We’re at a critical moment in the 2012 Republican primary cycle. Not only are we less than three weeks before the Iowa Caucuses. We’re also likely to find out in the next several days whether we really have a Romney-Gingrich race or whether Gingrich is yet another flash-in-the-pan whose numbers spiked and then collapsed. The bettors at Intrade have clearly made up their mind for the latter option. A few days ago, Gingrich almost overtook Romney. But tonight the odds give Romney almost a 65% shot at securing the nomination and Gingrich just under a 15% chance.
Let’s look at what the available polling data tell us. Read More
The Des Moines Register has endorsed Mitt Romney ahead of the Iowa caucuses.
Amazing though it seems, there won’t be another major GOP debate until after the Iowa caucuses. This means we almost certainly won’t see at least one (and maybe more) of the contenders on stage next time. It also meant that in last night’s debate they had to make a good last impression. So how did they do? Benjy Sarlin sums it up in 100 seconds.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is certainly raising money like a man who expects to face the voters of his state soon.
He’s put a cool $5.1 million in the bank since the summer, much of it since the recall drive against him was officially launched last month. And $250k of it has come from Bob Perry — he of Swift Boat Veterans For Truth infamy.
Top Republican says payroll tax holiday is a terrible idea but he’ll vote for it if enough goodies are attached.
Benjy Sarlin reports that Democrats are piling onto Romney for his comments suggesting that he didn’t get “all that government stuff”… That stuff being things like the differences between Medicare and Medicaid.
The irony is there’s plenty of reason to believe Romney did know those differences, and that what was meant to be an attempt at folksiness has exploded into yet another out of touch moment.
It’s gut check time for the Dems on the Hill. McConnell says include Keystone XL or no payroll tax agreement.
Amid the ongoing controversy over the ‘Fast and Furious’ gun-walking scandal, the NRA has been pushing a much more outlandish conspiracy theory — that the Obama administration created the program to lay the groundwork for taking away Americans’ 2nd Amendment rights. And now Hill Republicans are starting to buy into that conspiracy theory.