Squeezing the Johnson

From USA TODAY:

Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson had another tough night on the campaign trail when he couldn’t come up with the name of a foreign leader during an interview Wednesday.

“Who’s your favorite foreign leader,” MSNBC’s Chris Matthews asked Johnson, who sat beside his running mate, former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld.

…snip…

“You gotta do this,” Matthews said. “Anywhere. Any continent. Canada, Mexico, Europe, over there, Asia, South America, Africa: Name a foreign leader that you respect,” Matthews said as Johnson continued to fumble for an answer.

…snip…

“I guess I’m having an Aleppo moment,” Johnson said — referring to a much-lampooned moment in an interview earlier this month, where he responded “What is Aleppo?” when asked what he would do about the Syrian city that has been decimated by civil war.

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No Courage and His Conniptions

So, kids, by now you have heard that Ted Cruz has joined ranks with the likes of Marco Rubio, Paul Ryan and other cowards in endorsing Donald Trump. Once again, a member of the party of big tough guys has checked his balls at the door in order to back someone who is less qualified than an iguana to be President. I guess Cruz has decided that Trump was right; his wife Heidi is not very attractive, and his father was handing Lee Harvey Oswald bullets in the book depository.

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Cross Country

From Dawn Laguens (Executive Vice President, Planned Parenthood Action Fund) at THE HUFFINGTON POST:

Mitt Romney: It is time to withdraw your endorsement of Richard Mourdock.

We can’t go a week in this campaign without another out-of-touch politician showing his true colors on women’s health issues. First, Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin said, “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.” Last week, Representative Joe Walsh said that abortion is unnecessary because the life of a mother is never at risk. Just yesterday, Indiana Senate candidate Richard Mourdock said pregnancy as a result of rape is “something that God intended to happen.”

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Bewitched, Bothered, and BeWillard

From POLITICO:

Former tea party candidate and U.S. Senate hopeful Christine O’Donnell has cast a, er, endorsement Mitt Romney’s way.

…snip…

Mostly, O’Donnell is best remembered for the “I’m not a witch, I’m you” ad that she produced, through admaker Fred Davis (now with the Jon Huntsman super PAC), which was met with much derision.

Derision?  I wonder from whom.

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The Seducers…I mean, Producers

From STEVE KORNACKI at OPENING SHOT at Salon:

We may be witnessing the political world’s answer to “The Producers,” the Mel Brooks musical about an avaricious showman who concocts a sure-to-flop production that somehow turns into the surprise hit of the season. It’s called the Newt Gingrich presidential campaign.

The former House speaker has rocketed to the top in national GOP polling, and with only weeks remaining until the Iowa caucuses he now has an opportunity to cement his status as the conservative movement’s designated alternative to Mitt Romney. In a month full of breakthroughs for him, Gingrich scored his biggest coup yet over the weekend, when the Manchester Union Leader awarded him the most coveted newspaper endorsement on the Republican side.

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The Rethuglican Duhhh-bate

From Perry Bacon Jr. at POST POLITICS at The Washington Post:

New Jersey governor and almost-2012-candidate Chris Christie made headlines with his decision to endorse former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney on Tuesday, on the eve of a presidential debate. Here’s a look at the potential impact of his endorsement.

Why it won’t matter:

…snip…

Polls suggest, despite the clamor in Washington and New York about Christie, that he’s not that well known or extremely popular among Republican voters. A Washington Post/ABC News poll last week suggested a majority of Republicans either didn’t have an opinion or didn’t want the New Jersey governor to run for president.

So it’s not clear how many voters will be persuaded by his endorsement.

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Koch Caca: It’s the Steal Thing!

From the StarTribune:

Former Minnesota Gov. Arne Carlson has weighed in on the Wisconsin labor protests, and is zeroing in on a measure that potentially could benefit Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s wealthy campaign contributors: the oil billionaire Koch brothers.

In a personal blog, Carlson, a Republican who served from 1991 to 1999, raises smart questions about a provision in Walker’s “budget repair bill” that deals with the no-bid sale of state-owned energy facilities.

Carlson not only questions whether the Koch brothers’ might have a business interest in this, but points out that this is the antithesis of the free-market philosophy at the heart of Republican party philosophy.

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Finding Integrity is Like Pulling Teeth

From TALKING POINTS MEMO:

A congressman-elect from Arizona has hired a retired Wasilla dentist closely tied to former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his chief of staff.

Rep.-elect Paul Gosar (R-AZ), himself a dentist, hired Rob Robinson as his top aide, Roll Call reports today. Palin endorsed Gosar after Robinson, a political friend of hers, introduced them.

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