POLITICO's Arena: Why Did Michele Bachmann implode?
Michele Bachmann's campaign imploded for exactly the reason that political experts in D.C. never took her campaign seriously to begin with and why many were so surprised by her victory at Ames. As people who follow politics closely already knew, while her bombastic rhetoric may be ideal for riling up a crowd, her propensity for gaffes leaves her vulnerable once one stops and actually thinks about what she said. This is a candidate that actually told a crowd in South Carolina that the reason that she worked for the IRS is "because the first rule of war is 'know your enemy.'" These type of outlandish statements and unforced errors may have helped her raise money as a backbencher congresswoman, but couldn't hold up against the scrutiny of a national campaign.
NY Times: New Focus On Incendiary Words In Paul’s Newsletters
On December 19, 2011, the New York Times reported:
Emerging as a real Republican contender in Iowa, Representative Ron Paul of Texas is receiving new focus for decades-old unbylined columns in his political newsletters that included racist, anti-gay and anti-Israel passages that he has since disavowed.
Huffington Post: The Contract With America Comes Back To Haunt Romney
On December 14, 2011, the Huffington Post reported:
In an interview with the Washington Post on Tuesday, Mitt Romney acknowledged that he was "wrong" not to sign Newt Gingrich's Contract with America when he was running for the Senate in 1994.
Romney's History Of Desperate Attacks
As we learned from the 2008 campaign, the more desperate Romney gets, the more negative he becomes. This week is the beginning of the 2012 edition of Mitt Romney's GOP Desperation Express. His negative campaigns are kissing cousins of his positive campaigns in one regard: He'll say and do anything if he things it will help him get elected. During the 2008 campaign, Romney launched attacks against every one of his major rivals-- Mike Huckabee, John McCain, Fred Thompson, Rudy Giuliani. His Republican opponents said of the ads: “distortion,” “hypocrisy,” “lying,” “desperate,” “dishonest,” “simply aren’t true,” and “clear willingness to say and do anything for political gain.” While the Republican candidates disagreed on much, there was a general agreement that Romney’s relentless attacks were unfair. Many commentators argued that the ads backfired – helping to propel Huckabee and McCain to come-from-behind victories in Iowa and New Hampshire. But in 2008 and 2012, a scorched-earth campaign is the only strategic path for a candidate who has shown for six years that the appeal of his positive message is limited to 25% of Republican primary voters. It’s not just the negativity of Romney’s attacks that turns off voters, it’s that their message reinforces Romney’s key weakness. In 2008 and now, Romney launched harsh immigration attacks accusing opponents of supporting “amnesty” when he had earlier defended the same plan and said it was “not amnesty.” He bashes opponents as career politicians despite his 17-year political career. He attacked John McCain for opposing tax cuts that he had refused to take a position on. He went after Giuliani for pro-choice views despite his own long history of claiming to support abortion rights. These obviously hypocritical attacks may help explain why nearly half of Republican voters believe Romney “will do or say anything to win.” As we learned from the 2008 campaign, the more desperate Romney gets, the more negative he becomes. This week is just the beginning.
Mediaite: Christmas Warrior Rick Perry Has ‘Happy Holiday’ Skeletons In His Closet
On December 7, 2011, Mediaite reported:
Texas Governor and fallen former presidential frontrunner Rick Perry continues to revive his campaign by picking culture war fights with President Obama, releasing an ad that decries, among other things, that ” our kids can’t openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school.” As American Bridge PAC points out, though, Gov. Perry is a “Happy Holidays” hipster who took the “Christ” out of Christmas way before it was cool.
Allen's Fake Supporters
First George Allen was caught faking endorsements from the Tea Party. Now, as reported by NBC Washington and Progress VA, it appears he's featuring fake photos of his supporters on his website: [gallery link="file" columns="2" ids="10272,10271"]
"Pants on Fire" from PolitiFact for Josh Mandel
During a November 14th radio interview on the Tea Party Express Hour, Ohio Treasurer said that Sen. Sherrod Brown is "out there egging on a lot of these protesters who are spitting on policemen and going to the bathroom on policemen's cars at these protests on Wall Street and other places." PolitiFact Ohio analyzed Mandel's statement and came to this conclusion:
As a public official, Mandel knows words matter. And given the incendiary level of other comments he made in the interview (he says at one point that Brown has "vilified capitalism" and views anyone who creates jobs as "the enemy.") his clear meaning was that Brown was encouraging protesters who are "spitting on policemen and going to the bathroom on policemen’s cars." That statement is not accurate and also makes a ridiculous claim. On the Truth-O-Meter, that rates Pants on Fire.
Reuters: The golden age of opposition research
On November 14, 2011, Reuters reported:
It was a little noticed event in Texas governor Rick Perry's schedule, an October 28 visit to the Barley House tavern in Concord, New Hampshire, to sample a burger and be interviewed by a local radio station. The flagging candidate for the Republican nomination was addressing a tiny audience of about 10 in this early primary state. He told the story of a 38-year-old Occupy Wall Street protestor named Jeremy, who had complained that bankers got to work so early that he never managed to get out of bed in time to insult them face-to-face. [...] Also in the small crowd at the Barley House was a "tracker" from American Bridge, a newly formed SuperPAC doing research for the Democratic Party. The tracker was videotaping Perry's every word and gesture, and even though the gaffe was a relatively minor one, the candidate was about to become a victim of the latest, state-of-the-art opposition research.
Huffington Post: Mike McCalister, Florida GOP Senate Candidate, Brings Back Second Amendment Remedies
On November 10, 2011, the Huffington Post reported:
Two years and Angle's tough election loss later, the idea remains in vogue in some conservative circles. Florida Senate candidate Mike McCalister, who is running against incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), offered a variation of the much-lampooned line during a speech before the Palms West Republican Club earlier this week. "I get asked sometimes where do I stand on the Second and 10th Amendment, and I have a little saying," he declared. "We need a sign at every harbor, every airport and every road entering our state: 'You're entering a 10th Amendment-owned and -operated state, and justice will be served with the Second Amendment.'"See the video after the jump
ABC News: Santorum Launches Policy Tour, Pushes Social Issues
On November 4, 2011, ABC News reported:
URBANDALE, IOWA Rick Santorum launched a three-speech, three-state policy roll-out tour Friday beginning with “moral, cultural” issues. The economy and national security will follow, but this was chosen as the first topic because it is the most important to Santorum, according to campaign aides. [...] Democrats responded quickly. American Bridge, a Democratic SuperPac, issued a statement while Santorum was still speaking. “Rick Santorum, and the other candidates running for the nomination, are dusting off the old playbook of using socially divisive issues to reignite the culture wars of the past in a desperate attempt to appease their base. Proposing ideas like disbanding the 9th circuit court will create exactly zero jobs and shows that they are more interested in playing politics than getting our economy back on track,” communications director Ty Matsdorf said in the statement.