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Lowest turnout for a Presidential Preference Primary since the current system was established. Voter turnout for the Republican Presidential Preference Primary was the lowest since the current system was established in 1980, according to Secretary of the State Denise Merrill. Figures reported to Merrill's office show just 14.4 percent of eligible Republicans turned out for the Primary Tuesday.

Monday night, I sat looking at the GOP primary schedule and, considering Mitt Romney's enormous fundraising advantage, was filled with a sense of foreboding. After Newt Gingrich's meltdown in Nevada, the prospects for the conservative "Anybody But Romney" opposition looked grim indeed. Rick Santorum's 3-for-3 hat-trick Tuesday night, however, revives the glimmer of a possibility that Romney can still be beat. But it will nevertheless be a difficult challenge and, in the short term, will require at least tacit cooperation between the Santorum and Gingrich campaigns.**snip** Some such arrangement would seem to offer the best hope of stopping Romney, if...

Mitt Romney has outspent Newt Gingrich on negative advertising in every state, starting in Iowa, and was the first to go negative every time. Yet Romney, with absolute conviction, continues to say that the reason he lost South Carolina was that he was outspent by Newt, which is not true. Last night on Hannity, Romney took the false line about being outspent in South Carolina to a new level, claiming that he lost because he stayed positive and failed to respond to attacks on him (video, at 6:20)(embed added at link): Romney: … The mistake I made in South Carolina...

Not too many months ago, likely voters trusted Republicans over Democrats on all ten top issues. It was probably too much to expect those heady days to continue, and I suspect that the GOP presidential primary season has damaged the party’s standing. That is unfortunate: if the Republican candidates had devoted their energies to non-stop attacks on President Obama, the result would have been positive. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, and the bashing of fellow Republicans that we have seen over the last couple of months has no doubt damaged the party’s brand.

Document Shows No Lobbying By Former Speaker ATLANTA - The Gingrich Group, LLC today announced it is releasing a contract written by Freddie Mac for consulting services it contracted with the organization. “Subject to a conversation between our counsel and Freddie Mac, we have received permission to release the attached contract,” said Nancy Desmond, Chairman and CEO of the Gingrich Group. “As noted under the scope of work section on Page 14, the contract was solely for consulting purposes and not lobbying. “Freddie Mac and The Gingrich Group have agreed that this release is limited to the contract alone and...

FOX News calls it for NEWT!! WOO HOO!!

A pro-Newt Gingrich super PAC is planning to start running its own negative commericals that "define" Mitt Romney in the next few days. signaling a potentially major escalation in the ad war that is dominating the Republican race. Without even waiting for tonight's results in Iowa, Rick Tyler, an advisor to Winning Our Future-- the major Ginrich super PAC -- said his group will start hitting Romney on issues ranging from abortion to gun control in ads in South Carolina and possibly New Hampshire in the next few days. "We're going to define Mitt Romney," Tyler told NBC News. "Seventy...

Link only due to copyright issues: http://caucuses.desmoinesregister.com/2011/11/25/tv-ad-asking-sarah-palin-to-reconsider-on-tap-in-sioux-city/

In the final days before states submit their primary and caucus plans to the Republican National Committee, the GOP is sweating bullets over the possibility that a gang of rogue states could still wreak havoc on the 2012 presidential nominating process. One state, Arizona, has already announced that it will violate RNC rules and hold its primary on February 28 - a full week before joint RNC-Democratic National Committee rules permit states to do so. Michigan's legislature is also moving toward scheduling its vote for the same date. Then there's Florida, a repeat offender when it comes to calendar mischief,...

I was fortunate enough to view a film screening of the unrated version of “The Undefeated” – the Sarah Palin documentary – by Stephen K. Bannon this past weekend while attending this year’s Right Online conference in Minneapolis, MN. The documentary is a chronicle of Sarah Palin’s rise from small town Alaskan Mayor to Republican party nominee for the Vice President of the United States of America. For anyone that knows me, it’s no secret that I’m a fan of Sarah Palin. After all, I credit her for making me sit up and take notice of politics and about what...

Sarah Palin is back in the news! She has announced an east-coast bus tour, has reportedly purchased a new $1.7M crib in Scottsdale, AZ., and her $1M self-authorized and approved documentary titled The Undefeated is set to hit Iowa next month followed by New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada before being released to the rest of the nation. Palin has mastered the media and shows great signs of using it to her advantage. She has not been blessed by the Republican establishment and sits behind Mitt Romney by only two points of the strongest potential contenders for the Republican nomination...

On Tuesday, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels declined to support a Republican-sponsored right-to-work bill that had sent Indiana House Democrats out of the state, like Wisconsin Democrats, to avoid a possible vote. And that’s not being well received by some conservative leaders. On his Tuesday evening program, conservative talk show host Mark Levin explained why he wasn’t supporting Daniels. Levin said despite Daniels’ splash on the scene and his reluctance to tackle social issues, this latest gesture was something to take notice of. “Mitch Daniels, almost out of nowhere, the governor of Indiana shows up at CPAC … he’s introduced by...

So we’re going to try this again. I’ve added three new candidates to the mix: Rudy Giuliani, Jon Huntsman, and Michele Bachmann. I’ve also added a pair of security questions to hopefully deter double-, triple-, or several-dozen-times-over voters. It’s already easy to find these voters; hopefully the security questions will make it less palatable to try it anyway. I hope voters don’t try to game the system this time around. Please abide

Sarah Palin’s detractors in the media are certainly prone to wishful thinking concerning the Cuda’s potential as the Republican nominee in 2012. Since Palin’s statement on the Tucson tragedy, some have written her off as a serious contender for the Republican nomination. Doyle McManus states in the LA Times that: …she’s not going to be her party’s presidential nominee. I disagree, Mr. McManus. As of now, if she wants it, it is hers. Of course, that may change, but a Palin run for the nomination would unleash a grassroots fury of support unseen on the right for a Republican presidential...

Sarah Palin continues to galvanize the imagination of both her ardent supporters and her hectoring adversaries. It is easy to understand her appeal to those who have rallied behind her and her possible candidacy for the office of president of the United States. She has a lot going for her: charm, personableness, natural smarts, moral probity, executive competence, independence of character, and a passionate love of country. These are undeniable advantages, or should be in any sane political environment. At the same time, she steps up to the plate with two strikes against her — or, in an alternative baseball...

It's Christmas Eve, so let's treat ourselves to something conservative political junkies enjoy: handicapping the 2012 Republican field. On the Fox News Special Report this evening, panelists Stephen Hayes and Charles Krauthammer both singled out Mitch Daniels as a man to watch. Hayes identifed the Indiana gov as perhaps the true Tea Party candidate—someone willing to speak the hard truths about the need for entitlement reform. The ever-interesting Krauthammer found Daniels' lack of charisma appealing--as an antidote to our overdose of hope-and-change. View video after the jump.

Ohio: Palin 21% Huckabee 19% Gingrich 18% Romney 15% Paul 6% Daniels 5% Pawlenty 3% Thune 2% Wisconsin: Palin 21% Huckabee 18% Romney 17% Gingrich 13% Pawlenty 10% Paul 4% Thune 3% Daniels 2% http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/PPP_Release_OH_1216.pdf http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/PPP_Release_WI_1216.pdf

"Katie Couric, you are not the center of universe!" With that, the good Governor gives her most uncensored interview of all time, in this brand new 2009 exchange. She also says this: "I would do it again!" In other words: 2012. Video here

Sarah Palin has more moxy than most star systems. Video here. Cool interview from the Spring of 2008.