Romney Wins Florida Primary by Double Digits - Time for the GOP Mudfest to Stop!?! Plus Florida Showdown ‘Watchers Council’ Nomination Edition

The major double digit blowout in the Sunshine State’s Primary with Mitt Romney crushing Newt Gingrich 46.4% to 31.9%, with Rick Santorum taking 13.4% and Ron Paul bringing up the rear with 7% reflects a basic underlying fear that voters have of nominating former Speaker Newt Gingrich (Rick Santorum or Ron Paul) and a realization that no matter what else, ROMNEY'S EDGE IS ELECTABILITY

Many agree that Newt is brilliant, has creative ideas (although some will argue too many and often not realistic), as well as his way with words and ability to debate are all positives and alluring but in the end they worry that he will come across as too vociferous to voters and will cost the Republican Party the presidency and more importantly the opportunity to make Barack Obama a one-term president as well as our only opportunity to over-turn ObamaCare, which is too much of a gamble.

Women, in particular, worry that Gingrich’s personal baggage may impair his ability to defeat Barack Obama in November.  Instead, both genders are coming to feel that it is better not to take a chance and to vote for Mitt Romney, the more electable of the two.  Women overall abandoned Gingrich for Romney by a 22 point spread, and married women dumped Newt by an almost two-to-one margin in Florida, Gingrich 28% to Romney's 51%. 

Among Hispanics, Romney crushed Gingrich, taking 54% of that vote to Gingriches' 14%.

When asked which candidate had the best chance to defeat President Obama, according to the exit poll data Romney got 58%. Only 33 percent of those voters said they supported Gingrich.

Newt Gingrich barely managed to hold on to Evangelicals, 39% to Romney's 36%.

It is becoming increasing evident that voters are right in judging that Romney would have a better chance to defeat Obama than Newt would.  But they are probably wrong in thinking that Newt couldn't win.  Either man - or even Santorum for that matter - could and would defeat Obama in November (see Gallup poll below).  The basic Party shift (minus 8 for Dems and plus 3 for Republicans) pre-ordains Obama's defeat. (Some polls even show Ron Paul beating Obama.)  Voters should not hesitate to support the nominee they want for fear that Obama might win.  However once the primaries are over, it is essential that everyone comes together and votes for the GOP nominee.  Not voting or voting for 3rd party candidates will guarantee 4-more years of Obama and the end of the hope to have ObamaCare overturned.

The Romney nomination would, however, make the general election a much easier road for the GOP, for clearly, Romney would have the better shot at the presidency.  His record and what right-wing conservatives consider flip-flops encourage independents, moderates and disenfranchised Democrats that he can and might reach across the aisle and that he knows how to compromise and bring people together; the lack of which being what they see as what is wrong with Congress and politics in general.

Politicians and pundits in both parties divide between those who feel the best way to win is to rev up the base, which is what Sarah Palin has been doing by telling voters to vote for Newt to keep the race going, and those who want to maximize their appeal to swing voters.  Dick Morris recently discussed this from his experience in the Clinton White House, where he faced just such battles with the liberals -- like Leon Panetta, George Stephanopoulos, and Harold Ickes -- who insisted that ideological purity and fervor were the ways to come back after the Democratic defeat of 1994.

Morris, like most campaign advisors and operatives, disagrees with the purity argument and feels the swing voter is almost always the key to victory.  He says Obama's election in 2008 was not a product of ideological extremism.  On the contrary, it was marked by a decided ‘cover-up’ of ideology and a showcasing of a phony sense of moderation and bi-partisanship which were the last things on Obama's mind.

Romney will repeal Obamacare and will appoint pro-life judges.  But his past moderation gives independent voters the feeling that he understands their points of view and will moderate his pursuit of both objectives.

Of course, that is precisely Newt Gingrich's point, and on that Newt is right.  If a voter wants to be absolutely, one hundred percent sure that a new Republican president will walk the tea party line, he or she would do better to vote for Gingrich or Santorum.  But could either get elected?  Many voters obviously wonder.

The safer vote is for Romney.  He has the best chance of beating Obama and of wiping out his policies.  The ideologically pure vote is for Santorum.  The candidate who can best energize the base and wage an aggressive head-on campaign is Gingrich. And the candidate of change in this election is Ron Paul, not Obama.  Obama will now just take us further down the Progressive rabbit hole to European style socialism… or worse.

So now the question is, if Romney wins in Nevada, Arizona and Michigan as expected and perhaps a few others, will the GOP start to coalesce around a single candidate or continue the food-fight, draining everyone’s coffers needed to fight Obama and damaging the ability of the party to heal.  So will Newt do what is best for the party… as he has previously asked Perry and Santorum to do?

If the speeches after yesterday’s primary are an example, it is questionable:

Newt Gingrich's reaction was to promise a scorched earth campaign no matter what the cost, and to continue to have the nerve to call for the other candidates to get out of the race so that "Newt Gingrich, the conservative alternative can defeat the Massachusetts moderate." (Course earlier he was calling Romney a Massachusetts liberal… so I guess that was Newt’s concession.) And yes, he's talking about himself in the third person now... at least for that bit of grandiosity. (I hope Rick Santorum, a far better man takes over Gingrich's number two spot fairly soon.)

Governor Romney, on the other hand, attempted to repair some of that damage in his victory speech, focusing on President Obama, calling for unity in the battle ahead and graciously giving a shout out to his rivals. (Gingrich never even congratulated Romney in his concession speech and from what we have heard never called him after his victory in Iowa, Florida, or New Hampshire.)

Santorum mad a short but positive speech at his headquarters in Nevada telling supporters that his young daughter, Bella, is doing better and thanking everyone for their good wishes. He then went on to reiterate that he will not be entering the candidate food fight, although several observers said he might have to stay in the race.  For after all, campaigns run negative ads because they work.

Ron Paul, as always, was very positive about the change his movement is making and the effect his followers were having.  For Paul, although he’d love to win, it is the message and the movement that matters.  Paul hopes to help the country move back to the Constitution and limited government. He barely participated in Florida so didn’t expect to do any better.

Both Ron Paul and Mitt Romney have had a presence in Nevada since the 2008 Election so there is a possibility that Romney could win with Paul coming in at #2 and Rick Santorum just picked up an endorsement from Dr. Dobson, which should help him!

The craziness from the leftist media and Newt Gingrich has already started again…

Mitt Romney is again being hit by a sound bite taken out of context and a replay of Newt’s Florida ads:

Newt is still playing his ad about the Kosher Food: HERE

And in a interview earlier today Romney said, “I am not concerned with the very poor because we have a safety net for them.  And I am not concerned with the very rich because they are doing fine.  I am concerned with the very heart of America, the 90 to 95% in the middle.  But if there are holes in the safety net for the poor, I will repair them!”

Of course the leftist media and Newt are playing and repeating Mitt’s statement leaving out the last line:  “But if there are holes in the safety net for the poor, I will repair them.”.  (This is a man who gave over 4 million dollars to charity and his church last year… he cares about the poor!).

**My husband I have just gone through a year of Hell trying to get a new business off the ground.  Many of the issues were caused by problems in the system and never ending new government regulations.  We have invested all we had to make this business go, and there were a couple times this past year that we almost ended up on the street.  Mitt is right… there is a safety net for the very poor but there really is no safety net for middle class people without small children temporarily in need.

After losing in Florida yesterday, sore loser Newt now has filed a memo with the RNC to go back and change Florida from a winner take all primary to a proportional (delegate split) primary.  (More whining and crying from old Newt… the debate audience was too quiet, the debate audience was too loud and now after the fact… Florida should have been a proportional primary, blah blah blah, wah wah wah!)  I was a Sarah Palin supporter when this entire process began and I have not endorsed anyone since she decided not to run… but after the past few days, although I do feel that anyone is better than Obama, Newt is now my last choice!

Take your pick.  Despite the negative mud-slinging, the GOP has four very, very good men that provide voters a definite choice between each other and Barack Obama.

Charles Krauthammer said as part of the Florida primary wrap-up on Hannity for Fox, “Ann is Mitt’s Greatest Asset!”

Ask Marion~

Watcher's Council Nominations - Florida Showdown Edition

Ah, primary season is in full swing…

Welcome to the Watcher's Council, a blogging group consisting of some of the most incisive blogs in the 'sphere, and the longest running group of its kind in existence. Every week, the members nominate two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council. Then we vote on the best two posts, with the results appearing on Friday.

This week's contest is dedicated to Isabella Santorum and little Elli - get well soon, we're pulling for you sweethearts.

Council News:
This week, Ask Marion, The Independent Sentinel and Capitalist Preservation took advantage of my generous offer of linkage and earned honorable mention status.  You can, too! Want to see your work appear on the Watcher’s Council homepage in our weekly contest listing? Didn’t get nominated by a Council member? No worries.

Simply head over to Joshuapundit and post the title a link to the piece you want considered along with an e-mail address ( which won't be published) in the comments section no later than Monday 6PM PST in order to be considered for our honorable mention category, and return the favor by creating a post on your site linking to the Watcher’s Council contest for the week.

It's a great way of exposing your best work to Watcher’s Council readers and Council members. while grabbing the increased traffic and notoriety. And how good is that, eh?
So, let's see what we have this week....

Council Submissions

• The Colossus of Rhodey – If you didn't know this was coming by now, you're living in a cave
• Joshuapundit-The New Egypt - Bankrupt And Sinking Fast
• The Noisy Room – Tantrum on the Tarmac
• Simply Jews – Wayne Madsen drops another... bombshell: Barack Obama outed as CIA creation
• New Zeal – Russia Today Hires WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange- Will the Kremlin Be Pleased?
• The Political Commentator – In a debate would John King ask Obama about this...? (Video)
• VA Right - Senator Janet Howell ‘Rectal Avenger’
• GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD – The Saudi Persian War
• The Mellow Jihadi – Parading Vets: St Louis Vs. New York
• Bookworm Room – ObamaCare, the Catholic Church, and mandatory abortion payments
• The Razor – The Twisted Memory of Newt Gingrich
• Rhymes With Right – Presidents Are Not Kings; Americans No Obliged To Appear When He Beckons
• Right Truth – What's In A Name?
• The Right Planet – GOP: On Whose Side?
• The Glittering Eye -The History of Spaghetti and Marinara

Honorable Mentions

• The Independent Sentinel - Obama Signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Treaty & Ceded Our Internet Rights to the UN
• Ask Marion - Hillary Leaving as Obama’s Eligibility Trial(s) Move Forward… Coincidence?
• Capitalist Preservation - A hiss is just a hiss, a lie is just a lie...

Non-Council Submissions

• Smithsonian.com – Revisiting the Rise and Fall of the Third Reich submitted by The Colossus of Rhodey
• Alisina.org – What Is My Identity? submitted by Joshuapundit
• Michelle Malkin –For Santorum submitted by The Noisy Room
• Terry Glavin – It's Not Funny Anymore submitted by Simply Jews
• American Thinker – The Civilized Man vs. the MTA Savages submitted by New Zeal
• Caroline Glick -The Zionist Imperative submitted by The Political Commentator
• Investor.com – Media Act As Though Only Republicans Misbehave submitted by VA Right
• The Reserve Officer – New Defense Strategy submitted by GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD
• The Kitchen Dispatch –Aloha, Sarge Charlie. Until We Meet Again submitted by The Mellow Jihadi
• Bill Whittle-The Vote Pumpsubmitted by Bookworm Room
• Via Meadia –Beyond Blue Part One: The Crisis of the American Dream submitted by The Razor
• Frontloading HQ – I'll see your white knight and raise you a filing deadline. Why It's Too Late for Entry in the Republican Nomination Racesubmitted by Rhymes with Right
• Blogbat -The Moon Is Made of Cheese, You Know submitted by Right Truth
• Bob Owens/PJ Media – New Emails Suggest Eric Holder Perjured Himself submitted by The Glittering Eye
• American Thinker – Barack Obama and the Strategy of Manufactured Crisis submitted by The Right Planet
• Gates of Vienna – Breivik: Al Qaeda’s Man in Oslo? submitted by The Watcher

Also See: Gallop State Approval Numbers Predict an Obama Loss

Tic… Tic… GOP Toc… or Rather Talk

Does anyone else just want to scream: STOP!!!

What  the GOP candidates should be focusing on is righting the economy; creating an environment to enable the creation of jobs; promoting freedom here and abroad without continuing to be the baby-sitter of the world; defeating the growing threat posed by Iran and other evil regimes and making Barack Hussein Obama a one-term president based on his abysmal record, anti-American and anti-free-market philosophies, lack of vetting in the 2007-2008 campaign, and his questionable decisions on policies, associations and connections.

Instead, what we have let happen is let the media and Team Obama manipulate us, the voters as well as the GOP candidates themselves into creating a soap opera of issues which has moved the discussion and the candidates themselves into a ‘mudfest’ slinging it in all directions instead of taking the high road by focusing on the real issues.

On the list(s) of most beloved American Presidents, ranging from one of the poorest to the richest, are: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Jackson, Woodrow Wilson, FDR, Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, JFK, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton in varying order and depending who you are polling. (Although, President Obama in a recent speech has said he is the 4th greatest president of all time… no modesty issues there!) Another interesting observation is that Teddy Roosevelt whose head is one of the four at Mt. Rushmore, thanks to his cousin FDR, is never on the most beloved or most influential U.S. Presidents lists. On the Five last week, both the libs and conservatives on the panel agreed that if Newt and Obama end up being our 2012 Election candidates, by the time the election is over they will have parleyed themselves up on the same level as God?!?)

An interesting side note: in today’s money… George Washington was the richest American President we have ever had and Mitt Romney, although very wealthy, would not be the richest. Thomas Jefferson, FDR and JFK were also extremely wealthy; JFK lived off his trust fund almost exclusively. And John Kerry, had he have been elected would have been one of the richest. The Bushes are no pikers either! Even our “redistribute the wealth President, Obama, is a multi-millionaire”.  So why so much focus on Mitt Romney’s wealth and taxes?

Before the South Carolina primary nationwide 63% of people polled (across the board) believe that Mitt Romney is the most electable in comparison to only 9% for Newt Gingrich… but the ads and a couple of good days of debates managed to convince Carolinians that Newt was the most electable… to the tune of 68% according to the exit polls.  This could end up being the election cycle that breaks South Carolina’s record of picking the GOP nominee that has held since Reagan.  Of course in every other election that candidate also either won Iowa or New Hampshire… where Newt came in 4th and 5th and with Santorum winning Iowa (in a virtual tie with Romney) and Ron Paul coming in 3rd and then Romney winning in New Hampshire decisively where Ron Paul came in second.  This seems to be the year that nothing will follow previous norms.

John Fund of the American Spectator appeared on Fox the day after the South Carolina primary saying part of what catapulted Gingrich into his strong win in SC is the fact that the only entity that Americans hate more right now than Congress, President Obama or politicians in general is the mainstream media (MSM) and Newt, being handed two opportunities  during the week before the SC Primary to lash out against the media, gave the voters an opportunity to vote against the MSM by voting for him. (Santorum commented jokingly on an interview on Sunday following the SC primary, “Whatever Newt paid those reporters to throw him those questions at the debates last week wasn’t enough!” and Karl Rove kiddingly suggested to Chris Wallace that perhaps Mitt needs to twist a few reporters’ arms to do the same, earlier that morning.

Gingrich was the big hero this past week because he took on the MSM after questions that look more like gifts... and right now the media polls lower than anyone in Washington... Congress, Obama or any of the GOP candidates, so many undecideds voted against the media instead of for Gingrich. Also many people mistook Palin's comment about voting for Gingrich to keep the contest going as an endorsement. (Palin also encourage Santorum to stay in the race.)

Greg Gutfeld, co-host of The Five and host of Redeye made one of the most interesting observations of Romney’s debate performance last week that I have heard:

Mitt Romney is an alpha-male in a religion that prizes humility…  Newt is an alpha male that prizes the sound of his own voice… which often gets him in trouble.

Although Romney seems to be coming out swinging now:

A newly aggressive Mitt Romney charged in the campaign debate Monday night that Newt Gingrich "resigned in disgrace" from Congress after four years as speaker and then spent the next 15 years "working as an influence peddler" in Washington.

Gingrich shot back that Romney's attacks were riddled with falsehoods, and he referred to statements by two men who ran against Romney in 2008 in contending the former Massachusetts governor "can't tell the truth."

The clash occurred in the opening moments of the first of this week's two debates before the Jan. 31 Florida primary.

I believe it was Eric Bowling of The Five who said that Newt Gingrich has never had an un-uttered thought and Rick Santorum intimated the same.  That is not necessarily a good trait for a president.

Team Obama and their Progressive army, which includes the mainstream media (MSM) plan on Stealing Election 2012 by whatever means necessary including voter fraud, keeping the GOP fighting amongst themselves and trying to create a 3^rd party candidate run to divide the anti-Obama electorate. They know Obama cannot win on his record!

Other than the Progressive far left, more and more Americans are realizing that the hope and change they voted for was an illusion created by Obama and the elites, including puppet master George Soros, that were behind his election. Those that really listened to what he was saying or not saying and did their homework in 2007 and 2008 already knew it was a lie.  Now it is Team Obama’s job to re-build that false hope and demonize the GOP field. If you haven’t read The Obama Nation, you should!

Obama has been in full campaign mode since summer 2011, rather than governing, and his Team has been in full attack mode behind the scenes, going after each GOP candidate as they rose to the top of the field.  Unfortunately from my vantage point the American people have allowed them to get away with that starting waaay back with Sarah Palin, in the last election.  And like with Sarah, the tea party and other conservatives did not vehemently back the candidates, Michele Bachmann and Herman Cain, who most reflected their views with the steadfast and financial support they needed… so that ship has sailed.

Conservatives talk a lot about their values, but often don’t support the candidates with those values with financial contributions.  And when you look at the fact that married women in a socially conservative state like South Carolina voted in droves for philanderer Newt Gingrich right after his wife released in an interview that he had asked her for an open marriage… you have to wonder how strong their convictions are…

“What we would have considered taboo and a fatal nominee flaw a few years ago, is suddenly okay evidently. Sex in the White House? Not a problem… Cheated on your wife and divorced? Not a problem… Buddy around with known radicals and Marxists? Definitely not a problem… And the Overton Window slides inexorably to the left. What has happened to us? We were once the greatest nation on the planet. We had a robust economy, a strong military, a Christian ethic, strong morals, a rich history and leaders of whom we were proud. Now? Well, we have an economy that is close to a Weimar moment. Our leaders have gutted our military. Christianity is being systematically destroyed and vilified. Morals seemed to have been replaced by an entitlement mentality. Our history is being rewritten and erased. Our leaders are corrupt, gutless, spineless, knee scrapers, who only care about themselves and their personal pocketbooks.” …TMH of the NoisyRoom from her recent piece Revolution Moves into the Overton Window

We are now left with a field of 4 (alphabetically):  Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum who stand between us and the United ‘Socialist’ States of America… so perhaps it is time to start focusing on the issues, the candidates’ plans and attacking Obama’s record instead of excoriating each other.  It is time that we, as voters, do our own homework as to the real facts and on stage and in public have the candidates focus on the big issues that will matter in the general election.

Newt Gingrich - A Nation Like No Other

Gingrich is not the great conservative savior... He is as much of  a flip flopper as he likes to accuse Mitt Romney of and has personally been anything but a social conservative. (Newt has a long history of philandering and although he seems to have had a recent religious conversion and has now embraced Catholicism, Santorum, Romney and Paul have all been married to the same women for their entire adult lives, were great and present fathers and I don't know about Ron Paul, but Santorum and Romney are and always have been very involved in their faith.)   Newt has been involved in lobbyist type of activities and is definitely a Washington Insider that was almost removed as Speaker by his own party after being brought up on ethics charges.  He is really more of a Rockefeller type Republican than the Reagan-style Republican he likes to make himself out to be. After all, Reagan’s 11th commandment was thou shalt never speak badly of a fellow Republican, yet if you honestly look back over the past two months, Newt has been the biggest mud-slinger of all.

Also check out: Unbelievable?! Newt Love FDR, Models Himself After Woodrow Wilson and Admires SEIU’s Andy Stern…

There is no question that Newt is the best debater and is brilliant, but many who have worked with him, including fellow GOP candidate and former Senator from Pennsylvania, Rick Santorum, have claimed that Newt’s ideas are non-ending and grandiose, but never get completed.  He would be great in the debates against Obama, but debating and leading a country are two different skills!  Plus, let us all remember that no matter what Gingrich would like, there will only be two to three 1 to 2-hour debates between the GOP nominee and Obama in the general election, not seven or eight - 3-hour Lincoln-Douglas style debates, where Newt’s debating skill would be at a premium.  And if Monday’s NBC debate is a warning, the audience for those debates will no-doubt be kept from applauding, let alone giving a standing ovation.

Overnight we are hearing that Gingrich is the the electable candidate but Ann Coulter, Dana Parino, Glenn Beck, Pat O’Brien, Greg Gutfeld, Bob Beckel and a long varied list of others from both parties have in the past 24-hours said that choosing Gingrich as the GOP nominee will not only guarantee that Obama is re-elected but that the GOP loses the Congress.  Chris Christy, a Romney supporter, says Gingrich has often embarrassed the Republican party. And Jack Abramoff says Don’t Drink the Newt Kool-Aid! While Pam Geller says Gingrich might just be the SOB we need.

His character flaws—his impulsiveness, his grandiosity, his weakness for half-baked (and not especially conservative) ideas—made him a poor Speaker of the House. Again and again he combined incendiary rhetoric with irresolute action, bringing Republicans all the political costs of a hardline position without actually taking one. Again and again he put his own interests above those of the causes he championed in public. …National Review

Gingrich has also just released his company’s 2006 consulting contract for services to Fannie and Freddie and has already raised new questions.  It appears that his function in that matter might not technically qualify as lobbying, but that it definitely qualifies as influence peddling… not work as a historian, which is how Gingrich explained his services.

Ron Paul - The Revolution

Ron Paul would love to be president but when you really listen to what he says in his speeches, in my opinion he is appears more focused on getting out his message and collecting delegates to affect the outcome of this election and have influence over the next administration than really believing he can win. Many believe that getting a position for himself, like overseeing the Federal Reserve or getting his son Rand a V.P. slot and/or then continuing his organization for a future Rand Paul (who was today detained by the TSA)  for President may be his goal. 

Ron Paul is a Libertarian and an expert on the Constitution and his economic policy and fight against the Fed is right on, believe most people.  Some of this other ideas scare some people.  But his followers are loyal to a fault and he has not only the largest following of all the candidates of young people but also the strongest military following, which is interesting because his ideas on foreign policy is what scares a lot of people off.

Paul has pledged to cut 1 Trillion dollars in the first year if he is elected, while the other 3 candidates plan to make cuts but in a much more timid fashion, at least from what we have heard so far. We should note that Ron Paul is one of the founders of the tea party, yet he does not necessarily get the tea party vote because of some of his foreign policy opinions and his stand on legalizing things like drugs and prostitution.

However some suggest that if Ron Paul’s Libertarian handlers and his more radical supporters could soften their ideology a bit he might even have a chance to win the nomination.

 Mitt Romney - The Real Romney

Romney, now that Cain is out of the race is ‘the’ only businessman, saved and led the Olympics and has been a Republican Governor in a Democratic state where he had to compromise to get things done.  At a time where we need jobs, need to open new trade markets and must rebuild our economy, that is experience we need in a president.

The attack on Romney’s wealth… which he did not inherit but made on his own; the type of business he was in which is totally legal and taught as part of MBA programs throughout the U.S.; the percentage and amount of taxes he pays (which is higher than what 97% of Americans pay plus his additional tithe of 10% back to his church) and his account in the Cayman Islands which is totally legal, and the on-going attacks on his faith and even his eligibility… are an afront to free-market economics, freedom of religion and the American Dream.  The fact that there is even a question about eligibility or the religion of any of these candidates while Obama is still not being vetted is amazing! Although at least at this moment, Obama is to Appear at an eligibility Hearing: Attorney Taitz Says It Will Be ‘100 Times Bigger than Watergate’.  If he really does, things might just start getting interesting.

I really think Mitt is getting an unfair wrap from a so-called free-market Capitalistic country and society. Everything he appears to have done is within the law, it makes him a good capitalist, not a crook, and the loopholes are the government’s fault. Maybe America will be richer again if he is in-charge and he manages our money like he has managed his own.  So far Newt hasn’t even proven he can even manage his own campaign. He allowed his advisors to steal all his funds at the beginning of this campaign?!?

Mitt has donated millions to the Mormon Church (his 10% based on his religion)… as we all should be doing to our respective churches if we are Christians based on our income, and whether he is a Mormon, a Catholic or a Protestant he should be praised not punished for his tithing.  And he did release his taxes earlier than anyone other than Gingrich’s 1 return, but many including Lou Dobbs and Mike Huckabee suggested he should have told everyone to stick it or that he will release them when he is ready.  See Hedgecock’s: Obama is a Culture Socialist

And as far as Mitt’s flip flops… he has answered everyone of these questions, including in his book No Apology   He, like Newt, at one time favored global warming legislation, but after learning more about it, has changed his mind.  He has always been personally pro life, but thought he could follow the pro choice mandates of Massachusetts, where he was governor, (just like Santorum explains he is a pro work candidate, but voted to follow is state’s union leanings while in the Senate as their representative), but then Romney could not sign a bill that came before him on stem cells that were to be created and then destroyed, so then governed as a pro life governor.  He has also explained in some detail about his reasoning behind RomneyCare and that it is a state issue, about the differences between RomneyCare and ObamaCare and the changes that have been made since he left office. And he has vowed to do what it takes to get rid of ObamaCare as soon as he gets into office as President, like all four candidates have. And if you do your homework, you will see that it is Newt Gingrich who has supported an individual mandate up until just one year ago… and it was Gingrich who helped blow out Paul Ryan’s popular economic plan and appeared in an ad with Nancy Pelosi to promote global warming legislation.

Rick Santorum - Rick Santorum 

Rick Santorum is the last true social conservative in the field and if that is your priority then he is your candidate.  He also has experience in the U.S. Senate in a blue collar Democrat state where he had to compromise, but he is not a pure conservative in other areas based on his Senatorial voting record.

Rick Santorum is brash and blunt, and proudly so. But it's a trait that will make it easy for Democrats to use his own words against him if he were to become the Republican presidential nominee. He wrote a book: It Takes a Family in response to Hillary Clinton’s book: It Takes a Village.  The Democrats went after Santorum during his 2006 re-election bid for statements in his book  claiming he was insensitive to the struggles of two-income families.

He is a great family man and true to his faith and God.  And he is the son of an immigrant so brings with him that special love of America that comes from growing up in a family of legal immigrants from that era.  Santorum is a specialist on Iran and speaks of it with passion.

He also showed us amazing tenacity as he campaigned in every county in Iowa with little money or support and eventually went on to win that Caucus.

Santorum may still surprise and turn out to be the conservative alternative choice to Romney over Newt.  Santorum is relatively baggage free and Newt is baggage laden, which is why the Dems are salivating at the thought of his nomination.

“I look at the current crop of conservative candidates from which we have to choose and I can’t help but think, is this the best we can do? Really?? The most conservative of the lot that also believes in our military and protecting the US is Rick Santorum. He’s still my candidate and I pray fervently that he will prevail and win the nomination. But the odds are against him.” TMH of the NoisyRoom from her recent piece Revolution Moves into the Overton Window

Many have described the Republican race – in a year when President Obama is totally beatable with the question: Has it come to this: Newt Gingrich, serial philanderer, liar, hypocrite, secret Rockefeller Republican, back-stabber and megalomaniac versus Mitt Romney, the Supreme Panderer, the man-with-no-principles, an utter phony who will say anything and flip-flop at any time – and someone who was not a Reaganite until he ran for president in 2007 sandwiched between Rick Santorum an extreme social conservative in some people’s eyes, but not a true conservative by his Senatorial voting record and Ron Paul everyone’s crazy constitution reciting uncle, who has been talking about his Libertarian ideals for years but no one ever thought would make it this far… and now the country has changed and are coming around to his thinking.  In reality, none of these 4 fall into the true conservative ‘right-wing’ confines of the GOP as measured by social, fiscal and ideological standards and both Mitt and Newt are considered RINO’s by the right wing of the party.

But I have chosen to take a more positive outlook.  I say, “Is Progressive free-market-hating and America-hating Barack Obama the best the Democrats can do for a candidate?  While the GOP actually has a clear choice of four uniquely individual  candidates, all of which are better than Obama.  And any one of them might not be ‘exactly’ what any of us want, but all of them will be better than what we now have and will put us back on the road in the right direction to continue the fight toward re-establishing the nation and Constitution that the Founding Fathers gave us. One of the best things all Americans can do is to work as hard as you can and vote for your choice of these 4-men in the primaries and then come together and vote for the GOP nominee to defeat Obama while making sure you elect a solid Republican House and Senate.

I really think that some of what we are hearing about all the candidates is just propaganda… from both sides, and much is exaggerated, skewed or unimportant.  But the more I read about both Mitt and Newt, if I have to choose between them, at least at this point, I would vote for Mitt.  Neither were my first choice.  Sarah was my first choice, and then Cain and Bachmann, and I’m still routing for Santorum but the main goal is making Obama a one-term President.  So I will vote for the GOP nominee; any of the 4 remaining candidates would be better for America than Obama.  But from what I’m hearing through some inside connections… the WH is cheering over Newt’s present lead and SC win. And that SC win makes Florida’s winner-take-all primary more critical than ever, where Ron Paul is only participating in a limited way!  Although he and all the candidates will participate in both Florida debates.

Tic Toc, Tic Toc, Tic Talk… Time to focus and talk about the big issues!

The Final Four

By Ask Marion

Related:

Romney’s Rebuttal to Obama’s State of the Union

Romney Releases His Tax Returns

Beck Reacts to Gingrich Calling His Criticism ‘Bologna’: ‘The Audio Speaks for Itself’

PEJ’s Election Report – Campaign 2012 in Media – Romney Has Received the Most Negative Coverage

Colbert Super PAC Goes Negative on Romney in First South Carolina Ad  - Why do ideological idiots like Stephen Colbert have Super PACs?

Newt Commits Felony in CNN Interview?

Will Ignorance Lead to a Second Obama Term??

New Hampshire Has Spoken… Romney Wins, Ron Paul 2nd, Almost a Democrat Huntsman 3rd and Tea Party Conservatives Killing Each Other and the Party?!?

Mitt Romney is the first Republican to win both Iowa and New Hampshire since 1976 and the only non-incumbent Republican to win both and with the second largest victory since Ronald Reagan.

Romney Wins New Hampshire Decisively and Wowed With Speech

Mitt Romney, the clear victor in Tuesday night’s New Hampshire Primary, delivered a powerful victory speech to supporters, saying that America is “better than the misguided policies and broken promises of the last three years – and the failed leadership of one man.” Romney also stated that, unlike President Obama, he will “never apologize for the greatest nation in the history of the Earth.”

“Tonight we made history,” Romney began. “Tonight, we celebrate. Tomorrow, we go back to work.”

To the cheering crowd, the former Massachusetts governor reflected on several of Obama’s past “failed” promises, including “bringing people together” and delivering change to the “broken system in Washington.”

“He promised to improve our nation,” Romney said. “Those were the days of lofty promises made by a hopeful candidate. Today, we are faced with the disappointing record of a failed President.”

He added pointedly, “the last three years have held a lot of change, but they haven’t offered much hope.”

Fox News provides the video of Romney’s victory speech:

Watch the latest video at <a href="http://video.insider.foxnews.com">video.insider.foxnews.com</a>

Below are some of Romney’s more piquant criticisms of Obama, juxtaposed with what he would do differently if elected president:

This President puts his faith in government. We put our faith in the American people.

He is making the federal government bigger, burdensome, and bloated. I will make it simpler, smaller, and smarter.

He raised the national debt. I will cut, cap, and balance the budget.

He enacted job-killing regulations; I’ll eliminate them.

He lost our AAA credit rating; I’ll restore it.

He passed Obamacare; I’ll repeal it.

When it comes to the economy, my highest priority as President will be worrying about your job, not saving my own.

Internationally, President Obama has adopted an appeasement strategy. He believes America’s role as leader in the world is a thing of the past. I believe a strong America must – and will – lead the future.

He doesn’t see the need for overwhelming American military superiority. I will insist on a military so powerful no one would think of challenging it.

He chastises friends like Israel; I’ll stand with our friends.

He apologizes for America; I will never apologize for the greatest nation in the history of the Earth.

Our plans protect freedom and opportunity, and our blueprint is the Constitution of the United States

Ron Paul says his campaign will be nibbling at Romney’s heels although he will not be participating in Florida.  Ron Paul also gave an inspiring speech to an excited crowd of his followers last night in New Hampshire.  Many feel that Ron Paul is really more focused on creating a movement and organization that he will ultimately hand over to his son Rand Paul, who is much more palatable of most conservatives and Republicans in general, to run in 2012.  Ron Paul is also defending Romney for his time spent at Bain Capital, agreeing with Mark Steyn, Frank Luntz and many others, that the Gingrich Perry attacks would expected from the left, not from Republicans.  He is now setting his eyes on Latinos in Nevada.

John Huntsman originally told people including Governor Huckabee that unless he came in first in New Hampshire, he would quit, but now at 3rd he is continuing on in South Carolina.

Huntsman’s response to Romney in Mandarin Chinese seems to have been more of a negative than positive.

 

President - GOP Primary Results  -  January 11, 2012 - 02:55PM ET

New Hampshire - 301 of 301 Precincts Reporting - 100%

Name
Party
Votes
Vote %

Romney , Mitt
GOP
97,532
39%

Paul , Ron
GOP
56,848
23%

Huntsman , Jon
GOP
41,945
17%

Gingrich , Newt
GOP
23,411
9%

Santorum , Rick
GOP
23,362
9%

Perry , Rick
GOP
1,766
1%

Roemer , Buddy
GOP
945
0%

Total Write-ins
GOP
744
0%

Bachmann , Michele
GOP
349
0%

Karger , Fred
GOP
346
0%

Johnson , Gary
GOP
181
0%

Cain , Herman
GOP
160
0%

Also: See the town-by-town breakdown

When you no longer have a horse in the race, the full field and finish line become much clearer.  You are no longer myopic focusing only on your candidate and your ideals when there is an obvious next step.  My girl Sarah didn’t run, so I find myself in this very place.

I was exceedingly happy to hear Mark Steyn, someone whose opinion I respect immensely along with pollster Frank Luntz on Hannity after the New Hampshire race was called, within an hour of the polls in New Hampshire closing, and the candidates were giving their speeches, echo my feelings.  Mark said with the economy being the biggest crisis in the upcoming election and no country in the history of world ever having this much debt that he was amazed that we have Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry attacking Mitt Romney on economic freedom.  He continued to say that it is amazing that both Gingrich and Perry, who claim to be true conservatives, are running and attacking Romney form the left on this issue.  “There is plenty for the candidates to talk about, plus the primaries are places to test the party’s arguments against Obama, but the candidates aren’t doing that.”, added Frank Luntz.

Tim Pawlenty was also a guest on Hannity saying that Speaker Gingrich, who has also worked for an equity firm, like Bain Capital, as well as other candidates are now attacking capitalism, like Democrats, rather than the plethora of legitimate issues that could and should be discussed.  He also said that in reality, if we are looking at the economy and jobs as the main issue in the upcoming election, Mitt Romney is the only candidate who has worked in the private sector, created jobs, saved jobs, saved the Olympics and held elected office, including President Obama.

Guest after guest on both Hannity and on On the Record questioned the types of attacks on frontrunner Romney, as did second place winner Ron Paul earlier in the day.  Perry, who was already in South Carolina was calling Bain Capital: Vulture Capitalism and Newt’s anger and flip seemed to make more people move toward Romney, Paul and even Huntsman and away from the conservatives Perry, Santorum and Gingrich himself.

Another question that was raised over and over again was where is the Tea Party?  And where is the anger of the American People… the unemployed at the polls, like in the 2010 election.  After all the only really true tea party candidate, Michele Bachmann got so little support, she had to drop out.  It is a question that those of us worried about the direction of our country and focused on the defeat of Barack Obama should be asking themselves.  Why did the tea party not come out in droves for Michele Bachmann and concerned patriots not support her financially?  You also have to ask yourself, how can Mitt continue to promote himself as a Reagan friend and republican and continue to break the Reagan commandment of never attacking another Republican, especially one who is running for president.

Mark Steyn closed with it is a difficult time for conservatives… A moderate just one the first two primaries, a candidate you can’t even label won second place, and an “almost” Democrat won 3rd place after the conservative right allowed Michele Bachmann to have to drop out of the race.

Most experts… anything can happen but in reality, it’s pretty much…. Game Over!  The tea party and conservative right didn’t pull together in time!  Brit Hume reported today that in the newest polls 59% of Republicans and 59% of Independents say that Mitt Romney is acceptable to them as President of the United States and more Dems say they would vote for him than anyone else in the GOP field.

The race is now in full force in South Carolina, with another debate hosted by Fox News Monday night, where Romney has been endorsed by popular tea party governor Nikki Hayley, but will be pelted with negative ads from all his GOP rivals.

Romney is leading in the polls in South Carolina and will spend at least one day in Florida before the SC vote. 

Related:

Dead People Receive Ballots in New Hampshire Primary

Alert: Is This How Obama Win Will Be Guaranteed?  Group With Ties to President Engaged in Massive 3rd Party Drive

Romney and Paul’s Dueling New Hampshire Speeches

Video: Palin on Cavuto: A Third-Party Candidate would help Obama

New Hampshire Voter Guide and 2012 Presidential Candidate Tax Plan Comparison

All Eyes on New Hampshire… Another GOP Debate – Updated

Video: Sarah Palin Talks With Eric Bolling

Will Ignorance Lead to a Second Obama Term??

Stealing Election 2012

Martial Law Attempt In Louisiana Echoes Ron Paul’s Warning

Kurt Nimmo  -  Infowars.com  -  December 21, 2011

Following the fatal shooting of a toddler in a crime ridden New Orleans housing project, a Louisiana state representative has called for what amounts to martial law.

Video:  Official Calls For National Guard On Streets 'We Are At War In New Orleans'

Austin Badon contacted Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s office Monday and asked that the National Guard be deployed. Jindal’s office said Badon was told that any such a request would have to come from the New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu.

Under Article I, Section 8, Clause 15 of the Constitution, the National Guard – considered a state militia – is authorized to “execute the laws of the Union and suppress Insurrections and repel Invasion.” The Constitution says nothing about dispatching the military to fight domestic crime, a task usually undertaken by local law enforcement.

Since the National Defense Act (or Militia Act) of 1903, the federal government has worked to absorb the National Guard and take control of it away from the states. In 2007, the John Warner Defense Authorization Act moved to remove state governors as sole commanders in chief of their state’s National Guard during emergencies within the state.

On December 18, presidential candidate Ron Paul warned (see video below) that the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed recently by the House and now under consideration in the Senate will be used by the government to implement martial law. The bill would allow the military to detain Americans and prevent them from exercising their right to due process under the Sixth Amendment.

Deploying federally controlled troops in post-Katrina New Orleans is another attempt to circumvent Posse Comitatus and acclimate citizens to the presence of armed troops on the streets.

In August of 2005, New Orleans served as a beta test for FEMA command and control over state and local jurisdiction and autonomy. It was also used for gun confiscation. FEMA, as we have documented, is primarily concerned with “civil disturbance” and martial law, not disaster relief.

“This should be the biggest news going right now,” Ron Paul told Alex Jones as the House prepared to pass the NDAA bill. “It is literally legalizing martial law.” He pointed out that the NDAA’s violations of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are remarkably not even discussed in the GOP presidential “debates” conducted by the establishment media.

Video:  Ron Paul: Defense Bill Establishes Martial Law In America!

MORE AT LINK AT INFOWARS 

Exclusive: Military to Designate U.S. Citizens as Enemy During Collapse

Excerpt:

FEMA Continuity of Government Plans Prep Total Takeover of Society, Dispatching Military Domestically Under Economic Collapse Emergency

Aaron Dykes and Alex Jones
Infowars.com
December 21, 2011

Infowars has discovered new FEMA documents that confirm information received from DoD sources that show military involvement in a FEMA-led takeover within the United States under partially-classified Continuity of Government (COG) plans. It involves not only operations for the relocation of COG personnel and key officials, population management, emergency communications and alerts but the designation of the American people as ‘enemies’ under a live military tracking system known as Blue Force Situational Awareness (BFSA).

Scanned image on the page

Further, this Nov. 18, 2011 FEMA-released plan National Continuity Programs (NCP) Program and Mission Support Services (PAMSS) [PDF] linked at the FedBizOpps.gov website outlines a scenario that overlays with eerie accuracy the bigger picture sketched out by concurrent calls for troops to keep order in the streets of places like New Orleans, as well as other bombshell documents like those released from KBR seeking to activate contracted staff for emergency detention centers and for services like fencing and barricades, as well as numerous agencies and think tanks who’ve prepared for civil unrest and economic breakdown in America.

Hold onto your seats. The plan for the takeover of the United States has not only been drafted, but activated. Our sources and independent research make this abundantly clear. Martial law scenarios preparing for a breakdown of order under the ongoing economic collapse are underway, even as pretexts for control are initiated in locales across the country.

h/t to MJ

Perry Leads but Romney Gaining in GOP Favorability… and Cain’s 9 9 9 Plan

Originally posted on September 13, 2011

by Lydia Saad

PRINCETON, NJ -- Rick Perry and Herman Cain continue to generate the most intensely positive favorable ratings from Republicans familiar with them in Gallup Daily tracking conducted over the past two weeks -- prior to Monday night's CNN/Tea Party Republican presidential debate in Florida. Perry's Positive Intensity Score of 24 is holding near the upper boundary of his scores since he entered the race, similar to the 25 recorded in the prior two weeks. Cain's 22, however, is on the low end of his recent scores, and down five percentage points since late August.

See all election 2012 data >

Mitt Romney is the only announced candidate whose Positive Intensity Score has improved significantly in recent weeks. His current 16 is up from 11 in late August and is his highest rating since mid-July, thus narrowing the gap with Perry. Rudy Giuliani, who has yet to decide if he will run, still edges out Romney with an 18.

Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann have seen significant declines in their Positive Intensity Scores since late August. Palin, who has also not decided whether to run, is down six points, from 16 to 10, and Bachmann is down three points, from 13 to 10. Both women are now at new lows for the year, with Bachmann's score cut in half since early August.

Newt Gingrich's score remains slightly better than the low single digits he registered for most of the summer, but shows no signs of recovering to the mid-teens, where he was when he entered the race earlier this year. Ron Paul's 7 score is consistent with his readings since early June.

Gallup computes Positive Intensity Scores by subtracting the percentage of Republicans with highly unfavorable views of each candidate from the percentage with highly favorable views, based on those who say they have heard of the candidate. The results are reported on the basis of continuous two-week rolling averages. The Aug. 29-Sept. 11 field period for the latest results includes four days of interviewing after the Sept. 7 Republican presidential debate held at the Ronald Reagan Library.

Palin and Giuliani Remain the Biggest Names

Despite missing out on the media attention brought by participation in candidate debates like those recently held in Tampa and Simi Valley, Palin and Giuliani remain the most well-known of the 10 possible Republican presidential candidates Gallup tracks. Ninety-seven percent of Republicans nationwide say they are familiar with Palin and 89% with Giuliani.

With roughly 84% to 86% name recognition among Republicans, Gingrich, Romney, and Bachmann all now approach the high recognition Giuliani enjoys, while Paul is not far behind with 81%. Perry still lags on this measure, recognized by 75%, but that is after an early August surge in recognition from his initial 55% reading. Perry is well ahead of Rick Santorum (54%), Herman Cain (48%), and Jon Huntsman (46%).

Bottom Line

With just under five months remaining before Republican primary voters start casting ballots for the 2012 Republican nomination, Perry continues to generate more positive intensity from Republicans who know him than any other announced or potential candidate Gallup tracks. This is particularly notable because Perry has managed to maintain a strong Positive Intensity Score as his recognition among Republicans has expanded from 55% in July to 75% today. Romney, however, remains better known, and has recently seen his sagging Positive Intensity Score rebound, although he still lags significantly behind Perry on this measure.

The news is not as good for Bachmann, who has lost much of the passionate support she generated as recently as early August. Positive intensity for Palin among national Republicans has also slipped to a new low for the year.

Republicans' views of Paul, Gingrich, Santorum, and Huntsman all seem to be in a holding pattern at levels seemingly keeping these men out of serious contention for the nomination. Huntsman does particularly poorly in Republicans' eyes, and is the only candidate tracked whose Positive Intensity Score is a net negative, meaning that more Republicans who know him have a strongly unfavorable opinion than have a strongly favorable opinion.

Cain continues to be an anomaly, scoring high in positive intensity among those who know him, yet unable to push his recognition above the 50% level, and scoring low in trial-heat ballot measures.

With three more debates between now and mid-October, all of the candidates will have an opportunity to change their images among Republicans. They all certainly tried to advance their positions in the recent debates, and the extent to which they were successful should be evident in Gallup's Sept. 5-18 positive intensity update.

Track every angle of the presidential race on Gallup.com's Election 2012 page.

Survey Methods

Results are based on telephone interviews conducted as part of Gallup Daily tracking Aug. 29-Sept. 11, 2011, with random samples of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Questions asking about the 10 potential candidates measured in this research were rotated among randomly selected samples of Republicans each night; over the 14-day period (with no interviewing on Labor Day, Sep. 5), each candidate was rated by a minimum of 1,400 Republicans and Republican-leaning independents.

For the overall ratings of each potential candidate among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, including recognition scores, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. For the Positive Intensity Score for each candidate, the maximum margin of sampling error varies depending on the size of the group recognizing the candidate.

Interviews are conducted with respondents on landline telephones and cellular phones, with interviews conducted in Spanish for respondents who are primarily Spanish-speaking. Each sample includes a minimum quota of 400 cell phone respondents and 600 landline respondents per 1,000 national adults, with additional minimum quotas among landline respondents by region. Landline telephone numbers are chosen at random among listed telephone numbers. Cell phone numbers are selected using random-digit-dial methods. Landline respondents are chosen at random within each household on the basis of which member had the most recent birthday.

Samples are weighted by gender, age, race, Hispanic ethnicity, education, region, adults in the household, and phone status (cell phone only/landline only/both, cell phone mostly, and having an unlisted landline number). Demographic weighting targets are based on the March 2010 Current Population Survey figures for the aged 18 and older non-institutionalized population living in U.S. telephone households. All reported margins of sampling error include the computed design effects for weighting and sample design.

In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

Source: www.gallup.com.

Herman Cain's 9 9 9 plan

I haven't really decided who I'm voting for in the primaries. I know, I'm from Texas, so it's supposed to be either Rick Perry or Ron Paul, right? Well, I'm afraid of all the Ron Paul Zombies, even though I agree with about 80% of what Ron Paul says. I don't think I like his international ideas. I'm not sure how I feel about Rick Perry yet. I think the only way I'd vote for either of these is if they won the Republican nomination. Anyone is better than Obama, but I said that 3 years ago. Even if Rick Perry turns out to be a RINO, he can't do more damage than Obama has done in the past couple or more years.
I am really leaning toward Herman Cain. Yes, I know, I'm a white, conservative Republican, I'm supposed to be racist. And I'm not like a liberal who is voting for the black man to make myself feel good or prove I'm not a racist. If Herman Cain won as President, we'd really have our first Black President. Obama is half black. We'd also have a patriot instead of a Marxist.

But, anyway, I just heard Herman Cain discuss his 9 9 9 plan, and I like it. I wanted to tell you why. First, here's the plan: From his article found at http://hermancaincommentary.blogspot.com/2011/08/mr-president-youre-fired-but-if-you.html
__________________
A 9% business flat tax. Gross income less all investments, all purchases from other businesses, and all dividends paid to shareholders.
A 9% individual income flat tax. Gross income less charitable deductions.
A 9% national sales tax. This significantly expands the tax base, which helps everyone.
This plan has the following advantages:
It is fair, revenue-neutral, transparent and efficient.
It puts zero tax on capital gains and repatriated profits.
It replaces the payroll tax.
It will aid capital availability for small businesses.
It saves taxpayers $430 billion in annual compliance costs.
It eliminates the uncertainty holding this economy down.
____________________________
The individual income tax would lower everyone who currently pays taxes (not counting the 47% who get all their taxes back or more). It may harm those who get more back, because the only deduction would be charitable contributions. That means you don't get paid by the government just because you have 8 kids. You don't get any earned income credit because you chose to work part of the year, but not enough to actually have to file. It will emliminate the attitude of "Oh, I can get by with a part time job, because I can sit on my butt the other half and get earned income credit to make it up. You put out money, and get to take it off your taxes. We're currently in the 15% tax bracket, 25% if you would happen to count his retirement check. So, that's about $5000 now. The retirement check doesn't all count right now, but it does lower how much we get back because we have to live on it. I think the difference was something like %1700, because I forgot to add it at first. At 9% it would be between $3000 and $4800 if they counted the whole retirement check. I believe it would closer to $3500-4000,
The corporate tax is also a flat tax. Small business owners will still be basically taxed twice if they own their own business, but they'll know how much and you get deductions (even for share holders).
He doesn't say it, but the flat national sales tax on new items would catch the illegal aliens, the foreign investors, any legal visitor who buys things here. Unless that's what he meant about expanding the tax base. That's a pay as you go. If you don't want to pay the tax, buy used. I go to thrift stores a lot. There are some really nice ones. And if you consider that a charitable contribution or keep it one), the "rich" will donate more of their clothes in order to get that deduction. I got a pair of beaded capri's that still had the original tag on it ($120) for something like $5. But if he rich don't want to buy used, they have to buy new and pay 9% national sales tax. That theoretically should satisfy the liberals who don't want the rich to have nice things, or to pay more because they have more. If they aren't willing to pay the sales tax, they too are able to shop at thrift stores. It will also eliminate those like Buffett who are trying to get out of millions in taxes, while at the same time saying people just like them should pay more. You want to pay more? Either don't give charitable donation, or don't claim them. You don't have to claim deductions.

I know this sounded like a commercial for Herman Cain, but like I said, I haven't really made up my mind yet. There are points I agree with from all the candidates, it's just that this is the first simple plan I've seen.

What I think they should all agree on, is that whoever wins the nomination (and they all agree to stay in until all primaries are done), appoints all the other nominees into the cabinet. We could use people like all those running (except Huntsman, I don't believe at all he's conservative). I'm sure they could find some small cabinet appointment for him, though.

Source: America’s Voice Corps

Palin and Bachmann are at poll lows right now, but both could come back! This upcoming debate is an important one and time is growing near for the holdouts to decide!!

Poll Grounds Obama Losing Ground to Republicans  -  Palin within 5 points of Obama

People are Reporting Mass Military Movement Around the USA!

VIDEO: Mass Military Movement Around USA! ... Ground Zero-Clyde Lewis & Shepard Ambellas. 15 Aug 2011 ...

People are reporting troop and equipment movement all over the country.

In one instance, people were taking pictures because they just like trains and there were guys in black confiscating their cameras.

VIDEO: Breaking:  Ron Paul On FEMA Camps!

The above information is extremely important. Ron Paul was recently asked by an investigative blogger if he was concerned about legislation in Congress that would officially establish FEMA camps in America. Ron Paul responded in the affirmative. For more information on the Homeland Security plans, see Alex Jones' Police State 4: The Rise of FEMA (link below).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Klqv9t1zVww

NIA Exposes Debt Ceiling Truth

Here’s where we are at.  Exposing the smoke and mirrors of the congress.

NIA Exposes Debt Ceiling Truth

NIA hasn't written about the whole debt ceiling issue over the past few weeks because in our minds it is completely irrelevant. Our elected representatives in Washington along with the mainstream media have been wasting thousands of hours of time and hundreds of millions of dollars debating a topic that has no meaning at all. The President, Senate, and House of Representatives are putting on a show to make it look like they care about cutting spending and balancing the budget. Except for a select few elected representatives like Ron Paul who care about protecting the U.S. Constitution and preserving what little purchasing power the U.S. dollar still has left, every other politician in Washington is putting on a complete charade in order to trick their constituents into believing there is a difference between the proposals from the Republicans and Democrats.

While our incompetent and corrupt mainstream media has been proclaiming there are major differences between the two bills proposed by House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, NIA believes John Boehner might as well be a Democrat and Harry Reid could easily pass himself off as a Republican. There are absolutely no meaningful fundamental differences between Boehner's plan that was approved by the House of Representatives yesterday evening, before being killed by the Senate two short hours later, and Reid's bill, which was just rejected by the House today in a pre-emptive vote before the Senate even had a chance to vote on it.

Both bills are estimated to reduce the U.S. budget deficit by approximately $900 billion over the next 10 years. Of the $900 billion only about $750 billion are actual discretionary spending cuts with the rest being an expected reduction in interest payments on the national debt as a result of either bill passing. When you have an unstable fiat currency that is rapidly losing its purchasing power and could collapse at any time, it is impossible to accurately project what our budget deficits will be 5 or 6 years from now, let alone 9 or 10 years from today. As far as the next two fiscal years are concerned, both proposed bills from Boehner and Reid are estimated to only cut spending by a total of about $70 billion in fiscal years 2012 and 2013 combined.

The budget that former President Bush submitted to Congress in early-2007, projected the deficit to decline in each of the following four fiscal years. Not only did the deficit not decline the next four years in a row, but it nearly tripled in 2008 and from there more than tripled in 2009. Shockingly, Bush's budget actually projected a $61 billion surplus in fiscal year 2012, but instead we will have a budget deficit of $1.1 trillion based on President Obama's latest budget, which takes into account unrealistic GDP growth next year of 4.86%.

U.S. GDP growth for the first quarter of 2011 was just revised down yesterday by 81% from 1.91% to 0.36%. The advance estimate of second quarter GDP growth came in at 1.28%, well below the consensus estimate of 1.8%. NIA is going to really go out on a limb and predict that second quarter GDP growth will soon be revised downward as well. If this is the highest GDP growth the U.S. could muster after the Federal Reserve's $600 billion in QE2 money printing, this should prove once and for all that monetary inflation does not create real economic growth and employment.

The U.S. Treasury as of Thursday night had $51.6 billion in cash, with its cash position declining by $15.2 billion during the previous 24 hours. It expects to bring in $172.4 billion from August 3rd through August 31st in tax receipts, but is scheduled to pay out $306.7 billion during this time period for an estimated deficit of $134.3 billion. The U.S. is scheduled to make its next interest payment on the national debt on August 15th and it will equal approximately $30 billion. Over the last 9 months the U.S. has spent a total of $385.9 billion on interest payments on the national debt, which means it is on track to spend a record $514.5 billion this year on interest payments alone. Just a tiny 30 basis point increase in the interest rate on the national debt would totally wipe out the deficit reductions proposed by both Boehner and Reid.

The U.S. Treasury has been able to pay its bills in recent weeks by using many different accounting gimmicks. However, come Tuesday, there will be no more accounting tricks left to play and the U.S. won't be able to meet all of its obligations. Without a raise in the debt ceiling, the U.S. government will have to prioritize who it pays using the tax receipts coming in, which will probably include the $30 billion interest payment on the national debt (to avoid a default), $49.2 billion in Social Security payments, $50 billion in Medicare/Medicaid payments, $31.7 billion in defense payments, and $12.8 billion in unemployment benefits. With $23 billion of the $49.2 billion in Social Security payments due to be paid on August 3rd and $59 billion in t-bills due on August 4th, the U.S. Treasury's remaining cash balance could dissipate very quickly.

The 10-year bond yield reached a new 2011 low yesterday of 2.785%, its lowest level since November 30th of last year. It is approaching its record low of 2.08% from December of 2008 during the middle of the financial crisis. With threats of a U.S. debt default making headlines across the world, investors are once again rushing into U.S. bonds as a safe haven. It is almost as if the whole world has gone insane. The world is fearful of the U.S. government defaulting on its debt and not being able to pay off maturing bonds, so as a safe haven let's just all rush into the very asset that will soon be worthless due to either an honest default or default by inflation. The U.S. dollar bubble is the largest and longest running bubble in world history and U.S. bonds are currently mispriced big time.

U.S. dollar-denominated bonds should be the last asset in the world to benefit from fears of a U.S. debt default. One positive sign that NIA members are having success at spreading our message to the world is that gold reached a new all time high yesterday, rising $15 to $1,631 per ounce, with silver rising $0.31 to $40.10 per ounce. Thanks to the efforts of NIA members who worked tirelessly to spread the word about NIA's economic documentaries including 'Meltup', 'The Dollar Bubble', and 'Hyperinflation Nation', a larger percentage of the global population than ever before is educated about the global currency crisis that is ahead.

During the financial crisis of late-2008/early-2009, gold and silver prices declined along with all other assets. Today, NIA estimates that half of the world's investors seeking a safe haven are buying dollar-denominated assets like U.S. Treasuries and the other half are seeking safety in precious metals. By mid-2012, investors will most likely no longer look at U.S. bonds and other dollar-denominated assets as a safe haven. During future times of uncertainty, NIA believes that precious metals will receive nearly 100% of safe haven buying, just like the U.S. dollar received 100% of safe haven buying in late-2008/early-2009.

Once the debt ceiling is inevitably raised, the U.S. Treasury will have a lot of catching up to do in order to get its house in order, and we will likely see the largest amount of debt ever sold by the U.S. government in a single month. With QE2 having finished at the end of June, the U.S. will be relying on foreigners in these upcoming record Treasury auctions. In our opinion, we are likely going to see interest rates rise at an unprecedented rate that will shock the world.

Don't believe the mainstream media's laughable claim that there is a shortage of U.S. Treasuries. It was just reported yesterday that Cambodia, one of the most rapidly growing emerging market economies with GDP growth this year of 6.5%, is moving away from the U.S. dollar, which currently accounts for 90% of their currency in circulation, in favor of its own currency the riel. NIA believes it is only a matter of time until China ends its currency peg with the U.S. dollar. The world is flooded with trillions of dollars in U.S. Treasuries that will soon have no buyers except the Federal Reserve. There is no chance of yields falling below record lows from December of 2008.

The mainstream media has been reporting all week that if the U.S. defaults on its debt as a result of a failure to raise the debt ceiling, it will be the first time that our nation has defaulted on its debt obligations. Most NIA members know that the real U.S. debt default already occurred in 1971 when President Nixon closed the gold window and stopped allowing foreign governments to convert their U.S. dollar holdings into gold. Since then, the U.S. currency system has been completely fiat and the national debt has increased by 3,400%.

For the past 40 years, the U.S. government has been running on fumes left over from when countries were able to convert their paper U.S. dollars into gold. The price of gold has increased by 3,900% during this time period, meaning the U.S. dollar has lost 97.5% of its purchasing power. Meanwhile, the median household income has only increased by 384%. In terms of gold, the median U.S. household is earning 87.9% less income today than they did in 1971. The U.S. debt default of 1971 was many times more significant than the pending debt default, because back then our foreign creditors expected to receive real money and not a piece of paper with no real value that we print. The average American family has experienced a dramatic decline in its standard of living since 1971. The U.S. dollar and its reserve currency status is currently serving as the last thread that is keeping our "house of cards" economy propped up.

The U.S. debt ceiling is very similar to a publicly traded company's authorized shares. When a public company consistently loses money like the U.S. government does, they print new shares just like the Federal Reserve prints dollars and when its total outstanding shares reach the shares authorized, the company's Board of Directors simply raises the shares authorized, which allows it to continue issuing shares and diluting shareholders. Since 1962, the U.S. has raised its debt ceiling 74 times. Any public company that needed to raise its authorized shares 74 times would likely have seen its stock price decline by 99.99% from above $10 to below 1 penny.

NIA is strongly against an increase in the debt ceiling because there are ways for our country to stay afloat and continue operating without getting deeper into debt. The U.S. is currently supposed to have 8,133.5 tonnes of gold reserves at Fort Knox. We don't know for sure if these gold reserves still exist because the last audit of our gold reserves took place in 1954 and we had the little minor issue of our real debt default in 1971. Assuming that all of our gold is still there, this gold is worth $426.5 billion at the present time, enough to cover our U.S. government's deficit spending for almost four whole months. The U.S. government also owns valuable land, buildings, monuments, and other types of Real Estate, that could also be worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Although we don't support selling all of our gold and Real Estate, if the U.S. government isn't going to implement real spending cuts that will lead to a balanced budget, we rather sell our assets than see the dollar-denominated savings and incomes of all Americans lose its purchasing power.

If we continue raising the debt ceiling and getting deeper into debt in order to pay back the debts we already have, we are defaulting on our debts through inflation. With gold at a record high of $1,631 per ounce, the market is clearly telling us that a default through inflation is coming. As the Chinese, Japanese, and our other creditors are paid back in U.S. dollars that are rapidly losing their purchasing power, they will be reluctant to increase their purchases of U.S. Treasuries in the future, which we desperately need them to do in order to fund our spending increases. With the Federal Reserve likely to become the Treasury buyer of last resort, the world will lose their confidence in the U.S. dollar and hyperinflation could potentially break out as soon as 2013.

NIA believes it is very likely that U.S. GDP will begin declining again in late-2011, which will officially put the U.S. in double-dip recession territory. In our opinion, the U.S. is still in the early stages of a hyperinflationary depression and the so-called economic recovery reported by the government and mainstream media has been completely phony and only due to misleading and manipulated economic statistics that don't factor in the real rate of U.S. price inflation. We expect Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to do everything in his power to avoid a double-dip recession at all costs.

By the end of 2011, we are confident that not only will we see QE3 under a new name, but the Fed will act to force banks to lend their $1.6 trillion in excess reserves. It is a joke that we are debating spending cuts of $70 billion over the next two years, when only very dramatic across the board spending cuts of 50% or more of the total budget will give the U.S. any hope of balancing the budget and avoiding hyperinflation. Best case scenario, if the U.S. government cuts spending by 50% or more in all areas of the budget including entitlement programs and is able to prevent hyperinflation, NIA still believes we will see the U.S. dollar lose 90% of its purchasing power this decade with the price of gold rising to above $16,000 per ounce.

It is important to spread the word about NIA to as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, if you want America to survive hyperinflation. Please tell everybody you know to become members of NIA for free immediately at: http://inflation.us

h/t to Anglo at Sovereignty in Colorado National Inflation Association | 96 Linwood Plaza #172 | Fort Lee, NJ 07024 Related: Next Round in the Debt Crisis (Updated)