Newt nails down the coveted Todd Palin endorsement

By Pablo Fanque, National Affairs Editor

Ex-Speaker Newt Gingrich has secured the coveted endorsement of Todd Palin.  The Ex-Governor's husband told ABC news today that the Gingrich campaign has “burst out of the political arena and touched many Americans.”

Todd Palin, known as the "First Dude" during his wife's term of office, didn't have anything negative to say about the other Republican Presidential candidates, but that his "hat is off to everyone” in the race.

Palin's wife Sarah has yet to endorse any of the candidates for President.

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Have you ever had sex with Rick Perry?

By Mona Goldwater, Social Mores Editor

The answer to the question in the display ad in the Austin Chronicle turns out to be no.  At least no one has come forward since this ad was posted last August, just after Governor Rick Perry entered the Presidential contest.  The advertiser *may* have had some takers had they, as Larry Flynt has in the past, offered a significant sum of cash for the story. [Ed's note: the advertiser is a Ron Paul supporter.]

At the time the advertisement appeared, publications like Salon duly noted the appearance of the ad, but also said  there is no evidence Perry has ever engaged in an extra-marital affair, as much as his opponents and the left wanted to believe otherwise.  The text in the ad reads, "Are you a stripper, an escort, or just a 'young hottie' impressed by an arrogant, entitled governor of Texas? Contact CASH [Committee Against Sexual Hypocrisy], and we will help you publicize your direct dealings with a Christian-buzzwords-spouting, 'family values' hypocrite and fraud."

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Mitt Romney between a rock and a hard place

By Pablo Fanque, National Affairs Editor

I was going to write about Mitt Romney's having pigeon-holed himself to the extent that he can only pull a quarter of the votes in any given contest.  Sure, he looks like he will be strong in New Hampshire, but after that?  The right, and even the middle (if one actually exists in the G.O.P today), seem thoroughly unenchanted, as do we all.  I don't see the Republicans circling their wagons around, holding their noses and crowning Mitt. . .at least until they become truly spooked.  And that is coming on fast.  So far, he's shown he can beat Michele Bachmann and  Rick Perry.  I was going to write about this, but when I saw this image on the FYVM web site I knew I didn't have to write anything.  That's Mitt in the corner.

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John McCain's recent endorsement of, and his thoughts on, Mitt Romney in 2008

By Pablo Fanque, National Affairs Editor
illustration by Jack Brummet

Although Senator John McCain endorsed Mitt Romney in his quest for the presidency yesterday, this is a new position  for him.   Wednesday's McCain-Romney event was a rather stiff affair, and seemed to stop well short of a heart-felt embrace of Romney.  The endorsement was a one-hand-washes-the-other/quid pro quo arrangement for Romney's 2008 endorsement. The only thing missing is John McCain holding his nose and crossing his fingers. . .

In 2008, Senator McCain had a different take on Mittens:

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Iowa Republican Caucus Contestants: Huntsman, Bachmann, Gingrich, Romney, Perry, Santorum, and Paul

Illustrations by Jack Brummet, except Newt Gingrich No. 2 (Artist unknown)             

The Govnah

Ron Paul

Newt One

Newt Two

Newt Three

The Hunt

Santo

Hotlips Bachmann

Mittens

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Three-time Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell

Digital Art by Jack Brummet

I was inspired to revisit Candidate O'Donnell after her hilarious "endorsement" of Mitt Romney (see Christine O'Donnell endorses Mittens, pouring salt on his festering flip-flop wound).

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Christine O'Donnell endorses Mittens, pouring salt on his festering flip-flop wound

By Pablo Fanque, National Affairs Editor
Illustrations by Jack Brummet

Christine O'Donnell endorsed Ex-Governor Mitt Romney, last week. It's not what Romney's campaign had in mind, even though they probably recruited her for the job.   In fact, it blew up into a minor tempest in the political press.

"That’s one of the things that I like about him — because he’s been consistent since he changed his mind,” O’Donnell said.

She went on to say that Romney is “humble enough” to admit he doesn’t always have the right answers and is open to making the “necessary changes” to his own view points sometimes, but maintained that he never betrays his core convictions.

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While Ex-Speaker Gingrch claims the Palestinians don't exist, this photograph proves otherwise

By Pablo Fanque, National Affairs Editor

While Ex-Speaker Newt Gingrch claims that the Palestinians don't exist, this photograph of the Speaker and Yasser Arafat holding hands proves otherwise.  Some people (most notably Wonkette) have recently hinted that The Speaker in all likelihood had a man-crush on the PLO Chairman.

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Quote of the day: David Axelrod likens Ex-Speaker Newt Gingrich to a monkey's butt

"I told my colleagues yesterday a bit of homespun wisdom I got from an alderman in Chicago some years ago when one of his colleagues wanted to run for higher office and he was really dubious. He said, ‘just remember the higher a monkey climbs on a pole, the more you can see his butt.’ So, you know, the Speaker is very high on the pole right now and we’ll see how people like the view." - David Axelrod, Obama Campaign Senior Strategist

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Serial Adulterer Newt Gingrich "Endorses" The Iowa Marriage Pledge

By Mona Goldwater, Ethics Editor

From today's @NewYorkTimes:  "Newt Gingrich became the latest Republican candidate to endorse the so-called marriage pledge, a controversial document put forward by an influential evangelical group in Iowa that opposes same-sex marriage and abortion."

"Mr. Gingrich stopped short of signing the pledge, however."

The Iowa pledge, put together by the Family Leader, asks candidates to try to block same-sex marriage and women “in forward combat roles.” It also requires pledgees to remain faithful to their spouses and support “robust childbearing and reproduction.”

Newt didn't actually sign; he just "endorsed" it.   Perry, Bachmann, and Santorum all did sign the pledge.  Newt, of course, is the only one in the field who has publicly admitted to cheating on two of his wives (so far). 

The pledge's relevant section follows.  If Newt is really reformed, as he claims, it looks like he can endorse the Pledge with a (more or less) clear conscience:

"9 — As applicable if married now, wed in the future, or whenever interacting with another's spouse, a person of the opposite sex or of personal attraction. No signer herein claims to be without past wrongdoing, including that of adultery. Yet going forward, each hereby vows fidelity to his or her marital vows, to his or her spouse, to all strictures and commandments against adultery, and to resist the lure of pornography destructive to marital intimacy."

Mr. Gingrich is off the hook with the pledge for his past sins. 

The most interesting part of the pledge is where they get into economics.  WTF?  How is this in the Marriage Pledge?:

"Commitment to downsizing government and the enormous burden upon American families of the USA‟s $14.3 trillion public debt, its $77 trillion in unfunded liabilities, its $1.5 trillion federal deficit, and its $3.5 trillion federal budget." Again, this is in "The Marriage Vow."

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A friend in good weather and foul: Senator Lori Klein's spirited (and twisted) defense of Herm Cain

By Pablo Fanque, National Affairs Editor

Thanks to Kristopher Skelton, who passed this along after someone passed it along to him.  Salon today reported that Arizona State Senator Lori Klein (and Herm Cain's AZ campaign chair) has mounted a spirited defense of skirt-chasing serial-groping Pizza Man. 

"not unattractive" AZ State Senator Lori Klein

"Lori Klein, an Arizona state Senator and Cain’s Arizona state chairman, told CBS News she stands by Cain."

"Says she has known him for 12 years and he’s “never been anything but a gentlemen – and I am not an unattractive woman.”

Klein also told CBS News that if Cain is innocent he should sue White for libel.  Like Herm himself, she also went on the attack against the media for ferreting this out.  She said that, in politics, “we want a virgin to do a hooker’s job.”

This reminds me of Herman Cain's earlier attempt at defending his actions, where he essentially said "OK, you have these four women raising a ruckus.  But what about the 300 million Americans who I haven't harassed?"

I strongly suspect we'll see HC bow out of the race on Thursday or Friday.

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Rick Perry's Presidential quest ends in 53 mortifying seconds

By Pablo Fanque, National Affairs Editor
illustration by Jack Brummet

Rick Perry will drop out of the race in the next ten days.  Even if nothing else goes wrong, his campaign funds will surely dry up beginning a couple hours ago. 

This has to be the most pathetic and humiliating debate appearance I have ever seen, except, possibly, Admiral James Stockdale's performance in his 1992 debate with Al Gore and Dan Quayle.  Stockdale opened the debate by saying, "Who am I? Why am I here?"  His opening drew great mirth and laughter, because the audience seemed to think he was joshing about his obscurity and lack of traditional qualifications for the office.  But as he bumbled through the debate, it became clear he was in way over his head.

Tonight, Governor Rick Perry confirmed what most of us knew and the rest suspected--that, he too, is in way over his head,  For one horrible minute, Perry could not recall the name of a government department he is planning to kill off.  I cringed, and actually felt terribly sorry for him as he tried to grin and chuckle his way through it.  But he couldn't.

"It's three agencies of government when I get there that are gone: commerce, education, and the uh ... what's the third one, there? Let's see." He then said, "The third one. I can't." And he performed an auto-coup-de-grace by then saying "Oops."  Fifteen long, long minutes later he said "By the way that was the department of energy I was reaching for a while ago." 

Herman Cain, who everyone suspected would be "on the barbie" tonight, got off the hook after Perry's pitiful showing. 

Perry knew the damage was incalculable.  He even showed up in the spin-room post-debate (which is normally handled by staffers) and said   "I'm sure glad I had my boots on because I sure stepped in it out there."

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Pants on Fire! William Saletan's article in Slate this morning "Herman Cain’s press conference about his sexual harassment accusers is a road map to his destruction."

By Mona Goldwater, Women in the Workplace Editor

This is an excerpt from William Saletan's article in Slate this morning "Herman Cain’s press conference about his sexual harassment accusers is a road map to his destruction."

"You can lie about what you believe. You can lie about what you’d do if elected. You can deny that your tax reform plan would raise taxes. You can get away with all of these things because they’re matters of speculation, interpretation, or argument. But if you make specific factual claims about the past, as Cain did in his Tuesday press conference about sexual harassment allegations, you can be flatly disproved. Worse, you can goad your accusers into backing up their charges with evidence. That’s what Cain has done. His press conference is a road map to his destruction."

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Breaking news: Chris Christie says "no thanks"

By Mona Goldwater, New Jersey Editor

Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey once again announced Tuesday that he would not seek the Republican presidential nomination, saying that while he thought seriously about entering the presidential race, "now is not my time."  The Governor said he decided Monday night and told his family and aides this morning.  He said he went to the bed last night "knowing exactly what I wanted to do" for the first time in weeks.

Christie told reporters that he "felt an obligation to earnestly consider" the appeals made by various prominent republicans, up to and including former President George H.W. Bush, and former first lady Nancy Reagan.  Christie closed by saying he wouldn't rule out a run in the future.

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"Highly placed aides" to Chris Christie say he is considering White House run

By Pablo Fanque, Election 2012 Editor
illustration by Jack Brummet

After saying over and over and over that he would not make a run for the White House, sources close to Jersey Gov. Chris Christie say he is reconsidering his decision to stay out of the 2012 contest.

Staffers say that he is expected to decide soon. He has no choice; if he is running, he needs to start organizing the field for upcoming primaries and caucuses. There are filing deadlines coming up soon in the early primary states.

You may remember he has denied wanting to run all along. Just a year ago he said that "short of suicide" he wasn't sure what he could say to convince people that he's not running. With half the Republican party begging him to run, it has to be very hard to walk away from what is surely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

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Sarah Palin: Quote of the Day

By Mona Goldwater, Tea Party Editor

Quote of the day:


"I knew that we'd be buddies when I met her when she said, 'Drill here, drill now.' And then I replied, 'Drill, baby, drill' and then we both said, 'You betcha!'"

- Sarah Palin, quoted by theWall Street Journal, recalling a previous meeting with Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN).

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If Only. . .No. 3: President Mario Cuomo

By Jack Brummet
Democratic Affairs Editor

As Number 2 in our series "If only. . .",  we want to present former New York Governor Mario Cuomo.  He was a master speaker, but he was bright (150 watts), with a heart of shimmering gold.  I used to listen to him on his radio show in NYC (what we'd now call a side-project) and got a pretty good measure of the man over many hours listening to him at night.  I voted for him for Mayor in the fall of 1977, a few months after I moved to NYC. 

Why did he decline to run for President, even when it seemed likely he could at the least capture the Democratic nomination?  We'll never really know; but we probably know,  or we can guess:

• The best guys never run for President.  For all the reasons you've heard before.  Don't get me wrong--there have been plenty of ringers. . .good-hearted, decent, and very bright men (men, so far).  

• The timing is never right. This is a perennial problem in Presidential politics--when do you make the contest? There are scores of factors (all of which, in reality, boil down to $$$) and infinite variations exponentiated with chicanery, skullduggery, treacherous to inept boardroom and office politics, and when and to whom various levels of payoffs, grease, compromise, blackmail, and even physical and psychological harm should be applied).

• Skeletons rattling in the closet? Those skeletons were often alluded to, but none ever materialized.  If you ran for Mayor and Governor in New York, the rattling bones would have been shaken from the closet.  I never believed in those skeletons.

• He didn't want to know if he would win or not. He wanted to keep that aura, which would  be sullied by jumping in to The Snake Pit.  For me  at least, this was one of the great political heartbreakers of all time.  OK, not RFK heartbreaking, but a little sad.  You don't throw yourself off a cliff over a woulda-shoulda-coulda. . .but still, I often think about Mario and wonder "what if..."

Check out text of Mario Cuomo's 1984 keynote address, here if you need convincing.  It is one of the greatest speeches of our time.

Other ATIT articles on Governor Cuomo:

The Man Who Should Have Been King
Mario Cuomo Nominates Bill Clinton at the convention
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Rick Perry For President: Business über alles!

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Bumper sticker: Keeping millions out of work to put one man out of a job

Thanks to Jeff Clinton...

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Let the cannibalism begin: The Republican/Tea Party Debate!

By Pablo Fanque, National Affairs Editor

Images from Wikipedia Commons. These images are licensed

under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Governor Rick Perry, between dashing back and forth between the campaign trail and Texas as fires rage across the state (and asking for aid from President Obama, even though Perry recently said he believes the federal government should only be responsible for highways and defense) is being nudged by both his staff and backers to come across as more presidential.  In short, they feel he needs to be a little less shit-kickin' and a little more politic in his unscripted moments.  He needs to defend his exaggerated Texas "accomplishments,"  and consolidate his sudden rise and growing base—while building on his fast start by bringing voters into the tent from all across the Republican party, from the Tea Party and fundamentalist Christians to the old line party hacks and wardheelers.

 

Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota is desperate to combat the growing feeling that the GOP race has contracted into a two-man race between Romney and Perry.  She is on the precipice of becoming irrelevant and needs to inflict serious damage to Rick Perry to convince the far-right and tea-party to stick by her.  Her strategy of non-stop attacks on BHO isn't going to win many votes.  She now needs to go after her opponents.  Likewise, both Romney an Perry need to back off their attacks on Obama, because their real enemies are in their own party (at least for now).

Ex-Governor Mitt Romney needs to--and, more or less has--drop the front-runner B.S. and get ready for serious combat with his fellow Republicans.  Neither his rope-a-dope strategy nor his above the fray stance is working anymore.  We know Mitt is in it for the long-distance fight.  But, in the meantime, he needs to eviscerate Governor Perry by savagely attacking him on his record on immigration, and his much exaggerated claim that he has created thousands of jobs in Texas.

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