Mitt Romney won nine delegates each from Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands after Republicans there met Saturday at their state conventions, National Journal reports.
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“I’m not really a politician.”
— Mitt Romney, quoted by National Journal, then correcting himself: “I
guess I kinda am, because I was governor for four years and I’ve run for
office. But my heart is a conservative businessman.”
Romney Used Private Email for Public Business
Mitt Romney and some of his top aides used private email accounts to conduct state business at times when Romney was governor of Massachusetts, the Associated Press reports.
“The communications were legal, even though Romney’s own administration warned state agencies against the practice due to cyber security concerns. The state archives in Massachusetts — which learned about Romney’s emails from the AP — now says the private emails should have invoked rules about preserving copies of state records.”
Santorum Favored in Kansas
There have been no polls ahead of Saturday’s GOP caucuses in Kansas, but the consensus is that Rick Santorum is the favorite.
Katrina Trinko: “Kansas is the first state to vote after Super Tuesday — and it looks likely that Rick Santorum will score another victory here… In fact, Santorum and Paul are the only ones campaigning in the state right before Election Day.”
Nate Silver: “The betting market Intrade has Mr. Santorum as a 97 percent favorite in Kansas. I certainly agree that Mr. Santorum is the front-runner there, but that’s an absurd degree of confidence, especially given the poor track record of the betting market in prior caucus states… To repeat, Mr. Santorum looks like the favorite in Kansas, but there’s a wide range of outcomes.”
The Redacted Romney
All political campaigns tout their newspaper endorsements, but Ryan Lizza notes Mitt Romney’s press office “has no better friend than the ellipsis” and often removes “sensitive” phrases. A few recent examples:
“In fact, this newspaper does not embrace many of his ideas on taxation, which give too great a reward to the wealthy and not enough help for the poor and middle class.”
— Times Daily of Florence, Alabama, March 9, 2012
“That has been just one example of some of the shape-shifting Romney has done to appeal to conservative primary voters who believe he is too moderate. So, it’s not unfair to wonder who the real Romney is.”
— Birmingham News, March 7, 2012
“Perhaps that is why he sometimes appears so awkward in public, especially when talking about himself and, in particular, his personal wealth.”
— Cleveland Plain Dealer, March 3, 2012
Obama Leads Romney in Key Swing States
A new Rasmussen survey shows President Obama now holds a modest lead over Mitt Romney in combined polling of the key swing states Florida, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia, 46% to 42%.
In late February they were tied.
Health Care Reform Cost Democrats the House
A new study suggests President Obama’s health care reform effort cost Democrats their majority in the House of Representatives in the 2010 election.
Washington Post: “The study ran 10,000 simulations of a scenario in which all vulnerable Democrats voted against the health care bill and found that the rejections would have saved Democrats an average of 25 seats, which would have made the House parties close to a tie. (Republicans won 63 seats overall, but the study suggests around 25 of them would have been salvaged.) In 62% of the simulations, Democrats were able to keep the House.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“I want regulators to see businesses and enterprises of all kinds as
their friends, and to encourage them and to move them along.”
— Mitt Romney, quoted by National Journal.
Inhofe Says Bible Refutes Climate Change
Just published: The Greatest Hoax: How the Global Warming Conspiracy Threatens Your Future by Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK).
Inhofe’s defense of his thesis is the Bible, not science.
On a radio show yesterday, Inhofe explained: “Well actually the Genesis 8:22 that I use in there is that ‘as long as the earth remains there will be seed time and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, day and night,’ my point is, God’s still up there. The arrogance of people to think that we, human beings, would be able to change what He is doing in the climate is to me outrageous.”
Romney Aide Says Win in Alabama Would End Primary
A Mitt Romney campaign official told supporters in an email that Romney is within one point of victory in Alabama and can “end this process” by winning the state on Tuesday, Politico reports.
An Alabama poll released earlier today shows Romney two points behind Newt Gingrich. It’s not clear what poll the campaign aide was citing.
Why Limbaugh’s Apology Bombed
Howard Kurtz says the while Rush Limbaugh “dutifully recited the words, there was no music. He never called Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown Law student he had assailed as a ‘slut’ and ‘prostitute’ over her advocacy of contraceptive coverage. He kept slamming her for three days before issuing his statement of regret–which came as advertisers were starting to bail on his radio program, giving the exercise an air of damage control. He flunked the contrition test, retracting only his word choice and larding the statement with attacks on the left.”
“The apology failed for another reason: the mainstream media, much mocked by Limbaugh, has it in for him.”
Meanwhile, Radio Info reports that not only are paying advertisers still pulling their support but sponsors of unpaid public service announcements are also asking not to run on Limbaugh’s show.
Judge Sends Racially Charged Email About Obama
Chief U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull “admitted to sending a racially charged email about President Barack Obama from his courthouse chambers,” the Great Falls Tribune reports.
Cebull “was nominated by former President George W. Bush and received his commission in 2001 and has served as chief judge for the District of Montana since 2008.”
Brown Leading in Massachusetts
A new Mass Insight poll in Massachusetts shows Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) leading challenger Elizabeth Warren (D), 52% to 42%.
Key finding: “While 58% thought it was good for the state to have ‘an independent Republican like Scott Brown representing us in Congress,’ and 39% disagreed, voters were clearly begrudging about watching Republicans retake the Senate. Forty-nine percent thought the state needed to elect a Democrat to prevent the chamber from going Republican, 47% disagreed.”
Does Romney Really Own Guns?
In response to a question about gun control today, Mitt Romney claimed he owns guns himself.
Said Romney: “I believe in the second amendment, I’ll protect the second amendment, I have guns myself. Not going to tell you where they are. Don’t have them on myself either, alright.”
However, ABC News reports that in 2007, “after Romney claimed that he did have guns he later retracted his statement, saying that he himself does not have guns but his sons do.”
An Inside Look at How Hillary Clinton Lost Iowa
Just published: Defeat at Waterloo: Fighting on the Front lines of the Hillary Clinton Presidential Campaign by Amanda Wilkerson.
The End of the Mod Squad
Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee (I) told WPRI-TV that when he was a Republican U.S. Senator he ate lunch each week with four other GOP moderates: Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, Jim Jeffords of Vermont and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. They referred to themselves as “the Mod Squad.”
“In 2001, Jeffords left the party to caucus with the Democrats. In 2006, Chafee lost his seat to Sheldon Whitehouse after a primary challenge from the right. In 2009, Specter switched parties and went on to lose his first Democratic primary. And on Tuesday, Snowe shocked Washington by announcing her retirement… The last remaining member is Collins, who was re-elected in 2008.”
Kerrey Will Run for Senate
Former Sen. Bob Kerrey (D-NE) announced today that he would run for U.S. Senate, “setting the stage for a competitive election year in Nebraska as Democrats fight to retain the seat and Republicans battle to take it back,” the Omaha World Herald reports.
“Kerrey acknowledged that his thought-making process may have been unconventional — he initially said he was out, then said he was in — but he ultimately decided he wanted to be a part of the national debate.”
Said Kerrey: “Doing things the conventional way has never been my strong suit. This afternoon, I will file to become a candidate for the United States Senate in Nebraska. I came to realize that my previous decision was the easy one, not the right one.”
Fed Chairman Says Nation Headed for a Cliff
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned Congress it risked taking the nation over a “massive fiscal cliff” at the end of the year, The Hill reports.
He warned expiring tax cuts and spending cuts set to be triggered at the end of the year could hurt the economic recovery.
Said Bernanke: “All those things are hitting on the same day, basically. It’s quite a big event.”
“This year’s lame-duck session of Congress is expected to be one of the busiest in history given the expiring tax cuts and the spending cuts, which were triggered by the supercommittee’s failure last year to agree to a deficit-cutting plan. Congress will also need to raise the debt ceiling quickly after Election Day.”
