Fridays Line From The Fix

Herman Cain: Im forming an exploratory committee for 2012
I know the basics of his bio — accomplished CEO, talk-radio host, Cancer survivor — but not much more beyond that. Even so, it got my attention a few days ago when he won Red State’s 2012 “tournament,” topping Mike Pence in the semifinal and Palin in the final. Is that because Cain’s a Red State favorite or is the Grassroots support for him out there broader than anyone realizes right now? Either way, the Daily Caller says to get ready. Former Godfathers Piz...

Two new polls show Palin trailing badly in 2012 match up against Obama
Two new polls show Sarah Palin losing ground before she even begins a potential Presidential Campaign against President Obama in 2012.  A new poll from ABC News and The Washington Post has Sarah Palin trailing President Obama by 15 points (54%-39%) in a potential 2012 contest.  That poll could be dismissed as an outlier if not for a similar poll from NBC News and The Wall Street Journal which shows Palin trailing Obama by 22 points (55%-33%).  Both polls show other Republican cand...

Iowa Republicans launch effort to impeach state Supreme Court judges
Republican lawmakers in Iowa have launched an effort to impeach four state Supreme Court justices over their decision to strike down a ban on Gay Marriage in the state last year.  The new effort comes just as the 2012 GOP presidential primary heats up and the two are sure to intersect. Iowa Conservatives, led by former gubernatorial contender Bob Vander Plaats, will likely pressure GOP hopefuls to weigh in.  Just last month, Vander Plaats led a successful effort to oust three other justices ...

Herman Cain is 'definitely' forming 2012 exploratory committee
Alex Pappas is a political reporter at the Daily Caller. He is a graduate of The University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn. Former Godfathers Pizza chief executive Herman Cain says he’s definitely forming an Exploratory Committee — likely within the next several weeks — to test the waters for a possible Republican presidential run in 2012. Cain, a radio Talk Show host and favorite of the Tea Party movement, confirmed the news in an interview with The Daily Caller. He suggested t...

An Iowan on Santorum: 'Very Presidential in Stature'
The closing item in the Morning Jolt mentioned Rick Santorum’s event on a cold night in Davenport, Iowa. A Campaign Spot reader, Meredith, was at last night’s meeting. Her take: LOVE love love The Morning Jolt. It’s the first thing I look for in the a.m. I was there in Davenport last night. I’m looking for a Candidate. I don’t think the “reruns” can beat Obama; they weren’t that popular the first time (i.e. Huckabee and Romney). I am not an offic...

Obama Speaks on Tax Cut Deal and START Treaty
In his weekly address, Obama urges the ratification of the START Treaty, which is something that ordinary Americans could care less about because they don't know enough to know better. Some Republicans support START. Colin Powell came out strong for START, but it seems some republicans--Jon Kyl and Jim DeMint -- can't help themselves. ...

The Weekend Word: A Senate Saturday
From Today’s Times: - Congressional Republicans took credit on Friday for blocking a $1.2 Trillion measure to fund the Federal Government, while some lawmakers on both sides appeared ready for the lame-duck session to end. The Times’s Carl Hulse recaps a chaotic day on Capitol Hill. - And on to Saturday, when the Senate could take up a measure to Repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell.” The Times’s Jennifer Steinhauer reports that Republicans in the...

For Obama, the center may be too far right
A month ago, President Obama was the big loser of 2010, the leader whose party had given up historic losses in the House and who was facing questions about his future. On Friday, with the stroke of his pen on a Compromise tax bill, he reminded his adversaries of the essential resilience of the occupant of the Oval Office. This Story DAN BALZ: For Obama, the center may be too Far Right The tax deal's impact on The Economy This Story DAN BALZ: For Obama, the center may be too Far Right The tax ...

The Gingrich Who Stole Christmas
The calendar is collapsing. Only a week until Christmas! Only a month until the beginning of the Presidential Election! David Brooks and Gail Collins talk between columns. Yes, the race for the White House is practically under way. Already, there are at least seven Republican presidential primary debates on the schedule. The way this is going, the Republican presidential hopefuls will eventually be on television every single minute. Possibly they can be convinced to do something more entertaini...

2012: Palin goes 'lamestream,' Mitt's mandate problem
BARBOUR : “At age 63, Gov. Haley Barbour said deciding to run for president means resolving to ‘spend the rest of your productive life doing this.’ The decision won't come for months or without long talks with wife Marsha, the Governor said” in an interview with the Jackson Clarion Ledger. GINGRICH : Newt Gingrich told South Carolinians how important they are ahead of his Speech there tonight before the Spartanburg County Republican Party’s annual Bronze Elephant b...

Iowa GOP strong arms presidential candidates into Ames Staw Poll
On Thursday, the Republican Party of Iowa announced that the all-important Ames Straw Poll will be held Aug. 13, 2011. The Straw Poll has traditionally been an early marker to gauge relative support for Republican Presidential Candidates in advance of the first-in-the-nation Iowa Caucuses. The state GOP also announced that they will co-host a debate with Fox News on Aug. 11, just two days before the Straw Poll. The Ames Straw Poll is one of the first events on the nomination calendar that can ma...

Family Research Council's anti-SPLC campaign places bullseye on the backs of Republican leaders
crossposted on Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters Those organizations either named as anti-gay Hate Groups or profiled for their tendency to defame the lgbt community via lies are running scared. On Tuesday morning, they brought out the "big guns" From People for the American Way's Right Wing Watch: . . . FRC announced that it was running this Open Letter [PDF] in both Politico and The Washington Examiner and that the effort had the support of dozens of Republican members of Congress and ...

There's No Getting Around It: Even When Palin Doesn't Really Say Something It's a Front Page Media Story Because They Need the
At Hot Air's headlines, a very hit-whoring blog post at The Hill. Their claim: Palin previously said she would only run if no common-sense Conservatives did. This "boxed her in," as of course some common-sense conservative will run. (Pence is as orthodox a conservative as you could like; Thune too. Daniels too, except for that black mark of the "truce on Social Issues," but he could always recant.) Now she needs some wiggle room, the claim goes, because the criteria she set out means that she c...

Christian Leaders Slam DeMint And Kyl For Using Christmas As An Excuse To Kill DREAM Act Vote
In their attempt to block any action during the Lame Duck session of Congress, Sens. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Jim DeMint (R-SC) have callously resorted to questioning Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) faith for potentially keeping Congress in session through the start of the new Congress next year. Kyl has accused Reid of “disrespecting” Christians, while DeMint said it’s “sacrilegious.” Several notable leaders of the Christian faith community have already&...

Senators Kyl and DeMint Exploit Faith for Political Means
While American Troops will be working through the Christmas holidays, putting their lives on the line for our safety and while millions of Christians prepare to celebrate the birth of the "Prince of Peace," Senators Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Jim DeMint (R-SC) brazenly choose to distort and manipulate this most holy of days for their own political means. Kyl and Demint, after being the driving forces in delaying a vote to pass the New START Treaty, now say it would be "disrespect[ful]" to vote on New...

Graham: I Was Forced To Ignore START, Because Other Major Issues Were Wearing On The Body
Last night on the Senate floor, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) complained that it had been a “week from hell” due to having to work on “big issues.” He then grumbled that he had been too busy “stopping some bad ideas” and therefore had no time “to think about START.” Nevermind that the New START Treaty was completed in April, giving Graham and his staff eight months to “think about” the treaty. Graham stated: In conclusion to my collea...

Northern Iowa topples South Carolina State 66-52
Northern Iowa's Lucas O'Rear (32) and South Carolina State's Carrio Bennett, left, struggle for control of a loose ball after Northern Iowa's Marc Sonnen, top, took it took the hoop in the first half of an NCAA college Basketball game at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls, Iowa, on Friday, Dec. 17, 2010. Jake Koch scored 13 points and Northern Iowa shot 54.3 percent to whip South Carolina State 66-52 Friday night in a first-round game of the iBN Las Vegas Classic. The Panthers (6-3) also got 10 p...

Rand Paul: Tea Party Candidate or Leftist Machine Darling?
Kentucky, birthplace of both Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, has selected Rand Paul to be her next United States Senator. Certainly, if Lincoln and Davis were alive today, Lincoln’s choice would have been either of the decidedly conservative, pro-14th amendment Candidates Trey Grayson or Bill Johnson, while Davis would have chosen Paul, the “states rights” candidate whose supporters often refer to Lincoln as a “war criminal” and share attitudes consistent wi...

Tea Party and CNN to Host 2011 Republican Presidential Debate in Florida
CNN Political Director Sam Feist called the "Tea Party movement a fascinating, diverse, Grassroots force that already has drastically changed the country's political landscape." The movement's impact on the political balance is indisputable. Tea party-backed Candidates, assailing President Obama's policies and calling for smaller government and less spending, had considerable success in the Nov. 2 election. The tea party and allies like Sarah Palin can rightly claim credit for playing a signific...

Obama keeps Bush's vast tax cuts for wealthy
President Barack Obama last night signed into law a sweeping $858bn (£554bn) tax bill that ensures tax-rate cuts introduced by former President George Bush nearly a decade ago will remain in place for another two years, offering a potentially powerful fillip to the flat US economy. The passage of the law on Capitol Hill was the most dramatic evidence yet that Bipartisan Compromise has been unexpectedly resurrected in the weeks after November's Midterm Elections. The deal was largely the one s...

Pawlenty regrets not seeking third term as governor
Washington (CNN) - Outgoing Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty said this week that he regrets not seeking a third term in St. Paul, now that the State Legislature is controlled by Republicans instead of the Democrat-Farmer-Labor party that fought much of his agenda. "Yes," was the straightforward answer Pawlenty gave when asked by the Duluth News Tribune editorial board earlier this week whether he wished he had sought another term. "If I would have known then what I know now," the Republican sai...

The Tea Party Era Has Begun
The Tea Party Era Has Begun by digby So they passed the Tax Cut Compromise. And the fundamental unfairness of it sticks in the craw: the nation is under a great deal of economic stress, yet the Republicans just stuck a gun to the heads of people in distress and said "give us our tax cuts or the country gets it." It's unjust and infuriating. And ultimately depressing because it's clear that Democrats were either complicit in the goal or too strategically clueless to address it before the clock...

Romney's opportunistic position on the tax compromise
Your article has been sent. Former Massachusetts Governor and probable 2012 Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney came out against President Obama's tax Compromise today, aligning himself with the more conservative wing of the Republican Party. In a column published in USA Today, Romney criticized the deal for delivering short-term economic stimulus while leaving the long-term health of our economy in doubt. "Uncertainty," Romney explains, "is not a friend of investment, growth and Job Creation." I...

Obama Urges START Ratification
(NewsCore) - US President Barack Obama used his weekly address Saturday to urge senators to ratify the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) with Russia before Congress breaks for the Holiday Season. Speaking a day after he signed into law an extension of wide-ranging Tax Cuts passed by his predecessor, George W. Bush, Obama said he hoped senators could put aside their political differences to "come together on another urgent national priority." He said the new START Treaty "will reduce the wo...

White House Weekly Address: Obama Invokes Reagan to Push START Treaty
Instead of trying to reduce Russia's Nuclear Arsenal, I think we should direct all of our energy to making sure Iran doesn't get one.. Reuters Fresh from a shared victory on an $858 billion tax-cut package, President Barack Obama pushed on Saturday for congressional approval of the new START nuclear arms treaty with Russia. Obama invoked the late Republican President Ronald Reagan as he used his weekly radio address to urge Bipartisan support for the treaty. Obama said it was crucial to put a ...