Articles tagged as

2012 Presidential Primary

Well, NH has a law for the First-In-The-Nation Primary so why SHOULDN’T South Carolina make it law for the First-In-The-South-Primary?

by Skip

And the jumping escapades just got a tad more pro-active.  Everyone knows (even if they won’t admit it) that NH Republicans have no choice as to when the NH Primary is held – by LAW, it must be the first in the nation.  Methinks that South Carolinians have done this just to slam down the gauntlet to those usurpers from Florida; from

The Office of the Speaker
SOUTH CAROLINA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 27, 2012
Contact: Greg Foster
(803) 734-3125
gregfoster@schouse.gov

Ensuring SC’s First-in-the-South Presidential Primary
House Bill will preserve Palmetto State’s national influence

(Columbia, SC)  –  Today, the S.C. House of Representatives introduced a measure (H. 5081) aimed at securing our state’s First-in-the-South Presidential Primary.  A majorly influential position for both political parties, this early primary brings more than just status recognition – it translates into high-profile national exposure and millions of dollars in economic impact.

House Speaker Bobby Harrell said:

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Yes, this image BY OBAMA’S CAMPAIGN shows his serious side – Seriously?

by Skip
Seriously, Obama
Seriously, Obama

Seriously – the Obama Campaign put this up.  Really?  Captain America?  Doesn’t that helmet clash with the Mom Jeans?  The URL says how desperate they are to reproduce 2008:  http://barackobama.tumblr.com/post/19697699954/today-in-cool-the-obama-poster-project

Today in cool?  Really?  They REALLY think he looks cool in this “poster”?  Worse yet, does HE think he’s cool looking?

Yeah.  I remember another person who had a helmet on, too:

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Email Doodlings – Libertarians HAVE finally made a political impact – are they about to throw it away?

by Skip

I’ve been in a writing funk for a while now – too many targets, no focus, trying to run for re-election in my town, a couple of other projects, and I find myself stretched too thin (yeah, self-induced again).  However, the following came over the gunwales a few minutes ago, and the fog (smog?) that has settled in cleared for a few minutes rather quickly to respond:

http://thedailybell.com/3693/Ron-Holland-No-Paul-No-Vote-in-November

“I would also say of Ron Paul . he doesn’t need to win. In his view he is  winning already. This is an ideological point he is making. But here’s why  it’s electorally significant . a lot of people, I mean 41 percent in  Virginia, only two people on the ballot, still a lot of people voted for  Ron Paul. A lot of those voters are portable. They’re not Republican .  they’re not dedicated Republican voters.” . Tucker Carlson, Editor, The  Daily Caller

It is time for a groundswell of Ron Paul supporters to quietly,  respectfully but firmly make their position clear to the mainstream media  and the GOP establishment. Simply put, “No Paul on the ticket means no  vote for the GOP in November.”

Alright, I’ll say it – with all of the levers of the Executive Branch at his command, and his willingness to use them regardless of whether he has Constitutional or even legal authorization to have them do the actions he wants, how much of this Country will be left?  In the news and in the blogosphere, I see agency and department in the Executive Branch doing what bureaucracies have always done – push their authorizations to do more and more.  And lately, there is a very disturbing trend that, under Obama (knowing that there will NEVER be retribution from him from doing so), they are making rules and regulations that totally disregard their authorizing legislation.

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I think this might prove to be troublesome to Ron Paul?

by Skip

“Iran’s warriors are ready and willing to wipe Israel off the map,” That from the Iran’s Deputy Defense Minister, Ahmad Vahidi.  Now, he is saying this in context of Israel attacking Iran to stop the latter from getting the bomb – a terse warning of “don’t try it”. The real problem is, however, is the … Read more

Romney Advocacy For The Welfare State

by Rick Olson

“I’m not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I’ll fix it.” —Willard “Mittens” Romney

Romney not concerned about the poor.
Willard "Mitt" Romney: The Matthew Lesko of American Politics

That is what Mittens said…and the lefties will tear him to shreds over that very statement.  Especially the class warfare artisans in the political arena. While Romney is correct  about the poor having a social welfare safety net, It is that same “safety net” that creates government dependency and self-perpetuation of a system that its’ patrons become dependent on, rather than self-sufficient and self-supporting.

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Rightwingnews: Pre-Florida Conservative blogger Presidential Poll

by Skip

John Hawkins over at RightWingNews does a lot of polling of Conservative blogsites and the ‘Grok as picked to participate in his latest one.  One day ahead of the Florida Presidential Primary, he wanted to know where over 250 bloggers stood on the remaining candidates:

Right Wing News polled more than 250 right-of-center bloggers on which candidate they’d support if the 2012 Republican primaries were today. The following 68 bloggers responded:

101 Dead Armadillos, Advice Goddess, Alarming News, Alexa Shrugged, All American Blogger, All That Is Necessary, American Glob, And Rightly So, Argghhhh!, Atlas Shrugs, Batesline, Betsy’s Page, Black and Right, Blonde Sagacity, Bookworm Room, Dodgeblogium, Don Surber, Dr. Helen, Election Projection, Fausta’s Blog, Fraters Libertas, Freeman Hunt, GraniteGrok, IMAO, Isaac Schrodinger, Jeremayakovka, Joanne Jacobs, John Hawkins, Left Coast Rebel, Likelihood of Confusion, Liz Mair, Mean Ol Meany, Melissa Clouthier, Midnight Blue, Milton Wolf, Moonbattery, Mount Virtus, Musing Minds, Neo-Neocon, Newmarks Door, Newsreal, Nice Deb, No Oil For Pacifists, Pal2pal, Pirates Cove, Political Mommentary, Politicalistas, Pundit Boy, Pursuing Holiness, Rightosphere, Russ. Just Russ, Smart Girl Politics, SondraK, Sunshine State Sarah, The Hedgehog Report, The Jawa Report, The Lotus Blog, The Next Right, The Pink Flamingo Bar & Grill, The Smallest Minority, The Sundries Shack, The TrogloPundit, This Ain’t Hell, WILLisms, Weapons of Mass Discussion, Wintery knight, YidwithLid, mountaineer musings

Here’s how the results broke down:

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Of the things said at Thursday’s Presidential debate, Rick Santorum said the most important:

by Skip

Thursday night’s GOP Presidential Debate in Florida was, for the most part, a Mitt-Newt mud fight with their hands tied behind them (re: all they could do was just roll in it).  Lots of dirt to spread around.  However, Rick Santorum made the most of it, and I believe finally was able to lay in a few good licks, especially on ObaneyCare.

But as far as I am concerned, he uttered the most important words of the evening:

When an audience member asked the candidates how their religious beliefs would affect their decisions as President, Santorum turned to the nation’s founding documents to reference the relationship between faith and governance:

“The Constitution is there to do one thing, protect God-given rights,” said Santorum. “That’s what makes America different than every other country in the world.”

“When you say ‘faith has nothing to do with it’– faith has everything to do with it,” Santorum went on to say over applause. “If our President believes that rights come to us from the state, everything government gives you, it can take away.

“The role of the government is to protect rights that cannot be taken away.”

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The Food Stamp Nation and Its’ President

by Rick Olson

 “I’d go to, like, six different schools in one year. We were on welfare, and my mom never ever worked.” —Eminem

Greetings from the Welfare State

During the Republican Presidential Debates, Newt Gingrich referred to President Obama as the, “Food Stamp President.” That was last week. Yet, over two years ago, Wyatt Emmerich, Publisher for the Northside Sun based in Jackson, Mississippi posited an editorial where his underlying thesis was, “a one-parent family of three making $14,500 a year (minimum wage) has more disposable income than a family making $60,000 a year.”  (See Emmerich’s Editorial in its entirety, Here)

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Obama – Making Millionaires and Billionaires political targets even as he asks for their money. Are they fools?

by Skip

Like I said here: Given that Obama is planning on using the Occupy Wall Street attack on “the 1%” mixed in with the “Buffet scenario” to run on, it becomes clear why the Press clearly doesn’t step in and correct the mistake As the cartoon points out, Obama has no problem in excoriating the 1% … Read more

Brief thought on the opening of the CNN Prez Debate tonite

by Skip

I haven’t looked for it yet, but I can guarantee that there will be clips aplenty of how Newt Gingrich unloaded on the prepared, “barely tabloid level” question that CNN host John King tried to bait him with the story / interview of his ex-wife and the subject of open marriage.  You just KNEW that … Read more

On the news that there are polls that have Newt Gringrich leading Mitt Romney in South Carolina

by Skip

(H/T:  Mac)

David Brooks – strong American values are leading to “incredibly backward-looking campaign”

by Skip

David Brooks is “the conservative columnist” for the New York Time (“NYT”); the adjective “Conservative” would never be used as a modifier to his name here in NH – and am most assuredly positive that my sentiment would be replicated  with many others in other states.  But even as he opines as a New Yorker, he is Beltway Republican through and through.  In this column, he talks about how reporting on Prez campaigns has changed: used to hobnobbing with the candidates themselves, he now studies the people (you know, the ones that actually vote and to whom elections are not just an intellectual curiousity) that show up to the events to hear the candidates.  Given that the “Johnny on the spot” report was from South Carolina, he also spent a fair amount of time critiquing the candidate.

But this is emblematic of what is wrong with the Republican Establishment:

I was also struck, as in New Hampshire and Iowa, by the mood of this year’s rallies. Republican audiences this year want a restoration. America once had strong values, they believe, but we have gone astray. We’ve got to go back and rediscover what we had. Heads nod enthusiastically every time a candidate touches this theme.

I agree with the sentiment, but it makes for an incredibly backward-looking campaign. I sometimes wonder if the Republican Party has become the receding roar of white America as it pines for a way of life that will never return.

Oh, so right he is – that “icky stuff”, the stuff that speaks of the heart,Values, is just so retro! Er, no, he’s dead nuts on wrong.

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2012 Presidential Primary – Intensity, Part III

by Skip

I’ve previously had Parts I and II, but now that the field has narrowed, we’ve gone from graphs to a simple chart.  To be honest, I was very surprised at the results – a couple of thoughts:

  • Very surprised that Mitt & Santorum are the highest rated for intensity.  That said, if you click on I & II above, their intensity scores have actually dropped a tad, but still equal with each other.
  • Huntsman – Given that he’s out (but that this poll was done before he dropped) shows that his support was, well, pretty bad.  And this does not signal good things for Rick Perry with a similar score.
  • Newt – as the Gallup post points out as well, his was the biggest drop since the last time I had looked.

However, all reports agreed that Newt, hands down, was the large winner in this last debate, it will be rather interesting to see if that changes anything here.  And of course, the poll that will mean the most will be Saturday when South Carolina heads to the polls.

Nope, not going to make any predictions.  Sure, it seems Romney like Romney and Santorum are leading right now, but this is why the game is played.

Still, the gap shows that when people pick, they stick for for the top two (mostly) which means there’s a whole of people who may be straying from the others…

(H/T: Gallup )

 

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GrokTALK! Special Interview – DaTechGuy (Pete Ingemi) and Jack Kimball / Jeff Chidester

by Skip

The ‘Grok went to the Ovide Lamontagne reception last Saturday evening and the videos are here, here, here, and here). We also had the chance to do a couple of GrokTALK! Special interviews.  First one was with DaTechGuy (Pete Ingemi) and being from Massachusetts, he wanted to discuss what he had just observed (his post … Read more

Too Much Ink and So Little To Write About

by Rick Olson

“If either the right wing or the left wing gained control of the country, it would probably fly around in circles.” —Pat Paulsen

I seriously cannot fathom how much press has been given to the Notion of Stephen Colbert running for President.  And he will likely end up garnering votes, even if such a notion is satirical. Mickey Mouse and other such ficticious characters have traditionally done so.

But we must not forget the Stupid People.  Those who vote for a candidate because the candidate is physically appealing or has nice teeth or speaks well or is the “chosen one” It is those same people that think “Plastic Jesus is an actual hymn.

Well, I don’t care if it rains or freezes,
Long as I have my plastic Jesus
Riding on the dashboard of my car
Through all trials and tribulations,
We will travel every nation,
With my plastic Jesus I’ll go far.

Winston Churchill once quipped, “The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.” Is that to say people are dumb? Well some certainly are….others are simply glazed over…as if reading the assembly instructions to a new gas grill.

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League of Women Voters Now Hissing at Project Veritas Video

by Rick Olson

“Perhaps that suspicion of fraud enhances the flavor.” —C. S. Forester

Shrew
SHREW: (SHroo) def. 1. A small mouse-like insectivorous mammal (Sorex, Crocidura, and other genera, family Soricidae) with a long pointed snout and tiny eyes. 2. A bad-tempered or aggressively assertive woman.

The New Hampshire League of Women Voters call James O’Keefe’s Project Veritas video, “A Fraud.” The League has called for the prosecution of, “these out of state con-artists.” As Reported in today’s edition of the New Hampshire Union Leader.  Let the slash and burn begin, I say! These types of fights are the stuff dreams are made of.

Juxtaposing this anti-voter ID push-back with the viewpoint of the average citizen who votes, but does not dabble in activist partisan rancor, an overwhelming majority of those citizens agree it is perfectly reasonable to show who one is to vote on election days. Maintaining the integrity of a system, intended to incorporate the duty of one person, one vote, gels with average sensibilities and common sense.

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GrokTALK! – jamming with Stacy McCain and Pete Ingemi (DaTechGuy) and Grokster Mike

by Skip

OK, still playing catch up from last Friday’s Hillsborough County Republican Presidential event (start here and work “upwards” to see all the video). I had my full kit there for video (live stream camera, recording camera, FlipCam – and thanks to Grokster Mike with Plan B for streaming with his MiFi device) and audio (headsets, … Read more

2012 Presidential Primary – NH First in the Nation Primary – Live Chat!

by Skip

Shane Vander Hart of Iowa’s Caffeinated Thoughts and the Groksters will be chatting live as the poll returns start coming in here in NH starting at about 7pm (at least, that’s the estimated time). Newer posts will be posted after this one during our CHAT – then this will be rolled downward.

GrokTV Special Interviews at yesterday’s Ron Paul campaign event

by Skip

Given that it is the day before the NH First in the Nation Primary, that the ‘Grok is NH based, and the number of my recent Ron Paul posts, most of you are probably thinking that I am going to vote for Ron Paul.  No, I am not (much to the dismay of my friends that are Ron Paul supporters).

In fact, I still don’t know who I am vote for – given that I originally was backing Herman Cain, I have not yet decided on a candidate (it still surprises me and a lot of my friends – WHAT? You?).  I will admit that it will be either Rick Santorum or Newt Gingrich – but every time I think my thinking has settled down, it shakes again. Regardless of which it is, I am proud of the fact that in addition to the commentary, punditry, and all out bloggish snark we serve up here, we also do straight “citizen journalism” with the use of either recorded or live stream video.  All I can hope for is that the hours and hours of time putting up entire events (vs the 30 second sound bite you get from most MSMers) helped you, our readers, to make your decisions based on what you thought of the candidates’ actual words vs the ‘filter’ inserted into the process by the MSM .

Here are some “after event” interviews right after Ron Paul finished his event.  Sorry for the poor audio quality of my questions, but it was loud!  Most of the interviews went like this: Ron supporter or undecided, domestic policy that attracts you to him, foreign policy item that attracts you.  And yes, two of the folks there were undecided (and one from LA)!

First, Barbara (who lives in my home town, as you will see):

Next up, friends Seth and Jim:

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GrokTV Event: Ron Paul – Q11, Q12 & Q13: Policy on Israel, have to use a charity hospital, dealing with both parties in Congress

by Skip

And the “Press Gaggle” ( aka “press availability” or it can be called “the time when reporters and MSM Press can ask silly questions to show their Editors they are actually doing something to earn their expense accounts / salaries”) – added after the jump!

LAST OF THE QUESTIONS!

Question 11: What is your policy on Israel?

Question 12: Will my sick child have to stand in line at a charity hospital under your administration?

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