Observations:

****** A pretty good online resource for remaining primaries to bookmark is HERE. ******

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” ~ Edmund Burke

UPDATE:

On my way home from work tonight I heard the following exchange between Hannity and Ann Coulter, with Ms. Coulter arguing in part what I state below: judicial activism is not a court finding a law unconstitutional, but finding new rights or failing to enforce existing constitutional rights. Often she’s a bit extreme to be taken completely at face value, but I think she’s right to point out the judicial activism that concerns the right is not what apparently concerns the left:

ORIGINAL POST:

If you thought the open mic comment to new Russian President Medvedev was pretty bad, President Obama has created some competition for himself in the gaffe department. Or was it another window to his soul?

You may have heard that Monday President Obama appeared to warn the Supreme Court regarding its pending decision on Obamacare. His comments were as follows:

I’m confident that the Supreme Court will not take what would be an unprecedented, extraordinary step of overturning a law that was passed by a strong majority of a democratically elected Congress. And I’d just remind conservative commentators that for years what we’ve heard is, the biggest problem on the bench was judicial activism or a lack of judicial restraint — that an unelected group of people would somehow overturn a duly constituted and passed law. Well, this is a good example. And I’m pretty confident that this Court will recognize that and not take that step.

Yahoo called the remark a “challenge” to the Court. Others weren’t so kind. Among other problems with the President’s statement, you may recall that whether Obamacare was passed by a “strong majority” can be called into question. It was a purely party-line vote. But I digress.

I’m willing to assume President Obama, as a constitutional scholar, understands the concept of judicial review, and that courts overturning unconstitutional laws is not “unprecedented.” As a liberal, he may even be among the first to re-affirm that Marbury v. Madison is still good law. But the tone and chosen wording of the President’s comments caused the White House to have to defend itself from some of those “unkind” remarks yesterday. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney (the guy distributing the Obama Kool-Aid) tried to make the case the President was “clearly” referring only to commerce clause cases, and with respect to those only those of the past 80 years. Neither qualification, of course, was actually included in the President’s initial comments. When pushed as to whether the president was clarifying his remarks, Carney said “Only because a handful of people didn’t understand what he was referring to.”

Here’s a link to the video should you care to watch. Today he added that the President had been speaking in “short-hand.” I hope that flexibility is accorded both sides in campaign season. We’ll see.

The president’s statement caused Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post to write:

Obama’s assault on “an unelected group of people” stopped me cold. Because, as the former constitutional law professor certainly understands, it is the essence of our governmental system to vest in the court the ultimate power to decide the meaning of the constitution. Even if, as the president said, it means overturning “a duly constituted and passed law.”

And she makes clear she’s on his side otherwise. Read more…

The Keystone State race just got a little more interesting. According to a poll released last night by Public Policy Polling Governor Romney leads former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum by a 5 point margin, and whereas Romney was down by 18 points last month that makes for a 23 point swing in one month!

The PA numbers:

Rick Santorum has staked his continued candidacy hopes in winning his home state. Pennsylvania is one of five states to hold their primary contests coming up on April 24. The other four states (NY, DE, CT, RI) are each a “gimme” for the Governor. If Romney wins a clean sweep of those four PLUS Pennsylvania… well it will officially be more over than it already is now.

Anyone else think it’s quite telling that Santorum may lose his home state, and Romney won his 72-12? A 60 point margin!

Below the fold: cross-tab takeaways, and a “When will Santorum exit the race?” poll.
Read more…

We will be running a Veep Madness poll very soon, just as we did last year. Though this year’s poll won’t coincide with March Madness, we will use the same bracket-type single elimination competition. But before we start we want to know who do you want to see on the list!

Our poll will include 32 potential candidates so we need to see some names. Please leave your nominations in the comments section below.

Please note the following:
-This is not an official Mitt Romney website
-We know Romney hasn’t completely sealed the nomination
-This poll is simply for fun and has no bearing on the real selection
-We don’t seek to influence Governor Romney and his campaign with the outcome of our poll

Thanks, and let’s have some fun with this!
-Nate G.

Last week was rough for President Obama.

First: Obama’s biggest domestic achievement, “Obamacare,” took a beating from the Supreme Court Justices and for the first time, Obama and the Democrats had to face the very real possibility that the law could be struck down. While it is difficult to gauge what kind of public reaction would result if Obamacare is overturned, President Obama will almost certainly take a beating in the polls. Not only would Obama’s greatest achievement be overturned, but also, didn’t Obama teach constitutional law? And if it is found that he has passed a law that is unconstitutional, that is not the kind of thing that inspires confidence in one’s leadership abilities or in the direction he is planning to take the country. The phrase “Hope and Change” should begin to ring hollow to many independent voters.

Second: Obama’s 2012 budget proposal flopped in the House of Representatives by a vote of 0-414. Not a single Democrat voted for it. The Washington post makes the point that Obama’s budget proposals have had little success in congress. Just last year, Obama’s budget was rejected by the Senate, which is controlled by the Democrats.

Third: Obama’s most prominent solution to high gas prices sounds as hollow and ineffective as his Solyndra investment. In order to combat high gas prices, Obama is going across the country stating “We need to take away the oil industry’s subsidies.” While the act of taking away the oil industry’s subsidies would perhaps provide some emotional satisfaction – aka “stickin’ it to the man,” what intelligent person actually believes that taking away a company’s subsidies will actually lower prices? Most likely, it will raise prices. And it certainly won’t solve America’s energy problems. Removing the oil industry’s subsidies is a political game, nothing more.

Romney’s week, on the other hand, was very good.

#1) Romney blew past the halfway point in the number of delegates he needs to secure the Republican nomination. In fact, Romney passed the halfway point even before Tuesday’s primaries in Wisconsin, Maryland, and D.C.

#2) Romney swept all three contests on Tuesday. In Wisconsin, Romney won by 7% over his nearest competitor. In Maryland, Romney won by 20%. And in D.C., Romney won by a whopping 58%.

#3) The Supreme Court hearings on health care provided some valuable support for Romney in defending Romneycare while denouncing Obamacare.  The main lawyer who is suing the Federal government to overturn Obamacare said that while it is unconstitutional for the federal government to implement a nationwide mandate, individual states do in fact have that authority. So from a strictly constitutional perspective, Romney is correct in arguing that what he implemented in Massachusetts is OK, but what Obama instituted is wrong for the country.  

#4) Huge Endorsements: Last week some of the biggest names in the Republican Party endorsed Mitt Romney. Endorsements came from people like former President George H.W. Bush, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, and House Budge Chairman Paul Ryan. All of these endorsements show that the Republican Party is coalescing around Mitt Romney.

Still stoked about the TKO yesterday? Yeah, me too! Here’s one of my favorite photos posted on twitter yesterday. Enjoy!

Cheeseheads for Mitt

Photo Courtesy of Ashley Parker

They meet once a year in Washington D.C and attract lots of attention…

This year was no exception. The American Society of News Editors (ASNE) was privy to speeches from the two political figures the nation is focused on – President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney.

There was one exception, however. Yesterday, ahead of GOP primary election returns, Obama took an unusual turn in his speech… Previously rarely mentioning Mitt Romney by name, the President chose to deliver a stinging attack against Republicans and particularly, Mitt Romney.

Obama slammed The Gov for supporting Congressman Paul Ryan’s budget plan (which passed in the House last week) and the measures proposed therein to save Medicare and rein in spending. Obama claimed Romney and Ryan would see that mothers and young children wouldn’t get healthy food, college students would lose financial aid, the Dept. of Justice and FBI would be weakened, in certain parts of the country air traffic controllers would vanish, even weather forecasters would be harmed – that Governors would be tardy issuing hurricane warnings, and so on.

After his doomsday diatribe, Obama intoned, “This is not conjecture. I am not exaggerating. These are facts. And these are just the cuts that would happen the year after next.”

“One of my potential opponents, Governor Romney, has said that he hoped a similar version of this plan from last year would be introduced as a bill on day one of his presidency.”

“He said he’d be very supportive of this new budget and he even called it ‘marvelous’, which is a word you don’t often hear when it comes to describing a budget.” (Laughter.) “It’s a word you don’t often hear generally.” (Laughter.)

Obama further elaborated – calling the Romney/Ryan goal to stop wasteful spending a “Trojan horse – thinly-veiled social Darwinism.”

Obama’s speech reeked with the usual leftist M.O. – class warfare, scaring Americans, exaggerations, mischaracterizations, untruths, and dividing the electorate to score political points.

Obama has now clearly targeted Mitt Romney, the Ryan budget, Republicans, and our opportunity society.

The general election has begun.

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan check out latest results in Wisconsin. April 3, 2012
(Photo/Zac Moffat - click on image to enlarge)

Today, it was Governor Mitt Romney’s turn at the ASNE lectern. Fresh after long days of campaigning in Wisconsin with Congressman Ryan (and victories last night in said state, Maryland, and D.C.) he delivered a riveting, powerhouse speech – highlighting Obama’s “Hide and Seek” campaign. It was characterized by a CNN politico as a very sobering, somber speech.

In the course of Governor Romney’s campaign-defining remarks, he underscored Obama’s lack of CANDOR with the American people, especially in light of Obama’s live mic incident with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev:

… “[I]nstead of answering those vital questions, President Obama came here yesterday and railed against arguments no one is making – and criticized policies no one is proposing. It’s one of his favorite strategies – setting up straw men to distract from his record.

And while I understand why the President doesn’t want to run on his record, he can’t run from his record either.
. . .
On what other issues will he state his true position only after the election is over?”

Here’s the transcript of Romney’s ASNE speech (you won’t want to skip over this):

Over the last ten months, I’ve come to know a good deal about some of the journalists who write for your newspapers.

We’ve aired our dirty laundry together – sometimes literally as well as figuratively. We’ve bathed hour upon hour in the fine diesel aroma of a campaign bus. And we’ve shared more birthdays and holidays with each other than with our families.

One of the reporters covering our campaign is Maeve Reston of the Los Angeles Times. For Maeve’s birthday, I got her a cake and sang her a birthday song. For my birthday, she was kind enough to remind me that I’m now old enough to qualify for Medicare.

In just the few years since my last campaign, the changes in your industry are striking. Then, I looked to Drudge or FOX or CNN online to see what stories were developing. Hours after a speech, it was being dissected on the Internet. Now, it’s Twitter, and instantaneous reaction. In 2008, the coverage was about what I said in my speech. These days, it’s about what brand of jeans I am wearing and what I ate for lunch.

Most people in my position are convinced that you are biased against us. We identify with LBJ’s famous quip that if he were to walk on water, your headline would read: “President Can’t Swim.”

Some people thus welcome the tumult in your industry, heralding the new voices and the unfiltered or supposedly unbiased sources. Frankly, in some of the new media, I find myself missing the presence of editors to exercise quality control. I miss the days of two or more sources for a story – when at least one source was actually named.

How your industry will change, I cannot predict. I subscribe to Yogi Berra’s dictum: “Forecasting is very difficult, especially when it involves the future.”

But I do know this: You will continue to find ways to provide the American people with reliable information that is vital to our lives and to our nation. And I am confident that the press will remain free. But further, I salute this organization and your various institutions in your effort to make it not only free, but also responsible, accurate, relevant, and integral to the functioning of our democracy.

Given the number and scale of our nation’s current challenges, the November election will have particular consequence. It will be a defining event. President Obama and I have very different visions for America, both of what it means to be an American today and what it will mean in the future.

Read more…

President Obama has been coming up with so much to discuss, but there is so little time to discuss it. The best thing I could come up with today on our number one Democrat was this (check his smile at the end — classic!).

Hat Tip to Lissa for this find!

Watch Mitt’s latest web ad as well:

Click here to support Mitt’s One-Term fund to help him defeat President Obama.

The tug to write about Mr. Santorum is too strong. I had decided last week that Santorum was smart and that he knew he had been marginalized and would therefore drop out. There is so much to discuss about Obama and his desperation right now — but Santorum’s oblivious intransigence is absolutely fascinating to me.

Political Future or Not?

By the way, I stand by everything I wrote last Thursday in my prediction that Santorum will drop out in April. I think he is a smart man. He has fought hard and he has done well.

I use the word “oblivious” because his rhetoric and body language convey that he has no idea that he is standing alone, out in the open, in the middle of the battlefield, about ready to be “taken out” — to quote Ed Rollins last night. Santorum all but declared victory last night after winning exactly two districts! (to Romney’s 75+) Is there a better word than “stunning” to describe Mr. Santorum’s personal ambition right now? Maybe “blind ambition?” It is just so interesting to observe what appears to be his delusional confidence! Seriously.

Following are are some of the quotes I was able to scribble down as I toggled between CNN and FOX News during the primary returns — these quotes are not verbatim, but they are very close to actual quotes, if not precise.

James Carville: “Santorum is like the chicken that got his head chopped off — the chicken keeps running around but the chicken doesn’t know it’s dead yet!”

Joe Trippi: “The fat lady is singing…No matter how you put it, it’s over…it will potentially hurt his career moving forward”

Ed Rollins (using combat terms): “Anytime Romney steps on the gas with media [buys], he can take [Santorum] out…He did it in Wisconsin when Santorum was way ahead…They’ll take him out in Pennsylvania…He won’t be able to hold his head high if he gets clobbered in his own home state. Now’s the time to step aside.”

Karl Rove: “Santorum said that his home state of Pennsylvania is a ‘make or break’ state for himself and Romney — that’s raising the stakes and showing weakness all at the same time!”

Charles Krauthammer: “Santorum said in his speech tonight that it is halftime. It’s not halftime. It’s the 4th quarter, there’s two minutes left, and he’s out of time outs. It’s really over. He should courageously drop out before Pennsylvania…I think the general election started today.”

Steve Hayes: If [Santorum] continues to make these speeches and say the kinds of things he says tonight…he’s increasingly disconnected from reality…It’s not the case anymore that ‘the establishment’ is against Rick Santorum (referring to several specific examples of strong Tea Party leaders’ support of Gov. Romney).

To the question of timing as to when Santorum, Gingrich, and Paul will drop out, Steve Hayes, Mary Katharine Ham, Kirsten Powers, and Charles Krauthammer each gave their answers. They all agreed that Ron Paul will not ever drop out; they were split on Gingrich dropping out soon or staying to the end, and three out of the four said Santorum will compete in Pennsylvania, stating that doing so will be “dangerous” for him. Krauthammer said this though, referring to Santorum dropping out before Pennsylvania:

“I can’t imagine he’ll do otherwise. It would be illogical in terms of his future if he acted otherwise. I do think he leaves within three weeks.” (before the Pennsylvania primary)

Krauthammer used the word “illogical” above. I will add to that “irrational.” As I wrote last Thursday, Santorum is not stupid. He is persistent, determined, and even stubborn, but he is not stupid. Today, he leads Romney in Pennsylvania by about six points. The moment Gov. Romney “steps on the gas” (to quote Ed Rollins), he will take Mr. Santorum out in Pennsylvania. Once Santorum sees this happening, I believe he will quit. If he does not, he will not only lose Pennsylvania, he will have his head handed to him that same day in Connecticut, Delaware, New York, and Rhode Island.

INVITATION:

Before I close this out, I wish to inform all supporters of Senator Santorum, who might be visiting us to test the waters, that we want you to join us, lock arms, and go shoulder to shoulder against Obama to defeat him under the strongest mandate this country has ever seen. We want you to join us now. We need you now. You are always welcome with us.

Finally and with full candor, if Rick Santorum allows his emotional ambitions to drive his thinking, and he decides to go down fighting in Pennsylvania, I frankly hope that he loses to Governor Romney by more than the 18 points he lost by in his last Senate campaign. Why? Because of his desperate lies in stating that Gov. Romney is essentially the same as President Obama — I wonder who is wrong? All the Tea Party leaders that have strongly endorsed Gov. Romney or Rick Santorum?

Let’s project out in time a bit. And I don’t mean to be presumptuous in the least. Let’s say that Gov. Romney is elected POTUS; that he is able to enact a large percentage of his strategic plan; that he is successful for four years which leads into another four years of additional success. We are now at the 2020 cycle. History knows that Rick Santorum got trounced in 2006 attempting to get reelected to the Senate and he got blown away in the April 24, 2012 primaries ripping Gov. Romney the whole way out.

What are his chances then? I believe Rick Santorum is a smart man and wants to have influence in the future.

“That which is given with pride and ostentation is rather an ambition than a bounty.” ~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca

.

Governor Mitt Romney and Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI) take a break from campaigning to grab a bite to eat at Culver's restaurant in Johnson Creek, Wisconsin. 4/1/12
(Photo/Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

The Romney/Ryan team continued yesterday taking their timely message to Wisconsinites. They were invited to hold a town hall meeting at Moore Oil Company in Milwaukee. Here’s video of The Gov and Congressman Ryan:

Later in the day, at the same venue, Romney and Ryan were interviewed by FOX News’ Greta Van Susteren:

We’re at a halfway point…

Today’s elections in Wisconsin, Maryland, and D.C. mark the halfway point in the race for delegates. Yesterday, Governor Romney picked up three more delegates… Coincidentally, he’s now halfway to clinching the GOP nomination:

The former Massachusetts governor inched up to 572 delegates on Monday _ exactly half the 1,144 needed _ after the Tennessee Republican Party finalized delegate totals from its March 6 primary. Results in several congressional districts were too close to call on election night, leaving three delegates unallocated.

Romney got all three delegates. He also picked up an endorsement from a New Hampshire delegate who had been awarded to former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman. Huntsman dropped out of the race in January and endorsed Romney.
[...]
According to the Associated Press tally, Romney has more than twice as many delegates as Santorum. Santorum has 272 delegates, followed by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich with 135 and Texas Rep. Ron Paul with 51.

Romney has won 54 percent of the primary and caucus delegates so far, putting him on pace to clinch the nomination in June. Romney could substantially add to his lead Tuesday, when 95 delegates will be at stake in three primaries, in Wisconsin, Maryland and the District of Columbia.

Current reality:

Santorum, who has won 27 percent of the primary and caucus delegates so far, would need 74 percent of the remaining delegates to clinch the nomination before the national convention. Gingrich would need 86 percent and Paul would have to win nearly all of them, which won’t happen because most states award delegates proportionally.

Anyone but Romney? Martin Sieff (FOX News Opinion) wrote yesterday that he is “sick of Santorum”:

Read more…