Archive for the ‘Rick Santorum’ Category

Icons, it seems, are made for smashing. Or at least discarding.

Eight years after he became a GOP hero — especially in Georgia — for breaking ranks with his fellow Democrats and advocating a second term for President George W. Bush, Zell Miller stands an even chance of being deposed.

By the likes of Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain and Rick Santorum, no less.

The Republican race for the new 9th Congressional District in North Georgia, drawn to be the most conservative in the state, has become a blistering mountain-vs.-tea party affair.

The 80-year-old former Georgia governor and U.S. senator from Young Harris stands behind state Rep. Doug Collins of Gainesville. “I felt I had a mountain relationship with him,” Miller said.

But that quartet of cable TV veterans, all popular preachers on the tea party circuit, has endorsed Martha Zoller, a former talk radio host in Gainesville. “Martha is running against the establishment, which, as we know, is an uphill …

Continue reading Mountain vs. tea party, Zell Miller vs. Sarah Palin »

Some interesting calculations are being made at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The Republican-oriented business group is launching TV ads in U.S. Senate races in four states, and targeting 17 House contests across the country. According to the Associated Press, the multi-million dollar buy hits Democratic incumbents over President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul and the administration’s energy policies.

The only Democrat getting a boost from the chamber is U.S. Rep. John Barrow, now of Augusta:

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Speaking of the endangered political center, after his defeat last night, U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., issued two statements. One was a dab of pablum that thanked Indiana voters, etc. The other amounted to an indictment of a polarized political process. From the Evansville, Ind., Courier Press:

The truth is that the headwinds in this race were abundantly apparent long before Richard Mourdock announced his candidacy. One does not highlight such headwinds publically when …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: John Barrow gets a nod from the U.S. Chamber »

As Joe Biden showered and shaved this morning, prepping for his appearance before a rabbinical assembly in Sandy Springs, others were still mulling over the vice president’s friendly remarks about gay marriage – and the pickle they’ve created for President Barack Obama.

From the Washington Post:

Several people close to the White House said the episode has exposed internal tensions within Obama’s team between those who want the president to say he favors same-sex marriage before the November election and others who worry about a political backlash if he does….

About one in six of Obama’s top campaign “bundlers” are gay, according to a Washington Post review of donor lists, making it difficult for the president to defer the matter.

To add to Obama’s discomfort, North Carolina — where Democrats will gather this summer to nominate him for a second term — today votes on a constitutional amendment to limit marriage to heterosexual couples. The measure is expected to …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: Joe Biden — and Barack Obama’s gay marriage problem »

As Georgia pursues federal funding for the $650 million dredging of the Port of Savannah, much attention is given to competition with other East Coast ports such as Jacksonville, Miami and Charleston.

But the West Coast may be the more important rival to Savannah’s success. From McClatchy News Service:

Several factors make a significant shift from one coast to the other unlikely. The first is speed. It’s less expensive for a ship to go the all-water route to the East Coast instead of docking on the West Coast and offloading containers onto trucks or trains, but it also takes at least a week longer. For consumer electronics and other high-end goods that need to get to store shelves quickly, retailers will pay more for faster transit times.

Second, ports in Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland, Calif., and Seattle and Tacoma, Wash., are deep enough to handle the bigger ships. They have warehousing space for containers, and they have highly developed rail connections to the …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: The Port of Savannah’s competition – on the West Coast »

So why is Newt Gingrich still in the GOP presidential race? So he can issue statements like the one below, which arrived this morning:

“Governor [Mitt] Romney’s proposal to limit certain tax deductions based on income, including the deduction for mortgage interest on second homes, is a surrender to the class warfare rhetoric of the Left.”

Over the weekend, at a fundraiser in Florida, Romney was overheard saying that he might seek to limit tax deductions for second home mortgages and eliminate the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

But apparently, it’s far too early for a Sistah Souljah moment. Aides later said the presumptive GOP nominee was simply tossing around ideas.

Says Gingrich:

“Conservatives believe in the classical American definition of fairness – that every American be treated equally under the law…

“Governor Romney’s tax proposal violates that principle by giving politicians the power to carve out exceptions in the law for people of …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: Newt Gingrich slams Mitt Romney over limiting mortgage deductions »

Yes, we finally have a Republican presidential nominee, but look for this to dominate the news cycle in Georgia today. From the Associated Press –but the italics are mine:

SAVANNAH, Ga. — Plans to deepen the shipping channel to the Port of Savannah are moving a big step forward with the release of key federal government studies that took 16 years and $41 million to complete.

The Army Corps of Engineers planned to release its final studies on the economic and environmental impacts of the harbor expansion project Wednesday. The massive report’s arrival marks the beginning of the endgame for the $600 million project, which requires approval from four federal agencies before construction can begin.

The Georgia Ports Authority wants to deepen 38 miles of the Savannah River between the port and the Atlantic Ocean by 6 feet to accommodate supersized cargo ships. Gov. Nathan Deal has made the project a top priority, but it’s met staunch resistance from neighboring South …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: Final fed studies on Port of Savannah deepening to be released today »

If you’re Newt Gingrich, and attempting to argue that – with Rick Santorum gone — the GOP contest for president is now a two-man race bound for Tampa, what you don’t need are inconvenient, illusion-shattering facts.

Like a rubber check that could keep you off the June 26 primary ballot in Utah. From the Salt Lake Tribune:

Utah Elections Director Mark Thomas said a designated agent for the Gingrich campaign brought the filing papers and a check for $500 in March, but after the check was deposited, the state was notified by the bank that the check had bounced. He said the office has tried to contact the Gingrich campaign through the telephone number and email provided on the application, but [has] not received a response.

Recently, the state sent a certified letter to the campaign, stating that if the fee isn’t paid by April 20, Gingrich will be disqualified and will not be on the ballot.

- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider

For instant updates, follow me on Twitter, or …

Continue reading A rubber check in Utah could keep Newt Gingrich off ballot »

On his Twitter account last night, New York Times reporter Jeff Zeleny sent out the following message:

I ask Santorum if Romney is “worst Republican” to run. He says: “Quit distorting my words It’s [bovine excrement].” He says he was talking health care.

Here’s the video of the exchange:

Don’t feel bad for Santorum. By 1 a.m. this morning, according to Politico, his campaign had sent out this fund-raiser:

”Earlier today, while campaigning in Wisconsin, I criticized Romney and Obama for their outrageous healthcare legislation. Predictably, I was aggressively attacked by a New York Times reporter all too ready to defend the two of them, and all too ready to distort my words.

“Let me assure you, I didn’t back down, and I didn’t let him bully me. I think it is high time that conservatives find the courage to expose the liberal press for what they are, a defender and enabler of Romney’s and Obama’s liberal agendas.”

As far as word usage and evangelicals are concerned – …

Continue reading Rick Santorum hurls barnyard phrase at NYT reporter »

Over the weekend, nobody fumbled the Trayvon Martin issue like Newt Gingrich.

President Barack Obama was the first to dip in on Friday morning, with a declaration of empathy. “I can only imagine what these parents are going through, and when I think about this boy, I think about my own kids,” Obama said. “If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon.”

Rick Santorum had this to say: “There’s a difference between ‘Stand Your Ground’ and doing what he did. And it’s a horrible case. It’s chilling to hear what happened, and of course the fact that law enforcement didn’t immediately go after and prosecute this case is another chilling example of horrible decisions made by people in this process.”

Likewise, Romney declared the killing of the 17-year-old, unarmed black youth a tragedy: “Our hearts go out to his family, his loved ones, his friends. This shouldn’t have happened.”

And then there was Newt, who actually may have been the first to weigh in — quite …

Continue reading Newt Gingrich fumbles discussion of Trayvon Martin »

Monday is shaping up to be a day of protest at and around the state Capitol.

Students from Morehouse College, Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University, and John Marshall Law School are putting together a Skittles-and-hoodies protest focused on the Florida killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin and Florida’s “stand your ground” law.

Demonstrators will be targeting several gun bills still under consideration by the Legislature, which they term “a continuation” of Georgia’s 2006 law that expanded the circumstances under which a shooter could claim self-defense.

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The annual President’s Day fund-raiser for the Georgia Republican party on Monday – usually a sleepy event – is likely to get more attention this time around. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who is facing a recall election after last year’s confrontation with public employee unions, will be the keynote speaker.

Union workers in Atlanta are already planning a welcome for Walker at the downtown Marriott …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: A Skittles-and-hoodies protest headed for the state Capitol »