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The White House insists no decision has been made but The Cable, NBC, Fox News, and the Daily Beast all have sources whispering that an announcement is likely to come early next week. Trial balloon to see how Senate Democrats react?

Not an Awful Deal By QUIN HILLYER on 1.1.13 @ 10:16AM After about an hour of studying last night’s budget deal, I find it right on the borderline between (A) awful-tasting medicine we still need to take for our health and (B) a cure that is worse than the disease. But careful, careful attention pushes the calculation every-so-slightly toward the former. This isn’t even a 51-49 proposition, but only a 50.1-49.9 proposition. Still, here’s why the option of a “yes” vote for House Republicans — notwithstanding my warnings yesterday that “no deal” is better than a bad deal — is...

Say Yes to the Mess 12:15 PM, JAN 1, 2013 • BY WILLIAM KRISTOL The fiscal cliff deal that the Senate passed early this morning is ridiculous in too many ways to count. There seem to be no figures from the Congressional Budget Office and only "very preliminary" figures from the Joint Tax Committee about the real spending and revenue implications. The two month delay of the sequester will make actual governance even more difficult (how is the Pentagon supposed to plan for the rest of the year?). The sequester delay is funded by a gimmick with retirement savings tax...

By defeating the Speaker tonight, the GOP delegation in the House gave him the blank check to cut lousy deals with the lousiest President of all times that will pass with Democratic votes. Mark this day. It leads to Democratic control of the House in 2014 at worst or significantly reduced (bare) majority for the GOP. This is the most suicidal political outcome I have ever seen. Good luck!

We have just learned that Senator Daniel Inouye (D., Hawaii) has passed away at 88. Whatever else the president pro tempore of the Senate was, he was a Nazi-socking badass of a G.I.: In the fall of 1944, Inouye’s unit was shifted to the French Vosges Mountains and spent two of the bloodiest weeks of the war rescuing a Texas Battalion surrounded by German forces. The rescue of “The Lost Battalion” is listed in the U.S. Army annals as one of the most significant military battles of the century. Inouye lost ten pounds, became a platoon leader and won the...

Would we have had a mid-western son of a milk truck driver (Pawlenty) as our nominee has she not surged up until Ames Straw poll? I am trying to trace down to the seed that germinated into re-electing Obama. That is the closest I have come. During this cycle, a more modestly wealthy mid-western governor of a Blue state may just have been the ticket. Thoughts?

The easy part first. Let us stop letting Palin pick Senate nominees. She is a pundit. Nothing more. Tough part - bring back compassionate conservatism but with reform principles and less war/bravado.

In past elections, I was given a list by RNC/GOP of phone numbers and contacts to call and urge to vote in battleground states. Where can I get such list? I want to make calls in Ohio.

He conducted himself with class and since the debates, made a strong case for conservative principles on economic issues. Best of all, he made it a real race. I already voted for him. Tonight, I want to salute him for the classy campaign he ran and made a lot of us proud. Thank you Mr. Romney. We hope to call you Mr. President. In the unlikely and unfortunate event we can't, at least this FReeper will remember you as the one who took on Obama and came razor close to defeating him.

SUBJECT: Conservative Case Against "Charter School" Amendment I am a fan of our local Milton representatives in the Georgia legislature and their passion to reform public K-12 schools. School choice, competition and other reforms are long overdue, and more "funding" for status quo won't solve anything. Having said that, no conservative leaning voter who believes in local control and real reforms should be voting for the proposed constitutional amendment on charter schools. It is fundamentally against principles of conservatism. State government take over of decisions away from "elected" local school boards is just wrong, no matter the stakes. While defeating...

Romney as a Manager: Unhurried and Socratic By MICHAEL BARBARO, SHERYL GAY STOLBERG and MICHAEL WINES. BOSTON — As governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney could not resist burrowing into the bureaucratic weeds: He once took the statewide math and reading test for 10th graders, then startled his education commissioner by calling to say, “I like No. 14” and rattling off the answer. As head of the private equity firm Bain Capital, he was so uncomfortable cutting loose struggling employees that a legend grew: executives sent in to his office to be fired emerged thinking they had been promoted. And as...

GOP must find a way to "talk" to the rank and file union members in the political sense. Our economic policy arguments are sound. But, they don't win majority of the votes with this group of people. I am part of the high tech industry in Silicon Valley, CA. As different as you can think of from a Railroad union member I met on an American Airlines flight recently from Louisiana. After an hour long conversation, it hit me how "detached" the GOP "sounds" when they speak to this critical group of people. These people are 80% in our camp....

I owe everyone here an an apology for falsely believing and then promoting the idea that Romney had the ability to unify the country and create a grander GOP coalition. He did not. I am fully behind him (only GOP candidate on ballot), but can only see a narrow GOP win (if we all pull the lever). Having said that, I am also certain that this was never a moment for a polarizing figure (like Palin). To defeat Obama by a big margin, we needed an inspirational/charismatic conservative (Paul Ryan type). We did not have that choice. Oh well....lest vote...

We should call the "Bluff" and simply pass a temporary one-year Buffet Rule tax, retroactive to January 2012. Make the case that we should give it a try, and that all taxes can be considered in 2013 after the election is over. Give Obama his biggest political victory going into 2012 election. We all know what will happen if this dumbass tax is passed. Let it happen under his watch in this year. Not in 2013 or beyond.

I was checking my 8-yr old son's classwork assignment grades. He was so demoralized that he was getting C, D and F on many assignments. I was shocked and delved deeper. Turns out he is assiged a letter grade on these assignments even though he is "making progress" getting up to 70 or even 80 percent of the questions right. Worse, he was assigned an F grade on an assignment because he did not get the meaning for terms "Human Rights" and "Tolerance". WTF is an 8-yr old supposed to know this shtuff? Damn....I am seriously considering pulling him out...

With Perry out of the race, we are stuck between Newt and Romney. There is no way I would ever be able to support Newt given so many of his personality flaws, his past stabbing of conservative champions and his support for national level statist solutions. And, we all know about Romney and Romneycare. Until now, Newt bashing had a purpose in support of Perry. So, a sabbatical from FR's GOP politics seems like the right thing. When Georgia primary does take place, I will be voting for Santorum (if he is still on the ballot) or write Perry in.

Gingrich is a perverse product of political system byTimothy P. Carney Senior Political Columnist posted January 11, 2012 at3:26pm with26 Comments One reason to deplore our corrupt revolving-door politics and crony-corporatist economy is that it has produced a man like Newt Gingrich. Through his defenses of his pro-corporate welfare lobbying efforts and his facile attacks on Mitt Romney's profits, Gingrich has emerged this election as an enemy of the free market -- an unlikely distinction for a member of the Republican Party, which is supposed to stand for the free market. The pious preachments of liberal college professors, the foolhardy...

Gingrich: Romney should drop out if he doesn't win New Hampshire primary By Daniel Strauss - 01/06/12 07:43 AM ET Newt Gingrich said if Mitt Romney doesn't win the New Hampshire primary, he should drop out of the race. "Look, this is one of his best states other than Utah and Massachusetts. If he doesn't win here, he couldn't stay in the race," the former speaker said Friday morning on ABC's "Good Morning America." Polls show Romney leading in New Hampshire by a wide margin and he is expected to win the state. Gingrich, meanwhile, is struggling to regain his...

The “unlike some people” part isn’t stated, merely implied. But c’mon. He’s laying it on with a trowel here. ----------- Less than 12 hours after finishing in fourth place in the Iowa caucuses, Newt Gingrich opened a new, more aggressive chapter in his campaign, taking pointed shots at rivals Mitt Romney and Ron Paul, who both finished ahead of Gingrich. At one point, Gingrich hinted he would make Romney’s personal wealth an issue, telling a reporter “I’m not rich.”… When asked why he chose to congratulate Santorum and not Romney on his caucus success, the former House speaker said, “I...

Newt Notes The most exciting development of the past few weeks is what has been happening up in Massachusetts. The health bill that Governor Romney signed into law this month has tremendous potential to effect major change in the American health system. We agree entirely with Governor Romney and Massachusetts legislators that our goal should be 100% insurance coverage for all Americans. Individuals without coverage often do not receive quality medical attention on par with those who do have insurance. We also believe strongly that personal responsibility is vital to creating a 21st Century Intelligent Health System. Individuals who can...