Here is a list the scandals that have involved Newt Gingrich in the last week. As you read this list, ask yourself if this man would be fitting representative for our country as president of the United States.

1) Gingrich’s second wife, Marianne Gingrich, reveals on ABC News that Newt asked her for an “open marriage” so he could continue to have an affair while remaining married. 

2) After the “open marriage” allegation, Gingrich stated in his defense that he “offered several witnesses” to ABC news who could counter the allegations but that ABC news “wasn’t interested.” A few days later, Gingrich then admits that he lied and that he never offered counter witnesses to ABC.

3) Forbes magazine reports that Gingrich very possibly is a tax cheat and that he didn’t pay all the necessary taxes for 2010. Gingrich owes up to $69,000 in taxes to the IRS.

4) Politico runs a story that proves conclusively that Gingrich supported and praised the model used by Freddie/Fannie to make home loans. This model allowed for “subprime” mortgages to be used widely in the U.S. and eventually lead to the housing crisis. Politico’s story contradicts Gingrich’s many claims that he was simply a “historian” for Freddie/Fannie and that he warned against the model. 

5) Countering Gingrich’s recent claims that he was Ronald Reagan’s greatest supporter/follower, many insiders to the Reagan White House wrote that Gingrich “repeatedly insulted Reagan”and said that Reagan was responsible for America’s moral “decay.” Newt goes on to say thatReagan’s policies were “flawed” and “insufficient” to counter the spread of Communism and the Soviet Union. 

6) A new video of Newt Gingrich is uncovered that shows Newt in 1985 bashing Ronald Reagan saying “the Reagan administration has failed” and that “Harry Truman has accomplished vastly more in foreign policy in five years than Reagan in the same amount of time.” 

7) At a recent rally in Florida, Gingrich said “I never criticized Clinton for having sex with Lewinski.” That is truly an astonishing thing for Gingrich to say. 

8. In an interview with CBN, Gingrich says that his many mistakes, like being a serial adulterer, makes him look more “normal and relatable” to people.

9) Joe Scarborough served in the House as a Republican during Newt’s time as speaker. Scarborough writes about how Newt passed the Contract with American and then fought with the GOP to break key provisions of that same contract. Scarborough also brings up how Gingrich “compared Reagan with Neville Chamberlain, dismissed Reaganomics as flawed and called Reagan’s approach to the Soviet Union an utter failure a few years before the U.S.S.R. was relegated to the dustbin of history.”
 

10) In 2007, Gingrich said that Spanish is the “language of the Ghetto.” Fact-checkers have verified that Gingrich has given several explanations for this comment but he has never really apologized for it.

11) Aside from the scandals, there are also just plain “Zany” comments made by Gingrich. In a speech in Florida recently, Gingrich vowed to create a “permanent colony on the moon by the end of his second term in office.” And that colony will “become the 51st state in America.”

12) Former GOP presidential nominee, Bob Dole, issues a stinging anti-endorsement of Gingrich pointing out that hardly anyone who served under Gingrich has endorsed him.

Did I forget anything else that happened in the last week or so? Those are just the scandals I could think of off the top of my head. Just imagine what the Democrats could do with a list like this. And remember, that is only last week.

A Few Comments About Newt Today

What does Nancy Know?

I’m going to throw out a couple additional thoughts about the topic of Vic’s article below summarizing the charge of Nancy Pelosi last night that Newt will not be president.

Says Nancy: “That’s not going to happen. Let me just make my prediction and stand by it. It isn’t going to happen.”

How can she be so sure? She said: “There’s something I know.”

My surprise was, when Newt was asked if Pelosi knew something that would derail his presidency, Newt’s answer was: “I don’t know.”

What? “I don’t know?” Seriously? You’d better come clean, Mr. Speaker. The right answer is “Absolutely nothing.” If there is something she might know, you’d better ‘fess up, and soon, or the GOP will be waking up with collective groans in October when Pelosi does her data dump a week or two before the election.

Mr. Speaker, release the notes to the House investigation into your conduct. Yes, there’s quite a public record there, but what about the sealed part of the records? And your arguments that Mitt should disclose unspecified information about his business dealings carry much less weight: Mitt worked in the private sector for a private company and there’s been no suggestion he may have done anything unethical. All reports indicate he’s squeaky clean. You’re the person, Mr. Speaker, who was the first Speaker in US history to be removed and to have to resign, largely as a result of ethics violations. There’s not even a hint of smoke regarding Mitt’s activities, but with respect to yours, embers of fires are still burning these 15 years later, rekindled by your walking the line of illegal lobbying activities. Call yourself what you want, but you’re quacking and waddling. I’m calling you a (grandiose) duck.

And let’s not forget one of our favorite gems: did he whisper something to her on that couch?

Newt to Run from Future Debates?

I loved the Brian Williams debate. It allowed candidates to talk freely about ideas without the emotional intervention of a crowd. A comment on my post yesterday was very observant:

When you play football, you have a pep rally. Newt is great at the pep rally. Pep rallies don’t win games.

To actually win the game, you have to prepare, plan, practice, practice, then practice some more. Then you execute your prepared game plan. Newt stinks at all of that (missing the Virginia ballot, lack of fundraising, lack of endorsements, volatile campaign staff, erratic campaign…). So how in the world could anyone think he would be a great president? He would not even be a good president…

Newt would be a great sideline cheerleader in the Superbowl of politics, but should not take the field.

Thanks, “kimntim.”

Newt, knowing he performs much more poorly when he actually has to discuss his “big ideas” without the Fox made-for-TV rah-rah, has threatened not to participate in more debates unless they’re on his terms. From Reuters:

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, coming off one of his most subdued debate performances of the campaign, signaled on Tuesday he may skip future debates unless his supporters are given full license to clap, cheer and roar.

And:

Without a roaring crowd to encourage him, Gingrich took a heavy pounding from Romney on Monday and spent long stretches of the debate on the defensive over his record in Congress and his work for mortgage giant Freddie Mac.

And this is the guy who says he can stand up to Obama in a debate? Newt, your tail’s between your legs. That’s not a convincing position of power. You can try and run and hide from Mitt in future debates, or hide behind a planted crowd, but in the presidential debates vs. Obama, the format is what you fear most and where you performed most poorly: no crowd interaction. And yes, that’s the format where Mitt shined most. Bring on Mitt vs. Obama! Anyone wondering about Mitt vs. Obama should also see also my article from yesterday in which the Financial Times says that’s just the matchup America needs.

Taxes

Another topic worthy of discussion that I haven’t had a chance to tackle, and will probably do so poorly, but that merits a start: taxes. Besides Mitt’s charitable giving of well over 10% of his income, Mitt’s taxes revealed he made tens of millions of dollars and was taxed at an effective 14% tax rate. Democrats look at that and think that’s a travesty. Republicans look at it and think “everyone should be as successful.” $6 million in taxes last year is not chump change! Looking at tax charts, the top 1% of this country already pay a disproportionate amount of the tax dollars. Yes, the tax rate may be lower on capital gains vs. ordinary income, but there’s a policy reason for that: to encourage investment, and because it’s quite likely those dollars were already taxed once. When you start adding up all the times Mitt’s money was taxed, my guess is it amounts to much more than a 14% rate. For example, any C corporations in his portfolio are paying taxes on their income before they distribute any dividends. And he may well have paid ordinary income rates or cap gains rates on invested money already, and the Federal government is getting a 2d or 3d bite at the apple. All in, my guess is Mitt’s real tax rate is much higher.

On this question generally, I favor a lower cap gains rate to assure continued investment in the US. Others will do a better job than I laying that out, but when Obama says we all need to pay our “fair share,” and reserves the right to define “fair,” I get very worried. I’m reminded of the French revolution, in which the values espoused were “liberty, equality and fraternity.” Liberty I can agree with. Fraternity is great. But be careful around equality: we love equality of opportunity, and the French seem to like equality of result, i.e., wealth re-distribution. All that does is disincentivize those most able to work, and pay those that are less productive disproportionately, leading to a perpetually depressed economy.

If I heard correctly, Obama wants to double the cap gains tax to 30%. What will happen to investment in the US if that happens? If the US is taxed more, an investment there is less profitable and that money will be invested elsewhere, end of story. Obama doesn’t seem to realize this, or doesn’t care. Mitt knows the real impact due to his time in the real economy. Obama doesn’t. Newt doesn’t. Mitt does.

Overall, the release of Mitt’s tax records only proves to me that Mitt succeeded at the American Dream by keeping the rules, paying just as much as he’s required to under the law, and wisely managing what he was blessed with to keep the money he’s entitled to. Do I want someone who’s played by the rules and who succeeded to be my president? Absolutely. Do I want someone who so poorly manages his finances that he pays more than what he’s required? Not at all. Reminds me of the type of guy who couldn’t even manage to get on the ballot in his home state.

Numerous news organizations are publishing that Newt Gingrich may have cheated on his taxes in 2010. Here is what Forbes Magazine had to say:

“Newt Gingrich avoided tens of thousands of dollars in Medicare payroll taxes in 2010 by using a technique the Internal Revenue Service has consistently and successfully attacked.”

A Wall Street Journal subsidiary called MarketWatch wrote:

“Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich avoided paying about $69,000 in payroll taxes in 2010 by using a tax strategy that characterized money he collected from one of his companies as profits rather than salary, a tax expert said.

It’s been called the “John Edwards loophole” in the past, because the former presidential contender used the same strategy to pay himself from his law practice . . .There are a multitude of cases where the IRS has successfully challenged [this] improper tax strategy,” the tax expert said. 

USA Today quotes 3 tax lawyers as stating:  

“The IRS could challenge it, if they wished. The IRS might make the case his salary should have been substantially larger” and subject to Medicare tax.” The Gingrich campaign declined to allow an interview with Gingrich’s tax preparer.

Forbes concludes:

“Of course, now that Gingrich is running for president, it is unlikely the IRS will come after him as he would simply call it an attack by the Obama administration. Personally, I can’t wait to hear Newt find a way to blame this on the media. Or maybe he’ll tell us that he was so busy serving his country that he had to cheat the government in order to save the government.”

It seems that Newt Gingrich’s push to have Romney release his taxes has backfired. More than likely, we won’t have to wait until October to get a “surprise-a-day” from Newt Gingrich.

This is part 2 in a continuing series of questionable legal practices by Mr. Gingrich. Remember that improper tax payments were one of the main reasons the Speaker was forced to leave the Speakership in the 90′s. Click here for part I.

Did you catch former NH Gov John Sununu on America’s Newsroom with Martha MacCallum this morning (FOX News)?

With all the Gingrich hoopla swirling around today, Sununu deftly drove home very good points that the news media is missing:

John Sununu Says People Should Worry About Gingrich’s Ethics Problems Instead of Romney’s Income Taxes

Mitt Romney’s GOP rivals have been hammering him about releasing his income tax numbers even after he promised to make them public in April, but during CNN’s GOP debate he had quite a talking point saying, “I’m not going to apologize for being successful,” to which he explained that he doesn’t want to give President Obama any early ammunition.

(emphasis added)

Three of the four GOP candidates haven’t released their tax returns; Gov Romney and Rick Santorum will and Ron Paul won’t. Sununu says this shouldn’t be an issue:

Specifically, he explained why people should worry about Newt Gingrich’s ethics problems instead, saying, “Three out of four Republicans on that ethics committee voted against Mr. Gingrich and the issues were so bad that his own leadership kicked him out of the leadership and it’s important to note that Nancy Pelosi was one of the members of that group that has those records on file and whatever Nancy Pelosi knows, Barack Obama knows, so Newt Gingrich better release that now … so the voters know what they know.”

Sununu points out that all the media ballyhooing about Romney’s answer regarding how many times he’ll share his tax returns in the future and the subsequent “booing in the audience” came from two Ron Paul guys who were sitting in the Paul cheering section. He said the two stood up – ready to make noise – as Romney was asked the question.

Greg Gutfeld (Fox News’ The Five, Jan 20, 2012):

“There’s something that Newt said that really bugged me, when he looked at the audience and talked about how everyone knows personal pain, and that everyone has someone close to them who knows personal pain — you can’t conflate people who inflict pain with people who receive pain. There are people who do bad things; there are people who do good things. You cannot look at the audience and say ‘you know my pain,’ because there are a lot of women out there who will say ‘No, I didn’t do that; you did that’.”

UPDATE – Pawlenty says Gingrich’s infidelities ‘concern’ him
The Hill – By Cameron Joseph
Jan 19, 2012

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty said Newt Gingrich’s infidelities were fair game in the campaign and that they concerned him personally.

In a post-debate interview in which he defended Mitt Romney’s record, Pawlenty said that voters “are going to have to decide for themselves” what they thought of the issue.

“When I see his ex-wife Marianne on TV expressing those kind of concerns it certainly concerns me,” he said.

“Obviously it’s a very big news story and one that voters are going to have to judge for themselves what that says about these candidates, what that says about the race, and what that says about their suitability,” said Pawlenty …

Neil Cavuto (FOX News – Your World) really bucked the popular Newt-is-so-right media fest today by sticking his neck out with this question:

BEWARE the grandiose, wily Newt. He’s a master at making himself look like a victim.

Speaking of grandiose, check out what’s below the fold:

Read more…

Mitt Romney snagged a biggie this morning. He’s been endorsed by Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell (current chairman of the Republican Governors Association):

Politico

“I’ve decided to support Mitt Romney. I think he’s a results-oriented conservative, I think he’s the best leader to get America back on track to create jobs, to get this national debt under control, and I’m delighted to be supporting Mitt Romney,” McDonnell said in an appearance on CNBC.
[...]
“I think he’s got steady momentum. A lot of candidates have been up and down in this race. Mitt Romney has been the one who has been steady and garnering support,” he said. “Look, we’ve got great candidates in the race, any one of them would be better than President Obama in being a strong leader, creating jobs and getting our debt under control, but Mitt Romney’s got a proven record, he’s a results-oriented conservative, and he’s got the record of creating jobs.”

McDonnell said that Saturday’s primary in South Carolina convinced him that it was time for him to jump in with an official endorsement. “It’s a Southern primary — I’m a Southern governor and I thought I could help the governor by coming out today,” he said.

The governor also touted Romney as a Republican with the ability to “win Democrats and independents to our cause” while continuing to stick to his principles. “If you want to win the race in November, vote for Mitt Romney. He’s the best candidate that we’ve got to beat President Obama,” he said.

Romney Press Shop

“Governor McDonnell’s leadership in Virginia is an example for the rest of the nation,” said Mitt Romney. “Governor McDonnell has used the conservative principles of keeping taxes and spending low and creating a fair regulatory climate to make Virginia a top destination for job creators. These same principles can be used in Washington to fix our economy and make government accountable to the taxpayers. I am proud to have his support and look forward to working with Governor McDonnell.”

“As I have said throughout this primary process, we need a governor to serve as our next president,” said Governor McDonnell. “America needs leadership and that’s what governors do: they lead. Governors actually have to find solutions and bring all parties together in order to get results for their citizens – they can’t just sit back and cast votes. Mitt Romney has been an effective leader his entire life, in business, the Olympics and as governor. President Obama’s lack of leadership experience is now clear – he has failed to turn around the economy and end the gridlock in Washington. Mitt Romney used his leadership ability in a politically difficult environment to balance the budget every year, cut spending and taxes, and create jobs. He is a results-oriented conservative. This is the type of record that conservatives like me are honored to support – we need a leader like Mitt Romney in the White House to enact effective change that will put our country back on the right path and Americans back to work.”

Background On Governor McDonnell:

Governor Bob McDonnell was elected In 2009. Prior to his election, McDonnell served as Virginia’s Attorney General and as a Delegate representing Virginia’s 84th District in Virginia Beach. Governor McDonnell is an Army Veteran who served his country for 21 years. Governor McDonnell is the current Chairman of the Republican Governors Association.
(emphasis added)

Besides appearing on CNBC this morning, Gov McDonnell was also on CNN and FOX & Friends. Here’s a brief look at his appearance on FOX:

(If we find better video, it will be posted here.)

McDonnell will campaign in South Carolina with Gov Romney this afternoon and evening at events in Charleston and Greenville. He will also help at an event tomorrow morning before flying home.

Thanks, Governor McDonnell!

Today’s schedule details for Romney:

11:00 AM ET
Hosting rally at Harmon Tree Farm
Harmon Tree Farm, 3152 Augusta Highway, Gilbert, S.C.

3:45 PM ET
Hosting rally at Charleston Area Convention Center
Charleston Area Convention Center, 5001 Coliseum Drive, North Charleston, S.C.

8:30 PM
Hosting Get Out The Vote Event
Saw Mill at Larkin’s, 22 Graves Drive, Greenville, S.C.

► Jayde Wyatt

Artwork by Chad Crowe

Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich would lead voters to believe that Mitt Romney was involved in some kind of evil for his work at Bain Capital. Americans know differently. Governor Romney does need to find opportunities to provide the many examples of how his turn-around work improved the lives of thousands of families.

Henninger’s opinion piece is outstanding.

Not only did Bain Capital save America, but no matter what turn Mitt Romney’s political career takes, Bain Capital may stand as the best of Mr. Romney’s lifetime contributions to the nation’s economic well-being. If only he’d tell the story.
[...]
Properly understood, the 1980s, including Bain, were the remarkable years when an ever-resilient America found a way to save itself from becoming what Europe is now—a global has-been.
[...]
Read through S&P’s justification for last week’s downgrades of nine European countries. Along with the expected dumping on those countries’ fiscal profligacy, one finds as well a blunt recognition of Europe’s moribund “fundamentals,” meaning their ability to produce “strong and consistent” economic growth.

If not for Bain Capital and the other, bigger players who commenced a decade of leveraged buyouts and hostile takeovers in the 1980s, the odds are that the U.S.’s “fundamentals” would be similarly weak. Instead, the U.S. corporate sector remade itself during the Bain years.
[...]
Thousands of Mitt Romneys allied with huge pension funds representing colleges, unions and the like, plus a rising cadre of institutional money managers, to force corporate America to reboot. In the 1980s almost half of major U.S. corporations got takeover offers.

Singling out this or that Bain case study amid the jostling and bumping is pointless. This was a historic and necessary cleansing of the Augean stables of the American economy. It caused a positive revolution in U.S. management, financial analysis, incentives, governance and market-based discipline. It led directly to the 1990s boom years. And it gave the U.S. two decades of breathing room while Europe, with some exceptions, choked.
[...]
Mr. Romney’s answer appears to be that voters want to keep hearing about him and his management résumé. Voters don’t want one man’s story. They want someone who understands how the next 10 years can produce an American economy that offers the opportunities for them that the 1980s produced for Mitt Romney.

* * * * * CAPITALISM * * * * * *

“What’s immediately profitable is the only kind of logic that capitalism understands.” — Susan George

“Whether we look at capitalism, taxes, business, or government, the data show a clear and consistent pattern: 70 percent of Americans support the free enterprise system and are unsupportive of big government.” –Arthur C. Brooks

,

There is a lot of talk these days about how Mitt Romney is a so-called “Massachusetts moderate” and how other candidates are trying to be the “conservative alternative” to Gov. Romney. Some even compare Mitt Romney to John McCain’s candidacy of 2008.

One very conservative and influential magazine called ‘The Weekly Standard,’ whose editor (Bill Krystol) is a regular panelist on Fox News Sunday, looked into the issue. The conclusion that they found is that Romney is “no moderate,” in fact:

“Romney is at least as conservative as his GOP rivals on jettisoning Obamacare and more conservative than some on entitlements, national security, and immigration. He’s no match for Gingrich on taxes, but that’s about it. Overall, he’s to the right of Gingrich.”

The article goes on to say that in regard to the top four most pressing issues of the day (namely Immigration, Tax Reform, Health Care, and Military Defense spending), Romney is “anything but moderate.”

“On four of the biggest issues in 2012, Romney is anything but moderate—or timid. He gets no special credit for advocating repeal of Obamacare. That’s Republican dogma. But he’s been the most specific among the GOP presidential candidates in backing the Ryan budget in all its parts, including its remake of Medicare. It was House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan’s plan that Gingrich zinged as “right wing social engineering” before reversing himself under duress.

When Romney announced in November his own proposal for cutting spending and reforming Medicare and Social Security, Paul Ryan was thrilled. “Look at what he put out!” he told Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post. “This is a great development.” Ryan said Romney’s package of spending cuts “tracks perfectly with the House budget,” which Ryan had drafted.”

Further Evidence

Further evidence of Romney’s conservative credentials is the fact that Romney made history in New Hampshire’s vote last week. Not only was he the first non-incumbent Republican to win both Iowa and New Hampshire, but in New Hamphire Romney got more votes from self-identified Republican voters than any other Republican candidate in history. Here is a brief summary on how New Hampshire Republicans voted:

“Mitt picked up 49% of GOP voters. Romney’s 49 percent is the highest mark among self-identified Republicans for any presidential candidate since New Hampshire moved its primary forward in the calendar.

Contrast that with John McCain, with whom he’s often compared as a squishy moderate with problems with Republicans.

McCain is the only candidate since 1980 to win New Hampshire even as he lost among self-identified Republicans.

That means McCain was essentially the worst winner with Republicans in New Hampshire over the past 30 years, while Romney was the best.”

As the Weekly Standard and polls from New Hampshire show, Romney is no moderate. He is a solid conservative. Strikingly, Romney is getting equal support from both conservatives and moderates among the voters and also from among congressmen and Governors who have endorsed Romney. Part of Romney’s strength is that he is a conservative that also appeals strongly to independents. That sounds like the kind of candidate we need running for the White House. 

Read more…

…………………. [see video of Oprah with Chris Christie below the fold] ………………..

Before addressing the subject I chose, I would be remiss if I did not congratulate Governor Romney on behalf of the MRC team and its loyal readers. Congratulations to Governor Romney, his family, campaign team, grassroots volunteers, and the voters of Iowa and New Hampshire for this historic beginning of the 2012 election year! Amazing results from very hard work indeed.

Leadership skill is claimed by all six Republican candidates – Governor Romney stands well above them all as a gifted leader. Governor Romney’s Iowa and New Hampshire finishes are quite simply the result of masterful leadership at all levels. Competitors and pundits will spin these last 10 days for advantage – but, trust me on this – when Rick, Jon, Rick, Newt, and Ron get to pillow talk each night with their wives, each one is saying, “Whoa, that is incredible what Mitt put together and what he is accomplishing! Unbelievable!”

Governor Romney Winning

Ronald Reagan was famous for saying to Jimmy Carter, “Now there you go again!” when Carter strayed from the truth. I caught Piers Morgan’s interview with Mr. Gingrich Wednesday night when Gingrich came right out and said, “I am going to win South Carolina.” My reply to the television was, “Now there you go again!” He can’t help it. Politics is as much about setting the right expectations as it is about anything. Contrary to Gingrich’s lemmings who think otherwise, he is not as bright as they surmise. During this interview, he repeated a string of lies about Gov. Romney, at least two times, that included references to abortions, liberal judges, raising taxes, etc. Ridiculous. “Now there you go again.” But Gingrich uses free advertising to get his sound bites out knowing full well that many people in South Carolina will not dig deeper for truth. We (you and Team MRC) as grassroots volunteers are going to do everything we can to make Mr. Gingrich eat those words and then beg to join the team.

IMPORTANT: Please do not believe any polls that state that Governor Romney is leading or is expected to win South Carolina. PLEASE! Accepting any mindset of complacency is dangerous and could result in a loss that would wipe out any momentum gained in the last 10 days. Even worse, it sets a precedent that could reverse the trend. We cannot stress this enough. As hard as every volunteer worked these last ten days, the time to redouble efforts is right now and we can never let up until January 22nd — a day of rest will be good then. If you hear about positive polls, I hope that will only steel your determination to work harder to get to every last voter to get them out to vote. Can you help us at MRC spread the word on this throughout the United States to all volunteers willing to make phone calls to South Carolina voters? Gingrich and Perry are desperate. Their state of mind will likely lead them to cross the ethical line many times in the next 10 days.

Observations after New Hampshire: In my opinion, CNN’s coverage of both the Iowa and New Hampshire election nights was superior to FOX by a factor of 10. CNN had numerous pros on deck and their coverage and analysis were balanced and insightful. FOX seemed more like entertainment and shallow, especially in Iowa. I detected a shift with CNN away from their liberal bias reputation toward balance. By the way, Hannity cannot hide the fact he is biased against Governor Romney. On the night of the amazing New Hampshire win, you could see in his face and posture that he was disappointed that his favorite boy Santorum finished poorly. Are you as tired as I am of Hannity’s constant cliche repeats of what Democrats want? If he throws a football or repeats those cliches again, I may not check back until March.

Side Note: New Hampshire final exams result in combined scores for Gingrich, Santorum, and Perry of 21% — Compared to Ron Paul’s final score of 23%. Feeble Trio Diffused! Keep it up!

NOTEWORTHY:

DANGER ZONE: Whether the harsh criticism will make Romney — who last week eked out an eight-vote win in the Iowa caucuses — a better candidate in the long run, as some suggest, or permanently handicap him if he is the nominee, as Democrats hope, remains an open question. — NPR, 1/10/12

GOP ATTACKS: The sudden intraparty assault has helped Mr. Romney in one way, prompting even conservative skeptics like Rush Limbaugh to come to his defense. The conservative Club for Growth singled out Newt Gingrich for “economically ignorant class warfare rhetoric” that is “downright Obamaesque.” — The New York Times, 1/11/12

ECONOMIC WOES IN S.C.: How much Ms. Haley’s support for Mr. Romney factors into the race will be closely watched. Although some here applaud her nearly singular focus on sharply reducing government spending and lowering the state’s unemployment rate, which now sits at 9.9 percent, she is not broadly popular. — The New York Times, 1/11/12

NEW HAMPSHIRE CATHOLICS: One surprising finding: Santorum, a Catholic, won only about 8 percent of self-identified Catholic voters, a serious underperformance on his part since Catholics accounted for more a third of the electorate Tuesday. Gingrich, also a Catholic, won 10 percent of Catholic voters, according to exit poll interviews. Romney, a Mormon, dominated among Catholics winning 45 percent of them. — NBC Politics, 1/11/12

DNC STRUGGLING TO RAISE FUNDS: Emmerling challenged the notion that the host committee was having a difficult time raising money. [...] “It hasn’t been easy,” Harris said of the host committee’s fundraising efforts. “But there’s no question in my mind it’s going to happen.”Another member of the host committee, a Democratic activist who asked not to be identified, told the Observer that host committee leaders have said the Obama restrictions have made it tough to raise money, but they believe it will be done….”Are they working hard and losing sleep over it? Yes,” the source told the Observer. “But they didn’t seem at all desperate. … I don’t have inside information, but I think they’re over halfway there, though.” — Charlotte Observer, 1/11/12

OBAMA LACKS MORAL COMPASS (Belafonte): [no second term] If there was the kind of moral compass serving Barack Obama the way we hoped, the moral force would have helped him make choices, the absence of that force in his equations, that barometer to guide him when he has to make these decisions that are hugely complicated, he should have come to the table with the things that would have helped us in this moment of crisis.” — Big Hollywood, 1/10/12

GINGRICH/PERRY SHILLS (Gov. Romney quotes): “But, you know, Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich are going to be the witnesses for the prosecution. I’m not worried about that. They can take it as they like,” he said. “You saw last night that approach didn’t work very well for (them). And so we’ll take it to the next level.” CNN, 1/11/12

DAVID GERGEN, ROMNEY’S WILD CARD: It is worth remembering, too, that the Olympics hired Romney to head the Games while he was at Bain Capital. Is it logical to think the Olympic committee had any sense that Romney was a predatory capitalist? The question answers itself. — CNN, 1/11/12

ROMNEY MADE THE FIELD WEAK: But Romney didn’t just face a weak field — he made it weak. His strength, money, and organization scared off some serious challengers. [...] He simply beat one former governor who many in the press — this writer included — thought would beat him, Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, and drove him out of the race early. When another governor, Rick Perry of Texas, made a late entry as the Romney killer, he instead wound up illustrating how well prepared for this battle Romney really is. — Politico, 1/11/12

Read more…

Boy scouts listen as Gov Mitt Romney delivers the keynote speech addressing the theme of 'Building Character' at the Boy Scouts of America 100th Anniversary Celebration.
Grand Rapids, Michigan - Feb 18, 2010

This caught my eye for two reasons:

2. It’s published in the New Hampshire Union Leader (newspaper that endorsed Gingrich and by the way, are co-sponsors of Sunday’s presidential debate in Concord, NH).

Tweet from Team Mitt:

MT @NHJennifer Why this conservative teaparty grassroots activist chose @MittRomney: http://t.co/6uGfGTIa #FITN #Mitt2012

“Mitt Romney Is A Man Of Conservative Character”
By Jennifer Horn
Union Leader
January 7, 2012

The next President of the United States is going to face the enormous challenge of reversing four years of the most economically devastating policies our nation has seen in my lifetime. Contrary to his own declaration of being one of the four greatest Presidents in our nation’s history, Barack Obama has been a measurable failure and must be replaced.

As a lifelong conservative who came to politics after first owning a small business, raising a family and being very involved in my community, I am less concerned about party and politics and much more concerned about what kind of world my children will raise their families in. Above all else, this election is about preserving freedom in America; it is about preserving an America of limited government and unlimited opportunity.

That is why, as a conservative, as an activist, and as a mother I am voting for Mitt Romney for President.

Romney’s combination of private sector and public sector experience makes him uniquely qualified to confront the economic woes of our time. After 34 months of unemployment in excess of 8 percent, we need a President who understands how jobs grow. During his years in the private sector, Mitt Romney had a hand in growing over 100,000 American jobs. Mitt Romney understands the nuts and bolts of business; with 13.3 million Americans looking for work we need a President who understands how intrusive government regulations crush opportunity.

Mitt Romney has offered a detailed, step by step plan to restore economic stability to America. It may not be sexy and it may not come with a catchy tag line but it is a sound, comprehensive approach that will put America back to work. His plan includes all the common sense initiatives that conservatives have always fought for. It is based on free markets, individual rights and limited government intervention.
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The following paragraph from Ms. Horn is another refutation of the lie Newt Gingrich continues to trumpet – that Governor Romney raised taxes in Massachusetts (Newt’s calling Mitt a liar is abhorent and flat-out wrong, while Newt IS one. Wait! That’s exactly what Newt did when he publicly denounced Bill Clinton’s philandering with Monica Lewinsky while he, himself, was engaged in worse.):

As a Republican governor in a painfully liberal state, Mitt Romney made a conservative mark. He issued hundreds of line-item vetoes in bills passed by the Democrat-controlled legislature. He cut taxes, eliminated a $3 billion budget deficit and left behind a $2 billion rainy day fund. Mitt Romney was able to apply the common sense knowledge we all have that you cannot continually spend more than you take in, and a state economy that had been mired in recession once again began to create jobs.

Ms. Horn continues:

More important than a candidate’s position on any one policy, however, is his ability to lead. We understand as conservatives, as business owners and as parents, that integrity is measured by how you behave when no one is paying attention. No one will ever accuse Mitt Romney of cheating – on his taxes, in his business or on his family. There has never been a hint of scandal associated with him, in business or politics. When it comes to choosing the next leader of the free world, character matters.
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Mitt Romney’s grassroots campaign has proven his respect for the role of that each citizen plays in our democratic process. He has answered thousands of unedited questions from thousands of voters. He eloquently and passionately expresses his love of God, country and family. When asked at the We The People town hall what core principle would guide him as President, he answered “The oath of office, where I place my hand on the Bible and swear to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America.”

Mitt Romney is a man of conservative values with a successful record of growing jobs, leading under difficult circumstances and making tough decisions when called upon to do so. He is a man of great personal integrity and possesses the character and strength to lead.

(emphasis, image added)

DO read the entire endorsement here.

Spread this far and wide.

Note: Ms. Horn is founder of We the People: A First in the Nation Freedom Forum.

► Jayde Wyatt

Upon learning of Congresswoman Michele Bachmann’s decision to suspend her presidential bid today, Governor Mitt Romney issued the following statement:

“Ann and I salute Congresswoman Bachmann. She ran a campaign to advance the principles of limited government that I hold dear. Michele is a friend and a strong competitor. Her tenacity on the campaign trail and her fierce intelligence in the debates have left me no doubt that, as advertised, she does indeed have a titanium spine. Michele inspires millions of Americans by the way she has lived her life, raised her family and served her country. With leaders of her caliber coming up the ranks, the future of the Republican Party – and the future of the country – is bright.”

“Last night, the people of Iowa spoke with a very clear voice, and so I have decided to stand aside.” ~ Michele Bachmann

Congresswoman Bachmann’s work promoting Tea Party principles of smaller government and less taxation on Capitol Hill has been inspiring. She and Governor Romney share those views. I also appreciate the preparation, passion, and communication skills she exhibited during the debates. I have no doubt she will continue to be an important, fervent voice for the conservative cause.

Thank you Congresswoman, for your contribution to the GOP nominating process and your commitment to constitutional principles. We invite Congresswoman Bachmann’s supporters to join Governor Romney’s quest to unseat Barack Obama and restore America.

Convey well wishes to Congressman Bachmann here.

► Jayde Wyatt