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Forums - Politics Discussion - The Official US Politics Thread 'Ron Paul quietly amassing an army of delegates while GOP frontrunners spar' and 'Mitt Romney rebounds against the Santorum surge'

man-bear-pig on 04 February 2012

I thought it would be a good idea to have an official US politics thread, so here goes... Oh, and i'll update the stories/thread title on a daily basis.

 

Mitt Romney on course for easy victory in Nevada as caucuses open:

Newt Gingrich to meet backers while other Republican nomination candidates turn their attention to remaining elections

 

 

Voters in Nevada have began caucusing in the Republican nomination race, with Mitt Romney expected to win by a large margin – a result that would leave him with a total of three out of five victories in the opening contests.

Romney is on course to add to that tally in the five remaining contests in February.

Nevada is the first of the elections to be held in the west, one of the main battlegrounds for the 2012 White House election.

Romney's main rival, Newt Gingrich, is planning to meet his backers in Las Vegas later on Saturday to discuss a long-term strategy, working out how to accumulate a large bloc of delegates to take to the Republican convention in Tampa, Florida, in August.

One of the key questions is whether Las Vegas billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who has helped bankroll the Gingrich campaign so far, is prepared to keep funding him month after month.

The other two in the race, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum, have already left Nevada, with Paul campaigning in Minnesota, which has its contest on Tuesday, and Santorum in Colorado, which has its election on the same day.

Romney is scheduled to campaign in Colorado before returning to Nevada for a post-election party on Saturday night.

The Nevada caucuses opened at 11am eastern time and are scheduled to continue through to the early evening. It could be 11pm (ET) before the biggest county in Nevada releases its results, though the television networks are expected to call the result well before then.

A poll in the Las Vegas Review-Journal has Romney on 45%, Gingrich on 25%, Santorum on 11% and Paul 9%. Caucuses, unlike primaries, are notoriously difficult to poll, often failing to take account of organisation. Both Romney and Paul have had full-time staff and volunteers working in the state for months while Gingrich and Santorum only began organising over the last few weeks.

Romney's lead is likely to be magnified by the large Mormon population who in the 2008 election voted en masse for him. Although the improving employment figures may force Romney to change his campaign message, the candidate so far is sticking to his stump speech, telling a crowd of about 300 there is a need for a new president to get the US out of the present economic mess.

Gingrich, in one of his closing rallies on Friday, concentrated on Romney, insisting there is little difference between Romney and Obama. "It isn't good enough for the Republican Party to nominate 'Obama-lite'," he said.

Gingrich is hunting for votes among Tea Party groups, Catholics, Jews and rural voters. Speaking to about 1,000 at the International Church of Las Vegas on Friday, he said: "Obama declared war on the Catholic church. He requires Catholics to stop being Catholics in order to serve people. This is a direct war on freedom of religion."

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that Paul, who is appealing to libertarians and Tea Party supporters, made his final pitch at a gun store in Las Vegas, with the muffled sound of shots being fired in the background.

Paul finished second in Nevada in 2008 with 13.7% of the vote, with John McCain finishing 1% behind him. The 2008 race was distorted by the decision of McCain not to waste time campaigning in the state – whereas, this time around, Gingrich has at least been out and about in Nevada.

The resurgence of Romney after his defeat in the South Carolina primary on 21 January at the hands of Gingrich is attributed to a good debate performance. One of his backroom staff, who won plaudits for that in the media, was the debating coach, Brett O'Donnell. Politico reports that O'Donnell has not been offered a full-time job. The Romney campaign team at the time played down his role and may have been miffed at the amount of media attention he received, distracting credit from the candidate himself.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/feb/04/mitt-romney-nevada-primary-caucuses

 

 

Newt Gingrich sued for assult and battery:

 

A Florida man has filed a lawsuit against Newt Gingrich and his security team -- claiming he was roughed up outside the Florida Republican Presidential Primary earlier this week ... because he was carrying a sign supporting another candidate. 

In a lawsuit filed yesterday in U.S. District court in Florida, Edward Dillard claims he was just minding his own business on January 31 when Newt and his wife came strolling up to the polling place. Dillard claims he was standing outside of a canopy which had been set up with a microphone stand, when Newt and Callista came right up to him and shook his hand. 

Dillard claims Newt then noticed his Ron Paul t-shirt and "immediately turned his back" to him and went on to greet other people. That's when Dillard claims several of Gingrich's security team came up to him and tried to "intimidate him into moving from the spot."

Dillard -- who says he was wearing open-toed sandals -- then claims one of the agents "lifted his heeled shoe over Dillard's right foot and dug the back of it into his skin, twisting it side-to-side like he was stomping out a cigarette, causing a fracture to Dillard's right foot."

After a minor tussle, Dillard claims the guy who stomped his foot shouted to other members of his team, "Everyone step on his toes!"

Dillard is suing Newt, the campaign and the security firm for assault and battery and seeking unspecified damages.

No comment so far from Gingrich campaign.

Source: http://www.tmz.com/2012/02/04/newt-gingrich-lawsuit-assault-battery/#.Ty3chsWDsuc



My prediction threads:

Wii U will sell under 40m units (made on 14th September 2012)

PS Vita will sell under 20m units (made on 30th September 2012)

Wii U will sell under 7m in 2013 - I was right

Halo 4 first 9 weeks sales prediction

PS4 to be down YOY in 2015

Around the Network
man-bear-pig on 05 February 2012

 

Well, this was expected but here goes anyway...

Nevada caucuses: Mitt Romney cruises to easy victory:

 

A poll in the Las Vegas Review-Journal has Mitt Romney (pictured) on 45% in Nevada, with his main rival, Newt Gingrich, on 25%. Photograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney has coasted to victory in the latest of the party presidential contests, the Nevada caucuses, and increased the gap to his rivals.

CNN and other television networks projected that Romney had won the state after the caucuses closed.

Nevada brings his tally to three, on top of New Hampshire and Florida. Rivals Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum have one each: South Carolina and Iowa.

Romney, in a victory speech in Las Vegas, recalled that he had won the state in his failed bid for the Republican nomination in 2008. "This is not the first time you have given me your vote of confidence and this time I am going to take it all the way to the White House," he said.

Looking ahead to the White House election in which Nevada will be a swing state, Romney devoted part of his speech to the state's economic troubles. "Mr President, America has had enough of your kind of help," Romney said.
He made no mention of Gingrich or his other rivals and concentrated instead on Obama.

Romney's vote was magnified by the large Mormon population in Nevada who turned out in large numbers to support their co-religionist. A survey of caucus-goers showed about 25% were Mormons.

Romney's support was magnified by the large Mormon population in Nevada who turned out in large numbers to support their co-religionist. A survey of caucus-goers showed about 25% were Mormons.

One of his rivals, Ron Paul, speaking as the results were coming in, acknowledged the impact. "Everybody recognises the Mormon vote is significant," he said.

Romney was helped too, as was Paul, by having had full-time staff and volunteers working in the state for months, important in caucuses. Gingrich and Santorum only began organising over the last few weeks.

The candidates are fighting for the Republican nomination to take on Barack Obama for the White House in November. The winner needs to secure 1,144 delegates to the Republican convention in August.

Nevada has 28 delegates, distributed among the candidates based on share of the vote. Although Romney takes the biggest share, Paul and Gingrich will receive a significant portion.

Ominously for Obama, for whom Nevada is a swing state in November, four out of 10 of those surveyed going into the caucuses said their priority was to force him from office. They also cited the economy as their number one issue.

Nevada is one of the states worst-hit by recession, with high unemployment and collapse in the housing market.

Romney's main rival, Gingrich, held a meeting on Friday with about 60 financial backers in Las Vegas to discuss a long-term strategy, working out the feasiblity of taking a large bloc of delegates to take to the Republican convention in Tampa, Florida.

One of the key questions is whether the Las Vegas billionaire, Sheldon Adelson, who has helped bankroll the Gingrich campaign so far and who attended the strategy meeting, is prepared to keep funding him month after month.

Although Romney has established himself as favourite, there is still a route available to Gingrich if he can take big states such as Ohio, Georgia and Texas in March and April and sweep up the remaining southern states.

Paul and Santorum did not stay in Nevada to watch the results come in.  Paul spent the day campaigning in Minnesota  while Santorum did the same in Colorado, both of which vote on Tuesday.The Maine caucuses began on Saturday and are due to be completed next Saturday.

Romney also spent the day campaigning in Colorado before returning to Nevada for his election night speech. 

He is planning to take Sunday off, a sign of confidence about the upcoming contests, and also recognition of the futility of trying to compete with the Super Bowl.

Although Santorum came in fourth, he indicated he is not planning to quit soon, claiming he is hopeful of a decent result in Colorado and Minnesota. Before Nevada, Romney had 87 delegates; followed by Gingrich on 26; Santorum on 14; and Paul with four.

The Nevada caucuses were open only to the state's 470,000 registeredRepublicans. They were marred by rows over voting, with some being turned away because of misinformation about ballot locations and others confused by the process.

Romney won the state in the 2008 Republican  race, taking 51.1% to Paul's 13.75% and John McCain's 12.7%.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/feb/04/mitt-romney-nevada-primary-caucuses

 



My prediction threads:

Wii U will sell under 40m units (made on 14th September 2012)

PS Vita will sell under 20m units (made on 30th September 2012)

Wii U will sell under 7m in 2013 - I was right

Halo 4 first 9 weeks sales prediction

PS4 to be down YOY in 2015

Andrespetmonkey on 05 February 2012



My Music

man-bear-pig on 05 February 2012

I've learnt from bitter experience never to trust a man with a boot on his head...



My prediction threads:

Wii U will sell under 40m units (made on 14th September 2012)

PS Vita will sell under 20m units (made on 30th September 2012)

Wii U will sell under 7m in 2013 - I was right

Halo 4 first 9 weeks sales prediction

PS4 to be down YOY in 2015

man-bear-pig on 05 February 2012

The wheels of the propaganda campaign for Barack Obama 2012 are in motion. This was posted in a thread before, but I still think it's relevant here...



My prediction threads:

Wii U will sell under 40m units (made on 14th September 2012)

PS Vita will sell under 20m units (made on 30th September 2012)

Wii U will sell under 7m in 2013 - I was right

Halo 4 first 9 weeks sales prediction

PS4 to be down YOY in 2015

Around the Network
man-bear-pig on 05 February 2012

 

Obama urges 'keep recovery going'

President Obama: "The economy is growing stronger and the recovery is speeding up"

US President Barack Obama challenged Congress to keep the economic recovery going as new data showed unemployment down to its lowest rate in three years.

The unemployment rate dropped to 8.3%, beating analyst forecasts, and was down from 8.5% in December.

Speaking at a fire station in Virginia, the president warned Congress: "Do not slow down the recovery that we're on."

A Department of Labor report showed 243,000 new jobs were created in January, the highest in nine months.

The figures are a political boost for Mr Obama, whose re-election prospects hinge on a sustained economic recovery.

'True recovery'?

"Now, these numbers will go up and down in the coming months, and there's still far too many Americans who need a job, or need a job that pays better than the one they have now," Mr Obama said.

"But the economy is growing stronger. The recovery is speeding up. And we've got to do everything in our power to keep it going."

"Now is not is not the time for self-inflicted wounds to our economy. I want to send a clear message for Congress. Do not slow down the recovery that we are on, don't muck it up."

Mr Obama also urged congressional Republicans to pass legislation extending a payroll tax break for 160 million Americans through to the end of the year.

Leading Republicans acknowledged the improvement in the labour market, while adding that even more could be done to improve the state of the US economy.

"These numbers are encouraging, especially for those millions of Americans out of work, but we should aim even higher. We shouldn't settle, we can do more," House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said.

Meanwhile, Speaker of the House John Boehner said: "Our economy still isn't creating jobs the way it should be and that's why we need a new approach."

On the campaign trail, frontrunning presidential candidate Mitt Romney said: "Unfortunately, these numbers cannot hide the fact that President Obama's policies have prevented a true economic recovery."

Election prospects

Friday's data from the Labor Department showed job growth had been widespread, with large gains in business services, leisure and hospitality, and manufacturing.

The report was also buoyed by revisions to November and December data, which showed 60,000 more jobs created across the two months than previously reported.

The figures add to a range of data pointing to a gradual US economic recovery.

Last week, it was announced that the US economy expanded at a 2.8% annual pace in the October-December quarter, a full percentage point higher than in the previous quarter.

Earlier this week, a survey from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) indicated that the US manufacturing sector expanded at its fastest pace in seven months in January.

But a report on Wednesday by the US Congressional Budget Office, a federal agency, forecast that unemployment would climb to nearly 9% in the last three months of this year and peak at 9.2% early next year.

Unemployment and economic recovery has been a dominant issue in the campaign for November's US presidential elections.

Although the downward trend in joblessness augurs well for Barack Obama's prospects of a second term, he is still likely to face more voters out of work than any post-war president.

When Ronald Reagan won re-election in a landslide victory in 1984, joblessness in the US stood at 7.5%.

In 1932, in the midst of the Great Depression, Herbert Hoover was voted out of office in a year when unemployment was at 23.6%.

His successor, Franklin Roosevelt, faced joblessness rates of 16.9% in 1936 and 14.6% when he was re-elected four years later, according to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

 



My prediction threads:

Wii U will sell under 40m units (made on 14th September 2012)

PS Vita will sell under 20m units (made on 30th September 2012)

Wii U will sell under 7m in 2013 - I was right

Halo 4 first 9 weeks sales prediction

PS4 to be down YOY in 2015

Nik24 on 05 February 2012

Do you even know what propaganda is? I can't say how much your lack of knowledge annoys me.
Just take a minute to look up the economic development of the US during the last two years.
(A hint: it improved by A LOT)
It's not that hard to grasp, you should do that instead of screaming out your lack of education, intelligence and moderation on a games forum.



man-bear-pig on 05 February 2012
Nik24 said:
Do you even know what propaganda is? I can't say how much your lack of knowledge annoys me.
Just take a minute to look up the economic development of the US during the last two years.
(A hint: it improved by A LOT)
It's not that hard to grasp, you should do that instead of screaming out your lack of education, intelligence and moderation on a games forum.

Obama hasnt been crap for the US economy, but he hasnt been as great as you're emplying either. I do agree though that i should take my own opinion out of the thread title.



My prediction threads:

Wii U will sell under 40m units (made on 14th September 2012)

PS Vita will sell under 20m units (made on 30th September 2012)

Wii U will sell under 7m in 2013 - I was right

Halo 4 first 9 weeks sales prediction

PS4 to be down YOY in 2015

MrBubbles on 05 February 2012

cnn last night showed ron paul had 10 delegates and santorum had 8 delegates. this article said santorum had 14 and ron paul had 4.


which is the correct number?



"I like my steaks how i like my women.  Bloody and all over my face"

"Its like sex, but with a winner!"

MrBubbles Review Threads: Bill Gates, Jak II, Kingdom Hearts II, The Strangers, Sly 2, Crackdown, Zohan, Quarantine, Klungo Sssavesss Teh World, MS@E3'08, WATCHMEN(movie), Shadow of the Colossus, The Saboteur

man-bear-pig on 05 February 2012
MrBubbles said:
cnn last night showed ron paul had 10 delegates and santorum had 8 delegates. this article said santorum had 14 and ron paul had 4.


which is the correct number?


Its probably the latter as the guardian seldomly get things like that wrong, but i dont know :P



My prediction threads:

Wii U will sell under 40m units (made on 14th September 2012)

PS Vita will sell under 20m units (made on 30th September 2012)

Wii U will sell under 7m in 2013 - I was right

Halo 4 first 9 weeks sales prediction

PS4 to be down YOY in 2015