TPM Editors’ Blog Opinions, Context & Ideas from TPM Editors

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Deployed To Northern Virginia

Sen. Dick Lugar's spokesman probably didn't offer the most helpful response to questions about his boss's legal residence.

Paul Werdel
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For The Onion?

From my pal Nell Scovell: "Instead of Firing Up The Base, Romney Mistakenly Fires The Base."

You can actually work with it. Maybe: "After failing to fire up the base, a frustrated Romney decides to fire the base."

Mix and match. I think it's got potential.

Josh Marshall

Senator Soldier-For-Hire

Who hasn't heard the one about an Oregon state Senator who runs a paramilitary training camp getting sued by his partners for allegedly funneling cash to GOP candidates.

Paul Werdel

The Rules

I was talking to some reporters last night and the topic turned to the 2008 Democratic primary race and how important the actual convention and delegate rules became as the battle lasted into the summer. As we know, it never came to that. By the time the convention rolled around all the players had accepted that Barack Obama had won the nomination. But we may be getting to a similar point with the 2012 GOP race.

Read More →
Josh Marshall

Epiphany

I saw the news this evening from PPP that their first night in the field with a new national poll has Rick Santorum as the new nationwide leader. So the Romney argument that Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado were just outliers or lightly-attended caucuses (plausible arguments in themselves) just won't cut it.

But of course this isn't about Rick Santorum who is clearly a 2nd or 3rd tier candidate, it's showing the depth of Romney's weakness as a candidate -- both as a candidate in this particular political moment and simply as a candidate for office in general. It even occurred to me that 'Santorum' doesn't mean all the those ucky things you see on Google. It's actually Republican for "F' it. I just don't like Mitt Romney."

I feel like Champollion deciphering hieroglyphics.

Josh Marshall
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CPAC In 100 Seconds

Want to catch up on today's CPAC events but fear for your sanity/ immortal soul? Have no fear, TPM's Michael Lester has boiled the day down into 100 mind-blowing seconds.

Thomas Lane

Gulf War

A Mississippi lawmaker wants to rename the Gulf of Mexico. You'll never guess to what...

Thomas Lane

Ah, CPAC...

A conservative pundit at CPAC fits Rachel Maddow and contraception into the most outrageous line of the day (so far).

Thomas Lane

All The Fun Of The Fair

It's the first day of CPAC and already its organizers are trying to work out how to avoid having their straw poll overrun by Ron Paul supporters. Meanwhile, you can follow TPM's live coverage of the forum via our livewire.

Thomas Lane

Bubble Boy?

Today Mitt Romney is arguing that there were attacks from Rick Santorum this week that he didn't get a chance to rebut -- thus in some way explaining his three defeats on Tuesday night. But I see a different pattern. It's not unusual for also-rans to opportunistically pick up a caucus here and there, even when there's a more or less anointed frontrunner. And it's true Romney didn't campaign or spend aggressively in those states. But the frontrunner, already prepping for the incumbent, shouldn't need to go full court press just to stave off resounding defeats at the hands of a palpably second or third tier opponent. It looks more like Mitt Romney -- at least in this cycle -- is a sort of electoral Bubble Boy, unable to exist in the natural political environment without a protective layer of massive SuperPAC spending.

Look at the story in Iowa, South Carolina, Florida and Tuesday's contests. Each tells the same story.

Josh Marshall

Most Recent Latest news stories from TPM reporters

Muckraker

The Delicate Dance Of Disassociating Oneself From 'White Nationalist' Groups At CPAC

Although much of the attention is on the main stage at each year's Conservative Political Action Conference, it's the side events where the real kookiness occurs. These events can give CPAC organizers and attendees a headache as they try to walk the line between accepting certain groups under the umbrella of the conservative movement, but also trying to make it clear they don't want to associate themselves with some of those groups' more questionable qualities. Take for instance a session on the...
TPM2012

Today On The Trail: February 11, 2012

Maine's Republican caucus results will be announced today and it's the last day of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). Here are ten things you need to know. Maine caucuses finish up: Republican caucuses in Maine, which have been going on all week, will be announced Saturday evening. There's no polling data on the contest there, but Public Policy Polling (D) pollster Tom Jensen published a few thoughts on the race: He said the conventional wisdom is that Romney, who was in Maine onPalin...
IdeaLab

'Anonymous' Claims Takedown of CIA Website

The public website of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, the CIA, was knocked offline Friday evening, and a person claiming to be associated with the hacker group Anonymous took credit for the outage on Twitter. "[C]ia.gov DOWN. #UMAD?#Anonymous," tweeted one Twitter user, whose name was not given, at 3:10 p.m ET, the Russian news outlet RT reported. At the time of this posting, the CIA website was still offline and has been for approximately two and a half hours. "We are looking into theseCNNRT...
TPM2012

Newt's 'Dream Team' Suddenly Very Quiet About Their Leader

Newt Gingrich debuted what he called his "conservative dream team" in his big address at CPAC Friday. It was the one new bit of a speech that was for the most part a stump speech retread. With music blasting, Gingrich strutted out on to the CPAC mainstage under a group photo featuring his most prominent conservative backers, including Fred Thompson, Chuck Norris, Michael Reagan, Rick Perry and Herman Cain. However, those last two names were notable at CPAC for not saying a word about Gingrich when it...
TPM2012

Day In 100 Seconds: CPAC Day Two

CPAC rolled straight on to day two today, so for those of us that might not normally attend this kind of an event, it was a chance to see how the other half lives. How they live, as it turns out, is on a very high pedestal of their own making.  Fresh from Mitch McConnell's declaration that conservatives are "more fun" because they are "always right", we were treated to an array of people with fresh opinions to smack down those they disagree with. It certainly wasn't a good day to be a Kenyan...
Muckraker

Judge Won't Toss Weapons Evidence In Schaeffer Cox Case

A federal judge will not grant a motion by Schaeffer Cox and other alleged members of the Alaska Peacemakers Militia to throw out evidence obtained from multiple searches, which turned up weapons that are key to the prosecution's case. In a ruling this week, District Court Judge Robert J. Bryan rejected a motion by Schaeffer Cox and his co-defendants to throw out evidence obtained in two searches, one of defendant Coleman Barney's home, and another of a trailer in the parking lot of the World Ice Art...
IdeaLab

Crowd-Funding Website Kickstarter Has Double Million Dollar Day

Kickstarter, the Manhattan-based crowd funding website launched in 2009 that's since gone on to fund an iPod Nano Watch and the Occupy Wall Street Journal, among other strange projects, has made two projects into millionaires. On Friday, the Kickstarter team announced that users had successfully funded two different projects to the tune of $1 million each within the same 24 hour period. Both projects set the record for the most dollars ever raised on the website. One of them also set the record for...
TPM2012

Romney's CPAC Speech Has An Epic Stagecraft Fail

The awkward elements of Mitt Romney's speech at CPAC Friday began even before the GOP frontrunner opened his mouth. Like all the high-profile speakers before him, Romney delivered his address from the CPAC main stage at a Marriot hotel in Washington, DC. That means he stood behind a pair of teleprompters and in front of a pair of fake Grecian columns. Just the other night, when he was giving his address amid the defeats in Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado, Romney took a shot at the man he's trying to...
TPM2012

Video Of The 'Occupy CPAC' Protests

Protesters rallied outside the hotel hosting the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) during Mitt Romney's speech on Friday. Private security guards responded, and at times even threatened to arrest attendees who were observing the protest. Victoria Jackson, the former SNL actress, author of the song "There's A Communist Living In The White House" and conservative activist, was on the scene to watch the "angry" "communists."
TPMDC

Women's Groups Broadly Support Birth Control Compromise

On Friday, the Obama administration announced a rule change to accommodate religious organizations on the issue of contraception coverage under the Affordable Care Act. So far, pro-choice groups who hoped the administration would not to cave on the issue have seemed broadly satisfied with the changes, having been assured by the President that "all women will still have access to free preventive care that includes contraceptive services." The new rule shifts the onus of coverage from employers to...
IdeaLab

Iranian Users Report Major Websites Blocked

A number of websites and Iranian Internet users are reportedly receiving error messages when trying to visit major websites from within the country, including Google, Yahoo and online banking websites. Iranian users suspect that it is the result of a government-imposed block in advance of the 33rd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, celebrated beginning February 11 and throughout the rest of the month. As such, the block isn't expected to be lifted until March, according to Kabir News. The Iranian...
Muckraker

British Man Using 'Sovereign Citizen' Tactics To Get Out Of Weapons Smuggling Charges

A British man, who owned a company that sold weapons to the U.S. Department of Defense is attempting to stall his extradition to America to face weapons smuggling charges by filing hundreds of pages of paperwork containing statements like "I deny that I am a person," and other language consistent with members of the sovereign citizen movement. Guy Denton Savage has until February 13 to appeal an extradition order signed by U.K. Secretary of State Theresa May, the Tennessean reports. But, according to a...
IdeaLab

What Will Google's Reported Home Entertainment System Be?

Just when it seemed like the reportedly imminent launch of the iPad 3 was going to be the big tech story of the week, Google came along and stole Apple's thunder. Now the piece of hardware that's at the top of everyone's minds (or at least the top of Techmeme) is a reported Google home entertainment system. According to the Wall Street Journal, Google's new device will be unveiled "later this year, people familiar with the matter said." The new Google device described by The Journal would stream music...
TPMDC

White House Seeks To Mute Catholic Uproar Over Contraception Rule

In the days since the conservative and religious uproar over the Obama administration's new contraceptive rule first erupted, the White House has been attempting to thread a policy needle so that nearly all women can receive free contraceptive services from their employer-provided health insurers, without forcing religious non-profits to provide benefits they oppose on "moral" grounds. On Friday, President Obama announced the plan, which senior administration officials described in detail on a...
TPM2012

Today On The Trail: February 10, 2012

It's day two of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). Follow TPM for live updates and reports. Here are ten things you need to know. Romney, Gingrich and Santorum speak at CPAC today: Three of the Republican presidential candidates will speak at CPAC today. Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum will take the podium at 10:30AM, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will be up at 12:55PM, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is slotted for 4:10PM. Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), a libertarian...
Muckraker

The Conspiracy Videos In The Hutaree's Library

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TPM2012

Lugar's Residency Defense: It's Like Being In The Army

Indiana Republican, Sen. Dick Lugar, who is facing attacks from both Democrats and internal opponents to the right in a Republican primary, has been dealing with a tricky political issue: that he lives mainly in northern Virginia, in the Washington suburbs. The issue was first reported a week and a half ago by the Daily Caller -- noting that Lugar actually sold his home way back in 1977, but continues to use the same location as his legal voting address. Lugar campaign spokesman David Willkie has now...
TPM2012

Even At CPAC Conservatives Seem Despondent About 2012 Choices

The Conservative Political Action Conference is one of the biggest and most anticipated events on the conservative calendar. Generally, the excitement in the air is palpable as conservatives gather to hear over and over again about how their ideas alone are the path to the nation's salvation. This year? Not so much. The incredibly divisive Republican presidential primary has taken its toll on the mood at this year's conference. Conversations with attendees tell the same story: none of the candidates...
TPMDC

How Scalia Helped Obama Defend The Birth Control Rule

This article was updated at 1:00 pm ET to include breaking news after publication. The Obama administration is already facing lawsuits challenging its requirement that insurance plans cover birth control as a violation of religious freedom. Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has flatly called the regulation unconstitutional. But although it's unclear how much traction the legal challenges will gain, especially in light of the White House adjusting the mandate Friday, the President and his backers have one...
Muckraker

Oregon Senator Stung By Suit Over Combat Camp Cash

Oregon state Sen. Brian Boquist will charge you big bucks to learn how to dodge a rocket propelled grenade. But it's what his former business partners say he's doing with the cash that's causing the Republican some problems. The issue revolves around a private military training facility that he and his wife help operate in Cheyenne, Wyo., and which is complete with live mortar and car bomb training as well as actors dressed up like radical insurgents. Two of their longtime partners in the business...

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