HORSE RACERomney wins Iowa by a nose! In a photo finish! After a neck and neck battle down the stretch! (Excited yet?)http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/01/somebody-wins-iowa-bowlhttp://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/01/04/1051371/-Mitt-Romney-wins-Iowa-caucuses-sortofhttp://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2012_01/santorum_comes_8_votes_short_d034511.phphttp://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/iowa-winnows-the-field/2012/01/03/gIQA1dpVZP_blog.htmlInteresting:
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/01/howd_mitt_compare_to_mitt.phpFour years — and a few million additional bucks later — Mitt Romney managed to get just about exactly the same number and percentage of votes in Iowa as he did in 2008.
Meet The Theocrat (looks like he’ll be with us for a while)http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2012/01/santorum-and-the-republicans.html[George Packer] In the tenth paragraph of a page A15 Times piece, Rick Santorum accuses Barack Obama of engaging in “absolutely un-American activities.” What are they? The article doesn’t say. The quote appears without explanation or comment, in an article entitled “Santorum’s Challenge: Broaden His Appeal Beyond Evangelical Christians.” Nor does the line show up anywhere else on the Web—apparently no reporter in the mob following the candidates through the last days before the Iowa caucuses thought it worth writing down, and no blogger thought it worth repeating. It was just a throwaway line, a hunk of spoiled red meat tossed at the crowd in a Sioux City coffee shop, no more newsworthy than saying, “It’s a great day to be an Iowan!” And the crowd ate it up, applauding lustily. According to the Times, Santorum, surging in the polls, “became emotional at times.” He “wore a beaming smile on his face.” He said that he was running for his children’s sake. A supporter from a nearby town said that he liked Santorum for his avoidance of hyperbole: “Santorum doesn’t make crazy statements.”
Several things are worth noting here. . . . [read on]
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/when-right-wingers-get-cocky.htmlRick Santorum reiterated his belief that states should have the right to outlaw contraception . . . [read on]
More:
http://news.firedoglake.com/2012/01/03/santorums-america-no-birth-control-but-lots-of-free-money-for-babies/Newt goes there, calls Romney a liarhttp://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/gingrich-romney-liar-i-could-support-him"Here is my simple tag line: Somebody who will lie to you to get to be president will lie to you when they are president," Gingrich told supporters. . . [read on]
http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/01/newt-romneys-a-liar-but-hes-still-better-than-obama.phphttp://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2012_01/gingrich_takes_off_the_gloves034486.phpMore:
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/01/a_few_takeaways_from_tonights_result.php[Josh Marshall] Newt Gingrich. Newt looked tired tonight. He looked all of his 68 years. But through that he’s mad. And Newt Gingrich has a great capacity for anger. He says he’s going to keep fighting for the nomination. And at some level I buy that. But what seemed much more clear is that he has a new goal in this campaign, maybe in life: hurt Mitt Romney. That’s dangerous for Romney. There are more debates coming. Newt’s good at debates. And reporters love drama. That’s hazardous for Romney. . .
http://www.salon.com/2012/01/03/newts_spiteful_last_stand/He’ll never say it, but clearly Gingrich sees an opportunity for revenge here. . . . [read on]
http://plainblogaboutpolitics.blogspot.com/2012/01/newt-to-be-jerry-brown-1992.html[Jonathan Bernstein] Newt Gingrich never had a chance to be the Republican nominee for president in 2012 or any other year. I'll go back to what I said before his very first collapse back in the spring: he's Sarah Palin without the fanatical supporters but with the marital history of John Edwards. In other words, he has no natural constituency that would stick with him no matter what, Washingtonians don't like or trust him, and there's an opposition research file that's so enormous that he can be attacked effectively by any candidate in any electoral context. . . . But I can see another possible future for the disgraced former Speaker. . . . [read on]
He is a liar, toohttp://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/post/mitt-romney-in-iowa-stop-obama-would-poison-the-very-spirit-of-america/2012/01/02/gIQAoBI2WP_blog.htmlRomney accused Obama of turning the United States into “a European-style welfare state,” saying Obama’s policies would “poison the very spirit of America and keep us from being one nation under God.” . . . [read on]
Goodbye to The Rock?http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/01/rick-perry-will-assess-viability-after-iowa-defeat.phpRick Perry says that he may drop out of the presidential race following a devastating fifth place finish in Iowa. . . .
Goodbye to The Mean Girl?http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/01/is-eight-enough-where-mitt-romney-and-rick-santorum-go-from-here-the-note/Michele Bachmann finished dead last in yesterday’s caucuses. Although in a speech last night she vowed to soldier on, her campaign has scheduled a press conference for today in Wes Des Moines and speculation is running high that she cut short her presidential bid. . .
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/updates/3537NBC’s James Novogrod reports: “Breaking – Bachmann has apparently cancelled her South Carolina trip; her campaign has called a press conference at 10amCT.”
The biggest number of the nighthttp://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/01/04/after-iowa-can-rick-santorum-keep-the-momentum.htmlThe most ominous sign for the GOP might be the low turnout in Iowa after the Tea Party–driven enthusiasms of 2010. Roughly 123,000 of 640,000 registered Republicans in the state turned out to vote, along the lines of 2008, when dueling Democrats absorbed most of the electoral energy. . . .
He Who Shall Not Be Namedhttp://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2012_01/the_name_that_must_not_be_spok034489.phpThe bigger picturehttp://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/welcome-to-super-pac-nation/2012/01/03/gIQA6orfYP_blog.html[Greg Sargent] One depressing thing that’s become clear from the Iowa caucuses is that we’re entering truly uncharted terrain when it comes to the flood of unregulated ads that will soon wash over the electorate. . . . [read on]
Hostage crisishttp://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/top-tea-party-republican-admits-it-weve-been-employing-hostage-strategy/2012/01/03/gIQA1fXKYP_blog.htmlTop Tea Party Republican admits it: We’ve been employing hostage strategy
Yes, they dohttp://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/01/how-rich-get-richerHow the Rich Get Richer
Why isn’t it obvious to everyone what a fraud televangelists are?http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/01/03/1051149/-God-tells-Pat-Robertson-who-next-president-will-be[T]oday on The 700 Club said that God again communicated to him that financial problems and partisan politics are going to bring America into decline. Unsurprisingly, [hard-right conservative television preacher Pat Robertson] said God is no fan of President Obama: “Your president holds a radical view of the direction of your country which is at odds with the majority, expect chaos and paralysis.” Robertson claimed that the country would be devastated by an “economic collapse” and “the country will begin disintegrating.” He also claimed that God revealed to him who the next president will be, but that he is “not supposed to talk about that.” . . [read on]
Bonus item: Funniest line in the campaign so farhttp://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/carville-republicans-voting-romney-its-youCarville on GOP Voting for Romney: 'It's Like You're Trying to Give Your Dog a Pill. They Keep Spitting it Up'
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