2012 GOP Presidential Campaign -- "This individual's going to accuse me of an affair for an extended period of time."

Meanwhile a surprising number of commenters agree with John J. Miller's 2012 predictions.

I'm on board with the Tigers winning the World Series

The choice of "centrist Republicans":

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/dec/27/vote-obama-centrist-republican

haha -- I was waiting for someone to post it. I didn't want to be typecast.

2 bad the cult of Paul is more about exalting Him than any purported libertarian ideology, or i guess Gary Johnson could gain some third party traction once Mitt's inevitability becomes apparent to even the most die hard.

(that is assuming Paul doesn't go for a third party run. and for some reason i just don't think he will)

he won't. gary johnson or, god forbid, buddy roemer could get some traction if not for the cult of paulsonality.

"Dead Skunk"'s a thousand times better, but right off the wire:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wn9DSeDxnnI

whatever point he's trying to make is undermined by presence of ukelele

i hope paul wins in iowa (have no idea how actually plausible this is) and then makes the gop beg him not to crush their dreams with a third-party run; i also hope he goes after obama's drones in an actual debate so that we can watch all the others try to change the subject before they're forced to heap too much death-fetishist praise on the kenyan commie.

LOL

http://concord-nh.patch.com/articles/mitt-romney-s-sons-meet-concord-seniors-video#video-8805057

^one of Mitt’s sons telling reporters that his dad doesn’t have to release his tax returns until President Obama releases his birth certificate and school transcripts.

um wait, not reporters. senior citizen group apparently.

Wolf Blitzer was pressing Romney on the tax returns the other day. I don't get quite why he's dodging. If there were something unseemly there, that's going to come out in time anyway; if it's just that he's obscenely rich, well, that can't be news by now, can it? Looking like you're hiding something always looks bad, and comments like his son's ain't going to help.

Tagg Romney?

eh I think he's just dodging 'people talk about how rich he is'

There's a difference between people sorta knowing he's rich and people knowing an exact dollar amount to put on that idea. If he's worth over $50 million, it's going to turn off a lot of voters.

I'm picturing Romney and his wife getting busted as they pull a Morty Seinfeld, walking into Denny's at 6:00 p.m., an hour after the early-bird special.

ha probly a repost but new to me

http://www.anyclip.com/movies/bruno/ron-paul-interview/

Wolf Blitzer was pressing Romney on the tax returns the other day. I don't get quite why he's dodging. If there were something unseemly there, that's going to come out in time anyway; if it's just that he's obscenely rich, well, that can't be news by now, can it?

Timing

This'll be everywhere today:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lb9hisd60bE

The echo of Hillary in New Hampshire is...well, not that he deserves as much, but I'll resist easy shots.

I still think--assuming monstrously-rich is the story of Romney's tax returns--that the best timing is to get it out there now. (Money at that level is an abstraction to me, but I'm guessing he's worth much more than 50 million.) Is there a point at which a candidate is legally obligated to release his or her returns?

No legal obligation, iirc. It has become a cherished tradition in over the decades and if Romney flouts it, he'll get constant shit about it from journos.

A plausible explanation--it's not so his wealth, but how little he pays in taxes on that wealth.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2011/12/whats_the_deal_with_romneys_taxes.php?ref=fpblg

"so much"

makes sense

I still think--assuming monstrously-rich is the story of Romney's tax returns--that the best timing is to get it out there now.

I think the best timing is probably not right before the caucus that could potentially deliver him the nomination. A better time is probably some time during the dead season between the nomination fight and the general, preferably when as few as possible people are paying attention.

This'll be everywhere today: (youtube link)

Just want to mention that I'm probably not the only one here with images off and no inclination to click on youtube links without some indication of what I'm getting into. Cliffs would be helpful on posts like this.

Gingrich is really into "brain science." You know, because he's so smart. Which will help him, you know, destroy Obama in the debates. That smart smart Obama.

This'll be everywhere today:

http://www.youtube.com/v/Lb9hisd60bE&fs=1&hl=en

The echo of Hillary in New Hampshire is...well, not that he deserves as much, but I'll resist easy shots.

I still think--assuming monstrously-rich is the story of Romney's tax returns--that the best timing is to get it out there now. (Money at that level is an abstraction to me, but I'm guessing he's worth much more than 50 million.) Is there a point at which a candidate is legally obligated to release his or her returns?

― clemenza, Friday, December 30, 2011 3:39 PM (32 minutes ago)

how touching, kinda surprised he didn't kick her to the curb when she became sick like he did with his first wife

Cliffs would be helpful on posts like this.

Gingrich, talking about his mother, got choked up like Hillary in New Hampshire four years ago.

Donna Brazile was just on CNN talking about Romney and his tax returns--it's not his wealth, she said, it's a question of how much he's paying in taxes. So: she's either keeping tabs on this thread, or--can't be true--there's some co-ordination of talking points going on.

Follow-up:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/12/us/politics/12romney.html

The article's from 2007, but I'm going to hazard a wild guess that he's done okay the past four years.

Santorum thrives in Iowa

brb, getting this tattooed on my torso in gothic script

http://nynerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/11/rick-sanctorum.jpg

aaaaaaaahahahahaha

http://yfiles.tumblr.com/post/15049774621/evaluating-the-gop-primary-field

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/if-i-were-campaigning-for-president/2011/12/30/gIQAP1oERP_story.html

Palin's turn is worth it for the very carefully placed "whatever" and "gripin'."

https://motherjones.com/files/images/santorum_burrito.jpg

That Santorum family picture just kills me every time it comes back around.

It looks like a still picture out of Arrested Development.

Mom- "this is just not going to fly"
Daughter 1- "dad is so lame"
Son - "man I am so high"
Daughter 2- "please lord destroy this world"

guy in balcony running sound "wtf did he really say that?"

his wife's mouth is an overlooked treasure in that photo that i've lately come to appreciate

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2011/12/ron-pauls-abortion-problem.html

But in signing the pledge, Paul may have ended up doing himself nearly as much harm as good. Alone among the signatories, Paul appended a “clarifying statement” in which he reiterates his opposition to banning abortion on the federal level.

who says he's not prepared to be president? he's already issuing signing statements

remember how I once said I didn't know many Ron Paul supporters irl amongst my friends?

i was wrong :(.

i'm a little tired of hearing the whole debate 'if we didn't have to pay taxes, we'd be able to afford health care"

Greenwald on progressives' Paul/Obama "evil evil evil" fallacy:

http://www.salon.com/2011/12/31/progressives_and_the_ron_paul_fallacies/singleton/

Ron Paul's abortion position:

...he supports federal action to define life as beginning at conception, but doesn’t want to ban abortion at the federal level, saying that it should be left to the states.

This position is just weird. His fealty to state's rights borders could more accurately be termed fellatio.

the idea that abortion should be a state decision is fucking horseshit. shouldn't be anybody's decision.

just will make the current conditions where it's hard to get em in the midwest even more difficult when huge pockets of territory ban it

i gave this one a good go, but Greenwald is so fucking asinine. how many times does he have to repeat his premise that you can support an individual candidate's stance w/out endorsing the candidate? he has no evidence that you cannot do so, so he's really tilting at windmills here.

check it out: i agree w/ ron paul's policy of ending the war on drugs

i do not endorse ron paul for president.

holy shit, someone call up Greenwald and tell him!

yeah for fuck's sake I agree with a lot of his platforms (and disagree with a lot of others)...wow mindblowing greenwald!

so, no diff from Bam

youre oversimplifying his central point.

or misidentifying it really. (He's just pointing out that others have SAID he has endorsed Huntsman or Paul when he has not)

hes just pointing out that people are holding him to the same standard he always holds them to, the crazy enraged ninny