GOP Strategist: Ron Paul Will Be on GOP Ticket (VIDEO)

February 9, 2012

Judge Napolitano

“Ron Paul can still win. Watch this video to find out why.” –KTRN

Newt Gingrich Is Right: We Need A Permanent Moonbase

February 9, 2012

Io9

By Robert T. Gonzalez

“It’s hard to even write this next sentence.  Newt Gingrich is right.  A moon base would be amazing – space tourism, mining helium 3, and just the idea of traveling to the moon could change the entire landscape of the world.  Unfortunately, everything else Gingrich stands for is horrid.” –KTRN

Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich has promised us a permanent Moon base by 2020. Many people have been calling Newt’s vow a publicity stunt, while others have chimed in by attacking the idea of a lunar base in and of itself, with assertions like “real scientists know [a Moon base] is fantasy.”

We won’t speak to Newt’s political maneuverings, but we’re sure as hell not going to sit idly by while people bash the feasibility or scientific potential of a lunar settlement. In fact, we’ve got 185 reasons we should set a course straight away.

The Moon is a Stepping Stone to Mars

NASA has expressed that all technologies developed for getting us to the Moon and keeping us there should, whenever possible, “be designed with maximum extensibility to Mars.”

Setting up a base on the Moon is in many ways one step removed from sending an astronaut to the Red Planet — and doing that puts us one step closer to us getting off this rock and out into our galaxy and beyond. One hundred, five-hundred, a thousand years from now, when our descendants look back on our first days of space travel, they’ll remember that putting a permanent base on the Moon was the first, indispensable step.

Click here for the full report.

26 Things Non-Paul Voters Are Basically Saying

February 9, 2012

By Tom Woods

“Haven’t you been wondering why people are voting for anyone other than Ron Paul? It’s mind boggling.” –KTRN

I am trying to understand the thinking behind the great many Americans who have decided to vote for a mainstream politician in 2012.

Now before you read the below and send me an angry email telling me I should be nice, that I should try to persuade them through love, etc., let me note that I have generally done that. My video appeal to Iowa radio host Steve Deace was a friendly, reasoned discussion of Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich. My videos about Rick Santorum have been straightforward examinations of the facts. (See my video on Santorum’s view that we need inflation in order to prosper, and my video on why Catholics should instead vote for Ron Paul.)

But once in a while you just can’t take it anymore, and you have to let loose.

So, whether they realize it or not, here are 26 things non-Paul supporters appear to be saying.

(1) The American political establishment has done a super job keeping our country prosperous and our liberties protected, so I’m sure whatever candidate they push on me is probably a good one.

(2) Our country is basically bankrupt. Unfunded entitlement liabilities are in excess of twice world GDP. Therefore, it’s a good idea to vote for someone who offers no specific spending cuts of any kind.

(3) Vague promises to cut spending are good enough for me, even though they have always resulted in higher spending in the past.

(4) I prefer a candidate who plays to the crowd, instead of having the courage to tell his audience things they may not want to hear.

(5) I am deeply concerned about spending. Therefore, I would like to vote for someone who supported Medicare Part D, thereby adding $7 trillion to Medicare’s unfunded liabilities.

Click here for the full report.

Ron Paul Surging in Latest National Poll

February 8, 2012

Reuters

By Patricia Zengerle

“Don’t count Ron Paul out just yet. Romnye’s popularity is failing. There are still a lot more primaries left. It’s not over.” –KTRN

Despite his strong showing in early state contests in the race for the Republican U.S. presidential nomination, Mitt Romney’s support nationwide has dipped slightly during the past month, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday.

Romney was backed by 29 percent of Republican voters in the telephone poll conducted February 2-6, down from 30 percent in a survey in early January, although the change was within the poll’s margin of error.

The results suggest Romney – despite his vast advantages in organization, fundraising and momentum after victories in New Hampshire, Florida and Nevada – still has many doubters among Republicans nationwide.

“He still hasn’t really convinced all the Republicans across the country that he’s the guy to get behind,” said Chris Jackson, research director for Ipsos public affairs.

The former Massachusetts governor’s three rivals in the race to oppose Democratic President Barack Obama in the November 6 U.S. election were in a virtual tie for second, the poll showed. The gaps between the three were within the poll’s margin of error.

Support for Ron Paul, a U.S. congressman from Texas, grew by 5 percentage points to 21 percent. That moved him into second place and ahead of former House of Representatives speaker Newt Gingrich, whose support slipped to 19 percent from 20 percent.

Click here for the full report.

Virginia Officials Confirm Criminal Election Fraud Investigation of Gingrich Campaign

February 3, 2012

The Brad Blog

By Brad Friedman

“Gingrich is at it again. How could anyone vote for this man?” –KTRN

Had the same thing been carried out by a worker for the now-defunct ACORN, Republicans — and even Newt Gingrich — would have called it massive “voter fraud.” But the 1,500 acts of fraud, by Gingrich’s own admission, were carried out by a worker hired by his campaign, so it seems the media have barely noticed it.

Nonetheless, The BRAD BLOG has received confirmation from two different state agencies that the 1,500 alleged cases of ballot petition fraud said to have been carried out on behalf of the Gingrich campaign, in their unsuccessful attempt to qualify for the Republican primary ballot in Virginia, are now being carried out by the state Attorney General’s office.

In late December, after Gingrich had failed to turn in enough valid signatures to qualify for the Virginia primary ballot, he was caught on video tape telling a supporter in Iowa that the reason for the failure was due to a campaign worker who created 1,500 fraudulent signatures.

“We turned in 11,100 — we needed 10,000 — 1,500 of them were by one guy who, frankly, committed fraud,” Gingrich is seen and heard saying in video originally aired by CNN.

The former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives downplayed the incident, by explaining to the woman that the entire affair was “just a mistake,” after they had “hired somebody who turned in false signatures.”

Neither he nor his campaign, however, has made the name of the alleged “one guy” public, to our knowledge, despite the extraordinary number of fraudulent signatures created and turned in by that “one guy” in what an official at the Virginia State Board of Elections (SBE) described to us as “definitely an illegal act.”

Click here for the full report.

Newt Gingrich, On Eve Of Likely Florida Loss, Unleashes Wild Attacks On Mitt Romney

January 31, 2012

Huffington Post

By: Jon Ward

Meet Newt Gingrich, the human Roman Candle.

Gingrich and Mitt Romney on Monday staggered to the end of a brutal week of campaigning in Florida, one in which they took increasingly nasty and personal shots at one another. But the day marked a new level of angry and relentless attacks on Romney by Gingrich, the former House speaker from Georgia.

From morning until the last of five events at the end of the day, Gingrich branded Romney a liar and cheat, accusing him of suppressing religious liberty and trying to “buy the election.”

The strain of the nastiness showed on both men. Romney’s voice was hoarse as he spoke at his last of three events, in front of a few thousand people at The Villages, a massive retirement community 90 minutes northeast of Tampa. But in a sign of growing confidence and looseness as a candidate, Romney led the crowd in singing “America the Beautiful,” a tune he has mentioned on the campaign trail all month without breaking into song.

Romney didn’t mention Gingrich by name at his last event, after mocking and dismissing him earlier in the day.

Gingrich, on the other hand, launched himself into the Romney juggernaut with a level of fury and desperation certain to produce uneasiness in the GOP for its poisonous tone. Gingrich has vowed to carry his candidacy all the way to the GOP convention, but his actions Monday bore a wildness that could call his campaign’s longevity into doubt.

Gingrich continued to harp on a charge that Romney, during his time as Massachusetts governor, vetoed funds to expand the provision of kosher food for Bay State retirees. Gingrich said Romney has a “lack of concern for religious liberty.”

Click here for the full report from the Huffington Post

The Man Behind Gingrich’s Money

January 31, 2012

The New York Times

By MIKE McINTIRE and MICHAEL LUO

“Here’s a lengthy article than explains where some of Newt’s money is coming from.” –KTRN

The trip to Jordan by a group of United States congressmen was supposed to be a chance for them to meet the newly crowned King Abdullah II. But their tour guide had a more complicated agenda.

The guide was Sheldon Adelson, a Las Vegas casino magnate who helped underwrite trips to the Middle East to win support for Israel in Congress. On this occasion in 1999, as the lawmakers enjoyed a reception at the Royal Palace in Amman, Mr. Adelson and an aide retreated to a private room with the king.

There, the king listened politely as Mr. Adelson sat on a sofa and paged through his proposal for a gambling resort on the Jordan-Israel border to be called the Red Sea Kingdom.

“This was shortly after his father, King Hussein, died, and he was grateful to me,” Mr. Adelson explained later in court testimony, recalling that he had lent his plane when the ailing monarch sought treatment in the United States. “So they remembered.”

The proposal never went anywhere — Mr. Adelson later said he had feared that a Jewish-owned casino on Arab land “would have been blown to smithereens.” But his impromptu pitch to the Jordanian king highlights the boldness, if not audacity, that has propelled Mr. Adelson into the ranks of the world’s richest men and transformed him into a powerful behind-the-scenes player in American and international politics.

Those qualities may also help explain why Mr. Adelson, 78, has decided to throw his wealth behind what had once seemed to be the unlikely presidential aspirations of Newt Gingrich. Now, in no small measure because of Mr. Adelson’s deep pockets, Mr. Gingrich is locked in a struggle with Mitt Romney heading into Florida’s Republican primary on Tuesday.

Click here for the full report.

NOVO: Gingrich Was A Lobbyist

January 30, 2012

Politiken

By Jakob Nielsen

“Here is proof that Gingrich was indeed acting as a lobbyist – something Ron Paul would never consider doing.”  –KTRN

Novo Nordisk viewed Republican presidential hopeful New Gingrich as a lobbyist in Washington, according to the Danish company’s 2009 annual report in which Novo’s membership of Gingrich’s Center for Health Transformation is listed as “costs for lobbyism”.

Gingrich has come under attack as he insists that he has never worked as a lobbyist, but has only offered strategic consultancy.

The issue is a controversial one because Gingrich portrays himself as a politician who is not involved with what he calls ‘the Washingon elite’.

Gingrich’s claim that he has not been a lobbyist is in sharp contrast to Novo’s annual report from 2009 in which the following “Costs for lobbyism” are listed.

“The total lobby expenditure for 2009 was USD 1,725,000. The number includes staff time in-house lobbying (staff time, expenses), fees for lobbying firms and law firms, membership fees to e.g. industry organisations”.

A link leads directly to the organisations that Novo pays to be a member of, among which is the Center for Health Transformation, which Gingrich founded in 2003 and ran until he became candidate for the presidency.

Novo has told Politiken that the company paid DK 1.1 million in annual subscriptions to be a member of Gingrich’s company.

Politiken has asked the Novo Nordisk spokesman in the United States whether his company viewed Newt Gingrich as a lobbyist, but the company has not answered.

In an annual report from 2005, Novo Nordisk explains how it sees lobbyism:

“Novo Nordisk considers lobbying to be a business-critical activity. Given the declining public trust in standards of corporate conduct, it is important to counter the examples of those who abuse the system. The company therefore supports the trend towards greater accountability and transparency in lobbying, which is necessary to maintain and build trust, and the company will play its part in demonstrating the value of lobbying and advocacy when conducted responsibly.”

The report also lists the Center for Health Transformation and Newt Gingrich by name.

Click here for the full report.

Ron Paul Will Defeat Mitt Romney In The Virginia Primary

January 27, 2012

The Hill

By Brent Budowsky

“Don’t count out Ron Paul just yet.  You never know what could happen.  He’s in it for the long haul.”  –KTRN

In a dramatic head-to-head contest that will win huge attention throughout the political world, I now believe that Ron Paul will defeat Mitt Romney in the Virginia primary. The implications could be enormous. This result would dramatize the fact that a majority of Republican primary voters favor a candidate more conservative than Mitt Romney. This prospect could also inspire the mother of all money bombs for the Ron Paul campaign.

If I were the campaign manager for the Gingrich and Santorum campaigns, I would be suggesting that all conservatives vote for Ron Paul in Virginia. Ditto the conservative movement leaders from all conservative points of view and throughout the conservative media.

So far, the pundit debate has largely missed the point that Mitt Romney has hovered between 26 percent and 38 percent in various state votes and polls. It is ridiculous for anyone to suggest “this race is over” or “this race will soon be over” (as many pundits wrongly have) because, obviously, the nominee will need 50 percent-plus-one of all delegates. I emphasize delegates.

What is certainly unique about Virginia, so far, is the prospect of a straight Ron Paul versus Mitt Romney contest, with no other candidates. If this does not change, the Virginia vote will be a pure play of Romney versus Paul, and also a contest purely of Romney versus the conservative movement, which I would expect to unify behind Paul for the Virginia vote.

This pure play will dramatically increase media coverage for Ron, because the Virginia race will take on a life of its own as a unique head-to-head battle. This will provide fundraising opportunities for Paul going into, and coming out of, the Virginia vote. This will boost whatever role Ron Paul chooses to play, whether it becomes convention player, kingmaker or third-party candidate.

Click here for the full report.

Ron Paul Resonates with Hispanic Voters in Florida

January 26, 2012

US News

By Ken Walsh

“Ron Paul’s message is getting out there like never before.” –KTRN

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul’s strategists say they have discovered a surprising source of support for their candidate—Latinos in Florida.

Paul hasn’t made any overt appeals for the Hispanic vote, his advisers say. In fact, he has barely campaigned in Florida at all because he considers the odds too great against him, although he did participate in a Tampa debate earlier this week and is preparing for another one in Jacksonville tonight. But a Paul spokesman cites a new poll indicating that the Texas congressman has the support of 41.5 percent of likely Hispanic Republican voters in Florida, with former House Speaker New Gingrich second at 25.3 percent, former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts at 9.2 percent, and former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania at 4.1 percent.

This suggests that Paul could do better than expected in Florida’s presidential primary next Tuesday.

Other polls, however, have Paul far behind. A survey sponsored by Univision, ABC News and Latino Decisions, released yesterday, found that Romney was ahead among Latinos in Florida with 35 percent, Gingrich had 20, Santorum 7, and Paul 6, with 21 percent undecided.

But Paul strategists argue that their candidate is gaining traction with Latinos, a key voting bloc in Florida.

“Ron Paul’s support among Hispanic Republicans makes sense,” says Jesse Benton, Paul’s national campaign chariman, “since Hispanics desire the same reforms that their non-Hispanic counterparts want—strong purchasing power for their hard-earned dollars, a regulatory climate hospitable to business and job growth, and personal and economic liberties returned so decision-making on important life matters occurs in the home and not in Washington.”

Other Paul strategists speculate that Hispanics see Paul as a strong advocate of policies that reward individual effort and entrepreneurship so everyone can pursue the American Dream.

Click here for the full report.

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