South Carolina: The Anti-Romney Candidates' Last Stand

South Carolina is the 2012 Republican GOP primary to watch this year because its the last chance for the anti-Romney candidates to take down Mitt Romney.  Most of the 2012 candidates (except Jon Huntsman) knows this and they have been developing their campaign strategy based on this fact.  This can be clearly seen with Rick Perry who flew directly to South Carolina and is skipping the New Hampshire Primary.

Each of the of the Anti-Romney candidates also know that after South Carolina, Mitt Romney might very well be unstoppable if he wins that state's primary.  Moreover, they also know that South Carolina will be the state where more candidates will withdraw from the 2012 race. I am predicting that Jon Huntsman and Rick Perry will drop out of the race. I am also predicting that Newt Gingrich just to continue his revenge on Mitt Romney.  However, if he drops out after South Carolina, I won't be surprised. 

The anti-Romney crowd will have a hard time defeating Mitt Romney in South Carolina. 

Rick Perry is currently doing poorly in the polls and has failed to gain traction after his performance in the Republican debates early in the campaign season. 

Like Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich is also not polling well in South Carolina. He also has a very weak campaign organization structure and is still struggling financially. It will be difficult for him to find the resources he needs to win that state.  

Rick Santorum may also have difficulty in South Carolina since he has supported measures that helped Unions in that state and opposed Jim DeMint during the 2010 midterm election. Moreover, Rick Santorum faces several ethical questions about using his position in Congress to benefit himself and others. Finally, Rick Santorum endorsed Mitt Romney during the 2008 election and it will be difficult for him to really go after Mitt Romney. In fact, ever since the GOP 2012 election started, Santorum hasn't gone after Mitt Romney at all.

Despite the fact that Ron Paul enjoys support of loyal supporters, they are not enough to help him win the state. Moreover, nobody wants to vote for a candidate who endorsed the socialist Cynthia McKinney during the  2008 Presidential election and who cannot see himself being in the White House.

All these candidates will have an uphill battle against Mitt Romney. Mitt Romney is currently up about 10 points in South Carolina. Mitt Romney also has been endorsed by South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. Getting her endorsement was a big win for Mitt Romney since earlier this year, she declined to give her endorsement until she got to know each of the candidates better. Now, she has predicted that Mitt Romney will win the South Carolina primaries and will join Mitt Romney's campaign. I highly recommend reading her op-ed explaining why she is endorsing Mitt Romney. 

Each of the anti-Romney candidates know they can't stop Romney in New Hampshire. They will try to stop Mitt in South Carolina but they will fail. Even if they do prevent Mitt Romney in South Carolina, they still won't be able to stop him when Super Tuesday rolls around. 

Try as these candidates might, Mitt Romney will be the Republican 2012 nominee who will boot Obama from the White House and become the next President of the United States.

BREAKING: Michele Bachmann Is Suspending Her Campaign

With the low results of the Iowa Caucus, Michele Bachmann is announcing that she is suspending her campaign. Last night, Sarah Palin said suggested that Michelle Bachmann drop out and endorse someone else. It appears that Michele is following Palin's advice.

Michele Bachmann could never really regain her momentum when she won the Iowa straw poll straw poll but then continued to fall behind when other Republican candidates like Rick Perry began to enter the race. Michele Bachmann could never wow the crowd during the debates. She also experienced other problems on the campaign trail as well: 

But her campaign was beset by a string of gaffes — starting with the assertion at her campaign launch that Waterloo, Iowa, was the home of John Wayne, when it was actually notorious serial killer John Wayne Gacy who called Waterloo his hometown.

Another blow to her campaign came when Ed Rollins, her campaign manager, left the campaign and began speaking out against Bachmann on cable TV and in the media.

Heading into the fall, Bachmann tried to injure the then-frontrunner Perry by attacking him for mandating the HPV vaccine Gardisil. But the blowback of her claims that the vaccine caused mental retardation hurt her as well, even as continued to repeat them repeat them on the campaign trail.

Despite Michele Bachmann's poor performance, she contributed immensely to the campaign. I think she helped define the issues and held some of the candidates' feet to the fire on important issues.  

Another candidate that may withdraw is Rick Perry. Last night, he announced that he will be reassessing his but this morning he put out a tweet that he will fight on in South Carolina: 

And the next leg of the marathon is the Palmetto State...Here we come South Carolina!!!

I've been saying all along that South Carolina is where the action will be and it will determine who stays in the race and who won't.

BREAKING: Mitt Romney Wins The 2012 Iowa Republican Caucus!!

Its official. Mitt Romney wins the Iowa Caucus by just 8 votes! Iowa GOP Chairman Matt Strawn just announced a few minutes ago that they got a record and historic turnout tonight and reports the numbers: Mitt: 30,015, Santorum: 30,007. This was also the most historic race since its the closest caucus race in Iowa history. 

Before the official announcement was made, Karl Rove said on Fox News that his sources reported that Mitt Romney would win by 14: 

A source tells Karl Rove that when all is counted, they will say that Mitt Romney will win the Iowa caucuses by 14 votes. The source told Rove earlier that the two outstanding precincts were in Keokuk and Clinton counties which was exactly right.

Congrats to Mitt Romney for the victory and I look forward to him being the first candidate to win the Iowa and New Hampshire Primaries. 

Reflecting On Tonight's Iowa Caucus

The most amazing thing about the Iowa Caucus is that Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney,  who were initially  not expected to win Iowa, are running neck and neck right now. There are reports that Romney votes are possibly undercounted for Romney in 2 precincts.
Regardless if Mitt Romney or Rick Santorum take first place at the Iowa polls, their success tonight was impressive. Santorum was trailing in the polls badly until the very last minute when all the other candidates had experienced a parabolic rise and fall in support. Mitt Romney wasn't planning on even setting foot in Iowa and then got into the game very late and managed to get perform very well tonight. I cannot substantiate this claim but think Mitt's performance in the Iowa Caucus was better in 2012 than it was four years ago in 2008. 

Although anything can still go on from now until the primary season is over, I think you will see that this race will be a competition between Romney and Santorum from now on. 

I previously thought it would be a race between Newt and Romney but I no longer believe this. Gingrich has vowed to go after Mitt Romney since Romney did a great job neutralizing Newt before the Iowa Primaries. Gingrich has been bitching about how effective Romney's SuperPac was in running ads against him yet he makes no complaint about Ron Paul's attack ads against him. Regardless, Newt Gingrich's own SuperPac is set to go on the attack on Mitt Romney.  As a result, I think Newt knows he will never be in the front runner position again and is now dedicated to hurting Mitt Romney as much as he can before he is forced to withdraw from the campaign.

Other candidates will try to rise to the top again but I doubt it lightning will strike twice for them. They will be stuck in the second or third tier status until they drop out. Rick Perry announced tonight that he will be reassessing his campaign which could mean anything from another shake up in his staff to resigning from the race. However, I think Rick Perry will probably stay in the race and see what happens in the South Carolina primary. Sarah Palin has suggested that Michelle Bachmann drop out and endorse someone else. Jon Huntsman virtually ignored the Iowa caucuses and is putting all of his energies into winning the New Hampshire primary. I find this odd since he knows he will get clobbered in New Hampshire and will either resign or limp on towards South Carolina. 

South Carolina is THE primary to watch this year. All the second and third tier candidates will be making that state their last stand. After South Carolina, I expect everyone to drop out except Mitt, Santorum and Ron Paul.  

My Predictions For The Iowa Caucus

Here are my predictions for who will win the Iowa Caucus tomorrow:

1. Mitt Romney
2. Rick Santorum
3. Ron Paul
4. Newt Gingrich 
5. Rick Perry 
6. Michelle Bachmann 
7. Jon Huntsman 

Even if Ron Paul does manage to win Iowa, he will probably get shut out from getting any of the delegates from that state since the Iowa Caucus. 

After Iowa, New Hampshire is the next Republican primary election. I can't see Jon Huntsman and Michelle Bachmann continuing on in the race once they get the results back from New Hampshire. Jon Huntsman has stated that New Hampshire will determine whether he will stay in the race. Michelle Bachmann will probably not be able to continue on after two straight losses. While Iowa is first in the nation, the real election to watch is South Carolina and Florida. Whoever wins these primaries will have a good momentum going into Super Tuesday.

The other thing to watch is the endorsements of those candidates who drop out of the race. I am predicting that Michelle Bachmann and Jon Huntsman will probably endorse Rick Santorum once they withdraw from the candidacy. Ron Paul has stated that he will probably not endorse anyone when he drops out of the race. If Rick Santorum drops out of the race, I predict he will endorse Mitt Romney since he endorsed him in the 2008 Presidential elections. If Newt Gingrich drops out of the race, he will most likely endorse Mitt Romney.

Two White Supremacist Endorse Ron Paul

Today, Ron Paul got two very special endorsements today. The first endorsement comes from Don Black:

Ron Paul was a hot topic this week on the talk radio show hosted by prominent white supremacist Don Black and his son Derek. Mr. Black said he received Mr. Paul’scontroversial newsletters when they were first published about two decades ago and described how the publications were perceived by members of the white supremacist movement. Former KKK Grand Wizard and Louisiana Congressman David Duke also phoned in to explain why he’s voting for Mr. Paul.

“Everybody, all of us back in the 80?s and 90?s, felt Ron Paul was, you know, unusual in that he had actually been a Congressman, that he was one of us and now, of course, that he has this broad demographic–broad base of support,” Mr. Black said on his broadcast yesterday.

Mr. Black is a former Klansman and member of the American Nazi Party who founded the “white nationalist” website Stormfront in 1995. He donated to Mr. Paul in 2007 and has been photographed with the candidate. 

These photos are available for all to see online. You can see those photographs below.

The first photo is Ron Paul with Don Black (center) and his son Derek Black (right).

The second photo is of Ron Paul autographing something for Derek Black.

Don Black also made a $500 donation to the Ron Paul campaign during the 2008 Presidential election. You can see a copy of the donation slip below: 

Don Black is also encouraging his White Supremacist followers to volunteer for the 2012 campaign: 

Don Black, director of the white nationalist Web site Stormfront, said in an interview that several dozen of his members were volunteering for Mr. Paul’s presidential campaign, and a site forum titled “Why is Ron Paul such a favorite here?” has no fewer than 24 pages of comments. “I understand he wins many fans because his monetary policy would hurt Jews,” read one.

Far-right groups like the Militia of Montana say they are rooting for Mr. Paul as a stalwart against government tyranny.

What is so interesting is that Don Black's support doesn't bother the Ron Paul crowd at all. 

The second endorsement comes from the well known racist and White Supremacist David Duke: 

“Again, I go back to that, you know, traditional topic that I always talk about, you know, the powers of international Zionism — a power in banking, a power in media, a power in government influence, in campaign finance — a power that’s, you know, hurting the values of this country on behalf of Israel,” Mr. Duke said. “So, I would vote for Ron Paul at this moment because he’s one of the few candidates who have policies in this regard and this realm that I wholeheartedly support, and that’s why I’d vote for him.”

Who ever wrote this article in Ron Paul's racist newsletter was certainly a fan of David Duke: 

Initially, Ron Paul denied that he didn't read or write his own newsletters but than later admitted that he wrote some words in them but denied authoring any of the racist articles. If Ron Paul didn't these articles, then they were probably ghostwritten by Lew Rockwell or Murray Rothbard who had, and probably still, maintains a close relationship with.

Lew Rockwell and Murry Rothbard probably did contribute to some or most of the bigoted articles in Ron Paul's newsletters and they did publish an article supporting David Duke in another newsletter:

In the Rothbard-Rockwell Report they started in 1990, Mr. Rothbard called for a “Right Wing Populism,” suggesting that the campaign for governor of Louisiana by David Duke, the founder of the National Association for the Advancement of White People, was a model for “paleolibertarianism.” 

The Ron Paul Report, the name of Ron Paul's newsletter that is currently generating most of the controversy for Ron Paul in this election had a deep impact on bigoted men like Don Black: 

Still, the newsletters had a lasting appeal with the audience Mr. Rockwell and Mr. Rothbard talked about reaching.

Mr. Black of Stormfront said the newsletters helped make him a Ron Paul supporter. “That was a big part of his constituency, the paleoconservatives who think there are race problems in this country,” Mr. Black said.

“We understand that Paul is not a white nationalist, but most of our people support him because of his stand on issues,” Mr. Black said. “We think our race is being threatened through a form of genocide by assimilation, meaning the allowing in of third-world immigrants into the United States.”

Mr. Black said Mr. Paul was attractive because of his “aggressive position on securing our borders,” his criticism of affirmative action and his goal of eliminating the Federal Reserve, which the Stormfront board considers to be essentially a private bank with no government oversight. “Also, our board recognizes that most of the leaders involved in the Fed and the international banking system are Jews.” 

While there is nothing wrong with bigoted people voicing their support for a political candidate, there is something very wrong with politicians like Ron Paul who knowingly meets or associates these people but says he doesn't endorse these views yet appreciates their support.Any politician who had the least bit of political intelligence would do anything to not associate themselves with these people and would ask these people not to support him. Its very troubling that Ron Paul wants to have his cake and eat it too.

A long time ago, Micheal Medved gave Ron Paul back the chance to deny and distance himself from the various bigoted groups is alleged to have connections with and he has never done so.

The fact that Ron Paul may win the Iowa caucus bothers me because I'm not sure the American public really knows who who this man is. People's positive opinions about him would change if they knew about Ron Paul's dangerous flirtation, if not outright alliance, with white supremacists and other fringe groups. This fact is well documented to the point that it is undeniable.

That is why Ron Paul cannot and should not be allowed to win any primary win the Republican nomination or become President of the United States.

John Huntsman's New Ad: The Ron Paul Chronicles

Jon Huntsman has released an attack ad on Ron Paul which demonstrates why Ron Paul cannot and should not be allowed to win any primary win the Republican nomination or become President of the United States. 

But the ads also serve to remind us that Ron Paul would get slaughtered by President Obama if he actually succesdes in getting the Republican nomination because the attack ads on Ron Paul are so easy to create and require no trickery, editing or manipulation. The attack ads litterally write themselves. Watch Jon Huntsman's new ad below: