITICO.com:
"Speaking of Ed Rollins, he begins his first day on Team Bachmann trashing the woman she's often contrasted with, Sarah Palin, in a way that's favorable to his candidate,via Ben:

'Sarah has not been serious over the last couple of years,' Rollins told Brian Kilmeade on his radio show, Kilmeade and friends. 'She got the Vice Presidential thing handed to her, she didn't go to work in the sense of trying to gain more substance, she gave up her governorship.'
He suggested that the contrast would favor Bachmann.
'Michele Bachmann and others [have] worked hard, she has been a leader of the Tea Party which is a very important element here, she has been an attorney, she has done important things with family values.'
'She is probably the best communicator [in the GOP field] now that Mike Huckabee's not in there,' he said.
Rollins has long been skeptical of Palin, but his new role with Bachmann suggests that criticism will become part of her campaign, though she has publicly praised the former Alaska governor."
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Bachmann Signs Up Ed Rollins

Hotline On Call:
"Republican strategist Ed Rollins will manage Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann's presidential campaign if she jumps in the race, a well-placed source has confirmed to Hotline on Call.

The move gives Bachmann a campaign veteran with experience working with dark-horse candidates. In 2008, Rollins helped former Gov. Mike Huckabee to an unexpected victory in Iowa. Bachmann is expected to announce her bid in Iowa later this month and is expected to invest most of her resources in the state.

Rollins also managed Ross Perot's independent campaign for president in 1992, and worked for Ronald Reagan's presidential campaign earlier in his career."
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Not shocking: Romney most qualified by a long shot in new poll

RIGHT SPEAK: ROMNEY MOST QUALIFIED

Rasmussen's latest poll today starkly identifies to voters perception of GOP candidate qualifications for the presidency :
.......................Qualified ............Not Qualified...........No Opinion

Romney .......... 49 %.....................25 %...................... 25 %
Pawlenty ........ 27 % ....................32 % ..................... 42 %
Paul................ 27 % .................... 43 %..................... 31 %
Gingrich......... 26 % ................... 48 %..................... 26 %
Palin............... 23 % ................... 63 %..................... 15 %
Bachman ....... 20 % ................... 45 % .................... 34 %
Huntsman...... 20 % ................... 28 % ................... 52 %
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Sarah Palin candidacy: how it could help and hurt Mitt Romney

Slate Magazine:
"Whatever Mitt Romney had on his plate for Memorial Day, he'd better make room. If we assume—for the purposes of page views—that Palin is getting into the race, the Republican contest immediately becomes one between Palin and Romney, with other candidates circling for a way to break into the conversation. A recent Gallup poll shows Romney (17 percent) and Palin (15 percent) essentially in a tie among Republican voters. The third-place candidate, Ron Paul, has only 10 percent support."
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Huffington Post: IRS To Take On Karl Rove? Tax Laws Could Take A Bite Out Of Secret Political Spending

Democracy 21 :
"Republican political strategist Karl Rove's method of secretly funneling unlimited contributions from big donors was so hugely successful in the 2010 campaign that Democrats are now trying to copy it. But his model may yet end up backfiring spectacularly.

In one scenario, groups like Rove's Crossroads Grassroots Political Strategies could find themselves subject to massive fines, ranging as high as 35 to 70 percent of the money they received in secret donations.

In another scenario, their deep-pocket donors could be hit by a 35 percent tax on their contributions."
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Analysis: Romney is the guy to catch in GOP field

msnbc.com:
"'It's Romney's to lose,' said Scott Reed, a GOP consultant who managed Bob Dole's presidential campaign. He said Romney's biggest advantages are his personal wealth, fundraising know-how and experience as a 2008 contender, when John McCain won the nomination.
'He has been around the track,' Reed said. 'He knows from a difficult experience how not to waste time and how not to try to be all things to all people.'"
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Parody gets more views than real Obama launch

POLITICO.com:
"The National Republican Senatorial Committee's parody of Obama's 2012 campaign, released Friday, now has 665,000 views on YouTube.

Obama's real launch video, released yesterday: Just 168,000."
Here's the parody video:

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Money, momentum and the race for the 2012 Republican nomination

The Washington Post:
"The race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination begins today.

Why? Because today marks the first day of the second fundraising quarter of the year. And anyone who is serious about running for president needs to prove between now and June 30 — the quarter’s end — that Republican donors are investing in them.

While money has mattered since political time immemoriam, it may matter more than usual in this GOP presidential fight for two reasons."
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Stephen Colbert launches ColbertPAC

The "Eagle's Nest", with its many re...Image via WikipediaThe Washington Post:
"Stephen Colbert, host of the eponymous Colbert Report has announced his own PAC, complete with over-the-top announcement video. Is he serious? Probably not. Is he funny? Absolutely.

Colbert used the feature-film-preview quality videos released by former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty as his spring-board , mocking (in typical Colbert fashion) the dramatic score and fast video cuts. He then proceeds to introduce his own “introductory video” telling viewers, “I want to warn you in advance, if you’re epileptic, there are going to be a lot of quick cuts and flashing lights. and if you’re not epileptic, you will be after this.”"
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Obama reelection: Former Obama aides may start independent fundraising group

latimes.com:
"As President Obama prepares to kick off his reelection campaign, two former key White House aides are likely to launch an independent political group in support of his bid, a direct response to the pent-up demand among Democrats for a vehicle to challenge the Republican network of well-funded allies.

The independent expenditure effort is being contemplated by Bill Burton, the former deputy press secretary, and Sean Sweeney, who served as the senior aide to former Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel."
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Campaign 2012: The Kabuki phase

POLITICO.com:

So it goes in the Kabuki theater phase of campaign 2012 in which none of the leading candidates will admit they’re candidates, their donor pitches and stump speeches are couched – sometimes barely – in the conditional, credulity straining denials such as Fehrnstrom’s are part of the press secretary’s vernacular, and an innocuous-sounding phrase such as “testing the waters” has far-reaching legal implications.
Because for Romney and other potential GOP candidates, deliberate obfuscation about their true ambitions is not just about being coy. It is about money and steering clear of election law violations.

New Federal Contribution Limits for 2011-2012 (And a Few Traps for the Unwary)

Seal of the United States Federal Election Com...Image via WikipediaPolitical GPS: Womble Carlyle Political Law:
"Likewise, contributions to “joint fundraising committees” can cause contributors to unexpectedly “max out” on their biennial limit or inadvertently make an excessive contribution to a specific candidate. How can this happen? Joint fundraising committees can raise tens of thousands of dollars from a single contributor – money that is distributed among multiple candidates, or among candidates and party committees. A contributor who overlooks the small print may believe that he or she has made a contribution to a single committee, when in fact the contributor has made multiple contributions, each of which is reflected in FEC records as a contribution to the ultimate recipient."
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WILL REDISTRICTING WREAK HAVOC ON CA GOP CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION?

FlashReport:
"There should be quite a game of musical chairs within the Republican congressional delegation, and the winner could be the Republican legislators and local elected officials looking to move up.

The rules for the redistricting commission are clear: follow the Voting Rights Act, create districts that follow city and county lines, keep them geographically compact, preserve communities of interest, and pay no mind to the incumbents or party registration. These traditional redistricting practices are neutral to outcome, but when you look at Republican congressional members, several are drawing slim.

Starting with the most overpopulated district in the state, Mary Bono Mack has a congressional seat that is safe Republican and cut in a way that maximizes its non-Latino population. Presuming the commission keeps the Inland Empire as intact as possible, her new seat would go from Palm Springs down to the Mexican border. Now married to a Florida congressman, and caught in a tabloid scandal, would she be interested in an extremely tough re-election in a 58% Latino seat with 1-point Democratic advantage? Republicans in DC think not. "

With eyes on 2012, lawmakers kick off fundraisers

USATODAY.com:
"From Capitol Hill breakfasts to ski weekends in Colorado, lawmakers are busy collecting donations for an election that's nearly two years away and retiring debts from the election that ended a little more than two months ago. One group of incoming Republican House freshmen, swept into power in an election fueled by anti-establishment sentiment, held a fundraiser at a posh Washington hotel even before they were sworn in Jan. 5.

'This is how members are welcomed to Washington,' said Nancy Watzman, who tracks political fundraisers for the non-partisan Sunlight Foundation. 'Lawmakers hold out their hands, and lobbyists pull out their checkbooks.'"

Washington State Bill to Abolish Presidential Primary

Ballot Access News:
"Washington State Senator Craig Pridemore (D-Vancouver) has introduced SB 5119. It would abolish the presidential primary for 2012. In 2008, the Washington presidential primary was on February 19. The bill was introduced at the request of the Secretary of State. The Governor also supports the bill, because abolishing the presidential primary would save taxpayer dollars."

Lawsuit filed as redistricting process gets underway

StarTribune.com:
"A federal lawsuit filed Wednesday alleges that Minnesota’s congressional and legislative political boundaries are out of sync with new population information.

The lawsuit, filed by a handful of Minnesota voters, asks election officials to not hold the 2012 elections based on those boundaries. If legislators fail to retool the boundaries by the end of the session, the plaintiffs ask the court to order the parties to submit proposed legislative and congressional plans to the court for consideration."
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