Results of the Maine 2012 Caucuses

Mitt Romney Wins CPAC Straw Poll with 38% of the Vote

Mitt wins the CPAC straw poll with 38% of the vote with Rick Santorum coming in a close second with 31%. Speaker Newt Gingrich was at 15% and Texas Rep. Ron Paul stood at 12%.

Mitt tweeted: “Honored to have won the CPAC straw poll. I’m heartened that so many friends here agree with me about the need for conservative change.”

34% of the attendees at the conservative conference chose Florida Sen. Marco Rubio as Vice President

Rick Santorum Has Them Cheering at CPAC

The Republican presidential candidates all touted their conservative credentials at CPAC today. Mitt Romney described himself as “severely conservative’, Newt Gingrich described himself as a threat to the Washington establishment and Rick Santorum as the conservative alternative to Romney.

Daily Commentary – Friday, February 10, 2012 – The Controversy Over the Chrysler Ad with Clint Eastwood Continues

• According to the Hollywood Reporter, the Ad Producers have past connections to Obama

Daily Commentary – Friday, February 10, 2012 Download

GOP Presidential Primary Hat Trick: Rick Santorum Clean Sweep over Romney in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri

RICK SANTORUM, YES HE DID …

The day started as a Romney GOP Primary momentum with wins in Florida and Nevada and ended in the most unlikely Rick Santorum Hat trick with wins in Minnesota, Missouri and Colorado. Is Santorum the latest flavor of the month or a viable candidate to run against Barack Obama? The GOP primary has taken another turn. Who would have thought at this point that Santorum would have had more wins than Romney t this point in the race?

Rick Santorum had a breakthrough night Tuesday, winning GOP presidential contests in Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado, all of which is expected to breathe life into his struggling campaign and slow Mitt Romney’s march to the Republican presidential nomination.

The Santorum triumphs promise to, at least temporarily, alter the face of the campaign going into the crucial “Super Tuesday” contests, as the caustic tone of the primaries is expected to continue and intensify. Romney and his allies have signaled that they will use their financial advantage to launch stepped-up attacks on Santorum and on former House speaker Newt Gingrich, the other main challenger.

Cal it what you want, sweep, hat trick or trifecta … what Santorum accomplished last night was impressive. However, the only fear of a Santorum-Obama match up are the words that actually came from Rick’s mouth when discussing an election without negative ads and being outspent in advertizing 5 to 1. Conservatives and Republicans have to take a realistic look at this and know that Obama is going to outspend any GOP candidate and as for negative ads, forget about it.

However, one thing is for certain, maybe its time for Newt Gingrich to get out of the race and Santorum is the people’s conservative choice. Gingrich is in trouble, maybe its time to fade into the sunset. Santorum is now the non-Romney candidate.

Romney Did Win Big in Nevada Despite Caucus Voting Chaos, Up in Colorado, Arizona & Michigan … Close Call in Minnesota

It would appear that Romney is going to dominate February …

The Nevada Caucuses took place Saturday and Mitt Romney was declared the winner; however, they have still yet to count all of the caucus votes. What is going on with the caucus system in the US. First Iowa was a fiasco in that they declared Romney the winner, only to later learn that Santorum won. However, in Nevada Romney will still be the winner as he was up big with about 73% of the voting counted, the problem is that the final 25% counting. Whether they want to get the vote counts correct or not to avoid the embarrassment to Iowa, the fact of the matter is that the lack of timely counting still leaves egg on Caucus system faces.

And, still, party officials in Nevada’s largest county continue to count the vote.

“We are going to get this right,” Clark County Chairman David Gibbs told the Las Vegas Sun today. “If it takes us a little bit of time to get it rights, we are going to take the time.”

As the GOP primary candidates look to future states, Romney appears top be up in Colorado, Arizona and Michigan … however, the race is too close to call in Minnesota.

Mitt Romney Appears to be Coasting to Big Victory in Nevada Republican Caucuses (UPDATE: Romney Wins Nevada)

Mitt Romney cruising to easy win in Nevada …

With early results being counted in the Nevada Republican Caucuses, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney appears well on his way to an easy and overwhelming majority victory in Nevada. According to CNN, with 3% reporting, Romney 52%, Paul 20%, Gingrich 19% and Santorum at 9%, Romney will win gig in Nevada with Gingrich a distant second and possible third. Although, Ron Paul has already left Nevada and is in Minnesota giving speeches. What’s up with that?

Looks like Romney will win by this much

Mitt Romney is actually doing better than pre-Caucus polling. In 2008, Romney won the Nevada Caucus with 51.1% of the vote.

UPDATE I: The following is quite amazing for Romney, if the majority voting margin continues … as per the AP,  Conservatives accounted for about 4 in 5 voters in the Nevada Caucus and around 3 in 4 Nevada voters said they were tea party supporters.

UPDATE II: 10% reporting, Romney 48%, Paul 21%, Gingrich 20%, and Santorum 11%.

What is interesting is that it looks like Nevada will be the second state in a row that dispels Gingrich’s theory that Santorum needs to get out of the race to consolidate the conservative vote against Romney to win. That was not the case in Florida and certainly not in Nevada. So far Gingrich + Santorum only equals 33%. That is 15% less that Romney’s totals so far tonight.

UPDATE III: CNN Calls Nevada for Romney.

Rasmussen: Uncommitted Voters Have Barack Obama at 20% Job Approval Rating

Obama in serious trouble with uncommitted voters …

Scott Rasmussen reports that those voters who are uncommitted have a 20% job approval rating for President Barack Obama. It is the exact reason why when an incumbent president polls below 50% that they are in trouble when it comes to reelection. Those that are undecided generally break away from the incumbent and to the challenger. The fact that a meager 20% of those who are uncommitted believe Obama has done well in his first term in office just emphasizes that fact. Even though about 12% of the voters cannot commit to either Obama or Romney, they can agree on one thing … Obama has done a terrible job as President.

Judge Michael Malihi Orders Barack Obama Eligible to be on Georgia Presidential Ballot … Good News for Obama, Even Better for Marco Rubio

Barack Obama wins the battle, but Democrats may have lost the war …

President Barack Obama has won the court battle in Georgia that questioned his right to be on the 2012 Presidential ballot due to his citizenship. Judge Michael Malihi dismissed the challenges that contended Obama has a fake Hawaiian birth certificate, a fraudulent Social Security number and invalid US  identification papers. The Judge also dismissed the the claim that Obama was ineligible to be a candidate because his father was not a United States citizen at the time of Obama’s birth.

President Barack Obama’s name will remain on the Georgia primary ballot after a state law judge flatly rejected legal challenges that contend he can not be a candidate.

In a 10-page order, Judge Michael Malihi dismissed one challenge that contended Obama has a computer-generated Hawaiian birth certificate, a fraudulent Social Security number and invalid U.S. identification papers. He also turned back another that claimed the president is ineligible to be a candidate because his father was not a U.S. citizen at the time of Obama’s birth.

The findings by Malihi, a judge for the State Office of Administrative Hearings, go to Secretary of State Brian Kemp, who will make the final determination. Last month, at a hearing boycotted by Obama’s lawyer, Malihi considered complaints brought by members of the so-called “birther” movement.

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Blue Dog Democrat US Rep. Heath Shuler (D-NC) to Retire … No Run in 2012 Election

Yet another Democrats will not seek reelection in 2012. US Representative Heath Shuler (D-NC) will not run for reelection in 2012. Shuler was first elected in 2006 as a fiscal conservative, Blue Dog Democrat who in many instances broke with Democratic leadership on issues of spending. Shuler voted against President Obama’s 2009 economic stimulus bill as well as healthcare reform. He also launched an unsuccessful attempt to oust Rep. Nancy Pelosi (CA) following the 2010 midterm election massacre.

One of the last remaining members of the Blue Dog Coalition, Shuler was hit by congressional redistricting that made his western North Carolina district much more difficult for a Democrat to win. The three-term congressman had been floated as a possible candidate for governor in North Carolina, but announced on Wednesday that he would not be running for that office.

“This was not an easy decision,” Shuler said. “However, I am confident that it is the right decision. It is a decision I have weighed heavily over the past few months. I have always said family comes first, and I never intended to be a career politician.”

Shuler stressed to reporters that family considerations were his sole reason for leaving Congress.

“I’ve got to be at home more, spend some more time with them,” said Shuler, who has a 7-year-old daughter and a 10-year-old son.

Let’s face it, many things are against Shuler in 2012. He faces a tough reelection battle due to redistricting, his Democrat party has pretty much left him as it has lurches to the far left, and it is hard to imagine that Obama will carry NV as he did in 2008.