Politics Blog

SurveyUSA’s final poll from California:

CA Conservatives Race to Romney, Who Draws Even with McCain on Election Eve: 24 hours till votes are counted in the California Republican Primary, Mitt Romney is now effectively tied with John McCain, 39% McCain, 38% Romney, according to SurveyUSA’s 13th and final pre-primary tracking poll. Among younger voters: tied. Among older voters: tied. Among whites: tied. In Central Valley: tied. Among men: tied. Among Moderates, McCain leads by 20. Among Conservatives, Romney leads by 15. Three weeks ago, Romney ran 4th among Conservatives, behind McCain, Mike Huckabee and Rudolph Giuliani. Romney’s support among Conservatives has tripled since 01/14/08. Among Pro-Life voters, Romney leads by 8. Among Pro-Choice voters, McCain leads by 8. Among gun owners, Romney leads by 11. Among those with no gun, McCain leads by 11.

— PoliPundit

In his latest e-mail, NumbersUSA’s Roy Beck describes who you should vote for to stop John McCain:

VOTE FOR RON PAUL in ….

ALASKA: The Wall Street Journalsuggests Paul might be poised to win this state.

VOTE FOR MITT ROMNEY in …

ARIZONA: Deep resentments among Republicans about their long-time home-state Senator McCain has left him with a bit of vulnerability and perhaps the opportunity for a Super Bowl type upset. The latest Rasmussen polls show McCain at 43%, followed by Romney at 34% (and Huckabee at 9% and Paul at 7%). A truly serious get-out-the-vote drive provides the slightest possibility of the embarrassing upset for McCain.

CALIFORNIA: The latest SurveyUSA shows McCain at 39% and Romney at 36%. But Rasmussen’s poll of the last two days shows Romney ahead with 40% over McCain’s 32% (and 12% for Huckabee and 5% for Paul). A McCain loss in California would give a lot of people hope in the remaining Primary states. Anti-amnesty votes should coalesce around Romney for a big news media victory and lots of delegates.

COLORADO: Romney should take this from McCain if the anti-amnesty voters stick with him.

GEORGIA: According to the latest Insider Advantage poll, McCain at 32% is in a dead heat with Romney at 31% (followed by Huckabee at 26% and Paul at 3%). Georgia is one of the three most aggressive states in trying to drive illegal aliens away. Unless some of Huckabee’s and Paul’s supporters switch to Romney, the state may send pro-amnesty McCain delegates to the convention.

ILLINOIS: The latest SurveyUSA shows McCain at 38% and Romney at 23% (with Huckabee at 25% and Paul at 7%). This is a real long-shot that will require incredible turnout by anti-amnesty voters.

MASSACHUSETTS: Make sure Romney takes the delegates of his home state.

MONTANA: The winner takes all 25 delegates.

NORTH DAKOTA: Romney should be the frontrunner for the anti-amnesty vote here.

UTAH: Romney appears poised to take all these delegates.

VOTE FOR MIKE HUCKABEE in …

ALABAMA: Latest SurveyUSA poll shows McCain at 37% and Huckabee at 35% (with Romney at 19% and Paul at 6%). Romney and Paul voters could easily push Huckabee vote total to defeat McCain. Huckabee over the weekend signed the long and detailed immigration pledge of Sen. Sessions, Alabama’s wildly popular champion opponent of illegal immigration. Alabamans despise amnesty. How could this state go for McCain? The only way is for the anti-amnesty vote to be divided.

ARKANSAS: Huckabee should win in his home state. Make sure McCain doesn’t pull an upset.

MISSOURI: This is a winner-take-all state. According to the latest SurveyUSA, McCain at 33% will take all of Missouri’s 58 delegates unless anti-amnesty forces coalesce behind one candidate. Although Romney is close at 28% (and Paul at 4%), the best chance for defeating McCain appears to be switching votes to Huckabee who at 31% is virtually tied with McCain.

OKLAHOMA: Latest SurveyUSA shows McCain at 37% and Huckabee at 32% (with Romney at 23% and Paul at 3%). That is striking distance in a state that is one of the most anti-illegal-immigration in the nation. Why would Oklahomans give their delegates to Amnesty King McCain? Because the anti-amnesty vote is split.

TENNESSEE: Latest Insider Advantage poll shows McCain with 32% just barely ahead of Huckabee at 30% (with Romney at 22% and Paul at 6%). This is another strongly anti-amnesty state that should easily help Huckabee take these delegates away from McCain.

– PoliPundit

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— PoliPundit

In 2008, the Republican Party needs a nominee who can debate Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) on the important issues confronting our nation today. “Very Close” highlights how Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Sen. Clinton actually agree on more issues than not. We need “a full-spectrum conservative” like Governor Mitt Romney who can provide a clear conservative contrast with Sen. Clinton.

— ‘The Commish’ A.J. Sparxx

It worked once before the day before a primary, why not stick with what works. Hillary turns the tears on:

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Sen. Hillary Clinton teared up this morning at an event at the Yale Child Study Center, where she worked while in law school in the early 1970s.

Penn Rhodeen, who was introducing Clinton, began to choke up, leading Clinton’s eyes to fill with tears, which she wiped out of her left eye. At the time, Rhodeen was saying how proud he was that sheepskin-coat, bell-bottom-wearing young woman he met in 1972 was now running for president.

“Well, I said I would not tear up; already we’re not exactly on the path,” Clinton said with emotion after the introduction.

Clinton is holding a roundtable discussion with Connecticut women to talk about childcare and healthcare.

When Clinton got misty-eyed at an event in New Hampshire on Jan. 7, politicos and pundits filled hours discussing if it helped her, and Clinton eventually pointed to the moment as when she “found her voice” and turned the corner in the Granite State.

If she becomes President, I’m buying some shares in Kleenex!

— ‘The Commish’ A.J. Sparxx

The New York senator has criticized presidential rival Barack Obama for pushing a health plan that would not require universal coverage. Clinton has not always specified the enforcement measures she would embrace, but when pressed on ABC’s “This Week,” she said: “I think there are a number of mechanisms” that are possible, including “going after people’s wages, automatic enrollment.“

Clinton said such measures would apply only to workers who can afford health coverage but refuse to buy it, which puts undue pressure on hospitals and emergency rooms. With her proposals for subsidies, she said, “it will be affordable for everyone.”

Oh boy, sure sounds like making good on the promise to take things away from certain citizens for the common good. When you see the word subsidies remember to replace it with “money from other taxpayers”. Why do I suspect that even if I have health insurance that there will still be a decrease in my paycheck in order to make it “affordable” for others? Ugh.. Just something to keep in mind if she makes it to the general election.

In marginally better news a Zogby (yeah I know) poll this morning suggests continued movement in CA away from both Clinton and McCain toward Obama and Romney, who both appear to now lead in the state. As of this weekend Romney appears to have pulled almost even with McCain in GA as he attracts “Anybody-but-McCain” support according to Rasmussen. If conservatives are lucky neither nomination battle will be settled tomorrow night.

– KnightHawk

With nothing really going on in the World of importance to keep our Senators busy and to get some use out of our tax dollars that pay their salaries, Senator Arlen Specter is deciding if the Senate must intervene with hearings over the NFL’s handling of the New England Patriot’s spy scandal:

Once Congress is done meeting with Major League Baseball, it may be time for the National Football League to take its turn.

Senator Arlen Specter, the ranking Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Friday he wants to speak to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to address the destruction of evidence related to spying by the New England Patriots.

In the well publicized ‘Spygate’ saga, the Patriots violated NFL rules by filming the New York Jets’ defensive signals during their Week One matchup at Giants Stadium.

What’s there to investigate:

“I don’t see any reason for the destruction of the tapes,” Specter said at a news conference Friday. “I don’t see any reason for that at all.”

But not so fast on proposed hearings, Senator, you aren’t in the majority party, although you act like it with your votes, only the Dem’s can call for hearings:

Specter said Goodell has not been subpoened and that he has not yet asked committee chairman, Democrat Patrick Leahy, to schedule a hearing with specific reference to the Spygate matter.

“I’m going to take it a step at a time. We’ve got a lot on the agenda right now,” Specter said.

I think this is just a little bit overreaching, even for the big arms of the Government to wrap around and get involved in.

– ‘The Commish’ A.J. Sparxx

Mitt Romney continues to make the case that a John McCain presidency moves the GOP closer to Hillary Clinton than Ronald Reagan:

As GOP presidential front-runner John McCain spent Super Bowl Sunday in former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s home state, Romney came to the Republican bastion of DuPage County to warn voters that McCain would bring “a sharp turn to the left” if elected.

Romney tried to portray himself as the authentic conservative choice in the race, asking a crowd smaller than the one that came out to see McCain in Villa Park on Friday night: “There’s a battle over the heart and soul of the Republican Party. Are we going to take a sharp left turn … get as close as we can to Hillary Clinton?”

The crowd shouted, “No,” as Romney ticked off all the issues on which McCain allegedly voted the wrong way: President Bush’s tax cuts – which McCain opposed but now supports; drilling for oil in Alaska; campaign finance reform – which Romney said hurt Republican fund-raising; illegal immigration, and fuel efficiency standards.

With one day to go until Super Duper Tuesday, Romney needs to hammer this point home every chance he gets. Romney has my vote tomorrow in the NJ Primary.

Does he have yours?

— ‘The Commish’ A.J. Sparxx

Dennis Miller on the O’Reilly Factor about his Hollywood friends’ reactions to his conversion to libertarian conservatism:

I still have some ultra-liberal friends. I went to Arnold’s for a Christmas party.

— W.C. Varones

If the Giants can stop the undefeated Patriots, could there still be time for Romney to derail the McCain-Feingold-Kennedy-Lieberman-NewYorkTimes Express? Let’s hope so.

The trend is encouraging.

— W.C. Varones