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And you thought you were sick of Sarah Palin and her book tour blitz. Washington insiders wish she’d go back to shooting wildlife in Alaska. “I just wish she’d go away,” one GOP operative told us, echoing sentiments we’ve heard and read about from others. “I’m a conservative Republican, and I’ve had enough of her.” And while Palin has some serious star power — witness those book sales — the insider thinks mainstream Republicans should think twice before trying to tap into all that Palin enthusiasm as a money/energy source for their own races. “It’s not worth it.”

A top adviser on Hispanic issues to John McCain’s presidential campaign said Sunday that a joint interview with McCain and Sarah Palin planned for Univision last fall had to be canceled because Palin was unprepared to discuss Latin America policy. “She did not feel comfortable speaking about issues regarding Hispanics and Latin America,” GOP consultant Ana Navarro told Univision anchor Jorge Ramos in an interview. “Those are not topics that come up frequently in Alaska. So she asked to cancel the interview and, unfortunately, you were already there.”

Big caveat right off the bat: PPP is the same polling firm that predicted a Hoffman landslide in NY-23. But (a) they had Mitt’s favorables comparable with Huckabee’s earlier in the year, so it’s not like their data’s historically been screwy, and (b) this isn’t just a one-month snapshot but a trend dating back to July.

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(snip) During the 2008 campaign, some conservatives said they were hesitant to vote for Romney because he was perceived as being liberal on some social issues. On Friday, he seemed determined to overcome that impression. In his speech, given in a room filled with more than two dozen pictures of President Ronald Reagan, Romney gave a shout-out to the tea party protesters and spoke about his new book, "No Apologies: The Case for American Greatness." (It is slated to be released by St. Martin's Press in March.) He also said the Republican Party needed to build support among young people,...

Reminds me of Jim DeMint notoriously saying that he’d rather have 30 pure conservatives in the Senate than a centrist Republican majority, presumably so that he could lose with honor on every single vote. Remember that old commercial about pollution where Iron Eyes Cody turns to the camera and a single tear rolls down his cheek? That’s Frum when he reads this. The poll indicates that a slight majority, 51 percent, of Republicans would prefer to see the GOP in their area nominate candidates who agree with them on all the major the issues even if they have a poor...

Depictions ‘took place entirely in her imagination,’ says Wallace. NBC NEWS and NEWS SERVICES NEW YORK - Former McCain campaign senior adviser Nicolle Wallace says Sarah Palin's book "Going Rogue" is "based on fabrications," and that the basis for Palin’s depictions of her and former McCain campaign director Steve Schmidt as villains "took place entirely in her imagination." In a statement to The Rachel Maddow Show, the former McCain spokesperson repeatedly used the word "fiction" to describe Palin's narrative and echoed criticisms by other former McCain staffers. "She [Palin] probably has a legitimate complaint that things could have been better...

That is not a smear but a documented fact. Schmidt managed the McCain for President campaign. McCain, as you will recall, lost to Barack Obama in the 2008 election. Schmidt and his candidate bungled the campaign so badly that an untested, smooth-talking, America-bashing dilettante now occupies the White House as Commander-in-Chief. Great job, guys! Like a diligent virus, Schmidt refuses to leave the body politic. He is back again to call Sarah Palin's new book "total fiction." Interesting. The list of Schmidt's disastrous campaign decisions is too long to completely document here. But we conservatives will long remember the propping...

After the New England Patriots disasterous decision Sunday night not to punt on fourth down with the ball on the Indianapolis Colts' 28-yard line, former Massachusetts Governor, Mitt Romney, had every right to be ticked off. Especially considering that the Pats had the lead with little more than 2 minutes left in the game. Is it possible that the team's supposedly brilliant coach, Bill Belichick, got confused and thought the Manning brother waiting patiently on the opposing sidelines was Eli and not Peyton? Whatever the case, the Colts went on to win the game with 13 seconds left in the...

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Fewer than three in 10 Americans think Sarah Palin's qualified to be president, according to a new national poll - the least of any of the five potential candidates included in the survey. But another woman tops that list in the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Monday: two-thirds of the public thinks that Secretary of State HIllary Clinton's qualified for the Oval Office. That's more than Vice President Joe Biden, who's currently next in line for the presidency. According to the poll, 28 percent of Americans say Palin is qualified to run the White House, with seven...

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney delivered a scathing criticism of President Obama's Afghanistan strategy Friday night, accusing the president of delivering rhetoric and not action in the war-torn country. Quoting from a speech Obama delivered in March, Romney agreed with the president "that 'we are in Afghanistan to confront a common enemy that threatens the United States, our friends and allies."' Romney continued on seconding the president: "I believe 'that to succeed, we and our friends and allies must reverse the Taliban's gains, and promote a more capable and accountable Afghan government.'"

A former top adviser and spokeswoman to John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign is pushing back against comments reportedly made by Sarah Palin in her new book. Nicolle Wallace tells CNN that Palin's account of an ill-fated interview with CBS's Katie Couric during the 2008 presidential campaign is not true.

The Associated Press got an advance copy of Sarah Palin's book, Going Rogue, and assigned eleven reporters, apparently, to try to find errors in it. The eleven collaborated on an article titled "FACT CHECK: Palin's book goes rogue on some facts." In fact, though, the AP's catalogue of alleged errors--six in total--is thin at best. The AP starts with this one: PALIN: Says she made frugality a point when traveling on state business as Alaska governor, asking "only" for reasonably priced rooms and not "often" going for the "high-end, robe-and-slippers" hotels. THE FACTS: Although she usually opted for less-pricey hotels...

More than a million low-income Massachusetts residents covered by Medicaid will be required to pay more for doctor visits and receive prior approval for some medications under a plan announced today by the Patrick administration to begin to close a $307 million shortfall in the state's MassHealth program.

Palin: McCain Aides Kept Me ‘Bottled Up’ In ‘Going Rogue,’ former Alaska governor also criticizes Katie Couric NEW YORK - The rumors are true, according to Sarah Palin. The McCain-Palin campaign was not a happy family. In Palin's "Going Rogue," Palin confirms reports of tension between her aides and those of the 2008 Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain. The vice presidential candidate confirms that she had wanted to speak on election night, but was denied the chance and says she was kept "bottled up" from reporters during the campaign. Palin also writes harshly of CBS anchor Katie Couric, whom...

You’ll be pleased to know that this comes on the same day that Maverick revealed he received a signed copy of “Going Rogue” in the mail. The inscription: “J– It’s my turn. –S.” I’m kidding about that last part. Maybe. Reflecting on the first set of interviews Palin did as the GOP vice presidential nominee, [Mark] Salter said that the sit downs were “discussed and agreed to by senior members of the campaign staff in consultation with the candidate” and that Wallace did not choose either the journalists or the outlets Palin spoke to.

Going Rogue: An American Life by Sarah Palin Chapter Four; Section 8, pages 255-257 By the third week in September, a “Free Sarah” campaign was under way and the press at large was growing increasingly critical of the McCain camp’s decision to keep me, my family and friends back home, and my governor’s staff all bottled up. Meanwhile, the question of which news outlet would land the first interview was a big deal, as it always is with a major party candidate. From the beginning, Nicolle [Wallace] pushed for Kattie Couric and the CBS Evening News. The campaign’s general strategy...

The rumors are true, according to Sarah Palin: The McCain-Palin campaign was not a happy family. And she says that most of her legal bills were generated defending what she called frivolous ethics complaints, but she reveals that about $500,000 was a bill she received to pay for the McCain campaign vetting her for the VP nod. She said when she asked the McCain campaign if it would help her financially, she was told McCain's camp would have paid all the bills if he'd won; since he lost, the vetting legal bills were her responsibility.

Mitt Romney is heading to Reagan country. The former Massachusetts governor is scheduled to speak this Friday to the Young America's Foundation at the Ronald Reagan Ranch Center in Santa Barbara, California. Romney is expected to be the dinner banquet speaker for the foundation's West Coast Leadership Conference, which consists of young conservatives from 44 colleges and universities across 12 states. "Young people provide much of the energy in the conservative movement, and if we are going to be successful as a party we need to harness that energy and put it work on behalf of the principles we all...

David Frum nails it today. A favorite target of conservatives (including myself at one point), Mr. Frum gets it right on his blog post about how our tip-toeing around the issue of racial pro-filing resulted in the Fort Hood disaster. Here are two excerpts.

Matthew Continetti has a piece in this weekend’s Weekly Standard hailing Sarah Palin as the ideal leader of a new populist uprising. One obvious objection to his thesis: The populist Sarah is in fact one of the most unpopular figures in American life. According to Gallup, 63% of Americans say they would never consider voting for her. By a margin of 62%-31% Americans rate Palin “unqualified” to serve as president – by far the worst score for any leading Republican. In comparison, only 51% of Americans say they would never consider voting for Mitt Romney or Mike Huckabee – and...

(snip) Although some in the party believe that it should be tilting right in whom to support in future elections, he said, "I will be by and large supporting conservative Republicans" but would not rule out backing some moderates, referencing former President Reagan. "He was the one who coined the term 'the big tent.' He also said that you don't build something by subtraction. So we welcome people who agree with us on most issues. Some will be very conservative on some issues. Some will be less so on others. We welcome you into the party." (snip) "We have a...

Writing on his website, which used to be called “New Majority” until he got tired of people laughing at him, David Frum published an essay called “The Palin Fantasy” over the weekend. Even as the House of Representatives was preparing to pass the most blatantly unconstitutional assault on America’s freedom in Congressional history, Frum found something really outrageous to write about: Matthew Continetti’s admiring essay on Sarah Palin’s populist appeal. It’s a good thing Frum has his priorities in order. We wouldn’t want Palin to get into office and drop a few trillion dollars of unsustainable debt on us. Frum...

In 2008, a charismatic right-wing populist Republican governor won the heart of the party's base despite being forced to take a backseat to a more respectable "moderate" Republican. He was Mike Huckabee, and he is sad, and mad. Ben Smith followed Mike Huckabee around for a while as he sold his new Christmas book. Huckabee was the governor of Arkansas. He used to be fat, and then he got skinny, and now he is getting fat again. He's also basically as crazy Christian as they come, but he masks this with a genuinely likable sense of humor, which is why...

What a great election yesterday! It's exhilarating to wake up to headlines of conservative victories in the battleground elections in Virginia and New Jersey. The American people have sent a very strong message to the liberals in Washington, DC that big government is not the answer, and that conservatism is still alive and well. We worked extremely hard on behalf of Bob McDonnell and the entire Republican ticket in Virginia, and helped him close strong with a full day of campaigning in the final week; in New Jersey, we endorsed Chris Christie early and made sure he had the resources...

(snip) The GOP wins in New Jersey and Virginia are breeding a new competition among Republicans to take part of the credit. Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty, potential rivals for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, both tried to bask in glow."We worked extremely hard on behalf of Bob McDonnell and the entire Republican ticket in Virginia, and helped him close strong with a full day of campaigning in the final week; in New Jersey, we endorsed Chris Christie early and made sure he had the resources to be competitive against his better-financed opponent," Romney told supporters of his Free &...

Orly Taitz, Birther Queen, has been rejected again. US District Judge David O. Carter threw out a lawsuit questioning Barack Obama's eligibility to hold the office based on his "natural born" citizenship status Thursday, saying the courtroom is not the proper arena to "challenge a president’s election." Judge Carter dismissed Barnett et al v. Obama et al. This had been Taitz's most successful lawsuit to date, which is not saying much. However, it is the one that got the furthest through the legal system....

November 3, 2009 2:30 PM Where’s Mitt Romney? Why was the once and no doubt future presidential contender missing from NY-23? By Kathryn Jean Lopez In October, everybody seemed to be doing it — getting into the campaign in New York’s 23rd Congressional District, that is. It was a three-way race among Republican Deirdre Scozzafava, Democrat Bill Owens, and Conservative Doug Hoffman to fill the seat that had been left vacant when President Obama tapped Republican John McHugh as secretary of the Army. Endorsements became such a popular sport for out-of-state Republicans that the special election came to seem a...

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney may have worked with Democratic candidate Stephen Pagliuca, but he’s supporting fellow Republican Scott Brown in this race to succeed the late Sen. Edward Kennedy. The 2008 GOP presidential contender is headlining a fundraiser Friday night in Brown’s hometown of Wrentham.

Robert A. George: In Key New York Race, Barracuda Chews Up Mitt By Doug Brady Another Black Conservative recently lampooned establishment Republican insider Mitt Romney for "voting present" in the NY-23 race. Robert A. George, at NBC's Bay Area affiliate, has taken a further look at Romney's choice to avoid making a decision in the race: What do you find most often in the middle of the road? Road kill. Mitt Romney, who hopes to be the GOP's next presidential nominee, couldn't bring himself to endorse anyone in New York state's contentious 23rd congressional district special election. [...] The conservative...

Romney ducks the leadership test What do you find most often in the middle of the road? Road kill. Mitt Romney, who hopes to be the GOP's next presidential nominee, couldn't bring himself to endorse anyone in New York state's contentious 23rd congressional district special election. The contest,.....has been a flashpoint for a party in search of its identity. An all-star lineup of national party leaders has weighed in, allowing themselves to be defined by whose side they're on. But not Romney. The former Massachusetts governor passed, and this could have serious ramifications down the road. The cliche about the...

A day after President Barack Obama rallied Democrats in Norfolk for gubernatorial nominee R. Creigh Deeds, national Republican headliners hopscotched Virginia for front-runner Bob McDonnell. Former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, a once and future presidential prospect, appeared with McDonnell, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling and attorney general hopeful Ken Cuccinelli, stopping in Henrico County to echo the campaign’s jobs-and-economy theme and help pad campaign coffers.

As reported here by ABC News (online), Mitt Romney "...doesn't plan to make any endorsement at all" regarding the contentious NY23 Congressional race. What does this say about Mitt? When balanced against Sarah Palin's political courage, it seems telling. Sarah is a political alpha, a leader for the future. Mitt, in spite of his genuine conservatism and mastery of issues, is almost certainly not. You have to look no further to see why conservatives are so passionate about their support for Palin. Regardless of the arguable notion that she has yet to fully mature, she commands a degree of respect...

Judge Carter Ruling on MTD

The timing of this attack suggests that the DNC is perturbed by the fact that regardless of how American adults view Governor Palin's qualifications for the presidency at the moment, a good majority of American adults view her as "honest and trustworthy" and as "someone who cares the needs of people like you." Her strong showing in these "character traits and qualities" categories (categories with which Republicans typically struggle) provide her arguments against Obamacare extra credibility.

Calling remarks made by U.S. District Court Judge Clay Land “nothing short of a political lynching,” California attorney Orly Taitz has appealed a $20,000 fine imposed by the judge for her actions in his court. Taitz, a leader of the “Birther” movement that does not believe President Barack Obama was born in the United States, on Monday asked the U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit in Atlanta, to review Land’s Oct. 13 ruling. Land’s rebuke stems from a Sept. 17 motion Taitz filed on behalf of former client Capt. Connie Rhodes, who sought to halt her deployment to Iraq on...

Cited on a variety of Internet shops like The AtlanticWire, Newser and Lara Ebke’s Red State Eclectic yesterday was a quote from Matt Lewis, writer, blogger and commentator from Alexandria, Va. He writes in Politics Daily: “If recent elections are any guide, the Republicans' heads will tell them to choose Mitt Romney. Their hearts whisper something else. Is ‘Sarah’ the name of this siren song?” W. McCahill at Newser says: “No matter what kind of gains Republicans make in the midterm elections next year, it’s going to be tough to unseat President Obama — and that’s why the GOP is...

Many are STILL discussing the birth issue surrounding President Obama. This apparently is not going away, anytime soon. Received this email yesterday from the United States Justice Foundation, a non-profit organization. You will read some of the arguments made before this court, by the DOJ and the USJF. ******* From The Desk Of Gary G. Kreep, United States Justice Foundation. Barack Obama is sweating it out after his Department of Justice ("DOJ") attorneys walked into court expecting United States Federal District Court Judge David Carter to dismiss the birth certificate case. Why you ask? Simply because they "think" Obama is...

Be afraid, be very afraid of John McCain's presidential campaign manager, Steve Schmidt who has been bashing conservative talk radio, and Christians, along with Sarah Palin ever since 2008. Despite his Mr. Clean looks, I felt like taking a shower after hearing only a few minutes of his monotonous speech on CSPAN TV last week. No wonder the honorable John McCain lost the presidency, having been handled by a guy who began his political career by helping Bill Bradley, was complimented by the NY Times, honors the Log Cabin Republicans (I don't want to know what they do with their...

Is it odd how anti-Palin polls pop-up all over the MSM? The few and infrequent polls that are less favorable to Governor Palin always seem to be big news. The reality is over 90% of the many 2012 polls show she is the front runner. Michelle Malkin’s Hotair.com offered the latest Poll on 2012 & Governor Palin with Sarah leading with 63%

WEST VALLEY CITY — The head of the Republican National Committee said Friday he believes voters may have moved beyond the bias against Mormonism that hurt Mitt Romney in last year's presidential election. Speaking to reporters after a town hall meeting at the Utah Cultural Celebration Center, Michael Steele said comments he made earlier this year about Romney being rejected by the GOP base because of his faith were "old news." "I was speaking to an attitude or a mindset at the time that I thought was unfortunate and I said that I think (Romney) proved just how unfortunate it...

Health insurance premiums for most residents are going up. Many middle-class people who had insurance before the overhaul see little change -- except that they're spending more on health care. "What we did was health insurance reform, not health care reform," said Massachusetts state Sen. James Eldridge, a former proponent who now regrets having voted for the bill.

Did Judge Clay D. Land sanction me $20,000 in order to silence me and cover up Obama’s criminal activity in GA. Please, notice that Obama used 2 social security numbers of other individuals in Land’s hometown of Columbus GA. Any judge with integrity and any respect for the law and the Constitution not only would not sanction me and would grant me further discovery, but would sua sponte forward a copy of the pleadings to the local DA, to Atty Gen of GA , local US atty, police and FBI for criminal inveastigation . Additionally now there is a mountain...

If the choice for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012 comes down to a choice between Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney, Huckabee has a slight edge. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Republican voters finds that 44% prefer Huckabee, 39% favor Romney, and 17% are not sure. Data released yesterday showed that Huckabee and Romney lead all hopefuls in an early look at the 2012 race. Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich also attract double-digit support. Both Huckabee and Romney are viewed favorably by 78% of Republican voters. However, intensity leans a bit in Huckabee’s favor. Forty-six percent (46%)...

Whether or not anyone prefers to acknowledge it, Mitt Romney is already the default, de facto Republican presidential nominee in 2012 – and, too, he is already the clear loser. Health care, singularly, will guarantee Barack Obama a second term – even if he never actually achieves meaningful “reform,” or even if he manages reform but it ends up becoming a festering, hemorrhaging mess … like anything the government runs. Sure, the health care issue appears to be a political landmine for Obama right now, but he just can’t lose for winning, and there’s no area in which that rings...

Fox News host, garage band cover guitarist, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee will be making a long-planned speech before the New York Conservative Party in Syracuse, New York on October 28, but has thus far declined to say whether he will formally endorse or financially support Conservative Party House candidate Doug Hoffman, who is running to fill former Rep. John McHugh's 23rd Congressional District seat. Most Republican Party leaders have thus far taken a pass in endorsing Hoffman, who has the support of the conservative Club for Growth, as well as the American Conservative Union. House minority leader John...

In July it was Romney 25, Palin 24, Huck 22. Then again, Rudy Giuliani once pulled something like 45 percent before last year’s primaries. Perspective. These numbers reflect an improvement for Huckabee since July when the three candidates were virtually even. Huckabee’s gain appears to be Palin’s loss as Romney’s support has barely changed. The numbers for Huckabee and Romney look even stronger when GOP voters were asked which candidate they would least like to see get the nomination. Pawlenty came on top in that category with 28%. Palin was second at 21% while 20% named Gingrich. Romney and Huckabee...

I will clearly appeal this mockery of justice. Judge Land was totally dishonest and misstated and misrepresented 99% of what was written in the pleadings and what transpired during the hearings. He broke and violated each and every rule in the book: his own local rules, clear precedents, rule of law and Constitution in order to appease this Kenyan dictator and his regime. Will the Circuit Court of Appeals be less corrupt, remains to be seen. We have seen total dereliction of duties by so many in the Federal government, nothing will surprise me.

The @RNC just made "6-figure" transfer to @nrcc for radical leftist Scozzafava, endorsed by @newtgingrich. Call 'em out.

Video at link.