So who will blink first?

The Speaker suffered an embarrassment by failing to have the votes to pass his Plan B which would have raised taxes on income over$1million dollars. Polls suggest the republicans would get blamed if thee is no deal. Regardless of any deal the bottom line is that we need to cut spending. A tax increase might even be necessary because the fact of the matter is that both sides have been benefiting from the taxpayers for decades. The democrats have used federal money to promise money for their constituents and the republicans have given tax subsidies to companies who were already profitable. At some point the public trough was going to dry.

Romney concedes to Obama

Romney reaches out in town hall debate

Mitt Romney continued his campaign of demonstrating that Obama is not doing his job and that he understands the plight of the middle class.
Romney told the college student that he would have a job by the time he graduated from college. Romney also said that Obamas policies have Hirt the middle class which has been crushed by the administration. Romney also touted his reaching to hire women in his administration. He challenged Obamas claim that he declared the attack on Benghazi a terrorist attack.
Romney most importantly demonstrated that he understand the plight of the middle class and that with his business experience and as governor to guide the country back to prosperity

VP debate tonight!

Romney responds to embassy attacks

Mitt Romney criticized the Obama administration about a statement issued by the US Embassy in Egypt about its defense of the free speech when the embassies in Libya and Egypt were attacked.  The embassy in Egypt issued a statement that the protesters were excersing free speeech when the protesters invaded a sovereign piece of property.  Romney criticised the statement stating that this is not free speech when they attack our embassy and kill Americans. 

President Obama also distanced himself from the statement when the White House issued a statement condemning the statement from the embassy in Egypt.

Intelligence sources believe that this was not an accident and was a part of a planned, coordinated attack by Al-Qaeda. 

US and Israel at odds with Iran?

There have been many conflicting reports about the realtionship or tension between the United States and Israel over Iran. Tensions at a time when it is important that both nations have a united front considering that both consider Iran's development of unranium to be a threat to Israel and a path to destabilization of the region.

Israel wants the US to decide red lines.  In other words, Israel is asking the US to decide specifically when specific actions will happen if Iran continues on the road to to develop uranium for military purposes.  This is important to Israel because they only have a certain capacity to respond to an Iranian threat and they also want to strike Iran before it has the ability to make nuclear weapons a political and military threat. 

The administration has countered that there is no tension in the US and Israeli relationship but several high level sourcesin the Israeli government have stated that the Israelis are not happy with the US plan and that the president refused a meeting with the Israeli P.M. during a time of increased concern about Irans development of uranium for nuclear weapons.

Suffice it to say that the US and Israel believe that Iran is a threat but the issue is that the two countries differ on strategy on how to resovle this sensitive and complicated matter.

Obama surrogates claim better off. Really?

Surrogates for the Obama campaign claimed the American people are better off than 4years ago. With 23 million people unemployed or underemployed..

Mitt Romney to address RNC to accept nomination shortly

State Supreme court rebukes Secretary of State

The State Supreme court ruled in favor of republicans and ordered the secretary of state to keep the original titles for the proposed constitutional amendments. The majority ruled that the constitution gives that right to legislative branch not the executive branch when it comes to the marriage amendment and the voter photo ID bills.

Pawlenty to address RNC Convention

Former governor Tim Pawlenty is scheduled to Wednesday night at the National convention in Tampa,FL,

Should Todd Akin step aside?

There have been many calls for Congressman Todd Akin(R) and Senate candidate in Missouri to step aside for his remarks about "legitimate rape" and that "a woman can stop a pregnancy naturally."
I am disappointed with the republican party for approving the platform for healthcare without any exceptions such as rape or incest.
I think that Todd Akin should step aside because he has taken a position that most Americans are not comfortable with.

Romney picks WI congressman Paul Ryan as his VP

Secretary of States office sued over title change

Conservatives have sued the Secretary of States office over a change in the title for an amendment for the fall election relating to the marriage amendment. The office claims the title change reflects more accurately the subject matter but conservatives charge that the secretary does not have the authority to change the title and further accuse the secretary of using his office to influence the outcome of the amendment. As far as I know only the legislature has the authority to make such changes.

Congress holds AG in contempt

In a rare vote the United States Congress has voted to put the US Attorney General in criminal and civil contempt for failing to produce document that a house committee was asking for in regards to its probe of Fast and Furious. An program that had the FBi selling guns.

Supreme Court approves mandate

In a stunning surprise by the high court it ruled 5-4 that the mandate is constitutional because of its taxing authority not in the commerce clause. The Obama administration had argued that congress had the authority under the commerce clause. Republicans argued it could only be legal under the taxing powers of the constitution.
However the tax provision of the would have made the bill impassable by many.
Many republicans believe that while this opinion was legal, it was still bad public policy and are bound to repeal it.

Romney secures nomination with Texas primary

A long protracted battle in the race for the GOP nomination officially ended Tuesday night with the Texas primary. Romney needed just 58 of the 144 delegates to reach the 1144 delegate count. Most of Romney's former rivals are now backing the presumptive nominee even while he was considered by them to not be conservative enough .
The next task is for the nominee to pick a VP but don't expect an announcement any time soon.

Romney fights back with Bain ad

Santorum endorses Romney

In an open letter to his supporters Rick Santorum endorsed Mitt Romney for the republican primary and continues to solidify a fractured conservative base.

House passes Vikings stadium bill

Bachmann endorses Romney

Congresswoman Michele Bachmann traveled to NH to endorse Mitt Romney. This further solidifies his position as the presumptive nominee and works toward conservatives to support Romney following the heated GOP primary process.

Will the Vikings get a stadium?

As the session draws to a close the Vikings are racing to get their stadium approved by the state legislature. The GOP controlled legislature has stated that the tax bill and the bonding bill are first priority. The good news is that both chambers have bills waiting for a bill. There was a self imposed deadline of last Monday. The constitutional deadline is May 21st. End of session is always interesting

Romney expected to sweep primary states tonight

Romney is now the nominee

With the exit of Santorum, Mitt Romney is now considered the presumptive nominee. While Gingrich and Paul are still in the race. They are not considered serious contenders to challenge Romney going forward.

Santorum suspends campaign

Fox News confirms that Rick Santorum has suspended his campaign. The Romney campaign's strategy to campaign and defeat Santorum in Pennsylvania. It would have been an embarrassment to Santorum and send a message to the Santorum camp that the primary is over. This also helps Santorum transition from presidential candidate to political activist/consultant.

George HW Bush endorses Romney

In an effort to pull the republican party together former president George Bush came out to publically support Mitt Romney. Many believe it was designed as a message to put pressure on the other candidates to bow out with dignity before they are pushed out

Gingrich slims down campaign

It's been reported that Newt Gingrich has layed off a significant number of campaign staff and slimmed down his travel schedule. Some have speculated that this could be an opening for Rich Santorum. It's hard to say whether this is true or not. Could Santorum force a brokered convention? Very doubtful. The GOP establishment does not like surprises. It would be difficult to pull off.

Romney wins IL, gets endorsement from Jeb Bush

In an effort to coalesce the part around one candidate former governor Jeb Bush announced his endorsement for Mitt Romney.
Many observers believe that Romney now has the momentum and will be close to the magic number 1144 delegates needed to secure the nomination.

Dens: government knows best?

Really? Here's the true hard facts. Every country that has tried a state controlled economy has failed--why? Because there is no punishment for failure ie China, North Korea, former Soviet Union, and Cuba. Government officials typically have no business experience and they have no incentive to change if it's failing. Big corporations are like that too. The top executives adopt an employee mentality rather than a business owner mentality.

Santorum wins AL and MS

GOP court southern voters

Ohio becomes focus of Super Tuesday

At this time Santorum and Romney are in a dead heat for the republican primary in Ohio. No republican has won the nomination without winning Ohio. However this primary season has been anything but conventional so stay tuned!

Romney wins WA state, Super Tuesday next

Romney continues to gain momentum as he wins Washington state heading in to Super Tuesday. There are over 400 delegates up for grab in 10 states.

Romney wins MI and AZ

Romney gets some much needed momentum as Santorum stole the show.

Pawlenty endorses Bachmann

Former governor and presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty endorses Michele Bachmann for Congress. This a little odd because I consider Pawlenty to be more pragmatic conservative and Bachmann a ideological conservative.

GOP debate in AZ tonight!

Santorum surging, Romney struggling

While Romney has spent millions in the primary he has been struggling to garner more support from the republican base.
Santorum with little money and organization has managed to stay in the race. He was all but ignored in Ia but surprised everyone. He swept MN, MO, and CO giving his campaign additional support.
Will this lead to a brokered convention? We will most likely know after March 6th if either Romney takes a commanding lead in the delegate count or of the other candidates still have a shot at the nomination.

Romney wins CPAC straw poll

While its been reported that There has not been an out pouring of support to the republican candidates. Romney won the straw poll with 38 percent.
Romney has had an enthusiasm gap that concerns some. While he was considered to be the conservative alternative to McCain in 2008, Romney has also had to defend remarks relating to the economy.

Santorum sweeps Tuesday

Romney wins NV, frontrunner

Mitt Romney won another state in the batte for the republican nomination beating Newt Gingrich. He was expected to win the states caucus leading up to Saturday.  Gingrich is apparently running out of fuel.  He is running out of money and lacks organizational structure to compete in the multiple of states coming ahead. Santorum  and Paul are fighting for relevance at this point.

Paul's campaign has been interesting at best. His foreign policy strategy makes a lot of republicans nervous and quite frankly out of touch with reality.  He claims that we could be saving all that money and spending it on the domestic front.  However our domestic deficit has grown despite the wars. We are a super power. No other country is willing or able to stop the dictators of the world who would want to wreak havoc on the structure in place.

Voter ID

The legislature has proposed a constitutional amendment requiring someone to show an ID when voting. I think that this is a good idea. If would also make sure that the elderly and the disabled could get free ID"s if necessary. I think that democrats oppose this because they want more illegal votes. This law would also ensure more accuracy. Currently anyone can challenge someone as to their eligibility to vote at the location.

Trump endorses Romney

Romney hammers Gingrich in Florida

Romney won the primary in Florida by double digits. Now it's on to NV and CO.

Gingrich and Romney slug it out in Florida

Former speaker Newt Gingrich and former governor Mitt Romney battle it put in the Sunshine state. It's expensive and expansive. The most diverse state so far and the most expensive with 10 media markets.
The other key element in this states primary is that it's winner take all. Putting more pressure on both campaigns to deliver.

EU joins US to boycott Iran

The European Union has decided to encourage Iran to disclose its nuclear arsenal to the UN. The EU will boycott oil from Iran. This would reduce Irans funds from its oil revenues to pursue its nuclear weapons program.

Keystone pipeline--What's the deal?

In an effort to gain more information about why the pipeline was delayed the Assistant Secretary of State testified. Many other federal agencies had already approved the proposal including the EPA. The application was submitted in 2008. Many members of the committee were obviously frustrated by the bearacracy.

POTUS gives State of the Union

Obama states the union is getting stronger

Legislative session starts Tuesday

The legislative session starts on Tuesday. In a pre session meeting of the governor and legislative leaders expect the session to be quick. Governor Dayton has proposed a bonding bill. It's not clear when a stadium bill for the Vikings will be ready since there have been several proposals but no bills drafted yet.. At least there is not a deficit to deal with.

Gingrich wins first victory in SC

In a week filled with controversy over the airwaves and on the debate stage Gingrich pulled out a major victory.
Romney was slipping in the polls toward the latter part of the week. Gingrich"a campaign which was thought to be on life support after reports earlier last year that top campaign staff left en mass left some people to wonder.

WI democrats submit form to recall governor

WI democrats formally filed paperwork with the state board of elections. They needed 640,000 signatures but got 1,000,000 signatures. The election board must now certify the signatures that were submitted to determine accuracy.
My thought is that while I respect them for exercising their right to recall their governor but also feel like this is being done for purely political reasons. They simply do not agree with his politics. That should not be a legitimate reason to recall a governor. Especially when he was just elected. This was the will of the people.

Perry to bow out back Gingrich

Texas governor Rick Perry is reportedly going to drop out and back former Speaker Newt Gingrich. This is expected to tighten the race ahead of the primary on the 21st.

Huntsman to endorse Romney

It's being reported by Politico that former governor Huntsman is expected to drop out of the republican primary and endorse Mitt Romney for president.

Movement conservatives choose Santorum

As the South Carolina primary edges closer and conservative republicans not satisfied with Romney. Led by Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, Gary Bauer former GOP presidential candidate, and James Dobson of Focus on the Family, the group voted for their candidate. Santorum is the candidate that they are backing.

The Romney campaign has to be concerned with this latest development because he has been able to benefit from other candidates dividing up the socially conservative vote pool. So will Santorum be able to capitalize on this new development and force a protracted fight for the GOP nomination?

South Carolina is in a interesting predicament.  They have many evangeiical christians who would vote for Santorum but are also pro business.  Can Santorum convince voters there that he has a broad enough appeal and that he is the candidate that can take on Obama in the general election?

Romneys main campaign strategy has been working thus far but will he be able to convince that as a business man he also understands their concerns on social issues in a state that values business equal to their social values.  South Carolina faces high unemployment.  Romney is leading in South Carolina--for now.

Why the GOP is undecided

I believe that the reason why no one has emerged as a viable candidate to Mitt Romney is that the candidates either did not have broad appeal on conservative issues and could not back up their claims adequately. Perry can't remember anything, Gingrich has too much baggage, Huntsman is liberal, bachmann can't get her facts straight, and Paul has a
Isolationist foreign policy. Santorum needs broader appeal.

Romney and Bain Capital

Wow this interesting. Romney is being attacked by both sides. You would expect that from the democrats but republicans do that at their own peril. Especially going into South Carolina where 60 percent of voters are evangelical Christians and most of them are likely pro business.
The fallout is that Perry lost a key endorsement who is now backing Romney. If Romney wins South Carolina most of the other candidates will probably drop out. Even if Paul stays in it will make no difference.

Romney wins NH

Former governor Mitt Romney wins New Hampshire, Paul comes in second and Huntsman comes in third. Now the Romey campaign heads to South Carolina where of he wins there he is well on his way to becoming the party's nominee.

Romney the nominee?

Mitt Romney with his narrow victory in Iowa is now in New Hampshire. Will the state of New Hampshiire deliver the state to him or make him wait a little longer.  A recent poll in New Hampshire indicated a 20 point lead for the presumed front runner.  Although some campaign officials are concerned about complacency in the first in the nation primary.  The campaign is pulling out a grass roots effort to make sure their supporters show up at the polls on Tuesday.  Meanwhile Romney did campaign in South Carolina where Romney has a slight lead over Rick Santorum.  It was reported earlier that a group of prominent conservatives were meeting in Texas because they are concerned that if Ronmey is nominated that he is not conservative enough.

Meanwhile the race for second is a dead heat between the surging Santorum, and others like Gingrich, Hunstman, Perry.  Who will challenge Romney in the precding states?  Santorum did an excellent job of pivoting from his speech in Iowa to focus on the economy and blue collar roots while still reminding conservatives of his socially conservative credentials.  I think Hunstman is out of it because he hasnt make much progress but we will find out Tuesday night if skipping Iowa was a strategic good move.  While Perry has good conservative credentials he has to prove himself knowledgable and and more credible on a debate stage.  Obama will eat him for lunch.  Gingrich is fascinating but his past baggage has clearly cost him even though he clearly has command of the issues. 

There are two key issues at play here.  Can Romney keeep the socially conservative candidatesdivided up long enough to get the nomnation?  Will the unemployment rate continue to drop?  Romneys camp is counting on the economy to be a key issue. While the rate is going down it will dependent on whether the people feel like things are getting better.  We are the worlds leader so people will not find a mediocre economy acceptable. 

GOP going down to the wire in IA

GOP hopefulls are getting ready to Tuesday night as Iowans cast the first in the nation caucus to decide who will challenge Obama for the next election.  Romney has been down this road before.  Although he hopes for a different result.  His electablity and appeal across the middle has attracted moderates in the party who may have otherwise passed him for a more culturally conservative candidate.  He also has had a track record of turning around troubled companies and organizations around.  Many other candidates such as Santorum, Bachmann, Perry and Gingrich are vying for the culturally conservative vote.  This may be a strategic advantage for Romney because these other candidate will likely split the convservate vote while attracting those who are economic conservatives who are worried about the economy.  So the question is will conservatism or economics be on the minds of Iowa republicans Tuesday night?  We"ll see.