Politics Blog

Please take these with a grain of salt, but they are the only numbers to go by right now. The following are the first released exit polls from the states participating in today’s primary.

{Update 2: This is why you can’t take exit poll’s serious. Exit poll data from Delaware had Romney up 9%. Unfortunately, McCain WINS Delaware and the 18 delegates.}

{Update: Big news on the latest exit poll data coming out of John McCain’s home state of Arizona. Data has this race 36%-36% McCain - Romney. If this is true and holds out, this is great news for Romney and horrible news for Team McCain.}

McCain is leading in CA by 4%, NY by 11%, NJ by 13%, CT by 18%, AZ by 5%, OK by 2% and IL by 16%

Romney is leading in MO by 2%, UT by 86%, MA by 19%, DE by 9%

Huckabee is leading in GA by 3%, AL by 9%, TN by 5%, AR by 12%

Stay tuned…..

If this is a McCain - Huckabee Republican Party, I want nothing to do with it.

I’m re-registering as an independent tomorrow, and I’ll vote for Hillary or Obama over either one of those guys.

On the plus side, the electoral massacre that’s going to happen in November will probably cause the Republican Party to repent and turn to young, energetic, principled reformers. Pence? Flake? Coburn? DeMint? Sessions? 2012 calls.

Races called:
Clinton: AR, MA, NY, NJ, OK, TN,AZ,CA
Obama: AL, CT, DE, GA, ID, IL, KS, MN, ND,CO,UT, MO,AK

Huckabee: AL, AR, GA, TN
McCain: CT, DE, IL, NJ, NY, OK, AZ,MO,CA
Romney: MA, ND, UT, MT, MN, CO, AK

States remaining: NM(D) - 98% reporting - Clinton 200 votes ahead.

[Updated: 2:15 pm (eastern)]

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.

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?

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 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.

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!

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.

New Jersey US Senate GOP candidate Murray Sabrin gave a speech today to a rousing ovation by the crowd at theBergen County Republican Headquarters. You can’t go wrong with this platform:

“I’ve been working on this message of free markets, limited Government, less regulation, strong families and peace through strength with our National Defense. And that’s what I offer to the people of New Jersey, to having a Government that follows the Constitution.”

Murray Sabrin is the only candidate that can defeat Frank Lautenberg in November, and return a seat back over to the Republican side.