Newt Gingrich

div class=”dkimg-c”img src=”http://images2.dailykos.com/i/user/151025/Newt_Gingrich_-_Matt_Sullivan_-_Reuters.jpg” alt=”Newt Gingrich” height=”372″ width=”550″ / div class=”dkimg-cap”The number of people who don’t hate Newt Gingrich is a very, very small number (Matt Sullivan/Reuters)/div /div a href=”http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/newt-gingrich-the-most-disliked-politician-in-america/2012/02/15/gIQAloLoFR_blog.html?wprss=rss_politics”Via/a the emWashington Post/em, new polls from CNN

div id=”uimg_right”img src=”http://www.dailykos.com/i/user/59419/Penn_Flag_275.png” / div id=”uimg_caption”Pennsylvania is quickly becoming a must-watch state/div /div pLooking ahead to the 2012 elections, one of the burning questions has been what will become of the key large states of the industrial Midwest. Ohio and Pennsylvania were central not only to the Obama election in 2008, but the Democratic surge to control of Congress in 2006 and 2008.

div class=”dkimg-c”img src=”http://images2.dailykos.com/i/user/191280/romneyandcain_550wide_ScottAudette_reuters.jpg” alt=”2011 Gallup” height=”273″ width=”550″ / div class=”dkimg-cap”Herman Cain and Mitt Romney are in a three-way tie with undecided (Scott Audette/Reuters)br //div /div a href=”http://www.gallup.com/poll/150617/Cain-Ties-Romney-Atop-GOP-Field.aspx?utm_source=alertamp;utm_medium=emailamp;utm_campaign=syndicationamp;utm_content=morelinkamp;utm_term=All20Headlines20Politics”Gallup./a 11/2-6.

div class=”dkimg-c”img src=”http://images1.dailykos.com/i/user/3/GOP_Tea_Party_Debate.jpg” alt=”GOP tea party debate” height=”230″ width=”550″ / div class=”dkimg-cap”No thanks. Next!/div /div As a href=”http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/09/29/1021214/-Wheres-the-love-for-Romney”noted/a earlier today, strongRick Perry/strong may be fading, but that’s not strongMitt Romney/strong’s gain.

(Romney photo credit: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)   Public Policy Polling (7/15-7/17, Republican primary voters): Michele Bachmann: 21 Mitt Romney: 20 Rick Perry: 12 Herman Cain: 11 Ron Paul: 9 Newt Gingrich: 7 Tim Pawlenty: 5 Jon Huntsman: 3 Someone else/not sure: 12 (MoE: ±3.6%) Bachmann’s lead is just one point, but it’s a meteoric surge, putting her atop the field in PPP’s first poll since her official entrance in to the race. She also leads Romney in a hypothetical heads-up match for the nomination, taking 44 percent to Romney’s 41 percent.

The campaign for the 2012 Republican primary unofficially gets under way this
weekend with the launch of a television series featuring Sarah Palin, and a
slew of hopefuls announcing plans for book tours in key states.

And the "Lie of the Year" winner is ... Sarah Palin!!
Of all the falsehoods and distortions in the political discourse this year, one stood out from the rest.
“Death panels.”

Sarah Palin is the personification of America's anti-intellectualism and seems to be determined to exploit her intellectual limitations at the expense of the nation's best interests.

As the war for the soul identity of the Republican party continues, one of its interesting fronts is very junior high school, when you think about it: Who campaigns for whom? This is how Republican electeds, particularly those with larger ambitions, build alliances and position themselves in relation to each other and the base, making clear that they stand with this theocrat or that business lobby. Some choices are dog whistles, others shout out their meaning. But it’s worth paying attention to.

Former U.S. vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, holding a local newspaper with her picture printed on, arrives at the check-in counter at Hong Kong airport Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009 as Palin is leaving Hong Kong for the U.S.
Ex-Gov. Sarah Palin made a decorous debut on the international stage Wednesday with a long speech to investors in Hong Kong.