Month: October 2011
Edwards to Get Day in Court
What’s important now is that I now get my day in court, after all these years I finally get my day in court. What I know with complete and absolute certainty is I did not violate any campaign laws.
— Former Sen. John Edwards, responding to a federal court judge’s rejection of his efforts to have his case thrown out before trial, the Raleigh News & Observer reports.
Cost to Attend Cain-Gingrich Debate Is High
$200
The cost for a bleacher seat at the “modified Lincoln-Douglas debate” between Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich — not televised — hosted by the Texas Tea Party Patriots at the Woodlands Resort in Houston. The next step up, the $500 ticket, gets you “prime seating” and a ticket to the “Nite Cap party after the Debate,” … And for really high rollers, $1,000 will get you “the best seating in the house for the debate” and “a professional picture taken with the candidates.” There’s no word if the candidates are getting paid for their appearance, but Dave Weigel, who first broke the story, reports proceeds will go to the Tea Party Patriots group.
Half of U.S. Households Receive Government Checks
49%
Of Americans live in a household where someone receives at least one type of government benefit, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. And 63% of all federal spending this year will consist of checks written to individuals for which the government receives currently no services, the White House budget office estimates. That’s up from 46% in 1975 and 18% in 1940.
Panetta Is a Betting Man
Turn on CNN in 15 minutes. The president will have an announcement — and, by the way, tell Ted to get ready to open that bottle.
— CIA Director Leon Panetta, quoted by the Los Angeles Times, talking to the wife of restauranteur Ted Balestreri, who bet a $10,000 bottle of wine that Panetta couldn’t find Osama bin Laden.
Halloween Costume Suggestions
That’s right! You could go as Herman Cain campaign volunteers.
[This punchline was ripped off from Ray Seaman, online director of Progress Florida.]
Husband of Sonny Bono’s Widow Announces Run for U.S. Senate in Florida
Rep. Bono Mack is the widow of Sonny Bono of Sonny and Cher fame, which also makes her Chaz Bono’s stepmother. She represents California’s 36th District, which includes Palm Springs — a demographically odd stew of gays, Republican retirees, gay Republican retirees and, increasingly, Democrats. (And, for the benefit of non-Floridians, Connie Mack is a guy. His real name is Cornelius McGillicuddy IV.)
The story has a much different profile in Florida, of course. The most crucial difference is that the name Connie Mack is extremely well known there. Connie Mack’s great-grandfather, Connie Mack I, was a famous sports figure and his father, Connie Mack III, was a two-term Republican U.S. senator.
Here’s how the Orlando Sentinel, a newspaper that is notoriously in the bag for the GOP, reports Mack IV’s entry into the race:
The Line: October 28, 2011
Forbes Magazine publisher, flat tax advocate and failed ’96 presidential candidate Steve Forbes has endorsed Rick Perry, in part because Perry has released a half-cooked economic plan that includes a 20 percent flat tax. In an interview with political gossipist Lloyd Grove titled, “Forbes: ‘Perry Will Be the Nominee,'” Forbes said, “Whatever part of the Republican establishment has gone to Romney is almost by default — not because they really like him or because they’re writing big checks or bundling large amounts of money. So if Perry or somebody else comes along and catches fire, which I think Perry will, Romney is going to be stuck at his 23 percent or maybe even less.” - Ron Brownstein reminds us how Forbes’ flat-tax proposal flattened his campaign in 1996, paving the way for then Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole to win their party’s nomination that year. In the general campaign, Pres. Bill Clinton’s tean cleverly paired (by then retired) Senate leader Dole with his uber-unpopular counterpart in the House, Speaker Newt Gingrich, and easily won reelection.
- Steve Benen notes that Perry is promising to add 2.5 million jobs if elected president — which, says Benen, means “Rick Perry believes he’ll be able to create the same number of jobs in four years that Barack Obama has created in a year and a half.”
- Even though Parah Salin (remember her?) is officially out of the running, David Corn reminds us that there is still an “openly mean” candidate vying for the GOP nomination. Here’s Corn’s collection of ugly things Speaker Gingrich has said over the past 33 years.
Call him “Miss Ross.” Apparently Herman Cain has taken a cue from Diva Diana. Ex-staffers say they were instructed by memo, “Do not speak to him unless you are spoken to.”
Whence Herman Cain?
Herman Cain’s flip-flops on negotiating with Al Qaeda for the release of Guantanamo terrorists and getting the government out of decision-making when it comes to abortion should have yanked his approval rating down into Santorum territory. Failing that, releasing a strictly-from-amateur web ad that featured a stoned-out looking middle-aged guy smoking a cigarette and a cheesy musical riff right out of “Idiocracy” should have done the trick.
And yet, he’s still ahead in nationwide polling. Why? Andrew Sullivan suggests that…
