Steve Benen: In the immortal words of the Black Knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, “All right, we’ll call it a draw.” Whichever one of these two manage to come out on top, the results are effectively the same: Romney spent well over $4 million in Iowa, only to discover (a) three-quarters of Republicans still don’t like him; and (b) he tied a guy who spent about one-eighth the amount of money and was polling in single digits as recently as a few weeks ago.
Tonight’s big winner is obvious: his name is Barack Obama.
(And if you need any more proof that Paul is a lost cause, look no further than Salon.com’s Glenn Greenwald, now desperately trying to sell Paul to “progressives,” and revealing his own ideological axes to grind in the process: Greenwald is a reliably wrong bellwether in the sense that any bandwagon he attempts to form goes quickly next into the dustbin of history; yes, he is that bad a prognosticator.)
Odd. I’m following WNYC’s vote counter, and even though they say 100% of polling places have reported, votes are still trickling in. But, Mandog is ahead by 18 votes.
Will Willard be the nominee? Even money is still on him. But this won’t be a coronation. He’ll get bloodied. Newt wants to eviscerate him. And 75% of Iowa voters didn’t like him. If he wins, he’ll be leading a fractured GOP, possibly with 2 or 3 different 3rd party challengers. Again, Bobfr, 1936 is calling.
And, you may notice a few tweets this evening from me along the lines of:
Our4thEstate Bobfr
@McConnellPress YOU spent 3 yrs harming most Americans in order to destroy it’s 1st black President & instead YOU destroyed the GOP. #KARMA
Our4thEstate Bobfr
@KarlRove YOU spent 3 yrs harming most Americans in order to destroy our 1st black President & instead YOU destroyed the GOP. #KARMAOBAMA12
Our4thEstate Bobfr
@McConnellPress YOU spent 3 yrs harming most Americans in order to destroy it’s 1st black President & instead YOU destroyed the GOP. #KARMA
Our4thEstate Bobfr
@EricCantor YOU spent 3 yrs harming most Americans in order to destroy it’s 1st black President & instead YOU destroyed the GOP. #KARMAOBAMA
Our4thEstate Bobfr
@SpeakerBoehner YOU spent 3 yrs harming most Americans in order to destroy it’s 1st black President & instead YOU destroyed the GOP. #KARMA
Our4thEstate Bobfr
@whitehouse The GOP spent 3 yrs harming most Americans in order to destroy it’s 1st black President & instead it destroyed itself. #KARMA
Of course, there could always be the county commissioner with some random voters who had a caucus down the hall, around the block, in the cornfield that weren’t a part of the tally. So, Willard could still win this mess.
But, I LOVE that they are beating each other up in public. I LOVE IT!!!
Willard poured $$$$millions into carpetbombing ads and lost to/tied with a guy who spent a few hundred thousand. Not such a great businessman, that Willard.
WHAT A VICTORY FOR OBAMALAND AND THE ADMINISTRATION. A ROMNEY FAIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😆 On to New Hampshire. The Teathugs SUCK!! The MSM spinmasters will be out in full force tomorrow to spin this as a positive for Mittens. 😡
Hilarious – good luck to them spinning this one: he’s been running for President for 5 years (more?), spent millions …. and 75% of Iowans voted against him tonight??? 😉
Statement from Bill Burton, Senior Strategist, Priorities USA Action:
Despite Mitt Romney’s $14 million bet to win the Iowa Caucuses by promising to eviscerate Medicare and implement a divisive immigration policy, he could do no better than limp to a pathetic finish that didn’t even beat his 2008 results. But even worse for Romney, should he become the nominee, he now owns a long-term problem with Hispanic and senior voters that will he will not soon live down.
politico’s map which was showing only two counties as pending is suddenly showing seven counties as pending. Is the fix in ? Is the establishment trying to screw lil ricky ? If yes, will the fundies revolt ?
He should challenge these results. Mitt was going to lose to a guy who did not spend 3 million in Iowa, so it was time to “find” votes early in the morning.
“The caucus is a popularity contest that doesn’t actually award delegates, he says candidates within a handful of votes of the lead are more likely to declare victory and move on.”
I am so giddy about Newt about to EXPLODE on Mitt. Especially after Karl Rove “finds” some missing votes for Mitt. Mitt was going to lose by a slim margin, which was going to send him a message that he cannot buy an election.
I stay away from the Orange Satan except on election days — their live blogging is still the best.
So I wandered to a diary or two (at least it was a Let’s Stop Republicans theme mostly): One diarist theorized on a santorum/gingrich ticket, where Newt could be Cheney to Santorum’s Bush. Watch him set out to destroy Romney like only Newt can.
The one drawback mentioned in the article: Newt would be a formidable debater against Biden.
I can’t remember the code to embed, but this hour-long talk by David Plouffe on the 2008 campaign, their game plan, the candidate, OFA is a must-see. Helps to understand what OFA is doing now, just modernized using all the social media and top notch IT people for 2012. It explains why people matter and organizing counts. And why we never become complacent. Perhaps Linda can chop it up for WIW.
Thanks for posting this, very intriguing and thought-provoking. I watched the entire thing. One of the most disturbing and alarming things about the political Right is that they seem to shun and vilify intelligence. This post makes it incredibly evident how PBO surrounds himself with balanced, articulate, and focused people.
LOL the Mittster won by a razor thin 8 votes! ROFL
I hate this guy more then the other nominees. I just cant stand his stupid smile or his dumb one misogynistic liners that he thinks are real clever but in reality just make him look dumb.
“It appears that the winner in 2012 also will set an Iowa record for the lowest percent of the vote, breaking Dole’s 26.3 percent that year.”
The real contest tonight is about who likes Mitt less us or the 75% of Republicans who rejected him. I despise Mitt Romney. The flip flopping is obnoxious, but his lying is what sets me off. He pretends that his falsehoods are all just politics. He throws rocks and hides his hands. I am looking forward to Newt eviscerating him in New Hampshire.
Money can buy you a caucus but it can’t buy core values, dignity or grassroots passion. Mitt has none of those and he will lose, as he should.
“Many observers still think Mitt Romney will be the Republican nominee. If he is, we will be prepared. But it’s curious that no one can really explain how, when or why the 70-plus percent of Republicans saying in polls and in Iowa that Mitt Romney’s not their candidate will suddenly come around.
So the path ahead for Romney — or whichever of the Republican candidates is going to emerge from this process — is sadly and starkly very clear: to run even further to the extreme right, and make even more dangerous promises that threaten not only the progress we’ve made but the fundamental fabric of American society.
We also know that candidates who take these extreme positions can, in the right circumstances, win not only a primary but also a general election in just about any state.
Just ask the Tea Party senators from Pennsylvania and Kentucky, and the Tea Party governors in Florida and Wisconsin.
Watching the circus on TV, it’s tempting to think it’s almost funny — but this is not a joke.
“Democratic heavyweights are quietly celebrating tonight,” David Gergen, a former adviser to two Republican and two Democratic presidents, told Reuters. “They see the presumed (Republican) nominee, Mitt Romney, unable to close the deal and a Republican electorate not only uncertain, but lacking great enthusiasm.”
Nice to see a talking head finally tell the real story: Romney can’t close the deal and the Republicans voters have more than an enthusiasm gap. This is an enthusiasm abyss.
I can’t wait for the next GOP debate. I have not watch one so far, but I might this one coming up, because Newt called Mitt a “LIAR”. He is mad at Mitt and he said he will go after Mitt the “liar” Romney. It should be lots of fun.
“Gingrich’s planned a full-page ad in the New Hampshire Union Leader that was to appear as he touched down in the state early Wednesday. It labels Gingrich a ‘Bold Reagan Conservative’ and Romney a ‘Timid Massachusetts Moderate.’
At least one pro-Gingrich super PAC also was getting into the mix.
‘We definitely plan to engage,’ said Rick Tyler, a former longtime Gingrich aide now working for the pro-Gingrich super PAC Winning our Future. ‘I think that Newt has signalled a communications shift in which he wants to define Romney and to draw a contrast between his record and Romney’s.’
This is going to be great fun watching Romney, Gingrich and Santorum tear each other apart in their quest to be the Most Far Right Tea Partier of the Century.
So Romney won? Fricking cheaters! How did they “find” missing votes? This is the one thing that really, really, bothers me, Repugs of late have been fine-tuning the art of finding votes at the last minute. My concern is that Rove and his hoodlums will “find” votes in the general.
According to Clinton County Iowa’s Republican Chair Edith Pfeffer, the vote counts from the allegedly missing county precinct reportedly had been phoned in to the state Republican Party central committee at 7:48 p. m. CST. But for some reason the numbers had not been incorporated into the state counts the networks were relying on for their results….
A groggy Ms. Pfeffer sounded flustered when Mr. Blitzer queried her on the numbers, saying, “Oh God, I added them up…a couple of times, oh man.” But working with Mr. King and Mr. Blitzer, she was able to help them update their map to project the final vote. CNN’s initial estimate of a 14-vote Romney margin was revised slightly downward when Mr. Strawn announced the final results.
These mysterious events consistently seem to happen when a narrative has been widely sold that it’s going to be a close election.
Note that they are trying to sell that narrative now regarding the general election. Right now we are being told that that Mitt Romney and President Obama are virtually tied in voter enthusiasm. Yet the Iowa outcome tells a different story.
Right now we are being told that volunteer excitement for the President has cooled considerably. Yet 25,000 appeared for the President in Iowa tonight. His fundraising in terms of dollar amount and number of donors vastly surpasses the Republicans.
Through active voter suppression in multiple states and the hard sell of a “close election,” they are trying to pull an okey doke. It is not going to happen because we are going to ensure that this election is not close.
DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) – After a dramatic, confusing night of suspense in the Republican Party’s Iowa caucuses, the big winner may well have been a Democrat: Barack Obama.
The president’s re-election campaign had reason to smile early Wednesday, as Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum battled to a virtual dead heat in the caucuses that kicked off the campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.
Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, emerges from Iowa with his front-runner status intact, his well-funded campaign ready for a months-long fight.
Well dang…when the lights went out in my house at the wee hours of the morning Rick was up a few votes with 100 percent of the votes in. Now some missing votes are found and Romney wins by 8. Yep and today is Friday and yesterday was Sunday. Whatever!
I cannot wait until our President hits the campaign trail for real!
Donna,
To take some of the furor of the Presidents trip to NH, Mcsame is endorsing Romney in NH today.
The media will now focus exclusively on romney and not the President.
Which is why he did it!
Well we will just need to call them out on covering this endorsement ad nauseum. If I remember correctly McCain is the candidate that the public rejected. His endorsement means nothing to the righwing because they never like McCain to begin with. I’ll be sure to remind our media of this today.
That is NOT a good thing for Romney. McCain is not well liked among the GOP far-right conservative base. And he was the LOSER in the 2008 elections. So his endorsement is nothing to celebrate. I doubt the media will be spending a lot of time focusing on that.
When you spend $113 for each vote and you win by a miraculously “found” 8, you have lost. When you spend five years preparing to run for president and you are chased to a neck and neck finish line by a slimeball like Ricky Santorum, you are a loser.
DWS said that last year the exciting Dems caucus in Iowa attracted 240,000 Iowan Democrats. The repubs could only scare up less than 120,000 after gazillions of dollars and endless debates. I’m still trying to find the numbers for the Democratic turnout this year.
The Obama reelection campaign is asking voters in Vermont to call their neighbors in the Granite State in advance of the New Hampshire primary, where President Obama is on the ballot next week.
“Over in New Hampshire, they’re hitting the streets every week, reaching out to people about their primary that’s coming up on Jan.uary 10th. We can pitch in and help them out from here in Vermont. And you can even do it from home in your pajamas,” Daniel Mulligan, the Obama campaign’s Vermont state director said in an email to supporters.
The email asks supporters of the president to use the campaign’s online call tool to connect with 10 New Hampshire voters and ask them to turn out on Jan. 10 for the primary — an up-to-date version of a similar online tool the campaign used in 2008 to urge supporters and volunteers to connect with each other.
“It will tell you who you’re calling and give you ideas about what to say to the person on the other end of the line when they pick up. All you need is an internet connection, a phone, and a few minutes,” Mulligan wrote.
As POLITICO’s Glenn Thrush has reported, the president’s reelection team sees the caucuses and primaries as serious organizational tests for the campaign and a way to energize and engage supporters in states where the Republican contests are sucking up most of the oxygen.
This was the best play by play EVER! I had to go to bed early last night. Back to work today! I missed all the good stuff 🙂 Seriously….Monty Python won last night! OMG…who knew that “must see tv” would be the NH Caucas’ !
So as per Steve Benen Willard ‘WON’ by 8 votes, but hey ‘A win is a win.” Well, Willie better savour these victories (if he gets any more) for as long as he can ‘cos November is a-coming. 😉
White House attorneys have concluded they have the legal authority to make a recess appointment despite Republican efforts to block the move, Democrats said Tuesday, and administration officials say they reserve the option to install Richard Cordray as head of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau without Senate approval.
[…] That’s because the White House has concluded that it can make the appointment even if the Senate has not formally recessed, said one Democrat familiar with White House thinking. “They have decided no one can stop them.”
Who wants to bet that Willard didn’t aactually win last night? We’ll never know because there is no recount in Iowa. They coul dhave just made it up because Santorum was too close.
The sudden appearance of undercounted votes for Willard raises eyebrows. Even if he “won” Iowa over Santorum, it’s clear that if 75% of Iowan Republicans rejected him, he has not won hearts and minds.
There was supposed to be a groundswell of rabid anti-Obama crowds like we’ve never seen before. Instead non-recordbreaking numbers showed up to send this resounding message to Willard:
Barack Obama announces the nomination of Richard Cordray to serve as the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, July 18, 2011, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington. | AP Photo
The Wall Street Journal reports that White House attorneys have determined that they can appoint Richard Cordray to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as a recess appointment, even if the Senate hasn’t formally recessed:
White House attorneys have concluded they have the legal authority to make a recess appointment despite Republican efforts to block the move, Democrats said Tuesday, and administration officials say they reserve the option to install Richard Cordray as head of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau without Senate approval.
[…] That’s because the White House has concluded that it can make the appointment even if the Senate has not formally recessed, said one Democrat familiar with White House thinking. “They have decided no one can stop them.”
This report, from Politico, says that the administration has concluded that they can do it. There is no official announcement, to my knowledge, that they have recess appointed Richard Cordray.
There is speculation that when the President goes to Ohio tomorrow that he may announce that he has appointed him. But that’s also unconfirmed by the White House.
“White House officials recognize that appointing Cordray would probably invite a court battle with congressional Republicans during an election year, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly.”
Isn’t it tTODAY Wednesday that he’s supposed to give the economy speech in Ohio? Also, BWD had tweeted that Richard Cordray is from Ohio himself, and it would be fitting to announce his appointment in association with the speech.
“Rachel looked at the import of the NDAA and President Obama’s signing statement about how he intends to use the legislation. Under the new law, the U.S. government reserves for itself the right arrest and confine American citizens in military custody, without benefit of trial, indefinitely. President Obama says his administration won’t do that, but the law remains a law. “I’m not sure we’re going to appreciate its radicalness until it’s undone by other legislation or until a president as radical as this bill decides to use it to its fullest extent,” Rachel said.”
My understanding is that “under section 1021(e), the bill may not be construed to affect any “existing law or authorities relating to the detention of United States citizens, lawful resident aliens of the United States, or any other persons who are captured or arrested in the United States.”
Can someone explain to me why Rachel and others feel that section 1021(e) does not exempt American citizens from indefinite detention?
Filmmaker Spike Lee, a passionate President Obama supporter in 2008, is throwing a fundraising dinner for POTUS in Manhattan on Jan. 19, New York Post’s Page Six reports.
According to the paper, Lee and his wife “will host the commander-in-chief at their Upper East Side brownstone with an intimate 6 p.m. reception for 60 guests paying $38,500 per head or $71,600 per couple, and have stipulated the event will be ‘no more than six tables and 60 people.’
Though Lee called Obama’s election a “seismic” change for the world, he has also criticized the president, slamming his response to the BP oil spill in 2010.
I saw Spike and his wife at the inauguration, or actually after it when they and their people were trapped and not able to get off the mall (in the garden next to Arts & Industries, for anyone familiar with the Smithsonian). I think he is trying to jump fully on the bandwagon now so they have access to better seats!
Repost from 1am this morning…
Of course, there could always be the county commissioner with some random voters who had a caucus down the hall, around the block, in the cornfield that weren’t a part of the tally. So, Willard could still win this mess.
But, I LOVE that they are beating each other up in public. I LOVE IT!!!
Wow, I had no I idea that I was clairvoyant!! tee-hee And I still love that the Rethugs are beating up on each other in public. LOVE THAT!!!
I broke my own rule last night and watched the coverage of the Iowa Caucuses on MSNBC only because my internal battery on my laptop could not sustain the hours of coverage. I hope I have time to go back and read the last three threads here to see the fun I missed.
I could not listen to the whole speech of Santorum, Paul or Romney. The talking points are getting so very old. Take our country back (from where?), Obama’s disastrous policies (which policies?), and especially their comments on our standing in the world. What other leader has the respect that our President has been afforded? Lord, I hope the American people wake up and deliver our President a landslide victory in November.
OF COURSE OUR WINNER IS PBO…HMMMMMMMMMMMMM…I DIDN’T EXPECT ANYTHING ELSE! WE’VE GOT THE MAN WHO EXERCISES THE VALUES AMERICA NEEDS…WE’VE GOT THE MAN WHO IS FILLED WITH THE COMPASSION THAT AMERICANS NEED! THEY NEED TO SIT BACK AND LISTEN AND TAKE A LESSON FROM TRUE GRACE IN POLITICS! THEY BROKE THE MOLD ON THIS ONE. THIS IS THE GREATEST PRESIDENT AMERICA WILL EVER SEE AND I FEEL SO HONORED TO HAVE WITNESSED HIS TIME IN THE WHITE HOUSE!
The Obama Diary 
Am I first?
Second!
HEY!
Tally!! Becks is staying in L.A.!
(what have I been saying?) However, Uncle Tim says it’s not a done deal yet –
http://www.lagalaxy.com/news/2012/01/leiweke-galaxy-confident-beckham-deal-not-done
Oh, and did you see what Santa brought me?
I WIN. (There are only two in existence. I have one.)
That’s so cool.
Third?
Nevermind 😀 😀
Anywhoo… did Willard win?! I’ve been watching basketball.
He lost. By 13. 😀
I saw that Ed Schultz ‘s man has a four vote lead, so Santorum leads by four votes.
Willard’s sons have inherited the vapid, blank stare gene. The one on the right didn’t blink once.
Willard is NOT sending a chill down Tweety’s leg. He is so not feeling “this guy.”
That vapid blank stare creeps me out. It’s like they’re not human.
ricky + 13
http://www.wnyc.org/articles/its-free-country/2012/jan/03/patchwork-vote-iowa/
Not just +13, but +13 with 100% reporting. This. Is. DONE.
So Ricky won? What a joke this whole evening was for the Repubs. What a great evening for us!
Not yet. ricky now +19.
now +18 ricky.
http://narcosphere.narconews.com/thefield/4723/inevitable-romney-meets-santorum-surprise-iowa Al Giordano called it yesterday. He was on the mark during 2007 and 2008. Has always called out the poutragers and PL. Now that he’s writing about the elections again a must-read. Should be on blog roll. A community organizer who understands community organizing.
Thx Tracy. Love this line from Al
(And if you need any more proof that Paul is a lost cause, look no further than Salon.com’s Glenn Greenwald, now desperately trying to sell Paul to “progressives,” and revealing his own ideological axes to grind in the process: Greenwald is a reliably wrong bellwether in the sense that any bandwagon he attempts to form goes quickly next into the dustbin of history; yes, he is that bad a prognosticator.)
Spin that republican establishment.
Poor, poor David Gregory, he has a debate on mtp Sunday, he was Shillong for Romney!
You are kidding!!! Santorum won this mess???? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆
😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆
Odd. I’m following WNYC’s vote counter, and even though they say 100% of polling places have reported, votes are still trickling in. But, Mandog is ahead by 18 votes.
Will Willard be the nominee? Even money is still on him. But this won’t be a coronation. He’ll get bloodied. Newt wants to eviscerate him. And 75% of Iowa voters didn’t like him. If he wins, he’ll be leading a fractured GOP, possibly with 2 or 3 different 3rd party challengers. Again, Bobfr, 1936 is calling.
Sounds positively delicious!!!
IN_DEED, 1936, is calling LL!
And, you may notice a few tweets this evening from me along the lines of:
Our4thEstate Bobfr
@McConnellPress YOU spent 3 yrs harming most Americans in order to destroy it’s 1st black President & instead YOU destroyed the GOP. #KARMA
Our4thEstate Bobfr
@KarlRove YOU spent 3 yrs harming most Americans in order to destroy our 1st black President & instead YOU destroyed the GOP. #KARMAOBAMA12
Our4thEstate Bobfr
@McConnellPress YOU spent 3 yrs harming most Americans in order to destroy it’s 1st black President & instead YOU destroyed the GOP. #KARMA
Our4thEstate Bobfr
@EricCantor YOU spent 3 yrs harming most Americans in order to destroy it’s 1st black President & instead YOU destroyed the GOP. #KARMAOBAMA
Our4thEstate Bobfr
@SpeakerBoehner YOU spent 3 yrs harming most Americans in order to destroy it’s 1st black President & instead YOU destroyed the GOP. #KARMA
Our4thEstate Bobfr
@whitehouse The GOP spent 3 yrs harming most Americans in order to destroy it’s 1st black President & instead it destroyed itself. #KARMA
…. and others on the receiving list 🙂
#PRESSON #1936ForOBAMABIDEN #1936ForAMERICA
Bobfr, sounds absolutely great . Because it’s the truth.
Bob, I love you. This is PERFECT!!!
Willard Mitt Romney lost LOL?? 🙂
I turned to CNN and they were still at 99% and King was still at that friggin map anticipating a Romney win.
Libra, No, that is not correct.
Willard Mitt Romney lost to Little Ricky Santorum!!!!
😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆
There, I fixed it for you!
LOL thank you much 🙂
YEAH!!!!!!!!!
Go here: http://www.wnyc.org/articles/its-free-country/2012/jan/03/patchwork-vote-iowa/
Much faster results. According to WNYC, 100% of polling stations have reported, but votes are still trickling in. Rick leads by 18.
After that speech he just gave, can I break the news to him?
Is it fair to say, that if a miracle happens and Huntsman wins the nomination, he will lose Iowa in the General?
Ah, Monty Python. “It’s only a flesh wound.”
“You’ve got no arms, you crazy bastard!”
How do you know he is a Newt? Well, he got better!
Of course, there could always be the county commissioner with some random voters who had a caucus down the hall, around the block, in the cornfield that weren’t a part of the tally. So, Willard could still win this mess.
But, I LOVE that they are beating each other up in public. I LOVE IT!!!
Willard poured $$$$millions into carpetbombing ads and lost to/tied with a guy who spent a few hundred thousand. Not such a great businessman, that Willard.
(damn, what am I still doing up?)
And his PAC is nearly broke!
I Just heard Chuck Todd say it really doesn’t matter who won tonight. These people will do anything to help Willard. Geesh!!! 😦
The media and pundits like Chuckie Todd will do anything to spin this as a Willard’s victory.
I bet that now Willard won, it will matter to Chuckie.
This was…wow I don’t even know what to say…..what a freak show.
Someone retweeted this…..
Michael Moore still dream of a 3rd party candidate….he won’t let go.
@MMFlint Michael Moore
Here’s the Santorum lesson 4 progressives:Tonite is absolute proof that, w/ little or no money, but w/HARD, GRASSROOTS WORK, victory happens
And whom is this 3rd party hero of whom he speaks? Nader? Ishkabibble? Go raise money on Wall St. for your next “documentary”, Mr. Moore.
Himself?
LL, I haven’t heard the name Ishkabibble since I was a kid. Good for you.
Yes, victory happens in a meaningless primary that a tiny proportion of the state voted in. It doesn’t win national elections.
He wants the Democrats in the same mess the Republicans are in.
Mcsame is endorsing Romney.
Does he want that?
establishment panicking.
Yup!
I am over the daily limit for sending tweets. Did you know there’s a limit?
WHAT A VICTORY FOR OBAMALAND AND THE ADMINISTRATION. A ROMNEY FAIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😆 On to New Hampshire. The Teathugs SUCK!! The MSM spinmasters will be out in full force tomorrow to spin this as a positive for Mittens. 😡
Hilarious – good luck to them spinning this one: he’s been running for President for 5 years (more?), spent millions …. and 75% of Iowans voted against him tonight??? 😉
Sho Nuff Chips!! 🙂
+19 Ricky Weirdsmile. I think I’ll go to bed soon. Too much fun tonight.
Statement from Bill Burton, Senior Strategist, Priorities USA Action:
Despite Mitt Romney’s $14 million bet to win the Iowa Caucuses by promising to eviscerate Medicare and implement a divisive immigration policy, he could do no better than limp to a pathetic finish that didn’t even beat his 2008 results. But even worse for Romney, should he become the nominee, he now owns a long-term problem with Hispanic and senior voters that will he will not soon live down.
Chris Hayes and lots of his pals deflated, Paul lost!!!!
looks like willard didn’t cross his 2008 total. my wish is granted.
drats willard +1
Santorum +4! God, why are votes still trickling in??
per politico 2 counties are still pending one willard’s and one ricky’s
http://www.politico.com/2012-election/map/#/President/2012/Primary/IA
It’s late but anyone up still did olbermann really get fired again.???
Did he? What happened?
Haven’t heard that. Wouldn’t surprise me. I know he’s been left off debate and caucus coverage on Current.
Romney is up by 1 vote.
I thought you guys said he lost?
Oh well!!
Jovie, I’m following results here: http://www.wnyc.org/articles/its-free-country/2012/jan/03/patchwork-vote-iowa/
According to them, Rick is up +4
29957-29956
68-64 now. You right.
That is really really suspicious!
I mean 1 vote?
Holy shit.
Now its +4 ricky. So ?
So buttons!
OK all, I’m pooped. Peace out.
oh DAMMIT. I replied to you above.
I. AM. A. SLUG.
Time for Republican bosses to takeover for the last 50 votes to be counted?
politico’s map which was showing only two counties as pending is suddenly showing seven counties as pending. Is the fix in ? Is the establishment trying to screw lil ricky ? If yes, will the fundies revolt ?
That is funny! Call the cops!
They got the two lady’s on the phone in charge of the precinct, they called it in at 737 and the state never counted it!
Yeah right!
They said Romney beat santorum by 18 votes in the last precinct.
Bullshit!
I am going to bed!
Poor Ari Fleischer!
Mitt won by 14 votes..still a loss to me
they apparently found some “mistakes.” me thinks Willard bought himself a win.
Yep…so sad!
That is really fishy! The state forgot to count votes that were called in at 737.
These were probably counted twice!
I would challenge it if I were santorum!
He should challenge these results. Mitt was going to lose to a guy who did not spend 3 million in Iowa, so it was time to “find” votes early in the morning.
“Despite the near-tie, Iowa caucus rules do not allow for a recount.”
http://www.npr.org/2012/01/03/144638513/iowans-head-to-gop-caucuses-with-no-clear-favorite?ps=cprs
“The caucus is a popularity contest that doesn’t actually award delegates, he says candidates within a handful of votes of the lead are more likely to declare victory and move on.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/iowa-gop-officials-say-there-will-be-no-recount-if-iowa-caucus-vote-ends-too-close-to-call/2012/01/03/gIQA516TZP_story.html
I am so giddy about Newt about to EXPLODE on Mitt. Especially after Karl Rove “finds” some missing votes for Mitt. Mitt was going to lose by a slim margin, which was going to send him a message that he cannot buy an election.
I think Al Capone stole the election!
I stay away from the Orange Satan except on election days — their live blogging is still the best.
So I wandered to a diary or two (at least it was a Let’s Stop Republicans theme mostly): One diarist theorized on a santorum/gingrich ticket, where Newt could be Cheney to Santorum’s Bush. Watch him set out to destroy Romney like only Newt can.
The one drawback mentioned in the article: Newt would be a formidable debater against Biden.
But still: wouldn’t that be a great ticket?
I can’t remember the code to embed, but this hour-long talk by David Plouffe on the 2008 campaign, their game plan, the candidate, OFA is a must-see. Helps to understand what OFA is doing now, just modernized using all the social media and top notch IT people for 2012. It explains why people matter and organizing counts. And why we never become complacent. Perhaps Linda can chop it up for WIW.
Sent from my iPad
Thanks for posting this, very intriguing and thought-provoking. I watched the entire thing. One of the most disturbing and alarming things about the political Right is that they seem to shun and vilify intelligence. This post makes it incredibly evident how PBO surrounds himself with balanced, articulate, and focused people.
Obama won by 25k votes!
Mitt Antoinette with 8 Votes!
final
LOL the Mittster won by a razor thin 8 votes! ROFL
I hate this guy more then the other nominees. I just cant stand his stupid smile or his dumb one misogynistic liners that he thinks are real clever but in reality just make him look dumb.
“It appears that the winner in 2012 also will set an Iowa record for the lowest percent of the vote, breaking Dole’s 26.3 percent that year.”
The real contest tonight is about who likes Mitt less us or the 75% of Republicans who rejected him. I despise Mitt Romney. The flip flopping is obnoxious, but his lying is what sets me off. He pretends that his falsehoods are all just politics. He throws rocks and hides his hands. I am looking forward to Newt eviscerating him in New Hampshire.
Money can buy you a caucus but it can’t buy core values, dignity or grassroots passion. Mitt has none of those and he will lose, as he should.
Just got this email from Jim Messina:
“Many observers still think Mitt Romney will be the Republican nominee. If he is, we will be prepared. But it’s curious that no one can really explain how, when or why the 70-plus percent of Republicans saying in polls and in Iowa that Mitt Romney’s not their candidate will suddenly come around.
So the path ahead for Romney — or whichever of the Republican candidates is going to emerge from this process — is sadly and starkly very clear: to run even further to the extreme right, and make even more dangerous promises that threaten not only the progress we’ve made but the fundamental fabric of American society.
We also know that candidates who take these extreme positions can, in the right circumstances, win not only a primary but also a general election in just about any state.
Just ask the Tea Party senators from Pennsylvania and Kentucky, and the Tea Party governors in Florida and Wisconsin.
Watching the circus on TV, it’s tempting to think it’s almost funny — but this is not a joke.
We’ve got to be ready.”
So true, so true, we have to be ready.
“Democratic heavyweights are quietly celebrating tonight,” David Gergen, a former adviser to two Republican and two Democratic presidents, told Reuters. “They see the presumed (Republican) nominee, Mitt Romney, unable to close the deal and a Republican electorate not only uncertain, but lacking great enthusiasm.”
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/04/us-campaign-iowa-idUSTRE8030IG20120104
Nice to see a talking head finally tell the real story: Romney can’t close the deal and the Republicans voters have more than an enthusiasm gap. This is an enthusiasm abyss.
I can’t wait for the next GOP debate. I have not watch one so far, but I might this one coming up, because Newt called Mitt a “LIAR”. He is mad at Mitt and he said he will go after Mitt the “liar” Romney. It should be lots of fun.
“Gingrich’s planned a full-page ad in the New Hampshire Union Leader that was to appear as he touched down in the state early Wednesday. It labels Gingrich a ‘Bold Reagan Conservative’ and Romney a ‘Timid Massachusetts Moderate.’
At least one pro-Gingrich super PAC also was getting into the mix.
‘We definitely plan to engage,’ said Rick Tyler, a former longtime Gingrich aide now working for the pro-Gingrich super PAC Winning our Future. ‘I think that Newt has signalled a communications shift in which he wants to define Romney and to draw a contrast between his record and Romney’s.’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2082017/Newt-Gingrich-takes-aggressive-stance-Mitt-Romney-New-Hampshire.html#ixzz1iUBGDyAW
This is going to be great fun watching Romney, Gingrich and Santorum tear each other apart in their quest to be the Most Far Right Tea Partier of the Century.
Love it. A “former” aide now working at a PAC. Nope, no collusion there. These fools couldn’t be shadier if they were elms.
Anniebella, they all have been lots of fun. I promise you will get a kick out of it.
So Romney won? Fricking cheaters! How did they “find” missing votes? This is the one thing that really, really, bothers me, Repugs of late have been fine-tuning the art of finding votes at the last minute. My concern is that Rove and his hoodlums will “find” votes in the general.
“Landslide Willard”
That’s why we have to be eternally vigilant and make sure our watchers are in at every count in every precinct.
According to Clinton County Iowa’s Republican Chair Edith Pfeffer, the vote counts from the allegedly missing county precinct reportedly had been phoned in to the state Republican Party central committee at 7:48 p. m. CST. But for some reason the numbers had not been incorporated into the state counts the networks were relying on for their results….
A groggy Ms. Pfeffer sounded flustered when Mr. Blitzer queried her on the numbers, saying, “Oh God, I added them up…a couple of times, oh man.” But working with Mr. King and Mr. Blitzer, she was able to help them update their map to project the final vote. CNN’s initial estimate of a 14-vote Romney margin was revised slightly downward when Mr. Strawn announced the final results.
http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/prudent-man/2012/jan/4/breaking-iowa-caucus-cnn-confirms-romneys-win-help/
These mysterious events consistently seem to happen when a narrative has been widely sold that it’s going to be a close election.
Note that they are trying to sell that narrative now regarding the general election. Right now we are being told that that Mitt Romney and President Obama are virtually tied in voter enthusiasm. Yet the Iowa outcome tells a different story.
Right now we are being told that volunteer excitement for the President has cooled considerably. Yet 25,000 appeared for the President in Iowa tonight. His fundraising in terms of dollar amount and number of donors vastly surpasses the Republicans.
Through active voter suppression in multiple states and the hard sell of a “close election,” they are trying to pull an okey doke. It is not going to happen because we are going to ensure that this election is not close.
That is why we must work on making the margin of victory too big to steal.
DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING!!!!! We have a winner!!
OMG TMZ has a shirtless PBO playing football in the sand in Hawaii
http://photos.tmz.com/galleries/president_obama_plays_football_in_hawaii#tab=most_recent&id=106936
DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) – After a dramatic, confusing night of suspense in the Republican Party’s Iowa caucuses, the big winner may well have been a Democrat: Barack Obama.
The president’s re-election campaign had reason to smile early Wednesday, as Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum battled to a virtual dead heat in the caucuses that kicked off the campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.
Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, emerges from Iowa with his front-runner status intact, his well-funded campaign ready for a months-long fight.
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE8030IG20120104?irpc=932
Good Morning..
I likey….
Love the photos!!! What a great diversion from the Iowa 8-vote nonsense.
Well dang…when the lights went out in my house at the wee hours of the morning Rick was up a few votes with 100 percent of the votes in. Now some missing votes are found and Romney wins by 8. Yep and today is Friday and yesterday was Sunday. Whatever!
I cannot wait until our President hits the campaign trail for real!
I knew that was going to happen, I could have predicted it!
Donna,
To take some of the furor of the Presidents trip to NH, Mcsame is endorsing Romney in NH today.
The media will now focus exclusively on romney and not the President.
Which is why he did it!
Well we will just need to call them out on covering this endorsement ad nauseum. If I remember correctly McCain is the candidate that the public rejected. His endorsement means nothing to the righwing because they never like McCain to begin with. I’ll be sure to remind our media of this today.
That is NOT a good thing for Romney. McCain is not well liked among the GOP far-right conservative base. And he was the LOSER in the 2008 elections. So his endorsement is nothing to celebrate. I doubt the media will be spending a lot of time focusing on that.
When you spend $113 for each vote and you win by a miraculously “found” 8, you have lost. When you spend five years preparing to run for president and you are chased to a neck and neck finish line by a slimeball like Ricky Santorum, you are a loser.
DWS said that last year the exciting Dems caucus in Iowa attracted 240,000 Iowan Democrats. The repubs could only scare up less than 120,000 after gazillions of dollars and endless debates. I’m still trying to find the numbers for the Democratic turnout this year.
We had 25k show up for the President, uncontested caucus.
25k people who did not have to show up!!!
The Obama reelection campaign is asking voters in Vermont to call their neighbors in the Granite State in advance of the New Hampshire primary, where President Obama is on the ballot next week.
“Over in New Hampshire, they’re hitting the streets every week, reaching out to people about their primary that’s coming up on Jan.uary 10th. We can pitch in and help them out from here in Vermont. And you can even do it from home in your pajamas,” Daniel Mulligan, the Obama campaign’s Vermont state director said in an email to supporters.
The email asks supporters of the president to use the campaign’s online call tool to connect with 10 New Hampshire voters and ask them to turn out on Jan. 10 for the primary — an up-to-date version of a similar online tool the campaign used in 2008 to urge supporters and volunteers to connect with each other.
“It will tell you who you’re calling and give you ideas about what to say to the person on the other end of the line when they pick up. All you need is an internet connection, a phone, and a few minutes,” Mulligan wrote.
As POLITICO’s Glenn Thrush has reported, the president’s reelection team sees the caucuses and primaries as serious organizational tests for the campaign and a way to energize and engage supporters in states where the Republican contests are sucking up most of the oxygen.
(here is online call tool)-
http://images.politico.com/global/2012/01/120103_screenshot2.html
Santorum did not file petitions in Virginia. At all.
The stupid, it burns.
Especially since little Ricky lives in VA.
This was the best play by play EVER! I had to go to bed early last night. Back to work today! I missed all the good stuff 🙂 Seriously….Monty Python won last night! OMG…who knew that “must see tv” would be the NH Caucas’ !
Goood Morning, Chips & TODville! 😆 😆 Wishing everyone a Wonderful Wednesday!
So as per Steve Benen Willard ‘WON’ by 8 votes, but hey ‘A win is a win.” Well, Willie better savour these victories (if he gets any more) for as long as he can ‘cos November is a-coming. 😉
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/
I cannot wait for the Romney teleprompter sitings
oops… sightings.
This is cute! Little “circus” graph of what GOP Tax proposals look like! Clue: It ain’t pretty!!!!
http://www.certifiedtaxcoach.org/blog/gop-tax-proposals/
White House attorneys have concluded they have the legal authority to make a recess appointment despite Republican efforts to block the move, Democrats said Tuesday, and administration officials say they reserve the option to install Richard Cordray as head of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau without Senate approval.
[…] That’s because the White House has concluded that it can make the appointment even if the Senate has not formally recessed, said one Democrat familiar with White House thinking. “They have decided no one can stop them.”
HAHA! DO IT MR. PRESIDENT!
Who wants to bet that Willard didn’t aactually win last night? We’ll never know because there is no recount in Iowa. They coul dhave just made it up because Santorum was too close.
The sudden appearance of undercounted votes for Willard raises eyebrows. Even if he “won” Iowa over Santorum, it’s clear that if 75% of Iowan Republicans rejected him, he has not won hearts and minds.
There was supposed to be a groundswell of rabid anti-Obama crowds like we’ve never seen before. Instead non-recordbreaking numbers showed up to send this resounding message to Willard:
Meh.
Sounds like a Photoshop assignment for Chips: Iowa says to Mittens “Meh.”
Breaking- he did it—
Barack Obama announces the nomination of Richard Cordray to serve as the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, July 18, 2011, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington. | AP Photo
The Wall Street Journal reports that White House attorneys have determined that they can appoint Richard Cordray to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as a recess appointment, even if the Senate hasn’t formally recessed:
White House attorneys have concluded they have the legal authority to make a recess appointment despite Republican efforts to block the move, Democrats said Tuesday, and administration officials say they reserve the option to install Richard Cordray as head of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau without Senate approval.
[…] That’s because the White House has concluded that it can make the appointment even if the Senate has not formally recessed, said one Democrat familiar with White House thinking. “They have decided no one can stop them.”
http://www.politico.com/politico44/2012/01/wh-attorneys-clear-cordray-nomination-109549.html
Fuck ya!!!
I suspect NH announcement!
NH?
Jovie it’s going to be Ohio – not NH 🙂
This report, from Politico, says that the administration has concluded that they can do it. There is no official announcement, to my knowledge, that they have recess appointed Richard Cordray.
There is speculation that when the President goes to Ohio tomorrow that he may announce that he has appointed him. But that’s also unconfirmed by the White House.
Why, praytel, do your lawyers clear it for no reason?
“White House officials recognize that appointing Cordray would probably invite a court battle with congressional Republicans during an election year, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly.”
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-01-04/obama-considering-cordray-recess-appointment-as-soon-as-tomorrow.html
My point is, that he may do it, but that is different from “Breaking – he did it.”
Isn’t it tTODAY Wednesday that he’s supposed to give the economy speech in Ohio? Also, BWD had tweeted that Richard Cordray is from Ohio himself, and it would be fitting to announce his appointment in association with the speech.
But but but…
And the good news is tha Cordray’s term lasts through 2013!
From Rachel Maddow’s blog:
“Rachel looked at the import of the NDAA and President Obama’s signing statement about how he intends to use the legislation. Under the new law, the U.S. government reserves for itself the right arrest and confine American citizens in military custody, without benefit of trial, indefinitely. President Obama says his administration won’t do that, but the law remains a law. “I’m not sure we’re going to appreciate its radicalness until it’s undone by other legislation or until a president as radical as this bill decides to use it to its fullest extent,” Rachel said.”
http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/03/9925004-occupy-the-ndaa
My understanding is that “under section 1021(e), the bill may not be construed to affect any “existing law or authorities relating to the detention of United States citizens, lawful resident aliens of the United States, or any other persons who are captured or arrested in the United States.”
Can someone explain to me why Rachel and others feel that section 1021(e) does not exempt American citizens from indefinite detention?
Because it interferes with their bitching and rachels, Hayes snd cenks candidate went down in flames last night.
Filmmaker Spike Lee, a passionate President Obama supporter in 2008, is throwing a fundraising dinner for POTUS in Manhattan on Jan. 19, New York Post’s Page Six reports.
According to the paper, Lee and his wife “will host the commander-in-chief at their Upper East Side brownstone with an intimate 6 p.m. reception for 60 guests paying $38,500 per head or $71,600 per couple, and have stipulated the event will be ‘no more than six tables and 60 people.’
Though Lee called Obama’s election a “seismic” change for the world, he has also criticized the president, slamming his response to the BP oil spill in 2010.
I saw Spike and his wife at the inauguration, or actually after it when they and their people were trapped and not able to get off the mall (in the garden next to Arts & Industries, for anyone familiar with the Smithsonian). I think he is trying to jump fully on the bandwagon now so they have access to better seats!
Charles Pierce brings it:
Stuff in Politico That Makes Me Want to Guzzle Antifreeze, Field of Mediocrity Edition
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/mitt-romney-replacements-politico-6632049#ixzz1iUouiDty
Michael Steele is msnbc! Morning noon and night, his ugly mug is all I see!
Repost from 1am this morning…
Of course, there could always be the county commissioner with some random voters who had a caucus down the hall, around the block, in the cornfield that weren’t a part of the tally. So, Willard could still win this mess.
But, I LOVE that they are beating each other up in public. I LOVE IT!!!
Wow, I had no I idea that I was clairvoyant!! tee-hee And I still love that the Rethugs are beating up on each other in public. LOVE THAT!!!
AWESOME!!
Thank meta – this is great 🙂
Very. Thanks for sharing.
Does she bite the dust today??
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2012/01/bachmann-cancels-sc-schedules-news-conference/1
I think we lose Bachmann and Perry. Perry is headed back to Texas.
I broke my own rule last night and watched the coverage of the Iowa Caucuses on MSNBC only because my internal battery on my laptop could not sustain the hours of coverage. I hope I have time to go back and read the last three threads here to see the fun I missed.
I could not listen to the whole speech of Santorum, Paul or Romney. The talking points are getting so very old. Take our country back (from where?), Obama’s disastrous policies (which policies?), and especially their comments on our standing in the world. What other leader has the respect that our President has been afforded? Lord, I hope the American people wake up and deliver our President a landslide victory in November.
OF COURSE OUR WINNER IS PBO…HMMMMMMMMMMMMM…I DIDN’T EXPECT ANYTHING ELSE! WE’VE GOT THE MAN WHO EXERCISES THE VALUES AMERICA NEEDS…WE’VE GOT THE MAN WHO IS FILLED WITH THE COMPASSION THAT AMERICANS NEED! THEY NEED TO SIT BACK AND LISTEN AND TAKE A LESSON FROM TRUE GRACE IN POLITICS! THEY BROKE THE MOLD ON THIS ONE. THIS IS THE GREATEST PRESIDENT AMERICA WILL EVER SEE AND I FEEL SO HONORED TO HAVE WITNESSED HIS TIME IN THE WHITE HOUSE!
Just caught the end of Newt’s tearing apart of Romney on MSNBC, with only good things to say about Santorum.
Santorum/Gingrich — THAT’s the ticket!
Strange login — new computer does not seem to hold my wordpress info.
Should be 57andFemale.
Pictures from Pres. Obama Hawaii vacation.
(Yes, I know that this a link to TMZ, but Pres. Obama is playing football, in Hawaii, without a shirt on.)
http://photos.tmz.com/galleries/president_obama_plays_football_in_hawaii#tab=most_recent&id=107008