New Developments III

[Greg]

Nate Silver is predicting that Ron Paul will win the Iowa Republican caucus.

[Sonic Youth]

The Gingrich honeymoon is over. How sad.

This is the smartest thing Republican voters could do.

[Damien]

Rick Perry is such a quintessential Republican politician -- stupid and hypocritical.

Former Texas Lawmaker Suggests Perry is Gay
Just published: Head Figure Head: The Search for the Hidden Life of Rick Perry by Glen Maxey.

Gawker: "Glen Maxey, the first openly gay member of the Texas State Legislature and longtime Democratic activist, spent most of last summer helping a reporter for a 'national news outlet' nail down persistent rumors of Rick Perry's sexual relationships with men. The story got killed. So Maxey has published an e-book laying out the evidence."

Politico reports the Perry campaign went so far as hire a "acclaimed libel lawyer" to fight the story.

[criddic3]

Of course, you can add that Mr. Trump has foolishly been promoting himself as a possible spoiler candidate on a 3rd party ticket. Nobody takes that seriously, since he has a history of flirting with a run without ever taking it to the next level.

Wrong again, criddic. Per the article below:

Trump's decision also follows suggestions from Republican National Commiittee chairman Reince Priebus and others that it would be inappropriate for Trump to moderate a Republican debate while openly weighing an independent run for the White House.

The chairman from the RNC apparently took him seriously enough.

Maybe it would have been better to say "nobody should take it seriously." I think that Trump's possible indie run was just an excuse to bow out of the debate. But my statement was geared toward the idea that Trump promoting such a run was "foolish" because gave an out to his potential debaters, even though he won't make the effort to run as an independent. In my view it would have been much more powerful to run as a Republican, because had he won the nomination he would have had the backing of a major party and its supporters. Ron Paul would have a similar problem if he runs as an independent. The only reason to do so is to play spoiler, but for both of them such an act would backfire since they both say they want to see President Obama defeated. Running on a 3rd party ticket would likely tip the balance toward, rather than away, from Obama by taking away votes from the Republicans. I'd be surprised if either got more than 5% of the general electorate, but in a close election that makes a difference.

[Sonic Youth]

Of course, you can add that Mr. Trump has foolishly been promoting himself as a possible spoiler candidate on a 3rd party ticket. Nobody takes that seriously, since he has a history of flirting with a run without ever taking it to the next level.

Wrong again, criddic. Per the article below:

Trump's decision also follows suggestions from Republican National Commiittee chairman Reince Priebus and others that it would be inappropriate for Trump to moderate a Republican debate while openly weighing an independent run for the White House.

The chairman from the RNC apparently took him seriously enough.

[Sonic Youth]

You're fired, Donald.

[Sonic Youth]

Hate to kick a man when he's down, but...

Perry calls "Solynda" a country

[taki15]

Perry declines Trump's invitation. It's probably going to end up being an interview with Gingrich, at this rate.

You may want to rethink your statements about the Trump debates, criddic?

Isn't Santorum going to be part of the frothy mix?

Santorum is always present when an asshole meets a prick.

[Sonic Youth]

His campaign's been running on fumes anyway, but...

“For Washington to tell a local school district that you cannot have a prayer and a time of prayer in that school is, I think, offensive to most Americans. I trust the people of the states to make those decisions. I trust those independent school districts to make those decisions better than eight unelected, and frankly, unaccountable judges,” Perry said

Since there are eight unelected judges - I mean, justices - on the Supreme Court, could someone remind me who the sole elected judge - I mean, justice - is? I failed Rick Perry's civics course.

[Sonic Youth]

Conservative pundits turn down Newt

The conservative opinion elite has reached a consensus on Newt Gingrich: He’s not the one they’ve been waiting for.

In the days since Gingrich leaped to the forefront of the Republican presidential race, the nation’s most prominent right-leaning commentators — many of whom have spent the last year pining for alternatives to Mitt Romney — have rendered a swift and caustic judgment on their party’s latest out-of-right-field challenger.

In columns dripping with disdain, they’ve argued that Gingrich isn’t just undesirable as an opponent for Romney — he’s probably not fit for the presidency altogether.

[Sonic Youth]

Hefty Gingrich debts a decades-long pattern
By Stephen C. Webster
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Rawstory.com

Newt Gingrich, who suddenly finds himself near the front of the ever-shifting GOP pack, is also finding that his finances are yet again in the cross-hairs.

Multiple outlets are reporting that financial woes within the campaign means they’re skipping contests in key states and foregoing traditional campaign stops, even as Gingrich is taking early repayments of personal loans to the campaign. Meanwhile, long-time creditors fret about when they’ll get paid.

In the key swing states of Missouri and Ohio, which President Barack Obama won in 2008, the Gingrich campaign has lagged behind other candidates in filing key paperwork. Just this week he nearly missed the filing deadline for Ohio, but ultimately succeeded in posting most of the required paperwork at the zero-hour. Similarly, he skipped filing in Missouri due to the cost — a mere $1,000 — simply because the Missouri GOP primary isn’t the most important selection process for the state party.

In addition, prior reports indicated that the campaign did not have cash on hand for the $25,000 Ames Straw Poll filing fee, or $30,000 for a list of previous Iowa caucus attendees. Meanwhile, Gingrich had his own campaign pay him a $125,000 reimbursement for travel expenses and a mailing list that he could have simply donated.

He repaid himself even as he’s being hounded by his creditors, who are owed over $1.2 million in long-term debts. The campaign says they’re beginning to pay those down, too. By contrast, former Mass. Governor Mitt Romney’s campaign has carried no debts, opting to pay out of pocket right away.

Scrutiny of Gingrich’s finances began earlier this year, after reports surfaced that he had an unpaid $500,000 line of credit with jewelry company Tiffany’s. Facing the ever-growing mountain of campaign debts and reports that the candidate was on a Mediterranean cruise, 18 members of team Gingrich — including his top finance aides — quit en masse. After all, for months he was spending $3 for every $2 raised, according to reports.

For Gingrich, this type of fiscal mismanagement appears to be a pattern stretching back years.

Gingrich’s personal finances have reportedly been in various states of disarray for decades — a love for costly private air travel and expensive jewelry barely even scratches the surface.

A profile in Esquire last year described how Gingrich let his wife Marianne take over management of his personal budget, because he found it “too stressful.”

Similarly, a profile of the former Speaker published by Vanity Fair in 1995 noted that his first wife, Jackie, was also in charge of his personal finances. Even then, the couple took 13 years to pay off their debts, and once they divorced, she had to sue Gingrich to get him paying alimony. Testimony in hearings on the case ultimately shed even more light on his liberal personal spending, even as his first ex-wife was struggling to keep her home’s utilities turned on.

But it’s not just stress in running budgets or refusing to pay his debts: it’s also his apparent ignorance of financial matters in general that will likely have conservatives doing a double-take.

As Speaker, Gingrich was fined $300,000 by the House for an ethics violation after he was caught using tax deductible groups to finance and support his political agenda. The scheme ultimately helped Republicans wrestle control of the House back to their side during the Clinton administration.

During the investigation, Gingrich reportedly lied to the ethics committee about using tax-exempt, ostensibly non-partisan organizations to further Republican causes — although he was not alone in committing these violations. Donors to these groups were simultaneously supporting their favored Republican causes and gaining a tax rebate, which is patently illegal.

Gingrich ultimately admitted that some of his statements to the committee were “inaccurate,” insisting his real crime was ignorance and that he simply had not consulted a lawyer about the tax code.

If the former House Speaker manages to secure the Republican nomination to challenge Obama in next year’s election, Democrats are guaranteed to have a field day with his long history of ethical scrapes, underhanded dealings, repeated infidelity and record of saying, well, pretty dumb things.

But it’s a long way until August, and Gingrich’s long-term lack of fiscal discipline could be the inroad — or Christmas present — Romney is looking for, especially when the GOP is singing the praises of financial austerity and fiscal discipline.

[flipp525]

Perry declines Trump's invitation. It's probably going to end up being an interview with Gingrich, at this rate.

You may want to rethink your statements about the Trump debates, criddic?

Isn't Santorum going to be part of the frothy mix?

Amazing, Damien!

[Sonic Youth]

It's the "And Then There Were None" debate. Michelle Bachmann has also dropped out.

[criddic3]

Perry declines Trump's invitation. It's probably going to end up being an interview with Gingrich, at this rate.

You may want to rethink your statements about the Trump debates, criddic?

Only that I thought more of the candidates would take Trump more seriously, since several of them have had high-profile meetings with him, trying to get his endorsement. Two things come to mind: either they all decided that the venue was too small, or they all think Trump is going to endorse Newt Gingrich. Of course, you can add that Mr. Trump has foolishly been promoting himself as a possible spoiler candidate on a 3rd party ticket. Nobody takes that seriously, since he has a history of flirting with a run without ever taking it to the next level. People were willing to believe him once this year already when he seemed eager in the spring. Former Senator Rick Santorum has also agreed to the debate. Not that a one-on-one between Gingrich and Santorum would be a complete waste, but there'd be no reason for "The Donald" to be there.

[Sonic Youth]

I think it'll be cancelled altogether.