Herman Cain mania

Starting Lineup: Start Your Engines
Good Friday morning and welcome to the Starting Lineup. On the radar today: The Iowa GOP sets the date for its presidential Straw Poll and a coinciding debate; Haley Barbour heading to CPAC; a potentially potent "Draft Sarah Palin" group registers with the FEC; Baron Hill passes on the Indiana Governor's race and Jay Nixon lays the groundwork for his 2012 re-election bid in Missouri. A quick scheduling note: The Starting Lineup will be going dark for the holidays starting next Monday. We wish y...

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...

Herman Cain: The Right Wing Sleeper Candidate in 2012?
Politico’s Ben Smith discussed today the unforeseen possibility that Right Wing Activist Herman Cain could be a surprise Republican Candidate for president, after he bested all other Republicans in an online Straw Poll conducted by the conservative blog RedState. Cain, an African American businessman and radio Talk Show host, even topped Sarah Palin, who came in second, to be the favorite of the Right Wing blogosphere. Erick Erickson of RedState writes, “I like Herman Cain and, thoug...

Potential Dark Horse: Herman Cain in 2012
RedState recently polled their readers to see who they would like to see as the GOP Presidential nominee. The winner was Herman Cain. Who is Herman Cain? Cain is a big Private Sector Candidate - he was a former Pillsbury executive and later ran Godfathers Pizza. He’s also a Talk Show host and PAC founder. He had previously ran for US Senate in Georgia in 2004 - he came in 2nd place, but did not garner enough support to force a runoff. He’s a great speaker who, apparentl...

Culver rejects construction group's request
Gov. Chet Culver rejected a request Thursday by an Iowa Construction Industry group to postpone awarding two state construction contracts until Gov.-elect Terry Branstad takes office next month. Master Builders of Iowa, representing about 2,000 businesses, sought the delay in an effort to block the use of so-called project labor agreements on construction projects at the Mitchellville state Prison and at the Iowa Veterans Home at Marshalltown. Such agreements are designed to coordinate labor r...

Larry Noble will be Iowa public safety commissioner, Branstad says
State Sen. Larry Noble, a retired state trooper, will be the commissioner of the Iowa Department of Public Safety, Gov-elect Terry Branstad saID this afternoon. Noble, 60, will resign from his Iowa Senate seat tomorrow and Ankeny area voters will pick another senator in an upcoming Special Election. Branstad in a written statement said: “Larry has a wealth of public safety expertise. He loves this state, and cares deeply about the safety of its citizens. He is a great addition to my team in he...

Jim Flaherty draws sharp political arrow from pension quiver
Amid the flurry of activity that marked the end of the fall session of Parliament, one new initiative bears a lot of attention. Jim Flaherty unveiled the kind of idea that has potential to help deal with a worrisome situation for many Canadians, and at the same time expand the reach and appeal of the Conservative Party of Canada. The Finance Minister’s proposal to allow Canadians to put money in a Pooled Registered Pension Plan (defined contributions, managed by private-sector professional...

Is a Tory majority even possible?
Last updated Friday, Dec. 17, 2010 11:57AM EST After months of stagnation, Conservative gains in some polls released over the last few weeks have again raised the possibility of a Tory majority. But an analysis of the ridings the Conservatives might target to attain or surpass the elusive 155-seat mark needed shows just how difficult it will be for Stephen Harper to reach his goal. In the 2008 election, the Conservatives were 12 seats short of a majority. After a few Resignations, by-elections ...

The Failure of the Omnibus and the End of Appropriation
It's impossible to understand what Sen. Harry Reid did tonight, in pulling the omnibus spending bill from the Senate floor, without considering what has happened to the political power of appropriators in 2010. - The chairmen of the House Appropriations, Transportation, Budget, and Armed Services committees either retired or lost their seats. Blanche Lincoln, having taken over the Agriculture committee in the Senate, was defeated. - Republicans buckled and agreed to a Caucus-wide ban on earmark ...

Nevada GOP Sets 2012 Presidential Caucuses Date
From Politico: "The Nevada Republican Executive Committee voted Wednesday to hold the party's 2012 presidential Caucus on February 18, a decision that could make GOP voters in the "First in the West" state third in line to vote for their party's next nominee." The February 18, 2012 date for the Republican caucuses in the Silver state is aligned with where the Democratic Rules and Bylaws Committee had Nevada slated on their calendar for the Democratic nomination. I'm less surprised by the settin...

Date set for Nevada GOP caucus
It's official. Nevada Republicans will hold their presidential Caucus on Feb. 18, 2012, meaning the state will vote after the two traditional first states of Iowa and New Hampshire. The Caucus will be binding, meaning Nevada delegates must stick with their picks through the GOP nominating convention. ...

2012 Election Season Takes Shape with Dates for Iowa Straw Poll, Nevada Caucus
The 2012 election season is shaping up for Republicans. Iowa's GOP said Thursday its presidential Straw Poll will be held Aug. 3, 2011, and Republicans in Nevada announced that state's Caucus is set for Feb. 18, 2012. The news comes days after the New Hampshire GOP said its first presidential debate for the 2012 primary will be held June 7, 2011. And last month, the Reagan Presidential Foundation said it would kick off the election season by hosting a panel of Republican Presidential Candidates...

The Omnibus
As we rejoice in the demise of the odious omnibus, it’s important to see just what happened here. Yes, it was a major failure for Harry Reid and the Democrats, and a vindication of the voters’ intent in November. But it resulted from a change of heart among a few Republicans, including some key appropriators and Mitch McConnell himself. It’s good that this change of heart happened, but the fact that it was necessary—that until yesterday you could count about 8 or 9 potent...

WaPo Promotes Gay-Art Exhibitors Calling Conservatives American Taliban, Implying Nazism
WaPo Promotes Gay-Art Exhibitors Calling Conservatives ‘American Taliban,’ Implying Nazism ...

Council of Conservative Citizens To Boycott "Thor" Over Casting of Black Actor
Norse mythology gets multi-cultural remake in upcoming movie titled “Thor,” Marvel Studios. It’s not enough that Marvel attacks Conservatives values, now mythological Gods must be re-invented with black skin. It seems that Marvel Studios believes that White People should have nothing that is unique to themselves. An upcoming movie, based on the comic book Thor, will give the Aesir an insulting multi-cultural make-over. One of the Gods will be played by Hip Hop DJ Elba. It's wel...

Taxes
“ It will be important for Conservatives to draw clear lines in the sand their leadership dare not cross before the Debt ceiling fight.”...

GOPs central attack on health reform wins PolitiFact Lie of the Year
Stumble This! The core argument used by Republicans during their forceful attempt to derail the Democrats' Health Care law has been dubbed a whopping lie by the Pulitzer Prize-winning organization PolitiFact. The phrase "government takeover of health care," coined by Republican Strategist Frank Luntz early in 2009, was named "Lie of the Year" by the respected fact-checking website run by the St. Petersburg Times. "Uttered by dozens of politicians and pundits, it played an important role in shap...

No Labels = No Reality, No Truth, No
…Balls. David Frum’s refusal to accept that A is A is one of the reasons why he’s one of the most ridiculed liberal-conservatives on the scene. He’s now one of the “Founding Leaders” of No Labels, a new group which is meant to be a cure for “hyper-partisanship”, which the website states is “one of the greatest domestic challenges our nation faces.” I think that whenever people with fundamentally different philosophies decide to “work togeth

Karl Rove 'On the Record'
Rove is an elitists! He is a Washington Insider who belongs to the Republican Good Old Boys Club! Notice how irritated he becomes with Conservatives who want to stick with our principles; that's because, like Bush, he's a New World Order guy! - You never disappoint, 'Helle. Some members are so corrupt and the shredding of our rights is so ingrained in them Ihope they have a Great Mental Health option. I can see them now laying on some Doctors couch. Doctor I just can't comply what ever am I to d...

Quote of the Day
Norse mythology gets multi-cultural remake in upcoming movie titled "Thor," Marvel Studios. It's not enough that Marvel attacks Conservatives values, now mythological Gods must be re-invented with black skin. It seems that Marvel Studios believes that White People should have nothing that is unique to themselves. An upcoming movie, based on the comic book Thor, will give the Aesir an insulting multi-cultural make-over. One of the Gods will be played by Hip Hop DJ Elba.—The "radical and rac...

Mitt Romney As Arch-Ironist
A couple years ago I wrote a column explaining why I actually like Mitt Romney despite (indeed, because of) his transparent fakery. But David Frum has now made basically the same case in brilliant Fashion: I sometimes imagine that Romney approaches politics in the same spirit that the CEO of Darden Restaurants approaches cuisine. Darden owns Olive Garden, Longhorn steakhouses, and Red Lobster among other chains. Now suppose that Darden’s data show a decline in demand for mid-priced steak ...

Right Wing Round-Up
Jason Hancock @ Iowa Independent: House GOP leader open to impeaching Supreme Court justices. Sarah Posner @ Religion Dispatches: Conservatives Stand Together for Anti-Gay Bigotry. Warren Throckmorton: SPLC myth #4: Homosexuals don’t live nearly as long as Heterosexuals. Good As You: And now Laurie Higgins secures IFI's placement on SPLC hate groups list. Dan @ TFN: Rick Perry’s War on Christmas....

Iowa GOP, Fox co-sponsor debate
Iowa's Republican presidential Straw Poll will be Aug. 13, state GOP officials said Thursday. And as an incentive for Candidates to participate, the state party organization is co-sponsoring a nationally televised debate with Fox News Channel two days earlier. Tying the party Fundraiser in Ames with the debate on Fox, an influential outlet for Conservatives, will give incentive to Candidates campaigning for Iowa's leadoff nominating caucuses to participate in the straw poll, state party Chairm...

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...

Inside the Tea Party Revolution
Three days before CNBC commentator Rick Santelli famously stood on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in February 2009 and called for a modern-day Boston Tea Party Protest of President Obama's proposal to help Americans with their Mortgages, 29-year-old Keli Carender, feeling misrepresented by her government, held the first Tea Party rally in Seattle. About a hundred people, frustrated with Obama's stimulus plan, showed up. Grassroots protests like Carender's were what spawned the Te...