“Texas taxpayers were billed almost $800,000 in travel costs for a security detail to travel with Gov. Rick Perry largely on out-of-state events tied to his presidential campaign from September through November,” the Austin American Statesman reports.
Economic Growth Picks Up Pace
The U.S. economy “grew at its fastest pace in more than a year and a half in the fourth quarter, signaling that a sturdier recovery took hold despite troubles in other parts of the world,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Gross domestic product — the value of all goods and services produced — grew at an annual rate of 2.8% between October and December… That is up from 1.8% growth in the third quarter and 1.3% in the second quarter.”
Florida Insiders See Romney Prevailing
The latest Florida Insider Poll by the Tampa Bay Times found hat more than three-quarters of the state’s most experienced political hands think Mitt Romney ultimately will win the GOP presidential nomination, regardless of what happens in Florida. They also overwhelmingly think Romney would be the strongest general election candidate against President Obama.
However, in a sign of the toll the presidential primary has taken on the GOP field, more than 7 in 10 think Obama will be re-elected in November — including half of the Republican insiders and every Democrat.
Romney Continues to Lead in Florida
A new Sunshine State News Poll in Florida finds Mitt Romney leading among likely GOP primary voters with 40%, followed by Newt Gingrich at 31%, Rick Santorum at 12% and Ron Paul at 9%.
A new Quinnipiac poll shows Romney in front with 38%, followed by Gingrich at 29%, Paul at 14% and Santorum at 12%.
Meanwhile, Public Policy Polling will do nightly tracking polls from Saturday thru Monday but notes it “seems like that might not really be necessary.”
Nelson Leads All Challengers in Florida
A new Suffolk University poll in Florida finds Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) leads all four potential Republican challengers in Florida’s closely watched U.S. Senate race.
Rep. Connie Mack polled closest, trailing by 10 points in a head-to-head matchup with Nelson, 42% to 32%, with a considerable undecided of 25 percent.
GOP Debate Reaction
An aggressive Mitt Romney came out swinging at Newt Gingrich and didn’t stop until he had him wobbling against the ropes. With the lead in most polls and just five days until the Florida primary, he very likely finished off his main rival. It was a superb performance by Romney. Gingrich was terrible.
That said, every moment Romney spends talking about blind trusts and his taxes is a win for Democrats. The longer the Republican primary continues, the worse his appeal is to swing voters. Romney knows this and needs to clinch the nomination as quickly as possible.
Rick Santorum had his best debate yet and scored many points against both Gingrich and Romney. Ron Paul was hilarious but largely irrelevant to the main conversation on the debate stage.
Obama Says He Wants Re-Election Badly
President Obama signaled an aggressive tack for his early re-election campaign in an ABC News interview.
“How much do you want it?” Diane Sawyer asked.
“Badly, because I think the country needs it,” Obama replied.
He added: “Whoever wins the Republican primary is going to be a standard bearer for a vision of the country that I don’t think reflects who we are. I’m going to fight as hard as I can with every fiber of my being to make sure that we continue on a path that I think will restore the American dream.”
Clinton Ready to Leave Politics Behind
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton “definitively said she wants out of politics,” ABC News reports.
“During a town hall meeting with State Department employees this morning Clinton said she is ready to step off ‘the high wire of American politics.’ She said she’s paying no attention to the battle for the Republican presidential nomination and hasn’t watched any of the debates.”
Gingrich Lands Support of Former Colleague
Not many of Newt Gingrich’s former House GOP colleagues support his presidential bid, but the Voice of San Diego found one who does: Former Rep. Duke Cunningham (R-CA), who is in prison for conspiracy and tax evasion.
Cunningham sent a message to Gingrich: “Newt, a voice out of the past. Down but not out and
still fighting. First I do not want anything from you but have been
watching the debates. I have 80% of inmates that would vote for
you. They might not be able to but their extended families
will.”
GOP Debate Tonight
With just 5 days to go until the Florida primary, the four remaining Republican presidential candidates face off in yet another debate tonight.
The action starts at 8 p.m. ET on CNN.
Ron Fournier: “Tonight’s is the last debate until Feb. 22, nearly a month from now,
which leaves Gingrich with one less tool in his toolbox to counter
Romney’s financial and organizational advantages. That is, unless he
wins Florida … which brings us back to the extraordinary importance of
tonight’s debate.”
Ready for Some Political Trivia?
Coming soon: A new companion site to Political Wire.
Romney Tax Returns Differ from Ethics Forms
Some investments listed in Mitt Romney’s 2010 tax returns — including a now-closed Swiss bank account and funds located in overseas tax havens — were not explicitly disclosed in the personal financial statement he filed last August, the Los Angeles Times reports.
“The Romney campaign described the discrepancies as ‘trivial’ but acknowledged Thursday afternoon that they are undergoing an internal review of how the investments were reported and will make “some minor technical amendments” to Romney’s financial disclosure that will not alter the overall picture of his finances.”
MSNBC notes that while Romney’s tax returns “have produced no revelations about any improper dealings on Romneys’ part, they have continued to raise questions about how and why some of his multiple overseas investments were made in the first place, and why there were not more fully reported on Romney’s financial disclosure forms.”
Flashback of the Day
“The dramatic movement of 1995 is an outgrowth of a much earlier crusade that goes back half a century. Barry Goldwater handed the torch to Ronnie, and in turn Ronnie turned that torch over to Newt and the Republican members of Congress to keep that dream alive.”
— Nancy Reagan, in a 1995 video, saying her husband Ronald Reagan gave leadership of the conservative movement to Newt Gingrich.
Dole Unloads on Gingrich
National Review has the brutal statement from former Sen. Bob Dole (R-KS):
“I have not been critical
of Newt Gingrich but it is now time to take a stand before it is too
late. If Gingrich is the nominee it will have an adverse impact on
Republican candidates running for county, state, and federal offices.
Hardly anyone who served with Newt in Congress has endorsed him and that
fact speaks for itself. He was a one-man-band who rarely took advice.
It was his way or the highway.”
He adds: “In my run for the presidency in 1996 the Democrats greeted me with a number of negative TV ads and in every one of them Newt was in the ad. He was very unpopular and I am not only certain that this did not help me, but that it also cost House seats that year. Newt would show up at the campaign headquarters with an empty bucket in his hand — that was a symbol of some sort for him — and I never did know what he was doing or why he was doing it, and I’m not certain he knew either.”
Majority Would Vote Out Every Member of Congress
The latest NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll shows most Americans agree on one thing: 56% of registered voters say they would vote out every member of Congress if there were a place on the ballot to do so.
Support is consistent across the ideological spectrum — with 55% of liberals, 55% of moderates, and 58% of conservatives all feeling the same way.
Said pollster Bill McInturff: “We found the one area in which all people in the country agree.”
Gingrich Still Leads Romney Nationally
Despite recent Florida polls which show Mitt Romney opening up a lead over Newt Gingrich in that state’s upcoming Republican primary, the latest Gallup tracking poll shows Romney continuing his fall.
Gingrich now leads Romney nationally by six points, 31% to 25%, with Rick Santorum and Ron Paul both at 13%.
Barney Frank Getting Married
Rep. Barney Frank’s (D-MA) office has confirmed to NECN that the retiring 71-year-old lawmaker is marrying his longtime partner, Jim Ready, in a Massachusetts ceremony. A date has not been set.
If Frank were to get married before he leaves office in January, he would be the first congressman in a same sex marriage.
Money Well Spent?
Just published: Money Well Spent?: The Truth Behind the Trillion-Dollar Stimulus, the Biggest Economic Recovery Plan in History by Michael Grabell.
The author concludes the stimulus package did some good and saved as many as 3 million jobs but the political legacy of the bill may be its most lasting effect.
