UPDATE: Perry is still in, Bachmann is out. Thank-you, sweet Jesus, thank-you!
Romney, stinkin' up the tiny, tiny lead, taking the withered trophy on to New Hampshire. Santorum (repeat for emphasis) SANTORUM! statistically tied to Romney's stinkin' tiny, tiny lead. Ron Paul, the coming up close behind. We're in for a long haul... and that's great for the President.
Perry's gone, Bachmann's neutered (or would the proper word be speyed?) so evangelicals, who make up 60% of the Southern-based Republican party who hate Romney more than sin itself, will coalesce now, around Santorum (SANTORUM?!) and squeaky ol' Ron Paul will help Newt Gingrich shovel dirt on the proceedings.
The deep, dark rents in the Republican Party will never be more evident, as the rubber of the primaries hits the road to November. (author's note: hee hee)
A battered and scarred Mitt Romney will emerge... and as he crawls off the GOP battlefield to claim victory- he looks up to see a billion $ worth of carpet bombing let loose on his skinny ass by President Obama.
Romney wasn't even going to contest Iowa - and now he's won it, basically by spending $4 mil of his campaign's own limitless Wall St dollars.
Santorum is the latest flavor who will fade as soon as the media glare hits. Paul will never get the nomination. Romney will coast in NH, and will be the presumptive nominee within the month.
Sorry to rain on your glee, BlaM, but the idiot circus that is the Republican primary field is history. It's Obama v Romney. I think Obama will win - Romney is not an appealing candidate to anyone except the one percenters (who also like Obama) - but it's hardly an endorsement of BHO's first term.
Posted by: Pete | January 04, 2012 at 08:43 AM
"Santorum is the latest flavor..."?
That's gross.
Posted by: Nom | January 04, 2012 at 10:43 AM
Paul won't get the nomination but he will steal a lot of votes from disenfranchised voters on both sides. Obama has been a disappointment and the GOP is insane as usual. The worst list of candidates ever.
Posted by: MW | January 04, 2012 at 12:17 PM
Romney's limitless Wall Street dollars, huh? Obama has plenty of that tainted money and I hear he's in a spending mood.
Posted by: RQ | January 04, 2012 at 12:54 PM
ROTF. A come-from-behind success story!
Posted by: YellowPup | January 04, 2012 at 02:55 PM
AND ON GALLUP TODAY, President Obama's approval is 47% and disapproval 46%. Here's hoping that wing nut Ron Paul goes indie and serves the Ross Perot role, and our President gets the second term that he deserves. OBAMA 2012,,,what, you really going to vote for one OF these RepublicaN loons?
Posted by: WILD BILL | January 04, 2012 at 06:11 PM
The reason Obama's ratings have gone up is because the GOP has been stealing the show with their bad behavior backbiting against Romney from Newt and now Santorum and Paul has also taken it to Newt - Newt called Romney a liar - oops (but had a difficult time proving it). Some of the candidates have been behaving like LOONS. Thus, his ratings have gone up. I question the reliability of these polls though- it has been shown that they have oversampled Democrats on recent occasions. If the media wants to inflate their numbers, they do it at their own peril.
Huntsman is my favored candidate, a dark horse and he is not a LOON ! However, he has an uphill climb. The GOP had better cool it, stop whining and act more like a team running against the marxist sympathizer in-chief, or Paul will get pissed off and go independent and torpedo their chances , which will result in a loss for the GOP presidential candidate. There's a long ways to go.
"Obama has plenty of that tainted money and I hear he's in a spending mood."
Posted by: RQ | January 04, 2012 at 12:54 PM
Righto - Soros money and being bundled to parasitic groups, such as the group formerly known as ACORN.
Posted by: KS | January 04, 2012 at 08:01 PM
True, Huntsman is not a loon, he's an articulate, intelligent realist with a keen grasp of world affairs, which is why the modern Republican Party, the batshit crazy one, will NEVER even get him close, and that's a shame, because it proves the Republicans are loons....the defunct Acorn and dotty Soros ain't giving much, but BOA, Goldman Sachs, Chase, Amazon, BP (Yes, BP), Wells Fargo, Regence Blue Shild, Google, Facebook, Transamerica etc are giving our President plenty. Some parasites, I agree, but Power is Power, and in the USA money buys it. You think the Financial Oligarchy wants bat shit crazy Ron Paul, or evangelical whack job Santorum or dumb ass Perry, or the nutty Professor Newt anywhere near the till. No, Obama is the image of the adult in the room, and that's what The Powers That Be Like, a well groomed front man while they spin the gears and line their pockets and chart our course. Mitt is the default, but, frankly, his looney tune religion won't sell with the other looney tune religion...please run Mr. Paul, please, do it for your country! Me? Honestly, I don't give a shit where my bag of dough comes from, as long as it spends...
Posted by: WILD BILL | January 04, 2012 at 08:51 PM
"tainted money" on both sides. That's equal opportunity.
Posted by: Mary | January 04, 2012 at 09:16 PM
Obama may seem like an adult only to some with short memories because he is away, but not really. He thumbed his nose at the GOP (and likely the Constitution) with his 4 recess appointments, but hold on... The courts need to review this to see if these appointments were actually constitutional, in light of the fact that the Senate met yesterday.
Once we focus him under the microscope, (which the media will never do), he is a power-hungry petulant narcissistic man-child. The defense bill he signed also allows Americans can be retained indefinitely as prisoners - another demonstration of his quest for power and malevolence. The Chicago pols (Administration and campaign team) in their devilishly corrupt manner keep drilling down and sinking their machinery into what makes this country tick and attempt to turn it into a ticking time bomb...
Posted by: KS | January 04, 2012 at 09:28 PM
I thought he was a 'little black Man-Child'. Of course, no complaints during Bush's 171 recess appointments. No complaints about the so-called 'Patriot Act' and 'Extraordinary Rentitions'.
And, yes, it's all those 'Chicago Pols' that are left in the administration that are ruining the country. How many are left again?
Where are Bush, Cheney, Rove and the rest of the Texas White House when 'our nation' needs them most?
Man-child?
What kind of crap do you listen to anyway?
Posted by: Nom | January 05, 2012 at 09:08 AM
"Obama may seem like an adult only to some with short memories because he is away, but not really. He thumbed his nose at the GOP (and likely the Constitution) with his 4 recess appointments, but hold on... The courts need to review this to see if these appointments were actually constitutional, in light of the fact that the Senate met yesterday."
Posted by: KS | January 04, 2012 at 09:28 PM
Fascinating development KS, just fascinating.
Hey, did you know Reagan made 243 recess appointments, and Dubya made 171? Obama's made 29.
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/01/04/397589/president-obama-has-made-far-fewer-recess-appointments-than-any-recent-president/?mobile=nc
Republicans are so clueless it's pathetic.
Posted by: Mike D | January 05, 2012 at 04:41 PM
This from www.senate.gov:
How Often Have Recent Presidents Made Recess Appointments?
President William J. Clinton made 139 recess appointments, 95 to full-time positions. President
George W. Bush made 171 recess appointments, of which 99 were to full-time positions. As of December 8, 2011, President Barack Obama had made 28 recess appointments, all to full-time positions.
Looks a bit different when you talk about full-time appointments, doesn't it? Even better, the Reagan, Clinton & Bush appointments were over 8 years--Obama's are over just 3.
You can make stats say whatever you want to believe.
Posted by: RQ | January 05, 2012 at 07:36 PM
If Obama hopes to match their levels, he will have to step it up then.
Posted by: sparky | January 05, 2012 at 08:01 PM
Looks like he's right on track with full time appointments; however, he won't catch up because his time will run out after only 4 years. :)
Posted by: RQ | January 05, 2012 at 08:50 PM
Hey, did you know Reagan made 243 recess appointments, and Dubya made 171? Obama's made 29.
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/01/04/397589/president-obama-has-made-far-fewer-recess-appointments-than-any-recent-president/?mobile=nc
Posted by: Mike D | January 05, 2012 at 04:41 PM
You all missed the point or do you not care about the constitution ? Yes, I did know. However, Mike D. kool aid drinker - Reagan and even Dubya made legal recess appointments and Clinton also did even though you left his number out. However, BO's recent recess appointments were probably not legal, because the Senate was in session at the time he did it - I am not talking about the others he made - understood that all presidents do these. Try reading for comprehension. Mr. Obama even went against the advice of his legal counsel by making these appointments when he did.
Incidentally, Bush-43 stopped making recess appointments as his legal counsel advised him to, once the Dems in the Senate held short meetings to avert recess appointments (as the Repubs did). Can't say I blame the Dems for doing that, nor can I blame the Repubs for doing the same.
Posted by: KS | January 05, 2012 at 09:39 PM
He's right on track? By any measure, he's behind. Odd logic, RQ.
Iowa and all those farm subsidies. Kind of makes you wonder, doesn't it?
Posted by: Mary | January 05, 2012 at 09:41 PM
Why did you call him a "kool-aid drinker", KS? Is that the sign of losing an argument? BTW, the recess appointment's were done during whats called "Pro-Forma" in the house.
Posted by: Johnny Sombrerro | January 05, 2012 at 09:59 PM
No way, that was meant to indicate Mike D's unconditional partisanship. The pro-forma meeting were in the Senate not the House. Those were still classified as meetings though.
Again, the Dems also did that during Dubya's last term to prevent him from making recess appointments.
Posted by: KS | January 05, 2012 at 10:11 PM
Bush was a awful pResident, it was necessary.
Posted by: Johnny Sombrerro | January 05, 2012 at 10:20 PM
KS, the law is on Obama's side w/ recess appointments.
In a 1905 report that the Senate still considers authoritative, the Senate Judiciary Committee recognized that a "Recess of the Senate" occurs whenever the Senate is not sitting for the discharge of its functions and when it cannot "participate as a body in making appointments." The committee cautioned that a "recess" means "something actual, not something fictitious."
Read more here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/14/AR2010101405441.html
"Pro forma" sessions are not actual sessions, they're a gimmick, and the president's power overrides them. Sorry.
Posted by: Mike D | January 06, 2012 at 12:23 AM
Mary - Timewise, Obama is almost on parr with past presidents on full-time appointments, which was the point of my post.
Mr. Sombrero - "Obama is an awful president, it is necessary."
Posted by: RQ | January 06, 2012 at 05:31 AM
Reagan and even Dubya made legal recess appointments and Clinton also did even though you left his number out.
The House has been purposefully avoiding recess by the thinnest of technicalities - most probably too thin, that's why Obama went ahead. Yes, this would be the Not Recess In Name Only (NRINO). There has been no business, no debate, NOT EVEN A FUCKING QUORUM! No, this NRINO is simply one gavel *1 second pause* followed by another gavel. Then repeat ad nauseum and go home wondering why their approval ratings are so low!
Furthermore, they're doing this to purposefully avoid acting EITHER WAY (yea/nea) on Obama's appointment(s). A pussy move incarnate, and Obama called them on it. Too bad so sad
See you in court, asshats! Enjoy defending several 1 second silent sessions before a judge.
Posted by: mercifurious | January 06, 2012 at 06:45 AM
A somewhat different view of what took place from what was written in the WaPo (from Powerline.com). This unprecedented move needs to go to court and be vetted.
"The Constitution does not specify the length of time that the Senate must be in recess before the President may make a recess appointment. Over time, the Department of Justice has offered differing views on this question, and no settled understanding appears to exist. In 1993, however, a Department of Justice brief implied that the President may make a recess appointment during a recess of more than three days.10 In doing so, the brief linked the minimum recess length with Article I, Section 5, clause 4 of the U.S. Constitution. This “Adjournments Clause” provides that “Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days ….” …
The historical instances cited here indicate that recess appointments have, on occasion, been attempted during sine die adjournments of three days or fewer. Nevertheless, the instances cited here each have unique characteristics, and their potential applicability under current practices and conditions remains open to question. 35 As far as can be determined, no succeeding President has made recess appointments under similar circumstances. The shortest recess during which appointments have been made during the past 20 years was 10 days.
In 2010, the Obama administration expressed its agreement with the three-day rule:
Mr. Obama’s own top constitutional lawyers affirmed that view in 2010 in another case involving recess appointments. Asked what the standard was for making recess appointments, then-Deputy Solicitor General Neal Katyal told the justices the administration agreed with the three-day rule.
“The recess appointment power can work in a recess. I think our office has opined the recess has to be longer than 3 days,” Mr. Katyal said."
The Senate was in pro forma session yesterday, so there is no recess and Obama’s appointments are invalid by any historical or legal–according to his own Department of Justice–standard.
This is classic Barack Obama. Heedless of history, American tradition and the law, he cares about nothing but his own political interests. If his appointees were people of integrity, they would decline to assume the offices to which Obama purports to appoint them."
Obomba came across like a wannabe dick-tator here and broadcasted that he will keep doing end runs around Congress if he doesn't get his way. He preaches about fairness in the collectivist sense, but when it comes to playing fair he turns a deaf ear and has selective amnesia.
Posted by: KS | January 06, 2012 at 07:36 AM
He will be re-elected for 4 more years, can you survive?
Posted by: MW | January 06, 2012 at 10:22 AM
KS: The R's won't press this as a legal issue. Neither will any Senator from either party, ever. To open Senate rules to judicial scrutiny could endanger all manner of rules including and especially the filibuster.
Posted by: Seattle Law | January 06, 2012 at 11:59 AM
"almost on a par..." Do the math and show me. Kind of like "almost being the winnter of the lottery" except for one number.
I think you're off.
Posted by: Mary | January 06, 2012 at 06:11 PM
Poor Mary...your brain of mush just can't see past its own politics. I'll draw you a picture. The original post compared Obama's 29 appointments to Bush's 171. Seems like a huge difference. But wait, it's a comparison of activity over 8 years for Bush, versus 3 years for Obama. I then pointed out how one can take statistics and spin them to one's own liking by narrowing the scope to full-time appointments. Now, it's 99 for Bush over 8 years, and 29 for Obama over 3 years--a much closer ratio. If you choose to take the original post at face value without considering the inherent problems with the comparison, well...that's your problem.
Posted by: RQ | January 06, 2012 at 07:01 PM
Savage has now switched over to Santorum, from Romney. do any of the reasonable folks here, not the usuakl suspects think Santorun could win in november. he seems to erligiously extremem but one never knows. One good point is that he's fairly liberal on some issues like minimum wage and labor issues.
Posted by: Tommy008 | January 06, 2012 at 07:23 PM
If the GOP has any cajones, they would contest this
regardless if the Dems can pull this on them during a
Repub president. It is more important to be a nation of laws, which the Dems actions do not support. The Repubs support this - sometimes. However, if they do nothing, they are not and are hurting themselves by playing a bad game of politics and also hurting the people they were elected to serve by not attempting to uphold the law which is leading the Fed. Governnment to tyranny.
From pjmedia.com
The White House Is Wrong — The Senate Conducted Business During Its ‘Recess’
In the uproar over President Obama’s unconstitutional “recess” appointments (Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and three new members of the National Labor Relations Board), one fact has gotten too little attention.
Attempting to justify the president’s violation of the Constitution and 90 years of legal precedent, presidential spokesman Dan Pfeiffer claimed that the president can exercise recess appointment powers because the Senate’s pro forma sessions—conducted since mid-December—are merely “a gimmick” during which “no Senate business is conducted and instead one of two Senators simply gavel in and out of session in a matter of seconds.”
However, a simple review of the Congressional Record (“CR”) shows that claim to be categorically false.
Most senators left D.C. on Dec. 17 after scheduling pro forma sessions for December and January. The CR for Dec. 17 shows that Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) received unanimous consent to schedule Dec. 23 as a pro forma session.
The CR for Dec. 23 shows that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid specifically asked for unanimous consent for H.R. 3765 so “that if the House passes and sends to the Senate a bill which is identical to the text extension of the reduced payroll tax, unemployment insurance, TANF, and the Medicare payment fix, the bill be considered read three times and passed.”
In that pro forma session, Reid received unanimous consent and the two-month extension of the payroll tax break that had caused such a political commotion in Washington was considered read and passed in the Senate after the House acted. That’s not a “gimmick.” That’s legislating.
That same CR for the Dec. 23 pro forma session records a series of other business actions taken by the Senate. The president pro tempore signed several enrolled bills. Other senators were designated as members of a conference committee to negotiate with the House over disagreements to H.R. 3630. The minority leader even made appointments to the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission, pursuant to 22 U.S.C. § 7002.
Contrary to White House assertions, the Senate unquestionably conducted actual business during at least one of its supposedly pro forma sessions. This simple fact makes President Obama’s actions even more indefensible.
The president’s ends don’t justify his means. Politics should not trump the principle that we – and particularly the president – operate under the rule of law and the bounds of the Constitution. When a president disregards the facts and shows such contempt for this principle, it is more than disappointing, it threatens the foundations of our republic. Leaders who believe they need not abide by the rules and the law have led more than one republic down the road to tyranny."
Posted by: KS | January 06, 2012 at 07:24 PM
RQ, you made a claim and you should be able to back it up without sarcasm or denigrating comments. Can you? The math isn't hard. Repeating yourself isn't an answer. Your whiff of glory is quickly extinguishing.
Again, do the math. Or do you need help?
Posted by: Mary | January 06, 2012 at 07:34 PM
Just a quick question- has anyone else noticed the similarity between Santorum's name and the word, "scrotum?"
Posted by: little orly | January 06, 2012 at 08:37 PM
You're in the general vicinity.
Posted by: jph | January 06, 2012 at 09:03 PM
Mary, Mary, my comment was a bit contrary. My bad, but you remind me of someone...
It's really not about the math, is it? For me, it's the bigger picture: the general public's willingness (or is it gullibility?) to believe numbers that support their world views without considering how skewed they can be.
Posted by: RQ | January 07, 2012 at 09:05 AM
The bigger picture isn't worth much if it is based on an erroneous assumption about the data. Check your math.
Posted by: Mary | January 07, 2012 at 11:31 AM
Math is black and white. 2+2 will always equal 4. Children learn to perform mathematical computations. Statistics are gray. Critical thinkers learn to consider the complexity of the numbers and how they can be twisted to portray something that isn't real. Class dismissed. :)
Posted by: RQ | January 07, 2012 at 12:07 PM
RQ, you aren't adding 2+2. Isn't that apparent? Well, maybe you are. Some of us are capable of higher math.
You may have the last word. I for one am moving on.
Posted by: Mary | January 07, 2012 at 12:19 PM