We love headlines like this. Adelson, you’ll recall, is the casino magnate who single-handedly kept Newt Gingrich’s presidential campaign from collapsing so moons ago. He’s still a prominent Republican contributor, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee—the party apparatus in charge of electing House Democrats—is in some hot water for making some sketchily-sourced claims about Adelson. They caved yesterday and apologized after Adelson threatened to sue. source
I am not basing this on some figment of my imagination.Harry Reid • “Doubling down,” as they say, on his allegation that Mitt Romney paid no taxes for ten years. Reid sourced this claim to an anonymous investor in Bain, Romney’s old company, and in a conference call with reporters today, said that he’s “had a number of people tell me that [Romney paid no taxes].” When asked to back up his claim, Reid replied: “The burden should be on him. He’s the one I’ve alleged has not paid any taxes. Why didn’t he release his tax returns?” On the one hand, it’s easy to attribute an incendiary allegation to an anonymous source, as Reid has done. On the other hand, the only way to confirm or discredit this allegation is—you guessed it—for Romney to release his tax returns. source (via • follow)
My first op-ed for The Daily Caller isn’t exactly friendly to Mitt Romney.
In the coming months, Romney is going to be hammered by the Obama campaign. The Bain commercials will continue, not because Obama disagrees with Romney’s decisions, but because Romney refuses to explain those decisions….
Political Tumblr does good: Story at 11 …
![gifhound:
Stumpin’ in the rain! “You know, this feels kind of good,” remarked President Obama, as he opened a speech in the pouring rain outside Richmond, Va yesterday, the congressional district of House Majority leader Eric Cantor.
[Source: AP]
The president will try to get your vote, even if he has to stand in the rain to win you over.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m784ebfLzz1rtxen9o1_400.gif)
Stumpin’ in the rain! “You know, this feels kind of good,” remarked President Obama, as he opened a speech in the pouring rain outside Richmond, Va yesterday, the congressional district of House Majority leader Eric Cantor.
[Source: AP]
The president will try to get your vote, even if he has to stand in the rain to win you over.
Romney/Rock 2012? Just kidding, that’s not happening. You know what is happening, though? A Kid Rock performance at the Republican National Convention this summer. Rock has always been an outspoken conservative, so this isn’t really too surprising, but still, there’s now a chance that we’ll get to see Mitt Romney singing and clapping along to “Bawitdaba,” and that possibility alone will absolutely make the RNC worth watching. If that’s not enough to entice you, Lynyrd Skynyrd will be there as well (Photo credit: Getty). source
He needs to broaden the message out when talking about immigration, to make it an economic issue as much as it is a question of the rule of law, have a broader message and have a more intense message.Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush • Putting his experience with voters in Florida to good use by giving Mitt Romney some advice on how to handle the state. We know, now more than ever, that Bush will not be anyone’s running mate in this election, but that doesn’t stop him from giving his two cents. He goes on to say: “Great countries should be able to control their borders, plain and simple, and we haven’t done it to the extent that we should, although there has been significant improvement in the last seven, eight years — also because we’ve had a lot fewer people trying to cross the border, because our economy stinks.” source (via • follow)
» The rub: This is, largely, good news for Romney, as a net +21% of his base feels positively about him as their candidate. The catch is this: Only 11% of those polled said they’re excited by a Romney candidacy. Enthusiasm is a huge component in turning out voters; the difference in propensity to vote between a voter who’s “excited” and one whose merely “satisfied” with their candidate can be the difference between winning and losing.
» Ruh-roh. That’s a decline of, like, one percent a day.
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#FMMDI (at 30 Rockefeller Plaza)
Snowe’s retirement will have many lamenting the endangered moderate and wondering how we can turn back the clock. But we can’t. About that, Snowe is right. Polarization is with us now and will be with us for the foreseeable future. The question is whether we will permit it to paralyze our political system and undermine our country or whether we will accept it and make the necessary accommodations.Ezra Klein • Arguing that the problem with congress isn’t partisanship, or ideological polarization, but rather that the institutions and procedures codified in our political system aren’t well-equipped to handle a polarized congress. Klein’s prime example is the filibuster, which as we’ve seen the past couple of years, is absolutely crippling when the two parties in the Senate don’t agree on anything. “Our system, as any historian will tell you, was built by men who hated parties and anticipated their absence from American politics,” Klein says. “But as the two parties have polarized, we’ve learned that a system built for consensus is not able to properly function amid constant partisan competition.” source (via • follow)
![Ron Paul hasn’t attacked Romney once during the debates
Ron and Mitt, bosom buddies: A lot has been made of the mysterious affinity between Ron Paul and Mitt Romney. In addition Romney offering his private jet for Paul’s use, many note that, despite sharing almost none of the same policy positions, the two rarely go after each other during debates. ThinkProgress analyzed the forums, and its findings seem to confirm this: During the 20 Republican forums, Paul hasn’t attacked Romney once. We’d like to learn more about their methodology before drawing any hard conclusions from this (what counts as an “attack?”); we’re also curious as to why candidates like Jon Huntsman and Herman Cain weren’t included in the analysis [Edit: Herman Cain is actually represented on the chart; thanks to robajob for pointing that out]. Nevertheless, it is a rather odd phenomena, with explanations ranging from “they’re just friends” to “Romney promised Ron Paul’s son the VP slot” (which seems rather far-fetched, but not altogether impossible). It’s nice to have some numbers to back up the observation, and it’ll be interesting to see how the two handle Virginia’s primary, where they’re the only two candidates on the ballot. [many thanks to ThinkProgress, both for the analysis and the image] source
Follow ShortFormBlog](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m02l6iVs6I1qas8z9o1_r1_500.jpg)
Ron and Mitt, bosom buddies: A lot has been made of the mysterious affinity between Ron Paul and Mitt Romney. In addition Romney offering his private jet for Paul’s use, many note that, despite sharing almost none of the same policy positions, the two rarely go after each other during debates. ThinkProgress analyzed the forums, and its findings seem to confirm this: During the 20 Republican forums, Paul hasn’t attacked Romney once. We’d like to learn more about their methodology before drawing any hard conclusions from this (what counts as an “attack?”); we’re also curious as to why candidates like Jon Huntsman and Herman Cain weren’t included in the analysis [Edit: Herman Cain is actually represented on the chart; thanks to robajob for pointing that out]. Nevertheless, it is a rather odd phenomena, with explanations ranging from “they’re just friends” to “Romney promised Ron Paul’s son the VP slot” (which seems rather far-fetched, but not altogether impossible). It’s nice to have some numbers to back up the observation, and it’ll be interesting to see how the two handle Virginia’s primary, where they’re the only two candidates on the ballot. [many thanks to ThinkProgress, both for the analysis and the image] source
![Reports: In boon to Democrats, Bob Kerrey will seek old Senate seat after all
Bob’s Back: After previously saying he’d sit 2012 out, it looks like former Democratic Senator Bob Kerrey will run for his old Nebraska Senate seat after all (it’s currently held by Democrat Ben Nelson, who’s retiring). Kerrey’s decision to run is significant, as Republicans would almost certainly take the seat if he opted out, due to a rather weak Democratic bench in the Cornhusker State. However, Kerrey is generally regarded as a strong candidate, and his candidacy is perhaps Democrats’ best shot at retaining control of the seat . In an election year when Democrats have to defend 23 Senate seats, versus only 10 for Republicans, every little bit counts. [Author’s note: Apologies for using the word “seat” so many times in this article]. source
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Bob’s Back: After previously saying he’d sit 2012 out, it looks like former Democratic Senator Bob Kerrey will run for his old Nebraska Senate seat after all (it’s currently held by Democrat Ben Nelson, who’s retiring). Kerrey’s decision to run is significant, as Republicans would almost certainly take the seat if he opted out, due to a rather weak Democratic bench in the Cornhusker State. However, Kerrey is generally regarded as a strong candidate, and his candidacy is perhaps Democrats’ best shot at retaining control of the seat . In an election year when Democrats have to defend 23 Senate seats, versus only 10 for Republicans, every little bit counts. [Author’s note: Apologies for using the word “seat” so many times in this article]. source
Obama vs. Romney on tax rates: As you can see, rates are largely the same—except for the nation’s richest and poorest. The poor would pay almost twice as much in taxes under Romney’s plan; meanwhile, the very richest in the country would be forced to cough up about 10% more of their income under Obama. The net effect? In short, Romney’s plan would reduce federal revenues to about 17% of GDP—down .9% from where they are now. Obama’s budget would raise revenues 19.2%, with most of that money coming from those making over $250,000 a year (Graphic and data courtesy of The Washington Post / Tax Policy Center).
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