Wednesday Open Thread [12.21.11]
The Gingrich collapse is not the same as the Perry, Cain and Bachmann collapse. Indeed, it already looks like he is rebounding. A new Iowa State University/Gazette/KCRG pollhas Ron Paul leading the GOP field with 28%, followed by Newt Gingrich at 25%, Mitt Romney at 18%, Rick Perry at 11%, Michele Bachmann at 7% and Rick Santorum at 5%.
Other polls:
NATIONAL (ABC/WaPo): Gingrich 30, Romney 30, Paul 15, Bachmann 7, Perry 6, Santorum 4, Huntsman 2
NATIONAL (CBS News): Gingrich 20, Romney 20, Paul 10, Perry 6, Bachmann 4, Santorum 3, Huntsman 1
NATIONAL (Gallup Tracking): Gingrich 25, Romney 23, Paul 12, Perry 8, Bachmann 6, Santorum 4, Huntsman 2
NATIONAL (PPP): Gingrich 35, Romney 22, Paul 11, Bachmann 7, Perry 6, Santorum 4, Huntsman 3, Johnson 1
NATIONAL (ABC/WaPo): Obama tied with Romney (47-47); Obama d. Paul (49-44); Obama d. Gingrich (51-43)
NATIONAL (CNN): Obama d. Romney (52-45); Obama d. Paul (52-45); Obama d. Gingrich (56-40); Obama d. Perry (57-39); Obama d. Bachmann (57-38)
NATIONAL (Gallup): Obama d. Romney (50-48); Obama d. Gingrich (50-48)
NATIONAL (PPP): Romney d. Obama (47-45); Obama d. Paul (46-41); Obama d. Gingrich (49-44); Obama d. Bachmann (50-41); Obama d. Perry (50-40)
NATIONAL (Rasmussen): Obama d. Gingrich (48-37)
Gary Johnson will quit the Republican presidential race and seek the Libertarian Party presidential nomination instead, Politico reports.
“The move has been expected for weeks — Johnson had run a New Hampshire-centric effort that never got him past a blip in the polls. He appeared at only two nationally televised debates, and only one in which other major candidates took part.”
This is awesome:
Obama is about to make Extraordinary Rendition legal, which is the practice of secretly sending prisoners to other countries to be interrogated and tortured by local authorities. This was a routine practice under Bush and now Obama is about to make it legal, even to use on U.S. citizens.
“The National Defense Authorization Act contains a section that says the president has the power to transfer suspected members and supporters of Al Qaeda, the Taliban, or “associated” groups “to the custody or control of the person’s country of origin, any other foreign country, or any other foreign entity.”
That means if the president determines you’re a member or supporter of Al Qaeda or “associated forces,” he could order you to be handed over to the Saudis, the Egyptians, the Yemenis (“any other foreign country”), any of their respective security forces, or even the United Nations (“any other foreign entity”).”
The next wingnut President is going to be so grateful to President Obama and his supporters for their hard work in destroying the Bill of Rights.
Gary Johnson will quit the Republican presidential race and seek the Libertarian Party presidential nomination instead, and Steve Newton will still vote for the Republican nominee, Politico reports.
BTW – how much do Republican primary voters hate Romney? Based on these polls, I’d say, so fucking much. The guy has a hard ceiling, and yet he might take the nomination because the press will keep telling the truth about Gingrich and keep ignoring Paul.
PBF announces a billion-dollar expansion in Delaware City. [http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20111221/BUSINESS/111221020/-1-billion-expansion-planned-Del-City-Refinery?odyssey=mod|breaking|text|Home] The governor is thrilled. How long will it be before PBF calls on DEDO, looking for bonus bucks from the Strategic Fund and the Intrastructure Fund?
50 new jobs. Why wouldn’t the governor be thrilled?
Naw, they’ll just want a few exemptions from clean air and water quality standards.
You gotta break some eggs to make an omelet.
And so what if a few are rotten and smell like sulfur? Jobs, baby!
Our boy Tom Carper gets some face time!
http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2011/12/hedge-fund-titans-got-inside-political-tips.html?mid=facebook_nymag
I just posted on this…
If Piers Morgan gets fired from CNN, he should get a full time gig with Fox Soccer Channel. He has been a guest a couple of times and his football commentary is very enjoyable, especially if you are an Arsenal supporter.
Top political stories of 2011, as shared on Facebook. The #1 story was a Daily Kos diary – the response to that 53% guy.