Dear Mr. President, Go big or go home.

I've been going to wall for you for him for three years, and I am not about to hand over the keys of the White House to Willard Romney. But he has go big starting tonight and through November. If he's not ready, then he might as well save us the trouble and start shipping his stuff back to Chicago.

Public sours on Romney in January (ABC)

The number of Americans with negative views of Mitt Romney has spiked in a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, compounding the former Massachusetts governor’s challenges as he tries to rally from Saturday’s big loss in South Carolina.

Among independents, Romney’s unfavorable rating now tops 50 percent — albeit by a single point — a first in Post-ABC polling back to 2006. Just two weeks ago, more independents had favorable than unfavorable views of Romney; now, it’s 2 to 1 negative.

Romney’s losses since a Post-ABC poll conducted between the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary are not limited to independents. The number of Democrats viewing him unfavorably is up 10 percentage points, and among his fellow Republicans, negative ratings have jumped from 18 to 32 percent. (Prior to his Iowa performance, Romney’s unfavorable number had been higher than 18, but hadn’t been in the 30s among Republicans since early 2008.)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/behind-the-numbers/post/public-sours-on-romney-in-january/2012/01/03/gIQAUeetLQ_blog.html

PPP: Newt up by 5 in Florida

PPP's first post-South Carolina poll in Florida finds Newt Gingrich with a small lead. He's at 38% to 33% for Mitt Romney, 13% for Rick Santorum, and 10% for Ron Paul.

Gingrich has gained 12 points since a PPP poll conducted in Florida a week ago. Romney has dropped 8 points. Paul and Santorum have pretty much remained in place. Their favorability numbers show similar trendlines. Gingrich's has increased 8 points from +15 (51/36) to +23 (57/34). Meanwhile Romney's has declined 13 points from +44 (68/24) to +31 (61/30).

http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2012/01/newt-up-5-in-florida.html

Romney's tax rate was 13.9%

We’ve got the first report about Romney’s 2010 taxes. His effective tax rate was 13.9%, just below the 15% he estimated last week. More shortly.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/01/romney_paid_139.php?ref=fpblg

Romney invested in Fannie and freddie Mac (AJC)

While continuing to hammer Gingrich for his consulting work for Freddie Mac, the Romney campaign sought to deflect questions about the former Massachusetts governor's investments. They include a mutual fund worth up to $500,000 that includes assets from both lenders among other government income, and separate investments in each of the lenders in Romney's individual retirement account, each worth between $100,000 and $250,000.

Romney campaign officials said Monday that a trustee handles the investments and that Romney had no role in choosing or managing them.

The tax returns Romney planned to release Tuesday could provide new details about his investments and his annual take as founder of the Bain Capital private equity firm. Gingrich released his own 2010 federal tax return last weekend, during a South Carolina GOP debate, and his campaign said he would disclose his full contracts with Freddie Mac on Monday night just before the debate in Tampa, Fla.


http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/romney-defends-investments-readies-1313843.html

Speak for yourself, Mitt. I am not raising MY son to further conservatism.

Fred Thompson Endorses Newt Gingrich

Former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson told Sean Hannity on Fox News Monday night that he is endorsing Newt Gingrich for president.

Thompson declared that he likes Gingrich's low tax approach which will grow the economy.

Thompson said Newt is "not afraid, he's tough," and added that his federal experience gives him a unique advantage of reforming Washington.

The former Tennessee Senator added that the country is in a "colossal mess" and that the current political situation suggests that "normal rules don't apply."

In discussing his endorsement, Thompson said Gingrich was a strong man who "led a revolution in American politics" during his time as House Speaker. He credited Gingrich with working across the aisle with both parties, particularly in passing welfare reform. "Newt has done his own tough, gritty work" to get things done in American politics, Thompson said.


http://www.newsmax.com/InsideCover/fred-thompson-endorses-gingrich/2012/01/23/id/425243

Palin comments on Chris Christie's panties.

She will also appear on "Follow the Money" with Eric Bolling on fox Business, according to this post on Eric's Facebook page:

WOW! Gov Palin on Gov Christie's "Newt-embarassment": "Chris made a rookie mistake...got his panties in a wad" the 14 min"FollowTheMoney" intv 10pFoxBusiness




http://texansforsarahpalin.blogspot.com/

Mitt Romney's Father Palled Around With Saul Alinsky

The radical pioneer Saul Alinsky, who helped invent the practice of bottom-up politics through "community organizing" in the middle of the 20th century, has become a key bogeyman for Republican in the Obama era. Obama worked for Alinsky acolytes early in his career, and even contributed to an anthology titled "After Alinsky."

"Saul Alinsky radicalism is at the heart of Obama," Gingrich told CNN Sunday.

But Obama isn't the only candidate with one-degree-of-separation ties to Alinsky. In his biography of Romney's father, Michigan Governor George Romney, T. George Harris writes that the elder Romney and Alinsky met after the Detroit riots of 1967.

When slum organizer Saul Alinsky, with the West Side Organization’s militant Negroes and clerics, wanted to meet with the white Detroit rulers, Romney indirectly arranged the meeting, and attended. Democratic Mayor Jerome Cavanaugh avoided the rough company.


http://www.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeedpolitics/mitt-romneys-father-palled-around-with-saul-a

The Republican establishment was warned.

I could never figure out how man times the Republican establishment needed to get hit in the head before realizing their base was getting restless. Pat Buchanan wounded George H.W. Bush in 1992 and won the New Hampshire primary 1996. KKKarl Rove was able to placate them in 2000 and 2004. But when the power brokers and fundraisers got behind McCain in 2008, they turned to a split conservative field that included Mike Huckabee and Fred Thompson. How many state and congressional primaries did the big wigs need to lose in 2010? I guess all of them. So now, the party base is in full revolt. Romney has been rejected in Iowa and South Carolina where he was not in his back yard and a clear alternative was presented. He may inch out a victory in Florida but the nightmare scenario that the Bush Family mafia and all their colleagues in DC is now reality.