Tag: GOP

Posted on

Jon Huntsman sees a rise in NH poll

A Suffolk University poll conducted this weekend shows Mitt Romney dropping from 43% to 33% while Huntsman moved up to 13% from his 8% during the same survey last week, putting him in third place behind Ron Paul at 20%.

Huntsman tried using the weekend’s double-header of debates to separate himself from the rest of the field as a less partisan player. At one point he even lectured fellow Republicans for demagoguery about gay people.

“Talking about gays, talking about unions, everybody’s got something nasty to say,” he told them during Sunday’s Meet the Press debate. “You know what the people of this country are waiting for? They want a leader who is going to unify, who is going to bring us together, because at the end of the day that’s what leadership is all about. It’s not about taking on different groups and vilifying them for whatever reason, it’s about projecting a vision for a more hopeful tomorrow.”

During the Saturday night debate on ABC, Huntsman made the case for civil unions even while others onstage, such as Rick Santorum, argued for invalidating existing marriages of same-sex couples and amending the U.S. Constitution with a ban on same-sex marriage that Santorum said would ensure gays and lesbians can’t adopt or foster children.

Huntsman also opposes same-sex marriage but has not signed onto antigay pledges that would require him to back a federal amendment. Huntsman has said he eschews pledges as a rule. Santorum signed pledges from the Iowa Family Leader and the National Organization for Marriage. Romney signed the NOM pledge.

Posted on

GOP field downgrades LGBT community’s standing in America

A few things stand out here:

One – the fact that Newt Gingrich has the nerve to speak on his ‘worries’ about the Catholic Church when he’s been through two divorces to date. Who knows what the total number will end up being…

Two – Gingrich says there’s “a lot more anti-christian bigotry than concerning the other side…” Wrong Mr. Gingrich. You are very wrong. There’s a LOT more anti-LGBT bigotry to go around than affects your casual Catholic ‘friends.’

A very interesting spin on civil rights in an attempt to garner votes in a primary.

How very sad to see somewhat prominent politicians sell their souls for votes by downgrading the rights and equality of Americans.

Not the GOP’s best moment.

Posted on

Poll: Newt Gingrich in free fall in Iowa

From Public Policy Polling:

Newt Gingrich’s campaign is rapidly imploding, and Ron Paul has now taken the lead in Iowa. He’s at 23% to 20% for Mitt Romney, 14% for Gingrich, 10% each for Rick Santorum, Michele Bachmann, and Rick Perry, 4% for Jon Huntsman, and 2% for Gary Johnson.

Gingrich has now seen a big drop in his Iowa standing two weeks in a row. His share of the vote has gone from 27% to 22% to 14%. And there’s been a large drop in his personal favorability numbers as well from +31 (62/31) to +12 (52/40) to now -1 (46/47).

Negative ads over the last few weeks have really chipped away at Gingrich’s image as being a strong conservative – now only 36% of voters believe that he has ‘strong principles,’ while 43% think he does not.

Ron Paul’s ascendancy is a sign that perhaps campaigns do matter at least a little, in a year where there has been a lot of discussion about whether they still do in Iowa. 22% of voters think he’s run the best campaign in the state compared to only 8% for Gingrich and 5% for Romney. The only other candidate to hit double digits on that question is Bachmann at 19%. Paul also leads Romney 26-5 (with Gingrich at 13%) with the 22% of voters who say it’s ‘very important’ that a candidate spends a lot of time in Iowa. Finally Paul leads Romney 29-19 among the 26% of likely voters who have seen one of the candidates in person.

If this continues, watch for Gingrich’s lead in other early states to evaporate too.

Posted on

Ad spending for the Iowa caucuses

The top campaign ad spending in Iowa to date for the upcoming Iowa caucus:

1. Rick Perry $4.3 million
2. Restore Our Future (pro-Mitt Romney group) $2.7 million
3. Make Us Great Again (pro-Rick Perry group) $1.3 million
4. Ron Paul $1.3 million
5. Mitt Romney $536,000
6. Newt Gingrich $233,000
7. Red White and Blue Fund (pro-Rick Santorum group) $200,000.

Some more perspective on Mitt Romney’s TV ad spending: Romney’s actual campaign has barely spent over $1 million. Four years ago at this SAME POINT in the campaign, Romney had already spent more than $10 million on the air…

What a difference a Supreme Court decision makes.
(stats via MSNBC)

Posted on

Ron Paul: Newt Gingrich no friend of the Tea Party

One of Ron Paul’s chief supporters – his son, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul – said Friday that Newt Gingrich stood opposed to tea party values.

“I got elected with a lot of the tea party support and the tea party movement,” Sen. Paul said on CNN “Newsroom.”

“The tea party was a lot about people unhappy with Republicans voting for bank bailouts. We thought they sold out our limited government views when they voted to send taxpayer money to big banks. Unfortunately, Newt Gingrich was right there with them being paid by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It goes against everything that the tea party stands for.”

The assault on Gingrich comes as Ron Paul, a three-time presidential candidate and Texas congressman, aired a blistering television ad in Iowa and New Hampshire that slams Gingrich for “serial hypocrisy,” saying the former House speaker had cashed in after leaving Congress by becoming a lobbyist.

Posted on

Rick Perry defends his anti-gay campaign ad – poorly

Rick Perry says DADT “was working fine.” Easy to say when he’s living a heterosexual life.

His answers to Wolf Blitzer’s questions circle the questions over and over.

This man is low in the polls for a reason.

Someone should educate Rick Perry: you don’t need to go to music history class every day to know that the music you’re playing during your anti-gay ad is by Aaron Copland, a gay Jew.

While we’re on the subject, here’s a parody of Rick Perry’s anti-gay ad.