Food Stamp King

"Newt Gingrich has created a ‘food stamp king,’ Clyburn says" By: Felicia Sonmez January 22,2012 Newt Gingrich's victory in South Carolina came as a shock to many. James Clyburn, the Assistant Minority Leader, claims that his win was fueled in part by "comments aimed at driving a wedge between voters on the issue of race". There was speculation around Gingrich's policies concerning welfare, and his comments towards the people on it. He said poor people need to demand jobs, not food stamps. His interviewer asked him if he thought this was offensive at all, especially to African Americans, and he said no. Clyburn compares Gingrich to former U.S. president Richard Nixon, who criticized "welfare queens". He then pointed out that 49% of Americans on welfare are Caucasion, so there is no need to be racist against minorities, if at all. Clyburn suggests that Gingrich is trying to use the same campaign strategies Ronald Reagan did against Nixon to gain his victory. Obama's welfare strategies compare to Nixon's when Reagan labeled him the "food stamp queen". This could either help or hurt Gingrich's chances in the race. I doubt that many people will pay much attention to whether he uses the same strategies another former candidate used. Gingrich is starting to gain momentum according to Clyburn because he feels as is Romney fails to become personal with the public. Gingrich hasn't failed to talk about any and every area of his personal life with the public, and he has gained support by becoming more relatable. Clyburn was biased against Gingrich in his article, but admits that Reagan's tactic worked. Does this mean that it will work for Gingrich?

Breaking News:Santorum Filing His Taxes...This Is Relevant, How?

"Rick Santorum says he’ll release tax records this week" By Rosalind S. Helderman January 22, 2012 http://www.wasingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012 January is the time just about everyone begins to get their income taxes together, and start filing. Well my fellow Americans, presidential candidate Rick Santorum is no different. As a matter of fact, he plans to file his taxes this week and have them done by Tuesday. Yes, this Tuesday, January 24th to be exact. He even files them himself. He will report on his income tax returns to the public. This was considerably his main topic at a press meet following a Florida rally held yesterday. Now what does this have to do with the race? Why does this matter? Santorum always comes up short as third or fourth contender in the debates. It seems like he has more important things he needs to worry about right now than releasing his tax returns. In my opinion, this is a quick tactic Santorum decided to use to gain the support of the public. He knows, and we all know that he needs support right now. The leading contender, Mitt Romney stated after the South Carolina debate that he would release his tax forms on Tuesday. To match up to Romney, Santorum says he'll not only do the same, but he'll file them himself. It seems kind of childish, like the "anything you can do, I can do better" commercials. Santorum states, “The inevitability of Romney has now been wiped away,” Santorum told reporters afterward. “I beat him, Newt beat him. The only state he won was his backyard. There’s a long way to go.” It seems like Santorum is trying to aim to get Romney out of here, and gain some supporters, but he's doing it on the low. He was aiming for Gingrich, saying he is an unreliable candidate. He knows what he's got to do right now so he's going in. He really wants the supporters Romney lost that started to look into Gingrich as an alternative. Sneaky tactics Santorum, now lets see if they work and get him to win a primary.

South Carolina Debate: Step back Romney, Gingrich got this

Newt Gingrich Wins Big In South Carolina, Resets GOP Primary

Mark Blumenthal

The Huffington Post
January 21,2012

         Newt Gingrich, the man that came in fourth-place in the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries, came in first place in the South Carolina debate with 40% of the 4-way split votes. Mitt Romney, who has been the front-runner n the last three debates came in second place with 26% of the votes. Gingrich was the target of the most media attacks and bullying. He had an interview in a debate after he made a statement saying ,"black Americans should demand jobs, not food stamps", and he was picked on for this. He was asked if he thought the comment was at all racists and he responded saying no. After his ex wife came out to try and put the details of their marriage in the media, he was also a victim of the media. Both these efforts at bad publicity actually gained him good attention and support.  
     His ability to stand firm and bounce back reguardless of the media makes him seem fit enough to stand up against president Obama in the 2012 primary. He's finally gaining momentum. What does this mean for Romney and Paul? No one knows! Rick Perry dropped out and endorsed Gingrich less than a week ago. The combination of his endorsements with the attention he's been getting from the media helps his campaign. If Gingrich continues to gain support then he might actually win the primary. Look out Romney!


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/21/newt-gingrich-south-carolina-primary-results_n_1220947.html

Rick Perry Gone- Three down, 3 more to go

"Rick Perry Drops Out of the Presidential Race"

 

      Rick Perry has officially dropped out of the republican primary race. He was having problems with raising his statistics and getting supporters. However, he has backed Newt Gingrich. His story is similar to Jon Huntsman who recently dropped out of the race and backed Mitt Romney. What does this mean for the primary? Well, the former candidate says that he believes that Gingrich is the best candidate to replace President Obama in the 2012 election. Huntsman said the same about Romney. All this is taking place two days before the South Carolina primary. Obviously, Gingrich will gain new supporters and endorsements. But, is that enough? Gingrich is known to come in last and second to last among the remaining candidates in the last few primaries and debates. He was picked on by the media about a scandal with his ex-wife and he got a little more attention since then. However, he only has three delegates, while Romney has 25.  Perry decided to drop out saying there is no viable path forward for him in this race, and I believe he made the right decision. In a debate he attended on the Jon Stewart show, he was ridiculed because he couldnt come up with the right words to say. Does this mean that the expected results of the primary will  change? Lets wait and see.

January 19, 2012

 

 

 

Rick Perry,"Oops"

       Rick Perry was featured on John Stewart's talk show along with the other republicans running for candidacy. He was asked a question about government spending cuts, and he tried to name the three areas he would immediately cut spending on. He named two: education and commerce, and then stumbled upon the third one. He couldn't even remember the third department he would cut spending on. The host asked him repeatedly but he still couldn't come up with an answer. Ron Paul butted in and answered for him, but even then, he still couldn't remember, and ends the question answering,"oops".  Saturday Night Live did a sketch on his mistake.
He wasn't well prepared for a debate, that is mistake number one. If he couldn't come off the top of his head with his answers,that makes him look like he doesn't know what he's talking about. It also makes him seem like he isn't completely serious about his job and proposals because he would know them if he had been studying them. To be a president, you have to be a good speaker, it is not an option. Anyone elected to run the country must know how to properly communicate to the public, international affairs, and in important business ventures. Saturday Night Live even made a spoof about this debate. Now he's a laughing stock. I believe that this does affect his chances of even winning the republican primary substantially. Come on Perry, what are you doing?

Gingrich, Player Player!

"Gingrich Attacks the News Media and Creates a Stir"

By: Jeremy W. Peters

January 20, 2012

      The media started out this presidential debate by attacking Newt Gingrich. Newt Gingrich was asked a question by the media concerning his ex-wife Marianne. She said that he asked her if they could have an open marriage in 1999. At the time he was having an affair. He was asked if he would like to respond. He said, "No, but I will". The audience applauded. Instead of directly answering the question, he attacked the media, saying the negative press makes it hard to run the country and for good candidates to attract good supporters because they are so intrusive. He says, “I am tired of the elite media protecting Barack Obama by attacking Republicans.” He got a lot of applause for his responses. He states that it's wrong how the media uses negative press right before a debate to bring candidates down. He goes on to deny the statements made by his ex wife. This press could either help of hurt him in his debates. The allegations made by his wife might swing a few voters. However, he took a strong stand against the media, but he got a lot of support. The interviewer obviously tried to get Gingrich to beak, but he used it against him and the network. Good work Gingrich.

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/20/gingrich-attacks-the-news-media-and-creates-a-stir/?ref=politics

Obama and Romney Tied?

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/16/cnn-poll-obama-tied-with-romney-paul-in-november-showdowns/

CNN Poll

     A CNN national poll predicts that President Obama and Mitt Romney are just about tied right now as far as the country's support. "Mitt Romney is all tied up with President Barack Obama in a likely general election matchup." The third contender, Ron Paul, is also a very likely candidate in the 2012 election.  Obama does show signs of weakness when it comes to running the economy. What I'm skeptical about is how we were supposedly in a recession in 2008, but no one seems to say that anymore, four years later.  Is it over? Did the president do his job well? "But on the economy - issue number one to most Americans - Romney has a clear advantage. 53% say the former Massachusetts governor can get the economy moving; only 40% say that about President Barack Obama." People are seeming to think that he hasn't. 

        The article also says that," Republican advantage on voter enthusiasm is eroding".  Does this mean that the country should expect to give the torch back to republicans after November? I don't know, it seems moderately likely. Then again, it seems like its going to be  a very close race. With President Obama running unopposed,  the republics candidates get  chance to rally up voters around the country to vote in their favor, while Obama sits back and awaits his debates. We already know what he is capable of.  His name is not one of those being passed around the media when it comes to politics right now because he is laying dormant.  In the end, Obama has to watch his back, and not get too comfortable in his position. Polls are showing that America is identifying with the republican party more than they were four years ago. Nobody knows how this race is going to turn out, so good luck to all the candidates.